SB 10.13.49 — Every part of Their bodies, from Their feet to the top of Their heads, was fully decorated with fresh, tender garlands of tulasī leaves offered by devotees engaged in worshiping the Lord by the greatest pious activities, namely hearing and chanting.
.
-We can see here that Tulasi leaves is used as offering to Lord as garland, and after is used by Lord, devotees can use it as prasad or mercy.
-When devotees take prasad or mercy, they take it NOT because they are hungry or ill,
but because of respect to lord and His mercy. The mood of humbleness with unselfish mood are base.
-Such mood in bhakty yoga is essential, otherwise the progress is unlikely to happen.
-The priciples of bhakti yoga are the same to everyone, otherwise it would be impossible for "lowest" creatures to achieve God.
-All you need is love, love is all you need, but those in the process to achieve such love,
the humble respect and sacrifice of this material body in surrendering to Lord are essential.
-This material body is the temporary temple of the Lord and soul, and will be destroyed soon or later,
because of that nature , taking care for such temple is waste of time and energy.
-The jiva should sacrifice such rotten temple by completely surrendering to Lord and depending on His mercy only.
-By doing that, eternal divine life is guaranteed.
How the use of Tulasi leaves by devotee for medical purpose is material, those who think it as material is still under illusion. They think that body belongs to them, actually the body is temple of Lord where Super-Soul is residing, if you do not care for the temple it is offense, actual service to tulasi plant is to make it use in service of Lord. Tulasi devi should be used for the ultimate benefit of eternal soul (bhakti), if the body is not fine how can one do Bhakti, so if we use it as medicine for devotional service there is no sins, just like we wears Tulasi beads around neck or Japa Mala. Bg 16.18 — Bewildered by false ego, strength, pride, lust and anger, the demons become envious of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is situated in their own bodies and in the bodies of others, and blaspheme against the real religion. Do not think like Extremists, For that Lord is certainly not pleased with this, In Vedas it is said that general principles are not applied in special circumstances, Tulasi plant possesses curative properties and is said to be an antidote to snake-venom. Bg 17.5-6 — Those who undergo severe austerities and penances not recommended in the scriptures, performing them out of pride and egoism, who are impelled by lust and attachment, who are foolish and who torture the material elements of the body as well as the Supersoul dwelling within, are to be known as demon.
Philosophy Discussion on George Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel Hayagrīva: So the Tulasī, the actual... To get back to the original point, the actual philosophy behind reverence for the Tulasī plant or the cow or the sexual ceremony, the basis then would be remembrance of Kṛṣṇa, that these can bring remembrance of Kṛṣṇa. Prabhupāda: Yes.
Similarly, Lord tells many of his opulence in chapter 10 of BG, it is not like that we should just offer flower or incense to them, or Lord said I am the taste of water, it does not mean that we stop bathing, We are following this pāñcarātrikī-vidhi or other follows Vedic vidhi the purpose of training is to become Kṛṣṇa conscious. Bg 6.30: For one who sees Me everywhere and sees everything in Me, I am never lost, nor is he ever lost to Me. SB 3.29.21: I am present in every living entity as the Supersoul. If someone neglects or disregards that Supersoul everywhere and engages himself in the worship of the Deity in the temple, that is simply imitation. SB 3.29.22: One who worships the Deity of Godhead in the temples but does not know that the Supreme Lord, as Paramātmā, is situated in every living entity’s heart, must be in ignorance and is compared to one who offers oblations into ashes. SB 11.2.41: A devotee should not see anything as being separate from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. Ether, fire, air, water, earth, the sun and other luminaries, all living beings, the directions, trees and other plants, the rivers and oceans — whatever a devotee experiences he should consider to be an expansion of Kṛṣṇa. Thus seeing everything that exists within creation as the body of the Supreme Lord, Hari, the devotee should offer his sincere respects to the entire expansion of the Lord’s body.
However, it doesn't mean we should disrespect the Tulasi Devi in any manner, She is a pure devotee & concert of Lord and any harm to it is consider an offense, so before taking it as medicine think twice that we have a genuine need to it, if substitute works well then there is no need to take it medicine & otherwise use fallen or faded leaves so that the plant doesn't got harm on its own health, and it should be offer to lord first and take as a mercy...
3ruf705dlznca > Speaking SoulJanuary 19, 2016 at 6:55pm
You said : "Tulasi devi should be used for the ultimate benefit of eternal soul (bhakti), if the body is not fine how can one do Bhakti,.."
-The material body statement such as illness , body form, education, caste, and all such material things doesnt prevent someones do bhakti.
SB 11.12.8 — The inhabitants of Vṛndāvana, including the gopīs, cows, unmoving creatures such as the twin arjuna trees, animals, living entities with stunted consciousness such as bushes and thickets, and snakes such as Kāliya, all achieved the perfection of life by unalloyed love for Me and thus very easily achieved Me.
.
SB 11.12.9 — Even though one engages with great endeavor in the mystic yoga system, philosophical speculation, charity, vows, penances, ritualistic sacrifices, teaching of Vedic mantras to others, personal study of the Vedas, or the renounced order of life, still one cannot achieve Me.
.
SB 7.7.51-52 — My dear friends, O sons of the demons, you cannot please the Supreme Personality of Godhead by becoming perfect brāhmaṇas, demigods or great saints or by becoming perfectly good in etiquette or vast learning. None of these qualifications can awaken the pleasure of the Lord. Nor by charity, austerity, sacrifice, cleanliness or vows can one satisfy the Lord. The Lord is pleased only if one has unflinching, unalloyed devotion to Him. Without sincere devotional service, everything is simply a show.
Speaking Soul > 3ruf705dlzncaJanuary 20, 2016 at 9:50am
My Dear Dean Prabhu,
PAMHO, AGTSP
Pl's don't feel disturbed at mind, for it will effect KC, what you said is absolutely right. There are different stages of same ladder, not everyone can act on level of Paramhamsa/Vrajvasi's, and if they imitate, they may fall down...
Bg 3.33 — Even a man of knowledge acts according to his own nature, for everyone follows the nature he has acquired from the three modes. What can repression accomplish?
Prabhupāda: Why everyone is coughing? What is the difficulty? Yesterday also I heard. What is the difficulty?
Devotee: I think there's a cold going around.
Prabhupāda: Eh?
Devotee: I think there's a cold going around, a lot of people.
Prabhupāda: But you have no sufficient warm cloth, so you are affected? That you must arrange. You must take care of your health. Yuktāhāra-vihārasya yogo bhavati duḥkha-hā. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, yuktāhāra. You should take food just to maintain your health nicely. Similarly, other necessities of body must be taken care of. If you become diseased, then how you can execute Kṛṣṇa consciousness? Just like Brahmānanda could not go today. So we must be careful. We should not eat more or less. Better eat less than eat more. You'll not die by eating less. But you may die eating more. People die for overeating, not for undereating. This should be the principle. Here... Medical science always forbids not to eat more than you require. Voracious eating is the cause of diabetes, and undernourishment is the cause of tuberculosis. This is the medical science. So we should not take under, neither more. In children case, they can commit the mistake of taking more, but adults, they cannot commit. This mistake, taking more. Children, they can digest. All day they are playing.
So anyway, we should take care of our health also. Sanātana Gosvāmī, he was suffering from itches, very much, and Caitanya Mahāprabhu was embracing him. So the, the itches were wet itches. There are two kinds of itches, wet and dry. Sometimes itching spot is dry, and sometimes it is wet. After itching, it becomes wet. So Sanātana Gosvāmī's body was all covered with wet itches, and Caitanya Mahāprabhu was embracing him. So the wetness, the moisture, was sticking to the body of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. So he felt it very much ashamed, that "I am suffering from itches, and Caitanya Mahāprabhu's embracing, and the wet thing is smearing over the body. How much unfortunate." So he decided that "Tomorrow I shall commit suicide instead of allowing me to be embraced by Caitanya Mahāprabhu." So next day Caitanya Mahāprabhu inquired that "You have decided to commit suicide. So do you think this body is yours?" So he was silent. Caitanya Mahāprabhu said that "You have already dedicated this body to Me. How you can kill it?" Similarly... Of course, from that day, his itches were all cured and... But this is the decision, that our body, those who are Kṛṣṇa conscious, those who are working for Kṛṣṇa, they should not think that the body belongs to him. It is already dedicated to Kṛṣṇa. So it must be kept very carefully, without any neglect. Just like you are taking care of the temple because it is Kṛṣṇa's place. Similarly... We should not take overcare, but some care we should take so that we may not fall diseased...
One may of out of love think that he may harm Tulasi Maharani, similarly way like Sanātana Gosvāmī is thinking for Caitanya Mahāprabhu and tries to commit self destruction, but this action doesn't please the Lord....
Any good Ayurvedic formula will explain what to do when necessary for good health.......and they do have respect for body and soul. Some of the things propagated as extremism are not truthful in various conditions and applications for overall holistic health and well being.
Replies
How the use of Tulasi leaves by devotee for medical purpose is material, those who think it as material is still under illusion. They think that body belongs to them, actually the body is temple of Lord where Super-Soul is residing, if you do not care for the temple it is offense, actual service to tulasi plant is to make it use in service of Lord.
Tulasi devi should be used for the ultimate benefit of eternal soul (bhakti), if the body is not fine how can one do Bhakti, so if we use it as medicine for devotional service there is no sins, just like we wears Tulasi beads around neck or Japa Mala.
Bg 16.18 — Bewildered by false ego, strength, pride, lust and anger, the demons become envious of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is situated in their own bodies and in the bodies of others, and blaspheme against the real religion.
Do not think like Extremists, For that Lord is certainly not pleased with this, In Vedas it is said that general principles are not applied in special circumstances, Tulasi plant possesses curative properties and is said to be an antidote to snake-venom.
Bg 17.5-6 — Those who undergo severe austerities and penances not recommended in the scriptures, performing them out of pride and egoism, who are impelled by lust and attachment, who are foolish and who torture the material elements of the body as well as the Supersoul dwelling within, are to be known as demon.
Philosophy Discussion on George Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
Hayagrīva: So the Tulasī, the actual... To get back to the original point, the actual philosophy behind reverence for the Tulasī plant or the cow or the sexual ceremony, the basis then would be remembrance of Kṛṣṇa, that these can bring remembrance of Kṛṣṇa.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Similarly, Lord tells many of his opulence in chapter 10 of BG, it is not like that we should just offer flower or incense to them, or Lord said I am the taste of water, it does not mean that we stop bathing, We are following this pāñcarātrikī-vidhi or other follows Vedic vidhi the purpose of training is to become Kṛṣṇa conscious.
Bg 6.30: For one who sees Me everywhere and sees everything in Me, I am never lost, nor is he ever lost to Me.
SB 3.29.21: I am present in every living entity as the Supersoul. If someone neglects or disregards that Supersoul everywhere and engages himself in the worship of the Deity in the temple, that is simply imitation.
SB 3.29.22: One who worships the Deity of Godhead in the temples but does not know that the Supreme Lord, as Paramātmā, is situated in every living entity’s heart, must be in ignorance and is compared to one who offers oblations into ashes.
SB 11.2.41: A devotee should not see anything as being separate from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. Ether, fire, air, water, earth, the sun and other luminaries, all living beings, the directions, trees and other plants, the rivers and oceans — whatever a devotee experiences he should consider to be an expansion of Kṛṣṇa. Thus seeing everything that exists within creation as the body of the Supreme Lord, Hari, the devotee should offer his sincere respects to the entire expansion of the Lord’s body.
However, it doesn't mean we should disrespect the Tulasi Devi in any manner, She is a pure devotee & concert of Lord and any harm to it is consider an offense, so before taking it as medicine think twice that we have a genuine need to it, if substitute works well then there is no need to take it medicine & otherwise use fallen or faded leaves so that the plant doesn't got harm on its own health, and it should be offer to lord first and take as a mercy...
You said : "Tulasi devi should be used for the ultimate benefit of eternal soul (bhakti), if the body is not fine how can one do Bhakti,.."
-The material body statement such as illness , body form, education, caste, and all such material things doesnt prevent someones do bhakti.
SB 11.12.8 — The inhabitants of Vṛndāvana, including the gopīs, cows, unmoving creatures such as the twin arjuna trees, animals, living entities with stunted consciousness such as bushes and thickets, and snakes such as Kāliya, all achieved the perfection of life by unalloyed love for Me and thus very easily achieved Me.
SB 7.7.51-52 — My dear friends, O sons of the demons, you cannot please the Supreme Personality of Godhead by becoming perfect brāhmaṇas, demigods or great saints or by becoming perfectly good in etiquette or vast learning. None of these qualifications can awaken the pleasure of the Lord. Nor by charity, austerity, sacrifice, cleanliness or vows can one satisfy the Lord. The Lord is pleased only if one has unflinching, unalloyed devotion to Him. Without sincere devotional service, everything is simply a show.
My Dear Dean Prabhu,
PAMHO, AGTSP
Pl's don't feel disturbed at mind, for it will effect KC, what you said is absolutely right. There are different stages of same ladder, not everyone can act on level of Paramhamsa/Vrajvasi's, and if they imitate, they may fall down...
Lecture on SB 1.8.37 -- Los Angeles, April 29, 1973:
Prabhupāda: Why everyone is coughing? What is the difficulty? Yesterday also I heard. What is the difficulty?
Devotee: I think there's a cold going around.
Prabhupāda: Eh?
Devotee: I think there's a cold going around, a lot of people.
Prabhupāda: But you have no sufficient warm cloth, so you are affected? That you must arrange. You must take care of your health. Yuktāhāra-vihārasya yogo bhavati duḥkha-hā. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, yuktāhāra. You should take food just to maintain your health nicely. Similarly, other necessities of body must be taken care of. If you become diseased, then how you can execute Kṛṣṇa consciousness? Just like Brahmānanda could not go today. So we must be careful. We should not eat more or less. Better eat less than eat more. You'll not die by eating less. But you may die eating more. People die for overeating, not for undereating. This should be the principle. Here... Medical science always forbids not to eat more than you require. Voracious eating is the cause of diabetes, and undernourishment is the cause of tuberculosis. This is the medical science. So we should not take under, neither more. In children case, they can commit the mistake of taking more, but adults, they cannot commit. This mistake, taking more. Children, they can digest. All day they are playing.
So anyway, we should take care of our health also. Sanātana Gosvāmī, he was suffering from itches, very much, and Caitanya Mahāprabhu was embracing him. So the, the itches were wet itches. There are two kinds of itches, wet and dry. Sometimes itching spot is dry, and sometimes it is wet. After itching, it becomes wet. So Sanātana Gosvāmī's body was all covered with wet itches, and Caitanya Mahāprabhu was embracing him. So the wetness, the moisture, was sticking to the body of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. So he felt it very much ashamed, that "I am suffering from itches, and Caitanya Mahāprabhu's embracing, and the wet thing is smearing over the body. How much unfortunate." So he decided that "Tomorrow I shall commit suicide instead of allowing me to be embraced by Caitanya Mahāprabhu." So next day Caitanya Mahāprabhu inquired that "You have decided to commit suicide. So do you think this body is yours?" So he was silent. Caitanya Mahāprabhu said that "You have already dedicated this body to Me. How you can kill it?" Similarly... Of course, from that day, his itches were all cured and... But this is the decision, that our body, those who are Kṛṣṇa conscious, those who are working for Kṛṣṇa, they should not think that the body belongs to him. It is already dedicated to Kṛṣṇa. So it must be kept very carefully, without any neglect. Just like you are taking care of the temple because it is Kṛṣṇa's place. Similarly... We should not take overcare, but some care we should take so that we may not fall diseased...
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
One may of out of love think that he may harm Tulasi Maharani, similarly way like Sanātana Gosvāmī is thinking for Caitanya Mahāprabhu and tries to commit self destruction, but this action doesn't please the Lord....
YS
Any good Ayurvedic formula will explain what to do when necessary for good health.......and they do have respect for body and soul. Some of the things propagated as extremism are not truthful in various conditions and applications for overall holistic health and well being.
Hare Krishna
I think we should...