By Bhakta Rob
Had a great day in London yesterday. We were discussing “slick” methods of presenting Krishna consciousness over direct methods. My rant is that the best thing about Krishna consciousness is Krishna, and that there’s no need to throw a blanket over Him. The only thing we have to be careful of is to remain humble. (No good looking at me for an example of that!) There are so many alternative therapies, yoga systems, self-help groups... that’s fine if that’s what people are into, but I don’t see that we need to identify ourselves in this way.
The concept within our community that people are fundamentally hostile toward us is entirely down to our own lack of self-confidence. It’s not borne out by the reality. Anyone who dares to leave the confines of the temple to dance in the street or talk to members of the public will tell you that people like us just the way we are. The world has changed a lot over the last 30 years. People have become much more open. We’re the ones still living in the past. Not because we haven’t figured how to cover ourselves over to fit into fashion. But because we don’t realise that fashion says it’s ok to be who you are, just the way you are. And the more confident you are about it, the more others will want to learn about you. This is a new age of cultural curiosity. Why aren’t we seizing the opportunity?This in a way is the counterpoint to my rant of the other day. These kinds of new “slick” disguised presentation methods are the pendulum reaction to the other extreme of heavy in-your-face proselytising. On the one hand, some people get fanatical and too preachy, and I suppose, out of dislike for that, others try and come in disguise. Perhaps the answer isn’t to throw the baby out with the bathwater however, but to reaffirm our belief in Krishna and Prabhupada, and re-evaluate our own tolerance, compassion and humility in communicating our conviction to others.
No doubt the debate will continue.
