Philosophy
Philosophy Questions & Answers

Gopi svarupa or Indian Girl?

Question: Is it correct to say that if one meditates wrongly one can take the next birth as a material Indian girl; one can only attain gopi svarupa while following the descriptions in the Gosvamis’ books. Anwer: You were right. One needs to submissively follow the indications and descriptions given by the Guru and by

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Philosophy Questions & Answers

Prakriti and Purusha

Question: I have studied Sankhya very briefly as part of another course I took at the Hindu University.  But, I have been very interested in it ever since.  I have read about it and have learned some and been confused some.  Your lesson notes are very clear and helpful.  Of course, being from the Western

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Philosophy

Integration of Self into Reality

By Bruce Martin: The Vedic seers investigated and delineated the methods by which attention is shifted from the ephemeral and temporal to the real and eternal. Although different methods were devised for people of different temperament, the common thread running through them is higher order integration of self into an ever more encompassing Reality.

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Philosophy Questions & Answers

Sahajiyas, Tapasvis and Rasa

Question: It is said in shastra – ataeva kama prema bahut antara – kama andhatama prema nirmala bhaskara. Prema and kama are totally different from each other. In their tikas to BRS 3.5.2, Sri Jiva and Sri Visvanatha confirm this: nivRtteSu prAkRta-zRGgAra-rasa-sama-dRSTyA bhAgavatAd apy asmAd rasAd virakteSv anupayogitvAd ayogyatvAt Because they see it as the

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Philosophy

Modern Perspective on Ancient Truth

By Bruce Martin: A friend of mine of rationalistic temperament, and one who considers himself agnostic, recently questioned me about scripture, raising doubt as to how a person could place trust in scripture as the revealed word of God and, as such, a source of infallible knowledge, when much of what has been proclaimed in

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Philosophy Questions & Answers

Karma, Samskaras and the Final Dissolution

Question: When Brahma’s life ends after 100 of his years or 311,040,000,000,000 earth years, this universe faces a final dissolution and all the living entities are destroyed along with the entire material creation. This material creation is absorbed back into the Lord. From what I understand,  the samskaras (which are the records or memories that drive

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Philosophy Questions & Answers

Qualities of the Jivas

Question: You seem to say that ananda is only in the svarupa-shakti. However the jiva shakti would not even be able to experience prakritic happiness if it did not have the potential to experience ananda. Consciousness and knowledge are the same thing. None of these things have any support in Sri Jiva from what I

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