gHari

See first post in thread. also Exodus 3:14 God said to Moses, "I am who I am . This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.' "

No .... simply: I AM.

Not only dumb, but not in relation to Supersoul ..... Islam apparently has nothing to do with God. Or is it just him?

Thank you very much, Aman Sharma.

The five cent philosophers will translate "Those who believeth in me will have eternal life" as "if I believe Jesus is the Son of God, I will go to heaven". Unfortunately there are many five cent Christians out there with not much time to devote to this God thing. So they buy the five cent version ... and get their money's worth .... complete with the "only way, we're number one, go USA" cheer.

I'm reading, wondering where we kill the goat. Then in the last paragraph, there it is.

"The Way" is the only path, as Krsna says in the Gita: "All follow Me in all respects".

I've encountered these theories before that cause the youth to swoon in their desire to abandon conscience for revelry. Some involve claims of old Egyptian stories that match and predate the gospel, that the Christ is an analogy for the Sun, etc. Only direct religious experience can defeat these organized plots against the religious fabric of the West. Soon, India will be the next target. The depth of evil in this world is unimaginable.

Our temporary life may be nonsense, but our eternal life is always perfect. Identify with that part of you that is eternal, and all nonsense will disappear.

I would stay in the house Prabhupada made for the world. Your heart is right. We are nothing but heart. I would never listen to ritvik rascalry. May Krsna be pleased with your decisions. gHari

Location location location.

Somehow or other, turn to God.

Bhagavad-gita As It Is 2.58: yadA saMharate cAyaM kUrmo 'GgAnIva sarvazaH indriyANIndriyArthebhyas tasya prajJA pratiSThitA yadA--when; saMharate--winds up; ca--also; ayam--he; kUrmaH--tortoise; aGgAni--limbs; iva--like; sarvazaH--altogether; indriyANi--senses; indriya-arthebhyaH--from the sense objects; tasya--his; prajJA--consciousness; pratiSThitA--fixed. One who is able to withdraw his senses from sense objects, as the tortoise draws its limbs within the shell, is firmly fixed in perfect consciousness. PURPORT The test of a yogI, devotee, or self-realized soul is that he is able to control the senses according to his plan. Most people, however, are servants of the senses and are thus directed by the dictation of the senses. That is the answer to the question as to how the yogI is situated. The senses are compared to venomous serpents. They want to act very loosely and without restriction. The yogI, or the devotee, must be very strong to control the serpents--like a snake charmer. He never allows them to act independently. There are many injunctions in the revealed scriptures; some of them are do-not's, and some of them are do's. Unless one is able to follow the do's and the do-not's, restricting oneself from sense enjoyment, it is not possible to be firmly fixed in KRSNa consciousness. The best example, set herein, is the tortoise. The tortoise can at any moment wind up his senses and exhibit them again at any time for particular purposes. Similarly, the senses of the KRSNa conscious persons are used only for some particular purpose in the service of the Lord and are withdrawn otherwise. Arjuna is being taught here to use his senses for the service of the Lord, instead of for his own satisfaction. Keeping the senses always in the service of the Lord is the example set by the analogy of the tortoise, who keeps the senses within.

Is 2012 the end of Kali? No, it's the end of 2011.

When I read the Bhagavad-gita, I ask myself how God created the universe. Everything else is superfluous. I had the quote on my wall at work in the seventies. A co-worker bought a Gita from me because of the quote. So all is forgiven.

What we call happiness is simply less unhappiness. There is always underlying anxiety everywhere along that dualistic spectrum. Pleasure is simply less pain. Bliss, there is no anxiety. It is absolute.

Bhagavad-gita 4.1: The Personality of Godhead, Lord SrI KRSNa, said: I instructed this imperishable science of yoga to the sun-god, VivasvAn, and VivasvAn instructed it to Manu, the father of mankind, and Manu in turn instructed it to IkSvAku. Of course, one who has read and accepted the revelations in the Srimad Bhagavatam of Vyasadeva will know that Vedavyasa is none other than Sri Krsna. Further, we must remember that the "Nitya-lila" of Sri Krsna has Him performing the speech at the Battle of Kuruksetra in every one of the practically innumerable universes in the material cosmos, one after another.

Various characters have picked up on this humorous spoof. Unfortunately they haven't coordinated their creativity in expanding the yarn.

This is an important question a sincere person asks. Cultivating genuine devotion to God eventually softens the harshness of the lessons required to correct our faults - faults which have manifest in the past as sinful deeds. Perhaps this analogy of the bit in the horse's mouth can illustrate a parallel. In the analogy the bit can be equated to karmic reaction, the horse is the living being, and the rider is God. When a horse is moving in the wrong direction, the rider pulls the reins which causes the bit in the horse's mouth to guide the horse toward the correct path. If the horse is very stubborn or out of control, the rider will have to yank harder on the reins causing more pain in the horse's mouth to get it back on track. However, if the horse is submissive and responds to the rider's commands, then a gentle pressure on the reins will set the horse on the proper path. So it is said that the karma experienced by an obstinate out of control materialistic person will need to be far more crushing than will be the karma experienced by someone who is more surrendered to God's interest. It takes less to get their attention, and the whole process becomes a loving embrace from Sri Krsna, our eternal friend.

As accurately referenced earlier by the old seaman ...portion of Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.3.28p: The summum bonum KRSNa is one without a second. He Himself has expanded Himself in various parts, portions and particles as svayaM-rUpa, svayam-prakAza, tad-ekAtmA, prAbhava, vaibhava, vilAsa, avatAra, Aveza, and jIvas, all provided with innumerable energies just suitable to the respective persons and personalities. Learned scholars in transcendental subjects have carefully analyzed the summum bonum KRSNa to have sixty-four principal attributes. All the expansions or categories of the Lord possess only some percentages of these attributes. But SrI KRSNa is the possessor of the attributes cent percent. And His personal expansions such as svayam-prakAza, tad-ekAtmA up to the categories of the avatAras who are all viSNu-tattva, possess up to ninety-three percent of these transcendental attributes. Lord Siva, who is neither avatAra nor Aveza nor in between them, possesses almost eighty-four percent of the attributes. But the jIvas, or the individual living beings in different statuses of life, possess up to the limit of seventy-eight percent of the attributes. In the conditioned state of material existence, the living being possesses these attributes in very minute quantity, varying in terms of the pious life of the living being. The most perfect of living beings is BrahmA, the supreme administrator of one universe. He possesses seventy-eight percent of the attributes in full. All other demigods have the same attributes in less quantity, whereas human beings possess the attributes in very minute quantity. The standard of perfection for a human being is to develop the attributes up to seventy-eight percent in full. The living being can never possess attributes like Siva, ViSNu or Lord KRSNa. A living being can become godly by developing the seventy-eight-percent transcendental attributes in fullness, but he can never become a God like Siva, ViSNu or KRSNa. He can become a BrahmA in due course. The godly living beings who are all residents of the planets in the spiritual sky are eternal associates of God in different spiritual planets called Hari-dhAma and Maheza-dhAma. The abode of Lord KRSNa above all spiritual planets is called KRSNaloka or Goloka VRndAvana, and the perfected living being, by developing seventy-eight percent of the above attributes in fullness, can enter the planet of KRSNaloka after leaving the present material body. <table></table>Numbers also quoted here: http://vedabase.net/sb/4/1/15/en <table></table>

So the difference between Siva and jIva is that the all-auspicious Personality of Godhead is never affected by the material qualities, whereas the minute portions of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are prone to be affected by the qualities of material nature. [Kb 87] Lord Siva is not jIva-tattva. But BrahmA is jIva-tattva. [Lecture] So the three guNas, sattva-guNa, rajo-guNa, tamo-guNa, that is going on since the creation. So here it is said, sthity-Adaye hari-viriJci-hareti saMjJAH. This, the same Lord, Supreme Personality of Godhead, ViSNu, has expanded Himself as Lord Siva and Lord BrahmA. We are also expansions. BrahmA is also jIva-tattva. He's also like us, jIva-tattva. Lord Siva is between viSNu-tattva and jIva-tattva. And Lord ViSNu is viSNu-tattva. ViSNu-tattva, via media, and jIva-tattva. [Lecture] And that is the difference between ourself and God. God does not forget. We forget. We are claiming, some of us, foolishly claiming, that "I am God, but I forget." God does not forget. Therefore I am not God. Is that clear? That is the difference between living jIva and Siva, God. He does not forget. In the Bhagavad-gItA He says, vedAhaM samatItAni: "I know everything of this present, past, future, everything." But we do not know. We have forgotten. [Conversation]

Wrong thread.

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<a href=http://vedabase.net/sb/11/5/32/en target=new>Srimad-Bhagavatam 11.5.32</a>: <center> kRSNa-varNaM tviSAkRSNaM sAGgopAGgAstra-pArSadam yajJaiH saGkIrtana-prAyair yajanti hi su-medhasaH </center> kRSNa-varNam--repeating the syllables kRS-Na; tviSA--with a luster; akRSNam--not black (golden); sa-aGga--along with associates; upa-aGga--servitors; astra--weapons; pArSadam--confidential companions; yajJaiH--by sacrifice; saGkIrtana-prAyaiH--consisting chiefly of congregational chanting; yajanti--they worship; hi--certainly; su-medhasaH--intelligent persons. In the age of Kali, intelligent persons perform congregational chanting to worship the incarnation of Godhead who constantly sings the names of KRSNa. Although His complexion is not blackish, He is KRSNa Himself. He is accompanied by His associates, servants, weapons and confidential companions. PURPORT This same verse is quoted by KRSNadAsa KavirAja in the Caitanya-caritAmRta, Adi-lIlA, Chapter Three, verse 52. His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami PrabhupAda has given the following commentary on this verse. "This text is from SrImad-BhAgavatam (11.5.32). SrIla JIva GosvAmI has explained this verse in his commentary on the BhAgavatam known as the Krama-sandarbha, wherein he says that Lord KRSNa also appears with a golden complexion. That golden Lord KRSNa is Lord Caitanya, who is worshiped by intelligent men in this age. That is confirmed in SrImad-BhAgavatam by Garga Muni, who said that although the child KRSNa was blackish, He also appears in three other colors--red, white and yellow. He exhibited His white and red complexions in the Satya and TretA ages respectively. He did not exhibit the remaining color, yellow-gold, until He appeared as Lord Caitanya, who is known as Gaurahari. "SrIla JIva GosvAmI explains that kRSNa-varNam means SrI KRSNa Caitanya. KRSNa-varNam and KRSNa Caitanya are equivalent. The name KRSNa appears with both Lord KRSNa and Lord Caitanya KRSNa. Lord SrI Caitanya MahAprabhu is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but He always engages in describing KRSNa and thus enjoying transcendental bliss by chanting and remembering His name and form. Lord KRSNa Himself appears as Lord Caitanya to preach the highest gospel. VarNayati means ‘utters' or ‘describes.' Lord Caitanya always chants the holy name of KRSNa and describes it also, and because He is KRSNa Himself, whoever meets Him will automatically chant the holy name of KRSNa and later describe it to others. He injects one with transcendental KRSNa consciousness, which merges the chanter in transcendental bliss. In all respects, therefore, He appears before everyone as KRSNa, either by personality or by sound. Simply by seeing Lord Caitanya one at once remembers Lord KRSNa. One may therefore accept Him as viSNu-tattva. In other words, Lord Caitanya is Lord KRSNa Himself. "SAGgopAGgAstra-pArSadam further indicates that Lord Caitanya is Lord KRSNa. His body is always decorated with ornaments of sandalwood and with sandalwood paste. By His superexcellent beauty He subdues all the people of the age. In other descents the Lord sometimes used weapons to defeat the demoniac, but in this age the Lord subdues them with His all-attractive figure as Caitanya MahAprabhu. SrIla JIva GosvAmI explains that His beauty is His astra, or weapon, to subdue the demons. Because He is all-attractive, it is to be understood that all the demigods lived with Him as His companions. His acts were uncommon and His associates wonderful. When He propagated the saGkIrtana movement, He attracted many great scholars and AcAryas, especially in Bengal and Orissa. Lord Caitanya is always accompanied by His best associates like Lord NityAnanda, Advaita, GadAdhara and SrIvAsa. "SrIla JIva GosvAmI cites a verse from the Vedic literature that says that there is no necessity of performing sacrificial demonstrations or ceremonial functions. He comments that instead of engaging in such external, pompous exhibitions, all people, regardless of caste, color or creed, can assemble together and chant Hare KRSNa to worship Lord Caitanya. KRSNa-varNaM tviSAkRSNam [sB 11.5.32] indicates that prominence should be given to the name KRSNa. Lord Caitanya taught KRSNa consciousness and chanted the name of KRSNa. Therefore, to worship Lord Caitanya, everyone should together chant the mahA-mantra--Hare KRSNa, Hare KRSNa, KRSNa KRSNa, Hare Hare/ Hare RAma, Hare RAma, RAma RAma, Hare Hare. To propagate worship in churches, temples or mosques is not possible because people have lost interest in that. But anywhere and everywhere, people can chant Hare KRSNa. Thus worshiping Lord Caitanya, they can perform the highest activity and fulfill the highest religious purpose of satisfying the Supreme Lord. "SrIla SArvabhauma BhaTTAcArya, a famous disciple of Lord Caitanya, said: ‘The principle of transcendental devotional service having been lost, SrI KRSNa Caitanya has appeared to deliver again the process of devotion. He is so kind that He is distributing love of KRSNa. Everyone should be attracted more and more to His lotus feet, as humming bees are attracted to a lotus flower.' " The incarnation of Caitanya MahAprabhu is also described in the SrI ViSNu-sahasra-nAma, which appears in Chapter 189 of the DAna-dharma-parva of MahAbhArata. SrIla JIva GosvAmI has quoted this reference as follows: suvarNa-varNo hemAGgo varAGgaz candanAGgadI. "In His early pastimes He appears as a householder with a golden complexion. His limbs are beautiful, and His body, smeared with the pulp of sandalwood, seems like molten gold." He has also quoted, sannyAsa-kRc chamaH zAnto niSThA-zAnti-parAyaNaH: "In His later pastimes He accepts the sannyAsa order, and He is equipoised and peaceful. He is the highest abode of peace and devotion, for He silences the impersonalist nondevotees."

1. Glory to the Sri Krsna sankirtana, which cleanses the heart of all the dust accumulated for years and extinguishes the fire of conditional life, of repeated birth and death. This sankirtana movement is the prime benediction for humanity at large because it spreads the rays of the benediction moon. It is the life of all transcendental knowledge. It increases the ocean of transcendental bliss, and it enables us to fully taste the nectar for which we are always anxious. 2. O my Lord, Your holy name alone can render all benediction to living beings, and thus You have hundreds and millions of names like Krsna and Govinda. In these transcendental names You have invested all Your transcendental energies. There are not even hard and fast rules for chanting these names. O my Lord, out of kindness You enable us to easily approach You by Your holy names, but I am so unfortunate that I have no attraction for them 3. One should chant the holy name of the Lord in a humble state of mind, thinking oneself lower than the straw in the street; one should be more tolerant than a tree, devoid of all sense of false prestige and should be ready to offer all respect to others. In such a state of mind one can chant the holy name of the Lord constantly. 4. O almighty Lord, I have no desire to accumulate wealth, nor do I desire beautiful women, nor do I want any number of followers. I only want Your causeless devotional service birth after birth. 5. O son of Maharaja Nanda [Krsna], I am Your eternal servitor, yet somehow or other I have fallen into the ocean of birth and death. Please pick me up from this ocean of death and place me as one of the atoms at Your lotus feet. 6. O my Lord, when will my eyes be decorated with tears of love flowing constantly when I chant Your holy name? When will my voice choke up, and when will the hairs of my body stand on end at the recitation of Your name? 7. O Govinda! Feeling Your separation, I am considering a moment to be like twelve years or more. Tears are flowing from my eyes like torrents of rain, and I am feeling all vacant in the world in Your absence. 8. I know no one but Krsna as my Lord, and He shall remain so even if He handles me roughly by His embrace or makes me brokenhearted by not being present before me. He is completely free to do anything and everything, for He is always my worshipful Lord unconditionally.