c. 1996 Religion News Service

(RNS)-The Hare Krishna sect is a modern offshoot of a 16th-century Hindu devotional movement. The sect traces its theology to the Bhagavad-gita, a 5,000-year-old Sanskrit text, and worships the Hindu deity Lord Krishna as the”supreme personality of the Godhead.” Members of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), as Hare Krishna is formally called, are supposed to refrain from eating meat, fish or eggs; gambling; having sex outside of heterosexual marriage or for other than procreation; and ingesting intoxicants of any kind-including tobacco, coffee or tea. Devotees adopt a two-part spiritual name:”Dasa”for men and”Dasi”for women, denoting they are servants of God, coupled with a Sanskrit word describing one of Krishna’s many attributes.

ISKCON teaches that adhering to these prohibitions enhances physical, mental and spiritual well-being.

Hare Krishna devotees chant Lord Krishna’s various names to achieve”Krishna consciousness”and to propagate love of God. They believe that Lord Krishna is the same God worshiped by all major religions.

MJP END