Kulapavana

just be very, very patient with him. if he sees that both you and your kids enjoy Krishna Consciousness he will develop some appreciation for it, but it may take a very long time.

Tolerance goes both ways: if you cant tolerate his ignorance, he won't tolerate your spirituality. bring him some good prasadam, that works even with very dense people... /images/graemlins/wink.gif

do not think that this material world is designed for your convenience in returning to the spiritual world (that is only one of the options available here). this world is designed to allow you to try enjoying life without Krishna. Lord Krishna is so kind, that He never tries to impose Himself on living entities.

While we may not remember past lives, we retain the basic tendencies and interests of our personality from life to life, such as inclination to be religious, to follow the rules of the scriptures, etc. That is why some people exhibit different tendencies from the very early age.

if God is supposed to be just, why would He punish us with eternal damnation (hell) for just one life of sin and ignorance?

you would not be able to go through life in a normal fashion if you remembered your past lives. sometimes the memories from just this life drive us crazy, what to speak of many lives (and deaths)

just two points for your consideration...

it is amazing how we could have accomplished so much more in sankirtan if we were just a little more compassionate to all these young book distributors back in the late 70's and early 80's... so much potential was wasted by our immaturity and coldness of heart... /images/graemlins/frown.gif

great story prabhu! all glories to the sankirtana devotees! true austerity and true sacrifice...

I'm glad they caught him alive. His humiliation is complete. He is de-mistyfied and shown as just another low life caught in his hiding hole. After his interrogation is complete, the families of his victims should be allowed to rip him to shreds and feed the scraps to their dogs... Hare Krishna! (even devotees rejoice when a demon is killed)

if you write a critical and inflamatory post, ignoring the information already posted and not SIGN it, you are probably both ignorant and cowardly. these two qualities are despised by all Aryans

these are good points Mahaksa prabhu. after all, Durga and Kali are the same Godess, yet the worship and the worshipers are very different

Increase in cosmic radiation penetration to the surface could negatively affect fertility rate in humans (and other living forms as well) leading to drop or at least stabilization of population. AIDS seems to be working in a similar direction.

many important stories are told in that section(s) of Mahabharata, as these stories (and lives) come to an end. you learn a lot about the real nature of these heroes and more importantly : how Krishna deals with the world and it's problems created by us.

I have hard time understanding your post, especially as a critique to my earlier post. Does my post suggest in any way that Radha and Krishna are NOT one Supreme Person?

Also you say: "that is a common misconception repeated almost universaly.

the concept that what is descriptive of rasa between

Krsna and Radha and Her expansions is literal"

Do you suggest that pastimes of Radha an Krishna in Vrindaban as presented in Gaudiya sampradaya are not be accepted literally as well as esotericaly?

Anyway, this subject is way above my head... Hare Krishna!

when you see yourself very humbly it is hard to feel hate for others. you may still be bitter that these people wronged you, but the hate is no longer there.

ultimately we get what we deserve, and if we are sincere in our search for Krishna - we get what is actually good for us

when we daydream about our ideal love it is just a dream... but when Krishna dreams about His love, Srimati Radharani manifests, smiling at Him hiding behind a tamal tree... yet She has no begining, She was always there...

yes, we will forever be in their (guru and Krishna) debt. when we realize that - it is easy to be humble... but we should never stop trying to pay off that debt, by doing humble service to their mission.

Real side note /images/graemlins/wink.gif ...all this debate about guru qualifications and matha superiority is in a way reflection of our desire to exploit "the best possible guru" we can.

some of the early Christian (gnostic) texts from Nag-Hamadi library are very, very dark. Reading them I have a distinct feeling they talk about Lucifer ("Prince of Light", later developed into "the devil" by Christians) worship. Lucifer cults are very ancient (predate Christianity by at least 1000 years) and looks like some of these guys used Jesus of Nazareth teachings to further their own cause. The religious diversity 2000 years ago was far, far more complicated than most Christian (or Jewish) theologians would like to admit.

Babhru: "My perception is that Srila Prabhupada did more than just "use" Harrison's celebrity. He was even more interested in helping him cultivate his Krishna consciousness gradually. His celebrity was part of the package, but Srila Prabhupada didn't exploit it as some like to think"

Certainly, Srila Prabhupada did that even with very "useless" people, thats where the love and respect for people comes in. Exploitation occurs when you just take something from somebody without giving him something at least just as valuable in return. Some people just dont realize what Prabhupada gave them...

sometimes you have to answer deceit with deceit... life is not always black and white

the major changes to the Christian doctrine started much before King James - right after Jesus of Nazareth departed, look at Paul (and Acts in general) for starters.

I remember hearing this analogy of religions and rat poison:

rat poison is 99.5% good food, and 0.5% poison

The same can be said about some religions... it's the small percentage of the "poison" that gets you

yes, India is very much on a downward slide these days... they are trying hard to catch up with the rest of the degraded humanity...

I think western "idolatry" is somewhat more acute and borders on hysteria, especially among teenagers /images/graemlins/wink.gif

Whale Rider is a good movie. Did you know that Maori are an Aryan tribe? Another bunch of kshatriyas chased out of Bharata-varsa by Lord Parasurama /images/graemlins/wink.gif+

Srila Prabhupada could see right away that Westerners love to emulate celebrities and used it expertly to promote his mission (George Harison was a good exmple). Later others in our movement tried to do the same, but because they had very little love or respect for the people they were using, they failed miserably... I say use'm, not abuse'm! /images/graemlins/wink.gif

I doubt her interest is spirituality is genuine, just like Madonna's interest in kabalah.

"I'd rather get her to sit down and read a Bhagavad-gita and ask a few intelligent questions about it"

I believe that she could benefit much from doing service to the sankirtan mission, even if such service was done unknowingly.

Alas, both things are just halava dreams... /images/graemlins/wink.gif

Govindaram prabhu:

It is our duty to speak our mind among devotees. It should be done with some humility and respect for others, but sincerity is a primary concern. Yes, some devotees here can be too much at times but you take the good with the bad. Please do not deprive us of your association. Our family is stronger with every sincere member... Hare Krishna!