Disconnecting from Technology on Hare Krishna Farms

Abstract

This paper is part of a comprehensive study made on three Hare Krishna farms in the context of climate change and sustainability transitions. The overall purpose was to identify enabling and disabling factors for the wider diffusion of sustainable Krishna practices. This work reports only on one aspect of the research, namely de-technologizing tendencies, and their reasons, in Hare Krishna communities. Ethnographic research was carried out on three Hare Krishna eco-farms — Scotland, England and Hungary. Apart from observations and participatory action, twenty-nine interviews were conducted to tease out details of Hare Krishna practices such as land cultivation, cow protection, eating and food sharing. The tenets of a ‘New Economics’ or ‘postgrowth’ literature were applied to analyse the community's de-technologizing practices. Findings reveal that first: a radical de-technologizing characterises the lived experience of community members on Hare Krishna eco-farms. Second: Krishna practices harmonise with a New Economics concept which promotes simplification and demand-side resource reduction as a precondition for transitioning to a sustainable future. Academic publications studying the Hare Krishna community have largely focused on the group's religiosity, but this paper positions it as an environmental movement. To date, the connection between Hare Krishna lifestyle practices and sustainability transitions has not been presented. Connecting the believers’ lived experience to the tenets of the New Economics notion is a unique contribution to the sustainability transitions literature and related fields.

Religions going nuts? Faith-based veganism and transformative learning in the context of sustainability transitions (case 1: The Hare Krishna movement)

“…Each of these Krishna communities showed a distinct character while still demonstrating and testifying to a homogeneous spirituality and practice. For the purposes of this paper, I treat them as one group, without pointing out differences which I discuss elsewhere (Lestar, 2017(Lestar, , 2018a(Lestar, , 2018b.…”

Memories that last: evaluating the impact of eco-tourism on children's future behaviour

“…Hare Krishna members use this eco-tourism to present an alternative set of practices which encourage demand-side resource reductions via sustainable agriculture, disconnecting from technology, meat-free (less-meat) eating and a close connectivity with nature (e.g. Jackson, 2016;Lestar, 2018). The diffusion potential of the sites is not just about converting visitors to the Hare Krishna faith, but instead the ability for tourists to adopt pro-environmental practices.…”

Ecospirituality and sustainability transitions: agency towards degrowth

“…Research in the field often focuses on institutional religiosity, studying the life of religious organisations within (but not exclusively) the Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish, or Muslim faiths (e.g. Mohamad, Idris and Mamat 2012;Cherry 2013;Vinkhuyzen and Karlsson-Vinkhuyzen 2014;Lestar 2018). Apart from formal religiosity, however, there is a significant movement of a non-religious ecospirituality, also referred to as contemporary spirituality (Witt 2011;2012), which some scholars claim is growing (Houtman and Mascini 2002;Inglehart and Welzel 2005;Houtman and Aupers 2007).…”

“…Close connectivity with nature and all other beings (Carroll 2004, 50;Witt 2011Witt , 1059Jackson 2009, 150) 3. Simplicity and frugality (Jackson 2009, 151;Lestar 2018) 4. Sharing and serving (of property, finances, land, food, etc.)…”