There is a quid pro quo built into every relationship, every institution. Honor and tradition, the results of quid pro quo, are unifying principles which transform a group of individuals into a society of peoples. Recent events in Washington DC have shown how veering away from quid pro quo by denigrating political institutions can weaken the fabric of a nation, any nation, even the United States of America.
Seekers of the truth would be wise to look beneath the surface of the social diseases to the spiritual amnesia that gives rise to the affliction of misidentification; the illusory perception of the eternal spirit soul as the temporary material body.
"Continue democracy"? But didn't Srila Prabhupada say that democracy was demon-crazy? He did; and more than once; but he said many more things.
Lord Krishna explains in the sacred text, Bhagavad-Gita, “Whatever action a great man performs, others will follow. And whatever standards he sets by exemplary acts, all the world pursues.” Yesterday in Washington, D.C., we saw the truth of this statement, and the terrible impact of the misguided thoughts, words, and actions of an influential and powerful man.
Day Two of the European Communications Conference began with a very relevant and hard-hitting talk by Willy Fautre of Human Rights Without Frontiers. Next was an enlivening discussion where ISKCON leaders from across Europe and the US shared their experiences of using advocacy, engaging with politicians and examples of when this has been successful.
“I chose to take the oath of office with my personal copy of the Bhagavad-gita because its teachings have inspired me to strive to be a servant-leader, dedicating my life in the service of others and to my country,” said Gabbard after the swearing-in ceremony to be a Congresswoman in 2013.
"There are a lot of reasons for me to make this decision. There are a lot of challenges that are facing the American people that I'm concerned about and that I want to help solve," Gabbard said in an interview.
Our "Paramahamster" comic strip follows an enthusiastic devotee as he navigates a 9 - 5 work day in the corporate world. Please check back weekly for new episodes!
Our "Paramahamster" comic strip follows an enthusiastic devotee as he navigates a 9 - 5 work day in the corporate world. Please check back weekly for new episodes!
Most people know him as being a maverick in the political arena, but he was also a friend of ISKCON devotees.
Srila Prabhupada's role as a social innovator is sometimes overlooked when we speak about Krishna consciousness. It deserves greater emphasis.
“Truth isn’t truth.” Recently Rudy Giuliani uttered this statement on a television interview. It bewildered some and angered others. What was Giuliani trying to say?
Our "Paramahamster" comic strip follows an enthusiastic devotee as he navigates a 9 - 5 work day in the corporate world. Please check back weekly for new episodes!
Forty communications staff will meet in Villa Vrindavana, Italy from May 13th to 16th for the European ISKCON Communications Conference. The conference will tackle several issues that are very relevant to ISKCON today. These include ISKCON and Politics, ISKCON and the Gaudiya Math, and Media and Religious Freedom.
What would you do if the White House were to announce that President Trump added India to the list of nations whose citizens are temporarily banned from entering the United States? What if the president announced that banning entry to majority Hindu countries is a small price to pay for keeping America safe?
The recent US elections created a divide in the country. Many people were happy with the election outcome while many others felt angry, letdown, frustrated, and even hopeless. How do we make sure that this mood and all the emotions we’re carrying around don’t end up on the dinner table when we sit down for Thanksgiving dinner? A video by Gadadhara Pandit Das.
Many people had been angry by the failures or inaction of one side or other; angry with a do-nothing government which doesn't consider their needs; angry with the moral failures of leadership. And rightly so. But anger and frustration don’t provide a platform from which to make a sound decision.
In a deeply spiritual, almost covert way, Mandela represented a kind of incarnational presence that showed us what practical theology really looks like.
When Mahatma Gandhi visited England for the “Round Table Discussions”, his British hosts gave him an impressive tour of London — Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Whitehall, etc. At the end, they asked him “So, Gandhiji, what do you think of Western civilization?” Gandhi replied, “I think it would be a good idea!”
Caru Dasa, president of the Hare Krishna temple in Utah, delivered the opening prayer for the State Senate in the Salt Lake City capitol building on Friday, February 19th.
Barack Obama has become the first US President to personally attend a celebration of the spiritual holiday Diwali, at a ceremony held in the White House on October 14th. For Vaishnavas, Diwali heralds the victory of Lord Rama—considered to be God himself—over the demon Ravana, and his return to his kingdom Ayodhya.
Mr. Premal Thacker (Parmanada Dasa) gifted a copy of Srila Prabhupada's Bhagavad Gita As It Is to Mrs. Pratibha Devi Singh Patil earlier this year. It was the first time the President recieved one of Srila Prabhupada's books. She was grateful and kept the copy in her personal temple room.
Among the many gifts the West appears intent on bestowing upon the rest of the world – such as TV, burger bars, pop music etc — democracy is perhaps top of the list. We cherish our democratic institutions and are prepared to endure great pain and difficulty, sacrificing our soldiers and heaps of cash, to ensure that voting is embraced in far flung places like Iraq and Afghanistan. Even, it seems, when they don’t really want it anyway.
“Do I have to repeat myself young man?!!” Oh, how I hated it when my mother would say that. Not because she was being mean, rather because she was being right. It’s hard to hear someone when they’re right and you’re wrong. Most of the time she was correctly pointing out my selfish behavior, “Share with your brother ... don’t boss others around,” she would say.
Character matters, especially in a world where surety is fast becoming a thing of the past, in a communication age where according to Marshall McLuhan, “the medium is the message,” and philosophers of language are still pondering the question, "What is meaning?"
The Obama Administration continues to insist, all Congressional evidence to the contrary notwithstanding, that Uncle Sam has no interest in running the U.S. auto industry. About the tobacco industry there is no such Washington scruple on either end of Pennsylvania Avenue. President Obama is poised to sign a bill passed by Congress this week that authorizes the Food and Drug Administration to regulate tobacco products for the first time.
The appointment of renowned "anti-cultists" and controversial scholars of Islam to a government body allocated sweeping powers to investigate religious organisations has provoked an unprecedented outcry from many religious representatives and human rights defenders, Forum 18 News Service notes. Particularly striking opposition to the Justice Ministry's Expert Council for Conducting State Religious-Studies Expert Analysis has come from the Union of Old Believer Theologians, a group not directly threatened.
Once confined to the mystic spirituality of India, terms such as guru and pundit are now chic designations all over the world. Consider this headline from the UK news source Telegraph.co.uk published during last year’s U.S. presidential campaign, “The 50 Most Influential US Political Pundits.” The article begins, “Among those who help Americans decide are the ubiquitous political pundits who help drive the national conversation and shape public opinion.”
Oakton, Va. - Two American icons, General Electric and Berkshire Hathaway, lost their triple-A credit ratings. Then China, America's largest creditor, called for a new global currency to replace the dollar just weeks after it demanded Washington guarantee the safety of Beijing's nearly $1 trillion debt holdings. And that was just in March.
The Lib Dems have voted in favour of allowing state-funded faith schools to continue selecting pupils by faith. The party has also rejected calls to ban the setting up of new state-funded faith schools in a vote at its spring conference in Harrogate.
WASHINGTON - Taking another step into the abortion debate, the Obama administration will move today to rescind a controversial rule that allows health care workers to deny abortion counseling or other family planning services if doing so would violate their moral beliefs, according to administration officials.
The 44th president of the United States Barack Obama has been presented with a copy of Bhagavad-gita As It Is by an old friend – the brother of Srila Prabhupada disciple Krishnalaulya Dasi.
Thousands of years ago, a sage named Narada pointed out three things that are pleasing to God (in a discussion with a group known as the Prachetas, as recounted in India's Bhagavata Purana). The qualities Narada recommended are worthwhile for anyone, but especially would be valuable for a leader to emulate.
US President Barack Obama will lift restrictions on U.S. government funding for groups that provide abortion services or counseling abroad, reversing a policy of his Republican predecessor George W. Bush, an administration official said.
The Church of England is to be asked to ban clergy from joining the British National Party (BNP). The general synod - the Church's parliament - will be urged to adopt a similar policy to other bodies which forbid BNP membership, like the police.
As reported by CNN, a group of atheists and humanists’ organizations are legally challenging Barack Obama's right to make any references to God or religion at his upcoming presidential inauguration ceremony. In a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Washington, D.C., plaintiffs demanded that "so help me God" be not added to the end of Obama's oath of office.
President-elect Obama has promised to build on the faith-based initiative of President Bush and, by adding key reforms, to make it “the foundation of a new project of American renewal.” But to do that, his administration will need to resolve constitutional and other tangles that have made Mr. Bush’s effort so controversial.
ISKCON devotee Kripamoya Dasa made history this December 12 when he spoke at the British Houses of Parliament wearing Vaishnava robes and sacred tilak markings.
His speech at the House of Commons launched Caring for Hindu Patients, a guide to assist health care professionals in caring for the religious and cultural needs of their patients. The book was conceived and compiled by ISKCON member Dr. Divyesh Thakrar, and contains editorial contributions from ISKCON priest Rasamandala Das and other devotees.
WASHINGTON -- The outgoing Bush administration this week will finalize a regulation establishing a "right of conscience" allowing medical staff to refuse to participate in any practice they object to on moral grounds, including abortion but possibly birth control and other health care as well.
ISKCON Sannyasi Bhakti Caru Swami met with the CSVGC (Committee on Spirituality, Values and Global Concerns) at the United Nations Headquarters in New York this November 14. The NGO (Non-governmental organization) had expressed an interest in meeting him during their annual Week of Spirituality, Values and Global Concerns, from October 20 – 24th. But Bhakti Caru was unable to attend due to health complications of godbrother Jayapataka Swami.
CHICAGO, Illinois (CNN) -- President-elect Barack Obama told the nation Tuesday night that "the dream of our founders is alive" and that he's ready to fulfill his campaign mantra of bringing change to America.
Following an election campaign is not much different from following footy season. We have our favourites and parties we loathe. We want our team to demolish the opposition and walk away with the cup. We wait in suspense for the last minutes of the election and of the final count. All well and good but will the outcome of election season actually change anything or has politics become a professional sport with the players just trying to keep the cup at home?
A reader of Pentacostal blogger Ken Gurley questioned his 8/06/08 article, “Palin's Pentecostal Roots Under Attack,”which discussed media scrutiny into U.S. Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s non-mainstream Pentacostal religious background. Gurley’s blog included a YouTube video of Palin speaking in her church in Alaska. Among Palin’s points were that the members of her congregation should pray for the success of an oil or gas pipeline in Alaska that she favored politically, and she opined that God was in favor of the U.S. attack on Iraq.
America is considered a progressive country, but unlike a number of other nations, thus far it has never elected a woman as head of state. Of course, there are many contributing social factors, but one of them should be considered: more than 90% of Americans profess to believe in God. Is it possible that the numerical disparity between males and females in positions of political leadership in the U.S. has been influenced by the major religious traditions, which portray the Supreme Being in predominantly masculine terms?
Srimati Meira Kumar, Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment in India, recently visited ISKCON’s Mayapur campus. The Union Minister was responding to an invitation extended from National ISKCON Communications director Vrajanandana Dasa to the Indian Government. She was greeted warmly by Sankarshan Nitai Dasa, General Manager at ISKCON Mayapur.