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By mat, May 30, 2010 6:46 pm

‘The Hare Krishna Movement’ – ‘The Post Charismatic Fate of a Religious Transplant.’

The first time I came across references to, ‘The Hare Krishna Movement’ – ‘The Post Charismatic Fate of a Religious Transplant’, edited by Edwin F. Bryant & Maria Ekstrand, was in ‘Forty Years of Chant and Change’, a book published last year by Iskcon UK. I checked it out on Amazon at that time, but only managed to order it just over a week ago. Since then I’ve been absorbed in reading the many fascinating, informative and sometimes challenging essays that have been collected by the editors, to create this unique compendium, that focuses on the fate of ‘The Hare Krishna Movement’ after the passing of A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami in November 1977. The editors have gone to great lengths to ensure that as many sides and voices of the complex Krishna phenomena as possible could be covered in a 430 page scholarly volume.

Over the last three years I’ve been working on my own autobiographical project ‘Between Worlds’ – ‘The problem with being Mathura das’, with a major chunk of it concerning my personal involvement with Iskcon between 1973- 80, and my passionate interest in general with the historical, philosophical and sociological Krishna phenomena that I have been a part of and am still inextricably involved with as a major contributing factor towards me being ‘Mathura das’.  I therefore desperately needed to read this comprehensive volume for my personal research needs, as many of the contentious issues and anomalies raised in this unique compendium are the same as, or similar to the ones I’ve had to face, or that have come up through writing my own persona account of things, and also through my interest in general with exploring the broader historical context of the modern Krishna Movement.

The scope and range of issues attended to by the twenty nine authors in ‘The Hare Krishna Movement’, is so vast that I will not attempt at this stage to give a comprehensive review but rather just some short comments to possibly inspire others to get hold of a copy via Amazon and read it for themselves.

The editors have divided the book into six sections;

• 1. Krishna Consciousness in the Context of Hindu Theology. incl. four essays.
• 2. Bhaktivedanta Swami and His Predecessors- five essays.
• 3. Post- Bhaktivedanta Controversies of Lineage- four essays.
• 4. Heresies- two essays.
• 5. Social Issues. six essays.
• 6 Re-evaluations. with three essays and a final essay, ‘Concluding Reflections’ by the editors.

  Continue reading 'Book review on ‘The Hare Krishna Movement’'»

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By mat, January 21, 2010 12:45 pm

Keeping in touch with the rest of the world from 6000 ft in the Himalayas with a weak internet connection is not always easy. But somehow we are managing to keep abreast of developments back home in the UK and abroad. Darren has moved Sangita Sounds Studios down to Glastonbury in the West Country and has been settling in over the last couple of months during the festive season and snowy spell you’ve been having in Europe this winter.

Here in the Himalayas we are blessed with warm sunny days as the rest of North India shivers under a dense blanket of fog stretching for thousands on miles from the far West below Kashmir, all the way to Bengal in the East.

The massive Haridwar Kumbha Mela festival only 3 hours away, has already started with the first main bathing day of Maha Sankranti on the 15th Jan. attracting millions of pilgrims. The next important bathing days are on the 15th Feb. and 15th March, which is the most important day of the three month long festival, and are on Amavasya’s (days of the dark moon). There has been a lot of tension this year from the local Govt. and police of Uttarakhand due to the fear of terrorist attacks and in providing enough power and facilities for the millions expected. Haridwara Kumba Mela is quite a different set up from the Allahabad Kumba, having it’s own set of unimaginable human logistics to contend with. I have been to 3 major Kumb’s and one Aradh Kumbh(half) and spent weeks at both of the two major locations, the other two being Nasik and Ujjain. This year I’ll probably pop in for a couple of days around the 15th March to capture some visuals on my Kodak HD Zi6 camera for our Sangita Sounds video archive.

I’ve also been making progress with my autobiographical project ‘Between Worlds’ focusing on the events of 1978 when I was still a full time member of the ‘Hare Krishna Movement’ and the dramatic sequence of events which proceeded the passing of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, the founder of Iskcon in Nov. 77 which I was also fortunate to witness. There are very few, if any personal descriptions of this important historical period involving the tricky transition of power in Iskcon and the calamities that followed in it’s wake. I’ve been sitting through the winter months here at Mussoorie in my cozy pad, reliving those events and describing what actually happened and how it affected me personally and the lives of thousands of others at the time. But the ramifications of those turbulent events are now being felt by millions throughout the world due to the vast expanse of the Krishna phenomena that was instigated and inspired by HDG. Srila Prabhupada. I hope to do justice and bear witness to the truth and reality as seen and experienced by me and share that with anyone who is interested in the story of Iskcon, social religious history and a personalised account of how and why it happened and what it all possibly means for us 2010 and beyond.

That’s all for now folks. Must dash.

Peace & Love

Mathura das

Image Credit : Dirk Hartung

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By mat, November 19, 2009 12:32 pm

I’ve been back in India for a month now, and feel I’ve just settled. Although I’ve been visiting India on a regular basis now for over thirty years, and was just here back in May, I still experience mild forms of culture shock every time I return. Each culture (East/West) is so powerfully absorbing, that spending a few months in either completely engulfs one’s being and it always takes some time to readjust to the other world. And they are like other worlds, both mysteriously cohabiting this planet together but running on very different energetic frequencies, historical backgrounds, seasonal patterns, population densities etc. etc.. The list could go on and on, East is East & West is West and all that. But as the years roll by, the cultures are definitely moving closer together despite my own perpetual culture shock syndrome. In India the pace of modernization is so rampant and upwardly mobile that it makes the West (UK) look like a Imperial Relic, floundering through the economic crisis.

My beloved Vrindavana the holy place of Krishna’s divine sports (Lilas), just three hours south of Delhi, has become a victim to this new wave of economic prosperity sweeping over India’s middle classes. Spiritual tourism has become extremely popular these days and Vrindavana has become a convenient pilgrimage destination for city dwellers wishing to escape with their families to somewhere different for the weekend. Unfortunately the infrastructure of Vrindavana is unable to cope adequately with the massive influx of Vehicles plowing into the small town. To make it even worse, work on the roads was left unfinished during the height of the popular Kartick season, thus creating even more havoc, dust, pollution and disturbance than usual.

A new bridge is also being built across the Jamuna river right next to Keshi Ghat, and none of the public seems to know who has authorized it’s construction or why it is there. Apparently there are various parties and organisations both political and non political in the Vrindavana area, that are competing with each other to implement their various agendas and blueprints for the regeneration of the area, and some seem to have more powerful connections than the others and it looks like the more questionable parties have the upper hand at present.

Let us pray to Sri Sri Radha Govinda that some sort of sincere civic sense eventually prevails and that development in the Holy Dham can move with times without completely decimating it’s remaining charm and natural beauty in the process.

Peace & Love

Mathura das

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By mat, August 9, 2009 1:01 pm

“We refuse to be, what you wanted us to be, we are what we are and that’s the way it’s going to be.”   Bob Marley – ‘Babylon System’ from the album ‘Survival’.

30,000 active participants of the British ‘Alternative’ counter culture collective have just experienced a very peculiar situation. Regularly for over ten years now, around the end of July, thousands of dedicated, caring, creative eco enthusiasts have been coming together to share and celebrate alternative lifestyle options as a way of expressing our democratic rights to be who we are. Unfortunately the last minute cancellation of this year’s BGG by elements within the local Mendip council and Police force, in cahoots with the central Govt. has shocked many reasonable peace loving people by unmasking the true nature of the rapidly encroaching fascist police state developing here in the UK..

One of the ways the Babylon System uses to control and manipulate the masses is by limiting their rights to congregate en mass, as it is an extremely frightening prospect for control freaks who absolutely loathe any type of threatening force that stands in the way of their various nefarious modus operandi. So you can see how scared they are of the largest bunch of hippy types getting together to do their own thing. They’ve been scared of the Alternative type of persons refusal to be taken in and milked by the System since the late sixties, and now that the world is in crises mode and the ideas generated from that revolutionary period are becoming more relevant, they are even more scared than ever. This attempt from the Establishment to thwart our alternative lifestyle options is another proof of how powerful ‘People’ can be in a unified type of state. The reason they are scared of events such as the BGG happening, is that the people coming together to celebrate and share their visions are clever, funny, well informed, creative, spiritual, motivated, and have an immense influential power potential in the synergistic amalgamation of their combined collective.

‘As above so below’ as the old saying goes. While all this underhand manipulation of UK’s grooviest peoples, favourite family week out of the year was being carried out with smug smiles from the masonic brotherhood, the stars and planets were lining up into rare configurations, indicating the seeds of revolutionary upheaval ready to rise again in full force for next year’s 2010 major summer Planetary Alignment. Things are stirring in the heavens and the micro cosmic reflections on Earth indicate a developing of radical energy shifts away from and in conflict with the ‘Old Order’ that is scared of it’s impending demise as the main force driving the direction of the Earth and human project.

Continue reading 'The ‘Big Green Gathering’ that wasn’t'»

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By mat, July 2, 2009 2:45 pm

The illusive high Summer English madness has re-emerged with a vengeance after a two year break, sending us into that rare tropical mode when the rigid North European Protestant work ethic completely breaks down in the overwhelming heat wave.

With the blessings and assistance of lovely friends, we’ve luckily managed to escape in the nick of time to the quiet and breezy country side to finish off the final mix’s of ‘ASHIRVAD’. Hopefully we will have the album mastered in a couple of weeks, with more focus going towards the cover lay out, art work and more promo video’s.

The second half of July is going to be a busy season, with the Bindoo Babas performing at the ‘BUDDHA FIELD’ Festival followed by the Big Green Gathering. I’ll keep you informed on our developments as the splendour of summer unfolds.

Peace & Love

Mathura das

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By mat, May 24, 2009 3:18 pm

At Sangita Sounds Studios, I seem to find myself surfing the rising swell of abundant creative energy on a regular daily basis as we surge forward on the crest of  inspirational waves gushing confidently towards the rapidly approaching shore of fulfillment just glimpsed on the Horizon.

The incredibly sophisticated technology that has just arrived in the nick of time at the 11th hour in our collective realities, is a manifestation of the Inscrutable cosmic intelligence infused within the unfolding of the ‘Divine plan’, to  provide creative tools to help us co-create a better world, and save the planet from ourselves. This is one of the ways to ‘Be the Change’, the modern mantra that everyone seems to be endorsing these days.

This was a slogan devised by Gandhiji to inspire the Indian people to get off their asses and realise they have immense power in themselves to effect positive change. The problem is, the ‘System’ is deliberately designed to diss-empower individuals and groups of people in various ways, keeping us docile and ripe for manipulation. The Idea that we could possibly influence our own realities is quite a novelty for most folk, who consider the ways of the world as a fixed immovable given.

But as we know, nothing is static, all is in flux. But contrary to modern materialistic view points, It is not without  purpose, direction or meaning. The Planetary configurations are arranged in a perfect natural order, designed and guided by Divine Intelligence, that provide us with clues and indications of influences to be expected at certain times & places, both individually and collectively as a planetary project. This science was known through out the world, and guided the decision making of ancient civilizations.

As the cosmic clock ticks away, we find ourselves entering a ‘New Age’ defined by Archetypal reflections on Earth- deduced from the patterns observed in the Heavens. The thing about this scenario is that we don’t have a choice in the matter, this is how infinite Intelligence works. It’s movements create seasons and changing contexts that we have to understand and adapt to, or risk suffering the consequences. We all know the yearly seasonal changes that define our lifestyles, and how smart planning based on the collective wisdom of humanity informs us when it is appropriate to, plant, build, procreate etc. We also know that if these cycles change even slightly for what ever reasons, or the rules and laws of planning are not observed correctly or efficiently, we generally suffer, as we are very small in relation to the immense forces of nature.

The human project has survived and flourished when aligning itself with cosmic change, and fallen when the writing is ignored on the observable wall of planetary patterns and configurations. Such immanent massive changes have been predicted by ancient cultures, visionaries, prophets as well as many contemporary mystics and seers. It is the qualities and archetypal impulses encoded in the cosmic order that are going to shape our realities.  It is obviously in our own best interests and makes sense to understand what is possibly going on with this new cosmic season we are entering.

One theory is that the laws of the game are going to be so radically different from the past 5000 years of Kali Yuga that those not tuned into the dramatic seasonal shift and are radically oppossed to the new change, will be moved to a more suitable location in the cosmos. This is all meant to take place via a culling of Apocalyptic proportions performed by Mother Earth, (Gaia , Bhumi Devi) to purge herself from the cancer that has enveloped this planet. It sounds terrifying but plausable as we watch the oceans rise, the seasonal weather patterns change, world conflict escalate, monetary crisis etc etc.

‘Be part of the change’ because it’s happenning anyway – way beyond human reckoning. And if we don’t  align with the times, we’ll be left behind. “Better learn to swim before we drown”. Check out the video “Age of Kali”.