RadheyRadhey108

You're welcome

Might I ask what path you follow?

Hello... I'm a college student in a world religions class, and I'm studying Hinduism right now for my final project. I've read up on a few things about it but part of our requirements is to interview a member of the Hindu faith. So if someone would answer the following questions as fully as they can, it would be a wonderfully huge help to me! Some of them I'm confused about, and some of them I just want to get a human perspective of (straight from the horse's mouth). You don't have to answer all of them, and if someone wants to answer a few and someone wants to answer a few others, that would work too... I'd just like to get an insider's opinion and thoughts and feelings on these things.

 

So here are the questions:

 

What exactly is Varna? Is it the same as the caste system in India, and what determines a person's Varna?

 

What is the Hindu view of people like Shankara and Ramajuna and others who challenged the way Hinduism had always been? Are they revered or thought of as radicals? or are Hindus indifferent to them?

 

How many Hindus do you think do a daily puja?

 

What do you think is the most popular "face" of Brahman and why?

 

How do you understand Brahman? How do you think one achieves liberation?

 

What is the role of the holy texts in your life?

 

What is your view (or optionally the Hindu view in general) of women and their role in society, and how they should be treated?

 

What defining rules or ethics do you think set Hinduism apart from other religions or cultures?

 

What do you think of other religions, from a Hindu standpoint?

 

What do you think are the most important things a Hindu can do in his/her life?

I hope this helps:

Q: What is the Hindu view of people like Shankara and Ramajuna and others who challenged the way Hinduism had always been? Are they revered or thought of as radicals? or are Hindus indifferent to them?

A: It depends on which school of thought the person follows. If someone is a member of the Advaita Vedanta sect, they revere Shakaracharya to a rather extreme extent… many considering him an incarnation of God. I believe that Sri Vaishnavas think that Sri Ramanuja was just ‘polishing the diamond’ (so-to-speak) of Hinduism, and bringing it back to it’s beginnings. I, personally, am more devoted to Lord Chaitanya, and consider Him the incarnation of Radha and Krishna. I think that He helped to kick off the great Bhakti revolution along with other radical devotees such as Mira Bai.

Q: How many Hindus do you think do a daily puja?

A: I tend to perform some sort of deity worship each morning, but I know other Hindus who don’t/can’t because they either don’t have time or are lazy

Q: What do you think is the most popular "face" of Brahman and why?

A: I would say that the most popular form is Krishna, since nearly everyone at least knows the name ‘Krishna’. They may not know what His name means, but they at least know of Him. While some other avatars/deities, such as Varaha, are virtually unknown to the non-Hindu public. Of course, Krishna is also a large center of devotion to many Hindus as well, with Vaishnavism (the worship of Vishnu/Krishna and His avatars) comprising around 70% of Hindus.

Q: How do you understand Brahman? How do you think one achieves liberation?

A: I understand Brahman as being a personal force in the form of Sri Radha and Sri Krishna, as I’m a Gaudiya Vaishnava. I think one achieves liberation by loving God (in whatever form they wish to worship Him in… it all goes to Krishna anyway) and treating the creatures around them with respect, love, and dignity.

Q: What is the role of the holy texts in your life?

A: The Vedas don’t play a large role in my life, as well as the law books (such as Manu Samhita, since I view it as belonging to a different time), but books such as Srimad Bhagavata Purana, Chaitanya Charitamrita, and the Ramayana all play large roles in my meditations.

Q: What is your view (or optionally the Hindu view in general) of women and their role in society, and how they should be treated?

A: Since every Hindu is different, and diversity and dissent is allowed to some extent in Hinduism, I can’t answer for all Hindus. But, I personally think that if one is in the body or the body of a man, there’s no difference other than the outside. I think the rules that some temples have, such as not allowing women to enter during their menstrual cycles, should be abolished, since sanitation has become much more advanced and it no longer causes a threat to others’ health.

I think that women should be treated with utmost respect, since it is women who carry on the human race. They should be viewed as incarnations of Sri Devi on earth, since they bring all prosperity and fortune to the household.

Q: What defining rules or ethics do you think set Hinduism apart from other religions or cultures?

A: There’s a large emphasis on ahimsa, or non-violence, which many other religions (esp. Western religions) don’t have. Other than that, I’d say that Hinduism basically shares the same core values that many other religions have.

Q: What do you think of other religions, from a Hindu standpoint?

A: Some religions are better for self-realization, and some aren’t. But, ultimately, they all lead to the same destination.

Q: What do you think are the most important things a Hindu can do in his/her life?

A: Treat all other beings equally and with mercy and center your life around your Ishta-Devata, your chosen form of God.

Jai Nitai-Gauranga! Radhey Radhey!

Idiots like you should know that what is practised at Kalighat temple is Tantric in nature & not necessarily Vedic in nature. Kalighat is a Tantric pilgrimage center.

Here's some information for a dumbo like you:

Kalighat temple in Kolkata is famed for its tantric rituals and blood sacrifices. This ancient temple reverberates with extraordinary stories of tantriks and their devotion to the goddess.

 

The Kalighat Kali temple in Kolkata is one of the 51 pithosthans (centers of pilgrimage where Goddess Sati’s body parts fell) in India. As the mythological tale goes, when Vishnu cut Sati’s corpse with his chakra, four toes of her right foot fell in Kalighat. This Puranic tale bestows an antiquity to Kalighat. Indeed, we get the legendary reference about the creation of pithosthans in ancient texts Kalika Purana and Mahabhagat Purana, though the name of Kalighat has been omitted from these accounts. The Puranas have mentioned a place called Samotat referring to the forested region of south Bengal where present-day Kalighat is situated.

 

Geologists confirm that in the ancient past, this region of Bengal was under water and gradually with alluvial deposition, the area developed to firm earth. In the present day the Kalighat Kali Temple premises house a large number of small temples of different allied deities. The main temple housing the deity of the goddess Kali follows the atchala (eight-roof) hut-pattern, which is the traditional thatched roof construction pattern of Bengal.

 

It is believed that the legendary mutilated fragment of the Goddess (called Soti-ango in Bengali) is preserved within the temple room, which is bathed once a year on the auspicious day of Snanjatra. It is a secret where the Soti-ango is exactly kept—it may be placed just beneath the image, within a small iron chest.

 

Only a few worshippers of the temple are entitled to know where it is actually kept. The face and four hands of the deity are exposed. The face is most probably made of touchstone. Myth says that it was engraved by the god Vishwakarma and was originally found floating in the Ganga.

 

As far as the practice of Tantra in Kalighat is concerned, the texts Pithmala Tantra and Nigam Tantra refer to a place named ‘Kalikshetra’—an area that is bow-shaped and extends for about 16 miles from Bahula to Dakhineshwar. It was believed that a part of the mangled corpse of Sati had fallen centrally within that arched area. The Tantra Chudamani acknowledges Kalighat as a ‘Kali pith’ (centre dedicated to the worship of Kali). In the Mahanil Tantra the presiding deity at Kalighat has been named as the Guhya Kali, the Kali who is not revealed.

 

References in ancient texts say that in the past, Kalighat was inhabited by the kapalikas who would worship the Goddess with human sacrifices. On new moon nights, they would chant Kali’s name, which would reverberate in the dense forests of the area. Boatmen would warn travelers not to stop over at Kalighat else their lives would be in danger. Once when the kapalikas decided to sacrifice a little boy to the Goddess, his widowed mother pleaded with the Goddess to save her son’s life. As the story goes, the Goddess did answer her prayer. She brewed up a storm. The boy sought shelter under a cactus bush when it started to rain heavily. The kapalikas were unable to find the boy and dispersed in the storm. The cactus bush under which the boy hid got the name sosthi tala; it’s well known that Kali is also known as Sosthi—goddess of child welfare.

 

The benign Goddess wished human sacrifices to stop. It is said she wanted householders only to worship her. It was upon her wish that a girl child was born by the union of a Brahmachari and a Vairavi. She got married to a Brahmin named Bhagwandas Chakraborty of Jessore district. Bhagwandas felt that since his wife Uma was an illegitimate child, her descendants should not be allowed to worship the Goddess. He realized that it was a better idea to appoint specialized persons from outside to take care of Kalighat. Thereafter the Haldars started worshiping the Goddess at Kalighat.

 

There have been heated debates in recent times about the sacrifice of animals before the altar of the Goddess. Santi Pada Bhattacharya, chief ritual and scriptural advisor and head priest of Mahapith Kali Mandir, says, “Non-vegetarians do eat meat. When goats are killed in butchers’ shops, it is often done mercilessly and those who buy the meat usually don’t feel any gratefulness to the Goddess for the food they are eating. Goats are killed in the temple with minimal pain, by just one stroke of the sword. Vegetarians can offer coconuts, pumpkin and sugarcane to the Goddess. Sacrificing a vegetable has the same symbolic significance and value as sacrificing an animal.” The tradition of animal sacrifices that prevails in Kalighat is on the lines of Tantric scriptures.

 

Kalighat has always been an important center of Tantric pilgrimage. Tantra is open to men and women of all castes. Prevailing misconceptions often associate Tantra with black magic and sex. Tantric practices in Kalighat cannot be categorized so myopically. Also, when genuine Tantriks imbibe meat and alcohol, it is not for hedonistic pleasure but with faith that that they are tasting the Divine Goddess through the consumption of these.

 

Says Santi Pada Bhattacharya, "Brahmananda Giri, a renowned Tantrik of India, practised in Kalighat. He underwent penance to reach out to Goddess Kali. In the scorching heat of summer, he would be deeply immersed in prayer after having lit fires around him. On bitterly cold winter nights, he would immerse himself neck deep in the water of the Ganga and pray to the Goddess. Finally, he was blessed with the divine form of the Goddess. Kali promised Brahmananda that she would be there for him whenever he asked for her. The Goddess put herself in a stone which still exists and can be seen below the altar of the Goddess in the temple." Adds Santi Pada’s brother Mukti Bhattacharya, "A true sadhak can be called a true Tantrik. Lokhnath Brahmachari, Ramakrishna Paramahansa and Vivekananda would come to Kalighat to worship the Goddess." Tantra is the path to realise and make optimum use of one’s innate shakti (power) through the worship of Goddess Shakti.

 

Tantriks still come to Kalighat to take vows of self-discipline. But how can one identify a true Tantrik? Not everyone who is dressed in red robes is a Tantrik. "Unfortunately there are many fraud Tantriks in Kalighat, making brisk money in the name of Tantra. A true Tantrik will not want to reveal his identity and the secret of Tantra," explains Santi Pada. After all, the ultimate aim of Tantra sadhana is to merge individual consciousness with the Cosmic Force.

And here’s some evidence from shastra for a dumbo like you (why does everyone keep ignoring this? Maybe you just can't read it in your blindness...)!:

"Then, in the beginning of Kali-yuga, the Lord will appear as Lord Buddha, the son of Anjana, in the province of Gaya, just for the purpose of deluding those who are envious of the faithful theist." --Srimad Bhagavata Purana 1.3.28

You are really rather foolish, you know it?

Now please answer this question why does the Kalachakra-Tantra which supposedly is a “ritual for world peace” prophesy and glorify a holy war (Shambhala war) by Buddhists against non-Buddhists ?

 

Well, since the Buddha abhorred violence, I’d say it was probably written for political power…as many wars ‘in the name of God’ have really just been wars for their political agendas hiding behind something powerful:

"Abandoning the taking of life, the ascetic Gautama dwells refraining from taking life, without stick or sword."

--Digha Nikaya 1.18

"Hatreds do not ever cease in this world by hating, but by love. This is an eternal truth... Overcome anger by love, overcome evil by good. Overcome the miser by giving. Overcome the liar by truth."

--Dhammapada 1.5, 17.3

"If one should give you a blow with his hand, with a stick, or with a dagger, you should abandon all desires and utter nothing evil."

--Majjhima Nikaya 21.6

Also, idiots like you should know that it is a Tantric Buddhist book, and not all Buddhists necessarily follow it's instructions (especially since Buddhists aren't bound by a specific scripture to follow). Kind of like how not every Hindu in the world follows the Tantras.

Bija Ji, I must say that I always get enjoyment from your location changes

I know you are not denying it , I clearly am. You are PROMOTING it.

I don't see what's wrong w/ promoting something that's clearly in the Lord's Lilas

I am ending this back and forth with you on this topic.

Okay. I think we've both shown our views sufficiently on this thread.

I'll tell you why. Because Gaudiya Vaisnavism fundamentalists insist that rasa is only attainable from chanting "Hare Krishna". The rasa that other people get from chanting or praying is some sort of illusion or misguided manic high.

Hahaha

I am not even concerned with the Gaudiya vision of Vaisnavism being universally accepted. I am for promoting God consciousness as in the theistic conception. Whatever name for God people have is fine with me, but we need to focus on the name of God and bow down before it.

My sentiments exactly. If someone experiences just as much Rasa with chanting 'Mary Jesus', 'Allah-o-Akbar', or 'Om Namoh Buddha', why should they have to change to 'Hare Krishna'?

This is just truly bizarre.

How so? What do you call a group of men asking another man to make love to them?

Or do you think that the sages were asexual as well as the Gopis? I mean... what's the logic behind saying that the sages that begged Lord Rama to make love to them weren't homosexual? If they weren't homosexual they would've expressed their rasa for the Lord differently. There's certainly a difference between figurative parakiya-rasa and actually begging the Incarnate Lord to make love to you. They're both Parakiya-rasa... but one's a bit more drastic and I think it certainly implies something about the devotee's sexuality.

This was my point. THERE ARE NO HOMOSEXUAL OVERTONES IN KRISHNA LILA!!! You hear such overtones because you want them to exist but that is your particular illusion.

I'm not the one denying the overtones in the Rama-Lila story... you are. I'm not the one bound by the illusion that there's no such thing as homosexuality in Rama-Lila, when the example I picked showed that there clearly is.

 

You asked about my education so I will ask about yours. Preference is an indication of choice thus not fitting in your argument. Also it is clearly proven it is a defect as the main reason for coupling is reproduction.

I'm not the one diagnosing people with organic brain disorders! I didn't realize you had to have a degree in order to say that you're not sure if someone else w/o a degree is diagnosing a whole group of people correctly.

Sure, I mean Pagans believe you can spill seed and trees will grow I mean God bless them in their beliefs but most faiths preach sex for reproduction just alot of people choose to ignore that instruction.

Well, Baobabtree provided a Shastra showing that even in Vedic times people didn't just have sex to reproduce... so I think it's more up to the individual to decide

Some years ago a senior devotee (a leader) in a lecture demeaned another devotees diksha initiation by saying 'Iskcon's initiation procedure is not such a cheap thing!'

 

The mood of the devotee who was critical was almost laughing at the other devotees diksha. Almost like the other devotee was a fool.

The procedure in the non-iskcon group was very different in some ways, with less demands - but by the Guru's grace and teaching the disciple now chants steadily and follows regs.

The Iskcon teacher was critical that the devotee only had to chant minimal Holy Names per day initially to receive shelter with minimal regs. (this was indirectly suggested in the lecture)

The lecture was a "only take siksa in Iskcon lecture' to pre-warn the devotees that this man with the cheap diksha may come for service. The idea of the lecture was to warn others of potential divergence and dis-harmony. The institutional structure and management expressed they did not really want such a devotee within their walls. And if he came they would tolerate but no intimate association would be offered on deeper levels.

 

Very sad experience.

 

Should institutional concerns be more important than respect for sacred diksha?

 

How offensive is it really, to criticize the sacred diksha relationship between Guru and disciple? On that basis of institutional concerns?

 

And what are the consequences of such criticisms for the speaker and those who heard?

 

That's horrible. The critical guy sounds like a huge, money-grubbing jerk if all he cares about is getting ppl to go to an ISKCON temple over any other Gaudiya temple. I don't think that the sacred bond between Guru and disciple should ever be violated... that is, unless the Guru turns out to be a swindler of some type. But, even then it should be handled with sensitivity and grace.

In my limited understanding, that cannot be considered homosexuality. This is the natural attraction every single human being in the entire universe has for the Supreme Lord whether they are male or female. In the sastras there have been examples of people wanting to taste the Lord through their mouth and drink Him through their eyes etc. This cannot exactly be called homosexuality. This is natural love for the Lord and it occurs no matter in what body one may be in.

I agree... the question of sexuality should be left out of the Lord's Lilas. However, I'm not the one that asked the question in the first place... I just answered it.

However, I dare say that the Lila I mentioned is just as homosexual as the Rasa Lila is heterosexual... and that the holy sages (while in the body) were just as homosexual as the Gopikas (while manifesting in bodies) were heterosexual.

Diagnosis is hardly required. To make it a little easier to understand male and female coupling results in the possibility of childbirth and thus the species continues to exist. Male and male coupling will never result in childbirth which leads to the end of species.

So that presents 2 options a defect or a choice and if you look at any research what so ever attraction really has very little if anything to do with choice.

How about it's just their preference? We can't prove it's a defect, and most would deny it's a choice... so lets just leave it at "preference".

Since I know your next replay I will point out that male and female couples do have sex for reasons other than childbirth which is wrong in the eyes of people of faith but hardly an unnatural attraction.

Not wrong in the eyes of all people of faith.

Quit being obstinate.

Give me a shastra explicitly condemning it and I will.

I think what he wanted was an example of two mortals in the Lord's lila that got attracted to each other (but not the the Lord, I mean getting attracted to another mortal). I don't really know.

I'm not exactly sure what he was asking for either... so I supplied him w/ that example (since there are some rather homosexual overtones in the story).

Your example about Lord Rama didn't really meet my needs, because loving the Lord is different from lusty relationships of the material world.

Theist asked for an example of homosexuality in one of the Lord's lilas... I wouldn't have brought it up had he not asked. But, I do agree... desire for God is nothing even comparable to earthly desire (whether hertero- or homosexual).

I think we are all crazy in this material world, homosexual or heterosexual. We all have impure desires.

Well said, Indulekha Ji. Who are we to judge if our impurities are more pure than others' impurities just b/c we consider them more 'natural'?

A degree is hardly required to understand survival instinct and basic sexuality, we are talking about 8th grade science and a small dose of basic common sense.

To diagnose if someone has an organic brain disorder? Wow... 8th grade students must have advanced a lot since when I was in 8th grade, if they are now able to diagnose brain disorders like that!

How does one perform Lakshmi Vrata?

I think this pada seems to list off nearly everything you listed (except for that She doesn't make mention of charity) :

The colors of Shyama Sundara have penetrated Mira's body; all the other colors washed out.

Making love with Shyama Sundara and eating little, those are my pearls and my carnelians.

Meditation beads and the forehead streak, those are my scarves and my rings.

That's enough feminine wiles for me. My teacher taught me this.

Approve me or disapprove me: I praise Govardhan, the Mountain Holder, night and day.

I take the path that ecstatic human beings have taken for centuries.

I don't steal money, I don't hit anyone. What will you charge me with?

I have felt the swaying of the elephant's shoulders; and now you want me to climb on a jackass? Try to be serious.

--Mira Bai

Actually we are talking attraction as well, we are talking about being attracted to same gender vs opposite gender. Split hairs all you want but male attraction to females is a brain working in its most basic way and male attraction to another male in a sexual sense is the brain misfiring period.

So... where'd you get your degree in psychology? Or, are you a neuro-surgeon?

Jai Go-Mata!

Dear RadheyRadhey, I am not at all offended. And there is no need for any apologies.... It is just that I find it truly liberating to see Devinity in All of Creation.

Thank you I'm glad that you are able to see God everywhere... I wish I could only be so open.

There are several researchers that have shown some base brain differences Simon LeVay being one of the most often attacked.

And there are other scientists that say that there's no difference (organically) between a homosexual's brain and a heterosexual's brain.

There is also the common sense factor in play man+woman=children man+man or woman+woman = end of species. Survival of species is one of the core,basic, primal functions of the brain and when this doesn`t exist one can pretty easily assume that the brain is not working properly.

Well, if having sex for pleasure alone means that someone has a brain disfunction or a disability, then there must be a huge difference organically between the brains of a couple who use birth control and a couple who don't. Or, if we want to take it even farther, a couple that wish to have children and a couple that don't.

I think that all lactic acid is derived from the built up fluid in the animals muscles.

Ever heard about the 'Lies of White Men'

Oh please. Once again, many Hindus still practice animal sacrifice today based on their ideas of Vedic sacrifice... but I suppose the Kalighat Temple is also a lie of the white man... right?

Tibet, China , Japan, the West, every where nonvegetarian Buddhists out numbers their vegetarian counterparts, if Buddha really stressed the point even more, the ratios would have been different today.

And in many western countries Hindus eat meat every day of their lives... even cow meat. Does that mean that Krishna wants His followers to do that? No. Does that mean that people who self-identify as Hindu still do it? Yes.

So what ? people have been claiming that Jesus Christ & Prophet Mohammed have been predicted in Puranas, should I start believing in them ?

Well, the difference is that the names 'Jesus' or 'Muhammad' aren't specifically mentioned in shastra. The city of Nazareth or the country of Saudi Arabia aren't mentioned in shastra. The missions of Jesus and Muhammad aren't mentioned in shastra. On the other hand, the name of the Buddha is, His mission is described, and it is stated when and where He would be born... all in shastra. You're really thick, you know that?

So, here we go again:

"Then, in the beginning of Kali-yuga, the Lord will appear as Lord Buddha, the son of Anjana, in the province of Gaya, just for the purpose of deluding those who are envious of the faithful theist." --Srimad Bhagavata Purana 1.3.28

How much more evidence from Shastra do you need? I didn’t realize we could now pick and choose which one of the Lord’s Maha Das Avatara were real avatars and which ones weren’t. I suppose next you're going to say that Lord Narasimha Deva wasn't a real avatar b/c you wonder about His 'practice of ahimsa', or that Lord Krishna wasn't a real avatar b/c you wonder about His practice of brahmacharya.

Many Buddhists believe that Buddha wasn't a vegetarian & they have reasons to believe that. So don't blame me if I have doubts if Buddha practised Ahimsa.

 

Many Hindus believe that Lord Rama wasn't a vegetarian w/o basis. Does that mean that Lord Rama isn't an avatar either? And that we should hold it against Him when His 'followers' say, "Lord Rama wasn't a vegetarian so it's okay to eat meat."?

Once again, many Hindus don't practice Ahimsa to it's fullest extent as well. We shouldn't always blame a religion's god, prophet, or founder for what their followers do. Especially in the Kali Yuga, when all things become corrupted.