Wednesday, February 27, 2013

The International Society for Krishna Consciousness and Bhakti Yoga






ISKCON Boston and Bhakti Yoga
Brianne Crocker
    Lesley University











            For my midterm presentation, I chose to attend lectures and Bhakti yoga practices at The International Society For Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in Boston, MA. I was somewhat familiar with this venue because one of my friends is a devotee and I had briefly gone with her to ISKCON last year for lunch. This year, my friend is going to be living at ISKCON for six months in order to immerse herself in Bhakti yoga. I immediately knew that I wanted to research Bhakti yoga in relation to ISKCON for my midterm assignment. I wanted to be able to experience an unfamiliar form of yoga and force myself into a possibly uncomfortable situation in order to gain tangible knowledge about how to engage in Bhakti yoga practices.  I also wanted to be able to better understand why Bhakti Yoga and ISKCON is such a central part of my friend’s life and a central part of many other individuals’ lives. In order to complete this assignment, I attended lectures and practices at ISKCON for three days. The first day that I went was on the weekend and I stayed for a full five hours and participated in every single lecture and practice in order to try to fully comprehend this unfamiliar religion and yoga practice. I went two more times during the week and stayed for around two or three hours for each of those days. When I finally finished putting together my research, notes, videos, interviews, photographs, and voice recordings, I was finally able to comprehend how I can relate ISKCON to the theory, practice, and culture of Bhakti yoga.
            The International Society for Krishna Consciousness was founded in the United States of America on July 11, 1966 when Srila Prabhupada (formally known as A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada) “officially registered his organization in the state of New York” (“ISKCON,” n.d.). Srila Prabhupada was born in India in 1896. In 1922, Srila Prabhupada met his spiritual master Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami who “convinced [Srila Prabhupada] to dedicate his life to teaching Vedic knowledge in the Western world” (“ISKCON BOSTON,” n.d.). In 1965, Srila Prabhupada sailed to the United States of America to “spread the teachings of Krishna consciousness” (“ISKCON,” n.d.). Many younger Americans flocked to Srila Prabhupada and began to listen and follow his spiritual guidance. The International Society for Krishna Consciousness in Boston was one of the first and most eminent temples built during the beginning of this movement. Srila Prabhupada landed on Boston’s Commonwealth Pier in 1965. Thus, Boston was the first place in the United States of America that Srila Prabhupada stepped foot upon. In Boston, Srila Prabhupada “composed his prayer Markine Bhagavat Dharma, entreating Lord Krishna for the deliverance of the western countries” (“ISKCON Boston,” n.d.).    From the 1960’s until the present day, the Boston branch of ISKCON has continuously sought to provide spiritual guidance to the community.
            In order to fully understand the history of ISKCON Boston, it is important to learn about ISKCON itself as a religion. ISKCON is a “branch of the monotheistic Gaudiva Vaishnava tradition within Hinduism dating back 5,000 years ago to Lord Krishna Himself” (“ISKCON Boston,” n.d.). The two main scriptures studied and read by the devotees are The Bhagavad-gita and The Shrimad Bhagavatam. The Bhagavad-gita is believed to be written by Lord Krishna and the scripture mainly teaches that the “goal of life is to develop a love of God, or Krishna” (“ISKCON,” n.d.). This love for Krishna can only be developed and fostered through Bhakti yoga, which can be defined as “the science of devotional service” (“ISKCON,” n.d.).  Krishna is known as and embodies “the Absolute Truth” (“ISKCON of DC,” n.d.) and in Sanskrit His name means “all attractive” (“ISKCON of DC,” n.d.). Krishna is always depicted with a blue color to His skin, black curly hair, and a flower garland around His neck. To better understand ISKCON, the main beliefs can be summarized in eight points:
                        1. By sincerely cultivating true spiritual science, we can be free from anxiety and                                     come to a state of pure, unending, blissful consciousness in this lifetime.
                        2. We are not our bodies but eternal, spirit souls, parts and parcels of God                                                  (Krishna). As such, we are all brothers, and Krishna is ultimately our common                                     father. We accept the process of transmigration of the soul (reincarnation).
                        3. Krishna is eternal, all-knowing, omnipresent, all-powerful, and all-attractive.                                     He is the seed-giving father of all living beings, and He is the sustaining energy of                         the entire cosmic creation. He is the same God as The Father Allah, Buddha and                                     Jehovah.
                        4. The Absolute Truth is contained in the Vedas, the oldest scriptures in the                                     world. The essence of the Vedas is found in the Bhagavad-gita, a literal record of                                     Krishna's words.
                        5. One can learn the Vedic knowledge from a genuine spiritual master -- one who                                     has no selfish motives and whose mind is firmly fixed on Krishna.
                        6. Before one eats, one offers to the Lord (Krishna) the food that sustains all                                     humans; then Krishna becomes the offering and purifies the offered.
                        7. One performs all actions as offerings to Krishna and does nothing for one's own                         sense gratification.
                        8. The recommended means for achieving the mature stage of love of God in this                                     age of Kali, or quarrel, is to chant the holy names of the Lord. The easiest method                                     for most people is to chant the Hare Krishna mantra: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna                                     Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.                                     (“ISKCON,” n.d.)
            The main idea of ISKCON as stated in the previous paragraph is to develop a love of Krishna through Bhakti yoga. The most important practice of Bhakti yoga is mantra meditation. One way that mantra meditation can be practiced is through japa. Japa is “a quiet and personal meditation when one chants on beads” (“ISKCON of DC,” n.d.). Most devotees have a japa bag that holds their japa mala, which means prayer beads. Each bead stands for one chant and there are 108 beads in total. From speaking with devotees at the temple I learned that each devotee must chant sixteen rounds of 108 throughout the day. At around 6:40 P.M, the devotees and I sat down and my friend handed me her japa bag so that I could get the experience of chanting the Hare Krishna mantra 108 times. In order to participate fully, I placed my hand in the japa bag as my friend had showed me and held the first bead with only my thumb and middle finger. The index finger sticks out of the japa bag. As each chant is completed, I would hold the next bead and so forth until all 108 chants are completed. This practice was quite nerve-wracking for me because it felt strange to sit in a room with thirty other people and listening to everyone chant the same exact mantra over and over again. The vibrations that I felt in my eardrums from all of us chanting this mantra in a seemingly monotone voice started to make me feel anxious as well.   
            Another form of mantra meditation is kirtan. Kirtan can be defined as “the singing of mantras with others, often with musical instruments”. While at ISKCON, the devotees and I participated in kirtan from 6:00 P.M. to 6:40 P.M., from 7:00 P.M. to 7:30 P.M. and then again from 8:00 P.M. to 9:00 P.M. Throughout this time, we sang songs using only the Hare Krishna mantra; Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. To help understand this mantra, I discovered that the word “Hare” means “the beautiful energy of the Lord”  (“ISKCON of DC,” n.d.), the word “Krishna” (as I mentioned earlier) means “the all attractive one”  (“ISKCON of DC,” n.d.) and “Rama” means the “one who gives happiness to all”  (“ISKCON of DC,” n.d.).  At first the dancing was slower and as the instruments were played louder and faster, the dancing became louder and faster. The men danced on the right side of the room and the women danced on the left side of the room. The type of dancing I witnessed included the men and women jumping up and down, the men running towards the deities and back towards the devotees, the women dancing in circles, or devotees just standing and clapping. Eventually the music would slow down and each of the devotees would bow towards the deities. After prasadam, a slower kind of chanting ensued where devotees sat on the ground with instruments and swayed back and forth. Kirtan is a form of Bhakti yoga because by repeating Krishna’s name, the mind becomes engaged in devotion towards Krishna. By saying Krishna’s name, which is considered to be divine, devotees can allow the divine, Krishna, to enter into their minds and bodies.
            Another form of Bhakti yoga that I witnessed extensively at ISKCON is prasadam. The literal meaning of prasadam is “mercy” (“Hare Krishna Community,” n.d.). The main idea behind prasadam is to “recognize the fact that everything belongs to Krishna and because these things belong to Krishna they should be used for Krishna’s pleasure” (“Hare Krishna Community,” n.d.). Most often prasadam refers to food. But after doing research and attending ISKCON, I learned that there are many other forms of prasadam. Prasadam can refer to anything that is offered to Krishna. At ISKCON, the devotees offered flower garlands, water, fire, and incense.  Once the food prasadam had been offered to Krishna, the devotees enjoyed a feast. After the prasadam has been offered to Krishna and then is honored by the devotees, it is believed that the “spiritual nectar of Krishna’s lips [had] touched these ordinary ingredients and transferred to them all spiritual qualities” (“Hare Krishna Community,” n.d.).  Prasadam relates to Bhakti yoga because devotees are engaged in the act of offering items to Krishna with love. And thus, when the devotees honor prasadam after offering the prasadam to Krishna, they are more connected with Krishna because He has come into contact with the prasadam.
            Through my interviews with the devotees at ISKCON, I have learned that there is little to no discussion of culture that takes place among the devotees in relation to Bhakti yoga and ISKCON. The population at ISKCON is very diverse and I witnessed devotees of every race attending each lecture. As I had mentioned earlier, ISKCON is a “branch of the monotheistic Gaudiva Vaishnava tradition within Hinduism dating back 5,000 years ago to Lord Krishna Himself” (“ISKCON Boston,” n.d.).  Although not thoroughly emphasized or discussed from my observations, Hinduism and Indian culture have definitely had a decent amount of influence on the ISKCON religion. The japa mala (prayer beads) used to chant on are usually made from the tulasi plant. This plant is “venerated by Hindus in general and Vaishnavas in particular” (“Devasthanam,” n.d.). At ISKCON, there is a private green room where this plant is grown and only certain devotees are allowed to touch or tend to the plants. This plant is also seen as sacred to both ISKCON devotees and Hindus, although not all ISKCON devotees are Hindu. When chanting on the japa mala, the devotees handle the beads with extreme care and caution, as they are not allowed to touch the floor or go into a bathroom with a devotee. Some devotees (like my friend that lives at ISKCON) will dress in full Indian garb. However, it is not required or encouraged. There are just as many devotees that dress in jeans and a casual top. The deities are dressed in elaborate Indian garb because, as it was explained to me in an interview, some of these deities were the original deities brought over by Srila Prabhupada and the devotees do not want to change the style of clothing that the deities wear.
            After spending around twelve hours over three different days at ISKCON Boston, I feel that it has been extremely difficult to explain through a research paper what the essence of the temple and of Bhakti yoga is. The experience was unlike any experience that I have ever had and I strongly believe that it is definitely something that needs to be experienced in order to fully understand it.  I was extremely nervous and weary of what my experience would be like on the first day that I attended ISKCON. However, I surprisingly felt immediately comfortable and did not feel at all uneasy for the entirety of each day that I was there. My main observations of the devotees at ISKCON Boston are that they are extremely kind, enthusiastic, and dedicated human beings. I am not personally familiar with any particular form of religion and religion has always seemed to make me feel anxious. But the devotees seem to approach ISKCON in a manner that is comparable to how one would approach a specific type of science.  None of the devotees tried to force their belief system on me and they did not once ask me anything about my spiritual life. This made me feel even more at ease because I did not once feel judged or out of place. I strongly believe that every individual with an interest in yoga or specifically Bhakti Yoga should experience at least one lecture at ISKCON in order to gain valuable knowledge about how yoga is perceived differently in different cultures. The International Society for Krishna Consciousness is a welcoming and intellectually stimulating venue that has allowed me to fully experience an unfamiliar religion and Bhakti yoga in terms of theory, culture, and practice.







References
Devasthanam. (n.d.). Devasthanam. Retrieved February 21, 2013, from http://www.sanskrit.org/

Hare Krishna Community . (n.d.). Hare Krishna Community . Retrieved February 21, 2013, from
            http://krishna.org/

ISKCON Boston. (n.d.). ISKCON Boston. Retrieved February 21, 2013, from
            http://www.iskconboston.org/

ISKCON of DC | Hare Krishna Temple of Washington DC. (n.d.). ISKCON of DC | Hare
            Krishna Temple of Washington DC. Retrieved February 21, 2013, from             http://iskconofdc.org/

ISKCON. (n.d.). ISKCON. Retrieved February 22, 2013, from http://iskcon.org/

Sivananda, S. S. (n.d.). Japa Yoga. The Divine Life Society. Retrieved February 21, 2013, from
            http://www.dlshq.org/teachings/japayoga.


No comments:

Post a Comment