A special Janmashtami message from Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard a practicing Vaishnavi! (3 min video)
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/UNU0kM
A special Janmashtami message from Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard a practicing Vaishnavi! (3 min video)
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/UNU0kM
It is good when any public figure speaks about Vaishnava Holidays. It is nice for dandavats to share this information. But dandavats is an official GBC, ISKCON website and they have evaluated Congresswoman Gabbard as a practicing viashnavi. Such a status should not come cheaply and I would like to know what she does to deserve this in light of the fact that she strongly advocates public policies which are anti-viashnava; she is vocally pro abortion and she co-sponsored a bill to repeal a law against same sex marriage?
http://gabbard.house.gov/index.php/news/in-the-news/15-media-center/press-releases/36-rep-tulsi-gabbard-statement-on-same-sex-marriage
I withdraw this question. I found out for myself. MS. Gabbard describes Srila Prabhupada as her, “grand-spiritual master” and glorifies him in a video “U.S. Congresswoman MS. Tulsi Gabbard’s Jaladuta Yatra Message”.
It is a complex question; how a devotee in the world today can work in the political filed and uphold Vaishnava principles? This is determined by a person and their spiritual advisers. As the Congresswoman mentions in the video, her guru maharaja is Sidha Swarupananda, the founder of Self Identity Foundation, so her activities are independent of ISKCON; therefore members of ISKCON need only take note of her activities which are favorable to ISKCON and I believe these will continue, and grow, in the future.
A practicing Vaisnava is one who chants the holy name of Krishna with faith. Such a person may be addicted to sinful activities or hold any number of worldly views or political opinions.
prabhu-kare, ‘yanra mukhe suni eka-bara
krsna-nama, sei pujya, srestha sabakara
“Who chants the holy name of Krishna just once may be considered a Vaishnava. Such a person is worshipable and is the topmost human being.” (CC. Mad.15.106)
Good question. I look forward to the answer.
Brahma Prabhu,
The confusion is based on the lack of a clear definition of ISKCON’s position on U.S. Political issues and laws. We are a preaching movement and one voluntarily adopts our teachings on the level they choose. Politics is a different sphere, it involves laws which are enforced. So to plug our teachings into the political sphere is problematic. Your citation helps. A person who chants Hare Krishna with faith should be respected but this does not mean that we are vouching that their personal or political activities are transcendental.
We are not judgmental. We welcome all people to participate in our spiritual activities regardless of sexual orientation, gender, race, social status; whether they are Christian Hindu, Jewish or Muslim.
Yet we do not shy away from the primary truth; that we are eternal spiritual beings and we can experience eternal, ever increasing joy by establishing our relationship with Krishna, the ability to experience this is inversely proportionate with our identification with the material body; attachment to material pleasure (of which sex enjoyment is the chief)binds us to identifying with the body.
You are correct in pointing that as preachers, we should, in a non judgmental way, respect and encourage any individual (such as Tulsi Gabbard) who chants Hare Krishna with faith.
Initiated devotees within ISKCON have different views on politics. Some will vote for Trump, some will vote for Hillary, some, like myself, will not vote at all. So although all devotees are obliged to respect Tulsi Gabbard on the spiritual level, on the political level they might not respect her views and if given a choice they might instead vote for a Catholic, Pentecostal, Jew, Morman, Muslum,etc., all of which are also counted as Viashnavas if they believe there is One All Powerful, All Knowing, and All Loving God.
Your servant.
Param Doyal Nityananda das
Congresswoman Gabbard’s guru Siddhasvarupananda was initiated by Srila Prabhupada and joined ISKCON with his followers in 1970 (see BTG volume 01 number 44). By 1975, after much controversy, he was independent again. The record shows that Srila Prabhupada repeatedly tried, but was unable to keep him under the Iskcon umbrella.
I met Siddha when he was preaching at the Iskcon temple in Pittsburgh in 1972. He sat with me at the Sunday feast and gave me my first set of Japa beads. The beads were unique in that instead of wood they were strung with large shiny gray seeds from a tropical Hawaiian plant know as Job’s tears. He said instead of Job’s tears I should think of them as Radha’s tears. I never saw him again.
Brahma Prabhu,
Ever since I made my first comment I have been trying to back off from it. I recently got the clarity of mind to simply express that fact. ISKCON’s position on what laws they support or condemm is a subject for mature leaders and the GBC( not myself) to determine.ISKCON’s respectful dealings with public figures is in the same category. How ISKCON relates with groups who have splintered off from us is the same kind of subject. So there are at east 3 isuues here which need to be handled by devotees above my station.
As an ISKCON preacher my service is just to broadcast the teaching of how to become free from all anxieties. Which means to add Krishna to our lives and become detached from sense gratification at our own rate.