AN ETHNOGRAPHIC ACCOUNT OF HINDU ASHRAM LIFE AMONG HUNGARIAN KRISHNA FOLLOWERS

The study shows a case of transculturation between Hungarian and Hindu-Indian culture pointing out the great potential of ideas coming from the Hindu philosophy for giving new perspectives to the European way of thinking rooted in Christian cultural ideology. In the few decades elements of Hindu culture and philosophy have reached Hungary as well. We can find in Hungary different yoga schools, some gurus teaching Hindu philosophy and also members of Krishna follower communities, a school of Hindu philosophy became quite commonly known with the presence of ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness). The paper tries to find out the nuances of interaction between Hindu and Christian culture in Hungarian socio-cultural environment, entirely different from the homeland of Hinduism. The case study of the life of a Hungarian Vaishnav community shows us how Hindu cultural elements can be altered by Hungarian customs, vice versa and how the life in Hungary can gain new perspectives from novel ideas of a different culture.