[Posted August 28, 2008]

ISKCON is being taken over by Hindus

Citraketu das, Dharma (http://the-path-of-dharma.org)

Is ISKCON backing away from expanding its preaching to mainstream society?

The Seattle Times Aug 25, 2008 - JANET I. TU

New Hare Krishna temple opens in Sammamish

The giant pink wedding cake of a building stands in bold contrast to nearby houses painted polite Northwest shades of beige and taupe.

Naresh Bhatt beams as he gives a tour of this new temple in Sammamish. He chose the colors. Happy, blissful colors, he says.

Inside, as the service begins, Bhatt joins his wife, two daughters and many others—most of Indian descent—who chant exuberantly: "Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare."

The Hindu-based movement, highly visible in the 1960s and '70s, is making a comeback here and elsewhere across the country, and even globally. But it's a different movement today from what it was back then.

Where it once attracted mainly young white people known for their shaved heads and peach robes, today many if not most of its members are Indian. go to story

The Bhaktivedantas World Sankirtan Party and Inside Nam Hatta are hosted by Hansadutta das, a senior disciple of Srila Prabhupada and trustee of The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. Participate or learn more about World Sankirtan Party.

Prabhupada de-Hinduised and de-mystified the science of Krishna consciousness

Misrepresenting ISKCON Bhima das

Are devotees in ISKCON not mindful what the acronym stands for? International Society for Krishna consciousness. Prabhupada came out from India to present Krishna to the whole world. He didn't come to preach some sectarian Hindu worship of a Hindu god. Before Srila Prabhupada came, practically no one outside of India could penetrate the mysteries of the Hindu world. But Srila Prabhupada was able to do what no one else had done: he de-Hinduised and de-mystified the science of Krishna consciousness, and introduced a scientific, step-by-step process that anyone can follow and by so doing become purified and become actually Krishna conscious. Srila Prabhupada left us with a legacy of more than 160 published works, all of which he tirelessly slaved over in order to present Krishna consciousness in a rational way to men of reason. more

This is a very auspicious thing that is happening. However, I told the Brahmacaris, of who most are of Indian origin, that they must never forget that Srila Prabhupada came to the West to give Krsna to ALL races and cultures. We must not just preach to the Indians, to the converted, but preach to EVERYONE regardless of race or culture.

I spent some months attempting to be a full time member of ISKCON living in ISKCON centers primarily of New Orleans and Atlanta. At that time it was rare to even see a genuine Hindu Vaisnava. Now so many Hindu devotees have proven themselves qualified to take over all necessary roles in American ISKCON centers.

Srila Prabhupada originally attempted the idea of taking in people to a communal Asrama before ever coming to America. Therefore, the original design was not primarily for Americans. Unfortunately, some Americans had trouble realizing all this. Some things about Krsna consciousness were easy to understand such as the prasadam, parades, and the topic of love. But, Srila Prabhupada was in an effort to present all the basic Vaisnava literatures and establish centers.

Many Americans were going to need a lot of care and attention to nurture them into necessary levels of realization in Krsna consciousness. Srila Prabhupada's health was failing. Now it is the business of pioneering devotees to continue with the task. For American devotees to catch up with the Hindu devotees they will probably need better and more training programs.

ys, C dasa

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His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada