melvin

I`m just being myself(mysoul) not ego.

It`s a website created by www.krishna.com. I used to discuss spiritual topics in her forum. But they just don`t have the heart to hear what I have to say.

In this modern age, I`m simply happy to chant Hare Krsnah Hare Krsnah Krsnah Krsnah Hare Hare all the time. I don`t have to bother myself with bad karma because to quote from Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, "... You can embrace me roughly or make me heartbroken by not seeing You. You can do anything You want for You will always be my worshipful Lord unconditionally."( Siksastaka verse 8 )

As long as you have your material body, there will always be distress and sadness. The more they worsen when our material bodies become old. When memories are not sharp as they used to be ( when senility or alzheimer`s sets in). Can you be happy all the time when you have osteo or rheumatoid arthritis? Can you be happy if your eye sight is failing? Are you happy when you are deaf and can`t hear anymore the words, " I love you" when your wife says this to you? Material science is working hard to eradicate or minimize as much as possible these anxieties that go with age by looking for newer remedies. Can you be happy all the time when you have a headache or stomach ache? This is not an illusion. It`s a reality we to face in life.

Hundred years ago, there were no restrooms. So, the people in the 19th century moved their bowels just anywhere they can`t be seen. Were they happy with that? Were there child and adult diapers a hundred years ago? Were they happy without that?

Please permit me to add something regarding this so-called Gandharva marriage. I`m familiar with the term Gandharva because it`s description of the planet where its denizens are musicians. Narada Muni in his past life as Upabarhana was a Gandharva. He was cursed by the Prajapatis for being lusty while doing kirtan in an assembly. Thus, Narada Muni became a sudra in his next life. & yet because of his association with Krsnah devotees, Narada Muni, a sudra turned out to be a great soul(mahajana) devotee and disciple of God. Maybe by associating with Krsnah devotees that both of you and wife are able to extricate yourselves from this anxiety described as Gandharva marriage.

Sant, a hundred years ago ( 1909 ), 1) When people got injured they died immediately of tetanus and sepsis because tetanus vaccines and antibiotics were not yet available for general use. Were they happy with that? 2) People mostly walked or rode only on horses.It took them days or weeks to reach their destinations because there were no airplanes yet or fast cars to carry them there. Were they happy with that? 3) When winter came, there was no electricity to heat their homes. Were they happy with that? 4) When the pandemic H flu came, millions died because there were no vaccines invented yet to eradicate the problem. Were they happy with that? 5) Because there were no movies, television and internet, the people`s main recreation was sex. Were they happy with that? 6) When war came, hundreds of thousands of people died in battle because they were not equipped with guided tomahawk missles. Were they happy with that? 7) People ate usually spoiled food because there were no refrigerators during that time. Were they happy with that? 8) When people wanted to know what`s happening to the world, it took weeks to know what`s going on in its remote parts because satellites and s were not yet invented. Were they happy with that? 9) When people got sick with cancer, they thought it was a curse because there were no modern laboratory tests yet to diagnose and cure the problem. Were they happy with that? 10) People were always afraid of going out with wads of money for fear of being robbed because there were no ATM cards and teller machines yet available. Were they happy with that? I could go on and on citing the difference how people lived their lives between the past and the present. That the people are more happier now than when it was a hundred years ago.

Who discovered electricity? Who invented the incandescent bulb? Who invented the telephone? Who invented the electron microscope? Who invented the nuclear submarines? Who invented the internet? Who invented your personal computers and cell phones? Who invented the airplane? Who invented the movies? Who invented the microwave oven? Who first discovered the miracle drug penicillin? Who invented the X-ray machines and CAT scan? Who discovered gun powder? Who invented the first car? They were all scientists, right? Whenever you use the computer or light a bulb, drive a car, ride on an airplane, take an antibiotic, cook food in the microwave oven, watch television or a movie, at least we owe it to them for being able to create and discover these wonderful innovations that benefited mankind for the past decades. Yes, we know that man can live on trees and use his arm as pillow. If Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu were alive I believe he would be driving a modest car or use the internet simply for practical reasons.

What about reproductive learning? A Guru should know how to teach his student about reproduction. He should instruct his pupil why at the age of puberty the body changes from a more feminine or boyish one. The student will never be able to understand well why these basic emotions like LOve, Joy, Anger and Fear manifest in a rather complex way unlike in childhood. A Guru should know how to deliver and treat a sick baby. A Guru can`t just sit there when his pregnant student is about to give birth to a baby when the nearest help is still miles and miles away. If a midwife could deliver one then why can`t he? When Mary delivered Jesus was there a midwife who watched Mary in pain while she labored? If there was none to help deliver Mary`s baby then who did? You see, I have yet to hear a Guru do a radical one.

It`s said that experience is the best teacher. So, do I have to experience love first before saying that it`s true? What about hate the very opposite of love? If we obey the Guru who clears the mental cobwebs that clutter our path to God we will eventually learn to hate what we love.

I like to read a booklet about Srila Prabhupada when he was Abhay Charan de from the time he was born in 1896 until he relinquished his boyhood. How Srila Prabhupada was reared by his parents and relatives. What games did he played. Did he played basketball or hide-and-seek with his neighborhood friends? Did he had fights with boys bigger than his size? Did he have a girlfriend or childhood crush? You see, it is where you will find Srila Prabupada`s humaness and vulnerability which we all mere mortals possess. It seems that we all look up to Srila Prabhuapa as if he was God himself in the human form if we keep on adoring him as one. If he were alive today, Srila Prabhupada I believe would have none of it of the accolades we gave to him for being a true and loyal devotee and friend of Lord Krsna. I`d rather bow and give my respects to a devotee who cleans the toilet bowls everyday inside the temple of Sri Damodara than one who wants to be treated as if he were God himself.

I wonder why we always give praise and thanks to Abhay Charan de for all the achievements he made in this world as ISKCON`s spiritual master and yet so little we`ve heard from his biological father, Mr Charan de. His Divine Grace AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prahupada wouldn`t be what he was if his father did not put him to school as well as the financial assistance and spiritual guidance he gave to Abhay during his married life. If Abhay`s father turned to Islam when Abhay was only a boy, there would have been no Prabhupada`s books to read. No Srimad Bhagavatam verses in English to quote. No Back to Godhead magazine. No ISKCON. No Matchless Gifts. No nothing at all! My glories and obeisances therefore to Abhay`s father Mr Charan de( Srila Prabhupada`s Guru) for being a true and loyal devotee of Lord Krsna(Govinda).

Tantrums ------- There was this story of a man who asked Lord Siva the power to cut someone`s head-off. Because the man was his devotee, Lord Siva gave him a tantra-power to do so. The man was so happy because anyone who displeased him had his head cut-off. Thus whenever the man went into tantrums everyone around him would ran away to save their necks. The man became so powerful that just by putting his hand on someone`s head he disliked, immediately that head was severed from the body. The man was so puffed-up with power and pride that he thought, " What if I put my hand on Lord Siva`s head?" When Lord Siva heard of it, the Lord got so mad that he swiftly cut the man`s head off. The lesson here is that if you are that kind who`s prone to tantrums because your expectations were not met be sure they are not directed to one who is a pure devotee of Lord Krsna. Because you might correspondingly have your head taken-off after receving in exchange for your tantrums Lord Krsna`s sharp sudarsana chakra disc.

In our dialect/national language the word Guru means teacher, one who can impart knowledge to those who are wanting. From kindergarten to med school, I can`t count how many Gurus who went through my life who taught me knowledge. The most prominent is my father, Dr. Mario Cochiengco Mabalay(79 years old at present). He taught me pathology and dermatology in med school and family medicine when I became a full-pledged physician in 1987. The most important lesson I learned from him most was his humility not the medical subjects he taught to his students and me. From babyhood to adulthood my Guru was always there for me through thick and thin guiding me to what I am today. Yes, I consider my father my Guru because after all he created me. You see, even before I was born, he dreamed of a character in the comic magazine he loved to read and vowed to call his future 3rd child, Melvin. I`m the realization of that comic character in the magazine entitled. Melvin & Audrey.

In other words, I can`t serve the pure devotee acharya and Krsna if I sincerely and simply chant: Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare/Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare? --------------------

Is your Guru His Divine Grace AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada God? If your answer is yes, why? If your answer is no, why?

"But my dear Sir, if I accept Lord Chaitanya as my Spiritual Master, He wont consider me a great fool. Therefore he will more or less punish by me saying that because I`m not a fool I have the capacity to study Vedanta. In turn he wont allow me to chant Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Hare Hare/Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. He`ll tell me if I chant the Hare Krsna mantra it wiont make me perfect."

From the Book the Teachings of Lord Chaitanya I quote: The astonishing fact is that Lord Chaitanya. although the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, never displayed himself as Krsna, Rather, whenever he was detected by intelligent devotees as Lord Krsna and was addressed as Lord Krsna, he denied it. Indeed, he sometimes placed his hands over his ears, protesting that one shouldn`t be addressed as the Supreme Lord.Indirectly, he was teaching the mayavada philosophers that one should not falsely pose himself as the Supreme Lord and thereby misguide people. Nor should followers be foolish enough to accept anyone and everyone as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Note: That`s why until today I have not accepted a Guru who`ll initiate and lead me home back to Godhead.

We could discuss this movie in a spiritual way why there are so many individuals in India who dwell in the slums. Or why Lord Rama appeared in the movie when Jamal and Salim`s lives were in danger, or why sporadic riots between the Indian Muslims and Indian Hindus occur. You see, Salim before the movie ended embraced Islam and got himself killed( at the moment of his death Salim uttered " God is great!" )for saving Latika, etc.

Nominated for Oscar`s best picture award, it`s a story that revolves around three characters in the movie. They are Jamal, the witty kid who connects his answers to the questions raised from his wretched childhood who eventually won 20 million rupees from an answer and question contest; Salim, Jamal`s toughie elder brother who envied Jamal for being a romantic and a sentimentalist, and Latika, the girl whom Jamal fell in love with. My View: You will fall in love and be entertained in the movie if you picture Jamal playing the role of Krsna, Salim as Balarama, and Latika as Radha. That`s why I wont be surprised if this movie Slum Dog Millionaire wins Oscar`s best motion picture of the year award. Try and see it for yourselves.

That song reminds me of Woodstock 1969. I was only in high-school then when my biological brother(manav) and his friends were smoking ganja and imbibing amphetamines. Oh, how I love to hear the drums in "Soul Sacrifice" accompanied by the electrifying sounds coming from Santana`s vina. The song, " With a little help from my friends," sang by Joe Cocker were intoxicating. & yet during those times I didn`t even know Krsna even existed. It was Only Ten Years After(1979) that a childhood friend revealed to me the long and winding road which was the Hare Krsna maha mantra. Woodstock `69 was Prabhupada written all over.

If Maharaja Pariksit was not cursed by Srngi, the King wouldn`t have fasted for seven days until death hearing Srimad Bhagavatam from Sukadeva Goswami. The curse was a blessing in disguise.

Tonight we have experienced a lunar eclipse. It`s auspicious because the moon was eclipsed at the time of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu`s birth in Mayapur in the town of Nadia just after sunset on the evening of the 23rd Phalguna 1407 Sakabha, answering to the 18th of February, 1486, of the Christian Era( Taken from the Prologue by Bhaktivinoda Thakura, page xiii in the book The Golden Avatar- The Teachings of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Philippine Copyright 1981). The lunar eclipse is just 9 days ahead of Lord Chaitanya`s birthday. However, the Chinese consider this cosmic event as a bad omen. Please correct me if I`m wrong.

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To all devotees of the Child God you are all invited to join the Sto. Nino Festival on January 17 for the fluvial parade in the morning and procession in the afternoon. On January 18, there`ll be a mardi de gras.(www.sinulog.ph) Pit Senyor! Hare Krsna!