By Marcel Gascón
Kyiv, Apr 4 (EFE).- The war in Ukraine has reduced the public presence of devotees of the Hindu Krishna movement, known globally for their colorful festivals and chanting rituals, but many continue to pray for peace, provide humanitarian aid and, in some cases, even serve in the Ukrainian Army.
“In our philosophy, people are divided into several categories. Brahmins, those who study and teach, are the most necessary in this world,” one of the monks living at the Hare Krishna temple in Kyiv told EFE.
“But there are also those who engage in production and trade, those who build things with their own hands, and the administrators and warriors, people who care for and protect the community,” added Vallabha, the spiritual name of this Lithuanian-born monk.
“This inclination stems from childhood. Every devotee has a particular type of spirit.”
Vallabha offered this explanation when asked about a display featuring photographs of devotees killed in combat, visible on the ground floor of the temple, an imposing six-story building.
Although the movement does not encourage its followers to enlist, dozens of Hare Krishnas have joined the Ukrainian Army since the Russian invasion began more than four years ago, a personal decision that fits within the philosophy of the religious group.
“Most joined the army voluntarily, especially at the beginning of the war,” said Vallabha, who personally knew some of the Hare Krishnas killed on the front lines.
“Around fifty of our devotees have died in the war. Some of them were civilians, but the majority were military personnel,” said Achyuta Priya.
Priya was one of the pioneers of the Hare Krishna movement during the final years of Soviet-era Ukraine, when some followers were imprisoned and committed to psychiatric institutions.
More ‘Brahmins,’ Fewer Warriors
Regarding the movement’s relationship with war, Vallabha emphasized that greater spiritual awareness would reduce conflicts.
“When a person has spiritual consciousness, they want to live in peace. They do not need other people’s land or money, because they know god provides everything they need,” he said.
“We tell our people that we are in a time of general mobilization, and that if someone is not fighting, they must help and serve society,” added Achyuta Priya.
After more than 40 years of study, he has become one of Ukraine’s leading disseminators of the ancient principles cultivated by the Hare Krishna movement.
The congregation’s temple in Kyiv served as a shelter for dozens of devotees during the first days of the invasion, when Russian troops were attempting to encircle the capital and their entry into the city seemed imminent.
Joining the roughly fifteen monks who live in the temple, these devotees took refuge in the basements, where, protected from bombs and missiles, they waited for the situation to stabilize.
Millions of Vegetarian Meals
Since the beginning of the war, volunteers from the charity Food for Life, founded in 1974 by Srila Prabhupada, founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), have intensified their food distribution program.
Operating in more than 60 countries, the initiative has provided over five million meals across Ukraine.
In addition to weekly visits to three locations in Kyiv where elderly people and those experiencing homelessness gather, monks, and devotees also travel to areas struck by Russian missiles or drones to provide food to affected residents and emergency personnel.
“Here in Ukraine, since the war began, our mission has been to reach attack sites quickly and distribute food so that people who have lost their homes can eat the same day,” Lolita Coker, coordinator of the Food for Life distribution department in Kyiv, told EFE.
She recently returned to Ukraine after living in Mexico for seven years.
“Our food is vegetarian and reflects one of the fundamental principles of the Vedic scriptures: ahimsa, which means non-violence. To live in peace, we must first cultivate peace within ourselves,” she said. EFE
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