Narayanidd

My dear spirit soul, Please accept my humble obeisances. Here is a very simplified breakdown of what I have personally understood from reading the Bhagavad-gita. To develope pure love for God, Krsna, is the ultimate goal of life. There are many paths that all have the same goal (Lord Krsna). What ever your prediliction is helps determine your path. The Lord doesn't require anything of you. He lays out the path to follow and asks you give what you can. See Lord Krsna in everything. The ocean, the flowers, and the sweet twittering of birds. When you act try to realize that you are not the doer. Offer the results of your actions up to the Lord. We are eternal, blissful, spiritual beings. We are not these material bodies. Knowing this, realize that ALL living beings are also blissful, eternal, and spiritual and respect and treat them as such. yatra yogesvarah krsno yatra partho dhanur-dharah tatra srir vijayo bhutir dhruva nitir matir mama Wherever there is Krsna, the master of all mystics, and wherever there is Arjuna, the supreme archer, there will also certainly be opulence, victory, extraordinary power, and morality. That is my opinion. That says it all! Just remember Lord Krsna is with you always. If you can you have achieved the perfection of all yogas. Hope this helps. Your servant, Narayani

Dear theist, What wonderful nectar! A great referance that hits the question of why we should follow the four regs. right on the head!Thank you. Your servant, Narayani

My dear spirit soul, Please accept my humble obeisances. The goal of life is to develope love of God. This is a long and arduous process. There are sciptural injunctions that help us along the way. Following the four regulative principles is one of the things to be done for purification. No eating meat,fish, or eggs No intoxication (alcohol,drugs,caffeine) No gambling No illicit sex (intercourse outside of wedlock or intercourse in wedlock other than for the procriation of children) These all sound like impossible feats but, they are sacrifices. The ultimate goal is worth fighting for. You will always appreciate attaining your goal if the way is a struggle with sacrifices. Some things are worth the sacrifices. Ultimate freedom is definately one. In Bhagavad-gita Srila Prabhupad writes, "The supreme instruction of morality is stated in the ninth chapter, thirty-fouth verse: man-mana bhava mad-bhaktah. One must become a devotee of Krsna, and the essence of all religion is to surrender unto Krsna. The instuctions of Bhagavad-gita constitute the supreme process of religion and morality. All other processes may be purifying and may lead to this process, but the last instruction of the Gita is the last word in morality and religion; surrender unto Krsna. This is the verdict of the Eighteenth chapter." Following the four regs is one of the processes that bring one to "the last word in morality and religion," develope love and surrender unto God, Krsna. hope this helps. Your servant, Narayani

My dear spirit souls, A great book that really tosses a wrench in the theory of evolution is Forbbiden Archeology. It has tons of evidence that man as we are today has existed far longer than is the popular scientific belief. Check out this site. http://nersp.nerdc.ufl.edu/~ghi/fa.html Your servant, Narayani

My dear spirit souls, WOW! Srila Prabhupada was no doubt a great soul! He most certainly proved the purport of Bhaktivedanta! Whether one is a follower of his teachings or not it can't be denied that Srila Prabhupada was a great soul. He lived by what he taught and in no way was ever false to his Lord! I would not be alive today were it not for him. He has changed so many lives. The devotion he displays in his beautiful song is palpable! Your servant, Narayani

My dear spirit souls, We must remember that we are all conditioned souls in this material world and are full of material desires. Lord Krsna gives us some very solid and tolerant advice in the 12th chapter of Bhagavad-gita. text 8-12 mayy eva mana Adhatsva mayi buddhiM niveSaya nivasiSyasi mayy eva ata UrdhvaM na saMSayaH Just fix your mind upon Me, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and engage all your intelligence in Me. Thus you will live in Me always, without a doubt. My dear Arjuna, O winner of wealth, if you cannot fix your mind upon Me without deviation, then follow the regulative principles of bhakti-yoga. In this way develope a desire to attain Me. If you cannot practice the regulations of bhakti-yoga, then just try to work for Me, because by working for Me you will come to the perfect stage. If, however, you are unable to work in this consciousness of Me, then try to act giving up all results of your work and try to be self-situated. If you cannot take to this practice, then engage yourself in the cultivation of knowledge. Better than knowledge, however, is meditation, and better than meditation is renunciation of the fruits of action, for by such renunciation one can attain peace of mind. Lord Krsna never forces us to love Him. He only asks that we give what we can. If only we could see the Lord in all things for example, Bhagavad-gita ch. 9 texts 13-24: mahAtmanas tu mAM pArtha daivIM prakRtim ASritAH bhajanty ananya-manaso jNAtvA bhUtAdim avyayam O son of Prtha, those who are not deluded, the great souls, are under the protection of the divine nature. They are fully engaged in devotional service because they know Me as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, original and inexhaustible. Always chanting My glories, endeavoring with great determination, bowing down before Me, these great souls perpetually worship Me with devotion. Others, who engage in sacrifice by the cultivation of knowledge, worship the Supreme Lord as the one without a second, as diverse in many, and in the universal form. But it is I who am the ritual, I the sacrifice, the offering to teh ancestors, the healing herb, the transcendental chant. I am the butter and the fire and the offering. I am the father of this universe, the mother, the support and the grandsire. I am the object of knowledge, the purifier and the syllable om. I am also the Rg, the Sama, and the Yajur vedas. I am the goal , the sustainer, the master, the witness, the abode, the refuge and the most dear friend. I am the creation and the annihilation, the basis of everything, the resting place and the eternal seed. O Arjuna, I give heat, and I withold and send forth the rain. I am immortality, and I am also death personified. Both spirit and atter are in Me. Those who study the Vedas and drink the soma juice, seeking the heavenly planets, woriship Me indirectly. Purified of sinful reactions, they take birth on the pious, heavenly planet of Indra, where they enjoy godly delights. When they have enjoyed vast heavenly sense pleasure and the results of their pious activities are axhausted, they return to this mortal planet again. Thus those who seek sense enjoyment by adhering to the principles of the three Vedas achieve only repeated birth and death. But those who worship Me with exclusive devotion, meditating on My transcendental form-to them I carry what they lack and preserve what they have. Those who are devotees of other gods and who worship them with faith actually worship only Me, O son of Kunti, but they do so in a wrong way. I am the only enjoyer and master of all sacrifices. Therefore, those who do not recognize My true transcendental nature fall down. Like it is said those who worship the demigods will eventually take birth among the demigods ,but they will still suffer from birth, death, old age, and disease. Even though demigod worship may be pious is doesn't FREE you. Hopefully because of the pious activity of demigod worship those who do so will eventuall come to bhakti-yoga. It's a long process with many trials and tribulations, but anything that you have to fight for is that much sweeter when you finally achieve the goal. I hope we all can achieve the GOAL. Your servant, Narayani

My dear spirit souls, I think a Krsna Conscious video game would be great. Just imagine a game about the Mahabharat like a fighting game similar to the Lord of the Rings game. With the computer technology available today I think it would be amazing to play the character of Arjuna battling against Karna, magic arrows and all! Your servant, Narayani

My dear spirit souls, I think a Krsna Conscious video game would be great. Just imagine a game about the Mahabharat like a fighting game similar to the Lord of the Rings game. With the computer technology available today I think it would be amazing to play the character of Arjuna battling against Karna, magic arrows and all! Your servant, Narayani

My dear spirit souls, ISKCON has the same problem most "western" countries have when it comes to divorce. More than 50% of the populace is divorced. What I have noticed as a main factor is there is no respect for each other. As vaisnavas we should know better. We are spirit souls. A marriage should be based on respect for this spiritsoul that you have chosen to spend your life with. When you get married you take responsibility for anothers material, and more importantly, SPIRITUAL well being. A marriage is a team effort in which you help each other back to Godhead. I know we are in the material world and there will always be material desires and problems to deal with. The only thing I can say there is, be very careful and selective about who you marry. Your servant, Narayani

My dear spirit souls, Please accept my humble obeisances. In this age of kali there is a slim to no chance for peace. The only way for India and Pakistan to live peacefully together is if everyone can completely change the very way they think. They must go against centuries of ingrained animosity. We all know how much people are willing to change.ha ha. There is hope though. While decribing Lord Rama's reign Srila Prabhupada wrote that the atmosphere was one of satya yuga even though Lord Rama wasn't of that age. It was simply because He followed sanatana dharma. If more people in the world begin to live by sanatana dharma we will see that even in this age of kali things could seem like satya yuga. This is quite a daunting task. We can only pray to Lord Krsna and act in any way,great or small, to help bring about a spiritual revolution to the entire race of men. Your servant, Narayani d.d.

My dear spirit soul, Please accept my humble obeisances. According to Webster's II Nothing: 1. No thing : not anything 2. No significant or notable thing 3. No part: no portion 4. Insignificant 5. Something or someome of no consequence. Something: A thing unditermined or unspecified. One that is remarkable or important. There's proof from Webster's all paths really do lead to Lord Krsna who is certainly One that is remarkable and important!! /images/graemlins/smile.gif Your servant, Narayani d.d.

My dear spirit souls, Please accept my humble obeisances. eSa vai bhagavAn sAkSAd Adyo nArAyaNaH pumAn mohanyan mAyayA lokaM gUDhaS carati vRSNiSu This Sri Krsna is no other than the inconceivable, original Personality of Godhead. He is the first Narayana, the supreme enjoyer. But He is moving amongst the descendants of King Vrsni just like one of us, and He is bewildering us with His self-created energy. Purport: "...The authorities speak, and the people in general believe them. But in the case of Vedic truths, they have been taught not to believe. Even if they accept them they give a different interpretation. Each and every man wants a direct perception of Vedic knowledge, but foolishly they deny it. This means that the misguided man can believe one authority, the scientist, but will reject the authority of the Vedas. The result is that people have degenerated. "Here is an authority speaking about Sri Krsna as the Original Personality of Godhead and the first Narayana. Even such an impersonalist as Acarya Sankara has said in the begining of his commentation on the Bhagavad-gita that Narayana, the Personality of Godhead, is beyond the material creation (narayanah paro 'vyaktad, andam avyakta-sambhavam, andasyantas tv ime lokah, sapta dvipa ca medini-Bg.Bhasya of Sankara). The universe is one of the material creations, but Narayana is transcendental to such material paraphernalia. "Bhismadeva is one of the twelve mahajanas who know the principles of Vedic knowledge. His confirmation of Lord Sri Krsna's being the original personality of Godhead is also corroborated by the impersonalist Sankara. All other acaryas have also confirmed this statement, and thus there is no chance of not accepting Lord Krsna as the original Personality of Godhead. Bhismadeva says that He is the first Narayana. In the spiritual world (Vaikuntha) there are unlimited Narayanas, who are all the same Personality of Godhead and are considered to be plenary expansions of the original Personality of Godhead, Sri Krsna. The first form of the Lord Sri Krsna first expands Himself as the form of Baladeva, and Baladeva expands in so many other forms, such as Sankarsana, Pradyumna, Aniruddha, Vasudeva, Narayana, Purusa, Rama and Nrsimha. All these expansions are one and the same visnu-tattva, and Sri Krsna is the original source of all plenary expansions. He is therefore the direct Personality of Godhead. He is the creator of the material world, and He is the predominating deity known as Narayana in all the Vaikuntha planets. Therefore, His movements amongst human beings are another sort of bewilderment. The Lord therefore says in the Bhagavad-gita that foolish persons consider Him to be one of the human beings without knowing the intracacies of His movements. " The bewilderment regarding Sri Krsna is due to the action of His two-fold internal and external energies upon the third one called marginal energy. The living entities are expansions of His marginal energy, and thus they are sometimes bewildered by the internal energy and sometimes by the external energy. By internal energetic bewilderment, Sri Krsna expands Himself into unlimited numders of Narayanas and exchanges or accepts transcendental loving service from the living entities in the transcendental world. And by His external energetic expansions, He incarnates Himself in the material world amongst men, animals or demigods to reestablish His forgotten relation with the living entities in different species of life. Great authorities like Bhisma, however, escape His bewilderment by the mercy of the Lord." Your servant, Narayani d.d.

My dear spirit souls, Please accept my humble obeisances. eSa vai bhagavAn sAkSAd Adyo nArAyaNaH pumAn mohanyan mAyayA lokaM gUDhaS carati vRSNiSu This Sri Krsna is no other than the inconceivable, original Personality of Godhead. He is the first Narayana, the supreme enjoyer. But He is moving amongst the descendants of King Vrsni just like one of us, and He is bewildering us with His self-created energy. Purport: "...The authorities speak, and the people in general believe them. But in the case of Vedic truths, they have been taught not to believe. Even if they accept them they give a different interpretation. Each and every man wants a direct perception of Vedic knowledge, but foolishly they deny it. This means that the misguided man can believe one authority, the scientist, but will reject the authority of the Vedas. The result is that people have degenerated. "Here is an authority speaking about Sri Krsna as the Original Personality of Godhead and the first Narayana. Even such an impersonalist as Acarya Sankara has said in the begining of his commentation on the Bhagavad-gita that Narayana, the Personality of Godhead, is beyond the material creation (narayanah paro 'vyaktad, andam avyakta-sambhavam, andasyantas tv ime lokah, sapta dvipa ca medini-Bg.Bhasya of Sankara). The universe is one of the material creations, but Narayana is transcendental to such material paraphernalia. "Bhismadeva is one of the twelve mahajanas who know the principles of Vedic knowledge. His confirmation of Lord Sri Krsna's being the original personality of Godhead is also corroborated by the impersonalist Sankara. All other acaryas have also confirmed this statement, and thus there is no chance of not accepting Lord Krsna as the original Personality of Godhead. Bhismadeva says that He is the first Narayana. In the spiritual world (Vaikuntha) there are unlimited Narayanas, who are all the same Personality of Godhead and are considered to be plenary expansions of the original Personality of Godhead, Sri Krsna. The first form of the Lord Sri Krsna first expands Himself as the form of Baladeva, and Baladeva expands in so many other forms, such as Sankarsana, Pradyumna, Aniruddha, Vasudeva, Narayana, Purusa, Rama and Nrsimha. All these expansions are one and the same visnu-tattva, and Sri Krsna is the original source of all plenary expansions. He is therefore the direct Personality of Godhead. He is the creator of the material world, and He is the predominating deity known as Narayana in all the Vaikuntha planets. Therefore, His movements amongst human beings are another sort of bewilderment. The Lord therefore says in the Bhagavad-gita that foolish persons consider Him to be one of the human beings without knowing the intracacies of His movements. " The bewilderment regarding Sri Krsna is due to the action of His two-fold internal and external energies upon the third one called marginal energy. The living entities are expansions of His marginal energy, and thus they are sometimes bewildered by the internal energy and sometimes by the external energy. By internal energetic bewilderment, Sri Krsna expands Himself into unlimited numders of Narayanas and exchanges or accepts transcendental loving service from the living entities in the transcendental world. And by His external energetic expansions, He incarnates Himself in the material world amongst men, animals or demigods to reestablish His forgotten relation with the living entities in different species of life. Great authorities like Bhisma, however, escape His bewilderment by the mercy of the Lord." Your servant, Narayani d.d.

JUST A TEST TO SEE IF MY COMPUTER WILL POST MY MESSAGES.

my dear souls, I forgot to login before posting the above. sorry YS, Narayani d.d.

My dear soul, Brahman is the impersonal aspect of Godhead. It is the enless efulgence of the Lord's personal aspect. (personalism vs. impersonalism is a whole other topic:) Also you mentioned "deities, idols, and images" if you wouldn't mind, please read my post "Is deity worship idolatry" Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur very logically explains the difference between the two. hope this helps, Your servant, Narayani d.d.

My dear souls, This is an endless discussion in which neither side will yeild. Let us instead focus on developing pure love for the Lord whether worshiped as Krsna or Narayana. your servant, Narayani d.d.

My dear souls, This is an endless discussion in which neither side will yeild. Let us instead focus on developing pure love for the Lord whether worshiped as Krsna or Narayana. your servant, Narayani d.d.

My dear spirit souls, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. Srila Rupa Goswami states in Bhakti-rasamtra-sindhu: ...the transcendental qualities of the Lord as follows: 1)beautiful features of the entire body; 2)marked with all auspicious characteristics;3)extremely pleasing;4) effulgent;5) strong;6) ever youthful;7) wonderful linguist;8) truthful;9) talks pleasingly;10) fluent;11) highly learned;12) highly intelligent;13) a genius;13) artistic;15) extremly clever;16) expert;17) grateful;18) firmly determined;19) an expert judge of time and circumstances;20) sees and speaks on the authority of Vedas, or scriptures;21) pure;22) self-controlled; 23) steadfast;24) forbearing;25) forgiving;26) grave;27) self-satisfied;28) possessing equilibrium;29) magnanimous;30) religious;31) heroic;32) compassionate;33) respectful;34) gentle;35)liberal;36) shy;37) the protector of surrendered souls;38) happy;39) the well-wisher of devotees;40) controlled by love;41) all-auspicious;42) most powerful;43) all-famous;44) popular;45) partial to devotees;46) very attractive to all women;47) all-worshipable;48) all-opulent;49)all-honorable;50)the supreme controller. The Supreme Personality of Godhead has all these fifty transcendental qualities in fullness as deep as the ocean. In other words, the extent of His qualities is inconceivable. Besides all of the above mentioned fifty qualities, Lord Krsna possesses five more, which are sometimes pertially manifested in the persons of Lord Brahma and Lord Siva. These transcendental qualities are as follows: 51) changeless;52) all-cognizant53) ever fresh;54) sac-cid-ananda (possessing an eternal blissful spiritual body);55) possessing all mystic perfections. Krsna also possesses five other qualities, which are manifest in the body of Narayana, and they are listed as follows: 56) He has inconceivable potency;57) Uncountable universes generate from His body;58) He is the original source of all incarnations. 59) He is the giver of salvation to the enemies whom He kills. 60) He is the attractor of liberated souls. All these transcendental qualities are manifest wonderfully in the personal feature of Lord Krsna. Besides these sixty transcendental qualities, KRSNA HAS FOUR MORE WHICH ARE NOT MANIFEST EVEN IN THE NARAYANA FORM OF GODHEAD, what to speak ofthe demigods or living entities. They are as follows. 61) He is the performer of wonderful varieties of pastimes (especially His childhood pastimes). 62) He is surrounded by devotees endowed with wonderful love of Godhead. 63) He can attract all living entities all over the universes by playing on His flute. 64) He has a wonderful excellence of beauty which cannot be rivaled anywhere in creation. Lord Krsna is the source. isvarah paramah krsnah sac-cid-ananda vigraha anadir adir govinda sarva karana karanam Krsna who is known as Govinda is the Supreme Godhead. He has an eternal blissful spiritual body. He is the origin of all. He has no other origin. He is the prime cause of all causes. Your servant, Narayani d.d.

My dear spirit souls, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. Srila Rupa Goswami states in Bhakti-rasamtra-sindhu: ...the transcendental qualities of the Lord as follows: 1)beautiful features of the entire body; 2)marked with all auspicious characteristics;3)extremely pleasing;4) effulgent;5) strong;6) ever youthful;7) wonderful linguist;8) truthful;9) talks pleasingly;10) fluent;11) highly learned;12) highly intelligent;13) a genius;13) artistic;15) extremly clever;16) expert;17) grateful;18) firmly determined;19) an expert judge of time and circumstances;20) sees and speaks on the authority of Vedas, or scriptures;21) pure;22) self-controlled; 23) steadfast;24) forbearing;25) forgiving;26) grave;27) self-satisfied;28) possessing equilibrium;29) magnanimous;30) religious;31) heroic;32) compassionate;33) respectful;34) gentle;35)liberal;36) shy;37) the protector of surrendered souls;38) happy;39) the well-wisher of devotees;40) controlled by love;41) all-auspicious;42) most powerful;43) all-famous;44) popular;45) partial to devotees;46) very attractive to all women;47) all-worshipable;48) all-opulent;49)all-honorable;50)the supreme controller. The Supreme Personality of Godhead has all these fifty transcendental qualities in fullness as deep as the ocean. In other words, the extent of His qualities is inconceivable. Besides all of the above mentioned fifty qualities, Lord Krsna possesses five more, which are sometimes pertially manifested in the persons of Lord Brahma and Lord Siva. These transcendental qualities are as follows: 51) changeless;52) all-cognizant53) ever fresh;54) sac-cid-ananda (possessing an eternal blissful spiritual body);55) possessing all mystic perfections. Krsna also possesses five other qualities, which are manifest in the body of Narayana, and they are listed as follows: 56) He has inconceivable potency;57) Uncountable universes generate from His body;58) He is the original source of all incarnations. 59) He is the giver of salvation to the enemies whom He kills. 60) He is the attractor of liberated souls. All these transcendental qualities are manifest wonderfully in the personal feature of Lord Krsna. Besides these sixty transcendental qualities, KRSNA HAS FOUR MORE WHICH ARE NOT MANIFEST EVEN IN THE NARAYANA FORM OF GODHEAD, what to speak ofthe demigods or living entities. They are as follows. 61) He is the performer of wonderful varieties of pastimes (especially His childhood pastimes). 62) He is surrounded by devotees endowed with wonderful love of Godhead. 63) He can attract all living entities all over the universes by playing on His flute. 64) He has a wonderful excellence of beauty which cannot be rivaled anywhere in creation. Lord Krsna is the source. isvarah paramah krsnah sac-cid-ananda vigraha anadir adir govinda sarva karana karanam Krsna who is known as Govinda is the Supreme Godhead. He has an eternal blissful spiritual body. He is the origin of all. He has no other origin. He is the prime cause of all causes. Your servant, Narayani d.d.

My dear vaisnavas, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada! Some wonderful, logical explanations on the difference by Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur. "Some are startled at the idea of worshipping the diety(sri murti). They say, 'It is idolatey to worship the diety, which is an idol made by an artist and introduced by Beelzebub himself. Worshipping such an object would arouse the jealousy of God and limit His omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence.' We reply to them in the following way: "Brothers! Candidly understand the subject and do not allow yourselves to be misled by sectarian dogma. God is not jealous-He is without a second. Beelzebub or Satan is only an imaginary figure or a being used in allegory. An allegorical or imaginary person sould not be allowed to act as an obstacle to bhakti. Those who believe God is impersonal simply identify Him with some power or quality of nature. In fact He is above nature, her laws, and her rules. His holy wish is law, and it is sacrilege to confine His unlimited excellence by identifying Him with such attributes as omnipotence, omnipresence, and omniscience-attributes which may exist in created objects, such as time and space. His excellence is such that He has mutually contradicting powers and qualities which are ruled by His supernatural Self. He is identicle with His all-beautiful person, and His powers of omnipresence, omniscience, and omnipotence cannot be found elsewhere. His holy and perfect person exists eternally in the spiritual world and is simultaneously existing in every created object and place in full. This understanding excels all other ideas about the deity. "Mahaprabhu also ejected idolatry, but considered diety worship to be the only unexceptionable means of spiritual culture. It has been shown that God is personal and all-beautiful. Vyasa and other sages have been seenGod's beauty with their souls' eyes. They have left us descriptions. Of course, words carry the grossness of matter, but truth is perceivable in those descriptions. According to those descriptions one delineates a diety and sees the Supreme Lord of one's heart with intense pleasure. Brothers! Is that wrong or sinful? Those who say that God has no form either material or spiritual and then imagine a false form of worship are idolatrous. But those who see the spiritual form of the deity in their souls' eyes carry that impression as far as possible to the mind and then frame an emblem for the satisfaction of the material eye and for the continual study of higher feelings. They are by means idolatrous. "When you see a deity, do not even see the image itself; see the spiritual form of the image. Then you are a pure theist. Idolatry and deity worship are two different things. But my brothers, you simply confound one with the other in hastiness. To tell you the truth, deity worship is the only true form of worship of the Lord, without which you cannot sufficiently cultivate your religious feelings. The world attracts you through your senses, and as long as you do not see God in the object of your senses, you live in an awkward position, which scarcely helps you secure your spiritual elevation. "Place a deity in your house. Consider God gaurdian of the house and the food that you take His prasadam. The flowers and scents are also His prasada. The eyes, the ears, the nose, the tongue, and the sense of tough can be spiritually satisfied. Worship God with a holy heart. God will know and judge you by your sincerity. In this way, Satan and Beelzebub will have nothing to do with you. "All sorts of worship are based on the principle of deity worship. Look into the history of religion and you will understand this noble truth. The Semitic idea of a patriarchal God, both in the pre-Christian period of Judaism and post-Christian period of Christianity and Mohammedanism, is nothing but a limited idea of deity worship. The monarchic idea of Jupiter among the Romans and Indra among the Aryan karma-kandis is also based on the same principle. The idea of a force and Jyotirmaya Brahma of the meditators and a formless energy of the Shaktas is also a very faint view of the deity. In fact, the deity is the Truth differently exhibited by different people according to their beliefs. Even Jaimini and Compte, who were not prepared to accept a creating God, have prescribed certain forms of deity worship, simply because they were impelled by the soul. And we meet people who have adopted the cross, the salagrama-sila, the lingam, and such emblems as the indicators of the God within. "Furthermore, if divine love, justice, and compassion can be portrayed by teh pencil and expressed by the chisel, why shouldn't the personal beauty of the deity (embracing all other qualities) be portrayed in poetry and in pictures, and carved by the chisel for the benefit of man? If a work proves thought, a watch indicates time, and a sign tells us of history, why shouldn't a picture or a deity bring higher thoughts of and feelings for the transcendental beauty of the Divine Person?" A beautiful explaination. Srila Bhaktivinode Ki Jai!\ Your servant, Naryani d.d.

My dear spirit souls, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. What is the need for offering foodstuffs to the Lord? What is the purpose of honoring mahaprasada? Honoring mahaprasada is not only symbolic of the superior life of teh vaisnavas, but is part of worship, which ordinary theists cannot fully understand. Ordinary men are much inclined to preserve the superiority of reason over the intuitive feelings on man toward the God of love. We must now proceed to show with healthy arguments that our intuitive feelings want to offer everything we eat to the Lord of our Heart. We must first examine the arguments of the antagonists. The rationalists states that God is infinite and without wants, and consequently it is foolish to offer eatables to such a being. It is sacrilege to offer created things to the Creator and thereby degrade the divinity of God, treating HIm as a human being. These are reasonable arguments indeed, and one who has heard them will certainly be inclined to declare to others, "down with mahaprasada." These conclusions, which may appear reasonable, are dry and destructive. They tend to separate us from all connection in worshiping God. When you say that the Infinite wants nothing, you forbid all contemplation and prayer. The Infinite does not want your grateful expressions or flattery. Utter a word to the unconditional Lord and you are sure to degrade Him into a conditioned being. Hymns, prayers, and sermons are all over! Shut your temple door and church gates because our rationalist has advised you to do so. Belive a creative principle and you have done your duty. Oh! What a shame! What a dreadful fall! Theists, beware of these degrading principles! Now the rationalists appears in another form and allows prayers, sermons, psalms, and church going, saying that these things are wanted for the improvement of the soul, but God does not want them at all. We are glad that the rationalist has come toward us and will make furthur approaches in the course of time. Yes, the progressive rationalist has admitted a very broad principle in theology: whatever we do toward God is for our own benefit, and not for the benefit of God, who is not in want of anything. However, the rationalist is a rationalist still and will continue to be so as long as he seeks self-interest. This view, however, smells of utilitarianism and can never be theism. We must love God for God's sake even if our actions appear unreasonable. Our love must be without any goal concerning our selves. This love must be a natural emotion to the deity, as our well-wisher, without interferance or experiance. Salvation, dear as it is, should be the object of this love. What then about other forms of happiness? Love of God is tis own reward. Salvation, as a concominant consequence, must be a servant of love, but we must not look on it as the main goal. If a rationalist is prepared to believe this, he becomes a theists of the vaisnava class, but the mere assuming of a name is of no consequence. Though fully aware of the Lord as completely unconditioned, our holy and sweet principle of love takes a different view of the rationalist. Reason says one thing but love prescribes the opposite. Reason tells me that God has no sorrow, but love sees God in tears for His sons who are misled to evil. Reason tells me that the strict laws of God reward and punish me in a cold manner, but love reveals that God slackens His laws to the repentant soul. Reason tells me that, with all his improvements, the repentant soul will never touch GOd; but love preaches that on teh conversion of the soul into a state of spiritual womanhood, God, unconditioned as He is, accepts an eternal marriage with the liberated soul. Reason tells me that God is in infinite space and time, but love describes that the all beautiful Lord is sitting before us like a respected relative and enjoying the pleasures of society, as a fater in his amusements with his young children. God is spreading all sorts of delicious food all over the earth, and expecting His sons to gather them for their own benifit. But the loving children, out of their holy and unmixed love, gather all the scattered blessings and with strong feelings of love, regardless of reason, offer all the blessings to the Father whom they love more than their lives. The Father again, in reply to their kind feelings, gives back the offering to the children and kindly tells them, "O My children! These blessings are intended for you! Out of your natural love, you bring them to Me for My enjoyment, but naturally I have no wants for you to supply. I have however accepted that part of your offering, which is for Me: your unmixed love and unbiased affections, for which I am exceedingly anxious. Take back these sweet things and enjoy them!" This process of unbiased love, which dry reason can never approach, sanctifies the food we take and bring us harmless enjoyment every day of our natural life! This is a system of sincere worship, which theists of a higher class alone can act upon. We cannot express the joy we often felt when we took the mahaprasada in the temple! The holiness we attach to it is its sweetness and often we pray that all men may enjoy it. Mahaprasadam KI JAI!! Your servant, Narayani d.d.

My dear spirit soul, Doesn't Krsna translate to "All attractive?" Therefore, anything we find attractive and beautiful is included in this name whether it's the wind on the waves or the sweet twittering of birds. The name Krsna encompases all. Your servant, Narayani d.d.

My dear vaisnavas, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. nAdhi-vyAdhi-jarA-glAni- duHkha-Soka-bhaya-klamAH mRtyuS cAnicchatAM nAsId rAme rAjany adhokSaje When Lord Ramacandra, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, was the King of this world, all bodily and mental suffering, disease, old age, bereavement, lamentation, distress, fear and fatigue were completely absent. There was even no death for those who did not want it. Purport: "All these facilities existed because of Lord Ramacandra's presence as the King of the entire world. A similar situation could be introduced imediately, even in this age of Kali, the worst of all ages. It is said, kali-kAle nAma-rUpe kRSNa-avatAra: Krsna descends in this Kali-yuga in the form of His holy name-Hare Krsna, Hare Rama. If we chant offenselessly, Rama and Krsna are still present in this age. The kingdom of Rama was immensely popular and beneficial, and the spreading of this Hare Krsna movement can immediately introduce a similar situation, even in this Kali-yuga." S.B. Canto 9 Ch.10.53 Your servant, Narayani d.d.

My dear spirit souls, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I remember reading somewhere Srila Prabhupada said mental illnesses are a pretty heavy karmic reaction for past sinful activities. The calming vibrations of the HARE KRSNA mantra and Krsna prasadam help. When Srila Prabhupada was preaching on 26 2nd ave. the Hippies would go to morning kirtan to come down from LSD trips. Many said the chanting had a calming effect that allowed a smooth transition back into "reality." Your servant, Narayani d.d.