theist 1 Report post Posted October 27, 2004 Walking to the store I saw a young man standing in a busy part of the walkway. He had *that vibe* and look. Really short buzz cut but no sikha, sweat shirt with a cloth bag over his shoulder and holding some kind of book that looked like a Bhagavad-gita. So I stopped and checked him out. Sure enough it was a Gita and he was talking to a young student and showing her the Gita. Just seeing a devotee doing that makes one happy. A "contact high". After the student walked off I approached him and said Hare Krsna. I asked him if he was from the local temple and he said no. Ever smiling slightly. I asked him what group he was with. No group he said. We talked a bit and it turns out he is from Eastern Europe, Hungary or Yuogslavia I can't remember which. He now rents a room in Berkeley and makes his living by selling Prabhupada's books. He had a reprint of Prabhpada's unedited edition of the Bhagavad-gita and also some original Isopanishads. He mentioned he just wanted to give knowledge to others. He offered no opinions on the religiopolitics that have come to plauge the Hare Krsna movement. He just wanted to give Krsna consciousness to others. I was very fortunate to meet Caitanya das yesterday. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kulapavana 0 Report post Posted October 27, 2004 yep, there are still some of them Vaishnavas in the trenches - and the nectar is still there unfortunately it is mostly "All quiet on the western front" /images/graemlins/frown.gif Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest guest Report post Posted October 28, 2004 I don't need to be Intitiated the bhakta told me ??????? I just want to give everyone Krsna ??????although he had a spiritual name...where did he get it from ? cracker jack box or wall mart ......another point is Blah, Blah, Blah, You Know what ! "theist" look up what the word theist means....also look up Plague.....spelling bee any one ? I am not familiar with pluage, did I get it right ? at least you got Krsna or Krishna right.Although you are to be given credit for your endeavors to be "theocentric" your not fooling any one other than yourself... also research PLAGERIZE...to steal and pass off (the words and ideas of another) as ones own! so the letters you quote ad nauseum about initiation and spiritual masters are not yours to quote baba.....good luck and be careful your offenses to the spiritual masters words past, present and future you really should spend more time reading Srila Prabhupadas books rather than on the net mis-directing those serious about approaching Krsna through the Vedas.......ie acceptance of guru and instructions ie. initiation , as mentioned there are 1180 references to the term acceptance of spiritual master and acceptance of initiation and a myriad of others if you had the time.... these are found in the Bhagavad-gita, Srimad Bhagavatam,and Caitanya Caritamrta.....grab a cup of krakaus Inka with whipped cream, put up your feet and dive into the nectar of the holy name in Srila Prabhupadas books... But that means giving up false ego and surrendering to higher authority, after all if its good enough for previous exalted personalities ie Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Sri Nityananda Prabhu and all great past present and future acaryas it should be good enough for you ...non ???? see you, good luck Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theist 1 Report post Posted October 28, 2004 Yes he was a nice devotee, dhira, calm, centered and confident within himself and what he was doing, which is very different from being prideful and pushy. Yes his name was Caitanya. As we had just met I didn't feel that I had to quiz him on the lineage of the line he followed or how he got his name. I generally consider such things rude when first meeting someone. he could have named himself for all I know or care. Nor did he try to push his guru onto me. Instead we just gave each other a smile and a handshake. By his activities I could see his interest was in distributing Prabhupada's books. I could appreciate that. Thank you for the good advice about reading Prabhupada's books more. I will try to do that. Hare Krsna ghostji Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest guest Report post Posted October 28, 2004 "I don't need to be Intitiated the bhakta told me ???????" Am I blind? Where the heck did Theist say this? Mikey Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AncientMariner 0 Report post Posted October 28, 2004 When I got most of my Krishna books at the Seattle airport I met 3 or 4 Vaisnavas. I don't know what lineage etc. they were from but they seemed real dedicated to what they were doing. The one guy who approached me seemed real kind hearted and he showed me a picture of Srila Prabhupada and said that Prabhupada was his spiritual master so I don't know if that means he was a ritvik or what. At the time I was with my brother and my father and they thought I was crazy for giving them money for their books but looking back on it now I wish I would have given them more and sometimes I even wish I would have taken them up on the offer to join them and help distibute books. Wherever they are at I am grateful to these kind hearted sages and I hope Krishna will protect and help them in their selfless service to others. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest guest Report post Posted October 28, 2004 We should always be happy to see a Vaishnava. We should always have a warm feeling towards other devotees of our lord, even if we have some different philosophica/practical ideas about bhakti. Congratualtions for meeting another devotee. That is very auspicious /images/graemlins/wink.gif some mercy of Krishna! Which one of us can genuinely say we are living up to the description of the true "bhakta" as outlined in Bhagavad Gita Chapter 12 by Lord Krishna? Not I, that's for sure! /images/graemlins/wink.gif Love, Vanamali Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest guest Report post Posted October 28, 2004 Many devotees and aspiring devotees are in the habit of extracting quotes from acharayas to suit their own comfort zones. But a genuine disciple surrenders their life to the feet of a genuine living spiritual master to serve the will of the Supreme Lord that is living in the Guru. It is nice to have some sentiment for a particular great soul, past or present, be it Jesus or Prabhupad, but initiation means connection to a line of faith, sacrificing our self centred egocentric will in all its subtle illusions, to his God-centred will, not our interpretation of it. It is through the sadhu, shastra, and guru that checks our minds speculations of where we are at. And confirms our progress or retogression accordingly, and the living acharya quite affectionately directs our lives through our submissive enquiry. This is the foolproof process that Krsna has personally set up for us to follow, and we're not the loser for that step taken to one more of His wishes for us. It is His mercy to give us this grace. The Holy name will only become REAL and LIVE through those who have that currant. When we tangibly connect a power lead to a particular point, then we will experience the potency, the source of all, and light will come not through mental concoction or wishful thinking. It will be confirmed by one of Krsnas own. You are under the wing of one of My dear servitors. And the saints and scripture will give complete support to that. Vani must all be confirmed by living vapu otherwise anything and everything will pass in the name of parampara. Be mindful not to cheat ourselves and others of any other conclusion. Mind you that does not mean Krsna can't manifest or inspire through a non-initiated aspirant. Just that His own example as Mahaprabhu and our guru is the one we follow. Wishing you all well. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AncientMariner 0 Report post Posted October 28, 2004 According to Christ the only initiation that is needed is faith in God and apparently even Prabhupada said something to the same effect. Wish you well and I hope you find your "living guru". "John came preaching repentance to prepare you for the kingdom; now have I come proclaiming faith, the gift of God, as the price of entrance into the kingdom of heaven. If you would but believe that my Father loves you with an infinite love, then you are in the kingdom of God." - The Urantia Book Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest guest Report post Posted October 29, 2004 Thanks for the well wishes you salty ole sailor, I already have a living guru my friend, and it's probably been the greatest single step I've ever made in my eternal life, even though I may still be yet to capitalize on it, it was definitely a positive step in the right direction. Faith in God can be a very nebulous thing, what is more tangible is faith in guru. Prabhupad said many things that even at times may appear conradictary, but he also took a living guru that gave him the direction and inspiration that eventually helped all of us to get an inkling of parampara. Self-styled gurus can be very sus even though they might have all the right things to say, the same applies to self manifest scripts like 'Urantia'. Ultimately the personal Bhagavat is the one that introduces you to your internal-eternal service identity in a system of servitors who will be in line to Srimati Radharani otherwise in opposition to Her! If we want something else then by all means the choice is ours. But lets face it, it is only Srimati Radhikas' love and dedication that will fully satisfy that discerning conniseur they call Krsna. That's why it is most important to align to a genuine rupanuga master who can give us this divine seva. We can't gate crash that party, so how much capacity do we have to truly, unconditionally surrender to those feet? It will truly determine where we go in eternity, so it is a very serious step, tread carefully. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theist 1 Report post Posted October 29, 2004 Yes Vanamali, it was a very good omen. It made me think about how I take Krsna devotees in particular for granted or choose to allow my mind to dwell on their perceived faults. I need to change that mentality and by the grace of the Lord I am going to. Do I want to run the risk of dying with negative thoughts on my mind towards any of Krsna's aspiring servants? As I went walking up the street after my chat with this good soul I started trying to imagine just how many people there are in the world who, on their own with no institutional support, would choose to offer their lives to just the distribution of Prabhupada's books for the welfare of their fallen brothers and sisters. He buys his own, takes them to the street and sells them and buys some more. Most of my life I have been around or known similar people. I am starting to realize that my own stunted growth has something to do with not appreciating them. I need a transformation. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theist 1 Report post Posted October 29, 2004 would you mind respecting the topic of the thread. You can start a living guru thread. I would kind of like this to be one that is dedicated to to the common but yet very uncommon aspirant. The unknown soul on the streetcorner selling books, or the vegetable chopper for the Sunday feast and the stoolroom washers who never complain or fail to do their sacred duty. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stonehearted 0 Report post Posted October 29, 2004 I really like this. Maybe we should all take a moment to see if we can recall some unassuming, steady devotee who aspires to serve, not to get some rank or celebrity. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theist 1 Report post Posted October 29, 2004 Interesting that I would read this post just now. A certain syncronicity. I was just kind of poking around in the vedabase and as I went I kept thinking of this woman pujari in Berkeley temple by the name of Vilasini(sp?). She has been there for decades serving the Deities while religiopolitical madness sometimes swirled around her. Temple leaders came and went and she just stayed steadily fixed on her pujari service. She never raises any fuss and you could almost not even know she was around. When we have spoken she is often worried about some imagined offense she may have committed to Lord Jagannatha. What a saintly soul. Others here must know her. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gHari 0 Report post Posted October 29, 2004 We have such pujaris in Toronto too. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theist 1 Report post Posted October 29, 2004 Unsung heros. Of course we must be careful with them and not spoil their mood with praising them to much to their face. All the attention travels to the to big guns and their successes or failures while many of Krsna's servants are busy with their service and cruising along beyond our radar. But we should notice and pay respects at least within our minds. This will please Krsna I am sure. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
