primate

The general perception of Abrahamism displayed above, drives people away from religion and towards atheism, or indeed towards 'religious' violence. True religion must be truly believable. The Old Testament (Tanakh, Koran) was rewritten many times, so we really cannot trust its source or purpose as a historical document. The Christian New Testament is of course much younger and its message is clearly one of love, devotion, and nonviolence. It seems to be much more compatible with Vaishnavism and bhakti yoga..

We must reason constructively: There is only One God.

Suppose that the names Krishna, Vishnu, Buddha, Jesus, Jehovah, Yahweh, Allah, all refer to the same one and supreme god, albeit within different traditions and in different pastimes; then I guess God might be quite pleased with those of us who notice..

"Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all." 1 Timothy 4:15 "Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the evening." Genesis 24:63 "This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall have good success." Joshua 1:8 "Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him; Meditate upon all his wondrous works. 1 Chronicles 16:9 "…but his delight is in Yahweh's law. On his law he meditates day and night." Psalms 1:2 "Why do the nations rage, And the peoples meditate a vain thing?" Psalms 2:1 "…meditate in your own hearts upon your bed, and be still. Selah." Psalms 4:4 "I have been weary with my sighing, I meditate through all the night 'on' my bed, With my tear my couch I waste. "Psalms 6:6 "One thing I have asked of Yahweh, that I will seek after, that I may dwell in the house of Yahweh all the days of my life, to see Yahweh's beauty, and to inquire in his temple." Psalms 27:4 "We have thought about your loving kindness, God, in the midst of your temple." Psalms 48:9 "Evening, and morning, and noon, I meditate, and make a noise, and He heareth my voice "Psalms 55:17 "…I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches. "Psalms 63:6 "I remember God, and make a noise, I meditate, and feeble is my spirit. Selah." Psalms 77:3 "I remember my music in the night, With my heart I meditate, and my spirit doth search diligently;" Psalms 77:6 "I will also meditate on all your work, and consider your doings. "Psalms 77:12 "Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him; meditate upon all his wondrous works." Psalms 105:2 "I will meditate on your precepts, and consider your ways." Psalms 119:15 "Though princes sit and slander me, your servant will meditate on your statutes." Psalms 119:23 "Let me understand the teaching of your precepts! Then I will meditate on your wondrous works." Psalms 119:27 "I reach out my hands for your commandments, which I love. I will meditate on your statutes. Psalms 119:48 "Let the proud be disappointed, for they have overthrown me wrongfully. I will meditate on your precepts." Psalms 119:78 "O how love I Thy law! It is my meditation all the day." Psalms 119:97 "I have more understanding than all my teachers; for Thy testimonies are my meditation." Psalms 119:99 "My eyes stay open through the night watches, that I might meditate on your word." Psalms 119:148 "I remember the days of old. I meditate on all your doings. I contemplate the work of your hands." Psalms 143:5 "For my palate shall meditate truth, and wickedness is an abomination to my lips." Proverbs 8:7 "Of the glorious majesty of your honor, of your wondrous works, I will meditate." Psalms 145:5

The Bible doesn't state anything like this anywhere! And the Christian ideal of the elimination of sin in order to be reunited with God in heaven, is fully compatible with the Buddhist/Hinduist ideal of eliminating karma to be reunited with God. Yoga means 'union', the union of the finite jiva with the infinite Brahman (nirvikalpa samadhi). Let’s agree for the sake of the topic that Vaishnavism and Buddhism can be considered related Vedic/Hindu philosophies. After all, original Buddhists (Sakyamuni worshipers) were indistinguishable from Vaishnavas, and only became perceived as belonging to a separate religion (Buddhism) as their tradition spread outside of India, and became influenced by atheistic teachings and voidism. Anyway, both Buddhists and Vaishnavas strive towards enlightenment by elimination of the material self or ego and material desires through some form of yoga. Buddhism leaves open the question of what remains (nirvana or the void). Vaishnavism claims that the individual conscious soul remains (as a part of the one supreme consciousness, God). Now the question seems to be: Can demons enter the human body and mind at some point during this elimination process? Alternatively: What causes so called ‘kundalini syndrome’? Is transcendental meditation really dangerous for people with a 'normal' mental health? Is general psychosis a material - or a spiritual phenomenon?

Buddhism and Hinduism are two closely related religions that are in some ways parallel and in other ways divergent in theory and practice. ... (from wikipedia) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism_and_Hinduism http://www.stephen-knapp.com/buddhism_and_its_vedic_connections.htm http://vedabase.net/sb/1/3/24/en http://www.harekrsna.com/philosophy/gss/sadhu/religions/zen.htm

Nice! But this audio-archive desperately needs transcription. Although I like the birds in the background..

I guess 'depersonalization' is a natural (logical) consequence of religious awareness. Any level of realization that God is ultimately in control of everything (including ones own life), necessarily involves some degree of depersonalization or loss of ego or sense of self. This must be a common experience in every religion. In this view, most people are depersonalized to some degree, depending on their current level of religious awareness. Thus, an extremely depersonalized state (in which a complete detachment from the self is consciously experienced as if one is 'living in a dream', observing ones own actions without having any personal control), ultimately must be a valid perception of reality. And although the loss of sense of self might be frightening and/or render the individual dysfunctional in communal terms, it doesn't have anything to do with demons. It is simply a True conscious experience..

And more.. http://www.agpf.de/Bundesverwaltungsgericht7c2-87.htm

Some more: http://www.behind-the-tm-facade.org/transcendental_meditation-harmful-abstracts.htm

This is what the article refers to: some excerpts of a German study in TM-EX newsletter, fall 1990. I can't find the complete text of the study on the net (as yet). But the article refers only to this newsletter. I'm curious about the 'design' of the original study and its actual conclusions.. <!-- END TEMPLATE: newpost_preview -->

A point by point (sentence by sentence) refutation of this article may be a waste of time. It will suffice to refute its general point or thesis, which is the argument or suggestion that Buddhist Nirvana and/or Krishna consciousness and/or any form of spiritual or conscious enlightenment related to Hinduism or Vedic religious practices (yoga), are demonic states of being, caused by demon spirits that enter the body and the mind of the practitioner..

Science is not religion. I agree with that. Instead, religious insights might help to validate specific scientific theories about the fundamental reality of our material world and to refute others. The answer to the question Why, might have implications for the correct answer to the question How. In turn, future science might help to validate specific religious philosophies and to refute others, but of course that would be a much more delicate matter..

Hi Bija, I’m happy you apparently survived the latest Australian bush fires..

Well, as far as Hinduism, bhakti yoga and Krishnaism are concerned; to call Krishna 'satanic' is absurd. As any student of Hinduism knows, Krishna is famous as the slayer of demons (Bhagavad-Gita 4.7-8). The Bhagavad Gita teaches love and devotional service for the one supreme personal God. Such devotional service is also a central theme of Christianity. Seventh-day Adventists strongly believe in the second coming of Christ. I’m quite sure they wouldn’t even notice if He actually will be an incarnation of Krishna. Buddhists don’t believe in God or demons. And to suggest that the Buddhist’s nirvana is actually a demonic state of being, is absurd. You will have to refute most knowledge in the Vedic system of yoga in order to sustain such a claim. Moreover, many of the basic concepts of yoga are indistinguishable from Christian values. Finally, the article suggests that transcendental meditation and/or the chanting of mantras is a dangerous activity because apparently a scientific study has indicated serious health risks. Reportedly, in 76% of the cases, psychological disorders and illnesses occurred. 43% of participants had psychiatric treatment or had to have medical treatment during the TM phase, as against 13% who reported an increased capacity to function in their life. In fact, the only significant figure here is the 13% who reported an increased capacity to function! The others were most likely people that were drawn towards yoga and TM to be cured of already manifest mental and physical illnesses. The study didn’t measure - and correct for this variable at all.

Yes, I read that to. Derivatives used to be $100 trillion in 2002 and now it has grown into a massive bubble of $1.5 quadrillion ($1,500,000,000,000,000). However, this is the total amount of derivates in the world, not just in the U.S. The U.S. banks hold about $200 trillion total derivatives, of which only $15 trillion are so called credit derivatives, based on loans, bonds or other forms of credit. To the extent that there are non-performing loans, this figure might show up in some future bail out of U.S. banks. Basically, derivatives are financial contracts or financial instruments, whose value is derived from the value of something else, which can be anything you can gamble on, ranging from real estate prices to weather conditions. Now the disturbing thing is that the total value of the world's stock and bond markets is only about $100 trillion, and the world's annual GDP for all nations is only about $50 trillion. So there seems to be no way that the total amount of value in the world is anywhere near this $1.5 quadrillion. This figure is larger than Earth itself! When this bubble bursts, it will certainly drag our entire financial system with it. We can only hope it doesn’t burst..

Total losses at the US stock market over the past 14 months are now over $10 Trillion. A large portion of these losses is the result of the decline in the financial sector. Bailing out the US financial sector to a functional level will cost Trillions of dollars. BTW, much of this money appears to be lost as a result of bad mortgages and bad loans provided to ordinary Americans during the past decades. The 'toxic financial end-products' were then sold as real value for real money to the financial institutions that now face bankruptcy.

Apparently the US has a national dept of $52 Trillion in unfunded government liabilities. That is about $170,000 for each American, including non tax paying children. That seems impossible to overcome. The entire yearly US GNP is only about $10 Trillion and going down..

How do you arrive from Genesis 6:1-4 to those 'urgent' claims? Or did you just forget to take your medicine today?

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In this letter Mahatma Gandhi was warned by Prabhupada: So, politics is maya (illusion). Therefore political tools such as war and terrorism are maya. Therefore violence is maya. Does this mean, non-violence will lead us to God?

The bad news is that we have spend all this money ourselves during the last 50 or so years, while living the good life in the west. The other bad news is that formally we must pay back this dept. Maybe even the bankers and politicians of this world must pay. Why? Because our financial/monetary system will demand it, that’s why. And what if we just don’t pay? Then the system will be very upset and it will use every method available to it to enslave us all. And what if we are innocent and have been fucked by the system all the way? Then we must start a peoples revolution against the system. Will such a revolution succeed? Only if we can collectively commit to it, and therefore it must be civilized. Where might it get us? I don't have a clue..

Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions. The term is commonly applied to behavior within civil governments, but it generally applies to all human groups, including corporate, academic, and religious organizations. (from Wikipedia) A political tool or instrument is any methodical activity that is aimed at influencing a political decision process. This includes political debate, legal processes, public demonstrations, conventional military action, and also terrorism. Any group or society that cannot win a conventional war, might at some point resort to terrorism as a cheap and sustainable method to influence the politics of their adversaries. International Islamist terrorism aims at influencing democratic political decision processes by inducing fear in the hearts and minds of the general public. However, such terrorism in itself is not a real threat to our society. The real danger is that we will make irrational political decisions out of perceived danger and fear, and incidentally start a world war. Another danger is that political leaders will use the terrorism argument as an excuse to invade other countries out of political and economical self-interest, which also might start a world war.

Haréé Krishna!

Well, as I stated in my previous post: Most people would agree that violence is acceptable if it is employed to defend innocent people against the bad guys, and if the amount of violence is not more than the amount that is obviously necessary to defend those that we believe are innocent victims in a conflict. I would add to this definition: It is not allowed to kill thousands of innocent people in order to save just a few. Yet, such excessive violence against another society is apparently what is necessary to stop terrorism. Again, terrorism is a political tool. There will always be terrorism in this world. What you are talking about is war, or a combination of war and terrorism. War is very different from terrorism. War is world wide chaos. And chaos has its own rules..