muralidhar_das

Yes this is how it was for me too, in those days. Nice story also, about Martin. Really nice.

Surf culture always had an element of competitiveness about it, in the land that I grew up in. Competition for waves, and for babes. This for me was the reason I gave up surf-association. Many ex-surfer devotees I know feel the same way. The Duke started off Australian surfing when he came here with a Hawaiian board, in 1915. He did a demonstration of surfing at Freshwater beach, which is the next beach north of Manly, in the "northern beaches" area of Sydney.

I was born in the hospital on the hill in the background Manly beach I surfed here at this beach all through my childhood it was all so long ago... now I only bodysurf

Precisely The materialists know how atoms work. They even know how to destroy atoms

Jaiva Dharma, Chapter 9 Nitya-Dharma, Material Science & Civilization

Ha! Thanks

Kshamabuddhi Thanks for this. I had the great fortune of spending a few months with Srila Guru Maharaja during the rainy season one year, when almost nobody else from the west was in Nabadwip. At that time, the season of Pujas came around. When it was Durga Puja, one day Guru Maharaj explained all about the Chhandi (Goddess) scriptures to me, spending about an hour and a half talking with just me and Haricharan (an elderly bengali brahmacari, who is my siska guru). Guru Maharaj explained all about Siva and quoted this sloka "Pasa-baddho bhavej jivah pasa-muktah sadasivah" On another day he talked all about Shiva tattva. THere were so many things he talked about at that time. I have never seen a published lecture by Guru Maharaj where he quotes this verse Pasa-baddho bhavej jivah pasa-muktah sadasivah but I myself have heard him say it many times. Where did you get this quote?

Gadadhara Pandita never went to earthly Vraja during the time he was here. Who is Gadadhara? What is Vraja? Vrindaban is consciousness not matter.

The sectarians say Vaishnavas should not worship Shiva, but Krishna himself and Sri Rama have shown that Shiva is worshippable.

Srila Gurudev may know things magically if the Lord reveals things to him. As when Srila Narottama Mahasaya was informed in a dream that the Deities of Nabadwipchandra and His consort Vishnupriya Devi were hidden in a rice godown infested with snakes that nobody could approach without being attacked. But then in another case we see that a Guru of the same advanced stage of devotion as Narottama, Sri Srinivasa Acharya, didn't know where the books stolen by king Birhambir were being kept - so how can it be said that this exalted Guru Sri Srinivasa Acharya is omniscient? Such statements are meaningless.

<center>Srimad Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 7. Knowledge of the Absolute</center> TEXT 26 vedaham samatitani vartamanani carjuna bhavisyani ca bhutani mam tu veda na kascana SYNONYMS veda--know; aham--I; sama--equally; a titani--past; vartamanani--present; ca--and; arjuna--O Arjuna; bhavisyani--future; ca--also; bhutani--living entities; mam--Me; tu--but; veda--knows; na--not; kascana--anyone. TRANSLATION O Arjuna, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, I know everything that has happened in the past, all that is happening in the present, and all things that are yet to come. I also know all living entities; but Me no one knows.

I agree

According to the most recent census data, 19% of Australians are atheists. If the different Christian denominations are treated separately, people of no religion now form the equal second largest group in terms of belief after Catholics (there are an equal number of atheists and Anglicans, the second largest denomination). The fastest growing religion in Australia is Hinduism. The number of Hindus has doubled in the past ten years, and the number of Buddhists has almost doubled going from 1.1% to 2.2%.

Brahma deva is the adi Guru of the Madva-Gaudiya Sampradaya. Brahma could not understand the full extent of Krishna's power. When Brahma stole the cowherd boys and calves he was being inquisitive. He wanted to see what would happen. He didn't ALREADY KNOW what would happen. He was not situated in a state of omniscient knowledge. Brahma is not omniscient. Never was. Never will be. Gurudev is not omniscient. Never was. Never will be.

Quote: <table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td style="border: 1px solid rgb(102, 102, 102); padding-left: 3ex; padding-right: 3ex;" bgcolor="#e0e0e0"> devadidevam-ahibhusanam-indukasam panchananam pasupatim varadam prasannam gangadharam pranatapalakamasutosam vande sadasiva-haripriya-chandramaulim - Sanskrit verse by Srila Govinda Maharaj http://scsmath.org/trove2/gkunda_ver...va_pranam.html </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <!-- END TEMPLATE: bbcode_quote -->Friend, Devotees of Sri Chaitanya are not all bad. Some "so-called" devotees are bad, it is true. Some abuse Lord Mahadeva. But my Guru who wrote this verse you see above is a devotee of Sri Chaitanya. He praises Bholenath - Devaadideva Maheshwara.

Yes

<!-- BEGIN TEMPLATE: bbcode_quote --> Quote: <table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td style="border: 1px solid rgb(102, 102, 102); padding-left: 3ex; padding-right: 3ex;" bgcolor="#e0e0e0"> Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 8.7.29 mukhāni pañcopaniṣadas taveśa yais triḿśad-aṣṭottara-mantra-vargaḥ yat tac chivākhyaḿ paramātma-tattvaḿ deva svayaḿ-jyotir avasthitis te TRANSLATION O lord, the five important Vedic mantras are represented by your five faces, from which the thirty-eight most celebrated Vedic mantras have been generated. Your Lordship, being celebrated as Lord Śiva, is self-illuminated. You are directly situated as the supreme truth, known as Paramātmā. The Supersoul is called by many names, of which Maheśvara, Śiva and Acyuta are especially mentioned. </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <!-- END TEMPLATE: bbcode_quote -->Nice verse

Sree Advaita Acharya is both Vishnu and Shiva. Har Har Mahadeva! All glory Lord Mahadeva, who lives on the icy mountain of Kailasa, south of Siberia where the modern day sages are living!

My issue that I have with some people is that they would like to put the Bhagavatam in the science section in libraries, and I feel it should be in the humanities section.

Theist I'm sorry that I spoke while misunderstanding your point of view I also, like you, feel we need to look for the essence of things when we read Bhagavatam

Yes I completely agree Har har Mahadev! Joy Sri Shiv Sambhu!

Theist my old friend, there is nothing "wrong" in the Bhagavatam, it is only our "readings" of it that are wrong. Take a look at modern literary theory and you will see that the Bhagavatam can be seen as something wonderful - we just need to realize the beauty within it without being limited by "superstition" or "fundamentalists". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literary_theory My wife teaches literary theory. I also taught it, several years ago. Texts such as the Bhagavatam are the great treasures of the past. If we look at a jewel and say "oh, with modern stone-cutting technology we could have cut the raw stone in a better way", then we are missing the beauty of the thing in front of us. Be nice. .

This Pradyumna Swami has some strange ideas. http://krishnas-zero-tolerence.spaces.live.com/Blog/cns!C86033D76508C5C9!127.entry So that is how it is, according to Pradyumna Swami (who is really Gaura Gopal dasa). Children who were abused in Iskcon were not innocent. That was their fault. Moderator, I hope you don't delete this post. You do it so often. Even when what I'm saying is right. Gaura Gopal and child abuse... there is more to this...

Is this really you JD or someone else?

Send your last message off to Narasingha Maharaj and see what he says. Go on. I dare you. Send it to Jayapataka Swami. See what advice Jayapataka Swami has for you.