Word: godly
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1970-1979
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Dedicated to "propagating god consciousness for the benefit of mankind," ISKCON has tried to appeal to intellectuals by emphasizing the tradition and scripture of its movement, deriving from the Vedic literature, especially the 5000 year old Bagavad-Gita. Here at Harvard, Garuda Das, a Hare Krishna priest and Divinity School student, hopes to form a Harvard-Radcliffe Vaishnava Society dedicated to exploring the religion, philosophy and culture of India's devotional tradition...
Devotees' dress, shaved heads and tilaka, the white clay lines on their foreheads, represent their spiritual devotion to Krishna. A shaved head is a sign of detachment from material pleasure, and the tilaka signifies that the body is the temple of God. A devotee's robes serve to remind others of the person's availability for spiritual guidance, though one may participate in the Krishna movement and wear conventional dress...
...become a devotee one lives in the temple, meditates to develop a love of God and abstains from illicit sex, intoxication, meat, fish or eggs, and gambling for a year before initiation. The average day of a devotee begins at 4 a.m. with four hours of prayer, study and classes. During the day, a devotee works in various preaching programs or at regular jobs. In the evening, the devotee attends classes and chants with the rest of the congregation...
Agrani Das, the temple president, draws a microphone to his mouth and begins the lecture. "One must use the mind to get more than material objects like sex and shelter. One must use the mind to develop a greater relationship with God," he says. Devotees and Krishna followers filter into the temple. One devotee rings a large bell suspended before the orange curtain. Most of the entering congregation are Indians, but the group includes people of all races and nationalities. They all press their foreheads to the floor and sit cross-legged...
Devotees celebrate Krishna's presence in everything, for everything is either God itself or God's power. The figure of Krishna is worshipped as a deity because Krishna is God appearing in a physical form for souls who cannot yet see him. His presence in the form of the deity shows his immense kindness to such souls...