Back, For Good! Only On a New Site.

I will again be putting up articles, quotes and everything pertaining to Krishna and Bhakti-yoga.

The posts will be on this link: https://krishnaforamerica.blogspot.com/

How To Become a Vaishnava

How to Become a Vaishnava and Why you Should

What is a Vaishnava?

• A Vaishnava is one who follows Lord Krishna. A Vaishnava is a pure human being with the highest humane consciousness, the best human being as we shall see below.
• What are the basic Beliefs of a Vaishnava?
• * God is one, Lord Krishna, who has proven millions of times that he is the only God.
• * God is eternal and thus eternally known. Only Lord Krishna is eternally known and this is because he is the only God. In the current cycle he has been known for 155.522 trillion years.
• * God is eternal and thus his teachings must also be eternal. All knowledge comes from the eternal Vedic scriptures which have more than 800,000 verses and are the teachings of Lord Krishna in person and his pure devotees. One should only follow the instructions in the Vedic scriptures. The Bhagavad-Gita and Srimad Bhagvatam are the 2 main scriptures for a Vaishnava.
• * God is eternal and thus his religion must also be eternal, the religion of God is called 'Sanatan-Dharma' which means 'The Eternal Religion'.
• * We are the soul and not this temporary body, the soul moves from one body to another, life after life, from one species to another, exactly based on our desires and deserves and thus one should only take pious actions in life.
• * All living beings are the children of Lord Krishna, we are all brothers and sisters, including the plants and animals. Thus we should love all living beings and to prove this one must be a vegetarian. Killing is wrong (human or animal).
• * Life is an intelligent design, nothing happens by chance. This is the law of Karma. One is held responsible for all his actions and thus one should live a responsible life.
• * Truthfulness, compassion for all living beings, cleanliness, and humility are some very important qualities of a Vaishnava.
• * No drugs, no alcohol, no meat, no gambling, no relationship outside marriage.

* Only follow the teachings/instructions of Gurus who satisfy the below conditions.

“The symptoms of a sadhu are that he is tolerant, merciful and friendly to all living entities. He has no enemies, he is peaceful, he abides by the scriptures, and all his characteristics are sublime.” (Srimad Bhagavatam 3.25)

"A sober person who can tolerate the urge to speak, the mind's demands, the actions of anger and the urges of the tongue, belly and genitals is qualified to make disciples all over the world." (Nectar of Instruction 1)

The above means don't listen to a word from anyone who is violent, lusty, intolerant, and animal killers.

• * Chanting of Vedic mantras, deity worship, study of Vedic scriptures, and preaching all above to others are the main devotional activities for a Vaishnava.

• What is the Benefit to the World from Vaishnavas?
• If one can follow the above then he will become the best human being.
• * All animals will be happy as they will not be killed. The price of milk, vegetables, fruits, and grains will collapse as cows and other animals will not be killed and there will be 10 times more vegetables/grains on the market for humans to eat, thus no more poverty and starvation in the World.
• * All people will be happy as a Vaishnavas considers all living beings as his brothers/sisters.
• * No druggies, no drunkards, no prostitutes, no terrorists, no liars, no deceptions, and so on.
• * Acceptance of the law of Karma and reincarnation means the person will take responsible and pious actions. Lord Krishna is truly forgiving and merciful by giving us unlimited chances and not just one. A Vaishnava understands that people are born and situated differently due to their karma and thus has no hatred for anyone and does not curse anyone or damnation of anyone.
• * A Vaishnava is a true believer of God and thus has no problems with God's will. The variety of people exist due to the practice of free will which is given by God and thus there will be complete freedom of speech, thought, and religion.
• * Acceptance of Lord Krishna as God means a mature, responsible, and loving God. He does not make childish statements and is not a bully/dictator and does not spend his time sending people to hellfire. He spends his time in loving exchanges with his devotees and taking care of animals. Lord Krishna is not just a name in a book, he is the real, seen, and proven God.

• Will I be Saved?

Yes off course you will be saved. This is a guarantee from a real person who has appeared more than 18,000 time in his original form as Lord Krishna and millions of times in other forms. You won't find anyone like Lord Krishna. The so called God of other religions are unknown and invisible. Lord Krishna is completely visible and appears in person to perform his past times with his loving devotees, he does not hide in a cave or mountain to deliver his message.

“Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-Gita 18.66)

"There is no truth superior to Me. Everything rests upon Me, as pearls are strung on a thread." (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-Gita 7.7)

"He quickly becomes righteous and attains lasting peace." (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-Gita 9.31)

Just say the following prayer and statement of faith and you are all set to become the best of human being.

"My Dear Lord Krishna.

I accept you as the Supreme Person from now on and I will stop killing animals by going vegetarian and will quickly try to follow all the above instructions. Please guide me so I may know you and the truth, help me to overcome maya (the illusionary energy), and help me to advance in spiritual life. I will read and follow the instructions as detailed in the eternal Vedic scriptures.

(your name)

"

• What is the Result of Being a Vaishnava To You?

You are now on your way to becoming the best among human beings, and provided you strive for perfection as stated above and in the Vedic scriptures. This will be your last material birth. At death all your sins will be completely erased and you will go back to the spiritual creation called Vaikuntha, where you will live eternally in the same body which will be completely beautiful, completely blissful, full of knowledge and there will be no trace of misery. In the spiritual creation, based on your devotional service and sincerity, you could take a role as a close friend of Lord Krishna and play with him everyday, eternally. Or you could dance with him and listen to the best music from the best musician, Lord Krishna. There are millions of spiritual planets to choose from for your truly permanent residence in the same body with no old age, no death, no disease, and no anxiety.

" With your mind fixed on Me in this principle of renunciation, you will be liberated and come to Me." (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-Gita 9.28)

"That supreme abode of Mine is not illumined by the sun or moon, nor by fire or electricity. Those who reach it never return to this material world." (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-Gita 15.6)

A Way To Go No Matter What Your Faith

Chapter 23 -The Twenty-Six Qualities of a Devotee These qualities of a devotee, twenty-six in number, are listed by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu: 1.kind to everyone, 2.does not quarrel with anyone, 3.fixed in the Absolute Truth, 4.equal to everyone, 5.faultless, 6.charitable, 7.mild, 8.clean, 9.simple, without material possession, 10.benevolent, 11.peaceful, 12.completely attached to Krsna, 13.has no material hankering, 14.meek, 15.steady, 16.self-controlled, 17.does not eat more than required, 18.sane, 19.respectful, 20.humble, 21.grave, 22.compassionate, 23.friendly, 24.poetic, 25.silent, 26.expert Caitanya Mahaprabhu is Krsna's incarnation in Kali Yuga in the mood of a perfect devotee The Lord is satisfied by the development of the transcendental qualities of the living entities and not by artificial performance of sacrifices and mystic yoga. In other words, unless one is fully qualified to become a pure devotee of the Lord, one cannot expect to be liberated from material entanglement. 1. KIND TO EVERYONE The devotee is merciful because he is the well-wishing friend of all living entities. He is not only favorably inclined to the human society but also to plants and animals. He treats all living entities in such a way that they can ultimately become free from material bondage and go back home, back to Godhead. 2. HUMBLE, DOES NOT QUARREL WITH ANYONE To be humble means that one is not hankering to be worshiped by others. Humility should not be artificial but honest, deep, and natural. It will develop when the conditioned soul admits its wrong attitude towards Krsna and prays to Him for forgiveness and to be allowed to always engage in His devotional service. 3.TRUTHFUL, FIXED IN THE ABSOLUTE TRUTH The primary truthfulness for a disciple to keep his vow of following the regulative principles and chanting 16 rounds of japa every day. Also, a devotee should not perform any illegal activities and he should always act in Krsna's interest and not in his own in order to remain fixed in the absolute truth. 4.EQUAL TO EVERYONE A devotee sees the soul and the Supersoul in everyone's heart and treats every living entity according to its position and in a way that is most beneficial for its spiritual progress. 5.FAULTLESS A devotee, who in words, deeds, and mind is always surrendered to Krsna and who executes Krsna's desire to the best of his ability is considered to be faultless. 6.CHARITABLE A devotee is charitable because he knows that love for Krsna is the best, and he distributes it without selfish motives. His charity has no limits, just like the happiness someone experiences who got the gift of Krsna consciousness. 7.MILD A devotee avoids illusory, materialistic happiness, and thus is spared from the suffering which is bound to it. He always remains peaceful, because he is satisfied within Krsna consciousness. 8.CLEAN, PURE The Krsna conscious movement is meant for purifying the world in a revolutionary way-by hygienic external principles as well as by chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra which purifies the heart. 9.SIMPLE, WITHOUT MATERIAL POSSESSION The highest realization is to see everything as Krsna's property. The sincere devotee is not only satisfied to see everything as Krsna's property, but also to engage everything in a proper way in Krsna's service. 10.BENEVOLENT Since Krsna-consciousness effects the heart of every living entity, the welfare work of a devotee is not restricted to a specific race, species, etc., but for the benefit of all living entities. 11.PEACEFUL To be peaceful does not mean to physically maintain idyllic peace but to experience real peace in one's relationship with Krsna. Only someone who has realized that there is nothing beyond Krsna can achieve real peace and fearlessness. 12.COMPLETELY ATTACHED TO KRSNA Devotion to Krsna is neither sentimental nor whimsical but authorized and scientific. By practicing devotional service we can learn to surrender properly. Complete surrender to Krsna is the goal of every devotee because he wants to become free from material desires in order to serve Krsna more and more. Complete surrender to Krsna is the most important of all qualities to be developed. 13.DESIRELESS When one is fully engaged in devotional service, one realizes that all one's desires are satisfied. Thus one does not have any material desire anymore. One only desires to serve guru and Krsna. 14.INDIFFERENCE TOWARDS MATERIAL POSSESSIONS A devotee may use things in Krsna's service but he does not become attached to or dependent on them. He may serve Krsna with millions of dollars by opening temples, printing books, etc. However, he is also satisfied when he does not have any material assets and then simply chants Hare Krsna. 15.STEADY, FIXED The realizations of a devotee should be so profound that his dedication to his spiritual master and Krsna cannot be influenced anymore by various temptations, suffering or opposing philosophies. 16.SELF-CONTROLLED There are six bad qualities, namely lust, anger, greed, illusion, madness and envy. A pure devotee controls these bad qualities by engaging in Krsna's service. These qualities cannot be left behind in an artificial way by can be easily counteracted with transcendental knowledge and transcendental taste arising from one's devotional service. 17.DOES NOT EAT MORE THAN REQUIRED Lord Krsna explains in the Bhagavad-gita that a yogi does not eat too much nor too little. This means practically exactly as much as he can easily digest. According to Ayurveda, one's stomach should be filled with 1/2 food, 1/4 water, and 1/4 air. 18.SANE A devotee is never intoxicated by material enjoyment. He reduces his requirements to a minimum and offers his whole life to Krsna. In this way he is completely balanced. 19.RESPECTFUL A devotee offers respect to others without expecting anything in return. He respects everyone as part of Krsna and treats them accordingly. 20.HAS NO MATERIAL HANKERING A devotee is not attracted by material possessions which help us to gain a prestigious position. He sees everything attractive in this world as a reflection of Krsna, the all-attractive cause of all causes. 21.GRAVE Although we lead a happy life in Krsna consciousness, we are always conscious that the material existence can be finished at any time and that the way back home, back to Godhead is not cheap. To be grave means that the devotee is constantly thinking of Krsna and the ultimate goal of life. 22.COMPASSIONATE The essence of compassion is the distribution of transcendental knowledge. The basis of it are Srila Prabhupada's books and the force behind it is our purity. 23.FRIENDLY A devotee is friendly because he leads everyone to Krsna, who is the best friend of all living entities. 24.POETIC A devotee is even poetic if he is not literarily active because he is able to connect everything with Krsna's transcendental nature. 25.SILENT Silence means that one only speaks about Krsna and not about material topics. 26.EXPERT The essence of the expertise of a devotee is that he can do anything for Krsna. The best expertise is to surrender to Krsna

We Are Not Our Bodies

The basic Hare Krishna beliefs can be summarized as follows:

1. By sincerely cultivating true spiritual science, we can be free from anxiety and come to a state of pure, unending, blissful consciousness in this lifetime.

2. We are not our bodies but eternal, spirit souls, parts and parcels of God (Krishna). As such, we are all brothers, and Krishna is ultimately our common father. We accept the process of transmigration of the soul (reincarnation).

3. Krishna is eternal, all-knowing, omnipresent, all-powerful, and all-attractive. He is the seed-giving father of all living beings, and He is the sustaining energy of the entire cosmic creation. He is the same God as The Father Allah, Buddha and Jehovah.

4. The Absolute Truth is contained in the Vedas, the oldest scriptures in the world. The essence of the Vedas is found in the Bhagavad-gita, a literal record of Krishna's words.

5. One can learn the Vedic knowledge from a genuine spiritual master -- one who has no selfish motives and whose mind is firmly fixed on Krishna.

6. Before one eats, one offers to the Lord (Krishna) the food that sustains all humans; then Krishna becomes the offering and purifies the offered.

7. One performs all actions as offerings to Krishna and does nothing for one's own sense gratification.

8. The recommended means for achieving the mature stage of love of God in this age of Kali, or quarrel, is to chant the holy names of the Lord. The easiest method for most people is to chant the Hare Krishna mantra: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare

 

"Chant In the Name of the Lord and You'll Be Free." George Harrison

An Appreciation As to the Necessity of Nature

Sadly,a majority of people view what we call nature as being something over there,a little like a picture you have on your wall. Every now and then you will glance over at it  and think,"how nice." In our quest to find true peace and contentment,nature,what it means,how important it is; must be moved from the background,to the foreground of our lives.The reason for this is that recognizing our unity with nature is essential in order to become complete and balanced as people.In nature are all forms and variety of life,we are life. It is not a cliche to say that all life is interconnected. Doubt that? You believe scientists and techology can fix and control all things? Research what would happen if a species as seemingly insignificant as the honey bee were to disappear from the earth tomorrow.Consider the following by author Diane Dreher:
"Until the late seventeenth century,people in the West knew a unified sensibility,perceiving body and soul,reason and passion,nature and the individual as part of a larger whole. This unified vision was lost when scientific and industrial revolutions developed a new mechanistic paradigm.God became the Divine watchmaker who left the world to run for itself. Factories reduced individuals to specialized parts,cogs in a machine.The sense of life as a sentient organic whole was replaced by the frantic pace and fragmentation of modern life. People began to measure their worth in terms of productivity---outputs--as if we'd all become machines."
I find the last sentence to be so true. Today, worth in the workplace is measured by output.I am not just talking about people who work in factories. Even those who are employed in the healthcare industry are asked to,and evaluated on, how many patients they can care for. Taking time with the patient is too often sacrificed in order to get to the "next one." Not keeping up with the work assigned to you,even if it is due to reasons of compassionate care,will result in poor work evaluations.
Whether you choose to believe in a God or not,something or someone created a world that is interdependent.
Lose connection with nature and you lose a connection with the rest of the world and ultimately yourself.

Courage

     

 

It takes a certain amount of insight to change. It takes courage and character to make the effort to change.A willingness to change is necessary if we want to achieve true peace and contentment. Soko Morinaga had this to say about courage: "I believe that courage is upholding what you have once decided to do and enduring all troubles encountered along the way. To sustain and carry out that original intention--just this,in itself---is real courage."

Ways in which we must change to follow.

                                                                                                                                                                  

Simplicity

Inspired by Daisetz Suzuki---
We humans are too concerned with things.
Activities,things and too many people clutter our lives.
All this clutter causes us to lose sight of the beauty,the simplicity of this life.

Listen in an open room undisturbed by man made devices.
Do not be afraid of what you might hear or think.
We have forgotten to listen for the beauty.
The beauty of the ocean waves upon the shore or the wind through the trees and brush.
Accept and embrace this beauty which is life.
Leave behind the clutter and confusion we have created.
Only then will we truly experience the beauty of this life