Bhakta Raj prabhu das

My dear Prabhus! Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to devotees of The Lord! All glories to those who strive to please Spiritual Master! And all glories to those who are the well-wishers of all forms of life, be they human or otherwise. About the famous quote, which Lord Krishna has given as perhaps more of a loving suggestion than a stern directive, to abandon all forms of religiousity and simply surrender unto Him. How very comforting is that! No “..my way – or the highway!” As a person raised in a western Christian tradition, I may well-attest how unscrupulous, and, yes, demoniac individuals had so twisted Lord Jesus' words. (One thinks of the "translation" and "change" theories. And, as if that weren't enough, the spiritual paths of the east have been similarly afflicted over the centuries. Why?<o:p></o:p> Well, perhaps the answers may be two-fold in nature.<o:p></o:p> For one, people tend to interpret things – meaning the words of other people, according to their various understandings. Add to that, the various language(s) that may be a part of the picture, and you’ve frequently got an entirely different meaning of what had originally been said. And I’m sure that many sincere individuals had fallen into that trap.<o:p></o:p> The second scenario is an entirely different matter; that is the deliberate tampering with the various scriptures, i.e., the Bible, The Quaran – and, yes, the Bhagavad Gita. Why would people deliberately offer these “..new ‘n improved” distillations? The answer is simple – to control people. Once a person or persons has the audacity to give God’s words or God-inspired words (as spoken by sages and saints) a different meaning, they may then give rise to they’re being the guys with the “hotline” to God – and so their dictates become The Lord’s dictates!<o:p></o:p> Nice work if you can get it – and they do!<o:p></o:p> So, prabhus, please let us strive for calm reasoning and respectful dialogue with one another, and not fall into the ego’s trap. Certainly The Lord’s speaking the words about surrendering unto Him, discarding all forms of religiousity are as solid and legitmate as a stament may be – and for those of us who strive for such spirtual advancement where Lord Krisha’s loving suggestion may be applied full-force, let us offer our respects and obeisances to them. For the rest of us Joe & Jane average types, perhaps at our neophyte stages of our spiritual development, it may be prudent to view Lord Krishna’s words as are many, if not most of the words, which The Lord has spoken for our supreme benefit as part of a journey with our eyes firmly fixed on the prize up ahead. Happily, The Lord is more than willing to cut us a little “slack” on our jouney back to Godhead, always keeping in His Mind the sincerity in our hearts as reflected in the sincerity of our journey.<o:p></o:p> ..progress, progress, progress, dear Prabhus: Lord Krishna is MORE than willing to meet us all where we’re at.<o:p></o:p>