Backtracking..... to the Hare Krishna Temple

Hey all! Wow. This one was a bizarre one. I don't really know where to start. We went and visited a Hare Krishna temple a couple days after the Buddhist temple, and it was exceedingly strange. I'll try and explain some things to you but don't expect much. Their entire theological thinking is so confusing I'm almost completely convinced that people who follow it are simply filling in the missing spot in their life with whatever they found suitable. 

Alright. Hare Krishna. This was odd. They are the people who you may have seen dancing around busy city streets chanting the name of their "god", Hare Krishna. They are best known for these public displays of  "worship" and their saffron colored robes other attire. Hare Krishna is a breakaway sect of Hinduism, so many practices of Hinduism are applied as well.

We had to wake up at 4:30 am for a one hour teaching session and prayer time before we rolled out to sit in on a morning service at the temple. The moment we arrived at the Hare Krishna temple I felt a certain spiritual weight on me. This was a dark place where lost people were seeking out false idols. It was really sad to see. 

The temple leaders were nice enough to re-structure their morning teaching to make it just an informational time for us students. They had one main teacher who sat in front of the whole group and just taught on the doctrine and beliefs of the Hare Krishna people. 

They follow Krishna (one of the Hindu "gods") exclusively. They believe that Krishna lived on earth about 5000 years ago and his words were recorded and are used as their "bible", the Bhagavad-Gita. 

There are a lot of, well, bizarre concepts in the theology of Hare Krishna. All followers of Krishna believe in self-realization. Basically, that our human bodies are not us. That we are spiritual entities that are a part of a greater spiritual entity, Krishna. The method that they use to try and get closer to god (Krishna) is chanting their mantra. This is basically just saying the names of their god over and over and over and over and over....... You get the idea. And let me tell you this. A devout Krishna follower is DEVOUT. They practice all of their rituals, all of their beliefs multiple times every day, every week, always. 

Even after all of this, all of their devotion and practice, the Krishna followers still are void of hope. I looked into the eyes of everyone I met at the Krishna temple and it broke my heart. There was nothing. No hope, no joy. They are caught up in the thinking of karma and reincarnation classic to Hinduism. I literally felt sick at the temple and I had the smell of their incense burned into my nose for weeks after. 

All in all, my eyes were opened to the huge need these people have for Jesus and His love. Please be praying for them! 

Next stop, Hindu temple!