Danda 1995 - Suhotra Maharaja Archives

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Comment by Jahnu dasMarch 29, 1995I just love your comments and clear insight, Maharaja.HELLQuestion from Bhagavat Dharma dasApril 9, 1995Is it possible that a fallen devotee goes to hell?Answer by Suhotra SwamiApril 10, 1995Yes. Srila Prabhupada said that. There is also a prayer in Nectar of Devotionoffered to the Lord by a devotee in hell. And there is the famous SB versespoken by Lord Siva regarding Maharaja Citraketu, which states svarga pavarganarakesu, whether a devotee is in heaven, earth or hell, he sees them with thesame vision. So that certainly confirms that a devotee may go to hell.Maharaja Citraketu's being cursed to be a demon was a hellish punishment.Maharaja Indradyumna's being cursed to be an elephant was another hellishpunishment. Maharaja Yudisthira actually had to descend into hell, Prabhupadasaid because he hesitated to tell a lie for Krsna's sake. The point of thesvarga pavarga narakesu verse is that even in hell, as in heaven or in earth, areal devotee does not forget Krsna. And so although by his offenses andmisfortune he may end up in hell, such a devotee is actually transcendental tothe hellish condition.Comment by Mahanidhi dasApril 10, 1995I might have wrong conclusion, but to me it seams that the question has someconection with the text in the Q&A (Harikesa Swami) conference, posted justprior to that, and where the answer was "no".Some who are members of both conferences might be a bit confused by appearentcontraversy in answers.Comment by Manidhara dasApril 10, 1995....sorry for getting involved,but this type of "controversial" questioning andconnecting these two conferences in such an brainless way is a sign of very poorintelligence and bad vaisnava etikette. Lets hope that only Sriman Mahanidhi dasgets confused and nobody else.Comment by Suhotra SwamiApril 10, 1995Subject: Hell & fallen devotees------------------------------------------------------------It is not constructive to frame questions in such a way as to elicit apparentcontradictions.Anyway, what is meant by a fallen devotee? And what is meant by hell? Certainlythere is sastric evidence of devotees who received hellish punishment(Citraketu, Indradyumna, and even Maharaja Yudisthira). They are not "fallen"
devotees, but I gave them as examples to underscore what Srila Prabhupada saidmore than once, that such examples ought to be taken by us as lessons of therisks involved when one commits offenses. If exalted devotees such as these canget into trouble, how careful should we be?Srila Prabhupada commented on a disciple's poem by saying that he should nothave referred to himself as Krsna's devotee, because it is very a rare thing tobe a devotee of Krsna. Rather he should have referred to himself as Krsna'sservant, because every living entity can make that claim.So again, what do you mean by fallen DEVOTEE? Perhaps you mean Ajamila.Ajamila was saved from hell because he chanted "Narayana" as the Yamadutasapproached him. Afterwards Yamaraja forbade his servants from touching DEVOTEESwho "even if by mistake or because of bewilderment or illusion . . . sometimescommit sinful acts," because "they are protected from sinful reactions becausethey always chant the Hare Krsna mantra."Yamaraja then told the Yamadutas:"Paramahamsas are exalted persons who have no taste for materiál enjoyment andwho drink the honey of the Lord's lotus feet. My dear servants, bring to me forpunishment only persons who are averse to the taste of that honey, who do notassociate with paramahamsas and who are attached to family life and worldlyenjoyment, which form the path to hell."My dear servants, please bring to me only those sinful persóna who do not usetheir tongues to chant the holy name and qualities of Krsna, whose hearts do notremember the lotus feet of Krsna even once, and whose heads do not bow down evenonce before Lord Krsna. Send me those who do not perform their duties towardVisnu, which are the only duties in human life. Please bring me all such foolsand rascals."Dare we assume that we are in the same category as Ajamila? Dare we presumethat if we commit sinful acts that we may not fall into the category of personsfit to be snatched by the Yamadutas and taken off to hell?One of Srila Prabhupada's first disciples, who became the first chief editor ofBTG, left ISKCON in the late '60's and became immersed in sense gratification.In the '70's he wrote a letter to Srila Prabhupada offering to return to ISKCONand resume his editorial work on the condition that he would not be able torefrain from illicit sex. Prabhupada was in London when he received this letter,and after reading it he took massage. His Holiness Trivikrama Maharaja, whowas massaging Prabhupada, innocently asked, "So, Srila Prabhupada, how is_______ [who wrote the letter] doing?" Prabhupada answered with great force,"He is going to hell!"Another time, according to Giriraja Maharaja, Srila Prabhupada said inquiriesinto how a devotee may avoid hellish reactions for his offenses reveal an intentto commit offenses. So I would not odvise the members of this conference topursue this question. Rather, we should avoid carefully offenses and the riskof hellish punishment that one can suffer from them.Comment by Mahanidhi dasApríl 10, 1995please accept my humble obeisances
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Page 5 and 6: Similarly, in an ISKCON temple, a d
Page 7 and 8: even be well-intentioned (let the c
Page 9 and 10: Answer by Suhotra SwamiJanuary 15,
Page 11 and 12: Comment by Vipramukhya SwamiI've me
Page 13 and 14: i.e. his visible form).to.In the pr
Page 15 and 16: 1. The self-realization stage just
Page 17 and 18: ksatriya families worshiped Radha-K
Page 19 and 20: are banished from Kailasa by being
Page 21 and 22: always in competition with each oth
Page 23 and 24: Was that enough, Bhakta Jan? No? OK
Page 25 and 26: prakampanaloka-gurusrastaparasmai t
Page 27 and 28: That's they quoted from me.In the c
Page 29 and 30: to tell how he was abducted to anot
Page 31 and 32: to come, and these ten avatars corr
Page 33: emember and speak the best that has
Page 37 and 38: CAITANYA UPANISADQuestion from Mukh
Page 39 and 40: for that. So that... This is going
Page 41 and 42: A footnote to the previous text:It
Page 43 and 44: other planets encircle the polestar
Page 45 and 46: TIME PERCEPTIONQuestions from Rohit
Page 47 and 48: Answer by Suhotra SwamiJune 27, 199
Page 49 and 50: connected to the Lord's body. And B
Page 51 and 52: - How to understand there was no cr
Page 53 and 54: SB 6.14.55 p., 1st par.: The subtle
Page 55 and 56: could not even get that. And they l
Page 57 and 58: "Krsna is the supreme living being.
Page 59 and 60: Answer by Suhotra SwamiSeptember 26
Page 61 and 62: Answer by Suhotra SwamiOctober 11,
Page 63 and 64: Vidyabhusana that argued yet anothe
Page 65 and 66: SELF-ENVYQuestions from Vrajendra K
Page 67 and 68: I was studying the second canto cha
Page 69 and 70: Answer by Suhotra SwamiNovember 11,
Page 71 and 72: Answer by Suhotra SwamiNovember 11,
Page 73 and 74: ATHEISMQuestion from Jahnu dasNovem
Page 75 and 76: two years old and under, in accorda
Page 77 and 78: that sense one would think the exte
Page 79 and 80: 1) Yes, the message of Jesus is uni
Page 81 and 82: Paul rationalized that Jesus surviv
Page 83 and 84: The publication I am working on in
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- From the context of the second qu
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Dear Maharaja,I see that it is a qu
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associates, etc. Lord Vamana has Hi
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Danda 1995 - Suhotra Maharaja Archives

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