Hare Krishna!
PAMHO.....
I had two queries......Senior devotees.....kindly counsel in this regard.
1.) I was wondering ,why don't we pray to or remember Sri Rukminiji.....who was Lord's foremost queen and wife.?
2.)i was reading ,that offence done at pure devotees of Lord is more severe and sinful than one done to even supreme lord.so when we encounter other deities,should we pray to them or when between karmi people,who don't regard Lord Krishna as supreme....and other deities as foremost,,how shud we handle such a situation....becos how much u explain them.....u r just wasting ur time n energy.
Also as in vedic shastras.....it is said to pray to Ganpatiji first.......and then guru......and then there is kuldevi ....so we have to remember and pray to them or can we directly start chanting mahamantra........becos i have also read that Srila Prabhupad forbade praying to DemiGods..........kindly explain in this regard as per Gaudiya vaishavism
Replies
Hare KRsna Prabhuji,
PAMHO.
In addition to what has already been mentioned, I would like to add that Rukmini is supposed to be an expansion of Chandravali, the rival of Radharani in Vrindavan. The rivalry there is different from our material rivalry. There is no animosity or rivalry between Rukmini and Radharani. In fact, Srimad Bhagawatam has a chapter where the wives of the lord are speaking with the gopis of Vrindavan. Praying to Rukminidevi is equally pleasing to the lord. Radharani is the inseparable internal potency of the lord, and we Gaudiya Vaishnavas are supposed to be followers of Radharani. We pray to Krsna because that is pleasing to Radharani.
By all means, we should pray to other deities of Vishnu tattva and guru parampara. For deities of demigods, we should always show respect to them as devotees of the lord. We should never think to ask anything from them. Like how we bow down to other vaishnavas and say 'vancha kalpataru bhayash ca...' that same way..... The distinction between demigods and demons is that demigods are favourable towards the lord whereas demons are not. Remembering this, we should bow down to demigods, because they are in exalted position, empowered by the lord, in the Govt of the lord, managing a deptt of the govt of the lord ..... so many ways. The problem happens when people start saying - all are the same and equal or that this is Treasurer of Wealth - since I have come here and am bowing down to this deity, may as well ask for some wealth for myself. Pls refrain from asking any material benediction from demigods. Understand their position and bow down to them as such, no problems.
Haribol,
Your servant,
Rashmi
1) We can most certainly pray to Srimati Rukmini Devi. In fact, the Los Angeles ISKCON temple has beautiful deities of Srimati Rukminidevi and Sri Dwarkadhish. In essence, there is no difference between Rukminidevi and Radharani, except for their mood. Rukminidevi worships Krishna as a wife, but Radharani worships Krishna as a lover; the rasa of lovers is far greater than the rasa of husband and wife ... so we worship Radharani because we want that mood of loving Krishna as a lover. Further, the nature of Srimati Rukminidevi, as mentioned in various pastimes in the Srimad Bhagwatam, is astounding. She is easily pleased (as is Srimati Radharani) if someone worships Krishna. Even if you were a "rival," she got great happiness just because someone was serving her Krishna.
2) When we encounter other deities, we should pray to them. It's not bad to pray to demigods since they are devotees of Krishna, it only becomes a negative thing when we pray for material things. If we pray to these demigods to help us spiritually, it's considered a good thing. However, we can get the greatest mercy from Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu since he is Krishna himself appearing for the purpose of delivering the living entities of Kali Yuga. He and Lord Nityananda Prabhu are far more easily pleased than any other demigod, so it's not necessary to worship demigods (also, since they are servants of Krishna, naturally by pleasing Krishna, they too will get pleased).
With regards to karmi people, respect their idea and just let it slide. There isn't a need to argue, since they are worshiping devotees of God themselves and thus ultimately they will reach Krishna, but on a more slower path. It's better to leave them be, rather than argue and waste time - especially since the ultimate goal is the same.
Before chanting the Mahamantra, there isn't a need to pray to Ganeshji, because the Mahamantra is on a spiritual platform far more merciful than any other ritual. However, since we are humans and we can easily offend the Mahamantra (there are 10 offenses), some devotees start of by chanting the following mantras: "Namo Om Vishnupada ..." and then "Namaste Saraswati Devi..." and "Jay Shri Krishna Chaitanya..." and then begin their japa.
This way we are getting the mercy of our spiritual master Srila Prabhupada and the merciful Lord Chaitanya and Lord Nityananda as well as their devotees (Advaita Acharya, Gadhadara Pandit, Srivasa Thakur, adi gaura bhakta vrnda)