Rain Ferndale was brought up as a Hare Krishna from the age of 5, in Murwillumbah, Northern NSW. I have known Rain since the time she was a baby. I recently watched “Keep Sweet, Pray and Obey” on Netflix, the documentary on the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I noticed some striking similarities between what I saw in the documentary and what I had observed of Rain’s family, all Hare Krishnas.

These were similarities such as idolisation of women becoming mothers at a very young age and limiting their education. I also noticed that both religions ask you to believe what you are told by the guru, no matter what, even if it doesn’t make sense. This also often happens in a dictatorship.

Rain tells us in what ways they are similar, and gives us a unique insight into what it’s like growing up as a Hare Krishna, here in Australia. I watched most of the documentary “Faith and Fear – The Children of Krishna”, which outlines the horrific child abuse that went on in the USA and India at Hare Krishna boarding schools, aka Gurukalas. I ask Rain if she witnessed any of this kind of abuse, or if she was subject to anything similar. Her story is captivating and horrifying.

She was kicked out of home when she was 13 and has been estranged from her mother ever since. She is now 26. None of her family are Hare Krishnas anymore. Despite this, her 19 year old younger sister, who was born into being a Hare Krishna, has recently become pregnant to a 35 year old man. She has a Year 10 education. This has all transpired with her mother’s encouragement and support. You’ll hear that this is exactly what she was brought up to do, and despite the fact that they are no longer Hare Krishnas, the conditioning runs deep, it would seem. This conversation will blow your mind. You won’t believe that this is happening with no investigation or transparency, right here in Australia. Hang in there. It’s worth it.