theist

That was good. But I am very fragile and may start pouting also if too severe. Thanks for reminding me about the valarian root. I'm out and will get some today. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

Everybody is being extra polite to me lately. Makes me nervous /images/graemlins/smile.gif

No,use it,itds not mine, its just a fact. Lost soul etc. Phrases like that, for me, are a good way to start. Otherwise I fall into the "preacher mode" the "imparter of eternal truth" etc. When the truth is I can't even follower vaidhi-bhakti with any regularity. For so long I wouldn't leave my home without my soapbox. Now I have seen that all my posturing has just been a device my mind set up for me as a way of hiding from the truth about the condition I am really in. Its just too heavy a burden to carry around anymore. Cuts me off from myself and the true selves of everyone else. Hare Krsna

No,use it,itds not mine, its just a fact. Lost soul etc. Phrases like that, for me, are a good way to start. Otherwise I fall into the "preacher mode" the "imparter of eternal truth" etc. When the truth is I can't even follower vaidhi-bhakti with any regularity. For so long I wouldn't leave my home without my soapbox. Now I have seen that all my posturing has just been a device my mind set up for me as a way of hiding from the truth about the condition I am really in. Its just too heavy a burden to carry around anymore. Cuts me off from myself and the true selves of everyone else. Hare Krsna

seems like you are doing fine. Just follow a topic that interests you. If someone says they assume I am a hindu, I usually say no, just a part of God that has lost his way. Something like that usually gets a response like "what do you mean?" Then I can go a little farther. But there is no one formula that I have found when talking to someone. Well other than building up some rapport and being honest about my beginner status. I also find it helpful to try and remember to talk to the soul, our fellow brother/sister soul.

seems like you are doing fine. Just follow a topic that interests you. If someone says they assume I am a hindu, I usually say no, just a part of God that has lost his way. Something like that usually gets a response like "what do you mean?" Then I can go a little farther. But there is no one formula that I have found when talking to someone. Well other than building up some rapport and being honest about my beginner status. I also find it helpful to try and remember to talk to the soul, our fellow brother/sister soul.

to feel insulted prabhu. In this world no one knows who you are and just search for some name to identify you by. Names and forms are like a mirage in this world.

to feel insulted prabhu. In this world no one knows who you are and just search for some name to identify you by. Names and forms are like a mirage in this world.

Personally I am not interested in their domestic life. This is the point that interests me. Why did that someone feel they had to have an offically sanctioned okay from the committee before they could have a guru disciple relationship with Urmila dd? And why does she think she needs the committee's okay before she can accept a disciple? It sounds like that relationship was already being established.

Personally I am not interested in their domestic life. This is the point that interests me. Why did that someone feel they had to have an offically sanctioned okay from the committee before they could have a guru disciple relationship with Urmila dd? And why does she think she needs the committee's okay before she can accept a disciple? It sounds like that relationship was already being established.

of course, it must be. This whole material show is the result of incalcuable causes and effects,with the effects becoming the cause to still more effcts. Sometimes the mind gets molded as a pyschopath and at other times it may appear as a priest. Not only is the pyschopath reaping the results of his 'bad karma' and desires but also those whom he meets and does his 'thing' on. A world composed of the victims and the victimizer. Do we really want to remain here?

hinduism is a very broad term. More specifically many here are monotheists believing in only one Supreme God who is ultimately personal. There are within the universe certain heads of different depts. like water dept, and light dept. etc. but there is no need to worship them separately.

hinduism is a very broad term. More specifically many here are monotheists believing in only one Supreme God who is ultimately personal. There are within the universe certain heads of different depts. like water dept, and light dept. etc. but there is no need to worship them separately.

There is an SB verse that covers this but I can't find it. Anybody know where it is?

There is an SB verse that covers this but I can't find it. Anybody know where it is?

FBI Detains Muslim Army Chaplain VOA News 20 Sep 2003, 19:46 UTC U.S. military authorities have detained a Muslim Army chaplain who counseled al-Qaida prisoners being held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. A military (U.S. Southern Command) spokesman said Saturday Captain James Yee was detained September 10 at Jacksonville, Florida, Naval Air Station. He said the Arabic-speaking military officer was assigned to counsel Islamic inmates held in Guantanamo Bay and also advised military commanders on Islamic issues. Senior law enforcement officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Captain Yee is being held on suspicion of espionage. News reports say FBI agents confiscated some classified documents from Captain Yee, including detailed maps of the base showing where detainees were being held. Captain Yee, a Chinese-American, is a graduate of West Point. He converted to Islam in college, briefly left the military, and returned to the Army in the late 1990s as a chaplain. The French news agency (AFP) reports that in earlier news interviews, Captain Yee has said he received his formal Islamic training in Syria after graduating from West Point. More than 650 men from 43 countries are being held at the U.S. facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. They are accused of having links with al-Qaida terrorist group or Afghanistan's fallen Taleban regime.

Actually every resident of the spiritual world is self-effugent. Isn't the guru supposed to be a resident of the spiritual world? "...opened my eyes with the torchlight of knowledge..." Is the torchlight of knowledge not luminous and actually the transcendental light in and of itself? The question is how can we recognize Krsna and His representatives with our presently material vision obscured by our mundane intellects? Krsna says to Arjuna: But you cannot see Me with your present eyes. Therefore I give you divine eyes. Behold My mystic opulence.Bg 11.8 Before we truly see Krsna within everything and can truly recognize His appearance as guru we must become graced by Krsna to receive divine eyes. Only divine eyes can see the divine. Is that really so mysterious?

Actually every resident of the spiritual world is self-effugent. Isn't the guru supposed to be a resident of the spiritual world? "...opened my eyes with the torchlight of knowledge..." Is the torchlight of knowledge not luminous and actually the transcendental light in and of itself? The question is how can we recognize Krsna and His representatives with our presently material vision obscured by our mundane intellects? Krsna says to Arjuna: But you cannot see Me with your present eyes. Therefore I give you divine eyes. Behold My mystic opulence.Bg 11.8 Before we truly see Krsna within everything and can truly recognize His appearance as guru we must become graced by Krsna to receive divine eyes. Only divine eyes can see the divine. Is that really so mysterious?

I wish I could help but being unlearned on such things I must stay out. Don't want to just add more confusion. I just can't help wondering if some clue doesn't reside in how 'sequentialism' is perveived. Is it a succesion of bodies born in the same family one after another? Is it a succession of formaly initiated people who may or may not have realized Krsna or not? Or is it really something more subtle, a line of souls who have realized transcendental knowledge. Of course the later might be separted by material time and space which would seem significant from our conditioned perspective but what meaning would time and space considerations have from the perspective of someone who has transcended their grip?

You got that from reading mahak's emotional diatribe to me where he accuses me of being brainwashed and what not. And yes we should all to try and increase our chanting until we come to that place where nothing can be found that will make us stop. Hare Krsna prabhu

So nice of you to analyze all the major sins of my life( I think you must have skipped a few or you would still be counting ) and then prescribe penance for me. Thank you for reminding me that I must chant Hare Krsna, but I would question the advice to chant just to get free from sinful reaction. Anyway, Please show me where I said Ariel Sharron was a Vaisnava. I don't remember saying anything at all about him one way or another.

May the death of Yassar Arafat come today. It really is time for him to have a heart attack or something. The Israeli's should just take him out but they have to consider the backlash, so that is why I hope for his natural death very soon. Everytime a leader of Hamas or Hezbullah gets struck by an Israeli missle the world feels a little lighter for a day. It doesn't last long though. India needs to wake up and really start supporting the USA lead war on terror in a big way and stop hiding beyond the UN social club. The Madras' teach young Muslim children to especially hate three countries in the world. The USA, Israel and India.

This will help. Canto 10: The Summum Bonum Chapter 23: The Brahmanas' Wives Blessed Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Srimad Bhagavatam SB 10.23 Summary SB 10.23.1: The cowherd boys said: O Rama, Rama, mighty-armed one! O Krsna, chastiser of the wicked ! We are being harassed by hunger, and You should do something about it. SB 10.23.2: Śukadeva Gosvami said: Thus entreated by the cowherd boys, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the son of Devaki, replied as follows, desiring to please certain of His devotees who were brahmanas' wives. SB 10.23.3: [Lord Krsna said:] Please go to the sacrificial arena where a group of brahmanas, learned in the Vedic injunctions, are now performing the Āńgirasa sacrifice to gain promotion to heaven. SB 10.23.4: When you go there, My dear cowherd boys, simply request some food. Declare to them the name of My elder brother, the Supreme Lord Balarama, and also My name, and explain that you have been sent by Us. SB 10.23.5: Thus instructed by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the cowherd boys went there and submitted their request. They stood before the brahmanas with palms joined in supplication and then fell flat on the ground to offer respect. SB 10.23.6: [The cowherd boys said:] O earthly gods, please hear us. We cowherd boys are executing the orders of Krsna, and we have been sent here by Balarāma. We wish all good for you. Please acknowledge our arrival. SB 10.23.7: Lord Rama and Lord Acyuta are tending Their cows not far from here. They are hungry and want you to give Them some of your food. Therefore, O brahmanas, O best of the knowers of religion, if you have faith please give some food to Them. SB 10.23.8: Except during the interval between the initiation of the performer of a sacrifice and the actual sacrifice of the animal, O most pure brahmanas, it is not contaminating for even the initiated to partake of food, at least in sacrifices other than the Sautrimani. SB 10.23.9: The brahmanas heard this supplication from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, yet they refused to pay heed. Indeed, they were full of petty desires and entangled in elaborate rituals. Though presuming themselves advanced in Vedic learning, they were actually inexperienced fools. SB 10.23.10-11: Although the ingredients of sacrificial performance — the place, time, particular paraphernalia, mantras, rituals, priests, fires, demigods, performer, offering and the as yet unseen beneficial results — are all simply aspects of His opulences, the brahmanas saw Lord Krsna as an ordinary human because of their perverted intelligence. They failed to recognize that He is the Supreme Absolute Truth, the directly manifest Personality of Godhead, whom the material senses cannot ordinarily perceive. Thus bewildered by their false identification with the mortal body, they did not show Him proper respect. SB 10.23.12: When the brahmanas failed to reply even with a simple yes or no, O chastiser of the enemy [Pariksit], the cowherd boys returned disappointed to Krsna and Rama and reported this to Them. SB 10.23.13: Hearing what had happened, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Lord of the universe, simply laughed. Then He again addressed the cowherd boys, showing them the way men act in this world. SB 10.23.14: [Lord Krsna said:] Tell the wives of the brahmanas that I have come here with Lord Sankarsana. They will certainly give you all the food you want, for they are most affectionate toward Me and, indeed, with their intelligence reside in Me alone. SB 10.23.15: The cowherd boys then went to the house where the brahmanas' wives were staying. There the boys saw those chaste ladies sitting, nicely decorated with fine ornaments. Bowing down to the brahmana ladies, the boys addressed them in all humility. SB 10.23.16: [The cowherd boys said:] Obeisances unto you, O wives of the learned brahmanas. Kindly hear our words. We have been sent here by Lord Krsna, who is passing by not far from here. SB 10.23.17: He has come a long way with the cowherd boys and Lord Balarama, tending the cows. Now He is hungry, so some food should be given for Him and His companions. SB 10.23.18: The wives of the brahmanas were always eager to see Krsna, for their minds had been enchanted by descriptions of Him. Thus as soon as they heard that He had come, they became very excited. SB 10.23.19: Taking along in large vessels the four kinds of foods, full of fine tastes and aromas, all the ladies went forth to meet their beloved, just as rivers flow toward the sea. SB 10.23.20-21: Although their husbands, brothers, sons and other relatives tried to forbid them from going, their hope of seeing Krsna, cultivated by extensive hearing of His transcendental qualities, won out. Along the river Yamuna, within a garden decorated with buds of aśoka trees, they caught sight of Him strolling along in the company of the cowherd boys and His elder brother, Balarama. SB 10.23.22: His complexion was dark blue and His garment golden. Wearing a peacock feather, colored minerals, sprigs of flower buds, and a garland of forest flowers and leaves, He was dressed just like a dramatic dancer. He rested one hand upon the shoulder of a friend and with the other twirled a lotus. Lilies graced His ears, His hair hung down over His cheeks, and His lotuslike face was smiling. SB 10.23.23: O ruler of men, for a long time those brahmana ladies had heard about Krsna, their beloved, and His glories had become the constant ornaments of their ears. Indeed, their minds were always absorbed in Him. Through the apertures of their eyes they now forced Him to enter within their hearts, and then they embraced Him within for a long time. In this way they finally gave up the pain of separation from Him, just as sages give up the anxiety of false ego by embracing their innermost consciousness. SB 10.23.24: Lord Krsna, who witnesses the thoughts of all creatures, understood how those ladies had abandoned all worldly hopes and come there simply to see Him. Thus He addressed them as follows with a smile upon His face. SB 10.23.25: [Lord Krsna said:] Welcome, O most fortunate ladies. Please sit down and make yourselves comfortable. What can I do for you? That you have come here to see Me is most appropriate. SB 10.23.26: Certainly expert personalities, who can see their own true interest, render unmotivated and uninterrupted devotional service directly unto Me, for I am most dear to the soul. SB 10.23.27: It is only by contact with the self that one's vital breath, intelligence, mind, friends, body, wife, children, wealth and so on are dear. Therefore what object can possibly be more dear than one's own self? SB 10.23.28: You should thus return to the sacrificial arena, because your husbands, the learned brahmanas, are householders and need your assistance to finish their respective sacrifices. SB 10.23.29: The wives of the brahmanas replied: O almighty one, please do not speak such cruel words. Rather, You should fulfill Your promise that You always reciprocate with Your devotees in kind. Now that we have attained Your lotus feet, we simply wish to remain here in the forest so we may carry upon our heads the garlands of tulasī leaves You may neglectfully kick away with Your lotus feet. We are ready to give up all material relationships. SB 10.23.30: Our husbands, fathers, sons, brothers, other relatives and friends will no longer take us back, and how could anyone else be willing to give us shelter? Therefore, since we have thrown ourselves at Your lotus feet and have no other destination, please, O chastiser of enemies, grant our desire. SB 10.23.31: The Supreme Personality of Godhead replied: Rest assured that your husbands will not be inimical toward you, nor will your fathers, brothers, sons, other relatives or the general populace. I will personally advise them of the situation. Indeed, even the demigods will express their approval. SB 10.23.32: For you to remain in My bodily association would certainly not please people in this world, nor would it be the best way for you to increase your love for Me. Rather, you should fix your minds on Me, and very soon you will achieve Me. SB 10.23.33: It is by hearing about Me, seeing My Deity form, meditating upon Me and chanting My names and glories that love for Me develops, not by physical proximity. Therefore please go back to your homes. SB 10.23.34: Srila Sukadeva Gosvami said: Thus instructed, the wives of the brahmanas returned to the place of sacrifice. The brahmanas did not find any fault with their wives, and together with them they finished the sacrifice. SB 10.23.35: One of the ladies had been forcibly kept back by her husband. When she heard the others describe the Supreme Lord Krsna, she embraced Him within her heart and gave up her material body, the basis of bondage to material activity. SB 10.23.36: Govinda, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, fed the cowherd boys with that food of four varieties. Then the all-powerful Lord Himself partook of the preparations. SB 10.23.37: Thus the Supreme Lord, appearing like a human being to perform His pastimes, imitated the ways of human society. He enjoyed pleasing His cows, cowherd boyfriends and cowherd girlfriends with His beauty, words and actions. SB 10.23.38: The brahmanas then came to their senses and began to feel great remorse. They thought, "We have sinned, for we have denied the request of the two Lords of the universe, who deceptively appeared as ordinary human beings." SB 10.23.39: Taking note of their wives' pure, transcendental devotion for Lord Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and seeing their own lack of devotion, the brahmanas felt most sorrowful and began to condemn themselves. SB 10.23.40: [The brahmanas said:] To hell with our threefold birth, our vow of celibacy and our extensive learning! To hell with our aristocratic background and our expertise in the rituals of sacrifice! These are all condemned because we were inimical to the transcendental Personality of Godhead. SB 10.23.41: The illusory potency of the Supreme Lord certainly bewilders even the great mystics, what to speak of us. As brahmanas we are supposed to be the spiritual masters of all classes of men, yet we have been bewildered about our own real interest. SB 10.23.42: Just see the unlimited love these women have developed for Lord Krsna, the spiritual master of the entire universe! This love has broken for them the very bonds of death — their attachment to family life. SB 10.23.43-44: These women have never undergone the purificatory rites of the twice-born classes, nor have they lived as brahmacaris in the asrama of a spiritual master, nor have they executed austerities, speculated on the nature of the self, followed the formalities of cleanliness or engaged in pious rituals. Nevertheless, they have firm devotion for Lord Krsna, whose glories are chanted by the exalted hymns of the Vedas and who is the supreme master of all masters of mystic power. We, on the other hand, have no such devotion for the Lord, although we have executed all these processes. SB 10.23.45: Indeed, infatuated as we are with our household affairs, we have deviated completely from the real aim of our life. But now just see how the Lord, through the words of these simple cowherd boys, has reminded us of the ultimate destination of all true transcendentalists. SB 10.23.46: Otherwise, why would the supreme controller — whose every desire is already fulfilled and who is the master of liberation and all other transcendental benedictions — enact this pretense with us, who are always to be controlled by Him? SB 10.23.47: Hoping for the touch of His lotus feet, the goddess of fortune perpetually worships Him alone, leaving aside all others and renouncing her pride and fickleness. That He begs is certainly astonishing to everyone. SB 10.23.48-49: All the aspects of sacrifice — the auspicious place and time, the various items of paraphernalia, the Vedic hymns, the prescribed rituals, the priests and sacrificial fires, the demigods, the patron of the sacrifice, the sacrificial offering and the pious results obtained — all are simply manifestations of His opulences. Yet even though we had heard that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Visnu, the Lord of all mystic controllers, had taken birth in the Yadu dynasty, we were so foolish that we could not recognize Sri Krsna to be none other than Him. SB 10.23.50: Let us offer our obeisances unto Lord Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. His intelligence is never bewildered, whereas we, confused by His power of illusion, are simply wandering about on the paths of fruitive work. SB 10.23.51: We were bewildered by Lord Krsna's illusory potency and thus could not understand His influence as the original Personality of Godhead. Now we hope He will kindly forgive our offense. SB 10.23.52: Thus reflecting on the sin they had committed by neglecting Lord Krsna, they became very eager to see Him. But being afraid of King Kamsa, they did not dare go to Vraja. Prabhupada's books on line: http://vedabase.net/ The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc. A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness

This will help. Canto 10: The Summum Bonum Chapter 23: The Brahmanas' Wives Blessed Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Srimad Bhagavatam SB 10.23 Summary SB 10.23.1: The cowherd boys said: O Rama, Rama, mighty-armed one! O Krsna, chastiser of the wicked ! We are being harassed by hunger, and You should do something about it. SB 10.23.2: Śukadeva Gosvami said: Thus entreated by the cowherd boys, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the son of Devaki, replied as follows, desiring to please certain of His devotees who were brahmanas' wives. SB 10.23.3: [Lord Krsna said:] Please go to the sacrificial arena where a group of brahmanas, learned in the Vedic injunctions, are now performing the Āńgirasa sacrifice to gain promotion to heaven. SB 10.23.4: When you go there, My dear cowherd boys, simply request some food. Declare to them the name of My elder brother, the Supreme Lord Balarama, and also My name, and explain that you have been sent by Us. SB 10.23.5: Thus instructed by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the cowherd boys went there and submitted their request. They stood before the brahmanas with palms joined in supplication and then fell flat on the ground to offer respect. SB 10.23.6: [The cowherd boys said:] O earthly gods, please hear us. We cowherd boys are executing the orders of Krsna, and we have been sent here by Balarāma. We wish all good for you. Please acknowledge our arrival. SB 10.23.7: Lord Rama and Lord Acyuta are tending Their cows not far from here. They are hungry and want you to give Them some of your food. Therefore, O brahmanas, O best of the knowers of religion, if you have faith please give some food to Them. SB 10.23.8: Except during the interval between the initiation of the performer of a sacrifice and the actual sacrifice of the animal, O most pure brahmanas, it is not contaminating for even the initiated to partake of food, at least in sacrifices other than the Sautrimani. SB 10.23.9: The brahmanas heard this supplication from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, yet they refused to pay heed. Indeed, they were full of petty desires and entangled in elaborate rituals. Though presuming themselves advanced in Vedic learning, they were actually inexperienced fools. SB 10.23.10-11: Although the ingredients of sacrificial performance — the place, time, particular paraphernalia, mantras, rituals, priests, fires, demigods, performer, offering and the as yet unseen beneficial results — are all simply aspects of His opulences, the brahmanas saw Lord Krsna as an ordinary human because of their perverted intelligence. They failed to recognize that He is the Supreme Absolute Truth, the directly manifest Personality of Godhead, whom the material senses cannot ordinarily perceive. Thus bewildered by their false identification with the mortal body, they did not show Him proper respect. SB 10.23.12: When the brahmanas failed to reply even with a simple yes or no, O chastiser of the enemy [Pariksit], the cowherd boys returned disappointed to Krsna and Rama and reported this to Them. SB 10.23.13: Hearing what had happened, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Lord of the universe, simply laughed. Then He again addressed the cowherd boys, showing them the way men act in this world. SB 10.23.14: [Lord Krsna said:] Tell the wives of the brahmanas that I have come here with Lord Sankarsana. They will certainly give you all the food you want, for they are most affectionate toward Me and, indeed, with their intelligence reside in Me alone. SB 10.23.15: The cowherd boys then went to the house where the brahmanas' wives were staying. There the boys saw those chaste ladies sitting, nicely decorated with fine ornaments. Bowing down to the brahmana ladies, the boys addressed them in all humility. SB 10.23.16: [The cowherd boys said:] Obeisances unto you, O wives of the learned brahmanas. Kindly hear our words. We have been sent here by Lord Krsna, who is passing by not far from here. SB 10.23.17: He has come a long way with the cowherd boys and Lord Balarama, tending the cows. Now He is hungry, so some food should be given for Him and His companions. SB 10.23.18: The wives of the brahmanas were always eager to see Krsna, for their minds had been enchanted by descriptions of Him. Thus as soon as they heard that He had come, they became very excited. SB 10.23.19: Taking along in large vessels the four kinds of foods, full of fine tastes and aromas, all the ladies went forth to meet their beloved, just as rivers flow toward the sea. SB 10.23.20-21: Although their husbands, brothers, sons and other relatives tried to forbid them from going, their hope of seeing Krsna, cultivated by extensive hearing of His transcendental qualities, won out. Along the river Yamuna, within a garden decorated with buds of aśoka trees, they caught sight of Him strolling along in the company of the cowherd boys and His elder brother, Balarama. SB 10.23.22: His complexion was dark blue and His garment golden. Wearing a peacock feather, colored minerals, sprigs of flower buds, and a garland of forest flowers and leaves, He was dressed just like a dramatic dancer. He rested one hand upon the shoulder of a friend and with the other twirled a lotus. Lilies graced His ears, His hair hung down over His cheeks, and His lotuslike face was smiling. SB 10.23.23: O ruler of men, for a long time those brahmana ladies had heard about Krsna, their beloved, and His glories had become the constant ornaments of their ears. Indeed, their minds were always absorbed in Him. Through the apertures of their eyes they now forced Him to enter within their hearts, and then they embraced Him within for a long time. In this way they finally gave up the pain of separation from Him, just as sages give up the anxiety of false ego by embracing their innermost consciousness. SB 10.23.24: Lord Krsna, who witnesses the thoughts of all creatures, understood how those ladies had abandoned all worldly hopes and come there simply to see Him. Thus He addressed them as follows with a smile upon His face. SB 10.23.25: [Lord Krsna said:] Welcome, O most fortunate ladies. Please sit down and make yourselves comfortable. What can I do for you? That you have come here to see Me is most appropriate. SB 10.23.26: Certainly expert personalities, who can see their own true interest, render unmotivated and uninterrupted devotional service directly unto Me, for I am most dear to the soul. SB 10.23.27: It is only by contact with the self that one's vital breath, intelligence, mind, friends, body, wife, children, wealth and so on are dear. Therefore what object can possibly be more dear than one's own self? SB 10.23.28: You should thus return to the sacrificial arena, because your husbands, the learned brahmanas, are householders and need your assistance to finish their respective sacrifices. SB 10.23.29: The wives of the brahmanas replied: O almighty one, please do not speak such cruel words. Rather, You should fulfill Your promise that You always reciprocate with Your devotees in kind. Now that we have attained Your lotus feet, we simply wish to remain here in the forest so we may carry upon our heads the garlands of tulasī leaves You may neglectfully kick away with Your lotus feet. We are ready to give up all material relationships. SB 10.23.30: Our husbands, fathers, sons, brothers, other relatives and friends will no longer take us back, and how could anyone else be willing to give us shelter? Therefore, since we have thrown ourselves at Your lotus feet and have no other destination, please, O chastiser of enemies, grant our desire. SB 10.23.31: The Supreme Personality of Godhead replied: Rest assured that your husbands will not be inimical toward you, nor will your fathers, brothers, sons, other relatives or the general populace. I will personally advise them of the situation. Indeed, even the demigods will express their approval. SB 10.23.32: For you to remain in My bodily association would certainly not please people in this world, nor would it be the best way for you to increase your love for Me. Rather, you should fix your minds on Me, and very soon you will achieve Me. SB 10.23.33: It is by hearing about Me, seeing My Deity form, meditating upon Me and chanting My names and glories that love for Me develops, not by physical proximity. Therefore please go back to your homes. SB 10.23.34: Srila Sukadeva Gosvami said: Thus instructed, the wives of the brahmanas returned to the place of sacrifice. The brahmanas did not find any fault with their wives, and together with them they finished the sacrifice. SB 10.23.35: One of the ladies had been forcibly kept back by her husband. When she heard the others describe the Supreme Lord Krsna, she embraced Him within her heart and gave up her material body, the basis of bondage to material activity. SB 10.23.36: Govinda, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, fed the cowherd boys with that food of four varieties. Then the all-powerful Lord Himself partook of the preparations. SB 10.23.37: Thus the Supreme Lord, appearing like a human being to perform His pastimes, imitated the ways of human society. He enjoyed pleasing His cows, cowherd boyfriends and cowherd girlfriends with His beauty, words and actions. SB 10.23.38: The brahmanas then came to their senses and began to feel great remorse. They thought, "We have sinned, for we have denied the request of the two Lords of the universe, who deceptively appeared as ordinary human beings." SB 10.23.39: Taking note of their wives' pure, transcendental devotion for Lord Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and seeing their own lack of devotion, the brahmanas felt most sorrowful and began to condemn themselves. SB 10.23.40: [The brahmanas said:] To hell with our threefold birth, our vow of celibacy and our extensive learning! To hell with our aristocratic background and our expertise in the rituals of sacrifice! These are all condemned because we were inimical to the transcendental Personality of Godhead. SB 10.23.41: The illusory potency of the Supreme Lord certainly bewilders even the great mystics, what to speak of us. As brahmanas we are supposed to be the spiritual masters of all classes of men, yet we have been bewildered about our own real interest. SB 10.23.42: Just see the unlimited love these women have developed for Lord Krsna, the spiritual master of the entire universe! This love has broken for them the very bonds of death — their attachment to family life. SB 10.23.43-44: These women have never undergone the purificatory rites of the twice-born classes, nor have they lived as brahmacaris in the asrama of a spiritual master, nor have they executed austerities, speculated on the nature of the self, followed the formalities of cleanliness or engaged in pious rituals. Nevertheless, they have firm devotion for Lord Krsna, whose glories are chanted by the exalted hymns of the Vedas and who is the supreme master of all masters of mystic power. We, on the other hand, have no such devotion for the Lord, although we have executed all these processes. SB 10.23.45: Indeed, infatuated as we are with our household affairs, we have deviated completely from the real aim of our life. But now just see how the Lord, through the words of these simple cowherd boys, has reminded us of the ultimate destination of all true transcendentalists. SB 10.23.46: Otherwise, why would the supreme controller — whose every desire is already fulfilled and who is the master of liberation and all other transcendental benedictions — enact this pretense with us, who are always to be controlled by Him? SB 10.23.47: Hoping for the touch of His lotus feet, the goddess of fortune perpetually worships Him alone, leaving aside all others and renouncing her pride and fickleness. That He begs is certainly astonishing to everyone. SB 10.23.48-49: All the aspects of sacrifice — the auspicious place and time, the various items of paraphernalia, the Vedic hymns, the prescribed rituals, the priests and sacrificial fires, the demigods, the patron of the sacrifice, the sacrificial offering and the pious results obtained — all are simply manifestations of His opulences. Yet even though we had heard that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Visnu, the Lord of all mystic controllers, had taken birth in the Yadu dynasty, we were so foolish that we could not recognize Sri Krsna to be none other than Him. SB 10.23.50: Let us offer our obeisances unto Lord Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. His intelligence is never bewildered, whereas we, confused by His power of illusion, are simply wandering about on the paths of fruitive work. SB 10.23.51: We were bewildered by Lord Krsna's illusory potency and thus could not understand His influence as the original Personality of Godhead. Now we hope He will kindly forgive our offense. SB 10.23.52: Thus reflecting on the sin they had committed by neglecting Lord Krsna, they became very eager to see Him. But being afraid of King Kamsa, they did not dare go to Vraja. Prabhupada's books on line: http://vedabase.net/ The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc. A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness