Monday 6 October 2014

Wednesday, October 1st, 2014

Toronto, Ontario
 
The Topics Are Tops
 
It is always a pleasure to go for that evening walk with a good man whose initials are KK.  (Take note there isn’t a third ‘K’.)  When we go for that stretch it’s also chat time.
 
As of late his passion is veganism.  Dairy is out of the question for him.  Animals, particularly cows and bulls, need our protection and to be spared from the gruesome slaughter industry.
 
KK, my friend, is also passionate about stereotype attitudes from amongst the spiritual ranks towards gays and women.  We talked that one out, in my opinion.  My take on it is that everyone, regardless of gender and orientation, has the equal opportunity to advance spiritually.  You may call it political-correctness.  It’s what I actually firmly believe.
 
He also argued that not enough is being done to share Krishna Consciousness in an integrated way.  Monks of the order insist on the exotic look and behaviour.  “There will continue to be so little positive input on society at large due to our more traditional approach regarding dress code and overall way of promoting.”  It is K.K.’s general feeling as this is also shared with others.
 
Despite our orthodox ways, one journalist, a Brendan O’Connor, from the Independent newspaper, expressed that impact is taking place.  In an article that just came out on Sunday, O’Connor says, “I was reading somewhere recently that while we might think of Hare Krishna as a marginal cult, their influence on the world we live in now is enormous.  The view seems to be that while the religion has not succeeded in the mainstream as such, the ideas have.  Everywhere you look there is watered down Hare Krishna-ism, from the kinds of food we eat, to the notion of sustainable, community-based living, to the whole mindfulness thing.”
 
I picked up this article only after K.K. left and our walk terminated.  It might be good food-for-thought.  Read his article entitled, “We are all Hare Krishnas now. Meditation goes mainstream.” It’s great!
 
May the Source be with you!
 
7 KM

No comments: