Smiley
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Over the years I have tried to objectively represent the ideals and goals of Sanatana Dharma in general. However there may be some interpersonal dynamic that gets in the way of clear thinking (my brother thinks very clearly on all but spiritual issues) so I will today refer him to this thread and perhaps hearing from others who are not his subordinate siblings will at least plant a seed in his mind that maybe Eastern religion was not devised by 'Satan' to trick people into damnation!
Realities are based upon subjective experiences. While they may view eastern philosophies as a threat to the structure of a society they wish to build (perhaps rightfully so), a student of eastern philosophy may view their structure as flawed. I believe the best way for Smiley to resolve (if this is the intention) the conflict with his/her brother is to objectively represent the ideals and goals of the particular Eastern philosophy Smiley s to. Draw the line between the two points for your brother. -
A brother is a brother. A sibling. He may think differently from you. That does not mean he ceases to be your sibling. If you understand Krishna well, you should spread the message of Love. Love even your enemies.
He means well and wishes me well according to his own way of thinking (I am sure he would give me the shirt off his back if I asked) so I don't consider him my enemy. However the SDA church (of which he is an integral part) along with other missionary churches which share Pope John Paul II's stated desire to "win India for Christ" have made themselves enemies of Sanatana Dharma (by seeking its destruction); therefore I have some cognitive dissonance about all this.
I read the entire article. Interesting. Some glaring/amusing blunders like confusing Pathanjali Maharishi with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi whom the TM people refer to.The implications and also how the practice of Yoga could go wrong is real. Many Yoga practitioners in the West especially Kundalini Yoga have come to grief. These effects are now recognized by the medical profession. Sadly a raised uncontrolled Kundalini is difficult to cure.
The article attributes all these to the possession of demons.
The only way to counter this (I wonder whether anyone is listening) is to point out that Yoga does recognize how things could go wrong. That is why the emphasis on a proper Guru. The guidance of a proper Guru is absolutely necessary. Learning certain Yoga techniques through books and Mantras over the internet forums is dangerous.
Christianity's obsession with the Devil is well known. Anything going wrong is attributed to the Devil.
A brother is a brother. A sibling. He may think differently from you. That does not mean he ceases to be your sibling. If you understand Krishna well, you should spread the message of Love. Love even your enemies.
Krishna! Hridhyakamalavasa!
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My oldest brother is a vegetarian but I will take your advice and try to limit my contact with him. I was very offended by him sending me the article and then saying that he agrees with it and quite frankly I don't want to hear his voice for awhile. However maybe there is a lesson for me in that the Pandavas tried very hard to respect their oldest brother even after he behaved despicably by selling Draupadi - a devote of Sri Krishna - into captivity and then sitting still while the miscreants tried to disrobe her in an open assembly. Of course what the Kauravas did was far worse since they knew who Draupadi was.
I would suggest you just ignore and avoid these Christian bigots.You cannot open their eyes, inform them, educate them or help them understand.
They are the demons and you should just avoid them and not waste any time or energy arguing or debating with them.
Spend your time helping the innocent and sincere.
Don't waste your time on these demons in the guise of religionists.
They are meat-eating melecchas with no sympathy for innocent creatures.
Avoid them like a plague and spend your energy getting some KC books into the hands of open-minded people.
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The excerpts below are from an article that my oldest brother - an elder in the 7th Day Adventist Church has entreated me to read. He knows that I have been an observant Hindu since 2001 but he has made it clear to me that he agrees with the article in its entirety. He has made statements similar to those in the article over the years. I would appreciate it if someone would like to provide a refutation to this article and I will forward the link of this thread to him. Thank you.
In Hinduism, the Self is also referred to as the
Brahman. In Buddhism, it is said to be Nirvana.
Every thought, muscle movement, and breath you take
in a yoga class or exercise is designed to bring you
under the influence of some heathen god. But the
gurus do not explain that to all their pupils.
Actually, there are no real heathen gods; they do
not exist. The yogi, on whatever level he may be, is
really being brought into subjection to demonic spirits.
Mantras are secret wordsor short phrases which are supposed to invoke reception
of ancient gods, while protecting one from
demons. In reality, they do the opposite of providing
protection! They invite demons to take control of the
mind.
full article:EFFECT ON THE YOGA CULTURESThe objective of Buddhism and Hinduism is to
destroy personality and all the special characteristics
which make us human. This includes compassion
and care for people. In those Buddhist and Hindu
cultures, not influenced by the Western (Judeo-Christian)
world, there is no interest in building hospitals,
schools, or orphanages. There is no basis for morality.
There is also no science or technology. In Hinduism,
the physical material world is viewed as an illusion
(maya). The religious leaders (a Hindu swami
or Buddhist monk) in India or Southeast Asia do
nothing for people, but just beg for food while renouncing
the world. Human life is not valued.
Only the Bible and Jesus Christ can solve the
problems of mankind. The invasion of Eastern religions
into the West has the effect of tearing down the
moral fabric of society. It stifles the conscience, and
every sense of right and wrong, and leads to pleasure
seeking and crime.
Warn everyone who is thinking of dabbling in this
dangerous practice. Yoga may be presented as something
very attractive and inviting. But, as we have discovered,
at the very least, it will weaken your willpower
and personality. If you continue it long enough,
it will ruin your life. —vf
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Christianity is not a champion when it concerns compassion for animals.
It is quite restricted in terms for compassion..
But I should thank lord Jesus for his immense contribution.
If you are a Hindu why would you call a Biblical personality "lord"?
Do you also agree with having a cross on the Rs. 2 coin?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TM4UTMvMz7E
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My dear Nimai Pandita, what You have said is all true. Our scriptures have developed only recently, and they are certainly not logical and philosophical.
PURPORT
The sastras of the yavanas, or meat-eaters, are not eternal scriptures. They have been fashioned recently, and sometimes they contradict one another. The scriptures of the yavanas are three: the Old Testament, the New Testament and the Koran. Their compilation has a history; they are not eternal like the Vedic knowledge. Therefore although they have their arguments and reasonings, they are not very sound and transcendental. As such, modern people advanced in science and philosophy deem these scriptures unacceptable. Sometimes Christian priests come to us inquiring, “Why are our followers neglecting our scriptures and accepting yours?” But when we ask them, “Your Bible says, ’Do not kill.’ Why then are you killing so many animals daily?” they cannot answer. Some of them imperfectly answer that the animals have no souls. But then we ask them, “How do you know that animals have no souls? Animals and children are of the same nature. Does this mean that the children of human society also have no souls?” According to the Vedic scriptures, within the body is the owner of the body, the soul. In the Bhagavad-gita (2.13) it is said:
dehino ’smin yatha dehe
kaumaraṁ yauvanaṁ jara
tatha dehantara-praptir
dhiras tatra na muhyati
“As the embodied soul continuously passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. The self-realized soul is not bewildered by such a change.”
Because the soul is within the body, the body changes through so many forms. There is a soul within the body of every living entity, whether animal, tree, bird or human being, and the soul is transmigrating from one type of body to another. When the scriptures of the yavanas-namely, the Old Testament, New Testament and Koran-cannot properly answer inquisitive followers, naturally those advanced in scientific knowledge and philosophy lose faith in such scriptures. The Kazi admitted this while talking with Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. The Kazi was a very intelligent person. He had full knowledge of his position, as stated in the following verse.
Adi 17.169
Would you please link me to the source of the above quote? Thanks. <br>
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What following verse? I don't see any following verse!
As for the Meat eaters comment. Well,...
Genesis 1:29 God also said, 'Look, to you I give all the seed-bearing plants everywhere on the surface of the earth, and all the trees with seed-bearing fruit; this will be your food. 30 And to all the wild animals, all the birds of heaven and all the living creatures that creep along the ground, I give all the foliage of the plants as their food.' And so it was.
Man was not meant to eat meat. It is not until after the flood that God gave man permission to eat meat.
Genesis 9:3<table width="100%" border="0" bordercolor="#000000" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td class="boxborder001" colspan="4" style="padding-top: 15px;" valign="top">3 Every living thing that moves will be yours to eat, no less than the foliage of the plants. I give you everything, </td> </tr> <tr> <td class="boxborder001" colspan="4" style="padding-top: 15px;" valign="top"> 4 with this exception: you must not eat flesh with life, that is to say blood, in it. </td> </tr> <tr> <td class="boxborder001" colspan="4" style="padding-top: 15px;" valign="top">5 And I shall demand account of your life-blood, too. I shall demand it of every animal, and of man. Of man as regards his fellow-man, I shall demand account for human life.
I am not real sure here, but it sounds to me like God is going to take into account every animal we kill.
</td></tr></tbody></table>
Eating meat before or after a flood is equally illogical. Protein comes in the form of amino acids. Meat eaters get their amino acids from animal muscle tissue. Animals get their amino acids from the plants that they eat. The amount of land needed to produce X grams of beef protein is far less than the amount of land needed to produce the equivalent amount of soybean or hemp protein - meat consumption is a very inefficient way to acquire protein. Why would a supreme being suggest such a thing? If man was going to figure it out, he could have on his own. If he didn't figure it out he would have been much better off just eating whatever plant matter that the primates and bears who came off the ark found to eat (according to the myth there were only eight humans to feed). Or manna could have fallen from heaven as it did for Moses much later. Or sufficient stores of hemp, soybeans, almonds, apples, bananas, oranges, etc. could have been zapped into existence with the same ease that those animal skins were zapped into existence for the naked Adam and Eve (even though non-violent alternatives like cotton or wool would have sufficed). This kind of irrationality needs apologists to work full time trying to explain away the many inconsistencies and contradictions.
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hey, we got some thread crossover communication going down...
i will bookmark dharmacentral and read.
Apparently the 'American Acharya' thread closed just as I was about to post a reply to it. The system must have posted it here instead and d me to this thread! Obviously my reply is a complete non-sequitur in this thread.
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I think that when the US Government calls someone to ask them about Hinduism or Vedic culture then they have a certain standing in the world and Hindus can choose to either cheer or criticize (making the non-Hindu world wonder). Either way, I don't see how a person gets to a position of such prominence without the arrangement of Sri Vishnu. Therefore I am willing to wait and see what he does with the opportunity.
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By the design of super-soul a man has gotta do what he gotta do. I think this way too Stonehearted.
If Frank nurtures and cares deeply for his disciples, I feel God would honor that, and assist him in his own personal spiritual journey and the pitfalls that can come across the path. Any designation of spiritual value, like acarya, does not make one super-guru.
This label 'American Acarya' is possibly just tag allowed for a specific reason:
When analyzing this man's ministry I would consider level of care/nurture he has for his spiritual children (those who take his shelter). The fruit will manifest from there. And I am sure God would honor his sincerity.
What sect he mainly identifies with (if any), is only really relevant to those who take his shelter. That is their choice of spiritual counsel.
Thank you. You just spoke the words that I would have if I had your knowledge base.
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I don't get it, maybe it's just me, but, how is teevee any different than movies, especially since most all movies end up on teevee eventually (especially on pay channels) I mean really, how is Dracula or 300 or Deep Impact more in line with the "Truth", than whats on teevee? I think you find a lot of good stuff on teevee these days, especially better than what you find in movies when it comes to comedies.
Hi Shiva, I would like to address part of your question (although I realize you may have meant it as rhetorical - if so, forgive me). I don't have a TV right now but I am a member of Netflix.com. This way, I have to give serious thought to what I watch and have to wait for the next video to arrive. During that wait, I get other things done. The problem with TV and especially with modern TV (cable or satellite) is that there are so many choices that it tended to monopolize my time, not to mention paying a big cable bill for the privilege.
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As far as I know, Sri Acharyaji is pretty much in agreement with Prabhupada on everything. Whenever he does mention Prabhupada, he speaks about him with so much reverence and seriousness it almost gives one goosebumps! The only difference being a different style of preaching. I'm not 100% sure, but I assume that he accepts Srila Prabhupada's views on Sri Chaitanya.
Dear Tulsi Devi
Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my question.
Would you please refer me to an article or video in which your
guru teaches about Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu?
I would really appreciate it. Thank you kindly.
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Namaste.
Dear Tulsi Devi
I live in Phoenix but I am not the interested party.
I was only asking for an acquaintance in New York
who was interested in Vaishnavism.
Now that you have told me that your guru is an admirer of Swami
Prabhupada and shares some of his views (like about Sri Shiva),
I have more information about his teachings. May I ask if he also
shares Swami Prabhupada's views about Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
- that is considering him an incarnation of Sri Krishna? Thank you.
Dear Smiley,Namaste. Currently Sri Acharyaji has been the Resident Acharya of the Hindu Temple of Nebraska for about 1 1/2 years now. He has revolutionized how the temple here operates and has developed a very large local following. In his short time here, many dozens of non-Indians have now been welcomed into Sanatana Dharma and consider themselves to be Acharyaji's students and serious followers of Sanatana Dharma. It's pretty phenomenal what he's accomplished here.
Unfortunately, to secure these impressive results, he has focussed most of his attention locally here in Omaha and the surrounding areas. He feels that in order to get results in building a strong sense of Dharma community, it's important that Hindu/Vaishnava gurus devote themselves to staying and preaching in one area for a long period of time, rather than constantly touring the world on speaking tours. This is how the Christian missionaries have had such astounding success - they take root in one place, and build a local religious community, only moving on once that community has become strong enought to become self-sustaining.
For right now, people who want to benefit from Sri Acharyaji's teachings are encouraged to either keep in touch with him via the Internet, or to consider relocating here to Omaha.
That said, Acharyaji has told us very recently that the local Dharma community here in Omaha has now grown strong enough that he may actually consider commencing the beginning stages of creating similar start-up communities in other states, starting possibly later this summer. So we'll have to see.
What state do you live in?
For those who are interested in Sri Acharyaji's current activities, I'll post our latest newsletter, "Living Dharma Today", in the following post. Thank you again for your wonderful interest in Sri Acharyaji's unique activities. Take care.
Jaya Sri Krsna,
Tulasi
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Hello Tulasi Devi
If someone in another state is interested in Vaishnavism
as taught by your guru how would they know which states
your guru has trained disciples in?
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the scene where the pot gets hot and smokes is also on you-tu
be. the you-tube video shows the trick.
There seems to be stagecraft mixed with hypnotism mixed with things which defy explanation. For instance, the story of the doctor with the boils on his head sounds credible. While in Kerala I had many serious experiences that I cannot explain. These were things I was going through personally - there was no Tantric who told me what was going to happen to me (which would have created a mental influence). Also these things happened right out of the blue - no one told me to expect them or say anything like
"watch out for _____ while you are in Kerala" and so I don't suspect a psychological cause.
Of course that doesn't mean that there isn't a lot of BS that passes for metaphysics - there is. IMO there is genuine metaphysics going on in India as well as BS and sometimes a combination of the two. I think those who simplistically see things one way or the other are not perceiving things aright.
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good !! nice understanding .
but what charitable work was done by isckon in 70's when india was starving ? or even in 80's ?
(remember ,im not attcking vaishnavs here)
I am not an ISKCON person but I would like to point out that Swami Prabhupada could have meant that people were starving spiritually. However from another perspective, I believe they have a rule that no one should go hungry within 10 km of a temple. Therefore by establishing more temples, more people are being physically fed. I agree with some of your other points BTW.
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thx smiley
Glad to share. Please let me know what you think about it after watching.<br> <br>http://www.babelgum.com/html/clip.php?clipId=107136
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The name of this film is
'TANTRA - mystery, myth, magic'
This is a very dramatic 48 minute documentary and it takes a deep journey into various Tantric traditions of India. Any one who watches this film can clearly see how so many different religious practices have roots in the Indian subcontinent. Of special interest to me was an African Shaman who was a devotee of Shiva/Shakti and spoke with great erudition during his pilgrimage to the Kumbh Mela religious festival (these festivals are the largest known gatherings of human beings).
The video requires that you do a quick download of what is known as a Babelgum player (which is in Beta stage). It is worth it since it allows you to see full screen clips of independent films at resolution impossible through sites such as YouTube.
film description: "Tantra is an early Indian practice and is deeply rooted in the religions of India. The Tantric practitioners need the mystical experience and the guidance of a Tantric Master who possesses various tools like yoga and other techniques which are nothing short of "mind over matter" and beyond human comprehension. The Tantra exists in Shaiva, Vaishnava, Ganapataye and Shakta forms. The films deals with the concept of Tantra and how it has evolved and changed in the Indian scenario."
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This Vaishnava guru is a disciple of Sri Hanuman devotee Neem Karoli Baba (http://www.neemkarolibaba.com/)
He is the author of a book titled Silence Speaks
I met him during a visit to his orphanage in India.
Here is more information on him:
Baba Hari Dass - The Silent Monk
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Redsox, don't worry. If a higher power exists and wants to reveal itself to you, it is the business of that higher power; everyones destiny is not the same. The remedy for fear is to from this point on follow your conscience scrupulously. Not someone elses conscience, but your conscience. If you find comfort in the words of the Bhagavad Gita, then by all means, continue to read it. However, don't force anything. Everyones destiny is not the same. Also, please consider adopting a non-violent diet: http://www.meat.org/
P.S. For me it was 9/11/2001 that got me interested in Bhagavad Gita.
Hi ,maybe it is the tough economic times or maybe it is my own fearfulness or maybe my financial status right about now, but I am in a deep ditch, which I wasn't when I wasn't atheist lets say. I was happy atleast, now all I have is depression and anxiety. Fear has taken complete hold of me, everyday as I see myself go into more and more debt, all I can find comfort in is this book bhagavad gita, and prabhupada's words, ironically. The same words that I actually forbid myself from reading, those same ideas of surrender, which were once given up by me, I made my self believe that there is no God, then how can these words give me this type of comfort, I am still convinced that if there is God, he would be more visible. Anyway, atheism truly makes one miserable, maybe there is a better way.
You may not remember me, but anyway sorry for any offense I had created earlier as an atheistic moron.
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<br>I saw this on YouTube. Great prayer!
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testing 123, testing 456, testing 789.
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xyz_1, it might help narrow your search by considering what is possible
in your particular situation at this particular time. The original idea of
guru shishya is for the disciple to live with the guru under his direct tutelage.
Such an association is very powerful even when words are not spoken.
This mentor-protege relationship is the very essence of the process.
more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guru_shishya
Hi,I am looking for advice on how to find a guru. I was advised a sadhana for astrological purposes and just wondering how do people go about finding a guru.
Thanks and Regards.
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I see many of these fallen devotees here in tiruvamaniia India where I am preaching daily to Mayavadis. They tell me over and over again their stories how they get even more juice with their mayavadi program then from their unqualified Gurus in bhakti yoga circles. Prabhupada is very juicy and if you find real sincere followers of SP they are juicy also and enjoyable to serve with.
Thank you for that Gaurahari das; I enjoyed that!
The objective of Buddhism and Hinduism
in Spiritual Discussions
Posted
I think the first item of inquiry should be the study itself that the article referenced. Here is the exact language of the article listed on the SDA site:
Given the many factual misrepresentations and strident
tone of the author, I don't think it is reasonable to just
accept his representation of the study at face value.
I think this search string would be useful with different search engines:
germany, Ministry of Youth, Family and Health, study, TM