Just a few of the 100s of People Abused in JKP
This image is published under U.S. Fair Use rules, which allows the use images for educational purposes. This image depicts just a few dozen of the hundreds of people, including youth, who are completely taken advantage of in Jagaguru Kripalu Parishat. They work for $0. They are fed meager bland meals. They have to share a room. They get barely five hours of sleep a night. They are expected to work long grueling hours — to the point of death — literally! Read one youth’s first-hand experience.
Just a glimpse of the hundreds of people who give their lives, including time, money, and bodies, to the con game that is Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat.
By Karen Jonson (Rishika)
Originally Published: 29 August 2022
Updated and Republished: 20 November 2024
Note from blog post author, Karen Jonson/Rishika: This blog post is one of the 10 blog posts on Rishikaxcult.com that Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat tried to remove from the internet by devious means. Why don’t they want you to know this information?
A Former Youth in Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat Speaks Out
“When I joined JKP, I was a young, vibrant, and healthy boy. Then preachers from Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat came to my town. I was drawn to them, mainly to learn how to attain God, as that idea had intrigued me since my childhood. Soon after joining JKP, my body started to become weak due to the insufficient diet we were offered, the lack of sleep due to the grueling seva (free labor) schedule, and an overall poor attitude toward properly taking care of our body that was encouraged.”
ex-devotee youth who was treated poorly in JKP
Shri Kripalu Maharaj created an organization based on evil. He is dead and gone now, but that doesn’t mean the corruption has stopped. Hear what life is like now for the hundreds of young people being lured into the organization by the people running the Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat today.
That is the opening paragraph of a message sent to me, from a youth who was involved in Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat (JKP) and lived in one of its ashrams in India. He is one of many youths who have contacted me in the past several months to share their painful stories.
The youths who are speaking out are telling their stories of being abused in Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat because the experience haunts them. While they may have recovered physically, many have not recovered mentally or even spiritually. They have told me their stories, because they said it makes them feel better telling someone who understands what they have gone through.
Most of these young people have no one else to talk to about their cult experience. What’s more, many are too afraid to tell their stories to other people, including their family and friends. For one thing, they have seen how Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat treats people who speak out against them — and they are afraid. They are also ashamed to acknowledge that they got lured into such an obvious scam.
Mistreatment of Young Devotees in JKP Has Intensified Under the Three Greedy Didis — But Why?
Every so often, however, one ex-cult youth heals enough to regain their youthful fearlessness. At that point, they want to turn their pain into something good. And what they believe is good is telling people the truth about Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat and its fake gurus, fake preachers, and fake saints. They want others to hear the truth, so they can make informed decisions on whether or not to hand over their lives and money and their children into the hands of these devious and very greedy people.
One of these youths contacted me to tell his story. He was lured into the cult at the tender age of 19 and experienced all manner of abuse, including:
- A grueling schedule of mediation and work from 3:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. that did not allow him or any of the young people to get enough sleep.
- A great deal of sickness among the ashram residents, including stomach issues, headaches, leg pain, and mental imbalances.
- People who live and work in the ashrams are only fed meager, bland meals of rice, dal, and watered-down vegetables. They are not paid for all their long days of labor, so have no money to purchase extra food.
- This youth’s eyesight, digestive organs, and energy level all dropped down to scary low levels during a grueling five-month period of non-stop work.
- Two youth died and two were badly injured in a car crash due to overwork and exhaustion. He was only spared because he had taken a break at that time.
Here is the story this told me about his harrowing experience as an abused worker in Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat.
Former Youth in Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat Speaks Out to Help Other
In Kripalu’s lectures, which they play over and over and over, he tells people that the body is transient, and we’ll just leave it behind one day when we die. Teachings like these set up devotees to believe that they need to live a renounced life to find God, including neglecting their own physical body’s health and wellness.
As a result, few people, if anyone, gets enough sleep in their India ashrams. Instead, we spend hours in meditation and physical seva from 3:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. That leaves only a precious few hours for rest — less than five per night!
The diet they feed the workers every day consists of rice and watery dal and vegetables. While they sell prepared food in the ashram cantinas, few who live and work full-time there can even afford to purchase the extra food because they work for free.
Our only payment for full-time labor is a room that sleeps more than one person and three bland meals a day. As a result, most people living there are constantly hungry. Poor nutrition and lack of sleep means everyone is also low on energy. This leads to the many illnesses that easily spread among the residents in that environment.
And if any one of us does have some extra money, the people in power try to convince us that we need to give it to them rather than spend it on our health and wellbeing. That’s why I gave my money to them — I was pressured by the three daughters of Kripalu and the preachers.
As a result, most of the devotees have physical issues due to this brainwashing. Almost everyone there is sick with ailments, like leg pain, stomach issues, headaches, and mental imbalance. It’s all commonplace there.
Grueling Work Schedule Results in Death and Injury of Four Youth
During my last year as follower and worker, I spent nearly five months straight working during their multiple programs held at their three ashrams in India. During those months of grueling labor and poor nutrition, my eyesight, digestive health, and energy level all dropped down to scary low levels. I was in such bad shape by October, I decided to return home to visit a doctor.
On the last day of Sharat Poornima Sadhana Shivir, I left the ashram to return to my hometown. On the same day, four dedicated young followers, left the Mangarh ashram to drive to the Vrindavan ashram to work for a sadhu bhoj (feeding monks) celebration. They had limited time to get there and, of course, were tired and hungry.
As a result, they got into a car crash at a high rate of speed. Two of the sadhaks (devotees) died on impact. The other two in the car were badly injured with broken arms and legs. I was shocked. I felt so bad for them.
The two sadhaks who died had been with one of the Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat preachers since they were little children. They spent their entire life doing seva at the ashrams.
If I had not gotten sick and went home to see a doctor, I would have been in that vehicle with them, and either been injured or died.
“I Felt Very Evil Vibes in JKP’s Vrindaban Ashram”
When I returned to Vrindaban, I felt very evil vibes for the first time. Instead of being sad at the loss of two life-long devotees, I found out the three daughters of Kripalu were having a perfectly good time. They did not give a f*** that two of their oldest and most loyal sadhaks had just died in a car accident — while doing seva (devotional work) for them.
What’s more, I learned that the accident was caused because the driver was exhausted from a schedule of unrelenting work for the ashrams. He was doing hard physical labor day in and day out. In fact, he had not gotten proper sleep for over one month.
The three sisters only commentary about their deaths was this cold-hearted statement: “Maharajji called their families. They died doing seva, so they’ll go to Goloka (celestial home of Krishna). We should not feel sorry for them. We should be happy for them.”
Vishakha didi (oldest of the three daughters) told me to my face, “Had you not gone for treatment out of Mangarh, you would have also died. Maharajji saved you.”
She did not bother to explain to me why both scenarios is lucky — either death or the near-miss of death. It sounds terribly convenient for them.
“All Three Sisters are Heartless and Evil People”
The two youth who were badly injured in the vehicle accident got treatment at the Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat hospital in Vrindavan. They were only given that care because they were assistants of Kripalu’s oldest preacher, called Manjari didi, who is 70. She maintains a good relationship with three sisters, so they are nice to her.
Many of the other preachers have bad relationships with the three sisters. As a result, they rarely visit any of the three JKP ashrams. When other sadhaks or ashramwasi (ashram residents) need medical care, the three Didis make it clear that they will not bear the expenses for their healthcare. They tell everyone to make all necessary arrangements themselves, because the trust will not take care of their medical expenses.
I finally realized that all three sisters are heartless and evil people. They have no manners and no decency. They just spout whatever evil thing that allows them to avoid taking any responsibility for the people who hand over their lives to them — and work for them like slaves for no money.
I can hardly believe that even though I was a just kid at the time, they were telling me that I could have died, but Maharajji saved me. That hit me really hard. Deep inside I had a feeling that I was saved — but not by Maharajji.
I believe I was saved by something much greater. I believe it’s because I have a much bigger purpose in life than just to serve and be abused by these bas****s.
They Are Crazy People — and I Never Want to be Like Them
These events messed me up bad. I realized that these people have no heart. They are not gods or even avatars of gods. They are crazy people — and I never want to be like them.
I thought to myself, if God-loving people are so heartless to a person who gave his life to them, I don’t want anything to do with God. Rather, I am happy to live in a maya (material) world where people at least shed few tears for a dearly departed and appreciate what they’ve contributed to society and family.
These bast***s have no regard for human life whatsoever — except their own.
I spent my last couple of days in Vrindavan. Then I went to Barsana. All the time, I was really disturbed. The three didis and their loyal followers were living as if nothing at all had happened. This really troubled me, and I knew then and there that something is not right with these people. Some part of their humanity has been lost under the control of these evil people.
I Realized that Kripalu’s Teachings are Nothing But Bull****
I went back to my home. I connected with my friends and family with whom I previously had not had close relationships. I instantly realized these people are so much kinder and more loving despite Kripalu’s claims that world is selfish. I realized that Kripalu’s teachings were nothing but bull****.
“Then I read your blog posts again. Although I had read your blog posts before when I was a sadhak, at that time, I thought, “This is all fake. It’s namaparadh (spiritual transgression) to read these.” But now, I realize you are telling the truth.”
Youth Abused in JKP
Then I watched the Netflix documentary about Osho, Wild Wild Country — and I connected the dots with Kripalu. They both were same — evil fake gurus.
I told my parents what I read in your blogs posts about that Kripalu and how he is a child sex molester.
My mom, who had once been a devotee, said: “Yes, I know. Many aunties have slept with Kripalu. And those aunties used to tell me, ‘Too bad you joined after Kripalu died. Otherwise you would have gotten his divine bliss through sex acts, too.’”
That’s how f***ed up these women in JKP are!!
I was in bad shape after all this happened. It took me many sessions with my psychiatrist and coach to build myself back up to the confident person I had been before nearly ruining my life in this cult.
After years of hard work, I am now completely healed and stronger than ever. Now it’s time for me to share all that I know — and spread the light of freedom from Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat’s heartless devotee abuse. I hope this helps someone else gain their God-given freedom, too.
Note from author, Karen Jonson (Rishika): If you’ve ever visited one of Kripalu’s three ashrams in India and had youth come up to you and beg for money, now you know why. Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat abuses youth for slave labor, pays them $0, feeds them poorly, and doesn’t let them get proper sleep.
The poor youths are suffering under that corrupt regime — all while the Three Greedy Didis live royalty — stuffing their wallets and stuffing their faces. And, if you’ve ever seen how the three pampered grandsons of Kripalu live like pampered princes, it might make your blood boil.
They are not royalty. They are not divine. They are just low life grifters taking advantage of young people who want to worship God.
Learn More About this Abusive Organization
Learn more about the truth of my two ex-gurus, Jagadguru Shri Kripalu and Swami Prakashanand Saraswati — partners in crime for over 60 years — in my book Sex, Lies, and Two Hindu Gurus. It’s available around the world and in India.
Purchase in India: Sex, Lies, and Two Hindu Gurus
Purchase everywhere else: Sex, Lies, and Two Hindu Gurus
Tell Your Story
Do you want to tell your story and help people steer clear of this abusive organization? Please reach out to me. I will keep your name in complete confidence.
Copyright © 2022-2024 Karen Jonson/RishikaXcult. All rights reserved. No part of this blog post may be copied or duplicated without the express permission of the author.
