If all the world were Hare Krishna...

[krishnano]

I was just thinking; would you as religionists do it?

I mean, Gaudiya Vaishnava philosophy aims to be nonsectarian in that it allows a person to keep one's own religion if it teaches them love of God and to glorify Him, especially through His Holy Names.

Anyone from any religion can practice Gaudiya philosophy and be a 'Gaudiya Christian' 'Gaudiya Muslim' 'Gaudiya Sikh' etc. even if they do not want to chant Hare Krishna.

The only requirement is the understanding that one is a servant of God (never was God and never will become or merge into God) and that the best way to remember Him is through chanting His Name revealed in Scripture, such as Jehovah or YHWH, Allah, Krishna, Waheguru, Abha, etc. And even further when following certain ethical standards of living, such as vegetarianism, no gambling, no drugs, alcohol or caffeine, and regulated sex life within marriage.

The actual Four Regulative Principles are as follows:

1) No meat eating (including meat, fish, eggs, onions, garlic, and mushrooms) - encourages mercy and compassion
2) No gambling - encourages truthfulness
3) No intoxication (includes drugs, alcohol, smoking, and caffeinated substances) - encourages cleanliness
4) No illicit sex - regulated sex life, best within marriage and as much as possible, only for children, once a month (but that's more of a Vaishnava rule; basic is sex within marriage) - encourages chastity

So would you be able to take up these ethical and spiritual practices? If you chanted the Name of God, and followed these ethical standards to the best of your ability, it paves a life conducive to the practice of any form of yoga. It is why we also tout it 'nonsectarian' because we do not seek to convert other religionists; we simply are here to inform that the glorification of God and His Names are essential to a bhakti-influenced lifestyle.

Are you following these things, some of these things, none of these things, or are already following these things?

I'm just curious to see if I will ever see Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Zoroastrians, Wiccans and other Neo-Pagans, Buddhists, Baha'is, Unitarian Universalists, Native Spiritualists, Cao Daiists, Bayanis, New Agers, Jains, Sikhs, Daoists, Confucianists, Satanists, Scientologists, Jews (and even atheists) etc. take up such a lifestyle.

Hare Krishna!

 

[Heneni]

I
The actual Four Regulative Principles are as follows:

1) No meat eating (including meat, fish, eggs, onions, garlic, and mushrooms) - encourages mercy and compassion
2) No gambling - encourages truthfulness
3) No intoxication (includes drugs, alcohol, smoking, and caffeinated substances) - encourages cleanliness
4) No illicit sex - regulated sex life, best within marriage and as much as possible, only for children, once a month (but that's more of a Vaishnava rule; basic is sex within marriage) - encourages chastity

I wish I knew what jesus's diet was then I could comment on number 1).

But i have a suspicion...he ate fish, or that he didnt mind others eating it.

 

[Father Heathen]

1) No meat eating (including meat, fish, eggs, onions, garlic, and mushrooms) - encourages mercy and compassion
2) No gambling - encourages truthfulness
3) No intoxication (includes drugs, alcohol, smoking, and caffeinated substances) - encourages cleanliness
4) No illicit sex - regulated sex life, best within marriage and as much as possible, only for children, once a month (but that's more of a Vaishnava rule; basic is sex within marriage) - encourages chastity

I think I'll pass..

..and what exactly is wrong with onions, garlic and mushrooms?

 

[methylatedghosts]

But I LOVE garlic! and onions. and mushrooms. I'm slightly confused as to why those are there.

And as for sex, I'll have to say I'm not for what you propose here.

I can cope with no intoxication, but I do like beer, weed and coffee...
And I only gamble with a scratchie from the lotto about once a month or so.

 

[Heneni]

I'm just curious to see if I will ever see Christians, Muslims, Hindus, etc. take up such a lifestyle.

Hare Krishna!

Add to that....the atheist please...(and everything in between) our dear friends dont appreciate being excluded from such discussions even though they dont think hare krishna is real. But we cant discirminate you know...Just because they dont have any hair, doesnt mean we shouldnt show them our shampoo to comment on its effectiveness and usefullness.

Just be ready to hear...your shampoo is 'crap' anytime soon.

 

[krishnano]

The reason why garlic and onions are exluded is that traditionally, for one to practice yoga, garlic and onions are considered overstimulating to the senses and promote passionate feelings.

Everything material is considered part of the three modes of material nature (gunas): the mode of goodness (sattva), the mode of passion (rajas) and the mode of ignorance (tamas). Foods not only affect the body, but they also affect the mind and consciousness as well. Vegetables, fruits, grains, nuts, seeds, legumes, and milk products are considered in the mode of goodness. Onions and garlic are traditionally considered in the mode of passion, and mushrooms are considered in the mode of ignorance because they grow in dark places and are a fungus.

It's also why you'll see Buddhists and Jains who choose to be vegetarian will also eschew onions, garlics, chives, shallots and leeks for the very same reason!

Haribol!

 

[krishnano]

Add to that....the atheist please...(and everything in between) our dear friends dont appreciate being excluded from such discussions even though they dont think hare krishna is real. But we cant discirminate you know...Just because they dont have any hair, doesnt mean we shouldnt show them our shampoo to comment on its effectiveness and usefullness.

Just be ready to hear...your shampoo is 'crap' anytime soon.

I could never shave my head personally. I love my hair too much!

 

[krishnano]

I wish I knew what jesus's diet was then I could comment on number 1).

But i have a suspicion...he ate fish, or that he didnt mind others eating it.

Well, there existed the Ebionites, Essenes, and I believe the Nazarenes; these were early Christians, of whom many took to vegetarianism as a Christian way of life (before they were extinguished by the Pauline Christians and labelled as heretics).

There is also another manuscript in existence that claims that Jesus was actually a vegetarian, and (for example) the food that John the Baptist ate was not locusts, but carob bean! It would make sense with the Isaiah-ic prophecy saying how the Messiah would eat butter and honey - indicative of a vegetarian diet.

But if you need to eat meat, fish is the leanest, healthiest, and least karmically bound meat to eat.

 

[Surya Deva]

I would be creeped out

I could not live a Hare Krishna way of life. I have got nothing against the principles,
I am vegetarian myself, I do not gamble, and I went through a phase of not eating
onions and garlic, but I have stopped now. I don't see the wisdom in not eating
onions and garlic, perhaps when I am more sensitive spiritually. But shaving the head
chanting the Mantra all the time, the utter devotion and dancing with the cymbals out
in public is not for me

 

[krishnano]

I would be creeped out

I think the title of my thread is a little misleading, lol... I was referring to our bhakti practices and ethical standards as opposed to nominational adherence. XD The monks shave their heads out of cleanliness... and my head is full of black, Filipino hair. Not all of us necessarily take to saffron...

And you don't have to chant in public with kartals (cymbals)... just chant the Name of God (Vishnu, Ishvara, Krishna, Narayana, Govinda, Rama, etc.) and be vegetarian. That's all we want! We don't preach religion as much as we want people to become bhakti-yogis (I know... we're terrible, terrible people... )

 

[Surya Deva]

I think other people take better to Bhakti than I do. I have tried three different groups that did Bhakti: Brahma Kumaris, Anandamarga Yoga and attended maybe one or two Hare Krishna meetings and the temple in India. Technically, the BK's are a Raja Yoga sect, but this was misleading, they were more Bhakti in their outlook; Anandamarga Yoga drove me up the wall with the Kirtan, and HK, well I found them a tad fundamentalist and again the Kirtan!!!

 

[methylatedghosts]

The reason why garlic and onions are exluded is that traditionally, for one to practice yoga, garlic and onions are considered overstimulating to the senses and promote passionate feelings.

Everything material is considered part of the three modes of material nature (gunas): the mode of goodness (sattva), the mode of passion (rajas) and the mode of ignorance (tamas). Foods not only affect the body, but they also affect the mind and consciousness as well. Vegetables, fruits, grains, nuts, seeds, legumes, and milk products are considered in the mode of goodness. Onions and garlic are traditionally considered in the mode of passion, and mushrooms are considered in the mode of ignorance because they grow in dark places and are a fungus.

It's also why you'll see Buddhists and Jains who choose to be vegetarian will also eschew onions, garlics, chives, shallots and leeks for the very same reason!

Haribol!

So is passion a bad thing then?

Because I'm a rather passionate person, and I love it like that lol

 

[Surya Deva]

So is passion a bad thing then?

It is from a Yogic perspective. There are three modes/forces/qualities of nature, they are attraction, neutral and repulsion. This is equivalent to inertia, stilness and motion, ignorance, knowledge and desire. This entire universe is the interplay of these three forces, everything within it, and all substances have a predominance of one of these forces, including substances we consume through our senses and through our mouth. As yoga meditation is about achieving stillness, neutralness, stilness and knowledge, only that which can has the predominance of these qualities is good for a Yogi.

The items thus which they must avoid completely are the inertia, ignorance inducing substances: alcohol, nicotine, most drugs and meat. The activities to be avoided are gambling, laziness. These retard ones consciousness.

The items which they must either take in very moderate amounts or avoid altogether, which are passion inducing substances: chocolate, coffee, onions and garlic. The activities to be moderated or avoided: aggressive sports, arguments, sex, overprojecting. These cause one to become too externalised.

The items which the Yogi must consume, which are knowledge and wisdom inducing substances are: milk, honey, water, certain lentils, rice. The activities to be included are meditation, living in the moment, listening to meditative and soothing music. All of these are conducive to meditation.

 

[methylatedghosts]

It is from a Yogic perspective. There are three modes/forces/qualities of nature, they are attraction, neutral and repulsion. This is equivalent to inertia, stilness and motion, ignorance, knowledge and desire. This entire universe is the interplay of these three forces, everything within it, and all substances have a predominance of one of these forces, including substances we consume through our senses and through our mouth. As yoga meditation is about achieving stillness, neutralness, stilness and knowledge, only that which can has the predominance of these qualities is good for a Yogi.

The items thus which they must avoid completely are the inertia, ignorance inducing substances: alcohol, nicotine, most drugs and meat. The activities to be avoided are gambling, laziness. These retard ones consciousness.

The items which they must either take in very moderate amounts or avoid altogether, which are passion inducing substances: chocolate, coffee, onions and garlic. The activities to be moderated or avoided: aggressive sports, arguments, sex, overprojecting. These cause one to become too externalised.

The items which the Yogi must consume, which are knowledge and wisdom inducing substances are: milk, honey, water, certain lentils, rice. The activities to be included are meditation, living in the moment, listening to meditative and soothing music. All of these are conducive to meditation.

But onions and garlic are so good for you!! sure, they make you fart, but they're very very healthy.

 

[krishnano]

I think other people take better to Bhakti than I do. I have tried three different groups that did Bhakti: Brahma Kumaris, Anandamarga Yoga and attended maybe one or two Hare Krishna meetings and the temple in India. Technically, the BK's are a Raja Yoga sect, but this was misleading, they were more Bhakti in their outlook; Anandamarga Yoga drove me up the wall with the Kirtan, and HK, well I found them a tad fundamentalist and again the Kirtan!!!

Well, I mean Hare Krishnas are not new; we are Gaudiya Vaishnavas, a denominational branch of Vaishnava Dharma, which is in itself fundamentalistic in its doctrine. What can you do?

Well, I guess kirtan is not for you then... but you can always do nama japa, no?

 

[krishnano]

But onions and garlic are so good for you!! sure, they make you fart, but they're very very healthy.

It may be good for your body, but it still has effects on your mind and consciousness. There is a differentiation between bodily effects and mental effects. You don' have to believe in it, but Ayurvedic science, Buddhism and Jainism agree to these potent spices.

Plus, they give you bad breath! And if you like onions and garlic, one can always replace it with the equally nice spice, hing or asafoetida. It smells bad, but when cooked in other dishes, it tastes transcendental!

The three modes of material nature have certain qualities: the mode of goodness is often characterised in goodness, knowledge, stillness, creativity, etc. the mode of passion is that of activity, force, motion, willpower, and sometimes anger and, well, passion. The mode of ignorance is that of darkness, inertia, laziness, fatigue, sleepiness, etc. If one wants to practice any form of yoga (this includes the watered-down hatha yoga that is so popular in the West), one has to follow initially those things that promote the mode of goodness, sattva, and then transcend beyond it.

Bhakti yoga is the easiest yoga to follow, but it still contains rules and regulations. These are simplified by the following of the Four Regulative Principles, whilst others like Raja Yoga (the way or discipline of meditation of God) has so many rules and regulations that it's just not possible to follow it in this day and age. I think there are like, eight processes for meditation, as well as having to sit on kusha grass, staring at the tip of one's nose, amongst other things.

Ever since I've given up eating chocolate and other caffeinated substances (I loved my black tea, Indian chai and black coffee), I felt a profound change in my system, and I found myself much clearer in understanding. I was no longer dependent on such substances for stimulation and alertness, and I felt literally free! I do love carob though!

 

[Charity]

"An apple a day keeps the doctor away, but onions, and garlic keeps everyone away"

Jesus must have encouraged eating fish, after all he supposedly fed a multitude with fishes and bread......

 

[Lucian]

The only requirement is the understanding that one is a servant of God (never was God and never will become or merge into God) and that the best way to remember Him is through chanting His Name revealed in Scripture, such as Jehovah or YHWH, Allah, Krishna, Waheguru, Abha, etc. And even further when following certain ethical standards of living, such as vegetarianism, no gambling, no drugs, alcohol or caffeine, and regulated sex life within marriage.

Well, I suppose you can count the Jews out.

 

[Surya Deva]

But onions and garlic are so good for you!! sure, they make you fart, but they're very very healthy.

What Krishnano said, what is good for the body, is not necessarily good for the mind. In Yoga the Yogi develops very acute awareness and their normal senses become very refined. If you gave a Yogi some food containing onion or garlic, even trace amounts, they could tell it contains onion and garlic. This is because of the effects it has on their mind. I realised this when I abstained from alcohol for a long time, and alcohol has more stronger effects so I am not claiming super sensitivity, I realised just how much I noticed its effects after having a sip again. I felt it pulling my consciousness down that instant.

Although I don't see the wisdom in abstaining from something you have not yet realised is bad for you. if you have not felt onions and garlic are bad for you, then continue eating them. I am doing the same. But I am not living a hardcore life of Yoga yet so I feel no need to abstain from them, and nor do I abstain from the occasional drink, but when I do start living a pure Yoga lifestyle, I am going to have to. It helps you in your meditation

 

[Surya Deva]

Krishnano, for me naam-japa and Bhakti are very similar. I am too much of a Gyani to do these practices, they turn me off I prefer breathing meditations, or meditating on silence, and sometimes I combine breathing meditation with japa of Mantra.