I learnt today that Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, later in his life, introspected and regretted his calls for Hindus using non-violence in the face of the genocide by Muslims. “I made a mistake”, he said.
From @RatanSharda55’s book on the RSS.
How can God be a handmade stone?
Nobody is worshiping a stone.
We worship the Infinite who, out of compassion, agrees to sit in stone so that finite human hands can offer finite love & receive infinite grace in return.
God has two modes: with form (murta) and without form (amurta).
Upanishads commands us to know both together. Reject either and you hold only half the truth and half-truths are the most dangerous lies.
Arjuna asks Krishna: Who is better, those who worship the formless, or those who worship You?
Krishna replies (BG 12.5):
'Greater is the difficulty for those whose minds are attached to the unmanifest.'
Then he says (9.26): 'If one offers Me with devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it.'
Lord accepts what is offered to the form coz the form is his chosen doorway for embodied beings to reach the Infinite.
Bhagavata Purana (11.27.12) lists 8 valid forms of the Deity:
[ Stone, wood, metal, clay, paint, sand, mind, or jewels ]
Not coz God is stone. But coz God can manifest through stone just as He manifests through wood, metal or the human mind.
Through mantras, the formless is invited to reside in the form. The eyes are ritually opened. The stone is bathed, fed, dressed, and rested as a living, honored guest.
(Prana pratishtha)
An unconsecrated stone is just a stone.
A consecrated diety is a living descent.
The stone is empty. Then it is filled.
That is the whole point. 🙏
In the Vana Parva of the original Mahābhārata, Arjuna encounters Mahādeva, who has assumed the form of a Kirāta (mountain hunter), and the two engage in an extraordinary battle. Arjuna unleashes a tremendous storm of arrows from the Gāṇḍ��va, yet Śiva remains completely unharmed and immovable; Arjuna then fights him with his bow, sword, stones, trees, and finally his bare hands, but Śiva overpowers him in close combat. Pleased by Arjuna’s extraordinary courage, endurance, and martial prowess, Śiva reveals his true identity and declares, “I am pleased with thee, O son of Kunti. Ask thou the boon that thou desirest. No man on earth hath ever pleased me as thou hast done.” He further praises Arjuna’s strength and patience in battle and grants him the irresistible Pāśupata weapon, showing the extraordinary regard the Mahābhārata gives to Arjuna as a warrior and archer.
🔴 No, chanting Vishnu Sahasranama will not 'suck your energy' and leave you in an abyss.
Bhishma gave it to Yudhishthira on his deathbed; no initiation, no homa, no gatekeeping. That's literally the frame story.
Unlike tantric vidyas that do need diksha, VS & LS was always meant for the masses every varna, every stage of life, no purohit required.
'You'll get hurt without paying for a homa' line isn't shastra. It's a sales funnel wearing a sacred thread.
The Lord's names never needed a middleman. Chant freely.
Ignore GenZ pandits/Shastris !
10 Habits That Silently Destroy a Man's Dharma
Most men don't lose their Dharma in a single moment.
They lose it through small compromises repeated every day.
Here are 10 habits that silently destroy a man's Dharma.
A thread 🧵
Alcohol in Sanātana Dharma: A Śāstric Warning.
Alcohol is not a grey area in Hindu Dharma. The scriptures speak clearly and without compromise: Madyapān (alcohol consumption) leads to spiritual degradation, especially for Dvijas (Brahmaṇas, Kṣatriyas, Vaiśyas).
📖 Kūrma Purāṇa �� Uttara Bhāga, 17.42–43:
> अदेयं चाप्यपेयं च तथैवास्पृश्यमेव च।
द्विजातीनामनालोक्यं नित्यं मद्यमिति स्थितिः॥
तस्मात् सर्वप्रयत्नेन मद्यं नित्यं विवर्जयेत्।
पीत्वा पतति कर्मभ्यस्त्वसंभाष्यो भवेद् द्विजः॥
Translation:
"Alcohol is not to be given, drunk, touched, or even looked at by Dvijas. This is the eternal injunction. Therefore, by all efforts, one must abandon alcohol completely. A Dvija who drinks it falls from Vedic duties and should not even be spoken to."
📖 Mahābhārata – Anuśāsana Parva 145.17:
> धृतिं लज्जां च बुद्धिं च पानं पीतं प्रणाशयेत्।
एवं बहुविधा दोषा�� पानपे सन्ति शोभने।
केवलं नरकं यान्ति नास्ति तत्र विचारणा॥
Translation:
"Alcohol destroys patience, modesty, and intelligence. Many evils arise from it. Those who drink surely go to hell — there is no second thought."
📖 Kūrma Purāṇa – Uttara 33.35:
> सुराभाण्डोदरे वारि पीत्वा चान्द्रायणं चरेत्।
Translation:
"Even drinking water from a vessel that contained alcohol demands the expiatory Chandrāyaṇa fast."
Meditation is just giving attention to your breath (prana).
Manifestation is just giving attention to your thoughts.
Where attention goes, energy flows.
@binarybodhi Have been thinking about this since I read this. Can you please elaborate further? If there is no past, why is it that we remember the past but have no idea about the future?
The illusion of separation is ultimately the cause of negative human impact on our planet.
We continue to deplete and destroy the very nature that we are so intrinsically a part of.
This is a perceptual failure.
Humanity has forgotten what it is