CCC

I am still puzzled about this; is one brahmanandi:

 

1. a solar system,

 

 

2. a galaxy,

 

 

3. the universe including all galaxies,

 

 

4. parts of the universe,

 

 

5. or is it on a completely different level of understanding?

The statement about not being able to see outside a brahmanandi makes it all very difficult to resolve with scientific observation. It seems to favor speculation number three and Srila Prabhupada's choice of the word 'universe' seems to support that concept. Maybe I'm thinking too small, and time will open the way to the true understanding. For now, I see it as the whole universe with all its apparent galaxies and stars. That leaves the other brahmanandis as mysterious as Vaikuntha itself - perhaps even more so, seemingly that much more unattainable.

my view is number 3, each brahmanda is infinite and are resting in the causal ocean, I mean that all we see is just inside of our egg-like universe adn we can't see the brahmajyoti of the spiritual sky. and outside our universe there are other universes with other brahmas, all infinite. so my conclusion is that the mahat-ttatva is like the whole material universe where are resting the other universes and big bang theory sounds like the expansion of the universes from Maha-Vishnu and where matter and spirit will return after the universes be destroyed

Quote:

<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="border: 1px solid rgb(102, 102, 102); padding-right: 3ex; padding-left: 3ex;" bgcolor="#e0e0e0">Paramahamsa: My question is: A pure devotee, when he comments Bhagavad-gita, someone who never sees him physically, but he just comes in contact with his commentary, explanation, is this the same thing?

Prabhupada: Yes. You can associate with Krishna by reading Bhagavad-gita. And these saintly persons, they have given their explanations, comments. So where is the difficulty? Everyone is helping you.

</td></tr></tbody></table>

 

 

 

Great quote! However those you may meet and tell them about Krishna, or give a book too, wouldn't you encourage them to assocate with devotee's to become fixed in the teachings of Krishna Consciousness as you first did nearly 40 years ago?

at least I go to the temple just to chant HAre Krsna, eat some prasadam and talk with some devotees, I don't go to the classes, I am fed up with the same cowdung again and again (guru cultists, speculations, and so on)

I would find it very hard to misunderstand the instructions of Jesus in the Bible. He made them so simple and they are conduct orientated rather than philosophical. What He told His close disciples may be another thing.

 

Pray to the Father that He forgive us as we forgive others. Yeah sounds real simple and not much interest to the jnani's. But real Christianity lives in the carrying out of that instructions and others like it. Living within that prayer day to day.

 

If we drop the critic garb for a while and try to live it ourselves most of us will not find it that easy.

 

Look at Christianity with external eyes and you won't see much. Not any pomp and circumstance in that path. They have only one ritual and that is baptism as a symbol of rebirth or being born of the Holy Spirit. The old nature dies when emmersed and the new nature arises. Beautiful in it's simplicity I think. The rest is all service orientated through atruistic acts. Seeing God in others and serving there.

 

In Sri Isophanishad Srila Prabhupada writes that "Altruistic activities carried out in the spirit of Sri Isopanishad are another form of karma yoga." Couple those acts with the devotional life He taught and you have karma/bhakti-yoga.

 

Karma/bhakti-yoga as well as jnana/bhakti yoga lead to the same place... suddha bhakti.

 

It is a very simple thing really but if we chose to look through the eyes of sectarianism we won't be able to see it.

thanks theist, your words are very valuable and true

Dear Devotees,

 

Are you happy?

 

I don't mean happiness that depends on a certain fulfillment or object, but happiness that comes from within, happiness that comes with an increasing love for Krishna. Obviously, only this type of happiness can be proof that our bhakti for Krishna is genuine. That's why I am asking whether any devotee actually feels that strange kind of happiness, happiness born of love of God, happiness that has no cause.

 

Serious and honest answers only, please. Let's discuss this.

I think that that happiness is the best sympton of spiritual advancement, more advanced more happiness...

btw that happiness is not stange, material happiness is strange

Please continue posting and joining in on the fun.

Krishna

thanks theist, sarva gattha and Vigraha, I will take that advice,

Well at this moment I am printing Caitanya Bhagavata adi khanda in spanish and devotees are very interested.

I have another question, I know that you are senior devotees and I would like to know how was the book distribution before, I heard once that the devotees distributed books very very cheap and now are expensive. The last week I went to the local temple and they were selling the bhagavad gita as it is for $30 and here the normal price is up to $10.

How was book distribution in Srila Prabhupada's time?

I had contemplated doing that with the Uddhava-gita from the 11th canto. Never did nor is it necessary now.

 

I would be very hesitant about leaving out Prabhupada's purports though.

 

You might consider some different options. Like perhaps verses on a central theme. For example take the subject of how the self is not the body and compile many verses that speak directly to that and then perhaps include a purport or even several that you consider approriate. Add a title.

 

You would have a much smaller book on one important topic and even with some purports.

 

Just a thought.

ahh well yes that is right, but the SB and CC verse books are not for sankirtan, is for distributing among devotees..

Hare Krsna!

I heard in this forum that all incarnation of God comes from Paramatma, what does it really mean?

Hare Krsna!!

Well I am making homemade books and I am interested in making SB and CC only verse books. Personally I think that the purports of Srila Prabhupada are very important because there is no difference in the Book baghavatam and the devote bhagavata and in the SB by His Divine Grace are both.

What do you think about this project?

I don't want to mutilate the books of Srila Prabhupada, but I remember when I wanted to buy the SB and CC and I couldn't afford them, I would have liked just a book with the verses

What do you think about this? Would be Srila Prabhupada happy?

Christ means anointed, anointed with the power of god to preach and do so many things, this is shakti-avesa-avatar, Lord Jesus of Nazareth is a Christ, Shaktiavesa avatar or Messiah the same word in different cultures.

shakti-avesa-avatar= empowered soul=anointed=Christ

And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan. 10And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him:

11And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

So if we please the representative of the Lord He is pleased.

me neither, but its nothing to cry over. The liberated just move to the next prison, just ask the woman who is liberated.

what woman?

A friend of mine invited me to see ufos in the desert, he said me that very often they appear near our city. He has a Truck parking lot and told me that no one of them cross the desert at night because are scared:eek3:. Also He said me taht there are bad and good ufos ,if I go I will take photos

If we actually realize that we are spirit souls, then there is no question of feeling disappointed in spiritual life. The reason for this is covered in Second Chapter of the Gita. That doesn't mean that very many devotees actually get it though.

 

If we think that when Krsna says, "This indeed is actual freedom from all miseries arising from material contact" [Bhagavad-gita 6.23], He means that everyone will love us, we will win the lottery and live happily ever after in the material world, then we will indeed experience disappointment. Spiritual life doesn't work that way.

 

What spiritual life does, when successfully cultivated, is to change our consciousness by transforming the meaning of our experience. The experience of material existence itself may not change, and this is what most likely is triggering the devotees' feeling of disappointment.

 

 

The quality of our consciousness depends on our ontology, or the story we create that gives the meaning of our experience. When we change our ontology, or change our story, we change our consciousness. Krsna consciousness means, among other things, that we interpret our experience according to Krsna's explanation of reality. When we do this successfully, then we realize that nothing in this material world can ever hurt us:

avināśi tu tad viddhi

 

yena sarvam idaṁ tatam

 

vināśam avyayasyāsya

 

na kaścit kartum arhati

 

 

"Know that which pervades the entire body is indestructible. No one is able to destroy the imperishable soul."

[

Bhagavad-gita

2.17]

 

 

Or the same principle stated more generally,

nāsato vidyate bhāvo

 

nābhāvo vidyate sataḥ

 

ubhayor api dṛṣṭo 'ntas

 

tv anayos tattva-darśibhiḥ

 

 

"Those who are seers of the truth have concluded that of the nonexistent there is no endurance, and of the existent there is no cessation. This seers have concluded by studying the nature of both."

[

Bhagavad-gita

2.16]

 

 

So someone who is actually sastra-caksus, seeing reality through the eyes of the scripture, will not expect his experience of this world to change, but will change his ontology so that he interprets his experience in a different way. Then he will be able to give service according to duty without unrealistically expecting material benefit, because he has full confidence that by following the path of devotional service, he will go to the spiritual world in the next birth, if not before. What does that look like? Krsna explains:

śrī-bhagavān uvāca

 

prajahāti yadā kāmān

 

sarvān pārtha mano-gatān

 

ātmany evātmanā tuṣṭaḥ

 

sthita-prajñas tadocyate

 

 

The Blessed Lord said:

"O Pārtha, when a man gives up all varieties of sense desire which arise from mental concoction, and when his mind finds satisfaction in the self alone, then he is said to be in pure transcendental consciousness."

[

Bhagavad-gita

2.55]

 

 

We have to reach the stage of devotional service where we can experience transcendental pleasure in our personal service relationship with Krsna. Then material attachment and desire fall away naturally. This stage is realized by performance of devotional service in spontaneous love, beyond the mechanical rules and regulations of the scriptures.

 

We love our mother and father, our friends, our wife or husband, so what is the difficulty to love Krsna? After all, without Krsna, all these other natural objects of love would not even exist. Therefore the solution to all the problems of material existence is simply to love Krsna. If we do this, then our path to complete self-realization is clear.

 

love,

Baba

I am not a liberated soul:crying2:

http://liberatedsouls.org/#page:sub-pages/home.php

Thanks, Prabhu, for doing the math to satisfy my doubting mind!

 

I wish you all facility in your service life!!!

 

Brihat Mridanga ki jai!!

An if you use inksaver 2.0 you will save more and more!

I recently got a Lightscribe DVD/CD burner. I love it for what it *does* do. Of course, burning labels on it is slow, there is no color, and the media are still much more expensive than the inkjet printable media.

 

The Epson inkjet printers (well, the newer ones--I have the R200) allow one to print directly on the inkjet printable disks. I never liked the inkjet printable labels that one had to try to affix to the disk--too messy and tedious.

 

The drawback with most inkjet printable disks (or paper, for that matter), is that if some water gets on it, the label/paper is ruined.

I have the c79 is tiny but powerfull and yes the dvd and lightscribes cds are yet expensive

Oooh! I've never seen anything like that. Do you know what your ink cost per page is with that system?

well lets take a look:

INK

250ml of ea color cost me 20 dollars the lot total 1 litre of dye ink.

every 10ml are like 150 pages so ea page of black will cost

150 pages x 25= 3750 pages

so, $5/3750= is $0.0013 dollars (based in one color of ink)

my books are handbooks so every page has 4 pages, so I use 24 A4 pages

24p X $0.0013= 0.0312 dollars per book using black color of 250cc

Ink for a handbook of 100 pages is= $0.0312 dollars

Paper:

A4 lot of 500 sheets= 1000 pages cost $5 dollars

1000/5= $0.005 so it cost $0.12 dollars a handbook of 100 pages

Total= $0.0312 ink+$0.12 sheets= $0.1512 dollars per book + self adhesive covering+ covering paper is like 0.3 dollars for the whole book

That sistem is called CISS you can buy the whole system or just the refillable cartridge, I have this last

That is great CCC. One definition of a Vaisnava is one who cannot tolerate the suffering of others. It's a wonderful approach.

 

Dandavats

thanks and please give me your blessings

Hare Krsna

I think this is a wonderful idea CCC!

 

Best of luck to you in your efforts!

thanks please give me your blessings

Hari Bol

Thanks. But this is not the picture I was searching for. I was looking for that more intense picture where every detail was really amazing.. I don't know if you have seen that picture before...

I'm skeptical about the true cost of self-made books. Is that cost of $.25 taking into account the cost of toner/ink, or is it just paper? If not, consumables for the cheaper laser printers tend to cost quite a bit more than consumables for workgroup printers. At work, once, I had to do an analysis of cost per page across several manufacturer's lines of printers, and was surprised at what I found (I don't have the report handy at the moment, or I'd quote some figures).

 

Also, of course, there's the question of how you value your time and how much time it takes to make a book by hand.

 

Inkjet-printable CD-R's with PDF's on them and attractive label art might turn out to be more cost effective (and easier for folks to share with their friends).

Nice I will do that, now I remember that my dvd writer has lightscribe:eek:

OK, here's the 10 second research:

 

http://www.rapidsupplies.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=58800

 

 

 

Epson S050190 Toner Cartridge, 4000 Page Yield, Black, EPSS050190, EPS S050190

List Price $<strike>111.99</strike>

 

Your Price <input id="strRealPricePass58800" value="82.58" type="hidden">$82.58

 

82.58/4000 = $.02/page.

 

So, that's 2 cents per page. So, a 100 page book will cost you $2 in just toner (not counting the paper).

 

If your Epson is an inkjet printer, you're likely paying even more per page.

Epson printer are the most expensive if you don't use this system:

I wish I was rich when they sold the Gitas for a buck. I could have just given them away walking down the street. If they aren't attracted they'll give the Gita to their friends who may be, and on and on, until someone with ears to hear finds it in ther hands.

 

Buck versus a quarter - I'd take the buck. Better shelf-life.

 

If I was giving out small books on computer-printed paper I wouldn't even suggest a donation. Some people will just give to cover your costs because of a good upbringing, while others will feel like you're doing business in the street. God is rich and powerful; surely He can manifest some paper or a book. Quality not quantity is what we learned in sales school. Qualifed prospects produce sales (of tickets to the Kingdom) - shotgun campaigns rarely hit the mark. Let Krsna qualify the prospects.

well, I am not living in USA there is a difference here in the third world, many devotees here would like to have books like the big ones of Srila Prabhupada but devotees can't afford them.

why no one sell gitas for a buck? because they are doing business with the books and Krsna is not happy with that, now they cost at least 10 bucks. People is not fool, they know when you are sincere or are trying to do something for money or reputation. Once I preach to a girl that now is devotee and later she gave me the money for a full set of Bhagavatam (in spanish 300 bucks), thanks to her I have a Bhagavatam.

Once I almost opened a printing press but a "friend of mine" betrayed me and took 3/4 of all the money. So I could afford a desktop computer a printer some paper ink, stapler... and I am enjoying this a lot, homemade books have something special, every book is made with care. Soon I will make big books for devotees here

I'm presently fighting with decomposing, yellowing paper of the BBT strategy for the past 30 years, print as cheap as possible but selling the books to the temples as expensive as possible. The only book printed nicely was our first Bhagavad-gita - printed on real quality paper without acidity. Papers with a high level of acidity tend to deteriorate quickly.

This is one of the things that I don't like, the book business. If the books were cheap and no changed I would be glad for buying them in the temple. At this moment I am printing as cheap as possible, but I will give them for a donation, not for profit and also they are not ugly.

When I was in England I was looking for the Prabhupada DVD set, I went to London temple (Londonisvara) and they were selling the dvd set for $200 dollars!!. Also I said to a devote can I stay here to do some service? because where I live there is no temple, and This devote replied me: The temple is not an hotel, if you like you can stay in a hotel near here and come to do some service., that broke my heart.

well here is one of my homemade covers, tell me if you like it or if I should do some corrections. Hare Krsna!

This is a real nice idea or you could make a magazine/pamphlet and offer the books for download at your website. Main thing is to get in touch with people and may be invite them for a Bhagavad-gita reading. Even if you go out to make sankirtan only once a month try to do it regularly.

Good idea about downloading books, I will put a webpage in the last page of these books, also I would like to make Caitanya Bhagavata and large books at cheap price in English and Spanish, also if you like to learn how to make your own books here is how:

http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=OcwwQDIlCKE

Just curious. What books did you copy? What message do you want to convey to the people you meet?

I am starting with the book "On the way to Krsna" and "Meditation and Trascendence(?)" this last is a compilation of Prabhupada's lectures.

Well, the message that I want to convey is that these books will teach you who you are and why you are here, why you are suffering and that you have an eternal relationship with god, you are not this body, I wnt that people just learn this things and then they have free will if they go to iskcon or xyz...