Jahnava Nitai Das

So your method of translating Sanskrit to English is to first translate all the words into Bengali and then retranslate the Bengali to English... while at the same time rejecting all the accurate Sanskrit-English dictionaries known to man... Ok, I think there is no point with this. Hare Krishna and good luck. And after all this, you still believe the word is correctly translated as carrot:

Can you show a single dictionary you consulted where the definition was given as carrot? Yet, you were adamant that all the dictionaries that said "onion" were wrong. You make a show of asking for feedback... Why? When something is so obviously wrong and it is pointed out, you won't even hear it. Both dictionaries don't mention carrot at all, they both mention only "onion", but you discard both dictionaries in favour of someone's Bengali translation of Haribhakti Vilas. Then what was the use of consulting dictionaries? But you were certain that I was wrong (as well as all the dictionaries), because your bengali translation said carrots...

So basically you didn't consult any sanskrit dictionary, but when multiple dictionaries all have the same meaning ("onion"), none of which are "carrot", you assume you are still right and the dictionaries are all wrong. Then you wonder why someone would reply like I did?

Seeing that all dictionaries I have come across give the meaing as an onion, which dictionaries have you consulted to get the primary definition as "carrot"? Probably I said it because I have doubts you have even looked into a dictionary to check the meanings, yet are adamant in defending your position. What would be the use of asking for feedback without first consulting a dictionary? Anyway, it is clear you are defending your guru's statements and as such any disagreement by others is vaishnava aparadha. So let the list include tomatos, cherries, carrots and apples. All forbidden by scripture. Would you carry the color analysis to humans as well? Do you feel lighter skin color means someone possesses more sattva, and darker skin color indicates more tamas? Where exactly do you derive the "body/vegetable color = guna" theory from?

Sure, there goes apples, plums, and strawberries. All forbidden foods screaming with rajas according to your scientific logic. And oranges are obviously tinged with rajas as well, otherwise how would they become orange color? Purple grapes are obviously tamasic, but green ones are sattva. Your logic has no foundation whatsoever. To include tomatos in a list of foods forbidden in scriptures, when that plant had never existed in India at the time the scriptures were written is just foolish. And why include it? "Because it's red, the color is just screaming with rajas." Ok, good luck on the forbidden foods list. I had provided the following... But don't take my word for it. Just go out and ask someone who has studied ayurveda: Even the site you are using lists grinjana as garlic: http://www.frlht.org.in/meta/index.p...OWER_LIMIT=740 And some sanskrit dictionaries... Aapte's Sanskrit Dictionary: meanings of "gRJjana" [1] m.{a-stem} 1.a small red variety of garlic or onion (prohibited as food for dvija); 2.a turnip; 3.the tops of hemp chewed to produce intoxication #20581 meanings of "gRJjana" [2] n.{a-stem} 1.the meat of an animal destroyed by poisoned arrow Cologne digital sanskrit dictionary (same as Monier Williams): 1 gRJjana m. (n. L.) a kind of onion or garlic or a small red variety of it (prohibited as food) Mn. v , 5 Yajn. i , 176 Bhpr. ; Nyayam &c. ; a turnip W. ; the tops of hemp chewed to produce an inebriating effect (the Ganja) W. ; n. poisoned flesh (meat of an animal destroyed by a poisoned arrow) L Capeller's Sanskrit-English Dictionary: 1 gRJjana & -ka m. a kind of garlic. Which dictionaries have you consulted to get the definition "carrot"? Don't worry, I am a fool and a madman. I obviously don't know what I'm talking about, so rest easy that your list is perfect.

So you are saying red food is rajasic simply because its red. Sounds pretty superstitious to me. So if you eat the green tomatos then its sattvic. These types of lists are just people's whims, nothing to do with scripture. Carrots were originally purple in color, but have since been changed to orange and white through farming methods. I suppose this is evidence for the purification of carrots, the white obviously being visuddha-sattva coming directly from sveta dvipa, the orange being rajasic, and purple being tamasic. It isn't ruled out because there are a dozen varities of garlic and onion, one being lasuna and another being grinjana. This is such an obvious thing even from the following: When you have a list of three items, all being primarily defined as onion/garlic variety plants, and yet you choose for the third one the indirect definition as carrot instead, it is pretty ridiculous. The verse is clearly speaking about a group of tamasic plants of the onion category. Carrots have none of the characteristics of the previous two, but grinjana (the red onion) is identical. Anyway, let everyone decide for themselves whether the verse is speaking about "garlic, onions and red onions" or "garlic, onions and carrots". Likely it is a matter of your guru saying something, and naturally you have to defend his position, which is understandable. But logically it is not solid. In sanskrit you have over 20 words for carrot, for the dozens of varities that exist. Grinjana is not the primary word for carrot, on the otherhand it refers primarily to an onion plant. But if your guru says eating carrot is sinful, you have to defend his words. There are other mistakes in the list, but you should consult an ayurvedic botanist. Even a sanskritist will not be able to properly identify these items, as it is a technical subject. For example, just because I know English doesn't mean I know English botanical classifications. In english you have one word for banana, but in India there are perhaps 50 varieties of banana, each with different names and different gunas. But don't worry about bananas, because they are yellow (obviously screaming with sattva), except for the red variety of kerala (obviously screaming with rajas). Even the site you are using lists grinjana as garlic: http://www.frlht.org.in/meta/index.php?plantid=114&calledFrom=VIEW_ALL_SPECIES&sortBy=M&gPAGE_NO=38&gLOWER_LIMIT=740 And some sanskrit dictionaries... Aapte's Sanskrit Dictionary: meanings of "gRJjana" [1] m.{a-stem} 1.a small red variety of garlic or onion (prohibited as food for dvija); 2.a turnip; 3.the tops of hemp chewed to produce intoxication #20581 meanings of "gRJjana" [2] n.{a-stem} 1.the meat of an animal destroyed by poisoned arrow Cologne digital sanskrit dictionary (same as Monier Williams): 1 gRJjana m. (n. L.) a kind of onion or garlic or a small red variety of it (prohibited as food) Mn. v , 5 Yajn. i , 176 Bhpr. ; Nyayam &c. ; a turnip W. ; the tops of hemp chewed to produce an inebriating effect (the Ganja) W. ; n. poisoned flesh (meat of an animal destroyed by a poisoned arrow) L Capeller's Sanskrit-English Dictionary: 1 gRJjana & -ka m. a kind of garlic.

He now lives in Mayapur and is one of the main "consultants" for the temple project. He still walks with the same mood that he owns the place. And he is also giving regular Bhagavatam classes there. All of the bengali devotees treat him like a guru... some people never learn. I have heard that he is being paid a salary for his "consultation" work, but I have not been able to confirm that. The following picture shows him in Mayapur. I found this photo on an official mayapur website with the caption "old boss and new boss" or something. It was so unbelievable I had to save it. It is clear that he has been protected by ISKCON insiders from the begining (several gurus and also Ambarish). Even when he was exposed in 1985, he was suspended and again reinstated after a year. What were they thinking?! They knew everything about him, yet they reinstated him as a guru. Of course the second round flopped just like the first, but still they arranged a position for him in Australia, where he hung around in ISKCON with good pay till he was given a job in Mayapur. By the way, yesterday I had asked the Mayapur gurukuli who was visiting here if he remembered Bhavananda. He said Bhavananda would come to the gurukula, have all the kids lined up in their kaupins, and then "check them for dirt". If he found any spot of dirt on you, he would have another boy scrub you clean with one of those big toilet scrubbing brushes with thick bristles. He said they would have to scrub you till you were all scratched red and bleeding. He also said it was impossible not to have dirt on you, because you were living in mud huts and the entire area is dusty. After working and playing whole day in the dusty fields of Mayapur, there is no way you aren't going to have dirt on you. Well the good news is he is back in charge in Mayapur... So it is true that Dhanurdhara Swami is just a scapegoat. He should be punished, but so should all these other people who are being protected by ISKCON GBC and other rich insiders.

I am associated with Atmatattva prabhu in the sense that I am friends with him. I probably see him for one or two weeks a year as he passes by. He used to teach in the Mayapur gurukula up till 1991. But there is a great difference between personally abusing students (i.e. Dhanurdhara Swami, who personally abused children), and abuse occuring in a school you were teaching at without your knowledge. If there are any students with claims against Atmatattva prabhu personally they would have been brought up long before. But the fact is I know most of the students from the Mayapur gurukula at that time, and they all love him. One of them was here just yesterday telling how great it was in gurukula hearing the ramayana stories every evening. There are no complaints from students of the Mayapur gurukula against Atmatattva prabhu. The situation isn't at all similar. Dhanurdhar Swami personally beat small children till blood came out. If the GBC really wanted justice, they could file a criminal case against him in India. But they are just trying to sweep everything under the carpet and pacify the public. The fact that Bhavananda is now back in Mayapur in a position of authority proves that the GBC is corrupt and not interested in justice. And add to this that ISKCON is today virtually ran by Kirtanananda's ex-henchmen. What justice can we expect from them? But to answer your implied question, if Atmatattva prabhu (or anyone else) personally beat kids till they bled like Dhanurdhara Swami did, and if he happened to be a guru and sannyasi in ISKCON (which he isn't), then I would support him being punished according to his crime and being removed from any position of authority within ISKCON. You can replace his name with my name, your name or anyone's name, and I will still agree with it, because justice should be applied to everyone equally. When I get some time I will go through Dhanurdhara Swami's website again and find the exact quote. I do recall reading it there before the guest brought it up, so I am pretty positive it is an accurate quote (though the exact wording may be different).

The forbidden carrot Here is another example of these "forbidden foods" lists being all mixed up. We know Narayana Maharaja's gaudiya matha also forbids the eating of carrots. And here in your list of forbidden foods you have included it as: Carrot and turnip – gṛñjana But grnjana refers to a variety of plants, the PRIMARY of which is a red onion. This can be confirmed by contacting a research scholar specializing in ayurvedic plants. Even if you look in a sanskrit dictionary, it will give the meaning as a small red onion. But people have ignored that and instead assume it refers to carrots. Looking at the list I can see there are so many similar items that get forbidden based on misinterpretation.

Some of the items in your "forbidden foods" list are new world crops. Tomato for example is from central America, and it only came to Europe in the 1500's (and from there, on to India). In sanskrit there is no word for tomato, and even in hindi it is still referred to as tamatar (just a mispronunciation of tomato). What criteria do you use to decide that such items are "forbidden" in Vedic scriptures? Also regarding hing, the quotation from Prabhupada seems to imply that one may eat hing, but should not immediately perform puja after it (due to the bad smell that it generates). I have not looked at the original verse, so it may be a rough translation that makes it unclear. But from the following: "After eating, one should not worship the Deity until one has digested his food, nor should one touch the Deity or engage in any Deity worship after eating safflower oil or hing. These are also offenses." 1) After eating one should not worship the deity until having digested food 2) After eating hing one should not engage in deity worship. If the second indicates one should never eat hing, then the first must indicate one should never eat at all (i.e. same sentence structure should result in same interpretation). If it was actually a complete ban on eating hing, then he could have just said "One should not eat hing." There was no need to include the part about "after eating hing... one should not do deity worship." The very fact that the word "after" is used indicates that hing is being consumed in some situations. The first concept (of not doing puja after eating) is because one may belch or pass gass, etc. in front of the deity. This would tie in with the idea that the smell of hing on one's breath may be offensive to the deity. The fact that both concepts occurred presumably in close proximity verse wise (perhaps in the same verse) would indicate they are directly related in terms of cause of the offense. In other words it is not the act of eating that is the offense, nor the act of eating hing that is the offense, but the later results (i.e. belching, bad breath, etc.) that are the offense. Regarding Swami Sivananda's statements against hing, it should be noted that he has also spoken against eating salt. He advocated a very strict discipline of sense control, avoiding all varieties of enjoyment including simple things like salt, sugar, etc. This may not be the same as a list of "forbidden foods" as found in the scriptures. Certain foods such as meat are without a doubt forbidden in scriptures. Other foods, such as salt, may be spiritually beneficial to avoid, but are not actually forbidden or sinful.

Do a search for Swami Sivananda and pranayama in google. He has written a very nice book on pranayama, which can be downloaded for free from their website.

Jains will obviously try to show their religion as the ultimate perfection of Hinduism, i.e. Hindus ate meat before the Jains came.

I am no expert in legal matters, but I have heard (just hearsay) that many states have now extended the statute of limitations for child abuse to 30 years after the victim turns 18. If that is true, then these cases can be tried for many years to come. Again, I don't know if this is an accurate statement or not. ISKCON justice is really a joke. Here we have a case where if this person were tried in a court of law in the US he would end up serving 20 years in jail. But in the ISKCON "court of law" he is not even willing to give up his right to be worshipped equal to God. He is demanding that he continue to be worshipped as sakshat-hari, directly equal to Bhagavan. ISKCON leaders are so out of touch with reality that it is sometimes just incomprehendable. It is obvious Dhanurdhar hasn't made up for his offenses to the children, nor has he been forgiven, otherwise he wouldn't have been beaten over the head with a stick by one of the kids. When Krishna beats you over the head with a stick, but you still don't get the message, it's only a matter of time before Krishna comes with something more than a stick.

In sanskrit there is the sthula sharira (physical body), sukshma sharira (astral body or subtle body) and karana sharira (the causal body). The pranamaya kosha is related to prana (not yet the astral body), and the manomaya kosha is related to mind (much closer to the astral body). But these koshas are "coverings", not bodies.

There are three levels of the himalayas, each for different levels of living entities. In the higher levels are places like kailash where Lord Shiva resides. They are actually other planets, but they are mystically all linked together in the astral plane.

Kubera doesn't live on our physical plane.

He doesn't even have to leave sannyasa vows, just externally put on white and internally remain a sannyasi. It's the least he can sacrifice to make up for his offenses to devotee children. All he has to give up is his position and prestige, and just be a regular devotee like everyone else. But as he said, he is attached to initiating his own disciples. Oh well, perhaps its better to let the courts deal with him then.

Both of those mantras are buddhist mantras.

I'm not sure of the English name. He is poisonous though, and needs to be carefully avoided. Here is another more familiar devotee visiting (this photo was taken some time ago): He is a very large golden cobra. In this photo he was climbing a kadamba tree. Usually we never have a camera around when they come, but that time a visitor happened to be carrying a camera and took a picture as it went up the tree. Not a very clear picture though. Last week one of the pujaris went to bring an offering to Lord Jagannatha around 8:30 in the night. Sitting in front of the altar door was a coiled black cobra with its head raised around 2 feet off the ground. This morning one devotee found a group of four snake eggs while gardening. They were located under a raat ki raani (night queen) tree. Cobras are famous for liking this tree, as every evening a very sweet fragrance is released and the entire area smells like jasmine. Two of the eggs had already hatched, but two more were just in the hatching stage. As the snakes try to get out of the egg shell they "stretch" the egg very long, not like an egg shell cracking or anything.

Well these particular monkeys were highly educated and from respectable families... Actually, all of the Lord's devotees and guests are very special. According to the Vedic custom, those who come unexpectedly are to be treated as Narayana Himself (atithi devo bhavah). a-tithi literally means without a fixed time, or unexpected. They should be taken care of as though Narayana Himself has come to us. Furthermore, Anyone who reminds us of the Lord is a very special person. When you see the black faced monkey you are immediately reminded of Lord Ramchandra and His army of vanaras. Those monkeys wandered without food searching for Sita, undergoing so much hardship and struggle. To make up for the hunger the monkeys experienced during Rama lila, Lord Krishna stole the butter of the Gopis and distributed it to the monkeys in Vraja, who were the same vanaras incarnated again for his pastimes. Remembering the Lord's actions we should try to feed monkeys on Saturday and Tuesday, as they are one of the mouths through which those original devotees accept offerings. One of the symptoms of a good person is that when others see him they immediately feel happy. In India whenever black faced monkeys come, people become very happy and start to smile. Everyone likes to gather and see them, because they remind them of Hanuman, the Lord's devotee. Guests in general are also special because they remind us that once Narayana Himself came as a guest. All guests are significantly important to the Lord, otherwise He wouldn't be sitting in their hearts as Paramatma, nor would He incarnate to deliver them from material suffering. Those who take the effort to come and visit Him in His personal house are even more special to the Lord. The Lord never mistreats His guests.

Today a group of 20 or so monkeys came through and spent the afternoon at the temple. They come once or twice a week to eat fruits from Lord Jagannatha's guava and papaya trees. The snake also came in the afternoon. He has been walking around the parikrama path a lot lately. I have seen him three times over the past week, I usually run into him next to the Varaha murti on the back side of the temple.

Regarding the first post, you are taking someone's recollection of what he thinks Prabhupada had said to him more than 30 years ago and using that to overturn what Prabhupada has written in his own books. You may also want to ask whether this person is still a follower of Prabhupada, and whether he is in a position to properly represent Prabhupada. Prabhupada's own standard is that if it isn't in writing, don't believe that he said it.

All guests participating in this thread need to choose a name or nickname and sign it at the bottom of their posts so people can identify which posts belong to which person. Any posts without any identifier will be removed from now on for this particular thread.

Christians can chant the name of Christ if they are aversive to the name of Krishna. All spiritual acitivities will purify our consciousness.

Liberated souls can be present in multiple places at once. They are beyond the limitations of time and space. Krishna (God) is simultaneously incarnating in so many universes, and along with him his liberated devotees also incarnate to help.