mahak

I am called mahaksadasa by my spiritual master, Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami, who accepted me as a disciple in 1973. I am not a society type, preferring to live in self-imposed exile. I have tried to associate with devotees via the internet since 1996.

I am presently a grave digger by profession which is suitable since I previously worked on the Trident Missile and Submarine Program for the US Navy from 1987 thru 2002, before that, did some aircraft carrier work.

I live right under Canada on the straight of Juan di fuca. Nice, quiet area.

Old and tired materially, politically left of Mao and Fidel, my material heroes are Malcolm X and Patrice Lumumba. Musician, writer, and all that other stuff. My website is below this post. My favorite entries on the website are the partial Kipu Ka novel, the Birth of Death, and the very be4st effort to date, Dialogue with Dismas, the truest story I ever told.

Thanks for asking, hare krsna, ys, mahaksadasa

http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/primer/java/scienceopticsu/powersof10/index.html

two key stipulated facts.

Krsna is the smallest of the small, so on the above linK, he is even in the atom, in the quark.

Krsna is present in every atom.

Haribol, ys mahaksadasa

PS Just as the earth is a living entity composed of living entities, the body of the human is made up of countless living entities. There are no sentient (meaning living, subject to all the symptoms of life) beings that have no localized paramatma. So the worm, when analyzed, can be seen to have living parasites that compose his form. The ant has aphids, the aphids have mites, etc, etc. etc.

Haribol

Haribol. I understand guruvani, especially his criteria for using the word "guru". There is no such thing as a guru ceasing to be God's representative.

However, this seems to be the main problem here. That is, the difference between a genuine guru and one merely trying to pose as a guru is that the phony severely depends on the disciple BELIEVING that he is as good as god. The genuing guru will fully teach that he is NOT god, that only God is God, and that our business is to directly serve Him.

There is also a need for a phony guru for his disciple to BELIEVE that Krsna cannot be served directly, that the only hope for a person is to place all their love (meaning funds, adulation, etc) upon the guru. However, a genuine guru teaches the disciple to directly serve krsna. This is called sadhana bhakti.

Of course we take the gifts of the genuine guru and serve krsna through his vehicle. Srila Prabhupada tells us that he is the mailbox, krsna is the post office, both have equal authority to receive and deliver mail. But Srila Prabhupada does not teach that Krsna cannot be directly served. He gives us the story of Dhruva, who got krsna to appear before him by his own determination while in a needy condition. Krsna then disappears, and dhruva is able to be approached by the inspired srila narada muni, who enables dhruva to serve through his vehicle. Often times, this rings true in the contemporary world. many of us had a direct blast of experiancing directly the glory of god, but it went away almost immediately. Then the craving for permanence came upon us, so we were approached by one directly sent by krsna to retrieve us, to show us how to NOT LOSE HIM AGAIN.

No, we cannot directly approach God, but He can do whatever he wants with us. He can cause us to remember or forget per his whim. He can send us a genuine guru or he can cause us to be bewildered by an idiot who wants us to believe he is as good as god and that god can never be attained unless we do what the idiot wants us to do. Krsna is omnescient and knows the heart of the individual, knows the motive. The guru is not omnescient, yet is perfectly comprised of all knowledge because he does not change the message thaqt is given by krsna to give to us. This is the divinity of a genuine guru, that he does not interfere with the direct relationship between god and the living being. What god desires for the being, the guru brings this desire, intact, no change, just the same as all the acaryas. When a guru (a genuine one, I am like guruvani here, I dont use the word normally to describe a pretender) sits in the vyasasana, or receives praises on Vyasa puja, he is none other than Lord Vyasadedva, thus the terms vyasapuj and vyasasana.

Haribol, ys, mahaksadasa

put some dang clothes on, GV

hey, haribol, murali-mohan (I cant call you murali anymore because muralidhar surfs, too).

Its funny, the cartoon movie I saw last night, "Surf's Up", deals with the issue of competition. I dealt with it extensively in my novel, Kipu'ka, as well, which I posted an excerpt just last week. Ill bring it up if you missed it.

The competition is a commercial venture, and not unlike music, once the money is there, there goes the art. There is art, and there is commerce, and, IMHO, they are not compatible.

I like the art of surfing, but I like the cheers from the rocks as well. Awesome rides deserve applause, as does a well played original and heartfelt song.

See surfs up, bring an eight year old. Haribol, ys, mahaksadasas

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR><TD align=left>australia has good waves, too!!!

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Are always found at obscure places. Best waves are the ones no one believes you caught, because you were there alone.

Now, maybe Babhru can confirm this possibility, but I was alone at a very obscure and hard to get to spot on the Isle of Big, not a known surfer place. Waipio (co-incidently, the feast location of a wonderful rathayatra I attended with Babhru) is north shore of big, and is a very narrow place for the usual giants, although the great tsunami of 1946 did wash to the end of the valley. But I walked the steep road at 5 a.m. one morning with nothing but my churchhill fins. When the sun finally rose, a rogue set was hitting the pristine, awesome beach that everyone must see4 before they die.

I swum out, I hated diving under big waves, but there was a break, and I had noted where the bigguns were forming. I waited, let a few go, then I started swimming as the hump grew. I dropped, and as I had a little piece of plywood with finger straps, as big as a catchers clove, I pushed the bottom of the wave. I came back up, deeply tubed, expecting to die, then I popped out. Sat on the beach for an hour, thinking about Lord Yamaraja and what kind of waves he rides with his diamond noose and all, then I walked back up the hill, hitchhiked back to OOkala, and got initiated that afternoon in 1974 in a fire sacrifice performed by Subala Swami. It was a good day.

Hare Krsna, ys, mahaksadasa

ISKCON is more than the six letters that comprise the society logo of Srila Prabhupadas foundastional preaching apparatus. ISKCON never has meant membership in a particular discussion group or lifestyle.

Hare Krsna, ys, mahaksadasa

mahaksadasa, tribute to those already done wit dat.

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sing the highwayman to that, eh

me surf mates, mahaksadasa

Saw a good "Cady Movie" last night, surfs up, an animated surf flick, very well done.

I like surf music, and somehow, Reggae fills that bill. Maybe its just that rastafarians seem to have the ol surf culture down. But in the long run, if, say, I was still in my youth, taking the drop at say, hookipa, on a windy morning where the 15 footers are holding up, and Im really deep with my ol survival stance (nothing to look at, not Surfer Magazine material, but adequate and very fun), the music Id like for that 1/2 mile ride would be the "highwayman", by loreena mcKennett.

Pleasant thread. Surfing is not just a mundane sport. The deep emotions are not so profound (though not entirely missing) in baseball or football. We would not be on the second page in less than two days. (Maybe boxing, eh, theist? There, we had a good one on VNN, matreya marciano and mahaksa ali).

Haribol, ys, mahaksadasa (mo pics)

His mata was ethopian, afarian. Afarians nevah cut dere hair, mon, doncha know nuttin?

haribol, mahaksadasa

Ol Michaelangelo had the knack, didnt he. Captured human emotion in a real profound manner. Only idiots criticize and nit-pick, but others will appreciate that Krsna is the ability in man, and this artist was quite good. As far as the dead body goes, the wise lament neither the living or the dead, the devotee is mortified at the separation he feels for the departed vaisnava. Lamentation means missing what that body has done for me, separation from the devotee of Krsna is a transcendental emotion, not to be confused with lamentation.

Get off it guruvani, everyone, by now, knows your opinion in the matter. You dont have to ruin every thread with your rhetoric about how lame jesus was.

haribol, ys, mahaksadasa

Tears flowed incessantly as Lord Chaitanya placed the body of Haridas thakura in the sea. So there. I wont go into how Lord Jesus and Haridas are the same person, too much like casting pearls before swine.

Haribol. I fully support the idea of freedom. Freedom for a hindu to participate on any forum he chooses. Freedom for me to contribute to the Internal ISKCON thread, even though I have not been internal ISKCON since 1975. Freedom for my hindu friends to share their realizations on the threads I always come to.

When I see Lord Siva in the title, I go there. I dont like to hear this rhetoric that ensues, this faith vs faith commonality, but I still go there, because I like to hear of the glories of Lord Siva, Lord Ganesha. I wish someone would start a Lord Brahma/Goddess Saraswati thread. I have never heard my spiritual master treat the Gods with disdain. Srila Prabhupada is a Lord Brahma worshipper, the Srimad Bhagavatam is four verses sung by the Creator. Lord Brahma is our great Acarya, the beginning of our sampradaya.

But kanistha adhikaris always fight over religious faith because their faith is very weak. They put others down because they feel the need to prop their own as the truest of the TRUE. But this is never the version by the great mahabhagavatas. The absorbtion in Bhagavan Realization gives them full access to know that "those guys" are not foreigners. The uttama adhikari understands that all are full bhaktas, devotees of t6he lord. Because of this full realization, the uttama adhikari accepts the madhyama adhikari platform in order to see a distinction between those inclined toward devotional service (Bhakti Yoga) and those who are not, and for the latter, devises plans for them to remember their actual position.

Srila Prabhupada does not attack the demigods, never. He repeats Bhagavad Gita where Krsna admonishes those who worship demigods for materialistic gain, but he also clearly repeats Srila Rupa Goswami who admonishes the so-called krsna worshipper who worships krsna for materialistic gain, actually a severe offense to the holy name in itself. Worshipping of demigods for material gain is stated to be foolish, while worshipping of Krsna for material gain is stated to be offensive. It is much better to be a fool than an offender.

But the demigods are not at fault, they are Gods because Krsna has made them Gods, in other words, they are worshippable pure devotees. Srila Prabhupada repeats Bhagavatam in describing the twelve authorities of bhakti yoga. These authorities are certainly worshippable, and vaisnavas who fail to worship such authorities certainly have little hope for spiritual advancement. If Lord Brahma is not regarded, then Srimad Bhagavatam does not exist. If we do not want to hear from Lord Siva of Lord Yamaraja, we are fools and offenders. If the kumaras, sukadeva, and narada are neglected, then we fail. In fact, we are instructed to worship asuras as well. Demons! ya say, but the fact is that two of these twelve authorities on bhakti yoga were born into the class known as asuras, both Prahlada and Bali Maharaja are kings of asura line.

We may get all wrapped up in the story line, especfially with Lord Indra. Yeah, he may be a bit puffed up, but just wait til you're the king of heaven, see how you do. Indra is sufficiently humbled for his excesses, he pays his dues, he never deserves the disrespect that Ive seen laid on him and other gods by those vaisnavas who should know better.

The religion of Hinduism reflects the histories of Bharatavarsa. Now the hindu may think bharatavarsa is India, but the time scale of the histories indicate Bharatavarsa may have existed long before what is now seen as india. Persoanlly, I believe, through study of ramayana mixed with understandings of plate techtonics (religion and science, how dare thee, mahaksaji) that Bharatavarsa was the whole world, and the continents have separated only as pollution increases with the end of each previous age. If hinduism is reserved for only those in the 21 century of the christian era who live in India, then these folks are sadly mistaken and very ignorant and rejected by anyone with spiritual aspirations, placed in the same catagory as southern baptists, scientologists and other tribalistic nonsense.

Bharatavarsa is the whole planet. Hindu culture exists everywhere, in russia, in south america, in polynesia, in british columbia. Not the immigrants, but rather the archaeological artifacts. Sri Michael Cremo is doing good archaeology in this regard. As we see as the monkey king assigns various generals to go fing Srimati Sitadevi. general one - Go to the west, to the end of the earth, and look beyond the great sea. General 2 - Go to the east, to the end of the earth, and look beyond the great sea. General 3 - Go to the north, to the end of the earth, and look beyond the great sea. General 4 - Go to the south, to the end of the earth, and look beyond the great sea.

Soundes to me like bharatavarsa is a super-continent, like the geologists confirm, before the great changes that sent everything away from mother afrika.

Anyway, this is a vast subject, but the point is, hinduism is not a problem, it is a great culture. There are some who will nit pick and say that "hindu" is the name given those practicers conquered by mogul invaders, which may be true, but origins of words do not have anything to do with present day context of the same word. My ancesters, the nez perce, are called Indians, but never set foot on the sub-continent. Baseball players from cleveland are called indians, but their logo isnt of a yogi. I accept the association of my hindu brothers and sisters because they know what I am talking about when I am immersed in the stories that have become my life and soul.

Anyway, like I said, I like folks who are likable, I dont to those who arent, has nothing to do with what tags they want to frame upon themselves, be it hindu, christian, vaisnava, mayavadi, et al

Hare krsna, ys, mahaksadasa

guruvani:You can hear about Jesus on many other forums.

This forum is from "INDIA DIVINE" and I think that the philosophies and religions of India should be the focus.

the Jesus people can find many Christian forums to go stroke each other with Christian sentiment.

This forum should offer something that you can't get from the Christian forums.

mahaksadasa: Wrong, brother. The other forums talk about the perversion called christianity. Lord Jesus Christ is spoken of here in a way that is never acceptable to the christian. You are not truthful, either, because you treat the worshippers of ganesha and siva the same way you treat those who may want to discuss the vaisnavism of Lord Jesus Christ. They are from INDIA DIVINE. At least be truthful, you vilify everyone equally, you are not the champion of INDIAN RELIGION, you are just the voice of incessant one-upsmanship.

mahaksadasa

Im no fan of guruvani, but you fail miserably. You say mayavad is superior, yet you do not explain. I clearly say that you do not explain because there is no explanation. You refuse to teach us lowly sentimentalists because you believe that we are all one, so why waste your words. You have actually arrogantly and absurdly stated this. Why waste your time?

Okay, why waste your time here among us lowly sentimentalists. We dont like you, we think you are the epitome of ignorance, and every post you do proves this point for all to see. Instead of presenting a proper thesis on Brahman realization to make a purposeful and wor5thy thread, your teachings are as follows:

1: Just because I don't throw before you what I know about Shankaras Advaita doesn't mean I know nothing about it!

2: Sorry no Pearls before Vedabasevadis.

3: What a freakin joke!

4: This just shows your idiotic understanding of Advaitavad, not even close.

5: Brahmin threads are for brahmins goofball.

YADA YADA YADA. When is your book due. Im sure it will seell like hotcakes, oh great advaitist When you become brahmana realized, come back, until then, just go smoke some dope. Maybe enlightenment will come in the drifts of ganja, because you have offered absolutely nothing in any way, shape, or form to what can be considered a "spiritual discussion". You bore me to the point that I desire to merge into mystic liquid so I dont have to put up with you anymore, no, that wont work, If I am you, suicide is a viable option.

Now the dudes gonna lump me in with our resident shock jock, guruvani. (we be coo, bro, but we be different, too. I like the tag ya got, I was once called the "dear Abby" of vaisnava net).

Haribol. I, for one, am always very enlivened by the stories from the great epics and histories about the great heroes. I realize that many of my peers dont care to hear of the bhaktas of Lord Subramuniyam, but I am not one of them. I dont agree with some who have placed the demoniac god versus the devil, a perversion of the teachings of Lord Jesus Christ, into their vaisnava culture. For instance, I have an appreciation for the likes of Sri Duryodhana and Sri Ravanasura than some may not even care to hear about. The regret showed by duryodhana over the anti-ksatriya behavior of the son of Drona is commendable. There is also the fact that Sri Duryodhana was a very intimate friend of Lord Balarama, so if he is hated like the devil, that is wrongful thinking. Ravanasura is the person who has descended from the spiritual strata to engage in the rasa of chivalry with Lord Rama, so I praise their relationship as truely transcendental, free from the good and evil duality of the materialistic thinker.

All this appreciation is due to the causeless gift given to me by Srila Prabhupada, who taught me to be liberal minded in all matters. He never expected his disciple to be brainless robotsa incapable of expressing themselves, giving pleasure to others and allowing for further instruction from others as well. This is why he tried to create a diverse society that had the unity of harinama samkirtana.

Anyway, I am never opposed to respectful persons who may hold different views. I may have a low tolerance with those who try to tell me Im god but forgot, because God never forgets, as Krsna fully confirms in the gita. I worship Lord Ganesha because he will never make another mistake, and I will try my best to follow in the divine Scribe's footsteps.

Hare krsna, yog kriya, ys, mahaksadasa

PS The name is familiar, but my service center (Hilo, Hawaii) was many thousands of miles away. Most of the early disciples I associated were original San Francisco devotees, such as Sudama, Subala, Goursundara, Govinda dasi, Jivananda, as well as the disciples of Sriman Sai, who also became disciples of Srila Prabhupada when sai became Sri Siddhaswarupananda. In honolulu, all devotees always did a stopover between India and America, so anyone I knew or met was quite fleeting. I also served in a remote, rural setting.

haribol

Theist has challenged, and I do as well. Is mayavad superior? So, we are waiting??? But no, you fail miserably, which is why even Sri Sankaracarya calls you fools and rascals and urges all to worship Sri Govinda.

You have nothing to teach me, because I am you, and you know all.

You cannot call me a fool because i sentimentally chant Krsnas name because my consciousness is connected to the same mystic liquid you spring from.

In fact, there is no you or no me, so why are were here at all. A true mayavadi would not be here, now or ever. Worship of illusion, this is mayavada. But the mayavadi wannabees come on line, so far removed from any white light, mystic liquid of non-existance, and they cannot speak their so-called brahmana realization, because they have none. The true mayavadi is like meher baba, who had the sense to never speak. He was a true teacher, because he knew to speak was to betray his very belief that we are all god, because the god we have to teach is not a god at all.

And you mayavads speak, but all you ever say is something to the effect that the gaudiyas are lame excuses for hindus, that gaudiyas are fanatics. Well, teach by your example, leave us alone, you have nothing to teach, we are all god, IM GOD, SHUT UP. NOW. See, you are wrong, and your following posts will prove my lack of authority, and since I am you are you are me and we are all together, yours as well.

Hare Krsna, ys, mahaksadasa

Hare Krsna. I never do it, but I wrote ACBSP after my name in this topic to indicate that I am an initiated disciple of Srila AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. The practice of using these initials after ones name is an ISKCON practice, and Im definitely not a member of that organization, since 1975. However, Srila Prabhupada is referred to as Jagat Guru, meaning he is my Guru, not just ISKCON's.

Srila Prabhupada taught Bhagavad Gita, most extensively. The main primary education for his disciples, largely westerners who were disenfranchised due to a cultural enlightenment that had no apparent explanation. The core of his disciples were properly raised in the judeo-christian world, but had thrown away those babies with the bathwater of materialistic religiosity which went with it.

Bhagavad Gita contains the whole truth of ones self. It is the living entity dying from frustration submitting to the Supreme Guru, who never is away from our sides at any time. Paramatma Realization if fully explained in Srila Prabhupada Purports to his masterpiece gift to the world. Srila Prabhupada teaches me the essence of hinduism, christianity, akkadian, samerian, egyptian, druidism, zoroastrianism, sufism. All cultures aspiring to seek the self must seek the Superior being, and there is no description of God better than how Krsna describes His personality to arjuna:

"The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: Yes, I will tell you of My splendorous manifestations, but only of those which are prominent, O Arjuna, for My opulence is limitless. I am the Supersoul, O Arjuna, seated in the hearts of all living entities. I am the beginning, the middle and the end of all beings. Of the Adityas I am Vishnu, of lights I am the radiant sun, of the Maruts I am Marici, and among the stars I am the moon. Of the Vedas I am the Sama Veda; of the demigods I am Indra, the king of heaven; of the senses I am the mind; and in living beings I am the living force [consciousness]. Of all the Rudras I am Lord Siva, of the Yakshas and Rakshasas I am the Lord of wealth [Kuvera], of the Vasus I am fire [Agni], and of mountains I am Meru. Of priests, O Arjuna, know Me to be the chief, Brihaspati. Of generals I am Kartikeya, and of bodies of water I am the ocean. Of the great sages I am Bhrigu; of vibrations I am the transcendental om. Of sacrifices I am the chanting of the holy names [japa], and of immovable things I am the Himalayas. Of all trees I am the banyan tree, and of the sages among the demigods I am Narada. Of the Gandharvas I am Citraratha, and among perfected beings I am the sage Kapila. Of horses know Me to be Uccaihsrava, produced during the churning of the ocean for nectar. Of lordly elephants I am Airavata, and among men I am the monarch. Of weapons I am the thunderbolt; among cows I am the surabhi. Of causes for procreation I am Kandarpa, the god of love, and of serpents I am Vasuki. Of the many-hooded Nagas I am Ananta, and among the aquatics I am the demigod Varuna. Of departed ancestors I am Aryama, and among the dispensers of law I am Yama, the lord of death. Among the Daitya demons I am the devoted Prahlada, among subduers I am time, among beasts I am the lion, and among birds I am Garuda. Of purifiers I am the wind, of the wielders of weapons I am Rama, of fishes I am the shark, and of flowing rivers I am the Ganges. Of all creations I am the beginning and the end and also the middle, O Arjuna. Of all sciences I am the spiritual science of the self, and among logicians I am the conclusive truth. Of letters I am the letter A, and among compound words I am the dual compound. I am also inexhaustible time, and of creators I am Brahma. I am all-devouring death, and I am the generating principle of all that is yet to be. Among women I am fame, fortune, fine speech, memory, intelligence, steadfastness and patience. Of the hymns in the Sama Veda I am the Brihat-sama, and of poetry I am the Gayatri. Of months I am Margasirsha [November-December], and of seasons I am flower-bearing spring. I am also the gambling of cheats, and of the splendid I am the splendor. I am victory, I am adventure, and I am the strength of the strong. Of the descendants of Vrishni I am Vasudeva, and of the Pandavas I am Arjuna. Of the sages I am Vyasa, and among great thinkers I am Usana. Among all means of suppressing lawlessness I am punishment, and of those who seek victory I am morality. Of secret things I am silence, and of the wise I am the wisdom. Furthermore, O Arjuna, I am the generating seed of all existences. There is no being -- moving or nonmoving -- that can exist without Me. O mighty conqueror of enemies, there is no end to My divine manifestations. What I have spoken to you is but a mere indication of My infinite opulences.

Know that all opulent, beautiful and glorious creations spring from but a spark of My splendor. But what need is there, Arjuna, for all this detailed knowledge? With a single fragment of Myself I pervade and support this entire universe."

So, from the education I have been given, I never even slightly deride the positions or the personalities of those who Krsna empowers, associates with, employs as representative. If I fail to give Lord Ganesha his due, Lord Krsna will not be pleased to reveal himself to me. If I say something totally ignorant about Lord Siva or those who have become a sort of heroes to me personally, Lords Yama and Goddess Yami, how will I ever take my place is I forget my very swarupa?

I dont need special mantras to worship ganesha. As the story of King Guha the hunter, as told by him to Sri Sri Sita Rama and sesabalarama appearing as Laksmana, his worship is accepted by Lord Siva as far superior to anything performed by the brahmana class. When I see his form, I remember his story of his one mistake, how he failed to recognize Lord Siva, his Father. That is my mantra, that is my worshipo. And Srila Prabhupada personally taught me this style of bhakti yoga as well, which is called Visnu smaranam, rememberance of the lila-guna-rupa-nama of Lord Visnu and everything connected with him.

The teaching from bhagavad gita above is visnu smaranam, in a very practical manner. It enables the bhakti yogi to be fully krsna conscious when he sees a shark (a very good yoga technique for the surfer types). When I play nine ball and speak of sacrede geometry, I can be krsna conscious because he is the CONCLUSIVE TRUTH, the goal of all logicians.

Hare Krsna, I pray to Sri Lord Ganesha to remove the impediments of discord among the transcendentalists and those who are eligible to hear and apply the song of the Supreme Lord, Srimad Bhagavad Gita. I sure hope to refrain from offending those who are not in full agreement and readily disregard comments made which may be real eyebrow raisers. ys in cooperation, mahaksadasa

been there, done that

This is the theme for Visokas web group, vaisnava council.

Funny axioms change? Revisionism is change, Vyasadeva remains the same.

Always question the source.

Hare Krsna, ys, mahaksadasa

An excerpt from Teachings of Self Realization, by Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami:

...

The Vedas enjoin us to seek out a guru; actually, they say to seek out the guru, not just a guru. The guru is one because he comes in disciplic succession. What Vyasadeva and Krsna taught five thousand years ago is also being taught now. There is no difference between the two instructions. Although hundreds and thousands of acaryas have come and gone, the message is one. The real guru cannot be two, for the real guru does not speak differently from his predecessors. Some spiritual teachers say, "In my opinion you should do this," but this is not a guru. Such so-called gurus are simply rascals. The genuine guru has only one opinion, and that is the opinion expressed by Krsna, Vyasadeva, Narada, Arjuna, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and the Gosvamis. Five thousand years ago Lord Sri Krsna spoke the Bhagavad-gita, and Vyasadeva recorded it. Srila Vyasadeva did not say, "This is my opinion." Rather, he wrote, sri-bhagavan uvaca, that is, "The Supreme Personality of Godhead says." Whatever Vyasadeva wrote was originally spoken by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Srila Vyasadeva did not give his own opinion.

Consequently, Srila Vyasadeva is a guru. He does not misinterpret the words of Krsna, but transmits them exactly as they were spoken. If we send a telegram, the person who delivers the telegram does not have to correct it, edit it, or add to it. He simply presents it. That is the guru's business. The guru may be this person or that, but the message is the same; therefore it is said that guru is one.

In the disciplic succession we simply find repetition of the same subject. In the Bhagavad-gita (9.34) Sri Krsna says:

man-mana bhava mad-bhakto

mad-yaji mam namaskuru

mam evaisyasi yuktvaivam

atmanam mat-parayanah

"Engage your mind always in thinking of Me, become My devotee, offer obeisances, and worship Me. Being completely absorbed in Me, surely you will come to Me." These very instructions were reiterated by all the acaryas, such as Ramanujacarya, Madhvacarya, and Caitanya Mahaprabhu. The six Gosvamis also transmitted the same message, and we are simply following in their footsteps. There is no difference. We do not interpret the words of Krsna by saying, "In my opinion, the Battlefield of Kuruksetra represents the human body." Such interpretations are set forth by rascals. In the world there are many rascal gurus who give their own opinion, but we can challenge any rascal. A rascal guru may say, "I am God," or, "We are all God." That is all right, but we should find out from the dictionary what the meaning of God is. Generally, a dictionary will tell us that the word God indicates the Supreme Being. Thus we may ask such a guru, "Are you the Supreme Being?" If he cannot understand this, then we should give the meaning of supreme. Any dictionary will inform us that supreme means "the greatest authority." We may then ask, "Are you the greatest authority?" Such a rascal guru, even though proclaiming himself to be God, cannot answer such a question. God is the Supreme Being and the highest authority. No one is equal to Him or greater than Him. Yet there are many guru-gods, many rascals who claim to be the Supreme. Such rascals cannot help us escape the darkness of material existence. They cannot illumine our darkness with the torchlight of spiritual knowledge.

The bona fide guru will simply present what the supreme guru, God, says in bona fide scripture. A guru cannot change the message of the disciplic succession.

We must understand that we cannot carry out research to find the Absolute Truth. Caitanya Mahaprabhu Himself said, "My Guru Maharaja, My spiritual master, considered Me a great fool." He who remains a great fool before his guru is a guru himself. However, if one says, "I am so advanced that I can speak better than my guru," he is simply a rascal. In the Bhagavad-gita (4.2) Sri Krsna says:

evam parampara-praptam

imam rajarsayo viduh

sa kaleneha mahata

yogo nastah parantapa

"This supreme science was thus received through the chain of disciplic succession, and the saintly kings understood it in that way. But in course of time the succession was broken, and therefore the science as it is appears to be lost."

Taking on a guru is not simply a fashion. One who is serious about understanding spiritual life requires a guru. A guru is a question of necessity, for one must be very serious to understand spiritual life, God, proper action, and one's relationship with God. When we are very serious about understanding these subjects, we need a guru. We shouldn't go to a guru simply because a guru may be fashionable at the moment. Surrender must be there, for without surrender we cannot learn anything. If we go to a guru simply to challenge him, we will learn nothing. We must accept the guru just as Arjuna accepted his guru, Sri Krsna Himself:

karpanya-dosopahata-svabhavah

prcchami tvam dharma-sammudha-cetah

yac chreyah syan niscitam bruhi tan me

sisyas te 'ham sadhi mam tvam prapannam

"Now I am confused about my duty and have lost all composure because of weakness. In this condition I am asking You to tell me clearly what is best for me. Now I am Your disciple and a soul surrendered unto You. Please instruct me." (Bhagavad-gita 2.7)

...

hare krsna, ys, mahaksadasa

my only concern is that in the height of our sectarianism, we forget Gods position among his quarreling cvhildren.

Srila Prabhupada perfectly taught of the transcendentalist. He taught Brahman, paramatman, and bhagavan realization. He gives us Bhagavad Gita As It is.

That some, if not most, of his disciples choose to choose the sectarian route is unfortunate, but those who are offended at them for this immaturity are just as immature. A true transcendentalist, regardless of favoring brahman, paramatman on bhagavan realizaqtion, will surely be above the frey.

So, hindus, the title of this topic is praise of Lord Ganesha. It is why I was attracted to this topic, I want to worship Lord Ganesha. Why do you accues me of being infidel because I want to worship Lord Ganesha?

Hare Krsna, mahaksadasa (ACBSP)

Haribol. Guruvani has stated:

"Rocan is anti-ritvik, anti-GBC, anti-GBC gurus, anti-Narayana Maharaja, anti-Sridhar Maharaja and anti- to about everything I can think of."

mahaksadasa. Yeah, so? I dont see any disqualification here.

guruvani. "What I could never figure out is what he thinks is the solution to the mess ISKCON is in."

mahaksadasa. Maybe because he doesn't have one. Rocana is quite prolific and very free with his ideas. If he had the solution to ISKCON's woes, he would surely publish.

guruvani. "He seems to advocate direct connection to Srila Prabhupada through siksha. He doesn't seem to have any answer to the question of formal diksha."

mahaksadasa: This is the key here, and it is why I always appreciate hearing Sriman Rocana dasa's viewpoints on all subjects he chooses to report on. The mahaksadasa purport is that if one is directly connected to Srila Prabhupada through siksa, the answer to the question of formal diksa comes from siksa. This is the meaning of siksa. I have many siksa gurus, and they all pointed to Srila Prabhupada when the question of formal diksa became a concern of mine. If one has a direct siksa connection to Srila Prabhupada, his full instructions on guru tattwa is fully understood, including diksa and the full story on Lord Nityananda Prabhu's direct, intimate, and very personal role.

guruvani. "I think Rocan has been wanting to have his cake and eat it too."

mahaksadasa. Me too.

guruvani. "He is anti-everything but says people can get a direct connection to Srila Prabhupada through siksha."

mahaksadasa. I thought Srila Prabhupada said that.

guruvani. "He doesn't offer anything as far as the matter of formal diksha goes. At least not that I have ever seen."

mahaksadasa. The only thing he could offer is that he take on a disciple. This is the only offering for anyone. If there is someone in front of you, asking to be formally linked to the Sampradaya, and you are formally linked, either you link him or you dont, end of story. Diksa appears before the sincere disciple. Not in the phone book, not advertized in the latest issue of Guru Times. The only thing I have to offer concerning formal diksa is to initiate and bring a soul back home. All other offerings are useless, as we internetters should well know by now, doncha think?

I Like rocana, always have, awesome writer and researcher, and his tact is well, to, by not letting Puranjana ruin his newspaper. (I like you, too, Pd, we bros, just dont see eye-to-eye)

Hare Krsna, ys, mahaksadasa