Never had any encounters with ghosts or anything But once I did

Who knows. Maybe you were a Vaishnavite in a past life and he's just saying wassup.

>>18114470
I've read of many others having visions / dreams of various Hindu gods and some can supposedly contact them readily. What's up with that? Could it mean there's some form of higher intelligence? Is there something "special" about Hinduism?

>>18114485
All gods are equally real.

>>18114485
Hinduism is the prototype for practically any non-abrahamic faith. Practically the whole range of religuos expression can be found within it.

>>18114503
So why didn't I see Christ on the cross? Why this obscure God that I knew nothing about?
I had read a few verses from the Gita before but was never very knowledgable of Hinduism in general.

>>18114427
It's a jinn

>>18114524
you wanted to see him

maybe you have a desire to explore Hindusim and this gives you a plausible excuse so you don't feel guilty for "idolatry"

>>18114524
Because the lesson you are learning probably has to do with the aspects or something to do with Vishnu specifically.

You can go to physical places metaphyically... That's all you get out of me

>>18114524
God will show himself if you call on him. But it may not be as literal as you expect

>>18114533
Interesting. You could be right. Though, I honestly didn't have any more interest in Hinduism then any other religion... it could have been more sub-conscience.
>>18114539
I'll have to look into more on Vishnu
>>18114553
Is God Vishnu? is Christ God? Are they the same but present themselves differently or in a way the individual will understand them?

Like >>18114470 said, maybe you were a Vaishnavite in your last life, and have finally reached enlightenment. Don't quote me on that, I don't know a whole lot about this kind of stuff

>>18114573
God would be The ALL, Everything and Everywhere, when, and how. When you start giving stuff more specific aspects like Vishnu being the Protector and Shiva being Destruction/Transformation, then you are getting into more specific gods, that may or may not try and encapsulate as much as they can of the ALL. I would really call Brahman more God than Vishnu or Brahma, though Brahma is closer than Vishnu in my understanding.

>>18114573
Also, as an aside, everything is God, you are God, I am God, your mom is God, but we are just God put into limited vessels kinda.

My view is that gods like vishnu can teach specific things about life and being a sentient being in the universe, that you couldn't find from observing nature. Ask to be taught yoga and how to become an interdimensional human being.

>>18114607
I think I see what you mean. In this context, the term "God" isn't very useful.
I guess it's the monotheist in me that has a hard time understanding this concept.
>>18114591
Haha that trips me out but it's an interesting notion. My vision occurred maybe 4-5 years ago and still haven't been able to make heads or tails as to why specifically Vishnu appeared. It could have been any deity.

Bump, I'd like to see what more have to say

>>18114573
>Bg 6.41 — The unsuccessful yogī, after many, many years of enjoyment on the planets of the pious living entities, is born into a family of righteous people, or into a family of rich aristocracy.
>Bg 6.42 — Or [if unsuccessful after long practice of yoga] he takes his birth in a family of transcendentalists who are surely great in wisdom. Certainly, such a birth is rare in this world.
>Bg 6.43 — On taking such a birth, he revives the divine consciousness of his previous life, and he again tries to make further progress in order to achieve complete success, O son of Kuru.
>Bg 6.44 — By virtue of the divine consciousness of his previous life, he automatically becomes attracted to the yogic principles – even without seeking them. Such an inquisitive transcendentalist stands always above the ritualistic principles of the scriptures.

Vishnu is a regal, overpowering form of the Supreme Personality. His personality and relationships with Him are very similar to those found with the Christian aspect of God. I'd say the main difference being the jealousy and wrath of the Christian God is not found in Vishnu.

>>18114639
That's because anon is speaking from a Vedic viewpoint that is impersonal at best, atheistic at worst.

Vaishnavas are monotheistic, those most are closer to henotheism. Vaishnavas do not agree with this

>everything is God, you are God, I am God, your mom is God, but we are just God put into limited vessels kinda

And state this to be the last illusion of Maya; the failing of every mayavad.

>>18114607
>though Brahma is closer than Vishnu in my understanding.

Where do you get this from? Of the triumvirate, Brahma is the LEAST transcendant. Brahma is a living soul (jiva) like you and I. You can reincarnate to be Brahma. There is no becoming Siva or becoming Vishnu. They are not jiva-tattva.

Could be jinn...as previously described and I'm not an expert but if God needs u...he gets you....just don't allow yourself to be deceived

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>>18114427
He will either fuck you or you will get cucked

http://innertraditions.blogspot.com/2011/03/arjuna-becomes-woman-transgender-tale_19.html

I believe that a deception of a human soul is almost as valuable as a saving of a human soul

Damn...someone had that comic ready to go....i need to get up to speed...

>>18115172
What comic?

Cucked...lol

>>18114427. This comic

>>18115154
That is Krishna, and Krishna is a rascal. Completely different rasa with Vishnu. In any case, thank you for linking that blog. Joyful reading.

>>18115154
That's another God, not the Vishnu I witnessed
>>18115164
The mind is so powerful anyone can convince themselves of anything. If you need to deceive yourself to live then so be it.

The ones that you have to worry about are ones that promise things to you...otherwise, ism what to tell you...

>>18115201
>>18115208
Krishna is the most complete Avatar of Vishnu. He **is** Vishnu. Vishnu is a rascal too.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohini

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OP, when you mentioned the items in Vishnu's hands, were you being literal with them being "exactly" like the first pic? Was it chakra, conch, mace, lotus in that order?

I ask because the placement of Vishnu's paraphernalia can indicate different avatars of Vishnu.

>>18115250
>Krishna is the most complete Avatar of Vishnu.
If you are not Gaudiya Vaishnava, why do you say this? I've never heard this from other Vaishnavas before. If you are Guadiya Vaishnava, Krishna is no avatar of Vishnu. Vishnu is an expansion of Krishna.

>He **is** Vishnu.
They are non-different, yet distinct. Krishna and Vishnu and Mohini-devi are all the same God, but Krishna is not Vishnu is not Mohini-devi.

>Vishnu is a rascal too.
When? Vishnu is just, will always keep His word, will honor previous conditions set by the devas and asuras alike, etc.

You reference Mohini-devi - are you referring to when She gave the amrita to the devas and skipped over the asuras? That is not rascaldom; Vishnu was cajoled by the devas to restore their kingdom. Beguiling your foe is not being a rascal.

Now, you could wonder why Vishnu always favors the devas, but is that rascaldom? Is that even really favoritism? What I mean is - Vishnu showed no favor toward the devas, He shows favor toward those that approach Him.

When have the asuras ever approached Vishnu for help?

>>18115313
When the vision appeared, naturally I freaked the fucked out. The vision was more of his lower body but I did briefly see his face and entirety. The pic I first posted was quite literally the same vision... The scepter and a lotus flower I remember the most. The conch and chakra, I don't remember. It was all very brief.
But the scepter the lotus flower stood out. Vishnu appeared benevolently, it seemed. It was so brief there's not much other detail I remember.
He was shrouded in blue and "heavenly" light. He appeared at a sort of peak in my meditation, like I had reached another plane or plateau of (not to sound elitist or a hippy fag)

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>>18115347
>The scepter and a lotus flower I remember the most.

I am unable to find anything definitive on the lotus, but the scepter (mace, actually) has a name and personality. The conch and chakra do as well, but I think you should focus on what was shown clearest to you.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaumodaki

I'm not finding a good, central link to give you about the lotus. In general it is a symbol of purity, creation, peace, transcendence, the soul, etc.

Oh, and I was able to grab the 24 names associated with the various configurations of icons. Pic related: the pics are in order with the list below, read left to right in two columns.

Keshava
Narayana
Madhava
Govinda
Vishnu
Madhusudana
Trivikrama
Vamana
Shridhara
Hrishikesha
Padmanabha
Damodara
Sankarshana
Vasudeva
Pradyumna
Aniruddha
Purushottama
Adhokshaja
Narasimha
Achyuta
Janardana
Upendra
Hara
Krishna

I'm heading to bed now. I hope you continue your search, and I hope the experience you had stays with you your whole life.

To save time, the forms with mace and lotus in the lower arms:

Mace - Lotus
Madhava - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madhava_(Vishnu)
Vasudeva - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vāsudeva (this just redirects to Krishna, the name seems to mean only that Krishna is the son of Vasudeva, as per the Mahabharata)

Lotus - Mace
Kesava - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keshava
Janardana - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janardana

A lot of those wiki articles rely on Adi Shankar's commentary. I am uncertain on that as Shankaracarya is basically the father of Mayavadism. Still, the literal meaning of the names shouldn't be affected by that type of bias.

I had something similar happen, OP.

I was experiencing a difficult period of my life. It was hard because I was getting some bad side effects from drugs I was using too often recreationally. I decided to ween myself off of them. During that process I experienced some obsessive delusions over my relationship. I felt like talking to a friend of mine counted as cheating because he had feelings for me, and I was feeling guilty about the entire scenario. My SO didn't care, but my delusion still said this counted as cheating. It was not based in reality at all. I was aware of the fact that this was a drug induced delusion, so I turned to Buddhism. I always turn to Buddhism when my mental health is being compromised because the meditations and mindfulness techniques are extremely helpful during times of need.


To be honest, the process of getting off of the drug was not working very well. I was getting irritable and depressed, but the meditations + mindfulness helped quite a bit. Oddly, I never learned about Vishnu during this time period, or any other time period. I was raised in a cultish Christian environment, so learning about other gods was out of the question. In addition, the branch of Buddhism I practice does not focus on Gods and chooses to ignore them since they're not relevant to the practice of the self.

TL;DR I didn't research gods because they weren't a part of my spiritual journey, and I never learned about them as a child.

(1/2)

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Anyway, here's the fun part. I was suffering, and I needed compassion and forgiveness for making mistakes. I didn't really believe in gods, but I reached out and prayed anyway. I was half asleep, half awake. I said "If there's any gods out there, please help me. Please hear me. I'm suffering and I need relief. I need help." Almost instantly, I saw a man with long black hair appear in my dream-half sleep induced state. He felt so comforting. Thinking about it brings a tear to my eye. He gave me a drop of water. I believe the drop of water was a blessing, but I am not sure. He said that he would help me, essentially. I felt relieved. I asked him who he was, and he said "Lord Vishnu." I woke up to look him up on my phone, the description was the same and the resemblance was uncanny. My jaw dropped.

Things have been better since. I'll never forget what Lord Vishnu has helped me with, even though I have little need from the eastern gods and have moved to a different spiritual practice. I'm very grateful to Him, and felt that this post would help you OP.

Had a similar experience while meditating once as well although I feel like I met "God", as it were. I saw in my mind an overwhelmingly bright and warm yellow light, and I felt a sensation of fatherly love and warmth across my whole body (but mainly situated in my torso, as if I were being embraced). I began crying immediately, it was like seeing a relative you'd been away from for a very long time. I cried so hard I lost focus and stopped meditating, but after I broke out of it I felt so happy, like "God" had somehow filled my soul with happiness.

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I feel so pleased reading this thread. Blessings to everyone.

>>18114427
Well what was your meditation about?

>>18114427
Sir, I will now offer you, a cheeseburger.

>>18115551
>>18115586

Thanks for the info anon, and I will indeed do more research.

>>18115605
>>18115656
Beautiful story. I can't describe the state I was in... just that I felt weightless/without a body. It's hard to describe but it was almost like these "panels"(doors of perception?) that had blinded me were now opening, there was an infinite series of these "panels", and one after the other they opened, sort of like going through a tunnel. At the peak of this I could see heavenly blue/warm/yellow light and an entity (Vishnu) started to manifest, starting from his feet and up to his head.
I wish I was able to keep my composure and spend some time with him but when you see a Godly deity for the first it freaks you out.
I'm glad he was able to give you that blessing, anon.
I would like to get to that state again have another encounter with Vishnu to learn more.

All visions of Visnu or Krsna are auspicious even if they are mere imaginations of the mind Stila Prabhupada said. It's no doubt you were a good devotee in a past life and this your karma to receive such a boon. Now is the time to start chanting the mahamantra 1728 times daily on Tulalsi beads.

Jai Radhe-Krsna!