ISKCON Communications

Tonight on CNN...

2007-12-21T07:00:00.000-08:00

Hare Krishna. The ISKCON Communications blog has been out of commission for some months; we are re-tooling and putting our energies into creating an informative website (which will include a blog) for IC. In the mean time, here is some news...

Yesterday afternoon, I got a call from a producer at CNN. She asked me to be a guest on a live Holiday Show, hosted by Christian speaker and journalist Roland Martin, on the subject of Christmas and the culture wars. The show is called "What Would Jesus Really Do?" and I will be part of a panel of representatives from other (i.e. - non-Christian) faith traditions.

The show is live, and is on tonight (12/21) and possiblly will be replay on Christmas Eve (12/24) at 8pm EST. Not sure about international airing.

I am excited and more than a little nervous. I've done media interviews on TV and radio before. But still, each time is like the first. The butterflies are already holding a Ratha Yatra festival in my stomach. Oh, and let's not forget... CNN is CNN.

I want to speak with integrity, warmth, and honesty. I want to communicate the essence of my faith's spiritual message, and do so in a way that comes from the heart as much as it does from my mouth. I want to be an instrument.

Dear reader, I know that I haven't been the best at keeping up my end of this blog relationship. Okay, okay: so I've been downright neglectful. But I hope that you will find it in your heart to tune in and say a prayer for me tonight. Under the glare of the hot lights, with cameras aimed at me, and knowing that millions (?) of people are watching me from the comfort of their living room couches... I will need all the prayers I can get.

More later, if I survive...

.v.

thank you for your patience

2007-12-21T06:56:00.000-08:00

PLEASE NOTE:

This Blog is under heavy construction. We will return soon with fresh news and views (and maybe a new address). Til then, please check back for updates and pardon our mess.

Closed for Summer

2007-08-09T03:43:00.000-07:00

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

Washington Post story on ISKCON's response to Hindu Prayer Disruption

2007-07-29T15:13:00.000-07:00

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:

Hindu Groups Ask '08 Hopefuls to Criticize Protest

By Michelle Boorstein

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.

source

Srila Prabhupada: "This Krishna consciousness movement is not a concocted idea..."

2007-07-19T11:02:00.000-07:00

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:

January 14, 1970
Editor
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

Connecting with God in Crisis

2007-07-18T14:18:00.000-07:00

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.

Til then, I'm going to "Krishna-ize" this list. Yes, that means I will just jack the list and search replace KC terms for all of the Jewish ones. Bear with me.

(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

Smile!

2007-07-16T14:35:00.000-07:00

Check out this Day in Pictures from BBC News. (Click on Number 4.)

Just a little reminder that even in a day filled with heat waves, soccer games, forest fires, and political milestones, the Lord of the Universe finds a way to keep on smiling for the cameras.

HAF Human Rights report released

2007-07-16T11:49:00.000-07:00

The Hindu American Foundation's 2006 Human Rights report, detailing human rights violations against Hindus around the globe, was released this past week. This year's report includes a chapter written (by me) on the persecution of Krishna devotees in Kazakhstan.

From Ishani, the HAF executive director:

The 202 page, eleven country report more than doubles the country and region-specific coverage of our 2nd annual report released last year. It covers the areas of genocide, ethnic cleansing, terrorism, rape, murder, discrimination, temple destruction, socio-political ostracization, disenfranchisement, and forced conversions Hindus. The nations included are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Fiji, the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, and Trinidad and Tobago. The report is prefaced by a detailed executive summary that provides specific recommendations that the foundation is proposing to improve the human rights situation in each listed country.

The HAF report has also attracted some media attention, including this article from Argus, a Bay-Area publication. The Argus piece includes some of Ishani's comments on Kazakhstan:

Chowdhury said the third annual "Hindus in South Asia and the Diaspora: A Survey of Human Rights" doubles the number of countries scrutinized since last year, adding Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and others.
"Kazakhstan, that wasn't even on our radar until early last year," she said, noting that Hindus there are less than 1 percent of the population. "The government is pretty much not recognizing Hinduism as a religion. Even that amount is considered a threat."

The HAF Human Rights report is a great example of why ISKCON needs to develop and maintain relationships with others, and how we can do it. Whereas thirty years ago, many devotees may not have seen that need, today we must realize that the world around is becoming increasingly interdependent.

But don't we risk losing our identity or compromising our beliefs by mixing with others? Not necessarily.

We may not agree with everything that a group like the Hindu American Foundation does, just as we can't expect HAF to buy-in to every position we take. In the new world, however, we must come together on issues of shared concern while allowing space for disagreement or individual belief.

Check out the report here, at the HAF site.

Read ISKCON North America's endorsement of the report here.

Hindu in the Senate, Bigots in the crowd

2007-07-12T15:04:00.000-07:00

Aren't Hindu chants usually supposed to mellow people out? Apparently not. Breaking news today (thanks for the heads up, Sree) is that the first Hindu prayer opening the Senate in U.S. history... was disrupted by hecklers and protesters, who branded the Hindu prayer an "abomination."

I had blogged about some negative reaction to the Hindu prayer in an earlier post, but had opined that the voices of dissent were few and extremist. Sadly, I might have underestimated the power of prejudice.

This news report on the Raw Story reported that

Three people were arrested Thursday after staging a noisy protest as a Hindu chaplain read the opening prayer at the US Senate, branding his appearance an "abomination."

US Capitol Police said the protesters, apparently Christian religious activists, were ejected from the chamber and charged with an unlawful disruption of Congress.

As Hindu chaplain Rajan Zed started to recite his prayer, one protest or was heard chanting "Lord Jesus, forgive us father for allowing a prayer which is an abomination in your sight.
"You are the one, true living God."

Ugh. I especially like the last line. I can just imagine Hollywood's Old Bearded Man conception of God calling back down "Dude! Thanks for the reminder."

Occasionally, ISKCON devotees or Hindus opine that we ought to befriend the Religious Right, reasoning that -- like us -- they favor religion in the public square and a more faith-based approach to engaging with the world. Which is all well and good, except that there is a very ugly double standard at work that becomes glaringly obvious at times like this. The Raw Story post highlights this nicely:

The pressure group Americans United for Separation of Church and State condemned the protest.

"This shows the intolerance of many Religious Right activists," said the group's executive director, Reverend Barry Lynn.

"They say they want more religion in the public square, but it's clear they mean only their religion."

A press release from the Americans United for Separation of Church and State gives Lynn's whole statement, and also includes this juicy food for thought:

Religious Right groups have been agitating against the Hindu leader’s prayer since it was announced. The Rev. Donald Wildmon’s American Family Association has asked his members to complain to their senators about the invitation. The group’s news service reported that “Christian nation” activist David Barton said that Hinduism has few followers in the United States and that prayer to a “non-monotheistic god” is “outside the American paradigm.”

More than a few problems with Barton's enlightened view. For starters, there are anywhere from 1 to 2 million Hindus in the United States -- and possible more if you include followers of Hindu-based gurus and spiritual movements who are reticent to self-identify as an organized religion in the Western sense of the term. In any event, "few followers" is not quite an appropriate term. Secondly, how Barton can decide that Hindus pray to a "non-monotheistic god" (lower case g alert! lower case g alert!) is beyond me -- there are certainly Hindu monotheists (the list includes, but is not limited to me, Ramanujacharya, about 70% of all Hindus in North and South India). And finally, I wonder what "American paradigm" founding father Thomas Jefferson's leanings towards Deism fall under? Hmmmm.

Jesus promised that the meek shall inherit the earth, but til then a few self-righteous morons who claim to be His PR department had this to say:

WASHINGTON, July 12 /Christian Newswire/ -- Ante Pavkovic, Kathy Pavkovic, and Kristen Sugar were all arrested in the chambers of the United States Senate as that chamber was violated by a false Hindu god. The Senate was opened with a Hindu prayer placing the false god of Hinduism on a level playing field with the One True God, Jesus Christ. This would never have been allowed by our Founding Fathers.

"Not one Senator had the backbone to stand as our Founding Fathers stood. They stood on the Gospel of Jesus Christ! There were three in the audience with the courage to stand and proclaim, 'Thou shalt have no other gods before me.' They were immediately removed from the chambers, arrested, and are in jail now. God bless those who stand for Jesus as we know that He stands for them." Rev. Flip Benham, Director, Operation Save America/Operation Rescue

Again with the Founding Fathers being super-Christians? Cheese and rice!

I'll try to keep posting about this if there are any developments, especially since I am attending the SAJA convention in NYC right now. Til then, maybe we all need to say some prayers about the state of our "religiously plural" nation tonight.

(Read the SAJA Forum post on this subject here)

festival as outreach

2007-07-12T14:14:00.000-07:00

I will be attending the Toronto Ratha Yatra,the biggest -- and rumored to be the best -- Ratha Yatra in North America, this weekend.

That got me thinking about the communications purpose of these festivals, and their significance for ISKCON.

A blogger in Montreal recently stumbled upon one such Ratha Yatra festival and wrote a short but nice observation. Here's the intro teaser:

Every year, I see colorful tents set up at the corner of Parc and Mont-Royal in Jeanne Mance Park for the Hare Krishna/Hindu festival. I've also seen the colorful chariot covered in flowers parade by. There's always free food given out and you would think that me being me - where there's food, I would be there - but oddly enough, I have never gone to check things out. This year, I decided to be more adventurous and went to visit the festival site...

(Read the whole thing here)

I think as devotees we sometimes take it for granted that these festivals -- as much as they are in need of repair, revamping, and re-strategizing -- are attractive and valuable gifts that ISKCON shares with the world. In a world where "preaching" usually means some holier-than-thou fanatic thumping on a ____ (insert your scripture of choice) and talking down to people, such events can be an effective and pleasing way of sharing the culture of God consciousness with others.

Go Go Govinda's!

2007-07-09T11:39:00.000-07:00

In case you missed it... a wonderful story on the Govinda's restuarant in St. Louis. Srila Prabhupada had a strong desire to see Krishna devotees open more and more vegetarian restaurants where people can be given an experience of Krishna consciousness through delicious prasadam, and a pleasant and spiritually uplifting atmosphere. Way to go, devotees of St. Louis!

Govinda's: Who knew Hare Krishnas have good vegetarian buffet?

By Stefanie Ellis

SPECIAL TO THE POST-DISPATCH

07/04/2007

In this age of instant gratification, constant flux and a demand for bigger and better, sometimes there's nothing more satisfying than simplicity — particularly when it comes to food. While I love innovation in the kitchen, sometimes I feel as if one more blood orange-tomato-pea emulsion might just send me over the edge. Thankfully, when gustatory stimulation reaches an all-time high, I can find solace in the quiet embrace of my favorite Hare Krishna temple.

I don't go there to pray, though. I go there to eat.

Those who have never been to, nor heard of, the full vegetarian buffet you can get for $7 inside a temple in midtown St. Louis might be a bit confused. Let me explain. Govinda's is an extension of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). ISKCON followers (better known as the Hare Krishna movement) adhere to a strict vegetarian diet, which includes no meat, fish or eggs. Caffeine is avoided, as are onions, garlic and mushrooms due to their belief that those foods have adverse effects on the consciousness of the eater.

That said, no one at the temple has ever, in all my years of patronage, tried to lecture me on faith. That's not part of the deal.

Govinda's has a modest buffet, yet its offerings are full of flavor, making it impossible not to sample something from each of the categories — which typically include a lentil-based soup, savories such as pakora (vegetables dredged in chickpea flour and deep fried), salad, pappadum (dried crackers made of lentil flour), chapati (saucer-size rounds of soft wheat bread), brown and basmati rice, sabji (stew) and halva, a farina-based dessert made with butter, sugar, fruit and nuts.

The sabji on a recent visit was a sweet and slightly incendiary tomato sauce puréed with homemade cheese and laced with chunks of the same cheese and sweet peas. The cheese was firm and buttery like a very mild mozzarella, and did well to thicken up the sauce. A dish of thinly sliced green beans dusted with coconut was distinctly different. The coconut, though unsweetened, pulled the sweetness from the green beans, and when eaten with nutty basmati rice was an intoxicating combination.

The pakora, which I think of as tiny doughnuts made of chickpea flour, were too spicy for me. The salad is always my favorite — so long as they have the almond dressing. A simple blend of olive oil, puréed almonds and a bit of spices, it makes for a healthy alternative to traditional cream-based dressings. Fresh romaine lettuce is offered alongside toppings of peppers, olives, carrots, cucumbers and beets.

The orange, walnut and date halva was refreshing and owed most of its sweetness to the sugar in the dates. There were bits of orange zest throughout the dish, imparting a nice, mellow orange flavor that paired well with the dates. A chilled tea is always offered, and its flavor changes daily.

Perhaps to cool the fire from the sabji and pakora, the offering on my visit was chamomile with honey. It was wonderfully soothing, not to mention perfect for a hot St. Louis day. Of course, so much more about my day was perfect. It was just me, a plate of delicious food and a giant helping of peace. What a bargain.

source

5-second Siddhanta

2007-07-08T13:12:00.000-07:00

In his fantastic blog post about preparation and communication, Sita-pati Prabhu points out the need for devotees to become communicators:

You know, it's actually easier to give a longer presentation than a short one. The shorter the presentation, the more preparation you need. The ultimate is when someone sticks a camera and microphone in your face and says: "What do Hare Krishnas say about X". You have five seconds to give the siddhanta in a coherent, punchy sound bite. Are you ready for that?

The fact of the matter is that all devotees have an obligation to learn communications principles, work at honing these skills, and should be prepared to exercise them when appropriate. Communications is not just something for "those prabhus" in the PR department to whip out when a scandal hits -- it is the ability to effectively and accurately share the Krishna conscious perspective (the siddhanta) in a way that is faithful to the tradition and yet sensitive to time, place, and circumstance. And that is a task that we are charged with, by definition, if we are to be part of Lord Caitanya's mission.

Of course, that is not to say that everyone should take on the role of spokesperson for ISKCON. Like any other service, there will be some who will be better suited to do communications work than others. But -- and I think this is where Sita-pati prabhu's post really hits the nail on the head -- the lowest common denominator should be to prepare all devotees (at least theoretically) to deal with the camera and microphone five second scenario. That is to say, all devotees should be given the resources and skills to "preach effectively at a moment's notice or under any conditions or circumstances."

Sita-pati prabhu goes on to share an exciting idea for one such resource:

I have a desire to produce a book which presents all the commonly asked questions, along with soundbite answers, followed by more indepth explanations and supporting evidence, and advice on which one to use when. "Hare Krishna Frequently Asked Questions" is the working title. I got the idea for this by spending a couple of years hosting school pupils on their religious education investigations in a temple in Peru. They ask the same questions, over and over again. Finally I made a photo album with pictures of initiations, weddings, children, and so on, to help answer them nicely. In the same period of time I was interviewed by the media on several occasions, and really found out the dire necessity of having your sound bite brahmastras ready to roll.

At ISKCON Communications, we've done some FAQ's in the past -- particularly for media in North America -- but they are terribly out-dated and in need of revision. So, I'm psyched... and hope that Sita-pati prabhu will allow me to assist in this project in whatever way I can.

Read more from Sita-pati at Atma Yogi.

more on the Vrindavan Widows

2007-07-07T06:45:00.000-07:00

from the SAJA forum blog:

MEDIA WATCH: Did CNN quietly change its story on India's widows?

Did CNN alter its questionable story on India's widows in response to criticism? That's what blogger and ISKCON member Vineet Chander suggests. He was one of many people, in and out of SAJA, who found generalizations and questionable assertions in the piece ("Shunned from Society, Widows flock to City to Die"), along the lines of what Arthur Dudney wrote in SAJAforum a few days ago ("The Western Press and its Blanket Statements"). On the SAJA Discussion list, a number of people across the political spectrum found that the story ascribed too much to 'tradition' rather than to more complex social realities.

Vineet noted the story in an item on his blog yesterday, then went back and looked at the CNN website again today. He found 2 examples of how the original piece had been changed. The first example is the opening sentence, while the second example is in the following graf:

Original Piece: "Ostracized by society, India's widows flock to the holy city of Vrindavan waiting to die..."

Changed to: "Ostracized by society, thousands of India's widows flock to the holy city of Vrindavan waiting to die...."

Original Piece: "Hindu widows are shunned from society when their husbands die, not for religious reasons, but because of tradition..."

Changed to: "These Hindu widows, the poorest of the poor, are shunned from society when their husbands die, not for religious reasons, but because of tradition -- and because they're seen as a financial drain on their families..."

After reading it further, I found this change as well:

Original Version: "There are an estimated 40 million widows in India, many of them shunned and stripped of the life they lived when they were married."

Changed to: There are an estimated 40 million widows in India, the least fortunate of them shunned and stripped of the life they lived when they were married."

Another aspect of the story that was criticized, and not just by Hindu activists, was its failure to show how numerous groups in India are contending with this problem. Vineet told SAJAforum that foreign media outlets such as CNN need to work extra hard to grasp this, in order to avoid sensationalizing the issue or mis-representing it.

Like other groups within the Hindu fold, the organization that I work with (ISKCON) is reaching out to help the widows while being sensitive to the religious and cultural context of Vrindavan. Food for Life Vrindavan, an ISKCON affiliate dedicated to promoting grassroots sustainable development in the area, organizes a women’s empowerment program that includes everything from nutritious food distribution to adult education centers and micro crediting. The program collaborates with the National Bank for Rural & Agriculture Development (NABARD) and the Polytechnic Institute for Women in New Delhi. Unfortunately, whether because of ignorance or lack of space, we rarely hear of this kind of stuff in stories like the CNN one. That part of the story needs to be told.

Arthur Dudney left a comment on the story here, noting that while CNN was right to cover this very important issue, it failed to do a thorough job:

There is no attempt in this CNN piece to make it clear that it is not an ironclad rule of Hindu society that widows must be exiled to Vrindavan. The complex reasons for why a widow might be mistreated are dismissed in one graf. As usual, these generalizations wouldn't work if the article were about abuse of the elderly in American nursing homes.

Posted by Arun Venugopal
source

US Senate to Open with Hindu Prayers

2007-07-06T10:17:00.000-07:00

According to the Times of India for the first time ever, the US Senate will open with Hindu prayers.

U.S. Senate to open with Hindu prayers
New York: History will be created when a Hindu prayer will be recited at the opening of the US Senate in Washington DC on July 12.

Rajan Zed, a Hindu chaplain, said that he had been officially asked to say the prayer. He said he believes this may be the first time any Hindu prayer is delivered in the Senate since its formation in 1789.

Zed is likely to choose the prayer from the Rig Veda, the Upanishads and the Bhagavad-Gita. He said he plans to start and end the prayer with 'Om', the mystical Hindu syllable. The full text of the prayer will be included in the Congressional Record.

There are an estimated two million Indian Americans in the US.

Followers of Hindu groups like ISKCON may add up to another one million.

Great news! Although opening the Senate with prayer is something of a perfunctory formality, the fact that a Hindus has been invited is a sign of increased diversity and the inclusion of religious minorities. And who would have a problem with that?

Oops, apparently there are some folks who do. The red-blooded love-it-or-leave-it Archie Bunker Americans at this blog think that the very idea of having Hindu prayers is "a slap in the face to the one true God, the Judeo Christian God."

(an aside: I've always thought the idea of a "Judeo-Christian God" was weird. It makes it seem like God is some old bearded man at a cocktail party introducing Himself by way of his dual-identity. "Hi, I'm the Judeo-Christian God. Yeah, My dad's side is Jewish, but My mom is a Catholic." A bit odd, but anyway...)

Fans of the charmingly fascist PC-Free Zone -- which also features a graphic that says "Allah Sucks" -- added equally bone-headed insights like:

America is a Christian country! Christian men and women, Christian morals and Christian values made America great. Quit trying to degrade our heritage.

and

Who invited this Turkey? In High Schools they are not allowed to pray before a football game but the Senate is allowed to have some second rate money changer saying a prayer.

Is it really 2007? All I can say is... we've got our work cut out for us.

Vrindavan's Widows on CNN

2007-07-05T07:09:00.000-07:00

The top story on CNN.com -- beating out the arrest of Al Gore's son and a new video from Al Qaeda second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahiri -- is this story on shunned widows awaiting death in Vrindavan.

As expected, readers are horrified by the backwards and inhumane treatment of these women -- 40 million in India, and 15 thousand on the streets of Vrindavan. Some blame Hinduism or the Vedic scriptures for this cruel practice. Others say that it is all about money and greed.

As Gaudiya Vaisnavas we hold Vrindavan to be sacred ground -- Lord Krishna's own abode. How do we reconcile that belief with the adharmic treatment of thousands that is purportedly happening there? Can we or should we do something about it? Or is this just a case of a pro-Westernized, anti-Hindu media slant, hyping a story where there really is none? Is this an opportunity for ISKCON to be proactive and take a stance, or an embarrassment that we should hope just goes away?

In any event, one thing is clear: even if we don't have the answers on this one, we must be willing to face the questions.

Here is the beginning of the article:

Shunned from Society, Widows Flock to City to Die
by Arwa Damon; CNN

VRINDAVAN, India (CNN) -- Ostracized by society, India's widows flock to the holy city of Vrindavan waiting to die. They are found on side streets, hunched over with walking canes, their heads shaved and their pain etched by hundreds of deep wrinkles in their faces.

Hindu widows are shunned from society when their husbands die, not for religious reasons, but because of tradition -- and because they're seen as a financial drain on their families.

They cannot remarry. They must not wear jewelry. They are forced to shave their heads and typically wear white. Even their shadows are considered bad luck.

Hindus have long believed that death in Vrindavan will free them from the cycle of life and death. For widows, they hope death will save them from being condemned to such a life again.

"Does it feel good?" says 70-year-old Rada Rani Biswas. "Now I have to loiter just for a bite to eat."

Biswas speaks with a strong voice, but her spirit is broken. When her husband of 50 years died, she was instantly ostracized by all those she thought loved her, including her son.

"My son tells me: 'You have grown old. Now who is going to feed you? Go away,' " she says, her eyes filling with tears. "What do I do? My pain had no limit."

As she speaks, she squats in front of one of Vrindavan's temples, her life reduced to begging for scraps of food.

There are an estimated 40 million widows in India, many of them shunned and stripped of the life they lived when they were married.

It's believed that 15,000 widows live on the streets of Vrindavan, a city of about 55,000 in northern India....

(read the whole story here, at CNN.com)

Watch how some widows are rebelling »

source

inner space

2007-07-04T11:45:00.000-07:00

This article from the Austin American Statesman describes a bhakti yoga class that seems to present the teachings of Krishna consciousness in an innovative, relevant, and attractive way. I don't know if the devotee running the program described here is a member of ISKCON or not, but I think his approach is inspiring and dynamic, and can teach us all a thing or two about effectively communicating Srila Prabhupada's mission.

Finding Inner Space for Meditation:
a little yoga can go a long way

I didn't know quite what to expect when I crossed the threshold of the Austin Meditation Center for the first time. I slipped off my sandals and placed them neatly on the shelf available by the door for this purpose, then took a look around.

The best way to describe the center is also the most clichéd: It was peaceful. I was greeted by the yogi, an older Englishman with a wide smile on his face. Richard Davis seemed to radiate energy and life. We sat down and talked for a while as others trickled in.

After offering us water, organic cherries and whole wheat, sugar-free, homemade cookies, he led us into the next room, where seats and pillows formed a circle on the hardwood floor. The walls were lined with paintings of figures such as Krishna and Christ. We sat as he took his place in front, closing the circle.

Richard took time discussing the concept of mantra meditation with us beginners. He told us that there are two worlds — the material world, and that of the spirit — and that we are "in illusion" when we believe that we are our bodies, and that we are of this material world. We wear our bodies like we wear a T-shirt, he said. The T-shirt is not us; we only wear it. We are "atma," the spirit-soul, that divine spark that differentiates between a living body and a dead one.

He shared an analogy of a fish in the ocean. If you were to take such a fish and put him on the hot, sandy beach, would he be happy? No. He belongs in the ocean. Likewise we, as spiritual beings, can never find happiness in the material world, try as we may. We will only find happiness when we reconnect with our "atma." Happiness — pure bliss — is possible only through the sound vibrations of mantra. Mantra is the vehicle that takes us there, to that place within.

Richard then taught us three kinds of mantra meditation. The first, "breathing meditation," consisted of saying a one-word mantra, "Gauranga," upon exhaling our breath. We inhaled deeply and when we could inhale no more, we began to push out each syllable: "Gaur ... Ra ... Ang ... Ga." "Gauranga" means the "golden effulgence" or light that surrounds God, and can be used as a name for God Himself.

Next we learned "japa meditation." We chanted a phrase as we moved our fingers along wooden beads to keep track. "Gopala Govinda Rama Madana Mohana," we repeated, which I soon learned were other names for God.

Meditation and chanting form patterns similar to the worship I had experienced in Christian churches. The most striking similarity came when we did "kirtan," which was singing the names of God as Richard played guitar: "Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare."

Despite the familiarity of the phrase from popular culture, to a Western woman who was raised within the Christian church, this was all so new and strange. Yet I had made a commitment to try it, and I wanted to see if it really did offer contentment.

And so, I did it each day in my home, breathing and chanting and counting the beads. I was surprised to find that mantra had sneaked into my subconscious and was pervading my life: It was in my head at work and I would chant it under my breath in the car. In addition, I felt peace envelop me, as if nothing could harm me any longer. When I heard bad news, it did not break me. I felt above it, able to handle anything. I felt my anxiety and even some of my customary road rage dissipate. This was quite welcome.

I am still new to meditation and to the doctrines of karma, reincarnation and the like that surround it, and I cannot honestly say that I believe every single one of these precepts. Maybe I will come to, and maybe I will not. I will, however, continue to make time and space for contemplation, silence and peace in my ever-whirling, ever-changing world.

April D. Boland is a writer and editor from New York City who currently works in marketing as she completes her English literature degree.

source

Practice makes perfect

2007-07-04T10:40:00.000-07:00

A week or two of not posting and I've (re-) discovered the obvious: blogging, like any other form of communication, is a type of sadhana, or a disciplined practice.

In the Gaudiya Vaisnava tradition, sadhana is understood to come in two flavors: vaidhi (governed by rules and regulations) and raga (characterized by spontaneity).

As blogging sadhakas, we look to the day when writing will become like breathing; when the words will flow spontaneously and freely, and connection between the thoughts in the head, the feelings in the heart, and the words on the screen will be seamless. But that purity must be earned, and it is purchased through regularity, sincerity, and consistency.

Ultimately, it requires us to be enthusiastic (to embrace our practice and "just write"), patient (with ourselves and the process, humbled by writer's block, mismanaged time, and other indications of how much farther we have to go), and confident (that as long as we are committed to the practice, Krishna will carry us to our goal and use as His instruments).

The Power of Prasadam?

2007-06-24T07:09:00.000-07:00

I just can't make this stuff up, folks.

From the Indian news, also making the rounds on some "stranger than fiction" types of blogs:

Prison food too good to leave

Inmates of an Indian prison are reportedly refusing to apply for bail because the food is so good.

Parappana Agrahara prison in Bangalore is crowded with 4,700 inmates, more than twice its capacity.

Criminals are refusing to apply for bail to get out while juvenile offenders are lying about their age to get in, reports the Bangalore Mirror.

The paper says the reason is healthy food being served by ISKCON, or the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, a Hindu evangelist organisation.

ISKCON, commonly known as the Hare Krishna movement, started serving its pure-vegetarian fare in the jail in May under contract from the prisons department.

Lunch and dinner typically include piping hot rice, two vegetables and a spicy lentil dish called sambar and buttermilk.

A dessert is added on festival days and national holidays like Independence Day, and also once a week.

Prisoner Raja Reddy, who has been arrested 20 times in 30 years for theft, robbery and burglary, said: "When we are getting tasty, nutritious food three times a day here, why should we go out and commit crimes."

source

NY Ratha Yatra Coverage: India Post

2007-06-21T11:06:00.000-07:00

An article on New York Ratha Yatra, from the India Post newspaper:

ISKCON rath yatra attracts New Yorkers

Wednesday, 06.20.2007, 03:19am (GMT-7)

NEW YORK: When British colonists first encountered the Ratha Yatra festival of Lord Jagannath - a millenia-old Hindu procession of three giant chariots bearing images of Lord Krishna - they hardly knew what to make of it.

Today, the British Empire has come and gone, but Ratha Yatra rolls down some of the most famous streets in the Western world. Case in point: on Saturday, June 9, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) presented their jubilant annual Ratha Yatra (Festival of the Chariots) parade down Fifth Avenue.

Modeled after the original Ratha Yatra held in the seaside holy city of Puri, the New York City version of this event featured a procession of three 40-foot high traditional Indian chariots - pulled by hand by Krishna devotees and guests.

The custom built chariots, bearing sacred images of Lord Krishna, were festooned with colorful canopies, flower garlands, and other decorations by a team of hundreds of devotee volunteers from the Hare Krishna temple in Brooklyn, New York. "This festival brings the East and West together," said Pragnesh Surti, an architect and festival volunteer from Queens.

"It is a demonstration of universal peace, goodwill, and the equality of all in the eyes of God."Like many of the young volunteers helping to keep the parade running smoothly, Surti is a second-generation Hindu-American who grew up attending the Hare Krishna temple. He credited ISKCON with connecting him to his cultural and spiritual roots."Being a part of ISKCON has helped me to understand and better appreciate the amazing gift that I was given," he said.

"Now I am trying to do my part to share this gift with others - Indian, American, white, black, or brown." From 2pm until 7pm the celebration continued with the Festival of India, a traveling exhibition of India's spirituality and culture. Washington Square Park morphed into a traditional Indian mela, with performances by professional artists and local community groups. Western-born Krishna devotee Anapayini Dasi and her Bhakti-kalalayam Dance School presented a bharat-natyam dance ballet on the ten incarnations of Vishnu, while the East-West School of Dance portrayed Krishna's famous dances with the gopis of Vrindavan.

The show-stealer, however, was a multi-ethnic local cast performing their take on The Age of Kali, a Bengali classic. The drama, which depicted personified Sin and her agents being defeated by the power of Lord Krishna's holy name, had the audience of over one hundred adults and children spellbound. Along with the stage show, display booths allowed festival-goers to get their hands on traditional Indian handicrafts and books on bhakti-yoga, and approximately ten thousand visitors were treated to a complimentary multi-course vegetarian feast.

"The festival celebrates the beauty of Eastern spirituality encountering 21st century New York City." said Vineet Chander, a communications director with ISKCON.

The Festival of the Chariots is modeled after the ancient festival of Ratha Yatra, one of the most important yearly events in the calendar of the Hindu faith. This festival is especially sacred to Vaishnavas (devotees of Lord Krishna).In the sea-side holy city of Jagannath Puri, every summer, at the beginning of the monsoon season, the Deity is taken out of the temple amidst great fanfare, and placed on bright and colorful chariots.

Almost a million worshippers throng to the city and pull the chariots with love and devotion, accompanied by joyful music, religious chants, and dancing. In 1976 A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder of the worldwide Hare Krishna Movement, inaugurated the New York City version of this ancient Indian parade. Since then, it has been celebrated annually here and has become a New York summer tradition.

This festival blends the splendor of a millennia-old celebration with the excitement of a parade down New York's world famous Fifth Avenue. This event draws thousands of people of various walks of life from all over the world, bringing the best of the East and West together in a demonstration of universal peace, harmony and goodwill.

India Post News Service

NY Ratha Yatra Photo Collage

2007-06-21T10:15:00.001-07:00

from New York Daily Photo blog:

(click on image for a larger version)

The Kazkah demolition in pictures

2007-06-15T07:18:00.000-07:00

All the photos -- including photos of the demolition in November, which left Krishna families homeless in freezing winter snow -- can be found here.

Video can be found here.

Bulldoze now, ask questions later. Is this how an "oasis of religious accord" deals with religious minorities?

Police officers brought in by the busload to make sure that the job gets done.

Homes reduced to rubble...

... possessions thrown out into the street...

... and a community becomes a cloud of dust.

The human faces of tragedy. How long will Kazakhstan ignore them?

Crisis in Kazakhstan

2007-06-15T05:59:00.001-07:00

Early today, the officials in Kazakhstan demolished more homes belonging to Hare Krishna devotees at the farm in Almaty.

This ten minute video gives an overview on the background of the situation in Kazakhstan.

Preliminary reports are placing the number of homes demolished today at twelve (added to the demolitions last November, that would bring the total to twenty-six homes destroyed). As before, the officials brought busloads of laborers and police officers with them, indiscriminately taking crowbars and sledgehammers to the homes. They threw personal possessions out into the street, even as the horrified devotees pleaded with them and begged for mercy. Mechanical diggers then moved in, literally "crushing the houses to dust."

We do not think that the (makeshift) temple or cow-barn have been demolished yet. However, local officials have included these buildings on their list of buildings to be demolished. This is especially troubling because the temple is the official site linked to ISKCON's registration as a religion in the country. Because of the way Kazakh law is structured, there is a possibility that if the temple structure is demolished, ISKCON will simply lose its right to exist legally in the country at all.

The latest report is available at Forum18.org, a religious freedom watchdog news agency.

Please keep checking the following sites for updates:
Forum18.org
KazakhKrishna.com
iskconcommunications.blogspot.com

His Holiness BB Govinda Maharaj is in the United States right now in order to raise awareness about (and funds for) the crisis in Kazakhstan. He is in Washington, D.C. right now with Anuttama Prabhu and they have had several successful meetings with high-ranking US officials and human rights advocates.

I will try my best to let you know more details as they emerge; right now, please inform everyone you know about the situation and request their prayers. Organized kirtan is always a nice idea in situations such as this.

Also, now it appears certain that the devotees will have to relocate very quickly and this requires substantial funds, so any financial help would be most welcome. You may help by contacting your local ISKCON temple about how to give donations, or by visiting www.palaceofthesoul.com and clicking on "Donate Online."

Please do NOT stage any protests or contact any officials without first coordinating it with our office.

on behalf of ISKCON Communications,
your servant,
Vyenkata Bhatta dasa

PS: BB Govinda Swami's inspirational words to the devotees in Kazakhstan:

"Take shelter of Krishna. Everyone should remain very brave and remain fixed in chanting the holy name. Pull together and take care of the devotees whose homes have been destroyed. What is being done is cruel and certainly not fair but we still have our lives….so those lives should be focused on serving Krishna and our consciousness should certainly not become like that of the people who are doing this. We are witnessing a rude exhibition of material consciousness – never become like that. Pull together, even more than you did last November. Make sure the homeless devotees have shelter and try to gather together their belongings. And by this try to understand how special devotee association really is…"

Too much traffic?

2007-06-15T04:41:00.001-07:00

A letter from the Hendon & Finchley Times in the UK:

Traffic just a religious excuse

At a time when harmony between communities is seen as a matter of priority, the new Jewish Community School in East Barnet has given rise to controversy.

Karen Jordan has come up with the old objection, excessive traffic (June 7). This was the same objection raised some years ago, when an orthodox synagogue opened in Watford Way, and when the Hare Krishna movement opened Bhaktivedanta Manor, near Watford. Yet there is not a squeak from anyone about the amount of traffic generated by Christian churches.

Traffic is just an excuse for some people, thankfully a minority, for expressing objection to faiths other than their own.

Ron Isaacs
Sebright Road
Barnet

some photos from the GBC Meetings in New Vrindaban, USA

2007-06-13T11:34:00.001-07:00

GBC meetings@NV

Sri Dilbert Uvaca... a funny commentary on jargon

2007-06-06T11:02:00.000-07:00

Horn Okay Please

2007-06-05T09:31:00.000-07:00

Anyone who has ever spent any amount of time on an Indian road is likely to recognize the title of this post.

Horn Okay Please (HOP) may very well be the mascot for Indian-English, the delightfully maddening idiosyncratic use of English by Indians.

The wikipedia entry I link to above is long but interesting... and a must-read for anyone who wants to get the most of their next trip to India. Also, those who want to hardcore into the "fundas" of this language, please check out this thorough online Indian-American dictionary.

(Hinglish - a sort of mash up of Hindi and English - is a related, but distinct language.)

So what does Horn Okay Please mean, actually? Nobody quite knows, although theories abound. Driving in India means using your horn to communicate, well, everything -- so it seems like good advice however you take it. More importantly, HOP is one of those phrases that has just become part of the mysterious Indian (and Indian-American) lexicon. Its become a way of sharing common experience -- a sort of sutra that encapsulates a whole in-house experience in a simple (albeit meaningless) phrase.

In ISKCON, we have our own language. ISKCON-ese is a tossed salad of Sanskrit (suchi, laksmi), Bengali (doya koro) Hindi (pukka, accha), Hippie English (spaced out, far out, fried), British English (pass water, obeisances) and assorted Prabhupada-isms (first class, take rest, fruitive).

It would be interesting (and historically useful) to compile a running list. Is PAMHO the ISKCON equivalent of Horn Okay Please?

Jargon is useful, of course, and -- like Horn Okay Please -- can bond people together. But it can also alienate others by erecting walls between insiders and outsiders. ISKCON's history (and language) is certainly intimately linked with India, counterculture America, and (through SrilaPrabhupada) colonial Britain. But if we don't make an effort to communicate the essence of Krishna consciousness and Prabhupada's mission in language that is inclusive and meaningful to a broader audience, we may be rendering ourselves as unintelligible as the messages on the back of an Indian truck.

And as Radha Devi Dasi says in her ISKCON Studies article, jargon can be misused to more serious ends, as well:

...we have our own jargon that both isolates us and condemns those who are not members of our organisation. Those outside our movement are called 'karmis', 'demons', 'melecchas' and 'sudras'. We describe ourselves as 'devotees', 'Vaisnavas', 'devas' and 'brahmanas'. These labels shape our vision of others and ourselves in ways that divide us from the very people we are trying to reach.

Horn Okay Please can evoke nostalgia, togetherness, and good laughs -- as long as everyone is in on the joke.

- Vyenkata Bhatta Dasa

PS: Can't get enough of HOP? Okay, okay... one more link. Check out "Horn Okay Please" -- an excellent clay-mation short film on a day in the life of a Mumbai taxi-wallah.

feedback sandwich

2007-05-30T09:33:00.000-07:00

How do you tell someone what you like and dislike about their performance? The communication demigods suggest that you serve them a "feedback sandwich" -- tell them something you appreciate, then some room for improvement, and finally some more of what you appreciate (an excellent discussion of the sandwich, in the setting of a medical practice, can be found here.)

Since I've made a conscious effort to give feedback in this way, I've found it to be extremely effective. For one thing, it forces me to replace vague, superficial comments ("Oh prabhu, what a great Bhagavatam class!") with sincere, honest assessments of what I like and don't like. For another, it allows me to look at the negatives in light of the positives, and puts criticizing in a constructive context. And of course, if I can't come up with at least two things to appreciate about the person, it raises a red flag in my mind that I'm not thinking objectively -- and gives me an opportunity to slow down, cool off, and try to heal myself first.

Still, there are limitations. Recently a colleague told me that she has started to grow wary of the sandwich -- that when she hears my words of praise she starts to cringe in preparation of the impending criticism! Her telling me this was a sobering reminder to me that merely "buttering someone up" before and after you "give them the sauce" does not a sandwich make.

Here are some tips on how to make a better feedback sandwich:

Feedback (positive or negative) should be directed towards a person's performance, not their character or personal. "You're pretty. You're an idiot. You're trustworthy." -- not a feedback sandwich.
Avoid low-carb sandwiches. The positives are the bread and the negative is the peanut butter and jelly inside (what, you forgot that we're vegetarians?) -- don't just find praises to bookend a pile of complaints. An unbalanced sandwich is obvious.
Be specific in both praise and criticism. "I really liked when you did XYZ..." "When you said so-and-so, I noticed that..." "I thought your use of such-and-such was..."
Criticism especially should be constructive, well-timed, and targeted.

Constructive criticism is clear, objective, and employs "I statements" rather than "You statements." It offers realistic alternatives or suggestions for improvement.
Well-timed criticism is sensitive to the time, place, and situation. It is offered soon enough after the performance to be relevant, but not so soon after as to touch on something that this still "raw." It is given privately or publicly depending one whichever is more appropriate, and is often preceded by a "heads-up" that feedback is coming.
Targeted criticism recognizes specific behaviors (not the people acting out the behaviors) and hones in on specific skills or practices that are within the person's control. It avoids using extreme phrases like "always" and "never."

Praise should not flatter the ego, it should reinforce and encourage desired behavior. The recipient should walk away more educated about what worked, not just "feeling good."
Use non-verbal communication to package the sandwich. Let your eyes and body language express your feelings. Dramatic pauses can go a long way. A softening of the voice can make that room-for-improvement easier to digest.
Allow the recipient to respond -- feedback does not need to be a one-way street. If recipients feel the need to defend themselves or explain their actions, allow them to.
Know when you need not (and maybe even should not) use the sandwich. There are situations where using the sandwich will feel (and be) inauthentic, contrived, or insulting. Use common sense.

Of course, the sandwich is just a tool -- how to make and serve it is still a matter of the chef's own spiritual and emotional maturity. Ultimately, if we want to effectively communicate with others (especially devotees) without committing offenses, we have to sincerely take shelter of Srimati Radharani. We have only to sincerely try; She will make sure that all the sandwiches coming out of Her kitchen are palatable, satisfying, and delicious.

Devotee Dress

2007-05-23T06:48:00.000-07:00

A commenter on my personal blog raised an interesting question about the way devotees dress and present themselves at outreach events. The question and my response are below...

The question:
Good on you, Vyenkata Bhatta dasa and everyone who took part in the AIDS walk!
Looking at the photo above though, I can't see any devotees sporting sikha or wearing dhoti. Is it common now in ISKCON for members not to dress like ISKCON used to? I know it's a little shallow, and clothes do not maketh the man (or monk), but that's how I recognise the devotees of Krsna. Also didn't Prabhupada himself recommened dhoti, tilak and sikha for all devotees?

My response:
Thanks for your questions, Anonymous prabhu. As you will see from the photo essay in the next post, we had quite a diverse turn-out for the Walk - including our favorite monk, Gadadhara Pandit prabhu (aka NYC Pandit)in full-on saffron dhoti, shaved head and sikha.

In addition, some devotees do keep a sikha (like me) and some did have on tilak (like Yadunath prabhu). However other devotees choose to dress in Western clothes and keep conventional hairstyles.

I think one of the nicest things about representing Krishna consciousness at events like this is that we can help people to understand that devotees of Krishna are -- externally speaking -- not so different than they are. This can help others relate to us and approach the devotees.

I don't think that it is "common for members not to dress like ISKCON used to" per se, but I do feel that devotees tend to present themselves in a way that reflects who they are. In the 1960s and 1970s, most ISKCON devotees were monks and "nuns" -- brahmacaris, brahmacarinis, sannyasis, and "brahmacari-grihastas" who lived as monks did, cloistered from the mainstream society. Today, most ISKCON devotees live, work, and participate in the greater community around them. I think it is natural (and desirable) that some devotees should thus choose to dress and look like the general populace.

I am not aware of any instructions Srila Prabhupada gave insisting upon dhoti, tilak, and sikha for all members. I do remember reading that Prabhupada allowed his grhasta male devotees who were working outside the movement to keep short, contemporary hairstyles ("like a respectable gentleman") instead of a shaved head -- but no dressing like a hippie!

Hridayananda Goswami recently made an interesting point on this subject. He said that in Lord Caitanya's time, when devotees went out on harinama, they were dressed *the same way that everyone else was!* In other words, by wearing dhotis and chaddars, etc. they weren't weren't trying to stand out by their clothing -- they were perfectly fitting in. An interesting argument to try going out on harinama in contemporary clothes (or at least have devotees mix it up)...

Ultimately, I think you said it best: "The clothes do not maketh the man." For some devotees (especially the monks) dressing in traditional Indian garb may help them represent the tradition; for others, they may choose to represent Krishna by wearing Western clothes.

Personally, I'd like to see Hare Krishna devotees recognized -- regardless of what they are wearing -- by their exemplary behavior, compassion and humility, and genuine expressions of joy on their faces.

Hare Krishna!

Centralization what?

2007-05-22T09:27:00.000-07:00

Recently, the leadership in ISKCON -- GBC members and temple presidents -- have been discussing ways of modifying the bylaws to ensure greater protection to ISKCON communities, and align ISKCON's structure more closely with Srila Prabhupada's will.

Perhaps not surprisingly, this has sparked off a slew of conspiracy theories and animated accusations from some who insist that the proposed modifications are part of a sinister GBC plot to take over the world (cue James Bond villain music). The evil secret weapon that these despots plan to use (if you believe the conspiracy theorists) has a name: centralization.

Srila Prabhupada famously disapproved of a centralization scheme envisioned by some of his disciples in the 1970s. "They tried then," the critics whisper over the internet, "and they're trying again..."

So what is the real deal?

GBC member, Temple President, and really, really smart devotee Ravindra-svarupa Prabhu presented a paper on the subject recently, and ISKCON News has it online.

I have been asked by the Executive Committee of the North American GBC and Temple Presidents to write you concerning issues raised by various web posting in response to a draft of proposed new bylaws for North American ISKCON temples. This draft had been circulated and discussed among us during our last meeting, held in January in Dallas. Soon after, the text somehow passed into general circulation, and a number of web posting sprang up to raise a general alarm.

“Our Whole Movement Could Be Killed,” warned Vyapaka Prabhu, in the title of a posting on the ritvik website Sampradaya Sun. He alleges that the bylaws disclose a sinister effort by the GBC “wherein every temple is effectively taken over by the GBC or their proxy.” Other writers join in with him to inveigh against what they say is an attempt of the GBC to establish total centralized control of all temples—precisely the kind that Srila Prabhupada himself explicitly forbade.

Now, say these outraged critics, the GBC, in flagrant violation of all the instructions Prabhupada has given, are reviving the errors of the past with an illicit gambit to disempower local devotees and seize total control.

I can state without equivocation that none of these charges is true. That the claims made in these postings could be accepted as true is, to me, heartbreaking testimony to the state of fragmentation and isolation among devotees who ought to be unified in Srila Prabhupada’s service. The postings also attest to the distressing degree to which ISKCON’s own history has become hazy, distorted or lost in memory.

I shall try to clear up various areas of misunderstanding and forgetfulness, and by doing so, show why the current effort to revise the North American bylaws follows Srila Prabhupada’s will...

read Ravindra-svarupa Prabhu's whole paper here, at ISKCON News.

Krishna Cares

2007-05-22T08:10:00.001-07:00

On Sunday, a team of devotees from the New York/New Jersey area participated in the AIDS Walk 2007 in New York City. The event drew over 55,000 people and the devotee team -- called Krishna Cares -- was there to participate, support a great cause, and share the Holy Names with them.

Krishna Cares is a devotee project that aims to build bridges with those involved in grassroots and community activism, and to help devotees who are interested in participating in social activism in the association of other Vaisnavas.

Here is something I wrote on our participation in the Walk...

Thanks to a delay on the F train, we are running late. By the time we arrive at Central Park, the crowds are swelling -- we started to see people wearing AIDS Walk NY t-shirts even on the train -- and I worry that we won't be able t0 find the rest of our team. My apprehension is unnecessary: our teammates are already wearing their bright orange Krishna Cares t-shirts, and are pretty hard to miss even in this crowd. With only a few minutes before the walk is to begin, Krsangi and I quickly transform into orange people as well.

We start to walk, except this walking is more like allowing yourself to be moved along in a tidal wave of bodies . The experience feels like a cross between a Ratha Yatra and Disney World the day a new ride opens. But soon the walkers are giving each other space, and everyone is going at whatever pace they feel comfortable with.

I feel a buzz seeing my devotee friends walking alongside (and in front of and behind) me -- unified in purpose and garb, the black letters against the orange fabric unabashedly spelling out "Krishna Cares" and "Hare Krishna - chant and be happy." The buzz blossoms into a thrill when AIDS Walk volunteers start to cheer us on by shouting out our team name and flashing us the "raise the roof" mudra. "Krishna cares!" they shout, and suddenly its not just our team-name; its a declaration that the Supreme Lord really does care for all of His children.

We walk-- some chanting on beads, others engaged in light conversations. At the head of our party, Ari happily bounces and bobs about while carrying a beautiful "Krishna Cares" sign. He looks like he will hardly break a sweat during the 6 mile walk, and I appreciate (and envy) his enthusiasm.

I originally thought it'd be nice for us to just walk like everyone else and not "demand" special attention by doing kirtan. But after walking like this for some time, I begin to grow tired of just shuffling along, and experience a need to chant the Holy Names. Its not an artificial, calculated, ploy; it is a real desire to chant and I start to feel it from the pit of my stomach. Apparently, others do too, and so we quickly devise a plan. Since none of us thought to bring instruments, our only musical accompaniment is the clapping of our hands. We try chanting a basic melody in unison. Our voices are loud but unsure, slightly off-key but brimming with sincerity.

We chant a few collective refrains and then fade out, resigned that there isn't much we can do without mrdangas and kartals. But then Geeta suggests a different tune. It is a well-known melody, one that the late Bhakti Tirtha Swami loved to use. In fact, as we spread the word through our team we refer to it that way: "Hey, lets try doing the Bhakti Tirtha Swami tune." I am still doubtful, and tell Geeta as much; she is undaunted, though, and -- surprising us all -- agrees to lead (with a little help from Krsangi and Nisha).

"Hare!" Hare...
"Krishna!" Krishna...

The energy is building; I shake off my doubts and start to smile. Our voices are stronger, and the walkers around us react positively-- some giggle, some cheer, some offer us a thumbs-up gesture. Now I am grinning, ear to ear, running in front of the group to walk backwards and snap photos. Ari is leaping in the air, the sign in his hand not weighing him down in the least. Pradyumna is chanting like an army drill sergeant, dovetailing his frat-house-honed energy in the service of the Holy Name. Nancy claps along, her small gold crucifix resting against the picture of flute-playing Krishna on her blazing orange t-shirt.

At a traffic light now; Geeta is in full force and I am positively giddy. A group of teenage walkers -- two Hispanic guys, a lanky Black girl, a sun-burnt blond -- seem drawn to the chanting, repeating the words as best they hear them. Pradyumna and I help them to listen and follow along, and after a few refrains, I ask the blond girl to lead. She is happy to oblige while her friends cheer her on as if she were on stage at a karaoke bar. Later, another teenage girl sends us a smile (her braces reflecting the sun's rays) and asks me to explain the significance of the mantra while she shoots some video on her camera phone. I tell her that it is a prayer to God, the all-attractive Lord of us all, to please engage us in His service. She likes the answer, and after a thoughtful pause she asks "So, you're helping people become spiritually empowered?" Haribol!

The streets are all blurring into one, the skyscrapers we pass indistinguishable from one another. I am vaguely aware of a soreness in my calves and a callous on the sole of my foot. Still, the Holy Name and the devotees walking along keep me going and I get my second (third?) wind. We are marching along the West side, when temptation strikes: an ice cream vendor is handing out freebies. Our kirtan troop collapses under the weight of the pressure, but soon enough we recover -- many of our soldiers now with a cup of sherbert in hand.

We switch up the tune again and keep chanting. Seeing the energy level dropping a bit, I turn my empty water bottle into a make-believe microphone and invite different devotees to sing into the mic. It is a silly gag, but seems to work in lifting morale. Ari leaps. Pandit twirls. Nicole and her mom are beaming.

"Krishna cares!" volunteers with bullhorns call out approvingly. The walkers, volunteers, and even the passing cars are all happy to see us and appreciate our enthusiasm. For them, we are ambassadors of spirituality and good energy. I think of what the girl with the camera phone said -- helping people become spiritually empowered -- and feel tinges of guilt for having doubted the potency of the Holy Name.

We snake our way back into Central Park and find ourselves before an archway made of balloons. This is it. To go under it is to complete the walk, to succeed in our mission of the day. We hesitate for a bit, and I try to delay the inevitable, try to convince my teammates to stay and do more kirtan at the threshold. I am voted down. And so, with chants on our lips and arms triumphantly raised, we cross over. We complete the walk.

It is only when walking back to the subway station, that I allow myself to feel exhausted.

- Vyenkata Bhatta dasa

Of Caste and Call Centers

2007-05-18T07:53:00.000-07:00

The Wall Street Journal recently ran this cartoon, offering a two-in-one of negative Indian stereotypes:

Is this funny? Appropriate? Offensive? Should we even care about this?

Expecting Too Much from Sunday

2007-05-16T11:21:00.000-07:00

This essay, by an Episcopal priest and writer, raises some interesting questions about how we are utilizing our week's main program. I think it can be very nicely applied to the idea of Sunday Feasts in ISKCON.

COMMENTARY: Expecting Too Much from Sunday
By TOM EHRICH
(c) 2007 Religion News Service

Returning to Sunday parish ministry for four months has given me both a fresh appreciation of the basics and one caution to share with all who care about healthy churches.

First the caution:
I think many congregations expect too much from Sunday. They want Sunday to do all of their work, from welcoming the new to serving the old, from teaching to pastoral care, from ommunity-building to business meetings.

Sunday cannot bear that much weight. For one, there's not enough time; 60 minutes on Sunday can barely handle corporate worship. The rest feels like frenzy and lost focus. It's also the wrong venue. Sunday is for welcoming strangers, not holding business meetings in the lobby. Sunday speaks to corporate identity, not one-on-one friendships or family connections. Sunday worship is time given to God, not to sampling a smorgasbord of religious goods and services.

And Sunday is just too orderly. Even in non-liturgical traditions, Sunday worship has a formality that is necessary for time management, for accomplishing some key objectives, such as preaching and singing, and for focusing the faith community's attention. The rest of a congregation's work needs to happen outside that orderliness: chance encounters, random acts of kindness, conversations that bridge church and world, in-depth dialogue with clergy, study
groups, mission work, personal spirituality.

Those fundamental needs get stifled when they are loaded onto Sunday worship. Clergy feel fragmented. One successful church puts it this way: Sunday morning is for guests, and Wednesday evening is for members. That is, Sunday takes us outside ourselves, and the rest of the week nurtures our community and draws us deeper.

With that in mind, the basics:
First, more chatting and greeting, less last-minute "party management." The "table" must be set before the first guests arrive, so that everyone's attention can focus on quality of greeting. Last-minute dashing about says, "We weren't prepared, and we don't care."

Second, Sunday worship is communal time, not a venue for silence or private prayer. We need silence and prayer, but trying to carve out silence on Sunday morning by shushing those who talk or sending children elsewhere violates community.

Third, let the children come near. Raising up the next generation of worshipping Christians matters far more than preserving solemnity in the pews.

Fourth, Sunday is a time for singing, not music education. Sing hymns that people want to sing, not ones that will enhance their musicality. Sing hymns that stir hearts, set toes to tapping, elicit tears, draw people close, speak in many accents. Ignore religious hierarchs who insist that only "official hymns" are appropriate. The most tone-deaf element of church life tends to be its official hymnals.

Fifth, Sunday is a time for preaching. Serious preaching. Preaching with an edge. Preaching that looks sinners in the eye and says, "God loves you, now get it right." Preaching that looks the complacent in the eye and says, "God loves you, now get outside yourself." Preaching that looks the lost and lonely in the eye and says, "God loves you, now get up, take heart, he is calling you."

I mean preaching that ventures outside the safety of pulpit and manuscript, stands among the people and says, "Here is what I believe we need to hear today, and I need your prayers to say it." Preaching that risks offending the proud and privileged. Preaching that risks transforming the preacher.

When we get these basics right, our congregations will burst the seams on Sunday and demand together-time on Wednesday.

(Tom Ehrich is a writer, church consultant and Episcopal priest in Durham, N.C. He is the author of "Just Wondering, Jesus: 100 Questions People Want to Ask," and the founder of the Church Wellness Project.
His web site is www.morningwalkmedia.com.)

Beating the Measles

2007-05-15T18:17:00.000-07:00

Last week, my things-to-do-list was dealt a death-blow by an outbreak of the measles in Alachua County -- home to the largest community of ISKCON devotees in North America.

Apparently, a devotee young person came back from India with the disease and spread it to three others (also all devotees). Most people are vaccinated so you hardly ever hear of anyone getting measles here anymore, but some people do choose not to get the vaccine. Krishna consciousness doesn't prohibit immunization, and so it is a personal decision whether or not to get the vaccine or vaccinate your child. Some devotees feel that taking the vaccine (which is usually made from non-vegetarian ingredients) is unacceptable and abstain. Others choose not to get vaccines on principal, because they are worried about possible side-effects.

Still, outbreaks are pretty uncommon (this was the first one in Alachua in 20 years) and the story made the (local) news pretty fast. Since nearby Gainesville hosts the successful Krishna Lunch program at University of Florida, and since at least one of the measles-carrying devotees is a UF student, the media began to report on a link between the lunch program and the spread of the disease (massive food serve-out + highly contagious disease + the potential for a campus full of infected, itchy, teenagers = juicy angle). We feared that the spread of wrong information and ensuing panic could lead to some bad blood between the Krishna devotees and the rest of the UF community.

In communications and public relations, a situation like this falls into the category known as crisis communications. Crises -- whether measles or financial mismanagement or scandals or whatever -- happen to every organization, and communicators must deal with them. You don't expect them, you can't help them, and boy oh boy -- you sure don't want them. But you can and should plan for them. That means having a crisis communications plan ready to go.

So how do you respond the next time your community gets hit by a measles (or worse)?

Express your concern and willingness to work with the proper authorities and do whatever you can to help. Actually do it.
Acknowledge the facts as you know them so far, and own up to what you don't know. Don't hide, distort, or lie in any way. As communications guru often cite: "Tell it all, tell it fast, tell the truth."
Clarify misunderstandings or erroneous information. Offer facts and updated information in their place.
Follow up and follow through. Work with the media, not against them; continue to make yourself a reliable resource-- even after the initial wave of interest has passed.

Although we really need to have a proper functioning crisis communications kit, we tried our best to respond by following this model, and the results have been fairly positive so far. A radio show reported that the Hare Krishnas were setting the record straight, and some local papers also reported our concern, willingness to help, and the clarifications we offered.

In the end, I guess the measles aren't the worst thing that could happen to an organization, and at least it provided us with some on-the-job training in crisis communications.

Crisis averted -- for now. I think I'll go back to my regularly-scheduled tasks, until an ISKCON temple somewhere comes down with a bad case of rubella.

Media: How do we get to Heaven?

2007-05-14T11:44:00.000-07:00

Salt Lake City, Utah - As part of a series called How do we get to Heaven, Fox 13 recently interviewed ISKCON temple president (and expert devotee communicator) Caru Prabhu. Caru discusses many things -- the gorgeous Spanish Fork temple, the Vaisnava basis for deity worship, demigods and God, animal rights and karma, and the transcendental availability of God through devotional source, for example -- with Fox reporter Max Roth.

You can view the complete interview, a segment of which aired on Mother's Day, by visiting the Utah ISKCON temple's website, utahkrishnas.com.

Caru's interview reveals example after example of exemplary communication, and the community which he leads is a testament to what such communication can do. The temple -- in the heart of "Mormon country" -- is one of the most dynamic, attractive, and successful ISKCON projects in North America. Caru and his wife Vaibhavi enjoy a great relationship with neighbors and friends of other faiths (especially members of the LDS faith), the Hindu-American community, government officials (including the Governor and Senator Orin Hatch), and the local and national media.

Thank you Caru and Vaibhavi prabhus, for your dedicated service to Srila Prabhupada and to ISKCON.

Mother's Day Bhagavatam Class

2007-05-13T05:26:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day! Those who are familiar with the Festival of Inspiration know that the Sunday morning Srimad Bhagavatam class is generally a "Mataji Special" -- when one of the exalted Vaisnavis takes to the vyasasana to enlighten us all. I'm here, sitting in the back of the packed-out temple room as Mother Vishakha, a disciple of Srila Prabhupada and talented photographer, author, wife, and mother, begins her class.

The verse, from the Sixth Canto of Bhagavatam, speaks about the reality that we have actually had millions of "mothers" and "fathers" throughout various lifetimes:

By the mystic power of Narada Muni, the living entity reentered his dead body for a short time and spoke in reply to Narada Muni's request. He said: According to the results of my fruitive activities, I, the living being, transmigrate from one body to another, sometimes going to the species of the demigods, sometimes to the species of lower animals, sometimes among the vegetables, and sometimes to the human species. Therefore, in which birth were these my mother and father? No one is actually my mother and father. How can I accept these two people as my parents?" (Bhag. 6.16.4)

Here are some notes from Vishakha Mataji's discussion:

Srila Prabhupada said "Love is action in freedom" -- we must be free from lust, greed, envy, ambition. If we are controlled by these things, we cannot express love. The love of the mother fro child is closest we experience of unconditional love, of love in humility - because it is selfless. This is the focus of our whole culture. To love selflessly. For example, the disciple patiently sits, accepts the discipline of the spiritual master, humbly serves him, and serves one's godbrothers and godsisters. We must rid ourselves of selfishness, as a mother does when she serves her child, if we are to experience the fulfillment of our desire to love and be loved.

A Vaisnava parent can think, "This child has been given to me by Krishna to take care of as a service. He or she may or may not become a devotee of the Lord -- that is not totally within our control, not our decision to make -- but I must serve this child by loving and caring for this child selflessly."

Prabhupada wrote a letter to Arundhati, and he said "For you child worship is more important than deity worship. If you cannot spend time with him, stop pujari duties. These children are given to us by Krishna. They are not ordinary. They are Vaikuntha children.... This is a very great responsibility, do not neglect it or become confused..."

The mother is the caretaker, she is the nurturer and caretaker, and we should be grateful to her. But how can we understand this if the mother is not particularly inclined towards spiritual life or has no interest in Krishna consciousness? We can be grateful that they "chose life" -- that they are -- directly or indirectly -- responsible for us to be here, to be able to take shelter of Srila Prabhupada's teachings.

In the first chapter of Bhagavad-gita, Arjuna gives many good reasons why he didn't want to fight and one of the reasons was that women will become unprotected, and that exploitation will lead to unwanted children. We are experiencing this in our modern society. So what an amazing service it is to have wanted children -- it is a sacred responsibility we take on.

So we see here that this jiva that has re-entered the body of the prince is speaking so cuttingly to his parents. What he is saying is not incorrect, and perhaps he speaks in this way because he wants to cut the attachment -- the purely material attachment -- that his parents had for him. This chapter is called King Chitraketu meets the Lord. After receiving these instructions from his son, the King becomes fixed in his determination to seek God. So, we can take from this pastime that the King and Queen were so attached to having a child that they neglected to give him a spiritual life. That attachment is natural, but it has to be Krishna centered, or else it simply causes misery.

When attachment is based on Krishna it is liberating. The eleventh canto of Bhagavatam gives a nice verse that explains this, and gives the success of motherhood:

One should learn how to associate with the devotees of the Lord by gathering with them to chant the glories of the Lord. This process is most purifying. As devotees thus develop their loving friendship, they feel mutual happiness and satisfaction. And by thus encouraging one another they are able to give up material sense gratification, which is the cause of all suffering. (Bhag. 11.3.30)

All glories to the loving mothers (and fathers) striving to serve selflessly!

Festival of Inspiration, New Vrindaban -- May 13, 2007

Crunch Time

2007-05-10T10:06:00.000-07:00

Hare Krishna! It is crunch time -- we leave for the Festival of Inspiration in a few hours, and I still have tons to do. This year, ISKCON Communications will have a small display and an information table; like this blog, the idea behind it is to share what we're doing with the devotee community, and to invite participation, feedback, and support.

If I can get ISKCON IT-wallah Shyam Pandey to help me catch a wireless connection at New Vrindaban, I will try to blog from the Festival. In case I cannot... we wish you all a Happy Mother's Day in advance.

May Srimati Radharani, the mother of devotion, keep us always engaged in the service of Vaisnavas.

Who speaks for Hinduism?

2007-05-09T12:05:00.000-07:00

We're sometimes asked to connect professors and interfaith organizations with speakers and panelists to represent Hinduism. Our relationship with what most people call "Hinduism" -- that is to say the family of faiths that are rooted in Vedic literature and culture, but may not necessarily agree on theology -- is complex. I know that there are some devotees who have rather strong views on this subject, and I hope to discuss it in more depth in future blog posts. For now, though, I'd like to focus on a related phenomenon I've observed, practically all my life.

As a second-generation American-born Hindu (yes, I really am hyphenated), I've always found the Hindu representation on panel discussions... hmmm, how can I put this delicately?... weak.

Picture it: a distinguished panel with Father Gregory, a theologian trained at Oxford who earned his PhD on comparisons between Mahayana Buddhism and the Jesuits; Rabbi Greene, who studied for years at Yeshiva and Columbia University before accepting a position as the chair of the United Jewish Rights Federation; Imam Yassir, Koranic scholar, author, and president of the Muslim American Association... and Dr. Kapoor, a cardiologist from the suburbs who likes to read the Bhagavad Gita on weekends. In other words, an uncle.

Earlier today, a professor who is organizing a panel on religion and the environmental crisis, sent me an e-mail telling me that a local (Indian) physicist volunteered to be the Hindu representative. My professor friend asked for my advice, because all the other faiths were represented by religious clerics, but the physicist (let's call him Dr. X) told him that Hindus don't really have clerics.

Here is my reply:

Hi A---,

Thanks for your prompt reply! Hinduism is exceedingly difficult to define because, in truth, it is not one unified tradition at all, but a broad umbrella of faith traditions who all have common roots in the Vedic scriptures of ancient India. In fact the terms "Hindu" or "Hinduism" are foreign words (although everyone uses them now), having been given to the people by the Mogul invaders to India in the middle ages. They are not found in any of our scriptures. Instead, the actual words used are "Vedic" (of the Vedas) or "Dharmic" (of the Dharma).

In any event, I must disagree with Dr. X that Hinduism is represented by the laity. In most traditions within the Hindu fold, there are in fact clerics (although we may not use that type of word) who minister to the congregation and speak about and for the faith. Certainly, this is the case with the Vaishnava sampradaya (most scholars agree that this is the largest "denomination" within Hinduism) which I am a part of.

Of course, since the Hindu community in the U.S. is still young and numerically small, the laity has often had to assume roles that would have been traditionally held by religious leaders, such as speaking on panels like this. This exception has now become the norm so much so that one might assume that this is the way it has always been. It is not.

I mean no disrespect to Dr. X, but as a second-gen Hindu-American and a communications professional in my religious organization, I am speaking from my past experience with such panels. Dr. X's field of study seems to be physics not religion, and -- his own personal study of the sacred texts notwithstanding -- I am curious what would qualify him as an expert on Hindu scripture? Does he have a degree in the study of the scripture (which is called, in Sanskrit, a Shastri degree)? Or does he speak on behalf of a specific Hindu organization?

Personally, I feel that having a lay person represent Hindu traditions while the others on the panel are clerics will run the risk of an unbalanced or weak presentation. Still, it may very well end up that this is your only option, and I definitely think that it is better to have a lay Hindu then no Hindu representative at all. Please let me know if I can help in any other way.

Thanks, Vineet

I know that some devotees want to tread softly around our relationship with the "H-word" (again, more posts to come on that topic -- I promise). Some devotees may even go as far as to say that Hinduism is synonymous with impersonalism, polytheism, superstition, and Indian nationalism.

I disagree.

According to most scholars, Vaisnavas make up the largest group 'within Hinduism.' That presents a wonderful opportunity to share a side of the Vedic tradition -- personalism, worship of one Supreme God, a philosophy based on devotional service -- that people may not be otherwise exposed to. We can help create a definition, and I believe that we can do it without betraying our own unique faith.

If we can be honest as Vaishnavas but broadminded and comfortable enough to represent Hinduism, we can provide the world with the articulate, committed, theologian "Hindus" that are missing from the equation right now.

Who speaks for Hinduism? Whoever is willing to do the speaking.

Video killed the radio star

2007-05-08T08:53:00.001-07:00

For some strange reason, I've decided to take on this blog project (soon to morph into a full-on site) right now, just as festival season gets started. So, in the spare moments when I'm not sending out press releases, hopping on planes, or helping to pull the Lord of the Universe and His siblings through North American city streets, I hope to be hammering away at my keyboard.

For now, just procrastinating (from working on my Festival of India presentation) by adding new components to the blog. Two exciting add-ons , courtesy of Google:

A newsreel that allows us to track the secular press online (I've got it keyed to ISKCON and Hare Krishna right now);
A viral video sidebar (currently featuring Kuli Mela clips).

I think the Kuli Mela video is especially great -- a lot of energy, honesty, and hope. In the first clip, a 2nd-gen genre-defying band (think Rage Against the Machine meets George Harrison meets Eminem meets Bengali drumming) rocks the stage. In the next couple of clips, an all-star panel (think GBC meets Bollywood) tackles the sticky questions surrounding the creation of community in ISKCON.

Of course, no video could do justice to what it felt like actually being there (if you make it through all the clips, you'll see that I was lucky enough to play some part)... but the footage from Rasa Films come awfully close. Check it out and let us know what you think.

More soon... for now, I better get back to planning that Festival presentation. Haribol!

ys,
VBD

PS: If there are features that you'd like to see on this blog, please let us know. Drop us a line at iskconcommunications@gmail.com.

Hare Krishna!

2007-05-07T11:06:00.000-07:00

Hare Krishna, and welcome to the new website for ISKCON Communications. As we settle into our new cyber-space, keep watching this space and let us know what you think. In the mean time, we're hiking up our dhotis (or saris, as the case may be) and dangling our feet into the blog-o-sphere.

Okay, so we know the question on your minds: why a blog? Here are five reasons off the top of my head:

Because... sometimes "um, you know, we communicate" is just not a satisfying enough description of what we do.
Because... It is about time we let you in on all of the interesting stuff happening in the exciting world of communications.
Because... We depend on your feedback, ideas, and inspiration on how we can better serve Srila Prabhupada's mission.
Because... We spot the trends so that you don't have to.
Because... All the cool kids have a blog. :-)

So, now that we've cleared that up... make yourself at home. Keep checking back, and we'll try our best to keep you updated.

Yours in Service,
Vyenkata Bhatta dasa (Vineet Chander)
Director of Communications, North America