Cultural Dilemma

Indulgence in Renunciation

The recent 2012 spiritual recession in Murwillumbah prrompts me to examine what it is that the devotees around us actually believe to be true, or more precisely, what do they understand from sadhu, guru and sastra?

The Krsna Consciousness culture, a subset of the population that comprises mainstream world cultural indulgence could almost (at its worst) be considered to be a manic indulgence of the ignorant, by the ignorant, for the ignorant. It differs from the common, social world culture in as much as it seeks to evolve to a lesser form of the gluttony of popular world culture, but is it, despite its parings, as greedily embraced by some of its adherents with as much myopic abandon as its predecessor the consumer society?

Perhaps we should see that the Krsna Consciousness culture evolves and devolves around its tenets, relatively changing form or shape according to time, place and circumstance. Perhaps the culture itself is merely the container, a vehicle if you like, for carrying the sacred truths of Krsna, the Gopis, and all associated spiritual hopes and aspirations to those who are greedy for the truth; the culture itself being, not the substance, but merely evocative of spiritual reality.

If so, perhaps it's time to reinvent the cultural wheel and locate the reality that makes the wheel turn, for, if its adherents cling to the culture rather than to Sri Sri Guru and Gauranga, all they shall acheive is culture.

tarunkrsnadas
servant to ALL the devotees