Types of Bhakti -how they affect interpretation of scriptures -Srini -Steve

[Guest guest]

OM NAMAH SIVAYA

 

yes Steve very true, but study and practice, as you imply are two

different things. and Srini clarified his comments so it is all

water under(over?) the bridge. my reason for responding was only

that people can categorize everything, make judgments, and then put

their purity and ideals in a trophy case and proudly display them on

the mantle. to give you an example, you have a wife and family, yet

are very devoted to your spiritual practice. and assume your wife

wants a physical relationship with you. so given the previous

example of purity vs. seed, if you were to leave your wife and

family to go live at the Mandir, would that be pure or an attempt to

fullfill your selfish desires? and is loving your wife physically,

in this instance a selfish desire or selflessness? which is dharma?

 

its like the story where 4 different people see the chameleon in the

tree at different times. one says it is red. one blue, one green,

and one orange. and a argument ensues over the REAL color. a man

sitting under the tree the whole time says everyone is right it is

really all colors. to me God is the chameleon. God is all colors.

it's not your way or my way because it's really our way. ONE way.

 

JAI MAA

 

\, "Steve Connor" <sconnor

wrote:

>

> some of the names of Shiva ... it would be nice to know what they

are

> about ... the particular one in question, i think we should know

how

> to interpret it. anybody know the story there?

>

> re: categorizing devotion ... my feeling is, when any concept is

being

> discussed, it might be useful to categorized in order to further

study

> it ... and, to motivate to the highest possibility ... but for the

> individual, it is usually not useful to dwell on "what kind of

> devotion do i have?" ... unless the person is going through a real

> eye-opening life change, discovering his devotion is really about

> getting things for himself, etc.

>

>

> , "ecjensen_us" <ecjensen_us@>

wrote:

> >

> > OM NAMAH SIVAYA

> >

> > there is so much truth in what you write. thank you for this. i

am

> > no scholar nor that advanced but to me it seems the key to all

these

> > categories/labels is the intention. women = desires/attachments

or

> > gold = resources needed to fulfill these desires, depends on our

> > intention. Is it absolute? does sattvic devotion really imply

purity

> > over sperm? are they even comparable? i think Purity is about

the

> > heart. Purity is about Love and about intention.

worship/sadhana is

> > to bring us closer to the Love of Creator. Creation is part of

the

> > creator. Sperm is a large factor in the ability to create. so

maybe

> > sperm is more pure than you think. a fire can also have these

same 4

> > qualities. What makes a fire sattvic? to me, it's the intention

of

> > user of fire, not the fire. what is more important, the type of

> > bhakti/devotion we have for our beloved or the devotion itself?

i

> > think it's a process and can't be compartmentalized. for me

anyway.

> >

> > i not sure about you but it is a struggle for me at times no

doubt.

> > Shree Maa and Swamiji have shown me that sadhana takes me to The

> > Pure Love of The Beloved. my experience has been The Love is

leading

> > me towards the purity not the other way around. isn't The Love

> > ultimately beyond(greater) than duality, ie. 3 gunas, pure vs

impure?

> >

> > JAI MAA

> >

> >

> > , "srini_sadhu" <srini_sadhu@>

> > wrote:

> > >

> > > Dear Family

> > >

> > > A few weeks ago we were all discussing "Devotion" on the

group -

> > do

> > > you remember? Swamiji said that the Devi Gita defines four

types

> > of

> > > devotion:

> > >

> > > Tamasic: the object of your prayer is negative, e.g., you pray

> > that

> > > your enemies suffer.

> > > Rajasic: the object of your prayer is to fulfill your own

selfish

> > > desires.

> > > Sattvic: The object of your prayer is to purify your self.

> > > Para Bhakti: You pray because you love Her. You feel that it

is a

> > > privilege to worship and pray. You are not asking Her for

anything.

> > >

> > > Every person has a mix of the three gunas. When we read

> > scriptures,

> > > we interpret them in accordance with the guna that is

predominant

> > in

> > > us. Similarly, when Sadhus translate scriptures, they choose

> > > meanings and interpretations based on their ideals and goals.

For

> > > example, in most of Thakur Ramakrishna's books we frequently

see

> > > Thankur talk about "kamini" and "kanchan" -- these words are

often

> > > translated as "woman" and "gold". In Maa and Swamiji's book

on

> > Sri

> > > Ramakrishna, "kamini" is translated as "desires and

attachments"

> > > and "kanchan" as "resources needed to fulfill these desires".

> > >

> > > Similarly, in every Sahasranama there are several meanings for

> > each

> > > sanskrit name. For example, in Kali Sahasranaam, we find many

> > names

> > > containing the word "Shukra". If you look in the Monier-

William's

> > > Sanskrit - English Dictionary, you will find several inches of

> > > meanings for Shukra -- pure, bright, resplendent, spotless ...

and

> > > name of a month, the planet Venus, sperm, a good action, and

so

> > on.

> > > If we are Sattvic Devotees, which meaning would we use? I

would

> > > think "pure" as opposed to "sperm"!

> > >

> > > The main point is that the translator chooses that meaning

that is

> > > consistent with Her ideal of perfection, the type of Bhakti

that

> > She

> > > feels for Her Beloved. It is also important that the

translation

> > > be consistent throughout the scripture -- Here again we see

that

> > > Swamiji consistently translates Shukra as purity and we have

so

> > many

> > > beautiful names coming forth - which inspire us to rise

higher

> > and

> > > feel pure love for our Beloved.

> > >

> > > I look forwrad to your comments on this.

> > >

> > > with love and prayers

> > > srini

> > >

> >

>