There are many innocent and super nice devotees in Iskcon and also many have left..... This comment was in response to the Vedic College question about how do we treat ppl who hurt us.
Unfortunately Iskcon has hurt a lot of people. As far as handling the ppl and organization who hurt me and others, I realize that it was not just individuals that were bad, but that the mean, bad stuff was due to the outdated morals and ethics in the Vedas that society is trying to leave behind as humanitarianism progresses.
Iskcon clearly blames people for what is wrong with this world, stating that Krishna could make a world with less pain with a simple glance, but God will not do it because we do not deserve a better world, due not only to original sin, which is in line with Christianity, but Iskcon heaps on bad karma from last lives as well. The problem with looking at babies as reincarnated criminals deserving lot's of bad reactions in life is that it is a very mean spirited paradigm and there is zero conclusive proof that reincarnation is even real at all. If there is reincarnation then most of who we are now, dies anyway as we reincarnate, and Iskcon can barely, if at all, even distinguish this "soul" in the myriad of faculties that makes up the human consciousness.
Back in the early seventies in New York, there were still a lot of scholastic types in the movement and the tradition of Vaisnava debate was strong. Now talking points, denial, delusion, and being afraid to hear anything that may infer that any leader in Iskcon is not a "perfect" human being seems to rule the day. Well one can perfect a skill, but applying the word perfect to a human being is more that a stretch, as it is not defensible, and neither is re-writing the dictionary to suit the new Iskcon recruitment language "code".
I am handling it by using the dictionary and facts while I continue to deprogram myself from an institution that has and still hurting many people and still keep the very few absolute truths that are in the Hare Krishna doctrine.
Unfortunately Iskcon has hurt a lot of people. As far as handling the ppl and organization who hurt me and others, I realize that it was not just individuals that were bad, but that the mean, bad stuff was due to the outdated morals and ethics in the Vedas that society is trying to leave behind as humanitarianism progresses.
Iskcon clearly blames people for what is wrong with this world, stating that Krishna could make a world with less pain with a simple glance, but God will not do it because we do not deserve a better world, due not only to original sin, which is in line with Christianity, but Iskcon heaps on bad karma from last lives as well. The problem with looking at babies as reincarnated criminals deserving lot's of bad reactions in life is that it is a very mean spirited paradigm and there is zero conclusive proof that reincarnation is even real at all. If there is reincarnation then most of who we are now, dies anyway as we reincarnate, and Iskcon can barely, if at all, even distinguish this "soul" in the myriad of faculties that makes up the human consciousness.
Back in the early seventies in New York, there were still a lot of scholastic types in the movement and the tradition of Vaisnava debate was strong. Now talking points, denial, delusion, and being afraid to hear anything that may infer that any leader in Iskcon is not a "perfect" human being seems to rule the day. Well one can perfect a skill, but applying the word perfect to a human being is more that a stretch, as it is not defensible, and neither is re-writing the dictionary to suit the new Iskcon recruitment language "code".
I am handling it by using the dictionary and facts while I continue to deprogram myself from an institution that has and still hurting many people and still keep the very few absolute truths that are in the Hare Krishna doctrine.