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May 2001

Narasimha the protector

Whenever I take guests on a tour of Bhaktivedanta Manor, the large oil painting of Vishnu's half-man, half-lion form in the temple takes them by surprise.

With an expression of mixed puzzlement and distaste on their faces, they ask: "What is a painting like that doing in a place like this? The other paintings you have are so peaceful."

I have to agree that upon first sight, the depiction of a bloody Hiranyakashipu draped lifelessly over Vishnu's lap would not seem to be conducive to peaceful contemplation. A new-age seeker, brought up on tales of the Biblical Hebrew God who 'smiteth the enemy', and searching for a less angry and anthropomorphic God, might be disappointed when confronted with yet another primitive Yahweh doing some pretty messy smiting. The fierce form of Narasimha seems to have little to do with the charming depictions of Lord Krishna playing His flute on the riverbank in the moonlight.

Yet if Krishna is the complete original person, logic would suggest that he must possess the most complete range of emotions, including anger. If God, by definition, is the origin of all, is He not also capable of emotion? Can He not become angry too?

But there is an important difference between the anger of God and our own: the reflection of a tall tree in a still lake will be inverted to the original, that is, all parts of the reality will be upside down in the reflection; the highest becomes the lowest.

In the same way, although the feelings of anger on this plane of reflected existence, so often caused by frustrated material hankering, tend to be destructive, the spiritual anger of Vishnu is transcendentally restorative and redeeming.

Prayers for protection

	Narasimha deity in Mayapura

To our vision, Hiranyakashipu dies in a blood-drenched heap, bifurcated by the nails of a rarely seen form of Vishnu. But being killed in this manner eventually restores him to his constitutional position in Vaikuntha.

Narasimha is worshipped by devotees because He is Krishna showing His protective love for them. Just as He came to protect the saintly Prahlad, so He is prayed to by the Vaishnavas to protect them from their six internal enemies of lust, greed, anger, envy, illusion and madness. Srila Prabhupada introduced the chanting of the 'Narasimhadeva Prayers' as a collective daily request in each temple 'for the protection of the spiritual master and the protection of ISKCON'.

The worship of the form of Narasimha is popular in southern India and has been instituted in some ISKCON temples where resident devotees felt the necessity for special protection. Thus on the edge of Germany, facing the one-time Communist bloc, a black granite form of Narasimha was installed many years ago.

Close shot of Narasimha deity

At the international headquarters in Mayapura, eastern India, a ferocious murti of Narasimha offers protection to the entire mission. Devotees like to keep a picture of Him in their homes and offer puja, and many chant the auspicious Narasimha Kavacha mantras as a daily meditation.

On the day of the year when Narasimha appeared from a pillar in the palace of Hiranyakashipu, devotees fast up until twilight, the moment when the demon became vanquished, and then, after uproarious kirtan, a delicious feast is distributed to all.

Devotees arrested in Turkmenistan

Seven ISKCON devotees were arrested on the 10th March in Mary, Turkmenistan, (one of the newly independent states just south of Russia) reported the human rights agency Keston News Service (19th March). They were accused of violating public order, but none of the seven was fined and they were released on the 17th March. This appears to be the latest incident in a campaign of harassment by the government.

The devotees were arrested at the wedding of a relative of Akincana Caitanya dasa (Akmyrat Orazmyradov). They had previously been warned not to attend any religious meetings in private homes, appear in public or even attend weddings of relatives and friends.

One source told Keston that they were detained for violating a secret order which prohibits two members or more of any religious organisation other than the only two legally registered communities, the Muslim and the Russian Orthodox, from meeting.

Keston has been unable to obtain confirmation that this order exists.The ISKCON community in Ashgabad, the capital of Turkmenistan, was raided by the Police and the KNB (former KGB) during a meeting last November, taking names and passport details of all those attending.

Imprisoned and insulted for three days

Twenty devotees were taken to the police station and fifteen of them were held in prison for three days, where they were also insulted for their beliefs.

They were given an administrative fine of one month's minimum wage. One of them, Misra Bhagavan dasa (Murat Uraev), was threatened with criminal charges and a prison sentence of up to three years if he were to take part in unregistered religious activities. The community was warned not to hold any further meetings in the temple.

Keston has approached the authorities several times, but they have declined to explain why ISKCON has met with this kind of treatment. It is not uncommon though for religious minorities to be harassed, as Keston reports: "Raids, detentions and beatings by the KNB on minority religious communities are frequent in Turkmenistan and are believed to be increasing as the government steps up its policy of eradicating all religious activity by non-Muslim and non-Russian Orthodox groups."

The religious activities by Jews, Armenian Apostolic Christians, Lutherans, Bahais, and Muslims not belonging to the sanctioned Muslim Board - are all illegal - but particularly singled-out for maltreatment have been Baptist and Pentecostal Christians, as well as Jehovah's Witnesses and ISKCON. Two churches in Ashgabad have recently been confiscated and there are reports that at least six Protestant Christians have been summoned and beaten by the KNB in the past six months.

Editor's note: I have included this report so readers who hold meetings in their homes may appreciate the level of religious freedom operating in the UK. The freedoms we now enjoy in Britain are the results of hundreds of years of struggle against persecution. We need to be grateful for them, yet vigilant that they may not be slowly eroded as social and political climates change. We might also be prayerful that our fellow devotees in other countries may have Krishna's protection as they try to practise the Vaishnava life there.

Foot and Mouth

No reader can fail to have been both moved and appalled at the senseless slaughter of innocent animals over the past few weeks. Day after day the killing of both diseased and healthy sheep and cows has continued unabated in areas of Britain most affected by the epidemic.

As the toll of flaming or buried bodies has mounted so too has public sensitivity and resistance - has it all been really necessary? The answer is already known to our readers; when you view animals as a food commodity, meant to be bought and sold like packets of cornflakes, all that really matters is their food value and commercial worth. You will treat them accordingly.

Foot and Mouth is not a killer, but does reduce the meat and milk, and thereby the animal's commercial value. In the 19th century Britain took the lead in aggressively pushing a policy of killing animals sick with the disease, and forced other countries to follow suit.

There are, however, still many countries where foot and mouth disease comes and goes; the result is reduced yields but still a level playing field for that nation's farmers. Unfortunately, the current policy of 'culling' has meant that many farmers' livelihoods have been either wiped out or irreparably damaged, resulting in widespread despair and even suicide. Was that worth it?

Yet we should reflect that for every dairy farmer saying a tearful farewell to the named milk cows he has tended on the family farm for a decade, there are just as many farmers that think nothing of arranging for the same cows to be slaughtered when they can no longer give milk. And although the number of animals killed during the epidemic has been vast, we would do well to remember that every single week of the year, when there is no foot and mouth, this country mechanically electrocutes, shoots, slices up and wraps in plastic 50,000 cows and 230,000 sheep. Every week. We may not hear their screams as they die, and we do not see mounds of smoking corpses, but it goes on day in, day out, with chilling efficiency. If we take so seriously the plight of the fox that it occupies hours of parliamentary sessions, perhaps it would be well to re-examine our attitudes to all four-legged life?

Oxford centre launches major projects

Remember the news that the Oxford Centre for Hindu and Vaishnava Studies (OCVHS) had been awarded £86,000 by the Heritage Lottery Fund? Well, on March 28th they launched their Oral History Project: 'Life of Hindus in Britain' at India House in central London. The Indian High Commissioner, Nareshwara Dayal, said:

"This marks the beginning of an important process of documenting that which makes pluralistic United Kingdom a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural democracy. The project will be a reference point for future studies by scholars and for the community"

Liberal democrat Lord Addington said the project would enable the younger generation of Indian youth to convey their community's concerns, culture and values with sensitivity and accuracy.

Dr. Kim Knott of Leeds University, who is the project's research coordinator, said her extensive work on the Hindu community in England encouraged her to establish an archive for scholars, researchers and members of the community.

Lord Dholakia, a member of the centre's patrons board said: "I am delighted that the OCVHS is undertaking such a project. There is a danger that a significant portion of history may be lost forever, if we fail to record the recollections and contributions made." There are an estimated 400,000 Hindus in Britain.

http://www.ocvhs.com

Youth Festival planned for the summer

Oxford Centre staff also took part in the April launch of a dynamic new initiative for Hindu youth. An invitation to 70 youth organisations in March resulted in many like-minded students and youths deciding to stage a major festival in the summer. It will run together with a traditional Bhagavata-saptaha, a seven-day reading and exposition of the sacred Srimad Bhagavatam to be delivered by celebrated speaker Shri Rameshbhai Oza.

The Saptaha will take place in a giant marquee on Roundwood Park, Harlesden, north-west London. Three previous events of this kind have drawn 10,000 people every day.

The Hindu Youth Festival will be staged every evening after the day's saptaha concludes and will feature cultural presentations, speakers, interactive discussions on social issues and more.

The project was launched at the impressive white marble Swami Narayana temple in Neasden on 11th April.

Three spiritual leaders gave their support and encouragement in well-received speeches: Bhakticaru Swami from ISKCON, Atmaswarupa Swami from the Swami Narayana Hindu Mission, and Chidananda Swami who flew in from Rishikesh India for the occasion.

Tony Blair and William Hague both sent messages of support to be read out, and Hindu leaders from around the country were in attendance.

Television and shops scrap bad ads

After complaints from viewers, a television ad for chicken stir-in paste was recently taken off the air.

The ad was conceived by agency J. Walter Thompson for Van der Bergh Foods, known for their ditty: "I feel like chicken tonight". It featured a woman sitting on a floor cushion with what appeared to be a ready-to-cook chicken on a cushion in front of her. She was attempting to engage the chicken in her inexperienced attempts at meditation and was heard to say: "Om dina Om".

The ad ended with the woman chastising the chicken for its lack of participation: "You can't just sit there with your legs crossed, you're going to have to chant as well!" Viewers complained that they had been insulted by the ad and that their sacred prayer had been used to advertise a meat sauce when their faith forbade them from eating meat. Although the advertisers had considered that 'Om' was generic, and that the ad was intended to be humorous, still the ITC upheld the complaint. Van der Bergh Foods expressed regret and disappointment and said that it had been surprised by the complaints.

The second case was spotted by Vidura das in Rackham's department store in Birmingham. Clothing company 'House of Fraser' took up a large section of one of the high street windows. Their display, for a new collection of fashions, featured a ten-feet wide blow-up photograph of devotees chanting along Oxford St. in the Sixties. The large harinam photo was a pleasure to see in a shop window, but it was the accompanying text that quite astonished Vidura:

"If I wasn't a chanting, cymbal banging easily-led nutcase who'd been brain washed by some looney religious sect I could be wearing Linea Directions extra fine marino sweater and linen jeans."

This unbelievably daft new national advertising campaign appeared in fifty stores and two men's magazines. After a strong conversation with their marketing director they agreed to remove the poster from all their windows straight away. They insisted it was too late to do anything about the magazines as they were already on the news stands.

The marketing director insisted that the campaign was 'just a bit of tongue in cheek and not meant to offend'. In a letter for all concerned parties she said: "Following our telephone conversation this afternoon we contacted all of our stores around the country to remove the poster from our windows straight away. Please accept our apologies for any offence caused by the campaign. Clearly we were not intending to mock Hindu traditions in any way and if that has been the interpretation we are extremely sorry."

Excuse me, but how does calling someone an 'easily-led nutcase' in printed letters six inches high, and calling their faith a 'looney religious sect' be dismissively explained away as 'not meant to offend'? Maybe they didn't set out to offend, but its high time the researchers in the marketing division came into the present century.

Lessons to be learned

There are a few lessons here. Firstly, advertising is never directly about the product but the benefits the product will give you if you buy it. The standard benefits that all advertising tries to link with its product are the things we all desire: physical comfort, enjoyment and security, sexual attraction or prowess, and the highly desirable state of being loved, respected or envied by those around you.

If it doesn't try to sell you these benefits directly then it will sell you the idea that if you don't or can't buy the product then you run the risk of being considered foolish and a social or sexual failure.

For an advertisement to hold your attention in the first few moments it must be dramatic, intriguing, sexy, humorous, or all four of these at once. Marketing strategists and their creative artists are always trying hard to hook us, and our money, in novel ways. And it works: millions of pounds and days consulting corporate psychologists pays off when customers choose the product over the competition's product. Everybody claims not to be influenced by ads - but millions certainly are.

Crossing the line of good taste

In their efforts to win customers advertisers can sometimes cross the line of good taste. If an ad is overtly sexist or racist the public become offended. But what about ads that offend because they ridicule religious beliefs, or use religious objects or rituals in a demeaning manner?

Religious characters such as monks and nuns have often been used as figures of fun because their lives and appearances are radically different. They are 'supposed' to be good, so the humour lies in finding that they are not all they seemed to be. Yet there is a world of difference between good natured humour and a vindictive caricature calculated to arouse derision and ill-will.

The chicken advertisement was offensive because it took a religious act (however 'generic' the meditation was presumed to be) and placed it in an inappropriate context. Imagine the outcry if the imagery had been Jewish or Muslim.

The ad produced by the House of Fraser was much more pointedly offensive. I suppose it is worth remembering that the advertising industry is dominated by creative individuals who are handsomely paid to shock us all into consuming. They operate in a slightly different world to the rest of us. Periodically they give each other awards for producing the most shocking campaign of the year; the more members of the public offended the better.

But the rest of us don't have to accept what is put on billboards, magazine pages, or on our television screens. If someone invades our private space or a public environment with abject nonsense or offensive material we have every right, and an obligation, to complain.

Brighton's 'spiritual shop' to open within weeks

By the time you read this there will be a retail shop with a difference in Brighton.

Dharani dhara has been biding his time in that seaside town, waiting for an opportunity to rent a shop in just the right location. That opportunity took him over one year but now he has opened 'Spiritual Matter' in The Lanes, an area well known for all kinds of unusual, alternative and artistic shops, popular with visitors and locals alike.

The shop will sell books, music and a wide range of helpful goods. 'Spiritual Matter' is easily located at 21A Prince Albert St., opposite the Town Hall and within a few minutes walk of the sea. Dharani already has a cheerful website where you can listen to recorded lectures by Srila Prabhupada: www.iskcon.org.uk/brighton. The picture above shows the shop's signboard Taking shape at the hands of a local mosaic artist.

* * *

Two holy men were walking along a dusty road one morning

One stooped and picked up a length of old wire. When the other sadhu asked him why he needed it, he replied: "Oh, you never know, it might be useful someday."

This was repeated a few miles further on when he picked up an old stick. "Why are you picking up such useless things?" asked his friend. He was given the same reply.

Miles later, the first man picked up the shell of an old yellow gourd, made himself an ektar (one string banjo) with the stick and wire and began singing.

Moral: Just as three apparently useless things can, when combined with intelligence, make one very useful thing, so three ordinary disciples, who agree to combine and serve together can make a good and useful sangha (fellowship).

London Chariot Festival (Rathayatra)

Arrangements are well underway for this years Rathayatra procession and festival on Sunday, June 24th.

The procession will start as usual from Speaker's Corner in Hyde Park at midday, moving down Park Lane, Piccadilly, and on to Trafalgar Square.

Prasadam will be served to everyone.

Bhajans and kirtans, plus a talk and a few speeches will be taking place on the plinth of Nelson's Column but all other artistic and cultural displays will be spread out round the square during the afternoon. It is hoped that this will make the event a bit more participative.

The Deities will remain on their chariot throughout the afternoon and everyone will be able to come up close to them for darshan and to make offerings.

There will be a large kirtan at 4.30 pm which all are invited to attend. Devotees are reminded that if the square gets too much for you either with traffic noise or (as last year) with the summer heat, the clean lawns and shady trees of St. James' Park are literally just around the corner.

There is ample room there to relax and places to let your children run around.

Nearest tube stations for the beginning of the route is Marble Arch and for Trafalgar Square is Charing Cross. It is also just five minutes from Westminster and Leicester Square.

Please do come and bring some friends. If you are in good health and devotional spirit then volunteers are still required for clearing up the square afterwards.

More details on the London Rathayatra site.

Rathayatra Weekend Camping

Every year on the Saturday before the Rathayatra we try to arrange some events at the Manor. In the past these have included workshops and demonstrations.

Many devotees from different parts of the country have taken advantage of the warmer weather and put up tents for the weekend.

This year, sadly, with the foot and mouth epidemic still active, we have had to take the precaution of cancelling several events which normally take place on the fields adjoining the Manor.

The Rathayatra camping weekend will now have to be cancelled as well. Car parking at the Manor carpark is unaffected, although we cannot have camper vans or caravans overnight in the car park.

Alternative accommodation in the local area is available and a number of guests can be hosted in the Manor's guest rooms. Please call 01923-857244 which is the reception desk and ask for the "guestmaster". Or if you require a list of local B&Bs leave a message on 01923-854270.

National Gathering in Wales

If you haven't yet pencilled this one in your diary then please think about it. What better way to spend a relaxing weekend than in the company of friends in beautiful countryside?

Buckland Hall is a warm 70-bed conference centre with grand log fires set in a beautiful valley on the edge of the Brecon Beacons. It's a superb venue for conferences and will make the ideal location for the national gathering of all ISKCON's members and well-wishers.

Most rooms are en-suite and all the catering will be done by devotee brahmanas. We'll have speakers and workshops and plenty of opportunities to relax too. If you've never been to an event like this then this one will be a great introduction.

It takes place over the weekend of 19-21 October and the cost will be £45 per adult for three nights and all meals. For further details please write. More information will be made available soon.

India Pilgrimage

Ever wanted to go to India but wanted to go with a group? Ever wanted to avoid the tourist traps and go to the holy places with a guide?

There's a pilgrimage party heading out in February 2002 and you could be on it! We'll be going to Mayapura in Bengal, birthplace of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, taking the train through northern India to Vrindavan, the land of Krishna, and we'll even have some time to visit Jaipura and the Taj Mahal.

To get the most out of this trip it will help if you are regularly chanting japa on beads, studying the teachings, and are strictly vegetarian.