Krishna Consciousness explained to Butler, dozens make trek to city for anniversary of founder’s visit
It was a typical Wednesday morning in Butler on Sept. 24, aside from the fact that dozens of people were walking down Main Street chanting and singing “Hare Krishna,” while beating rhythmically on percussion instruments.
Because to those chanters, the day was not so ordinary. They were in town to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the founder of Krishna Consciousness’ first visit to the U.S., during which he stayed at the Sterling Apartments and the Butler YMCA, now the Butler Cubs hall.
For many of the chanters, it was also their first time in Butler, like Lisa Brown and Trevor Wilson, who run a center for Krishna Consciousness in Eldred Township, Warren County. The two said it was almost surreal to be walking the same path that the movement’s founder, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, also known as Srila Prabhupada, walked when he traveled from the apartments and back.
“It’s a beautiful experience,” Brown said. “We’re so happy to be here.”
“From Butler to the World” was the name of the event Wednesday, which commemorated Prabhupada’s visit to the city. John Sherwood helped organize the event, which began at the Butler Cubs and culminated in a group meditation and yoga session at Butler’s Grand Ballroom, following a walk to the Sterling Apartments.
The event started in the Butler Cubs with a talk from Nikita Antonov, who described Prabhupada’s journey to the U.S., and the reasons behind some of the movement’s actions and traditions. He explained that “Krishna” is one of God’s names, and meditating together can help people get closer to him and, therefore, happiness.
“He wanted us to be able to open up our hearts and become receptive to the unconditional love that Krishna has for us,” Antonov said. “This is a mantra that infuses us with that loving energy and allows us to clean off the dust from our heart that’s from stress, anxiety and frustration.
“When we get rid of all those material attachments... then we become open and are able to receive that love.”
Prabhupada stayed in Butler in September 1965 with the Agarwal family, Gopal and Sally, who brought him into their home on a bit of a whim, according to an article on Back to Godhead, which is considered the magazine of the Hare Krishna movement. Antonov explained that Prabhupada’s Visa to the U.S. was sponsored by the wife of the son of one of his acquaintances from India, “who happened to live in Butler.”
The article goes into detail about how the Agarwals housed Swami for six weeks and introduced him to the Butler community by taking him to the YMCA as well as the Butler Eagle.
The International Society for Krishna Consciousness, also known as the Hare Krishna movement, includes 500 major centers, temples and rural communities; nearly 100 affiliated vegetarian restaurants; thousands of namahattas, or local meeting groups; a wide variety of community projects and millions of congregational members worldwide.
Devotees promote Krishna Consciousness through festivals, the performing arts, yoga seminars, public chanting and the distribution of the society’s literature, according to the society’s website.
Antonov and Sherwood each said Krishna Consciousness isn’t to one religion. Sherwood said “Krishna is another word for God. It can help a Christian become a better Christian, help a Jew become a better Jew, help a Muslim become a better Muslim. God doesn't care which church you go to. He cares about the love in your heart.”
Antonov also said Wednesday that the practices taught and used by Krishna Consciousness can help center a person, in addition to being used for worship.
“It won’t get rid of your problems, but it can help you approach it from a different angle, a different side of mind,” Antonov said.
Amber McFadden, owner of a yoga studio in Butler called Ambur Waves, accompanied the Krishna Consciousness devotees on the walk to the Sterling Apartments and back, and even did a little chanting and cymbal crashing along the way.
She said she was interested in visiting the event because she practices yoga and meditation herself, and wanted to see the practice observed by a different culture.
The cultural aspect of the event alone was enough to get her interested.
“I didn’t realize the correlation between meditation and chanting until he talked about it,” McFadden said on the walk to the apartments. “It’s cool to see this kind of culture in Butler.”
