The initial preaching of Krishnaism in the West was carried out by Premananda Bharati (1857-1914), who arrived in New York in 1902, where he published a periodical for the next five years and founded a small organization. In 1904 he published in New York a book called Sri Krishna: The Lord of Love, which Leo Tolstoy and Mahatma Gandhi were familiar with.

The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON, ISKCON, ISKCON) is an international neo-Hindu religious organization of the Vishnuite persuasion, founded by the Bengali monk Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (1896-1977) in 1966 in New York. His preaching is a huge success, Prabhupada opens many temples and ashrams - settlements-communes, where the whole way of life is subordinated to the new cult. The teaching is expounded in the book "Bhagavad-Gita As It Is", "Shrimad Bhagavatam" and a number of other works.

Vaishnavism (Vishnuism) is one of the two main branches of Hinduism along with Shaivism. Although both of these traditions came from the same root, each of them has its own idea of ​​\u200b\u200bexistence, and, accordingly, its own object of worship. The main feature of Vaishnavism is the veneration of Vishnu as the supreme personal God. The followers of Gaudiya Vaishnavism (Bengal), unlike other related movements, recognize not Vishnu, but Krishna as the supreme hypostasis of God, considering Vishnu one of the incarnations of Krishna. Krishnas often refer to Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, a concept coined by Prabhupada in his books. The Krishnas revere Radha as the eternal beloved of Krishna, as his female incarnation, and worship them as the divine couple Radha-Krishna - God in his male and female incarnations.

One of the important aspects of Vaishnava philosophy is the belief in the eternity of the soul and its eternal individuality: the soul, after achieving liberation, does not dissolve in the impersonal Brahman, as the monistic schools of Hinduism teach, but returns to the spiritual world in the society of Radha, Krishna and their eternal companions.

According to Prabhupada, the only absolute god is Krishna, eternal and uncreated. Krishna resides in the transcendental world on the planet Krishnaloka, but at the same time, thanks to his energies, he is in every point of the universe. All other deities (both Vedic and other religions) are less perfect incarnations of Krishna. Jesus Christ is seen as one of the incarnations of Krishna.

Man is characterized by the dualism of soul and body. Having abused its freedom, the soul enters the material world, where it finds itself under the power of three states - ignorance, passion, goodness; forgetting about its divine essence, the soul falls into the power of karma - a causal relationship. The liberation of the soul from the material world is possible only through the development of Krishna Consciousness in oneself. To break the chain of endless reincarnations, it is necessary to get rid of the material world and merge with Krishna.

The material world can become spiritual, retaining its material characteristics. Material values ​​are transformed into spiritual values ​​by using them in the service of Krishna, that is, by transferring most of their income to the society of Krishna Consciousness.

The most perfect way to worship Krishna is to dedicate oneself to him, a life similar to a monastic life: long daily worship, achieving religious ecstasy through many hours of meditation and collective chanting of mantras (“purification of the mind”) “Hare Krishna” (1728 times a day) accompanied by musical instruments and rhythmic dance movements (according to Hare Krishna theology, the sound vibrations caused by the repetition of the names of God gradually awaken in a person the pure consciousness of God, or "Krishna consciousness" and help a person achieve the highest perfection of life - pure love for Krishna); vegetarianism, sexual abstinence. Sacrifices are offered daily to the image of Krishna: water, flowers and food, which the Hare Krishnas then eat, thus being cleansed of sins and uniting with Krishna.

Krishnas usually wear traditional Indian clothes, and men shave their heads, leaving a pigtail on the back of their heads, by which Krishna will raise them to the spiritual sky.

Krishnaism has no roots in traditional Indian religion and culture. Beliefs and religious practices are based on an arbitrary interpretation of Hinduism. One of the significant differences is the concern for collecting money for temples and ashrams; the purpose of street processions of Hare Krishnas is to collect money, which is not the case in Hinduism.

The asocial orientation of the Hare Krishna teachings is evident from a number of statements by Prabhupada: “In order to properly prepare for the next life, it is necessary to leave your so-called home” (Srimad Bhagavatam, canto 2, commentary on v.16, ch.1), “attachment to the family until the very end of life is the very last degree of human degradation (Srimad Bhagavatam), “… the by-products of the body, namely children… A person who… considers the by-products of the body to be his relatives, and the land on which he was born worthy of worship… should be considered like donkey" (Bhagavad Gita As It Is).

After Prabhupada's death in 1977, ISKCON went through a period of crisis and found itself at the center of a number of scandals that received wide media coverage (mainly in connection with pedophilia and sexual perversion). In the United States and some other Western countries, a wave of criticism from the anti-cult movement has risen. "Abuse" by some of Prabhupada's successor gurus led to a crisis of power and a reform of the guru institution; in the 1980s - 1990s many Hare Krishnas left the ranks of ISKCON. Most of them did not leave their faith in Prabhupada, but found a new environment for religious practice.

A significant increase in the specific number of ethnic Hindus in the ranks of the organization had a strong influence on the change in the religious culture of the ISKCON and its mission. Over the past two decades, ISKCON has experienced the greatest growth and gained the largest number of followers in India and Eastern Europe. Today, ISKCON is a "worldwide confederation" of over 400 temples, 60 agricultural communities, 50 schools, and 60 vegetarian restaurants.

ISKCON activity in Russia began with Prabhupada's visit to the USSR in 1971 at the invitation of the Indian Embassy (which, given the then political situation in the country, seems more than old). Already in the late 1970s. the activities of Hare Krishnas in the USSR began to attract the attention of the KGB. In 1980, the then chairman of the KGB, Yuri Andropov, wrote a report on the activities of the Krishna Consciousness Movement in the USSR and presented it to the Central Committee of the CPSU. The report described the International Society for Krishna Consciousness as "the most radical" of all mystical Eastern groups in the West, having been making "attempts to spread their ideas throughout the Soviet Union" since the late 1970s. Andropov, in particular, argued: "The International Society for Krishna Consciousness" seeks, by denying the communist ideology and the socialist state, by fighting them, to lead its adherents away from participation in socio-political and labor activities towards mysticism. In 1981, the Kommunist magazine published the statement of the then deputy chairman of the KGB, Semyon Tsvigun: “there are three greatest threats to the Soviet way of life: Western culture, rock and roll and Hare Krishna.”

In the 1980s Soviet Hare Krishnas were subjected to repression, which was explained by the policy of state persecution of religion and believers in the USSR. After the full justification of all Hare Krishnas in court, in 1988 MOSK was legalized, becoming the first new religious organization in the USSR to receive official registration. In the 1990s In the Russian ISKCON, a “period of active preaching and a massive influx of believers” began, mainly due to the active work of Hare Krishnas in the dissemination of spiritual literature.

As one of the most prominent neo-Hindu factors in modern Western society, ISKCON has received significant attention from Indologists, religious historians, sociologists and psychologists, both positively and negatively. However, ISKCON has received accolades from the leaders of the Republic of India.

Known Krishna mission "Food for Life" - helping the hungry. Hare Krishnas have been carrying out this kind of activity in Russia since 1988, when a group of volunteers from different cities of the USSR provided food for the victims of the earthquake in Armenia. In the 1990s the Russian branch of the Food for Life mission distributed vegetarian food in the hot spots of the former USSR (Abkhazia and Chechnya), as well as to the victims of the earthquake in Neftegorsk. During the First Chechen war Hare Krishnas handed out about a million portions of hot meals in Chechnya. One of the Hare Krishna volunteers died in Grozny as a result of shelling. The activities of the Food for Life volunteers in Chechnya were praised by The New York Times, which wrote that in Grozny "they have the same reputation as Mother Teresa in Calcutta: it's not hard to find people who swear that Hare Krishnas are saints."

However, in Russia the mission "Food for Life" is criticized by religious leaders of Orthodoxy, Islam and Judaism. An opinion is expressed that the "sanctified" vegetarian food - "prasada" distributed by the Hare Krishnas, is idolatrous food, which the Hare Krishnas treat people in order to convert them to their faith.

In the definition of the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church (1994), ISKCON is cited as an example of "pseudo-religion".

The resource is dedicated to the anti-cult movement within Hinduism, the study of destroyed pre-patriarchal religions and universal comparative psychopractices.

निर्मुक्तिमार्ग

Memo for a beginner Hare Krishna, or some facts about ISKCON

Previously, criticism of ISKCON was mainly carried out by Orthodoxy, with a rather superficial argumentation, sometimes not distinguishing ISKCON from other currents of Hinduism. Due to ISKCON's increasing attacks on other branches of Hinduism, it is time to dismantle this cult from the standpoint of traditional Hinduism. What you need to know if your loved ones got into a sect with Hare Krishnas, or what to do if they try to lure you into this sect?

Myth: ISKCON is Hinduism

Truth: Gaudiya-Vashnavism is a young patriarchal monotheistic sect that appeared during the decline of traditional Indian philosophy and Vedic tradition, during the period of Muslim domination in India in the 16th century. It appeared in the Islamic environment, in Bengal (Bengal today is partly not India, but the Islamic state of Bangladesh), and despite the fact that it originates in the cults of the rural population of India, it was deeply influenced by Islam, and then Christianity.

Indologist Serebryanny describes this tradition on the website lenta.ru:

In my opinion, in his translation and commentary on the Bhagavad Gita, Prabhupada brought too many of his own ideas, inherited mainly from the tradition of Bengali Vaishnavism.
This tradition developed mainly in the XVI-XVII centuries. and took a lot then from Islam; then she received new incentives for development in the 19th century, already under the influence Christianity.

Taking advantage of the interest of the West in the East in the 60s, and seeing the commercial potential in it, the Indian businessman Abhay Charan (Prabhupada), created his main business project: the Society for Krishna Consciousness, based on the rare philosophy of Gaudiya Vaishnavism, which has nothing in common with what the representatives of the 60s were looking for. In fact, Prabhupada deceived entire generations of spiritual seekers, bringing them a cult not much different from Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Cult, not giving the opportunity, complete mental liberation, which the sixties were so looking for in other religions of India, and allowing only eternal service as a "God's servant".

With outward similarity to the religions of India, the sect of Gaudiya Vaishnavism (in the west they position themselves as Hare Krishnas) has little in common with Hinduism. The GW was formed in the 16th century in Islamic Bengal in India and Bangladash, and partly consisted of Muslims converted to Hinduism. According to experts, it is due to the influence of Islam. The cult of Krishna the shepherd (not to be confused with Krishna from the Bhagavad Gita) was formed at the beginning of our era in the Abhira shepherd people.

Founder of ISKCON Abhay Charan (Prabhupada) writes about the relationship between Gaudiya Vaishnavism and Hinduism:

“Some Hindus offer help. I don't want a Hindu temple. Our bylaws say otherwise. We want everyone to participate. Krsna consciousness is meant for everyone. This is not Hindu propaganda. People shouldn't get the wrong idea.» (conversation during the meeting, 06/09/69)

"Although the so-called Hindus want to appear as great scholars, ascetics, householders and swamis, they are useless, withered branches of the Vedic religion. They are powerless; they are completely incapable of spreading Vedic culture for the benefit of human society.” (Prabhupada’s commentary on Adi Lila 2 12)

“In trying to fit the Krishna consciousness movement into the appropriate historical and cultural context, many people identify it with Hinduism. But this is a delusion... Despite the fact that Krishna consciousness and modern Hinduism have common historical roots - the ancient Vedic culture of India, Hinduism, along with other "great religions", has become a sectarian institution, while Krishna consciousness is universal and does not fit within the framework of relative sectarian definitions. ... There is a misconception that the Krishna consciousness movement is a Hindu religion.... Sometimes Indians, both in India itself and outside it, think that we are preaching the Hindu religion, but this is not so ... The Krishna consciousness movement has nothing to do with Hinduism not with any other religious system... People should understand that the Krishna consciousness movement does not preach the so-called Hindu religion. (Science of Self-Realization)

The Belarusian Indologist M. Mikhailov described the activities of ISKCON as follows:

It's scary to imagine how much money is behind this publishing expansion from the US. This is a large transnational cartel with far-reaching ideological plans. Of course, its purpose is final suppression of free critical Indology and plantations thoughtless medieval hypocritical prejudices from the Principality of Gouda, which Kshemendra, the great Shaivite teacher from the Himalayas (Kashmir, 11th century) and the great Sanskrit poet, spoke of as a haven for hypocrites and religious bigots. Okay, you can not take me for the luminary of Sanskrit learning. But, you won’t reproach Kshemendra for not understanding, they say, what the Vedas, Ramayana, Mahabharata, etc., etc. are. sonorous verses in order to save the backbone of Vedic literature, science, philosophy and education in the memory of the people in the face of the threat of extermination of libraries and academies by Islamic conquerors.
...
To consider this trend of bhakti as the main one is not just a stretch, but an outright lie. All currents of Indian medieval philosophy, including bhakti, were formed in South India and Kashmir, where independence from Muslims was preserved the longest. In Northern India, occupied by Muslims, sects and currents of a totalitarian nature immediately began to form - with one god-leader, who demanded blind faith and the absence of any rationality.

A lot of people in India are by default tolerant of all traditions, including Islam and ISKCON, so the attitude is friendly. But those representatives of Hinduism, who are thoroughly familiar with the philosophy of Gaudiya Vaishnavism, or the destructive aspects of ISKCON activities (crime, violence), condemn them. There are very few people who are familiar with Gaudiya Vaishnavism and ISKCON in India.

Another conditioning that is present in Gaudiya Vaishnavism and ISKCON is the "dvaita" philosophy. The direction "dvaita" appeared at the very beginning of the Islamic invasion of India, in the 12th century. Dvaita - means duality, dualism, that is, an insurmountable gap between man and God. The founder of this trend, Madhva, comes into conflict with many sacred sayings from the Vedas and Upanishads when he seeks to fit them into his dualism.

Myth: Prabhupada first brought Hinduism to the West

Dvaita Vedanta Madhva, the source of Gaudiya Vaishnavism, is accused by researchers of adherence to the ideas of Islam, and Gaudiya Vaishnavism itself was formed in Islamic Bengal in the 16th century from Muslims converted to Hinduism. Gaudiya Vaishnavism has absorbed the characteristic features of monotheistic religions: Monotheism, Patriarchy, intolerance towards other religions, anthropocentrism. The later Gaudiya Vaishnavas, who began to cooperate with the British colonial government, reformed and adapted Gaudiya Vaishnavism to the standards of British Puritanism. At the same time they do not meet the "moral standards" of Western society. Later, Prabhupada, who received a Western education at a British college, took these patriarchal monotheistic views (familiar to the West from Christianity and Islam) back, but already with a saffron-colored sauce.

The thesis that Hinduism brought to the west the Indian form-effect Abhay Charan is deeply erroneous, and can only be accepted by a person who is not familiar with the history of the discovery of the east by the west. There were a lot of real Hindu gurus who brought yoga to the West, among them Sivananda, Vivekananda, Satyananda and others.

Vivekananda (1863-1902) spoke in 1893 at the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago, where he received a standing ovation at the beginning of his speech when he addressed everyone with the words: "Sisters and brothers of America." Vivekananda's arrival in the United States is considered by many to be Starting point early interest in Hinduism in the West. Within a few years of Parliament, he established Vedanta centers in New York and London, lectured at major universities, and wherever he went, he stirred up Western interest in Hinduism.

Sivananda (1887-1963) wrote over 200 books on yoga and Advaita philosophy. Among the students of Swami Sivananda was the famous Western religious scholar Mircea Eliade, who wrote the treatise Yoga: Immortality and Freedom.

Satyananda Sarswati (1923-2009) introduces tantric and yogic techniques to the West. In 1963 he founded the International Yoga Fellowship. Since 1968, he has traveled extensively around the world, teaching the ancient practices of yoga to people of all nationalities, social groups, persuasions and religious beliefs. Satyananda became widely known on all continents as an authoritative representative of the traditions of yoga and tantra. He has guided thousands of spiritual seekers and inspired many ashrams and spiritual centers around the world. For the next twenty years he divided his time between travels in India and foreign countries. At a time when Abhaya Charan (Prabhupada), conducts extensive propaganda work and deceives the West, presenting under the guise of an ancient Indian wisdom, the primitive and fantasy philosophy of Gaudiya Dvaita, Satyananda conducts medical research on the influence of yoga on human physiology at the Menninger Foundation (USA) in 1971.

In addition to the work of Indian gurus, the West independently discovers the East East, Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936), author of the famous Jungle Book and Mowgli, travels to Asia, and inspired by Eastern culture, writes poems about Shiva. Herman Gese (1877-1962) writes the novel Sidhartha. Soviet and German special services send expeditions to the Himalayas. Aleister Crowley actively uses Indian practices in the Order of the Golden Dawn. The Roerich family developed the system of Agni Yoga after their trips to the East. There are many such examples proving that the east was not closed to the west.

The scale of the ISKCON corporation does not indicate that the pharmacist Abha Charan is a Guru, but rather shows him as a successful businessman and charismatic leader who skillfully applied NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) techniques borrowed from Protestant sects in the USA. And the trail of crime, violence, and broken destinies following ISKCON proves that politics and business speculating on spiritual values ​​cannot give a positive result.

Myth: ISKCON (Gaudiya Vashanavism) is an ancient Vedic tradition.

Truth: Gaudiya Vaishnavas do not accept the Vedas and Upanishads. This movement originated in Islamic Bengal in the 16th century, and has a set of authoritative writings usually created after the 16th century. The term "Vedic" is often used by them for speculative purposes, for example, the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust publishes books on Bengali cooking called Vedic Cooking, which has nothing to do with traditional Vedic culture, and the food culture during the Vedic period, when meat was eaten animals, including cows.

Myth: Gaudiya Vaishnavism and ISKCON are open, peaceful and tolerant religions

Truth: Gaudiya Vaishnava is a non-tolerant and peaceful religion. The Gaudiyas consider their religion to be the only correct one in the Kali Yuga. In relation to representatives of other schools of Hinduism, they use the insulting term "Mayavadi", the literal translation of which is "false teaching", or "followers of false teaching", or the term "impersonalists". So they call the supporters of the Vedic concept of the identity of individual consciousness and absolute consciousness (ATMAN is BRAHMAN), that is, those who deny their view of getting into the world of cows (Go-loka) as the highest salvation. Gaudiya Vaishnavas also call the gods of other religions demigods.

Abhay Charan(Prabhupada) in Srimad-Bhagavatam lectures, 1.10.13 June 26, 1973, Mayapur gives this "tolerant" message:

Just give up association with rascals. Rascals means Mayavadis (i.e. those who follow Advaita Vedanta), karmis, jnanis, yogis, they are all rascals.. We declare this openly. So we have to leave the company of these rascals. If we are really serious about advancing in Krsna consciousness, we should not associate with them. We don't even have to invite them. Also, we should not take their food, take their food. Simply to give up these rascals" association. The rascal means the Māyāvādī, karmī, jñānī, yogi, all they are rascals. It is our open declaration. So we have to give up the company of these rascals. If we actually serious about advancing in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, we should not mix with them. We should not even invite them. Neither we shall take their foodstuff, accept their foodstuff.

Where have you seen worthy people? They are all rascals! Let them come. Yes, I'll show them! I am strong. What worthy people are you talking about? Bala Yogi has already received what he deserves from me. He's just a dog! I told him this right during the public program. If somebody is Mayavadi, he is just a dog. Drive him away!

In ISKCON books, the text from the central book of Gaudiya Vaishnavism, Chaitanya Charitamrita, is translated in such a way that other religions are called the crocodile mouth, from which people need to be freed:

“Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu came to South India to instruct the inhabitants. Although these people were strong, like elephants, they were in the jaws of crocodiles of such philosophical systems as Buddhism, Jainism and Mayavada. By the disc of His mercy, Sri Chaitanya delivered all these people, converting them into Vaishnavas, devotees of the Lord.”

The founder of the Gaudiya Math, Bhaktivinoda Thakur, writes:

"Philosophy mayavadi is considered the enemy of bhakti, a followers of this philosophy are the greatest offenders" ... "Mayavadi scriptures are not authoritative, they are a distorted interpretation of the Vedas. In fact, this philosophy is Buddhism in disguise, its purpose is to confuse the fools of the Kali Yuga. At the direction of the Supreme, Shiva took birth in a brahminical family as Shankara, in order to later become an acharya. Like Jaimini, he claimed to accept the authority of the Vedas, however, distorting the Vedic philosophy, Shankara spread this false teaching everywhere. Mayavadi teachers (such as Ashtavakra, Dattatreya, Govinda, Gaurapada and Shankara, as well as their followers) adopted the Buddhist doctrine of the immersion of the soul in nirvana and, using the teachings of the Vedas about the impersonal Brahman, tried to prove that the impersonal dissolution of the soul is the highest form of existence. "... "So, being in the stage of nama-abhasa should avoid the company of the Mayavadis in every possible way and the influence of their philosophy. Such is the instruction of the Lord, and fortunate is the one who accepts it, but the one who rejects this instruction is a miserable loser who cannot find salvation even in hundreds of millions of lives.

The Mayavadi philosophers, through their missionary activities, undermine the foundations of Vedic culture, as they preach that everyone is allegedly God. Therefore they call the poor daridra-narayana, or beggar Narayana. Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu did not accept such foolish and unfounded ideas. He sternly warned, mayavadi-bhashya sunile haya sarva-nasha: "Anyone who follows the principles of Mayavada philosophy will be doomed." Such a fool can only be corrected by punishment. (prabhupada's commentary on Adi Leela 2 12)

Question: What is the position of Vaishnavas regarding association with Mayavadis? Srila Goswami Maharaja replies:

"The right approach - avoid association with Mayavadi impersonalists because they are against the supreme position of Krishna. We avoid contact with them. What to speak of associating with impersonalists when Srila Raghunath Das Goswami writes that associating even with some vidhi-bhakti followers, followers of Narayana, should be avoided. He says that such association will bring you down from Goloka to Vaikuntha."

Myth: ISKCON and Gauda Sampradaya are Hare Krishnas

Truth: ISKCONs have always identified themselves with "Krishnaism", that is, with movements that have Krishna as their ishtadevata (main deity). But this is not true, ISKCON is one of the currents of Krishnaism, far from being the most prosperous, and on a philosophical level it differs from other cults of Krishna. In India, it comes to non-recognition of ISKCON by traditional Krishnaism, and non-admission to some traditional temples of Krishna.

Myth: ISKCON and Gauda Sampradaya are Vaishnavism, Hare Krishnas are Vaishnavas

Truth: Gaudiya Vaishnavas are not Vaishnavas. They do not consider such Vaishnava texts as Vishnu Purana, or Yoga Vasistha, and the traditional way of Vaishnava religion as authorities. Vishnu is not revered as the supreme deity. Only the shepherd Krishna from the cult of the Abhira shepherds is recognized as the supreme personality.

There are only 4 Vaishnava sampradayas (lines): Rudra sampradaya, Brahma sampradaya, Lakshmi sampradaya, Kumara sampradaya. The Gaudiya sampradaya is not one of them. Gaudiya Krishnas try to add to their line of authority by posing as followers of the Brahma Sampradaya (Madhva's Dvaita Vedanta), but their religion differs significantly from that of Madhvacharya. The Brahma Sampradaya does not recognize the succession of the Chaitanya lineage and the Gauda Sampradaya, sometimes radically, although in the last century there are cases of a tolerant attitude.

Myth: ISKCON and Gaudiya Math are the only followers of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Gaudiya Sampradaya

None of the other major currents of Gaudiya Vaishnavism - Advaita Parivara, Gadadhara Parivara, Parivara Gopala-guru Goswami, Nityananda parivara, do not recognize the leader of the Gaudiya Math Bhaktisiddhanta (teacher of Abhay Charana "Prabhupada") and his students as authoritative representatives of the sampradaya.

Bhaktivinoda Thakur and his son Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati arbitrarily declared the rest of the Gaudiya Sampradaya, many currents, non-authoritative, mired in sahajiya and other deviations. At the same time, the Gaudiya Math had political and administrative capital in the form of ties with the British colonial administration, which played into their hands in the process of pushing their self-proclaimed cult to the surface.

Myth: ISKCON books are Vedas

Truth: The primordial books are not the Vedas. The fact that they are the Vedas (or even the Vedas from the Vedas) is mentioned ONLY in themselves. Such "self-proclaiming" does not make these scriptures as authoritative as the Vedas. The writings of Gaudiyas are alien to the spirit of the Vedas and Upanishads, and the foundations of Vedic philosophy (the identity of the soul and God) are criticized by them.

Myth: Bhagavad Gita is the Vedas; Bhagavad-gita as it is is an adequate translation

Truth: Traditionally in India, it is believed that the Bhagavad Gita is the essence of Vedic philosophy, but in the theistic and personalistic translations and comments of the Gaudiyas, it acquires not a Vedic, but, on the contrary, an anti-Vedic character. Experts call the book "Bhagavad Gita As It Is" by Abhay Charana (Prabhupada) - "Bhagavad Gita, which would never be better."

M. Mikhailov, a Belarusian Indologist, speaks of the translation of Abhay Charan (Prabhupada):

He carried out (largely out of ignorance and misunderstanding of the ancient recitative tradition of mythochronology, represented by the grandiose Sanskrit chronomithopoems, such as the Ramayana, Mahabharata, Great Puranas, Auxiliary Puranas, Shaivite, Vishnuite, Shakta Tantras, etc.,) - a purposeful mystification of ancient astrochronomythology, astronomical science and philosophy of the Vedas in line with late medieval Bengali bhakti, mysticism and mythological cretinism.
...
In the "Bhagavad Gita", the central song of the Mahabharata calendar epic, Krishna, a mythological hero, diplomat, mentor of the commander Arjuna, sets out the basic principles of the ethics of the ancient Indian warrior, based on the philosophy of Vedanta, Samkhya and yoga. Bhakti is present there, but by no means in the form of the main teaching. The main thing there is the path of jnana, knowledge, philosophy and science. Those who, in much later times, gave the text a one-sided mysticism with extreme manifestations of eroticism and mysticism, took sin upon their souls, distorted and broke the text. To pass it off in this form as the main and even more so correct is blasphemy and hypocrisy, if not deceit and the imposition by force of a clearly distorted, simply sometimes mutilated, slanderous text of an unscrupulous translation. The text must be judged not from the point of view of its conformity with the superstitions and prejudices of medieval Bengal and commentaries there, but from the point of view of any sound Sanskrit translation, Sanskrit commentaries and Sanskrit expositions of Shankara, Abhinavagupta, Kshemendra and other great philosophers of India.

Myth: ISKCON and Gaudiya Vashnavism are popular in India

Truth: The people who have heard about ISKCON in India are 1 percent. There are quite a few followers of ISKCON and Gaudiya Vaishnavism in India, even in their homeland - in Bengal, in comparison with the more traditional directions of Hinduism.

Myth: There is a lineage of professional gurus in ISKCON and Gaudiya Vaishnavism

Truth: Bhaktivinoda Thakur worked as a lawyer for the British colonial government. Abhay Charan (Prabhupada) graduated from a Christian college and worked as a pharmacist. ISKCON gurus were not professional or hereditary brahmins. The lineage of Gaudiya Vaishnavism excluded Brahmins and representatives of authoritative traditions. The lack of professionalism in the preparation of the community manifested itself in the sexual abuse of children within ISKCON in the 70s, and in the long trail of crime (heroin trafficking, violence) that accompanied the movement in the west.

Usually ISKCON refers to itself as a Brahma sampradaya founded by Madhva in the 13th century, but many other followers of the Brahma sampradaya do not recognize ISKCON and the followers of Chaitanya.

Myth: Shiva and other gods are demigods

Truth: In Hinduism, Shiva, Brahma and other gods are revered as full-fledged deities. In the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition of translation and interpretation of the text, the Indian word deva (god) is translated as "demigod". This was done in order to shade the position of other gods in relation to Krishna the shepherd. The Rig-Veda (the first of the Vedas) says: "There is no small one among you, O gods, there is no teenager: You are all equally great" (Rig-Veda VIII, 30. To All-Gods). Shiva is traditionally considered in Hinduism not as a demigod, but on the contrary, due to the old age of the cult and popular love, he is called maha-deva (great god), which cannot be said about the traditional attitude towards Krishna.

Myth: Buddhism and Advaita are heretical movements (Mayavada or impersonalism)

Truth: Advaita Vedanta is considered by Hindus and scientific researchers to be the COMPLETE expression of the spirit of the philosophy of the Vedas and Upanishads, and Buddhism, according to researchers, is an expression of the spirit of the Vedas and Upanishads, purified from complex external ritualism. The term "Mayavada" used to address Advaitists or Buddhists is offensive, the literal translation is "unreal teaching". "Impersonalism" is a term from Western philosophy, also applied with difficulty to the completely different realities of Indian philosophy. In Vedic philosophy there is "Mahavakya" - 4 sayings from the texts of Shruti about the identity of atman (individual soul) and brahman (god-absolute). If you still share the views of the Gaudiya Vashanavas, then refrain from using this word in public.

Myth: God can only be perceived in a personal form

Truth: Gaudiya Vaishnava thinkers after the 16th century put forward the thesis that the Vedic impersonal absolute (Brahman) is the light from the god Govinda, at the moment, this primitive and naturalistic philosophy is dominant ONLY in Gaudiya Vaishnavism and ISKCON. Traditional Hinduism believes that the absolute can be perceived both in personal form (God, Bhagavan, Ishtadevata) and impersonal (Brahman, OM, Sadashiva, etc.).

Myth: Selling (distributing) books is a spiritual activity (prachar)

Truth: The distribution of Gaudiya Vaishnava literature is not a spiritual practice, but a commercial cult built around the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. If God is omnipotent and absolute, then he does not need any help, especially directed in the name of enriching some corporation.

Myth: ISKCON (GV) Practitioners Give Liberation from Samsara

Truth: Go-loka, which is the goal of Gaudiya practices, is not liberation from samsara. Go-loka is the same samsaric world (where the cycle of karma operates) like all the others. Real liberation in Hinduism is the attainment of Nirvana and the state of Brahman consciousness (Bhagavad Gita chapter 2 verse 72). For practicing yogis, the higher and lower worlds are obstacles, since samsara operates there, and samsara is a synonym for eternal torment (hell).

Myth: In Kali Yuga, only Gaudiya Vaishnavism can save you.

Truth: The concept of yugas is not mentioned in the Vedas, they appear in the post-Vedic period and not in the sense in which they are used by the GV. Gaudiya Vaishnavas of Kali Yuga are used as an argument against spiritual work, in their opinion, no spiritual practices and superpowers (siddhis) are possible in Kali Yuga. This argument is used as a justification for their naturalistic practices and cults (gluttony and dancing). Contrary to their own opinion, the fact that the founder of the Gaudiya Math, Bhaktivinoda Thakura, in the 19th century, faced with, and in order to resist them, Bhaktivinoda had to resort to the help of armed British soldiers.

In Buddhism, it is believed that liberation does not depend on time and place, and is possible in any conditions, even in the most difficult.

Myth: "Hare Krishna..." is a Vedic mantra

Truth: The mantra "Hare Krishna..." is not mentioned in the Vedas. She is mentioned in a text from the Puranic period (our era) called the Kalisantarana Upanishad. Despite its use in the title, it is not included in the main Vaidika Upanishads (Shruti).

Myth: Gaudiya Vaishnavas respect women and do not adhere to gender segregation.

Truth: Since Gaudiya Vaishnavism is based on Islam, it has very pronounced patriarchal tendencies and sexism. In ISKCON, men are separate from women, only men can take key positions, there is a division according to the type of clothing. Women wear headscarves and long dresses.

Kirtanananda Swami, leader in 1968-1994 of the Hare Krishna spiritual community of New Vrindavan, used to say "Three things are better when you beat them, your drum, your dog, and your wife."

The book Bhagavad Purana gives a humiliatingly primitive description of the female womb, translating which Abhay Charan (Prabhupada) was not too lazy to add patriarchal epithets:

“Getting nutrients from the food the mother eats and the drinks she drinks, the fetus gradually grows. At the same time, he is always in a stinking womb filled with urine and feces and a breeding ground for worms and other worms. ... Caught in the womb, in a mess of blood, urine and feces writhing in the heat of the fire of digestion burning in his mother's stomach, and longing to escape from there, he counts the months and prays to God: "O my Lord, when will I, an unfortunate soul, be released from this imprisonment?" Bhagavad Purana 3.31.5, 3.31.17

In contrast to this patriarchal pastoral worldview, in Hindu and Buddhist philosophy, being in the womb is often compared with Samadhi (a state of carelessness and divine consciousness), there are also practices (for example, yoni mudra) when a person imitates being in the mother's womb.

Myth: Sexuality is sinful

Truth: Since Gaudiya Vaishnavism is based on Islam, and Islam is an Abrahamic religion, it has a very pronounced repression of sexuality. Sex not for reproduction is considered sinful. In general, in Hinduism, a pronounced cult of sexuality is the veneration of phallic symbols (lingam), and female genitalia (yoni), and the image of copulating deities. Sex is not considered something low and sinful. Some branches of Hinduism use sex for spiritual evolution.

Myth: ISKCON and Gaudiya Vaishnavism recognize yoga (Bhakti is yoga, or the highest yoga)

Gaudiya Vaishnavas do not recognize psychopractices, and the highest levels of realization of the psyche in Yoga.

In the "Bhagavad Gita", the central song of the Mahabharata calendar epic, Krishna, a mythological hero, diplomat, mentor of the commander Arjuna, sets out the basic principles of the ethics of the ancient Indian warrior, based on the philosophy of Vedanta, Samkhya and yoga. Bhakti is present there, but by no means in the form of the main teaching. The main thing there is the path of jnana, knowledge, philosophy and science. Those who, in much later times, gave the text a one-sided mysticism with extreme manifestations of eroticism and mysticism, took sin upon their souls, distorted and broke the text. To pass it off in this form as the main and even more so correct is blasphemy and hypocrisy, if not deceit and the imposition by force of a clearly distorted, simply sometimes mutilated, slanderous text of an unscrupulous translation. The text must be judged not from the point of view of its conformity with the superstitions and prejudices of medieval Bengal and commentaries there, but from the point of view of any sound Sanskrit translation, Sanskrit commentaries and Sanskrit expositions of Shankara, Abhinavagupta, Kshemendra and other great philosophers of India.

Best of all, the attitude towards classical Yoga is reflected in the quote of the founder of the Gaudiya Math, Bhaktivinoda Thakur:

However, seeing the miserable condition of the jivas in Kali-yuga, the Lord lost hope in the effectiveness of the methods of jnana, karma and yoga. The jivas of Kali Yuga are characterized by a short lifespan, numerous diseases, and a significant decrease in the level of mental and physical strength. Therefore, the rules of varnasrama and the paths of sankhya, yoga and jnana, as well as other indirect methods, are not powerful enough to bring liberation to sentient beings in the Kali-yuga. Not being direct paths to bhakti, karma and jnana in the Kali Yuga are full of obstacles and therefore are no longer suitable methods of spiritual progress in this age. The path of jnana leads to bhakti only in association with devotees, and the path of karma leads to bhakti only if there is a desire to fully dedicate one's activities to the Lord. However, in Kali-yuga these paths are polluted, because instead of devotees we see cheaters, and instead of selfless activities that purify the heart, we see the abundance of material enjoyment everywhere. The method recommended for the Dvapara Yuga, arcana, is also contaminated by various vices.

Thus, in the age of Kali, a person who follows these indirect paths only brings more difficulties to himself. Moreover, the methods of karma and jnana, being material means to an end, cannot by themselves lead to the spiritual end, krishna-prema.

It all started in the summer of 2012 when I was 17 years old. I was at that time a first-year student of the psychological faculty of a Moscow university, I lived separately from my parents in my mother's apartment. Then I already knew something about Hinduism, read books on this topic, even practiced something: I didn’t eat meat and practiced hatha yoga. I even had a small altar to Shiva, but it was all voluntary. I was not a member of any organizations or sects. At that time I could not even think that I would get into this whole story.

That summer, I decided to expand my knowledge of Hinduism and go to the Shiva temple, if there is one, but I found out that there are no Hindu temples of the god Shiva in Moscow, but there is a temple of Krishna. The alternative looked tempting, so I went there. The Hare Krishnas greeted me very warmly, immediately fed me and told me the basics of their religion, then it all seemed very interesting to me.

It should be noted that I was very suggestible, although I studied then at the Faculty of Psychology and knew about the manipulation of consciousness in order to drag a person into a sect. Due to my age, my consciousness was flexible, and I was greedy for different kind"practices", "personal growth", "spiritual development". And they told me very tempting things there, that, they say, it is a great boon to get to the devotees of Krishna, to taste “prasadam” (as they call the food offered to Krishna), that this will allow you to get a better birth in the next life, and, perhaps, if become a "pure devotee", then generally be released from samsara (the wheel of birth and death).

Krishna was called "the supreme personality of God", "all-attractive", "source of eternal pleasure". They told me that it is Krishna who is the supreme, real God, who should be served. At first, everything seemed interesting to me, it was pleasant to be in the temple. And yet, despite the positive impressions of going to the temple, my enthusiasm and interest faded the next day (common sense prevailed) and I decided that the Hare Krishnas are nice people, but I will not go to them regularly. I will know that they are and sometimes you can visit them. Finally, I joined the VKontakte group “Krishna and You” (it turns out “Krishnaites”), I liked its name. And I forgot all about it.

Three months later, in September, a Hare Krishna wrote to me. He said that he found me in this group, that he would like to invite those who are interested in “Krishna Consciousness” to a meeting, explained that this is such an apartment building where everyone sits, sings mantras, talks about the philosophy of the Vedas and then has dinner. This is called Bhakti Vriksha. At first I was concerned: stranger calls me to his apartment, you never know what is on his mind, but then she decided to go and see what is there, in the end, I’m unlikely to let myself be offended, and even if he is a Hare Krishna, then nothing should happen bad. At that time, an association had already formed in my head that a “Krishnaite” is someone kind, cheerful and positive. In general, Hare Krishnas try very hard to create an image of their society as something pure and bright. Many are attracted to this sect precisely by the illusion of eternal happiness and bliss. They are guaranteed to everyone for careful recitation of the mantra. However, later it turns out that everything is not so simple ...

I came to the indicated address, they let me in, there were 15-20 more people there, all the girls were dressed in skirts. They met me and sent me to help in the kitchen. When I announced that I was 17, everyone was happy for me and said that this was a great mercy of Krishna, that at such a young age I met devotees and "took the path", although at that time I was not going to follow their religion. This is another trick that Hare Krishnas skillfully use: recruiting into their ranks those who seem to be “on the periphery”: they listen to lectures, are interested, but do not call themselves Hare Krishnas and do not “hit” this religion. They begin to invite them to programs and actively “preach” them, and after a month or two, a person, without noticing it, already believed that Krishna is the supreme personality of God and he must certainly surrender, leaving everything as Bhagavad teaches- Gita, and Prabhupada (the founder of ISKCON) is a saint who was destined to change the world. For beginners, and indeed for every Hare Krishna, all "gurus" and "senior devotees" are super authoritative. Their lectures are listened to with all attentiveness and they never think about turning on critical thinking and identifying any mistakes. Even the obvious self-contradictory nonsense is perceived as the ultimate truth.

My very first mistake was that I thought that the Hare Krishnas are impartially versed in Indian philosophy and can clear up any ambiguity associated with the study of this topic. But my illusions were quickly dispelled: at bhakti vriksha, I noticed that my questions on philosophy, which seemed to me very significant, were answered very veiled, or, on the contrary, they gave unambiguous answers and even a reasonable attempt to argue was cut down. For example, to my question about whether Vishnu or Krishna is supreme, they answered me harshly that, of course, Krishna is the supreme god and in general, they say, why am I asking such a stupid question, despite the fact that I was ready to provide excerpts from religious studies textbooks and classical Hindu texts proving otherwise. At that time, although I was wary of such an attitude, I was not wise enough to understand that this is simply a sect that benefits from presenting the scriptures in a light that suits it. However, I liked everything else: friendly people, mantras, the altar and tasty food. I started going to this Bhakti vriksha once a week, on Tuesdays.

The saddest part of my story begins right here. Once I noticed that one “prabhu” (as the Hare Krishnas call men) goes with me to bhakti-vriksha, his name was Ivan (name changed). He once sang mantras and I drew attention to him. Vanya came up during a break and we got to know each other, told who and where he works, that he has been practicing Krishnaism for the third year. He was 26 at that time, but 9 years of age difference did not bother me and we continued to communicate. I invited him to visit, we called up, read something to each other on the phone.

We talked for a while and soon I realized that I fell in love with him. After a couple of weeks of communication, it became clear that this was mutual, that Vanya was considering me as his future wife. True, even then everything went completely different from Krishna standards.

He moved in with me when less than a month had passed since we met. Previously, he lived in the same place where he worked - the conditions are not quite suitable for "spiritual practice", and, as he said, "there are meat-eaters around, with whom you have to communicate at work, they defile the space." In general, Ivan treated people who were not devoted to Krishna with contempt, making clear gradations into “devotees” and so-called “karmis”, that is, people living according to their karma, ordinary people. Whether it's a matter of living with me - no one interfered with leading a "good" way of life there, as every Hare Krishna believes.

The first month of our life together, we reveled in communication with each other. I caught Vanino's every word, he seemed mature and wise to me. For his sake, I even abandoned my plans to move to Germany. Although all the documents were already ready, he managed to convince me that this is not a spiritual country and there is nothing to do there. After the move, he immediately began to impose Krishnaism on me, without giving me any opportunity to express my own opinion. At first, I openly agreed to follow the rules, because I liked Ivan and I wanted to please him, to please him. Without wanting it myself, and without even really noticing what was happening, I began to turn into a typical Hare Krishna "mataji" (as Hare Krishnas call women).

I made the most terrible mistake, familiar to many: I thought that he would change and it would become easier to relate to all these rituals (perhaps, I thought, Vanya’s fanaticism will moderate and mushrooms and good Chinese tea will appear in our house again). After he moved in with me, without even asking if I was against it, but simply putting before the fact (after all, he believed that he was doing good by default) that from now on he lives with me, Vanya created a number of rules for our house, which I had to observe, in his words, "for the sake of my own spiritual progress", such as for example:

– Early rise and recitation of 16 rounds of the mantra. Vanya woke me up at 6:30 in the morning, also saying that it was not so early, giving me the example of “authoritative devotees” who get up a few hours earlier. The awakening was followed by a shower and the chanting of the Hare Krishna manta. One day I didn't want to get up and he just took me, brought me to the bath and doused me with an ice shower;

- Restriction of communication with everyone except Vaishnavas. In particular, he insisted that in my environment there were only Hare Krishna girls and no guys. He was jealous of everyone, even my father (from my current position of perception, it seems to me just wildness), saying that father and daughter should not be left alone. All my girlfriends were offered to convert to Krishnaism, which at first I even reluctantly tried to do, gave them books and rosaries. He looked at all my social media, telephone, forced me to interrupt communication with male friends and acquaintances, did not let me go to the cinema even with my cousin, tightly controlled. Any action that seemed to him a reason for jealousy turned our communication into a scandal: for example, once in the subway, he brought me to tears with indignation about the fact that I allegedly looked lustfully at someone from the crowd. I began to rarely see my family, the lack of communication soon began to negatively affect my psyche;

- Vanya replaced my altar, removing everything from there that concerns Shiva, and replacing it with images of Krishna. He called Shiva a "demigod" (although there is no such concept at all in Hinduism) and said that devotees of Krishna should not worship demigods;

– Bookshelves were to be freed from "karmic literature". Instead, there should have been books about and for Hare Krishnas. One day he brought a stack of Prabhupada's books and suggested that I remove all the books from the shelves and replace them with the books of the Krishna Consciousness Society. To my reasonable alternative proposal of just buying new shelves, nailing them in empty places and putting books about Krishna on them, and not touching my books, since this is my house and there is my own device, he reacted extremely negatively: he threw all my books from shelves and tore them. As a result, I glued torn pages and bindings all night in tears;

- The cat, with whom we then lived together in an apartment, suffered the fate of becoming a vegetarian (how can you feed someone with meat!), Which led to a sharp deterioration in his health. Any of my attempts to stand up for the cat's diet were nipped in the bud. I ended up secretly feeding my cat normal cat food in the elevator stairwell while my "boyfriend" slept or was at work (which happened infrequently). Then Vanya even insisted on giving the cat away, because this animal is “in the mode of ignorance” and how can devotees of Krishna “serve” some cat at all? I still regret that I did not stand up for my animal companion, I miss him and feel guilty before him;

- Any food had to be offered to Krishna, any leftovers of the offered food were forbidden to be thrown away, they had to be left under the tree. As a result, Ivan took out whole packages of skins from fruits / husks from seeds and other garbage and threw them under the trees, to the delight of the janitors. Mantras for offering food to Krishna were recited even over water, pepper and salt. When one day I brought Vanya water that was not offered to Krishna, and after drinking it, he asked if I had read mantras over it and received a negative answer, he yelled at me violently, calling me insulting words;

- Vanya constantly pointed to my secondary position. He talked about my low birth, that I am fallen, that a woman is like a transition from an animal form of life to a human one, and that I will not achieve liberation until I am born a “prabhu” and walk the path of Krishnaism again in a male body ;

– Ivan forced me to listen to lectures by famous Hare Krishna preachers and “gurus”: Torsunov, Narushevich, Ruzov, Khakimov and others, insisting that I was poorly educated in this regard, rude and not like a girl, and that I should become softer, softer and more feminine, although objectively I was an ordinary girl, not too soft and not too rough. Vanya also made me keep a diary of the lectures I heard and checked it;

- I was supposed to wear skirts, dress modestly and not use makeup in order to be "cleaner" and "chaste." He refused my attempts to have sex with Vanya, shaming me for my “licentiousness” and telling me that “a drop of semen is equal to a glass of a man’s blood,” while he himself, when he wanted, persuaded me to do this at any time convenient for him. This is one of the many examples of double standards characteristic of Hare Krishnas. There was constant talk that I was not feminine enough, soft and humble enough. Even then it seemed to me: well, why doesn’t he accept me for who I am, why should I wear masks?

Nevertheless, Torsunov's lectures began to do their job, and soon I believed that I did not meet the "high" standards of the devotees and should change. So I put on a smile, put on a floor-length skirt, which looked very comical in combination with Slavic appearance, and tried not to contradict her young man in anything for the sake of our "Vedic" family. Krishna ordered so, Krishna likes girls in skirts, and our main task is to please him! After all, it turns out that Vanya has a choice - to become a brahmachari monk or a grhastha householder, and for my sake he refuses the higher path of a hermit in favor of a family. For my salvation! Like, I should always remember this and be grateful.

In general, a real "mataji" should spend her free time in a special way: to engage in women's affairs in order to develop her true feminine nature, which will lead her to God. The whole house and all association should be "Vedic". This is the only correct way. "There is no other way!" repeats like a mantra, every Hare Krishna. Vanya was of the same opinion. Therefore, he constantly reminded me of the development of "Vedic womanhood", forming in me an aversion to this view of the family. I shuddered at every mention of skirts, chastity, modesty, "protection of the female body" from the "desirable glances of men." The psyche began to be gradually damaged, but I continued to endure and believe that I was simply not pure enough to accept this knowledge and that in time everything would be fine, there would be a “Vedic” family (then I did not know that ISKCON had nothing to do with the real Vedas ).

Probably everyone reading this asks in bewilderment: “How could she allow herself to be treated like that?” I myself still do not know the exact answer to this question. Probably, . I was very attached to Ivan, I thought that I loved him. I was in the midst of a transitional age, when you can inspire any kind of nonsense, plus the type of psyche that is easy to manipulate. I was looking for the true "spiritual path" and fell for the ISKCON brainwashing scam. I lived separately from my family and had little contact with them. The situation was such that my mother lived in another city and she had a new family. I did not communicate closely with my father, they were divorced, and he was not aware of the story. Our communication with him was superficial. One day I was so desperate that I called him and asked for help. As soon as Ivan heard this, he immediately ran away, and dad did not find him at home. My grandparents, with whom I grew up for some time, were also busy with their own affairs: my grandfather developed his business and he also had a family (and still has), my grandmother bought a separate apartment and repaired it. Everything coincided in such a bad way that everyone seems to have forgotten about me. Everyone thought that I was studying and living on my own, as befits a student, that everything was fine. And I was afraid that Ivan would be kicked out of the apartment where I lived, and I was silent about many things, because I believed that he would change.

And then I thought that within the framework of Hinduism, which, according to by and large, difference, do I believe in Krishna or Shiva, in whom I believed before? After all, the pantheon of gods is such that Krishna does not exclude the presence of Shiva. For the sake of my new family, I was ready for almost anything, even to completely refuse contact with society, the outside world, and development. The degradation of the personality began, I felt how, in the literal sense of the word, I was becoming dumber every day.

And so I endured it all, each time promising myself that one more of his tricks and we parted. I did not have enough internal strength to leave Vanya, although it happened that he even decided to leave. Then there were scandals, my tears, requests to stay, because I could not imagine my life without Vanya. Surprisingly: for some half a year, from a self-sufficient person, from a purposeful girl who wants to develop in all areas of activity, I turned into a downtrodden whore, not getting out of the kitchen, which developed “Vedic femininity”, being under the strict control of “prabhu”. I believed that everything would be rewarded for me for such austerities, that this is the result of bad karma, because with Krishna nothing happens just like that.

All my friends stopped communicating with me, I left the university, and Ivan approved of this, because “a woman does not need higher education”, according to the beliefs of the Hare Krishnas. Almost the only place I went to was that very bhakti vriksha, where it was terribly boring and where the same thing was discussed all the time. By that time, I had already been made the head of the kitchen and I was preparing food for 10-20 people. Later, however, under various pretexts, I began to refuse to appear there. Sometimes we went to the temple for Sunday programs and Ekadashi (this is a fast that Hare Krishnas keep twice a month and an all-night celebration is organized on this occasion).

The most amazing thing is that I really believed in all this: in Krishna, that I should follow this path ... I became intimidated, oppressed, unreal. I almost completely lost myself, I cried at night, but my attachment to Vanya was so strong that I believed that everything would change and could not even think about life without him. I didn’t like the roles of “mataji” and “humble wife” at all, but I stopped considering myself capable of something more, because my young man constantly reminded me of my low birth.

After four months of our life together, Vanya invited me to become his wife. Then I should have turned 18. For me, his proposal was a shock, because I was young and did not want to marry Ivan right now. I replayed scenes of explanation with my parents, our possible future, prospects in my head and realized that this was a dead end. This is not my way, the way that has no heart. At first, I tried to evade the answer, telling Vanya that, they say, I am a minor and no one will allow us to register a marriage. To which he replied that he would wait for the eighteenth birthday, we would get married, and after a while we would give birth to a child - the sooner the better (after all, it is such a blessing to incarnate such a pure soul! A devotee of Krishna from birth!). I realized that it was pointless to avoid answering and said directly that this was not for me, that I was not ready for this now. Ivan took my refusal very painfully, and after that our relationship became even worse.

He began to harshly criticize my life before ISKCON, began to sleep separately from me. He refused to eat the food that I tried first, because he believed that I was defiling it by what I tried (I'm a woman, more low level consciousness), played computer games all day long (he reads a mantra with one hand and moves a computer mouse with the other), constantly raised his voice at me, had long conversations in the style of a showdown, swearing from scratch.

It seemed to me then that this is a real hell on Earth - to understand that this is terrible and not be able to simply stop it due to psychological dependence. Almost no one called me, did not come, even my parents. Vanya began to raise his hand to me: for not offering food to Krishna, for not cleaning up after the cat in time.

He generally beat the cat hard, once kicked him so that the poor fellow could not even stand on his paws. I ended up giving it to my friends because it was the only way save him from such a miserable existence. Vanya was only for me to "stop serving the animal in the mode of ignorance."

Vanya also beat me from time to time: once he hit his head against the wall, I fell, and he caught himself and then apologized for a long time, treated me. I even went to the emergency room and said there that I hit the door or the table, although the doctors suggested calling the police.

Once my old friends came to the entrance to find out what was happening with my life, but I just did not open the door to the apartment for them and asked them to leave. “Thank God,” I thought at that moment, “that Vanya is not at home, otherwise there would be another scene of jealousy.”

When he slept with me, I prayed not to get pregnant, because he forbade contraception, and an accidental conception could occur, and then a child with poor genetics of his mentally unhealthy father would be added to the already existing hell that my life has turned into.

A serious change took place in May, at that time we had been together for eight months: after another quarrel, Ivan packed his things and left, and then, in retaliation, he called my 72-year-old grandmother and lied to her that I was taking hard drugs (although even tea in was not stored in our house, since the Hare Krishnas consider tea a mind-altering product, not to mention drugs), which made her heart ill and called an ambulance ...

Then Vanya called me and apologized for a long time. Roared into the phone, persuaded to meet with him, then knelt in the subway and asked for forgiveness. Our relationship was in limbo. I didn't want to forgive him or cut him out of my life forever.

But since then, we began to live separately, because my parents had already intervened, set the condition that there were no strangers in this apartment. It was a sip fresh air for me! I have been waiting for this help for so long, this manifestation of someone else's will (because I no longer possessed my own). For the first time in a while, I could sit quietly in the kitchen, drink coffee and not worry that someone would blame me for this. Even then, every day I began to understand more clearly not only how psychologically I had "grown" in Vanya, but also how much I wanted to get rid of this addiction.

I began to prepare for re-entering the university and entered. The social life that began with the school year helped me a lot with the restoration of the psyche. Nevertheless, Vanya and I continued to communicate, he looked after me and tried, as it were, to make amends. For the weekend I went to him out of town, big house where he lived with relatives, and tried to turn a blind eye to our past. Vanya several times offered to live together again, but I refused him. I continued to read the mantra regularly, keep the fasts, but at the same time I tried to find a psychologist who would help me solve the problem of addiction and internally let go of this person and leave the sect. I went to three psychologists, none of whom could give me adequate support. Two simply refused to work, one pulled money out of me and after a couple of sessions it became clear that there would be no result and there was no point in continuing. I've had bad luck with psychologists. I did not know whom to look for, and rushed into the first hands that came across. They were not specialists in so-called exit counseling and deprogramming. But, they say, to realize the problem is already half the solution to it. And in my mind lived the hope of returning to normal life.

In winter, things got worse again. We quarreled, stopped talking, then started again. Vanya began to set conditions for me. He said that he would communicate with me only if I would be weekly in the circle of “matadjis”. In order not to escalate the situation, I signed up for the “mataja club”. It was an all-female apartment building where they discussed how the world had been degraded by women not fulfilling their primary responsibilities, such as raising children and cooking dinner. At these meetings, I was terribly bored, and I often drew, sitting in the corner of the room, or simply skipped them.

I tried to avoid personal communication with Ivan, because I began to understand that he was simply dangerous. One day in January, he invited me to go to a vegetarian shop in the center of Moscow. It was, as it turned out later, just an excuse for a meeting.

It was very cold. In the park, Vanya attacked me, hit me several times, and, as the subsequent X-ray showed, he broke my nose. Covered in blood, I ran away from him through the crisp snow. He was chasing me, but I ran to some men standing aside and asked them for help. Seeing that I was not alone, he left me alone. The men gave me napkins and offered to help me get home. I refused and sat in the snow, wiping the blood. Vanya came up and began to apologize ... Over and over again I continued to forgive him, despite all his mockery of me.

Over the next year and a half, we continued to communicate, once went to Germany for a month and twice to India - to Vrindavan and Mayapur. All the trips were paid for by me, because he had no money for travel, and he did not want to let me go alone. And I saved up the money that my parents gave me (I was only 17-18), and they gave me something for the holidays, I never spent it - I always put it off. I really liked India, but after a couple of days spent there, I was finally convinced that ISKCON has nothing to do with the real cultural and religious traditions of India. Krishnas are tolerated in India only because every year a lot of devotees from all over the world go there on pilgrimage and bring money with them, which helps to support the country's economy.

The Society for Krishna Consciousness seemed to me to be a grandiose circus performance, in the backyard of which I found myself. I contemplated what was happening: all these rituals, temples, "authorities", all this huge system of lies. In India, I stopped reading the Hare Krishna mantra, I only pretended to sort out the rosary so that Vanya would not make another scandal. My awareness began to return to me, as if I had been blind and had my sight.

In ISKCON, the recruitment of new people is handled by mind specialists. They lure new adherents in a variety of ways: yoga, cooking, astrology, Ayurveda, who is interested in what and who will fall for what. The word “Vedic” is added to all the words used in the sermon, and it turns out not just a variety of hobbies, but the real “knowledge of the ancients”! It's hard not to fall for such an attractive wrapper.

The Hare Krishnas preach very convincingly, as they themselves were once brainwashed and they believe in what they say. The knowledge they disseminate has no empirical support in their minds. They were simply told that this was so, and without checking the information, but only fanatically accepting it on faith, they pass it on down the chain, recruiting new members. This sect affects the intellect of the adept in various ways, turning it off, causing "stupefaction". I noticed that I began to think much worse, became more naive, stupider after just a few months of the so-called "sadhana". And so my intellect began to wake up, gradually returning to me, as if "by the grace of Krishna." I clearly realized that I could get out and end this hell.

After returning from my second trip to India, I stopped communicating with Ivan. He seemed to suddenly cease to be interesting to me. At first, I myself did not fully realize my new attitude towards him, savored it and thought about the reasons for its appearance. But over time, I became more and more saturated with this freedom, this inner self-sufficiency, which began to be regained by me. I began to understand that the terrible era that destroyed my life almost to the very foundation was coming to an end. With great enthusiasm, I began to re-explore the world, gradually opening up to me anew in its harmonious diversity of views and opinions. The realization that in total I spent three years on this destructive relationship with a sectarian, which haunted me for a long time. Vanya was looking for meetings with me, sometimes I even went to have lunch with him in a cafe, but continued to live my life. He said something about himself: that he was writing music again, that he was going to get initiated. I was not interested and I nodded to him in response out of politeness.

As you know, when you move away from the picture at some distance, the image on it can be seen better. The further I move away from ISKCON (while, of course, it is not worth leaving the art gallery completely during the analysis - otherwise the picture will disappear from view), the more clearly I see how this system works. This is especially evident when there are comparisons with other sects (pictures).

Of course, ISKCON, like any organization, is great at manipulating people. The system used by Hare Krishnas corresponds to the classical scheme of organizing sects.

All this "Krishna consciousness" is very insidious. At first glance, you think: “Yes, this is an unambiguous blessing! Even if they are not right about everything, they don’t eat meat, but how many millions of them! How many animal lives do they save. Yes, and many gave up drugs, alcohol, changed for the sake of Krishna. That's lovely! They live in the mode of goodness, and after death they will gain eternal life on the spiritual planets.”

But it's all a wrapper. Yes, some people's lives change to some extent. But when you look at the lives of most devotees, you can see that they are unhappy, socially unachieving people, often with a bad past and an unhealthy psyche. They find themselves cut off from real life, in a cocoon that isolates them from the outside world. They are taught to think in very narrow categories, set from the outside, patriarchal, and no one thinks about who really benefits from this. People are taught to divide people into meat-eaters/vegetarians, devotees/karmis. They learn to hang labels, they teach unambiguity. They refer to authorities, and when you try to get up the stairs to some real sources of information, they tell you: “Our parampara (line of succession) originates from Lord Brahma!” - and that's it. Go bet, Brahma himself! Wow. And there is no way to check this, it's just Prabhupada came up with.

And now, after six months of such processing, irreversible changes begin to occur in the psyche. You begin to understand that there are no more real people around you, only “devotees”. These are broken lives, as it becomes already difficult to return thinking to normal. The further into the forest, the more firewood. You think: “nothing, because this is the real blessing - to communicate with pure people! They surround me because I cleanse myself, and the “meat-eaters” are simply not interested in me, because they have a low spiritual level.”

I began to remember the times when I thought outside these categories. I remembered how different life was, how pure, full, when this endless analysis “from the point of view of a devotee” did not take place in my head. Gradually, my former sanity returned to me, although the echoes of the Hare Krishna experience still make themselves felt.

Krishna consciousness is when your thinking is taken away from you and they say: “Now we will think for you, and you just follow our rules.” This is an eternal categorization, which is then difficult to get rid of when you begin to treat the psyche from the consequences of being in a sect. Fears appear: “I will go to hell if I don’t worship Krishna, Yamadutas will come after me after death”, “Food not offered to Krishna - I taste only sin”, etc. Some people have it more, some have it less, but it was very strong for me at first. I sincerely believed that the day was wasted if I did not spend two hours reciting the 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra.

There is a replacement of real values ​​with false ones. This is what underpinned the fact that ISKCON began to grow so rapidly in the West. Prabhupada hit the bull's-eye. It was then the height of the hippie era. These were people who were looking for and thirsting for spirituality. Prabhupada gave it to them in a beautiful wrapping. More precisely, a surrogate for spirituality. In general, ISKCON is a producer of surrogates. Real people with the advent of this sect are replaced by spiritual brothers and matajs. Real emotions are replaced by "the ecstasy of love for Krishna". Life in all its fullness and diversity is replaced by detachment from it and immersion in a surrogate for life in the ISKCON society, where everyone loves and praises Krishna and Prabhupada.

Prabhupada, by the way, deserves a separate discussion. A man who came from a merchant caste came to the West and proclaimed himself a guru. In India, his life was far from the standard of a saintly life. Married at the age of 22 to a girl who was 11, he worked in a pharmaceutical company, had children, none of whom, by the way, became Hare Krishnas, and in general was no different from any Indian from a middle-income family. Having failed in India as a worker, family man and Vaishnava, he went to the west, where he still had the audacity to teach others.

I am also very struck by the distortion of philosophy by the Hare Krishnas. This was one of the reasons for my leaving the sect. When I started studying Sanskrit, I was amazed at how Prabhupada distorted the translations of the texts. After all, he actually had nothing to do with the real tradition of Vaishnavism, he simply distorted it, modified the translations of the texts of the Gita and other scriptures, taking advantage of the fact that in the West people do not know Sanskrit and will not convict him of deceit. And on the basis of deceit created religion. Started with a scam! For me, this is unthinkable. This becomes evident from an elementary analysis of the original texts and translations. People have been hearing and believing in distorted information for decades, from which, probably, the real Krishna in Goloka Vrindavan would have his hair on end.

Of course, the top of the Hare Krishna community knows about the distorted translations and has long come up with excellent counter-arguments for their flock: “You are not pure enough in heart, and the Bhagavad Gita is a sacred scripture and incomprehensible to a simple mind.” Krishnaites consider Prabhupada an authoritative guru who, for their minds, mired in material life, can “translate” the sacred text of the Gita into the language they perceive. Hare Krishnas simply turn a blind eye to distortions, referring to the lack of their own intellect, that is, in this aspect they are taught not to think, but only to obediently follow the rules.

All the pillars on which ISKCON stands, everything that the ISKCON "gurus" talk about and write about, referring to the Vedas, is just fiction. In the Vedas there is no "Krishna", no "Maha-mantra", no "bhakti", no "humility", no "service", no "demigods", and even more so there is no "Vedic womanhood". The more I study sects and read articles by former Hare Krishnas, the more revealing facts I discover. There are so many deceptions and lies in ISKCON that the information would be enough to write several books. With elementary critical analysis, the "spiritual path", which at first seemed very holistic and harmonious, began to fall apart. The Hare Krishnas are aware of this “feature” of their teaching and therefore they are very, very afraid of criticism. They even have rules of conduct within the system, including refraining from criticism, since for them criticism is insulting, which in turn is a grave sin.

The devastating consequences of being in a sect still affect my psyche. These psychological changes are very unpleasant and difficult to overcome. It was really bad at first - I was afraid to eat garlic and onions, I had nightmares in which I was force-fed cheese with rennet, and I cried in my sleep, thinking that I was committing a sin. By inertia, I continued to pass the actions of all the people around in my mind through the filter of Krishnaism: “What would a devotee do in his place?” or "A devotee would never do such a thing."

I ate and slept poorly, there was neither desire nor strength to do something productive, passivity appeared, the world became distant for me.

When I was alone with men, I felt guilty, because "mataji" should not spend time with "prabhu". I was afraid to make friends with new people, especially with men, I was afraid to start new relationships, because I subconsciously expected a repetition of the story with Vanya (fortunately, my fears were not justified and everything is fine with my current young man).

It took a long time to fall in love with my university and start studying consciously and with pleasure, without thinking that "this time I could devote to the service of Krishna." Now things are much better - I have almost returned to a full life and freedom of consciousness. Minor echoes of psychological and physical abuse make themselves felt only occasionally, and yet I still can’t say that I have completely freed myself from the consequences of the experience, but on the whole everything is in order.

I completely revised my values ​​and guidelines in life, learned to separate the wheat from the chaff, to think critically. It's just that now I can't be recruited into any sect. I began to appreciate society intellectually developed people, from a scientific point of view, I study classical Hinduism and Buddhism - fortunately, interest in them did not fade away after the experience of being in ISKCON, but only intensified.

I sincerely wish all women who have fallen under the influence of this sect to realize its destructive effect on the psyche and be able to get out of there safe!

(c) project "Listen to the Soul" - site

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21 comments on “ Lisa's story: my experience of self-destruction or "How I Came to Krishna Consciousness"”

1. Julia

   Really heavy story, barely finished reading. And there are really a lot of such situations, just not everyone tells ...

2. Galina

   A very strong story. A deeply meaningful experience. The heroine of the story is now immune to this for life. I read it in one breath, beautifully written, simply and clearly about such a difficult experience.

3. Pavel

   Certainly a sad story. Sorry for the girl, but this is not an argument to call ISKCON a sect. Let me explain. I am 36 years old (married, have children). I myself am not a devotee, but for more than 7 years I have been interested in the knowledge that Vedic wisdom carries. I can say, as a person who studies and practices Vedic knowledge, that the girl did not communicate with a devotee, but with a person who has deep material attachments and is trying to realize his gross egoistic ambitions. He imposed on her the principles of Vedic life, taking advantage of her love (not love). And he did it aggressively. But excuse me, one of the four principles of devotees and the main one is non-violence (ahimsa), which no longer allows the guy to be called a devotee. And to violate this principle, as I understand it, the guy was not shy. There was no care or love on his part, which he, as a devotee, should practice.
   I myself often listen to lectures and participate in seminars, festivals, which are attended by Torsunov and Khakimov and Ruzov and other wonderful lecturers. The girl correctly began to understand that she was not perfect, but her mistake was the idealization of her partner and all people who are interested in Krishna consciousness. They are the same lost souls who have just embarked on the path of spiritual self-development. But they are also full of imperfections. There is much more I could write and comment on, but still I will summarize:
   1) The girl did not connect her life with a devotee, which is confirmed by several factors. Here are some of them:
   - Abundance of sex in a relationship. Although before marriage sex is excluded, but in marriage it is subject to regulation;
   - pressure on the girl, rejection of her nature. While violence is only allowed in exceptional cases (self-defense, fire, etc.)
   - disrespect for all living beings (he beat a cat, did not respect people who do not accept the principles of Krishna consciousness, did not respect the needs and desires of the girl with whom he lived).
   2) The Vedas contain fundamental knowledge, by practicing which you feel inner growth and spiritual fulfillment, but you need to soberly look at those with whom you communicate. Critical thinking is vital in any business, and in the spiritual life as well. Spiritual life is walking on a razor's edge, it is not an easy way to enjoy. It is a difficult path, a conscious path. But already in the process of this path you understand the purity, fullness of the heart and connection with the whole world around you.
   I advise the girl not to leave this path, but to become more mature and sober-minded.
   I wish her and everyone peace and happiness!!!

4. ANASTASIA

   I am shocked by this story. I myself serve in the temple of Krishna and have initiation. Indeed, one should not generalize about all the devotees of Krishna. Many of them are very educated people and sincere believers. As for the fact that Krishna is a fiction, then associate with people who serve the Deities in the temple. Here they will tell you how the Lord manifests himself strongly and many mystical stories associated with deities. For example, I have 3 educations and I continue to improve. And I serve and work in the temple. Many realizations from spiritual practice and joy from the Maha mantra. This does not prevent us from living both the worldly life and the spiritual one. No one recruited me, but I only listen to my heart.
   Her experience is very sad. And this man does not look like a sincere devotee. Rather a fanatic and just a sick person. And the meaning of Prabhupada is to invent something. Why is it necessary for an elderly 70-year-old man.
   About his arrival was written several thousand years ago in the sacred writings of India. Even a friend who survived clinical death could have seen the hellish worlds described in the scriptures that Prabhupada translated. And he had an experience of communicating with God, after which he did not doubt that SK is a non-fictional philosophy. Either this is a custom article from ill-wishers, or this is some kind of exceptional case.

5. Nina

   Great story! Because it shows the main danger of all this "Vedic femininity" and the like - a false sectarian religious stuffing.
   The main thing is the religious view, their pseudo-spirituality, lies and deceit. And on top of this layer of religious lies lies a layer of quite normal human values ​​- to love your family, for example.
   In every story on this site, the first step into the cult was this: a person is lonely and desperately needs the presence of meaning.
   Separately, I was pleased that the girl from history realized all the differences between real-life religions and modern false sects.
   I believe that you need to find your own meaning in life. The presence of meaning in life is the best immunity from such sects.
   I sincerely wish the girl from the story to live happily and no longer fall for such tricks of evil forces.

6. Vadim

   A very beautiful custom article with good psychoanalysis and a selection of facts in order to denigrate the Vaishnavas. Ivan did everything to look like a complete moral freak in this story. It is customary for Vaishnavas, first of all, to follow what they teach. If he were a Vaishnava, he would simply not live with her before marriage and would not sleep, not to mention all the other forms of his deviant behavior. Suppose he is crazy, but communicating with other people in this tradition, Lisa would very quickly understand what he was doing wrong. Because, in general, Vaishnavas, as a rule, are adequate people. Therefore it is slander. Moreover, high-quality slander, probably well paid.

7. Natalia

   She fell into the sect of Ivan! It has nothing to do with ISKCON.

8. alexs

   a question for ISCON devotees. prabhupada’s name was abhay charan. his parents gave him at birth. and then what name was given to him by his teacher bhaktisidhanta sarasvati at initiation. and was she?. there is not a single witness to this action. his * beloved * guru. and published only his books. the ship jaladuta, on which prabhupada arrived in america and which in all the photographs of prabhupada's biography, was decommissioned and disposed of in 1965. how then prabhupada sailed to america on it in 1967 ?))). some continuous questions without answers

9. Vitaly Almazov

   Krishnaites are a sect, and they have nothing to do with Hinduism and Krishna. Prabhupada himself was not even a brahmin, much less a sannyasi, as it was correctly noted here. I came to the states to make money on stupid Americans, and only after that this heresy spread throughout the world. The thing is that its adherents have no idea about Hinduism or Indian culture. And so it is easiest to hang pseudo-spiritual noodles on your ears.

10. Former Hare Krishna

    Poor girl, I'm practically in her shoes, I myself am a 17-year-old teenager and was born in a family of Hare Krishnas, radical fanatics, only I look at everything skeptically from early childhood, in other words, I'm just lucky, now I visit rehabilitation center and I try with maximum efforts to integrate into society, I am gradually succeeding in this and soon I will have independence from all this and it will be possible to forget how horrible dream how I myself was subjected to physical and mental abuse, thanks for still having such articles that shed light on reverse side medals thank you so much

11. Damir

    And what about Krishna? Any religion, if you do not understand, is not given.

12. Lubomir

    I am a Vaishnava and have been practicing for about 4 years. I read your story and was horrified. I will try to give you advice as a Vaishnava: never exclude the human factor and never take anything for granted. Your doubts are normal, you should gradually either be convinced of the same Vaishnava culture or not. The person you lived with is just a fanatic, he has no right to force anything on you. He might try to explain to you, to answer your questions. But what he did is contrary to Vaishnava culture. This is the kind of person you got, unfortunately.

13. Igor

    Sect is a term denoting a separation from the mainstream, heresy, a group of people closed in their beliefs.

    Does this have anything to do with ISKCON? Undoubtedly!
    Does this relate specifically to all members of this organization - it does not.
    A huge number of beautiful people have passed or are passing through this beacon shining in the raging sea.
    Only this illusory beacon is a reflection of a spiritual beacon in troubled waters.
    And this dregs appeared as a result of mixing the spiritual search and building the administrative apparatus. It's milk and pickles. Zephyr and horseradish.
    Hence all the subsequent problems in society.
    The first wave of spiritual freshness that spread throughout the USSR was unique and juicy.
    There was sincerity and firmness.
    But then things started to deteriorate when the administrators decided that the sincerity of a believer should be confirmed by an ISKCON certificate of conformity.
    That the field of life should be lined in stripes. Beliefs and desires corresponded to the GOSTs of the organization. What standards the organization complied with are put out of brackets. To do this, there is a search for claims and court cases with ISKCON.

    As a result of this reconstruction, thousands of highly educated preachers with the face of the famous artist Malevich turned out.
    "Oil paintings" they got the original black.
    Instead of a thousand artists with a unique style, the country received professional copyists of the spiritual revival.
    Unfortunately, the degree of education of such artists was increased, so red-faced disputes about whose "Malevich's square" is more in line with the spirit of Vedanta have become commonplace.
    Someone drew small targets on such squares.
    Sometimes clear silhouettes of the target were drawn on the destinies of the most sincere and devoted to God people.
    Devotees to God but not to administrators.
    Obituaries in ISKCON for such souls were written by abstractionists.
    The pacifists were "put against the wall" - there was a holy war with the illusion outside of ISKCON.
    Illusions within ISKCON could not exist, therefore, in order to eliminate those who disagreed, they were excommunicated from the bosom of the church and a target was painted on the back of their heads.
    And everything would be fine, but firing from all guns at evil spirits penetrated into the bowels of the party apparatus.
    So the Swiss clockwork of spiritual unity began to fail.
    But the machine continued to produce its products - people received their portion (knowledge) of information not backed by the gold of truthfulness and cohesion.

    Naturally, the unique portrait of Liza did not work out, but as usual, Malevich's square was drawn.

    P / S Draw your works at the behest of the heart and from the sacrament of the union of the spirit and God.
    Do not draw under the dictation of the administrators now the works of Andy Warhol.
    Review your knowledge and beliefs.
    Don't take anyone's word until you're sure it's right for you.
    The art of manipulating consciousness is now at its height.
    And if you no longer want to send a preacher with artificial intelligence to hell, you are already in a sect.
    With which we congratulate you - everyone was there)))

14. Lena

    In India everyone knows what is Krishna. Many temples have been built for Krishna (Hampi, Bangalore, New Delhi, Tirupati). There is a big temple in Singapore. The modern series Mahabharata is an Indian production. In the film Jodha and Akbar (Indian film), the main character worships Krishna.
    A person who is at least a little interested knows this. The concept of humility and service is also in Orthodoxy, not only in ancient times.

    A bad experience is no reason not to believe in God.

15. Vasya

    Brad is complete. The article is custom-made, such Vanya Krishnaites are simply hard to find.))))

16. God is One

    Maybe it’s really a custom article, because I didn’t see the author’s responses to comments. But if this is true, then this is a great lesson. Even training as a psychologist and studying manipulation does not protect against a manipulator. Although this is the first year, apparently, the girl did not have time to understand why she went to a psychologist. The lectures of Satya Das would be very helpful, there are on YouTube. Or Mila Levchuk (although she also listened to Satya). I don’t even want to talk about how the young man behaved, many have already written about this very correctly. More importantly, the girl endured and allowed such treatment with herself. It is sad that this is not uncommon in our society. Krishna in the Mahabharata talks about how important it is for a woman to be protected. The Bhagavad Gita says that women are naive like children, they should not be left without the protection of their parents or husband, and in old age - a son. And in Khakimov's lectures, I learned that everything that we cannot tell our parents about says that we are unhappy and secretly want to get happiness, but in fact, just pleasure, enjoyment of the senses. And teenagers who have not received parental love in full measure want personal space so that no one climbs in there and they will seek pleasure on their own and indulge in it. And it's hardly a prayer. Most likely something unworthy, which is a shame to open not only to parents, but also to friends (the girl describes that she could not open the door to friends who just wanted to know how life is; even being alone at home she was afraid to let them into her personal space). Thank God, her parents intervened and she at least "sobered up" a little. We all want love and tend to be led by the illusion of love, but no one can give it to us from outside. The girl was very captivated that this man needed her so much. Although he beat him, she refused the help of strangers (it doesn’t look like they were maniacs, no worse than her MCH) and began to wait on the bloody snow for her pursuer. The role of the victim is very addictive and encourages a sense of self-worth. He apologized, so he needs me. My family didn’t really need it, but here it seems like it’s like a family: there is M and F and he’s kind of smart, so let him be responsible for my life ... What’s the difference what Vanya believes in if he beats you, and then you , you sit with him at the table and out of politeness you agree. It's better to be impolite!))) No, I'm good, otherwise they will stop considering me kind, white and fluffy. I cannot afford this.
    Children / people who were loved at home do not get into sects. Love your children, help them open up, show them an example of a happy relationship, give them the highest taste and they simply will not be attracted to any surrogate. They can try, yes, but who would settle for less if they've tried better?
    I wish you all happiness! Be with God!

17. Vanya (Lisa's boyfriend)

    Yes, as if there was no such thing at all. Liza, this graphomaniac is sick in the head. I just broke up with her because of a misunderstanding and lack of love, and she wanted to take revenge on me. Not everything is so clear here. 90% of the text is a lie and fiction of an unfortunate girl in a state of depression after a breakup.

18. Alexander

    In general, it is not clear who is the mafia here and who are the civilians. Everyone speaks logically, I take all versions on faith, and put them in quarantine with a note: this is probably true.

The founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness is the Indian Abhey Saran De (1896-1977), whom the members of this society call "His Divine Grace Abhey Saran Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada."

Prabhupada studied English language, philosophy and economics at Calcutta University, then served in a chemical company, was a prosperous businessman. In 1954 he left the business, separated from his family and became a monk, receiving the high title of swami.

In 1965, Prabhupada came to New York, where he began to preach the teachings of a sect that had existed in India since the end of the 15th century. The basis of this teaching is faith in God Krishna and selfless service to him in order to establish with him a "lasting love union." Until his death, Prabhupada traveled all over the world carrying "the news of Krishna." His influence grew rapidly, and now there are about 20 thousand "full members" and tens of thousands of permanent parishioners in the USA alone, numerous organizations in other countries, primarily in France, England, and Germany. Every Hare Krishna ashram has a life-size statue of the guru cast in flesh-colored plastic. Prabhupada left an entire empire to his successors, who divided the spheres of influence among themselves.

What attracts people, mostly young people, to Hare Krishna ashrams? First of all, Prabhupada preached the ideal of the highest "spirituality", the pursuit of truth and purity. Exotic rituals, incomprehensible words and terms also played a significant role. Even Hare Krishnas dress unusually for Europeans: women wear saris, and men wear dhoti.

The main law of human life, Prabhupada taught - spiritual perfection, self-realization of one's own "I", merging with a pure divine world. And for this you need to acquire "Krishna consciousness" - to honor him, to comprehend the heavenly truth, so that the human soul merges with the divine world. Then he reaches a special state when he "perceives his "I" with pure reason, enjoys himself and finds joy in it."

Supreme bliss can be attained "only by those beings Prabhupada teaches who lovingly serve the personality of the deity in material life...". Only they "will be raised to the anti-material world when they leave the material body." Thus, they will receive immortality. Since the majority of people live in darkness and ignorance, dominated by base, animal feelings, the duty of the followers of Krishna is to introduce them to "divine consciousness."

But the creed of the Hare Krishna Movement can be assimilated only by entering the ashram- "the gate to the spiritual sky", where the cult of Krishna is the only motive and result of a person's behavior and attitude. New converts break with their families, abandon established habits and lifestyles, and quit their jobs. They receive new, "spiritual" names. Men shave their heads, leaving a pigtail at the back of the head. A special sign, tilak, is applied to the forehead in the shape of the letter "u".

International Society for Krishna Consciousness in Ukraine

Vegetarian food is eaten in the ashram twice a day. There is a special procedure for its preparation, since the meal is considered as a special ritual of "purification" and gaining spirituality. The use of tobacco, alcohol and stimulants is prohibited.

The Ashram wakes up early, somewhere around half past four in the morning. As soon as they get up, the Hare Krishnas take a shower to “cleanse themselves of the night”, and the solemn ritual of awakening the gods begins. Then, for three hours, joint cult events are held: ritual singing and dancing, group recitations of mantras, the study of Sanskrit texts and comments on them. Five hours after getting up - breakfast. Then - work until one o'clock in the afternoon. They work either in the fields belonging to the sect, or in the city; are engaged in begging. At 13.00 - lunch, then work continues. At 6:30 pm one more shower and a meal consisting of fruits and dairy products, and then again general cult activities until 9:30 pm and sleep.

Krishnas never part with a necklace of 108 rosaries, which they sort through while reciting or chanting mantras. Each ashram resident must chant the mantra daily, which is the best means for attaining the "kingdom of god", at least 1728 times (16 "circles"). Having performed the mantra, the believer sorts through one rosary of the necklace. So the "circle" is 108 mantras. Mantra is an ancient Vedic formula consisting of 16 combinations of the words "Hare", "Krishna" and "Rama". It is believed that its pronunciation frees a person from the senses of the material world and causes the real presence of Krishna.

Many hours of repetition of the same words introduces a person into a special hypnotic state., when he is easily influenced by the "spiritual teacher", he obediently participates in carefully designed rituals practiced in the community.

The fate of women is the hardest. In the Hare Krishna Movement, women are viewed as "low class" beings. It is believed that the incarnation of the soul into a female body is a punishment for the sins and mistakes of the previous existence, and therefore its fate is to worship a man. Prabhupada says: "A woman can never be equal to a man, because she bears childbearing functions and has an incomparably lower mentality, spirituality." One of his followers echoes: "It is more difficult for women to control their impulses, and often they simply need to be married off." Therefore, women are entrusted with only secondary work: helping with cooking, cleaning the room, decorating the altar, etc. They are forbidden to look into the eyes of a man, but only at his feet; they eat either separately or only after the men have finished their meal. "Work and blows" - this is how one German adept of Krishna described the cruel fate of women in the sect. When a woman's body is depleted and her psyche reaches a critical point, sectarians get rid of their recent girlfriend, at best send her back to her family, to her parents. As for children born in the ashram from mothers weakened by hunger and deprivation, their fate is even more bleak ”(D’Eaubonne Fr. S ... comme sectes, p. 94-95).

Hare Krishnas see women as "low class" beings

As the Hare Krishnas teach, it is impossible to remake the world, mired in vice and violence, it remains only to find refuge in spirituality and adore Krishna, patiently waiting for death. Therefore, his fans are not interested in anything Material, not to mention money. The very same founder of this mystical sect, despite the precepts of poverty and asceticism preached by him, became a rich man who did not consider it necessary to follow the prescriptions binding on his followers.

In 1966, the first Krishna temples were created in New York and San Francisco, in 1967 - in Boston and the Canadian city of Montreal. In the same years, they appear in European cities, in particular in Hamburg.

The office of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness is located in Paris. In Maisons-Alfort settled the headquarters of the perfume company "Spiritual Flight", founded by Hare Krishnas. The sectarians also owned a recording studio that replicated "spiritual music" and the messages of the guru. Opened in defiance of French tax laws, it operated clandestinely until May 1984, when the police managed to locate and shut it down. The Hare Krishna Movement earns up to $20 million from the sale of Hare Krishna literature: books and translations by Prabhupada, Back to Divinity, a 500,000-circulation magazine. Considerable sums come to the treasury of the "International Society for Krishna Consciousness" from wealthy patrons. But the main income comes from begging. Sankirtan plays a significant role in this.

In India, sankirtan is part of the Hindu cult. This is a bright, solemn procession through the streets, uniting people, freeing them from suppressed desires and emotions. The Hare Krishnas began to use sankirtan to attract new members to the sect.

The colorful procession of Krishna's followers, singing and dancing to the sound of cymbals, dressed in white, pink, yellow exotic clothes, involuntarily attracts attention. On the other hand, the effort to get someone to buy Prabhupada's writing or other religious literature at an obviously inflated price, much less beg for money, requires extreme nervous tension, because. Hare Krishnas have to deal with the hostility of passers-by. And sankirtan for them is a means of psychological relief, it makes it possible to identify extortion with the service of a "world-historical mission" - "the spread of Krishna consciousness."

Sankirtan - a solemn procession through the streets, attracting the attention of passers-by.

Collecting money in a sect is seen as a high religious duty. Usually a daily rate is set. Hare Krishnas often go to "work" in jeans, T-shirts, sweaters. They do not sing mantras on street corners, but go to exhibitions, fairs, mass sales - where there is a large crowd of people. They sell Hare Krishna literature, records, video cassettes. And, of course, they are begging. To fulfill this delicate mission entrusted to them by their gurus, sectarians often hide behind official charitable campaigns announced by representative international or national organizations (for example, the International Year of the Child declared by the UN).

Getting money from the Hare Krishnas is put on a "scientific" basis. The instructions in "Sanskrit" are even specially reproduced on compact cassettes. In short, they sound like this: “The main goal of your enterprise and ingenuity is“ karmis ”(that is, not Hare Krishnas) with pockets full of money. This money is intended for sin - it will be used to buy meat, tobacco, entertainment ... It is absurd to throw money into the wind. Especially if the "karmis" are becoming more and more stupid and disgusting... You must take this money. What needs to be done for this? First of all, get the "karmis" to get your little gift! After that, by any means you must subordinate the "karmis" to your will ... "

Followers of a new cult, dressed in oriental attire, singing, dancing, playing Indian musical instruments, can be found in many large cities in the United States. Shaven-headed guys in bathrobes and young women in saris, with cloth bags hanging around their necks, repeating “Khair Krishna, Khair Krishna, Krishna, Krishna” to monotonous tunes, bring themselves to exhaustion. They hope in this way to rid the soul of the influence of the body - the source of evil - and to know God.

The Krishna Union is run by a council, the majority of which is owned by the Americans.

"International Society for Krishna Consciousness" (English abbreviation - ISKCON - International Society for Krishna Consciousness), uniting the followers of Krishnaism (Vaishnavism), was registered in 1966 by Bhaktivedanta Swami (1896-1977). In fact, ISKCON became the missionary successor of the Brahma-Madhva-Gaudiya sampradaya, one of the four sampradayas, i.e. disciplic successions, through which Vedic knowledge has been transmitted from time immemorial (there are also Sri-sampradaya, Kumara-sampradaya and Rudra-sampradaya). All these branches of Hinduism are called Vaishnava, since they are based on the worship of the Supreme Divine Personality of Vishnu (Krishna).

The school of Vaishnavism called Gaudiya (from the ancient name of Bengal), to which Srila Prabhupada belonged, was founded in Bengal 500 years ago by Sri Chaitanya (1486-1524). This succession is connected with the Madhva school (1281-1360), as well as with the even older school of Sri Vaishnavas Ramanuja (1017-1137).

Since the 70s. 20th century thanks to the activities of A.Ch. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, who actually for the first time in history managed to bring and widely disseminate the ancient science of bhakti yoga (love of God) in Western countries, Vaishnavism is experiencing a revival both in India itself and beyond its borders. The founding acarya of the Society for Krishna Consciousness, Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, is revered as a saint in India. The streets of large cities and various institutions are named after him, and in 2015, in Kolkata, on the occasion of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of ISKCON, a unique sculptural composition was installed, consisting of two parts and symbolizing Prabhupada's departure on the Jaladuta ship to America in 1965. The monument consists of two parts - the second part of the diptych will be installed in Boston at the Commonwealth Pier, the place where Srila Prabhupada first set foot on American soil.

ISKCON in RUSSIA

The Center for Societies for Krishna Consciousness in Russia (TsOSKR) is the largest Russian Hindu organization uniting (according to the Ministry of Justice as of January 1, 2016) 79 registered communities and over 400 small spiritual groups in more than 120 cities of the country with a total number of at least 30 thousand people. followers and at least 150 thousand interested in this philosophy and culture. The number of active followers reaches 11 thousand people.

The development of the tradition of Krishna consciousness in Russia began in 1971 after the arrival of Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada in Moscow.

THE ESSENCE OF DOCTRINE

The essence of the Vaishnava doctrine is that we are all eternal souls, born in various material bodies, because we have forgotten our higher spiritual nature. The goal is human life is the awakening in oneself of love for God and turning to devotional service to Him.

ISKCON IN NUMBERS

Modern ISKCON has:

602 spiritual centers around the world

65 agricultural farms and ecovillages

54 educational institutions, including primary schools, secondary schools and higher educational institutions

110 vegetarian restaurants

75,000 followers with spiritual initiation (who have taken vows)

7 million followers visiting temples and spiritual centers

2 thousand small (home) groups of spiritual communication (bhaktivriksha), including about 30 thousand followers

516 million spiritual books published and distributed

3 billion servings of prasadam (sanctified vegetarian food) distributed worldwide

1,200,000 daily prasadam meals for children as part of the ISKCON Free Food Charitable Foundation's Noon and Annamrita Programs

1 thousand street harinam every week

6,000 Vaishnava festivals such as Krishna Janmashtami, Ramnavami, Rathayatra, etc. in ISKCON temples and spiritual centers

210 thousand kilometers of padayatras (walking and other mobile groups of sankirtana (sermons), who visited 52 thousand cities, towns and villages in 110 countries of the world.

7 GOALS OF ISKCON

By registering the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada defined its goals and objectives as follows:

1. Systematically disseminate spiritual knowledge among the masses and teach people the methods of spiritual practice to restore the disturbed balance in the value system of society, ensure the true unity of all people and establish world peace.

2. To preach the philosophy of Krsna consciousness as expounded in Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam.

3. To bring members of society closer to each other and bring them closer to Krishna - the original Supreme Being, and thereby enable members of society and all people to realize that each soul is an integral part of God (Krishna).

4. To spread and encourage the sankirtana movement, congregational chanting of the holy name of the Lord, following the instructions of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

5. To build a city for members of society and all people in one of the holy places where the transcendental pastimes of Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, took place.

6. To unite the members of society into a single family and teach them a simpler and more natural way of life.

7. To achieve the above goals, publish and distribute periodicals, magazines and books.