Iskon of Orlando - Hare Krishna

You can hear the interview with His Holiness Tivikrama Swami here.

Iskon of Orlando
2651 Rouse Rd. Orlando FL 32817

Contact: Daruka Das

Book Recommendation: Bhagavad-Gita As It Is

Religion: Hare Krishna

Web Page: http://www.iskconorlando.com/

Before August 2nd, my only encounter with the group known as the Hare Krishnas was through a Bloom County comic strip, where Opus the Penguin winds up frustrating a Krishna missionary with talk of hairy fishnuts.

OK - it's funnier when you read about it. Go Google it.

The drive out to the Hare Krishna worship center was about a two hour drive from my house, and sadly I was about 40 minutes late. Luckily I was met at the door by Daruka Das (Das being the title, meaning "servant"), who pointed me the way inside. Off went my shoes, and I simply followed my ears to the music.

Being that I was 40 minutes late, I wasn't sure what to expect, but in this case, it was a lot of dancing. Men and women on either side of a wood floor room, dancing as they sang the Hare Krishna song:

Hare Krishna
Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna
Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare

They sang this chant quickly, slowly, sometimes with their leader Tivikrama Swami saying a word, with the congregation following, or perhaps singing out an entire line followed by the congregation. As they did so, a gentleman came through the room first with a flame to invite people to pass the smoke over their heads and feel the head cradled in their palm, then came through sprinkling people with water, then to smell a flower.

They danced before a pair of white statues frozen in their own dance, faces beaming with delight. Danced and sang the same song as they swung a tiny swing set with the same figures sitting next to each other. They danced before a lifelike statue of their founder sitting on the left side of the room.

For a time, they switched to another prayer printed out on a large posterboard - then went back to the Hare Krishna song, meant to enhance their consciousness.

They must have danced and sang for almost two hours before the congregation sat to read through their book of scripture, "Bhagavad-Gita: As It Is." Line by line in the original Sanskrit, then in English and the explanations.

What I learned from the sermon was more about the Krishna belief. That, in the beginning, all consciousness surrounded Krishna, who is considered to be the prime entertainer. Those other intelligences decided that they wanted to turn away from Krishna, so here we are on Earth, struggling through this illusion we call reality. Living, dying, working, suffering, laughing - but in the end, it's no more real than a dream.

The point of life, from the Hare Krishna perspective, is to realize that truth, to increase one's Krishna Consciousness. To spend life in contemplation, in avoiding harming all life and purifying the soul, and realizing that Krishna is the center of all reality.

I had to admire their dedication to their beliefs. Every morning changing the Hare Krishna prayer for hours a day, spreading their message on college campuses or other areas when they can, and living out their lives in joy.