namahatta.org - Congregational Development Ministry

...or in my case, usually quite a few, who don't understand what I'm actually getting at.

Usually at Atma it takes people one or two sessions to figure out how the "Sita-pati provocative dialectic" works.

It’s just been the local council elections here in Wales, to the run up we see the chase has been on for our votes, each pointing out the other parties failings and how if they were in power things would be so much better. But I have also talked to some who although up as a candidate was hoping not to be elected, strange? May be but although they did not wish to be elected due to the commitment required wanted their own party to do well, pointing out the faults of the other competing parties.

But this is not unique; we see this replicated throughout the world, from those politicians who insist that they must be re-elected, as they are the only ones able to steer the country through the economical downturn. To those who are standing down from position of power, fighting to make sure that there party remains in power, to those who will not give up power no matter what.

One who is attached to the mode of goodness cannot rise beyond it.
One who has transcended the mode of goodness appreciates its value in supporting the aspiring sadhaka.

Subtle difference, but an important one.

The article that I linked to the other day, Why I changed my mind about Water Fluoridation poignantly illustrates the dynamic that I described in my 2006 article What's really going on?

Most people are innocent and easily mislead. They in turn mislead others. A "conspiracy" doesn't require people to keep a secret, it just requires them to truly believe in what they are doing, even though it's wrong.

Preaching and Leadership, at their essence, are the same thing. It's influencing others to change their actions and align them with a mission. A preacher is a natural leader.

The old way of preaching and leading is basically to bully and coerce people into doing something. You know, it's essentially standing on a street corner and yelling at people that they must "turn or burn."

Unfortunately, this style of leadership and preaching is not very effective. It might make the preacher or leader feel good, feel that they are doing something, but it won't have much of an impact in making positive change. Generally what happens to a person who takes this approach is that their circle of influence shrinks, and they end up becoming more and more bitter.

I wrote an article, Beyond Conservative and Liberal three or four years ago explaining that devotees are neither "conservative" or "liberal". Take a look at it.

Krishna asks us to see the world is many different ways—for example: in terms of the three modes of material nature (tri-guna-mayi), the eight separated elements (prakrtir astadha), the two energies (para and apara-prakrti). Acaryas teach us to see three types of people (demoniac, devotee, innocent), three types of devotees (kanistha, madhyama, uttama), two types of devotees (saragrahi, bharavahi), two possible applications of any thing in bhakti (anukula, pratikula).

by Karnamrita dasa

There are different opinions regarding social issues or philosophy among devotees. Any perspective, side of an issue, or point of the Krishna conscious philosophy can be carried to an extreme in relation to others.

I tend to be on the middle of most issues, much to the chagrin of those who strongly advocate different perspective or causes. I do have strong opinions on certain issues, yet I am usually not on the front lines of confrontation. Ideally, even when I disagree I try to see the other perspective, and understand why the person holds the conviction they do.

One of the side effects of becoming indifferent to normal social interaction is that people start to freak out.

Whether it's your family, your former friends, or even devotees who are more into relating on a social level than through camaraderie in devotional service, once you start drifting away from people because you don't have the same social reality in common, they often respond with: "You think you're better than us!"

Recently I had one friend, new to devotional service, ask me about this and how to respond to it.

From The New York Times editorial page:(http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/12/opinion/12mon4.html);

By EDUARDO PORTER
Published: November 12, 2007

Part two of a blueprint for socio-spiritual revolution
(Part one posted in october with the title Purity of Purpose)

A robbery is in progress. But the criminal has been stopped and arrested.
Problem solved. Temporarily...

Yet crime in general continues and increases. There's no guarantee that the same store won't be robbed the very next day. A better solution does more than put handcuffs on people. A better solution finds out the underlying cause of the problem, and arrests that.

Dear Global Leadership Students,

I really enjoyed reading all of the papers. They were thoughtful and candid, and even humorous at times. I’d like to address a few of the points that cropped up in your reflections on your visit to New Vrindaban. I’ll try to keep my responses brief.

Student: “I still think the events of the 80’s and 90’s were beyond creepy, but I don’t think they define the religion.”

PART 1

Introduction

Another ad in the NY Times caught my attention. It runs for a full three pages in the Sept 25th issue, touting the glories of India’s contributions to the world. There’s a bold headline: Experience India In New York, announcing a series of cultural events and conferences. The ad has its token images of sitar players and Bharatnatyam dancers along with pictures of business exec’s in ties. The ad’s real intent is not to introduce Indian culture to the West, but rather to broadcast how India is adapting to Western culture so magnificently.