Posted Jun 27, 2019, 6:32 PM UTC
This is accurate..not sure why it is down voted
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The one that gave Steve Jobs free meals when he was starting Apple.
ISKCON is self-declared non-Hindu, but everyone knows they're Hindu. Lots of Hindu groups declare themselves non-Hindu.
I know a ISKON priest in Rishikesh who is very much Hindu. At least is seems like it when doing Puja for Durga Maa, Shiva, and Ganesha. ISKON are Durga,Krishna worshippers. The whole Swami Shivinanda ashram in Rishikesh is ISKON I believe.
They can declare non Hindu all they like I suppose.
It's not perfect, but OP is just looking for an entry point. He/she may be living outside India with limited options
I thought iskcon was considered a cult?
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OP..these are political organizations. Ignore this answer
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Please look up Sadhguru and the isha foundation. Worldwide volunteer support offering yoga programs for inner well being. His wisdom is infinite.
Don’t forget that your wisdom is infinite as well. As is all of ours. =)
Second this
Where are you?
Not asking for myself, but looking to compile a list of beginner resources,and thought the best way to do so would be to crowd-source from the community. I'm looking for organizations with a. Global reach so people from anywhere in the world can access. Will probably do a follow up post for good organizations within India as well, but I assume the global ones will have a strong presence in India also.
Himalayan Academy has an introductory correspondence course, supervised by a sannyasin monk. Not big, but if you have internet, it is world wide.
The Ramakrishna Order or Vedanta Society as its known in the west. Depending on where you live I could link you to local centers. It approaches Hinduism from an Advaitic perspective. Ramakrishna’s disciple Swami Vivekananda helped to bring yoga to the west by speaking at the world parliament of religions in 1893. The synthesis of eastern and western ideals cuts through a lot of the dogma associated with other philosophical systems so it’s a good introduction into Hinduism without a strict emphasis on rites and rituals while still placing importance on worshipping deities.
Edited for spelling
I think this is the safest bet. I started here, and ended up here.
The Art of Living Foundation, Patanjali Yoga Peeth, Vipassana, Chinmaya Mission, BAPS Swaminarayan, Durgabaari, AryaSamaj, Hindu Worship Society, Kirtanwalla Foundation (Krishnadas), TM(Americanized but roots are from Maharish Mahesh Yogi), Sahajmarg Yoga. Some are more spiritual than others. Many others based on the Buddhism aka Mindfulness principles have appropriated and repackaged. Its fascinating really. Harmony in Diversity. Cheers...
Art Of Living is a cult. I did a course there this month and the indoctrination is insane
Username checks out...jokes aside doesn't look like their "indoctrination" worked on you now then; so either you have superhuman willpower or their indoctrination is pretty weak; regardless I find their Sudarshan Kriya very useful, 20 mins breathing and mind becomes certifiably fresh and I notice spurts of random creativity from time to time if I do it regularly for a few days (which I sometimes don't due to endless excuses) . I understand that Isha Yoga also have a similar technique on offer, perhaps you can try that and share you experience. If all else fails you can always try Running/Swimming/Lifting for physical enhancement and maybe Music/Reading for mental enhancement etc. Cheers.
I am pretty skeptical of godmen so I didnt buy into it. Everyone else from my group did though. One guy replaced all the pictures of vishnu in his puja room and with Ravishankar and says jai gurudev now instead of hello or namaste. Many donate lots of theit money to the foundation now as well.
On top of that the Sri Sri Ayurveda products are literally a pyramid scheme. They encourage you to peddle those overpriced medicines and offer short 'courses' to help you sell them. Classic scam.
I found the yoga and meditation really useful though. I don't know about Sudarshan Kriya, it doesn't do anything for me. Everytime I try it I feel lightheaded and almost fall over.
As with any activity not all who try will take to it or stick with it for long so not finding any "connect" is purely personal. You may walk into a quiet space and suddenly feel at peace; the real trick is to find a way (by way of a technique and regular practice) to create the quiet space wherever/whenever you may choose to do so. I feel that is priceless, rest all is fluff. All organizations offer something useful along with the fluff but we pick and choose and move forward, that's what I think anyway...
Can you be more specific about why you called them a cult? Do they try and break your ties with your family? What exactly do they do in terms of indoctrination?
If you're rich or an attractive female they will do their best to make you join AoL and donate a lot of money.
If you go for a course at AoL they will show you tonnes of propaganda videos about Sri Sri, trying to convince you that he is some kind of god.
They pressure you to make people you know like your family and friends to join AoL. They specifically tell you to target either really rich people or people down on their luck because apparently they are the ones who need spiritual guidance the most. They tell you not to tell them what exactly it will be about since its easier to indoctrinate people with a clean slate.
The Sri Sri Ayurveda line is a pyramid scheme scam on top of that the products are overpriced and of extremely poor quality. They do their best to make sure you buy them or peddle them saying you are earning money and doing seva to the guru at the same time.
The worst part is it somehow works. Most of the people including youngters who were hardcore nihilistic atheists I know who went for AoL courses became Sri Sri followers and see him as a god. They think he is Kalki avatara or as great as Krishna. Tbh I would recommend AoL courses if you dont fall easily for these sorts of things because the yoga and meditation part of it is great.
Chinmaya Mission, centers worldwide and so forth.
Are you subscribed to r/ChinmayaMission and r/SelfUnfoldment?
ISKCON!
Hinduism is like a large forest that you need to explore on your own first. Get a very basic understanding of Vedanta (Dual - NonDual versions), Yoga, Tantra. Read a brief synopsis about Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads. Depending on your samskaras(tendencies) acquired over many lifetimes, a path will attract you. It is in that path that you will excel. It is then you would need some external structure/community or guru. You can narrow down your search for a Hindu organization using this criteria.
Isha foundation?
So far on reddit:
Spiritual Organizations
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