leyh

The above post was by me. I was using a computer in school and had forgotten to log in.

"This Krsna consciousness movement is a transcendental science,and there is no room for jealousy." (His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada,Purport to Nectar of Instruction,Text Six)

"This Krsna consciousness movement is a transcendental science,and there is no room for jealousy." (His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada,Purport to Nectar of Instruction,Text Six)

Thank you,Bhakta Joy, Prasad and Guest for your instructions. Blasphemy and fault-finding of the Vaisnavas must be avoided if we desire the grace of Krsna,but I am so unfortunate that my mind is always plagued with negative thoughts about the Vaisnavas.I pray for their forgiveness and mercy.The very presence of the Vaisnavas are so auspicious for this material world. A devotee friend once informed me that according to Srimad Bhagavatam,offences committed by the mind are excused in Kali-Yuga.Does anyone know the scriptural reference?

His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada's extremely simple (but not simplistic) definition of real achievement: "The success of human form of life is to understand this thing: our relationship with God. And we should act in relationship with God. Then our success of life will be achieved."(Lecture Engagement at Birla House Bombay, December 17, 1975)

Dear Guest: I was mistaken.Please accept my apologies.

It seems like the owner/owners (?) of the Lovelogy site has deleted all my posts without explanation.Bizzare...

As many of us who have been endeavouring to study and practice Vaishnavism would know,Vaisnava aparadha is tantamount to spiritual suicide,for the mad elephant disease tramples over the creeper of devotional service. The mind is,as Krsna describes in Bhagavad-gita, "turbulent, obstinate and very strong." (Bhagavad-gita 6:34) I have experienced on countless occasions, critical and cynical thoughts regarding certain devotees (even Srila Prabhupada) flashing through my mind.I find myself very much disturbed by all this mental aparadha and it seems that if I were to confess my thoughts to other devotees,I might end up contaminating them.What should I do? What is the cure for all these mental aparadha? vancha-kalpatarubhyas ca krpa-sindhubhya eva ca patitanam pavanebhyo vaisnavebhyo namo namah "I offer my respectful obeisances unto all the Vaisnava devotees of the Lord who can fulfill the desires of everyone, just like desire trees, and who are full of compassion for the fallen souls."

"Thank You ... well ... alright ... yeah, well, my daddy he didn't leave me too much ... you know he was a very simple man and he didn't leave me a lot but what he told me was this ... what he did say was ... son ... he said uh .... he said so many things ya know ..... he said you know it's possible to become so defiled in this world that your own mother and father will abandon you, and if that happens God will always believe in your own ability to mend your ways." (Bob Dylan, Grammy Award Ceremony, New York, February 20, 1991)

Hi Jndas Prabhu: The following account by Srutakirti Prabhu seems to show that at least in certain circumstances,Srila Prabhupada approved of the killing of insects for self defence. I had never seen so many mosquitoes in my life. It was so bad that by the time I had the net over his bed there were already mosquitoes inside the net. One night, after we both climbed under the net I was massaging his legs. I said, "There are so many mosquitoes. Should I kill them, Srila Prabhupada?" He said, "Yes! They are attacking. According to Sastra, if one is being attacked, you have the right to defend yourself. And, they are attacking." So, I was massaging and watching. Whenever I saw one in the air I would raise my hands and clap them together. Sometimes I would gently smack Srila Prabhupada's body as one landed on his head or back. It was the most unusual service I had ever done but I enjoyed it immensely. I never considered my self much of a warrior but this enemy was no match for me. I had finally been given a service I was good at, killing insects. Srila Prabhupada was so very kind. (Excerpt from Srila Prabhupada Uvaca by Srutakirti dasa, Uvaca 57, http://users.aol.com/vrinda/ppduvaca/page3.htm#Prabhupada )

Hi Jndas Prabhu: The following account by Srutakirti Prabhu seems to show that at least in certain circumstances,Srila Prabhupada approved of the killing of insects for self defence. I had never seen so many mosquitoes in my life. It was so bad that by the time I had the net over his bed there were already mosquitoes inside the net. One night, after we both climbed under the net I was massaging his legs. I said, "There are so many mosquitoes. Should I kill them, Srila Prabhupada?" He said, "Yes! They are attacking. According to Sastra, if one is being attacked, you have the right to defend yourself. And, they are attacking." So, I was massaging and watching. Whenever I saw one in the air I would raise my hands and clap them together. Sometimes I would gently smack Srila Prabhupada's body as one landed on his head or back. It was the most unusual service I had ever done but I enjoyed it immensely. I never considered my self much of a warrior but this enemy was no match for me. I had finally been given a service I was good at, killing insects. Srila Prabhupada was so very kind. (Excerpt from Srila Prabhupada Uvaca by Srutakirti dasa, Uvaca 57, http://users.aol.com/vrinda/ppduvaca/page3.htm#Prabhupada )

"A Christian is essentially a disciple of Jesus.And he is their guru.Good disciples do not feel their guru is in competition with other gurus. Tolerance,dialogue and collaboration are the challenges facing Christian disciples today.For the first time since the fourth century institutional Christianity is not bolstered up by a secular power that supports religious exclusivism.Christians are being invited to see themselves as disciples of Jesus in a new relationship to the masters in other traditions.Realising that Jesus is their personal guru is decisive for freeing Christians from engrained attitudes of imperialism and historical intolerance.They are then freed for dialogue and spiritual partnership with other faiths.The question by which Jesus relates to his disciples therefore also connects him to the spiritual search that is common to humanity."(Jesus The Teacher Within by Laurence Freeman,Chapter 1: The Key Question)

I'm currently reading a book entitled Jesus The Teacher Within by Laurence Freeman,a Catholic priest and director of the World Community of Christian Meditation.Freeman seems to be quite open to non-Christian religions,for the book contains many references from the Upanisads,Zen Buddhism and other non-Christian traditions. The following is what I think is a powerfully inspiring excerpt from Freeman's introduction to the book and I would like to share it with the devotees here: "A great party is somewhere in full swing which no one is ever turned away from and where the fizz will never run out.Finding where this is happening and how to get there as soon as possible seems a good way of spending one's life." A great party.Sounds like Vaikuntha to me!

All Vedic literature agrees that Krsna is the source of Brahma, Siva and all other demigods. In the Atharva Veda it is said, "yo brahmanam vidadhati: purvam yo vai vedams ca gapayati sma krsnah.It was Krsna who in the beginning instructed Brahma in Vedic knowledge and who disseminated Vedic knowledge in the past." Then again it is said, "atha puruso ha vai narayano 'kamayata prajah srjeya ity upakramya.Then the Supreme Personality Narayana desired to create living entities." Again it is said: narayanad brahma jayate, narayanad prajapatih prajayate, narayanad indro jayate, narayanad astau vasavo jayante, narayanad ekadasa rudra jayante, narayanad dvadasadityah. "From Narayana, Brahma is born, and from Narayana, the patriarchs are also born. From Narayana, Indra is born, from Narayana the eight Vasus are born, from Narayana the eleven Rudras are born, from Narayana the twelve Adityas are born." It is said in the same Vedas, brahmanyo devaki-putrah: "The son of Devaki, Krsna, is the Supreme Personality." Then it is said: eko vai narayana asin na brahma na isano napo nagni samau neme dyav-aprthivi na naksatrani na suryah sa ekaki na ramate tasya dhyanantah sthasya yatra chandogaih kriyamanastakadi-samjnaka stuti-stomah stomam ucyate. "In the beginning of the creation there was only the Supreme Personality Narayana. There was no Brahma, no Siva, no fire, no moon, no stars in the sky, no sun. There was only Krsna, who creates all and enjoys all" In the many Puranas it is said that Lord Siva was born from the highest, the Supreme Lord Krsna, and the Vedas say that it is the Supreme Lord, the creator of Brahma and Siva, who is to be worshiped. In the Moksa-dharma Krsna also says, prajapatim ca rudram capy aham eva srjami vai tau hi mam na vijanito mama maya-vimohitau. "The patriarchs, Siva and others are created by Me, though they do not know that they are created by Me because they are deluded by My illusory energy." In the Varaha Purana it is also said, narayanah paro devas tasmaj jatas caturmukhah tasmad rudro 'bhavad devah sa ca sarva-jnatam gatah. "Narayana is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and from Him Brahma was born, from whom Siva was born." (From purport to Bhagavad-gita 10.8 by His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada)

Hi hdjvek: I hope you are well.May I point out that your assertion that:"it is the Purushottam Bhagwan within the avtaar that is talking, not the avtaar." is directly refuted by Krsna who says in Bhagavad-gita 7.7 that mattah parataram nanyat "There is no truth greater then Me." This is a direct statement made by Krsna about Himself and those who attempt to make a distinction between the Person Krsna and some "Purushottam Bhagavan" within and greater than Krsna are ignoring the Absolute Nature of Krsna.There is no difference between Krsna and what is "within" Krsna.As His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada,the Founder-acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness writes eloquently in his article The Immortal Nectar of the Bhagavad-gita: Sankara declared himself to be "Brahman," but he admits Narayana, or Krsna, to be the Supreme Personality who is beyond the material creation. He offers his respects to Krsna as the Supreme Brahman, or Parabrahman, because He (Krsna) is worshipable by everyone. Only the fools and enemies of Krsna, who cannot understand what the Bhagavad-gita is (though they make commentaries on it), say, "It is not the personal Krsna to whom we have to surrender ourselves utterly, but the unborn, beginningless Eternal who speaks through Krsna." Fools rush in where angels fear to tread. Whereas Sankara, the greatest of the impersonalists, offers his due respects to Krsna and His book the Bhagavad-gita, the foolish say that "we need not surrender to the personal Krsna." Such unenlightened people do not know that Krsna is absolute and that there is no difference between His inside and outside. The difference of inside and outside is experienced in the dual, material world. In the absolute world there is no such difference, because in the absolute everything is spiritual (sac-cid-ananda), and Narayana, or Krsna, belongs to the absolute world. In the absolute world there is only the factual personality, and there is no distinction between body and soul.(Science of Self Realization,Chapter 3) We should not impose our speculations on the words of Krsna.When He says "There is no greater Truth than Me." ,we should simply accept it as a direct first person statement made by Krsna.Nowhere in the Bhagavad-gita can we find Krsna making a distinction between himself and some "Purushottam Bhagavan" within Him.In fact, throughout the entire Bhagavad-gita,Krsna declares His position as the Supreme Lord by speaking in the first person with words like aham (I) and mam (Me).Of course anyone is free to speculate that this aham or mam is actually some greater entity speaking through His incarnation Krsna,but such a speculation can never be reconciled with the Absolute Nature of The Supreme Personality of Godhead. [This message has been edited by leyh (edited 07-23-2002).]

Hi Varsanp: I hope you are well!I'm not familiar with the message of Swami Narayana.In an earlier post,the following passage was cited from http://www.swaminarayan.ws/issues.htm : 2) -Is Lord Swaminarayan an incarnation of Krishna? Why does He meditate upon Lord Krishna in the Shikshapatri? This is a question that raises a lot of debate, which it shouldn't, at least not after all the years that have passed since the establishment of the Swaminarayan Sampraday. Once in the presence of Lord Swaminarayan, a debate took place as to how to describe Lord Swaminarayan. Some saints insisted that He is equal to Lord Krishna, whereas Nityanand Swami insisted He was the Supreme, and the cause of all incarnations. Lord Swaminarayan however described Himself as equal to Lord Krishna ! (......yeah, but read on) Maharaj tried to convince Nityanand Swami but Nityanand Swami wouldn't give up his belief. So Maharaj became angry with him and excommunicated Nityanand Swami. Nityanand Swami had to fast for days but wouldn't give up his belief that Lord Swaminarayan was the Supreme Lord, the cause of all incarnations. Lord Swaminarayan would send a messenger to ask the excommunicated saint if he had changed his mind, but Nityanand Swami hadn't. Finally Maharaj called him back and GARLANDED Nityanand Swami and PRAISED HIM FOR HIS UNDERSTANDING OF HIS STATUS and said that a true faithful devotee is like this Nityanand Swami. "Even though i sided with the other saints and humiliated him, he did not change his true belief", said Maharaj. Lord Swaminarayan reveals that He is the Highest Supreme Lord and that He shall be compared to none, in His own words in the scripture 'Vachanamrit'. There are many other examples from His life that add to this evidence. And if after all these years we are still embarrassed to say that He IS the greatest, then we should be ashamed However all that is not to say that we are not supposed to respect Lord Krishna or Lord Ram or any other incarnation. All the incarnations emanate from Lord Swaminarayan and are His forms, so there is no question of disregarding them. But the single minded devotion should be to one God, the 'Ishtadev' (favourite God). Lord Swaminarayan even installed idols of Lord Krishna and other incarnations in His temples. ..ABOVE ALL, BUT REGARD FOR ALL.... Is Swami Narayana, either directly or indirectly teaching that He is the souce of Krsna? And if he is,then doesn't that directly contradict what Krsna says in Bhagavad-gita: mattah parataram nanyat kincid asti dhananjaya mayi sarvam idam protam sutre mani-gana iva "O conqueror of wealth [Arjuna], there is no Truth superior to Me. Everything rests upon Me, as pearls are strung on a thread." (Bhagavad-gita 7.7) [This message has been edited by leyh (edited 07-22-2002).]

Out of curosity...when did the ritvik philosophy came into existence? [This message has been edited by leyh (edited 07-22-2002).]

"God has given independence to everyone; therefore, if a person desires to have material enjoyment and wants very sincerely to have such facilities from the material demigods, the Supreme Lord, as Supersoul in everyone's heart, understands and gives facilities to such persons. As the supreme father of all living entities, He does not interfere with their independence, but gives all facilities so that they can fulfill their material desires. Some may ask why the all-powerful God gives facilities to the living entities for enjoying this material world and so lets them fall into the trap of the illusory energy. The answer is that if the Supreme Lord as Supersoul does not give such facilities, then there is no meaning to independence. (italics added) Therefore He gives everyone full independence--whatever one likes--but His ultimate instruction we find in the Bhagavad-gita: man should give up all other engagements and fully surrender unto Him. That will make man happy." (From Purport to Bhagavad-gita As It Is 7.21 by His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada) [This message has been edited by leyh (edited 07-21-2002).]

Theist: I agree with you.I accept the existence of hellish states...for even in this material world we see opulent heaven-like places and poverty-stricken hell-like lands...What I do not and cannot accept is the doctrine that a living entity can be doomed to spend eternity in a hellish state.

Personally I find the idea of an eternal hell to be repulsive and contradictory to the idea of a loving God.How could a loving God tolerate anyone of His children burning for ever and ever?

Are these rather stringent rules and regulations really necessary? Would Krsna be offended if we touched the japa mala with our second finger or our left hands?

Are these rather stringent rules and regulations really necessary? Would Krsna be offended if we touched the japa mala with our second finger or our left hands?

Atma: I agree with you.I think that Srila Prabhupada was simply saying in the purport that women liked sexually aggressive men.Maybe Srila Prabhupada's understanding and use of the word "rape" were based on a culture different from us.Also,the purport has to be taken in its proper context.

In his purport to Srimad Bhagavatam 4.25.41, Srila Prabhupada wrote: "A man is always famous for his aggression toward a beautiful woman, and such aggression is sometimes considered rape. Although rape is not legally allowed, it is a fact that a woman likes a man who is very expert at rape." There is no doubt in my mind that Srila Prabhupada is a saintly personality and an empowered representative of the Lord.A mundane person or a cheater could not have achieved what Srila Prabhupada has achieevd and is still achieveing --- spreading the holy names to men and women all over the world. Also,I absloutely believe that Srila Prabhupada is not a woman-hater.From reading the many loving accounts of female devotees who have had personal association with Srila Prabhupada --- Govinda dasi,Jadurani dasi,etc. one gets the impression of a loving spiritual master eager only to engage his female (and of course male) disciples in the service of the Supreme Lord. Is there an intelligent and reasonable explanation for the above mentioned excerpt from Srila Prabhupada's purport to Srimad Bhagavatam 4.25.41? I apologize if this post has offended any of the devotees here.In a letter to the late George Harrison,Srila Prabhupada wrote: "Please try to understand this simple philosophy by critical analysis, and I hope by the grace of Krsna you will be a great servant of His in fulfilling His desire that He may be known by His Holy Name in every village and every city all over the world, and thus the people will become happy." (Letter to George Harrison,Los Angeles, 16 February, 1970) As devotees or aspiring devotees,we should not shy away from the hard questions,but ask Krsna to give us the intelligence to solve these questions with critical analysis.I am sure that such an approach would meet with Srila Prabhupada's approval. [This message has been edited by jndas (edited 06-30-2002).]

In Krsna Consciousness,control of anger means to dovetail anger into the service of the Lord. When a pure devotee of the Lord exhibits anger,it is not out of false ego.Rather his/her anger is an expression of pure love of God.One example of this would be Jesus getting pissed off that when he found his father's house being converted into a gambling place and market. In Sutra 65 of Narada Bhakti Sutras,Narada Muni recommends that we dedicate our desire,anger and pride to the Supreme Lord.Spontaneous anger exhibited by a pure devotee is anger dovetailed into service of God and as such it is anger on the spiritual platform,which cannot be compared to the egoistic fury and frustration of those situated on the material platform. [This message has been edited by leyh (edited 06-29-2002).]