Can Cults Change?
By Nori Muster, April 18, 1999 The American Family Foundation (AFF) will host their 1999 “Conference: Cults, Psychological Manipulation & Society” and one the featured panel discussions will be about whether cults can change and will specifically focus on the case of ISKCON. The panel consists of Anuttama das, head of ISKCON Communications; Radha dasi, a dedicated follower; and two seemingly friendly observers–Michael Langone, director of AFF and Joseph Kelley a “thought reform consultant” closely tied to AFF. It seems that the people on the panel will say ISKCON has changed for the better. I would like to offer a dissenting voice–since I was once a member of ISKCON, spent ten years in that organization and then devoted another decade studying and researching the group to produce books on the subject. Originally there was a time when ISKCON was innocent. It truly represented a branch of Hinduism in a pure way. Many ISKCON members feel nostalgia for those days and their ideal is to ma
