Kumari Shreya
Peacock’s ‘Krishnas: Gurus. Karma. Murder.’ tells the riveting story of how one man tried to take advantage of his position as one of the leaders of the Hare Krishna community. Among the various stories told in the documentary show, the account shared by Christina Autry, AKA Pradhangopika, is one that truly makes one ponder upon just how much suffering can be caused due to blind faith.
Who is Christina Autry?
Having grown up in southern California, Christina Autry apparently liked to rebel and was somewhat of a black sheep of the family. During her youth, the Hare Krishna movement was on the rise, and she came across them after she had hitchhiked to Boulder, Colorado, and decided to attend University there. The spiritual energy that she had started to feel enticed her. Christina ended up making a deal with the devotees she met, promising them that she would stay there for at least six months. In turn, she was told that no one would try to stop her after she had completed the time should she wish to leave.
Following up on her promise, Christina went to New Vrindaban in West Virginia. Initially, she was far from happy with the fact that her living quarters were just over where the cows lived. Additionally, she was asked to clean with cow urine. This was only one of the many lifestyle shocks that Christina had when she started her time in New Virginia. By the end of the six months, she claimed in the documentary that she had been “brainwashed.”
Christina shared that she was one of the three wives of Dennis Gorrick, AKA Dharmatma. However, she had nothing good to say about that man she once called husband, claiming that she had been abused to the extreme by him. She recalled one of the more extreme cases where Gorrick had apparently been beaten up using a rubber hose so much that she had no option but to stand on her feet as her soles were the only part of her body that did not hurt.
In response to the rubber hose incident, Gorrick himself stated in the documentary that he did not recall the details, though he does say that “it is possible” that it might have happened. He claimed that Christina would often try to talk back to him, which infuriated him, and he would apparently lose his temper and hit her with the closest things available. Ultimately, Christina decided to leave the community, though she could not take her children with her. In total, she ended up spending about 11 years of her life in New Vrindaban.
Where is Christina Autry Now?
After Christina Autry left New Vrindaban, she was apparently more than open about her time as a devotee and did not spare any details. Meanwhile, Dennis Gorrick had custody of his kids with Christina, including Premanjana Autry. The latter is featured in the documentary and shared how she had been extremely confused about where her mother was after she left. Premanjana claimed that her father had told her that her mother had deliberately left her and her siblings behind as Christina did not love them.
Following Gorrick’s conviction in 1990, Christina apparently was able to reclaim her children. However, Premanjana confessed that at the time, she used to hate her mother, believing what their father had told them. It is easy to see that the mother and daughter have come a long way when it comes to building their relationship back up. They now have a much better understanding of what had happened to the other and seem to share a connection that we hope continues to grow. Presently, it does not seem like Christina is very active on social media and likely prefers to keep the details of her personal life private.
Read More: Dennis Gorrick: Hare Krishna Devotee is Part of The Community Even Today
