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Dear Madhav: I don't think anybody here is saying you must accept Srila Prabhupada. What most of us are saying is that you must accept Srila Prabhupada As He Is. Srila Prabhupada said that he is not preaching Hinduism.he is not preaching Hinduism. He is not preaching Hinduism.Over and over he drives that point. You may accept that or you are free to reject that. But when it comes to forcibly injecting Hinduism onto Srila Prabhupada against his wishes, the followers of Srila Prabhupada must protest. If you had met Srila Prabhupada personally and if he were to say that he isn't preaching Hinduism, what will you say to him? "No, Srila Prabhupada. You are preaching Hinduism because you are a Hindu."? The relationship between an enquirer and a sadhu is charcaterized by submissive enquiry. That means that while maintaining an open mind, we don't try to force the sadhu to accomodate our own preconceived notions.

Dear Madhav: You state that "All Vaishnavas are Hindus", but again this is refuted by Srila Prabhupada. Prabhupada:(Hindi) I was born a Vaisnava family. My father was a great devotee. Naturally, he led me... Oh, I am speaking in Hindi, English. (Hindi) They are not attracted to the Hindu dharma. Guest (6): Then why they attracted to Hare Rama, Hare Krsna? Prabhupada: They are attracted to Krsna. These people, they are... (Hindi) But you are taking Krsna as Hindu. That is your mistake. Krsna is... Hindu ne. He is God. He is God. God Hindu ne, Mussulman ne, Christian ne, Parsi ne--God is God. (Hindi) And I am also not interested to preach Hindu dharma. (Hindi) ...Krsna dharma. Krsna consciousness, that is the only dharma. (Hindi) ...Krsna literature. It is not a Hindu dharma literature. (Hindi) (Room Conversation, November 7, 1970, Bombay) You wrote 'who says vishnu is god?" the answer you will get is, "Hindus".' But devotees have accepted Visnu as God before the word "Hindu" came into existence. Srila Prabhupada has already stated on so many occasions that he is not interested in preaching Hinduism nor has he claimed himself to be a Hindu. The evidence is overwhelmingly clear on that. But you so desperately want Srila Prabhupada to be a Hindu, to be "on your side" that you ignore Srila Prabhupada's clear statements on what he thought of Hinduism. Please do not impose your own sectarian agenda on Srila Prabhupada.

I remember reading somewhere that Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura used to judge the merits of articles by how any times the name "Krsna" is mentioned. The holy name should be invoked as often as possible. There is no loss, but more then a world to gain by coming into contact with the Lord through His name via any medium.

Although we have never had any association on the physical plane, by her words and her art, Jayaradhe dasi has made Krsna and Srila Prabhupada more apparent to myself and I'm sure to many others as well.Wherever you are now, Mataji, please accept my humble obeisances. All Glories to you!

I am saying that the word Hinduism cannot be said to be established by Krsna. The followers of Krsna should take Krsna's words as they are and not add concoctions to it. Krsna does not mention Hinduism in Bhagavad-gita, so by what authority are saying that Krsna establishes Hinduism? Krsna came to establish Dharma, which is not any "ism" anymore then the propensity to serve is a religion. Dharma is the eternal quality of eevry living entity.

If Hinduism was established by Krsna, why is there no mention of it in Bhagavad-gita or any Vedic literature?

It is a fact that Srila Prabhupada explicitly differentiated between Hinduism and Krsna Consciousness in his writings. The following excerpt from his article Krsna Consciousness:Hindu Cult or Divine Culture? is a very clear example: The ultimate goal of this movement is to educate people in how to love God. Caitanya Mahaprabhu approves the conclusion that the highest perfection of human life is to learn how to love God. The Krsna consciousness movement has nothing to do with the Hindu religion or any system of religion. No Christian gentleman will be interested in changing his faith from Christian to Hindu. Similarly, no Hindu gentleman of culture will be ready to change to the Christian faith. Such changing is for men who have no particular social status. But everyone will be interested in understanding the philosophy and science of God and taking it seriously. One should clearly understand that the Krsna consciousness movement is not preaching the so-called Hindu religion. We are giving a spiritual culture that can solve all the problems of life, and therefore it is being accepted all over the world. (From Chapter 3 of Science of Self Realization We should take Srila Prabhupada As He Is and not speculate. If he says he is not preaching Hinduism, his followers should accept that. As Prabhupada informed a journalist in a conversation: "If you want to know me, then you must know about me from me. You can not speculate about me." [s.P. Room Conversation with Reporter June 4, 1976, Los Angeles]

Dear Guest: Much evil, and also much good has been done in the name of Christ. I'd rather follow Srila Prabhupada's instruction to avoid going for the stool and take the nectar.Srila Prabhupada accepted Jesus as a pure devotee and the son of God and anyone who genuinely follows Jesus Christ, I consider to be worshippable.

I think that the main reason why, in the past and to a certain extent even now, certain Christians have resorted to violent methods to convert people is that Christianity has roots in tribalism. A cursory reading of the Old Testament will inform us that the Jews essentially had a tribal culture which pitted itself against other tribes. However, Judaism and Christianity has outgrew their tribal roots. Today, Judaism is one of the more tolerant faiths around and Christians would probably shrink in horror at the idea of Crusades or Inquisitions. Of course there are still fundamentalists who vehemently denounce other religions, but IMO so long as their attacks remain in the realm of words, they are essentially harmless and can either be ignored or rebutted with counter-arguments. Jesus Himself was free from the tribal mentality. He once remarked that a non-Jewish person (a Roman Centurion) had more faith then anyone in Israel, and he upheld a Samaritan as an example of the "Love Your Neighbour" philosophy. The Samaritans were considered as heretics by the Jews during the time of Jesus. They only accepted the first five books of the Old Testament, combined elements of Judaism with other religions and they believed that the Messiah would be a reincarnation of Moses. Yet, Jesus overlooked these doctrinal differences with his Jewish tradition and used a Samaritan as the hero in one of his parables. The pure devotees are never tinged with the party spirit of "My religion v.s. Your religion."

I've just finished reading HH Sivarama Swami's 2002 Vyasa Puja offering. It describes an impromptu debate between him and a Mayavadi Shankaracarya. A really inspiring offering.

Umapati Maharaja's 2002 Vyasa Puja offering can be read online together with offerings from other ISKCON Sannyasis at http://www.harekrishnala.com/vp2002/index.html

Does it matter what Jesus looked like physically? In Nectar of Instruction, Srila Prabhupada warns against seeing a pure devotee from a materialistic point of view. Speculating about the physical apperance of Jesus is just a waste of time. Better to try to follow him.

Dear Ethos: I wanted to avoid reading your posts as soon as I sensed abuse, but I couldn't help it. Anyway, I understand where you are coming from when you declared your choice of freedom, but I don't approve of your methods. Real freedom does not mean doing or saying anything we please. In Bhagavad-gita 2.64, the Lord refers to "the regulated principles of freedom".

Dear Ethos: I wanted to avoid reading your posts as soon as I sensed abuse, but I couldn't help it. Anyway, I understand where you are coming from when you declared your choice of freedom, but I don't approve of your methods. Real freedom does not mean doing or saying anything we please. In Bhagavad-gita 2.64, the Lord refers to "the regulated principles of freedom".

Sometimes violence is necessary to deal with demoniac forces or simply for self defence.This kind of violence is certainly approved of by Srila Prabhupada, as evidenced by one of his letters: The last time we performed a Hare Krsna Festival in Delhi, there was imminent danger of Pakistan's declaring war, and when a newspaper man approached me for my opinion, I said there must be fighting because the other party was aggressive. However, because of our sankirtana movement, India emerged victorious. (Altruism: Temporary and Eternal, from Chapter 6 of The Science of Self Realization) Personally, I think violence should be employed only when it is clear that the other party has no interest in reasonable negotiation.

Sometimes violence is necessary to deal with demoniac forces or simply for self defence.This kind of violence is certainly approved of by Srila Prabhupada, as evidenced by one of his letters: The last time we performed a Hare Krsna Festival in Delhi, there was imminent danger of Pakistan's declaring war, and when a newspaper man approached me for my opinion, I said there must be fighting because the other party was aggressive. However, because of our sankirtana movement, India emerged victorious. (Altruism: Temporary and Eternal, from Chapter 6 of The Science of Self Realization) Personally, I think violence should be employed only when it is clear that the other party has no interest in reasonable negotiation.

The Evil Urge is like a prankster running through a crowd showing his tightly closed hand. No one knows what he is holding. He goes up to each one and asks, "What do you suppose I have in my hand?" Each one imagines that the closed hand contains just what he desires most. They all hurry and run after the prankster. Then, when he has tricked them all into following him, he opens his hand. It is complete­ly empty. The same is true of the Evil One. He fools the world, tricking it into following him. All men think that his hand contains what they desire. But in the end, he opens his hand. There is nothing in it, and no desire is ever fulfilled. Worldly pleasures are like sunbeams in a dark room. They may actually seem solid, but one who tries to grasp a sunbeam finds nothing in his hand. The same is true of all worldly desires. (Translated by Aryeh Kaplan from Rabbi Nachman's Wisdom, Sichos HaRan, 8)

From now on I'll apply the first sentence rule for Ethos --- the instance I detect abuse in the first sentence from an Ethos post, I'll refrain from reading the rest of the post. Sorry, Ethos. I tried, I really tried. But enough is enough. Hare Krsna.

Krsna can be understood only by His pure devotees. We have to beg them for information. All other sources of "information" about Krsna is imperfect.

Everyone wants to repose his loving tendency in some object which is in his opinion worthy. So it is a question of ignorance only, poor fund of knowledge, where to find that Supreme Lovable Object actually worthy to accept and reciprocate their love. People simply do not know, there is no proper information. Anything material, as soon as there is some attachment, it will kick you upon the face, deteriorate, disappoint you--it's bound to dissatisfy and frustrate you, that's a fact. (Letter from His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada to Lynne Ludwig, Los Angeles 30 April, 1973)

Everyone wants to repose his loving tendency in some object which is in his opinion worthy. So it is a question of ignorance only, poor fund of knowledge, where to find that Supreme Lovable Object actually worthy to accept and reciprocate their love. People simply do not know, there is no proper information. Anything material, as soon as there is some attachment, it will kick you upon the face, deteriorate, disappoint you--it's bound to dissatisfy and frustrate you, that's a fact. (Letter from His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada to Lynne Ludwig, Los Angeles 30 April, 1973)

In the Secretariat Buildings in New Delhi there is an inscription on the stone that Liberty does not descend upon a people but it has to earned before it can be enjoyed. Actually this is the fact and we have seen it that much sacrifice had to be rendered by the people of India before they could gain Swaraj. But in the matter of Godhead some irresponsible people ask, "Can you show me.Have you seen God?" These are some of the questions put forward by some irresponsible men who want to have everything very cheap. If for attaining a temporary false sense of liberty in this material world so much labour and sacrifice have to be requisitioned is it possible to see Godhead -- The Absolute Truth so cheaply? To see God means complete liberty from all conditions. But is Godhead an attending orderly so that He may be present at my command? The atheist however demands like that, as if Godhead is his paid servant and he thinks that Godhead is an imaginary thing otherwise He would have appeared before as soon as the demand to see Him is made. (From Where is Godhead? by His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada ,20th June, 1956 issue of Back to Godhead magazine

In the Secretariat Buildings in New Delhi there is an inscription on the stone that Liberty does not descend upon a people but it has to earned before it can be enjoyed. Actually this is the fact and we have seen it that much sacrifice had to be rendered by the people of India before they could gain Swaraj. But in the matter of Godhead some irresponsible people ask, "Can you show me.Have you seen God?" These are some of the questions put forward by some irresponsible men who want to have everything very cheap. If for attaining a temporary false sense of liberty in this material world so much labour and sacrifice have to be requisitioned is it possible to see Godhead -- The Absolute Truth so cheaply? To see God means complete liberty from all conditions. But is Godhead an attending orderly so that He may be present at my command? The atheist however demands like that, as if Godhead is his paid servant and he thinks that Godhead is an imaginary thing otherwise He would have appeared before as soon as the demand to see Him is made. (From Where is Godhead? by His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada ,20th June, 1956 issue of Back to Godhead magazine

Now, the Krsna Janmastami is just approaching on the 8th, September, the birthday of Krsna we observe in India, and probably we may also make a program for observing the birthday ceremony here. So you'll find that just like in your country in Christmas day you all observe the birthday of Lord Christ, similarly, Krsna, the birthday of Krsna, will be observed in India, cent percent people. (His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, 660824BG.NY Lectures)

Now, the Krsna Janmastami is just approaching on the 8th, September, the birthday of Krsna we observe in India, and probably we may also make a program for observing the birthday ceremony here. So you'll find that just like in your country in Christmas day you all observe the birthday of Lord Christ, similarly, Krsna, the birthday of Krsna, will be observed in India, cent percent people. (His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, 660824BG.NY Lectures)