What does it really mean to be a devotee? Alachua holds: 'Love Thy Neighbor Festival'

krsna · July 2, 2006

Nation´s largest Hare Krishna community in Alachua

By Megan Davis

For The Herald

ALACHUA — With each choreographed step, the ankle beads adorning their bare feet jingle in sync, creating a rhythmic beat. Wide eyes heavily lined in black dart back and forth, and rosy red lips frequently grin as each face portrays the emotions behind the transcendental music.

The facial expressions and elaborate hand gestures tell a story as the girls spin and dance to the sound of drums, cymbals and chanting.

These teenage girls perform a traditional Indian dance to worship the deities. Each wears a brightly colored sari in shades such as magenta or turquoise that wraps loosely over the left shoulder and around the waist and legs.

Gold bracelets and belts accent the spiritual clothing. Their long hair is tied back in a bun or braid, and that draws attention to the natural-colored Tulasi beads circling their necks.

Dancing shows their love for God, whom they call Krishna, as does nearly every other Hare Krishna action from eating to making money.

The worldwide Krishna movement, founded in 1966 by Srila Prabhupada, teaches a simple, natural life of worshiping the supreme lord. The goal is to achieve inner peace and happiness through an eternal commitment to Krishna.

Devotees in Alachua County wanted to share their way of life with the public by hosting the Love Thy Neighbor Festival at their Alachua temple and 127-acre farm on Oct. 1. The Hare Krishna community of more than 330 families, which is the largest in North America, provided an extensive display of what it means to be a devotee.

“The main misconception people have is that we’re some new religion, and they label it a ‘cult,’” said Emily Partin, the festival organizer and a devotee of 35 years.

In reality, the Krishna traditions have ancient roots dating back 5,000 years, making the religion older than Christianity.

And no one enforces a strict standard of living, Partin said. An individual’s level of devotion is a personal choice.

Save Cows, Eat More Vegetables

Next to their love for God, vegetarianism is the glue that holds the Krishna community together.

Partin explained it is the one guideline that members follow almost universally.

“Most devotees don’t have a problem being a vegetarian,” said Partin, who chose to give up meat, fish and eggs about the time she became Krishna conscious. “I think it’s because we have such great recipes.”

The “Kitchen Religion,” as it has been called, prides itself on sharing good food with not only God but the community as well. Devotees of the Gainesville branch have served more than one million free vegetarian meals at the University of Florida since the lunch program began in 1971.

“We’re vegetarians because whatever we eat, we offer to God first,” Partin said.

The Scriptures indicate that God wants to eat fruit, vegetables, grain and milk products, so that is what Hare Krishnas eat, she said.

“If I find out what you like, and I give that to you, that’s an expression of love,” Partin said.

Krishnas used to get their milk fresh from the 40-some cows kept in a pasture on the Alachua farm. However, the cows are retired now and spend their days grazing. Devotees buy milk just like everyone else.

Shalini Kovie, who was raised Hindu in India, became a devotee in 1990 when she first came to the United States and tasted the Krishna food at a temple in Boston.

“I went to a Sunday feast, and that was it. I started going every Sunday,” said Kovie, who ate meat until 1990.

Prasadam, the term for food that means “the Lord’s Mercy,” is cooked and then presented to God before anyone else can taste it.

“We eat the remnants of the Lord, and the food is now free of every sin,” Kovie said.

For every meal, devotees make up a plate containing only a portion of each type of food prepared. They leave it in front of a picture or statue of Krishna so he can sanctify the entire meal.

“It’s like a grain of rice — if one is good, all of them are good,” Kovie said.

Rules to Live By

No eating of meat, fish or eggs is just one of the four regulative principles. Devotees also strive to avoid gambling, illicit sex and intoxicants.

While alcohol and drugs obviously classify as intoxicants, other stimulants like coffee and tea also fall into this category because of their caffeine content. However, there are ways to skirt this rule, such as drinking decaf coffee or herbal, decaf tea.

The idea is to purify the mind and uncover the natural happiness that exists within.

Consuming unnatural products like caffeine and even listening to non-spiritual music is considered a distraction from Krishna consciousness, but it is hard to escape such elements in an industrialized country like the U.S.

Radhanatha Payini, who has been a devotee since birth, leads a more relaxed Krishna lifestyle.

He and his wife, Ana, do not live simple lives devoted to working for the temple as many outsiders commonly assume of devotees. In fact, nearly all members of the Alachua community have regular jobs, ranging from retail professions to doctors and lawyers.

Payini is a photographer who does mostly freelance work. Ana, 27, teaches Indian dance to about 40 Krishna children of all ages at the Alachua temple. A dancer since age 5, she has studied traditional Indian dance in South India and is one of the few from the West recognized there as a dancer.

The couple loves movies, watches television and even enjoys an occasional cup of tea or coffee in the morning, Payini said. The only thing they are “fanatical” about is vegetarianism.

“We make the people at Subway change their gloves before they make our vegetarian sandwiches,” he said, laughing.

The Temple

A sweet aroma of honeysuckle and incense fills the large, rectangular room as the breeze blowing in through the French doors carries the scent across the hand-laid black and white marble floor.

Just a few chairs lean against one sea green wall. Furniture is unnecessary; those who come to worship kneel on the floor or stand.

Three devotees dressed in saris sit together near the center of the room, playing the drum, cymbals and harmonium while chanting. The rhythmic music travels through the temple and out the open doors.

Each Sunday, devotees come here to worship and feast. Some also come most mornings before work or school to pray and chant to the deities.

Partin’s husband, whose spiritual name is Jnanagamya Das, drew the architectural plans for the Alachua Temple, which was constructed in 1995. The one-story, cream-colored building is surrounded by numerous, intricately carved columns and topped with a dark red roof.

One end of the inside houses a stage with red velvet curtains. When drawn, they reveal a small, pale pink room with an elaborate display of statues of Krishna and other demi-gods. The hand-carved figures made of marble or brass wear intricate, hand-beaded clothing in shades of baby pink and green.

Fresh flowers, plants and pictures of more demi-gods surround them as they sit atop white marble.

Facing the stage on the opposite side of the temple sits an almost life-size statue of the main Guru, Prabhupada, on a red velvet throne. He is cast from a mold and made of resin, a material that comes from a plant.

Becoming a Hare Krishna

New devotees are initiated by a spiritual master who subsequently becomes their guru. He is worshipped just like God because he teaches his followers the love of God.

Along with about 5,000 others worldwide, Emily Partin’s guru is Prabhupada. His main contribution to the religion was translating and publishing about 50 books on Krishna consciousness from Sanskrit to English.

This helped spread the Krishna movement and made it easier to read and understand.

Even though he died in 1977, Partin still exercises her commitment to him.

“The soul is eternal, so he is eternal,” she said.

Another important tradition occurs when an individual becomes a devotee. He or she is given a spiritual name. Every name is followed by a suffix — dasi for women and das for men — that means servant.

Partin’s spiritual name is Mahamaya Dasi, which means servant of the illusory energy of God. People face many illusions in the material world but one in particular is emphasized by Krishna consciousness, Mahamaya Dasi said.

“The main illusion is that we identify with our bodies,” she said. “But we’re not the body; we’re the soul.”

Devotees express their love for God by chanting the many names of the Lord and praying. The Hare Krishna chant is called the Maha-Mantra. It consists of three words: Hare, Krishna and Rama, repeated in a particular order for 16 syllables.

Anyone from any religion or background can chant to cleanse the mind and become happy, devotees said.

In hosting the Love Thy Neighbor festival Saturday, Partin and the rest of the Alachua Krishna community hoped to make others feel welcome by giving them a glimpse into the traditions and practices of Hare Krishnas, ranging from the Indian dancing and chanting to the vegetarian recipes and the spiritual clothing.

Partin said being Krishna conscious and following the process of a devotee produces results — a desired state of being.

“The first word that comes to mind is blissful,” she said.