Joe Rogan Experience #2129 - David Holthouse

Holthouse stresses that Krishna consciousness is an ancient, generally benevolent tradition, but figures like Kirtananda exploited its structure and trust to build an abusive, violent cult at New Vrindavan—showing how any idealistic movement is vulnerable to a single unchecked despot.

Unlike the Catholic Church, ISKCON eventually investigated, expelled New Vrindavan, and paid settlements over child abuse, but many survivor communities still feel the organization hasn’t fully atoned, highlighting how accountability must go beyond money to meaningful acknowledgement and reform.

Rogan and Holthouse note how 1960s turmoil, materialism, and social alienation made utopian communes and gurus extremely attractive, a dynamic still active today in California and beyond—people want “someone with the answers,” making them susceptible to manipulation and control.

Holthouse’s single DMT trip convinced him of reincarnation and karma, while Rogan describes psychedelics as showing that everything is connected and that no one “gets away free,” which in turn changes how they view morality, fear of death, and the priority of love and community.

Both argue MDMA can be a lifesaving reset for PTSD survivors and war veterans, and that delaying legal therapeutic use—despite strong data from MAPS and others—has been “criminal,” reflecting how political motives have historically trumped public health and healing.