Nrsinghadev

Beautiful, lovely and inspiring read. Thank you.

Haribol, It's remains ever so staggering, to witness the gross ignorance of modern society. This "scientific revelation" is perhaps the greatest example. I don't know whether to laugh or cry about this. How one can come to think that only humans are conscious is beyond me. Even before I got into KC I never thought only humans were conscious souls and animals some sort of miraculously animated dead matter. Generally, people only have sympathy for the animals they keep as pets in their home, for their enjoyment. Personally I think we should all stop to hold any sort of pet, but that's another issue. There was another topic on that site which highlighted the intelligence of fish. When young, I used to feel a tremendous pity for goldfish trapped in small bowls or aquariums. At best, I can see this research leading to a general consensus like the following comment written by a reader of that newsbit: "I believe that animals should be treated with dignity and respect. We should not be cruel and we should be as "humane" as is possible. But at the end of the day, I want to see them on my dinner table as well. I do not believe these two thoughts are incompatible."

This explains everything in a tiny nutshell: http://www.krishna.com/main.php?id=10#before

All the bonafide spiritual masters say it is Kali Yuga.

"so you believe in Krishna, thats great, you shall go to Golok and receive much happiness. So you believe in Swaminarayan, you will go to Akshardham and receive much happiness. GREAT!! But hang on, if you go to Golok, you will have to return to earth and do so again and again until you realise swaminarayan as supreme. Dont you see, the scripturs forecasted krishna. as well as many other incarnations, deities. They came to earth to kill demons - kans, ravan." I suppose by Golok you mean Goloka Vrindavan, which is the Supreme eternal abode of the Supreme Lord. A single quote from Bhagavad Gita is enough to refute the foolishness of your statement. B.G. Ch.15,v.6: "That abode of Mine is not illuminated by the sun or moon, nor by fire/electricity. One who reaches it, never returns." Futhermore you state: "Swaminarayan didnt require a forecast. He is God. He came to dispel maya from people's jivas and take them to Akshardham" Well what more needs to be said here, "hey, I am God, and because I'm God I don't need to be predicted in scriptures". Perhaps there was a vague reference in one single hymn of the Skanda Purana. The validity of our faith however isn't based on one single verse in a purana. Our teachings are constantly rooted in the scriptures and therefore authorative. I don't mind if you follow Swaminarayan's teachings or not,that's your business, but don't come here trying to preach Swaminarayan because it's like approaching the sun with a flaming torch, claiming yours is the original fire. Goodbye, Hare Krishna!

Forgive me if I understood wrong, but this is how I understand it so far: 1. the potency of the mantra is in the sound vibration,and as it is stated the name Krishna is non-different from Krishna Himself so silently chanting isn't as effective. That said, when doing the japa meditation it is not uncommon for devotees to chant only parts of the mantra audibly and the rest under one's breath. But if the names are not uttered, one should at least actively engage the tongue in speaking the names. 2. Though effective to a degree, when listening to it trough an intermediate alot of the potency is lost, it becomes second hand mantra. The more effort you put into your service to the Lord, the bigger the reward. The chanting of the mahamantra is considered a form of austerity, so just listening to it through a second hand medium is not. Hope this helps! Haribol!

I would like to know why my post was removed. There was nothing offensive about it, in fact it was quite informative.

ii. What are Dietary beliefs? iii. Is there a sacred origin/what is origin? Haribol, boy,there's so much to say on this subject matter so please forgive me I tangle it up. As stated in the Vedic scriptures, material nature consists of three modes, or "gunas". They are: sattva-guna (goodness), raja-guna (passion) and tama-guna (ignorance). Thus food also falls into these three categories. For example Meat, fish and eggs are foodstuffs in the mode of ignorance, garlic, onions and and overly spiced foodstuffs are considered to be in the mode of passion whereas milk,grains,fruits and vegetables are foodstuffs in the mode of goodness. While onions and garlic are also a vegetarian food source and the Ayurveda praises it's medicinal abilities, it is being dissuaded for the practicing yogi as it's consumption leads to a strong increase of raja-guna, resulting in loss of focus, patience and tolerance. Part of the Vedic principles is to respect all life and thus any killing of lifeforms is condemned. Nonviolence is a quality created by Krishna alone (B.G. 10.4-5).It is therefore considered a divine quality. It is said to be one of the qualities that belong to godly men of divine nature (B.G.16.1-3). Nonviolence is amongst others considered as austerity of the body (B.G. 17.14). Though we do also take some life (in the form of grains and vegetables), as stated in the scriptures, the Lord accepts vegetable offerings, and so by offering the food unto Him, it becomes free of sin, sanctified by the Grace of God, no karma incurred. The food is turned to "prasadam" ('favor',food offered to Krishna) after reciting a specific series of mantras. Actually after having offered the food to Krishna, it is no longer to be considered food, but rather the mercy of Sri Krishna. The scriptures state that God's senses are interchangable, so He can eat with His eyes, see with His ears etc. etc. So, although we do no physically see the Lord eat the food He can taste the food through His sound manifestation. Any food that has not been offered to Krishna is considered to be sinful, so His Grace should always be asked. Killing is only to be applied as far as it is necessary for maintenance of the body (or, as in the case of the setting of the Bhagavad-Gita, an inevitable war when all other resolutions have failed but that's another issue). Fruits, milk, water, grains and vegetables are the natural resources of food for the human body, and are more than sufficient to provide for the maintenance of our bodies. Therefore, any other food source is automatically demoted to sinful sense gratification, food only for the satisfaction of the tongue. When we obtain milk from the cow we receive the cow's blood without killing it, so why should we still insist on killing it for it's flesh? Staying on the subject of cow killing, in the vedic literature the words 'gobhih prinita-matsaram' indicate that one who, being fully satisfied by milk, is desirous of killing the cow, is in the grossest ignorance. The Lord is also lovingly named "Govinda" which means:"One who gives pleasure to the land, the cows and the senses." Another verse goes: "Namo brahmanya-devaya go-brahmana hitaya ca jagaddhitaya krsnaya govindaya namo namah" "My Lord, You are the well-wisher of the cows and the brahmanas, and you are the well-wisher of the entire human society and world." Krsna appears as a cowherdboy, and on Krsna's own spiritual planet the cows, named Surabhi, enjoy Krsna's special attention. The cows on our earth are a reflection of these cows. Cow protection is especially stressed in the Vedic culture as it said to be the basic principles religion and true civilization. The cow is considered as one of seven mothers, since she gives us milk, and the bull is considered the father of society by providing us with grains as it pulls the cart. Further restrictions on consumption are obiviously any intoxicating substances. iv. How long/continuous is belief structure? 1. Have they changed? 2. If so how have they changed? All these principles have been unchanged since the Lord first originally spoke them, the Vedic tradition is that pure. This is verified by the Guru-parampara, a line of spiritual masters who kept the message uncontaminated and pure. v. Does food serve a sacred purpose in religious services/celebrations? Milk and Ghee are used in religious service and big feasts are prepared on celebrative occasions. There could be more though. vi. Are there any differences in dietary practices from the movement in India or elsewhere in the world? No, everywhere the same principles are being followed. However, if someone in for example Italy, knows how to cook some local dish that meets the demands of the Vedic standards, it can be offered, no problem. 2. Is the kitchen used in the cooking of the food purified or cleansed in any ritualistic fashion before the food can be truly prasada and offered to Krishna We should share prasadam,observe fasting, eat moderately, not be wasteful with any foodstuff, eat a regular times, in a pleasant and calm atmosphere and another thing of special importance is cleanliness. Both in body and kitchen. It is said Krishna will accept a small offer from a clean kitchen but He will not accept a big offer from a dirty one. When cooking one should think of the pleasure of Krishna,not of one's self. Chanting helps. And lastly, the cook doesn't taste the food before it is offered. 3. Are there certain food items that are more pure and thus more appropriate to be offered to Lord Krishna? Not as far as I know, only the foodstuff mentioned earlier but nothing outstanding. Hope this helps! Haribol!

a welcome change from the usual.

"i have seen that my sexuality, and lust itself is the least of my obstacles towards realisation of god/dess within me." Wow, now that's a bold statement. Can you please name me a bigger obstacle than lust, since lust is described as being the greatest eternal,sinful and all-devouring enemy of our world and of the living entity? Any sex-life that is contrary to religious principles (sex not for propogation of children) is simply lust, so if you still engage in it how can you claim it not to be your biggest obstacle? Lust is never a gift and always a burden. Denying it won't make it go away. Just as you can't expect to move forward in a car by simultaneously pressing the gas and brake pedals, you can't expect to progress spiritually by practicing both lusty sex and devotional service at the same time. If you do think you can progress that way, and that it doesn't matter what you do, you are simply fooling yourself. Please study B.G Ch.3 v.36-43 carefully. Haribol!

Hi and welcome to this board, I think the most effective method for you, judging from your post, would be to go to a temple or a meeting nearby where devotees come together. There's really no need to be shy, as these people are just about the most open,forthcoming, non-judgemental and friendly people you can bump into, and best of all, they don't expect anything of you. They are simply satisfied by your interest in Krishna. Chanting is the only way, but when you're depressed, chanting alone on the japa beads will most likely be less effective for you in terms of lifting spirits (obviously it is always most effective), as it may feel a little dry for the neophyte and requires a significant amount of focus. So rather, for you, I'd say there is nothing like a kirtan to instantly lift your spirits, and you'll soon find that you'll want to join in singing, dancing and making music when the kirtan/bhajan at the temple/meeting commences. And I can tell, because I always saw myself as the most rigid anti-dance person around, and yet found myself incapable of sitting still or not feeling the least bit of extasy when surrounded by the transcendental sound coming from the devotee's kirtans. It's no problem if you don't know the lyrics, you can ask a songbook or simply just soak it in and inhale the atmosphere there. It is guaranteed to lift you up. Not only that, but you will soon make significant spiritual progress, if of course you follow with sincerity. All it takes for you is to go there and knock on the door, and you shall be welcome to join at no cost! If you're scared to go, just see it as going to visit a real doctor who has a guaranteed working prescription for you /images/graemlins/wink.gif Hope it has been of help! Haribol!

I don't don't think you get what he's getting at. What's hinduism really, it doesn't specify anything.

If so we should actually claim today's science to be subjective and unscientific as modern science's researches stem from a flawed startingpoint in the first place. And with their flawed material senses and apparatus they are claiming laws and take guesswork theories for fact that are mostly here today and revised/gone tomorrow, and yet modern man is clinging to it as if it were the only undeniable truth. Basically, if I were to go by the rules of modern science, there is nothing outside of the room I am in since I can't see it,feel it touch or hear it. I can use some flawed equipment and reach a bit further but then again have to come to the same conclusion after the next discovery when the equipment's abilities can't reach further. The science of God steps outside of this narrowminded standpoint and doesn't base itself on any material senses,not even the mind. This knowledge is from outside of the material realm, and yet it follows the same principles modern science applies, i.e: theory(scriptures)->practice(strictly following the regulative principles)->result(Krishna consciousness). This makes the science of God in fact the only actual science whereas the efforts of modern science can be compared to trying to hold on to 'a piece' of ether in their hands. As long as their efforts are not aimed at reaching the center(God), their results are temporary,shortlived in terms of achieving happiness and ultimately useless. Haribol!

Haribol, It is rascaldom to disobey with bonafide acarya's instructions. You should not buy deities if you are unready and unable to properly take care and commit to them. Don't try and skip chapters of this path, when you are ready to have deities in your own house Krishna will provide. No reason to rush or force deity worhip in your own house because taking deities your house is not something to take lightly. First get more acquainted with the basics before venturing into advanced territory. Similarly, one will learn nothing by skipping the first 9 canto's and going straight to the 10th canto of Srimad Bhagavatam or by starting with the more advanced Vedic literature such as Caitanya Caritamrta, when you are not properly situated in Krishna consciousness yet. Taking deities in your own house is not the most important thing for the neophyte devotee so don't worry yourself about Deity worship yet. Just chant the Maha Mantra and read Bhagavat-Gita/Srimad Bhagavatam, and cook Prasadam, and get gradually purified by the process. Even more beneficial is to associate with other devotees and do Kirtan or Bhajan together and hear from them about Krishna. Deity worship is of later concern. Hope this helps! Hare Krishna.

http://www.kurma.net/ haribol!

Hare Krishna. The problem is not other religions, nor the other religion's 'God'(since there is only one 'Supreme' God no matter the scripture), but it is rather the dangerous thinking that one can be freely picking and mixing ingredients from this and that spiritual path and add it with one's own mental concoctions to form some own delusional path or religion, and then try to convince a crowd that is unsusceptible for that kind of nonsense, that is becoming a nuisance on this board. I don't mind a few topics about how Jesus' teachings compare with the Vaisnava view (or something along that line), as long as the views presented are treated respectfully (and if possible, backed up by religious scriptures), from both sides (Christian and Vaisnava alike) mind you. I say this because alot of those in favor of the Vedic scriptures are keen to talk very disrespectfully about the Bible and Jesus, which goes against Vedic principles. It is our 'home', they are the guests, so let's treat them respectfully even though in their ignorance they say the most offensive things. Ignorant and offensive posts should simply be ignored or refuted by well-considered answers backed up by the scriptures and teachings of our spiritual masters. So if you're getting worked up over some comments by the occasional offensive guest who posts something hurtful out of their own ignorance you have only yourself to blame. That said, I also don't see the point of stalwart Christians or people with invented religions lingering here when they are simply preaching and never listening to our views, stubbornly clinging to their one-sided (and often erronous) convictions. This sort of one-way lane preaching is useless to us because there is never a way to have a civilized conversation in this way, and moreso because we are already solidly convinced of our way and have the ability to back it up by means of authentic religious scriptures and most of all by living examples in the form of the bonafide spiritual masters who perfectly execute the path we believe in. So consequently it becomes more useless to us when it is nonsensical preaching not backed up by quotes from 'their' subsequent religious scriptures or spiritual teachers. Hope this helps! Haribol!

Hare Krishna, Maybe a silly question, but how does this rhyme with reincarnation? Is it like an inbetween stage, like say an animal killer gets his share of hell for a while and after that gets reborn as the creature he killed and suffers some more? Haribol!

Oh, I do think I explained it already. I simply stated that the Vedic scriptures(and thus God Himself) and the bonafide spiritual masters state chanting as the only means for this age, so I don't know how much more clear of an explanation you want. Anyway, I don't think anything, it is simply stated by the Lord Himself and prescribed through His authorized channels in the form of the bonafide spiritual masters so there's no room for speculation of any kind, let alone by the recent surge of pseudo-hip-new-age-guru's who all concoct their own misguided delusional theories in order to gain some wealth or fame. Perhaps the misunderstanding lies in that you are talking about forms of realization, which has different stages. The topmost stage which brings deliverance, can thus in this age only be attained by chanting the holy names of the Lord. Hope this clears it up for you! Hare Krishna!

Hare Krishna Sumedh, I don't agree with your comment that Jesus dying on the cross was of little spiritual value. I mean 2000+ years on people are still discussing it so that fact alone makes it of significant spiritual value. This dying on the cross scheme was an enactment, much in the sense of Krishna's departure of this material world. He appears to have died a mundane death but it was all carefully arranged by Him to complete the pastime. Conditioned souls could only see Krishna as a regular human being and therefore stated that He died, but those who understood that Krishna is Godhead Himself obviously knew better. I do agree with your points on vegetarianism, nicely put. And I definitely like your statement that meat isn't mentioned because it isn't considered food, I think so too /images/graemlins/wink.gif. However if you would follow my view for a sec, I do think meat is described in verses 8-10 chapter 17 of the Gita and this is why. The verse says: "food cooked more than three hours before eaten, which is tasteless, stale, putrid decomposed and unclean, is food liked by people in the mode of ignorance." Bear in mind the time and place when the Gita was sung by our dear Lord. In that time there were no means of artificially sustaining freshness of meat by injecting it with all sorts of chemicals to make it look fresh and it is a fact that it doesn't take long before flesh starts decomposing at all, especially in a hot climate(the recent event of the tsunami provided ample evidence for that). Meat is obviously unclean, I really don't need to convince anyone of this, just picture a random image of your average 'blood 'n guts-all-over-the-place slaughterhouse'(disgusting enough,and you know it to be true(and if image doesn't do anything for you, try the smell). Never mind the compulsory need to clean the place up all the time to prevent infections. So that is even in our time of antibiotics injections and anti-bacterial cleaning substances,so what to say of the time when the Gita was written whithout all these modern facilities for keeping meat fresh? At max they could dry the meat, in which case it would fall in the category of stale. At the time of composing the Gita there were no refrigerators so the bare meat must have been laying in the open (just like you can witness today on asian/arabic markets for example) and attracted countless flies who were happy to fly from stool to the meat to lay their eggs on it or suck fluids and so spread bacteria. And on top of that the taste of meat unprepared with any kind of spices must be considered to be tasteless. So since meat as food shows conformity with at least three of the food types described as being in the mode of ignorance, we can safely conclude that meat falls incontrovertibly into tama-guna or the mode of ignorance. Haribol!

Haribol, I agree, and it baffles me at times how people can have a completely twisted interpretation of some of the most straightforward teachings too. Just like these verses, which leave no room for any weird interpretations. I've read here and there that Lord Caitanya's advent was "secretly" described in the Vedas. Well, other than that one would have to go through all the Vedas to find these verses which is such a huge undertaking they could be seen as hidden verses, I find these verses quite obvious. I see no reason why this would be untrue. Hare Krishna!

Haribol, "...Krishnamurti who attained realization through Jnana, Rajnesh (Osho), Maharishi, Eckhart Tolle, Jon Peniel, Paramahansa Yogananda, etc..etc... these are a short list of realized jeevas who have attained in the past 100 years or a bit more and not by the means of chanting friend, please do not mistaken that the only way in the present age to attain Godhead is through ONE prescribed method." How do you know this for fact? Did they tell you that themselves? Did they receive a certificate stating they were realized souls? And if so, what kind of realization do you think they achieved, as there are different levels? If they concocted their own theories than it becomes actually highly questionable whether they attained some form of realization at all. The only way to tell is to see if they are in line with what the scriptures state, and that they never deviate from the path those scriptures and the bonafide spiritual masters prescribe. For these masters don't concoct their own theories, they have receive their knowledge through other bonafide spiritual masters who received theirs respectively and so on until you come back to God Himself as Ultimate Teacher. These masters are perfectly executing the described paths of the scriptures, they are the living examples of the path. And both the scriptures and the spiritual masters tell us this is the only means in this age. So there is no mistake in stating that chanting is the only way in the Kali-yuga (the present yuga or age), as it is stated in the Brhan-Naradiya Purana: "Harer nama harer nama harer namaiva kevalam, kalau nasty eva nasty eva nasty eva gatir anyatha." "In this age of quarrel and hypocrisy the only means of deliverance is chanting the holy name of the Lord. There is no other way. There is no other way. There is no other way. " There are many diverse spritual paths for many different people with different wants, for different yugas, and chanting the names of the Lord is the medication prescribed for this age to those who want to attain liberation. Vedic Scriptures tell us of times before this age of Kali yuga and of times to come and so it is only logical that therein are described different paths to attain to God. So chanting as the only means is not a dogmatic approach, because if you simply observe these texts and listen to the spiritual master you will find it is foolishness to brush aside this advice. "why do you guys chant? so you can be reborn in a higher loka?" Devotees chant the names of the Lord not for a quick exit of this material plane, but simply to glorify the Lord, and that is all they desire to do, they don't mind if they have to do it here on this material plane for as long as it lasts, as long as they can serve His Lotus Feet they are content. Hare Krishna!

Hare Krishna Govindaram, I thank you for your post, it is most wonderous and intruiging. Where did you get this information from? (Apart from the stated Atharva Veda) Haribol!

Dear sir, your baseless response is evidence of your own ignorance on this subject matter. Please for your own good refrain from making any more statements on this matter until you have actually gained some knowledge about it.

Dear sir, your baseless response is evidence of your own ignorance on this subject matter. Please for your own good refrain from making any more statements on this matter until you have actually gained some knowledge about it.

Hare Krishna, I'm sorry for the misunderstanding but I wasn't replying to your post, or the "re:guest" would have read "re:Vishnu" instead . It's fine if you combine your churchgoing with developing Krishna consciousness, however I must disagree that Jesus and Krishna are one. Jesus never claimed himself to be God but rather His son. Jesus was an avatar of God but that is by no means a reason to think less of Him. To consider Him a common man is a great sin just like it would be a great offense to think so of our Guru. Haribol!