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Krishna Believers Here Seek Joy in Worship

This article, "Krishna Believers Here Seek Joy in Worship" was published in The Honolulu Advertiser, January 14, 1969, in Honolulu, Hawaii.

By ERIC CAVALIERO 
Advertiser Religion Writer 

On nearby Kapiolani Boulevard the night was alive with the urgent rhythm of urban traffic. 

But some visitors to a small room on the second floor of the Leilani Building were able to forget modern tensions one evening last week as they created "transcendental vibrations" in honor of their Lord Krishna. 

Outside the room - at 1649 Kapiolani Blvd. - was a yellow sign saying, "ISKCON.

Inside, slender tendrils of smoke rose from sticks of incense placed on an altar. 

Shoulders were moved, heads jerked and hands clapped in time to the insistent beating of a drum and the repetitious chanting of a 16-word Mantra: 

"Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

"This is the Maha Mantra," one of the worshipers explained. "We are chanting the praises of Name, Form, Quality and Pastimes of the Lord.

"By singing God's Names, one comes into actual direct contact with God, and in this way one's consciousness can be purified of its false material associations.

Hare is the energy of the Lord; Krishna, the Supreme Lord; Rama, the Lord. 

The initials ISKCON stand for the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. 

Spiritual Realization 

"The Hawaii branch of ISKCON encourages the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra," visitors are told. "We feel it is the surest way to taste the nourishing substance which is spiritual realization.

ISKCON was founded in 1966 by Swami Bhaktivedanta to "spread the message of love of God.

Life magazine recently noted the society's popularity among young people. 

"The Hare Krishna meditation transports the disciples into a religious ecstasy so rapturous it's almost embarrassing to witness," a Life reporter wrote. 

This was an accurate description of the ISKCON kirtan (worship service) here. Kirtans are held at 7 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at the Leilani Building. 

Some of the worshipers clashed kartels (saucer-shaped cymbals) in one-two-three time. Others held strings of 109 "japa" beads, saying prayers as they fingered each one. 

And keening voices carried the room-filling repetitious chant through emotional changes to the tender tapping of a double drum. 

Seated at the drum was Gary McElroy. ISKCON's Spiritual Master awards spiritual names to his disciples at initiation. And McElroy also is known as Goursundar Das Adhikary. 

The word "brahmachary," signifying a knower or pursuant of Brahman, the Absolute, is given to denote an unmarried student living a regulated, celibate life of full service to the Spiritual Master. "Adhikary" denotes a married man. And the words "devi dasi" denote women, either married or not. 

Each Gets a Name

When a student takes formal initiation under the guidance of a Spiritual Master, the latter gives him a Name of the Lord, followed by the word "das" - the servant of. 

McElroy, 23, came here last September from San Antonio, Tex., by way of San Francisco. 

"I had heard of Krishna Consciousness at the University of Texas," he said, "but I did not sense the true atmosphere of happiness until I studied with our Spiritual Master in San Francisco.

He said ISKCON hopes to build a temple here. 

During the kirtan, McElroy read aloud from a new translation of the Bhagavad Gita, which is known as the Book of Spiritual Enlightenment. 

From time to time, he paused to explain ISKCON's views on such subjects as reincarnation, transmigration and man-made satellites. 

"Think of the energy and brainpower needed to launch a moonship," he said. "Isn't it logical to believe there is some energy and brainpower needed to sustain the intricate solar system, with huge planets spinning in space?

Asked for his views on reincarnation, he said. "I believe we have existed before.

McElroy works as a courier for ITT World Communications, Inc. His fellow worshipers - Mike and Linda Murphy, Joseph Pekala and Mark Babbitt - also came here from the Mainland. 

Pride of participation in the fast-growing international movement shone in their eyes as they sat beneath gay-colored pictures of scenes from Vedic scriptures and listened to McElroy's readings. 

10 Now, More Later 

"We have about 10 members locally right now," McElroy said, "but we're hoping to get many more.

Murphy and Pekala are carpenters. Babbitt is a warehouse shipping and receiving clerk. 

Like McElroy, they have spiritual names. 

Murphy, 23, is Murari Das Adhikary. His wife is Lilavati Devi Dasi. Pekala, 20, is Vamandev Das Brahmachary. Babbitt is Mahapurusha Das Brahmachary. 

Murphy formerly lived across the street from the San Francisco temple. 

"I was attracted by the chanting," he said. "I tried it and discovered it relieves the pressures of our material world and the pressures of our lusts and desires.

He said further study of Krishna Consciousness has proved it contains stable and solid truths. 

Pekala discovered ISKCON when he was a religion and philosophy student at the University of Vermont. 

"I made a field trip to the Krishna temple in Montreal," he said. "I developed an interest in this philosophy-religion which is inclusive of every other philosophy and possibly goes further.

Babbitt said he has found inner peace and blissfulness through ISKCON. 

"The chanting is the most incredibly powerful and life-changing force I have encountered," he said. 

Mrs. Murphy heard her first "Hare Krishna" in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. 

"I was on a vacation from some very intense graduate studies in New York," she said. "I was struck by the joyfulness of the people in Golden Gate Park.

"I became joyful too when I began chanting - although I had been feeling anything but joyful before.

"I couldn't stop chanting when I returned home. I went back to the temple and encountered our Spiritual Master. He was a very old man, but he seemed youthful. And he was the most joyful of all.

"I feel that I have been able to expand my consciousness through listening to him and through regular chanting.

Mrs. Murphy wore a bright Indian sari at the kirtan

"I wear this to please Krishna," she said. "Krishna is the supreme enjoyer. We are here to be enjoyed by him. We are here to honor and celebrate him.

Photo: Mrs. Murphy chants and fingers beads as McElroy plays drum. 



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