Guest guest Report post Posted December 31, 2004 could you please explain. when lord krishna says in the gita 'meditation' does he mean mantra meditation-japa or meditation as in looking towards the inner self? what is the differnce and which brings about quicker results? also, could you explain to me the power of the mahamantra in the field of burning up sins. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest guest Report post Posted December 31, 2004 Prabhupada says that mantra meditation is best for this age and gives the quickest results. Hare Krsna! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest guest Report post Posted January 2, 2005 chanting is excellent for purification, but in the gita meditation means to sit with one's eyes closed, directed to the brow chakra and meditate/contemplate on Krishna in the heart Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest guest Report post Posted January 2, 2005 "gita meditation means to sit with one's eyes closed, directed to the brow chakra and meditate/contemplate on Krishna in the heart" could you please explain further on this process and how to go about it. can it be tried by anyone or only those who are qualified? Hare Krsna! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest guest Report post Posted January 2, 2005 simply sit in any comfortable position that allows your spine to be straight, which is essential to allow the pranic flow through the nadis, up and down the spine, close your eyes either half-way or completely, half-way is good so you don't fall asleep, you can direct your eyes upward to the place that is between your eyes which meets your nose or you can look toward the tip of your nose, but from my experience upward between the eyes is best because the ajna (brow) chakra will aid spiritual vision and wisdom, use your imagination and visualise the Lord either right there in the space in front of you or in the heart, in the gita Krishna says simply to set your mind on Him, but it also says to see Him in the heart, you should experiment, you could also recite om or krishna if you wish, meditation like this is best after some chanting because chanting is really great purification, but this meditation is quiet and intimate time with the Lord and i have had amazing success with it, but please continue your chanting it is so important to do both, as you meditate breath naturally and slowly and relax, just contemplate the Supreme Personality of Godhead Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest guest Report post Posted January 2, 2005 how long should you carry this on for? whenever feel right? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest guest Report post Posted January 2, 2005 this should be done before sunrise i presume. what are the effects that you will see with sucessfull mediation? Hare Krishna Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest guest Report post Posted January 2, 2005 it is best to begin meditation before sunrise, but if you cannot it is not a problem, just do it whenever you can, you can sit in meditation up to one hour, do at least fifteen minutes, you'll know when you are successful because the mind will become calm and you will feel peace, if your mind wanders away just bring it back to Krishna, if your mind keeps talking then use His names, as you progress feelings of love and bliss will come too, when you are steady in meditation then you become receptive for Krishna to speak directly to you, it is amazing how much knowledge and wisdom begins to flow directly into you, the Lord is in you my friends, connect with Him directly, love Him with all your heart, lose yourself in this love and then you will become pure love and bliss and peace, ask Him to help you and experiment with meditation, why fear when Krishna is here... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Max_ 0 Report post Posted January 2, 2005 Or.. if you can't find a comfortable place to sit or find your mind racing you can get up and walk around whilst chanting Krishna's Holy Names. /images/graemlins/smile.gif Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest guest Report post Posted January 2, 2005 absolutely max, yes, like i already said, sitting meditation is best done after chanting maha-mantra, use it for some quiet and intimate time with Krishna, which is difficult to achieve when chanting, which is great for purification, but in meditation you are aiming for deep silence so you can be alone with God, the monkey mind likes to jump and play, but he can be tamed with the sweet nectar of the Lord... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest guest Report post Posted January 2, 2005 and don't forget to keep Krishna on your mind all day and serve Him who is present in the hearts of ALL beings, meditation is really about living your life centred in God, make your life a meditation and stay in the present moment, not allowing the mind to wander to past and future, but here and now in the bliss of Krishna, He is here and now! sitting meditation is training your mind for permanent meditation...HARE KRISHNA... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest guest Report post Posted January 3, 2005 one relevant instruction in bhagavad gita is to follow a pure spiritual master the parampara disciplic line coming from krsna ends with the gaudya vaishnava masters who say that our meditation on krsna is the chanting of mahamantra so if the gita recommendes to follow the masters, the masters (prabhupada included) say that in present times meditation is mahamantra so sit and visualize what you want but if you do not chant mahamantra you are doing something of your creation but not recommended by gita Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest guest Report post Posted January 3, 2005 gita says to fix your mind on Krishna, the Lord Himself says that is the most important part of spiritual practice, whether you are chanting, meditating or at work, fix your mind on Krishna because the moment you do He is with you, that is how it works, it is not of your own creation, is the gita wrong? no! the most important part is Krishna and loving Him, everything else is secondary, the evidence is in the experience Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest guest Report post Posted January 3, 2005 Hi, I first posted the article. To, " you can direct your eyes upward to the place that is between your eyes which meets your nose or you can look toward the tip of your nose, but from my experience upward between the eyes is best because the ajna (brow) chakra will aid spiritual vision and wisdom, use your imagination and visualise the Lord either right there in the space in front of you or in the heart" I tried this and found it hard as how to concentrate on the point between your eyes and Krsna at the same time. Any Help? Hare Krsna! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest guest Report post Posted January 3, 2005 the most important step to begin with is just to focus on one point such as brow chakra or tip of the nose, imagination can be difficult for some people and it needs to be developed, this is why focusing on the brow chakra is best because this is its function, so just practice focusing on one point and know that Krishna is there, and please remember that you are not trying to make Him actually appear within your sight, like looking at a photo or something, no, you are focused in concentration with rememberance of His form, it wont be so conrete, you know what Krishna looks like so just keep His image on your mind and in your heart, you do that anyway, but physically speaking you will only see darkness from having eyes closed, but that doesn't mean you can't think of Krishna, and just concentrate on the brow chakra and breathe naturally, the concentration is the most important part in the beginning, so cultivate that... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest guest Report post Posted January 3, 2005 Prabhupada also says practicing yoga in the cities is for show. One should be meditating in a lonely place. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest guest Report post Posted January 4, 2005 gita says to fix your mind on Krishna, the Lord Himself says that is the most important part of spiritual practice, whether you are chanting, meditating or at work, fix your mind on Krishna because the moment you do He is with you, that is how it works, it is not of your own creation, is the gita wrong? no! the most important part is Krishna and loving Him, everything else is secondary, the evidence is in the experience two answers... there's no evidence or demonstration that the "tad viddhi pranipatena.." verse is not at the same level of importance of the verses about surrendering to krsna.. so both principles are to be respected, and surrendering has sense only if done through initiation and instruction of a pure spiritual master the gita itself is not at all something who recommends the "do it yourself" method, The success of arjuna depends from the fact that he surrenders completely to the guru, who, in that circumstance, was impersonated by sri krsna so following the gita and simultaneously bypassing the guru is a nonsense Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest guest Report post Posted January 4, 2005 this is a gross misunderstanding of the glory of Bhagavad-gita and Krishna, who says abandon ALL religion and surrender to Him DIRECTLY and He will purify, He says it is the only way, do you think an impure person can recognise a pure one? today most gurus are fakers, if you are impure you can only trust Krishna, this is what Krishna says, turn to Him and forget about everyone else, you are saying that guru is more important than God, you rascal, only God is God, the mayavadis glorify the guru, vaishnavas keep guru as best friend and God as God Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest guest Report post Posted January 4, 2005 if God needs a representative then he musn't be much of a God, Krishna says "fix your mind on me" because this is the only way, Krishna is in your heart, no guru can give you enlightenment and no one can take God from you, you and Krishna are never separate, surrender only makes sense when you turn to God directly, otherwise you are just associating with some human being who is just as blind as you, a good genuine guru doesn't glorify himself but only God, he say, "turn to God, only He can save you and love you the best, turn to the highest principle of life... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest guest Report post Posted January 4, 2005 this is a gross misunderstanding of the glory of Bhagavad-gita and Krishna, who says abandon ALL religion and surrender to Him DIRECTLY and He will purify ••the explanation of what's surrendering is all the bhagavad gita.. and an importante verse is "find a pure spiritual master". But there's no problem, if like arjuna , you can talk and live directly with krsna you can follow him without no one as intermediary. But if you still do not see krsna and be with him in a complete mutual exchange, you have to see his representative. (you are already reading the gita through many representatives... sanjaya... sri ganesh.... sri vyasa. If they weren't the gita were unknown to everyone) He says it is the only way, do you think an impure person can recognise a pure one? today most gurus are fakers ••you believe in the fact that we communicate directly with krsna, and in some way it is true... so pray krsna to send to you a pure spiritual master, if bhagavad gita is true and we have to follow it, Krsna has to help us to do it if you are impure you can only trust Krishna ••if i am inpure i cannot understand anything.. so trusting or not trusting has no meaning you are saying that guru is more important than God ••in some sense yes.. because without guru there's no God. vaishnavas keep guru as best friend and God as God ••so why reject the best friend and illuding that we can see krsna without the help of the guru? if God needs a representative then he musn't be much of a God ••god does not need (even if he, to show the example, takes a guru and serves him faithfully)... but we need an ambassador of god to ask questions about krsna, because we do not see krsna directly. My conclusions are wrong if you,in your life, with your own method, relationate directly with krsna as arjuna does in kuruksetra. If you can 24/24 be personally with krsna you are right and i am a demon.. good genuine guru doesn't glorify himself but only God, he say, "turn to God, only He can save you and love you the best, turn to the highest principle of life.... ••when there's guru blessing we can do everything..so surrender to a real guru and ask the blessing to see krsna surrender only makes sense when you turn to God directly ••your preaching is a theory, or you are really relationating with krsna in the same exact, full and direct way as arjuna did? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest guest Report post Posted January 5, 2005 my friend you are not a demon, and i do not waste time with theories, i am relating to Krishna directly and He wants me to promote direct association with Him, not that we should forsake a real and good guru, but it should be a working partnership to manifest a great society, EVERYONE can associate directly with God, if you can ask Krishna for a genuine guru and He will answer your prayer, that means you are associating directly with Him, instead of asking for a guru i asked for deeper association and direct purification and He answered, of course God works through gurus, and i have one, but He works through EVERYTHING, once you become closely attuned to Him you will see Him everywhere and speaking through everything, so a guru is good if he helps you to make the link with Krishna, but you must never be dependent on the guru for anything EVER, the guru has no power over you EVER, Krishna is the one and only who has you heart in His grasp and He loves you like no other, this is not my own method, it is all in the scriptures, but too many use only parts of scripture to benefit their own agenda, i am promoting God's agenda, it's good to have a real guru because we have a physical body and good association is important, but you said that without guru there is no god, this is dangerous thinking, you give all your glory, and all God's glory, to another human being, NO YOU MUSN'T, give yourself to Krishna fully, is guru's blessing greater than God's blessings? NEVER!!! My preaching is not a theory, again i am not condeming gurus, i love my guru and work hard to serve him, but i am promoting direct association with God who exists in your heart!!! because it is simply true. You don't need anything outside yourself, yes sometimes we need help, most of us need help, but please put emphasis on Krishna HE IS HERE ALWAYS...HARE KRISHNA... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest guest Report post Posted January 5, 2005 the only reason the majority of people don't experience direct association with God is because they don't really believe they can and therefore they cut themselves off, don't degrade yourself, you are all worthy of God's love, if you close your mind you will deny even miracles, have certain faith that Krishna is right here and your entire reality will change, because Krishna is right here in your heart, think about how powerful that statement is...don't search outside yourself, you will never find Him... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest guest Report post Posted January 5, 2005 bhagavad gita is krsna's words.. if you really love and worship krsna you cannot choose from his words what you like more to hear and reject what does not gratificate your senses these two verses are not in conflict and there's not a verse more important that another one: Chapter 9. The Opulence of the Absolute TEXT 34 man-mana bhava mad-bhakto mad-yaji mam namaskuru mam evaisyasi yuktvaivam atmanam mat-parayanah SYNONYMS mat-manah--always thinking of Me; bhava--become; mat--My; bhaktah--devotee; mat--My; yaji--worshiper; mam--unto Me; namaskuru--offer obeisances; mam--unto Me; eva--completely; esyasi--come; yuktva evam--being absorbed; atmanam--your soul; mat-parayanah--devoted to Me. TRANSLATION Engage your mind always in thinking of Me, offer obeisances and worship Me. Being completely absorbed in Me, surely you will come to Me. and Chapter 4. Transcendental Knowledge TEXT 34 tad viddhi pranipatena pariprasnena sevaya upadeksyanti te jnanam jnaninas tattva-darsinah SYNONYMS tat--that knowledge of different sacrifices; viddhi--try to understand; pranipatena--by approaching a spiritual master; pariprasnena--by submissive inquiries; sevaya--by the rendering of service; upadeksyanti--initiate; te--unto you; jnanam--knowledge; jnaninah--the self-realized; tattva--truth; darsinah--the seers. TRANSLATION Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized soul can impart knowledge unto you because he has seen the truth. --- so there's two solutions 1)you are simply giving your sentimental interpretation and you are not caring for krsna and krsna's words even if you say that you meditate on him 2)you see and live with krsna exactly as arjuna did (fighting together, speaking together, joking, eating together, resting together.. they're cousins, krsna is nephew of kunti, the mother of arjuna) , so krsna is your direct spiritual master and you do not need any other master i repeat..to love krsna, to worship krsna, to think of krsna, to surrender to krsna means to follow every krsna's instructions not only the ones we like more (we are in a forum with srila prabhupada's face in the top... you cannot come here and preach against the necessity of sri guru without finding a "rascal" who does not agree) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest guest Report post Posted January 6, 2005 All bonafide Gurus stress the necessity of finding a spiritual master in the Gaudiya Parampara for countless important reasons I can't even begin to name. Cutting off this essential part of Vaisnavism the devotee becomes like a chicken with it's head cut off. Just as one can't expect to obtain a black belt in some kind of martial arts discipline by only studying a pictorial book and some videos without becoming a very flawed and erronous practiser, one can't expect to come to to the correct conclusions in religion without turning to a Guru. Also, a devotee not choosing to associate directly with God does not imply he disbeliefs in such an association,nor does it spring from a feeling of unworthyness. If anything, falling at the lotus feet of a bonafide spiritual master is exactly the opposite of degrading yourself or closing one's mind. All devotees are thoroughly aware that Krishna is always present in the heart and everywhere else we can't even begin to imagine, as our senses are limited. This is not the reason why they do not seek direct association with Krishna. I shall leave you with a quote from His Divine Grace Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada: "One can know God and one's relationship with God ONLY when one actually meets with a representative of God.[Purport to B.G.:Ch.5, v.16] " Haribol! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
