Krishna Names

Advaita: Emile Sofsky, aka John Jenkins; allegedly established and supervised a smuggling ring that brought hash oil from India and Pakistan to the United States.

Ambudrara: Debra Gere; common-law wife of Charles St. Denis, the murdered New Vrindaban "fringie" and marijuana dealer.

Atreya Rishi: ISKCON GBC member who became locked in a struggle with Keith Ham (Kirtanananda) and Hans Kary (Hansadutta) for control of the Berkeley temple.

Bahudaka: Peter Chatterton, president of the Vancouver temple; Krishna reformist.

Balimardan: President of New York temple expelled by Prabhupada.

Bhagavan: William Ehrlichman, ISKCON guru overseeing the European temples, whose imperious governing style and fondness for luxury earned him the nickname "The Sun King."

Bhaktisiddhanta: The Indian guru who converted Prabhupada to Krishna Consciousness in 1922.

Bhavananda: Charles Backus, ISKCON guru overseeing the Australian temples, excommunicated for improprieties.

Brahmananda: Bruce Scharf, president of ISKCON's first temple, at 26 Second Avenue in New York City.

Chakradara: Charles St. Denis, New Vrindaban "fringie" and marijuana dealer murdered by Thomas Drescher and Dan Reid.

Chitta: Cynthia, second wife of Steven Hebel.

Darpada: Ronald Roy Walters, gunsmith and weapons procurer for the Berkeley temple; held three federal firearms licenses.

Daruka: Dan Reid, New Vrindaban devotee accomplice of Thomas Drescher (Tirtha) in the murder of Charles St. Denis (Chakradara).

Dharmaraja: Devin Wheeler, son of Howard Wheeler (Hayagriva); also known as Samba; as a child, the constant companion of Keith Ham (Kirtanananda).

Dharmatma: Dennis Gorrick, leader of the New Vrindaban women's sankirtan team.

Goverdhan: Michael Pugliese, aka Dino Bhandu, aka Lance Presley; Hansadutta's driver and personal servant in Berkeley.

Guru Kripa: Gregory Gottfried, president of the Tokyo temple; leader of sankirtan team operating in Japan.

Hansadutta: Hans Kary, ISKCON guru residing at the Berkeley temple, who mixed Krishna Consciousness with rock and roll, guns, and paranoia.

Harikesa: ISKCON guru; one of the eleven rtvik acharyas who succeeded Prabhupada.

Hayagriva: Howard Wheeler, close friend of Keith Ham (Kirtanananda) and early Krishna devotee; chronicler of the early years of the Krishna movement.

Himavati: Helena, wife of Hans Kary (Hansadutta).

Jadurani: Judy Koslofsky, the first brahmacharini (unmarried female) to join ISKCON; beaten up at New Vrindaban for questioning Kirtanananda's status as a guru.

Jamuna: Jane, wife of Steve Bryant (Sulocana); later married Ralph Seward.

Jayatirtha: James Immel, London guru who mixed LSD with chanting Hare Krishna; expelled from ISKCON; started his own movement under the name of Tirthapada; decapitated by one of his followers.

Jitendriya: Patrick Manning, New Vrindaban treasurer.

Jiva: James Underwood, ex-convict, head of Berkeley women's sankirtan team; supervised the "radio scam."

Kanka: Susan, first wife of Steven Hebel (Swarup); star member of the New Vrindaban women's sankirtan team before fleeing the commune with her children.

Kirtanananda: Keith Ham, His Divine Grace, Kirtanananda Swami Bhaktipada; early Krishna devotee, guru, founder of New Vrindaban temple.

Krishna Das: Rinnian, son of Jane Bryant and her former boyfriend John Morgan.

Kuladri: Arthur Villa, president of the New Vrindaban temple; Kirtanananda's right-hand man.

Mahaprabhu: Lord Chaitanya (1485-1533), founder of bhakti yoga and Krishna Consciousness.

Mahara: Mary St. John, wife of Thomas Meyers (Taru).

Mukunda: Michael Grant, former jazz musician and early devotee of Prabhupada, who opened the San Francisco temple; now ISKCON's director of public relations.

Naranayana: Nathan Zakheim, early ISKCON member; a carpenter who helped build temples across America.

Nataipada: Former ISKCON devotee who joined Jayatirtha-Tirthapada's splinter group in Nepal; allegedly murdered after threatening to expose the group's use of LSD.

Navaniticara: John Tiemey, member of Jayatirtha-Tirthapada's splinter group accused of decapitating his spiritual master in London.

Nimai: Son of Steve Bryant (Sulocana); drowned in a man-made lake at New Vrindaban.

Nistrigunya: Steve Forbes, longtime friend of Steve Bryant (Sulocana).

Prabhupada: His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, ISKCON.

Prithu: Peter Brinkmann, president of the Belfast temple.

Radheya: Son of Charles St. Denis; suffocated with Rohini in an abandoned refrigerator at New Vrindaban.

Ramesvara: Robert Grant, ISKCON guru residing at the Los Angeles temple; president of the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust (BBT).

Rashadeva: Roy Christopher Richard, president of the Laguna Beach Temple, and drug runner.

Ravindra Svarupa: William Deadwyler, president of the Philadelphia temple; leader of the ISKCON reform movement.

Rohini: Son of Dan and Brenda Reid; suffocated with Radheya in an abandoned refrigerator at New Vrindaban.

Samba: Devin Wheeler, son of Howard Wheeler (Hayagriva); also known as Dhannaraja.

Sarva Dharma: Son of Steve Bryant (Sulocana).

Satsvarupa: Former ISKCON guru; author of six-volume biography of Prabhupada.

Sri Galima: Larry Gardner, former headmaster of the boys' guru kula at New Vrindaban; wanted by police for sexually molesting his students.

Sulocana: Steve Bryant, a New Vrindaban devotee who challenged the authority of Keith Ham (Kirtanananda) and sought to expose illegal activities at New Vrindaban; murdered in 1986.

Swarup: Steven Hebel, an early ISKCON devotee, married to Susan (Kanka) then Cynthia (Chitta); later became a drug runner.

Syamasundara: One of six devotees Prabhupada sent to London in 1968 to open a temple; became friendly with George Harrison of the Beatles.

Tamal Krishna: Thomas Hertzog, GBC member; became one of the eleven rtvik acharyas after Prabhupada's death.

Tapahpunja: Terry Sheldon; succeeded Kuladri as Kirtanananda's right-hand man, and former president of the Cleveland temple.

Taru: Thomas Meyers, an intellectual New Vrindaban devotee, who disappeared during the winter of 1980 and has not been seen since.

Tirtha: Thomas Drescher, New Vrindaban's enforcer; convicted murderer and drug dealer.

Triyogi: Michael Shockman, a mentally disturbed devotee who in 1985 attacked Kirtanananda with a steel spike, fracturing his skull.

Vipra: Vladimir Vassilievich, aka Vladimir Panasenko; a Berkeley devotee who built guns for Hansadutta.