Re: Foolosophy of Skepticism

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MOVED TO NITAAYOGA.COM AND PASSWORDS CHANGED

Dear Devotees and Visitors, Nityananda!! Gauranga!! Hare Krishna!! All Glories of Shri Guru Parampara! All Glories to the Shrimati Radha's Holy Month of Damodara which is so dear to Lord Krishna!

I am happy to let you know that we have moved our website from the NITAAI.net forums (NITAAI.com) to NITAAIYoga.com. Considering the fact that browsing the web from mobile phones, mids and netbooks is on the rise worldwide, this new site has been optimized for browsing and posting from all browsers even those with the lowest 240 wide screen resolutions on PCs, Macs, Linux, TVs, Netbooks, MIDs, iPhones, touchphones, smartphones and all other mobile devices. Those who spend a lot of time away from their computers can now read, participate (post) and even share files on our site from the comfort of their mobile phones if they have or can get a touchscreen phone. We recommend the Opera Mini browser for the fastest experience on Windows mobile and Nokia Symbian phones. Or in case you cannot install Opera Mini, you can use the bigger brother Opera Mobile. The default browsers on the iPhone, Android, and Blackberry phones can also browse and post to NITAAIYoga.com nicely. We recommend phones with bigger screens with touch for the best experience. The minimum ideal screen width recommended is 480 like on the iPhone or at least 320.

The site has become even more faster to browse now and has some new features. Posting is closed on NITAAI.net forums and it will be archived as read-only. From now on, you can login to NITAAIYoga.com and we can continue our discussions there, which I hope will be even more frequent and spiritually fruitful.

We have migrated your usernames, emails and all your posts to NITAAIYoga.com but the passwords have changed. You can reset and receive your new password for NITAAIYoga.com on this page or you can register again if you are facing problems resetting your password or in case you have not registered before. The login page is here. Login is required for posting. If you check the "Remember Me" box while logging in, then it will never logout you out again unless you delete your browser cookies or change your browser or computer. If you want to change this password to something which you can easily remember and upload your avatar photo, please visit your profile page. We recommend that you upload your photo so that the spiritual discusssions can be more personal. To post, write or share a new spiritual article or share a file or to ask a question, please visit this page (recommended) after you have logged in or for the advanced editor go here.

The NITAAI Yoga RSS feed link has also been changed to the new one. My contact and instant messenger details have also been changed for uniformity and easy reference to the following:

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Hope to see you soon on NITAAIYoga.com and happy reading and posting of NITAAI Katha! We would greatly appreciate your feedback or suggestions about this new site in the form of your comments to this post and please let us know if you have any problems or questions regarding the new site. If you any problems resetting your password or logging in, just fill the new registration form and send it to us.

Daaso'smi, BR Sadhu Swami Gaurangapada.

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Foolosophy of Skepticism

Nityananda Gauranga Hare Krishna! 

You can never find the taste of sugar from reading a book or by speculating "Is it this or that?" That is not the right way to taste. The correct thing to do is to place a lump of sugar on the tongue and then you will know immediately how it tastes.

Similarly, spiritual life is known only by getting into it and doing things  -- chanting, worshipping, following -- not by just debating, doubting or speculating "What ifs?". . Skepticism is simply WASTE OF TIME AND OPPORTUNITY.

Is Skepticism Heroic?



Many people in the modern times tend to be skeptical about spiritual life and they are often proud of their skepticism thinking it to be sign of their freedom from dependence on any unverifiable schools of thought. However, despite the bluff and bravado of such skeptical people, underneath the veneer, their life is aimless, meaningless and filled with an existential emptiness.
On a deeper examination, one will find that their skepticism does not come from an intelligent inspection and rejection of different spiritual philosophies. Rather it arises from an obstinate determination to enjoy the things of this world irrespective of the facts of life. An American comedian has poignantly stated, 'I have already made up my mind. Don't confuse me with the facts.' Similarly most people who take shelter of skepticism have already decided that wealth, women, wine are the goals of their life. And even if the facts of spirituality - existence of God, the existence of soul, the potency of prayer - are presented to them with scientific evidence and sound logic, they blindly reject these facts so that their materialistic and often hedonistic lifestyle is not disturbed.
The factual miseries of life ? bodily disorders, mental anxieties, relationship problems, climatic inconveniences and natural calamities and ultimately old age, disease and death ? are an inescapable reality and are a spur for intelligent people to search our a spiritual solution. A skeptic is like a sick person who instead of searching for a competent doctor and medicine, pretends to be healthy ? and is proud of his pretense. Though seeming to be bold, skepticism is actually cowardice because a skeptical person does not have the willpower to control his unbridled mind and senses and discipline himself to live a life of spiritual principles. This unwillingness or inability to live a principle-centered life is covered over with a veneer of skepticism, which is used to offer a philosophical justification for an unprincipled life.
Once Srila Prabhupada after giving a discourse in New York was asked a question by a young man, "Swamiji, your philosophy sounds like the philosophy of Buddha." Srila Prabhupada counter-questioned, "Do you follow Buddha?" The person was taken aback. He said, "No". Srila Prabhupada chastised him, "This is the problem with you Americans. You just talk but don't follow anything. Follow Buddha, follow Jesus, follow Krishna, follow someone. Don't just talk."
Here Srila Prabhupada was emphasizing that armchair speculation will get us nowhere. If we follow a spiritual path properly, if it is faulty that will be exposed to us by the fact that we will get no results. And if it is proper, that too will be revealed to us by the fact that we will see transformation in our life. But if we just keep discussing about various paths and don't apply anything, we will get nowhere in life. And that is the ultimate unfortunate destiny of a skeptic. Achieving happiness neither in this life nor in the next, a skeptic simply suffers. On the other hand, a wise person intelligently examines different philosophies and praying to the Almighty God to guide him to what is the ultimate truth and what is the ultimate good for him, he takes a leap of faith. For such a person sooner or later, the best path will be revealed to him and he will be able to attain happiness not just in the next life but also in the next, because his life will be empowered and protected by the universal principles with which he is harmonizing.
Thus skepticism is not a philosophy, rather its a 'foolosophy,' the sophistry of fools
Millions of people since time immemorial and thousands even now have experienced the transforming potency of the Holy Names of God, which has elevated them from confused self-destruction to enlightened self-actualization. Therefore as a test case, as a bold path breaking personality who refuses to follow the beaten track that takes ordinary lesser people to their inevitable destiny of misery, anxiety, old age, disease and death, why not take an intelligent leap of faith and experience for yourself the wisdom of Srila Prabhupada?s timeless instruction, "Chant Hare Krishna and be happy"? Why continue to deprive yourself of spiritual empowerment and enrichment In the name of self-destructive skepticism?

Source : Spiritual Scientist magazine Vol 3 Issue 2

Daaso'smi,
Srinath

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At Your Lotus feet

Nityananda Gauranga hare Krishna!

Dear Guruji,

Please accept my humble obeisances at your lotus feet. All glories to the guru parampara. All glories to Lord Nityananda. All glories to Lord Gauranga. All glories to Sri Sri Radha Krishna.

Today I humble ask for your blessings so I may continue to serve your lotus feet. Your gift to the world is beyond comprehension especially for devotees who question the importance of chanting the holy Names of Lord Nityananda and Gauranga.

I humbly pray at your lotus feet for those who are offensive to your preaching the mantrarajas that you kindly forgive them and they can continue their spiritual practice so at one point in time they understand the glories of chanting the holy Names of Lord Nityananda and Lord Gauranga.

I humbly pray at your lotus feet for everybody who has ever committed knowingly and unknowingly an offence at your feet and that in the greatness of your loving heart you will forgive them.

You are the gate and the connection to the parampara and the Lord and I pray that this gate will remain wide open for everybody who wants to enter into the highest of all experiences: love for the Lord.

Thank you my dearest guruji for being my guru and by guiding me by your own example.

Your servant,

Hadai Nityananda dasa

Nityananda Gauranga Hare Krishna!

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Re: Srila Bhaktisiddhanta on the importance of chanting Gauraanga

Nityananda! Gauranga! Hare Krishna!
Jaya Jagannatha!
All Glories to the Guru Parampara!

Dear Swami Gaurangapada

Thank you for your clear explanation. I especially appreciate your clarification of the primacy of chanting of the Holy Names. It is true that this is most important. Any meditation or thought that I might do around Nitaai Gaura or Radha Govinda lila is only an auxiliary practice and not the primary. The Holy Names alone are sufficient.

Daaso'smi

Neil in LA

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Re: Srila Bhaktisiddhanta on the importance of chanting Gauraanga

Nityananda! Gauranga! Hare Krishna!
Jaya Jagannatha!
All Glories to the Guru Parampara!

Dear Swami Gaurangapada

Thank you for your clear explanation. I especially appreciate your clarification of the primacy of chanting of the Holy Names. It is true that this is most important. Any meditation or thought that I might do around Nitaai Gaura or Radha Govinda lila is only an auxiliary practice and not the primary. The Holy Names alone are sufficient.

Daaso'smi

Neil in LA

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Re: Srila Bhaktisiddhanta on the importance of chanting Gauraanga

Dear devotees,

           Nityananda Gauranga Hare Krishna! Pranams!

           Good question. You see, the acharyas are more powerful than what we imagine -- time and time again I have repeatedly witnessed this for myself. That is also why preaching requires that much spiritual qualification and is not so simple. There are many complicated issues that you will see in real life that you won't find in a book. Some cases are so tricky that unless you actually know what people's inner thoughts are, you can never really know for sure.

            When an acharya preaches, it is never done alone. The Lord is always with his devotees. While someone can hide one's cheating from people like us or the society, no one can fool the Lord. The Lord knows fully well who is a cheater and who is not, and since His devotees are always with Him, they too know this. Externally one may look like some great Vaishnava, but what is within one's heart is really what matters. I do not know how far anyone may believe this, but logic alone can't answer trick questions regarding other people's hearts. But from my experience I can tell you, no one can fool a real devotee. One who knows real bhakti automatically knows what's fake too. That is why in spirituality, we HAVE to believe the true guru, even if it doesn't fit in with our level of experience or qualification.

          Either I can choose admit my limitations, trust the Lord, believe the scriptures and believe the guru, or else I can question everything and try to figure out everything on my own.

           The scriptures very clearly ask us to see the spiritual master as not different from the Lord, for some very good reasons. It is the Lord who speaks through the mouth of the guru, so it has to be given the importance it is due.

            Regarding proper worship, the Lord has given all the instructions on how one must be worshipped and how one must not. They are found in all the scriptures. No one can just say, "I'll do this my way..." and expect the Lord to be pleased. Unfortunately those who have preached those ideas have done great harm to real devotion over the years.

            So we accept any method of worship that is accepted by the Lord. If the Lord is happy with that type of worship, so are we. That is the criteria. Yes if someone thinks of Radha Krishna and chants their names, it is very good.  But when someone starts doing things like coming up with all the imaginations like what the Sahajiyas, mayavadis and others do...I am sorry, but anyone who claims oneself to be the Lord's follower has to stand up and speak the truth and say, "This is wrong and it is against what the Lord said."  Failure to follow the Lord's instructions can result in big offenses being committed against His devotees. It is not simply that the Lord has told us the right way to do things.

           So next you may choose to ask me, "Alright Mr. Smarts. How do YOU know that? Can you read minds and hearts?" The answer is I am NOT qualified, and I certainly have ZERO power to read what people think. I wouldn't be able to identify who's pure or not. But I prayed to Lord Nitaai to give me a real guru, and eventually He not only led me to one, but also gave me the eyes to recognise him too. I wasn't in proper company before I came here, but now I know, thanks to the devotees.

         That is where faith is required. And in my experience this is always the hardest part in dealing with people who have some interest in spirituality. Either one believes everyone is right or one believes everyone is wrong.  Both of them are not correct.  If you really want to know if the Lord approves of what some people do, just open your heart to Him and ask. Sooner or later an answer is bound to come. A sincere plea to the Lord always gets an answer. I got mine. And from my experience I've learned a bit about who's genuine and who's not. And if someday the Lord is pleased with whatever qualification I've got, I am sure He'll show me more light through the fog. Nityananda! Gauranga! Hare Krishna!

Daaso'smi,
Speaking from my personal experiences,
Srinath

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Re: Srila Bhaktisiddhanta on the importance of chanting Gauraanga

So what I hear you saying is that it is ok to use the descriptions of Radha and Krsna's (and Nityananda and Gauranga's) pastimes in our meditation to try our best to see them, but we shouldn't try to see how we will be participating in those pastimes once we attain our spiritual identity? To do so would be premature. That makes sense, because if we try to artificially imagine ourselves doing something, we might be mistaken.

Dear Neil, you have understood perfectly. Thank you so much. In addition, we have to remember one thing. We should never forget or replace the transcendental sound of the Holy Names in favor of only meditation on the Pastimes since meditation alone is for Satya Yuga not for Kali Yuga. All such meditation or visualization should be accompanied with the transcendental sound of Nityaananda, Gauraanga, and, Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Raama Hare Raama Raama Raama Hare Hare, to make if actually real and effective.

Daaso'smi, BR Sadhu Swami Gaurangapada.

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Re: Srila Bhaktisiddhanta on the importance of chanting Gauraanga

Nityananda! Gauranga! Hare Krishna!

Dear Swami Gaurangapada

Thank you. This clarifies things for me.

"Unless we first realize the Names, Forms, Qualities, Pastimes and Associates of Shri Shri Radha Krishna during our chanting, we cannot approach our own svarupa or spiritual form in those Pastimes. So artificially imagining it does not makes sense. Though, one can certainly visualize the Names, Forms, Qualities, Pastimes and Associates of the Lord in our chanting meditation according to our qualification."

So what I hear you saying is that it is ok to use the descriptions of Radha and Krsna's (and Nityananda and Gauranga's) pastimes in our meditation to try our best to see them, but we shouldn't try to see how we will be participating in those pastimes once we attain our spiritual identity? To do so would be premature. That makes sense, because if we try to artificially imagine ourselves doing something, we might be mistaken.

I guess I am just anxious to be in Divine Navadwip and Divine Vrindavan. I really don't like the material world and wish I could go to the spiritual world sooner rather than later!

Thank you for the  clarification!

- Neil in LA

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Re: Srila Bhaktisiddhanta on the importance of chanting Gauraanga

practice of giving manjari svarupa and a manjari name at the time of initiation. From the very beginning, their initiates would claim to have understood their position as a manjari (intimate gopi assistant of Srimati Radharani). Sarasvati Thakura did not approve of such a process and would say, �FIRST CHANT THE NAME OF GAURANGA".

Dear Neil, Nityananda!! Gauranga!! Hare Krishna!! Here Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada is not objecting or preventing anyone to become a devotee of Shri Shri Radha Krishna. He is just not approving the process of "siddha pranali" or "manjari diksha" for his own followers since this is not something to be attained by imagination but by purification and realization. This "process" of the Guru telling the manjari svarupa or name to the normal disciples at the normal process of f initiation is not authorized or explained in any scriptures or by any Acharyas.

The Guru imparts the Holy Names to the disciple and the Names in turn  impart the spiritual svarupa and the eleven characteristics of our spiritual body at the time when the disciple becomes qualified to receive it i.e. when the disciple attains rasa, rati and sthayi bhava. The Guru gives it in the form of the seed in the Name and leaves it to Naama Prabhu to reveal this at the correct time when the disciple becomes advanced and qualified. At that time, the disciple can approach the Guru and confirm these revelations of one's siddha svarupa.

Since the Guru imparts Naama Initiation to disciples who are on different levels of Bhakti, it will be an improper transgression for the Guru to tell all of these disciples to start imagining their svarupa after imagination. That would mean that the Guru does not have faith that the Naama will reveal the svarupa to the disciple at the right time when the disciple is qualified. We cannot force our way into the pastimes of Shri Shri Radha Krishna simply by imagination. It is only possible by adequate  purification via the causeless mercy of Shri Shri Guru and Gauranga.

If the Guru tells a disciple, who has anarthas or misgivings, to think about his or her svarupa, then it may have an opposite effect because the disciple is trying to attain it without proper purification and qualification. dusta phala karibe arjana. Unless we first realize the Names, Forms, Qualities, Pastimes and Associates of Shri Shri Radha Krishna during our chanting, we cannot approach our svarupa or spiritual form in those Pastimes. So artificially imagining it does not makes sense. Though, one can certainly visualize the Names, Forms, Qualities, Pastimes and Associates in our chanting meditation according to our qualification.

And to do so, our Acharyas state that one requires to first approach and realize the more merciful Holy Names, Forms, Qualities, Pastimes and Associates of Shri Shri Nityaananda Gauraanga. That said, sometimes an Acharya can reveal the svarupa to one's disciple along with imparting the Naama, if he find that the disciple is sufficiently advanced to practice Bhajana on that level. But certainly, this should never be done as a general practice to attract followers, otherwise it may have an opposite effect i.e. to take us away from the Pastimes of Shri Shri Radha Krishna due to the offense of approaching it without proper qualification and patience. That is why Shrila Sarasvati Prabhupada did not approve of this method for the common people as it totally negates or nullifies the basic practice and importance of practicing vaidhi bhakti in order to progress to the higher stage.

You can further read two articles: Qualification to Hear Radha Krishna Lila and Prakrita Rasa Shata Dushani, to understand the full depth of this matter. I hope this helps.

Daaso'smi, BR Sadhu Swami Gaurangapada.

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