Krishna Prasadam
The Transformative Power of Sanctified Food in the Krishna Consciousness Movement
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/rosa.v4i1.89Keywords:
Hare Krishna movement, Krishna Consciousness, prasadam, mission, ritualAbstract
In the Hare Krishna movement ritually sanctified food (known as prasadam) lies at the heart of key religious and ceremonial activity, and has progressively become the main rallying point for the movement’s preaching strategy or mission in the West. This article examines the experiential and doctrinal import of prasadam in the lives of adherents of the Krishna Consciousness movement and discusses its role as a preaching or proselytizing tool. As a means by which the movement today seeks to recruit new followers into its fold, the article looks at the movement’s programme of taking sanctified food to the public, with a particular focus on Hare Krishna Food for All missionary activity in London.
References
Aaltonen, J. and G. Dwyer. Forthcoming. Documentary Film. Guru. Helsinki: Illume Ltd.
Andrew, R. 2007. ‘(Comment on) Moving into Phase Three: An Analysis of ISKCON Membership in the UK.’ In Dwyer and Cole (eds) 2007a: 54–67.
Anon. 2009. Bhaktivedanta Manor Newsletter (August): 1–8.
Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, A. C. 1974. Caitanya-caritamrta 9 vols. Los Angeles: Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.
Bowker, J. 2000. [WWW] Prasada. http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html? subview=Main&entry=t101.e5705 (accessed 31 July 2009)
Brockington, J. L. 1991. The Sacred Thread: Hinduism in its Continuity and Diversity. Edinburgh: University of Edinburgh Press.
Carey, S. 1987. ‘The Indianisation of the Hare Krishna Movement in Britain.’ In R. Burghart (ed.), Hindisim in Great Britain: The Perpetuation of Religion in an Alien Milieu: 81–99. London: Tavistock.
Cole, R. J. 2007. ‘Forty Years of Chanting: A Study of the Hare Krishna Movement from its Foundation to the Present Day.’ In Dwyer and Cole 2007a: 26–53.
Dwyer, G. and R. J. Cole (eds). 2007a. The Hare Krishna Movement: Forty Years of Chant and Change. London and New York: I. B. Tauris.
Dwyer, G. and R. J. Cole. 2007b. ‘Introduction.’ In Dwyer and Cole 2007a: 1–8.
Flood, G. 1996. An Introduction to Hinduism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Johnson, W. J. 2009. [WWW] Prasada. http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t272.e1934 (accessed 31 July 2009)
King, A. S. 2007. ‘For Love of Krishna: Forty Years of Chanting.’ In Dwyer and Cole 2007a: 134–67.
Krishna Dharma Das. 1993. ‘Food for Life: in Theory and Practice.’ ISKCON Communications Journal 1(1): 1–8.
Mukunda Goswami. 2001. Inside the Hare Krishna Movement: An Ancient Eastern Religious Tradition Comes of Age in the Western World. California: Torchlight.
Mukunda Goswami. 2003. ‘No One Should Go Hungry.’ In The Bhaktivedanta DataBase. North Carolina: Bhaktivedanta Archives, www.prabhupada.com
Priyavrata Dasa. 1994. ‘Fundraising with Food for Life.’ ISKCON Communications Journal 1(2): 1–6.
Rochford, E. B., Jr. 2007. Hare Krishna Transformed. New York and London: New York University Press.
Swami, B. V. 2002. A Beginner’s Guide to Krsna Consciousness. Los Angeles: Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.
Valpey, K. R. 2004. ‘Krishna in Mleccha Desh: ISKCON Temple Worship in Historical Perspective.’ In E. D. Bryant and M. L. Ekstrand (eds), The Hare Krishna Movement: The Postcharismatic Fate of a Religious Transplant: 45–60. New York: Columbia University Press.