Egalitarian Animal Farm?

[Guest guest]

>> Why would one who is practicing bhakti-yoga (cleansing the mirror of the

>> mind) *not* progress faster than a mundane religionist? (Ye yatha mam

>> prapadyante tams tathaiva bhajamy aham) Has Krsna recently decided to

>> become partial to mundane relgionists?

 

>What Krishna is counting is love. We may practice different things

according to >different religious systems, but what is counting is love, not

the rules and >regulations. You might think that only those who are

practicing bhakti-yoga (or >even more narrowminded, only ISKCON devotees)

are recepients of Krishnas mercy, >but that isn't the truth. We might have

the highest knowledge, but that doesn't >make US the highest. And depends

very much HOW one is practicing!

 

Well, OK, but how many religious systems are there that teach love anyway?

Is it loving to kill the animals? But if some rare, genuinely pious and

religious souls outside of Vaisnavism have somehow developed love of God

then I offer all glories to them!

 

> Agreed. So we should let Krsna be the judge of that which we cannot see or

> understand. But while He is the judge, our duty is still to preach. And

> preaching means recognizing and discriminating between higher and lower

> levels of spiritual advancement. We must heed the warning *not* to imitate

> the uttama-adhikari.

 

>You don't have to imitate, but you could follow in their footsteps and

learn >how to respect everybody.

 

The madhyamna-adhikari also properly respects the different classes of

conditioned souls.

 

>If you repeat what some utthama-adhikari said it doesn't make it the same.

When >they are saying something their message carries humility and love. If

somebody >else is saying something, the message will be covered by their

impurity. >Otherwise why it is said that one should not hear

Srimad-Bhagavatam from >professional reciters? It doesn't count only what

you are saying but also

>the kind of consciousness that you have while saying a certain thing.

 

Exactly, Mataji. What you have said is exactly following and supporting of

my point above, that: We shouldn't imitate the uttama-adhikaris by parroting

their words from our neophyte platform of realization.

 

>> Do you know that? Especially the neophyte devotee is

>> warned *not* to imagine himself to be on the uttama platform and thus

>> wreak havoc in his spiritual life by not properly making distinction

>> between devotee and nondevotee.

 

>Those who worship and have love for God are devotees, no matter which

religion >they belong to. Some of them don't even identify with any

religion. And that's >exactly Krishnas conclusion in BG:

>"Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall

deliver >you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear."

 

Agreed!

 

>I can tell you one thing that I have learnt on sankirtan. Whatever

impurities I >have been seeing in people were actually dirty things in my

heart. The more >pure is my heart the less dirty things I see in others. The

more love I have, >the more they resupricate with love. It is not the

question of imagining >anything.

 

I understand.

 

>To see them as two-legged animals is your vision, but I can't see them that

>way.

 

To see them as two-legged animals is the Bhagavata vision, and to see them

as spirit souls, eternal servants of Krsna is also the Bhagavata vision.

It's just one more of those transcendental paradoxes. Here is a direct

statement of Srila Prabhupada's with regard to our attempts to preach to the

conditioned souls: "You must always remember that you are dealing with

animals."

 

You experience the spiritual nature of the conditioned souls when on

sankirtana because you are engaging them in the pure activity of the soul

through your association while presenting Srila Prabhupada's books. But

before meeting you, mostly their actions were those of the two-legged

animals. And unless they adopt spiritual practices after leaving your

association, again they will behave as two-legged animals.

 

>I see them as spirit souls, parts and parcels of Krishna. And it doesn't

>matter to me what kind of outside covering they have.

 

That is your credit, no doubt, Mataji. As we know, the Bhagavata describes

them both as two-legged animals and also as eternal servants of Krsna.

Certainly it's best if we can see them as the latter and thus engage them in

the process of Krsna consciousness, somehow or other.

 

All glories to your distribution of Srila Prabhupada's books to the spirit

souls, eternal servants of Krsna!

 

--gkd