Jahnava Nitai Das

There are no scriptural references to Lord Shiva using ganja or other drugs. Lord Shiva drank the poison that came from churning the ocean of milk. Some Shaivites try to imitate this by taking "poison" in the form of drugs such as ganja. The agamas that establish procedures for worshipping deities specify that milk must be offered to the deity for abhisheka, and that it may be offered for naivedyam as well. Thus Lord Krishna wants us to worship him with milk. That is another topic altogether. Just because Krishna accepts milk offered to Him doesn't necessarily mean He accepts all milk offered to Him. Does He accept the milk taken from cows that are murdered for meat? Do we incure sin for drinking that milk? Are we forgiven for all our sins just because we are devotees of Lord Krishna? These are question you have to ask yourself.

Another:

Here are some posts on the topic of the dating of Lord Rama's incarnation that I posted to another forum some time back. I thought I would post them here in case anyone wanted to discuss this topic:

"O almighty Lord, how greatly fortunate are the cows and ladies of Vrindavana, the nectar of whose breast-milk You have happily drunk to Your full satisfaction, taking the form of their calves and children! All the Vedic sacrifices performed from time immemorial up to the present day have not given You as much satisfaction." -- Srimad Bhagavatam, 10.14.31

Though it is not explicitly stated in that verse, we find in the scriptures so many accounts of Lord Krishna's fondness for milk and butter. He was brought up in a village of milkmen, and would daily steal the butter prepared by the gopis. In temples throughout India milk preparations are offered to Lord Krishna and Narayana in the form of payasam or kheer. Also milk is used in panchamrita and panca-gavya for bathing the deity of the Lord (abhisheka). Thus devotees of Krishna can offer milk and milk products to the Lord.

Sachidananda does not mean the "trinity of Gods", so these Christians really don't have a clue as to the meaning of words or their uses. If they want to add a sanskrit word for the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, use "tri-murti", which is a more common and correct term.

Oh, I wasn't aware that these Christian had undertaken an in depth study of Gaudiya Vaishnava siddhanta. Sat-chit-ananda is the nature of Brahman, it doesn't refer to personalities - neither Brahman, Paramatma, Bhagavan, nor Father, Son, Holy Ghost. This is the difference between an object and its nature. The obvious reason for incorporating these words is just to mix up Hinduism and Christianity so it is more appealing to those with a Hindu background. It is just like the other concotions of Indian Christianity such as wearing vibhuti crosses as tilak, offering camphor lamps to jesus, etc. The missionaries have been unable to fully remove Hinduism from the converts, so they are trying to adjust their teachings to Hindu practices and terminologies. Under the pretext of opening dialogues, the Christian missionaries are just trying to undermine Hinduism and convert the lower castes by bluring the distinction between the two religions.

The Vedas personified refers to veda-purusha, who is the speaker of the Vedas beyond the conversations of the rishis.

Since words are defined according to our use, and since sat-chit-ananda has absolutely no connection to the Christian concept of Father, Son, Holy Ghost, then why don't they use any other group of three words? How about karma, jnana, and bhakti to mean Father, Son and Holy Ghost? How about Shruti, Smriti and Nyaya to refer to Father, Son and Holy Ghost? How about Kapha, Pita and Vayu to refer to the Father, Son and Holy Ghost? If any word can be used for any concept, then take your choice, they are all equally meaningless. Unfortunately words do have definitions. Sacchidananda is used in nearly every Indian language, and it has a meaning in all of those languages. Not in a single one of those languages does the meaning refer to Father, Son and Holy Ghost, or anything remotely similar. If they want to add sanskrit, or any other local language to their prayers, then choose those words which mean Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Don't try to borrow from unconnected Hindu philosophical terminology, and create new meanings for these established words, just so the words sound familiar.

Thais Find Ancient Cemetery in Hunt for Origins LOPBURI, Thailand (Reuters) - Archaeologists have discovered an ancient cemetery in central Thailand, one of the largest ever found in the country and a potential key to help unlock the origin of the Thai people. Artifacts and human remains have been unearthed at the site, believed to date back more than 2,000 years, including items made of bronze, iron, sea shell, marine turtle shell, glass and stone. Archaeologist Suraphol Nathapintha, a lecturer at Bangkok's Silpakorn University, told Reuters the cemetery could contain up to 10,000 skeletons. The bones were about 2,200 years old, according to carbon dating, he said. "From our excavation up to this moment, we have found that this archaeology site seems to be the largest cemetery so far that has been found in central Thailand," Suraphol said. "From the rough calculation, the cemetery probably contains more than 10,000 skeletons. This large cemetery is certainly related to a very large settlement, so I consider this is very important archaeological evidence," Suraphol said. The site is 150 km (93 miles) north of Bangkok and he said a settlement with at least 10,000 people during that time in Thailand was considered very large. The team, with cooperation from the Italian Institute for the Study of Africa and the Far East, plans to start the excavation as a joint project in December. Suraphol estimates it will take about five years to complete the study. "I personally believe at this moment that this kind of settlement developed in the early history of Thailand, so it can help us clarify the problem where the Thai people come from," Suraphol said. The team was now studying the bones, including measuring them to calculate the height of the people in the settlement, he said.

I remember Kharagpur from when our train going from Chennai to Calcutta got stuck there on Gaura Purnima day (Holi). The train in front of us had derailed, blocking all tracks to and from Calcutta. We were supposed to get to Mayapur in the evening to attend the abhisheka ceremony on the birth celebrations of Lord Chaitanya but there appeared to be no transportation available in the city. After a few hours, we finally found someone with an ambassador car who was willing to go to Calcutta and put around 15 people into it. Somehow we managed to reach Mayapur in the evening just before the abhisheka. Now whenever I hear of Kharagpur, I only remember that. The devotee who lectured at IIT Kharagpur was probably Rasaraja Das (a Tamil, based in Bombay at the time), who was working on a Phd. in Quantum Physics (around 10 years back). He is presently in Berkeley, California, and he heads the Bhaktivedanta Institute which conducts research on Consciousness studies. His original name is Ravi Gaumatam.

The dating of primitive life in Sri Lanka is not relevant, as there were countless pralayas that occurred between the time of Ramachandra and the present, thereby destroying and dispersing evidence of prior civilization.

The dating of primitive life in Sri Lanka is not relevant, as there were countless pralayas that occurred between the time of Ramachandra and the present, thereby destroying and dispersing evidence of prior civilization.

The guidelines have been discussed many times in the past. Perhaps you were not yet active here when those discussions occurred. You can search through the older messages for general answers to this question. One sample of messages that will be deleted are trolls. A hypothetical example of a troll would be Sha posting a message asking why private messages are disabled, when she actually knew they were disabled because of her misuse and abuse of them. Such posts would only be made to clutter the forums. Most replies to trolls are also deleted (the point of trolls is to get innocent people to "bite" and to seriously reply to the troll, thereby increasing the clutter). If you feel any of the deleted messages by Sha were relevant or important spiritual discussions, you can invite her to start a thread at Raganuga on the subject.

But even then, sometimes that leads them to develop more peaceful and nonviolent lifestyles, and many will later get exposed to Vaishnava teachings. I know of many devotees who first had eastern "gurus" like Yogananda, or Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, etc. As they become more serious, Krishna guides them to bhakti.

It is interesting how anyone can criticize other religions (such as Hinduism, Christianity, Judaism, or Buddhism), and there will not be world wide protests, riots, deaths, etc. But if someone speaks against Islam, there will be all of the above.

From another devotee: "An institute by the name IIT Kharagpur, not very far from Mayapur is a college with some of the best intellectuals of the country. But it is now in the limelight for a different reason. The IYF devotees from pune and some very dedicated devotees in IIT Kharagpur have taken up the task of shaping up the personality of each student the "Hare krishna" way. Now they have morning programs and regular visits to Mayapur dham. They form a strong congregation of students and even some professors. It is even more enlightening to hear that they are expanding the preaching program by regular book distribution.Apart from all this, they have a well organised morning program, a nice library and there are also regular visits from other temples. Three cheers to these young brahmachari's in IIT Kharagpur."

Discovery of the Inner Paths by David Frowley At the beginning of 1970 in Denver I found a local guru who introduced me to many spiritual teachings. While in retrospect he was limited in his insights, he did serve as a catalyst to connect me with the spiritual path. Through the encounter with various spiritual teachings that he initiated, I took to the yogic path as my main pursuit in life. He made me familiar with a broad array of mystical teachings: Hindu, Buddhist, Theosophist and Sufi. It included everything from occult teachings of Alice Bailey to Zen, and a prominent place for the teachings of Gurdjieff. I learned that a core of inner teachings existed behind the outer religious traditions of the world, an esoteric approach beyond their exoteric forms. A number of such American teachers and arose at this time, as well as teachers from India coming to the West. A major counterculture interest in India, Yoga and gurus began. The group that I was involved with was one of the few in the Denver area and so offered an alternative way of life than either my family or the counterculture, which was quite appealing at the time. The teacher’s approach was highly eclectic. He considered himself to be universal in views and would take the truth, he said, wherever he found it, which was a compelling idea. But his approach was tainted with a need to become a guru without ever having completed the disciplines that he was studying. Eventually he wrote letters to spiritual organizations all over the world asking them to become his disciples because he felt that he alone understood how to put all the different traditions together. Not surprisingly none of them took him up on his offer. This was my first contact with spiritual hubris, which I learned was not uncommon, particularly among self-proclaimed western gurus. The spiritual path has a strong appeal not only for the soul but also for the ego, which can gain its greatest power through it. We can become the guru and gain an uncritical adulation before we have reached our goal, which then puts an end to our search. Perhaps being exposed to spiritual egoism at a young age helped me become aware of the problem and avoid its pitfalls. I realized that spiritual practices can have side effects and even organized mystical traditions can have their excesses. At first I found the teacher’s eclectic approach to be interesting, moving on a weekly basis from one teaching or tradition to another. His approach was quite dramatic, exciting and novel, with ever-new ideas and bizarre stories. But after not long I realized such an approach was doomed to be superficial. How could one learn, much less practice all these teachings that reflected centuries of culture and the work of diverse people and which could not all be appropriate for you as an individual? While one should respect a diversity of spiritual paths, life requires choices and we must eventually follow a specific path, though hopefully one that is broad in nature. At this time I discovered the Upanishads, in which I found great inspiration and became my favorite book. It led me to various Vedantic texts. I soon studied the works of Shankaracharya, which I avidly read in translation, particularly his shorter works like Vivekachudamani. Of the different teachings that I contacted Vedanta struck the deepest cord. I remember once climbing a hill by Denver with a friend. When we got to the top, I had the feeling that I was immortal, that the Self in me was not limited by birth and death and had lived many lives before. Such Vedantic insights seemed natural, but the friend who was with me at the time didn’t understand what I was talking about. Of the different teachings that I contacted Vedanta struck the deepest cord. I remember once climbing a hill by Denver with a friend. When we got to the top, I had the feeling that I was immortal, that the Self in me was not limited by birth and death and had lived many lives before. Such Vedantic insights seemed natural, but the friend who was with me at the time didn’t understand what I was talking about. With my philosophical bent of mind I also studied several Buddhist Sutras, especially the Lankavatara, which I found to be intellectually profound. The Buddhist Sutras helped serve as a bridge between the existentialism that I had studied earlier and eastern meditation traditions. As I encountered these teachings at a young age before my mind had become fixed, I had the benefit of an almost eastern education to complement my western studies. [from, "How I became a Hindu", by David Frowley]

Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam Defends BBC Show TIRUPATI, INDIA, October 23, 2002: The controversial BBC News feature on the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), shown under its "Business Bizarre" slot, called "The Business of Faith," was shown today to the local media by the TTD's public relations department in a bid to set at rest the controversy it has caused. The July 9 telecast caused a general outcry against the 30-minute feature being that it was in violation of a rule not to allow photography or videography inside the temple beyond the "dhwajasthambham" point. The areas pointed out by the critics were the "potu" where the laddus are prepared and "parakamani" where thousands of dollars in cash and valuables given in the temple hundi are counted and sorted. The TTD today made an attempt to defend the feature and denied that it allowed the BBC to shoot inside the restricted areas. A top TTD official told the local media that the hundi collection which was shown was only a reproduction from the TTD's own CC-TV clippings. Viewers also objected to the portrayal of the temple as a "money making" operation.

Hindu Immigrant Struggles in Early 20th Century America UNITED STATES, October 25, 2002: As the United States moves toward a more multicultural and multi-faith society at the beginning of the 21st century, "Hindu-Bashing in Early 20th Century U.S.A.," brings to light some unpleasant realities early Hindu immigrants faced in America. By 1920, 6,400 Asian Indians, mostly Sikhs from the Punjab, had immigrated to America. They were not particularly welcomed. Early in the 20th century, white workers in Bellingham, Washington, instigated a riot against Indian laborers, causing them to flee to Canada. The United States government sided with the Asian Exclusion League, doing virtually nothing to support the Indian workers. By 1923, the Supreme Court had upheld a law terminating Asian Indian immigration. It was not until 1965 that immigration from India resumed. Katherine Mayo's 1927 book, "Mother India," referred to India as a dying nation with a slave mentality. In between this and other negative publicity, Swami Vivekananda made a positive impact in Chicago in 1893 at the Congress of Religion. His Vedantic teachings instilled an intellectual appreciation of India. For additional information on the struggles encountered by early Hindu immigrants, readers can read the full article at: http://www.infinityfoundation.com/mandala/h_es/h_es_proth_hindu.htm

Catholics Consider Including Sanskrit in Prayers PATNA, INDIA, October 21, 2002: Leaders of the Roman Catholic Church said Monday they were considering adding a Sanskrit word to liturgical prayers to make Christianity more acceptable to Hindi speakers. A synod of archbishops and bishops from India and Philippines, which began Sunday in Patina, was studying a proposal to include the word "Sachidanand" in liturgical prayers. B.J. Osta, the archbishop of Patna, stated "The word 'Sachidanand,' meaning the Trinity of Gods, also conforms to the Christian precept of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit." In India, Christians generally say prayers in English or in literal translations into local languages. Osta said the church was also considering publishing a Hindi-language magazine and setting up a press to publish liturgical books in Hindi. The three-day meeting was called to find ways to make Christianity more amenable to Hindi-speakers in the wake of increasing criticism of Christian conversion activities in India. HPI adds: The word "sachidanand" or, more properly "Satchidananda" or "Sachchidananda," means literally "Existence-consciousness-bliss," a state which can be experienced in the deepest meditation. One definition is, "A synonym for Parashakti. Lord Siva's Divine Mind and simultaneously the pure superconscious mind of each individual soul. It is perfect love and omniscient, omnipotent consciousness, the fountainhead of all existence, yet containing and permeating all existence. It is also called pure consciousness, pure form, substratum of existence, and more." This Hindu concept has no relationship to the Catholic concept of the Trinity of God.

Catholics Consider Including Sanskrit in Prayers PATNA, INDIA, October 21, 2002: Leaders of the Roman Catholic Church said Monday they were considering adding a Sanskrit word to liturgical prayers to make Christianity more acceptable to Hindi speakers. A synod of archbishops and bishops from India and Philippines, which began Sunday in Patina, was studying a proposal to include the word "Sachidanand" in liturgical prayers. B.J. Osta, the archbishop of Patna, stated "The word 'Sachidanand,' meaning the Trinity of Gods, also conforms to the Christian precept of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit." In India, Christians generally say prayers in English or in literal translations into local languages. Osta said the church was also considering publishing a Hindi-language magazine and setting up a press to publish liturgical books in Hindi. The three-day meeting was called to find ways to make Christianity more amenable to Hindi-speakers in the wake of increasing criticism of Christian conversion activities in India. HPI adds: The word "sachidanand" or, more properly "Satchidananda" or "Sachchidananda," means literally "Existence-consciousness-bliss," a state which can be experienced in the deepest meditation. One definition is, "A synonym for Parashakti. Lord Siva's Divine Mind and simultaneously the pure superconscious mind of each individual soul. It is perfect love and omniscient, omnipotent consciousness, the fountainhead of all existence, yet containing and permeating all existence. It is also called pure consciousness, pure form, substratum of existence, and more." This Hindu concept has no relationship to the Catholic concept of the Trinity of God.

Japanese Funds to Improve Ajanta-Ellora Caves and Other Monuments in Maharashtra Source: Sify.com MUMBAI, INDIA, October 9, 2002: The Japanese Government has approved funding amounting to US$88 million to further preserve and develop the famous Ajanta-Ellora Caves. Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal says, "They were impressed with the development work at the caves completed under the first phase of the project, which has been completed with the Japan aid. Under the second phase, 13 projects would be undertaken for preservation and development, including Ajanta-Ellora Caves, Daulatabad Forts, Bi Bi Ka Maqbara, Anva temple and Patana Devi temple." The Japanese aid will also be used to improve other monuments in Maharashtra such as Elephanta caves, Junner forts and others, as well as make improvements at Aurangabad airport.

US Embassy in Delhi Withdraws US Marine T-Shirts with Durga Motif Source: Hindustan Times NEW DELHI, INDIA, October 18, 2002: The VHP is upset with the United States Embassy for ordering T-shirts for its security personnel which portray a caricature of Hindu Goddess Durga with the Taj Mahal in the backdrop. The Embassy had ordered the T-Shirts from a local supplier and upon receiving the shirts with the controversial designs, was quick to confiscate them to avoid ill sentiments. The Goddess had been portrayed with a bottle of liquor in one of Her eight hands, modern weapons and a shield bearing the US emblem in the others. Printed on the T-shirts are the words "Marine Security Guard Detachment -- American Embassy, New Delhi, India." The VHP has demanded an apology, but the embassy apparently is not yet aware of any demand.