tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41890633780604697282024-02-18T22:16:43.269-05:00Life Comes From LifeChristopher Ficihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12101732802629222937noreply@blogger.comBlogger288125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4189063378060469728.post-89556720660949883462013-04-15T12:18:00.001-04:002013-04-15T12:18:19.462-04:00Why This Devotee of God Doesn’t Think To Be Atheist Is To Be A Demon<br />
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There are two kinds of people in this world. <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Devotees</em> and <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">demons</em>.</div>
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I think this is absolutely true.</div>
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But let’s parse this out a bit.</div>
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First of all, what is the source of my seemingly eccentric and dogmatic statement?</div>
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<a href="http://vedabase.com/en/bg/16" style="border: 0px; color: #990033; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In the sixteenth chapter of the <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Bhagavad-Gita</em></a>, <a href="http://www.krishna.com/info/about-krishna" style="border: 0px; color: #990033; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Krishna</a> speaks of two kinds of natures that exist in this world and in our being: the <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">divine </em>and the <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">demoniac</em>. After listing a number of qualities that are of the divine nature, such as charity, aversion to faultfinding, purification of one’s existence, cultivation of spiritual knowledge, and freedom from envy and from the passion for honor, Krishna lists six qualities-pride, arrogance, conceit, anger, harshness and ignorance-which mark the demoniac nature. In the remainder of the chapter, Krishna unpacks further how the demoniac nature unfurls in our reality.</div>
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In the ninth verse of the chapter, Krishna says:</div>
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<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Following such conclusions, the demoniac, who are lost to themselves and who have no intelligence, engage in unbeneficial, horrible works meant to destroy the world.</em></div>
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In his commentary on this verse, renowned Vedic scholar/teacher <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._C._Bhaktivedanta_Swami_Prabhupada" style="border: 0px; color: #990033; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada</a> writes:</div>
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<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The demoniac are engaged in activities that will lead the world to destruction. The Lord states here that they are less intelligent. The materialists, who have no concept of God, think that they are advancing. But according to <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Bhagavad-gītā,</em> they are unintelligent and devoid of all sense. They try to enjoy this material world to the utmost limit and therefore always engage in inventing something for sense gratification. Such materialistic inventions are considered to be advancement of human civilization, but the result is that people grow more and more violent and more and more cruel, cruel to animals and cruel to other human beings. They have no idea how to behave toward one another.</em></div>
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As a follower of the <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Gita</em>, there is a straightforward-ness in Swami Prabhupada’s presentation which I find refreshing, important, and essential. It cuts to the rotted root of injustice, oppression, and hatred which exists in our world. It points to a deeper conception of why this injustice exists, in that without a conception of a divine reality, or a divine ethic, we all-too-fallible humans will all-too-often inevitably fall prey to the demoniac nature which surrounds us, and within us.</div>
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At the risk of appearing as a heretic (even more so than I appear to be already) to some more orthodox/literalist followers of the <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Gita</em>, I want to critically examine what Krishna and Swami Prabhupada are saying in tandem in this chapter of the <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Gita</em>. A surface interpretation of the dichotomy of the divine and demoniac here may provide a certain sense of clarity, but often what seems absolutely clear can lead to absolute expressions of theology and morality which can alienate and marginalize. This seeming clarity can also be at odds with people’s actual and visceral experience in the world, so I want to make a humble attempt to go a little bit deeper.</div>
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In thinking of my own experience doing Interfaith work in New York City, I have always made a sincere effort to be as open-minded and open-hearted as I can, with the appropriate respect and understanding of the natural boundaries that exist between different faith traditions. This mood has allowed me to develop wonderful relationships with Russian Orthodox priests, Reform Jewish rabbis, Wiccan priests, and just about everything else in-between. Being able to build, and walk across, bridges between faiths is one of the most important aspects of my spiritual journey. Real Interfaith work is a vehicle for creating the kind of deep and active compassion that is the most needed quality in this world at the present moment.</div>
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Yet as I went deeper into this work, I began to wonder what are the mechanics, as it were, of extending this joyful sense of communion towards those who identify as atheist/agnostic. More distinctly, I challenged myself to be as open-minded and open-hearted, with the same understanding of boundaries, with those I may encounter in my work and service who may not believe in God or a divine reality beyond the material reality we all inhabit together. This was a particular challenge for me, as I mentioned above, because to many within my tradition the terms atheist and demon go hand-in-hand. As usual, my innate sense of curiosity, or to put it more plainly, my independent streak, my desire to understand the <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">truth</em> beyond what may be “obvious” or “comfortable”, compelled me to question the basic assumption at hand: Does being atheistic mean one is inherently demoniac as described by Krishna in the <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Gita</em>?</div>
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My opportunities to interact with serious and intelligent atheist thinkers were few and far between, so I was grateful to be invited to the 2012 <a href="http://www.worldfaith.org/" style="border: 0px; color: #990033; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">World Faith</a> Gala at the <a href="http://www.nyu.edu/life/student-life/diversity-at-nyu/spiritual-life.html" style="border: 0px; color: #990033; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">NYU Center for Spiritual Life</a> this past December, with Chris Stedman as the featured speaker for the evening. Stedman is a unique figure in the world of Interfaith, as many of you already know. He is one of the founders of our esteemed community of thinkers here at State of Formation along with the <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Journal of Inter-Religious Dialogue</em>. He is the <a href="http://chaplains.harvard.edu/people/chris-stedman" style="border: 0px; color: #990033; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Assistant Humanist Chaplain at Harvard University</a> and a prolific writer, including blogging gigs at the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-stedman/" style="border: 0px; color: #990033; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Huffington Post</a> and the <a href="http://onfaith.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/panelists/Chris_Stedman/" style="border: 0px; color: #990033; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">On Faith</em> blog</a> at the Washington Post. Last year, Stedman published his first book <a href="http://faitheistbook.com/" style="border: 0px; color: #990033; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Faitheist: How An Atheist Found Common Ground With The Religious</em></a>, detailing his journey from being a “born-again” Christian through the acceptance of his alternative sexuality and eventual turn towards identifying as an atheist, along with his concurrent work and experience organizing for justice with communities of faith, even as he became someone for whom faith as most religious know it no longer necessarily applied.</div>
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As I listened to Chris that evening, and had the chance to meet him, the thoughts I had been having about my desire to understand the humanity and reality of the atheistic perspective became more intense. First of all, the work that Chris is doing is indeed of an enlightened nature. He is someone who understand the values of wisdom, empathy, and compassion. These are indeed spiritual values, but to understand them as spiritual values in the context of the work and convictions of someone like Chris Stedman means that one has to take a much broader, inclusive, open, and truer understanding of what it means to be spiritual. Hearing Chris speak, meeting him, and reading his words, it struck me that one cannot automatically assume that someone who is an atheist is inherently demoniac. Chris Stedman, who he is and what he does, is proof enough to me that what Krishna is saying in the <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Gita</em> has to be understood with discretion, intelligence, and compassion. It has to be understood beyond the surface.</div>
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As our human civilization faces a massive existential crisis in understanding that our consumerist way of life is no longer, and never was, a sustainable way for us to interact with the web of ecology that surrounds us, what is needed most is the kind of dynamic communication that builds a sense of community across not only the boundaries of different faith traditions, but across all unnecessary boundaries between people who sincerely want to create justice on this planet today, tomorrow, and going forward. There is a tremendous courage that is needed to cross through these boundaries, and the realm of Interfaith is a place where this cutting edge exists. In <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Faitheist, </em>Stedman writes:</div>
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<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">I believe that change will come from within-that by participating in Interfaith work, the nonreligious will broaden the meaning of such efforts and that the language used to describe them will change accordingly…I cannot begin to recount all of the times Interfaith work has opened up a space for robust conversations on problematic religious practices and beliefs. In fact, it has been a hallmark of my experience working in the Interfaith environment. Furthermore, it has allowed me to engage religious people about atheist identity and eradicate significant misconceptions about what atheism is and what it isn’t</em></div>
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<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">I regularly hear from atheists who are leading the charge for Interfaith cooperation on their campuses and in their communities, and their experiences echo mine. They too have found that Interfaith is expanding to incorporate them and that, when done well, Interfaith engagement doesn’t require that people check their convictions at the door; it invites people to try and understand and humanize the other.</em></div>
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<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></em>This understanding, and this shared grasp of what it means to be human in this world, at this time, is immeasurable more powerful and effective in organizing, working for, and living by the principles of divinity than by any surface labeling of who is divine and who is demoniac.</div>
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Let us look again to what Swami Prabhupada said above, to truly understand what is demoniac. The demoniac nature is that which exploits the material nature simply for the selfish exploitation of the senses, an exploitation that invariable leads to violence and cruelty. It does not take a great leap to understand, through the examples of our shared history and also our contemporary experience, that those who may claim to have an obvious “concept of God” can easily become wrapped up in the demoniac qualities. This is not a black-and-white equation. There are “devotees of God” who act demonically. There are “demons” who act divinely. If we stay on the surface of this dichotomy, without diving deeply, without the kind of courageous thought and activism that someone like Chris Stedman is offering, we will add nothing to the equation but the kind of irrational hatred that scars our very existence.</div>
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As I said before, the <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Gita</em> is straightforward, and everything I have said above is not to discount that there are people who are obviously divine and obviously demoniac, and that those categories can fall alongside certain accepted parameters of faith/lack of faith. But instead of condemning every atheistic/agnostic person to be inherently demoniac, I challenge anyone who is challenged by this to think a little deeper, to broaden their experience working with and knowing the non-religious, to try to understand that the religious and the non-religious have a lot to learn from each other, and to read <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Faitheist</em>. The true arts of compassion and communication require much more than intellectual and theological complacency. They require a courage based in a divine sense of love that belongs to all beings regardless of what they identify as.</div>
Christopher Ficihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12101732802629222937noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4189063378060469728.post-23456020641676994052013-03-12T15:07:00.002-04:002013-03-12T15:07:31.724-04:00When Saying "It's Just Kali-Yuga" Is Not Enough
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Dr.
James Cone is one of the formative personalities in the living
history of </span><span style="color: navy;"><span lang="zxx"><u><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberation_theology"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>liberation
theology</i></span></span></a></u></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">,
the spiritual/religious framework of knowledge and practice based
around the ideal that God, and those who are devotees of God, should
be primarily concerned with the social/political/spiritual freedom of
the oppressed, of those who are marginalized due to their race, sex,
class, nationality, or gender. Through such courageous and
groundbreaking works such as </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>A
Black Theology of Liberation, The God of the Oppressed</i></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
and </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>The
Cross and The Lynching Tree</i></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">,
Cone has resounded a daring truth which says that God is intimately
and particularly concerned and active in securing the freedom of
black people in America from the shackles of bondage which have kept
them and held them over much of the last five hundred years. While
Cone did not invent the idea of </span><span style="color: navy;"><span lang="zxx"><u><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_theology"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Black
Theology</span></a></u></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">,
he is considered one of its “founding fathers,” as it were, and
is a historically important and vital figure in the field of
contemporary Christian theology</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Dr. Cone's work has
inspired many other liberation theologians across the spectrum of
race, sex, and gender to apply this ideal of God's care and love for
the oppressed to their own particular situations of
oppression/marginalization. He has been teaching at Union Theological
Seminary, the oldest independent progressive Christian seminary in
America, for much of the last four decades. Union, where I am
currently working towards a master's degree in religion and
ecological ethics, is where I had the good fortune of participating
in Cone's Systematic Theology course this past Fall. </span>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">From the very first
class, Cone was encouraging us to find our own personal theological
voice, but he was also clear that there was an objective difference
between good theology and bad theology. I came to understand that
good theology, a working theology, must include understanding and
realization of the transcendent reality of God, who speaks to us and
acts within us beyond the boundaries of the material world, helping
us to transcend our own limitations. Good theology must balance this
understanding of the transcendent element with a clear acknowledgment
and commitment to confronting, within the material world, the
structures and expressions of injustice, discrimination, and
oppression which deny people their material and spiritual freedom and
dignity.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Bad
theology is removed from this balance. A theology which doesn't work
gives a framework which compels a community to think itself above the
problems of the world. Bad theology commits the “sin of silence”
towards the injustice of the world, either by outright ignoring the
pain and suffering of oppression, or by misinterpreting how to deal
with this oppression with antiquated and insensitive forms of </span><span style="color: navy;"><span lang="zxx"><u><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Praxis_(process)"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">praxis</span></a></u></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">.
Theology will also not work when it is too concerned with justice
work at the expense of the transcendent element. Our link to the
transcendent reality of God allows us, as expressed in the thought of
one of Union's most influential teachers and philosophers </span><span style="color: navy;"><span lang="zxx"><u><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reinhold_Niebuhr"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Reinhold
Niebuhr</span></a></u></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">,
to understand the original freedom of our own spiritual nature in
relationship with God, while also making clear to us the finite
nature of our material existence and our limitations within that
nature to express that original freedom. Any theology, or any kind of
justice work, which does not keep the transcendent relation of God at
its center, will not be able to comprehend or transcend its own
limitations and the multifarious flaws of human nature.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Dr. Cone was also very
clear that all theology, and that our own theological voice, comes
out of the element of contradiction. A major part of this element of
contradiction comes from the the understanding that if we have the
conviction, courage, and intelligence to wrestle with and examine how
our faith tradition is expressing itself in relation to the world, we
will be able to confront ideas and frameworks in that expression
which do not work, which are not relevant. From the confrontation of
that contradiction we will be able to shape new ideas and frameworks
which insure that our faith, our theology, speaks of the reality and
love of God in a way that is meaningful, powerful, compassionate, and
effective to the actual time, place, and circumstance which surrounds
it. The element of contradiction, when processed in a healthy,
intelligent, sincere, and surrendered fashion, helps to insure the
proper theological balance between faith and knowledge of God's
transcendent reality with a commitment towards the active work and
service that can bring the just love of God into reality to break the
bonds of injustice and oppression in our world.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I
am beginning to understand, as my own theological voice begins to
form, as a devotee who serves within ISKCON and identifies, more or
less, as a member of ISKCON, who identifies as a servant of
Prabhupada's mission, that I am also dealing with a serious
contradiction. This contradiction begins as I understand that while I
accept the fundamental and essential tenets of </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>sastra</i></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
as given to us by Prabhupada, I have many problems with how this
essential spiritual understanding is expressed culturally and
socially by our society of devotees. Let us recall the words of
Yogesvara Dasa, a long-standing and well-esteemed disciple of Srila
Prabhupada, who in our previous piece expressed his feelings that the
Hare Krishna movement is largely invisible and irrelevant to society
today: </span>
</div>
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<br />
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222;">“<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>The
most candid comment I can give about public perception of Hare
Krishna in North</i></span></span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 0.16in; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>America
is that I don’t think there is one anymore. The worst possible
thing has happened,</i></span></span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 0.16in; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>namely
indifference. There was a time going back 20 years perhaps when there
was a public </i></span></span></span><i style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 0.16in;">perception
of the Hare Krishna movement in the sense that people felt accosted
in airports or </i><i style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 0.16in;">read
reports of abuses or saw devotees chanting in public. Devotees were a
more visible part </i><i style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 0.16in;">of
the landscape of American culture previously.</i></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 0.16in; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 0.16in; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Maybe
then one could say there was a public perception because Hare Krishna
was in the news, it was on television, it was in the papers for good
or for bad...I believe that Vaishnavism as it has been historically
will not be the same in the future for the simple reason that the
world it lives in is not the same. There is a compulsion within
Vaishnava faith to move into the larger society and to become
relevant, and the Vaishnava community has yet to demonstrate its
relevance. For 99.99 percent of the world we don’t matter. Krishna
Consciousness is irrelevant to most of the world.”</i></span></span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I
feel, and I am not alone in this feeling, that there is something
wrong in how ISKCON, as the standard-bearer of Prabhupada's mission,
relates to the world at large. Srila Prabhupada has given us the gift
of a profound spiritual revolutionary movement which is to meant to
strike at the very status quo of the oppression of material nature,
yet our tendency is to speak in a overtly transcendent manner to the
problems and complexities of the world, as if we are speaking down to
people who are trying to spiritually work through these problems and
complexities. It is difficult for us to speak to, to speak with, to
speak along-side these sincere-minded and sincere-hearted people
working for peace, justice, love, and meaning. As I wrote in <a href="http://jivacow.blogspot.com/2013/01/when-saying-you-are-not-your-body-is.html">my
previous piece</a>, this contradiction crystallizes for me when we
communicate to people that “they are not their body” in such a
way as to completely ignore or devalue their particular bodily or
human existence in the world. Telling someone “they are not the
body” when they are looking for spiritual shelter to help them work
through and transcend their bodily situation of oppression is a
particularly insensitive and irrelevant form of communication. This
is compounded by the fact that when we consider the history and
concurrent living experience of ISKCON in terms of how we relate to
vulnerable and marginalized people, such as our women, our children,
or devotees in our community in racial and sexual bodily constructs
which are considered to be the “minority” or the “alternative”
to the norm, we have a long and painful reckoning to deal with. </span>
</div>
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<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Let
us consider two statements that Srila Prabhupada makes to us in one
purport from the </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Madhya-lila</i></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
of </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Sri
Caitanya-Caritamrta:</i></span></span></div>
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<br />
</div>
<div align="CENTER">
“ ‘<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>As
far as religious principles are concerned, there is a consideration
of the person, the country, the time and the circumstance. In
devotional service, however, there are no such considerations.
Devotional service is transcendental to all such considerations.
Madhya 25.121</i></span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>The
transcendental service of the Lord (sādhana-bhakti) is above these
principles. The world is anxious for religious unity, and that common
platform can be achieved in transcendental devotional service. This
is the verdict of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. When one becomes a
Vaiṣṇava, he becomes transcendental to all these limited
considerations. Madhya 25.121</i></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="LEFT">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Prabhupada
is quite clearly expressing here that devotees should never define
the essential values of Krishna consciousness, of </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>bhakti-yoga</i></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">,
by the limitations of material consideration. The color of someone's
skin or the nature of one's sexuality ultimately has nothing to do
with anyone's eligibility to become a devotee. Therefore no one
claiming to be a devotee should ever discriminate or prevent someone
from approaching devotional service because of material or bodily
considerations.</span></div>
<div align="LEFT">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="LEFT">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">As
Prabhupada mentions in the first passage, devotional service is
transcendental to all such considerations, but the cultural
principles which surround, express, and communicate the eternal,
absolute values at the core of Krishna consciousness have to take
time, place, and circumstance into account. Prabhupada did this
himself actively in the grand spiritual/sociological “experiment”
of bringing the tradition of </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>bhakti-yoga</i></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
from its original cultural context in India to the cultural context
of the West. We know many of the alterations he made, such as
allowing men and women to live together in the temple environment or
initiating very young men into the </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>sannyasa</i></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
asrama, and we know the kind of push-back he received from his more
conservatively oriented God-brothers. We know that every
consideration he made around altering certain religious/cultural
symbols was done with the exact and sincere motivation to maintain
and enhance the free potential for everyone to properly encounter the
eternal, absolute, and transcendental principles of Krishna
consciousness.</span></div>
<div align="LEFT">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="LEFT">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">To
follow his calling for us, we need to understand that as devotees we
are not to limit or define ourselves by material considerations in
how we grow and maintain our communities and our society as a whole.
Does this mean that we shouldn't be conscious of the material
diversity of psychophysical situations we encounter in growing and
maintaining our communities? Absolutely not. Prabhupada was also a
tremendous genius at giving the reality of Krishna consciousness to
each person as he consciously and compassionately understood the
location of their being in this world, in the actual ground that they
stood on. To have the capacity in our preaching, in our outreach, in
our advocacy of the values and principles of Krishna consciousness,
to learn and practice the art of revealing devotional service in the
unique and palatable way that each person may desire it, is
completely essential for us if we are to properly follow Prabhupada's
calling for us.</span></div>
<div align="LEFT">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Consider
two more passages from this purport:</span></div>
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>As
far as different faiths are concerned, religions may be of different
types, but on the spiritual platform, everyone has an equal right to
execute devotional service. Madhya 25.121</i></span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>The
conclusion is that devotional service is open for everyone,
regardless of caste, creed, time and country. This Kṛṣṇa
consciousness movement is functioning according to this principle.
Madhya 25.121</i></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="LEFT">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">How
can we say our movement is functioning according to these absolute
values when we clearly understand the legacy and ongoing reality
within our movement of discrimination against certain types of body,
nationality, caste, and/or sexuality? There is a contradiction which
exists, which we must confront, between these eternal values of
openness and equality at the heart of</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>
bhakti</i></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">,
and the way we either share or don't share these values with people
because of the discriminatory lenses we carry with us. This
contradiction is one of the core reasons, if not the core reason, why
we struggle to be as relevant are we are called to be in the world
around us. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">There
are of course individual devotees and communities of devotees who are
exploring this contradiction and creating outreach which truly speaks</span></div>
<div align="LEFT">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">openly and equally to the heart and mind of the contemporary human
being in the 21</span><sup><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">st</span></span></sup><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
Century. </span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">One powerful example is the </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Gita
Sutras (</i></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b><a href="http://www.gitanyc.com/">gitanyc.com</a>)</b></i></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
program associated with the Bhakti Center community here in New York
City, which is attracting a diverse and dynamic spectrum of spiritual
seekers whose intelligent minds and compassionate hearts are being
enlivened by a presentation of the essential principles </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">of
the </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Bhagavad-Gita</i></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
as given by Prabhupada. It is a presentation which meets them
powerfully and profoundly in their psychophysical locations and which
doesn't discriminate against those locations. </span>
</div>
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<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">ISKCON
as a whole, as a global body representing Prabhupada's body, must now
courageously and specifically ask whether its cultural presentation
is something that is directly relevant to the world we live in. Do
the elements of the presentation of Krishna consciousness in our
communities and in our society as a whole contribute to the
discrimination that exists in this world, or does it help to liberate
people from that discrimination? What do we need to do to translate
the eternal relevance of </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>bhakti</i></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
so that it is practically relevant to the way people feel, think,
live, and suffer? What do we need to do to translate this relevance
so that it is not a scandal to the intellect and experience of the
people we want to reach, touch, and affect?</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">As
individuals and as communities we have the tendency to participate in
</span></span><span style="color: navy;"><span lang="zxx"><u><a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=spiritual+bypassing&aq=f&oq=spiritual+bypass&aqs=chrome.1.57j59j0l2j62l2.7140&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“spiritual
bypassing”</span></a></u></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">,
or to become addicted to </span></span><span style="color: navy;"><span lang="zxx"><u><a href="http://www.elephantjournal.com/2013/01/spiritual-heroin/"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“spiritual
heroin”</span></a></u></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">,
in which we consciously/unconsciously ignore the difficulties in our
own hearts, in our own communities, and in the world around us. To
offer a balm to this affliction, I ask this question: do you, do we,
do I, really understand how terrible and how painful the effects of
the Kali-Yuga are to people suffering those effects? In the same way
we can say to ourselves or tell someone else that “you are not the
body” without fully understanding the full spiritual import of that
statement, when we pass off the tumult of our time by saying its just
the “Kali-Yuga”, we are ignoring our sacred responsibility to
understand, confront, and redeem the pain of our age. We have to ask
ourselves: do we want to be confronted by the realities of our age,
perversities of divine nature which most certainly manifest in our
own heart, or do we want to be an insular, provincial, “Hindu”
religious society which has little practical relevance or effect upon
society?</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I
know it is my experience, and the experience of a good number of
devotees in our communities, that once one sees and encounters the
vastness of the injustice and suffering which permeates our age,
there is no longer anyway to bypass it or ignore it. It changes one's
entire identity and calling as a devotee. It strengthens that
identity and calling. It deepens that identity and calling. Some of
the most formative influences on the shape of my own spiritual
journey has been books like </span></span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/American-Holocaust-Conquest-New-World/dp/0195085574"><span style="color: navy;"><span lang="zxx"><u><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>American
Holocaust</i></span></span></u></span></span><span style="color: navy;"><span lang="zxx"><u><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
by David Stannard</span></span></u></span></span></a><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">,
which detailed the mass extermination of indigenous Native American
peoples and cultures upon the “discovery” of the “New World”
by European settlers/conquerors. Equally as powerful is</span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>
</i></span></span></span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/New-Jim-Crow-Michelle-Alexander/dp/1595586431/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1359564824&sr=1-1&keywords=the+new+jim+crow"><span style="color: navy;"><span lang="zxx"><u><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>The
New Jim Crow </i></span></span></u></span></span><span style="color: navy;"><span lang="zxx"><u><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">by
Michelle Alexander</span></span></u></span></span></a><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">,
which explores and reveals how the contemporary criminal-justice
system has created a underclass of people, largely Black and Latino
men, whose standing as citizens in American society has been
traumatically torn asunder. I would encourage any devotees to read
these books to gain a better and broader idea of the kinds of
demoniac forces we encounter in this age and on this planet.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Let
me also share some food for thought from my recent participation in
the opening workshop of the 2013 Immersion Experience of the Poverty
Initiative, a clear and committed social justice organization working
out of Union Theological Seminary. The workshop was titled </span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Conditions
and Consciousness: The Current Economic Crisis, </i></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">and
in the opening session we were presented with a number of facts that
were meant to challenge and motivate us to grasp and understand a
number of elements of exactly why and how so many people face
suffering and exploitation because of certain economic factors that
exist in our societal infrastructure. </span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I
hope that by listing below some of these fact/provocations/questions
that like-minded and similarly concerned devotees reading this may be
deepened and challenged in their own motivation and conception of
what it means to serve in this Kali-Yuga. We must understand the
nature of what the term economic means. It is a measuring and a
conceptual understanding of who gets what and why. It is an
examination of t</span></span><a href="http://vedabase.com/en/iso/1"><span style="color: navy;"><span lang="zxx"><u><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">he
principle of the quota from the </span></span></u></span></span><span style="color: navy;"><span lang="zxx"><u><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Isopanisad</i></span></span></u></span></span></a><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
and how that principle is/is not honored in our current time.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">We
must understand and confront in our ourselves and in our society the
gap between the factual reality of certain economic conditions and
our consciousness of these conditions.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">To
whit:</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">-As
recently as 2010, </span></span><span style="color: navy;"><span lang="zxx"><u><a href="http://www.bankruptcylawnetwork.com/one-american-is-filing-bankruptcy-every-15-seconds/"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">a
home was being foreclosed on every 15 seconds.</span></a></u></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">-</span></span><span style="color: navy;"><span lang="zxx"><u><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2011/12/16/well-of-course-1-in-2-americans-are-poor-or-low-income-naturally-its-obvious/">According
to the Census Bureau in 2011, one of every two Americans is poor/low
income</a>.</span></u></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
</span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">-The
number of </span></span><span style="color: navy;"><span lang="zxx"><u><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tent_city"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Tent
Cities”</span></a></u></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
continues to rise since the 2008 financial crisis, exacerbated no
doubt by the increase in environmentally related disasters. As
devotees, how do we practically help the people living in these
communities?</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">-Of
course we tend to notice how machines/robots continue to replace
human service/interactions in such places as the assembly line and
the checkout line. What do we as devotees have to say to people whose
livelihood has been replaced/is threatened by this effect of economic
globalization?</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">-I
am reminded of the time HH Devamrta Swami, in one of his visits to
the Bhakti Center in NYC, showed all the brahmacaris </span></span><a href="http://www.sonyclassics.com/insidejob/"><span style="color: navy;"><span lang="zxx"><u><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">the
award-winning documentary </span></span></u></span></span><span style="color: navy;"><span lang="zxx"><u><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Inside
Job</i></span></span></u></span></span></a><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">,
which detailed the 2008 financial meltdown. He never explicitly
explained why he was showing us this film, but the implication was
clear: just down the road from the Bhakti Center, on Wall Street, are
the kind of overt demoniac forces that Krishna spoke of the</span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>
</i></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">in
the </span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Bhagavad-gita</i></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">,
and that as devotees, we should be very aware of this and very clear
about what they are trying to do.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">-How
much are we, as devotees, aware of how debt functions to keep this
unjust economic system working? How do our own experiences of debt,
as individuals and communities, define our viewpoint of how our
society actually works? Do we understand that the current crises of
debt inequality exist not because the system isn't working, but
because that is how the system actually works? </span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">-Through
the combination of our own personal misuse and the ways the
industrial food production systems work, </span></span><span style="color: navy;"><span lang="zxx"><u><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/21/us-food-waste-idUSBRE87K0WR20120821"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">half
the food that is produced is eventually wasted/thrown out.</span></a></u></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
This adds up to $165 million of food wasted per year, while 800
million hungry go around the world.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">-Did
you know that, despite the backlash that came after the 2008 economic
crash, </span></span><span style="color: navy;"><span lang="zxx"><u><a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=CEO+earns+185+times+more/worker&oq=CEO+earns+185+times+more/worker&aqs=chrome.0.57.763&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">CEOs
earns at least 185 times more on average</span></a></u></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
that the workers under them at their corporations?</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
main point of this workshop was to help us to begin to understand the
structural and ideological</span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>
roots </i></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">of
why our current economic situation is the way it is, from the most
high corporate boardrooms on down to the people barely scraping by in
slums left behind. As devotees, it is also our challenge to
understand the roots of the way the Kali-Yuga is being expressed in
the world around us. Understanding these roots will allow us to have
a more accurate diagnosis of the problem, and it will </span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>compel</i></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
us to offer the right prescription to help cure our ills as much as
we possibly can.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">What,
according to Srila Prabhupada, is this right prescription?</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Because
of the increment in demoniac population, people have lost brahminical
culture. Nor is there a kṣatriya government. Instead, the
government is a democracy in which any śūdra can be voted
into taking up the governmental reigns and capture the power to rule.
Because of the poisonous effects of Kali-yuga,
the śāstra(Bhāg. 12.2.13) says, dasyu-prāyeṣu
rājasu: the government will adopt the policies of dasyus, or
plunderers. Thus there will be no instructions from
the brāhmaṇas, and even if there are brahminical
instructions, there will be no kṣatriya rulers who can follow
them. 7.2.11</i></span></span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><br /></i></span></span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Therefore,
through the popularizing of hari-kīrtana, or
the saṅkīrtana movement, the brahminical culture
and kṣatriya government will automatically come back, and
people will be extremely happy. 7.2.11</i></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Having
an effective consciousness and awareness of the suffering in this
world will give us determination and courage to effect the change,
to do what Prabhupada is calling us to do, to overcome this
suffering. As devotees, we have a responsibility to always be asking
ourselves if we a</span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">re
truly and comprehensively aware as we can be of the suffering in the
world. We must always be critiquing and improving our understanding
of our own responsibility and our own calling to free the world, as
best as we can, from this suffering.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">A
few quotes to end, from Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. of course, and
also from Jon Sobrino, an influential Jesuit activist and liberation
theologian</span></span></div>
<h1 align="CENTER" class="western">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">"</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal;">True
compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it comes to see
that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring.”</span></span></h1>
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Rev.
Martin Luther King, Jr</i></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 0.16in; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 0.16in; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: black;"> “<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Our
theology has to be rooted in reality”</i></span></span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 0.16in; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 0.16in; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Jon
Sobrino, S.J</i></span></span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 0.16in; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 0.16in; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 0.16in; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
relevance of Prabhupada's mission as we move into the 21</span></span><span style="color: black;"><sup><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">st</span></span></sup></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
Century depends so very much on standing firmly on the ground of
suffering in this world, in this Kali-Yuga, and in giving effectively
and compassionately the unique loving and spiritual balms and
solutions that we have to give.</span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Christopher Ficihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12101732802629222937noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4189063378060469728.post-72238046897205888842013-01-16T19:45:00.000-05:002013-01-16T19:45:48.148-05:00When Saying "You Are Not Your Body" Is Not Enough
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://radhanathswamionline.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Body-Soul1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://radhanathswamionline.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Body-Soul1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i>This
is the first in a series of essays I am writing based on my thoughts
and experience as a devotee of Krishna, associated with ISKCON, in
the 21</i></span><sup><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i>st</i></span></sup><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i>
Century. These thoughts are mine and mine alone, resonant surely with
other devotee's thoughts, but not representative of any community,
temple president, or any other personality or spiritual master</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i>I
have submitted this piece to such websites as ISKCON News and
Dandavats and so far it have not been published. While I hardly think
the thoughts I have here are “radical” in any way, I have noticed
a certain hesitancy to discuss some of the issues herein, like the
place of LGBTQ people within our society of devotees, or to associate
these issues in any kind of official capacity with the institution of
ISKCON. This I find frustrating, because there are many devotees like
myself who want to understand how our society can relate in a more
honest and relevant way with our fellow brothers and sisters on this
planet.</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i>I
hope that these words add to a fruitful and healthy dialogue as to
the present and future shape of our devotional society. I intend no
offense with these words, and if I cause offense by these words, I
sincerely and humbly beg your forgiveness.</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">One of
the most powerful spiritual experiences I have ever had in my life
was when I had the chance to visit Srila Prabhupada's room at the
Radha-Damodara Mandir in Vrndavana. It was, as you can imagine or
may have experienced yourself, overwhelming to be so distinctly in
the presence of Srila Prabhupada. His vibrations still filled the
room so clearly, so mystically, if I may use that term with all
sincerity, so long after his presence last filled that room
physically. I immediately could sense my own place, who I was, who I
wasn't, and what I was being asked to do, now that I had come this
far, and committed as much as I could to becoming a servant of
Prabhupada's mission.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">All I
could really do (all I can really do anyway) was pray, and beg. I
begged to be given the chance to be a part, to be a servant, of
carrying Prabhupada's mission forward into the 21</span><sup><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">st</span></sup><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
Century. Contemplating this responsibility felt like a two-ton weight
on my shoulders. Everything I had considered serious in a
materialistic sense up to that point in my lfe had the buoyancy of a
riven cloud compared to the weight of this calling for Prabhupada. It
was a frightening feeling in one sense, because I had never
considered anything so serious, but it was also a liberation, a
clarity that burned away the angst I had felt as a confused American
kid in my twenties trying to find sense and belonging in the
isolating substance of the material world which surrounded me. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">With as
much love and humility as I could muster, I simply asked Prabhupada
for the chance to serve his heart. I asked for the chance to share
the gift he had given me, that he had given all of us. Rarely before
or since have I been able to find such a prayerful state. I felt
embraced by Prabhupada for my efforts, trusted even to do what he
needed me to do, despite the primary fault of my existence in this
world. I've always wanted to be a revolutionary, and here the chance
was being given to me in a way I never could have imagined. Every
step I would now take, even if it was sideways, even if it was
backwards, was to be shaped by this calling. To have any hope, I
would just have to hang on to Prabhupada's lotus feet and never let
go.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">**</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I was
recently approached by a new friend over Facebook, a gay man who
wanted to share his story and his anguish in approaching the </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i>bhakti</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
tradition, and in particular ISKCON temples. He was clearly and
deeply attracted in his heart to Krishna, and he wanted to walk
forward in that resonance of his heart. Yet he had encountered
prejudice because of his sexual persuasion when he had gone to his
local temple. He was deeply affected by this, and he asked if there
was anything I could tell him to help with his spiritual anxiety. I
told him about the Bhakti Center community in New York City, where I
had lived for over three years and how it was generally more
welcoming than most Hare Krishna temples, but other than this, I had
no easy answer for this obstacle of prejudice that he was
encountering.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">It
broke my own heart to hear this. I simply wondered, on the level of
common sense, how those claiming to represent the tradition of
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i>bhakti</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">,
those who claimed to represent the exquisitely magnanimous heart of
Prabhupada, who have the obligation, as best as they can, to
represent the pure and perfect love of Krishna, could look at someone
from the vision of their body, and turn them away from the gift they
themselves had been given. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">This
exchange shook me to my core, and left me with some serious and
probing questions. What were these devotees missing or
misunderstanding in the way they had related to my friend? How does
this reflect what we may be missing or misunderstanding in our
communication as devotees to the world at large today? What could I
be missing or misunderstanding in my own conception and perception of
Krishna consciousness? If we are telling ourselves, and if we are
telling others, that “you are not the body”, how can we can judge
anyone by their body? “You are not the body” is a saying every
devotee has as an essential tool in their arsenal of spiritual
communication, but I often wonder, as many devotees do, if we really
understand what this means? Do we really understand that this saying,
as essentially true as it is, can have an alienating effect upon
others if we do not also know how to respond, comprehend, and comfort
the bodily prejudice so many people experience in this world?</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">**</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I
am now a student at Union Theological Seminary in New York City,
which is one of the oldest and most prestigious independent and
progressive Christian seminaries in America. It is a place where I
have the great fortune of having my spirituality shaped through many
different sophisticated, outrageous, and radical lenses. It is a
place where I am able to see and experience the beauty, pain, and
struggle of how so many others outside of the “traditional ISKCON”
universe understand the nature of God and reality. It is a place
where I can develop my identity as a progressive devotee. What does
this mean to be a progressive devotee? For me, it is a conscious
choice to live one's devotional calling by examining how the purport
of Prabhupada's mission, and the culture and tradition of </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i>bhakti
</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">which
comes from that mission, can communicate in the most relevant concert
and concern with the contemporary time, place, and circumstances of
the 21</span><sup><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">st</span></sup><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
Century. To be a progressive devotee is not to abandon the
fundamental principles that Prabhupada has given us, but it is to
consider, as Prabhupada himself did, how to make these principles
realistic and relevant for the people of this age. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">To
be a progressive devotee is a precarious position. It brings upon the
serious concern and even condemnation of those devotees who are
deeply suspicious of anything labeled as such, who feel that to label
oneself progressive is to commit the offense of abandoning
Prabhupada's core teachings. It creates the opportunity to respond in
a very offensive manner to the sincere concerns of these devotees. I
know I myself must be careful to use this label, for the reality is
that all sincere devotees of Krishna are truly the most progressive
people on this planet. We have been given a revolutionary process
which questions the very status quo of material existence itself. To
label one set of devotees as progressive and another as conservative
is a dangerous political game, yet for the nature of these essays, I
want to highlight certain distinctions, perspectives, and
proclivities that devotees share and don't share, as a way of
highlighting serious issues and arguments which are shaping, and will
shape, the future of Prabhupada's mission in the 21</span><sup><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">st</span></sup><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
Century.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">There
is nothing I can do in preventing devotees who are concerned with my
position from expressing their concern. This is their sacred and
natural right to do so, and I welcome any conversation that does not
come from or lead to offensive attitudes and expressions. My
response to their concern and their criticism must stand on the solid
ground of the wisdom that Prabhupada has given us. I write this essay
in that spirit, standing on the bedrock of the gift of Prabhupada's
wisdom as much as I can, and in that spirit, I hope to contribute to
a fruitful and much needed dialogue in ISKCON. In that spirit, I hope
that my own misconceptions can be corrected, that our mutual
unhealthy assumptions can be confronted and transcended, and that the
practice and art of our spiritual communication can be brought to a
more profound and relevant level.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">***</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
heart of my concern as a progressive devotee is a question of the
engagement, and the relevance of that engagement, of our movement to
society at large. There are two levels of relevance to be considered
here: the ultimate relevance of </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i>bhakti
</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">and
of Krishna consciousness to the existential situation of being in the
material world, a relevance that is beyond reproach and even the
vagaries of human reason itself. Then there is the theological and
sociological relevance of Prabhupada's movement to the concerns of
our contemporary society, concerns which include social justice,
civil rights, poverty, ecological collapse, amongst so many other
connected issues. Here is where I, and many other devotees, feel that
our movement suffers in its communication and in its relevance. I was
particularly struck by something that Yogesvara Dasa (Joshua Greene),
an esteemed and long-standing disciple of Srila Prabhupada, said in
an interview with an academic publication on “Being a Krishna
Devotee”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i>The
most candid comment I can give about public perception of Hare
Krishna in North</i></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i>America
is that I don’t think there is one anymore. The worst possible
thing has happened,</i></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i>namely
indifference. There was a time going back 20 years perhaps when there
was a public</i></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i>perception
of the Hare Krishna movement in the sense that people felt accosted
in airports or</i></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i>read
reports of abuses or saw devotees chanting in public. Devotees were a
more visible part</i></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i>of
the landscape of American culture previously. </i></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i>Maybe
then one could say there was a public perception because Hare Krishna
was in the news, it was on television, it was in the papers for good
or for bad...I believe that Vaishnavism as it has been historically
will not be the same in the future for the simple reason that the
world it lives in is not the same. There is a compulsion within
Vaishnava faith to move into the larger society and to become
relevant, and the Vaishnava community has yet to demonstrate its
relevance. For 99.99 percent of the world we don’t matter. Krishna
Consciousness is irrelevant to most of the world.”</i></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">To
be relevant, and to find relevance, is to always be considering how
the prophetic voice of our movement is responding to the concerns of
our fellow living entities on this planet. It is to be open to having
a </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historicism"><span style="color: navy;"><span lang="zxx"><u><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i>historicist</i></span></u></span></span><span style="color: navy;"><span lang="zxx"><u><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
</span></u></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">approach
to how we express our faith in the world. We are not raw
historicists, in that we believe in an Absolute Truth that is beyond
the relativism of history, yet our prophetic voice is best expressed
with an intelligent application of our principles to the time,
places, and circumstances which we are intimately connected to.</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">To
find our relevance means to understand that we should not frame our
communication to others in such a way that we ignore who they are and
where they are coming from. We also have to prove our worth and pull
our weight. We may not be of this world, but we are in this world.
This we cannot ignore. We have to learn to give the gift that
Prabhupada has given us in such a way that it makes sense in people's
lives and to the concerns in their life. We may tell someone that
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i>they are not the
body</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">,
and yet by doing so, we may completely ignore how we can relate our
transcendental message to their particular situation of bodily
marginalization, pain, and oppression. We may completely ignore the
questions they have for us, as to how the heart of </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i>bhakti</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">,
of Krishna's love, speaks to the body they live in and the ground
they stand on.</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In
our relation as devotees to the material world, to our own bodies,
and the bodies of others, we must learn to be </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i>transcendent</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">,
and we must learn to </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i>acknowledge</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">.
To be transcendent is to truly understand that we are eternal spirit
souls, lovers and friends of Krishna, whose true home is the
spiritual world, and that our ultimate destiny is the liberation of
pure devotional service. This is the goal and perfection of our
existence, and all that we do should direct us and all others towards
this goal. This is the gift that Prabhupada has given us.</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">One
of the most powerful and eternally relevant verses Krishna speaks in
the </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i>Bhagavad-Gita </i></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
is this:</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>The
humble sages, by virtue of true knowledge, see with equal vision a
learned and gentle brāhmaṇa, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a
dog-eater [outcaste]. (5.18)</b></i></span></span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">This
verse calls all devotees, all living entities, to a spiritual vision
and lifestyle which has no room for bodily discrimination. For me,
this verse gives us the foundation of equality and justice which
underlies all movements for the same within the material realm. The
vision of the sage is the essential and pristine vision which must be
at the core of all movements for equality and justice in the material
world, from the fight for civil rights for those who are marginalized
because of their race, gender, or sexuality, all the way to the
consideration of the right to life, decency, and sustainable health
for the wide diversity of plant and animal life that this planet
holds. As Srila Prabhupada writes in his purport to this verse:</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>A
Kṛṣṇa conscious person does not make any distinction between
species or castes. The </i></span></span></span><em><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">brāhmaṇa</span></span></em><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i> and
the outcaste may be different from the social point of view, or a
dog, a cow and an elephant may be different from the point of view of
species, but these differences of body are meaningless from the
viewpoint of a learned transcendentalist. This is due to their
relationship to the Supreme, for the Supreme Lord, by His plenary
portion as Paramātmā, is present in everyone’s heart. Such an
understanding of the Supreme is real knowledge.</i></span></span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
vision of the sage sees reality as it actually is, but this doesn't
mean that the sage ignores the reality that is right in front of
him/her. When Prabhupada says that the “differences of body are
meaningless”, he is not saying that those who claim to be a sage
should treat everyone the same regardless of their bodily situation.
The real sage does not discriminate according to the body. He/she
gives the same grace of spiritual knowledge to everyone regardless of
the color of their skin, the shape of their caste, or whatever their
sexual preference is. The humble sage is able to use his/her
intelligence to shape their message in such a way so that the mercy
of Guru and Gauranga speaks specifically and intimately to each
person's bodily/mental/existential situation.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
humble sage is able that to understand that to merely say “you are
not the body” and not acknowledge the person's specific
psycho-physical makeup is not enough. This acknowledgement is the
supremely compassionate and intelligent awareness of the bodily,
social, political, and sexual contexts that people come from,
allowing the principles of </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i>bhakti</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
to speak to them in such a way that it doesn't add to the injustice
and oppression that they may face because of their body. To be able
to acknowledge in this way is to give the gift Krishna consciousness
so that it confronts this oppression and injustice and gives the
ways, means, and inspiration to transcend it.</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Frankly,
in the general history of ISKCON, I feel that we not effectively
learned how to transcend and how to acknowledge. I kneel and beg to
be corrected, but I don't just base this statement on my own
speculation, but on the experience and sincere feelings of many other
devotees that I have encountered. Because we struggle so much to
transcend and acknowledge our own bodies and our own standing in this
world, we are left with a number of psychological and psychosocial
hang-ups which have crippled much of our outreach. It has tended to
harden our hearts, and with our hearts encased in the stone of our
guilt, envy, and shame, how can we truly acknowledge and answer to
those who approach us wanting to transcend their own pain and walk
towards the loving embrace of Krishna?</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">As
we try to mature in treating the subject of our transcendence with
more compassion, patience, and common sense than has been the history
of our movement, as we try not to “storm the gates of heaven”, as
we understand that to purify our hearts is something that is the
journey of a lifetime, or lifetimes, that must be done hand-in-hand
and heart-to-heart with each other, we must learn to acknowledge our
own bodies, our own material natures, and how these aspects of our
existential situation can lead us further on to transcendence. </span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">To
be able to acknowledge means to not see our bodily and material
situations as obstacles which should be smashed, but as aspects of
our being which must be seen in the light of compassion and the
wisdom of </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i>sastra, and</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
also in the light of our common sense and natural experience of our
lives in this world. We have to reach people at the point of </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i>how
they live their own lives</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">,
in the reality of their </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i>social
location</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">,
and not through any oppressive assumptions of meaning that we may
have of what their lives and bodies represent. In the same way we
have to meet our own experience as devotees in terms of </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i>who
we actually are</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">,
and not through the frameworks of assumption others may place upon
us.</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i>In
the next essay I hope to further develop these points, to acknowledge
my own discomfort with identifying with ISKCON, and to ask a serious
question of devotees: do we really understand how bad the Kali-Yuga
is in the manifestations which presently surround us and which
oppress so many of us.</i></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
Christopher Ficihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12101732802629222937noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4189063378060469728.post-3085908867514424082012-07-15T09:00:00.000-04:002012-07-15T12:18:15.829-04:00Loving Ourselves, Part 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">One of
the most wonderful aspects of our society of devotees in ISKCON is
the tremendous level of diversity we all share. Within this
diversity of race, nationality, and gender, there is a multiplicity
of opinions as to how we should create and make enduring our culture
of devotional service together. It is always my hope that within
this diversity there is also the requisite respect towards the
differences that do exist between us, but that is certainly not
always the case, therefore I tread forward with what I am going to
say carefully. I deeply pray that the sentiments and ideas I express
here going forward does not offend the reader. If I do, I beg your
forgiveness and understanding. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">The
foundation of what I want to say is that we need a deep cultural
change within ISKCON. The substance of this change means moving from
impersonalism towards personalism. This is not a philosophical
issue, but rather an issue of relationship, of community. The
history of our relationships, of our communities in ISKCON, have been
marred by a deep-rooted impersonalism which has harmed many devotees'
lives, and which has prevented ISKCON from being what it could truly
be, from what Prabhupada wanted it to be. Many devotees of my
generation, and many devotees of generations older and younger than
mine, have also expressed this realization. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">There is
so much we have to do to insure that ISKCON thrives and grows as we
move into the 21</span><sup><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">st</span></sup><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">
Century, but I do not think there is anything more important that in
improving the health of our culture of relationships and communities
within ISKCON. Without addressing the stones of this essential
foundation of our society, all of our aspirations will trend towards
an inadequate and disappointing outcome.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">I want
to frame this essay around a lecture a good friend of mine recently
gave. He titled the lecture “Presenting Our Best Offering to
Krishna” and he based his lecture around a very wonderful and
thought-provoking essay by HH Sacinandana Swami. The name of this
essay is “From My Heart: Beloved of God” and can be found online
via the Saranagati Newsletter.</span><sup><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><a class="sdfootnoteanc" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4189063378060469728#sdfootnote1sym" name="sdfootnote1anc"><sup>1</sup></a></span></sup></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">We must
first understand that the purpose of our lives as devotees is to
learn how to give the best offering of ourselves to Krishna. The
very substance of this offering should be of love and affection
towards Krishna, with intentionality and meaning in everything that
we do.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">The
profundity of our offering can be so much greater if the love that is
its substance is also directed towards our own self. HH Sacinandana
Swami has us consider a line from “Prayer of a Lover of God” by
Bhaktivinoda Thakur, in which the Thakur says </span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">"Let
me also love myself who am inclined towards Krishna so that I may
attain devotion to Him."</span></span></span><sup><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a class="sdfootnoteanc" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4189063378060469728#sdfootnote2sym" name="sdfootnote2anc"><sup>2</sup></a></span></span></span></sup><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
What does this mean? To my own heart, this is a very common sense
statement. If we are parts and parcels of Krishna, who is the
ultimate object of our love, then we are also worthy of love. This
love must be directed towards our personal reality as spirit soul and
servant of the Lord, and not towards our temporary identities as body
and mind. </span></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We
are called to love all of Krishna's parts and parcels, and that
includes our own selves. We are not excluded. Spiritual life, in
this sense, comes full circle. We are trying to transcend our
narcissistic tendencies, and we have the tendency to do this in a
very impersonal and unhealthy way, at the expense of our self, and at
the expense of our relationships and communities. We complete the
circle when we learn to include ourself in the package of love. </span></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
very meaning of the deepest surrender is rooted in a pure and
selfless love towards Krishna and His devotees. In the history of
ISKCON, the meaning of surrender, and its practical applications, has
often been something different. Often it is translated as “work
until you drop.” Who is asking for this kind of surrender? Is it
Krishna? Yes, sometimes Krishna is asking from us a surrender which
tests and pushes back our boundaries, but is Krishna taking pleasure
from the pain that results? </span></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">When
we have the maturity to understand the bigger picture of our
spiritual journey, we understand why Krishna is putting us into such
a situation. We experience His love for us as the reason why, and the
difficulties that we experience take on a different and deeper
meaning.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">If
this kind of intense surrender is instead based on our own
self-imposed expectations, or on the unrealistic expectations of
others, then the tendency we have seen is that we will burn out.
This is based as well on the tendency that we place on ourselves, and
which is placed on ourselves by others, to act as if we were a pure
devotee, but we cannot be a pure devotee until we are a pure devotee.
Acting in this kind of charade is a big source of the pain we
experience in our life as a devotee.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Often
this concept of surrender means to forget our humanity. The joke
I've heard is that first you become a pure devotee, and then you
become a human being. To transcend our identification as a material
human being doesn't mean to become inhumane in our devotional lives.
The human nature we carry with us features many tools, such as the
ability to be selfless and compassionate, which can only enhance our
devotional lives if we choose to engage with them.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">In
his article, HH Sacinandana Swami quotes from an article by HH Bir
Krishna Goswami, entitled “Love Yourself.” HH Bir Krishna
Goswami writes: </span></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>I
am writing about this subject matter because many devotees have
contacted or talked to me about this mental state. When I hear
devotees talking like this it causes tears to come to my eyes because
I know that all the devotees are very, very dear to Krishna. </i></span></span></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER">
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><i>Even though
ontologically we may be small-we are important to Krishna. We are not
small in Krishna’s eyes. </i></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER">
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><i>Take the story of
Gopa Kumar in the Brhad Bhagavatamrta for example. Krishna was
feeling so much love for Gopa Kumar and so much hankering for his
association in the spiritual world, that Krishna personally became
Gopa Kumar’s spiritual master. </i></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER">
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><i>You may say that
Gopa Kumar is a special devotee, and that is true. But, it is a fact
that Krishna personally is the Caitya Guru of all of us residing in
our hearts and personally takes the trouble to direct us to our
spiritual master. </i></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER">
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><i>Even before we take
to Krishna consciousness, Krishna is residing in the heart waiting
for us to realize that our real happiness is in relating to Him
rather than this external energy. </i></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER">
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><i>So, Krishna
considers us significant, important, etc. </i></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER">
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><i>When Gopa Kumar
finally goes back to Krishnaloka, Krishna faints in ecstasy upon
receiving him. Even Krishna’s associates can not understand what is
going on. </i></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER">
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><i>Krishna feels the
same way about us. </i></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER">
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><i>There is an
interesting statement in the Isopanisad (Mantra 6): </i></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER">
<br />
“<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><i>He who sees
systematically everything in relation to the Supreme Lord, who sees
all living entities as His parts and parcels, and who sees the
Supreme Lord within everything never hates anything or any being.” </i></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER">
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><i>So we are parts and
parcels of Krishna. Therefore we should not hate ourselves. On the
other hand since we are supposed to love Krishna we should love all
his parts and parcels and that includes ourselves too! </i></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER">
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><i>What does that
mean, to love oneself? </i></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER">
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><i>It means to picture
or visualize or imagine how you want to be. Forget about all the
negativity; whether the negativity comes from yourself or from
others. </i></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER">
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><i>If you think
negatively that is what you are meditating on and those thoughts will
impede your spiritual life. </i></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER">
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><i>Here are some
things you can think about: </i></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER">
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><i>1. Radha and
Krishna love me and want me to be with Them in the spiritual world! </i></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER">
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><i>2. Taking care of
my spiritual needs will not impede my spiritual progress </i></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER">
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><i>3. Taking care of
my material needs will not impede my spiritual progress </i></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER">
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><i>4. I am an eternal
soul, full of bliss and knowledge! </i></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER">
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><i>5. I have an
eternal relationship with Radha and Krishna and will realize this
relationship. </i></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER">
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><i>And don’t remain
in a situation where others are denigrating you. You owe it to
yourself and to Krishna to reject situations that are unfavorable for
Krishna consciousness and accept favorable situations. Have positive
spiritual self-esteem! </i></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT">
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">It
is not </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><i>maya</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">
to take what we need in our Krishna conscious lives. It is not </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><i>maya
</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">to
find the proper situation in our Krishna conscious lives to make the
best offering of ourselves. It is not </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><i>maya</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">
to have a positive sense of self-esteem to ourselves in our Krishna
conscious lives. Again, I feel very strongly that this is common
sense, but sometimes it can be quite difficult to discern, either
from our own perspective or within the expectations of our community,
what we really need to be healthy and happy as a devotee.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT">
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">We
may fear that by taking what we need, we may take too much, and cross
that fine line into selfishness based on sense gratification. What
is essential for us, and which strikes at the heart of the need for
healthy community, is having g</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">uides
who we can trust, who are very attentive, introspective, and
progressive, and who can help us to strike the balance between need
and sacrifice in our lives.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT">
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">Ultimately
we have to, as the saying goes, “fly our own planes.” This is
not to say that we become bereft or aloof of relationships to
authorities in our lives, but that we must also develop a sufficient
sense of self-discernment. We have to know, in the fiber of our
being, in the shape of our consciousness on a everyday level, when a
mood of indulgence may be taking us away from our </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>sadhana</i></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">
and service. This may be a mood of indulgence in our bad habits and
illusions. It may also be a mood of indulgence in trying to fulfill
the unrealistic and impersonal demands of the devotees in our
community.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT">
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">We
have to learn to give ourselves the time of day. </span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">If
we are just jumping all over the place, trying to be selfless, we may
become resentful, because we have deprived ourselves of our needs.
If we don't fulfill our real needs, then we set up ourselves to fall
back into these patterns of indulgence again and again.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">If
we can just see the good we have in ourselves, and addressing our
relevant needs both material and spiritual will help us do that, then
we will be more willing, and be more able, to make sacrifices and to
enter into that mysterious realm of surrender. As </span></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">HH
Sacinandana Swami often quotes, from the mind of famed French writer
Antoine de Saint-Exupery: "If you want to build a boat, don't
just drum up people together to collect wood and assign tasks. Teach
people to long for the endless immensity of the sea." </span></span></span>
</div>
<div id="sdfootnote1">
<div class="sdfootnote">
<br />
<a class="sdfootnotesym" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4189063378060469728#sdfootnote1anc" name="sdfootnote1sym">1</a><span style="color: navy;"><span lang="zxx"><u><a href="http://saranagati.net/index.php?S=3&Article=270">http://saranagati.net/index.php?S=3&Article=270</a></u></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="sdfootnote2">
<div class="sdfootnote">
<a class="sdfootnotesym" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4189063378060469728#sdfootnote2anc" name="sdfootnote2sym">2</a>commentary
on <i>Bhajanamrtam, </i>quoted in <i>Bhaktivinoda Vani Vaibhava,
</i>volumes 2 and 3, p. 408.</div>
</div>Christopher Ficihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12101732802629222937noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4189063378060469728.post-78080839403026555912012-07-03T09:00:00.000-04:002012-07-03T09:00:15.195-04:00Guides, Gurus and Grounding In Our Spiritual Journey<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
<i><b> </b></i><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-fici/guru-purnima-guides-gurus_b_1640368.html"><i><b>My latest from The Huffington Post Religion</b></i> </a><br />
<br />
Today is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guru_Purnima" target="_hplink">Guru Purnima</a>,
and this spiritual festival takes on a very special resonance for me
this year. Just a few weeks ago, I was formally initiated into the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaudiya_Vaishnava" target="_hplink">Gaudiya Vaisnava</a> tradition at a ceremony at our <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radha" target="_hplink">Radha</a>-<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krishna" target="_hplink">Krishna</a> temple in Towaco, New Jersey. To be initiated in this way means to formally accept a teacher (in my case the wonderful <a href="http://www.radhanathswami.com/" target="_hplink">Radhanath Swami</a>) by offering vows of sobriety, chastity and commitment (<a href="http://www.elephantjournal.com/2012/06/a-case-for-celibacy-sobriety-sanity/" target="_hplink">which you can read more about here</a>), as well as accepting a new spiritual name. (I am now Krishna Kishore Dasa, which means the servant of Krishna in his <em>kishore</em> or youthful age.)<br />
<br />
During the whole ceremony, I was thinking how incredibly fortunate I
am to be formally linked to such an ancient, timeless tradition. My guru
or teacher is himself a representative of all of the tremendous and
transcendental teachers in our line, which goes all the way back to <a href="http://vedabase.com/en" target="_hplink">the original teachings of Krishna Himself.</a> <br />
<br />
Each teacher in this line (<em>parampara</em>) earns his stripes, so
to speak, by honestly sharing what he has been given by his/her teacher
without altering or changing the essence of Krishna's original
teachings. Therefore I knew my formal commitment was to a fountainhead
of knowledge that was absolutely time-tested and sturdy, and beyond the
vagaries of over-imagined speculations, self-serving interests or
political games. <br />
<br />
Of course, this is not to say that my tradition doesn't value the
intellect or the individual expression of the practitioner. We are
encouraged to understand the essence of our tradition yet apply it
appropriately to the time, place and circumstances which surround us.
The example of my guru's guru, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._C._Bhaktivedanta_Swami_Prabhupada#Mission_to_the_West" target="_hplink">A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, and his historic transplanting of the Vaisnava tradition to the West in the 1960s</a>,
is an incredible example of a teacher in our line who shared the
essence without corruption yet with a deft adaptation to the needs of
the seekers around him.<br />
<br />
These souls who are genuinely seeking spiritual truth and meaning are
some of the most sincere, open-hearted, and open-minded individuals you
can find on this lonely planet. In my experiences sharing my tradition
with many of these seekers, I have had many exchanges of mutual
enlightenment and enlivenment, but I have also found a certain
frustration. <br />
<br />
Many people seeking the realm of the spirit come at their quest with a
sense of not being beholden to any tradition, teacher, or even a sense
of the Absolute. Their journey is intensely their own, yet very much
relativistic. For some this comes from innocence, and for others this is
ironically a construct of reality they are firmly adhered to. In the
course of our conversations they may appreciate my fidelity to my
tradition, yet they remain convinced that their own spirituality can
remain untethered, or at best lightly connected, to any one path, and
that their imagination and intuition will be enough.<br />
<br />
This leaves me deeply conflicted, for while indeed our spirituality
is the most intimate thing we have and hold, and no one can force us to
choose our proper path, I remain convinced that without accepting a
distinct path and teacher who resonates with our body, mind, heart, and
soul, we won't actually find the truth we are seeking. <br />
<br />
In terms of this relativistic approach to spirituality, I am left
with a number of questions. I wonder why some of us must deny the
examples of great souls that have come before us? Why must some of us
deny the wisdom that is there for us already, from traditions that have
been part of our humanity for thousands and thousands of years? We can't
really say this wisdom is not true or relevant for us and our times
now, and saying so without having researched or experienced this wisdom
is intellectually quite weak. You also can't deny these wisdom
traditions simply because some of those who have tried to follow them
have failed and often exploited others in the process. Bad seeds don't
define or deny the essence of the wisdom that is there. <br />
<br />
I should make clear that not every person who falls into this
relativistic paradigm simply does their damnedest to deny all the wisdom
that has come before us, but too often the tendency is to skip around
this wisdom without <a href="http://www.elephantjournal.com/2012/06/once-a-year-the-west-was-burning/" target="_hplink">a sense of commitment or discipline.</a>
By taking vows and being formally accepted into my own tradition, I
can approach the deepest freedom of love of God by working within the
structure of my tradition. I have been given shape, sense, and
seriousness to my spiritual life that I wouldn't otherwise find from my
own imagination or intellect. <br />
<br />
I try to make this call as humbly as I can, and if I come across as
being above your own journey, please forgive me. Generally I am quite
liberal-minded when it comes to spirituality, but in this case some of
my conservative colors shine. In any case, I really can't feel strongly
enough that we need structure in our spiritual life, and we need a path
and teachers who can guide us on our walk across the desert of our heart
to our spiritual destiny with God. They have walked this path before us
and they can help us to make our walk by avoiding the scorpions and
snakes of our own lower nature. Without the merciful guidance of this
structure, we will be inevitably lost. <br />
<br />
The last vow I took at my initiation was to always strive to be the
servant of the servants of the Vaisnavas, which means to always honor
and serve all the teachers and great souls who are here before me now,
and who have come before us to pass down the essence that has been given
to them. To be under the shelter of all of these great souls is the
solace of my spirit, for I know that the path that I walk on will take
me to the goal.<br />
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<br />Christopher Ficihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12101732802629222937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4189063378060469728.post-63199529940974901072012-06-27T17:53:00.001-04:002012-06-27T17:53:41.550-04:00The Barking Dog of The False Ego<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i><b> </b></i><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-fici/the-barking-dog-of-the-fa_b_1603914.html?utm_hp_ref=religion"><i><b>My latest essay at The Huffington Post Religion</b></i> </a><br />
<br />
Our ego is one of the most intimidating and inscrutable realities we
face in our lives. Countless philosophers, spiritualists, seekers and
armchair prognosticators have tried to define its parameters and its
meaning to our existence. We even have wonderful teachers -- like my
friends at <a href="http://www.gitanyc.com/" target="_hplink">Gita Sutras</a> -- attempting to actualize and excavate the nature of our ego for our most positive spiritual benefit.<br />
<br />
Some would also rather do away with the whole idea of the ego altogether, but according to the teachings of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhakti_Y%C3%B4ga" target="_hplink">bhakti-yoga</a> tradition, that is not possible. The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhagavad_Gita" target="_hplink">Bhagavad-gita</a>
and countless other wisdom teachings of the bhakti tradition teach us
that we are eternally individual spirit souls, currently going through a
materialistic bodily experience. We always have an ego, or existence as
a unique, individual being, but what we have to watch out for is our
"false ego."<br />
<br />
One of my teachers has explained the concept like this: We have two
dogs in our heart. One is our actual ego, our reality as spirit soul,
and one is the false ego, or our false identification with our temporary
material body. Both dogs are barking to get our attention, and
whichever one we pay attention to the most, or feed the most, becomes
dominant in our consciousness. Or, as the Cherokee proverb says:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>
There is a battle of two wolves inside us all.<br />
One is evil. It is anger, jealousy, greed, resentment, lies, inferiority, and ego.<br />
The other is good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, humility, kindness, empathy, and truth.<br />
The wolf that wins? The one you feed.</blockquote>
<br />
Our false ego disguises itself as our best friend, when it is actually
our greatest adversary in our spiritual journey. It is the voice in our
consciousness which makes us think we must be the center of the
universe, the repose of all prestige, and when we don't get these
accolades we react with all the violence of our envious, prideful, and
greedy outbursts, ruining our relationships, communities, and hopes in
our own search for the Divine.
<br />
At its essence, the false ego creates for us suffering, and according
to the wisdom of the bhakti tradition, that is completely antithetical
to our natural sense of being. As spirit souls, our substance is made of
eternality (sat), knowledge (cit), and bliss (ananda), which is also
the very same substance as God. Perhaps the greatest form of ananda we
can experience is our direct loving relationship with God through His
grace and mercy. How we gain access to this is defined by our practical
understanding of our own ego-nature.<br />
<br />
As Krishna <a href="http://vedabase.com/en/bg/18/58" target="_hplink">says in the Bhagavad-gita</a>:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>
If you become conscious of Me, you will pass over all
the obstacles of conditioned life by My grace. If, however, you do not
work in such consciousness but act through false ego, not hearing Me,
you will be lost. (Chapter 18, Verse 58)</blockquote>
<br />
Vedic scholar <a href="http://www.bhurijanadasa.com/" target="_hplink">Bhurijana Dasa</a> also explains the concept of the false ego very clearly in Surrender Unto Me, his commentary on the Gita:<br />
<blockquote>
The false ego ... which is like a reflection of our true
consciousness within matter, is the covering over the soul first
supplied by material nature and is the juncture between our spiritual
identity and our material existence. Any ego-identity in which we
imagine ourselves the central figure is acceptable to our perverse
consciousness.
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
Thus the soul, constitutionally Krsna's eternal servant -- full of
bliss, knowledge, and eternity -- becomes attracted to the material
atmosphere and conditioned by it. He is then strictly controlled by the
modes of material nature and experiences the self as if it were made of
temporary matter.</blockquote>
The juncture between our false ego and real ego is the juncture between
how selfish and selfless we are in our everyday lives, both materially
and spiritually. One way to see this is in relation to how we react to
people's suffering. When someone suffers, do we feed the dog of our
false ego by taking pleasure at their suffering, especially if it is
relation to some competitive aspect of our lives, like our career, or do
we feed the dog of our true ego by taking their suffering into our own
heart, and feeling it as if we were the one suffering. Do we respond
with compassion or contempt? Do we step on them further or do we do what
we humbly can to uplift them?
<br />
<br />
Gaining access to our real sense of ego means doing all we can to
develop our selfless spiritual character. This is actually our natural
self, yet to be selfless in this dog-eat-dog world seems so unnatural,
because we choose to absorb ourselves in the schemes of our false ego.
This is why spiritual life is such a serious endeavor. We must have an
everyday practice, whether it is the chanting of God's names, reading of
holy scriptures, and service to our community and the less-fortunate,
to help us excavate what is most dear and intimate to us, our real
spiritual self.<br />
<br />
Every moment of every day we are making a choice which dog to feed.
Our spirituality begins and ends with our consciousness, so let us try
to become more conscious of the very sense of self and identity we are
developing in our lives together.<br />
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<div class="title bold display_block uppercase line_height_22 float_left vertical_color">
FOLLOW RELIGION </div>Christopher Ficihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12101732802629222937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4189063378060469728.post-42046490683911423282012-06-21T16:45:00.002-04:002012-06-21T16:45:58.451-04:00Homosexuality And Scripture<div class="subhead">
Q & A with Swami B. V. Tripurari</div>
<div class="abstract">
<br /></div>
<div class="abstract">
“Times change and with new information new opinions
form, and if they are spiritually reasonable, the task for devotees is
to support them with scriptural logic—sastra-yukti—or the logic that
supports the essential conclusions of revelation.”</div>
<div class="question">
<br /></div>
<div class="question">
Q. Is being gay a sin?</div>
<div class="answer">
<br /></div>
<div class="answer">
A. I don't think that any reasonable person would
consider “being gay” sinful in as much as the distinction between sexual
orientation and sexual behavior is understood. Sometimes people refer
to biblical passages that they say condemn homosexuality but even
Christian theologians have offered plausible interpretations to the
contrary. For example, regarding the often-quoted verse (Romans 1:26-27)
where the apostle Paul denounced homosexual behavior as unnatural, one
distinguished Christian theologian comments, “No doubt Paul was unaware
of the distinction between sexual orientation, over which one has
apparently very little choice, and sexual behavior, over which one does.
He seemed to assume that those whom he condemned were heterosexuals who
were acting contrary to nature, “leaving,” “giving up,” or “exchanging”
their regular sexual orientation for that which was foreign to them. </div>
<div class="answer">
<br /></div>
<div class="answer">
Paul knew nothing of the modern psychosexual understanding of
homosexuals as persons whose orientation is fixed early in life, or
perhaps even genetically in some cases. For such persons, having
heterosexual relations would be acting contrary to nature, “leaving,”
“giving up,” or “exchanging” their natural sexual orientation for one
that was unnatural to them.” (Rev. Dr. Walter Wink, Professor of
Biblical Interpretation, Auburn Theological Seminary)</div>
<div class="answer">
<br /></div>
<div class="answer">
Hindu texts, on the other hand, are relatively silent
on the issue, and when they do discuss homosexuality, it is in relation
to heterosexual brahmanas, or priests, indulging in homosexual liaisons.
The Hindu dharma sastra describes such behavior as a minor sin;
however, it is hardly possible to make a determination as to the
religious status of homosexuality in today's world on the basis of a few
isolated statements from the dharma sastra. Nor will mere reference to
Srimad Bhagavatam's statements concerning spiritually correct “celibate
householder sexuality” or the Bhagavad-gita's identification of divinity
with dharmic sexuality, serve conclusively in condemning homosexuality. </div>
<div class="answer">
<br /></div>
<div class="answer">
Indeed, wholesale condemnation of homosexuality on the basis of Hindu
scripture is quite difficult, and given the amount of information on the
subject that we have today, which was not available even fifty years
ago, such condemnation would not in my opinion be spiritually correct or
compassionate. </div>
<div class="answer">
<br /></div>
<div class="answer">
Therefore, my conviction is that monogamous homosexual
relationships are as viable a position from which to cultivate
spiritual life as are monogamous heterosexual relationships, and I
believe that despite what my guru said decades ago, he would hold the
same opinion were he with us today. Since he was with us, a wealth of
insight into the nature of homosexuality has come to light, so much that
any devotee would do well to carefully consider it when forming his or
her opinion on the subject. </div>
<div class="answer">
<br /></div>
<div class="answer">
Times change and with new information new
opinions form, and if they are spiritually reasonable, the task for
devotees is to support them with scriptural logic—sastra-yukti—or the
logic that supports the essential conclusions of revelation.</div>
<div class="question">
<br /></div>
<div class="question">
Q. What really bothers me about today's homosexuals
is how they wave their gay flag and require everybody to approve of
their sexuality. Why should the world appreciate their parade of wrongly
directed lust?</div>
<div class="answer">
<br /></div>
<div class="answer">
A. You might think differently if you were born gay
and had to undergo the kind of discrimination that homosexuals have been
experiencing for centuries, what to speak of the psychological trauma
of “coming out” in our largely homophobic society. The fact is that
homosexuality would still be a criminal offence in the United States if
it were not for the courage of gay activists. Their flag waving is a cry
to be allowed to be what they are without being attacked, jailed, or
discriminated against, which was the norm here in America for so long.
What's more, in some countries people are still being executed for
homosexuality. Sexuality is a huge part of a person's life. To be forced
to live in a society where one is routinely mistreated because of his
or her natural occurring sexuality is something I would not would wish
on anyone.</div>
<div class="question">
<br /></div>
<div class="question">
Q. I am a Hindu and I believe that homosexuals
should seek reformation because scripture (the Bible) states that God is
not pleased with homosexual relations. The Kama sutra states that the
goal of kama, or lust, is procreation. Heterosexual relations serve this
purpose but homosexual relations serve only personal sense
gratification. Dharma means to accept one's duty in relation to society
and God, so how could homosexuality, which has nothing to do with
procreation, be considered in any way dharmic? </div>
<div class="answer">
<br /></div>
<div class="answer">
A. In the Hindu canon there is no condemnation of
homosexuality that I am aware of. You profess to be Hindu but are unable
to cite any of our scriptures to support your position, not one. Kama
sutra is not scripture but it does address homosexuality without
condemning it as you have done. </div>
<div class="answer">
<br /></div>
<div class="answer">
Ultimately everyone agrees that the sexual urge should
be harnessed, and different acaryas have tried to help their students
do so in different ways. In the mission of Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati
Thakura, sexual activity was supposed to be restricted to married life,
but our Srila Prabhupada tried to establish a stricter standard, one
that permitted sex only for the purpose of procreation. However, the
vast majority of his disciples could not follow this standard. Thus in
some individual cases he sanctioned sex outside of procreation for
married couples. The point is that establishing a standard that students
can follow and that helps them to progressively harness this desire
constitutes sex that is dharmic and is thus arguably blessed—kamo 'smi.
Realistically, whether one is gay or straight this would be limiting
sexual activity to within a committed long-term relationship, doing so
for the purpose of making advancement in spiritual life. </div>
<div class="answer">
<br /></div>
<div class="answer">
Furthermore, we are not concerned with trying to
please God by following the complex rules of dharma because Krsna is not
concerned with this. He says, sarva-dharman parityajya: “Forgo all
concerns of dharma and take exclusive refuge in me. I will protect you
from all reactions. Do not fear.” Spontaneous love brought about by
devotion (bhakti) is the way to please Krsna, and homosexuality being a
naturally occurring minority phenomenon is no more an obstacle to bhakti
than is heterosexuality. Therefore, I encourage everyone regardless of
their sexual orientation to become devotees of Krsna and follow in the
footsteps of the residents of Vrindavana. This is the highest
dharma—prema dharma.</div>
<div class="answer">
<br /></div>
<div class="answer">
Regarding your proposal that homosexuals seek
reformation. As far back as 1948 sex researcher Alfred Kinsey attempted
to document patients who had been converted from homosexuality to
heterosexuality during therapy and could not find one whose sexual
orientation had been changed. Later, in 1973 the American Psychiatric
Association officially ceased classifying homosexuality as a disease,
and today's psychiatrists and psychologists almost never attempt to
change a person's sexual orientation. All this means that your notion of
converting homosexuals into heterosexuals will certainly be a failure. </div>
<div class="answer">
<br /></div>
<div class="answer">
Finally, just try to imagine growing up and finding
that when your young friends began to develop an attraction to the
opposite sex you found yourself developing a sexual attraction to the
same sex and had learned that you were a queer who could be justifiably
beaten up and that there would be no shoulder to cry on at home.
Employers (if you could get hired) would fire you if they detected your
sexual attraction, which is not something that one can easily hide or
that heterosexuals hide (indeed they are encouraged to celebrate it!).
Then imagine that you had to pursue your sexuality in the back alley or
at an illegal bar and thus ended up being the shady person that society
accused you of being and gave you little opportunity of avoiding. The
world is still just understanding that they did this to millions of
children. Think about it. </div>
<div class="question">
<br /></div>
<div class="question">
Q. Swami, from your writing on the issue of
homosexuality it appears that you want to encourage gay people to become
devotees. I think that sounds broadminded but I think that the way you
are doing it flies in the face of the words of your guru Srila
Prabhupada, who was a great and wise man. I like to quote Prabhupada's
words on the topic verbatim, and I don't think doing so is
narrow-minded. What can possibly be wrong with just repeating what he
said? And what he said does not jive with your approach. </div>
<div class="answer">
<br /></div>
<div class="answer">
A. The difference between you and Srila Prabhupada is
very great. You may repeat what he said (kind of) but you have no
ability to change when new information is presented; information that is
much more readily available to you than it was to him. What new
information? That one born with a homosexual orientation has no choice
in the matter, a fact that has come to light only in recent decades.
Srila Prabhupada's views on this subject were informed by the prevailing
misinformation of his time. He similarly wrote that women were less
intelligent because their brain size was almost half that of men which
is another piece of misinformation that he attributed to Dr. Urquhart, a
professor at the institution he attended in Calcutta. However, unlike
you, Srila Prabhupada was able to significantly change his position when
new information was presented to him. Being incorrect at times is
normal, but what's egregiously incorrect is when a person simply ignores
new information and holds fast to outdated ideas despite of it.</div>
<div class="answer">
<br /></div>
<div class="answer">
Abraham Lincoln was also a great and wise man. He
brought about the abolition of slavery in America but he also felt that
black people should not be allowed to hold public office. Although once
nationally accepted, this idea has in our time been internationally
rejected. Still, history does not condemn Lincoln for his latter
position but rather lauds him for the former—freeing the slaves. By our
standards Srila Prabhupada was an even greater person; not because he
held some dated views on various social issues but because he was an
empowered pure devotee who was able to free sincere souls from the
bondage of material existence. This is what he should and ultimately
will be remembered and appreciated for, not for the few dated statements
he made about homosexuality.</div>
<div class="question">
<br /></div>
<div class="question">
Q. You say that you know of no passages in the Hindu
scriptures that condemn homosexuality, but in his purport to Srimad
Bhagavatam verse 3.20.26 Srila Prabhupada writes: “It appears here that
the homosexual appetite of males for each other is created in this
episode of the creation of the demons by Brahma. In other words, the
homosexual appetite of a man for another man is demoniac and is not for
any sane male in the ordinary course of life.” How do you explain this?</div>
<div class="answer">
<br /></div>
<div class="answer">
A. The verse says that when Lord Brahma created the
demons they approached him for sex but were ultimately lured away by the
twilight, which appeared to them as a beautiful young woman. The text
goes on to elaborate on the alluring qualities of youthful women and how
attraction to them clouds the mind of the unintelligent. In that
section of the Bhagavatam, only one verse mentions the demons' sexual
attraction to a male, while the ten following verses elaborate on their
sexual attraction to a female. Overall, the demons being discussed were
obviously more sexually attracted to a woman than they were to a man
(Brahma) which indicates that they were not “gay” as we understand the
term today. </div>
<div class="answer">
<br /></div>
<div class="answer">
It is also worth mentioning that Prabhupada never
backed up his stance on homosexuality with any references from
scripture. Even in the purport cited, he does not say that the verse he
is commenting on says that homosexuality is demoniac. Instead, using the
word “appears,” which indicates a degree of uncertainty, he merely
offers his own opinion. Elsewhere when discussing the subject he also
only cites reasoning that demonstrates that his opinion was based on
misinformation. For example, in one place he says that homosexuality is
not even found in the animal world; a notion that we now know is
incorrect. In this case Srila Prabhupada made an inaccurate statement in
support of his position, one that he must have learned from someone
else. If we are to take his words as absolute in all respects, as some
devotees claim that we must, then we are forced to deny the proven fact
that homosexuality is found in the animal species. If not, we must face
the fact that the example given by Srila Prabhupada was mistaken. </div>
<div class="answer">
<br /></div>
<div class="answer">
If the
example used in support of one's reasoning is proven wrong, then one's
position on the issue itself is brought into question, especially if
that position is not clearly supported by scripture. So to disagree with
Srila Prabhupada's opinion on homosexuality is not to pick and choose
whimsically, but to do so in the very way that he taught us to do, which
is to consider the issue according to sastra. In one discussion of the
subject Srila Prabhupada even said, “One should take as it is enjoined
in the sastras.” This is what I have done, and as I have already stated,
Hindu texts are relatively silent on the issue, so it is very difficult
to condemn homosexuality on the basis of sastra. </div>
<div class="answer">
<br /></div>
<div class="answer">
In conclusion, you have made it clear that you feel
homosexual relationships established with a view to progress in
spiritual life are not to be accepted in the same way that similar
heterosexual relationships are. Your arguments on the subject are
basically Bible-based religious fundamentalism, as you could not present
any verses from Hindu scripture in support of them. As for Srila
Prabhupada, if it were possible I would welcome a discussion with him on
this topic and I feel confidant that in light of present times and
information available he would be willing to alter his position in
agreement with mine. After all, in regards to his gay disciple Upendra
he did exactly that: he sanctioned a committed homosexual relationship
with a view to help his disciple progress in spiritual life. </div>
<div class="answer">
<br /></div>
<div class="answer">
See also:</div>
<a href="http://www.swami.org/pages/sanga/2003/2003_13.php">The Essence of Varnasrama Dharma</a>Christopher Ficihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12101732802629222937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4189063378060469728.post-21130757964055950572012-06-17T09:00:00.000-04:002012-06-17T09:00:00.208-04:00A Case For Celibacy, Sobriety & Sanity.<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.elephantjournal.com/2012/06/a-case-for-celibacy-sobriety-sanity/"><i><b>Read the full version of my new article at Elephant Journal</b></i></a> </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3138/2296384635_b633f125b3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3138/2296384635_b633f125b3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">I choose not to have sex
unless my intention would be to produce a child with my wife. In all
other circumstances, I strive for a complete and healthy<a href="http://www.elephantjournal.com/2012/06/i-learned-more-about-sex-when-i-gave-it-up/" title="I Learned More about Sex When I Gave It Up."> celibacy</a>.
I choose not to take any intoxicants, not alcohol or marijuana, or even
tobacco or caffeine. I choose not to gamble, to speculate whatever
finances or assets I may have. I choose not to eat any meat, fish, or
eggs. I’ve been a committed <a href="http://www.elephantjournal.com/2012/06/want-to-help-save-the-planet-stop-eating-meat/" title="Want to Help Save the Planet? Stop Eating Meat.">vegetarian</a> for over seven years now, and I’ve even flirted with <a href="http://www.elephantjournal.com/2012/04/five-reasons-to-be-vegan-five-not-to-be-greg-eckard/" title="Five Reasons to Be Vegan (& Five Not to Be). ~ Greg Eckard">veganism</a> on occasion as well.</span></i><br />
<br />
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">You may think I’m crazy,
fanatical and hopelessly out-of-touch with the natural pleasures of the
body and mind that seem to be our birthrights. As a practitioner of the
<em><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhakti_yoga" target="_blank" title="Bhakti-Yoga">bhakti-yoga</a> </em>tradition, my community, my teachers, and my calling ask of me a commitment beyond the normal, expected and comfortable.</span></i><br />
<br />
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">It certainly isn’t easy
to follow these regulative principles, but by doing so, I can
understand what it means to be a human being and spiritual being and all
that combination entails in today’s over-driven and over-stimulated
world.</span></i>Christopher Ficihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12101732802629222937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4189063378060469728.post-52690855441642525162012-05-21T09:00:00.000-04:002012-05-21T09:00:04.275-04:00A Hindu Response to Gay Rights<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2010/11/8/1289232155967/A-gay-rights-activist-in--006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2010/11/8/1289232155967/A-gay-rights-activist-in--006.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-fici/hindu-response-gay-rights_b_1504724.html?ref=religion"><i><b>From the Religion section at The Huffington Post</b></i> </a><br />
<br />
I was personally very impressed and moved by President Obama's
decision to come out openly and vocally in support of same-sex marriage.
For all the guff we throw at him, and not withstanding the obvious
political calculations that came along with the decision, his move was a
courageous and truly historic gesture befitting the expectations that
came along with his ascendancy to the presidency.<br />
The cultural waters in terms of gay rights continue to move and shift
in profound and irreversible ways.<br />
<br />
I see this as well in the religious
communities that I am part of. Recently, my friend Bowie Snodgrass, who
is one of the executive directors of the excellent Interfaith community <a href="http://www.faithhousemanhattan.org/" target="_hplink">Faith House</a>
here in Manhattan, presented a sampling of the liturgy, song, and
scripture she and others in the Episcopal Church have been developing
for a same-gender blessings marriage ceremony. (For more information,
click <a href="http://liturgyandmusic.wordpress.com/category/resources-for-same-gender-blessings/" target="_hplink">here</a> to visit the Episcopal Church's "Same-Gender Blessings Project")<br />
<br />
Still, within my own tradition (the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaudiya_Vaisnavism" target="_hplink">Gaudiya Vaisnava</a>
tradition of Hinduism), and within its contemporary cultural
expressions, I feel a certain hesitancy to be so supportive of gay
rights. Within my own heart and conviction, there is no conflict. But I
wonder how I will be perceived by my immediate and extended religious
community. Nevertheless, I use this platform on The Huffington Post to
bring this conflict into a brighter light, because I think it is part of
the larger question of establishing and defining the relevancy of my
tradition in the world today.<br />
<br />
It is an unfortunate aspect of my experience within the Vaisnava
tradition that I have experienced prejudice towards the gay community.
Some of this prejudice has been overt, some of it simply a matter of
cultural conditioning and unfamiliarity, but in either case, it has
always made me quite uncomfortable. I had many gay and lesbian friends
when I was an undergrad at the University of Michigan. I imagine I will
have many gay and lesbian friends when I began grad school at Union
Theological Seminary in the fall. I am naturally comfortable with people
of this sexual persuasion, because of the simple fact that, beyond
sexual preference, I see no difference between them and me.<br />
Therefore
when I encounter prejudice against gay people and gay culture, even if
it is not with the intent of malice, it feels abhorrent in the fiber of
my being and spirituality.<br />
<br />
I feel comforted knowing there are many people of faith who feel the
same way I do, and who are trying to come to grips and understand why
the prejudice of homophobia can never be supported in any kind of
genuine spiritual way. As always, I look to support from the timeless
scriptures of the Vedas, the fount of universal wisdom. For example, in
the <em>Bhagavad-Gita</em>, Krishna states:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>
The humble sages, by virtue of true knowledge, see with
equal vision a learned and gentle brāhmaṇa, a cow, an elephant, a dog
and a dog-eater (outcaste).</blockquote>
<br />
From this passage we understand a very elevated spiritual principle that
calls out to our everyday experience. The fact of the matter is that
prejudice of any kind has no spiritual foundation. We are called as
spiritual people to apply the principles of equality, and to understand
how these principles of equality can be applied in the secular world in a
common-sense way, so that people do not unnecessarily suffer because of
who they are, and so they can be encouraged to understand their real
spiritual nature, beyond any conceptions of the physical body.
<br />
One may make an argument that gay marriage is not supported by
scripture or tradition, but is homophobia ever supported by scripture or
tradition? Forgive my ignorance per se if this kind of prejudicial
support exists, but even within the scriptural evidence of Hindu
antiquity there is plenty to support a nuanced and inclusive culture
towards people of same-sex persuasion. To explore such an example, I
suggest taking some time to read an excerpt from the book <a href="http://www.galva108.org/Tritiya_prakriti.html" target="_hplink">"Tritiya-Prakriti:
People of the Third Sex-Understanding Homosexuality, Transgender
Identity and Intersex Conditions Through Hinduism"</a> by Amara Das Wilhelm, which is available at the website of GALVA <a href="http://www.galva108.org/index.html" target="_hplink">(The Gay And Lesbian Vaisnava Association).</a><br />
<br />
In his book, Wilhelm explores the reality of the "third sex" (<em>tritiya-prakriti</em>)
and its various permutations as we know them today in the LGBTQ
community. He reveals how individuals of the "third sex" naturally fit
into traditional Hindu/Vedic culture, and how they were not excluded
from traditional social customs like marriage and religious customs as
well. It was an enlightening read for me, and I imagine it might be for
you as well.<br />
<br />
In future editions of this blog, I want to continue to explore the
issue of prejudice against the LGBTQ community within my own tradition,
and how these issues relate to and expand outwards within the spiritual
quilt of our humanity. I do no want to shy away from this conflict as I
see it, even if it brings upon me misunderstandings and doubts from
others.<br />
<div>
</div>
<div>
</div>
<div class="clear full">
</div>
<b>
Follow Chris Fici on Twitter:
<a href="http://www.twitter.com/@ChrisFici">
www.twitter.com/@ChrisFici
</a>
</b>Christopher Ficihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12101732802629222937noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4189063378060469728.post-50907348552805094802012-05-10T09:00:00.000-04:002012-05-10T09:00:08.876-04:00IChant: The Ultimate App<a href="http://www.elephantjournal.com/2012/02/10-apps-to-propel-your-spiritual-practice/wwwflickrcom-photos-mhdbadi-6724921417-ubermoe/" rel="attachment wp-att-292488"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-292488" height="187" src="http://images.elephantjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/www.flickr.com-photos-mhdbadi-6724921417-ubermoe-250x187.jpg" title="Apps" width="250" /></a><br />
<br />
<h3>
<a href="http://www.elephantjournal.com/2012/05/ichant-the-ultimate-app-chris-fici/"><i><b>From Elephant Journal</b></i> </a></h3>
<h3>
Genius is a multifaceted jewel. It has many rough edges, and it doesn’t care for any mundane norms or compromises.</h3>
The package that genius is wrapped in doesn’t necessarily belie what
is within but it is the duty of time to reveal that this genius— in
whatever forms it takes—speaks to our body, mind and soul in many
profound and challenging ways.<br />
<br />
I think <a href="http://www.elephantjournal.com/2012/04/steve-jobs-secret/" title="Steve Job’s Secret.">Steve Jobs</a>
was a genius. Of course the nature of Jobs’s character and his
integrity as a person are quite complicated. History will see him as the
“poster boy” for the troubled, difficult persona of the genius. History
will also reveal that, as he expressed it to his biographer Walter
Isaacson, his feeling that he follows in a line of innovators that
includes Thomas Edison and Albert Einstein, was not mere hyperbole. His
influence on our cultural expressions, on our connectivity and
communication, and in the ways we define ourselves as biological beings
in an increasingly technological world is already immense and will only
grow more so.<br />
<br />
Being a spiritual seeker, my obligation is to see the glass more than
half-full when I examine the nature of such a complex and powerful
personality. The <a href="http://www.elephantjournal.com/2012/04/balance-is-found-through-love-yoga-in-the-gita/" title="Balance is Found Through Love: Yoga in The Gita">Bhagavad Gita</a>
tells us that the truly wise person sees everyone on a spiritual level,
beyond the body-mind construct which is the general source of all our
foibles and follies. While being very clear and honest about the dark
side of Steve Jobs, still I can’t help but appreciate the honest
sincerity of his ambition, his own spiritual leanings and his desire to
create a legacy of ideas and products that speaks to the best of human
creativity at the intersection of technology and aesthetics.<br />
<br />
What particularly strikes me about him was his attitude towards
design. An early slogan of Apple was that “simplicity is the ultimate
sophistication.” This mirrors a saying from my own Hindu tradition,
echoed by such great teachers as Mahatma Gandhi and <a href="http://www.elephantjournal.com/2012/03/windows-into-pure-love-the-art-of-bhakti-yoga/" title="Windows into Pure Love: The Art of Bhakti Yoga."><em>bhakti-yoga</em> </a>pioneer <a href="http://www.elephantjournal.com/2011/10/homage-to-george-harrison-guru/" title="George Harrison, Guru.">A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada</a>,
of “simple living and high thinking.” The idea is that only when we
simplify, when we clear away the dust that only complicates the obvious
truth, will we be able to discover the presence of enlightenment within
ourselves and all around us.<br />
<br />
In Walter Isaacson’s excellent Jobs biography, Jonny Ive—Jobs’s
confidante and core designer during Apple’s incredible renaissance of
the last decade— shares his take on this philosophy of simplicity:<em></em><br />
<blockquote>
<h3>
<em>Why do we assume simple is good?….Simplicity isn’t just a visual
style. It’s not just minimalism or the absence of clutter. It involves
digging through the depth of complexity. To be truly simple you have to
go really deep.</em></h3>
</blockquote>
We now reap the benefits of this philosophy in so many interesting
ways in our lives. Our personal computers, tablets, phones and our
whole conscious existence are full of these little apps that connect us
and push us and inform us in ways that deftly ride along the balance of
aesthetic and technology that so inspired Jobs’s overall vision.<br />
<br />
What exactly is an app? To put it roughly, it is a little program
which shapes our daily life in a particular way. We can just see it for
what it apparently is, a bit of cutting-edge technology. But I want to
go a little bit further, into the depth of complexity, to shine a
different light of definition on this whole idea of the app.<br />
<br />
Disclaimer: Reading the bio of Jobs and also being the recent
purchaser of a wonderful, sturdy, fast and sleek Macbook Pro, I have the
inklings of having become an Apple cultist. Some of the feelings are
not entirely dissimilar to my spiritual practice, for both give one the
sense of a particular worldview. That is why, as I was walking through
New York City recently, meditating on my prayer beads, I was struck by
the idea that the mantra I was chanting was also like an app and how it
was the best app I had in my life.<br />
<div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_193190" style="width: 260px;">
<a href="http://www.elephantjournal.com/2011/07/the-rogue-yogis-amp-buddhists-the-myth-of-radha-and-krishna-sarah-e-truman/radha-and-krishna/" rel="attachment wp-att-193190"><img alt="" class="size-medium wp-image-193190" height="222" src="http://images.elephantjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/radha-and-krishna-250x222.jpg" title="radha and krishna" width="250" /></a><div class="wp-caption-text">
Krishna and Radha</div>
</div>
<br />
My spiritual practice revolves around the chanting of the <em>maha-mantra</em>,
which is part of the Bhakti (devotional) path of Hinduism. The mantra
features three names of the Divine, of God, as known in the Bhakti
tradition: Krishna (the masculine aspect of the Divine), Hare (the
feminine aspect of the Divine), and Rama (the pleasure reservoir of the
Divine). The whole mantra goes like this:<br />
<br />
<div align="center">
<em>Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare</em></div>
<div align="center">
<em>Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare</em></div>
<br />
The maha-mantra is, in one sense, a tool in the toolbox of apps that
is part of my daily existence as a spirit in the material world. But in
the ultimate sense it is so much more. By chanting this mantra, we are
taken through the depth of complexity of our own being, allowing us to
see and transcend all the illusions that we carry in our consciousness.
We come to the simple core of our being, as eternal souls in a loving
relationship with God.<br />
<br />
While my Weather Channel app can give me a grasp of my environment,
and my IBooks Author app can help let loose a real dose of my productive
creativity, my maha-mantra app helps me to understand who I really am,
at the deepest level of my being. This is an app whose substance is
entirely spiritual and which helps me to understand that the substance
of my being is also entirely spiritual. It is the ultimate app to me
because it contains the essence of all divinity.<br />
<br />
By chanting the names of God—because these names are non-different
from the substance of God—one’s being comes directly in touch with God.
By being in contact with the vibration of God the dust of the heart, or
all of the chains which keep us stuck in the vagaries of our ego, is
removed. It is a very simple practice of meditation on sound vibration,
yet what can be more sophisticated and wonderful than the presence of
God?<br />
<br />
It is the ultimate app because it is available to everyone, for free,
at all times and is not at all contingent on one’s skin color,
sexuality, political preference, or whether one is even spiritually
qualified to practice it. One doesn’t have to be a Hindu to chant the
maha-mantra<em>. </em>It enhances any kind of spiritual search because
it is a universal app. It connects one to the source, the powerhouse of
reality, and is inclusive of everyone.<br />
<br />
It is the ultimate app because it’s fully open-source. It can be
transmitted to anyone at any time. Whatever the technology of your
being, of your personality, the maha-mantra fits into the system of your
life.<br />
<br />
It is the ultimate app because, being of eternal spiritual substance,
it never breaks down, and it never needs an upgrade. It’s always in
style, and it’s always available.<br />
<br />
There have been calls for a <a href="http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2012/01/texas-faith-do-we-need-a-steve.html" target="_blank" title="Texas Faith: Do We Need a Steve Jobs of Religion?">“spiritual Steve Jobs”</a>
to appear, to innovate some of the rusted structures of spirituality. I
can certainly agree with this sentiment in many ways, but it is
essential to remember that real change begins within our own heart. The
maha-mantra is a tool, a spiritualized lifestyle app, which allows us
to come to the core of the real innovation and creativity of our true
being.<br />
<br />
In the Bhakti tradition it is said that everyone has the
responsibility to become a teacher, a guide, a selfless sharer of the
essence they are finding. Understanding the real tools, the real apps,
of our spiritual life and seeing their immense value in our daily life
can help us to become givers of the Divine, of God’s reality. It can
bring us to the simplicity of our being, and allow us to give the
ultimate sophistication.Christopher Ficihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12101732802629222937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4189063378060469728.post-82895457958242963662012-05-07T09:00:00.000-04:002012-05-07T09:00:11.176-04:00Occupy Wall Street: Don't Dehumanize The 'Evil Banker'<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://media.salon.com/2011/11/ows-arrests-460x307.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://media.salon.com/2011/11/ows-arrests-460x307.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-fici/occupy-wall-street-dont-dehumanize-the-evil-_b_1468170.html"><i><b>From the "Occupy Wall Street" section at The Huffington Post</b></i></a> <br />
<br />
As a spiritual person, I have felt aloof from the Occupy Wall Street
movement. I have thought about this aloofness a great deal, spoken and
dialogued about it, <a href="http://news.iskcon.com/node/3943" target="_hplink">and written about it</a>,
but I still struggle to put my head and heart together over how I can
serve and contribute to Occupy and within the realm of social justice as
a whole.<br />
<br />
At a recent panel discussion at Union Theological Seminary, entitled
"Being Mad And What To Do About It: What Occupiers And The Occupied Can
Learn From Interfaith Dialogue," my frustration was crystallized to a
certain extent. As my friend <a href="http://www.samirselmanovic.com/" target="_hplink">Samir Selmanovic</a>
spoke eloquently about the need to deepen our compassionate spirit in
our dialogue with the "other," i.e the people who run the machine of
Wall Street, and as I heard the responses from Occupiers in the audience
who refused to acknowledge the need for any such kind of dialogue, the
nature of my own disconnection from the Occupy movement became more
clear.<br />
<br />
I felt that, as natural and acceptable as it is in one sense to feel anger at some of the entities on Wall Street. the <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-great-american-bubble-machine-20100405" target="_hplink">"vampire squids"</a>
and "evil bankers," and as natural as it is to respond to being
dehumanized by such entities by dehumanizing them in return, as a
spiritual person my engagement with this immense problem must go deeper.
It must include yet transcend the rage, exasperation, and frustration
all of us feel.<br />
<br />
One can say that these "evil bankers" don't deserve a compassionate
dialogue, yet compassion is multifaceted. It is not just good vibes, but
the strength of providing what is truly needed for someone to give up
their selfishness and illusion, even if that means the strong arm of
justice and the clear light of truth. <br />
<br />
One can say that because of the power dynamics at hand, because of
the immense wealth and influence that Wall Street has in this
discussion, that to engage with them is fruitless. Yet there is nothing
more powerful than a spiritual response to injustice and inequality. If
you doubt what I am saying, just look at the lives of Martin Luther King
and Mahatma Gandhi, among many others. The divinity behind their voice
was what gave them the power to make such immense change.<br />
<br />
I can relate to the struggle Thomas Merton went through in the 1960s,
as he lived his life as a Christian monk yet was deeply drawn into the
monumental struggles of civil rights and nuclear war. As a committed
spiritualist, his response to these issues required an incredible amount
of depth and clarity. One passage, from his book "Conjectures of a
Guilty Bystander," elucidates my feelings towards how we should view the
"Other" or our "enemy" much better that I could ever say:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>
The tactic of nonviolence is a tactic of love that seeks
the salvation and redemption of the opponent, not his castigation,
humiliation and defeat. A pretended nonviolence that seeks to defeat and
humiliate the adversary by spiritual instead of physical attack is
little more than a confession of weakness.
This may be easy to talk about in theory. It is not easy to practice,
especially when the adversary is aroused to a bitter and violent
defense of an injustice which he believes to be just. We must therefore
be careful how we talk about our opponents, and still more careful how
we regulate our differences with our collaborators.</blockquote>
I was particularly impressed by what author/Wall Street veteran <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/monika-mitchell" target="_hplink">Monika Mitchell</a> said during the panel at Union. She made it very clear (and also does so through the powerful book, <i><a href="http://premiere.fastpencil.com/cwws" target="_hplink">Conversations With Wall Street</a></i>,
that she and her husband Peter Ressler wrote) that Wall Street is full
of living, breathing, even ethical human beings who are deeply affected
by the transgressions that have happened, and who deeply desire to bring
the integral and the personal back into the culture of Wall Street.
<br />
I was also moved by a comment Samir made, in which he wondered and
called out for people to minister and counsel to the people within the
crypt of Wall Street itself. I told him of my friend Rasanath, whom I
have lived with as a monk for the past three years, <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204394804577008271679360612.html" target="_hplink">and
whose remarkable experience of giving up a lucrative career with Bank
of America to live as a monk has given him the perspective and calling
to become a spiritual guide for many people on the Street.</a><br />
<br />
The only response to any injustice I can give, as a spiritual person,
is a humane response. It is a response which doesn't ignore the
injustice at hand but which transmutes into something that actually
moves and heals. I ask our fellow Occupiers to consider the language,
tone, and motivation of their response, so that we can deepen our
ability to affect the change we seek.Christopher Ficihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12101732802629222937noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4189063378060469728.post-71867517892758801222012-04-21T08:00:00.000-04:002012-04-21T08:00:18.361-04:00Why Being a Hindu Has Made Me a Better Catholic<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://i.huffpost.com/gen/570239/thumbs/s-HINDU-CATHOLIC-large300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i.huffpost.com/gen/570239/thumbs/s-HINDU-CATHOLIC-large300.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-fici/why-being-a-hindu-has-mad_b_1425982.html?ref=religion#es_share_ended"><i><b>My debut piece at the Huffington Post</b></i> </a><br />
<br />
I recently took a pilgrimage to Corpus Christi Church on 121st Street
off of Broadway, here in New York City. This is where Thomas Merton,
the great Catholic monk/mystic/author, was baptized, formally beginning a
spiritual journey which has captivated and inspired millions of
truth-seekers over the past few generations, myself included.<br />
<br />
It was a special enough moment to be there, but a certain deeper
resonance came as I stepped back out into the street, as I suddenly saw
my past, present and future all before me. My past, raised in the
Catholic tradition by my family in Detroit, as represented by Corpus
Christi Church and Merton, faced me in my present situation, as an
aspiring Hindu minister in New York City. I turned to my left to see the
potentiality of my future, as represented by Union Theological
Seminary, where I am currently applying, and where I hope to find an
experience to harmonize my spiritual aspirations with my concern to be a
servant to create justice in the world.<br />
<br />
I was reminded that we owe a tremendous debt to that which has shaped
us, to those who have helped to form us. We can forget this so easily,
when the cult of our own individuality oversteps its boundaries. I was
once again reminded that what I appreciate most of all in my own
spiritual journey is gaining a greater and more loving acceptance of
where I have come from, from the sacred roots of my family. <br />
<br />
The Catholic faith of my youth planted within me the seeds to seek
the truth. Now the tables have turned, as my experience of the
incredible vistas of Hindu theology and practice has turned a shining
light back to where I was before. In fact, I see that where I was before
is very much the same as I am now. My Hindu faith has made me a better
Christian.<br />
<br />
Even as a child, the stories and wisdom I received in church and in
catechism spoke to me of a profound yet simple reality: God is a person
who knows and loves me dearly and deeply, and that I am also a person
who can return that love in a very personal and unique way. <br />
<br />
As I began to study the great Bhagavad-Gita, I found out that my
seemingly childish impression of a personal and loving God was not
actually so. It was steeped in the deepest truth. The theology of the
Gita is immense and all-inclusive. The reality of the Divine is
explained in three ways: God is His all-pervasive, transpersonal
essence, the guide or conscience within our heart, and also a distinct
individual. It is His unique personal feature which the Gita describes
as being the preeminent of these three aspects.<br />
<br />
The Gita climaxes with this passage, in which Krishna, the original
Personality of God as described in Hinduism, tells his friend Arjuna
that:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>
Always think of Me, become My devotee, worship Me and
offer your homage unto Me. Thus you will come to Me without fail. I
promise you this because you are My very dear friend.</blockquote>
<br />
I remember hearing, as a child, that God was always with me, seeing what
I was doing, understanding my heart. There was never a moment where I
felt threatened by this. Instead, I simply felt like I had a dear friend
who would always be with me, and who would always help me, and whom I
felt I could love in return. As I entered into the Bhakti faith I began
to experience this simple reality in all its depth.
<br />
The path of Bhakti which I follow is a system of connection, or yoga,
with God, based on the idea of loving, devotional service. Real
devotional service is the giving of one's body, mind, and words to the
service of God. In the Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, a classical 16th century
devotional treatise, we read that:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>
"When first-class devotional service develops, one must
be devoid of all material desires, knowledge obtained by monistic
philosophy, and fruitive action. The devotee must constantly serve Kṛṣṇa
favorably, as Kṛṣṇa desires."</blockquote>
<br />
The Hindu diaspora is filled with examples of such fidelity, including
A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, who braved the rigors of old age to
bring the Bhakti tradition to the West at the age of 70 in 1965. In my
exploration of my Christian roots, I come across the same mood in St.
Francis of Assisi, who understood very deeply that to truly serve means
to be an instrument of God. St. Francis wrote that:<br />
<blockquote>
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek <br />
to be consoled as to console, <br />
to be understood as to understand, <br />
to be loved, as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive</blockquote>
<br />
It is in St. Francis's particular example that I understand that Bhakti
is not exclusive to any one path or faith. Bhakti means devotion, love,
surrender to the will of God. My own understanding of it as a practicing
Hindu helps me to see its reality as the foundation of my Christian
heritage as well.
<br />
As I pray and meditate and call God's names, it takes me into the
memory of the examples before me, of my great-aunt chanting the rosary
with daily and deep devotion in the living room of my childhood home,
and of my grandfather taking to the Detroit airwaves in his youth to say
the rosary as well.<br />
<br />
These connections, sacred and sustaining to me, is
where I really feel I have become a better Christian through my Hindu
practice. It has allowed me to honor a desire in my family to carry
forward a torch of devotion to God that transcends any cultural
boundaries or differences.<br />
<br />
Without the grace and knowledge I have received in my practice and
life as a Hindu minister, I would not be able to approach my heritage as
a Christian in such a meaningful way. This reality leaves me with a
grateful heart, and a desire to go deeper into this harmony, to honor
where I have come from, where I am now, and where I am meant to go.Christopher Ficihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12101732802629222937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4189063378060469728.post-22712736231953787982012-03-12T08:00:00.000-04:002012-03-12T08:00:10.137-04:00The Heart of Mantra Meditation<img alt="Prayer Beads" class="articleBeautyImage" height="300" src="http://www.beliefnet.com/%7E/media/BA5EBF00EE604C65A09F42E0FEED4A25.ashx" width="400" />
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One of my favorite passages in the <i>Bhagavad-gītā </i>is where Krishna, the personification of the Divine, tells his stricken warrior friend Arjuna that:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>For him who has conquered the mind, the mind is
the best of friends; but for one who has failed to do so, his mind will
remain the greatest enemy. (Chapter 6, Verse 6) </i></div>
<br />
Of all the pearls of wisdom we try to teach our students at our Gita
Circle student club at New York University, this is one passage that
really seems to stick out in a very visceral, practical way. The Gita
is a book of everyday reasoning, a treatise of <a class="bn-keyword" href="http://www.beliefnet.com/section/quiz/index.asp?surveyid=27" id="45cd4b89-fbaf-4cef-bbd5-38797d04ccac" target="_blank">spiritual</a>
technology designed to help us take a step back from the world in order
to engage with it further, as the great sages from the Himalayas to
Walden Pond did for many ages before we tread upon this world.<br />
<br />
Nowhere is this reasoning more intensely felt when we stop our
everyday scheming and dreaming to ask some pertinent questions: What is
my mind? How does it work? How does it exist? Why does it seem unable to
focus when I need it to? Who is the “I” that is observing the mind?
Our mind is more powerful, and with a much deeper memory than any
visionary device from the labs at Apple or Google. It is considered the
“sixth sense”, intimately linked to how the rest of our senses interact
and respond, for better or for worse, to the physical reality that
surrounds us.<br />
<br />
As our students at NYU also experience, when we meditate together, we
are instantly confronted with the fact that the mind prefers to be in
an adversarial position. Even to just focus simply our breath for a few
moments at a time in a tremendous endeavor.<br />
<br />
Arjuna, in the Gita, agrees when he says:<br />
<br />
<div align="center">
<i>The mind is restless, turbulent, obstinate and
very strong, O Krsna, and to subdue it, I think, is more difficult than
controlling the wind. </i></div>
<br />
Krishna, while trying to present the true reality of our bodily and
mental nature as clearly as possible in the Gita, is also trying to show
us that we can transcend this nature into the actuality of our being as
spirit, so he responds to Arjuna's plea by saying:<br />
<br />
<div align="center">
<i>O mighty-armed son of Kuntī, it is undoubtedly
very difficult to curb the restless mind, but it is possible by suitable
practice and by detachment. </i></div>
<br />
The wisdom texts of the Bhakti tradition have a specific and
compassionate design to help us access this suitable practice and
detachment, in the form of a specific style of <a class="bn-keyword" href="http://www.beliefnet.com/holistic-living/meditation/index.aspx" id="6ce200c1-aa5c-427e-b0af-142d9cbdf2a3" target="_blank">meditation</a>
using mantra. Many of us are familiar with this word, but not as much
as with its actual meaning. Contemporary Bhakti scholar Stephen Knapp
explains:<br />
<br />
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<i>Man means the mind, tra means deliverance.
Therefore, a spiritual mantra is the pure sound vibration for delivering
the mind from material to spiritual consciousness. This is the goal of
any spiritual path. </i></div>
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<br />
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The Bhakti tradition of the Gita recommends the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra (<em>Hare Krishna/Hare Krishna/Krishna Krishna/Hare Hare/Hare Rama/Hare Rama/Rama Rama/Hare Hare</em>), which is known as the <em>maha-mantra </em>(“great chant for deliverance”). This mantra consists of three names of the Divine: <em>Hare </em>(the feminine aspect of the Divine), <em>Krishna </em>(the all-attractive aspect of the Divine), and <em>Rama </em>(the pleasure reservoir of the Divine). </div>
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Just by resounding the vibrations of these names within one's body,
mind, and heart, one comes into contact with the Divine, with God, who
is not different from His/Her holy names. Chanting mantras engages so
many of our faculties, from our hands delicately handling our <a class="bn-keyword" href="http://www.beliefnet.com/faiths/prayer/archive.aspx" id="295e0122-3cb2-4fe2-9392-fe5c53b8ab2f" target="_blank">prayer</a> beads to our voices soaring in the musical chanting of these mantras, also known as <em>kirtan</em>. </div>
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This is something I do every day (quite early in the day, befitting
my monk lifestyle) in a consistent timeframe and manner, which gives me
fuel to swim the upstream tide of spiritual life in the material world.
Paul McCartney said that meditation to him was akin to brushing one's
teeth, in that he couldn't imagine going without it. I certainly agree
with that but I know as well the intention behind meditation must go
deeper.</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
The chanting of mantras allows us, as we learn to focus, control, and
harness the power of our mind for spiritual good, to gain access to
these deeper benefits of meditation. By chanting the Hare Krishna
mantra, for example, we gain access to the heart of the reality of our
being, as spirit soul seeking to return to our eternal loving
relationship with God. <br /> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Truly, meditation is meant to bring us to
this reality, and while we can certainly enjoy and prosper from the
stress relief and mental growth we get from our practice, we should
always be striving for the divine love that is within us, which allows
us to fully connect to God and to all life around us.</div>
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<em>Chris Fici is a writer/teacher/monk in the bhakti-yoga tradition.
He has been practicing at the Bhaktivedanta Ashram at the Bhakti Center
in New York City since 2009. After receiving a degree in film studies
at the University of Michigan, Chris began his exploration and study of
the bhakti tradition. He currently teaches classes on the culture and
art of vegetarian cooking, as well as the living philosophy of the
Bhagavad-Gita, at New York University and Columbia University. </em></div>
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<br />Read more: <a href="http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/Hinduism/Articles/The-Heart-of-Mantra-Meditation.aspx?p=2#ixzz1orvc3NQN" style="color: #003399;">http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/Hinduism/Articles/The-Heart-of-Mantra-Meditation.aspx?p=2#ixzz1orvc3NQN</a></div>
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<br />Christopher Ficihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12101732802629222937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4189063378060469728.post-1330435479458389962012-03-03T08:00:00.000-05:002012-03-03T08:00:04.379-05:00The Regulative Principles of Freedom<div class="mbl notesBlogText clearfix">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1x2tJ8_u2_MqeP596AigIAE8CD9Z4ngDc2Df0btxUjqSw0GFJ3fSwVCMi6Rptu7xTrAl8fHSdmjSmAmN9fyRPv1XPmBDaW1VjWgCu19v24Mu0XhBKASIgVzV7nl96uNyz0XXcnycKAp7v/s1600/self-discipline1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="141" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1x2tJ8_u2_MqeP596AigIAE8CD9Z4ngDc2Df0btxUjqSw0GFJ3fSwVCMi6Rptu7xTrAl8fHSdmjSmAmN9fyRPv1XPmBDaW1VjWgCu19v24Mu0XhBKASIgVzV7nl96uNyz0XXcnycKAp7v/s320/self-discipline1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />
<span>The Vedic spiritual tradition, as magnificently manifested in the </span><span><em>Bhagavat Purana</em></span><span>,
the volume of stories, fables, and lessons from the life of Krishna,
the Divine Personality of God, and His followers and friends, tells us
of the exceptional position of human life. In the apparatus of our
human form, our body-mind-intelligence-soul framework, we have the
opportunity to realize the deepest meaning and reality of our own
individual self, and the meaning and reality of our relationship with
God.</span><br />
<br />
<span>According to the Vedas, other life
forms, the animals and plants we share this world with, do not have this
same opportunity. I have noticed that to exclude the birds and bees
from a life of enlightenment is a matter of fierce debate, but the
science of self-realization does not run merely on the engine of
instinct. The eminent Vedic sage and scholar Swami Prabhupada writes in
his translation of the </span><span><em>Bhagavat Purana</em></span><span> that:</span><br />
<br />
<span><em>Animals
in bodies lower than that of the human being are conscious only as far
as their bodily distress and happiness are concerned; they cannot think
of more than their bodily necessities of life-eating, sleeping, mating
and defending. But in the human form of life, by the grace of God, the
consciousness is so developed that a man can evaluate his exceptional
position and thus realize the self and the Supreme Lord.</em></span><span><em>1</em></span><br />
<br />
<span>This
is where we come to an even stickier point. To run beyond our feral
instincts means to understand the power of our mind and senses, and to
be able to actually harness the power of our mind and senses. It is a
matter of control, of discipline. </span><br />
<br />
<span>Swami Prabhupada also writes in the </span><span><em>Bhagavat Purana:</em></span><br />
<br />
<span><em>By
controlling the senses, or by the process of yoga regulation, one can
understand the position of his self, the Supersoul, the world and their
interrelation; everything is possible by controlling the senses.</em></span><span><em>2</em></span><br />
<br />
<span>Spiritual
life becomes very meaningful when we understand the blessings that
discipline can bring into our consciousness. In the </span><span><em>Bhagavad-gītā, </em></span><span>Krishna
explains that the mind can be either our best friend, or our worst
enemy. One doesn't have to be yearning for divinity to understand this
in a very visceral and practical way. Krishna then goes on to describe
certain “regulative principles of freedom”</span><span>3</span><span> which allow us to be no longer held hostage by our uncontrolled minds and senses.</span><br />
<br />
<span>Followers of the </span><span><em>bhakti </em></span><span>tradition,
from monks like myself to those who are married together, attempt to
honor and hold four main regulative principles to enhance our spiritual
experience. First, we are vegetarian (and vegan, if we so choose),
avoiding all meat, eggs, and fish to uphold the sacred principle of </span><span><em>ahimsa</em></span><span>,
or non-violence, which is essential to spiritual development. Second,
we avoid intoxication, even caffeine and tobacco, in order to clarify
and purify our vision and thought. </span><br />
<br />
<span>Third, we
do not gamble or speculate, in order to avoid falling into the various
illusory traps that greed may offer us. Lastly, we only practice sex in
marriage, and mainly for the procreation of children, in order to
defend the sacred nature of sexuality, and not allow it to be degraded
into a matter of selfish lust, which can destroy any spiritual
aspirations we may have.</span><br />
<br />
<span>All this talk of
regulations and discipline can leave one a little hesitant, one foot in,
one foot out. Discipline has fallen out of fashion in our
post-post-modern world. Whereas in previous generations it was seen as a
rite of passage, or even as a fashion and calling (look at the
strictness and sacrifice of the American peoples supporting the war
effort in World War II as an example), now it is seen as a perversion of
our natural desires, of our very striving for freedom.</span><br />
<br />
<span>I hope you may be able to see from my explanation of the regulative principles that we follow in the </span><span><em>bhakti </em></span><span>tradition
how the case is actually the opposite. Without some consideration of
the power of our instincts, and a practice thereof to control and
harness this power, what we may call “freedom” is actually a servitude
to the negative forces of lust, envy, greed, and pride that are within
us and all around us.</span><br />
<br />
<span>Discipline has to be
understood beyond its surface impressions in order to see how it gives
us spiritual freedom. It is a means to a tremendous end, allowing us
and helping us to fully understand our loving relationship with the
Divine, with God. As the father of monastic life in the West, St.
Benedict describes in his </span><span><em>Rule:</em></span><br />
<br />
<span><em>Therefore
we must establish a school of the Lord's service; in founding which we
hope to ordain nothing that is harsh and burdensome. </em></span><br />
<br />
<span><em>But
if, for good reason, for the amendment of evil habit or the
preservation of charity, there may be some strictness of discipline do
not at once be dismayed and run away from the way of salvation, of which
the entrance must needs be narrow.</em></span><br />
<br />
<span><em>But
as we progress in our monastic life and in faith, our hearts shall be
enlarged and we shall run with unspeakable sweetness of love in the way
of God's commandments.</em></span><br />
<br />
<span>A firm yet
healthy discipline of our body and mind helps to a deeper discipline of
will and intention. To discipline our intention means to remove our
selfishness. This also is not as black-and-white as it may seem on the
surface, for we must also consider what it means to be selfish. </span><br />
<br />
<span>In other parts of the </span><span><em>bhakti</em></span><span> scriptures, it is described that the key regulative principle, over and above all </span><br />
<span>others,
is to always do what is favorable for the development of one's devotion
to God, and conversely always avoid that which is unfavorable.
Selfishness is that which focuses the power of our will and intention
solely on the pleasure and well-being of our own self, as if we are the
center of the universe, rather on the pleasure and well-being of God and
all of our living brothers and sisters in this world.</span><br />
<br />
<span>There
is a certain risk to be walked through here, in that if we are striving
to stifle our negative selfish tendencies, we may actually go too far
in the opposite direction, and lose touch with the actual needs of our
self, with the ambitions we hold which can still carry us running
towards God if we know how to utilize them properly. </span><br />
<br />
<span>Swami Prabhupada further explains:</span><br />
<br />
<span><em>Real
self-realization by means of controlling the senses is explained
herein. One should try to see the Supreme Personality of Godhead and
one's own self also.</em></span><span><em>4</em></span><br />
<br />
<span>Our
relationship with God is a two-way street. We are interested to know
God fully, and He is interested to know us fully, and to help us offer
the very best that we can to Him. It is our sacred duty to participate
in this relationship, and it is a very healthy and mature attitude to
always be exploring how we can best offer our talents and aspirations
the very best of ourselves, to God, insuring we find the deepest
fulfillment we can find as seekers and students of the Divine.</span><br />
<br />
<span>As
I look forward into my own life, throwing off a certain sense of
naivete and inertia, looking towards academic, social, and Interfaith
opportunities to imbibe and expand Prabhupada's mission in New York City
in whatever humble way I see fit, I carry a determination to know who I
am, for better and for worse. We can't avoid, as we develop our
sincere spiritual ambitions, the weeds in the garden of our heart which
blur and corrupt these ambitions. </span><br />
<br />
<span>Our
spiritual journey is meant to guide us into and beyond our lower nature,
but not through evasion and aversion, but through a courageous and
honest engagement with the loving support of our fellow community of
seekers. </span><br />
<br />
<span>To come out the other side, into
the best of our self that we can offer to God, we must allow the
discipline we voluntarily impose on our body and mind to help also
discipline our intention. What is that discipline of intention? To keep
everything do wrapped in the spirit of service. As we develop the
unique facets of our personal offering to God, we must keep this
foundation strong in order to prevent us from wandering back into the
deserts of our selfishness.</span><br />
<br />
<span>Discipline is, at
its essence, an art of focus, of revelation of the best that we carry,
not merely the denial of the worst we hide from ourselves and others.
The principles we follow, spiritually and otherwise, to regulate our
consciousness and its intention, give us a freedom that is not temporary
and not relative, that is not material. It gives us the enlightenment
which is our most natural instinct, and also the opportunity to give a
humble yet powerful example to help others rise above.</span><br />
<br />
1http://vedabase.com/en/sb/3/31/19<br />
<br />
2http://vedabase.com/en/sb/3/31/19<br />
<br />
3http://vedabase.com/en/bg/2/64<br />
<br />
4http://vedabase.com/en/sb/3/31/19</div>
</div>Christopher Ficihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12101732802629222937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4189063378060469728.post-75961932452024317322012-02-25T08:49:00.001-05:002012-02-25T08:49:12.310-05:00Eco-Ethics<a href="http://www.elephantjournal.com/2012/02/eco-ethics-a-natual-infastructure--chris-fici/"><i>A new essay, based on a lecture from Varsana Swami, published at Elephant Journal</i></a><br />
<br />
I<em>n 1965, teacher and scholar A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami transplanted
the culture of Bhakti, or the yoga of devotion, from its roots in the
ancient culture of India to the Western world.</em><br />
<br />
<em>Bhaktivedanta Swami was “ahead of his time” in the realm of
living ecology. A few years before the modern ecological movement found
its ground, Bhaktivedanta Swami was teaching his young students the
ideal of “simple living and high thinking.” He encouraged them to break
out of their industrialized and technological conditioning of mass
consumption to return to a less complicated way of being, in order to
free the mind for spiritual enlightenment. His students imbibed his
audacity, starting farm communities in the model of the Vedic village
culture in numerous places across North America, Europe, Africa, South
America, Australia, and back to India. </em><br />
<br />
<em>They understood that what they were trying to do was, in a sense,
both revolutionary yet eternal. The spiritual ecology and culture of
the Bhakti tradition and of the Vedas is nothing new, yet to understand
its precepts could bring profound auspicious change to our human
condition, and to our increasingly fragile relationship with our Mother
Earth. </em><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.elephantjournal.com/2011/01/1111vibration/earthbeautiful/" rel="attachment wp-att-111596"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-111596" height="187" src="http://images.elephantjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/earthbeautiful-250x187.jpg" title="earthbeautiful" width="250" /></a></div>
We stand on the cusp of an abyss. We can see, with the correct lens
of vision, that our collective reliance on machine and industry, on
hardware and software, on an exploitative relationship with Mother
Earth, has created the prospect of a total collapse of the comforts and
easy access to resources that we take for granted.<br />
<br />
Over the last forty years — beginning from the crystallized aesthetic
beauty of the famous “Blue Marble” picture of our Mother Earth taken by
the astronauts of Apollo 17 — we have come to understand that we all
share the same planet, the same air, the same soil. We carry within us
the strong, yet mostly unconscious inkling, that the Earth is our
collective mother and our collective psyche.<br />
<br />
The degree of our forgetfulness of this is the degree of pain we now
all share at the breaking of our symbiosis with the planet which
shelters us, nurtures us, and gives us everything she has. What would we
do if the fragile relationship we have left with Mother Earth
shattered?<br />
<br />
What would we do if the chain of easy flow and access to the consumer goods and resources we take for granted broke down?<br />
<br />
In an article by Mike Adams at Natural News, (<a href="http://www.naturalnews.com/027694_complex_societies_civilization.html" target="_blank"><em>How Fragile We Are: Why The Complexity of Modern Civilization Threatens Us All</em></a>) the author bluntly states:<br />
<div align="center" style="padding-left: 30px; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" style="padding-left: 30px; text-align: left;">
<em>“
There is almost no slack in the systems that deliver your food, fuel,
electricity, water or consumer products. That means if something goes
wrong, even for a little while, you’ll need to depend on yourself to
provide these things. Yet how many people have the ability to provide
all these essentials for themselves — disconnected from the grid — for
even as little as one weekend? Few, it turns out.</em></div>
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
<em>They have unknowingly bet their lives
on the reliability of just-in-time delivery systems and complex
infrastructure interdependencies. When the water stops flowing, or the
electricity goes off, or the gasoline runs out, they literally will have
no idea what to do.”</em></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
We must also understand that this problem
cannot be inherently solved by the same mechanisms that created it.
Technology and science cannot be assumed to be the cure for the same
problems they caused. Contemporary philosopher John Gray has written:</div>
<div align="center" style="padding-left: 30px; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" style="padding-left: 30px; text-align: left;">
<em>“Science
is a tool for problem-solving…but it has this peculiarity, that when it
is most successful it creates new problems, some of which are
insoluble. This is an unpopular conclusion, and it is not only those who
believe technology can overcome mortality that resist it. So do Greens
who support renewable technologies and sustainable development. If
humans have caused climate change, Greens insist, humans can also stop
it.”</em></div>
<br />
This is not to say that we should abandon the innovation and
enthusiasm to create scientific and technical tools which can help to
reverse the tide, but Gray suggests that we not exclusively worship at
the same altar to the same gods who gave us what we asked for.<br />
<a href="http://www.elephantjournal.com/2010/04/the-divine-god-and-you-elsie-escobar/the-divine-god-and-you/" rel="attachment wp-att-48300"><img alt="" class="size-medium wp-image-48300 alignright" height="300" src="http://images.elephantjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/The-Divine-God-and-You-225x300.jpg" title="The Divine, God and You" width="225" /></a><strong> </strong><br />
<br />
<strong>There is another ingredient to be added to the recipe for solution which we must consider, which is our inherent divinity.</strong><br />
<br />
We must go to the ground of our being, to the level of our
consciousness, our thought patterns, our actions, our aspirations, our
desires, to the engine of our inner psyche, <a href="http://www.elephantjournal.com/2012/02/quote-of-the-day-how-to-change-the-world-in-260-words/" target="_blank">towards our soul and towards God</a>,
to understand why we do what we do, and to understand why we have
chosen exploitation instead of integration, dissonance instead of
harmony, affluenza instead of illumination, in our sacred relationship
with Mother Earth.<br />
<br />
This platform of consciousness, <a href="http://www.elephantjournal.com/2012/02/you-have-24-gurus-and-yourself/">where we can understand our relationship with the Divine,</a>
with God, is where we can properly begin to understand the reality of
true eco-ethics. Eco-ethics is the proper protocol of thought, action,
obligation, and responsibility between organisms and their collective
shared environment or ecology.<br />
<br />
Any purely materialistic angle of vision of approach to eco-ethics
will reach its limitations unless we include the perspective of
universal, divine wisdom. This wisdom, or <a href="http://www.elephantjournal.com/2012/01/did-someone-mention-dharma/" target="_blank"><em>dharma</em></a>,
is from the transcendent realm, well beyond even this material world,
yet intrinsically pervading our individual and collective consciousness.
Dharma is the codices and well-worn common-sense which allows us to
understand our intrinsic spiritual nature, and our link to God through
understanding our function and duty as beings in relation to universal
law.<br />
<br />
The key aspect of dharma in Vedic theology revolves around
actualizing the full nature of our personality and our relationships.
The core concept of dharma is known as <em>sanatana-dharma</em>, which
describes the constitutional nature of our soul in the mood of loving
service or devotion (Bhakti) to God, creating an all-inclusive matrix
that takes in and fulfills the obligations of our relationship to
family, society, humanity, and our ecology.<br />
<br />
Those who understand the Earth as our Mother, and who really value
that relationship in their heart and in their actions, approach our
crisis and its potential solutions from the heart of this universal
dharma, which extends across all spiritual cultures. This relationship
is not to be understood in any kind of purely mythological or vapid
manner. Instead, the theology of Vedic culture explains the link between
our actions, and what the Earth is divinely inspired to give us.<br />
<br />
This science of action revolves around the culture of selfless
action in the mood of sacrifice. Sacrifice, in its purest form, means to
give up something in order to please someone else, which is the essence
and heart of all real relationships, and the heart of the Bhakti
tradition, in which one tries to offer all of the fruits of one’s
efforts to please God.<br />
<br />
<strong> It is the great blessing of our Mother Earth in that she
wants to give her gifts to us in order that we may offer them in return
to God who has supplied her with her natural bounty.</strong><br />
<div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_201806" style="width: 260px;">
<a href="http://www.elephantjournal.com/2011/08/not-in-my-house-flies-seven-ways-to-deal-with-the-summer-pests-emily-alex/picture-4-159/" rel="attachment wp-att-201806"><img alt="lavender" class="size-medium wp-image-201806 " height="379" src="http://images.elephantjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Picture-45-250x379.png" title="dried lavender" width="250" /></a><div class="wp-caption-text">
Photo: Just Karen</div>
</div>
<br />
When this cycle of receptivity, abundance, and sacrifice is fully
adhered to, harmony in our ecology is fixed. The temple of our personal
and collective mind, body, and soul stands strong. She is happy to
provide for everyone, if everyone is utilizing her gifts properly. This
traditional model of agriculture meant that, on the natural level,
everything that came from the Earth went back into the Earth. This is
the true synchronicity of God’s arrangement.<br />
<br />
Any <a href="http://www.elephantjournal.com/2011/10/real-dirty-pilgrimage-arriving-at-angelic-organics/" target="_blank">organic farmer</a>
can experience this, using manure as organic fertilizer for example.
What is the contrast? What goes back into the Earth through factory farm
agriculture? Blood meal, bone meal, and chemical fertilizers, all boons
of the so-called “Green Revolution.” We also have synthetic nitrogen,
which comes from petroleum, saturating much of our valuable soil,
killing the needed microrganisms in the earth, which then creates the
need for more and more chemicals to get more and more yield from the
dying soil.<br />
<br />
The classic Vedic text Mahabharata tells us that agriculture is the
most noble of occupations. That we have lost sense of this, speaking
from the perspective of my own experience and my own generation, is a
painful knot in the heart.<br />
<br />
I do not want to generalize here, but a personal anecdote may
suffice. I spent the better part of two years at a Bhakti community in
the hills of West Virginia, living as a monk, and one of my services was
to assist with our organic gardening projects. I began with great
enthusiasm, until the degree of effort and hard work required hit me
like a ton of bricks. I relayed my difficulty to resident sage Varsana
Swami, who had spent decades at this project creating the natural
infrastructure, and he said that my experience was not uncommon.<br />
<br />
He had seen many people come to work and serve there with a sense of
romanticism towards the tilling of the land, and he came to see that
this romanticism was not a sustainable fuel for the sacrifice that was
really needed to gain access to the integrity and determination needed
to give life to the land. I took this to heart in my own experience and
it was a harsh lesson for me to learn, but it is one I strive to deeply
imbibe and carry within me to purify my heart, so that I may be able to
understand and participate in the true nobility of the community of real
agriculture, on the material and spiritual level.<br />
<br />
This sublime culture has two pillars at its core: the culture of
brahminical knowledge and the protection of one of the most dynamic
living beings we share this planet with, the cow. At its core,
brahminical culture means knowing the difference between matter and
spirit, between our eternal nature as souls and our temporary situation
in these material bodies, and living our lives in an according way to
actualize that knowledge.<br />
<br />
The cow, also one of our dear mothers, helps to give all the
essential gifts of proper sacrifice and offering to the Divine.
Ayurvedic science tells us that milk, particularly in its natural, raw,
unpasteurized state, is a tremendous boon for physical health. It also
helps to develop the finer tissues of the brain, which are conducive to
the development of deeper spiritual understanding.<a href="http://www.elephantjournal.com/2012/02/eco-ethics-a-natual-infastructure--chris-fici/#_ftn1" title="">[1]</a> The cow’s masculine counterpart, the bull/ox, was primarily responsible for tilling the land in traditional Vedic culture.<a href="http://www.elephantjournal.com/2010/11/the-organic-center-a-dairy-farms-footprint/organic-cow/" rel="attachment wp-att-98082"><img alt="" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-98082" height="165" src="http://images.elephantjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Organic-Cow-250x165.png" title="Organic Cow" width="250" /></a><br />
<br />
It was this abandonment (and eventual exploitation) of the cow, bull,
and ox, and the conversion to tractor power which played a large part
in ruining traditional local farm economies in India, America, and
across the globe. Eventually from this, multinational corporations
could co-opt the chain of command as to how we ate and what we grew.<br />
<br />
Most of the foodstuffs we mainly have access to in our local shops
come from California and other far-flung places. Having the food supply
in the hands of big agribusiness creates, by and large, a situation of
exploitation. The sacred relationship and the nobility of agriculture
becomes long lost.<br />
<br />
Because the sacred art of agriculture always returns us to the
essence of relationships, to the knowledge that we are inter-dependent
on others, from our fellow earthlings, from the mercy of God, for our
sustenance, we get a sense of its magnanimous heart. Agriculture
encourages cooperation, whereas technology and industry tend to
encourage competition. The nature of competition, and the envy it
produces, is destructive to the relationship between the individual and
the whole. It encourages the perversion of selfishness, that the whole
should be serving the parts.<br />
<br />
Real health is when the parts are serving the whole-serving the root
of everything material and spiritual, giving one’s love to God and being
imparted from Him the art and actions of love and compassion.<br />
<br />
Understanding our predicament from a spiritual perspective begins at
the level of desire. We confuse our legitimate needs with our
illegitimate desires. We are conditioned to believe that material
prosperity is the only route to happiness in this world. Real
prosperity, guided by the light of transcendent eco-ethics, means access
to wisdom, health, and real progress towards the goal of life, the
re-establishment of our loving relationship with God through
self-realization.<br />
<br />
God has created a perfect synergy for us to have access to. He is
deeply pleased when we cooperate and sacrifice together. Our efforts
combine to create a conduit for His mercy, to create an abundance that
truly sustains us. We want to feel that we are part of something greater
than ourselves. If we can develop our relationship to this Divine
arrangement, to the Earth as our mother, goddess, and supreme teacher,
through gratitude, humility, and prayer, she will help us to understand
and open our heart to our relationship with the Divine, to become
channels of real change in this world, unfolding the solution in every
step we take.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;"><strong> Sources:</strong></span><br />
<span style="color: black;">[1]https://www.google.com/search?q=milk+finer+brain+tissues&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a</span>Christopher Ficihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12101732802629222937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4189063378060469728.post-85213891510317130422012-02-16T08:00:00.000-05:002012-02-16T08:00:15.651-05:00The Strange Art of Relationships, Part 3<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://ariselifeskills.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/839305_34631657.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="243" src="http://ariselifeskills.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/839305_34631657.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
I have been trying to relate some of my own realizations, for better
or for worse, on the strange art of relationships. This is perhaps the
most difficult of the arts to grasp, for we are speaking of hearts full
of hopes and wounds and ideals and misconceptions, not knowing how to
even love or hate properly, being so wrapped up in a primal fear and
loneliness that is but the reflection of our deepest separation from
God.<br />
<br />
To even begin to grasp this art, we must become
conversant, if not comfortable, in the realms of honesty ad
vulnerability. For me, and to say for all of us, this leads us into the
realm of conflict, where we can become exposed in ways that can help or
harm, depending on our consciousness and our perspective. This is a
frightening thing. Stuck in the fight or flee mentality of our animal
genetics, we choose one or the other on a certain instinct, and without
discrimination, knowledge, or sanctity, we just add to the menace that
seems to flow freely through the ethers that surround us.<br />
<br />
We
can make it black or white, and sometimes, in rare moments of crystal
clarity, the calling of truth demands such divides. I am coming to
learn that conflict can be something much more dynamic, and with this
discrimination, knowledge, and sanctity, we can earn and find very
valuable insights on our sojourn back to our spiritual identity and our
spiritual home.<br />
<br />
It is matter of finding our voice, our
integrity, our calling. Speaking to my friend and fellow monk Hari
Prasada, he encouraged me, as he has encouraged others close to him, to
not instinctively shy away from necessary moments of conflict when they
arise. For him, to see others having the tendency to be a continual
push-over, was a frustrating experience. He saw they were missing a
tremendous opportunity to grow, to know themselves in a deeper way, and
to stand up for their own integrity and the truth at hand.<br />
<br />
The
caveat here is that to find one's voice in the realm of conflict, one
must be devoted a sacred principle of honesty. We can fight and scratch
and claw for what we want, for what we believe in, and there is a
certain empowerment that is there, but there is a very thin line between
honesty that heals and empowers, or honesty which wounds and offends.<br />
<br />
The
holy books of the Vedic spirtual culture explain numerous examples of
those who had found their voice and integrity in the deepest possible
way, fully saturated as they were in love of God. Despite this, even
because of this, conflict still followed them like a shadow. Yet, when
they were confronted, their responses were full of an incredible
enlightening potency. At the essence of this potency was and is the
devotion to actual forgiveness.<br />
<br />
When the great Vedic
emperor Maharaja Pariksit was unduly cursed by a young boy for a mistake
he had made, he did not avenge and counter-curse. He forgave the
impetuous young boy and accepted his fate, to die in seven days, in the
most graceful manner, and his determination to fully understand
spiritual truth left us with a perfect example of behavior and a
treasure trove of knowledge through the dialogue that was recorded
between him and his guru in his final days.<br />
<br />
Another
classical example is Jesus forgiving those who had crucified him on the
cross. In their forgiveness, these irrepressibly divine saints are not
showing weakness, or letting themselves be pushed over, but are
responding with their most sacred voice, with the most honest expression
of their heart. We can begin to approach them and their example when
the honesty we bring to our conflicts is balanced with the intention to
forgive, not to avenge.<br />
<br />
Relationships mean conflict,
either on an one-to-one basis, or in our community settings. The
conflicts that inevitably result quite literally define the destiny of
our aspirations together. There is no way to avoid this confrontation of
definition, for the holy books of the Vedas tell us that we live in the
age of quarrel and hypocrisy.<br />
<br />
Every particle, every atom
of our age is saturated with quarrel and hypocrisy. We grow old and
experience this reality more and more, the searing of life itself it
seems. Everything we build is so fragile in comparison to this
onslaught of disarray. We can find ourselves burrowed into a deep well
of our own cynicism, firmly convinced that unity is but a pipe dream.<br />
<br />
This
is where the voice of our honesty, if couched in an understanding and a
desire for actual forgiveness, is such a powerful force against this
seemingly impossible nightmare. We must understand that we have been
forgiven for so much in our lives by others, for so much to even enter
into the spiritual realm, therefore it is our most sacred duty to be
able to forgive others.<br />
<br />
This is not cheap. This is not
easy, especially when emotions are torn asunder and raw. It is a
bittersweet and fine line to walk, and knowing how to do so only comes
from the maturity that is earned through sincerity and the mistakes that
come along with it. Somehow, through the falsities of our own ego, we
must develop our devotion to forgiveness. The alternative is a universe
of pain and heartbreak, and it is nothing we want to put our hearts
through or anyone else's heart for that matter.<br />
<br />
This world
and all the people in it require for us a tough skin, but an open
heart. Our conflicts, if we approach them with this maturity, will give
us a growth we can feel in every fiber of our being, and a surcharge in
our spirit which cannot be denied.Christopher Ficihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12101732802629222937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4189063378060469728.post-70056375559417836582012-02-09T08:00:00.000-05:002012-02-09T08:00:08.889-05:00The Strange Art of Relationships, Part 2<div class="mbl notesBlogText clearfix">
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<br /></div>
<br />
Continuing from our previous meditation on the strange art of relationships,
let me humbly offer some straight dope. There is no way we can avoid
conflict in our relationships, nor should we want to avoid conflict.
Without conflict, our relationships will never grow and flower fully
into the deep, sacred love that is at the essence of our shared
affection and experiences together.<br />
<br />
One
of the key points we established last time was the need to understand
and be in full touch with our conscience. Our conscience is our tool and
our guide to the proper processing of our conflicts. Swami Prabhupada
deftly defines one key element of our conscience as being able to
understand the suffering and happiness of other living entities. This
begins when we are in touch with our own suffering and happiness, when
we are no longer afraid of our own suffering and happiness.<br />
<br />
We
walk across the desert of our own heart in order to walk hand-in-hand
with those we strive to love in this world and in this life. Let's go
back again to Bhakti Tirtha Swami's Four Principles of Community Building, particularly principle #2<br />
<br />
<i>Anytime
there is a problem in a relationship, you should first see it as your
own fault. Even if others are to blame, you will only add to the problem
by considering them to be at fault. </i><br />
<br />
This
is certainly a provocative ideal. That provocation goes to an even
deeper level when we step back and consider it from the philosophical
perspective of the Bhakti-Yoga tradition, which tells us that when a
conflict arises and we feel pain, this pain is a karmic reaction we are
receiving. The other person bringing this difficulty into our
relationship is understood to be an instrument of our own karma.<br />
<br />
I
know this doesn't sound good or taste good. Discussions I've had
around this idea reveal, on one level, that to place or lay blame at any
party in a conflict may not do much to resolve the problem. I can
certainly agree with this to an extent, for blame is a very strong word,
a very loaded concept. What to speak of karma, which is well beyond
anyone's understanding.<br />
<br />
What
these principles encourage us to do, if we can look past our surface
discomfort and misunderstanding, is to learn the value of taking
ownership of our problems. Someone may be fully at fault for a certain
conflict. You can objectively look at the particular situation and say
“I did nothing here to cause this particular situation to arise. It is
all the other's person fault, totally and truly.” How I understand BT
Swami's principle here is to transcend the objective and return to a
deeper look at our own subjective contribution, which is not so obvious.<br />
<br />
We
may find that the neglect and pain we have given to this person in the
past has a direct link to the neglect and pain they are causing us now.
In other words, if we are really brave enough to look and to consider,
we can see that no conflict lives in a vacuum. Someone who is
mistreating us now is simply reacting, consciously or unconsciously, to
some mistreatment we have laid upon them in the past.<br />
<br />
I'll
give a recent example from my own experience: A few weeks back, I asked
one of my fellow monks to cover a service I had for one of our temple's
monthly meditation programs. My friend gave me a genuine response in
return: “Let me think about it”, which I instantly construed as being “I
don't want to.” I expressed some instant frustration at the
non-committal reply, which later blew up into a full-blown conflict,
featuring the shouting out of generalities, irrationalities, and
accusations (I did all the shouting too-my fellow monk seems to
understand that monastic life should feature a minimum of shouting).<br />
<br />
Of
course, I had been thinking about the nature of conflict at the same
time, and as much as my mind was telling me that I was totally right,
and that I had the right to expect everyone to drop what they're doing
and help me at a moment's whim, I had to go deeper. I could understand
then that this particular conflict was a manifestation of other harsh
dealings I had had with this monk. His reluctance to help me with my
request was rooted in previous episodes where I had not helped him when
he asked, and also where I had not expressed my emotions or feelings in a
constructive way.<br />
<br />
The
fact is that he and I have a good relationship, where we can and have
shared our intimate struggles and inspirations in ways we don't normally
share with other monks in our monastery. One wrinkle of that for me is
that with those I feel closely with, I am more able to express my
emotions, one of which is anger. <br />
<br />
The
silver lining there is that this intimacy in my relationship compels me
to closely examine the nature of any conflict I may have with this
particular person, and although it's never comfortable, I have found
that this honest introspection, and taking ownership at my own feet when
I offend this person, has only made that relationship grow and become
more mature.<br />
<br />
No
physician hesitates to give pain in order to give health, and we must
have this mentality to do the needful on our inner journey. Restoring
our connection to our conscience, to the presence of the Divine within
us, is not easily or cheaply won. To know of, to feel, the suffering
and happiness of those we love or strive to love in our life is no small
thing. Only when we take ownership of our own suffering and happiness,
and its effect on the relationships in our lives, will we learn to
connect heart-to-heart.<br />
<br />
The
winds of conflict are so powerful that unless we have a deep inner
core, rooted to God and service to God, our fragile hearts will never
survive the contradictions that come when two souls in human form try to
understand and love one another in a meaningful way.</div>
</div>Christopher Ficihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12101732802629222937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4189063378060469728.post-68471076814290588542012-02-01T08:00:00.000-05:002012-02-01T16:16:10.388-05:00Occupy Yourself<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://th03.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/i/2011/318/3/5/occupy_yourself_by_chove-d4g5oqb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://th03.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/i/2011/318/3/5/occupy_yourself_by_chove-d4g5oqb.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<a href="http://worldfaith.wordpress.com/2012/01/30/occupy-yourself/"><b> My latest essay at the World Faith Blog</b></a><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Nearly a decade ago, I had the fortune of
reading American Holocaust by David Stannard, which detailed the
horrific conquest of Native American culture behind the “founding”
of America. I found the very framework of my own cultural understanding
thrown asunder. I realized that the “American Dream” had been largely
birthed from a nightmare of unimaginable proportions.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I felt like I had been lied to, that the
real fabric behind all the myths and legends of America was something
else entirely that what I had absorbed as a open-minded youth in school.
I now wanted to know what the truth really was, what truth really
meant, and how to grasp a truth whose meaning would not be elusive or
steeped in hypocrisy.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
My own search for truth took me through
many experiences and personal experiments into social justice and
progressive philosophy into the realm of the spiritual, where I now live
as a monk of the Hindu tradition in New York City. Yet I feel my
journey is far from complete, as the bridge between the spiritual and
activist spaces within my mind, heart, and soul feels unwalked to me. I
want to know how I, as a monk, as a truth-seeker, with an open heart,
can help to effect the kind of change we need in this world which is not
ephemeral, which is linked to the eternal.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This disconnect came to the fore for me
as I observed the march forward of the Occupy Wall Street movement over
the past few months, its nucleus at Zuccotti Park just a short walk
from my own monastery. I felt both a great inspiration for the courage
and clamor of the huddled masses defying the fortress of inequality, yet
I also felt a distance, a certain aloofness. I couldn’t connect, or
find a deep personal motivation to become involved, to put my own
body on the line.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
As a monk, committed as much as I am to
the inner spiritual journey, to the revolution of the heart, the realm
of the politic feels incomplete without the consideration of the big
picture. I am having a hard enough time occupying myself, knowing that
unless I rend asunder my own greed, how can I make any impact taking on
the forces of avarice that dominate our world? As great as the carnival
spirit of OWS was and is, I desire a deeper connection, a clear
bridge between our determination and our divinity.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
A recent piece by Dylan Ratigan at the
Huffington Post, titled “This Thanksgiving, Occupy Yourself”, helped to
crystallize some of my own feelings and hopes with our grand new
social justice movement. Dylan boldly challenges our own conception of
the “villain” in the struggle that we face, asking us to look within the
precepts of our own heart and being.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
He writes:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>I would point to the concept of the
villain itself as the villain. For a villain, “the other”, lets us avoid
dealing with the dark part that resides in each of us.</i></div>
<i>
</i><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>We all have dark thoughts — individually
and as a nation. Fear, lust, anger, jealousy, deceit drive much of our
decision-making. Yet, these are parts of ourselves we run away from.
As a society, we have crafted a culture and set of institutional
arrangements to deny this part of ourselves. This is why it has taken so
long to even admit we have a problem of wealth inequality. It’s the
denial of the dark part of ourselves.</i></div>
<i>
</i><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>But diabolical energy is part of human
spirit, because we are dualistic beings. You cannot know honesty without
knowing deceit, good cannot exist without evil, and life is not life
without death. Our challenge is to reconcile all of these forces as they
all exist in each of us. Any institutional arrangement that denies
this, that relies on images of perfection bereft of the shadow, will
inevitably be dominated by the very forces of that darkness. Namely fear
of the shadow, ironically.</i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
He quotes from Deepak Chopra’s The Shadow Effect:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>We have been conditioned to fear the
shadow side of life and the shadow side of ourselves. When we catch
ourselves thinking a dark thought or acting out in a behavior that we
feel is unacceptable, we run, just like a groundhog, back into our hole
and hide, hoping, praying, it will disappear before we venture out
again.</i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Why do we do this? Because we are
afraid that no matter how hard we try, we will never be able to escape
from this part of ourselves. And although ignoring or repressing our
dark side is the norm, the sobering truth is that running from the
shadow only intensifies its power. Denying it only leads to more pain,
suffering, regret, and resignation. the shadow will charge, and instead
of us being able to have control over it, the shadow winds up having
control over us, triggering the shadow effect.</i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This is a deep, deep spiritual
meditation, a call to face the injustice we cause to our own heart, to
our own self. It echoes the tradition of the Bhagavad-Gita, which tells
us that the only real enemy we face is the vicissitudes of our own mind,
and which call for us to find a<br />
radical and progressive forgiveness towards those we hope can change for the better in their thought and action.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It is my fervent hope that by occupying
the secret yet potentially sacred spaces in my own heart and mind, with
the courage supplied to me by the great souls around me in my monastery
and beyond, that I will be able to make a humble contribution to the OWS movement and to all the peoples struggling and striving to fulfill our common destiny as a human family.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
If we want to give divine solace to the
pain so many people are feeling, not being allowed their inviolable
right to the pursuit of happiness, we must learn to face the pain within
us, and learn to speak the language of forgiveness and transcendence.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><b>Chris Fici is a
writer/teacher/monk of the bhakti-yoga tradition. He has been practicing
at the Bhaktivedanta Ashram in New York City since 2009. After
receiving a degree in film/video studies at the University of Michigan,
Chris began his exploration and study of the bhakti tradition. He
currently teaches classes on the culture and art of vegetarian cooking,
as well as the living philosophy of the Bhagavad-Gita, at New York
University.</b></i></div>Christopher Ficihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12101732802629222937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4189063378060469728.post-88199596410871137362011-12-31T08:00:00.000-05:002011-12-31T08:00:03.384-05:00Faith House Manhattan Tour Bus: Experience Your Neighbor's Faith to Deepen Your Own<strong><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/samir-selmanovic/faith-house-manhattan-tour-bus_b_1169505.html?ref=religion"><i><b>From Samir Selmanovic and Bowie Snodgrass from Faith House Manhattan at the Huffington Post</b></i></a> </strong><br />
<br />
<strong>Click through the slideshow to look at photos from the Faith House Manhattan Tour Bus:</strong><br />
<br class="clear" />
<br />
<div id="fs-thumbnail-202502">
<div class="fs-stylelist-thumbnails">
<img border="0" class="fs-stylelist-thumbnail-image" data-beacon="{"p":{"lnid":"navdot_1"}}" id="fs-stylelist-thumbnail-572956" src="http://i.huffpost.com/gadgets/slideshows/202502/slide_202502_572956_small.jpg" width="80" />
<img border="0" class="fs-stylelist-thumbnail-image" data-beacon="{"p":{"lnid":"navdot_2"}}" id="fs-stylelist-thumbnail-572958" src="http://i.huffpost.com/gadgets/slideshows/202502/slide_202502_572958_small.jpg" width="80" />
<img border="0" class="fs-stylelist-thumbnail-image" data-beacon="{"p":{"lnid":"navdot_3"}}" id="fs-stylelist-thumbnail-572960" src="http://i.huffpost.com/gadgets/slideshows/202502/slide_202502_572960_small.jpg" width="80" />
<img border="0" class="fs-stylelist-thumbnail-image" data-beacon="{"p":{"lnid":"navdot_4"}}" id="fs-stylelist-thumbnail-572962" src="http://i.huffpost.com/gadgets/slideshows/202502/slide_202502_572962_small.jpg" width="80" />
<img border="0" class="fs-stylelist-thumbnail-image" data-beacon="{"p":{"lnid":"navdot_5"}}" id="fs-stylelist-thumbnail-572964" src="http://i.huffpost.com/gadgets/slideshows/202502/slide_202502_572964_small.jpg" width="80" />
<img border="0" class="fs-stylelist-thumbnail-image" data-beacon="{"p":{"lnid":"navdot_6"}}" id="fs-stylelist-thumbnail-572966" src="http://i.huffpost.com/gadgets/slideshows/202502/slide_202502_572966_small.jpg" width="80" />
<img border="0" class="fs-stylelist-thumbnail-image" data-beacon="{"p":{"lnid":"navdot_7"}}" id="fs-stylelist-thumbnail-572968" src="http://i.huffpost.com/gadgets/slideshows/202502/slide_202502_572968_small.jpg" width="80" />
<img border="0" class="fs-stylelist-thumbnail-image" data-beacon="{"p":{"lnid":"navdot_8"}}" id="fs-stylelist-thumbnail-572970" src="http://i.huffpost.com/gadgets/slideshows/202502/slide_202502_572970_small.jpg" width="80" />
<img border="0" class="fs-stylelist-thumbnail-image" data-beacon="{"p":{"lnid":"navdot_9"}}" id="fs-stylelist-thumbnail-572974" src="http://i.huffpost.com/gadgets/slideshows/202502/slide_202502_572974_small.jpg" width="80" />
<img border="0" class="fs-stylelist-thumbnail-image" data-beacon="{"p":{"lnid":"navdot_10"}}" id="fs-stylelist-thumbnail-572977" src="http://i.huffpost.com/gadgets/slideshows/202502/slide_202502_572977_small.jpg" width="80" />
</div>
<img class="fs-first-image" id="fs-thumbnail-image-202502" src="http://i.huffpost.com/gadgets/slideshows/202502/slide_202502_572956_huge.jpg" width="570" />
</div>
We are coming to a realization that religious zealots cannot be
fought with indifference. Extremists of all nationalities and religious
persuasion feeding on prejudice, legislating exclusion, and resorting to
violence cannot be prevailed upon by people with less passion. Telling
them to "cool down" and to "be moderate" will not do it. We must allow
fires greater than theirs to arise. Our passion for a whole and
interdependent word must rise above their passion for a segregated and
zero-sum world. <br />
<br />
In <a href="http://www.faithhousemanhattan.org/" target="_hplink">Faith House Manhattan</a>,
a non-profit inter-religious "community of communities," we believe
that the time of isolated faith is over. We believe that to know who I
am, I must also know who you are. For three years now we have hosted
more than 60 Living Room gatherings where people can experiences the
practices of another religion (or path, including atheism). We invite
all to join our "co-laboratory" of interdependence: "Experience your
neighbor's faith, deepen your own." <br />
<br />
Our call is to get radical. Very radical. We hold that in today's world,
religious people have to remap their reality to include -- in tension
and in gratitude -- 'the other.' While our ancestors may have fought for
independence, ours is the great struggle for interdependence. 'The
other' is not over there, but all around us. While we have been
conceiving of the world in vertical terms (whose party is better, whose
institution is larger, whose nation is stronger, whose god is bigger),
the world is becoming increasingly horizontal, and wonderfully so. Can
we learn to be a part of the whole? <br />
<br />
This past year, Faith House started a new program with four religious
communities in Manhattan, who were part of a "Tour Bus" with reciprocal
visits to each of our main religious gatherings. We brought people
together to trespass imaginary boundaries while preserving the real
ones. From an experience of worship at a Hindu temple, to a Jewish
Shabbat service, to a Sufi Zikr, to midweek "Space for Grace" at a major
Protestant church -- either as "Interfaith 101″ or an opportunity for
seasoned pilgrims to be hosts or guests in their own setting -- this <a href="http://www.faithhousemanhattan.org/category/tour-bus/" target="_hplink">seven-week adventure</a> was a unique New York City experience. <br />
<br />
One of the participants, Bhakti Center monk and teacher, Chris Fici, summarized the experience this way:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>
<em>Experience Your Neighbor's Faith, Deepen Your Own.</em>
This is a personal revelation a lot of us have shared recently on the
Faith House Bus Tour, as the different sounds, colors, tastes and waves
of devotion we have experienced together in our different houses of
faith have made a deep communal resonance in our souls. <br />
<br />
Too often (at least from my own perspective) our own practice can become
caught in the mechanical. Living as a monk, in an intense and insulated
environment, I often see how my consciousness during our morning
meditation is directed towards how tired I am, or how I might be upset
with this monk or that monk. The beautiful essence of our prayers and
singing and dancing together remains lost to me. <br />
<br />
As I was soaking up the whirling sanctity at our wonderful Bus Tour
event at the Dergah of the Nur Ashki Jerrahi Sufi Order, the pain of my
own disconnection in my own practice became manifest, and that void was
quickly filled by the wonderful and mystical people I saw around me,
deeply absorbed in the love and vision of the Divine. I came to realize
that what they were experiencing was something I had access to every
day, if I chose to. I saw very clearly how we were all pearls on the
same thread of God's mercy. I returned to my own community and practice
with a sense of renewal that has stayed with me ever since.<br />
<br />
The interfaith experience is very important for me, and I think for all
of us as a common human family. The turbulence of our age calls for a
communication between peoples of faith that transcends our superficial
differences and allows us to drink from the immense well of wisdom God
has given us, to give solace and take profound action to help cure our
shared ills. <br />
<br />
This turbulence also calls from us a tremendous maturity from our
humility, from a recognition that we cannot possibly have the exclusive
answers, that the pieces of the puzzle we need come from our brothers
and sisters in faith. In Thomas Merton's journals of his final and
fateful journey to India and Indonesia, where he breathed deeply of the
eastern faiths that had always intrigued and inspired him, he related a
realization in this regard that has deeply touched me.<br />
<br />
He says that those who are mature in their faith are able to enter into
the experience, philosophy, and practice of another faith and gain a
practical wisdom which they can take back into their own renewed and
strengthened spiritual life. This is the essence of my own personal
adventure in interfaith. To be able to see of and hear of and speak
about and taste of and move within the common thread of our faiths
together is one of the most profound experiences I have ever had in my
life. It links me to the maturity needed to answer the spiritual call of
our time, and I imagine it may do so for you as well.<br />
<br />
I am always eager to point out to others that New York City is a deeply
spiritual place. I want to encourage others to develop the vision of the
great rivers of faith which run through this town, which are not always
visible beyond the surface tumult and loosely organized chaos. </blockquote>
<br />
When you come to New York City, you can enjoy a Broadway show, walk the
Brooklyn Bridge, check out that special night club you found on Google,
enjoy this gastronomical paradise with more than 4,000 restaurants, but
don't miss the rich undercurrent of spirituality you can find at every
corner. The many religious traditions can help you understand yourself,
and perhaps rekindle a passion for your own faith, an encounter that
will change you forever. You might even come back to your home and do
something radical like taking time to understand the faith of the other,
whose life is now inextricably intertwined with yours.
Read articles and reflections about each stop on the Faith House tour <a href="http://www.faithhousemanhattan.org/category/tour-bus/" target="_hplink">here</a>.Christopher Ficihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12101732802629222937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4189063378060469728.post-54415877810806083562011-12-29T17:30:00.002-05:002011-12-29T17:30:16.429-05:00The Thread Underneath The Pearls: Final Reflection on Tour Busby Chris Fici, Monk and Teacher at the <a href="http://bhakticenter.org/" target="_blank">Bhakti Center </a><br />
<i><b>From the Faith House Manhattan blog</b></i><br />
<a href="http://www.faithhousemanhattan.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Chris-Fici-.jpg"><img alt="" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-2412" height="252" src="http://www.faithhousemanhattan.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Chris-Fici--200x300.jpg" style="margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px;" title="Chris Fici" width="168" /></a><br />
One of my favorite verses in the <em>Bhagavad-Gita</em> is when Krishna tells his warrior friend Arjuna of how He is the connecting thread behind all reality.<br />
<br />
<em>O conqueror of wealth, there is no truth superior to Me. Everything rests upon Me, as pearls are strung on a thread.</em><br />
<br />
I’ve noticed how this thread connects out to a recent update of the Faith House tag line, which now reads <em>Experience Your Neighbor’s Faith, Deepen Your Own.</em>
This is a personal revelation a lot of us have shared recently on the
Faith House Bus Tour, as the different sounds, colors, tastes, and waves
of devotion we have experienced together in our different houses of
faith have made a deep communal resonance in our souls.<br />
<br />
Too often (at least from my own perspective) our own practice can
become caught in the mechanical. Living as a monk, in an intense and
insulated environment, I often see how my consciousness during our
morning meditation is directed towards how tired I am, or how I might be
upset with this monk or that monk. The beautiful essence of our
prayers and singing and dancing together remains lost to me.<br />
<br />
As I was soaking up the whirling sanctity at our wonderful Bus Tour
event at the dergah of the Nur Ashki Jerrahi Sufi Order, the pain of my
own disconnection in my own practice became manifest, and that void was
quickly filled by the wonderful and mystical people I saw around me,
deeply absorbed in the love and vision of the Divine. I came to realize
that what they were experiencing was something I had access to every
day, if I chose to. I saw very clearly how we were all pearls on the
same thread of God’s mercy. I returned to my own community and practice
with a sense of renewal that has stayed with me ever since.<br />
<br />
The interfaith experience is very important for me, and I think for
all of us as a common human family. The turbulence of our age calls for
a communication between peoples of faith that transcends our
superficial differences and allows us to drink from the immense well of
wisdom God has given us, to give solace and take profound action to help
cure our shared ills.<br />
<br />
This turbulence also calls from us a tremendous maturity from our
humility, from a recognition that we cannot possibly have the exclusive
answers, that the pieces of the puzzle we need come from our brothers
and sisters in faith. In Thomas Merton’s journals of his final and
fateful journey to India and Indonesia, where he breathed deeply of the
Eastern faiths that had always intrigued and inspired him, he related a
realization in this regard that has deeply touched me.<br />
<br />
He says that those who are mature in their faith are able to enter
into the experience, philosophy, and practice of another faith and gain a
practical wisdom which they can take back into their own renewed and
strengthened spiritual life. This is the essence of my own personal
adventure in interfaith. To be able to see of and hear of and speak
about and taste of and move within the common thread of our faiths
together is one of the most profound experiences I have ever had in my
life. It links me to the maturity needed to answer the spiritual call
of our time, and I imagine it may do so for you as well.<br />
<br />
I am always eager to point out to others that New York City is a
deeply spiritual place. I want to encourage others to develop the
vision of the great rivers of faith which run through this town, which
are not always visible beyond the surface tumult and loosely organized
chaos. I think we most easily get this personal revelation through the
communities we keep and build and hold together, through the families we
cherish and keep in our faith and interfaith communities.<br />
<br />
In the love we attempt to cultivate together, for each other and
towards God, we see we are all the same wonderful pearls on the thread
of His love and reality manifest in this world, drawing us towards Him
in our unique but shared pathways.<br />
<br />
So I am very happy and grateful to be allowed to be part of the Faith
House community, and very grateful to be able to share my thoughts with
you, and I hope now and into the future some of these thoughts, simply
chances for me to pass on the wisdom I have received, may inspire you in
many diverse way in your faith, and that they may help us all in the
great and wonderful task of opening our heart and opening our mind.Christopher Ficihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12101732802629222937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4189063378060469728.post-89670826962457279552011-12-11T08:00:00.000-05:002011-12-11T08:00:05.724-05:00A Deeper Understanding of Ahimsa<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RWM6XqnZgiw/SvoocRdEjbI/AAAAAAAABKo/8X2gBII37PY/reincarnation00028.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="234" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RWM6XqnZgiw/SvoocRdEjbI/AAAAAAAABKo/8X2gBII37PY/reincarnation00028.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/Hinduism/Articles/A-Deeper-Understanding-of-Ahimsa.aspx?p=2#ixzz1fWKG2XLc"><em>My new article from Beliefnet</em></a><br />
<br />
Twice a week, as
part of our outreach of Hindu culture from our monastery in the East
Village, myself and a few other monks teach classes on the art of
vegetarian cuisine at Columbia University and New York University. We
also try to share some of the essential tenets of the vegetarian/vegan
life from some of the great traditional sources of the Vedas, such as
the Bhagavad-Gita. We mix in with this knowledge a wide breath of
moral, economic, and environmental reasons to support the
vegetarian/vegan ideal<br />
<br />
We do this with an eye to perhaps
convince our friends to try to experience the values and benefits of a
vegetarian diet, and for those already on the path, to show them the
depth of their commitment and the potential for real change that comes
by not eating our fair animal comrades.<br />
<br />
My own journey
into vegetarianism began with a lot of doubt and a little help from my
friends. I was once of those students receiving delicious Indian
vegetarian fare from Hindu monks at the University of Michigan, but
having come from a different culinary background, the food they offered
simply bewildered me. Over time, my monk friends won me over to their
heartfelt offerings as they explained more of the culture behind it,
and I also just came to realize the food was really, really good.<br />
<br />
As
I began to explore a commitment to vegetarianism, I had the good
fortune of being surrounded by friends who were already engaged as
vegetarians and vegans. I was also in a progressive college community
where there were plenty of restaurants and groceries which catered to
the vegetarian lifestyle. As I moved on into the lifestyle of a Hindu
monk, I started to learn how to cook, which helped me to further
appreciate the colorful, savoury, and rich depth of the vegetarian
cuisine of India and of the rest of the world.<br />
<br />
So it is
with an immense sense of gratitude from my own end that I now am able
to return the favor to all those who guided me towards the vegetarian
ideal, by teaching its art and depth of knowledge to some of
Manhattan's brightest. At the foundation of our presentation is a
unique understanding of the value of ahimsa, or non-violence, as
presented in the Gita. Going beyond the foundation of not causing any
physical, mental, or psychological harm to any living creature, the
deeper understanding of ahimsa lies in the understanding of the
progressive, enlightened transmigration of the soul through the process
of reincarnation.<br />
<br />
The Vedas describe a progressive
evolution of the soul through different microbial, plant, and animal
forms to the human form of life, which is considered an ideal body for
spiritual realization. The soul naturally progresses, by instinct and
divine guidance, through increasingly complex forms of life before
coming to the human stage. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, in his
translation of the Gita, explains what happens when that progression is
stopped by acts of violence:<br />
<br />
"Real ahiḿsā means not
checking anyone's progressive life. The animals are also making
progress in their evolutionary life by transmigrating from one category
of animal life to another. If a particular animal is killed, then his
progress is checked. If an animal is staying in a particular body for
so many days or so many years and is untimely killed, then he has to
come back again in that form of life to complete the remaining days in
order to be promoted to another species of life. So their progress
should not be checked simply to satisfy one's palate. This is called
ahiḿsā."<br />
<br />
By living a vegetarian lifestyle, we not only
refrain from harming our animal friends physically, but also
spiritually. Naturally the question arises about plant life, and the
potential harm that might be caused to them for the needs of our own
body. Of course, we know that some fruits and vegetables fall right
from the plant or tree, causing no harm in and of itself. For the
other forms of plant life who do give their life for our sustenance,
the Hindu tradition tells us that we should prepare and cook these
gifts as an offering to God in love and devotion. If done in this
mood, God blesses the offering, insuring that the fruits, grains, and
vegetables used in the offering continue their spiritual progression.<br />
<br />
With
our cooking classes, our hope is that our friends there can understand
that our offering of vegetarian food has benefits that go beyond the
taste buds. We know that the way to a person's heart is through their
stomach, and hopefully we can also help them understand that the way to
knowledge and respect of the soul also comes through the food that
they eat.<br />
<br />
<em>Chris Fici is a writer/teacher/monk in the
bhakti-yoga tradition. He has been practicing at the Bhaktivedanta
Ashram at the Bhakti Center in New York City since 2009. After
receiving a degree in film studies at the University of Michigan, Chris
began his exploration and study of the bhakti tradition. He currently
teaches classes on the culture and art of vegetarian cooking, as well
as the living philosophy of the Bhagavad-Gita, at New York University
and Columbia University.</em>Christopher Ficihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12101732802629222937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4189063378060469728.post-6966778110951804182011-12-08T08:00:00.000-05:002011-12-08T08:00:16.190-05:00Why Suffering And Spirituality Go Hand-In-Hand<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://i.huffpost.com/gen/426738/thumbs/s-SUFFERING-SPIRITUALITY-large300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i.huffpost.com/gen/426738/thumbs/s-SUFFERING-SPIRITUALITY-large300.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<i> </i><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gadadhara-pandit-dasa/suffering-spirituality-hand-in-hand_b_1127190.html?ref=religion"><i>The latest from my good friend and fellow monk Gadadhar Pandit Dasa at the Huffington Post</i> </a><br />
<br />
It's quite natural for those of faith to turn towards God during
difficult times. Even if one has a regular spiritual practice, their
practice can increase and improve during times of difficulty. After the
events of September 11 for example, churches in New York City had some
of their largest attendance in quite some time. Why is it that a lot of
us have to come to a point of utter hopelessness and desperation before
we call out to God? Why is it that even if one doesn't have faith, one
may make a last ditch effort to call out to God as well? <br />
<br />
When life is treating us good and all is going well, we often don't
feel a need for God in our lives. Our material acquisitions -- money,
property, friends and family -- become our crutch. As long as we have
these things in place, we feel comfortable and don't have a strong need
for a spiritual practice.<br />
<br />
However, when these things start to fade, we
feel a sense of fear and panic come over us. <br />
<br />
As a society, we have become so dependent on material things for our
happiness that our lives would become completely disrupted without them.
When things are on shaky ground, we pray to God to protect what we
have. We reach out to God and expect Him to keep things as they are or
fix them and make everything all right. God becomes our plumber who's
supposed to fix things when they go wrong. This need-based spirituality
is all right, but it's a bit superficial. <br />
<br />
In the <i>Bhagavad Gita</i>, Krishna (God) lists four basic types
of people that turn towards Him. Number one on the list is the
"distressed." In case you're wondering, the other three are those that
need money, the philosophically inquisitive, and the wise or those who
don't want anything from God, except a loving relationship. In the Gita
Krishna explains that He welcomes all four types that approach Him, but
the one who approaches Him without material motivation is the most dear.
<br />
<br />
We can tend to use spirituality like medicine or a hospital. We
utilize it only when things aren't going right or when we're suffering
financially, emotionally or relationally. Our pain and suffering,
however, can be a path to transcending this selfish conception of
spirituality into something more. It can make us ask the questions we
normally wouldn't ask, and can lead us to bigger and broader questions,
such "what's really the purpose of life?" and "how can we avoid
suffering?" <br />
<br />
Unless one starts to ask these questions, one can never truly
understand the purpose of life. Even if one does understand
philosophically that there's a higher purpose to life, without some
suffering, one may not feel the impetus to implement some spiritual
practice into their life.<br />
<br />
Suffering doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing. It can help us
grow and mature in ways we can't even imagine. It can give us
realizations about life which otherwise would be difficult to acquire.
I'm not suggesting we go out and look for suffering. Rest assured, it
will find its way into our life. <br />
<br />
There's a beautiful verse in the <i>Gita</i>, chapter 2 verse 14:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>
"...the nonpermanent appearance of happiness and
distress, and their disappearance in due course, are like the appearance
and disappearance of winter and summer seasons...and one must learn to
tolerate them without being disturbed."</blockquote>
<br />
Difficulties teach us patience, tolerance, acceptance, and ultimately
that we're not in complete control of our lives. We can do everything
perfectly and things might still not go our way. Some of the greatest
teachers within Hinduism demonstrated by their own example that our soul
can experience the greatest spiritual growth during challenging times,
and they also demonstrated that we can actually thank God for the
difficulty.
<br />
While undergoing a difficulty one may not be able to fully understand
how this is supposed to be beneficial. However, as Steve Jobs said in
his commencement speech, you can only connect the dots looking back.<br />
<br />
<center></center>
<br />
The <i>Vedic</i> texts explain that the soul is a part and parcel
of the Supreme. It is qualitatively one but quantitatively different
from God, like a spark of fire which has similar qualities to the larger
fire, but is insignificant in size compared to the actual fire. Because
the soul has this eternal connection to God, it has a natural tendency
to reach out to God during difficult times. These opportunities provide
the soul, which is stuck in a material body, to again reach out to God
and rekindle that relationship. <br />
<br />
The help will definitely come, but not always in the ways we expect
it to. If the soul can remain faithful even if it appears that God isn't
sending the help one is asking for, the soul's union with God is almost
guaranteed even within this life.<br />
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<b>
Follow Gadadhara Pandit Dasa on Twitter:
<a href="http://www.twitter.com/nycpandit">
www.twitter.com/nycpandit
</a>
</b>Christopher Ficihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12101732802629222937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4189063378060469728.post-17279521296838204032011-12-06T08:57:00.001-05:002011-12-06T09:01:05.778-05:00The Strange Art of Relationships<div class="uiHeader uiHeaderBottomBorder mbm">
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<br />
<span>Five
years ago I began my life as a monk at a Hindu/Vedic temple in the
hills of West Virginia. It was the time of my life in which I burst out
of the bubble of my previous life, as a middle-class, suburban young
man/student from Michigan, into a whole new culture, into the world of
responsibility, and the exhilarating and nerve-racking adventure of
adult life, with a deeply spiritual twist. Soon after, I experienced
the shock of my life. </span><br />
<br />
<span>I began to see that
some people in our community, despite them all being deeply sincere
spiritual seekers in their own way, were having an incredible time
maintaining any semblance of a healthy relationship. In fact, their
relationships, despite of, or perhaps because of so much personal
history, didn't exist on any kind of healthy level, and that this
reality was having a negative permeating effect on the community as a
whole. </span><br />
<br />
<span>It was a certain smashing of my own
naivete, and for the last five years I have been processing this
revelation. I have found the strange art of relationships, both in my
own life and in my continued observations of others, to be perhaps the
most difficult aspect of any community to grasp, and to keep vibrant and
whole. This difficulty is enhanced because without healthy
relationships, no community can exist, let alone prosper and grow. </span><br />
<br />
<span>My
heart calls me to process my initial sense of shock, and the resultant
dislocation and disillusionment that comes from it, if I am going to
understand my role as a loving servant of my monastic community here in
New York, and of God. Talking today with my friend Charlie, the saintly
and wise sage of Boston, we both were appreciating the necessity of
this processing.</span><br />
<br />
<span>He said it begins with
understanding that perfect and peaceful relationships, without any
strife, are a utopian ideal best left aside. What really needs to be
done is to appreciate the real growth that can be found in finding the
proper perspective, based in a deep patience and selfless love in the
midst of the inevitable quarrel and hypocrisy which comes to us in our
dealings with each other.</span><br />
<br />
<span>The holy books of
the Vedas describe our times indeed as the “age of quarrel and
hypocrisy.” Yet the intensity of our time can compel us to truly
understand our sacred duty towards each other in the art of the
relationship. The Vedic scriptures also describe one who is a </span><span><em>madhyama-adhikari</em></span><span>,
or one who has loving relationships with fellow spiritual seekers,
compassion for those who are striving to seek and who need guidance, and
who is able to avoid the negative effects of envious or proud people. </span><br />
<br />
<span>This
level of consciousness is a transcendent level to raw selfishness, in
which one can be in actual contact with one's conscience, the presence
of the Divine within guiding us through the winds of our relations.</span><br />
<br />
<span>In his commentary to the classic Vedic text the </span><span><em>Bhagavata Purana</em></span><span>, renowned Vedic scholar and pioneer Swami Prabhupada expands upon this point:</span><br />
<br />
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<span><span>"God
has given advanced consciousness to the human being. Therefore he can
feel the suffering and happiness of other living beings. The human being
bereft of his conscience, however, is prone to cause suffering for
other living beings.</span></span><span><span>"<b>1</b></span></span></div>
<br />
<span><span>Recently
I have been trying to drag my own conscience up from the dank and
grungy space where I have left it. During the recent month of Kartik in
our tradition, a time of extended and concentrated introspection and
prayer (similar to the times of Lenten or Ramadan, for example), I
attempted a meditation to focus on how much I criticize others, either
verbally or mentally. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span><span>The first
and most fundamental realization I gained from this meditation is that
my critical facility runs on automatic overdrive. I realized that most
of the time, I don't even notice the voice in my head, which also often
finds its way into verbal expression, whining, moaning, cajoling, and
chastising others for not living up to some standard that I myself don't
even live up to.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span><span>This is a
disease, a mentality which rots to the core any semblance of being able
to meaningfully relate to others in a holistic and spiritual way. The
experience of this meditation was, and continues to be, a cold shock to
my system, yet I am grateful for it. It has heightened my awareness of
my surroundings. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span><span>For example,
in our monastery, we have a small yellow poster taped to the wall near
the door. It is the “Four Principles of Community Building” by a
renowned and beloved contemporary Vedic scholar and teacher Bhakti
Tirtha Swami. I, probably like most others in this monastery, in our
sometimes mad rush to do our duties and stay ahead of the clatter of our
own minds and the streets of New York City where we live, never really
notice this humble yet wonderful document. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span><span>Taking
the time to consider it now, BT Swami's paeans to the hope we can share
together strike a few essential chords to the processing of our
conflicts.</span></span><br />
<span><span>Take a gander..</span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li><span><em>Treat
each person with care as if the success or failure of your own
spiritual life depends on this. Do not take into concern how they treat
you. The manner in which you treat people is the same way you are
treating your spiritual teachers and God. </em></span></li>
<li><span><em>Anytime
there is a problem in a relationship, you should first see it as your
own fault. Even if others are to blame, you will only add to the
problem by considering them to be at fault. </em></span></li>
<li><span><em>You should treat every person with whom you come in contact with the same care as the person you love the most. </em></span></li>
<li><span><em>As
we associate with others in our spiritual communities, we should do so
in a mood that these are the people I am living with and they would
probably also be the people that I leave this body with. </em></span></li>
</ol>
<span><span>Wow, impossible, I say...</span></span><br />
<br />
<span><span>But
that is perhaps just my naivete again, mixed with that rancid spice of
cynicism. If we look at these principles with an objective lens, a
hopeful lens, a courageous and open-hearted lens, we find essential
spiritual technologies which can shatter the pride and envy which stand
like barbed-wire tip walls between all of us and the healthy, dynamic
relationships we desperately need.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span><span>These
principles will allow us to firmly regain hold of our conscience, or
our relationship of communication with the presence of God within us.
We need to hear His voice within our heart, if we are to hear how our
own voice communicates with others, and how we can also listen properly
to what others want to communicate with us.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span><span>Otherwise,
the dysfunction of our miscommunication robs us of the opportunity to
find our voice in His voice. It leaves us mired in the complex state of
fear which prevents us from knowing each other, trusting each other,
and loving each other in the light of God.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span><span>No
progress here comes without serious contemplation. Let us step back
and really think about the conflicts in our life, and what we need to do
to transcend them and allow them to help make our relationships grow. I
hope to write an addendum to this piece soon, concentrating more on
Bhakti Tirtha Swami's principles, and also some meditations on the need
for some conflict, and the need to acknowledge gratitude, as markers
towards understanding this strange art of the relationship.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span><span>I pray you may find some personal meditations of your own through this offering.</span></span><br />
<br />
<b>1</b> A.C Vedanta Swami Prabhupada, <em>Srimad-Bhagavatam (Bhagavat Purana)-Fifth Canto</em>, Chapter 26 (Summary), Bhaktivedanta Book Trust</div>
</div>Christopher Ficihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12101732802629222937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4189063378060469728.post-18714648821245145342011-11-04T21:22:00.000-04:002011-11-04T21:22:53.714-04:00The Space of Faith<div style="text-align: center;">
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<i><br /></i><br />
<i>In the style of Mertonian homage, a simple meditation on thoughts, ideas, and realizations from our discussion of "Thoughts in Solitude" by Thomas Merton at our recent meeting of the Bhakti Center Book Club</i><br />
<br />
We find a great, if unhealthy, solace in simply remaining in the role of the observer, yet the practical demands of this world, and the practical orders of the great teachers who carry us forward, demand that we transcend the restraints of the observer. They demand we come down from the clouds of our head-space into the ground of our heart-space.<br />
<br />
In this ground of our heart, we come to understand the deeper truth of solitude, found in the acceptance, understanding, and communion with everyone else's solitude. We cannot accept how alone we are, how much pain we feel, how much joy we are capable of, and the presence of the Divine in our own heart until we can gradually see all these things in the heart of everyone else. The feeling of liberation we receive upon this revelation transcends all the fear and hesitation that ruins our ability to fully communicate with each other.<br />
<br />
Having this revelation, we fully understand the meaning of solitude and silence in our own being, because the reality of who we are becomes incredibly clear, reflected with such illumination from the hearts of everyone else.<br />
<br />
The pillars of greed, lust, envy, and all the other fantasies of the selfish heart has made our civilization barren practically to its core. Yet this is all a projection and reflection of the more imposing desert we face within our own heart, which is the source of all the anxiety we face in our individual and collective lives. This imposition from within has created the tangle of contradictions which we rage against, or which we die quietly but so painfully from. <br />
<br />
The first instinct upon facing our contradictions is to run away as fast as we can, to dive into the spirits of our comforts. The experience of our actual consciousness is so painful, so nauseating, so disorienting, that most of us (myself especially) are still stuck in the energy of that initial instinct to flee, unable to go any further on the walk through the desert of the heart. <br />
<br />
We are stuck once again on the observation deck, attempting to re-strategize for the next assault, but we are missing one great tool, one great weapon, which is found in the silence of our own heart. It is the space of our faith, where we understand that God is always carrying us and always protecting us, especially in the greatest tribulations and purification. In this space, feeling the warm embrace of our Beloved holding us close, we gain the proper perspective.<br />
<br />
The great sage of solitude, Thomas Merton, explains this perspective:<br />
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"Contradictions have always existed in the soul of man. But it is only when we prefer analysis to silence that they become a constant and insolvable problem. We are not meant to resolve all contradictions, but to live with them and rise above them and see them in the light of exterior and objective values which make them trivial by comparison"</div>
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<i>Thoughts in Solitude</i></div>
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<br /></div>
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The closest space in our heart, closer still even than the spaces of our stored bitterness, is this silent space where God lives with us, and where we can communicate with Him in prayer, meditation, study, and also properly and divinely guided action. In this space, the heart becomes big and the mind becomes clear. Love and truth begin to come together, for love is what the heart wants and truth is what the mind wants. We move closer to no longer being a victim to the pendulum swings between our contradictions.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Humility is the essential cloth we must wear to enter into this space of faith. Beginning with the fundamental level of our language, we must learn to speak to each other in a tone which renounces the aggressive and competitive spirit ingrained into our conditioning, turning instead towards a tone which offers a substance and meaning based on our common values of divinity.</div>
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<br /></div>
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This is a task which requires a great deal of attention and sacrifice, for our natural humility in all of its expressions is buried under the layers of our disconnection from each other, from God, and from ourselves. One of the reasons for this is that humility itself brings its own paradoxes into our consciousness. For example, humility is something we know that we need, and we desperately desire its presence, but when we know we have it in our grasp, it is that very recognition which causes us to lose it.<br />
<br />
Humility is not necessarily we are meant to enjoy, yet there is a certain and sure pleasure which comes in the genuinely humble moment. It is when we turn the simple glory of that moment into an inauthentic construct of pride that we lose control of what has been given to us. To be vigilant in our humility actually means to be vigilant against the pride within us.<br />
<br />
Another paradox of the humble cloth is that it is best represented in the most obvious action, rather than a passive tolerance or non-violence. By the most obvious action I mean, in the spiritual context, the most selfless and most needed action to be done, considering the time, place, and circumstance. This action remains clothed in humility when it does not reinforce our "hero construct", or the self-obsession of our prideful mind. <br />
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This action, even if done with force, with tough love, with power and confidence, can only help and never harm, because it is centered on the true balance between the mind and the heart, between Love and Truth.</div>
<br />
If we can absorb these concepts through our intelligence into our heart, and if we pray for courage and guidance from our teachers and friends, our spiritual life truly opens into the solitary spaces of our inner life, into our space of faith, with the silence of our embrace with God against the raging of our mind/body and of our society's endless noise brigades. <br />
<br />
We finally receive what we have always wanted, an embrace that will always stay with us and not be like the empty gestures which has left our heart crusted with grief. We will be alone, but united. Silent, but dancing to the ecstatic rhythms of the Lord's steps, and our struggle will be renewed and strengthened.</div>Christopher Ficihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12101732802629222937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4189063378060469728.post-20677385423599082082011-11-03T13:32:00.003-04:002011-11-03T13:33:02.818-04:00ISKCON Loses 26 2nd Avenue<br />
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<i><br /></i></div>
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<i>From my good friend and fellow community member Yadunath Das</i></div>
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Did you just experience the same sinking feeling in your heart upon reading this headline that I did upon writing it?</div>
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A few months back, I wrote you all asking for monthly financial support to help keep Prabhupada’s 1st western temple up, running and under ISKCON care. My reasoning was that this temple is of global concern and surely the worldwide ISKCON community has a stake in whether or not its bills can be paid.</div>
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I may have been wrong.</div>
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Since posting my plea (titled “Seeking Matchless Gifts”), only one devotee has stepped forward to make a monthly donation (I thank you again, prabhu). I know when I read a worthy solicitation like this I often think that many others will come save the day, so the small donation that I would be able to give will probably be rendered moot. Please know that that is not the case. And as for the above headline, it is not true.</div>
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Yet.</div>
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It’s a distinct possibility, though. Once again, I reach out to you—Prabhupada’s disciples, grand-disciples and followers—to save this historic place for the legions of future followers who will marvel at being able to actually visit the exact spot where Prabhupada started his movement; the “small storefront” that they read about in the Prabhupada-Lilamrita; the place where it all began.</div>
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A lot of people are talking about HH Mukunda Maharaja’s new book, Miracle on 2nd Avenue. Well, another miracle is needed now, 45 years later—one that preserves a big part of ISKCON’s heritage, and you can be a part of it. Our total expenses are under $2,000 a month. Won’t you please consider becoming a regular monthly sponsor to save 26 2nd Avenue?</div>
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Please contact me at yadunath@bhakticenter.org or go to krishnanyc.com/giving.html to create a secure subscription via PayPal. All donations are tax deductible.</div>
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Yours in the service of ISKCON,<br />
Yadunath das<br />
Treasurer, 26 2nd Avenue</div>Christopher Ficihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12101732802629222937noreply@blogger.com0