Meat production devastates the Earth. Animals are fellow living entities. Eating meat degrades both the body and the spirit. Why not vegetarian? It is healthy, inexpensive, sustainable, and sumptuously delicious when properly prepared. Along with its other benefits, bhakti-yoga demonstrates how one can live a healthier life for oneself, others, and the planet without meat.

Karma is a daily application of Newton’s 3rd Law: “Every action produces an equal and opposite reaction.” Having academic/legal/relationship/financial/health problems? That is karma, a direct reaction to something in your past. ‘Karma-free’ means actions that create no future reactions. In terms of food, for example, karma-free fare is food, created by God, that is bought, prepared, and served as an offering to God. Eating such food is spiritually uplifting.

Krishna consciousness means making one’s entire life karma-free by doing everything for God’s pleasure. The Krishna consciousness movement presents the teachings of Bhagavad-gita, the ancient book of wisdom defining a single, personal divinity known as Krishna, the ‘all-attractive person.” As in any genuine spiritual process, everything one does can become a devotional meditation. Striving for Krishna consciousness, God consciousness, opens the door to a life of purpose, value, happiness, and satisfaction.

Chanting the Hare Krishna mantra is a simple yet dynamic meditation process. A mantra is a word or phrase the releases the mind from illusion. There are many mantras found in the ancient Vedic texts, and all mantras have powers to transform, but the Hare Krishna mantra is called the ‘mahamantra’, the ‘great mantra’ because it contains the powers of all others. And what are those powers? Though our minds seem to wander constantly, chanting the mahamantra limits the mind’s chatter and allows us to focus on our heart and the state of our consciousness. Chanting the mahamantra creates a sound vibration that subtly affects and purifies all aspects of our lives, decreasing stress and increasing happiness. The mahamantra -- Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare is composed of three words: Hare (a loving address), Krishna (the All-attractive), and Rama (the Source of spiritual happiness). Chanting Hare Krishna is a non-sectarian spiritual practice. Whether chanting Allah, Buddha, Jesus, Jehovah, Yahweh, Rama, or Krishna, the purpose is to develop love and connection with the Supreme. We find that connection in chanting Hare Krishna and find joy in sharing it with others.

In Sanskrit, the word yoga means 'connection'. Bhakti is derived from the Sanskrit word bhaj, which means 'loving service'. The Bhagavad-gita, the original textbook on yoga, refers to Bhakti as the highest stage of yoga and the true nature of our being. So bhakti yoga means connecting to the Supreme by means of loving pure devotional service. The powerful practices of bhakti yoga quickly bring one to higher spiritual consciousness, connecting one’s essential being with its divine source. The ancient bhakti tradition includes encompasses a wide variety of teachings, practices, and arts.

Although clothes do not make the transcendentalist, some Krishna devotees choose to wear traditional, folded robes because they are simple, comfortable, and always in style. The mark sometimes seen on a devotee’s forehead is called tilak, clay from a sacred Indian river that marks the body as a temple for the spirit that resides within. It is a tradition to wearing a cross, a mark of devotion and dedication that inspires others.