Comments on: Windows to the Material World

By: Dhanurdhara Swami

Dhanurdhara Swami — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 09:39:15 +0000

Yes, Bhakti is not renunciation. It is dedication. We dedicate that which can be used in God’s service, and only renounce that which cannot. Such renunication has been deemed by Sri Rupa Goswami as yukta-vairagya, balanced detachment. So the point of my article was not the renunciation of the Web by those who use it effectively for essential communication, but tempering the abuse of it, especially for one serious about spiritual life.

By: Bea

Bea — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 21:07:41 +0000

Reading this article has made me realise the difference between absorbing scriptural injunction from a book and from the screen. When reading a book, the message invariably seems to penetrate deeper and touch my core. Even though I read profound realisations from Swami’s on the net I tend to ruminate on it for a moment, then move on to the next post/article/picture. By doing so I allow the emphasis to becomes philosophical stimulation for the mind rather than food for the soul. Hare Krishna

By: Matthew

Matthew — Fri, 02 May 2008 19:30:29 +0000

Here is a thought: taking a vow to only check one’s mail 3 times a day: morning, midday and night, barring any extreme circumstances or legitimate needs of some other kind. It may help to prevent being our being slavishly drawn in by the fiber-optic umbilical cord at all times. A friend and I did this a few months back and it helped me see how conditioned I am by the culture of “just checking my email” all of the time.

By: Vivek

Vivek — Thu, 01 May 2008 15:39:00 +0000

Haribol Prabhu! Amazing post. I’ve been thinking about this for the past few months now. The simple life = the good life.

Your servant,
Vivek Taneja

By: Janakirama dasa

Janakirama dasa — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 16:47:50 +0000

Thank you Maharaja for this note. I have thought about these points for many years. As I see it, there is a genuine conflict you bring out here:

On the one hand we want to use all sorts of technologies in the service of God, on the other hand there are the sorts of draw-backs you’ve lucidly mentioned.

Since most will not be able to dislodge themselves from technological means, I think that it would be helpful for Vaishnavas, and religious practitioners in general, to have examples of people who have. If this does not happen, humanity may simply forget that a non-technocrat life is even possible, and indeed complete.

By: Kaustubha das

Kaustubha das — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 15:49:54 +0000

Oh, the irony of the complex age we live in. We receive such a thoughtful message about the perils the computer's influence on introspective thought, via..... the internet.

Thank you Maharaja.

By: Gary

Gary — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 14:24:01 +0000

This is exactly the issue I have been thinking about for the last day or so, and I was pleasantly surprised to see this post. I heard something on the radio (is radio hot or cold?) about Nature Deficit Disorder and how the use of national parks in the USA has declined alongside the rise of the internets. Many illnesses of the mind appear to be linked as well, notably ADHD. Multitasking, so admired in corporate life and thought to be a sign of intelligence, seems to be rather unhealthy. Computers make it easy, and the mind loves it. But, I agree, something is wrong.