[Prev][Next][Index]
Re: Re: aham brahmasmi - Revised and Enlarged!
Manish Tandon wrote:
>Mani Varadarajan <mani@srirangam.esd.sgi.com> wrote:
>|> Manish,
>|>
>|> "bhagavaan" is *very often* used to refer to great people, or great
>|> devotees. It is not solely reserved for referring to God.
>|> For example, "bhagavaan raamaanuja" is common when referring
>|> to Sri Ramanujaacharya. Similarly, "bhagavaan raamakrishna paramahamsa".
>That Ramakrishna was a Kali worshiper is a well known fact, infact
>I learned from this very forum that he used to live in a Kali temple.
>Now that you have put Ramanujacharya and Ramakrishna in the same category
>(of bhagavans), it is to be understood by induction that you certainly are
>not a Sri Vaisnava as you generally claim.
Ramakrishna first was a Kali worshipper, but he specifically and explicitly
did so with the understanding expressed in the Bhagavad Gita, ie that all
those appearances are in fact just the Supreme Person.
This is NOT the same as what Krsna really is admonishing in that section of
the Gita, ie those people (and there are MANY in India) who worship deities
as being DIFFERENT INDIVIDUALS - ie My God is Better than Your God.
Ramakrishna in different periods of his lifetime practiced several different
paths (including Islam and Christianity) specifically in order to demonstrate
that the SAME Supreme Person is worshipped by all these paths, which is what
Srila Prabhupada and Krsna himself have said as well.
Ramakrishna said of the Srimad Bhagavatam, "It is fried in the butter of
Knowledge and stepped in the honey of Love".
Note that Ramakrishna's organization publishes books on Sri Ramanuja and Sri
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
Ken
Ken@macshasta.com
