Gaea

Shalom! (my knowledge is poor, I'm soon going to run out of these - haha) That's a good description... did you get the feeling that the more you write the more insufficient the description will be? It's weird... I have a strange sense of knowing what love is, or what it's supposed to be, but no amount of words in my vocab can ever describe it.. or even it's reason.... (if there is one) I think it will take an entire lifetime for me or more - if there is still an internet around at the end of my life, I may well reply to this message if i'm lucky enough Say hi from me

Salaam All! (just to have a different greeting ) I haven't posted here in YEARS, but I've popped in now and again to see the odd discussion - the same battles are still raging, which is good to see since it means everyone is at least a seeker. Here's a question that buzzed between my sister and I - and one I remember posting here about 5 years ago under a different name... Still no closer to an answer... What is Love? How do I Love? These are absolutely fundamental questions (to me at least) - I really do try to experience Love (I equate it with Bhakti, some may disagree with that though) but just get seem to get the floodgates open. Any thoughts?

Yes, why not? The grafts have thousands of plant cells, each with their individual soul. Same as your body - 1 trillion LIVING cells make up your body, each with their souls. And why stop there? Perhaps we can go even more microscopic!

No Avidya literally means "no knowledge" Maya means illusion Prakriti is the material nature Durga Devi and Shakti are two different forms of Shiva's consort.

Th bindis look like third eyes - could be an indication of Siva-Shakti. Shiva and his consort often are portrayed together.

i understand... thanks! if we are all comfortable like this then we can all concentrate on the bhakti bit instead of arguing about the nitty gritty of every word. Still, i think the "hidden meanings" should be sought - otherwise, what's the point in having them there? i guess we have to have faith that Krsna gives us the tools we need to find those meanings, if indeed we are worthy.

Not just the lesson... I don't, well I can't believe that words of SB or any other scripture are wasted in any way. Whether allegorical or literal or somewhere in between, what is the meaning of those actions? In other words, making of a demon from the hair - what is that a metaphor for? What is the meaning? I think this type of enquiry is encouraged by SB and we can get something meaningful for our lives and bhakti out of it.

love this! please publish worldwide

why is dancing or laughing in ecstacy heresy?

Much about the "lesser" demigods can be found in the Rg Veda as well as other Vedic texts - I don't know about other texts specifically. Also within the Ramayana and Mahabharatha, and more so in Srimad Bhagvatham, there is plenty of "history" about the demigods. Incidentally, I don't think Hanuman is a demigod - depends on your classification systsyem i guess - but he is a True Devotee of Rama, which far outstrips any demigod by a long shot in my opinion.

we've really got to ask the question why devotees, be they Vaishanavas or whatever, feel is necessary to lambast other religions or religious figures? Maybe to prove a point of some kind, but perhaps more subtely perhaps because of a little insecurity that they have within them? There's been a few threads about Christ and other religious figures in recent months on this forum where the opposition is more angry than skeptical, inquisitive or doubtful. When the case is such maybe it's best just to leave those topics alone and just concentrate on Love and Service.... haha, i just re-read that - it's best to just concentrate on Love and Service all the time i should say

technically the wife-buring thing in India is illegal, but there are isolated incidents that I hae heard about. There is definately a religious origin - Madri, wife of Pandu, burned herself at the pyre. What does it mean? I don't know - perhaps it is testimony of the Lakshmi-Visnu relationship that used to exist between husband and wife in previous yugas.

I see how one can get confused over this... Brahma, Visnu, Shiva are like the holy trinity of the Vedas. Vaisnavas (esp. HK etc) believe Krsna is the ORIGINAL Personality from which these three originate so in that context Krsna IS NOT an incarnation of Visnu. Other Hindus believe the impersonal aspect of God is Supreme and to them Krsna is indeed an incarnation of Visnu. As Beggar said, Brahma and Brahman are DIFFERENT. Brahma is the three-headed creator who sits in the lotus. Brahman on the other hand is the impersonal aspect of God. The Brahmanas that you speak of are the priest caste in Hinduism - they aren't necessarily Brahma or Brahman worshippers.

As powerful as they come He was totally undefeatable because of His devotion to Ram.

Being a heretic is a-ok

gHari, I don't think of argumentation as a purifying process. In fact, any time that i have entered into a debate on this forum or in person etc i have always felt dipensed of all energy and my mind becomes agitated. You're right - devotion is the right way. Love is the way

I think this picture puts this argument to rest. Bart Simpson, a boy from an American Christian family, meets the personal God. See?

Guest, How do you know mahakji is not practicing the highest? He has just glorified Christ, which is a very right thing to do since He is the servant of the Lord. Has he given up Krsna worship in any way? No. And if you think he has - why do you think so? Mahakji - I think your admiration for Christ after 30 yrs in Krsna worship is but a result of Krsna worship itself. It's truly fantastic to see devotees becoming more open minded than closed minded, which is as it should be.

One Love! One Heart! Let's get together and feel all right!

This is so nice Good timing, too!!

i've been to the forests that were formally known as Hindambavan and surrounding areas and also went to where Sita was kidnapped - i imagine the ashrams of the sages were around these areas too (some of them at least) - i went in Jan-Feb and the weather was difficult. It was foggy, quite cold. Living in a mud hut would have been very, very hard at that time. Other forests i'm not sure of tho.

There are some excellent points here. Thank you!

freaky enough to creep my aunt out - moohahahahaha <evil laugh>

i must say i'm a little skeptical but nonetheless intrigued! Do you have a link for the video footage?