Hindus and Hinduization
BY: PROFESSOR BURKE ROCHFORD
Oct 03, MIDDLEBURY, VERMONT, USA (SUN) — Hare Krishna. I read with interest your article on Hinduization and thought you might be interested in the chapter in my recent book, Hare Krishna Transformed (New York University Press, 2007) on the topic.
[Following is] the chapter "Hindus and Hinduization" and a table based on the Prabhupada Centennial Survey (1995) that compares Indian-Hindus involved with ISKCON with other non-Indian ISKCON members with regards to religious practices, ISKCON involvements, etc. The table appears in the chapter. The chapter in the book has been edited somewhat and may be slightly different from the version you have here.
I believe these are important issues and am glad to see you and others discussing them.
All the best,
Burke Rochford
Professor of Sociology and Religion
Middlebury College
Middlebury, VT 05753
"Hare Krishna Transformed"
by Professor Burke Rochford
Chapter 9
Hindus and Hinduization
I had a feeling that I never experienced before as a devotee. I felt like an outsider. Like it wasn’t my temple. It was so strange. (ISKCON devotee reacting to the large number of Indians at a festival celebrating Krishna’s birthday, 2005)
It’s not about getting money [from Indian supporters]; It’s about serving Krishna. Better to keep the purity and remain poor, than deviate and get millions of dollars (Das, Ragaputra 2005:2).
Asian immigrants are changing the religious mosaic of North America (Min and Kim 2002). Religion for these immigrants serves as both a means of integration into American society and as an institutional support helping to maintain their ethnic identities (Leonard et al., 2005; Warner and Wittner 1998; Williams 1988). For Indian immigrants, their traditions and cultures, as well as their religions, have been subject to negotiation in order to construct ethnic identities appropriate to their new surroundings (Knott 1987; Kurien 2002:102). Yet this process of identity construction often results in a strengthening of religious belief and Indian identity (Kurien 2002; Williams 1988:11). Despite the growing literature on immigrant religions in America, the question of how immigrants promote change within established religious organizations has gained little attention.
Immigrant Indians became vital to ISKCON’s survival beginning in the 1980s. In a state of decline, the leadership turned away from the movement’s radical goals and lifestyle and focused instead on building congregations of Indian-Hindus within its temple communities. In coming to ISKCON to worship and strengthen their ethnic identities, Indian-Hindus reshaped ISKCON’s religious culture and overall mission as a new religious movement.
The Emergence of an Indian-Hindu Congregation
Estimates indicate that in 2005 a considerable majority of ISKCON’s approximately 50,000-member North American congregation was of Indian descent. Only a small portion however, can be considered committed ISKCON devotees. Most are patrons whose involvement is limited to intermittent temple worship and financial contributions supporting local ISKCON temples.1 Large numbers of other Indians attend ISKCON sponsored festivals celebrating major Hindu holidays such as Janmastami (Krishna’s birthday) as their only form of ISKCON involvement. A visit to most ISKCON temples on any given Sunday would reveal that 80% or more of those in attendance are Asian Indian immigrants and their families. On major festivals that percentage often approaches 90%.2 Yet this remarkable growth in ISKCON’s Hindu congregation represents a relatively recent development in the movement’s North American history.
During ISKCON’s formative stages of development in the late 1960s and early 1970s, there were relatively few Indians to be found in ISKCON’s temples. Prabhupada remained ambivalent about involving Indian-Hindus in his incipient movement short of their becoming fully committed ISKCON members. Early on he generally ignored Indian immigrants in America fearing that ISKCON would be overly identified with Hinduism. As Prabhupada wrote to one of his disciples in April 1970, “factually this Krishna Consciousness movement is neither Hindu religion nor any other religion. It is the function of the soul” (Prabhupada 1992:1577). In a 1969 conversation with several of his followers at New Vrindaban, Prabhupada stressed that ISKCON was not a Hindu movement.
I don’t want a Hindu temple. Our constitution is different. We want everyone. Krsna consciousness is for everyone. It is not a Hindu propaganda. People may not understand. And actually, till now in our [ISKCON] society there is not a single other Hindu than me (laughter). Is that not? (June 9, 1969, quoted in Dasi, Hare Krsna 2004).
Prabhupada also openly questioned the spiritual commitment of Indians who immigrated to the West. He believed their primary motive for coming to North America was “to earn money” and that the “[b]est thing will be to avoid them as far as possible” (Prabhupada 1992:1570).3 Only after ISKCON became well established in North America did Prabhupada encourage Indians and other Hindus to become involved in the movement.
Despite the general disinterest shown by Prabhupada and his followers, increasing numbers of Indian immigrants were drawn to ISKCON’s temples to worship. This was largely because when widespread Indian immigration to the United States occurred after President Johnson rescinded the Oriental Exclusion Act in 1965, there were virtually no established Hindu temples in the country beyond those offered by ISKCON (Eck 2000:118; Williams 1988:132).4 The same can be said for Canada where substantial numbers of South Asian professionals immigrated during the 1960s and 1970s, and were joined by Hindus from East Africa, South Africa, Fiji, Mauritius, Guyana, and Trinidad (Coward 2000:152-53).5
Indian immigrants found ISKCON attractive because the young American converts affirmed the value of the Hindu tradition in their new environment. As one Indian man suggested, “There is just respect that these Westerners are doing things better. They can recite the slokas [verses] from the Gita better than Indians do.” Many saw the asceticism of ISKCON members as familiar reminders of the holy men in India and were impressed by the devotees’ knowledge of Sanskrit, traditional Hindu rituals, Indian music, and the Vedic literatures (Williams 1988:131). They were also attracted by the elaborate deity worship found in ISKCON’s temples. Being vegetarians, immigrant Hindus also frequented ISKCON’s restaurants that served authentic Indian meals ritually sanctified as prasadam. Yet of greatest significance was the shared belief that participation in ISKCON’s temple programs would help preserve their religious and ethnic identities. The temple served to maintain cultural traditions and ethnic identity because of the direct relationship between Hinduism and Indian cultural and sub-cultural traditions (Min 2005:107). It also helped keep Indian-Hindus removed from the allure of American materialism (Williams 1988:131). As one Indian man who took initiation from Prabhupada commented.
I came to this country (USA) for material advancement in 1969. In 1970, I met Srila Prabhupada. Since then I realized how fortunate I was. Many times since 1970 to today, I had many desires and opportunities to fall down [into material life] like the rest of my friends, but Srila Prabhupada’s protection and mercy have saved me. (Centennial Survey 1996)
An Indian from Detroit also pointed to the corrupting influence of American culture and how his ISKCON involvement served as an antidote.
You don’t want to look like you are an oddball. So you want to blend in. No matter what price you have to pay you want to blend in. You know you will be accepted if you do. So you go to the cafeteria with your buddies, or the boss has a Christmas party. But these things are so corrupting. Once you are corrupted it goes downhill from there very quickly. You start immediately rationalizing everything. Not only rationalizing but after a while you start believing in these things. And then you stop thinking about your culture. So I am here at [the ISKCON] temple and I am thinking of my culture. The Indian community needs ISKCON for its spiritual revival. (Interview 1990)
Despite their presence in ISKCON’s temples however, ISKCON members made little effort to communicate with their Hindu visitors or to otherwise involve them in the life of the community. Indians visiting ISKCON’s temples largely shared this disinterest because congregational participation, so much a part of the American religious experience, represented a significant departure from traditional Hindu religious practice (Kurien 1998:42; Min 2005:100). In India, Hinduism is practiced primarily as a “domestic religion” giving emphasis to family rituals. Temple worship is accorded less importance (Min 2005:100; Rangaswamy 2000:246). Until the mid-1970s, Indian-Hindus generally came and went from ISKCON’s temples after taking darshan of the deities.6
Official ISKCON recognition of Hinduism and its Hindu supporters emerged only in the mid-1970s as ISKCON faced a variety of threats from the anticult movement and governmental officials. To defend itself against accusations of being a dangerous cult, the leadership asked ISKCON’s Indian supporters to speak to the movement’s authenticity as a traditional Hindu religious group. On other occasions, ISKCON called on its Indian supporters to respond to the discriminatory actions of government officials. In 1980, for example, city officials seeking to deny ISKCON a permit to stage its annual Rathayatra festival in West Los Angeles were confronted by Indian-Hindus charging religious discrimination. City officials quickly backed down and allowed the festival to proceed as planned. Having seen Indian-Hindus come forward in support of ISKCON, the movement’s leaders thereafter sought to publicly align ISKCON with Hinduism and with its Hindu patrons (Rochford 1985:270).
ISKCON introduced the “Life Member Program” to North America in the mid-1970s to formally ally its Indian-Hindu supporters. Becoming a life member required a donation of $1,111 and in 1984 there were 1,684 life members in the U.S., most of who were Indian immigrants (Williams 1988:134). As “Life members,” Indian-Hindus gained authorized access to ISKCON temples to worship and to socialize with other immigrant families. Few Indians, however, became full-time members or took on positions of organizational responsibility. Only a small number became disciples of Prabhupada or one of his successors.7 The Sunday feast, once an occasion for preaching and recruitment, was essentially handed over to emerging Hindu congregations in locations with substantial Indian immigrant populations. It was not uncommon during the late 1970s in Los Angeles, for example, to find several hundred Hindus at the temple for Sunday worship and the feast to follow.
Given the increasing presence and importance of the movement’s Indian-Hindu supporters, ISKCON’s North American GBC declared its intention in 1980 to alter the public image of ISKCON from that of a “cult” to “a denomination of the Hindu church” (Rochford 1985:271). This effort was meant to bring greater legitimacy to the movement while encouraging financial support from its emerging Hindu congregation. Hindu contributions quickly became critically important as book distribution revenues dropped precipitously in 1980 and continued to slide thereafter. As one temple president stated, “The growing importance of Indian people in ISKCON is because of a lack of a proper economic infrastructure. That is what it boils down to. The leaders had no plans for maintaining the temples. Zero plans” (Interview 2005).
In 1982, Indian-Hindus in Detroit contributed $100,000 to the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust (Rochford 1985:268). During that same year, the Hindu congregation in Philadelphia contributed about $1,000 per month toward temple expenses (Rochford 1985:268). Hindu members of ISKCON’s Houston temple provided much of the funding that allowed the community to purchase the house being used as a temple in 1982 (Williams 1988:266). Hindu funds were equally critical to the building of the multi-million dollar Radha-Krishna Temple of Understanding at New Vrindaban in the mid-1980s. Wealthy Indian-Hindus provided substantial funding in support of the project (Rochford and Bailey 2006).
As ISKCON’s financial troubles deepened still further in the mid-1980s, the financial contributions of Indian-Hindus only grew in importance. ISKCON launched an active campaign to expand its Hindu congregation in hopes of bringing economic stability to its impoverished North American communities (Rochford and Bailey 2006; Zaidman 2000:205-19). When confronted with a lawsuit, the Robin George brainwashing case in Los Angeles, which involved charges of false imprisonment, infliction of emotional distress, wrongful death of George’s father, and libel, ISKCON was able to successfully raise funds to defray legal expenses and a substantial financial settlement (for details on the case, see Bromley 1989; Shinn 1987:123). Two Indian ISKCON members, one a GBC member and U.S. immigrant, the other a well-known guru from India, visited ISKCON temples throughout the United States seeking donations. As the GBC member involved described.
I had some success with Lokantha Maharaja, who at the time was helping in the fund raising, going from temple-to-temple standing up and making an appeal. And we were getting contributions of $50,000, $30,000 . . . from various temples. This helped with the legal expenses but it wasn’t enough to pay the final judgment. (Interview 2005)
On the heels of this successful fund raising effort, movement leaders established the ISKCON Foundation in 1991. As the Foundation’s former director explained, “So we saw this opportunity for the George case to be used as a vehicle to turn every temple around. We saw the George case as a blessing in disguise. Krishna is giving us a chance to come up to a much higher level.” The Foundation’s primary mission was to raise money to support ISKCON’s communities by actively encouraging the involvement of Indian-Hindus in ISKCON temples. Despite obvious financial need however, some temples resisted the Foundation’s efforts. As the past director explained:
We were starting to present these ideas and some temples liked them and some didn’t. It had a lot to do with the local GBC [representative] and local guru, how much control they were willing to give up. Because this effort was meant to empower other people and some leaders didn’t want that to happen. They felt threatened by giving them power. (Interview 2005)
Making use of personal contact with potential donors, as well as phone calls and a direct mail campaign involving thousands of Hindus across North America, the ISKCON Foundation successfully mobilized the support of a significant number of Hindus.8 A major part of the Foundation’s strategic plan was to establish advisory boards in each of ISKCON’s North American communities. Influential and affluent Hindus comprised the majority membership of these temple boards and most proved successful in enlisting the support of local Indian immigrants. As a result, temple revenues increased substantially in many locations. Most ISKCON temples in North America thereafter operated on what one ISKCON leader characterized as a “Hindu economy.” In 1988, for example, congregational members and visitors to the Philadelphia ISKCON temple contributed 48% of the total temple income. In 1991, that percentage had grown to 62%, and in 1992, 67%. Contributions in dollars increased from $54,000 in 1988, to $111,000 in 1992 (Zaidman 1997:341). Dependence on Indian financial support has only grown in recent years. In 2005, the temple president of a major ISKCON community in the United States stated, “In the case of this temple, 95% of the funds supporting the temple are coming from the Indian congregation. Only five percent are from the American devotees.” Not surprisingly, the financial support provided by Indian-Hindu congregations expanded their power and influence within local ISKCON temples. As the temple president quoted above admitted, “The whole temple becomes dominated by Indians. Because they have put their money there [in the temple] you are going to have to go their way. Obviously you have to give them a say.”
Hindus and Westerners in Comparative Perspective
Because Hindus immigrating to the West come from different regions, language groups, and sects practicing diverse rituals, Hinduism is often practiced as an ethnic religion outside of India (Burghart 1987; Williams 1988). Hinduism thereby becomes general in form rather than regional and sectarian. Knott (1987:178) refers to this process as one of “standardization” producing something akin to a “text-book Hinduism.”9 Such a pattern can be found in Hindu temples both in Great Britain and in North America (Burghart 1987; Williams 1988). Yet ISKCON temples are dedicated neither to an ethnic or ecumenical form of Hinduism; rather they are dedicated exclusively to the worship of Krishna and his incarnations. Although Indian immigrants are clearly familiar with the forms of worship, teachings, and religious practices associated with Krishna, many do not consider Krishna the supreme god (Zaidman 1997:340). Rather they favor worshipping a variety of Hindu gods and acknowledge different Hindu traditions as equally valid. As one Indian commented on the Centennial Survey, “With all Hindus, Hindu unity should be the foremost concern, irrespective of their affiliations with other demigods [gods other than Krishna].”10
Members of ISKCON’s Indian congregation generally express admiration for Prabhupada because of his success at bringing the Hindu tradition to the world. As an Indian temple president commented in a 2005 interview.
The Indians really respect Prabhupada because he has converted thousands of Christians and Jews into Hindus. In India that is really what they respect Srila Prabhupada for. This one man had such an impact globally. He has shown the greatness of the Hindu tradition to the whole world. One man has converted so many people to my culture.
Although respecting Prabhupada, many of ISKCON’s Indian-Hindu supporters do not embrace his teaching. As one longtime ISKCON member and Prabhupada disciple of Indian ancestry explained.
Many Indians do not fully understand Srila Prabhupada’s unique qualities. That he was the leading proponent or teacher of our Vedic philosophy. They don’t for the most part understand that or his teachings. Rather they fall back on the more ritualistic aspects that they grew up with. Going to temples but carrying on with what they grew up with in India. In my view these are often compromised understandings of the Vedic teachings, not in keeping with Prabhupada’s teachings. (Interview 2005)
The 1996 North American Centennial Survey allows for a systematic comparison of the religious orientations and patterns of ISKCON involvement of 106 Indian-Hindus and 318 other ISKCON members (See Table 9.1 in Appendix 2).11 Indian-Hindus expressed less commitment to ISKCON’s religious beliefs, the movement’s preaching mission, and to the authority of Prabhupada’s scriptural commentaries. With respect to religious practice, Indian-Hindus participated far less in ISKCON’s collective religious practices and were less likely to wear traditional dhotis or saris (religious clothing), adhere to the four regulative principles, and chant daily rounds. They did, however, hold morning worship programs at home more frequently than other ISKCON members.12 Although about equally committed as other members to the authority of the GBC and ISKCON’s gurus,13 Indian-Hindus were less committed to ISKCON’s purposes and goals. They also placed greater emphasis on democratic forms of governance than did other ISKCON members. Lastly, Indian-Hindus committed far fewer hours performing volunteer work in their local temple community and placed less value on devotee relationships than did other ISKCON members.
In essence, the Indian-Hindus affiliated with ISKCON in most cases do not share the movement’s sectarian religious orientation and are less committed to ISKCON and the broader devotee community. Representative of this is that one quarter of the Indians taking part in the Centennial Survey indicated that they were not ISKCON members, despite worshipping at an ISKCON temple. As an Indian temple president noted about the Indian congregation in his temple:
Most accept that Krishna is the supreme personality of Godhead. . . . But they are not ISKCON on the basis of philosophy. All Hindus are brought up with a certain faith and that sticks to them. When they come to a Hare Krishna temple and you try to impose your faith into them, and your style of puja [deity worship] and arti, and so on, they are not totally in sync with it.
An Indian-Hindu from Southern California suggests how his Hindu beliefs remain at odds with those represented by ISKCON.
It is a tragedy that ISKCON has chosen to become ‘non-Hindu’ for reasons other than religious considerations. ISKCON believes in [the] Varnashram system, yet considers itself solely for Vaisnavas, not other Hindus. What happened to other varnas, which constitute the bulk of Hindus? How can ISKCON survive as a separate cult without the basic four castes? (Centennial Survey 1996)
An Indian life member from Toronto expressed his disagreement with the preaching strategies emphasized by Prabhupada.
I believe in Krishna and the Gita. I don’t 100% agree with Srila Prabhupada’s philosophy e.g., distribution of free food to attract others even if they don’t subscribe to the Gita, or distributing books freely, which end up in a garage sale or in the garbage. (Centennial Survey 1996)
As the above findings reveal, ISKCON’s North American temples are comprised of two distinct and parallel communities. The first is comprised of mostly Western converts dedicated to Prabhupada’s religious teachings and overall vision for ISKCON. The second is made up of Indian-Hindus who view ISKCON’s communities as places of worship and ethnic identification.14
Divided Communities and Collective Estrangement
The different orientations of Indian-Hindus and ISKCON’s Western devotees have produced strains between the two groups. These tensions have only intensified as Indian-Hindus have gained power and influence within ISKCON’s temple communities. As one temple president stated:
The temples are becoming Hindu temples because they put their money there and they are more involved than the American congregation. They come and wash the pots [for the Sunday feast] and are more involved in everything than the Western congregation. So the whole temple becomes dominated by Indians. The American devotees must get more involved in the temple and make their presence felt. Come do service. Sing, dance, chant and contribute part of their income. If not, this is the way things are going to continue going. (Interview 2005)
Any observer of an ISKCON community on Sunday will note limited interaction between Western devotees and Indian-Hindus. As one Indian member of ISKCON’s Detroit congregation observed.
There is not very much interaction unfortunately between the Indians and the devotees on Sunday. And there is a need for a lot more. I have been telling every single temple president here, ‘We need to build up our Indian congregation because the finances of the temple are not in good shape. So one thing I want you to do for heaven’s sake is to go to them and say, ‘How do you do?’’ Introduce yourself to all of them. If you did this for a few months you would reduce so much resistance. (Interview 1990)
A researcher of ISKCON’s Philadelphia temple during the early 1990s found that 40% of the temple residents reported that they had no relationship with Indian visitors on Sunday, other than to acknowledge them by saying, “Hare Krishna.” Sixty percent, including some devotees in the temple hierarchy, admitted to holding bitter and highly critical views of the Indians. One reason stemmed from the refusal of many Hindus to accept temple residents as legitimate devotees, for many denied the very possibility that Westerners could be priests or brahmins.15 In addition, the funds contributed by Indian congregational members were directed toward projects related to the temple, not toward improving the living spaces and situations of temple residents. Neither were the funds used to further ISKCON’s traditional preaching mission (Zaidman 2000:215). Apart from these reasons is another. The Indian-Hindus who come to ISKCON’s temples to worship and feast on Sundays do so in large part so they can socialize with other Indian people. In the United States, Indians are the most spatially dispersed immigrant group (Portes and Rumbart 1996:40), which creates a barrier to ethnic formation (Kurien 2002:104). ISKCON’s Sunday programs provide structured opportunities for Indian-Hindus to communicate and to make contacts with members of the Indian community. In recognition of this, the Indian temple president of one ISKCON community explained his strategy for involving Indians in the temple congregation.
The temple is a spiritual place for worship but it is also provides for a social get-together for the Indians on Sunday. They want to go and meet some influential people. A lot of people when I invite them to the temple I say some influential person is coming and they say, ‘Oh, okay I will definitely be there.’ So when I invite them I tell them who is coming, especially if there are people they might want to rub shoulders with. So that is how it works. So I try to target top-notch and recognized Indians in (city). Bank Presidents. Big hotel owners. Because I know others will follow. (Interview 2005)
Apart from the limited interaction between Western devotees and Indian-Hindus, there are also fewer Westerners who choose to attend the Sunday temple program because of the large Indian presence. In a 2005 community meeting involving a dozen longtime Western devotees, each of those present indicated that they only infrequently attended the Sunday feast. Moreover, when one of them acknowledged that he “would never bring a new [Western] person to the temple because they would be put off ” by the overwhelming number of Indians, others quickly nodded their heads in agreement. As the GBC representative for the community stated, “It is common to meet intelligent, good devotees who say, ‘I just go to the temple when I want to see the deities. But otherwise I just can’t relate.’. . . Calling up the Indians [in the temple] to get their little gifts because they donated [funds] for the puja. Any Western person would be put off. This has become a very common response.”
Indians also find reason to feel estranged at the Sunday program. Many find the loud kirtans and active dancing that forms part of the Western devotees worship disagreeable and even offensive. As an Indian temple president explained:
They want to change the way that you [Westerner devotees] dance in the temple; jumping up and down, screaming and shouting at the top of your voice. They think this is very monkey like. It is very off-putting to them. If you go to any Hindu temple that is not the way it is. One doesn’t pray to God like that. The way to pray to God is very sober, with awe and reverence. So because of the way the Westerners worship in the temple you are turning away part of your congregation who are afraid to bring their friends to the temple. This same group of people who are the ones putting large sums of money toward supporting the temple. . . . In fact, they have voiced this to me, ‘Prabhu, is there another way we can do the artis?’ So you have to take these things seriously. (Interview 2005)
Differences between Indian-Hindus’ vision of the temple and that of temple residents have on occasion produced conflict. To Hindus who view ISKCON communities largely as sites of worship, they see little need for more than a limited number of religious specialists to serve as pujaris and teachers, in addition to temple administrators. Because of this, temple residents are often viewed as unnecessary expenses rather than evidence of ISKCON’s vitality as a missionary movement. One issue that has routinely emerged involves the financial support provided to temple pujaris and other devotees working within temple communities. As the former director of the ISKCON Foundation reported:
It is obvious to the Indians that funds were necessary to support the deities, the grounds, and that the temple building needed to be kept up. It was also obvious that the mortgage had to be paid, utilities, insurance, but when it came to supporting the devotees who were full-time pujaris, they always had a lot of questions. Why do we need so many people? What do they do all day? Why don’t they have some other source of income? I remember fighting against that viewpoint. It still goes on from what I can tell. (Interview 2005)
As one Indian commented, “In other [non-ISKCON] temples in the U.S. the Indians see that there are only one or two pujaris who come from India and are given simple accommodations. That is all it takes from their perspective.”16
Questions about support for temple residents are part of a broader concern about how funds collected from the Hindu congregation are used by temple authorities. As one Indian man commented on the Centennial Survey, “If you raise some money then you want to tell those who contributed what you have done with it before you ask for more. Tell people, ‘Thank you very much for the money. We want to tell you what we did with it.’ If people see that the money was spent wisely they will want to give some more.” Two thirds (64%) of the Indians responding to the Centennial Survey agreed that, “I would be more involved in ISKCON, and more likely to contribute, if there were a better accounting of how money is spent.” Growing out of this and other concerns, a considerable majority (84%) believed that “local temple management should be the responsibility of an elected board of directors.” Elected temple boards would place greater control over ISKCON’s communities in the hands of Indian-Hindu congregations.
Indian advisory board members have exerted pressure meant to influence management decisions within ISKCON’s temple communities. Board members in Philadelphia, for example, found reason to complain about the performance of temple vice presidents. On one occasion they successfully pressured for a resignation. This level of involvement in temple management exceeded the power initially given to temple advisory boards (Zaidman 1997:343). Staffing decisions within temple communities have resided with ISKCON leaders. Indian congregational members have traditionally remained outsiders to ISKCON’s authority system and thus without a voice (Zaidman 1997:343). To the extent that local Hindu congregations can exert their newfound power on temple decision-making however, this may be changing. This seems all the more likely given that an increasing number of Indians are now serving as temple presidents in major ISKCON communities, such as in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, and San Diego.
The Hinduization of ISKCON’s Religious Culture
ISKCON’s temple communities have faced growing pressure to conform to the religious orientations of their increasingly influential Indian-Hindu congregations. As a result, ISKCON’s traditional religious culture has been subject to negotiation and change.
Nurit Zaidman detailed a number of negotiations between Indian advisory board members and local ISKCON officials in Philadelphia during the early 1990s. One negotiation related to organizing an evening for Durga, a Hindu Goddess. Board members asked the temple president to conduct a puja for Durga in the temple room. The request produced some apprehension, as Durga, like other demigods, is not worshipped in ISKCON temples. After some negotiation, the temple president allowed the program to take place, but in a rented hall. A further condition was that Krishna be symbolically represented as the supreme god and given an elevated status to Durga. Yet not all aspects of the event were controlled to fit ISKCON standards. The actual arti ritual performed was not in accordance with ISKCON ritual standards (Zaidman 1997:346).17
Other examples of Indian-Hindu influence on ISKCON’s religious culture have emerged in recent years. On several occasions festivals held at ISKCON’s Spanish Fork temple in Utah have provoked criticism from ISKCON members concerned with how these events have unduly catered to the Hindu community at the expense of ISKCON’s religious beliefs. In both 2004 and 2005, the Spanish Fork temple celebrated Shiva Ratri complete with storytelling and a sacred bathing ceremony for Lord Shiva. Included too was the chanting of Shiva’s 108 names (Das, Caru 2004a:1). The advertisement for the 2004 festival read in part, “Shiva Ratri is one of the most auspicious of days in the Hindu calendar. . . . In the Hindu pantheon, Lord Shiva is the ‘Destroyer of Evil’” (Das, Caru 2004a:1). One devotee critic of the festival complained that, “the only mention of Krsna’s name is that the celebration is to take place in a Krsna temple. In some places the article [advertisement] comes very close to pronouncing Lord S[h]iva to be the Supreme Lord” (Dasi, Hare Krsna 2004:1). Dasi also expressed her surprise that the announcement for the Shiva Ratri festival was posted on February 1st, the day prior to Lord Nityananda’s “appearance day” (birthday): “And yet there was no announcement for a festival for Lord Nityananda at the ISKCON Spanish Fork temple. Apparently energies have been diverted to something else” (Dasi, Hare Krsna 2004:2-3). Nityananda is considered an incarnation of Krishna by ISKCON members.18 In response to criticism, the President of the Spanish Fork temple noted, “If the Hindus, who are our biggest natural supporters all over the world, are going to worship Lord Shiva anyway, isn’t it better we bring them to do it gorgeously in the Krishna temple, rather than someplace else where they will not get the Krishna overview” (Das, Caru, 2004b:2)?
Yet there are unintended consequences associated with allowing Hindu ritual to gain a foothold in ISKCON’s temples.
The problem is that every new element of ritual and Hindu tradition that is brought in means that another element of what Srila Prabhupada gave us is gradually pushed aside. We may have an opulent temple, with a Shiva Ratri festival and meticulous observance of various aspects of Hindu practice and tradition-but at the same time we are losing energy to pursue Srila Prabhupada’s social programs of building self-sufficient Krsna conscious communities (Dasi, Hare Krsna 2004:2).
A second event, the “Holi/Gaura Purnima festival” held at the Spanish Fork temple likewise provoked an outcry when advertisements appeared to minimize the birthday of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, considered an incarnation of Krishna by ISKCON members. Holi is a religious occasion celebrated by Hindus in and outside of India. Only followers of the Gaudiya Vaisnava tradition, of which ISKCON is a part, celebrate Gaura Purnima. One devotee responded to the advertisement for the 2005 “Holi/Gaura Purnima” festival by commenting, “Notice, if you will, the Lord’s appearance is third on the list and ‘coincides with Holi’ (not the other way around).” He adds, “Gaura Purnima is on Friday [March] the 25th, not Saturday the 26th, at least in North America. . . . So what gives” (Das, Ragaputra 2005:1)? What gives is that the “Holi/Gaura Purnima” festival attracts as many as 800 visitors to the Spanish Fork temple. As the temple president noted, “Without the element of the colors, I doubt there would even be a fraction of that number” (Das, Caru 2004b:2).19
A recent and perhaps more dramatic example of the influence of Indian-Hindu congregations on ISKCON’s religious culture can be seen in the building of a new ISKCON temple near San Diego, California. The Indian congregation raised millions of dollars to help build the temple. The temple however will not strictly conform to ISKCON tradition as it will include traditional Hindu images of Shiva and Ganesh with accompanying samskaras and pujas “performed regularly for the Indian community” (Das, Ragaputra 2005). One member of the San Diego temple community claimed that such a concession represented “kowtowing to the material conceptions of the Indian community” (Das, Ragaputra 2005:2). He added, “The Indian community has a lot of money and is willing to fork it over for the projects that fit in with their notions of ‘Hindu dharma.’ But we are not Hindus. We are devotees of Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead” (Das, Ragaputra 2005: 2).
Hinduization and the Demise of Preaching
Preaching has been a defining element of ISKCON’s religious culture. Much of the public controversy that surrounded the movement during the 1970s and 1980s resulted from the devotees’ literature distribution efforts and what was perceived as ISKCON’s aggressive recruitment tactics. Although ISKCON’s recruitment in North America declined dramatically beginning in the mid-1970s, preaching has remained emblematic of ISKCON’s identity as a new religious movement. Yet as Western devotees moved out of ISKCON’s temple communities during the 1980s and Indian-Hindus gained dominance, preaching was no longer an organizational priority. As an Indian temple president stated:
Throughout ISKCON the temples are becoming Hindu temples. The Indians don’t take to Krishna Consciousness for the most part. But Prabhupada came to this country to attract Americans, not Hindus. My biggest frustration and failure is that I have not been able to attract Americans to the community. (Interview 2005)
Without sufficient labor in the temples and facing a financial crisis, ISKCON’s communities shifted their priorities to serving the religious and ethnic needs of Indian congregations. What this meant was that ISKCON’s temples emphasized deity worship at the expense of preaching. As one GBC representative and guru remarked, “The most insidious influence of the Indian presence is the growing laziness that has resulted where we have abandoned Prabhupada’s mission to preach. We thought it would be the opposite. With funds provided by the Indians we would be free to preach more, not less. Now we are free not to preach” (his emphasis). As this leader explained in a meeting of temple residents in 2005:
The decision was made that deity worship must be maintained but that the preaching would be reduced. The problem is that this is exactly opposite of what Prabhupada wanted. Prabhupada said, ‘Reduce the deity worship and increase the preaching. The deities keep the devotees spiritually strong so they can preach.’ We find ourselves relying on a congregation [of Indian-Hindus] who desire nice deities so they can worship. They give money so we have to satisfy their desires. We are not exactly employees but in many ways that is true. We have given up our autonomy and independence and become uninterested in preaching. The risk is that the temples will be transformed into third class mundane institutions because of the exclusive focus on deity worship rather than preaching. . . . This is an important historical moment for ISKCON. Will we be transformed into something else, or preserve what Prabhupada wanted?
The demise of preaching goes beyond the question of deity worship however. The number of Indians present on Sundays has made the temple an unattractive place to bring Westerners interested in Krishna Consciousness. As the leader quoted above commented, “It is an ISKCON cliché for someone to say, ‘I met this intelligent young person but I don’t want to invite them to the temple.’”
Because of the dilemma posed by the transformation of the Sunday feast into a Hindu event, some ISKCON communities have sought innovative ways to preach to non-Indians. In the Dallas ISKCON community, for example, the temple holds separate feasts and worship services at different times on Sunday for Indians and Westerners. The Atlanta temple is also considering separate Sunday programs. Moreover, the temple in Atlanta is creating a separate space in the community devoted exclusively to Western preaching. As the spiritual leader of the community reported:
We are going to turn this house into the ‘Bhakti-yoga Center.’. . . The idea is to just imagine that we have just come to Atlanta, forget the Indian congregation, forget the old Western devotees, forget the deity worship, forget all of that. Just imagine a couple of us just arriving in Atlanta and we have this house. So that is what we are going to do early next year. We are going to launch this as a Bhakti-Yoga Center to preach to Westerners. (Interview 2005)
Hinduization and Uneven Transformation
Despite the ongoing Hinduization of ISKCON’s North American communities the movement’s leadership has generally been slow to respond. In part this is because, as one leader commented, “It’s just coming on the radar because it [Hinduization] is just beginning to change the culture of the temple.” Also the transformations in ISKCON’s religious culture are not occurring consistently across ISKCON’s North America communities. Some communities have been able to rely on Indian-Hindu support while avoiding significant compromise. These latter communities tend to be those where the leadership has consistently preached Prabhupada’s teachings to the Indian community, rather than being satisfied only with receiving their financial contributions. As one ISKCON leader commented.
In places where in the cultivation of the Indian community there was more preaching, there was more of a concern to give something to the Indians. In those cases there was a natural filtering where those Indians actually came forward to commit to ISKCON. These are the Indians who know what we are about. In Houston and Dallas many Indians have become committed because Tamal [Krishna Goswami] preached. North Carolina and LA [Los Angeles] the same thing. These are examples where there was good preaching. You have a lot of Indian preaching, a lot of Indian support but no compromise. (Interview 2005)
A temple president makes much the same point but also indicates that few Indians have accepted the movement’s teachings because they have not formed personal relationships with the Western devotees, those best able to preach Prabhupada’s message.
Because of their deep-rooted childhood upbringing, it is really hard for them to digest the whole philosophy of Srila Prabhupada without having close association with devotees. And ninety-nine percent of the Indian congregation doesn’t have that association. Those that do get that association can have a systematic study of [Prabhupada’s] Bhagavad Gita and they can then appreciate Srila Prabhupada from a whole different perspective. (Interview 2005)
Although preaching ISKCON’s sectarian beliefs to the Indians has converted some to Prabhupada’s teachings, it seems unlikely that large numbers will become active ISKCON devotees. For the majority is not seeking a new religion, even one that is a part of their Hindu tradition. Rather, ISKCON’s temples provide a place to worship in the company of other Indian people. And, as the above examples illustrate, it is ISKCON that is changing to accommodate its Indian supporters. Unwilling to alienate its Hindu supporters out of concern for losing financial support, ISKCON’s leaders are likely to continue acquiescing to the “Hindu dharma.” To do otherwise risks the possibility that ISKCON’s Hindu supporters will transfer their allegiances to established Hindu temples, or construct temples of their own.20 Yet in continuing to compromise elements of its religious culture and overall mission, ISKCON’s temples seem destined to become ethnic churches. As one devotee critic concluded:
But when they [Hindus] are attracted, it is we who should be giving them Srila Prabhupada’s teachings about how to be a Vaisnava-not that we should leave Srila Prabhupada’s teachings, and take up their lifestyles of Hinduism. . . . If we do that, we do a disservice to both them and ourselves, and to Srila Prabhupada’s Krsna consciousness mission (my emphasis, Dasi, Hare Krsna 2004:3).21
Conclusion
Once a radical and controversial new religion, ISKCON in North America has evolved into a new denomination in order to survive. ISKCON’s Indian-Hindu congregation has clearly helped rescue a failing religious organization. In pursuit of needed financial resources in the face of decline, Prabhupada’s movement is steadily advancing toward becoming a Western sect of Hinduism. Today ISKCON provides temples, leadership, and religious specialists for a sizeable number of Indian-Hindus throughout North America. In so doing however, ISKCON has progressively aligned itself with the religious orientations of its Indian supporters and negotiated away elements of its traditional religious culture. By compromising elements of its core teachings to implement innovations meant to ensure the organization’s survival, ISKCON has lost the basis for generating member commitment and loyalty (see Finke 2004). For most of its Indian supporters, ISKCON represents a place of worship and ethnic identification rather than a source of organizational commitment. For its traditional Western members, temple communities have become sources of estrangement reducing rather than promoting commitment. In this form, ISKCON appears unlikely to attract significant interest among a new generation of Americans seeking alternative religious paths. Organizational maintenance in the form of a Hindu revival is transforming a new religion that once symbolized the radicalism of the 1960s.
In the next chapter, I move from looking at ISKCON’s transformation to a consideration of the Western members who remained aligned with the organization. For as ISKCON was evolving into an ethnic church, its longstanding members were establishing a place for themselves and their families within American society. Worldly accommodation however brought about a new round of cultural development as devotees sought community for themselves, their children, and for the future of Prabhupada’s movement.
Table 9.1 Select
Comparison of Indian-Hindus and Other ISKCON Members (Mean Scores)
|
|
Indian-Hindus
|
Other Members
|
|
I. Religious
Commitment and Involvement
|
|
|
|
(a) Commitment
to Krishna Consciousness
|
17.1 (106)
|
19.0 (318)***
|
|
(b) Commitment to
Preaching
|
8.1 (106)
|
8.6 (318)*
|
|
(c) Collective
Religious Practices
|
14.4 (106)
|
19.2 (318)***
|
|
(d) Following
Regulative Principles
|
36.7 (106)
|
38.1 (318)***
|
|
(e) Commitment to
the Truth of Prabhupada
Books
|
6.7 (106)
|
7.2 (318)***
|
|
(f) Read
Prabhupada’s Books
|
3.5 (101)
|
4.4 (310)***
|
|
(g) Wear
traditional dhoti or sari
|
2.8 (100)
|
4.1 (309)***
|
|
(h) Hold morning
worship at home
|
3.9 (96) ***
|
2.5 (255)
|
|
(i) Chant Japa
|
5.0 (98)
|
5.4 (310)**
|
|
II. ISKCON
Commitment and Involvement
|
|
|
|
(a) Commitment to
ISKCON’s Purposes and
Goals
|
3.7 (100)
|
4.0 (307)*
|
|
(b) Authority of
the GBC
|
16.8 (106)
|
17.4 (318)
|
|
(c) Authority of
the Gurus
|
21.5 (27)
|
21.8 (215)
|
|
(d) Democratic Governance
|
15.7 (106) **
|
15.1 (318)
|
|
(e) Hours of
ISKCON volunteer Work/Week
|
3.9 (106)
|
11.7 (318)***
|
|
(f) Importance of
Devotee Relationships
|
16.5 (106)
|
17.7 (318)**
|
*p<.05
**p<.01 ***p<.001
Table Notes:
Ranges from: (6)
daily; (5) 5-6 days; (4) 3-4 days; (3) 1-2 days; (2) less than weekly; (1)
rarely or never.
What is the
strength of your commitment to: ISKCON’s purposes and goals?
Ranges from (0) Not at all committed…. (5) Strongly
committed.
