Deathless

“I believe in Advaita; I believe in the essential unity of man and for that matter, for all that lives. Therefore, I believe that if one man gains spiritually, the whole world gains with him and if one man fails, the whole world fall to that extent…” --Mahatma Gandhi Many Advaita Vedantins also worship Vishnu and loved the Ramacharit Manas. Many of them love the Gita. Just because you follow Advait philosophy doesn't mean that you don't admire Vishnu. You seem to forget that the founder of Advait philosophy, Shankaracharya, wrote Bhaja Govindam. One can be both a Vishnu Bhakta and a proponent of Advait. Who cares? Ramakrishna Paramahansa, an Advaitan, was initiated by a Vaishnava. That doesn't mean he was a Vaishnava (though he did experiment with it). Nice saying...?

Hahahahaha! I'd love to see how vehemently you'd react if I said, "Sriman Narayan is a demigod." Yet, when I make one small comment, you blow your lid. What nonsense. Get a grip. There's no reason for a panic attack. And, in turn, I'd like to ask you: How does my comment affect anyone chandu? Especially you? Are the worshipers of Vishnu under threat from the Shaktas? Are Vishnu worshipers under threat? Do Shaktas abuse them? Do the Shaktas say all non-Shaktas go to hell?

And he was a proponent of Advaita Vedanta.

Advaita is not atheism, you fool. bhajagovindam bhajagovindam govindam bhaja muudhamate sampraapte sannihite kaale nahi nahi rakshati dukrijnkarane Worship Govinda, Worship Govinda, Worship Govinda. Oh fool! Rules of Grammar will not save you at the time of your death. bhajagovindam bhajagovindam govindam bhajamuudhamate naamasmaranaadanyamupaayam nahi pashyaamo bhavatarane Worship Govinda, worship Govinda, worship Govinda, Oh fool! Other than chanting the Lord's names, there is no other way to cross the life's ocean. gurucharanaambuja nirbhara bhakatah samsaaraadachiraadbhava muktah sendriyamaanasa niyamaadevam drakshyasi nija hridayastham devam Oh devotee of the lotus feet of the Guru! May you be freed from Samsara. Through disciplined senses and controlled mind, you will come to experience the indwelling Lord of your heart! geyam giitaa naama sahasram dhyeyam shriipati ruupamajasram neyam sajjana sange chittam deyam diinajanaaya cha vittam Regularly recite from the Gita, meditate on Vishnu in your heart, and chant his thousand glories. Take delight to be with the noble and the holy. Distribute your wealth in charity to the poor and the needy. How do proponents of Advaita violate any of the rules you've mentioned? All the quotes I've given you are from Adi Shankaracharya, the founder of Advaita Vedanta! He clearly didn't violate these rules and neither do his followers. And... ...don't Hare Krishnas commit this offense when they sit on the side walk singing constantly about Krishna to people who don't even know or care who he is, and then go and make fun of his followers?

Chaitanya, who you believe in, said that, as a Gaudiya, you should not speak with followers of Advaita Vedanta - or, as he so lovingly put it, 'mayavadi' : 'teachers of illusion'. "Mayavadi-bhasya sunile haya sarva-nasa" Which basically means: "Be wise and don't speak with the teachers of illusion or all [your bhakti] will be destroyed." My question is, why are you even speaking in this thread, which is about Advaita Vedanta, if you aren't supposed to be talking to Advaita Vedantists?

Well, I didn't say that, now did I? I just said that it was more scientific in some aspects. Deity=god. You're just kind of restating my point. Yes. As I said, it is more scientific in some areas. I didn't say it was totally scientific and that it has scientific backing in every, single thing. I just said that it was slightly more scientific in some areas as opposed to dualistic thought. I know. I didn't say that Yoga was bad and that we shouldn't try to achieve Yoga (union) with God because it's not based in science. All that I said was that Yoga (as well as all other spiritual paths, like you've said) is not necessarily scientific. It's more spiritual.

You should probably move your question to the Vedic Astrology/Jyotisha forum.

Yes, meat in general is bad for the human body. But it's especially bad when it's a) mass produced, b) filled with artificial hormones, and c) deep-fried for the obese masses.

I often do not have time to eat in the morning, so I just drink a glass of milk. It's a lot more filling than one might think.

Yet, some Vaishnavas will still insist on calling her a "demigoddess".

A very interesting treatise.

Very true. Hahaha! Yeah, maybe it has. Amen to that!

Really?! Hmmm... I wonder if they ever got married or not?

Wow. That's very strange. Yes, I suppose that might be their primary concern.

I didn't mean love in the sense of desire or lust. If I meant desire or lust, I would have said one or both of those terms. I do not consider lust to be a part of love. Love is grounded in mutual respect and caring, in my opinion. Lust is based solely on the baser instincts and wanting to fulfill one's own desires, with self-interest being the primary objective. Lust is not what marriage is based on. It is based on respect and love.

Very well said, bija.

You can love Krishna/God and not be a member of ISKCON. Just saying. And, if you really think that spousal love is solely about lust, then you have no idea what marriage is.

Whatever happened to love being the main thing in a marriage?

Hahaha! I wonder if there's a little Gita being preached to the bacteria in my mouth right now...

I hope it does if they do decide to get married. It's hard to imagine someone having a strong relationship when their main concern is sectarian quibbles and minute detail, though.

Haha, thanks. Do you have to be initiated in ISKCON specifically or initiated in any lineage? So many rules! I never knew how many rules there were for ISKCON members. I'm guessing that marriage between a non-Gaudiya and an ISKCONi would be totally out of the question?

That would have to be one of the worst reasons to end a relationship in the history of forever. Man: "Are you Hindu?" Woman: "Yes!" Man: "Me too! Are you a Vaishnava?" Woman: "Yes!" Man: "ME TOO! Are you a Gaudiya Vaishnava?" Woman: "Yes!" Man: "Me too! Wow I can't believe we have so much in common religiously....................................... Wait... are you a member of ISKCON or Gaudiya Math?" Woman: "Gaudiya Math." Man: "Oh... well, even though we believe nearly the exact same thing, you're still not a part of the same sectarian group as I am. I'm going to have to end this immediately, you heretic scum of the earth." Really, though, if you honestly think any relationship (let alone a marriage) should be based on such sectarian ideology, you probably shouldn't even be considering marriage at all at the moment.

Women aren't people. They are property on the same level as money, food, land, and cows. Real nice.

Daksha didn't attack Shiva for being a Vaishnava. He attacked him because he thought he wasn't good enough for his daughter. Sati still killed herself. So, if someone wants to twist that story in such a way that it applies to all Vaishnavas, then that means that people must kill themselves even if the perceived "offense" has nothing to do with religion. I don't see how encouraging an ancient feudal system and saying that people must kill themselves when hearing a Vaishnava insulted can logically apply to today's society. I wasn't talking about ISKCON members wearing dhotis and shaving their heads. I meant more that a person with a bad hair cut and stupid clothes could be a Vaishnava, and is opening himself to insult by looking strange. He is inevitably going to be insulted. So, when he is insulted, should all the women, Vaishyas, and Shudras in his immediate vicinity kill themselves? According to Prabhupada, they should. Hare Ram.

He was one of that "bunch of atheists" that considered ISKCON and chanting to Krishna an abomination. I really don't think he would care as much about this as you seem to.