Krishnas are back
This article, "Krishnas are back" was published in The Tampa Times, October 17, 1974, in Tampa, Florida.
By SARA SCHWIEDER
Times Staff Writer
The Krishnas are back in Tampa.
In their loose, flowing Indian garb and shaved heads, the Krishnas are once again chanting, dancing and spreading their spiritual word.
At a new Krishna Center opened this week, the devotees of the Hare Krishna faith will offer yoga, meditation and spiritual teachings in addition to the traditional vegetable dinners on Sundays for the public, they said.
"The thing that causes misery is that man forgets God," said Brisakapi, a devotee of the religious sect as he strolled among surprised picnickers at Lowry Park.
"If man would remember God, he could have all happiness. We're here to remind people to be God-conscious. We're here to show them they can be happy and live eternally," he said.
Hare Krishna, however, is not new to Tampa. A sect of about 30 devotees operated out of another center through 1972 and early 1973. But the more visible adherents of Hare Krishna disappeared about a year ago.
"We were sent here," said Brisakapi, whose name stands for "servant of God." "In Miami, they decided that Tampa needed to be organized, so we came here."
Eight followers of the ancient Indian religion came from Miami to operate the center at 1204 142nd St., which also functions as their temple. There they pray, meditate and study the holy book, called the Bhagavad Gita.
When they are not doing that, you might find them chanting and singing on the streets of Tampa, passing out "blessed" flowers and beating a drum.
The Krishnas chant in public to purify those around them, they said.
Brisakapi says he has 'seen eternity'
By SARA SCHWIEDER
Times Staff Writer
He gave up a booming construction business and a fancy house in the Chicago suburbs to devote his life to Hare Krishna.
But Bill Bowes, now known as "Brisakapi," or "servant of God," has no regrets.
"My construction business was going very well, but I wasn't very happy," Brisakapi, 32, said.
"We lived just like normal people. I drove a big car with a telephone in it, and got drunk and did all the things people do, but it just wasn't making it," he said.
"When I took up Hare Krishna, I became happy. It really works. We're not doing anything phony - we're actually trying to know God."
The son of a prominent lawyer, Brisakapi was raised in the Catholic Church, but became "kind of an atheist" during college, he said. A friend introduced him to the Krishna faith five years ago.
His wife of 11 years also joined Krishna Conciousness, and they are raising their small child into the faith, she said.
Dressed in a long sari and nodding in contented agreement through the conversation, she seemed very far away from her wealthy Chicago family and its American way of life.
The couple lives in a sparsely-furnished home at 1204 142nd St., Tampa, which also serves as a new Krishna Center.
"We could see how unhappy most people are, and we saw them getting cheated every day, ripping other people off, the fake joy and the false values, the ugliness of modern life - and we wanted something better," he said.
"It's like we're all ants living in an ant colony. Someone waters and feeds the ants, provides light and dark, but none of them are aware of the colony's keeper."
"We're the same way. God provides the whole cosmos, but we're oblivious to it. I wanted to know the source of this world, the intelligence behind creation - I wanted to know the source of the cosmos."
Briskapi's All-American face and lively sense of humor ruin all one's carefully constructed stereo-types of the Krishna.
Photo: Brisakapi, formerly a contractor, adjusts his son's garment and beads.