tackleberry

And a man has to make her understand that. See where I am going with this?

What's wrong with this school? If they have such a strict admission policy, not even one person is gonna join, or even qualify. This is the 21st century, for heaven's sakes, not the medieval ages, where perfect brahmna culture could be adopted. It's impossible to follow rules and regs, even for a religious person, the problems are just way too many in this yuga.

Why is drinking not good, I mean, it's not as bad as meat eating, where you kill animals, directly or otherwise? In any case, it's impossible to give up all these, with or without chanting. I guess certain things will never change, and human nature must be one of those.

Where and how did you correspond with him? So what if he's a follower of R, does that mean he's inviting you to his place? Whose name do you want to pronounce, the one you've been corresponding with:), or R's name?

Where and how did you correspond with him? So what if he's a follower of R, does that mean he's inviting you to his place? Whose name do you want to pronounce, the one you've been corresponding with:), or R's name?

Is there some quick, easy (and free) way to develop sanskrit vocabulary?

I think you've missed the point entirely, so I'll explain again. YOU SAID: If you don't see Krishna speaking and acting through a certain person, you must not accept that person as a guru. My response: Duryodhana (or any evil minded person) may not see Krishna speaking and acting through even an exalted devotee like Bhishma. So would you conclude that Bhishma is not a qualified guru, based on your own premise that 'if you don't see krishna speaking and acting through a certain person, you must not accept that person as a guru??

How could he, when Karna didn't even know who or where Arjuna was? During the virat attack, there was no clue as to who was who (as far as pandavas were concerned, because they were in disguise), hence no direct combat was possible between Arjuna and Karna. But Arjuna could see the invading army, hence he was able to make them faint with his astra. Hope you can see the logic behind this.

I am not sure I understand this. Our perceptions are limited, aren't they? An ignorant person may not see Krishna speaking and acting through even an exalted devotee like Hanuman, but that doesn't disqualify Hanuman as a Guru. Hope you get my drift.

Not quite. Most of the warriors fainted, it's not like Arjuna could fight and defeat Karna face to face in the virat war. That never happened, except during the final battle, where Arjuna killed Karna in direct combat.

Excellent answers by everyone, Sephiroth, TY, and others. People who refuse to accept India's divinity are doing so out of jealousy, that's all. What more evidence do these doubters want, aside from the fact that God and his devotees repeatedly choose India, yuga after yuga?

Ashwatama wasn't an asura, but an incarnation of Lord Shiva. So it's not nice to speak ill of such a superior soul.

Adbhuta=mystical ananda=joy, so it's adbhutaananda. Disclaimer: I could be wrong!

Dear Devotees, Are there any temples/ashrams in Vrindavan where one can live? How much would it cost, is it possible to buy some rooms provided by ashrams, so one can live there? TB

Dear Devotees, Something amazing happened. While meditating, I silently chanted the mahamantra, and suddenly, I saw some golden lights, all the while feeling some upward pull on top of the head. They were so beautiful, but lasted not more than one minute. I'd love see this again, or at least experience more visions/lights/colors, provided they have some spiritual significance. Can experienced devotees shed some light on this? I am new to all this, and this experience is really exciting. TB

Dear Devotees, I need your help. I'd like to know if there's any website, which may have a huge collection of pictures (of deities), pictures which look and feel divine, so one may be able to concentrate on their forms. All deities, not just Krishna, and it will be better if one website contains all of them. Even otherwise, please let me know. TIA, Tackleberry

Hi Bob, I wrote a lengthy reply, but the post didn't go through. It's lost. So I'll keep it brief this time around. ***I think the Sun/Mirror analogy supports my view more than Sankara's non-dual view. Because God is my cause and sustainer I resemble God (the effect always resembles cause) just like the image of the Sun in the mirror resembles the actual Sun. And the image of the sun in the mirror is dependent on the Sun for its existence, but as you correctly add "saying that a reflection is the same as the Sun is wrong." This explains why the devotee is not identical with Brahman.*** Due to ignorance/mirror, there is an image /jiva. Once ignorance/mirror is destroyed, there's no jiva/image but Brahman/Sun. It's in this sense non-dualism is understood by advaitins. ***The problem for sankara is either (1) the mirror is unreal, in which case there can be no reflection and the existence of Bob is an illusion--Bob or Avinash does not exist, which is absurd, or (2) the mirror is real, in which case Sankara would have to hold there is a difference between the mirror and Brahman--but this is what his non-dual view denies. So either way the analogy seems to support my view more than Sankara's view.*** Dream is real for the dreamer, but in the awakened state, it is unreal. Likewise, the image/conditioned jiva is real until the mirror/ignorance is broken, after which the image/jiva disappears and there's only Brahman/Sun. That's why they don't say "bob=brahman", because bob=conditioned jiva/image due to presence of mirror/ignorance. Once the mirror goes, where's bob, the conditioned jiva? there's only Brahman, the one reality. Hope this helps. I am not an advaitin, just playing the devil's advocate, so we can understand the concepts better.

Conditioning isn't easy to overcome. Smoking gives me no joy, but I love smoking, god knows why! To fill our emptiness, we do a lot of things, most of them meaningless, like smoking, drinking etc. Similarly, even if people know the truth, they may hang on to the past for such reasons.

Or is it only possible to fear Him? I mean, if you don't love him, you'll suffer on this planet. That's one fear. If you don't follow his rules, you'll suffer again based on karma. That's another fear. Likewise, there are so many fears, so how to love Krishna, when he's creating countless obstacles to our happiness? One can only fear him, his power. At best, we can respect or revere him for this, but is it possible to truly love him?

Thanks for your kind advice. Meat-eating, I can give up quite easily, because I only eat occasionally. In fact, I hardly ever eat meat these days, except when going out with friends. Drinking, again, it's due to friends. I can't look like a joker, going to bar and not ordering beer. But smoking is a real problem. I picked it up only a few months back, and that's even more frustrating because I've never smoked before. But just when I was doing very good sadhana, I suddenly fell prey to this habit, and now I can't help smoking daily. As to illicit sex, I don't indulge in such things physically, but my mind is always thinking of women. This also is new to me, I've never been like this before, I've never had impure thoughts like I do now. This also happened at the same time I picked up the smoking habit. It's weird, all bad things happened at the same time, around May this year. I can't believe Krishna hasn't protected me from all this, especially when I was doing very good sadhana. Now I feel as if I am neither here nor there, neither spiritually inclined nor materially so. I am caught between worlds, and Krishna doesn't hear my prayers. I am lost.

Dear Devotees, I consider myself a devotee, but I drink, smoke, and sometimes eat meat. It's not that I want to, but I am a weak man and cannot resist it. My q is: is it ok to do these things and practice devotion, safe in the knowledge that some day Krishna will destroy these bad habits? Or must I keep fighting these habits, before becoming eligible for KC? THis is because I am also planning to settle in a holy place like vrindavan. I feel the urge, but at the same time, cannot give up these habits. It's not easy for me, because I am being pulled in different directions. I'd appreciate some feedback on this. Haribol!

Dear Scholars, I am looking for Dvaithic astrologers .If there are any Dvaitans among you please respond to this post.

I am also a Dvaitan and Madhvacharya who is none other than Sri Vayu woke me up from my deep slumber and enlightened me about the glories of Sriman Narayana through an author by the name of TS Raghavendran who has translated all the sanskrit slokas into english . Please read the book titled "Authentic Elucidation of Gita" by Sri T. S Raghavendran. It is published by Sri Madhva Onnahini Sabha ,Tiruchanur-517503(Near Tirupathi, A.P) Its ia available for Rs 70/- Hope , what i have given is of some help to you.I dont have the phone numbers at the moment...

Are NDE's real or are they a creation only of the Western world? In Western NDE's people have reported seeing their near and loved ones and most of them have reported feeling a sensation of extreme happiness while in the case of indian NDE's it is not so! People have had awful experience like being dragged by fearful looking men and taken in front of Yama.Many have come back as Yamas men seemed to have made a bureaucratic blunder by bringing the wrong people. What is your opinion on this? Have any of your near and dear ones had an NDE? What was their experience ? why do Hindus experience only unpleasant things in an NDE?

Abdullah, This forum is not for small minded people you. Vedas can be understood only by devout and intelligent Hindus. Sadly, you dont fit the bill. Go read your Koran and be happy