| Information |
| Home Page |
http://gaurasundara.blogspot.com/ |
| Birthday |
16 September 1978 |
| Location |
London |
| Interests |
Spiritual: Gaudiya Vaishnava siddhanta and practice.
Material: Martial arts, gym workouts.
Music: I have
an eclectic taste in music so I like various categories including
rock - some heavy metal - some jazz - 70s funk - Elvis - Jimi
Hendrix - Metallica - Motorhead - Black Sabbath - Audioslave -
Prodigy - Red Hot Chili Peppers.
My spiritual music tastes
include both slow and fast kirtanas, especially the tunes found on
the 'Mayapur Kirtanas' series of audio tapes. I also like the
qawallis of Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.
Reading preferences:
- Gaudiya Vaishnava siddhanta
- Islamic - both
orthodox and mystical
- The works of Kahlil Gibran
-
Reading and researching various religions.
- Psychology,
psychobiology as well as a little neurology.
- Politics - US
foreign policy, War On Terror, Nazism.
- TIME
magazine. | |
| Additional
Information |
| Biography |
1978 - Birth.
- In between - My uncle
purchased a whole box of 'Amar Chitra Katha' comics. This is when I
realised that I had a spontaneous attraction for God as I endlessly
pored over comic pictures despite not being able to read! Thus began
my spiritual studies, the depth of which increased as I learned to
read. It is my opinion that the power of Amar Chitra Katha comics
should not be underestimated.
1983 - At age 5, I remember
lamenting to my mother as to why I was born at a miserable time when
Rama and Krishna were not gracing us with Their immediate divine
presence.
- In between - I actually attended ISKCON temples
since my birth, but at this age I attended the Sunday School and
comprehended some aspects of GauDIya philosophy, though it was not
to my taste although I enjoyed reading about Caitanya Mahaprabhu. I
was made a Life Member and was thus entitled to a lifetime's supply
of Back To Godhead magazine and ISKCON literature.
1987 - Or
thereabouts, I attended a "youth week" held at the local church and
thus began three years of spontaneous attentance at church every
Sunday. I attended the Sunday School and spoke to various eminent
Christian representatives including vicars, bishops and charismatic
preachers such as J. John.
1990 - While considering a
conversion to Christianity at the age of 12, I was suddenly drawn
into a swirling maelstrom that eventually took the form of devotion
to a well-known pseudo guru. This continued for 10 long
years.
1998 - While with this pseudo-guru, I had undertaken
an orthodox study of AdvaitavAda philosophy as well as being taught
Vama-marga Aghora by Vimalananda for a brief while. I had also
undertaken a study of various other teachers, and I undertook a deep
study of Islam for three years. Being as conscientious as I was, I
could not reconcile Advaita's constant and profuse internal
contradictions and I had a spiritual mini-breakdown and took some
time out for six months. At the end of this dark night of the soul,
I decided to give ISKCON a chance and I randomly selected a book
from Srila Prabhupada's 30-book Bhagavatam set. That random book
contained ALL of the answers to the problems I was facing.
Comprehending these answers and studying further Prabhupada
literature gave me the confidence to reject Advaita and accept
GauDIya VaiSNavism as the 'topmost'. I formally rejected the
pseudo-guru in July 2001.
2002 - This next dark night of the
soul began when I entered this forum and found a whole new different
side to the GauDIya philosophy which I was taught. This caused a
seismic shift in my belief system that has continued sporadically
uptil December 2004. During that period I have learnt many things
about traditional GauDIya philosophy which continues even
now.
2005 - My present BSc. Psychology studies have opened me
to a more logical, rational and less dogmatic way of thinking, as I
am not afraid to find biological evidence of spiritual concepts. At
this moment in time, I need to re-evaluate myself and my goals which
I am doing at a cautious speed.
2005 - I feel that I am
mature and reflective enough to recognise he fact that, somehow or
other along my journey, I must have committed grave aparadhas to
esteemed Vaishnavas, and that the recent troubles I faced were the
effect of such offences. I experienced a degradation of my
bhakti-lata due to such offences, and was allergic to the Holy Name
and all things spiritual. The only thing that kept me going was my
daily puja to my dear sweet Gaura-Nitai deities. In
Madhurya-kadambini it is related that when the intense effects of
aparadhas lessens slightly after a long period of suffering, the
taste for bhakti appears again. I feel that this has happened to me
and I feel fortunate for it; my approach know is to worship the
golden Lotus Feet of Sri Sri Nitai-Gaurasundara, the most-merciful
avatars, and this will help me to tread the path more carefully.
DO NOT MAKE THE MISTAKE OF APARADHA! LEARN FROM MY HARD
LESSON AND LEARN IT WELL!
You may think that it won't happen
to you, but it will. Ultimately it is only the aparadhi who suffers
and nobody else.
And so again I humbly take up the practice
of bhakti, and I eagerly search for the shelter of Sri
Guru.
DEATH - This will take place when the opportune moment
arrives and my life airs expel themselves from my body. I will then
take my leave of this vehicle and continue my lonely journey through
other means. | |
Gaudiya
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