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jeffster

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  1. More on the phenomenal rise of the Taliban within Pakistan: www.nytimes.com/2009/04/24/world/asia/24pstan.html?_r=1&partner=MOREOVERNEWS&ei=5040 jeffster/AMd
  2. Here is another report that just came out on the Talibanization of Pakistan. Thus far, the Pakistani military has mounted no serious opposition to the Taliban, so the Taliban have just gained another chunk of land closer to the capital. Let's hope that the Pakistani gov't and military wake up and do the right thing before it is too late. www.nytimes.com/2009/04/23/world/asia/23buner.html?_r=1&partner=MOREOVERNEWS&ei=5040 jeffster/AMd
  3. Suchandra, Actually, Suchandra, I am more here to report some facts than to argue with you, so from now on I will just make my report and refrain from dealing with your hysteria. The comment that "Pakistani intelligence chiefs have admitted..." was not my comment; but unless someone takes action against the Taliban soon, they WILL overun the whole of Pakistan, perhaps in as short a time as a few months. Today, Hillary Clinton, who is the current secretary of state, not Condi Rice, stated, and I paraphrase as accurately as I can, that the Pakistani government, by their lack of willingness to restrain the Taliban has basically abdicated power to them. Someone should constrain them and it should be Pakistan, but they are unwilling for the following reasons: 1.) they are ethnically the same as the Taliban 2.) they share the same religion, and even though most Pakistanis are revulsed by Taliban fundamentalism as much as you or I are, they are reluctant to criticise fellow Muslims, and may in fact hope that they bring Sharia law to the whole of Pakistan. 3.) The Pakistanis are afraid to confront the Taliban because they know that the Taliban will ruthlessly hunt down and kill any and all opposition. 4.) More than anything else the Pakistanis don't want to be seen by themselves or other Muslim nations as the lackeys of the infidel Americans. 5.) Muslims in general hate and want to destroy Al Hind - India, and they know that the current Pakistani government won't do it, other than to tacitly authorize a few stray forays of mayhem such as we saw recently in Mumbai, so they have a hidden desire for the Taliban to succeed, because they know the Taliban will follow no contraints in attempting to destroy their perceived enemies of India, Israel and the west. So a peculiar dichotomy is now transpiring, in which the Pakistani government knows that it should restrain the Taliban, and actually likely have it within their power to do so, but for the above-stated reasons are frozen in inaction. Their default will allow the Taliban to ascend to power, as Hillary Clinton so astutely recognized. jeffster/AMd
  4. Suchandra: Just because we differ in our reading of these events, and just because you cannot defeat us in this debate is no reason to call us karmis. jeffster/AMd
  5. Suchandra, Chandu 69 has presented some valid evidence here, and I believe he also makes a good point that we must discern between facts, opinions and beliefs. There are any number of conspiracy theories on the web about any number of subjects, but we must sift through to the truth. Chandu_69, We are meant to become gentlemen, and that means gentle men, so there is no need for name-calling here. The situation in Pakistan with the Taliban is accelerating at an incredible rate. Here is the latest, again posted from what is essential a "liberal," generally left of center publication, the Washington Post, definitely not a war-mongering paper. www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/19/AR2009041901731.html Give them a valley, they immediately want the whole country. That is why terrorists should NEVER be appeased. Let's get this lesson now, before too late. jeffster/AMd
  6. Empy, there is no scheduled incarnation until Kalki avatar appears next, in about 427,000 more years !! This would be a very long wait !! Best to chant the Holy Names NOW in order to have direct and timely divine communion with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna. His names are transcendental, unlike ordinary names, which only represent an object, but are not synomymous with it. The Lord's names and He are non-different, thereby practically guaranteeing you a transcendentally refreshing experience. Try it ! jeffster/AMd
  7. Suchandra, Your point is well taken that not only the Americans, but the Russians fought the Taliban, and so far, neither have been actually able to check the Taliban. This proves the determination and ruthlessness of the Taliban and serves to prove my point that they are not to be taken lightly. As far as Haridas Thakur goes, he is not the only example of a Muslim-born Vaishnava. Anyone, regardless of birth or religion, is welcome to partake of the Holy Names. We encourage everyone, including Muslims, to experience the higher taste of chanting the Holy Names of God, as long as that name is a bonafide name, not a fabrication. Yes, when humans become too successful, particularly in Kali yuga, they simply begin to gratify their senses like animals. In a sense, the Taliban are like a wake-up call to sensuous modern day men that the human form of life is for religious purposes, not sense gratification. Unfortunately the Taliban are completely harsh, and rather than teaching by illustrious example, they are so lusty that they must cover their women from head to toe, lest they get sexually excited. They punish people harshly for even simple transgressions, while they themselves are no more advanced. That makes them hypocrites- another Kali yuga hallmark. Yes, all these isms are temporary, but we still must deal with them in an intelligent way, from a transcendental perspective, because they can affect us directly or indirectly. My point in post # 42 is that presented with two choices, Muslims "would rather support Islamic facism than support western efforts to crack down on it (Islamic facism)." That is why the Pakistani military would rather not crack down on the Taliban, simply because most Muslims feel more akin to the Taliban than they do to westerners, and western sense-gratifying culture, even though many Muslims also view the Taliban as harsh. I don't know where you are getting the idea that "they demand that India should start a war against Pakistan." I will re-read the N.Y. Times article, but the N.Y. Times is not some provincial, right-of-center war-mongering paper. It has a reputation of being a so-called liberal (left-of-center) paper, and those papers are usually more conciliatory and pacifistic, so I am not sure where you are getting that idea from. Also, as a point of correction, India has approximately 15% Muslim population, rather than the 30% as you have claimed. That translates to about 150,000 Muslims in a greater population of approx 1 billion. jeffster/AMd
  8. Hello prasad, According to Brahma Gaudiya Vaishnavism, that someone was Lord Chaitanya, who appeared in 1486 and stayed on the planet for 48 years. He taught us to easily gain Krishna-bhakti, encompassing mukti, by chanting the maha-mantra, the great chanting for deliverance in this difficult age of Kali-yuga, this degraded iron age of quarrel and hypocrisy. The maha-mantra you may know as the Hare Krishna maha-mantra: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. Regards, jeffster/AMd
  9. Respectfully, Suchandra, I beg to differ: I don't think you can equate Iraq with Pakistan. Iraq was led by a secular dictator, Saddam Hussain, who was something along the lines of Josef Stalin. Pakistan is supposed to be a democracy, although it is increasingly apparent that the country is in disarray. The war likely won't be started by the current Pakistani military, knowing the Indian strengths, as you have stated, although we cannot completely rule out the possibility, but as I have stated in other posts, if the Taliban gain control of only one Pakistani nuclear missle installation, they WILL fire the missile at India. And the fact that there are 300 million Muslims in India won't prevent them in the least. As noted previously, they are demons, and demons kill their own with no regard and no regrets. The Taliban would simply see the death of up to 300 million Muslims as a necessary sacrifice in order to destroy India. Quite an easy sacrifice, I might add, judging from their mentality and previous actions. Furthermore, you should consider that since the Taliban are basically stateless renegades, they care not in the least for world opinion, the "community of states," as you put it, and will not hesitate for a moment to launch a nuke at India. To think otherwise would be foolish as well as naive. I feel that since we have until now seen only relatively small regional skirmishes with the Taliban, that most of us are vastly underestimating their strength and determination, but they have an apparent will-to-power not unlike Adolph Hitler, and they are at least as demonic as he, if not more so. Another danger, and this is possible, as far-fetched as it may presently seem, would be that the Taliban within 2-5 years actually gain political control of the whole of Pakistan. At that point, they would first likely attempt to hijack world opinion and get the western nations to capitulate to some of their demands, such as rule of Sharia law. If the west did not pacify them, it really isn't hard to imagine what would happen: they would unilaterally declare war on India, or possibly unite with other Islamic states such as Iran and Saudi Arabia, and declare war not only on India, but on Israel as well, and perhaps even on the west. It would be WW3 and it could be the final triumph of the world Islamic caliphate and the uma, the brotherhood of Islam, would have world-wide domination, if the Islamists win. And all this within 2-5 years because, frankly, the Taliban smell that the west is mainly full of godless pacifists who would rather bow towards Mecca than fight, and the moderate Islamists, although there really is no such thing, would, if given only two choices, rather support Islamic facism than support western efforts to crack down on it (Islamic facism). That is why I suggest practicing the maha-mantra on your prayer rug now, because this might actually happen, and sooner than later. What about Prabhupad's prediction that WW3 would start between India & Pak. Is this correct ? Is there anything in the archives on this ? Can anyone authoritatively make a statement about this ? Personally, I see this war as inevitable, unless we all become pure devotees very shortly, and frankly I just don't see that happening. Speaking for myself only, I apparently still have too many material desires remaining to become a maha-bhagavata within what little time I have left of this lifetime. Actually Joseph Stalin takes the honors for biggest demon in recent history, as he trusted no one. Even Hitler had some intimate associates. And, to prove that I am at least somewhat unbiaed in all this, I was actually one of the very few who opposed the U.S. intervention in Iraq from the very start, as I could discern that most of the arguments were fabricated, and that we had no immediate concerns from Saddam Hussein. I can tell you that that was NOT a very popular opinion then, and I practically couldn't speak it at all for all the flag-waving that was going on in this country at that time. jeffster/AMd
  10. I cannot say that anyone is unbiased, as we are all subjective and biased, but some of these reports are simply facts, regardless of who is reporting them. There apparently IS a groundswell of Taliban energy in Pakistan that could very well overwhelm the entire country. I don't think N.Y. Times is putting much spin on this. But we could all stick our heads in the sand and pretend that this isn't happening. This is called political correctness, and it means that those who are politically correct will be forced to accede to the demands of those who are not, such as the Taliban. So get your prayer rug out, and practice the maha-mantra on it in complete silence, for that is what you may have to do before this is all over. Also, if Prabhupad indeed said that WW3 will start between India and Pak, this is the apparent run-up to it, and we should be very clearly aware of it. And it WON'T be India that starts the war, it will be Taliban-controlled Pakistan, but India should be prepared to end the war, if she has any nobility left in her. jeffster/AMd
  11. Here is a link to another article detailing the Taliban's rapid rise within Pakistan. If this continues, it will directly affect all of us one day. www.nytimes.com/2009/04/17/world/asia/17pstan.html?_r=1&partner=MOREOVERNEWS&ei=5040 jeffster/AMd
  12. Yes, God is acintya, inconceivable, it is not our place to know Him or His ways fully. "Numerous souls crying for liberation are not getting it." Are they crying from the very depth of their heart ? Krishna knows their heart, and the level of their sincerity. Only when we are willing to sacrifice our very breath do we become qualified to go to His abode. Jesus said something also, which I will attempt to paraphrase - something to the effect of ""not all who cry "Lord, Lord" will be able to enter His kingdom."" jeffster/AMd
  13. Sambya, I touched on your ideas posted in # 17 in the 2nd paragraph of my post # 7, when I said, "I should also like to touch on the topic of sukriti or punya, as only those souls imbued with sufficient piety, or merit, have the opportunity to come into contact with Bhagavan." So we are not in disagreement here. Yet, for you to say "liberation is not possible without personal effort." somehow puts limitations on Krishna, who as we know, is unlimited. Perhaps it is more correct is to say that liberation is not likely without personal effort, but not impossible. Prabhupad used to say that "impossible" is a word in a fool's dictionary. With Krishna, anything must be possible. Regards, jeffster/AMd
  14. Nice story, Bija. And Krishna reveals something to those ready for it. It must have inspired you these many years !! Hari Bol !! jeffster/AMd
  15. Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe only Vrndaban Krishna plays the flute, he does not do so in other dhamas; therefore it must be Krishna on left with Radha. If you are asking at which temple these murtis reside, I cannot answer that, but they certainly are lovely, are they not ? jeffster/AMd
  16. "Whatever it seems in appearance is not necessarily the same in substance." - Amlesh Yes !!
  17. Ultimately we can only take it as Ram's mercy, sometimes difficult to understand. I was only suggesting that although animals cannot practice bhakti, somewhere in their psyche there must have been some desire to contact Ram, which manifested due to sukriti from prior births. jeffster/AMd
  18. Hari Bol, Suchandra, I am certainly not claiming that India is perfect; in fact I agree with many of your points brought up in post # 31, particularly paragraphs 2-5. My point is that it is not fair to compare India, which is a sovereign nation, with the Taliban, who really represent no one but themselves. As far as paragraph 1 goes, I believe that there are demons amongst the karmi societies, and that the Taliban are in fact demons, or at least one class of demons. On what do I base this claim ? I have thought long and hard about this, and finally had to come up with my own definition of a demon: a demon is one who, in order to further his own ends, does not care how much pain and suffering he inflicts on others. This definition fits the Taliban to a tee, because they will threaten or execute anyone who does not measure up, even in a small way, to their "standard." They attempt to rule almost exclusively through intimidation, coercion and violence rather than through rule of law, which is the hallmark of legitimate government. Yes, others attempt bullying, but at least we still have, in theory anyway, some system for redress of grievances against corruption in most of our governments. It is becoming clear, however, that as Kali progresses, governments are sliding down a slippery slope from legitimately trying to aid their own populace to attempting to manipulate their populace for various ill-motivated reasons, as you have pointed out. That brings me to your point that "real demons are those who are in full knowledge about the vedic siddhanta but purposefully destroy dharma and religion in human society." This is another type of demon, whom I believe you are suggesting are now attempting to get control of India, and certainly there is truth in your contention. So now we have two types of demons, the highly ignorant fundamentalists such as the Taliban and certain personalities within the government of India (and certainly other governments, as we are not attempting to single out India here) who perhaps should know better. But ignorance, regardless of origin, breeds the same result: misery. All we can do is keep chanting and preaching and hope that we can influence enough people to somehow produce a change of consciousness on the planet. jeffster/AMd
  19. " I can't comprehend your last paragraph but your compassion for animals and plants is beautiful." - SalvageMe My meaning is only that if we practice bhakti, there is no need to aspire separately for mukti, as mukti is a by-product of the practice of bhakti. One who practices bhakti yoga attains mukti automatically. And in another sense, the bhakta is so fulfilled in bhakti that he does not care if he takes future births, he just wants to continue to serve and remember his Lord in any capacity, on any planet, in any body. Amlesh, we can also kill our ahankara, false ego, by drowning it in the Holy Names, thereby becoming free from samsara, rebirth, and taking one final spiritual birth into our siddha deha, eternal spiritual identity. Blessed Ram Navami to all, this day. jeffster/AMd
  20. jeffster

    i like obama

    What they do or attempt to do can affect our lives somewhat, but ultimately they cannot check our shift in consciousness towards K.C. because it is (or can be) enacted subtly. Look at how the Russian devotees fared before the fall of the Soviet Union. jeffster/AMd
  21. Suchandra, it sounds like you are attempting to compare India to the terrorists because they both receive weaponry from other countries. But India is a legitimate country, whereas the terrorists are the dogs from hell, representing no one except their own perverse ideas, even terrorizing their own brother Muslims in countries like Pakistan. How can you possibly compare the two ? India, at least as of today, still has the dharma wheel on its flag, if I am not mistaken. What flag do the terrorists carry ? The black flag of tamo guna ? They respect nothing except their own highly convoluted conception of religion. As I said in an earlier post, their cup is 10% full, but that leaves them 90% empty. They cause so much more harm than good. They should be shot on sight, and there cannot be negative karmic implications from killing demons such as they. Only the politically correct would think so, who still would appease these miscreants. Politically correct means unable to stand up for the truth for fear of offending someone; that means that the politically correct must therefore accede to the demands of miscreants, since they are unwilling to oppose them. Political correctness is the disease of the times. jeffster/AMd
  22. The meaning is that the souls who wished to have a pastime such as this with God, and attain liberation, actually desired it, although likely not on a fully conscious level. Yes, God respects free will, just as Krishna said to Arjuna, "Now deliberate fully and do as you wish to do." Animals do not have the requisite intelligence to consciously desire liberation, since they have "stunted consciousness," as it is said in Jaiva Dharma. However, certain souls entrapped in animal bodies unconsciously desire spiritual advancement. They ARE soul, after all, and all souls ultimately seek spiritual advancement, even though most are in ignorance. One example of that is my cat: If I am chanting nicely, he becomes attracted and comes close to me. He cannot chant himself, but he appreciates my chanting, sometimes. Another time, I was walking along a beach and a very elderly seal was sitting on the beach, in obvious distress from old age and battling the waves for years, and likely tiring of rotating in samsara. I chanted for that seal for 45 minutes, the best japa I have ever chanted in my life. That seal listened for 45 minutes, and I felt that God had sent me to walk near that beach just so that seal could get some benefit of hearing the Holy Names. Also, I have had a plant in my house since 1981. That plant must have some sincere desire to hear japa; otherwise it could have been born in a forest or elsewhere where there is no possibility of hearing the Holy Names. I should also like to touch on the topic of sukriti or punya, as only those souls imbued with sufficient piety, or merit, have the opportunity to come into contact with Bhagavan. Amlesh's understanding is an even higher level of realization. I believe he means that the bhakta does not even aspire for liberation. The bhakta simply wants to serve life after life in any body in any capacity. See Narada Visits Dwarka in Krishna Book (Srimad Bhagavatam 10th Canto) for further reading on this topic. Amlesh is suggesting that bhakti is beyond mukti, liberation. Mukti is considered to be included within prema bhakti, by the Vaishnavas; there is no need to aspire for mukti separately. Regards, jeffster/AMd
  23. My question isn't who India buys weapons from; India is still somewhat independent regardless who she buys weapons from. The question was where are the Pakistani terrorists getting their weapons from, as some western-made weapons are apparently ending up in their hands. If we could find that out, we would see who the terrorists are in collusion with. I say the trail will lead back to the middle east or to Pakistan military itself. jeffster/AMd
  24. This is not wishful thinking. God is magnanimous, is He not ? If God wishes to benedict a particular soul, He can certainly do it. We call it "causeless mercy." For no apparent reason, God (Rama) can and does benedict a particular soul, without even any effort on that soul's part. In other words, under certain circumstances, liberation IS possible without personal effort. These instances are indeed rare, but possible. With God, anything is possible. My gurudeva, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, said something to the effect that "Impossible is a word in a fool's dictionary." Regards, jeffster/AMd
  25. But that soul would have made tremendous spiritual advancement or even attained liberation by being sacrificed by Lord Rama. Try to see not just the body of the animal as the self, but that the self is inhabiting the body of the animal. That self is on a long sojourn, through many, many bodies. If that soul came into contact with Lord Rama, that meeting could be not other than auspicious for that soul. Just as all those who died within sight of Lord Krishna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra attained liberation. We must not limit ourselves to seeing only the external actions, we must attempt to discern what is going on internally. Hope this helps !! jeffster/AMd
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