Gauracandra

Doesn't this quote, though, suggest that the Jiva is not permanently in a given state (high or low)? If the Jiva is headed for something, that means they are not in that position at the moment. If you are heading for something, that means you are in process, a state of change. Gauracandra

I'm just about to head off to work and figured I'd post a few ideas off the top of my head. How about something to do with an 'exchange'. Like we're here exchanging information, ideas, opinions etc.... So maybe 'Vaisnava Exchange'. Though not everyone here will be a Vaisnava so that might be too restrictive. Or 'The Seekers Exchange'. Something like that. I'll think it over at work. I'm stuck in meetings all day today, so I'll just ignore the boring presentations, and think of some others Gauracandra PS By the way, is there a prize if I win

Opps... missed one point. Not to blaspheme a Vaisnava like Sri Raghavendra Swami, I wanted to clarify that it was pointed out, way back when, that nowhere did Sri Raghavendra Swami, nor Sri Madhvacharya, make any such statements about a soul permanently being in the mode of goodness, passion, or ignorance, forever stuck in that guna. Just wanted to clarify. Gauracandra

I don't know, but I have my doubts. This reminds me of a posting from a long time ago. I asked for some information on a Raghavendra Swami (still would like some more background on his pastimes). Then someone said that his (Raghavendra's) line believed that all souls were constitutionally either in the mode of goodness, passion, or ignorance, and that these traits were permanently unchangeable. This seemed very restrictive on the soul. Thus a bad soul was always bad and would eternally be so. Now I'm hearing that some souls are meant only to merge into the Brahmajyoti? Is that all they have to look forward to? Something doesn't seem to strike me right about this. Gauracandra

Yes, please do post more from the "Saints of Bengal". These are very interesting readings. Gauracandra

Sanskrit is the oldest of the so-called Indo-European languages. There is no question that it is older than Greek, or Latin, or even Linear B, though some still suggest all these languages were derived from an as yet discovered proto-Indo-European language. Be that as it may, it should not be surprising that a number of words in everyday use actually have a Sanskrit derivation. For instance, did any of you notice that the anti-impotence pill Viagra, is very similar to the Sanskrit word Vyagraha which means tiger? I don’t think this is a coincidence. So I thought it might be interesting to build up a comparative list of words in Sanskrit and their equivalents in various other languages. I know such a list must exist on the internet somewhere, but I searched and just didn’t find it. But I’ve gathered a small list together, and figured it might be fun to build up a large list. Here is what I have put together thus far: Sanskrit: Vid- to find, comprehend, know; Vidya – knowledge, learning; Veda – sacred knowledge Latin: Videre – to see Italian: Vedere – to see Spanish: Ver – to see French: Voir – to see Russian: Videt – to see Sanskrit: Dash – ten Greek: Deka – ten Latin: Decem – ten Sanskrit: Pita – father Greek: Patir – father Latin: Pater – father Sanskrit: Dant – tooth Latin: Dent – tooth Greek: Odont –tooth Sanskrit: Pad- foot Latin: Ped – foot Greek: Pod – foot Sanskrit: Sanah – senile Latin: Senex – senile I know this list is a bit meager, but if you have any others please contribute. I’m going to keep researching this a bit further. I know when I studied Russian in college my professor said that it was heavily influenced by Sanskrit and at the time I made note of various similarities. Sorry, Kailasa its been too many years for me to communicate with you in Russian . Please feel free to add to this list. Gauracandra

Sanskrit is the oldest of the so-called Indo-European languages. There is no question that it is older than Greek, or Latin, or even Linear B, though some still suggest all these languages were derived from an as yet discovered proto-Indo-European language. Be that as it may, it should not be surprising that a number of words in everyday use actually have a Sanskrit derivation. For instance, did any of you notice that the anti-impotence pill Viagra, is very similar to the Sanskrit word Vyagraha which means tiger? I don’t think this is a coincidence. So I thought it might be interesting to build up a comparative list of words in Sanskrit and their equivalents in various other languages. I know such a list must exist on the internet somewhere, but I searched and just didn’t find it. But I’ve gathered a small list together, and figured it might be fun to build up a large list. Here is what I have put together thus far: Sanskrit: Vid- to find, comprehend, know; Vidya – knowledge, learning; Veda – sacred knowledge Latin: Videre – to see Italian: Vedere – to see Spanish: Ver – to see French: Voir – to see Russian: Videt – to see Sanskrit: Dash – ten Greek: Deka – ten Latin: Decem – ten Sanskrit: Pita – father Greek: Patir – father Latin: Pater – father Sanskrit: Dant – tooth Latin: Dent – tooth Greek: Odont –tooth Sanskrit: Pad- foot Latin: Ped – foot Greek: Pod – foot Sanskrit: Sanah – senile Latin: Senex – senile I know this list is a bit meager, but if you have any others please contribute. I’m going to keep researching this a bit further. I know when I studied Russian in college my professor said that it was heavily influenced by Sanskrit and at the time I made note of various similarities. Sorry, Kailasa its been too many years for me to communicate with you in Russian . Please feel free to add to this list. Gauracandra

Yep, I'm giving a thumbs up with the rest of them. Especially now that I can do this Gauracandra

This is cool. I think I'll just keep posting smiley faces all day Gauracandra

This is a test

I believe it would. Essentially I think the view is that sex without the possibility of procreation should not be performed. I don't know if there are any specific verses that would specify this, though I have read verses in the past that said one should retain one's semen as much as possible. Usually when sex is separated from procreation it quickly deteriorates into very self-destructive behavior. Not to change the topic too much, but there is a really good, and very controversial book, called "The Myth of Heterosexual AIDS" by Michael Fumento. In the book, the author explains very simply why AIDS spread so quickly among the homosexual population. The answer was real simple: they had far more sexual encounters than did heterosexuals. He quoted a CDC (Centers for Disease Control - which is a U.S. Government Health Agency) study that did an analysis of the average number and distribution of sexual encounters by various categories. The average heterosexual male in the U.S. will have in his lifetime about 12 sexual partners, whereas the average homosexual male will have about 800. And the distributions are very different. Among homosexual males it can get well over 2000 in a lifetime. To me the reason is obvious: Gay men can't get pregnant, so to them it is simply sex for its own sake, so why not engage in it as much as possible. For a heterosexual male, he has to find a woman, and for her there is a consequence - pregnancy. Therefore women actually uphold the civilization by setting requirements on how men behave. If women lower their chastity then there will always be those men who will take advantage of the situation. Anyways, didn't mean to get off topic, but I think the answer is yes. Gauracandra

I believe it would. Essentially I think the view is that sex without the possibility of procreation should not be performed. I don't know if there are any specific verses that would specify this, though I have read verses in the past that said one should retain one's semen as much as possible. Usually when sex is separated from procreation it quickly deteriorates into very self-destructive behavior. Not to change the topic too much, but there is a really good, and very controversial book, called "The Myth of Heterosexual AIDS" by Michael Fumento. In the book, the author explains very simply why AIDS spread so quickly among the homosexual population. The answer was real simple: they had far more sexual encounters than did heterosexuals. He quoted a CDC (Centers for Disease Control - which is a U.S. Government Health Agency) study that did an analysis of the average number and distribution of sexual encounters by various categories. The average heterosexual male in the U.S. will have in his lifetime about 12 sexual partners, whereas the average homosexual male will have about 800. And the distributions are very different. Among homosexual males it can get well over 2000 in a lifetime. To me the reason is obvious: Gay men can't get pregnant, so to them it is simply sex for its own sake, so why not engage in it as much as possible. For a heterosexual male, he has to find a woman, and for her there is a consequence - pregnancy. Therefore women actually uphold the civilization by setting requirements on how men behave. If women lower their chastity then there will always be those men who will take advantage of the situation. Anyways, didn't mean to get off topic, but I think the answer is yes. Gauracandra

You might want to read the titled posting "Who is a Hindu?". Personally I don't consider myself Hindu, but others might consider me as such. Some people will say you are born Hindu ie. you must be Indian. This would be a racial view of Hinduism. Others view different philosophies as Hindu or not Hindu. So it depends on what we mean by the word "Hindu". Ultimately we believe in Sanatan Dharma which can be translated roughly as the "eternal religion" or "eternal path". We believe that devotion/love of God is the eternal religion/function of the soul. Thus if a Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Jew etc... develops such sentiments then that path will lead them to God. It should be noted that the word Hindu itself is nowhere to be found in any "Hindu" scripture. But read that posting "Who is a Hindu?" and it might help some. Gauracandra

Oh well, here we go again.... I didn't peg you, Ananga, as the "Jaya Sri Radhey" type but then again I haven't had much exposure to your postings. I thought we had a pretty cordial discussion a while back, but perhaps thats not indicative of your common standard.... Oh well, here's hoping to better discussions in the future. Take care. Gauracandra

I once read a very nice statement by Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur. In essence he said that if one were to enter into a church or mosque, and saw people sincerely worshipping God, one should feel internally very happy. Even though philosophically you may disagree on a number, if not many points, with a Christian or Muslim, internally one should think that they too are worshipping your Lord but simply in a different way. Similarly, there are many different kinds of Gaudiya Vaisnavas, who, while we may disagree on a number of points of philosophy, we should still feel engladdened upon seeing their worship of our same Lord - Sri Krsna Caitanya. So with that introduction, I am curious if anyone here knows about a disciple of Caitanya from Orissa named Acutananda. I don't know much about him, but I have heard he was a heavy, heavy mystic and he viewed Sri Caitanya as the Buddha returned to purify religion. My understanding is that his philosophy differs markedly from that of the Goswami's. If any of you can shed some light on this it would be appreciated. Gauracandra

Hey Peter, Thanks for the compliment. Never heard of the Dharma-mela forum before, but I'll check it out. Thanks for the reference. Take care. Gauracandra

I started thinking about this some more and had a wonderful realization. This is in relation to the diversity in Iskcon. Now, I can only speak in regards to my local temple, but I started to visualize all of the people who attend every week and I honestly can't think of a more diverse congregation. We have of course the most commited individuals who are the brahmacharis and brahmacharinis wearing dhotis and saris and who attend all the worship services in the morning. Then of course we have the community devotees who work outside (such as myself). In terms of age, we have young kids running around, and old men. Racially we have blacks, whites, asian (chinese, japanese, and philipino), hispanics, and Indians. We have a parapelegic (paralized from the neck down who is wheeled in front of the deities), we have some local homeless man who has a set of japa mala. He keeps to himself, chants, and then comes for the sunday feast. Every few months there is a really tall african tribal who comes. He is like 6ft 5 inches tall, wears traditional african garb, holds a sort of "danda" walking stick, and has those african plates in his lip. I'm not kidding, he actually has a plate in his lip, and in his ears. But he comes and pays respect to the deities. We have a midget, I swear to God, wearing tilak and dhoti (he's a westerner) who dances in the temple. We have many Indian engineers whoe are very conservative and respectful. They mostly stand with folded hands paying respects to the deities. We have those who are wealthy and those who are poor, and just a large group of middle class working westerners who come. We have one lady who is extremely rich who drives around in a Jaguar. We also have some neighborhood guy who has this big Elvis style hair and sideburns. He never comes to the temple, but loves the sunday feasts. We have Russians, and Mexicans, and an Australian. And I could go on and on. I honestly can't think of any church, temple, synagogue or mosque that I have ever been to having such a wide range of completely different people. But they have all come together under the banner of Sri Caitanya to engage in Hari Kirtana. Just thinking about it started to make me laugh. All glories to Sri Krsna Caitanya. Haribol. Gauracandra

Iskcon is neither good nor bad. Its a collection of a very diverse group of people, with various levels of realizations. As with everything in the material world, there will be bad elements, as is the case with every institution and group of people. But there are also a lot of sincere, devoted individuals who wish nothing more than to worship the Almighty in a fashion that they find attractive. Hopefully we can all find a common ground in which to relate to one another and the Almighty. Sri Caitanya said that common ground is Hari Kirtana. So regardless of technical philosophical differences, those who are Vaisnavas can be united in singing the praises of God. Haribol. Gauracandra

And all of this relates to the original posting - how? Its all nice and good to hide attacks in between cutting and pasting flowery words written by others. But it simply makes those flowery words meaningless within the given context. So lets stop being coy, and knock off this nonsense. Wishing you the best, Gauracandra

Yikes!!! Man are these forums getting nasty lately. Jijaji you have to admit you were purposefully posting these things against Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur as an attack. I realize that you may not agree philosophically with his conclusions and that is fine. But now you are calling foul because Satya has called into question the spiritual life of people you hold in high esteem. How about this? Lets cut out all of this nonsense, and have some cordial discussions about Krsna-katha. Its time we toned down these forums and became more civil. Wishing you both the best, Gauracandra

Why such angry words over this simple verse by Sri Caitanya? I think Jijaji is right - you need to calm down a bit. Please take this in the best manner possible. Gauracandra

Various modifications to these questions come up every few months in these forums. I'd suggest reading the topic called "Who is a Hindu?" in these forums for some sort of answer. As for the "creed" of the Hindus, I think once you read "Who is a Hindu?" you'll find why this is very difficult to put into words. There are some general principles and beliefs that I think would apply but certainly nothing that encompases all of the beliefs of Hindus. Reincarnation and karma for instance would probably fit into a more formalized definition of Hindu beliefs. The moral path Hindu's follow again depends on how you define a Hindu. But I think that the belief in karma, would in general suggest a view that we ultimately reap what we sow. And thus one should behave morally. Regarding devotion, yes there are various manifestations of this depending on again "Who is a Hindu?". For some, devotion takes the form of awe and reverence, for others devotion is much less formal. I know I haven't fully answered your questions, but hopefully others will chime in and help you out. Gauracandra

Jndas, Very nice example. By the way, when is the next issue coming out? Looking forward to it greatly. Gauracandra

Perhaps. I'm reminded of a psychology class I took in college. In it the professor said in effect "No psychologist takes Freud's theories seriously. They were interesting at the time, but have long been discarded". Then I took a second psyche class and I mentioned this to my other professor. His reaction was just the opposite. He thought Freud was brilliant. So who knows? One day Einsteins theory of relativity will be discarded for a new theory as well. I haven't read the book 'Sophie's World' but it sounds like you have. I'd be curious what your take is on the book as a whole. Personally I hate reading fiction unless its good. I tend to like non-fiction (biographies etc...) just fine, but with fiction, unless it grabs my attention quickly I generally don't complete it. So what do you think of it? Is it worth a read? Gauracandra

Ananga, Absolutely this will harm U.S. tech professionals as well as all white collar jobs. The Internet is going to radically change the way business is done. This period right now is only the beginning. With the internet the borders between countries will virtually diminish for all white collar occupations. In a few more years, when teleconferencing becomes readily available at affordable prices, I could just as easily do my job in India or out in Montana where land is plentiful and inexpensive. But at the same time there will be highly skilled finance professionals around the world who will be competing against me. We'll all do our work at home, no more commute, and simply upload, download the data, and email our results. Already at my company I can take a day or two off and work at home and log onto our mainframe systems to get whatever data I need. The only question now is one of data security, which can be reasonably solved. So all white collar wages will probably see a downward pressure. Service may be harmed but all companies will take that into account when judging the cost-benefits of taking various actions. The next 10 years should be real interesting. Personally I'm looking forward to it. If I can live in Montana, out in the country with 20 acres of land, and a nice log cabin, and still do the same work, it will be great. Gauracandra