Although the reaction to my newly published book on kirtan has been overwhelmingly positive, I have received several letters expressing an entirely predictable ISKCON concern. One letter in particular sums up the all-too-conservative reservation: “I love the new book but I wonder about ‘milk touched by the lips of a serpent.’ I refer, of course, to the non-ISKCON people represented in your book. Shouldn’t we only hear from authorized representatives who embody the mood of Lord Chaitanya?”

Religious movements are historical, sociological, philosophical, and hopefully, divine phenomenon. They are also the sum total of the contributions, influence and sacrifices of many men and women, both big and small.

In the history yet to be written of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, (ISKCON) many persons will be noted for their contributions, both positive and negative, to this great social enterprise.

It is interesting that the US and UK style themselves as “liberators” of Iraq. Subtly implied in this euphemistic term is the assumption that we are ourselves already liberated, in a position to bestow our happy state on others. And that is surely a commonly held assumption in the West. We view ourselves as having the most progressive and free societies. But how true is this?

If you ever watch TV, read a newspaper, or listen to the radio, chances are you'll have heard of the term 'carbon footprint' by now. In our increasingly green conscious society, it's the buzzword of the minute, and refers to the impact human activities have on the environment.

Steven Rosen (Satyaraja Dasa), prolific author and renowned expert on Gaudiya Vaishnavism, has hit new strides with his latest literary offering – a book about kirtan, the sonic form of yogic spirituality. The Yoga of Kirtan is truly a groundbreaking celebration of yogic practice, engaging 21 well-known kirtan singers in conversation – transcribed interviews. Their insights give readers a comprehensive understanding of what chanting actually means, both in terms of practical application and inner development.

Exactly echoing a message found in the Bhagavad-gita, a senior judge recently declared that “almost all of society's social ills can be traced directly to the collapse of the family life.”

In a speech in Brighton to lawyers from Resolution, formerly the Solicitors' Family Law Association, Mr Justice Coleridge warned of a "cancerous" increase in broken families and said the government must take "comprehensive action".

The highlight of my visit to Mayapur this year was Anuttama Prabhu's seminar on leadership and management—an extremely valuable course, which teaches so many important skills and principles of effective leadership and management.

 

 

As anyone who has ever told a "How many _____ does it take to change a light bulb?" joke knows, humor can be tricky. Attempting religious humor can be downright dangerous. On the one hand, we fear offending people's cherished beliefs; on the other, spiritual growth seems to necessitate that--from time to time, we all learn to not take ourselves quite so seriously.

Srila Prabhupada wanted us to serve together based on love and trust. Here are some reflections on building trust and some ideas that may be helpful to our temples and projects.

Most organizations are not aware of the enormous cost of low trust, and because they have no means of measuring its impact, they have little motivation to seriously address it. To compound the problem, many people feel like helpless victims of the problems in their organizations and see no clear way to influence their leaders.

Barack Obama, Democratic candidate for President of the United States of America, has been compared to a number of great men before him.  The charismatic young politician has been likened to president John F. Kennedy and Abraham Lincoln, as well as to civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr.  But here's one that the mainstream media is not likely to catch: it seems Barack Obama has something in common with Lord Krishna's dear friend and devotee Arjuna.

GBC Resolution 311*, which appears paraphrased at the end of this essay, strikes at the heart of the Hare Krishna movement, namely ISKCON with its chief ideologue, the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust (BBT).

Some might think Resolution 311 is an unnecessary and unwanted interpretation of Srila Prabhupada's teachings, and a sneaky though well-intended way to relativize Srila Prabhupada's wisdom -- and, at worst, a power grabbing exercise on the part of the GBC.

In today's culture war pitting secularism versus religion, Eastern religions usually get a free pass from atheist authors and other foes of faith. But that doesn't mean that Hindus can afford to rest on their laurels. Several new books from Hindu experts and advocates seek to dispel misconceptions, including negative ones, about the ancient Indian tradition.

GBC Resolution 311 is a watershed in ISKCON history. The resolution — to annotate and "explain" Srila Prabhupada's books — is an attempt to redefine the constitutional structure of ISKCON. Whether intended or not, Resolution 311 changes the established relationships and power balance between individuals, managerial authorities (such as temple presidents and the GBC), the Founder Acarya Srila Prabhupada, and his teachings.

The Sanskrit word “Karma” found its way into the English dictionary long ago so today even the most conservative American has a sense of what it means. Since then John Lennon sang: “Instant Karma Is Going To Get You,” and bumper stickers mock: “Don’t let your Karma Run Over My Dogma.“ But Karma is no joking matter.

You know when people are drinking coffee at intermission that something is wrong. The audience that attended the April 19 presentation of "SatyaGraha" sincerely wanted to understand and be attentive to this opera but, like me, they found themselves fighting off sleep while desperately trying to follow along with few and poor tools to do so.

Environmentalism has certainly been on people’s minds lately. Governments around the globe are teaching their constituents about the need to conserve resources. School children are taught the three R’s – reduce, reuse, recycle. And of course advertisers are keen to tout the environmental benefits of whatever product they are trying to peddle.

A couple from Chennai decided to live simply - by a stream in a one-room hut. The man, Magari, would forego his occupation of hunting while his wife Madhavi would cultivate Tulasi instead of selling baskets. Magari would also give up non-vegetarian food.

 

Those Denizens of Cyberspace who are either young, young at heart or have teenagers will undoubtedly have heard of World of Warcraft by Blizzard Entertainment, or WoW as its commonly known amongst those initiated in its mysteries. WoW is not the latest of what is called MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games) but it is certainly the most popular.

I was invited to travel to Kisumu on the shores of Lake Victoria, very far from the Kenyan coast on the Indian Ocean. Kisumu was from all the accounts I had heard a pretty disagreeable place. In the early years, I had read in advance of my journey, that apart from the endemic sleeping sickness, bilharzia, malaria and the nasty malarial complication known as "blackwater fever", the climate was sweltering and municipal hygiene primitive.

The 2008 Mayapur GBC annual meeting ratified as official ISKCON policy the presence of multiple ISKCON centres in the same city. Conceived in New Vrindavan, June 2007, at the special GBC meeting for strategic planning, the “urban proliferation proposal” earned unanimous support from the brainstorming GBCs, hungry for greater ISKCON effectiveness.