Nrsinghadev

Hare Krishna, since all is Krishna's energy actually everything is spiritual. Therefore, that body which is always fully engaged in the service of Sri Sri Radha Krishna is considered to be a spiritual body. It may be temporary and made of the gross elements, but that gross energy is also Krishna's energy. So if that gross energy is used in service of the Supreme Lord, it taken as spiritual. "HK's" is another one such terms that has come into existence recently, but who cares? I as a so-called "HK", never used the word "Karmi" in my life and yes we say Supreme Personality of Godhead simply to clarify that it is indeed Lord Krishna who is the source of all sources. It doesn't matter if nobody uses these terms in India. it may simply be because either they don't have a deep enough grasp of the English language and/or don't speak English (and why should they, after all, they're in India?). As far as Vedic culture/sanatana dharma is concerned it would be better to ask: what Vedic culture/sanatana dharma? They are not even following it. Anyhow all these terms as such are not important, but the understanding of them is. As far as the question goes this is what Narada Muni states in Srimad Bhagavatam: As far as Lord Brahma is concerned maybe somebody else can clarify the issue, I'd be happy to hear about it. Haribol!

Actually the analogy still stands. I shall attempt to establish the answer to the both quotations simultaneously. The teachings of Buddha and Shankaracharya were both instigated by the Supreme Lord to bring those who abused the authority and prescribed rituals of the Vedas for selfish purposes to a higher understanding. First the Lord Himself came as Lord Buddha to reject the Vedas whilst with His teachings He was still adhering to sattvic principles which were lost and forgotten by the miscreants. By decrying the Vedas, Lord Buddha's teaching were accepted by the miscreants and so they were cheated into piety. Then, to reestablish the authority of the Vedas amongst the masses of miscreants who had now accepted Lord Buddha's teachings, the Supreme Lord asked His dearmost devotee Lord Shiva to make his appearance as Shankaracharya in order to bring the now Buddhistic people a step up to accept the authority of the Vedas again, while still adhering to a largely Buddhistic philosophy but now under the wing of the Vedas. Although Lord Shiva did not like to preach a false doctrine, he nevertheless did so out of love for Sri Krishna, and being His best devotee he understood that whatever he had to do must be neccesary and part of a bigger plan for the greater good of mankind. Shankaracharya's teachings were so influential that they almost completely dispersed any Buddhist philosophy out of India, and today we can still see most of the nations surrounding India are or were Buddhistic while in India they are not the dominating religion. So once the Buddhists were turned into mayavadis, they were being prepared for the next step, the acceptance of a Supreme Lord, a Supreme Person as established by the Vedas. That lost truth was then reintroduced to India by Lord Krishna's most merciful avatara, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who blessed the world by (re)establishing the eternal tattva of acintya bheda abheda. Pancha tattva ki jay! So half-truths and blatant lies were established in order to bring the ignorant from their nightmarish sleeping condition to their waking state. So those teachings that were falsified by the next, that was all authorized by the Supreme Lord and not only that, they were predicted in the shastra as well. Therefore, because the false doctrines were authorized and/or established by the Supreme Lord Himself, the analogy can still be considered to be within context. There is only one eternal truth, one sanatana dharma, and that was established by Supreme Lord Sri Krishna when He first spoke the Bhagavad-Gita which was then propounded by our guru parampara following the disciplic succession. All other religions are simply steps on the ladder, temporary patches applied according to time and circumstance in order to bring the conditioned souls to a higher level of consciousness. Some but not all of them false, most of them containing the basic truths, but incomplete and mixed with fruitive results. For example, a religion that preaches compassion on the one hand, but on the other hand allows the slaughter of innocent animals for man's sense gratification can never be accepted as complete or eternal truth, because there is a concession that; "all right these people cannot be stopped in their want for sense indulgence, so let their sense gratification be done according to religious principles". So Jesus is considered to be a nitya-mukta jiva by Vaisnavas, in other words an eternally liberated soul. Always enlightened. He descended from the spiritual plane to spread God consciousness amongst the uncultured. Where Jesus preached they were killers of man and animal, and they were cheaters also, so he had to adjust his teachings accordingly. Like Prabhupada said; "they were in the business of killing, otherwise why would God speak the first commandment to Moses: Thou shallt not kill? That means they were already killers." Similarly shankaracharya, who is Lord Shiva, how can he not be enlightened as he is an almost complete manifestation of Lord Krishna? But to please his worshipable Lord, he preached the false mayavadi doctrine with pain in his sweet heart. Therefore it is not for nothing that before departing this world Shankaracharya spoke the famous words: "bhaja govindam bhaja govindam govindam bhaja mudha mate sampraapte sannihite kale nahi nahi rakshati dukrijnkarane" "Worship Govinda, Worship Govinda, Worship Govinda. Oh fool! Rules of Grammar will not save you at the time of your death." So, truth doesn't change with the times, but people do change with the times, therefore every now and then they need to be shown some direction according to their eligibility to comprehend spiritual teachings. There is no oneness in all philosophies, there are countless of baseless bogus concocted philosophies going round. Now to find which teaching establishes for us the actual and factual eternal function of the soul or jaiva dharma. It is that dharma which stands the test of time, so when we read genesis from the bible we can establish that it did not stand the test of time. When we read of a God who is full of wrath and always active in chastising mankind, we can understand that this is not God's superior mood and it makes Him attached to this material world. When we read a scripture or teaching where it is said there is no God, everything is void, it begets the statement "nothing cannot be the cause of something, something is the cause of something". When a philosophy states that there is something beyond the material, some supreme energy, but it becomes subject to it's own illusory energies, then that supreme energy loses it's supreme position due to it's becoming deluded by it's own energy. Therefore it was not the supreme energy to begin with. Therefore the philosophy is false. How to establish then which Vedic God is superior? Srila Vyasadeva was Krishna's literary manifestation who compiled the whole Vedic literature with exception of the Ramayana. Vyasadeva, however could find no satisfaction even after writing the four principle vedas, puranas, upanishads and the Mahabharata. Only when on instruction of His gurudev Narada Muni He wrote the Srimad Bhagavatam did Vyasadeva become satisfied. What then does the Bhagavatam establish that satisfied Vyasadev? It established the principle of Bhakti yoga for Supreme Lord Krishna. Srimad Bhagavatam canto 1 chapter 3 verse 28 states: In the preceding verses the principal other incarnations of Supreme Lord Sri Krishna are mentioned but in the above verse Krishna is clearly being stated as the origin of all. The bhagavatam is considered the spotless purana because it's only goal, unlike other purana's, is to bring one to Krishna Bhakti. It is not contaminated by any other purposes. The Lord later descended Himself as the Pancha Tattva, Sri Krishna Chaitanya, prabhu Nityananda, Sri Advaita Acharaya, Sri Gadadhara & Srivas Pandit to distribute the most confidential and most rare and difficult to obtain Krishna prema freely without discrimination as predicted by shastra and in that way establishing the yuga dharma of the current age of Kali. So this chanting of Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, ,Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare is the process for this age. Although the process of this yuga dharma is not eternal, the dharma it establishes IS eternal. That is it is the eternal function of the jiva soul, to be a loving servant or Sri Sri Radha Krishna. When you find that God who is not personally busy performing some function pertaining to this material world but Who discharges these function to His countless manifestations, Who is a slave to His devotee yet remains his superior, Who is always eternally engaged in loving amorous pastimes, Who in His eternal abode is beyond being worshiped as Supreme Lord but Who is seen as his friend, child or lover, Who is everywhere at once but Who simultaneously always remains in Goloka Vrindavan enjoying various sweet pastimes, that God is the Supreme God. That God is nandananda Sri Krishna. All the rest are His parts and parcels, there is nothing outside of Krishna. Haribol!

Kids With High IQs Grow Up to Be Vegetarians <!-- END HEADLINE --> <!-- BEGIN STORY BODY --> By Steven Reinberg HealthDay Reporter Fri Dec 15, 2:01 PM ET FRIDAY, Dec. 15 (HealthDay News) -- As a child's IQ rises, his taste for meat in adulthood declines, a new study suggests. British researchers have found that children's IQ predicts their likelihood of becoming vegetarians as young adults -- lowering their risk for cardiovascular disease in the process. The finding could explain the link between smarts and better health, the investigators say. "Brighter people tend to have healthier dietary habits," concluded lead author Catharine Gale, a senior research fellow at the MRC Epidemiology Resource Centre of the University of Southampton and Southampton General Hospital. Recent studies suggest that vegetarianism may be associated with lower cholesterol, reduced risk of obesity and heart disease. This might explain why children with high IQs tend to have a lower risk of heart disease in later life. The report is published in the Dec. 15 online edition of the British Medical Journal. "We know from other studies that brighter children tend to behave in a healthier fashion as adults -- they're less likely to smoke, less likely to be overweight, less likely to have high blood pressure and more likely to take strenuous exercise," Gale said. "This study provides further evidence that people with a higher IQ tend to have a healthier lifestyle." In the study, Gale's team collected data on nearly 8,200 men and women aged 30, whose IQ had been tested when they were 10 years of age. "Children who scored higher on IQ tests at age 10 were more likely than those who got lower scores to report that they were vegetarian at the age of 30," Gale said. The researchers found that 4.5 percent of participants were vegetarians. Of these, 2.5 percent were vegan, and 33.6 percent said they were vegetarian but also ate fish or chicken. There was no difference in IQ score between strict vegetarians and those who said they were vegetarian but who said they ate fish or chicken, the researchers add. (note from poster: they obviously have a wrong idea of what vegetarianism actually entails) Vegetarians were more likely to be female, of higher social class and better educated, but IQ was still a significant predictor of being vegetarian after adjustment for these factors, Gale said. "Vegetarian diets are associated with lower cardiovascular disease risk in a number of studies, so these findings suggest that a such a diet may help to explain why children or adolescents with a higher IQ have a lower risk of coronary heart disease as adults," Gale said. One expert said the findings aren't the whole answer, however. "This study left many unanswered questions such as: Did the vegetarian children grow up in a household with a vegetarian parent? Were meatless meals regularly served in the household? Were the children eating a primarily vegetarian diet at the age of 10?" said Lona Sandon, an assistant professor of clinical nutrition at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. "In addition, we don't know the beliefs or attitudes of the parents of the children, nor do we know if there was a particular event that led these children to becoming vegetarian in their teens or adulthood," Sandon said. As the study showed, more women than men chose a vegetarian diet, Sandon noted. "Other research shows that women in general will focus more on their health than men. So, if they believe that a vegetarian diet will have health benefits, they are more likely to follow it," she said. Given these factors, "we cannot draw any solid conclusions from this research," Sandon added. Another expert agreed that a vegetarian diet is healthy. "The evidence linking vegetarianism to good health outcomes is very strong," said Dr. David L. Katz, the director of the Prevention Research Center and an associate professor of public health at the Yale University School of Medicine. "Studies, for example, of vegetarian Seventh-Day Adventists in California suggest that they have lower rates of almost all major chronic diseases, and greater longevity, than their omnivorous counterparts," Katz said. "Evidence is also strong and consistent that greater intelligence, higher education, and loftier social status -- which tend to cluster with one another -- also correlate with good health." More information There's more on vegetarian diets at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Not that these sort of researches are defining or important or anything but I still thought it was worth a mention in this section of the board. <form name="rater1" id="rater1" action="http://personal.news./v10/us/news/pages/ratings/post_silent_rating.php"> </form>

regardless of guest's query, that is a really beautiful way of explaining it prabhu, when viewed in this way it all makes absolute sense to me, so thank you so much for this one. In the future should someone ask me about this, I shall give them this reply. It's amazing (but not cooincidental) because, as one deprived of even the slightest hint of spiritual vision and fully anchored in his blunt material vision, I was feeling a bit sad about this subject too upon listening to the Prabhupada audiofiles just the other day, where he spoke of this Rahu dark planet and the moon being further away from the sun, that there is only one sun in the entire universe and the stars are merely reflecting that suns light etc. ,when it is clearly not the case in the material sense. I admit I was also feeling down about it because if it's in the Bhagavatam it means it is stated by the Lord Himself and could therefore never be wrong! And here is someone asking that very question (which had also been bothering me) in advance, and some quality answers are given! It's also good to read that Prabhupada himself admits in that letter that sometimes things in the Bhagavatam are to be taken allegorically rather than the hardline approach of having to take everything literally that some seem to propound. That should clear things up nicely. Actually before the answer by Kulapavana prabhu, my only safeguard to this spiritual dilemma was in line with what J.N. Das prabhu said about the Vedic astronomers having indeed been able to make the most accurate predictions about the movements of the stars, eclipses to come and their unparalleled astrological predictions, so they couldn't be wrong and therefore Vyasadeva couldn't be wrong. A nagging issue has been resolved for me today, so thanks alot. Haribol!

Hare Krishna prabhu, yes, I have read so many posts on this board, and as you are a "frequent poster" here, I have read yours as well. Thank you for clarifying things,for taking the time to reply and for not getting offended. My post wasn't meant to be offensive but different people perceive the same message in different ways, and so some may think it's an assault on their persona and react strongly when it's not meant to be like that. More often than not I refrain from replying because everything write is quite pretentious, but sometimes I can't control the urge to spout my useless opinion on some interesting subject. At such a time I try to enter a heated debate, with the laughable idea of thinking my words may have some effect, much like an ordinary child trying to mingle in a discussion between adults. Haribol!

Even if that would be the case, which I highly doubt, they are still doing so only after they have fallen at the lotusfeet of their guru, heard him speak Hari katha ,received initiation and received instructions from him. All sadhus I've met have always stressed the importance of sadhu sanga, and are actually never alone. They are not Babaji's, their mission is to engage everyone in Krishna consciousness. When such a sadhu meets another sadhu he obviously does not "loiter around" him like some kind of headless chicken. No, he discusses Krishna with that sadhu. That is the whole purpose of sadhu sanga. Funny you should mention this because if you would actually do as the sadhu does, then you would more often than not be engaged in sadhu sanga. I seem to recall Prabhupada saying in one of his Gita purports that it is not important to read many books, which unfortunately has been edited lately to read quite the opposite. This is not what is meant by having physical association with the sadhu. What is meant by it is that you go and hear Krishna katha from the lips of a realized soul, not that you become some sort of sadhu groupie. There is no question of simply "loitering around his effulgence" when they say you have to hear from a bonafide spiritual master. It seems you keep missing the points some people are making here. I may be wrong here but by the way I perceive your writings you seem to take it that anything any sadhu other than Prabhupada has to say, is to be confronted with some sort of "Prabhupada barrier". That everything a contemporary sadhu says or does is to be subjected to- and filtered through- Prabhupada's words which have apparently been elevated to the new Vaishnava law. But noone suggests that you go and hear a sadhu speak of what he thinks Prabhupada really meant, that is nonsense. No, just hear-the sadhu-speak-Hari katha, period. No Prabhupada involved. That is what is meant here. Hearing from the lips of the realized soul, that is important. The Gaudiya Vaishnava line did not end when Prabhupada entered Krishna lila, though it may look like that if ISKCON is all you have seen and heard of. Thinking like that is really selling short the many bonafide spiritual masters who are currently out there preaching Krishna consciousness.

Hare Krishna, forgive me for interfering prabhu but with all due respect, despite the immensely helpful, huge array of books and commentaries Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada has written they are still not all-in-all as you deem to label them. Why? Because it is simply not possible for anyone, (not even Prabhupada) to answer everyone's personal questions through a series of books and commentaries. If it was all so clear then why did he still have to write so many letters to his disciples all over the world and personally visit to direct/correct and instruct the devotees? The books were there after all. In all honesty ask yourself how many times did it raise another or more questions than got answered after reading a purport? Books are a huge help and can get you there to a certain extent, but not all the way. One has to surrender. Surrender to sri guru is an intrinsical part of the path of Bhakti. All the bonafide gurus from the Gaudiya Vaisnava line have all (none excluded) in turn taken shelter of a spiritual master who instructed them on the written matter orally or in other words while physically present. None of them surrendered to sri guru in book form, they had all taken initiation and instructions directly from a guru who was physically present at that time. That is the bonafide process, that is also stated by Prabhupada soooo many times in his purports, but unfortunately it's meaning can be easily twisted up-side-down to indicate that the reading of the books of the bonafide spiritual master is that association, that it is on the same level of association as direct association with the bonafide spiritual master, or in other words that it is equal to receiving direct instructions from a bonafide spiritual master. That after surrendering and receiving the mantras orally the connection is eternally established, that is another thing. Actually Bhaktivedanta Prabhupada's surrender to his guru serves as a perfect example. Their physical meeting could have been brief, it may even have been minutes, but something happened at that very moment that made him surrender to Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada, and it weren't his writings. It were the words directly received from the mouth of a realized soul. It is this speaker, who is the link between the written and the recipient which is the cause of surrender. Also, physical presence, though not all that important, obviously does something, otherwise why else would they say that the mere presence of a pure devotee causes one to spontaneously start chanting(CC Madhya-Lila 15-74)? So prabhu, perhaps it's time to look up from your books and step outside of the ISKCON box for a moment and realize that there are other bonafide gurus out there, even right now during this tiresome debate, who are preaching Krishna consciousness. Now they can put that same shastra and elucidate it from their realized angle, they are there to help you, but unfortunately you take it that they are simply there to take away the light of Prabhupada. So take the bold step outside of the books for a change and approach one such guru with questions, and you may be surprised to find out that their help and realized elucidations are really not as insignificant as you had first thought they would be. Haribol!

Hare Krishna prabhu, This sort of thing is not new. During the muslim rule countless numbers of temples and deities were desecrated and destroyed and the brahmanas were killed. "How can Krishna allow His deities and/or temples to be destroyed, why doesn't He act on it?" As far as the destruction of the deities and temples goes, from what I've heard and read it is more or less in the line of what Tackleberry said, only less harsh. It is usually the result of when a deity and/or temple is neglected ,or in other words, not properly maintained or worshiped (i.e. with love and devotion). It is however always a mistake to apply blanket rules to any one subject, and thus also in this case, as there may be many brahmanas who do maintain and worship the temple and deities properly and with devotion and still and see their temples and deities go up in flames. In that case it may help to try and see it as a part of Krishna's plan to increase that person's devotion or to test his determination, strengthen his resolve etc. etc.. In any case, don't let this sort of news discourage your faith in God. Rather let it serve as a reminder that this is Kali Yuga, that we are in a very dangerous place and should endeavour to book our tickets to Vaikuntha and Goloka Vrindavana a.s.a.p. by dint of increasing our worship of Sri guru and the Supreme Lord. Just my insignificant opinion though, but I merely hope to help, Gaura Premananda Hari Haribol!

There was a painter named Zdzislaw Beksinski, who judging by his work, seemed to have had some sort of psychic link with a hellish dimension. Here are two paintings which to me fit the descriptions of the Yamadutas. Notice the "dogs": http://www.gnosis.art.pl/iluminatornia/sztuka_o_inspiracji/zdzislaw_beksinski/zdzislaw_beksinski_1985_4.jpg http://www.gnosis.art.pl/iluminatornia/sztuka_o_inspiracji/zdzislaw_beksinski/zdzislaw_beksinski_1978.jpg Just type in his last name in google or images and see hell.

<big>Vegans and the Vitamin B<small><small>12</small></small> Deficiency Myth</big> <small> [Posted 23 October 2003] It seems there's always at least one tired old myth making the rounds about vegetarianism. Twenty years ago when I switched, it was the "protein deficiency" myth. Now that the protein myth has been completely discredited (human breast milk is only 5% protein, and it is estimated that adult humans only need 2-3% protein in their daily diet), these days the vitamin B<small>12</small> myth occasionally surfaces. Usually it's only preached in places like very old doctors' offices or talk radio shows dominated by heavy recommendations for drugs and dairy products, but the question still comes up. Of the thousands of people who visit this web site every month, a few always find me with the search string "vegans B<small>12</small> deficiency". (The sickle cell anemia page mentions B<small>12</small> in its title.) </small><big>Deficiencies at Large</big> <small> A small number of people develop B<small>12</small> deficiencies, most of them not vegans, just like people with deficiencies in every other type of vitamin and mineral. Ever heard a dieter say that his or her hair fell out while dieting? That's borderline scurvy, a Vitamin C deficiency. Any friends or relatives have white hair, wrinkles, maybe an aneurysm? That's copper deficiency. Know anyone with cystic fibrosis (CF)? His or her mother suffered a selenium deficiency before and/or during their pregnancy. Vitamin deficiencies are as common as bad health in general; in fact, they cause a good chunk of the bad health these days. </small><big>B<small><small>12</small></small> Deficiency: A Lengthy Process</big> <small> B<small>12</small> (also called cobalamin due to its central cobalt atom) is a water-soluble vitamin with a very low recommended daily intake requirement, about 2-3 micrograms per day. That's MICROgrams, not milligrams. In addition to having extremely low intake requirements, Vitamin B<small>12</small> is stored in the liver, kidneys, and muscle tissue, and most B<small>12</small> (65-75%) is reabsorbed by the body instead of excreted. A deficiency could take from 5 to 20 years of inadequate intake to develop. The deficiency could be masked by adequate folic acid intake, as the two vitamins work together, but only temporarily. Eventually a B<small>12</small> deficiency manifests as nerve damage and pernicious anemia, a very serious type of anemia where red blood cells are improperly formed and white blood cell count is low. </small><big>Bacteria: Myth vs. Reality</big> <small> So how could anyone develop pernicious anemia when B<small>12</small> intake requirements are so low, and when the liver stores so much that it takes years for a deficiency to develop? The reason touted for the B<small>12</small> myth is that B<small>12</small> is found primarily in animal foods. Very few plant foods provide good sources of B<small>12</small>, they say. In a way that's true, but only because the source of B<small>12</small> is not plants OR animals; neither manufacture their own B<small>12</small>. In the B<small>12</small> reality, Bacteria are the B<small>12</small> producers on which both plants and animals rely. And in humans, that bacteria doesn't necessarily come from plants -- the mouth, upper intestine, and lower intestine all contain bacteria that produce B<small>12</small>. However, it's unknown if enough B<small>12</small> to meet the daily requirement comes from internal sources of B<small>12</small>. More likely, they produce some, and the rest comes in with food and water consumed. </small><big>All of the Vitamin B<small><small>12</small></small> in the world ultimately comes from bacteria. Neither plants nor animals can synthesize it. But plants can be contaminated with B<small><small>12</small></small> when they come in contact with soil bacteria that produce it. Animal foods are rich in B<small><small>12</small></small> only because animals eat foods that are contaminated with it or because bacteria living in an animal's intestines make it.</big> <small> -- From The Vegetarian Way: Total Health for You and Your Family (1996), Virginia Messina, MPH, RD, & Mark Messina, PhD p. 102 </small><big>The Causes</big> <small> Most people with B<small>12</small> deficiencies and/or pernicious anemia are NOT vegans. Very few vegans have pernicious anemia. B<small>12</small> deficiencies occur primarily when: 1.) Something is competing for your B<small>12</small> (like parasites); 2.) Something is destroying your B<small>12</small> (like cyanide in cigarettes); or 3.) Something is preventing the proper absorption of B<small>12</small> (like inadequate production of intrinsic factor). It's possible that vegans may be more susceptible to these three factors, as vegans don't consume huge quantities of B<small>12</small> to counteract such problems (unless they use vitamin supplements). I assume it's also possible that any depletion of intestinal bacteria, for example from lengthy courses of antibiotics, might lead to a drop in B<small>12</small> production, although I haven't yet found any other author mentioning this as a contributing factor. However, even with these factors present in vegans as well as the population at large, very few vegans develop B<small>12</small> deficiencies. Most recent books I've found refer to parasites and intrinsic factor (IF) production problems as the common culprits. </small><big>1. Competition (Parasites)</big> <small> Hulda Clark, the famous research scientist who uses radio resonance in vivo to determine microorganisms involved in cancer, AIDS, and other diseases, finds the parasite Ascaris (a worm-like parasite) is usually involved in cases of pernicious anemia: Each red blood cell is shaped like a doughnut without the hole. This fits a lot more oxygen, O<small>2</small>, than round balls would. Yet, if there isn't enough vitamin B<small>12</small>, the dimple isn't put into them to make them doughnut shaped. This reduces the body's oxygen supply and the disorder is called "pernicious" anemia. The changed shape of the red blood cells is reflected in a bigger volume called mean cell volume (MCV). The correct volume for red blood cells is about 90 cubic microns. Many elderly persons have a MCV over 100! I have seen pernicious anemia to be associated with Ascaris infestation. Kill Ascaris on a frequency generator (408 KHz) or zap. The source of Ascaris is usually a pet, owned in the past. Once infected, the tiny worms do not leave your body on their own. The infestation may date back to childhood. What a relief for the bone marrow whose job it is to make red blood cells to have enough vitamin B<small>12</small> again! What does Ascaris do with your B<small>12</small>? B<small>12</small> is a beautiful rose colored vitamin. Some worms are actually pink from absorbing your B<small>12</small>! Giving B<small>12</small> shots is the current clinical treatment for B<small>12</small> deficiency. Killing Ascaris twice a week by zapping and taking B<small>12</small> lozenges is a better solution. -- From The Cure for All Diseases (1995), Hulda Clark, PhD, ND, p. 285 One thing to note about Hulda Clark is that she is NOT an advocate for vegetarianism (although she does concede that meat carries far more parasites and bacteria than vegetable matter). If Clark thought veganism was involved in pernicious anemia, or that people need to eat meat products to avoid it, she would have said so. </small><big>2. Destruction</big> <small> Another cause of B<small>12</small> deficiency could be destruction of the Vitamin due to dietary or environmental factors. For example, smoking, high protein diets, alcohol consumption, chlorinated water (disruption by chloroform), and diarrhea may deplete B<small>12</small>. </small><big>3. Absorption Problems</big> <small> Other than parasites, the most common cause of B<small>12</small> deficiency is absorption problems. In order to properly absorb B<small>12</small>, the stomach produces a special "intrinsic factor" that, with adequate calcium, promotes the absorption of B<small>12</small> in the small intestine. Intrinsic factor production problems are often related to stomach problems in the elderly. </small><big>The Cautious Path</big> <small> So what's a vegan to do for B<small>12</small>? Less rinsing of fruits and vegetables is a bad idea. Bacterial food poisoning is much less common with vegetables than meat, but it can still occur with vegetables. The body might produce enough B<small>12</small> from its own bacteria and naturally-occuring bacteria on food (rinsing doesn't remove all of it), but I like to play it safe. Personally, I believe in vitamin supplementation for a number of reasons. In their book Rare Earths, Forbidden Cures, Joel Wallach, DVM, ND and Ma Lan, MD, MS cover the uneven distribution of minerals in the earth's crust. Wallach and Lan believe that mineral supplementation is absolutely necessary, as even pristine farmland usually doesn't contain all the needed minerals. I take an occasional multi-vitamin -- a GOOD multi-vitamin that's bought at a health food store or mail-ordered, with plenty of colloidal or chelated minerals. Although I'm not the best at taking pills (sometimes I don't take my vitamins more than a few times a month), I eat a lot of organic fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, etc. Not all vegans make the effort to eat healthy. Vegans who eat a lot of processed, nutrient-poor foods and take no vitamins put themselves at risk for a number of deficiency diseases. </small><big>Personal Experience</big> <small> One of these days, I want to start a "Pam the Lab Rat" series, where I describe alternative medicine I've tried on myself and how it worked for me, like the Hulda Clark-style Zapper (an excellent device). In the meantime, I'll cover how my limited vitamins and good diet work out for me in relation to any B<small>12</small> deficiency: I didn't go completely vegan until early 1997. Until that time, for years all I'd eat in the way of animal products was "a little cream in my coffee". It's now 2003, 6 years later, and my only health problems are leftovers from physical accidents -- a trip-and-fall, and two auto accidents (1998 and 2002). In 1999, a physician treating me for the 1998 auto accident couldn't believe that some of my neurological symptoms weren't caused by a B<small>12</small> deficiency. Somehow she believed that all vegans had B<small>12</small> deficiencies. So she ordered a full, very expensive liver panel on me. The readings all came back perfect, of course. Then several months later, a chiropractor fixed up 100% of my symptoms in question with chiropractic adjustments, and with only a few visits! That's the problem with traditional doctors -- they know almost nothing about nutrition. (A vegan's been in an auto accident, therefore her injuries must be from vegetarianism? What kind of logic is that?) From what's been written about medical education, sometimes MDs might be offered an *optional* class on nutrition in medical school, but they often don't attend, because that's a lowly nutritionist's job... </small><big>B<small><small>12</small></small> Facts</big> <small> Here are a few functions of Vitamin B<small>12</small>: proper formation of red blood cells, manufacture of DNA, formation of fatty insulation surrounding nerve cells, detoxification of cyanide from cigarettes and food, cancer prevention, nervous system health, proper growth, prevention of PMS, posture and balance, memory and concentration, proper cell division, sperm production and motility. Some B<small>12</small> deficiency symptoms: pernicious anemia, diarrhea, fatigue, nerve damage, depression, PMS, heart disease, trembling, low sperm count or poor sperm motility, and a sore red tongue. </small><big>What If?</big> <small> The above functions and symptoms of B<small>12</small> are only partial lists. If you suspect you may have a B<small>12</small> deficiency, it's best to consult both reference materials and your doctor, as doctors are often poor sources on nutritional deficiencies. A doctor, however, can determine whether your symptoms are actually a B<small>12</small> deficiency or a different disorder. </small><big>Special note 2006</big> <small> <blink>VEGGIE POLITICAL NEWS:</blink> Famous VEGAN and former US Presidential candidate, Dennis Kucinich, is running for his Congressional seat in Ohio again. A picture of health and energy, Congressman Kucinich is a vegan famous for his inspiring speeches, bravery, and highly ethical values. Those wanting to support his campaign can visit Kucinich.us. Those sending contributions must be US citizens, although there's no requirement that the contributor live in Ohio. Sources: Hulda Regehr Clark, PhD, ND. The Cure for All Diseases. Chula Vista, California: New Century Press, 1995. H. Winter Griffith, MD. Vitamins, Herbs, Minerals, & Supplements. USA: Fisher Books, 1998. Virginia Messina, MPH, RD, & Mark Messina, PhD. The Vegetarian Way New York: Three Rivers Press, 1996. Denise Mortimore. The Complete Illustrated Guide to Vitamins and Minerals. London: Element [imprint of Harper Collins Publishers], 2001. Rachel's Environmental & Health Weekly. Dangers Of Chlorinated Water; RACHEL'S ENVIRONMENT & HEALTH NEWS. Annapolis, MD: Environmental Research Foundation. Published on Gary Null's web site at http://www.garynull.com/Documents/erf/dangers_of_chlorinated_water.htm Nicola Reavley. The New Encyclopedia of Vitamins, Minerals, Supplements, & Herbs. New York: M. Evans and Company, Inc. (Bookman Press), 1998. Joel D. Wallach, DVM, ND, and Ma Lan, MD, MS. Rare Earths, Forbidden Cures. Bonita, California: Double Happiness Publishing Co., 1994. </small><big>Other health and nutrition articles from pamrotella.com</big> <small> Today's medical fad: The Genetic Myth Essential Fatty Acids, the "healthy fats" we all need Copper: What aneurysms, white hair, and wrinkles have in common Dr. Lawrence Broxmeyer's BACTERIAL Mad Cow Disease theory Mad Cow and Mark Purdey's Organophosphate theory Multiple Sclerosis: The mercury/parasites model Alternative medicine vs. the common cold and flu Hulda Clark: A cure for cancer and AIDS? Aspartame, MSG, and other excitotoxins Sickle Cell Anemia: Dr. Agbai and B-12 deficiency Jake Beason on children and boredom Back to the top <small>© 2003 by Pam Rotella. </small></small> <big><big>Back to Pam's vegan vegetarian FUN page</big></big> Pam's vegan vegetarian cookbook, with vegan vegetarian recipes

Not speaking of as it is today, but the Shaolin monks of yore did not seem to have a problem staying at the peak of their physical condition! They were strict vegetarians. As in, they, apart from meat, also shunned fish and eggs, and they also avoided garlic and onions and other spicy foodstuffs. Yet despite what modern "food experts" dictate, their physical condition was simply astounding. You can still see it today, as there are still traditional monks out there who live the pure vegetarian diet (despite Kali taking it's toll there), and are doing handclap push-ups up and down a mountain staircase right after a one hour jogging excercise in the early morning as a daily routine which is but one of many daily excercises. In my worthless opinion, it's all about your state of mind. That is, if you believe that you need meat to keep your strength up, then that belief will carry on through to your body and vice versa. Haribol!

By looking non-iskcon vaisnava association you have already involved yourself in sectarianism and groupism.

First of all to Bishadi, the smugness in the form of your comments by which you are attempting to cast shadows on this written conversation cannot ever eclipse the light emanating from the magnificent person who has spoken these words. As far as the subject matter at hand is concerned I have recently read through Exodus and I must say that if anyone, who's sole conception of God stems from the Holy Bible, and who's knowledge of God doesn't reach beyond that same Bible, turns into an atheist, I can't say I blame them. First of all there is no description of God whatsoever, just a voice from a burning bush and a cloud. And to just give an impression of what He speaks when He speaks, here are some excerpts: So it is not difficult to understand why today,people born and raised in a supposedly Christian environment are turning into atheists. First of all, in their capitalist environment there is a barrage of material excess all around, with which the people are bombarded and lured. Then when they turn to the nearest spiritual platform, that of Christianity, they find a God who says such things as quoted above. Now even as a mere aspiring Vaisnava, I am, thanks to the unlimited wisdom of the Vaisnava Acarya's , able to rationalize even these sort of texts found in the old testament. God possesses all qualities, so even a quality such as jealousy is part of the Lord, except that He remains unaffected by it. For play He may manifest Himself as if jealous. Only God however, is able to take such an abominable quality and put it to good use. Similarly, Krishna stresses cow protection in the Vedas, so the opposite must also be there. The opposite won't be manifested in the spiritual world, so it must manifest in the material world. But God also knows that the soul is eternal, and that all our miseries are simply due to our identifying ourselves with our bodies, and whatever Krishna does is for the ultimate good of all living beings. Anyway, generally speaking, the gross materialist will not be able to ever reconcile these harsh words and prescriptions of God as given in Exodus and consequently, upon hearing the criticism of the atheist, will favor the word of the atheist over the word of the Bible. The atheists think that they have finally found the rosetta stone with which they have deciphered and debunked the "God phenomena" in the form of the recent mind-brain dependency theory. And indeed, any Christian will have himself a hard time trying to rebut their theory but what do we find in the Vedic scriptures? Theist already pointed this out nicely; mind intelligence and false ego, however subtle, are still a part of this material existence. It is not the spritual. I don't therefore see why anyone who has studied the Vedic literature under bonafide guidance would start to doubt the existence of God on account of a few atheistic articles such as the wired article. They are playing a little bluff poker but they have no idea that we already know their cards are not suitable to play the game with. Lastly, this had me laughing, reminding me of Prabhupada: I believe the word rascal is appropriate here. Hare Krishna

Hinduism does not equal sanatana dharma. Sanatana dharma means Jaiva dharma, Jaiva dharma means the eternal function of the soul. Everyone's eternal function is to be a loving servant of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. "Hinduism" however has many different tenets, worship of many different gods and alot of impersonalist doctrines fall under it's umbrella. Since an impersonalist view does not contain service to the Lord, that fact alone makes that Hinduism and sanatana dharma cannot be equated. Hinduism is but a temporary designation, sweeping lots of different doctrines under one name.

interesting, do you have a websource of reference for this information? I would like to know more about that process. Haribol!

The point is, they are highlighting obvious errors such as the famous "cattle-raising should be cow protection" error (the types of errors which obviously should be changed), and (ab)use those errors as an excuse to make totally unnecessary changes to every single line of the Gita. Some of the changes totally transform the original meaning of a verse of purport(because they think that is what he "actually" meant), which is very bad, while others don't do anything at all except change the words and phrasing! Either of the two is a very bad development. Read the new Gita, listen to Prabhupada's lectures and try to find the similarities. You will find none. Now pick up the original Gita and, even though also edited, read that one and find the similarities. You will find that Prabhupada's way of words is very much present in the old Gita and is almost completely absent in the new version. Unfortunately the new totally revised Gita will continue to be pushed, and later that revised Gita will again be revised by someone else to change it, again in order to "fit it in the times we are in" and so on and so on. But this is the age of Kali so we are excused...... Haribol!

Padma Purana (Uttara khanda 25.7): mayavadam asac-chastram pracchannam bauddham ucyate mayaiva vihitam devi kalau brahmana-murtina "The Mayavada philosophy, Siva informed his wife Parvati, is covered Buddhism. In the form of a brahmana in the kali-yuga, I teach this imagined philosophy."

I heard Prabhupada speak of the eating of cows who died a natural death several time in his lectures, where he said something like "if you want to eat it you just wait until it's dead, then eat it. There are so many cows, you won't have to wait long until one dies, just don't kill them." However, it should be noted that he was telling this to non-devotees (present at the lecture) who are addicted to eating meat. Perhaps the Swamiji on the DVD was also addressing this same message to the nondevotee crowd. In any way, it was my foolish and erronous understanding that I assumed the swamiji was instructing the devotees. Obviously a devotee can never partake of meateating of any kind, what to speak of cow-eating. What is inexplicable about this? No one said it was impossible, it's just not what the body is suited to. A car runs best on the fuel it is designed to combust. It may run on an alternative fuelsource but it will not run as good on it as it's intended source of fuel. What's more inexplicable is who on earth would want to live on such a cold and barren land and live off the local wildlife ! Though on a positive note, at least they don't kill cows or maintain regular slaughterhouses. Haribol!

On the one hand one could argue that nothing happens without the Lord's will, so from that perspective the Lord accepted this offense. Whatever the reason there is a purpose behind it. Personally I am disgusted by even reading about it, let alone seeing it with my own eyes. The deity form of the Lord is not some whimsical manifestation. Every aspect down to the deity's attire is spiritual and derived from the spiritual platform. Needless to say T-shirts, jeans and mobile phones are not. So "fun" or not, in my opinion it is absolutely not done and a huge offense. Moreover it will bring more fuel to those who see deity worship as whimsical idolworship. Just my two cents though, Haribol!

Namaste, as was said earlier, if it happens(which would not surprise me) it will just be a partial annihilation, not the end of the world as in complete annihilation. Vedic predictions tell us that this world will end by an all-consuming fire (instigated by Lord Shiva) and science agrees with this. It has been calculated that the sun will keep growing and growing until finally it wanes as it's body is finished. So some billion years into the future the sun will consume the earth in one such all-consuming fire. But until then, we will only have to deal with partial annihilations. Personally I like to envision it that when mother Bhumi becomes too much troubled by the burden of the destructive demoniac people, she will, in order to relieve her tension, cause upheavals in the form of natural disasters, much like a cow who is bothered by flies wigs her ears and tail to brush away the source of the nuisance. The following is an interesting read taken from a website called "Friends of Vrindavan" which ties in nicely to this subject matter: Another interesting angle may be the following. As can be ascertained from Srimad Bhagavatam as quoted in the following article, whenever Krishna leaves earth mother Bhumi will react to it. So since from a Vedic point of view, Krishna in His form of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Has only just departed this earth one could take it that again mother Bhumi is reacting to the Lord's recent departure: Gaura-premanande Hari Haribol!

Dear Bhakta Don, I wasn't particularly referring to this discussions, but outside of this messageboard, of the silk glove treatment when anyone mentions Jews. How exactly have you ascertained that the information you have is the actual truth? You lay it down as if your version of truth is the undisputable truth at which hand any opposing party has to admit it's defeat, but for all anyone knows your acquired truths are just as shaky as the truths of that so-called "jews control the world" party. Again, bringing up the past serves no purpose because it's a done deal. Nobody today is mourning the mass-extermination of the native American population or even any post-WWII genocides that have occured since, but somehow we do keep hearing about the Jewish holocaust so naturally it is prone to raise a few eyebrows as to why the continued focus on that particular moment in history and not on the countless other abominable moments in history, and that is really not because people are still persecuting Jews:rolleyes:, at least when speaking for myself and all the people I have ever known. This is simply your assertion, and all your answers thusfar have revealed that you are not equipoised in this matter and are therefore unable to view this subject matter from a neutral point of view. Which is why I think it is you who has missed the point, namely that it's better that we first try to become equipoised by dint of being firmly rooted in Krishna consciousness and realize our real constitutional position as eternal servants of Supreme Lord Sri Krishna, so we can see everything correctly as it is, and see everyone as equal, birds bees,trees, dogs, humans etc. so we can give actual help instead of a patch of bandaid. No disrespect taken for I am completely at a loss here. Having a mindset about the Nazi program? Where did that come from? As is evident by our discussion at present, no resolution is achieved by wasting our precious time discussing these matters, I am not convincing you and you are not convincing me. So because there is no undeniable truth to judge this conflict by there can be no proper education of it. The real root of ignorance will never be uprooted by spreading mundane facts, ignorance can only be removed by spreading God consciousness. One may have studied to become a big nuclear physicist, but if that person leaves God out of the picture his or her knowledge is spoiled, a big waste of time. So it comes highly recommended to instead spend your time educating people in Krishna consciousness. That is the point. It's true that we should not be uncaring towards the suffering of the ensnared jiva's, but rather we should be actively engaging ourselves to re-awaken the lost relationship of the suffering jiva with Supreme Lord Sri Krishna. This is how the problem is actually solved, perpetually. Here is one example of rain where he means to tell us one should not sit idly by while being oppressed for example, then we should defend ourselves. So similarly regarding the subject of this purport, Maharaj Pariksit was in a direct position to act on it, and also he was in the correct understanding of things. This is a very clearcut example,very black and white, where Kali personified was mutilating the bull and mother cow, and Maharaj Pariksit, who was properly situated in the religious principles, was about to exact swift judgment on him according to his dharma. So if one is in a position to do something about it you should act according to one's means. However if one is not situated in proper understanding of the problem then what good shall any interference do? So if you want to make a real difference just become an examplary devotee of Lord Krishna, keep increasing your bhajan and then propagate this Krishna consciousness so you can make actual lasting changes to other jivas. So you see the point is forget all these temporary designations and just worship Sri Krishna. Bothering with this conflict is like polishing the bird cage when we should start taking care of the bird inside of it instead. Wishing you all the best and a happy Janmastami, Hare Krishna!

Haribol, I have to disagree with this statement. The Lord Himself descended as Lord Buddha to put a full stop, not limitations, to animal killing in the name of the Vedas. That the Lord Himself came to establish this immediately makes it a fact that the animal killing that was going on at that time was completely bogus and had nothing to do with the Vedic culture whatsoever. It also establishes that meat-eating by sacrifice was never a widespread and common practice in the Vedic culture, but rather something practiced by a select few. Only when due to the deluding effects of Kali Yuga the people at large became infatuated with meat-eating on a large scale did it falsely appear to be a commonplace practice in the Vedic culture. Therefore, out of compassion for the poor animals, the Lord came to rectify this situation Personally. By denouncing the Vedas completely and establishing the principle of ahimsa He fooled the atheists into abandoning their sinful activities and start taking up pious activities. From Lankavatara-sutra we find Buddha saying: "To avoid terror to living beings, let the disciple refrain from eating meat ... the food of the wise is that which is consumed by the "sadhus" [holy men]; it does not consist of meat. ... There may be some foolish people in the future who will say that I permitted meat-eating and that I partook of meat myself, but ... meat-eating I have not permitted to anyone, I do not permit, I will not permit meat-eating in any form, in any manner and in any place; it is unconditionally prohibited for all." Hare Krishna!

Haribol prabhu, I've heard this too. However how can we reconcile the "not avoiding meat for moral reasons" in view with the 26 good qualities of a Vaisnava, because when we view these qualities doesn't it become clear that a Vaisnava could never partake in the eating of meat or else he would cease to be a true Vaisnava? I also found an interesting text on hunting: Hunting by Hrdayananda das Goswami The hunting of animals deeply violates one of the most grave Vedic moral principles: ahimsa, not harming the innocent. Lord Krishna mentions ahimsa four times in the Bhagavad-gita [10.5, 13.8, 16.2, 17.4]. At 13.8, Krishna declares that ahimsa, together with other qualities, is knowledge and that everything else is simply ignorance. Thus himsa, harming the innocent, is ignorance. At 18.25, Krishna states that work undertaken without considering the resultant himsa, or harm to the innocent, is work in the mode of darkness. Krishna also states at 18.27 that a worker in passion is himsatmaka, which Prabhupada translates, "always envious." At 16.2, Lord Krishna states that ahimsa is one of the godly qualities to which Arjuna is born. And at 17.4, the Lord says that ahimsa is a necessary component of bodily austerity. The Bhagavatam similarly praises the moral quality of ahimsa: 1.18.22 declares that ahimsa is the very nature of a pure soul. 3.28.4 enjoins that one should practice ahimsa. 7.11.8 teaches that ahimsa, and other qualities, are paro dharmah, the highest religious principle. Significantly, 11.17.21 insists that ahimsa is sarva-varnika, for all varnas. And at 11.19.33 Krishna Himself teaches ahimsa. Similarly, the Mahabharata, 1.11.12, declares that ahimsa is the supreme dharma for all living things. Srila Prabhupada often taught that ahimsa especially means that one must not kill animals. For example, in his purport to the Bhagavad-gita 16.2, he writes, "Ahimsa means not arresting the progressive life of any living entity. One should not think that since the spirit spark is never killed even after the killing of the body there is no harm in killing animals for sense gratification. People are now addicted to eating animals, in spite of having an ample supply of grains, fruits and milk. There is no necessity for animal killing. This injunction is for everyone. [emphasis mine] When there is no alternative, one may kill an animal, but it should be offered in sacrifice. At any rate, when there is an ample food supply for humanity, persons who are desiring to make advancement in spiritual realization should not commit violence to animals. Real ahimsa means not checking anyone's progressive life. The animals are also making progress in their evolutionary life by transmigrating from one category of animal life to another. If a particular animal is killed, then his progress is checked...So their progress should not be checked simply to satisfy one's palate. This is called ahimsa." Similarly, in his purport to Bhagavad-gita 17.4, he states, "There is no justice when there is animal-killing. Lord Buddha wanted to stop it completely, and therefore his cult of ahimsa was propagated not only in India but also outside the country." Yet despite these numerous and heavy scriptural statements enjoining ahimsa and forbidding himsa, we find that Vedic kings often hunted. Prabhupada taught that ksatriyas, warrior kings responsible to defend the people, were allowed to hunt in order to sharpen their skill with weapons. However, as Prabhupada points out in his purport to the Bhagavatam 4.22.13, even such hunting was not auspcious. Indeed it was still considered a sin. Prabhupada writes: "Kings are ... sometimes employed to kill animals in hunting because they have to practice the killing art, otherwise it is very difficult for them to fight their enemies. Such things are not auspicious. Four kinds of sinful activities-associating with woman for illicit sex, eating meat, intoxication and gambling-are allowed for the kshatriyas. For political reasons, sometimes they have to take to these sinful activities..." Recall that the Bhagavatam [11.17.21] directly states that ahimsa is sarva-varnika, to be practiced by all the social orders, including ksatriyas. Indeed the Bhagavatam shows that even kings are not spared the sinful reactions of killing animals. Thus at 4.25.7-8, the great Narada says to King Barhisman: "O Prajapati! O King! See the animals, living things that you cruelly killed by the thousands in sacrifice. "These animals are waiting for you, remembering your butchery. When you have departed this world, they will slice you up with iron horns, for you have enraged them." Similarly, the Bhagavatam declares at 5.26.24 that even Ksatriyas who take pleasure in hunting go to the hell known as Pranarodha. Prabhupada comments on this verse as follows: "Men of the higher classes (the brahmanas, kshatriyas and vaisyas) should cultivate knowledge of Brahman, and they should also give the sudras a chance to come to that platform. If instead they indulge in hunting, they are punished as described in this verse. Not only are they pierced with arrows by the agents of Yamaraja, but they are also put into the ocean of pus, urine and stool described in the previous verse." How do we understand this paradox? On the one hand, Vedic scriptures could not be more clear in their teaching of ahimsa, not harming the innocent, and their condemnation of himsa, harming the innocent. On the other hand it seems that a special concession is given to warriors to hunt. However this concession is problematic for several reasons: Shastra teaches that even kings are punished for killing animals. The Bhagavatam states that all social orders, including warriors, must practice ahimsa. Vedic history teaches the powerful lesson that many of the greatest Vedic kings suffered tragic fates while hunting. Exalted kings such as Dasaratha, Pandu and Pariksit also encountered disaster while hunting. And the stepbrother of Dhruva, Uttama, was murdered on a hunting expedition. There can be no mistake that such historical lessons discourage hunting. It is fair to conclude that Vedic culture strikes a balance here between the ideal and the real. The ideal is clearly ahimsa. The "real" however is that throughout recorded history all over the world, warriors hunt. And throughout history we find that warriors do not in fact strictly limit their hunting to the minimum necessary to hone their essential skills as protectors of humanity. Thus we find the following moral strategy in place: The ideal is enjoined. That which violates the ideal is prohibited. A concession is made to those who simply can not or will not follow the ideal. Those who accept these concessions are accepted within society, however... The dangers and repercussions of accepting this concession are clearly indicated. Hare Krishna!

...and just like in the days of Hiranyakasipu there is nothing you or I can do about it. Remember that it took the Lord Himself to come defeat Hiranyakasipu. Now at present there isn't even one huge demon like that, rather there are countless mini demons all quarreling nicely together, fighting for scraps. This is Kali yuga, the way things are is the way it's supposed to be. Nothing moves without the will of the Lord, not even a blade of grass, so that means things are going according to plan. The Lord as Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Has given us a fastpass out of here not too long ago but still we continue to bother ourselves with this fleeting business. Since written history have things been out of step, and just like the weather, sometimes there's sun sometimes there's rain. So similarly we will in perpetual alternation see years of war and years of peace, but in the end, because this is the nature of the material world, these are all ephemeral occurences so any attempt to correct them is futile to begin with. We had a Satya Yuga, but now it's Kali Yuga and in about 432.000 years again it will be Satya Yuga so why bother with that? Just tell me what have political events and activities really achieved after all these years? The United Nations? Prabupada had a funny but true comment on the UN, he said that they have simply gathered all the dogs and now they are barking nicely together in one room, but will they achieve anything at all? No. Just barking that's all, because they have no Krishna consciousness, no God consciousness. They don't actually place God in the centre so how can there be a good result? For show, they simply use God as a tool to stir up their own material motives.Similarly, this tiresome conflict between Israel and the surrounding nations has nothing to do with God, like dogs they are just fighting for territory without good result. There is no good side to this conflict. I neither sympathize with Muslims or suicide bombers nor do I feel more sympathy towards the Jewish people because of their holocaust history (To be honest I'm quite fed up of getting slapped in the face with the apologetic holocaust everytime someone points a critical finger at the Israelis. There's no point in having an obligatory empathy for something that happened to a people in the past.). Simply put, the one labelling himself a Jew is a soul who falsely identifies hisself with his human outfit, and one calling himself a Palestinian is a soul who falsely identifies himself with his human outfit, there is no difference, they are both ignorant parties. I neither side with a US president who lies for a living and who needs a walk-in closet for all the skeletons he keeps in there, nor do I side with say North Korean president Kim Jong-Il or whatever president from this alleged "axis of evil". The point is, all of these quarrels are utterly useless to occupy your mind with. Simply be aloof from all these sides and all these petty quarrels and worship Krishna in whatever circumstance. We should aspire to become as bold as queen Kunti who prayed for all the calamities that took place to happen again and again, because they give us the drive to remember Krishna and to pray to Him. Here is Queen Kunti's prayer to Krishna: Srimad Bhagavatam 1.8.25: "vipadaḥ santu tāḥ śaśvat tatra tatra jagad-guro bhavato darśanaḿ yat syād apunar bhava-darśanam" "I wish that all those calamities would happen again and again so that we could see You again and again, for seeing You means that we will no longer see repeated births and deaths." Prabhupada comments on this verse: How does a devotee receive dangers? There must be dangers because this material world is full of dangers. But foolish people who do not know this try to avoid the dangers. Thus they struggle for existence. Everyone is trying to become happy and avoid danger. This is our material business. And... The material world is full of dangers. For example, if one is on the ocean one may have a very strong ship, but that ship can never be safe, because one is at sea, and at any time there may be dangers. The Titanic was safe, but on it's first voyage it sank, and many important men lost their lives. So danger there must be, because we are in a dangerous position. This material world itself is dangerous. Therefore, our business now should be to cross over this sea of danger as soon as possible. As long as we are at sea we are in a dangerous position, however strong our ship may be. That's a fact. But we should not be disturbed by the sea waves; instead we should just try to cross over the sea to get to the other side. That should be our business. As long as we are in this material world, there must be calamities because this is a place of calamity. But even with calamities our business should be to develop our Krsna consciousness, so that after giving up this body we may go back home, back to Krsna. Bhagavat Gita 2.14: "matra-sparsas tu kaunteya sitoshna-sukha-dukha-dah agamapayino 'nityas tams titikshasva bharata" "O son of Kunti, the nonpermanent appearance of happiness and distress, and their disappearance in due course, are like the appearance and disappearance of winter and summer seasons. They arise from sense perception, O scion of Bharata, and one must learn to tolerate them without being disturbed." Hare Krishna Bhakta Don Muntean!

I would ask why you and Don get all wound up over such perishable events, better you focus your attention on worshipping Sri Krishna rather than waste your precious time propagating ephemeral political standpoints. All the time you have spent thinking and posting about the conflict in the middle-east is time lost, just realize that that time is forever lost, and that long after you and I have left our bodies, there will still be conflict and political struggles, if not in the middle-east then somewhere else, so what is the point in focusing on it? Better one doesn't even waste a single breath on any political subject, let alone one's dying breath, which is the single most pivotal breath you will ever make in your current body. If you are really so concerned to make this blazing forest fire of the material world a better place to live in then simply worship Nandanandana Sri Krishna. Haribol!