Srila Prabhupadas advise about Guru tattva

[Guest guest]

> > Srilaji an ISKCON leader? He's a GM leader!!!!

>

> That stands for Gaudiya Math?

 

Yes, he's leading the way in trying to win us over the side of

the ISKCON ship into another unproven and supposedly more

'blissful' boat. It's a gamble.

 

Never give up something certain for something uncertain.

Canakya.

 

ys

 

ada

[Guest guest]

> How about considering the possibility that devotees are leaving ISKCON for

> some very good reasons, such as maltreatment, cheating, lying, lack of

> support etc. ISKCON does not have a good track record of caring for

> devotees. Once someone has been "courted" into joining, the tone often

> changes from one of encouragement to one of intolerance, criticism and

> judging. If we took better care of each other, I don't think devotees

> would be so eager to look elsewhere for Vaisnava association. Most

> ex-ISKCON devotees with whom I've talked, were not initially attracted to

> either ritvik philosophy or to Narayan Maharaja. They were just escaping a

> painful environment and those groups were there with open arms. Because

> they were treated better in these other camps, the attraction developed

> later.

 

 

There was something that left me "incomplete" upon reading these

lines, for several days. What is missing is actually the information

on how *exactly* devotees are being treated better in other Vaisnava

camps. What is their structure, day-to-day life style, modus-operandi,

the organization of society...? How women, children (caws as well as)

are specifically taken care of? What is the social arrangement?

What does it practically mean "to join Gaudiya Math"?

 

 

I have spent some years living in the ISCKON communes. I could

certainly recall quite few situations that left me with a bitter

taste in my mouth. Now, since one year there has been just nothing

of a kind. It all goes fine. Nice relationships. I am being treated

better!! But not that I am in illusion now that it all has changed

on better. The simple reason for that is that I live now my own life,

independently of what's going on in some ISCKON commune. Yet, I

consider myself (and I am considered) to be the part of the "ISCKON

camp".

 

Maybe this is one way of having a "smiling" camp where people do

not get badly treated -- not to have a society where people would

come and get the opportunity to "rub" each with other. In ISCKON

*everybody* feels as a victim of the *society* (in the case one

feels mistreated, of course). It goes from a "bhakta Joe" till

"Paramahamsa Maharaja". But then, the society itself is nothing

but - us.

 

What I would like to see is how much Gaudiya Math has advanced in

the practical establishment of varnasrama dharma system, the system

where all of us would be able to fit in without major conflict

situations and stressful experience. If it is a type of organization

that offers no solution to these problems, then I would consider

it not very reasonable to compare GM camps with ISCKON in term of

"better treatment". Because it is going for mixing apples with

oranges.

 

ISCKON is pioneering here. As far as I can see, other camps don't

even bother about. Some even consider this to be something for

unqualified people. So maybe ISCKON should not bother either, and

thus get relieved from the whole burden and the blame for mistreating

others? Why not just have some gurus giving the classes on the

confidential topics of Krsna's pastimes and give initiations to

those who come to them for it, and let the rest of the unqualified

world make their lifes as they wish? Then none would be mistreated.

But I doubt this is what Srila Prabhupada would want.

 

 

I am not trying to find the excuse for bad things that happens

in ISCKON. I am just trying to look upon a wider picture of the

situation, when it comes to comparing ISCKON with other camps

in term of treating people. Let other camps do the work, then

let us see who does less mistakes. But no work brings about no

mistakes, but no any other kind of results either.

 

 

 

 

ys mnd

[Guest guest]

>

> > One reason is to

> > affirm thier purchasing descisions. Like people who have Apple computers

> refer to PC's as "Windoze"...

> >

>

> You must have heard that on the Wintel conference. Nobody say's such things

on

> the Mac conference. I guess it was already understood!

>

> ys,

>

> Sthita

 

Yes, I remember the old rousing arguments between Mac and PC users.

 

Mac: 3.5 inch floppies are better - they aren't as fragile and they fit in

your

shirt pocket.

PC: Why would you want to put a floppy disk in your pocket?

 

Mac: Icon based operating system is easier to teach.

PC: Text based rules!

 

Mac: A mouse is a useful interface for a computer.

PC: It's inefficient to take your hands off the key board.

 

Mac: Drop down menus make navigation easy.

PC: What's so hard about memorising whole different sets of instructions for

each

different program?

 

Mac: Color is useful on a computer

PC: Color computers are just toys.

 

 

Ooops wait. Sorry about the time warp. I forgot that after all the sneering

at

Mac by PC, the PC now has 3.5 floppies, a mouse, graphics interface, drop

down

menus, and color.