49% of ‘green house’ gases in New Zealand are produced by the agriculture industry,
The number one cause of water pollution is meat production,
Heart disease and cancer have been directly linked to a diet high in animal fats and protein,
World starvation could be solved if all the food grains fed to livestock were fed to humans directly,
There is a direct statistical link showing increased family violence amongst slaughterhouse workers,
Save the world, but don’t touch my diet!
The majority of ‘P’ lab raids have found young children living in these make-shift drug factories,
The number one cause of family violence and family break-ups is drug addiction,
There is no denying the fact that licit or illicit drugs permanently damage physical and mental health,
The average age at which a person begins taking intoxication is 13 but some start as young as 8,
Most people admit that their intoxication habits are an attempt to forget,
Save the world, but don’t touch my intoxication!
Teen promiscuity has been directly linked to decreased physical and mental health in adult life,
Children born our of wed-lock are statistically lower achievers at school and more likely to suffer from depression in later life,
80% of men in America admit to having cheated on their wives,
One in four women and one in eight men have been sexually assaulted at some point in their life,
50% of men admit to an addiction to pornography,
Save the world, but don’t touch my sex life!
$5.5 million is lost through gambling everyday in New Zealand,
There are 14 convictions relating to gambling addictions everyday in New Zealand,
A problem gambler can directly affect the lives of over 5 people around them,
There is statistical evidence linking gambling with increased suicide rates, drug addiction, and child negligence,
The majority of slot machines and casinos are located in low income neighbourhoods,
Save the world, but don’t touch my gaming!
There are over 1 million prescriptions for state funded anti-depressants handed out every year in New Zealand,
And 50% of adults are now expected to suffer from severe depression at some point in their lives,
Every twelve days a woman is beaten to death by her husband in New Zealand,
Mental health is expected to become the number one health problem in the world by 2012,
The average person feels less fulfilled in their lives than their counterparts 50 years ago,
Save the world, but don’t try changing my life in any way!
*the majority of the above statistics are from New Zealand newspaper articles I collected over the past year.
Apathy is a disease that must be destroyed from the inside-out.
Apathy is a disease that must be destroyed from the inside-out.
→ Vidyapati dasa is no one special.
49% of ‘green house’ gases in New Zealand are produced by the agriculture industry,
The number one cause of water pollution is meat production,
Heart disease and cancer have been directly linked to a diet high in animal fats and protein,
World starvation could be solved if all the food grains fed to livestock were fed to humans directly,
There is a direct statistical link showing increased family violence amongst slaughterhouse workers,
Save the world, but don’t touch my diet!
The majority of ‘P’ lab raids have found young children living in these make-shift drug factories,
The number one cause of family violence and family break-ups is drug addiction,
There is no denying the fact that licit or illicit drugs permanently damage physical and mental health,
The average age at which a person begins taking intoxication is 13 but some start as young as 8,
Most people admit that their intoxication habits are an attempt to forget,
Save the world, but don’t touch my intoxication!
Teen promiscuity has been directly linked to decreased physical and mental health in adult life,
Children born our of wed-lock are statistically lower achievers at school and more likely to suffer from depression in later life,
80% of men in America admit to having cheated on their wives,
One in four women and one in eight men have been sexually assaulted at some point in their life,
50% of men admit to an addiction to pornography,
Save the world, but don’t touch my sex life!
$5.5 million is lost through gambling everyday in New Zealand,
There are 14 convictions relating to gambling addictions everyday in New Zealand,
A problem gambler can directly affect the lives of over 5 people around them,
There is statistical evidence linking gambling with increased suicide rates, drug addiction, and child negligence,
The majority of slot machines and casinos are located in low income neighbourhoods,
Save the world, but don’t touch my gaming!
There are over 1 million prescriptions for state funded anti-depressants handed out every year in New Zealand,
And 50% of adults are now expected to suffer from severe depression at some point in their lives,
Every twelve days a woman is beaten to death by her husband in New Zealand,
Mental health is expected to become the number one health problem in the world by 2012,
The average person feels less fulfilled in their lives than their counterparts 50 years ago,
Save the world, but don’t try changing my life in any way!
*the majority of the above statistics are from New Zealand newspaper articles I collected over the past year.
The number one cause of water pollution is meat production,
Heart disease and cancer have been directly linked to a diet high in animal fats and protein,
World starvation could be solved if all the food grains fed to livestock were fed to humans directly,
There is a direct statistical link showing increased family violence amongst slaughterhouse workers,
Save the world, but don’t touch my diet!
The majority of ‘P’ lab raids have found young children living in these make-shift drug factories,
The number one cause of family violence and family break-ups is drug addiction,
There is no denying the fact that licit or illicit drugs permanently damage physical and mental health,
The average age at which a person begins taking intoxication is 13 but some start as young as 8,
Most people admit that their intoxication habits are an attempt to forget,
Save the world, but don’t touch my intoxication!
Teen promiscuity has been directly linked to decreased physical and mental health in adult life,
Children born our of wed-lock are statistically lower achievers at school and more likely to suffer from depression in later life,
80% of men in America admit to having cheated on their wives,
One in four women and one in eight men have been sexually assaulted at some point in their life,
50% of men admit to an addiction to pornography,
Save the world, but don’t touch my sex life!
$5.5 million is lost through gambling everyday in New Zealand,
There are 14 convictions relating to gambling addictions everyday in New Zealand,
A problem gambler can directly affect the lives of over 5 people around them,
There is statistical evidence linking gambling with increased suicide rates, drug addiction, and child negligence,
The majority of slot machines and casinos are located in low income neighbourhoods,
Save the world, but don’t touch my gaming!
There are over 1 million prescriptions for state funded anti-depressants handed out every year in New Zealand,
And 50% of adults are now expected to suffer from severe depression at some point in their lives,
Every twelve days a woman is beaten to death by her husband in New Zealand,
Mental health is expected to become the number one health problem in the world by 2012,
The average person feels less fulfilled in their lives than their counterparts 50 years ago,
Save the world, but don’t try changing my life in any way!
*the majority of the above statistics are from New Zealand newspaper articles I collected over the past year.
B12 crisis may be the cause of chronic fatigue in devotees
→ Home
B12 is an essential vitamin for the human body. The body can't create it itself, so it needs to be supplied from an outside source. However, there are very few good vegan and vegetarian sources of B12.
Dr. Philip Weeks told me about the B12 crisis on my last visit to him. He had noticed that almost every devotee (practitioner of Krishna consciousness) who came to see him had a low level of the vitamin. An abrupt change in diet is probably to blame. Krishna consciousness automatically leads one to become vegetarian (as a pleasant positive side effect of the practice, not as an end in itself). However, if someone has been eating copious amounts of meat for generations and then suddenly stops their self-degrading practice, the body's B12 supply may run dry.
The situation is further complicated by the fact that B12 is stored in the body for a long time. So, a person may be fine for 2-years of not getting enough of the vitamin and then they suddenly start getting really sick for seemingly no reason. Symptoms of B12 deficiency are listed on the following websites:
http://www.veganhealth.org/b12/sympt
http://www.b12patch.com/about-b12deficiency.html
The most common initial symptom is fatigue and depression (which indeed seems to be a common issues affecting many, many devotees).
So, what to do? First of all it is a good idea to go to a western doctor and have one's blood tested (though watch out for the B12 analogues which might confuse a blood test - read about those here and here too). That will reveal if indeed there is a lack of B12 in the body. If this is the case the vitamin has to be replenished. However, taking supplements won't really work, because B12 is very difficult to absorb into the body. It would take a long time of taking pills to replenish the body's vitamin supplies. The only two options seem to be getting a B12 injection from a doctor, or using the following ingenious B12 patches:
Then, once the B12-levels are up again, they can be kept up by taking Engevita Nutritional Yeast (one of the few reliable vegan sources of B12).
One might ask how vegan cultures got their supply of B12 for thousands of years before B12 injections were invented. Well, for one, the people in those cultures are probably genetically predisposed to surviving with a less supply of B12 than us westerners. Then there is also dirt. That's right: dirt! Surprisingly, dirt often contains some B12. Cow dung, for example, is very rich in the vitamin. Agricultural field used to be fertilized with cow dung, so a little bit of it would inevitably end up on people's plates. Nowadays, however, with chemical fertilizers being the order of the day and food being super-clean and sterile, dirt can only rarely find its way into our digestion system. So, no B12 for us.
I recorded my conversation with Dr Phil on the topic. Please listen to it here (5 minutes):
B12 crisis may be the cause of chronic fatigue in devotees
→ Home
B12 is an essential vitamin for the human body. The body can't create it itself, so it needs to be supplied from an outside source. However, there are very few good vegan and vegetarian sources of B12.
Dr. Philip Weeks told me about the B12 crisis on my last visit to him. He had noticed that almost every devotee (practitioner of Krishna consciousness) who came to see him had a low level of the vitamin. An abrupt change in diet is probably to blame. Krishna consciousness automatically leads one to become vegetarian (as a pleasant positive side effect of the practice, not as an end in itself). However, if someone has been eating copious amounts of meat for generations and then suddenly stops their self-degrading practice, the body's B12 supply may run dry.
The situation is further complicated by the fact that B12 is stored in the body for a long time. So, a person may be fine for 2-years of not getting enough of the vitamin and then they suddenly start getting really sick for seemingly no reason. Symptoms of B12 deficiency are listed on the following websites:
http://www.veganhealth.org/b12/sympt
http://www.b12patch.com/about-b12deficiency.html
The most common initial symptom is fatigue and depression (which indeed seems to be a common issues affecting many, many devotees).
So, what to do? First of all it is a good idea to go to a western doctor and have one's blood tested (though watch out for the B12 analogues which might confuse a blood test - read about those here and here too). That will reveal if indeed there is a lack of B12 in the body. If this is the case the vitamin has to be replenished. However, taking supplements won't really work, because B12 is very difficult to absorb into the body. It would take a long time of taking pills to replenish the body's vitamin supplies. The only two options seem to be getting a B12 injection from a doctor, or using the following ingenious B12 patches:
Then, once the B12-levels are up again, they can be kept up by taking Engevita Nutritional Yeast (one of the few reliable vegan sources of B12).
One might ask how vegan cultures got their supply of B12 for thousands of years before B12 injections were invented. Well, for one, the people in those cultures are probably genetically predisposed to surviving with a less supply of B12 than us westerners. Then there is also dirt. That's right: dirt! Surprisingly, dirt often contains some B12. Cow dung, for example, is very rich in the vitamin. Agricultural field used to be fertilized with cow dung, so a little bit of it would inevitably end up on people's plates. Nowadays, however, with chemical fertilizers being the order of the day and food being super-clean and sterile, dirt can only rarely find its way into our digestion system. So, no B12 for us.
I recorded my conversation with Dr Phil on the topic. Please listen to it here (5 minutes):
Mind Battle
→ Servant's Report
Trying like a small child, struggling to walk, once again but this time different, not alone. Which is good and bad, for now there is help but also greater responsibility to help her and set the proper example. Anartha-- unnecessary, NO NEED... but still the mind challenges, "Just a little, a slight glance, what's the harm?" Implanting seeds of desire that take strong roots without even noticing until your creeper is choked almost to death. You may call it harmless but I know the truth, I know how far I can fall.
What is so hard about rising early no matter what and starting the day immersed in spiritual vibration? For how much does it help keep one fixed in Transcendence. But don't go back to sleep, at least during the sacred time of pre-dawn. Sometimes you are fooled and left with the vivid, crazy dreams of regret. Make it this far and then use your time (oh so valuable) wisely in service-- even apparently mundane but not if you know what to do with the fruits. Push on, push forward and so much can be accomplished.
It hit me during the football game and she, left in the the other room alone and upset-- am I sacrificing my dreams for this? "You can do both," my mind retorts. "Don't be a fanatic." But you've told me that before and I listened and failed and failed again. Must get back the determination I once had...
What is so hard about rising early no matter what and starting the day immersed in spiritual vibration? For how much does it help keep one fixed in Transcendence. But don't go back to sleep, at least during the sacred time of pre-dawn. Sometimes you are fooled and left with the vivid, crazy dreams of regret. Make it this far and then use your time (oh so valuable) wisely in service-- even apparently mundane but not if you know what to do with the fruits. Push on, push forward and so much can be accomplished.
It hit me during the football game and she, left in the the other room alone and upset-- am I sacrificing my dreams for this? "You can do both," my mind retorts. "Don't be a fanatic." But you've told me that before and I listened and failed and failed again. Must get back the determination I once had...
Mind Battle
→ Servant's Report
Trying like a small child, struggling to walk, once again but this time different, not alone. Which is good and bad, for now there is help but also greater responsibility to help her and set the proper example. Anartha-- unnecessary, NO NEED... but still the mind challenges, "Just a little, a slight glance, what's the harm?" Implanting seeds of desire that take strong roots without even noticing until your creeper is choked almost to death. You may call it harmless but I know the truth, I know how far I can fall.
What is so hard about rising early no matter what and starting the day immersed in spiritual vibration? For how much does it help keep one fixed in Transcendence. But don't go back to sleep, at least during the sacred time of pre-dawn. Sometimes you are fooled and left with the vivid, crazy dreams of regret. Make it this far and then use your time (oh so valuable) wisely in service-- even apparently mundane but not if you know what to do with the fruits. Push on, push forward and so much can be accomplished.
It hit me during the football game and she, left in the the other room alone and upset-- am I sacrificing my dreams for this? "You can do both," my mind retorts. "Don't be a fanatic." But you've told me that before and I listened and failed and failed again. Must get back the determination I once had...
What is so hard about rising early no matter what and starting the day immersed in spiritual vibration? For how much does it help keep one fixed in Transcendence. But don't go back to sleep, at least during the sacred time of pre-dawn. Sometimes you are fooled and left with the vivid, crazy dreams of regret. Make it this far and then use your time (oh so valuable) wisely in service-- even apparently mundane but not if you know what to do with the fruits. Push on, push forward and so much can be accomplished.
It hit me during the football game and she, left in the the other room alone and upset-- am I sacrificing my dreams for this? "You can do both," my mind retorts. "Don't be a fanatic." But you've told me that before and I listened and failed and failed again. Must get back the determination I once had...
Paper accepted at WoMo 2007
→ Home
I just had a paper accepted for publication at the Second International Workshop on Modular Ontologies (WoMo 2007) co-located with the Knowledge Capture conference (K-CAP 2007). My paper is "The State of Multi-User Ontology Engineering".
You can download the paper here, or in the publication section of this website. This will be the last paper I publish for a while. From now on it's exclusive PhD thesis writing for me.
Paper accepted at WoMo 2007
→ Home
I just had a paper accepted for publication at the Second International Workshop on Modular Ontologies (WoMo 2007) co-located with the Knowledge Capture conference (K-CAP 2007). My paper is "The State of Multi-User Ontology Engineering".
You can download the paper here, or in the publication section of this website. This will be the last paper I publish for a while. From now on it's exclusive PhD thesis writing for me.
Zen cooking documentary
→ Home
An upcoming film about a Buddhist cook. This begs the question: why didn't they make a film like this with the Hare Krishna's instead? What's the "kitchen religion" Buddhism or Vaishnavaism (Krishna consciousness)?
There is obviously a market for and interest in this sort of movie. It seems like a great way to present our philosophy. Kurma prabhu are you listening?
Zen cooking documentary
→ Home
An upcoming film about a Buddhist cook. This begs the question: why didn't they make a film like this with the Hare Krishna's instead? What's the "kitchen religion" Buddhism or Vaishnavaism (Krishna consciousness)?
There is obviously a market for and interest in this sort of movie. It seems like a great way to present our philosophy. Kurma prabhu are you listening?
Saturday Feast: Bhagavatam seed verses
→ Home
I hosted another Saturday Feast at my flat today. The last time I hosted a feast I was a bit late cooking. I guess my multi-person cooking skills were a bit rusty, since it had been a while since I had done something like this. However, I seem to have gotten the hang of it again. Today I was a lot quicker. I got the lunch finished right on time, on the dot. 2.5 hours from start to finish to prepare the meal.
Unfortunately, no one was there to eat it. At first I thought I had made the classic mistake of establishing a precedent of actually starting 30-minutes later than I advertise (Sitapati talks about this common practice and its ill effects in his "preaching on purpose" eBook). However, it turned out that everyone was genuinely delayed for a variety of reasons. I had 5 guests in total.
On the menu for lunch:
Fennel Basmati White Rice
Seychellian Carri Coco Curry
South China Stir-Fry
Baked Potato Wedges
Tomato Chutney
Strawberry Halava
Banana Vanilla Soya Milk Drink
Pictures of the meal (click on the pictures for a full-size version):
One guest always asks me in amazement if I make the chutney myself or rather, buy them in a shop. They are really not at all difficult to make. So, if you're reading this, the recipe for tomato chutney is on page 80 in the "Great Vegetarian Dishes" cookbook by Kurma dasa (order from BLservices in Europe, Krishna.com in the USA, Amazon.com, or Amazon.co.uk).
After lunch we chanted one round (108 mantras) of the Hare Krishna mantra on beads in unison. Usually we have a kirtan, but today almost everyone brought their own japa beads, so I thought we might as well use them.
We then discussed the four seed verses of the Srimad Bhagavatam (2.9.33, 2.9.34, 2.9.35, 2.9.36). These verses are the first instructions that Krishna gave to Brahma, the first created living entity in our universe. From these instructions Brahma could expand the purport of all the Vedic literature. This discussion culminated in the need to gain this knowledge by disciplic succession. It is impossible to speculate and attain knowledge of the true personal form of God (the highest one can come with speculation is to the point of realizing that everything is "one"). Knowledge about Krishna must come down from Krishna himself, there is simply no other way to attain it. Just like an ant can't gain knowledge of the Large Hadron Collider by its own capacity.
Saturday Feast: Bhagavatam seed verses
→ Home
I hosted another Saturday Feast at my flat today. The last time I hosted a feast I was a bit late cooking. I guess my multi-person cooking skills were a bit rusty, since it had been a while since I had done something like this. However, I seem to have gotten the hang of it again. Today I was a lot quicker. I got the lunch finished right on time, on the dot. 2.5 hours from start to finish to prepare the meal.
Unfortunately, no one was there to eat it. At first I thought I had made the classic mistake of establishing a precedent of actually starting 30-minutes later than I advertise (Sitapati talks about this common practice and its ill effects in his "preaching on purpose" eBook). However, it turned out that everyone was genuinely delayed for a variety of reasons. I had 5 guests in total.
On the menu for lunch:
Fennel Basmati White Rice
Seychellian Carri Coco Curry
South China Stir-Fry
Baked Potato Wedges
Tomato Chutney
Strawberry Halava
Banana Vanilla Soya Milk Drink
Pictures of the meal (click on the pictures for a full-size version):
One guest always asks me in amazement if I make the chutney myself or rather, buy them in a shop. They are really not at all difficult to make. So, if you're reading this, the recipe for tomato chutney is on page 80 in the "Great Vegetarian Dishes" cookbook by Kurma dasa (order from BLservices in Europe, Krishna.com in the USA, Amazon.com, or Amazon.co.uk).
After lunch we chanted one round (108 mantras) of the Hare Krishna mantra on beads in unison. Usually we have a kirtan, but today almost everyone brought their own japa beads, so I thought we might as well use them.
We then discussed the four seed verses of the Srimad Bhagavatam (2.9.33, 2.9.34, 2.9.35, 2.9.36). These verses are the first instructions that Krishna gave to Brahma, the first created living entity in our universe. From these instructions Brahma could expand the purport of all the Vedic literature. This discussion culminated in the need to gain this knowledge by disciplic succession. It is impossible to speculate and attain knowledge of the true personal form of God (the highest one can come with speculation is to the point of realizing that everything is "one"). Knowledge about Krishna must come down from Krishna himself, there is simply no other way to attain it. Just like an ant can't gain knowledge of the Large Hadron Collider by its own capacity.
Glories of the sauna
→ Home
On the advice of Dr. Weeks I've started using the local swimming pool's sauna to improve my health. Sauna vary in heat and humidity. The one in the Manchester Aquatic Center consists of a room heated to 80 C with relatively low humidity. They also have a steam room with 100% humidity. Some crazy suicidal people use really, really hot saunas.
From what I've read it seems that dry saunas are good for digestive disorders (dry up all the mucus in the body), while wet saunas/steam rooms are good for healing respiratory illnesses. In practice, I found that I much prefer the dry sauna to the wet ones.
Some people like to use the sauna after exercising, but, from what I've read, this is not a good idea. This is because the heat of the sauna increases greatly increases one's heart rate. The body needs lots of oxygen to sweat and cool itself down. After vigorous exercise one's body is already hot and sweaty, so if one jumps straight into the sauna in such a state, there is a magnified risk of heart attack. A 20-minute wait is therefore recommended between exercise and sauna use.
At first I couldn't stay in the sauna for more than 5-minutes. I could hardly breath and felt quite light headed. Finally stumbling out of the hot room I needed to lie down on one of the benches for 15-minutes to recover.
Now, however, after just 5 visits spread over the last 5 weeks, my body has gotten more used to the heat. I now initially stay in for 10-minutes, go out to cool off, in for another 8-minutes, cool off, in for another 6-minutes, cool-off, in for another 4-minutes, cool off, in for another 2-minutes, out cool-off and lie down for a good 20-minutes to recover. After that I do some swimming. I take it easy the first few laps of the pool, since I'm still a bit shaky after the heat-therapy.
The increase in time I can spend in the heat seems to be directly released to how much my body can sweat. Previous to using the sauna I would hardly sweat on any occasion. However, I think the intense heat has "encouraged" my body to open its sweat pores. It's like holding a gun up to the body and saying: "sweat or die!" The benefit is of this is not only that it allows me to spend more time in hot places. Sweating also removes toxins from the body. They literally ooze out the skin (eww, yuck).
My digestion improves more and more after each visit. At the moment the beneficial effect wears off four days after each visit. Let's hope the time period of well-being increases over time.
Glories of the sauna
→ Home
On the advice of Dr. Weeks I've started using the local swimming pool's sauna to improve my health. Sauna vary in heat and humidity. The one in the Manchester Aquatic Center consists of a room heated to 80 C with relatively low humidity. They also have a steam room with 100% humidity. Some crazy suicidal people use really, really hot saunas.
From what I've read it seems that dry saunas are good for digestive disorders (dry up all the mucus in the body), while wet saunas/steam rooms are good for healing respiratory illnesses. In practice, I found that I much prefer the dry sauna to the wet ones.
Some people like to use the sauna after exercising, but, from what I've read, this is not a good idea. This is because the heat of the sauna increases greatly increases one's heart rate. The body needs lots of oxygen to sweat and cool itself down. After vigorous exercise one's body is already hot and sweaty, so if one jumps straight into the sauna in such a state, there is a magnified risk of heart attack. A 20-minute wait is therefore recommended between exercise and sauna use.
At first I couldn't stay in the sauna for more than 5-minutes. I could hardly breath and felt quite light headed. Finally stumbling out of the hot room I needed to lie down on one of the benches for 15-minutes to recover.
Now, however, after just 5 visits spread over the last 5 weeks, my body has gotten more used to the heat. I now initially stay in for 10-minutes, go out to cool off, in for another 8-minutes, cool off, in for another 6-minutes, cool-off, in for another 4-minutes, cool off, in for another 2-minutes, out cool-off and lie down for a good 20-minutes to recover. After that I do some swimming. I take it easy the first few laps of the pool, since I'm still a bit shaky after the heat-therapy.
The increase in time I can spend in the heat seems to be directly released to how much my body can sweat. Previous to using the sauna I would hardly sweat on any occasion. However, I think the intense heat has "encouraged" my body to open its sweat pores. It's like holding a gun up to the body and saying: "sweat or die!" The benefit is of this is not only that it allows me to spend more time in hot places. Sweating also removes toxins from the body. They literally ooze out the skin (eww, yuck).
My digestion improves more and more after each visit. At the moment the beneficial effect wears off four days after each visit. Let's hope the time period of well-being increases over time.
Slaughterhouse civilization
→ Unplugged Ice
I'm taking classes at a community college in Hawaii. This semester i am taking "World History", which is really a bad fiction read; "Philosophy (logic)", which is the proselytizing front of agnosticism; "Food Science and Human Nutrition", which must be partially funded by the meat industry; and "English", which is a business language.
Luckily i used to like reading fiction so it's bearable in that sense.
Luckily i used to like reading fiction so it's bearable in that sense.
Slaughterhouse civilization
→ Unplugged Ice
I'm taking classes at a community college in Hawaii. This semester i am taking "World History", which is really a bad fiction read; "Philosophy (logic)", which is the proselytizing front of agnosticism; "Food Science and Human Nutrition", which must be partially funded by the meat industry; and "English", which is a business language.
Luckily i used to like reading fiction so it's bearable in that sense.
Luckily i used to like reading fiction so it's bearable in that sense.
Corporate chaplains on the rise
→ Home
Corporations in the United States are increasingly hiring chaplains for the workplace. These clergymen come into the offices maybe once a week and employees can talk to them if and when they wish. The chaplains give confidential advice on all life's problems to those people that choose to take advantage of their guidance. They don't force themselves onto anyone who doesn't want their help.
A great benefit of the corporate chaplain is that in an increasingly dog-eat-dog world the chaplain is not some good-for-nothing boss, nor a double-crossing so-called mentor who really just has his own best interest in mind. Instead, he is there for just one reason: to care. And a little care and attention is really just all everyone wants, right?
The trend in the predominantly christian USA is to hire christian chaplains, but I see no reason why there couldn't be successful vaisnava chaplains, too. This is especially so in countries were the traditional churches are mistrusted or frowned upon. However, even in the USA the demand for corporate chaplains far exceeds the supply. There are just not enough spiritually educated people around who are will and able to genuinely care for others. It's a huge growth industry.
This makes me think of Ameyatma's article on implementing Varnashra Universities. But why establish external educational institutions that people need to make an effort to visit? Instead here is the possibility of meeting and helping people directly in their workplaces and getting paid for it too.
I think members of the Krishna consciousness network are ideally suited for this kind of non-sectarian, educational, care-given work. Indeed, employees who are getting guidance from Vaisnava chaplains are more likely to be able to lead a mode of goodness lifestyle, free from so many self-degrading activities. They can be happier, more productive and make spiritual progress, all at the same time. It's a win-win situation.
Someone should try this!
More information in the following articles:
Corporate chaplains on the rise
→ Home
Corporations in the United States are increasingly hiring chaplains for the workplace. These clergymen come into the offices maybe once a week and employees can talk to them if and when they wish. The chaplains give confidential advice on all life's problems to those people that choose to take advantage of their guidance. They don't force themselves onto anyone who doesn't want their help.
A great benefit of the corporate chaplain is that in an increasingly dog-eat-dog world the chaplain is not some good-for-nothing boss, nor a double-crossing so-called mentor who really just has his own best interest in mind. Instead, he is there for just one reason: to care. And a little care and attention is really just all everyone wants, right?
The trend in the predominantly christian USA is to hire christian chaplains, but I see no reason why there couldn't be successful vaisnava chaplains, too. This is especially so in countries were the traditional churches are mistrusted or frowned upon. However, even in the USA the demand for corporate chaplains far exceeds the supply. There are just not enough spiritually educated people around who are will and able to genuinely care for others. It's a huge growth industry.
This makes me think of Ameyatma's article on implementing Varnashra Universities. But why establish external educational institutions that people need to make an effort to visit? Instead here is the possibility of meeting and helping people directly in their workplaces and getting paid for it too.
I think members of the Krishna consciousness network are ideally suited for this kind of non-sectarian, educational, care-given work. Indeed, employees who are getting guidance from Vaisnava chaplains are more likely to be able to lead a mode of goodness lifestyle, free from so many self-degrading activities. They can be happier, more productive and make spiritual progress, all at the same time. It's a win-win situation.
Someone should try this!
More information in the following articles:
Karate Kid Sings Hare Krishna
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Karate Kid Sings Hare Krishna
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Saturday Feast: rejecting materially motivated religion
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Last Saturday I hosted a meeting at my flat. It had been a long time since I had done such a thing.
Just 3 guests came. Two regular friends and one friend of a friend: a German exchange student from Berlin who was new to Krishna consciousness.
We started off by having lunch and general chatting. On the menu:
- Sweet potatoes in cayenne, ginger and groundnut sauce
- Baked vegetables with rosemary (which I over-salted)
- Apple chutney
- Cashew basmati brown rice
- Chinese almond cookies
- Mango and orange nectar drink
After lunch we had a kirtan.
Then we discussed the second verse of the Bhagavatam (for 2 hours!). Actually, we only made through the first half of this verse. There is so much stuff packed into each Bhagavatam verse. One can talk about each verse for months!
The verse is:
"Completely rejecting all religious activities which are materially motivated, this Bhagavata Purana propounds the highest truth, which is understandable by those devotees who are fully pure in heart. The highest truth is reality distinguished from illusion for the welfare of all. Such truth uproots the threefold miseries. This beautiful Bhagavatam, compiled by the great sage Vyasadeva [in his maturity], is sufficient in itself for God realization. What is the need of any other scripture? As soon as one attentively and submissively hears the message of Bhagavatam, by this culture of knowledge the Supreme Lord is established within his heart." (SB1.1.2)
All in all, every really enjoyed the afternoon of hearing, chanting and feasting. I must do this more often.
Saturday Feast: rejecting materially motivated religion
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Last Saturday I hosted a meeting at my flat. It had been a long time since I had done such a thing.
Just 3 guests came. Two regular friends and one friend of a friend: a German exchange student from Berlin who was new to Krishna consciousness.
We started off by having lunch and general chatting. On the menu:
- Sweet potatoes in cayenne, ginger and groundnut sauce
- Baked vegetables with rosemary (which I over-salted)
- Apple chutney
- Cashew basmati brown rice
- Chinese almond cookies
- Mango and orange nectar drink
After lunch we had a kirtan.
Then we discussed the second verse of the Bhagavatam (for 2 hours!). Actually, we only made through the first half of this verse. There is so much stuff packed into each Bhagavatam verse. One can talk about each verse for months!
The verse is:
"Completely rejecting all religious activities which are materially motivated, this Bhagavata Purana propounds the highest truth, which is understandable by those devotees who are fully pure in heart. The highest truth is reality distinguished from illusion for the welfare of all. Such truth uproots the threefold miseries. This beautiful Bhagavatam, compiled by the great sage Vyasadeva [in his maturity], is sufficient in itself for God realization. What is the need of any other scripture? As soon as one attentively and submissively hears the message of Bhagavatam, by this culture of knowledge the Supreme Lord is established within his heart." (SB1.1.2)
All in all, every really enjoyed the afternoon of hearing, chanting and feasting. I must do this more often.
Closed for Summer
→ ISKCON Communications
Hare Krishna! Apologies to the regular readers of the ISKCON Communications Blog for not having posted in quite some time. I have been in Italy - first for an ISKCON Studies Institute conference, and then for some personal holiday time. The trip has been wonderful on many levels, but my expectations that I would have time to blog and a dependable internet connection have both proven unrealistic.
Here in Italy, I have noticed that life moves at a different pace than it does in North America. For instance, walking and bicycling is more common, meals can last several hours, and it is not frowned upon for grown adults to make time for naps in the middle of the day. Along those lines, I have also noticed that a lot of businesses and services simply close shop during these - the hottest, slowest days of summer. I have even started to get used to the simple handwritten signs on the doors of shops, cafés, or offices: <chiuso per ferie> aka closed for summer.
Unapologetic, in August many Italians pack up, flee the cities, and head for the mountains and seaside for some needed rejuvenation. And the unadorned notes they leave behind simply state the truth - "We are taking a break right now. We will be back soon enough. The world will not fall apart without us here, nor will anyone forget about us. We need this time to ourselves, but we will serve you again."
Readers, please consider this blog post my "closed for summer" sign for the IC blog. I hope that when I am back in the States and have had a chance to catch my breath and deal with the overflow of emails awaiting me, I can get back to blogging with a new passion. I'm also excited to explore some new ideas - like making this IC a team blog and building a first-draft IC website.
But all of that will happen, I hope, in due time. Til then, please excuse the locks on the door and shutters on the windows.
ys,
Vyenkata Bhatta dasa
Closed for Summer
→ ISKCON Communications
Hare Krishna! Apologies to the regular readers of the ISKCON Communications Blog for not having posted in quite some time. I have been in Italy - first for an ISKCON Studies Institute conference, and then for some personal holiday time. The trip has been wonderful on many levels, but my expectations that I would have time to blog and a dependable internet connection have both proven unrealistic.
Here in Italy, I have noticed that life moves at a different pace than it does in North America. For instance, walking and bicycling is more common, meals can last several hours, and it is not frowned upon for grown adults to make time for naps in the middle of the day. Along those lines, I have also noticed that a lot of businesses and services simply close shop during these - the hottest, slowest days of summer. I have even started to get used to the simple handwritten signs on the doors of shops, cafés, or offices: <chiuso per ferie> aka closed for summer.
Unapologetic, in August many Italians pack up, flee the cities, and head for the mountains and seaside for some needed rejuvenation. And the unadorned notes they leave behind simply state the truth - "We are taking a break right now. We will be back soon enough. The world will not fall apart without us here, nor will anyone forget about us. We need this time to ourselves, but we will serve you again."
Readers, please consider this blog post my "closed for summer" sign for the IC blog. I hope that when I am back in the States and have had a chance to catch my breath and deal with the overflow of emails awaiting me, I can get back to blogging with a new passion. I'm also excited to explore some new ideas - like making this IC a team blog and building a first-draft IC website.
But all of that will happen, I hope, in due time. Til then, please excuse the locks on the door and shutters on the windows.
ys,
Vyenkata Bhatta dasa
new iMac vs. Dell PC
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I had to laugh when Steve Jobs showed this comparison of the new cleanly designed iMac versus a normal Dell PC with a rat's nest of cables behind it.
new iMac vs. Dell PC
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I had to laugh when Steve Jobs showed this comparison of the new cleanly designed iMac versus a normal Dell PC with a rat's nest of cables behind it.
Here comes the rain again
→ Unplugged Ice
It's raining as i write. Actually i would say it's bucketing down. Every day like clockwork the rains come to Taipei around 1pm and subside around 3pm. The weather has it's rituals and when it performs them there is not much we can do about it. I always found the "everything came about by chance" "philosophy" on life quite ridiculous. If something was brought into existence by chance then logically it should continue to exist within the laws of chance. Does chance pack-up and leave once it has created something? Even if chance produced an alarm clock that worked like clockwork, chance should always be there to give that clock a chance to do something else. If chance created it in such a way that during rainy season it rains every day at a certain time, then chance should still exist to change that. We learn in school that the law of averages is constant. Each time we throw a die we have the same chance of getting a six. Each time you get a six, the chance of getting another six or any other number doesn't decrease. In the same way, the chances of creation should also always be constant. But in too many cases this chance has produced something that works according to rules, and then [maybe] by chance that chance simply stops being chance any more. Whatever! It's still raining as i write, by the way.
Here comes the rain again
→ Unplugged Ice
It's raining as i write. Actually i would say it's bucketing down. Every day like clockwork the rains come to Taipei around 1pm and subside around 3pm. The weather has it's rituals and when it performs them there is not much we can do about it. I always found the "everything came about by chance" "philosophy" on life quite ridiculous. If something was brought into existence by chance then logically it should continue to exist within the laws of chance. Does chance pack-up and leave once it has created something? Even if chance produced an alarm clock that worked like clockwork, chance should always be there to give that clock a chance to do something else. If chance created it in such a way that during rainy season it rains every day at a certain time, then chance should still exist to change that. We learn in school that the law of averages is constant. Each time we throw a die we have the same chance of getting a six. Each time you get a six, the chance of getting another six or any other number doesn't decrease. In the same way, the chances of creation should also always be constant. But in too many cases this chance has produced something that works according to rules, and then [maybe] by chance that chance simply stops being chance any more. Whatever! It's still raining as i write, by the way.
Surf’s up
→ Unplugged Ice
My body is a year older. If I were ambitious I would be worried about this. After all, if I were ambitious, my precious body would be the vehicle to take me to my ambitions and, once arrived there, also carry them. If this were the case then I would most certainly squirm at my increasing number of gray hairs and receding hairline. I would be over self-conscious of the extra baggage I carry around my waist. I would be intolerant of the ever increasing wrinkles and other youth destroying phenomena. I would find it difficult to bear my decreasing endurance levels. I would find it hard to accept my limited allotted time available here. I would find it impossible to think that I am starting to get a glimpse of my inevitable twighlight years. I would have to be illusioned to continue.
On the other hand, my present state of little ambition makes a statement to the world that this person is to be strictly avoided. Fair enough, since confidence takes a while to build up and can so easily be deflated. The fact is that it is unfortunately a struggle to work against gravity. This struggle is not a natural phenomenon and therefore precautions are taken to make the struggle as easy as possible. One of these precautions is to avoid looking down the slope of our demise and instead create a Technicolor illusion of a world full of positive people potentially gliding gracefully towards their personal ambitions. Anyone not fitting that particular job-description takes energy away from our upward motion and should be kept at a distance.
My train of thought here is inevitably hurtling towards a slight brush with the self-help genre of people. What on earth to do with self-help? It seems that every self-help technique is a subtle system of keeping those precious ambitions from slipping out of our grasps. We writhe and squirm at losing pace with the pack, but our self-help gurus tell us that these downtimes are not blemishes but beautiful ways to increasing our enchanting ambitions. Oh yes, you can turn failure into success with a simple shuffle of your thoughts – just like the iPod shuffle makes your playlist of songs ever-fresh and exciting by a simple random re-arranging of their order.
The world is hell-bent on keeping its ambitions in motion by making it well known that they are absolutely worth the extra endeavor to keep. But what happens when a spanner gets thrown in the works and it all starts to seem so futile? What happens when we look at things for what they really are, temporary? The illusion crumbles and with it any ambition to keep rolling with it. Then we are faced with a new world, one that is not as rosy as it seemed before. Self-aggrandizement becomes sickening. Gloating and obsequious individuals don't have their uses in any master plan hatched from a truckload of lust and desire marinated in raw sewage. All those pleasantries we once saw as part of our life-force shrivel into nothing, and then turn to dust.
At this point we either take the blue pill and go down and out, unfortunately remaining on the same coin but on the opposite side (this could regurgitate another wave of written thought that I will try my best to restrain), or we take the red pill and do something radical and join the Hare Krishnas or something.
Ahh, here it is finally, the part of this indeterminable muse that gets spiritual, and it looks like it's going to be one of those "wonders of spiritual life" versus "the folly of materialistic society" type bashes. But alas, on the contrary, what happens next is quite a twist to the plot, for forays into spiritual seeking can oft be surface encounters with something unknown, which then tends to lead to accidents on the royal road.
No doubt about it, spiritual life is where it's at. I'm not going to back that up with a hundred lines of stuff that you already know (the main audience here is adept at understanding this as fact since we all have – in want of, but unable to find a better word than the clichéd Californian pretext to reality – experience). But how is it that a wannabe spiritualist, replete with all spiritual motivations and an intrinsic material aversion, can again fall into the same traps as before his revolution against mundane ambition. We know that ambition cannot be taken away from us as it's part of our being, and we know that selfless ambition in loving connection with the Supreme and His devotees is a good place to build from, but ambition is ambition and the premise of doing it selflessly can be so easily and unconsciously flipped over into doing it selfishly. Comfort, subtle intoxication, unheeding the subtle approaches of lust, anger, avarice, and illusion, missing the spiritual beat whether it be hearing, chanting, remembering – all these simply rock the boat and are ready to sink us in the same motivations and ambitions we were previously illusioned by
I admit it; I'm sunk, ambitiously. I'm one of those derelicts washed up on the shore of the Hare Krishna movement – almost a beach bum for Krishna. But I must also admit that though I am unable to do anything about it, the present ambitions within the society of devotees worries me.
No point in getting worked up about it all. In the mean time... surf's up!
Surf’s up
→ Unplugged Ice
My body is a year older. If I were ambitious I would be worried about this. After all, if I were ambitious, my precious body would be the vehicle to take me to my ambitions and, once arrived there, also carry them. If this were the case then I would most certainly squirm at my increasing number of gray hairs and receding hairline. I would be over self-conscious of the extra baggage I carry around my waist. I would be intolerant of the ever increasing wrinkles and other youth destroying phenomena. I would find it difficult to bear my decreasing endurance levels. I would find it hard to accept my limited allotted time available here. I would find it impossible to think that I am starting to get a glimpse of my inevitable twighlight years. I would have to be illusioned to continue.
On the other hand, my present state of little ambition makes a statement to the world that this person is to be strictly avoided. Fair enough, since confidence takes a while to build up and can so easily be deflated. The fact is that it is unfortunately a struggle to work against gravity. This struggle is not a natural phenomenon and therefore precautions are taken to make the struggle as easy as possible. One of these precautions is to avoid looking down the slope of our demise and instead create a Technicolor illusion of a world full of positive people potentially gliding gracefully towards their personal ambitions. Anyone not fitting that particular job-description takes energy away from our upward motion and should be kept at a distance.
My train of thought here is inevitably hurtling towards a slight brush with the self-help genre of people. What on earth to do with self-help? It seems that every self-help technique is a subtle system of keeping those precious ambitions from slipping out of our grasps. We writhe and squirm at losing pace with the pack, but our self-help gurus tell us that these downtimes are not blemishes but beautiful ways to increasing our enchanting ambitions. Oh yes, you can turn failure into success with a simple shuffle of your thoughts – just like the iPod shuffle makes your playlist of songs ever-fresh and exciting by a simple random re-arranging of their order.
The world is hell-bent on keeping its ambitions in motion by making it well known that they are absolutely worth the extra endeavor to keep. But what happens when a spanner gets thrown in the works and it all starts to seem so futile? What happens when we look at things for what they really are, temporary? The illusion crumbles and with it any ambition to keep rolling with it. Then we are faced with a new world, one that is not as rosy as it seemed before. Self-aggrandizement becomes sickening. Gloating and obsequious individuals don't have their uses in any master plan hatched from a truckload of lust and desire marinated in raw sewage. All those pleasantries we once saw as part of our life-force shrivel into nothing, and then turn to dust.
At this point we either take the blue pill and go down and out, unfortunately remaining on the same coin but on the opposite side (this could regurgitate another wave of written thought that I will try my best to restrain), or we take the red pill and do something radical and join the Hare Krishnas or something.
Ahh, here it is finally, the part of this indeterminable muse that gets spiritual, and it looks like it's going to be one of those "wonders of spiritual life" versus "the folly of materialistic society" type bashes. But alas, on the contrary, what happens next is quite a twist to the plot, for forays into spiritual seeking can oft be surface encounters with something unknown, which then tends to lead to accidents on the royal road.
No doubt about it, spiritual life is where it's at. I'm not going to back that up with a hundred lines of stuff that you already know (the main audience here is adept at understanding this as fact since we all have – in want of, but unable to find a better word than the clichéd Californian pretext to reality – experience). But how is it that a wannabe spiritualist, replete with all spiritual motivations and an intrinsic material aversion, can again fall into the same traps as before his revolution against mundane ambition. We know that ambition cannot be taken away from us as it's part of our being, and we know that selfless ambition in loving connection with the Supreme and His devotees is a good place to build from, but ambition is ambition and the premise of doing it selflessly can be so easily and unconsciously flipped over into doing it selfishly. Comfort, subtle intoxication, unheeding the subtle approaches of lust, anger, avarice, and illusion, missing the spiritual beat whether it be hearing, chanting, remembering – all these simply rock the boat and are ready to sink us in the same motivations and ambitions we were previously illusioned by
I admit it; I'm sunk, ambitiously. I'm one of those derelicts washed up on the shore of the Hare Krishna movement – almost a beach bum for Krishna. But I must also admit that though I am unable to do anything about it, the present ambitions within the society of devotees worries me.
No point in getting worked up about it all. In the mean time... surf's up!
Washington Post story on ISKCON’s response to Hindu Prayer Disruption
→ ISKCON Communications
This story appeared in the Washington Post, page A4, on Friday, July 27. I had worked with the reporter, Michelle Boorstein to help communicate ISKCON's response to the disruption of Hindu prayer. The article focuses on that fact that ISKCON Communications was one of the groups who wrote to political leaders to encourage them to support the Hindu community and condemn the bigotry.
Here is the article:
Here is the article:
Hindu Groups Ask '08 Hopefuls to Criticize Protest
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, July 27, 2007; Page A04
U.S. Hindu organizations are urging presidential candidates to denounce the protesters who disrupted the Senate as the first-ever Hindu opening prayer was being delivered this month.
Ante Nedlko Pavkovic, Katherine Lynn Pavkovic and Christan Renee Sugar -- identified in the Christian media as a couple and their daughter -- were removed from the Senate floor and arrested by Capitol Police on July 12 after they began shouting, "This is an abomination," and asking for forgiveness from God.
The three, from Davidson, N.C., were arrested and charged with disrupting Congress, a misdemeanor.
A brief prayer was then delivered by Rajan Zed, a chaplain from Reno who was invited by Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.).
Several Christian organizations spoke out against the prayer, before and after it was delivered. The American Family Association circulated a petition, urging its members to contact their senator to protest the prayer. "This is not a religion that has produced great things in the world," it read. The Rev. Flip Benham of Operation Rescue/Operation Save America issued a statement saying the prayer placed "the false god of Hinduism on a level playing field with the One True God, Jesus Christ."
Although the InterFaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington issued a statement July 17 saying its members were "deeply saddened" by the interruption, no senators present spoke out against it publicly, according to the Hindu American Foundation and the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON).
Both organizations said they are disappointed with the legislators, and they sent letters this week to presidential candidates and senators, asking them to condemn the incident.
"We call on you to follow the example set by [Reid] and take a stance in defense of religious freedom and equality, in the face of opposition from extremists and fundamentalists," the ISKCON letter said.
A focus of the Christian organizations was the perception that Hindus are polytheistic. "Our national motto isn't 'In gods we trust,' " Janet L. Folger, president of Faith2Action, said the day before the Senate prayer.
However, the U.S. Hindu groups say this criticism reflects ignorance of the monotheistic underpinnings of their faith. Hinduism has many deities, all manifestations of one god.
Although there were only three protesters, said Ishani Chowdhury, executive director of the Hindu American Foundation, "if you look at it as a reflection of a larger number of people . . . we need people to condemn what happened and highlight the need for dialogue."
According to the foundation, there are 2 million Hindus in the United States.
Washington Post story on ISKCON’s response to Hindu Prayer Disruption
→ ISKCON Communications
This story appeared in the Washington Post, page A4, on Friday, July 27. I had worked with the reporter, Michelle Boorstein to help communicate ISKCON's response to the disruption of Hindu prayer. The article focuses on that fact that ISKCON Communications was one of the groups who wrote to political leaders to encourage them to support the Hindu community and condemn the bigotry.
Here is the article:
Here is the article:
Hindu Groups Ask '08 Hopefuls to Criticize Protest
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, July 27, 2007; Page A04
U.S. Hindu organizations are urging presidential candidates to denounce the protesters who disrupted the Senate as the first-ever Hindu opening prayer was being delivered this month.
Ante Nedlko Pavkovic, Katherine Lynn Pavkovic and Christan Renee Sugar -- identified in the Christian media as a couple and their daughter -- were removed from the Senate floor and arrested by Capitol Police on July 12 after they began shouting, "This is an abomination," and asking for forgiveness from God.
The three, from Davidson, N.C., were arrested and charged with disrupting Congress, a misdemeanor.
A brief prayer was then delivered by Rajan Zed, a chaplain from Reno who was invited by Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.).
Several Christian organizations spoke out against the prayer, before and after it was delivered. The American Family Association circulated a petition, urging its members to contact their senator to protest the prayer. "This is not a religion that has produced great things in the world," it read. The Rev. Flip Benham of Operation Rescue/Operation Save America issued a statement saying the prayer placed "the false god of Hinduism on a level playing field with the One True God, Jesus Christ."
Although the InterFaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington issued a statement July 17 saying its members were "deeply saddened" by the interruption, no senators present spoke out against it publicly, according to the Hindu American Foundation and the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON).
Both organizations said they are disappointed with the legislators, and they sent letters this week to presidential candidates and senators, asking them to condemn the incident.
"We call on you to follow the example set by [Reid] and take a stance in defense of religious freedom and equality, in the face of opposition from extremists and fundamentalists," the ISKCON letter said.
A focus of the Christian organizations was the perception that Hindus are polytheistic. "Our national motto isn't 'In gods we trust,' " Janet L. Folger, president of Faith2Action, said the day before the Senate prayer.
However, the U.S. Hindu groups say this criticism reflects ignorance of the monotheistic underpinnings of their faith. Hinduism has many deities, all manifestations of one god.
Although there were only three protesters, said Ishani Chowdhury, executive director of the Hindu American Foundation, "if you look at it as a reflection of a larger number of people . . . we need people to condemn what happened and highlight the need for dialogue."
According to the foundation, there are 2 million Hindus in the United States.
My Personality DNA report
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My Personality DNA report
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Srila Prabhupada: “This Krishna consciousness movement is not a concocted idea…”
→ ISKCON Communications
With Hindu prayers in the Senate, and the Hindu American Foundation including the persecution of devotees in Kazakhstan in their Human Rights report... some may wonder about ISKCON's relationship with the Hindu world.
That's a big subject, but one aspect of it is that sometimes devotees use Hinduism as a context to help others appreciate that Krishna consciousness is rooted in an ancient tradition, not a new-fangled cult. For instance, for years at the American Academy of Religion (AAR, the yearly convention of religion scholars) ISKCON and Caitanya Vaisnavism was discussed mostly in the "New Religious Movements" category. Today, due to the work of devotees in this area, the Hare Krishna movement is more likely to be discussed in the Hindu Studies or Eastern Religions section.
In this letter published in the Los Angeles Times, Srila Prabhupada refutes a claim (made by a professor at UCLA) that Krishna consciousness is a new concoction or a syncretic blending of Hindu and Christian traditions. Instead, Prabhupada points out, the worship of a personal Godhead (Krishna or Vishnu) has existed in the Hindu religion for thousands of years. Interestingly, here Prabhupada uses the context of Hinduism to help others (especially those in the academic community) better appreciate that Krishna worship is an authentic faith:
That's a big subject, but one aspect of it is that sometimes devotees use Hinduism as a context to help others appreciate that Krishna consciousness is rooted in an ancient tradition, not a new-fangled cult. For instance, for years at the American Academy of Religion (AAR, the yearly convention of religion scholars) ISKCON and Caitanya Vaisnavism was discussed mostly in the "New Religious Movements" category. Today, due to the work of devotees in this area, the Hare Krishna movement is more likely to be discussed in the Hindu Studies or Eastern Religions section.
In this letter published in the Los Angeles Times, Srila Prabhupada refutes a claim (made by a professor at UCLA) that Krishna consciousness is a new concoction or a syncretic blending of Hindu and Christian traditions. Instead, Prabhupada points out, the worship of a personal Godhead (Krishna or Vishnu) has existed in the Hindu religion for thousands of years. Interestingly, here Prabhupada uses the context of Hinduism to help others (especially those in the academic community) better appreciate that Krishna worship is an authentic faith:
January 14, 1970Editor
Los Angeles Times
Dear Sir:
With reference to your article in the Los Angeles Times dated Sunday, January 11, 1970, under the heading "Krishna Chant," I beg to point out that the Hindu religion is perfectly based on the personal conception of God, or Vishnu. The impersonal conception of God is a side issue, or one of the three features of God. The Absolute Truth is ultimately the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Paramatma conception is the localized aspect of His omnipresence, and the impersonal conception is the aspect of His greatness and eternity. But all these combined together make the Complete Whole. Dr. J. F. Staal's statement that the Krishna cult is a combination of Christian and Hindu religion, as if something manufactured by concoction, is not correct. If Christian, Muhammadan, or Buddhist religions are personal, that is quite welcome. But the Krishna religion has been personal from a time long, long ago when Christian, Muhammadan, and Buddhist religions had not yet come into existence. According to the Vedic conception, religion is basically made by the personal God as His laws. Religion cannot be manufactured by man or anyone except God superior to man. Religion is the law of God only.
Unfortunately, all the svamis who came before me in this country stressed the impersonal aspect of God, without sufficient knowledge of God's personal aspect. In the Bhagavad-gita, therefore, it is said that only less intelligent persons consider that God is originally impersonal but assumes a form when He incarnates. The Krishna philosophy, however, based on the authority of the Vedas, is that originally the Absolute Truth is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. His plenary expansion is present in everyone's heart in His localized aspect, and the impersonal Brahman effulgence is the transcendental light and heat distributed everywhere. In the Bhagavad-gita it is clearly said that the aim of the Vedic way of searching out the Absolute Truth is to find the personal God. One who is satisfied only with the other aspects of the Absolute Truth, namely the Paramatma feature or the Brahman feature, is to be considered possessed of a poor fund of knowledge. Recently we have published our Sri Isopanisad, a Vedic literature, and in this small booklet we have thoroughly discussed this point.
As far as the Hindu religion is concerned, there are millions of Krishna temples in India, and there is not a single Hindu who does not worship Krishna. Therefore, this Krishna consciousness movement is not a concocted idea. We invite all scholars, philosophers, religionists, and members of the general public to understand this movement by critical study. And if one does so seriously, one will understand the sublime position of this great movement. The chanting process is also authorized.
Professor Staal's feeling of disgust in the matter of constant chanting of the holy name of Krishna is a definite proof of his lack of knowledge in this authorized movement of Krishna consciousness. Instead of turning down the request to give Kary's course credit, he and all other learned professors of the University of California at Berkeley should patiently hear about the truth of this authorized movement so much needed at present in godless society. [Credit for the course was later established.]
This is the only movement which can save the confused younger generation. I shall invite all responsible guardians of this country to understand this transcendental movement and then give us all honest facilities to spread it for everyone's benefit.
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Spiritual Master of the Hare Krishna Movement
Srila Prabhupada: “This Krishna consciousness movement is not a concocted idea…”
→ ISKCON Communications
With Hindu prayers in the Senate, and the Hindu American Foundation including the persecution of devotees in Kazakhstan in their Human Rights report... some may wonder about ISKCON's relationship with the Hindu world.
That's a big subject, but one aspect of it is that sometimes devotees use Hinduism as a context to help others appreciate that Krishna consciousness is rooted in an ancient tradition, not a new-fangled cult. For instance, for years at the American Academy of Religion (AAR, the yearly convention of religion scholars) ISKCON and Caitanya Vaisnavism was discussed mostly in the "New Religious Movements" category. Today, due to the work of devotees in this area, the Hare Krishna movement is more likely to be discussed in the Hindu Studies or Eastern Religions section.
In this letter published in the Los Angeles Times, Srila Prabhupada refutes a claim (made by a professor at UCLA) that Krishna consciousness is a new concoction or a syncretic blending of Hindu and Christian traditions. Instead, Prabhupada points out, the worship of a personal Godhead (Krishna or Vishnu) has existed in the Hindu religion for thousands of years. Interestingly, here Prabhupada uses the context of Hinduism to help others (especially those in the academic community) better appreciate that Krishna worship is an authentic faith:
That's a big subject, but one aspect of it is that sometimes devotees use Hinduism as a context to help others appreciate that Krishna consciousness is rooted in an ancient tradition, not a new-fangled cult. For instance, for years at the American Academy of Religion (AAR, the yearly convention of religion scholars) ISKCON and Caitanya Vaisnavism was discussed mostly in the "New Religious Movements" category. Today, due to the work of devotees in this area, the Hare Krishna movement is more likely to be discussed in the Hindu Studies or Eastern Religions section.
In this letter published in the Los Angeles Times, Srila Prabhupada refutes a claim (made by a professor at UCLA) that Krishna consciousness is a new concoction or a syncretic blending of Hindu and Christian traditions. Instead, Prabhupada points out, the worship of a personal Godhead (Krishna or Vishnu) has existed in the Hindu religion for thousands of years. Interestingly, here Prabhupada uses the context of Hinduism to help others (especially those in the academic community) better appreciate that Krishna worship is an authentic faith:
January 14, 1970Editor
Los Angeles Times
Dear Sir:
With reference to your article in the Los Angeles Times dated Sunday, January 11, 1970, under the heading "Krishna Chant," I beg to point out that the Hindu religion is perfectly based on the personal conception of God, or Vishnu. The impersonal conception of God is a side issue, or one of the three features of God. The Absolute Truth is ultimately the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Paramatma conception is the localized aspect of His omnipresence, and the impersonal conception is the aspect of His greatness and eternity. But all these combined together make the Complete Whole. Dr. J. F. Staal's statement that the Krishna cult is a combination of Christian and Hindu religion, as if something manufactured by concoction, is not correct. If Christian, Muhammadan, or Buddhist religions are personal, that is quite welcome. But the Krishna religion has been personal from a time long, long ago when Christian, Muhammadan, and Buddhist religions had not yet come into existence. According to the Vedic conception, religion is basically made by the personal God as His laws. Religion cannot be manufactured by man or anyone except God superior to man. Religion is the law of God only.
Unfortunately, all the svamis who came before me in this country stressed the impersonal aspect of God, without sufficient knowledge of God's personal aspect. In the Bhagavad-gita, therefore, it is said that only less intelligent persons consider that God is originally impersonal but assumes a form when He incarnates. The Krishna philosophy, however, based on the authority of the Vedas, is that originally the Absolute Truth is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. His plenary expansion is present in everyone's heart in His localized aspect, and the impersonal Brahman effulgence is the transcendental light and heat distributed everywhere. In the Bhagavad-gita it is clearly said that the aim of the Vedic way of searching out the Absolute Truth is to find the personal God. One who is satisfied only with the other aspects of the Absolute Truth, namely the Paramatma feature or the Brahman feature, is to be considered possessed of a poor fund of knowledge. Recently we have published our Sri Isopanisad, a Vedic literature, and in this small booklet we have thoroughly discussed this point.
As far as the Hindu religion is concerned, there are millions of Krishna temples in India, and there is not a single Hindu who does not worship Krishna. Therefore, this Krishna consciousness movement is not a concocted idea. We invite all scholars, philosophers, religionists, and members of the general public to understand this movement by critical study. And if one does so seriously, one will understand the sublime position of this great movement. The chanting process is also authorized.
Professor Staal's feeling of disgust in the matter of constant chanting of the holy name of Krishna is a definite proof of his lack of knowledge in this authorized movement of Krishna consciousness. Instead of turning down the request to give Kary's course credit, he and all other learned professors of the University of California at Berkeley should patiently hear about the truth of this authorized movement so much needed at present in godless society. [Credit for the course was later established.]
This is the only movement which can save the confused younger generation. I shall invite all responsible guardians of this country to understand this transcendental movement and then give us all honest facilities to spread it for everyone's benefit.
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Spiritual Master of the Hare Krishna Movement
Turn the tables
→ Unplugged Ice
If i don't write on this journal it can mean one of only two things... i'm either busy or dead.
Since i'm neither of those right now...
I just got back to Taipei from a day in Hong Kong. While i was walking about Hong Kong island i was approached by two different Buddhist monks on two different occasions for donations. I declined both but checked to see their reactions to my refusals, which turned out to be more like scowls at the loss of a gullible westerner than sincerity. If they had been gracious i would have turned around and given them something. But because of the way they reacted, i didn't trust them.
This in turn led to self reflection... how do i react when someone rejects taking a book from me? I am trying to be detached and noble in defeat but sometimes i slip up and don't react in the right way. How do others perceive my reaction?
Detachment is far from being callous and uncaring towards humanity; a rocky outcrop as shelter in shark infested waters. It doesn't mean i don't see or want to see how others perceive me. It means that i am self-satisfied and offer whatever i offer without self motivation or reward. Those "others" that i may disdain or ridicule for not being on the same page as me are, in-fact, my guides. They react and i see how i should be.
If we're lucky, Krsna turns the tables on us so that we get a glimpse into who or what we are becoming.
Since i'm neither of those right now...
I just got back to Taipei from a day in Hong Kong. While i was walking about Hong Kong island i was approached by two different Buddhist monks on two different occasions for donations. I declined both but checked to see their reactions to my refusals, which turned out to be more like scowls at the loss of a gullible westerner than sincerity. If they had been gracious i would have turned around and given them something. But because of the way they reacted, i didn't trust them.
This in turn led to self reflection... how do i react when someone rejects taking a book from me? I am trying to be detached and noble in defeat but sometimes i slip up and don't react in the right way. How do others perceive my reaction?
Detachment is far from being callous and uncaring towards humanity; a rocky outcrop as shelter in shark infested waters. It doesn't mean i don't see or want to see how others perceive me. It means that i am self-satisfied and offer whatever i offer without self motivation or reward. Those "others" that i may disdain or ridicule for not being on the same page as me are, in-fact, my guides. They react and i see how i should be.
If we're lucky, Krsna turns the tables on us so that we get a glimpse into who or what we are becoming.
Turn the tables
→ Unplugged Ice
If i don't write on this journal it can mean one of only two things... i'm either busy or dead.
Since i'm neither of those right now...
I just got back to Taipei from a day in Hong Kong. While i was walking about Hong Kong island i was approached by two different Buddhist monks on two different occasions for donations. I declined both but checked to see their reactions to my refusals, which turned out to be more like scowls at the loss of a gullible westerner than sincerity. If they had been gracious i would have turned around and given them something. But because of the way they reacted, i didn't trust them.
This in turn led to self reflection... how do i react when someone rejects taking a book from me? I am trying to be detached and noble in defeat but sometimes i slip up and don't react in the right way. How do others perceive my reaction?
Detachment is far from being callous and uncaring towards humanity; a rocky outcrop as shelter in shark infested waters. It doesn't mean i don't see or want to see how others perceive me. It means that i am self-satisfied and offer whatever i offer without self motivation or reward. Those "others" that i may disdain or ridicule for not being on the same page as me are, in-fact, my guides. They react and i see how i should be.
If we're lucky, Krsna turns the tables on us so that we get a glimpse into who or what we are becoming.
Since i'm neither of those right now...
I just got back to Taipei from a day in Hong Kong. While i was walking about Hong Kong island i was approached by two different Buddhist monks on two different occasions for donations. I declined both but checked to see their reactions to my refusals, which turned out to be more like scowls at the loss of a gullible westerner than sincerity. If they had been gracious i would have turned around and given them something. But because of the way they reacted, i didn't trust them.
This in turn led to self reflection... how do i react when someone rejects taking a book from me? I am trying to be detached and noble in defeat but sometimes i slip up and don't react in the right way. How do others perceive my reaction?
Detachment is far from being callous and uncaring towards humanity; a rocky outcrop as shelter in shark infested waters. It doesn't mean i don't see or want to see how others perceive me. It means that i am self-satisfied and offer whatever i offer without self motivation or reward. Those "others" that i may disdain or ridicule for not being on the same page as me are, in-fact, my guides. They react and i see how i should be.
If we're lucky, Krsna turns the tables on us so that we get a glimpse into who or what we are becoming.
Connecting with God in Crisis
→ ISKCON Communications
I stumbled across some advice for dealing with crises of faith on Jewcy, a hipster Jewish community blog. I found it interesting for a few reasons:
- In advising Jews to not abandon their communities, the author begins with the blunt (actually, kind of rude) sentence: "Hare Krishna is not a good idea." Okay, so I'm tempted to be maha-offended, except that I try to understand it in context. First of all, the point being made (communicated cheekily, to be sure) is that in times of theological doubt don't be quick to jump ship and switch teams. Fair enough. And the fact that so many young Jews -- presumably some of whom went through theological crises beforehand -- did join ISKCON in the 1960s and 1970s makes it understandable why some Jewish people might harbor some particular mistrust toward us.
- A few paragraphs later, the author recommends that the crisis-faring Jew try yoga. Ring, ring, ring. What was that? I'm sorry I couldn't hear you, my irony alarm was ringing too loudly.
- Despite #1 and #2, it is the type of down-to-earth, simple, well-written advice that I'd like to see more of circulated within Krishna conscious circles.
(And if you'd like to see the list as it is, check it out here.) Okay, here it goes...
For a number of reasons I’m friends with a lot of people who are constantly being tormented by crises of faith. There are smart, educated, engaged Hare Krishnas who are passionate about Krishna consciousness most days-- until they find themselves rubbing up against the edges of acceptability within their own communities. Maybe they fall in love with someone who’s not a devotee. Maybe they become frustrated by a closed-minded understanding of sastric criticism. Maybe they have had a bad experience with a senior devotee, guru, or temple president. Maybe onion rings suddenly look really appealing. Whatever the impetus, the crisis it brings on is intense and frustrating. Men and women who have devoted years of their lives to Vaishnava study and education, who are active members of a community, who regularly pray, give donations to the temple, and are involved in various devotional programs, suddenly lose motivation, and feel alienated and angry. And for a few days, or a few weeks, or months, or years, they distance themselves from everything that they once used to identify themselves. Depending on their background, their families begin to freak out. Some of their friends edge away, suddenly uncomfortable with someone they’ve known for years.
Freak. Out.: It's normal
1. Don’t abandon your community
Chances are, this crisis is a temporary thing. Though you’re feeling tormented today, by next Wednesday, or a month from now, or next year, you’ll be over it. You might not end up in exactly the same place as you have been, but just in case, it’s important to maintain a connection to your community—whether it’s a temple, a bhakti vriksha group, a group of godbrothers and sisters, or the devotees in your neighborhood. You want to keep these people around for practical reasons . They will feed and comfort you in times of crisis, and cheer you on when things are going swimmingly. Alienating them will only end up badly. If you really can’t stand to attend Sunday Feasts anymore, or you’ve decided that gurukula ruined your life and you refuse to go back for a reunion, try to do something that keeps you in the loop—even if it means you’re consciously shifting yourself into a less public or involved position. Show up just for mangala arati on a weekday. Have prasadam with old devotee friends. Keep in mind that many of your friends have gone through similar ordeals, and they’re probably willing to be pretty tolerant of whatever you need to do or not do. As long as you don’t bring the onion rings to a home program, there’s no reason you can’t maintain your position in the community.
2. Don’t join another community right away
Returning to your Jewish roots is not a good idea. :-) Having a crisis at the Sunday Feast and then leaving Monday morning to run off with the circus is probably not going to turn out well. Respect the speed of your own transition, and accept that you may need some space from any kind of theological community for awhile.
3. Don’t use this time to experiment with new substances
Replacing a Krishna habit with a crack habit is probably not going to work out well for you.
4. Consider Krishna
For some reason, most of my friends who struggle with the pulls of Krishna consciousness and modernity don’t consider their struggles to have much to do with Krishna at all. And that confuses me, because it seems like Krishna is at the center of Krishna consciousness, and if I’m having a problem with Krishna consciousness it’s because I’m having a problem with either my own or someone else’s interpretation of what Krishna wants. Think about where Krishna fits into your religious life, and think about allowing space for a God that trusts you to live your life the best way you can. Consider that you might let Krishna down without being cast to the Hellish Planets. Consider how much you care about letting Krishna down—if at all. (I don’t mean this in a pretentious way. I frequently decide that I just couldn't do whatever I think Krishna expected of me. And I’m sorry about it, but I accept it, and move on, and hope that next time I’m more up to the challenge). If you don’t believe in Krishna anymore, try and pin down why, and whether or not you still want to be around/involved with people who don’t feel the same way. Just because you have doubts, doesn't mean that you cannot stay within the shelter of a devotional community.
5. Work out
Okay, this is kind of cheesy, but I find that going to the gym makes me feel calmer and more able to deal with my problems no matter what kind of crap is going down in my religious, academic or personal life. If you’re not too intimidated or annoyed by the idea of a hatha yoga class, I highly recommend them. To find a yoga studio near you, try talking with devotees who are involved in the yoga scene -- many of them incorporate bhakti-yoga and can also provide a devotional mood.
6. State your needs
I’m big on just asking for what you want instead of beating around the bush. When your theology is falling apart, think about what you want from religion. Do you want a comforting picture of the afterlife? Do you want Vedic culture and no religion whatsoever? Do you want to chant in kirtan, but no sense of obligation to the rules and regulations? Do you want the advantages of being a member of a tight-knit community? When you can state clearly what you really want from Krishna consciousness, and what you don’t want, too, then you can start looking for ways to maintain your identity as a devotee without ignoring the problems that brought you to the edge of your faith.
7. Stop worrying about being a hypocrite
Everyone’s a hypocrite. You need to be honest and dignified with yourself, but it’s completely reasonable to say something along the lines of, “I think the Vedic standards are really important, and not something that I’m comfortable disregarding, but I’m in favor of gay rights, gay marriage, and gay pride.” Accepting that you’re going to struggle with something is a nice way of keeping your head from exploding.
8. Respect your own decisions, and everyone else’s, too
You might decide that you can’t participate in a community because of its position on women, homosexuality, social justice, how to follow ekadasi…whatever. Flaunting your new self in the faces of former friends and acquaintances is a quick and easy way to burn bridges and look like an idiot. Try to be cool with people whose journeys haven’t coincided with yours. If you need to, I recommend spewing hatred into a journal. Harmless, but highly effective.
9. Seriously, chill out
It happens to the best of us.
originally by Tamar Fox; conversion by VBD
Connecting with God in Crisis
→ ISKCON Communications
I stumbled across some advice for dealing with crises of faith on Jewcy, a hipster Jewish community blog. I found it interesting for a few reasons:
- In advising Jews to not abandon their communities, the author begins with the blunt (actually, kind of rude) sentence: "Hare Krishna is not a good idea." Okay, so I'm tempted to be maha-offended, except that I try to understand it in context. First of all, the point being made (communicated cheekily, to be sure) is that in times of theological doubt don't be quick to jump ship and switch teams. Fair enough. And the fact that so many young Jews -- presumably some of whom went through theological crises beforehand -- did join ISKCON in the 1960s and 1970s makes it understandable why some Jewish people might harbor some particular mistrust toward us.
- A few paragraphs later, the author recommends that the crisis-faring Jew try yoga. Ring, ring, ring. What was that? I'm sorry I couldn't hear you, my irony alarm was ringing too loudly.
- Despite #1 and #2, it is the type of down-to-earth, simple, well-written advice that I'd like to see more of circulated within Krishna conscious circles.
(And if you'd like to see the list as it is, check it out here.) Okay, here it goes...
For a number of reasons I’m friends with a lot of people who are constantly being tormented by crises of faith. There are smart, educated, engaged Hare Krishnas who are passionate about Krishna consciousness most days-- until they find themselves rubbing up against the edges of acceptability within their own communities. Maybe they fall in love with someone who’s not a devotee. Maybe they become frustrated by a closed-minded understanding of sastric criticism. Maybe they have had a bad experience with a senior devotee, guru, or temple president. Maybe onion rings suddenly look really appealing. Whatever the impetus, the crisis it brings on is intense and frustrating. Men and women who have devoted years of their lives to Vaishnava study and education, who are active members of a community, who regularly pray, give donations to the temple, and are involved in various devotional programs, suddenly lose motivation, and feel alienated and angry. And for a few days, or a few weeks, or months, or years, they distance themselves from everything that they once used to identify themselves. Depending on their background, their families begin to freak out. Some of their friends edge away, suddenly uncomfortable with someone they’ve known for years.
Freak. Out.: It's normal
1. Don’t abandon your community
Chances are, this crisis is a temporary thing. Though you’re feeling tormented today, by next Wednesday, or a month from now, or next year, you’ll be over it. You might not end up in exactly the same place as you have been, but just in case, it’s important to maintain a connection to your community—whether it’s a temple, a bhakti vriksha group, a group of godbrothers and sisters, or the devotees in your neighborhood. You want to keep these people around for practical reasons . They will feed and comfort you in times of crisis, and cheer you on when things are going swimmingly. Alienating them will only end up badly. If you really can’t stand to attend Sunday Feasts anymore, or you’ve decided that gurukula ruined your life and you refuse to go back for a reunion, try to do something that keeps you in the loop—even if it means you’re consciously shifting yourself into a less public or involved position. Show up just for mangala arati on a weekday. Have prasadam with old devotee friends. Keep in mind that many of your friends have gone through similar ordeals, and they’re probably willing to be pretty tolerant of whatever you need to do or not do. As long as you don’t bring the onion rings to a home program, there’s no reason you can’t maintain your position in the community.
2. Don’t join another community right away
Returning to your Jewish roots is not a good idea. :-) Having a crisis at the Sunday Feast and then leaving Monday morning to run off with the circus is probably not going to turn out well. Respect the speed of your own transition, and accept that you may need some space from any kind of theological community for awhile.
3. Don’t use this time to experiment with new substances
Replacing a Krishna habit with a crack habit is probably not going to work out well for you.
4. Consider Krishna
For some reason, most of my friends who struggle with the pulls of Krishna consciousness and modernity don’t consider their struggles to have much to do with Krishna at all. And that confuses me, because it seems like Krishna is at the center of Krishna consciousness, and if I’m having a problem with Krishna consciousness it’s because I’m having a problem with either my own or someone else’s interpretation of what Krishna wants. Think about where Krishna fits into your religious life, and think about allowing space for a God that trusts you to live your life the best way you can. Consider that you might let Krishna down without being cast to the Hellish Planets. Consider how much you care about letting Krishna down—if at all. (I don’t mean this in a pretentious way. I frequently decide that I just couldn't do whatever I think Krishna expected of me. And I’m sorry about it, but I accept it, and move on, and hope that next time I’m more up to the challenge). If you don’t believe in Krishna anymore, try and pin down why, and whether or not you still want to be around/involved with people who don’t feel the same way. Just because you have doubts, doesn't mean that you cannot stay within the shelter of a devotional community.
5. Work out
Okay, this is kind of cheesy, but I find that going to the gym makes me feel calmer and more able to deal with my problems no matter what kind of crap is going down in my religious, academic or personal life. If you’re not too intimidated or annoyed by the idea of a hatha yoga class, I highly recommend them. To find a yoga studio near you, try talking with devotees who are involved in the yoga scene -- many of them incorporate bhakti-yoga and can also provide a devotional mood.
6. State your needs
I’m big on just asking for what you want instead of beating around the bush. When your theology is falling apart, think about what you want from religion. Do you want a comforting picture of the afterlife? Do you want Vedic culture and no religion whatsoever? Do you want to chant in kirtan, but no sense of obligation to the rules and regulations? Do you want the advantages of being a member of a tight-knit community? When you can state clearly what you really want from Krishna consciousness, and what you don’t want, too, then you can start looking for ways to maintain your identity as a devotee without ignoring the problems that brought you to the edge of your faith.
7. Stop worrying about being a hypocrite
Everyone’s a hypocrite. You need to be honest and dignified with yourself, but it’s completely reasonable to say something along the lines of, “I think the Vedic standards are really important, and not something that I’m comfortable disregarding, but I’m in favor of gay rights, gay marriage, and gay pride.” Accepting that you’re going to struggle with something is a nice way of keeping your head from exploding.
8. Respect your own decisions, and everyone else’s, too
You might decide that you can’t participate in a community because of its position on women, homosexuality, social justice, how to follow ekadasi…whatever. Flaunting your new self in the faces of former friends and acquaintances is a quick and easy way to burn bridges and look like an idiot. Try to be cool with people whose journeys haven’t coincided with yours. If you need to, I recommend spewing hatred into a journal. Harmless, but highly effective.
9. Seriously, chill out
It happens to the best of us.
originally by Tamar Fox; conversion by VBD