Prabhupāda’s Commentary on Rape In the purport to Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 4.25.41, Prabhupāda makes the following remarks about rape that have led to much controversy: In this regard, the word vikhyātam is very significant. A man is always famous for his aggression toward a beautiful woman, and such aggression is sometimes considered rape. Although rape is …
Treacherous Translations We can ask anyone walking the street what intelligence is, and he will probably equate it to the result of an IQ test measured in various college undergraduate and postgraduate aptitude test examinations. Women do well in these tests. In fact, most women do better than men in examinations and in school or …
There is a common belief that everyone can know everything. It is false. This false dogma was created at the dawn of modern science to take away the privileged position of Catholic priests and emperors. In Roman times, the emperor was said to be in direct communion with the gods. He was most privileged. The …
This is the third of a three-part series in which I cover sexuality. In the first part, I discussed the nature of perverted sexuality whose hallmark is shame. In the second part, I discussed various types of sexuality found in the Vedic texts, leading to a perfectional stage whose mark is shyness, rather than shame. …
This is the second of a three-part series in which I cover sexuality. In the first part, I discussed the nature of perverted sexuality whose hallmark is shame. In the second part, I will discuss various types of sexuality found in the Vedic texts, leading to a perfectional stage whose mark is shyness, rather than …
This is the first of a three-part series in which I cover sexuality. In the first part, I talk about perverted sexuality whose hallmark is shame. The second part discusses various types of sexuality found in the Vedic texts, leading to a perfectional stage whose mark is shyness, rather than shame. The third part will …
My life has been uniquely blessed by the sheer number of narcissists that have entered into it. A narcissist destroys your self-esteem and manipulates you emotionally. If you feel strong, their first tactic is to make you feel weak. Under that weakness, they have a greater chance to gain control over you. By the sheer …
Here’s a meditation: My greatest friend is the intelligence to find the truth, and my greatest enemy is the ego due to which I reject the truth. This post carries forward the discussion of the last one and describes the harmful effects of the ego, which are primarily two: (a) the ego causes our pleasure …
What we colloquially call the “ego” is a very complex covering of the soul in Vedic philosophy. It comprises four components, namely, (a) the idea that I’m a master called Pradhāna, (b) the desire to exercise mastery in a particular way called Prakṛti, (c) the idea that I possess great qualities called Mahattattva due to …
I have recently received several questions about Sāñkhya. These include the differences between senses and organs, that between inert matter and a living body, how desires influence perception, how Sāñkhya elements could be understood in analogy to motion, and the relation between yoga and the control of senses and the mind. These are not tightly …
As mental illnesses become prominent in today’s world, and science doesn’t believe in the existence of anything that cannot be sensually perceived, the cure of such illnesses suffers from a conceptual poverty inherited from the legacy of the physical sciences. While the understanding of the mind is receiving renewed focus owing to the growth in …
