Originally Posted by verklingen

lots of ignorance up in here. . .

the hare krishnas are part of a movement conceived in the early 60's by an indian fellow named srila prabhupada. his intention was to bring krishna consciousness to the world; specifically the west. he preached loving devotion to a hindu expression of the devine, creative spirit -- lord sri krishna -- through his international society for krishna consciousness, or iskcon, which he founded in 1966 at new york city. aside from insisting upon the adoption of some traditional indian practices, iskcon, lead by prabhupada, promoted an all-around affection for life by making the expression of kindness, love, and appreciation toward all beings a main element in his enunciation of bhakti (devotional service to the divine, creative spirit). bhakti yoga is what the hare krishnas call their practice.

so that's what they're about. it's true that after prabhupada died in the seventies there was a general tumult from the lack of leadership, and since then there could be sects who have deviated much. but to think that hare krishnas as a whole are somehow corrupted and serve only to pacify weak minds or to usher vile acts is a lot like saying christians are despicable and evil because some of them liked to burn witches, or likewise all mormons because some of them like to have a collection of underage wives.

i just think we've had enough of the divisive rhetoric regarding the religions of our planet, and if you REALLY think there's a secretive group such as the illuminati who exerts control over the world, maybe getting caught up in it is part of their plan. cuz, well, you know. . . muslims are misogynistic terrorists, christians are bigots, jews are corrupt misers, and hindus are depraved masochists. get it? i don't. i don't see the purpose in following any of that; in fact i only see the potentials down that path for a world i'd rather not live in. so i choose to look at what's good and what brings us together: what tempers our good will and stirs our hopes. i believe there's much more to be gained in this way.