Jahnava Nitai Das

The aryan invasion theory is a lie created by the british to divide the people of India. There is no evidence that such an invasion took place. None of the ancient texts of India speak of such an invasion. "Aryan" in sanskrit means "a noble person". It does not refer to a race, caste, or anything else. It refers to one's qualities. Those who follow the vedic dharma are known as Aryan's because they follow the religious injunctions. Yours in service, Jahnava Nitai Das, Bhaktivedanta Ashram http://www.foodrelief.org

Dear Sri ..., Hare Krishna. Thank you for writing. Nothing can happen without the will of Lord Krishna. His will is the sanction for us to do as we desire. Even to forget the Lord it requires Krishna's will to empower us. Krishna says: sarvasya caham hridi sannivishto mattah smritir jnanam apohanam ca "I am situated in the hearts of all living entities, and from Me comes knowledge, remembrance and forgetfulness." Our forgetfulness (apohanam) of the Lord is given by Lord Krishna Himself. Even to reject Him we require His sanction and mercy. But why does He will for us to forget Him? It is because we ourselves have desired it. The Lord has given us freewill, or an independent will from His own, but to accomplish it requires the will of the Lord. That we have an independent will, or a freedom of choice, is itself the will of the Lord. There is no creation of the living entity. We are eternal entities, separated expansions of the Lord. From the angle of the Lord, He is everything, including us. From the angle of the separated expansion we are different from the Lord. Thus there is oneness and difference based on the angle of vision of the perceiver. Lord Krishna explains the eternality of the soul as follows in the Gita: na jayate mriyate va kadacin nayam bhutva bhavita va na bhuyah ajo nityah shashvato 'yam purano na hanyate hanyamane sharire "For the soul there is neither birth nor death at any time. He has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain." This same verse is also found in the Katha upanishad. There it is further elaborated as follows: nityo nityanam cetanash cetananam eko bahunam yo vidadhati kaman "Among all the eternal entities, there is one supreme eternal entity. Among all the conscious beings, there is one supreme conscious being. That one, the supreme, is fulfilling the desires of everyone." The supreme among the many is described in great detail in the Vedanta-sutras. Therein it is stated: janmady asya yathah "The Supreme is He from whom everything emanates." As the foundation of everything, Brahman is considered the source of all, though there is no limiting time to produce a point of creation. Source, according to the Upanishads, refers to the shelter or controller of everything. Krishna, being the controllor and shelter of everything is the source of everything: aham sarvasya prabhavo mattah sarvam pravartate "I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me." mattah parataram nanyat kincid asti dhananjaya mayi sarvam idam protam sutre mani-gana iva "There is no truth superior to Me. Everything rests upon Me, as pearls are strung on a thread." It is for this reason that the Srimad Bhagavatam declares Krishna to be the "ashraya" or supreme shelter of everything. Lord Krishna sanctions activities based on one's desire and one's karma. For example, if I desire to walk, if it is in line with my prarabda karma, it will happen. But if, due to prarabda karma, I have no legs, then even if I desire to walk, it will not happen. Each of us is receiving the results of our previous activities. At the same time we have the freedom to create new reactions through use or misuse of our free will in the present. When someone dies in a war, it is due to his fructified karmas, both from the past and from the present life. But the person who is killing, he is utilizing his free will and creating a fresh karmic reaction, which he will suffer in his next life. Krishna's role as paramatma is as a witness and a sanctioner. He witnesses our actions so that we will be held accountable through karmic reactions, and he sanctions our activities based on our own desires and prarabda karma. He does not interfere in our desires, nor in the desires of other living entities. Why does he sanction our actions? Because the individual souls have no potency to move the material nature: prakriteh kriyamanani gunaih karmani sarvashah ahankara-vimudhatma kartaham iti manyate "The spirit soul bewildered by the influence of false ego thinks himself the doer of activities that are in actuality carried out by the three modes of material nature." In reality we are not the cause of action. We are the cause of our own desires, and based on those desires the Lord sanctions the nature to cause activity. From the absolute perspective our play within the modes of nature is nothing but an illusion. The Lord knows that the soul is eternal and that the soul does not die. The Lord is not subject to illusion, and thus he can see each of us perfectly as we are. He knows each of us personally, what we were doing with him in the spiritual world, what we have done in the millions of lives in the material world, and what we are doing at present. The purpose of the material world is to educate the living entities, and that is the Lord's ultimate desire. Sometimes a small child thinks his parents are punishing him by making him go to school, study and waste his time in education. In reality it is in the child's self-interest to be educated, though it is not possible for him to understand this. The child thinks it would be better if he could be playing outside with no limit nor restrictions. The conditioned living entities are also ignorant children of the Lord. We wonder why there are so many limitations and restrictions put on our play, such as birth, death, old age and disease. We think it would be better if we were allowed to play undisturbed and with no restrictions. We fail to understand that these limitations imposed on us by the Lord are actually in our own self interest. They help us in our process of spiritual education. Sometimes the child thinks it would be better if everyone automatically passed the exams regardless of the scores they received on the test. They cannot understand the purpose of passing some and failing others. They think it is to punish those who failed, but in reality it is to help those who failed. In a similar way the child like conditioned souls cannot understand the workings of the Lord. Why are we given freedom to choose? Why are we then punished for the misuse of our freewill? In reality we are not being punished, but we are being blessed. It is the Lord's mercy on us to help us educate ourselves in spiritual knowledge. Because we cannot see how this process of education spans many millions of lives, therefore we cannot understand the ultimate benefit everything brings. By failing the exam we are also learning a lesson, and that lesson will push us forward towards realization in a gradual manner. I hope this has answered your questions. Please feel free to write for further clarification. Yours in service, Jahnava Nitai Das, Bhaktivedanta Ashram http://www.foodrelief.org

Dear ..., Thank you for writing. You are correct that the present caste system is not something originating in the Hindu religion. According to the hindu scriptures caste was nothing but a term for one's occupation. If one was a teacher he was called a brahmana; if one was a soldier; he was called a kshatriya; if one was a business man or a farmer he was called a vaishya; and if one was a laborer he was called a shudra. This had nothing to do with one's birth, but with one's qualities and actions. There are countless examples in the Hindu scriptures of people being born to parents of one caste, but becoming a different caste by training. In additon to this, caste was never used to discriminate against people. The different castes are described in the scriptures as the different limbs (arms, legs, stomach and head) of society. One does not discriminate against one's own legs just because they perform a different function than one's head. All of one's bodily limbs are working for the common body, and as such all are respected equally. The Vedic society is divided into four divisions of occupation (varnas) and for orders of life (ashramas). This system is known as varnashrama. Since your questions are on the caste system, I will avoid speaking about the four orders of life, even though they intersect with the four divisions of occupation. The four divisions of occupation (known today as caste) are actually based on one's acquired nature. Originally this system was not based on birth. This is explained in the ancient scripture Bhagavad Gita as follows: catur-varnyam maya srishtam guna-karma-vibhagashah tasya kartaram api mam viddhy akartaram avyayam "According to the three modes of material nature and the work associated with them, the four divisions of human society are created by Me. And although I am the creator of this system, you should know that I am yet the nondoer, being unchangeable." The four "castes" or varnas were determined according to one's qualitities (guna) and one's activities (karma) - and not by birth. This system of division of occupations exists naturally in every culture of the world. According to one's qualities, one will perform activity (an occupation), and according to one's occupation one is given a designation. In the English we use the names teachers, administrators, farmers and manual laborers. In sanskrit these are called brahmanas, kshatriyas, vaishyas and shudras. The words may be different, but these natural divisions exist in every society. The four divisions of society work together as one body. The scriptures figuratively describe the body of society with the head being the brahmanas (the intellectual class), the arms being the kshatriyas (the adminstrative class), the stomach being the vaishyas (the agricultural class), and the legs being the shudras (the worker class). The Vedic society was ran by a king (who belonged to the kshatriya class). This king was guided and advised by the brahmanas, and based on their proper guidance the king would administer the society. The vaishyas (business men) were mainly engaged in agriculture and cow protection. In the vedic culture the cow is considered as wealth, since the milk it produces sustains the entire society. Each caste or varna has a particular definition based on qualities and activities. In the Bhagavad Gita the following definitions are given: brahmana-kshatriya-visham shudranam ca parantapa karmani pravibhaktani svabhava-prabhavair gunaih "Brahmanas, kshatriyas, vaishyas and shudras are distinguished by the qualities born of their own natures in accordance with the material modes, O chastiser of the enemy." shamo damas tapah shaucam kshantir arjavam eva cha jnanam vijnanam astikyam brahma-karma svabhava-jam "Peacefulness, self-control, austerity, purity, tolerance, honesty, knowledge, wisdom and religiousness-these are the natural qualities by which the brahmanas work." shauryam tejo dhritir dakshyam yuddhe chapy apalayanam danam ishvara-bhavash cha kshatram karma svabhava-jam "Heroism, power, determination, resourcefulness, courage in battle, generosity and leadership are the natural qualities of work for the ksatriyas." krishi-go-rakshya-vanijyam vaishya-karma svabhava-jam paricharyatmakam karma shudrasyapi svabhava-jam "Farming, cow protection and business are the natural work for the vaisyas, and for the sudras there is labor and service to others." We find in the ancient scriptures of India there are many cases of someone belonging to one caste changing to another caste by developing the proper qualities. For example, the great king Kaushika became the most famous brahmana by the name Vishwamitra. Today the natural divisions of society have degraded into a birth based caste system. This is not in accordance with the ancient scriptures. People without any good qualities are claiming to be brahmanas simply based on their birth. In the ancient text known as Bhagavata Purana it was predicted that in the future caste will be determined by birth, and the only qualification of the brahmana will be the string he wears around his shoulder - vipratve sutram eva hi. In India the brahmanas wear a thread which is part of their ceremonial dress. Today external symbols such as the thread are the only qualification which establishes one as a brahmana. The inner qualifications of peacefulness, self-control, austerity, purity, tolerance, honesty, knowledge, wisdom and religiousity are ignored. In summary, the present caste system has been manufactured by men for the purpose of exploiting society. The original divisions of society are natural and spontaneous. They exist in every society under different names and designations. Yours in service, Jahnava Nitai Das, Bhaktivedanta Ashram http://www.foodrelief.org

The Hindus consider many ancient texts to be divinely written, but among them the Bhagavad Gita is considered the most essential and universally accepted. Bhagavad Gita literally means "the song of God". It was spoken by the Supreme Lord, Krishna, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra to His devotee Arjuna 5,000 years ago. Yours in service, Jahnava Nitai Das, Bhaktivedanta Ashram http://www.foodrelief.org

Thank you for writing with your question. Hindus believe in the eternality of the soul. In the Gita, Lord Krishna states: na jayate mriyate va kadacin nayam bhutva bhavita va na bhuyah ajo nityah shashvato 'yam purano na hanyate hanyamane sharire "For the soul there is neither birth nor death at any time. He has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain." The fundamental belief in Hinduism is that we are not our external bodies. Just as our clothes cover our body, in the same way the body covers the eternal soul. At the time of death the soul goes from one body to the next based on one's actions in life and one's consciousness at the time of death. Those situated in low ignorant consciousness go down to lower species of life; and those situated in higher spiritual consciousness go up to higher species of life. But those who are able to fix their mind on the Lord at the time of death return to His supreme abode, becoming free from the cycle of reincarnation. Hindus prepare for their death by focusing their mind and actions on the Supreme Lord. It is believed that if one can remember the Lord at the time of death one will attain liberation. The scriptures state "ante narayana smritih". The perfection of life is to remember the Lord at the time of death. In order to remember the Lord, Hindu's will surround themselves with devotional activities, such as recital of the scriptures, chanting of the Lord's names, etc. In addition to this, Hindu's will keep the sacred ganga (Ganges) water nearby so that they can drink it as they are dying. This sacred water is considered spiritual, and it is believed that it will protect us at the time of death. After death, the dead body is cremated and the ashes are dispersed in the sacred Ganges river. By cremating the body, we hope to break any attachment the departed soul may have for that body, and by putting the ashes in the Ganges we hope to deliver them from any impious destination. I hope this has answered your questions. Please feel free to write for clarification. Yours in service, Jahnava Nitai Das, Bhaktivedanta Ashram http://www.foodrelief.org [This message has been edited by jndas (edited 11-12-2001).]

Yoga originated with the self realized rishi (seer) named Patanjali. He composed a text in sanskrit known as the Yoga-sutras, or the codes of yoga. He divides yoga into eight limbs, and because of this his system of yoga is known as Ashtanga Yoga. The eight limbs of yoga, according to Patanjali, are yama (rules), niyama (regulations), asana (sitting postures), pranayama (control of breath), pratyahara (withdrawl of the senses from the sense objects), dharana (concentration), dhyana (meditation), and samadhi (complete absorption). According to Patanjali the object of one's meditation is the Paramatama, or the form of God situated in the heart of all living entities. Besides Patanjali's system of Ashtanga-yoga there are other systems of yoga based on the general meaning of the word "yoga". Yoga comes from the root word "yuj", which means to link two thinks together which are constitutionally compatible. It refers to the linking of one's consciousness with the will of the divine consciousness. Based on this understanding of yoga, three systems of yoga have developed in India, namely karma yoga (to link with the Absolute through one's actions), jnana yoga (to link with the Absolute through cultivation of spiritual knowledge), and bhakti yoga (to link with the Absolute through devotion to God). Among these three systems of yoga, bhakti yoga is established as the highest in the ancient text known as Bhagavad Gita. In the Gita Krishna explains the three systems of yoga, pointing out that they are different steps on a ladder leading to self-realization. The first step being karma yoga, and the final step being bhakti yoga. According to texts such as the Gita and the Srimad Bhagavatam, bhakti is itself the ultimate goal of spiritual endeavour, and it is synonymous with moksha, or liberation. Lord Krishna states in the Gita: yoginam api sarvesham mad gatenantar-atmana shraddhavan bhajate yo mam sa me yuktatamo matah "Of all yogis, the one with great faith who always abides in Me, thinks of Me within himself, and renders transcendental loving service to Me - he is the most intimately united with Me in yoga and is the highest of all. That is My opinion." I hope this has answered your question. If not, please feel free to write for more clarification. Yours in service, Jahnava Nitai Das, Bhaktivedanta Ashram http://www.foodrelief.org

At present there are innumerable sects within Hinduism. This is mostly because people fail to follow the instructions of an acharya, and instead choose to manufacture their own system of dharma. Dharma cannot be manufactured, it must come directly from the Supreme Lord. The Bhagavatam states: dharman tu sakshad bhagavat pranitam "Dharma is the direct instruction of Bhagavan, the Personality of Godhead." Why people choose to manufacture their own systems of religious principles is due to the conditioning of the three modes of material nature. Due to the influence of rajas (passion) and tamas (ignorance) one misleads oneself by creating a false system of religion, and ultimately misleads others. It is the blind following the blind, and their ultimate destination is not very promising. For this reason Lord Krishna instructs us in the Gita: sarva dharman parityajya mam ekam sharanam vraja "Abandon all varieties of dharma and simply surrender unto Me. Take Me as your only shelter." Krishna advises us to give up the man-made dharmas, and surrender to His divine will and instructions as presented in the Gita. Sri Shankaracharya has also echoed this instruction of Lord Krishna's in his Gita Mahatmya (glorification of the Gita). Therein he states: ekam shastram devaki-putra-gitam eko devo devaki-putra eva eko mantras tasya namani yani karmapy ekam tasya devasya seva "Let there be one scripture, the Gita spoken by Lord Krishna; let there be one deva, the son of Devaki; let there be one mantra, the name of Lord Krishna; and let there be one work, service to Bhagavan Sri Krishna." Yours in service, Jahnava Nitai Das, Bhaktivedanta Ashram http://www.foodrelief.org

In Orissa, Bitter mellon is usually taken deep fried (sliced like round chips). Personally I don't like it, but one devotee from Kerala used to make raw bitter mellon, sliced and soaked in lemon juice. It was very good, it wasn't so bitter. It must have been soaked for many hours, because the lemon taste was deep inside it.

The sound will only come if you select the "Flash" version on the entry page. The HTML version was designed for older computers or slow internet connections, so I removed the sound and animation.

We've just launched our new website foodrelief.org to provide information about the Bhaktivedanta Ashram's food relief program in India. The new site is built mostly in Flash, and contains music and a short multimedia presentation. To visit it, http://www.foodrelief.org Those with old computers should choose the "HTML" version instead of the "Flash" version on the entry page (but you will miss a lot of things like music, animation, etc.). [This message has been edited by jndas (edited 11-09-2001).]

Yeah, that's basically the reason. It has nothing to do with lack of hygiene, but with too much heat in the body. I don't know if this is something accepted by western medicine (I never looked into it), but it is understood in Ayurveda. One is supposed to soak the mango in milk first to remove some of the heat causing properties, but no one wastes time with that! When they are so cheap (free!) and sweet, who will waste time. Even if you don't eat mangos you are pretty likely to get some boils in the summer.

I would appreciate it if you could act like a sane person, and not like Melvin. The question was whether there are references in the Bible which specifically state one no longer needs to offer sacrifice to the Lord. Your answers are just wasting space here.

Anything from the bible?

I've heard that before, but I wonder if there are any statements like, "stop offering sacrifices". Anything direct?

Perhaps Srila Prabhupada made a distinction between killing and sacrificing to God, as most scriptures in the world do. This brings me to a question, what is the reason why the Christians no longer offer sacrifices, or have replaced it with wine and wafer, etc.? What scriptural references do they use to justify it?

Srila Prabhupada lists them as follows in a purport to Chaitanya Charitamrita:

The foundation of those rasas in Vrindavana is madhurya. This isn't a topic for me to discuss, so I will avoid it. But you can refer to the writings of Sripada Narayana Maharaja for further clarification. [This message has been edited by jndas (edited 11-02-2001).]

Regarding the neem tree, if one eats five or six fresh neem leaves every day, mosquitoes will not bite you.

You are trying to measure the immeasurable. Sometimes even Krishna (God Himself) worships others.

It is mechanical, and can't be changed manually (in a simple way). But it automatically changes to member status once you have posted 30 or 40 messages. I will edit the joining date so it can say you have been member since XYZ.

In Vrindavana everyone serves the Lord in Madhurya rasa. Even as a plant she is partaking in the rasa-lila, as the gopis are offering her to the feet of the Lord.

Everyone is welcome to come here and discuss. I will be happy to take part. But I would hope the person is interested in discussion and not just condemning others.

I have heard rumours that the leader of the Taliban wears a blue turban, but its hard to confirm, as there don't seem to any pictures of him.

sri-bhagavan uvaca prajahati yada kaman sarvan partha mano-gatan atmany evatmana tustah. sthita-prajnas tadocyate "The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: O Partha, when a man gives up all varieties of desire for sense gratification, which arise from mental concoction, and when his mind, thus purified, finds satisfaction in the self alone, then he is said to be in pure transcendental consciousness." PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada The Bhagavatam affirms that any person who is fully in Krsna consciousness, or devotional service of the Lord, has all the good qualities of the great sages, whereas a person who is not so transcendentally situated has no good qualifications, because he is sure to be taking refuge in his own mental concoctions. Consequently, it is rightly said herein that one has to give up all kinds of sense desire manufactured by mental concoction. Artificially, such sense desires cannot be stopped. But if one is engaged in Krsna consciousness, then, automatically, sense desires subside without extraneous efforts. Therefore, one has to engage himself in Krsna consciousness without hesitation, for this devotional service will instantly help one onto the platform of transcendental consciousness. The highly developed soul always remains satisfied in himself by realizing himself as the eternal servitor of the Supreme Lord. Such a transcendentally situated person has no sense desires resulting from petty materialism; rather, he remains always happy in his natural position of eternally serving the Supreme Lord.

She is a worshipable deity. The responsibility for giving her to someone is the same as for giving the deity of the Lord to someone. Proper worship must be followed, which includes proper care of the physical body of tulasi, otherwise one will receive negative reactions. There are not as many restrictions for who can worship her as there are for the deity, but the proper conduct must be followed and she must not be neglected. Also, women are not allowed to touch tulasi during their monthly cycle, otherwise the tulasi plant will die. Thus one should inform the recipients, and they should make arrangement that the tulasi plant will be cared for all the time.