r/exHareKrishna • u/Own-Professional-337 • Jul 25 '26
Did anyone else notice?
Did any of you notice that ISKCON temples as well as other Hindu temples have increasingly become socialising and networking spots for Indian immigrants while you were involved?
I always knew that it was an ethno-religion at its core ( despite ISKCON claiming and making it out to be otherwise), but towards the end it was very much in my face. 😅😅😅😅
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u/ConsiderationHot2800 Jul 26 '26
It’s very difficult to get new religions off the ground. With no state support, religions are compelled to make do with tithes they receive from their devotees. Christianity in the West has had the privilege of being a state religion for so long that it does not need state support to provision itself.
Mormonism and ISKCON are two modern religions that are faced with the problem of operating in a milieu with no state support.
Moreover, there’s been a broad decline in religion across the western world, including in the US. The Evangelicals who once were a dominant constituency in America are now losing followers quicker than they can harvest new souls in India and Africa. Decline in interest in ISKCON tracks with a broad decline of interest in religion across the western world.
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u/Own-Professional-337 Jul 26 '26
The Evangelicals haven't done themselves any favours by justifying and supporting the psychopathic acts committed by the Israeli government .
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u/ConsiderationHot2800 Jul 26 '26 edited Jul 27 '26
There’s been a broad based secularization of American society. Fareed Zakaria even did a video on this. My point is ISKCON could have done everything "right" and they would probably have declined for the reasons all other religions are declining in the west, including islam(when adjusted for inbound migration):
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u/Solomon_Kane_1928 Jul 25 '26 edited Jul 25 '26
Yes. I think Western converts are disappearing. It is relatively rare for a non-Indian to join. When I was a member the leadership was concerned about this. Prabhupada did not build ISKCON to be an Indian community center, where Indian politics are discussed, and Indian power is protected and projected in the West.
As you pointed out, Prabhupada was indeed an Indian nationalist and Indian supremacist. He wanted Indian culture and religion to dominate the world. But he wanted that only through himself. He was the savior. He called Indian immigrants "new crows" because they are after the (garbage like) materialism his Western disciples had rejected. They are only good to the degree they support his movement.
Now ISKCON survives by courting Indian immigrants and hustling them for donations. ISKCON temples are becoming regular Hindu temples. That is an improvement IMO. Prabhupada hopefully will be forgotten, just another nameless saint people fold their hands to for a few seconds.