suchandra

Mujibar was trying to get a job in India. The Personnel Manager said, ‘Mujibar, you have passed all the tests, except one. Unless you pass it you cannot qualify for this job.’ Mujibar said, ‘I am ready.’ The manager said, ‘Make a sentence using the words Yellow , Pink and Green.’ Mujibar thought for a few minutes and said, ‘Mister manager, I am ready’ The manager said, ‘Go ahead.’ Mujibar said, ‘The telephone goes green, green, and I pink it up, and say, ‘Yellow ‘, this is Mujibar.’ Mujibar now works as a technician at a call center for computer problems. No doubt you have spoken to him. I know I have.

When in 1965 Lord Caitanya's Sankirtan movement arrived in New York, the situation seemed to be favourable and the Lord's will surely was that the spreading of the Holy Name will be started in the Western hemisphere. Srila Prabhupada used to often comment about the phenomenon of the hippies and you get 267 results Prabhupada commenting on it. 4. Causelessmercy - Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.6.3 - Vrndavana, November 25, 1976 So either by drinking they are lying on footpath, or by becoming hippies they are lying ... become poor. That is hippies. Because nature is working. Most of these hippies, they are coming <small>http://causelessmercy.com/t/t/761125SB.VRN.htm </small> <small> </small> 6. Causelessmercy - Garden Conversation with Mahadeva's Mother and Jesuit Priest... Why the university students becoming hippies?Mother: Oh, well, there ... university students, they re all hippies.Mother: Yes, but we must ... Why the result is hippie?Mother: Oh, but you <small>http://causelessmercy.com/t/t/730725gc.lon.htm </small> Henry Makow in his latest article is shedding light on the origin of this development in America calling it, "a weapon to divert idealistic Americans from the path of social responsibility to one of introspection and self-gratification". April 12, 2008 In the 1950's, the CIA experimented with LSD for use in interrogation and as a weapon. In the 1960's they used this weapon to divert idealistic Americans from the path of social responsibility to one of introspection and self-gratification, i.e. "spiritual liberation." They neutralized my generation by turning social activists into "flower children" advocating "peace and love." The mantra of the age was "Tune in, Turn on and Drop Out". The prophet was psychologist, Dr. Timothy Leary (1920-1996). Was Leary working for the CIA? Writer Mark Reibling put this question to the aged guru in 1994 after a speech in Gainesville Florida. "They never gave me a dime," Leary replied with a pained expression, and then avoided his questioner. In fact, Leary did get money from them but not very much. When I visited him about 1990 he was strained for money. More later. While not a CIA agent, Reibling makes a convincing case that Leary was their dupe. The CIA promotes people who believe in a cause but are unaware they are advancing the New World Order agenda. Like most intelligence agencies, the CIA does not represent national interests. It was created by British intelligence and serves the London-based central bankers. The CIA said they sponsored radicals, liberals and leftists as "an alternative to Communism." This is not true. They did it to introduce a different style of Communism. Behind the rhetorical facade, Communism is state-monopoly capitalism, controlled by the bankers and administered by the state. The people who own the US Federal reserve also control Russian industry and resources. Funds and drugs for Leary's research came from the CIA. In his autobiography, "Flashbacks" (1983), Leary credits Cord Meyer, the CIA executive in charge of funding the lib-left and counter culture with "helping me to understand my political cultural role more clearly." Elsewhere he says the "Liberal CIA" is the "best mafia you can deal with in the Twentieth Century." (These references are from Reibling's groundbreaking must-read article: "Was Leary a CIA agent?" ) Leary clearly was working for the CIA but was doing what he wanted-turning on. Like Leary, we were all dupes. A GENERATION OF MARIONETTES When I was a child I used to lie in bed at night and read TIME and NEWSWEEK from cover to cover. At the age of 12, I helped organize marches for world hunger relief. At 14, the marches were for Negro Civil Rights. In 1964, while still concerned with the American Negro, I noticed that I was dancing alone. The party had moved to another room. Vietnam was now the cause celebre. It was as if someone (i.e. the CIA-controlled media) had mysteriously blown a whistle. I participated in a rising crescendo of anti-war activity. In 1968, after the gut-wrenching assassinations of King and Robert Kennedy, LBJ's decision not to seek reelection (his CFR handlers told him to go) and the clubbing of protesters at the Democratic Convention in Chicago deflated the anti-war movement. Then, acting in unison like a flock of birds, my generation gave up on social change, became "alienated" and "turned inward." Maybe we needed to change ourselves, we reasoned, before we can change the world. Thanks to the CIA, drugs were plentiful and Leary's mantra was echoed in the mass media. Although it was another ten years before I tried marijuana, I experienced the "Summer of Love" hitchhiking across Canada in 1967. Maybe it was time to "hang loose" and focus on personal things. The 1970's became the "Me Decade." The protest years weren't a complete waste. Before getting into bed, my first lover made me recount the history of the Vietnam War in detail to make sure I "was serious." My sister and brother-in-law turned me on to marijuana on my 26th birthday. I saw myself as a choo-choo train ascending a steep grade billowing black smoke. My life was a strain. Marijuana was a revelation. It helped me get "out of myself." I took up yoga. Although I have never experienced LSD, I embraced the utopian vision of Timothy Leary and Aldous Huxley. With considerable justification, they believed that "mind expanding" drugs could provide a genuine visionary experience and release mankind's spiritual potential. In experiments, theology students had life changing revelations; alcoholics were cured. For millennia, many cultures have used drugs to promote spirituality. In Mexico, Leary took magic mushrooms. The experience convinced him the normal mind was "a static repetitive circuit." "It was above all and without question the deepest religious experience of my life. I discovered that beauty, revelation, sensuality, the cellular history of the past, God, the devil, all lie inside my body, outside my mind." This LSD-fueled vision of utopia was put into practice at the highest levels of the US government. In 1963, Cord Meyer's estranged wife Mary Pinchot Meyers was having an affair with President John F. Kennedy who had embraced LSD. Mary approached Leary for supplies and advice. She and her friends were turning on "some of the most powerful men in Washington." In Dec. 1963, Meyer called Leary and said they killed JFK because "they couldn't control him anymore. He was changing too fast. They've covered everything up. I'm afraid. Be careful." In Oct. 1964, she was murdered. MY WEEKEND WITH TIMOTHY LEARY I had a serious case of hero worship when I visited Timothy Leary around 1990. I had contacted him through his publisher and he phoned me. I wanted to meet the guru to see if the utopian vision he represented was still alive. I was disillusioned. By this time Leary was fixated on the benefits of the "information superhighway." His pantry table was crammed with bottles of alcohol. He told me his "vision of God" was depicted in the last scene in William Gibson's book "Neuromancer." "At the end of the world, all the information stored in all the computers will rise up into Cyberspace and mingle together." he said. "That's God." Wonderful, I thought. All those airline reservations mingling together. At lunch, I tried to remind him of his original vision: using drugs to awaken our spiritual potential and become more God-like in behavior. "What do you think God is?" he scoffed. "An old man with a beard?" Prophets sometimes lose their vision. I think this is what happened with Leary. But he was very generous with his time and hospitality. He was a genuine idealist. I ferried him around Los Angeles in my rented car. He was appearing in a music video made by an obscure band. He was to earn $300. He lived in a nice house but he was not rich. I took him to see his daughter by his first marriage. She lived in public housing in the valley. CONCLUSION The effects of marijuana and LSD vary wildly. Depending on the individual, the setting and quality, people can have positive or negative results. Similarly the drug culture has been a mixed bag. It has given millions the opportunity to escape the suffocating box of modern materialism and discover their spiritual birthright. It has been a gateway to religion. In my case, it confirmed Christ's message that God is Love. But too many have given up on protest and social change. They feel that "fighting the darkness" just "brings me down." For me, detachment from the world was a limbo in which I drifted for years. I now believe in the Path of Service. We gain meaning by doing our Creator's work. We become human beings by becoming God's agent in matters large and small. Our world-view and concerns are totally manipulated by the London-based Masonic bankers through the CIA, mass media and public education. For example, the Iraq War hasn't aroused a protest similar to Vietnam. Why? The answer lies in the treatment in the mass media. The bankers want Iraq to succeed; they wanted Vietnam to fail. We are marionettes. The environment, fe-manism, diversity, you name it. The bankers are pulling our strings. In the case of the drug culture, they made us self absorbed and quiescent. They didn't expect many of us to find God. It's time to rediscover social responsibility and uphold the Divine Order against the satanic New World Order. -------------------------- Note: A reader has drawn my attention to an interview in the book "Mass Control" by Jim Keith where Leary admits to being a "witting accomplice" of the CIA. Note For more information, read "Acid Dreams: The Social History of LSD. CIA, the 60's and Beyond" by Martin Lee and Bruce Shlain. Also: "Storming Heaven: LSD and the American Dream" by Jay Stevens. <small></small>

Well yes, I can live with it being a parrot - Lord Caitanya said something similiar - "don't play with with the Vedanta philosophy". Since playing is presently something like a national sport, times have changed, therefore disport yourself by posting whatever comes to mind and have fun. "After this inquiry, the Lord submissively replied: “I have taken to the saṅkīrtana movement instead of the study of Vedānta because I am a great fool.” The Lord thus represented Himself as one of the numberless fools of this age who are absolutely incapable of studying the Vedānta philosophy. The fools’ indulgence in the study of Vedānta has caused so much havoc in society. The Lord thus continued: “And because I am a great fool, My spiritual master forbade Me to play with Vedānta philosophy. He said that it is better that I chant the holy name of the Lord, for that would deliver Me from material bondage." (Introduction Srimad-Bhagavatam)

Spanish Fork's Krishna Temple is a huge temple complex which needs to be maintained and might entice the leaders to follow the crowd in order to achieve the monthly cash receipts for paying all the bills. That things in a spiritual place can easily get out of balance is obviously the rub in it when making everything real big. Same with the old church buildings - they interlock millions to renovate and in this way easily change owners. General framework for simple living and high thinking and at the same time spreading the Sankirtan movement at best capacity is a challenge not so easy to cope. <embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qReyxe0b0RI&hl=en&rel=0&color1=0xcc2550&color2=0xe87a9f" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="355" width="425"> <embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7OqqS2q-t4&hl=en&rel=0&color1=0x402061&color2=0x9461ca" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="355" width="425">

Thanks, yes, since this is a Vaishnava forum, feel free to say and believe what you like! Prabhupada: But how you can prove nonviolence from Bhagavad-gītā? Because Bhagavad-gītā is being spoken in the violent battlefield. But because he wanted to prove nonviolence, therefore he says, “Oh, these Pāṇḍavas means this. This Krishna means this. This chariot means this. These Kurus means this. Dharmakṣetra means this. Kurukṣetra means this.” He has invented and manufactured so many rascal meaning that it is very difficult… He said that dharmakṣetre… In the beginning of Bhagavad-gītā there is the verse, dharmakṣetre kurukṣetre samavetā yuyutsavaḥ [Bg. 1.1]. Now the very word yuyutsavaḥ means persons who are desiring to fight with one another. Now, how you can prove nonviolence? But he extracts some meaning: “These Pāṇḍava means five senses and the Kurukṣetra means this body.” In this way, his interpretation.Therefore, all different interpretation… The Vedic literature, either take Bhāgavata or Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā, or any Upaniṣad, the meaning is very clear. It is sheer foolishness to understand that “The meaning is vague, now I am clearing. I am a great scholar. I can interpret in a different way.” So… As if Vyāsadeva left the meaning to be cleared by some rascal. You see? He was not himself competent to clear the meaning, but he left the work to be done by some rascal. That is their interpretation. But actually it is not. In every śloka, if you know Sanskrit, you’ll see the meaning is clear. Just like in the Bhagavad-gītā, dharmakṣetre kurukṣetre samavetā yuyutsavaḥ [Bg. 1.1]. Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 25.40-50 by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda San Francisco, January 24, 1967 670124CC.SF

Well, what can be done, your believe is that monkey gave birth to man... Prabhupāda: ......they are simply placing some bogus theory without any authorized statement: “All of a sudden monkey once gave birth.” And where is that authority? Harikeśa: Monkey? Prabhupāda: “Monkey gave birth to man, all of a sudden, millions of years…” Now, what is the support of your statement? Then anyone can say anything and it becomes science. You have no support. You are the first man. You are saying like this, nonsense. Where is your support? You are support of your statement? Then everyone will say, “I have got some statement, and I support. I am the support.” Harikeśa: That’s what they do. Prabhupāda: That is… Harikeśa: That’s how you become a big scientist. (end) Room Conversation with His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda October 14, 1975, Johannesburg 751014rc.joḥ

Devotees having a religious believe? When people are hungry and by eating they feel their hunger being satisfied, can this be called a believe, to eat? No, of course not, it is rather an undisputed requirement. This is also the meaning of genuine spiritual life, it is above dispute, it is the original need of the soul. Prabhupāda: But then why you are asking about guru? You do not know what is happiness. Mike Barron: Can you tell me? Prabhupāda: Yes. Your happiness is that you do not like to die: you die. That is your distress. You do not like to become old man: you become old. So that is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā. This is unhappiness. Janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam. That is intelligence, that “I do not want death. Why death comes upon me? Where is my happiness?” This knowledge will lead you to understand what is happiness. But if you remain ignorant like animal, you do not know what is happiness, and if you think, “The dog is having sex. I’ll have sex. That is happiness,” then where is the difference, dog mentality and your mentality? Mike Barron: And Krishna consciousness can help me attain this? Prabhupāda: Yes, that is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. He knows, “This dog’s mentality of eating, sleeping, sex and defense is not my happiness. My real distress is that I do not want to die; I am being forced to die. So how to escape from this position?” That is happiness. Mike Barron: Thank you. Room Conversation with His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda April 20, 1976, Melbourne

Good points! Yes, we must make the devotees aware that although we live in a material highly advanced world, even those scientists working in the first league of analysis and research are often puzzled (see below) how to lead healthy lives. And on the other hand rejecting the simple lifestyle of producing one's own food as primitive and underdeveloped. To work in nature and see things growing surely also has an impact on our wellbeing. 40 NASA Workers On Same Floor Diagnosed With Cancer POSTED: 5:52 pm EDT April 7, 2008 http://www.newsnet5.com/news/15817729/detail.html UPDATED: 7:47 am EDT April 8, 2008 <!--startindex-->CLEVELAND -- There are 40 cases of cancer among people who work in the same building at NASA Glenn Research Center.Dozens of the employees fear that their cancer was triggered by years of working in the developmental engineering building, NewsChannel5 reported.The union that represents hundreds of scientists and other workers said nearly half of the 100 employees on the third floor of the building have been diagnosed with various forms of cancer in the past three to four years."What we've seen in the way of cancer here has just been astronomical on this third floor alone and we're just a little scared," said Dennis Pehotsky, of the Lewis Engineers and Scientists Association.In a written statement, the head of safety at NASA Glenn said an employee survey shows cancer rates among workers are within the normal range, saying "Glenn management has no evidence of the number of cases that the union is reporting."Union officials said they believe many employees feared reprisal for answering the survey honestly.Rep. Dennis Kucinich represents NASA Glenn's district and his office is looking into the matter."We're concerned about workplace safety. We want to make sure that the conditions that people work under are not going to damage their health," said Kucinich.At NASA, where safety is a top priority, employees said they are still waiting for answers.NASA officials said they have done several tests in recent years that have shown nothing out of the ordinary in the facility, but union officials want more specific testing done for carcinogens.Glenn officials said they will work with the union to find out more on the matter. <!--stopindex--> Copyright 2008 by NewsNet5. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Fifteen Newspapers Cover First Solapur Rathayatra By Ekalavya Dasa on 12 Apr 2008 Lokanatha Swami leads the chanting procession down the streets of Solarpur. <!--paging_filter-->On April 6, Lord Jagannatha’s chariot parade rolled out on the streets of Solapur, Maharastra, India for the first time. Thousands packed the streets, watching as devotees pulled the ropes of Jagannatha’s cart, waved flags, danced and chanted the Hare Krishna mantra. Solapur’s congregation were joined by devotees from every corner of India including Mumbai, Pune, and Kholapur. The festival also yielded a healthy international turnout from the likes of the U.S., Denmark, Poland, Switzerland, and Russia. Lokanatha Swami, zonal secretary for ISKCON Maharastra, said, “The event was a grand success – I was especially pleased by the participation of so many devotees. Thousands must have accompanied us from beginning to end, despite the hot sun.” The procession also featured a brass band, floats depicting stories of Krishna and Rama, and two singing parties. Children, dressed up as monkey companions of Lord Rama and dancing exuberantly, put a smile on the faces of onlookers. Devotees carried banners, flags, and emblems bearing the insignia of Lord Jagannatha, while colorful powder decorations, known as rangoli, covered the entire Rathayatra route. A beautiful stage program rounded out the event. Devotional music and singing, traditional Bharat Natyam dance, and talks by Lokanatha Swami and Radha Raman Swami enthralled the audience. The Gaura Hari Band ended the performance in style, belting out the Hare Krishna mantra with a western flavor and bringing the audience to their feet to dance the night away. The event was heavily covered by the press; fifteen newspapers picked up on the story, featuring color photos and even a front page spread. It was a triumphant victory for all the devotees of Solapur and their guests, who worked so hard to make the festival a grand success.

What is it that makes someone a Vaishnava? Just like, see below, there seems a discussion if Georg Harrison was actually a Vaishnava or not? Prabhupāda: So here, here the point is that Sanātana Gosvāmī, Dabira Khāsa, he was so mad after meeting Caitanya Mahāprabhu that he, whatever money he had with the banker, village banker, and even it was sinful to bribe, he didn’t care for it. He wanted… He resigned his service as minister, therefore he was imprisoned. Now to get out of the imprison, prison house, he bribed. He was so much ecstatic. This is called laulyam. Laulyam means just like we become very much greedy in achieving some success or receiving something sometimes. We become mad. That is required. Laulyam eka mūlyam. To achieve Krishna consciousness perfectly, this ecstatic eagerness or greediness, to serve Krishna, that is the only price to achieve success in devotional service. That is the only price. Not money, not anything. Not prestige, not good parentage, not beauty—nothing. Simply this ecstatic, intense desire, “How I shall get Krishna?” Then you’ll get Krishna. He’ll take you. That is the example of the gopīs, intense desire. Tatra laulyam eka mūlyam. Now, janma-koṭi, na labhyate janma-koṭibhiḥ sukṛtinaḥ. This ecstatic desire, that “I, this life, I shall get recognition by Krishna, that I have sacrificed everything for Krishna,” this is required. full lecture Sadhana/Sadhya: The Path and the Goal Q & A with Swami B. V. Tripurari "Many transcendentalists had high regard for Krsna, but attaining Krsna-prema is something else entirely. According to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the sadhana to attain Krsna-prema is nama-sankirtana." Q. You wrote that ex-Beatle George Harrison was never quite ready for initiation. However, the following excerpt from a letter written by Srila Prabhupada in 1970 seems to say something different. Srila Prabhupada wrote, "I think George does not require to become my formal disciple because he is already more than my disciple. He has sympathy for my movement and I have all blessings for him." How do you reconcile what Srila Prabhupada wrote here with what you wrote in the following Sanga regarding George not being ready for initiation? See Sanga: George Harrison and Initiation http://www.swami.org/sanga/archives/pages/volume_seven/v07n09.html A. In that Sanga I made my understanding clear and the excerpt you cited does not change it at all. My point is that George Harrison was a great friend of Srila Prabhupada's movement, but he was not a great devotee; and that any sentiment for George that contradicts scripture will not help one advance in Gaudiya Vaisnavism. The Gaudiya ideal is pure bhakti, and scripture tells us that the cultivation of this ideal requires initiation by a bona fide spiritual master and single-minded devotion to Sri Krsna (vyavasayatmika-buddhih). While George had sympathy for Srila Prabhupada's movement, he also had other spiritual interests as well, particularly the teachings of Paramahamsa Yogananda. In encouraging people toward the cultivation of pure bhakti, Srila Prabhupada was often very generous with them, as was the case in the excerpt you cited. Another example of his generosity was when he wrote a letter saying that I was the "incarnation of book distribution." Taking this statement literally could mean that I am an avatara of some type, but this is not my opinion. My opinion is that statements like these (and there are many of them) are examples of Srila Prabhupada's generous encouragement. Q. You wrote that George dabbled in a number of spiritual traditions and that such an eclectic approach to spirituality was in effect a hindrance to advancement in Gaudiya Vaisnavism. However, some devotees told me that Yogananda attained Goloka--the abode of Krsna. If this were the case why would involvement with his path be a hindrance to advancement in Krsna consciousness? A. Those who claim that Paramahamsa Yogananda attained Goloka have not understood the difference between Yogananda's path (sadhana) and its goal (sadhya) and that of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. For example, scripture says that the yuga-dharma of Kali-yuga (the dark age) is nama-sankirtana, the chanting of the holy name of Krsna. However, according to Yogananda's guru, the age we are living in is not Kali-yuga, thus the practice of nama-sankirtana was not stressed by the Yogi. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu differs with this opinion. He taught that we are presently in Kali-yuga and that nama-sankirtana is undoubtedly the path of self-realization for this age. Thus Mahaprabhu and all of his associates, as well as all of his followers through the centuries, have emphatically stressed the chanting of the holy name of Krsna. Indeed, the following verse from Brhan-naradiya Purana is cited three times in Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, the authorized biography of Mahaprabhu. In this verse the words harer nama (the holy name) and nasty eva (no other means) are repeated three times for emphasis: harer nama harer nama harer nameva kevalam. kalau nasty eva nasty eva nasty eva gatir anyatha (BNP 3.8.126) "In this age of Kali there is no other means, no other means, no other means of self-realization than chanting the holy name, chanting the holy name, chanting the holy name of Lord Hari." This simple example illustrates my point well. Yogananda, like many transcendentalists, had high regard for Krsna, but attaining love of Krsna (Krsna-prema) is something else entirely. According to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the sadhana to attain Krsna-prema is nama-sankirtana. Q. I received initiation (diksa) from Ammachi. Her followers believe she is an avatara who has realized oneness with Brahman (jivanmukta). Some Vaisnavas however, label her a "bogus guru" because she identifies herself with God and encourages her followers to do the same. Though Ammachi initiated me, somehow or other I have become deeply attracted to Gaudiya Vaisnavism and feel more aligned with Gaudiya sadhana than I do with the sadhana that she gave me centered on Devi bhajans. When I expressed my feelings about this to one of the Swamis under Ammachi, he said that my attraction to Vaisnavism was simply a trick of the mind, and that I should stick with the sadhana given to me by my diksa guru. I have been struggling with this dilemma for many years so I humbly plead for your guidance regarding this matter. My question is can I abandon the sadhana given to me by my guru in favor of following the Gaudiya path? A. Let me assure you that to the extent that Ammachi is a realized soul she will only wish you well in your pursuit of the goal of Gaudiya Vaisnavism. Her disciples, on the other hand, may see your interest in Krsna-bhakti from their own materially conditioned perspective. My advice is to follow your heart and at the same time respect Ammachi for all that she has done for you. To label her as bogus is a bit harsh. She is a mystic influenced by jnana and sattviki-bhakti. She differs from our tradition in that we are involved in the cultivation of suddha-bhakti, in which we engage in bhakti for its own sake rather than for the sake of liberation (mukti). Incidentally, I have a student who was previously initiated by Ammachi. She is practicing Gaudiya Vaisnavism and advancing in spiritual life without any impediment. Q. I read an article claiming that Patanjali, the author of the Yoga-sutras, was in actuality a Vaisnava. The article is centered on an analysis of the three or four places in his Yoga-sutras where Patanajali mentions Isvara (God). What is your opinion? A. Patanjali's yoga is one of the six darsanas, or philosophies, of Hinduism. In his school, the Sanskrit word yoga (union) refers to a condition where the mind is controlled through mediation with the aim of attaining super-consciousness and merging into the Infinite. Vaisnavas, on the other hand, are Vedantins, or followers of the Vedanta darsana. Vaisnavas practice bhakti to Visnu/Krsna, with the aim of attaining eternal love for him. The sadhana emphasized by most Vaisnavas is Deity worship (arcana) and chanting the holy name of God (kirtana). The assertion that Patanjali was a Vaisnava runs contrary to the position that Vaisnava acaryas have taken regarding his overall philosophy. I am aware that there are a few statements in Patanaji's Sutras that can be construed to support the idea that he was a theist. It is also clear that he was a student of Vyasa; however, all Vedantins, including Sankaracarya, understand Patanjali's yoga philosophy to be different from that of Vedanta, particularly for its lack of reliance on the Upanisads. However, just as Vedantins reject the conclusions of Sankhya philosophy yet embrace aspects of it, similarly Vedantins, while rejecting the conclusions of yoga philosophy, embrace aspects of it as well. Indeed, despite rejection of Patanjali's yoga siddhanta, we find praise among Vedantins for its practical teachings on renunciation and its eight-limbed discipline. Baladeva Vidyabhusana, the famous Gaudiya acarya who commented on the Vedanta-sutra, takes this position, as does Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura. Bhaktivinoda Thakura has written a book about a yogic approach to bhakti, entitled Prema-pradipa. Their point is that the limbs of astanga yoga are useful inasmuch as they serve to foster bhakti. To say that mixing yoga practice with bhakti might be helpful for some people is more of an acknowledgement of the practical effects of yoga, in regard to controlling the mind in particular, than it is an endorsement of its overall techniques. Indeed, yoga technique alone cannot conquer the mind to the extent that bhakti can, and yoga can also be a distraction when the powers it fosters become manifest and promote an expanded sense of self-reliance, as opposed to the Vaisnava ideal of saranagati, or self-surrender. Pujyapada Sridhara Maharaja says it like this: "The Gaudiya Vaisnavas discard any artificial things. God is with the heart and that is the important part. We are to appeal to the heart and have transaction with the heart, and not that by manipulation of the natural forces we shall gain some mystic power and try to exert that on God. Is that a form of worship? For one who has a heart, the hearty transaction is the most natural. And that is service. Satisfaction is for the Lord so what is the value of trying to gain some power from elsewhere and by dint of that, to try to encroach upon him? What is the result of doing yoga? It will give some power but what effect can that power have on him? None. We are not to try to exert our energy upon him, but the opposite is necessary. We are to consider that we are the most fallen of the fallen and the meanest of the mean. 'I want your grace. Please accept me as a slave, as your meanest servant.' This is the way to approach the higher. Not that we are to gather some power and by dint of that power jump on the superior entity, for that is not the process of getting him, of receiving his favor." Ancient Hindu society considered the practice of yoga to be primarily a spiritual discipline, but in today's world yoga is practiced mostly for health reasons. It is important to maintain one's mental and physical health, and yoga is certainly a pure (sattvic) approach to this that works well in modern times. Unfortunately, regardless of efforts to the contrary, good health eventually fades away, thus both Patanjali and the Vedantins teach that the ultimate goal of life is spiritual realization. However, anyone who has read Patanjali's Sutras knows that in modern society the actual practice of his mystic yoga process with its emphasis on brahmacarya (celibacy), aparigraha (absence of possessions), and tapas (austerities) is almost impossible. On the other hand, the practice of bhakti as delineated by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is simple and sublime and can be performed by anyone, at any place, and at any time. In this age, according to Brhan-naradiya Purana, "there is no other means of self-realization than chanting the holy name, chanting the holy name, chanting the holy name of the Lord."

TAKE ACTION: Stop Genetically Engineered Sugar Beets <!-- begin content --> http://www.citizens.org/action-alerts/take-action-stop-genetically-engineered-sugar-beets April, 2008 - Leading U.S. sugar providers whose sugar is sourced from genetically engineered (GE) sugar beets begin sending their "Franken-sugar" to stores this year. In 2001, Hershey's, M&M Mars, and American Crystal Sugar told consumers they would not use GE sugar; but now that sugar beets are close to being planted commercially, they have yet to renew those assurances. Let these companies know you expect them to live up to their pledge to consumers - click on the company names below to make your voice heard! (A sample letter is attached at the end of this story for your convenience.) American Crystal Sugar Company Hershey's M&M/Mars Inc. Since half of the granulated sugar in the U.S. comes from sugar beets, the infiltration of GE sugar beets represents a significant alteration of our food supply. These sugars, as well as genetically engineered corn and soy, are found in hundreds of everyday food products. This means consumers will be exposed to genetically engineered ingredients in virtually every non-organic food product. Unlike traditional breeding, genetic engineering creates new life forms that would never occur in nature, creating new and unpredictable health and environmental risks. Genes from bacteria, viruses, plants, animals - even humans - have already been inserted into common food crops, like corn, soy, and canola, to create "Frankencrops". Now companies like Monsanto have set their sights on our sugar. In fact, a new option available this year, Monsanto’s Roundup Ready sugar beet, was genetically engineered to survive direct application of their own controversial broad-spectrum herbicide, Roundup. Studies indicate farmers planting the "Roundup Ready" versions of corn and soy spray large amounts of the herbicide, contaminating both soil and water. Farmers planting GE sugar beets are told they may be able to apply the herbicide up to five times per year. Sugar beets are grown on 1.4 million acres by 12,000 farmers in the U.S. from Oregon to Minnesota. Now, at the request of Monsanto, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency increased the allowable amount of glyphosate residues on sugar beetroots by an unbelievable 5000%. (Glyphosate is the active ingredient in Roundup). Sugar is extracted from the beet’s root, and the result is more glyphosate pesticide in our sugar. This is not good news for those who want to use sugar, or products containing sugar, without the threat of ingesting toxic weed killer. Mother's Day is fast approaching - tell Hershey’s, Mars, and American Crystal that you love your mother and will not buy her any sweets unless they are GE-Free! (Click on the company names to make your voice heard. A sample letter is attached below for your convenience.) American Crystal Sugar Hershey's M&M/Mars Inc.

Two lawyers present their different points of view, who decides? The questions seems larger than “who decides”, it becomes also “on what basis”. In the Bhagavad-gītā when Krishna and Arjuna were talking as friend, there was no conclusion. The talking was going on but no conclusion was made. Therefore Arjuna decided to accept Krishna as his guru. Prabhupāda: The Vedantists they have come from the impersonal explanation of Śaṅkarācārya. Śārīraka-bhāṣya. But they simply give stress on the Śārīraka-bhāṣya, but there are other bhāṣyas. Bhāṣyas means commentary. And the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the natural commentary by the author himself. Besides that, there are Vedānta-bhāṣyas written by the Rāmānujācārya, Madhvācārya, Viṣṇusvāmī, and all the Vaiṣṇava ācāryas. Unfortunately, they do not care to read all these Vedānta-bhāṣyas. They simply take Śārīraka- bhāṣya and become impersonalist and call themselves as Vedantist. Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: What is the reason for that? Prabhupāda: Reason means people do not know. They cheat. Suppose I present something, a misconception, and if there are others also who can speak something on the… There are two lawyers. One is speaking one point of law, another lawyer is speaking. So if you take one side only, then how you will understand? So they are simply reading this Śārīraka-bhāṣya. They are not reading other bhāṣyas, just like the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, which is natural. And they are cheating people. That’s all. Why there are two lawyers? Two opposite parties, there are two lawyers. One lawyer says this law is like this, and the other party says, “No, it is this.” And the judge is there, he will take what is the real meaning. But this interpretation is required when things are not clear. Now the Vedānta-sūtra says, janmādy asya yataḥ [Bhāg. 1.1.1], “The Absolute Truth is that from whom everything comes in, emanates.” Now, here is… In the Bhagavad-gītā Kṛṣṇa said that ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate [Bg. 10.8] Clearly. That “I am the origin of everything, and everything comes from Me.” So why don’t you take it? Why simply you remain theoretically understood that Absolute Truth is that from which everything emanates. But when the Absolute Truth comes before you and says that “I am the origin of everything. Everything comes from Me.” Why don’t you accept Kṛṣṇa as Absolute Truth? Why do you take the so-called impersonalist view only, that God has no form? Here is God speaking, person. Why don’t you take it? If you want to be cheated, then who can stop you? Here Kṛṣṇa says, sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo [Bg. 15.15]. Find out this verse. Sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca… Hari-śauri: Vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyo… Prabhupāda: Vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyo vedānta-krd veda- vid eva cāham. Read it? Hari-śauri: sarvasya cāham hṛdi sanniviṣṭo mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyo vedānta-kṛd veda-vid eva cāham [Bg. 15.15] Prabhupāda: Vedānta-kṛd, I am the compiler of Vedānta. Why these rascals do not take who compiled Vedānta? Vyāsadeva is the incarnation of God. He compiled Vedānta. Why he does not take the original Vedantist. Here it is clearly stated, vedānta-kṛd. Read the purport. Hari-śauri: “Translation: I am seated in everyone’s heart and from Me comes remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness. By all the Vedas am I to be known. Indeed, I am the compiler of Vedānta and I am the knower of the Vedas.” Prabhupāda: So they do not go to the compiler of Vedānta. They go to a rascal. How they will understand Vedānta? Suppose I have written this book. If you cannot understand something, if you come directly to me, that is real. Why do you go to a rascal who has nothing to do with this book? If some rascal claims that “I am Vedanti,” so your description should… Why shall I not go to the real compiler of Vedānta. Why shall I go to a rascal? That means they are rascals. They are being cheated. Let them take to Bhagavad-gītā and let them take to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. They will understand Vedānta. They’re real Vedantist. But these rascals, they’re avoiding Bhagavad- gītā and avoiding Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and claiming themselves as Vedantist. So if you go to a cheater you’ll be cheated. That is your business. Answers to a Questionnaire from Bhavan’s Journal by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda June 28, 1976, Vṛndāvana

Can we really transplant a human soul? By Dr DANNY PENMAN Transplant: What else is triggered when doctors undertake a donor operation? The progress of medical science in the past 30 years has been so rapid that yesterday's miracles are tomorrow's commonplace procedures. So it has proved with heart transplants, which have become almost routine in hospitals around the world. Yet every once in a while a story emerges which should cause us all to sit up and take note that there is nothing "routine" or "commonplace" about such complex operations. The suggestion, highlighted again this week, that donor patients could not only be acquiring the organs but also the memories - or even the soul - of the donor is surely one such story. This bizarre possibility was raised by the inexplicable case of Sonny Graham - a seemingly happily married 69-year-old man living in the U.S. state of Georgia. He shot himself without warning, having shown no previous signs of unhappiness, let alone depression. His friends described it as an act of passion, not of reason. The case might have remained just an isolated tragedy were it not for the fact that Sonny had received a transplanted heart from a man who had also shot himself - in identical circumstances. To make things even more intriguing, shortly after receiving the heart transplant, Sonny tracked down the wife of the donor - and fell instantly in love with her. "When I first met her," Sonny told a local newspaper, "I just stared. I felt like I had known her for years. I couldn't keep my eyes off her." He spoke of a deep and profound love for her. It was instant and it was passionate. The kind of love where overwhelming passion seizes control of the mind and banishes reason. They quickly wed. The tragedy of Sonny Graham will, no doubt, be written off as mere coincidence. After all, there is surely no conceivable way that the memories, let alone the character of a donor, can be transplanted along with their heart. Heart transplant recipient Sonny Graham, pictured with wife Cheryl, commited suicide in the same way as her previous husband - whose heart Sonny received Virtually every doctor and scientist will tell you the heart is a mere pump. The seat of our mind, our consciousness, our very soul - if such a thing exists - lies in the brain. The heart's only control over our mind is whether or not it sends it blood. Ever since William Harvey unravelled the mysteries of the heart and circulatory system centuries ago, this fact has remained beyond doubt. Well, almost beyond doubt. For a few brave scientists have started claiming that our memories and characters are encoded not just in our brain, but throughout our entire body. Consciousness, they claim, is created by every living cell in the body acting in concert. They argue, in effect, that our hearts, livers and every single organ in the body stores our memories, drives our emotions and imbues us with our own individual characters. Our whole body, they believe, is the seat of the soul; not just the brain. And if any of these organs should be transplanted into another person, parts of these memories - perhaps even elements of the soul - might also be transferred. There are now more than 70 documented cases similar to Sonny's, where transplant patients have taken on some of the personality traits of the organ donors. Professor Gary Schwartz and his co-workers at the University of Arizona have documented numerous seemingly inexplicable experiences similar to Sonny's. And every single one is a direct challenge to the medical status quo. In one celebrated case uncovered by Professor Schwartz's team, an 18-year-old boy who wrote poetry, played music and composed songs was killed in a car crash. A year after he died, his parents came across a tape of a song he had written, entitled, Danny, My Heart Is Yours. In his haunting lyrics, the boy sang about how he felt destined to die and donate his heart. After his death, his heart was transplanted into an 18-year-old girl - named Danielle. When the boy's parents met Danielle, they played some of his music and she, despite never having heard the song before, knew the words and was able to complete the lyrics. Professor Schwartz also investigated the case of a 29-year-old lesbian fast-food junkie who received the heart of a 19-year-old vegetarian woman described as "man crazy". After the transplant, she told her friends that meat now made her sick, and that she no longer found women attractive. If fact, shortly after the transplant she married a man. In one equally inexplicable case, a middle-aged man developed a new-found love for classical music after a heart transplant. It transpired that the 17-year-old donor had loved classical music and played the violin. He had died in a drive-by shooting, clutching a violin to his chest. Nor are the effects of organ transplants restricted to hearts. Kidneys also seem to carry some of the characteristics of their original owners. Take the case of Lynda Gammons from Weston, Lincolnshire, who donated one of her kidneys to her husband Ian. Since the operation, Ian believes he has taken on aspects of his wife's personality. He has developed a love of baking, shopping, vacuuming and gardening. Prior to the transplant, he loathed all forms of housework with a vengeance. He has also adopted a dog - yet before his operation he was an avowed "cat man", unlike his wife who favoured dogs. It's easy to dismiss such tales as hokum. But the Chinese authorities are certainly taking them seriously. They have recently taken an interest in Professor Schwartz's ideas and have begun a programme to monitor transplant patients. (As many "donated" organs in China come from executed political prisoners, a cynic might suggest that the authorities are worried about an "epidemic" of political thought spreading via organ transplants.) Many scientists will, of course, point out that tens of thousands of organ transplants have now been carried out worldwide, so you would expect to come across a few bizarre cases like Sonny Graham's. It is also hardly surprising that after a major life-threatening operation such as a heart transplant, a patient may undergo a profound alteration to their character. Who could remain unchanged after staring death in the face? The powerful drugs required as part of organ transplant procedures can also cause major changes in behaviour. Put all these together and it's no wonder that some patients leave hospital with a drastically different outlook on life. What is most surprising about these cases, though, is not that some transplant patients emerge as different people after an operation, but that the changes are so specific. "It's a targeted personality change," says Professor Schwartz. "If this is the result of drugs, or stress, or coincidence, none of those would predict the specific patterns of information that would match the donor." If Professor Schwartz and his ilk <cite>are </cite>right, it would destroy one of the foundation stones of modern biology. But then again, modern biology has a guilty little secret: it has, as yet, no viable theory to explain how we store memories and how we produce consciousness. In fact, scientists haven't even managed to define what exactly consciousness is, let alone managed to pin down where it comes from and where it is to be found within the body. So maybe, just maybe, the poets, romantics and mystics throughout the ages were right: the heart really is the seat of our emotions and of our souls. And if we can transplant hearts, then perhaps it's not so fanciful to suggest that some part of the spirit goes with them. Who knows - one day doctors may even be able to offer a "character transplant".

Without Christianity and its offspring Islam there would be no Western civilization which could be used to spread the yuga-dharma. At least that much should be understood. Prabhupāda: Then why, why she quotes Jesus? If she does not believe in Jesus, why she’s giving evidence from Jesus? Pṛthu: She says like if she makes a comparison like if today there is a car crash, then all the people will say something different and the information will differ from the original car crash. So she says, in the same way, what Jesus did and said is now twisted around so nobody can actually give… Prabhupāda: That means everyone has rejected Jesus. Pṛthu: …that what Jesus said, this is all right, but what is now made of it, this one shouldn’t take wordly. Prabhupāda: Hm? Pṛthu: She says what Jesus said is all right, but what is now existing from that, one should not take wordly. Haṁsadūta: Literally. Prabhupāda: Hm? I do not follow. Haṁsadūta: That which has been written down about his activities or his speaking cannot be accepted literally because who knows. Prabhupāda: Then why do you quote? Pṛthu: So she makes a difference what is true and what is not true. Prabhupāda: But if you, if you cannot follow Bible literally, then where is the truth? …new truth. Pṛthu: So she speaks of a fashion today, that there’s a fashion going on, and she says this fashion is all right, and this fashion is that one takes all the miracles and all the mythological things out of the Bible, and one causes… Prabhupāda: So there is no truth. It is all hodge-podge. Pṛthu: Yeah, so she agrees on your point that everyone takes what he likes, and that she says is what… Prabhupāda: So it is a hodge-podge. Pṛthu: So she again says that she cannot accept the points of the Bible where there is mention of miracles. Prabhupāda: Hm? Pṛthu: She again says that one cannot accept the portions of the Bible where there are statements… Prabhupāda: Now, once she said that those things cannot be taken now literally. Pṛthu: Yeah. Prabhupāda: Then what is the use of taking Bible? Pṛthu: …that one always has to take the truth from the untruth, also in Bible. Prabhupāda: This is nonsense. From untruth, how there can be truth? (end) Room Conversation with German Women Philosophers His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda June 17, 1974, Germany

Great post, reminds of the good ole days ISKCON - give him the sauce, yes, vedic tradition.

Well your point is clear, quotes from sastra are of import, Prabhupada's purports need to be highlighted: "CAUTION:THIS IS SOMEONE ELSE'S OPINION". Only problem, makes you look above Prabhupada.

Someone who is attached to his/her body, cremation - someone who isn't attached, whatever. "It is difficult, however, for the conditioned soul to enter another body unless the present dead body is annihilated through cremation or some other means." SB7.2.37 1. Causelessmercy - Ebook - Sri Caitanya-caritamrta - Madya-lila - 16.5 Temporary renunciation, or monkey renunciation, is like the renunciation one feels at a cremation ground. When a man ... he returns from the cremation grounds, he again engages <small>http://causelessmercy.com/Madhya16.5.htm </small> 2. Causelessmercy - Ebook - Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead - 57 How mercilessly you have been killed! The dead body of Satrājit was not immediately removed for cremation because Satyabhāmā wanted to go to Kṛṣṇa in Hastināpura. <small>http://causelessmercy.com/KB57.htm </small> 3. Causelessmercy - Room Conversation - March 31, 1977, Bombay He used to say it is cremation ground. Yes, without tilaka. Pasanta mukha.(? Tilaka must be there. And so far dress is concerned, you can dress up to the taste of the modern <small>http://causelessmercy.com/t/t/770331rc.bom.htm </small> 4. Causelessmercy - Room Conversation - December 13, 1970, Indore He personally took the body and cremated on the bank of the Samudra and he performed the funeral ceremony. Haridāsa Ṭhākura was so And he was given the title nāmācārya, <small>http://causelessmercy.com/t/t/701213rc.ind.htm </small> 5. Causelessmercy - Morning Walk - January 29, 1977, Bhubaneswar break]Prabhupāda: They have mation. What is that? Cremation ? [break]Satsvarūpa: This year in the United States several temples had very good success by advertising a cooking <small>http://causelessmercy.com/t/t/770129mw.bhu.htm </small> 6. Causelessmercy - Ebook - Bhagavad Gita As It Is - 2.2 When the tiger was killed, it would be offered the royal order of cremation. This system is being followed even up to the present day by the kṣatriya kings of Jaipur state. The <small>http://causelessmercy.com/Bg2.2.htm </small> 7. Causelessmercy - Ebook - Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead - 51 turned into stool or is cremated in the crematorium and turned into ashes or is put into an earthly grave where different kinds of worms and insects are produced out of it. My <small>http://causelessmercy.com/KB51.htm </small> 8. Causelessmercy - Ebook - Srimad-Bhagavatam - Canto 7 - 2.1 dead body is annihilated through cremation or some other means. The living being has attachment for the present body and does not want to enter another, and thus in the interim he <small>http://causelessmercy.com/SB7.2.1.htm </small> 9. Causelessmercy - Ebook - The Journey of Self-Discovery - 7 Your browser does not support scripts. ... Śyāmasundara, while traveling around the world. ... Plato believed society can enjoy prosperity and harmony only if it places people in <small>http://causelessmercy.com/JSD7.htm </small> 10. Causelessmercy - Ebook - Srimad-Bhagavatam - Canto 7 - 2.2 a cemetery or place of cremation. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā, four classes of men receive an understanding of spiritual life and God ārta (the distressed), jijñāsu (the <small>http://causelessmercy.com/SB7.2.2.htm</small>

Since ISKCON Europe became a place unhabitable for any sincere Vaishnava many devotees go to the Church again and like recently even have their marriage ceremony there. And this is backed up by Prabhupada. Even in India we read: Devotee in Bombay having doubts ... Oh my God - this shakes me up like anything.... I stay in Mumbai and everything seems so confusing now.. ************ dasa

Vaishnavas don't invent, they mainly repeat and behave respectful. "They are three million in India still. There is statistics. Three millions persons who are in renounced order of… Sādhu, they are called sādhu. They do not come. So these three millions mahātmās, those who are engaged, they may be, some of them may be impersonalists, some of them may be yogis, some of them are devotees. That doesn’t matter, because they are also engaged in understanding the Absolute Truth. The impersonalist, they’re in the beginning stage, but they are not materialists. They are not materialists. They are trying to understand the Absolute Truth. They cannot accommodate the Absolute Truth, the Supreme, can be a person. That is their less intelligence. But they are engaged in searching out." Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.5.11 by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda New Vrindaban, June 10, 1969

<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td class="icon" width="24"> </td><td class="cattitle">Q&A: Memorials for the Dead</td><td class="itemsubsub"><nobr>Apr 10, '08 12:11 PM</nobr> for everyone</td></tr></tbody></table> Here's another of my Q&As. What are your thoughts? What happens when our bodies die? Should death be memorialized?<center> Lord Jagannatha, Lord of the Universes</center> An anonymous poster asks: <table class="txt1" align="center" border="0" cellspacing="3" width="720"><tbody><tr><td valign="top"> </td><td valign="top"> Dear John of AllFaith, I would like to know why there are no memorials for the dead in Hinduism, and also why death is not necessarily seen as a bad thing in Hinduism. Thank you!</td></tr></tbody></table> My Reply: Hi, There is a wonderful teaching in the Srimad Bhagavad Gita (Hindu's premiere scripture) that addresses this so let's begin there. A most gruesome civil war (the War of Kuruksetra) was about to begin and the greatest of all Pandava archers, Arujuna ("Arjun"), is perplexed and disheartened, understanding that his loved ones on both sides would soon kill and be killed. Lamenting, he tells his guru and dear friend Sri Krsna ("Krishna"), "I will not fight!": 2:10: O descendant of Bharata [Dhritarastra], in the midst of both armies Hrishikesha [sri Krsna], smiling as it were, said these words unto the lamenting [Arjuna]: 2:11: The Blessed One said: While speaking learned words, you are mourning for what is not worthy of grief. Those who are wise lament neither for the living nor for the dead. 2:12: Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor all these kings, nor in the future shall any of us cease to be. 2:13: As the embodied soul continuously passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul also passes into another body at death. A sober person is not bewildered by such a change. 2:14: O son of Kunti, sensory perceptions afflict one with cold, heat, pleasure and pain. They appear and disappear and are impermanent. Therefore endure them all O descendant of Bharata. 2:15: One who is never distressed, O best among men, and who remains unaltered [in the face of] suffering and pleasure and is patient, he is eligible for immortality. 2:16: Being does not come from the non-existent, nor does non-being arise from the eternal. This is the considered conclusion of those who see the truth. 2:17,18: Know you by Whom all this imperishable is pervaded. The destruction of this immutable is not possible for anyone. All these bodies are perishable, but it is said of the eternal embodied soul that it is indestructible and immeasurable, therefore fight, O descendant of Bharata. 2:19: Anyone who considers the slayer or anyone who knows the slain and thinks him killer or killed lacks discernment. No one slays nor is anyone slain. 2:20: It [the immutable soul] is not born, It does not die, at no time did It come into being, nor will It come into being hereafter. It is unborn, eternal, permanent and ancient. It is not killed when the body is slain. 2:21: How can that person who knows the soul to be indestructible, eternal, unborn and immutable, O child of Partha, slay anyone or cause another to kill. 2:22: Just as a man casts off worn out clothing and accepts new ones, even so the embodied soul discards worn out bodies and enters into different ones. 2:23, 24: This soul cannot be severed by weapons, burnt by fire, dampened with water, nor dried by the wind. It is unbreakable, nonflammable, It cannot be dampened nor dried. It is eternal and all-pervading, equable, immovable and eternally constant. 2:25 - 28: The soul is said to be unmanifested; It is inconceivable and unchanging. Therefore, knowing the soul to be thus, you should not lament. Moreover, if you determine the soul to be constantly born and eternally dying, even then, O mighty armed one, you ought not to lament. For those born death is certain and for those dead birth is certain. For the sake of the inevitable you ought not lament. All beings are unmanifested in the beginning, manifested in the middle, and again unmanifested in the end. O descendant of Bharata, where therein is cause for lamentation? 2:29: Some see the soul as amazing. Some speak of the soul as amazing, while others hear of it as amazing. Still, no one truly knows the soul. 2:30: One whose rampart is the material body is actually an eternal and indestructible soul encased within a material form. This is the situation of all living entities, O descendant of Bharata, therefore you do not deserve to lament. (Source: My translation: http://www.a.com) Rather than encourage mourning and emotional anguish, Indian society has typically accepted physical transformation as a natural part of Samsara (the Eternal Dance of life and death). Indeed, within the foundation of Hindu thought we see this acceptance of death. It is believed that, 'God is One, the sages use different names'. How this Oneness manifests is the topic of countless treatise and debates, but Hinduism, at large, considers that the One God, the One "by Whom all this imperishable is pervaded," is knowable in three essential forms: Brahma: The Creator and First Cause Visnu/Narayana: The Sustainer and Maintainer Siva/Rudra: The Destroyer, Transformer Life is the endless dance. "Those who are wise lament neither for the living nor for the dead." Hope this helps, ~John of AllFaith ~Jagannatha Prakasa

This is not what Prabhupada taught how to deal with other religions. In fact Prabhupada never spoke like that in public. To hear this from a senior ISKCON member, resident of Prabhupada Village, strikes me at odd. At least we should try to follow the example of previous acaryas and not shoot forward and create chaos.

It is a brilliant idea to make us conscious that there're so many things that can be learned in Vaishnavism. Never heard for example so much about Krishna's grandparents, now I found this at Govindarupini's blog, http://blog.360./blog-VrfvFr42dLCRSi1h70.xwYxrhd4U?p=905: <dl class="body"><dt class="post-head">Entry for April 09, 2008 - Sri Vraja-Vilasa-Stava (part 3)</dt><dd class="post-body last"> 13. Aho! I offer pranama unto Sri Krsna's paternal grandfather, Sri Parjanya-gopa, who proclaims his pride in having Krsna as his grandson in a voice that mocks the roaring of millions of thunderclouds, and who always delights his grandson by speaking many joking words in His ear. 14. I offer pranama to Variyasi-devi, Krsna's paternal grandmother. With merry joking words she worships Sri Krsna, calling Him the moon of grandsons. Happy and proud of her grandson, her feet no longer touch the ground when she walks. 15. His face handsome with a great white beard, and his complexion dark, the pious Upananda is the respected prime minister in the council of the king of Vraja. He is prepared to give up his life millions of times over to please his nephew Sri Krsna. I pray that Upananda, who lives in the village of Sahara, may always protect the land of Vraja. 16. May we always be protected by Nanda Maharaja's younger brother Sannanda, whose complexion is golden and whose beard is black; who is tender, generous and affectionate; who is deeply devoted to his older brother's feet; who is the father of Sunanda-gopi; who is the master of a great herd of buffalo; and who worships his nephew Madhava with every breath and pleases Him by giving Him palatable dishes made with buffalo yogurt. 17. Upananda's son Subhadra is dark complexioned, youthful, handsome, intelligent, and mild natured. He is the best of astrologers and more learned than even Brhaspati. Always at the left side of the King of Vraja, he gives good advice for protecting Krsna, who is millions of times more dear to him than his own. life. With great love I offer pranama unto Subhadra. 18. Frightened that the delicate Krsna may be hurt by the demons, Ambika performed severe austerities for many days to please Goddess Parvati. Satisfied, Devi granted her a heroic son who was able to kill many demons. May Sri Krsna's wet nurse Ambika, whose mind is always absorbed in maternal affection of Him, protect us. 19. Saying "Where are the demons? With ease I shall shorten their lives," Vijaya, the son of Krsna's wet nurse, calls so loudly that his roaring voice causes milions of spiritual universes to crack, what to speak of the demons, who are the most insignificant of living beings! Out of maternal affection for Krsna, Ambika instructed her son Vijaya to always stay near little Krsna to protect Him. I worship Vijaya, the son of Krsna's wet nurse. </dd></dl>

Well this is not the point I tried to make, how actually people in general see it. If you come up with what you believe, your subjective personal understanding, you might say, I don't believe in Jesus etc. etc. But the general mass of people will consider what I said and you also see that I'm right how people in general presently behave towards the Vaishnava institutions with increasing suspicion. How can it be otherwise?

Looks also that Jesus' teachings are meanwhile posing a severe threat to present Vaishnava institutions in that sense, that there's a clear supremacy in Christianity when it comes to the succession system. Jesus still has the power to liberate his followers, whereas present Vaishnava institutions say no, the current link has to be physically present. Next, when priests deviate this doesn't seem to destroy the faith in Jesus since 2000 years. However, when a guru of present Vaishnava institutions falls down this is different, something like when Jesus falls down or deviates. In other words, present Vaishnava institutions put up with it that the absolute principle, the inner core of Vaishnavism so to speak can fail. Could be that in the long term that such religions with more solid stability are the clear winners.

April 9, 2008...2:34 pm Dusty Feet http://jahnavi.wordpress.com/2008/04/09/dusty-feet/ I have just come home from Vrindavan and Mayapur and I realise now why people wear those ‘I Lost My Heart in Vrindavan’ t-shirts. I always thought they were pretty corny, but I suddenly feel the same way; as if I am incomplete now that I’m back in England. As usual, I regret not trying to blog while I was there. There has been so much that I wanted to write about, but I never feel like wasting time in front of a computer screen when I’m in the dham. It’s one of the only places where my desire to check my emails and be in touch with the internet community abates to an almost non existent level. My trip was both wonderfully inspiring, and equally as frustrating at times. I feel like the increased concentration of Krsna conscious activity and the intensely spiritual atmosphere sometimes made me only more aware of how little devotion I have and how out of control my mind is, even after being removed from the more distracting environment that I have here at home. Sometimes I felt like a fish, swimming upstream, struggling to stay focused on my priorities of gaining spiritual juice and trying to cultivate some good habits to continue in England. But sometimes there was no struggle, and the stream of Krishna’s mercy simply carried me effortlessly, giving me a tiny taste of what it really means to experience the unique treasures the dham has to offer. I guess I’ll write more about some of the experiences I had in the next weeks. For now, it’s unfortunately back to university and 14,000 words or so to write. O Lord of Madhu, as the Ganges forever flows to the sea without hindrance, let my attraction be constantly drawn unto You without being diverted to anyone else. (SB. 1.8.42)