theist

No actually I never had an attachment to Christianity or Hinduism as I grew up an atheist and remain one until I was 18 or so and discovered theism by the grace of Supersoul. A few months later Prabhupada's disciples open a temple where I lived and I was attracted to the theism as taught by the Gaudiya's as the highest conception. All religions are meant as a bridge to the eternal religon. Once that bridge is crossed and one is on the other side there is no more need to stay on the bridge. You say I disrespect hinduism. My point is that what is presently called hinduism is such a confusing contradictary mess that it is best to get to the essence and concentrate one's energies there. Besides there never was a better bridge to pure bhakti than sadhana bhakti. Human life is so very short and the times we are living in are so tumultuous and deeply materialistic that there is no time to waste. We must seek the shelter of the Lord immediately as one would in an emergency situation. When the home is on fire no one stops to read something on the way out of the house. The focus is to get to safety. Attachment to Krishna bhakti is real detachment from everything else. That certainly remains a distant goal for me but the goal nonetheless.

No problem Adiyen. Simpy click on the title spiritual discussions. The list of threads appear At the top you will see a box with the words 'new thread'. Click on 'new thread' and post up and your new thread will be established

So you admit there is no spiritual value in calling yourself a hindu. Thank you. That is my point. I agree with you that there is no value in calling oneself a vaisnava either. Though it may refer to a true conception simply calling oneself a vaisnava is not enough. The value is in realizing the eternal self is Vaisnava in eternal function and acting on that platform. Therefore I do not call myself a vaisnava either even though we all are vaisnavas by constitution. All souls in the material world are fallen or sleeping Vaisnavas and all souls in the Spiritual Sky are awakened Vaisnavas. No one at any stage is a hindu christian buddhist muslim or atheist.

Why be so attached to a term denoting a varying and contradictory belief systems? What value is there in such attachment. I was born into and American body but I am not an American. I was born into a country and culture that considers itself Christian but you will never hear me call myself a Christian. I have taken birth on Earth in a human form but I am not an earthling or human. Thanks to Srila Prabhupada I am slowly leasning that I aman eternal spirtsoul, a part and parcel of Krishna. It is only by becoming fixed on this platform (brahma bhuta) that we can experience the true oneness of Life withall other living beings and especiallywith Krishna. "The humble sage sees with equal vision....." -Gita I am Black and he is White- therefore we are different. I am Christian and he is Buddhist or Hindu - therefore we are different. Why hang on to the divisive designations of the illusory world of names and and forms which together make up this grand phantasmagoria. Such nonsense mis-conceptions of the self are the very chains that keep us locked onto the wheel of birth and death.

Therefore it is a useless word for spiritual discuusions, So what value could there be in calling or believing oneself to be a "Hindu"?

Compiler!!! I never heard this before. Thank you so much Kali-upasaka.

mun·dane Pronunciation: \ˌmən-ˈdān, ˈmən-ˌ\ Function:adjective Etymology:Middle English mondeyne, from Anglo-French mundain, from Late Latin mundanus, from Latin mundus worldDate:15th century 1 : of, relating to, or characteristic of the world 2 : characterized by the practical, transitory, and ordinary : commonplace ....e mundane concerns of day-to-day life> synonyms see earthly Any religious practice that does not aim at servng and pleasing the Supreme Personality of Godhead. 'Earthly' means from and of the three modes of material nature. Going to heaven is mundane. Kissing up to demi-gods for favors like a good husband or son or money is mundane. There is a mixed status of devotees who practice true spiritual activities (sadhana bhakti) with mundane desires still residing in the heart. This is a mixed stage of some spiritual life mixed with the mundane. Only pure bhakti is free from mundane tinges and has nothing to do with sectarian religious conceptions.

Thoreau or Emerson. There was a similar quote on the back of the little purple gita's by that first publisher before McMillian.

If this is directed to me I also doubt the Mahabharata as history. I don't accept many things including a literal battle of Kurukshetra. I object to your claim as to actually know when and by whom the Mahabharata was actually written and that people are mistaken by associating the Bhagavad-gita with Krishna. You said: Clearly Krishna is the Supreme subject matter of the Gita. Good Lord man, are you desperate to argue that you would try to make this a point of controversy?

What nonsense talk. Vyas wrote the conversation between two individuals that had not yet occured?

My way of answering the original poster while making a point to other readers was to tell him not to waste his valuable human life worrying about how to become accepted into a mundane religion. As I said Krishna consciousness means to be conscious of Krishna. How can I make it more clear? Can you boil the meaning of the question, "what is hinduism", down to such a simple meaning? No you cannot nor can anyone else. Therefore I said Hinduism(whatever that means). Yes Vaisnavism is Krishna consciousness. There is no meaning to Vaisnavism without being conscious of the Supreme Lord. If you are not Krishna(or by any other name for the Supreme Person) conscious then you are not a Vaisnava. In short my only point on this thread is, forget the terms hinduism (or any other names for religion like Islam , Christianity etc and just remember and love the Supreme Person. I am only repeating Krishna's instruction to Arjuna to abandon all varities of religion and surrender unto Him.

Perhaps surrender and become a pure devotee first. But right now pretending to have interest only in conquering Krishna like Srimati Radharani will not help you. Be honest with yourself. As materialistic devotees our real interest is in getting Krishna to make our material life better and at best to gain liberation from suffering. First liberation comes. Then one can engage in pure bhakti. Then one can develop or rather awaken within oneself the higher rasa's.

Yeah OK. It's too high for me to understand either way.

Surrender is the essence of religion. All God authored religions have this as the ultimate goal. As that goal becomes more defined in our minds the non-essential things become cumbersome and are seen as a waste of time. Worship of demigods in an effort to receive some temporary benefit like going to heaven for example are left aside in favor of pure bhakti to the Supreme Lord.

So if one wants to pretend to be a hindu there may or may not be such a rule. But my point is that is not spiritual. One can have many goals but I spoke of the supreme goal. Also one can never truly be 'a hindu' because one can never really be something that he is not. The self has always been a part of Krishna. That is unchangable. One can live as a hindu and have a spiritual life just as one can be a truck driver and have a spiritual life. But it is the surrendered service aspect that is integral to the soul. Rasa doesn't matter as long as one's consciousness is surrendered to Krishna and not matter. Conscious of Krishna is Krishna consciousness. Hinduism (whatever that is) is not synonomous with Krishna consciousness.

Oh? Lord Krsna as Lord Caitanya is in the topmost mood of devotion to Krishna in the mood of Srimati Radharani. In this mood He does not only show us the mood of surrender but the most intimate aspect of that mood. It is the the same message as Krishna gave in the Gita.

The question, "Do you have to born a Hindu to be a Hindu", has no relevance to spiritual life because being a'Hindu' is not the goal of a transcendentalist. To realize oneself as the servant of the Supreme Self is the supreme spiritual goal. Krishna tells us to abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender to Him.

The Metamorphosis of Devendra Panda and the Trials of Doosri Radha March 15, 2006 bevivek window.google_render_ad(); A bananafish. In Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis, Gregor Samsa wakes up from anxious dreams to find himself a verminous insect. In a feat no less astonishing but very much in the theatre of the real, Devendra Kumar Panda, Inspector General of Police (Rules and Manuals), Uttar Pradesh Police, woke up one day in 1991 with the firm realisation that he was Radha, the beloved wife of the Hindu God Bhagwan (or Lord) Krishna. His wife's immediate reaction to this happy event is unrecorded but worth thinking about. What his colleagues in the Police Department too thought of this abrupt introduction of the religious into the secular executive arm is unknown. Panda soon began calling himself Doosri Radha (the second Radha) and took to dressing with a mangtika (jewellery adorning the head of women), yellow lehenga (petticoat) with a chunni (head scarf) demurely covering the head. He sported a nose ring, nail polish, bangles and payal (anklet) and danced gaily in his office and spoke of his marriage to Bhagwan Krishna. He also changed the name plate in his official residence from Devendra Panda to Doosri Radha. Unfortunately for Radha, things were unravelling on the domestic front. Upset at this new look of her husband turned divinity girl friend, Veena, Doosri Radha's wife filed for divorce. She accused Radha of "being every bit a violent abusive 'husband' who hit her at the slightest provocation". She has demanded an interim monthly maintenance and further accused Doosri Radha of dowry harassment. Matters reached a low one day in November 2005. Veena came home to find Doosri Radha packing his bags preparatory to moving out. As Veena watched in bemusement, packers began moving their washing machine, television and other goods to a tractor standing outside. In a bid to stop Doosri Radha's exodus along with the family possessions, a scuffle broke out between Veena and Radha in which Radha's nose-ring was lost leaving him desolate. "I begged her to return the mark of my marriage with Krishna but she refused", a heart broken Doosri Radha told media. But Doosri Radha's travails did not end there. He moved in with a friend, Tanveer Jauhar, a Youth Co-ordinator with the Nehru Yuva Sangathan. But alas, this proved but a temporary shelter as Jauhar was arrested immedately after on charges of sending obscene letters to a female judge in Jhansi. Ironically, the complainant recognised him from the news channel coverage of the ongoing drama. Moreover, Jauhar's neighbours objected to the loud noise of the kirtans. If ever there was a time for a Ninda Stuti authored by Doosri Radha, it was now. Happily, divine succour and requited love may finally be on hand for the beleagured ex-policeman. Mithilesh Pathak, a Class IV employee with the Civil Surgeon's office in Jamshedpur believes that he is Krishna's incarnation that Doosri Radha has been desperately searching for. "Hoga, hoga, hoga. Radha ka Krishna se milan hoga. Krishna has to come when Radha sings his paeans. I am the Krishna the former IG has been looking for all this while," Pathak says. He told his colleagues that the duo would meet soon as it was preordained. Pathak too dresses in bright costumes and dances to the tune of a melody that only he can hear. Not surprisingly, Doosri Krishna loves to play the flute. :D:D:D:D:D:D

Easy to fool people in the material world where everyone here is already a born fool.

Yeah this gets more to the point. Modern humans don't need any help in destroying themselves. What a wicked irony that we may use our own weapons of defense (survival) to wipe ourselves out. The only shelter is self-realization. Anything else is just getting our butts blown off while sticking our heads in the sand pretending to be safe.

Yeah and the last dooms day was supposed to be 2000. They reccommend getting their book as a guide to survival. The Vaisnavas are saying we all must face death and to read their books on how to die in the right consciousness.

Same friggin' problem. I even switched from IE to Firefox. I give up. Anyone interested can click the link at the bottom of my post and look it up.

Letter to: Krsnadasa — Vrindaban 7 November, 1972 72-11-07 My Dear Krsnadasa, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated October 30, 1972, and I have noted the contents. It appears that you are again constantly disturbed by the same nonsense doubts. These things are not very important, we may not waste our time with these insignificant questions. If we are seeking to find out some fault, maya will give us all facility to find any small thing and make it very big, that is maya. But such questions as yours: why there is so-called discrepancy between the views of Bhagavat and modern scientists regarding the moon and other planets, and whether Hitler is good or bad man, these are most insignificant matters, and for anyone who is sincerely convinced that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for him these questions do not arise. Our information comes from Vedas, and if we believe Krishna, that vedaham samatitani vartamanani carjuna bhavisyani ca bhutani mam tu veda na kascana [bg. 7.26] that He knows everything, and "vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyo vedanta-krd veda-vid eva caham [Bg. 15.15],'' that Krishna is non-different from Vedas, then these questions do not arise. <div class="Letter">But because you have asked me, I am your spiritual master, I must try to answer to your satisfaction. Yes, sometimes in Vedas such things like the asura's decapitated head chasing after Candraloka, sometimes it is explained allegorically. Just like now we are explaining in 4th Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam the story of King Puranjana. Just like the living entity is living within this body, and the body is described there as city with nine gates, the intelligence as the Queen. So there are sometimes allegorical explanations. So <span class="Siksamrta">

Why it will accept only half the letter I do not know.

Letter to: Krsnadasa — Vrindaban 7 November, 1972 72-11-07 My Dear Krsnadasa, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated October 30, 1972, and I have noted the contents. It appears that you are again constantly disturbed by the same nonsense doubts. These things are not very important, we may not waste our time with these insignificant questions. If we are seeking to find out some fault, maya will give us all facility to find any small thing and make it very big, that is maya. But such questions as yours: why there is so-called discrepancy between the views of Bhagavat and modern scientists regarding the moon and other planets, and whether Hitler is good or bad man, these are most insignificant matters, and for anyone who is sincerely convinced that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for him these questions do not arise. Our information comes from Vedas, and if we believe Krishna, that vedaham samatitani vartamanani carjuna bhavisyani ca bhutani mam tu veda na kascana [bg. 7.26] that He knows everything, and "vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyo vedanta-krd veda-vid eva caham [Bg. 15.15],'' that Krishna is non-different from Vedas, then these questions do not arise. <div class="Letter">But because you have asked me, I am your spiritual master, I must try to answer to your satisfaction. Yes, sometimes in Vedas such things like the asura's decapitated head chasing after Candraloka, sometimes it is explained allegorically. Just like now we are explaining in 4th Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam the story of King Puranjana. Just like the living entity is living within this body, and the body is described there as city with nine gates, the intelligence as the Queen. So there are sometimes allegorical explanations. So <span class="Siksamrta">