Guest guest Posted August 2, 2003 Report Share Posted August 2, 2003 vrnparker humanidades India indologia Fri, 1 Aug 2003 22:42:18 -0400 re: [world-vedic] Fwd: To Krishna Bhakti das of the French Association of Vaishnavas What is Vedic For Giri Das (HDG) Brief introductory note for Iksvaku das (HDG) In the month of May of last year, my godbrothers Maharshi Prabhu, Giri Dhari Prabhu and their humble servant, we had the opportunity to be with our dear Spiritual Master, Srila Hridayananda das Goswami Acaryadeva. In the diverse conversations that we had, one of the main topics tried by our Gurudeva was, the analysis of what truly means “Vedic.” And like it could be happening that for an incomplete understanding of what implies to be “faithful followers of the Vedic principles”; we are blocking our approach to the Society in general. In other words, we could create a great wall between the Society and the Vaisnavas.” After returning to our origin places, as much Giri Dhari Prabhu as me, we think of editing a writing with the purpose of that the community Vaisnava, mainly that of Hispanic and Portuguese speech, they analyzed these interesting topics. But because Giri Dhari made it first, and according to my opinion, in an expert way, I felt unnecessary carrying out another treaty. However, I considered wise to translate it and to present it in Spanish. (Giri Dhari's original is in Portuguese, the Portuguese-Spanish translation carried out it Bhakta Roberto Zembranelli) So, I hope the readers analyze this writing in an objective way. Nevertheless, I would like to mention that that written or are not our Spiritual Teacher's textual words. Although I believe that except for some details, it maintains the spirit of what our Gurudeva tried to transmit. This topic also wanted to add a meaning of the Srimad Bhagavatam, in that Srila Prabhupada leaves the open door” so that the mature Vaisnavas that the Sidhanta has always maintained, propose norms according to the historical context that it plays them to live. So that the “Universal Spirit of the Vaisnavism”, for the true benefit of the whole humanity, it can achieve a bigger reach, without having to break up with the whole established outline of traditions and customs inside a time and specific places; determined by the circumstances. Translation “The Supreme Lord is limitless, only a very expert Personality, retreat of the activities of the material happiness, deserves to understand this knowledge about the spiritual values. Consequently, for those that are not so well located, due to the material attachment, Your Grace should show them the process of the spiritual understanding, through the descriptions of the transcendental activities of the Supreme Lord.” Meaning (I summarize) “The devote experts can discover new means and forms of converting to those no devote, in function of the time and the circumstance matters. The devotional service is a dynamic activity, and the devote experts can look for appropriate means to inject it in the materialistic population's dull brains. That class of activities that the devote ones carry out gives birth to the service of the Lord, they can introduce a new order of life in the fatuous society of the materialistic men. Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabu and their immediate followers, they exhibited an expert dexterity to this respect. With following the same method, one can put the order among the materialistic men of this fight era, for the sake of the peaceful life and the transcendental illumination.” WHAT is VEDIC for Giri Dhari you give (HDG) Extracted of some chats with Hridayananda das Gosami Acaryadeva in May of the 2002. A quite wide definition of the Vedic term, is the whole fruit of a more complete, higher knowledge. Therefore, the most important initial point should be, understanding that Vedic it doesn't mean Hindu. A great confusion exists to this respect. Because it happens that the Vedic knowledge is manifested firstly in that part of the world that today calls India, and there it had been preserved. But blended with the pure Vedic knowledge, an enormous local cultural coalition exists, bequeathed by the Muslim invaders, product of the typical decadence of our current era. This way, combined with the pure Vedic knowledge, we can find superstitions, rituals of all type and other elements of the mundane culture characteristic of the India. A practical example of this, it is observed in The Caitanya Bhâgavata, in the narration of the marriage of Srî Caitanya Mahaprabhu with Srimati Visnu Priya, since among the Vedic rituals of marriage, also observed jurisdiction many other local customs. That is to say that five hundred years behind, in the city where The Lord appeared, it was distinguished between the Vedic culture and the regional one. How can we separate the straw of the wheat? Because basing us on the Vedic writings, confirmed by all the big Acharyas of our line of succession (parampara), in which the Supreme Personality of God, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu himself is included. We are speaking of the Srimad Bhâgavatam, Bhagavad Gîta, Sri Caitanya Caritamrta, etc. For what is excellent to understand that Srila Prabhupada brought to the Occident a perfect spiritual science, not the Hinduism. In a speech given in their victorious return to the India, Srila Prabhupada emphasized its countrymen “If you try to convert a Westerner to the Hinduism, he will kick your in the face." Prabhupada didn't come with that end to the West. He came to bring something pure, very above any geographical or temporary influence, something truly universal. This is the universal science of the Conscience of Krishna. Since He, and the whole parampara, wants him to be distributed to the world. The world is not interested in another manifestation more than the culture and the mundane religiosity. It is more and more desirous of a pure and complete spiritual scientific knowledge, to give sense and purpose to their lives. An Universal knowledge that returns their healthier and happier lives. This is exactly what The Srimad Bhâgavatam and The Bhagavad Gita teach. External aspects Obviously, there is not doubt on the spiritual and philosophical aspect of you practice them inside ISKCON. The writings are detailed and Srila Prabhupada's comments return them a hundred comprehensible percent. The essence of our you practice, the regulative principles, the song of the Maha Mantra, the whole vast wealth of informations about the Spiritual World and the life in other parts of the material Universe; the name, the form and the hobbies of God. All this is perfectly trustworthy. Explained in the writings and for all the Acaryas of our parampara. This is our great treasure, the clear and perfect knowledge about the absolute one that the Society human point needs and that it transforms the life of everything that she/he receives it. However, some external aspects of our norms exist, especially in the form when presenting us in the occident that they need to be examined. Here it is where there is a clear confusion among that that is truly Vedic and that that is barely Hindu, Hinduistic or simply invented. The risks Could you then ask which the problem is of being practicing something Hindu or Hinduistic? The problem is serious, because our mission is not to be some mere representatives of the Hindu culture or Hinduistic, for more beautiful and nobleman that is. Our destination is not the one of conquering a small territory in the field of the world ethnic cultures. Our mission is to save to the world, since we are representing Prabhupada, the devote cigar of God, and to Krishna. To represent means to present again. Prabhupada didn't come to the West to begin a net of cultural missions of the India. He come to save the humanity. Therefore, if we are in some way affecting the image of our movement, we are representing bad the true Vedic culture. Then we are failing in our mission. Finally, the external aspect is that that is seen first, if this external aspect, for our flaw, is not very attractive, boring or ridiculous. Then we are harming the spiritual life of those that thanks to our bad performance, they will lose the interest in the message of Krishna and of Prabhupada and the desire of knowing them. Even from the psychological point of view, it is known that the body and the mind have a natural resistance to the change. Therefore, changes make the more, specially external, minor will be the number of people that you/they will be willing to accept us or to be interested in the process. In especially those already successful and very established in the society. In other words, it is of maximum importance to present the essence, the true spiritual science, to return our more accessible, attractive image and we can give more practical knowledge. What you can change We should be very careful in the understanding of the sense of the Vedic culture. We should not continue ahead with models, only because they have been used until this moment. On the contrary, we should have the humility of recognizing that we need to adjust ourselves. Because in practical terms, almost forty years after the arrival of Prabhupada to the occident, one can say that our influence in the Western Society is zero * *. But if millions of human beings and other alive beings benefitted much of the conscience of Krishna, if hundreds of millions of books and magazines were distributed, countless tons of prasadam were distributed all over the world, all this would be or it is praiseworthy. The problem is that our objectives, are much more grandiose: we are here to radically change the conscience of the materialism, for espiritualizing to a significant part of the inhabitants of the planet, especially their leaders. Therefore, I believe that it is valid to begin a discussion on our methods and habits with the intention of to perfect our appearance and to represent the true Vedic culture and the Krishna Conscience better to the world. To resist is natural. All human being has a psychological mechanism, when any practice or bound ritual to our spirituality, he is carried out for a while enough and a number of people, becomes integral part of our life. Even more, without considering the origin or the authenticity of this practices or ritual, we believe that our spiritual lives would be seriously threatened, if was interrupted or altered, and it is exactly this type of things, those that take us to abandon our traditional religions and to deepen us in the conscience of Krishna. We should not be sentimentalist but true scientists. We speak a lot that the Conscience of Krishna is a spiritual science and don't only unite religion. Therefore, we should maintain this in the mind when questioning some aspects of our customs, not only now but always. For what is valid always to remember that this is not a permission for the mental speculation. But well, to act scientifically in spiritual terms means, to be based a hundred percent on the guru, sastra and sadhu. In ISKCON this implies carrying out Srila Prabhupada's orders, especially the contained ones in their books and to not contradict or to commit their teachings in any way. Let us pass to analyze some external aspects practiced in ISKCON. The gear Those that we call devotional clothes, that is to say the dhoti, kurtas and saris, they are not devotionals . The dhotis has also been used by people that hate Krishna, as the members of the Taliban and other groups of radicals Muslim. The dhotis doesn't stop to be clothes used in the India by atheists, mayaviadis, shivaistas, and for other people in the Half East and in the South and Southeast of Asia. The saris is also Asian clothes used by people's types in several regions and it is not in way some an exclusivity type Vaisnava or Vedic. It is a really interesting fact that we can not find the word dhoti or sari in the old writings. They are not Sanskrit words. What is in The Mahabharata on the description of an appropriate clothes, is the chaste term. That is to say that the truly Vedic clothes is that that is chaste, clean and deigns. This is to get dressed of agreement with the Vedic culture. Many times we see saris that are not even Vedic, because when exposing too much the stomach of a woman stops to be a worthy clothes and breed. Therefore, a clothes can not be devotional or not, without considering the conscience of who uses it. That is to say, the ethnic of the clothes won't determine if the conscience of a person is devotional or not; but yes the presentation of chastity, cleaning, dignity and this person's general behavior. We also have to abandon the idea that all those that practice the Conscience of Krishna are monks and therefore they need to get dressed as such to go to the temple; when in the reality the ninety and ninth percent of the members of ISKCON live in their houses and they are in charge of non monastic activities. So alone the devote ones directly responsible for the program of the temple, they need to get dressed this way, and to be identified as such. The other members of the congregation can get dressed in a normal way, in a truly Vedic way (clean breed and deigns). Until those that are sanyasis and priests in the temple, when leaving to the street, they could get dressed in a discreet way, breed, clean, worthy and not with the same clothes that would use when carrying out a cult or to give a class. This is the label observed in the occident, followed almost in their entirety for the priests of other religions. Therefore, there is not reason to choose a clothes that causes shock in the occident, an Asian clothes that the leaders of these countries not even use as if it was the uniform of an universal spiritual science. When we can opt for something Vedic, appropriate to the current global culture, the consequence will be very good. Imagine like she/he would improve our image if we present ourselves this way. An enormous wall that we have built would be collapsing. It would be fantastic if people were related with the devote one, as that that gets dressed in a clean and worthy chaste way, since this it is the image that we want to transmit. The Music. We believe that the music and musical instruments of the occident can not be Vedic; and this is a great mistake. We think that the harmonium, shenai, mrindanga and kartalas are truly Vedic. The harmonium is an instrument of German origin and the shenai it is of half east. Therefore, the origin or the instrument type doesn't make difference some; more yes the final result. Vedic music is that that is executed with knowledge. This means with musical knowledge and transcendental knowledge. That is to say the Vedic music, is that that doesn't only show a high degree of harmony, grace and musical beauty, but rather it also elevates our conscience of God. For example Vivaldi was a priest, Bach lived in a monastery and Hendel it was very religious, he used its music like a way of to elevate people and to glorify to God. All they are recognized as musical geniuses, therefore yes their music was made as an offering to God, it should be considered as Vedic. This is hardly an example, but many exist others in the occident and certainly in other cultures also. The point is to understand again that Vedic it doesn't mean solely Hindu. On the other hand, it is not enough to add the spiritual element of the Holy Names of God or their hobbies and instructions to make of a sound a Vedic music. If we fasten a machine of perforating next to an electric mountain, and at the same time we sang the Maha Mantra, we could not affirm that this is devotional music . It is certain that the Holy Names are absolute, but the music not. To think that any noise is music, it would be the product of an ignorant society and certainly it goes against the principle of a Vedic culture, an excellence culture that looks for the perfection and the elevation in everything. The music in the Vedic culture, as everything the rest, it should be an offering to God. In the same way in that the best cooks cook to offer the foods to the Lord, in the same way the best musicians would owe to play and to sing for the Deities. Kirtans in the temples it is a musical offering to the Deities and not something made for our pleasure and enjoyment, therefore they should not be annoying or excessively noisy (just as happens when playing several kartals or mrndangas and especially if they are not well played, this excessive sound had even taken to several devote to the partial loss of the audition) and the musicality lack perhaps you could consider as offensive as to offer a too salted or burnt food for the Deities. Our spiritual science says that we should cultivate the modality of the goodness, then later to be able to transcend to the pure spirituality. Would the question be that where the goodness is in a Kirtan where people run the risk of losing its audition where percussion instruments are used as kind of a primary therapy?? Where the sound that is produced difficultly would be interpreted as a music on the part of healthy people. We see in the lilas of Lord Caitanya like is that He personally chose the musicians and singers for their kirtans, choosing to the best. We also know that in the principles of Iskcon in the decade of the 60s nobody could play before the Deities without before to go by a training and approved being. Let us observe as Prabhupada played the mrndanga. The mrndanga is a true instrument that it needs of training and study to be able to be very well. Who she/he will play it especially before the Deities and of other devote ones it should follow the steps of Prabhupada, studying and practicing seriously. As we will be respected in terms of the highest knowledge and does she/he form of living if the musical expression for which we are known and that we offer to God in our temples something is it so similar to the sound heavy metal and punk? How many respectable people of our society, teachers, doctors, would managers etc be able to feel inspired when listening this way to a Kirtan?. We can make beautiful kirtans truly sweet " madhu " (madhu Bhaktivinoda Thakur said.) Kirtans that invoke the modality of the devotion, not the wild passion. We should not make a show of ecstasy , running, screaming and destroying kartals and mrndangas. A great risk exists of confusing ecstasy with a manifestation of our original culture, that is to say a culture where the modality of the ignorance prevails (noise and pain) and passion (to sing and to play instruments to all volume and frantic rhythm). En the case of the Harinam Sankirtan in the streets is still worse the lack of consideration, because we are forcing people that they undergo to something that stops most it is not anything attractiveness (curious and funny a good time in some cases). In Bombay Prabhupada the Harinam restricted made by its pupils in the streets when he discovered that it was not well seen by the local high class. Will it be that the elites of the Society in the West the attractive Harinam finds? In the time of the hippies a great success could have been and could a highly effective technique be (to attract the hippies), but will it be that this continues being applicable to our time, Place and current circumstances? And if we will leave to the streets singing and should not playing instruments be very careful in choosing the musicians, the clothes that will use and in who will represent us before a real public? The culture of the floor We have in Iskcon the mistaken idea that Vedic culture means to sit down, to eat and to sleep in the floor. We believe that it is so noble and beneficent that force to our companies to make the same thing in our temples. The Srimad Bhagavatam and other writings are full with descriptions of furniture, beds, etc... This is a good example of how the devote of Iskcon assumed an artificial culture and until contradicting Srila Prabhupada's suggestions, and that to say then of the old Vedic culture. A famous example is that of the temple of los Ángeles, when Prabhupada went to see the church that later Iskcon bought and where until today the temple of the Ángeles is located. The seats were still there, Srila Prabhupada said to the devotees ones that they should leave the seats so that he publishes it was more comfortable, but in its enthusiasm the devotees threw them to the garbage and until continuous today without seats. There is not reason some for not taking places so that our companies feel. It is absurd to believe that we should impose such an annoyance to those that are coming closer to Krishna and Prabhupada and even to impose this to the own congregation being that most of the devotee ones have their own comfortable houses, they have sofas, beds and seats. Why to believe that in the temple the standard one should be inferior? Where is the spiritual science in this? 4 / The cutleries The same thing can be said of the culture of eating with the hands. It is well that Srila Prabhupada made this, but He was educated this way. All its life lived in a culture where ate up this way. It is obvious therefore that the He would not change when arriving in the West. But this it is not our case and much less our culture. There is not advantage some in eating with the hands if we have available cutleries. It is not more hygienic neither more practical and the effect that has in our companies is very bad because in West this is not very seen and a rude and strange point is considered, until repugnant. Therefore we can not run the risk of transmitting this way such a bad impression to act in a way that is not Vedic and not even necessary in way some. Let us meditate a moment in what a Westerner would think when seeing people dressing an Asian clothes that but she/ he resembles a giant diaper, sat down in the floor and eating with the hands. Perhaps the worst thing of everything is that anything of this is Vedic neither necessary to help us to develop the Conscience of Krishna and definitively it harms our mission very much, our true duty of disclosing the pure spiritual science of the Bhakti- yoga. 5 / The Foods So much in the Bhagavad Gita as in the Srimad Bhagavatam we find descriptions of the food type that we should offer to Krishna and then we can take as remainders. Diverse times it is explained that we should offer and then to honor foods in the modality of the goodness. Such foods are described in The Bhagavad Gita 17.8 being those foods that increase the duration of the life, they are healthy, they purify our existence, they give us force, happiness and satisfaction. This therefore is Vedic feeding. It doesn't have that necessarily to be food Hindu. Neither we should believe that we can eat all type of fritters, sweet or plates full with industrial cheeses. All yellow cheese in Brazil (and practically in the entire world) they have bovine substance . It is enough with seeing the precarious health of many old devotees that underwent to a diet anything healthy of excessive fat and sugar. The devotees ones should not be known as those they make flavorful Hindu preparations (an ethnic stamp), but rather as people that prepares flavorful plates that increase the duration of the life, they are healthy, they purify the existence and they give force, happiness and satisfaction (that would be a recognition to the superior and scientific knowledge). More and more people use such foods and we should teach to the world to eat this way, since this is an important part of the true spiritual science of the Krishna Conscience. 6 / Singing japa in the streets Until the same simple act of singing japa in the streets with the hand in the bag has counteractive results for our preach. Let us meditate a moment in the appearance of somebody with the hand inside a bag, with a finger of it was, shaking the mentioned bag and speaking for itself (and many times making some grimaces a strange looks). Let us let for a side moment the fact that we know that the act in yes of singing japa it is something wonderful and the most beneficent thing and let us imagine what a Western person would think when seeing that. This is the point!, we should not act in way in that alone we benefit but so that other they also benefit. If we can modify some of the things that we make without committing our true principles and this way to stop to cause certain aspects of rarity that affect our image in a negative way, if we can make this for the good of the preach and we don't make it, then we are acting in an irresponsible and selfish way. Irresponsible because we are ignoring the maximum order of Prabhupada that is the to present the Krishna Conscience in an intelligent way and to attract to the maximum number of people, and selfish because we are hardly thinking of our own spiritual advance. It Dances / Art and Architecture. The same principle is applied to all the other aspects of the Vedic culture: it dances, art and Vedic architecture neither are necessarily hindus. Prabhupada frequently appreciated the Western classic architecture. Our temples don't need to neither have these exotic and colorful decorations that have generally, there is reason for necessarily to give exhibitions of Hindu dances in our festivals of the Ratha Yatra, That stereotypes our image, limiting the vision that people can have of ISKCON of being representing something really Universal and practical. Justification According to Srila Prabhupada's teachings and of the writings, can these changes be made in ISKCON? The answer is yes!, they can and they should. It is our duty, Prabhupada said that he had created a basic structure and that it would be in us to give the final touch. We can see that in their 60 volumes He doesn't speak of these small details, knowing that this is a question of the time, place and circumstances. How would it rot a movement to last ten thousand years without altering such details? How would it rot a science to be valid for all the times in all the Universes if she/he stayed tied to this type of things? The point is that Prabhupada always said alone they add Krishna and the result will be wonderful"; He didn't recommend to erase everything and to begin of swims here, but rather we left everything in the way in that it was and adds Krishna and in that way the result would be excellent. One of the most important points in our philosophy and that Srila Prabhupada emphasized repeatedly it is the principle of adapting the spiritual science according to the time, place and circumstances. Prabhupada didn't come to the West to change our clothes, neither he came to remove those covered with our hands, much less to take off the seats neither to change the architecture, it dances and the Western classic music. He came to bring to Krishna and the science of connecting everything again to Him. Conclusion. The Vedic culture is not externally something patented in music terms, gear, architecture, cooks, etc. This changes a place to other or of a time to another. It is not that in the whole Universe, by all Vaikuntha or where it is that the Vedic culture prevails, we will find the same type of gears exactly, architecture, art, cooks etc. Only in a minuscule planet like ours finds simultaneously so many cultures coarsely different that to say in the vast Kingdom of God. It is not for omission that our main writings and our big Acaryas including Srila Prabhupada didn't play these topics. This is due to that is a variable, superficial question. What is not variable in the Vedic culture is the spiritual science, the different Selfrealización forms and the spiritual advance that it culminates with the pure devotional service to Sri Krsna. It is also variable the fact that the Vedic culture means to take pains for the perfection, for the maximum knowledge in all that is made. This way ISKCON should make an effort to show to the world this ideal of to look for the maximum quality in all that is made and to execute it like an offering to God. Who can argue against such a perfect objective? Who would be opposed to a movement that works this way? If we are really taking seriously the order and mission of Prabhupada we should understand that there is not another alternative. The In the globalizade world sees two main tendencies: The search for the excellence and standardization of a Universal culture. Companies and serious governments invest trillion Dollars in education and training for their employees, demanding from them a more and more high level of efficiency and quality. Practically no big company is able to survive without perfecting its products and work processes being constantly. In the developed countries the towns also demand from their governments a growing quality and excellence. And already many decades ago that that is considered as something worthy and respectable in New York it will be equally worthy and respectable in Shangai, Delhi, Paris or Sao Paulo. The world looks for Universality for this new reality in that we live. It is senseless and counteractive to try to present a message, it doesn't care that so wonderful it is, if this this inmerso in an ethnic and exotic format. Acting this way is saying to the world that we are not interested in him and on the other hand the world is not interested in us. We are totally outside of syntony with the current reality. It is clear that our philosophy is perfect and we don't really need the approval of anybody, neither we are interested in having followers, fame, etc... But like an institution, as preachers, we can not think this way. We have to make an effort and to make all that we can to stay current and excellent if we want that our message is listened. Appointments of Srila Prabhupada 1.- I have built the structure of the sky-scraper, now you fill it in an appropriate way (Letter to Rupanuga, Delhi 10 of December of 1971) 2.- They are interested in obtaining knowledge, but the materialistic knowledge will deviate them of the true goal of its intelligence, and all its other credits in connection with its education they only added many zeros. But if yourself is very well turned in our Krishna Conciessness, you will be able to convince them that if they put to Krishna or God in the center of their learning process, it doesn't care if they are scientific, chemical, political, any thing that they are, if they put to Krishna in front of many zeros the result it will be a great sum and their life will be perfect. (Letter to Tribuvannatha, The Ángeles, June 16 1972.) 3.- The method of adoration, to sing the mantra and to prepare the forms of the Lord, it is not something stereotyped neither it is exactly everywhere the same one. It is specially mentioned in this verse that one should consider the time, place and available conveniences. Our movement Aware of Krishna is carrying out in the entire world, and we also install Deities in different centers of Preach. Sometimes our friends from India, very proud with their speculate notions they criticize: This should not be made." But they forget instruction of Narada is I Summoned one of the biggest Vaishnavas, Dhruva Maharaja. One should consider the particular time, country and conveniences. What is convenient in India can not be convenient in the Western countries. Those that are not truly in the line of Acaryas or that personally they doesn't have knowledge of how to act in the paper of Acarya, it can be that some relating changes exist to the way of adoring, but this is not incorrect according to the Tailor. Srimad Viraghava Acarya, an acarya in the discipular succession of the Ramanuja Sampradaya had stressed in their comment that the chandalas or conditioned souls that they have been born in lower families that the sudras, they can also be initiate according to the circumstances. The formalities can be lightly changed here and there to make them Vaisnavas (SBG 4.8.54 meaning) _______ http://www.latinmail.com. Gratuito, latino y en español. 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