I follow Hare Krishna philosophy. AMA

[HareKrishna123]

Do you have any questions about the philosophy or anything else? AMA

It seems rude to butt in but in good conscience I have to say something here. I lived at Bhaktivedanta Manor for several years as a "female monk" as the OP calls us.

I'm sure OP has good intentions but unfortunately doesn't have a good understanding of the philosophy or the belief system. For example not only is sex outside of marriage completely forbidden but sex INSIDE of marriage is only sanctioned if you're trying to conceive. Never for pleasure. And there absolutely is a hierarchy and gender division.

I think OP has had the sales pitch and been invited to some of the nice PR events.

It's true the food is good though.

Great questions!

Drugs
Spaced out and on something...I'd say a natural high!

Drugs are not used. Anything which alters the mind is seen as a deterrent from being able to meditate.
I know some drugs 'open the mind up', but we're trying to go after a natural connection with the divine, which might take longer but you're not dependent on a substance to get you there.

Of course if someone is already addicted to drugs they're not turned away. They can still meditate, read scripture and adopt practices slowly, and over time their addiction may subside or they may find greater strength to get help for it. Many do 12 step programmes alongside their practice.

Hierarchy

We all see (try to see) ourselves as servants of God and of humanity so there is no hierarchy. We call ourselves Das or Dasi (servant) and everyone else Prabhu (God).

That said, there is a certain etiquette followed which may look like hierarchy. For example, the person giving class is respected and we may bow to them (mainly for ourselves, in gratitude). People who have given their lives to the mission likewise. Meals are served to the elderly first.

There is leadership, in that there is a Temple president, but again they would think of themselves as serving their congregation, but some structure is needed to be able to make decisions etc.

Schools

There are Hare Krishna schools in the UK and across the world. I only know about the ones in the UK in detail so what follows is about them only.

They follow the national curriculum so in many ways are like every other school, with a few differences:

In the morning there is an assembly where the whole school gathers to worship together. Very similar to the assemblies I had in school where we sang hymns together, but by my last few years of school hymns had been banned in non-faith schools.

There are yoga classes (although these are offered in a lot of secular schools too).

There is an emphasis on balancing mind, body and soul eg not studying to the detriment of your health, keeping a positive mindset if you success or fail, etc.

There are PSHE lessons which focus on world faith, with an emphasis on Hinduism, and a highlighting of the Hare Krishna slant on it.

Clothes

We can wear ordinary clothes! Apart from if you're a committed monk, then you have to wear orange dhotis.
The saris and dhotis (which look like the flowy gowns you're referring to) are more cultural.

I think OP has had the sales pitch and been invited to some of the nice PR events.

If only that were true! I'm 10 years in and have bumped up against lots of the difficult bits and worked through them. I'm sure I've got a lot longer to go on my journey.
I can't comment on gender division across the whole congregation but amongst the people I have bumped into on my way there doesn't seem to be any (in fact that's what drew me in).

On the sex thing. Yes that is the "highest standard" but not many follow it and there is certainly no pressure to. I can completely see why it's there though. I see so many threads on here (one only yesterday) where couples have mismatching libidos or dry spells due to illness/childbirth/menopause and it seems to destroy the marriage.

When you build your marriage not around sex but on mutual understanding and service to each other it seems to be less of an issue.

It took me a LONG time to understand that though. And we did feel a pressure to surpress our natural desires for a while, but that was completely self created and not from anyone externally.

Do you believe in ghosts? I am thinking from a samsara perspective I guess, given your previous faith.

This is your thread so I'll just repeat that you have a very superficial understanding of the philosophy and practices and no wonder if it's based on the PR groups and people you've "bumped into." If you haven't seen the gender separation and hierarchy you're really not very deep in at all. You're seriously misrepresenting the actual faith in this thread.

I'll leave you to it but other posters, please please please take this AMA with a huge pinch of salt.

Yes, I believe sometimes people get trapped here rather than moving on to their next body.

Am I?
By gender separation do you mean that men and women sit separately in the temple room?

I'd agree with that.
Even that though, only in the morning.

All the rest of the day, in the lunch hall, everyone is sat altogether.

At the nursery and the school both men and women are dropping off their kids so childcare is obviously shared.

At festivals both men and women are cooking and cleaning.

During plays I've watched there are some "men only" casts, some "female only" casts and some mixed casts with men and women.

In the car park I see both men and women working.

Okay marquees I mainly see men put up but that's probably because it's quite a physically tough job?

The temple president at the Manor is female.

I don't want to share my other experiences as they would be very outing.

Perhaps we've had different experiences rather than me "misrepresenting" things?

Thank you, it's a really interesting topic.

What is the belief regarding the after life? Is it similar to the hindu belief in reincarnation? To a person or animal?

I thought the word Hindu(ism) was a colonial construct. A misinterpretation of the word Sindhu. Sindhu was an alternate name for the Indus River. Sindhu became Hindu a name that people near the river were called. The people who practiced Sanātana Dharma (Vedism)Did not call themselves Hindus. It was only later in the 19C that the term Hinduism became more apparent.
I find the history of religions fascinating. Vedic Hinduism (for want of a better name) has stretched its branches with so many off shoots that it’s difficult to keep track of them all.
i have only scratched the surface, however it’s fascinating.

Yes! Same as Hindu belief. We believe we leave the physical body behind but take the subtle body (emotions, thoughts, desires etc) with us. Our desires determine our next body, for example if we desire to run very fast the best body might be that of a cheetah!
Once we desire to connect to God we'll take birth in circumstances that help that (generally a human body in a religious family). One day that'll be our only desire and that's when we can be with God always.

Yes!
Sooo fascinating. I wish I could study it all day 🤣

My DH was a devotee there in the 80s, and he’d agree with your viewpoint. He lived in Watford too and would spend his time trying to sell paintings to businesses for as much money as possible. He would also spend time on the Underground in a group trying to get passengers to ‘donate’ money.
He became very disillusioned when he noticed that the ‘higher up’ HKs drove round in swanky cars whilst he got to sleep in the back of a van full of paintings. He basically sees it as a cult whereby the devotees at the bottom earn money for those higher up to live a comfortable life.

I love the hare Krishna restaurants there so cheap 😊 I love the mango lassi drinks ❤️

OP I looked at the school website and the website of our local ISKCON temple (didn't know it was even there, haven't seen HKs in town for decades) and couldn't help noticing most of them are white, so I assume converts. Is there a particular demograph that you've noticed are more likely to be converts? Eg those who were a bit hippy/middle class/working class etc.

Thank you so much for sharing this. I hear this a lot about the early days. I think things have changed in recent years, at least where I live.

Ooo they're yum !

When it first started (70s/80s) a lot of the demographics were the "hippies" who were disillusioned with the world their parents were handing them (particularly after the Vietnam war). The religion provided answers other than turning to drugs / sex etc to fill the void.

Now, demographics vary quite a bit. There are a lot of young professionals, who perhaps similarly grew up in non-religious households but wanted more. A lot of people now happen upon the Hare Krishna philosophy when they are "spiritually seeking", but they're not sure what...they might go to a local Buddhist meditation, a women's circle, a yoga class, etc...trying bits of everything till they find the thing that speaks to them or can answer the most questions.

Demographic also depends on area, some temples and schools are full mainly of ex-pat Indians or British Indians for example.

Another draw to the schools is that the ethos is conducive to mental health, which a lot of parents are passionate about given the rise in mental health issues in young people in recent years, and they generally get good results and Ofsteds too. You don't have to be practicing to go to the school, although it helps if it's oversubscribed.

Yes, my experience also does not tally with the OP's.

I lived in an ashram for a while. Not in the UK, in Eastern Europe. It wasn’f ISKCON but one of the ‘branches’ that broke off that organisation due to politics.
It was the most fun time of my life, we had so much laugh, a very supportive environment. They even paid for some of my English classes because I didn’t earn money as such (got up early to cook, clean etx). But if/when I started thinking differently I became non-friend.
I didn’t like the way women were treated.
You can’t cook ‘for the dieties’ when you’re on your period because you’re ‘impure’, the women are responsible to not draw male attention attitude.
And because the dishes for cooking for the dieties had to be kept separate, we washed our ‘eating’ plates and cutlery in the bathrooms… where mums washed babies bottoms.
Some of these things may have changed.
I’m glad Ofsted is inspecting the gurukulas as one of my ex-ISKCON ex-boyfriend told me horrifying stories.
I’m sorry OP, I’m sure you meant this thread in a good faith.

As with most religions/cults, women are treated terribly, though they try to hide it from outsiders. A quote from the founder of ISKCON himself: "Beat a woman, beat a drum."

I'm so sorry for your experiences. The founder himself would have been very upset at you being treated differently when you started thinking differently. I have experienced that in some groups but it changed when I moved and the people I'm around are more liberal.

There are terrible stories of some of the schools, especially in early days, but those were mainly in India and the US. The UK ones have always had a good reputation.

Yes women can't cook on their period, that is a Hindu thing. It is because we're meant to rest. But I'll bet people forget that and you're working just as hard just doing something else.

My partner likes to keep plates separate too and installed another sink to do so. I thought he was nuts! But in my opinion if you don't have the space/facilities to install a second sink you shouldn't go to the toilet to wash plates and someone took the letter of the law too far there.

Are they? I don't feel I'm treated terribly, I don't feel like the women I am surrounded by are either.

BUT I do think things have changed. One of my mentors, who is a teacher, wasn't allowed to give classes when she first joined because she was a woman 🙈
That didn't come from the founder, who said women can do anything for Krishna, but from the people who first joined, who were too used to the misogyny they'd grown up with. The founder was criticised greatly by his peers for "letting women do xyz" but he insisted they had to move with the times and that things are different in the West.

Women aren't allowed to cook for Krishna on their period because they're considered dirty, nothing to do with looking after their welfare.

Prabhupada was absolutely not some progressive. He was a misogynist and a wife beater.

Do you have those little hand/finger cymbals?