Xochitl

I totally agree with you, unfortunately we aren't so advanced as to give up our lives and then there are others who think "giving up one's life" is irrelevant to our time. What I would like to say is this, why are the Puri pandas bullying ISKCON? We don't tell them what to do and when. I understand that there is a scriptural reference in regards to Ratha Yatra celebration, but I don't think that celebrations on separate dates should be regarded as "anti-Hindu" especially in India. What I see at these festivals are extremely fortunate souls taking Lord Jagannath's darshan, honoring prasadam and hearing His glorification; in most cases(especially in the West) these fortunate souls wouldn't otherwise be privy to any of these engagements. Everyone should appreciate this fact especially ISKCON devotees, so when anyone tries to criticize or reprimand us for such a minor offense to the Lord(if we can even call it that) we can easily and quickly neglect them. I don't think we should give these kinds of terrorists any power over us, simply because they are sticklers for rules. I firmly believe that Lord Jagannath is present in the western world just as much as, if not more than, Puri Dham. Otherwise, why would the Supreme Lord of the Universe make Himself visible in the West? Still to this day, when I hear or read the narration of Lord Jagannath's appearance in the west I get goosebumps. The Lord of the Universe, Sri Jagannath came all the way from Puri to America only by the love of His pure devotee, Srila Prabhupada and there is nothing they can do about it!

Okay, my understanding was changed primarily through the understanding of guru-tattva. Before my vision, I chanted 16 rounds daily and followed the regulative principles (only because it was convenient) but I didn't have faith in the Holy Name, I didn't understand Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and I didn't understand the necessity of the spiritual master or the proper mood of approaching one (although somehow I was in search for one). I can not explain this situation to anyone besides myself, because it was equally strange to me as it may sound to you. I hadn't solidified myself in Krishna Consciousness or made a commitment rather; that is to say, I could easily change "religious beliefs" just like one would change his underwear, as my mother would say. When I absorbed Bhagavad-Gita through the sense of sight(I have no other way of describing this phenomenon), I realised guru-tattva and accepted Srila Prabhupada as my eternal spiritual master within my heart. Upon accepting Srila Prabhupada I was easily guided through the many sections of Absolute Truth and realised Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His variegated energies, potencies etc as Himself. The best gift of the Gita was my knowledge of Sri Guru, Krishna says to Arjuna, "Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. These self-realised souls can impart knowledge because they have seen the truth." Srila Prabhupada is imparting this knowledge to us exactly how Krishna gave it to Arjuna, there is no doubt about this fact within my mind. That is why Bhagavad Gita with Srila Prabhupada's bhasya is known as Bhagavad-Gita As It Is.There is simply the requirement of submitting ourselves before Srila Prabhupada just like Arjuna submitted himself to Krishna in order to receive this knowledge. If we submit ourselves to guru we will also see the truth, there is no necessity to go out searching and wondering "Is it true?" because through Guru we can realise Krishna. It is so.

You can say that I was imagining this, but the realisation I had can not be easily explained away.. I was reading Bhagavad Gita As It Is (I had read it twice already in its entirety) and chanting Hare Krishna nonchalantly but I honestly couldnt tell you definitively what I understood. In fact, I didn't understand anything really, I could grasp somethings here and there but only theoretically. I know that sounds weird, but that was my situation; I was in fact so daft or dull brained that I couldn't understand Gita after so much effort and intellectual study. After a while I had a strange hallucination or dream (I'm still not sure to this day what it was because it was so real) Basically, I witnessed Krishna speaking to Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra; simply upon seeing this sight, what with Arjuna inquiring submissively from Krishna with folded palms and kneeling before Krishna upon seeing the visva-rupa, I understood Bhagavad-Gita. I saw the bewilderment in Arjunas eyes when he saw Krishna's many forms, I could even perceive what he was thinking. I saw thousands of men, chariots, horses, elephants etc all fully equipped with their weapons and armour, I saw Krishna explaining away to Arjuna, and simply by seeing Krishna in that form I had faith that yes, Krishna is in fact the Supreme Personality of Godhead and I must surrender unto His lotus feet and I had immediate full understanding of the Bhagavad-Gita. The end. What do you guys think?