leyh

"We should always consider the position of the isvaras, or those who can actually control the movements of the sun and moon, as superior. Without such power, one cannot imitate the isvaras, who are superpowerful. Lord Siva drank poison to the extent of swallowing an ocean, but if any common man tries to drink even a fragment of such poison, he will be killed. There are many pseudo-devotees of Lord Siva who want to indulge in smoking ganja (marijuana) and similar intoxicating drugs, forgetting that by so imitating the acts of Lord Siva they are calling death very near." (From purport to Bhagavad-gita 3.24 by His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada) 'Just like Lord Siva, he drank an ocean of poison and he kept it on the throat. He did not allow to go down. So therefore his name is Nilakantha. It became bluish. His neck is blue. But if somebody imitates Lord Siva and indulges intoxication, ganja, he'll go to hell. He is powerful. Somebody says "Well, Lord Siva is a smoker so we can also smoke." No. You cannot imitate. You can simply follow.' (Class on Bhagavad-gita 3.6-10 by Srila Prabhupada, 68/12/23 Los Angeles)

Jesus Christ ate fish, and Lord Shiva inhaled ganja. We can still worship them without trying to imitate them.

The Krsna Consciousness Movement is an open conspiracy by the Supreme Lord and His devotees to trick stubborn conditioned souls back home, back to Godhead.

The Lord's mercy upon the fallen souls is equally distributed. He has no one as the specific object of hostility. The very conception of the Personality of Godhead as a human being is misleading. His pastimes appear to be exactly like a human being's, but actually they are transcendental and without any tinge of material contamination. He is undoubtedly known as partial to His pure devotees, but in fact He is never partial, as much as the sun is never partial to anyone. By utilizing the sun rays, sometimes even the stones become valuable, whereas a blind man cannot see the sun, although there are enough sun rays before him. Darkness and light are two opposite conceptions, but this does not mean that the sun is partial in distributing its rays. The sun rays are open to everyone, but the capacities of the receptacles differ. Foolish people think that devotional service is flattering the Lord to get special mercy. Factually the pure devotees who are engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord are not a mercantile community. A mercantile house renders service to someone in exchange for values. The pure devotee does not render service unto the Lord for such exchange, and therefore the full mercy of the Lord is open for him. Suffering and needy men, inquisitive persons or philosophers make temporary connections with the Lord to serve a particular purpose. When the purpose is served, there is no more relation with the Lord. A suffering man, if he is pious at all, prays to the Lord for his recovery. But as soon as the recovery is over, in most cases the suffering man no longer cares to keep any connection with the Lord. The mercy of the Lord is open for him, but he is reluctant to receive it. That is the difference between a pure devotee and a mixed devotee. Those who are completely against the service of the Lord are considered to be in abject darkness, those who ask for the Lord's favor only at the time of necessity are partial recipients of the mercy of the Lord, and those who are cent percent engaged in the service of the Lord are full recipients of the mercy of the Lord. Such partiality in receiving the Lord's mercy is relative to the recipient, and it is not due to the partiality of the all-merciful Lord. (From purport to Srimad Bhagavatam 1.8.29 by His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada)

The Lord's mercy upon the fallen souls is equally distributed. He has no one as the specific object of hostility. The very conception of the Personality of Godhead as a human being is misleading. His pastimes appear to be exactly like a human being's, but actually they are transcendental and without any tinge of material contamination. He is undoubtedly known as partial to His pure devotees, but in fact He is never partial, as much as the sun is never partial to anyone. By utilizing the sun rays, sometimes even the stones become valuable, whereas a blind man cannot see the sun, although there are enough sun rays before him. Darkness and light are two opposite conceptions, but this does not mean that the sun is partial in distributing its rays. The sun rays are open to everyone, but the capacities of the receptacles differ. Foolish people think that devotional service is flattering the Lord to get special mercy. Factually the pure devotees who are engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord are not a mercantile community. A mercantile house renders service to someone in exchange for values. The pure devotee does not render service unto the Lord for such exchange, and therefore the full mercy of the Lord is open for him. Suffering and needy men, inquisitive persons or philosophers make temporary connections with the Lord to serve a particular purpose. When the purpose is served, there is no more relation with the Lord. A suffering man, if he is pious at all, prays to the Lord for his recovery. But as soon as the recovery is over, in most cases the suffering man no longer cares to keep any connection with the Lord. The mercy of the Lord is open for him, but he is reluctant to receive it. That is the difference between a pure devotee and a mixed devotee. Those who are completely against the service of the Lord are considered to be in abject darkness, those who ask for the Lord's favor only at the time of necessity are partial recipients of the mercy of the Lord, and those who are cent percent engaged in the service of the Lord are full recipients of the mercy of the Lord. Such partiality in receiving the Lord's mercy is relative to the recipient, and it is not due to the partiality of the all-merciful Lord. (From purport to Srimad Bhagavatam 1.8.29 by His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada)

The aim of this Krsna consciousness movement is to bring all living entities back to their original consciousness. All living entities within the material world are, to varying degrees, afflicted with a type of madness. This Krsna consciousness movement aims at curing man of his material disease and reestablishing his original consciousness. In a Bengali poem a great Vaisnava poet has written, "When a man is haunted by ghosts, he can only speak nonsense. Similarly, anyone who is under the influence of material nature should be considered haunted, and whatever he speaks should be considered nonsense." One may be considered a great philosopher or great scientist, but if he is haunted by the ghost of maya, illusion, whatever he theorizes and whatever he speaks is more or less nonsensical. Today we are given the example of a psychiatrist who, when requested to examine a murderer, proclaimed that since all the patients with whom he had come in contact were more or less crazy, the court could excuse the murderer on those grounds if it so desired. The point is that in the material world it is very difficult to find a sane living entity. The prevailing atmosphere of insanity in this world is all caused by the infection of material consciousness. (From Chapter 1 of Krsna Consciousness, The Matchless Gift by His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada)

The aim of this Krsna consciousness movement is to bring all living entities back to their original consciousness. All living entities within the material world are, to varying degrees, afflicted with a type of madness. This Krsna consciousness movement aims at curing man of his material disease and reestablishing his original consciousness. In a Bengali poem a great Vaisnava poet has written, "When a man is haunted by ghosts, he can only speak nonsense. Similarly, anyone who is under the influence of material nature should be considered haunted, and whatever he speaks should be considered nonsense." One may be considered a great philosopher or great scientist, but if he is haunted by the ghost of maya, illusion, whatever he theorizes and whatever he speaks is more or less nonsensical. Today we are given the example of a psychiatrist who, when requested to examine a murderer, proclaimed that since all the patients with whom he had come in contact were more or less crazy, the court could excuse the murderer on those grounds if it so desired. The point is that in the material world it is very difficult to find a sane living entity. The prevailing atmosphere of insanity in this world is all caused by the infection of material consciousness. (From Chapter 1 of Krsna Consciousness, The Matchless Gift by His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada)

"To understand one's actual position as the eternal servitor of Krsna, without falsely claiming this material body to be oneself and without falsely claiming proprietorship over anything in the world, is the perfect stage of Krsna consciousness. One who is situated in this perfect stage knows that because Krsna is the proprietor of everything, therefore everything must be used for the satisfaction of Krsna." (From purport to Bhagavad-gita As It Is 2.71 by His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada) Japa malas should be used for the satisfaction of Krsna by chanting His holy names. This is quite a simple and straightforward proposal. As Srila Prabhupada might say: "What is the difficulty?"

Dear Ethos: The reason why I choose to use the dark highlights is that they are a feature of Srila Prabhupada's books where his conversations are reproduced and in the spirit of transmitting the message as it is, I like to remain as close to the source as possible. Hope you understand.

It seems to me that some of the posts in this thread directed at our Christian friend are loaded with considerable sarcasm, if not hostility. Once, when Srila Prabhupada was lecturing in La Trobe University in Australia, he was questioned by a Christian in a challenging mood, the following exchange took place: Young man (2): I'm a Christian. I follow Jesus. What is your spiritual master in relation to Jesus, and do you see Jesus as just another prophet like... Madhudvisa: The question was, this man is a follower of Lord Jesus Christ, and he would like to know what our opinion is of Jesus Christ. Prabhupada: We respect Jesus Christ as you do. Because he is the representative of God, son of God, and we are also speaking of God, so we respect him with our greatest veneration. Young man (2): So you're comparing Krsna, Buddha, Muhammad to Jesus as the same, and Guru Maharaj-ji too, another Jesus. You're saying that. Prabhupada: No. I am not Jesus. I am servant of Jesus. Young man (2): You're a son of Jesus. Prabhupada: Yes. I am servant of Jesus. Young man (2): What does that mean? Prabhupada: I don't say I am Jesus. Young man (2): Do you have the powers of Jesus? Can you say to a person, "Rise up and walk," when they're paralyzed? Prabhupada: What is that? Madhudvisa: He wants to know if you have the powers of Jesus. Prabhupada: Eh? No, I have no power of Jesus. Man: Well, I've got the power of Jesus. (laughter) Cause I'm a Christian. Prabhupada: That's all right. You are Christian, we are Krishnian--practically the same thing. (laughter and applause) Man: And one other question. Prabhupada: Yes. Man: I believe Jesus is coming back and not Krsna. And what are you guys going to do when you see Jesus? (laughter) Prabhupada: What is that? Madhudvisa: Jesus. He believes Jesus is going to come back again. Prabhupada: Well, he is coming, welcome. We shall welcome. It is very good news that Jesus is coming.(La Trobe University Lecture in Melbourne, July 1, 1974.) I have heard the audio recording of the lecture. Srila Prabhupada answered the Christian man calmly, humbly and humourously. Let us try to emulate the example of His Divine Grace.

Dear Christian: I hope you are well! In your post, you wrote: Obviously you aren't monotheistic, but how can you have more than one god? A god is all powerful. If you have a little god, and then you have Krishina, then the little god isn't even worthy of being a god. It doesn't make sense. Your statement denying the monotheism of Krsna Consciousness is a clear indication of your lack of understanding regarding Krsna.To be qualified to make a statement like this, you must first understand Krsna. You should be able to perfectly reproduce Krsna's philosophy at least in its most basic form as found in Bhagavad-gita. Have you attempted any serious research on Krsna? If you have not, then you have no platform to designate Krsna to the role of a "little god." Also, without any authorized knowledge of Krsna, you have no platform to assess His position as God. In other words, before stating categorically that Krsna is not God, you need to understand Krsna. Otherwise, your assessment is invalid.Would the statements of a person untrained in science be counted as authoritative if he tried to make scientific commentary? Understand first, then criticize. It is absurd to make statements about things or persons which you have no real understanding of. Having tried to explore the Christian faith as a "Christian" (the word is after all a human designation), I have nothing but reverence for Jesus Christ. I can understand your enthusiasm in preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but please bear in mind these words from Shakespeare: "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy." (Shakespeare's Hamlet IV 174-175).The Vedic culture is very ancient and it might profit us if we investigate it instead of dismissing it on sentiment. I think that if you attempt to seriously understand the Krsna Consciousness philosophy, you will find that it is the master key which can unlock all the apparent contradictions between the great world religions and it is a universal non-sectarian programme to promote love for God all over the world. Please think over what I have just said --- not sentimentally, but with logic and reason. I hope I have not offended you with my choice of words and I sincerely hope to hear from you again.

I've heard/read that once someone begins to chant Hare Krsna, Lord Nityananda will take charge of that person's liberation. But I can't place the source. Can anyone comment? The bottom line is that anyone who chants Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare is in good hands. As His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada who so kindly left India to give the mantra to the whole world once remarked in a talk given on appearance day of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura on September 1973 in Mumbai,India: "We appeal to everyone to take to the Krsna Consciousness movement and chant the Hare Krsna mantra. Even if you cannot give up your bad habits and sinful activities at once, still take to the chanting of the Hare Krsna mantra, and before long you will become purified and your life will be glorious."

Dear Streetstraw: George Harrison rendered tremendous assistance to Srila Prabhupada's Movement and although George never took formal initiation from Srila Prabhupada, I remember reading somewhere that Srila Prabhupada once said that George is more then his disciple. I'm sure he must have gone back home, back to Godhead. btw, leyh is a spirit soul in a male body /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

George's death day? You mean his disappearance day.George is not dead. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif He reasons ill who says that Vaisnavas die, when thou art living still in sound! The Vaisnavas die and living try to live, to spread the holy name around. (Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura)

Another angle of vision: Sage Narada concluded by saying, "O Lord, hearing the further eulogy and the narration of details of more benefits, it is quite appropriate that no special rule be followed in the matter of muttering this sacred name, which can be done at all times whether in a clean or even an unclean state. Salutations to thee." (Kali Santarana Upanishad, Upanishad No. 103 of The Krishna Yajurveda) Narada Muni was referring to the Maha Mantra: Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

Not just women, but virtually every living entity in this material world are, to a large extent, envious. Otherwise we wouldn't be here in the first place.

In the military, there is a great deal of formal etiquitte and ceremonial rules and regulations, which is for peacetime. In times of war, some of these rules and regulations may have to be eschewed. Who cares about having shiny boots or a crisply ironed uniform when bullets are whizzing on the battlefield and shells are exploding everywhere? Srila Prabhupada is a great general in Lord Caitanya's army and he was preaching under emergency conditions. He had to urgently transplant the Vaisnava culture and the philosophy of Krsna Consciousness in western countries like America which had very different social conditions from India. Although Srila Prabhupada did not compromise on the philosophy, he did have to make adjustments according to differences in time, place and circumstances. However, I did remember reading in Srila Prabhupada Uvaca by Srutakirti dasa that Srila Prabhupada strictly followed the injunction that a sannyasi should never be alone with a woman. There was one time when his sister visited him and Srila Prabhupada instructed one of his disciples to accompany him while he conversed with his sister.

Dear ethos: In Srila Prabhupada lilamrta by HH Satsvarupa das Goswami, it is recorded that once, some of Srila Prabhupada's disciples who were preaching in England did call him on the phone: 'The devotees, thrilled to see their group expanding and Prabhupada's potency working, decided to phone Prabhupada from their landlord's office. The telephone was a conference phone, and Prabhupada's voice came over the little loudspeaker on the desk. The devotees sat around the desk, listening tensely. "Prabhupada," Mukunda said, "we have some new brahmacaris here." "Oh, are they cooking capatis?" Prabhupada asked from across the ocean. The devotees laughed uncontrollably, then hushed to hear more. "No," said Mukunda. "But they will be now." The devotees each told Prabhupada how they missed him, and he said he missed them too and would come as soon as they could get a place.' (Srila Prabhupada lilamrta, Volume 4, Chapter 1) Then in the same volume, another exchange is recorded, and the narrator here is Bhagavan dasa: I was in the shower when all of a sudden someone banged on the door. "Prabhupada is on the telephone. He wants to speak with you." I was sure there was some misunderstanding --- how is it possible that the spiritual master could be on the telephone? Anyway, I ran out of the shower, all wet, and picked up the telephone and said, "Hello?" There was a long pause. Then all of a sudden I hear Srila Prabhupada's voice on the other end: "Bhagavan dasa?" "Yes," I said. "Srila Prabhupada, please accept my humble obeisances. How can I serve you?" I was completely stunned. Then Prabhupada's voice came slowly on the phone. "There are many things that you will do, but the first thing is that you must come here immediately." I said, "Of course, Srila Prabhupada, I will be there right away." And with that we both hung up. (Srila Prabhupada lilamrta, Volume 4, Chapter 3)

"Don't think in that way about this holy book, sir," I answered. "It was not written by simple Greek monks, but by great and very holy men of old time, men whom your Church honours also, such as Anthony the Great, Macarius the Great, Mark the spiritual Athlete, John Chrysostom and others. It was from them that the monks of India and Bokhara took over the 'heart method' of interior prayer, only they quite spoilt and garbled it in doing so, as my starets explained to me. (From The Way of a Pilgrim, Chapter 2) The book the anonymous pilgrim is referring to is The Philokalia, an anthology of Christian Orthodox spiritual writings.

What does the acronym GHQ stand for?

Dear Theist: Glad to have been of service. I can't recall offhand the thread where I mentioned The Way of a Pilgrim, but I do remember it was in reply to Bhakta Joy. It was a real transcendental joy for me to read The Way of a Pilgrim as it offers many insights into praying the holy name. However, there is an episoid in the book where the anonymous author of the book mentions that his spiritual master (staret) told him that the prayer methods of the monks of India were imported from the Christian mystics and subsequently garbled. A rather sweeping, not to mention wildly inaccurate statement, I think. But a discerning reader can still overlook this fault and take the nectar from the flower.

In addition to his longer works, His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada wrote numerous "small" books These books include:Elevation to Krsna Consciousness, On the Way to Krsna, Beyond Birth and Death, Easy Journey to Other Planets, etc. These books are actually not small, for the information within them is able to inspire someone to begin the journey back home, back to Godhead.One remarkable thing I have noticed about some of this books is that I can never get tired of reading them.Virtually every time I open a book like Elevation to Krsna Consciousness or On the Way to Krsna, I read with fresh interest, which is completely different to some of the stuff I have to read in the course of my academic studies --- stuff that progressively bores me with every reading. Srila Prabhupada once said that his books are "recorded chanting" and I can see why.If even his "small" books are so potent, one can imagine the potency of his "medium" and "big" books. IMHO, "small", "medium" and "big" are material qualities appropriate only for superfically classifiying Srila Prabhupada's books. Everyone of his books is simply glorious. The "small" books are great for giving to people who have no previous knowledge of Krsna Consciousness and they provide easy-to-understand but comprehensive over-views of the Krsna Consciousness philosophy. All followers of Srila Prabhupada should help to disseminate these books.

Dear Shiva: If you have any real contact with any contemporary Boy Scout Troop, you'd find that all the conspiracy theories which you have just provided is basically irrelevant. BP died more then half a century ago, and his influence on the present day Scout movement is largely confined to a symbolic role. Religion is hardly mentioned except maybe during the taking of the Scout Promise and the singing of campfire songs. Of course a Scout also promises to do his duty to his country, but at the age of adolescence, most Scouts are just concerned with having fun and meeting Girl Guides. At least this is my perspective on the Scout Movement in Singapore during the brief period I was involved in it.It was a period of adventure and fun. Remember, Scouting is not a monolithic entity. Even if "The first boy scout troop in the u.s was started by the mormon church,and they hold control through funding." doesn't mean the same is true for other Scout troops. To make a sweeping statement about the whole Scout Movement (which, according to my understanding, consists of a confederation of seperate and autonomous Scout Movements all over the world) just shows that you don't really have any idea of Scouting.

Dear Shiva: You wrote: "The mormons own the boy scouts, it is their property." The mormons owe the Boy Scout Movement? That's about the most far-fetched theory I've heard recently. It's like saying that ISKCON is owned by the CIA. The Founder of the Boy Scouts, Lord Baden Powell was a General in the British Army and, as far as I know, had nothing to do with the Mormons. What evidence do you have that the Boy Scouts are owned by the Mormons? Remember the Boy Scout Movement is a world-wide organization and there are Scouts in virtually every country. The Mormons may have financially supported a Scout troop in the States or some Western Country, but that does not mean they owe the entire Scout Movement, which is financed by the World Scout Foundation and directed by The World Organization of the Scout Movement, an international, non-governmental organization composed of recognized national Scout organizations. For more information about the International Boy Scout Movement, go to www.scout.org

Towards the end of his life, although still in comparatively good health, Lord Baden Powell (the Founder of the Boy Scout Movement who was and still is known affectionately to Scouts as "BP") prepared a farewell message to his Scouts for publication after his death. It read: Dear Scouts - if you have ever seen the play "Peter Pan" you will remember how the pirate chief was always making his dying speech because he was afraid that possibly when the time came for him to die he might not have time to get it off his chest. It is much the same with me, and so, although I am not at this moment dying, I shall be doing so one of these days and I want to send you a parting word of good-bye. Remember, it is the last time you will ever hear from me, so think it over. I have had a most happy life and I want each one of you to have as happy a life too. I believe that God put us in this jolly world to be happy and enjoy life. Happiness doesn't come from being rich, nor merely from being successful in your career, nor by self-indulgence. One step towards happiness is to make yourself healthy and strong while you are a boy, so that you can be useful and so you can enjoy life when you are a man. Nature study will show you how full of beautiful and wonderful things God has made the world for you to enjoy. Be contented with what you have got and make the best of it. Look on the bright side of things instead of the gloomy one. But the real way to get happiness is by giving out happiness to other people. Try and leave this world a little better than you found it and when your turn comes to die, you can die happy in feeling that at any rate you have not wasted your time but have done your best. "Be Prepared" in this way, to live happy and to die happy- stick to your Scout Promise always when you have ceased to be a boy - and God help you to do it. Your friend, Robert Baden-Powell