Nrsinghadev

Hare Krishna, this reminds me of a audiolecture of Prabhupada I recently heard. There he said that when two material scientists work equally hard towards the same object having the same material knowledge, but only one will get the recognition, that person is favored by God. He gave the example that a professor Bose actualy invented the telex, but another professor named Marconi just took his idea and presented it first, so he got all the credit for it. Thus it was explained that Marconi was favored by God and not Bose, indicating that there is nothing we can do to increase our good fortune, which like bad fortune will come automatically therefore working very hard, striving for material gain is considered foolishness because these material circumstances are already written in stone. Now as a testimony to the rascaldom of this age, this professor is getting credit for re-telling what has been told in scriptures for thousands and thousands of years, and they're giving him a prize for drawing the same conclusion but presenting it in his own words through the means of material science. I doubt it that if a representative of the Krishna consciousness movement would walk up to that commitee simply presenting God's words to them that that devotee would also receive sponsorship like that. They probably wouldn't even take him serious, unless he wears a suit and tie. But isn't this an indication that the Lord does not favor His devotees? No. God favors the jiva accordingly so a materialist receives the favor in the form of the very perishable and temporary benefit of money whereas the devotee receives the favor in the form of the priceless and eternal love of Godhead. Haribol!

How does that establish that the moon is not nearest to the earth exactly? :confused:Among the planets the first is Surya the sun, well that seems obvious doesn't it? I mean the sun is obviously the most prominent and important planet in our system, without it there would be no life so how can they not rank it as the first planet? Of planets I am the sun says Krishna so how can we rank the sun second. The moon is almost as important to life on earth but just not more important than the sun because again, without the sun there's no life. But how does that imply that the moon is not nearest to the earth? I never understood this reasoning so if anyone can explain this it would be appreciated. Furthermore it's obvious that the moon is nearest to the earth, not because of that moonlanding hoax, but simply because you can take a telescope and see. Also the solar eclipse and the effect the moon has on the tides of the sea serve as further evidence.

Yes for free, what else could they do? Their gift is priceless!

Dear sir, thus far your contribution to this forum has been nothing but a disturbance. I take it you are the same person who commited Vaishnava aparadha by criticizing the examplary devotee and spiritual master Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada out of the blue in the thread "what is the story of Lord Venkateswara?". My request to you is to cease this crusade against Prabhupada, for it is most devastating for your spiritual development. This section of the forum is called "Hare Krishna Discussions", so it is not unreasonable to assume that your "let's defame Prabhupada" campaign is not going to have any effect whatsoever. Irony has it that, simply by writing your comments, you have made it self-evident that you are actually in dire need of guidance from the very type of "middleman" which you seem to despise so much, and your use of that popular but distasteful internet-jargon has nothing to do with establishing this for fact. So if you really have nothing constructive to contribute to this forum you should really start asking yourself what you are doing here. Since you are apparently in a position superior to alot of other people and are most likely well aware that us fools aren't in the slightest going to be influenced by your woeful remarks anyway, why would you continue wasting your time here? Haribol!

I wholeheartedly agree. Those statements of Kaviraja Goswami simply imply we are to see Guru to be "as good as God" because he is delivering the fallen souls by relaying the same message that Krishna, the Original Guru, Has first spoken, and by doing so he is mercifully spreading the message of God as God's representative. Like Prabhupada often brought up: When a king sends his emissary to another party to speak in his name, the emissary is received with the same respect as the king. Treat him as you would treat God, not that he is God. This is established by Prabhupada time and again, to consider guru to be God Himself goes against all the teachings of Acintyabhedabheda Tattva. (the pure devotee is more than God. he has God in his fist and he can give God to whomever he chooses) God is controlled by the love of His pure devotee but that still doesn't make the devotee greater than God. The pure devotee is so dear to Krishna that He derives more pleasure if you please and serve His devotee rather than Him directly. However, guest is misinterpreting this to indicate that one of His eternally fragmented atomic particles is more than the complete whole. If guru is pleased with his disciple he will beg the Lord to bestow His mercy on that disciple, but guest makes it sound as if Krishna becomes some sort of "mercy-tool" which Guru can use at his discretion. Like Beggar said: "Just more evidence of the need for good association" rather than this "all we need are his books" nonsense that is becoming quite the trend here lately. Haribol!

I thank you Narayani, for your contribution to this thread thusfar. Come sunday, when I will hopefully be able to attend my first Ratha Yatra of this year, I will be able to do so with even more appreciation for Subadra besides her and Lord Jagannatha and Baladev's very cheerful and blissful appearances of course. Haribol!

Hare Krishna, the way I see it, Prabhupada initiated according to time and circumstance. He initiated thousands of devotees and as we can read here in the end he even initiated while not present there himself due to pastimes of bad health. His mission was to firmly establish this mission of Krishna consciousness around the world by almost any means necessary, following the instructions of his spiritual master Bhaktisiddhanta Prabhupada. He first had to establish a really firm foundation on which to build on, that was his first and foremost business. So to do this, some principles may have been temporarily thrown overboard. What I've read from spiritual masters and related literature so far, is that normal procedure is that the guru observes the potential disciple for a long period of time and then upon satisfaction grants him diksha, and that also the guru should not take many disciples. But, with the goal to spread Lord Chaitanya's mission in mind ,this would become a tedious and even impossible mission. So this temporary system of "mass" initiation was applied and this system is, for the same purpose and albeit on a somewhat smaller scale, nowadays also being applied by most acharya's from Gaudiya maths other than ISKCON, with the exception that they do have the successor acharya principle still intact. The way I see it is that they are doing this simply as an extremely merciful act to help spread Krishna consciousness around the world and to encourage the devotees, but it is not the nitya, or eternal way. This method is also temporary. Anyway, this may be why he stressed that everything is in his books, because nowhere in his body of work do we find him saying that it is not necessary to have a physically present spiritual master. Rather in his books we find the original way of guru/disciple relationship. I'm talking books here, not personal letters that are taken out of context. His books were meant as help and teach all, his letters were meant to help or instruct those specific people on a personal level, and according to time and circumstance. Also his spiritual master emphasized the need for book-publishing to him, and he gloriously and succesfully fulfilled this instruction, so this may be another reason why Prabhupada stressed his books so vehemently. This morning I was listening to a lecture of Prabhupada on the Nectar of Devotion, where he said: "By the mercy of Sri Krishna one obtains a guru, and by the mercy of Sri guru one obtains Krishna." Simply by hearing lectures, watching videos and reading his books and purports on this subject matter one cannot but conclude that by this he means a physically present guru, as numerous times in his books and purports he stresses the importance of surrendering to a bonafide spiritual master and speaks of the relation between disciple and guru in a way that can only apply to a physically present guru. So in my view when he says that his books are most important it is because they contain all the aspects of Gaudiya Vaisnavism in their original state, how it should be. In my opinion, he did not mean that these temporary arrangements should become perpetual. It is a fact that his ultimate aim was to produce many many bonafide spiritual masters who would continue where he left off. By not appointing a single successor acharya he also deviated from the tradition of parampara as a sacrifice to reach the goal of Chaitanya's mission, but this has unfortunately brought alot of confusion and quarrel in and outside his math, which can never be what he hoped for would happen. So this move to me is just another example of a temporary method that was brought about for the sole reasons of spreading Lord Chaitanya's mission and executing his spiritual masters orders. So in my opinion one should always look at Sri guru's instructions from the view of true Vaisnava Dharma, as re-established by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and his followers, and from the point of view of this nitya dharma, Sri guru would observe and guide his disciple for a long period of time in person, before deciding whether to grant initiation or not. So from that point of view, there can be no question of there being any validity in the above quoted statement, because in that case Sri guru would simply reject such a person's application for initiation. In that case, one may have fooled himself into thinking he has surrendered, but he cannot fool the bonafide spiritual master. But of course, these are just the rantings of a lowborn fool, so feel free to disregard and please forgive me for any errors on my behalf. Haribol! Signed, Go Dasa.

Hare Krishna prabhu, from reading the above it seems to me that you are taking achievements in mundane worldy matters as a measuring stick for good fortune, while in actuality Krishna is bestowing you with the greatest mercy by making your material life a failure. From the spiritual point of view, you are not unfortunate, but in fact most fortunate! Being engrossed in mundane affairs, those scholars of mundane knowledge who are oblivious to the Supreme Lord are the ones who are actually most unfortunate, as they are wasting their valuable time on studying temporary affairs. At the time of death, what lasting good will their efforts have yielded in this temporary world? At the time of death, what will their thoughts be? They will not be with the Supreme Lord, and so they continue to traverse through this most miserable cycle of birth and death. So being oblivious to the Lord and desiring to fulfill the fleeting pleasures of their senses, the Lord provides them accordingly, whether in this life or the next. So from the spiritual point of view, this is punishment; to get all this material wealth and benefit,or good material results, because generally speaking it leads one away from God consciousness. Here's a part of a story that ties into this nicely: Srila Narayana Maharaja: Thank you. This is the process. What is the purpose of this story? From the beginning of his life, a devotee should follow how Sanatana Gosvami left everything-position wealth and money. Even a servant with one coin he left. Even that blanket-now he had nothing. He only took an old dhoti and made it into four, for his lower and upper cloth. He had nothing else. He had no money. Nothing was left with him. If any person wants to go to any high-class devotee to become a Vaisnava, he should be like Sanatana Gosvami. He should not come with so much wealth in his pockets or with a big bank balance. Otherwise he can never follow this process. He must come like a street beggar. I can tell you the life history of your Srila Prabhupada, my friend Bhaktivedanta Svami Maharaja. He himself told this story to me. I think he never told others but I am telling you. When he took initiation from Srila Prabhupada Bhaktivedanta Sarasvati Thakura, he was telling me this secret thing. "I took initiation and then I began to read Srimad Bhagavatam and to chant and remember also and looking after my job at Bengal Chemical which I was managing at time." He was not only the manger, he was the sole proprietor. But he was fearing-if anyone chants, remembers and follows Krishna, then Krishna will make him a street beggar. So what should he do? "I was thinking and thinking, and I was in a dilemma, always worried about this, but I never stopped chanting, hearing, and reading Srimad Bhagavatam. I went on strictly following my Guru's order." After sometime Bengal Chemical failed. He left it; he was bound to leave it. Then he came to Allahabad and he started one medical factory in a big way, but after two years it failed. Then he started a very prominent shop, where India's prime minister used to come, but after two or three years it also failed. Then he worked as a representative for medicines. He made himself new, new medicines and used to go here and there with them, but that he also could not do. Then penniless he came to me and told me, "Now I am penniless. I have nothing left." So Krishna does this to those He loves. The purport of the story of Sanatana Gosvami is that if you really want to be a very pure, high-class devotee, you will have to follow him with empty pockets, keeping nothing with you. Then Krishna may give you bhakti, otherwise not. Otherwise, you will have to give up your devotion and return back to where you were before. So you should try to follow Sanatana Gosvami if you want to have high-class precious prema-bhakti. Surely you will have to do this. And finally some words from our most revered Param Gurudev, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Goswami Maharaj that shed some light on why the things are going they way they do in your life, plus some helpful pointers that are to be remembered always by each and everyone: 1. We are put to test and trial in this world. Only those who attend the kirtana of the devotees can succeed. 6. Those favored by God find their paths set by thorns. 7. There is no peace or happiness in our worldly life. Circumstances create turmoil and annoyance. 8. Chant the mahamantra loudly and with attachment. This will drive away inertia, worldly evils and pests. 10. Pay due respects to the extroverts of the world, but do not be appreciative of their manners and conduct. They are to be shaken off from your mind. 14. Life is for the glorification of topics on Hari. If that is stopped, then what need is there to carry on life. 16. Our span of life on earth is short. Our life will be crowned with success if the body wears out with constant discourses on Hari. 17. We are here on earth not to work as artisans for making big buildings with wood and stone but to work only as messengers for the teachings of Sri Caitanya Deva. 23. The Lord, Gaurasundara, puts His devotees in various difficulties and associations to test their patience and strength of mind. Success depends on their good fortune. Of course, you don't have to give up your study and become a door-to-door beggar, you can do both the work you're aiming at and bhakti, but it was just to indicate what it means to be actually favored by the Lord. Seems to me you've been chanting properly and sincerely. My obeisances, Haribol!

Interesting point you're bringing up here. Your query made me realize my being in debt with the bank is actually quite fortunate. That way I'm sure my money isn't used for goals that might go against the regulative principles! Haribol!

Hare Krishna, in the following verse of the Bhagavad-Gita, Krishna stresses that one should submit, inquire from, and render service to, the bonafide spiritual master and Prabhupada stresses the importance of this truth in his purport to the verse. How will you be able to do these things without the physical presence of the spiritual master? Is your surrender to the non-physically-present guru real, or is it pretense? It's all too easy to cheat yourself by telling yourself you have surrendered, while in actuality you have simply pretended. How will you inquire from the guru who is not physically-present? You may send your queries into the sky but who will establish that if somehow an answer comes that it isn't concocted by your own mind? Inquiring from physically-present guru negates this possiblity entirely. You can render service to the non-physically-present guru though. Doing puja and glorifying the spiritual master through prayers and songs, and distributing and studying his books is rendering service. However physical service is impossible, again you can wave him cool air in your mind, which is good, but it's not as strong as doing it physically, because by physical association with the spiritual master you will not only be able to please sri guru by direct physical service, gain the immense benefit of being in the physical proximity of a bonafide sadhu, allow him to instruct you on a personal basis by submitting queries, learn to become humble and learn proper behaviour by rendering service, but more importantly your false ego will be destroyed by doing so. So simply put: One who deems it unnecessary to surrender to a physically-present spiritual master is simply cheating himself. So Krishna and Prabhupada instruct us to submit to a physically-present spiritual master: Bhagavad-gītā As It Is 4.34 "tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā upadekṣyanti te jñānaḿ jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ SYNONYMS tat — that knowledge of different sacrifices; viddhi — try to understand; praṇipātena — by approaching a spiritual master; paripraśnena — by submissive inquiries; sevayā — by the rendering of service; upadekṣyanti — they will initiate; te — you; jñānam — into knowledge; jñāninaḥ — the self-realized; tattva — of the truth; darśinaḥ — seers. TRANSLATION Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized souls can impart knowledge unto you because they have seen the truth. PURPORT The path of spiritual realization is undoubtedly difficult. The Lord therefore advises us to approach a bona fide spiritual master in the line of disciplic succession from the Lord Himself. No one can be a bona fide spiritual master without following this principle of disciplic succession. The Lord is the original spiritual master, and a person in the disciplic succession can convey the message of the Lord as it is to his disciple. No one can be spiritually realized by manufacturing his own process, as is the fashion of the foolish pretenders. The Bhāgavatam (6.3.19) says, dharmaḿ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam: the path of religion is directly enunciated by the Lord. Therefore, mental speculation or dry arguments cannot help lead one to the right path. Nor by independent study of books of knowledge can one progress in spiritual life. One has to approach a bona fide spiritual master to receive the knowledge. Such a spiritual master should be accepted in full surrender, and one should serve the spiritual master like a menial servant, without false prestige. Satisfaction of the self-realized spiritual master is the secret of advancement in spiritual life. Inquiries and submission constitute the proper combination for spiritual understanding. Unless there is submission and service, inquiries from the learned spiritual master will not be effective. One must be able to pass the test of the spiritual master, and when he sees the genuine desire of the disciple, he automatically blesses the disciple with genuine spiritual understanding. In this verse, both blind following and absurd inquiries are condemned. Not only should one hear submissively from the spiritual master, but one must also get a clear understanding from him, in submission and service and inquiries. A bona fide spiritual master is by nature very kind toward the disciple. Therefore when the student is submissive and is always ready to render service, the reciprocation of knowledge and inquiries becomes perfect. And from an article posted on VNN: Srila Prabhupada Recommends Direct Sanga With Pure Vaishnavas <hr> BY MADAN MOHAN DASA EDITORIAL, Sep 18 (VNN) — Srila Prabhupada instructs us unequivocally: ...The neophyte devotee must be protected by being surrounded by pure devotees...A so-called mature devotee, however, commits a great offense by giving up the company of pure devotees...By one's mental concoctions one falls down. (Sri Chaitanya Caritamrta Madhya-lila 19.157, purport) "Since one cannot visually experience the presence of the Supersoul, He appears before us as a liberated devotee. Such a spiritual master is none other than Krsna Himself." Purport It is not possible for a conditioned soul to directly meet Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but if one becomes a sincere devotee and seriously engages in devotional service, Lord Krsna sends an instructing spiritual master to show him favor and invoke his dormant propensity for serving the Supreme. The preceptor appears before the external senses of the fortunate conditioned soul, and at the same time the devotee is guided from within by the caittya-guru, Krsna, who is seated as the spiritual master within the heart of the living entity. (Sri Chaitanya Caritamrta Adi-lila 1.58) It is indicated that to learn the transcendental science, it is imperative that one avoid the company of undesirable persons and always seek the company of saints and sages who are able to impart lessons of transcendental knowledge. The potent words of such realized souls penetrate the heart, thereby eradicating all misgivings accumulated by years of undesirable association. For a neophyte devotee there are two kinds of persons whose association is undesirable: (1) gross materialists who constantly engage in sense gratification and: (2) unbelievers who do not serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead but serve their senses and mental whims in terms of their speculative habits. (Sri Chaitanya Caritamrta Adi-lila 1.59, purport) The secret is that one must submissively listen to those who know perfectly the science of God, and one must begin the mode of service regulated by the preceptor...The expert spiritual master knows well how to engage his disciple's energy in the transcendental loving service of the Lord, and thus he engages a devotee in a specific devotional service according to his special tendency. If one thinks that he is above consulting anyone else, including a spiritual master, he is at once an offender at the lotus feet of the Lord. Such an offender can never go back to Godhead. It is imperative that a serious person accept a bona fide spiritual master in terms of the sastric injunctions. Sri Jiva Gosvami advises that one not accept a spiritual master in terms of hereditary or customary social and ecclesiastical conventions. One should simply try to find a genuinely qualified spiritual master for actual advancement in spiritual understanding. (Sri Chaitanya Caritamrta Adi-lila 1.35, purport) A spiritual master is not an enjoyer of facilities offered by his disciples. He is like a parent. Without the attentive service of his parents, a child cannot grow to manhood, similarly without the care of the spiritual master one cannot rise to the plane of transcendental service. ...The bonafide spiritual master always engages in unalloyed devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. By this test he is known to be a direct manifestation of the Lord and a genuine representative of Sri Nityananda Prabhu. Such a spiritual master is known as acaryadeva. Influenced by an envious temperament and dissatisfied because of an attitude of sense gratification, mundaners criticise a real acarya. (Sri Chaitanya Caritamrta Adi-lila 1.46, purport) While the bhakti-lata creeper is growing, the devotee must protect it by fencing it all around. The neophyte devotee must be protected by being surrounded by pure devotees...A so-called mature devotee, however, commits a great offense by giving up the company of pure devotees...By one's mental concoctions one falls down. (Sri Chaitanya Caritamrta Madhya-lila 19.157, purport) The criterion is that a devotee must know what Krsna wants him to do. This can be achieved through the medium of the spiritual master who is a bona fide representative of Krsna...Without accepting a bona fide spiritual master coming in the disciplic succession, one cannot find out the real purpose of devotional service. Therefore one has to accept the shelter of a bona fide spiritual master and agree to be directed by him. (Sri Chaitanya Caritamrta Madhya-lila 19.167, purport) An uttama-adhikari is not interested in blaspheming others, his heart is completely clean, and he has attained the realized state of unalloyed Krishna consciousness. ...One should not become a spiritual master unless he has attained the platform of uttama-adhikari. A neophyte Vaisnava or a Vaisnava situated on the intermediate platform can also accept disciples, but such disciples must be on the same platform, and it should be understood that they cannot advance very well towards the ultimate goal of life under his insufficient guidance. Therefore a disciple should be careful to accept an uttama-adhikari as a spiritual master. (Nectar of Instruction Text Five, purport) Both the untenable policy of banning association with pure Vaishnavas and the sastrically unsupported "no living link is necessary" assertion of "ritvik" philosophy are exposed and comprehensively dismissed as disobedient speculation in the above crystal-clear instructions given by Srila Prabhupada in his perfect translations of Gaudiya Vedanta sastra and his fully authoritative purports. Maintaining the integrity of true Gaudiya Vaishnava siddhanta and maintaining the proper standard of Vaishnava sadacara on behalf of all our previous acaryas, while actually developing our love for Hari, Sri Guru and Vaishnavas constitutes our prime duty in serving the mission of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. The primary purpose of Srila Prabhupada's Iskcon is to provide unqualified persons with abundant opportunities to acquire sukrti (spiritual merit) by performing devotional services as prescribed throughout all his books, through the excellent facilities he provided. The ultimate fruit of sukrti is to be permitted entry into the sanga of pure Vaishnavas, whose direct personal sanga, instructions and mercy are the exclusive means by which entry into Sri Krishna's eternal abode is made possible, as conclusively confirmed through the infallible authority of guru, sadhu, sastra. Srila Prabhupada's books alone - if they constitute our only accepted authority - consistently reaffirm this simple, irrefutable truth. By sincere prayers and submission to Sri Krishna as caittya-guru in our hearts, He cannot but appear before us in the form of Sri Guru, the pure, uttama-adhikari Vaishnavas who will act as our siksa gurus and even as our diksa gurus to give us shelter and mercy in the form of their direct personal instructions to each of us individually, according to our acquired natures. To me, to avoid such direct sanga or not to be seeking out such sanga following the direct orders of Srila Prabhupada would indicate either: a) we have not read Srila Prabhupada's books, b) we have read but not understood Srila Prabhupada's instructions, c) we have read and understood Srila Prabhupada's teachings but have maintained a defiant mood of self-interest and non-surrender towards Sri Krishna (as opposed to a submissive mood of guru-seva for the pleasure of Sri Sri Radha-Govindaji), or d) we have not prayed sincerely to Sri Krishna in the form of caittya-guru to mercifully guide us to His divine lotus feet by appearing directly before our external senses in the form of Sri Guru. Please correct me if I have expressed any misunderstandings of Srila Prabhupada's teachings and feel free to contact me at any time, with sastric validation from Srila Prabhupada's books to support opposing viewpoints. Thank you. Your servant aspiring for the service of Sri Guru & Gauranga, Madan Mohan dasa.

Hare Krishna, Here's what I've heard and read about it. Today a total fast should be observed if you have broken your fast during, or did not observe one or more of the previous ekadasis. If you do that on this special Ekadasi the slate of those broken Ekadasis will be wiped clean. The ideal is to observe a total fast for 24 hours, i.e. no liquids or food for each and every Ekadasi. So if you have not broken your Ekadasi, you can observe regular Ekadasi Prasadam. Otherwise a total fast is certainly recommended. Here follow the allowed and the forbidden foodstuffs: ASTA ETANY AVRTAGHNANI APO MULAM PHALAM PAYAH HAVIR BRAHMANA KAMYA CA GUROR VACANAM AUSADHAM (HARI BHAKTI VILASA 12/100 from MAHABHARATA, UDYOGA PARVA) "Water, fruits, roots, milk, ghee, the request of a brahmana, the order of a spiritual master and medicine do not wane one's fast." Haribol!

Hare Krishna, It occured to me that I know next to nothing about Krishna's sister Subadra. I find this quite regrettable. The Ratha Yatra festival 'season' is drawing nearer and it would be nice to have some background story on Her. So if anyone has some knowledge on this subject, please feel free to share it here in this topic. Copy/paste actions, quotes from lectures or one's own insights would all be appreciated. Thank you, Haribol!

Pranams, Prabhu, you could check out this thread: http://www.audarya-fellowship.com/forums/hinduism/272816-dinosaurs-lived-yuga.html?highlight=dinosaur also, if you click on "search" in the blue bar at the top of the screen you can type "dinosaur" and see many more dino threads. Haribol!

It wouldn't be okay to eat it, because it is still unofferable to Lord Krishna and therefore always a sinful foodstuff, plus meat is always tamasic in nature, whether it is acquired by force or not, so therefore it is not eligible for consumption by devotees. Leather products would be okay though. Haribol!

By this reasoning it wouldn't matter Who or what you worship, you could just whimsically worship any god to the same result. The scriptures do not agree to this concept. No offense here either, but again there seem to be some misunderstandings. I have noticed a rather prejudiced stance against Gaudiya Vaisnavas from alot of people on this board and if you ask me, this attitude should be checked for even if such posts or public remarks are made by Gaudiya Vaisnavas, most likely they are just neophyte devotees trying their best to spread their religion. So instead of taking offense from them, we should be hailing their efforts and not feel offended. They are trying to promote God consciousness just like you and me. Just see that most of the people that post these sort of things here on this board are not even registered, and not large in number by any means, so please don't base your view of Gaudiya Vaisnavas on them. So first off, there has never been any malice, or intended offense on my behalf,and if someone perceived it as so, then know now that there was no such intention. I am fully aware that it is very easy to misinterpret one's intentions on any internet messageboard. Conflict seems to arise momentarily, you write one wrong word and it gets skewed and consequently blown out of proportion and you get ganged-up upon. I am only trying my best to avoid this myself so if I fail at it please forgive me. Secondly, In none of my post am I distancing Gaudiya Vaisnavism from "hinduism", in fact I haven't even mentioned Gaudiya Vaisnavism but people jump to conclusions right away. From my first post on to this very last, there has never been any intention to separate any sect from any supposed denomination, I have simply been trying to make clear that Hinduism is not a single religion, and therefore it is not possible to spread hinduism as hinduism, because it is just a collective noun for so many different religions. This is my own opinion, so really there's no need to bring Srila Prabhupada's opinion on the word Hinduism into play. As such I have merely been asking what exactly you would want to spread. It was just a friendly question. The word Hinduism is like a drawer in which the different paths are operating and functioning without conflict or problems. As such, when we speak of an evolution, the only thing that would have actually "evolved" would be the word Hinduism which first went by the name Sanatana Dharma, at least that is according to the information provided by wikipedia. But again, my point is that whatever the name evolves into (actually I couldn't care less), it still does not specify a single religion. That was actually all I was trying to make clear. Hey, I also believe Shaivism is a true path, Advaita vedanta is a true path, and whatever other paths are under the Vedic umbrella. I am not living with swords drawn against those sects! To each his own, different people different tastes, that's why God allowed for all these different paths to come into existance in the first place, knowing that not even a blade of grass would move if it was not the Lord's will. Of course God is one, He has unlimited expansions and unlimited avataras, but, each of these require a specific type of worship. Though all one, though all coming from God, they still differ from one another, still explain the same scriptures differently and have different realizations. All paths lead to God in the form of steps, but not every path is on the same level of God realization. A mayavadi for instance, also uses the Vedas but his realization of God does not extend beyond the formless Brahman. Again I want to stress that this is no attempt to separate any sect from the hindu denomination. It was, and still is just a simple objective observation unmotivated by any sectarian thought. I am making these observations from outside the box, not from a Gaudiya Vaisnava point of view. Hence once again, my question is, what is it exactly that you are going to spread? Or how would you go about teaching this, circulate gurus from each camp? And if instead you would say, "just try to spread the message of your respective sect/religion more and more", then why all the criticism on the Gaudiya Vaisnavas, as I they are already doing that and I think they are doing an examplary job at that, spreading the message of their respective religion . So in this case, why the need for the denomination of "Hinduism"? Hey I'm friendly with Lord Shiva and His devotees, heck, I am even friendly to a non-believing atheist, so personally, the word Hinduism doesn't make me feel more or less close to the other Vedic paths. Anyway, I will do my best to propagate my respective religion, and I wish all the other sects and religions under the Hindu banner the best of luck in spreading theirs. Peace be with all of you and, Haribol!

Okay, so I meant alot of different religions, not all. It was just to make clear that there are many different religions in "hinduism". So if hinduism is a religion, then tell me who is God in Hinduism? "Oh, it's Shiva. No, it's Vishnu! No, it's Rama! No it's the holy trinity Vishnu, Brahma, Shiva! No it's the formless Brahman! No it's Krishna!No they are all God!":crazy2: All conclusions are based on the Vedas, so what will you say? "Oh just pick whatever you like, that is hinduism? Just worship Ganesh today and Vishnu tomorrow, and after tomorrow you can try to merge into the formless Brahman. It all doesn't matter, it's all the same?" Well it's not, because all may or may not be God in some way or form, but the destinations for souls worshiping these different aspects of God are totally different. It's not that if I worship Ganesh that I will go to the same destination as when I worship Shiva, understand what I mean? Here's some more info on the origins of the word hindu if you still think it defines a religion: http://hinduwebsite.com/hinduism/h_meaning.htm http://voi.org/books/htemples2/app3.htm http://www.salagram.net/hindu-ism-origin.html http://www.stephen-knapp.com/about_the_name_Hindu.htm So at last quoted from another 'hindu' website: "Hinduism is not a single religious faith system because it does not insist on any fixed set of doctrines. There are a variety of religious sects or traditions in hinduism." So my point is; what are you going to teach, what are you going to spread? A some point you will have to take a stance in one sect because you simply can't spread a vague, nondescript message can you? Anyway, that's just my 2 cents and I'm going to leave it at that. Good luck with your mission, Haribol!

To attract people of the all the various religions that fall under the hindu denomination. It's a site for all Indian religions and not just for Vaisnavas or Saivaites or Mayavadi's, hence they labelled it Hindu-religion.net. All I'm saying is that the word hinduism does not define a single religion, but that it's simply a collective noun for all the different religions in India. Why this objective observation is seen as a denigrating attitude of Vaisnavas is beyond me honestly. Haribol!

Well, if it's of any consolation to you I'm neither an ISKCON member, nor was my reply an attempt to bash you in any way. I also didn't quote your remark on the subject of meat-eating to bash you or people who do eat it, but simply to show that under the umbrella of hinduism exist vast differences. So, I was simply inquiring as to what it was you were trying to spread, because hinduism is not a religion, as you have acknowledged now. Haribol!

Exactly, as becomes clear from the above quote, that's the problem, you can't define the "hindu". You can't define the "hindu" because there is simply no such thing as a religion called hinduism. It's nothing but a collective noun for all the different religions in India. Since you can't clearly define hinduism, how are you going to spread it? Haribol!

Hare Krishna, Good point. Do you see this age of Kali, how crooked it is? Nowadays you can't even drink a glass of milk anymore without a cow or calf getting killed for it. And that while there's no need to kill cows to get it's milk. Only out of greed and satisfaction of the tongue are they keeping these factories of death and exploitation. Alas! See what has become of our so-called civilization. We've gone from hunting down and brutally killing a few thousand animals yearly to brutally killing billions hidden from the eye to see, breeding them for the sole purpose of exploitation, using and abusing them as they would any other dead product. How dull-headed has mankind become, the people of this world, a thick layer of dust has surely accumulated on the mirrors of our hearts. When seen from a different perspective though, one could also argue that the lives of those commercial milkcows, who's milk has been offered to Supreme Lord Sri Krishna by His devotees, have become succesful and as such will soon be released from their precarious situations. Anyway back to the subject at hand, I really don't see for the life of me how becoming a vegan would harm his devotional qualities. Maybe he's worried that if he's going to take pills to get all his vitamins that the pills may have animal product in it or something, or that there's an unknown history of animal testing behind them. Maybe it's because of the part where Srila Prabhupada says milk helps us develop the finer brain-tissues which help us understand the deeper spiritual truths. Don't know just a thought. I can understand if someone goes vegan, though I myself could never do without the wonderful product that is milk. There are so many things you can do with it, there would just be too many foodstuffs I would have to avoid, and also I don't wanna have to start taking pills to get all my vitamins. But then again, perhaps that's not necessary, as I've seen a hermit in the Himalayas aged 90+ who lives/lived on nothing but one plate of rice and dal/beans daily and he was totally fine which goes to show once again that all these so-called scientifical foodfacts are merely subjective and here today/gone tomorrow. Anyway, to each his own, and I'm glad I'm getting my milk from slaughter free cows who's calves are not taken away and slaughtered. Haribol!

Nooooooooo! You can't decide for yourself when to break fast! It may be always at some time in the morning, but there are specific times at which to break fast and failing to break fast in the specified time ruins the effect of your fasting according to scripture. There's a nice story in relation to this, the story of Ambarish Maharaja and Durvasa Muni. You should consult a Vaisnava Calender for when to break fast, as the times vary. Usually you have roughly 3 hours to break fast, but other times you could have only 1 hour at a specific time. This first Ekadasi of the month may for example we had to break fast literally really fast as we had only 2 minutes! Please contact your local temple for a calender in your timeframe or check online. Haribol!

Is it not simply so that your application form may have been rejected due to the name Krsna already being registered? Dunno, just a thought.

Hare Krishna, first of all it's already a good thing that you're being honest and open about it. Now, if I understand correctly you have been engaging yourself in Krishna Bhakti for one year now? If so you should not be surprised that sex issues are haunting you every now and then, as you can't expect all your sinful thoughts/actions to be eradicated all at once. These things take time. Years to lifetimes even, depending on the person. So please have patience in this and just continue your sadhana or spiritual practice. For example: Let's say one has led a "sinful" life for 25 years or so and finally gives it all up and makes the correct choice to pursue a life of piety and God consciousness, then it is only logical that there is bound to be some residual sins coming back to haunt you now and again. Besides, we don't even know what kind of sinful activities we may have performed in our many previous lives that could bear fruit in this life or the next, so what to speak of our sinful activities in this life? The remedy to collecting the fruits of a sinful life this is remarkably simple and effective. Just keep performing bhakti, keep on chanting for these activities destroy the reactions to those sinful actions eventually and helps you build pious merit or sukrti. Keep on doing your spiritual practice, keep following the regulative principles, in short keep up the good work with patience and perseverance. The feeling of guilt is actually a very positive sign. If one has sinful thoughts and is feeling genuine remorse about them it means he is situated in the correct mode. Krishna is situated in your heart and knows your inner self, you can't hide anything from Him,can't lie to Him, so when you have feelings of shame or guilt about those thoughts/actions Krishna will surely forgive you. As long as you don't chant to make up for your sins, that is, to commit offenses knowing that chanting the maha mantra will relieve you from all sinful reactions, but sincerely chant to beg for Krishna to engage you in His service, it is nothing to worry about. It would of course be different if you were living in a temple or in the renounced order of life. In due time , gradually these thoughts will vanish, as long as you keep practicing your bhakti, and if possible intensify it degree by degree. When you feel your spiritual advancement is stagnating you should intensify you sadhana. Seek association with other devotees, go to temple programs and join in sankirtan as much as possible. This is the perfect remedy to the disease of being bound to material existence. If in difficulty of wanting to fulfull sexual desires,whether physically or mentally, do like Namacharya Haridasa Thakura and postpone. Say to yourself, okay I will engage in these activities after I cooked for the Lord, after I chanted my rounds, and read some books/listened to lectures, and you will most certainly find that the attraction for sex will be diminished by the time you're done with those things. It may also help to, as soon as you get sexual urges, immediately contemplate the aftermath of engaging in those activities. Think about how you will feel after "the deed is done" (for example:guilty, lazy, depleted of energy, spiritually drained). Think about how living a life of celibacy makes you more vital and strong both spiritually and physically and then consider the futility and wastefulness of engaging in sexual activities (without intention of creating Krishna conscious babies). Think about how shortlived the sensation actually is, the gross internal aspects of the physical bodies you have lusty desires for and how they too will wrinkle and wither and die not all that long from now. Marvel at the illusion of it all, appreciate it's potency in light of Krishna, understanding the only way to avoid staying caught up in it is by submitting to Krishna and not by one's own strength. Of how engaging in sexual activities will only fuel the fire of lust rather then diminish it and how it actually does not make you happy, does not satisfy your true inner desires at all. Just some idea's that I hope may prove helpful to you. Wanting to see erotic imagery, instead jump to this forum and engage in a topic of interest, just always try to divert your attention to God conscious activities when sinful thoughts enter your mind, and slowly but surely those thoughts will be purged from your heart. Trust me, I can speak out of experience and with me I gather, countless of others. I hope this has been of help to you, good luck and, Haribol!

Hare Krishna, I've been wondering about this too more than once, but never got to spending my time counting back the yuga's and in the end I considered the whole matter not important enough to keep myself busy with. But yes, the idea from the Vedas is that humans have been on this earth since forever, so that automatically places them alongside the dino's at some point in time. I can think of a number of scenarios that would make their coexistence plausible. If anyone cares to spend some time on calculating this I'd like to hear it, if not, no problem. The below link features some conversations of prabhupada and some reference to the bhagavatam about 'big lizards'., it may be of interest. It's obvious though from the transcribed conversations that Prabhupada did not want to waste his precious time either pondering on such insignificant matters therefore he was dismissive about the subject. http://www.hknet.org.nz/VWH-Vedic-Jurasic.html Haribol!