Guest guest Posted July 29, 2005 Report Share Posted July 29, 2005 Hinduism and Vaisnavism http://www.veda.harekrsna.cz/ http://www.vedabase.net Questions about Krishna What is hinduism? Hinduism Vedic traditions Vaisnavism - historical and philosophical roots Universal religion of bhakti Who is a Vaisnava? Questions about Krishna Q: What do you mean by Krishna, Supreme Personality Godhead? A: Out of three aspects of Godhead - Brahman (impersonal 'Great Light'), Paramatma (localized form of Godhead in the hearts of all living beings) and Bhagavan (Krishna in the spiritual world) - Bhagavan is the highest. That is the verdict of the Srimad Bhagavatam (Bhagavata Purana) 1.2.11. Krishna is the avatari, the source of all forms of Godhead (avataras). He is defined as such in the scriptures, most notably in the Srimad Bhagavatam 1.3.28 (krsnas tu bhagavan svayam). According to the great sage Parasara Muni Bhagavan is one who possesses in full these six perfections: strength, beauty, wealth, fame, knowledge, and renunciation. There is only one such person - Krishna who excels everyone. Q: You teach that Krishna is the original and highest form of God. Why is then Krishna often considered an avatara of Vishnu? A: that Krishna is God's original form and highest form from the point of view of rasa is the teaching of Nimbarka, Vallabha and Madhva (with Gaudiya) sampradayas. Ramanuja sampradaya considers Vishnu the original form of God. This is based mainly on Vishnu Purana. Bhagavata Purana (Srimad Bhagavatam) 1.3.28 is the main pramana (evidence) used by Jiva Gosvami in his Sat-sandarbhas. In his Krishna-sandarbha he argues for the supremacy of Krishna even over Vishnu. Tattva Sandarbha (establishing Srimad Bhagavatam as the topmost pramana) Bhagavata Sandarbha Other four Sandarbhas are not online. Vaishnavas don't argue among themselves if Krishna or Vishnu is the Supreme. They consider it a matter of one's relationship with the Lord. Someone has a relationship with Vishnu, someone with Rama, someone with Krishna, etc. as per rasa theology. In Caitanya Caritamrita 2.9.108 and further on Shri Chaitanya talks about this in a joking mood with Venkatta Bhatta from Ramanuja sampradaya. Why others dispute it - they may not know the evidence or they don't want to accept it, for whatever reason. In some Puranas Shiva, Durga, Ganesha, etc. are described as supreme. These Puranas are classified in Padma and Garuda Purana as rajasic and tamasic (for people under the influence of rajas and tamas). Vaishnavas give priority to sattvic Puranas as per Tattva Sandarbha. Q: Why is Krishna blue? A: We can only assume that Krishna likes blue color; similarly, He likes to play with His cowherd-boy friends, herd the cows, play the flute, etc. This is His lila (pastime), His sweet will. Q: Why is sometimes the first "i" left out of Krishna, spelling it Krshna? A: There are many ways of pronunciation (Krishan, Krishnan, even Krishta...) and all are accepted. Kr(i)shna knows when we mean Him. Q: "Sometimes God appears in this world just to show the people His original, eternal form. Sometimes He appears in other forms according to the requirements of His pastimes. More than 5,100 years ago, Krishna appeared in His original, transcendental form just to please His devotees, annihilate the miscreants, and reestablish the principles of religion." What date was Krishna born? Is there information on the details of Krishna's life when He took form on Earth? Did He have an occupation? Why was He manifest on Earth at that time? Did He have a purpose besides the ones listed above? How did He die? A: The date of Krishna's birth is traditionally given as 5201 of Bhadra Krishna Astami, or 3226 BC (or 3227 BC, depends if we consider the year 0 or not). "Bhadra" is the name of a month (corresponds roughly to July-August; Vedic calendar is luni-solar), "krishna" here specifically denotes the dark part of a month (wanning moon) and "astami" means "8th day". If you download and calculate the Vedic calendar for your location you can see when Janmastami ("Krishna's birth day" janma - birth, astami - 8th day) occurs so that you can take part in its celebration with us in one of our centers. The peak of the celebration is midnight when Krishna appeared. Swami Bon Maharaja has calculated that Lord Krishna passed away from this world on the Amavasya of Pausa of 5076 i.e. 3101 BC or 3179 before Saka era and that was the beginning of Kali-yuga. Lord Krishna's life is elaborately described in the Bhagavata Purana (Srimad Bhagavatam, esp. cantos 1,10,11), Brahma Purana (ch. 180-212), Brahma-vaivarta Purana and other Puranas as well as in the Mahabharata (whose essence is the Bhagavad-gita). He played a part of a cowherd boy in Vrindavan and after His 16th year that of a prince in Mathura and Dvaraka - His "occupation" was that of a ksatriya, or a warrior and a ruler. The reasons of His appearance are listed in your quote above. He likes to perform such pastimes, or divine play (lila) with His devotees. That is the first and foremost reason of His appearance. He Himself would not have to appear to do those things, He could send someone else (His devotees) to act on His behalf. He didn't "die" as a human being but disappeared in a supernatural way as described in the Srimad Bhagavatam, canto 11. Everything Krishna does is transcendental to this material world. Q: Some Christians are inquiring whether Krishna is a historical personage like Buddha, Mahavira, and Jesus, or just a character in a epic. I looked in the FAQ [at former iskcon.org] and it said only that Krishna lived here 5,100 years ago. Can you tell me how His historicity compares with those others'? A: From my experience majority of Christians is concerned only with the Jesus of faith... The Vaisnavas understand the Vedic scriptures to be revealed by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, establishing Him as the Supreme Lord. So the God cannot be just a character in an epic... This question is essentially about the veracity of the Vedas. The Vedic scriptures were transmitted orally from the time immemorial and written down (according to the descriptions given in them) cca 5100 years ago, approximately in time when Krishna appeared on this earth. They were preserved through the history thanks to the sampradayas (schools) of their followers. Unfortunately many of them were destroyed by foreign invaders. In recent history the Nazis and Russians before and during the WWII sent their scientific teams to India to find the Dhanurveda portions which deal with the advanced military knowledge including the high-tech weapons technology. As far as I know they were not returned back to India. The authenticity of the Vedas is confirmed by various scientific methods, like an astronomy and archeology. Two examples: --- I will quote here from the book "Age of Bharata War," which describes the calculations of the time of the Battle of Kuruksetra. Different scholars present different figures. The one which made most sense to me (because it is purely based on the text of the Mahabharata itself) is the following (page 150): "Prof. Srinivas Raghavan of Sri Aurobindo Study Circle, Madras, approached the subject wholly on astronomical basis and while explaining his own paper and of Sri Sampat Iyengar observed that the Mahabharata itself is teeming with a number of astronomical data, which were all consistent. The Rajasuya Yajna was performed on the Jyestha Mula Amavasya day (Sabha Parva, ch. 36) i.e. with the sun at 2400 of the Govt. of India Zodiac. 15 years later, the Amavasya was with the sun at 224.75 Jyestha as described by Veda Vyasa in Udyoga Parva, ch. 14. Three lunations later on Magha Sukla Astami day (Bhisma Nirvana day), the sun was at 318.0. The previous day the sun was at 316.5. Veda Vyasa clearly states that it was Rohini Naksatra on Bhisma Nirvana (Anusasana Parva, ch. 237, 273, Santi Parva, ch. 46). Therefore, in the year of the Mahabharata War, the vernal equinox was at 46.5. Now in 1975 A.D. it is at 23.4: hence it has moved by 69.9 at an average rate of 72.5 years per degree. Therefore, the age of the Mahabharata War was 69.9 x 72.5 = 3190 B.C." Swami Bon Maharaja (quoted in the same book) has calculated as follows: Lord Shri Krishna passed away from this world on the Amavasya of Pausa of 5076 i.e. 3101 B.C. or 3179 before Saka era and that was the beginning of Kali-yuga. Lord Shri Krishna was born 125 years 4 months before this date i.e. 5201 of Bhadra Krishna Astami or 3226 B.C. The War of the Mahabharata started 36 years before Lord Krishna left this world i.e. on Amavasya day of Pausa of 5112 i.e 3136 Pausa Amavasya B.C. (February). Other scholars who made similar astronomical calculations (but basing them on other historical dates) came to slightly different conclusions, ranging from 3140 to 3100 B.C. ---- Krishna's Dwarka may not be a myth By Gautam Mehta The Times of India News Service AHMEDABAD: The mythical city of Dwarka, founded by Lord Krishna, may have actually existed as underwater remains of a township and a settlement near Bet Dwarka indicate, according to marine archaeologist S.R. Rao. Mr Rao, who heads the Dwarka underwater excavation project, is a consultant to the Marine Archaeology Centre of the National Institute of Oceanography in Goa. "The first settlement of the Yadavas and Lord Krishna was Bet Dwarka nearly 3,600 years ago and later at Dwarka. The underwater township and the signs of settlement near Bet Dwarka, three temples and the remains of another township on the seashore near today's Dwarka compare well with what has been described in the Mahabharata and Harivansh," he said. The submergence of Dwarka in the sea provided a clear indication that in the last 3,600 years, the sea level along the Gujarat coast had risen by as much as 30 feet and that it was continuing to rise, he pointed out. At the present pace of the rise of sea level, archaeologists and scientists of the National Institute of Oceanography estimate that the present ports and temples on the state sea coast may be submerged in the sea in about 1,000 years. Mr Rao said: "In the first phase of excavation by a 15-member team, three temples and the evidence of a township were found on the seashore near the present Dwarka temple. Later, another major township was found nearly 30 km away at a depth of 30 feet near Bet Dwarka during underwater excavation. It was spread over a four-km area. Many interesting pottery, vessels, equipment and other remains were found at this site." He pointed out that excavation at the ancient sites of Mahabharata had not yielded convincing evidence because of the extremely limited excavation carried out at Hastinapur and Mathura. However, the excavation at the temple of Dwarkadhish in 1979-80 showed that it had been built over three temples, one below the other. Further digging yielded first habitation and debris sediment brought in by a storm wave attested to the destruction of a town by the sea. This evidence acted as a spur to undertake excavation in the sea to locate the submerged town of Dwarka, he said. According to Mr Rao, Bet Dwarka was identified with Kusasthali where the first town named Dvaraka was built under Krishna's leadership as described in the Mahabharat. The present town of Dwarka, on the mainland at the mouth of Gomati river, stands where Dvaraka or Dvaravati once was. According to the epic, Krishna was said to have reclaimed land from the sea at the mouth of the Gomati on the mainland to build a port town. Thus came into existence the second Dwarka, Mr Rao said. The second phase of underwater excavation would begin in December this year. ---- For the Vaisnavas there is no question of Krishna's non-existence. When Krishna wants He can reveal Himself to His devotees. There are many such incidents in the Vaisnava history and presence. Q: Kindly define word 'Godhead' as used by you. Does it occur in your scriptures? Please quote related Vedic text if there is any. A: The word "Godhead" is one of the typical words used by ISKCON's founder-acarya A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada in his books, translations and commentaries of Vedic scriptures. He used it in collocation "Supreme Personality of Godhead", i.e. "God, the Supreme Person". The Sanskrit word for "Supreme Person" is "Purushottama", one of the names of Vishnu. He used to give very simple proof of God's existence: there are many persons of various stature and the supreme one is called God. Srila Prabhupada in his lecture on Bhagavad-gita 3.21-25 on May 30, 1965 in New York, says: "Supreme Personality of Godhead means He is full with opulence, all opulence." The same he also says in his commentary on Srimad Bhagavatam (Bhagavata Purana) 1.11.31. "Opulence" is his translation of the Sanskrit word "bhaga". And the possessor of opulences, or bhagas (there are six traditionally listed) is called Bhagavan, another name of Vishnu. From your name and domain I guess you are Muslim. And Muslims usually do have problems with personhood of God. Airavata Das, member of ISKCON with Muslim background, wrote an elaborate study called "The Hidden Treasure of Al Qur'an" showing the personhood of Allah. In Chapter 8 he quotes the Qur'an 47.38: Wallahul Ganiyu: "Allah is Rich." This is Bhagavan. And in Chapter 12 he quotes the Qur'an 57.3: Huwa az-zahir wa huwa al-batin: "He is the Outward and He is the Inward." This means Allah is omnipresent, all-pervading. The word "Vishnu" means exactly that. I know it is hard to imagine how a person can be all-pervading but this is described in detail in Vaisnava philosophy. God has both personal and impersonal aspect. There are so many verses with names of Purushottama, Bhagavan or Vishnu that I don't know where to start with listing them. You may try yourself by checking for example Bhagavad-gita. -- What is hinduism? A Christian, visiting India from the West, would surely think it strange if he or she was told by an Indian, "You are a follower of Jordanism." Christianity, along with Judaism and Islam, hails from the region of the Jordan river. But it is unlikely that Christians, Jews and Muslims would like their faiths being lumped together under such an artificial, unscriptural category as "Jordanism." Yet just this sort of thing was done to the followers of the indigenous religions of India. The word "Hinduism" is derived from the name of a river in present-day Pakistan, the Sindhu (also known as the Indus). Beginning around 1000 AD, invading armies from the Middle East called the place beyond the Sindhu "Hindustan" and the people who lived there the "Hindus" - due to the invaders' language, the "s" was changed to "h". In the centuries that followed, the term "Hindu" became acceptable even to the Indians themselves as a general designation for their different religious traditions. But since the word Hindu is not found in the scriptures upon which these traditions are based, it is quite inappropriate. The proper term is "Vedic dharma" or "sanatana dharma". Hare Krishna movement is a part of Vedic Vaisnava tradition and presents teachings of the Vedas in its original, pure form, which was preserved due to a succession of masters and disciples (parampara). This teaching has therefore proved a proves that it can change lives of thousands in positive way. Q: Isn't preaching and conversion contrary to Hindu ideals? A: This idea comes from the ancient times when vaidika, or sanatana dharma was present almost around the whole world. Thus there was no preaching necessary. Buddhism, which is derived from the Vedic tradition, was the first tradition spread by preaching. A kind of Vedic renaissance followed, brought about by preaching of Adi Sankara, Ramanuja, Madhva, and Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. A: (Brahma das): The greatest Hindus of all times both preached and converted. Those remembered as noteworthy in Hinduism or any of the other religions are the preachers. They are the great thinkers and saints of conviction who shake up the social dynamic and move people from religious complacency into theistic action, social revolution and personal change. In Hindu mysticism Tukarama, Mirabai, Tulsidas etc. were preachers who inspired people to social and spiritual change. Tukarama preached his version of Hinduism based on Krsna kirtana while lashing out against brahminical tyranny, Mirabai became a legend by rejecting her dharma as a princess and preaching love of Krsna through songs and poems. Later Rammohan Roy, Swami Dayananda, Ramakrishna, Vivekananda, and Gandhi were a few of the preachers that affected social and spiritual change. In modern times Prabhupada and a host of others Swamis came to the west and shook up the social paradigm by preaching and converting people to Hinduism. The great Vedanta acharyas were all preachers who converted people. Adi Sankaracharya was a preacher who converted half of India from Buddhism to his conception of Vedic non-dualism. Ramanuja was a preacher who converted much of South India from strict non-dualism to his version of qualified non-dualism. Madhva was a preacher who converted people from both other philosophies to his version of theistic dualism and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu amalgamated dualism and non-dualism with his conception of achintya bhedabeda and preached the inconceivable simultaneous oneness and difference between God and man. Did all these people act “contrary to Hindu ideals”? -- Hinduism [The Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance group's website www.religioustolerance.com has a nice article on Hinduism. This is a comment on it.] Dear friends, Please accept my regards. Thanks for updating the ISKCON links on your Hare Krishna page. I have read many of your articles and found them very helpful. Here I'd like to offer some comments on your Hinduism article. Re the Aryan invasion: this view comes from the first Indologists but recently it is becoming more and more doubted in the academic circles. It's also not supported by the tradition itself (the scriptures). To the two main divisions of Hinduism one could add Shaktism, the worship of goddess Durga. Samsara has a meaning - to make us understand the omnipresence of suffering in this world so we start the search for liberation. I'd skip the word "meaningless." Puja means worship through ceremonial offering of various articles (lamp, water, incense etc.) to the Deity (image). The particular god/goddess is called into the image during its installation ceremony. "Ceremonial dinner" is offered to the Deity before puja. When the Deity accepts the food it becomes spiritualized (prasadam, lit. "mercy"). Definition of Hinduism was accepted by the Supreme Court of India: "Acceptance of the Vedas with reverence; recognition of the fact that the means or ways to salvation are diverse; and the realisation of the truth that the number of Gods to be worshipped is large, that indeed is the distinguishing feature of the Hindu religion." B.G. Tilak's definition of what makes one a basic Hindu, as quoted by India's Supreme Court. On July 2, 1995, the Court referred to it as an "adequate and satisfactory formula." (from Hinduism Today) On these three points one can illustrate the difference between Hinduism and Vaisnavism: Vaisnavas accept the Vedas but accept "many paths" only partially - different scriptural paths are means leading to the end (liberation) but the path of devotion and service (bhakti) is both the means and the end. It continues forever, even after liberation. There is no merging into the Brahman. Rather, Vishnu/Krishna is the ultimate source of Brahman. Therefore He is the one to be worshiped, and "many gods" are to be revered as His empowered representatives only, not to be worshiped as independent of Him as taught by the Bhagavad-gita and other Vedic scriptures. There could be other points added but in general the article is pretty good. Hope this helps. Keep up the good work. -- Vedic traditions There are four main groups or practices in Vedic tradition: Vaishnavism, Smartaism, Shaivism, Shaktism 1. Vaishnavism (the main topic of this website) Om Namo Narayanaya, Hare Krishna Worship of Vishnu and His various avatars, especially Rama and Krishna, in a profoundly devotional form is the basis of Vaishnavism. Intense devotion to a personal Supreme God, Vishnu through bhakti yoga is the path to perfection. There are four main Vaisnava traditions - Visistadvaita, Dvaita (includes Acintya-bheda-abheda), Suddha- advaita, and Dvaitadvaita. Vaishnavism is followed by majority of people in India. 2. Smartaism Om Namah Sivaya Smartaism is an ancient brahminical tradition reformed by Adi Shankara. The word smarta means one who follows the smriti or dharma sastras. Smartas follow the smriti literature, particularly dharma shastra, Puranas and the Itihasas. They worship five forms of God and also revere the Vedas and the Agamas. They worship Shiva, Vishnu, Ganapati, Surya and Shakti and this system is called pancayatana (pancopasana). Kumara was further added by Shankara's reform. Today they are synonymous with Adi Shankara's monistic, meditative and philosophical theories. The five group system of smartas is there because each deity can be chosen as one's own personal and preferred deity (ishta devata). Smartas believe in attainment of salvation mainly through jnana yoga. However other yogas like bhakti yoga, karma yoga and raja yoga are recognized as leading to enlightenment. Jnana yoga involves the study of scriptures (shravana), reflection (manana) and sustained meditation (dhyana). 3. Shaiva Om Namah Shivaya There are six main sub-groups of Shaivism: Shaiva siddhanta Pasupata Kashmir Shaiva or Trika (tantric) Vira Shaiva or Lingayata Siddha Shaiva Shiva Advaita Sometimes Lakulisa Saivisms is also added. A system of temple mysticism and an enlightened view of man's place in the universe as well as siddha yoga form the basis of Shaivism. The final goal of Shaivism is realizing one's identity with Shiva in perfect union and non-differentiation (monism, kevaladvaita) based on advaita philosophy. The path for Shaivites is divided into four progressive stages of belief and practice called Charya, Kriya, Yoga and Jnana. Union with Shiva comes through the grace of the satguru and culminates in the soul's maturity in the state of jnana, or wisdom. Shaivism values both bhakti and yoga sadhana. 4. Shakta Om Chandikayai Namah The worship of Mother Goddess in her fierce or gentle form is the basis of Shaktism. Shaktas use mantra, tantra, yantra, yoga and puja to invoke cosmic forces and awaken the kundalini power. They consider the Goddess a manifested form of the deity whose worship leads to the masculine unmanifested form or Shiva, thus attaining salvation. There are four different expressions: Devotional Shamanic Yogic Universalist The devotional Shaktas makes puja rites to invoke Sri Chakra Yantra to establish intimacy with the Goddess. The Shamanic Shaktas - usually with the help of a medium - use magic, tantra and trance as well as fire walking and animal sacrifice for healing, fertility and power. The Shakta yogis seek to awaken the sleeping Goddess Kundalini and unite her with Lord Shiva in the sahasrara chakra. The universalists follow the reformed Vedantic teachings and traditions. -- Vaisnavism - historical and philosophical roots Vedic civilization is recognized by scholars from all over the world as one of the most important periods of human history. It left a cultural heritage of unlimited physical, metaphysical and spiritual value in form of science, art and religion. This civilization has been from its beginning based on spiritual wisdom, delivered personally by God, Krishna, at the creation of the universe, to the first created being and secondary creator, Brahma. He gave this wisdom to his son Narada and this celebrated sage turned it over - among other of his disciples - to Vyasadeva living in a holy place of Badrinath, high up in the Himalayas. From the creation of the universe until the beginning of Kali-yuga, the present age, lasting already about 5,000 years, this science of spiritual realization and development of God (Krishna) consciousness, was a public property of the whole humanity and it was transferred only orally. Before the advent of Kali-yuga the great sage Vyasadeva had a divine vision of catastrophic future of humankind in the coming age of hypocrisy and strife. To save and preserve this transcendental knowledge he therefore, for the first time in history, put it into a written form. This knowledge is still transferred from a teacher to a disciple within the four main Vaisnava lineages bearing the names of their originators: Brahma-Madhva-Gaudiya sampradaya, Lakshmi or Sri sampradaya, Rudra sampradaya and Sanaka Kumara sampradaya. Teachings of these schools follow about three hundred fifty millions of adherents, all of whom worship God as Lord Vishnu or Krishna by their devotional service (bhakti). In accordance with scriptures and testimony of unlimited sages and liberated persons, the Supreme Lord in this age of Kali descends to the material world in the form of Krishna's pure devotee named Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the son of mother Sacidevi. He influenced the then society in an unique way by rejecting the rigid, artificially created caste system and enabling everyone an access, in a supremely easy and effective way, to the pure love for Krishna. In this way he inaugurated a new, golden age of the next ten thousand years, exceptionally suitable for the spiritual advancement of the whole planet, which will be known as Chaitanya Era. Movement of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in sixteenth century crowned the renaissance of bhakti started by Sri Ramanujacarya of Sri sampradaya in twelfth century. Sri Chaitanya stressed the importance of glorification of God by singing of His holy names, especially the congregational one, so-called sankirtana. His influence spread around India, mainly in its North and North-East, and His followers, especially Six Gosvamis of Vrndavan, established the majority of temples and pilgrimage sites in the Mathura-Vrndavan area. Philosophy of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and His first disciples says that everything in this world is different from God and at the same time identical with Him, which enables the inconceivable (acintya) power of God. It allows Him to be at the same time immanent (all-pervading) and transcendent (remaining outside of this world). This philosophy is therefore called acintya-bheda-abheda-tattva. Sri Krishna, together with His amorous partner Radha, is glorified as Divine Lover, surrounded by confidential friends, unlimited number of devotees who all together eternally enjoy in the spiritual world, immersed in mutual love. -- Universal religion of bhakti As individual living beings, who are actually eternal spiritual sparks of God, we are now incased in the material power of Krishna, which consists of the gross material energy and the subtle material energy - the psychic energy, which consists of mind, intelligence, and false ego. This material energy of God comprises this universe including the minds of the individual living beings, who try to exploit the universe. The material world - the power of God's energy - is a place of suffering and it is temporary. The fact that everything is temporary terminates whatever pleasure we might feel in this world. Beyond God's material energy - which is like a prison house for the conditioned living beings, who have come here to enjoy separately from Krishna, trying to imitate Him as the central enjoyer - we find His spiritual energy, in which all living beings serve God in eternity, knowledge and bliss. God's material power is in direct contrast to His spiritual power. Whereas Krishna's material power consists of non-endurance, ignorance and misery, His spiritual power consists of eternity, knowledge and bliss. Since we as living beings - spiritual sparks of consciousness - belong to Krishna's spiritual power of sat-chit-ananda - eternity, awareness and bliss - we can actually only find satisfaction in Krishna's spiritual power. Under the influence of the material power, as we are now, we will always end up miserable and frustrated, for whatever pleasure or enjoyment we might contact through our bodies and minds is going to be replaced by suffering when it ends. Thus the Vedas state that the bottom line of this world is that it is a temporary place full of suffering. According to the Vedas, which is the most original, vast and comprehensive body of knowledge on the planet, Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Original Source of everything. Krishna promises us that by chanting His name, in the form of the Hare Krishna mantra, we can break free of our illusory attachment to the material world and experience a higher pleasure, by being reinstated in our original spiritual positions of never-ending total blissful awareness. As for other ways of seeing Krishna, we consider other religions and all other deities of different cultures as manifestations of Krishna's teachings to the human society. Hence, according to cultural distinctions, God may be known by various names, and reveal Himself through various prophets, and may thus be conceived of in various ways by the different people of the world. But the Vedas distinguish between the eternal religion of man and his temporary religion, that he may adopt according to the particular civilization in which he is raised. The temporary religion may change, like one may change from Christian to Muslim or convert to Hinduism, or call oneself a Buddhist or a democrat or whatever, but the eternal religion of the living entity, which is service to God, can never change. Thus it is stated that the eternal occupation of the living entity is to serve Krishna. All other occupations are temporary and can therefore not satisfy us fully. Of course you can serve God in whichever religion He manifests through, but very few religions teach pure unmotivated service to God, as many of them are selfishly motivated. What ISKCON offers is to become connected with a bonafide disciplic succession, which teaches detailed knowledge of God, and how to develop love for Him. And this love is what everyone is looking for. Now we search for love in the material world, but there is no love here, and even if there were, it turns to sorrow when our loved ones leave us. Therefore the Vedas tell us to not search for love in the material world, for it is a waste of time, but to search love for Krishna. When we develop that love, by the purificatory process of Krishna consciousness, we will finally be fully satisfied. -- Who is a Vaisnava? A: (Bhakti Ananda Goswami) Please read our Acaryas' definition of "Vaishnava" from their book "Vaishnavism and Nam Bhajan". I have exactly quoted it in my letter to the French Association of Vaishnavas. We might, however, wish to limit the stricter definition of Vaishnava to those who pursue the path of suddha-bhakti, not knowingly mixing their theology with karma and jnana. The following definitions of a Vaishnava are given by Sri Jiva Gosvami in his Bhakti-sandarbha: The original verse (Anuccheda 202) is as follows: ete hi vaiSNavAH santo mahattvena san-mAtratvena ca vibhidya nirdiSTAH | san-mAtra-bhede tAratamyaM cAtra yad aviviktaM tad-bhakti-bheda-nirUpaNe purato vivecanIyam | anye tu sva-goSThy-apekSayA vaiSNavAH tatra karmiSu tad-apekSayA Earlier the greatness of different categories of Vaishnavas was related. Now different kinds of bhakti which were previously described together are discriminated between and compared with each other. Now various classes of Vaishnavas are considered along with fruitive workers. Then Jiva Gosvami proceeds to cite three verses in defining a Vaishnava. yathA skAnde mArkaNDeya-bhagIratha-saMvAde - dharmArthaM jIvitaM yeSAM santAnArthaM ca maithunam | pacanaM vipramukhyArthaM jJeyAs te vaiSNavA narAH || ity Adi | In the Skanda Purana, Markandeya instructs Bhagiratha: "Those people for whom the purpose of life is religion, for whom the purpose of sexual intercourse are children, and for whom the purpose of cooking is to serve the brahmins, they are Vaishnavas." atra zrI-viSNor AjJA-buddhyaiva tat tat kriyata iti vaiSNava-padena gamyate -- "Thus they who act in awareness of the orders of Vishnu are understood as Vaishnavas." He continues: zrI-visNu-purANe ca - na calati nija-varNa-dharmato yaH sama-matir Atma-suhRd-vipakSa-pakSe | na harati na hanti kiJcid uccaiH sthita-manasaM tam avehi viSNu-bhaktam || [ViP 3.7.20] iti | tad-arpaNe tu sutarAm eva vaiSNavatvam | In the Vishnu Purana: "He who does not abandon his specific varna-dharma, who is equiposed, who is a well-wisher to his enemies, who does not steal, who does not injure anyone, and who is steady in his mind, he is understood as a Vishnu-bhakta." Thus a simple definition of being a Vaishnava is presented. yathA pAtAla-khaNDe vaizAkha-mAhAtmye -- jIvitaM yasya dharmArthaM dharmo hary-artham eva ca | aho-rAtrANi puNyArthaM taM manye vaiSNavaM bhuvi || [PadmaP 5.94.8] iti | In the Patala-Khanda, Vaisakha-mahatmya: "Those who in this world live for the purpose of dharma, and for whom the purpose of dharma is Hari, and who act for the purpose of piety day and night, are known as Vaishnavas. Thus the concept of Sri Jiva Gosvami is given. Perhaps even more significantly, the Hari Bhakti Vilasa (1.55) states: gRhIta-viSNu-dIkSAko viSNu-pUjA-paro naraH | vaiSNavo 'bhihito 'bhijJair itaro 'smAd avaiSNavaH || "That person who has taken diksa of Vishnu and who does the puja of Vishnu, he is known as a Vaishnava and all others are non-vaishnavas." Please consider the following words of the great Gaudiya Vaishnava Acaryas Srila Thakur Bhaktivinode and Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Sarasvati Thakur from their Book "Vaishnavism and Nam-Bhajan". On pages two and three, these two illustrious Chaitanya Vaishnava saints give the following astounding definition of "Vaishnava". VAISHNAVA Real Vaishnavism: The word 'Vaishnavism' indicates the normal, eternal and natural condition, functions and devotional characteristics of all individua-souls in relation to Vishnu, the Supreme, the All-pervading Soul. But an unnatural, unpleasant and regrettable sense has been attributed to the word making one understand by the word, Vaishnava (literally a pure and self-less worshipper of Vishnu) a human form with twelve peculiar signs(Tilak) and dress on, worshipping many gods under the garb of a particular God and hating any other human form who marks himself with different signs, puts on a different dress and worships a different God in a different way and designated by the words 'Saiva', 'Sakta', 'Ganapatya', 'Jaina', 'Buddhist', 'Mahomedan', 'Christian' etc. This is the most unnatural, unpleasant and regrettable sense of the word, 'Vaishnava', which literally and naturally means one who worships Vishnu out of pure love expecting nothing from Him in return. Vishnu, the Supreme, All-pervading Soul, gives life and meaning to all that is. He is the highest unchallengeable Truth devoid of illusion everywhere and existing through eternity. He is Sat, ever existing, Chit, all-knowing, Ananda, ever-blissful and fully free. He is in jivas and jivas are in Him, as are the rays in the glowing sun and the particles of water in the vast rolling ocean. As nothing but heat and light of the sun, and coldness and liquidity etc. of the sea is found in the constituents of the rays and the particles of water respectively, so nothing but Sat, Chit or free will and Ananda is found in the jiva. The ingredients and attributes of the whole must remain in the part in a smaller degree. So the part it identical with the whole when taken qualitatively and different when taken quantitatively. This is the true and eternal relation between jiva and Vishnu. So He always prevails over jiva who is ever subject to Him. As the service of the master is the fundamental functi on of the servant, so the service of Vishnu is natural and inherent in jiva and it is called Vaishnavata or Vaishnavism and every jiva is a Vaishnava. As a person possessing immense riches is called a miser if he does not display and make proper use of them, so jivas when they do not display Vaishnavata are called Non-Vaishnavas or A-Vaishnavas though in reality they are so." and from "THE BHAGAVATA" we read on page 18: "The superiority of Bhagavan consists in the uniting of all sorts of theistical worship into one excellent principle in human nature which passes by the name bhakti. This word has no equivalent in the English Language. Piety, devotion, resignation, and spiritual love unalloyed with any sort of petition except in the way of repentance, compose the highest principle of Bhakti. The Bhagavata tells us to worship God in that great and invaluable principle which is infinitely superior to human knowledge and the principle of yoga. Our short compass will not admit of an explanation of the principle of bhakti beautifully rising from its first stage of application in the form of brahmic worship in the shape of admiration which is styled the shanta-rasa, to the fifth or the highest stage of absolute union in Love with God, sweetly styled the madhurya-rasa of prema-bhakti. A full explanation will take a big volume which is not our objective here to compose. Suffice it to say that the principle of bhakti passes five distinct stages in the course of its development into its highest and purest form. Then again when it reaches the last form, it is susceptible of further progress from the stage of prema (Love) to that of mahabhava which is in fact a complete transition into the spiritual universe where God alone is the Bridegroom of our soul." and on page 32: "The Bhagavata, therefore, allows us to call Vyasa and Narada as saktyavesa avataras of the infinite energy of God, and the spirit of the text goes far to honour all great reformers and teachers who lived and will live in other countries. The Vaishnava is ready to honour all great men without distinction of caste, because they are filled with the energy of God. See how universal is the religion of the Bhagavata. It is not intended for a certain class of Hindus alone, but it is a gift to man at large, in whatever country he is born and in whatever society he is bred. In short, Vaishnavism is the Absolute Love binding all men together into the infinite unconditioned and absolute God. May it, peace, reign forever in the whole universe in the continual development of its purity by the exertion of the future heroes, who will be blessed according to the promise of the Bhagavata with powers from the Almighty Father, the Creator, Preserver and the Annihilator of all things in Heaven and Earth." Srila Bhaktivinode, born in 1838, also said (page 32): "Plato looked at the peak of the Spiritual question from the West and Vyasa made the observation from the East." Regarding divisive sectarianism or the 'party spirit' he also wrote in "THE BHAGAVATA": "The true critic is a generous judge, void of prejudices and party spirit. One who is at heart the follower of Mohammed will certainly find the doctrines of the New Testament to be a forgery by the fallen angel. A Trinitarian Christian, on the other hand, will denounce the precepts of Mohammed as those of an ambitious reformer. The reason is simply that the critic should be of the same disposition of mind as the author whose merits he is required to judge. Thoughts have different ways. One who is trained up in the thoughts of the Unitarian Society or of the Vedanta of the Benares school, will scarcely find any piety in the faith of the Vaishnavas. An ignorant Vaishnava, on the other hand, whose business it is to beg from door to door in the name of Nityananda, will find no piety in the Christians. This is because the Vaishnava does not think in the way in which the Christian thinks of his own religion. It may be that both the Christian and the Vaishnava will utter the same sentiment, b ut they will never stop their fight with each other only because they have arrived at their common conclusion by different ways of thought. Thus it is that a great deal of ungenerousness enters into the arguments of the pious Christians when they pass their imperfect opinion on the religion of the Vaishnavas." and finally Srila Bhaktivinode has lamented... "Oh! What a trouble it is to get rid of prejudices gathered in unripe years!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.