Renunciation through wisdom: Bhakti-Rasa, Yukta-Vairagya and the delineation of Krishnacore

Krishnacore is associated mostly with its inception in the early 1990s. With bands such as Shelter and 108, it fused the aesthetic of hardcore punk with the spirituality of the Hare Krishna Movement, providing a space where the sanctity of theological thought and practice was expressed through music seemingly contradictory to those beliefs. This paper provides a historical contextualisation of the scene. It begins with a brief outline of its creation, pulling upon features, which define the intrinsic nature of Krishnacore. These include the mapping of the Hare Krishna’s four regulative principles against those of straightedge punk and the use of Indian philosophy in lyrical content. Upon defining these principal characteristics the ambiguity of definition will also be explored, looking at the roots of subcultural meaning and classification.
From here, this paper will map the global dispersal of style. If Krishnacore had its roots in New York City, it was soon to stretch across the globe culminating in bands such as Traces of You (Italy), Deadpralamba (Indonesia) and His Divine Grace (Philippines). Accompanying this dissemination, however, was an unravelling of style and definition, whereby definition and aesthetic changed. Here the esoteric in terminology is explored, unpacking the definition of ‘Krishnacore’ and the delineation of style. This paper will conclude with a brief outline of yukta-vairagya, the principle of using material things in the service of Krishna. As a framework, this concept will be explored via the notion of bhakti-rasa, whereby devotion is practiced through the aesthetic.