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bhaktashab

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Posts posted by bhaktashab

  2. Posted · Report reply

    haribol,

    Any ability or talent that one may have is bestowed by Krishna alone. Krishna's devotees are the greatest artists. Who is better than Arjuna when it comes to the art of war? Who can sing like Lalita Devi? Who can cook as good as Srimati Radharani? Who is funnier than Madhu-Mangala?

     

    "Also upon those beautiful, jeweled walls are exquisitely crafted paintings of

    parrots, so apparently real that even the household parrots like to perch near them for

    companionship. When the gopîs saw them, they thought, “Are these alive, or is it

    those?” They were so bewildered that for a long time they were unsure as to whom

    they should offer some pomegranate seeds." (Ånanda-vrndåvana-campüh 1.153)

     

    Of course the paintings in Krishna's house are going to be the best.

    All these qualities, talents etc. are bestowed by Krishna and they are meant for Krishna's pleasure.

     

     

     

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    shab.

  3. Posted · Report reply

    I think we have to identify the nature of our children early on. We can't pretend that every child will become a brahmana. Whatever qualities our children display we should encourage them in that area, whether it be brahminical, administrative, business or menial service. If we are going to revive the varnasrama culture then we need all the classes, not just brahmanas. There is nothing wrong with performing one's duty dharma, while cultivating one's eternal duty sanatana dharma. I think it is better to encourage those who are inclined to become materially succesful so that they can practice charity etc... At the same time we shouldn't hold any illusions about the entaglement of material life. In this way devotees will be encouraged to gradually rise to the topmost platform, even if it takes more than one life.

     

    ------------------

    shab.

  4. Posted · Report reply

    I also think this is a very interesting topic. My understanding is that a person’s nature is a combination of three factors.

    1. The Condition of the Subtle Body

    2. Genetic Makeup

    3. Environmental Influence

    The body one receives at the time of birth is a direct result of one’s previous activities; practically speaking ‘material body’ is synonymous with ‘karma’. It is also said that one’s allotment of happiness and distress is already determined at the time of birth. At birth there are two factors determining a person’s makeup, i.e. factor 1 and 2. It is definite that one inherits qualities through genetics; I have heard it said many times and in my experience I have seen it to be the case that the female child will generally inherit the qualities of the Father, while the male child generally inherits the qualities of the Mother. The subtle body, composed of mind, intelligence and false ego, contains many impressions (samskaras) from previous lives. These manifest as desire and hate – lust and its flipside. Sometimes it is found that some children are naturally inclined toward a particular activity and yet for others the same activity can be like poison. Gauracandra gave the example of some kids who can sit quietly in one spot whereas others are just too restless. It’s difficult to say which qualities are the results of which factor; I can only think that the arrangement is perfect. One’s new gross body will be a perfect match for the condition of one’s subtle body as dictated by the laws of karma.

    The single biggest factor determining a person’s makeup, especially in areas of ethics and morality, is one’s up bringing. Environmental factors during childhood have a huge effect on the adult psyche. Practically speaking an upbringing is a process by which one inherits the intelligence, or lack of intelligence, from one’s elders. Intelligence is the faculty with which we discriminate between right and wrong. Therefore the possession of intelligence equates with the possession of virtue. When we think of intelligence we think of advancement in knowledge. Knowledge, as described in the Bhagavad-gita, depends upon goodness (sattva-guna). We find that those who are advanced in material knowledge like to think of themselves as intelligent. But as long as they are engaged in sinful activity their so-called advancement in knowledge is simply advancement in ignorance.

    So it is the duty of the parents to teach the child virtue. This is done in two ways, by instruction and by example. Childhood is the training ground for adult life and therefore childhood should be the time we learn what is the purpose of life and what is the nature of this world. Prabhupada described that there are basically four classes of intelligence. For a child with first class intelligence you can explain to him, “Don’t touch fire, if you do it will cause you pain” This instruction will be enough for him to learn not to touch fire. A child with second-class intelligence even after hearing this instruction requires seeing the result of touching fire, upon seeing another child burn his finger he then learns not to touch hot flames. A child with third-class intelligence, after hearing the instruction and seeing another child burn himself, still doesn’t understand that fire burns, thus he has to himself put his finger in the flame in order to associate fire with pain. A child with fourth-class intelligence will repeatedly put his hand into the fire and not learn that it is wrong even after repeated burns. I would say that one’s capacity to fit into one of these classes is due to karma. It is not that of the first three classes one will necessarily become more virtuous than the other, as that depends on what lessons are being taught, it just means that the children will learn differently, but they learn nonetheless. I would also say that in different areas of interest an individual will display sometimes first class intelligence and sometimes third class intelligence. For example children usually learn quickly not to cross the road without looking left – right – left again and listening for cars. But the same child may take quite a bit longer to learn that eating sugar candy is bad for you as it rots your teeth.

    Discipline must be enforced upon children, as I previously mentioned childhood is the training ground for adult life, and as we know adult life is not all fun and games, and therefore children should be taught the seriousness of life. This seriousness means that for every action there is either a punishment or reward. Sometimes a stick is needed to reinforce valuable instructions upon a naughty child; in fact to not use corporal punishment when it is necessary is something I would consider as child abuse. If the child acts sinfully and gets away with it due to his parents apathy for strict discipline then he will grow up with a misconception of the nature of life. In adult life if we perform a sinful action then we will reap the result in due course. This result is like the whipping stick of maya. It is essential the child learn about such reactions from his loving parents prior to being released into the ‘real world’.

     

    “Humility; pridelessness; non-violence; tolerance; simplicity; approaching a bona fide spiritual master; cleanliness; steadiness; self-control; renunciation of the objects of sense gratification; absence of false ego; the perception of the evil of birth, death, old age and disease; detachment; freedom from entanglement with children, wife, home and the rest; even-mindedness amid pleasant and unpleasant events; constant and unalloyed devotion to Me; aspiring to live in a solitary place; detachment from the general mass of people; accepting the importance of self-realization; and philosophical search for the Absolute Truth -- all these I declare to be knowledge, and besides this whatever there may be is ignorance.” (Bg 13.8-12)

     

    Krishna here declares these virtues as knowledge. The greatest virtue in this list that must be taught by instruction and example is “constant and unalloyed devotion to Me.” I believe that if we cultivate this virtue especially then the rest will follow. There are many lists of divine qualities throughout the Vaisnava scriptures; we should know them well if we expect to be able to teach them to our children. I think moral tales are fantastic; the Mahabharata and Ramayana are especially wonderful, but all fairy tales teaching divine character can be read to children.

    I hope that sheds some light on the subject.

    Hare Krsna.

     

     

  6. Posted · Report reply

    That's an interesting quote Tarun, thankyou.

     

    If I imagine an image of Dwaraka, the city of the Yadus', I see a place of not just one family. We have to remember that this was a varnasrama culture and therefore all the classes of peoples, from Sudra to Brahmin, were residents of that city. So I think it is safe to say that the Yadus were a race of humans. But of course, being a race this means they had common ancestry. Krishna had a huge family, as we know, and all of Krishna's relatives were Kshatriyas. Krishna's son Samba was directly involved in the event which lead to the Yadu dynasty being cursed. After this it is said that the Yadus were destroyed in a fratricidal war. In fact Krishna and Balarama fought and killed them all. But did Krishna and Balarama fight Brahmins, Vaisyas and Sudras? One would assume that they only killed Kshatriyas. This would correspond to one of the reasons for Krishna's appearance - He came to rid the Earth of Kshatriyas, thus preparing the planet for Kali Yuga. Most of this job was done at Kurukshetra, but the Yadus weren't annihilated until after the great war. Then we understand that the city of Dwaraka was flooded and thus many more would have been killed. Whatever Yadus remained would have been without a place of residence and thus a nomadic life would have ensued. The other factor contributing toward a nomadic lifestyle would have been the fact that there were no Kshatriyas among them, in other words no one to rule them properly and set up a new place of residence, a new city. The survivors of this holocaust were practically left with nothing.

    It is said in the Bhagavatam that in times of great difficulty all the varnas, except for Kshatriyas, may perform the work of the other varnas in order to preserve social stability. This means that Kshatriyas are essential for a peaceful society. It is their duty to protect and properly engage all the citizens and they provide charity as the means of livelihood for the Brahmanas. The loss of the worlds Kshatriyas ended the advanced civilisation of Dvarapa Yuga and without the Kshatriyas brahminical culture died. From this analysis it is clear that the remnants of the Yadus had a great deal in common with the earliest descriptions of the Jews, “c2000-1700 BCE: Patriarchs and Matriarchs in Canaan. Nomadic "Habiru" wander the region, Famine forces Israelites to migrate to Egypt.” There is simply a 1000-year gap between the beginning of Kali Yuga in 3102 BC, and the time of the above historical description of the early Jews. I would say one thousand years is enough for a nomadic people, degraded by the onset of Kali Yuga, to forget their links with their Vaishnava ancestors.

     

    p.s. Gauracandra, I’m glad you like the website on my profile, I think it’s great. It’s not mine though my friend Edward designed it.

     

    Hare Krsna

     

  7. Posted · Report reply

    Originally posted by Gauracandra:

     

    Just a side note, but isn't the "star of David" sign a Sri Yantra design? meant to bring auspiciousness? I'm not saying the two are necessarily connected I'd be curious about the development of this symbol for the Jews.

    In his book "Proof of Vedic Culture's Global Existence" Stephen Knapp comments on the Star of David as follows:

    "Another example of outside influence is the Jewish emblem known as the Star of David. This consists of two interlocking triangles, one pointing up, the other down, which is a Tantric Vedic symbol. It is called Rangawali, or Rangoli. It is also a simplified form of the Sri Yantra, which is connected with the Goddess Sri, or Sri Lakshmi Devi, the goddess of fortune and the wife of Lord Vishnu. Even its name 'David' is the sanskrit word Devi-d, meaning "bestowed by the Mother Goddess." This emblem is also drawn in front of many orthodox Hindu homes in rice powder or chalk every morning after the house is washed, and especially on holidays."

  11. Posted · Report reply

    Originally posted by Satyaraja dasa:

    Satyaraj: I am waiting for Audariya-lila’s help to refresh my memory! We do consider Rupa as Caitanya’s main theologian. Where did Rupa has stated that Caitanya was an avatara? Please quote the book, or the sloka, or even the stanza where Rupa clearly states that Caitanya was an avatara. I cannot recall it!

    I am familiar with this verse:

     

    namo maha-vadayaya

    krsna-prema-pradaya te

    krsnaya krsna-caitanya-namne

    gaura-tvise namah

     

    "O most munificent incarnation! You are Krsna Himself appearing as Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu. You have assumed the golden color of Srimati Radharani, and You are widely distributing pure love of Krsna. We offer our respectful obeisances unto You."

     

    As far as I know this is a verse written by Rupa Goswami. Perhaps someone more scholarly can give a reference to this verse from the works of Srila Rupa Prabhupada.

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