Mahatma Gandhi as a sanatani Hindu.

[barney]

It is therefore necessary for me once for all distinctly to give my meaning of sanatana Hinduism. The word sanatana I use in its natural sense. I call myself a sanatani Hindu, because,

1. I believe in the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Puranas and allthat goes by the name of Hindu scriptures, and therefore in avatars and rebirth,

 

2. I believe in the varnashrama dharma in a sense in my

opinion strictly Vedic but not in its present popular and crude sense,

 

3. I believe in the protection of the cow in its much larger sense than the popular,

 

4. I do not disbelieve in idol-worship.

 

The reader will note that I have purposely refrained from using the word divine origin in reference to the Vedas or any other scriptures. For I do not believe in the exclusive divinity of the Vedas. I believe the Bible, the Koran, and the Zend-Avesta to be as much divinely inspired as the Vedas. My belief in the Hindu scriptures does not require me to accept every word and every verse as divinely inspired. Nor do I claim to have any first-hand knowledge of these wonderful books. But I do claim to know and feel the truths of the essential teaching of the scriptures. I decline to be bound by any interpretation, however learned it may be, if it is repugnant to reason or moral sense. I do most emphatically repudiate the claim (if they advance any such) of the present Shankaracharyas and shastris to give a correct interpretation of the Hindu scriptures.

On the contrary I believe, that our present knowledge of these books is in a most chaotic state.

 

I believe implicitly in the Hindu aphorism, that no one truly knows the Shastras who has not attained perfection in innocence (ahimsa), truth (satya) and self-control (brahmacharya) and who has not renounced all acquisition or possession of wealth. I believe in the institution of gurus, but in this age millions must go without a guru,

because it is a rare thing to find a combination of perfect purity and perfect learning. But one need not despair of ever knowing the truth of one’s religion, because the fundamentals of Hinduism as of every great religion are unchangeable, and easily understood. Every Hindu believes in God and his oneness, in rebirth and salvation. But that

which distinguishes Hinduism from every other religion is its cow-protection, more than its varnashrama.

 

Varnashrama is, in my opinion, inherent in human nature, and

Hinduism has simply reduced it to a science. It does attach to birth. A man cannot change his varna by choice. Not to abide by one’s varna is to disregard the law of heredity. The division, however, into innumerable castes is an unwarranted liberty taken with the doctrine.

 

The four divisions are all-sufficing. I do not believe, that inter-dining or even inter-marriage necessarily deprives a man of his status that his birth has given him.

The four divisions define a man’s calling, they do not restrict or regulate social intercourse. The divisions define duties, they confer no privileges. It is, I hold, against the genius of Hinduism to arrogate to oneself a higher status or assign to another a lower. All are born to

serve God’s creation, a Brahmin with his knowledge, a Kshatriya with his power of protection, a Vaisya with his commercial ability and a Sudra with his bodily labour. This however does not mean that a Brahmin for instance is absolved from bodily labour, or the duty of protecting himself and others. His birth makes a Brahmin predominantly a man of knowledge, the fittest by heredity and training to impart it to others. There nothing, again, to prevent the

Sudra from acquiring all the knowledge he wishes. Only, he will best serve with his body and need not envy others their special qualities for service. But a Brahmin who claims superiority by right of knowledge falls and has no knowledge. And so with the others who pride themselves their special qualities. Varnashrama is self-restraint and

conservation and economy of energy.

 

Though therefore varnashrama is not affected by inter-dining

or inter-marriage, Hinduism does most emphatically discourage inter-dining and inter-marriage between divisions. Hinduism reached the highest limit of self-restraint. It is undoubtedly a religion of renunciation of tile flesh so that the spirit may be set free. It is no part

of a Hindu’s duty to dine with his son. And by restricting his choice of a bride to a particular group, he exercises rare self-restraint.

 

Hinduism does not regard a married state as by any means essential for salvation. Marriage is a “fall” even as birth is a “fall”. Salvation is freedom from birth and hence death also. Prohibition against inter-marriage and inter-dining is essential for a rapid evolution of the soul. But this self-denial is no test of varna. A Brahmin may remain a

Brahmin, though he may dine with his Sudra brother, if he has not left off his duty of service by knowledge. It follows from what I have said above, that restraint in matters of marriage and dining is not based upon notions of superiority. A Hindu who refuses to dine with another from a sense of superiority misrepresents his dharma.

 

 

Unfortunately, today Hinduism seems to consist merely in

eating and not-eating. Once I horrified a pious Hindu by taking toast at a Mussulman’s house. I saw, that he was pained to see me pouring milk into a cup handed by a Mussulman friend, but his anguish knew no bounds when he saw me taking toast at the Mussulman’s hands. Hinduism is in danger of losing its substance if it resolves itself into a matter of elaborate rules as to what and with whom to eat.

 

Abstemiousness from intoxicating drinks and drugs, and from all kinds of foods, especially meat, is undoubtedly a great aid to the evolution of the spirit, but it is by no means an end in itself. Many a man eating meat and with everybody but living in the fear of God is nearer his freedom than a man religiously abstaining from meat and many other things, but blaspheming God in every one of his acts.

 

The central fact of Hinduism however is cow-protection. Cow-protection to me is one of the most wonderful phenomena in

human evolution. It takes the human being beyond his species. The cow to me means the entire sub-human world. Man through the cow is enjoined to realize his identity with all that lives. Why the cow was selected for apotheosis is obvious to me. The cow was in India the best

companion. She was the giver of plenty. Not only did she give milk, but she also made agriculture possible. The cow is a poem of pity. One reads pity in the gentle animal. She is the mother to millions of Indian mankind. Protection of the cow means protection of the whole dumb creation of God. The ancient seer, whoever he was, began with the cow. The appeal of the lower order of creation is all the more

forcible because it is speechless. Cow-protection is the gift of Hinduism to the world. And Hinduism will live so long as there are Hindus to protect the cow.

 

The way to protect is to die for her. It is a denial of Hinduism in and ahimsa to kill a human being to protect a cow. Hindus are enjoined to protect the cow by their tapasya, by self-purification, by self-sacrifice. The present-day cow-protection has degenerated into a perpetual feud with the Mussulmans, whereas cow-protection means

conquering Mussulmans by our love. A Mussulman friend sent me some time ago a book detailing the inhumanities practised by us on the cow and her progeny. How we bleed her to take the last drop of milk from her, how we starve her to emaciation, how we ill-treat the calves, how we deprive them of their portion of milk, how cruelly we treat the oxen, how we castrate them, how we beat them, how we

overload them.

 

 

If they had speech, they would bear witness to our

crimes against them which would stagger the world. By every act of cruelty to our cattle, we disown God and Hinduism. I do not know that the condition of the cattle in any other part of the world is so bad as in unhappy India. We may not blame the Englishman for this. We may not plead poverty in our defence. Criminal negligence is the only cause of the miserable condition of our cattle. Our pinjrapoles,

though they are an answer to our instinct of mercy, are a clumsy demonstration of its execution. Instead of being model dairy farms and great profitable national institutions, they are merely depots for receiving decrepit cattle.

 

Hindus will be judged not by their tilaks, not by the correct chanting of mantras, not by their pilgrimages, not by their most punctilious observance of caste rules but by their ability to protect the cow. Whilst professing the religion of cow-protection, we have enslaved the cow and her progeny, and have become slaves ourselves. It will now be understood why I consider myself a sanatani

Hindu. I yield to none in my regard for the cow. I have made the Khilafat cause my own, because I see that through its preservation full protection can be secured for the cow. I do not ask my Mussulman friends to save the cow in consideration of my service. My prayer ascends daily to God Almighty, that my service of a cause I hold to be

just may appear so pleasing to Him, that He may change the hearts of the Mussulmans, and fill them with pity for their Hindu neighbours and make them save the animal the latter hold dear as life itself.

 

I can no more describe my feeling for Hinduism than for my

own wife. She moves me as no other woman in the world can. Not that she has no faults. I dare say she has many more than I see myself. But the feeling of an indissoluble bond is there. Even so I feel for and about Hinduism with all its faults and limitations. Nothing elates me so much as the music of the Gita or the Ramayana by Tulsidas, the only

two books in Hinduism I may be said to know. When I fancied I was taking my last breath, the Gita was my solace. I know the vice that is going on today in all the great Hindu shrines, but I love them in spite of their unspeakable failings. There is an interest which I take in them

and which I take in no other. I am a reformer through and through. But my zeal never takes me to the rejection of any of the essential things of Hinduism. I have said I do not disbelieve in idol-worship.

 

An idol does not excite any feeling of veneration in me. But I think that idol-worship is part of human nature. We hanker after symbolism. Why should one be more composed in a church than elsewhere? Images are an aid to worship. No Hindu considers an image to he God. I do not consider idol-worship a sin. It is clear from the foregoing, that Hinduism is not an exclusiv religion. In it there is room for the worship of all the prophets of the world. It is not a missionary religion in the ordinary sense of the term.

It has no doubt absorbed many tribes in its fold, but this absorption has been of an evolutionary imperceptible character. Hinduism tells everyone to worship God according to his own faith or dharma, and so it lives at peace with all the religions. That being my conception of Hinduism, I have never been able to reconcile myself to untouchability. I have always regarded it as an excrescence. It is true that it has been handed down to us from generations, but so are many evil practices even to this day. I should be ashamed to think that dedication of girls to virtual prostitution was a part of Hinduism. Yet it is practised by Hindus in many parts of India. I consider it positive irreligion to sacrifice goats to Kali and do not consider it a part of Hinduism. Hinduism is a growth of ages. The

very name, Hinduism, was given to the religion of the people of Hindustan by foreigners. There was no doubt at one time sacrifice of animals offered in the name of religion. But it is not religion, much less is it Hindu religion. And so also it seems to me, that when cow-protection became an article of faith with our ancestors, those who persisted in eating beef were excommunicated. The civil strife must have been fierce. Social boycott was applied not only to the recalcitrants, but their sins were visited upon their children also. The practice which had probably its origin in good intentions hardened into usage, and even verses crept in our sacred books giving the practice a permanence wholly undeserved and still less justified.

 

Whether my theory is correct or not, untouchability is repugnant to reason and to the instinct of mercy, pity or love. A religion that establishes the worship of the cow cannot possibly countenance or warrant a cruel and inhuman boycott of human beings. And I should be content to be torn to pieces rather than disown the suppressed classes. Hindus will certainly never deserve freedom, nor get it if they

allow their noble religion to be disgraced by the retention of the taint of untouchability. And as I love Hinduism dearer than life itself, the taint has become for me an intolerable burden. Let us not deny God by denying to a fifth of our race the right of association on an equal

footing.

 

M. K. Gandhi, Young India, 6-10-1921

 

 

[maadhav]

prabhupada ideentifies gandhi as a politician only, with some saintly qualities. prabhupada clearly says that he was not a mahatma per definition of a mahatma as krishna has given in gita.

 

jinnah told the truth when he said,

"hindusm and islam are not compatible."

gandhi failed to understand it.

 

he was a jain at heart and so he believed that

the principle of non violence is an absolute principle.

krishna in gita clearly says it is not.

 

so, gandhi did not follow gita at the crucial point in the history of india. and we lost a great part of our country to the barbaric ideology islam. he made the the peace loving hindus cowards, and no muslim took his non violence.

he failed there.

 

he never read koran to find how barbaric islam is. he posed himself as a hindu to further his politcal agenda. his followers titled him - actually a poet titled him mahatma, not a saint. he did not have a guru in a hindu parampara.

 

so, gandhi was not a hindu really, but a jain.

and he failed and screwed up the fate of the hindus.

we need work to fix the problem - an eternal enemy of hinduism at the border - he created, and in between our own country.

 

buddha stoped the war of kaling when samraat ashok was winning. buddha influenced him to stop war.

 

gandhi failed to stop violence, and got the country divided.

i see no reason to talk favourably for gandhi.

i only respect some of his good qualities, which many in india have it and had it.

 

hardly any of the gandhians have any good qualities of gandhi. all they do is anti hindu activities and do corruption.

 

 

[barney]

Prabhupada may have mastered the Gita but he has no ability to see the wisdom of Gandhi. He did not knight himself but was called Mahatma by the people of India. If not for him India would not have got her independence before the other nation under Britsh rule. What did Parabhupada did to gain the freedom of India? What did he do the stop the blood bath between the Muslims and Hindus? But Gandhi did by hunger strike, by going to prison and by getting killed by the same Hindus he helped to save from the British. Ungreatful Hindu fanatics killed the man who freed India.

 

Giving independence to Pakistan was a wise decision at the time. If he had not agreed can you foresee what would have happened after independence than? It is easy to pass remark on such a great soul of the world without considering the time and situation but in practical could any of you have done what Gandhi did? The Koran does not discriminate or speak evil of othe faiths. It is the hadis, please do not just make your own conclution. The Koran and the Hadis are two different books. Can you quote from the Koran in which part it says kill all non believers? I know and I have the Kopran and Hadis with me. Most muslims follow the Hadis of Al' Bukhari and in it you will read all that is said about Islam. I did post the whole script here sometime back but was removed by the admin. You must be out of your mind if you say Gandhi was the cause of the division.

[Guest guest]

 

 

Srila Prabhupada recognized Vaishnava {Uttama Adhikari}, who offered freedom from Samsara, viz Love of Godhead, KRSNA, by the process of devotional service. Scientific Process coming down since time immorial. He has wrote many books on KRSNA, went around the world, Teaching the mission of Lord KRSNA Caitanya Mahaprabhu & Lord Nityananda, he offered this out of his mercy to the western world, easy process of chanting/dancing/eating KRSNA prasadam.

 

Gandhiji did not offer the same.

 

Do the math...!

[Guest guest]

Prabhupada may have mastered the Gita but he has no ability to see the wisdom of Gandhi.

 

barney dear... if one masters the gita, he masters also gandhi... when your opinion is different from the one of a real mahatma (prabhupada.. not gandhi) you have to examine your, not say nonsenses

 

 

[Guest guest]

***Giving independence to Pakistan was a wise decision at the time.*****

 

Actually, its a better decision even now.

India is better off without the scum.

 

Gandhiji is a great soul(Mahatma). There cannot be any questions.

 

 

[Guest guest]

Dear Guest

 

Forgive YYY and people of that sort. There is one thread here about Raghavendra swamy and one guy asked y hasnt Prabhupadha has not mentioned about Raghavendra swamy. It is unfortunate that shree Raghavendra swamy needs a approval stamp from prabhupada for his service. Ellam time !!

[Guest guest]

you have to do something against your delirant fantasy, some medicine, a doctor

[maadhav]

<< ***Giving independence to Pakistan was a wise decision at the time.*****

 

Actually, its a better decision even now.

India is better off without the scum. >>

 

All I see is a secure land is given to eternal anti-hindu ideology followers where they can cook and work plans to fight with us for no good reason. additionally, even when pak was made for muslims, gandhi allowed eh muslims to live in india. most of these muslims are pro pakistan than pro hindu or india. pak's terrorist network is sperad among these muslims. so in my view, parting was wrong, but allowing muslims to live in india after parting was also wrong. it defeated the whole purpose of parting.

 

as i see it, we the hindus have created this pak problem out of foolish decisions made at different times in the history. and we need to fix it now.

 

india is not a place for anti hindus.

and hindus need to understand hinduism well and correctly and live by it without malpracticing it.

 

 

[Raguraman]

Hare Krishna,

 

 

Forgive YYY and people of that sort. There is one thread here about Raghavendra swamy and one guy asked y hasnt Prabhupadha has not mentioned about Raghavendra swamy. It is unfortunate that shree Raghavendra swamy needs a approval stamp from prabhupada for his service. Ellam time !!

 

 

As per the Upanishads and Vedas, MahAtmA and AtmA are terms exclusively used to denote BhagavAn and none else. To use this term for any human is detestable. As for Sri Rayaru, some western Vaishnavas are simply wondering why Srila Prabhupada did not mention such a great Swami. It is not a sign that one seeks approval from Srila Prabhupada.

 

Mariathaiya pesa kathuko. Avaru eluvathu vaisula satichathu satharana visayamala.

[Guest guest]

Raghuraman

 

Why cant you tell then y prabhupada didnt say anything about sri rayaru. The problem is a lot of HK's approve only what prabhupada has said , since he has mentioned nothing about rayaru they are questioning the authenticity of rayaru.

 

Na maryadha dhan pesaren , neenga konjam adakama pesa kathukitta nalla irukum.

 

Pleas note : Na ungala madhiri "Ne Va Po" nu orumaile pesale. Neenga konjam mariyadha kathukanum raghu sir.

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Why cant you tell then y prabhupada didnt say anything about sri rayaru. The problem is a lot of HK's approve only what prabhupada has said , since he has mentioned nothing about rayaru they are questioning the authenticity of rayaru.

--this is a useless critic... prabhupada has given, in gita and in many writings, the features of a vaishnava. I read the life of sri raghavendra swami and it is enough for me to recognize a great vaishnava... who teachs to me to drive a car, automatically he's teaching to me to go everywhere

 

 

[Raguraman]

Hare Krishna,

 

Srila Prabhupada entered USA at 70 years of age with a few dollars in his hand. Within 10 years what he did was write books and spread Krishna Consciousness. He did not enjoy the money which his organization collected. All the money was spent for spreading Vaishnava philosophy. Only ognorant people think that he was enjoying grants from rich people. Most of his followers were not so rich. Ofcourse some rich followers were there. In this way he is no lesser than Gandhi. Barney, you seem to have extreme hatred for HKs. It is not good for your mental health.

[Guest guest]

Gandhiji is a greater soul than Srila Prabhupada.

--yes.. a materialist politician is better than a saint, your understanding of spirituality is very nice

 

What materialistic aspect did you find in gandhiji's notion for freedom. If he wanted material he could have become an excellent lawyer and made a lot of money.

 

His only aim was to free India and its people from the British colonizer.

--and he did not do it... india was free by subas chandra bose and the indian troops made prisoneers by the germans in europe then sended in india to fight with english.. who were engaged in IIworld war and with not so much energy to fight in india

 

 

Good joke ! Like somebody was saving shiva was the first vaishnava ,now you have twisted the indian history also . Even a small child in india would know who got us freedom. If your argument was true then netaji must have been called the father of the nation. With due respect to nethaji , his efforts on freedom were also immense.But gandhiji is the forerunner in the freedom struggle.

 

Krishna talks about karma yoga in gita. Good example of a karma yogi is gandhi. Dont abuse him,atleast for the sake of srila prabhupada.

 

 

 

[barney]

A great soul is one who sacrifice his life for the poor and meek. Tell me what Srila Prabhupada sacrificed for? I respect Srila Prabhupada for his [only] effort in preaching the Gita to the westerners. Besides that he has nothing great to be proud of. There were masters before him who had odne the same. He was only following their footsteps. Do you know about Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami of Kauai? Kauai's Hindu Monastery is also home to Himalayan Academy, Hindu Heritage Endowment founded by Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami (below) (1927-2001) and is the home of Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami and the order of 21 swamis, yogis and sadhakas from six nations and is the Theological Seminary for Saiva Siddhanta Church housed on 458 acres of tropical lushness in Kauai, Hawaii.

 

Right in the midst of the monastery complex is the renowned "Kadaval Nataraj Temple" where an exquisite six-foot tall, 150-year-old bronze image of Lord Nataraja is enshrined. Hindu pilgrims have been coming to the temple from around the world for over 30 years, to worship and seek audience and darshan with the Guru Mahasannidhanam.

 

Saiva Siddhanta Church, founded in 1949, was incorporated under the laws of the United States of America in the State of California on December 30, 1957, and received recognition of its US Internal Revenue tax exempt status as a church on February 12, 1962. Its USA employer identification number is 94-6108645. Among America's oldest Hindu institutions, it established its international headquarters on Kauai, Hawaii on February 5, 1970. From this Garden Island in the Pacific Ocean, northernmost of the Hawaiian chain that forms the world's most remote land mass, the Church broadly serves the one billion-strong Hindu faith (fully one-sixth of the human family). The Church's ministry is dedicated to nurturing the membership and local missions in four continents and to serving, primarily through publications, the community of Hindus throughout the world.

 

In August of 1986, the World Religious Parliament in New Delhi honored Subramuniyaswami as one of five Hindu spiritual leaders outside of India who had most dynamically promoted Sanatana Dharma in the past 25 years. He was given the title Jagadacharya, "World Teacher." In April of 1988, he was selected to represent Hinduism at the five-day Global Forum of Spiritual and Parliamentary Leaders for Human Survival, held in England at Oxford University, and again in Moscow from January 11 to 15, 1990; and in Brazil, June 5-7, 1992. At Chicago's historic centenary Parliament of the World's Religions in September, 1993, he was elected to the Presidents' Assembly, a core group of 25 men and women representing the world's faiths.

 

Once in a while on this Earth there arises a soul who, by living his tradition rightly and wholly, perfects his path and becomes a light to the world. Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami was such a being, a living example of awakening and wisdom, a leader recognized worldwide as one of Hinduism's foremost ministers. In 1947, as a young man of 20, he journeyed to India and Sri Lanka and two years later was initiated into sannyasa by the renowned siddha yogi and worshiper of Siva, Jnanaguru Yogaswami of Sri Lanka, regarded as one of the 20th century's most remarkable mystics.

 

Gurudeva was lauded as one of the strictest and most traditional gurus in the world. His Hindu Church nurtures its membership and local missions on five continents. The Academy serves, personally and through its magazine, books, courses and travel/study programs, serious seekers and Hindus of all denominations. Gurudeva's mission, received from his satguru, was to protect, preserve and promote the Saivite Hindu religion as expressed through its three pillars: temples, satgurus and scripture. That mission is now carried forward by his monastic and family communities. The congregation of

 

Saiva Siddhanta Church is a disciplined, global fellowship of family initiates, monastics and students who follow the sadhana marga, the path of inner effort, yogic striving and personal transformation. Gurudeva was the hereditary guru of 2.5 million Sri Lankan Hindus. His various institutions form a Jaffna-Tamil-based organization which has branched out from his Sri Subramuniya Ashram in Alaveddy to meet the needs of the growing Hindu diaspora of this century. He also established a seven-acre monastery in Mauritius, which includes a public Spiritual Park. Gurudeva gently oversaw more than 50 independent temples worldwide. Missionaries and teachers within the family membership provide counseling and classes in Saivism for children, youth and adults.

 

Then in 1995 it bestowed on him the title of Dharmachakra for his remarkable publications. The Global Forum of Spiritual and Parliamentary Leaders for Human Survival chose Subramuniyaswami as a Hindu representative at its unique conferences. Thus, at Oxford, England, in 1988, Moscow in 1990 and Rio de Janiero in 1992, he joined hundreds of religious, political and scientific leaders from all countries to discuss privately, for the first time, the future of human life on this planet. At Chicago's historic centenary Parliament of the World's Religions in September, 1993, Gurudeva was elected one of three presidents, along with His Holiness Swami Chidananda Saraswati of the Rishikesh-based Divine Life Society and Kerala's Ammachi, Mata Amritanandamayi Ma, to represent Hinduism at the prestigious Presidents' Assembly, a core group of 25 men and women voicing the needs of world faiths.

 

In April of 1999 Gurudeva lead 45 spiritual aspirants on an Innersearch from Vancouver to Anchorage, Alaska. Their ship, the MS Noordam, journeyed for 7 days and nights as they studied meditation and the mystical life together, explored the glaciers and redefined the cruise experience along the way. In Anchorage, Gurudeva founded the first Hindu temple in that state, calling together the native American Indian leaders to participate in the event. He also initiated a powerful series of book signings in California, Washington and Alaska, introducing his newest legacy book, Merging with Siva, to thousands of seekers.

 

In August he traveled to Malaysia and Mauritius, where he met with the nation's leaders on several family-related topics, opened his Spiritual Park for 3,000 special guests, spent precious time with his Church members and continued the dynamic book signings, this time adding his newest book, Weaver's Wisdom, to the list.

 

In March and April of 2000 he lead another Innersearch Travel-Study program to the Caribbean, visiting six nations with 53 of his devotees and meeting the Hindu leadership in that remote part of the world, with special events among 4,500 Hindus who came to honor him in Trinidad.

 

In August of 2001 Gurudeva took 72 devotees on an incredible journey through Northern Europe, founding new Hindu temples along the way and visiting the Tamil communities in a dozen nations. It was a fitting end to his remarkable life. Just before departing for the European Innersearch, he completed his last legacy book, ''Living with Siva.'' Only weeks after returning from that dynamic odyssey, he attained his Maha Samadhi. Gurudeva was known to the end for spending personal time with new members, island visitors who pilgrimaged to his sacred home on Kauai and new young monks who have come to the monastery to give their life in selfless service and the Great Search for God within man. All of his work and mission, his amazing vision and all-encompassing projects now go forward under the able guidance of his successor, Bodhinatha. Aum Namasivaya!

 

There is more about the Satguru but I think this will suffice to make you understand who else should be called mahatma beside Gandhiji.

 

 

[Raguraman]

Hare Krishna,

 

 

Raghuraman

 

Why cant you tell then y prabhupada didnt say anything about sri rayaru. The problem is a lot of HK's approve only what prabhupada has said , since he has mentioned nothing about rayaru they are questioning the authenticity of rayaru.

 

 

 

Srila Prabhupada did not mention about Namdev, Jnanadev and so many other Vaishnavas. It does not mean he disrespects any Vaishnava. His teachings were more on Lord HIMSELF than on Vaishnavas.

[Guest guest]

this thread is not about gandhi

[Guest guest]

Raghuramanji

 

Y didnt srila prabhupada preach in india. Since according to him the sanatana dharma was not followed properly he could have guided the millions of indians to the right path.Why did he have to choose westeners mostly ?. I dont find greater iskcon activity in india .Atleast in chennai upto my knowledge .

[Guest guest]

Since you brought up tukaram,namdev and gnaneshwar. Has prabhupada mentioned anything about lord vittal @pandarpur.

[Pankaja_Dasa]

 

Words of wisdom, from one Humble devotee.

 

<font color="blue"> SRILA PRABHUPADA..</font color>

 

===

Letter to: Mahatma Gandhi

--

 

Cawnpore

12 July, 1947

47-07-12

Mahatma Gandhijee

Bhangi Colony

New Delhi.

 

Dear Friend Mahatmajee,

 

Please accept my respectful Namaskar. I am your unknown friend but I had to write to you at times and again although you never cared to reply them. I sent you my papers "Back to Godhead" but your secretaries told me that you have very little time to read the letters and much less for reading the magazines. I asked for an interview with you but your busy secretaries never cared to reply this. Anyway as I am your very old friend although unknown to you I am again writing to you in order to bring you to the rightful position deserved by you. As a sincere friend I must not deviate from my duty towards a friend like your good self.

 

I tell you as a sincere friend that you must immediately retire from active politics if you do not desire to die an inglorious death. You have 125 years to live as you have desired to live but you if you die an inglorious death it is no worth. The honour and prestige that you have obtained during the course of you present life time, were not possible to be obtained by any one else within the living memory. But you must know that all these honours and prestiges were false in as much as they were created by the Illusory Energy of Godhead called the maya. By this falsity I do not mean to say that your so many friends were false to you nor you were false to them. By this falsity I mean illusion or in other words the false friendship and honours obtained thereby were but creation of maya and therefore they are always temporary or false as you may call it. But none of you neither your friends nor yourself knew this truth.

 

Now by the Grace of God that illusion is going to be cleared and thus your faithful friends like Acarya Kripalini and others are accusing you for your inability at the present moment to give them any practical programme of work as you happened to give them during your glorious days of non-co-operation movement. So you are also in a plight to find out a proper solution for the present political tangle created by your opponents. You should therefore take a note of warning from your insignificant friend like me, that unless you retire timely from politics and engage yourself cent per cent in the preaching work of Bhagavad-gita, which is the real function of the Mahatmas, you shall have to meet with such inglorious deaths as Mussolini, Hitlers, Tojos, Churchills or Lloyd Georges met with.

 

You can very easily understand as to how some of your political enemies in the garb of friends (both Indian and English) have deliberately cheated you and have broken your heart by doing the same mischief for which you have struggled so hard for so many years. You wanted chiefly Hindu-Moslem unity in India and they have tactfully managed to undo your work, by creation of the Pakistan and India separately. You wanted freedom for India but they have given permanent dependence of India. You wanted to do something for the upliftment of the position of the bhangis but they are still rotting as bhangis even though you are living in the bhangi colony. They are all therefore illusions and when these things will be presented to you as they are, you must consider them as God-sent. God has favored you by dissipating the illusion you were hovering in, and by the same illusion you were, nursing those ideas as Truth(?).

 

You must know that you are in the relative world which is called by the sages as Dvaita i.e. dual- and nothing is absolute here. Your Ahimsa is always followed by Himsa as the light is followed by darkness or the father is followed by the son. Nothing is absolute truth in this dual world. You did not know this neither you ever cared to know this from the right sources and therefore all your attempts to create unity were followed by disunity and Ahimsa. Ahimsa was followed by Himsa.

 

But it is better late than never. You must know now something about the Absolute Truth. The Truth with which you have been experimenting so long is relative. The relative truths are creations of the daivi maya qualified by the three modes of Nature. They are all insurmountable as is explained in the Bhagavad-gita (7/14). The Absolute Truth is the Absolute Godhead.

 

In the Katha Upanisad it is ordered that one must approach the bona fide Guru who is not only well versed in all the scriptures of the world but is also the realized soul in Brahman the Absolute--in order to learn the science of Absolute Truth. So also it is instructed in the Bhagavad-gita as follows:--

 

tad viddhi pranipatena

pariprasnena sevaya

upadeksyanti tad jnanam

jnaninas tattvadarsinah

(4.34)

 

But I know that you never underwent such transcendental training except some severe penances which you invented for your purpose as you have invented so many things in the course of experimenting with the relative truths.

 

You might have easily avoided them if you had approached the Guru as abovementioned. But your sincere efforts to attain some Godly qualities by austerities etc surely have raised you to some higher position which you can better utilize for the purpose of the Absolute Truth. If you, however, remain satisfied with such temporary position only and do not try to know the Absolute Truth, then surely you are to fall down from the artificially exalted position under the laws of Nature. But if you really want to approach the Absolute Truth and want to do some real good to the people in general all over the world, which shall include your ideas of unity, peace and non-violence, then you must give up the rotten politics immediately and rise up for the preaching work of the philosophy and religion of ``Bhagavad-gita'' without offering unnecessary and dogmatic interpretations on them. I had occasionally discussed this subject in my paper ``Back to Godhead'' and a leaf from the same is enclosed herewith for your reference.

 

I would only request you to retire from politics at least for a month only and let us have discussion on the Bhagavad-gita. I am sure, thereby, that you shall get a new light from the result of such discussions not only for your benefit but for the benefit of the world at large--as I know that you are sincere, honest and moralist.

 

Awaiting your early reply with interest.

 

Yours sincerely,

<font color="blue"> Abhay Charan De.</font color>

 

Enclosure--one leaf from Back to Godhead

 

========

[Guest guest]

if this thread is not about gandhi which thread is this

[Guest guest]

A great soul is one who sacrifice his life for the poor and meek. Tell me what Srila Prabhupada sacrificed for? I respect Srila Prabhupada for his [only] effort in preaching the Gita to the westerners.

--you made the question and you gave the answer

 

There is more about the Satguru but I think this will suffice to make you understand who else should be called mahatma beside Gandhiji.

--learn in gita what is a mahatma then decide yourself

[Guest guest]

I dont find greater iskcon activity in india .Atleast in chennai upto my knowledge

 

the medicine to your laziness (;-)) is a little finger movement with mouse

 

go in any iskcon site, see the list of harekrishna temples in india and see for yourself if iskcon is not in india

 

 

[Guest guest]

Guest

 

I said "Greater" iskcon activity . I didnt say i dont find iskcon activity at all in chennai. I may have a lazy brain but you have a dumb brain. Read cleary before you post something.

[Raguraman]

Hare Krishna,

 

 

Raghuramanji

 

Y didnt srila prabhupada preach in india. Since according to him the sanatana dharma was not followed properly he could have guided the millions of indians to the right path.Why did he have to choose westeners mostly ?. I dont find greater iskcon activity in india .Atleast in chennai upto my knowledge .

 

 

So as though you would have changed your mind if he had preached in Chennai. Srila Prabhupada's orders were from his Guru and prampara. It was Bhagavan's will that Srila Prabhuada spread Vaishnava theology to west.

 

 

Since you brought up tukaram,namdev and gnaneshwar. Has prabhupada mentioned anything about lord vittal @pandarpur.

 

 

This is a very ignorant question. Lord Vittala is the SELF-SAME BHAGAVAN Visnu and every Vaishnava(HKs included) knows that.