Thanks to the song “My Sweet Lord” by George Harrison, the Hare Krishnas are still familiar, if not as famous as they were a few decades ago. At one time, their members were more visible, especially in airports where they handed out pamphlets promoting their beliefs. What do the Hare Kirshnas believe? Do they think they worship the Christian God?
History of the Hare Krishnas
According to J. Gordon Melton, the official name of Hare Krishna is the International Society of Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). This is “a semimonastic Vaishnava Hindu organization,” which started in the U.S. in the 1960s.”
Their religion is derived from Hinduism but is widely associated with a form of yoga originating in Bengal several centuries ago.
The group pursues “mystical devotion through repetitive chanting” of their famous mantra, familiar from George Harrison’s song: “Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.”
This mantra is a means by which proponents of this belief try to become more self-aware and connect with God, whom they call “the Divine.”
Their mantra means something like "Oh Lord, oh energy of the Lord, please engage me in your service." The Divine is an energy, and connection with him is supposedly a facet of “universal consciousness.”
Melton explains that the earliest U.S. converts were New York hippies who soon adopted the distinctive look of the Hare Krishnas: heads shaved, loose Indian-style clothing, sandals, or bare feet. They promoted love and peace and handed out tracts written by their teacher.
Today, there are still thousands of people practicing this religion though there are few formal centers. There were accusations of psychological control within the organization, and legal action was taken by some former members.
The group is regarded by many as a “cult,” while adherents maintain that the Hare Krishnas merely promote peace and a non-material worldview.
Not a Hindu Religion
At Kirshna.com, one writer explains that their religion has no designation such as “Hindu,” “Christian,” “Indian,” or “Asian.” Believers are focused on an individual (Krishna) who, in their eyes, is the same person no matter what their faith is.
He is “the Supreme Person, the Absolute Truth, the ultimate source of all energies.” This being is impersonal and has now assumed his “higher nature [,] imperishable and supreme.” Hare Krishnas also believe that Krishna is only spiritual or transcendental: he does not take a bodily form.
This relatively modern movement is derived from Hinduism, which teaches that there is a “Supreme Lord and that humans are eternal spiritual beings trapped in a cycle of reincarnation.” Yet, by simply knowing him, one is “immediately liberated and goes back to Krishna.”
Karma is the moral law by which one is assessed to be worthy of reincarnation in a better form or otherwise. One is either punished or rewarded depending on his or her moral performance in the previous life.
The way to change karma, for the Hare Krishnas, is through “extreme forms of yoga” or through “an easier method, the recitation of his holy names, Krishna and Rama.”
Devotees of modern Hare Krishna teaching spend many hours every day chanting. They are not permitted to use alcohol or drugs, and sex is confined to the marriage bed.
The male tuft of hair on an otherwise bald head (for males only) symbolizes submission to their teacher, while a mark of clay on their foreheads (reapplied each morning) is “a reminder that their bodies are temples of Krishna” (Ibid.).
Krishna Vs. Christ
Hare Krishnas claim that Krishna is Christ; that Christians and Hare Krishnas pursue the same God. There are some similarities, such as the belief that knowing Christ/Krishna liberates a person as soon as he or she believes.
But Jesus said, “No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). One cannot receive salvation through Krishna or any other god.
Krishna expects followers to manage self-redemption through good works. They can be reunited with this spiritual being by doing things: difficult yoga or hours of chanting.
Meanwhile, everyone who believes in Christ for salvation will have eternal life (John 3:16). No one is saved by works but only by grace (Ephesians 2:8-9). Instead of enduring a cycle of reincarnation, believers who die will rest eternally at the resurrection.
Krishna demands excellent moral equity: a record of accounts that proves one is a good person, or at least good enough according to the moral economist — Krishna — in order to be reincarnated to a higher state.
Christ’s followers confess their sins, ask forgiveness, and then allow the Holy Spirit to indwell and transform them. They do not earn or achieve a higher state — disciples are raised to live in Christ by no power or work of their own.
Hare Krishnas believe in reincarnation. Jesus’ followers believe in the resurrection. Jesus paid the price so that we would be resurrected to eternal life once and for all; there are no second chances at living a better life for a better result.
“I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live” (John 11:25).
This is not a matter of coming back to life in a new body on the earth as we know it for a finite period. Resurrection is bodily restoration to the Father for eternity, never to be separated from him again. There is no better state to achieve.
Believers will be resurrected to life with the Father; unbelievers will spend eternity in hell, which is everlasting death, no matter how many good works they achieve. “They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might” (2 Thessalonians 1:9).
Sanat Pai Raika explains that Hindus traditionally believe in ten incarnations of Vishnu. “They represent the 10 times Vishnu descends to earth in order to restore cosmic order.”
Christ is not an incarnation among many. He is an equal party of the Trinity. God does not take many forms; the whole consists of three parts — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each part was present at the creation.
Then Jesus came one time as a man and will return one time to wipe the earth clean and take his followers home. “So Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him” (Hebrews 9:28).
The rules of karma say that one’s physical reality is a consequence of his or her moral quality. If one is sick, financially destitute, or lonely, that is because of bad karma.
Christ freed sinners from the oppression of such a belief (the Pharisees were not much better), such as the woman with the 12-year bleed who suffered by no fault of her own and was restored by her faith in Christ alone.
She did not achieve a wonderful act of generosity or self-denial in order to come back as a healthy woman in the next life but, instead, sought the right person to heal both her body and her soul in the present.
Krishna is described as an impersonal energy. Christ came down bodily and was resurrected in his body, a fact represented in part by the physical healing of the blind, the sick, and even individuals who had died.
He proved his bodily resurrection when “while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, ‘Have you anything here to eat?’” (Luke 24:41).
He has always been involved in his people’s lives. “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God” (Revelation 21:3).
What Makes Sense?
How do we know when our moral ledger shows more black than red? The Christian believes it’s all red — our own sin, covered by the blood of the Lamb.
The Christian believes in salvation by grace, and not only salvation but transformation thanks to the personal presence of God by the Holy Spirit.
It is from a posture of gratitude, reverence, and love that the believer seeks to do good works — this is the reverse of karmic teachings such as Hare Krishna, which stress the importance of good behavior as a means to avoid a hellish reincarnation.
The goodness Christians promote is the glory of God, not some quality of self. “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).
For further reading:
What Should Christians Know about Hinduism? 5 Essential Factors
What Does Namaste Mean? Should Christians Say It?
What Does the Bible Say about Reincarnation?
Are Karma and 'Reap What You Sow' the Same Thing?
Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/NiseriN
