The Science of Identity Foundation (SIF) is a

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

Gaudiya Vaishnavite Gaudiya Vaishnavism (), also known as Chaitanya Vaishnavism, is a Vaishnava Hindu religious movement inspired by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486–1534) in India. "Gaudiya" refers to the Gaura or Gauḍa region of Bengal, with Vaishnavism meanin ...

Yoga Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...

religious organization based in

Hawaii, United States Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

, founded by Chris Butler (also known by his Vaishnavite name Siddhaswarupananda Goswami) in 1977.''Reflections on Hindu Demographics in America: An Initial Report on the First American Hindu Census.''

J. Gordon Melton John Gordon Melton (born September 19, 1942) is an American religious scholar who was the founding director of the Institute for the Study of American Religion and is currently the Distinguished Professor of American Religious History with the Ins ...

& Constance A. Jones. A paper presented at the Association for the Study of Religion, Economics & Culture meeting in Washington, D.C., April 7–10, 2011. p. 14.

Early history

Butler gained followers after founding the Haiku Meditation Center in 1969. He joined the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in 1970, but after the death of ISKCON founder

A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada Abhay Charanaravinda Bhaktivedanta Swami (; 1 September 1896 – 14 November 1977) was an Indian Gaudiya Vaishnava guru who founded ISKCON, commonly known as the "Hare Krishna movement". Members of ISKCON view Bhaktivedanta Swami as a repr ...

, Butler broke away from ISKCON and founded SIF. SIF was initially known as the Hari Nama or Holy Name Society. In 1977, Butler estimated the group had 1,000 devotees throughout the world. Butler had a late-night television show called "Chris Butler Speaks" on Hawaii's Channel 13 in the 1980s.

Theology

The organization combines the teaching of

yoga Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...

and other aspects of Krishnaite Vaishnava Hinduism. Although grounded in Hinduism, Butler has asserted that SIF philosophy of

Bhakti yoga Bhakti yoga ( sa, भक्ति योग), also called Bhakti marga (, literally the path of ''Bhakti''), is a spiritual path or spiritual practice within Hinduism focused on loving devotion towards any personal deity.Karen Pechelis (2014), ...

"does not conflict with

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

, with

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

, with any bona fide religious system. We're trying to teach the essence of Bhakti yoga without having anybody say 'Oh that's Hindu' or 'Oh that's Christian'." The teachings are similar to those of Prabhupada: that human beings are "sparks" of God whose sole purpose is to please the Lord. Followers must practice vegetarianism and are not allowed to drink alcohol, smoke, have illicit sex, or gamble.

Notable people

Tulsi Gabbard Tulsi Gabbard (; born April 12, 1981) is an American politician, United States Army Reserve officer and political commentator who served as the U.S. representative for Hawaii's 2nd congressional district from 2013 to 2021. Gabbard was the firs ...

, the first Hindu member of the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

(specifically the US House of Representatives),''Tulsi Gabbard Had a Very Strange Childhood''
Kerry Howley, New York Intelligencer, Juni 11, 2019. is a direct disciple of Chris Butler.

References

External links

* 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 {{hinduism-stub