Hare Krishna chants get 600 names

Press, 16 September 1987, Page 9

Hare Krishna chants get 600 names

Two hours of chanting and singing by Christchurch Hare Krishna in Cathedral Square yesterday, attracted 600 people to sign a petition asking for the release of 23 devotees in the Soviet Union.

The protest and petition, organised by the local branch of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, was part of a world-wide demonstration planned to occur simultaneously in more than 30 cities.

The president of the society, Mr Allan Fixter, said the more than 15 devotees at the protest had been pleased by the public response. The society would continue collecting signatures throughout New Zealand until the Soviet leader, Mr Gorbachev, was persuaded to free their colleagues. In spite of the Soviet Government’s recent policies of Glasnost (reform and openness), Hare Krishna devotees in the country remained confined in labour camps, psychiatric hospi-

tals and prisons, which seemed hypocritical, said Mr Fixter.

The society, which was based on Hinduism, one of the most ancient religions, had increased in popularity in the Eastern bloc countries, and now numbered about 2000 followers in the Soviet Union, he said. A similar surge in interest had occurred in Western countries, including New Zealand. Christchurch devotees had grown from four in 1981 to a present congregation bf more than 150, including 25 full-time “priests and nuns.”

The Increased interest in Eastern religions could be attributed to the “spirit of reawakening, that had been prophesied in all the great spiritual scriptures, including Christianity,” said Mr Fixter.

Vegetarianism and non-violence, two main tenets of the Eastern religions, were also proving increasingly attractive to Western followers.