Guruvani

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaishnavism

If we take our blinders off and get objective, this kind of thinking is the logical outcome. The Abrahamic religions have the most brutal history of any religions ever known to man. The Jews were brutal too. We have to look at the realistic result of Christian bigotry instead of manufacturing some false utopia that never existed under the name of Christ. The entire history of Judeo-Christian is nothing but brutal conquest and religious bigotry.. To this very day the Christian bigots are verbally brutalizing all the other religions of the world and if they could get away with it they would annihilate all the non-christians from the face of the Earth. The slaughter has stopped only by the force of law.

Vaishnavas are the majority of Hindus in India, so I would have to say that the Shaiva beliefs are in the minority. Most Hindus are Vaishnava. I have seen many thousands of Hindu coming to ISKCON temples. Shaivites are minority among Hindu.

Oh, I forgot to mention Narasingha Maharaja. He is not in ISKCON, but he is certainly a most respectable and honorable disciple of Srila Prabhupada whom I admire greatly. In fact, I think he is probably my favorite one of all, even if he is against the ritvik system. It's men like him that make the ritvik system optional not mandatory.

the box? read my previous post above and get some insight beyond your little closet of self-indulgence.

Actually, this form of preaching comes from the Bhagavatam. Please allow me to demonstrate. In the story of Puranjana he dies and becomes a woman in his next life; the daughter of King Vidarbha. This woman Vidarbhi is married to a powerful King Malayadhvaja. After a long happy marriage King Malayadhvaja leaves his body in yogic trance and attains spiritual perfection, leaving behind a grieving wife Vidarbhi. In her grief, the Supersoul appears to Vidarbhi as a brahmana to console her with brahma-vidya. Please hear how the Paramatma is preaching to Vidarbhi after the death of her husband. So, where did this type of preaching originate? Narada Muni preached the same way. So, put that in your teeth and chew on it! The story is allegorical, yet the lesson is there and Narada Muni preached the same way as Srila Prabhupada is preaching.

I left Goloka because I wanted to see Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. I was thinking about going back to Goloka soon, but I just heard that there is a new Indiana Jones movie coming out, so I have postponed my trip back to Goloka for a while.

I believe that in his next life he will become the same animal he fried in oil, get slaughtered himself and get fried in oil. Finger-lickin' good........ Whether it is allogorical or not is not so important. The fact is that Karma dishes out these punishments. Allegorical? No, that is just the way that self-realized sages see things. They see it all differently than you see it with your gross sense pereception.

Actually, I just read in a book of Sridhar Maharaja yesterday where he said that anything possible and free will is always there and that living entities that go to the spiritual side from the tatastha can again fall back down. So, beware. Even in the Bhagavatam we get such conceptions. This form of preaching is nothing new to the Gaudiyas. It has been around since Mahaprabhu.

Sridhar Maharaja said the VERY GIST of Gaudiya philosophy is that Amnaya is the basis of brahma-vidya. The gist, the essence, the final conclusion...... is that we must acquire proper spiritual knowledge through Amnaya - the shastras. That is the essence of the Gaudiya philosophy. So, I like the essence more than the formality.

The books of Srila Prabhupada are Amnaya - Brahma Vidya. This was what Srila Bhaktivinode made his stand on - not diksha guru parampara. Sridhar Maharaja exposed that the diksha mantras Bhaktivinode got from Vipina Bihari Goswami didn't have proper realization or conception behind them and were therefore like blanks. Bhaktivinode surcharged his own mantras with Amnaya - the Brahma-vidya of the proper spiritual current that comes through the line of siksha gurus. What one gets from reading the books of Srila Prabhupada is brahma-vidya - spiritual knowledge that surcharges our chanting with proper conception and spiritual potency. Getting the mantra directly from the diksha guru is not the magic. The magic is when we acquire the proper conception through Amnaya - the brahma-vidya. Sridhar Maharaja explained that it is our conception of the Holy Name that determines it's efficacy. No matter who you get the mantra from, if your conception of the mantra is not proper, then it will not award the proper realization. The mantra responds to the proper mindset and the proper conception of the chanter. There is no magic current from the diksha guru to the disciple if the disciple fails to understand the proper conceptions as given in Amnaya - the revealed scriptures. Sridhar Maharaja: <!-- BEGIN TEMPLATE: bbcode_quote --> Quote: <table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(102, 102, 102); padding-left: 3ex; padding-right: 3ex;" bgcolor="#e0e0e0"> amnayah praha tattvam harim iha paramam sarva-saktim rasabdhim tad bhinnamsams ca jivan prakrtikavalitan tad vimuktams ca bhavat bhedabheda-prakasam sakalam api hareh sadhanam suddha-bhaktim sadhyam tat pritim evety upadisati harir-gauracandro bhaje tam Here, in one verse, Bhaktivinoda Thakura has given the very gist of Gaudiya Vaisnava philosophy. He says, "We are not interested in the opinion of anyone ordinary: there is no value to any opinion other than what is revealed truth (amnaya)." Amnaya means revealed truth or scripture that is coming through a reliable source: the guru-parampara, a genuine succession of gurus.</td></tr></tbody></table>

I certainly think Srila Prabhupada wanted his top disciples to become initiating gurus. The ritvik system was something he gave for the GBC authority. He appointed 11 men who could approve initiations on behalf of Srila Prabhupada. I think Srila Prabhupada also approved of this system to continue after his departure. the ISKCON gurus I DON'T like are the ones that rejected their ritvik appointments and sent ISKCON into chaos with the zonal guru system. Otherwise, I certainly accept that many disciple of Srila Prabhupada can perform as diksha gurus. That is the natural course of events, especially in the face of the GBC deviation from the ritvik system. The BIG 11 are the ones that destoyed the ritvik system and they get no sympathy from me. Other than that, there are some really nice devotees in ISKCON and ISKCON will flourish again someday as these jewels grow into sweet old Vaishnavas with a long record of good character.

Of course, I love Danavir Maharaja. He has even been here to my house in Florida. He trained me up in ISKCON. I could never say anything against Danavir Maharaja. He and I have different views on some things, but as far as ISKCON gurus go I really like Danavir Maharaja. I was the first student in his "Bhakta Program" that he started in 1975 under the direct orders of Srila Prabhupada. http://rvc.edu/about_danavir_goswami.html

I like Sivarama Maharaja too. I served with Sivarama Maharaja in Chicago and in a very small austere ashram on a remote farm in Oklahoma. I really can't say anything bad about Sivarama Maharaja. He is a great preacher and a very fixed-up devotee. He didn't get sannyasa from Srila Prabhupada directly, but he is nonetheless a very solid disciple of Srila Prabhupada. http://www.sivaramaswami.com/

but, as far as ISKCON gurus go, here is one of the best. If somebody wanted an ISKCON guru, I would have to recommend this one as one of my personal favorites. I think Trivikrama Maharaja is really nice. Trivikrama Swami Trivikrama Swami H.H. Trivikrama Swami, 62, was initiated by HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada in 1969 and given sannyas initiation in 1971. During Srila Prabhupada's presence on this planet, he was given yearly assignments by his spiritual master and after his demise, he performed a great variety of services for ISKCON. He is well known for his full obedience to Srila Prabhupada's teachings, mood and instructions. As Srila Prabhupada himself said about him: "He always does what I want". He is currently preaching in the USA and in Poland, where he serves as a Regional Secretary under the GBC representative. He also serves as an initiating spiritual master for ISKCON.

I am just curious if Guest 9 was ever authorized by Sridhar Maharaja to read Follow the Angels ? Hey, without sanction from Sridhar Maharaja reading any book of his without direct instructions is just jnana-misra-bhakti ....... I think he said it was just karma?

I agree. Srila Prabhupada used Jesus because the Jesus conception is big in the western world. He played off of the Jesus thing because as he said before he didn't come to the west to wage war against Christianity. That was a smart decision. Coming to the USA like that and attacking Christianity would be asking for the KKK to come burn your temple down. Srila Prabhupada was wiser than that. He played the Jesus card for all it was worth. As he admitted, he never studied Christianity and all he knew about it was hearsay. Many intellectuals and scholars of today can certainly shine a new light on the Jesus story. If someone drops sentiment and faces the facts, the Jesus story starts to fall apart against critical analysis. It all hinges on some so-called historian Josephus. Josephus himself is very much a questionable character as well. None the less, as Krishna says in the Bhagavad-gita that all these offerings are actually meant for him but offered without true understanding. So, the Christians might get a little benefit from their faith in God. When they pray, the Supersoul knows they are praying to him even if they don't.

Sriila Prabhupada:

Srila Prabhupada:

Srila Prabhupada ordered all his disciples to read his books and learn them as much as possible. Sridhar Maharaja:

What did Srila Prabhupada say? That is more important to me than thinking I can go to Hari bhakti vilasa and understand something without the guidance of Srila Prabhupada. Srila Prabhupada understood the essence of knowledge. His practices and principles are more important to me than thinking I can understand Hari Bhakti Vilasa and undo something given by Srila Prabhupada. Maybe you should be so prudent? Are you so advanced and realized that you can perfectly understand the essence of hari bhakti vilas? If you were you probably wouldn't be posting anonymously on the forum like a wierdo. You would be more of a gentleman than that!!

truth is truth no matter where it comes from. your anger and bitterness is very unbecoming. apparently you hope to silence me with insults and accusations. sorry pal, it won't work.

that is up to Krishna to say, not you. Krishna can do ANYTHING he wants and nobody can stop him. If his pure devotee wants Krishna to appear in a tape recording, then Krishna will appear in a tape recording. Who has the authority to make absolute claims that in fact contradict what a self-realized acharya has given? certainly not you, Narayana Maharaja, Gaura Govinda Maharaja or anyone can decide what Krishna can do. If the pure devotee instills Krishna in his tape recording, then nobody can stop that. The tape is not material. It was spiritualized by the empowered acharya. Nobody has authority to absolutely say otherwise. Why did Mahaprabhu want Rupa and Sanatan to write so many books? So they could transmit material sound and material conceptions?