Jagat

A common prejudice in the Gaudiya sampradaya, represented by ISKCON and the Gaudiya Math in most of the world, is that Radha and Krishna's love is the "highest" while human sexuality is the "lowest." This is commonly used as an argument against the type of sādhanā and philosophy that I am teaching. In my opinion, this just shows how ridiculous and marginal Krishna consciousness has become and how far from the goal of divine love or prema it has sauntered. Let me say it again, for the millionth time, Radha and Krishna have no meaning at all if there is no love in this world between men and women. You would have no ability to understand or relate to Radha and Krishna as the manifestations of the highest and purest love if you did not have some intuitive understanding based on things you have seen, heard and experienced in this world. And, by the same token, since they are the archetype of the purest form of romantic love, they can be seen and realized throug...

For the course in Rishikesh, we reviewed Freud and Jung's models of the psyche. Looking first at these two, we then looked at three others, that of the Tantra-yoga and two others represented by the  Rāsa-līlās in the  Bhāgavata  and Gīta-govinda . Freud's model Freud's psychic model sees the instinctual urges as id or libido , an unconscious energetic force that in its attempt for gratification strikes the external world, the reality principle. This shock then creates the intelligence, which becomes internalized as the superego, conscience, etc., and is projected outward as God. Freud sees the economy of the psyche as essentially one of sublimation: libidinal energy is syphoned off for the strengthening of superego, which through self-discipline then produces all the gains of civilization. For Freud, God was perhaps necessary for the beginnings of civilization to strengthen such self-discipline, but has now outlived his usefulness. Human beings should through self-a...

A look back on the Rishikesh classes As I mentioned in my previous post, I have been in Rishikesh the past two weeks, teaching a dwindling number of students an impromptu course that I spontaneously entitled, "Bhakti, rasa and psychology." There are three subjects in one which, when taken together, form the basis of my philosophy, but it was a pretty big chunk to get across in ten classes, especially to an audience that for the most part was not conversant with any of them. It is said that a good teacher is one who can explain a complex subject matter simply, and I am working towards that goal. As always, my primary objective was to try to integrate the three subjects as best I could, in short, to come to a better understanding of the subject matter and put it into words; and, if it could be communicated to others, so much the better. Some parts of the course naturally worked better than others. Many of these subjects are well represented on this blog, though not in a ...

In the FB discussions that followed the posting of Sex and Bhakti Yoga, parts I and II , many objections were presented, some of which I responded to and have since cross-posted to this blog, often with corrections, elaborations, and embellishments. This was partly possible due to my being in Rishikesh where I have been for the last two weeks having a good meditation refresher, sitting for three or four hours a day. I like the ashram lifestyle. This ashram is pretty loose in its discipline, but still I like the framework of a sattvika spiritual community. I have been giving one class a day on "Bhakti, rasa and psychology," trying to find ways of communicating my ideas to a group of yogis. Because my philosophy is a bit of a hybrid, as the title of the lectures itself indicates, what is accessible to one audience is outside the realm of comprehension for others. Looking back on the two weeks I see that (as one of the students actually told me) I am usually trying to ...

A no doubt well-meaning young man has started a FB group called " Sinister Sahajiyaism" . In his introduction, he states that though Sahajiyaism follows many of the teachings of the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition, "we use them in our own way. Sahajayana is to Gaudiya Vaishnavism the same that Satanism is to Christianity." I just wanted to make it perfectly clear that I am not in favor of this statement. No doubt I will be told that I don't "understand" Satanism, but I think I understand it well enough. A frequently cited statement by the founder of Satanism, Anton LaVey , is that his doctrine was "just Ayn Rand's philosophy, with ceremony and ritual added." In particular, the nine edicts with which his book begins are felt by many to have been taken from Rand’s Atlas Shrugged : Satan represents indulgence, instead of abstinence! Satan represents vital existence, instead of spiritual pipe dreams! Satan represents undefiled wisdom, inst...

I got the sad news today that Joseph T. O'Connell, professor of South Asian Religions at St. Michael's College University of Toronto for more than 30 years, scholar of Gaudiya Vaishnavism, a long-time friend of mine, a well-wisher and supporter of the Hare Krishna movement since its arrival in Toronto, died last Friday in New York of a massive brain hemorrhage. Though I met Joe first in 1971 when a new Hare Krishna devotee, he became an especially good friend when I was doing my post-doc at UofT in 1992-1994. We were neighbors in the West Annex during that time, living just across the park from each other, and our families often broke bread together. He and his wife Kathy helped us make the transition to Toronto in many ways. Joseph was one of the earlier scholars to work on Chaitanya Vaishnavism at Harvard where he did his PhD in the 1950s on the social aspects of the Chaitanya movement. When Krishna consciousness came to Toronto in 1969, he was probably the only person in...

This continues the questions and answers from Facebook threads related to the Sex and Spirituality article. How can a married person following the  rāgānugā bhakti  path engage in sex with his wife and still cultivate his  mañjarī-svarūpa? Those who are fortunate enough to be in a married relationship with a Vaishnava or Vaishnavi who has already received a  mañjarī-svarūpa  and is practicing rāgānugā bhajana , and if they are sexually active, there is no reason at all not to try this. It is a far better course of action than “falling down” and getting all upset and feeling guilty. Just thinking you are a mañjarī  in some far off fairyland called Vrindavan is rather difficult to do. And believe, it will start to feel silly after a while. unless , you can bring Radha and Krishna directly into your lives, as living  mūrtis . And why shouldn’t you? If Radha and Krishna can appear in a  mūrti  of stone to accept your service, then w...

I linked three articles from the blog to Facebook recently and received numerous responses, comments and questions. The blog set records for pages read over the past few days, so clearly the subject elicits interest from a substantial section of the spiritually inclined, as it should. So I am elaborating on some of the answers I gave in the Facebook comments and posting them here. Will not associating sexuality with spirituality lead to promiscuity? I am ambivalent about the sahaja sadhana you advocate, maybe it will be possible for the very advanced, but not everyone. The possibility of deviation from any prescribed path is always present. Sadhana is about attaining a high level of spiritual purity and it is easy to be misled by thinking you have become very advanced. This then inevitably leads to trouble. But try to understand. What I am proposing is not merely about physical sex. That is why I think I will stop using the term "sex desire" and call it "love des...