Hare Krishna Movement in Russia
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| A Ramanavami pooja conducted by Hare Krishna followers in Russia. |
R&I Report:
Mumbai's Marine Drive is hardly a place where you would expect to "bump
into" a Russian Orthodox Church priest, let alone one from as far away
as Siberia. On a breezy late-monsoon evening, a tall and young Russian
man asked me the time. His features and accent had "Russian" written all
over them and when my response came in his native language, he was
pleasantly surprised. At first glance, I assumed the bearded man got
lost somewhere in Goa's hippie trail and ended up in India's financial
capital, but it was my turn to get surprised when I found out who he
was.
The
young priest hailed from Tomsk, a university town that unfortunately
came in the radar of the Indian public in late-2011 when there were
attempts by local officials to get the ISCKON version of the Bhagawad
Geeta banned. He was in Mumbai to try and do some "personal research" on
ISKCON or the Hare Krishna movement. After 3 months, he was convinced
that the movement was not "extremist in nature" but still had
reservations about its practitioners.
His
knowledge of Hinduism as a whole was strong enough to put many practicing Hindus to shame. "Hinduism is a religion of freedom and
encourages thought," he said. "But the ISKCON people both back home in
Russia and here are neither open to debate or questioning." When I told
him that I thought he was generalizing, he said that his talks with
believers convinced him that they were on a mission of proselytism
and were authoritarian. "This is a movement that refuses to recognize
any other version of the Geeta except their own," he said. I couldn't
challenge the statement that particular evening, but I did find out
later on that there was truth in it.
"One
can only be born a Hindu," the priest said. "So why are they trying to
convert so many Orthodox Christians?" He went on to say that Hindus are
actually a race and that all Indians belong to that race, "which within
its own principles allow people to practice or believe in whatever they
wanted." He said Sufi Islam in India was Hinduism as well. If he
wanted to leave the Orthodox Church in Russia, there are enough organizations in India that would make him their poster boy.
His
views are in no way meant to be taken as the word of the Russian
Orthodox Church, but the young priest said the church was a unifying
factor in Russia and was ideal for a country, that is largely
homogenous, despite having many ethnic minorities. "India's greatness
lies in it finding its Hindu spiritual roots and for all Indians to
understand that and you see, Russia is again becoming great now since
more people understand and appreciate traditional Russian Orthodox
values," he said.
The
priest equated the Hare Krishna movement with Western missionaries and
said both groups were looking at misleading Indians and Russians and destabilizing the countries. I'll admit that I have heard these "CIA
agents" conspiracy theories but I am not really one hundred percent
convinced.
The
very fact that the young man came to India with an open mind to try and
find out for himself what he heard from others has to go to his credit.
He said he hoped that more people embraced vegetarianism and that in
his opinion when Jesus said, "Thou shall not kill," he meant to include
animals as well. When I joked that his "friends" from ISKCON were also
vegetarians, he took it in good stride and laughed as he called them
"extremists" in their vegetarianism as they refused to eat onions and
garlic!
He
kept insisting that the Orthodox Church has a lot of regard for Indian
culture, customs and traditions, but then was critical of the Indian
government for decriminalizing homosexuality. Calling it a sin and a
sickness, the young priest said homosexuality was a Western creation and
a serious danger for India as well! Divorce, single-parents, alcoholic
women and rejection of traditional values would spell doom for Russia
and India. This he argued was an orchestrated plan by the West to keep
the countries "in suffering."
Despite
his speaking with clarity, I sensed a great degree of confusion in the
young priest. He believed with his whole heart in the concept of a great
Russia and a great India. Is some sort of religious conformity across
both countries the only way to unite the largely "traditional" people
and help the countries progress? The "godless Chinese" whose country is
sandwiched between Russia and India seem to be doing just fine after
experimenting first with the "Western evil" of communism and then with
another "vice" from the West called capitalism.
Tailpiece: I
personally love visiting Orthodox Churches and monasteries in Russia.
Many of them are architectural marvels and the followers welcome
outsiders, much in keeping with Russian tradition of hospitality. This
kind of openness towards outsiders is not seen in Hindu temples in some
parts of India.
