{"id":10649,"date":"2012-07-02T16:43:45","date_gmt":"2012-07-02T15:43:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/?p=10649"},"modified":"2012-07-02T16:43:45","modified_gmt":"2012-07-02T15:43:45","slug":"in-or-out-out-but-in-or-in-and-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/?p=10649","title":{"rendered":"In Or Out, Out But In Or In And In"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Kesava Krsna Dasa<\/strong><\/p>\n

Some devotees lament that Iskcon has left us, or them, being almost unrecognisable compared to days past. Our present generation of Iskcon members rely on hearing from seniors on how Iskcon was, prior to the formation of congregation based devotee communities. The present generation is unable to compare, so should the \u2018loss\u2019 be of concern to us, if at all this is the case?<\/p>\n

If Iskcon is a spiritual home and all of our temples, properties, and the creatures who live on them have spiritualised towards Vaikuntha essence, do we really need to mimic or adopt little choice traits of mundane societies, cultures, religions and institutions to create an identity? Are we not able to create our own, free from human influences that normally divide people?<\/p>\n

Our varnasrama experts will like the human societal placements that keep brahmanas as brahmanas and sudras as sudras, but not the rigidity that prevents sudras from becoming brahmanas if qualified. Our conservatives will appeal to age-old traditions and sastric laws, while our liberals punt modernity and adaptability.<\/p>\n

These two human approaches will mean little to our present younger generation. For them, they will likely lament or celebrate what our next generation does, when nostalgia helps to compare between now and then. Doesn\u2019t this happen all the time in human society, let alone ours we call Iskcon?<\/p>\n

With these anticipations in place, is it worth strenuous and emotional energy to try to \u2018keep things as they were?\u2019 What if \u2018things as they were,\u2019 were not quite as inclusive as they are now? Conversely, what if our present adaptation of Iskcon society does not appear as \u2018discriminatory\u2019 compared to the \u2018in or out\u2019 order of times past?<\/p>\n

The conservative will lament how our modern-day Iskcon hardly encourages brahmacarya and renunciation. Is it the fault of our present generation that this may be so? Or should the blame lie with our \u2018perceived\u2019 formation of Iskcon, aided by possible Western social remnants of sunyavadi and nirvisesa influence? Srila Prabhupada had his vision of Iskcon, but did his followers sincerely, but inadvertently create an Iskcon a little differently? If not, then why didn\u2019t it last up to the present?<\/p>\n

These observations are not just academic or closed-circle, but many parents of devotees could also notice. Parental sentiments such as, \u201cJust see now, the temples made you collect money all day long, every day, and the moment you are not productive, they ask you to live outside to fend for yourself\u2026\u201d Is there some truth in this?<\/p>\n

A major cause of devotees or devotee families moving out of the temples to live outside was economic \u2013 many temples could not or cannot afford to maintain families. This helped to create rapid societal changes for us over the years. Would it be correct to say that matters of temple finance were the biggest contributor to our changed Iskcon? What then of the general consequences of spiritual standards that followed, that our conservatives despair of?<\/p>\n

What our present generation has partly inherited is a creation of our own doing. By past Iskcon definitions they, or we, are the \u2018out but in\u2019 generation. Luckily, Iskcon is very flexible and we can expect more morphing into the future \u2013 there is no limitation to spiritual substance. Even most of our renunciates now stay in the homes of devotee families rather than live in our temples when visiting \u2013 all-round flexibility.<\/p>\n

These changes hardly helped to create a fixed identity for average Iskcon devotees, nor for the public. Whether we are viewed as \u2018plain-clothed,\u2019 \u2018closet,\u2019 or \u2018your clandestine next-door neighbour Hare Krishna,\u2019 these varied epithets serve to accentuate our diversity. But when such diversity includes strong adherence to old-school or open-minded trends on Iskcon social issues, should we be pleased that we have a matured with a \u2018democratic\u2019 dispensation? Otherwise, we can\u2019t all think alike can we.<\/p>\n

Then we have to know what Iskcon really means for each of us. Sriman George Harrison at one time desired to join full-time, but Srila Prabhupada advised him not to. He was an example of an \u2018out but in\u2019 member. Srila Prabhupada himself was also an \u2018out but in\u2019 Gaudiya-Matha member. By far the present Iskcon majority is \u2018out but in.\u2019<\/p>\n

There is certainly a nostalgic allure to the \u2018in or out\u2019 scheme of things. The \u2018democratic\u2019 differences we have today were much less open, being channelled often-through communal teamwork and unquestioning faith in authority. This proved destructive in many cases, by \u2018in but out\u2019 elements. \u2018Out but in\u2019 was shunned – what a dramatic turnaround we have made. This shift alone does not help us try to define Iskcon membership or identity. Will this inconsistency continue into the future?<\/p>\n

As things stand now, our present Iskcon exists no longer for some. Has Iskcon lost its \u2018soul?\u2019 Where has it gone? Back to Godhead? Was it liberated, leaving us mortals stranded here? How is it that the chanting of Hare Krishna still goes on strongly? <\/p>\n

Isn\u2019t there a danger of identifying Iskcon with a particular time and place that we favour out of human sentiment? Is it that Iskcon only belongs there? Doesn\u2019t this mean putting a limit on to Iskcon, as a merciful flowering branch of the Chaitanya tree? If Chaitanya is the life-force of all, why should this life be absent depending on certain memorable stretches of time?<\/p>\n

If Krishna can morph and transform (as Iskcon), and can assume gigantic proportions that make worldly Titanic\u2019s, aircraft carriers and mega-cities mere atomic sized dust particles in comparison, then how can we think we can second-guess the Lord\u2019s willingness to stay or not?<\/p>\n

We are experiencing continued social transformations. In spite of our statically astute endeavours to determine Iskcon membership based on external partial or full involvement, this mechanism may not be able to count in the \u2018in and in\u2019 members. Who are they? <\/p>\n

The \u2018in and in\u2019 are those who, whether they be counted or not, out or in, have an internal allegiance not measured by numerical or circumstantial deliberations. Who knows, if there are sincere devotees privately practicing Krishna consciousness in one of those Antarctica scientific bases or not? Or if there is a severely disabled individual deeply experiencing ruci and beyond, far from the madding crowd somewhere? These may be rare cases, but it reveals the need to see Iskcon in a conventional or inner way.<\/p>\n

The \u2018conventional\u2019 Iskcon will attract huge numbers, either for minimising material miseries or for associated prestige. The \u2018inner\u2019 Iskcon will attract those who are drawn to the rarely espoused \u2018Vraja-Bhakti\u2019 goal in life. If it is the \u2018conventional\u2019 that appears to have caused the \u2018loss\u2019 of Iskcon, then it is understandable. Again, the responsibility for this has eluded many of us.<\/p>\n

Given that sincere Bhakti can be practiced anywhere and is not subjected to our expectations in terms of history and memory, could there be a sense of thinking that the present generation is less fortunate than those who lived during Srila Prabhupada\u2019s physical presence? Isn\u2019t Srila Prabhupada very much present for all sincere members? Doesn\u2019t he still appear in dreams and through other \u2018mystical\u2019 revelations, regardless of our \u2018conventional\u2019 ideas of Iskcon development?<\/p>\n

On the other the hand, another danger exists of accepting many untrained disciples of the \u2018out but in\u2019 type. Taking on extra responsibilities in favour of \u2018world Iskcon first,\u2019 the neglect in training disciples can add to our \u2018conventional\u2019 woes. <\/p>\n

Whether we choose to differentiate between our Iskcon family members based on external and conventional shades of opinion and thought, Iskcon remains as a facility for the unlimited ocean of Bhakti to flourish. To try to encumber or measure its potential would be like figuring out how the entire universe can possibly fit into the stem of the lotus flower that our parampara head, Sri Brahma was born upon.<\/p>\n

Just as the stem came out from Sri Garbhodaksayi Visnu who is the soul of our universe, and whose navel emanation cannot be measured, then why can we think we can measure our home, which is a mystical creation of Srila Prabhupada?<\/p>\n

It takes many strong hands to bring out Sri Jagannatha as \u2018Daru-Brahman\u2019 from the inner sanctuary on to His chariot for procession, but Srila Prabhupada effortlessly brought Jagannatha Westward and worldwide on the chariot of his heart. Along came Sri Sri Gaura-Nitai and Sri Sri Radha and Krishna as well. <\/p>\n

When we connect with our parampara through Iskcon and the teachings of Srila Prabhupada, many mystical things happen to us though we may not realise them. This connection does not depend on our placement anywhere, whether \u2018in or out,\u2019 or \u2018out but in.\u2019 But to be an \u2018in and in\u2019 from anywhere and help guide our devotees towards that ocean called Vraja-Bhakti, need not be a quaint fantasy, but an ambitious accomplishment of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Himself, the soul of all. Is this too \u2018in and in\u2019 for us all?<\/p>\n

Ys Kesava Krsna Dasa<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Kesava Krsna Dasa<\/strong><\/p>\n

Some devotees lament that Iskcon has left us, or them, being almost unrecognisable compared to days past. Our present generation of Iskcon members rely on hearing from seniors on how Iskcon was, prior to the formation of congregation based devotee communities. The present generation is unable to compare, so should the \u2018loss\u2019 be of concern to us, if at all this is the case?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10649","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10649","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10649"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10649\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10649"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10649"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10649"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}