zjj

Krishna had 16,108 wives. Rukmini was his first wife. Then he married Satyabhama and Jamvanti. In total, he had 8 main wives. The 16,100 wives he married afterwards were girls he rescued from Jarasantha who desired him as their husband. Don't forget that he is the Supreme Lord. It is his promise to us that in whatever form we worship him, he will reciprocate in that manner. Therefore, all those women that he married were simply having their love for him reciprocated in the manner they chose. Also, because he is the Supreme Lord, he was able to satisfy each and every one of them. None of his wives ever felt neglected or unloved. He gave each wife 10 sons and 1 daughter. There is the story where Narad wondered about how the Lord was able to satisfy each one of his wives. It seemed impossible for even if he spent one day with each of them in turn, it would be years and years before he got back round to the first wife. So Narad visited Krishna in Dwarka. First he went to Rukmini's house and saw the Lord there, just rising from his sleep. Narad thought that if Krishna was in Rukmini's palace, how were all his other wives feeling? So he then went to Satyabhama's house and saw Krishna there, getting ready for his morning meditation. Narad wondered how Krishna had arrived there so fast so he then went to Jamvanti's house and saw Krishna there, about to go for a bath. Narad went to the next wife and saw Krishna performing pooja. Narad went to the next and saw Krishna eating breakfast. Narad went to the next house and saw Krishna giving charity to the Brahmanas. Narad went to the next house and saw Krishna playing with his children. Narad went to the next house and saw Krishna meeting with ministers. In each house, each wife was with Krishna and Krishna was making them happy. Narad then realised that he should never have doubted Krishna. The Supreme Lord can make everyone happy because he is the only one with the power to love everyone in the way they want to be loved. Others may tell us that they love us but we never really believe them. But Krishna, who we cannot see with our material eyes, loves us and we know it, even if he never tells us. That's the power of Krishna's prema.

I just wanted to let everyone know that the book launch date is only four days away. I've set up a booksigning in my local area for 27th Oct too. I'm in talks with my local PBS radio station about a possible interview and with local tv too. If anyone is interested in the book, they'll make great diwali presents! Happy Diwali and Happy New Year! Hari Hari bol!

What can I say, Prabhu? You took the words right out of my mouth. Thank you and Haribol! zjj

I absolutely agree. We have to do what we can to help others, especially the innocent and the helpless. That is part of our service to Krishna and his creation. We have no right to complain about our problems when things like child prostitution are happening. Haribol!

I've heard that a great deal of people in South Indian States are converting to Christianity which then encourages them to eat beef. Something has to be done to change this. I can't understand how any Hindu would ever touch cow meat, let alone any meat.

I was watching it online, thanks for the headsup! The quality of viewing wasn't that great though. Do you know when and if the film will be released on DVD? I'd love to buy for my family. Haribol!

Haribol! I'm a 24 year old writer and I'm self-publishing my first novel 'Follow the Cowherd Boy'. It's based on the life story of Mirabai, as told by the acharyas and what I could find in the historical records. I wrote this book because Mirabai is a hero of mine and I wanted to spread her legend in the western world as she is not very well known here. Another reason was that I wanted to explain things about Sanatan Dharma that most westerners don't know, so that they can understand it more and not confuse it with the things they see in the media. I hope and pray that Krishna is pleased with my efforts. The book is out on October 25th, 2006 and is available to order from trafford.com and amazon.com. The ISBN number is 1-4120-8626-4. Thanks, J A Joshi

This was a very long and thorough post but you did not once address my comment about Vishvamitra. He did fall. Are you going to deny that? Don't forget that Prabhupada was trying to strengthen and encourage his disciples so a lot of what he said was in an effort to make them understand their path. He had to make it very clear that they should not fall. But a lot of them still did, through their own weaknesses. Prabhupada was a merciful guru and even though so many of his disciples fell, I've heard many stories about disciples who felt that he was still with them, looking after them and protecting them even after they left the movement. That is what a true guru does. You can't possible deny that Lord Rama was Vishnu. Right? But Lord Rama accepted and served Vishwamitra as a Guru, even though Vishvamitra had fallen once before. So does Lord Rama's opinion not count? Haribol.

I agree. If someone who worships Shiv is in the mode of ignorance then Lord Rama was also in the mode of ignorance because Shiv was his Ishta Dev and he established the Rameshwaram Shivlinga in south India. No Vaishnav in their right mind will say Rama is in the mode of ignorance so why call other Shiv devotees ignorant also? This is the worst kind of intolerance and it is not a trait of Sanatan Dharma. Before the war of Kurushetra began, Shri Krishna told Arjun to worship Durga and acquire her blessing for victory in battle. Would Krishna have told Arjun to do this if it would lead him into the mode of ignorance? Arjun worshipped Durga and when she appeared before him to bless him, she told him that victory would be his for Krishna was with him. So her blessings led Arjun to further knowledge about the divinity of Krishna. Why can we all not honour the Devs and Devis as extensions of Krishna? Krishna and Shiv don't fight each other. Shiv and Durga don't fight each other. Why do we have these pointless debates that just take us backwards? I once heard a very wise person say that you should worship the Dev you identify with most as your Ishta Dev. Yet this does not mean that you ignore or turn away from the other gods. I worship Krishna: He is my Ishta and my Lord. Still, if I am near a temple of Lord Shiv, I go inside and pay obeisances. While I am there, I ask Lord Shiv to help me and guide me on the path to Krishna. Lord Shiv is a jagatguru and a Vaishnav and a yogi. Asking for Shiv's help and guidance will please my Ishta Dev Krishna because it means I am drawing closer to him. The same applies to a Durga or Kali temple. I go inside and ask her to show me the way to Radha Rani. Doesn't it say in the Bhagwat that Parvati (aka Durga and Kali) would go to Vrindavan to join in the Maharas? It was by her help that Lord Shiv could participate in the Maharas also. Doesn't it make sense to ask for their help in reaching that most perfect of states, Maharas with Radha and Krishna? If anyone here knows the story of Narsingh Mehta, they will know that Narsingh first worshipped Lord Shiv. When Narsingh didn't ask for any reward for his worship, Shiv was pleased and took Narsingh to Golok for darshan of Maharas. Shiv took Narsingh to Krishna who enbraced Narsingh as a beloved devotee. Who are any of us to belittle the worshippers of Shiv and Durga as ignorant? If we fear these gods, it is fear born of our own ignorance. A true devotee of Krishna never fears anyone or anything. I pray that Krishna enlighten us all. Haribol.

In the Puranas we see examples of Guru Brhaspati performing yagnas and penance to remove the bad effects of the Devatas karma. He protects them with his purity and takes their ills upon himself. This is nothing at all like what Christian priests do. Christian priests say that all a person need do is confess and they will be forgiven by the priest on behalf of god! To me, that seems to be a dangerous presumption on the priests part, that whomever they forgive is forgiven in the eyes of god. Our acharyas take on the karma of their disciples but they know that there will be bad effects. Nothing is forgiven just like that because every act must have a reaction. This is science, not blind belief. Also, it is possible for a pure devotee to fall. Look at Vishvamitra. He had reached the pinacle of purity with his penance. He even became a Brahma Rishi, the highest state of Rishi there is, self realised in every way. Yet the sound of Menaka's tinkling jewellery made him fall into lust. Once he came to his senses and returned to austerity, he was restored to his previous position. Even Lord Rama himself accepted Vishvamitra as a guru, and served him. Does this not show that it is possible to fall and yet be a pure devotee? If Rama can forgive a fallen devotee, why cannot we? Haribol.

I'm not very knowledgeable about these things but it seems to me that most of the replies are correct in saying that we should stop focusing on the faults of others and start worrying about correcting our own faults and weaknesses. I know that i have a ton of faults that need sorting out. I wish I could find a spiritual master to surrender too and help me fight my weaknesses but I have not met him yet. That does not mean that I may go around denigrating other people's spiritual masters. It is not a Vaishnav practice to do such things. I once heard that the reason why some gurus get sick is because they are so merciful that they take the bad karma of their disciples and suffer it for them. They have the strength to live with the reactions of that karma so they protect their disciples in this way. Who are you, or I, or anyone to say that just because someone has committed a misdeed in their past, that he is not a good person now? Was not Valmiki a hunter and a murderer, before Narad gave him initiation in Rama Nama? Narad couldn't even initiate him in the proper manner because Valmiki was so impure. Narad told Valmiki to recite Mara Mara Mara very quickly, which turned in to Rama Rama Rama as he chanted. He then became so purified that Brahma selected him to write the story of Rama, in the worlds first epic poem. If that isn't evidence that we have the chance to improve ourselves, what is? Haribol. All glories to the devotees.