Hare Krishna
Questions frequently asked of the Hare Krishna devotees, and the simple answers . . .Are you a cult?
The actual definition of the word "cult" is a system of belief and worship. We fit that definition. But today the word "cult" has taken on negative connotations. We're not that kind of cult--a dangerous group of people with a charismatic leader, a group that will capture people's minds and seduce them into joining and doing things harmful to the well-being of themselves and others. That's not us. The Krishna consciousness movement is a bona fide spiritual path coming from one of the oldest, most respected religious traditions in India. Far from being a dangerous cult, Krishna consciousness teaches people how live a life of high morals and ethics and to respect the integrity of all beings. We practice a process of self-realization that cleans the mind of all unwanted things, such as greed and hate. Krishna consciousness helps a person develop his individuality and realize his highest potential. People are sometimes fearful of the unfamiliar. Trying to make sense out of things they don't understand, they sometimes conveniently label them and put them into boxes. One of those boxes happens to be the cult box. Because people are uninformed or misinformed, the Krishna consciousness movement sometimes erroneously ends up in such a box.
Who do you worship?
We worship the one Supreme Being. There can be only one supreme person, and that person is God, known by infinite names and possessing infinite attributes. The Vedic scriptures state that of all the aspects and names of God, Krishna is the supreme name and form of God. Krishna means "all attractive." We accept Krishna as the supreme being. Everything about Krishna attracts the pure soul: Krishna's beauty, His smile, His compassion, His humor, His speech, His dress, His kindness, and on and on through His unlimited qualities God is one. Krishna is the same God worshiped in the Bible, the Koran, and any bona fide scripture. However, those scriptures give little information about who God is. We learn, for example, that God is good and God is great, but not much more. By contrast, the Vedic literature, ancient scriptures dating over 5,000 years, describe God in great detail. We learn what He looks like, where he lives, what activities He perform, who His family and friends are. The goal of life is to love God, and the more we know about Him, the more we'll be inclined to love Him.
What do you believe?
While the philosophy of Krishna consciousness is very extensive and requires years of intensive study, the basics are simple. First of all, we are taught that we are not this material body. The body is only a temporary vehicle for the eternal soul, part of the Supreme Soul, God, or Krishna. Though we (souls) are tiny and God is infinite, we share to a limited degree His qualities of being eternal, full of happiness, and full of knowledge. Our original, or constitutional, nature is to serve God in the spiritual kingdom. God is the supreme enjoyer, proprietor, and our dearest friend. Our desire to be separate from Krishna brought us to the material world, a perverted reflection of our real home. Krishna gives us independence and free will. By misusing our independence, we choose to enjoy separately from the Lord, and are brought to the material world. God gives us whatever we want, so this world is a chance for us to try to enjoy apart from Him. Though this is actually not possible, He creates the illusion in this world that we can enjoy without Him. This illusion keeps us here, just as the carrot keeps the donkey moving forward. When we become fortunate, we can understand the pitfalls of living in the material world. Sensual pleasure is temporary and fleeting. We suffer from old age, disease, and eventually die. We are responsible for the results of what we do, and the reactions to our activities, or karma, compel us to take repeated births, where we try vainly to fulfill our desires. Without the grace of God our material births are endless. Our spiritual life begins when we try to make a spiritual solution to our material suffering. Enlightenment involves coming in contact with a realize soul, or guru, who can teach us the limitations of material life, give us a process to purify our material conditioning, and reestablish our love and service attitude for God. In the current age that process is to chant the holy name of God, the Hare Krishna mantra, in the association of like-minded spiritual seekers, or devotees of Krishna.
Why Don't You Eat Meat?
The most important reason we refraining from eating meat is Krishna's instruction to us in the Ninth Chapter of the Bhagavad-gita. He requests us to offer Him everything we do, including our eating. He asks us to offer Him with love and devotion, "a leaf, a flower, fruit, or water." Because Krishna doesn't ask for meat products, we don't offer Him any. Since the true aim of life is to please God and reestablish our love for Him, we don't want to displease Him. The Gita's third chapter gives the process of purifying our lives or making them pleasing to God. Krishna is very merciful. He understands our need for material things. Therefore He created a way for us to offer or sacrifice the things of the world for a spiritual purpose. In that way we can fulfill our desires and needs for material things and not incur karmic reactions. Krishna says that if we offer our food to Him we become free from sinful reactions. The idea behind "offering" something to God is that everything actually belongs to Him. If we don't acknowledge that, we're subject to a "fine," or karmic reactions. This is just like taking advantage of gas, water, electricity, and so on, in your home. You can use these only if you're willing to pay for them. Besides the spiritual consideration, a vegetarian diet is natural (humans have vegetarian digestive systems) and compassionate. It brings economic benefits both individually and collectively, and it is beneficial to one's health and to the environment.
What's that mark on your forehead?
It's called tilak. Of all the things that may be different about a devotee of Krishna, like a shaved head, dhoti (the men's robes), sari, or even the philosophy, the tilak is especially noticeable. Tilak is made with sacred clay from a holy place in India, and it marks the body as a temple. It is worn to remind the wearer, and everyone else, that within this body resides the individual soul, and the Supreme Soul as well. The body is holy and should be used to serve God's purpose. The body should be used for spiritual pursuits, and must not be defiled by unholy foods, thoughts, or actions. Wearing tilak is considered an act of devotion, as it purifies both the person wearing it, and those who see it.
Why do Hare Krishna men shave their heads?
For cleanliness and simplicity and to help move the focus from bodily beauty to the beauty within--to the soul and God. The shaved head also symbolizes renunciation of the material way of life and dedication to spiritual pursuits, which culminate in love of God. Shaving one's head is not a strict rule, and is done mostly by men living in an ashram. Most Hare Krishna men live and work outside Krishna communities and don't shave their heads.
Why do you dress like you do?
We dress in the way of the Vedic tradition, men in dhotis (robes) and kurtas (shirts) and women in saris and cholis (blouses). These clothes remind us that we are servants of God. Srila Prabhupada compared the devotees' clothes to a uniform. A soldier can fight without a uniform, but it identifies him and helps him feel the part. Similarly, one can be a devotee of Krishna without wearing devotional clothes, but they can help one identify with the soul instead of the body. Everything we do should remind us of our spiritual identity as an eternal soul, part of God, whose sacred duty and honor is to assist Him in His activities.
Why do you have unusual names?
The names are in Sanskrit, the language of the Vedic tradition, and are given by the spiritual master at the time of initiation, which is considered one's second birth. The names are names of God or of something or someone related to Him, so they're purifying to hear. Each name includes the Sanskrit word for "servant" (dasa for men, dasi for women), an acknowledgment that we are all God's servants.
Who is Srila Prabhupada?
Srila Prabhupada, the founder/acharya of the Hare Krishna movement, is an empowered messenger of God who appeared in this world to help us reawaken to our spiritual identity. He had a special mandate from his spiritual teacher to bring the eternal spiritual truths of Krishna consciousness, contained in the Vedic scriptures of India, to the Western world.
Srila Prabhupada accepted this daunting task and made it his life's mission. At the advanced age of 70 years, he came to the United States with no assistants and no money. He depended fully on the mercy of Lord Krishna and was able to persevere where others had failed.
In a tiny storefront in the East Village of New York City, Srila Prabhupada started the International Society for Krishna Consciousness in 1966. From 1966 to 1977 Srila Prabhupada preached vigorously all over the world, opening more than 100 centers and introducing Krishna consciousness to millions of people. He also translated and published many spiritual books and encouraged their distribution.
We get a glimpse of Srila Prabhupada's elevated and empowered spiritual position from the lasting effect he has had in changing the lives of so many.
Since his departure from this world in 1977, his disciples have carried on his mission. It is their desire that his legacy will some day be more widely appreciated by the masses, as well as the leaders of the world.
What is that little bag you carry?
The bag holds our prayer beads, or rosaries if you like. It keeps our beads clean and allows us to carry them wherever we go, reminding us that we can always chant the Hare Krishna mantra and thus stay in spiritual consciousness.
What are you singing when we see you on the street?
We mostly sing the Hare Krishna mantra, composed of names of God: Hare (pronounced ha-ray) Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. By singing the names of God, we associate with Him and gradually become purified. Anyone who hears this glorification of God also gets spiritual benefit.
Why are you in airports?
We're there to introduce people to Krishna consciousness by offering them Srila Prabhupada's books, which are translations with commentary of India's Vedic scriptures. The books contain essential spiritual knowledge virtually unknown today, especially in the West. Prabhupada was convinced that the knowledge in these books could help people become truly happy. His conviction was confirmed by the thousands of testimonials he received.
Where does the Hare Krishna religion originate?
Krishna consciousness has its roots in the Vedic scriptures of India. According to the Vedas, the spiritual culture practiced by Hare Krishna devotees was once spread all over the world. In recent years archeologists and anthropologists have unearthed artifacts and histories that reveal a past connection to the Vedic culture in many parts of the world.
Why do you worship cows?
Because all living things are part of God, all life is sacred and worthy of respect. The Supreme Lord is most worthy of honor and respect, and the Vedas teach that whatever or whoever is dear to God is also sacred--fit to be worshiped in relation to God.
Krishna is known as Govinda, "the Lord of the cows." The cow is sacred and fit to be honored or worshiped because she is dear to God. Worship or honor given to the cow is pleasing to God. If human beings can have favorite animals, why not God? Since the cows are dear to Krishna, they are also dear to his devotees.
The cow is also dear because of her gentle nature and her important service to humanity. Cows provide us with milk, "the miracle food," which the Vedas consider an ideal food for health. It helps develop the brain for understanding religious and philosophical topics. Since the cow supplies us milk, she is considered another mother. We don't think highly of a society that practically worships pets but sends cows to be slaughtered.
What does Hare Krishna mean?
"Hare Krishna" refers to the Sanskrit prayer we sing (the maha-mantra, or "great chant for deliverance") and to our group. Since we are often seen chanting the Hare Krishna mantra, we are referred to as the "Hare Krishnas."
Srila Prabhupada came to the United States from India in 1965 to introduce the Western world to bhakti-yoga, which features the chanting of Hare Krishna as its main spiritual practice. Prabhupada represents a lineage of teachers dating back into antiquity, but which was revitalized 500 years ago by the incarnation of God named Lord Chaitanya.
The voluminous Vedic scriptures of India contain everything we need to know about how to live happily in the world while we realize our spirituality and our relationship with God. These scriptures describe many methods of spiritual attainment, but they specifically recommend the chanting of Hare Krishna as the most effective method of God realization for the time we live in.
Since God is unlimited, He has unlimited names, with different purposes and meanings. The purpose of the Hare Krishna prayer is to awaken us to our eternal nature as servants and lovers of Krishna.
The Hare Krishna mantra is composed of three Sanskrit words: Krishna, Rama and Hare. Krsna and Rama are both names for God. Krishna means "the all-attractive," and Rama means "the supreme pleasure." We can approach the all-attractive Supreme Lord, and experience the supreme pleasure of His company, through the help of His devotional or pleasure energy, Hare.
Placed together the words of the prayer mean "O Lord, O energy of the Lord, please engage me in Your loving service." By chanting Hare Krishna we become purified of material conditioning and become reinstated in our normal eternal position.
What are those beads you wear on your neck?
The neck beads are meant to remind the person wearing them and everyone else that we are all servants of God, or Krishna. The beads are made from Tulasi wood. The Tulasi plant is considered very important for helping our spiritual advancement. Although Tulasi appears in the material world as a plant, she is a great servant of God. By wearing Tulasi beads we please Krishna and quietly announce the glories of Tulasi and of pure devotees in general.
The etiquette for approaching God is through the pure devotee, and not directly. If we want to see a big person--say the President--we don't just demand to see him. We have to be recommended for an appointment. For that, it's helpful to know someone dear to the important person.
Similarly, someone dear to God, like Tulasi or the spiritual master, can help us approach Him. Their prayers for our spiritual advancement are pure and get His attention. That doesn't mean we neglect doing our part to spiritually advance and please God. But certain things--like wearing Tulasi beads and glorifying and seeking mercy of pure devotees--increase our likelihood of success.
What do you do in your temples?
The temple is a place to especially remember God and deepen our relationship with Him. It's a holy place to develop community with others through glorifying God and increasing our understanding of spiritual knowledge.
Our temples are open to the public. Although services are held throughout the day, most visitors come for the special Sunday program, the "Sunday Feast."
A typical Sunday Feast program consists of a formal ceremony called arati in which deities (forms of Krishna) are worshiped to the accompaniment of sacred songs sung by the congregation. This is followed by a lecture on the Vedic scriptures. At some temples there might be a play or more singing. The festival always includes a vegetarian feast of delicious food that has been prepared for and offered to the Lord.
What language are you singing in?
The language we primarily use for our formal prayers and songs is Sanskrit, sometimes called "the mother of all languages." It's the language of the Vedic scriptures. Though we can praise God in any language, Sanskrit is unique: Krishna designed it for spiritual topics. So it's very potent for purifying our consciousness.
Another language used in some of our scriptures and songs is Bengali, because Lord Caitanya, the principal incarnation of God for this age, appeared in Bengal, as have many saints in our tradition.