Do you think Krishna is a cult?

I asked once before on another survey but no one responded. I would like to know what it is, who it is, or what it stands for.

Krishna is an ocean of mercy!

Here are some links for you!

http://www.google.com/search?q=Krishna&btnG=Google+Search

Hare Krishna!

Actually, I think he's one of the Hindu personifications of God.
The concept of how a personification could be a cult escapes me. I must be stupid.
::chuckling::

Other.

I think Krishna is a god in the Hindu pantheon.

it ain't you!!

Close, but no cigar. "Krishna" is one of many names for God. In this case, part of the Hindu pantheon. Krishna was one of the incarnations of Vishnu. Krishna was a cowboy who played the flute.

A "cult" is a small religious group, usually an off-shoot of a larger and more established religion. Cults have always suffered discrimination. All religions began as cults. Many people have negative impressions of cults because of the way they are presented in the media, and by older, more established religious groups.

In 1966 Srila Prabupad founded "ISKCON", the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, popularly known as "the Hare Krishnas", probably due to their constant chanting of the Maha Mantra:

HARE KRISHNA
HARE KRISHNA
KRISHNA KRISHNA
HARE HARE
HARE RAMA
HARE RAMA
RAMA RAMA
HARE HARE

So, therefore it is my position that "Krishna" is not a cult, but ISKCON (or the Hare Krishnas) is. (Not that there is anything wrong with that!)

Of course, what else?

I'm trying to be nice! (Very difficult at times like these)

I gave up on that years ago.

No, I think Krishna is a Hindu deity. I think the Hare Krishnas are a cult, though.

I once heard "cult" defined as any religion you weren't born into. I'm not sure it's a useful definition but it's interesting.

"Cult" these days also means something more pejorative than it used to. A lot of the ritual trappings in religions are "cultic," in the sense that they are part of the practice of worship, or "cultus," of a specific deity. In religious studies, ancient Israelite religion is referred to as the "Israelite cult," where "cult" refers to the system of sacrifices and other rites which constitute the practice aspects of the religion. I guess that distinguishes it from theology, which is more abstract, although the two are interrelated.
I think because we tend to shy away from things that seem too ritualistic these days, we tend to look askance at religions which we feel have some sort of "cultic" aspect, generally meaning very specifically prescribed behaviors and beliefs which differ from the rest. But if you step back and take a look, you will see that almost all religions have some of this.

the US is a cargo cult of consumerism

No. Krishna is God.

No, I think Krishan is a god that some people belive in and worship.

Yup!
There's a funny article I read for an anthropology class about the "Nacirema," who have a bizarre tooth cult. Have you read that one?

no I've never heard of any tooth cults, bizarre or otherwise!

It's just funny because it's really talking about the American (which spelled backwards is "Nacirema") preoccupation with dental hygiene. It sounds like this really weird cult until you realize it's talking about Americans, and then it sounds spot-on!

I don't really know. I think Hare Krishna is a religion, and the people who practice it like to sell flowers at airports. I will have to find out more about it on the Internet. Or, maybe Richard can just tell us.

Thanks for the information. It helped a lot. So, I guess Krishna is not a cult.

...I'm getting there...

Yeah, like Christianity and other cults.

Ah, yes. I was indoctrinated in that cult with it's pantheon of tooth fairies.

Not by my definition of a cult. What definition of cult are you referring to?

Not as such, no.

Have you seen a movie called "Ticket to Heaven" ?

Yes. I didn't recognize the title at first, I had to look it up here:

http://allmovie.com/

That's an OLD movie! I think I saw it on TV years ago. I have the book it was based on: "Moonwebs". I've done a lot of investigation into religions and cults, reading, as well as more in-depth participation. I'll tell you something about that book / movie. First of all, it is probably mostly true, but it is exactly the sort of thing I was referring to in my previous comment about "media portrayals". Apparently in the 1970s in California, there were a couple of psychologists (or psych profs, I can't remember which) who rose to positions of power in the Unification Church (also popularly known as "the Moonies" after their leader Reverend Sun Myung Moon.) The book / film describes the sort of indoctrination tactics that they used. When news of this got out, it became popular in the media to try to paint all cults with the same brush. This situation was something of an anomaly, specific only to the California branch of the Unification Church.

I'll tell you something else on a similar topic. I spent quite a few years investigating the Hare Krishna group, and as I'm such a cynical bastard, I was trying my damnedest to find something negative about them to balance the entirely positive view I had of them. I came across a report of a Krishna Temple in Texas where the government had uncovered an enormous cache of firearms. I was shocked! I had a lot of trouble reconciling this report with what I knew of them from first-hand experience. Then it occurred to me...Texas! Of course they had a bunch of guns! Not because they were Hare Krishnas...because they were Texan!

Yeah those Texans are one scary cult. What do we do about em? Texan Krishnas. I've seen the Gay St Thomas church, the Naked Presbyterians. I'm trying to think up something that might surprise me, but I think it's all been done.

Krishna gives pleasure to the cows. Hare Krishna! http://www.krishna.com

I liked your reply. Hare Krishna! http://www.krishna.com

There is an excellent book titled "Heaven's Harlots: My Fifteen Years as a Sacred Prostitute in the Children of God Cult." The recruiting methods described in the book are very similar to those used in "Ticket to Heaven." The book is by Miriam Williams. Children of God used a technique known as "flirty-fishing" when trying to recruit men for the cult.

Oh yeah, I came across a similar description in a book. My recollection is that it was an early 70s "Jesus Freaks" kind of cult. Pretty small, and probably defunct by now. Is that the same one?

Let me qualify my comments regarding the use of the word "anomaly" in describing those indoctrination tactics. Of course I didn't mean that no other religious groups use any of them. What I meant was that I've never encountered the use of such a blatant combination of hard-core psychological manipulation techniques by any of the groups which I have investigated. There are, of course, countless cults which are so minute that few, if any, outsiders have even heard of them.

I'm not sure if it is the same one. The Children of God was pretty extensive-not as much as the Moonies. They operated much like the cult in Ticket to Heaven, selling flowers, low-to-nonexistant protein diets that clouded rational thought, sleep deprivation. Did any cults operate in your area? We had Moonies here back in the mid-70's but most of the hippies didn't take them seriously.

I live in Vancouver, Canada, on the west coast of North America. Of course we have cults. Lots of them. It is sort of like Canada's version of California. I have never encountered the Unification Church here, but according to their website http://unification.org/ , they have some sort of offices/church.

Yes. I think it's down there with scientology and all the other "religions" based on fictional stories or "revelations" by a self appointed prophet or medium.