It is well known that amongst the Pandavas, Arjuna was the closest to Krishna and that is why Gitopadesa was given by Krishna to Arjuna only. But what is bewildering me is that why did Arjuna go alongwith the other Pandavas to Kailash(Himalayas) the abode of Lord Shiva in the final destination of his life. Should not have he gone to Mathura/Dwaraka to spend his final days. Also, Lord Krishna tells his Yadu clan to pray to the demi gods just before his demise from Dwaraka. When the Lord himself has endorsed Demi god worship then why does Srila Prabhupada condemn it? I am asking these questions not with the intention of hurting anybody but with a genuine urge to understand KCON.
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your question is very good..i have understood.
I got the answer to your question..
The first part of the question is answered by many devotees before me.
Only the last part i will answer.
Pandavas went to Lord shiva to get his blessings as Lord shiva is a Topmost vaishnava and not with a desire to worship shiva as supreme personality of Godhead, that would be wrong type of worship.
If you worship demigods knowing their relationship with the Supreme Lord Krishna, then there's no problem. For example if you worship Ganesha knowing that he is a devotee of Supreme Lord and ask his blessing for your service to Krsna, then it is right kind of worship, just like we worship Prabhupada.
And why Lord Himself tells to worship demigods to vrajavasis? It is the mercy of the Lord and he wants to give credit to the demigods as well as he knows vrajavasis are pure devotees of the Lord. And by following the Lord vrajavasis will satisfy Krsna and also demigods will be elevated.
this is the reason why Krsna tells Arjuna to go to Lord Shiva for asking weapon - To give credit to His devotee, Lord Shiva. Even in Ramesvaram if you notice, Lord Rama worships shiva. This is to glorify His devotee.
Krsna could have killed the entire army in Kurukshetra but why did he let arjuna kill the kauravas? To glorify His devotee.
In the same way Lord chaitanya could have spread Krishna consciousness throughout the world, but why he didn't? So that we could spread it and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu would give glory to us, Just like how Prabhupada is glorified.
coming to the recommendation of demigod worship, K recommended only vrajavasis for the reason i mentioned above. And if Krsna fortunately comes in front of you and asks you to worship the demigods, then you can do so..until then we have to follow in the footsteps of Mahajanas who worshipped Lord Krsna..Thank you.
i decided that this answer for this discussion will be the final, or other wise i do not know, heart breaking event.
1. We can not imitate great personalities.
Lord Shiva drank the ocean of poison. Can we do so? no.
Srila Raghunatha Goswami Maharaja used to eat once in 2 days only one cut of butter milk. Can we survive doing that? no.
Srila Haridas Thakur used to chant 192 rounds of the Holy Names. Can we chant so much? no.
------we can only follow their instructions. Lord Shiva - Shankara aharya says: "oh foolish one, worship Govinda, there is no time"
Raghunatha Goswami Maharaja says the same. Haridas Thakur also.
2. We do not even accept what Bhakti Sidhanta Saraswati Thakur ordered. He ordered His disciples to chant 64 rounds daily, other wise you won't achieve love for Krishna. We accept the instructions of our Guru Srila Prabhupada.
It is impossible to enter to spiritual world with our just murmuring the Holy Names. Srila Prabhupada told that He only will somehow bring us There. That He knows back door to Goloka Vrindavan.
So Srila Prabhupada told us to worship Krishna, no time for worshiping Demigods, worship Krishna and I will take You to Goloka. So we follow Him.
3. As Dinesh Prabhu told, we can not understand the real meaning of Shastras without the purports of Srila Prabhupada, Guru.
Truth should be confirmed by 3 things:
Guru
Sadhu
Shastra
If Guru, Sadhu Shastra says to worship Lord Shiva then it would be the truth, but Arvind Prabhu, here Devotees are saying to You that it is not correct, and Guru - Srila Prabhupada says that it is not correct, but in Shastra You found that Arjuna worships Lord Shiva, then You have to reject it because that way is not for us. We can not imitate Arjuna who is a pure Devotee. At this time or forever he is with Krishna, in some of the universes endlessly listening Bhagavad Gita.
In shastras we can find recommendations for eating meat. Do we do that, no, that part we do not follow, but that part which says to eat Prasadam we accept. Because Guru, Devotees are saying that it is for us and that is truth. and we accept that.
Your servant in serving to Srila Prabhupada,
hare krsna prabhu,
PAMHO,AGTSP,AGTGG
Answering to this very common confusion among st people outside the bhakti movement (am not saying only ISKCON) that why should i accept "ONE GOD" ,doesn't matter even if he declares HIMSELF to be the supreme time and again in all vedic scriptures is not at all surprising. The idea is the will to accept the scriptures and not to question it with envy or due to some sentiments for other gods,nevertheless i must answer because may be it could be of some help to you.
THE BOTTOM LINE OF THE VEDAS IS THAT :"KRSNA IS THE SUPREME ABSOLUTE TRUTH".(if you have read and UNDERSTOOD THEM like a child understands the mathematical tables during his primary classes) afterwards what the lord does or why he does is beyond our intelligence because with our limited senses we are trying to measure the unlimited who is beyond the creation.
Now, the actual question why lord Shiva/himalayas/pasupatastra etc when KRSNA was personally present there ? Krishna has delegated powers to everyone in existence, including me and you. Some of us have more power than others. In the Gita he says these are all his vibhutis (oppulences).Everyone has the power to bless people with material things, including your neighbhor. To what degree they can bless you depends on what they have.
however,i must ask if you own a vehicle and if yes when you need gasoline (petrol) for your vehicle do you go to the refinery? No, you go to the local distributor (gas station).
KRSNA is the culmination summum bonum sat-cit-ananda vigraha, he derives this pure " ananda " from his pure devotees(like lord Shiva) by giving an opportunity to serve him or his devotees when needed OR by giving all credit to his devotees.Shiva is mahadeva and mahesvara. He is the creator of the universal life as Shambhu.In Kshira Sagara even Brahma cannot see Narayana. They only approach him and offer prayers without being able to see Him. They do not do this every time there is a minor need, but only when dharma needs to be reestablished.so it is not at all surprising that arjun or the gopis approach shiva or if KRSNA is asking them to approach shiva because thats how shiva could render his service to the supreme lord and from that he derives ananda.
so it doesn't matter if arjun goes to himalayas worships shiva or the gopis worship demigods or KRSNA recommends them to worship shiva or whatsoever but their love for KRSNA remains unchanged because they were not ordinary souls , but as soon as we start worshiping demigods (as you think prabhupada said not to do so though he never condemned ) our consciousness immediately gets materially contaminated hence the desired results are not achieved because we are not arjun or the gopis.
its amazing to me how can people get confused when the lord declares his opulence but by simply at times asking to approach his devotee(in this case rudra) for something and they come to the conclusion that there is some contradiction. everything is so crystal clear but one has to smear his eyes with the ointment of love or pure unflinching bhakti.now thats where the guru plays the role.you cannot understand the pastimes of the supreme without the empowerment from the guru. i recommend you to approach a bonafied guru very soon.
haribol.
Therefore, the issue here is not personal about you or me but in an abstract sense about the underlying principles of KCON.
ok, if You have some material desires worship Lord Shiva He will give You anything You want by the mercy of Krishna.
but i have only One Master and i do not want to be unchaste to Him-Krishna.
For what You need Pashupa astra these days? we can worship Lord Shiva only for taking that astra.
In previous ages people did yagyas and offered food to Demigods and Forfathers and They used to appear in the yagya arena along with Lord Vishnu.
If You have such opulence to worship Them, and have purity to call Them then why not?
Gopis also worship Lord Shiva and They are pure Devotees and They are in Goloka, but when They worship They ask only Krishna not pashupa.
Your servant in serving to Srila Prabhupada,
I once again humbly say that these questions/doubts of mine are not intended to hurt anybody's beliefs but is an attempt to reconcile apparent inconsistencies.
chapter 7, text 19
TRANSLATION
After many births and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is. Such a great soul is very rare.
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text 20
TRANSLATION
Those whose minds are distorted by material desires surrender unto demigods and follow the particular rules and regulations of worship according to their own natures.
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text 21
TRANSLATION
I am in everyone's heart as the Supersoul. As soon as one desires to worship the demigods, I make his faith steady so that he can devote himself to some particular deity.
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text 22
TRANSLATION
Endowed with such a faith, he seeks favors of a particular demigod and obtains his desires. But in actuality these benefits are bestowed by Me alone.
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text 23
TRANSLATION
Men of small intelligence worship the demigods, and their fruits are limited and temporary. Those who worship the demigods go to the planets of the demigods, but My devotees ultimately reach My supreme planet.
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text 30
TRANSLATION
Those who know Me as the Supreme Lord, as the governing principle of the material manifestation, who know Me as the one underlying all the demigods and as the one sustaining all sacrifices, can, with steadfast mind, understand and know Me, even at the time of death.
This type of peaceful and respectful debate getting deeper into the truth of the subject is rare in this age of quarel and hypocrasy.
Such discusions are only possible amongst devotees who are seriously endeavoring for advancing in KC.
Just see this reply from Ram Kumar.
He is having a good understanding of the conclusions regarding this demigod worship comming in this line of Gaudia vaisnavism.
This human birth in kali yuga is an opertunity for us to go back home back to Godhead in this one life and we are encoraged to take advantage of this gift.
Srimad Bagavatom 12 3.51 states
My dear King, although Kali-yuga is an ocean of faults, there is still one good quality about this age: Simply by chanting the Hare Krsna mahä-mantra, one can become free from material bondage and be promoted to the transcendental kingdom. Hare Krsna.
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