--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, bob_brigante <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "John" <jr_esq@> wrote: > > > > To All: > > > > The Shrimad Bhagavatam states that natural disasters are due to a > demon > > being born in the area. In modern parlance, it would mean that the > > residents in the area may be doing something wrong in term of karma > > that is causing the disaster to occur. So, what have the residents of > > New Orleans done to deserve another hurricane to come along? > > > > JR > > > > > ********** > > Being ignorant is enough -- it's not like somebody has to be a > firebreathing demon to cause negative feedback from Nature (and, once > again, please do yourself a favor and throw away your translation by > Prabupad and get a responsible scholarly translation for this supreme > scripture: http://tinyurl.com/ywykn6 <http://tinyurl.com/ywykn6> ).
Bob, I understand the point you're making. But for comparative studies of religions, it is interesting to note how other traditions, including Prabhupada's translation of SB, perceive or interpret the meaning of natural disasters. For me, I find it unusual how other people of another culture thought about this question thousands of years ago. Sometimes I would ask, "what if they're right?". > > "Man is born to live a perfect life, encompassing values of the > transcendental Absolute -- unlimited energy, intelligence, power, > peace and bliss -- together with the unlimited values of the world of > multiplicity in relative existance" -- MMY > > The functioning of Nature is seen in the story of Jesus, being > hungry, approaching a fig tree. Not finding any fruit on the tree, He > cursed it, and it withered away. The purpose of existence is the > expansion of happiness, and when people lead ignorant, miserable, and > trivial lives, it is the kindness of Nature to act against the > acceptance of pathetic living. Ignorant people, by definition, are > incapable of understanding this, and wonder what they could be doing > wrong -- but, sooner or later, in one lifetime or another, suffering > due to ignorant living generates receptivity to wisdom in people, and > they begin to expand their awareness. > > Malaria has killed one out of every two people who have ever lived > http://pages.citebite.com/u7m6e9k9xepo > <http://pages.citebite.com/u7m6e9k9xepo> -- Nature declares war on > people all the time, not out of cruelty or randomness, but because it > is the nature of Nature, acting in a holistic way, to prod people to > be happy (even if it means giving up a body and getting a fresh one > at the reincarnation store), which can only happen when people unfold > their own nature, sat chit ananda (concentrated happiness of absolute > status and permanent nature) and stop relying on the > unreliable "happiness" of goods and relationships with others. I have nothing against your presentation. Perhaps, we can ask whether or not its wise to live in the New Orleans area since the area is prone to hurricanes. Maybe this is one of the reasons why the French sold a huge chunk of land during the Louisiana Purchase. > Bob Brigante > http://geocities.com/bbrigante/updates2008.html#fit > <http://geocities.com/bbrigante/updates2008.html#fit> >
