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suchandra

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  1. Thanks Melvin, good point, yes Muhammed and Christ only revealed to us that God is a person - but at least more than Lord Buddha and Sankaracarya revealed. On the other hand, are we able to actually understand even the ABCs of vedic knowledge? When it comes to understand even simple things like is a mahabhagavat fully present in his teachings, is Prabhupada fully present in his books, can his books give spiritual guidance and absorb sins = grant diksa, present intellectually say, no, Prabhupada is dead and gone. So it should be clear why Jesus and Muhammed couldn't reveal more knowledge, same as today, people's brain cannot grasp it.
  2. You definitely must know that Prabhupada said he wants to stop giving sannyasa because so many fell down. But still you propagate that he did the opposite. This is very misleading and not honest. Vaishnava should be honest. Why don't you admit that Prabhupada said, no more giving of sannyasa, too many fall downs? "This should be strictly outlawed, no more sannyasis. And those sannyasis who have fallen, you get them married, live like a gentleman. No more this showbottle, cheating. It is very ludicrous. Even there is a promise that “We shall not fall down again,” that is also not believable. What is the use? Better go and speak philosophy in your grhastha dress, not this dress, but you have nice coat, pants, gentleman. Who says no? I never said. Rather I shall be glad to see that up-to-date gentlemen with tilaka and sikha are speaking. That is very prestigious everywhere…” “And this kind of hypocrisy–they have taken sannyasa and mixing with woman. This is not to be allowed. If you want woman you get yourself married, live respectfully. We have no objection. But this hypocrisy should be stopped. There have been so many fallen down. First of all there will be no sannyasi anymore. I have got very bad experience.” (Room Conversation, 7th January, 1977)
  3. Well yes, for you it is in the same way bogus like there are people who consider Lord Jesus as bogus, religion as bogus, animals have a soul as bogus, etc etc. Whenever people run out of logic and reason things are labeled as bogus. Like father, like son, no, Prabhupada never ordered anyone to become his successor. And why should he? Just before 35 sannyasis fell down, 8 GBCs left the movement. What Prabhupada hated most is when disciples fell down. So why should he have created yet another position from which people would fall down like they fell from sannyasa? And! Prabhupada considered the position of diksa-guru the most confidential. Why would he have appointed people for this office who would later on fall down? But I can see through your logic, you are all the time trying to point out how Prabhupada made so many mistakes, Moon explanation, women are inferior, etc and therefore he also appointed neophytes to become acaryas. Very misleading policy.
  4. May be people here are still impressed whenever the term "guru" is pronounced. Actually the very term "guru" doesn't mean anything - in vedic culture everyone is a guru, tourist guide, elementary teacher, uncle, father, nephew, these are all gurus. However, when Lord Caitanya is saying everybody become guru, does He say, everyone, neophytes, kanisthas, misra-bhaktas, they all should become diksa-gurus, sit on the vyasasan and demand to be worshiped like uttama adikaris? This is an absurd idea, even non-Vaishnavas shake their heads. Therefore, whenever somebody mentioned "guru", Prabhupada would immediately reply, "what kind of guru?" 1. Causelessmercy - Tapes - Lecture: What is a Guru? - London, August 22, 1973 What kind of guru you have got? You are talking nonsense. ... they are trying to avoid this. So imagine what kind of guru and what kind of disciple.So śāstra says, <small>causelessmercy.com/t/t/730822LE.LON.htm </small> 2. Causelessmercy - Tapes - Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.25.28 - Bombay, November 28, 1974 What kind of guru? Just like Kapiladeva, Kṛṣṇa, or His representative. Not a bogus guru. Then you will be cheated. Andhā yathāndair upanīyamānāḥ. The so-called rascal <small>causelessmercy.com/t/t/741128SB.BOM.htm </small> 3. Causelessmercy - Tapes - Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.2.7 - Vrndavana, October 18, 1972 And what kind of guru? An… That is also explained in the śāstras: śābde pare ca niṣṇātaṁ brahmaṇy upaśamāśrayam. Guru must be śābde pare ca niṣṇātam. <small>causelessmercy.com/t/t/721018SB.VRN.htm </small> 4. Causelessmercy - Tapes - Arthur Schopenhauer And what kind of guru? Who has seen the truth practically. That he did not do. He is simply speculating on his own experience, and although everything is there in the Bhagavad- <small>causelessmercy.com/t/t/SCHOPENHAUER.HAY.htm </small> 5. Causelessmercy - Tapes - Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.15.39 - Los Angeles, December 17... Bhagavān, what kind of brāhmaṇa he is, and what kind of guru he is? So therefore one must know the ultimate truth, Bhagavān. Brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti. Not silent, <small>causelessmercy.com/t/t/731217SB.LA.htm </small> 6. Causelessmercy - Tapes - Room Conversation - April 22, 1977, Bombay What kind of guru? No publication, no preaching, simply bring some foodstuff… My Guru Mahārāja used to say, “Joint mess,” a place for eating and sleeping. Amar amar ara <small>causelessmercy.com/t/t/770422r3.bom.htm </small> 7. Causelessmercy - Tapes - Room Conversation - London, August 1, 1972 Oh, what kind of guru you are, you are walking on the street? You are American guru?”Devotee: I was thinking if each devotee in the United States went out…Prabhupāda: You <small>causelessmercy.com/t/t/720801RC.LON.htm </small> 8. Causelessmercy - Tapes - Room Conversation - February 17, 1971, Gorakhpur And what kind of guru? Śabde pare ca niṣṇataṁ brahmaṇy upāśamāśrayam. So this is a big science. One has to study. One has to understand. The things are there. There <small>causelessmercy.com/t/t/710217rc.gor.htm</small>
  5. Pardon, sir, may be you forgot the name of the age we're living in - it's kali-yuga. And Krshna Himself says, that in this age things go terribly wrong, ultimately Krsna will appear as kalki-avatar. So, we shouldnt be astonished about so many rascals doing so many crazy things. Even Krsna doesn't see any other solution than to appear as kalki-avatar.
  6. “Queen Elizabeth II the largest landowner on Earth.” Queen Elizabeth II, head of state of the United Kingdom and of 31 other states and territories, is the legal owner of about 6,600 million acres of land, one sixth of the earth’s non ocean surface. She is the only person on earth who owns whole countries, and who owns countries that are not her own domestic territory. This land ownership is separate from her role as head of state and is different from other monarchies where no such claim is made – Norway, Belgium, Denmark etc. The value of her land holding. £17,600,000,000,000 (approx). This makes her the richest individual on earth. However, there is no way easily to value her real estate. There is no current market in the land of entire countries. At a rough estimate of $5,000 an acre, and based on the sale of Alaska to the USA by the Tsar, and of Louisiana to the USA by France, the Queen’s land holding is worth a notional $33,000,000,000,000 (Thirty three trillion dollars or about £17,600,000,000,000). Her holding is based on the laws of the countries she owns and her land title is valid in all the countries she owns. Her main holdings are Canada, the 2nd largest country on earth, with 2,467 million acres, Australia, the 7th largest country on earth with 1,900 million acres, the Papua New Guinea with114 million acres, New Zealand with 66 million acres and the UK with 60 million acres. She is the world’s largest landowner by a significant margin. The next largest landowner is the Russian state, with an overall ownership of 4,219 million acres, and a direct ownership comparable with the Queen’s land holding of 2,447 million acres. The 3rd largest landowner is the Chinese state, which claims all of Chinese land, about 2,365 million acres. The 4th largest landowner on earth is the Federal Government of the United States, which owns about one third of the land of the USA, 760 million acres. The fifth largest landowner on earth is the King of Saudi Arabia with 553 million acres <table class="data"><caption>Largest five personal landowners on Earh</caption> <tbody> <tr> <td>Queen Elizabeth II</td> <td class="num">6,600 million acres</td> </tr> <tr> <td>King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia</td> <td class="num">553 million acres</td> </tr> <tr> <td>King Bhumibol of Thailand</td> <td class="num">126 million acres</td> </tr> <tr> <td>King Mohammed IV of Morocco</td> <td class="num">113 million acres</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Sultan Quaboos of Oman</td> <td class="num">76 million acres</td></tr></tbody></table>
  7. This is what scholars publish at Wikipedia, become one with God, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaitanya_Mahaprabhu Chaitanya's epistemological, theological and ontological teachings are summarized as ten roots or maxims dasa mula:<sup id="cite_ref-26" class="reference">[27]</sup> Vedic scriptures such as Bhagavad-gita and Upanishads are the highest form of evidence by whose authority the following nine truths are established: Krishna is the supreme absolute Reality. Krishna is endowed with all energies summarized as internal (transcendental), marginal (living entities), and external (material nature). Krishna is an ocean of unity. The living entities are in reality Krishna and not individuals. Some living entities are in a conditioned state under the influence of the material energy and thus believe themselves to be individuals rather than spirit. Other living entities are in a state of transcendence free from material conditioning - Jivanmuktas. The living entities and the material nature are Achintya Bheda Abheda inconceivably one with and different from Krishna. Bhakti or pure devotion for Krishna is one of many means of relief from material conditioning. Prema or absolute love for Krishna culminates with oneness with God..
  8. Lord Jesus gave clear parameters what it means to be a genuine follower. These parameters were passed on by priests. Same with Prabhupada, he ordered priests to do the same, find out if people properly follow, only then they received initiation. Coming back to Jesus, if you consider Jesus as avatar but simultanously conclude, Jesus is dead and gone, he cannot give diksa anymore, only avatars who are alive can give diksa, you are in conflict with the great acaryas like Ramanuja, Madhva, Nimbarka, Vallabha, etc etc. who never taught that the way Jesus is worshiped is false. None of the acaryas ever mentioned that Lord Jesus is dead and the way he's worshiped by priests is a mistake. And! None of the priests say, they are giving diksa, rather they say, it is Lord Jesus who gives diksa. To say I accept Lord Jesus but reject the way he ordered to be worshiped through ritviks, immediately makes you reject Jesus also, aparadha. Drags you right on the level of an aparadhi.
  9. Thanks Xochitl for this straight forward approach! Fully agree what you say. Only problem is that present Vaishnava institution are getting in big trouble as soon we say, Lord Jesus is a bona fide avatar. Present Vaishnava institutions say, you can only receive diksa from a living guru, a guru that is physically present. ISKCON even is banning people who preach that Prabhupada can still give diksa. As soon we accept Lord Jesus, we also have to accept the way he is worshiped by ritvik priests. The only solution for the Vaishnava institutions therefore is to never mention Jesus. In this way they get around answering additional questions like, why can Jesus still grant diksa, but not Prabhupada?
  10. Thanks Sambhya for asking this question, yes right, we always have to back up by sruti. Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.3.19: sva-vid-varahosta-kharaih samstutah purusah pasuh na yat-karna-pathopeto jatu nama gadagrajah Translation: “Men who are like dogs, hogs, camels and asses praise those men who never listen to the transcendental pastimes of Lord Sri Krsna, the deliverer from evils.” Prabhupada: "Therefore Vedas are called sruti. Sruti means this is not experimental knowledge. This knowledge is acquired by hearing, that’s all. If you have got nice receptive power through the ear, then your life can be successful. You don’t require to use any other sense. This one sense will make you correct. Therefore those who are not taking advantage of this facility of hearing… He may be a very big man in the estimation of persons who are like dogs, asses, camels, and such nice animals. You can say, “Oh, here is a big man, and… Mr. such and such, such a great politician, great scientist, great… So we must praise.” But the Bhagavata says, “Whether he has given any aural reception about Krsna, that is the test.” No. He has no knowledge about Krsna. Then he must be praised by persons who are like camel, asses, dogs, hogs. That means, “No human being will praise him.” If he is voted or praised, the vote must be coming from the asses, dogs, hogs, like that. That is going on. Asses, hogs, dogs, camels, they are giving vote." Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.3.19 by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada Los Angeles, June 14, 1972
  11. Good thing is that there are presently no demons in the karmi societies - they're just ignorant sinful people who can be uplifted. Real demons are those who are in full knowledge about the vedic siddhanta but purposefully destroy dharma and religion in human society. Yes, India still has the dharma wheel on its flag but there are many people, Hindus, Muslims, Christians, etc. who believe that India's politicians, India's government, are not working for the benefit of the Indian population but for their own profit. Ok, this is probably the same anywhere else, corrupt politicians, corrupt governments are all over the world. But since India is special in that sense that it is the land of religion and the land where Lord Krishna incarnates, this is especially not tolerable. Now the global players want to stop overpopulation. First they created materialistic societies, now they want to shrink world population back to 5000.000. And India's government supporting this policy. Artificially devaluing the Rupee to suppress the population, introducing modified seeds, pro-choice abortion propaganda, cow killing in full swing, allowing huge slums to develop, allowing foreigners to import and create monopolies with things that can be produced in India, leading India into the globalization trap where everything is imported from outside, purposefully leading India into unpayable indebtedness, etc etc. All this has to be stopped and people given real knowledge how to live in actual prosperity and wealth by protecting the cows and produce one's own food. First thing what Krsna is ordering, produce food.
  12. Thanks Ancient Mariner, great post, great realizations. Yes, you're right, we have to become decent preachers - best always using a humorous word choice. Since great Vaishnavas like Kula Prabhu are on the payroll of a science lab they somehow are pushed in the position like Arjuna's relatives who were on the payroll of Duryodhana. But still, like Bhismadeva and Karna, were all great devotees.
  13. Prabhupada didn't care what your scientists really mean by their "anti-matter" speculations. Why should he? According sastra modern scientists are not even human beings. Please re-study tvi-pada-pasu section. Prabhupada was wrong and your scientists are right? At least Prabhupada made you to become a devotee of Lord Krsna. Not an easy job nowadays.
  14. Prabhupada says in the booklet that scientists believe that anti-matter would be the opposite of matter in that sense, that if both collide, everything would dissolve. In other words, Prabhupada wants to say that scientists believe that matter is just like 1 and anti-matter is -1. When both are colliding it gets = 0. Prabhupada says nowhere in this book, that scientists have a proper understanding what is anti-matter. That ISKCON considers that Prabhupada is wrong, this book shouldnt be distributed anymore, is a clear case of Vaishnava aparadha and yet another proof that ISKCOnites don't consider Prabhupada as bona fide acarya.
  15. This is of course not true. Prabhupada says in this book that anti-matter and matter don't dissolve into nothing when they collide, rather he highlights that anti-matter is indestructible. That someone scientifically disproved that anti-matter is not indestructible is rather a false propaganda.
  16. India buys weapons from Russia, China, USA, Israel, UK - just from everyone. Says, India's government is a puppet theater of all those different camps? Friday, March 20, 2009 India Buys Israeli Spy Satellite India Buys Israeli Spy Satellite (NSI News Source Info) NEW DELHI - March 20, 2009: India has bought a spy satellite from Israel with day-and-night viewing capability to boost surveillance capabilities in the aftermath of the Mumbai militant attacks, a report said March 20. Indian Remote Sensing satellites (IRS) are a series of Earth Observation satellites, built, launched and maintained by Indian Space Research Organisation of India as part of the Indian space program. The IRS series provides remote sensing services to the country.* Following are the remote sensing satellites planned by ISRO to be launched next strengthening the fleet of IRS satellites and widening their applications: *RISAT (Radar Imaging Satellite): A microwave remote sensing mission with Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) operating in C-band and having a 6 x 2 meter planar active array antenna based on trans-receiver module architecture. SAR is an all weather-imaging sensor capable of taking images in cloudy and snow covered regions and also both during day and night. RISAT weighs 1,750 kg. It is slated to be launched in 2008-2009. *Oceansat-2: It is envisaged to continue the service of OCEANSAT-1. It will carry an Ocean Colour Monitor (OCM) and a Ku-band pencil beam scatterometer. It is scheduled to be launched in March 8 2008 on board PSLV. *Resourcesat-2: It will have imaging sensors similar to RESOURCESAT-1. Payload electronics have been miniaturised to reduce the overall weight. RESOURCESAT-2 is planned for launch by PSLV in 2009-10. *Resourcesat-3: A follow on to Resourcesat-2, it will carry more advanced LISS-III-WS (Wide Swath) Sensor having similar swath and revisit capability as Advanced Wide Field Sensor (AWiFS), thus overcoming any spatial resolution limitation of AWiFS. Satellite would also carry Atmospheric Correction Sensor (ACS) for quantitative interpretation and geophysical parameter retrieval. It slated to be launched during 2011-12. *CARTOSAT-3: A continuation of Cartosat series , it will have a resolution 30 cm and 6km swath suitable for cadastre and infrastructure mapping and analysis. It would also enhance disaster monitoring and damage assessment. It is slated to be launched during 2011-12. *Oceansat-3: Oceasat-3 would carry Thermal IR Sensor, 12 channel Ocean Color Monitor, Scatterometer and Passive Microwave Radiometer. IR Sensor and Ocean Color Monitor would be used in the analysis for operational Potential Fishing Zones. Satellite is mainly for Ocean biology and sea state applications. It is slated to the launched aboard PSLV in 2012-13. The satellite, which can see through clouds and carry out day-and-night all-weather imaging, has been one of the long-standing demands of the Indian military, the NDTV news channel said. The 650-pound RISAT 2 will be launched by India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle rocket in the next few weeks, the report said. Indian scientists were in the process of integrating the satellite and the rocket at the Sriharikota space port in southern India, it said. The acquisition was fast-tracked after the Nov. 26-29 Mumbai siege in which 10 gunmen went on a shooting spree. India says the attackers came by boat from the Pakistani port city of Karachi to Mumbai, based on its investigations and the confession of the lone gunman captured alive after the 60-hour siege, in which 165 people were killed. India's existing satellites get blinded at night and in the monsoon season. NDTV said the new acquisition would also provide New Delhi with the capability to track incoming hostile ballistic missiles. India treated Israel like a pariah for decades, but has forged close military links with Tel Aviv in recent years with the Jewish state replacing France in 2007 as its second-largest arms supplier after Russia. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ India, Russia sign $1.5 billion deal on Gorshkov aircraft carrier By IANS Tuesday,20 January 2004, 00:00 hrs NEW DELHI: India on Tuesday signed a $1.5 billion deal with Russia for refurbishing and supplying the Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier to the Indian Navy, a move that is expected to bolster India's strength in regional waters. Indian Defence Minister George Fernandes and his Russian counterpart Sergei Ivanov announced the signing of the deal, after years of protracted negotiations, at a joint news conference here.
  17. India buys weapons from Russia, China, USA, Israel, UK - just from everyone. Says, India's government is a puppet theater of all those different camps? Friday, March 20, 2009 India Buys Israeli Spy Satellite India Buys Israeli Spy Satellite (NSI News Source Info) NEW DELHI - March 20, 2009: India has bought a spy satellite from Israel with day-and-night viewing capability to boost surveillance capabilities in the aftermath of the Mumbai militant attacks, a report said March 20. Indian Remote Sensing satellites (IRS) are a series of Earth Observation satellites, built, launched and maintained by Indian Space Research Organisation of India as part of the Indian space program. The IRS series provides remote sensing services to the country.* Following are the remote sensing satellites planned by ISRO to be launched next strengthening the fleet of IRS satellites and widening their applications: *RISAT (Radar Imaging Satellite): A microwave remote sensing mission with Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) operating in C-band and having a 6 x 2 meter planar active array antenna based on trans-receiver module architecture. SAR is an all weather-imaging sensor capable of taking images in cloudy and snow covered regions and also both during day and night. RISAT weighs 1,750 kg. It is slated to be launched in 2008-2009. *Oceansat-2: It is envisaged to continue the service of OCEANSAT-1. It will carry an Ocean Colour Monitor (OCM) and a Ku-band pencil beam scatterometer. It is scheduled to be launched in March 8 2008 on board PSLV. *Resourcesat-2: It will have imaging sensors similar to RESOURCESAT-1. Payload electronics have been miniaturised to reduce the overall weight. RESOURCESAT-2 is planned for launch by PSLV in 2009-10. *Resourcesat-3: A follow on to Resourcesat-2, it will carry more advanced LISS-III-WS (Wide Swath) Sensor having similar swath and revisit capability as Advanced Wide Field Sensor (AWiFS), thus overcoming any spatial resolution limitation of AWiFS. Satellite would also carry Atmospheric Correction Sensor (ACS) for quantitative interpretation and geophysical parameter retrieval. It slated to be launched during 2011-12. *CARTOSAT-3: A continuation of Cartosat series , it will have a resolution 30 cm and 6km swath suitable for cadastre and infrastructure mapping and analysis. It would also enhance disaster monitoring and damage assessment. It is slated to be launched during 2011-12. *Oceansat-3: Oceasat-3 would carry Thermal IR Sensor, 12 channel Ocean Color Monitor, Scatterometer and Passive Microwave Radiometer. IR Sensor and Ocean Color Monitor would be used in the analysis for operational Potential Fishing Zones. Satellite is mainly for Ocean biology and sea state applications. It is slated to the launched aboard PSLV in 2012-13. The satellite, which can see through clouds and carry out day-and-night all-weather imaging, has been one of the long-standing demands of the Indian military, the NDTV news channel said. The 650-pound RISAT 2 will be launched by India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle rocket in the next few weeks, the report said. Indian scientists were in the process of integrating the satellite and the rocket at the Sriharikota space port in southern India, it said. The acquisition was fast-tracked after the Nov. 26-29 Mumbai siege in which 10 gunmen went on a shooting spree. India says the attackers came by boat from the Pakistani port city of Karachi to Mumbai, based on its investigations and the confession of the lone gunman captured alive after the 60-hour siege, in which 165 people were killed. India's existing satellites get blinded at night and in the monsoon season. NDTV said the new acquisition would also provide New Delhi with the capability to track incoming hostile ballistic missiles. India treated Israel like a pariah for decades, but has forged close military links with Tel Aviv in recent years with the Jewish state replacing France in 2007 as its second-largest arms supplier after Russia.
  18. It is the great acaryas of Vaishnavism who say that Lord Jesus taught the worship of the Supreme Personality of Godhead = path of bhakti-yoga. Next, the great acaryas in this way also agree that the way Lord Jesus is being worshiped by priests is bona fide. In other words, it is accepted by all Vaishnava authorities that Lord Jesus can still absorb sins and give divyam jnanam from within = grant diksa. Of course it is clear, as Prabhupada always pointed out, present Chrisitians don't follow the orders of Jesus. Especially, thou shall not kill, thou shall not cheat via corrupt banking systems etc, everything was taught by Jesus. Problem why present Vaishnava institutions blaspheme Lord Jesus like anything is, he is being worshiped by ritviks. Within present Vaishnava institutions ritvik is banned, forbidden and people who accept it are excommunicated.
  19. Wrong forum, should be put under, "ISKCON internal".
  20. Since the moderators delete all my posts I'm not wasting my time anymore.
  21. "Western boys and girls being very open and receptive to the conjugal conception of love of Krsna." This is a very speculative and vage interpretation. What is true is that Prabhupada found out that Westerners are lusty and sexualy inclined like anything. Although Prabhupada taught how by becoming KC we are freed from sexual attraction very soon the temples all over US were turned into creches and kindergardens. Prabhupada did not state his svarup to anyone in a written or recorded form and no disciple appears to have reached a degree of realization to have that information revealed. As such, no one knows, beyond mental speculations aimed at attracting attention to establish for themselves a mundane reputation as a "greatly realized soul" in their search for distinction, adoration and fame. For his "genuine" disicples, the ONLY thing of importance regarding his appearance and disappearance is, ARE HIS INSTRUCTIONS BEING FOLLOWED? If one takes a brief tour of the remnants and fragments of the movement he started, known as ISKCON, one can only conclude the answer is NO. His disciples, en masse, have utterly failed to properly understand and carry out many of his essential instructions. Instead of focusing on the INSTRUCTIONS, they have deviated to focus on any number of other irrelevant issues, such as his svarup. The result is that the Caitanya movement, stemming from Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Maharaja and Srila Prabhupada has "fallen" into the status of mundane religious institution. What is needed, among his would be followers, is a return to the basic formula he gave, Urban and Rural Temple communities founded on the establishment of Daivi-Varnashram divisions. Until this happens, anyone who claims to be a disciple is but a deluded fool, a pretender, a gross rascal and shameless cheater! When will the followers of Srila Prabhupad "WAKE UP", abandon their foolish illusions, debates, contentions and politics to cooperatively take up his instructions?? My opinion...NEVER! And, as such, the potency to actually carry on his mission will pass to others, as of yet unknown. So we should rather challenge the Vaishnavas to wake up and take up the banner of submission and obedience to the instructions as given by Srila Prabhupada.
  22. What does one TRILLION dollars look like? All this talk about "stimulus packages" and "bailouts"... A billion dollars... A hundred billion dollars... Eight hundred billion dollars... One TRILLION dollars... What does that look like? I mean, these various numbers are tossed around like so many doggie treats, so I thought I'd take Google Sketchup out for a test drive and try to get a sense of what exactly a trillion dollars looks like. We'll start with a $100 dollar bill. Currently the largest U.S. denomination in general circulation. Most everyone has seen them, slighty fewer have owned them. Guaranteed to make friends wherever they go. A packet of one hundred $100 bills is less than 1/2" thick and contains $10,000. Fits in your pocket easily and is more than enough for week or two of shamefully decadent fun. Believe it or not, this next little pile is $1 million dollars (100 packets of $10,000). You could stuff that into a grocery bag and walk around with it. While a measly $1 million looked a little unimpressive, $100 million is a little more respectable. It fits neatly on a standard pallet... And $1 BILLION dollars... now we're really getting somewhere... Next we'll look at ONE TRILLION dollars. This is that number we've been hearing so much about. What is a trillion dollars? Well, it's a million million. It's a thousand billion. It's a one followed by 12 zeros. You ready for this? It's pretty surprising. Go ahead... Scroll down... Ladies and gentlemen... I give you $1 trillion dollars... (And notice those pallets are double stacked.) So the next time you hear someone toss around the phrase "trillion dollars"... that's what they're talking about.
  23. Jayadvaita Fights Back BY: URDHVA KETU DAS Mar 07, USA (SUN) — In an "exclusive to the SAMPRAJALPA SUN" (dated March 2, 2009), Jayadvaita Swami the Editor tries his hand at a bit of New York stand up. This is really bad, but sometimes humor can be defined at "laughing at the joke" rather than "along with the joke." Go ahead and see for yourself at Jswami.info. Check out the article, BBT Publishes Unauthorized Changes in Vaishnava Calendar, Concerned Devotees Say -- and have a chuckle for yourself. But to save you from having to waste your time reading the whole article, which attempts to make light of unnecessary editingof Srila Prabhupada's books, a very serious issue, here's the crux of J. Swami's comedy routine: Basically, any calendar (in this case the BBT calendar) has different days on different dates each year. That's the joke: So here are a few of J.Swami's sidesplitters: -"At first I couldn’t believe it,” said Rijidatma Dasa. “The books, yes. But who would ever think the BBT would start monkeying with the Vaishnava Calendar?” (How do you spell chutzpah?) -"But ISKCON has now been plunged into turmoil by the discovery that the BBT, unannounced, has made changes in the dates. The changes were first brought to light by Sadhudvesa Dasa. “I was looking at the dates for January, and all of a sudden it hit me,” he said. “Last year August 2 was on a Tuesday, and this year? Their calendar says it’s a Saturday!” At first he didn’t know what to think. He just sat there, stunned..." (Hey, I was also stunned, Jayadvaita. This stuff is really terrible. Now, Prabhus, hold onto your seat for this one…) -"Jayadvaita Swami refused to comment. But his secretary emphasized that Jayadvaita Swami is strict in his vows. He won’t even go out for a movie,” his secretary said, “what to speak of unauthorized dates.” (Have you recovered yet? There's only one more) -"Responding to this new allegation, the GBC Executive Committee has called a special emergency meeting. “The Executive Committee will meet about this within the next few days,” an EC spokesman said. “Either Tuesday or Thursday, whichever comes first." Look here, Jayadvaita Swami Prabhu. Jerry Seinfeld, you're not! Keep your day job. The day job of reading the books, that is. Not editing them!
  24. <table cellpadding="0"><tbody><tr><td> </td> <td> </td> <td>"A pure devotee of the Lord does not live on any planet of the material sky, nor does he feel any contact with material elements. His so-called material body does not exist, being surcharged with the spiritual current of the Lord's identical interest, and thus he is permanently freed from all contaminations of the sum total of the mahat-tattva. He is always in the spiritual sky, which he attains by being transcendental to the sevenfold material covering by the effect of his devotional service." SB 1.13.55 P, Dhrtarastra Quits Home</td></tr></tbody></table>
  25. An Entire Order Converted into What It Was Intended to End Perry Anderson La Casta: Cosi i Politici Italiani sono Diventati Intoccabili by Sergio Rizzo and Gian Antonio Stella Buy this book La Deriva: Perche l’Italia Rischia il Naufragio by Sergio Rizzo and Gian Antonio Stella Buy this book http://www.lrb.co.uk/v31/n04/ande01_.html In 1992-94 Italy was widely held to have been reborn. The parties that had long ruled – latterly misruled – the country were all but wiped out, after their corruption had been exposed by a fearless group of magistrates, in an election under a new and, so it was felt, more functional system, even if the government that emerged from the polls was a surprise to many who celebrated the end of the old regime. The country could now make a fresh start, in its way comparable to that of 1945. Today the Second Republic, as it has come to be called, is 15 years old, equivalent to the span of time stretching from Liberation to the arrival of the centre-left in the First Republic. An era has elapsed. What is there to show for it? For its promoters, who commanded an overwhelming consensus in the media and public opinion in the early 1990s, Italy required a comprehensive political reconstruction, to give the country government worthy of a contemporary Western society. Probity, stability, bipolarity were the watchwords. Public life was to be cleansed of the corruptions of the old order. Cabinets were not to fall every few months. Alternation of two moderate parties – or at worst, coalitions – in office, one inclining to the right and the other to the left, would be the norm. Once the political system was overhauled along these lines, the reforms needed to modernise Italian society, bringing it up to standards taken for granted elsewhere in the Atlantic community, could at long last be enacted. A decade after the earthquake of Operation Clean Hands, the balance sheet of the new republic was, for its champions, a mixed one – frustrating in many ways, but not definitively disappointing. On the positive side, the political landscape had been transformed, with the extinction of all the parties that had populated the First Republic and the distribution of their successors into two competing blocs seesawing in office. A great economic change had followed with Italy’s entry into the Eurozone, barring henceforward the country’s traditional primrose path of devaluation, inflation and mounting public debt. On the negative side, two developments were disturbing. The first, decried across the board by polite opinion, was the failure of the electoral reform of 1993 to purge the political system of lesser parties, of more radical persuasion, on the flanks of the competing coalitions now ranged against each other, and capable of extracting concessions from these in return for their support. The work of the new republic would not be complete until such blackmail – the term invariably used – was eliminated. The second cause for concern was, in the nature of things, less universally pressed. But the prominence of Berlusconi, as the most spectacular newcomer on the political scene, aroused anxieties that were not confined to those most averse to him. Not only was he deeply implicated in the corruption of the last phase of the First Republic, but as a media magnate turned politician he embodied a conflict of interests felt to be intolerable in other democracies, controlling at once a private empire and public power, each at the service of the other. Fears were repeatedly expressed that here could be the makings of an authoritarian system of rule distinct from, but genetically related to, the nation’s previous experience of plebiscitary power. Still, in the opening years of the Second Republic, these remained more notional than actual, since between 1994 and 2001 Berlusconi was only in office for seven months. When, in the spring of 2001, he finally won a full term of office, warnings were widespread on the left of the danger not only of a semi-dictatorial development, but of a harsh regime of social reaction, an Italian version of the radical right. The reality, however, proved otherwise. The social and economic record of the Berlusconi government was anodyne. There was no significant attack on the welfare state. Social expenditure was not cut, pensions were raised, and employment increased. Measures to loosen the labour market and raise the legal retirement age remained ginger, and tax cuts were less significant than in social democratic Germany. Privatisations, abundant under the centre-left coalition of 1996 to 2001, led before his departure for Brussels by Romano Prodi, when Italy held the European record for selling off public assets, were minimal. The main advantage of the regime for the rich lay in the amnesties it granted for illegal stacking of wealth abroad, and flouting of building controls at home. Ostensibly tougher legislation on immigration was passed, but to little practical effect. Externally, Berlusconi joined Blair and Aznar in sending troops to Iraq, a contribution to the American occupation that the centre-left did not oppose. A package of constitutional reforms giving a more federal shape to the state, with greater powers for the regions – the top priority for the Northern League headed by Umberto Bossi – was pushed through parliament, but came to nothing in a subsequent referendum. No great drive or application was displayed by Berlusconi in any of this. The principal energies of his government lay, starkly, elsewhere. Berlusconi’s overriding concern was to protect himself from prosecution, amid the thicket of cases pending against him for different kinds of corruption. At top speed, three successive laws were rammed through parliament: to block evidence of illegal transactions abroad, to decriminalise the falsification of accounts, and to enable defendants in a trial to change judges by shifting the case to another jurisdiction. When the first and third of these were voided as unconstitutional by the courts, Berlusconi reacted with a fourth, more drastic law, designed to wipe the board clean of any possibility of charges against him by granting himself immunity from prosecution as premier, along with the president, the speakers of the two chambers and the head of the Constitutional Court as four fig-leaves. Amid widespread uproar, this too was challenged by magistrates in Milan, where the major trials in which he was implicated were under way, and was ruled unconstitutional six months later. But the barrage of ad personam laws, patently the government’s most urgent agenda, had immediate, if not yet definitive effect. No sooner was Berlusconi in office than he was absolved by an appeals court of bribing judges to acquire the Mondadori publishing conglomerate – not for want of evidence, but for ‘extenuating circumstances’, defined in a memorable précis of Italian justice as ‘the prominence of the defendant’s current social and individual condition, judged by the court to be decisive’. Before formal immunity against prosecution was struck down, it had closed another leading case against Berlusconi, and when the case was reopened, a new court delivered the requisite judgment, absolving him. After protecting his person, came protecting his empire. By law Mediaset was due to relinquish one of its TV channels in 2003. Legislation was quickly rushed through to allow it not only to retain the channel, but to enjoy a massive indirect subsidy for its entry into digital television. Since Berlusconi now commanded his own private stations and controlled state broadcasting as well, his dominance of the visual media came close to saturation. But it failed to deliver any stable sway over public opinion. By 2005, when he was forced to reshuffle his cabinet, the popularity of the government had plummeted. In part, this was due to the unseemly spectacle of the ad personam laws, denounced not only in the streets but by most of the press. More fundamentally, it was a reaction to the economic stagnation of the country, where average incomes had grown at a mere 1 per cent a year since 2001, the lowest figure anywhere in the EU. Full article: http://www.lrb.co.uk/v31/n04/ande01_.html
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