What Scriptures Do You Follow?
Members of the Hare Krishna Movement follow
ancient India’s Vedic literature, primarily Bhagavad-gita
and Srimad-Bhagavatam. These
teachings date back over 5000 years and are practiced by more than 900
million people today. The Bhagavad-gita
also forms the basis of the world’s third largest religion, Hinduism.
What is the Hare Krishna Chant?
A mantra is a spiritual sound vibration that
purifies the consciousness and awakens love of God. The chanting of the
Hare Krishna mantra—Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare
Hare / Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare—is recommended in
the Vedic literature as the easiest method for this age to attain
spiritual realization. Krishna
is the Sanskrit name of God meaning “all attractive”, and Rama
is another name for God meaning “reservoir of all pleasure”. Hare refers to the divine energy of the Lord. So the Hare Krishna
mantra means, “O all-attractive, all-pleasing Lord, O energy of the
Lord, please engage me in Your service”. There are two ways to chant
this mantra: group chanting (kirtana)
and individual chanting as on beads (japa).
No strict rules apply for either method, and anyone can chant at any
time.
Why are you Vegetarians
The Vedic scriptures establish nonviolence,
called ahimsa, as the ethical
foundation of vegetarianism and for a peaceful society. According to the
Vedas, God is the Supreme Father of all creatures, not just humans.
Therefore, slaughter of innocent animals is considered equivalent to
killing one’s brother or sister.
Krishna devotees follow a wholesome
lacto-vegetarian diet excluding meat, fish and eggs. Although it may be
argued that vegetarians are guilty of killing vegetables, foods such as
fruits, nuts, milk, and grains do not require killing. But even when a
plant’s life is taken, the pain involved is dramatically less than
that of a highly-sensitive animal such as a cow or lamb.
According to karma, nature’s law of action and
reaction, human beings must suffer for any killing that is against
God’s laws. For this reason, as well as to show recognition and
appreciation for the supreme proprietor and supplier of all food,
devotees prepare vegetarian meals as devotional offerings to Krishna,
God. Then food is called prasadam (spiritual food), which can be fully enjoyed without karmic
reaction.
Why do some members wear robes and saris?
In the ancient Vedic culture a person dressed
according to his or her social and spiritual position. Following those
traditions, women who live in Hare Krishna communities wear saris
and men wear robes called dhotis.
Married men wear white, and unmarried men wear saffron. Men living a
monastic lifestyle shave their heads and leave a tuft of hair in the
back, called a sikha. This is
done as a sign of renunciation and surrender to Krishna, as well as for
cleanliness and simplicity. The sikha
is also a sign of accepting the premise that God is a person and not
merely an impersonal force. The clay marking on the forehead signifies
that the body is a temple of God. The clay comes from sacred rivers in
India.
Do you believe in reincarnation?
Yes. The Bhagavad-gita,
the principal scripture of the Hare Krishna movement, and the roots of
understanding reincarnation, states “As the embodied soul continually
passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul
similarly passes into another body at death. The self-realized soul is
not bewildered by such a change.”
The Vedas
further explain that the soul in the material world transmigrates within
a cycle of material birth and death through 8,400,000 forms of life. The
human form, however, is the only birth which affords one the chance for
spiritual realization. Species lower than humans are not endowed with
sufficient intelligence to understand the soul as different from the
body.
According to the Krishna conscious philosophy, what is the goal of
life?
The Vedas
state that the goal of life is to learn how to properly serve God,
revive one’s love for God, and return to live eternally with Him in
the spiritual world at the end of life. This process can fully awaken
the awareness of our true eternal spiritual identity, which is beyond
the temporary body and the limitations of this existence within the
material realm. This level of Self-realization purifies our
consciousness and frees us from the need to remain in the cycle of
repeated birth and death, or reincarnation.
Who Started the Hare Krishna Movement?
In 1965, His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta
Swami Prabhupada traveled alone from India to America to establish the
timeless tradition of Krishna consciousness in the Western world. He
single-handedly began the International Society for Krishna
Consciousness (ISKCON), a worldwide society of over 500 temples, farm
communities and schools, with a membership of over three million members
in the West, fifty million worldwide. Srila Prabhupada translated over
50 books on Krishna consciousness, now available in over 65 languages.
Before he passed away in 1977, he arranged for the movement to be guided
by a Governing Body Commission composed of his senior disciples. Also,
after Srila Prabhupada’s departure, his disciples themselves began to
accept disciples, carrying on the age-old system of disciplic
succession. Thus, he touched enough people who can pass along this
knowledge to others that this movement will continue well into the
future.
How can I participate?
Many people wonder if they have to shave their
heads and wear robes, or live in the temple to join or participate in
the Hare Krishna Movement or Vedic philosophy. But that is not
necessarily the case. A person can easily participate or become involved
in whatever level they feel most comfortable. You do not have to give up
your job or career or your family. If you look around, you will see many
members of the Hare Krishna community who are in full agreement with the
Vedic goal of life, but still have their families, careers or pursue
further academic studies or skills. They simply add the Vedic lifestyle,
the study of the Vedic philosophy, and the joyful chanting of Hare
Krishna to what they already have. So it is very easy to begin
participating in the Hare Krishna practices to whatever degree is most
suitable for you. You can simply ask other devotees how best to get
started.
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