Local author pens memoir about his life as a Hare Krishna

It was raining in Black Mountain on Sept. 26 when Rishi Waterman received the first copies of his memoir, Children of a Harsh Bliss. The delivery came just hours before Tropical Storm Helene would arrive in Western North Carolina.

Waterman had planned to spend the next month marketing his new book. Instead, he found himself hauling water from streams to flush his toilet, sharing food with his neighbors and adjusting to life without power and internet.

Of course, Waterman was no stranger to living without modern conveniences. For 30 years, he belonged to a Hare Krishna community in Marshall County, W.Va., whose members were devoted to living off the land.

“We were milking our cows, working our horses and growing our food,” Waterman says. “When you live in a community like that, you realize how dependent you are on each other. You become a tight little tribe, a real family. You become so alive.”

Waterman’s experience with his former community is the subject of his new memoir. The author recently sat down with Xpress to discuss the work and the many roles he fulfilled as a Hare Krishna. 

Editor’s note: This interview has been condensed and lightly edited for clarity. 

Xpress: What is Hare Krishna? 

Waterman: Hare Krishna resembles Hinduism — there’s a lot of ritual, worship of deities, chanting and similar beliefs like vegetarianism and reincarnation. But Hare Krishna is focused on the principle of Krishna consciousness, a philosophy that believes we are all spiritual beings with a capacity for higher awareness. It’s not that different from other belief systems that teach that we are more than our human bodies. Hare Krishna devotees come to this understanding through practicing yoga, playing different types of Indian musical instruments and the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra.

How did you come to join the Hare Krishna movement?

Ever since I was 12 or 13, I was on a pretty intense search for God. In 1967, when I was 14, the whole counterculture scene started in California, and LSD and acid started pouring into our community in Modesto. I started taking these wonderful, mind-expanding drugs, and they really did open a lot of different ways of viewing the world. 

The following year I met the Hare Krishna devotees in San Francisco and participated in a festival where hundreds of us chanted and walked through Golden Gate Park out to the ocean, where we had this wonderful vegetarian feast. That really got me going. I started going to the Hare Krishna temple, got a set of prayer beads and read the Bhagavad Gita and other scriptures. 

At some point, I just thought I needed a guru, someone to show me the path in a disciplined way. I was hitchhiking my way across the U.S. with the goal to get to India when I happened to land at the New Vrindaban Hare Krishna community in West Virginia in 1971. I could practice my faith and live in the country, which I had always wanted to do. It just felt like home.

You were there for 30 years. What did you do day to day? 

I did a lot of different things. I started working horses. Then I learned how to milk cows. And then they threw me in the pot-washing room, where I had to build outdoor fires, heat the water, go to a well … it wasn’t difficult but it was interesting. After that, I dressed the deity statues, which was priestly work.

What kept you in for so many years? And why did you leave?

I was living the lifestyle that I really wanted to live. We got up every morning, chanted, followed certain principles. Off-the-grid living, living out in the woods — I just loved it. It was a beautiful philosophy and just what I wanted to embrace in my life. 

I left for a combination of reasons. I’d had an arranged marriage in the community that didn’t work out. I also felt there were some limitations I didn’t quite agree with and the teachings seemed a little dogmatic. It was time to go on. There were some doors opening for me, and even though I didn’t know what was behind them, I felt guided and protected from higher sources. I hope this book reflects that spirit — you may not know what’s going to happen next, but you need to follow your heart and not be afraid. 

How do you feel about Hare Krishna now?

I still very much appreciate everything about them. I fully support whoever practices the teachings and the philosophy. It’s helped so many people.

I still communicate with the community in West Virginia. They’re going to sell my book in the bookstore. It’s very meaningful to me that people who come to the community can read something about the past because there are some other stories about the Krishna movement that are just really bad. 

I’ve been as objective as possible in this book. One of the major misconceptions about Hare Krishna is that it’s a cult and it’s totally controlled by certain gurus. Or, you’re forced to do things by brainwashing or mind control. That’s not the fact. Anyone can leave anytime they want to. And many people have.

The philosophy, to treat everyone equally, is still wonderful.

What do you hope people take away from the book?

I hope people can be inspired by it. To set out to do something your heart is calling you to do. To follow something you truly believe in.

I also hope people come to understand that the reliance on technology is getting worse and worse. Let’s just become a little more down-to-earth, you know? A lot of people are trying to live off the land now, and I hope they read these stories and see that we made mistakes but we didn’t give up. 

This is also for people my age. Don’t start thinking you can just sit back. We’ve got a lot to do to help the world.

If we believe things aren’t going in the right direction in the world, then we have to become the cure. What did Helene show us? All of a sudden, the neighborhoods got together, and we were so connected. We have to get back to that.