Narayanidd

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.

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My dear spirit soul, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. You wrote "Why do you need to worship...I repeat"worship" so many gods, when you say you have just one supreme being...Krsna?" As a gaudiya vaisnava I must say that we do not worship many gods. We worship Lord Krsna. Yes, we honor and show great respect to great deings as Lord Siva, Lord Brahma, and Hanuman not because we think them God but because they are very advanced devotees and representatives of Lord Krsna. We do not worship then in the temple. The Lord said one who claims to be My devotee is not My devotee but, the one who claims to be the devotee of My devotee he is My devotee. There is only one God, Allah, and Muhammed is His prophet, right? You show much respect to Muhammed because he is a pure devotee of Allah. So vaisnavas show great respect Lord Siva, Hanuman, and also Muhammed and Lord Jesus Christ because they are pure devotees of the Lord. Whether He is called Allah or Krsna, God is one. thank you. Your servant, Narayani d.d. 0

My dear spirit soul, Please accepy my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. From Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 2, Ch.6 31-35 Lord Brahma talking to Narada Muni narayaNe bhagavati tad idaM visvam Ahitam gRhIta-mAyoru-guNaH sargAdAv aguNaH svataH All the material manifestations of the universes are therefore situated in His powerful material energies, which He accepts self-sufficiently, although He is eternally without affinity for the material modes. sRjAmi tan-niyukto 'haM haro harati tad-vaSaH viSvaM puruSa-rUpeNa paripAti tri-Sakti-dhRk By His will, I create, Lord Siva destroys, and He Himself, in His eternal form as the Personality of Godhead, maintains everything. He is the powerful controller of these three energies. purport: "The conception of one without a second is clearly confirmed here. The one is Lord Vasudeva, and only by His different energies and expansions are different manifestations, both in the material and in the spiritual worlds, maintained. In the material world also, Lord Vasudeva is everything, as stated in the Bhagavad-gita (7.19). Vasudevah sarvam iti: Everything is Vasudeva only. In the vedic hyms also the same Vasudeva is held to be supreme. It is said in the Vedas, vasudevat paro brahman na nanyo 'rtho 'sti tattvatah: in fact there is no greater truth than Vasudeva. And Lord Krsna affirms the same truth in the Bhagavad-gita (7.7). Mattah parataram nanyat: "There is nothing above Me [Lord Krsna]." So the conception of oneness, as overly stressed by the imersonalists, is also accepted by the personalist devotee of the Lord. The difference is that the impersonalist denies personality in the ultimate issue, whereas the devotee gives more importance to the Personality of Godhead. Srimad Bhagavatam explains this truth in the verse under discussion: Lord Vasudeva is one without a second, but because He is all powerful, He can expand Himself as well as desplay His omnipotencies. The Lord is described here as omnipotent by three energies (tri-sakti-dhrk). So primarily His three energies are internal, marginal, and external. This is also displayed in the three modes of goodness, passion, and ignorance. Similarily, the internal potency is also displayed in three spiritual modes-samvit, sandhini, and hladini. The marginal potency, or the living entities, is also spiritual (prakrtim viddhi me param), but the living entities are never equal to the Lord. The Lord is nirasta-samya-atisaya; in other words, no one is greater than or equal to the Supreme Lord. So living entities, including even suchreat personalities as Lord Brahma and Lord Siva, are all subordinate to the Lord. In the material world also, in His eternal form of Visnu, He maintains and controls all the affairs of the demigods, including Brahma and Siva." iti te 'bhihitaM tAta yathedam anupRcchasi nAnyad bhagavataH kiNcid bhAvyaM sad-asad-Atmakam My dear son, whatever you inquired from me I have thus explained unto you, and you must know for certain that whatever there is (either as cause or as effect, both in the material and spiritual worlds) is dependent on the Supreme Personality of Godhead. na bhAratI 'Nga mRSopalakSyate na vai kvacin me manaso mRSA gatiH na me hRSIkANi patanty asat-pathe yan me hRdautkaNThyavatA dhRto hariH O Narada, because I have caught hold of the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, with great zeal, whatever I say has never proved to have been false. Nor is the progress of my mind ever deterred. Nor are my senses ever degraded by temporary attachment to matter. so 'haM samAmnAyamayas tapomayaH prajApatInAm abhivanditaH patiH AsthAya yagaM nipuNaM samAhitas taM nAdhyagacchaM yata Atma-sambhavaH Although I am known as the great Brahma, perfect in the disciplic succession of Vedic wisdom, and although I have undergone all austerities and am an expert in mystic powers and self-realization, and although I am recognized as such by the great forefathers of the living entities, who offer me respectful obeisances, still I cannot understan HIm, the Lord, the very source of my birth. thank you. Your servant, Narayani d.d.

My dear spirit soul, 72 virgins in heaven? I am not at all familiar with the reference could you please give more info? thanks, your servant, Narayani d.d.

My dear spirit soul, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabupada. We are here in this material world because we wanted to be the enjoyer and not the servant of Lord Krsna. Krsna is not punishing us by sending us here. Krsna loves us so much that He has fulfilled our desire of wanting to enjoy. He creates this material world for us souls to try to enjoy. We must realize that without serving Krsna there is no true enjoyment. We are born, grow old, become diseased, and die only to repeate the process again. It is like a child that wants to touch a flame. The father says "It's hot don't touch." but still the child must touch and get burned. So we wanted to try to enjoy without Krsna. He'll let us try in this material world but it won't happen. Now that we have gained this human birth we are blessed to have the understanding by which we can return to Lord Krsna. In kali-yuga one must perform the sankirtana yajna or the chanting of the Lord's names. HARE KRSNA HARE KRSNA KRSNA KRSNA HARE HARE HARE RAMA HARE RAMA RAMA RAMA HARE HARE. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu said in kali yuga this is the only way. Bhakti yoga is the path and the destination. The soul and paramatma are compared to two birds in a tree. One bird is only trying to eat the fruits of the tree the other is there watching. When we can realize there is no real enjoyment in the fruits of this material world we will notice the other bird and realize it has always been there with us. The Lord has given us free will He will let us make our mistakes. Once we take complete shelter of Him, though, He will protect us from all kinds of trouble and harm.

My dear spirit soul, You asked: "How did that knowledge get lost over the period of time? Why wasn't the knowledge transferred from one generation to the next?" According to Bhagavatam SrI Suka uvAca tataS cAnu-dinaM dharmaH satyaM SaucaM kSama dayA kAlena balinA rAjan naNkSyaty Ayur balaM smRtiH Sukadeva Gosvami said: Then, O king, religion, truthfulness, cleanliness, tolerence, mercy, duration of life, physical strength and memory will diminish day by day because of the powerful influence of the age of Kali.(12,2:1) Sending such powerful weapons by sound took much control and memory. By just hearing the scriptures once Arjuna could understand and remember it all. Kali-yugas influence is very evedent. I write things down to remember them and still I will forget. We just don't have the mental or physical ability to use such technology. Here is some more examples that science was more advanced during "ancient" times. sata eva padArthasya svarUpAvasthitasya yat kaivalyaM parama mahan aviSeSo nirantaraH Atoms are the ultimate state of the manifest universe. When they stay in their own forms without forming different bodies, they are called the unlimited oneness. There are certainly different bodies in physical forms, but the atoms themselves for the complete manifestation. evaM kAlo 'py anumitaH saukSmye sthaulye ca sattama saMsthAna-bhuktya bhagavAn avyakto vyakta-bhug vibhuH One can estimate time by measuring the movement of the atomic combination of bodies. Time is the potency of the Almighty Personality of Godhead, Hari, who controls all physical movement although He is not visible in the physical world. sa kAlaH paramANur vai yo bhunkte paramANutAm sato 'viSeSa-bhug yas tu sa kAlaH paramo mahAn Atomic time is measured according to its covering a particular atomic space. That time which covers the unmanifest aggregate of atoms is called the great time. "Time and space are two correlative terms. Time is measured in terms of its covering a certain space of atoms." We can see by the above verses that "ancient" vedic culture was aware of atoms, molecules, and the relationships between time and space. Thank you. Your servant, Narayani d.d.

My dear vaisnava, I don't think Lord Krsna's name or image could ever be "turned into mundane art." Hare Krsna. Your servant, Narayani d.d.

Canto 1, Ch.8 text 10-11 UttrA speaking to Lord Krsna after ASvatthAmA shot the brahmAstra. abhidravati mAm ISa Saras taptAyaso vibho kAmaM dahatu mAM nAtha mA me garbho nipAtyatAm O my Lord, You are all-powerful. A fiery iron arrow is coming towards me fast. My Lord, let it burn me personally, if You so desire, but please do not let it burn me personally, if You so desire, but please do not let it burn and abort my embryo. Please do me this favor, My Lord. sUta uvAca upadhArya vacas tasyA bhagavAn bhakta-vatsalaH apANDavam idaM kartuM drauNer astram abudhyata Suta Gosvami said: Having patiently heard her words, Lord Sri Krsna, who is always very affectionate to His devotees, could at once understand that Asvatthama, the son of Dronacarya, had throw the brahmastra to finish the last life in the Pandava family. Purport "The brahmastras are finer than the nuclear weapons. Asvatthama discharged the brahmastra simply to kill the Pandavas, namely the five brothers headed by Maharaj Yudisthira and their only grandson, who was lying in the womb of Uttra. Therefore the brahmastra, more effective and finer than the atomic weapons, was not as blind as the atomic bombs. When atomic bombs are discharged they do not discriminate between the target and others. Mainly the atomic bombs do harm to the innocent because there is no control. The brahmastra is not like that. It marks out the target and proceeds accordingly without harming the innocent...The brahmastra, the supreme weapon released by Asvatthama, was something similar to the nuclear weapon but with more radiation and heat. This brahmastra is the product of a more subtle science, being the product of a finer sound..." We know for a fact that physical things have a certain vibration and that certain vibrations can destroy. For example in the 1920's i believe there was a bridge in Washington or Oregon that was literally torn apart because the wind blowing through the canyon it spand created the right sound to destroy it. The footage was incredible. A massive concrete and steel structure was moving like cloth in the wind. At present we don't have the technology to control sound or harness it as a weapon but Bhagavatam clearly states that the science of sending weapons by just a vibration of sound was known and used. More advanced? Definately. I'll try to find more referances. Your servant, Narayani d.d.

My dear vaisnavas, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. That is a very good question that I will research. As far as I have read the gopis did not ever see Krsna as a friend but only as a beloved. I don't remember reading in any scripture of Lord Krsna having a "female" friend. Women either wanted to be His mother, His consort, or His humble servant. If anyone knows of an example please post I would love to know more. thanks. Your servant, Narayani d.d.

My dear Enlightened, Please accept my humble obeisances at you feet. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. Interesting, I think I grasp your meaning more clearly. I will think things through and make my reply accordingly:) Your servant, Narayani d.d.

My dear spirit soul, please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. This is a very interesting topic. I enjoy the sciences and of course Krsna katha. I will take up the challenge and seek out some scriptural references for you. Thanks for the challenge. Your servant, Narayani d.d.

My dear guest, I delieve you have misunderstood my meaning. I had no intention of being "negative" by suggesting that material relationships are temporary. Nor was I implying that we should ignore material relationships. We are after all in the material world. Of course I agree we need to cultivate relationships in this world. It is only natural, however, if we can infuse these relationships with Krsna consciousness how wonderful for that union. Also, this thread is regarding soulmates hence my posting that material relationships are temporary. It has been my observation in reading Srila Prabhupada's books that something like a soulmate exists. For example, Vasudeva and Devaki (Lord Krsna's parents) went through several lifetimes as husband and wife. I have noticed, though, these "soulmates" were all very advanced devotees of the Lord who appeared together for a purpose. I don't honestly know if us conditioned souls trapped in material nature would be so gifted. We are compared to straws in a river; momentarily coming together then quickly scattering apart. We are in this world because our desire to lord it over material nature. We each have our OWN karmic debt to pay. If you feel a special connection with someone JAI! We should all be so lucky to meet a kindred spirit. Hopefully that kindred spirit can help on our journey back to the Lord and not be a hinderance by distracting us from Krsna! Your servant, Narayani d.d.

My dear guest, I delieve you have misunderstood my meaning. I had no intention of being "negative" by suggesting that material relationships are temporary. Nor was I implying that we should ignore material relationships. We are after all in the material world. Of course I agree we need to cultivate relationships in this world. It is only natural, however, if we can infuse these relationships with Krsna consciousness how wonderful for that union. Also, this thread is regarding soulmates hence my posting that material relationships are temporary. It has been my observation in reading Srila Prabhupada's books that something like a soulmate exists. For example, Vasudeva and Devaki (Lord Krsna's parents) went through several lifetimes as husband and wife. I have noticed, though, these "soulmates" were all very advanced devotees of the Lord who appeared together for a purpose. I don't honestly know if us conditioned souls trapped in material nature would be so gifted. We are compared to straws in a river; momentarily coming together then quickly scattering apart. We are in this world because our desire to lord it over material nature. We each have our OWN karmic debt to pay. If you feel a special connection with someone JAI! We should all be so lucky to meet a kindred spirit. Hopefully that kindred spirit can help on our journey back to the Lord and not be a hinderance by distracting us from Krsna! Your servant, Narayani d.d.

My dear spirit soul, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada! You asked, "What is salvation and why do we bother?" and "...how do we gain something that has already been established in our heart in the first place?" "A pure devotee of the Lord caonstantly sees the presence of the Lord within himself because of being transcendentally related by loving service. Such a pure devotee cannot forget the Lord for a moment...A devotee more easily attains this state by constantly remembering the Lord's personal feature along with His holy name, fame, pastimes, etc. Therefore the concentration of the mystic yogi [for example] and that of the devotee are not on the same level. The concentration of the mystic is mechanical, whereas that of the pure devotee is natural in pure love and spontaneous affection." While we are in this material world entangled with material nature we need a goal to strive for; something to focus on. It is material nature to desire. Better to desire to go back home back to Godhead right? As we become purified and get closer and closer to the goal, pure love for God, our attachment to Him will become more natural and spontaneous. It will no longer matter what or where we are, we will only be thinking of Lord Krsna and wishing to engage in HIs service. There aren't many out there that are born with the natural and sontaneous desire to Love Krsna with our whole being. Seeking "salvation" gets us one the path of rendering devotional service. The more advance in our service we become the less we'll care about ""salvation" and the more we will desire to render more service to the Lord. Devotional service is both the path and the goal. hope this helps. Your servant, Narayani d.d.

My dear vaisnava, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. In response to your post. Yes, what "sex" one is does pretain to the bodily platform however, the gopas and gopis are not on that platform. The difference arises from each souls eternal relation with the Lord. The soul who's desire is to serve the Lord through congugal relations is a gopi and the soul that wishes to serve the Lord as a friend is a gopa. Both are pure devotees of the Lord the only difference is how they choose to worship Him. hope this helps. Your servant, Narayani d.d.

My dear spirit souls, The nature of material relationships is such: "The illusioned living being conditioned by material nature cannot understand out of ignorance that all our relations here in the mundane world are temporary and full of inebrieties. Such relations cannot help us be happy perpetually, but if the same relation is established with the Lord, the we are transfered to the transcendental world after leaving this material body and become eternally related with Him in the relation we desire." Also I don't think Srila Prabhupada could have been any "better off." He was a pure devotee of Lord Krsna what more does one need? He did have soul mates with him always, his guru maharaj and Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu! your servant, Narayani d.d.

My dear spirit souls, The nature of material relationships is such: "The illusioned living being conditioned by material nature cannot understand out of ignorance that all our relations here in the mundane world are temporary and full of inebrieties. Such relations cannot help us be happy perpetually, but if the same relation is established with the Lord, the we are transfered to the transcendental world after leaving this material body and become eternally related with Him in the relation we desire." Also I don't think Srila Prabhupada could have been any "better off." He was a pure devotee of Lord Krsna what more does one need? He did have soul mates with him always, his guru maharaj and Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu! your servant, Narayani d.d.

Hare Krsna, In response to your idea that mental speculation is responsible for our having freedom, liberty, and pusuit of happiness: Do we REALLY have these things in the material world? I doubt it. mental speculation is the reason why we have become entangled with material nature in the first place. Our speculation that "I am the enjoyer,I can lord it over material nature,Why can't I enjoy as Lord Krsna does?" Mental speculation is cause of much suffering. your servant, Narayani d.d.

Just realized I forgot so sign in:)

My dear vaisnavas, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. If I'm not mistaken Allah means "most merciful." How can this not be a name for the Lord who is the most merciful in all the worlds? Even if those who chant this name, with their hearts full of hate, does not mean it is not a name for the Lord; who has innumerable names. Your servant, Narayani d.d. p.s. I have "Hare Krsna" tattooed in sanskrit on my neck. A follower of Islam stopped me and said that it was the same as Allah but with the line on top.

My dear vaisnavas, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. In response to "wars in the material world cannot be avoided. It is better to take side of one who is more dharmi than the other." In this age of kali-yuga NO war has dharma. We are all full of ignorance. I had not intended to imply that one should ignore the current situation and just go off and chant thinking only of one's own spiritual advancement. Srila Prabhupada said that the Krsna conscious movement is the best welfare work in this world. Bringing God conscoiusness to all would improve the world's current state of affairs better than any war could ever do. Sankirtan or congregational chanting is one way to spread this God consciousness. As Srimad Bhagavatam states chanting is the one glory in this age. Sri Caitanya was so merciful that he spread the sankirtana yajna freely to all. It is in our power and, our duty to help continue in this mission. A great vaisnava quality is compassion. In the eighth canto it is described that a vaisnava is unhappy to see the suffering of others and will even put his own welfare at risk to help relieve that suffering. To relieve suffering, spreading God consciousness is the only way. While these crooked and corrupt politicians terrorize the earth vaisnavas should strengthen all efforts to bring Lord Caitanya's sankirtan yajna to every town and village. Your servant, Narayani d.d.

My dear vaisnavas, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada! The current situation of the world is certainly a sad state of affairs. Srimad Bhagavatam 12th canto ch.3 most clearly describes the age of kali. It is very relavent to the current events going on in the middle east. text 1: Sukadeva Goswami said: Seeing the kings of this earth busy trying to conquer her, the earth herself laughed. She said "Just see how these kings, who are actually playthings in the hands of death, are desiring to conquer me." text 2: "Great rulers of men, even those who are learned, meet frustration and failure because of material lust. Driven by lust these kings place great hope and faith in the dead lump of flesh called the body, even though the material frame is as fleeting as bubbles of foam on water." text 5: "After conquering all the land on my suface, these proud kings forcibly enter the ocean to conquer the sea itself. What is the use of their self-control, which is aimed at political exploitation? The actual goal of self-control is spiritual liberation." text 7: "For the sake of conquering me, materialistic persons fight one another. Fathers oppose their sons, and brothers fight one another, because their hearts are bound to possessing political power." text 8: "Political leaders challenge one another: 'All this land is mine! It's not yours, you fool!' Thus they attack one another and die." But fear not Srimad Bhagavatam doesn't leave us only with these dire statements. There is hope. text 51: kaler dosa-nidhe rajann asti hy eko mahan gunah kirtanad eva krsnasya mukta-sangah param vrajet "My dear King, although Kali-yuga is an ocean of faults, there is still one good quality about this age: Simply by chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra, one can become free from material bondage and be promoted to the transcendental kingdom." Your servant, Narayani d.d.

It is a quality of a vaisnava to feel compassion for the suffering living entities. A vaisnava wants to relieve that suffering even at the risk of personal harm. The only way to completely relieve all suffering is by spreading the glories of the Lord to all the conditioned souls. YS, Narayani d.d.