VEDIC THOUGHT-A Great Soul

Posted by dinesh

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: deepak.lok <deepak.lok@gmail.com>

VEDIC THOUGHT

"After many births and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge
surrenders unto me, knowing me to be the cause of all causes and all
that is. Such a great soul is very rare."

(Lord Sri Krsna - Bhagavad-gita 7.19)

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Srila Prabhupada speaks on: "What Is Real Leadership"

Posted by dinesh

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Pragosh das <servant@prabhupadavani.org>

"What Is Real Leadership"

January 7, 1974

listen

Take a test

Prabhupada: Yes. [Break] They have achieved their advancement of knowledge by seeing a crack in the moon. You know that? Yes. They are now researching, "What is this crack?" For seeing the crack, they spend so much money.

Bali Mardana: They are so foolish.

Prabhupada: Just see.

Bali Mardana: When I was in Hawaii I gave a lecture at one Catholic college, and the priest in charge, he was asking me if in our philosophy we believe that animals have a soul. He's so foolish...

Prabhupada: Eh?

Bali Mardana: The Christians are so foolish, even though they have big learned positions, they do not understand that the animal also has a soul.

Prabhupada: You told? In that meeting?

Bali Mardana: Yeah.

Prabhupada: What did they say?

Bali Mardana: They could not deny. They could not say anything.

Prabhupada: Yes, what is the difference that you say the animals...? How do you say? What is the symptoms of possessing soul? The symptoms of possessing soul is described in the Bhagavad-gita: yena sarvam idam tatam. The consciousness. The animals have no consciousness? How foolish they are!

Bali Mardana: Just to rationalize their sins.

Prabhupada: Yes. No. Rational or not rational...

Bali Mardana: No, to rationalize their meat-eating, they say...

Prabhupada: Yes, to support, yes, their sinful activities.

Bali Mardana: Yes.

Prabhupada: How you can say there is no soul in the animals? What is the reason? What is their reason?

Satsvarupa: At one interview a person said to you, "They do not understand metaphysics, and the human being understands metaphysics."

Prabhupada: Metaphysics. A child also does not understand. So therefore he has no soul? Cut him? They are doing that. They are doing that, so rascal. So do everyone understand metaphysics.

Karandhara: No.

Satsvarupa: They should not be killed if they don't understand.

Prabhupada: Eh?

Satsvarupa: They should not be killed just if they don't understand.

Prabhupada: Yes. Is that any reason?

Devotee: Actually, they have no philosophical basis for that belief that the animal has no soul. It's just speculation. Yes.

Prabhupada: No philosophy. Simply rascaldom. Simply rascaldom. And that is being preached by the priestly class. Priestly class. Just see the society! What third-class society! (pause) [break] ...the soul enters after the birth of the child. Eh? Is it not? Therefore killing or abortion is not bad.

Devotee: Oh, they say that abortion isn't bad because the child is not fully formed and therefore is not really a life. It's not really alive.

Prabhupada: Just see. Therefore one man who is sleeping, he has no soul.

Bali Mardana: No one... They do not believe that generally.

Prabhupada: Yes.

Bali Mardana: They admit that they are killing.

Prabhupada: They admit?

Bali Mardana: That they are killing the child. But they do not care. 'Cause they don't want to take the trouble to raise it.

Gurukrpa: Just like the rabbit.

Prabhupada: Rabbit philosophy. So therefore, considering from all points of view, our Krsna consciousness movement is the best in the world. There is no doubt. You must be convinced about it. Otherwise, how you can preach?

Bali Mardana: Now is a very ripe time to push forward our philosophy.

Prabhupada: Eh?

Bali Mardana: Now it is a very ripe time to push forward our philosophy.

Prabhupada: Yes.

Bali Mardana: I was thinking of taking a full..., large advertisements in New York Times, present our philosophy so that people can read. Everyone will see it.

Prabhupada: No... Now, you... Why don't you publish that...? I have suggested that poster.

Karandhara: That poster?

Bali Mardana: We have a poster?

Prabhupada: Yes.

Karandhara: It's being worked on.

Bali Mardana: I have not seen it.

Prabhupada: Take contribution from public...

Bali Mardana: Oh yeah, yeah.

Prabhupada: ...for one day's advertisement. And advertise this poster in every paper. You see...

Bali Mardana: I want to do that.

Prabhupada: Yes.

Bali Mardana: Also I was thinking to have a large scale propaganda in all the college newspapers.

Prabhupada: Yes.

Bali Mardana: Specifically. To attract...

Prabhupada: The same, one advertisement. What is the...?

Karandhara: "Real leaders of human society."

Prabhupada: Yes. That... You have seen that design I have given?

Karandhara: No, I haven't seen it.

Prabhupada: Oh, it is not yet done?

Karandhara: No, it's being worked on.

Prabhupada: Hm. You can give him the rough idea. That will be very nice propaganda, to select real leaders of the society. The... We are misled by rascal leaders. That is the difficulty, all rascals. If the society is led by real, learned scholars, then it will be nice. Qualified leaders. That is wanted. Leader means better qualified man to lead others. That is leader. Leader does not mean he is himself a fool and leading other fools. [break]

Bali Mardana: ...the poster could have a coupon for Bhagavad-gita to find the real solution...

Prabhupada: No, no.

Bali Mardana: So they can purchase?

Prabhupada: Bhagavad-gita there are so many. They'll purchase another rascal's Bhagavad-gita. Simply you make propaganda that what is real leadership. Then they will inquire and we shall reply. [break] ...so many things. So we may not create any disruption amongst our solidarity. Then things will not make progress. In a big machine, even one screw is slack, the machine stops. You know that? So we should not commit such mistake. "Don't care. It is a small screw." No. Even that small screw can stop the whole machine. [break] ...that we are on the platform of deathlessness. Then we can be careful about falling down. And this is a fact.

Bali Mardana: And we will not want to fall down.

Prabhupada: Yes. That, that is seriousness. Suppose you are going on a plane to Vaikuntha. So your business should be that you may not fall down. The plane may not stop. It is like that. [break] ...Bhagavata, simply this point is being stressed, that "This is the platform of deathlessness."

Bali Mardana: Oh.

Prabhupada: In Bhagavad-gita. [break] Where is that boy? No, not... Oh, you. So you are now living in Mexico?

Devotee: Yes, Srila Prabhupada.

Prabhupada: Oh, that's nice. He's our old student.

Bali Mardana: Yeah, from New York.

Prabhupada: From New York, yes. [Break] ...fall. Simply by following the regulations and chanting. That's all. (end)

>>> Ref. VedaBase => Morning Walk -- January 7, 1974, Los Angeles

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VEDIC THOUGHT-Grahmiya Katha

Posted by dinesh

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: deepak.lok <deepak.lok@gmail.com>

VEDIC THOUGHT

"It is very much regrettable that unfortunate people do not discuss
the description of the Vaikuntha [spiritual] planets but engage in
topics that are unworthy to hear and bewilder one's intelligence.
Those who give up the topics of Vaikuntha and take to talk of the
material world are thrown into the darkest region of ignorance."

(Lord Brahma - Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.15.23)

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Jayadvaita Swami, Questions and Answers on Dhruva Maharaja's Pastimes

Posted by dinesh

Thursday, November 23, 2006

Jayadvaita Swami, Questions and Answers on Dhruva Maharaja's Pastimes

Q: Although the association of devotees is glorified we see in Dhruva's case, he had such brief association with Narada, while most of the time he performed austerities alone.
A: A little association of a devotee is all that is needed for one who takes the instruction seriously. Prabhupada did not have so much physical association with his guru, but he took his instruction to heart.
Once during the Communist times Srila Prabhupada told a devotee to back to his country of Hungary and preach. The devotee was worried that he may not be able leave Hungary again to associate with the devotees. Srila Prabhupada told him not to worry for it did not matter if he never left Hungary again.

Modern means to do what feels good to you (or does not feel artificial). Vedic means to do what is your duty. If people always did what they felt like doing, the world would be in more of a mess than it already is.

Q: Can you explain why the following statement by Narada is true. "Every man should act like this: when he meets a person more qualified than himself, he should be very pleased; when he meets someone less qualified than himself, he should be compassionate toward him; and when he meets someone equal to himself, he should make friendship with him. In this way one is never affected by the threefold miseries of this material world."
A: Well, just think about it. If you are respectful with your superiors, friendly with your equals, and compassionate to juniors, how would you feel? Pretty good, wouldn't you? Uncongenial dealings between people tend to cause a lot of distress.
Srimati Mataji: Could it be that once one gets to such a level of consciousness when he can act properly with others, naturally he will be detached from the distresses of the world?
Krishna-kripa Das: The discussion reminds me in Bhagavad-gita 6.8-9, Krishna says an advanced soul sees arrangements of matter equally, but a more advanced soul can deal with people equally.

While talking about dealing with difficulties, Jayadvaita Swami tells how he was talking with one fellow who had been in the Vietnam War. When the man was recounting his experiences it was clear that all the troubles he went through were the most memorable things. Jayadvaita Swami recalls the time the devotees produced the 17 volumes of Caitanya-caritamrita in two months. It was very intense but a memorable ecstatic experience.

Q: Although Dhruva bathed in the Yamuna and lived in Mahavana, the Lord appeared to Him as Narayana rather than Krishna. Why?
A: Maharaja and the students offered many speculations, but he concluded that we will find out when we attain the spiritual world or we meet someone a lot more qualified than him. Some of the suggestions were:
• That Narada had described the Narayana form of God to Dhruva, and thus it was what he was meditating on.
• Narayana was Narada's own worshipable deity as he worshiped the Lord in opulence.
• Narada knew Dhruva's svarupa was with Narayana, and so he instructed Dhruva thus.

Q: How does sense gratification destroy mercy?
A: Arunzeb put his father in jail to take his kingdom. The U.S.A. killed 600,000 people in Iraq in the recent war to protect their oil interests. The cigarettes manufacturers know what cigarettes do to people's health yet they are always making plans to get innocent young people addicted to them so they can make money.

Q: Austerity is sometimes said to make one's heart harder, yet Dhruva Maharaja performed so many austerities. How do we know what austerities to perform so that our heart will not become hard?
A: That is why the spiritual master is required, to select the austerities. Not that we say no to all austerities claiming that we want to keep our heart soft for Krishna and austerity might make it hard.

Q: I have heard that things get really hard after second initiation why is that?
A: I have not heard that anywhere. Where does it say that Krishna makes life difficult for people after second initiation?

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H.H. Bhakti Vidya Purna Swami on Married Life

Posted by dinesh

H.H. Bhakti Vidya Purna Swami on Married Life

Posted On: Wed, 2008-09-10 04:33 by sitapati Share

H.H. Bhakti Vidya Purna Swami gave this very insightful and thought-provoking class on the grhasta ashram (married life) when he visited Brisbane a few months ago.

It is full of examples and analogies that I had never heard before, which is unusual for a class in an ISKCON temple, which usually consists of refreshing and reinforcing things that are already in my head.

I like the feeling of neural rewiring, so I enjoyed it. Useful information too.