Who is a Hare Krishna? What constitutes being a Hare Krishna?
Read on to find out what makes someone a Hare Krsna. You might be surprised.
Is it mainly about chanting?
To the extent you chant Hare Krishna you are a Hare Krishna.
We are out to become addicted to the Holy Names and be compassionate to the less fortunate. These are the 2 essential points of Lord Chaitanya’s movement.
The devotees of Krishna got called “Hare Krishna’s” purely because of their chanting.
Devotees in the 70’s chanted Hare Krishna down the streets in America and people didn’t know what they were doing or who they were, so they just called them “Hare Krishnas”
Nowadays devotees are known for other things too like feeding people or selling books but the main thing that makes me a devotee of Krishna is that I chant the holy name of Krishna.
What if I don’t chant? Can I still call myself a Hare Krsna?
Another thing that makes someone a Hare Krsna devotee is whether they say they are or not. Much of who we are is a matter of declaration.
When I was 15 I met some Hare Krsna’s who inspired me by their good nature and sober character. I remember becoming convinced of their philosophy and declaring myself a Hare Krsna to my friends at school. I didn’t chant Hare Krsna at that time because I didn’t really know about the chanting but I definitely identified as a Hare Krsna devotee.
There are many people who identify with our faith who don’t really practice it. These people are certainly devotees because they have enough faith and attraction to declare themselves devotees.
Can someone say they are a Hare Krsna but not actually be a Hare Krsna?
Srila Prabhupada who founded the Hare Krsna movement in the western countries made an interesting statement about this as follows:
“There are those among us wearing dhotī, śikhā, tilaka and neck beads, but they are not devotees. They are agents of kali who are here to try to stop our movement. You should find out who they are and weed them out.”
Aren’t there rules for being a Hare Krsna?
Devotees of Krsna like to please Krsna. There is no meaning to the word devotee without being devoted. The devotees of Krsna serve Krsna in a devoted way and devotion comes from the words “de” which means submit or "down to the bottom, totally" hence "completely". The word vow means to speak solemnly or make a pledge. It comes from the Sanskrit vaghat- "one who offers a sacrifice”
So yes, devotees take vows. The main one is to chant the Hare Krsna mantra. Hence “Hare Krsna devotees” Again it all comes back to the chanting.
So it’s basically all about chanting?
Lord Chaitanya is Krsna’s most recent avatar. He appeared in Bengal, India only 500 odd years ago and He taught devotees how to behave through His own example. He was once asked “who is a devotee?” and He responded “One who doesn’t offend another devotee is a devotee”
Then He was asked how to recognize a devotee and He put His long arms in the air and shouted “Everyone is my devotee!”
Below are some videos showing the different kinds of people who chant Hare Krsna.
If you’d like to start chanting Hare Krsna too get in touch to get a set of chanting beads and a copy of Chant and Be Happy - a compilation of insightful conversations between a chanting master Srila Prabhupada and George Harrison from the Beatles
Art
Ishvari and I went to Auckland last weekend, and I took the opportunity to paint a piece at Henderson. While painting it a man came and asked if I had any spare marijuana. This piece was inspired by him.
Here’s a video from the trip: