Why I am a Theist

Religion is grossly misunderstood both by its adherents and its detractors. The word "religion" comes from the Latin word "religio", which means to re-link or to reconnect. So the real meaning of religion is to re-link or to bring ourselves back into harmony with the complete whole, the source of our existence.

Atheism means to deny that we have a source or an origin. But you can't show me anything that comes out of nothing. Everything comes out of something. Therefore we must come out of something. There is a complete whole of which we a part. The part of a thing is always meant to harmonize with the whole thing of which it is a part. That is its natural healthy state. Therefore in my natural, healthy state I must be in harmony with the complete whole, the origin of my existence. Therefore, I am a theist, a person who wants to be in harmony with the source of his existence. To not want to be religious or in harmony with the very ground of your being is sheer madness.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari

Answers According to the Vedic Version:

Question: What Does "Bona Fide" Mean?

I read your "Thought for the Day" everyday. It has helped me a lot. I see that you are regularly using the word "bona fide." What does it mean?

Your servant,
Om

Answer: He's Not a Quack or a Charlatan

Bona fide means genuine, not counterfeit, without fraud or deceit. We regularly use this term in reference to the spiritual master to teach people how to distinguish between the genuine, authorized guru and the bogus gurus who have become so prevalent and all-pervading these days. Bona fide guru means that he is not a cheater. Krishna or God is the original guru, and anyone who purely represents Him is a bona fide guru. Those who present the highest truth as something other than Krishna, such as the unborn, unmanifested that is within everything are not bona fide spiritual masters. They are cheaters and bluffers of the worst description who teach their disciples that everyone is God. The bona fide spiritual master is not such a quack or a charlatan. He is the pure representative of Lord Sri Krishna because he never presents his own ideas. He simply purely presents the teachings of Krishna exactly as he has heard them from his spiritual master. This is why he is bona fide.

Sankarshan Das Adhikari

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Little Sparrow Who Conquered the Ocean

Image
In his purport to Bhagavad-gita, Chapter 6, Text 24 Srila Prabhupada wonderfully teaches us the power of determinations by telling us the story of the little sparrow who conquered the ocean: "As for determination, one should follow the example of the sparrow who lost her eggs in the waves of the ocean. A sparrow laid her eggs on the shore of the ocean, but the big ocean carried away the eggs on its waves. The sparrow became very upset and asked the ocean to return her eggs. The ocean did not even consider her appeal. So the sparrow decided to dry up the ocean. She began to pick out the water in her small beak, and everyone laughed at her for her impossible determination. The news of her activity spread, and at last Garuda, the gigantic bird carrier of Lord Visnu, heard it. He became compassionate toward his small sister bird, and so he came to see the sparrow. Garuda was very pleased by the determination of the small sparrow, and he promised to help. Thus Garuda at once asked t
Read more

Heart Melting Reunion with Amarendra and Gayatri

Image
On Friday 26 June 2015 I was blessed with the greatest good fortune of meeting with two of the dearest devotees of my entire life, His Grace Amarendra Prabhu and his good wife, Srimati Gayatri devi dasi. I am eternally indebted to these great souls for how much they helped me in my spiritual life when I was a young devotee. When I was young brahmacari monk in 1973 I joined with the two of them in Gainesville, Florida. We were a three person preaching center, and they were just like a mother and father to me. I had so many wonderful Krishna conscious experiences in their association that I can hardly begin to describe them here. But at least may it suffice for me to say for now that Gayatri taught me what it means to be a soft-hearted devotee of the Lord and she gave me my first cooking lesson, teaching me how to make cauliflower pakoras, and Amarendra taught me the art of how to preach strongly, intelligently, and coolly to defeat opposing arguments. Recently Gayatri almost died. But
Read more

Who is this Krishna?

Image
Krishna is not a myth, nor is He an ordinary historical personality. He is the Supreme All-Attractive Personality of Godhead. He is the oldest of all while simultaneously maintaining the form of a 16 year old youth. He is all-attractive because he exceeds everyone in all of existence by possessing unlimitedly all the qualities that are attractive namely power, beautify, renunciation, knowledge, wealth, and fame. There is no one who equals or excels Him in the possession of these attractive qualities. This is why is accepted by all enlightened spiritualists as being God, the original source of all existence. The perfection of our existence is to re-establish our long forgotten loving relationships with Him. There Is No One More Amazing Than Krishna Video for the Day Don't Be a Hypocrite Answers According to Vedic Wisdom Question: Was Krishna a Real Person? Was Krishna a real person who lived on Earth? Ray Galindo Answer: He Was and He Still Is My Dear Ray, Pleas
Read more