I was on my way out when I found a silver bracelet on the steps. My mother said it probably belongs to our rude neighbor and she said to keep it. But I think even if she is a bad person, it's not right. So should I return it? Is there anything Hinduism says like "Finders keepers, losers weepers"?
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Florida
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Re: what would ganesh do?
Wed, June 13, 2007 - 9:03 PMif you give it back, she might be less rude in the future. just a thought.
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Re: what would ganesh do?
Wed, June 13, 2007 - 11:00 PMOm Shanti
Return it to your neighbour if you really know that it "belongs to her".
Thats what we do out here in India and you know what if we still cant find the owner, the same is droped into the Hundi(roughly translates to Treasury ) or Kanickavanchi (Where offerings are put) of a nearby temple.
Why? Because anything and everything "belongs to God".
Om Shanti -
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Re: what would ganesh do?
Thu, June 14, 2007 - 5:00 AMThere are several girls living in my building so I really have no clue who it belongs to.
Sunil, I think that's great though. Do they have the Hundi in all temples? I thought you could only put money. -
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Re: what would ganesh do?
Thu, June 14, 2007 - 7:32 AMthis may not be exactly what Ganesh would do, but how about a 'found sign' in the lobby
"found bracelet on steps, please contact me at xxx.xxxx and describe"
then again, maybe he placed this bracelet there as an obstacle to test your moral fiber...... to see if you'd keep it or try to find its owner -
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Re: what would ganesh do?
Thu, June 14, 2007 - 11:59 PMOm Shanti
I agree to your viepoint skirblah.
A lost and found notice is worth the deed.
In a laid back village like mine " a lost and found " notice will not get the required effect and that must be the reason we used to do it the way i wrote.
Thanks for correcting me.Next time i get something "identifiable" by the owner i shall follow suit ,else it shall continue going to the Temple.
I think Lord Ganesh would highly appreciate a "Lost and Found Notice".
As for Parvathis question, well you know villagers.Simple minded.
We guys put any offering into a Hundi or dedicate it to the Temple.
Infact we have what is known as the "Grama Devataha/Devan"-The Village Deity.
Maybe its based on the assumption that anything in the village belongs to the Village Deity that we dedicate it to Her.
The first Coconut on the Palm goes to Her.A couple of Bananas from the Plantain will surely find way to the Temple.All those tubers like Tapioca/Casava go there.
A new child in the house ,after its naming ceremony and sometimes on its firts birthday, will be weighed aginst its weight in "Sugar /jaggery/Banana/Fruit or ( if you can afford ,in Gold/Silver etc.) in the Temple as Thanksgiving to the Goddess/God.
We call it a Vazhipadu/Offering.
Part of the Agrarian culture.
If your cow falls ill, the next morning, the Milk will find its way to the Temple.
Your rose plant looks drowsy,off goes a Flower to the Temple.
I fall ill, my mom packs me up-Off you go the temple.( Of course i return back home.)
In the temple at Guruvayoor , the Little Krisna -Mighty Lord loves Elephants and so people dedicate Elephants to him and my oh my hes got herds of them in his backyard by now.
The list goes on endless.
I just love it.
After travelling far and wide,getting lots of opportunity to understand various People,Cultures and Beliefs i feel so fresh to be back in my Village and get back in line with traditions that i myself fail to understand at times.
But whatever said and done.
I love it spirutally and in all the senses.
Om Shanti -
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Re: what would ganesh do?
Thu, August 16, 2007 - 3:57 PMhe would get with jesus and krishna and the crew. THey would consult, figure it out and transgress..
what you should do...i dunno. Ive done things in the past like keep it.....but i think i cant do that anymore......well make a sign, signs are everywhere.
inlakech
hari Bol
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Unsu...
Re: what would ganesh do?
Wed, October 3, 2007 - 4:46 PMSri Ganeshji would already know whose bracelet it was and would return it to them. :P I on the other hand do not so I would have to knock on the doors to the other apartments to ask if anyone lost a bracelet. I like to talk to people and you would have the opportunity to say hello to anyone in the building you haven't met yet. Also the person who lost it would surely extend a friendly hand for the gesture. Maybe I just really enjoy talking to people. LOL.
Keeping it would just incur ill karma for you, who needs more of that old stuff??? : )
Om shonti om -
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Re: what would ganesh do?
Wed, October 3, 2007 - 9:59 PM>>Keeping it would just incur ill karma for you, who needs more of that old stuff??? : )
just a side note, but I don't see any karma as ill or positive - the point is to eliminate all karmas and be free of them. -
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Re: what would ganesh do?
Thu, October 4, 2007 - 8:37 AMamen saul. the true understanding of karma. thank u for saying that.
to be free of them.
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Unsu...
Re: what would ganesh do?
Thu, October 4, 2007 - 10:59 AMInaction is impossible to achieve so long as we live in the manifest world. So long as there is action there is karma. Even if one refrains from any kind of action at all action still occurs, cell vibration is the minimum level of action but it never stops. Inaction in itself is an action of sorts. All action incurs karma, save for devotion, and man is responsible for his karma. To reject ones karma is to reject ones responsibility.
Karma Yoga is the science of right action, sin is the product of wrong action, karma exists as a product of duality just like everything else in the world. For those on the path of God realization the elimination of Karma in general is part of the goal, but that doesn't take away from the duality of the concept. Many find it difficult to renounce the world and focus their entire being on God realization, none of us have done it (We are talking on a computer after all) but we all strive to achieve a state of being where we can do just that.
Thats not to say I don't agree with you Saul, when one reaches a certain point along the path, good, bad or indifferent, all and all they are the same. Until we reach that point though we are bound by action, karma and duality. The only singular concept in this world of duality is devotion.
Om shonti om -
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Re: what would ganesh do?
Thu, October 4, 2007 - 11:37 AMfor us vaisnavas, action doesnt necessarily mean karma. if we offer all of our activities to krsna, then they become transcendant and free from all reaction. -
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Unsu...
Re: what would ganesh do?
Thu, October 4, 2007 - 12:55 PMhence: "The only singular concept in this world of duality is devotion." : )
All action produces Karma regardless of our sectoral affiliation, however those action given unto the divine, including failure, (so says the Gita) are indeed without Karmic attachment. Realize though that the action itself is still dualistic in nature (and therefore karmic), the intention/direction of the action however (offered up to the divine) absolve us of the fruits of the Karma of our actions.
Now I would like to pose a question. If you kill a person and offer the act to Krishna, does it absolve one of the apparent karmic negative accumulated by the act of murder? Of course it doesn't, how then could any act be free of karma? It can not be, however that action which is a karmic positive when offered up to the divine, releases you from the bounds of positive karmic accumulation. Negative karma incurs negative results which produce a repentant attitude in the effected person (over time) allowing the soul to rise up again. Positive karma incurs positive results which produce pride and a sense of higher being and eventually the fall of the soul. Offering wrong action to God does nothing and the soul needs to find repentance before it can rise up again. Offering right action up God frees you from the accumulation of the good karma right action produces, and the eventual fall caused by the fruits of right action. Realizing this I offer myself unto God, in hopes that I may be freed from the good I would try to do in the world.
Om shonti om. -
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Re: what would ganesh do?
Sun, October 7, 2007 - 11:23 AM>>for us vaisnavas, action doesnt necessarily mean karma. if we offer all of our activities to krsna, then they become transcendant and free from all reaction.
for us Tantrikas as well - once one is free from attachment one can realize the state of Jivanmukta and actions do not create karma unless we choose to take them on.
>>Negative karma incurs negative results which produce a repentant attitude in the effected person (over time) allowing the soul to rise up again. Positive karma incurs positive results which produce pride and a sense of higher being and eventually the fall of the soul. Offering wrong action to God does nothing and the soul needs to find repentance before it can rise up again. Offering right action up God frees you from the accumulation of the good karma right action produces, and the eventual fall caused by the fruits of right action. Realizing this I offer myself unto God, in hopes that I may be freed from the good I would try to do in the world.
if one allows attachments to their actions, in my school of thought. the point is to achieve a cleansing of karmas period, and one floats with the river instead of against it.
>>If you kill a person and offer the act to Krishna, does it absolve one of the apparent karmic negative accumulated by the act of murder?
since I woship Kali as Godhead, we Shaktas have a history of that sort of thing ;)
it depends on the intentions and fruits of the action, even the death of another living thing. if I feel like killing someone and just offer it to Kali, is that a karmic-free action or an excuse? however, if it is realized that both of the parties in the apparent loss are simply actors in the same play and it is not done for self serving reasons, then yes, it can be without karma, and may even work out karma.
do you think that Krsna advised Arjuna to kill his kinsmen just to snare him in the trap of "negative" karma? it was his dharma and the working out of his karmas. -
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Unsu...
Re: what would ganesh do?
Sun, October 7, 2007 - 1:35 PMWow Saul! I agree with you completely actually.The problem is I really don't think I've reached a point of real detachment yet. I know I am still engrossed in the delusion of duality. Being so I still find my perspective to be based therein. I do strive to attain the same state of detachment though.
As far as taking the life of living things.... if it is not my dharma then I do not, and it has not been thus far. If it is someday...then I'll have to cross that bridge when I get to it. I view the human animal as the the highest physical evolution of the soul journey, as I do not believe any other being capable of realization (engrossment) of the supreme self (Brahman). As such I feel it is my dharma to refrain from lifetaking unless it proves absolutely unavoidable, just as Sri Bagawan Krishna instructed Arjuna.
The instructions to fight came because Arjuna (representing the heart of the perfect devotee) could not bring himself to take life much less that of his own blood. Krsna's instruction was to muster righteousness over compassion when compassion would cause unrighteousness. The kingdom (soul) would have suffered under the wicked rule of the Kuravas (tendencies of the lower self) but would thrive under righteous Pandava (attributes of the higher self) rule.
I do have some understanding of life offerings given to Kali and as in most other beliefs I believe it is a path back to God-head... just not my path. I do think that when we get to where we are going...we will find ourselves in the same place.
Namaste!
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Re: what would ganesh do?
Mon, October 8, 2007 - 4:38 PMnicely said saul. aside from the whole non-dual thing (hehe) we are pretty much in sync....
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Re: what would ganesh do?
Mon, October 8, 2007 - 6:19 PMthe Saktas and Vaisnavas should be friends
oh, the Saktas and Vaisnavas should be friends...
one God flirts with the Gopis
another One loves the goats that bleed
but that's no reason why they cain't be friends....
(with apologies to Rodgers and Hammerstein)
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This is the maximum depth. Additional responses will not be threaded.
Re: what would ganesh do?
Tue, October 9, 2007 - 7:11 AMhahahahaha. very clever.
and u and i are living testimony to that fact
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Re: what would ganesh do?
Tue, October 9, 2007 - 6:57 PMclever or retarded? you make the call.
but yes. we are in fact a testament to it, especially with me being so damn opinionated. ;) -
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Re: what would ganesh do?
Thu, October 11, 2007 - 7:44 AMhehe i kno eh? just playyyyyyyyyying ;)
and i still stand by clever. u are indeed very clever. -
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Re: what would ganesh do?
Thu, October 11, 2007 - 9:49 AM"how's that working out for you?
what?
being clever.
fine, I guess.
well, keep at it then..."
hopefully my enlightenment does not come via a psycho who works while I sleep.... -
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Re: what would ganesh do?
Thu, October 11, 2007 - 10:08 AMhahahaha u make me laugh.
good one.... -
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Re: what would ganesh do?
Thu, October 11, 2007 - 10:24 AM:)
many people cannot look past the violence in that movie to see the underlying theme of Tantric initiation.
my "employee picks" cart at the bookstore where I work had an Omkaar and the quote, "Free your mind by any means neccesary"
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Unsu...
Re: what would ganesh do?
Fri, October 26, 2007 - 11:00 AMyou have to return it
there is no question
