Unfortunately, many cults around the world are never brought to their knees. While a few die off, most perpetually keep running and scamming innocent and not-so-innocent followers. Look at the Mormons (aka, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), for example.
If you Google “richest spiritual organizations,” the Mormons rank waaaaay above anyone else. With a minimum stockpile of $200 billion, it’s not even close to the next one in line. According to Wikipedia, the Sree Venkateswara Swamy Temple in India has $35 billion.
My ex-cult is not only alive and well but also flourishing. They keep building lavish buildings around the world (the next one to “grace” Los Angeles, where they operate the business in question). They are nowhere near the richest cult on the planet, but they are also not poor. The estimated amount that is hidden in a “complicated network of India-based trusts” is from one billion to several billion.
Each year, the cult grows with an ever-expanding number of blind-faith followers, or perhaps just people looking for the spiritual Disneyland (judging by the many videos online with carnival vibes). It has clearly been successful despite the fact that the head guru (Jagadguru Kripalu Maharaj) has been legally accused three times and privately accused thousands of times of one of the most heinous crimes on God’s green earth: child rape.
It seems that some (read: a LOT) of people are A-okay with child rape, in my opinion, judging by their continued support of the institution. Shockingly, it seems that only a small percentage of people are still associated with an organization that revolved around child rape during its entire existence. Many still live and work in its ashrams and centers in India, the USA, and other countries.
One of the people who is not okay is not a devotee but a person who had worked for a devotee for many years. And not just any devotee. But one of the richest devotees, who has brought millions of dollars into the organization since launching an infomercial enterprise in the 1980s — allegedly with the specific goal of funding the spiritual organization.
I have been told that the lesser of two gurus heading the Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat organization had asked his relatively small band of followers in the mid-1980s what businesses they could start to fund the organization’s growth. Many ideas were presented by followers eager to please the guru, Swami Prakashanand Saraswati. Only businesses centered around infomercials stuck.
Right out of the gate, they had a success: Miracle Blade knives. You may have heard of them on those old-fashioned, late-night, cheesy infomercials in the 1980s and 1990s. Remember the one where Chef Tony slices through a pineapple in mid-air? That one. Infomercials are a form of marketing that is all but dead in today’s age of streaming — thank God!
When infomercials died, Peter and Katie moved into product marketing, where they struggled for years to stay relevant in a dying form of marketing. But then it hit the proverbial jackpot with two products that appeared at the right time and place: water and air purification. They have since generated many millions every year.
Everything was going according to plan, that is until a key employee learned her bosses were hardcore followers of what appeared to be a sex cult, based on multiple reports over the head guru’s 60-year reign. You can read about them in past articles and blog posts by googling “Kriplau Maharaji rape.” When she blew the whistle, she was immediately fired.
The former employees got a lawyer and sued. The company, Ideal Living Management, and two people on its team, Peter Spiegel, Founder and Co-CEO, and Carlton Newsome, Human Resource Manager, were served with a lawsuit. Among the plaintiff’s complaints are these:
- Wrongful termination in violation of public policy
- Religious discrimination [Violation of FEHA, Cal. Gov. Code §12940]
- Whistle blower retaliation [Violation of FEHA, Cal. Gov. Code §12940]
- Failure to prevent discrimination and retaliation in violation of FEHA [Violation of FEHA, Cal. Gov. Code §12900]
- Defamation
- Intentional infliction of emotional distress
In the publicly available lawsuit, it states:
“In or about February of 2023, PLAINTIFF expressed concerns to her superiors about potential financial and illegal improprieties within the company. Specifically, financial ties between the company and its founder defendant SPIEGEL’s religious organization, with which the company’s most senior management personnel held leadership roles.”
It also states:
“The connections raised PLAINTIFF’s suspicions that the company was illegally avoiding income tax liability. Upon further investigation, PLAINTIFF discovered a record of allegations that defendant SPIEGEL’s religious organization was involved in the sexual abuse of minors, and complicity or knowledge of such criminal activities within the organization.
“Additionally, PLAINTIFF witnessed the company hire several individuals from within the religious organization who were not qualified for their positions. During the course of her employment, PLAINTIFF was placed under the supervision of one such unqualified individual for an extended period. That individual’s performance deficiencies substantially impacted PLAINTIFF’s ability to effectively perform her own duties and responsibilities.
“PLAINTIFF also discovered the company’s employees that were from within the religious organization were treated more favorably than employees that were not, including but not limited to, free housing and substantially higher salaries for the purpose of facilitating donations to the religious organization.”
This lawsuit could lead to a variety of outcomes — from loss of business partnerships to global media exposure. Time will tell.
What is clear though, in my opinion, based on insider knowledge, is that someone else outside of the cult discovered the truth about the connection between Peter Spiegel’s company and the Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat organization.
When she tried to report her concerns about “financial ties between the company and its founder, defendant SPIEGEL’s religious organization, with which the company’s most senior management personnel held leadership roles” to the human resources manager, Peter Spiegel and Ideal Living Management decided to fire her unlawfully, according to the complaint.
If this event does generate significant media attention, will it finally be the thing that uncovers the truth and the cleverly hidden secrets about Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat, Radha Madhav Dham (in Austin, TX, and formerly called Barsana Dham), Radha Govinda Dham (the LA center) — and its two child molesting and child raping gurus?
Those of us who are vehemently opposed to child sex abuse and who strongly support all the innocent victims of, what in my opinion, are monsters (both the two head gurus and their many, many enablers) can only hope.
