BruzWayne

Hi Prabhu Nipun Anand, Hare Krishna. It is human nature to doubt. The only way to believe is due to faith, either you have it or you don't. It took me lot of time to understand that Sri Caitanya is the same spiritual soul that Krishna and Vishnu and Rama and Nrishimha-Deva and Kurma and Lord Buddha... it takes time to understand that Caitanya and Krishna are the same person, Krishna the original shape, Caitanya an incarnation. For this understanding some metaphysics knowledge is required sometimes, so I recommend to you to read the book Tertium Organum from P.D.Ouspensky, it's about metaphysics and abstract logic, but it helps the mind to perceive objects in another dimension. Hare Krishna.

Hi guest, in order to give an answer to your question I'll write here what I found in a book entitled ACCORDING TO RELIGIOUS PRINCIPLES, which is a guide for authorized sexual relationships for Krishna Consciousness Married Couples. This book is a devotees recopilation of Srila Prabhupada's teachings about the subject. 1) First of all man and woman must get married by the fire ceremony. 2) Then the sexual relationship can take place but only if the couple's spiritual master gives them authorization during that month. 3) Only 5 days after the menstruation period has finished. 4) Only after both husband and wife have chanted 50 rounds of maha-mantra each one, that day. 5) Only with the conscious knowledge and the intention of begetting a child. 6) Only during certain hours -I think in the early morning- which are auspicious for conception. 7) And then when the wife gets pregnant sexual relationships will stop until some time after the birth of the child. As far as I remember from this book these are the most important steps to consider in order to have authorized sexual relationships. In this way, the baby gets born in a spiritual way. One more thing, all kinds of anti-conception methods and devices are not allowed, because in Krishna Consciousness sex is meant only to have children and not just for sense gratification. However, due to ignorance of these steps, the world is now populated by unwanted population or population born without parents following the vedic recommendations, that is why so many wars and crime and madness. Regarding the facts that led to degradation from satya-yuga to treta-yuga to dvapara-yuga and to kali-yuga, the answers are somewhere in the Srimad-Bhagavatam and other vedic books. For example, in Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 1, Chapter 18 "Pariksit cursed by a brahmana boy" text 45 or 50 --don't remember if 45 or 50- it is explained that the curse made by the brahmana boy against Maharaja Pariksit had a very bad effect against society in general. So, in conclusion, it is very difficult trying to control sex impulses, but we must do our best effort to do so by chanting the maha-mantra and reading Prabhupada's books and eating prashadam and doing kirtan and so on, and if we are lucky enough we will find the right mate for each of us in order to have regulated sex, that is if our own karma allows that to happen in this life. Hare Krishna.

Hare Krishna. It seems to me that your parents just want to keep you out of trouble because they don't know very well the persons that are organizing the KC home associations. It seems that your parents care a lot about your safety and that's why they are telling you to practice your KC at your own home. So my suggestion is that you better invite the KC people to your own home so your parents can meet them and then arrange a KC session of kirtan and lecture and japa at your own home so your parents can see by themselves what's exactly what you are doing with your KC friends. Take care. Hare Krishna.

That's what I thought. So, no problem if I offer oats and soybean and soybean lecithine and honey and mixed grains for fruit. Hare Krishna.

--Oats. It´s a cereal but can you offer oats to Krishna? --Soybean. It's vegetarian food that can replace the meat. Is it OK for Krishna? --Soybean Lecithin. I've seen this ingredient in the healthy food stores mixed with grains that you can add to fruit. Is it OK for Krishna? And are these grains OK, like almonds, nuts, peanuts and so on? --Honey. Someone said that honey shouldn't be offered. Thanks for sharing your knowledge about the right ingredients for prashadam. I already know that onion and mushrooms are not allowed even though they are vegetarian food, nor chocolate. So now I wonder what about oats and soybean lecithin. Hare Krishna.

You are a great devotee Max. I'm sure that sooner or later you Krishna will give you a very nice tulasi beads' japa. Hare Krishna.

I was not going to read the capital letters too but when I noticed that a guest was saying "I cannot read..." I realized that it was only lazyness that was preventing me from reading, so I read all the capital letters already and the message is good. Family life is part of evolution but in the end all of us must renounce to family life sooner or later so it doesn't become an attachment to material consciousness. Hare Krishna.

I got sick from July 2 until July 20, ears and stomach. I was angry to have stomach problems if I am now eating only vegetarian prashadam food so the only conclusion was that it was bad karma payments from misbehavior in this life or past lives. Now I'm feeling better again, I did kirtan today, read Srimad Bhagavatam and at least I did one japa round. My goal is one day having enough time and energy in order to chant 50 rounds in one day to discover how it feels. My best record is 32 rounds so 50 sounds like a difficult goal, anyway, that's the goal one of these days. Hare Krishna.

Hare Krishna. Today is June 28, Monday. I am doing complete fast on Ekadasi until tomorrow morning. I was planning to do some kirtan and japa rounds at home but I must go to work so I'll do my next kirtan and japa rounds as soon as I can. Hare Krishna.

-it is lord varuna, the presiding deity of water who we are trying to respect when we have our bath and cover ourselves. i think you can find out about in the book pancaratra pradipa. Thank you, Prabhu. I thought it was a rule of Vaishnava Etiquette in order to respect Indra, but now that you mention Lord Varuna I think that you're right. Thanks anyway. Hare Krishna.

Associating with devotees really is the key...it gives you inspiration to carry on. Some times, devotees in the Internet are the only way. Last May 30 I did complete Ekadasi. Next Ekadasi schedule for June 13. Today I did kirtan, read one verse of Srimad Bhagavatam -Canto I. Chapter 18. Pariksit cursed by a brhamana boy. Text 35.- Then I did 3 japa rounds. I finally found a great vegetarian restaurant in this city. So my efforts to do bhakti yoga are fine for the moment. Even though is not easy in a city dominated by the clutches of Kali, bhakti yoga is the only option for me, so no way out this time. Hare Krishna.

Interesting that you mention Yamadutas. All I know about them is what I read in the book where Ajamila was about to get taken by them but since he chanted one name of Krishna then he was released and given a second chance.

Why do you want to convince a person that is not in KC about taking a decision regarding abortion? If the person doesn't want to become KC then it will mean that the person is entangled in Material Consciousness. So I'm telling you this: First of all you tell to the pregnant woman that she must chant the maha-mantra through some kirtan in a Hare Krishna temple and then, right there, while chanting among the Krishna devotees she will receive Krishna's solution to her problem through her heart where Vishnu will talk to her. Hare Krishna.

Funny thread, I was going to post a reply but before this I've just noticed that Nate posted this article and then Nate disappeared because there are no more replies under Nate's name. Maybe Nate is taking vacation somewhere having a very good time while some guests are posting replies in this topic, including myself, huh. Funny thread, isn't it? So for the guests in here and for Nate if returns to read the replies: My opinion is NO, THE MANTRA IS NOT USELESS, ACTUALLY IS VERY VERY HELPFUL. And that's all. Hare Krishna.

Are Brahma and Jesus the same individual eternal living entity? I don't know. But I don't think so. Because Lord Brahma lives all the way inside of the material world within the same material body all the way through the 4 ages (satya-yuga, treta-yuga, dvapara-yuga and kali-yuga) and then at the end of kali-yuga Lord Brahma's material body gets destroyed. On the other hand, the material body of Jesus lived for 33 earth years only, then died, then resurrected, then transformed into spiritual body and then returned to heaven or the spiritual world, Krishnaloka I suppose. So my conclusion is that Lord Brahma and Jesus Christ are indeed two different living entities. But that is my opinion of course and wouldn't like to do some arguing about it. Hare Krishna.

Hare Krishna. It seems I'm using this topic space like a page in order to post my own records regarding practise of bhakti yoga, so here I go again... I've been doing kirtans, japa rounds and reading Srimad-Bhagavatam as often as I can. My best record this month is 10 japa rounds in a row. So I hope that in my next session I'll do eleven rounds or more. We'll see. Hare Krishna.

Last April 30th I did Complete Ekadasi. I hope tomorrow I'll do some kirtan, reading the Gita or S.Bhagavatam and 5 japa rounds. Hare Krishna.

Hare Krishna Sacidevi dasi, your music is very pleasant. I will buy your cd's as soon as possible. Hari Bol.

Hare Krishna. Last time I did kirtan, reading Srimad Bhagavatam and 4 japa rounds. The 4 regulative principles are going fine. Next program (kirtan, reading Bhagavad Gita and 5 japa rounds) schedule for tomorrow Sunday.

Hare Krishna. Today I had set up again an altar in my home. During the months of November and December 2003 I was doing bhakti yoga every day, suddenly I got boring and from January thru March 2004 I was trapped by Kali's clutches. So this is a never ending battle trying to conquer Maya. Tonight I'll offer some fire and water and incense to Swami Prabhupada and then do kirtan and read one verse from Bhagavad Gita and chant at least 3 japa rounds. May the Krishna force be with us always. Hare Krishna.

Hare Krishna, Prabhu. I didn't invent the idea of taking cold showers using swimming suit. I learned this habit while living for a few days inside of an official ISKCON temple, where all of the devotees were encouraged to take showers this way. Therefore I suppose that you have never ever lived inside of an ISKCON temple, right? Or maybe this habit exist only in certain ISKCON temples. And regarding the fact that sometimes I get miscarried from Bhakti-yoga by the many clutches of Kali... well, I'm not Superman you know... I'm doing the best I can to perform Prabhupada's teachings in a city where most of the population doesn't even know who is Srila Prabhupada. Take care. Hare Krishna.

--HARE KRISHNA, VERY INTERESTING OPINION... Umm, actually it is established FROM Mahabharata that Duryodhana and Karna attained the heavenly planets...so there is no doubt about that... --I AGREE. As for violence in the real world, the motive has to be purely for the good of society... There are many conditions laid out where one can commit violence, e.g. aggressor, occupier of one's land, stealer of wife etc...this is established in Vedas... However, the violence can only be committed by qualified Kshatriyas, since they are the only ones with sufficient honour and moral quality to kill with mercy... --I GUESS THIS IS THE PROPER ANSWER TO MY QUESTION. THEREFORE, ANY PERSON THAT BELONGS TO THE WARRIOR MENTALITY TYPE IS NOT ALLOWED BY GOD TO USE VIOLENCE IN ORDER TO KILL UNLESS HE BECOMES A QUALIFIED KSHATRIYA FIRST. THIS MEANS THAT ALL OF THE SOLDIERS OF ANY COUNTRY ARE CREATING BAD KARMA FOR THEMSELVES EVERY TIME THEY KILL ON BEHALF OF PATRIOTISM OR ANY ARGUMENT. SAME FOR PLICEMEN OR ANY PERSON KILLING OTHERS. SO WHICH ARE THE STEPS TO BECOME A QUALIFIED KSHATRIYA? I THINK THAT IT IMPLIES FOLLOWING THE 4 REGULATIVE PRINCIPLES AND READING THE BHAGAVAD GITA AND CHANTING AT LEAST 16 ROUNDS OF MAHA-MANTRA DAILY AND SO ON, RIGHT? I ALSO THINK THAT NOWADAYS THERE AREN'T QUALIFIED KSHATRIYAS ANYWHERE. If we look at the Iraq war it fails on all accounts - first of all there was no higher spiritual, or religious purpose...secondly, not all non-violent approaches were exhausted, thridly even if u qualify saddam as an aggressor, proof was not established of his weapons of mass destruction, fourthly, the motive was far from pure - there was the consideration of oil etc...fifth reason: no qualified kshatriyas in the age of kali, sixth reason: a truly religious battle only kills soldiers, whilst Iraq war was killing innocent people... one may argue that it is a cop-out to say there is no qualified kshatriya in this age...well then does that mean you can never use violencein this age? even if one is being attacked? ofcourse there are situations even in age of kali, where war is necessary, but even in that way, USA + GB did not use the codes put in place for international war, however imperfect they may be...the international codes for war are the best we have in the ge of kali compared to the religious codes given in the Vedas...those international codes provided by UN - and US + GB expressly disobeyed the will of the UN and international community so were almost certainly in violation of their 'dharma' or correct duty... --I AGREE. USA + GB + SPAIN ACTED LIKE BARBARIANS RATHER THAN CIVILIZED NATIONS. MOST OF THE CITIZENS IN THESE COUNTRIES ARE CREATING BAD KARMA FOR THEMSELVES BY SUPPORTING THEIR BARBARIAN GOVERNMENTS. HOWEVER, A SMALL PART OF CITIZENS IN THESE 3 COUNTRIES ARE AGAINST THE WAR SO THEY WON'T HAVE THE SAME KARMA AS THE MAJORITY OF THE CITIZENS. FINALLY, DOES SOMEBODY KNOW ALL THE STEPS REQUIRED TO FOLLOW IN ORDER TO BECOME A QUALIFIED KSHATRIYA? HARE KRISHNA.

--So violence and force is necessary for some greater good. Even GOD seems to approve that. --Well, Arjuna was encouraged by Krishna in order to fight for righteousness and holy principles. However, Jesus Christ never attacked anyone and he tought people to turn the other cheek upon being attacked by an enemy. Buda taught to avoid killing even ants or worms, and Mahatma Gandhi defeated the British Empire through non-violence behavior. Therefore, how do you know the difference? That is, how do you know when God wants you to become a soldier like Arjuna or a non-violent person like the followers of Jesus Christ or Buda?

Hare Krishna. Once Prabhupada wrote that "...when all the good arguments fail then violence is necessary." That's why the Battle of Kurukshetra took place 5000 years ago thus starting the age of Kali. Arjuna didn't want to fight because he was going to have to kill old friends and relatives on the enemy band, however Krishna spoke Bhagavad-Gita with Arjuna and then illusion disappeared from Arjuna's mind, so he fought and won the battle. On the other hand, once I read a book from science fiction writer Isaac Asimov, where a character in the story, a man named Hari Seldom said "Violence is the last resource of incompetent people." It's a very interesting sentence because it means that when someone uses violence it means that such a person was no longer able to use wisdom in order to deal with the situation. But God is famous for having used violence lots of times, for example the destruction of Sodome and Gomorre in the Bible or the divine flood in Noha's Ark story or of course the stories where Krishna kills demons like Kamsa for example. Therefore, Asimov's sentence implies that God has been an incompetent person in the past because He had no other resource of wisdom in order to handle situations. Or is it that Divine Violence by God/Krishna is allowed beyond smart arguments? Interesting debate isn't it? Hare Krishna.

Some Krishna devotees taught me that you must take a cold shower in the morning. First of all you offer the shower to Krishna and chant the maha mantra while taking the shower. It's better if the water is cold so you do it fast and also lust thoughts do not appear. Using a swimming suit is reccomended in order to avoid offenses against Lord Indra, the demigod of heaven that supplies water. Of course that you clean the parts under the swimming suit with soap and then wash. The suggestion is that Krishna's devotees are never naked. On the other hand, do you remember that story about some devotees that once were drunk and then decided to swim naked in a river, then Narada Muni was passing by and saw them and then cursed them by making them to live as trees for 10,000 years more or less? Hare Krishna.