Falconer. Krishna West is not a new concept. Even in Bhaktisiddhanta's times they started to "westernize" aspects of the cult to appeal to a broader western audience. Things like wearing leather shoes or driving in cars/trains/planes to "preach" were introduced. Bhaktisiddhanta was even willing to serve meat at his temples if it meant they would attract more people. ISKCON—under Bhaktivedanta's approval had devotees dressed in "karmi" clothes and wigs to distribute cult literature.
ISKCON and other Gaudiya Math gurus have been using platforms like FB and twitter to connect with young followers for years now. Calling it "Krishna West" is new and is an attempt to dilute the traditions of an archaic bengali cult to make them more accessible and palatable to skeptical young westerners. And yes, Siddhaswarupananda has been doing that for years—since Bhaktivedantas death (you can hardly visit a Butler website and notice that it's a krishna cult). Hiding behind casual ideas like "you're not your body", "Chant and be happy" and "Eat prasadam". You can call it preaching according to time, place and circumstance, but realistically it's called covert indoctrination in complete mythological mind garbage. In the end, all you are told is that you need to chant and be happy. If you ask too many questions or want to know details and are told a bunch of mumbo jumbo that does not add up you will be told to keep chanting till your heart is pure enough to "understand" this "complete knowledge". The ideal Krishna West candidate is a person who likes to do yoga stretching and wear ganesh t-shirts while going to kirtan high on ganja. Correct me if I'm wrong. Its about quantity—not quality. Celebrating one million youtube views is the new reciting of Sankirtan/book distribution numbers in the temple room every morning. It's about followers and money. Always has been always will be.
ISKCON is not failing in the west because it's members dress in Saris and dhotis and wear tilak/neckbeads/sikhas. Their failing because they harass people at airports, have a history of crooked dealings and peddle puranic mythology/ideology as literal fact. Worshiping boar and lion incarnations and believing in monkey and bear armies and 4 headed lotus-born creation gods and suns being pulled by chariots is the least of their problems.
People can go to kirtans and eat free temple food and enjoy a surreal experience at hindu temples. It's a departure from their day to day. At least it's realistic to what "hinduism" is all about. Krishna West dilutes that authentic expression and misrepresents it. It's an india-centric cult replete with gods dressed in indian clothing and concerning themselves with india-centric flora and fauna. It's not like the gods ride giraffes and capybara vahanas.
Butler always forbade his followers to travel to India. Yet the scriptures advise that we visit holy places like Vrndaban etc. What do you think will happen when your Krishna West followers go to India and see what their "faith" is really all about? Durga, Shiva lingas, Kumbha Mela etc. They will shit their pants. It's a culture shock to say the least. There is nothing inherently wrong about it all—but it is a cultural phenomenon. By far not a "eternal dharma". I sure as heck hope people are more decent and well informed nowadays to behave with compassion and tolerance without having to believe in some blue play-boy god who mucks about with 12 year old married cowherd village girls to guide their belief systems and moral/ethical considerations.
The Mahabharata is full of stories that pertain specifically to hindu culture. Many of the stories are confusing to western devotees: Pandavas were meat-eaters, many characters had many wives or affairs, countless stories are downright barbaric in a modern context yet we are told that they were a more "advanced" culture/society.
What can I say—have fun deluding yourself and your follower's. Love the cheeky logo too. A roman-styled court house with a flute underneath it. Can't even begin to understand what that is meant to communicate. All the people you'll sue in the name of krishna? Or the fact that most hindu gods can be found in greko-roman myths as well?
H.D. Goswami is a fraud and fool like the rest of them. I truly hope your kids break free of this crap and don't bow to this crooked man. International Society for Krooked Con-artists. It all started when Bhalktivinode falsified the birthplace of chaitanya and bhaktisiddhanta taking sanyas in his dreams. How convenient. Sanyas is not even an initiating order in the Gaudiya tradition. Chaitanya himself had written, "I am not a sanyas, I am not a brahmana..." yet somehow Bhaktisiddhanta felt it pertinent to introduced these naive hierarchies in modern day gaudiya vaishnavism with little to no logical reason. The whole purpose of the bhakti cults in india was to do away with brahmanism and these social caste system hierarchies. Yet to this day all ISKCON and Gaudiya math and their off shoots still adhere to the brhaman initiation system—allowing crack-head junkie brahmanas to go up on the altar to serve the statues and classifying hardcore bhaktas as "neophytes"/Kanistas because they are not wearing a brahmans thread. It's a sick messed up joke my friend. Break free.
ISKCON and other Gaudiya Math gurus have been using platforms like FB and twitter to connect with young followers for years now. Calling it "Krishna West" is new and is an attempt to dilute the traditions of an archaic bengali cult to make them more accessible and palatable to skeptical young westerners. And yes, Siddhaswarupananda has been doing that for years—since Bhaktivedantas death (you can hardly visit a Butler website and notice that it's a krishna cult). Hiding behind casual ideas like "you're not your body", "Chant and be happy" and "Eat prasadam". You can call it preaching according to time, place and circumstance, but realistically it's called covert indoctrination in complete mythological mind garbage. In the end, all you are told is that you need to chant and be happy. If you ask too many questions or want to know details and are told a bunch of mumbo jumbo that does not add up you will be told to keep chanting till your heart is pure enough to "understand" this "complete knowledge". The ideal Krishna West candidate is a person who likes to do yoga stretching and wear ganesh t-shirts while going to kirtan high on ganja. Correct me if I'm wrong. Its about quantity—not quality. Celebrating one million youtube views is the new reciting of Sankirtan/book distribution numbers in the temple room every morning. It's about followers and money. Always has been always will be.
ISKCON is not failing in the west because it's members dress in Saris and dhotis and wear tilak/neckbeads/sikhas. Their failing because they harass people at airports, have a history of crooked dealings and peddle puranic mythology/ideology as literal fact. Worshiping boar and lion incarnations and believing in monkey and bear armies and 4 headed lotus-born creation gods and suns being pulled by chariots is the least of their problems.
People can go to kirtans and eat free temple food and enjoy a surreal experience at hindu temples. It's a departure from their day to day. At least it's realistic to what "hinduism" is all about. Krishna West dilutes that authentic expression and misrepresents it. It's an india-centric cult replete with gods dressed in indian clothing and concerning themselves with india-centric flora and fauna. It's not like the gods ride giraffes and capybara vahanas.
Butler always forbade his followers to travel to India. Yet the scriptures advise that we visit holy places like Vrndaban etc. What do you think will happen when your Krishna West followers go to India and see what their "faith" is really all about? Durga, Shiva lingas, Kumbha Mela etc. They will shit their pants. It's a culture shock to say the least. There is nothing inherently wrong about it all—but it is a cultural phenomenon. By far not a "eternal dharma". I sure as heck hope people are more decent and well informed nowadays to behave with compassion and tolerance without having to believe in some blue play-boy god who mucks about with 12 year old married cowherd village girls to guide their belief systems and moral/ethical considerations.
The Mahabharata is full of stories that pertain specifically to hindu culture. Many of the stories are confusing to western devotees: Pandavas were meat-eaters, many characters had many wives or affairs, countless stories are downright barbaric in a modern context yet we are told that they were a more "advanced" culture/society.
What can I say—have fun deluding yourself and your follower's. Love the cheeky logo too. A roman-styled court house with a flute underneath it. Can't even begin to understand what that is meant to communicate. All the people you'll sue in the name of krishna? Or the fact that most hindu gods can be found in greko-roman myths as well?
H.D. Goswami is a fraud and fool like the rest of them. I truly hope your kids break free of this crap and don't bow to this crooked man. International Society for Krooked Con-artists. It all started when Bhalktivinode falsified the birthplace of chaitanya and bhaktisiddhanta taking sanyas in his dreams. How convenient. Sanyas is not even an initiating order in the Gaudiya tradition. Chaitanya himself had written, "I am not a sanyas, I am not a brahmana..." yet somehow Bhaktisiddhanta felt it pertinent to introduced these naive hierarchies in modern day gaudiya vaishnavism with little to no logical reason. The whole purpose of the bhakti cults in india was to do away with brahmanism and these social caste system hierarchies. Yet to this day all ISKCON and Gaudiya math and their off shoots still adhere to the brhaman initiation system—allowing crack-head junkie brahmanas to go up on the altar to serve the statues and classifying hardcore bhaktas as "neophytes"/Kanistas because they are not wearing a brahmans thread. It's a sick messed up joke my friend. Break free.