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Re: Bhagavad-gita, 7.19-23
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To: alt-hindu@uunet.uu.net
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Subject: Re: Bhagavad-gita, 7.19-23
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From: Raymond Crawford <dasa@ozemail.com.au>
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Date: 22 Jul 1995 08:59:27 GMT
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From root@oznet03.ozemail.com.au Sat Jul 22 04: 47:37 1995
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Newsgroups: alt.hindu
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Organization: Aumkara Productions
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References: <3u4e40$7j8@babbage.ece.uc.edu>
susarla@owlnet.rice.edu (Hari Krishna Susarla) wrote:
>In article <3tujft$7jg@babbage.ece.uc.edu>,
> Raymond Crawford <dasa@ozemail.com.au> wrote:
>
>>7:21 Whoever, or in whatever form, the bhakta desires to worship with
>faith,
>>I bestow that steady faith upon him.
>
>Yes, form of a demigod. Not form of God.
>
I am not sure just why you have singled this verse in isolation. The relevant
verses are:
7:19 At the end of many births, the wise man takes refuge in Me - "Vasudeva is
all". Such a mahatma is difficult to find.
7:20 Men who have desires for "These and Those" are bereft of knowledge and
they worship the devas. Controlled by their own nature, they resort to the
worship of "This or that".
7:21 Whoever, or in whatever form, the bhakta desires to worship with faith, I
bestow that steady faith upon him.
7:22 He who is endowed with faith seeks to worship this god and his desires
are fulfilled. This I have decreed.
7:23 But for those who have little intelligence, these fruits are temporary.
Those who worship the devas attain the devas, by My bhakta surely attains Me.
I cannot see how verse 21 can be misconstrued to mean anything other than what
is says. Krishna is telling us, via Arjuna, that although those who worship
the various demigods apparently seem to be materially and spiritually
successful, they are in fact labouring under delusion. All material success is
completely temporary and ends at death, while the apparent spiritual success is
also temporary because it is from, and for, the devas and not the Supreme.
If you want to worship the devas, and are sincere in your desires, then Krishna
will give you the faith and devotion to attain your goal. But, if you want to
worship Him, He will also give you the faith and desire to attain Him. Even
more so.
The wise live in the material world knowing that Krishna is the imperishable
origin of all beings and they worship Him with an unwavering mind (9:13). They
achieve perfection by means of their actions when they worship the One who
pervades the entire universe and from whom all beings emanate (18:46).
I cannot understand your apparent confusion over the meaning of these verses.
Prabhupada himself is very explicit in his Geeta purports about their meaning. Or am
I just being mean spirited and not seeing that you are trying to tell me that
you do understand? If so, please forgive me.
R
