Krishna
 

Hello,
I want to ask, can you be a Krishna's devotee without joining in a community or cult organisation ?

I find something a little creepy about the cult thingy :/

I believe all the work needed has already been done by Srila Prabhupada, many books, vidoes and sound recordings, he is the accepted bona fide guru for that philosophy, ( Some uscrupulous person/s have changed some of his words though, I believe so that fake gurus in the cult can trick people out of their time and cash)

If you think you need a living guru, may be best to avoid those that claim to be gurus and find someone who is genuinely dedicated to Srila Prabhupada)

Thanks. Useful. :)

I think you can the divine is all around us in nature I also think it is good to go to a sacred place with others to feel the vibe some times. :icon_flower:

Yes, it is a good thing to share with others :-)

Of course! If the bhakti and bhava is there.

Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita 9:26:

patram puspam phalam toyam
yo me bhaktya prayacchati
tad aham bhakty-upahrtam
asnami prayatatmanah

I accept with love, all of the offerings that My selfless devotees present to Me (devotedly) in the form of leaves, flowers, fruits and water.

You don't have to join a community or a cult to do that. If you love Krishna, see Him in your heart, He is there (and everywhere else).

This may sound strange coming from a Shiva devotee, but I see Krishna and Shiva as one. Krishna is Shiva and Shiva is Krishna. All is Brahman and the Saguna aspect of Brahman has many faces to appeal to each devotee's heart.

I was also a Gaudiya Vaishnava for a while, but just loved that "demi-god scoundrel" Shiva too much to get involved in it more than I did. Back then, it really hurt when devotees of Krishna said bad things about Shiva, when I had nothing but love for Lord Krishna also, but Lord Shiva was the one who had stolen my heart, regardless.

Only Krishna knows how much you want to be a devotee and He didn't create all the cults and sects...humans did, so if you want to bypass humanity and reach straight for Him, study the Bhagavad Gita and read all translations of it until you find one that resonates with you, because you know that everybody who translates a sacred text according to agenda will be the first to say they are an 'authority' on the subject and call other translations 'trash' or 'rubbish' or 'the work of evil' etc...etc.

Prabhupada on fake gurus


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiP9oo1IbFs

A free book that was recommended to me in below link, the author supposedly murdered for his efforts


http://www.prabhupada.org.uk/guru_business.htm

Krishnas devotee? What do you mean
Just chant his mantra🕉

With all due respect, no disrespect intended, who or what is to say that Prabhupada is not a 'fake guru' calling others 'fake gurus'? We only have the words of his devotees who are blinded by devotion and subservience anyway and that's my whole point here.

I usually go by the general 'rule of thumb' that any person who imparts their knowledge as 'superior' and denigrates, insults and belittles others in the process is to be avoided, as they don't give the average human intelligence any credit for being able to make their own minds up...and then, of course, either the 'guru' or the 'devotee' will say "we are trying to prevent you from being misled" which is pretty much tantamount to "follow our way, or else you are an ignoramus or a mayavadi"...more insults.

I guess that in the end, it's up to the individual, and just as Christians will condemn me and say that I am 'going to hell' because I am a Hindu, Prabhupada and followers would condemn me and say that I am 'going to Hell' because I am a Shaivite....funny thing is, Christians would condemn Prabhupada and followers and say they are 'going to Hell' because they are Hindus also....so, I go to the 'Hell of all Hells'....it honestly makes me laugh.