HARE KRISHNA
Each barefooted worshiper fell on his face before the multi-colored altar as he
entered the room. One worshiper swung a censor in front of the idols on the altar, while
others beat drums or clanged cymbals. Other sari-clad devotees jumped, clapped and
chanted the names of their god. It was a very intense experience as the tempo of the
ancing and chanting increased and continued for more than a half hour. I was
experiencing a Hare Krishna artika, a worship ceremony before a bright-colored statue of
their god Krishna. A lecture on the benefits of Krishna consciousness concluded the
ceremony, followed by a drama about the life of Krishna. Later, a vegetarian meal was
served with food that had first been offered by Krishna. An appeal to join the movement
was made during the meal.
While few Christians have visited a Krishna temple, many have encountered
members of the Hare Krishna sect. Airport lobbies and concourses, street corners and
fair grounds are favorite locations for Krishna devotees to ask for “donations” for books,
magazines, records or incense. Krishnas have adopted Western clothes and wigs to help
them blend in with the passersby, but their persistence and colorful books and magazines
make them easily recognizable.
The International Society of Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), known to most
Americans as Hare Krishna, came to the U. S. in 1965 when A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Prabhupada won his first converts among the hippies and young intellectuals in New
York’s Greenwich Village. Since the Swami died in 1977, the Krishnas have completed
an elaborate temple of gold leaf, imported marble and stained glass near Moundsville,
West Virginia. Today, Hare Krishna centers can be found in forty locations in the U. S.,
including Carriere, Mississippi; Atlanta, Georgia and Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Krishna is one of the many deities in Hinduism. Krishna, the most loved
incarnation of Vishnu for most theistic Hindus, has been elevated by ISKCON to the
level of supreme god. The life of Krishna is told in several Hindu scriptures, including
the Bhagavad Gita, which means the Song of God.
While they speak of the ease of worshiping Krishna, the life of a typical devotee
is far from easy. Krishna Consciousness is a total way of life. The daily schedule begins
around 3:30 a.m. when the devotee rises, showers and dresses. The next four hours are
filled with prayer, chanting, studying the Gita and presenting offerings to the temple
idols. After a communal breakfast the devotee is assigned a task by the temple president.
He may clean the temple and idols or care for the children; he may be assigned to street
chanting or solicitation. Evenings in a Krishna temple are given to worship and studying
the scriptures. A devotee retires around 9:30 p.m. His life is regulated so that he only
has time to think of Krishna.
A new devotee is quickly taught the strict temple rules and regulations. Breaking
any of the temple rules or disagreements among devotees is not tolerated, and can result
in expulsion from the temple. The temple president has absolute control over the
devotees in his temple, even to the extent that they must secure his permission to marry.
Austerity and communal living are the two main features of temple life.
Materialism is rejected. A devotee gives the temple or friends his possessions, except for
a sleeping bag, shoes and his prayer beads. Clothing is communally used. A devotee is
not allowed to watch TV, listen to the radio, or read magazines or newspapers.
The physical body is an object of enmity. Ritual bathing is practiced several
times daily. Sleep is limited to four to six hours a night. As a sign of surrender to
Krishna and to avoid a false ego a male shaves his head except for a lock of hair called
the sikha. The sikha enables Krishna to pull the devotee out of trouble. The loose fitting
saris help prevent lustful thoughts. A female devotee must be completely submissive to
ISKCON males, or if married, to her husband.
Four rules of conduct are binding upon all Krishna devotees. The rule against
eating meat, fish and eggs is based on the Hindu idea of reincarnation and the belief that
all life is divine. This prohibition extends to the wearing of leather belts and shoes.
Another prohibition is against the use of intoxicants, including tea and coffee. Medicine
containing narcotics must be avoided if possible. Gambling, meaning any frivolous
activity, is prohibited becaue it diverts a person’s attention from Krishna. The final
prohibition is against illicit sex. Sex is allowed only between married couples once a
month for the propagation of children. Even at this time the couple must chant for
several hours to purify the mind. Even kissing at any other time is considered illicit.
Breaking any of these rules of conduct is considered sin by the Krishnas.
The temple is a place where a devotee can escape the demonic world, the
materialistic life, the world of karma. It is a place where he can learn the proper way to
worship Krishna, known as bhakti yoga, through service to a spiritual teacher or guru.
For Krishna devotees, a Savior is not necessary, but everyone needs a guru.
The Hindu idea of reincarnation or transmigration of the soul is accepted by all
Krishna devotees. Reincarnation is the belief that the soul must be reborn many times to
achieve liberation from the physical world. Hare Krishna teaches that a person is not a
sinner; his soul is trapped in the physical body by its actions or karma from previous
lifetimes. Through the proper worship of Krishna, karma is destroyed and the soul is
liberated from the cycles of rebirth. The supreme form of worship is chanting the names
of Krishna: “Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krisha, Hare Hare, Hare, Rama, Hare
Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.” This ritual is repeated at least 1,728 times each day.
The devotee uses a string of 108 prayer beads and chants 16 rounds on the string of beads
to keep track of his chanting.
While a Krishna devotee is happy to talk about his faith, a Christian will find it
difficult to talke to him about the claims of Christ. He believes any discussion about the
Christian faith is a hindrance to the development of Krishna Consciousness. Such
discussions fall into the same category as gambling; it is frivolous activity which diverts a
person’s attention from Krishna.
The teachings of Hare Krishna are clearly incompatible with the Christian faith.
A Krishna devotee views Jesus as a great spiritual teacher, but not the Savior of the
world. Hare Krishna teaches that a person can save or liberate his own soul. The
doctrine of sin is ignored. There is no idea of a person rebelling against God. The
doctring of reincarnation is incompatible with the Christian doctrines of the bodily
resurrection and the vicarious atonement of Christ. A Krishna devotee views the body as
an evil, or at least an undesirable prison in which the soul is trapped. The teaching that
the physical world is evil is the basis for the Hare Krishna’s disparagement of social
issues. It teaches that a person should only be concerned with his own liberation.
Suffering is ultimately an illusion.
While the Christian must reject the teachings of the Hare Krishna sect, he can
learn several lessons from this movement. Many Krishna devotees were once members
of Christian churches. For some devotees, Hare Krishna offered them the sense of
transcendental and experiential which they found missing in the Christian churches. The
intense participation in the temple rituals attracted many from the “observer” kind of
worship found in most churches. Others were attracted by the disciplines and demanding
lifestyle of the Krishna sect, or because they rejected the materialistic emphasis in society
and, sometimes, in churches. The sense of fellowship and oneness among the devotees
attracted some persons to the sect.
Hare Krishna is not going to go away. It will continue to attract our young people
unless we prepare them to meet the challenge which it presents. This preparation should
begin in the home where Christian principles and values are a way of life. Lines of
communication should be kept open so problems can be freely and honestly discussed.
Christianity should be a personal experience involving every facet of life. We need to
recognize the gifts of our youth and allow them to express their creativity in a meaningful
way. We must teach our youth not only the beliefs and practices of the non-Christian
religions, but also, and more important, the doctrines of the Christian faith.
Selected Bibliography:
Newport, John P. Christ and the New Consciousness, Nashville: Broadman Press, 1978.
Robertson, Irvine. What the Cults Believe. Chicago: Moody Press, 1979.
Streiker, Lowell D. The Cults are Coming! Nashville: Abingdon, 1978.
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Gary H. Leazer, Interfaith Witness Dept.
Home Mission Board, SBC (8/81)
1350 Spring Street, N.W.
Atlanta, GA 30367-5601