How the item of hearing can be best practised is described by Śrī Jīva Gosvāmīpāda —  tac ca nāma rūpa guṇa līlāmaya śabdānāṁ śrotra sparśaḥ...........tatrāpi śravaṇe śrī bhāgavata śravaṇaṁ tu parama śreṣṭhaṁ tasya tādṛśa prabhāvamaya śabdātmakatvāt parama rasamayatvāc ca tatra pūrvasmād yathā (Bhāg. 1.1.2) 'śrīmad bhāgavate mahāmuni kṛte kiṁ vāparair īśvaraḥ sadyo hṛdyavarudhyate'tra kṛtibhiḥ śuśrūṣubhis … Continue reading The practice of hearing

In his book Siddhānta Ratna, Śrīpāda Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa has written - eṣā tu bhaktis tan nitya parikaragaṇād ārabhyedānīntaneṣvapi tad bhakteṣu mandākinīva pracarati.........sā tathābhūtā nitya dhāmni nitya pārṣadeṣu nityaṁ cakāsti surasarid iva tad bhakta praṇālyā prapañce'vatarati: "This bhakti is being promulgated from the eternal associates of Śrī Hari down to the present day sādhaka bhaktas, like … Continue reading We need both, the mercy of Sri Guru and the Vaishnavas

In a very nice discussion recently on Facebook, the subject matter came to how to deal with the desire to have sex as devotees. It is a desire we as human beings have experienced for millions of lives, especially here in the Western world, where sex is God and on the daily menu of everything. … Continue reading The hypocrisy of dealing with sex life in spiritual institutions

  By the mercy of my Gurudeva, I remembered his tika to one of the verses of the Siksastakam where he discusses one of the jiva soul´s biggest enemies: ENVY (matsarya). I also immediately came upon this wonderful verse in the beginning of the Srimad Bhagavatam (1.1.2): "In this glorious Bhagavata Purana, written down by … Continue reading Know your enemy

nistula vraja kiśora maṇḍalī mauli- maṇḍana harinmaṇīśvaram viśva visphurita gokulollasan navya yauvatāvataṁsa mālikām         O Kṛṣṇa! You are the matchless crown-emerald of all adolescent boys of Vraja! O Rādhe! You are the crowngarland of all the blissful freshly youthful girls of Gokula that are manifest in this world! VRAJĀVATAṀSA (The Adornments of Vraja) ŚRĪ … Continue reading Śrī Śrī Utkalika Vallari – verse 9

CLAIM: The 5th verse of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu´s “Siksastakam” clearly proves that the jiva soul fell down from Goloka Vrindavana. ayi nanda-tanuja kiṅkaraṁ patitāṁ māṁ viṣame bhavāmbudhau kṛpayā tava pāda paṅkaja sthita dhūlīsadṛśaṁ vicintaya O Son of Mahārāja Nanda (Kṛṣṇa)! I have fallen into the terrible ocean of material existence. Please consider me to be … Continue reading Was Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu a fall-vadi?

itara jana durghaṭodayasya sthira guṇa ratna-cayasya rohaṇādrim akhila guṇavatī kadamba cetaḥ pracura camatkṛti-kāri sad guṇāḍhyām    O Kṛṣṇa! You are a huge mountain of jewel like qualities that is unattainable by outsiders! O Rādhe! You are enriched with all great qualities that greatly astonish the hearts of all the qualified girls! ŚRĪ YUGALA GUṆA MĀDHURĪḤ - … Continue reading Śrī Śrī Utkalika Vallari – verse 8

mādhurīṁ prākaṭayantam ujjvalāṁ śrīpater api variṣṭha sauṣṭhavām indirā madhura goṣṭha sundarī vṛnda vismayakara prabhonnatam O Kṛṣṇa! The sweet beauty of Your splendid form defeats that of Śrīpati (Lord Viṣṇu) in lustre! O Rādhe! Your elevated splendour astonishes all the beautiful girls of Vraja that are themselves sweeter than even Indirā (the goddess of fortune)! YUGALA … Continue reading Śrī Śrī Utkalika Vallari – verse 7

In Srila Jiva Goswami´s “Bhakti Sandarbha”, Anuccheda 112, we find more shastric evidence for the siddha deha being NOT inherent in the svarupa of the jiva. Here is the Anuccheda in full (taken from the edition of Srila Satyanarayana das Babaji): Bhakti continues even at the stage of liberation Scriptures describe that bhakti is performed even … Continue reading The siddha deha is not inherent in the jiva soul – more shastric evidence

When one gains scriptural faith, one will naturally start devotional practice. Then again when akaitava  bhakti appears, one's heart will rush towards the Lord like the river Gangā does towards the sea. This frame of mind occurs only in special cases. Suppose a devotee has  bhakti, but has material desires. This is the first stage … Continue reading About progressing in BHAKTI