The Hare Krishna Movement Essay Research Paper

The Hare Krishna Movement Essay, Research Paper

The Hare Krishna movement can be described by using Ninian Smart’s six dimensions of religion. This is a series of six different dimensions that are present in any religion. They are doctrinal, ethical, mythical, experiential, ritual, and social. Each dimension is different, but is a necessary part of religion. In this report I will discuss how the Hare Krishna movement falls into these categories, but first allow me to provide some background information.

Hare Krishna is a relatively new “eastern” religion founded on the backbone of Hindu teachings. It is referred to in some instances as the International Society for Krishna Consciousness denoted ISKCON. The Hare Krishna movement dates back to ancient India although it was technically not founded until 1966 in the United States by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

Hare Krishna is based on many of the same concepts of Hinduism as I have mentioned. Hare Krishna is very reliant on Vedic scriptures, which have been around immemorially for longer than we actually know, but were transcribed into in Sanskrit about 5000 years ago. The actual movement for Krishna consciousness was founded in 1486 when it is said that Lord Krishna appeared as Sri Caitanya, an avatar or incarnation of a God, and revealed the recommended method of God realization called yuga-dharma. Yuga-dharma is the chanting of the holy names associated with Krishna. However for all intensive purposes the Hare Krishna movement was not established until 1966 because it was not a separate movement from Hinduism. Nowadays the Hare Krishna movement is a totally separate religion from Hinduism but merely has ties to its predecessor like those of Judaism and Christianity. Working on this premise it is safe to say that The Hare Krishna movement is not a culture religion like Hinduism is nor is it a universal religion like Christianity and it certainly isn’t an ancient animistic religion. So what exactly is this movement classified as. I would classify this religion as firstly an eastern religion even though it has its meager beginnings in the US. And secondly I would classify the Hare Krishna movement as a hybrid cultural/universal religion.

The Goals of ISKCON are fairly simple. When the Hare Krishna Movement was founded in 1966, AC Bhaktivedanta set forth seven points that form the backbone of the movement.

- To systematically propagate spiritual knowledge to society at large, and to educate all people in the techniques of spiritual life, in order to check the imbalance of values in life, and to achieve real unity and peace in the world.

- To propagate conciousness of Krishna, as it is revealed in the Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam.

- To bring the members of society together with each other and nearer to Krishna, the prime entity, thus developing the idea within the members, and humanity at large, that each soul is part and parcel of the quality of Godhead (Krishna).

- To teach and encourage the sankirtan movement, congregational chanting of the holy names of God, as revealed in the teachings of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

- To erect for the members and for society at large holy places of transcendental pastimes dedicated to the personality of Krishna.

- To bring members closer together for the purpose of teaching a simpler, more natural way of life.

- With a view toward achieving the aforementioned purposes, to publish and distribute periodicals, books, and other writings.

Along with theses seven points are many philosophies that are held by the members of this group. Although there are many philosophies in the Hare Krishna movement, there is also an ultimate philosophy. This philosophy states that all of the ancient writings, the Vedas, the Mahabharata, the Upanishads, the Puranas, and the Vedanta-sutras. They believe that these scriptures were given by the supreme personality or Godhead at the beginning of creation. The scriptures were handed down through the ages by enlightened spiritual masters, they were changed to fit changing times, places and circumstances, but they have not been altered in essence or conclusion. Human life is the same no matter what time setting it manifests, hence it’s problems remain the same. The root of these problems is our false identification with the material world and our forgetfulness of our original relationship with the Supreme.

So now that I have provided some background I can discuss the Hare Krishna Movement’s relationship to the six dimensions of religion as defined by Smart. The first of these dimensions is the Doctrinal dimension. This dimension is based on the history and philosophy of religion. The main doctrine of this religion is the Bhagavad-Gita as it is. The term Bhagavad-Gita means literally “the song of God.” That is exactly what the Bhagavad-Gita is. It was spoken by Lord Krishna to his friend Arjuna. The book consists of 18 chapters and 700 verses. The Bhagavad-Gita was spoken to Arjuna because of his refusal to fight against his brother on the battlefield. Arjuna had not realized that he was caught up in an illusion, that people are not what they seem. There are no material possessions, not even our own bodies. They are just an outward reflection of our inner being. The main point of the book is to let people know that they need to free ourselves from