Pray For Peace Foundation News
December 1996
| DEAD HEAD SEEKS AMNESTY ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOM GROUNDS; SPENDS ANOTHER CHRISTMAS IN JAIL Twenty-six-year-old Karen Hoffman-Horning is currently serving fortyyears in prison for selling LSD. She was arrested in a federal sting operation(known as "Through the Looking Glass") by undercover policemendisguised as Dead Heads at a Grateful Dead concert. Her story appearedin High Times magazine, Feb. 1997, p. 40, stating that she received a lifesentence. However, since the story was reported her sentence was reduced. Karen recently told the courts that she believes LSD is a religioussacrament. She also wrote to Pray For Peace Foundation for informationregarding the Hindu religion. Karen stated that her experiences on LSDled her to believe she is a Hindu. In response, we photocopied some informationon Hinduism and enclose it here, with this newsletter (see below). That made us wonder, what would hippies and Hindus have in common, and how does LSDtie in? THE HARE KRISHNA CONNECTION Hare Krishna, the most commonly recognized American Hindu group, hasclose links with Dead Heads and LSD. First, the Hare Krishnas basicallygrew out of the hippie movement. Second, although hippies faded away fora few decades, one group kept the faith, i.e., the Dead Heads, or followersof the Grateful Dead. Over the last three decades, Krishna devotees haveprovided free food to Dead Heads (and others) at "Rainbow Gatherings."Gatherings are a meeting of the tribes for those who choose to live analternative lifestyle, away from the grind of what they refer to as "Babylon."The Hare Krishnas provide blessed vegetarian food, along with mantras,Krishna fashion, and philosophy. They even sometimes mark people's headswith sacred clay at a Rainbow Gathering. It's possible Karen's original contact with Hinduism could have comefrom attending Rainbow Gatherings, or from associating with Dead Headswho were exposed to Hindu beliefs at Rainbow Gatherings. SET BACK THE CLOCK An even earlier link between hippies and Hindus was established in the1960s, through the Brotherhood of Eternal Love. On Sept. 19, 1966, TimothyLeary declared LSD the sacrament for his new religion and the Brotherhoodmade LSD widely available. Leary and the Brotherhood taught followers tolisten to Indian music "turn off the mind, relax and float downstream,"as Leary wrote in his translation of the Tibetan Book of the Dead. TheBeatles used the line in their song, "Tomorrow Never Knows." A member of the Brotherhood met the Hare Krishna's guru, His DivineGrace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, and became his disciple. Unbeknownst tohis guru, this disciple went on selling LSD while preaching the Hindu message.Although the Krishnas' guru would not have approved, many young peopletook "Krishna acid" believing it to be a sacrament of transcendence. Hippie paraphernalia has always included Eastern imagery, such as Ganesh,the elephant-headed god, peacock feathers, incense, beads, and Ravi Shankarmusic. In the sixties people traveled overland from The Netherlands toIndia on the Magic Bus. Many would testify that LSD experiences inspiredthem to seek transcendence. These are some of the reasons Karen may haveadopted LSD as her holy sacrament, and her religious practices have puther in jail. accommodation in StavangerEditorial Comment: PFPF NEWS' POSITION ON LSD ERROR MSGPray For Peace Foundation does not endorse the synthetic chemical LSD, but we acknowledge that its effects are similar to natural psychedelics that are genuine religious sacraments. The Native American Church, for example, legally uses peyote, and their constitutional right to do so is recognized by most state governments. Other countries have psychedelic plants that have played an important part in native religions. We believe Karen was sincere in her spiritual search, and that she took LSD to experience a religious high. The problem with LSD is that while it may open the doors of perception, the chemical can be a harsh teacher whose lessons may be misinterpreted without adequate spiritual guidance. We hope that young people will recognize this and place less emphasis on LSD as a spiritual tool. Karen is being persecuted for her spiritual beliefs and we hope the courts will give her case further consideration. Genuine Hinduism Karen's case was recently turned down and she continues to serve hersentence in Florida. She appreciates hearing from people. Karen Hoffman-Horning, #00644-049, 501 Capitol Circle, NE, Tallahassee, FL 32301. When Karen asked for information on Hinduism, PFPF News sent herthis excerpt from Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami: <<Hinduism has always accepted adoptives and converts. It is sometimesclaimed that one must be born in a Hindu family in order to be a Hindu,that one cannot adopt or convert to this world's most ancient faith. Thisis simply not true. The acceptance of outsiders into the Hindu fold hasoccurred for thousands of years. Groups as diverse as local aboriginesand the invading Greeks of Alexander the Great have been brought in. EnteringHinduism has traditionally required little more than accepting and livingthe beliefs and codes of Hindus. This remains the basic factor in the process.>> For more about Subramuniyaswami, see <http://www.HinduismToday.kauai.hi.us/>Other excerpts from Loving Ganesh, by Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami: WHAT MAKES ONE A HINDU? Sri K. Navaratnam enumerates a set of basic beliefs held by Hindus: 1. A belief in the existence of God. 2. A belief in the existence of a soul separate from the body. 3. A belief in the existence of the finitizing principle known as avidya(ignorance) or maya (illusion). 4. A belief in the principle of matter--prakriti (material nature) ormaya (material energy). 5. A belief in the theories of karma and reincarnation. 6. A belief in the indispensable guidance of a guru to guide the spiritualaspirant towards God Realization. 7. A belief in moksha (liberation) as the goal of human existence. 8. A belief in the indispensable necessity of temple worship in religiouslife. 9. A belief in graded forms of religious practices, both internal andexternal, until one realizes God. 10. A belief in ahimsa (non-violence) as the greatest dharma (calling)or virtue. 11. A belief in mental and physical purity as indispensable factorsfor spiritual progress. alberghi a GentNINE BELIEFS OF HINDUISM 1. Hindus believe in the divinity of the Vedas, the world's most ancientscripture. 2. Hindus believe in one, all-pervasive Supreme Being who is both immanentand transcendent, both Creator and Unmanifest Reality. 3. Hindus believe that the universe undergoes endless cycles of creation,preservation and dissolution. 4. Hindus believe in karma, the law of cause and effect by which eachindividual creates his own destiny by his thoughts, words and deeds. 5. Hindus believe that the soul reincarnates, evolving through manybirths until all karmas have been resolved, and moksha, spiritual knowledgeand liberation from the cycle of rebirth, is attained. Not a single soulwill be eternally deprived of this destiny. 6. Hindus believe that divine beings exist in unseen worlds and thattemple worship, rituals, and sacraments, as well as personal devotionalscreate a communion with these devas and Gods. 7. Hindus believe that a spiritually awakened master, or satguru, isessential to know the Transcendent Absolute, as are personal discipline,good conduct, purification, pilgrimage, self-inquiry and meditation. 8. Hindus believe that all life is sacred, to be loved and revered,and therefore practice ahimsa, "noninjury." ERROR MSG9. Hindus believe that no particular religion teaches the only way tosalvation above all others, but that all genuine religious paths are facetsof God's Pure Love and Light, deserving tolerance and understanding. For more about LSD and other psychedelics, visit MAPS: http://www.maps.org/ For referrals in a spiritual emergency involving LSD, contact the SpiritualEmergence Network, 930 Mission St., #7, Santa Cruz, CA 95060; (408) 426-0941;Sen@Cruzio.com; http://www.elfi.com/sen For more about what you can do to help American's Prisoners of the DrugWar: http://www.november.org WORDS OF WISDOM from Swami Beyondananda* *Swami Beyondananda, also known as writer/comedian Steve Bhaerman, writesa monthly advice column called, "Ask the Swami." Swami Steveis the author of *Driving Your own Karma* and *When You See a Sacred Cow,Milk it for All it's Worth* and has three live comedy tapes: "Yogifrom Muskogee," "Enlightening Strikes Again" and "Don'tSqueeze the Shaman." Contact: Asian Publishing, P.O. Box 108, LowerLake, CA 95457; (800) 275-2606. Disclaimer: PFPF News does not imply thatthe Swami supports illegal substances, only that it's fun to laugh aboutthem. Dear Swami: I've been reading about the folks who have been busted for baking marijuanabrownies for AIDS patients, and I think it's totally ridiculous. Surely,there are more important things for us to spend our valuable human andfinancial resources on--cleaning up the environment, for example. Whatdo you think, Swami? How do we go about having marijuana legalized? BlissStout, Hempseed, New York Dear Bliss: I agree with you that weed killer is far more dangerous in the longrun than killer weed, but I think you've got a hard row to hoe, so to speak.Among our younger generation, marijuana's popularity has been supersededby an even more powerful mood-altering substance--money. Not only that,but people in general have become more health-conscious, and the smokingof anything (including herring, for that matter) has fallen out of favor.. . . I predict that this very health-consciousness will provide the opendoor for legalization. All you have to do is publicize a newly-discovereddisease called MDS--Marijuana Deprivation Syndrome. Symptoms include: obsessionwith status and financial achievement, inability to be in the present moment,and chronic seriousness which can become laugh-threatening. Miraculously,just a small weekly dose of marijuana can offset these symptoms and restorehomeostasis (that's where you stay home and listen to your old FiresignTheater albums and eat Screaming Yellow Zonkers). I'm sure that as soonas the medical journals get hold of this information, it won't be too longbefore you'll be able to get prescriptions for cannabis just like any otherdrug. Dear Swami: I am bothered by absentmindedness. I forget everything. Even to writethis letter, I've had to keep going back to the first sentence to remindmyself what I'm talking about. What can be done about this problem I'vealready forgotten I have? Wanda Ring, Torrance, California Dear Wanda: There are two very simple exercises you can do to alleviate absent-mindedness.Forgetfulness, by the way, is caused primarily by weak neck muscles. See,thoughts originate in the head. When the neck muscles are weak, the thoughtscan fall through the neck and down into the body, where they don't do muchgood. So the first exercise is to tighten the neck muscles and constrictthe neck. (It's true. Back in the old days when boys had to wear ties toschool, they remembered more.) Now in the beginning, until your neck musclesare really strong, there's bound to be some leakage. That's why you shouldstand on your head at least twice a day. This will allow the thoughts torush back into your brain. If this doesn't work, forget it. MORE NONSENSE FROM SWAMI BEYONDANANDA --back by popular demand! Dear Swami: I've noticed that some followers of traditional western religions seemto feel threatened by Hinduism, and have even equated yoga with "devilworship." Even in my own liberal family, when my Jewish grandmotherheard I was studying yoga, she said, "Yoga? Don't you know that "yoga'is "a goy' spelled backward?" Is there anything that can bedone to combat these misconceptions? Haydn Sikh, Watsonville, California Dear Haydn: I wish I had some good news for you, but I don't. I have heard reportsthat some fundamentalist Christian schools are teaching their childrenabout an elaborate Hindu plot to use yoga, meditation, chanting, and deliciousspicy food to curry favor with unsuspecting Westerners. And these curry-favoringWesterners, the story goes, will be led down the garden path until Christianityis completely co-opted by Hinduism. Allow me to quote from a pamphlet putout by Rev. Tim Tayshin's "Mortal Majority": "Imagine, if you will, our beloved faith totally Hinduized. Imagineour young people being forced to sing Krishna carols--you know, "Wewish You a Hare Krishna' or "Puri Roasting On An Open Fire, KaliNipping At Your Nose,' or some Elvis impersonator crooning about how "It'sgonna be a Blue Krishna without you.' But it's even more grim than that.To the tune of "Onward Krishna Soldiers," our young peoplewill become born-again, born-again, born-again Krishnas who embrace reincarnation.And here is the worst part: Those who resist this false belief in reincarnationwill be forced to accept it in their next lifetime!" Contact comedian Swami Beyondananda through Asian Publishing, P.O. Box108, Lower Lake, CA 95457; (800) 275-2606. Alojamiento en hotel barato HvolsvollurPRAYERS FOR DECEMBER And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed.--Genesis 1.11 Why is my liberty judged of another man's conscience? For if I by gracebe a partaker, why am I evil spoken of for that which I give thanks. Whethertherefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory ofGod. --I Corinthians 10: 29-31 By the inclination to serve the lotus feet of the Supreme Personalityof Godhead, suffering humanity can immediately cleanse the dirt which hasaccumulated in their minds during innumerable births. Like Ganges water,which emanates from the toes of the lotus feet of the Lord, such a processimmediately cleanses the mind. --Srimad-Bhagavatam, 4.21.3 PRAY FOR PEACE FOUNDATION est. 1995 Pray For Peace Foundation was founded to spread awareness, educationand devotion to the Great and Holy Mystery that is God. We accept all pathsas true; all religions are but branches of the same tree. We promote interfaithdialogue and exchange programs to develop tolerance between religions. Pray For Peace Foundation is dedicated to nonviolence (vegetarian diet)and daily meditation. Pray For Peace members are committed to the legalizationof sacred natural medicines for spiritual healing, for all people. |