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Krishna Priya gets a bath

Hare Krishna. Our cow, Krishna Priya will be having her first calf probably within days. We thought it would be a good time to give her a bath. First there's the soapy brush...



















Next is the shower rinse...


Notice the gadget hanging from my belt. That's my mp3 player (an iRiver h320) inside a speaker unit. Whenever I work at home I attach this device to my belt so I can listen to Srila Prabhupada's audio recordings while I work. I love it.




Now that she's clean, Krishna Priya gets a little grain for a treat. Actually she's getting some grain every day now for extra nutrition, since she's going to be a mother to her calf, not just to all of us!














Finally out in the sun to dry off and head out to the pasture for dinner.

Look how clean and shiny!









Hare Krishna!

Sustainable living

I just submitted the following comment to the New York Times “Dot Earth” eco-blog, on the subject of sustainability:

http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/11/wanted-young-eco-geniuses/

 

About 14 years ago I took a college course on sustainability with Professor Lester Milbrath using his textbook, _Envisioning a Sustainable Society_.  As I recall, the basic idea was that the "dominator society" is not sustainable, and he presented an alternative that he called the "new environmental paradigm." 

 

A paper I wrote for that class demonstrated that most of our environmental problems are caused by humans raising animals for slaughter.  He gave the paper an "A" and his only negative comment was that I neglected to mention that the activity is a natural result of the dominant mentality.  (Dominant in this context means forcefully assertive rather than prevalent, although unfortunately both meanings apply to our present experience.) 

 

I later encountered Vaishanva theology, in which it is stated that the desire to "lord it over material nature" is the cause of our difficulties.  This idea is exactly consistent with the concept of a dominator society.  There is one famous verse in the Veda that translates, "There is one eternal, conscious living entity who is the chief.  He is the maintainer of everyone else."  We experience lack because of our reluctance to serve that Supreme Person, separating ourselves from Him by choice.  Ultimately it is our envy of the Lord which is the root of our problems, and the only solution is to surrender to Him. 

 

As Krishna says in Bhagavad-gita (http://vedabase.net/bg/18/66/en), "Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear."  If we want to become sustainable, we have to reconnect with our source.  Material adjustments will always be insufficient.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

           

 

                                                                                                                                         

Tilak and Sikha

Hare Krishna.

My oldest daughter, Radha, was visiting my parents for a week, and yesterday my mother brought her back to our house.  We normally go to a local devotee-owned restaurant when my parents visit, so my parents sometimes see other devotees there.  They’re not interested in visiting the temple.

I wear tilak all the time and keep a sikha with my head shaved usually twice a week.  Very few men in our devotee community have a sikha.  Other devotees in our community apparently only wear tilak to events at the temple.  Recently we went to a devotee picnic, and I was surprised to see that I was the only one there wearing tilak.  I thought these things were required.  At least Srila Prabhupada required them; but I guess some of the current gurus do not consider these features very important, despite what Srila Prabhupada said. 

            While we were having dinner, my mother mentioned to me that she sees that other devotees don’t wear tilak and sikha (actually she doesn’t know the words for them), so apparently I don’t have to have these either.  She reminded me that I’m supposed to be looking for a higher-paying job, and it these devotional features will hurt my chances of getting hired by anyone.  Actually, I don’t want to work for anyone who would restrict me in that way.  Wearing tilak to a job interview is a good way to not find myself working for the wrong person or company.  Fortunately I’m not that desperate, and my wife and I are trying to develop our own small business to supplement our income.  I’ll be writing more about that soon.

Last weekend I went to a family reunion, and there was some awkwardness around my tilak and sikha (I’m accustomed to wearing these, but I did notice some looks from relatives I met there), so I think my mother was intent upon trying to convince me to not wear tilak and to keep a regular business-oriented hairstyle.  Also, when we arrived to the gathering on the second day of the reunion, I was finishing a round of japa as I approached, and I could see from a distance that my father was said to my mother about having my hand “in that bag again.”  I ended up dropping that round since it would have been too confrontational to continue it in that environment.  On the other hand, during the first night of the reunion, one relative I met there spent about an hour asking me questions about my faith and listening attentively to the answers.

            Personally, I have many serious shortcomings as an aspiring devotee.  I’ve even considered writing a post just about my faults, but I’m not sure if it would be in poor taste.  Yet it makes me sad to see that other devotees don’t wear tilak and sikha.  I remember when one sannyasi was giving class at the temple a while back, there was a question about sharing mercy with friends, and the sannyasi eventually said, “at least they know you’re a devotee,” so they can remember Krishna when they see you, but the questioner admitted that in fact her friends at work don’t know.  It seems to me that devotees are hiding their religious faith due to fear.  I’m not sure what they’re afraid of, since there is no religious persecution in our culture; but for some reason they don’t want people to know they’re devotees or that they have anything to do with the Hare Krishna movement.  Is this not sad?

            We are supposed to be a preaching movement, spreading Lord Caitanya’s mercy; but how can we do this if we’re afraid to let anyone know of our own attraction to His mercy?  I am ashamed of some of what has been done in the name of Krishna consciousness, but even in spite of that I still want others to know I’m a Hare Krishna devotee.  Even though I struggle and often fail to overcome my bad habits, still I want everyone I meet to think of Krishna when they see me.  Of course, wearing signs of a devotee also makes me especially responsible to avoid doing anything that will embarrass the Hare Krishna movement, so these are an incentive for me to try to be on my best behavior, and therefore help me advance.  Actually I think there is a more esoteric effect of these devotional signs, but I’m not qualified to speak on that.

Sometimes people ask me, “what is that thing on your forehead?’ or some related question, and it’s practically asking me about Krishna and bhakti yoga.  I love these opportunities to share my faith in Krishna consciousness.  The lack of Krishna consciousness is the world’s only defect.  Everything else would become perfect if we were all Krishna conscious.  Therefore spreading Krishna consciousness is our only real duty.  How can we do this if we’re afraid to show our faith to others?

Hare Krishna

 

“The next point is that you should dress just like perfect American gentlemen, but the sikha and tilak must be very prominent. Coat, pants, necktie, and everything, Brahmacari and Grhasthas, they can put on, because you are not Sannyasi. In the temple, you can dress as brahmacari, but in order not to become ridiculous in the eyes of others, outside you should dress just like a very nice perfect aristocratic American. So there is no objection. But we must have always our tilak and sikha and there is no compromise for this purpose.” – Srila Prabhupada, letter to Brahmananda.  October 6, 1968.  http://www.prabhupada1968.com/2004_10_03_archive.html#109700290268903272#109700290268903272

 

 

 

 

 

"Enemies of ISKCON"?

Hare Krishna.  Last Sunday we had a Gita-nagari community meeting on the occasion of the first day of our new temple president Dhruva Maharaj Prabhu from South Africa.  During the meeting I noticed myself wondering if he knew what he had gotten himself into, as the two hour portion before the break was dominated by intense political disagreements.  (The second two-hour portion was a little better.)  I don’t know the reason for it, but a group of Bhakti Tirtha disciples on the temple board wanted one of their godbrothers off the board, but had been unable to remove him.  Most of this portion of the meeting seemed like a waste of time for me.  I still don’t know the cause of the dispute, but it was interesting to know that we have such a division among our community leadership. 

 

There was also mention of another devotee, I think from Florida, who was also considered for temple president, and many in our community apparently thought him very well qualified.  I have heard that he is a strong advocate of farming, which I think is greatly needed at Gita-nagari.  We were told that due to miscommunication with that devotee, Dhruva was given the job and that he was also well-qualified as a devotee and due to professional experience as an engineer, or something like that.  One devotee commented that many in our community were concerned that control at Gita-nagari was being consolidated to Bhakti Tirtha Swami’s disciples.  Another devotee mentioned that he has never seen an annual financial report, and I added that I would like to see a list debts owed by Gita-nagari to local businesses.  I also spoke of my hope for Gita-nagari becoming a place where devotees can work together producing goods from the land in a mood of devotional service instead of wasting our days scattered among the city office buildings.

 

The meeting was lead by our GBC, Ravindra Swarupa Prabhu, and I thought he did a good job of it, considering the difficult circumstances.  We all appreciated having him there, and I hope we see more of him in the future.  One of the focus points was the new bylaws that had recently been adopted by Gita-nagari, and had been sent out to the community members via e-mail the night before.  The document was about 35 pages of legalese, and I only got a few minutes to look it over before the meeting.  I wondered how much others had been able to become familiar with it, and we spent a substantial portion of time having questions and answers about these new rules.

 

Ravindra explained that the reason for the new bylaws was that “enemies of ISKCON” were trying to take control of ISKCON temples.  Wow!  These weren’t atheists or Christians or Muslims he was talking about; he mentioned rtvik devotees and disciples of Narayana Maharaj.  He used the words, “enemies of ISKCON” twice.  With the second usage, he didn’t mention the Narayana Maharaj group, but again referred to the rtviks.

 

This got me thinking.  I don’t know much about Narayana Maharaj’s group, but I’m not quite sure what separates myself from that of the rtviks, other than a formality.  I chant Hare Krishna; they chant Hare Krishna.  They are devotees, as far as I’m concerned.  Sure, they sometimes get angry about how things have been managed in ISKCON, but they have good reason, in my humble opinion.  Does this make me an “enemy of ISKCON” according to the GBC?  Borderline, perhaps?  I hope not.  I don’t want to be anyone’s enemy.

 

The standard meaning of the word, “initiation,” is a beginning.  By this simple definition, Srila Prabhupada initiated me into spiritual life.  He introduced me to Krishna through his purports to Srimad Bhagavad-gita and fully convinced me that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead before I even met any other devotee.  All I lacked was a devotee name, recognition, and complete surrender at his lotus feet.

 

When I came to ISKCON, I learned that I had to accept an initiation guru from the list of approved gurus, and Srila Prabhupada was emphatically not on the list.  “Sorry, he’s dead; he can’t accept you.  Pick someone else.”  Although Srila Prabhupada had spelled out his standard for accepting disciples, they could not accept me on his behalf.  They could only reject me on his behalf and take me as their own disciple if I would agree to that. 

 

In my heart Srila Prabhupada was my guru, without any doubt, but for the sake of name and recognition I accepted a guru whom I thought would not interfere with my relationship with Srila Prabhupada.  Somehow I had mistaken that for surrender; but given my apparent options, I think I made a good choice.  During my initiation ceremony, Bhaktimarga Swami told me, “Srila Prabhupada is your primary guru.”  It is true, and I am grateful that he said it.  If not for Srila Prabhupada, I don’t know how I would have ever accepted Krishna as God and wanted to be His servant.  I don’t say that no one else can ever be a real guru in ISKCON, but I haven’t met anyone in ISKCON who could give me Krishna the way Srila Prabhupada did.  I read his books and listen to Srila Prabhupada’s audio practically every day for several hours, and his words soothe the savage beast that is my lusty mind so that my intelligence can receive transcendental knowledge without interference.  No one else has been able to do that for me.  

 

I can’t help but think that these new bylaws are another sign of material consciousness in our GBC.  They are taking shelter of lawyers and courts as a way of defending their property.  Why can’t they maintain ISKCON’s temples by superior, convincing preaching?  Are they not qualified brahmanas?  My dear GBC members, you can control the temples by these methods, but you can only control Krishna by pure devotional service, devoid of material motives.  What makes you think that Krishna does not reside in the hearts of His devotees, including those whom you consider your enemies?  Do you think it wise to find so much fault with these devotees just because they do not agree with your forced intervention between Srila Prabhupada and those aspiring devotees who crave his shelter?

 

It seems to me that what the North American GBC means by “enemies of ISKCON” is really just a group of devotees who feel strongly that Srila Prabhupada wants to continue to be available to us as guru.  Others who like being guru feel threatened to be in competition with Srila Prabhupada, and therefore consider the rtvik proponents as their enemies and have taken up a legal defense against them.  The reality is that our only enemy is the lust in our hearts that makes us want to lord it over material nature.  How much worse is the desire to lord it over Krishna’s devotees?  What a dangerous trap!

 

Hare Krishna.

 

 

 

“So the Vaisnava, therefore, will have no politics. Politics means planning for one’s own happiness. That is politics. So in our society there should be no diplomacy, no politics. Everyone should be eager how to do good to others. That is Vaisnava. If he’s planning something, that “I shall be leader,” “I shall be doing something,” that is not Vaisnavism. That politics is not good.”  - A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami (March 15, 1974, Vrindavana)

 

 

 

 

 

Chain mail japa bag

Here's a photo of my titanium chain mail japa bag. The strap is aluminum. The materials were expensive, and it was a lot of work to make, but I like it a lot. Hare Krishna.

(Sent from my BlackBerry)

Austerity of Speech

Austerity of speech consists in speaking words that are truthful, pleasing, beneficial, and not agitating to others, and also in regularly reciting Vedic literature.
PURPORT
One should not speak in such a way as to agitate the minds of others. Of course, when a teacher speaks, he can speak the truth for the instruction of his students, but such a teacher should not speak to those who are not his students if he will agitate their minds. This is penance as far as talking is concerned. Besides that, one should not talk nonsense. The process of speaking in spiritual circles is to say something upheld by the scriptures. One should at once quote from scriptural authority to back up what he is saying. At the same time, such talk should be very pleasurable to the ear. By such discussions, one may derive the highest benefit and elevate human society. There is a limitless stock of Vedic literature, and one should study this. This is called penance of speech.
http://vedabase.net/bg/17/15/en

I have been finding self-restraint in this area difficult. I feel driven to speaking the truth, but sometimes my view is not pleasing to others. I remember a few years ago I wrote something that upset one devotee and he severely chastised me for it, but two weeks later a sannyasi said the same thing and was lavishly praised for his wisdom in saying it. The devotee actually told me that as a householder I can't say that thing, but maybe it could be accepted if a sannyasi said it. I don't really understand that. I feel like I know Srila Prabhupada's teachings well enough to explain them clearly and logically, and to defeat any opposing philosophy, but people seem to not like hearing what I have to say. It's a little frustrating trying to carry out Srila Prabhupada's instruction to preach, since it rarely seems to have any positive effect.

Speaking to devotees, one of the first things I learned that surprised me is that most have not wanted me to talk about Krishna. About five days after I started studying Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Krishna appeared and gave me my first Bhagavad-gita class. When I started coming around devotees, I assumed everyone had some kind of experience like that, and I wanted to talk to them about it; but what I found was that it just made them uncomfortable. I've sometimes wondered if many devotees don't really believe in Krishna. When I started studying Bhagavad-gita As It Is, I quickly thought that if Krishna was who Srila Prabhupada said He is, then He should come and talk to me because I had given up practically everything to find out the absolute truth, and I was confused about what path to take. Krishna apparently thought that was a reasonable assumption, and I thought devotees would devotees would have been interested to hear about it. Occasionally devotees talk about how they came to Krishna consciousness, and then I'm forced to decide whether they would be open to hearing my story or not. Ever since that darshan I've been trying to find a devotee who can understand and explain what happened, and I'm still looking after almost 13 years.

My point here is that I have a lot to say but I often feel restricted from saying it. If I see something that's not ideal, I want to help correct it, and that means talking about it; but a lot of devotees seem to take offense easily. For example, recently I had a thought that ISKCON is supposed to be a preaching movement, not a guru glorification movement. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Swami told Srila Prabhupada, "If you ever get money, print books." He did not say, "If you ever get money, build a big samadhi (or two) for me, and maybe a museum." If he'd said the latter, most of us would have never heard of Krishna. In my view, the best glorification of the guru is automatically done by disciples who understand the philosophy and principles of Krishna consciousness and teach the same to others. I'm surprised that many other devotees think differently about that, but they apparently do, and if I try to talk about it with them, they will get offended. I used to think that the bad effects of offending devotees happened via subtle energies as a result of improper criticism; but after some experience it seems to me that the bad effects happen via gossip and politics even when the criticism is valid.

The result is that I have a lot on my mind that I'm afraid to say.

Srila Prabhupada:"Sugar is intoxication."

Hare Krishna.

Today we had Rathayatra at Gita-nagari. Yes, I have pictures, but we haven't downloaded them from our camera yet. I haven't even unpacked the car. That will have to wait until tomorrow. I'm far too tired now.

My family has had a vending table at the ratha yatra festivals, and the main thing we sell is the herb tinctures and salve that I make. We also have a variety of artistic creations that my wife and kids make, and this year I sold some of Srila Prabhupada's books and a Hare Krishna cookbook too. However, it's my tinctures that I want to talk about, or rather one aspect of tinctures.

Well, a little about the tinctures in general first. I've been wildcrafting herbs since I learned how to do it in college back around 1993. I had a teacher who was an herbalist, and I took all the classes he offered: Field Ecology, Ethics of Survival, Ethnobotany, and Ecology of Unique Environments. The teacher, Sandy Geffner also co-founded an environmental education group called "Earth Spirit." I learned a lot about herbal medicine from these two men, and I continued to study and practice after graduation. For about ten years I made herb tinctures and a salve for my family, and then I got the idea that I should also make medicines to sell.

The basic process is that first of all I have to know my herbs. Each herb has different properties that depend on the species, the time of year, its location, the part of the plant, and other variables. This is all in books, but I also have an intuitive knack for it, so that sometimes if I am familiar with an herb, I can guess its medicinal properties without prior knowledge. I've studied a little ayurveda, and part of this intuition is based on that science.

So I find an herb that I want, and I harvest some of what I find. This is a sacred process for me, taking a plant's life, or some of it, for healing. After some reflecting, feeling of gratitude, and prayers to Krishna, I take whatever part is medicinal, pack it in a jar, and normally pour vodka over it, 40-50% alcohol, filling it to the top. The herb sits in the alcohol, getting shaken occasionally, for at least a month, usually a few month or more. The alcohol acts as a solvent and a preservative.

(Sometimes one can find tinctures that have glycerine instead of alcohol in them, but these are made with alcohol, which is then removed and replaced with glycerine. Also, a lot of glycerine is made as a byproduct of biofuels production, which is often made from filthy substances such as chicken wing fryer grease. Glycerine tinctures usually taste better than ones with alcohol in them, but the glycerine only preserves the tincture for a year or two, whereas most alcohol tinctures last a lifetime or more.)

After the herb has soaked long enough, the liquid is decanted, sometimes the herb gets pressed to squeeze out as much as possible. This liquid is called a tincture, and I have a cabinet with about 50 such tinctures. When I want to achieve some kind of medicinal effect, I combine two or more tinctures with common properties, or for whatever I want the combination to accomplish. For example, we have one for reliving coughs, another for treating migraines, a third for reducing fever, etc. Next I decant the combinations into 2 oz. (60mL) bottles, stick a label on them, and display them on a table with our other goods at Rathayatra.

Invariably, each time one or two devotees ask me about the alcohol. Of course, alcohol is an intoxicant, and we don't take intoxicants. We even have a vow. I have to have a response to this, and of course I've given it serious consideration.

I normally start off by explaining that intoxication is a matter not only of substance but also quantity. A drop of ocean has the properties of the ocean body, but not the effect. Similarly, the amount of alcohol in a dose of tincture (usually 2 squirts of the dropper) has the properties of alcohol, but lacks the intoxicating effect. An often cited fact among herbalists is that there is more alcohol in a ripe banana than there is in two squirts of a tincture. All ripe fruit has some alohol, but we do not object to it in there. I've had cups of "nectar" at temples that had more alcohol in one ounce than is in a dose of my tincture.

I also point out that water is an intoxicant when too much is taken, and this intoxication can be deadly. Yet nobody says water is an intoxicant that we cannot take. We simply take it in responsible quantities, not for intoxication but for health.

If the water example is not convincing enough, I point out that sugar is also an intoxicant. Practically every ISKCON devotee knows what it's like to have too much sugar on occasions, whether from direct experience or watching others. Need I remind you of Govardhana Puja or Radhastami? One may argue that's not intoxication, just he natural effect of having a lot of sugar, which is a food. Indeed, sugar is a food, four (kilo)calories per gram. Alcohol is also a food, even more so, with seven calories per gram. Just ask any guy with a beer belly. Someone may argue, "No one says sugar is intoxication." Well, actually Srila Prabhupada says that. Here are a few quotes:

The ants are very much fond of being intoxicated. Therefore, they find out sweet, sugar. Sweet is intoxication. Perhaps you know, all. The liquor is made from sugar. Sugar is fermented with acid, sulphuric acid, and then it is distilled. That is liquor. Therefore too much sweet eating is prohibited.
>>> Ref. VedaBase =>Bhagavad-gita 2.19 -- London, August 25, 1973

There Srila Prabhupada distinguished according to quantity.

The ants, perhaps you know it, they love very much intoxicants. And therefore they are after sugar. Sugar has got properties intoxication. Wine is made from sugar, from molasses. So the ants, they want to be very much intoxicated. So this intoxication is not only in the human society. In the animal society, in bird society, in beast society.
>>> Ref. VedaBase => Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.1.3 -- London, August 20, 1971

The ant, the small ant, they are very fond of intoxication. You know that? As soon as there is information, "On the top of the skyscraper building, there is a grain of sugar," they will go. (laughing) Because sugar contains intoxication. The wine is made from sugar, molasses. It has got the intoxication.
>>> Ref. VedaBase => Morning Walk -- May 30, 1974, Rome

That sugar, they say that the ants they are very intoxicants; therefore they like sugar. Sugar is intoxication. Wine is made from sugar. Yes.
>>> Ref. VedaBase => Morning Walk -- November 21, 1975, Bombay

I think my point is made well enough. Yes, alcohol is an intoxicant, but not in the quantities that are associated with normal use of tinctures. Not even close. There is likely to be more alcohol in your cup of nectar prasadam than there is in a dose of one of my tinctures. You can get tinctures with glycerine in them, but they also had alcohol in there, and the glycerine may have had some connection with meat, and glycerine tinctures are not well preserved. I'm not even going to get into a comparison between herbs and pharmaceuticals, not today at least. That's a whole other story.

In any case, if you buy a tincture and don't like the minuscule amount of alcohol in a dose of it, it's easy to remove. Alcohol boils at 78 C (172 F), whereas water boils at 100 C (212 F). Simply boil some water (maybe make some herbal tea), pour it hot into a cup, then squirt in your dose of tincture. Within a few minutes, the alcohol will evaporate out, leaving your medicine in the cup.

Hare Krishna.

Srila Prabhupada's opinion, or Krishna's opinion?

Sometimes when controversial subjects are discussed, I hear devotees say that Srila Prabhupada was materially contaminated with sexism, racism, homophobia, etc. Sometimes they will remark, "Where was that in the shastra?" as if Srila Prabhupada taught us mundane ideas in the guise of spiritual instruction. Here is one quote of a mataji who was trying to account for her difference of opinion by conjuring up the "human side of the guru" in reference to Srila Prabhupada:

"He relayed limited facts from a memory in his youth perhaps and offered a personal opinion." she said.

Oh, really? Recently I was listening to Srila Prabhupada's audio recordings, and what did I hear him say?

"And if, whatever little success I have got -- only for this reason. I have never said anything which is not spoken by Krsna. I never said, "In my opinion." I never said. You are so many students. I never said that to you. What is my opinion?"

Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.5.22 -- Vrndavana, August 3, 1974

Stepping Into Sankirtan

Hare Krishna.

 

Yesterday I got a special delivery… four cases of Srila Prabhupada’s books (Krishna book, Science of Self Realization, Path of Perfection, and Perfection of Yoga), plus the Hare Krishna Book of Vegetarian Cooking.  A few minutes ago I gave Path of Perfection and Perfection of Yoga to the hot dog salesman who recently started working in our office parking lot.  I told him that he inspired me to start distributing Srila Prabhupada’s books, and for that I wanted to give him one as a gift.  He took two and put them in his truck.  I didn’t tell him that he inspired me because his meat cart was so upsetting that I wanted to quit my job and try to change the world with Srila Prabhupada’s books, so let that be our secret.  I’m trying to learn the art of finding the nice thing out of the mix and saying just that. 

 

I don’t know if he’ll actually read the books, but I don’t think Krishna will let my little service go to waste.  I became attracted to Krishna consciousness first from a Radha Krishna Temple CD I bought from the used bin in a music store and then a Bhagavad-gita As It Is from the used bookcase in a new age bookstore; so I know that unless a book gets destroyed there’s a good chance someone will read it and get some mercy.  Even taking one of Srila Prabhupada’s books in hand and looking at the cover counts as a beginning to real spiritual life.  Maybe the guy won’t read them at all, but perhaps he has some kids who will find them and become devotees.  That would be cool.  One should never underestimate the potency of Srila Prabhupada’s books.

 

Hare Krishna.

 

Paper Tigers

In the past day or so it has come out that Gauri das, temple president of Bhaktivedanta Manor, was found guilty of child abuse. I'm sorry to see another embarrassment for ISKCON. I don't personally know Gauri das or have any experience with either Bhaktivedanta Manor or the Vrndavana Gurukula; however, his restrictions look a little familiar. Precedent has shown that these restrictions can be easily ignored. I wonder if that is still true.

Others can comment on the case of Gauri das. What I want to say is that ISKCON would appear a lot more credible as a spiritual society if we made sure these kinds of things didn't happen, but if they somehow did happen, that we not promote the perpetrators, and in any case we need to strictly enforce the restrictions on those who are found guilty.

The brief statement on Dandavats gives more space to the paragraph emphasizing his accomplishments than to the paragraph indicating his abuse of children, and of course comments are not allowed. I don't really care how much so-called service a child abuser has done, rather I consider it disservice. One cannot even guess what service would have been done by any children who may have been driven away by abuse. How many members of the innocent public won't take one of Srila Prabhupada's books because of ISKCON's reputation of promoting child abusers and other criminals? Instead of banning the whistle-blowers, we really ought to consider how much we want abusers among us. If we can't prevent child abuse in our schools, then for the sake of our children, our preaching efforts, and our own tender devotional creepers, I would say we should ask the abusers to chant Hare Krishna at home.

I can hardly believe we're still dealing, or rather being confronted, with this kind of nonsense.

NY Times: "When Human Rights Extend to Nonhumans"

http://tinyurl.com/6e6z8u

excerpt:

"But given that even some humans are denied human rights, what is the most basic right? To not be killed for food, perhaps?

"Ten years ago, I stood in a clearing in the Cameroonian jungle, asking a hunter to hold up for my camera half the baby gorilla he had split and butterflied for smoking.

"My distress - partly faked, since I was also feeling triumphant, having come this far hoping to find exactly such a scene - struck him as funny. "A gorilla is still meat," said my guide, a former gorilla hunter himself. "It has no soul."

"So he agrees with Spain's bishops. But it was an interesting observation for a West African to make. He looked much like the guy on the famous engraving adopted as a coat of arms by British abolitionists: a slave in shackles, kneeling to either beg or pray. Below it the motto: Am I Not a Man, and a Brother?"

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Editorial: The Shame of Postville, Iowa

From the Department of Irony:

Cruel treatment of illegal immigrant slaughterhouse workers...

At least the feds didn't hang them from one foot, cut their throats, and let them bleed to death.

What one person calls cruelty, another sees as the Lord's mercy.

"Don't live, don't die."

SB 11.5.14: Those sinful persons who are ignorant of actual religious principles, yet consider themselves to be completely pious, without compunction commit violence against innocent animals who are fully trusting in them. In their next lives, such sinful persons will be eaten by the same creatures they have killed in this world.


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A court interpreter breaks his silence after being offended by the cruelty of the prosecutions of nearly 400 undocumented workers in an Iowa meatpacking plant.<br/><br/>

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/13/opinion/13sun2.html?partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&pagewanted=all

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My dilemma

Sixteen years ago I sat in a 2 hour and 40 minute lecture for a class called “Ethics of Survival,” listening to a guest speaker talk about the environmental impact of eating meat.  Although I was raised in a family of meat-eaters, I was overwhelmed by the evidence presented, and I resolved to quit eating meat within 2 months.  It was obvious to me that I could not consider myself an environmentalist if I continued to eat meat.  Six weeks later I renounced meat as a new year’s resolution while backpacking in a wilderness portion of the Great Smoky Mountains.  Later that year I wrote a paper for an Environmental Sustainability college course, in which I showed that nearly all our environmental problems are primarily caused by raising animals for slaughter.  I also got involved with the college animal rights group, and did some activism, handing out ghastly brochures of animal slaughter in a McDonald’s parking lot, picketing a circus, etc.

 

Now its 2008 and I work for a state-level environmental protection agency, in an office of about 150 people, and there are apparently no vegetarians here other than myself.  In other words, there are no environmentalists, although many would be offended by that assessment.

 

About a month ago I composed and sent an e-mail to our office’s regional e-mail list, which would be received by about 200 employees of our department.  The e-mail was in response to a hot dog sale to raise funds for an annual meat picnic, was about 1 page, and concisely presented some of the most relevant facts related to the environmental impact of eating meat.  There is more information now than when I wrote my paper in college, and much of it has been reported in the popular media, although it is not emphasized.  Eating meat is still considered people’s “right” and individual choice.  A got a few favorable responses, although no one said they were vegetarians; and a few people told me to shut up. 

 

One guy responded that “God said we could eat meat,” citing Genesis 9:3, and saying, ”If it’s good enough for God, it’s good enough for me.”  When I looked in the Bible, I saw that in the end of the 8^th Chapter, God was lamenting how evil people are, and then in 9:2 He said all creatures would fear us, and in 9:3 said we could eat them.  In 9:4, He gave an impossible restriction, that we can’t eat meat with blood in it; and in 9:5 He said we would be held accountable.  When I read this section it seemed to me that God was allowing us to eat meat with the consideration that we are terribly sinful and would do it whether He sanctioned it or not.  Clearly God was not pleased by this.  I responded like this to the guy, and told him that my goal isn’t to live “good enough for God,” but to actually please God.  I also told him that I didn’t really care for the Bible, and that if he waned to see the view of Christian vegetarians, he should look at www.all-creatures.org .  I haven’t heard anything from him after that.

 

As a result of my e-mail, I had to meet with the regional director, who told me that one must have prior approval to address the region by e-mail.  She tried to mediate the issue of my objection to the promotion of meat, but there’s not really anything that she could do. 

 

About 2 weeks later an e-mail was sent by the business manager announcing a visit by a meat-truck called “Let’s Do Lunch.”  Their menu is as follows:  Hot Dog, Hot Sausage, Grilled Chicken, Meatball Parm, Cheese Steak, Tastykakes, Chips, Soda.  The business manager said that if there is enough support, the truck will be here every day.  Today she announced that the truck will be here every day from 11am until 2pm. 

 

In case it wasn’t obvious enough before, I work in an office of demons.  I cannot stand it.  However, I am responsible for a wife and five children, plus several farm animals including a cow who will be having a calf next month.  I need to earn a substantial amount of money to pay the bills.  Therefore I can’t just quit, but I feel like I could go berserk.  When I saw the e-mail about the meat truck today, I immediately became so upset that I had to leave the office.  I chanted 9 rounds of japa before I was calm enough to come back.

 

Earlier this week I ordered five cases of Srila Prabhupada’s books, and I’m very eager to start distributing them.  I don’t know if it’s realistic to hope that I can be successful enough at book distribution to support my family by it, or if it’s even proper to have a financial hope like that.  However, I don’t know what else to do.  I’m so disturbed by the hypocrisy here, meat eaters working for an environmental agency, not caring at all about their personal environmental impact, what to speak about the suffering inflicted upon the animals themselves.  I want to shout out, “They’ll eat you in Hell!” but of course that would be grounds for immediate dismissal.  I almost feel like that would be a good thing, but still I have to support my family somehow.