TEXAS FAITH 122: Can you have morality without the existence of God?

Dallas Morning News,

Each week we will post a question to a panel of about two dozen clergy, laity and theologians, all of whom are based in Texas or are from Texas. They will chime in with their responses to the question of the week. And you, readers, will be able to respond to their answers through the comment box.

When President Lyndon Johnson declared war on poverty exactly 50 years ago, advocates called it the moral obligation of a wealthy nation. Johnson said he was doing it not because it was efficient or helpful or politically expedient (which, of course, it was for liberals), but because it was right. The idea of advancing public policy in moral terms is hardly new. The Civil Rights movement invoked a moral imperative in its quest of public policy. Social conservatives want a government that reflects values they consider fundamental and unchanging. The impetus of President Obama’s health-care initiative and its various government precursors was, at least at some level, a moral one.

Robert Barron, a Catholic priest, notes in a column that one of the most common observations made by opponents of religion is that we don’t need God in order to have a coherent and integral morality. After all, aren’t there plenty of good, moral people who don’t believe in God? But supporters of religion warn that without God, there’s moral chaos.

Barron suggests removing God is tantamount to removing the ground for basic good, and once the basic good has been eliminated, all that is left is the self-legislating and self-creating will. Thus, he says, people of faith should be wary when atheists and agnostics blithely suggest that morality can endure apart from God.

So what is the relationship between morality and the existence of God? Can you have one without the other?

For all the talk by politicians and policy advocates about the morally in advancing various programs, good government typically means managing a competition between various secular interests in a way that benefits the common good. It’s about reaching a consensus in the community. It’s relative. But can morality ever be relative? And if not, doesn’t that mean it requires, at its heart, something absolute — like God.

What is the relationship between morality and the existence of God? Can you have one without the other?

NITYANANDA CHANDRA DAS, minister of ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness), Dallas 

Morality requires spiritual vision. For example if there is accident on the highway, what should be cared for first? The passengers in the car or the car itself? Similarly, a person with spiritual vision will know what is of greater importance, the body, or the soul within the body. That person who is in ignorance cannot see the soul and thus cannot make proper moral decisions.

"The foolish cannot understand how a living entity can quit his body, nor can they understand what sort of body he enjoys under the spell of the modes of nature. But one whose eyes are trained in knowledge can see all this. The endeavoring transcendentalists who are situated in self-realization can see all this clearly. But those whose minds are not developed and who are not situated in self-realization cannot see what is taking place, though they may try." -Bhagavad Gītā As It Is15.10-11

It is just like someone who is not trained in automobile repair. He can see the car and the mechanic can see the same car but he will not be able to see what the mechanic sees unless he has been trained to see it. Thus it is mechanic who can make decisions rather than the ignorant person.

"The humble sages, by virtue of true knowledge, see with equal vision a learned and gentle priest, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater." -Bhagavad Gītā As It Is 5.18

Thus a moral person who has spiritual vision does not condone harm to anyone regardless what their race, species, or position within or out of a womb, if such harm is for personal gratification.

 

To see all responses of the TEXAS Faith panel click here.

TEXAS FAITH 121: Is Christmas a religious holiday or a cultural one?

Dallas Morning News,

Each week we will post a question to a panel of about two dozen clergy, laity and theologians, all of whom are based in Texas or are from Texas. They will chime in with their responses to the question of the week. And you, readers, will be able to respond to their answers through the comment box.

A new Pew Research Center Religion and Public Life survey reports that 90 percent of Americans — or almost all of us — celebrate Christmas in some fashion. The study shows that most still view it as a religious holiday, but certainly not all. In fact, only a slim majority consider it a religious holiday.

Interestingly, there appears a sharp generational difference in the way Americans see Christmas. According to Pew, Americans under age 30 are far more likely to see Christmas as a cultural holiday. Likewise, they are less likely to attend religious services at Christmas or to believe in the Virgin Birth.

The survey also reports on the similarities in the ways Americans celebrate Christmas. Most of us observe the holiday with families and friends.

You can read more about Pew’s Christmas survey at this link.

And here’s the question for this week:

How do you view Christmas: Is it a religious holiday or a cultural one?

And, if you like, share how you plan on observing the day, if it is one you will observe.

Read on for a variety of answers from our panelists:

NITYANANDA CHANDRA DAS, minister of ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness), Dallas 

In the Vedic tradition, religion, culture and everyday life are intertwined. The Sanskrit term Dharma means "The constitutional nature of an object."

Sometimes this term is misinterpreted as religion. However, a person can change their religion but they cannot change their dharma.

For example, the dharma of sugar is that it is sweet, the dharma of fire is that it is hot. It is not fire if it is not hot.

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam teaches that the dharma of the self is to serve and love God. This nature of desiring to love and serve someone or something is always present in a person and is properly situated when directed towards God.

A follower of the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam and the Bhagavad Gītā dedicates every action as an offering unto the Supreme. Thus ordinary things such as cooking, eating, and even sex to produce children are seen in relation to Krishna.

That is why it is called Krishna Consciousness because one is consciously and lovingly engaging their mind, body, and self in the service of the Supreme Lord, Śrī Krishna.

To see all responses of the TEXAS Faith panel click here.

TEXAS FAITH 120: Does a white Christmas mean Santa and Jesus have to be white?

Dallas Morning News,

Each week we will post a question to a panel of about two dozen clergy, laity and theologians, all of whom are based in Texas or are from Texas. They will chime in with their responses to the question of the week. And you, readers, will be able to respond to their answers through the comment box.

A cable television anchor named Megyn Kelly told viewers last week that Jesus and Santa Claus are both white men. At issue was a Slate article written by a black writer titled “Santa Claus Should Not Be A White Man Anymore.” The context of the piece was the tendency of cultures to view important figures in the most familiar and comfortable light. On her Fox News program, Kelly took issue with the writer.

“Just because it makes you feel uncomfortable doesn’t mean it has to change. Jesus was a white man, too. It’s like we have, he’s a historical figure that’s a verifiable fact, as is Santa, I just want kids to know that. How do you revise it in the middle of the legacy in the story and change Santa from white to black?”

Both sides pounced. Liberal web sites and late-night comics lampooned her. Conservative web sites defended her. Saturday Night Live did a skit featuring a black Santa. The debate went viral on the Internet. Kelly subsequently suggested she was joking and cast herself as a victim of identity politics. Clearly, her facts were flawed. Jesus was a 1^st Century Jew who was likely dark skinned and Santa Claus is a mythological figure whose historical antecedent was from Turkey.

People believe what they are prepared to believe. What’s interesting was the passionate reaction to the remarks. Why the fierce dustup? Why did the idea that a white Christmas means Santa’s white cause so much consternation? What did this episode say about the way we see the world and our willingness — or reluctance – to see things in different ways?

Our Faith Panel weighs in thoughtfully (and with a few fireworks) on history, ethnic identity, political correctness and the virtues of faith and the holidays:

NITYANANDA CHANDRA DAS, minister of ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness), Dallas 

This is example of the disease of the bodily conception of life, a case of mistaken identity.   Our body is always changing in this life.  The body we had as child is no longer around and the current body that we have is composed of completely different cells and molecules.  It is a vehicle and we are the passenger.  As a passenger we have existed before the vehicle and shall exist after the vehicle's destruction.  Yet by the deluding power of avidya we ignorantly see the body as the self.  In this illusion we try to fulfill the needs of the self by placating the desires of the external vehicle, the subtle mind and physical body.  We may give the body comforts and give the mind profit, adoration, and prestige.  Yet despite such attempts towards satisfaction one remains not satisfied.  Only by loving connection to the Supreme does the self experience fulfillment.

Change directed towards the factual self is of value.  Ideologies for or against change based of the temporary bodily conception of life are of no real consequence.

To see all responses of the TEXAS Faith panel click here.

TEXAS FAITH 119: How do you assess Nelson Mandela’s complex legacy?

Dallas Morning News,

Each week we will post a question to a panel of about two dozen clergy, laity and theologians, all of whom are based in Texas or are from Texas. They will chime in with their responses to the question of the week. And you, readers, will be able to respond to their answers through the comment box.

How do you assess the complex legacy of Nelson Mandela?

There are so many ways to get into this question. So, let me start with these three quick summaries of his long journey:

In a powerful and controversial move as president, he set up a Truth and Reconciliation Commission after apartheid officially ended. The commission allowed those who testified about crimes in the apartheid era to step forward and tell the truth without fear of retribution. The sins of the past were acknowledged in exchange for individual amnesty.

On the other hand, Mandela was part of a group in the early 1960s that decided to take up arms against the apartheid government. They decided that rising up militarily against their oppressors was the best strategy. Of course, that was not the non-violent approach that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr and Mahatma Ganhdi embraced.

And then there was this revelation in Bill Keller’s obituary of Mandela in the New York Times:

Mr. Mandela said he regarded his prison experience as a major factor in his nonracial outlook. He said prison tempered any desire for vengeance by exposing him to sympathetic white guards who smuggled in newspapers and extra rations, and to moderates within the National Party government who approached him in hopes of opening a dialogue. Above all, prison taught him to be a master negotiator.

There are many aspects of his long, storied and complicated fight for justice. So, let me stop here and ask you:

What do you make of Nelson Mandela’s complex legacy?

NITYANANDA CHANDRA DAS, minister of ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness), Dallas 

Undoubtedly his most powerful contribution is "culturally many, spiritually one."

It is a fact that on the bodily level, all people are different. But those who can see the spiritual spark in other beings, as beings that are qualitatively one with oneself, they can make great progress in moral standards and leadership.

Those who have no inkling of this information may try to do good but only succeed in hurting others. For without such vision what is there to unify us?

There will always be a group discriminated against because of the color of their skin, their sex, their species, their position within or outside the womb. The understanding of how we are all spiritually one, that the symptoms of life indicate the presence is the soul, is the beginning of spiritual life

To see all responses of the TEXAS Faith panel click here.

KIRTAN 101: Śrīla Prabhupāda’s style of kirtan–the magic is in the mantra

Śrīla Prabhupāda’s kirtan leading was always very meditative, deep, and focused.   He would often end in a crescendo but it was steady, long, and unrushed. 

“Gaura Gopala: I was right next to Prabhupada through the whole ceremony, playing the drum. He particularly liked to sing one tune through the whole time. He put his hands up in the air. He was dancing.” Ref. VedaBase => SPL 44: Let There Be a Temple

”It was clanging and banging. Kīrtana should be sweet and melodious.”

We had a kīrtana at the Rāma-līlā grounds, 1976 March, and Dīnanātha was leading, and tens
of thousands were attending and chanting. After the program Śrīla Prabhupāda and I were alone
in the back tent waiting for his servant and the car. As you know, he would often ask rhetorical
questions, and he asked me, “So, what did you think of the kīrtana?” Understanding this was
just a lead-in to his giving me an instruction, I answered with a bland “It was OK.”
Śrīla Prabhupāda’s definition to me then was as follows: “No, it was not nice. It was clanging
and banging. Kīrtana should be sweet and melodious. Come let us go to the ashram and have
kīrtana.”
And so we went — Śrīla Prabhupāda, his servant, Baradrāj, and myself. Except for his servant,
the three of us sat in his room and Baradrāj played harmonium on the request of Śrīla
Prabhupāda, and we had a long kīrtana. . . . On Śrīla Prabhupāda’s signal, the kīrtana ended. He
looked at me, smiling, shaking his head a little, and said, “So . . . sweet and melodious.” And
then he moved on with the rest of preaching and hearing. I had heard him say, and heard that
he also said, sometimes stopping kīrtana, “No screaming and shouting.” [remembrance by
Tejiyas dāsa, 12 Nov 2002]

I personally feel that if one becomes more focused on the Holy Name of Krishna with love and worry less on changing the melody their leading of kirtan will become more and more ecstatic.   This is especially in the case of those who are new to leading kirtan or who are not regular kirtan leaders.  In their nervousness or anxiety, they change the melody, perhaps thinking that others are bored.  This changing of melody may happen over 6 times in just a 15 minute period.  (BTW I not talking about the different parts of a melody but rather changing to completely different melodies)  Whereas kirtan stalwarts such as Indradyumna Swami, BB Govinda Swami, Madhava Prabhu and others keep it very steady and focused.  

Once I noticed a devotee chant Hare Krishna for the 30 minute Sandhya Ārati for a total of 2 minutes.  First he sang the standard Gaura Arati song and then the Hare Krishna Mantra for 2 minutes. (he also completely changed to different melodies within that 2 minute period)  Then he stopped chanting the Hare Krishna Maha Mantra because he wanted to leave enough room for Jāya’ing at the end of the kirtan.   Śrīla Prabhupāda never was Jāya’er himself, so it is not actually necessary to do a Jāya session at the end of kirtan.  But the main thing is not to Jāya at the expensive of the Hare Krishna Maha Mantra.   It is called the Maha Mantra for a reason, it is the greatest mantra.   So my basic advice to new kirtan leaders is to keep steady the melody, even the parts of the melody should be steady, don’t shift it back and forth every few mantras and then run out tricks 2 minutes later.  

In the past I have given advice to new kirtan leaders for the arati as follows.  Chant the first part of the melody at least 10 times, then second at least 10 times.  Then you can go back to the first part and pick up the tempo.  The rest is up to you but starting if off like this is a good foundation. 

So all the best to you.  One simple item to test the efficacy of the one’s kirtan is to see if it creates smaraṇaṁ, even on a material level.  Will those who have heard it have it dancing through their minds throughout the rest of the day?  From śravaṇaṁ & kīrtanam comes smaraṇaṁ, rememberance. 

BTW here is a link to the Harinama Sankirtan Handbook by Indradyumna Swami

TEXAS FAITH 118: Aren't we all searching for community and wonder? How would you describe your search for meaning?

Dallas Morning News,

Each week we will post a question to a panel of about two dozen clergy, laity and theologians, all of whom are based in Texas or are from Texas. They will chime in with their responses to the question of the week. And you, readers, will be able to respond to their answers through the comment box.

This Sally Quinn essay from The Washington Post struck me as a provocative piece. In writing about the search for meaning in our lives, she describes an anti-pastor, an anti-gay atheist and Billy Graham at the end of his career.

The piece is worth the read if only for the part about the “tattooed Lutheran pastor, weight lifter, stand-up comic, former alcoholic and drug addict and hard-swearing Nadia Bolz-Weber.”

At the end, Quinn, in talking about the search for meaning, asks: Aren’t we all searching for community and wonder?

How would you answer that question?

How would you describe your search for meaning?

NITYANANDA CHANDRA DAS, minister of ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness), Dallas 

The nature of the self is sat-cit-ānanda, eternity, knowledge, and bliss. Our present body is not sat-cit-ānanda. It is called asat for it is perishable. It is acit, full of ignorance, for we have very meager knowledge of this world and practically no knowledge of the spiritual world. And nirānanda, for instead of being full of bliss it is full of misery. All miseries of this world arise from this temporary body and mind but one who remembers Krishna, God, at the time of death, attains a sat-cit-ananda body.

It is our very nature to be full of bliss. Because the highest bliss to be known is from loving relationships, we seek community and love. However, because the body is temporary the relationships remain temporary and thus they cannot satisfy the self and also they create anxiety. In addition to that, the love found in this world is not pure and most often it is tainted with selfishness.

Because our nature is to be fully conscious, we are not only bliss-seeking but also knowledge-seeking. But our instruments of information are dependent on so many factors. Our eyes only see when there is light. Our ears and nose function when there is air. We are so ignorant that we are not even consciously aware as to how we are digesting food or whether there is cancer somewhere in our body.
Meaningful life is found when we act according to our nature. When we, the eternal, lovingly connect to the Supreme Eternal, Krishna.

To see all responses of the TEXAS Faith panel click here.

Kirtan with First United Methodist Church's Confirmation Students

Every we are visited a blissful group of young students from the ages of 7-13 along with their supportive parents and youth leaders.  The students and parents always ask very nice and intriguing questions following by a lovely kirtan.

After the program we always get a lot of thanks about how they enjoyed the presentation and everything else.

TEXAS FAITH 117: Why does the nation still pause 50 years after JFK’s death?

Dallas Morning News,

Each week we will post a question to a panel of about two dozen clergy, laity and theologians, all of whom are based in Texas or are from Texas. They will chime in with their responses to the question of the week. And you, readers, will be able to respond to their answers through the comment box.

At the end of this week, Americans will pause to observe the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s death. We in Dallas particularly will be in the middle of the observation. The assassination, of course, happened here. And Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings has put together a gathering at Dealey Plaza to commemorate the anniversary of Kennedy’s assassination.

Earlier, this panel discussed the impact John Kennedy had on Catholicism. Let’s now look at the Kennedy impact in another way.

Why is it that the nation still pauses 50 years after his death?

The country has never really looked back on the assassination of any our other leaders, except perhaps that of Abraham Lincoln. So, is this just part of the Kennedy mystique?

Or does this national moment of reflection say something about an innate human need to have princes we look up to, even if the scriptures warn against putting one’s faith in princes?

Or are we pausing because we still wonder what might have happened if an assassin’s bullet had not put the country on a different course?

Or was it only one assassin? I think so, but the open question for some creates a giant sense of mystery around his death. Is that why we keep focusing on November 22? Does the mystery draw us in?

Or do we stop to reflect because he was having an impact on the country that was suddenly aborted?

Or here’s one more thought: Is November 22 now mostly a media creation?

Obviously, there are many different angles here. And there are many more. But from your perspective:Why does the nation still pause 50 years after John Kennedy’s assassination?

NITYANANDA CHANDRA DAS, minister of ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness), Dallas 

We are surprised that the thief known as Death does not discriminate. One may have the best medicine and doctor but that does not guarantee safety. Nor is there such a guarantee for a child of loving, protective parents. Nor can the man on the sturdiest boat be assured of his safety.

When death comes, the Secret Service will not be able to shoot him, nor will one's guard dogs bark him away. It doesn't matter how much organic food or vitamins you take. Nor does it matter how much you jog. Whether you are the president or the Pope, Death is still an equal opportunity employer. Those with spiritual wisdom do not fear death. They understand it as simply a change of dress.

This weekend I performed the funeral of a 19 year-old girl. This was a strong reminder of the most surprising thing in this world. We have seen others before us pass away but none of us really think death will happen to us.
Rejection of death actually hints to the nature of the self. We do not want to die because the very notion of it is unnatural. Why? Because the self is eternal, so the notion of death goes against our very nature.

To see all responses of the TEXAS Faith panel click here.

Father of the Fallen–Experimental space hip-hop video about Śrīla Prabhupāda

Prabhupāda–Father of the Fallen

Surrendering to your love
by your mercy I find a treasure of pastimes
our heart and soul cannot find 
a love in the morning sky
no fire no moon no stars compare to your loving arms
father of the fallen
deliver me from misery
revealing and speaking through hearts
your light shot right through the dark
dispelling the lifetimes within me
destroying all of my ignorance
detangle me from this flesh and thought
I disengage from this burning world
Bryan Hamilton (Bhagavan Narada Das) w/ Courtney
Video by Kavi das.
Bryan Hamilton is an american producer and musician born in Corpus Christi, Texas and based in San Antonio. He released a total of 6 projects (2 mixtapes and 4 albums) in 2011 independently under his "Dreamland Collective" inprint. Most notably is his self produced compilation of SA's finest vocalists entitled: "Welcome To Dreamland". Which placed #2 on San Antonio Current's best albums of 2011