International Cultic Studies Association
 Department: Group Report - Hare Krishna

Vol. 1, No. 1, 2001

Hare Krishna: news articles 1994

ISKCON in the News Articles from the Cult Observer 1984-1999 

1994

Vol. 11, No. 3

Hare Krishnas: The Next Generation (p. 3) With the children of Hare Krishna members from the 1970s reaching maturity, the movement is said to have evolved from its exclusively communal, monastic lifestyle into a broader-based religious movement with the vast majority of members-still no more than several thousand in the U.S.-living outside the sect's communities.

Take Chitralekha Langsford-" Charie"- a teenager from San Juan Capistrano, CA. While her family helped prepare the Sunday feast at the Hare Krishna temple, she spent the day at the beach with her younger sister. Later, when a blast on a conch shell called the faithful to worship, she stayed in the temple garden, basking in the sun. The 19 year-old says she began phasing out the formal aspects of her religion a year and a half ago, and has no intention of becoming a full-time temple member. Like many second generation Hare Krishnas, she feels the pull of the secular world. While they practice their religion in their everyday lives, these daily lives, and their aspirations, are not greatly different from those of their non-Krishna contemporaries. "Charie" works as a waitress and plans to major in holistic medicine in college.  "They are no different than any other teenagers," says Christopher Walker, 25 and raised in the sect, who is associate editor of a magazine for second-generation members who attended Hare Krishna boarding schools. Of the 500 far-flung readers of the magazine, he said "most are living a normal lifestyle as opposed to a full-time Hare Krishna lifestyle, but Hare Krishna consciousness does have a big part in their life."

Charie, who moved out of the commune with her parents in 1980, says, "I believe pretty much in the whole philosophy, but there are things that seem too restricted ... To me, I'm experiencing what I think I should experience at this time of my life. I'm not ready to experience the religion fully."

According to Burke Rochford, a sociologist at the University of Vermont, whose Hare Krishna in America chronicles the movement through the 1980s, about 2,000 live in the 40 to 50 Krishna farms and city communities spread across the country, and more than 20,000 live outside, the majority of them Hindus from India who are drawn by the similarity of religious traditions and the absence of Hindu temples in most American communities. It is in the growth of congregational membership that, as Rochford says, the Hare Krishnas have become "simply another part of the religious landscape of American society." (From "Part-Time Hare Krishnas," by Dennis McLellan, San Francisco Examiner, 12/5/93)

Krishnas' Alleged Florida Scam

Hare Krishna fundraisers have come into conflict with Tampa's Busch Gardens tourist attraction by soliciting donations at the entrance to the facility while wearing safari-style clothing, including pith helmets, which mimic the outfits worn by Busch Gardens staff. The Krishnas approach cars coming to the gardens, present religious stickers, and ask for donations for religious pamphlets and books. The average take for two to three hours of work is $50 to $70, a Krishna spokesman said. Busch Gardens employees have carried signs near the entrance stating that the solicitors do not represent Busch Gardens.  The Krishnas have been in conflict with authorities over local solicitation ordinances for some time, and currently have a case pending in which they claim that the laws now infringe on their free-speech rights. (From "Busch Gardens says Krishnas' outfits are a crime of fashion," by Doug Stanley, Tampa Tribune, 11/10/93, 1)  

International Cultic Studies Association
 Department: Group Report - Hare Krishna

Vol. 1, No. 1, 2001

Hare Krishna: news articles 1994

ISKCON in the News Articles from the Cult Observer 1984-1999 

1994

Vol. 11, No. 3

Hare Krishnas: The Next Generation (p. 3) With the children of Hare Krishna members from the 1970s reaching maturity, the movement is said to have evolved from its exclusively communal, monastic lifestyle into a broader-based religious movement with the vast majority of members-still no more than several thousand in the U.S.-living outside the sect's communities.

Take Chitralekha Langsford-" Charie"- a teenager from San Juan Capistrano, CA. While her family helped prepare the Sunday feast at the Hare Krishna temple, she spent the day at the beach with her younger sister. Later, when a blast on a conch shell called the faithful to worship, she stayed in the temple garden, basking in the sun. The 19 year-old says she began phasing out the formal aspects of her religion a year and a half ago, and has no intention of becoming a full-time temple member. Like many second generation Hare Krishnas, she feels the pull of the secular world. While they practice their religion in their everyday lives, these daily lives, and their aspirations, are not greatly different from those of their non-Krishna contemporaries. "Charie" works as a waitress and plans to major in holistic medicine in college.  "They are no different than any other teenagers," says Christopher Walker, 25 and raised in the sect, who is associate editor of a magazine for second-generation members who attended Hare Krishna boarding schools. Of the 500 far-flung readers of the magazine, he said "most are living a normal lifestyle as opposed to a full-time Hare Krishna lifestyle, but Hare Krishna consciousness does have a big part in their life."

Charie, who moved out of the commune with her parents in 1980, says, "I believe pretty much in the whole philosophy, but there are things that seem too restricted ... To me, I'm experiencing what I think I should experience at this time of my life. I'm not ready to experience the religion fully."

According to Burke Rochford, a sociologist at the University of Vermont, whose Hare Krishna in America chronicles the movement through the 1980s, about 2,000 live in the 40 to 50 Krishna farms and city communities spread across the country, and more than 20,000 live outside, the majority of them Hindus from India who are drawn by the similarity of religious traditions and the absence of Hindu temples in most American communities. It is in the growth of congregational membership that, as Rochford says, the Hare Krishnas have become "simply another part of the religious landscape of American society." (From "Part-Time Hare Krishnas," by Dennis McLellan, San Francisco Examiner, 12/5/93)

Krishnas' Alleged Florida Scam

Hare Krishna fundraisers have come into conflict with Tampa's Busch Gardens tourist attraction by soliciting donations at the entrance to the facility while wearing safari-style clothing, including pith helmets, which mimic the outfits worn by Busch Gardens staff. The Krishnas approach cars coming to the gardens, present religious stickers, and ask for donations for religious pamphlets and books. The average take for two to three hours of work is $50 to $70, a Krishna spokesman said. Busch Gardens employees have carried signs near the entrance stating that the solicitors do not represent Busch Gardens.  The Krishnas have been in conflict with authorities over local solicitation ordinances for some time, and currently have a case pending in which they claim that the laws now infringe on their free-speech rights. (From "Busch Gardens says Krishnas' outfits are a crime of fashion," by Doug Stanley, Tampa Tribune, 11/10/93, 1)  

International Cultic Studies Association
 Department: Group Report - Hare Krishna

Vol. 1, No. 1, 2001

Hare Krishna: news articles 1994

ISKCON in the News Articles from the Cult Observer 1984-1999 

1994

Vol. 11, No. 3

Hare Krishnas: The Next Generation (p. 3) With the children of Hare Krishna members from the 1970s reaching maturity, the movement is said to have evolved from its exclusively communal, monastic lifestyle into a broader-based religious movement with the vast majority of members-still no more than several thousand in the U.S.-living outside the sect's communities.

Take Chitralekha Langsford-" Charie"- a teenager from San Juan Capistrano, CA. While her family helped prepare the Sunday feast at the Hare Krishna temple, she spent the day at the beach with her younger sister. Later, when a blast on a conch shell called the faithful to worship, she stayed in the temple garden, basking in the sun. The 19 year-old says she began phasing out the formal aspects of her religion a year and a half ago, and has no intention of becoming a full-time temple member. Like many second generation Hare Krishnas, she feels the pull of the secular world. While they practice their religion in their everyday lives, these daily lives, and their aspirations, are not greatly different from those of their non-Krishna contemporaries. "Charie" works as a waitress and plans to major in holistic medicine in college.  "They are no different than any other teenagers," says Christopher Walker, 25 and raised in the sect, who is associate editor of a magazine for second-generation members who attended Hare Krishna boarding schools. Of the 500 far-flung readers of the magazine, he said "most are living a normal lifestyle as opposed to a full-time Hare Krishna lifestyle, but Hare Krishna consciousness does have a big part in their life."

Charie, who moved out of the commune with her parents in 1980, says, "I believe pretty much in the whole philosophy, but there are things that seem too restricted ... To me, I'm experiencing what I think I should experience at this time of my life. I'm not ready to experience the religion fully."

According to Burke Rochford, a sociologist at the University of Vermont, whose Hare Krishna in America chronicles the movement through the 1980s, about 2,000 live in the 40 to 50 Krishna farms and city communities spread across the country, and more than 20,000 live outside, the majority of them Hindus from India who are drawn by the similarity of religious traditions and the absence of Hindu temples in most American communities. It is in the growth of congregational membership that, as Rochford says, the Hare Krishnas have become "simply another part of the religious landscape of American society." (From "Part-Time Hare Krishnas," by Dennis McLellan, San Francisco Examiner, 12/5/93)

Krishnas' Alleged Florida Scam

Hare Krishna fundraisers have come into conflict with Tampa's Busch Gardens tourist attraction by soliciting donations at the entrance to the facility while wearing safari-style clothing, including pith helmets, which mimic the outfits worn by Busch Gardens staff. The Krishnas approach cars coming to the gardens, present religious stickers, and ask for donations for religious pamphlets and books. The average take for two to three hours of work is $50 to $70, a Krishna spokesman said. Busch Gardens employees have carried signs near the entrance stating that the solicitors do not represent Busch Gardens.  The Krishnas have been in conflict with authorities over local solicitation ordinances for some time, and currently have a case pending in which they claim that the laws now infringe on their free-speech rights. (From "Busch Gardens says Krishnas' outfits are a crime of fashion," by Doug Stanley, Tampa Tribune, 11/10/93, 1)