tackleberry

The advaitin will argue that even an illusory world (fire in your example) can cause pain, similar to how an illusory snake superimposed on the rope can cause fear.

Even according to advaita, not all the gods are one in the vyavahArik sense. So people who say Shiva=Vishnu aren't advaitins in the classical sense. They're neo-advaitins influenced by Vivekananda, Chinmaya, and the rest. A classical advaitin believes that ultimately all names and forms are illusory, and therefore ONLY the formless existence behind it is real. On account of this, not only Krishna and Shiva, even plants, animals and pretty much everything else can be considered one and the same, because ultimately their forms all merge into the formless.

Obstacle because they consider Formless Brahman to be greater than Krishna, whom they consider to be Brahman with forms? And did Prabhupada explicitly state these things, that the jiva has fallen down, and so on? Was he the only person in GV to say so?

Is this the same as marijuana?

Sure, we are. With absolutely no shastric evidence, are we not accepting Jesus as avatar based on our personal preference? The same goes for those who don't believe in the Buddha.

The fall theory of gaudiyas is very similar to mayavada, in that they both assume the jiva-s to be dreaming. In GV, jiva-s are dreaming this material world while in actuality they're in Vaikuntha, whereas in advaita, this material world is Brahman's dream, and multiple jiva-s are an illusion. So the only difference is in names (instead of Brahman, GVs call the entity ViSNu), and perhaps in the idea of multiple jiva-s which GV subcribes to, and advaita doensn't. What say you?

Suppose you have good qualities, is it arrogance to acknowledge that you do? Or, is it humility to deny that you do?

Wish Vaishnavas could show similar compassion toward the starving human populace.

In a way, you're right. But the face often reflects the beauty (or the lack) that's inside. And I don't mean 'movie star' beauty, rather the beauty of an enlightened soul, a face that reflects purity and such satvik qualities.

Wrong forum. This has got to be in the jokes section.

Yes, I've also noticed this. Bad guys are usually referred to as 'Hitler,' very rarely as Stalin, Tung, whoever. My guess is, it could be communist propaganda to make nazis the scapegoat, as well as to dilute their atrocities in Russia, china, and elsewhere. But one thing I don't understand is, Why would the nazis target a specific race, the jews? Was it in some way related to their (mis) understanding of the veda, like the stuff about aryans and the rest? Or, is the jewish persecution theory also exaggerated?

Bhakta Jan, you're so funny and you don't even realize it.:)Please keep posting, we all need a few laughs every now and then.

Can you say more on this, as to why you think Hitler and the nazis were interested in vedic culture? If they were, why would they indulge in mass slaughter and such activities? Sounds a little contradictory, doesn't it?

Yeah, and when Muslims slaughter people in the name of god, it's supposed to be a divine act.

It's Brahman in both cases, so the declension in the masculine gender will be identical; hence the confusion. So we need to understand who it is-whether Chaturmukha Brahma or Brahma-from the context.

Coming from you, that's quite ironic.

Bhakta Jan, I think you should be a little more sensitive and compassionate. Your attitude sucks, and most of the time, it's not even clear what you're trying to say.

Could you please rephrase it?

Sorry to hear about your bad experiences. How did you recover from all this, how long did it take, did any of your friends help you out? I've been hearing these things about iskcon all the time, is this always the case? I mean, the big guys trying make life miserable for the little ones? And if this person is still around as you say, it seems as if no one's done anything about it. Unless these people are stopped, there won't be a lesson for others to learn, in which case these atrocities will persist.

May I ask why you didn't speak out? Was it due to loyalty? Or, was there pressure? Sorry if it's too sensitive an issue.

BG 18.61 is rather explicit in this regard. There seems to be no free will at all, according to this verse, where the Lord says the jiva-s are impelled or pushed into action by His mAyA. The word bhraamayan literally means that. Elsewhere, Krishna also tells Arjuna to be an instrument, 'nimitta-mAtram bhava' or something to that effect. Doesn't all this mean Krishna is the only doer, and we're just his instruments. If one argues that we exercise free will even in writing this post, then these actions are similar to the "actions" performed by an instrument in the hands of an able doer. Even if it appears to move and act, the instrument isn't doing anything, it's ever the non-doer. Similarly, are we also non-doers even though we appear to do all kinds of actions? Is this the meaning of BG 18.61? Your thoughts welcome.

Are you looking to understand grammar, or improve your vocabulary? Vocabulary is important, because even if you understand grammar, you still have to know the words to attempt a translation. So it might be better if you start reading the texts to improve your vocabulary.

CBrahma, you have neither the courage nor the integrity to answer a simple question. And you're accusing others of aparAdha, eh? But then again, this is exactly what Iskconites do, when all else fails. Admit you can't argue rationally, don't make a fool out of yourself.

According to some people, child molesting christian priests are innocent despite mountains of evidence to the contrary. But Sai Baba is pronounced guilty without a fair trial, without sufficient evidence. Amazing! Hindus are too dumb to realize that all these accusations against Sai Baba come from Christians and others who're heavily influenced by christians. Christians adopt this tactic against everyone, even against the hare krishnas, so hare christians beware! Even recently, an old man who couldn't even walk or move, was accused of molesting women. The same type of accusations against hindu gurus of all shapes, sizes, and schools, whether they're advaitin, hare krishna, whatever!! Unless people are retarded, they'll see a pattern here.

LOL. If you take a look at audarya forum, you'll find that most posts have little or no relevance to the threads at all. I am simply continuing the trend. Anyway, I take it you're incapable of answering, which is why you're dodging it.