smaranam

...out of the blue for a whole day , and also of this aarati above.....and then you posted the verses from the Shikshashtak. Either observing my musing on the Sikshashtak , the Lord gave you the Buddhi to post it, OR knowing that you were going to post it, the Lord gave me an intuitive Buddhi to think about it. He does it all the time. The Prince of Vraj The eighth verse - i think about it in a very different light and CONTEXT -unlike the highly elevated state in which Lord Chaitanya wrote it. Of course, if Krshna gets bored with me, He will still be my Lord, but ..... Just as an infant needs Mother and fish needs water, O my gentle sweetest One, i need YOU You know this too well more so than i do SO YOU WILL NEVER ABANDON ME An axiom of trust and faith How can this a selfish desire be ? Thinking otherwise despite Your repeated assurances will be an insult to Thee O Lord of my soul, Who walks every step with me, Whose Mercy knows no bounds, Who conveys things in most amazing ways, Who lives in eternity beyond time and space Who is very loving and patient with the soul despite her material ropes hard to trim, Who has graciously reminded this maid-servant of her eternality with Him, Who is the Dearmost Witness, Beloved Companion and Divine Guide Whose every gesture brings bliss, Who mercifully glances at souls on each side, I shall go wherever You take me , Your wish is my command, but please stay with me forever and live in my heart , no matter what , i pray never shall we part.... ~ ~ {I am thinking - better move this thread to "Krishna Talk" . The original post was fairly generic.}

You do this because you love God and His children.

Om Jay Jagadish Hare Meditation on the Supreme Lord (ISH) of the Universe (JAGAD) as Jagadish Aarati "Om Jay Jagadish Hare" on YouTube SINGER: Anuradha Paudwal http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naOdha_EQik BEAUTIFUL LYRICS of this aarati in this wikepedia article (Please click on 'lyrics' right below the main introduction) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jai_Jagdish_Hare ~*~*~ Om Jay Jagadish Hare ~*~*~ You are everything to me, O my Lord. Tvam eva mAtA ca pitA Tvam eva Tvam eva bandushca sakhA Tvam eva Tvam eva vidya , dravinam Tvam eva Tvam eva sarvam mama Deva Deva You alone are the mother, You alone are the father You alone are my brother/sister, You alone are my friend and Dearest You alone are my knowledge and my wealth You are everything to me, You are my God, O my Lord.

Yes, if you are talking about the title of the post, i DID in fact mean to write Paramatma, and also to simultaneously imply Parameshwar or the Supreme Lord. I realized this right away, but cannot edit the title. ...... wait a minute , now it can be edited I apologize if this was misleading to some. However, later on , you will see i have written "Nothing can be hidden from Parabrahma Parameshwar Paramatma" . The song , bhajan :Om Jaya Jagdish Hare in Hindi uses these terms to indicate and glorify the Supreme Person as Jagadish. I was thinking of the song http://www.indiadivine.org/audarya/images/smilies/smile.gif Tum Puran Paramatma Tum Antaryami ParaBrahman , Parameshwar Tum sabke Swami You are the Complete Paramatma, You are the omniscient one (who reads our minds) You are the Supreme Brahman , the Supreme(para) Lord (Ishwar) You are the master of all

Yes, and Yes-and-no. To me its the same Durga in the same archa vighraha who could be spiritual potency for one and material for another. My opinion is, it is the motivation, desire and intention of the spiritual seeker (sadhak) that matters more than whether Katyayani is Durga or whether SHE is material or spiritual. It is whether WE are materially or spiritually motivated. Nothing can be hidden from the Parabrahma Parameshwar Paramatma in the heart. Srimad Bhagvatam 10.22.44 Each of the young unmarried girls performed her worship while chanting the following mantra. "O goddess Kātyāyanī, O great potency of the Lord, O possessor of great mystic power and mighty controller of all, please make the son of Nanda Mahārāja my husband. I offer my obeisances unto you." PURPORT by Srila Prabhupad According to various ācāryas, the goddess Durgā mentioned in this verse is not the illusory energy of Kṛṣṇa called Maya but rather the internal potency of the Lord known as Yoga-māyā. The distinction between the internal and external, or illusory, potency of the Lord is described in the Nārada-pañcarātra, in the conversation between Śruti and Vidyā: ...... ...... "The Lord's inferior potency, known as Durgā, is dedicated to His loving service. Being the Lord's potency, this inferior energy is nondifferent from Him. There is another, superior potency, whose form is on the same spiritual level as that of God Himself. Simply by scientifically understanding this supreme potency, one can immediately achieve the Supreme Soul of all souls, who is the Lord of all lords. There is no other process to achieve Him. That supreme potency of the Lord is known as Gokuleśvarī, the goddess of Gokula. Her nature is to be completely absorbed in love of God, and through Her one can easily obtain the primeval God, the Lord of all that be. This internal potency of the Lord has a covering potency, known as Mahā-māyā, who rules the material world. In fact she bewilders the entire universe, and thus everyone within the universe falsely identifies himself with the material body." From the above we can understand that the internal and external, or superior and inferior, potencies of the Supreme Lord are personified as Yoga-māyā and Mahā-māyā, respectively. The name Durgā is sometimes used to refer to the internal, superior potency, as stated in the Pañcarātra: "In all mantras used to worship Kṛṣṇa, the presiding deity is known as Durgā." Thus in the transcendental sound vibrations glorifying and worshiping the Absolute Truth, Kṛṣṇa, the presiding deity of the particular mantra or hymn is called Durgā. The name Durgā therefore refers also to that personality who functions as the internal potency of the Lord and who is thus on the platform of śuddha-sattva, pure transcendental existence. This internal potency is understood to be Kṛṣṇa's sister, known also as Ekānaḿśā or Subhadrā. This is the Durgā who was worshiped by the gopīs in Vṛndāvana. Several ācāryas have pointed out that ordinary people are sometimes bewildered and think that the names Mahā-māyā and Durgā refer exclusively to the external potency of the Lord. ...... .... PLEASE READ THE PURPORT . Hare Krshna

Assuming this was in response to my post above, Yes, that is a Leela of manifestation of Shakti for a purpose. In case you were specifically referring to my last statement : 6. Just as Radha brings Krshna , the Durga Devi as Adi Shakti sometimes bestows Vishnu Bhakti. What it means is , if you go to Durga with material desires, she will manifest as the Durga of the material world in your heart, and it will lead to materialistic bhakti. If you are really indifferent or detached, have spiritual desires and look upon the Deity of Durga to protect and purify you, She will manifest as the Lord's spiritual energy and give you spirituality. Now the Lord is smiling and working thru' His spiritual energy. Just as Krshna did when the Gopis prayed to Katyayani. If this person starts seeking THE ONE who is missing in life, and if they say Hare Ram Hare Ram Ram Ram Hare Hare, Hare Krshna Hare Krshna Krshna Krshna Hare Hare, they are now turning towards and much closer to Krshna. ~ Govindam Adi Purusham Tam aham bhajami ~

Oh no no, reading this thread , i remembered reading Nimbarkaracharya's quote regarding Rukmini, Satyabhama and Radha and the gyan & kriya shaktis . A shprt while later , your most recent post mentioned the Nimbarkara sampradaya as well. Love you too. Radhe Shyam

Sorry if this sounds like repetition .... hopefully from another angle - 1. Just as there is Adi Purusha, there is His Adi Shakti non-different from Him In both a) Durga Kavacha Stotra composed by Yudhishthir (Mahabharat) and b) Radhasahasranaam that Lord Shiva recited to Parvati, the target Goddess (either DurgA or RadhA ) is described using all different names of all three Devis : UmA RamA VAni a.k.a. PArvati Lakshmi Saraswati. 2. Just as the Adi Purusha transforms into Shambhu as milk into curds, so is the case with Adi Shakti. Vishnu and Shambhu sometimes appear to be like the flashing yellow traffic light. They worship each other. How can worshipping another, loving another not be an element of Adi Purusha ? Otherwise it would not have been an element in us. Hence Sri Ram (Vishnu) worshipped Lord Shiva in Treta Yug, and Shiva in turn sent His amsha , Hanuman as a devotee of Lord Ramchandra (Vishnu). 3. There are vertical and horizontal expansions of Shakti as spiritual | material and also , for sat chit anand , as sat-samvit-hladini Sat : existential Samvit : Knowledge, VAni, Saraswati Hladini: Bliss, Anand, Lakshmi, RamA, RadhA 4. We know that Rukmini is Lakshmi on earth. Nimbarkaracharya says that Rukmini is the Gyana Shakti, Satyabhama the Kriya Shakti and Radha - a combination of Gyan + Kriya and above, hence she is the anand (bliss) aspect of the Lord. 5. The Divine Mother is one, yet i have 3 mothers. Sometimes they are seperate and sometimes combined. Flavors of each can be seen although one may be predominant. 6. Just as Radha brings Krshna , the Durga Devi as Adi Shakti sometimes bestows Vishnu Bhakti. Ya devi sarbabhutesu vishnumayeti sabdita namastasyai , namastasyai , namastasyai namo namah .

Hello once again Just a note : The Bhagavad Gita is a part (major section) of the Mahabharat (the book that was recommended to you by 'Sant') , and is regarded as (one of ?) the most prominent scripture and essence and extract of the Vedic Scriptures. I believe all your original questions will be answered by carefully reading the Gita - at least at a preliminary stage. The Mahabharat , of course , will give you a bigger picture also into the history , and more.

Hello Brendon About yr qn on walking with God in friendship : Absolutely yes. That's precisely what Arjuna did - walked with Krishna (God) - in the *Bhagavad Gita* - Song of the Lord (must read as yr first book or one of the first) Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita , Chapter 9 - Most Confidential Knowledge BG 9.18: I am the goal, the sustainer, the master, the witness, the abode, the refuge, and the *most dear friend*. I am the creation and the annihilation, the basis of everything, the resting place and the eternal seed. Krishna (God) is everywhere , within each sentient and insentient object, without, in space , as well as and MAINLY outside of the material realm i.e. Universe that He creates. (what we call the 'spiritual world') So, in each living entity, He accompanies the individual soul as 'Supersoul'. As Supersoul He enables all activities of living beings and acts as their witness, guide and ONLY IF the individual wants, as a loving companion - otherwise He gives the individual free will and leaves her alone. So, if the living being tunes into Him, He responds, and then once this is realized, the Lord becomes a constant companion walking with you everywhere you go. He is always there, even when we are in our own worlds, but only as a witness. The seeker seeks Him out and says "Oh ! You were right next door and all this while I did not notice You !" Again , this happens by God's grace, mercy but the individual has to have the will. Hope that helps to begin with. Jai Sri Krishna

OK. Advaita, Achintya bhed-abheda, Dvaita can all exist parallely. Please believe me, i had no intention to disrespect anyone on this forum, what to speak of the great Acharyas. What school will you send your child to ? Montessori or Traditional ? Public or Private ? Hindi or English medium ? Classical or IB certified ? Assuming they went to the 'right' school that suited them, they will all graduate with love, compassion, mercy, seeing the Divine in everyone around. I ask everyone to please forgive me if i have offended you unintentionally , being low on intelligence and terrible in communication skills. I shall pray that the kindest acharyas will forgive me. If they will, the Almighty Supreme Lord will , as they are His exhalted devotees. Om Namo Bhagawate Vasudevaya.

Thank You for your encouraging words, Melvin. Hare Krishna

Thank You for the wishes. I never said there is no difference. I said "I cannot see any contradiction". Janhava Nitai Das has accurately understood what i was trying to say. Please read his post. Namaste.

This is a reply to 'Kali Upasak'. 1. I wrote this because there were heated discussions on the philosophies and their interpretations. So i gave my thoughts. 2. Why do i bother with the philosophies ? First of all, Krishna IS in my heart, not head. Ideally i would like to just live with Him in Mana-Vrindavan, Swetadweep or wherever He takes me, as i was innocently, several years ago since i met Him . It was the desire to serve Him correctly and selflessly, and to know more about Him that led me first to His Leelas (not philosophy) in the Bhagvat Purana, beyond what i knew from Amar Chitra Kathas and Mahabharat stories. (I was already quite familiar with the Gita). My search for the Bhagvad led me to books by Swami Prabhupad. Initially i was so excited to find all the treasure. Slowly as i got more and more into the Gaudiya literature i realized how my personal experience of Divine Love driven mystically by KRISHNA (and not a product of my imagination) had no place practically in their teachings. You might say, "why should that bother you ? Wasn't Krshna with you already ?" and you are right , i don't need anything else except my inner world where He resides. But you see, although i just wanted to follow my heart, i am only a human and felt it was my duty to learn to be a good devotee WHO LOVES ALL BEINGS AND KNOWS WHAT THAT MEANS, from my side , although Krshna would always be happy with our innocent love and love us anyways. Acc. to most Vaishnav teachings , Radha does not represent the human soul who loves the Divine Paramatma , Krshna. Instead, She is His Haladini Shakti, a goddess, and cannot be touched by tatastha jivas, as they will always remain jivas. So, a jiva is a servant of servant of servant of servant of servant of ... Krishna. They also cannot directly be His mother, father, wife , lover or friend - like Yashoda or Nanda, Subala or Madhumangala. This model did not fit in considering my already formed relationship with Krshna. Even Meera was considered "not bonafide" by some Vaishnavas. Later i discovered MahaPrabhu Vallabhacharya - who seems to be one Vaishnav Acharya who "allows" a ONE-ON-ONE relationship with Krshna. My relationship with Him is ONE on ONE , only then can i be the servant of all, and make Him happy. Reading philosophies was partly a way to ensure that my Love is selfless and in the right direction- but at the risk of dampening the sponteinity of that Love, although the kind lord wouldn't let that happen. At the same time , the internal overrules and overrides the external for me. Krshna is the ultimate guide and Guru, although He has been - quite patiently - watching all my surfing for the right things in scriptures. I don't want to try His patience anymore as i am wiser now than before. Also, did you not learn the philosophies after you were a bhakta already ? I would like to ask what made you go for the philosophies ? Jai Sri Krshna

QUOTE : "Bhakthi is Love. We aspire for selfless Love. Even when you are in Love with a girl, her external appearance etc. matters in the beginning. But once you have fallen in Love nothing matters. You can not attribute your Love to any particular factor. Because Love comes from the heart. Love for GOD is even greater than this. Once you fall in Love with Krishna does it matter whether he is Vedic/Puranic, whether HE is the supreme deity and so on. No. Sir. It matters too hoots. You are in Love with Krishna. Period." Well said ! Precisely what i think, but your words make a difference. Thank You. Oh Krshna !

Thank You KshamaJi

"The reason you cannot see any difference between Advaita and Dvaita is because you are unfamiliar with the core texts and beliefs of both traditions." Thanks for your input Raghuji. You are right, i have certainly not read everything, but have read quite a bit over the years - which is a lot for me, perhaps a tip of the iceberg for you. Some Upanishads, BramhaSutras, (quick flip thru' Rig,Sam..Vedas) Advaita teachings, Raman Maharshi, Swami Shivanand, Bhagwatam A bit of other puranas Gaudiya literature, Srila Prabhupad's books A peek at Madhava and Ramanuja. Writings of well read bhaktas (satsang) several Gitas The point is, i just look at it as perspectives of the Absolute Truth. That is all. I thought of sharing my thoughts seeing all the discussion on Advaita Vs. Dvaita. Ultimately, some are happy to 'realize', some to simply serve, some to simply 'exist or be'. To some , bhakti is like breathing, to some , even lifting a finger may be hard after Samadhi. So the Supreme Lord is happy with all of these, just wants to give them whatever they are inclined to , in both the material and spiritual worlds. Radhe Krshna

Well , if he spent all that ink, it was by the Lord's Will, to put Madhavacharya in that state of mind, and to look at it at the ABSOLUTE LEVEL, it was the Lord's way of hiding a part of the truth. As you know, the different schools of thought are sub-truths that sum up to the ABSOLUTE TRUTH - The Supreme Lord, Krshna, or Brahman if you prefer, the elephant in our story. ** How about this : THE ABSOLUTE TRUTH IS NOT BLACK AND WHITE ** Jai Sri Krshna

Namaste. Madhava , you mean Madhavacharya ?? Oh, who says He is wrong !! Not at all !! His coming to the earthlings with Dvaita was one of the Lord's Leelas thru' him, to give the Dvaita perspective to those whom it suits. Well ? Oh, who am i to say any of those great acharyas , devotees or scholars are wrong ?? I am not trying to debate, just saying "where is the contradiction ?" Its all HIS Leela you know , that Madan Mohan who plays the flute. He has fun with it. Radhe Shyam !

Namaste. Pranam. Respectful obeissances to all. For over a year i have been a passive onlooker into these precious forums that root back to the Vedas. Please forgive me if i say something wrong or offensive, as believe me, it will be unintentional. The old debate on Dvaita/achintya bhed-abhed Vs. Advaita has come up again (in a previous thread) MAY I ASK : What is wrong with me ? 'CAUSE I SEE ABSOLUTELY NO CONTRADICTION between Dvaita and Advaita ?? Yes, where is the contradiction ? ? (By the way, Krshna is my Beloved Lord Who is always with me and there for me.) Merging into Brahma[n] does not mean becoming God by one individual self, it just means what it says - merging into GOD. Krshna IS that Brahman . I like MahaPrabhu Vallabhacharya's theory there - (SHUDDHA ADVAITA - pure monism) : The world is Krshna , gross, subtle, all, and Brahman is Krishna, PARAM. Devotion in its most PARA stage is constant flow towards Krishna-Brahman. Merging into the ONENESS of Brahman means MARCHING IN STEP WITH BRAHMAN . THOSE WHO MARCH OUT OF STEP (live on their own free wil) FALL OF ON THE SIDE, YET THEY ARE STILL IN BRAHMAN ,THEY DON't REALIZE IT. SO THEY HAVE SAMSARA (material realm). The ones who realize they are one with Brahman do not have Samsara. Whether you call it soul-specs of ParaBrahma , part and parcel of the supreme , river into ocean , water-pot space into Universal space, it all means the same thing doesn't it ? Advaita is not for everyone, at their particular stage in material and spiritual life. Advaita cannot be thrown at the masses like a frisbee to be caught and absorbed correctly without misinterpretation. It can cause unwanted side effects of arrogance due to misinterpretation of the Truth. WHEREAS THE HARE KRISHNA MAHAMANTRA CAN BE FREELY DISTRIBUTED. "CHANT AND BE HAPPY" can be for everyone. I can be the gazillionth servant of the trillionth servant of the Lord ONLY when the Lord is holding my hand and i am one with His Divine will and plan. Surrender to Krshna IS THE SAME AS Merging into Brahman. Aren't Radha's Sakhis (expansions of) Radha ? Selflessness , service , pure love are all included. Being a selfless servant in the spiritual world is really for us, not Krishna. Its just a matter of perspective. An Advaitin Jeevanmukta is not just zoned out, he/she is a selfless servant, and most definitely a lover of God in the true sense. PARA BHAKTI and Jnana are one. The appearant conflict betN Dvaita and Advaita seems like the story of 6 blind men and the elephant. "Its a rope" "No! ITs a pillar !" "I am telling you its a wall" "No , you sillies, its a fan !" ...... That elephant is the ABSOLUTE TRUTH, NIRGUN BRAHMAN` , KRISHNA, VISHNU, ALLAH, BHAGWAN, ISHWAR, ......... Achintya - inconceivable for sure. Religious sects have disagreements over partial truths, but Advaita has no quarrel with ANY sect. It is all inclusive. That was my perspective , whatever i can fathom by the Lord's mercy. Jai Sri Krshna Radhe Radhe !

I am my Kanha's lover and wife and He is my lover and Husband. I am His Rani and Radha And Radhe ! Oh the sweetest one... well next to Krshna of course, I am simultaneously one with and different from Her - Radhe Radhe ! My Divine Mother. Oh K R S H N A !!!