Butler's Web: Krishna, Politics, and QNET's International Pyramid Scheme

KAILUA, HI - Toward the end of Hawai'i's plantation economy and the beginning of the psychedelic counterculture movement of the 1960s and '70s, a charismatic young yogi named Kris Butler developed a small following of surfers, drifters, and chanters.

Heavily influenced by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), the group lived for a while in its early days under Lunalilo Freeway, near U.H. Manoa. In September 1970, Honolulu Star-Bulletin reporter Nadine Wharton found 20 of Butler's young followers living together in an oversized tent, freely chanting the Hare Krishna mantra "at the top of their lungs" and beating bongos beneath the traffic. At the time, Butler went by Sai Young and was "very familiar with mind expanding chemicals," as stated in the biographical section of his self-published, 1970 booklet, Sai Speaks: Pleasure is the Goal.

Hippie History

Historical documentarian and Kaua'i resident John Wehrheim recalls the Butler group running "a beautiful farm operation" in the '70s on the North Shore Kaua'i land that is now owned by Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg. Wehrheim said the success of the farm was due partly to the free labor of Butler's devotees. He got to know Butler and his group while documenting the lifestyle at Taylor Camp - another Kaua'i North Shore hippie group - for the Kaua'i Historical Society.

Trouble in India

Another Butler follower repeatedly named in the leaked letters is New Zealander Allan Tibby (aka Acharya das). One letter describes how Tibby, Sen. Gabbard, Khemaney, and Down to Earth's Fergusson were all part of a committee in the late '80s that aimed to organize SIF to better serve Butler.

Meanwhile in Hawai'i reviewed the financial statements of Tibby's organization, The Pukaki Trust, which is registered as a charity in New Zealand. In 2009, the company reported total assets of just US$671. Total reported assets climbed to over US$650,000 in 2010 and stayed relatively stable until 2014, when The Pukaki Trust reported total assets of nearly US$5 million. It is unclear from the reports how exactly the company gained the funds.

Resource URL : https://www.meanwhileinhawaii.org/home/butlersweb