Across the road - hare krishna hare krishna krishna krishna hare hare hare- there are eight of them, the men with shaven heads, except for a tuft on the crown, the girls pretty and gentle with long plaits over their shoulders, all in flowing robes, their foreheads symbolically marked in white. Together they sway from foot to foot, a devoted chorus line of the Hare Krisna movement chanting their mantra to a drum beat and a hand clap - hare krishna hare krishna - it's an infectious rhythm and people stop to stare, and wait for something to happen, while others join in and chant. Some hurry past as if it wasn't really happening at all.

Rennie Ellis and Wesley Stacey Kings Cross Sydney: A personal look at the Cross 1971 pg 30

I’ve never been able to work the Hare Krishnas out. In my dealings with them I have found elements of brainwashing, hypocrisy and deceit. And there’s no way I can come to terms with the ‘no sex unless its for procreation’ dictum. (I believe Lord Krishna himself was a right old philanderer, especially when it came to dalliances with milkmaids). Yet I admire their commitment and their discipline when it’s directed towards self-enlightenment and not harmful to the community-at-large. I value their role as a refuge and a source of focus for confused and wandering souls. I like their music and chanting in the streets and the way it confronts and disturbs Joe Citizen of the limited horizons and the closed mind. And I don’t see them as insidious and potentially dangerous as some of the other cult religions which sprang up in the seventies.