Jahnava Nitai Das

Video on Borobudur, an ancient buddhist temple of Indonesia. Approx. 30 minutes in length. (Popup viewer accessible from http://www.indiadivine.com in the Audio and Video section.) Sri Vrindadevi Ashtakam: Eight prayers in glorfication of Tulasi Devi http://www.indiadivine.com/vrinda-ashtakam-tulasi-devi.htm

Generally higher beings empower an individual, where as lower beings possess an individual. Possession usually occurs because the lower beings don't have a physical body of theire own to enjoy through. Thus they try to take over someone else's body and enjoy through it.

Many demons such as Kamsa, Hiranyakashipu, etc., thought about the Lord constantly, but they thought of Him as an enemy. Despite their hatred for the Lord, their full absorption on Him brought them ultimate good fortune.

Actually the widows in Vrindavan have large amounts of money, most of them have bank accounts as well (there are banks that operate solely for the widows). They never use the money, because what will they do with it? The banks end up with the money eventually. Where do they get the money? From the millions of rich marwaris who come on pilgrimage. They believe it is their duty to donate money to these widows, and sometimes give lakhs of rupees to a single widow without knowing anything about them. The BBC may say they get only Rs. 400 a month, but the reality is far from that. If you think supporting a wife means feeding them, then you are very mistaken. Unfortunately that's what most men in the west think, and as a result the divorce rates keep going up. Today there is neither man nor woman, for neither are fixed in their proper duties. The unfortunate result is inevitable.

Oh yeah, in case anyone isn't aware, Hari Vilas uses Srila Prabhupada's formula ("De's Formula") for the tooth powder. It is very good, with mint oil, camphor, etc.

Not sure if it will work for you, but you could try gargling with the powder toothpaste Hari Vilas makes. What's the name of that stuff? Uncle something's... Don't use it to brush, but just gargle with some of the powder. If that doesn't word, try the ayurvedic Red Tooth Powder from Dabur. Again, just gargle with it, swish it around. Don't give up on your regular tooth paste.

From the Srimad Bhagavatam, 7.11.13: samskara yatravicchinnah sa dvijo 'jo jagada yam ijyadhyayana-danani vihitani dvijanmanam janma-karmavadatanam kriyas cashrama-coditah "Those who have been reformed by the garbhadhana ceremony and other prescribed reformatory methods, performed with Vedic mantras and without interruption, and who have been approved by Lord Brahma, are dvijas, or twice-born. Such brahmanas, ksatriyas and vaisyas, purified by their family traditions and by their behavior, should worship the Lord, study the Vedas and give charity. In this system, they should follow the principles of the four ashramas [brahmacarya, grihastha, vanaprastha and sannyasa]." Those who follow the ten samskaras (purificatory rituals) are known as dvijas, or twice born. The first birth is the material birth to one's mother and father. The second birth is the spiritual birth, where the Guru becomes the spiritual father, and Gayatri Devi becomes the spiritual mother. Vaishya's, kshatriyas and brahmanas were all expected to receive this second birth through initiation, thus they were known as dvijas. The brahmanas were known particularly as the shreshthas or dvija-shreshthas, "best among the twice born". Those who were not interested in following regulated life styles were not given the spiritual initiation into Gayatri mantra, though they were instructed in other forms of purification through devotion. These designations of caste are not based on birth, as is evident from the many saintly individuals who were born in shudra families, but who become teachers of the higher castes.

In the ancient times a substantial, or noticeable, percentage of the population took to spiritual pursuits by renouncing the world and taking refuge in the forest. As a result, there were always more brides than grooms. As such it was necessary for qualified individuals to accept more than one wife so that all women would have a source of protection. In the modern times there is no justification for polygamy, as the society has degraded to the point where even one wife is not taken care of properly. Divorce is becoming more and more common throughout the world. If people could maintain and protect a single wife throughout their life, that would itself be a great achievement.

When a devotee asked Prabhupada if he would write his own purports to Brahma Samhita since Bhaktisiddhanta's were too difficult to understand, he replied: Elsewhere: His disciples couldn't understand the language, but he still refused to write his own purports to Brahma Samhita because Bhaktisiddhanta had already done it personally in the English language. He reasoned that it was spiritual sound, and simply by hearing the transcendental sound of Bhaktisiddhanta's purports, one would be purified and brought to the position of understanding the spiritual subject matter therein. "Why should we change it? Let it be presented as Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati has given..."

Navadvipa Mahatmya does have that description of "grass green". Elsewhere, in the Bhagavatam purports, Prabhupada mentions parrot green.

It should be noted that Srila Prabhupada did not write a commentary to Brahma Samhita, simply because his guru had already written one in English. Rather he chose to make that commentary available to his disciples and to the world. This despite Bhaktisiddhanta's english being very outdated and hard to understand by a large percentage of readers.

He did. His "Bhagavad Gita As It Is" is a natural translation of multiple bonafide commentaries.

Just for the record, in Srila Prabhupada's time there was no authentic translation of the Gita in English, thus he took the commentaries of the previous acharya's and sumamrized their purports in his Bhagavad Gita As It Is for the benefit of the English speaking world. Regarding the "translation" of Gita by Visvanatha Chakravarti, I think you need to check again.

That would all be fine and good if she actually did any of that. But she didn't. I think this is an opinion few will be willing to accept. Some will want to hold on to the TV image of a person, ignoring the documented facts. We can keep on saying how she did this and did that, but she never did any of those things, at least not anywhere near to the extent they claim. The best place to get an opinion of Mother Theresa is from the poor in Calcutta. The TV version just doesn't hold up then. Imagine there is a Mr. X who was receiving over 100 million dollars to his charity, but there was only visible social service amounting to a few hundred thousand dollars being carried out. What if, when being asked for an audit, Mr. X replied "I am only accountable to God, not to the government." What do you think would be the result? What does it suggest about Mr. X? Now go do some research and you will see that this insn't a hypothetical situation. It is a recorded fact, though it isn't Mr. X, but Mother T. We may try to pass the blame by saying "devotees of God are not accountable to materialists". If that's the best answer, then what can be said. The money meant for charitable purposes is being used for training nuns and for funding the conversion of non-christians. From a Catholic perspective its a great service she is doing. I am sure they see their duty as being to God (i.e. to convert others), instead of to governments, donors, etc.

Sometimes he appears as blue, sometimes as the green color of the parrot. Every Treta yuga Ramachandra appears, and each time he has variations in his lila. Ravana is always there, but sometimes he does different things, sometimes he comes in different forms.

I can't confirm or deny whether this was actually said, though it is not present in any recorded conversation or book. Prishnigarbha,also known as Dhruvapriya, is the form of the Lord that was manifested to Dhruva Maharaja. It was a four handed Narayana form, which was blue, not red. Thus it does not fit well with the description. Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura states: prishnigarbha iti so 'yam treta-yugavataro lakshyate. Some may take this to mean that he is the yuga-avtara of treta-yuga, but it may also be interpreted as a more general statement describing when he appeared. InLaghu Bhagavatamrita we find a small description of Prishnigarbha: Based on this we can then refer the descriptions of Dhruva's vision in Srimad Bhagavatam.

Because Indira gandhi and Sonia Gandhi are closely connected to her. Thus the congress party has to act to protect her. Though Mother Therese claimed to be nonpolitical, yet she participate in elections by casting her vote in favour of Congree, as did her nuns. She gathered the Christian vote for the congress party, and as a result she received protection from them, not to mention that Sonia Gandhi was from Italy and a catholic. She would obviously have an interest in protecting her name. Probably Karthik could give a better reply, as he is more knowledgeable about the political environment involved.

More additions: Sri Vrindavana-mahimamrita Shataka (1,600 verses describing the nectarean glories of Vrindavana.) http://www.indiadivine.com/vrindavana-mahimamrita-shataka.htm Sri Vraja-riti-cintamani: "The Cintamani Jewel of Vraja" by Vishvanatha Chakravarti Thakur http://www.indiadivine.com/vrindavana-vraja-riti-cintamani.htm Sri Vrindavana Ashtakam: Eight Prayers Glorifying Sri Vrindavana Dhama. http://www.indiadivine.com/vrindavana-ashtakam.htm

According to the allegations made by certain people in Calcutta, there is no evidence that she spent anywhere near the hundreds of millions of dollars she raised from donors in charity. Most of the money went to western countries to run nuneries. In Calcutta they feed 300 to 400 people a day (costing roughly $60) (but the poor must have a special ID card, which is basically only given to Christians). Their ward for the sick has 95 beds, and only those with absolutely no living relatives are allowed to be admitted. They are required to pass publicly in the open, and the refuse runs into the open drainage. It has been pointed out that the nuns have proper toilet facilities, but not the patients. Couldn't a little of those hundreds of millions of dollars have been used to build a closed toilet for the patients? I certainly wouldn't want to pass with dozens of people watching me, and neither would the nuns. They did some charity, but nothing compared to the hundreds of millions in donations they received. There have been calls for audits by the government, but politicians from the Congress party have interferred every time. If there is nothing wrong with their accounts, then why does the Congress party refuse to allow an audit?

I think the main accusation on the website is that she did not use the money for helping the needy in India. It is likely she viewed her religious duty (to train nuns, convert people, etc.) as higher than the moral duty. To send money to the Vatican was probably considered more spiritual than to feed poor people in Calcutta. If thats the case, then they had misrepresented themselves to donors.

Can someone post information on their method of sadhana?

If it is true, I doubt it could be something she wasn't aware of. If you receive millions of dollars in donations, but you only feed 300 or 400 people a day in Calcutta, it should be obvious money is going somewhere else.

I remember last year there was a documentary by the National Geographic channel about a Jain lady who became a rununciate. They documented all of the rituals she went through. It was quite interesting. One unique practice is the pulling out of one's hair. They take small bunches of hair, and pull it out of their head. Another thing is they must eat standing up, and only out of their hand (with no plate). I assume this practice started because the renunciates were only supposed to eat one handful of food a day, but from what they showed in the documentary, they had assistants (devotees)refilling their hands once they finished. So maybe it has become more symbolic nowadays.

Yes, that's what I said. I agree with the interpretation, but the verse does not actualy mention the Jain religion. Thus to offer it as evidence, "Look, this is where the Bhagavatam speaks about Jainism" is misleading, and as said before, probably not the best choice for productive discussion in a thread started by a Jain. Just put yourself in the other position. Suppose you start a thread about Srila Prabhupada's teachings, and then someone comes along and says, "Here is where the Bhagavatam speaks about Srila Prabhupada's teachings." And then they quote the exact same verses about an imitator creating a false religion. I hope you could understand that it would be objectionable to followers, and I would hope you could agree the same about it in this particular thread as well.

How about a description of the system of worship (individually and ritually)?