Panelists Dispute Charges Of Krishna Brainwashing

A Center for World Religions panel yesterday disputed the indictment of New York Hare Krishna officials on charges of brainwashing Krishna followers.

"I know of no cases in which the Krishna movement sought to control the minds of its members," Jeremiah Gutman, civil liberties attorney in the New York case and a panelist, said yesterday.

To restrict any person from the free practice of religion is unconstitutional, he added.

The Krishna movement merely gives everyone the choice to become Krishna or non-Krishna conscious, Kirtanananda Swami, founder of the New Vrindavana Community, said.

"Three-fourths of the people who come to the movement leave. We're not very good at brainwashing if that's what we're doing," he said.

The terms "brainwashing" and "mind control" indicate an attempt to label the behavior of Krishna followers as deviant, Stephen Chorover, MIT professor of psychology, said.