Sri Krishna Janmashtami with Paramanand Prabhu in Shenzhen (China)

VAISHNAVISM - Sanatana Dharma

LORD VISHNU

KEY SCRIPTURE: The Vedas , Bhagavad-Gita, Vishnu Purana, Padma Purana, Srimad-Bhagavatam


SCHOOL:
                                                                       Synopsis

Vaishnavism and Vaishnavism - one of the main directions in Hinduism, the distinguishing feature of which is the worship of Vishnu and his avatars, mainly Krishna and Rama, as the Supreme God. Monotheistic in its philosophy, this tradition also includes elements that can be described as pantheistic . The beliefs and practices of this tradition, especially such key concepts as bhakti and bhakti yoga, mainly based on the Puranic texts such as the "Bhagavad-Gita", "Vishnu Purana ',' Padma Purana", "Srimad-Bhagavatam" and Vedic texts, such as the canonical Upanishads are a part of the Vedas. followers of Vaishnavism are usually called "Vaishnava" or "Vaishnavites". According to the latest statistics, the Vaishnavas make up about 70% of all the followers of Hinduism. The vast majority of devotees live in India.

Vaishnavism (Vaishnava) - a conglomerate and sects. Some have arisen spontaneously, some were founded in the Middle Ages, the followers of "Doctors" philosophers and mystics.

The presiding deity Vaishnava - Vishnu, the Absolute personified, giving birth to Brahma, the creator of the world and the souls that make up the body of Vishnu. All other gods - and ultimately the emanation of Vishnu. Ontological views of Vaishnavism - from dualism to monism limited, but the soul in all Vaishnava sects is distinct from God and preserving their individuality.

In Vaishnavism there is the doctrine of avatars, literally "descent of Vishnu on earth to restore dharma." The most revered anthropomorphic avatars are Rama, the hero of "Ramayana," Krishna, the mythical life of which is given in the "Vishnu Purana" and "Bhagavata Purana" ("Srimad-Bhagavatam") - a monument of southern bhakti IX-X centuries. The second to last avatar of Vishnu - the Buddha, who preached heresy, was tempted to retreat from Dharma, thus strengthening the devotees and enticing unstable. The last avatar of Vishnu - Kalki - a kind of Hindu messiah who must appear at the end of the present Kali Yuga. He also has a prototype in Buddhism - Buddha Maitreya.

Salvation is understood in Vaishnavism as the liberation from samsara and the eternal soprebyvanie with the heavenly paradise in the form of Vishnu Vaikuntha. The path to salvation - bhakti - this is a passionate love for the mystical deity, the model for which is love to the divine cowherd Radha Krishna shepherd. Although the ideas, rather, emotions bhakti painted all areas of Hinduism, particularly vivid expression of this type of religiosity was in the cult of Krishna and Radha. Sensuality bhakti Krishnaism turned into a mystical eroticism.

The practice of bhakti-yoga (in the classical bhakti yoga - only element of the preparatory stages) is chanting the rosary and chanting the names of Vishnu and his avatars, in identifying with the characters Vaishnava mythology, the worship of images of gods and saints. In Vaishnavism increased the role of churches and "the temple deities," in which, on presentation of Vaishnava (devotees), Vishnu himself dwells. Idols wake, wash, decorate and feed. Rituals Vaishnavism mainly agamicheskie. Special development in the Krishna cult got kirtan and bhajans - ecstatic chants glorifying the different names of God and his mythical deeds, and accompanied by dances, often wearing ecstatic character. One of the major Vaishnava mantra - "Om Namo Narayanayya."

For the Vaishnava Bhakti as a whole is characterized by an inconsistent attitude to the caste system. On the one hand, many of its preachers theoretically rejected it, and in some communities even took neinduistov, though still the people of India. On the other hand, as a rule, caste differences are taken directly only in the religious sphere, at the time of service.

The major Vaishnava scriptures: epic (especially the "Bhagavad Gita"), 6 Vaishnava Puranas (especially the "Vishnu Purana" and "Bhagavata Purana"), upapurany, pancaratrika Samhita, Sutra, Tantra Gaudiya Vaishnavism , which is one of the branches of Vaishnavism, starting with 1960 spread around the world, mainly due to the preaching of AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, and he founded the International Society for Krishna Consciousness ...

Gaudiya Vaishnavism (also known as Chaitanya Vaishnavism, Bengali Vaishnavism or Krishnaism) - one of the trends in the Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism. founder of Gaudiya Vaishnavism was a great Hindu religious preacher and reformer Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486-1534), whom the followers of the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition consider a special combined avatar of Radha and Krishna in one person, whose coming was foretold in the Vedas and Puranas. philosophy of Gaudiya Vaishnavism is primarily based on the "Bhagavad Gita" and the "Bhagavata Purana", as well as the Vedic scriptures such as the Upanishads . Gaudiya Vaishnavism refers to the monotheistic tradition of Hinduism and is considering various forms of God as the incarnation or avatar, Krishna, who is considered to be the supreme and original alter ego of God. The followers of the Gaudiya Vaishnava known as Gaudiya Vaishnava, or Vaishnava Hare Krishna ...


The objectives of Vaishnavism

The primary goal of Vaishnavism is videha-mukti, liberation - attainable only after death - when a small "I" realizes union with God Vishnu as its particles, while maintaining its pure individual personality. Lord Vishnu - the all-pervading consciousness - is the soul of the universe, different from the world and the jivas, "embodied souls" who are the body. His transcendent Being is a celestial form, residing in Vaikuntha, the home of eternal values ​​and perfection, where the soul is joined to Him by achieving mukti, liberation. The intermediate goal is to experience the grace of God - can be achieved even in the incarnation by finding refuge in the infinite love of Vishnu. Thanks to the love of Vishnu, serving Him and meditating on Him and His incarnations, our spiritual hunger grows and we experience His grace, flooding the whole being

Janmashtami celebrated in Muslim Country

Hindus take part in a colourful procession brought out from Palashi intersection in the capital yesterday celebrating Janmashtami, which marks the birth of the Hindu god Krishna. Photo: Star

The country’s Hindu community yesterday celebrated Janmashtami, a religious festival marking the birth of Lord Krishna, with religious fervour.

Different religious and socio-cultural organisations arranged various programmes including prayer to Lord Krishna, discussions, songs praising Krishna and cultural functions.

In the capital, thousands of people, some dressed as Lord Krishna, Krishna’s father Basudev, mother Deboki, brother Balaram and maternal uncle Kongsha, on foot and on over 100 trucks joined the traditional Janmashtami procession.

Brought out from Palashi intersection near Dhakeshwari National Temple, the procession, part of a three-day programme organised by Mohanagar Sarbojaneen Puja Committee, paraded different roads amid stringent security before ending at Bahadur Shah Park.

Sector Commander Maj Gen (retd) CR Dutta Biruttam inaugurated the procession, attended by Communications Minister Obaidul Quader, State Minister for Home Affairs Shamsul Haque Tuku and Indian Deputy High Commissioner to Dhaka Sandeep Chakraborty.

Devotees also gathered at temples, including Ramakrishna Math and Mission, ISKCON temple at Swamibagh and Mirpur Kendrio Mandir, in the morning to offer their prayers to Lord Krishna.
Vivekananda Shiksha O Sangskriti Parishad of Dhaka University arranged a special prayer at Jagannath Hall. Colourful Janmashtami processions were also brought out in other divisional cities and district headquarters.

Citing from Hindu mythology, Swami Sthiratmananda, assistant secretary of Ramakrishna Mission, said Lord Krishna, the incarnation of God, descended to this world some 5,500 years ago on the 8th lunar day of dark fortnight in the Bangla month Bhadra vowing to establish love, truth and justice.

Devotees observed the day fasting and thinking divine of God to purify their hearts, he added.

The Science of God

LORD MAHA VISHNU

Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego–all together these eight comprise My separated material energies. (Bhagavad-gita 7.4)

The Bhagavad-gita is not giving only spiritual knowledge. It is also giving us information about this material world and how it is working. This is science, material science as well as spritual science. So the Bhagavad-gita gives knowledge of everything, both material and spiritual.

Here, in this verse, Krishna describes His “separated material energies”. So this means He is describing the material energy. Krishna’s internal energy is His spritual energy and the material energy is called Krishna’s separated energy. Because actually, generally speaking, Krishna does not have anything directly to do with the material world. He has organized it in such a nice way that the material world is run by the various demigods who are put into their positions by Krishna and whose business it is to oversee the smooth running of the various departments of universal management.

We can understand from the Bhagavad-gita that the universe is going on under intelligent control. Although Krishna calls the material energy his external energy and although He is not directly in contact with it, He has his representatives, the demigods, in management positions in every department of the universe to ensure that things are running according to plan.

We know it for a fact that in the material world if something is left alone without proper management and organization there is a tendency to disorder. If you don’t clean your room for six months and just throw everything on the floor randomly then you are going to create a big mess. You are not going to create anything beautiful, orderly and organized like the material world. So it is insanity to suggest that this universe is created and is going on simply by random chance. You can not have anything organized and running very punctually and exactly without good management. The universe is working on very exact timings and the arrangements are very perfectly made. And everything keeps working also so that means the required adjustments and corrections are also being made by the intelligent demigods who are managing all the aspects of the functioning of the universe under the direction of Krishna.

So the big difference between Vedic science and Western science is in the Vedas we get the information that everything is going on under the direction of intelligent management. There is no chance. There is a good reason for everything that is happening in the universe and there is intelligence behind the scenes managing and directing everything.

The science of God analyzes the constitutional position of God and His diverse energies. Material nature is called prakrti, or the energy of the Lord in His different purusa incarnations (expansions) as described in the Satvata-tantra:

“For material creation, Lord Krishna’s plenary expansion assumes three Visnus. The first one, Maha-Visnu, creates the total material energy, known as mahat-tattva. The second, Garbhodakasayi Visnu, enters into all the universes to create diversities in each of them. The third, Ksirodakasayi Visnu, is diffused as the all-pervading Supersoul in all the universes and is known as Paramatma, who is present even within the atoms. Anyone who knows these three Visnus can be liberated from material entanglement.”

This is a very important point and key to understanding the operation of the material world. In the creation of the Supreme Lord we see the same thing happening on different scales. This was a theory put forward some years ago by Benoit Mandelbrot who discovered what he called the fractal geometry. Part of his discovery was ‘set similarity’. He discovered that in nature the exact same structures and systems are repeated on a larger and on a smaller scale. An example for this he would give was the branching structure in a tree. You will find that the main big trunk of the tree branches off, and similarly the smaller branches and even inside the leaves you see the veins branching off in the same way, and you see it happening in the roots of the tree. He noted it with the coastline also. No matter what scale you look at it still has the same sort of ‘roughness’.

Anyhow the main point is that in nature we see things are working in a similar way on different scales. It is a very important point to understand, for if we can understand this simple point that will open up our understanding of the universe immensely. We know from the Bhagavad-gita that our bodies are simply matter, they are machines made out of the material energy, and like the other machines we are familiar with, our bodies are completely lifeless and inanimate. As a machine needs to be worked by an operator similarly our material bodies need to be worked by us. And we are not these material bodies actually. We are the spirit souls who are operating or driving these material bodies.

The important point to grasp is that this principle is universal. Matter has no initiative of its own. Without the spirit soul our material bodies would just be lumps of flesh, bones, blood, stool and urine lying on the ground and rotting. Our material bodies only appear to be alive and only have the ability to move and act because they are being operated by us, the spirit soul.

This is the way the whole universe works. If we see matter moving or acting anywhere in the universe we can know for sure that it is not the matter moving by itself. There must be some living force that is moving the matter, or some living force who has created and who is working some machine that is moving the matter.

We can see it on a smaller scale. In our bodies there are many things going on that we are not actually aware of, and there are many other living entities within our body performing their particular tasks that are required to support and maintain the health of the body. Even right down to the level of cells we can find the symptoms of life and can find complex activities going on that can only be explained by intelligent direction. And when we look on a larger scale to any business or organization or country we see that things do not go on randomly simply by chance. No. Everywhere we find there is intelligent direction, there is management, there are rules and regulations and laws. And in this way things are going on nicely.

So here Krishna is giving us very important scientific information on how the universe is working. “For material creation, Lord Krishna’s plenary expansion assumes three Visnus.” So as we are the spirit soul present within and directing our bodies, also, on a larger scale, Krishna in the form of these three Visnus is the spirit soul of the entire universe. Visnu is the intelligent force that is ultimately the cause of all the activities going on in the universe. If these three Visnus were not present in the universe all we would have would be a lump of matter. And matter without spirit can not move, can not develop, can not do anything. So it is the combination of the dull matter with these three Visnus that makes the creation of the material world possible.

“The first one, Maha-Visnu, creates the total material energy, known as mahat-tattva. The second, Garbhodakasayi Visnu, enters into all the universes to create diversities in each of them. The third, Ksirodakasayi Visnu, is diffused as the all-pervading Supersoul in all the universes and is known as Paramatma, who is present even within the atoms.” These few words, if understood and accepted by modern science, will revolutionize our understanding of the universe. Maha-Visnu creates the mahat-tattva which is the reservoir of all material elements, then from His body unlimited universes are generated each time He breathes out and all those universes are again destroyed, or more correctly conserved, and enter back within His body, only to be manifested again when He again breathes out. The universes come out of His body in seed form and expand and then when He breathes in the universes contract again and reenter His body. And this one breath of Maha-Visnu is the total universal time which is an unimaginably long period of time from our point of view. So within each of these universes Garbhodakasayi Visnu enters and He creates diversities in each universe. It is from the naval of Garbhodakasayi Visnu that a lotus stem grows and on the top of that lotus stem Lord Brahma is born and Lord Brahma is the original engineer of the universe, so he sets about creating the universe as we see it. And then Lord Visnu is present within every living entities heart in the form of Ksirodakasayi Visnu.

So this is the actual scientific understanding of the universe. The universe is a machine, in exactly the same way as our bodies are machines. And as machines can not work without an operator, as our bodies can not work without the presence of ourselves as the spirit soul, similarly, the soul of the universe is Lord Visnu in these three forms and the only reason we see things happening in the universe is because they are being caused to happen by these three Visnus. Matter does not move without the touch of spirit. These are such earth-shattering scientific principles that somehow we have to educate the people and the scientists on.

This material world is a temporary manifestation of one of the energies of the Lord. All the activities of the material world are directed by these three Visnu expansions of Lord Krishna. These purusas are called incarnations. Generally one who does not know the science of God (Krishna) assumes that this material world is for the enjoyment of the living entities and that the living entities are the causes (purusas), controllers and enjoyers of the material energy. According to Bhagavad-gita this atheistic conclusion is false. In the verse under discussion it is stated that Krishna is the original cause of the material manifestation. Srimad-Bhagavatam also confirms this. The ingredients of the material manifestation are separated energies of the Lord. Even the brahmajyoti, which is the ultimate goal of the impersonalists, is a spiritual energy manifested in the spiritual sky. There are no spiritual diversities in brahmajyoti as there are in the Vaikunthalokas, and the impersonalist accepts this brahmajyoti as the ultimate eternal goal. The Paramatma manifestation is also a temporary all-pervasive aspect of the Ksirodakasayi Visnu. The Paramatma manifestation is not eternal in the spiritual world. Therefore the factual Absolute Truth is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Krishna. He is the complete energetic person, and He possesses different separated and internal energies.

In the material energy, the principal manifestations are eight, as above mentioned. Out of these, the first five manifestations, namely earth, water, fire, air and sky, are called the five gigantic creations or the gross creations, within which the five sense objects are included. They are the manifestations of physical sound, touch, form, taste and smell. Material science comprises these ten items and nothing more. But the other three items, namely mind, intelligence and false ego, are neglected by the materialists.

Philosophers who deal with mental activities are also not perfect in knowledge because they do not know the ultimate source, Krishna. The false ego–”I am,” and “It is mine,” which constitute the basic principle of material existence–includes ten sense organs for material activities. Intelligence refers to the total material creation, called the mahat-tattva. Therefore from the eight separated energies of the Lord are manifest the twenty-four elements of the material world, which are the subject matter of Sankhya atheistic philosophy; they are originally offshoots from Krishna’s energies and are separated from Him, but atheistic Sankhya philosophers with a poor fund of knowledge do not know Krishna as the cause of all causes. The subject matter for discussion in the Sankhya philosophy is only the manifestation of the external energy of Krishna, as it is described in the Bhagavad-gita.

LORD ''SRI KRISHNA''Janmashtami - Birth of Lord Krishna

LORD KRISHNA

Janmashtami is celebrated to welcome and enjoy Lord Krishna's birth. The birth of Lord Krishna took place when the various planets were in auspicious places. It is said that God chooses a particular time, as to when he will take birth as a human and the planetary systems are adjusted accordingly.

Auspicious Nakshatra (Constellation)

Around the time of Bhagwan Krishna's birth, Rohini Nakshatra was predominant as it is considered to be quite auspicious. This is so because it is under the supervision of Brahma, the creator of Universe. Sri Krishna was born in the month Of Sravana more than 5000 years ago.

Born in Dwapur Yug (Iron Age)
According to some scholars, Krishna was born on Wednesday,the eighth day of second fortnight in Sravana month in the year of Visvavasu around 3227 BC, also known as Dwapur Yug. July 19th 3228 BC to be more accurate. He lived for 125 years and disappeared on February 18th 3102 BC on the new moon night of Phalguna. His death was the onset of the current corrupt age known as Kaliyug.



Universal Happiness of all Forms of Life
From the time, Devki conceived Sri Krishna, she began to glow and exude divine light. The prison walls glowed with the aura of the new born infant. Atmosphere of peace and happiness prevailed all over, Forests were all green and full of trees with all kinds of beautiful flowers, rivers were all swollen due to joy, peacocks began to dance in sheer joy, people in all villages started being happy.

Objective of Krishna's Birth
The main objective of Lord Krishna's birth was to free Mother Earth from the wickedness of demons. Playing an important part in Mahabharata (legendary battle in Kurukshetra) and propagating the theory of bhakti and good karma were other important objectives.

Events Before The Birth of Sri Krishna
The people of Mathura were extremely unhappy with the wicked king Kansa who put his father, king Ugrasen in prison and declared himself the king of Mathura. It was to put an end to his evil ways and other demons that Lord Vishnu decided to take birth on Earth in human form. According to Akashvani (heavenly voice) at the wedding of his beloved sister Devki, Kansa got to know that the eighth child of his sister will take birth to kill him. So, in turn he rushed to kill his sister. Kansa gave up the idea of killing after being assured by Vasudev that he will handover all his children to him. He put them in Prison. Kansa killed all the six infants as soon as they were born. The seventh child (Balram) was saved due to divine intervention, when he was transferred from Devki's womb to that of Rohini's (other wife of Vasudev).

Events During the Birth of Lord Krishna
Lord Krishna was born in a prison cell in the captivity of King Kansa. He took birth in divine form with lotus like eyes,his palms bearing the signs of a lotus and discus. He had a swastika sign on his sole. Wearing a yellow colored silk cloth, adorned with precious diamond earrings and a crown made of emeralds. Soon after the birth, a chain of events astonished Vasudev,when he saw the gates of the cell flow open and all the guards fast asleep. He immediately thought of Nand ,his close friend in Gokul and decided to handover his child to him in order to save him from the clutch of Kansa.

River Yamuna Bows To The Feet of Sri Krishna
The night of birth was witnessed by heavy rains which led to River Yamuna being in floods. As soon as the feet of Lord immersed in the river, the flow became normal and Yamuna made way for the Lord. Sheshnag, the serpent formed an umbrella to save the new born baby from rain.

Exchange of the Babies
Vasudev kept his child next to fast asleep Yashoda and took the baby girl lying with him back to Mathura. The baby girl is believed to be the sister of Lord Vishnu.

Disappearance of The Divine Child
On hearing the news of birth of the eighth child of Devki and Vasudev, Kansa rushed to the prison-cell and lifted the baby girl to kill her despite pleadings from Devki. However, instead of hitting the stone, the child flew up in the air and announced that the annihilator of Kansa was born and in safe hands.

Krishna later grew in Gokul and finally killed his maternal uncle, King Kansa.