{"id":28362,"date":"2016-08-10T11:19:22","date_gmt":"2016-08-10T09:19:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/peregrinusmundi.com\/happy-wwoofing-hare-krishna\/"},"modified":"2020-07-06T10:13:47","modified_gmt":"2020-07-06T08:13:47","slug":"happy-wwoofing-at-hare-krishna","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/peregrinusmundi.com\/en\/happy-wwoofing-at-hare-krishna\/","title":{"rendered":"Happy wwoofing at Hare Krishna"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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DISPATCH<\/h5>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The Hare Krishna Cultural Center Temple is a large building located on the slope of one of the hills in the center of Dunedin. The house hosts Seva (one of the community members) and volunteers and serves as a place of celebration for gatherings held several times a week. Although a little austere, the building is very nice with wooden floors and a large staircase. I am shown around the house and assigned to a large room on the ground floor opposite the kitchen. Space and a room for me all alone, what comfort! Portraits of Krishna or A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (founder of the movement) adorn each room of the building and a smell of incense floats in the air. It is the first time that I have set foot in a place of worship dedicated to Hare Krishna.<\/p>

The International Association for the Conscience of Krishna or Hare Krishna<\/strong><\/a> (in reference to the mantra of the followers) is a religious movement and lifestyle founded in 1966 by Pradhupada, a Hindu spiritual master from West Bengal. It is a current of Hinduism dedicated to Lord Krishna considered by the followers as the supreme and unique God. The doctrine is based on the sacred texts mainly from the Bhagavad-G\u00eet\u00e2, one of the fundamental writings of Hinduism. Followers of the movement see themselves as servants of Krishna, creator of the universe and all living things. Every action performed during the life of a follower influences his cycle of reincarnation. Followers believe that man should use every moment of his life to live in “Krishna Consciousness”, allowing the individual to be freed from his materialistic envelope. Members of the movement follow the path of bhakti, an essential component of Hinduism, which includes a vegan diet. No meat, no fish and no eggs. All food is offered to Krishna before it is eaten to ask for prasada, the grace of God. One of the main religious practices is to repeat while chanting the name of Krishna. The mantra of which the words below are in principle supposed to be recited 1728 times a day: Hare K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a Hare K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a \/ K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a Hare Hare \/ Hare R\u0101ma Hare R\u0101ma \/ R\u0101ma R\u0101ma Hare Hare.<\/p>

As a volunteer at Hare Krishna, the work consists of working from Monday to Thursday, from 10a.m. to 3p.m. approximately, in the kitchen of the OUSA (Otago University Students’ Association) in order to help prepare vegetarian meals for students. As well as going to harvest salad leaves, vegetables and plants in the vegetable patch. The rest of the time is free. This leaves me quite a bit of time to explore the region and look for work. Of course, the place being a religious temple, participation in community gatherings to discover the lifestyle of the followers is appreciated.<\/p>

I spend the first weekend quietly waiting for work to start and for the other volunteers (an American girl and an Argentinian couple) to arrive. I help prepare meals for Saturday and Sunday evening gatherings and discover vegan cuisine. Monday morning, departure at 10am with Seva for a thirty minute walk to reach OUSA. A warm and relaxed atmosphere welcomes me and I meet Bronwen and Fife, a very friendly couple working on Mondays and Tuesdays in the kitchen. In addition to serving meals at $3 to students (and non-students), the association offers club rooms, large sofas, lots of self-service games, showers, \u201cgender neutral\u201d toilets (no distinction between women’s toilets and men’s toilets to support the transgender movement (a great initiative<\/strong><\/a>) and even a cuddle club with cats! Much better than the vast majority of French student clubs.<\/p>

I am making an apple crumble when JMa (whose name means \u201cJoyful Mama\u201d), the movement coordinator and wwoofer manager, arrives around 11am from another temple in Christchurch. Full of energy, incredible, always smiling, wise, crazy, full of love and completely dedicated to the Hare Krishna movement, JMa is a interesting character full of charm.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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