Geoffrey Giuliano - Hindu Beliefs

Hindu Beliefs

In the March 1991 edition of Hinduism Today, Giuliano was quoted as saying: "I'm very orthodox. The only books I read are religious Indian texts." The article also stated that while still working for McDonald's, Giuliano met a sannyasa Bhaktihirday Mangalniloy Maharaja at a Hare Krishna temple in Toronto and became his disciple. It also mentioned that Geoffrey and his first wife, Vrnda Devi, were raising their four children as vegetarian Hindus.

Giuliano explained his relationship to the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in an editorial in the September 10, 1999 edition of Vaishnava News, stating that he had been "vaguely" critical of ISKCON over the years, but adding, "Can I ever repay the personal debt to ISKCON that I've had? Absolutely not, nor can now my children, in the second generation." According to the official website of SRI, Giuliano founded the umbrella charity, SRI (the Spiritual Realization Institute), which was a free vegetarian food pantry (Dasa Food For All) in Lockport, New York; an animal sanctuary; a Devotional Yoga center; a spiritual retreat; and a not-for-profit publishing house. The Internal Revenue Service issued a determination letter in January 1997 granting the organization exemption from Federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The organization is not a private foundation within the meaning of section 509(a), because it is classified under sections 509(a)(1) and 170(b)(1)(A)(vi). An article in the Buffalo News reported that Giuliano unsuccessfully attempted to use the organization's tax-free status to buy himself a pair of shoes at a PayLess shoe store. In September 1998, Giuliano/Jagannatha Dasa offered "any qualified, responsible devotee of Sri Sri Radha Krishna who is presently dissatisfied with their current membership, association or seva with ISKCON" a "position of authority at least equal to their current service (and in many cases, greater) within SRI's international organization." By 2010, Giuliano had backed off somewhat from his long-held Hindu-based views, however—"taking", as he put it on his Facebook page, "a sabbatical from all religious forms."