Questions & Answers
Questions & Answers

Vedic Perspective on Sex and Niyoga

Question: Please explain the Vedic perspective on sex within marriage. Is the couple permitted to have a certain amount of sex? Answer: From the Vedic perspective, sex is only for procreation. It is recommended that the husband unites with his wife after the menstruation period and after she has bathed. There is no other recommendation

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Questions & Answers

Beyond Logic: The Law of Karma

Question: It seems to me that the law of karma does not adequately explain individuality and differences in phenomenal existence. We need to invoke the events of the previous life, and so on, ad infinitum, which leads to the logical flaw of infinite regress. But how did the karmic process begin? How do we explain

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Questions & Answers

Worship and Rituals in the Gauḍīya Tradition

Question: I have spent a lot of time looking at the traditions of the Śrī Vaiṣṇavas. Their texts are so much more codified than anything I have ever come across from the Gauḍīyas, which seems to be a spider web of references that don’t really lead to anything consistent. Is this just because it is a

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General Questions & Answers

The Purpose of the Law of Karma

Question: Karmic reactions are often compared with punishment by an authority. But the difference is that there is a clear cause / effect relation in the case of punishment, where the person who receives the punishment knows why they are being punished, and that it is meant to rectify him. In the case of karma,

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Questions & Answers

Ekādaśī, Caitanya, Gosvāmīs, Ātmā

Question: As Vaiṣṇavas, we don’t follow Ekādaśī with a material motive and to attain a certain result, but we do because it enhances and facilitates our devotional service and pleases Kṛṣṇa. However, we take care to break our fast at the proper time in order to get the ‘result’ afterwards.  How should we understand this

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Questions & Answers

States of Consciousness, Varṇas, Advancement

Question: Some Vedāntists assert that wakefulness (jagṛta–sthāna) is in sattva, the dream state (svapna-sthāna) is in rajas, and deep sleep (suṣupti-sthāna) is in tamas. Is this concept correct, and if so, how?  Answer: Yes, this is correct because while awake, you can perceive things as they are, e.g., you can perceive a laptop as a

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Questions & Answers

Ultimate Mukti Comes from Kṛṣṇa

Question: What is the concept of jīvanmuktas in Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism? And how similar or different is it from the concept of Advaitic jīvanmukta? Answer: Jīvanmukta in Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism means one who has attained bhāva-bhakti. In Advaita Vedānta, it means one who has given up the sense of doership and identifies with Brahmaṇ. Question: How do you interpret the

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