bhaktajan

Consider further the identity of Lord Siva’s worshipable Deity. Siva’s mantra is Rama, and he always chants the holy name of Rama. To whom does this refer? Although this also refers to Sri Sita-Rama, the name he actually chants is that of Mula-Sankarsana, Balarama, the first expansion of Lord Krsna. Sri Ramacandra is also an expansion of mula-Rama (the original Rama) – Balarama – but the factual worshipable Deity of Lord Siva is Balarama. Ultimately, in the Hare Krsna maha-mantra, Rama does not refer to Dasaratha’s son Rama, nor to Parasurama or Balarama. Lord Ramacandra, Lord Parasurama and Lord Balarama are all manifestations of Sri Radha-ramana. Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare The meaning of Rama here is Radha-ramana, Sri Krsna who engages in ‘ramana’ with Radha. “Ramana” means playing or enjoying. Krsna enjoys playful pastimes with Radharani, and He is therefore called Ramana or Rama. No Lust in Lord Siva The following history is another example of naravata-gata-vicara, or madhurya-gata-vicara. There is also some tattva-gata-vicara here, and altogether it is a nectar cup-full of madhurya (sweetness) and tattva (philosophical truth) – tasting very good. Lord Siva is immensely powerful and he has no lust. He may even be naked, and his wife Parvati may also be sitting naked on his lap, but they have no lusty desires. If an ordinary girl and boy stay close together, especially without clothes, lust will enter their hearts. However, this falldown does not take place in the hearts of Lord Siva and Parvati-devi under any circumstance. In this regard, a transcendental pastime is described in the Sixth Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam. Lord Siva was once giving a lecture in an assembly of great saintly persons, Parvati was sitting on his lap, and both of them were completely naked. At that time the exalted devotee King Citraketu came and said in a friendly way, “Just see the position in which you are giving your lecture.” Parvati thought that he was criticizing Lord Siva. Disturbed by the thought that anyone would think Lord Siva has lusty desires in his heart, she cursed him. King Citraketu was on friendly terms with Lord Siva, and because Citraketu’s Guru is also Mula-Sankarsana, he and Siva were god-brothers. He never meant to say that lust was in Siva’s heart. He was simply saying that this was not the standard way to deliver a lecture. Lord Siva chastized Parvati and said, “Why did you curse him? He is an exalted devotee. Look at his advancement in bhakti. Although he is quite competent to revoke your curse and curse you in retaliation, he has readily accepted your curse. This is his greatness – this is the behavior of a Vaisnava.” Lust cannot remain near Lord Siva. Neither Lord Sadasiva nor His partial manifestation of Siva who stays with Parvati have lust in their hearts. When Kamadeva, Cupid, once came to disturb Lord Siva’s meditation, Siva simply opened his third eye and burned him to ashes. How could it happen then, that Lord Siva was attracted to the beautiful form of Mohini-murti? Mohini is an incarnation of Lord Krsna Himself, and He can do anything. It was Lord Krsna who personally created the attraction within Lord Siva’s heart, and He who showed him this form of Mohini. In the course of serving Krsna’s pastimes, His internal bewildering energy, yogamaya, is so strong that it can do anything. [*Endnote 1: mahat-tattva: the twenty-four elements are the five gross elements, the three subtle elements, ten senses, five sense objects, and the total material cause. Endnote 2: “Thus by the grace of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Narayana, who is transcendental to all material qualities, Lord Siva was saved from being killed by a demon. Anyone who hears this history with faith and devotion is certainly liberated from material entanglement as well as from the clutches of his enemies.” (Krsna, Chapter 88) Endnote 3: Sukadeva Gosvami assured King Pariksit that the narration of the fight between Lord Siva and Lord Krsna is not at all inauspicious, like ordinary fights. On the contrary, if one remembers in the morning the narration of this fight between Lord Krsna and Lord Siva, and takes pleasure in the victory of Lord Krsna, he will never experience defeat anywhere in his struggle of life.” (Krsna, Chapter 63) Endnote 4: Lord Nityananda said, “To the west of the <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comAlakananda </ST1:PRiver </ST1:P</st1:place>see Kasi, where the followers of Siva and his consort endeavor for liberation. This Navadvipa Kasi, however, is superior to the other Kasi. Here, Siva is always dancing and chanting the name of Gaura , begging his followers to accept gaura-bhakti. The sannyasis who live for a thousand years in Kasi may attain liberation through the cultivation of jnana, but here the devotees kick away that liberation as they dance and chant the name of Gauranga. While leaving the body here, living entities are delivered by Lord Siva, who chants the name of Gauranga in their ears. This dhama is thus called Maha-Varanasi, for here there is no fear of death.” (Sri Navadvipa Mahatmya by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura) Endnote 5: The identity of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is given as follows: “According to the Vedic literature, the foremost occupational duty for humanity in this Age of Kali is nama-sankirtana, or congregational chanting of the holy name of the Lord. The incarnation for this age especially preaches this process, but only Krsna Himself can explain the confidential loving service performed in the four principal varieties of loving affairs between the Supreme Lord and His devotees. Lord Krsna therefore personally appeared, with His plenary portions, as Lord Caitanya.” (Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila, Chapter 3 Summary)]

Service in Human-like Pastimes Lord Ramacandra’s worship of Lord Siva is an example of naravata-gata-vicara – a sweet, human-like pastime. As stated earlier, Rama played the role of an ordinary human being who had to perform the difficult task of crossing the ocean to reach Lanka, and He worshiped Lord Siva for the power to do this. Lord Rama established a linga of Ramesvara Mahadeva and began worshiping him, thinking, “By Lord Siva’s mercy I can cross the sea.” Actually He was powerful enough to personally jump across the ocean in a second, but He was playing a role to inspire ordinary people. The common people present considered that Ramesvara Mahadeva was in fact the lord of Rama, and that was why his name was Ramesvara. The demigods then appeared and declared, “Ramesvara Mahadeva and Rama are both the same. There is no difference between them. Both are isvara; both are God, the Supreme Lord. Ordinary people think only that Ramesvara is the lord of Rama, but they are not intelligent. It is not like that.” At that moment Lord Siva manifested from the linga and said, “No. Try to understand this truth. Ramesvara means ‘He whose Lord is Rama.’ Rama is my Lord!” The pastimes of Lord Rama are found in Ramayana, Srimad-Bhagavatam, the Puranas and Rama-carita-manasa, and they take place in a previous Age, called Treta-yuga. The demonic king Ravana had kidnapped Lord Rama’s wife, Sita devi, and taken Her to Lanka. Before Rama knew where Sita had been taken, He was weeping profusely, and Laksmana was trying to console Him. The more Laksmana tried to pacify Him, however, the more bitterly He wept. In this state of mind, He was beseeching the trees and creatures of the forest, and even the <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Godavari</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">River</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>. He appealed to the trees of Panjatavi forest, “O Panjatavi, have you seen Sita? Where has She gone? O deer, have you seen Sita? O Godavari, have you seen My dear Sita? Why has She left Me?” Lord Rama became maddened from inconsolable grief. At this time Lord Siva and his wife Sati came to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Dandakaranya</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Forest</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>, where Lord Rama had been living with Sita and His brother Laksmana for fourteen years, following the order of His father, King Dasaratha. Siva was thus present to witness Lord Rama’s divine pastimes, and seeing them, he was moved; his heart melted. He offered full obeisances, with all the limbs of his body touching the ground, and glorified Rama: “Oh! These pastimes are so beautiful and marvelous that they will melt the heart of anyone who sees them.” He then circumambulated the outer precincts of that area, weeping due to the transcendental emotions of grief in separation exhibited in his Lord’s pastimes. Offering his final respects, Siva was ready to return to Kailasa, when Sati asked him, “My dear husband, to whom are you offering obeisances?” Lord Siva replied, “Sri Rama is my worshipful Deity. I worship Him always.” Sati said, “I see that Rama is like an ordinary man weeping for his wife. Even I know where Sita is, but He does not know? Why is He grieving? He appears to be a weak person. Is He not strong enough to bring Sita back? He must be an ordinary man, not God. Why are you honoring Him so?” “You are ignorant,” Lord Siva told his doubting wife. “You do not understand that Rama is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” He told her that if she did not believe him she could conduct a test of some sort, to determine Sri Rama’s position. Lord Siva rested under a banyan tree a little distance away, and Sati, by her inherent mystic power, changed to a form like Sita’s. She went to the area where Sri Rama was piteously searching for Sita. She thought that if she would appear before Rama as Sita, He would come and embrace her in joyous relief, believing that He had found His wife. However, although she appeared before him again and again, He ignored her each time. He simply looked away. Finally He said to her, “Mother, why are you roaming alone here in the forest? Where is your husband, Siva?” Sati became astonished and fearful, and wondered how Rama knew who she really was. She knelt in reverence, and at that time she no longer saw the trees, plants, and wildlife of the forest as before. She saw Sita-Rama everywhere and in everything. Wherever she looked in the forest – here, there and everywhere – she saw only Sita-Rama, Sita-Rama, Sita-Rama. In this manner, Sri Rama showed Sati that He and Sita are eternally inseparable, that He was performing this dramatic pastime to captivate the minds of human beings by its remembrance, and that He is, in fact, the Personality of Godhead. She reflected, “My husband is never ignorant. He was right and I was wrong.” Rising to her feet, she saw that Rama was still there alone in the forest with Laksmana, weeping, “Oh Sita, where are You, where are You?” Then, reassuming her own form, she returned to the spot where Siva was waiting under the banyan tree. He asked her, “Did you test Him to see who He is?” Sati lied, “Most respected husband, I believed you; so there was no need to test Him.” Lord Siva saw in a trance what had actually happened and silently vowed, “Sati has taken the form of Sita, my mother; therefore she is no longer my wife. She is now my mother, and from now on I will treat her as such.” When he made this vow, the demigods at once showered flowers from heaven, and they praised him, “You have made a remarkable vow.” Sati asked, “What vow did you make?” Siva remained silent. The bona fide disciple always has faith in his self-realized guru. Lord Siva was the Guru of Sati, but she had not believed him when he told her that Rama is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. If a disciple does not obey his gurudeva, his bhakti and spiritual life will diminish. If a disciple lies to his gurudeva, he again goes to hell. When Lord Siva and Sati-devi returned to their cottage in Kailasa, Siva placed her seat facing him. In Vedic culture a wife sits on the left side of her husband and a mother, respected as guru, sits in front of her son, facing him. A disciple does not offer obeisance to his gurudeva from his guru’s right or left side, but always in front of him. A true disciple does not remain silent, but respectfully asks relevant questions of his guru and serves him. He does not ask questions in a challenging mood, but rather to learn. It is stated in Bhagavad-gita (4.34): tad viddhi pranipatena pariprasnena sevaya upadeksyanti te jnanam jnaninas tattva-darsinah [“Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized souls can impart knowledge unto you because they have seen the truth.”] Lord Siva entered a trance for thousands of years, and Sati felt severe separation from him. She thought, “Siva has left me. He is treating me like his mother because I took the form of Sita. As long as I am in this body he will not accept me as his wife, so I will have to give up this body.” After some time, Sati’s father Daksa, the son of Lord Brahma and great progenitor of the universe, began a sacrifice. Although every sacrifice is intended to please the Supreme Lord Visnu, all the demigods, especially Lord Brahma, Lord Siva and the other principal demigods, are invited and take part. However, Lord Siva was not invited to Daksa’s sacrifice. The chaste Sati heard the heavenly denizens, who were flying in the sky, speaking about the great sacrifice being performed by her father. She saw that the wives of the heavenly denizens, dressed in fine clothing, were coming from all directions and were going to the sacrifice. She approached her husband and said, “My dear Lord, your father-in-law is now performing a great sacrifice. All the demigods who were invited by him are going. If you desire, we may also go.” Lord Siva warned her not to go, due to her father’s enmity and envy towards him – an enmity that had begun long before, in a former Age. Lord Siva now remembered his father-in-law’s harsh words spoken at that time. Siva had come to Daksa’s council, where Daksa was being honored by many leaders of the universe. Daksa’s daughter was married to Lord Siva, so he considered Siva to be like his son. He offered obeisances to Brahma because Brahma was his father, but he did not show any respect to Siva. Lord Brahma welcomed Daksa, but Siva was absorbed in meditation and chanting the maha-mantra: “Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.” Insulted by Siva’s apparent neglect and considering himself Siva’s superior, Daksa publically criticized him. Many incidents took place as a result of that, and Siva returned to Kailasa. Previous to this, Daksa had often criticized Siva, being disturbed that his daughter had married such an ‘inferior person,’ but after this incident he considered Siva his enemy. Lord Siva, on the other hand, had never felt enmity towards Daksa. Now Lord Siva told Sati, “A woman can go without an invitation to see her guru or her father and mother, but if her father thinks that her husband is his enemy, then she should not go to see him. You know that your father thinks I am his enemy, although I have never considered him as such.” Despite her husband’s words, Sati was determined to go. She went, but upon her arrival she observed Daksa dishonoring him. She angrily condemned her father and glorified Lord Siva in front of all present. Then, while meditating on Lord Siva’s holy lotus feet, she gave up her body in a mystic fire that manifested from her heart. By quitting her body, Sati was able to disconnect herself from her offensive father and transfer herself to another body in order to associate with Lord Siva without that contamination. However, her main motive was to become free from the result of her own offenses, and again be accepted as Lord Siva’s beloved wife. In her next life she took birth as Parvati, the daughter of the <st1:place w:st="on">Himalayas</st1:place>. In that birth she performed austerities for many years and achieved her desired goal. Here we see that Siva’s worshipable Deity is Rama, and because Sati took the form of Sita-devi, he left her. He is a chaste Vaisnava, always serving Lord Krsna and Lord Rama. Sati-devi is also a pure devotee. She is the Supreme Lord’s divine energy, but she was playing a role in order to give lessons to ordinary persons. Both Siva and Sati served in Lord Rama’s human-like pastimes. Ravana had not actually taken the real Sita. He was not able to touch her. He could only take a maya-sita. The real Sita, the transcendental potency of Rama, was taken away and protected by the lord of fire, Agnideva. Rama’s crying and asking each and every plant, tree, mountain and river, “Where is my Sita?” was an exhibition of His human-like pastimes. The great saint Tulsidasa has written in his Sri Rama-carita-manasa that we should accept Sri Siva-Parvati as our Guru, and they will give us love for the lotus feet of Rama. Those who worship Siva as an independent lord are like Vrkasura. They want to have sense gratification with Krsna’s potency. Instead of becoming Vrkasura, we should become devotees, and consider Siva-Parvati as our Guru in the matter of devotion to the Supreme Lord.

Siva Takes Shelter According to Srimad-Bhagavatam and Skanda Purana, when Krsna resided in Dvaraka, He often assumed His form as four-handed Vasudeva. In fact, He was famous there as such. At that time there was a king named Paundraka, who had attached two artificial arms on his body and declared, “Krsna is not the four-handed Vasudeva. I am that Vasudeva.” He sent a messenger to Sri Krsna with the declaration, “Stop claiming to be four-handed Vasudeva. I am He.” After Lord Krsna and His royal family laughed for a considerable time, the Lord sent a reply to the challenge and prepared to fight. The King of Kasi was a staunch devotee of Lord Siva, and he took the side of Paundraka Vasudeva. He had previously received a benediction from Lord Siva to be able to defeat Krsna in combat, but in this battle he was not only defeated, but killed. With the assistance of His Sudarsana cakra Sri Krsna killed Paundraka, and by His arrows He killed the king of Kasi. Having cut off the head of the king, He then arranged to throw it into the city of <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Kasi</st1:place></st1:City>. The King had a son named Sudaksina, who was determined to avenge the death of his father. Sudaksina thus worshiped the lord of Kasi, Visvanatha – Lord Siva – who then instructed him to perform a special ritualistic ceremony that calls forth a fire demon for the purpose of killing one’s enemy. Lord Siva also sanctioned his ghostly companions to accompany the fire demon, and Dvaraka then fell under attack. Krsna called for his Sudarsana cakra, which froze the demon and forced him to return to Kasi and destroy his creators. Moreover, following behind the demon, the Sudarsana cakra burned the entire city to ashes. At that time even Lord Siva himself had to run from the city. Where his deerskin fell, he did not know. He also left his trident and everything else, including his wife, and quickly fled. He arrived at a place in Navadvipa [*See Endnote 3] called Harihara-ksetra, and there he took shelter of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. [*See Endnote 5] From Navadvipa he went to Ekamra-kanana (now Bhuvanesvara) near Puri, in Orissa, where he took shelter of Sri Krsna in His form as Lord Jagannatha. This pastime is aisvarya-gata-vicara, and it also reveals that the worshipable Deity of Lord Siva is Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, or Sri Krsna.

Srimad-Bhagavatam tells of a demon named Vrkasura who, desiring to enjoy Lord Siva’s wife, Parvati, performed severe austerities to ‘please’ Lord Siva. When Lord Siva appeared before him to grant him a benediction, Vrkasura expressed his desire that as soon as he would touch the head of anyone, that person’s head would immediately split open and he would die. Lord Siva granted this benediction, and Vrkasura immediately rushed forward to use it against Lord Siva. Siva asked, “What are you doing?” He replied, “Now I am applying my benediction.” He did not say, “I want Parvati.” He simply looked at Parvati and then ran towards Lord Siva. Fearful, Siva ran away, and Vrkasura immediately chased after him. Lord Siva was attired in a deerskin, which fell off, and then his damaru drum also fell. He kept running, however, and he remembered his Lord. Who was the Lord he remembered? It was Sri Krsna. This is aisvarya-gata-vicara. Lord Siva fled from the land to the sky and from the sky to other planets, until he reached the limits of the universe, but Vrkasura continued to chase him. The predominating deities of higher planets, such as Brahma, Indra and Candra, were not able to save him from the impending danger, and finally he approached Krsna’s incarnation, Lord Visnu in Svetadvipa. In order to protect His devotee, Lord Visnu appeared as a perfect brahmacari, and the effulgence emanating from His body was attractive to both Siva and the demon. After stopping Vrkasura by offering obeisances to him, and winning his confidence by speaking sweet and reassuring words, Lord Visnu asked, “Why are you running after Siva?” Vrkasura replied, “He has given me the benediction that when I put my hand on someone’s head it will split open. Now I will use the benediction on him.” Lord Visnu in the dress of a brahmacari said, “You are very foolish. You believe the benediction of this man who smokes ganja, takes all types of intoxication and lives in crematoriums? Do you believe that he is authorized and powerful enough to give benedictions? His benediction will prove futile. He is just fooling you. You are running after him, but in the end you will find that his benediction is ineffective. Try it on yourself; put your hand on your head. You will see that nothing happens.” Vrkasura agreed, “Yes, I will try.” <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:" /><o:p></o:p> In this way, by Lord Visnu’s sweet words and by the expansion of His illusory energy, the demon became bewildered. He forgot the power of Lord Siva and his benediction. He therefore put his hand on his own head, it immediately split open, and he died. This pastime gives evidence that Lord Siva is not independent; his worshipable Deity is Krsna. [*See Endnote 2] Siva’s Benefactor All the pastimes performed by Siva are meant to teach everyone about Sri Krsna’s supremacy, and to inspire everyone to serve Him and take shelter of Him. The following history is another example of this. The demigods once fought with the demons and defeated them. The demons then took shelter of their leader, Maya Danava, who then prepared three mystic airplane-like residences for them. The demons thus began to vanquish all the planetary systems. Thereafter, when the demons began to destroy the higher planetary systems, the rulers of those planets went to Lord Siva, surrendered unto him and said, “Dear Lord, we demigods are about to be vanquished. We are your followers. Kindly save us.” Lord Siva reassured them and said, “Do not be afraid.” He fixed his arrows to his bow and released them toward the three residences occupied by the demons, and all the demons were killed. The great mystic Maya Danava then dropped the bodies of the demons into a nectarean well he had created, making the demons return to life and become practically invincible. Siva became very worried. Seeing this, Lord Krsna in His form as Lord Visnu considered how to help him destroy the demons. Lord Visnu became a cow and Lord Brahma became a calf, and they entered the residences and drank all the nectar in the well. Then, by His personal potency of religion, knowledge, renunciation, opulence, austerity, education and so on, Krsna equipped Lord Siva with everything he needed for the battle. He manifested a chariot, a charioteer, a flag, horses, elephants, a bow, a shield and arrows, and Lord Siva sat down on the chariot to fight. He destroyed three residences of the demons, the inhabitants of the higher planets glorified and worshipped him, and he became known as Tripurari, the annihilator of the three dwellings of the demons. So don’t fear. Krsna will save you if you offer yourself to Him. He Himself has promised this in Bhagavad-gita. If you hand over your complete responsibility in life to Him – not only your bodily maintenance, but your intelligence, your senses and everything else you possess – He will take full care and responsibility for you. Don’t fear. No suffering or sorrow of any kind will be able to touch you. Moreover, you will be able to enter the realm of bhakti and be happy forever. Siva’s Worshipable Deity Further evidence of Lord Siva’s relationship with Krsna in the Supreme Lord’s pastimes of majesty is found in the history of Aniruddha. Aniruddha is the grandson of Lord Krsna, and he wanted to marry the daughter of Banasura, a demonic person who was a staunch devotee of Lord Siva. By the blessings of Lord Siva, Banasura had one thousand arms, and he served Lord Siva with all of them. He assisted Siva’s famous dancing by rhythmically beating drums with his one thousand hands, and he thus received the benediction of protection from his enemies. Krsna was informed by Sri Narada that Banasura and his army had fought with and arrested Aniruddha for intimately meeting with Banasura’s daughter, <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Usa</st1:place></st1:country-region>. Therefore, in order to save Aniruddha, He called upon His own army, the Yadu dynasty, and advanced on Banasura’s city. When Banasura saw Lord Krsna’s army, he immediately ordered his men to fight. Lord Siva arrived there at that time, but instead of praying to his Lord, he apparently took the side of his own devotee, Banasura. He personally began fighting with Krsna as Banasura’s commander-in-chief. He shot many weapons at Krsna, including his Pasupata-astra and his ultimate weapon, the Siva-jvara, but all of them failed. During the battle, Banasura showered his weapons upon Sri Krsna with his one thousand arms. Krsna then cut off his arms with His Sudarsana cakra, leaving him with only four. Finally Lord Siva, realizing that he was helpless to save his devotee, surrendered to Lord Krsna and offered his heartfelt prayers.[*See Endnote 3] After hearing Siva’s prayers, Lord Krsna told him that because Banasura was the son of Bali Maharaja and the great-grandson of Prahlada Maharaja, and because he was favored by Lord Siva himself, He would not only spare Banasura’s life, but would give him immortality.

Siva ratri February 23 2009<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:" /><o:p></o:p> Tridandisvami Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami Maharaja THREE CONSIDERATIONS [Dear Hari-katha Readers, Please accept our humble obeisances. All glories to Sri Sri Guru and Gauranga. February 23, 2009 is Siva-ratri (in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region>). In observance of this auspicious day, we are sending the following lecture:]<o:p></o:p> There are three considerations (vicaras) from which to understand the relationship between Lord Krsna and Lord Siva. One is called tattva-gata-vicara – the consideration of their relationship by established philosophical truth. Another is called aisvarya-gata-vicara – the consideration of their relationship in the Supreme Lord’s pastimes of majesty, and the third is naravat-gata-vicara – the consideration of their relationship in the Supreme Lord’s sweet, human-like pastimes. According to philosophical truth (tattva), Sri Krsna’s plenary portion is Sadasiva, and Sadasiva’s partial manifestation is Lord Siva. From the perspective of Lord Krsna’s pastimes in opulence and majesty (aisvarya), Lord Krsna is Siva’s worshipful Deity, who is always loved, honored and respected by him. However, in naravat-gata-vicara, Krsna plays another role – that of an ordinary human being. He performs pastimes as a very young, small child who cannot do anything independently. His mother, Srimati Yasoda devi, feeds Him and tends to all His needs. During these human-like pastimes, Lord Siva might come and give Him benedictions. In the scriptures called the Puranas it is stated that when Krsna resided in Dvaraka, He worshiped Siva to beget a child from the womb of His wife Jambavati. Although Siva is worshiped by Krsna in those pastimes, he never thinks himself superior. He is always conscious that Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and that he is Krsna’s eternal servant. It is essential to have a clear understanding of these truths. One who knows these three perspectives or considerations can understand the relationship between Lord Siva and his Lord. Established Truth According to the principle of philosophical truth, Lord Siva is a partial manifestation of Sri Krsna’s plenary expansion, Sadasiva. When Krsna desires to create, He expands Himself as Maha-Sankarsana, and possessing this creative desire, Sankarsana expands as Maha-Visnu (Karanodakasayi Visnu). Maha-Visnu then desires to create, and His desire takes the form of a light that emanates from between His eyebrows. The semblance or dim twilight reflection of that light is called Sambhu-linga (Siva). Many people worship Lord Siva in the form of Sambhu-linga. The light itself is eternal and is not Sambhu-linga; Sambhu-linga is its semblance or shadow. There is another semblance called Yoni, and this is the shadow of Rama-devi. Rama-devi is the spiritual potency of Maha-Visnu, and in Vaikuntha She is Lord Narayana’s beloved consort Laksmi-devi. This is Her original transcendental form, and Her shadow is the limited conceiving potency – Yoni. Maha-Visnu has two types of potency with which He creates the material worlds. One type of potency is called nimitta – the instrumental cause of creation, and the other is called upadana – the ingredient cause. Instrumental and ingredient causes can be explained in this way: Suppose I say, “I killed a snake with a stick.” The person who desired and performed the activity is the instrumental cause (nimitta), and the stick is the ingredient cause (upadana). In another example, a potter makes a pot. The desire or will of the potter to make the pot is the instrumental cause. The sum total of all the instruments used to create it, like the wheel, clay, mud and water, is the ingredient cause. Maha-Visnu’s eternal instrumental potency takes its reflected form as Yoni, the limited shadow potency, and the ingredient cause assumes the reflection-form of Sambhu-linga. Creation then takes place by the union of Sambhu-linga and his female consort Yoni. Sambhu is called the linga of the Supreme Lord, which means that he is the manifest symbol of the Lord’s male generative capacity, and he appears for the purpose of preparing the cosmic manifestation. That potency which gives birth to the material creation is the energy called Maya, and her intrinsic form is Yoni. Actually, the original instrumental and ingredient cause is not Yoni and Sambhu; it is Maha-Visnu. Material nature, as Yoni, desires to create by dint of the kama-bija (desire seed) impregnated in her, and she is therefore the secondary instrumental cause. The desire-seed gave her the urge to create, and because she then wanted to create, she is called the instrumental cause. Sambhu supplies the materials of creation, and he is therefore called the ingredient cause. Sambhu, the dim reflection of the Supreme Lord’s own divine desire-filled glance, consummates his union with Yoni. However, he can do nothing independent of the desire of Maha-Visnu. Maha-Visnu is the Supreme personified Will, and it is He who brings about the union of the two – Yoni and Sambhu. He is the divine dominating person, the plenary portion of Lord Krsna and the creator of the mundane world. In order for creation to take place, there must be the desire of the Supreme Doer. He must be present. The instrumental cause and ingredient cause must be mixed with the desire or glance of Maha-Visnu. The initial form of the creation is mahat-tattva, the sum-total twenty-four elements. [*See Endnote 1] This mahat-tattva is the reflection of the kama-bija, the original desire-seed in Goloka Vrndavana. The seed of amorous creative desire in Goloka is the embodiment of pure cognition. It is a prototype of the sex desire in this mundane world, though it is located far from it. The seed of the mundane sex desire is thus the perverted reflection of the seed of the original creative desire in Goloka Vrndavana. Service in Pastimes of Majesty The historical narrations that follow are examples of aisvarya-gata-vicara, Lord Siva’s relationship with Krsna from the perspective of Krsna’s majesty. Revealed in Srimad-Bhagavatam, these transcendental histories demonstrate Lord Siva’s dependence on Him. They also further reveal that when Siva gives benedictions to Krsna’s enemies, he does so to assist in the Supreme Lord’s pastimes, which are performed for the benefit of all beings.

Originally Posted by Kulapavana ...The lesson of the Baghbazar temple was not only lost, but compounded by building opulent temples with dirty money. Why are you now changing the topic? Ex-President Bush is out! All this new dirty money is coming from OUR new world leaders --who set the standard for all the world to pursue.

ISKCON is austere & where we learned "What is austerity?" "In fact it was book distrubution that gets credit for my coming to the movement and finding out about Krishna." {ME TOO!!!!} "I freely moved around from one temple to another at my will."--{ME TOO!!!!} they believed in what they were doing --{this is known as "vi-jnana" --realised knowledge} ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Time to go back to school and start fresh with a new clean slate!

SURESH DASA vision and article speak of the "Dreadfull" side of life. Poor boy, how he has suffered. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Iskcon sufferred via two types of scandels: A) Child abuse by tudors & B) Kirtananda/Bhavananda's et al ignoble outtings. Why would this affect our outlook? Parallel to Iskcon's year's of mal-content society proved to mock every humble kid [and yes, dopey Vaishnavas too] --rap music, Politicians' impeachments; and especially the mis-management of every sector of life's artha,kama and definition of dharma. All else was preserved and unaffected through time. Your problems are based on avoiding offenses by karmis --that type of undignified imposition of listening to a karmi/Christian/atheist/hedonist/secular hindu/mayavadi-hindu know-it-all/carnivor college professors of philosophy --to collectively "not disturb the minds of the ignorant" has been observed to strictly to our relief. But such indifference is actually born of a preverted contempt --that we are comfortable with. Let the generals learn arabic and the koran --they earned the responsiblities and we are mocking society while pursueing the karmi status quo ourselves. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: For God's sake remember the fate of the guy that wrote the song lyrics: "It's getting better all the time . . . Better, Better, Better, getting Better all the time . . . " --John Lennon of the Beatles --was assassinated. Ya'll deserve a wee bit better, No? ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: For God's sake remember the fate of the guy whose grandfather was a USA 1930's Alchohol prohibition bootlegger mobster/movie moghal; whose father became the first Catholic US Presidents; whose own life illustrates a re-born yogi in a house of aristocracy, gets the best education, best wealthy beautiful Ivy-league Blond haired Wife living in the North Wall Street area of New York City ---only to drive an airplane into the ocean along with his Wife and sister-in-law while on his way to an enclave of similar wellborn & bred Highbrows: John F Kennedy Jr. Ya'll deserve a wee bit better, No? ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Ya'll deserve a wee bit Idiotcracy? Or are you pertrified of the fullfledged implementation of ebonics? Just in your corner of the race?

Gurukrpa’s collecting techniques were so hard-driving aggressive, that he and his party single-handedly receive the credit for ISKCON being kicked out of Japan. BONSAI! ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 10 years ago my ko-sensei from the west village visited Japan and brought me back a Gita --I gave him £ 50 cash to take with him. This same man told me he had seen Srila Prabhupada in the 60/70's. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Ya'll think this is SUN article whole truthfull without being covered by (re-)material-conditioning and without ulterior motivation??? This is Pathetic!!! You are all exploring the varigated forms of ego-based self-lamentation & Fear & Fearsomeness!!! Last week the mayor of Los Angeles California said that in the city of Los Angeles the crime wave is now the lowest since 1950's --That's an unmitigated lie [purposefull or insanely]. Metally challanged [retarded] people are being executed for crimes [news out of Texas USA] and there are those protesting this --"only 'sane' people commit crimes" and thus should be treated as everyone else is. You MUST count your blessings ---That's as good as it gets. If you are not one of "the beautiful People" --too bad!!! You should have gone to Vietnam? Height Ashbury? Goa? :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: What was your SURESH DASA loss? He is alighting on a 1,000 points of light in his article of Life of a neophyte monk-wanna-be [and/or cult follower] and now here mocks austerities of youthfull brahmacarya life!!! Selfless service misgivings???

Who are "those who can't be fooled" [as stated by andy108]? ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: The Vedic injunction is that one must approach—the word “compulsory” is used—a bona fide spiritual master, a guru. And what is the qualification of a spiritual master? He is one who has rightly heard the Vedic message from the right source. And he must practically be firmly established in Brahman. These are the two qualities he must have. Otherwise he is not bona fide. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=6 width="100%" border=0> <TBODY> <TR> <TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #666666 1px solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 3ex; BORDER-TOP: #666666 1px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 3ex; BORDER-LEFT: #666666 1px solid; BORDER-BOTTOM: #666666 1px solid" bgColor=#e0e0e0>Originally Posted by Kulapavana "...may Lord Krsna be kind to him for the service he performed . . . I know what is true and what is valid for me. Let them worry about their own salvation and the validity of their own connection to Krsna and our sampradaya." </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> Bravo Kulapavana prabhu! This is where putting trust in other's judgement and opinion of what THEY know from their own experience comes down to. Speak with absolute certainty or acquiesce to senor guidance. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: The Lord takes charge of fully surrendered souls; thus all problems are solved simply by surrendering oneself unto the Lord and acting in terms of His directions. Such directions are given to the sincere devotee in two ways: one is by way of the saints, scriptures and spiritual master, and the other is by way of the Lord Himself, who resides within the heart of everyone. Thus the devotee, fully enlightened with Vedic knowledge, is protected in all respects. ................................................................ So keep studying Vedic knowledge --in service to Vaishnava. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Maybe Andy108 can be of some specific service to Kulapavana? Kulapavana asks Andy108: WHO among Srila Prabhupada's disciples is fit to be Guru in your opinion? I want A NAME, or NAMES! Well?

Quote: <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=6 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #666666 1px solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 3ex; BORDER-TOP: #666666 1px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 3ex; BORDER-LEFT: #666666 1px solid; BORDER-BOTTOM: #666666 1px solid" bgColor=#e0e0e0>Originally Posted by bhaktajan --[in response to andy108] Exhibit: "endearing himself to a demographic who he has identified as being a target market" Exhibit: "they will die struggling to keep a strangle hold on the innocents in the Iskcon rank and file, and any other innocent seeker" Exhibit: "I scoured the internet for years and read all I could from Srila Prabhupada alone." Exhibit: "brought me to a temple or two for Sunday feast, and explained the corruption scenario as he knew it." Exhibit: "I traveled to many temples and farm communities, and lived at a few. I participated ... as a ghost but the extreme arrogance of the "leaders", and the abuse their victims tolerated was beyond my capacity ... I can say I was the most mature and human person everywhere I went." Exhibit: "I have no individual potency to start a movement on my own." Exhibit: "... I am certain I could help to run a bonafide Sankirtana program via the training I have picked up little by little during my infiltrations ..." Exhibit: "Nevermind infusing a locality with a broad spectrum of Vaisnava culture." Exhibit: "So all I have left is to try to pick these usurpers off, philisophically, exposing their true agendas, one at a time. I find out who those people are on the internet. The ones who have any link, any influence over Iskcon or those interested in Iskcon. The ones who speculate themselves into some position of authority . . ." Exhibit: "It keeps me learning the philosophy and able to defend the truth. ... and wards off my sense of impotence. And also exposes these rascals ..." :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Forest Gump lives! :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :::: NEWS FLASH: This stuff is so old --they've built and worn down and re-built football stadiums in the time it has taken you to get up to speed on these topics. Maybe you can save some people in Rwanda; Cambodia; Thailand; Aids Wards; South Africa; Congo; Narco-traffic Wars on the Rio-Grand; how about the droughts; alternative energy sources --Oh how you lament because you can't fit in at any ashram any where you go --you can't even make your own way? PS: If it is posted on the SUN --I discard. But that is my opinion. </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> <!-- END TEMPLATE: bbcode_quote --> andy108's rebuttal: Gee, how kind of you to pick my points out of context and line them up so it looks like I am a confused contradictory hypocrite. Does that make you feel better about your own impotence? :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: bhaktajan's rebuttal: "and line them up" I lined and up and consecutively enumerated them . . . read carefully; there's danger at every step in the material world; it's like walking on a razor's edge. Why must you keep on about other's impotence? I guess it's the thought that counts?

"The gurus of our lives"... willing to renounce scriptural injunctions to obtain their goal. The definition of a genuine guru is that he is simply talking about God

chandu_69, I cannot speak of the validity yet --I am not listening to Arab News Reports. So as of this writting it is a true report. You have mis-read the disclaimer --the Video that was featured with the article was wrong --NOT the story its self. Below is the disclaimer at the site you linked. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Note: A video initially linked here has been confirmed to have no connection to this event as was represented in various Saudi media channels. The video has therefore been removed as irrelevant to this story. The video in question was of a meteor sighting in Australia in 2006. Thanks to reader David Moore of Freemantle WA for pointing this out to us. Should a genuine video come to light we will add a link.

Exhibit: "endearing himself to a demographic who he has identified as being a target market" Exhibit: "they will die struggling to keep a strangle hold on the innocents in the Iskcon rank and file, and any other innocent seeker" Exhibit: "I scoured the internet for years and read all I could from Srila Prabhupada alone." Exhibit: "brought me to a temple or two for Sunday feast, and explained the corruption scenario as he knew it." Exhibit: "I traveled to many temples and farm communities, and lived at a few. I participated ... as a ghost but the extreme arrogance of the "leaders", and the abuse their victims tolerated was beyond my capacity ... I can say I was the most mature and human person everywhere I went." Exhibit: "I have no individual potency to start a movement on my own." Exhibit: "... I am certain I could help to run a bonafide Sankirtana program via the training I have picked up little by little during my infiltrations ..." Exhibit: "Nevermind infusing a locality with a broad spectrum of Vaisnava culture." Exhibit: "So all I have left is to try to pick these usurpers off, philisophically, exposing their true agendas, one at a time. I find out who those people are on the internet. The ones who have any link, any influence over Iskcon or those interested in Iskcon. The ones who speculate themselves into some position of authority . . ." Exhibit: "It keeps me learning the philosophy and able to defend the truth. ... and wards off my sense of impotence. And also exposes these rascals ..." :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Forest Gump lives! :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: NEWS FLASH: This stuff is so old --they've built and worn down and re-built football stadiums in the time it has taken you to get up to speed on these topics. Maybe you can save some people in Rwanda; Cambodia; Thailand; Aids Wards; South Africa; Congo; Narco-traffic Wars on the Rio-Grand; how about the droughts; alternative energy sources --Oh how you lament because you can't fit in at any ashram any where you go --you can't even make your own way? PS: If it is posted on the SUN --I discard. But that is my opinion.

So, everyone thinks that if Srila Prabhupada's vision was carried on after his departure perfectly 'to the letter' --then we would all be living in the temple as grihasta's or even as staunch monks? Those who where there at the beginnig, no matter how austere or demanding the chores were ---are all glorious and en-nobled because of it. When Srila Prabhupada arrived --what were the chances that he would find followers? Who would follow? Where did they come from? Those how were available to do the work --had a grand aggenda that was beyond their anticipation --until Srila Prabhupada arrived and were given instruction as to what to do; they were neophytes too. My own experience is filled with 'being smashed' many times. It is of no matter --it is par for the course that comrades-in-arms would be lost to the wayside. Just as the rank-and-file do not fraternise with the comissioned officers before/during/after the war --so similarly we were there for our own reconciliation/reformation/spiritual practices; we were pursuing Yoga in a proper setting from proper authorities and a time that our youth afforded. For that we have been made glorious [whist all the secular world headed toward . . . ]. We knew that it was: 'Every man for himself' --we detested the bogus yogi(s) [false messiah; cult-leaders] of the 1960's --we knew to watch out for fallen devotees within our midsts --so we policed ourselves. This sort of self-policing of neopyhte newbees within the ashram is ironically the source of so-called impersonal mal-treatment within Iskcon. But we were all without a true academic regimen with strict oversight & standardised periodic review/exams/scoring. Iskcon was designed as any Ashram is: Show-up, stay awhile, pray-learn-revitalise; and then leave until nexr season. But it was so idealic that in-house faults were too intrusive to bare; and life-long ashram life was too ideal to maintain. After living outside the ashrama --We hid our personal POV grassroots protestations of the Karmi-Industrial-Complexes to avoid negative social back-fire against our local Hare Krishna Temples and our sannyasis. We've defered defense of Vedantic Wisdom to providence and others who were in orthodox good standing --those currently living within the auspices of the ashram/Temple life --now these posting borne of Gurukripa etal, places our supposed lack of living a monk's life on the shoulders of other's actions. HH Satsvarupa Goswami's story is a path not well traveled by many --we learn from his fall down(s)! It is for posterity that all permutations of a subject be explored and thus enlighten us of what to fear; so as to escape maya un-equivically.

Breaking News: Millions see UFO crash, <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Saudi Arabia</st1:place></st1:country-region><o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> January 20, 2009<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> Astonishing events are occuring around the world and not as much as a word about them is being written or said in the West. In <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Saudi Arabia</st1:place></st1:country-region> last week what might well have be a UFO, possibly crashing into earth, was witnessed by literally millions of people in the vicinity. Multiple photos of the object have come to light.<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> Arabic language forums are abuzz with Saudi citizens claiming to have witnessed what is even being described by some in the normally conservative Saudi Arabian press as a possible UFO either crashing to earth or simply executing manoeuvres designed to scare humans. <o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> Others are claiming the object was an Asteroid or a Satellite. Witnesses are reported to be waiting for an explanation from local meteorological bureau’s but have received no answers yet. <o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> ON Wednesday 7th of January after evening prayers a large noise was heard in sky followed by the sighting of an intense large light heading from the west above the Al-Qasim region east of <st1:country-region w:st="on">Saudi Arabia</st1:country-region>’s capital city <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Riyadh</st1:city></st1:place>. <o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> Many locals had seen meteors prior to this but claimed this one did not fit the typical description at all: it was a blue green colour and was shooting out green lasers. One witness Khalid commented ‘No one has ever seen anything like it’ Amazingly for an incident that hasn’t even made the news in the West, the object was seen as far away as <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Kuwait</st1:country-region></st1:place>. <o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> The complete absence of this story within western media is truly surprising as this was not your average incident involving a few people seeing strange things in the sky, the Saudi police recieved thousands of calls about the incident alone. <o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> It was reported that thousands of people were terrified and many even began to pray. Some have posted messages on the web warning that this might be a sign from God for the Kingdoms silence on <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Gaza</st1:place></st1:city>. Locals in the region where the object appeared to be heading claim they heard an explosion and felt a large tremor indicating that the object crashed. <o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> The Saudi government has not released information regarding the crash site but is reported to have sealed the area.<o:p></o:p> :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: <o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p>

tackleberry, You scare me. Do I scare you?

Quote: <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=6 width="100%" border=0> <TBODY> <TR> <TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #666666 1px solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 3ex; BORDER-TOP: #666666 1px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 3ex; BORDER-LEFT: #666666 1px solid; BORDER-BOTTOM: #666666 1px solid" bgColor=#e0e0e0>Originally Posted by Kulapavana Many people are afraid of the dark, even if nothing bad ever happened to them in the dark. That is something like the fear of the unknown. </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> I do not agree, but . . . I'm reminded: On the first day in kindergarten, when I was 5 years old, a classmate was escorted by her mum to the classroom --the mother then turned to leave --the little girl went berserk, running back and forth from the door to the teacher's desk and back again all the while screaming at the top of her voice, even jumping up on the desk and the door. Like a wild monkey, I thought at the time. That little girl certainly knew nothing of what she SHOULD fear (On her first day in kindergarten) --but she knew certainly that she would be left without the presense of her mother. This she knew, and thus she screamed. Did she further consider that her mum was abandoning her without returning? She had presumptions of the consequences that prompted her behavior --that may have been due to experiences I was not privy to; or she may have been too imaginative; or too demanding --in any case I do not think that the child was screaming for her mum to return because of the 'logic' of worst-case scenarios of her destiny.

Karma = action. That is all it signifies. Dharma = occupational duties. The idea behind the title of this thread is: Dharma (duties) define the daily life of Humans. vs. The daily ethos of life is to preform actions that results only in reactions --without sublime purpose. All animals preform "acts" (karma) and the same animals perform selflessly, their own dharma (duties) --but without self-reflection/introspection as to "why". Being a "Human being" is above & beyond "being a Man" --The obligations of be-coming a Human differ from the ethos of being a Man among the common populace.

Are you two colluding, now? .............................................. Deepak Chopra said [i'm paraphrasing here]: "We fear the known. We cannot fear the unknown". This is not a trick calculus question. The child does not fear putting their hand into the fire until they are told and scoulded! The criminal fears nothing --and learns by penance [penitentiary; Jail; Prison]. The consequences are to be feared. Ignorance of the law is no excuse --but until the bank-robbery is caught and convicted before a court-review of the truth --the bank-robbery will enjoy his stolen booty. Innocense is made into knowledge after the endeavor [or stunt] is lived through. We do not fear the "unknown"-- we presume to anticipate all possiblities that are within our known experience. We cannot fear something that is beautiful, enticing & sense-gratifying and a transimitter of venereal-disease --until we are educated on the subject, even to the point of goverment intervention to the point of barring distribution and uses of "controlled-substances". To not be educated as to what should be feared and what should be sought --then we are in ignorance. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Hey K, "The kid is scared to enter water though he has never done it before." So un-well thought out! You have never heard of children walking into a swimming pool --to their death? BTW, You have never heard of distracted people walking into the path of a speeding car or train? They know of the danger --they were not fearing it at that moment --due to ignorance of their vicinity to danger.

Is this relevant or valid?: Deepak Chopra said [i'm paraphrasing here]: "We fear the known. We cannot fear the unknown".

The "Varna"-system? "Varna" is a catagory of 'work', ergo, 'worker' into the bargin. Wall street, landlords, the Tax-man and school & Uni institutions all cater and subsist on: varni(s) doing their alloted work. NOW GET BACK TO WORK. [or finish that cross-word puzzle --if you can]

"to reclaim the most fallen of the brahminical varna" Sometimes I've thought that SP did just that: He knew canidates who had practiced all levels of Vedic tapasyas &/or suffered through all the requisite paths had arrived on Bhumi-loka and the time was ripe. He was the Paramahansa that taken-up the nectarous ones from among the rat race competetors.