LARP-ing initiation?

ChatGPT seems to have a lot of information about ISKCON a.k.a. the Hare Krishna movement, perhaps suggesting a strong interest in this topic among the user-base? 

I´ve been watching some YouTube videos of ISKCON initiations. They seem strangely informal. Is that a correct impression?

Yes — compared to many traditional Hindu dīkṣā (initiation) ceremonies, ISKCON’s public initiations can look surprisingly casual, and that’s not an accident.

Here’s why your impression might be correct:

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1. Historical Roots

• ISKCON (founded 1966) emerged in the counterculture era of the US. Its founder, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, adapted Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava rituals to a Western audience with little background in Sanskrit liturgy or caste-based purity rules.

• While the underlying mantras and samskāra ideas are traditional, the format was simplified — fewer Sanskrit recitations, less priestly exclusivity, more emphasis on accessibility.

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2. Ceremony Structure

A typical ISKCON initiation (harināma-dīkṣā or brahminical initiation) often involves:

• A lecture or talk by the guru.

• The candidate reciting the four regulative principles and promising to chant 16 rounds daily.

• The giving of a spiritual name and chanting on beads.

• Simple fire sacrifice (yajña), sometimes with congregational singing in the background.

Compared to, say, a Smārta, Śrī Vaiṣṇava, or orthodox Gauḍīya dīkṣā, there’s:

• Less elaborate Vedic chanting.

• No long sequences of purificatory baths, homas, or offerings.

• More audience interaction, music, and even light joking.

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3. Cultural Tone

ISKCON values personal relationship with the guru and communal joy over highly formal temple etiquette.

• The mood is often celebratory, like a family event.

• Prabhupāda himself allowed initiations to be held in living rooms, parks, or storefront temples.

• Many Western disciples found ornate ritual intimidating or alienating, so a warm, informal tone was encouraged.

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4. Theological Justification

In ISKCON’s Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava theology:

• The essence of initiation is the guru imparting the Holy Name and the disciple taking vows.

• External form is secondary; sincerity and adherence to the vows are paramount.

• Formality is seen as potentially empty if the heart isn’t involved.

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So yes — it’s not just you. ISKCON initiations are informal by Hindu standards, but intentionally so, to match their missionary, egalitarian, and cross-cultural approach.

If you like, I can compare an ISKCON initiation and a traditional Gauḍīya dīkṣā side-by-side, so you can see exactly what’s been streamlined or changed.

Yes, please.

Here’s a side-by-side comparison of ISKCON initiation versus traditional Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava dīkṣā:

Aspect	ISKCON Initiation	Traditional Gauḍīya Dīkṣā
Setting	Temple hall, home, park, or informal gathering.	Temple, sacred riverbank, or ashram; highly ritualized.
Language	Mostly English (or local language); Sanskrit limited to chanting mantras.	Sanskrit and Bengali recitations dominate; Vedic formulas used.
Guru-Disciple Interaction	Informal, conversational; guru may speak personally with each disciple.	Formal obeisances and ritualized instructions; structured positioning and gestures.
Vows	Four regulative principles, 16 rounds of chanting per day, devotional life.	Similar, but often with additional traditional observances like special fasting, temple services, and sometimes regional duties.
Name-Giving	Spiritual name is given by the guru, sometimes in a simple announcement.	Name-giving is accompanied by elaborate ritual, mantras, and sometimes a fire sacrifice (homa).
Fire Ritual / Homa	Optional or symbolic; often a small fire with singing or chanting.	Essential component; elaborate offerings into sacred fire while chanting prescribed mantras.
Music / Singing	Kirtan is central; congregational singing encourages devotion.	Kirtan may be included, but emphasis is often on precise chanting and ritual correctness.
Formality / Dress	Casual robes or dhoti; minimal ceremony.	Traditional attire, strict observance of ritual purity; guru and disciple follow formal protocol.
Accessibility	Open to anyone, regardless of caste or prior knowledge.	Traditionally restricted by social context; requires prior study and sometimes family/lineage approval.
Duration	Often under an hour; can be as short as 15–20 minutes.	Can last several hours or even a full day, with multiple ritual steps.

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Key Differences

1. Formality vs. accessibility – ISKCON prioritizes devotion and comprehension over precise ritual performance.

2. Cultural adaptation – Simplified for Western audiences who may be unfamiliar with Sanskrit and long ceremonies.

3. Focus on communal joy – Singing, kirtan, and participation are emphasized rather than strictly performing Vedic rites.

4. Essence over form – ISKCON stresses taking the vows and chanting the Holy Name as the real transformative act.

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If you want, I can make a timeline showing how ISKCON gradually simplified traditional Gauḍīya initiation ceremonies for Western disciples, showing which parts were shortened, adapted, or omitted entirely. This makes the historical evolution clear.

The arrival

 

The traditionalist wing of the Hare Krishna still venerate their gurus like this. There are a *lot* of videos like this on this particular channel. Note the eerily life-like doll of Prabhupada around the 12 minute mark! For your edification. Maybe.   

What on earth are they *legislating*?

 

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This law was recently approved by the Florida state senate. I´m old enough to remember when this was a Bircher-related conspiracy theory. I assume somebody somewhere realized that the "chemtrail" issue can be used to further climate change denialism. And here we are...

State lawmakers are moving to ban non-existent "chemtrails" 

You have been selected

 

So I watched portions of "Greenland", the 2020 American disaster film. I think I agree with the critics that it´s *somewhat* better than the average apocalyptic movie. Still, I don´t have the necessary energy to really follow an end-of-the-world flick right now. Certainly not one called "Greenland"!  

Good night, sweet prince

Jimmy Carter has passed away (or passed on) at the ripe old age of 100.  

Congratulations

 

Jimmy Carter turned 100 years today. Fun fact: he is still eligible to run for president of the United States! Which may or may not be...interesting. 

Born this way

 

The Pulaski Skyway
Credit: King of Hearts

A real trans-person? Who was actually born that way...

Was the Revolutionary War hero Pulaski intersex? 

Among necrobots and Joro spiders

 

We wrap up today´s crazy science news with a current story and a 2022 item. The current? Colorful Japanese Joro spiders have gone urban in the United States, which could be a problemo unless you have an inverterate fondness for cobwebs 1.8 meters in diameter. In Atlanta, they are probably already on your doorstep, or at least around the interstate! 

The second piece is about scientists reviving dead spiders, turning them into "necrobots". I´m sure that´s perfectly normal. Many humans suffer from arachnophobia, but I wonder how many wolf spiders have humano-phobia?  

Giant, invasive spiders could be poised to take over U.S. cities, scientists warn

Dead spiders reanimated as creepy "necrobots"  

Anagenetic

 

The YouTube content-creator Erika was triggered by some creationist GOP candidate in Georgia (the US state) to make this video, in which she adresses three common misconceptions about evolution. At least from a Darwinist viewpoint! Thus, teleology is one of the three. Another is "anagenetic evolution", which can certainly be combined with teleology. The third is the idea that we are descended from chimps or chimp-like creatures. 

Personally, I suspect that there is some kind of "soft" teleology in the universe, with Order, Life and Intelligence trying to "come through", but not hard teleology as in "Modern Western Man" (and he really is a guy!) being the inevitable end-point of a 15 billion year-long cosmic process. Everything else being side-branches, presumably.

Or as the Buddhists would put it: rebirth as a human is extremely rare. And only humans can become enlightened. Except in Georgia?

I know, I know, many of these reflections are completely off topic...

None dare call it Q

 

When Donald Trump was booked at the Fulton County Jail (and had his now famous mugshot taken), he claimed to to be 6-foot-3 high and weigh 215 pounds. Which simply can´t be true, et cetera. 

I recently saw a "conspiracy theory" about what this could mean on X. Add the numbers: 6 + 3 + 2 + 1 + 5 = 17.

And the 17th letter of the Latin alphabet is...Q.

When Trump left office, he spoke at a podium with 17 American flags. Already at the time, people pointed out that this, too, must be a reference to Q. 

And no, I´m not saying that Trump is Q, or that QAnon are right. But the Donald is clearly sending out signals (perhaps playful ones) to his supporters, hoping that some "weaponized autist" will catch the reference (which they indeed did). 

He´s been trolling the media before (sometimes in bizarre ways), so this is isn´t as unprecedented as it may seem at first sight. For instance, the probably non-existent ghost writer "Meredith McIver", the controversy surrounding Melania Trump´s RNC speech, or the swastika-like floor on which Trump was standing during a CPAC conference...

Trump truly is "the man who trolled the world", LOL.

"I´m just visiting here"

 

The mysterious American expat and former call boy who used to call his channel Gnowly (now it´s Shivadyuti) muses about the future of the world in this interesting clip. Unless I misunderstood him, he believes that strong AI and nano-technology can save us from the impending climate crisis and collapse of "standard" industrial civilization. 

What I find a bit weird is that many of Gnowly´s scenarios sound like conspiracy theory, except in reverse! That is, he believes that certain conspiracies are actually a good thing. For instance, Project Blue Beam, reverse engineering of alien technology (as in space alien), Georgia Guidestones, that kind of stuff. And yes, there is going to be a lot of Tantric sex in his utopia.

Gnowly references Arthur C Clarke´s fascinating novel "Childhood´s End" and speculates that perhaps a fake alien invasion could be staged by some human elite group, projecting "aliens" with the help of AI. In reality, everything will be run by a super-computer stashed away somewhere. But as long as the elite cabal is benign, this would all be for the best?!

In the end, however, Gnowly says that he really doesn´t care either way, since he is "just visiting here", really being from Brahman and therefore having little interest in changing our pesky little ways...  

Spooked by the light

 

An interesting episode of The Why Files, dealing with "ghost lights" and various explanations for this phenomenon, both skeptical and paranormal. Some kind of weird "natural" explanation seems to be the most likely take. Think ball lightning, electro-magnetism, that kind of stuff. 

Or it´s the fairies!

Donald Trump can still win! Here´s how.

 

OK, bizarre meme from a parody account on X, but I couldn´t help myself...

I feel blue

 

Credit: Ursus sapien

So the darn blue supermoon is invisible due to an overcast...AND IT AINT EVEN BLUE IN THE FIRST PLACE??!! FAKE NEWS!!!

Biggest pseudo-event of the year, if you ask me. Unless it floods Atlanta, I suppose...

We live in a post-blue moon society.  

Blue moon over Florida

 

Breitbart News just now about the hurricane Idalia, currently wreaking havoc in Florida. Note the sensationalism about Biblical floods and the "rare blue supermoon" reference, which probably isn´t scientific to Breitbart´s readers - they are more likely to think of the blood moon apocalypse! 

But nothing about, I don´t know, climate change or something like that... 

Yuge, amazing

 

LARP-ing in Atlanta

 

A surprisingly informal "initiation ceremony" into the Hare Krishna movement in Atlanta. Looks weird-ish. LARP-ing? Except the girls, who seem to take the whole thing too seriously...

 

Ye shall be like giants

 

John Michael Greer´s meditation on the recently destroyed Georgia Guidestones, a mysterious monument in Georgia probably designed by Herbert Kersten, an elite environmentalist. Greer doesn´t believe Kersten had any Rosicrucian connections. 

He then discusses how post-industrial posterity will *really* look upon us: not as gods, but rather as "giants", evil creatures destroyed by the gods on account of their wickedness, greed and hubris...

Stupid of me not to see this before! Of course!

The Great Rehash, Part Two: The Future´s Cold Eyes

FINALLY

 

The notorious "Georgia Guidestones", a modern monument loved by conspiracy theorists, mysteriously blowed up tonight!

So that was that, I suppose. And 750 new books about whodunnit...

QAnon Tantra

This is an actual headline from Daily Mail:  

"EXCLUSIVE: Embattled QAnon congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene 'openly cheated' on her husband of 25 years with a polyamorous tantric sex guru and then moved on to another affair with the manager at her gym."

And here´s the article:

QAnon congresswoman cheated with Tantric sex guru