Asking Demigods for Benedictions?

[Lotusflower]

Demigods are also Vaishnavas, RIGHT, so why is it bad to ask them for benedictions? Anybody explain?

[theist]

What benediction do you seek? If it is the real benediction, attachment to Krishna then it is OK? But then you can ask the Lord Himself for that. He is closer to you than any demigod. He is the Soul of all souls.

 

The whole idea is to develop a relationship directly with Krishna. No need for benedictions from the demigods for that.

[Lotusflower]

It's actually me Pankaja dasa, can't seem to Login, so had to make temp User Name, I asked because after so long trying can't find a Job. I used to do this Fast for Lakmi (Vrat) that lasts 11 weeks, demi-gods are devotees, that is the function of the demi-gods.

[mahak]

See, the problem with trying to please Laxsmi alone, without consideration of Narayana, this makes the so called pleaser very displeasing to both Narayana and Laxmi. A demigod, (I call them Gods, because who am I to "demi" anyone), accepts the personality of GODHEAD, otherwise they cannot be Gods at all, rather great demons.

 

I digress. The great personality Ravanasura, now there was one who worshipped Laxmi in the form of Srimati Sitadevi. No ones worship surpassed his. He was perfect in all aspects of his worship, so much that all the demigiods ended up worshipping him. But he had the misfortune of neglecting to see who Srimati Sitadevi was attached to, and paid for this crime with his life, slaughtered by animals and his own raksasa brother. So, though he sought and even got benefit, he lost everything.

 

So, Panky, ya need a job. Lord Ganesha wiill remove impediments to your endeavor if your desire for a job is to help with your devotion to His Lord. The Goddess Laxmi will gladly help you with any endeavor that will help massage the form of Her Love, Lord Narayana. But if one neglects Rama, they get a false form of Sita who is really Kalima and will burn like molten metal, and this is a job we really dont need at this point in time.

 

Here in A-maya-kkka, we are soon to all be jobless. I predicted here a total economic collapse back when the Dow was at 13,000 5 years ago, and very shortly following the Dow being at 6,000, a total environmental collapse will follow, so this is the time. Dont worry about being jobless, because jobs are no good if the onkly ones available are soldiers, prison guards, and those who try to scoop the corpses into piles outside of town.

 

Have a nice armageddon, ys, mahaksadasa

[sambya]

 

Demigods are also Vaishnavas, RIGHT, so why is it bad to ask them for benedictions? Anybody explain?

answer : you would be kicked out of your society. ha ha ha

 

no offense,just joking.

 

i have total objection regaurding this bogus concept of demigod . but anyways i woudnt go into that here and answer from a different perspective.

 

as beacuse you have chosen krishna as your ishtadev it is highly unwise to go to any other dieties in emergency. that would show a lack of complete devotion to your ishta dev,which in turn retards ones spiritual progress.your ishta is closest to your heart and he has all the potencies to fullfill your needs.he is antaryami too.so he knows your difficulties.

 

lastly whatever he does is for your good.maybe that 'good' is not visible instantly.but if we could travel back and see our last 10 and future 10 births we would understand how he took care of us. leave everything in his hands.

 

in that sense it is not good to ask benedictions from others.also asking for any material benefit is against the principal of saranagati.

 

in fact a real aspirant should welcome any sorrow that comes into his life.for it is at these times of distress that we remember our lord.and also,you might have noticed the intensity of devotion at such a time is more than rest of the year.

 

pray(not material things ofcourse),surrender and rely on him.

 

lastly please dont take my initial joke seriously.pranaam

[Amlesh]

 

A demigod, (I call them Gods, because who am I to "demi" anyone), accepts the personality of GODHEAD, otherwise they cannot be Gods at all, rather great demons.

 

Perfect and really pleasing.

Many people do have that grudge that why Srila uses that word demi-god.

Well, I 'm sure it is not for disrespecting but to make foreigners [whose who were unaware of the Vedic knowledge] understand the very difference between Devas and Bhagwan; atleast in explaining the Gita.

[Lotusflower]

I was going to do on Friday, but didn't. Not because of what people said here, I am desperate for a Job, and I can't wait too long now. So even though it's 'bad', I probably do it anyway. A MAN needs to work.

[bhaktajan]

Pankaja dasa,

You are correct.

The Devas must be beholding to the Bhaktas' needs and requests too--they are your cousins.

Paramatama must be approached.

Your own talents may be being overlooked by you.

Also, you may be self-denying your due allotment(s)--[just remember ukta- vairagya].

You may unconsciously be denying your sentiments you adhere to.

Or vise versa, your conscous sentiments are denying your unconscious desires.

Whatever may be the source--the remedy is to assemble your skills and seek out a hybrid position that was there all this time --that was overlooked.

"Follow your Bliss"--this may work for you.

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täpa-traya—the threefold miseries [sB 3.22.32]:

The material world, or material existential life, is filled with threefold miseries: miseries pertaining to the body and mind, miseries pertaining to natural disturbances and miseries inflicted by other living entities.

The threefold material miseries are miseries arising from the body and the mind, miseries arising from dealings with other living entities, and miseries arising from natural disturbances. Sometimes we suffer bodily when we are attacked by a fever, and sometimes we suffer mentally when a close relative dies.

Other living entities also cause us misery. There are living entities born of the human embryo, of eggs, perspiration and vegetation. Miserable conditions brought about by natural catastrophes are controlled by the higher demigods.

There may be severe cold or thunderbolts, or a person may be haunted by ghosts. These threefold miseries are always before us, and they entrap us in a dangerous situation. Padaà padaà yad vipadäm. There is danger in every step of life.

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SB 10.3.1-5P:

The business of the asuras is to disturb the suras, the devotees and brähmaëas.

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SB 3.5.40:

"O Father, O Lord, O Personality of Godhead, the living entities in the material world can never have any happiness because they are overwhelmed by the three kinds of miseries. Therefore they take shelter of the shade of Your lotus feet, which are full of knowledge, and we also thus take shelter of them."

 

 

 

PURPORT

 

 

The way of devotional service is neither sentimental nor mundane. It is the path of reality by which the living entity can attain the transcendental happiness of being freed from the three kinds of material miseries—miseries arising from the body and mind, from other living entities and from natural disturbances.

Everyone who is conditioned by material existence—whether he be a man or beast or demigod or bird—must suffer from ädhyätmika (bodily or mental) pains, ädhibhautika pains (those offered by living creatures), and ädhidaivika pains (those due to supernatural disturbances).

His happiness is nothing but a hard struggle to get free from the miseries of conditional life. But there is only one way he can be rescued, and that is by accepting the shelter of the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

The argument that unless one has proper knowledge one cannot be freed from material miseries is undoubtedly true. But because the lotus feet of the Lord are full of transcendental knowledge, acceptance of His lotus feet completes that necessity.

We have already discussed this point in the First Canto (1.2.7):

"There is no want of knowledge in the devotional service of Väsudeva, the Personality of Godhead. He, the Lord, personally takes charge of dissipating the darkness of ignorance from the heart of a devotee."

He confirms this in Bhagavad-gétä (10.10):

"Empiric philosophical speculation cannot give one relief from the threefold miseries of material existence. Simply to endeavor for knowledge without devoting oneself to the Lord is a waste of valuable time."

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SB 3.17.4

"There were earthquakes along the mountains on the earth, and it appeared that there was fire everywhere. Many inauspicious planets like Saturn appeared, along with comets, meteors and thunderbolts."

 

 

 

PURPORT

 

 

When natural disturbances occur on a planet, one should understand that a demon must have taken birth there. In the present age the number of demoniac people is increasing; therefore natural disturbances are also increasing. There is no doubt about this, as we can understand from the statements of the Bhägavatam.

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SB 3.17.5

"There blew winds which were most uninviting to the touch, hissing again and again and uprooting gigantic trees. They had storms for their armies and clouds of dust for their ensigns."

 

 

 

PURPORT

 

 

When there are natural disturbances like blowing cyclones, too much heat or snowfall, and uprooting of trees by hurricanes, it is to be understood that the demoniac population is increasing and so the natural disturbance is also taking place. There are many countries on the globe, even at the present moment, where all these disturbances are current. This is true all over the world. There is insufficient sunshine, and there are always clouds in the sky, snowfall and severe cold. These assure that such places are inhabited by demoniac people who are accustomed to all kinds of forbidden, sinful activity.

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SB 3.17.6-14:

"The luminaries in the heavens were screened by masses of clouds, in which lightning sometimes flashed as though laughing. Darkness reigned everywhere, and nothing could be seen.

The ocean with its high waves wailed aloud as if stricken with sorrow, and there was a commotion among the creatures inhabiting the ocean. The rivers and lakes were also agitated, and lotuses withered.

Misty halos appeared around the sun and the moon during solar and lunar eclipses again and again. Claps of thunder were heard even without clouds, and sounds like those of rattling chariots emerged from the mountain caves.

In the interior of the villages she-jackals yelled portentously, vomiting strong fire from their mouths, and jackals and owls also joined them with their cries.

Raising their necks, dogs cried here and there, now in the manner of singing and now of wailing.

O Vidura, the asses ran hither and thither in herds, striking the earth with their hard hooves and wildly braying.

Frightened by the braying of the asses, birds flew shrieking from their nests, while cattle in the cowsheds as well as in the woods passed dung and urine.

Cows, terrified, yielded blood in place of milk, clouds rained pus, the images of the gods in the temples shed tears, and trees fell down without a blast of wind.

Ominous planets such as Mars and Saturn shone brighter and surpassed the auspicious ones such as Mercury, Jupiter and Venus as well as a number of lunar mansions. Taking seemingly retrograde courses, the planets came in conflict with one another".

SB 3.17.15:

"Marking these and many other omens of evil times, everyone but the four sage-sons of Brahmä, who were aware of the fall of Jaya and Vijaya and of their birth as Diti’s sons, was seized with fear. They did not know the secrets of these portents and thought that the dissolution of the universe was at hand."

 

 

 

PURPORT

 

 

According to Bhagavad-gétä, Seventh Chapter, the laws of nature are so stringent that it is impossible for the living entity to surpass their enforcement. It is also explained that only those who are fully surrendered to Kåñëa in Kåñëa consciousness can be saved.

We can learn from the description of the Çrémad-Bhägavatam that it is because of the birth of two great demons that there were so many natural disturbances.

It is to be indirectly understood, as previously described, that when there are constant disturbances on the earth, that is an omen that some demoniac people have been born or that the demoniac population has increased.

In former days there were only two demons—those born of Diti—yet there were so many disturbances. At the present day, especially in this age of Kali, these disturbances are always visible, which indicates that the demoniac population has certainly increased.

To check the increase of demoniac population, the Vedic civilization enacted so many rules and regulations of social life, the most important of which is the garbhädhäna process for begetting good children. In Bhagavad-gétä Arjuna informed Kåñëa that if there is unwanted population (varëa-saìkara), the entire world will appear to be hell.

People are very anxious for peace in the world, but there are so many unwanted children born without the benefit of the garbhädhäna ceremony, just like the demons born from Diti. Diti was so lusty that she forced her husband to copulate at a time which was inauspicious, and therefore the demons were born to create disturbances.

In having sex life to beget children, one should observe the process for begetting nice children; if each and every householder in every family observes the Vedic system, then there are nice children, not demons, and automatically there is peace in the world. If we do not follow regulations in life for social tranquillity, we cannot expect peace. Rather, we will have to undergo the stringent reactions of natural laws.

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SB 10.57.30:

"In Akrüra’s absence ill omens arose in Dvärakä, and the citizens began to suffer continually from physical and mental distresses, as well as from disturbances caused by higher powers and by creatures of the earth."

 

 

 

PURPORT

 

 

The word daivika here refers to disturbances caused by supernatural beings. These disturbances often manifest as natural calamities like earthquakes, tidal waves or extreme weather. Nowadays materialistic people attribute these disturbances to earthly causes, not realizing that they constitute punishment at the hands of superior beings. The word bhautikäù refers to trouble caused by fellow creatures of the earth, such as human beings, animals and insects.