spiritual dreams Posted September 17, 2023 Share Posted September 17, 2023 Recently, I've been going to these meditation sessions with this meditation group that practices bhakti yoga. They do these chanting meditations and sound baths which I find really cool and bring me into a super deep level of meditation, they also do really nice vegan food and a kirtan which is like a spiritual dance which is really fun. The people there are really nice to me and they are super down to earth. Recently I found out it's a part of a group called hare krishna (which is what we chant) and a few of my friends have warned me that is it a cult. I'm very conflicted about this because I really enjoy going there. On one hand I feel like it is a bit culty in that they have specific beliefs about reality and the monks there all shave their heads and devote themselves to the cause. They also have some weird beliefs like worshipping cows and overromanticizing India. On the other hand, they have never forced their beliefs onto me and the people there are super down to earth. Most of the time it just feels like a bunch of spiritual open-minded people hanging out. I don't fully agree with their hindu worldview and my time on actualized has definitely taught me not to blindly follow a spiritual group that claims to have the answer so it doesn't feel dangerous in that regard. Am I in a cult? and what should I do? Quote Mention Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orb Posted September 17, 2023 Share Posted September 17, 2023 @spiritual dreams hare krishna is definitely a cult. My father hung out with them when he was younger but never fully joined. I'm glad he didn't. Theres been many abuses in that organizationm Quote Mention "Mediocrity is gone. Mind is clear of limitation. I seek no state of enlightenment. Neither do I remain where no enlightenment exists. Since I linger in neither condition, eyes cannot see me. If hundreds of birds strew my path with flowers, such praise would be meaningless." - A Comment on the 8th Ox Herding Picture Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spiritual dreams Posted September 17, 2023 Author Share Posted September 17, 2023 another thing which I forgot to mention is that a bunch of super hot spiritual girls go there, which is one on the reasons I go so often 😅 Quote Mention Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spiritual dreams Posted September 17, 2023 Author Share Posted September 17, 2023 @Orb well... shit Quote Mention Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orb Posted September 17, 2023 Share Posted September 17, 2023 (edited) 2 minutes ago, spiritual dreams said: another thing which I forgot to mention is that a bunch of super hot spiritual girls go there, which is one on the reasons I go so often 😅 Grab one and then leave as fast as you can. 🏃♂️🏃♀️ Then live happily ever after with her and be happy you didn't join a cult 🙂 Edited September 17, 2023 by Orb Quote Mention "Mediocrity is gone. Mind is clear of limitation. I seek no state of enlightenment. Neither do I remain where no enlightenment exists. Since I linger in neither condition, eyes cannot see me. If hundreds of birds strew my path with flowers, such praise would be meaningless." - A Comment on the 8th Ox Herding Picture Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spiritual dreams Posted September 17, 2023 Author Share Posted September 17, 2023 4 minutes ago, Orb said: Grab one and then leave as fast as you can. 🏃♂️🏃♀️ Then live happily ever after with her and be happy you didn't join a cult 🙂 Yup that's my plan Quote Mention Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonas Long Posted September 17, 2023 Share Posted September 17, 2023 It's a Hindu cult, but fairly benign as cults go. The Krishna mantra is legit and cool though. Quote Mention Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orb Posted September 17, 2023 Share Posted September 17, 2023 4 minutes ago, Jonas Long said: It's a Hindu cult, but fairly benign as cults go. The Krishna mantra is legit and cool though. There's recorded footage that I saw on YouTube of the founder once saying essentially that women enjoy being raped 😬😬 Quote Mention "Mediocrity is gone. Mind is clear of limitation. I seek no state of enlightenment. Neither do I remain where no enlightenment exists. Since I linger in neither condition, eyes cannot see me. If hundreds of birds strew my path with flowers, such praise would be meaningless." - A Comment on the 8th Ox Herding Picture Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spiritual dreams Posted September 17, 2023 Author Share Posted September 17, 2023 2 minutes ago, Orb said: There's recorded footage that I saw on YouTube of the founder once saying essentially that women enjoy being raped 😬😬 yikes Quote Mention Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonas Long Posted September 17, 2023 Share Posted September 17, 2023 2 minutes ago, Orb said: There's recorded footage that I saw on YouTube of the founder once saying essentially that women enjoy being raped 😬😬 Yeah, Hinduism Buddhism and Christianity have all endorsed horrible sexist rhetoric at times to degrees, it's true. Shitty. Quote Mention Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonas Long Posted September 17, 2023 Share Posted September 17, 2023 Benign in that it's been around a long time without much violence, suicide, etc ever coming from it. Benign, for a cult. Quote Mention Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orb Posted September 17, 2023 Share Posted September 17, 2023 (edited) 10 minutes ago, Jonas Long said: Yeah, Hinduism Buddhism and Christianity have all endorsed horrible sexist rhetoric at times to degrees, it's true. Shitty. For sure, it's important to emphasize that certain individuals endorse that rhetoric, not the religions, the religions are always essentially about surrender, love, openness, peace, tranquility, a higher power, etc. (Emphasis on essentially). In the same way I'm sure you can find individuals from all religions who are super aligned and awesome! Just some individuals that hold discordant beliefs that say iffy stuff like what prabuphada said (I butchered the name lol). 12 minutes ago, spiritual dreams said: yikes Yea you can find it on youtube. As for teachers, the best are usually just ordinary looking people. If you see a "teacher" and think "there's no way this person's enlightened/special" they're probably the right teacher 😄. So ordinary they're extra-ordinary. It's the special looking teachers I'm skeptical about, the ones that dress up like gurus and stuff like that. But at the same time there's some legit teachers imo that will dress up like wizards, source is playful in that sense. Edited September 17, 2023 by Orb Quote Mention "Mediocrity is gone. Mind is clear of limitation. I seek no state of enlightenment. Neither do I remain where no enlightenment exists. Since I linger in neither condition, eyes cannot see me. If hundreds of birds strew my path with flowers, such praise would be meaningless." - A Comment on the 8th Ox Herding Picture Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonas Long Posted September 17, 2023 Share Posted September 17, 2023 The Krishna mantra is as good as any mantra, it existed before the Krishna cult. They have their own version of the bhagavad gita, but it's fucked with to exaggerate and emphasize certain things. But the gita itself is cool. Quote Mention Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blessed2 Posted September 17, 2023 Share Posted September 17, 2023 (edited) For me it seems like borderline cult / typical religious thought. Don't see much difference from very basic christian religion for example. Different content but similar structure. One very easy way to discern religious thought from The Message is whether there is sets of rules / regulations on your activity. Like in ISKCON there is vegetarianism, no gamble, no drugs, no illicit sexual relations. You take a vow to follow these rules. "Illicit sexual relations" of course means "no gay shit". And probably no masturbation. Yeah the meditation, mantras and group activities can be great but the religion is not The Path. Their theology is also a bit weird. Like for example, they say that Krishna is "God's highest personality" or something. That feels quite off. It's Vedanta, but not Advaita Vedanta (nonduality). I believe ISKCON very specifically states for example that there are individual souls. Meaning, separate selves. Edited September 17, 2023 by Blessed2 Quote Mention There must be an effortless way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blessed2 Posted September 17, 2023 Share Posted September 17, 2023 7 hours ago, Orb said: But at the same time there's some legit teachers imo that will dress up like wizards, source is playful in that sense. And teachers who barely dress up at all: Quote Mention There must be an effortless way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James123 Posted September 17, 2023 Share Posted September 17, 2023 10 hours ago, spiritual dreams said: also have some weird beliefs like worshipping cows and overromanticizing India. On the other hand, they have never forced their beliefs onto me and the people there are super down to earth. Lmfao 😂😂😂😂 yes you did join a cult 😂😂😂 but very funny cult 🤣🤣🤣 Quote Mention "It is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Posted September 17, 2023 Share Posted September 17, 2023 @spiritual dreams Is there manipulation, control & excommunication employed by a self appointed, self established authoritative leader? Any isolation involved in any way? Quote Mention YouTube Website Sessions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devin Posted September 17, 2023 Share Posted September 17, 2023 https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-jun-26-me-krishna26-story.html They have a bad past, they have some gold teachings but... You could try a Vedanta Society near you. Quote Mention Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spiritual dreams Posted September 17, 2023 Author Share Posted September 17, 2023 1 hour ago, Phil said: @spiritual dreams Is there manipulation, control & excommunication employed by a self appointed, self established authoritative leader? Any isolation involved in any way? Not that I'm aware of, its mostly just mantra meditation, vegan food and them talking about spirituality. Also a weird obsession with cows. Quote Mention Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Posted September 17, 2023 Share Posted September 17, 2023 @spiritual dreams Sounds pretty harmless. Quote Mention YouTube Website Sessions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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