swan

To quote Krsna, "I am the healing herb" So all of these different basils, of which there seems to be many, must have some potency of healing in varying degrees. It just appears that Tulasi seems to be favourite No.1 or most 'sacred basil' Perhaps the others like Greek basil etc. are all in her family and are hybrids of the original Tulasi i.e. expansions of her glories, to be appreciated in different cultures. (speculation) One thing for sure all of their aroma is very heart-intoxicating. Just reading about Tulasi devi seems to have an unexplainable purifying effect, that makes me somehow feel very fortunate to know of her divine nature. (Q.)If she is in a plant form is she serving in Santa Rasa at the same time as Vrnda devi serves in personal higher rasa ? Also if Srimati Radharani aspires to her service to gain the favour of Krsna, how can it be she was more devoted than Sri Radha before Radharani, How is such a thing possible? Or is it just one of those inconceivable oneness and difference conceptions? For I have heard that Srimati Radharani attains her wonderful devotion through serving Tulasi in her previous life, which begs the question, what previous life? Or where did she come from if she is Krsnas' eternal consort? Just puzzled! More queries for the pandits and devotees.

Lots of wonderful and nourishing information. Thankyou ever so much to Jayaradhe and Jnadas. Hopefuly with all this good instruction I can now endeavour to aspire to the service of this beautiful devotee. Srimate Tulasi devi ki jaya and the Audarya devotees devoted to Srimate Tulasi devi ki jaya.

First of all I really love this topic and most of the submissions are very enlightening. Although I'm only a neophyte devotee if one at all, I was wondering if some of you more advanced devotees can help me with some questions. That is, if one should prune Tulasi devi regarding dead branches, also regarding how to prune manjaris, I've noticed the Lord accepts manjari garlands, so how does that work with the four leaf principle. Also what if a branch is broken some way by the wind and consequently the leaves wither but are still on the branch? I'm very much into gardening and most plants love pruning to flourish further, what about those branches that have barely any leaves that are struggling, do you let them die or do you try to heal in some way, or prune? And in what way does one pick leaves, does anyone have specific prayers or can they be spontaneous like "Please teach me the art of your devotion to the Lord and His devotees". Also regarding giving her to others, what responsibility rests on the givers shoulders? Is it recommended to plant her out in the ground, as I noticed in Hawaii they did this and She thrived big time like into groves but then I noticed even devotees insensitively walking past her, brushing up against her, and totally neglecting her presence, as if she were just another mundane plant, also in Vrndavan we find this same neglect, which can be very disturbing. Another question is what do the experts recommend to feed or fertilize her besides Love and devotion? Thank you all for your help so far.

This thread has become very interesting, there's a lot of stuff coming out and I can't help but feel that even though Rishi Prabhu seems to be getting a bit of a thrashing from some quarter, I also applaud his courage in revealing himself and his sincerity and strength of character is shining through despite his dilemma. And your post valaya has moved me to tears, so open and honest,it's given me a big stick which I sorely need. I spend so much of my life beating my poor husband up because he doesn't seem to perform to my requirements, when in fact he is a good and honest man and deep down I feel he wishes me no ill and has deep affection for me, although like you say, like most men has difficulty in expressing intimate emotion, but I'd sure love him to try. Men dodn't like to feel vulnerable, it goes against their instinct. But you are right, they definitely need to, if not for them for the women in their life. A man's strong and loving involvement in the life of his partner speaks thunderbolts to her. Even though there is so much exploitation in the world from both genders, I appreciate the qualities of men very much when they're well-adjusted, and I'm sure the men feel the same way about the women. My father was a great man in my eyes,with wonderful qualities. In your post you say, we mean so much to you (men), how I hanker to hear those words from my husband. But no matter, your post has enlived me to try again to be a better wife, I wish to be like a swan (my sentimental aspiration) for him, not a crow or raven. But the genders do speak a different language at times, I do believe it, notso much literally of course, but the intent behind it. But I want to be there for him, to give support seeking to undertand him, we have to try and understand each other. We need to let each other know that we ar precious to each other and to really be precious. I wish him joy and all spiritual success and if I can be an instrument to help bring about any of those then Lord let me be it. Getting back to Rishi Prabhu I like some, think from your posts that your girlfriend has found it rather easy to put the responsibility of your 'falldown' on your shoulders, taking responsibility for our own lust is not easy and her own responsibility for her own lust is obviously too much for her to bear, hence better you wear it. But I was thinking that the Lord puts us into distress to purify us, teach us lessons. You're ready for this lesson, she is not, and it may even happen again with her in another relationship down the track. I doubt whether it will happen to you, unless the Lord has some other purpose for it. You're learning your lesson and you will gain a little more entrance into a higher and deeper understanding. Srimad Bhagavatam says learned devotees accept even conditions of distress just to relieve or purify the devotee from the contamination of the material world. While one is within this material world one is in various conditions and therefore a devotee sees a condition of distress as but another feature of the Lord.This cannot be understood by non-devotees but the devotee can see this because he is vipascit, or learned. It's sometimes a huge ask to see the Lord in all our distressed conditions, because some times it feels as if due to so much distress, that we want to turn away, or worst still feel that it is killing our spiritual life in small increments, because we cannot focus with equipoise on keeping steady on the path until the hurricane blows over. This one will blow over Rishi Prabhu and you'll be the wiser. Thanks megaheaps for sharing your life. And also thanks to Jayaradhe for welcoming me to these forums. As you can see my contribution is not profound but I love to speak my heart with kind devotees and I can see that most everyone here are beautiful people. In your service Swan

Hare Krsna. I'm new to this forum but have been reading for a little while. I'm a young Mum and although I'd like to participate in these forums I don't feel at all qualified to really make a worthwhile contribution and my time is little. But I'd like to comment on what I've read in this thread about mysogenism. It seems every philosophical or religious path in the world to some degree, except buddhism, from my own personal understanding, is to some degree mysogenistic, or should I say gives the impression to the aspiraant studying it that women are indeed inferior, lesser in various way, especially those ways the men feel are the most important, eg intelligence, discernment, women are deceitful etc. etc. etc. Is it little wonder that the male gender grows to take on board these conceptions, colour them with their own viewpoints and consider them truth, because 'the book' says so. Mysogeny in females, i.e. hatred towards men, I personally feel develops from being treated and seen as inferior, ie exploited,it's a defence mechanism. Women exploit too but they don't have the position or power to exploit big time like men do. I feel myself after years of emotional and mental abuse that I too unfortunately are developing a mistrust of men. OK I've exploited obviously like everyone else to some degree, but a lot of men, and devotee men just as much as karmi men, seem to think that their monopoly on exploitation is excuseable.