Rajashekhar

There is only one meaning for Krishna. Dark skinned. All other meanings were made up by his devotees.

Bhakti is expounded by ISKCONites as a great path to God. But is Bhakti THE PATH to GOD? Not if you think logically and understand Bhagavad-Gita itself. First of all: Krishna says in no uncertain terms that there are only TWO PATHS for salvation. Karma and Gnyana. In Gita 3.3, Krishna says, "As Expounded by me of Old, O Blameless One, there are in this world two paths: the Yoga of Knowledge for men of contemplation and the Yoga of action for men of action." And he continues to expand on this theme considerably. He did not say 'Bhakti' is a path. He did not say there are other paths. He said there are two paths, and two paths alone...Karma and Gnyana. Logically thinking, one can ask: Does not one who engages himself in action (like daily prayers, for example) do so with Bhakti? Everyone who engages in Prayers, Helping the poor or Studying and Pursuing Gnyana Maarga, does so with devotion to Lord Shiva in whatever form he prefers. So how can Bhakti be a path by itself? Proponents of the Bhakti movement seem to think that all one has to do is engage in daily bhajans and he/she will be free from the Samsara. There are two problems with this line of thought. First, one can never stop engaging oneself in Karma (Gita 2.5). Thus one is always along the path of Karma. When one tires of singing Bhajans, one goes to sleep and then one eats food prepared by one's students. Eating food prepared by someone, sleeping in a bed while others help oneself out are all actions too! Secondly, Bhakti truly results in an extraordinary bliss. The pleasure I derive from eating food when I am hungry, will turn into true ecstasy if I can, at the same time, listen to Shiva Sahasranaamam sung by Vidushi Sathyavathi. It becomes so great that I sometimes stop listening to Shiva Sahasranamam because I don't want to be distracted too much from work. This means that the so called proponents of Bhakti movement like all the great Vaishnavs or Shaivites did so for the pure pleasure of it. Not because they wanted Moksha from this Samsara. Pursuit of happiness can never qualify one for Moksha, right? Q.E.D. One last remark. I am really glad that the Bhakti movement revived Hinduism when it was in a decline, but it is about time that we understood where the Hindu scriptures stand (although we may not all agree with them).

[if so ur wrong......i delieve in one God Brahman....but my preference amoung the trinity is Shiva....thats it....] Bhartrhari said in Vairagya Shathaka (Rough Translation): "I know that there is no difference between Vishnu and Shiva, but I personally prefer to worship Him in the form of Chandrashekhara".

[Firstly, it is not my logic. I have proof from the scriptures(Puranas). ] Most scholars, Hindu or Non-Hindu, agree that Puranas are not scriptures. They are only vehicles used to convey the deep philosophical thoughts contained in the Upanishads. This is why there are innumerable contradictions between various Puranas. Only Shrutis (The four Vedas containing Samhitas, Brahmanas, Aranyakas and Upanishads) are considered true Scriptures by learned Hindus. [secondly, She doesnt want to kill demons.Only when some devotees(example: devas,rishis or Trimurtis) get tired of the demons, they pray to Mother to kill them.And She, due to extreme affection towards the weeping child,takes Her Samharini Form,(whose vision is also deadly) and starts fight with the demons.This is the case with each and every Killing She has done(can refer to any Devi books).] These are, again, nice stories but still, just stories. Yes, yes, yes. In these stories, The Mother kills the demons to protect Her children in the stories. But you did not get the point (see below). [some other avatars of the Trimurtis may kill for fun.But my mother wont.Clear?] Your Mother won't? Your Mother, My Mother...what is this? Do you have some kind of private rights over Devi? And which of the Avatar of ANY Trimurtis are supposed to have killed for fun? [Thirdly, I dont know Whether Mother created demons.....But then also my Mother stands far apart from creation. I think Lord Brahma is in-charge of creation.] Here is where you go off the deep end. If Mother did not create demons, who does? You worship Mother as the Embodiment of Supreme Reality, right? In that case, Your Mother needs to take responsibility for everything including creation. Apparently you have not understood the Hindu principles well. You are talking just like any Vaishnav/Christian/Muslim/Jew by saying that the Supreme Lady stays far apart from creation. Do you understand the problem with this logic? If you don't understand it, ask me. I personally have no problems with Mother in the form of Lalitha, Durga or Kali. But I think your understanding is a little flawed. If you consider Shiva and Shakti are separate entities and you want to worship Shakti alone, then you are contradicting the scriptures. If you consider God in the form of Shakti, then your logic is bad.

My good friend Govindram wrote: [i feel I am talking to some dog, you keep barking] Do you often talk to dogs, my dear chap? That is interesting information. If I sound like a dog to you, dear Govindram, do you know what YOU sound like? [Your basically lowest of low. At least most Hindus here, except Krishna and Gita] Your opinions, my good fellow, thankfully are never based on facts so I will never take offense at the first sentence. But what do you mean by the second sentence? 'At least most Hindus here, except Krishna and Gita'? What do you mean?

Govindram, in his infinite wisdom said: [Maybe Krishna can tell you in Gita, He says He has a planet which we can goto. Theres one clue for you!] What planet, Govindram? And does it not strike you that when you say a planet, it means this "Iha" or Apara Samsara or creation that we live in? Good Lord, man, are you telling me what the Christians have always said? That Krishna will create a separate 'home' for you and you will go live there for ever?

My dear Bhadramoorthi, there is a flaw in your logic. You say: "She kills only demons.". Why does She kill the demons? If She wants to kill the demons, why did She create the demons in the first place?

[kali is very ugly and nacked. Durga is beatiful and well dressed and armed.] So OK, go ahead and like Kali more if you like her more than Durga.

Ratheesh wrote: -------------------------- because most theories say that jesus traveled to india and learned from buddhist and hindu sages and took that message back to israel -------------------------- There are theories that he spent his youth in India learning magical tricks, which he put to good use while he showed his 'powers', and there are theories that he was taken down from the cross and lived, then later took off to Kashmir and died there. These are theories, with no substantial proof. I like them because they sound plausible.

Guest says among other things: -------------------------- Once I also adored Mother Lalitha Devi as Supreme to even Shiva & Vishnu.But in Lalitha Sahasranama,if you keenly note all namas,one nama says 'Mahamaaya',other nama is 'Samharini rudrarupa','bali priya','maha kali' etc. If she is Maha Maaya then it means she is material energy of Vishnu and thats why we call her 'Sister' of Vishnu.And Maha Kali is ferocious -------------------------- Apparently you are basing your judgement on one attribute of Lalitha in Her Sahasranaamam. Plus, you must be a good Vaishnav, since you call Mahaa Maaya the material energy of Vishnu. You are wrong from Shaivite perspective. And totally wrong from Shakta perspective. Apparently you have not studied Lalitha Sahasranaama thoroughly.

There are books written on the subject. Is there authentic historical evidence that Jesus was in India? There is no authentic historical evidence to prove that he survived the cross or that he rose from the grave. All we have are theories. But I thought we were discussing Hinduism in this forum.

[God made you this way so accept it.] That is good advice. [The Lord wants love] What is this? The Lord needs love? If The Lord needs something, what kind of Lord is He? [if you were born a dog and eating prasad in front of a temple and slowly adapted and liked hearing regular hymns] Oh my God, here you go off the cliff completely. Why would anyone expect a dog to hear and understand the hymns? Perhaps the dog will love the music in time, but then how can the dog understand that the music and words are related to God?

Guest wrote: -------------------------- I am a Hindu living in USA and though not an HK devotee, an ardent devotee of Srikrishna. I have been through some bad phase and have been miraculously recovered since started believing in Srkrishna. I had never hurt anyone in my life still had to go through a very bad phase. I am looking for some good books on Bhagawat Gita! Would it be possible for somebody to suggest good readings?...I have to go in that direction only... --------------------------- Have you heard the phrase: "This too shall pass"? Everyone goes through bad phases one time or another. People take satisfaction by going to astrologers, giving them money and hearing that their star is in a certain position (Shani?) and in another year, their fortunes will improve. All you need to do is wait it out, while working to get out of your difficult situation. Bhagavad Gita will only tell you that you need to be more of a "Sthithapragnya". Have you heard of the Shloka: "Sheethoshna Sukhaduhkheshu.." (Chapter 12). If you are a true Hindu, you should learn to take the pain along with the pleasure. If you still need to do something about it, send me a couple of hundred dollars and I will pray for you.

Let's face it, if Duryodhan had not been bitten by the bee of jealousy, we would not have Mahabharatha.

My dear Govindram, You wrote: ______ If you merge that means void. Are you an idoit? ______ I know this is between you and the person that calls himself Om Namah Sivayya, but I want to offer a comment or two. Actually, three. (a) In the material world, merging does not result in void. For example, when sugar merges with water, both retain their separate identities, but sugar molecules take their positions between H2O molecules. The same thing is true of solid solutions like steel (Carbon in Steel). No one, including even you, my good scholarly and brilliant man, knows what happens in the spiritual world. (b) Calling another person an 'idiot' because you think you know something about a totally unknown world and the other does not agree with your opinion, does not speak well for your intelligence and brilliance. Somehow you seem to have specialized in calling people 'idiot'. You called me an idiot when I opined that Krishna aged and you KNOW that He stopped aging at 26! I loved it, though. © None of the three schools - Advaita, Dvaita and Vishistaadvaita - believe that after merging, one becomes 'void'. Hope you are not offended, my good buddy.