| Hare Krishna & Iskcon ISKCON Practices ISKCON is structured into two sectors: an order of monks and priests who live at a temple, and congregation members, who live outside. Male monks shave their heads, except for a central patch called a sikha. They receive a Sanskrit name (one of the many names of God) plus the suffix "dasa," which means "servant of...," and saffron coloured robes, dhotis, to signify celibacy. Married monks wear white dhotis. Female residents of a temple wear traditional saris and do not shave their heads. All monks vow to abandon cigarettes, alcohol and other drugs, reject gambling, and follow a non-violent vegetarian diet. They also make a commitment to chant the names of God a prescribed number of times each day. They rise before sunrise and chant and pray at intervals during the day. Celibacy is preferred and is mandatory for single devotees; sexual activity for married couples is only for the purpose of procreation. Congregation members wear regular clothing and work regular jobs. Many live near a temple, follow a vegetarian diet, do some prayer and chanting at home, and come to the temple at least once a week, usually for the "Sunday Feast." ("Sunday Feasts" are held at Hare Krishna temples around the world, where anyone can come and participate in the chanting, dancing, and feasting on vegetarian food offered to the Lord. ) . Hare Krishnas developed a high profile through their appearance in airports and other public places, dressed in saffron coloured robes, chanting, playing drums and finger cymbals, selling their literature, and proselytizing (although book sales at airports was curtailed after 1992 when the us Supreme Court decided that individuals who were soliciting money could be banned from airports and other public placeso) . They have many centres throughout North America, in Atlanta, Baltimore, Boise, Boston, Boulder, Chicago, Columbus, Dallas, Denver, Gainesville, Hartford, Honolulu, Houston, Laguna Beach (CA), Lansing, Long Island, Los Angeles, Miami, Montreal, Ottawa, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, Regina, St. Louis, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Tallahassee, Topanga (CA), Toronto, Towaco (NJ), Tucson, Vancouver, Walla Walla, and Washington. They also operate a Vedic School in Coral Springs (FL) and many farm communities and restaurants. Internet References Three WWW sites which contain additional information of ISKCON are: -www./httl2://www.webcom.com/~ity which is maintained by ISKCON. It describes three religious practices: chanting, dancing, and feasting. - httl2:www.l2eg.apc.org/~shelterL which contains a description of the faith, links to other ISKCON pages, and one link to a fascinating program that simulates monkeys trying to type a line from Shakespeare! They refer to two news groups: alt.religion.vaisnava and alt.punk.straight-edge. D httl2://aristotle.algonet.se/~krishna/ Tour the "The World ofHare Krishna," ask some questions, get a world address list for temples and vegetarian restaurants, and links to other ISKCON sites. |
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