patit

Dear Raghu, I wonder if you consider anyone but yourself to be a qualified ambassador of Hindu philosophy. My friend, I spent the last 2 hours looking through some of the posts you wrote. I can see you are very well educated. Please come to your senses. Please let go of that ego. You will shine bright with all your knowledge. This is not some official Hindu website. Even a Christian or Muslim could answer this saying something completely outrageous. Words are nothing...try to feel.

Raghu, Thank you for instructing me to read further. I am no philosopher like yourself. It was an answer to help a sincere person understand how to overcome contradicting statements in our scriptures rather than answering the question itself. You are right. I am wrong. Your servant, Patit.

It is hard for ordinary people to unerstand the extraordinary ways of the Supreme Lord. I never knew why my mom would give me a spanking when I was a kid. But now I do. So the point here is that what ever Ram and Krishna did is for the ultimate good of everyone. Understanding that good is the goal of life.

Pranams to you Trisilex. It is such a nice thing to want to serve the Lord. Truly inspiring. Though I am not an expert, I would suggest you start by perhaps offering Krishna one incense in the morning and one in the evening. You offer that by rotating the incense in front of Krishna clockwise for 7 times. You can decorate his alter with different flowers or leaves. You can offer Krishna any food you prepare. You can clean his altar on a daily basis even though it may not be dirty. Try to care for him like you would someone you hold very dear to your heart. There is no amount of rituals one can do to please the Lord. He is simply satisfied with our sincerity and love. Your Servant, Patit.

Dear kaisersose, It is not that this category is ignored by religionists. Material happiness is actually just less distress. There is no real happiness derived from material nature. When there is less stress we call that happiness. In order to understand this point, we have to be acquire higher taste. When we acquire higher taste, we realize what true happiness is. Therefore we can be situated in true happiness while being in this world. Yes this is your time to be happy. Thinking you are happy and actually being happy are two different things. Ignorance is bliss. The true way to get happy while you are here is to get in touch with your real self. Why should one try to get happiness via temporary sources when the same amount of energy can be spent towards getting something permanent? Its true what you say about distressed people taking up spiritual practices. There are 3 other types of people who take to spiritual life as well. Namely the wise, inquisitive and in need of money. Of the four, you may come in the category of wise. Actually, one who is self realized has no fear. It is not recommended to neglect your duty. It is recommended to do your duty without being attached to the results of your duty. This way, your duty does not become a distraction. Rather, it becomes a type of meditation. Yes no amount of education can conquer maya. The only thing that can conquer maya is the the mercy of guru and the Lord. Every type of varna and ashram is supported by the Vedas. If you wish to be a grhasta, go for it! One only has to perform his duty no matter what ashram he may be in. The point is to always remember god and never forget him.

Dear Kaisersose, I am not a great scholor but I will try my best to answer. I do not think being self realized is a "zombie state". What it means is you are in touch with your real self. Not the material covering. Rather, not knowing yourself is a zombie state. We think we are happy with the way things are going for us, but the bottom line is, that happiness is temporary. Even if you somehow manage to stay "happy" all your life, its still temporary. No one can escape the clutches of death. So the goal of spiritual life is to achieve a state of permanent happiness. One that does not end. Its ever increasing. If we live our life as if though we are eternal then the little happiness or distress brought to us by the different modes of material nature will not effect us. The goal of spiritual life is to arise above the material nature and be situated under the spiritual energy. Being situated thus and being in touch with our real identity we can be free from the "zombie" like state and be situated in our true position. You may be very happy dreaming about something beautiful...but even a little child can tell you, that dream will end. So to endeavour to achieve something that will bring you so called happiness but comes with an expiration date is basically useless.

Dear kaisersose, Coming to such conclusion or realizing that one is not this body will automatically answer your questions. One who has come to such a realization is indeed very great. A simple example can be given. In India and maybe some other places around the world, we find many snake charmers that play with deadly snakes like cobras. The snakes sometimes bite the snake charmers but the snake charmer is not affected because they have taken the poison teeth out of the snake. Similarly, the senses of those who are truly self realized is compared to a snake that may bite but has no consequence. A self realized soul lives and walks in this world but is not affected by the happiness or sufferings of this world. Your Servant, Patit.

It is very interesting to note how mayadevi has her claws on even the most educated people. What use is education if it does not help us to understand the very basic point that our desire for name and fame must be demolished? We acquire so much knowledge, memorize so many verses and preach high philosophy. What use is all that if all its doing is making us feel greater. Are we not just feeding our false ego? Is it not making us more trapped in this bodily designation? Does such fire of desire help us to come to the conclusion that we are not this body but the spirit within? Or is it the biggest block for such realization? What use is all this knowledge if its becoming such a block in our path to liberation. "Divya jnana hrde prakasito" not by merely memorizing and repeating like a parrot...this is how maya gets us..we must think about it sometimes. We may be committing lots of offenses on the strength of Gods teachings..this is misuse of the basic knowledge that the Lord has kindly given us to get perhaps half a step closer to DIVYA JNANA. It is easy to point fingers...we must look within.