Savoring nectar: Good Living and ontology in the practice of the Hare Krishna Movement in southern Brazil

Abstract

In this article we investigate the possible political character that lies in engaging in religious practices. For this, we seek to understand how the Hare Krishna movement constitutes its own ontology that guides the action of its followers. The study was carried out from a field experience in the ‘ISKCON Sul Yatra’ network of temples and from the selection of excerpts from texts published in the magazine 'Carta de Sankirtana', produced by members of the movement. We are inspired, when analyzing such qualitative data, in the conception of political ontologies and in the notion of 'well living', relating it to the native conception of 'nectar'. We found that the main activities of the movement, the distribution of books and food, imply collective engagement in the search for this 'nectar'. We also identified the youth characteristic as a hallmark of the Hare Krishna movement, since most of its members are young people and we define it, therefore, as a youth collective. We conclude, therefore, that the ontology of the Hare Krishna movement can be understood as politics, as it expresses itself a conception of becoming and, simultaneously, causes engagement in collective activities, based on feelings that are themselves described as adherence factors.