The great identity problem..

Many times, you’ll hear someone say ,” I can identify with that “

But who or what should we identify with ?  Our childhood, our youth , our middle age , or old age ?  Or how about our political leanings  ?  Which  political movement  suits us  ? left leaning,  right leaning, or centre ground ? Persons are forever  changing who or what they identify with . Sometimes someone is our friend sometimes the same  person becomes our enemy , sometimes someone is very attractive as a partner to us , and a short time  later we reject them , and find someone else . The Vedas indicate that the minds   business is forever accepting and rejecting the sense objects . This world of ever fluctuating duality has to be understood , and the real observer should learn to advance the consciousness to a state beyond the duality of material life . When we examine the disturbances of dualities  , we  begin to realise such states  occur because of excess and our own  selfish motivations , we , at that point  can climb higher in consciousness and begin to contribute real  happiness to others , without  selfish calculations .  Ultimately, it is undertaking  sacrifice as the utmost principle in contributing  happiness centred on  Divinity that the Vedas point us all to , no more local or provincial interests , but the satisfaction of Krishna . Such actions are like watering a tree , necessarily all the leaves are satisfied. Sacrificing for the  sake of others without considering my own feelings is an elevated state .  You’ll be pleased to hear such a sacrifice becomes very rewarding as the universal material and spiritual energies work in such a way that nothing goes in vain .

The Vedas encourages us to dive deeper into states of consciousness and explore a different sorts  of happiness , a happier  state of mind , beyond  sense satisfaction that even animals can easily obtain . The Vedas encourages us to consider whether we are boy , a  girl , young , old , black , white , rich, poor, intelligent, or not so  , or are we just an  observer of such external conditions that are thrown upon us? And are we becoming overly  affected , because of selfishness and misunderstanding who we are .

Let’s see what Sastra say .

nāhaṁ vipro na ca nara-patir nāpi vaiśyo na śūdro
nāhaṁ varṇī na ca gṛha-patir no vanastho yatir vā
kintu prodyan-nikhila-paramānanda-pūrnāmṛtābdher
gopī-bhartuḥ pada-kamalayor dāsa-dāsānudāsaḥ

Translation

“ ‘I am not a brāhmaṇa, I am not a kṣatriya, I am not a vaiśya or a śūdra. Nor am I a brahmacārī, a householder, a vānaprastha or a sannyāsī. I identify Myself only as the servant of the servant of the servant of the lotus feet of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the maintainer of the gopīs. He is like an ocean of nectar, and He is the cause of universal transcendental bliss. He is always existing with brilliance.’ ”

This verse , with Vedic terms for our  different social positions and stages of life , offers an insight into the permanent identity of a soul in a  specific relationship with Divinity , This may be a little esoteric for many to understand,  but the principle is given , you are not the body , not the changing mind , not a  deteriating and frustrated intelligence , but something beyond material calculations , and this super subjective realm is understood by sacrifice,  and the ultimate sacrifice is one of pure service to Divinity , in a  cooperative spirit , with others who have similar goals. 

The Vedas delineate many other permanent relationships that have nothing to do with atoms , elements, or compounds or an ethereal ever-changing mind and intelligence.

The original consciousness belongs in a permanent identity, which is ever new and ever enthusiastic to exchange love and as the song goes

Somewhere over the rainbow

Way up high

There’s a land that I heard of

Once in a lullaby

Maybe your fairy tale child hood imaginings have something to them

Read the Vedas to find out yourself,  literally.

---

Some people have romantic idealistic concepts that society can live as one .

In spiritual terms, maybe , when by cultivating spiritual consciousness, one is able to see that consciousness particals are in each body , the very substance of life , and in that sense all equally loved and reciprocated to by God .

But materially speaking , individuals have always expressed differently and lived differently , both individually and  in  communial  ways, expressing  their unique national cultural ways of life, which can be seen to be one and different.

In the vedas 5th Canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam,  the activities of King Prtu give the  description of the natural creation of  boundaries, such as oceans , rivers, and mountain ranges. Although harmony can be achieved within mankind it must be understood as being based on  their differences , which sometimes have complex social and karmic differences , nevertheless , all societies should be respected and understood with  mature and intelligent ways .

The concept of  harmony in discord is only realised in the minds of those who are learned who are aware of the   consciousness of Divinity within their hearts and in the hearts of all living beings. They who have evolved love for Divinity and as such , all beings , seeing  that everything and everyone is  connected to God . Knowledge means knowing  all are  His expansions , such divine inspiration creates the inconceivable oneness and difference vision in  our relationship with Him and all beings .

The vipras , Brahminical men, and Suddha Bhaktas know this very well  and realise it . By their association , we can also know and realise this truth .

It is never found in any  political leaders , who we could  safely say are mostly lacking in real wisdom, and are sometimes  fools and rascals , so they must always  take direction from the real intelligensia as described above .

The original Varna Ashram system is a wonderful sharing and educational resource for all , it is meant to instigate social mobility and give everyone the chance of good association and beneficial learning .

That is part of the remit of ISKCON,  to introduce this reality to people in general

http://www.thevedicspectator.com

---

False freedom binds one

May 25th, 2024

Vedic culture means following traditions and the highest of cultures every field of education including the arts . Its emphasis is to  follow great men and women , with proven qualities set out in the Vedas , such inspiration and the best of human qualities automatically benefit the rest of society , by good associations one becomes a good and wholesome person , by bad associations one becomes troubled , thus rascals were never allowed free reign , as today , especially on social media and within governments as business leaders .

Modern Western, lefty liberal , literally means follow your own mind and senses ,and get every one to do the same ,  with no real sense  of cultivation of consciousness or conserving traditions of culture and family .  In  the course of time   the essence of knowledge has been lost , and the truth always needs reserecting messages because it gets in time replaced by speculations and subjective scientific materialism .  Such is the nature of material conditioned nature along with an  independent free will  .

Persons who follow false “freedoms ” and speculations will find the opposite of what they are looking for , which is perfect loving relationships , but granted, there are 8,4000000 species of life , so plenty of facilities for expression in countless bodies , and how people want to lead their lives , those likings are found in other species , and Bhagavad Gita teaches wherever your taste , an appropriate body awaits.

A human form gives one a chance for freedoms beyond one’s comprehension . it’s our responsibility as humans to know just what those freedoms are .

---

What happened to the beautiful dawn chorus

Dawn chorus just isn’t what it used to be.

In Vedic times , the leaders were respectful towards all living beings. They had equal responsibility towards every one and every creature that lived ,  and under the direction of  a  wise council of persons who were knowledgeable about consciousness , they knew that the  consciousness  present meant that the living being  was a soul in a particular body for particular reasons , and should be regarded equal to humans , in terms of their rights of existence.

Unfortunately, we can not say our current leaders are at all wise or  knowledgeable about many things , especially about consciousness . Most of them are either Darwinians or have no spiritual scientific understanding of consciousness , and foolishly assume only humans are really conscious or have souls .

Their  ignorance is reflected in the way they ruthlessly treat the environment and the creatures that live within it , whether  it be the sky , land, or the sea .

Here is an example of their callousness.

The following lists percentage of  declines of some bird species recorded in the Common Bird Census between 1970 and 1999 , todays figures would be considerably more alarming.

Tree sparrow  -95 per cent…. Corn bunting  -88 per cent…. Willow tit  -78 per cent ….Spotted flycatcher -77 per cent ….Woodcock  -74 per cent…. Starling  -71 per cent …..Turtle dove  -71 per cent ….Song thrush  -56 per cent….. Bullfinch  -53 per cent ….. Skylark  -52 per cent…. Cuckoo  -33 per cent

Bhagavad Gita 16.9.

Lord Krishna tells us  how to recognise the work of those with demoniac  mentality, or who dwell in ignorance.

…”.the demons, lost to themselves, and with no real intelligence, engage in unbeneficial ,horrible works meant to destroy the world.”

Jesus said You’ll know people by their works .

It’s time to select leaders who are led by the real intelligensia and bypass politicians who, at  most are sophisticated animals with absolutely no wisdom in real terms , who only take guidance from exploitative money men , and discard wise council.

http://www.thevedicspectator.com

---

Site Title

BRAHMINISM AND BEYOND ..fools rush in where angels dare to tread.

Jan 13th, 2024

How it is that a highly cultured controlled person, both in ethical , moral , religious beliefs and perfect behaviour, can step beyond such  restrictions and at least internally appear to breach such standards . This is certainly a mystery to many .

Yet ,  the esoteric aspects of the Smriti of the Vedas and in the hearts of  their most spiritually advanced followers, you’ll find indeed many contradictions of  supposed expectations of internal behaviour.

This needs thorough examination and understanding.

The trancendental mysteries can be found perhaps in the hearts of some of the residents of Vraja and in the hearts of the pure representatives of the Gaudia Bramha sampradaya.

And actually, in the heart of the Goddess of fortune Laxmi , who developed the desire to enter this mystery.

Such mysteries are never understood cheaply , thus the top quality Vaisnava is described.

titikṣavaḥ kāruṇikāḥ

suhṛdaḥ sarva-dehinām

ajāta-śatravaḥ śāntāḥ

sādhavaḥ sādhu-bhūṣaṇāḥ

The symptoms of a sādhu 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.

Two other verses in the Caitanya Caritamrita describe how a male devotee should not look upon a lady in lusty ways, and should strictly avoid over association of any kind , but another verse states that by hearing about the activities of the lovers of Krishna,  the Gopies,  all the lust in the heart for mundane lust will be eradicated  .

The great poet Jayadeva Goswami in his Gita Govinda text , wishes that his super esoteric work will purity the hearts of all who read them .

Such are the trancendental and  mysterious contradictions that are found in the Vedas , but Srila Sridhar Swami warns fools rush in where angels dare to tread , thus Rupa Goswami has chalked a path of Sadhana Bhakti and Ragganuga Bhakti , and the Siksa or Diksa Guru will guide one .Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu sets the example,  He has three Gurus , Initiating Guru , sannyasa Guru, and a Siksa Guru for the esoteric aspects of Ragganuga Bhakti. We should follow his example of finding appropriate Gurus for our particular station and situation.

Jan 13, 2024

steveneuroart

Uncategorized

---

Leave a comment

Proudly powered by WordPress

Upgrade

Some atheistic  Darwinian scientific thinkers are using computer statistical analysis with mathematical modelling , along with their subjective  speculations , and  are stating that given enough time, chemicals can  self assemble in organised selection methods One scientist gave a comparison of a tumble dryer , just throwing things  around , until magically creating perfect chemical bonds and perfect molecular structures . Such scientific thinkers , who are not  particularly educated in computer modelling or statistical mathematics are fooling  some of the innocent public by using  their speculative calculations and even suggest chemical sequencing  are the ultimate source of consciousness and the  constructions of all the millions of body parts . Basically, they are assuming that DNA coding and the perfect information structures forming protein machines that supervise the way the body is built,  are just chance events,  but that keep repeating themselves.

One might presume they are saying a million monkeys on a million typewriters for a million years will produce by chance a replica of one of Shakespeares plays . Problem is the word “might ”  in the Darwinian example  , has been deliberately “upgraded ” ,  by rascals , to  “ it is now more or less proved  such self selection is happening  we see it happening ” in our mathematical modelling , “ self selection and biological evolution is now a reality .” NO NEED OF ANY INTELLIGENT FORSIGHT or God .

FURTHER , recent experiments were carried out , taking a string of already existing RNA and slicing it in three , and adding already existing parts of RNA , and trying to get this to self replicate , they managed a 1 % purity level , instead of natures 100% purity level , that enables self replicating to take place , Such 1% purity is no substitute for the so called primordial soup or abiogenisis. . Everything must be 100%  pure or molecular structures ,  break up .

What they don’t tell you is that its wishful thinking based on faulty computer mathematical modelling and statistics calculations that are unrealistic.

It’s only mathematical statistical experts and computer modellers that can easily see the inaccuracies of the work of such atheistic speculations of these Darwinian profs . AND it fools only those not familiar with statistics, mathematics, and computer modelling. or biological and chemical engineering.

http://www.thevedicspectator.com

Jan 14, 2024

steveneuroart

Uncategorized

---

Leave a comment

Proudly powered by WordPress

Upgrade

His Divine Grace AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada has made an attempt to use the educational systems of the Vedas and create a  world  free from the  ignorance of scientific materialism and all it brings. In his forming ISKCON,  along with other Gaudia Vaisnava societies, the idea is that  everyone can live in a harmonized atmospher where differences are respected and facilities that everyone needs , including the creatures of the earth  can be easily obtained. This vision is based on the Srimad Bhagavatam,  Bhagavad Gita, as well as the eighteen puranas that  bring systematic education and guidance . That allows for the specific needs of a ” multicultural ” society.

Some people may openly criticize ISKCON, or Gaudia Vaisnava societies  , such immature thinkers probably dont understand the significance of their  work and the  long-term vision. When initially creating  families naturally also problems can be created  that’s to be expected especially young families.  Every family has to face problems and learn to deal with them and learn from them .  Critical Vaisnava thinking , management, and governance along with compliance is  essential in family units and  obviously so in  huge ISKCON of Gaudia families, Within every  decent family frank discussions are sometimes needed and on going with  improvements .

We can naturally understand that in creating the great  worldwide family of ISKCON for instance,  in such  unprecedented ways , and with such  unprecedented preaching  all over the world , the ongoing management of  risks and difficulties with such a   ginormous family will remain with us ,  always  having to be addressed , as any  large organisations are constantly having to do . Social problems are certainly not unique to ISKCON or any Gaudia Vaisnava group . However, bringing the greatest benefits of the knowledge of Krishna consciousness  to the world  is a  matter of urgency .

Traditional ashrams  or religious cultures , generally have  women and men within their own settings .The Nuns and Monks live separately all over the world . Family life was  absent, and interactions with society were  limited.

In creating ISKCON Srila AC, Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada had the vision that the whole world should be  given the opportunity to practice Krishna consciousness .  In every Varna and every Ashram , and so doing  ISKCON and Prabhupada have successfully brought Krishna consciousness opportunities to one and all in very practical ways.

If Prabhupada had created traditional Ashram systems , many aspects of society would not have been included in the cultivation of Krishna consciousness. Currently, it’s seen that ISKCON is permeating everywhere, and its influences are growing in all varnas and ashrams.

Earlier days  in ISKCON were very blissfully and revolutionary  but particularly difficult in many respects . Young inexperienced leaders had a lot of responsibilities , and many failed.  Consequences of failure can be problematic . There is no excuse for irresponsible and harmful behaviour,  but we can not assume a utopian dream that all is rosey as soon as someone walks into an Ashram . Risks were there, and we now manage them a lot better , as do all  religious institutions as well as other types of institutions.

Certainly, Prabhupada, through his preaching method, has opened up the whole world , every single aspect of society can now access  a Krishna consciousness experience, and the success of  his mission is astounding.

http://www.thevedicspectator.com

You will find in my accompanying essays much further history of  the Srimad Bhagavatam  which we are presenting along with the  history and the writings of His Divine Grace AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada , but here is an  introduction to the highly esteemed  trancendental works,  all of which  are well recognized by leading scholars worldwide , ISKCON has an Oxford branch , introducing Gaudia Vaisnavism to various departments in the Universities , along with the Proffesors .

In modern times, the word WHY is said to be the most popular word on Google it is  punched into unlimited keyboards on a  regular basis.  Indeed , unless the human asks , who am I  ? why do I exist ? What is my real purpose ? , one can  consider it a lost opportunity and a  waste of a human form of life . Consider ,  animals don’t have such  facilities of  rational , logical  enquiries .

With logic in mind , William Paley intelligently concluded that  someone finding a watch  whilst walking on  a Moor in the long grass , bearing in mind in 1850 many country folk would have never set eyes on a watch , on examination they  would naturally assume its fine engineering and design are certainly the work of a creative brain and exceptional   intelligence .  Isaac Newton thought that each individual thumb print of human being was clear  evidence  for individual design . The teleological argument ,  design permeates everything we see in nature  as  well as throughout the universe remains as strong as it ever did and becomes stronger as scientific research progresses . Studies of the entropy of the cell , shows low entropy,  meaning high organisational levels , but with high energies operating within the cell , usually high energy leads to high entropy , so that alone suggests a deliberation . The fine tuning of the universe , the   so-called goldilocks phenomena  , ie. that    everything is just right ,  not too much  heat ,  or too cold ,  much gravitational force is perfect ,  just the right amount of oxygen etc  etc .  These  are some  examples one can give , there are many more .

Certainly, the opening pages  of the Srimad Bhagavatam confirm this , the famous opening sloka declares Divinity is directly and indirectly conscious of every aspect of creation , a creation  that emnates from consciousness . Life comes from life… Molecules don’t move towards life , something brings them together.
The Srimad Bhagavatam  itself is a series of one to one conversations through time frames , there are dialogue partners , and these constantly  weave in and out of space time , over billions of years.  So  not in any  chronological order , and  there are references to appropriate histories and  certain lessons that can be learned either from Divinity Himself or His devotees . These are defined as factual events relating to Krishna and His devotees or illustrative stories , like  fables bringing home key and important philosophical points .

The Bhagavatam appears and dissappears in the long course of 311 trillion years of the set time of this universe, as much as the sun rises and sets and appears to appear and disappear.
The creator god Lord Bramha has  inconceivably 4.5 billion of our years as his 12 hours , its recorded in the Bhagavatam as he sleeps , a partial shut down of the universe lasting for  4.5 billion years begins , before being rebooted ,  although our total universe is trillions of years old ,  anc not all it is shutdown , only the lower and some of the middle planetary systems close up , the highest planetary systems remain.

Lord Krishna , who comes to reestablished  forgotten Dharma or principles of religion , appeared  on this earth  planet  5000 years ago, and when He left after completing His purpose the question arose what happened to Dharma ,  Dharma is a living thing , through ethereal energies it has a supervisory system,  if one acts within Dharma ones  life is reasonably fulfilled and peaceful and  progress and  elevation of consciousness takes place . If one acts  against Dharma, one  degrades one’s consciousness and becomes helplessly entangled  in reactions and sufferings of material conditioning .  The key to understanding the Bhagavatam is to gain knowledge and faith in Sanatana Dharma, the  eternal occupation of the soul , and  the symptom of the soul is consciousness .

Ultimately Dharma takes one to a place where consciousness can thrive ,  where it is surrounded by consciousness energy , and not deteriating and fluctuating matter made of atomic particals …….The sages ,who question  Sukadeva Goswami , in the Bhagavatam,  were told that when Krishna leaves  this world  , after His activities,  Dharma and all its directions  take shape in the form of the Srimad Bhagavatam.
Everything for mankind is contained within its pages , and the expert person Bhagavat is able to extract and understand its mystery,  and they  give applications to  particular time , place, and circumstances . No matter who we are or what we are , progressive steps are chalked out for every section of society .
It is said one who does wrong or suffers wrong is wrong , and Krishna always favours good Brahminical council that  brings  justice to all proceedings in  administrations , without which there is always  turmoil in society  reflected in the functioning and workings of the planet . Today, we see unnecessary suffering  and deliberate  misguidance brought about by so-called leaders who are absolutely not fit to lead . One who studies the Srimad Bhagavatam will bring  great security  and wisdom to himself as well as his or her family . History science and religion are all essential ingredients to life , otherwise , mistaken ideas develop, leading to misfortune.
Wherever there is Krishna, there is always great fortune and victory.
Krishna lies within all the pages of the Bhagavatam directly or indirectly.

http://www.thevedicspectator.com

Srila Bhaktisiddanta Sarasvati Goswami Maharaja once  said that he wished for the greatest good  for those who regarded him as their  greatest enemy .

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is considered the most magnanimous incarnation of God , He is distributing  something of the understanding and feelings of a  most exalted state of consciousness ,  The most blissful and compassionate consciousness of the Supreme Goddess of fortune , Her inner state of mind ,  along with the supporting consciousness of  Her associates , the manjaris.  This supremely good fortune is an unlimited and tumultuous ocean of the Love , the love between Radha and Krishna . It is said that just one drop of this ocean of love  can inundate the entire universe.  This wonderful gift for mankind can be seen in this way ….. It’s like offering the greatest of fortune descending from the highest plane from a spiritual realm and then  freely distributing it to the most fallen and degraded persons  , it’s called  causeless mercy , or mercy above justice ,

The highest planes  of spiritual truths have been discussed by Sri Caitanya Mahāprabhu in his conversation with Ramananda Roy in the Caitanya Caritamrta , along with the progressive paths that lead  to it .

If we examine the all the relative paths that lead to the most magnanimous path  offered by Mahāprabhu,  we will find they are all useful tools and each one is valuable in its own right , but nevertheless , we should  set for  ourselves the highest  spiritual goal and the greatest of all expectations in this  life ,  and this is  being miraculously offered to one and  all  , both those qualified to receive it and those who are not . These trancendental mysteries are  understood only  by coming into the association of those who have tasted the sweetness that Mahaprabhu  is distributing,  just one moments association is enough to connect us .

To understand this process , one should read and understand the Caitanya Caritamrita , AC BHAKTIVEDANTA SWAMI has translated it and given explanations .

Srila Visvanatha Cakravati Thakur is one of the great writers of what’s referred to in the Vedas as trancendental rasa .

It is said material life is like oil in water , meaning our permanent consciousness is a different substance than what it is surrounded by , namely ever changing matter in all its forms both subtle and gross . Spiritual kingdoms can be compared to oil in oil ,  means the whole spiritual kingdom is made of consciousness energies , so consciousness and the land it lives in is of the same recipro catory substance .  Playful trancendental emotions are played out by extremely charismatic trancendental personalities  in ever new and ever enthusistic ways the absolute nature means intense  emotions become  palpable literally , and Pranaya the oneness of sharing trancendental feelings is experienced in full .When Krishna hears the gopies try to  explain what they are doing in  what He considers His flower garden , their voices alone send deep ripples of ecstatic emotions through His body . Once  He was watching Vishakha, click her nails together, and waves of ecstacy entered His heart . What to speak of when the Rasa dance begins and the greatest of spontaneous musicians begin to uniquely perfect newer and newer musical combinations , and newer and newer expressive dance and glances begin to playfully exhibited by the gopies. These spiritual glances are full of the emotions of the very soul of such persons and they are directly felt by others .

We should remember this world and the best of its artistry and the  best of its cultures and behaviour are  a fragmental preview of the super subjective realms  of the eternal Goloka Vrndavana , which we are all welcome to explore , the Vedas give us access and yogic processes

http://www.thevedicspectator.com