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indulekhadasi

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  1. Haribol. Go to the following link please: http://bvml.org/SBPKM/index.htm Just like Kuresa switched clothes with Ramanujacharya to save his life, this saint did the exact same thing for his spiritual master- Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura. And thank you for Andal's charitra. I am a bharatanatyam dancer and I am having my arangetram in 2 months. One of my dances is called Andal Kanavu and is all about the marriage of Andal and Sri Ranganath.
  2. Sri Kuresa reminds me of another saint. Reply if you would like to find out who it is.
  3. Very nice quote by Srila Narayana Maharaja. This is exactly what I meant, but of course since I am not erudite, like Maharaja, I couldn't put it in such a nice way.
  4. Yes, I have come to the attention that there is none in Indiana. There is not even a way for devotees to get together. If we can get a project like this going then people will be able to derive the benefit from the association of devotees.
  5. You should always respect Lakshmi devi who is the eternal consort of Lord Narayana. But there is no need to worship her separately from Narayana. Actually it is an offense to worship one without the other. Worship them both together, that is the best policy! And most people who worship Lakshmi devi alone, they do it to get riches. But this is not true love for Mother Lakshmi, is it?
  6. My main point was in the story of Anupam. You can never change one's own faith or one's own swarupa.
  7. It is crucial to our devotional service. Our anarthas get cleansed by drinking that water. Bhakta pada dhuliya, bhakta pada jala Bhakta bhukta avasesa tin mahabala These three are very powerful- the dust of the devotee's feet, the water that has washed a devotee's feet, and the remnants of a devotee's food.
  8. I am really not trying to put other people's faith down. Rupa and Sanatan had a younger brother named Anupama. He was supposed to be a partial incarnation of hanuman. So Rupa and Sanatan were trying to explain to Anupama to try and worship Radha Krishna. So Anupama said he would try to do it the next day. But the next day he came crying to his elder brothers and he said he couldn't do it because if he left his Rama his life would be useless. So Rupa and Sanatan were very happy. You cannot change someone's svarupa. You cannot make Hanuman into a sakhi of Radharani. Everyone has their own svarupa which they are most happy in and it is proper to leave them in the service of their chosen Lord.
  9. KURESA OR Kurathazhwar was the foremost disciple of Sri Ramanujacharya. The story of Kuresa's life has been told many times over the centuries. Nonetheless, it is a life-story of such nobility and inspiration that it will bear repetition any number of times. Kuresa hailed from the hamlet of ``Kura'' (or ``kooram'') near Kanchipuram. He belonged to the clan of the Haritas, to a wealthy, land- owning and propertied family. Kuresa was regarded with great respect as the elder in his community. He and his wife, Andalamma, were renowned for their philanthropy and public service. They were ardent devotees of Kanchi Varadaraja. Early in his life, Kuresa came under the spell of Ramanujacharya who at that time was living in Kanchi. It was the time when Ramanuja was slowly emerging as the propagator of a new school of thought. Kuresa, although senior in age, became a disciple of Ramanujacharya. He was soon initiated into a rigorous study of the ancient Vedic scriptures and more especially the ``meemamsa- sutras''. A strange but strong bond of kinship developed between the young Master and the elderly student over the many years they spent together in Kanchi. In his mid-life, due to a variety of personal and social reasons, Ramanuja took to ``sanyasa'' and was called away by the community of Sri Vaishnavas in Srirangam to rally them all into a cohesive force there against the onslaught of religious bigotry waged by the Saivite State at that time. Kuresa's close relationship with Ramanuja thus drew to a close. Seeing off Ramanuja to Srirangam, Kuresa returned to his hamlet with his wife Andalamma. One evening, after they had completed their daily routine of charity - feeding the poor who had gathered at their doorsteps at dusk - they retired for the day. Kuresa banged the big brass doorway to his home shut. This banging was so loud in the quiet of the night that it was heard some distance away in Kanchi. On being told that the sound of the door closure was heard by the Lord, Kuresa said, ``What?! Did thatdisturb the Lord and His Consort in Kanchi?! What a conceited wretch am I that I should let my charity be announced thus to the whole world! What a vain sinner am I''! It was a turning point in the life of Kuresa who decided to renounce all his wealth and join Ramanuja in Srirangam where he and his wife were received with great joy. Kuresa used to take down the dictation of `Sri Bhashya' by Ramanuja. One day, Ramanuja stated that the distinguishing attribute of the atomic soul (``jeeva'') was its cognitive power. At this point Kuresa put his writing-quill down and ceased writing. He looked up at his guru. Ramanujacharya looked at Kuresa and flew into a temper. ``Sir, if you mean to write the ``Bhashya'' on the ``Vyasa-sutras'' yourself, you may do so!'', thundered Ramanuja at Kuresa, and stomped out in a fit of rage. After a while Ramanuja reflected carefully upon the incident. And he realised that Kuresa was right in finding fault with his dictated passage. The definition of the ``jeeva'' as a cognitive entity was an essential but not sufficient description in as much as the most important characteristic of the soul viz. its allegiance or leigeship to God (`seshatva') was a serious omission. Ramanuja realised that if his original definition of the jeeva had gone unchallenged by Kuresa then the very superstructure of Visishtadvaita's theology would have proceeded to be built on a wobbling premise. Ramanuja grew repentant. He told Kuresa ``My son, you are absolutely right! Now please write down the true nature of the soul as that which is God's... and let us proceed with the rest of the work.'' In Srirangam, although Ramanuja and Kuresa succeeded in the stupendous task of systematising an exciting and epochal new philosophy, they both knew that the `Sri Bhashya' still needed a final coat of brilliant polish.... the polish of irrefutability... before it could go into and earn an unchallenged place in the annals of Vedantic history. Ramanuja knew he must access an ancient parchment or document called ``Boddhayana vrutti'' - a rare exegetical treatise on Vyasa's ``Brahmasutras'' incorporating the insights of other great commentators of distant past. The ``Boddhayana vrutti'', Ramanuja learnt, was lying somewhere in a musty library in the royal library of the then king of an obscure Kashmiri State. Daunting as the task appeared to him, Ramanuja went to Kashmir in pursuit of the ``vrutti''. The King gave Ramanuja and Kuresa permission to access the archives in the royal library. The royal pundits however, were none too happy and created many obstacles. Ramanuja was not allowed to take the vrutti or notes out. Kuresa, endowed with a photographic memory, memorised the whole book. Back in Srirangam, Kuresa and Ramanuja completed the ``Sri Bhashya'' by incorporating authentic references to the ``Boddhayana vrutti'', the growing influence of Sri Vaishnavism once again stoked the malevolent fires of religious bigotry in the land. Amongst some sections of the Saivite population which at that time was concentrated around Gangaikondachozhapuram, near Chidambaram, hatred towards Sri Vaishnavism and of Sri Ramanuja began to flare up. The King of Chozhanad at that time was a Saivite fanatic. His name was Krimikanta Chola of the clan of the Kollutunga kings. He was hell-bent on rooting out Vaishnavism from his kingdom and the best way to do that, he thought, was to destroy Ramanuja. He issued royal summons to Ramanuja to appear in his court for the ostensible purpose of engaging him in a scholarly debate with his royal pundits. The real intention however was to coerce Ramanuja to recant from Sri Vaishnavaism and if he refused ... to have him murdered. Ramanuja's followers dissuaded him from going to Gangaikondachozhapuram. Kuresa volunteered to go as Ramanuja's proxy and respond to the royal summons. With great reluctance, Ramanuja left Srirangam with a small band of acolytes and fled to Melkote or Tirunarayanapuram where he lived in exile for 12 long years... a difficult period in life for the aged Acharya. It was at Melkote that Ramanuja heard about what had happened to Kuresa and Mahapurna. In the court, the King said, ``Nothing higher than Siva exists'', and commanded them to agree to it. Kuresa refused. He contended that Narayana was the Supreme Principle and none was higher than He. The Chola King was incensed. He commanded Kuresa again to swear allegiance to Siva. ``If you refuse, we shall have your eyes pulled out here and now!'' On hearing this Kuresa flew into a rage. ``Let me save you the trouble, you tyrant, for I shall pluck out my eyes with my own hand! These eyes that have set sight on a sinner such as you have no further use for me!''. So saying Kuresa plunged the sharp writing-quill into his own eyes. Mahapurna too suffered a similar fate but died a little later. One day, the blind Kuresa tottered on his way from home to the temple of Ranganatha to have the `darshan' of the Lord. The temple guards, however, stopped him at the gates saying, ``We have instructions from the King to let people in only if they swear that they willingly renounce Ramanuja as their guru.'' Kuresa told them blandly, ``Please tell your King that Kuresa is prepared to forsake Lord Ranganatha in this world and even in the next. But denounce Ramanuja, never!'' The blind Kuresa then took his wife and children and lived at Tirumalirunjolai (near Madurai) till Ramanuja's return. King Krimikanta died of a deadly rash in his neck. After his death, the fanatic fringe of Saivism in the kingdom quickly lost its militant edge and the land of the Cholas again reverted to sanity. Krimikanta Chola's successor turned out to be a wise king. He discouraged religious bigotry in his kingdom. Ramanuja then decided to return to Srirangam. At the age of well over 100 years, after his triumphant return to Srirangam from Melkote, Sri Ramanujacharya with the help of Kuresa, once again set about resurrecting Sri Vaishnavism and restoring its soaring spirit to its former glory. The temple of Srirangam had faced ill- fated days; many centres of worship belonging to the faith had been vandalised too; Vaishnava associations, libraries, schools and trusts had all been systematically looted and destroyed as well. Corruption, indiscipline and laxity of faith had also set in amongst many Sri Vaishnavas. Kuresa ably assisted his guru in setting right all the wrongs of the Sri Vaishnava faith. Together they worked tirelessly to bring order, vigour and rectitude back to their faith. Kuresa passed away peacefully in the presence of his loving family, Andalamma and their two young sons Vyasa and Parasara Bhattar. All of Srirangam gathered and performed all the due obsequies and honours that one so great a soul as Kuresa richly deserved. Ramanuja had many disciples. But there never was one like Sri Kuresa..
  10. Arent you in ecstacy after seeing the lotus footprints of Lord Nityananda? By your mercy and inspiration I was searching Vrindavan das Thakura for you and this came up. And now we can see Lord Nityananda's lotus feet...can't help from crying. When will I ever be able to attain those lotus feet?
  11. Here is the charithra of Srila Vrindavan das Thakura the great mahatma who wrote Sri Chaitanya Bhagavata: All glories to Sri Guru and Sri Gauranga Srila Vrindavan Das Thakur <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=520 align=center><TBODY><TR><TD> The samadhi of Srila Vrindavan Das Thakur. Srila Vrindavan Das Thakur was born four years after Mahaprabhu took sannyasa. His mother was Sri Narayani Devi. She was the niece of Srivasa Pandit. Srila Vrindavan Das Thakur describes how his mother received the mercy of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu when she was just four years old. He told Narayani to chant the Name of Krishna. She became mad with love of God and started crying, ‘O Krishna!’ she was filled with divine love. Very often she would receive the remnants of Mahaprabhu’s meal. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu liked her very much. By the mercy of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu the incarnation of Vyasa (the writer of the Vedas/Vedic scriptures) came as Srila Vrindavan Das Thakur in the womb of Sri Narayani Devi. His only thought was Sri Sri Gaura-Nityananda. The father of Srila Vrindavan Das Thakur most probably died while his mother was still pregnant with him. Being without a husband his mother became very poor, and in the end she came to live in the house of Sri Vasudeva Datta Thakur, who lived in Mamagachi. There she used to help doing the household work. At this place Vrindavan Das started to study as well. At the house of Malini Devi (the wife of Srivasa Thakur) Vrindavan Das used to play, and he grew up there. They use to take care of him and nourish him, just like one would take care of a valuable gem. When Mahaprabhu left this world Srila Vrindavan Das Thakur was about twenty years old. He was initiated by Sri Nityananda Prabhu. He was most probably the very last disciple Sri Nityananda Prabhu initiated. The Divine footprints of the lotus feet of the most merciful Lord Nityananda Prabhu. Together with Nityananda Prabhu’s wife, Jahnava Mata, Srila Vrindavan Das Thakur went to the Kheturi Maha-mahotsava (the first Sri Gaura Purnima festival). Srila Vrindavan Das Thakur wrote Sri Chaitanya Bhagavat. First is was called Sri Chaitanya Mangal. In this book he writes about the Pastimes of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and His associates. Especially he wrote a lot about the early Lila of the Lord. The temple in Denur where Srila Vrindavan Das Thakur wrote the Sri Chaitanya Bhagavat. <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 align=center><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top height=45>‘</TD><TD height=45>krishna-lila bhagavate kahe vedavyasa, chaitanya-lilara vyasa — vrindavana dasa’</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 align=center><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top>‘</TD><TD>Vedavyasa has described the Pastimes of Krishna in his Bhagavat. The Vyasa of Chaitanya Lila is Vrindavana Das.’</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> A manuscript said to be the original text of the Sri Chaitanya Bhagavat. The original Deities Srila Vrindavana Das Thakur worshiped at the village of Denur. On this spot Sri Nityananda Prabhu ate some haritaki fruit together with Srila Vrindavana Das Thakur, on their way travelling throughout Bengal. Srila Vrindavan DAs Thakur ki jaya! <HR></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
  12. I have never said that there is no madhurya bhava in Rama lila. Actually there is a good amount of it. However there is also that tinge of where people accept him as a great king with too much awe and reverence. Gopa Kumara noticed the difference when he went to Ayodhya from Vaikuntha. However I was simply citing the feelings of the young cowherd boy Gopa Kumara in Srila Sanatan Goswamis Brhad Bhagavatamrita. Sanatan Goswami was a Gaudiya Vaishnava and perhaps you may not be able to agree with him on all points. But this was actually spoken by Sukadeva Goswami to King Janamejaya, please keep that in mind.
  13. Yes, Lord Nityananda is both the Supreme Lord and a devotee so you will be doubly benefited! Jai Nitai!
  14. According to the sastras this is not to be done. Perhaps Srila Prabhupada was merciful and allowed them to enter the temple room. But they definitely cannot participate in abhisekhas or touch the deity in any way. One cannot touch the husband when in period also. It is said that it reduces the lifespan of the husband.
  15. Didnt they cut the fingers of the builders so that they could never build such a thing again?
  16. That I can accept. But although you and the other leaves on the tree are sprung from the same tree you cannot say that you are the same as another leaf. Isn't that so?
  17. Well, you have a right to be angry on me (even though you are so polite and surprisingly you are NOT angry with me) and Go Mata does too. I know I will probably go to hell. However you hit the nail on the head here:
  18. I can help people out too, but does that mean I am God? Every person who works in the humanitarian field is God? God is not so cheap! He is beyond the scope of our limited senses and intelligence.
  19. Ha ha you pronounced it like a Bangladeshi! I am a West Bengali and we say choto bon. But the Bangladeshis say soto bon- that is their accent. Great job!
  20. Sounds like the person is trying to say kalyaniya (also written: kalyania)- all auspiciousness unto you. Usually when addressing someone younger one says this. I am Bengali so I am pretty sure this person just had a typo there.
  21. Wow, I will try to look into this bael fruit, I don't know if I will be able to obtain it fresh here, but I will try. Thank you for your help. Pranams. indulekhadasi
  22. Whatever you do- you understand that the only purpose in mind is to please Krishna. That is the essence.
  23. No it is not regular yogurt either. My problem is the probiotics by themselves don't help. I have to have probiotic powder mixed into an activated probiotic yogurt as well. Otherwise I don't have the full effect. Bran just aggravate it more. Also I have a number of stomach problems and when I eat grains I feel like throwing up. I have had 3 surgeries on my stomach in 8 months. A lot of things feel hard on my stomach. Medicines don't help either. If I get any thinner I will disappear from thin air!
  24. Wow, you are definitely very udara (generous). After coming to my senses about the use of milk by reading your posts, I am the one who considers myself to be the heartless brute. I am surprised that you have not recognized this colossal blunder and fault of mine. Actually it is not exactly milk that I need. It is yogurt because if I don't take it I get so much diarreah that I can lose 5-6 pounds in one week and I am just flat on my back. I need yogurt and I need tons of probiotics and I mix them and eat it. I am openly admitting my situation to you. I do not wish to cause pain to Go-Mata and I feel like I am sinking into the earth with all my faults.
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