@answ 495838

Hare Krishna Cindy,

 > Thank you so much for your quick and complete replies to my questions.
 > It has helped me a great deal in my paper.  I realize, however, that I
 > do not fully understand bhakti-yoga, nor do I think that I really ever
 > will. It seems a very complicated religion with a lot to memorize.  My
 > goodness, you know a lot.

   Thanks for writing back. I am happy that my answers were of some help.
Please do not worry about whether you *fully* understand bhakti-yoga or
not. Bhakti-yoga simply means the science of loving devotional service to
God. That's all. It is already there in our hearts, dormant, waiting to be
awakened. If you love God and His devotees, then that is bhakti. Give it
time to mature.

   The science of God is complicated for the complicated and simple for
the simple. Christianity, Judaism, etc. are not more or less complicated.
One should just follow. But that is exactly the problem. We don't always
do that.

   All religions originally teach that same essence. But as I mentioned
before, the corruption of these teachings lies in the fact that everyone
interprets them as they like. To understand sastra you need guru. To
understand spiritual scripture you need a spiritual master, who has lived
and realized the teachings, to guide you. That is not only true for Vedic
scripture, but for *all* scripture -- Bible, Koran, Torah, etc. As a matter
of fact, you even need guidance for material knowledge. I have never seen
someone becoming a brain surgeon, jet engine engineer or architect by just
reading books and following his own interpretations. It simply doesn't
work.

  Even the Bible has its purports, though not included in the Bible
itself. They were written down separately and later collected and compiled
by Saint Nikodimos of the Holy Mountain and Saint Makarios of Corinth in a
work called Philokalia (love for God). Those texts were written between
the fourth and fifteenth century by spiritual masters of the original
Orthodox Christian tradition. These spiritual masters are commonly known
as the desert fathers. And by the way, if you know "The Way of the
Pilgrim", you should know about the Philokalia, as that was the book of
guidance the pilgrim treasured on his journey.

   The teachings you will find in the Philokalia are the purports to the
Bible by self realized souls who had fully understood its import and
conclusion. And, surprisingly or not, they do not at all differ from the
teachings of the Vedic scriptures.

   The Faber & Faber edition (1979, ISBN 0-571-13013-5) is translated by a
group of very objective scholars, who went back to the original Greek
documents for their translation. It is a master piece.

 > I must apologize for referring to Hare Krishna as a "branch of
 > Hinduism". I did not mean any offense to that reference.  I only meant
 > that it teaches much the same as I have learned about what is called
 > "Hinduism". (Even Hinduism in the United States, which I now realize is
 > more properly called "Vedic Dharma".)

   No offense. If my answer made you think that it was taken as such, I am
the one who owes you an apology.
  
 > Your religion intrigues me, however.  It is very much different than my
 > own.  And yet, it is very much the same as well.  As you may have
 > guessed, I am a Christian.  Although I am a Christian, I still enjoy
 > the study of other cultures and religions.

   Then please read both the Philokalia and the Bhagavad-gita (by A.C.
Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada) and discover that real religion is not
subject to designations like Hindu, Christian, Moslem, Jew, etc. Just as
the soul proper is not subject to designations of color, creed,
nationality, function, society, nation, etc. Real religion is about who we
really are, love for God, and how to return to Him and take as many
conditioned souls with us as we can. =)
  
 > My major, here in college, is Psychology/Religion. It is my hope to
 > someday do intensive studies in Social-cultural Psychology/Religion.
 > That is, I would like to study the effects that Religion has on the
 > Culture of a specific area- and vice versa. Hinduism rather intrigues
 > me, as my best friends mom grew up in India. The religions of Africa
 > also intrigue me, as my best friend grew up in Africa. Well, thank-you
 > very much for your help.  I hope to do your religion justice.  I am
 > often ammused at papers that people of other religions write on
 > Christianity- as I see very simple flaws in them. (sometimes- outright
 > wrong sayings.)  I am sure that you would be ammused at my paper. But,
 > since the only way to truly understand something is to get really
 > involved, and this paper is due in two days, I don't think that I will
 > truly understand bhakti-yoga as I write this.

   I understand. Your observations are correct. As long as there is this
kind of "competition" idea amongst religions, all have missed the point.
Rather, we should see the simple fact that we are *all* in the same
situation. If a ship sinks and all are floating around in the ocean, who
cares about your nationality, or what he or she thinks about the
temperature of the water or the color of the sky. The point is that we
don't belong there and should find a way to get out.

   Now we are all in the material world. Spirit souls locked up in a
temporary material body, trying to be the controller and the enjoyer. Our
real business is to realize that we are eternal servants of the Supreme
Lord and return to our constitutional position in the spiritual world,
reviving our original relationship with the Lord. Not to quarrel over
temporary bodies and their designations.

 > Thank-you for everything. I may be writing from time to time to ask
 > other questions- if I have them.  Until then- may you be blessed in
 > peace and love.
 >
 > p.s.  Where are you from?

   Same place as you. I was also one of these fools who thought he could
enjoy separately from the Lord. But I guess that is not what you mean...
In this life I took birth in Holland, in a male body, in 1968. I have been
living in Sweden for the last six years, studying and practicing
vaishnavism. Before that I studied world religions and history -- mainly
focussing on origins and forbidden archaeology -- in Holland for six
years.

   Thanks for the blessing. And please do write if you feel like it. I
would appreciate that. At least tell me how your paper came out. =)

   Hoping this meets you well and deeply in love with that beautiful and
sweet Lord, who sometimes appears blackish and sometimes white, as He
likes...

   "My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand. His
head is as the most fine gold, His locks are bushy, and black as a raven.
His eyes are as the eyes of doves by the rivers of waters, washed with
milk, and fitly set. His cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers;
His lips like lilies, dropping sweet smelling myrrh. His hands are as gold
rings set with the beryl; His belly is as bright ivory overlaid with
sapphires. His legs are as pillars of marble, set upon sockets of fine
gold; His countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars. His mouth is
most sweet; yea, He is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is
my friend." (The Song of Solomon, 5:10-16)

   Oh, how you would like the Brahma-samhita...

   Love,

   Varnadi das.

