hare krishna [Archive] - Page 6

ChiefCowpie

12-28-2004, 03:35 PM

The following is an extract from an unpublished work entitled, "A False Sense of Insecurity" by Pitambara dasa. In this extract Pitambara describes his first meeting with Sacidulal Baba. In a subsequent meeting Sacidulal Baba gave Pitambara babaji vesa and siddha pranali with ekadasa bhava for both vraj & navadvipa lila. From Pitambara's descriptions it seems that Sacidulal is most certainly a siddha.

On arriving in Navadvipa I bathed in the Ganges. I felt Mahaprabhu watching my every move. Despite attracting attention, being the only foreigner around, I felt I was home.

I found my way to Haribol Kutir and was surprised to find a small asram with one Bengali devotee living there. I expected a big asram with many devotees. This added to the marvel of Prabhuji [Premananda dasa from Gaudiya Vedanta Samiti in Mathura] mentioning the place. I was sent to another, nearby temple so I could speak to an English speaking devotee. I met Sri Visnu das Maharaja, who, immediately I could tell was waiting for me. He asked me questions pertaining to my visit, but deep down I could feel that he knew Prabhuji had sent me and that he was about to shelter me as a favor between devotees. He did. I told him I was a ‘babaji’ and had no money.

After a few days I found the author of the book who gave me directions to meet his guru, Sacidulal Babaji Maharaja, and the next day I set off on the two hour journey to his small temple in the forest. I expected only to bow my head and depart, I knew he couldn’t speak English or Hindi. Krsna arranged some guy to lead me through the beautiful tropical forest, passed simple village homes to the temple which was definitely not traceable by the map I had. The small temple had deities of Gadadhara and Gaura (Chaitanya Mahaprabhu), .

Babaji Maharaja came out to greet me as if he had been awaiting my arrival. He bowed down to me and touched my feet. Not out of duty, or sarcasm, (as some do), but out of real humility. It felt like I had never witnessed humility till that point. This ninety seven year old saint, a realized soul on the highest platform of consciousness was bowing his head in honor because a devotee from Notts had shown up at his temple. It wasn’t a show. I felt completely beautiful as he did it. Not great, but beautiful. It was obvious that I was the nobody and he the great soul, but his greatness was such that he felt himself to be the nobody and he had me feel I was a great (beautiful) soul. I almost forget to offer my respects, I was in such a state of shock through admiration for him.

I fell in love with him. His eyes were like two pools of sweet, cooling water. His enthusiasm for life continuously obvious. I managed to relate through a Hindi/Bengali speaker that I had come to him because of a book written by Pandit, who he had not seen for two years. He was so happy. He burst into tears and peered with wonder towards his Lordships who were gazing at us from the altar.
I was left alone with him as he decided to write a letter to Pandit. I was happy just to watch him, to feel his mood, to relish his divine mannerisms.

Once he started to write the letter, he lost himself to anything else. He wrote one sentence and then went over it again and again, his pen bouncing over the words to the rhythm of the mood in which they were wrote. He changed the sentences again and again, completely transforming them into new sentences by the fourth change. Then again he bounced his pen across the paper, giving a murmur to its rhythm. Even if it was only a shopping list, it merited the status of a song by the very manner in which it was composed. Reading over his words, he broke down in tears and glanced again towards Mahaprabhu in ecstatic disbelief. He sobbed openly in front of me, in front of his Lords, in front of anyone who was coming and going, in front of the world – he was like a naked baby, weeping without thought of controlling; no ego.

Then back to the letter. I started to wonder if he would ever finish it. He was stoned. Crossing out text, adding more, bouncing the pen over the paper, humming the words to himself, sobbing, starting again from the beginning. Occasionally he would hold his hand up, gesturing that he will ‘just be another minute.’ Two and a half hours later he was pleased with his composition. Then, on a fresh sheet of paper, he re-wrote the letter in beautiful hand-writing. That took another hour and half. After four hours, he noticed I was sat in front of him and looking at the clock became shocked at the time. He shouted over to an old lady who lived in a small shack next to his, and she carried pots of food to the temple room.

He was disgusted with himself for not having fed me. I had forgotten about food. The four hours watching him write seemed like four minutes.

He sat me down and placed a big plate in front of me and filled it with all the preparations from the dishes. Then he squatted in front of me and delightedly gestured that I should eat. I felt comfortable even though he was staring right at me. I ate a little subji and chappati and he immediately gave me extra subji and another chappati. I ate a pakora (fried ball) and again he reimbursed me with two more. I cracked up laughing. Was I ever going to finish this meal? My plate was becoming fuller as I ate. I laughed at the attention he gave to my eating, as if he himself was experiencing the pleasure of tasting the delicious food. I realized that he was relishing more than me. He really wanted me to enjoy the meal to my full satisfaction. And I did. I had observed this mood of selflessness before when Maharaja [Haridas Sastri Maharaja] would sit me down and feed me sweets and pancakes and his own kichadi.

When you feel this love, you feel you have no duty to return any money or favor. Instead a natural desire comes to serve him. Not out of duty, but naturally. That is how love comes. By being with pure devotees and experiencing their love, naturally you desire to give them your love, then naturally you become like them. If you spend time in a pub, you come away smelling of beer and cigarettes. If you spend time in a beauty parlor, you come away smelling of perfume. Selfishness is swallowed by the selfless saint, therefore sadhu sanga is the most desirable attainment in spiritual life.

Shaped through and through by Gaura's love--
that is a Gaudiya Vaishnav.

Revenant Phantasm

12-28-2004, 03:46 PM

Read it?! crazy ass shit, 1257 posts!

BlackBillBlake

12-28-2004, 09:30 PM

BBB, the term Avadhuta is also used to describe a self-realized soul who does not follow any particular rules and regulations of shastra. Nityananda ( Mahaprabhu's co-avatara) was considered an avadhuta.
Thanks for the clarification Chief. And for the extract from Pitambara das' book.

Dear Revenant Phantasm - you can read as much or as little as you choose.

Hare Krishna!

ChiefCowpie

12-28-2004, 10:24 PM

D.C Sen's stuff from Prema-Vilas on Jagai and Madhai..

:-
"That Nityananada was an Avadhuta is unquestionable; he is called so in so many places throughout the biographical literature. [See for example, CC Adi 5:139, Madhya 12:186, Bhaktiratnakara 7:171, CBh Adi 2:134.]

The Avadhuta (the "pure ones"), says Bagchi were a branch growing from the trunk of Mahayana Buddhism, others being the Natha, Sahajiya, and Baul sects. [see P.C. Bagchi's chapter on the religions of Bengal in the Dacca University 'History of Bengal', I, chap. xiii, 423ff.; Charlotte Vaudeville in a personal communication has pointed out that the Nathas are often called Avadhuta.]

Being an Avadhuta is anything but reprehensible, even to the most strict of orthodox Vaishnavas. The Mahanirvava-tantra describes the ideals of one class of Avadhutas (the hamsa Avadhutas) in this way:

"Let them not seek the company of women, nor to acquire property; let them keep themselves apart from desire, and from prohibitive rules and injunctions; let them abandon the signs, symbols, and requirements of their castes and those of the househoulder; let them seek the fourth stage of the spirit [turiya-the state of the pure impersonal Brahman], having no desire for the things of the world. (Mahanirvana-tantra 8:283, quoted in the commentary on CC Madhya 3:84)

The impression of the extreme purity and asceticism of the Avadhutas is heightened by the expansion of this passage by Radhagovinda Nath in his commentary. He says that there are four types of Avadhutas: Brahmavadhuta, Saivavadhuta, Bhaktavadhuta, and Hamsavadhuta, Nityananda was a member of the fourth group, the best. They do not preform sadhana with women, nor honor any prohibitive rules."

Copied from Ed Dimock's 'The Place of The Hidden Moon'

ChiefCowpie

12-28-2004, 10:26 PM

QUOTE One day Lord Nityananda was returning to Lord Caitanya's house in the evening after moving about town the whole day. The two rogues went and halted Him. Jagai and Madhai shouted out, "who is it?" Nityananda replied, "I am going to Nimai Pandita's house." In a drunken state they commanded, "What is Your name?" Lord Nityananda replied, "My name is Avadhuta."

Lord Nityananda lost in the mood of a young boy began to converse with the two drunks performing His lila. He had already made up His mind that He will deliver them and so He had purposely chosen this time to come this way. When Madhai heard the name "Avadhuta" he picked up a piece of broken earthen wine pot and seething with rage he threw it at Nityananda. The stone struck Nityananda on the forehead and it started bleeding. Lord Nityananda quietly meditated on Govinda, Krsna.

ke re ke re boli’ DAke jagAi mAdhAi
nityAnanda balena—prabhura bADi jAi
madyera vikSepe kahe—kIbA nAma tora
nityAnaNDa kahe—avadhUta nAma more...
avadhUta nAma zunI mAdhai kupiA
mArila prabhura zire muTuki tuliA

When they heard Nitai chanting, Jagai and Madhai called out, “Who goes there?” Nityananda answered, “I am going to Mahaprabhu’s house.” Easily irritated in his drunkenness, Madhai asked, “What’s your name?” Nitai said, “My name is Avadhuta.” ...Hearing this name, Madhai angrily struck Nitai’s forehead with an earthen pot. (2.13.174-5, 178)

So I am wondering why Madhai got so angry at hearing the name "avadhuta." I'd have to go back and read the entire Chaitanya Bhagavata again, to figure out if Nityananda was known by that name throughout the town and by Jagai and Madhai, or whether it was avadhutas in general that somehow were the object of prejudice.

In verse 181, Jagai calls him a "foreigner," which may have had something to do with it, but in 182, Jagai says, "He is a great avadhuta, so you should not hit him again. What benefit will come of beating up on a sannyasi?" Indicating that it was a general name, not a personal one. So maybe he was just angry at Nityananda for not giving him a straight answer. He asked, "Who goes there?" and Nitai doesn't answer the question, but says "I am going to Mahaprabhu's house." Madhai starts getting mad and asks, "I asked you who you are." Nityananda still does not give a straight answer and says, "Avadhuta." Though this should be adequate identification.

ChiefCowpie

12-28-2004, 10:34 PM

"Sri Nityananda Prabhu was considered an Avadhuta sannyasi, although it is said that he never formally adopted the sannyasa order. Avadhutas ("the pure ones") are usually associated with the Saivite tradition, but there is a little known branch of Vaisnava sannyasis known as turiyatit avadhuta. They are described in the Narada parivajaka upanisad. Divinely eccentric, these Avadhutas sannyasis were know to go about naked ( the Caitanya bhagavata and bhakti ratnakara both include passages depicting Sri Nityananda Prabhu in public without clothes), are at peace with the world, are indifferent to pain and sorrow, and have a pronounced disregard for rules, regulations, and caste observances. Several, if not all, of these characteristics could be detected in Sri Nityananda prabhu. His behavior was so erratic that some people would up and run merely at the sound of his name. ( Caitanya bhagavata, madhya 3.169) indeed, even Advaita Acarya jokingly referred to him as sahaje pagala " a natural madman" (Cc,madhya,3.97) "

Ekesaura dasa

ChiefCowpie

12-28-2004, 10:37 PM

Nityananda after Sri Chaitanyas Passing

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After the passing of Sri Chaitanya in Nilachala, hearing the news, Nityananda declared to his followers that he would spread Krishna nama among all the people, whether Brahmins or Chandalas. There will not be any caste-bar, Chandala, Yavana, all will join in the Sankirtan. His historic declaration just after the passing of Sri Chaitanya was that, the whole of Bengal will be overwhelmed with the spirit of Vaishnavism.

This was the ideal of the 'Nabadwip School' that became manifest when Nityananda came to Bengal under Mahaprabhu's request.

Krishna das’s Chaitanya Charitamrita did not come to Bengal until one hundred years after Nityananda’s movement there. However, Brindaban Das wrote in detail about the social and religious movement which Nityananda started in Bengal, and that his son Virachandra completed. During these years 1515 to 1615, the movement of Nityananda was prominent over all of Bengal.

In the 13th century, saint Jnana dev suffered social excommunication because his father was a monk and later on he married and had a life of a householder. In a similar way, when in the 16th century, Nityananda being a monk, married at the time two sisters, the orthodox Vaishnavas of Nabadwip and Vrindavan did not care for it much.

In his book Nityananda Charita, Janakinath Pal wrote that Sri Chaitanya twice advised Nityananda to go to Nabadwip, once to spread the religion and second to marry and become a householder. But Sri Chaitanya himself left his wife and became an ascetic. All his important disciples like Haridas, Sanatan Gosvami, Rupa Gosvami, etc., all left their vast wealth and family life and became ascetics. In these circumstances, how Sri Chaitanya advised Nityananda to marry and become a householder is something seemingly contradictory. Brindaban Das wrote that Sri Chaitanya advised Nityananda to spread his religion in the whole of Bengal and among all the sections of society.

Nityananda’s dynamic role as leader of the Chaitanya movement in Bengal during the absence of Sri Chaitanya made him immortal in the history of Gaudiya Vaishnavism. He made it the religion of the common masses. He spread the religion among the ordinary householders of Bengal. His aim was to spread the faith to the illiterate common masses of Bengal. His movement was not for the intellectuals but for the poor, the illiterate, the helpless common masses in medieval Bengal. His method to spread the religion was different from the method of the Gosvamis of Vrindavan. Nityananda gave up the robes of a monk and started wearing costly silk dresses and gold ornaments studded with precious stones. He used to go to the houses of his rich non-brahmin disciples on horseback or in palanquins like a general or king. He married at an advanced age and had a luxurious life like a rich householder.

The Gosvamis of Braj followed the pure austere life, their method of preaching was very contrast to the Navadwip school at that time in history.

Nityananda was the leader of a massive movement while the Gosvamis were highly intellectual philosophers who wrote massive amounts of books on rasa culture of Radha Krishna. While the Vrndavana school insisted on celibacy and rigid austerity, the Nabadwip school allowed the teachers or Gosvamis there to marry and have a luxurious life. Jayananda wrote in his Chaitanya Mangal that the Mohantas and the rich Gosvamis of Bengal school at that time used to travel in palanquins, wearing silk dresses.

While Nityananda and his son Virachandra used to ride horses while they were visiting the houses of the rich disciples, only a half a century before Sri Chaitanya traveled on foot from Braja to Rameswaram.

Excerpts from Chaitanya Movement in Eastern Bengal, Aloka Lahiri.

ChiefCowpie

12-28-2004, 10:37 PM

BBB, hope this gives us a fuller understanding of the Avadhuta order.

BlackBillBlake

12-29-2004, 02:04 PM

BBB, hope this gives us a fuller understanding of the Avadhuta order.
Hare Krishna!

Thanks Chief - that is all very interesting stuff. i had not come across the term Avadhuta in relation to Vaishnavism previously, but only in a more general context. It seems that words are used with a slightly different significance by different schools, teachers etc.

Love & peace.

BBB.

Lucy_In_The_Sky

12-29-2004, 09:58 PM

gdkumar, thanks for the wonderful story you posted a few pages ago, I really enjoyed it.

Hare Krishna!

SvgGrdnBeauty

12-31-2004, 12:38 AM

This thread has already died many times only to reincarnate. Transmigration of the thread.
lol...you're right it has...but it shall live...its strong enough! I hope to come back soon!

Bhaskar

12-31-2004, 05:19 AM

Someone once asked Sri Ramana Maharishi wether he had read the Bhagawad geeta. His reply:

I have tried many times, but whenever I read it I start at the first chapter and I get only as far as the verse "panchajanyam rishikeshaha devadattam dhananjaya..." then I just get caught up in the scene, the armies arrayed for war, in the middle Sri Krishna blowing on his Divine Conch....I never get further than that, at that point I just get transfixed by the picture of the Lord.

Such a man has no need to read the Bhagawad Geeta, he is already completely absorbed in Bhagawan.

Om namo bhagawate sri Ramanaya.

BlackBillBlake

12-31-2004, 04:14 PM

This is taken from the book ‘Yogi Sri Krishnaprem’ by Dilip Kumar Roy.

The experience he had at the feet of Ramana Maharishi was typical and revealing. I will do my best to tell it in his own words as far as possible.

“You know, Dilip,” he said, “how profound is my admiration and veneration for the Sage. I agree whole-heartedly with Sri Aurobindo’s verdict that His tapasya is a shining light of India. So I went to Ramana Ashram in Tiruvannamalai to receive His blessing.

“When , in the evening, I entered the hall where the Maharishi reclines daily on his couch, I sat down in silence along with the others, to meditate at his feet. But believe it or not, Dilip, as soon as I sat down I heard a voice questioning me over and over again: ‘Who are you ? Who are you? Who are you?’ I tried hard to ignore it, but it went on and on like an importunate visitor, knocking at the door, who insisted on being admitted. So, In the end, I just had to formulate an answer: ‘I am Krishna’s servant.’ At once the question changed, like a shape-changer into: ‘Who is Krishna?’ I answered ‘Nanda’s Son.’ No use; the question was repeated pauselessly. I thought up other answers like – ‘He’s an Avatar, the One-in-all, the Resident of every heart’ and so on….but the questioning would not cease, till, at last, I gave it up, left the hall, and returned, deeply disturbed, to meditate. But I had no peace: the voice gave me no respite, till, in the end, I had to evoke Radharani who asked me very simply what answers I had given. I told Her but She shook Her head and then, at last, revealed it to me.”

“She did?” I said, thrilled.

He anticipated me, holding up his hand.

“No, Dilip, don’t ask me please! I won’t tell you, for you will tell everybody, don’t I know you? But listen – there are more thrills to come”.

“Next morning,” he went on, “when I sat down again at his blessed feet, the Maharishi suddenly gave me a lightening glance, and smiled. I knew at once beyond the shadow of a doubt that he was the author of it all and that he also knew that I had divined his part correctly.

“Then, as I closed my eyes to meditate, a deep peace descended into me and settled like a block of ice as it were till my every cell was numb with an exquisite bliss…..

“As I meditated, it was borne home to me through the mystic silence that though this peace stemmed ultimately from the Lord Himself – doesn’t He say in the Gita that He Himself is the primal source of all experience – the peace in this instance was transmitted through His beloved agent; the Maharishi.

“But isn’t that precisely why He sends to us, as His deputies, the great saints and sages, Messiahs and Avatars?”

“Of course He does. Didn’t Ma explain to you the import of His naralila – that is, why He comes down to play hide and seek with us, humans, as a human being?”

He paused for a little and gave me a quizzical look.

“I feel tempted to tell you about the sequel – “

“Only you have misgivings about confiding in me?” I finished for him, laughing.

“Well, I’ll risk it,” he laughed back. “For what happened was too wonderful. So listen.”

I hung on his words.

“As I went on imbibing this delectable peace – meditating at his feet – I suddenly took it into my head to return the compliment and put a question to him in silence: “And who are you, may I humbly ask?’ It so happened that the next moment I had to open my eyes involuntarily when – lo, I found his couch empty!”

“You don’t say so!”

“Yes, Dilip,” he nodded, smiling and enjoying my mystification. “There was the couch where he had presided two seconds before, but in the twinkling of an eye as it were he had vanished – just melted into thin air! I closed my eyes once more and then looked again – and there he was tranquil and beneficent like Lord Shiva Himself! A momentary smile flickered on his lips as he gave a meaningful glance and then looked away.”

I caught my breath. “Marvellous!”

“It was indeed” he nodded again. Then after a while: “ You see the point of the miracle don’t you?”

“That he was beyond nama-rupa ?”

“That’s right,” he answered reflectively, “Or shall I say: The One beyond all maya, the Star beyond the phantoms, The Last Reality beyond ephemera, the Silence beyond the songs – you may make use of any simile you fancy. Personally, I look upon it as a sign of his Grace – giving me the answer in a way only he could have given.”

I smiled. “So, he met you more than half-way?”

“He is compassion itself, don’t you know?”

“I do. But what then?”

“The rest is silence,” he answered, “don’t you know your Shakespeare?”

Bhaskar

01-01-2005, 08:21 PM

Bhagawan Ramana was indeed one of the most magnificent beings to grace our land...I know the very room spoken of in your post BBB, for, more than fifty years later, I was there myself, a few months ago, sitting before the very same couch, on which now reclines a beautiful photograph of Sri Ramana. I wanted to meditate, but my eyes were constantly drawn to His eyes, smiling, karunamaya...I felt silence welling up inside like a huge roar,a tidal wave of peace. Contradictions as these may seem, that is what I felt. Elation and excitement danced with longing and shubhecha as I sat, my heart tingling with joy. It is indeed a beautiful beautiful place. I could swear I saw the edge of his lip flicker in the hint of a smile when I took my leave.

BlackBillBlake

01-02-2005, 02:19 PM

Bhaskar

01-02-2005, 03:09 PM

His love and grace was so strong that even cows, crows, dogs and deer recieved moksha, just by being faithful and showing love to him. What, then, can be said about his ability to transform a human heart in a moment!

Om namo bhagavate sri Ramanaya!

BlackBillBlake

01-02-2005, 05:52 PM

http://img36.exs.cx/img36/6776/ramanagodlook4yj.jpg

Sri Ramana Maharishi

Galahad

01-02-2005, 05:57 PM

Haribol !

ChiefCowpie

01-02-2005, 09:40 PM

“The rest is silence,” he answered, “don’t you know your Shakespeare?”
Thank you Bill

ChiefCowpie

01-02-2005, 09:42 PM

ChiefCowpie

01-02-2005, 09:45 PM

Haribol !
What's wrong? What's so horrible?

Galahad

01-02-2005, 09:50 PM

What's wrong? What's so horrible?ehm...Haribol it's not 'horrible',it's a Vaisnava form of greetings

it means: "chant the name of God"!

Hari is Krsna, God, and bol or bolo is chanting.
it's a way to say "hello" that we use also...

BlackBillBlake

01-03-2005, 02:50 AM

Prayers for healing of the world.

I would hate to say there is silver lining to the pain and suffering the dark cloud of this tsunami has brought, but before the tsunami came, the world was very much divided and it is inspiring to see the world coming together to bring aid, relief, comfort... love to those in harm's way of the tsunami.

Prayer to all, Blessed Be, Chief
Amen Chief.

We need now another big wave - a wave of love and compassion to flow from all our hearts for the victims of the tsunami, and all the world's other disaster areas, natural and man-made, like Dafur in Africa.
I'm heartened to see that the people of Britain have pledged over 60 million - a pound per head approx. of the population, and 10 mill. more than the 50 mill. pledged by the UK govt.
We should give whatever we can, and pray for healing for all those affected, and the whole world.

I'd also like to say that I've been watching the news on tv about this, and I heard a presenter say how it is a challenge to the faith of many in Sri Lanka and elsewhere.
How could God let this happen? How can He allow such untold suffering?

The Bhagavad Gita would seem to suggest an answer to this. This world is a part of what the Gita designates as Krishna's lower material energy or prakriti. It is governed by automatic processes, like a vast machine, and we, the living beings are also part of that machinery. Except that in us, is the Immortal Jiva, the soul - a portion of Krishna Himself, who is transcendent - not under the control of the lower energy, but master of it.

It seems that God 'lets the machine run' - it's not that He is directly the cause of such things as earthquakes - it is all carried out by unconscious nature. All of us here are subject to this lower nature over which we have no control ultimately, or only some limited control, because our consciousness is identified with the movements of the lower nature. We have to seek the Consciousness that transcends this world of imperfections and sorrows. Then we will know that all these contrary things like pain and pleasure, suffering and joy are all entwined, and part of the very fabric of existence here.
But still, we should see that all beings are one - all are part of His Being. Like Christ on the cross, He too suffers with us and in us. We should do all we can to relieve suffering and improve conditions in this world wherever and in whatever ways we can.

I guess this is a bit of a ramble - its just a few thoughts really.

Om Shanti.

Bhaskar

01-03-2005, 03:36 AM

ChiefCowpie

01-03-2005, 01:43 PM

ehm...Haribol it's not 'horrible',it's a Vaisnava form of greetings

it means: "chant the name of God"!Oh!

Hari is Krsna, God,
If Krishna is God, why does he steal?

BlackBillBlake

01-03-2005, 01:49 PM

While it is good and sattvic to feel sorry for people at a time like this, we must not allow it to upset us. After all, as bhagawan says, na jaayate mriyate va kadaachid...The soul is not born, nor does it ever die. Therefore we shouldn't grieve too much for the dead. Also, all those who were affected were recieving the results of their karma. Humanity as a whole is generating some very negative karma and so there is every now and then a natural disaster that gives us a rap on the knuckles. Mother nature can only tolerate so much abuse.
Dear Bhaskar,

No doubt you are right up to a point. But it is hard for any sensitive soul to see the suffering esp. of innocents and not be affected by it.
Also, my own view is that this world is probably ultimately 'perfectible' or certainly improvable through our efforts. It is just as much the karma of the west unaffected by this disaster to help out, and it is the karma of the victims to be helped.
It's not the dead I grieve for, but the living - those left with shattered lives, serious injury, fear and grief for lost loved ones.

I would like to share these short quotes from Swami Vivekananda, I feel it is relevant:

"You may invent an image through which to worship God, but a better image already exists, the living man. You may build a temple in which to worship God, and that may be good, but a better one, a much higher one, already exists, the human body"

and again

"He who wants to serve the father must serve the children first. He who wants to serve Shiva must serve His children - must serve all creatures in the world first"
"It is a privilege to serve mankind, for this is the worship of God: God is here, in all these human souls. He is the soul of man"
"The first of everything should go to the poor; we have only a right to what remains. The poor are God's representatives; anyone that suffers is His representative"

Hare Krishna!

ChiefCowpie

01-03-2005, 03:19 PM

And too, we as Hindus or at least folks who worship the same bunch of Gods, we naturally root for the Tamil Nadu Tigers, but its a bit embarassing for us at these times to see them put their regional concerns in their long fought battle for independence above giving aid workers free and open access to the areas in need.

ChiefCowpie

01-03-2005, 03:25 PM

How could God let this happen? How can He allow such untold suffering?

The Bhagavad Gita would seem to suggest an answer to this. This world is a part of what the Gita designates as Krishna's lower material energy or prakriti. It is governed by automatic processes, like a vast machine, and we, the living beings are also part of that machinery.
Yes, but how is this machinery working?

Unknown Energy Surges Continue to Hit Planet
by Sorcha Faal - Global Research

Editor’s Note: The following report was released barely a few days before the Tsunami which swept South and Southeast Asia on December 26.

What is important in this report is that it points to a pattern of major climatic disruptions. In fact several disruptive climatic events took place within the months preceding the dramatic events of December 26.

On December 1, 2004 barely reported in the media, in one of "the largest weather events in recorded human history, 86,800 square miles of China was shrouded in fog, bringing transportation systems (especially air travel) to a virtual standstill throughout the country."

By: Sorcha Faal, and as reported to the Russian Academy of Sciences
December 22, 2004

An increasingly panicked global effort is now underway by the world's top scientists to understand an unprecedented series of 'blasts', energy surges, which the planet has been taking from an as yet unknown source which has been bombarding Antarctica with cosmic rays and disrupting Northern Hemisphere weather systems on a global scale.

The first of these cosmic ray blasts occurred nearly 5 years ago and have been increasing in their frequency and intensity since the end of November. The once normally darkened skies of the Northern Hemisphere's Arctic regions are now in twilight due to these blasts. Wayne Davidson, from the Canadian Government's weather station at Resolute Bay, located in the Arctic Circle, says about this mysterious lighting, "The entire horizon is raised like magic, like the hand of God is bringing it up."

On December 1, 2004 the largest recorded blast sent not only shockwaves through the world scientific community but also through the Northern Hemisphere resulting in one of the largest weather events in recorded human history when 86,800 square miles of China was shrouded in fog, bringing transportation systems (especially air travel) to a virtual standstill throughout the country.

As reported by the BBC in this article from October, 2002, "German scientists have found a significant piece of evidence linking cosmic rays to climate change. They have detected charged particle clusters in the lower atmosphere that were probably caused by the space radiation. They say the clusters can lead to the condensed nuclei which form into dense clouds."

These German scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Nuclear Physics in Heidelberg go on to say that their measurements "have for the first time detected in the upper troposphere large positive ions with mass numbers up to 2500", and "Our observations provide strong evidence for the ion-mediated formation and growth of aerosol particles in the upper troposphere."

What they hadn't expected to happen though has been the large- scale occurrences of this over the past few weeks, to include China on December 2nd and 14th and then India on the 21st, which is due to both China's and India's reliance on fossil fuels and the continuing degradation of their air quality.

The effects of these blasts have also been felt throughout the rest of the Northern Hemisphere resulting in such freak occurrences as, hurricane force winds in Paris , Germany, Canada, Russia, England and the United States on an almost simultaneous basis. Accompanying these hurricane force winter winds have been the massive cold fronts following them dropping normal winter lows to record lows throughout the entire Northern Hemisphere.

Though not yet at a point to acknowledge this publicly, some of the world's top scientists are beginning to see an astrophysical correlation between these cosmic ray blasts to our planet and an ever-increasing number of global events relating to atmospheric explosions of inbound meteors, such as those in Indonesia, where a meteorite was picked up by their Air Forces radar, China, where a meteorite explosion turned 'night into day' and Washington D.C. where one police official stated, "It looked like a ball of fire falling out of the sky."

The world's top scientists have begun coordinating with Dr. Eun-Suk Seo from the United States University of Maryland, and her team, in a 'search' for answers to the origin of these cosmic ray blasts directed from an unknown origin in space towards the South Pole and disrupting our global weather systems.

http://www.abi01.de/kqx/wave.jpg

Under Dr. Eun-Suk Seo's and her international team's direction NASA launched a stratospheric balloon on December 20th from Antarctica's McMurdo base and have stated,

"The balloon, following circulation of winds high, will sail around the ice continent for about three weeks. During this time, data of great scientific interest will be gathered. These data concern flows of charged particles of highest energy (cosmic rays) coming from Space."

But as one Russian scientist said to us, and who wished to remain anonymous,

"Why this game? We all know what's happening"

--an apparent reference to the fact though these events are well known to both world governments and the scientific establishments they are beyond the understanding of the general public at large.

Whatever the end results these experiments reveal for these scientists, it remains an undisputed fact that this world of ours is facing a type of global cataclysmic event buried in our common geological past, and maybe, as some social scientists report, in our common ancestral memory also.
http://globalresearch.ca/articles/FAA412A.html (http://globalresearch.ca/articles/FAA412A.html)

Bhaskar

01-03-2005, 10:22 PM

First of all I do NOT root for the LTTE, they are murderers, far gone ont he path of adharma.

Bill, remember, I did say that it is perfectly correct and normal to grieve. my point is that we must not lose our peace of mind over it. That mental equilibrium has to be maintained at all times in life, this quality of sama is one of the 6 qualities that a seeker has to develop.

Of course it is our duty to serve those in distress. However in order to do so effectively, we must again maintain our balance emotionally. It does not do to get grief ridden and go to pieces at such a time.

In order to maintain this equipoise it is helpful to keep in mind such logic as I have outlined, as it makes it easier to deal with the emotions.

And one last thing:

You suggest that the world is imperfect. I completely disagree. Any imperfections we may see are because of our failure to view the larger picture. After all, this world was created by God. To say the world is imperfect is to say God is imperfect. Such a statement would contradict the very concept of God as being the ultimate perfect totality. This is not to say that we must not make an effort to alleviate the suffering of those around us. Their suffering is just as much part of the cosmic perfection as our service to them.

Little flower

01-03-2005, 10:26 PM

i fink they r rele kl!!
but paganism is da oldest.
but i fink hinduism is under da pagan umbrella

Little flower

01-03-2005, 10:26 PM

so in a way it ishttp://www.hipforums.com/forums/images/smilies/smile.gif

BlackBillBlake

01-03-2005, 11:04 PM

You suggest that the world is imperfect. I completely disagree. Any imperfections we may see are because of our failure to view the larger picture. After all, this world was created by God. To say the world is imperfect is to say God is imperfect. Such a statement would contradict the very concept of God as being the ultimate perfect totality. This is not to say that we must not make an effort to alleviate the suffering of those around us. Their suffering is just as much part of the cosmic perfection as our service to them.
The world is imperfect in the sense that it does not manifest perfectly the Divine energy behind its existence. For the Divine can be no limitation, no suffering, no ignorance or death. Yet we patently see all these things surrounding us in this world. We can say 'it is an illusion - one simply has to get out of it'. In a sense, that is the view of a lot of Indian philosophy over the ages ( although perhaps you'll disagree over that).
Or we can see this world as one of transition, a world in the process of creation, of a creative evolution. This includes us - Sri Aurobindo said "man is a transitional being" - Sri A's great illumination was of the coming of a higher Divine life here on earth, a new and higher consciousness, and a transformation of wordly existence into a perfect manifestation of the Infinite Godhead from which all has sprung. A completion of a Divine creative movement.

An idea has just come to mind so let me put it like this. We know that once, dinosaurs roamed the earth for millions of years. Much later on, after they'd been wiped out, mankind appeared. So - was this a world of perfection in the days of the dinosaurs? If so, why change it? Why bring in this complex human mental being ? And are we the end? Will we eventually evolve into something else completely - perhaps as far above us as we seem to be above the dinosaurs.

Om Shanti.

BlackBillBlake

01-03-2005, 11:16 PM

i fink they r rele kl!!
but paganism is da oldest.
but i fink hinduism is under da pagan umbrellaThe Hindu Umbrella.

http://img110.exs.cx/img110/435/6a298xz.jpg

BlackBillBlake

01-04-2005, 12:32 AM

Yes, but how is this machinery working?

Dear Chief Cowpie,

Thanks for another interesting if worrying post.

Maybe this current civilization will be wiped out, or forced to radically change.

Perhaps someone has a different plan for the earth than capitalist imperialism.

In the longer run, things may well work out, but the immediate period we face, and our children and grandchildren will face looks very uncertain. All the more reason to turn to the Divine - to a higher consciousness. Then perhaps we can see how light can come even from the darkness.

If we want a new age of love and light here on earth (hippie dreams again) then all these negative things have to go. Perhaps nature will force such a change. If these disasters we are now witnessing can do any good at all, it can surely be to make us, who live on wake up to the reality of life on this planet at this critical time. To the difficulties, and to the fantastic potential that also exists.

The tsunami didn't stop to ask if those it swept away were Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, American, Jew or Brit - much less if they were personalists or impersonalists! can't people see how petty and stupid all these foolish divisions are in the glaring aftermath of this tragedy? Let's hope and pray that they can.

Jai Sri Rahde!

Love & peace.

Bhaskar

01-04-2005, 12:38 AM

The world is imperfect in the sense that it does not manifest perfectly the Divine energy behind its existence. For the Divine can be no limitation, no suffering, no ignorance or death. Yet we patently see all these things surrounding us in this world. We can say 'it is an illusion - one simply has to get out of it'. In a sense, that is the view of a lot of Indian philosophy over the ages ( although perhaps you'll disagree over that).[quote]

No I agree with that completely. I believe that the world in itself has no existence or reality of its own, only brahman exists.

[quote]
An idea has just come to mind so let me put it like this. We know that once, dinosaurs roamed the earth for millions of years. Much later on, after they'd been wiped out, mankind appeared. So - was this a world of perfection in the days of the dinosaurs? If so, why change it? Why bring in this complex human mental being ? And are we the end? Will we eventually evolve into something else completely - perhaps as far above us as we seem to be above the dinosaurs.

It is perfect now as it was before the coming of the humans. Why change it is a question to be answered not by me but by the One pulling the strings. Either way, the world of creation has only a relative existence, the way a dream has a relative existence. And yes, I believe we can evolve into something far above and beyond humanity as we know it.

BlackBillBlake

01-04-2005, 01:01 AM

It is perfect now as it was before the coming of the humans. Why change it is a question to be answered not by me but by the One pulling the strings. Either way, the world of creation has only a relative existence, the way a dream has a relative existence. And yes, I believe we can evolve into something far above and beyond humanity as we know it.
I say it is more perfect now than in the dinosaur days because the human consciousness is so much higher and has the potential of union with God. To the extent that we realize that identity, you could say we are fulfilling the cosmic purpose.

I also agree that the manifest world is relativistic in nature, but that's not to say that it is unreal. Our consciouness of it may be unreal, but that's another thing.

I don't think that this stage of terrestial evolution equates in any way with Divine perfection, except in the rare cases of a few great Avatars and saints who embody it to some extent.

Bhaskar, I feel that all we can do is work through our sadhana and surrender to move closer to perfection ourselves. And by that, I mean outer action as well as meditation, japa, study etc.

I'm actually glad we have some grounds for - not dispute, certainly - but discussion. If everyone agrees on every point, things can get a bit stale.

Love & peace.

SvgGrdnBeauty

01-04-2005, 01:16 AM

Amen Chief.

We need now another big wave - a wave of love and compassion to flow from all our hearts for the victims of the tsunami, and all the world's other disaster areas, natural and man-made, like Dafur in Africa.
I'm heartened to see that the people of Britain have pledged over 60 million - a pound per head approx. of the population, and 10 mill. more than the 50 mill. pledged by the UK govt.
We should give whatever we can, and pray for healing for all those affected, and the whole world.
I agree.

“Let us pray in our hearts for a League of Souls and a United World. Though we may seem divided by race, creed, color, class, and political prejudices, still, as children of the one God we are able in our souls to feel brotherhood and world unity. May we work for the creation of a United World in which every nation will be a useful part, guided by God through man’s enlightened conscience. In our hearts we can all learn to be free from hate and selfishness. Let us pray for harmony among the nations, that they march hand in hand through the gate of a fair new civilization." —Paramahansa Yogananda

Also...I recieved this in an e-mail...apparently the ISKCON of Sri Lanka is handing out prasadam as a form of relief...so if you would like to donate money to make the food...send it to...

ISKCON Sri Lanka
188 New Chetty St.
Colombo 13
Sri Lanka

:) Hare Krsna! :)

*Peace and Love*
Nicole

BlackBillBlake

01-04-2005, 01:39 AM

More on the tsunami

Historic town in India saved by sea wall

By CHRIS TOMLINSON

Associated Press

PONDICHERRY, India - Religious devotees believe a divine force saved thisport city from last week's tsunami, but the vendors who sell fruit andsnacks next to the sea say it really was France. During the city's nearly three centuries as a French colonial enclave,French engineers built and maintained a massive, stone sea wall that keptPondicherry's historic center dry even though tsunami waves drove water24feet above the normal high-tide mark. "The water rose quickly, up to the main road," said M. Keshavan,a23-year-old who sells mangos and crispy snacks to tourists visiting thewall. He pointed to a two-foot retaining wall next to the road that runsalong the top of the sea wall: "It stopped there." The Pondicherry district recorded some 600 deaths from the huge waves thatstruck India's southeastern coast after a mammoth earthquake off Indonesia,but most of those killed were fishermen who lived in villages beyond theman-made barrier.
France had hoped to use Pondicherry as the base for an expanded empireinIndia, but it was the British who won the fight and ended up controllingmore than 90 percent of the peninsula. The French were left withPondicherry, which they ruled until 1956, seven years after Britain gavetherest of India independence. The French influence, seen in the graceful architecture on streets withnames like Rue Dumas, makes this city of 300,000 unique in India. Police sport red kepis, the round caps worn by Parisian cops and Frenchsoldiers. French is still taught in schools, and French expatriates ownhomes and run businesses in the French Quarter. Paris even financed a giant,bronze statue of the father of India's independence movement, MohandasK.Gandhi, which stands at the center of the sea wall.
The barrier was initially completed in 1735. Over the years, the Frenchcontinued to fortify the wall, piling huge boulders along its 1.25-milelength to stop erosion by the waves pounding the harbor. At its height, the barrier running along the water's edge reaches about27feet above sea level. The boulders, some weighing up to a ton, are weatheredblack and brown. On Dec. 26, when towering waves crashed against India's southern coast,thewall held. Keshavan said the water then receded from the harbor to where the seabeddrops off into deep water - about 650 feet out from the wall. "There was nothing but wet sand. People ran out to pick up the fishthatwere left behind, but the police ordered them to come back," he said. The ocean surged into the harbor and retreated two more times before theseafinally returned to normal, he said. "Pondicherry was very safe because of the rock barrier," saidS.Subramanian, manager of the Tourist Information Bureau, which has its officeon the road overlooking the ocean. He said only the fishing villages andbeach resorts on either side of the barrier were damaged. Every year the sea wall is inspected. Whenever gaps appear, or the stonessink into the sand, the government adds more boulders to keep it strong,hesaid. The deep-water harbor itself also helped. The steep drop-off forms anunderwater wall that breaks up the power of incoming waves.
In neighboring Bangladesh, which had only two deaths from the tsunami,thereis a similar natural barrier. Billions of tons of sediment carried intothesea by the country's numerous rivers slowed the sea surges before theyhitthe coast.
Not everyone believes the wall was responsible for keeping the city safe. At a religious retreat established in the French Quarter in 1926 by Indianguru Sri Aurobindo, an anti-colonial revolutionary turned scholar and holyman, devotees attributed the city's salvation to Aurobindo and hisFrench-born partner, whom they call "The Mother." "I am not sure you will believe this, but it was The Mother who protected the city," said S. Ramanathan, an elderly devotee who lives and works in the ashram. "I stay in a very protected place, so we are not affected by the tsunami at all."
Keshavan, the vendor, answers that there was nothing supernatural aboutPondicherry's escape. "It was this wall," he said, standing confidently on top of thebarrier aswaves splashed below. © 2005 AP Wire and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved. http://www.mercurynews.com (http://www.mercurynews.com/)

BlackBillBlake

01-04-2005, 01:50 AM

I agree.

“Let us pray in our hearts for a League of Souls and a United World. Though we may seem divided by race, creed, color, class, and political prejudices, still, as children of the one God we are able in our souls to feel brotherhood and world unity. May we work for the creation of a United World in which every nation will be a useful part, guided by God through man’s enlightened conscience. In our hearts we can all learn to be free from hate and selfishness. Let us pray for harmony among the nations, that they march hand in hand through the gate of a fair new civilization." —Paramahansa Yogananda

Amen to that too!

Happy birthday Nicole :)

Hare Krishna!

Love & blessings.

ChiefCowpie

01-04-2005, 02:26 AM

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in films such as Roman Holiday, Breakfast at
Tiffany's, and My Fair Lady, dedicated the
last years of her life to helping children in
need around the world.

Appointed as UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador
in 1988, she traveled to Africa, Asia, and
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her death in 1993.

"She was an inspiration," said UNICEF
Executive Director Carol Bellamy, "she
brought enormous world attention to children.
She raised the profile of the challenges
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ChiefCowpie

01-04-2005, 02:34 AM

http://www.ahepburn.com/bppic.jpg

Some "Time Tested Beauty Tips" from Audrey Hepburn

For attractive lips,
Speak words of kindness.
For lovely eyes,
Seek out the good in people.
For a lovely figure,
Share your food with the hungry.
For beautiful hair,
Let a child run his or her fingers through it once a day.
For poise,
Walk with the knowledge that you'll never walk alone.
People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed,
revived, reclaimed and redeemed.
Never throw out anybody.
Remember, if you ever need a helping hand,
you'll find one at the end of your arm.
As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands,
one for helping yourself, and one for helping others.
The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears,
The figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair.
The beauty of a woman must be seen from in her eyes,
Because that is the doorway to her heart.
The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mole,
But true beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul.
It is the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that
she shows, and the beauty of a woman with passing
years only grows!

ChiefCowpie

01-04-2005, 02:38 AM

ChiefCowpie

01-04-2005, 02:42 AM

ChiefCowpie

01-04-2005, 02:52 AM

Of course it is our duty to serve those in distress. However in order to do so effectively, we must again maintain our balance emotionally. It does not do to get grief ridden and go to pieces at such a time.http://www.ahepburn.com/NATIVE.jpg

SvgGrdnBeauty

01-06-2005, 01:38 AM

Thank you BBB and CCP for the birthday wishes! :)

I love the Audrey Hepburn poem CCP...its absolutely awesome! :)

*Peace and Love*
Nicole

ChiefCowpie

01-06-2005, 03:17 PM

Thank you Nicole.

avatIrNe gauracandre vistIrne prema sAgare/
suprakAsita ratnaughe yo dIno dIna eva sah//

The advent of Gauracandra (moon) braught about a huge tidal wave in the ocean of love, wonderfully depositing heaps of jewels all around. He is certainly the most pitiable wretch who will not collect up those jewels.

namascaitanya candrAya koti candrAnana tvise/
premAnandAbdhi candrAya cAru candrAmsu hAsine//

I bow in salutation to the moon-like Caitanya, whose countenance as a million moons doth shine; who, like the moon from the ocean of love's ecstacy churned, sheds the soothing moon beams of his beautious smile.

ChiefCowpie

01-07-2005, 09:09 PM

The Appearance of Radha-kundahttp://www.mvtindia.com/images/aristasura.jpg When the inhabitants of Vrindavana heard that Krishna had killed the terrible Aristasura demon (who appeared in the shape of a bull) they all rushed to the spot in a jubilant mood. Srimati Radharani and Her girlfriends also arrived at the scene and upon hearing that Krishna had killed a bull, became very upset and refused to associate with Him. Krishna pleaded with Radharani that since Aristasura was actually a demon in the disguise of a bull, there was no sin in killing him. Radharani informed Her beloved Syamasundara that in order to purify Himself from cow-killing, He would have to take His bath in all the holy places of the universe and then only would She associate with Him again. Krishna agreed to Radharani’s proposal, but instead of taking the trouble of traveling to all the holy places in the universe to take bath, Krishna informed Her that He would instead call all the holy places in the universe to Vrindavana. Striking His heel into the ground, Krishna made a very large impression and then called all the holy places of the universe to pour their sacred waters in to the newly-made kunda.

One by one all the holy places arrived in their personified forms. Offering their prayers to Krishna they all poured their waters into the kunda and filled it up. Just to please Radharani, Krishna took His bath in the newly formed kunda that then became celebrated as Syama-kunda.

Exhibiting transcendental arrogance in having created such a beautiful pond, filled with the sacred waters of all the holy places in the universe, Krishna began teasing Radharani and the gopis. He said that because they were only simple village girls they must have never performed any religious duties in this world for the pleasure of the demigods. Krishna also informed them that because they sided with the demon Aristasura, in the form of a bull, they would have to share the sin of cow-killing, and must also take bath to purify themselves.

http://www.mvtindia.com/radhakunda/rk5.jpgFeeling the pinch of Krishna’s joking words, Radharani suddenly exhibited Her transcendental anger and seeing a deep impression of Aristasura’s hoof print nearby, broke one of Her bangles and using it as a digging instrument, started to dig in the soft earth. Upon seeing this, the gopis also broke their bangles and started digging. Within a short time a large kunda had been created right next to Syama-kunda.

Krishna was amazed to see the large pond that Radharani and the gopis had created and made an offer to Radharani that the sacred waters from His kunda could also fill Hers. Radharani flatly refused Krishna’s offer, saying that the waters of Syama-kunda were now contaminated due to the sin of cow-killing. She further said that Her many girlfriends would form a line and bring pure waters of the Manasi-ganga in golden pots to fill her kunda.

Upon hearing the words of Srimati Radharani, the holy places personified approached Her with folded hands and while chanting beautiful prayers in glorification, humbly asked Her to grant them a boon. Radharani inquired what kind of boon they desired. The holy places personified informed Her that their lives could only be successful if they were allowed to pour their sacred waters into Her kunda also. Being ever compassionate to all those who sincerely approach Her, Radharani while glancing at Syamasundara through the corners of Her eyes, happily agreed to their proposal. In a joyous mood the holy places personified forcibly broke through the banks of Syama-kunda and poured their sacred waters into Radha-kunda.

Krishna then immediately took bath in Radha-kunda and declared that henceforth, anyone who with firm faith took a bath on that day in Radha-kunda, would achieve the same ecstatic love that Radharani had for Him. Radharani and Her girlfriends then took bath in Syama-kunda. Radharani declared that anyone who takes bath in Syama-kunda would achieve the same ecstatic love that Krishna has for Her.

This pastime occurred at 11:45 pm on the eighth day of the waning moon in the auspicious month of Kartika. Each year on this day, thousands of devotees flock to Radha-kunda for the ardha-ratri-snana (midnight bath). First they bathe in Syama-kunda and then again in Radha-kunda. This festival, held on the appearance day of Radha-kunda is known as Bahulastami. Radha-kunda is the only place in the world where a holy bath is taken at midnight. top of page (http://www.mvtindia.com/radhakunda/appearance.htm#R)

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Little flower

01-07-2005, 09:11 PM

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare

i love tht chant/song!!!!!!!!!
they sing it in da film hair 2!!!
:)

ChiefCowpie

01-07-2005, 09:15 PM

Lord Chaitanya Rediscovers Radha Kunda
http://www.mvtindia.com/images/rk11.jpgAfter having displayed His transcendental pastimes on earth for one hundred and twenty five years, Krishna returned to the spiritual world bringing the Dvapara-yuga to an end. The dark age of Kali-yuga then began and after a period of almost fifty centuries, Krishna again appeared on earth but this time in the form of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, also known as the Golden Avatar due to His golden-like complexion.

During Krishna’s appearance He spoke the Bhagavad-gita on the battle at Kurukshetra, but as time went by no-one could properly understand or even follow Krishna’s instructions. Therefore the Lord came again as Sri Chaitanya to show the world how to perfectly follow those instructions. The Lord appeared this time as a sannyasi in the renounced order of spiritual life. One of the reasons for His coming was to introduce the yuga-dharma, or religious practice for this present age of Kali, the congregational chanting of the Lords holy names, also known as the maha-mantra, or the great chant of deliverance.

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

Another reason for Lord Chaitanya’s appearance was to re-discover the lost holy places in Vrindavana, where Lord Krishna had performed His transcendental pastimes five thousand years earlier. In the year 1515, on the auspicious occasion of Kartika Purnima, Lord Chaitanya arrived on pilgrimage in the holy land of Vrindavana. Accompanied by His companions, Balabhadra and the Sanodiya brahmana, the Lord visited all the sacred forests connected with Lord Krishna’s pastimes.

One day while on parikrama around Govardhana Hill, Lord Chaitanya arrived at a small village then known as Aritagram. The Lord inquired from the local people where the sacred lakes of Radha-kunda and Syama-kunda were situated, but no one knew. Over the many centuries the two sacred kundas were practically forgotten and somehow had become renamed as gauri meaning golden (the complexion of Radharani), and kari meaning blackish (the complexion of Krishna). These two kundas had been turned into paddy fields by the local farmers.

On the outskirts of the village Lord Chaitanya sat in deep contemplation underneath a beautiful tamala tree. As the Lord sat there His glance. Fell across the two nearby paddy fields that were fed by underground springs. By His divine spiritual power, the Lord could understand that these two paddy fields were non-other than Radha-kunda and Syama-kunda. In great ecstasy the Lord suddenly ran into the middle of the paddy fields and in whatever water was available there, took His bath, much to the astonishment of the onlooking villagers. Lord Chaitanya then took clay from the sacred kundas and applied Vaisnava tilaka marks to His transcendental body. The Lord then danced in great ecstasy around the two kundas while chanting the holy names of Radha and Krishna. After fully satisfying Himself Lord Chaitanya offered His obeisances to the sacred kundas and continued His parikrama of the holy land of Vraja.

After completing His pilgrimage to Vrindavana where He rediscovered many important holy places, Lord Chaitanya began His return journey to Puri. On the way, the Lord stopped at Allahabad, where he met Rupa Goswami and instructed him in the science of devotional service for ten consecutive days. The Lord then ordered Rupa Goswami to proceed to Vrindavana and excavate all the lost holy places as well as write books on the science of devotional service (bhakti-yoga). Some years later Rupa Goswami wrote one of his most famous books, Sri Upadesamrta, which mentions the glories of Radha-kunda

After leaving Allahabad, Lord Chaitanya next visited Varanasi (Kasi), where He met Rupa’s elder brother Sanatana Goswami. The Lord also gave elaborate instructions on the science of devotion to Sanatana. The Lord then ordered him to join his brother Rupa in Vrindavana, where they should both write books elaborating on the Lord’s instructions, excavate the lost holy places of Krishna’s pastimes, and establish Deity worship.

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ChiefCowpie

01-08-2005, 06:44 PM

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare

i love tht chant/song!!!!!!!!!:)
Blessed be!

With your devotions, you are healing the planET.

ChiefCowpie

01-08-2005, 06:57 PM

Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri

http://fit.supereva.it/newage.freeweb/masters/Yukteswar.jpg

Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri (1855-1936) was Lahiri Mahasaya's disciple and the Guru of Paramahansa Yogananda.

His family name was Priya Nath Karar. He was born on May 10, 1855 in Serampore, where his father was a wealthy businessman. He left him the mansion which became his hermitage. His middle life was blessed with the guidance of Lahiri Mahasaya. Priya Nath Karar was married but after the death of his wife he joined the Swami Order and received the new name of Sri Yukteswar Giri.

At the behest of Lahiri Mahasaya's Guru, the deathless Mahavatar Babaji, he wrote "The Holy Science", a book where there is underlined the unity between the Scriptures of Christianity and the Hindu scriptures.

He trained Paramahansa Yogananda for his spiritual world-mission: the dissemination of Kriya Yoga.

He left consciously his body on March 9, 1935 in

Puri and he returned three months later in a supernal new body before the astonished eyes of his beloved disciple Paramahansa Yogananda and a week later before an aged woman, Ma (Mother), whose home was close to the Puri hermitage.

See here the Resurrection of Sri Yukteswar (http://www.lesbois.com/webdancer/yoga/two.htm).

He is called Jnanavatar that means 'Incarnation of Wisdom'.

http://fit.supereva.it/newage.freeweb/masters/yukteswlion.JPG Here a brief account about him by his greatest advanced disciple Paramahansa Yogananda:

"Daily life at the ashram flowed smoothly, infrequently varied. My guru awoke before dawn. Lying down, or sometimes sitting on the bed, he entered a state of Samadhi (It is a blissful superconscious state in which a yogi perceives the identity of the individualized soul and Cosmic Spirit). It was simplicity itself to discover when Master had awakened: abrupt halt of stupendous snores, a sigh or two; perhaps a bodily movement. Then a soundless state of breathlessness: he was in deep yogic joy." [...]

"Students seeking to escape from the maya-induced sex delusion received from Sri Yukteswar patient and understanding counsel:
'Just as hunger, not greed, has a legitimate purpose, so the sexual instict has been implanted by Nature solely for the propagation of the species, not for the kindling of insatiable longings', he said.
'Destroy wrong desires now; otherwise they will remain with you after the astral body has been separated from its physical casing. Even when the flesh is weak, the mind should be constantly resistant. If temptation assails you with cruel force, overcome it by impersonal analysis and indomitable will. Every natural passion can be mastered. Conserve your powers. Be like the capacious ocean, absorbing quietly all the tributary rivers of the senses. Daily renewed sense yearnings sap your inner peace; they are like openings in a reservoir that permit vital waters to be wasted in the desert soil of materialism. The forceful, activating impulse of wrong desire is the greatest enemy to the happiness of man. Roam in the world as a lion of self-control; don't let the frogs of sense weakness kick you around!' ".

This is an account from the travel diary written by Richard Wright, Sri Daya Mata's brother, one of few western persons who saw him living:

http://fit.supereva.it/newage.freeweb/masters/Yukteswar2.jpg "[...] there before us stood a simple two-storey ashram, its balcony jutting from the upper floor. The pervasive impression was peaceful solitude.
In grave humility I walked behind Yoganandaji into the courtyard within the hermitage walls. Hearts beating fast, we proceeded up some old cement steps, trod, no doubt, by myriads of truth seekers. The tension grew keener and keener as on we strode. Before us, near the head of the stairs, quietly appeared the Great One, Swami Sri Yukteswarji, standing in the noble pose of a sage.
My heart heaved and swelled as I felt myself blessed by being in his sublime presence. Tears blurred my eager sight when Yoganandaji dropped to his knees, and with bowed head offered his soul's gratitude and greeting; touching with his hand the guru's feet and then, in humble obeisance, his own forehead. He rose then and was embraced on both sides of the bosom by Sri Yukteswarji.
No words passed in the beginning, but the most intense feeling was expressed in mute phrases of the soul.How their eyes sparkled and were fired with the warmth of renewed soul union! A tender vibration surged through the quiet patio, and even the sun eluded the clouds to add a sudden blaze of glory.

http://fit.supereva.it/newage.freeweb/masters/priyanathkarar.JPG On the bended knee before the master I gave my own unexpressed love and thanks; touching his feet, calloused by time and service, and receiving his blessing. I stood then and faced two beautiful deep eyes smouldering with introspection, yet radiant with joy. [...]
I easily perceived the saintliness of the Great One through his heart-warming smile and twinkling eyes. One quality quickly discernible in his merry or serious words is a decided positiveness in statement - the mark of a sage, who knows he knows, because he knows God. His great wisdom, strenght of purpose, and determination are apparent in every way.
Studying him reverently from time to time, I noted that he is of large, athletic stature, hardened by the trials and sacrifices of renunciation. His poise is majestic. A decidedly sloping forehead, as if seeking the heavens, dominates his divine countenance. He has a rather large and homely nose, with which he amuses himself in idle moments, flipping and wiggling it with his fingers, like a child. His powerful dark eyes are haloed by an ethereal blue ring. His hair, parted in the middle, is white around the forehead, streaked elsewhere with silvery gold and silvery black, and ends in ringlets at his shoulders. His beard and moustache are scant or thinned out, yet seem to enhance his features; and, like his character, are deep and light at the same time.

http://fit.supereva.it/newage.freeweb/masters/YogYukt.JPG He has a jovial and rollicking laugh that comes from the depths of his chest, causing him to shake and quiver throughout his body - very cheerful and sincere. His face and stature are striking in their power, as are his muscular hands. He moves with a dignified tread and erect posture.
He was clad simply in the common dhoti and shirt, both once dyed an ochre colour, but now a faded orange. Glancing about, I observed that this rather dilapidated room suggests the owner's non-attachment to material comforts. The weather-stained white walls of the long chamber are streaked with fading blue plaster. At on e end of the room hangs a picture of Lahiri Mahasaya, garlanded in simple devotional fashion. There is also an old picture showing Yoganandaji as he first arrived in Boston, standing with other delegates to the Congress of Religions. [...]
The whole room emanates a fragrance of peace and happiness. Beyond the balcony I saw coconut trees towering in silent protection.

Although I write chiefly of my external impressions of the master, yet I was always conscious fo his spiritual glory. I felt his power, and shall ever retain that feeling as my divine blessing".

This is the description about Sri Yukteswarji by a well-known author of yoga and spiritual books, Mr. W.Y. Evans-Wents:

http://fit.supereva.it/newage.freeweb/masters/YukteswarSamadhi.jpg "It has been my privilege to meet one of the sages whose life history is herein narrated - Sri Yukteswar Giri. A likeness of the venerable saint appeared as part of the frontispiece of my Tibetan Yoga and Secret Doctrines.
It was at Puri, in Orissa, on the Bay of Bengal, that I encountered Sri Yukteswar. He was then the head of a quiet ashram near the seashore there, and was chiefly occuied in the spritual training of a group of youthful disciples. He expressed keen interest in the welfare of the people of the United States and of all the Americas, and of England, too, and questioned me concerning the distant activities, particularly those in California, of his chief disciple, Paramahansa Yogananda, whom he dearly loved, and whom he had sent, in 1920, as his emissary to the West.
Sri Yukteswar was of gentle mien and voice, of pleasing presence, and worthy of the veneration that his followers spontaneously accorded to him. Every person who knew him, whether of his own community or not, held him in the highest esteem.

I vividly recall his tall, straight, ascetic figure, robed in the saffron-coloured garb of one who has renounced worldly quests, as he stood at the entrance of the hermitage to give me welcome. His hair was long and somewhat curly, and his face bearded. His body was muscularly firm, but slender and well-formed, and his step energetic. He had chosen as his place of earthly abode the holy city of Puri, whither multitudes of pious Hindus, representative of every province of India, come daily on pilgrimage to the famed Temple of Jagannath, "Lord of the World".
It was at Puri that Sri Yukteswar closed his mortal eyes, in 1936, to the scenes of this transitory state of being and passed on, knowing that his incarnation had been carried to a triumphant completion. I am glad, indeed, to be able to record this testimony to the high character and holiness of Sri Yukteswar. Content to remain afar from the multitude, he gave himself unreservedly and in tranquility to that ideal life which Paramahansa Yogananda, his disciple, has now described for the ages".

As his divine Guru Lahiri Mahasaya, he healed many persons like Paramahansa Yogananda saved from cholera and a liver disorder. He healed Dr. Roy of diabetes, Sasi of tuberculosis, Nalini of paralyzed legs. He appeared simultaneously in Calcutta and Serampore. He predicted his passing, he left consciously his body at death and resurrected in a new body. His precious book by Babaji's request The Holy Science (http://www.srf-yogananda.org/catalog/holy_science.html) explains the World Cycles (Yugas), why human being should be vegetarian but above all the unity between religions.

SvgGrdnBeauty

01-08-2005, 10:41 PM

Thank you for that ChiefCowPie!

Sri Yukteswar was indeed awesome. I'll bet he was really amazing to know... I always liked, in Autobiography of A Yogi, how he always made people wear those bangles...it always amused me. :)

BlackBillBlake

01-09-2005, 03:12 PM

These two poems are from 'Songs of Innocence and Experience' by the English poet and painter William Blake (1757 - 1827).

I hope they have some resonance given the unfortunate events we have all witnessed recently.

The Divine Image

To Mercy Pity Peace and Love,
All pray in their distress:
And to these virtues of delight
Return their thankfulness.

For Mercy Pity Peace and Love,
Is God our father dear:
And Mercy Pity Peace and Love,
Is Man his child and care.

For Mercy has a human heart
Pity, a human face:
And Love, the human form divine,
And Peace, the human dress.

Then every man of every clime,
That prays in his distress,
Prays to the human form divine
Love Mercy Pity Peace.

And all must love the human form,
In heathen, Turk or Jew.
Where Mercy, Love & Pity dwell,
There God is dwelling too.

On Another’s Sorrow

Can I see another’s woe,
And not be in sorrow too.
Can I see another’s grief,
And not seek for kind relief.

Can I see a falling tear,
And not feel my sorrows share,
Can a father see his child,
Weep, nor be with sorrow fill'd.

Can a mother sit and hear
An infant groan an infant fear --
No no never can it be.
Never never can it be.

And can he who smiles on all
Hear the wren with sorrows small,
Hear the small birds grief & care,
Hear the woes that infants bear --

And not sit beside the nest
Pouring pity in their breast.
And not sit the cradle near
Weeping tear on infants tear.

And not sit both night & day,
Wiping all our tears away.
O! no never can it be.
Never never can it be.

He doth give his joy to all.
He becomes an infant small.
He becomes a man of woe
He doth feel the sorrow too.

Think not, thou canst sigh a sigh,
And thy maker is not by.
Think not, thou canst weep a tear,
And thy maker is not near.

O! he gives to us his joy,
That our grief he may destroy
Till our grief is fled & gone
He doth sit by us and moan

SvgGrdnBeauty

01-10-2005, 11:36 PM

I very much liked those poems Andrew, they were really beautiful...
----
This is a story that I read in one of Paramahansa Yogananda's books and I shared it with gdkumar and he suggested that I should share it with you all:

Once there was a king who told one of his subjects that unless he could answer a
certain question, he would be hanged. The man said, "Tell me the question." The
king then asked him, "Where does God sit, and which way does He
look....north,south,east or west ?" The subject went home to think, and told his
servant that he would be killed unless he answered the king in a fortnight.

The servant said to his master, "Let me go for you. I will answer the question."
So the servant went to the king and explained his errand. "First", he said, "Let
me sit on your throne, for while I answer your question I am your teacher." The
king surrendered his throne to the servant, and then asked him : "Where does God
sit, and which way does he look ...north, south, east or west ?"
The servant responded with a request, "Bring me a cow." So a cow was brought.
Then the servant said, "Where is the milk ?"
"In the udder", said the king.
"Nay, Sire", said the servant, "The milk is not only in the udder, but
throughout the cow, for the milk is in the essence of the cow."

Then the servant asked that a bowl of milk be brought; and when it was set
before him, he asked the king : "Where is the butter ?"
The king said, "I see no butter."
The servant answered, "The butter is throughout the milk. Just churn the milk,
and the butter will become separated from it. Therefore, as the milk is all
through the cow, and butter is present throughout the milk, so is God
everywhere."
Thus did the wisdom of the servant save the life of his master, for the king
received the correct answer to his question.
----------

BlackBillBlake

01-11-2005, 03:23 PM

Thanks SGB - nice story too :)

Om Shanti.

BlackBillBlake

01-11-2005, 06:35 PM

To my mind, this is one of the most fascinating of Hindu myths.

At the beginning of time, an attempt was made by the Devas and Daityas , the gods and the demons, to obtain Amrita the nectar of immortality by churning the great ocean.

They used Mount Mandara as a churning stick, and set it upon the form of Kurma, the tortoise form assumed by Vishnu . They took Vasuki the king of snakes as a rope, with the gods on one side and the demons on the other.

There are variations on the story, but the churning first of all produced Halahala a fiery poison, then Airavata a heavenly elephant.

Next, the Goddess Lakshmi appeared. She was born from the milk ocean, rising from it seated upon Her lotus throne..

Finally, the god of medicine, Dhanvantari appeared, holding the pot of Amrita.

The demons tried to snatch it, but Vishnu appeared in the form of Mohini the seductress, and thus distracted them.

So the gods got their Amrita!

In another version, the churning is not successful at first because the gods forget about Ganesh. They have to first request His blessing, and then they can proceed as above.

The significance of this story may not be immediately evident, but it does contain many layers of meaning, or at least I have found it so over a period of years.

If anyone knows any further variations on the story, I’d love to hear about them.

http://img155.exs.cx/img155/1581/churning5hq.jpg

gdkumar

01-11-2005, 08:20 PM

HARE KRISHNA !

DEAR ALL,

My greetings to all new comers.Sincere thanks to all, specially to SleepingJiva.
With all the beautiful and unfathomably rich posts from BBB,CCP,Bhaskar,SGB and all others now the thread has reached its significant boundary covering the whole world and has thus become boundaryless. It has become significant because HK does not limit itself to any limit, it signifies itself only when Krishna or Christ or Buddha or Allah or God is seen in everything and everywhere. Thanks to dear ChiefCowPie who relentlessly in an unsubdued manner kept on his good job of spreading words of knowledge and love. I bow to him and BBB unconditionally for this.

Those who probably tried to ridicule the posts are also so very much welcome to this thread. Nothing happens in a day and the process of self_discovering takes time like it had happened with me, who was totally callous and indifferent about the whole subject at one time. Only difference with me was I never used to disbelieve anything or jeer at the believers at the same time. Just a little brotherly advice to all who do not agree with God or His existence...... Please do not say something for which you will be ashamed and embarrased later on. Before we say something we should qualify ourselves to some extent to talk on that subject by enriching our knowledge through reading or by coming with the association of somebody who can satisfy all our questions.

It is quite justified that you should bow down or surrender to somebody only when you are satisfied from all sides that he or He deserves your worship.

I would once again request SleepingJiva to come back taking the example of CCPIE who was humiliated endless times but still remained nonchalant the way Sri Krishna or God does for all of us at all times.

With love and best wishes,

Kumar.

ChiefCowpie

01-11-2005, 10:46 PM

10 points to whoever can find Sri Yuktesvara Giri

http://fusionanomaly.net/beatlessgtpepperdetail.jpg

jesuswasamonkey

01-11-2005, 10:50 PM

He's the dude standing next to Aleister Crowley ;)

BlackBillBlake

01-11-2005, 11:09 PM

I'm not sure how well the two of them would get on ! :)

SvgGrdnBeauty

01-12-2005, 01:29 AM

He's the dude standing next to Aleister Crowley ;)I never noticed that! That's awesome...thankies CCC for sharing!

ChiefCowpie

01-13-2005, 03:24 AM

George Harrison also paid homage to the Kriya Yoga line (rthymic control of the breath with silent repetition of Sacred Holy Name mantras) of Yogananda and Sri Yuktesvara Giri by putting the founder of the line, Babaji on his Dark Horse album cover. George Harrison was very fond of Babaji and Yogananda and was often seen wearing buttoms of their pictured likenesses or visiting the Self Realization Fellowship in Encinitas, California. http://heroinc.0catch.com/george/smas3418.jpghttp://heroinc.0catch.com/george/3418-2.jpg Dark Horse Apple SMAS-3418 Dec. 9, 1974

BlackBillBlake

01-14-2005, 10:46 PM

Here he is from the inner sleeve of 'Extra Texture' (1975) wearing just such a button.

http://img42.exs.cx/img42/601/image0069kb.jpg

BlackBillBlake

01-15-2005, 12:14 AM

"My predecessors have invariably said, 'My belief is right and yours is wrong; my customs are worthy, yours are ignoble; my dress is decent, yours is not; think as I think, talk as I talk, do as I do, or you will be wretched, poor, sick, disgraced and dammed; besides which, I shall cut your head off, burn you alive, starve you, imprison you, ostracize you and otherwise make you sorry you did not agree to be a good boy.' The essence of every missionary message has been to assimilate the taught to the teacher; and it has always been accompanied by bribes and threats. My message is exactly opposed to any of this. I say to each man and woman, 'You are unique and sovereign, the centre of an universe. However right I may be in thinking as I do, you may be equally right in thinking otherwise. You can only accomplish your object in life by complete disregard of the opinions of other people. You must not even take the outward signs of success as indications that the course of action which has produced them would serve your turn. For one thing, my coronet might not suit your complexion but give you a headache; for another, the measures which I took to obtain that coronet might not succeed in your case.'

Aleister Crowley.

ChiefCowpie

01-15-2005, 10:14 PM

I grew up in a small town along the Appalachian Blue Ridge Mountains.
My Grandfather was minister in one of the town’s churches.

I grew up with the impression in the innocence of my childhood
that because he was minister in the church, somehow he was able to talk to God.

I smile upon remembering times had as a young boy which seemed to be not so much
about his ability to talk to God but his ability to talk to me.

And to the day he died when I was thirteen, he only ever talked to me
and somehow God was never a part of the picture.

Through many years to this day I have met complete strangers who have told me stories
of how my Grandfather visited them or someone they knew in the hospital.

And sat and talked with them
as it seemed it was my Grandfather’s favorite thing to do.

To walk hospital halls and visit the sick and the hospitalized
and whether he knew them or not, just simply talk and chat.

And told of how this brought them comfort and dissolved the pain
and even doing this long into retirement.

Later on I learned the truth as an adult that one can merely declare oneself a minister of God
and it does not necessarily mean you can talk to God.

But now, with each person I meet to this day who tells me
of how my grandfather brought comfort in his visits.

And how he was a wonderful and loving and kind person,
I know my Grandfather was talking to God.

ChiefCowpie

01-16-2005, 03:43 AM

http://urhit.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/devi.gif

Jai Durga Ma!

ChiefCowpie

01-16-2005, 03:34 PM

http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/gthursby/tantra/krish3.gifhttp://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/gthursby/tantra/tantspac.gif

http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/gthursby/tantra/ss2.gif

Shri Krishna as Kali

O daughter of the snow-capped mountain! That Ananga whose bow is of flowers, whose bow string is of a row of bees, who has five arrows, who has as his feudatory Vasanta, and the Malaya breeze as his chariot, he, even though thus equipped, having obtained some grace from thy side glance, conquers all this world single-handed - Saundaryalahari, 6

In places in the tantrik tradition, the Krishna avatar of Vishnu is often identified with Kali (http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/gthursby/tantra/kali.htm). This reaches a peak in the Tantrarajatantra, where it is said that having already charmed the world of men as herself, Lalita (http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/gthursby/tantra/tripura.htm) took a male form as Krishna and then proceeded to enchant women. In this work, Krishna has six forms, identified with the six senses (including Mind). They are Kamaraja Gopala, Manmatha Gopala, Kandarpa Gopala, Makaraketana Gopala and Manobhava Gopala. Their meditation images (dhyana according to the same work, describes them as being like dawn, http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/gthursby/tantra/krishbl.gif with six arms, holding flute, noose, goad, sugar cane bow and a bowl of curds. These are the five arrows of Lalita and the bow and here Krishna is identified with Kameshvara, the Indian god of love, who is otherwise called Ananga, and, like Cupid, is armed with a bow.

The Kalivilasa Tantra, a Bengali work, states Krishna was born as the son of Devi who was golden (Gauri) and turned black when he was excited by passion. In the Todala Tantra, each of the ten Mahavidyas, forms of the supreme Goddess, has her own male counterpart and here Krishna is said to be the spouse of Kali. There are many images of Krishna in India which show him as black. An Indian commentator to the hymn to Kali called Karpuradistotra, goes further and says that there is a connection between the bija mantra of Kali which is Krim, Krishna and Christ. Whatever the truth of that identification, it is certain that to many ordinary folk in India, Krishna and Christ do have a resonance. Often you will see contemporary images of Krishna and Christ together in the inside of houses. Krishna (and his tantrika counterpart Kameshvara) are moved by love (prem).

The Victorian print at the top left of this page shows Radha, Krishna's shakti, worshipping Krishna as Kali, while the image on the left is a contemporary print (copyright acknowledged but of unknown provenance).

In the Brihat Tantra Sara, a large compilation of tantrik rites, Krishna appears as a fully-flowered tantrika devata, with his own yantra (http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/gthursby/tantra/yantra.htm), gayatri (http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/gthursby/tantra/gayatri.htm), mantra and puja (http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/gthursby/tantra/ritual.htm) http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/gthursby/tantra/krislit.gif (http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/gthursby/tantra/krisyanw.gif) or ritual which uses this yantra (click on this image for full size yantra). In the hexagon in the centre of the yantra, the following words appear: Krishnaya Govindaya Klim sadhya Gopijanavallabhaya Svaha. In the corners of the hexagon are the bija mantras Hrim and Shrim. Outside the hexagon is the Krisna mantra which runs: Klim Krishnaya Namah. In the petals of the yantra is a longer mantra Namah Kamadevaya Sarvajanapriyaya Sarvajansammohanaya Jvala Prajvala Sarvajanasya Hridayamavamsham Kurukura Svaha. Around the eight petals are the Matrikas or letters of the Sanskrit alphabet while in the angles of the protecting wall are bija mantras Hrim and Shrim, once more. Although commonly associated with Shaivite and Shakta concerns, in reality there is no sectarianism in the tradition. In many of the texts of the tradition, it is stated that it is only a fool who makes any distinction between the two. The forms of Vishnu, however, often have a more emotional tinge to them than those of Shiva (http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/gthursby/tantra/shiva.htm), who can be portrayed as a highly terrifying figure. Trailokyamohana Vishnu, for example, in the Prapanchasara Tantra, is meditated upon as in the middle of a garden of Aeon Trees, scented with flowers and musical from the sound of bees, with his shakti Shri Lakshmi. She is bathed in sweat from her passion for him while around them both are the women of the household, all pierced by the arrows of Kama, god of sexuality, all shameless with their passion.

Artwork is © Jan Bailey, 1995. Translations are © Mike Magee 1995. Questions or comments to ac70@cityscape.co.uk (ac70@cityscape.co.uk)

Home Page (http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/gthursby/tantra/index.html)

BlackBillBlake

01-16-2005, 05:21 PM

Jai Ma!

BlackBillBlake

01-20-2005, 01:16 PM

klim krishna ! hrim kali ! http://guruji.narod.ru/picture05.jpg

The unity of Kali and Krishna can be discovered through analyzing
their bija mantras and their names:

Kali = krIM
Krishna = klIM

First of all, they only differ by one letter.

Second, if you take each bija letter by letter, you can arrive at the
correspocding name of the other:

klIM (Krishna bija) = ka + la + I + M ~ KALI

krIM (Kali bija) = ka + ra + I + M ~ KRISHNA (First 3 letters anyway.)

They are not exact, but neither are these two deities the same in
OUTWARD form.

Their INNER unity is shown in their beginning, "ka"; their middle,
"I"; and their end "M." The one letter difference changes the entire
outward form and function of the deity ("ra" is fire = transformation
= Kali and "la" is Earth or Krishna coming to Earth).

Further, "krishna" means dark, and Kali is darkness Herself.

Finally, Kali has been translated as "She who takes away the darkness"
and Krishna was Vishnu's avatar who descended in the Dvapara Yuga to
take away the darkness of that age. Surely Kali was the shakti behind
Krishna...

http://guruji.narod.ru/kaligopala.html

BlackBillBlake

01-20-2005, 05:58 PM

Sri Ramakrishna (surcharged with bhava) — Tell me if you have any doubt. I shall explain everything.

Govinda and other devotees begin to think.

Govinda — Revered sir, why does Shyama (Kali) have such complexion? (black)

Sri Ramakrishna — It is because She is at distance. Going nearer, there is no colour. The water in a pond looks dark from a distance. Go near it, take some in your hand and you will see that it has no colour. Sky appears blue from a distance. See the sky that is nearer, you will find no colour. The nearer you go to the Lord, the more you will realize that He has neither name nor form. Move a little away, you will again find your same Mother Shyama ; She has the complexion as that of the grass and flowers. Is Shyama Purusha or Prakriti? A bhakta performed worship. Another man came and saw the deity wearing a sacred thread. The latter said, ‘You have put the sacred thread round the Mother’s neck.’ The former said, ‘Brother, only you have recognized the Mother. As for me, I have never been able to know whether She is Purusha or Prakriti. So I have put a sacred thread round her neck.’

“The One who is Shyama is also Brahman. The One who has form is also formless. The Being who has attributes is also without-attributes. Brahman is Shakti and Shakti is Brahman. Inseparable. The male Sachchidananda and the female Sachchidananda.”

Govinda — Why do we call Yogamaya?

Sri Ramakrishna — Yogamaya means the union of Purusha and Prakriti. Whatever you see is all the union of Purusha and Prakriti. The image of Shiva and Kali, Kali stands on Shiva. Shiva is lying like a corpse. Kali is looking at Shiva. All this is the union of Purusha and Prakriti. Purusha is inactive, so Shiva is lying like a corpse. It is in conjunction with Purusha that Prakriti performs all Her actions; She creates, preserves and dissolves.

“The dual image of Radha and Krishna (both Radha and Krishna in one piece) also signifies the same. Because of this union they are bent towards each other. To denote this very union Sri Krishna wears a pearl in his nose and Radha a blue stone in hers. Radha has the fair complexion of a bright pearl. Sri Krishna is of dark complexion. For this reason Radha wears the blue stone. Furthermore, Sri Krishna’s apparel is yellow while that of Radha is blue.
“Who is a superior devotee? He who sees after attaining Brahmajnana that God alone has become the universe and the twenty-four categories. He first reaches the roof by discriminating ‘not this, not this.’ Then he sees that the steps are also made of the same material; brick, lime, and brick-dust; with which the roof is made. Then he sees that Brahman Himself has become the creatures and the universe, all.

Sri Ramakrishna.

Little flower

01-21-2005, 06:36 PM

Blessed be!

With your devotions, you are healing the planET.
merry meet!
thank u! r u wiccan?
i am trying 2 do all i can 4 da earth/planet :)

ChiefCowpie

01-21-2005, 10:39 PM

merry meet!
thank u! r u wiccan?
i am the cosmos

i am trying 2 do all i can 4 da earth/planet :)
bravo! keep up the good work or play or joy or whatever you call it

BlackBillBlake

01-21-2005, 10:49 PM

http://www.littleflower.org/

SvgGrdnBeauty

01-25-2005, 10:37 PM

Just poking in and saying Hi! Its all snowy 'round here..its crazy...we just had a blizzard. I hope you're all doing well...just felt like poking around...I don't really have anything on topic to say...lol

:)

*Peace and Love*
Nicole

BlackBillBlake

01-26-2005, 02:01 PM

Nice to see you're still around Nicole :)

Om Shanti.

MaestroD

01-29-2005, 07:41 AM

HOW TO TURN $6 INTO $6,000!!!!!!

READING THIS COULD CHANGE YOUR LIFE!

I found this on a bulletin board and decided to try it. A little while back, I was browsing through newsgroups, just like you are now, and came across an article similar to this that said you could make thousands of dollars within weeks with only an initial investment of $6.00! So I thought, Yeah right, this must be a scam,but like most of us, I was curious, so I kept reading. Anyway, it said that you send $1.00 to each of the 6 names and address stated in the article. You then place your own name and address in the bottom of the list at #6, and post the article in at least 200 newsgroups. (There are thousands) No catch, that was it. So after thinking it over, and talking to a few people first, I thought about trying it. I figured: what have I got to lose except 6 stamps and $6.00, right? Then I invested the measly $6.00. Well GUESS WHAT!!... within 7 days, I started getting money in the mail! I was shocked! I figured it would end soon, but the money just kept coming in. In my first week, I made about $25.00. By the end of the second week I had made a total of over $1,000.00! In the third week I had over $10,000.00 and it's still growing. This is now my fourth week and I have made a total of just over $42,000.00 and it's still coming in rapidly. It's certainly worth $6.00, and 6 stamps, I have spent more than that on the lottery!! Let me tell you how this works and most importantly, why it works....Also, make sure you print a copy of this article NOW, so you can get the information off of it as you need it. I promise you that if you follow the directions exactly, that you will start making more money than you thought possible by doing something so easy!

Suggestion: Read this entire message carefully! (print it out or download it.) Follow the simple directions and watch the money come in! It's easy. It's legal. And, your investment is only $6.00 (Plus postage)

IMPORTANT: This is not a rip-off; it is not indecent; it is not illegal; and it is virtually no risk - it really works!!!! If all of the following instructions are adhered to, you will receive extraordinary dividends.

PLEASE NOTE:

Please follow these directions EXACTLY, and $50,000 or more can be yours in 20 to 60 days. This program remains successful because of the honesty and integrity of the participants. Please continue its success by carefully adhering to the instructions. You will now become part of the Mail Order business. In this business your product is not solid and tangible, it's a service. You are in the business of developing Mailing Lists. Many large corporations are happy to pay big bucks for quality lists. However, the money made from the mailing lists is secondary to the income which is made from people like you and me asking to be included in that list. Here are the 4 easy steps to success:

STEP 1: Get 6 separate pieces of paper and write the following on each piece of paper;PLEASE PUT ME ON YOUR MAILING LIST. Now get 6 US $1.00 bills and place ONE inside EACH of the 6 pieces of paper so the bill will not be seen through the envelope (to prevent thievery). Next, place one paper in each of the 6 envelopes and seal them. You should now have 6 sealed envelopes, each with a piece of paper stating the above phrase, your name and address, and a $1.00 bill. What you are doing is creating a service. THIS IS ABSOLUTELY LEGAL! You are requesting a legitimate service and you are paying for it! Like most of us I was a little skeptical and a little worried about the legal aspects of it all. So I checked it out with the U.S. Post Office (1-800-725-2161) and they confirmed that it is indeed legal! Mail the 6 envelopes to the following addresses:

#1) Jeff Millan

1113 N. 19 ½

McAllen,TX 78501

#2) R. Overton

P.O. Box 18818

So. Lake Tahoe, CA 96151

#3) KEVIN LEE

8377 APT. I MONTGOMERY RUN RD.

ELLICOTT CITY MD 21043

#4) Stephanie Hicks

1283 Evening Canyon

Henderson NV 89014

#5) Jonah Lloyd

3700 Sharon Gagnon Ln C439

Anchorage, AK 99508

#6) D. Weidner

1957 Mesquite Ave. #3

Lake Havasu City, AZ 86403

STEP 2: Now take the #1 name off the list that you see above, move the other names up (6 becomes 5, 5 becomes 4, etc...) and add YOUR Name as number 6 on the list.

STEP 3: Change anything you need to, but try to keep this article as close to original as possible. Now, post your amended article to at least 200 newsgroups. (I think there are close to 24,000 groups) All you need is 200, but remember, the more you post, the more money you make! This is perfectly legal! If you have any doubts, refer to Title 18 Sec. 1302 & 1341 of the Postal lottery laws. Keep a copy of these steps for yourself and, whenever you need money, you can use it again, and again.

PLEASE REMEMBER that this program remains successful because of the honesty and integrity of the participants and by their carefully adhering to the directions. Look at it this way. If you are of integrity, the program will continue and the money that so many others have received will come your way.

NOTE: You may want to retain every name and address sent to you, either on a computer or hard copy and keep the notes people send you. This VERIFIES that you are truly providing a service. (Also, it might be a good idea to wrap the $1 bill in dark paper to reduce the risk of mail theft.)

So, as each post is downloaded and the directions carefully followed, six members will be reimbursed for their participation as a List Developer with one dollar each. Your name will move up the list geometrically so that when your name reaches the #1 position you will be receiving thousands of dollars in CASH!!! What an opportunity for only $6.00 ($1.00 for each of the first six people listed above) Send it now, add your own name to the list and you're in business!

---DIRECTIONS ----- FOR HOW TO POST TO NEWSGROUPS------------

Step 1) You do not need to re-type this entire letter to do your own posting. Simply put your cursor at the beginning of this letter and drag your cursor to the bottom of this document, and select 'copy' from the edit menu. This will copy the entire letter into the computer's memory.

Step 2) Open a blank 'notepad' file and place your cursor at the top of the blank page. From the 'edit' menu select 'paste'. This will paste a copy of the letter into notepad so that you can add your name to the list.

Step 3) Save your new notepad file as a .txt file. If you want to do your postings in different settings, you'll always have this file to go back to.

Step 4) Use Netscape or Internet explorer and try searching for various newsgroups (on-line forums, message boards, chat sites, discussions.)

Step 5) Visit these message boards and post this article as a new message by highlighting the text of this letter and selecting paste from the edit menu. Fill in the Subject, this will be the header that everyone sees as they scroll through the list of postings in a particular group, click the post message button. You're done with your first one! Congratulations...THAT'S IT! All you have to do is jump to different newsgroups and post away, after you get the hang of it, it will take about 30 seconds for each newsgroup! **REMEMBER, THE MORE NEWSGROUPS YOU POST IN, THE MORE MONEY YOU WILL MAKE!! BUT YOU HAVE TO POST A MINIMUM OF 200**

That's it! You will begin receiving money from around the world within days! You may eventually want to rent a P.O.Box due to the large amount of mail you will receive. If you wish to stay anonymous, you can invent a name to use, as long as the postman will deliver it. **JUST MAKE SURE ALL THE ADDRESSES ARE CORRECT.**

Now the WHY part:

Out of 200 postings, say I receive only 5 replies (a very low example). So then I made $5.00 with my name at #6 on the letter. Now, each of the 5 persons who just sent me $1.00 make the MINIMUM 200 postings, each with my name at #5 and only 5 persons respond to each of the original 5, that is another $25.00 for me, now those 25 each make 200 MINIMUM posts with my name at #4 and only 5 replies each, I will bring in an additional $125.00! Now, those 125 persons turn around and post the MINIMUM 200 with my name at #3 and only receive 5 replies each, I will make an additional $626.00! OK, now here is the fun part, each of those 625 persons post a MINIMUM 200 letters with my name at #2 and they each only receive 5 replies, that just made me $3,125.00!!! Those 3,125 persons will all deliver this message to 200 newsgroups with my name at #1 and if still 5 persons per 200 newsgroups react I will receive $15,625,00! With an original investment of only $6.00! AMAZING! When your name is no longer on the list, you just take the latest posting in the newsgroups, and send out another $6.00 to names on the list, putting your name at number 6 again. And start posting again. The thing to remember is: do you realize that thousands of people all over the world are joining the internet and reading these articles everyday?, JUST LIKE YOU are now!! So, can you afford $6.00 and see if it really works?? I think so... People have said, &quote;what if the plan is played out and no one sends you the money? So what! What are the chances of that happening when there are tons of new honest users and new honest people who are joining the internet and newsgroups everyday and are willing to give it a try? Estimates are at 20,000 to 50,000 new users, every day, with thousands of those joining the actual internet.

Remember: play FAIRLY and HONESTLY and this will really work.

Thank you, and have a nice day! :)

ChiefCowpie

01-29-2005, 10:30 PM

Chaitanyas Madhva Affiliation

The Chaitanya sect some time after it's birth was affiliated as a sub-branch of the Madhva-sect which was the most influential in Bengal before the time of Chaitanya.

It is said that Chaitanya himself was brought up in the Madhva tradition. His predecessor, Advaita, as well as many of his influentilial relatives and associates had close connection with Madhvaism.

Madhavendra Puri was the initiator of the bhakti movement in Bengal before Sri Chaitanya. Iswar Puri and Madhavendra Puri, the two preceptors of Chaitanya, are claimed to have been ascetics of the Madhva-sect.

But the Madhva-sect itself never mentioned the names of Madhavendra Puri or Iswar Puri in the list of succession prepared by R.G. Bhadarkar from the original lists produced from Miraj, Belgaum and Poona.

Baladeva's list differs materially from this more authentic list.

Anandin in his commentary on Prabodhananda's Chaitanya Chandrarita claims that Chaitanya Himself and his followers were the founders of the Bengal Sampradaya and owed nothing to the Gurus of any other Sampradaya.

Madhvaism or affiliation to the Madhva-sect is never acknowledged in the important authoritative biographies of Chaitanya nor in the words of the Vrndavana Gosvamis.

Only Kavi Karnapura, in his Gauraganoddesha dipika, described Madhavendra Puri, Iswar Puri and Chaitanya as Madhva ascetics. But in the drama Chaitanya Chandrodaya, Kavi Karnapura never mentioned Madhavendra Puri as a Madhva ascetic. On the other hand, Chaitanya was a sannyasi of the advaitavadin order.

Baladeva Visyabhusan, in his Govinda bhasya on Vedanta sutra and in his Prameya-Ratnavali attribute Madhva affiliation when giving the Guru-Parampara. He also describes Chaitanya as a Madhva ascetic, reason being his guru Radha Damodara appears to have been considerably influenced by Madhva in his Vedanta-syamantaka, and the disciple Baladeva had strong leanings towards Madhvism which is clear from his erudite writings in Prameya-ratnavali.

Chaitanya formally belonged to the dasnami order of Sankara Sannyasis, though Vaishnava Bhakti movement had nothing to do with the extreme advaitavada of Shankara.

Barring these