Politics as usual

[Guest guest]

> A new and unsettling trend among many politicians, particularly

>those in South Asia, is political opportunism--in the name and guise of

>religion. When in practice political legislations replace zAstra, no one

>has much defense against such demoniac fascism. Perhaps this helped to

>destroy monarchy (not to mention religion) in the West. It may spell the

>evential death of religion in South Asia too. For that matter, it may even

>be what has, for all intents and purposes, destroyed many people's faith

>in the authority of the GBC/gurus in ISKCON. Any thoughts about this?

>

> MDd

 

Very valid evaluation.

 

ys. JMd

[Guest guest]

On Fri, 11 Dec 1998, Jivan Mukta Dasa wrote:

> > A new and unsettling trend among many politicians, particularly

> >those in South Asia, is political opportunism--in the name and guise of

> >religion. When in practice political legislations replace zAstra, no one

> >has much defense against such demoniac fascism. Perhaps this helped to

> >destroy monarchy (not to mention religion) in the West. It may spell the

> >evential death of religion in South Asia too. For that matter, it may even

> >be what has, for all intents and purposes, destroyed many people's faith

> >in the authority of the GBC/gurus in ISKCON. Any thoughts about this?

>

> Very valid evaluation.

>

My worst fear is that the combined efforts of political

opportunists and religious fanatics will either 1) inspire people

to dump religion for good, or 2) polarize people into "demon" and

"devotee" camps. It's mixed, as usual, but a Western analog of the

latter has already begun in Israel, where some have compared the situation

to a civil war between Jewish fundamentalists and secular materialists,

fought largely over social concerns.

 

MDd