http://youtu.be/nclTOdlOth0
PADA: Aindra is right, since the founder has departed -- the focus on samkirtana has dwindled, and the main focus is on making money, no kidding! ys pd
PADA: Aindra is right, since the founder has departed -- the focus on samkirtana has dwindled, and the main focus is on making money, no kidding! ys pd
This explains it, money became a big issue in ISKCON
ReplyDeleteA Hare Krishna in the Stock Market
September/October 2011
By Ananda Vrindavana Dasa (As told to Vraja Vihari Dasa)
A life in Krishna consciousness threatens a young man's promising financial future.
I was born in December 1962 to a well-to-do Gujarati family in Mumbai. I was the only son and was pampered with comforts and servants who attended to my beck and call. My wealthy businessman father was deeply religious; two of India's most popular gurus were the spiritual guides of our family. Each of them had millions of followers, and more than a hundred thousand people attended the public lecture programs of these influential spiritual leaders. Since my father was close to them, our family was happy to serve them and their followers. As a child, I was an object of their affection, and due to a spiritual atmosphere at home, I was attracted to hearing and chanting Krishna's holy names and pastimes.
I also excelled in my studies. In 1981 I stood first among 300,000 students appearing for the sales-management exam conducted by the London Chamber of Commerce. The Bombay Chamber of Commerce honored me for being the first Indian in a hundred years and the youngest in the world-as a nineteen-year-old-to bag this prestigious gold medal. After securing seven post-graduate management degrees by 1985, I was all set to take over my father's business. Meanwhile, as my own stock-market career flourished, I underwent an unforgettable experience.
The Spark Becomes a Flame
In 1989 my M.B.A classmate and friend Dilip Upponi took me to an ISKCON temple in South Mumbai to hear a discourse by His Holiness Radhanatha Swami, who described Vrindavana and Krishna's pastimes in great detail. His class fanned the spark of attraction for Krishna I already had in my heart. I became irresistibly attracted to Radhanatha Swami and began to attend more of his classes. Dilip then gave me books written by Srila Prabhupada, the guru of Radhanatha Swami and the founder of ISKCON. The combination of Radhanatha Swami's lectures and Srila Prabhupada's books had a mesmerizing effect on me. I was stunned to read in Srila Prabhupada's books that the highest expression of religion is when a devotee approaches God without any desire except to serve and please Him. I was fascinated by Srila Prabhupada's explanation of pure devotional service, where a devotee aspires to be free from the selfish desires of seeking name, fame, prestige, or position in the material world. Instead, a devotee of Krishna, Srila Prabhupada explained, only wants to satisfy Krishna's senses. This profound depth of Krishna consciousness attracted my heart like nothing I had heard or read before.
[...]
Meanwhile I saw my friend Dilip move into the temple as a full-time resident devotee (an ashram member). The Krishna conscious wisdom, the simple and austere lifestyle of Dilip and his colleagues at the ashram, and the loving dealings and relationships that Radhanatha Swami shared with all devotees won my heart. Deciding to commit to the path of Krishna consciousness, I took spiritual initiation from Radhanatha Swami and received the name Ananda Vrindavana Dasa, while my friend Dilip became Devamrita Dasa. However, my innocent hopes of living a happy life centered on Krishna and devotees was soon to be challenged.
Family Relationships Strained
Since Radhanatha Swami was born in America, my conservative, orthodox father was outraged at my decision to accept initiation from someone who wasn't born in India and was from another race. My father claimed the organization I was connecting to was dubious.
http://btg.krishna.com/hare-krishna-stock-market
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ReplyDeleteYour Father must have had his reasons to be preoccupied with your spiritual life. There is definitely a couple of things about him (radhanatha) that are not right/real. For example the History of Foul Play that follows Radhanatha Swam. is irrevocable. And not to mention his inability to follow actual Sanyassi regulative principles. He is cheating people of personal funds for his own sense gratification, propaganda, and self aggrandizement. It is such an unfortunate matter. It is due to people like him that try to give ISKCON a bad rep. There is no need of a middle man between you and Srila Prabhupada. Ultimately purity is the force and non of these non-sensical people accomplish defamation of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada or The Society ISKCON , If properly followed by his Divine Grace's instructions. Unfortunately the times we are in, these individuals try to make a mockery of Srila Prabhupada's Society but when one understands that it is a disease, attempting to attack the perfect body. The only remedy is the proper dose of "medication" the Doctor prescribes in order to cut out the sickness at it's source. All Glories to His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada! oh most merciful master please grant me the shade of your lotus feet, because with out you I am nothing, lost in ignorance.
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