valaya

This might not be what you're looking for. There are many other references, if you want them. This is my favourite, however. From Mark 12:33. "And to love Him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices." Try also Micah 6:6-8, Hebrews 9:13-14, Hebrews 10:1-20 (especially 12-20), Romans 12:1

Right on as usual, atma prabhu!

He just likes horsin' around!

Too bad my Knowledge of computerdom has no depth whatsoever...can't even make those little funny-faces so you know when I'm joshin' ya! So, love is your `inkwell`, eh? Hope you're not using that disappearing ink that needs a special light to read it, 'cuz it's starting to get mighty dark hereabouts and I'm running out of light, special or otherwise... valaya RR

It's all about the relationship between Radha and Krsna. He is considered to be the enjoyer of Her. Yet He came as Lord Caitanya in Her mood attempting to understand how She was actually experiencing a higher enjoyment than Himself ! Truth is, pure devotional service is the greatest pleasure and the manjari maidservant girlfriends of Radhika enjoy far more than either of the Divine Couple. Thus the pure devotee strives to become the servant of all and always sees himself/herself as the least. JAI SRI RADHE! valaya RR [This message has been edited by valaya (edited 11-03-2001).]

Some time ago, after my motorcycle accident, I thought of a `love` exercise which I could do while watching TV alone. I noticed how quickly I was flipping through the channels, avoiding what was unpleasant and looking for something/someone more attractive. Certain sit-coms, for instance, were almost impossible to watch because of my feelings towards the characters or actors involved. So I tried forcing myself to look for something in them that I could identify with and/or appreciate enough that I would want to keep watching. Then I started doing the same thing on subway trains and buses, though it was a bit more difficult in person because I didn't want to stare too much. Funny thing though, when I found myself able to feel some kind of affection for a stranger, often they would acknowledge with a smile or similar gesture. Now I'm living in Chinatown where many on the streets don't speak any English, but they quickly respond to respectful nods and smiles. Especially when shopping at the sidewalk stalls, I can joke with the older women as we both finger the produce. Sometimes it seems to be easier to show affection for strangers than family or friends... valaya RR

I've transferred this particularly sweet post from Atma prabhu, which originally appeared in the `Good Clean Jokes` section, with the hope that it will receive more attention here and perhaps inspire some personal comments. valaya RR ************************************************************* Love A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, "What does love mean?" The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined. See what you think: 1. "When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love." -Rebecca- age 8 2. "When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You know that your name is safe in their mouth." -Billy- age 4 3. "Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other." -Karl- age 5 4. "Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs." -Chrissy- age 6 5. "Love is when someone hurts you. And you get so mad but you don't yell at them because you know it would hurt their feelings." -Samantha- age 6 6. "Love is what makes you smile when you're tired." -Terri- age 4 7. "Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK." -Danny- age 7 8. "Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss." -Emily- age 8 9. "Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen." -Bobby- age 5 10. "If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate." -Nikka- age 6 11. "Love is hugging. Love is kissing. Love is saying no" -Patty- age 8 12. "When you tell someone something bad about yourself and you're scared they won't love you anymore. But then you get surprised because not only do they still love you, they love you even more." -Matthew- age 7 13. "There are two kinds of love. Our love. God's love. But God makes both kinds of them." -Jenny- age 4 14. "Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday." -Noelle- age 7 15. "Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well." - Tommy - age 6 16. "During my piano recital, I was on a stage and scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore." -Cindy- age 8 17. "My mommy loves me more than anybody. You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night." -Clare- age5 18. "Love is when mommy gives daddy the best piece of chicken." -Elaine- age 5 19. "Love is when mommy sees daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford." -Chris- age 8 20. "Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day." -Mary Ann- age 4 21. "I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones." -Lauren- age 4 22. "I let my big sister pick on me because my Mom says she only picks on me because she loves me. So I pick on my baby sister because I love her." -Bethany- age 4 23. "Love cards like Valentine's cards say stuff on them that we'd like to say ourselves, but we wouldn't be caught dead saying." -Mike- age 8 24. "When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you." -Karen- age 7 25. "Love is when mommy sees daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's gross." -Mark- age 6 26. "You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget." -Jessica- age 8 27. "Love is that first feeling you feel before all the bad stuff gets in the way." -Charlie- age 5

This may be too simplistic, but as I understand it we were given His own son Jesus the Christ so that he would become the final blood sacrifice as the innocent lamb of God, taking all our sins upon himself. Thus the wafers and wine represent the body and blood of Christ and are taken as prasadam. Now, being freed from the burden of past sins without the need for further ritualistic sacrifices, we are to serve our Lord Jesus in others, particularly the `least` amongst us who are suffering the most. I relate this to Lord Caitanya bringing raganuga bhakti with the Holy Names being the prasadam which is both the sacrifice and also our service to others. Whereas with Jesus the emphasis seems more on material welfare of humanity, the focus with Mahaprabhu is wholly spiritual. In a way, we could understand that God (Krsna) sacrificed His `godness` by coming as His devotee (Radha), thereby investing all His potencies in the Holy Names for our ultimate benefit, especially the most fallen amongst us. In both cases, Lord Jesus and Lord Caitanya, their sacrifices are intended to bring those of us with full faith in them out of ritualistic vaidhi-type religion into raganuga param-bhakti. Only from such a position of individual freedom are we able to truly begin love of God, which is the real purpose behind both divine appearances. The teachings of one culminate in the other. valaya RR [This message has been edited by valaya (edited 11-03-2001).]

Just kiddin', kid!

C'mon jndas prabhu, how about rating our posts, too? Maybe you could use different coloured stars, between one and five in number. Then, at the end of each year, we could get prizes!

"Fredom"??? What's Fred got to do with this?

Understood! Service activities are executed under the direction of one's immediate superior. Sympathy and empathy, however, must be with Radhika. Krsna has to surrender to Her in the end. That's how He wants it and that's why it all works the way it does. While we all have relationships with each other, including Sri Guru, still there is an inner oneness emotionally with God, in our heart-of-hearts. For Gaudiyas that most intimate sharing is with Srimati Radharani, not Krsna. Unless we are able to take full shelter in Her, raganuga is not possible. I'm not speaking of any kind of regulated sadhana here, but simply a sharing of feelings due to personal identification with another, as in close friendships. Any honest unmotivated attempt in that direction will be reciprocated by Radha, not Krsna. We should not confuse the two, nor should we try to share our most personal selves with Him. That's just not the way to enter into Vrndavan pastimes. One can't be on both teams at once, unless perhaps they wish to remain a spectator... valaya RR

Haribol radhe! You might want to look into two other threads here. One is `Srimati Radharani (Supreme Goddess)` and the other is `Our Swamini Kisori`. My former name on this forum was amanpeter. JAI SRI RADHE! valaya RR

Maybe Darwin can help, since he seems to be our resident expert on butt insertion. Perhaps he can come up with a scientific solution...

Am I right or wrong in thinking that madhurya means `sweetness` and that all of Vrindavan is attracted by Sri Krsna's sweetness, as opposed to His greatness, power, etc.? So sweetness could be considered as the basis of all the inhabitants' relationships with Krsna from that perspective. valaya RR

Yeah, this whole mess is really bombing me out...Methinks some may be getting a little too fired-up in their `service`!

Yes, we can all feel a lot safer now flying Air Canada since they've been confiscating the little lapel pins on passengers' poppies, sold by Canadian war veterans for Remembrance Day.

Hey, that wasn't in the rules! Now that you mention it though, do short ones count? Speaking of robots, did you hear about the new computerized cat from Japan? It doesn't come when you call or do tricks like the dog, but what can you do, it's a cat already! Oh yeah, it purrs when you rub it's chin and costs $2500.US...meOW! valaya

Well alright then! Thanks for telling me off and giving me what for without the excessive use of poetry...BTW, your understanding of the English language appears to be far better than most of ours', including mine. Ostensibly offensively, Valaya RR [This message has been edited by valaya (edited 11-02-2001).]

Guess you don't understand the difference between joking, in a relevant (multiple identities) way, about a friend's momentary mistake; and mocking another whom you hardly know personally, for no apparent reason except to possibly exhibit your usual cleverly superior wit. Note also the follow-up joking personal exchange on this thread. Thanks, though, for keeping a critical eye on me, Talasiga. I realize it's a tough job, but someone's got to do it...and with HTML references, no less! p.s. Why no more Emails? Nothing personal you care to share? Afraid I'll break the rules? Nothing has changed from my end... valaya [This message has been edited by valaya (edited 11-02-2001).]

My own personal experiences over the last 58 years or so, but `confirmed` by many scriptures and books, however I've no living guru nearby to speak with confidentially. Still, is my way of seeing and believing so bad? I know what I was and how I am now in my heart and I do give all glories to His Divine Grace. Perfection usually takes time for each of us, doesn't it, and I've got all eternity ahead of me...but I do feel strongly that my basic focus is correct. JAI SRI RADHE! BTW, do you know Dasaratha-suta das, translator and distributor of `Nectar Books` in Georgia, USA? Really beautiful stuff, prabhu! I'd be happy to put you in touch with him. valaya RR [This message has been edited by valaya (edited 11-02-2001).]

In the sense of impersonal Absolute Truth there is only Hari, as Satyaraja keeps pointing out. However, Gaudiya vaishnavas consider Sri Radha as His vitality, that inner potency on which all others are based. Thus Krsna believes Her to be His life and soul. Similarly, He is the `life and soul` of the residents of Vraja. The highly intimate nature of their loving pastimes makes it impossible to determine who is doing what to whom, or even why, at any given time. They themselves are bewildered! The reciprocation is so perfect and complete that all are totally lost in the oneness of Divine Love! God totally surrenders to pure devotion, otherwise Bhakti would not be the topmost yoga. A question, prabhus: If you had to choose between Absolute Truth and Divine Love, what would your choice be? Do you think that if both presented themselves simultaneously there would even be a question of choice? valaya RR [This message has been edited by valaya (edited 11-02-2001).]

Of course God can do anything/everything, which includes permanently separating His internal potency and allowing Her to put Him under the control of Maha-maya just to enjoy eternal pastimes with that part of Himself most dear to Him, His pure devotees. As we wish to serve the best in ourselves, so does He. That sweetest dearmost Krsna of Vraja belongs solely to His closest devotees, particularly Srimati Radharani. Unless we can somehow or other, by their Divine Grace, relate with Him personally without being influenced by His `Godness`, we cannot begin to enter into those inner pastimes. That is why vaidhi bhakti must give way to raganuga at some point for those seeking the most intimate relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krsna. valaya RR [This message has been edited by valaya (edited 11-02-2001).]

Some are able to discern the difference between using for material medicinal benefits and taking spiritual shelter. Also, the Holy Names have no restrictions in this Age of Kali. Any offenses incurred by chanting are absolved through continued chanting. What's the matter, Talasiga, JRdd not responding gratefully enough to your condescending `compliments`? valaya RR ************************************************************ From Talasiga:

When devotees reveal themselves by sharing personal stories here I don't like to see them stifled by meanspirited criticism from others lacking the courage to post similar personal experiences. Nor do I believe someone's lack of expertise in the English language should be mocked. What a shame we can't bring out our sweetest offerings due to the infestation of flies which is so common on these forums. valaya RR