List of neo- and quasi-Hindu movements
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http://www.iskcon.org http://www.krishna.com
The Hare Krishna movement (ISKCON) is a non-sectarian movement that has its roots in the ancient texts and culture of the Vedas, which, according to the Vedas themselves and astronomical calculations, date back at least 5000 years.
It is neo-hindu in the sense that it spread to the western world in the 1960:s. It is quasi-hindu in the sense that its not really hindu at all. Hindu is a general hodge-podge term coined by some invading muslims derived from the name sindhu (Sindhu river, now named Indus).
The Hare Krishna movement has as its purpose to disseminate pure love of God (Krishna bhakti) to humanity for the benefit of all. This they do mainly via book distribution, giving of food offered to Krishna to the needy and by chanting the Holy Names of Krishna publicly, in the street and in the temples.
For its members the movement means joyful association where the devotees encourage and help each other to make spiritual advancement.
As is the case in all educational circles, those who are more learned teach and support the beginners, those on a similar level associate on brotherly or friendly terms, and everybody help those who are new to the philosophy and practice of Krishna Consciousness.
The movement sees spiritual life as a scientific pursuit. Here the object of study is the self, the Supreme and their inter-relations.
It is scientific because the Vedas give a process, called bhakti-yoga, which help the individual person to actually realize his/her actual self as a spirit soul, different from dull matter. The process is duplicable, and the results predictable for the serious student. The different stages of advancement predicted and realized by the practitioner is as follows: (from a book named The Nectar of Devotion, original name bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu
1. sraddha - some little faith in scriptures such as Bhagavad Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam, combined with interest in spiritual life
2. sadhu sanga - association with persons who are on the path of self realization. It is understood that only by the blessings of a great soul can one make real advancement on the path of Krishna consciousness
3. bhajana kriya - practicing a lifestyle that help purify the heart from unwanted things such as lust, greed, envy, anger, illusion and madness, under the guidance of a spiritual master. Because the process of bhakti-yoga is a gradual one, the truth is that most of the members of ISKCON are on this and the next two platforms.
4. nistha - firm faith that the process works, backed up by the fact that most of the unwanted things listed above have been removed from ones consciousness At this stage also the miseries born from material existence are relieved. No more lamentation, boredom, stress or sufferings from attachement to the body or things related to it
5. ruci - deep and profound taste for the practice of sadhana or the process of Krishna consciousness. This follows automatically from the previous one. At this stage there is hardly any uphill in ones developement of Krishna consciousness.
6. asakti - deep attachement for Krishna and a total unwillingness to waste even a moment from the service of the Supreme Lord Krishna. Can be compared to a flower in its budding stage. Here the last traces of material tinge disappear from the heart. A spiritual master is very much desired who is at least on this level.
7. bhava - preliminary stage of actual love of godhead. Characterized by ones jubilant extatic heart, thanks to realizing more and more of Krishnas 64 all-attractive qualities based on eternity, bliss and knowledge.
8. prema - actual, eternally growing love of The Supreme Personality of Godhead in full bloom. If you think of a person who is ready to do anything for his/her beloved and multiply that love a millionfold, you are still not near what this is. It is completely different from any mundane mellows. We would not tolerate even a moment without prema if we knew how intensly wonderful this is.
What do the Hare Krishnas think of other religions? For an example of that, see the following page: http://www.geocities.com/priitaa/christ_and_krishna
Some Christians believe salvation is the goal of life. According to Krishna Consciousness, salvation is not earned by erasing karma through reincarnation, by repetition of a mantra, nor by following an extensive list of rules and rituals, as claimed by watchman.org, a sectarian website. Salvation is not even desired by a Krishna conscious person.
A Krishna conscious person wants to serve the Supreme in pure love, in heaven or hell. As a byproduct he is granted salvation from all material miseries. A Krishna conscious person will never accept salvation instead of a loving relationship with the Supreme Lord. There is even a sanskrit proverb, kaivalyam narakayate, "liberation into brahman is worse than hell". So if you are interested in spiritual life, be careful, the wrong kind of salvation (the impersonal) is spiritual suicide, as far as the vedas go. -- 04:25, 13 Apr 2004 (UTC)Ajamidha Dasa Adhikari