Anger Over Hare Krishna Festival at Ealing Town Hall | ||||
Local resident claims movement is homophobic
An Ealing man who says he was subjected to homophobic abuse and told he and his husband would ''go to hell'' by members of the Hare Krishna movement says the council must not allow it to hold an event in the town hall. The organisers are Krishna Wisdom based at ISKCON Bhaktivedanta Manor, Watford, the headquarters of the Hare Krishna movement in the UK. ISKCON (the International Society for Krishna Consciousness), are hiring Ealing Town Hall on Thursday 21 April. The event is described as a spiritual festival with dance, drama, music and vegetarian food. However, local resident Jeremy Green is adamant it shouldn't go ahead. He says, '' I was in Ealing on Thursday shopping with my husband and we both received the most appalling abuse from the Hare Krishna monks on the street. After some conversation about homosexuality, we were clearly told that the Hare Krishna religion says we will 'go to hell' for being gay. We both left the town centre feeling very distressed and upset!!'' Mr Green highlighted an old article about the pop star Boy George which claimed he had been rejected from the movement due to his sexuality. He has since objected to Ealing Council writing, "'The Council has a duty of care to its residents, and in law must follow the 2010 Equality Act. I would be horrified if the Council allowed ISKCON to carry on with its festival at the Town Hall on Thursday night. The Town Hall should be a place for inclusion for all - not a place for anti-gay rhetoric!! I appeal to the management and leadership of the council. Please do not allow this festival to go ahead!" Their philosophy and practice is taken from the Bhagavad Gita As It Is, one of the oldest books in existence, and believes we are all spiritual beings in a material body - a vehicle to be used for spiritual upliftment and developing higher consciousness, or Krishna Consciousness. Their process is 'Simple living, high thinking' and promotes vegetarianism, meditation, elevation of consciousness through practice of chanting mantras and developing a deeper relationship with God, Krishna - the all attractive. An Ealing Council spokesperson told Ealing Today, “We’ve received assurances that this particular event on Thursday is a spiritual stage show including meditative music, dance and drama. It is a free and public event open to all (subject to venue capacity) and so does not exclude anyone on equality grounds. We can confirm that the police licensing team and our own safer communities team are also aware that the event is taking place and have raised no objection. ''Previous events held by the organiser have taken place not only in Ealing but across London and beyond at council venues and we’re not aware of any incidents as a result. As such, the event will continue to proceed but we will continue to monitor the situation.” We have asked for comment from ISKCON.
April 20, 2022 |