ISKCON News: Society [pg. 1]

Spiritual Reflections on ‘Joker’, A Movie about Fallible Soldiers

Lacking atma-tattva, or spiritual knowledge, we forget that the "soldiers" who are supposed to protect us - the government, our family, and the society - are fallible, and we rely on them excessively.

The Relief of Turning Away from the Social Mirror

While navigating through life’s inevitable challenges, we often increase our burdens by uncritically accepting prevailing definitions of success as our life’s goals.

Family Breakdown Brings Societal Collapse

Exactly echoing a message found in the Bhagavad-gita, a UK senior judge recently declared that “almost all of society’s social ills can be traced directly to the collapse of the family life.”

Bhakti Subordinates Social Hierarchy to Spiritual Sincerity

We live in an age that that cherishes equality for all and celebrates the breaking down of barriers such as race. Intriguingly, a similar egalitarian spirit is enshrined in the Bhagavad-gita written millennia ago.

Karma Is ...

Here is what we know: karma is very difficult to understand. We all have experience of this fact. Krishna even advises in Bhagavad-gita that karma is so intricate that it’s better not to become too convinced that we will even understand it, better to just find our way out of the world of karma. But still, for purposes of helping others, we Hare Krishna devotees try to inform people of the correct understanding of karma.

The Social Role of Cows

Throughout history many traditional societies have centered on a particular animal, and the relations the people develop with that animal influence the values of the whole society. We think of the role of buffalo in shaping the lives and values of the Native Americans of the Plains. Similarly, we think of the Laplanders and their reindeer, or even the New England whaling villagers and the whales.

An Inadvertent Footnote to the End of Civilization

Ever thought much about footnotes? As a practicing lawyer I have nightmares about them! Footnotes have the power to illuminate or damn any argument. The American College Dictionary defines a footnote as follows: a note or comment at the foot of a page, referring to a specific part of the text on the page. I don’t mean to get into splitting hairs, but as a lawyer I can’t help myself. The Compact Oxford English Dictionary defines a footnote slightly different as: an additional piece of information printed at the bottom of a page.

Secure Enough to Sin, Baghdad Revisits Old Ways

BAGHDAD — Vice is making a comeback in this city once famous for 1,001 varieties of it. Gone, for the most part, are nighttime curfews, religious extremists and prowling kidnappers. So, inevitably, some people are turning to illicit pleasures, or at least slightly dubious ones.

Kirtans, Questions, and Mixed Emotions

The good news: Kirtan, it seems, has finally hit the American mainstream. In the lead story of Wednesday’s New York Times Fashion & Style section, “Yoga Enthusiasts Hear the Call of Kirtan,” Times reporter Sara Eckel gives an overwhelmingly positive – albeit cheeky – glimpse into the practice of meditative call-and-response chanting. Festive, enjoyable, soothing, even relatively inexpensive – kirtan sounds like a pretty good deal in our troubled, stress-filled times.

Divorce Bad for the Environment, Says Australian Senator

Divorce adds to the impact of global warming as couples switch to wasteful single lifestyles, Australian senator Steve Fielding says. He told a Senate hearing on today that divorce led to a "resource-inefficient lifestyle" and it would be better for the planet if couples stayed married.

Vatican Study Shows Genders Sin Differently

As if there aren't enough differences between the sexes – now it seems we sin in quite diverse ways. Men struggle most with lust, while for women it's the issue of pride. A Vatican report has found that after excessive pride, the most common sin for women is envy; for men the urge for sex is followed by desire for food, The Advertiser reports.

Cupid's Arrow Often Hits People of Different Faiths

The U.S. Religious Landscape Survey finds that more than one-in-four (27%) American adults who are married or living with a partner are in religiously mixed relationships. If people from different Protestant denominational families are included - for example, a marriage between a Methodist and a Lutheran - nearly four-in-ten (37%) couples are religiously mixed.

Man Refuses to Drive 'No God' Bus

A Christian bus driver has refused to drive a bus with an atheist slogan proclaiming "There's probably no God". Ron Heather, from Southampton, Hampshire, responded with "shock" and "horror" at the message and walked out of his shift on Saturday in protest.

Two Hours Screen Time Enough for Kids

Children and young teens should spend no more than two hours playing video games or watching TV a day, according to an Australian study which is sure to strain domestic relations. Dr Louise Hardy, of the University of Sydney, said her study sought to test the two-hour "small-screen time" guideline issued by the American Academy of Paediatrics in 2001.

For Good Self-Control, Try Getting Religious About It

If I’m serious about keeping my New Year’s resolutions in 2009, should I add another one? Should the to-do list include, “Start going to church”? This is an awkward question for a heathen to contemplate, but I felt obliged to raise it with Michael McCullough after reading his report in the upcoming issue of the Psychological Bulletin.

Presidential Report Predicts Global Catastrophe

THE use of nuclear weapons will grow increasingly likely by 2025, US intelligence warned in a report on global trends that forecasts a tense, unstable world shadowed by war. "The world of the near future will be subject to an increased likelihood of conflict over scarce resources, including food and water, and will be haunted by the persistence of rogue states and terrorist groups with greater access to nuclear weapons," said the report.

Society: Sex Laws Are 'Unfair to Teachers'

Teachers should not be prosecuted for having affairs with their sixth formers, a union chief has said.

NASUWT general secretary Chris Keates said it was an “anomaly” that a teacher who had sex with a pupil aged over 16 could go on the sex offenders register.

Detroit's Inner-city Sanctuary

For people growing up in poor neighborhoods in the city, nature is usually something ugly, little more than the weeds smothering fields or sprouting from sidewalk cracks. Eight years ago, Detroiter Tom Milano, 60, wanted to show his eastside neighbors a glimpse of the beautiful side of nature by creating a thick pond garden in the front yard of his old brick bungalow home. The display was so well received that creating gardens for others turned into his unusual job.

Guerrilla Gardener Movement Takes Root in L.A. Area

Brimming with lime-hued succulents and a lush collection of agaves, one shooting spiky leaves 10 feet into the air, it's a head-turning garden smack in the middle of Long Beach's asphalt jungle. But the gardener who designed it doesn't want you to know his last name, since his handiwork isn't exactly legit. It's on a traffic island he commandeered.

Guns for Texas School's Teachers

Teachers in one part of the US state of Texas are to be allowed to carry concealed firearms when the new school term opens this month. The school superintendent in Harrold district said the move was intended to protect staff and pupils should there be any gun attacks on its sole campus.

Building Trust Within ISKCON

Srila Prabhupada wanted us to serve together based on love and trust. Here are some reflections on building trust and some ideas that may be helpful to our temples and projects. Most organizations are not aware of the enormous cost of low trust, and because they have no means of measuring its impact, they have little motivation to seriously address it. To compound the problem, many people feel like helpless victims of the problems in their organizations and see no clear way to influence their leaders.

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