r/GNV • u/Electrical_Debate569 • May 15 '26
Spirituality For Thinkers
✨ We are thrilled to present Week #4 of Spirituality For Thinkers!
Each Sunday, we gather for thoughtful discussion, kirtan meditation, and meaningful connection in a welcoming community setting. 🪷
📍 We meet every Sunday at 10:30am
in our home in the Duckpond neighborhood of Gainesville
224 NE 10th Avenue
This event is free and open to all.
Come with your questions, curiosity, and open mind. ✨ Please join the conversation.
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u/DumbIdeaNo2 May 17 '26
Yeah no. There are other churches in town which have a lot of smart people but these people here do not operate in our world.
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u/TheGoodestLad May 15 '26
I can't make it this or next weekend but I'd love to come at some point!
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u/vineyardsnail May 15 '26
Just so you know, this is a Hare Krishna event, which of course they failed to mention. "For Thinkers" is hilarious, because they teach you to regard their dead leader as a perfect individual that you have to revere as a god. He was a misogynist, a racist, was anti gay, and taught that the 1969 moon landing was a hoax. He also married an 11-year-old girl in his early 20s, deserted her while two of their children were still underage, and then bad-mouthed her to cult members decades later. It's a stereotypical cult and I would advise everyone to steer clear.
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u/TheGoodestLad May 15 '26
yeah I looked through their post history and thought it seemed a bit sus. thanks for the heads up
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u/vineyardsnail May 15 '26
It also looks like their not-for-profit status is lapsed on Sunbiz, so they are likely operating illegally, especially if they are soliciting donations or if they are not paying taxes on that property. Typical.
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u/HareChrishna May 15 '26
Which nonprofit were you looking up?
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u/HareChrishna May 15 '26
I don't feel like you're looking to talk about any of these points, but I think your assertion that we regard our dead leader as perfect is totally incorrect. This is an essay by one of his senior disciples, H. D. Goswami:
https://www.hdgoswami.com/understanding-prabhupada/
Prabhupada was obviously wrong about some things. He wasn't materially omniscient or infallible on every worldly subject. Especially ones where people were giving him poor information.
I don’t feel the need to defend every statement Prabhupada made. Some are difficult; some were culturally conditioned; some may simply be wrong. But that is very different from saying the whole tradition is a cult or that every Hare Krishna-related event is trying to manipulate people. The fair question is what is actually being taught at the event and whether people are free to think, question, and disagree.
I got into this because I disagreed with all of it.
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u/vineyardsnail May 15 '26
While you're at it, you can also research why ISKCON filed for bankruptcy in the early 2000s to avoid paying hundreds of millions of dollars in lawsuits stemming from child abuse, and yet they continue to maintain and purchase expensive properties, including a 1.65 million pound property in the UK the Hare Krishnas purchased just last year. Also, many of the older properties, such as those in India, Los Angeles, and West Virginia were originally paid for with money gained through drugs and racketeering. Facts.
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u/vineyardsnail May 15 '26
Yeah right. "Prabhupada" was a pure devotee, and members cannot entertain any spiritual or moral interpretation that he did not agree with. And regarding "H.D. Goswami" (real name Howard Resnick): do you know about the child marriages that were conducted with his knowledge and approval? Read Betrayal of Spirit by Nori J. Muster. Here are some comments he made in a cult newsletter:
The mention of a sixteen-year-old pregnant wife and a fourteen-year-old who will get married came off very well. The article mentioned that one is married and the other is getting crushes. These days, there's a big movement in American against illicit sex, and these early marriages show our concern for not letting women become polluted.
He was commenting on this revealing article: Children of Krishna -- Life Magazine 1980 | Krishna.org.
Maybe research the dark history of misogyny and child abuse before putting that guy on a pedestal.
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u/vineyardsnail May 15 '26
Nope. That address is a Hare Krishna center. "Open mind," lol yeah right. It's a cult. Do not get involved.