Gita Dharma

Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said "There are no hard and fast rules for chanting the holy names." However, you have to know what "the holy names" are. They are the Sanskrit names of Vishnu tattva - not jiva tattva. Swami Prabhupada always claimed to be the servant, not the deity. Therefore if you do guru puja it does not replace your regular sadhana which he bequeathed. And besides, the greatest worship and honor anyone can give to a guru is to conscientiously follow their instructions.

See if this helps: http://www.trsiyengar.com/id61.shtml It does say that this is only for arranged marriages - love marriages need no matching.

That sounds positive and may be a sign that you are beginning to stimulate your ajna chakra (my speculation). However if you have to ask these kinds of questions on the internet then you must not have a more experienced person to mentor you. I recommend you suspend your meditation until you have a more experienced person that you have direct contact with to mentor you - that is the way it has been done for thousands of years. Otherwise there is a chance of unsettling your mind. Until you find someone, just do worship of your Ishta Devata, read Ramayana and Mahabharata and practice mauna (silence) especially in the morning hours.

I do not esteem Sri Krishna for any magical feats that he is alleged to have done but because of the sublime wisdom of his teachings.

Only one teaching from Sri Adi Sankara was quoted - not his entire philosophy. What part of Bhaja Govindam do you disagree with? In and of itself it seems to comport with the teachings of Bhagavad Gita.

Thanks for sharing your opinion.

The Bhagavad Gita does not teach that only the two-armed form of Bhagavan is all-attractive but that all of His forms are. If one is most attracted to the two-armed form then that is fine. If another is most attracted to the four-armed form then that is also fine. He dwells within giving the proper shradda for each individual.

Since I referenced the Bhagavatam in the context of the Universal Form, I feel that I should clarify my position. Although some if it is inspiring, I do not have complete faith in the Bhagavatam. Sri Bhagavan describes the Universal Form as supreme - rupam param (B.G. 11:47) and so I can not accept the Bhagavatam's teaching that it is illusory.

<center>Chapter 17. The Divisions of Faith</center> TEXT 15 anudvega-karam vakyam satyam priya-hitam ca yat svadhyayabhyasanam caiva van-mayam tapa ucyate SYNONYMS anudvega--not agitating; karam--producing; vakyam--words; satyam--truthful; priya--dear; hitam--beneficial; ca--also; yat--which; svadhyaya--Vedic study; abhyasanam--practice; ca--also; eva--certainly; van-mayam--of the voice; tapah--austerity; ucyate--is said to be. TRANSLATION Austerity of speech consists in speaking truthfully and beneficially and in avoiding speech that offends. One should also recite the Vedas regularly. __________ <center>Chapter 18. Conclusion--The Perfection of Renunciation</center> TEXT 42 samo damas tapah saucam ksantir arjavam eva ca jnanam vijnanam astikyam brahma-karma svabhava-jam SYNONYMS samah--peacefulness; damah--self-control; tapah--austerity; saucam--purity; ksantih--tolerance; arjavam--honesty; eva--certainly; ca--and; jnanam--knowledge; vijnanam--wisdom; astikyam--religiousness; brahma--of a brahmana; karma--duty; svabhava-jam--born of his own nature. TRANSLATION Peacefulness, self-control, austerity, purity, tolerance, honesty, wisdom, knowledge, and religiousness--these are the qualities by which the brahmanas work.

From me, because I think it is more useful to talk about than which Hindu Deity is Supreme (which I think is harmful to the Dharma) This comment is the main one that I am interested in. It is not "wrong" for someone to follow their conscience (on an individual level), and once they do I will not criticize them. However there may be cultural and social fallout (www.hinduhumanrights.org) springing from the aggregate of those individual decisions. The situation in Indonesia, the bloody partition of India in 1948 "with estimates of loss of life varying from several hundred thousand to a million" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partition_of_India) and the plight of Hindus in Kashmir, Pakistan and Bangladesh are just a few examples. Therefore before a person makes a choice to convert it is useful to try to influence them - not by criticizing the Abrahamic religions but by educating them on the glories of Sanatana Dharma since there is nothing wrong with being a Hindu either! Here are some videos I uploaded: www.youtube.com/GitaDharma My website is linked to below.

First of all, what was written by Ved Vyaas, is a matter of faith for the individual aspirant. Sant, you should be careful not to offend the sentiments of some of your fellow Hindus. You have already demonstrated that many of the ancient texts within India do not comport with one another so what is there to do? I suggest you find the one/s which you are most attracted to, restrict your senses and do sadhana. Argumentative skills are laudable if they are used to educate other Hindus as to why they should not convert to one of the Abrahamic religions. There is this phenomenon in India that Hindus will argue to the death about something like Sri Vishnu vs. Sri Shiva but will simply give unqualified praise to either of the Abrahamic religions which are seeking to eliminate Hinduism through conversion (Indonesia, the most populous Islamic state was formerly Shaiva). Therefore, please use your apologetic skills towards the maintenance of Sanatana Dharma - rather than its disintegration.

Pandora, your question is the most important that a person can ask. What is the point to being born into this world? What is the meaning of life? When searching for an answer it often helps to eliminate the answers which are obviously wrong. Through this process of elimination we come closer to the truth. We both agree that waking up, going to work everyday, coming home and then waking up just to do it all over again, then getting married and having kids just to teach them to do the same thing is in and of itself just a repetitive cycle whose only utility would be to perpetuate the human race. That perpetuation would have meaning only if there was a point to taking human birth. There is. First you should understand that the very fact that you are asking the question gives some insight into the answer. You are a human and you are asking about the meaning of life. That is something that an animal cannot do. Therefore taking human birth is an opportunity for inquiring into the absolute nature of things. This is what you have done. Such inquiry is nothing less than the incipient stages of the search for absolute Truth. The search for Truth is the Prime Purpose of taking human birth. Q. Why are we here as humans needing to search for Truth? A. Because somehow or another we are suffering from spiritual amnesia and we have forgotten who we really are. We can think of this material world as a hospital or a prison ward (since some amnesiacs may commit crimes when they forget themselves). Either way, the purpose is the same - to get better or rehabilitate ourselves. Spiritual rehabilitation has been affected once we realize our true natures - however this Self-realization process takes time, effort and great strength of character. The Upanishads teach that this world is a prison. The purpose for us being here is rehabilitation. The search for truth is the beginning of that process. Moksha, which is liberation from samsara (the repetitive cycle of birth, death and rebirth) is the successful end of that process. Although it takes time to realize our true natures, we can gain an intellectual understanding by simply making inquiry: Q. Who are we? A. Our essential Self is known as atma. Q. What is the Self like? A. It is divine. Q. What does it mean to be divine? A. To be divine/spiritual is to be conscious, blissful and immutable. Q. What is immutability? A. Immutability means that we are eternal with unchanging attributes. Therefore we are not really subject to creation, erosion or destruction; these can only apply to material things - like our bodies. When you have realized your true nature, life will be anything but "boring"; however you will be a source of inspiration and blessing to others as you enjoy abidance in the fullness of your own being. www.youtube.com/gitadharma

www.meat.org

I alway recommend the Ramayana first (and I consider you read more than one translation), then Mahabharata (this is a concise edition by Meera Uberoi) and then the Bhagavad Gita. That is the order in which the books were written. After that it is up to you - however I recommend you study the Gita regularly for life since there is a special blessing promised for such a "sacrifice of knowledge". The Brahmana varna considers the Vedas the most important. The Gita is the most popular book among Hindus in general and it is the most important to me personally.

My understanding is that milk as produced in the United States contributes to the suffering of cows. The cows are artificially inseminated annually in order to maintain their lactation. When male calves are born, what is to be done with them? They become veal. I therefore do not consume milk or dairy products that are commercially produced in the United States since I do not want to contribute to the suffering of cows. video: http://www.petatv.com/tvpopup/Prefs.asp?video=unhappy_cows_uncut <br>

Yes it is true that vegetables are living however the eating of vegetarian food is necessary to survive and that makes all the difference in the world. Similarly "lord krishna inspired arjuna to slay his cousins" but that too was out of necessity (to uphold Dharma). Modern science has determined that not only are meat, fish and eggs not necessary for our survival but we will actually be much healthier without them! www.pcrm.org/health/veginfo/vegetarian_foods.html

I think the best way is to become a sincere devotee of a powerful Ishta-devata that you choose like Vishnu, Rama, Krishna, Hanuman, Shiva, Durga or Ganesh. Seek the guidance of a guru or temple priest representing that deity about the best way to do that.

Patanjali is much more recent than Vasishtha (if you mean Vasishtha of Ramayana). In Ramayana Sri Shiva and Sri Vishnu (and Srimata Durga?) are mentioned and one source calculates that the birth of Sri Ramaji predated that usually given for the authorship of the Rig Veda. He was born on 10 January 5114 B.C. according to computer analysis of observational astronomy data. This is elucidated in depth in the book Dating the Era of Lord Ram by Pushkar Bhatnagar published by: Rupa & Co.; 7/16, Ansari Road, Daryaganj, New Delhi 110 002

Thank you for reminding me of that. Another one of my favorite stories is that of Vishvamitra who actually started serious sadhana in order to gain enough power to get revenge on Vasishta. However he forgot about revenge once he was transformed by the process itself.

Your point is a very good one and different translations don't run into that misunderstanding because they render it differently. However his friend would still have an issue with the purport which is unequivocal. He should explain to his friend that Sri Krishna pre-existed the purport in question and there are many other purports by other Vaishnava scholars with which to cross reference. "Every work is covered by some fault just as fire is partially obscured by smoke ..." However, the reality of Sri Krishna can be conclusively established by following the process bequeathed by a person who has actually realized Him. That is the essence of the guru-shishya tradition.

Many people will ingest practically anything in order to maintain or increase vitality without regard to its affect upon their consciousness. However, no one is guaranteed good health, much less the opportunity to see even one more sunrise; therefore while we are sojourning in these bodies we should seek that which is for our best good - our eternal welfare. This can be accomplished by spiritualizing our eating and drinking by offering to the All-Pervading One food and drink and then consuming the remnants of that sacrifice. Therefore when considering what you want to ingest, ask yourself if it would be a suitable offering to the Supreme Being.

The Vishwarupa is simply a representation of kala (time), the ultimate devourer/destroyer of men. (The Bhagavatam actually views the form as illusory.) Therefore when Arjuna, after seeing that terrible form asked the Lord what it meant, He replied, "I am Time, the Destroyer ..." However Sri Vishnu never requested people to make morbid sacrifices, going to great lengths to explain in Bhagavad Gita the differences between sacrifices made under the influence of the different gunas. Those who due to ignorance make morbid sacrifices, do so under the influence of tamas guna. Such sacrifices are never recommended. Unlike the evolving morals of Theists, Sri Vishnu does not change. Therefore we are left with the conclusion that any deities who requested morbid sacrifices are not Him - even though He hears the prayers of all. If a child in distress calls for his father but his father is not, any caring adult may answer that call. This does not mean that that adult is the actual parent - it is simply an act of compassion.