03/12/25 I almost joined a cult. After remaining in touch with the monk I had met, I was invited to multiple meditation / spiritual talk sessions at a studio nearby. Last week I confirmed that I would attend the one happening, well, today. Thing is, a couple nights ago a slight suspicion crossed my mind. I've always been aware of the Hare Krishnas, in fact my girlfriend joked that I was joining them when I first told her about the event at work and the studio I was invited to. Anyway, when this doubt came into my mind I began to look into the Hare Krishnas, primarily trying to figure out if the 'Hare Krishna' chant we'd being doing at the event was related, or was primarily a Hindu thing. I learned about Iskcon and the deep controversy around their 'sect' and their leader's views on women and certain minorities. And I learned about their central book that they revered and followed: The Bhagavad Gita: As It Is. At first I thought it was just the Bhagavad Gita, but I learned that it was a Bhāṣya (interpretaion of original text) based upon the Gaudiya Vaishnavism, a 'new' 500 year old sect that never became popular due to its controversy... until the Hare Krishnas revived it as their central belief in 1966. At this point I literally ran to my bookshelf and grabbed the book that I'd bought at the event and checked the back. Sure enought it was not the original Bhagavad Gita, but the twisted contradictory Bhāṣya written by 'His Divine Grace', founder of the Hare Krishna movement. I also checked the sheet with the chant we sung and there in the corner, in small text: "Iskcon Founder Acary His Divine Grace". After further research I even found that the meditation studio I was planning to attend was secretly (and I truly mean it, this was only mentioned in a single Reddit post) affiliated with Iskon and was used to lure Westerners seeking community, spirituality and delicious free dinners into the temples. At first I found the whole thing quite funny and was laughing about it with my girlfriend, but once we hung up the phone it really started to bug me. Why on earth was the Hindu society involved with the Hare Krishnas? Surely the Hindus attending would realise? And most significantly, I felt like I'd lost an opportunity to join a community and make meaningful connections in a city where it can be pretty hard to find these things. Did the monk who I'd spoken to very honestly about personal things, really just intend to drag me into the cult? Was he pretending to get along? I think we probably did get along somewhat naturally, but it really does feel like a betrayal. I think its made worse by the fact that I imagined hanging out with young people and making new friends before attending, so that when I did find this out, I lost all of that as well. But hey, I've learned a few things. It did help me get back into the swing of meditating and also helped me realise that I want community, and so I'll continue looking for one. PS: I feel a little stupid reading the previous blog :D 25/11/25 Attending my first guided meditation. The other day I saw that the Hindu society at my workplace was organising a guided meditation event available to all! As I've previously been quite strongly interested in meditation, mindfulness and the surrounding theory, I opted in and went with a friend. There was a young monk who gave us a talk on sprirituality, primarily on how we can define ourselves by ethereal / non-temporary means and how this can prevent suffering. After the talk we had a guided meditation which was super fun as I've only ever been able to do these online, and doing it in a room of people gives a totally different energy. After this we sung the "Hare Krishna" mantra which was also great although a little difficult to get right the first time :D After the event I got to talk to a few people, including the young monk about our experiences, values and how meditation plays a part in our life. I also picked up a Bhagavad Gita and was invited to their local studio for meditation sessions! It was a great experience and hopefully we get to do another one at some point!!