Organized Christianity drives home the scare tactics and need to convert others to save us heathens. I’m comparing HK as being a fundamental Christian offshoot, carrying the same scare tactics and crazy behavior but under a different name. Most Christians I have met, Mallu or otherwise, are generally respectful in allowing for other beliefs. When it gets to the organized level, that’s where the tatti hits the fan. I have found in my experience that many HK’s are from devout Christian backgrounds and that they went HK to get away from the Christianity but forgot to leave the persecution behind. Again, my experience and beliefs only, I am not workign some secret plan to destroy the Mallus…hell, my sister is dating a Mallu!

ouch. how many people do you try to offend on a daily basis? a previous comment stated that you grew up around malayalees, i would have hoped that you would have been less ignorant about christianity, if that were the case.

but what really gets me fired up is how they sin in the very presence of God and feel no remorse about it.

Mahaprabhu’s philosophy, such as his emphatic rejection of caste-by-birth and his worship of Radha Krishna as the highest form of love of God, may not fit into certain conceptions of “Hinduism”, but then again “Hinduism” has always been known for the diversity of belief systems attempted to be described by this invented word.

For more information on this — not just one newspaper article — here’s a good start: http://www.iskcon.com/icj/6_1/6_1rochford.html

In response to M. Nam’s comment above, if a Hare Krishna devotee is refusing Ganesh prasada because they believe they will go hell, they don’t understand the Gaudiya Vaisnava philosophy that the Hare Krishna movement represents. Devotees of Krishna do not worship the demigods directly believing that worship of Bhagavan Sri Krishna is also worship of all other deities (see e.g. Bhagavad Gita 7:22), but there is certainly no call to be disrespectful of them. Now if the “Ganesh prasada” in question was chicken-tikka or something, well then her refusal to eat it makes more sense.

As you might imagine, in a worlwide society like the Hare Krishna movement, different communities have different moods, and I don’t doubt that some go overboard in their proselytizing and are fanatical in their (mis)beliefs — and I’m embarrassed for the movement when I hear such stories — but I think the “brainwashing” commment is excessive. Devotees do not live in armed compounds, and your cousin is, I’m sure, free to leave at any time. Why she’s chosen to be so fanatical, I have no idea.

A cousin sister of mine fell into the Hare Krishna swamp a few years ago, and she’s still not come out of it. Like most(or all?) Hindus, she would worship anything under the sun, including the sun itself. She would go with us to Hindu temples(of all hues), Jain temples, Gurudwaras etc. After she joined an Australian HK group, she’s become a consummate monotheist. She refuses to take prasad after Ganesh puja etc, saying that she will go to hell if she does so. In functions she is seen distributing HK literature, much to the discomfort of relatives and friends.

My take is: this is a brainwashing cult, not too different from David Koresh and others. I’ve seen my cousin’s steady and steep decline over the years, and when I tried to reason with her(as others), we encountered a stubborn wall that could not be penetrated.

They got to her. We lost.

M. Nam

in all seriousness though, if these allegations are true, these people deserve a beating of their lifetime and to have their pony tails yanked out of their heads. It’s sad to see people defy God in the worst way possible and do it in his house. Where’s Narasimha Ji when you need him?

“…40 religious protesters forced the abandonment of a wedding…by storming the venue and seizing a holy book central to the ceremony. The wedding…was halted by a campaign group which had travelled by bus…after searching the internet for details of weddings which might break religious rules.”