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Science of Identity Foundation

Abbreviation	SIF
Founder	Chris Butler
Founded at	Hawaii, United States
Type	Religious organization; 501(c)3 organization
Tax ID no.	99-0177647
Purpose	Educational, Philanthropic, Religious studies, Spirituality
Headquarters	Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
Region served	Worldwide
Services	Yoga classes
Website	scienceofidentity.org
Formerly called	Hari Nama Society Holy Name Society

The Science of Identity Foundation (SIF) is a new religious movement that professes to combine some teachings of yoga with aspects of Gaudiya Vaishnava theology. It was founded by Chris Butler (aka Siddhaswarupananda Paramahamsa) in the 1970s, and is based in the US state of Hawaii. It has faced criticism for its former condemnation of homosexuality and hostility towards Islam, stances that Butler revised in the early 2000s and publicly acknowledged in 2019, though these changes have not been recognized in media reports.

History

Chris Butler, son of a communist, anti-war activist, had entered the 1960s counterculture while enrolled at the University of Hawaiʻi. Soon, he joined the burgeoning Hare-Krishna movement as a guru, with the name Sai Young, and soon got a group of disciples.

After being publicly denounced by Swami Prabhupada, the leading exponent of the movement in U.S.A, Butler joined the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), and received the name Siddhaswarupananda Paramahamsa. Within a few years, their relationship had soured as Butler deviated from ISKCON's ways, choosing to marry and allowing his disciples to keep their heads unshaved. After the death of Prabhupada in 1977, Butler broke away from ISKCON and founded SIF, then known as the Hari Nama (lit. Holy Name) Society. Simultaneously, he began to deemphasize ISKCON's rigid adherence to Vaishnava texts and promoted a range of eclectic views.

In the 1980s, he ran a late-night television show called "Chris Butler Speaks" on Channel 13. Since the 90s, Butler has kept a low profile, rarely speaking in public; in 2017, The New Yorker reported that Butler presents himself less as a Hare Krishna dissident and more as a member of a worldwide Vaishnava movement. Butler's wife Wai Lana has received acclaim for popularizing yoga through the Wai Lana Yoga show; in 2016, she was conferred with the Padma Shri award by the Government of India.

Theology

The organization combines the teaching of yoga with aspects of Gaudiya Vaishnava theology. Followers must practice vegetarianism and are not allowed to gamble, smoke, drink alcohol, take drugs or have ‘‘illicit sex".

Butler had, through the early 2000s, given controversial lectures regarding homosexuality and related topics. In 2019, he publicly acknowledged that the "language and tone" he had used was "inflammatory, combative, and harsh". A few months later, he said: "When I became aware that some of my own students were struggling with homosexual tendencies, it became more personal to me. … I want to share the message of God's love with everyone, no matter what their race, religion, sexual orientation, or whatever."

Also in 2019, he issued a statement regarding "disrespectful comments" he had made "in the past about Islamic religious practices." He continued: "So with great remorse, I had to beg God’s forgiveness. In my prayers, I also begged the forgiveness of anyone who may have heard or read my offensive words because I knew it must have hurt their hearts. This is why I stopped the distribution of lectures containing such disrespectful statements. … learned … from this experience: not to comment about any religions I haven’t carefully, objectively, and respectfully studied."

Neither The Independent nor Business Insider acknowledged the revised stances in their 2022 reporting; neither did the Honolulu Civil Beat in an in-depth journalistic article nor Fox's Jennifer Griffin who further publicized the Civil Beat piece in December 2024 acknowledge the revised stances.

Multiple ex-members of SIF have described it as a "cult"; Butler was "akin to a God" and not willing to be questioned. They note Butler to have regularly engaged in mocking his devotees, publicly; it was said to be "a form of Krishna’s mercy".

Butler denies these allegations; he had threatened to sue the Honolulu Star-Advertiser when it planned to publish accounts of ex-followers in 2019.

References

1. ^ Sanneh, Kelefa (October 30, 2017). "What Does Tulsi Gabbard Believe?". New Yorker. Archived from the original on June 7, 2020. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
2. ^ Howley, Kerry (June 11, 2019). "Tulsi Gabbard Had a Very Strange Childhood". New York. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
3. Wright, Walter (August 22, 1977). "Rebel against power trips. Chris Butler, maverick --with 1,000 followers. Hawaii's other Krishnas". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. p. 1. Retrieved November 17, 2024.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
4. ^ Han, Yoonji (October 18, 2022). "Tulsi Gabbard's ties to the Science of Identity Foundation, a controversial religious sect that some call an abusive 'cult'". Insider. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
5. McMaster University; Lagace, Marc Lodge Andrew (May 2024). ""Mother of Yoga": Zhang Huilan, Chris Butler, and the Popularization of Yoga in the People's Republic of China". Journal of Yoga Studies. 5: 39–67. doi:10.34000/JoYS.2024.V5.002.
6. ^ Jones, Constance A.; Ryan, James D. (2007). "Siddhaswarupananda, Jagad Guru". Encyclopedia of Hinduism. Encyclopedia of World Religions. J. Gordon Melton, Series Editor. New York: Facts On File. pp. 411–412. ISBN 978-0-8160-5458-9. remained with ISKCON until after Prabhupada died in 1977. He founded the Science of Identity Foundation as a vehicle to facilitate his teachings. The Science of Identity Foundation (originally the Hari Nama or Holy Name Society) is located in Honolulu, Hawaii.
7. ^ Christensen, John (November 23, 1982). "Chris Butler: About this guru business". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. p. B-1.
8. Sarbacker, Stuart Ray (2021). Tracing the Path of Yoga: The History and Philosophy of Indian Mind-Body Discipline. State University of New York Press. ISBN 9781438481210.
9. ^ "Science of Identity Foundation's Statement Regarding Past Controversial Lectures". Medium. Science of Identity Foundation. September 23, 2019. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
10. "Q & A with Jagad Guru Siddhaswarupananda — Part 5". Medium. Science of Identity Foundation. January 2, 2020. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
11. "Q & A with Jagad Guru Siddhaswarupananda — Part 4". Medium. Science of Identity Foundation. December 29, 2019. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
12. ^ Hurley, Bevan (October 16, 2022). "Tulsi Gabbard's ties to secretive cult may explain her perplexing political journey". The Independent. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
13. Grube, Nick (December 10, 2024). "Senators Urged To Examine Gabbard's 'Deep and Intense' Ties To Hawaiʻi Sect". Honolulu Civil Beat. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
14. "Jennifer Griffin". X.com. December 14, 2024. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
15. Wiseman, Oliver (October 29, 2019). "Whose side is Tulsi Gabbard on?". The Critic Magazine. Retrieved October 1, 2024.
16. Cocke, Sophie (January 27, 2019). "Chris Butler and Science of Identity Foundation criticize media, decline interviews". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Retrieved October 1, 2024.

External links

• Official website
• "Science of Identity Foundation Internal Revenue Service filings". ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer.

• Hindu organizations based in the United States
• Organizations based in Hawaii
• International Hindu organizations
• Yoga organizations
• Hindu new religious movements
• Religious organizations established in 1977
• 1977 establishments in Hawaii
• International Society for Krishna Consciousness
• Gaudiya Vaishnavism