Relieving the "Religious" War

Years of bitter fighting, terrorist bombings, armored cars, and patrolling troops have made residents of Belfast, Northern Ireland, rather grim. But as visiting devotees have noted, Belfasters brighten when they hear the chanting of Hare Krsna. "The people here in Belfast are naturally pious, so they're curious about Krsna consciousness," reported Vrajendra Kumara dasa, one of the devotees from ISKCON's London center. Even though shooting and bombing sometimes flare up nearby, the devotees are following Lord Caitanya's instructions to spread Krsna consciousness "wherever you go, to whomever you meet." To Catholics, Protestants, soldiers-anyone and everyone-the devotees are distributing spiritual food, Krsna conscious literature, and the chanting of Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare / Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

In February the devotees ventured to Coleraine, a town of fourteen thousand, also in Northern Ireland. Despite snow and gale-force winds they distributed books entitled Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Soon the danger of frostbite forced the devotees off the street, but by that time one in every four families had received a Krsna book.