Namah

Its is a opportunity to actually witness the devotions of the Science of Godhead manifested in the amazing varieties of mental challenge which inspire one to humbly fall at the lotus feet of Lord Krsna. I understand why the association of devotees is so important now. I have never been exposed to so much intelligence in a concentrated form. The process of giving up my attraction to Maya and the rule of my senses requires an approach designed to overcome my conditioning. Everyone has a unique set of conditioning and I am not sure that in this lifetime I will be able to completely overcome my mind and senses. However I am now aware and that awareness is more than I started with. I believe it is the duty of the devotees to offer the world the opportunity to become aware of the Hare Krsna mantra. This mantra needs to be sung on the radio, the TV and in the movies. It is an attachment to a whole which can be represented by a variety of spokes. It is the outer circle and the inner circle of the wheel. The variety of the spokes give the wheel the ability to turn and through this movement we have life and its external coverings of maya worshipping Krsna. We go from the smallest the inner circle to the largest the outer circle and the journey between the two puts the sound of the Hare Krsna Mantra into our form of devotional worship. The minds on this Forum represent incredible sound vibrations through the written word of intelligence. Thank You All

Originally posted by darwin:

Dear devotees,

 

Please read these 2 articles and tell me what you think of them:

 

The first article, Literalism vs Essence by Ramacandra das, just came out today on Chakra. Ramacandra das seems to argue that he needs to blindly accept all of the Iskcon world view as true or he will begin a process of questioning everything and lose all faith.

 

The second article, On Leaving ISKCON, by Steven J. Gelberg (Subhananda das), 1991, has been on the internet for at least a couple of years. In it Steve Gelberg seems to describe how he has totally lost his faith and religion. Steve Gelberg was an ISKCON devotee for seventeen years, and most of that time he was a staff writer for the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.

 

For many of us devotees, if we tried to adopt Ramacandra das' attitude, we would end up like Steve Gelberg. I am trying to find an entirely different, and personalist, approach for myself. See the Bhaktivinoda Thakur page on my website.

 

I will be thankful for any help you devotees can give me.

 

Thank you. Hari Bol!

 

[This message has been edited by darwin (edited 11-05-2001).]

 

My humble appreciation for the pleasure of pastimes. I am attracted to Krsna because He understands my ability to make mistakes, become illusioned, to cheat and my imperfect senses. There is a pastime of Bewilderment called brahma-vimohana-lila. Materially born persons cannot fully understand Krsna. Even the Demigods cannot understand Him. I would like the thank Swami Prabhupada for leading my heart to Krsna and this Audarya Fellowship. I now understand the importance of associating with other devotees and feel the presence of the Vaisnava acaryas and the philosophies of Visuddhadvaita, Visistadvaita and Dvaitadvaita. The Truth is I do not know anything about these three philosophies. However the pastime of learning about them from devotees is a blessing. A humble servant with a lot of material faults and plenty of bewilderment. Thank you for the gift of your company.

Originally posted by jndas:

Yet, the Sun is Narayana Himself (Surya Narayana); and He is pratyakasha-devata, the most visible form of the Lord.

 

Also Sri Ramachandra took His birth in the Surya vamsha (sun dynasty).

 

When everything is connected to the Lord it becomes difficult to choose which is more important.

Dear jndas: Thank you. I have found a home and guidance in the hearts of devotees.

Your humble servant

Namah

 

Originally posted by Audarya lila:

Dear Namah,

 

For help with the distance of the sun and moon from the planet earth I suggest you consult an asstronomy text book. The lunar landing is not a spiritual subject and understanding it won't help your standing in devotion. For a good exposition on a plausible understanding of the cosmography presented in the 5th canto you can read the books published by Sadaputa dasa on the subject. The jest of his very lengthy and scholarly presentation is that the distances referred to in the Srimad Bhagavatam are distances above the plane of Bhu-mandala in which these two heavenly bodies orbit, not their physical distances from the planet earth. The empirical data fits well with this model.

 

As far as the moon goes, you should know that Krsna appears in the dynasty of the moon god and that his amorous pastimes are performed during the harvest moon. From that perspective the moon may certainly take precedence over the sun for devotees of Sri Krishna.

 

Your servant,

Audarya lila dasa

 

 

Dear Audarya lila dasa: Thank you for your reply. I have found a place where I can read and converse with understanding, help and guidance.

Your humble servant,

Namah

Originally posted by animesh:

I am a Sudra with Karmi training.

 

How does it matter what caste you belong to?

Dear Animesh: Your right. Thank you

Am a novice on a journey through the written word of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Read the Bhagavad Gita As it Is, Dialectical Spiritualism - A Vedic View of Western Philosophy, and have humbly travelled through the Srimad Bhagavatam into the Tenth Canto - Part Three. This is also the day I found this website and the home of other devotees. Now I have a place to communicate with devotees and work out my issues and questions. I have been programmed by a Western culture with values and concepts which through thoughtful debate can find their way down the mountain of Truth and into Ocean of Understanding. I am aware that my river is polluted with beliefs from my past. I am a Sudra with Karmi training. What can I say. We all have to start somewhere. Now for my Moon Moods question. I need help in understanding the distance of the Sun and the Moon from Earth. I need help in understanding the lunar moon landing. In my mind the Sun is the gateway to returning to Krsna as a spiritual being and the Moon is the gateway to returning to Krsna as a material being. My struggle is with Duality and overcoming my senses which are treated as Demigods in the West by the vast majority.