The Life And Times Of Bhakta Jim, Now available on the Kindle Store. Options

[Bhakta Jim 1979]

I finally finished my book and got my parent's blessing to publish it, although not under my full name. Several of you on this board read early drafts and offered advice and encouragement, and I thank you for that. The book is on the US Kindle Store here:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00730HE54

It is also on every other Kindle Store in the world. This book will be promoted as a free book on February 1st and 2nd. I don't know if that is worldwide or just on the US store. If you want to read it for free those are the days to do it. If you want to review the book I'd be grateful. I don't expect to make a lot of money from this book (I have several books in the Kindle Store and my total royalties to date have been eleven dollars) but I'd like it to be read, like any author.

Bhakta Jim

[Brainiac]

This shoud be quite good. I'll try and spread the word too!

[Bhakta Jim 1979]

This shoud be quite good. I'll try and spread the word too!

Here it is day two of the free giveaway of The Life And Times Of Bhakta Jim and the total given away has just reached 8.

My worst day on sankirtan was better than this.

I am told the free giveaways have a better response on weekends, so I may try this again the weekend after next. It turns out Amazon does absolutely nothing to promote your book on these days other than setting the price to zero. They don't even make it easy to find out which books are being promoted that way.

[Bhakta Jim 1979]

It turns out I gave away 17 books in the US, 10 in the UK, 3 in Germany, and none in Spain, France or Italy. No actual sales so far.

On the off chance that people want a bound and printed book I made up a CreateSpace submission over the weekend. The review copy will be delivered on Monday the 13th, maybe. If the review copy looks good I'll offer it for sale on CreateSpace and Amazon. I'm hoping it will be a popular gift item for Christmas, Diwali, Janmastami, Vyasa-Puja celebrations, guru-dakshina, etc.

There's nothing like a printed book to make you feel like a real author. I designed the cover and did the styles for the interior fonts myself, and I think you'll be able to tell.

Bhakta Jim

[Bhakta Jim 1979]

There will be another opportunity to get The Life And Times Of Bhakta Jim from Amazon.com this weekend, the 11th and 12th. After that it will be 2.99. I am allowed to give away the book on the site for five days out of every 90. I probably won't do that, though.

[Bhakta Jim 1979]

So you want to read The Life And Times Of Bhakta Jim but you don't do the e-book thing. You want something you can hold in your hands, put on the altar and worship, or trade for a box of tea biscuits. Well, if that's what's been holding you back your prayers have been answered:

http://www.amazon.com/Life-Times-Bhakta-Ji...3364&sr=1-2

It will look great on your bookshelf or your altar, and it makes a great gift too! You know how you're supposed to give cows to the brahmanas on your birthday? This year, why not give them this book instead?

[Brainiac]

That's pretty good, getting it published as an actual book too.

[Gomer]

I'm hoping it will be a popular gift item for Christmas, Diwali, Janmastami, Vyasa-Puja celebrations, guru-dakshina, etc.

Why do you think that a deprogrammer manual would be popular for guru-dakshina?

I finally got around to reading your book and to tell you the truth I found it to be very strange. Once I got past the Bhakti-For-Dummies tone I was interested to read about fellow devotees that I also know who were featured in your book.

It amazes me that Tamal Krsna was remotely attractive to anyone. I always found him to be one of the most rude and arrogant persons I have ever had the misfortune to encounter. When he was killed my first thought was that maybe there is a Krsna after all. I considered Tamal to be one of the chief architects of the impersonalisation of Iskcon.

Deprogramming, in my opinion, is a violation of basic human rights. The vast majority of devotees who turned their backs on Iskcon did so by using their own intelligence.

The bit about a vegetarian diet being responsible for your malnourishment is really silly.

Your analysis of the political divide displays a lack of understanding. Obama is more of a warmonger than any Republican president you could possibly name. The erosion of the Constitution on the watch of this fraudulent Constitutional Professor is absolutely criminal. When he refused to bring Bush et al to account for their criminal activities it was a real give-away on his lack of judgement and his poor character. His actions speak louder than his rhetoric ever could.

Saying that Christianity is superior because it is acceptable to ignore the scriptural nonsense and remain a Christian and that this is not possible for Bhakti yoga adherents is too infantile for words.

[Bhakta Jim 1979]

Gomer,

I wrote this thirty years ago. I tried to be honest. The fact is, I got out through deprogramming. I freely acknowledge that people do get out without it, but this is my story and I felt I had to defend what was done to me, and what I did to Mishrani. I believe it is defensible, but I don't like it any more than you do.

I lost a LOT of weight on the vegetarian diet, and so did nearly everyone I know. The ones that didn't gained weight. A vegetarian diet might be a healthy one if you did it right, but what we ate was not healthy.

I was trying to be funny with the guru-dakshina remark. I'm sorry if it offended you.

I don't necessarily think that Christianity is superior. What I said was that it is possible to reject the literal account in Genesis and still be a Christian. Not in every church, but in more than half. With Hare Krishna it seems to be all or nothing. No intelligent person can believe in the Fifth Canto of Srimad Bhagavatam. I know some devotees try to come up with creative explanations for what it might mean, but to me the meaning is clear and clearly wrong. This makes me doubt the rest of the book, because too much of it only makes sense if you accept the Fifth Canto.

Some very intelligent people admire the Bhagavad Gita but don't think the battle of Kurukshetra is a historical event. Gandhi, for instance.

Tamal Krishna was not attractive. We just pretended he was. What alternative did we have?

Who else did you know that I mention in the book? I would be interested to learn more about them.

We can argue politics. I, too, consider Obama a great disappointment. However, all the Republican alternatives should be on medication. Obama doesn't have to be a great president to get my vote. He just needs to be sane.

Thanks for your review of the book, though. Even angry reviews are better than no reviews!

Bhakta Jim

I'm hoping it will be a popular gift item for Christmas, Diwali, Janmastami, Vyasa-Puja celebrations, guru-dakshina, etc.

Why do you think that a deprogrammer manual would be popular for guru-dakshina?

I finally got around to reading your book and to tell you the truth I found it to be very strange. Once I got past the Bhakti-For-Dummies tone I was interested to read about fellow devotees that I also know who were featured in your book.

It amazes me that Tamal Krsna was remotely attractive to anyone. I always found him to be one of the most rude and arrogant persons I have ever had the misfortune to encounter. When he was killed my first thought was that maybe there is a Krsna after all. I considered Tamal to be one of the chief architects of the impersonalisation of Iskcon.

Deprogramming, in my opinion, is a violation of basic human rights. The vast majority of devotees who turned their backs on Iskcon did so by using their own intelligence.

The bit about a vegetarian diet being responsible for your malnourishment is really silly.

Your analysis of the political divide displays a lack of understanding. Obama is more of a warmonger than any Republican president you could possibly name. The erosion of the Constitution on the watch of this fraudulent Constitutional Professor is absolutely criminal. When he refused to bring Bush et al to account for their criminal activities it was a real give-away on his lack of judgement and his poor character. His actions speak louder than his rhetoric ever could.

Saying that Christianity is superior because it is acceptable to ignore the scriptural nonsense and remain a Christian and that this is not possible for Bhakti yoga adherents is too infantile for words.

[Bhakta Jim 1979]

There will be one final opportunity to get the e-book version for free. On Saturday, April 14th, Amazon sites around the world will price the Kindle book at free. Even if you don't have a Kindle you can read it on your computer, and once "bought" you can transfer it to other devices you might get in the future, like smart phones, without paying anything.

Bhakta Jim

[ePiTau]

However, all the Republican alternatives should be on medication.

I second that.

[Gomer]

Gomer,

I wrote this thirty years ago. I tried to be honest. The fact is, I got out through deprogramming. I freely acknowledge that people do get out without it, but this is my story and I felt I had to defend what was done to me, and what I did to Mishrani. I believe it is defensible, but I don't like it any more than you do.

I am happy to hear that you find deprogramming distasteful.

Do you really believe that if your parents had not had you kidnapped that you would never had ever left the movement or that your life would would have been changed for the worse? Who knows how you or Mishrani would have ended up if you both had not been kidnapped and cleansed of the spell that the devotees had over your free will? If you are satisfied with your life as it is now how do you know you would have been any less satisfied if things had turned out any differently? I look at my life and I am amazed at the abundance and love I enjoy even though I now feel a little sickened by the vision of the ISKCON version of reality and how I played my part in perpetuating that dogmatic and twisted vision. I very much doubt that I would be any happier if my parents had arranged for me to be deprogrammed. I definitely would have resented their audacity in presuming that I was incapable of making my own choices in life.

I lost a LOT of weight on the vegetarian diet, and so did nearly everyone I know. The ones that didn't gained weight. A vegetarian diet might be a healthy one if you did it right, but what we ate was not healthy.

You are dead right about the unhealthy devotee food. I have seen many devotees sickened by their diet. This does not mean that a vegetarian diet is inherently unhealthy. I have been a vegetarian since 1973 and a vegan for the last fifteen years and I have not suffered any serious medical maladies. I have been incapacitated for the last month because of tendinitis of my knee caused by the improper setup of my mountain bike cleats, but most of the sixty year-old men I know couldn't dream of doing the rides I do through the hills where I live. My five children have never eaten any meat and their health is outstanding. When I talk with people about their health I am amazed at how many pills and potions they take for their various diseases and conditions.

I was trying to be funny with the guru-dakshina remark. I'm sorry if it offended you.

No, I was not offended. I was surprised that you could that you could be serious. I didn't detect the joke.

I don't necessarily think that Christianity is superior. What I said was that it is possible to reject the literal account in Genesis and still be a Christian. Not in every church, but in more than half.

Christianity, to my mind, requires one to be a simpleton to believe the doctrine.

Here's a good primer:

http://skepticsannotatedbible.com/

With Hare Krishna it seems to be all or nothing. No intelligent person can believe in the Fifth Canto of Srimad Bhagavatam. I know some devotees try to come up with creative explanations for what it might mean, but to me the meaning is clear and clearly wrong. This makes me doubt the rest of the book, because too much of it only makes sense if you accept the Fifth Canto.

Some very intelligent people admire the Bhagavad Gita but don't think the battle of Kurukshetra is a historical event. Gandhi, for instance.

I entered the ISKCON world very much as you did in that I was drawn into devotee life through my friends and lovers. I never sought spiritual emancipation in the philosophy, nor did I feel as though I needed salvation from this world or from my perception of reality. I always considered most of the philosophy and dogma to be little more than fairy tales so the 5th Canto did not cause me to have a spiritual melt-down. I don't see the silliness of the Vedic cosmology to be any more or less silly than most of the other Vedic explanations of Life & Everything.

Tamal Krishna was not attractive. We just pretended he was. What alternative did we have?

I couldn't say who else would have been a better choice for your guru. If I had encountered ISKCON without Prabhupada I would not have joined at all. After Prabhupada ISKCON became unrecognisable to me and quite disgusting.

Who else did you know that I mention in the book? I would be interested to learn more about them.

Dristadyumna, Lomas Rishi, and Tripurari spring to mind.

We can argue politics. I, too, consider Obama a great disappointment. However, all the Republican alternatives should be on medication. Obama doesn't have to be a great president to get my vote. He just needs to be sane.

Obama has a track record of betraying the people. The Republicans don't promise anything other than what Obama is already delivering.

View at Youtube

The John Stewart part is the best - don't miss it.

Thanks for your review of the book, though. Even angry reviews are better than no reviews!

Bhakta Jim

No problem. I wouldn't call my reaction an angry one - irritated is probably a little closer.