Hansadutta
Legal name Hans Kary
Hansadutta SwamiHansadutta dasHamsaduttaJack London
Expelled — July 1983 · Died Apr 25, 2020
- GBC member
- 1970–1983
- Initiating guru
- 1977–1983
- GBC zone: Berkeley, Portland, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka
- 1982–1983
Record summary
3 entries — 2 charges pending, 1 acquitted.
Last reviewedBio
Hansadutta (Hans Kary) was a German-born early member of ISKCON, initiated in 1967. ISKCON News records that he opened centres in Canada, the United States, Europe and Asia, served as Prabhupada’s secretary, oversaw book publication in Germany, and in 1970 became one of the first members of the Governing Body Commission (GBC). He took sannyasa and in 1977 was one of the eleven disciples who became ISKCON’s first initiating gurus. He was based at the Berkeley temple; in 1983 his GBC zones were listed as Berkeley, Portland, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore and Sri Lanka. The GBC expelled him in 1983, and a 1998 GBC resolution confirmed he was no longer a member of ISKCON. He later published his own editions of Prabhupada’s works, lived in Northern California, and died of pancreatic cancer on 25 April 2020.
Record
3 entries · most established firstShots fired at Berkeley businesses, 1984
According to the 1988 book "Monkey on a Stick", in August 1984, after his expulsion from ISKCON, Hansadutta fired shots into a Berkeley car dealership and a liquor store and was stopped by police with several firearms in his vehicle. No injuries were reported. The Los Angeles Times reported in 1986 that he was convicted in 1984 on gunfire and felony vandalism charges for the shooting, and West magazine reported in 1987 that he was sentenced to three years' probation and $5,000 restitution; The Bulletin (Australia) also reported the incident in 1988.
The book says he fired about 30 rounds from a 9mm pistol into a car showroom, causing about $12,000 in damage, then shot out windows at a liquor store on University Avenue. The court record has not yet been obtained.
- 1984Documented allegationDescribed in the 1988 book Monkey on a Stick and in The Bulletin (Australia), 9 August 1988, which listed the GBC's grounds for his expulsion as "involvement with drugs and guns" and added: "One night, he shot up a liquor store and a Cadillac dealership."
- 1984ChargedThe Los Angeles Times reported in July 1986 that he "lost his position in 1984 after a conviction on gunfire and felony vandalism charges for shooting up a storefront and car dealership". John Hubner wrote in West magazine (San Jose Mercury News, 1987) that he was "a convicted felon" who received "post card probation": he had to report his whereabouts to a probation officer once a month for three years and pay $5,000 restitution. Conviction and sentence reported by the press; the court record (Alameda County) has not been obtained.
Conviction on gunfire and felony vandalism charges reported by the Los Angeles Times (1986). West magazine (1987) reported a sentence of three years' probation, reporting monthly to a probation officer, and $5,000 restitution. The court record has not been found.
Sources (4)
- [1]Los Angeles Times, Killing Sparks Federal Probe of Krishna Sect: Group Members Cite Internal Conflicts, Allege Threats After Disenchanted Devotee's Murder (John Dart), Jul 20, 1986 original
- [2]The Bulletin (Australia), Toll of the gurus — sidebar, p. 94, Aug 9, 1988
- [3]San Jose Mercury News (West), How the Krishnas turned bad, part 1 (John Hubner) — copy on prabhupada.de, 1987 original
- [4]Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Monkey on a Stick: Murder, Madness and the Hare Krishnas (John Hubner, Lindsey Gruson) — chapter "Krishna's Arsenal", 1988
Weapons arrests in Northern California and 1983 expulsion
In 1980 police in Northern California found large quantities of weapons and ammunition on Krishna properties linked to Hansadutta's Berkeley zone, and UPI and AP later reported that he was arrested three times on weapons charges that year. In July 1983 the GBC expelled him; UPI reported the grounds as "bizarre, aberrant behavior", and an ISKCON spokesman linked this in part to a "fascination" with weapons.
The Oakland Tribune reported in May 1980 that a Lake County raid on the Berkeley temple’s Mt. Kailasa farm, part of a stolen-credit-card investigation, found “thousands of rounds of ammunition, a grenade launcher, a bayonet and 20 firearms”. The same report said Berkeley police detained Hansadutta after finding weapons, including a submachine gun, in a car outside his house, and that another temple member later confessed to owning the gun and faced the charge instead.
Expelled from ISKCON by the GBC (reported by UPI, AP and The Miami Herald; the resolution text has not been obtained). In 1998 GBC resolution 603.1 confirmed he was no longer a member of ISKCON, the GBC, the BBT or an initiating guru, 'due to his moral and spiritual deviations'. No conviction for the 1980 arrests has been found.
According to UPI, he told police the weapons were for "self defense". His secretary called the 1983 expulsion "a character assassination" and said "it all comes down to money". [6]
Sources (6)
- [5]Oakland Tribune — Article by Carol Brydolf and Raul Ramirez on the Berkeley Krishna temple (headline illegible in scan; copy in Nori Muster's Betrayal Files), May 25, 1980 original
- [6]UPI, Krishnas oust one of their leaders, Jul 10, 1983 original
- [7]New York Daily News (AP) — AP report on the expulsion of Hans Kary (scan; copy in Nori Muster's Betrayal Files), Jul 11, 1983 original
- [8]The Miami Herald, Hare Krishna: cult excommunicates an 'eccentric' founding father, Jul 10, 1983 original
- [9]San Jose Mercury News (West), How the Krishnas turned bad, part 1 (John Hubner) — copy on prabhupada.de, 1987 original
- [10]ISKCON GBC, GBC Resolutions 1998 — res. 603.1, 1998 originalcopy on this site
Frankfurt fundraising trial (acquitted)
The Miami Herald reported in 1983 that Hans Kary "was tried in Frankfurt for begging and collecting more than $1 million under false pretenses. He was acquitted." ISKCON's magazine Back to Godhead reported in 1978 that the case followed a December 1974 police raid on the movement's centre near Frankfurt, that the trial opened in December 1977, and that on 28 April 1978 the court cleared the devotees of all criminal charges, while fining four unnamed devotees and keeping the confiscated donations.
Back to Godhead is ISKCON’s own magazine and presents the prosecution as religious persecution. It reports that the Frankfurt judges called violations of the collection laws the only charge “with possible substance”.
- 1976ChargedBack to Godhead (ISKCON's magazine, 1978) reports that the devotees received the indictment at the end of November 1976, two years after a police raid on the movement's centre near Frankfurt in December 1974; Hansadutta, then the movement's coordinator for Germany, is quoted as saying: "They charged us with everything they could think of ... Theft, kidnapping, fraud". The Miami Herald (1983) reported that he was tried in Frankfurt for "begging and collecting more than $1 million under false pretenses". The indictment itself has not been obtained.
- 1978AcquittedBack to Godhead reports that the trial opened in December 1977, that Hansadutta made the first statement for the defence, and that on 28 April 1978 the court "absolved the devotees of all criminal charges", except for a suspended six-month sentence for illegal possession of weapons given to the president of the Frankfurt temple; it also reports that the court fined three devotees 5,000 marks each and one devotee 2,500 marks and did not return the confiscated donations, without naming them. The Miami Herald (1983) reported that he was acquitted. The judgment has not been obtained.
Acquitted of the criminal charges, as reported by Back to Godhead (1978) and The Miami Herald (1983). Back to Godhead reports that the court fined four devotees, without naming them, and that the devotees appealed on constitutional grounds; the result of the appeal has not been found.
Photos
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Timeline
Each status change in this record, on one axis, with the periods of the cases Hansadutta is involved in.
- 1976
- ChargedNovember 1976 Frankfurt fundraising trial (acquitted) Back to Godhead (ISKCON's magazine, 1978) reports that the devotees received the indictment at the end of November 1976, two years after a police raid on the movement's centre near Frankfurt in December 1974; Hansadutta, then the movement's coordinator for Germany, is quoted as saying: "They charged us with everything they could think of ... Theft, kidnapping, fraud". The Miami Herald (1983) reported that he was tried in Frankfurt for "begging and collecting more than $1 million under false pretenses". The indictment itself has not been obtained.
- 1978
- AcquittedApr 28, 1978 Frankfurt fundraising trial (acquitted) Back to Godhead reports that the trial opened in December 1977, that Hansadutta made the first statement for the defence, and that on 28 April 1978 the court "absolved the devotees of all criminal charges", except for a suspended six-month sentence for illegal possession of weapons given to the president of the Frankfurt temple; it also reports that the court fined three devotees 5,000 marks each and one devotee 2,500 marks and did not return the confiscated donations, without naming them. The Miami Herald (1983) reported that he was acquitted. The judgment has not been obtained.
- 1980
- Charged1980 Weapons arrests in Northern California and 1983 expulsion UPI and AP reported in 1983 that he had been arrested three times on weapons charges in northern California in 1980. The outcome of these arrests has not been found; no conviction is recorded. The Oakland Tribune reported that after the May 1980 Berkeley arrest another temple member confessed to owning the submachine gun and faced that charge instead; West magazine (1987) likewise reported that he was charged with, among other things, possession of an automatic weapon and "beat the charges when a devotee claimed ownership of the weapons".
- 1984
- Documented allegation1984 Shots fired at Berkeley businesses, 1984 Described in the 1988 book Monkey on a Stick and in The Bulletin (Australia), 9 August 1988, which listed the GBC's grounds for his expulsion as "involvement with drugs and guns" and added: "One night, he shot up a liquor store and a Cadillac dealership."
- Charged1984 Shots fired at Berkeley businesses, 1984 The Los Angeles Times reported in July 1986 that he "lost his position in 1984 after a conviction on gunfire and felony vandalism charges for shooting up a storefront and car dealership". John Hubner wrote in West magazine (San Jose Mercury News, 1987) that he was "a convicted felon" who received "post card probation": he had to report his whereabouts to a probation officer once a month for three years and pay $5,000 restitution. Conviction and sentence reported by the press; the court record (Alameda County) has not been obtained.
- 2000
- Case period2000–2005 Children of ISKCON v. ISKCON: the gurukula abuse lawsuits