cbrahma

Well this a far cry from hearsay since it was believed in every single temple I've been to. I search the vedabase and got 06. Compilations (from Srila Prabhupada's words) Sri Namamrta - The Nectar of the Holy Name Preaching Is The Essence Spiritual Master and Disciple Varnasrama-dharma Siksamrta (Nectar from Srila Prabhupada's Letters) (NEW) http://vedabase.com/index.php?main=features&content=contents

The post is from the same source. (One and only) Just like my post. Are all the lectures on the Folio?

If self-doubt is all you have to go on, then you don't have much of a basis to make a decision do you?

Since you weren't there, you can only speculate about what I heard or chose to hear. There is a lot of concurrence on this thread from others who have heard similar things in these scamkirtan marathons. It was introspection that got me to thinking (sorry about that, I don't know if that's allowed but anyway it is introspection). The thinking then made me realize that this Monster Money Rally is exactly like a corporate pep sales rally, rewarding the high achievers and discouraging the low achievers. There was applaud over the Laksmi point results (didn't imagine that). The effect it has, the image it projects isn't just a 'how'. It is a 'what'. One can then motivate disciples to achieve over others, berating the less successful. The benefit is all to the leaders who rake in the moola. I guess I'm the corrupt one who expects spiritual activity to be gauged by sincerity attitude and devotion rather than quantified on a sliding scale of sankirtan numbers.

What would you accept as proof? Since your counter is another quote from somebody else.

Here's another quote from somebody quoting. My mistake it wasn't Prabhupada that coined the phrase. Bhaktisiddhanta coined it and so I'm sure Prabhupada must have quoted him, since he was present when this slogan was the mainstay of every sankirtan mission at the time. http://www.iskcon.com/icj/3_1/kripamoya.html

Bhaktisiddhanta adopted both forms of dress for members of his mission, coining the maxim: 'Books are the basis, purity is the force, preaching is the essence, utility is the princi Bhaktisiddhanta adopted both forms of dress for members of his mission, coining the maxim: 'Books are the basis, purity is the force, preaching is the essence, utility is the princi

Can we not dismiss our seeing any disqualifications as fault-finding? Every self-styled guru gets off scott free.

Gurudeva said "Preaching is the Essence, Books Are the Basis, Utility is the Principle, and Purity is the Force" Pretty much sums it up. He didn't say Books are the Essence, Books are the Force, Books are the principle. He said they are the basis. Which implies there is more than that. We have to ...uh...read them...and eventually ....uh ...follow the instructions given. They should be distributed of course, but is that what makes Preaching the Essence. The simple act of selling them. SOMEBODY has to read them. If not the seller the purchaser. Then that person grows in purity from which come force or shakti. Explains the utter absence of it in so much of ISKCON.

What is this? an online-class. Enough already.

It's prettly slim pickings in the temple that is closest to me. It's an ISKCON temple. There was only one devotee there. A young bhakta who has recently been more distant. Sigh! I don't want to think about association because it will depress me and I will stop chanting.

Thank you for your wise counsel. I will follow it. There is another reason one might go. For classes in scripture. I just came from there. The same lecturer that used to call me prabhu is now calling me 'sir' in a cold formal way. Politics at every stage.

It is an interesting observation. I've met very nicely dressed devotees with perfect tilak, cermonially correct in every way, like they just landed right out of Vaikuntha. The only problem - no shakti. No spirit. And I don't easily mistake passionate fantacism for shakti.

I was talking about a marathon in the ISKCON temple so I thought those were the leaders you were referring to. I am making a deliberate effort to break out of the fanatical lockstep with ISKCON which at this point is not Prabhupada's ISKCON as they like to frame it.

You think the leaders (ISKCON) have realized the personalistic aspect???

I have no idea why you posted such an elaborate thread. Having said that I realize that I don't care about this issue.

I read the entire post and my response adequately addresses the objection that I'm being illogical and circular. Maybe you just don't get it.

It is perfectly logical, speaking to your statement about authentic gold. To call the acknowledgment of a self-effulgent acarya sentimental is really twisted.

What type would that be? Personal or impersonal?

I've heard both formally and informally that suicides become ghosts wandering around with lusts and no senses to gratify them. A horrible situation.

The real gold is Srila Prabhupada's instructions, recorded in his books and lectures. I follow those and I don't get burned. I become happy.

Prabhupada said, Prabuhpada told . That and a couple of dollars will buy you lunch at the corner deli. I am very careful about selling my soul, yep. I'm very phobic about that. Bogus-phobic.

I was there. Laksmi points convert to $$$ and carry a lot of weight in the evaluation. In fact there are devotees who are terminated from distribution because they don't bring in enough. Prabhupada's books, of course. Prabhupada's ISKCON. He is constantly being exploited as an icon for all sorts of reasons and in this case for the material survival of the temple. I've already pointed to the double mentality of NOT preaching one on one under ordinary circumstances. I was singing the tenor section in my church choir during Christmas services, thank you very much.

I am very conflicted on this topic. For one preaching has been exclusively interpreted to mean book distribution by the few ISKCON temple authorities that are still engaged in it. When those who read these books show up at a temple, at least the temple I frequented that distributed books, they are pretty much ignored one-on-one. There are exceptions of course, depending on the demographics of the person inquiring compared to the devotee he/she is inquiring from. If they are both Indian/young etc...there will be a rapport established. But this obviously is a bodily conditioned relationship. In fact I've known very dedicated aspirants who follow the entire saddhana who are treated as invisible, unless of course they accidently do something wrong. I still go to the temple restaurant and darshan of the deities. I was disturbed yesterday when I went because the temple president had assembled everybody in the temple room to read off the holiday marathon scores. The cheering and celebration was exactly like a corporate Marketing Department plugging their top sales people, awards and gifts included. The obvious message, was , the more money you bring in , the more advanced and celebrated you are. The rhetoric about 'pleasing Prabhupada and serving Prabhupada's devotees' was the most disturbing, basically because it was a sham. These same advanced devotees will walk right by some guest (barring similar demographics) as though he/she were invisible. No desire to connect and 'preach' where money and/or status is not the outcome. I saw a movie about World War 2 afterwards and the military dynamics were so similar it was scary.

The 'Hindu' bible if you want to call it that is the Bhagavad-Gita. I would recommend the 'Bhagavad Gita As It Is' by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhativedanta Swami Prabhupada.