Guest guest Posted January 16, 2002 Report Share Posted January 16, 2002 On Wed, 16 Jan 2002, M. Tandy wrote: > More immediately, the Visnu Purana (3.8.9, a famous verse Srila > Prabhupada often cited) explains that dharma (i.e., as "the Law") involves > the modes of behavior recommended to enable common people to develop the > prerequisites Krsna Himself suggests are neccessary to sustain pure devotional > service (Gita 7.28). The context there is that Maitreya asked Parasaramuni how ordinary people could take to Krsna conciousness (i.e., worship of "Bhagavan Vishnu," "Jagannatha,Govinda,Acyuta,Kesava," etc.), and what result would obtain from it. The answer, in which Parasara observed that Sagara Maharaja had previously asked this of Aurvamuni, comprises several chapters of details about varnasrama and generic dharma; the abovementioned verse (3.8.9) is translated by Srila Prabhupada as follows: "One can worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Visnu, by proper discharge of the principles of varna and asrama. There is no alternative to pacifying the Lord by execution of the principles of the varnasrama system." Once again, this emphatic statement is repeated several times troughout the chapter. MDd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 17, 2002 Report Share Posted January 17, 2002 I do not think that Indians are able to give up the "by birth" caste system. Is this not what varna and ashrama means to most Indians? Thank You So Much for Contacting Me Yours, Irish John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 18, 2002 Report Share Posted January 18, 2002 Hare Krishna, All glories to Srila Prabhupada. I have enjoyed this forum quitely so for. But I would like to say that this comment by Mr. John does not belong in this forum. Has he met every person from India? What qualification he has to make such a blank statements against more than a billion people? What was the topic regarding which he was contacted? I understood that this forum was to discuss vaishanava thoughts and Vedic shastras and not for issuing this kind of declarations about a particular group of people. I am sorry but I am absolutely offended by the statement of Mr. John. If you think that I am not justified-explain to me and I will be happy to from this forum. Hari bol, Vipin chaturvedi [MODERATOR NOTE: Haribol. If the posting was inappropriate, then I take full responsibility, since I approve/reject all postings. I went back and reread his comment (below) and the one above. For what it's worth, I was also born into an Indian family. In any case, I can see why I wasn't quick to reject the posting at first. But in retrospect, I can see how John's statement can come across as an unwarranted generalization against Indians. Let's try to remember that although Srila Prabhupada criticized many bad habits that have become established Indian practices, this still isn't a blanket condemnation against India or Indians in general. It is a fact that the influence of Kali Yuga is so widespread that there is hardly any race or culture that is above criticism. But the point I really wanted to make, is that although there are many people in India who to the "caste-by-birth" thinking, there are also many who do perform their varnaashrama dharma properly, better in many respects than most of us. If we don't acknowledge that, and simply criticize blindly, then we will come across as presumptuous and hypocritical to the very people whose culture we are trying to defend. We should also try to remember that the internet is by nature an impersonal forum. Comments by one person can come across very differently than they were intended. We can always clarify matters by responding politely here. As always, if list members have polite feedback to give me regarding my moderation decisions, whether positive or negative, I am happy to hear them. I'm not above changing the list policies or individual moderation decisions. Please send such feedback to achintya-owner. Don't post it to the list. Thanks, - K] >john j kinney <hobgoblin11 >achintya >achintya >Re: Varanasramacaravata >Thu, 17 Jan 2002 08:26:52 -0500 > >I do not think that Indians are able to give up the "by birth" caste >system. Is this not what varna and ashrama means to most Indians? > >Thank You So Much for Contacting Me > Yours, > Irish John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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