Anadi - thread for out of topic posts

[anadi 0]

theist said:

Do you have such time to spend on this project? Not me. I feel death hovering over me prepared to strike at any time. I must spend my time taking the essence from scriptures and if I have trouble finding such in some religious book then I must put it away and search for that essence in another.

Dear theist,

you are perfectly right, from your personal point of view.

Keep up with your bhajan.

About essence, namely help in bhajana, (as considered by advanced rupanugas, not raganugas) please read some...

Passages from Manjari Svarupa Nirupana

by Srila Kunja Bihari dasa Babaji

Translated by Jagadananda das

10.1 Varieties of moods, varieties of ecstasies

kRSNa-guNa-rUpa-ras, gandha-zabda-paraz, ye sudhA AsvAde gopI-gaN |

tA sabAra grAsa-zeSe, Ani paJcendriya ziSye, se bhikSAy rAkhaye jIvan ||Caitanya-caritAmRta 3.14.49.

The gopIs constantly relish the nectar of KRSNa’s form, his qualities, his taste, his fragrance, sound and touch; coming to beg from them the remnants of their feast are my mind, the mendicant, with the senses, his five ragged disciples, in the hope that they will be able to maintain their lives.

Apane kari AsvAdane zikhAila bhakta-gaNe,

prema-cintAmaNira prabhu dhanI |

nAhi jAne sthAnAsthAna, yAre tAre kaJla dAn,

mahAprabhu dAtA ziromaNi || CC 2.2.81.

Tasting this sacred rapture himself, the Lord taught it to all the devotees. The Lord was rich with the jewels of prema; never discriminating as to the place or recipient, he gave them freely to whomever he met. He was the greatest of all philanthropists.

The Supreme Lord, his abode and eternal associates, all lie beyond the range of our words and thoughts. The things of the transcendental realm can never be appreciated by the gross material senses. The material mode of goodness can reveal the nature of matter but not the transcendental realm; that is only revealed by the power of the internal potency or vizuddha-sattva, which has absolutely no material components. Another name of this state of pure goodness is vasudeva, from which the Supreme Lord VAsudeva makes his appearance. Until this state of pure goodness or vasudeva manifests individually in the heart of a devotee, he or she has no ability to comprehend the Lord; therefore the Lord does not appear there. The manifestation of pure goodness is possible only by the grace of an advanced devotee.

kRSna-nAma kRSNa-guNa kRSNa-lIlA-vRnda |

kRSNera svarUpa sama saba cidAnanda || CC 2.17.135.

The UpaniSads refer to the Lord, whose form is eternal, full of knowledge and bliss, as the embodiment of sacred rapture. This rapture or relish is manifest in his names, his form, his qualities and his pastimes. “KRSNa’s name, KRSNa’s form as well as all his diversions are as transcendental as his essential nature.”

If one has the fortune to come into contact with a saint who has made the Lord’s name, form, qualities and pastimes his very life and soul, and by his mercy hears all about the Lord’s glories, then just as fire acts on iron to make it gradually take on the properties of fire, so too such a person’s mind becomes gradually spiritualized by constant contact with this transcendental subject matter. It is possible to conceive the Lord along with his eternal associates in a mind thus purified. A devotee thus becomes competent to relish the ways and means of their sweet exchanges of love.

Atmendriya-prIti-vAJchA tAre bali kAm |

kRSNendriya prIti-vAJchA dhare prema nAm ||

kAma andha-tamaH, prema nirmala bhAskar || CC 1.4.165, 171.

The desire to please one’s own senses is called lust, but the desire to satisfy the senses of the Supreme Lord is called prema or love. Lust is the darkness of ignorance whereas love is like the brilliant sun.

hlAdinI dvArAy karena bhaktera poSaN || CC 1.4.60.

sukha-rUpa KRSNa karena sukha AsvAdan |

bhakta-gaNa sukha dite hlAdinI kAraN || CC 2.8.158.

The heart is to be considered impure as long as it is filled with lust or egocentricity. With an impure mind, it is impossible to appreciate the happiness of contact with the Supreme Lord. It is thus necessary for the Supreme Lord’s pleasure-giving potency or hlAdinI-zakti to come and transform the living entity’s material lust into love after which it makes him eager to always experience the happiness of contact with him. The Lord’s name, form and pastimes are like the resplendent sun freed from the veil of any clouds; it shines down on the lust-darkened heart of the conditioned soul through hearing and chanting and dispels that darkness. Then that heart becomes effulgent with the divine light of prema. “Through his hlAdinI potency the Lord nourishes his devotees. He is the personification of joy and himself experiences happiness; his hlAdinI-zakti is the cause of the devotee’s enjoyment also.”

Prema is the essential element in this internal, pleasure-giving potency of the Lord. Devotion is KRSNa’s hlAdinI potency mixed with the essence of his consciousness energy or saMvit-zakti. This essence is the particular desire favorable to the Lord which is the essential condition for devotion—the thoughts, moods or state of mind that are favorable to the pleasures of the Supreme Lord. Devotion implies service; the word AnukUlya (“favorable”) means service.

Prema is the essential portion of the Lord’s internal potency and is therefore an item that is eternal, spiritual and full of sacred rapture. As a result, it is not possible to “produce” devotion as such in this world; rather, it makes its appearance in the heart of the fortunate soul who has been blessed by a devotee, being aided by his cooperative spirit.

KRSNadAsa KavirAja, after stating that the essential portion of the hlAdinI potency is prema, goes on to say that the essence of prema is something called mahA-bhAva, “great feeling.”

(hlAdinIr sAra prema, prema-sAra bhAva |

bhAvera parAkaSThA, nAma mahA-bhAva || CC 1.4.68)

Here we will discuss why bhAva has been indicated by the devotionally oriented scriptures as the very essence of love of God.

If the Supreme Beauty, filled with desires and exultation, is experienced through a mental inclination or sentiment favorable to him, then that is called prIti or love. This favorable sentiment or love must be mixed with a particular dominant mood or taste, otherwise the execution of service will not prove successful. This is not just a vague scriptural statement, but can be seen practically in the world around us also. For example, a mother serves in the spirit of a mother and not as a wife, sister or daughter, etc., and thus her service to her child is successful.

Love is the element which gives one the authority to serve the object of his love; this is something everyone understands. Service without love is nothing more than a superficial imitation; the object of such service is never made happy by it and the servitor also never finds real happiness through it.

Nevertheless, even if one does have love, that love must take a particular shape in order for him to be able to engage in that service. A father or mother must have a sense of parental affection which gives shape to their love for their child and creates a situation favorable for serving him.

If a servant has some spirit of affection other than that of servitude to his master, then the master will not derive full satisfaction from his service.

If the relation of two friends is not mixed with the feeling of friendship (sakhya-bhAva), then many trespasses will be committed in the course of that relationship, which is also one of service.

In the same way, if the attitude of a beloved to her lover is not mixed with the proper spirit of wife-hood and mistress-hood, then however intense her love for her mate, it will prove incapable of giving him complete satisfaction.

These are facts that any person knowing the world can verify from his own experience.

In the same way, loving devotion to the Lord has to take a particular form according to the major types of relation, viz., service, friendship, parental love or mistresshood, otherwise the devotee will never be able to attain service that is completely favorable to the Lord.

The example given is that of LakSmI who, wanting to attain KRSNa in Vraja, performed difficult austerities, but was unable to achieve the fulfilment of her desires because she did not follow in the footsteps of the gopIs of VRndAvana; she did not accept their lead in rendering service to him.

“Worshipping KRSNa in a sense of majesty is useless

[for a rupanuga who follows the teachings of Ujvala Nilamani - the blazing sapphire, which is gopi bhava and especially RAdha bhava];

one will never attain Him [Gopi-natha], unless he follows the gopIs of VRndAvana.”

(gopI-Anugatya vinA aizvarya-jJAne |

bhajileha nAhi pAy vrajendra-nandane || CC 2.8.230)

(put in the web by rasaraja dasa)

[anadi 0]

D B Cooper Jr said:

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... The other night I watched a show saying that Elijah was not actually taken to heaven by chariots but by extraterrestials and that when Moses parted the Red Sea it was with an electromagnetic device ...

Dear D B Cooper Jr

your comments have nothing to do with scriptures, please keep it ...focused... on scriptures.

[Guest guest]

Henceforth to be known as "The Anadi Approval/Disapproval Thread"

[anadi 0]

 

Henceforth to be known as "The Anadi Approval/Disapproval Thread"

Please feel free to call it as you like,

the purpose of it remains: keep it focused on the topic.

[anadi 0]

qhari said:

No one will impress their brother-in-law by denouncing the Christian acarya or scripture. That will only convince him that Vaisnavism is not The Way, and is truly evil.

Dear qhari

feel comfortable to read it again:

To understand any system of religion, of any sect or creed, one should go deep and investigate how came into being the books, that religion relies on, i.e. who are their authors, and possible borowed influences.

 

According to the vedic standard a book can convey the spiritual knowledge, if its author, had spiritual realisation of the spiritual reality (conection with the Lord, a process to attain a relation with the Lord, attainment of the described ultimate goal).

 

One should know, what one is putting one’s confidence in,

because

confidence is the fundament of any endeavor,

which doesn’t mean that any endeavor, may be the proper one.

Anyway, anyone endeavors according one’s qualification.

So … we are called to qualifiy.

 

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[anadi 0]

qhari said:

Then we can turn this thread into a true pilgrimage for crows, instead of a monument to one man's pain.

 

dear qhari,

if this is your way to see the thread "Scriptures under scrutiny", please don't read it anymore.

 

One should know, what one is putting one’s confidence in,

because confidence is the fundament of any endeavor,

 

Anyway, anyone endeavors according one’s qualification.

So … we are called to qualifiy.