Smiley

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Teachings attributed to an author are one thing. Rather or not the attributed is historical or rather or not the attributed represents Vaishnavism or something else is an entirely different matter. Such things might be worthy of discussion among reasonable people. That being said - the teachings of Jesus, the best of which are influenced by Buddhism, are not the issue - the issue now is people like you who arrogantly and viscously attack and lambaste people for having a different point of view and wishing to discuss it. If you want to know what Vaishnavism is, please read the book on Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu written by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur. Then read his humble position vis a vis those who would not accept Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Contrast that with your posts in this thread.

No, I don't. I am not attacking anyone. You have equated disagreement with attack. This idea of separating Jesus from the Bible or Mohammed from the Koran is one that I do not agree with and is worthy of discussion. No I did not. I said that I agreed with H.D. Swami Prakashanand Saraswati. Please stop setting up straw men and being offended by them.

Objection noted. Re: Swami Prabhupada, yes it was his opinion that Jesus was a shakyavesa-avatar and he used the same term to describe Mohammed. So if someone doesn't agree with Swami Prabhupada then they have made themselves the topic? I don't think that is reasonable. Ideas are the issue and I don't agree with these ideas. That does not absolve me from the responsibility to be civil however. Since you quoted an authority I will quote one back - H.D. Swami Prakashanand Saraswati - A BIG TIME ACHARYA - has equated the Bible with Greek mythology in his work The Encyclopedia of Authentic Hinduism www.EncyclopediaofAuthenticHinduism.org I share his views on that. BTW, anyone who searches my username can see that I have never made a secret of my views; therefore your statement "It is clear you want to hide behind this author to express your own feelings." is false. If you insist on making ad hominem attacks, at least get them right.

It was not a request. Everyone on this forum is required to control themselves and not engage in ad hominem attacks. I do not have to agree with you about who is an avatar or who is not. I am still a Hindu and there is no one approved viewpoint in Hinduism. I think these kinds of issues are worthy of discussion from all sides. Now back to the subject of the thread ...

Well if you have a recipe for delicious almond milk, please share.

Like the prophecies of Nostradamus, the fulfillment of prophecy is often in the eye of the beholder. Nevertheless, Jews interpret their own prophecies quite differently than Christians do. There is one important point that I think the Jews have been very consistent on - that the messianic age would be known when 'people beat their swords into plowshares and the lion lies down with the lamb'; in other words - when world peace comes. The one who ushers in that age is to be recognized as the 'messiah'. Therefore the Jews still wait for their messiah.

I don't think the author considers himself as such. I think he was engaging in self-deprecating humor in an attempt to disarm people who react emotionally when a sensitive topic is broached. Needless to say - I am not the topic. Therefore I respectfully request that you read at least one chapter of his writings and restrict your comments to them.

Well he seems to admit to being offensive:

I am interested in what people think of the work by Voice of India spokesman Sita Ram Goel: http://www.hamsa.org/artifice-intro.htm The book can be read online or downloaded freely as a .pdf file. Here is the preface:

I for one am not trying to have it both ways. You are simply appealing to your authority (Swami Prabhupada) instead of trying to evaluate the issue objectively. The arguments of Theist are cogent and strong. Apparently Prabhupada is not his authority - neither is he mine. However I must ask this - is their really something wrong with taking the milk from protected cows only? The argument is not against the idea of milk but against taking it from unprotected cows. Milk from unprotected cows is a product of violence. Also it is the demand for such milk that creates male calves for veal. Instead of countering any of these arguments, people are just making appeals to authority and trying to act like Swami Prabhupada would actually be displeased if they took milk only from protected cows! I have heard people engage in similar fallacious reasoning vis a vis vegetarianism because Jesus ("a pure devotee") ate fish (apparently he also ate lamb). How can anyone who supports the US dairy industry preach Dharma to Atheist vegans who don't make any of these rationalizations but prefer to restrict their senses because of their compassion for all living creatures?

There is an interesting debate on this subject here: http://www.indiadivine.org/audarya/spiritual-discussions/454839-cows-milk-again.html

But aren't veal calves a necessary product of the repeated isemination of dairy cattle? Please tell me what should be done with all the male calves that are born as a result of that process. I am sincerely asking for an answer because I don't know if there is a workable economic model that can meet current US demand and also protect cows.

One can't have it both ways. If you support the dairy industry you support the mistreatment of cows and veal production. If milk is important to spiritual development then why not establish KC dairies and only accept milk from them? Wouldn't that satisfy everything? BTW, milk does not contain all vitamins, perhaps Swami Prabhupada was referring to all the essential amino acids.

First of all, relying on what Jesus or Hitler did is not germane to a discussion on principles of Sanatana Dharma. One should follow a guru. If there is no guru then I think sound reasoning should be employed. This is my reasoning: Dairy cows have to be repeatedly impregnated to keep up their milk production. What is to be done with all the male calves which are born as a result of those pregnancies? The answer is that they are kept in tiny veal cages so that they can not move during their entire short and miserable lives - keeping their muscles soft so that the veal is tender. To just go to the market and buy some milk - organic or not - is to be complicit in veal production. That is simply a fact. Those calves are brought into existence because people like dairy. Offering milk produced in that way is offering the produce of terrible violence against cows. Milk production = veal production. If that is not so then tell me what is done with all the male calves that are produced by the impregnated cows. If you have verified knowledge of a milk producer that has found a way around this then please let me know about it. I don't think Shree Vishnu wants me to offer Him the milk of tortured cows any more than He wants me to offer Him the veal which is a direct byproduct of that milk production. Cow torture is not cow protection. http://www.milksucks.com/dump.asp

Those are good reasons and also if you are concerned with karma then you do not want to acquire your food though violence. if you kill yourself or have another kill for you it is the same - violence to please the palate. definitely not the mode of sattva.

Are you just going to defend any law in India simply because it is already in place? India also pays Haj subsidy to help Muslims do pilgrimage but there is no equivalent for poor Hindus who want to do Yatra. Also, although Islam is a minority religion in India - it is the second largest and fastest growing in the world. Therefore they do not need special rights. Also I was not aware of any prohibition of polygamy in Hindu scriptures. Sri Krishna gave special mention to King Janaka as a perfected being although he had hundreds of wives. There are also other examples of polygamy in Hindu scriptures.

I have become convinced that all of the Vedic literature does not harmonize and my frustration ended when I accepted that. As far as "there are no hard and fast rules for chanting these holy names" - I believe that can be attributed to Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and perhaps the many 'hard and fast rules' came from other Vaishnava acharyas who will nonetheless swear that they are upholding that principle.

Please explain what you mean by this: Chanting while sleeping and thinking that rounds are over. and this: Chanting to finish the rounds somehow thank you

The press in India reports on mayhem in a rather peculiar way. They often use words like "communal clashes broke out" without any elucidation as to why the clashes broke out. On occasion of such obfuscation you must wonder if there really were 'clashes' in the straightforward sense of the word or have perhaps members of one religious community actually gone into a homicidal rage and targeted easily identifiable members of another community. Of course playing fast and loose with the facts may be the way the press tries to keep simmering communal tensions in check ... but it seems that unless the underlying cause of all this tension (between Hindus and Muslims) is actually addressed it may eventually serve as a catalyst for another horrific partition of India. Here is one 'complete' press report: By contrast, Hindu Samhati seems to shed more light on what may actually have happened:

Well Swami Ramdev has sworn off sex, saying "it is not love". However many Westerners claim that Hatha Yoga makes gives them a better sex life. Perhaps it depends on the individual?

I agree with you Theist; and the homosexuals are pushing their agenda worldwide. They were not satisfied with decriminalization - they want to brainwash everyone into seeing their carnal relationships as equivalent to heterosexual marriage. Sometimes they are very subtle with their arguments, such as Perhaps all of this nonsense will hasten the advent of Sri Kalki.

How about 'sriman' and 'sripad'? What do they mean?

Hindu guru claims homosexuality can be 'cured' by yoga The world's most popular Hindu guru, Swami "Baba" Ramdev, has claimed homosexuality can be "cured" by yoga in a petition to India's Supreme Court. www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/5780028/Hindu-guru-claims-homosexuality-can-be-cured-by-yoga.html Yogevangelist Swami Ramdev Protests Homosexuality, Claims it a ‘Defect’ ‘Cured’ with Yoga www.yogadork.com/2009/07/09/yogevangelist-swami-ramdev-protests-homosexuality-claims-it-a-defect-to-be-cured-with-yoga

sant it is you that is "talking through emotions" and you are trying to project that on me. Try to read carefully what I actually say. I never said who I believed lived or did not. I already said that believing someone lived and believing that they are relevant are two different things. Then you start talking about if someone existed or not. I do not want to debate that with you since someone already has debated that with you. I do not care if someone who is irrelevant to my beliefs and practices existed or not. Many people existed in ancient times - it does not mean that they attained any kind of realization or that there is any good basis for believing they performed miracles or that any of the other mythology associated with that personality has any factual basis. Forgive me but I do not know how to be more clearer than I have been.