giveawayboy

Leyh, I love the spirit of your post and of interreligious dialogue. I love so many things that you said here. These are the things I say to my Christian friends who become possessed by a certain zeal. The thing that always concerns me is how easily pride can jump into the middle of what could be constructive conversations. I like what you said about building relationships over time. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif I also like what you said about philosophy and about Vaisnavas. I actually came here wanting to learn more about the connection between Visnu and vaisnavas. Also, I am at a loss for the relationship, direct or indirect between vaisnavism and vedantic philospohy, and the nature of vedantic philosophy itself. Can you see why I want to take a listening, learning role here? Thanks for your excellent post and the feelings of friendship and trust it engendered. Bill

Due to time constraints I do not have time to go into huge investigations of my beliefs on a public forum. This does not mean that I would not entertain an email discussion or limited postings with Ethos. Frankly, I came here to learn about Hinduism and not to talk much about my religion. I did not come here to bluff anyone, but perhaps to read and learn from you all, and also to ask questions. Remember, I am taking the listening, learning position. I have already learned some things from Ethos, especially things about my attatchment to myself. Leyh and Guaracandra have also helped me greatly by their supportive posts. Ethos, I may not be able to respond to all your posts and queries, but I will try to check out that post you mentioned. Also, I will try to reread all the posts in this string to answer the questions you have asked. Since your posts are voluminous, I might take awhile to hear you correctly. Here I am. A guest with nothing to prove. Nothing to bluff about. And, not sure about everything. Bill

Theist, Having a teacher is a good thing. Still, rushing down a spiritual path is not good. You are to be respected for being true to where you are at on your spiritual path. Of course you are in my prayers. Ethos, You have sparked good spiritual conversation. I appreciate you for being forthright about this. Both of you have made me feel welcome and have challenged me. Thanks, Bill

ethos: This is a good opportunity for all of us to evaluate our faiths and refuge since many of these boards participants have Christian upbringings. bill: I agree with this. ethos: Dont let yourself down. Defend your faith. And be consistent as a person. Follow through with your commitments. bill: thanks for saying this. ethos: We'd love to hear from a Christian who is not bluffing. We all stand to learn alot from rational discourse. bill: I try my hardest to be consistent with my views. I have grown and changed my mind over the years. Learning from others has helped me greatly. ethos: I'm sure we'd all like to hear you explain this–your statement–from above: "…We do not believe that creation is an emanation of God." Well, then, how can creation not be an emanation of God and yet exists within Him? bill: I'm not sure I can answer this scientifically, or even logically. I do know that Christians believe God created out of nothing, a proposition that sounds odd and even faulty to many. Still, I know that is what our religion teaches us. I don't know how to answer your question. ethos: I'm wondering why the Western literatures hold preeminence for you when you are now reading Ramayana and growing. bill: Well, this is a great question. I really appreciate it. For me, if you are referring to religous literartures, the Bible is part of the traditions that produced it, and it is also several quite different books and letters that have been brought together by the Jews and by the Catholic Church. So, for me, already we are dealing with a collection of books, some of which span two religious traditions, Jewish and Christian. In part they are accepted, though interpreted differently, by Muslims. I find the Bible to be consistent with the traditions that produced it and also I find great wisdom in it's messages. It is also the Jewish and Christian scriptures that I was taught as a child, so of course I would hold them in high regard, they are part of my religious tradition. Also, I do not regard the Bible as a 'western' collection of books, but as one that rises out of the Middle East although it eventually encompasses some contributions from Europe. ethos: If you are liberal enough to recognize and appreciate theistic science where you find it, then why not commit to spiritual intimacy? bill: To the degree that God enables me I do commit to spiritual intimacy. I am not however a pro at this yet. Part of spiritual intimacy for me is found in spiritual literature and in examples of holy lives of men and women from different religons. I do not believe that God functions only within Christianity. Also, I don't know how I feel about the 'liberal' designation. I tend to think of myself as somewhat cautious and orderly about things. ethos: Me thinks you are too attached to the body and it's designations–liberal position without philosophical understanding... kind'a like the hippie generation... which was really all about me and freedom... freedom from Vietnam. bill: wow! i may be too attatched as you say, but that's one thing that God promises liberation from. In our religion God tells us to seek Him and not live for ourselves. It's not easy, and I'm the first to admit selfishness. Admission is not justification however. But, Ethos, I love these questions. Great stuff! ethos: You are the only here who has posted a self-portrait Mr. Bill. bill: I have this image on other boards that employ UBB codes. I just assumed that I would use it here too, since I didn't think of any other images. I had one image of a drawing that I liked, but didn't wish to use it since I couldn't get it to the right size.

Hi Gauracandra, My name is Bill, and I joined this forum in order to perhaps learn more about Vishnu, but still as a Christian I can also help with these confusing issues. First off let me say that I am not here to be proud or arrogant or force my views on anyone. I am here hopefully to learn more about Hinduism from Hindus. Still, I think the Srila Siddhaswarupananda television program was mistaken about several points regarding Christianity or the way we Christians view God. Still I know we believe in Jesus as the unique incarnation of God, still we do not see God as limited to material forms. We do not believe in a samasaric reality so that is a difference. We believe in material and spirit coexisiting, and that it all exists inside of God. We do not believe that creation is an emanation of God. I don't know what Hindus believe here. I'm not too sure about the Hindu concept of God and the universe. Still, if you have questions I would be glad to talk about these things, but I only come in a spirit of friendliness and willingness to learn. Also, even if we disagree on religious beliefs, we can pray for each other and have spiritual friendship across the 'belief' divide. I see everyone as related and I behold God in each person, no matter their religion. I do not agree with the people who say that there is only one holy book. They must not know about the Vedas or the Dhammapada or several others. I am not equating all scriptures, since there are obvious problems in such a comparison, but there is some truth I can take from them all. As a Christian the Jewish and Christian scriptures hold preeminence for me, but I am reading the Ramayana now and often read Hindu devotional literature, which has helped me grow closer to God and other people. Blessings, Bill

We will do alot of things for money. Still, I think that this may not always be wise. I think to give your cultural and LINGUISTIC identity away for a fast buck can ultimately hurt you. As far as 'christian' names go, well, I don't know if it applies to British or American culture, where the ties to Christianity are slim and fading. We used to mention Christian names since when we were baptized (a Christian ritual) we would take on the name of a biblical figure or holy saint. Now, names like Joshua, Michael and Jonathan or Maria, Teresa or Ruth, which once had great meanings to both Jews and Christians are no longer thought of in their spiritual contexts. Now, for the most part people have abandonded the spiritual ways and even the knowledge of what NAMES mean and they simply wear them like aesthetic labels. For instance, one day a man named KUMAR came up to my cash register at my store. I told him that his name meant PRINCE. He looked shocked, and said, yes, but most people don't actually KNOW that names mean anything. I told him what my name meant. BILL means PROTECTION, and refers to a HELMET worn in battle. So, all of our names mean something. We need to reclaim the LINGUISTIC knowledge of our names and the SPIRITUAL SIGNIFICANCE behind them. For instance, what an honor to be named HANUMAN or LAKSHMI, etc. In Christian countries many boys are named JESUS or JONATHAN or DAVID or MICHAEL. So often, since the names are common we take them for granted. I think every child should be told why he is named JESUS or LAKSHMANA or MARY or SITA, or that if her name is SURUPA, she must be very beautiful. Later, Bill

I agree, this would be magnificent. Let's see what happens. I know that there are plenty of people out there with the skills and many who have already made film versions of these epics. Let's see what the future holds?

If you like Hanuman and want to learn more about him, try HANUMAN: MESSENGER OF GOD by: Anantanand Rambachan. Prof. Rambachan writes great books about Rama, Hanuman and Krishna. Have a nice day! Bill

I had seen someone post on the old forums about this print by Vaishnava artist Jadurani. Just wanted to mention that I to had the same edition of Sri Isopanisad and I remember that picture from when I was ten years old. Apparently my mother had a copy of it which she said someone handed her in an airport. How would I know that years later I would be reading about it on this website. It remains one of my favorite images. I loved the Narasimha image too. I recently had a dream with Narasimha in it. By the way, I am not Hindu, but Catholic. Still, I love this Hindu art. I am a huge fan of Indra Sharma. I have read two versions of the Ramayana and have the Mahabharata, which I will read this year. Also, I have read at least four books by Anantanand Rambachan, whose works I like. Thanks for having a great website. Blessings, Bill