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19 HARE KRISHNA IN AMERICA: GROWTH, DECLINE, AND ACCOMMODATION E. Burke Rochford, Jr. It is a truism that religious movements and is called by his followers, travelled to the their organizational forms undergo change United States from India in 1965, at the over the course of their histories. Many new age of sixty-nine, to spread Krishna Con- religions burst onto the scene without fully sciousness to the Western world. One year articulated ideologies, established objec- after his arrival, Prabhupada founded tives, or stable organizational structures. ISKCON in New York City. Within a de- But neither do these groups over time reach cade, Prabhupada and his followers had what might be thought of as developmen- established a worldwide movement. Before tal endpoints, unless, of course, they fail his death in 1977, Prabhupada initiated altogether. Rather the careers of new faiths nearly five thousand disciples into Krishna are guided by a dialectical interplay be- consciousness and attracted tens of thou- tween internal movement forces and ex- sands of other less-committed followers. 1 ternal societal influences. While scholars Prabhupada was born in 1896 with the recognize that change in "new" and "es- name of Abhay Charan De. His family ad- tablished" religions takes place, we know hered to a strict Krishna-conscious lifestyle. much less about the specific processes that After graduating from the University of promote social change in religious organi- Calcutta with majors in English, philoso- zations. This case study of the International phy, and economics, Prabhupada was em- Society for Krishna Consciousness (hereaf- ployed as a manager in a chemical firm, ter ISKCON), more popularly known as the where he worked until his retirement in Hare Krishna movement, attempts to ex- 1954. In 1922, Prabhupada met his spiri- tend empirical and theoretical understand- tual master, Bhaktisiddhanta, from whom ing of how new religious movements he ultimately took initiation in 1933. Prior 2 develop in the American context. to Bhaktisiddhanta's death in 1936, he in- structed Prabhupada to carry the teach- ings of Krishna Consciousness to the West. In the years prior to his departure for Origins, American Beginnings, and America, Prabhupada raised a family and Religious Beliefs continued to promote the teachings of Bhaktisiddhanta. During this period he The presence of Hare Krishna in America started publishing Back to Godhead maga- comes from the inspiration of one man, A- zine, tohich he would later use to promote G-, Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. his movement in America. Prabhupada Bhaktivedanta, or Srila Prabhupada, as he took the order of sannyasa at age fifty-nine, 215 216 E. Burke Rochford, Jr. thereafter retiring from family life. Until tices directed toward purifying the soul. his death, Prabhupada focused his ener- Central to this process of self-realization is gies on translating and writing commen- chanting the Hare Krishna mantra: Hare taries on ancient Vedic scriptures such as Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, the Bhagavad Gita and the Srimad Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Bhagavatam. His many books were pub- Rama, Hare Hare. At the time of initiation lished by ISKCON's Bhaktivedanta Book from a guru, devotees commit themselves Trust in Los Angeles. to chant sixteen rounds of the Hare Krishna The historical roots of the Hare Krishna mantra daily, on a string of japa, or prayer movement in America can be traced to beads. They must also abstain from eating Bengal, India, in the sixteenth century. meat, illicit sex (sex other than for the While aligned with the more prevalent propagation of God-conscious children), forms of Hinduism, the Krishna Conscious- taking intoxicants (i.e., cigarettes, alcohol, ness preached by ISKCON's founder traces tea, coffee, drugs), and gambling. Although its beginnings to the Krishna bhakti no longer a mandatory requirement, many movement founded by Sri Caitanya ISKCON devotees take part in a morning Mahaprabhu. Caitanya revived the devo- worship program beginning in the temple tional form of Hinduism (bhakti yoga) em- at 4:30 A.M. There they worship the deities phasizing that love and devotional service on the altar, a spiritual plant Tulasi, and to God were the means by which one could their founding guru Srila Prabhupada. One gain spiritual realization. Instead of see- male devotee leads the others in singing ing him as one of several gods, Caitanya various Sanskrit verses to the beat of mu- and his followers made Krishna the su- sic provided by devotees playing mrdanga preme manifestation of God. In a major drums and karatals (small hand cymbals). split from other forms of Hinduism, Men and women are strictly segregated in Caitanya preached that all people, regard- the temple, with men generally standing less of their caste or station in life, could nearest the altar and women behind them. be self-realized through their activities per- Between each of the four morning ceremo- formed in the service of Krishna. nies devotees busily chant their daily rounds. Punctuating the end of the morn- Caitanya also developed another prac- ing program is a class on Prabhupada's tice unique to Hinduism, which has proved commentaries on the Vedic scriptures. a trademark of the Krishna movement in America. Growing out of his intense religious passion, Caitanya initiated sankirtana, a practice requiring his follow- ers to venture out into the streets to dance ISKCON's Growth and and sing their praises of Lord Krishna. Development in America When Prabhupada began his movement in America, sankirtana (preaching, book dis- The fortunes of the Krishna movement tribution, and chanting in public) became have changed rather drtimatically since its the principal means of spreading Krishna introduction to America in 1965. From very 3 Consciousness. humble beginnings in New York City, The spiritual goal of Hare Krishna devo- Prabhupada and his followers recruited tees is to escape birth in the material world thousands of members. Along with success, and go back to Godhead. Because of ma- however, came public scrutiny and contro- terial contamination, the soul is forced to versy. By the mid-1970s, ISKCON and other assume a continuous succession of rebirths. new religions of the period felt the effects To escape the laws of karma and break the of a countermovement of anticultists bent cycle of reincarnation, devotees seek to per- on halting what they saw as the "evil" fect their spiritual lives by controlling their influence of "cults." Under attack, and fac- senses. This is done under the direction of ing a downturn in its recruitment and eco- a spiritual teacher, or guru. The bhakti yoga nomic fortunes, ISKCON began to decline process involves a number of religious prac- as a religious organization. Prabhupada's Hare Krishna in America 217 death, in 1977, farther aggravated the only recently migrated to the area, and movement's growing sense of crisis. were without permanent or stable resi- ISKCON's efforts to deal with its decline dences, ISKCON's communal structure brought with it negotiation, compromise, emerged as a means to hold the young and change. countercultural youth being attracted to Krishna Consciousness. ISKCON's San Fran- GROWTH AND EXPANSION cisco organization served as a model for The early history of the Hare Krishna the many devotees who were deployed to movement in America mirrors in many other cities across America to establish respects the career of the 1960s and 1970s Krishna temples and recruit members. Be- counterculture. The war in Vietnam, and ing a missionary movement, ISKCON was the peace movement that grew in opposi- opportunistic in its recruitment strategies, tion to it, sparked the growth of numer- successfully recruiting in public places and ous social movements. American values through social networks.7 By the end of and ways of life faced critical questioning 1975, ISKCON had established nearly forty by many young people who began ex- communities and preaching centers in perimenting with a range of alternative North America and many more worldwide. value systems and lifestyles. Studies of Economically, ISKCON was largely sup- ISKCON have demonstrated how the ported by sankirtana, the public distribu- movement's early growth in the United tion of religious literature. During the late States was sustained by recruiting alien- 1960s and early 1970s devotees distributed ated youth from the counterculture. From incense or Back to Godhead magazines to the counterculture ISKCON attracted the public in exchange for donations. The mostly Anglo-Americans in their late teens economics of sankirtana changed greatly and early twenties from middle- and up- in 1971 and 1972, as devotees began to per-middle-class families. But with the end distribute Prabhupada's books in public lo- of the war, the counterculture began to cations, first in shopping malls and park- fade from the American landscape and ing lots, and then at major American ISKCON's growth leveled off; membership airports. Book distribution expanded yearly 4 began to decline in 1974. through 1978 and provided large sums of The Hare Krishna movement began money to bankroll ISKCON's worldwide ex- modestly in New York City in 1965. pansion. One conservative estimate is that Prabhupada, or the Swami as he was ISKCON's communities in North America known by his early followers, turned his grossed over thirteen million dollars be- proselytizing efforts to the young people tween 1974 and 1978 on hardback books 8 living on the Bowery on the Lower East alone. Side. After Prabhupada was observed Along with ISKCON's successful expan- chanting in Tompkins Square Park word sion came charges of brainwashing by spread amongst the musicians and bohe- anticultists. Although social science evi- mian crowd of the area. Within a short dence provides little or no support for brain- time, several of Prabhupada's followers washing explanations of conversion to new helped him establish a small temple on religions, such charges did have an im- Second Avenue.

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