Dayala

O.K., I have re-read your post about Bhakti, etc. and I am so utterly and totally confused that I don't even know how to ask to right questions. Can you please explain to me in the simplest terms possible: What is the difference between Hinduism and Krishna Consciousness? Sorry to make you repeat yourself.

>>>>>That's ok. I'm curious now and will do a google search to learn something more. I think this is the "hugging saint," right?<<<<< Yes, she is the hugging saint. You should find her website very easily. >>>>>This makes me want to strengthen my caution to you to be careful. You see i have found my eternal soul mate at least three times when i was younger.I was so sure each time. Hmmm...? I wonder where they are now?<<<<< Hmmm . . . different situation for me entirely. >>>>>The fact is there is a Supreme Lord and he has His own personal existence and awareness. Since we have come from Him and are therefore of the same quality there is oneness. But the fact remains that we came from him and not He from us. The example I heard and seems the most clear to me is the one of the sun and the sunrays. Krishna is the Supreme Sun, the original. And like the sun He radiates so many countless photons. We are the photons and we are unlimited and all pervading. Together we are one and can be said to make up God. Yet which photon would dare to call himself the sun. There is still only one sun, unlimited photons, but one sun. He is the chief eternal amongst all eternals.<<<<< Wow, brilliant analogy Theist. So tell me something more. If I believe what you have just said, does that mean I'm not really an Advaitist? If not, what am I? >>>>>Are you chantng Hare Krsna any?<<<<< Not officially chanting the Maha Mantra, but the only music I listen to really is Bhajans and Mantras and I sing along often. I listen to lots of Krishna Das (who inspired me to explore Hinduism in the first place) and he has a lot of the Maha Mantra on his CDs. Officially, with prayer beads, I am chanting the Gayatri Mantra.

for that very clear and concise response

I might try this recipe with ginger!!! Yum!

>>>>>JUST SAY NO TO MEAT.<<<<< Consider it done!!!!!!!! It sounds like you had a horrible family, LivingEntity. You know though, I was just about to criticize your family for slaughtering animals in your back yard when I realized . . . My Dad used to work in a meat research institute and would somehow take part in some practices that I consider untoward. So I guess my family has to be implicated too. It makes me ashamed to think about it.

I'm becoming a veggie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hope you folks will support me coz I'll need all the hope I can get. But I feel light-hearted, not sad. I know how the animals are treated and that often weights me down. But tonight I feel excited about new horizons.

>>>>>"So far, we had a secular dictator, Saddam Hussein. But Bush is pushing him to a situation where he has to make calls for jihad, and we are finding ourselves in the middle of a war of religion," Halter said from Paris.<<<<< Well, to play "devil's advocate" (another religious term . . .), I think Saddam Hussein is using the concept of Jihad, not because he was forced into it by Bush, but because he wants to manipulate his people. I am by no means a supporter of Bush, but I also don't see Hussein as a victim.

>>>>>Think about a typical Sunday feast. You have sweet rice (lots of sugar), puris fried in ghee, pakoras fried in ghee, samosas fried in ghee, subji with ghee.<<<<< Te he he, I don't know what ANY of this food is. But maybe I'll find out. I have decided to take the plunge and be a vegetarian again, not just for 2 meals a day but for all of them. I'm undecided on dairy and eggs at this point, but I'll probably keep them for now and limit them, and then get rid of them when I feel I can make the next step. For now, this will be hard enough, but I'm sick of limiting my perspective to thinking I can't do it. I can do whatever I want, right . . . if I stop believing i'm the only moron who can't follow through. I hope everyone here can support me.

thank you for this good advice. what is sampradaya????

Well, I looked up Ramadasa on amazon.com (bookstore). He had 3 books listed (none of which were the Bhagavad Gita) and they were all out of print. Does anyone else have any suggestions?

Can somebody also explain to me how Krishna Consciousness differs from traditional Hinduism. I thought I understood this, but then I read a recent article on ISKCON that god posted, and it seemed that Prahabuda (spell) maybe still believes in Brahma as ultimate reality, so I'm confused. And what other Krishna Consciousness branches are there besides ISKCON? I thought ISKCON was it!

Well, in answer to your question Theist, what she teaches is love and service to others. She is specifically a Bhakti person, although she emphasizes in her teachings that you can't have Bhakti without Jnana, and her work seems to be Karmic. I would post her website here, but I'm not sure how that would be received by administration. I will heed your advice, but I think she is the right guru for me. It's kind of like when you're in love, I think, and the know you've found ther person you want to marry and spend the rest of your life with. But I have not met her yet, and I will take my time as suggested. What you say about having a personal relationship with Krishna confuses me somewhat. Although Jnana yoga annoys me somewhat, I am from the Advaitist camp and I believe that God is one. Therefore theoretically I am not separate from Krishna (IMO). Having a personal relationships with Krishna seems to be a more dualist idea. I don't quite know how to synthesize these two ideas. But maybe the ideas are not even separate and I have misunderstood. Theist, it looks like you're becoming my posting buddy /images/graemlins/smile.gif

Hi Theist! I'm grateful that you brought this thread over because I wanted to respond to the following . . . >>>I was told audarya means magnanimus. Which is the goal of this forum. To be open, generous and accepting. We do get into our squabbles most of which you should probably just ignore. You should feel that you have found a place where your search for truth will be supported. We all expect to have our positions challenged along the way as well. That can be uncomfortable at times but I find it helpful for my growth.<<< My tendency with forums like this is to find something I do not like (which is always argumentativeness and sometimes assaultiveness on the part of users) and then bail out because I don't like the conflict. The problem with this is that I throw the baby out with the bathwater. Plus . . . there is probably some lesson for me in sitting with the discomfort and working through it. I am glad that you have said my search for truth will be supported. Do you think you might be able to remind me of this if I start to have a hard time and am thinking of running away? Thanks! Dayala

I meant to ask if anyone has had experience with weaning themselves off of sugar and white flour. This seems like an impossibility for me, but also a necessity. I have tried cutting these things out cold turkey a few times, but I only survive a couple of weeks before I go crazy.

>>> Even with all the restrictions, there tons of choices and combinations. Yes, I guess I just have to learn what they are, and then maybe I wouldn't feel that is was so restrictive. I think I will make a commitment to eat vegetarian (ovo-lacto) for two meals out of each day. With the help of people here, I know I can do that. And then . . . I'll start eating only one omnivorous meal every other day and so on. I know I have to start with small steps, otherwise I'll overwhelm myself again. Thanks theist and livingentity for your advice. Did either of you have a process of making changes slowly? If so, I'd love to hear about it. Theist, I'd like to hear more about what you said. gotta go. I have friends who have just arrived to be social with us.