05-19-2007, 12:42 AM
Thank you Rhytha! And HH!!
Am glad to be here, finally back to civilization and uninterrupted internet.
A couple of years in a rural village makes anybody feel aged and wiser. India will never be the same for me now. <!--emo&
--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif' /><!--endemo-->
<!--QuoteBegin-SwamyG+May 18 2007, 09:49 PM-->QUOTE(SwamyG @ May 18 2007, 09:49 PM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->Well, personally I do not gel with the bhakti tradition. Well that is me. Do we exist just to please the Lord, and dance at his (her?) whims and fancies? I am not so sure.
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Hmm. You got it quite wrong. We exist to to enjoy ourselves.
The nature of the soul is to enjoy. Hinduism is unique that it recognises enjoyment of supreme bliss as the very nature of the soul. Thats the precisely why every living being seeks pleasure and shuns pain. Semitic religions just got it wrong - We exist solely for the purpose of enjoyment.
(but I need to add: that by denying ourselves mundane and ordinary pleasure which bind us to their reactions and keep us in illusion, we free ourselves to strive & obtain permanent and ultimate bliss which is God-realization)
As parts of the whole, there is exchange of deep love between the Bhaktha and his Lord, who are one and identical, separated to enjoy each other. This love is transcendental, therefore free from illusion and its effect.. and..
It is NOT ONE SIDED, but cuts both ways. The Lord becomes the servant of his devotee, tries to please him while the Devotee tries to reciprocate at a higher level.
Say, like the exchange of love between a mother and her child. The mother does not please the child for the only purpose of pleasing the child, but because it gives her immense pleasure too, see her child enjoy.
Lord says: I see u devotional and I raise mine to you by two.
The game goes on and on, the loving exchange between them keeps increasing to no end. Such is the wonder and joy of Bhakthi.
Every single joy and pleasure of THIS world is a pale illusion of the real joy of our true self in the Spiritual realm. Due to Illusion, we think that the meagre joys of this world are supreme, while they are only a mirror image.
Similarly, Adultery and the passion involved in adultery is so intense that it is almost akin to the love of a devotee for his lord. The intensity, thrill, and pleasure of a illicit relationship makes it so similar to what a Devotee feels for God, that this analogy is used widely for the love of God by most Acharyas.
Of course, it requires much understanding on our part and lots of reading to even touch the topic of the adulterous love the Gopis had for Lord Krishna. This lust is considered the highest form of devotional love, but there are much to learn about it. I am not qualified to talk about it, nor is this forum the best place to discuss it.
Am glad to be here, finally back to civilization and uninterrupted internet.
A couple of years in a rural village makes anybody feel aged and wiser. India will never be the same for me now. <!--emo&
--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif' /><!--endemo--> <!--QuoteBegin-SwamyG+May 18 2007, 09:49 PM-->QUOTE(SwamyG @ May 18 2007, 09:49 PM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->Well, personally I do not gel with the bhakti tradition. Well that is me. Do we exist just to please the Lord, and dance at his (her?) whims and fancies? I am not so sure.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Hmm. You got it quite wrong. We exist to to enjoy ourselves.
The nature of the soul is to enjoy. Hinduism is unique that it recognises enjoyment of supreme bliss as the very nature of the soul. Thats the precisely why every living being seeks pleasure and shuns pain. Semitic religions just got it wrong - We exist solely for the purpose of enjoyment.
(but I need to add: that by denying ourselves mundane and ordinary pleasure which bind us to their reactions and keep us in illusion, we free ourselves to strive & obtain permanent and ultimate bliss which is God-realization)
As parts of the whole, there is exchange of deep love between the Bhaktha and his Lord, who are one and identical, separated to enjoy each other. This love is transcendental, therefore free from illusion and its effect.. and..
It is NOT ONE SIDED, but cuts both ways. The Lord becomes the servant of his devotee, tries to please him while the Devotee tries to reciprocate at a higher level.
Say, like the exchange of love between a mother and her child. The mother does not please the child for the only purpose of pleasing the child, but because it gives her immense pleasure too, see her child enjoy.
Lord says: I see u devotional and I raise mine to you by two.
The game goes on and on, the loving exchange between them keeps increasing to no end. Such is the wonder and joy of Bhakthi.
Every single joy and pleasure of THIS world is a pale illusion of the real joy of our true self in the Spiritual realm. Due to Illusion, we think that the meagre joys of this world are supreme, while they are only a mirror image.
Similarly, Adultery and the passion involved in adultery is so intense that it is almost akin to the love of a devotee for his lord. The intensity, thrill, and pleasure of a illicit relationship makes it so similar to what a Devotee feels for God, that this analogy is used widely for the love of God by most Acharyas.
Of course, it requires much understanding on our part and lots of reading to even touch the topic of the adulterous love the Gopis had for Lord Krishna. This lust is considered the highest form of devotional love, but there are much to learn about it. I am not qualified to talk about it, nor is this forum the best place to discuss it.