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special mercy, I, dwelling in
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the darkness born of ignorance."
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Srila Prabhupada dipika.org Features Books Contributors Discussions Downloads Padayatra Websites Worldwide Earlier Articles
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Simple
Living, High Thinking Janmady asya yatah... The Absolute Truth is that from which everything emanates... The supreme one who is celebrated as the Supreme Being or the Supreme Soul is the supreme source of the cosmic manifestation as well as its reservoir and winding up. Thus he is the Supreme Fountainhead, the Absolute Truth (S.B. 2.10.7) Since the cosmic manifestation is an incarnation of Lord Krsna's energy; logically all aspects of creation must reflect the nature of the original cause, i.e. the Supreme Being, Lord Sri Krsna. Therefore, we should be able to empirically verify that any action (vikarma) which violates the basic tenets of Krishna consciousness will also be socially and environmentally unsustainable in the long term. Otherwise, it will be argued that the Vedic definition of the Absolute Truth is invalid or that the simple living model is an inaccurate reflection of the Absolute Truth. Certainly neither is true. So this provides the devotees an opportunity to show how the devotional lifestyle can act as a panacea for all of today's moral and social problems. The Prominent Link: A Response by the Sastric Advisory Council Posted March 31, 2003 For Downloading A surface reading of PL suggests that the author is just saying "let’s put Srila Prabhupada in the center," which is, of course, something everyone in ISKCON will support.... Unfortunately, that is not all that the author is saying. This fact may not be apparent, however, to those who do not read PL carefully. In our deliberations, we found that because the author consciously avoided using the standard siksa- and diksa-guru terminology, a terminology given to us by Srila Prabhupada and the previous acaryas, it was difficult to understand the full implications of his statements in PL. Why I Posted Dhira Govinda's Letter By Umapati Swami Posted March 31, 2003 Normally, I would not post anything like Dhira Govinda's answer to Danavir Goswami, as it is simply a variation on the ritvik theme, but I felt that I should give Dhira Govinda Prabhu the right to respond. Dhira Govinda's errors are explained in detail in the Response by the Sastric Advisory Council, available for downloading, but I would like to add something. Although Srila Prabhupada is the siksa guru for everyone in ISKCON, people still need help understanding him. Every newcomer needs to be taught the meaning of Srila Prabhupada's words by older devotees; otherwise, he or she will misinterpret them according to previously held ideas, as Dhira Govinda has done. A Letter Regarding Prominent Link By Dhira Govinda dasa Posted March 31, 2003 March 18, 2003 Dear Maharajas and Prabhus, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. With regard to the article "On Dhira Govinda dasa," appearing on the Dipika website on March 10, 2003, please know that I hold the greatest respect for Danavir Maharaja. He has extensively guided and instructed me in Krsna consciousness and I am forever indebted to him. Below are some excerpts from Appendix A of the book Srila Prabhupada: The Prominent Link, that further explain this relationship: By Danavir Goswami Posted March 10, 2003 In 1989 I initiated Dhira Govinda dasa (aka David Wolf.) In 1998 he began writing papers: The Humble Guru (1998), Srila Prabhupada, the Direct Link (2001), Srila Prabhupada, the Prominent Link (2002), and a new, revised Srila Prabhupada, the Prominent Link (2003). Finding those papers to contain deviant ritvik philosophy using but slightly altered terms, I refuted them in writing through The Humble Disciple, (published on the former Chakra website) and the books Diksa Diksa as well as Poison Antidote. In personal discussions too I have clearly expressed my total disapproval of his Prominent Link theory. Moreover, the GBC body wrote that "The Prominent Link deviates from Srila Prabhupada's teachings and instructions." Dhira Govinda dasa has effectively rejected me as his spiritual master in word and deed through profusely publishing views, advice, and written material for over four years that directly opposes my wishes, instructions, and teachings.
A
Time for Reflection
New Year's Day. A time to reflect upon the past, imbibe the lessons learned, and look forward to a new beginning. When I first joined the temple, a devotee explained to me that everyone who comes in contact with Krsna is a great soul, a mahatma. He told me that even the postman who delivers Krsna's mail is very special and should be respected. I was in awe. Submitted by Mukunda Datta dasa Posted December 21, 2002 One day in 1977, on the veranda in Mayapura, Srila Prabhupada said that his disciples were pure devotees who had come to help him. "How could it be that we're all pure devotees?" asked Bhavananda. "We were all born as mlecchas, in meat-eating families, and so on..." Srila Prabhupada cut him off. "That was all superficial," Srila Prabhupada said. "As soon as you heard the Holy Name, you came running." Bhavananda told this story on January 5, 2001, commenting on the potency of the Hare Krsna mantra after a Brhad-bhagavatamrta lecture given by Tamala Krsna Gosvami in Sydney, Australia. Mukunda Datta dasa
Varnasrama:
An The Hare Krishna movement has not fulfilled its responsibility in regards to spiritual, self- sufficient community development as envisioned by its Founder/Acarya, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. If this is to change, past mistakes and misconceptions must be re-evaluated using the writings and spoken words of Srila Prabhupada as the litmus test for success. Presently, there is a wide gap in the understanding of how to bridge the philosophy of Krishna consciousness to the practical skills needed to build a sustainable, spiritually focused society. Progress is dependent on narrowing this gap.
Krishna
Consciousness: My desire in this article is to discuss and attempt to reconcile the essence of Srila Prabhupada’s arguments to support the scientific basis for God consciousness with the methods and processes accepted by the contemporary scientific community. It is my belief that those who are convinced of the merits of science and the scientific method will find the arguments presented by Srila Prabhupada to be fairly compelling. In the relatively recent history of science, there appears to be an underlying yet unstated assumption that religious doctrine and science are mutually exclusive with little hope for reconciliation. It is my hope that this article will, in some small measure, inspire the reader to attempt to bridge the gap between science and faith. Siksa
or Diksa Sampradaya? Dear devotees, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. Can we call our sampradaya a siksa sampradaya? My understanding is as follows. Any sampradaya can be called simply sampradaya. There is no need to call ours exclusively a siksa sampradaya, as in certain quarters devotees are calling it. The siksa sampradaya proponents just took the parampara list given in Bhagavad-gita as It Is and started explaining that ours is a siksa line, siksa parampara, etc. |
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