ISKCON Bhagwad Gita to be in every motel in the US

[Believer]

Here is the link......

http://cbs5.com/video/?id=67219@kpix.dayport.com

[Eastern Mind]

Vannakkam Believer:

Interesting project, especially how it might go in the Bible Belt. I believe it is a decision up to the individual owners of chains or hotels. there are a lot of Patels in the hotel industry. I remember when the Gideons used to come into classrooms. I always felt like inviting ISKCON to come as well, if nothing else but to demonstrate the fact that it is proseletysing and favoring one religion over another. In Utah at the hotel I stayed at thee was a Book of Mormon alongside the Bible.

Here's another link: http://news.iskcon.com/node/2921/2010-06-18/hotel_owners_purchase_thousands_of_gitas_at_chicago_convention

And another to a discussion about having any religious books in hotel rooms. http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2010/6/16/101017/501/hotels/Should_Hotels_Ditch_Bibles_Once_and_For_All_

Personally, I'd like to see no books in hotel rooms at all, except for the local phone book so I can check out where the restaurants or grocery stores are.

Aum Namasivaya

[Odion]

Thank you for sharing, Believer-ji.

This is really interesting, I wish them the best of luck. I'd love it if I went into a motel and found the Bhagavad Gita there. (Of course, I'm slightly biased. ;))

Although like Eastern Mind-ji, I wonder how it will go down in the Bible Belt.

Out of curiosity, does anyone know if there there is a specific area this project is concentrating on to begin with, like the North or South of the US?

[Ramakrishna]

Namaste,

This is great. I also saw the Book of Mormon alongside the Bible at a hotel once, and that's when I started thinking that the Gita should be there as well. It really does help that so many hotel owners are Indian. Hopefully eventually this will be a standard in every hotel room just like the Bible is.

Jai Sri Krishna

[Believer]

Out of curiosity, does anyone know if there there is a specific area this project is concentrating on to begin with, like the North or South of the US?

From the video clip, it seems that this started in South San Francisco area, which probably got reported in the hotel/motel convention (with a large Indian owner) presence, and ISKCON got an order, I believe for 35000 copies from these Indian owners from across the US.

How will it play in the Bible belt? It is not replacing the Bible in the hotel/motel rooms. So, it should not be a huge threat to anyone.

[Ramakrishna]

How will it play in the Bible belt? It is not replacing the Bible in the hotel/motel rooms. So, it should not be a huge threat to anyone.

Namaste Believer,

I live in the Bible Belt, and unfortunately some people will take it as a sort of threat. Even though it's not replacing their beloved Bible, some fundamentalist Christians will show disgust and contempt at a Hindu text being next to it.

Oh well. They might just end up loving and cherishing the Gita in another lifetime.

Jai Sri Krishna

[Odion]

That's what I'm thinking. Some may be insecure enough to think the hotel/motel owners are shoving their religion down their throat, and some fundamentalists may show disgust at it being next to the Bible, especially with how negatively some fundies see Hinduism.


Oh well, sucks to be them. :cool1:

[Eastern Mind]

Vannakkam:

I believe the people who are really devout carry their books with them while they travel anyway. I know my wife and I do. (Not saying I'm devout, but she is.) Most people simply don't care so in a sense it might be a waste of money. I read on another site that some hotel owners in Utah stopped putting the book of Mormon there because they had to replace them every two weeks or so because evangelicals would write nasty messages all over them, or steal them.

Certainly a lot of evangelicals would see it as their duty almost to wreck or steal a Gita. After all, to them it is the work of the devil. Especially so when they know they can get away with it, and its not a personal confrontation with someone. Only time will tell, but my guess it'll be in the right wing Christian news sometime soon, if not already.

Aum Namasivaya

[Ramakrishna]

Namaste,

So I stayed in a couple of hotels for the first time since this project got underway, and there was no Gita. One hotel just had the Book of Mormon and the other just had the Bible. The hotels I stayed in were at Durham and Asheville in North Carolina. Although North Carolina is a very heavily Christian state, Asheville and Durham are actually pretty liberal.

But it's still early with this project. I'll give it a couple of years and see how things are then. I just felt like giving an update since I remembered this when I was staying at the hotels.

Jai Sri Krishna

[Believer]

Were they Patel owned? ;)

If so, did you ask them as to why they were not participating in this Hindu awareness project?

[Ramakrishna]

Were they Patel owned? ;)

If so, did you ask them as to why they were not participating in this Hindu awareness project?

Namaste Believer,

I don't think so. I saw the names of the managers on the wall somewhere and none of them sounded Indian.

Jai Sri Krishna

[Darji]

I used to live in Asheville for about 8 years after coming from the UK. My Mum still lives there and works in the Hotels there. In fact during a rough patch my mum helped me with a job and it was one of the most influential exposures to Hinduism I had.

I say about 50% of the Hotels in Ashevegas are Patel owned, they typically have western Managers but the boards are mostly made up of Patel investors. A few of the Patels I knew were Shaivites and others were devotees of Shri Nathji and Swaminaryan.

Which Hotel in Asheville did you stay at I could tell you if it was Hindu owned.

My only concern about this initiative is the fact that the Iskcon Gita is so overtly bias towards their views and the latest translation from what I understand is even more biased than the one Srila Prabhupada translated with whole sections with changed meanings. For a project like this a more neutral translation would have wider appeal I should think. I have read parts of Srila Prabhupadas writings and purports and a good 50% of the time I have to reread the passage as his purport seems to have nothing to do with the actual passage. I could be wrong, but I think the public should have a more neutral and straight forward translation to have a better grasp of Hinduism.

just my .02

J

[Believer]

.... and the latest translation from what I understand is even more biased than the one Srila Prabhupada translated with whole sections with changed meanings.

O My! Have they been changing the original translation? Wonder who authorized that.

The title of the book should be changed from Bhagwad Gita As It Is to Bhagwad Gita As American Devotees Would Want It To Be. Nothing is sacred anymore.



I have read parts of Srila Prabhupadas writings and purports and a good 50% of the time I have to reread the passage as his purport seems to have nothing to do with the actual passage.
Hope the ISKCON devotees don't read this. :)

Trouble with neutral (secular) translations of the Book is that they have no soul. Full impact of any religious book can be understood only by a devotee, and translation can have a soul, only if it is written by a devotee of that religion. Otherwise it starts to sound like a bedtime story.

[Eastern Mind]

Vannakkam: Reminds me of the once 'great' translator of Tamil works, the Reverend Pope. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Uglow_Pope I'm sure a reverend would do a nice cut up of the original meaning.

Even now in college religious studies departments, we have Christians teaching Hinduism. Don't they even have the decency to look for a volunteer Hindu to come in?

Aum Namasivaya

[Believer]

Even now in college religious studies departments, we have Christians teaching Hinduism. Don't they even have the decency to look for a volunteer Hindu to come in?

They want people to learn only about the Xitian brand of Hinduism, which includes the caste system and the Aryan invasion theory; and the subsequent writing of the Vedas by these "European looking" Aryan race. Volunteer Hindus would end up teaching the right thing, which is a no no! They can't afford to corrupt the North American minds with the idea that any non-goras (whites) have the intelligence to come up with such sophisticated religious philosophy. The whole edifice of superiority would be shaken to its foundations.

[Sahasranama]

The link is not working anymore, here's an update:
http://www.khou.com/home/Hindu-text-being-put-in-Houston-hotels-109199084.html