are all religions equal?

[krist 0]

http://www.sulekha.com/expressions/articledesc.asp?cid=307498

 

apparently not according to this writer, i tend to agree.

 

Manu, one of the great ancient lawgivers of the Hindu tradition, states the following in his Manava-dharma-shastra:

 

All those traditions and all those disreputable* systems of philosophy that are not based on the Veda produce no positive result after death; for they are declared to be founded on darkness. All those doctrines differing from the Veda that spring up and soon perish are ineffectual and misleading, because they are of modern date.

 

(XII, 95)

 

*Lacking respectability, as in character, behavior, or appearance.

[kcp1982 0]

Hare Krishna.

 

The truth is that the Vedas comes from God himself and is billions of years old. All other religious scriptures are man made although they claim to be from God. Religions have always come and gone, but the Vedic religion is the only one that's always existed. This is proof that the non-vedic religions are not the absolute turth, only the absolute truth survives.

 

 

[sumedh 0]

Hare Krishna

 

Jahnava Nitai Das prabhuji gives the vaishnava view here:

http://www.audarya-fellowship.com/showflat/cat/hinduism1/74164/0/collapsed/5/o/1

[krist 0]

i have felt this way for very long, but thankfully as a 2nd/3rd generation europeanamerican i was raised in a hindu/buddhist household, so i was never indoctrinated into the christian supremacy ideas.

 

what amazes me is i always hear hindus say that "all are paths to god and all are equal", i usally say "if you say so but i heartly dissagree" they usally say "my parents or grandparents think like you."

i just smile and say "well manmade religions are all the same they are not eturnal, but the vedas are eturnal and god given"

they just stop talking after that. or say "i heard that before from so and so guru"

 

what is the point of having a guru if you do not listen to him and learn?

[sumedh 0]

that modern day hindus (even the great intellectuals) do not know their own philosophy. Adding to the confusion are the some (confused) advaita gurus and yogis each having their own philosophy (or non-philosophy) which they never spell out rather just some tid-bits from here and there. The most amazing part is that they speak of Buddha, Shankaracharya, Kabir, Tulsidas etc. in the same breath!; and people believe that in some "higher understanding" these personalities are saying the same thing. Then some of them mock acharyas who accept one philosophy, mock Deity worship and the direct servants of Govinda etc. What you make of such gurus? People think that those who speak sugary for everyone are great and those engaging in straight talk are fools. Anyway, i think that each is drawn to a system of thought of his/her own current nature.

 

Many physicists/scientists are really interested in advaita philosophy nowadays; i should know because i was too at one point of time. The reason is simple. Many physicists/scientists think that everthing should be very simple at heart and advaita sounds so simple at heart -- all is one, no. There is a silver lining -- one step forward from all is zero!!! (they should have been buddhists)

 

Haribol!

[krist 0]

our traditions scriptures and books by our gurus and acharys are the only ones i can read, i litterly find others boring; totally boring. if its religious i can not read it without getting totally annoyed or bored out of my mind. i find it funny. it's almost comically that i feel so repulsed by mayavdis thoughs and works.

i just wish i could find motion pictures, silly cartoons and common foods so boring.

ah maya is so compelling that we all have some material ties to non-devotional life. false renucation is so desirable but i know better. oh move to a island and read and chant, NOT! if lord krishna wanted me to do that i would have been born into a indian family that woudl have helped me in that direction. ah the plight of an american. cable internet and non-devotional music, movies and tv oh my.......

[sumedh 0]

the other reason for physicists to be drawn to advaita is, of course, in these God is relegated to the status of an abstract super-substance -- fits in with their own philosophy.

 

p.s. thankfully i was attracted to advaita only due to the first reason so probably Krishna did not ignore me.

[sumedh 0]

Hare Krishna and dandavat pranam

 

same here; i cannot read religious books other than those by vaishnava acharyas beyond the intro probably; not that i dislike others (except those by advaitins which i cannot stand) just that i find no rasa in others just bundle of words. What do i have to do with words of those not devoted to Krishna?

 

 

i just wish i could find motion pictures, silly cartoons and common foods so boring.

 

 

 

i know as i have been through and am still going through this. I can only say Krishna is probably teaching us patience; we have to be patient even if we cannot be, there is no choice. These things will decrease if we just keep our sadhana and i have experienced it. i just imagine that if Krishna would not have given me that droplet of devotion then what would have become of me. i am in india but in a very tight spot, or maybe my own weakness.

 

Can i tell you a little secret. Srila Prabhupada says that we should first read bhagavad-gita and other books, then srimad bhagavatam and then chaitanya-charitamrata. But i jumped and read chaitanya-charitamrata before bhagavatam. It was soo beautiful; i have not found another book that can compare not even bhagavatam (which i have still not read completely). i think if one does not find nectar in chaitanya-charitamrata, then he/she is not ready for it.

[krist 0]

that is the order i am reading them in now. i have all of them (SB&CC) in my posession but they collect dust on my shelf, but my geeta and others (20 odd books of the acharyas) get tattered and well read.

 

[Parabrahman 0]

http://www.gitamrta.org/religion.htm

[Guest guest]

A great message from a friend.

 

 

 

I bow to the divine in you.

[Nrsinghadev 0]

Hare Krishna,

 

I'm sorry to read that your friend has fallen into some bad association causing him to reject the path of Bhakti Yoga. A few misled individuals from within the Krishna culture however, are no reason to reject the whole path. Otherwise one could just as well reject Christianity and label it a sect over some priests overcome by maya, assaulting some choirboys. Please bear in mind that these are not practices of the actual religions, but just seperate,ill-fated practices made by individuals within their respective religions. We should also not be quick to judge these people as they have decided to declare war on material life, and since this is the biggest battle one can face, obviously (grave) missteps can be made. This is one reason why bonafide spiritual masters are so important, as they are the living examples of how one should take to devotional service, and show that it's not some mental concoction. One should not hurriedly take to any one "spiritual master" without first exploring his sincerity and his truthfulness to following the path.

 

I'm saddened to read that no spiritual spark has awoken inside of him, despite attempting to perform devotional service to the Lord for years on end. I can't make any judgement, but from what I read it was most likely caused by some misled devotees around him who took to their own interpretations and so perverted the beautiful message of universal love, giving your friend the impression that the religion was all a fraud.

 

I'm happy to report that in my case, it was completely the opposite. My life made no sense (and no, I wasn't a psychological mess ready to pick up on anything coming my path), and my deepest questions remained ever unanswered until I became engaged in Krishna consciousness through a series of "fortunate" events. From the moment I had my first encounter, it was like the the key fell into the intricate lock of my soul, and everything fell into place, chaos turned to structure. There were no more loose threads. Everything made sense, both good and bad things. I instantly knew in my heart that this point of view had the correct viewing angle. And to say that I'm just a neophyte in this.

 

Perhaps if he had focused more on the spiritual masters instead of those around him he would have had a different opinion as well. Please don't think that Krishna devotees are brainwashed lunatics following some obscure new sect engaged in illicit activities, for that is a highly biased and ignorant view on our religion that probably resulted from the turbulent times when Srila Prabhupada first came to America. His goal was to spread Krishna consciousness to the west, and boy did he succeed. It didn't just stay in the west, it's worldwide now. And on such a large scale, it is hardly surprising that there can be a few bad apples that in the pack.

 

This path is the oldest religious path in the world, it predates any other religious movements that we now consider as normal and accepted while they also bathed in a past best forgotten. While true that many horrific events occured inside the Krishna movement in the early days, and who for all I know even now, it is by no means the standard to judge the movement by. These type of incidents have occured, still occur, and in all probability will keep occuring in all major religions around the world and do not represent the religious path itself.

 

Our path of Bhakti yoga is non-sectarian,full and perfect, and if you dig deep enough and don't jump to any premature conclusions you'll find there is truth in what I say. Hope this helps, and if at all possible, show it to your friend for he seems most fallen, like we all are, only he seems unaware of it. Hope this helps!

 

Hare Krishna,

 

yours truly.

 

 

 

 

[vishnu 0]

God is in some ways the God of every monotheistic religion currently on earth. and vedas are old. why do you think God was only apparant in India? Thats the same fraud christian have with their supremacy;'god only used to be with the israelites'. nonsense. God is a God of every nation and tribe if only they'll listen, and many texts are either from God, or testimonies of people who have experiences with God. I have met many christian prophets who tell the truth. In christianity people heal because of Christ's power.

Do not start mocking other monotheistic faiths cuz you only mock God. Please read this:

http://www.angelfire.com/extreme4/rosenblit/writings/near_death_experience.html

a man saw God and the truth about them all is figured out. When Kalki's suffering is done, and the thousand year reign begins, all the falsehoods will be gone.

Only the truth will remain. Won't that be glorious?

We will have perfect history books and perfect knowledge about God. One single religion, One single God, and we will all know how he has manifested himself in the world.

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Sir,

I feel all religions are equal,Not only all religions but entire human race and all living creatures belong to one family.That is why we see and experience each other.It is the commonness that is what we experience ,the differences are in our approaches.