Gaea

found it on my travels on the web, dont have the url at hand i'm afraid... why do you find it "haunting"? I thought it was beautiful!

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Football Football Football

I'm Gaea, and i hate it when people call football soccer hehehehe

http://www.hinduvoice.co.uk/Issues/6/Ramdev.htm

what's the definition of "shastra"? i think perhaps the old testaments in their original forms can be considered what i think is shastra. The modern version of the bible - well, i don't know, but i'm sure there are splotches of the original philosophy in their also.

You're right you shouldnt take anything for face value without verification - that's what your dicrimination and intelligence is for. But then, why bother with anything if you rubbish it point-blank? Enquire, learn, experience - you have to make these efforts and perhaps you will experiences too.

And Narasimhdeva ripped the belly of a king with his bare hands but that doesn't mean we can. Everything an avatar of godly person, like Christ/Prabhupada, does is according to the time, the place and people. That's why there are subtle and sometimes gross differences between leaders. As for smoking etc., i don't suppose the heavens are denied to you because of these but the fact is that when your mind is attached to these things then that much of your mind is not attached to god.

who says they don't visit? Perhaps we just cant see them... i remember reading about one Janmasthami at Bhativedanta Manor where Prabhupada mentioned that he could see all the dg's around!

thats the beauty of Prabhuapada's teaching - love for Krsna is everything! Even if you have difficulty accepting the Lord as supreme (e.g. if you come from a advaitya background like i do) it is very dificult to resist that compelling love.

Totally understand what you're going through. I used to be in your position, to the point where there actually whole months of my life that i can't recall any more. Anyway, you're on the right path - you know you have a problem and you're trying to do something about it. It's down to will power. Dont let anyone tell you its difficult to give up - it really isn't. Addiction to drugs is a social dogma - many people i know personally gave up quite easily with the right direction. Not all of them went for spiritual awakening, but all of them found some distraction they can apply their minds to - like going to gym, meditation, chanting, etc. I hope you find your distraction!

who does one chant for or perform service for? is it for one's own spiritual benefit? That's certainly my motivation - I want to love God more, I want to be a better devotee, etc etc - my motivations are separate from the interests of God. So in a way everyone begins as a separatist. Until you realise that you should be doing it for his glory, not your own. Easy enough to say but so difficult to do.

also look up the underwater cities off the coast of Gujarat - there is some speculation that the city is 7000 years old. Some people also saying this was the original Dwaraka, but in my opinion it can't be (judging from descriptions in SB and Mahabharata). sorry for giving you points one by one - i'm just posting as i remember stuff.

also try the archaeolgy series written by arnold cremo (iskcon devotee) - VERY scientific and boring at time but it has the juice, so to speak.

google things like "saraswati lake" or "david frawley". The lake, which was actually situated in the middle east, was a meeting place for the ancient sages of india. Saraswati river's course is clearly described in Vedas, but the river and lake dried up 5000 years ago, which proves the Vedas are at least older than that. Satellite images now prove that the river and lake did exist - all of this is welll documented in the works of David Frawley.

whoaaa, there, soldier... where did THAT come from?! Slow down... i'm not in ISKCON myself but there are many Swamis that i have met that really genuinly are good Vaishanavs (in my opinion) and do not seem to have any hidden agendas at all. There is one particular maharaj at my local temple who is totally connected with the visiting devotees and very down-to-earth. This dosn't mean to say there are some dodgy ones around, but we can't blanket-ban the entire organisation because of a corrupt few.

i think he abandoned it in the arms of Krsna. So whatever rascals come and go, KRsna bhakti due to the grace of Srila Prabhupada will always prevail in ISKCON.

I have stayed out of this discussion but would just like to say that i think this is a good blend and attitude. Yes, there are going to be contradictions etc. in scripture that do not hold scientifically but then again scripture, especially Vedic ones, are extremely poetic and wedo not always see the hidden meanings. But why should we care for such contradictions? Afterall the Vedas are a spiritual guide, not a scientific one.

I think you mean "yeast" rather than "jeast"? Mushrooms and yeast have hardly anything in common except that they are both fungi. Mushrooms are multicellular like plants but yeast is more like bacteria, unicellular. Also, Quorn is a no-no because it contains egg white - at least it does in the UK anyway.

or they just can't be bothered to sign in or sign up, but just want to give an opinion about something. Why should anyone be bothered if someone wants to remain anonymous? That is their prerogative.

we have tables and chairs. but my relatives back in india still eat on the floor even though there is a table. Perhaps its tradition - tables i think were only used to eat on after the British came along. Or maybe there;s something more spriritual to it, like when you go to a temple you sit on the floor - an act of humility and acceptance that you are the disciple and God is greater than you.

The Muslim guest is right on several points - men do cheat, science is flawed (because of our imperfect senses) and, from the quotes taken from the Q'ran rather than Hadith, meat-eating seems to be endorsed so long as slaughter is done on a stone altar. For me, i'd rather not wash my spirit with the blood of Krsna's animals. But that's me.

i would say not just mantra, but also hearing/speaking pastimes etc. and, i guess, preaching.

most breads in the UK all seem to be ok, containing no animal products whatsoever. i know the US has major issues in this regard with both bread and dairy products.

neither can a disabled mute with severe brain damage. Plants are of the same substance as humans - they "eat", breed, grow and make up a larger part of the biosphere than all animal life put together - even scientists call plants living! Remember when the 2 gandharvas (?) were turned into trees in Vrindavan, only to be released by Krsna? They had souls!! What to speak of plants, bacteria and viruses... hell, how do you know even rocks don't have souls? Just because they do not conform to our very narrow definition of life doesn't mean there is no sould there. Even the Sun planet - why say there is no life there even, just because our bodies are too frail to live in such conditions does not mean god didn't create beings that could. I ramble, sorry!