What Does It Mean When a Circle of Krishnas are Dancing Around You?

What does it mean when a circle of Krishnas are dancing around you? Every religion around the world has their own set of beliefs and values. They also each have their own set of requirements for followers. Often times these requirements include things that a follower must do in order to stay in the good graces of the religious leaders. The Krishna religion is no different. So, what does it mean when a circle of krishnas is dancing around you?

One of the requirements of the Hare Krishna religion is that they convert believers by preaching about the word of their God. Another requirement is that they recite a mantra approximately 1700 times a day.

This is the popular mantra heard at many airports and other public locations where Krishnas can be found. When a group of Krishna believers dance around you in a circle it is simply their way of fulfilling one of their religious obligations to their God and also a means of them spreading the word they believe in.

Explanation of Hare Krishna

Part of understanding what it means when a circle of Krishnas is dancing around you involves understanding what a Krishna is. Hare Krishna is the more popular name in society for the organized religion of the International Society of Krishna Consciousness. This is a religious movement based in the religion of Hinduism.

The Krishna religion was first started in America in 1965 by the founder Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada in San Francisco, California. The Krishnas worship the god Krishna as their Supreme God. According to the International Society of Krishna Consciousness, or ISKCON for short, there are currently 250,000 followers of the Krishna religion and 10,000 full members. Similar to the Christian belief in the Bible, the governing text of the Krishna religion is a book known to them as the Bhagavad Gita, or the song of the Lord. The book is said to have been written in approximately 250 B.C.

Seven Purposes of Krishna

According to the official website for Hare Krishna, there are seven purposes to life as a member of this religion. These seven purposes include:

1. To systematically propagate spiritual knowledge to society at large and to educate all people in the techniques of spiritual life in order to check the imbalance of values in life to achieve real unity and peace in the world.
2. To propagate a consciousness of Krishna (God), as it is revealed in the great scriptures of India, Bhagavad-Gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam.
3. To bring the members of the Society together with each other and nearer to Krishna, the prime entity, thus developing the idea within the members, and humanity at large, that each soul is  part and parcel of the quality of Godhead (Kirshna).
4. To teach and encourage the sankirtana movement, congregational chanting of the holy name of God, as revealed in the teachings of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
5. To erect for the member and for society at large a holy place of transcendental pastimes dedicated to the personality of Krishna.
6. To bring the members closer together for the purpose of teaching a simpler, more natural way of life.
7. With a view towards achieving the aforementioned purposes, to publish and distribute periodicals, magazines, books and other writings.

So, when a circle of Krishnas is dancing around you, it means they are simply trying to spread the word.