melvin

Dying itself IS a terrible experience to have.

 

Even so we do use our hands and fishing equipments to take the fish out of the water, we do not kill it directly. It dies of suffocation. This contrast with when a person takes a knife and use it on a living, breathing creature.

 

Yes, I know - KILLING IS KILLING. No excuses there. Both are Evil acts. But what I'm saying here is Lesser of Two Evils. It is less Evil action to take a fish out of water and let it suffocate then it is to put an animal to the knife and watch it bleed to death.

 

And hopefully, in time, we can repeat this argument to those who consume seafood and a World where vegetarian dietary is the ONLY dietary available could come to be.

It reminds of me of a young man possessed by evil spirits whom Lord Jesus was able to exorcise .To escape from the Lord`s wrath after leaving the young man`s body they managed to find shelter inside dozens of hogs and swines which created a stampede as they hurled themselves over a cliff into the sea to drown. What a festive mood it was when the people made roasted meat out of these pigs without using knives to kill them. Was drowning therefore a much better way of slaughtering these unclean animals in Jesus time without having to slash and chop these animal`s throats and necks using knives and axes? Or inversely proportionally take out a school of fish and other marine life from the water using nets to die instead of spearing, harpooning, and blasting them with dynamites?

"Which is the lesser evil eating vegetables or sea weeds?"

 

Where is evil in this Question?

 

My View: What I meant is that if you kill a vegetable( grown on land) and a sea weed for food which vegetables reap less bad karma if it is proven that they, too, feel pain like the animals when they are butchered.

 

Sea Weed is a vegetable

 

My View: (Now I know. Thanks.) It`s said that extracts from sea weeds are used as stabilizers, gelling agents, or emulsifiers, for pet food and dental moulds,dyes, toothpaste, salad dressing, welding rods and pizza toppings. Agar, the jelly found in sea weeds is irreplaceable as a medium on which to culture fungi and bacteria for medical testing and research in microbiology.

 

 

Whereas the sea weeds industry in the West is based mainly on these chemicals, in the East there are vast farms where sea weeds are grown for food. It`s a pity that Westerners have so little interest in eating sea vegetables( sea weeds) for so many are highly nutritious and particularly rich in some vitamins and trace elements.

 

 

Orignial Texts are taken from Rob Anderson of the Seafood Fisheries Reaserch Institute.

 

.

Here`s another tricky question: Which is the lesser evil eating vegetables or sea weeds?

"the same kind of choice"?!!

 

According to Hindu dogma one should expect to receive reactions which are commensurate to actions.

Being tormented in a lake of fire for eternity for the 'sin' of unbelief doesn't sound commensurate to me.

And it is this dogma which is the primary distinguishing characteristic of the message

of Jesus. The rest is just rehashed Buddhist philosophy. From this I must conclude that the mindless

praise of Jesus as a teacher is simply based upon his popularity - there is no intellectual substance to it.

Thomas did not believe Jesus Christ resurrected from the dead until he touched the Lord`s wounds. That " Christ Jesus would come to judge the living and the dead " a statement taken from the Apostle`s Creed is what makes Christianity a religion to reckon with.

.Basically an avtar.Not a combination but he tells vivekanda something like -'i am the one who was rama and krishna earlier'

What was the Goal of Ramakrishna, Sant ? If it is Love of God then he is with us not against us.

:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

 

Don't worry. I never have been able to change overnight. GOT IT?

Somethings never change.....

I rather concentrate more on the Life and Teachings of Jesus Christ rather than contemplate on John`s Revelation. I prefer to read Mark and Matthew`s Gospels. In fact, I christened my son`s names Marco ( a nurse) and Matthew ( an electronics and communications engineer).

Would we then consider that eating fish, crabs, shrimps, clams etc. a lesser evil than eating animal meat and vegetables?

Christians eat animal meat simply because Jesus taught his disciples that what goes inside the mouth isn`t sinful but that which comes from the heart. But there`s not a verse in the New Testament of the Bible that says Jesus ate animal meat but fish. Confusing isn`t it?

No if you actually read about ramarkishna just wikipedia him youll know some reasons why srila prabupada said it.Ramakrishna had again and again claimed to be rama and krishna.

His devotees of the ramakrishna mission were all propaganding such things.

You mean, Sant, that Ramakrishna is a combination of Rama and Krishna just like Sri Caitanya is a combination of Radha and Krishna?

I`m not a theolgian. But maybe the sins referred to from those Gospel quotes in John are the material bodies.

i meant Ramkrishna,melvin,not SP

Was Ramakrishna a servant of God?

Do you always accuse people of attacking a personality simply because they

don't agree with your unqualified praise?

It happens everyday to everyone when a fan defends a famous personality from an attack Try attacking ( with words) say, US Pres. Barack Obama or Sri Kalki Bhagavan. You`ll get a similar reaction from their supporters.

I didn't say he is avtaar.

Swami Prabhupad is not an avatar, Ranjeetmore, but a servant of God.

OK that's fine. But please paste the whole quote. I just don't see the point in Krsna telling me that I am in Goloka Vrndavana if he is directly in front of me. That Krsna is in front of me should be clear enough in itself for me to understand that "Yes I am here with Krsna".

 

My View:Thehat, have you truly experienced Krsna being in front of you?

 

And also, if I am with him and I have come straight from the earthly plane would it really be of importance that this issue of my transition into the spiritual plane is discussed with Krsna. As a small gopa or gopi I would be much more interested in playing. I could see Dvarkavasi Krsna explaining this sort of thing but not Syamsunder Krsna. So this is difficult for me to grasp considering there is no Dvarkavasi Krsna in Goloka Vrndavana

 

My View: If a picture paints a thousand words, Thehat, then why can`t I paint you? Because the words will never show? What I really mean here is that Krsna is present within everyone`s heart as the Supersoul and without as the Time factor. That Krsna is the only One who could reveal to us if one has reached Vaikuntha. There`s always a time for departure and a time for arrival. No one can reach Vaikuntha if there`s the absence of Time.

 

"second to none"? That is an entirely subjective opinion and I wonder how

much of it has been shaped by propaganda put out by the Catholic Church

and eagerly lapped up by the Western media. If you are willing to consider

other points of view then consider this one also:

The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice

We have here in our place the Missionaries of Charity who take care of old men and women without homes and relatives. Most of these Charity sisters come from India. They are the product of Mother Theresa`s devotion to God. Can you duplicate that? I hope you say say sorry, Smiley, to Mother Theresa. She`ll forgive you 7 times 7 times 7.

Don't take my word for it. I am not so learned on this point. But I think at that point, if you've reached some Vaikuntha planet then knowledge of what you'd done in the past would be of no concern. Depends on your personality. Obviously if you have arrived in Goloka then all your daily activities would be bhakti so it would just be a matter of waking up or coming back to your natural constitutional position. Then you can assume that you had succeeded in your bhakti. Your every day would be immersed in bhakti it would just be a matter of switching over.

 

I too have pondered if it possible to recall past activities on the earthly plane. I haven't come across an answer yet. But I've read that it is like waking up and you just brush the past off as it were nothing and then you get back to your activities.

Was it Maitreya Rsi who said to Vidura, " Krsna is within everyone`s heart and without as the Time factor."? In short, it`s only Krsna who will let us know we have reached Vaikuntha in time. Anyone who says it`s otherwise is hogfed.

How would I know I have already reached any Vaikuntha planet while performing Bhakti-yoga only?

From thehat. "As a hindu you should aim for bhakti only. And if you reach any Vaikuntha planet you have sccceeded."

I`m a Catholic who loves to eat prasadam if offered. Meanwhile, those who insist that Christianity is the only way to God are not yet self-realized. This also holds true for those who say that Jesus is not a historical personality. It`self-realization that takes away all our biases.

In the beginning, there was only one India. In the end, there were two, Muslim Pakistan and Hindu India. Similarly, in the beginning, there was only Korea. In the end, there were two, communist North Korea and democratic South Korea. From the beginning there was only Palestine. In the end there was only Israel.

Our Goal is Love is the heading of the discussions.

 

 

Think.

The real goal of bhakti is love of God. But how can we love God if we don`t even know how to love ourselves and our fellowmen? What`s the use if we compare our religion with others if it would only lead to debate and hate?

We may have embraced the best religion in the world but it`s not the winning ticket to heaven. It`s love.

How I wish those who`d discredit Jesus for not being a historical personality would show some humility as what Mother Theresa of Calcutta did. She may not be a pure devotee of Krsna but her service and Love of God is second to none.

but,dear melvin,surely attachment of the mind(which we call love in the material wolrd) is certainly supposed to aimed towards someone who is spiritual-shuddha sattva-Like Hari and guru.

 

My View: Yes my dear ranjeetmore you`re correct.

 

Mam ekam sharnam vraja.

 

attachment of mind only towards Me-Sri Krsna.

 

My View: Yes. That`s also correct.

 

all the other good deeds...go on doing...who will stop us ???

but the mind should always remain in Sri Krsna.

 

My View: Yes, ranjeetmore. You`re absolutely right.

 

95% of Gauranga's associates were householders.Love is a very general term.We have to be specific: Love towards Sri Krsna and guru and all the compassion etc etc towards the downtrodden.

 

My View: Yes, we have to be specific about it. But if you gonna tell this to the SRF devotees of Yogananda Paramahamsa you will be surprised at what they`ll tell you. Go ahead and register ( www.yogananda.net) and you will know what I mean.

This is the ideal.

 

My View: There`s also such a thing as radical.

 

Ranjeetmore, I`m a registered member of this website ( www.yogananda.net). They follow the teachings of Yogananda Paramahamsa. Because their theme is LOVE, they pray for each other`s welfare. If one of them gets sick, the members pray for his/her recovery. You can see how harmonious they are towards filling the emptiness with LOVE not HAte.

Liberation is the 4th dimension in the human endeavor. The 5th is Love of God. Compared with the ocean of love of transcendental pleasure, the conception of impersonal Brahman is no more significant than a drop of water.