The Law of love ...

[Guest guest]

While no one's voice is stiffled, I'm afraid

militancy has no place in sadhna.<br><br>Many people have

taken the opportunity to oppress others when they have

had an opportunity to do so. This is happened all

over the world. <br><br>It is more usefull and faar

more productive to dig into one's own "dirt" (kleshas)

than to dig into others. <br><br>Sadhna is about the

process of cleansing ourselves so that one can be raised

above and beyond such lower energies. And I agree, it

doesn't mean complacency.<br><br>One of shankar's

(saraswati chandra) questions has important implications for

sadhaks everywhere. How does a sadhak deal with people

who do not reciprocate in a loving and caring

manner?? It is a question that sadhaks of all paths face

everyday. <br><br>In The Bhagwad Gita, Lord Krishna urges

Arjuna to fight the war to complete his duty of a

warrior ..and to do so in the light of the understanding

of "our true selves". <br><br>At the same time

Gandhiji says..<br><br>""THE LAW OF LOVE<br><br>Fear and

love are contradictory terms. Love is reckless in

giving away, oblivious as to what it gets in return.

Love wrestles with the world as with itself and

ultimately gains a mastery over all other feelings. My daily

experience, as of those who are working with me, is that

every problem would lend itself to solution if we are

determined to make the law of truth and non-violence the law

of life. For truth and non-violence, are to me,

faces of the same coin. <br><br>Whether mankind will

consciously follow the law of love I do not know. But that

need not perturb us. The law will work, just as the

law of gravitation will work whether we accept it or

no. And just as a scientist will work wonders out of

various applications of the laws of nature, even so a man

who applies the law of love with scientific precision

can work greater wonders. <br><br>For the force of

non-violence is infinitely more wonderful and subtle than the

forces of nature, like for instance electricity. The man

who discovered for us the law of love was a far

greater scientist than any of our modern scientists.

<br><br>Only our explorations have not gone far enough and so

it is not possible for every one to see all its

workings. . . . The more I work at <br>this law the more I

feel the delight in life, the delight in the scheme of

this universe. It gives me a peace and a meaning of

the mysteries of nature that I have no power to

describe. "" <br><br>M. K. GANDHI<br><br>Sadhaks .. please

share .. what does your sadhana teach you about dealing

with people when they don't reciprocate your language

of love and compassion? How do you handle it? do you

feel it is an important aspect of your

sadhna?<br><br>I'm hoping to hear from lots of sadhaks of all paths

..... including the quiet ones who I know have a lot of

thoughts to share. <br><br>Tat Twam Asi<br>UMA

[Guest guest]

Dear UMA,<br><br>I read your question and I

couldn't help but think of this quote which is from the

daily quotes on <a href=http://www.dailysanga.com

target=new>http://www.dailysanga.com</a>

<br><br>"Chanting is the best way to develop love for Krishna. Do

it attentively and watch to see that its effect

plays out in your everyday life in terms of developing

"jiva daya", kindness to all beings. Start with this

and gauge your chanting accordingly. If your heart is

not cleansed of selfishness and softened towards

others, your chanting is not attentive."<br><br>This is a

nice summary of the expected results of practicing

with attention and determination. BTW, my

understanding of Krsna's instruction to Arjuna to fight is that

he wanted Arjuna to do it for him. It was Krsna's

desire and as a devotee it was expected that Arjuna

would do what Krsna wanted regardless of duty, family,

personal considerations, etc. The highest ideal of

devotion to Krsna exhibits itself in the love of the Gopis

for Krsna, who transgressed Vedic law, social

ettiquette, and the code of moral conduct in the service of

the Lord of their Hearts -

Gopijanavallabha.<br><br>Your servant,<br>Audarya lila dasa

[Guest guest]

only Krishna's name andtalk of Him bring tears in my eyes.They have more meaning

than argument who is right and who is wrong.thanks for your mail love sulekh.

[Guest guest]

I have and am trying to follow Shri RamaKrishna's

story about the snake. Be quite, be calm - but when the

opportunity comes, raise the hood, make noises but do not

bite.<br>Being totally quite, all lovey dovey will paint a

picture of cowardice. That may send out the wrong

signals. <br>Sadhana is a very important aspect of life.

Till the time I choose to remain a man of the world, I

need Sadhana to let me be in touch with my inner self.

[Guest guest]

Dear Audaryalila ..<br><br>Thanks for the post.

Also thanks for sharing your understanding of Lord

Krishnas instructions. <br><br>Yes being immersed in the

energies of the light, no matter what form we see them, is

a beautiful and effective way to transmute and

transcend the lower tendencies. I hear my chants in my

sleep, dream and as I wake up and throughout my daily

activities.<br><br>I still am curious about my question .. how do you

apply this to conflict resolution? Are you saying if

one is immersed in one's ishta devata it will remove

any conflicts or will they not appear at all?

<br><br>An individual is a microcosm of the world. The

individuals collectively form the community, the society, the

world. How do you think bhakti can be used to live in

peace? It is a very valid question that has been raised

... to ask how does one deal with those who do not

reciprocate in the same language of Genuine love, compassion

and good will? <br><br>I'm searching for answers. How

about our sadhaks? What ideas do you have?<br><br>Tat

twam asi<br><br>UMA

[Guest guest]

Good Morning my dear friend Uma, Oh!!! I am

smiling at you with sweet love...<br><br>Q.<br>Sadhaks ..

please share .. what does your sadhana teach you about

dealing with people when they<br> don't reciprocate your

language of love and compassion? How do you handle it? do

you feel it is an<br> important aspect of your

sadhna?<br><br><br>I choose to love these people for who they are, I

honor them for being them.....I also choose to stay

away from these people, limit myself being in there

company OR not reading there post's.... If I do read the

post I breath deep and come from Love in my reply, for

I know soon they will be gone....<br><br>I had this

boss at one time, he was a asshole, but you had to

love him because he played the Asshole part really

well.....There was so much neg. energy being sent to him from

everyone that I felt for him so I chose to send

light....<br><br>I find LOVE is the at the heart of all the

different ways of religion....That is what I choose then,

LOVE by the Grace of the Great One...<br><br>Were all

alright.....Namaste jeffrey

[Guest guest]

Dear Mataji,<br><br>Like Jeffry I also like to

reciprocate love to antagonism,I might go inside my shell and

then<br>meditate in the why this person is acting so

bad<br>against me,usually I find most people feel

very<br>vulnerable when they find someone

original,compassion,love,understanding are words that have been perverted,so

when

someone walks what he/she is talking about people are

afraid,I win most of those who thought were my

enemies,because I am only a reflection of who they<br>are,Jesus

said," If someone slaps you in the right<br>cheek turn

and offer the other one",is hard to do<br>but then we

must love our enemies,before we say we<br>love

God,after all is a matter between your creator and

yourself,not between the people and you,let us keep giving

unconditional love,<br>that is the only solution.<br>love to

all<br>tulsi

[Guest guest]

Dear Audarya Lila dasa,<br>I think Krishna told Arjuna to fulfill his (Arjuna's)

duty. What I understood was Krishna told Arjuna to perform duties and stay on

the path of righteousness.

[Guest guest]

Ref: 760<br><br>Dear Sir/Madam, and also

Tulsi,<br><br>By going into the shell don’t you think you will

lose the touch with reality, since time waits for no

one?<br><br>On the lighter side yet the serious one: you wrote

that Jesus said," If someone slaps you in the right

cheek turn and offer the other one”. This part is

understood, however what if you are slapped in the wrong

cheek?<br><br>Thank you, and with regards,<br>Jai.

[Guest guest]

Prabhu,<br><br>the times of the eye for an eye is

for barbaric<br>people,we must learn to control our

anger and to<br>execute the law of God,"love your

neighbor as you<br>love yourself" and if we really love

God we will<br>follow his example,look at lord

Chatanya he came<br>to teach us love of GOD,but chanting

the mahamantra only and wearing tilak and sadhu

clothes don't make a sadhu,you must walk what

you<br>talk,you must teach with example,like Lord Nitai,<br>even

that someone hit him on the head did he let<br>them

get killed,No!,he pleaded mercy for them,so we have

the examples,we can be chanting for 20 or<br>more

years but if we don't practice love of

God,<br>unconditional love,is only dry devotion,if we don't learn to

cry for others,to forgive,to pray<br>for others,we

could never taste the love of God,<br>and the heart

then is only a rock,not a heart where GOD can

reside,<br>if you have never tried this ,then you don't

understand,but just because a blind man can't see<br>the colors

that dont meant they don't exist,is the<br>same in

devotion.<br>with songs of pure joy<br>tulsi

[Guest guest]

Dearest Uma; Hrmmmmm, the law of love..to my

understanding there is no law when it comes to love. Real love

only follows its heart and holds no consequence to

that which stands in its way. The apex of this thought

is the gopis of vrindavan who, despite gave no

thought to their good names, reputations, family

obligations, or religious precepts when they stopped whatever

they were doing and ran to the sound of sri krsna's

flute. These marvelous women risked ALL for love and no

man made law could stand between themselves and the

object of their love - GOD.<br><br>Now, as far as how i

deal with those who are antagonistic to or hateful of

me, well, i must share what i learned from my years

in the US Army. See, i am use to people yelling,

cursing, and brandishing their egos at me to provoke a

response. i am trained to try and see why. <br><br>Good

discipline and training has taught me to pick my battles

well. As a german teacher i became aware of a German

philospher Nietzsche who said, <br><br>"I love the valiant;

but it is not enough to yield a broadsword, one must

also know against whom. And often there is more valor

when one refrains and passes by, in order to save

onesself for the worthier enemy." <br><br>In addition he

adds, <br><br>"Whoever fights monsters should see to it

that in the process he does not become a

monster."<br><br>In this world there are many armchair generals

rattling imaginary swords in the name of truth and right.

Rarely do you find these people carrying through with

their threats. They recruit people like you and me to

do their dirty deeds for them and we are the ones

who fight and die. <br><br>i am a retired sergent

first class and i have seen destruction and death

square in the face and up close. All i have to show for

it now is a hand full of medals, nightmares that

haunt me still, and a determined sadhna to make sense

of my existance; why i lived and others

died.<br><br>In this light, i listen to what everyone has to say

to me, and i heed what applies to me. Discipline

keeps me from fighting battles that hold no honor. This

is good dharma - at least for me it is.<br><br>om

tat sat<br><br>>:*)

[Guest guest]

Dear Baburoy,<br><br>Yes, you are correct.

However, you should also know that Krsna presented many

gradations of theistic conceptions with the Gita. One idea

is to do your duty according to Varna and Ashrama.

Krsna is constantly presenting higher and higher

conceptions of theism in his talk with Arjuna and comparing

and contrasting them with what he is ultimately

teaching - love and surrender unto him.<br><br>In his

final instruction to Arjuna he tells him - sarva

dharman parityaja - Abandon all varieties of religion

(including duty) and surrender unto me. I will protect you

from all sinful reactions.<br><br>So, Krsna gives

Arjuna many lessons but ultimately he tells him, I want

you to do this and by doing what I want - even if it

seemingly has some negative reaction in terms of neglecting

dharma - have no fear, I will protect you.<br><br>Your

servant,<br>Audarya lila dasa

[Guest guest]

Dear UMA,<br><br>Let me come at your question

from another angel. I wasn't avoiding it, although you

are correct that I didn't specifically address

conflict resolution.<br><br>One of our illustrious

Acharyas, Bhakti Rakshaka Sridhara Maharaja, has said that

the environment is always friendly - it is due to our

perception only that we view it as unfriendly. Bhakti means

proper adjustment of our attitude and

perception.<br><br>A good example is Vidura who was abused for giving

good advice to his half brother. He didn't object or

get involved in thinking that he was a victim, he

didn't fight back and demand justice. What he did was

accept that the abuse that he was recieving was due to

his own karma and he accepted it willingly upon his

head. He left the palace without making any disturbance

and went on pilgrimage.<br><br>Taken in the light of

bhakti, all apparent opposition should be seen as an

opportunity to serve Krsna.<br><br>As far as someone

offending me, I am taught to be more tolerant than a tree

and accept that criticizm without without resistance.

If someone offends another vaishnava or my teachers

I will not be so complacent - I will object

vociferously with good logic reason and argument. If the

attacks are sensely and the offender without reason, I

will simply leave that place or ignore that person

knowing that attempts to reason will be futile.<br><br>At

any rate, what I am trying to convey is that all

seeming conflict when seen in it's proper light is but

another wonderful opportunity to engage in loving service

to my Guru and Krsna.<br><br>Your

servant,<br>Audarya lila dasa

[Guest guest]

it has been said, it is easy to love our friends,

<br>difficult to love our enemies.<br><br>who is friend? who is

enemy? it has been said,<br>there is only one. if this

is true, then surely <br>i am my own friend and my

own enemy… <br><br>do i then consider friend those

attributes of the <br>One that i judge as “good”, and enemy

those <br>whose attributes i judge as “bad”? wouldn’t

the <br>One contain equally both “good” and “bad”?

<br><br>if i turn from that which I label “bad” am i

<br>turning from the One? how can i turn from

myself?<br><br>is the challenge instead to learn to

completely<br>love the One… in all forms, in all

apparent<br>“goodness” and “badness”..? <br><br>in judging “good” and

“bad”, is there only one <br>view? a woman had 2 small

sons, and took in a <br>homeless third. one day there

was one piece of <br>gum missing. the woman sat all 3

children down, <br>and asked of her first son, did you

take it? and <br>the child said no. she asked of her

second son,<br>did you take it? and the child said no.

she asked<br>of the third she took in, why did you

take it?<br>and the child said, I did not. the woman

knew her<br>“good” sons would not take it, yet she

questioned<br>each before accusing the “bad” third. she

served<br>her truth. the first son did not take it,

he<br>served his truth. the second son, feeling<br>unjustly

overlooked, did take it, he served his<br>truth. the third

was punished, yet maintained <br>innocence without

accusation, also serving truth <br><br>are not these

apparently opposing truths all true?<br><br>is there “good”

and “bad” here? or merely an <br>opportunity to

better understand, an opportunity <br>to love more

completely?<br><br>do these small things reflect the larger ones?

all<br>is the One... can there truly be any

difference?<br>or are "good"-"bad" perhaps merely an

indication<br>of my (apparent) limitations in being Love?