Administration: 03/02 - Bhakti List Guidelines - Reminder.

From the Bhakti List Archives

• December 27, 2002


Dear Members:

Over 90% of our members are sending postings which strive to promote the goals and objectives of the bhakti list.  However, there are a few members who either do not know the objectives of the List, or do not pay attention to these goals.  There are a handful of members who treat this List as a place to just send whatever is of interest to them, without being concerned about whether it has anything to do with the goals and objectives of the List or not.  I would like to suggest that the best kind of moderation for these people is to self-moderate.  I do not enjoy having to either reject or delete the postings of this very small monority of members.   

For the benefit of these members, I am reproducing the stated goals and objectives of the bhakti list, in a slightly different format from what you find the home page, in items 1 and 2.  The paragraphs that follow items 1 and 2 are my own understanding and interpretation of items 1 and 2.  I hope this helps clarify the objectives for these few members.

1. Discussing Vedanta as systematized by  Ramanuja (also known as Sri 
Vaishnavam, Visishtadvaita, and Ubhaya Vedanta). 

2. Discussion of Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, and the mystic poems of the 
Alvar saints as they relate to No. 1 above.

I personally feel that the use of the List should be for either sharing our AcAryas' knowledge and teachings on the above, or for us to learn from each other as it pertains to the two objectives above.  In discussion, there are three types: vAdam, jalpam, and vitandam.  Of these, vAdam is the discussion that is based on pramANa-s, with the only objective being to learn the truth.  This has been extensively carried out by our pUrvAcArya-s on the different faiths and religions (including the different vedic as well as non-vedic and anti-vedic faiths), and so we do not have to resort to our own opinions independent of the AcAryas' opinions and teachings.  jalpam is the discussion that some people would like to have, where they have a stated position, and they will push it without listening to anything that anyone else has to say.  vitaNDam is when the person will just blindly oppose anything anyone else says, irrespective of what the other person says.  I do not think this Forum should be the place for anyone t

This precludes postings that one-sidedly promote other (that is, non-rAmAnuja) vedic as well as non-vedic faiths, or announcements of public/private/commerial/religious events that are not consistent with items 1 and 2 above, etc. 

I hope that all members keep these guidelines in mind when posting to the List.

-Moderator.





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