User:Zeuspitar
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Hello! My Spiritual-Initiated name is Govinda Ramanuja dasa. I love Venkateswara and Sri Vaishnavism. I feel that all articles conserning Hinduism should be balanced, un-bias, inclusive to all segments of the Vedic-Hindu Religion and,....free from any slant,tinge or Bias; wheither subtle or gross, of any "Preaching", indoctrination.
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[edit] Sayings
- "Once you turn to the Vedic Religion, you don't turn back,... you'll Realize too much."
- Quote of Shila Prabhupada; Founder-acharaya of the Hare Krishnas on feb 15, 1970 to J.F.Staal; Professor of Philosophy and of South Asian Languages. Second paragraph:
”In this way we find all the scriptures aiming at the Supreme Person. In the Rig Veda (1.22.20) the mantra is om tad vishnoh paramam padam sada pashyanti surayah ("The demigods are always looking to that supreme abode of Vishnu"). The whole Vedic process, therefore, is to understand Lord Vishnu, and any scripture is directly or indirectly chanting the glories of the Supreme Lord, "Vishnu".”
- Srila Prabhupada's Letter to the Los Angeles Times; January 14, 1970, to the editor
of the Los Angeles Times:
Dear Sir, With reference to your article in the Los Angeles Times dated Sunday, January 11, 1970, under the heading "Krishna Chant," I beg to point out that the Hindu religion is perfectly based on the personal conception of God, or "Vishnu".
[edit] Topics of interest
- Vedic:
Venkateswara or Balaji, Visishtadvaita, Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas, Yoga sutras, Alwars, Ramanujacharya, Vishnu or Narayana, Lakshmi, Krishna, Saranagati, Vaishnavism, Sri Vaishnavism, Narasimha, Manu Smriti, Bhagavata Purana, Bhagavad Gita, Brahmin, Sandhyavandanam, Chakras, Yoga, Raja yoga, Kundalini yoga, Patanjali, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti, Bhakti movements, Hindu, Purusha sukta, Vishnu sahasranama, Sri Sukta, Yuga Dharma, Sri, Svayam bhagavan
- Non-Vedic:
Gnosis, The Hymn of the Pearl, Platonic idealism
[edit] Inspiring Prayers
- From the Venkatesha stotram:
“Vina Venkatesha na natho na natha, Sada Venkatesham swaraami swaraami. Hare Venkatesha praseeda praseeda, Priyam Venkatesha prayaccha prayaccha.”
There is no saviour other than Venkatesa, I forever pray to (or remember) Venkatatesa. O Hari, Venkatesa! Be pleased, grant (us) favours!
- From the Narayana Suktam:
“Narayana paro jyothirathma Narayana para, Narayana para brahma tatwam Narayana para. Narayana paro dyatha , dyanam Narayana para. “
Narayana is the great light, Narayana is the great Soul, Narayana is the ultimate Brahman, Narayana is the great principle (or Truth), Narayana is the greatest among those who meditate on Him, And Narayana is the great meditation.
- From The Vishnu sahasranama:
"Vasudevasryo marthyo vasudeva parayana, Sarva papa vishudhatma Yati brahma sanathanam."
The man who nears Vasudeva, The man who takes Him as shelter, Would get rid of all sins, And become purer than the pure, And will reach Brahman, Which existed forever.
- From "Bhaja Govindam" by Adi Sankaracharya:
"tvayi mayi chaanyatraiko vishhNuH vyarthaM kupyasi mayyasahishhNuH . bhava samachittaH sarvatra tvaM vaaJNchhasyachiraadyadi vishhNutvam." (24)
In me, in you and in everything, none but the same Vishnu dwells. Your anger and impatience is meaningless. If you wish to attain the status of Vishnu soon, have samabhava always.
"geyaM giitaa naama sahasraM dhyeyaM shriipati ruupamajasram. neyaM sajjana saNge chittaM deyaM diinajanaaya cha vittam." (27)
Regularly recite from the Gita, meditate on Vishnu in your heart, and chant His thousand glories (thro' Vishnu sahasranama) . Take delight to be with the noble and the holy. Distribute your wealth in charity to the poor and the needy.
"gurucharaNaambuja nirbhara bhakataH saMsaaraadachiraadbhava muktaH . sendriyamaanasa niyamaadevaM drakshyasi nija hR^idayasthaM devam."(31)
Oh devotee of the lotus feet of the Guru! May thou be soon free from Samsara. Through disciplined senses and controlled mind, thou shalt come to experience the Indwelling Lord of your heart ! (note: in Vaishnavism, "the Lord of the heart" is Hrishikesha...Vishnu/Narayana)
[edit] Some pre-Itihasas verses from Vedic scriptures that prove that VISHNU is the true first or Para-form for Vaishnavas
This is just a small portion of the scriptural evidence that Vishnu/Narayana is the Para-form or the first, before any of His incarnations. And, these verses existed A LONG time before any itihasas literature came pervailant or any sect or cult came along to proclaim the supremacy of their particular avatara ista deva.
- From the Rig Veda; 1.22.20-21 (One of the most important mantras for Vaishnavas
and shows that Vishnu is the supreme Form):
tad vishnoH paramam padam sadaa pashyanti suurayaH | diviiva chakshur aatatam // tad vipraaso vipanyavo jaagrivaamsaH samindhate | vishnor yat paramam padam.//
“The wise ever contemplate that supreme station of Vishnu, as the eye ranges over the sky. The wise, ever vigilant and diligent in praise, amply glorify that which is the supreme station of Vishnu.”
- Second to the last verse of the Purusha sukta of the Rig Veda (one of the most important prayers that all vaishnava, vaishnava brahmanas or any one professing the Vedic religion must know):
Hreescha te lakshmischa patnyau, ahoratre parsve. Nakshatrani roopam, Aswinau vyatham.
"Hree and Lakshmi are YOUR WIVES, Day and night are your right and left, The constellation of stars your body, And Aswini devas your open mouth."
- Verse from the Purusha sukta of the Rig Veda:
Vedaham etham purusham mahantham. Aadithyavarna thamasa parasthath. Thamevam vidwan amrutha iha bhavathi, nanya pandhaa vidhyathe ayanaaya.
"I know that great Purusha, Who shines like the sun, And is beyond darkness, And the one who knows him thus, Attains salvation even in this birth, And there is no other method of salvation."
- From the Yajur Veda and Narayana Upanishad of the Yajur Veda:
Ata Nityo Narayanaha, Brahma, Narayanaha, Sivascha Narayanaha, Kalascha Narayanaha. Disascha Narayanaha, Vidisascha Narayanaha, Urdwamscha Narayanaha, Adhascha Narayanaha, Antar-bahischa-Narayana.Narayana Eh Vedam Sarvam, Yat BhootamYacchha Bhavyam.Nish-kalango Niranjano Nirvikalpo Nirakyadhas,suddhho Deva Eko Narayanaha, Na dwiteeyosthi kaschit,ya evam Vedas Vishnu reva Bhavati, Sa Vishnureva Bhavathi, Etat yajur veda sirodeeyathe.
"Narayana is perpetual, Brahma come from Narayana, Siva comes from Narayana, Time comes from Narayana. Up, down,all around is Narayana. Inside and outside is Narayana. Narayana is what has happened, what is happening and what will happen. Narayana is the only God who is blemishless, stainless, odorless, endless and who cannot be described. When Narayana is there, there is no other second. He who knows this, becomes himself Lord Vishnu. Thus is read, the of Yajur Veda."
- From the Katha Upanishad; 1.3.10 and 11:
"Beyond the senses are the objects; beyond the objects is the mind; beyond the mind, the intellect; beyond the intellect, the Great Atman; beyond the Great Atman, the Unmanifest; beyond the Unmanifest, the Purusha. Beyond the Purusha there is nothing: this is the end, the Supreme Goal."
- From the Laws of Manu; 1.10:
"The waters are born of the Purusha,' so it is said; the waters are the children of the Purusha. And since they were his resting place in ancient time, therefore He is traditionally known as Narayana."
- From the Katha Upanishad; 1.3.9:
"A man who has discrimination for his charioteer and holds the reins of the mind firmly, reaches the end of the road; and that is the supreme position of Vishnu."
- From the Rig Veda: V.I.15b.3:
"O ye who wish to gain realization of the supreme truth, utter the name of Vishnu at least once in the steadfast faith that it will lead you to such realization."
"Agni is the lowest and Vishnu is at the Highest; in between them stand the devas"
[edit] Prominent Sri Sampradayam Swami says about Vishnu and Krishna-PLEASE READ!
Question: Dear all, I heard vasudeva is supreme of all demi gods. Is vasudeva lord krishna?. I heard for each loka there will be three Vishnus, for all these vishnus, krishna is the origin,is it coorect ? please give me detailed description. "dhanyavad" in advance.
Answer: Jai Sriman Narayan! The description you have seen, must be from ISCON books. They feel that Krishna is the origin to all the incarnations. From Him only everything came. We accept it though, for Lord Krishna is none else then Lord Narayana Himself, yet, He is only one avathara among many. That has been very clearly described in Srimad Bhagavatham. The difference is, in other avatharas, Lord chose only a few qualities for His activities, whereas in Krishna avathara, He appeared with many of His divine qualities. And also, the qualities of all avatharas are seen there. That is why, Krishna avatharas is considered to be the “Paripurna Avathara”. The Lord Supreme is no doubt named after ‘vasudeva’ also. There are many other names in Thousands to the Lord Supreme. According to Vedas the name given to Him is ‘Sriman Narayana’ or ‘Vishnu’ or ‘Paramam Padam’. The name ‘Vasudeva’ given to Krishna because He is the son of ‘Vasudeva’. Lord Supreme, having the name as ‘vasudeva’ is very meaningful and also fixed on Him. Vas=Exists, Div=Shines, one who exists everywhere and effulgent, in toher words, omnipresent with His grace is ‘vasudeva’. This name is also seen with 1.) The Lord in His four planning abodes, the four vyuhas. Paramapadam, vyuham and Krishna avathara, all these 3 are vyaktha rupas of vasudeva, i.e., forms that are visible. But the name ‘vasudeva’ the all pervasive, ever effulgent is there with the form of the lord that cannot be seen by anybody ‘avayaktha’. This form also was shown to Arjuna in Him Viswa rupa sandarsana in 11th chapter of bhagavad Githa. No beginning nor ending to that form. That name, if at all given to the Supreme should be like ‘Narayana’. That is what mentioned in Puranas and Upanishads. .Chinnajeeyar.
(1)Question: Why does the difference of opinion exist between Vaishnavas on who the Source of all incarnations is? Why does the Supreme Lord leave room for these differences?
Answer: NOW, THOSE WHO FIGHT SUPPORTING THEIR ARGUMENT, AS 'THIS FORM OF GOD IS ORIGIN AND EVERYTHING CAME OUT OF IT' OR 'THAT FORM IS THE ORIGINAL', ARE BASICALLY IGNORANTS, IN REALIZING THE FACT THAT 'ALL THE NAMES BELONG TO THE SAME ONE AND FOR GOD, EVERYTHING CAN COME FROM ANYTHING. NOW, COME TO THE POINT, THAT LORD KRISHNA BORN IN JAIL AND WITHDRAW HIS INCARNATION ALSO ON A DAY. THAT CLEARLY SAYS HE IS ONLY AN INCARNATION. THERE MUST BE SOME ORIGIN FOR THAT ALSO. SRIMAD BHAGAVATHAM ITSELF CLEARLY SAYS THAT 'ORIGIN'S' NAME IS 'VA:SUDE:VA' IN SOME PLACES AND 'NA:RA:YANA' IN SOME PLACES. AGAIN THESE NAMES ALSO WERE GIVEN BASING UPON A PARTICULAR ABILITY OF THAT SUPREME. WHEN WE GO INTO THE ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD, THE WORD 'NA:RA:YANA' ENCOMPASSES WIDER AREA THAN THAT OF 'VA:SUDE:VA'. WHEN WE LOOK AT THE WORD "KRISHNA" EVEN ITS MEANING ALSO IS LIMITED WHEN COMPARED TO THE WORD 'NA:RA:YANA'. THIS IS ABOUT THE WORD WE ARE MENTIONING. NOT ABOUT THE SUPREME. "SUPREME IS ALWAYS SUPREME ONLY" IN WHATEVER FORM AND NAME HE IS. NAMES AND FORMS CREAT LIMITATIONS FOR EVERYTHING. FOR GOD, THOUGH FORMS ARE HAVINGS LIMITATIONS, BUT THE POWER IN THAT PARTICULAR FORM, WILL HAVE NO LIMIT. CHAPTER 4 OF BHAGAVAD GITHA MAKES IT CLEAR. KRISHNA, THUS SHOWED THE LIMIT OF HIS FORM IN THAT INCARNATION. FOR THE NAME OF "NARAYANA" THERE IS NO LIMIT EITHER IN THE NAME (ACCORDING TO VYA;KARANAM) OR IN THE FORM, FOR, THE WHOLE UNIVERSE WITH ALL THE BEINGS IN IT, IN OTHER WORDS, ENTIRE MATTER & MATERIAL WITH ENERGY, COMES IN TO THAT FORM.
(2)Question: Will we reach different destinations if we treat Vishnu as source Vs. Krishna as source. In your opinion if some one follows ISKCON sampradaya can that help attain Vaikunta.
Answer: ACCORDING TO VEDAS, WHATEVER YOU FIX UP AS YOUR GOAL, AND MEDITATE UPON GOD, YOU REACH THAT GOAL ONLY. NOT A COMMON GOAL. THIS IS CALLED "yattha: krathu nya:yam". AS AND HOW YOU MEDITATE, THUS YOU ATTAIN. IN YOUR QUESTION YOU ASKED ABOUT ISKCON. THEY BELIEVED IN GO:LO:KAM AS THEIR GOAL. BUT NOT VAIKUNTHAM. HENCE THEY REACH GO:LO:KAM ONLY. HERE OUR OPINION IS IMMETERIAL. “THE OPINION OF VEDA”…. IS IMPORTANT. FOR US… VEDA IS SUPREME AND UNQUESTIONABLE AUTHORITY ON ANY ISSUES RELATED TO SOUL, GOD AND ATTAINMENT.
3)Question: Being an Acharya of an authentic sampradaya do you consider ISKCON sampradaya as an authorized one?
Answer: ONLY TO SOME EXTENT, YES. THEY ACCEPT "BRAHMA VAIVARTHA PURANA" AS SUPREME AUTHORITY. We accept that part of purana & only then, when and where it is not contradicing the Vedas. In Vedas it is clear that the ultimate GOAL of the soul should be "so: dhvanah pa:ra ma:pno:thi thad vishno:h paramam padam" 'Paramapadam of Vishnu'. This is only we accept. (Param Padam is Vaikunta)
[edit] Personal Hindu-Vedic History
- Pujari in the now defunct Radha-Govinda Gaudiya matha temple in Venice California.
- Studying the Vedic Scriptures since 1997.
- Practicing Ashtanga Yoga; especially the top four aspects since 1991.
- Regularly performs Agni Hotra or fire ceremonies and House blessing.
- Was in the ashram of one the main ISKCON temples in North America from 2002 to 2005. Seva or devotional services done was assisting the head Pujari (Ritualistic Priest) in fire rituals, wedding ceremonies, funeral rites, first hair cutting ceremonies, festivals and etc. the second was assisting senior devotees in the BBT in office tasks. The third, was assisting the head brahmana cook in the Deity kitchen with daily offerings to the Murtis.
- Was a member of Gaudiya Matha from 2005 until the closing of the Venice temple in Jan. of 2007.
- A member and performing seva at one of the Sri Sampradayam temples in Southern California for a number of years.
- Was asked by prominent brahmana members and Pujaris of the temple community to be initiated into the Sri Sampradayam.
- Meditation, prayer, ritual, helping people and spending time at the Temple is my life and very enjoyable.
[edit] Prior Spiritual History
- Was a very deeply devoted practictioner and student of Gnosticism, Neo-Platonism, Mandaeism or Mandaeanism, Spiritual Alchemy, Sacred Geometry, Orphism, Hermetic and Jewish Kabbalah, Hermeticism, Manicheanism, Pythagoreanism the tarot and other aspects of the Western Mystery Tradition from 1984 to 2001.
- Was Blue lodge /Master Mason, York Rite (a member of the Royal Arch Sovereign College), Scottish Rite (32nd degree and Royal Order of Scotland or thisle), and a Cryptic Mason (Super Excellent master Mason) from 1993 to 2001.
- Was a line-officer in the various Masonic groups during 1993 to 2001.
- Was an active ritualist in 24 of the 27 degrees or rituals of the Scottish Rite and all of the ritual of the Chapter(Royal Arch degrees) and Council (Cryptic degrees).
- And the youngest man in that particular region in the USA at that time to go through all of the degree of masonry; passing all tests (with the exception of the 33rd) and recieving the Super Excellent Master masons degree at the age of 22; within a six month period.
- Was a member of a number of Rosicrucian groups from 1993 to 2001.
- Was an Adeptus Major Rosicrucian.
- Was a member of The Builders of the Adytum from 1993 to 2003.
- Was deeply dedicated and devoted to the worship of the Egyptain god Amon-Ra and The Greek god Zeus and his son Dionysus from 1983 to 2001. (definite past life Karma)
- Performed fire ceremonies to the gods regularly during these years.
- Have been studying Astrology daily since 2000.
[edit] Website Links
- srivaishnavam.com-Good website on general info
- chinnajeeyar.org-Great Q & A for major Sri Vaishnava issues
- prapatti.com-Wonderful site for Sri Vaishnava Prayers
- ahobilamutt.org-General information conserning Sri Vaishnavism
- srimatham.com-Free downloads on basic tenets of Sri Vaishnavism
- sriranganatha.tripod.com-Another good website for the basic of Sri Vaishnavism
- ramanuja.org-General information on Sri Vaishnavism
- Sripedia-general information on Sri Vaishnavism
- acharya.org-General information on Sri Vaishnavism
- General information on Ramanujacharya and Sri Sampradayam
- antaryami.net-General information of Sri Sampradayam
- swamydesika.tripod.com-Good site for info. on Vedanta Desika and his writings
- saranagathi.org-Music and chanting of Sri Sampradayam
- saranagathi.org-Audio Divya Prabhandams
