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REASWARAN

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Everything posted by REASWARAN

  1. I would like to know where exactly I have made this statement. According to me this is something which is an interpretation that you have given to my posts. Secondly whenever a view is expressed my me, it seems to be taken as an attack on you or your beliefs. This is what I meant earlier too, that rather than an effort to broaden one's perspectives my opening the mind to other vistas, you seem to promptly condemn any view which differs from your own and attempt to refute it with reams of cut ans paste material but hardly any reasoned views of your own.
  2. I am afraid I cannot agree with you. The tradition of the Hinduisim has never been autocratic and we have all been encouraged to think. I studied under a realised teacher and there was never one of us who would accept teachings at face value. we always did our own thinking and arrived at our own conclusions which is the only way at least for me. Hence you see the scriptures only point the way- you have to walk it yourself. There is you will agree a difference in knowing the way from your house to the temple and in actually reaching the temple. Which is perhaps why I would prefer cogent original arguements on a subject rather than pure cut and paste from the scriptures. The point I made stands valid, that it is the social situation which influences most of our beliefs, which is where our ethical concepts are derived from.
  3. The problem with those who have extended consciousness (humans) is that we need to try to justify all matters. let us take purely the animal world where presumably the ego has no place in daily living. I have yet to hear of homosexuality in the animal world- a homo dog or a homo pig ? Perhaps homosexuality is a product of the Kalyuga.
  4. You are evidently no student of history. There are a few -very few absolute rights and wrongs and these are also to a very large extent by social mores. For the rest it is almost always the persons who have the most influence in a particular place and time who decide what is right and what is wrong:- Let me give you an example- India is largely a very traditional society where (forget the larger cities) girls are expected to keep male company to a minimum and the expectation that the girl is a virgin when she is married is very high. This is true almost all over India. However, there is a pocket in Central India where there is a concept of a Ghotul. This is a place where teenage boys and girls mix freely once they reach the age of puberty and freely have sex with the full consent of thier parents and elders. In fact once they cross puberty they spend all their nights in the Ghotul, and step back into household onl when they enter into marriage. I may mention that the only condition in a ghotul is that no girl or boy should have the same partner too often, and is this is seen happening then the couple may have to leave the ghotul and get married. The purpose of this story is to bring into focus that absolute rights and wrongs are a rarity and most rights and wrongs are brought into existence through social mores.
  5. It is the Atman which does not die- but the body definitely does - for every beginning has an end and what is born must die, -hence the supreme is referred to in the BG -No Jayate mritaye kadachit ..etc If we are all self realised here already and agree that no one dies - it's just great.
  6. The sexual act itself or the pleasure one gets from the act is not an obstacle to spiritual growth. These desires are human and as long as you are a human, you will not be able to get rid of these desires. However, the desire itself is not an obstacle, it is the craving, the longing for the desire, the mind's tendency to relive the sexual experience which creates further vasanas. And this is to be curbed. The solution is regular meditation - and practicing what the Buddhist's call "living in the present". The practice of concentration on the present moment is a highly spiritual practice and enables one to be free from the memories of the past and aspirations of the future. Once your mind is in this state, it is fit for concentration on the Supreme. You will find that no thoughts of sex will intervene. This does not mean you give up sex, just that it has its place in your life, but is like say having a cup of coffee- nice when you have it- but does not bother you when you dont.
  7. No disageement with this statement- the unmanifest does manifest occassionaly but the distinction should be clear - the manifest is finite and for specific purposes only- rg Krishna, Rama etc.
  8. No it is not Krishna who is saying this- the Supreme unmanifested formless is saying it- Krishna is only the human medium through which the supreme is acting- If you remember my earlier posts wherein I had mentioned that the Purusha is inactive and when in contact with Prakriti can acts come into being. I believe you are confusing Krishna to be the Supreme himslef instead of an Avataar- do not forget Krishna (the human form) dies of an arrow in his leg at the end of the Mahabharat. This is consistent with a human manifestation only. Sorry my two earlier posts came out as Guest- I had forgotten to log in- the cookie does not seem to be doing its job too well.
  9. When krishna says only those who worship him will achieve salvation, it is the supreme being (yes the formless impersonal which you get so worked up about) and not Krishna the human manifestation. I thought this would be obvious even to a lay reader of the Geeta - but no even the administrator has jumped in to prove me right when I stated that all u guys spend most of yr time running others down.
  10. Ok so the universe was created by the big bang, but who created the big bang ?
  11. Strong words ! There is no reason whatsoever for such a dogmatic statement. I think you forget that the purpose of all idols, icons, etc is a very simple one- bring in front of you into focus an object on which you can concentrate as a representation of the lord. Ultimately you must move from the concrete to the abstract, from the Lord with form to the formless , otherwise there would be no progress. (My friends from ISKCON will violently disagree with this ! to them the formless is like a red rag to a bull !)
  12. Well said my friend ! You have just quoted from the Upanishads and for that alone I salute you. People who refuse to believe in any other than a personal God are slaves to their senses. As I have stated in an earlier post it is only the human who can have the massive arrogance to believe that if there is a God it- he has to be in the same mould as a human. I have tried several times to explain that the very diffused nature of the supreme makes it impossible for him to be restricted by form or substance or time for that matter, for how can he be restricted by his own creations ?
  13. A most common misconception- Exception prove the rule WRONG- as any student of logic would tell us.
  14. Welcome to the club. You have asked the question which every spiritually inclined human has tried to answer since the beginning of time. Can we have any answers ? I will try to explain based on my experience- it goes without saying that not all members who post on this board will agree with my views. You will in all probability get a plethora of views which will leave you confused. But nevertheless a beginning would have been made. The first step is to make the mind less agitated. you'll get a lot of posts stating that the best way is to chant krishna's name. That indeed is one way and you will have to evaluate for yourself based on your own nature. But according to me all the chanting of the Lord's name may not do any good if your mind is on your meeting with your girl in the evening. Hence the first step is to slow down the mind. I would suggest either learn to concentrate on your breath or on any mantra with the Lord's name- Hare Krishna Hare Krishna , krishna krishna hare hare - is one mantra you can adopt or even the prayer of St Francis of Azizzi or any other prayer for that matter. Concentrate on the words , try to slow down the speed with which you are mentally, repeat mentally chanting the mantra- You will find your mind wandering off a hundred times- do not worry - that is the nature of the mind. With enough practice you will find that you will have moments when you will feel calm and focussed before the mind starts jumping. When this happens you have made progress. The next step is to enlengthen these periods of calmness - When this is acheived - shift your focus on the the Lord. Easier said than done- however-best of luck
  15. Past sins will not fly away like the dusts of the body. If you plant peas you’ll get peas, if you plant melons you’ll get melons. Karma from the past will cause the pains of this lifetime. The phrase, “good and evil will be compensated,” which has been passed on from generation to generation, explains the real cause and effect of life’s events. Genetic transmission is only a method of working out the karma. The soul whose karma it is undergo this tribulation is born of parents carrying such genetic defects and this defect is passed on.
  16. Yes- I too was greatly surprised at the aggressive response to my posts. As I have tried to explain, if the divine is to prevade the entire universe , by that definition that divine has to be formless. Another thing I have noticed- in the Indian tradition one is encouraged to think matters out for oneself and go through as many commentators as possible , but ultimately to form your own view on the subject- even the guru cannot substitute for this. However, that seems to be missing in this forum with almost all arguements taking the form of quotations.
  17. Granted by friend - but you have to reach there. It's a bit like saying once on the roof I do not need the ladder, but you have to reach the roof before you can throw away the ladder. Similarly you have to use the mind to transcend the mind.
  18. I usually do not like to cut and paste- but in this case the best explanations is in the words of Yogananda Paramhansa himself:- Quote My guru, Sri Yukteswar, liked a chant that I have translated, two lines from which go, "Pranayama be thy religion. Pranayama will give thee salvation." "Pranayama means control of the energy in the body, and its direction upward through the spine to the brain and to the Christ center between the eyebrows. This alone is the pathway of awakening. It isn't a matter of dogma or belief. It is simply the way we were all made by God. "The consciousness enters the body by way of the brain and the spine. When the sperm and ovum unite to create the physical body, they do so at what becomes the medulla oblongata, at the base of the brain. "From this medulla, the life force moves out into the brain, down the spine and into the nervous system, then on to the muscles, etc., creating the body. "The way out of the body, then, is to reverse this process. The difficulty in doing so lies in the fact that the life force is already conditioned by birth to continue its outward direction— through the senses and onward to the environment as it is perceived through the senses. Thus, we think to possess the world and to enjoy it through the body. "We can never experience anything outside ourselves, however, except vicariously, as the senses report their impressions to the brain. We may try to expand our understanding of the world by study, or our enjoyment of it through sense pleasures. The fact remains, we can never know anything except through the medium of the senses, so long as the life force remains trapped in the body. "There is a way out, however. It is for the life-force to merge with the cosmic energy; for the consciousness to merge in the infinite consciousness. "The way to accomplish this end is to withdraw the life force from the senses, and center it in the spine; to direct it upward through the spine to the brain, and thence out through the Christ center between the eyebrows. "The ego is centered in the medulla oblongata. This is the negative pole of self-consciousness. The positive pole is situated at the Christ center. Concentration at this center—in the spiritual eye, the seat of spiritual vision—projects the consciousness beyond the ego into Infinity. "The spine is the highway to the Infinite. Your own body is the temple of God. It is within your own self that God must be realized. Whatever places of pilgrimage you visit outwardly, and whatever outward rituals you perform, the ultimate 'pilgrimage' must be within. And the ultimate religious rite must be the offering of your life-force on the altar of inner God-communion. "That was why Jesus said, 'Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.' 'He spake,' the Bible adds, 'of the temple of his body.' (John 2:19,21) "This is the path of Kriya Yoga."
  19. No my dear Guest (would be far easier to address you if you would log in with a name), the idea here is not to make you accept mine or any other views. Whether you like it or not the traditional schools in India have views similar to those expressed by me. In any case, I thought the idea of this forum was to have an exchange of views- which I have found refreshing- However there has never been an attempt on my part nor should there be an attempt on the part of any member of the forum to make his views "acceptable" to another who follows a different teacher. To do so would be demeaning teh teacher and school of thought to which one s since by Hindu religious thought is broad enough to embrace all types ov views and sometimes even other religions.
  20. Let me clarify matters here a bit. The Bhagvad gita is only one. There are several commentators. So there is no concept of which is the "better" BG. Maybe we should talk in terms of which is the commentator more appropriate for a devotee. Now then what is it you would like me to explain ? it would be easier if there were specifics- for the general concepts would take a book to go into.
  21. Absolutely. Once you find the guru who is right, you must stick to him. I have no quarrel with that point of view.
  22. This is the line of thought followed in ISKCON. There are several schools of thought in India which have different views.
  23. No quarrel here. Every one must decide for himself or hereself on which is most suited for him/her. The only point I would like to make here is that accepting one guru is not tantamount to running down others - You are all devoted to Prabhupada- good for you - I am sure you all have chosen well after due process of thought. But please do remember that others have also done so and they may reached other schools of teaching -as valid for them as yours is for you. Open mindedness is a sign of spiritua maturity and offhanded rejections only indicate lack of progress.
  24. I am afraid I cannot agree with you. The scriptures are subject to several interpretations and each one chooses that which appeals to him most- which I suppose is decided by one's own internal make up. I recognise that ISKCON has different interpretations from the traditional masters and it does appeal to a sect of people. So be it. But an offhand statement that "not correctly transalated" is a very immature view point for sanskrit is after all a language of communication and any dictionary could tell you the literal meaning. Interpretaions as i said earlier can differ and appeal to different types of people. But would strongly recommend a more tolerant attitude towards other schools of spirituality -intolerance has a habit of developing towards fanaticism. Sorry for the repeat- I had not logged in earlier
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