Hi Yamuna, this will be a great initiative. I have with me the content you shared, it's amazing. I also agree with Harish' point of view. Sri Krishna says in Bhagwad Geeta: I am the one, you can call me by any name. I believe in one Supreme Being, name him Krishna, Ram or Shiv, devotion is what matters. Thank you for thinking in this direction Warm regards
On Fri, Jun 7, 2024 at 8:42 PM Yamuna Jivana Dasa <ykhan...@gmail.com> wrote: > Dear Harish Ji, > > > > Thanks for this feedback. My responses below. > > > > <snip> > > I would also suggest it to be a platform for sharing resources. I find > content in accessible form difficult for Sanathana studies. Sometimes even > when the content is accessible, the TTS is unable to handle it correctly. > To give an example, I was looking for Ramcharita Maans in Hindi. I did get > a soft copy, although it was in Unicode I guess the character set would > have been in audi and it was impossible to follow it. Some are image PDF's > etc. As it is a closed group of blind persons, it should be ok to share. > > > > > This is a nice idea, and I would sincerely hope someone could take this on > in the general sense that you are describing, where all spiritual > literature considered to be part of Sannatana Dharma literature be collated > for the blind reader. In our case, we are taking a more specific approach, > so that literature specifically in line with Bhakti-yoga, in the disciplic > succession line in which Iskcon comes, will be studied systematically and > thus availed to our readers. > > > > Sanatana Dharma is extremely broad in its scope as you may well know, and > it may include various branches of knowledge such as sama-veda or the > science of music, Yajur-veda or the science of sacrifice to propitiate the > Demigods, Ayurveda for understanding and treating health, Dhanurveda for > military study,Etc. > > A general collection of such works could be an invaluable source of > knowledge accessible to the blind community interested, however much of > this would probably be still locked in the sacred Sanskrit language, > probably now brought into digital form of the Devanagari script. > > > > Our intended scope for the forum I am presenting here though is much more > of a narrow discipline, such that we can manage for the moment, with humble > beginnings of being able to encourage the study of the Bhagavad-gita by the > visually challenged reader, much like an on-line book-club sanga. So while > your suggestion is an excellent one, it would be a bit of an over-reach for > our immediate purposes. I do hope though that such an idea as you describe > could find someone here willing to brace the exciting challenge. > > > > <Snip> > > ISKCON too is also a major source of original works. I wonder how many of > them are accessible. > > <Snip> > > > > Practically everything produced of the founder of the Hare Krishna > movement, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada, by the BBT which is > the publishing house of Iskcon (although separately registered), is > accessible via soft form. Additional Publications are also accessible > electronically, for example via platforms like the Bhaktivedanta Folio > Vedabase. Still further, many devotees have recorded publications like > Bhagavad-Gita, Srimad Bhagavatam and other literature into Audio readings. > Now there is attempt at producing some of our literature in braille also. > So to conclude, ISKCON’s literature is very easily accessible to us, > practically everything, at least in electronic form. > > > > <Snip> > > I would suggest Sadak which loosely means seeker in English as the title. > I for one would like not to use qualification of disability in the title > which I consider to be incidental and not primary in the path of a seeker. > > <Snip> > > > > I have alternative thoughts if you don’t mind, which is a generalization > here and not specifically in terms of the reading group we are discussing > in this thread. Generally I would prefer to reference the blind community > in a name of a platform that focuses on that community, but referenced > cleverly, poetically or even indirectly. My reason is that we should be > bold in acknowledging that we do have unique circumstances of life being > blind, and so we can shape misconceptions from people about us; we can > represent ourselves as a unique but constructive component of any society; > we can act with, and command our dignity as a people with a unique and > meaningful voice, and we can announce ourselves as an entity deserving an > accommodated place in the world in which we live. By not acknowledging our > disability in a name, we tend to hide away (perhaps not intentionally) from > all of the above. I prefer that we are not shy about our unique situation > collectively. Again, this is my preference. > > > > The name Sadak is too generalized for our group which focuses specifically > on Lord Krishna and his incarnations. Other spiritual seeking may be valid > in the Hindu community such as those seeking liberation into Brahma-Jyoti, > those seeking entrance into the heavenly planets or into the Sun globe and > thus may propitiate Omkara, Indradeva or Suryadeva respectively. A group > accommodating all of this would fit your proposed name. > > > > <Snip> > > I do not follow ISKCON way of life. Frankly, I do not understand it. Nor I > have any aversion or any opinion at all. I occasionally visit some of the > centers. Do folks like me, fall into the scheme of things in this group? > > <Snip> > > > > Iskcon is an institution that focuses primarily on uniting for the purpose > of connecting with God or Krishna, by following one of the four paths of > disciplic succession going back to their founders who taught this knowledge > about him, having learnt it directly from himself, Lord Krishna. Its > founder, Srila Prabhupada, was a unique preceptor in one of these disciplic > succession lineages, in that, on the order of his own teacher, he presented > this knowledge in disciplic succession to the Western countries for the > first time, which has also eventually made its presence felt keenly in > Indian society also. So in a nutshell, that is Iskcon. Whether you fall > into the scheme of things for this group will depend on your eagerness to > learn more about Lord Krishna, about your own identity as a spirit soul, > about Karma, Reincarnation, the ultimate purpose for existence, all of > which as collectively presented in disciplic succession. Anyone interested > to do that is certainly welcome in our group. I’ll provide an analogy for > clarity. There are people who may love eating food, and they may belong to > a group discussing and experimenting with all kinds of food. There may also > however be a group uniquely interested in the taste of honey, and the > various gradations of honey that may be harvested. The second group is > obviously more specialized. You will have to decide how specialized is your > interest in determining whether you wish to participate. Participation in > our group is welcome by anyone remotely interested in learning about the > above topics in disciplic succession, but who are sight challenged in that > spiritual context. > > > > I hope I have answered you satisfactorily. Thanks again for the feedback, > and do let me know if you wish to discuss further to evaluate whether you > would be interested. I suggest if we can speak more personally in case you > have questions or even concerns about ISKCON that may be a more personal > approach for you to express yourself. My Whatsapp No is +27 82 291 6081. I > prefer Whatsapp because call quality is superior to phone calls for the > most part. > > > > Kind regards, > > > > Yamuna Jivana Dasa > > > > Harish > > On 6/5/2024 6:38 PM, Yamuna Jivana Dasa wrote: > > Living with Blindness as a Hare Krishna Devotee > > > > Dear community, > > > > On Wednesday 29 May 2024, a very pleasant and courageous Vaishnava visited > me at my home for the first time. Isvara Puri Prabhu, like me, is totally > blind, but I was surprised to learn that he has been living as an aspiring > travelling devotee for some time. What started as a social visit for > SadhuSanga turned out to be a discovery of many incredible shared interests > upon which we wish to explore jointly. > > > > One of these areas regards the establishment of a community of blind > bodied/visually impaired devotees world-wide. Presently he is hosting a > reading session group for Telugu speakers, and now we wish to extend into > the English speaking audience. > > > > The following is a tentative program structure: > > > > 1. We have discussed Whatsapp as the most likely meeting client since most > people already use it, and since it is also reasonably accessible on the > various computer and phone platforms used by the blind community. > > > > 2. We will systematically read Bhagavad-gita from beginning to end, > followed by Srimad Bhagavatam, Caitanya Caritamrta, Nectar of Devotion and > Nectar of Instruction. Devotees who are able to read in Braille, from > computer or phone text-to-speech may like to take turns to read to the > group. Reading of the Sanskrit can be illiminated if the reader cannot read > from their given reading platform. This segment will last for 1 hour. > > > > 3. We can dedicate time to any other topics related to living as visually > challenged devotees, in which experiences can be shared and possible > solutions explored together. These may be requested by group members for > consideration in future meetings. This segment may last 30 minutes. > > > > Examples of such topics may include things like living with visual > challenge in a non-devotee family setting, navigating to temples, taking > help at temples, staying overnight, preference for on-line sanga due to > mobility challenges, the future for those of us living without sight, > practicing devotional service as our world changes, how the Vedic > civilization may be either supportive or disadvantageous to living as blind > devotees, navigating in a Varnasrama community being blind, and the level > of acceptance and assistance from sighted devotees in the various settings > in which we find ourselves seeking sadhu sanga. > > > > 4. The frequency of these gatherings are still tentative, but I propose > here once weekly during a Saturday or Sunday afternoon or evening to > accomodate most people outside of work and other commitments. > > > > 5. The conditions for participation shall be as follows: > > 5.1. The participant should be living with blindness, or have a very > strong affinity for, or experience in dealing with blind people. Taking > turns to read will be given preference to totally blind participants. > > 5.2. The participant should specifically have an affinity towards > spiritual life, but more particularly towards the Krishna Conscious way of > life. > > > > 6. I'm still thinking of a short name for the group that will ring well in > English. > > > > Anyone interested may contact me privately for further discussion. Should > you know any persons or groups fitting the target audience of this > invitation, please share with them. > > > > With kind regards, > > > > Yamuna Jivana dasa > > > > Whatsapp No: +27 82 2916081 > > India Phone number: +91 70372 95962 > > E-mail: ykhan...@gmail.com > > -- > Disclaimer: > 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of > the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; > > 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails > sent through this mailing list.. > > > Search for old postings at: > http://www.mail-archive.com/accessindia@accessindia.org.in/ > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "AccessIndia" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to accessindia+unsubscr...@accessindia.org.in. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/a/accessindia.org.in/d/msgid/accessindia/002d01dab749%246d81ce10%2448856a30%24%40gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/a/accessindia.org.in/d/msgid/accessindia/002d01dab749%246d81ce10%2448856a30%24%40gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > > -- > Disclaimer: > 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of > the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; > > 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails > sent through this mailing list.. > > > Search for old postings at: > http://www.mail-archive.com/accessindia@accessindia.org.in/ > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "AccessIndia" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to accessindia+unsubscr...@accessindia.org.in. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/a/accessindia.org.in/d/msgid/accessindia/008801dab8ed%241e2b8720%245a829560%24%40gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/a/accessindia.org.in/d/msgid/accessindia/008801dab8ed%241e2b8720%245a829560%24%40gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- Warm Regards Sandeep Singh -- Disclaimer: 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails sent through this mailing list.. Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/accessindia@accessindia.org.in/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "AccessIndia" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to accessindia+unsubscr...@accessindia.org.in. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/a/accessindia.org.in/d/msgid/accessindia/CAD4A2BS82Y%3DSSP3k7pb4bjPUpP-HU0U4uo3Gt6T3kZ1wNAZGgQ%40mail.gmail.com.
