Hare Krishna's a Cult?

[Guest guest]

Are Hare Krishna's a Cult?

 

 

Hi, my name is Rachel Jacobson and I am preparing to write an A-Level

Religious Studies project on the topic of Hare Krishna. I was

wondering if you would be able to give me any information- my essay

is to discuss whether Hare Krishna is a "cult" or not. I am sorry for

not knowing who I am talking to but maybe you could help me by

telling me what you think about cults and if Hare Krishna is one.

Thank you very much!

 

Yours,

Rachel Jacobson

 

Dear Rachel,

 

Thanks for your message and for giving us the opportunity to help a

little with your research project.

 

The term "Hare Krishna" refers to the practice of chanting the names

of God, as promoted in 15th Century India by the great Vaishnava

saint Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Lord Chaitanya, believed to be an

incarnation of Krishna Who came to this world to spread the chanting

of God's names, really promoted a principle found in all major

religions: that God's name is holy, or transcendental, and capable of

delivering the materially conditioned soul. Muhammad, Christ, and

Buddha all promoted the repetition of holy names. This chanting had

existed in India before Chaitanya's time, and he succeeded in making

it popular among all classes of people when India was affected by

Islamic expansion.

 

God has unlimited names describing His qualities and other

attributes. We are all familiar with the names Buddha (intelligent),

Jehovah (powerful), and Allah (merciful). Worshipers of monotheistic

branches of so-called Hinduism have been chanting these names and

other names of God for thousands of years. Krishna means all

attractive, Hare addresses God's energy, and Rama means reservoir of

pleasure.

 

As to whether Hare Krishna is a cult, it is too old to be a modern

day concoction. And the Vedic scriptures such as Bhagavad-gita and

Srimad-Bhagavatam, which are thousands of years old, authorize it.

This chanting and other worship practices found in the Hare Krishna

movement are practiced by Asian Indians all over the world, as has

been done in India since time immemorial.

 

The founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness,

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, brought this chanting and a few

books from India to New York City in 1965. His personal simplicity

and simple message (God is the supreme enjoyer, this is His world, He

is everyone's best friend, we are meant to serve and love Him) spread

around the world as he introduced more and more people from various

backgrounds to the ancient Vedic culture of living God consciously.

He expected his disciples to strictly follow vows, including no meat-

eating, intoxication, illicit sex, or gambling, as he did himself.

The early followers lived in the temples he founded and devoted

themselves to preaching, distributing books, conducting traditional

Vaishnava worship ceremonies, and practicing Vedic arts from cooking

to dancing.

 

Because so many early adherents were young and passionate about their

missionary work, Hare Krishna got a reputation for being a cult, in

the derogatory sense. Eventually they had families, moved out of the

temples and into the workplace, and began to mingle more and more

with the rest of society. This natural maturation process has changed

the ways devotees relate and some interesting cultural and

philosophical exchanges are taking place.

 

Dancing and singing Hare Krishnas are regular features in local

parades. Krishna-run Govinda's restaurants are patronized by a wide

spectrum of people. A publicly funded and Florida state supervised

charter school is run by Hare Krishna practitioners on temple

property in Alachua, Florida. The student body includes a few non-

devotee neighbors. Hare Krishna devotees are soccer moms and scout

leaders, realtors, coaches and postal workers. They vote, pay taxes,

and sometimes even run for local office.

 

It's also interesting to see cultural hints from this Vaishnava

culture entering into the larger society: draped, sari like outfits,

decorative face and hand painting, neck beads, vegetarianism, belief

in karma and reincarnation to name a few.

 

Eventually, I think there will be more acceptance and understanding

all around. Westerners until very recently have generally known very

little about Asian cultures and philosophies. Throughout my entire

education, even in college (1950s-70s), I was exposed to very little

history, geography, or other study involving India or other Eastern

societies. We were told that civilization began around the Tigris and

Euphrates Rivers. Now we all know that there are early signs of

advanced civilization all around the world, from Africa to Tibet to

Mesoamerica. So I think things are changing for the better.

 

The important facts are that this is an ancient authorized practice

and not a man-made concoction for fame, profit, or some other

material agenda as the common use of the word "cult" denotes. Also,

that Krishna practitioners of western origin are owning up to

mistakes made in their youth and addressing important societal issues

that relate to humans everywhere.

 

Hope this helps. If you would be so kind, I'd love to get a copy of

your final paper, or whatever you care to share. Good luck with the

class!

 

Kunti Dasi

editor

Hare Krishna World

 

P.S. The Hare Krishna maha-mantra (great chant of deliverance) is:

 

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna

Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

 

Hare Rama Hare Rama

Rama Rama Hare Hare