Our Philosophy
The philosophy of the Hare Krsna movement is a non-sectarian monotheistic tradition. It may be summarized in the following eight points:
1) By sincerely cultivating an authentic spiritual science, we can become free from anxiety and achieve a state of pure, unending, blissful consciousness.
2) Each one of us is not the material body but an eternal spirit soul, part and parcel of God (Krsna). As such, we are all interrelated through Krsna, our common father.
3) Krsna is eternal, all-knowing, omnipresent, all-powerful and all-attractive. He is the seed-giving father of all living beings and the sustaining energy of the universe. He is the source of all incarnations of God.
4) The Vedas are the oldest scriptures in the world. The essence of the Vedas is found in the Bhagavad gita, a literal record of Krsna’s words spoken 5,000 years ago in India. The goal of Vedic knowledge–and of all theistic religions– is to achieve love of God.
5) We can perfectly understand the knowledge of self-realization through the instructions of a genuine spiritual master–one who is free from selfish motives and whose mind is firmly fixed in meditation on Krsna.
6) All that we eat should first be offered to Krsna with a prayer. In this way Krsna accepts the offering and blesses it for our purification.
7) Rather than living in a self-centered way, we should act for the pleasure of Krsna. This is known as bhakti-yoga, the science of devotional service.
8) The most effective means for achieving God consciousness in this age is to chant the holy names of Lord:
Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare
Why Vegetarianism?
Hare Krishnas are vegetarian primarily to practice non-violence to other living creatures (ahimsa), adhere to the spiritual principle of karma, and offer food to God (Krishna).
Since all living beings contain a soul, animal slaughter (and the entire meat industry) violates spiritual laws. Eating meat incurs negative karma (sinful reactions from the suffering of innocent animals), whereas eating consecrated food, or prasadam, cleanses the soul.
Bhagavad-Gita verse 9.26 states that Krishna accepts vegetarian offerings made with love, such as fruits, vegetables, grains, and milk. Offering food to Krishna sanctifies it and makes it spiritual, and free from any negative karmic reactions.
A vegetarian diet has been shown through many studies to promote “sattva” (purity), leading to clearer thinking and higher spiritual consciousness.
Hare Krishnas therefore follow a lacto-vegetarian diet, avoiding all meat, fish, and eggs. We believe that this practice shows respect for all life and helps in reducing the overall suffering in the world.
Our food is delicious! We believe that the act of offering it to Krishna imbibes it with a divine spark. We therefore serve a veritable feast of free prasadam, or sanctified food, at all our Sunday Love Feast and all our Festivals. Come and try it for yourself.