melvin

Dear Chandu_69, Why single out Christianity as the cause that would further divide sub continent India and cause hatred among hindus? Why not single out also atheists, religious hindu and non-hindu sects. Can you not understand? Ecumenism was re-initiated ( Srila Prahupad even went to Vatican and offered Pope John Paul VI the Srimad Bhagavatam) by God himself to quell violence among hindu and non-hindu fanatics. Besides, it`s not Christians in India converting hindus to christians whom you should worry. It`s the muslims in Pakistan converting hindus to Islam. Look what Islam did to sub continent India. It was before only one India. Now, she`s only 1/2 of India. In other words, Ecumenism, is here to prevent this ancient nation from becoming 1/4 of India. Until there is none. Can you beat that? Melvin

That`s why there`s this need to hold a World Congress on Ecumenism. Further divisions and hatred in the Indian society will only worsen if you(Hindus) and the others( Non-Hindus) are not heard in one big forum. Communist China and North Korea will only make a laughing stock out of everyone who believes in God. If Communist China invades India what nations would come to help and rescue her? When there were treats that the Philippines, a Catholic country in the early 70s, would someday become a Communist country. What nation came to rescue and get rid of her Red Chinese and USSR trained Communist Party of the Philippines and the New People`s Army? Why, it was no other than Uncle Sam, the United States of America, a Christian (Non-Catholic) country. Similarly, if Communist China invades India, it would be no other than her neighbor, Pakistan, an Islamic country, who`d come and defend her from the invading army of billions of Chinese atheists.

How are you, Primate? I would like you to interpret this for me which I will quote verbatim from this book, The Teachings of Lord Caitanya, I`m now reading: After hearing the direct interpretation of the Vedanta-sutra, one of the sanyasis immediately declared, O Sripada Caitanya, whatever You have explained in Your condemnation of the indirect interpretation of omkara is most useful. Only a fortunate person can accept Your interpretation as the right one. Actually, everyone of us now knows that the interpretation given by Sankara are all artificial and imaginary, but because we belong to Sankacaraya`s sect we take it for granted that his interpretation is the right one. We shall be very glad to hear from You further explain the Vedanta-sutra by direct interpretation." Being so requested, Lord Caitanya explained each and every verse of Vedanta -sutra according to the direct interpretation. He also explained Brahman, indicating that Brahman means the greatest, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Brahman indicates that the greatest is full with six opulences: the reservoir of all wealth, all fame, all strength, all beauty, all knowledge and all renunciation. When Lord Krsna was personally present on earth, He exhibited these six opulences in full. No one was richer than Lord Krsna, no one was more learned than Him, no one more beautiful, no one stronger, no one more famous and no one more renounced. Therefore, the Supreme Personality of Krsna is the Supreme Brahman. This is confirmed by Arjuna in Bhagavad-gita(10.12). Param brahma param dhama: " You are the Supreme Brahman, the ultimate, the supreme abode." He is the shelter of the Absolute Truth(para-tattva) because He is param brahma. There is nothing material in His opulences and exhibitions of wealth, fame, strength, beauty, knowledge and renunciation. All the Vedic verses and hymns indicate that everything about Him is spiritual and transcendental. Whenever the word Brahman appears in the Vedas, it should be understood, the Supreme Personality, is indicated. An intelligent person at once replaces the word Brahman with the name Krsna. To accept the Supreme as impersonal is to deny the manifestation of His spiritual energies.When someone simply accepts the impersonal exhibition of spiritual energy to the exclusion of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he does not accept the Absolute Truth in full. To accept the Supreme Personality in full is to accept SPIRITUAL VARIEGATEDNESS which is transcendental to the material modes of nature. By failing to indicate the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the impersonalists are left with an incomplete conception. Primate, spiritual variegatedness doesn`t mean spiritual oneness, right?

An attitude like yours makes you automatically a delegate of the World Congress on Ecumenism. While those who advocate vegetarianism but don`t believe in God are, without exception, disqualified as member simply because of their atheistic views. A full conversion, however, is required if they insist in participating in the discussions say, a forum on climate change, homosexual marriage, abortion, AIDS, polygamy, poverty, terrorism, drug addiction, or pornography. No deadlines, however, are set in resolving these global issues until an incarnation of God comes and says, " That`s enough! I`ll settle them all by Myself."

If I`m no angel, I guess I`m the devil.

The controversial issues like meat eating have to be resolved yet in the ecumenist discussions. If a consensus is reached. Then that`s the time changes have to be implemented. If vegetarianism wins then that`s a breakthrough. Between the devil and the deep blue sea, War and Dialogue, I rather choose the latter.

This procession and walking side by side with the Deity and visiting other temples is what we call here as Visita Eglesia. Is this what you call in Hindu Parikrama? This is was what Srila Prabhuipad desired before he departed to Vrndavan but did not materialize. Thus I believed hastened his departure.

Dear Smaranam, That`s a good idea. That animal meat shouldn`t be served on Muslims and Christians. But what if these Christian and Muslim delegates insist they be served their favorite dish? To avoid conflict. The dining rooms are marked for Muslim`s only, Vegetarians only, so on so forth. What you don`t see won`t hurt, anyway. Melvin

It`s the rich Catholic Chruch who pays for every living entity ( vegetable, fish, and animal) killed, cooked and eaten at the dining tables of delegates attending the Ecumenist forum.

Dear Hindustani, A few weeks later after that incident, we eloped. Melvin:)

My eldest son, Matthew, wouldn`t be here today and his younger brother, Marco, and sister, Melsa, if my wife and I had really wanted an abortion. I was still a medical student that time when my sweetheart got pregnant without our parents knowledge. She as the eldest among 11 siblings just graduated from college. Pregnancy was the last word in our minds because we were that time engaged in extra-marital sex. The day we attempted Matthew`s abortion, my sweetheart and her best friend were looking for an abortionist. While I skipped class wondering where they went because they left from their boarding house earlier. With this unbearable stressful situation, I found myself seating inside a church asking from God across my view what to do. The reply came a few moments later when I saw a white dove entering the church and alighted on the shoulder of the crucified Jesus before the altar. When I saw the sign I immediately stood from my seat and rushed out. Convinced I won`t let them have Matthew taken. As I walked three blocks away, I met the two. My sweetheart`s best friend immdiately disappeared from my sight while the former stayed. If we aborted Matthew I would be by now a dark angel doctor abortionist. And my wife married to a very rich businessman. At present, I`m a government physician whose patients, 1500 of them, are confined inside four walls. (www,youtube.com/cpdrc). whereas my sweetheart 9 years later became a mother of three wonderful children

As a physician. If ever I`ll do abortions on indicated ones, the recipient I hope goes HOME BACK TO PARABRAHMAN in his/her next life.

Prabhupada says abortionists in their next lives will be reborn inside the wombs of mothers who decide to have an abortion.

Everyone is invited to the banquet in Ecumenism so to speak. If I were the Pope, I`d prepare a sumptous meal for the guests. There`ll be dining rooms allocated for vegetarians, a carnivorus meal for Christians and Non-Christians, and a porkless meal for Muslims. After this very important engagement, all who have partaken what Divine Providence has provided go inside a large conference room to discuss among themselves the controversial spiritual issues that had been plaguing the unity of the world`s major religions since time immemorial. This is the only way to PEACE. That it should not be negotiated on the battlefield but on the dining tables.

There is. That`s when the Deity leaves the temple accompanied by devotees from all walks of life, chanting, praying, humming and glorifying God at every step of the way passing through narrow streets, winding roads until they`re back again in the temple.

Sant, you are a self-realized soul...

Yes, when I woke up this morning and opened this thread, I saw your post. It`s was so beautiful that I could not help but opened immmediately this book, The Teachings of Lord Caitanya, as if by remote, quoted the Lord`s Siksastaka verses 5-8.

Yes. We are still kids. It`s because we still want to play with Govinda in the forest of Vrndavan. We love riding on the backs of surabhi bulls with Govinda at the front. We even hid in the bushes, as He stole the garments of the gopis of Vraja while they were bathing in the river. Yes! We`re just kids alright! Because of envy, even Lord Brahma kidnapped some of us so Govinda wont have play mates to enjoy.

O son of Maharaja Nanda, I am Your eternal servitor, yet somehow or other I have fallen into the ocean of birth and death. Please pick me up from this ocean of death and place me as one of the atoms at Your lotus feet. O my Lord, when will my eyes be decorated with tears of love flowing constantly when I chant Your holy name? When will my voice choke up, and when will the hairs of my body stand on end at the recitation of Your name? O Govinda! Feeling Your separation, I am considering a moment to be like twelve years or more. Tears are flowing from my eyes like torrents of rain, and I am feeling all vacant in the world in Your absence. I know no one but Krsna as my Lord, and He shall remain so even if He handles me roughly by His embrace or makes me brokenhearted by not being present before me. He is completely free to do anything and everything, for He is always my worshipful Lord unconditionally.

My first baptism into Hindu religion was when I defended Srila Prabhupad`s ISKCON here in my place in 1987 although they knew my religion is Catholicism. There was even those times after being engrossed in reading Srimad Bhagavatam that my co-workers in the hospital questioned why I no longer go to bed with my wife. That stopped when my wife placed all of Srila Prabhupad`s books inside a jute sack and returned them to my childhood friend, Gaurasundara das, who lent me the books. That was how rabid I was in advocating Krsna consciousness in my home town. Now, I can`t help but defend my religion( Christ consciousness ) from Hindus and non-Hindus who attack Lord Jesus Christ and His teachings. But then again, if I see that Srila Prabhupad`s Krsna Consciousness and his teachings are attacked by Mayavadism, I go an extra mile to defend the former. And when I see that the followers of Dvaita philosophy attack Sankaracarya for advocating Advaita, I defend the latter. Why is this so? And when somebody attacks Islam a religion whose God is Allah I defend the latter because I felt Allah is no other than the Child God( Bathala ) whom we worship here in my place.( www.sinulog.ph). I`m not trying to confuse you. This is not a joke. In fact, it`s a confession I had to make.

Then act like a man and whip Sambya with some tongue lashing.

Just as I know that Krsna is just a Boy.

It says here that Sankaracarya`s real religion was Vedantism. Though not compatible with sectarian worship is predisposed to be impartial. The legend says that when summoned by his mother`s death bed, he spoke 1st of Vedanta philosophy. But when she bade him to give her some consolation which she could understand, he recited a hymn to Siva but when the attendants of Siva appeared she was frightened. Sankaracarya then recited a hymn to Visnu. and when her gentler messengers came to her bedside, she gave her son her blessing and allowed them to take her willing soul. At the present day, the Smartas have a preference for the worship of Lord Siva but the basis of their faith is not Sivaism but the recognition of the great Indian traditions known as Smrti. That next to Vedantism was the essence of Sankaracarya`s teachings. That he hoped to correct extravagant and impartial views and to lead to those heights whence it is seen that all is one, " without a difference." This story implies that Sankaracarya was ready to sanction any reputable worship with a slight bias towards Visnuism. Maybe this why he didn`t preach Sivaism ( Sankaracarya is an incarnation of Siva) but Mayavadism.

But Lord Caitanya established that Sankaracarya was deputed to teach by the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He even quoted a verse from Padma Puran(62.31) in which it is stated that the Lord ordered Mahadeva, Lord Siva, to present some imaginary interpretation of Vedic literatures in order to divert people from the actual purpose of the Vedas. " by doing so you will attempt to make them atheists, " the Lord said. " After that, they can produce more population."

I have this not so nice or not so bad desire but won`t perform it would I still reap the reactions of karma? Simply because it`s possible that you have this good desire but performs it ultimately with a bad one. In short, man`s freewill can never be controlled by fate or God. It`s a choice one has to make, now or never.