Interesting 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.
@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...
Absolutely 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.
@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.
Interesting 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.
Excellent 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.
Absolutely 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.
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...
I think he went onto say, 'That is the nature of this religion', though I can't be sure.
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...
I think he went onto say, 'That is the nature of this religion', though I can't be sure.