Biography - Master Krishna Venta
by Jon Fisher
Summary:
Krishna Venta (KV or MKV) was born Francis Herman Pencovic
on March 29, 1911 – died December 10 1958.
KV was a traveling lecture hall minister from about 1946 to 1958; who
taught both brotherly love and the coming of Armageddon. His primary message was that:
· He was a
Master, Leader of the Elect, Teacher and Spiritual Guide, the Savior and
Messiah.
· He stated
that he was Christ, much in the same way Father Divine stated that he was God.
· The churches
will be closed in the coming struggle with the Beast.
· The blacks
will wage war against the whites, starting in 1965.
· Russia will
side with the blacks, leading to WW3 in 1975.
· The Elect
will emerge after the wars and lead the world to peace.
· Everyone
should obey the Ten Commandments and practice brotherly love through
humanitarian service.
KV also founded a religious mission/cult in Box Canyon,
Chatsworth California USA, called the Fountain; where he housed, fed and taught
spirituality to about 100 members. In
the Pentecostal religion, there is a list of nine signs to prove you have the
gift of the spirit, 3 of which are: Wisdom / Knowledge / Faith. Although he was not a Pentecostal, KV decided
to settle on the these 3, and added Love; hence W.K.F.L. Fountain of the
World. He did make plenty of prophecy,
but he stayed away from healings, languages and miracles.
As a consequence of interfering in the marriage of one of
the cult followers, KV and 9 other people were killed in a double suicide
bombing of the cult headquarters on Dec 10, 1958 by the estranged husband and a
friend. The word ‘interfering’ may be
too harsh, since we only have evidence that he strongly supported the wife in
her battles with her alcoholic husband.
Many police officers and people with good intentions have been killed
trying to arbitrate domestic disputes, so this is certainly nothing new or
extraordinary.
KV also had a tremendous influence on Brother Asaiah of
Alaska, Charles Manson in 1968 and even Jimmy Jones. Charles Manson lived at the Fountain for a
few months, and learned a great deal from myself, my step-father and other
Fountain members. Three former adult
members of the Fountain, and at least 6 children, were murdered by Jimmy Jones
on November 18, 1978 in Jonestown Guyana.
Many other murders are associated with the Fountain, including the
killing of a taxi driver on Fountain property by a member of a group of
American Indians, staying at the Fountain in the 1960s. So, life for the author of this biography was
never boring in Box Canyon, Chatsworth, California.
In this document we will look at the timeline of KV from 1948
to 1958. Much of the material was
provided by Fountain members Sister Neria and Sister Barbara. Additional material is from newspapers, other
fountain members, and my own memories (Brother Jon 1953-1968).
Introduction:
Before we begin, it is important to understand what Father
Divine meant when he said “I Am God”, and what Krishna Venta meant when he said
“I Am The Son of God”. A paragraph from
a Krishna Venta lecture (#31 – Open Forum #1) should help to explain what they
were teaching:
Q: Are you the only Son of God?
A: Are you not all joint heirs of God? Therefore, are you not the sons and daughters
of God? For me to be egotistical enough
to say I am the only son of God, I would be a hypocrite in the sight of my
Father, for you are all His children.
Because I AM the Son of God, because I AM the One who comes with my
Father’s wisdom to reveal myself unto you, I am not trying to put myself above
you. I am merely trying to pass on
wisdom to you.
Father Divine said exactly the same thing, only with a
slight difference. He stated that God is
in all of us, therefore we are all of God, and hence, we are God. Both individuals detested the concept of
Hell, and most of the rest of the Catholic dogma. The primary message here is that God loves
you, you are a part of God, and God does not condemn you or punish you.
In addition, there is a huge misunderstanding of what it
meant financially to join a commune.
Some people have made a big deal out of the “requirement” that members
donate all of their personal possessions to the Fountain. The brochures of the Fountain tried to warn
people interested in joining our commune that they were expected to make a 100%
commitment to a spiritual life. However,
many people decided that the life-style was not for them, and their property
was returned if it was available.
Obviously, donations of cash were used to support the cost of running
the Fountain and were not refundable.
This would be like donating money to a church to fix a bell tower, and
then when you loose your job, you ask the church for a refund. Aint gonna happen. All personal property was carefully
inventoried, and anyone leaving the Fountain was given their property. This fact is clearly documented in the diary
of Sister Neria, and is supported from my own experience. Some of the senior staff even continued to
own property and run businesses, like Sister Elvira who owned a successful
store in Denver CO. But most of the
Fountain members arrived destitute, and certainly left in better condition than
when they arrived, including my own family.
A Little History:
Krishna Venta loved to travel and lecture, which was really
all that he wanted to do. For example:
on Jan 1, 1948 he was in San Antonio TX.
Then Jan 19, 1948 he was off to Denver; and then on to Chicago. He gave a series of lectures in Los Angeles
from August of 1948 to February 1949, all of which were printed and sold. The brochures, photos, diaries, newspaper
articles and other documents are available online at Krishna-Venta.com
He was home from his tours on July 13, 1949 when an aircraft
crashed into the hills in back of the Fountain.
In Jan 1950 he returned from another trip to Chicago, and immediately
put pressure on everyone to make a decision, whether they would serve the
Spiritual or Material. Eight members
followed KV in the Spiritual path, and the rest decided on the Material. [I have no idea exactly what that means, but
lets move on]. All members were ordered
to become Red Cross trained, and at this time the W.K.F.L. Fountain of the
World name was decided upon.
—oOo—
Brother Paul and Sister Babs were married by KV, after which
KV and his wife Mother Ruth took them to Corpus Christi TX for their wedding
trip, which of course included giving lectures.
Paul and Babs returned to California, but KV and Ruth traveled on to Mexico
in July 1950. In October 1950 the
Eriksons drove to Mexico to join KV, Ruth and daughter Nikki on a trip to South
America, which also included Guatemala and Nicaragua. During KV’s absence his followers believed
that he performed many miracles for them from great distances. They were still living in the San Fernando
Valley, and in December of 1950 they moved into the ‘Rock House’, which is a
small retreat on Box Canyon road between Simi and San Fernando Valleys. The Eriksons returned from Puerto Rico, and
in March 1951 KV and Ruth returned from South America, after an absence of nine
months.
—oOo—
KV gave a lecture on 29 Apr 1951 in which he declared a
significant change in attitude towards his followers “No longer can I come down
and be one among you – joking and laughing and having fun with you.” This is an excellent lecture, titled ‘I GO
UNTO MY FATHER’. Then on May 15, 1951 he
is off again to Denver. With the growth
of the cult, more space was needed, so a new property of 23 acres was acquired
farther up Box Canyon road; and most of the members moved in to the new
buildings on Aug 27, 1951. KV then
threatened to abandon the cult if the men did not work together, and on Sep 20,
1951 he is off to Denver for a month.
—oOo—
When KV returned from Denver he began giving an even wider
variety of lectures than he had during the initial start-up in 1948, which
continued till 1958. Sometimes he would
read from Joseph Smith’s Book of Mormon, but the Bible was always available on
the pulpit. Topics covered nearly every
subject you could imagine, like:
“Unknown influence of the Universe”, “I Recognize
Antagonism.”, “The Argo Star”, “The Origin of God”, “Free Will Agency”, “Atoms
& Cells”, “How to greet New Ones”, “The Little Things”, “Pituitary Gland
and the Mind”, “The Balance”, “Why Build a Hospital”, “Denying Ourselves”,
“Dormitory silence”, “First & Second Resurrection”, “Emotions”, “Those Who
Condemn US”, “Love”, “Humbleness”…
—oOo—
In Jan 1952 MKV was off to Seattle WA, and when he returned
he concentrated on Long Beach CA, giving lectures and even directing a
play. In May he spent a month in Denver,
but he also had fun at home, giving out candy, cigarettes and played games; and
of course, on July 4th he brought home ice cream, wieners, etc for a surprise
party. While he was in San Diego on a
lecture tour, an earthquake hit Tehachapi California on July 21, 1952; and he
immediately ordered the emergency crew to the area for 4 days. When he returned on Aug 25, 1952, he asked
everyone to go on a five day fast, with just two glasses of water in 24
hours. He then broke the fast at
midnight, serving vegetable soup & crackers. He gave a message, offered prayer to the
Father, and everyone sang until about 3am.
Hymn singing every evening by lantern light, and testimonials, continued
into the first week of September. Then
he was off to Salt Lake City for 3 months, during which time he demoted Brother
Peter and made Cardinal Gene the new leader (in his absence of course). [I am not sure if this was Peter Dumas or
another Peter from the early years].
After a short rest, KV was off to Chicago, from Dec 6 1952 to March 2
1953. And on March 29 (start of the 4
Fountain Holy days), 1953, 5 couples rededicated their marriages. On Apr 1, 1953 a resurrection play and
Banquet was held in Ventura.
—oOo—
On May 31, 1953 MKV left for Canada, and stopped in Boise
Idaho. We don’t know yet if this was
just a lecture tour or if he was scouting out property in Canada. After he returned, there was a huge fire in
Tehachapi during the 2nd week of August, where we volunteered to help support
the fire fighters. Then we helped fight
a fire in Fillmore on the 17th, and yet another fire in San Bernardino from the
25th to Sep 1st. And just to prove that Hell is here on Earth,
mother Nature started another fire on September 6th. Sisters Neria and Patrice were flown into the
fire area by helicopter! The fire
fighters were shocked to find two young ladies in nuns robes serving them 3,000
meals in the middle of the burning forest, and on the 30th the sisters finally
got to go home. Then KV is off to more
lecture tours, San Diego Oct 5-9 1953; Denver Oct 23-Nov 5; San Francisco Dec
12-17; then back again in time to go out on a fire call from Dec 27 to Jan 3. KV returns for a brief rest and then on to a
flood emergency [in Visalia I think] Jan 24-29.
Then he is off to a lecture tour in Kansas, followed up by a significant
trip to Washington DC.
—oOo—
The Fountain members didn’t just fight fires and rescue
people from floods and earthquakes.
Every day they would help somebody in need, either with a meal,
clothing, or even furniture. They also
cleaned the beach in Ventura, participated in PTA and Rotary Club meetings, did
volunteer work at senior citizens homes and mental hospitals, trade food with
the Pacific Lodge for Boys, entertainment at the Moose Lodge … OK, I bet you get the point. The Fountain was the combination of today’s
Rescue Mission, Salvation Army, Thrift Shop, Food Bank, Volunteer Emergency
Service, Red Cross, Community Clean Up, Safe Harbor for battered wives and
children, religious retreat, parochial school and revival meeting. Did I miss anything?
—oOo—
Although KV supported commune-ism, he taught that Political
Communism was evil. So it might surprise
you to know that he despised Senator Joe McCarthy, who was a real
anti-Communist nut. During the infamous
Army-McCarthy hearings KV lectured in DC, protested outside the senate
buildings and even managed to attend a few sessions. KV finally returned to California in July
24th 1954, declaring the mission to DC a success. Then he was off to New York from Aug 5 till
Dec 8, 1954. In the meantime, the
Fountain members still living in the Rock House were evicted for non-payment of
rent and moved up to the larger property.
Payment was later made, but the move finally became permanent for all
members. It was a real pain having to
walk down the canyon road for meals and then walk back up the road to do
chores. On December 20, Neria gave birth
to a boy, whom KV named (Prince) Aaron.
Then on the 28th, KV declared that a negative wave came in from
Mongolia. KV ordered no food, no water,
and no work. Only concentration
(chanting) every 2 hours from 3pm until 12 noon Dec 29.
[Don’t ask me what this was about, because I have no
idea. I was still trying to figure out
how to use the potty in the nursery at that time. - Jon]
Anyway, KV spent the next couple of weeks in Oakland CA, and
on April 1, 1955 Prince Aaron was presented to KV as First Fruit of the Aaronic
Priesthood. [Again, you got me. This might have been a Mormon concept. Now we come to part 2. - Jon]
—oOo—
On July 10, 1956 KV left with a small group of Fountain
members on a trip from Box Canyon California to Canada, taking his wife Ruth
and daughter Nikki; Sisters Verginia and Barbara Broiles; Brothers Elzibah,
Tom, Richard Shanafelt and Jim Broiles.
[The plan was to find farm land in Canada that the Elect
could survive on during the coming civil race war, and subsequent Nuclear War
with Russia. No properties were found in
Canada, and so the group continued driving North-West into Alaska, where 480 acres
could be had for free under the Homestead Act.
Meanwhile, back at the Fountain, Brother David Allen gave a lecture on
Atomic warfare. The senior staff
continued to preach fear and to push everyone harder to prepare for the
gathering of the Elect. - Jon]
—oOo—
They arrived in Fairbanks Alaska on July 29, 1956, and then
continued south to Homer. By Sep 17 they
were on the way back to California, stopping in Elko Nevada. Back at the Fountain, construction work began
on the new headquarters building, with assistance from Sisters Patrice, Lila
& Christi. KV announces plans to
take 40 Fountain members to Alaska in February 1957 to settle the new
homestead. Then he is off to Denver on
Nov 17, 1956, and of course the fire season starts, with Fountain members in
San Bernardino and Ramona. They helped
out with tasks like mixing chemicals and serving meals. Then we had our own fire in Black Canyon,
which is near Box Canyon.
—oOo—
Now we are in 1957, and KV is again in Colorado with a
group, and all return by Feb 17. Then in
March the Fountain announces that it is preparing for a trip to Alaska. I am not sure how this was presented, either
as the establishment of another Fount, or a total relocation. On March 8, 1957 Ed Clark from the Oxnard
Courier arrives to get pictures and a story about the trip to Alaska. Then on March 9 we all gathered to watch as 2
cars and a truck with trailer leave the Fountain for Alaska. The group with KV included his wife Mother
Ruth and 3 of their 6 children; Leila Ruth, Nikki and ValDorm. Also in the group were David Allen, Tom,
Paul, Elzibah, Helen, Jerry Goldberg and Verginia. On March 13, we learned that the truck
pulling the trailer with David and Elzibah had smashed up in Idaho Falls on
road ice. Elzibah received a severe
concussion, but eventually continued on to Alaska. On March 29, Asaiah & Audrey; and Samuel
& Bitzi; were married at noon by Cardinal Gene. Sisters Wally & Jane were the attendants. KVs daughter Rey-el & Audrey’s daughter
Sharon were flower girls. There were many visitors and gifts for the couples,
and the San Fernando Paper was on hand to get a story and pictures. Asaiah & Audrey would live for a while in
the little brown house, and Samuel & Bitzi moved into the new headquarters
building.
—oOo—
A few very special notes are in order here:
Members were always free to permanently leave the Fountain,
and even to return. For example, on May
5 Jerry Goldberg arrived back at the Fountain from Alaska. He signed a release for all his possessions
and left with his car. Although some
property of members could not be returned because of a sale or donation, every
attempt was made to allow anyone to regain their property if they wished to
leave. David Allen was the next to leave
Alaska on June 13, and Vernon left July 26.
[I’m telling you folks, that state is freezing ass cold and rough.]. On rare occasions, members were kicked out,
like Joseph Burton on June 15. Most
evictions were done simply by refusing food to the person, as we did not
believe in physical violence [forceful eviction]. Anyway, we let Joseph back in the next
day. Very few of the members could
survive in the ‘outside’ world alone, and in truth, it was this fear of the
outside world that kept many people at the Fountain. That, and a free meal & bed for the lazy
ones.
The news media and researchers were always welcome, without
hindrance. For example, also in May,
Jerry Mordan from U.C.L.A. interviewed several Fountain members and asked
questions regarding their personal life and the work in the Fountain. And Sister Edith's husband and daughter
visited, without a chaperone. The point
being, the Fountain was not like the Peoples Temple, Branch Davidians, Moonies,
Christian Scientists or other secretive cults with security and even guns. Our doors were always open, and unlocked; and
personal freedom was respected. Old Sister
Muriel was about the only security we had, simply because she always rushed up
the steps to greet visitors. And
photographers were welcome, but had to follow the rules to share the photos
with the fountain, and respect others in a civilized fashion.
On June 17, 1957, just after lunch, Don Steffa walked in to
the Fountain. He had been drinking & was under the illusion that little men
from the Vice Squad were after him. KV took over the situation and they got Don
to take his medicine, and a few glasses of buttermilk. The next day, Bishop Samuel, Brothers Arliss,
Vernon, Joseph, Don, Richard S., Jim Broiles & Jeroham left for Alaska.
On August 15, 1957 KV takes a group to Alaska by plane. Included are Sisters Audrey (mom) and her
oldest daughter Sharon; KV’s daughter Rey-el; Neria and her son Aaron. The second husband of Audrey, Asaiah, did not
go to Alaska at this time, and the two were finished with that marriage. Neria’s husband was already in Alaska, and
that marriage was also finished (see Biography – Sister Neria). When they arrived, the first thing they did
is go out fire-fighting! First one fire,
and then another. But this time they get
paid (someone mentioned that Fountain members may have gotten paid for fighting
fires in California, but so far I have no proof of that. And besides, we would go out on emergencies
regardless). Anyway, on Jan 16, 1958
Sister Audrey gave birth to a girl, who KV named Danena Rae. A few days later Sisters Ethel, Bitzi and
Brother Bill Gregory arrive in Alaska.
Then on May 6 KV took the baby Danena to California to show to her father,
Asaiah. On May 27, a large group leaves
for Alaska, including Brothers David Smith, David Jr., Herbert Grossman,
Herbert Jr., Bert E., Robert K., RB, Abel, Ben Yipe, James Sutton, Nicholas
Green, Arthur & Barbara Broiles and Brother Chuck. Then on May 28, 1958 Sister Babs Baker, Danena Rae and KarnValdeen
(Bitzi & Samuel’s son) left for Alaska.
The final days in the life of Master Krishna Venta:
On October 14, 1958 KV flies to the Fountain in California
alone, and a few days later he gave some lectures in Los Angeles at 940 S.
Figueroa St. Then on November 7, 1958 he
went on a Fast, and on the 10th and 11th he appeared on the Paul Coates TV
program. On Nov 14 he discontinued his
Fast.
On November 25, KV completed the lectures in Los
Angeles. Then on December 6, 1958 Priest
Paul arrived from Alaska to help KV in a new campaign [lecture tour].
In the early morning hours of December 10, 1958 a bomb was
detonated in the headquarters building in California, killing KV and 9
others. This event is fully documented
in the diary of Sister Neria later in this book.
On Dec 17, Shela, Jessie and Roger were flown to Alaska to
live with their parents, and on the 23rd, Ruth and her 2 boys, Sharva and Lael;
along with my sister Debbie flew to Alaska.
Then, all of the children were ordered by the authorities to be united
with parents, so Ken and Jon were also flown to Alaska to live in a log cabin.
