The preparations Radhika singlehandedly cooks for Her Prāṇanātha in the evening, on the order of mother Yaśodā, are excellent. She does not wear many ornaments and She cooks alone. There's nobody around so She does not have many clothes on. The maidservant can thus relish the sweetness of Her scantily clad body, and she jokingly … Continue reading Please take me by the hand!

For the benefit of the neophytes in rāgānugā-bhakti, Śrī Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī has revealed the expertise of these ornamenting-services through his prayers. The neophyte should not serve as he likes it; he should serve according to Śrī Rādhārāṇī's wish, following in the footsteps of those who understand what is on Her mind. Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura … Continue reading Artificial practice yields no progress – Follow the mahajanas!

A general examination of bhakti The word “raganuga” literally means “to follow loving attachment”, love directed towards God. To gain a deeper understanding of the concept, let us first examine the concept of bhakti, loving devotion for God, in general. Bhakti is divided into three main categories in accordance with its development. sa bhaktih sadhanam … Continue reading Understanding raganuga-bhakti 2.0

Fortunate souls -  Tulasī draws red lines on Svāminī's teeth and is astonished by their beauty, saying: "Aha! How beautiful are Your teeth! They look just like pearls with lines of ruby on them! All these endeavours are made to increase the greed of the Kṛṣṇa-parrot. When He can relish this all my endeavours have … Continue reading Snippets of nectar

Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī opens his Abhīṣṭa Sūcana Stava by writing: "The desire to serve the lover of the son of the king of the cowherd-village is like a strong rider. May he mount the spotless horse of remembrance of Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī. This should be the desire of the wild horse of my heart." … Continue reading Following Śrī Śrī Rūpa Raghunātha

Also during the stage of sādhana there must be relish according to one's own rasa at the time of meditation. This relish according to one's relationship (with the deity) awakens while identifying oneself with one's svarūpa. Taking shelter of the lotus feet of Śrī Guru will remain fruitless if this relationship with the deity is … Continue reading More on the power of hearing and chanting…

TEXT 5: tatra lobho lakṣitaḥ svayaṁ śrī rūpa gosvāmī caraṇair eva - tat tad bhāvādi mādhurye śrute dhīr yad apekṣate nātra śāstraṁ na yuktiṁ ca tal lobhotpatti lakṣaṇam (B.R.S. 1.2.292) vrajalīlā parikarastha śṛṅgārādi bhāva mādhurye śrute dhīr idaṁ mama bhūyāt iti lobhotpatti-kāle śāstra yukty apekṣā nā syāt satyāṁ ca tasyāṁ lobhatvasyaivāsiddheḥ. nahi kenacit śāstra dṛṣṭyā … Continue reading Śrī Śrī Rāga Vartma Candrikā – “Mondlicht auf dem Pfad der leidenschaftlichen Hingabe”, Text 5 (GERMAN)

The sādhaka does not concoct his own path and he does not want his independent conceptions; he depends on the words of the ācāryas. His prayers will be very pure when he serves the Gosvāmīs' syllables by hearing and chanting them. Each of these syllables is filled with the flavour of worship and the great … Continue reading Snippets of nectar

āpana bhajana kathā, nā kohibo yathā tathā, ihāte hoibo sāvadhāna nā koriho keho roṣa, nā loiho keho doṣa, praṇamahu bhaktera caraṇa (119)    "I will take care not to reveal my bhajana-realizations to everyone. May no one become angry or find fault in me because of writing this book. Let me offer my obeisances to … Continue reading The secrets of experiences in bhajana – Prema Bhakti Chandrika (119)