Offending Devotees - The Mad Elephant Offense
July 25, 2008
The Yamuna is a major tributary of the Ganga in northern India. Actually it is the main tributary. It is around 1400 kilometers long and therefore it is the longest tributary of the Ganga. According to sacred scriptures, the Yamuna is said to be the sister of the Ganga and that both of them descended from the spiritual world to purify the material creation. Like the Ganga, the Yamuna also has a personified form. The source is found at a place called Saptarishi kund in the Himalayan glaciers. It is... Read more »
Not A Feature Of This World
July 25, 2008
To understand the meanings of liberation and immortality one must first agree on a common point and from there we shall proceed with the explanation. First of all, the body is temporary and the soul is eternal. The soul is the actual living entity that gives consciousness to the body. Without the soul, the body dies and decomposes with time. The quality of the soul is that it is eternal. It transmigrates from one body to another according to its past activities. If we agree on the existence of the... Read more »
Puranas: Stories And Teachings From Ancient Times
July 25, 2008
Purana means stories or histories of ancient times. There are several subject matters in the puranas and they are classified into five sections. Their five sections are history, cosmology, secondary creation, genealogy of kings, and of Manvantaras or Manus. The Puranas are part of the Itihasas. The Puranas were written to popularize the religion of the Vedas. They contain the essence of the Vedas. The aim of the Puranas is to impress on the minds of the masses the teachings of the Vedas and to generate... Read more »
Prayer Beads: Medium For Vibrating Transcendental Sound
July 25, 2008
Prayer beads, known as japa mala by the Hindus and by yoga practitioners around the world, are used to keep count of the repetitions of prayers or mantras. The mala consists of a certain number of beads depending on the religion. The material with which it is made also varies. While chanting, one moves from one bead to another and in this way keeps track of the number of prayers said. The beads allow one to focus the mind on the chanting. If it were without beads then the attention would be partly... Read more »
Reality And Illusion: Modern And Vedic Living
July 25, 2008
In the words of the Lord, everything that is connected to Him is real whereas things acting independently of Him are unreal. Modern culture is also of the same nature since people are working independently and most of the people in this age are atheists. Such a culture is eventually leading us to destruction. There is nobody in this modern culture whom we can regard as an example to follow so that future generations can benefit from the activities of such a person. An academic is seen as great when... Read more »
Shiva: The Auspicious One And His Glories
July 25, 2008
Shiva is one of the three main deities in Hindu religion. He is the personification of the mode of ignorance, although he is transcendental to the modes of nature. Followers of Lord Shiva are called shaivaites. He’s also known as “Mahadev”, the great God. Vaishnavism, Shaivism and Shaktism form the three main denominations in Hinduism. Vishnu represents the mode of goodness, Brahma is associated with passion, and Shiva with ignorance. Collectively they are known as the Trimurti... Read more »
The Powerful Devious Demons And Their Exploits
July 25, 2008
The sage Kashyapa had two wives, Diti and Aditi. From Diti the demons were born and from Aditi came the demigods. The demons also follow the Vedic ways of life under the guidance of their spiritual master, Sukracharya. It so happened that many times the demons took over the heavens and made the demigods flee in fear. Realizing the great danger, God takes an avatar to defeat the demons, relieves the demigods from fear and returns them back to the heavens. Many such accounts can be found in the Srimad... Read more »
The Six Goswamis: The Embodiments Of Spiritual Perfection
July 25, 2008
The Six Goswamis of Vrindavan were the people who revived Vrindavan. Rupa and Sanatana were direct disciples of Sri Chaitanya and they compiled literatures based on the teachings they received from Him. The other goswamis also were disciples of Sri Chaitanya with the exception of Jiva who was initiated by his uncle, Rupa Goswami. Sanatana was accepted by the inhabitants of Vrindavan as their Guru. The Goswamis are famous for their devotional literatures, their staunch practices and renunciation,... Read more »
The Demigods And The Heavenly Enjoyments
July 25, 2008
Even in this world most of the believers in God lament and pray to God when they are in trouble and they forget to worship Him when they are living comfortably. The mentality is the same among the demigods. The level of enjoyment is so high in the heavenly planets that the demigods forget to worship God. They realize their precarious position when the demons attack them and take over the heavenly planets. At that time they run to Lord Vishnu for help. When they offer heartfelt prayers to Lord Vishnu... Read more »
Vaishnava Sarvabhauma - Jagannath Das Babaji And His Teachings
July 25, 2008
Srila Jagannath Das Babaji Maharaj was an associate of Thakur Bhaktivinoda. He was well-known and very much respected among the vaishnava community. As such he became known as “Vaishnava Sarvabhauma”. He spent a lot of time in the land of Vrindavan and that was where he is believed to have attained perfection. Later he moved to Navadvip Dham where he lived in a tent with his servant. As compassionate and respectful to the ‘dhamvasis’ as he was, he would even allow dogs to... Read more »
