The Sacralization of Straightedge Punk: Bhakti-yoga, Nada Brahma and the Divine Received: Embodiment of Krishnacore

Abstract

This article explores the formation of Krishnacore, a phenomenon born from the amalgamation of American straightedge punk and the Hare Krishna Movement in the 1990s. It argues that whilst shared choices of lifestyle, such as vegetarianism and a distaste for intoxicants and illicit sex, were core tenets towards the conception of the scene, it was bhakti-yoga (the theological and philosophical basis of the Hare Krishna Movement) that cemented such a relationship. Furthermore, it also explores the aesthetic context of punk within a Vedic context, in particular with reference to what is termed as ‘Nada-Brahma’, or the sacralisation of sound.