Smiley
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Posts posted by Smiley
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Thank you for sharing that thehat!
Here try this link, maybe it'll help you out.Dharma self defense: http://www.stephen-knapp.com/dharma_self_defense.htm
It seems to be designed for the main purpose of refuting christian arguments against hinduism/sanatan dharma.
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... Can someone kindly provide the info from bhagavtam ??Here,in pune,Iskon refuses to sell single cantos.The entire set is quite expensive............
ranjeetmore, you can easily (and cheaply) print out each canto if you don't need the Sanskrit and purports. If you do want the Sanskrit and purports, you will find that each text here links to the corresponding Sanskrit pronunciation, word for word transliterations, translation and purports of Swami Prabhupada: www.SrimadBhagavatam.org
If you don't need print-friendly and just want to read the entire Bhagavatam online then: www.PrabhupadaBooks.com
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...ALLAH AKBAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GOD IS GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
OH, yes we agree and bow down to ALLAH!!!!!!!!!
Sonic Yogi, do you also accept the teachings of the Koran,
including its doctrine that Allah is disgusted with the
worshipers of images?
Allah is Krishna.Krishna is Allah.
Allah akbar!!!!!!!!!!
Allah (the ONE God) Akbar (is great)
Definitely, Allah, the ONE God whose name is Krishna is GREAT!!!!(akbar)
ALLAH AKBAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GOD IS GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
OH, yes we agree and bow down to ALLAH!!!!!!!!!
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By François Gautier
16 Mar 2009
WHY did a film like Slumdog Millionaire, which conveys an utterly negative image of India — slums, exploitation, poverty, corruption, anti Muslim pogroms — create so many waves in the West, pre and post Oscars? And why does not the Indian government protest, as the Chinese would indeed have, for a twisted and perverted portrayal of its own reality? There are several answers: When the missionaries began to evangelise India, they quickly realised that Hinduism was not only practised by a huge majority, but that it was so deeply rooted that it stood as the only barrier to their subjugating the entire subcontinent.
They therefore decided to demonise the religion, by multiplying what they perceived as its faults, by one hundred: caste, poverty, child marriage, superstition, widows, sati … Today, these exaggerations, which at best are based on quarter-truths, have come down to us and have been embedded not only in the minds of many Westerners, but also unfortunately, of much of India’s intelligentsia.
We Westerners continue to suffer from a superiority complex over the socalled Third World in general and India in particular. Sitting in front of our television sets during prime time news, with a hefty steak on our table, we love to feel sorry for the misery of others, it secretly flatters our ego and makes us proud of our so-called ‘achievements’.
That is why books such as The City of Joy by Dominique Lapierre, which gives the impression that India is a vast slum, or a film like Slumdog Millionaire, have such an impact.
In this film, India’s foes have joined hands. Today, billions of dollars that innocent Westerners give to charity are used to convert the poorest of India with the help of enticements such as free medical aid, schooling and loans.
If you see the Tamil Nadu coast posttsunami, there is a church every 500 metres. Once converted, these new Christians are taught that it is a sin to enter a temple, do puja, or even put tilak on one’s head, thus creating an imbalance in the Indian psyche (In an interview to a British newspaper, Danny Boyle confessed he wanted to be a Christian missionary when he was young and that he is still very much guided by these ideals — so much for his impartiality).
Islamic fundamentalism also ruthlessly hounds India, as demonstrated by the 26/11 attacks on Mumbai, which are reminiscent of the brutality and savagery of a Timur, who killed 1,00,000 Hindus in a single act of savagery.
Indian communists, in power in three states, are also hard at work to dismantle India’s cultural and spiritual inheritance. And finally, the Americanisation of India is creating havoc in the social and cultural fabric with its superficial glitter, even though it has proved a failure in the West. Slumdog plays cleverly with all these elements.
Many of the West’s India-specialists are staunchly anti-Hindu, both because of their Christian upbringing and also as they perpetuate the tradition of Max Mueller, the first ‘Sankritist’ who said: “The Vedas is full of childish, silly, even monstrous conceptions. It is tedious, low, commonplace, it represents human nature on a low level of selfishness and worldliness and only here and there are a few rare sentiments that come from the depths of the soul”.
This tradition is carried over by Indologists such as Witzel or Wendy Doniger in the US, and in France where scholars of the state-sponsored CNRS, and its affiliates such as EHESS, are always putting across in their books and articles detrimental images of India: caste, poverty, slums — and more than anything — their pet theories about ‘Hindu fundamentalism’.
Can there be a more blatant lie? Hinduism has given refuge throughout the ages to those who were persecuted at home: the Christians of Syria, the Parsees, Armenians, the Jews of Jerusalem, and today the Tibetans, allowing them all to practise their religion freely.
And finally, it is true that Indians, because they have been colonised for so long (unlike the Chinese) lack nationalism.
Today much of the intellectual elite of India has lost touch with its cultural roots and looks to the West to solve its problems, ignoring its own tools, such as pranayama, hata-yoga or meditation, which are very old and possess infinite wisdom.
Slumdog literally defecates on India from the first frame. Some scenes exist only in the perverted imagery of director Danny Boyle, because they are not in the book of Vikas Swarup, an Indian diplomat, on which the film is based. In the book, the hero of the film (who is not Muslim, but belongs to many religions: Ram Mohammad Thomas) does not spend his childhood in Bombay, but in a Catholic orphanage in Delhi. Jamal’s mother is not killed by “Hindu fanatics’, but she abandons her baby, of unknown religion, in a church. Jamal’s torture is not an idea of the television presenter, but of an American who is after the Russian who bought the television rights of the game. The tearful scene of the three children abandoned in the rain is also not in the book: Jamal and his heroine only meet when they are teenagers and they live in an apartment and not in a slum.
And finally, yes, there still exists in India a lot of poverty and glaring gaps between the very rich and the extremely poor, but there is also immense wealth, both physical, spiritual and cultural — much more than in the West as a matter of fact.
When will the West learn to look with less prejudice at India, a country that will supplant China in this century as the main Asian power? But this will require a new generation of Indologists, more sincere, less attached to their outdated Christian values, and Indians more proud of their own culture and less subservient to the West.
François Gautier
© Copyright 2008 ExpressBuzz
http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/print.aspx?artid=10ACvtR0cZA=
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I am looking for a realible source to convert my first Child's name ""jacob thomas"" into Hindi. I will be using this for a tattoo. can anyone help.Regards
Stan:idea:
Jacob was the most popular male name in 2002 and Thomas was number 36
(I am sure that means in the United States, definitely not in places like Asia)
Their meanings and origins can be found here: http://www.name-meanings.com/
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maha_shakti, I have personally met Sri Mata Amritanandamayi and I can ascertain to you that she is a genuine siddha with all attainments. Everyone does not know this however; many people think that she is just a simple woman with a kind heart. Many of the people who she has revealed herself to have a more complete picture. Go to get her darshan if you can. Her devotees have convinced her to visit them in different cities around the world and so she will eventually be coming to a city that may be convenient for you:
Home Page
Yatra
Hi all,Has anyone of you made contact with any siddhas. From what I know I am not very sure if there are Siddhas who have achieved the following.
1) Realized the true self i.e. realizing that they are one with the universe and no seperate from it.
2) Attained all 8 siddhis.
3) No attachment to anything material, complete renunciate.
It is said that in Kali yuga it is very difficult to find genuine Siddhas. If you know of someone or connect me to someone please do share information with me.
Thanks.
Regards.
Sadhak.
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Precisely! By only doing it Himself which could be easily accomplished through death during sleep, accidents, illness, wild animals or natural disasters ('acts of God'), etc. according to a persons karma - no one will ever think that they are justified in doing it for Him. An all-knowing being knows that if He ever told people to kill women, children and non-combatants, it wouldn't just stop with the instances that He actually ordered. That is why the All-Knowing One stated unequivocably that "one who knows the principles of religion" does not kill a boy, a woman, a foolish creature or a surrendered soul. Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 1.7.36
I guess if God needs to kill or slay, He will just do that. There's no need at all for us humans to do the job for Him. Religion that incites violence or condones violence performed by humans in the past, seems to have gone wrong somewhere down the road.. -
Thank you for sharing that. You introduced me to the Gita Mahatmya years ago
and it still inspires me - I still chant the Gita daily! Thank you so much!!
dear all-who-love-singing-slokashare krsna
pamho agtsp!
please see this text+audio of Ch 2 of the Gita in a very easy-to-sing-along style. The text is in large Simplified Romanized Sanskrit [sRS] : -
at http://gitasingalong.on.to/
you can get a soft copy of my Gita Slokas Book at
www(dot)dinasgitabook.on.to
and of the Vishnu Sahasranama Stotra, also in SRS format (attached file at footer of message) at
if you'd like to know a little more about [sRS] please see this interview
<embed id="VideoPlayback" src="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=320595243214753894&hl=en&fs=true" style="width: 400px; height: 326px;" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash">
happy chanting & Hare krishna!
your humble servant
dina anukampana das
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I believe this is the original, unaltered version of Srila Prabhupada's Bhagavad Gita: www.asitis.com
Everyone can read it online for free.
I have only read 1 version of Prabhuapada's translation of the Gita. I compare to other translations and the words - indeed the entire meaning of the verses - vary... expected, as the translator may knowingly or unknowingly put his/her own thoughts into it.I just wanted to analyse this deeper; let's take Prabhupada's translations first - have these changed significantly over the years? (question prompted by someone's post in another thread, pointing to 1972 Gita - why that one in particular?)
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Narasingh,
I really appreciate the time and efforts of you and everyone else who has contributed to this thread -
even those who I do not agree with. We will never completely agree on all of these issues but I do
respect your scholarly presentation and realize that your views are an important part of our Dharma.
I look forward to reading your blog or website.
Please don't put down your pen. I thank you for your clarifications. I don't consider you a bigot by any sense, and to clarify why I addressed my statement to you, it was to remain in context with your queries, and not the get involved in a spin-off with other posters.I agree that the morality of Abrahamism's contemporary teachings is and should be under scrutiny, in as much as Vedic moralities have come under scrutiny and reform. In that Allah and Jehovah are inexorably tied to Abrahamism, you'd have to debunk the whole notion that they are in any way addressing the Absolute Creator rather than serving as a reform.
I don't quite see your equation of Zeus and Odin to Param Ishvara, though. It is my understanding that both Zeus and Odin share their capacities with other gods in a clearly pantheistic way. Thus they have yet to be considered as Deva Deva or God of Gods, or it remains to be seen by a representation of either Zeus or Odin by a person of their faith.
Your question, in this regard, is one of depth. Not easily addressed. It is still a revolving door in the Hindu community as well, with the discussions of who is Param Ishvara/Ishvari, Shiva or Vishnu or Shakti.
Back to your original question regarding meditation and Yoga.
What I said about Sri Caitanya pertains to this. He isn't the only one to prescribe the cleansing of the lens to soul's heart, although He is certainly one who put great emphasis on Hari Nama and mantra japa as a means to do so.
This cleansing of the lens is what the end purpose of Yoga is.
Upon deeper inspection regarding Vishnu and morbid offerings, you'll find the revelation of Arjuna as he witnessed the Vishwarup to be particular as he watched Vishwarup devouring the men of Kurukshetra with His mouth, their heads being crushed by his teeth. Is this not Vishnu? Vishnu is death, life and everything in between and outside.
Yoga should instill in us an awareness of the true nature of things. The soul is not the body. Designations such as cat, dog, man, woman, father, daughter, are all temporary designations. Our life in this framework is precarious.
Meat eating and the sacrificial slaughtering of animals is gradually deemed obsolete since its foundation is the offering of our most cherished desires to God. Gradually, as one evolves, they will find that they no longer desire as much, especially the desire to benefit from the pain of other creatures of God. They will see that in God's request of sacrifice from us it is really a request of self-sacrifice since we obviously cherish ourselves above all else.
Compassion, tolerance, cleanliness, and truthfulness are encouraged in both Buddhism and Vaishnavism. It has been understood and shown that those who are compassionate, tolerant, clean and truthful are happy, and that those who are aDharma are not. Even a rudimentary analysis will provide for this. These are qualities which are respected world wide, not only Abrahamic or Hindu.
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I completely agree and since most Christians seem to simply follow the New Testament I will not criticize them (unless they attack Sanatana Dharma). This is because I believe that Sri Vishnu accepts their sacrifice as He does mine - "If anyone with love and devotion offers me a leaf, a fruit or a flower I will accept it." The fact that many Christians will indeed go to the mat in defense of the Old Testatment ("it reveals God's holy character") creates cognitive dissonance within me since I am philosophically wired; therefore I try to avoid those discussions with them as much as possible.
The general perception of Abrahamism displayed above, drives people away from religion and towards atheism, or indeed towards 'religious' violence. True religion must be truly believable. The Old Testament (Tanakh, Koran) was rewritten many times, so we really cannot trust its source or purpose as a historical document. The Christian New Testament is of course much younger and its message is clearly one of love, devotion, and nonviolence. It seems to be much more compatible with Vaishnavism and bhakti yoga..
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Narasingh,
I think a few clarifications are in order: 1. I am not a follower of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu but I do like certain paintings of Sri Krishna. 2. It is not my intention to convince my brother of anything but to make an adequate, reasoned defense of Sanatana Dharma. If that somehow or another plants a seed which sprouts into deeper thinking at some future point - so be it. I am not out to convert him at all and that attitude would only confirm what many Christians already fear - that Hindus, Buddhists, etc. have that as their agenda 3. I am not stuck on names, idioms, words, etc. I prefer to use the revealed names of Sri Vishnu and I think it would be presumptuous for me to go beyond that. My only issue with other people using the names of Jehovah and Allah are that they are inexorable with the Bible and the Koran, both of which call for the slaughter of innocents and describe Jehovah and Allah as jealous and disgusted with the worshipers of images. That being said, I have no doubt that the same being which resides in me resides equally within everyone including Christians and Muslims, many of which are no doubt more pious than I am. That doesn't change in the least any of my arguments against the teachings of the Abrahamic literatures - teachings which should be subjected to moral scrutiny. To reiterate - my views are based upon what I think are dangerous and morally flawed teachings. I am trying to do philosophy here - if that makes me like "any other bigot" in your eyes - so be it. Unless you want to address those issues and the other points which I raised (i.e. Zeus, Odin, Elvis Presley and Sai Baba) then I should rest my pen now rather than spin my wheels.
Smiley,Forgive me, (those who are not adherents to the philosophy of Sri Caitanya) but I believe that, inherently, Sri Caitanya addresses this subject, most authoritatively, in many ways through Krsna Das Kaviraj in Sri Caitanya Caritamrta. Sri Caitanya does not go through, systematically stating that people don't believe in God. He acknowleges their belief in Parabhraman, Sri Krsna, albeit by different names and approaches, then questions why they don't sensitively and sensibly approach faith wholeheartedly.
It is on this ground of sensibility, sensitivity, and wholeheartedness that a person can establish a refutation. Anything else will be the same thing that any other bigot can accomplish.
The point being, B.G. 4.11
ye yatha mam prapadyante
tams tathaiva bhajamy aham
mama vartmanuvartante
manusyah partha sarvasah
All of them--as they surrender unto Me--I reward accordingly. Everyone follows My path in all respects, O son of Prtha.
This is a great meditation to maintain when trying to establish why you follow Sri Caitanya's philosophy.
Upon establishing the authority of the Supreme, you can then use philosophy and logic to establish the wholesome ways of devoting one's self to the Supreme.
It is accepted that Buddha was right in that one need no longer sacrifice animals. True sacrifice comes from within. This is an axiomatic truth accepted across the board of Theists. Suffering, hate, lust, envy, exploitation and confusion are not a soul's constitution, but a self-accepted designation. This needs to be addressed.... Why does a soul accept these designations?
Yoga, meditation, samadhi, mantra japa, are all ways in which one peels away the coverings of one's miserable designations. Ceto darpana marjana... We must cleanse our soul's heart of the soot of miserable designations. We must root out selfishness and take up the four legs of Dharma: cleanliness, truthfullness, tolerance, and compassion.
Sri Caitanya establishes that the only way in which one may efficiently and completely cleanse their heart and relieve themselves from their miserable existence is through Sri Krsna Sankirtanam.
Establish that Krsna is none other than the same God you and I devote to and you have done a great service. This establishment cannot be done by simply saying, "You believe in a false God". It has to be done by showing that Krsna is God in full aspect. He is the complete gem and not the facet.
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Funny, I don't remember a limit on the names of Vishnu at 1000. I know of Vishnu Sahasranam, but I didn't know that because there are only 1000 names there, that Vishnu's names stop at 1000.There may be no limit to His names, but there is a limit to the number of names revealed. If we go beyond that and engage in speculation then why don't we also add the names of Zeus, Odin, Elvis Presley and Sai Baba to the list? My guess is that because they are not as popular as Jehovah and Allah.
It is no disrespect to the Abrahamic religionists that we do not decorate Jehovah and Allah with the title 'Sri Vishnu' as they have not requested it.
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Meditation - Yoga<center>
"Be still, and know that I am God."</center>
Get beyond the words and idioms.
It is not about words and idioms, it is about morality.
Did a Supreme Being order people to do this or not?
If an unchanging being would - then it is not a stretch
that it may be within his "will" that similar be done today -
thus religious violence becomes thinkable.<br><br>
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It is helpful; and the link in # 6 is an eye-opener.
Smiley, a friend posted this to me. Let me know what you think.While point 2 is arguable regarding Bhagavan meaning Self (due to the large umbrella of Hinduism) it is unarguably true regarding Nirvana. I addressed the nature of Self previously. Wonderful point regarding the African countries, and loose morals in point 6 as well.The excerpts you posted show that this person has a very limited understanding of Hinduism and Buddhism, and therefore, we can assume, know very little of what he is talking about, i.e., yoga. For that reason, we can safely assume that he may also not know what yoga leads to.Some of the mistakes he makes:
1. Not all Hinduism is the same as Shankara's idealist monism. In fact, the Yogasutras of Patañjali are neither idealistic nor monistic, and they strongly support the notion of surrendering to God (Isvara -- the same term that Christians in India today use for God).
2. The Self is not termed Brahman in Hinduism, neither is it called Nirvana in Buddhism.
3. None of the traditional yoga scriptures agree with what he says is the purpose of asanas and breath excersises. According to Patanjali (YS 2.48), asanas should lead to freedom from the oppression of dualities (cold/ heat, pleasure/ pain), so as to facilitate meditation etc.
4. How has he proved that the Hindu gods are demons? He cannot refer to the Bible, because then you can just as easily refer to the Vedas. If he has not proved that, he cannot prove that mantras invoke demons.
5. The effect of Yoga cultures-paragraph is completely false. In fact, there have been hospitals in India at least from the time of Ashoka (304-232 BC). Also, the Yogasutra (1.33) explicitly say that the yogi should cultivate compassion towards the suffering. Again, not all of Hinduism is idealist, in fact most Hindu philosophers are realists. And if you wish to use the present poverty of India as an illustration of the evils of Hinduism, you must be able to explain how many strongly Christian countries in Africa (e.g. the Congo) are faring even worse.
6. Where is the evidence that yoga leads to loose morals? Instead, we have plenty of evidence to show that the so-called Bible Belt fares worse than the rest of the USA in many "moral" issues. For a recent example, see
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16680-porn-in-the-usa-conservatives-are-biggest-consumers.html
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Suppose that the names Krishna, Vishnu, Buddha, Jesus, Jehovah, Yahweh, Allah, all refer to the same one and supreme god, albeit within different traditions and in different pastimes; then I guess God might be quite pleased with those of us who notice..
We can "suppose" all kinds of things but pure speculation does not bring us closer to the truth. Does the Shiva Purana describe the pastimes of Sri Vishnu? Are these the pastimes of Sri Vishnu?! Sri Vishnu can be distinguished by His qualities; if those don't matter then what about Zeus, Odin, Sai Baba or Elvis Presley? To define is to exclude - otherwise definitions become gibberish.
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I must take issue with you:
Sri Krsna is revealed as "Our Lord,God" in the westIf the Bible is a revelation of Sri Krishna, is the Shiva Purana also? Sri Krishna said, "those who worship other gods, worship only Me but they do so in a wrong way." So while He may accept the worship, it is still considered "wrong way" worship according to Bhagavad Gita. Why not just allow people "in the West" to worship in their own way without trying to apply labels to it that they themselves reject?
In christianity,God is just a provider.You give me happines here on earth,i will give you prayers and maybe some tears.But such a God might as well be called a demon by the Hindus.
Why?,you should ask.
You yourself believe that Yoga,mediation,etc. is like calling the devil.You yourself accept that the yogis of the himalaya region can perform some extraordinary feats.Thus you obviously conclude it as devil's work..Like a pact,you say..the devil's pact.Pact means bilateral trade.
I give this to you,
you give that to me.
So the Christian God is nothing but the devil,by your own logic.The promise of heaven and protection and eternal life,etc.etc.
You may defend this by saying,"Heaven is good so Our Lord,Jesus is not the devil."
Due to this,even i proclaim that Sri Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead who is described as all-auspicious and has under His control,Innumerable planets which are all spiritual,full of bliss and eternally lit by His own effulgence.
Due to this,I'm led to not blast the Christian God,for there is only one God,who manifests Himself in the Most attractive form of Sri Krsna.
Sri Krsna is revealed as "Our Lord,God" in the west and as Himself in Bharatavarsa...This is due to the immense revealing nature of the vedas.
You may call our lack of enthusiasm for christianity as consorting with some bogus devil,but in reality,all we want to say is that,Your religion is too primitve,basic and crude for the vedic followers.
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The original Email from my brother who is an elder in the Seventh Day Adventist Church read:
Mark, you sent me some interesting info. I agree with you on the importance of being intellectually honest. I'm sending you detailed information as to why eastern Tm is very dangerous. I'm prayng that you stop immediately. you will find that the forces of darkness do not want you to read this material . especially, yoga is dangerous,which I recommend you read first.Contrary to his prediction, I not only read the article but have encouraged all the members of this forum to read it also.
Also attached to that email was a link to another article, the author of which claims to have actually practiced yoga, meditation and vegetarianism. Notwithstanding the fact that he did not indicate that his experience with yoga and meditation were negative, he has still since decided that yoga and meditation are not only dangerous but sinful.
Here are some brief excerpts from the article:
in an altered state, reached under drugs, Yoga, hypnosis, visualization, this passive but alert state, the connection between the spirit and the brain, is loosened. That allows another spirit to interpose itself, to begin to tick off the neurons in the brain, and create an entire universe of illusion. You've then opened yourself up to the spiritual realm which God forbids for us to enter. It's called sorcery.Unbeknown to many people they are literally teaching themselves how to be demonizedAccording to the Bible Yoga is an idolatrous practice which leads one away from the one true God and into the spiritual realm of false gods and demonic spiritsOur God says “You shall have no other Gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God.Essentially one cannot practice a portion of Hinduism and continue to walk with the true Christ who is not a Hindu Guru.I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE. NO MAN COMES TO THE FATHER EXCEPT BY ME.
http://www.letusreason.org/NAM1.htm
Maybe what is at the crux of this whole issue is something that many seem reluctant to say - that the Abrahamic view of a Supreme Being - that of an angry and jealous God - is entirely irreconcilable with Santana Dharma. The real danger which they allude to is not that of being tricked by 'demonic spirits' but from damnation to hell by a jealous God. <br><br>
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Thank you for your contribution. I have sent my brother the link and told him that my response will come from the many voices in this forum.
I hope you shall forward it to your brother...It may not do so for you,but it will certainly satisfy me that I have tried my best to defend the eternal religion of serving Sri Krsna.Jivera swarupa hoye Krsnera Nitya dasa.
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I have revised my essay's draft in order to de-emphasize TM and substantiate yoga as being integral to Eastern philosophical practices. Also I tried to emphasize that de-personalization has positive potential and that in and of it self it is not necessarily a bad thing. Please look it through and give your suggestions. It is for building on and my hope is that it serves as a foundation. I drew from the Bhagavad Gita, Vedanta Sutra and the Fourfold Noble Truths of Buddhism. I invite others to build on it and look forward to critiquing.Narasingh, the original article equates meditation with 'mesmerism' (hypnotism)
which is one of the early misunderstandings of Western writers; it might help to
touch upon the differences. This is also an important juxtaposition for SDA's
since their church prophetess spoke out strongly against hypnosis in the 1800's.
Also I would like to encourage you to post your essay to a blog
so that it is easier for people like me to link to it (and for search
engines to find it). This can be done anonymously and without
any cost at all by registering at www.blogger.com
Also, Blogger (which is owned by Google) will not place ads on your site.
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Would you please clarify what you mean when you say "badass"?
All I know is Prabhupada was a badass. Don't care what anyone has to say about it. That is final as far as I am concerned no matter how much mental gymnastics and contortions all the critics can come up with. -
I see your point. Perhaps the attribution should be "HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and his disciples"?
No, Srila Prabhupada's (Bhaktivedanta Swami's) translations never changed at all. The 1972 Bhagavad Gita As It Is was his complete and unabridged seminal treatment of Bhagavad Gita.He admitted there may be some flaws in spelling and minor grammatical deviations from what is generally accepted in the circles of English scholars, but that these were not important enough to change the message he was sure he got across.
For this reason, he repeatedly discouraged the disciples he employed as editors on his future writing projects, from considering that his Gita need any further scrutiny. It was good enough for him, and his name was on it.
Unfortunately, after he left his body, and was unable to prevent it, his ambitious disciples went back to his Gita, claimed it needed the minor spelling and grammatical corrections the author did not authorize, and proceeded to change over 50% of the contents, changing the philosophical slant in many cases.
This is the truth, as it is.
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That is a good point, happily dmoz.org also lists meditation under religion and spirituality besides just under health;
http://www.dmoz.org/Society/Religion_and_Spirituality/Meditation/ so maybe there is still hope.
It seems a shame that Hinduism is so reviled that people feel a need to disassociate meditation from it
whereas 'Christian Meditation' is considered very marketable.
There is a problem in countering these arguments. TM was/is being marketed as a non-religious practice and one which is supposed to help you in the material world. That is their USP. Their marketing strategy has been copied by many of the Indian Godmen/Women who market Meditation as helping in the material world. If you see the TM site. There is hardly anything spiritual about it.Meditation as Stress Buster. That is how I got initiated into TM 35 years back. It is taught as part of stress management courses. For reducing High blood pressure. Holistic healing.
Most of the meditation sites have stated very clearly that their practice has nothing to do with Hinduism. Most of the Yoga sites also do this. Denial of connection with Hinduism. They go out of the way to emphasize this. You will be surprised to know that there is no meditation called Hindu Meditation. See the Open Directory Project
http://www.dmoz.org/Health/Alternative/Meditation/
This is under health.
And here we are trying to defend these people.
BTW smiley you may get some ammunition here. Christian Meditation
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Here is a response to the German Court business
from DAVID ORME-JOHNSON, PH.D.: http://www.truthabouttm.org/truth/LegalIssues/GermanCourtCases/index.cfm
Also, I read a book by Dharma Singh Khalsa, M.D. and this excerpt from it might add some perspective:
Among the most objective and rigourous studies on meditation were those recently funded by the federal governments new Office of Alternative Medicine, or OAM. This agency, which is part of the National Institutes of Health, subjects alternative modalities to the same criteria used to analyze standard modalities. Much of the research cited in this section was produced under auspices of the OAM. According to the OAM's omnibus 1994 report on meditation, "over a period of 25 years, Benson and colleagues have developed a large body of research." Because of the research of Benson and others, says the report, "meditation in general and the relaxation response in specific have slowly moved from alternative to mainstream medicine, although they are still overlooked by many conventional doctors" ...* Meditation creates a unique hypometabolic state, in which the metabolism is in an even deeper state of rest than during sleep. During sleep, oxygen consumption drops by 8 percent, but during meditation, it drops by 10 to 20 percent.
* Meditation is the only activity that reduces blood lactate, a marker of stress and anxiety
* The calming hormones melatonin and seratonin are increased by meditation, and the stress hormone cortisol is decreased.
* Meditation has a profound effect upon three key indicators of aging: hearing ability, blood pressure, and vision of close objects.
* Long-term meditators experience 80 percent less heart disease and 50 percent less cancer than non-meditators.
* Meditators secrete more of the youth-related hormone DHEA as they age than non-meditators. Meditating forty-five-year-old males have an average of 23 percent more DHEA than non-meditators, and meditating females have an average of 47 percent more. This helps decrease stress, heighten memory, preserve sexual function, and control weight.
* 75 percent of insomniacs were able to sleep normally when they meditated.
* 34 percent of people with chronic pain significantly reduced medication when they began meditating.
source:
Dharma Singh Khalsa, M.D.
http://www.amazon.com/Meditation-As-Medicine-Activate-Natural/dp/0743400658/
I was wondering whether we could draft a reply answering point to point. Basically the attack is on Yoga, Kundalini Yoga and Mantra Meditation.Now we all know that there are people who try to market Yoga with the promise of Instant Kundalini (whatever that means) and flying meditation. Trying to defend these people is not our job. In this forum there are people who are talking about Vashikarana Mantra for attracting girls. Is it Hinduism? Definitely not.
We may take the quotes in the document and explain in in terms of the Vaishnava concepts. I think we have a number of scholars in this forum who would be able to prepare a document countering these allegations and presenting the Vaishnava point of view. May be we could even put it up on some web site.
Request some brain storming on this idea.
BTW, I know that there are some flying Om Namah Sivayahs in this forum.
They could present the Saivite point of view. There is no Smarta point of view as Smartas are neither Vaishnavas nor Saivas. And I think Dharmasasthras are not of much help here.
relevence of truthfulness in sadhana
in Spiritual Discussions
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The business about Mohammed and Jesus being great devotees of Krishna seem to have been "made up". Muslims and Christians definitely would never agree to that. If I am wrong and Srila Prabhupada was following "the path of mahajans and previous acharyas" in these statements, please inform/correct me. Or perhaps these would be exceptions to your rule?