Philosophy on Light of Dharma Publishing

It's His Karma

Mon, 27 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Lakshmi had been driving for forty minutes when she pulled into the friend’s driveway. She had come for one reason. A visiting sannyasi was speaking in the living room tonight, and she had decided, somewhere between her son’s last appointment and now, that she was going to ask him for help.

She had not told anyone what she was carrying. Six months ago her son, thirty years old, was diagnosed. The treatment had been brutal in the way these treatments are. He had survived it so far. What he had not survived was what it had done to his ability to be in the same room with her. He had stopped picking up the phone past nine. He had stopped finishing meals when she was watching. He could not bear his fear in front of her, and so he had begun, quietly, to make her absent from the parts of his life where the fear lived.

Divine Will as Spiritual Bypass

Fri, 05 Dec 2025 16:45:00 -0500

Madhava walked past the homeless man every morning on his way to the temple. The same corner. The same cardboard sign. The same hollow eyes. His temple friend Karuna once suggested organizing food distribution there. Madhava’s response came quickly, almost reflexively: “The world doesn’t need reform. Everything is under God’s control. That man is getting exactly what his karma dictates. We should focus on our own purification.”

It sounded sophisticated. It felt transcendent. Karuna couldn’t argue with it.

The Surrender Trap: When 'Krishna's Will' Becomes an Excuse for Inaction

Sun, 23 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Ananda arrived at the temple with the kind of enthusiasm that lights up a room. After six months of dedicated practice, he’d been asked by the temple president to organize a new outreach program: weekly philosophy classes at a local community center. It was exactly the kind of service he’d been hoping for. Finally, a chance to share what he’d learned, to bring Krishna consciousness to people who needed it.

ISKCON's Philosophical Drift from Prabhupada's Original Teachings

Sat, 08 Oct 2022 15:01:35 +0300

Religious movements face a recurring challenge: maintaining fidelity to their founder’s teachings while adapting to changing circumstances. For ISKCON, this challenge emerged immediately after A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada’s death in 1977. Nearly five decades later, questions persist about whether the movement has preserved or modified core philosophical positions.

This article examines several areas where critics allege philosophical drift, presenting both the evidence for change and ISKCON’s responses.

The Founder’s Philosophical Framework

Prabhupada presented a specific vision of Gaudiya Vaishnavism adapted for Western audiences. His key philosophical positions included: