Shaktidevi

Help me remember a quote. It was something to the effect that "hell is doing the same thing over and over and expectng a different result"

 

Close to that I think. Krsna,do you know the exact quote and the person who said it?

I hope Krsna knows, but if I may intrude, I have seen that same line as follows:

Neurotic behavior is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.

When Lord Brahma sleeps, everyone sleeps. When he awakens, we all go back to doing what we were before. Why? Because Lord Brahma is us potentially and we are manifestly Brahma. Although there is distinction, it is impossible to distinguish.

Did you ever notice that all the contestants in the miss universe contests are from earth?

It would also explain why the earliest known languages are generally the most complex, Sanskrit being the prime example, and undergo simplification as time goes on.

This explains to me why the first recorded human thoughts are so profound that they have not ever been superceded: that the rishis and sages were reborn from the previous universe into this one at the dawn of the human race, and gave these teachings, which have never needed to be upgraded, just bhashya (if I understand this correctly).

To be a devotee means to know within all levels of your being that there is nothing but God, nothing but love, and this produces a kind of happiness that is profound and way beyond temporary disappointments, and which does not depend on satisfying the ego, because if you still have one, you hardly remember to think about it, much less please it. I find this kind of happiness in Devi, and when not actively doing some daily task or job, I am thinking hymns and mantras and finding Her everywhere.

Thank you guest. You have pointed me towards some deep stuff.

OK: by ultimate I meant final; the direction is from Parashakti down to material (purusha - prakrti - mahad and on down). As for the rest, you are right. The comment about superiority was not given as a serious opinion. But it prompted a good, thoughtful reply.

Thanks, namaste, Shakti

I am not sure, but would be interested to know as well. I believe, what you are asking is after a pralaya, when jivas who are not-liberated 'awaken' from their dormant state, are they still at the same level they were before the pralaya? with all the same karma, vasanas, and samskaras. In other words, will they be able to continue their evolution from where they left off?

In other words, yes, and much better put. This is what I am asking. This version may invite more interest and response. Thanks.

It sounds really real. There's probably no way to "prove" that it's happening, but there is more than one way to know. To me, it sounds like a bhakti experience.

Peace, Shakti

I'm with theist. Also, "I love you". And mantras. I try not to be, "I love you, so can you help me"? I find it's only possible if I keep thinking constantly about Her, and considering that any attention I have to give to the worldly stuff is a momentary distraction from the real base of all my thoughts and emotions.

Om aim Sarasvatiyei namaha.

There is a website dedicated to Durga, www.durga.org/

Well illustrated, try it.

I am Shakta and could care less about the pathetic sectarianism Guest is throwing around. But let me ask him a question: given that the Parashakti manifests ultimately as the universe, isn't it logical that being reborn as a woman is the superior birth?

Namaste!

Reading a book written by J. C. Chatterji in 1931, reprinted several times, including by Theosophical Publishing House, WISDOM OF THE VEDAS. He said in the cycle of universes, it is possible for one to die at a certain stage of (high) perfection, and be reborn in the next universe at the same level of perfection. This is true of Gods is it also of lesser beings? I don't have much access to Vedas, so I can't really follow his exposition on the subject, hoping for input from my bros and sis. The fact that the Theosophy people reprinted the book just makes me question whether that idea is "mainstream" Hinduism or some deviation they wanted to concretize in their view of things.

Peace,Shakti

Om Dum Durgaya Namaha

Also, which seems more logical:

that since the appearance or evolution of the human mind, humankind has always known, perceived and directly experienced the ultimate truths of life and the universe;

or

that humanity had to wait thousands of years for a "savior" to arrive, meaning that those who lived before the "savior's" time are doomed or need special afterlife treatment, and only those born since have a chance at "salvation"?

Namaste, Guest,

You are right, although it is easy to speak of conversion to Hinduism, I really believe that the thoughts and practices that originated in the ancient east are the heritage of all, and we really return to them. In a sense, Hinduism is the default religion of the human race.

I felt as you described when I read the Devi Mahatmya, which is a basic Shakta scripture.

Author Beatrice Pitney Lamb has noted: "Recently, increasing numbers of Westerners in revolt against what they have found to be the shallow, gadget-dominated, spiritually empty civilization of the West have turned to "Hinduism" in search of greater meaning or purpose in life. There is no doubt that the great Hindu tradition offers profound spiritual insights, as well as techniques for attaining self-realization, detachment, and even ecstasy."

As a westerner I can affirm that this is happening, and although not many will go to the full extent of accepting Hinduism in its cultural clothing, they do go into the philosophical and yogic aspects. In my case, though, I was impressed that the earliest recorded human speculations on the nature of life and the universe, as found in the vedas 6 or 7 thousand years ago, and which probably reflect thinking from deep in the prehistoric past, are still the most profound thoughts on those themes. Nothing produced by anyone since has been able to go one step beyond them, and they are still the first and supreme authority. Yes, there are "cultural" aspects -- modes of worship, sacrifices, etc. -- but this is how humans respond to the eternal truths.

The Milky Way Galaxy RuLeZ, yo.

You're right, I'm just a country girl.

Our world is the best!

I agree, and believe that Hinduism's grand contribution to the world is the preservation of the most ancient sciences and philosophies of the human race. The vedas, for example, predate all other teachings and scriptures, and can never have lost their authority. The earliest known forms of deity come from those ancient times, too, and have never been rejected by the followers of Sanatana Dharma (........ with some exceptions).

The Guru status is valid only as long as he/she is right in the eyes of the disciple. Once the disciple decides the Guru is wrong, then there is no Guru-disciple relationship anymore.

 

In this case, if the Sikh friend agrees that Murti pooja is acceptable, then the consequence is he has to give up his faith or else he is sinning. Just like an iskcon gentleman cannot be a hare krishna and yet claim chaitanya's ideas are incorrect. The same logic applies.

 

Cheers

Thanks! Hari OM

"..........I have come across westeners who are interested in returning to one of these ancient religions that honoured many gods and especially the mother godess, but they find that there is no surviving tradition of these. Only Hinduism has manages to keep these traditions alive........."

And this is precisely where I came from, because in the West, the closest thing to goddess worship is the Roman Catholic cult of the virgin mother Mary, and various neopagan groups such as Wicca. The Catholic approach, for me, fails because the goddess is demoted to a human, and neopaganism, although it is much closer to the truth, still has that articial, made-up feel to it. It was only in discovering the thousands-of-years-old tradition of goddess worship in Hinduism, and the more specific worship of Shakti and the dasa Mahavidya, that I felt, here at last is the truth!

Shaktidevi

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So many good and obvious choices, and so many more to choose ........

how about Ganseha :pray: , who appears at the top of this page, or the symbol OM, the Siva Linga ...............

What does that mean?

 

If you are expecting your sikh buddy to agree that idl worhsip is correct, then he is commiting a sin by disagreeing with his Sikh Gurus.

 

Is this what you are looking for? As an example it would like a hare krishna arguing with a mayavadi on a discussion forum and then eventually admitting that mayavada can also be correct.

 

Cheers

Just a thought: is he actually commiting a sin if he (and the guru) are wrong?