What makes the best combination of mind and soul?

[Jahnu]

Just like water and oil cannot be combined, there is no combination of
the mind and soul. The soul is asango hy ayam purusah - never in
contact with matter. Rather, the soul observes the world through the
mind. It's like observing something through colored glasses. The
picture gets distorted.

The mind works like a filter for the soul.

It's like a computer. The body is like the hardware, the mind is like
the software, and the self (or the soul) is the user. The mind is like
a soft-ware to be used by the soul to interact with material nature.
The more the mind is contaminated by materialism, the more the soul
will have a distorted picture of the world. And the more the mind is
purified by spiritual practice, the more the soul will be in touch
with reality.

In the present age of Kali, people are unhappy and frustrated because
they have created a mechanistic, impersonal conception of nature.
People are not in touch with themselves as souls, they only know
themselves as their body and mind.

Krishna says:

One who is not connected with the Supreme [in Krishna consciousness]
can have neither transcendental intelligence nor a steady mind,
without which there is no possibility of peace. And how can there be
any happiness without peace? (Bg. 2.66)

According to the Vedic Version it is our collective psyche that forms
the material world. By using one's mind according to the directions of
God, like they are given in Bhagavad Gita, one can create optimal
living conditions in the world for oneself as well as for everyone
else. This is done by understanding that nature is a living organism.
In stead, we have created a civilization where nature is regarded as
dead matter, Rather than a personality, nature is regarded as a
machine.

The main problem in the world today is a general lack of
God-consciousness.

And the only solution to this proble is to introduce a process that
will revive the consciousness to its original state of
Krishna-consciousness.

In the present age of darkness this is done by chanting the Hare
Krishna mantra.

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare
Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare

"This mantra, consisting of 16 words and 32 syllables, is the only
means against evil in the age of Kali. After searching through all the
Vedic literature, one cannot find a method of religion more sublime
for this age than the chanting of Hare Krishna."

--- Kali-santarana Upanishad

[EXLEX]

Post by Jahnu
Just like water and oil cannot be combined, there is no combination of
the mind and soul.

Then why do you ask?




--
EXLEX

[Jahnu]

Post by EXLEX
Then why do you ask?

When the soul attains the human life-form, after evolving its
consciousness through the 8,400,000 species, it arrives at a chance to
finally understand the Absolute Truth. If a soul neglects this unique
opportunity to connect with God, it’s a signal to nature that this
soul doesn’t need to be human.

Eating, sleeping, mating, and defending the soul can do in any
life-form, the human life is meant exclusively for one thing -
self-realization. If a human neglects that opportunity, the soul will
be thrown back into yet another cycle in the lower species.

So there are three species that act as gateways back down into the
lower species - dog, crow and turtle. This means that whenever we see
a dog, a crow, or a turtle, they were humans in their last life.

Similarly, there are also three species that act as gateways back into
the human life-forms - tiger, cow, and monkey. So every time we see a
tiger, a monkey or a cow, we should know that they will be humans in
their next birth.

"One attains the human form of life after transmigrating through
8,400,000 species by the process of gradual evolution. That human life
is spoiled for those conceited fools who do not take shelter of the
lotus feet of Govinda."

--Brahma-vaivarta Purana

[EXLEX]

Post by Jahnu

Post by EXLEX
Then why do you ask?

When the soul attains the human life-form, after evolving its
consciousness through the 8,400,000 species...

You've been through all those?
No wonder if you appear a little tired by now.
The rest of us got it right the first time.




--
EXLEX

[Jahnu]

Post by EXLEX
You've been through all those?
No wonder if you appear a little tired by now.
The rest of us got it right the first time.

You think? :D

and then you woke up...

In the Vedic tradition, an evolution of consciousness is understood.

The soul, which is an atomic particle of God’s consciousness, is
situated in all living entities. The human life-form is a extremely
rare occurrence for the soul. Every skin-cell in our body is a soul,
every piece of grass, every microbe, every bacteria is a soul, so we
can understand how rare it is for a soul to obtain a human body.

In the human body, the consciousness of the soul is sufficiently
evolved to understand God and its relation to Him. In all the other 8
million non-human species, the consciousness of the soul is limited to
the bodily needs of eating, sleeping, mating, and defending.

In the material world, the consciousness of the soul evolves gradually
from fish, plants, insects, reptiles, birds, animals and then to
humans (including demigods, rakshasas, gandharvas etc).

There are 900,000 species of aquatic life; 2,000,000 species of plants
and trees; 1,100,000 species of insects; 1,000,000 species of bird
life; 3,000,000 species of beasts, and 400,000 species of human life.
--Padma Purana

And then, finally, after having attained the human form of life, the
soul is given the opportunity for the the consciousness to evolve from
Sraddha to Prema, meaning an evolution from faith in God to love of
God. Obviously, to love God, one needs to know Him first.

One attains the human form of life after transmigrating through
8,400,000 species by the process of gradual evolution. That human life
is spoiled for those conceited fools who do not take shelter of the
lotus feet of Govinda. --Brahma-vaivarta Purana

In the science of bhakti (devotion to God) the consciousness evolves
through 9 stages:

1. sraddha - faith

2. sadhu-sanga - association with saintly people

3. bhajana kriya - following and practicing devotional principles

4. anartha nivritti - purifying the mind from material contamination

5. nistha - becoming steady in one’s sadhana (practice)

6. ruchi - taste for Krishna

7. asakti - attachment to Krishna

8. bhava - the dawning of pure love of God

9. prema - pure, unalloyed love for Krishna

Krishna says:

After many births and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge
surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and all
that is. Such a great soul is very rare. (Bg 7.19)

Srila Prabhupada says:

As far as the soul is concerned, the evolutionary process is going on,
and we are struggling for existence, struggling to come to the point
of eternal life. That eternal life is possible. If you try your best
in this human form of life, in your next life you can get a spiritual
body. Your spiritual body is already within you, and it will develop
as soon as you become free from the contamination of this material
existence. That is the aim of human life. People do not know what
actual self-interest is; it is to realize oneself, to realize, "I am
part and parcel of God, and I have to return to the kingdom of God to
join with God."

--Back to Godhead Magazine-Build Your Nations on the Spiritual
Platform-An Address Given At The University Of Nairobi His Divine
Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

[EXLEX]

Post by Jahnu

Post by EXLEX
You've been through all those?
No wonder if you appear a little tired by now.
The rest of us got it right the first time.

You think? :D

No - I know.




--
EXLEX

[Jahnu]

Post by EXLEX
No - I know.

You think? :D


Here is the new and revised chart, comparing flesh-eaters to plant
eaters, as it appeared in Peter Cox's book, Why You Don't Need Meat,
from 1994. It is highly recommendable reading for those who care about
what they eat, and who care about the planet and its other
inhabitants.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
VEGETARIAN FLESH-EATER HUMAN


Hands / hoofs Claws as append- Hands as
as appendages ages appendages


Teeth flat Teeth sharp Teeth flat

Alkaline saliva; Acid saliva; no Alkaline saliva;
much ptyalin ptyalin enzyme much ptyalin
enzyme enzyme

Stomach acid 10 Much strong hydro- Stomach acid 10
times weaker chloride acid in times weaker than
than meat-eaters stomach meat-eaters

Long intestines Short intestines; Long intestines;
to digest nutrients rapidly excrete digest nutrients in
in plant foods fully putrefying flesh plant foods fully


Sweats to cool Pants to cool Sweats to cool
body body body


Sips water Laps water Sips water


Vitamin C obtained Vitamin C manu- Vitamin C obtained
solely from diet factured internally solely from diet


Exists largely on Consumes flesh Diet depends
fruit and nut diet; exclusively on environment


Grasping hands No manual dexte- Grasping hands
capable of using terity capable of using
tools and weapons tools and weapons


Inoffensive Putrid Offensiveness of
excrement excrement excrement depends on diet


Snack feeder Large meals infre- Combines worst of
frequently taken both worlds


Predominantly Preference for salty Likes both sweet and
sweet toothed / fatty food salty / fatty food


Likes to savor Bolts down Likes to savor food,
food, experiment food experiment with variety,
with variety, com- combine flavors
bine flavors


Large brains, able Small brains, less Large brains, able
to rationalize capable of adaptive to rationalize
behavior

[EXLEX]

Post by Jahnu

Post by EXLEX
No - I know.

You think? :D

No - I know.




--
EXLEX

[Jahnu]

Post by EXLEX
No - I know.

Actually, you know jack squat.

--but, but Ah seen it on TV.

Vedanta-sutra states - ananda-mayo 'bhyasat - the living entity is
pleasure seeking. Whatever people believe in, they are always after
happiness.

Materialist know only bodily and mental enjoyment. The problems with
material enjoyment, though, is that it always ends and is replaced by
suffering.

Actually, because we are spiritual beings, we hanker for eternal
pleasure. The constitution of the soul, as a particle of God, is
sat-chit-ananda. The soul is eternally happy and full of knowledge.
And therefore it is seen that all living entities in the material
world, whatever body the may inhabit, are always gravitating towards
the three - eternity, knowledge and bliss.

So regardless whether we are atheists, materialists, religious,
democrats, or whatever, we want to enjoy. The bad news for
materialists is that the enjoyment they get from the the body and mind
is the very cause of their suffering, for material enjoyment always
and without exception ends in lamentation.

Krishna says:

An intelligent person does not take part in the sources of misery,
which are due to contact with the material senses. O son of Kunti,
such pleasures have a beginning and an end, and so the wise man does
not delight in them. -Bg 5.22

Therefore, once the soul has finally arrived in a human body, after
countless of life-times in different lower species, enjoying eating,
sleeping, mating, and defending, it should wake up to it's original
position of eternal bliss.

The human life-form is a wake up call for the soul to get reinstated
in its natural position of eternity, knowledge, and bliss.

Vedanta-sutra states - athato brahma jijnasa - now the time has come
(meaning in this human life-form) to inquire into the absolute truth.
Only as souls in connection with the Supreme Soul - God - can we taste
the bliss for which we are always hankering, and which can never be
obtained as long as we identify with a material body.

The method to obtain spiritual bliss is by regularly chanting the holy
names of the Lord. ISKCON is the sankirtana movement brought to the
West by Srila Prabhupada, and which was begun by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
(who is God Himself), 500 years ago in Bengal. Sankirtana means the
congregational chanting of the holy names. It is the yuga-dharma -
religion of the age.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu says:

Glory to the Sri Krishna sankirtana, which cleanses the heart of all
the dust accumulated for years and extinguishes the fire of
conditional life, of repeated birth and death. This sankirtana
movement is the prime benediction for humanity at large because it
spreads the rays of the benediction moon. It is the life of all
transcendental knowledge. It increases the ocean of transcendental
bliss, and it enables us to fully taste the nectar for which we are
always anxious. -Sri Sri Siksastakam 1

[EXLEX]

Post by Jahnu

Post by EXLEX
No - I know.

Actually, you know jack squat.

Ah, now you claim to know what I know?
Interesting...

Do you know what others know as well?

Post by Jahnu
--but, but Ah seen it on TV.

Oh?
You're an avid viewer?
What is your favourite program?




--
EXLEX

[Jahnu]

bitch moan whine

"The marvel of the Bhagavad Geeta is its truly beautiful revelation of
life's wisdom which enables philosophy to blossom into religion." -
Herman Hesse

"The Bhagavad Geeta is the most systematic statement of spiritual
evolution of endowing value to mankind. It is one of the most clear
and comprehensive summaries of perennial philosophy ever revealed;
hence its enduring value is subject not only to India but to all of
humanity." - Aldous Huxley

"The idea that man is like unto an inverted tree seems to have been
current in by gone ages. The link with Vedic conceptions is provided
by Plato in his Timaeus in which it states 'behold we are not an
earthly but a heavenly plant.' This correlation can be discerned by
what Krishna expresses in chapter 15 of Bhagavad Geeta." - Carl Jung

"The Bhagavad Geeta has a profound influence on the spirit of mankind
by its devotion to God which is manifested by actions." - Dr. Albert
Schweitzer

"In the morning I bathe my intellect in the stupendous and cosmogonal
philosophy of the Bhagavad Geeta, in comparison with which our modern
world and its literature seem puny and trivial." - Henry David
Thoreau

"The reader is nowhere raised into and sustained in a bigger, purer or
rarer region of thought than in the Bhagavad Gita"
- Henry David Thoreau

"The religion and philosophy of the Hebrews are those of a wilder and
ruder tribe, wanting the civility and intellectual refinements and
subtlety of Vedic culture." - Henry David Thoreau

"In the whole world there is no study so beneficial and so elevating
as that of the Upanishads. It has been the solace of my life -- it
will be the solace of my death." -- Arthur Schopenhauer

"I owed a magnificent day to the Bhagavad Gita. It was as if an empire
spoke to us, nothing small or unworthy, but large, serene, consistent,
the voice of an old intelligence which in another age and climate had
pondered and thus disposed of the same questions which exercise us."
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson The famous poem "Brahm" is an example of his
Vedanta ecstasy.

"The most beautiful, perhaps the only true philosophical song existing
in any known tongue ... perhaps the deepest and loftiest thing the
world has to show." --Wilhelm von Humboldt

"The writers of the Indian philosophies will survive, when the British
dominion in India shall long have ceased to exist, and when the
sources which it yielded of wealth and power are lost to
remembrances." --Lord Warren Hastings


"So far as I am able to judge, nothing has been left undone, either by
man or nature, to make India the most extraordinary country that the
sun visits on his rounds. Nothing seems to have been forgotten,
nothing overlooked. "Land of religions, cradle of human race,
birthplace of human speech, grandmother of legend, great grandmother
of tradition. The land that all men desire to see and having seen once
even by a glimpse, would not give that glimpse for the shows of the
rest of the globe combined." --Mark Twain

[EXLEX]

bitch moan whine

I start to believe you are in dire need of professional help with all
the bitching, moaning and whining?

You are not completely happy are you?




--
EXLEX