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  1. V

    Devas?

    Some clarifications: Ishtha-devata is not only a smarta concept. Not only smartas consider Shiva and Vishnu intimately connected. The three deities are connected in all post-Vedic schools without exception, although this interplay gets sometimes recast - both Vaishnavites and Shaivites will...
  2. V

    Congress prayer announcement

    His rudraksha? Improperly done, as there's supposed to be 40 placed head to tail directly, and sometimes looped. I don't know why it would be improper, it's possible he has some other agama telling him otherwise, but I doubt it. Aside from that, I had mixed feelings about it. I can't...
  3. V

    Dvaita Hindus?

    As great as Tukaram was, Dnyaneshwar lighted a way beyond vagaries of dualism and monism in his Amritanubhav.
  4. V

    Devas?

    Who is Ma Kali composed of if not the devas? Who is any purush composed of?
  5. V

    I am making my own holy book!

    Why would you do this to yourself? What is the point? Do you think you'll have anything more than a corpse of the truth after you've finished beating the ink out of it?
  6. V

    Dvaita Hindus?

    A strong opinion for the day: it is worthless to select a philosophy because it agrees with our preconceptions about self and god. This is pasha, bondage to ignorance. Our interpretation of vedanta - or the philosophies outside of vedanta - should deliver us out of our preconceptions, take us...
  7. V

    Devas?

    Yes. This is only superstition, and had more to do with mistaken concepts of ishtha-devata, in a thread hopelessly choked with misconceptions. People are hierarchically obsessed so their gods must be; in reality it is more like a division of labor among the devas. Are you higher than...
  8. V

    Dvaita Hindus?

    Dvaitins probably outnumber advaitins in India. In the West, Advaita is much more attractive, although mostly neo-advaita. Most modern Krishna-worshipers take much of their doctrine from Madhvacharya, as gaudiya vaishnavism stems partially from the Brahma sampradaya of Madhva. Have you read...
  9. V

    how is Advaita not solipsistic??

    Have you read the Avatamsaka? Buddhist emptiness actually disavows interconnectedness at its 'ultimate' (lol) statement.
  10. V

    Interested in learning more about Sant Nirankari

    Because ink and paper can't move shakti the way an embodied, organic being can. I mean no disrespect for the Guru Granth Sahib. I've read sizable chunks of it, and keep a copy of the Jaap Sahib handy, and some other hymns of Nanak. I have no doubt that the abhaangs collected from the various...
  11. V

    Interested in learning more about Sant Nirankari

    Thanks Gursikh, so to confirm: there was nothing said to preclude more gurus coming about?
  12. V

    Interested in learning more about Sant Nirankari

    Was anything said that precluded human gurus after Guru Gobind Singh?
  13. V

    Calling all Shaivas: today is Bhairava Ashtami

    You may find the observing Shaivas of India more stringent about observing Shaiva holidays which are many and outlined in the puranas - Vayu, Linga, etc., and also the more exoteric agamas such as the Ajita.
  14. V

    Congress prayer announcement

    I'm not sure it's a good idea for Hinduism to gain cachet by appeal to such symbols of respectability/authority. Time will tell.
  15. V

    A cross

    This is one of the most problematic interpretations that has plagued the transmission of Hinduism to the West. Actually, Hinduism is very precise in stipulating rituals, practices, observances, etc., generally without succumbing to the excessive moralistic legalism one sees in Abrahamic...
  16. V

    Interested in learning more about Sant Nirankari

    Thanks Gursikh. I became aware of udasis & Baba Siri Chand in particular visiting Gobind Sadan in Delhi quite by accident. Baba Virsa Singh ji was very much a living guru - and still is, even in death, and was a disciple of Baba Siri Chand through dreamlike emanations. But this seems quite...
  17. V

    Hinduism and Alcohol

    Alcohol, in moderation, is fairly benign. It's the social stigmas that are usually more problematic than the effects - repression in society creates a countertrend - people end up using alcohol and other substances for the wrong reasons, in the wrong environments, with the wrong approach, etc...
  18. V

    Scientific mistakes in the Quran?

    Copout smokescreen.
  19. V

    Islam a Religion of Peace: A Debate to watch

    If these are the brightest sentiments humanity has to offer on the self-evidently absurd...
  20. V

    Israel warns Russia over arms shipment

    Funny how politically polarizing religions are. It's like we all have local baseball teams.
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