positive "Krsna" in the contemporary world

[mahak 0]

Haribol, I was listening to the post game show for the seattle mariners, and the jock (New York Vinnie) went into a lovely routine about how he and his brother were regulars at the sunday feasts in NYC ca 1967. He commented how great the food was, how all one had to do to get the food was sing and dance, and that it was a wonderful time. The next three callers heard him say "Hare Krsna, this is sports line."

 

reminded about all the ways Krsna has been presented in an innocent and positive way by the media and will list my favorites on this topic line.

 

The pilot for Kojak, with telly savales, has to get my first vote, because the beautiful tunes and ecstatic kirtanas in NYC was the background for the whole two-hour movie.

 

I also liked Jim Henson's treatment of the mantra during the first muppet movie.

 

anyone got any more of note.

 

haribol, ys, mahaksadasa

[JRdd 0]

Hari bol, Mahaksa, been enjoying your posts here and elsewhere. Would you mind telling what happened (concerning the mantra) in the Muppet movie?

 

I'm racking my brain for ideas to add to this thread-list, but right now I draw a blank. Maybe we should get our novels made into movies. /ubbthreads/images/icons/wink.gif

[mahak 0]

Haribol JRdd, so glad to see ya writin. Kermit the frog seems to have a fixation about hare krsna, it is referred as the way to be happy, a way to relieve oneself from anxiety, at least three times during the movie.

 

Im still impressed with the Seattle Mariner post game show with New York Vinnie. This was not the first time he chanted to his listeners either, about four years ago, he did the same, by saying that "the hare krsnas have a bad rap, my experiance with them has always been very nice." He was in on the really sweet times, when ISKCON first moved to Greenwich Village.

 

So, I am not in maya about the Mariners, Devotional service takes place on the post game show.

 

How bout "Earthquake", when charlton Heston replies to one concerned about feeding and housiong victims, saying "The Hare Krsna's will take care of them."

 

And, does anyone remember the disguised mantra in Hurdy Gurdy (harmonium) Man.

 

haribol, ys, mahak

[gHari 0]

Kermit and Miss Piggy in the first Muppet Movie were searching for Reverend Harry Krishna tolearn the secret of life. It was the whole plot. Great for son who was muppet age at the time.

 

No correlation implied between our Mad Max / JRdd and Kermi / Miss Piggy.

[gHari 0]

The kirtan in Hair is very uplifting. Real devotees, really high bouncing.

 

There was also a great episode with Ed Asner's newspaper show. He goes to a temple and has prasadam. I seem to recall that some young person had been 'kidnapped by the Krsnas'. He checks it out to conclude that it's really quite cool. I wish I'd taped the show - it was just one of those 'surrender your fingers to the remote' freak occurences.

 

Actually, my wife and I saw Hair live in 1969ish. That was likely my first hearing of the mahamantra.

 

One very powerful presentation of India's heritage was the very popular Encounters of the Third Kind. There was another movie about a girl who had burned alive in a car in her past life and her father finds her in her next incarnation. The movie I seem recall was a girl's name, wherein a sadhu testifies in court to the ways of the Vedas and the validity of reincarnation, showing throngs chanting the Lord's names.

 

And of course, everyone should see Siddharta, Herman Hesse's classic. Siddharta's friends, Govinda and Vasudeva are particularly of interest.

[atma 0]

You're talking about "Lou Grant". One of his colleage at the newspaper sent brainwashers to kidnap his son from the temple. In the end he understand what the son is doing and they show the boy in dhoti, etc. It was great for my parents to see it at that time. As far as I remember they also showed the deities there.

 

I saw also that movie about reincarnation with the girl, I can't recall the name.

 

In Woody Allen's movies very often you see devotees in harinam

[Jahnava Nitai Das 2]

That Lou Grant show is available on Video from ITV.

[JRdd 0]

That movie about the girl and reincarnation had the name Audrey Rose in the title. That was a cool movie. Especially cool was the Lou Grant one. I saw that at the temple. It was extremely favorable. I liked how that boy showed himself to be very balanced and personal, because I remember a lot of people did not know devotees relate with the world and their families too.

 

I am trying to figure out the implications behind gHari's assertion that nothing was implied between Mad Max, Kermit, JRdd and Ms Piggy. I glanced down for a check at my stomach and see it has gone way way down now, so I don't think it could be that. Maybe it's because I like talking about food a lot. It's kind of my religion, or means through which to express my religion. Or maybe it's my piggish mentality of me me me. Or perhaps...oh well, I will continue soul searching. Maybe something will come to me.

[mahak 0]

gHari does this comparison out of love only. miss piggy is not the body, but the very nice person within, like kermit. We are net these pig and frog bodies, and if we devote our quest to searching for harry krishna, how can we ever lose.

 

You flatter us greatly, gHari.

 

ps to gHari. On my website, I have a new links format, and I wanted to know if I should use your name or the gHari that you use on the forums. lemme know at

 

mahaksa_d@hotmail.com

[Guest guest]

Haribol

 

I saw that film before I joined, it made a BIG impresison on me,it stars Anthony Hopkins

 

Ananta P das

[Guest guest]

There is an episode of Hawaii 5-0, where Jack Lord rescues some Dieties (which were kept in a small box). After the rescue, he refers to the incident as "Krishna's mercy."

 

I'd really like to get a copy of that episode, so if anyone has it, let me know. It really blew my mind when I saw it.

 

Also, on some of the old Lucy shows (the ones with Gayle Gordon) you can clearly see masks of the Jagannath Dieties on the wall.

 

In the movie, Final Destination, which has only been out for a few years, in one of the opening scenes a devotee is distributing a BACK TO GODHEAD magazine at the airport.

 

There are scores of other transcendental placements. When I can think of some more, I'll let you know.

 

 

[Guest guest]

Oh... I just thought of another one! In WKRP (which I consider a classic situation comedy) the secretary, Jennifer (played by Lonnie Anderson) has a Bhagavad-Gita As It Is on her desk in several of the episodes.

 

 

[Guest guest]

Of course, Rainbow Bridge, the Jimi Hendrix classique, is the consummate krsna pic. Dolly dagger notes the Hare Krsnas as she leaves LA, and then shows the Krsna's again as she gets to hawaii..

 

 

[stonehearted 0]

mahak: And, does anyone remember the disguised mantra in Hurdy Gurdy (harmonium) Man.

 

Wait a holdit! It never registered with me above the threshold (although it has been hard to get it out of my head for the last 35 years), and no one ever pointed it out to me before. But it works. Now I have to go back and listen to it again.

[Krsnanatha 0]

The other night I was honing my skills in the field of gramya jnana (also known as watching the Jeopardy show).

One of the catagories was religious sects. The answer was "This sect which comes from Hinduism was founded in New York in 1967 by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada" (Alex Trebec pronouced Srila Prabhupada's name admirabley). The question came up as a daily double which, for those who have managed to drop this type of mundanity from their lives causes the game to stop and the full focus of the show to be pointed at the exchange. The contestant stood blank faced until the allotted time ran out at which time Alex jumped in to say "And the correct response was 'What are the Hare Krishnas?'... the Hare Krishnas".

It was really cool to see Alex Trebec beaming the holy name out to millions of households.

What a dose of sukrti, he's probabley at the LA Temple shaving up right now!

[stonehearted 0]

See--I need to watch more TV!

[Krsnanatha 0]

By even peripheral association with me Prabhu is ready to engage in this nice TV watching activity which is of course highly recommended by the acaryas and saints. Such is my fine potency.

My work in this life is nearly done.

[Krsnanatha 0]

I also remember about four years ago I took my children to see a Disney film called "Rocket Man". It was a modern Jerry Lewis style film about a geek who gets chosen to fly to mars. At one point in the film he and the astronauts are giving a press conference from space and he is asked what it is like to be in space. He replies while looking back at earth, "It's like He's got the whole world in His hands." At which point he breaks into the corny old song of the same title. But he starts improvising words and at one point he sings "He's got the Hare Krsnas in His hands." at which point the large movie screen was filled with about a five second clip of Srila Prabhupada playing cartals. The clip is one of His Divine Grace outside, the colors of the trees, the sunlight,the garlands, the saffron, the tiloka and of course the transcendental form of Srila Prabhupada although rather brief makes the film worth a rent. Just fast forward until they are in space. (Unless of course you got little kiddies who want to see the rest.)

[livingentity 0]

who knows how many viewers were exposed at that moment to the Holy Names!!

 

There was a movie way back in the 70's (I think) and it seems it was "Heaven Can Wait" where the man dies on the sidedwalk and a bus load of devotees jump out and start chanting.

 

That is the only part of the whole movie that I can even remember!!

[stonehearted 0]

There's a scene in "Atlantic City" where a ratehr spacey young woman says something like, "I think that if Jesus came today, he'd be a Hare Krishna."

 

[gHari 0]

Of course the movie The Legend of Bagger Vance never actually says the Holy Name, but it is a retelling of the Bhagavad-gita using golf as an idiom for the game of life; a game that cannot be won or lost, just played.

 

The hero, Randolph Junah (R. Junah), is coached by his caddy (Bagger Vance, Bhagavan) because R. Junah has lost his Authentic Swing, his unique purpose for being. When R. Junah eventually starts respecting his caddy, the caddy helps him by explaining the field ("You gotta seek that place which is soul, Junah"), making him a great golfer. However a little later, when R. Junah gets too puffed-up and disregards his caddy, Bhagavan, errr, Bagger Vance leaves him to his own devices, whereupon Junah messes up bigtime.

 

My favorite scene follows, where R. Junah is about to give up the game (Govinda, I will not fight). In the woods, reminded of his previous terrorizing war experiences, R. Junah is ready to pick up his ball and quit.

 

The caddy, supersoul Bagger Vance, steps in to say "Ain't a soul on this entire earth ain't got a burden he don't understand. You ain't alone in that. But you been carrying this one long enough. Time to go on; and lay it down."

 

"I don't know how."

 

"You got a choice. You can stop or you can start."

 

"Start?"

 

"Walking."

 

"Where?"

 

"Right back to where you always been. And then stand there. Still. Real still. And remember."

 

"It's too long ago."

 

"Oh no Sir, it was just a moment ago. ..... Time for you to come out of the shadows, Junah. Time for you to choose."

 

"I can't."

 

"Yes, you can. But you ain't alone. I'm right here with you. I've been here all along. ..... Now play the game, your game, the one that only you was meant to play, the one that was given to you when you come into this world. .... [HANDS JUNAH THE CLUB] .. You ready? Take a stance. ... Strike that ball, Junah. Don't hold nothing back; give it everything. Now's the time. Let yourself remember. Remember YOUR swing. That's right, Junah. Settle yourself, let's go. Now is the time, Junah."

 

Then R. Junah hits the ball out of the woods in an incredible shot against the greatest odds.

 

"Hey Bagger. You're one hell of a caddy."

 

"Well I do the best with what I got to work with. We ain't done yet."

 

May we all get out of the woods, under the auspices of our dear Lord Krsna.

 

gHari

[livingentity 0]

but I watched this movie because of what I had heard about it and felt that it was very interesting in this respect.

 

There was another movie that never said anything about Krsna but the references to the vedas and teachings were very strong. The name just will not come to me right now but I will try to remember it.

[gHari 0]

I've been fighting back the tears in a losing battle over the last hour transcribing the movie.

 

We've lost our relationship with Krsna, our authentic swing. Yet Krsna is so kind that He stays with us even though we ignore Him, through all the pain and sorrow of life. He's ready to help us at every moment.

 

It was only a moment ago that we were with Him. He stays that close. A friend, indeed.

 

gHari

[livingentity 0]

I was dry eyed until I re-read your transcript and then your newest post!