Science of Identity Foundation

The Science of Identity Foundation (SIF) is a new religious movement started in the 1970s. It was founded by Chris Butler after he broke from the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. It is based in the US state of Hawaii.

Science of Identity Foundation

Abbreviation	SIF
Founder	Chris Butler (aka Siddhaswarupananda Paramahamsa)
Founded at	Hawaii, United States
Type	Religious organization; 501(c)3 organization
Tax ID no.	99-0177647
Purpose	Education, philanthropy, 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

Its theology combines yoga with aspects of Gaudiya Vaishnavism. The group has been criticized for its condemnation of homosexuality and alleged hostility toward Islam. It has come under a great deal of media focus due to the politician Tulsi Gabbard's ties to the group.

History

Chris Butler, son of a communist anti-war activist, had entered the 1960s counterculture while enrolled at the University of Hawaiʻi.^[1][2] Soon, he joined the burgeoning Hare Krishna movement as a guru, with the name Sai Young, and soon acquired disciples.^[1][3] Butler joined the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) and received the name Siddhaswarupananda Paramahamsa.^[4][2][5] Within a few years, Butler began to deviate from ISKCON's ways, choosing to marry and allowing his disciples to keep their heads unshaved, leading ISKCON founder A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada to publicly denounce him.^[4][2] 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.^[6] Simultaneously, he began to deemphasize ISKCON's rigid adherence to Vaishnava texts and promoted a range of eclectic views.^[1][4]

In 1976, Butler's disciples launched a new political party — called the Independents for Godly Government — presenting themselves as a "multifaith coalition of conservative-minded reformers", and ran candidates for the House of Representatives and mayoral elections; the candidates did not disclose their links with Butler and explicitly claimed to have no affiliation with any religious organization including the Hare Krishna faith.^[1] The party was funded by a variety of businesses, including two local newspapers and a health-food store chain, run by the disciples themselves.^[7]

In the 1980s, he ran a late-night television show called Chris Butler Speaks on Channel 13.^[8] 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.^[1] 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.^[9]

Theology

The organization combines the teaching of yoga with aspects of Gaudiya Vaishnava theology.^[6] The followers should practice vegetarianism and refrain from gambling, smoking, drinking alcohol, taking drugs or having "illicit sex".^[8] While theological basis of Gaudiya Vaishnavism comes primarily from the ancient Indian texts, Bhagavad Gita and Bhagavata Purana^[10], Butler deemphasized the Indian texts, and in 1984 published “Who Are You? Discovering Your Real Identity,” which used some examples from science to argue against materialism and asert eternal nature of the self.^[1]

According to some former disciples, Butler's teachings included condemnation of homosexuality,^[1][4] hostility towards Islam, and skepticism of science.^[11] In the 1980s, Butler opposed bisexual relations asserting that these would lead to pedophilia and bestiality.^[1] Multiple ex-members of SIF have described it as a cult; Butler's status has been characterized as "akin to a god" and not willing to be questioned.^[4][11][12] They say Butler regularly mocked his devotees, publicly, calling it "a form of Krishna’s mercy".^[2] Butler denies these allegations ^[1][4]; and he threatened to sue the Honolulu Star-Advertiser when it planned to publish accounts of ex-followers in 2019.^[13]

Association with Tulsi Gabbard

SIF has received a great deal of media coverage due to Tulsi Gabbard and her family's ties with the group.^{[1][14][15][16]} Gabbard was raised in the SIF community in Hawaii and considered Butler her mentor.^[17] Her parents, Mike Gabbard^[1][18][19] and Carol Gabbard,^[18] are members of SIF.^[16][20] In 2015, she acknowledged Butler as her guru in a video statement for an ISKCON anniversary event.^[1][11] Butler has likened her to a star pupil.^[1][14] Gabbard has worked to minimize and hide her relationship to Butler and SIF.^[16][21][17]