=== Aum Shinrikyo
1. Outcast Aum aids landlord's plan

=== Falun Gong
2. China Sect Members Ask Singapore Aid
3. News Corp. Heir Woos China With Show of Support

=== Scientology
4. A church for celebrities, but what about me?
5. Police work for Scientology

=== Unification Church
6. Clergy split over controversial Moon's visit
7. Chief of Moonies stops in Jackson on U.S. tour
8. Reverend Moon goes mainstream in 50-state tour
9. Moon plans to speak at revival in W. Baltimore
10. Moon, in D.M., pushes marriage

=== Islam
11. Muslims demand halal foods be served in Dearborn schools

=== Militia Groups / Hate Groups
12. Texas farm standoff enters second year
13. 100 held as Met launches dawn raids on hate crime
14. Nobody enjoys an apologist

=== ISCKON / Hare Krishna
15. Living with Krishna
16. Spiritual school
17. Food of the gods
18. Chic Krishna

=== Hinduism
19. Boutique Deities Offend

=== House of Prayer (Atlanta)
20. Minister has prior conviction for beating
21. Abuse claims not new, files say
22. 19 children to remain in state custody
23. Pastor says he'll take chance with jury
24. 'Who's supposed to be the villain?'
25. Child Beatings: 'They'd beat them for every simple little thing they'd do'
26. Corporal punishment part of black American culture
27. Welfare officials acknowledge the value of spanking

=== False Memory Syndrome
28. Fairlie sues over daughter's 'false memory' claims

=== Other News
29. LA County Pays $85,000 Settlement
30. Muslims fear for their lives as cannibal cult leader escapes
31. Fortunetelling legal again in Coeur d'Alene
32. School rejected girl's religious cards, suit says
33. Woman Detained After Vampire Assaults

=== Faith-Based and Community Initiatives
34. Bush's initiative could help groups that promote faith healing

=== Death Penalty and other Human Rights Abuses
35. Texas fight takes on race and death penalty


=== ISCKON / Hare Krishna

15. Living with Krishna
Los Angeles Times, Mar. 23, 2001
http://www.latimes.com/
[Story no longer online? Read this]
For 30 years, the often misunderstood Hare Krishnas have practiced their religion in a self-sufficient West Los Angeles spiritual compound
(...)

The International Society for Krishna Consciousness in West Los Angeles was established in 1970. Some 225 devotees live in ashrams (apartments) on Watseka Avenue. But there are roughly 10,000 in the Krishna congregation throughout Los Angeles and its environs. Many attend the center's Sunday service.

The self-sufficient spiritual compound contains an elementary school, two dining facilities, a gift shop, temple and various rooms for spiritual instruction in dance, music, yoga and the Bhagavad-Gita.

Worshipers from the West L.A. enclave often can be found at Los Angeles International Airport, the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica and various Westside schools.
(...)

Members of the community must strictly adhere to five basic precepts: chanting Krishna's name, vegetarianism, avoiding intoxicants and gambling and not engaging in illicit sex.
(...)

But Hare Krishnas do not discriminate and are accepting of all other religions, Gopal said. ''All spiritual paths are a road to God,'' he said.

While other mainstream religions may not subscribe to their teachings, such as the physical manifestation of God, some find the Hare Krishnas to be a peaceful group that is often misunderstood.

''I would hardly call them a radical cult,'' said Rabbi Aaron Parry of Jews for Judaism in Beverly Hills. ''I think the bad rap comes from chanting in front of airports. Others may find that disheartening. They are just people [who] really want to develop a personal relationship with God. If more Americans followed that principle, we'd have a better society.''

Law enforcement and city officials said the Krishnas are a quiet group and do not cause any disturbances in the community.
(...)

Krishna devotees are not the only ones who fill up the center and its commissaries. Many nonbelievers stop by for traditional fare and spiritual uplifting. Employees from motion picture stalwarts such as Sony and Warner Bros. also visit the gift shop, Govinda's.

This Krishna enclave is not shut off from the rest of the world, but rather it is a part of the surrounding community and all are welcome.
(...)

The Hare Krishna movement was founded in 1966 by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, who at age 70 traveled from India to establish the culture of Krishna consciousness in the Western world.

Opening a bookshop in the Bowery area of New York City, the guru taught from the Bhagavad-Gita, a 5,000-year-old scripture that declares Krishna as God himself, and who appears periodically in this world to liberate all beings.

Rooted in the ancient religion of Hinduism, the Krishna philosophy teaches that a person is destined to grow old and die, again and again, until he or she breaks the reincarnation cycle through enlightenment.

In order to be freed from the material world, those who adhere to the Hare Krishna faith must devote themselves completely to Krishna so they may join him in the spirit world.

''We believe that your final thought in this life dictates the next,'' said devotee Dwarki Rani. ''So if you're thinking about your cat when you die, guess what? You'll be a cat in the next. That's why we try to stay fixed on Krishna.''

By his death in 1977, Prabhupada had some 10,000 followers. Many of these Hare Krishna believers were former hippies and beatniks of the 1960s.

During the early 1980s, many Indians began to follow the practices of the Hindi sect and now constitute half of the people worshiping in Krishna temples.

Today, there are more than 25 Krishna communities and about 90,000 devotees throughout the country. But over the years the movement has been met with much criticism.

Often shunned as a cult, many of its own members have left the movement, disillusioned by the community's moral purposes.

''It's difficult to apply the term cult to the Hindu religion,'' said Christopher Chapple, professor of theological studies at Loyola Marymount University.

''There are many layers of analysis that need to be uncovered. Historically in India, great respect and values are preserved for the guru. Parents are often replaced by spiritual teachers. Some Westerners are attracted by that.''

In June, the Hare Krishnas received another setback after a lawsuit was filed claiming that more than 90 of their members nationwide were victims of child abuse.
(...)

In 1986, Kenneth Capoferri, then 38, a caretaker at the center between 1982 and 1984, was convicted on seven counts of lewd and lascivious conduct with children under age 14.

The abuse came to light in August 1984, when one of the 18 children at the center told her mother about the incidents. Capoferri and his wife fled to Ohio after members of the Krishna group confronted them. Capoferri was arrested in September 1984.

Other spiritual leaders and members left the community during the time too.
Former member Nori Muster wrote a book, ''Betrayal of the Spirit,'' about her years in the late '70s and '80s at the West L.A. center.

Devotees who witnessed the problems then and have stayed with the movement liken the 1980s exodus to a spiritual cleanup in the community.
(...)

Nowadays, with general interest in yoga, meditation, vegetarianism, beaded bracelets and Hindi garb flourishing, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness has seen a newfound interest in its West L.A. community. Hundreds of people order the Bhagavad-Gita and japa beads from the center regularly and visit the dining facilities, Gunn said.
[...more...]   [Need the full story? Read this]


16. Spiritual school
Los Angeles Times, Mar. 23, 2001
http://www.latimes.com/
[Story no longer online? Read this]
When 9-year-old Shakti Sanchez attended public school, he would sometimes get embarrassed when classmates made fun of his sikha , the lock of hair that hangs behind his shaved head.

But the devout worshiper of Krishna braved the hallways of his elementary school with a U-shaped marking of yellow clay on his forehead known as a tilak and the occasional saffron-colored robe.

At lunchtime, his stomach would turn as he watched classmates eat hot dogs and hamburgers.

''You're not supposed to eat animals,'' Shakti said. ''If you eat a cow now, then in your next life, you'll be a cow and someone will eat you.''

These days, the fourth-grader doesn't worry about his appearance or checking his food for meat byproducts.

Shakti is among 14 students attending the School for Spiritual Teaching, or gurukula, in the heart of the Hare Krishna community in West Los Angeles.
Located in a modest apartment complex on Watseka Avenue, the small, two-room classroom, filled with art supplies, alphabet lettering and diminutive tables and chairs, resembles most other elementary school classrooms.

But on second glance, colorful depictions of Krishna, mdrangas (Indian drums) and an altar honoring the deity make it clear there is something different about this school's curriculum.

Like tiny yogis, the barefoot kindergartners to fourth-graders--some clad in saris or T-shirts with depictions of Krishna--start their school day by holding a string of wooden beads and chanting the mantra ''Hare Krishna'' 16 times. The Sanskrit word Hare translates to ''energy of the lord,'' and Krishna means ''all attractive.''
(...)

The gurukula is monitored by the Los Angeles Unified School District's City of Angels home-study program.
(...)

While gurukula teachers are not required to have any formal teacher training, they are required to have several references and background checks are conducted, Gunn said.

Instructors are not paid for their duties. Teaching is considered one of the many services to Krishna.
[...more...]   [Need the full story? Read this]


17. Food of the gods
Los Angeles Times, Mar. 23, 2001
http://www.latimes.com/
[Story no longer online? Read this]
The Hindu god Krishna has one healthy appetite. And a heck of a sweet tooth too.

At the Hare Krishna temple in West Los Angeles, offerings are made to him seven times a day and include bountiful plates of fruits, vegetables, samosas, rice, lentils, sweet milk and a variety of confections.

Cooks in the temple's Deity Kitchen are trained in the art of ayurveda, a 5,000-year-old holistic healing method consisting of meditation and nutrition.

Starting out as kitchen assistants for at least a year, food handlers learn what spices mix well with others, the antiseptic properties of turmeric, the foods not to offer to Krishna, such as onions, mushrooms, garlic and eggs, and to always include either chili, ginger or lemon in a recipe.

''Some vegetarians may not know this, but vegetables create mucus in the body,'' said head cook Maha Madhusudan Das.

''If you mix vegetables with either chili, lemon or ginger, then it will balance out your system. These are things we must know to maintain a healthy and strong body. It's a science. Food is not prepared whimsically.''
(...)

The offering is placed on the altar for 25 minutes, followed by a worship service. Once the ceremony is completed, the foods are placed back into the deity pots and taken to Maha Room, a small dining facility on the temple grounds.

Devotees and the public are welcome to purchase the food for a donation of $5 per plate. About 100 people dine at Maha Room each day.
(...)

Throughout the chopping, straining, peeling and mixing, cooks constantly pray to Krishna while listening to devotional music.

''The kitchen is like an extension of the altar,'' Das said. ''Cooking is a way of paying your respects to God. While you cook, you humble yourself to the Lord and ask him to please help you prepare the food. It's like cooking for someone you love.''

The healthy food appeals to L.A. tastes.

''This is the key place to get wholesome, nutritional, ayurvedically balanced food,'' said Craig Robinson, 34, a first-grade teacher from West Los Angeles who frequents the Maha Room but is not a Krishna devotee.

''It's cooked with lots of love and care. It's a very high vibrational food. I always feel very satiated and peaceful after eating here.''
[...more...]   [Need the full story? Read this]

» A look at the Bible's teachings regarding food offered to ''the gods''

18. Chic Krishna
Los Angeles Times, Mar. 23, 2001
http://www.latimes.com/
[Story no longer online? Read this]
Five times a year, Tadit Beca makes the trek to India to handpick saris, pashminas and silk kurtas, or shirts, for the Hare Krishna-owned boutique Govinda's International Imports.

As manager of the Hindi emporium in West Los Angeles, Beca has to choose her wares carefully because only about 20% of her customers are devotees of Hare Krishna.

Govinda's, known for its imported items at bargain prices, has fast become a shopping destination for many of the Hollywood elite.

Beca's clientele includes the Backstreet Boys, Madonna, Sharon Stone, Steven Tyler and local fashion and film industry stylists.

Although the shop has been open for 20 years, it wasn't until recently that the colorful and relaxed swami wear hit the racks and became all the rage.
(...)

Located above the Hare Krishna temple's dining facility, the smell of incense lures customers up the stairwell, where racks of the latest Indian fashions, such as pastel blouses, hand-dyed scarves and embroidered coats, fill the shop.
Clothing ranges in price from $9 to $100 and all proceeds from Govinda, which means ''pleasing to the senses'' in Sanskrit, support the Hare Krishna temple.

Many of Govinda's customers are not Hare Krishna devotees, and Beca hopes the trend will help dispel myths about the group.

''I look at it as a step toward becoming more conscious,'' said Beca, who joined the Hare Krishna temple 29 years ago.

''Once they start wearing the clothes, their minds may shift a little and they may be more open to learning about yoga, meditation and eating different foods. So I don't mind that it's a trend.''
[...more...]   [Need the full story? Read this]


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