Photography by Felix O’Kane

Walking down Swanson Street on a chilly, sunny Friday in August, I’m greeted by a hum of rhythmic music, oft-repeating the key phrase: ‘Hare Krishna, Hare Hare.’ 

Crossways has been a staple of Swanston for decades. It is a volunteer-operated vegetarian restaurant associated with the Hare Krishna movement. The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) is a branch of Hinduism which emphasises meditation, mantric chanting and worship of Krishna as a supreme deity. 

I sat down with Crossways volunteers Zack and Rasikendra das and restaurant manager Vira to talk about the spiritual life and goings-on of the humble vegetarian venue.

Rasikendra das, an ordained monk of four years, describes his experience with Crossways as ‘very empowering.’ ‘It’s really nice seeing how wholesome vegetarian food can really warm the hearts of so many of our people in our community.’ 

He notes that the food is ‘fantastic’. ‘I was much skinnier before I joined Crossways.’

One major attraction to the venue is the price: $10 for a meal, drink and dessert, which he explains is a result of the restaurant’s volunteer operation. ‘In a growing economy like Melbourne, prices are constantly increasing, Crossways is like that safe haven for everyone,’ he says, ‘providing very nourishing, healthy, organic meals for everyone.’ The preparation of the food served at Crossways is a part of the monks’ spiritual practice, cooked fresh twice a day at the temple as an offering to Krishna and the community.

Zack, a fellow monk and roommate of Rasikendra, told me a little about the spiritual journey which led him to the Hare Krishna movement. ‘I actually came into contact with a book called the Bhagavad Gita, it’s a 5000 year old book … It talks about philosophy from Ancient India, about spirituality, just about life, about the universe. It’s really fascinating … It came at a perfect time in my life, and I got super interested in really studying it deeply and understanding it.’ 

‘I got invited by someone to come to the temple in Albert Park and I just started studying that book with the monks there … I finished my studies at RMIT and I had a bit of a window of opportunity to try living as a monk for a few months. I tried it out and I really liked it, so I’ve been continuing it ever since. It’s been four years now.’

I asked him what his parents’ reaction was to his joining the temple, and he laughed, replying that they are ‘thankfully pretty open-minded. ‘My Mum was a bit shocked because she didn’t know what it meant, so she was a bit worried. My Dad, straight away he said “if that’s what will make you happy then I will support you.” Now that they know what I’m actually doing, that it’s something really positive … They’re really supportive.’

Restaurant manager Vira initially became involved with Crossways as a monk in 2015, and though now a family man, has returned in the last three years as a volunteer. He tells me ‘when the stomach is happy, the person is happy–that’s what we’re trying to do with this restaurant. We serve almost 500 people a day here. Whatever profit is [collected goes] into our temple and different community centres to serve free food there. We want to spread happiness, that is our main principle’.