Page 6--Sunday, April 2, 1978-The Michigan Daily The Michigan Daily--Sunc ROOKS Punk or poetry? Patti Smith now a bard~~ iBae Hare Krishna, Hare HE FIRST TIME I saw them was in New York - a cluster of orange and white robed exotics By Paulne T ole with shaved heads, methodically chan- ting, unmindful of the rushing passer- sby. "Hare Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare bor Krishna community agreed to NLY A SMALL wooden sign Rama . . wordso punctuated with discuss the movement with me. alerts the visitor to the presence rhythm drumbeats out of place theof Ann Arbor's Krishna temple, hustle of midtown Manhattan. My aunt The Krishna founder, Prabhupada a nondescript, two-story frame house rushed me by, muttering words about arrived in New York from India in 1965 aemoniscrntos soude hou s By Barry SteinhArt BABEL By Patti Smith G.P. Putnam's Sons, 202pp. Illustrated; Cloth $8.95, Paper $4.95 IT IS TEMPTING to write off Patti Smith as just another punk-rocker, but those who do surely don't know much about her. She was recording before punk rock ever appeared. Unfor- tunately, her appearances at CBGB's in New York have linked her with punk in the minds of many. Smith's new volume of poetry, Babel, calls for a closer look at the nature of her talent. This is not her first book of poems, but it is the first to be published by anything other than an underground press. As a result, most people know of her only as a recording artist who hap- pened to write bizarre lyrics for her songs and "stream of consciousness' liner notes for her albums. Because of the unusual nature of her work, she has never attracted mass audiences, but those who follow her are appreciative and loyal. Smith's latest efforts, including this book (written while recovering from a near fatal fall off a stage) and a soon-to- be-released album, will do nothing to alter this loyalty. Perhaps, though, her work will present her to a wider audience and revive her career from the negative effects of her forced retirement. Barry Steinhart is a junior in the Honors English program when he isn't listening to Patti Smith. W ITH A STYLE that is heavily influenced by French Symbolist poets, notably Rimbaud, it is not sur- prising that Smith suffers from those peculiarly French diseases of the soul (a "malady of the spirit" she calls it), which so profoundly affect a writer's approach. Her poems overflow with, images of torment and violence, piled on one another with numbing effect. This nervous energy - her sense of perpetually being on the edge - gives her work a power which can be both physically and emotionally fatiguing. Patti Smith is preoccupied with images of communication. Radios, telephones, cameras, movies and other symbols of electronic communication appear regularly; ithe stark black and white photographs which accompany the text share this -theme. One shot shows Smith and Bob Dylan staring in- tently at each other, hands cupped over their ears, no doubt waiting for some in- ter-galactic message. In speaking of the "forbidden cinema of the mind," Smith reveals her am- bivalent fascination with cameras. "for me getting my picture taken has always been uncomfortable. i feel too familiar with the camera; an eye that connects and freezes the present with one acoustic wink," she writes in a poem called "munich." This is in sharp contrast with her feelings in "k.o.d.a.k.", the screenplay for a surrealist movie that she wants to star in: "media me. shoot me on the kodak, I'll do it for free." crazy kids while I gawked, entranced by the performance. Those exotics, members of the Hare Krishna movement, were devotees following an ancient Indian religion fir- st taught in America by the late Swami Srila Prabhupada. Every spring the local Hare Krishna devotees set up their tent on the Diag and chant their never-ending mantra. I always wanted to ask where they hibernated in the winter, for they seemed to pack up their multi-colored tent in mid-fall and nomadically disap- pear, resurfacing in the warmer springtime weather. The magical rhythms and chanting voices lost their allure when a friend, whose freshman roomate joined the sect, became concerned that those who were Krishna-conscious were trying to 'get him.' He outlined his fears of brainwashing and spiritual coercion and, suddenly, the mystical figures dressed in flowing robes seemed a trifle sinister; still, the mystery of the sect piqued my curiosity. My longtime curiosity was finally satisfied when members of the Ann Ar- Pauline Toole is a Daily staff writer. with seven dollars to his name, deter- mined to share his brand of religion with the heathens. By the time of his death thirteen years later, membership had soared to 10,000. Based on ancient Vedic (Indian) writings, the Hare Krishna faith traces its orgins back thousands of years. The religion revolves around an anti-materialistic tenet - whatever exists belongs to Krishna and man should dedicate him- self to developing an awareness of his debt to Krishna. The Krishna religion practiced here differs only slightly from the forms practiced in India. An ancient philosophic work, The Bhagavad-Gita is the cornerstone of, the Krishna movement, much like the Bible is in Christian faiths. Only three Krishna devotees call Ann Arbor home at the moment. A larger group used to worship and live in their holy house, called the Sri Sri Radha Kirsna Temple, on Madison St. Last fall, about 20 Ann Arbor locals moved on to the grandiose Fisher mansion on Jefferson Ave. in Detroit, dedicated to transforming the 415 acres on the city's east side into a museum and temple for the teachings of Krishna. My imagination had prepared me for a house of strangely-garbed ascetics, replete with shaven heads. Instead, the door was opened by a young, stocking- capped figure who evoked memories of Marlon Brando in On The Waterfront. "Hare Krishna," he politely greeted me, beckoning me to enter. The har- dwood floors were polished to a bright shine, and the saffron-tinted walls were painted in hues of yellow and orange. Before entering the room that serves as -the Krishna temple, we had to remove our shoes. Padding quietly through the vestibule, we entered the place of worship. Pari Purni Das, my host, unveiled the altar, pulling back cloth hangings to reveal the parapher- nalia of the religion. Along the walls,. bright yellow, magenta and blue colors mix on oil paintings depicting Krishna and his divine disciples. Pari (his name means Servant of the All Attractive One) began to quickly spout the names of Indian Krishna leaders and traced the development of his faith. Citing names and places- blurred syllables - he sounded like the articles in the magazines that Krishna followers peddle on busy street corners. "The basic idea of the human Krishna relationship is that Krishna is the creato point is to concept of awaken th lying dorrr matter of f "Every germ or d very natu God, bec originally - the orig He paused his nervou; the subjec ts, portions solute pers Repeatin favorite st ces with a tensity. Pari Pu three year searching Sunday fea and was in straightfo questions. "I starte chanting H pleasure in so many d heart becc accumulat Pari expla The cha words: Ha an integra devotees using the n a form of Se COMMUNICATION is her goal, but. it never occurs easily. "Babel", the central image of this volume, represents a time when men had no lan- guage barrier and could communicate fully the most intricate ideas. "The alcohol and the glow of com- munication" are intoxicating nourish- ment for her. She is attempting to con- vey to us some of the varied workings of her mind, from frantic, unsubtle declaration ("IN ANOTHER DECADE ROCK AND ROLL WILL BE ART") to comples dream visions. One of the latter, "doctor love," portrays Smith as a woman-of pure sexuality, for whom love is just an annoying searchlight playing over her, a convict, as she tries to escape from prison. Daily Photo by ANDY FREEBERG A less gloomy image which lightens the oppressive pessimism of many of the poems is the repeated use of Easter. Smith opens the book with a dedication "to the future" above a picture of her- self and her sister ("w/linda easter 1950"), both ready for the Easter parade. The rebirth symbolized by this day is an appropriate metaphor for this volume of poetry, which follows Smith's reappearance after her aforementioned accident. Patti Smith's work will continue to evoke varied reactions. Some may call her poetry the meaningless product of a delirious mind. To do so would be to ignore the feverish energy of her work, which allows us a brief but fascinating look into her subconscious. -. krishna (Continued from Page 3) attributing never-ending wonders to its magic. HE RELIGION prohibits mater- ial enjoyment. Members do not gamble, take intoxicants, watch movies or television. Sex is prohibited outside of marriage and is only allowed then for the purpose of procreation. "Those things tend to degrade one's mental and physical condition," Pari Purna Das claimed. Krishna says that one who's gained a higher taste can automatically give up the lower forms of pleasure. We experience the pleasure of Krishna consciousness." Every follower works for Krishna, supposedly devoting each action and thought to the purpose of elevating Krishna consciousness. "You cannot give up the world like that," Pari Purna Das said, snapping his fingers. "It does not require any special material arrangement to become Krishna con- scious. You don't have to live in a special place or do a special thing. You only have to alter your consciousness from thinking materially - thinking that I control everything." He talked on, relating the tenets of the religion, at times becoming somewhat incomprehensible.. "The basic point is to see that everything belongs to Krishna. Therefore, I should utilize everything, even this body which has been given to me," he explained. A devotee commits himself to the Krishna lifestyle through a process of inquiry. He brings questions to a spiritual master - a member of the community with special insights. If the See KRISHNA, Page 7' aly rno o oy r ET RSLIN G Garbed in flowing robes, Ann Arbor's Krishna community engages in daily prayer chants. Brian Black is standing in the forefront; behind him in white is Lonnie Jackson, Asha Narang and her child. Hare Krishna devotes Asha Narang and her child, Rihada, sit in front of the on Madison St. Brightly colored paintings and photol , decorated altar in the sect's Ann Arbor home,-the Sri Sri Radha Kirshna Temple, and his divine disciples decorate the walls.