By TOM RUE

COCHECTON -- The most orthodox of the Vedic Hindu sects of India, devotees of the Hare Krishna tradition, claim that theirs is the oldest religion on earth.

Over the past 25 years, Krishna consciousness has made substantial inroads into the United States, as evidenced by the presence of the Lake Huntington Guru School in the Town of Cochecton.

The school is accredited by New York State and regularly inspected by Joseph Kilker, Superintendent of the Narrowsburg Central School, as well as officials from the state, according to Murali-Vadaka dasa, director and president of the ISKCON (International Society of Krishna Consciousness) center.

"They've told us several times privately that they wish they could have the mood in their classrooms that we have with our children," Murali said with a touch of pride.

We like to think of our children as insulated but not isolated," he stated, adding that the group makes frequent visits to major cities to give the children experience in the outside world.

A tour of classes in progress at the gurukula revealed well disciplined and respectful youngsters who appeared to be cheerful, interactive, and functioning at or above their grade levels. Murali explained that the children at the school generally score two to three grade levels above the norm on state regents exams, but added, "We're not satisfied with that."

Murali said that his group places a premium on education, especially in verbal areas, so the children may grow to make intelligent, informed decisions about whether to follow the teachings of their elders.

The Vedic traditions are based on a collection of several thousand volumes of ancient Sanskrit scripture. Chief among them is the Bhagavad-gita ("As It Is").

One six-year-old girl at the ISKCON school seemed well on the way to acceptance of these traditions. Asked what she was doing while she played in the classroom, she replied, "I'm making a pie for Krishna."

All food consumed by devotees is first offered to Krishna on the alter in the temple, located in the same building as the kitchen. God takes what he wants, followers, believe, and leaves the rest to be eaten by his children.

The temple contains statues of Krishna in some of his various manifestations, as well as religious icons. Twice each day, the head priest of the community washes and changes the deities' clothes, and places fresh garlands around their necks. Seven daily offerings of foodstuffs are made.

Devotees of Krishna do not eat meat, but Murali denies being vegetarian. "We're Krishnarian, he said. In a stricter sense, "We only eat foods that are first offered to God. We then eat the remains."

"It's a little repugnant," said head priest Krsnot Kirtana, who also tends the cows, "the thought of offering the Father the dead bodies of his children."

Krishna devotees believe that all living creatures are the children of one God. They especially revere cows, whom they say are among the highest incarnations visible on earth. Krishna followers shun meat, fish, eggs, intoxicants (including coffee and tea), gambling and illicit sex.

Niranjana Swami, visiting regional secretary for the New England states, explained that these prohibitions are called "the regulative principles of Krishna consciousness."

Faithful male worshipers have a custom of shaving their heads to set themselves apart from the rest of the world. A traditional sika (ponytail) distinguishes them from their Buddhist counterparts, who also shave their heads.

Buddhists view God, or Brahman, as an undifferentiated life energy which fills the immensity of space and encompasses all that is. They do not worship a divine being in human form, according to Murali.

He cited this as an example of the "never violent, but very strong disagreement about the proper interpretation of the Vedic literatures" between the two groups.

The sikha asserts faith in a personal God, Murali explained. "Brahman comes from the personality of Godhead, the highest realization is personality.

Devotees chant mantra, a ritual comparable to the Catholic rosary, twice a day, and apply tilok (clay from the sacred Ganges River in India) to 12 locations on their bodies every time they bathe. Each application represents one of the names of God.

Initiates take a "vow of eternal commitment," Niranjana explained, and offer a "fire sacrifice" of a few grains of barley and sesame seeds. Niranjana is one of a select group of swamis in the United States qualified to make initiations to the faith.

"All these apparent restrictions are actually a means to a superior pleasure," the swami explained.

He added that, while "in one sense we're not looking for recruits, we welcome anyone."

"We've been saved, in a very real sense by our spiritual master," he said. A person's spiritual master is the man who initiates one to the faith.

The Hare Krishna movement in the United States was begun by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Founder of ISKCON, he came to America from India in 1965 to fulfill his spiritual master's charge that he teach "the science of Krishna consciousness throughout the English-speaking world," according to an issue of the movement's monthly periodical Back to Godhead.

The founder's primary work was to translate from the original Sanskrit many of the thousands of volumes of the 5000 year old Vedic literatures in order to preserve the memory of the ancient tradition, Murali said.

In 1972, Prabhupada set up the Governing Body Commission, a board which meets once a year in India to govern the affairs of the loosely knit confederation of congregations.

There are currently 180 ISKCON centers worldwide, with 15 to 20,000 devotees. Approximately 7000 live in the U.S., Murali said.

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