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Herson Puman 2 months agoI'm no longer a devotee and was always very doubtful, but I was briefly around during this period. I really liked a lot of the devotees and I think that was mainly about recognising that we / they were generally 'misfits' in society. I think what we had in common was an inability to thrive in a materialistic society that felt like it didn't have much of a heart. Recruiting disenfranchised people is pretty easy and I was glad to try to live a different way. I used to see Rytasha in the temple and used to wonder who the hell she was, it was obvious she came from a very different world to my own. My gut instinct was also to feel warmth to Bhagavan ( or Gurudev). He seemed like a basically nice bloke and his singing voice was very endearing, magnetic and devotional. But unfortunately, the movement was riddled with pride and ego. There was a whole feeling of superiority and the idea of winning people over to the movement was a bit crass. The name dropping was embarrassing as well, as was trying to bring celebrities into the fold. I'm not dissing Hazel O'connor or Hayley Mills, but they made such a big thing out of it. This is the first video I have found of this era and I have to say it brings back some warm but also some sad memories. Many of the male devotees I knew were really lovely beings and I often wonder what became of them. A very few were a pain in the bum as I'm sure I would also be remembered, if at all!
Although I no longer subscribe to this particular world view, I really hope that all the lovely people let down by this movement have found their own individual paths and some peace in life. I don't regret my experiences in iskon, even the negative ones, but I have been totally shocked at the level of violence and corruption that I was so unaware of. Lurve ❤. (ex Bhakta Dave) .
Aa 6 months agoEmbarrassing yet still ISKCON/GBC has another batch of new and improved "gurus" that continue to shame the movement.
Anything but worship Prabhupada.
lenny108 6 months agoThis was all planned to turn Srila Prabhupada's preaching mission into a new age esoteric camp and in this way gradually turn the movement into a Hindu offshoot. Today, ISKCON leaders cooperate with and support atheist governments. Srila Prabhupada's program was vice versa. He said that the government are keeping humanity in darkness. "If you kindly try to understand the whole philosophy—the first thing is, andhā yathāndair upanīyamānā, the whole world is now being conducted by blind leaders. And they're keeping people in darkness because they are themselves in darkness.
>>> Ref. VedaBase => Morning Walk -- January 6, 1976, Bombay
katherine green 4 years agoThe pure sexism the krsnas are famous for...hilarious!
I'm a devotee btw...but this guy...is it Bagavan das?...wow...!- thumb_up — 1
Michael Stevenson 4 years agoSobering reflection of how not to behave as a vaishnava
Faith is easy to destroy but hard to develop- thumb_up — 1
Christopher Briscoe 4 years agoAbsolutely spot on what that chap said at 22:00 If you add a flower to a stone, pretty soon, that stone takes on a new importance. Then cut to Bhavanada dasa (the 'Guru'). Very telling.
I think he went onto say, 'That is the nature of this religion', though I can't be sure.
- Christopher Briscoe 4 years ago@KrishnaTube Indeed, the flower like guru is Bhagavan, and the chap with the stone-line face, the video cut to, being Bhavananda dasa. I just thought that was so apt.
Truth=Love 4 years agoInteresting how it ended~ she was spiritually advanced enough to see through the hypocrisy and so decided to leave~ and this was before the “guru” who was basically imitating Prabhupada’s actions without being qualified, finally humbled himself and stopped pretending, leaving his big position.- thumb_up — 6
- Christopher Briscoe 4 years agoExcellent comment! The hypocrisy being that the authority needs to be humble as well. Humility is very personal and needs to cut both ways in a relationship. That is such a valuable lesson she gives here.
The Founder-Acharya of the Hare Krsna movement, Srila Prabhupada, taught this principle in spades by his actions and personal dealings.
Also roughly between 24:00 and 32:00 we have the surreal conversation between the lady and, I think, Bhagavan dasa's secretary. It is a perfect example of the Hare Krsna group-think, in my view, which has permeated the movement. A proper analysis of the conversation would reveal many truths about the mentality of the current guiding force behind the movement, even though this was back in 1985 during the maligned Zonal-acharya era. Using philosophical concepts to 'defend' ego, and attack the other person in a way that only becomes clearer when the recipient thinks about it a bit more. It is subtle, and nowadays it is more sophisticated, imo, but the underlying misconceptions and misunderstandings are there. Seeing how Prabhupada himself dealt with situations, I think, puts this into a more clearer understanding, but again that takes a little time to get a clearer handle.
Which is why devotees' experiences of Srila Prabhupada are extremely valuable to everyone who wants to get to the essence of what the movement (Vaishnavism) is really all about rather than the experience one may get when one visits a temple.
So what the lady said at the end - fantastic! I am so pleased she did, and that it was aired on channel 4 for posterity.
It is a great lesson to all...- thumb_up — 1
- Michael Stevenson 4 years agoThat conversation around minute 30 was gross, good example of what not to do
- thumb_up — 2
- Christopher Briscoe 4 years ago@michaelstevenson5457 It was an absolutely perfect, stone-cold, copper-bottomed example of what not to do! Yet, I believe this sort of thinking does permeate ISKCON, which is why I used the term group-think.
And here we see such a conversation out in the open as it were. I believe it is very educational for those wanting to know what ISKCON can be about - the darker side, as well as the brighter side, namely Prabhupada's books and all the open hearted service people were doing, which incidentally, the lady was attempting...- thumb_up — 1
Darshan Shinde 4 years agoThanks for sharing! Had seen this one long time back and was looking for a good quality version- thumb_up — 2
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