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One of my favourite stories is the one about the boiling frog, who simply fails to realise that the water is getting hotter. His failure to comprehend the incremental rise in temperature (he’d jumped into a pan of cool water on an outdoor fire, you see) spelled his death. Similarly, the heat of fashionable nouveau atheism is increasing all around us. One writer who regularly does notice – and speaks up about it – is Melanie Phillips. I want to share her latest piece with you today.

Like a poorly knotted woggle, the attempt by the Girl Guides to rope in the new generation is now steadily unravelling.

In June, the Guides announced they were changing the historic promise made by all Guides and Brownies from ‘to love my God’ to ‘be true to myself and develop my beliefs’.

They would also drop the pledge to ‘serve my country’, which was to be replaced by ‘my community’.

According to the Chief Guide, Gill Slocombe, the old promise put some girls off because they found it confusing. The new formula, she said, would be easier for Guides to make and keep.

The change – which comes into force in six days’ time – was received with horror and outrage by Christians, and left many others bemused and uneasy. It seemed to be just a crude and shallow attempt by the Guiding establishment to rebrand itself as modern, by dumping timeless values.

Much worse was to follow, though. Guide groups in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, rightly dismayed by the proposed change, announced last week that they would encourage their girls and leaders to continue to use the old promise.

In a letter written jointly with a local vicar, they insisted the movement had to keep God at its core. Impeccably fair-minded and inclusive, they also proposed to offer the new promise to anyone who might prefer that form of words.

Yet in response, Ms Slocombe said such rebels need to accept this change, and even suggested they could be forced out of the movement altogether if they did not.

So much for diversity!

For with this not-so-veiled threat, the true intention of the movement’s leaders has been laid bare. A move they claimed to be more inclusive has turned out to be entirely the opposite.

Indeed, it now stands revealed as being actively discriminatory; far from pulling down any (mythical) barriers to joining the movement, the Guide leaders are actually putting them up.

Under the spurious guise of encouraging membership by atheists, or (inexplicably) those with an aversion to serving their country, the Guides are now threatening to expel those who wish to express a religious belief.

A belief, moreover, which forms the basis of the Christian values in which the Girl Guide movement is rooted, and on which its identity rests.

Yet this movement is now actively discriminating against those who wish to proclaim the continuation of those religious values at its own core.

Having dumped God and country altogether, it is now actually forbidding Guides – on pain of excommunication – to promise to serve anything beyond themselves.

Is this not beyond perverse? For there is no reason why the new promise needs to be exclusive of any other. After all, the Scouts apparently intend to offer atheists an alternative promise rather than abandon the existing one.

Other institutions have long done something similar to accommodate both believers and non-believers. When you swear to tell the truth in court, for example, or take the oath of allegiance as a new Member of Parliament, you are given the choice to swear on the Bible or to affirm.

Just imagine if you were forbidden to give evidence in court or take your seat in Parliament if you insisted on swearing on the Bible!

Of course, this would be utterly unthinkable. And yet that is precisely what the Guides are now doing. As church leaders have pointed out, this is nothing other than secular totalitarianism.

There is thus a weary absence of surprise upon learning that the Guides’ chief executive, Julia Bentley, formerly headed an abortion and contraception group. For it is hard to think of a background which more powerfully symbolises merciless and doctrinaire individualism.

Indeed, to Ms Bentley the Guides are the ultimate feminist organisation but  – tsk! – too middle-class.

Thus she revealed herself to be just another politically correct zealot, standing for the secular sectarianism of group rights.

For far from serving the whole of society, each such interest group exists to gain power over everyone else – and damns anyone who stands in its way.

Indeed, this is why ‘political correctness’ is not remotely liberal at all, but viciously oppressive. It is simply a mechanism for re-ordering the world according to a particular dogma – and thus inescapably stifles all dissent.

Innately hostile to traditional morality, it paves the way for a secular Inquisition in which today’s Torquemadas are the ideologues of such group rights – and it is Christians and other religious believers who are the heretics to be silenced by force.

It is, indeed, the principal weapon of unholy war wielded by the forces of militant secularism, which are intent upon destroying the Judeo-Christian basis of western morality.

It supplants traditional morality and the concepts of right and wrong, truth and lies by a creed which says in effect, ‘Whatever is right for you is right’.

It also seeks to replace patriotism and service to one’s country by serving ‘the community’. This is yet another slippery concept, which today can simply amount to membership of just such an interest group, which is in the business of elbowing out other interest groups in the greedy clamour for entitlements.

So the new Guiding promise is all about being true to me, myself and my beliefs, whatever they may happen to be. It represents the antithesis of duty to others. It says, more or less, ‘I promise to serve myself’.

It is a promise for a narcissistic, self-centred and morally vacuous age.

And now we can see also that it is about brutally trampling underfoot the beliefs of others. Pinch yourself: this is the Girl Guides we are talking about, for heaven’s sake!

They have now managed to embody the aggressive secularism and hyper-individualism that the retiring Chief Rabbi, Lord Sacks, talked about yesterday when he told BBC Radio’s Sunday Programme that British society was losing the plot.

As he said, religious faith underpins the existence of trust. When religion breaks down, trust breaks down. When society becomes secularised, the collapse of trust and the rise of individualism mean the breakdown of social institutions such as the family.

Worse than that, by replacing God with an ideology which brooks no dissent, individualism is a mechanism for illiberalism and even tyranny as these groups get their way through tactics of insult, professional ostracism or outright banning.

Now, though, some Christians are fighting back. Michael Nazir-Ali, the former Bishop of Rochester, said that he hoped many others would join the rebellion by the Harrogate Guide groups.

And now some churches are saying they will deny the Guides the use of church halls, which hitherto hundreds of their groups have used for free.

As the Rev Paul Williamson, vicar of St George’s church in Feltham, west London, has said, it would be hypocritical of the Guides to expect to use the church’s premises after abandoning its core beliefs.

That’s the spirit! Such responses show that, faced with the kind of secular intolerance that is now in danger of pushing Christianity to the very margins of society, the Church is not altogether on its knees.

Churches should deny the Guides use of their premises. Guide groups should offer the old promise, and people should refuse to join those that do not.

Only through such mass resistance will the secular zealots who have hijacked the Girl Guides be faced down, and a great institution be restored to the defence of a decent society, rather than hastening its demise.

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A recent article headline suggests that the widespread use of Kapalabhati pranayama (skull-polishing breath) in India promoted by Swami Ramdev’s popular television campaigns and yoga camps is dangerous and may lead to death, echoing lesser admonitions voiced by B.K.S. Iyengar and other yogis concerned about the impact of selling Kapalabhati as a quick fix.

Acharya Agyaatdarshan, a yogi from Delhi, shares that Kapal-kriya is the process of releasing prana or life breath, after death. Kapalabhati is controlling one’s lifespan through one’s breath, he notes; simply put, get it wrong, and you shorten your lifespan.” Long-term Iyengar practitioner Ashwini Gokhale likens Kapalabhati to a dose of strong antibiotics which should only be prescribed by a doctor, rather than the cure-all pill it’s currently marketed as.

A 2008 study by the Asian Heart Institute found a 100% correlation between 31 cases of heart attack and the reckless practice of Kapalabhati, although these results should be interpreted cautiously without more information about study design and details.

Kapalabhati, a cleansing and purifying breathing practice, is characterized by slow or rapid repetition of passive inhalations with a soft belly, followed by a sharp exhalation, during which time the belly is simultaneously drawn in and up towards the spine. This pranayama, when practiced vigorously and rapidly, is activating to the sympathetic nervous system and generates bodily heat. Practiced more gently, with no more than 10-15 repetitions per minute, sympathetic activation is minimized.

Considerably more research remains to be conducted on Kapalabhati’s safety and efficacy. Promising are the results of a study commissioned by senior doctors with the Yoga Institute in Mumbai; their findings indicate that the pranayama, when taught under the guidance of medical and yoga experts, showed benefits in controlling diabetes, obesity, asthma, energizing the mind, and improving depression.

What does this all boil down to? Pranayama is powerful, and should be taught and employed with attention to individual medical concerns and constitution. It is not intended for mass consumption and should be taught and initially supervised by a qualified yoga instructor or expert. Like all powerful techniques if Kapalabhati is used incorrectly it can have serious side effects.

Do you practice Kapalabhati?  Have you noticed any adverse or beneficial effects on your health?

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This Sunday ” Laugh your way to enlightenment “ Yes, a whole evening of comedy entertainment, that will not only have you laughing, but also leaving a whole lot wiser. Come and see a brilliantly funny and thought provoking DRAMA, followed by REGGAE Mantra jam, topped by a ‘no joke‘ amazing DINNER, all for just $5. [...]

The post BIG COMEDY NIGHT appeared first on The Loft Yoga Lounge Auckland.

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New Vrindaban Welcomes You!

ISKCON New Vrindaban Board Meeting Minutes – 8/8/13

Vision Statement: Founded in 1968, Srila Prabhupada boldly envisions New Vrindaban as a sacred place known worldwide for Cow Protection, Self-Sufficiency, Holy Pilgrimage, Spiritual Education, and, above all, Loving Krishna.

Board of Director Members Present:  Jaya Krsna, Dayavira, Chaitanya Mangala, Ranaka, Gopisa

Recording Secretary: Laxmi Honest

The first item discussed was improving community spirit. Chaitanya Mangala shared a timeline of New Vrindaban listing milestones and highlights in the history of the community.  It was agreed that the timeline should be shared and ask devotees to contribute dates and events that they remember as important and can be celebrated.

Jaya Krsna then informed the members that an Irish couple will be coming to create a video of New Vrindaban. They will conduct interviews with senior devotees and will stay one month doing research and tapings and will then return to Ireland for editing and post production.  It is hoped that this may encourage devotees to collect photos, videotapes, etc. for an archive at the Srila Prabhupada exposition planned as part of a renovated Palace.

Sankirtana Das will be coordinating events for a 2018 50^th anniversary celebration of the founding of New Vrindaban.

The next topic was finding additional board members. There are two available seats on the INV Board. After some discussion it was agreed that the board should approach and encourage some of the Second Generation devotees to take on more active roles.

The next item was regarding the Palace.  Jaya Krsna pointed out that at the annual Joint Boards Meeting in April of this year it was agreed that we cannot move forward without a clear plan.  There are many ongoing problems with the building.  It was suggested that we put out an international call for an experienced project manager.

Balaram Jayanti – Morning Class HG Jaydev dasa

The world usually defines us by our possessions – what we wear, what we drive in, what we own, for example. Being influenced by this pervasive social mirror, we too frequently define ourselves similarly.

But such a self-definition is fickle and fallible. Fickle because it can change dramatically or traumatically as our material fortunes change. And fallible because it doesn’t reveal our character, our heart, the essence of who we are.

Yes some people are so desperate to see a flattering reflection of themselves in the social mirror that they frantically crave and slave to increase their possessions – and even ride roughshod over their morality and integrity. They become blind to the reality indicated by Arjuna in the Bhagavad-gita (01.44) that such people unwittingly set themselves up for reaping heavy karmic consequences.

To avoid these consequences, we don’t have to give up our possessions; we just need to change our self-definition. The later sections of the Gita address Arjuna’s concerns by refining and revising his self-definition. The Gita replaces the fickle and fallible self-definition offered by society with our eternal and factual self-definition: we are eternal souls on a multi-lifetime journey meant to culminate in our return to Krishna’s supreme abode for a life of unending love. During this journey, our progressively unfolding love for Krishna is our only lasting possession. Nothing else will last, though it can make a lasting contribution if used for the service of Krishna – it can purify us and propel us forward on our spiritual odyssey.

Animated by our revised understanding of who we are and what is actually ours, we act as competent custodians of our belongings, using them in Krishna’s service. Thus our possessions become reinvented vehicles in our ongoing spiritual evolution.

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01.44 - Alas, how strange it is that we are preparing to commit greatly sinful acts. Driven by the desire to enjoy royal happiness, we are intent on killing our own kinsmen.

At the present moment also there are so many editions of the Gita (especially in English), but almost all of them are not according to authorized disciplic succession. There are innumerable interpretations rendered by different mundane scholars, but almost all of them do not accept the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, although they make a good business on the words of Shri Krishna. This spirit is demonic, because demons do not believe in God but simply enjoy the property of the Supreme.

Bhagavad Gita As It Is 4.2 purport

An atheist was seated next to a little girl on an airplane and he turned to her and said, “Do you want to talk? Flights go quicker if you strike up a conversation with your fellow passenger.”

The little girl, who had just started to read her book, replied to the total stranger, “What would you want to talk about?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” said the atheist. “How about why there is no God, or no Heaven or Hell, or no life after death?” as he smiled smugly.

“Okay,” she said. “Those could be interesting topics but let me ask you a question first. A horse, a cow, and a deer all eat the same stuff, grass. Yet a deer excretes little pellets, while a cow turns out a flat patty, but a horse produces clumps. Why do you suppose that is?”

The atheist, visibly surprised by the little girl’s intelligence, thinks about it and says, “Hmmm, I have no idea.” To which the little girl replies, “Do you really feel qualified to discuss God, Heaven and Hell, or life after death, when you don’t know shit?”

And then she went back to reading her book.

From Manoj P

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