Servant of the Lotus Feet: A Hare Krishna Odyssey [Paperback]

Brandis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 12, 2004

Servant of the Lotus Feet: A Hare Krishna Odyssey is the true story of an adolescent's quest for spiritual meaning. Enchanted by the wisdom of the Orient, Sidd drops out of his freshman year of college in the early 1980's to join the Hare Krishnas while visiting Boston. During the course of four years in New England and New York City, Sidd struggles as a fund-raiser for the cult. As an initiated Brahman priest, he gains privilege and responsibility.

Sidd's innocent question posed to the spiritual master in a room of hundreds of curious guests and devoted followers shakes the foundations of the temple walls, engaging the "holy man's" wrath. Disillusioned by the contradictions and deceits perpetrated by the elders of the Indian religious cult, including his and other allegedly "pure" spiritual masters, Sidd gradually backs out of the movement. While visiting his family for a holiday reunion, Sidd is abducted and compelled to review the facts about the religious cult he had embraced.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

In 1984, Sidd legally changed his name to S Gabriel Brandis. While living in Colorado, Gabriel enjoyed some of the best times of his life. In the shadow of the Rocky Mountains he was inspired to write this book. He is back in Philadelphia, working as a freelance writer and actor. He relaxes by tango dancing and skydiving.

Product Details

• Paperback: 238 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse, Inc. (February 12, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595312640
• ISBN-13: 978-0595312641
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #760,613 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Unanswered questions for Gabriel Brandis, July 19, 2005

By 

David B. Gould "Devahotra das" (Tasmania Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Servant of the Lotus Feet: A Hare Krishna Odyssey (Paperback)

Gabriel Brandis's book is paradoxical - he gives in many ways a very intimate look into the life of a Hare Krishna temple resident in the 80's - the rituals, chanting, temple worship etc. He also portrays accurately the focus of that era on fundraising, and the questionable morality employed by some devotees. He accurately portrays his spiritual master. He fails to tell us enough about his inner struggle with his sexuality, with his comprehension of bhakti-yoga and instead resorts to discredited anti-cult stereotype responses. In addition, referring to a devotee as " Asti Spumanti das " or "Rasta Farian das " is insulting to Hare Krishnas - as is his failure to note that in the 20 years since he left the movement, that the guru excesses have been eliminated, that his spiritual master Bhavananda Goswami is no longer a guru. The Hare Krishna movement is mainly composed of congregational members (like me) who have often never ben in a temple ashram to live. We aren't brainwashed zombies. The saddest indictement of this book is the acquiescence to the abusive and illegal kidnapping that he suffered at the hands of deprogrammers whose triumph in ripping off his neckbeads and getting him to eat chicken is appalling. Hare Krishna's do not need to answer forever for the sins of the few who abused the responsibility that His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada gave them before he died. We are a legitimate spiritual tradition, recognised by Hindus across the globe, committed to inter-faith dialogue, committed to respecting the rights of all people. Gabriel's deprogramming was an act of violence - physical, spiritual and psychological abuse, far worse than he experienced trying to deny his sexuality as a Hare Krishna monk. Gabriel struggled with his own inner demons and felt compelled to leave the ashram - his departure was inevitable, even if the deprogrammers hastened it. Nowadays our movement has thousands of householders, and for those lacking a vocation as a monk, spiritual life and material life can and do co-exist. It is a pity Gabriel didn't research that, because his book is caught in a counter-culture time-warp.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Dream-like reflections on a counterculture, January 23, 2005

By 

Yvonne Hlzel (Glauchau Germany) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Servant of the Lotus Feet: A Hare Krishna Odyssey (Paperback)

Like any book dealing with experiences in a counterculture, Gabriel Brandis' book Servant of the Lotus Feet is worth reading to gain insight into a way of life so out of the ordinary and otherwise concealed to the general public. However, to my personal perception as an ex-Hare Krishna sympathizer, for a book examining the community from an ex-members' point of view, the book comes along oddly uncritical and un-distanced, without suggesting any process of detachment, which, for a four years membership within the movement, certainly must have been long, painful and complicated. On the last pages, Servant suddenly comes up with some rationalist analysis on mind-control, probably a result of some hastily-undergone process of de-programming, which contrasts drastically with the book's overall sentimental style. Great parts of the book are written in a narrative style which either shows that the author might not have really dealt with his cult experience or reflects it in some dream-like, hallucinatory way. The book's greatest plus is its strikingly detail-rich description of Hare Krishna rules, behaviours and prayers, thus catching well what being a Hare Krishna feels like.

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good insights into the lives of Krishna devotees, January 30, 2005

By 

Gordon Neufeld (Schenectady, New York) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Servant of the Lotus Feet: A Hare Krishna Odyssey (Paperback)

Apart from a few editorial glitches, this is a well-written book that takes the reader right inside the experience of being a Hare Krishna devotee. The strange manner of their dress and unfamiliar customs to Westerners may make them seem much more alien than they actually are. In fact, I recognized much of what Brandis went through, because I was once myself a member of a high-demand group, and even though the doctrines were very different between the two groups, the lifestyles were strikingly similar. I was a member of the Unification Church (the 'Moonies'), so it was amusing to read at one point what Brandis, who was then hawking wares for the Krishnas, thought of a Moonie whom he encountered who turned out to be engaged in a similar activity. He recognized him at once as "spaced out" and brainwashed, but failed to notice the strong parallels with his own situation. Eventually, Brandis burned out on the devotee lifestyle, as many cult members eventually do, and with the help of his mother, who engaged deprogrammers to speed his exit, he was able to make his escape.