The interview with Stephen J Rosen was great; more like it please. Too many things are confined to the realms of wonder, ignorance, question, etc: Mr Rosen -- in an open, inviting, and friendly way -- opened it up and laid it out like a delicious smorgasbord for the listener to choose from. And there wasn't much that didn't enliven the appetite. I liked hearing about the history of the Hare Krishna movement in such a personal setting: the speaker sitting in his lounge room, talking warmly and intimately about his personal experiences, which were an entertaining series of revelations and memories, each sprinkled with a generous dose of ancient eastern wisdom. He should write a book :)

Well done...

I was very impressed with Steve Rosen's presentation. Although I have been studying philosophy for the past 30 years, I have never seen such a clear and logical speaker. How can I get in touch with him?

Regards,

Joe

Hi Joe,

Glad you enjoyed the show!

If you write me at animalvoices@ciut.fm, I'll pass on your contact info to Steven. I'm sure he'd be happy to hear from you.

Cheers,
Lauren

Hi B Sorensen,

Thanks for listening to the program! I really enjoyed his depth of knowledge on the subject, too.

Cheers,
Lauren

Mr. Sorensen,

I, too, found Mr. Rosen's discussion to be the perfect mix of downhome, real-world, contemporary friendliness and Eastern wisdom. I was also pleasantly surprised to discover how practical his bits of philosophical wisdom were. Many times we aspire for some spiritual activity thinking that the spiritual experience is only validated by either mystical feelings or by converting to a life of monasticism. Mr Rosen's explanations, however, suggest that we can live in the world, attending to our normal duties, and still have progressive spiritual experience. I am not a monk and I have tried chanting, "Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare" and found it to be a very mystical and spiritually uplifting experience.

I was also delighted to hear his very logical argument for respecting all life forms as equal parts of God's creation. It is so pleasant to be exposed to a spiritual culture where holistic modalities and paradigms occur so naturally, as inherent pieces of the culture itself. The purity and sincerity with which he spoke were readily apparent, and, I have no doubt it is because of his own adherence to the very "Krishna Consciousness Philosophy" of which he speaks.

An internet search for his name also showed that he is quite the prolific author. Try looking for "Steve J. Rosen" or "Steven Rosen" on Amazon.com and avail yourself of a whole new world of reading opportunities. His book on vegetarianism, which, I believe, is referenced on the front page of this website, looks quite interesting.

I enjoyed the spiritual discussion of vegetarianism by Rosen. As a baby-boomer I think it is great that the vegetarian movement has created such tremendous public acceptance. When I became vegetarian my father, not atypically, thought I was going to die. However, in spite of public acceptance as an ex-military guy I wince at the current trend of anti-vegetarians who try to portray it as a girly-girly thing. For example, ads for steak houses sometimes imply a manly-manly aspect of eating steak. Anyway, one cannot have everything, but I do think Rosen's spiritual presentation introduces another needed dimension to vegetarianism.

Mr. Rosen's presentation of his dietary discipline and philosophical/spiritual doctrine was the most lucid part of my day. The idea that rather than renouncing the world, we can "spiritualize" our behaviour in it (eg what and how we eat) refreshes, intrigues, and, I admit it, titillates me. When is he coming on again?

While I understand that his religion preaches that it's ok, my ethics have shown, time and again, that humans cannot be trusted to treat their animal slaves with compassion if those animals are being used like products in an assembly line. It would be wonderful if his religion would get its ethics straight and its head out

That said, Mr. Rosen's knowledge of the philosophy preached by ISKON is /solid/, and he knows his stuff. He's also got solid grounding in generalised Eastern philosophy as well.

Great talk on vegetarianism. Steven Rosen is obviously well versed in his subject. His talk took me back to the days I spent in India learning kirtan and entering into the deep esoteric meanings of chanting, in general, and the Hare Krishna mantra, in particular. I have recently returned from Brazil and Spain and am presently touring America with my kirtan band. It's very encouraging to meet so many people who are into a vegetarian life style and Eastern spiritual practices. Let's have more interviews with people like Rosen whose spirituality is imbued with both a philosphical and devotional foundation. A healthy balance, for sure.

defenseless bovines

I really enjoyed your interview with Steven Rosen. His explanation of the natural relationship between humans and cows was something that I had never heard before. Surely it's possible to conceive of humans respecting and caring for another species, though we may not have much experience of it. Above and beyond that it raised an interesting question: what would the fate of cows be without some kind of protector in the 'state of war' that exists in nature? Wouldn't they simply become pray for a predator higher up in the food chain than themselves? Cows do seem to lack many of the biological defense mechanisms that other creatures are endowed with, whether this is due to evolution or natural law still it suggests that Mr. Rosen could be right...