Topical Discussions conference

[Guest guest]

Dear Matajis and Prabhus,

 

Dandavats. I just wanted to let everybody know that TD has been reincarnated

on , a free, easy-to-use email group service. This group is a

forum for the discussion of philosophical issues and current events. Like

its predecessor it is primarily for Gaudiya Vaisnava devotees of Lord

Krishna who are members or well-wishers of the International Society for

Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), and who are greatly respectful towards its

founder acarya, Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

 

We are hoping that it can serve as a place where devotees can discuss all

sides of the different issues currently facing ISKCON and to do so in a

reasonable fashion and without any intimidation and/or threats. As a result

the postings here may be quite candid and critical. I was going to attempt

to copy over the 1502 posts I had filed here, but the logistics of this

proved near impossible due to the TD conference no longer existing.

 

Please do not join this group if you have an axe to grind. I, and others,

decided to recreated TD because it had a healthy, caring atmosphere at times

where people felt very welcome. Unfortunately this went a little awry

lately. In particular, as one of the moderators I will not tolerate the

denegration of or disrespect to Srila Prabhupada or any other Spiritual

Master in our tradition. The original rules of TD stand - appended hereto.

 

To learn more about the topical-discussions group, please visit

topical-discussions

 

 

In service,

Rama Kesava dasa

 

 

 

 

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Topical Discussion presentation

as at 1 March 2002

 

 

As the name implies, this conference is intended to serve as a forum for

the discussion of philosophical issues and current events. We are hoping

that it can serve as a place where devotees can discuss all sides of the

different issues currently facing ISKCON and to do so in a reasonable

fashion and without any intimidation and/or threats.

 

Since this forum is intended to encourage free speech and stimulating

discussions, we have some ground rules. The members may express

disagreement with the facts and opinions presented by others. However,

we will not tolerate any personal insults, put-downs, or hate mail. Posting

such texts will result in being blocked from the conference. This includes

telling another member that s/he will go to hell for expressing certain

opinions, even if you feel like such a statement is justified based on your

interpretation of guru, sadhu or sastra.

 

Another feature of this conference is that we allow arguments to be based on

sources other than sastra. You may thus quote any spiritual and material

authorities that you deem appropriate to back up your views. You may also

base your arguments on logic, your own experience and "common sense".

If you choose to do so, you need to be prepared that these may be

challenged by other members. However, although the content of the sources

may be questioned, no one is allowed to attack another member simply for

using them.

 

Also, we will not allow endless discussions about whether or not such a rule

is appropriate. There are many other conferences on COM that only allow

sastric evidence. This conference is unique in that it doesn't. If you are

uncomfortable with this rule, this may not be an appropriate conference for

you.

 

We would also like to prevent these discussions from turning into soap

boxes for individuals who have a lot of time on their hands, think they

must save the rest of us, and who have a tendency to contribute pages and

pages of texts and beating each other's heads with quotes. There are many

other conferences where one can find extensive quotes about all aspects of

KC. We would like to provide this forum as a place where devotees can

speak from their own realizations and experiences while trying to live up

to their ideals. Reasonably short quotes (e.g. up to a screen full) are

fine, but rather than sending multiple kilobytes of quotes to all members,

please submit the reference only. If anyone does not have the books, they

can write you privately and request the text in its entirety.

 

Please note that the texts on this conference will refer to many of ISKCON's

past and current problems, and will likely be critical of how some of them

have been handled. It may therefore not be the most suitable of conferences

for someone who is new to Krsna Consciousness, or who feels that hearing

about such problems might be detrimental to their Krsna Consciousness.