engleski

'Krishna's Arrangement' – Research of Religious Experience in the Hare Krishna Community in Croatia

In this paper I would like to give an overview of my PhD research on the religious experience among the members of Hare Krishna community in Croatia. Hare Krishnas in Croatia have their beginnings in the 1980ies. At the time, the members, in what was then Yugoslavia, dealt with somewhat hostile socialist regime and therefore functioned secretly and undercover. While being part of the major social upheaval that hit these areas in early 1990s, Hare Krishna community in Croatia remained today the largest and the most prominent one of all the Hare Krishna communities in the constituents of the former Yugoslavia. World-wide Internal conflicts and problems in Hare Krishna movement had their echo in Croatia as well. In a post-socialist environment, community’s activities shifted from “temple” to “congregational” phase. In my research I am focused on the biggest congregation in Croatia with an active temple life, situated on the outskirts of Zagreb (the capital of Croatia). During the interviews special attention was given to the connection between the reported experiences and the variety and intensity of a devotee's religious practice. Besides conversion, all other experiences of religious kind observed so far were either connected with group events (like ecstatic dancing and singing) or were solitary, individual experiences mainly connected with deities, guru, chanting, pilgrimage to holy places etc. Frequently reported experience was «Krishna's arrangement» which could be translated as providence, a sense of guidance or miraculously synchronous line of events which were believed to be Krishna's answer to a devotee's need.

religious experience; ISKCON; Hare Krishna; anthropology of religion

Conference web site: http://www.cesnur.org/2008/london_prg.htm