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Sraddha - Fixing the Heart on the Truth
Kadamba Kanana Swami
Bhaktivedanta College, Radhadesh, December 2002
"The Faith Book" was written as a reader or a course-manual for a seminar on faith. Therefore it's not really a book, but rather a reference manual. The manual is divided in to 5 sections and then followed by a dozen appendixes. The first section deals with definitions and so on, just to provide a frame of reference.You may just want to brush over it and not read it in depth. In the seminar we are not paying too much attention to this section. We focus especially on the second, third and fourth section; "Personal Conviction", "Faith in the context of ISKCON" and "Dialogue". The fifth section was offering some topics for essays for the students participating in the course.
Contents:
Section One: Faith-A General Analysis
Definitions
A. Dictionary definitions of 'faith'
I. Unabridged Oxford English Dictionary
II. The Harper Collins Dictionary of Philosophy, 2nd edition
III. Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary
IV. American Heritage Dictionary
V. Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third EditionB. Dictionary definitions of 'Sraddha'
I. Monier Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary
V. Capeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary
VI. Sraddha-Passages from "The Concept of Sraddha"C. Definition of 'Sraddha' in Caitanya-caritamrta
D. Pancopasana, five types of faith, a universal principle
I. Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura: Sri Krsna Samhita
II. Pancopasana in Srimad-Bhagavatam
III. Pancopasana in Brahma-samhita
IV. PancopasakasE. Ten types of proof: Tattva-sandarbha of Jiva Gosvami
1. Arsya ("exceptional utterance")
2. Upamana (comparison)
3. Arthapatti (presumption)
4. Abhava (non-existence)
5. Sambhava (inclusion)
6. Aitihya (tradition)
7. Cesta (gesture)
8. Pratyaksa (direct perception)
9. Anumana (inference)
10. Sabda (revealed knowledge)
Section Two: Faith-Personal Conviction
Adau sraddha-Spiritual life begins with faith
Faith a Pretense
The human side of Luther
A revolving doorFaith-Personal Conviction
Taste moves all
SacrificeDuty: A devotee must sacrifice material desire
To maintain material desires
The risk of fall down
The reward at the end
Overcoming material desireKrsna helps the devotee to cleanse the heart
Cultural Transplant
Miracles
There are no miracles
Miracle
Blind Faith
Philosophy
Suspension of disbelief
Blind faith to a degree
Reason and Belief
"Indicative logic"
The Qualities of Krsna
Wonderful Linguist
Aloof from this world
Bhakta-rupa
Krsna is attracted by the smallest service
Jiva Gosvami is perceiving the forest of Vrndavana with pure transcendental visionPrabhupada, the living proof
The simple secret of success
He had full faith in the words of Lord Caitanya
Prabhupada was beyond falldown
Teacher by example
Proof-hungry
Faith must be a personal matter
Prabhupada was a transparent via-medium
Prabhupada, a pure devotee
The perfect vision
Prabhupada was always happy
To See Krsna or not?
I. Seeing Krsna always
Did you see Krsna?
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu showed how a devotees sees Krsna in a spiritual trance
Sanjaya could see Krsna at Kuruksetra at a distances
of hundred of kilometers through his mystic power
The face of Krsna and the hand of Krsna
II. Love of God in seperation from Krsna
Intensified remembrance of the Lord in separation
The Lord with a Heart
GratefulThe basis of False Faith
The Voice of the Soul
Notes from the Madhurya Kadambini (Second Shower of Nectar)
Obstacles to the development of deeper faith
Atheism
What is the meaning of your atheism?
Atheism in danger
Only a saint has such tolerance
Congratulations for the atheist
A pragmatic argument
In between Hiranyakasipu and Prahlada
God is dead
God the Supreme ControllerDoubt
Purity is the force
De omnibus dubitandum est
Skepticism
Doubt as one of the characteristics of intelligence
Doubt is arising from ignorance
Belief and doubt
Section Three: Faith in the Context of ISKCON
What are we really part off?
Faith is meant to be Dynamic
ISKCON in three layers
I. The 'Organization'
II. The 'Perfect Process'
The Oil-spill
III. Lord Caitanya's InterventionOrganized Religion (by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura)
Via Negativa - Via Positiva
Excerpt from the virtue of Abstinence
Via Negitiva Versus Via PositivaMaterial Arguments for the success of ISKCON
Religious movement in a foreign culture
Dilution of a tradition and revitalization
The cultural standpoint
Sociological reasons
Prabhupada's arguments
Krsna arranged for Prabhupada's sake
Bhagavad-gita also recognizes material reasons for some to take up spiritual lifeWhat import does this movement actually have in the world?
Why are there so few devotees?
Can we actually change the world?
Garuda came to help the sparrow
We may not be able to change the world, but the books can
This movement is changing the world
Faith on common ground with disbelief
Primacy of Consciousness
Language as a vehicle of thought
Human Beings are by Nature IdealistsApauruseya-Divine Revelation
The Absolute Truth
Jiva Gosvami offers some quotes from Vedic literature itself
The complete text of the Vedas is unavailable
Srimad-Bhagavatam is the spotless Purana
The Vaisnava perspective versus other viewsSome Controversial Points
A. Fundamental issues
1. Acintya-Inconceivable
Mundane argument inadequate
Speculation
Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya became dull by logic
Logic applied to Lord Caitanya's mercy
2. The only way
Dogmatic, sectarian?
3. Sastra is a Divine RevelationB. Specific issues
4. No Overpopulation
5. They did not go to the moon
6. One solar system
7. Women less intelligent
8. Sacred Cow
9. Life comes from life
10. SatiMundane forms of religion
Book Review:"The Bhaktivedanta Purports" - Perfect
Explanation of the Bhagavad Gita (By HH Sivarama Swami)
The Computer as Idol (J.Weizenbaum, M.I.T.)
Religion and Science (A. Einstein)
Good and Evil
This world is not arranged by the plan of the Lord
Theological problem of evil
Good and evilCarl Jung: "Answers to Job"
The Sri Krsna Samhita (Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura)
An attempt to communicate Vedic knowledge to the westernized world
Section Five: Faith-Student Assignments
Essay Concepts
Section Six: Appendixes
Appendix 1 - God Concepts
Appendix 2 - Arguments
for the existence of God
Appendix 3 -
16 verses and purports about faith in the Bhagavad Gita
Appendix 4 -
Assuming responsibility of being guru
Appendix 5 - Initiation
Appendix 6 - Guru
Appendix 7 - Cleaning house
and cleaning hearts
Appendix 8 - On God and Science
Appendix 9 - Questions
Appendix 10 - Sri Tattva Sandarbha
Appendix 11 - The Free Will
Problem
Appendix 12 - Mental
speculation and philosophical speculation
Appendix 13 - The Therapeutic
Revolution
Appendix 14 - Components of
Education
Extra Documents