A familiar sight in London, but much less so in Rye. A group of Hare Krishna devotees brought music, chanting and a message of peace to the town’s streets on Saturday 8 August.
The group is walking along the coast to Folkestone chanting the Hare Krishna mantra as they go and encouraging people to take a more positive approach to life.
“We’re here to bring some light and some hope,” said Mathura Das, who is representing the Hare Krishna movement on the walk. “We want to uplift everyone’s consciousness and remind people there is more to life than material pressures. Life is always bringing us stress and anxieties, but we’re actually eternal living beings full of knowledge and happiness.”
The group’s colourful procession attracted plenty of attention in Rye, not least as their procession around town coincided with Pirates and Smugglers Day.
The reaction from locals and tourists was good, he said. “It’s been great. We’ve met so many nice people who’ve been very friendly and very happy to see us here. Many of them were dancing with us as well.”
The walk also has a wider message in response to what he described as an increasingly troubled world. “We’re trying to resist the dark, negative energy that’s overtaking the world. So much greed, so much war and violence,” he said.
Image Credits: James Stewart .