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Deities are known for their intimate connection with their devotees, and the secret in life was given by one of my godbrothers, who used to live in Govardhan. He lived and passed in Govardhana. His name is Gopīparāṇdhana Prabhu. He had stayed where we were, right next to where we were this morning for breakfast. He lived just down the road from there, in a little house with his wife and child and a couple of cows. He was a great scholar, a linguistic scholar. He helped to translate many of Prabhupāda's books, including the 10th, 11th, and 12th Cantos. Also, he was the great expert who was able to bring the Bṛhat Bhāgavatamṛta to light in a perfect way, praised by the greatest scholar of Gaudiya Vaishnavism at the time in the academic world Joseph T. O'Connell who said, "Nobody else in the world could have done that." That was the great Gopīparāṇdhana Prabhu. And he said once, something that I've always kept with me and that anyone can live by for great success in life, and I would like to tell you.He said, "It's not what you know that counts, it's who you know and what you are." So we learned this lesson from Śrīla Kavirāja Gosvāmī, from Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, to find the pure devotees and follow in their footsteps. Even if we feel unqualified, even if we are unqualified, we become qualified. Kalpante ye 'nu tān iha—in this world, from whatever position we're in now, even Sūta Gosvāmī says in the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam (SB 1.2.25): bhejire munayo 'thāgre bhagavantam adhokṣajam sattvaṁ viśuddhaṁ kṣemāya kalpante ye 'nu tān iha Which means that previously, all the great saints worshipped the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is beyond the three modes of material nature. Anyone who follows in their footsteps and tries to emulate what they have done according to their capacity becomes eligible for the same result that they attained. So we come here begging for the mercy of Śrīla Mādhavendra Purī, thinking of how he carried wood in his hands for the Lord. And we can remember that he's considered the most celebrated of all Vaiṣṇavas in our sampradāya, as he set the stage for Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu to come and teach the emotional love for Kṛṣṇa, which had not been taught ever before. ------------------------------------------------------------ To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Add to your wisdom literature collection: https://iskconsv.com/book-store/ https://www.bbtacademic.com/books/ https://thefourquestionsbook.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Join us live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FanTheSpark/ Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sound-bhakti/id1132423868 For the latest videos, subscribe https://www.youtube.com/@FanTheSpark For the latest in SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/fan-the-spark ------------------------------------------------------------ #kartikimmersionretreat #pilgrimage #spiritualawakening #soul #spiritualexperience #spiritualpurposeoflife #spiritualgrowthlessons #secretsofspirituality #vaisesikaprabhu #vaisesikadasa #vaisesikaprabhulectures #spirituality #bhaktiyoga #krishna #spiritualpurposeoflife #krishnaspirituality #spiritualusachannel #whybhaktiisimportant #whyspiritualityisimportant #vaisesika #spiritualconnection #thepowerofspiritualstudy #selfrealization #spirituallectures #spiritualstudy #spiritualquestions #spiritualquestionsanswered #trendingspiritualtopics #fanthespark #spiritualpowerofmeditation #spiritualteachersonyoutube #spiritualhabits #spiritualclarity #bhagavadgita #srimadbhagavatam #spiritualbeings #kttvg #keepthetranscendentalvibrationgoing #spiritualpurpose
Cc Madhya 19.165-200 https://vedabase.io/en/library/cc/madhya/19/advanced-view/ ------------------------------------------------------------ The criterion is that a devotee must know what Kṛṣṇa wants him to do. This understanding can be achieved through the medium of a spiritual master who is a bona fide representative of Kṛṣṇa. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī advises, ādau gurv-āśrayam. One who is serious in wanting to render pure devotional service to the Lord must take shelter of a spiritual master who comes in the disciplic succession from Kṛṣṇa. Evaṁ paramparā-prāptam imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ. Without accepting a bona fide spiritual master coming in the disciplic succession, one cannot find out the real purpose of devotional service. Therefore one has to accept the shelter of a bona fide spiritual master and agree to be directed by him. The first business of a pure devotee is to satisfy his spiritual master, whose only business is to spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness. And if one can satisfy the spiritual master, Kṛṣṇa is automatically satisfied — yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādaḥ. This is the success of devotional service. (Cc Madhya 19.167, purport) To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Add to your wisdom literature collection: https://iskconsv.com/book-store/ https://www.bbtacademic.com/books/ https://thefourquestionsbook.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Join us live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FanTheSpark/ Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sound-bhakti/id1132423868 For the latest videos, subscribe https://www.youtube.com/@FanTheSpark For the latest in SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/fan-the-spark ------------------------------------------------------------ #sricaitanyacaritamrita #govardhanreadings #spiritualawakening #soul #spiritualexperience #spiritualpurposeoflife #spiritualgrowthlessons #secretsofspirituality #vaisesikaprabhu #vaisesikadasa #vaisesikaprabhulectures #spirituality #bhaktiyoga #krishna #spiritualpurposeoflife #krishnaspirituality #spiritualusachannel #whybhaktiisimportant #whyspiritualityisimportant #vaisesika #spiritualconnection #thepowerofspiritualstudy #selfrealization #spirituallectures #spiritualstudy #spiritualquestions #spiritualquestionsanswered #trendingspiritualtopics #fanthespark #spiritualpowerofmeditation #spiritualteachersonyoutube #spiritualhabits #spiritualclarity #bhagavadgita #srimadbhagavatam #spiritualbeings #kttvg #keepthetranscendentalvibrationgoing #spiritualpurpose
CC Madhya 19.118-154 https://vedabase.io/en/library/cc/madhya/19/advanced-view/ ------------------------------------------------------------ I had long conversations with Rādhikā Ramaṇa Prabhu when we stayed with him the year Sādhu Saṅga was in Utah. Rādhikā was saying it's the glory of a person, and it makes them more glorified when those after them first of all choose to write about the materials following that luminary. He gave the example of Shakespeare. How many thesis papers have there been in the humanities department about any of Shakespeare's works or his life in general? Millions. And did that eclipse Shakespeare's writings? No. On the contrary, it's a light shining on them saying, "Wow, so many people were writing about him and, you know, taking points from his writings that he must be like the super guy," and he is in literary history. So his point was, after every ācārya, there are always thousands of commentaries. We only see a few of them, but there are thousands of writings about any luminary, any of the mahātmās who have written, and so forth, and it glorifies them, because, of course, that person made a stir, they hit a nerve. They actually had something potent to say, and therefore there's a lot more to say about it and a lot more to churn within what they said. Therefore his opinion was and is, that it's the glory of Prabhupāda that more people write about what he said and what he brought to bear—the whole canon of Vedic literatures—and how we can bring it into the modern light so that people can take advantage of it. That shows Prabhupāda's potency. And case in point was the Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta, because Joseph T. O'Connell, who at the time was the preeminent expert on Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism in the academic world, if you read his foreword to the book, he says that very thing: that nobody in the world up to this point, after hundreds of years, has been able to do what Gopīparāṇadhana Prabhu has done, which is to effectively translate what Sanātana Gosvāmī wrote as prose, as commentary, he wrote in Sanskrit, and nobody had been able to take it and put it into a natural flow of language that people could read and understand. And He said it's perfectly done. He said, "This points to the greatness of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedānta Swami Prabhupāda, that he could attract and then train disciples who could do that." What to speak of how the devotees headed by Hṛdayānanda Mahārāja were able to finish the Tenth, Eleventh, and Twelfth Cantos of the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, which sometimes people say, "Oh, you don't read those. They're not Prabhupāda's books." But my opinion is, they're as much Prabhupāda's books as before that, because who trained them to talk like that and have a perfect grasp of the siddhānta and to be able to present it in the same mood that comes through the disciplic succession? It shines a light on the greatness of Prabhupāda that somebody was able to be there and continue that, as Prabhupāda asked them to do. (excerpt from the discussion) To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Add to your wisdom literature collection: https://iskconsv.com/book-store/ https://www.bbtacademic.com/books/ https://thefourquestionsbook.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------
Cc Madhya 19.1-16 https://vedabase.io/en/library/cc/madhya/19/advanced-view/ ------------------------------------------------------------ When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu started for Vṛndāvana through the forest of Jhārikhaṇḍa, Rūpa Gosvāmī left home and sent news to Sanātana that he was leaving with his younger brother (Anupama Mallika) to meet Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī finally reached Prayāga and met with Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu for ten successive days. During this time, Vallabha Bhaṭṭa extended an invitation to the Lord with great respect. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu introduced Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī to Vallabha Bhaṭṭa. After this, a brāhmaṇa scholar named Raghupati Upādhyāya arrived and discussed Kṛṣṇa consciousness with the Lord. Kavirāja Gosvāmī then extensively describes the living condition of Śrī Rūpa and Sanātana at Vṛndāvana. During the ten days at Prayāga, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī was instructed by the Lord, who gave him the basic principles of the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu. The Lord then sent Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī to Vṛndāvana. The Lord Himself returned to Vārāṇasī and stayed at the home of Candraśekhara. (excerpt from Chapter discussion) To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Add to your wisdom literature collection: https://iskconsv.com/book-store/ https://www.bbtacademic.com/books/ https://thefourquestionsbook.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Join us live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FanTheSpark/ Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sound-bhakti/id1132423868 For the latest videos, subscribe https://www.youtube.com/@FanTheSpark For the latest in SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/fan-the-spark ------------------------------------------------------------ #sricaitanyacaritamrita #govardhanreadings #spiritualawakening #soul #spiritualexperience #spiritualpurposeoflife #spiritualgrowthlessons #secretsofspirituality #vaisesikaprabhu #vaisesikadasa #vaisesikaprabhulectures #spirituality #bhaktiyoga #krishna #spiritualpurposeoflife #krishnaspirituality #spiritualusachannel #whybhaktiisimportant #whyspiritualityisimportant #vaisesika #spiritualconnection #thepowerofspiritualstudy #selfrealization #spirituallectures #spiritualstudy #spiritualquestions #spiritualquestionsanswered #trendingspiritualtopics #fanthespark #spiritualpowerofmeditation #spiritualteachersonyoutube #spiritualhabits #spiritualclarity #bhagavadgita #srimadbhagavatam #spiritualbeings #kttvg #keepthetranscendentalvibrationgoing #spiritualpurpose
Cc Madhya 15.40-127 https://vedabase.io/en/library/cc/madhya/17/advanced-view/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Tapan Miśra was a scholar. He read too many books, and he got confused. And then he met Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was traveling in East Bengal, and he asked him, "What should I do?" He had had a dream that he would meet an effulgent personality. And so, by the Lord's arrangement, he met Caitanya Mahāprabhu as Nimāi Paṇḍit. He had traveled with his students. He amassed wealth. He went and taught everybody, and dominated all the debates, and became famous in East Bengal. And then along the way, he met Tapana Miśra, and Tapana Miśra submitted his sad story: that he was confused. He had just read everything. One should not, Rūpa Gosvāmī says, become a bookworm and read all kinds of books just to have some scriptural advantage over others—to defeat them with your extra special verses that nobody has ever heard of. So Mahāprabhu told him, "You should chant Hare Kṛṣṇa." He took him into his fold. And then, inexplicably, He sent him to Banaras. And everyone said, "What? You got a new bhakta, and you're going to send him to Banaras?" Little did they know that Mahāprabhu was going to circle back there, and He would meet him there and have a big part in his līlā. But that's the way He works. That's the Tapana Miśra story. Audience: I can just imagine Tapana Miśra just there in Banaras, and then Caitanya Mahāprabhu just appears there in this scene. It must have been life-changing. HG Vaisesika Dasa: That's the life-changing nature of surrendering to Mahāprabhu. He takes us on a magical mystery journey, I won't say tour, and it's all His mercy. (excerpt from the discussion) To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Add to your wisdom literature collection: https://iskconsv.com/book-store/ https://www.bbtacademic.com/books/ https://thefourquestionsbook.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Join us live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FanTheSpark/ Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sound-bhakti/id1132423868 For the latest videos, subscribe https://www.youtube.com/@FanTheSpark For the latest in SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/fan-the-spark ------------------------------------------------------------ #sricaitanyacaritamrita #govardhanreadings #spiritualawakening #soul #spiritualexperience #spiritualpurposeoflife #spiritualgrowthlessons #secretsofspirituality #vaisesikaprabhu #vaisesikadasa #vaisesikaprabhulectures #spirituality #bhaktiyoga #krishna #spiritualpurposeoflife #krishnaspirituality #spiritualusachannel #whybhaktiisimportant #whyspiritualityisimportant #vaisesika #spiritualconnection #thepowerofspiritualstudy #selfrealization #spirituallectures #spiritualstudy #spiritualquestions #spiritualquestionsanswered #trendingspiritualtopics #fanthespark #spiritualpowerofmeditation #spiritualteachersonyoutube #spiritualhabits #spiritualclarity #bhagavadgita #srimadbhagavatam #spiritualbeings #kttvg #keepthetranscendentalvibrationgoing #spiritualpurpose
Cc Madhya 15.109-169 ------------------------------------------------------------ I was just thinking this morning, when I was chanting my japa, the first time I heard of the Hare Krishna mantra. As I really relish that memory, just hearing it and thinking, "That is really some mysterious thing they're doing." Then I remember the first time I said "Hari Krishna" was to the devotees. They were walking away from the Harinām on the UC Berkeley campus. I just happened to be down there taking a music lesson, walking with my brother, and we saw them walking away from the Harinām. One of them had a mṛdaṅga slung over his back. And to impress my brother, I shouted out to the devotee. I said, "Hare Krishna!" The devotee turned around, and he looked at us with such enthusiasm; he said, "Hare Krishna!" And it was almost written in his countenance that, "Okay, boy, you blew it because we own you now." My brother actually looked at me and said, "What did you do?" Although there's fine print, the fact of the matter is, it's very direct. Kṛṣṇa is in his name 100%, 110%, because, as Rūpa Gosvāmī says: vācyaḿ vācakam ity udeti bhavato nāma svarūpa-dvayam (Namaṣṭakam verse 6) dṛśaḿ tattvāndhānām api diśati bhakti-praṇayinīm (Namaṣṭakam verse 3) That is, he says, "Okay, Kṛṣṇa and his name are the same 100%," but he goes, "No, wait a minute. The Holy Name is 110%." Because he said, "Kṛṣṇa, we may leave Kṛṣṇa, turn our back on him, but the Holy Name comes after us, and the Holy Name is more merciful." He said, "That's the difference." He said, "Same, same, but," as they say in Thailand, "same, same, but different." So the Holy Name is same, same, but different, because it is same 100%. But then 110% means the Holy Name is more merciful than Kṛṣṇa, because he just enters into your ear. People walking down the street, they are defenseless. When we do Harinām, we watch, and we see even the dogs go by, and they're a little freaked out, usually, because kartālas are intense. But still, the Holy Name is going in, and we think, "Okay, doggy, we'll see you soon, somewhere." And then, the people—the looks on their faces! It's the greatest show on earth to see how the Holy Name is entering their ears, entering their hearts, and then rearranging everything with the first hearing of the name, wherever somebody is starting from, whatever platform. Then that process: it's effective. It's always effective. And even if you can't see it at first, just like radiation—you say, "I didn't feel anything"—but then the symptoms will come, because Kṛṣṇa is all-powerful. (excerpt from the discussion) ------------------------------------------------------------ To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Add to your wisdom literature collection: https://iskconsv.com/book-store/ https://www.bbtacademic.com/books/ https://thefourquestionsbook.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Join us live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FanTheSpark/ Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sound-bhakti/id1132423868 For the latest videos, subscribe https://www.youtube.com/@FanTheSpark For the latest in SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/fan-the-spark ------------------------------------------------------------ #sricaitanyacaritamrita #govardhanreadings #spiritualawakening #soul #spiritualexperience #spiritualpurposeoflife #spiritualgrowthlessons #secretsofspirituality
Cc Madhya 15-.42 -108 https://vedabase.io/en/library/cc/madhya/15/advanced-view/ ------------------------------------------------------------ As for being freed from all sinful reactions by chanting the holy name of Kṛṣṇa only once, one must chant the holy name without committing any offenses. Then chanting one name is sufficient to rescue a living being from all sinful reactions. Such a person who chants the holy name of the Lord offenselessly is very important and woshipable. Indeed, the nine devotional processes, beginning with śravaṇa and kīrtana, can all be attained at once if one simply chants the holy name of the Lord offenselessly. In this regard, Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī states in his book Bhakti-sandarbha (173): yadyapi anyā bhaktiḥ kalau kartavyā, tadā; kīrtanākhya-bhakti-saṁyogenaiva. Out of the nine processes of devotional service, kīrtana is very important. Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī therefore instructs that the other processes, such as arcana, vandana, dāsya and sakhya, should be executed, but they must be preceded and followed by kīrtana, the chanting of the holy name. We have therefore introduced this system in all of our centers. Arcana, ārati, bhoga offering, Deity dressing and decoration are all preceded and followed by the chanting of the holy name of the Lord — Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare. (Cc Madhya 15.107,purport) ------------------------------------------------------------ To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Add to your wisdom literature collection: https://iskconsv.com/book-store/ https://www.bbtacademic.com/books/ https://thefourquestionsbook.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Join us live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FanTheSpark/ Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sound-bhakti/id1132423868 For the latest videos, subscribe https://www.youtube.com/@FanTheSpark For the latest in SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/fan-the-spark ------------------------------------------------------------ #sricaitanyacaritamrita #govardhanreadings #spiritualawakening #soul #spiritualexperience #spiritualpurposeoflife #spiritualgrowthlessons #secretsofspirituality #vaisesikaprabhu #vaisesikadasa #vaisesikaprabhulectures #spirituality #bhaktiyoga #krishna #spiritualpurposeoflife #krishnaspirituality #spiritualusachannel #whybhaktiisimportant #whyspiritualityisimportant #vaisesika #spiritualconnection #thepowerofspiritualstudy #selfrealization #spirituallectures #spiritualstudy #spiritualquestions #spiritualquestionsanswered #trendingspiritualtopics #fanthespark #spiritualpowerofmeditation #spiritualteachersonyoutube #spiritualhabits #spiritualclarity #bhagavadgita #srimadbhagavatam #spiritualbeings #kttvg #keepthetranscendentalvibrationgoing #spiritualpurpose
Cc Madhya 14.1-18 https://vedabase.io/en/library/cc/madhya/14/advanced-view/ ------------------------------------------------------------ I think it's in contention for the best purport. We should have every year the 'Best Purport Awards.' This is what I'm going to enter. (HG Vaisesika Dasa) Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī wants to point out that nothing could compare to the Lord's mercy toward Mahārāja Pratāparudra; therefore he uses the word dekha (“just see”) and caitanyera kṛpā-mahābala (“how powerful is the mercy of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu”). This is also confirmed by Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī: yat-kāruṇya-kaṭākṣa-vaibhava-vatām (Caitanya-candrāmṛta 5). Even a little of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's mercy serves as a great asset for spiritual advancement. Therefore the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement must be spread through the mercy of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. When Rūpa Gosvāmī experienced the mercy and magnanimity of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, he said: namo mahā-vadānyāya kṛṣṇa-prema-pradāya te kṛṣṇāya kṛṣṇa-caitanya- nāmne gaura-tviṣe namaḥ “I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya, who is more magnanimous than any other avatāra, even Kṛṣṇa Himself, because He is bestowing freely what no one else has ever given — pure love of Kṛṣṇa.” Śrīla Locana dāsa Ṭhākura has also sung, parama karuṇa, pahuṅ dui jana, nitāi-gauracandra: “The two brothers Nitāi and Gaura are so kind that no one can compare to Them.” Similarly, Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura has sung: vrajendra-nandana yei, śacī-suta haila sei, balarāma ha-ila nitāi, dīna-hīna yata chila, hari-nāme uddhārila, tā'ra sākṣī jagāi-mādhāi “Just to deliver all the sinful persons of this age by propagating the chanting of the holy name, Lord Kṛṣṇa and Lord Balarāma have advented as Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Nityānanda Prabhu. Jagāi and Mādhāi are evidence of Their success.” Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's special mission is the deliverance of all fallen souls in Kali-yuga. Devotees of Kṛṣṇa must persistently seek the favor and mercy of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu to become fit to return home, back to Godhead. (Excerpt from Cc Madhya 14.16,purport) https://vedabase.io/en/library/cc/madhya/14/16/ ------------------------------------------------------------ To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Add to your wisdom literature collection: https://iskconsv.com/book-store/ https://www.bbtacademic.com/books/ https://thefourquestionsbook.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Join us live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FanTheSpark/ Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sound-bhakti/id1132423868 For the latest videos, subscribe https://www.youtube.com/@FanTheSpark For the latest in SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/fan-the-spark ------------------------------------------------------------ #spiritualawakening #soul #spiritualexperience #spiritualpurposeoflife #spiritualgrowthlessons #secretsofspirituality #vaisesikaprabhu #vaisesikadasa #vaisesikaprabhulectures #spirituality #bhaktiyoga #krishna #spiritualpurposeoflife #krishnaspirituality #spiritualusachannel #whybhaktiisimportant #whyspiritualityisimportant #vaisesika #spiritualconnection #thepowerofspiritualstudy #selfrealization #spirituallectures #spiritualstudy #spiritualquestions #spiritualquestionsanswered #trendingspiritualtopics #fanthespark #spiritualpowerofmeditation #spiritualteachersonyoutube #spiritualhabits #spiritualclarity #bhagavadgita #srimadbhagavatam #spiritualbeings #kttvg #keepthetranscendentalvibrationgoing #spiritualpurpose
If you go on parikramā of Govardhana Hill, you'll find some sections that are smooth, easygoing. This is more in relationship to hearing sections—for instance, of the Bhāgavatam. Sometimes people get to the Ninth Canto and they say, "Do I have to read the entire lineage going all the way to Kṛṣṇa's appearance?" And it seems tedious. But we should remember that, as Sanātana Gosvāmī says, every word of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam emanates a shower of nectar." It's all completely transcendental. I heard Prabhupāda the other day say that every verse in the Bhāgavatam is as good as the Mahāmantra; He said 'the same thing.' So no, we shouldn't skip it. And finally, this idea of feeling unqualified: How does one become qualified? Well, Kavirāja Gosvāmī told us earlier. He said, "If you can't understand it, then I request you to hear it again and again and again," not to avoid it, but just to hear and be submissive and listen. Because by hearing again and again, one can come to understand. It's not an academic type of hearing; it's a devotional hearing. And Kṛṣṇa responds within the heart and informs us. (excerpt from the discussion) Verses discussed: Cc Madhya 3.203 -4.86 ------------------------------------------------------------ To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Add to your wisdom literature collection: https://iskconsv.com/book-store/ https://www.bbtacademic.com/books/ https://thefourquestionsbook.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Join us live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FanTheSpark/ Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sound-bhakti/id1132423868 For the latest videos, subscribe https://www.youtube.com/@FanTheSpark For the latest in SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/fan-the-spark ------------------------------------------------------------ #spiritualawakening #soul #spiritualexperience #spiritualpurposeoflife #spiritualgrowthlessons #secretsofspirituality #govardhanreadings #vaisesikaprabhu #vaisesikadasa #vaisesikaprabhulectures #spirituality #bhaktiyoga #krishna #spiritualpurposeoflife #krishnaspirituality #spiritualusachannel #whybhaktiisimportant #whyspiritualityisimportant #vaisesika #spiritualconnection #thepowerofspiritualstudy #selfrealization #spirituallectures #spiritualstudy #spiritualquestions #spiritualquestionsanswered #trendingspiritualtopics #fanthespark #spiritualpowerofmeditation #spiritualteachersonyoutube #spiritualhabits #spiritualclarity #bhagavadgita #srimadbhagavatam #spiritualbeings #kttvg #keepthetranscendentalvibrationgoing #spiritualpurpose
ŚB 5.18.34Śukadeva Gosvāmī said: Dear King, the Supreme Lord in His boar incarnation, who accepts all sacrificial offerings, lives in the northern part of Jambūdvīpa. There, in the tract of land known as Uttarakuru-varṣa, mother earth and all the other inhabitants worship Him with unfailing devotional service by repeatedly chanting the following Upaniṣadic mantra.Please feel free to join our Kṛṣṇa Consciousness Telegram group chat (for both prabhujīs and mātājīs): https://t.me/iskmnews
All of you are taking Harinām initiation today. You may also say, 'Why is it that we take an initiation into a free mantra? I can get this downtown Palo Alto at Lytton Plaza. They just have to go and find the youth Harinām kīrtan and hang around, right?' "They're not selling it down there. They're just giving it away free, and Lord Caitanya gave it away free. 'Why do I have to take all these vows?' Well, Viśvanāth Cakravartī Ṭhākur answers this question in his commentary to the sixth canto of the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam regarding the power of chanting the holy name. He says, 'If you can get the holy name from a Vaiṣṇav who's gotten it from a Vaiṣṇav, and that's the definition of a Vaiṣṇav—someone who has received the mantra from a Vaiṣṇav and is following the Vaiṣṇavs. That's why we call it Vaiṣṇavism.' He said, 'And you don't take it, then you're committing the third offense against the chant of the holy name.' In other words, you've got an attitude problem because you think you can go it alone. We can't go it alone. We consider that any advancement we make, any step we take, is enabled by the mercy of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, who's Kṛṣṇa Himself, allowing us the highest, the biggest dispensation ever given in the history of the world, in the history of the universe, in the history of all the universes. 'Anarpita-carīṁ cirāt karuṇayāvatīrṇaḥ kalau' means there's the biggest sale of all time going on. Lord Chaitanya is giving this process through his Vaiṣṇava devotees. So we take the humble route, and we take the mantra, the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, from a devotee who's following a devotee who's following a devotee all the way back to Kṛṣṇa. And then Bhaktivinod Ṭhākur says in his Harinām Cintāmaṇi, 'Success of the highest kind is available to such a person.' If one chants Hare Kṛṣṇa, incidentally, one can be freed from many sins. 'jaya nāmadheya muni-vṛnda-geya he' 'jana-rañjanāya param akṣarākṛte' 'tvam anādarād api manāg udīritaḿ' 'nikhilogra-tāpa-paṭalīṁ vilumpasi' (Nāmāṣṭakam Verse 2) Somebody says it derisively, it can be cleared from many sins. But if someone becomes sincere and says that this is my sole purpose in life—to remember Kṛṣṇa and the process recommended by Śukadev Gosvāmī, by the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam—a whole canto is dedicated to it: how to be extricated from the material world, but much more than that, how to develop love for Kṛṣṇa. It's just by chanting the Lord's Names, what to speak of Caitanya Mahāprabhu coming and demonstrating how this is the process in Kali Yuga. Anyone can take. All of you who are doing this today will change the world by your stance of unwavering dedication to the chanting of 16 rounds every day, minimum, following the four regulative principles. ------------------------------------------------------------ To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Add to your wisdom literature collection: https://iskconsv.com/book-store/ https://www.bbtacademic.com/books/ https://thefourquestionsbook.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Join us live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FanTheSpark/ Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sound-bhakti/id1132423868 For the latest videos, subscribe https://www.youtube.com/@FanTheSpark For the latest in SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/fan-the-spark ------------------------------------------------------------ #spiritualawakening #soul #spiritualexperience #spiritualpurposeoflife #spiritualgrowthlessons #secretsofspirituality #vaisesikaprabhu #vaisesikadasa #vaisesikaprabhulectures #spirituality #bhaktiyoga #krishna
What is the ideal attitude for a practitioner eager to advance in devotional service? Śrīla Prabhupāda uses three adjectives to define it: strict, serious, sincere. To be strict means to be rigorous with oneself in following one's chosen method of practice. Śrīla Raghunātha Dāsa Gosvāmī, for example, was so strict in his daily routine that Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Antya-līlā 6.309) compares his devotional practices to “lines on a stone.” To be serious means that during one's practice one is thoughtful and attentive to the details. It also means that one does not back down from doing the needful to attain one's goal, even in the face of temptation, distraction, or calamity. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (4.12.8), Dhruva Mahārāja is described as thoughtful and intelligent because when asked by the lord of wealth, Kuvera, to accept a reward for his austerities, Dhruva declined and in turn asked only for unflinching faith in and remembrance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The word sincere comes from the Latin sincerus, meaning “clean, pure, free from pretense or deceit; proceeding from genuine feelings.” To be sincere in one's practice of devotional service means to accept and follow Kṛṣṇa's directives without envy or ulterior motive. (From the chapter on Stong Sadhana Means Proper Attitude, Ch 14, Our Family Business, quoted in the discussion) ------------------------------------------------------------ To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Add to your wisdom literature collection: https://iskconsv.com/book-store/ https://www.bbtacademic.com/books/ https://thefourquestionsbook.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Join us live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FanTheSpark/ Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sound-bhakti/id1132423868 For the latest videos, subscribe https://www.youtube.com/@FanTheSpark For the latest in SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/fan-the-spark ------------------------------------------------------------ #spiritualawakening #soul #spiritualexperience #spiritualpurposeoflife #spiritualgrowthlessons #secretsofspirituality #vaisesikaprabhu #vaisesikadasa #vaisesikaprabhulectures #spirituality #bhaktiyoga #krishna #spiritualpurposeoflife #krishnaspirituality #spiritualusachannel #whybhaktiisimportant #whyspiritualityisimportant #vaisesika #spiritualconnection #thepowerofspiritualstudy #selfrealization #spirituallectures #spiritualstudy #spiritualquestions #spiritualquestionsanswered #trendingspiritualtopics #fanthespark #spiritualpowerofmeditation #spiritualteachersonyoutube #spiritualhabits #spiritualclarity #bhagavadgita #srimadbhagavatam #spiritualbeings #kttvg #keepthetranscendentalvibrationgoing #spiritualpurpose
ŚB 5.18.24-25Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued: In Ramyaka-varṣa, where Vaivasvata Manu rules, the Supreme Personality of Godhead appeared as Lord Matsya at the end of the last era [the Cākṣuṣa-manvantara]. Vaivasvata Manu now worships Lord Matsya in pure devotional service and chants the following mantra. I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is pure transcendence. He is the origin of all life, bodily strength, mental power and sensory ability. Known as Matsyāvatāra, the gigantic fish incarnation, He appears first among all the incarnations. Again I offer my obeisances unto Him.Please feel free to join our Kṛṣṇa Consciousness Telegram group chat (for both prabhujīs and mātājīs): https://t.me/iskmnews
While in Seattle in the fall of 1968, Śrīla Prabhupāda introduced for the first time this song to be sung during the evening ārati ceremony. GAURA-ĀRATI by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura (1) jaya jaya gorācānder ārotik śobhā jāhnavī-taṭa-vane jaga-mana-lobhā (2) dakhiṇe nitāicānd, bāme gadādhara nikaṭe adwaita, śrīnivāsa chatra-dhara (3) bosiyāche gorācānd ratna-siṁhāsane ārati koren brahmā-ādi deva-gaṇe (4) narahari-ādi kori' cāmara ḍhulāya sañjaya-mukunda-bāsu-ghoṣ-ādi gāya (5) śaṅkha bāje ghaṇṭā bāje bāje karatāla madhura mṛdaṅga bāje parama rasāla (6) bahu-koti candra jini' vadana ujjvala gala-deśe bana-mālā kore jhalamala (7) śiva-śuka-nārada preme gada-gada bhakativinoda dekhe gorāra sampada (1) All glories, all glories to the beautiful ārati ceremony of Lord Caitanya! This Gaura-ārati is taking place in a grove on the banks of the Jāhnavī [Ganges] and is attracting the minds of all living entities in the universe. (2) On Lord Caitanya's right side is Lord Nityānanda, and on His left is Śrī Gadādhara. Nearby stands Śrī Advaita, and Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura is holding an umbrella over Lord Caitanya's head. (3) Lord Caitanya has sat down on a jeweled throne, and the demigods, headed by Lord Brahmā, perform the ārati ceremony. (4) Narahari Sarakāra and other associates of Lord Caitanya fan Him with cāmaras, and devotees headed by Sañjaya Paṇḍita, Mukunda Datta, and Vāsu Ghoṣa sing sweet kīrtana. (5) Conchshells, bells, and karatālas resound, and the mṛdaṅgas play very sweetly. This kīrtana music is supremely sweet and relishable to hear. (6) The brilliance of Lord Caitanya's face conquers millions upon millions of moons, and the garland of forest flowers around His neck shines. (7) Lord Śiva, Śukadeva Gosvāmī, and Nārada Muni are all there, and their voices are choked with the ecstasy of transcendental love. Thus Ṭhakura Bhaktivinoda envisions the glory of Lord Śrī Caitanya. https://vedabase.io/en/library/spl/2/ ----------------------------------------------------------- To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Add to your wisdom literature collection: https://iskconsv.com/book-store/ https://www.bbtacademic.com/books/ https://thefourquestionsbook.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Join us live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FanTheSpark/ Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sound-bhakti/id1132423868 For the latest videos, subscribe https://www.youtube.com/@FanTheSpark For the latest in SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/fan-the-spark ------------------------------------------------------------ #spiritualsong #arti #spiritualawakening #soul #spiritualexperience #spiritualpurposeoflife #spiritualgrowthlessons #secretsofspirituality #vaisesikaprabhu #vaisesikadasa #vaisesikaprabhulectures #spirituality #bhaktiyoga #krishna #spiritualpurposeoflife #krishnaspirituality #spiritualusachannel #whybhaktiisimportant #whyspiritualityisimportant #vaisesika #spiritualconnection #thepowerofspiritualstudy #selfrealization #spirituallectures #spiritualstudy #spiritualquestions #spiritualquestionsanswered #trendingspiritualtopics #fanthespark #spiritualpowerofmeditation #spiritualteachersonyoutube #spiritualhabits #spiritualclarity #bhagavadgita #srimadbhagavatam #spiritualbeings #kttvg #keepthetranscendentalvibrationgoing #spiritualpurpose
There is a way in which, if we become aligned with a Vaiṣṇava and we are able to please the Vaiṣṇava, then we can understand that we are pleasing Kṛṣṇa. The other way is that when we understand clearly what Kṛṣṇa's intentions and desires are, and we know we are aligned with them properly, then we can assume that we are also pleasing Kṛṣṇa. This is because guru, sādhu, and śāstra are all in alignment. Since I mentioned the sādhu, it's helpful to get confirmation. You know, devotees are careful about that. For instance, Kavirāja Gosvāmī, when he was about to write the Caitanya Caritāmṛta, everyone told him he should do it, but he still went to the Deity and said, "Should I do it?" A garland fell down, and everyone said, "Yay!" So, devotees are careful to check in with the guru, make sure they're following śāstra, and the sādhus can be really helpful, because it's easy to doubt oneself. But if you have people around you who have your best interest in mind, and you can consult with them and say, "How am I doing?" you will find it's helpful, because it's hard to see sometimes how we're doing. There are also detractors. As soon as you try to do something for Kṛṣṇa, then somebody is going to come along and say, "You're doing it completely wrong." So, you have to have trusted people that you can say, "Am I really doing it wrong, or am I okay? (excerpt from the answer) ------------------------------------------------------------ To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Add to your wisdom literature collection: https://iskconsv.com/book-store/ https://www.bbtacademic.com/books/ https://thefourquestionsbook.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Join us live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FanTheSpark/ Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sound-bhakti/id1132423868 For the latest videos, subscribe https://www.youtube.com/@FanTheSpark For the latest in SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/fan-the-spark ------------------------------------------------------------ #govardhanreadings #spiritualawakening #soul #spiritualexperience #spiritualpurposeoflife #spiritualgrowthlessons #secretsofspirituality #vaisesikaprabhu #vaisesikadasa #vaisesikaprabhulectures #spirituality #bhaktiyoga #krishna #spiritualpurposeoflife #krishnaspirituality #spiritualusachannel #whybhaktiisimportant #whyspiritualityisimportant #vaisesika #spiritualconnection #thepowerofspiritualstudy #selfrealization #spirituallectures #spiritualstudy #spiritualquestions #spiritualquestionsanswered #trendingspiritualtopics #fanthespark #spiritualpowerofmeditation #spiritualteachersonyoutube #spiritualhabits #spiritualclarity #bhagavadgita #srimadbhagavatam #spiritualbeings #kttvg #keepthetranscendentalvibrationgoing #spiritualpurpose
In the context of bhakti, we see in the Sixth Canto of the Bhagavatam and elsewhere, as one of the ācāryas has mentioned, this principle of accumulation of bhakti sukṛti in circumstances where one is not fully aware of what one is doing. For instance, one may hear the chanting of The Hare Krishna mahāmantra. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī very clearly says, "yad-ābhāso ‘py udyan kavalita-bhava-dhvānta-vibhavo dṛśaḿ tattvāndhānām api diśati bhakti-praṇayinīm" (Nāmāṣṭakam, verse 3). And that is, if you hear, even those who are in ignorance of what the Holy Name is, or why people are chanting The Holy Name. Did you see anybody like that last night? How many, as a percentage, had no idea what was going on? In other words, they knew something was happening. They just didn't know what it was. So what percentage? 95%? So those people are called by Rūpa Gosvāmī --"tattvāndhānām." They don't know tattva. They have no idea of what that is. But Hare Krishna is directly the Lord, and therefore there is a dawning of bhakti in their heart that comes from the ābhāsa—just the indirect rays of The Holy Name. And such people then can see or experience for themselves in their hearts the truth of bhakti, an amazing statement in and of itself. As is mentioned in the Sixth Canto of the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam in the section of Ajāmila, in Prabhupāda's purport, he said, "Such encounters are recorded and counted." And so there's a little book, and it goes in the book. And Prabhupāda puts it and gives a different metaphor. He said, "Every living being has a bank account in his or her heart, and every time you come in contact with Krishna, the devotees, then there's a deposit." Of course, we have to be careful, because we may think that it means it doesn't matter how we disseminate Krishna consciousness; it's some sort of inoculation by force. Because there is a way in which, if we are artful and gentle in the ways that we present Krishna consciousness and teach according to people's cultural and psycho-physiological natures, then their hearts will be more open to hearing and taking in, and they'll gain more sukṛti. ------------------------------------------------------------ To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Add to your wisdom literature collection: https://iskconsv.com/book-store/ https://www.bbtacademic.com/books/ https://thefourquestionsbook.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Join us live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FanTheSpark/ Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sound-bhakti/id1132423868 For the latest videos, subscribe https://www.youtube.com/@FanTheSpark For the latest in SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/fan-the-spark ------------------------------------------------------------ #spiritualawakening #soul #spiritualexperience #spiritualpurposeoflife #spiritualgrowthlessons #secretsofspirituality #vaisesikaprabhu #vaisesikadasa #vaisesikaprabhulectures #spirituality #bhaktiyoga #krishna #spiritualpurposeoflife #krishnaspirituality #spiritualusachannel #whybhaktiisimportant #whyspiritualityisimportant #vaisesika #spiritualconnection #thepowerofspiritualstudy #selfrealization #spirituallectures #spiritualstudy #spiritualquestions #spiritualquestionsanswered #trendingspiritualtopics #fanthespark #spiritualpowerofmeditation #spiritualteachersonyoutube #spiritualhabits #spiritualclarity #bhagavadgita #srimadbhagavatam #spiritualbeings #kttvg #keepthetranscendentalvibrationgoing #spiritualpurpose
Śukadeva Gosvāmī says in the 14th Chapter of the 10th Canto that when people have a home, if it doesn't have Kṛṣṇa Consciousness inside, then it becomes like a prison. They're locked in, can't get out. Every realm is defined by the sound vibration. So you can have a fancy house, but once you are locked in there, you're stuck with the sound vibration that's inside. If the sound vibration is mundane, then it doesn't matter how fancy the house is, you'll be in hellish consciousness. And by the same principle, if you're even in the simplest environment, if the vibration is pure, then you're not in the material world. You're in the transcendental realm, as the realm is defined by the transcendental sound vibration. I once lived in Bhuvaneśvara in a little hut, went to my god-brother, and HH Gaura Govinda Mahārāja was staying there too. We had no facility, except for we would cook on a little fire, and Mahārāja would give class in the morning sitting on just a little wooden platform. There was nothing around at that time. But we were just completely happy, just a little khichḍī. We would sleep on the dirt floor in that hut and then listen to Bhāgavatam and chant, and then go to Jagannāth Purī. And it's a blissful life. So this grandiose society, everyone's trying to find happiness by developing materially, but they don't know the principle, which is sound vibration. So it's our job to introduce the science of Kṛṣṇa consciousness so people can transform their lives by upgrading their soundtrack and making sure that they include The Hare Kṛṣṇa Mahāmantra. They could even put Gaura Nitāi in their house. What a difference that would make! You could spend $5 million on a house on the street that's on the low side. We looked it up. One house is for sale down here. It's 4.2; it's the crappiest house on the block. But if there's no Gaura Nitāi inside any of these places, then what is the use? Soft pillows and a bed? It's just the exact same thing. That's what Śukadeva Gosvāmī says in the beginning of the Second Canto of Bhāgavatam you know, just live simply and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and be happy. Or if you live in a nice place so more people can come, it doesn't disturb us either because the main thing is the vibration—keeping the transcendental little vibration going. ------------------------------------------------------------ To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Add to your wisdom literature collection: https://iskconsv.com/book-store/ https://www.bbtacademic.com/books/ https://thefourquestionsbook.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Join us live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FanTheSpark/ Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sound-bhakti/id1132423868 For the latest videos, subscribe https://www.youtube.com/@FanTheSpark For the latest in SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/fan-the-spark ------------------------------------------------------------ #spiritualawakening #soul #spiritualexperience #spiritualpurposeoflife #spiritualgrowthlessons #secretsofspirituality #vaisesikaprabhu #vaisesikadasa #vaisesikaprabhulectures #spirituality #bhaktiyoga #krishna #spiritualpurposeoflife #krishnaspirituality #spiritualusachannel #whybhaktiisimportant #whyspiritualityisimportant #vaisesika #spiritualconnection #thepowerofspiritualstudy #selfrealization #spirituallectures #spiritualstudy #spiritualquestions #spiritualquestionsanswered #trendingspiritualtopics #fanthespark #spiritualpowerofmeditation #spiritualteachersonyoutube #spiritualhabits #spiritualclarity #bhagavadgita #srimadbhagavatam #spiritualbeings #kttvg #keepthetranscendentalvibrationgoing #spiritualpurpose
In the Second Chapter of the First Canto, Śrīmad Bhāgavatam says: śṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṇaḥ puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtanaḥ hṛdy antaḥ stho hy abhadrāṇi vidhunoti suhṛt satām (Text 18) naṣṭa-prāyeṣv abhadreṣu nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā bhagavaty uttama-śloke bhaktir bhavati naiṣṭhikī (Text 19) tadā rajas-tamo-bhāvāḥ kāma-lobhādayaś ca ye ceta etair anāviddhaṁ sthitaṁ sattve prasīdati (Text 20) evaṁ prasanna-manaso bhagavad-bhakti-yogataḥ bhagavat-tattva-vijñānaṁ mukta-saṅgasya jāyate (Text 21) bhidyate hṛdaya-granthiś chidyante sarva-saṁśayāḥ kṣīyante cāsya karmāṇi dṛṣṭa evātmanīśvare (Text 22) In this paragraph spoken by Sūta Gosvāmī, he says that the main means for elevating oneself to pure consciousness, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness, is to participate in the hearing of the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam. He starts by saying: śṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṇaḥ puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtanaḥ. If you sit for Śrīmad Bhāgavatam and just listen submissively, then you're gaining spiritual credit, or puṇya. This goes into a bank account in your heart, and you never lose it, as Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad Gītā : nehābhikrama-nāśo 'sti pratyavāyo na vidyate sv-alpam apy asya dharmasya trāyate mahato bhayāt (BG 2.40). When you do something for Kṛṣṇa and you make advancement in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, it's never lost; it goes to your eternal credit. He goes on to say that by hearing Śrīmad Bhāgavatam gradually, anything which is abhadra is winnowed out. Everyone knows what bhadra means, right? Bhadra means something auspicious, but abhadra means those things that are inauspicious. By hearing the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, gradually any of the anarthas, or unwanted things, that are within our consciousness are winnowed out by the process of hearing. He then says, "evaṁ prasanna-manasaḥ," which means that one's mind becomes happy. That's very difficult in this world because there is always one anxiety after another. When you finish solving one problem, there's another. But by hearing the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam and allowing the spiritual sound vibration to enter your ears and heart, your mind gradually becomes happy. ------------------------------------------------------------ To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Add to your wisdom literature collection: https://iskconsv.com/book-store/ https://www.bbtacademic.com/books/ https://thefourquestionsbook.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Join us live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FanTheSpark/ Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sound-bhakti/id1132423868 For the latest videos, subscribe https://www.youtube.com/@FanTheSpark For the latest in SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/fan-the-spark ------------------------------------------------------------ #spiritualawakening #soul #spiritualexperience #spiritualpurposeoflife #spiritualgrowthlessons #secretsofspirituality #vaisesikaprabhu #vaisesikadasa #vaisesikaprabhulectures #spirituality #bhaktiyoga #krishna #spiritualpurposeoflife #krishnaspirituality #spiritualusachannel #whybhaktiisimportant #whyspiritualityisimportant #vaisesika #spiritualconnection #thepowerofspiritualstudy #selfrealization #spirituallectures #spiritualstudy #spiritualquestions #spiritualquestionsanswered #trendingspiritualtopics #fanthespark #spiritualpowerofmeditation #spiritualteachersonyoutube #spiritualhabits #spiritualclarity #bhagavadgita #srimadbhagavatam #spiritualbeings #kttvg #keepthetranscendentalvibrationgoing #spiritualpurpose
This is bhakti, how The Lord can become one's little child and drink breast milk from the mother. And our ācāryas say, "Yes, Nanda Mahārāja was very fortunate. He became the father of Kṛṣṇa, but Yaśodā is the most fortunate because Kṛṣṇa never left her. He was with her 24 hours a day as a child. No one was closer to Kṛṣṇa than Yaśodā." In the same section of the Bhāgavatam, we hear the admonition that was much repeated by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and His teachings. When He went to South India, He talked to Veṅkaṭa Bhaṭṭa. Veṅkaṭa Bhaṭṭa was in the Rāmānuja-sampradāya, the Śrī-Sampradāya, and they were having a discussion—Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Veṅkaṭa Bhaṭṭa, the great ācārya there. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was telling him, "Actually, Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, you worship as Lord Nārāyaṇa." So Veṅkaṭa wanted to know, "Well, how can you say He's the Supreme Personality of Godhead?" And Caitanya Mahāprabhu asked him, "How is it that the consort of Lord Nārāyaṇa came to Vṛndāvana and performed severe austerities to enter into the rāsa dance?" And Veṅkaṭa Bhaṭṭa said, "You please tell me." It's because the quality of devotion in Vṛndāvana is topmost. There is no more intimate relationship between Kṛṣṇa and His devotees than in Śrī Vṛndāvana, and of all the devotees, Mother Yaśodā has the most intimate connection with Kṛṣṇa in His childhood. And therefore Śukadeva Gosvāmī says: "nāyaṁ sukhāpo bhagavān dehināṁ gopikā-sutaḥ jñānināṁ cātma-bhūtānāṁ yathā bhaktimatām iha (SB 10.9.21)." And this is the verse quoted by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu to Veṅkaṭa Bhaṭṭa from the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam. There are many approaches. One may try to cultivate knowledge to understand God; one may perform yoga, haṭha Yoga, aṣṭāṅga Yoga; one may be a karmī, trying to position oneself in the material world in such a way as to have the best of everything. And Śukadev says, "None of these ways will attract Kṛṣṇa. Only simple bhakti will. "Nāyaṁ sukhāpo bhagavān dehināṁ gopikā-sutaḥ jñānināṁ cātma-bhūtānāṁ yathā bhaktimatām iha." In this world, only by bhakti, following in the footsteps of the residents of Vṛndāvana,... This is later written by Rūpa Gosvāmī, the process of devotional service: "tan-nāma-rūpa-caritādi-sukīrtanānu- smṛtyoḥ krameṇa rasanā-manasī niyojya tiṣṭhan vraje tad-anurāgī-janānugāmī kālaṁ nayed akhilaṁ ity upadeśa-sāram (NOI 8)." He said, "This is the essence of all advice. One should take to the practice of hearing, chanting, and remembering, etc. Śravaṇam, kīrtanaṁ Viṣṇu, smaraṇaṁ, pāda-sevanaṁ, arcanaṁ, vandanaṁ, dāsyaṁ, sakhyaṁ, ātma-nivedanam —the nine processes of devotional service continuously. Then one will come to appreciate the devotional service of the residents of Vṛndāvana." And when one develops this appreciation for the devotion of the devotees in Vṛndāvana, one may become intrigued by that. This is the beginning of one's relationship with Kṛṣṇa in a particular mood. This cannot be artificially stimulated. It comes only by copious hearing over many lifetimes to come to this position of bhakti. ------------------------------------------------------------ To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Add to your wisdom literature collection: https://iskconsv.com/book-store/ https://www.bbtacademic.com/books/ https://thefourquestionsbook.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------
'Mahāt' means those who are great souls. They are perfectly situated, and kṛtena means they devise a method to live in this world and at the same time, practice spiritual life. They do it for themselves, but they also leave behind them the process so that everyone can take it up. For instance, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is The Supreme Personality of God. He appeared 500 years ago, and had many disciples. They listened to everything Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, and then they codified it. They wrote it down in books like Śrī Upadeśāmṛta, which is the primer for bhakti yoga, written by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī. I was in the San Francisco Airport some time back; the airport had given me a space to distribute books from. One of the books I had in ample quantity was the Upadeśāmṛta, so I used to distribute it a lot at the airport. It was in Terminal Two, which used to be the International Terminal at San Francisco Airport. Any airport in America—I'll tell you anything about it. I grew up in one. And they gave us what used to be an insurance counter. It was a round, actually octagonal, booth. They used to sell flight insurance there, but then they got a machine that replaced the people who worked there. So they gave us the booth and said, "If you would like to sell your books, you can use this booth." So I used to stand behind that booth, and people would come over asking for directions. I would give them directions to their flight, and then I would give them directions to the spiritual world. And I particularly remember one day I met a young man from Taiwan, a student who had finished his education here. He was on his way home, and I told him about the Upadeśāmṛta and how it was written 500 years ago by a great saint named Rūpa Gosvāmī. I said, "There are instructions here for life, how you can make spiritual progress." He said, "Oh, very nice. I'd like it." He offered a donation so we could print more books. He opened his carry-on bag, which had a zipper on top. He put the book in and zipped it closed. I watched him as he walked toward his gate, and I was thinking, "I wonder if Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī envisioned this 500 years ago, that there would be airports, or that this young man from Taiwan, so far from Bhāratavarṣa, would somehow meet another young man (I was young at that time) from California, and we would have an interaction where I'd give him a book written 500 years ago by a saint named Rūpa Gosvāmī, who wrote the book in Vṛndāvana at a place called Ter Kadamba? And he would take it home to Taiwan and read those instructions. “Prabhupada Picks” refers to a selection of verses from the 10th Canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam that Srila Prabhupada memorized himself and quoted very frequently in his teachings. List of verses are in the description here: https://youtu.be/8teL06bAL1o Verse for discussion: https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/10/2/30 ------------------------------------------------------------ To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Add to your wisdom literature collection: https://iskconsv.com/book-store/ https://www.bbtacademic.com/books/ https://thefourquestionsbook.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Join us live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FanTheSpark/ Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sound-bhakti/id1132423868 For the latest videos, subscribe https://www.youtube.com/@FanTheSpark For the latest in SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/fan-the-spark ------------------------------------------------------------ #spiritualawakening #soul #spiritualexperience #spiritualpurposeoflife #spiritualgrowthlessons #secretsofspirituality
'Mahāt' means those who are great souls. They are perfectly situated, and kṛtena means they devise a method to live in this world and at the same time, practice spiritual life. They do it for themselves, but they also leave behind them the process so that everyone can take it up. For instance, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is The Supreme Personality of God. He appeared 500 years ago, and had many disciples. They listened to everything Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, and then they codified it. They wrote it down in books like Śrī Upadeśāmṛta, which is the primer for bhakti yoga, written by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī. I was in the San Francisco Airport some time back; the airport had given me a space to distribute books from. One of the books I had in ample quantity was the Upadeśāmṛta, so I used to distribute it a lot at the airport. It was in Terminal Two, which used to be the International Terminal at San Francisco Airport. Any airport in America—I'll tell you anything about it. I grew up in one. And they gave us what used to be an insurance counter. It was a round, actually octagonal, booth. They used to sell flight insurance there, but then they got a machine that replaced the people who worked there. So they gave us the booth and said, "If you would like to sell your books, you can use this booth." So I used to stand behind that booth, and people would come over asking for directions. I would give them directions to their flight, and then I would give them directions to the spiritual world. And I particularly remember one day I met a young man from Taiwan, a student who had finished his education here. He was on his way home, and I told him about the Upadeśāmṛta and how it was written 500 years ago by a great saint named Rūpa Gosvāmī. I said, "There are instructions here for life, how you can make spiritual progress." He said, "Oh, very nice. I'd like it." He offered a donation so we could print more books. He opened his carry-on bag, which had a zipper on top. He put the book in and zipped it closed. I watched him as he walked toward his gate, and I was thinking, "I wonder if Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī envisioned this 500 years ago, that there would be airports, or that this young man from Taiwan, so far from Bhāratavarṣa, would somehow meet another young man (I was young at that time) from California, and we would have an interaction where I'd give him a book written 500 years ago by a saint named Rūpa Gosvāmī, who wrote the book in Vṛndāvana at a place called Ter Kadamba? And he would take it home to Taiwan and read those instructions. “Prabhupada Picks” refers to a selection of verses from the 10th Canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam that Srila Prabhupada memorized himself and quoted very frequently in his teachings. List of verses are in the description here: https://youtu.be/8teL06bAL1o Verse for discussion: https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/10/2/30 ------------------------------------------------------------ To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Add to your wisdom literature collection: https://iskconsv.com/book-store/ https://www.bbtacademic.com/books/ https://thefourquestionsbook.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Join us live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FanTheSpark/ Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sound-bhakti/id1132423868 For the latest videos, subscribe https://www.youtube.com/@FanTheSpark For the latest in SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/fan-the-spark ------------------------------------------------------------ #spiritualawakening #soul #spiritualexperience #spiritualpurposeoflife #spiritualgrowthlessons #secretsofspirituality
How would you feel if you were cursed to die in seven days? Not very good. But Parīkṣit Mahārāj said, ‘Let the snake-bird, or whatever magical creature this boy has conjured, bite me at once. All I want is to go on hearing the transcendental vibration about Kṛṣṇa.' He wasn't disturbed by it. In fact, there's a list of symptoms given in the Madhya-līlā of the Śrī Caitanya Caritāmṛta, which is the teachings and pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. That's another book besides the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam. It's a must-have, by the way. And within that, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu teaches Sanātana Gosvāmī the tenets of bhakti-yoga. In one section, he describes what symptoms one would have when one becomes spiritually advanced. He gives Parīkṣit Mahārāj as an example of a highly advanced person. The first symptom of the heart being spiritually enlivened, otherwise known as bhāva, is that he didn't mind being cursed. It was called kṣāntir, a kind of immediate forgiveness of the situation. He said, ‘You're cursed.' A little boy cursed you, and it's effective. So it's coming. There's a snake-bird coming for you. And he said, ‘Let it come. It's the arrangement of the Lord.' In fact, his opinion was that this is Kṛṣṇa's arrangement for me. He said, "I was a king. I was so attached to all my things. How else would I have given them up? But now I have an excuse. A perfect excuse." Who else got an excuse in the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam to walk out on his family? Vidura. Vidura was not cursed, but he was insulted severely by Duryodhana. You remember this? Vidura was trying to stand up for the Pāṇḍavas, and Duryodhana said, ‘Who is this guy, anyway? He's not even full-blooded, part of our family. He's a mutt. Get him out of here! I'll beat him up! I'll beat him out of here!' In that very moment, Vidura felt, ‘This is Kṛṣṇa's opening for me to go out and just be absorbed and go on pilgrimage.' This is what you do when nothing else works out. You just go to the Dhām. He went on pilgrimage for many years. He walked outside that palace, laid down his bow and arrow right on the doorstep, and then he was unrecognizable after that. No one could tell where he was, or they couldn't see him anymore. So, the times in which we're tested most deeply in this world are the times when we can understand, 'How spiritually advanced am I?' One of the first symptoms is called kṣāntir. It means the heart is forgiving. It's like, 'Okay, it's Kṛṣṇa's arrangement.' This is embodied in one of the most famous verses that we're going to visit today, in the 14th chapter of the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam. “Prabhupada Picks” refers to a selection of verses from the 10th Canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam that Srila Prabhupada memorized himself and quoted very frequently in his teachings. List of verses are in the description here: https://youtu.be/8teL06bAL1o Verse for discussion: https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/10/1/16 ------------------------------------------------------------ To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Add to your wisdom literature collection: https://iskconsv.com/book-store/ https://www.bbtacademic.com/books/ https://thefourquestionsbook.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Join us live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FanTheSpark/ Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sound-bhakti/id1132423868 For the latest videos, subscribe https://www.youtube.com/@FanTheSpark For the latest in SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/fan-the-spark
That's the first step in spiritual life: to be self-effacing, or effacing the false self, and say, "I'm not anything in this world. It's just a dream that I'm something." My main designation is, "I'm a servant of Kṛṣṇa" And that's what comes out of this is that Kṛṣṇa is so kind; he gracefully helps us to divest ourselves of the false ego that I'm something great. What to speak of the poison that we get. Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā, "Icchā-dveṣa-samutthena dvandva-mohena bhārata sarva-bhūtāni saṁmohaṁ sarge yānti parantapa." Everyone gets born into this world with an attitude. Lose your attitude, he says. You give it up. Don't be such a fool. Just take shelter of Kṛṣṇa. And we see that right before our eyes in the pastime of Kāliya and how nice Kṛṣṇa was to Kāliya also. In fact, it's noted by Rūpa Gosvāmī in the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, after he chastised Kāliya, his words were so sweet to Kāliya. After he beat him up, Kāliya's heart was really touched. Kṛṣṇa was so nice to him. So we can know from this pastime, we can learn that we're getting beat up for a reason in this world. It's so that we can open our hearts and actually live the real life we want to live, which is to be lovers of Kṛṣṇa. And we can't do that when we're holding all this poison, and don't put any more in either. There's so much poison you can drink in your ears or watch and take in through your eyes. Why drink poison? Drink Śrīmad Bhāgavatam. Hi, I'm Vaiśeṣika Dasa. I drink Śrīmad Bhāgavatam. We recommend it. ------------------------------------------------------------ To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Add to your wisdom literature collection: https://iskconsv.com/book-store/ https://www.bbtacademic.com/books/ https://thefourquestionsbook.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Join us live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FanTheSpark/ Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sound-bhakti/id1132423868 For the latest videos, subscribe https://www.youtube.com/@FanTheSpark For the latest in SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/fan-the-spark ------------------------------------------------------------ #spiritualawakening #soul #spiritualexperience #spiritualpurposeoflife #spiritualgrowthlessons #secretsofspirituality #vaisesikaprabhu #vaisesikadasa #vaisesikaprabhulectures #spirituality #bhaktiyoga #krishna #spiritualpurposeoflife #krishnaspirituality #spiritualusachannel #whybhaktiisimportant #whyspiritualityisimportant #vaisesika #spiritualconnection #thepowerofspiritualstudy #selfrealization #spirituallectures #spiritualstudy #spiritualquestions #spiritualquestionsanswered #trendingspiritualtopics #fanthespark #spiritualpowerofmeditation #spiritualteachersonyoutube #spiritualhabits #spiritualclarity #bhagavadgita #srimadbhagavatam #spiritualbeings #kttvg #keepthetranscendentalvibrationgoing #spiritualpurpose
And of course, Kṛṣṇa is bound in love to the gopīs, as described by Kārbhājana Muni in the 11th Canto of the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 'māyā-mṛgaṁ dayitayepsitam anvadhāvad,' which is a verse describing Rāmacandra, Lord Caitanya, and Kṛṣṇa in the matter of the description of Kṛṣṇa, he says māyāmṛgam means he becomes like a toy—one of those play toys that children have—in the hands of the gopīs of Vrindavan, because they love him so deeply. Kṛṣṇa is Ajita; he is unconquerable, but he is conquered by the love of his devotees. That's one of the realizations that Lord Brahmā had after he saw Kṛṣṇa in Vrindavan: “jñāne prayāsam udapāsya namanta eva īvanti san-mukharitāṁ bhavadīya-vārtām sthāne sthitāḥ śruti-gatāṁ tanu-vāṅ manobhir ye prāyaśo 'jita jito 'py asi tais tri-lokyām” (SB 10.14.3). That if one takes this method of worshiping the Lord, following in footsteps the residents of Vrindavan, he recommends that. "ñāne prayāsam udapāsya namanta eva īvanti san-mukharitāṁ bhavadīya-vārtām" - when he hears about the interaction with Kṛṣṇa and his devotees in Vrindavan,“Vikrīḍitaṁ vraja-vadhūbhir idaṁ ca viṣṇoḥ śraddhānvito 'nuśṛṇuyād atha varṇayed yaḥ bhaktiṁ parāṁ bhagavati pratilabhya kāmaṁ hṛd-rogam āśv apahinoty acireṇa dhīraḥ” (SB 10.33.39). So, Śukadeva Gosvāmī says that by just hearing about the playful pastimes Kṛṣṇa has with his most intimate devotees in Vrindavan—especially the gopīs—their hearts then become bound to Kṛṣṇa, and Kṛṣṇa also becomes bound to them. And although Kṛṣṇa is unconquerable, he's conquered by the love of his devotees. This is the greatest quality of Kṛṣṇa: he becomes conquered by the love of his devotees. In Vrindavan, there's no life without Kṛṣṇa. And after Kṛṣṇa leaves Vrindavan—apparently, although mysteriously or very esoterically at least—he's there in his bhava feature. The surroundings of Vrindavan are important, because the backdrop of Vrindavan is the way that Kṛṣṇa dresses in Vrindavan, the way he interacts with everybody. That's the mood of Vrindavan, where we say God is at home. ------------------------------------------------------------ To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Add to your wisdom literature collection: https://iskconsv.com/book-store/ https://www.bbtacademic.com/books/ https://thefourquestionsbook.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Join us live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FanTheSpark/ Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sound-bhakti/id1132423868 For the latest videos, subscribe https://www.youtube.com/@FanTheSpark For the latest in SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/fan-the-spark ------------------------------------------------------------ #rathyatra #jagannath #vrindavan #bhakti #spiritualawakening #soul #spiritualexperience #spiritualpurposeoflife #spiritualgrowthlessons #secretsofspirituality #vaisesikaprabhu #vaisesikadasa #vaisesikaprabhulectures #spirituality #bhaktiyoga #krishna #spiritualpurposeoflife #krishnaspirituality #spiritualusachannel #whybhaktiisimportant #whyspiritualityisimportant #vaisesika #spiritualconnection #thepowerofspiritualstudy #selfrealization #spirituallectures #spiritualstudy #spiritualquestions #spiritualquestionsanswered #trendingspiritualtopics #fanthespark #spiritualpowerofmeditation #spiritualteachersonyoutube #spiritualhabits #spiritualclarity #bhagavadgita #srimadbhagavatam #spiritualbeings #kttvg #keepthetranscendentalvibrationgoing #spiritualpurpose
The other one I was thinking of was that Śukadeva Gosvāmī gives this verse (SB 10.90.48): jayati jana-nivāso devakī-janma-vādo yadu-vara-pariṣat svair dorbhir asyann adharmam sthira-cara-vṛjina-ghnaḥ su-smita-śrī-mukhena vraja-pura-vanitānāṁ vardhayan kāma-devam You know that one? It's in the padyātis as a good, recommended verse to say when you first wake up in the morning. And I have said it for a long time when I wake up. But then, when I was studying that section of the Bhāgavatam, I found out that Śukadeva, according to Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura, recited that verse for a very specific purpose. Which was, he says, it starts with "Jayati", which is in the present tense: "The Lord is victorious now." "Jayati jana-nivāso", and then he goes on to describe how He walked among all the people, "jana-nivāsa", and what were His attractive features. But the point is, it's in the present tense that it's happening now. And Viśvanātha said, "Because, to assuage the disappointment that people would feel that they were not here for Kṛṣṇa's appearance." They're thinking, "Why couldn't He have just kept His pastimes going here on earth and been fully available even now? Why did I miss it by 5,000 years or whenever?" And so he said, "Don't worry, 'Jayati', they're going on right now. They're fully available through the medium of the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam at the present time. Sections read: https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/2/10/9/ https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/2/2/35/ https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/14/27/ https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/11/3/44/ ------------------------------------------------------------ To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Add to your wisdom literature collection: https://iskconsv.com/book-store/ https://www.bbtacademic.com/books/ https://thefourquestionsbook.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Join us live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FanTheSpark/ Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sound-bhakti/id1132423868 For the latest videos, subscribe https://www.youtube.com/@FanTheSpark For the latest in SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/fan-the-spark ------------------------------------------------------------ #spiritualawakening #soul #spiritualexperience #spiritualpurposeoflife #spiritualgrowthlessons #secretsofspirituality #vaisesikaprabhu #vaisesikadasa #vaisesikaprabhulectures #spirituality #bhaktiyoga #krishna #spiritualpurposeoflife #krishnaspirituality #spiritualusachannel #whybhaktiisimportant #whyspiritualityisimportant #vaisesika #spiritualconnection #thepowerofspiritualstudy #selfrealization #spirituallectures #spiritualstudy #spiritualquestions #spiritualquestionsanswered #trendingspiritualtopics #fanthespark #spiritualpowerofmeditation #spiritualteachersonyoutube #spiritualhabits #spiritualclarity #bhagavadgita #srimadbhagavatam #spiritualbeings #kttvg #keepthetranscendentalvibrationgoing #spiritualpurpose
From epic failures and ego clashes to tender moments of empowerment and encouragement, Raghunath and Kaustubha open up about what they love most about Krishna Bhakti—and how it transforms even the most ordinary day into an offering of beauty, meaning, and joy. In this candid Q & A episode, you'll hear stories of spiritual growth, forgiveness, and the joy that comes from living with a fully invested heart. Highlights include: • Black-and-white Vedanta vs. full-color Bhakti • One humbling breakfast invitation, one roasted ego, and a lot of growth • Gossip vs. grace: a Bhakti PSA on spiritual etiquette • Parking lot kirtans and singing past your comfort zone • Rūpa Gosvāmī's poetry, Draupadī's forgiveness, and the art of full-hearted living A rich, funny, and inspiring conversation rooted in the lived experience of Krishna devotion. Check out Supersoul Farm's first annual kirtan fest at https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/supersoul-farm-kirtan-fest-tickets-1376536139649?aff=oddtdtcreator Check out Radhanath Swami's class on how to treat people at https://youtu.be/ed0Effi7Kfo?si=b97G8C-cUaBtVWf6 ********************************************************************* LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN! Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@WisdomoftheSages LISTEN ON ITUNES: https://podcasts/apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-of-the-sages/id1493055485 CONNECT ON FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/wisdomofthesages108
From epic failures and ego clashes to tender moments of empowerment and encouragement, Raghunath and Kaustubha open up about what they love most about Krishna Bhakti—and how it transforms even the most ordinary day into an offering of beauty, meaning, and joy. In this candid Q & A episode, you'll hear stories of spiritual growth, forgiveness, and the joy that comes from living with a fully invested heart. Highlights include: • Black-and-white Vedanta vs. full-color Bhakti • One humbling breakfast invitation, one roasted ego, and a lot of growth • Gossip vs. grace: a Bhakti PSA on spiritual etiquette • Parking lot kirtans and singing past your comfort zone • Rūpa Gosvāmī's poetry, Draupadī's forgiveness, and the art of full-hearted living A rich, funny, and inspiring conversation rooted in the lived experience of Krishna devotion. Check out Supersoul Farm's first annual kirtan fest at https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/supersoul-farm-kirtan-fest-tickets-1376536139649?aff=oddtdtcreator Check out Radhanath Swami's class on how to treat people at https://youtu.be/ed0Effi7Kfo?si=b97G8C-cUaBtVWf6 ********************************************************************* LOVE THE PODCAST? WE ARE COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AND WOULD LOVE FOR YOU TO JOIN! Go to https://www.wisdomofthesages.com WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/@WisdomoftheSages LISTEN ON ITUNES: https://podcasts/apple.com/us/podcast/wisdom-of-the-sages/id1493055485 CONNECT ON FACEBOOK: https://facebook.com/wisdomofthesages108
Here's an excerpt from the Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā, chapter four, in which Prabhupāda quotes from the Bhakti-sandarbha. This is the verdict of Jīva Gosvāmī in describing the process of chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa: "Chanting the holy name is the chief means of attaining love of Godhead. This chanting or devotional service does not depend on any paraphernalia, nor on one's having taken birth in a good family. By humility and meekness, one attracts the attention of Kṛṣṇa. That is the verdict of all the Vedas. Therefore, if one becomes very humble and meek, he can easily attain the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa in this age of Kali. This is the fulfillment of all great sacrifices, penances, and austerities, because when one achieves ecstatic love of Godhead, he attains the complete perfection of life. Therefore, whatever one does in executing devotional service must be accompanied by the chanting of the holy name of the Lord, the chanting of the holy name of Kṛṣṇa: Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare, Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.' ------------------------------------------------------------ To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Add to your wisdom literature collection: https://iskconsv.com/book-store/ https://www.bbtacademic.com/books/ https://thefourquestionsbook.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Join us live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FanTheSpark/ Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sound-bhakti/id1132423868 For the latest videos, subscribe https://www.youtube.com/@FanTheSpark For the latest in SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/fan-the-spark ------------------------------------------------------------ #spiritualawakening #soul #spiritualexperience #spiritualpurposeoflife #spiritualgrowthlessons #secretsofspirituality #vaisesikaprabhu #vaisesikadasa #vaisesikaprabhulectures #spirituality #bhaktiyoga #krishna #spiritualpurposeoflife #krishnaspirituality #spiritualusachannel #whybhaktiisimportant #whyspiritualityisimportant #vaisesika #spiritualconnection #thepowerofspiritualstudy #selfrealization #spirituallectures #spiritualstudy #spiritualquestions #spiritualquestionsanswered #trendingspiritualtopics #fanthespark #spiritualpowerofmeditation #spiritualteachersonyoutube #spiritualhabits #spiritualclarity #bhagavadgita #srimadbhagavatam #spiritualbeings #kttvg #keepthetranscendentalvibrationgoing #spiritualpurpose
The main way that we develop our character in this world, or any other is by our association. As Kṛṣṇa says in the Gītā: "kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo 'sya sad-asad-yoni-janmasu." Any situation you're in now, whatever way you've developed in your life, that is because of your association. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, when teaching about devotional service to Sanātana Gosvāmī, starts with talking about the power of association. Whenever you can get an opportunity to associate with those that you feel are ideal, take the opportunity to hear from, to serve, and to observe. That's very powerful that when you find somebody who is so high minded that you're impressed with them, you're in good association. Somebody who's doing things better than you could imagine that you could. If you spend some time with such advanced devotees, then there is a way that you'll also start taking on their qualities. And if you can get advice from such gentle souls, you can reveal your mind to such persons and say, here's the specific thing. How should I deal with it? You may even feel safe enough to admit whatever your anartha is, and then it becomes diminished because of exposure to the light, and guhyam akhyati pricchati. Rupa Goswami says, we need this kind of fellowship with advanced devotees to be able to reveal our minds. You can also work on yourself about being vulnerable, meaning start little by little by talking about what your anarthas are. There's a fear we might lose our stature in life. "I wear a mask that this is who I am as a human being or as a devotee, or whatever societal situation I'm in. I feel I have to protect that in order to be whole and to be accepted, to be loved." But if you can find situations where you can practice your vulnerability and find those people you feel safe enough with that you can admit certain things about yourself, then you realize that not only are you okay, but you feel unburdened by that. That's guhyam ākhyāti pṛcchati. It's very helpful. (excerpt from the talk) ------------------------------------------------------------ To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Add to your wisdom literature collection: https://iskconsv.com/book-store/ https://www.bbtacademic.com/books/ https://thefourquestionsbook.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Join us live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FanTheSpark/ Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sound-bhakti/id1132423868 For the latest videos, subscribe https://www.youtube.com/@FanTheSpark For the latest in SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/fan-the-spark ------------------------------------------------------------ #vaisesikaprabhu #vaisesikadasa #vaisesikaprabhulectures #spirituality #bhaktiyoga #krishna #spiritualpurposeoflife #krishnaspirituality #spiritualusachannel #whybhaktiisimportant #whyspiritualityisimportant #vaisesika #spiritualconnection #thepowerofspiritualstudy #selfrealization #spirituallectures #spiritualstudy #spiritualexperience #spiritualpurposeoflife #spiritualquestions #spiritualquestionsanswered #trendingspiritualtopics #fanthespark #spiritualpowerofmeditation #spiritualgrowthlessons #secretsofspirituality #spiritualteachersonyoutube #spiritualhabits #spiritualclarity #bhagavadgita #srimadbhagavatam #spiritualbeings #kttvg #keepthetranscendentalvibrationgoing #spiritualpurpose
The Lord's devotees have a special qualification in that, as Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā (6.32): "ātmaupamyena sarvatra samaṁ paśyati yo 'rjuna sukhaṁ vā yadi vā duḥkhaṁ sa yogī paramo mataḥ." They're the parama yogīs because, He says, they have compassion. Atmaupamyena means they feel empathy towards others because they've been through it themselves, and they know what the material world's like. Although Kṛṣṇa oversees the material world and there's a sense of the suffering of the living entities, the ones who feel it most intensely are those who've been in it and then have been saved by the Supreme Personality of Godhead and are given the opportunity, then, as a lifetime occupation, to go out and give mercy to others. And He describes, as everyone knows, several ways in which this potency of Kṛṣṇa appears through the devotees in this world, through the seemingly incidental way in which someone may introduce somebody to Kṛṣṇa consciousness—the vartmana pradakṣaka guru, somebody who shows you the path. Kṛṣṇa works through that person. There's serendipity there. Interestingly, that person who introduces one to the path may not even be fully aware that he or she is doing it. For instance, Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura is mentioned in the first chapter of the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, and his girlfriend is the one he accredits for introducing him to the path of pure bhakti. He was just going to hang out, and she said, "What are you doing with your life? Couldn't you, like, get it together? You'd actually be a great devotee if you just use some of this energy for God." And it woke him up. So he eternally gives her credit as Kṛṣṇa is speaking to him through an agent called the vartmana pradakṣaka guru—guru, one who opens one's eyes from darkness into light. Then he describes how there are many instructors who speak on behalf of Kṛṣṇa, and then there's one who gives the mantra. And all of these, Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī describes as manifestations of Kṛṣṇa. It's the way that He appears in this world. Uddhava mentions at the end of the Uddhava-gītā: "naivopayanty apacitiṁ kavayas taveśa brahmāyuṣāpi kṛtam ṛddha-mudaḥ smarantaḥ yo 'ntar bahis tanu-bhṛtām aśubhaṁ vidhunvann ācārya-caittya-vapuṣā sva-gatiṁ vyanakti (SB 11.29.6)." He says to Lord Kṛṣṇa, 'That I cannot offer enough gratitude. I cannot express enough gratitude to You, because You appear in this world as the ācārya to sva-gatiṁ vyanakti, to show the path to You. And You also appear as the antaryāmī, the Supersoul within the heart.' As we know, and Kavirāja Gosvāmī quotes this in the first chapter of the Ādi-līlā: "teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam dadāmi buddhi-yogaṁ taṁ yena mām upayānti te" He uses the metaphor that 'I'm there ready to light a lamp and show you the direction if you become interested in Me.' He said, 'So You're there as the antarayāmī to show the path.' And then he said, 'You manifest externally as the different gurus who will show me the path. Externally walk me by the hand along the path of devotional service,' called anugraha. As graha means a grabber, and anu means follow. So somebody who makes you follow, like, 'No, no, come here. Hold on there, little fella, come over here for a second. We have a little something for you,' and that the devotees who are representing the Lord in the material world, although The Lord doesn't get involved; the devotees do that. They're little grabbers. People feel a little bit roughed up for a minute or two, and then they realize later on, "Oh, saved me from falling on the railway track, pulled me up, grabbed me from falling off the roof." As Prahlāda Mahārāja says.. To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/ Add to your wisdom literature collection: https://iskconsv.com/book-store/ https://www.bbtacademic.com/books/ https://thefourquestionsbook.com/
Of all the practices, japa is the most essential. It's the one that we do ourselves. We depend on our own sincerity to fuel the process. In the beginning, we also do it as a medicinal process, as when a doctor gives a prescription and says, "Take this many for the next two weeks, and then don't miss a dose. If you do, then make it up." And when the medicine acts, then we can see for ourselves its efficiency. In the beginning, we have to trust the doctor, and we have to trust the medicine. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī uses this word, nirṇītaṁ. He said, "Don't worry, this medicine is highly potent. It's been vetted by all the best medical scientists in the world—spiritual scientists. And it's a doubtless and fearless way that one can make advancement in spiritual practice. ------------------------------------------------------------ To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Add to your wisdom literature collection: https://iskconsv.com/book-store/ https://www.bbtacademic.com/books/ https://thefourquestionsbook.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Join us live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FanTheSpark/ Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sound-bhakti/id1132423868 For the latest videos, subscribe https://www.youtube.com/@FanTheSpark For the latest in SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/fan-the-spark ------------------------------------------------------------ #makejapagreatagain #japajolt #mantrameditation #vaisesikaprabhu #vaisesikadasa #vaisesikaprabhulectures #spirituality #bhaktiyoga #krishna #spiritualpurposeoflife #krishnaspirituality #spiritualusachannel #whybhaktiisimportant #whyspiritualityisimportant #vaisesika #spiritualconnection #thepowerofspiritualstudy #selfrealization #spirituallectures #spiritualstudy #spiritualexperience #spiritualpurposeoflife #spiritualquestions #spiritualquestionsanswered #trendingspiritualtopics #fanthespark #spiritualpowerofmeditation #spiritualgrowthlessons #secretsofspirituality #spiritualteachersonyoutube #spiritualhabits #spiritualclarity #bhagavadgita #srimadbhagavatam #spiritualbeings #kttvg #keepthetranscendentalvibrationgoing #spiritualpurpose
In the Bhagavad-Gita, Krishna says, "There is a right, there is a wrong. Wrong means you're going towards the darkness. Right means you're going towards the light, which is Krsna. And when you go towards darkness, then there's a repercussion. Your consciousness becomes dark, and there are dark ways in which you relate to other people, heartless ways. And what about animals? How could one even think of harming an animal when when one would think that there's a divine soul within and God's there next to him, within his heart?" Therefore, in the Śrī Īśopaniṣad it is said: 'yas tu sarvāṇi bhūtāny ātmany evānupaśyati sarva-bhūteṣu cātmānaṁ tato na vijugupsate (Īśo Mantra 6) This means that when one becomes aware of God, is looking towards the light and seeing God within everyone's heart, and every relationship, and every living being has a relationship with God and with me, then I don't hate anything or any being. What's more, I show respect everywhere, and when I don't show respect, when I ignore what is reality, and when that darkness comes in, I do things which cause more darkness in my life. Some people call it sin. We call it vikarma, or missteps that entangle us more and more in darkness. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu, in teaching Rūpa Gosvāmī, said, "As soon as you turn towards the light, then the darkness goes away. Kṛṣṇa, sūrya sama; māyā haya andhakāra." He said, "Ignorance is darkness, and Krsna is light. And when you turn toward Krsna, then the darkness goes away immediately. The reactions to activities done in darkness, which cause more reactions, called karmic reactions, become so numerous that we can't experience them all in one lifetime, and they're carried over to the next lifetime, the next lifetime, next lifetime." And this has been going on since time immemorial, and it's a process of suffering from one body to the next. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu said this chain of suffering caused by these reactions to ignorance can be immediately stopped by taking to the light. It means turning towards Krsna in what's called devotional service. And he quoted from the most valuable book for those who are eager to come into the light called the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. This is the book that points us directly to Krsna. ------------------------------------------------------------ To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Add to your wisdom literature collection: https://iskconsv.com/book-store/ https://www.bbtacademic.com/books/ https://thefourquestionsbook.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Join us live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FanTheSpark/ Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sound-bhakti/id1132423868 For the latest videos, subscribe https://www.youtube.com/@FanTheSpark For the latest in SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/fan-the-spark ------------------------------------------------------------ #vaisesikaprabhu #vaisesikadasa #vaisesikaprabhulectures #spirituality #bhaktiyoga #krishna #spiritualpurposeoflife #krishnaspirituality #spiritualusachannel #whybhaktiisimportant #whyspiritualityisimportant #vaisesika #spiritualconnection #thepowerofspiritualstudy #selfrealization #spirituallectures #spiritualstudy #spiritualexperience #spiritualpurposeoflife #spiritualquestions #spiritualquestionsanswered #trendingspiritualtopics #fanthespark #spiritualpowerofmeditation #spiritualgrowthlessons #secretsofspirituality #spiritualteachersonyoutube #spiritualhabits #spiritualclarity #bhagavadgita #srimadbhagavatam #spiritualbeings #kttvg #keepthetranscendentalvibrationgoing #spiritualpurpose
Once, when we were in a spot where there was no light whatsoever, no moon and no cities nearby, I stepped out of the car, and the stars were so bright, I was almost knocked on my back. I had an existential moment thinking, "Oh, I'm in a universe I forgot. And look at all these planets that abound." There's a universal form of the Lord described in the Bhagavad-gītā and the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. But beyond that, there's the original beauty of the Supreme Personality of God Himself that's so captivating that He's known as Kṛṣṇa. It means He captivates everyone. There was a song written by George Harrison many years ago, "There's something in the way she moves." Actually it was originally "in the way He moves," but the producers thought, "Well, that won't fly." He was talking about Kṛṣṇa, "That attracts me like no other lover," and he was just singing a song. And there are myriad songs, not just from one who heard about Kṛṣṇa from someone else, but you go to the great ācāryas and poets, and they'll be saying—they'll—they'll want to write the choicest poetry. That's why Kṛṣṇa is called uttama-śloka. Everyone wants to write something to try to describe the limit of Kṛṣṇa's beauty, and they never get to that point of describing the limit, because it's unlimited. It's always becoming more beautiful and more captivating. And without this beauty, we're relegated to the reflection of beauty in the material world. Whatever natural scene we see, if you've ever noticed, it can't completely satisfy the heart. It doesn't reciprocate. There's a verisimilitude. It's the reflection of reality, and therefore we're attracted to it, and it's breathtaking for a moment, but you can't keep it within you. You can't—it doesn't reciprocate with you. But Kṛṣṇa is beauty, because His beauty, His opulence is non-different from Himself. By seeing Kṛṣṇa, the ultimate object for the for meditation—dheyam sadā—one can continuously, says the Bhāgavatam, look at Kṛṣṇa's beauty, and you'll never get tired of it. Other scenes you make you might get used to. If you've seen the ocean enough times, then you think, "Oh, I'm going to go somewhere else." Seeing enough sunsets, you forget about it, like, "Oh, that's suns to get in my eyes. Close the curtains. Let's watch TV." The Bhāgavatam says that everyone's looking for that beauty everywhere. There's never a time we're satisfied by it, until we see Kṛṣṇa, who's the source of all beauty. And this is what's available through bhakti-yoga—is the beautiful form of Kṛṣṇa and the descriptions of His beauty. And Rūpa Gosvāmī said, "This is the second element by which one doesn't even care about—" one who has seen the beauty of Kṛṣṇa and is pursuing the beauty of Kṛṣṇa no longer cares about liberation. They're only addicted to that. "I just want to see the beauty of Kṛṣṇa." ------------------------------------------------------------ To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Add to your wisdom literature collection: https://iskconsv.com/book-store/ https://www.bbtacademic.com/books/ https://thefourquestionsbook.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Join us live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FanTheSpark/ Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sound-bhakti/id1132423868 For the latest videos, subscribe https://www.youtube.com/@FanTheSpark For the latest in SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/fan-the-spark ------------------------------------------------------------
If you win something, you call somebody on the phone: "I just won something!" and tell somebody else. We've won a lot! We've won a free human birth. There are several places. For instance, the Avadhūta Brāhmaṇa—he's out in the wilderness, and Mahārāja Yadu meets him and says, "How did you become enlightened? You're obviously enlightened." And he said, "I have all these gurus around." Mahārāja Yadu said, "I didn't see anybody. It's just wilderness." And he starts pointing to natural phenomena and saying, "I got lessons from the mountain, from the tree, from the kurara hawk." He names these 24 gurus, and one of the statements is: 'labdhvā su-durlabham idaṁ bahu-sambhavānte mānuṣyam artha-dam anityam apīha dhīraḥ.' That is, the human life is very rare to get. You can't sign up for it. You just either get it or you don't. And once you've got it, you can turn this temporary (and miserable, by the way) life into something eternal and blissful forever. That's a pretty good deal. So that's something we've won. And then we have also won because of the sampradāya—the sages, the great devotees—they feel so happy, and they also understand Kṛṣṇa's mission for the world. Kṛṣṇa's mission for the world is: He's the Prabhu, He's the master, and we're all His jana—we're all His subordinate servants. Those who are ensconced in material energy and lost to the happiness of the spiritual world, Kṛṣṇa wants to reclaim, and that's His main purpose for creating the material world. And if you know that, then you can be an insider in spiritual life by helping Kṛṣṇa in His mission, by sharing Kṛṣṇa consciousness with other people. If you do that, then you become part of this phenomenon called sampradāya, giving the greatest gifts. There are lots and lots and lots—millions—of good causes in the world. Even in London, there are good causes, but there's only one great cause, and that is to take Kṛṣṇa consciousness while you're a human and you have the opportunity, and you give it to as many people as possible. And that's the spirit of the sampradāya. The more we take it ourselves through these five methods and feel the effect of it, the more you'll be enthusiastic to administer the medicine. That's a metaphor given often in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam: 'nivṛtta-tarṣair upagīyamānād bhavauṣadhāc chrotra-mano-'bhirāmāt' in which Śukadeva Gosvāmī describes how this is medicine. You're in a diseased condition, and hearing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is medicine. And you give the medicine to people if you see that there's a need for medicine, and you have it, and then you get a chance to distribute it, it's a very heartfelt service. Sometimes people don't know they need it, but they get it and then take it, and then they feel revived and then become eternally grateful, and they want to give it out also to other people. That's nice to see, right? So that's all part of this idea of sampradāya. It's a great life. It's the best life—is taking what's the most valuable, imbibing it for oneself so you feel genuinely qualified to recommend it to others, because you've taken it and you're taking it, and you feel the change in your life, and then you naturally just want to share it with other people. So it's not really a technique; it's just life—life in abundance. There is only one way to be abundant in life, and it's to think of Kṛṣṇa and chant Kṛṣṇa's names, have prasādam—this is abundant life—and then we share it with other people. And that's Lord Caitanya's mission, which is called audārya. ------------------------------------------------------------ To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Add to your wisdom literature collection: https://iskconsv.com/book-store/ https://www.bbtacademic.com/books/ https://thefourquestionsbook.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------
Just a reminder, there are thousands, tens of thousands, millions of scriptures. They have admonitions about what to do and what not to do. But when we come to our Vaiṣṇava śāstras, and it's repeated in the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī and agreed upon by our own ācāryas, there's only one purpose to all of them, and that's to somehow or other fix your mind on Kṛṣṇa. There's no other place where the mind is satisfied, anywhere in the three worlds. Doesn't matter where you go, how much you get, it won't be satisfied. It'll be disappointed. It'll be morose. And if you think of Kṛṣṇa, then naturally you'll feel satisfied and you'll achieve everything. Lucky for us, there's an all-encompassing and all-engrossing way that we can do that. It's just by chanting the holy name and bypassing the mind. Just let the name of Kṛṣṇa, which is non-different from Him, go directly into our minds and just hear the sound into our ears, and just hear the sound. So don't feel that you have to think of anything else. You don't. Yena kena prakāreṇa manaḥ kṛṣṇe niveśayet—one way or another, find a way just to fix your mind on Kṛṣṇa. That's the...that's the whole purpose. And chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa is the topmost way to do that. It's been vetted by all the great ācāryas. So feel free, just fix your mind on Kṛṣṇa. ------------------------------------------------------------ To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Add to your wisdom literature collection: https://iskconsv.com/book-store/ https://www.bbtacademic.com/books/ https://thefourquestionsbook.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Join us live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FanTheSpark/ Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sound-bhakti/id1132423868 For the latest videos, subscribe https://www.youtube.com/@FanTheSpark For the latest in SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/fan-the-spark ------------------------------------------------------------ #vaisesikaprabhu #vaisesikadasa #vaisesikaprabhulectures #spirituality #bhaktiyoga #krishna #spiritualpurposeoflife #krishnaspirituality #spiritualusachannel #whybhaktiisimportant #whyspiritualityisimportant #vaisesika #spiritualconnection #thepowerofspiritualstudy #selfrealization #spirituallectures #spiritualstudy #spiritualexperience #spiritualpurposeoflife #spiritualquestions #spiritualquestionsanswered #trendingspiritualtopics #fanthespark #spiritualpowerofmeditation #spiritualgrowthlessons #secretsofspirituality #spiritualteachersonyoutube #spiritualhabits #spiritualclarity #bhagavadgita #srimadbhagavatam #spiritualbeings #kttvg #keepthetranscendentalvibrationgoing #spiritualpurpose
Jīva Gosvāmī says in his Sandarbha that you can understand your own advancement by how eager you are to hear. It's not to say, "Okay, somebody's feeling not as inclined," but one must practice hearing on a regular daily basis until one begins to be attracted. The reason I'm not attracted to chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa or to hearing the pastimes is because of the effects of rajo-guṇa and tamo-guṇa within my mind, but 'śṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṇaḥ, puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtanaḥ, hṛdy antaḥ stho hy abhadrāṇi, vidhunoti suhṛt satām' (SB 1.2.17) - the effects of rajas and tamas are quickly dissipated by the hearing of Kṛṣṇa's pastimes and of ātma-tattva-jñāna, and one then desires to hear. And Jīva Gosvāmī says to the degree that one desires to hear about Kṛṣṇa in all the details, that's one of the other aspects. As you can tell from Parīkṣit Mahārāja, when he's inquiring from Śukadeva Gosvāmī, he wants to know about everything. Like, why did he ask that question? And Prabhupāda answers in his purport, was it because it's related to Kṛṣṇa, directly or indirectly anything related to Kṛṣṇa, he wants to know it. He wants to drink it with his ears. As we continue to hear, we'll also develop such an impetus to hear more and to hear the details, and that will develop into this same sense that Rāmdās Vipra has for hearing Rāmāyaṇa. Rūpa Gosvāmī then says, 'kṛṣṇa-bhakti-rasa-bhāvitā matiḥ, krīyatāṁ yadi kuto 'pi labhyate, tatra laulyam api mūlyam ekalaṁ, janma-koṭi-sukṛtair na labhyate (CC Madhya 8.70).' You can't get that kind of desire to hear about Kṛṣṇa from doing good works in this world, some sukṛti, because it's not the mode of goodness. You can cultivate the mode of goodness, but it won't bring you to this intense desire to hear about Kṛṣṇa, but by association of Vaiṣṇavas who are interested in hearing and by being patient and listening to Kṛṣṇa's book, to the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, to the Bhagavad-gītā, to the books that Prabhupāda gave us, entering again and again into hearing them, there will be a natural attraction, and that attraction, says Rūpa Gosvāmī, when it comes to a sense of greed—you can tell the intensity of Rāmdās Vipra, because he said, "I'd rather die than think about this idea of Sītā being touched by Rāvaṇa"—he was so absorbed in the pastime. When our desire is on the stove, or our practice is on the stove, and the fire is coming up, you can see from water—those who are cooks, they know there are different levels of temperature in the water. You can do it even without a thermometer. I know. My grandmother was a cook, and she was saying that when those tiny little bubbles come up, she said, "Okay, that's called smiling—the water smiling—because it's a little bit boiling," and then when it's raging, boiling, and it's spilling over, that's the topmost. As those different levels of desire we may have for devotional service, the intention is to hear until, well, you can feel it's smiling, like, "Yeah, I gotta get back there. I want to hear the class. I don't want to stand on the corner and gossip. I want to hear the kathā." And then it becomes more and more imperative to hear, and when it becomes laulyam, what's described as a kind of greed that you'll steal it wherever you can, and you can't do without it at any time, then he says, that's the price of admission into bhakti. I heard a story... https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/1/2/17/ https://vedabase.io/en/library/cc/madhya/8/70/ https://vedabase.io/en/library/cc/madhya/7/138/ ------------------------------------------------------------ To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Add to your wisdom literature collection: https://iskconsv.com/book-store/ https://www.bbtacademic.com/books/ https://thefourquestionsbook.com/
This is a great privilege to have specific knowledge of the entryway into The Lord's heart, as mentioned by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī in the book Laghu-bhāgavatāmṛta, that there are two means by which one's liṅga-śarīra, or subtle material body that holds one to the material world, is destroyed, and one can attain one's spiritual form. The first is by chanting Kṛṣṇa's names, and the second is by seeing Kṛṣṇa's beauty. And there's a way in which Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu describes nāmākārī bahudhā nija-sarva-śaktis, that The Lord's Names have His full potencies, which includes His beautiful form. In the teachings of Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, through the Harināma-cintāmaṇi, we find that the Lord has primary (mukhya) names and secondary (gauṇa) names. Primary names have to do with the creation of the world. In the description of the creation of the world, concentration is more about the living entity who's dependent on the Lord as Paramātmā to supply all needs. But beyond the material creation is The Lord's realm of līlā, where He Himself is interacting with His bhaktas. The names that relate to the Lord beyond the material creation, says Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, are called primary names, and these names are especially potent. By chanting these names, then one becomes aware of the full charm and beauty of Kṛṣṇa, and by that means one's heart is attracted away from the material world, and all the anarthas are destroyed within the heart, as mentioned in the 11th Canto of the Bhāgavatam, Second Chapter and 55th verse, which is the last verse in the chapter, the perfection of one's devotional service is mentioned: visṛjati hṛdayaṁ na yasya sākṣād dharir avaśābhihito 'py aghaugha-nāśaḥ praṇaya-rasanayā dhṛtāṅghri-padmaḥ sa bhavati bhāgavata-pradhāna uktaḥ It is said ukta pradhāna bhakta—the highest level of devotional service is achieved by one who chants The Holy Name of The Lord with love. Praṇaya means love. Rasanayā means ropes. Dhṛtāṅghri-padmaḥ means that one's able to tie Kṛṣṇa's lotus feet by chanting with love. https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/11/2/55/ ------------------------------------------------------------ To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Add to your wisdom literature collection: https://iskconsv.com/book-store/ https://www.bbtacademic.com/books/ https://thefourquestionsbook.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Join us live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FanTheSpark/ Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sound-bhakti/id1132423868 For the latest videos, subscribe https://www.youtube.com/@FanTheSpark For the latest in SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/fan-the-spark ------------------------------------------------------------ #makejapagreatagain #mantra #mantrameditation #chantharekrishnaandbehappy #vaisesikaprabhu #vaisesikadasa #vaisesikaprabhulectures #spirituality #bhaktiyoga #krishna #spiritualpurposeoflife #krishnaspirituality #spiritualusachannel #whybhaktiisimportant #whyspiritualityisimportant #vaisesika #spiritualconnection #thepowerofspiritualstudy #selfrealization #spirituallectures #spiritualstudy #spiritualexperience #spiritualpurposeoflife #spiritualquestions #spiritualquestionsanswered #trendingspiritualtopics #fanthespark #spiritualpowerofmeditation #spiritualgrowthlessons #secretsofspirituality #spiritualteachersonyoutube #spiritualhabits #spiritualclarity #bhagavadgita #srimadbhagavatam #spiritualbeings #kttvg #keepthetranscendentalvibrationgoing #spiritualpurpose
We find in the case of Śiśupāla, a couple of things happen as he took birth. He was also extremely opulent. You may have noticed in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Śiśupāla was materially no slouch. He was practically described as more opulent than Kṛṣṇa. He had so much opulence he was killed by Rāmacandra in his next life. He had all these assets, and we all know that when he was a little child, he began saying the Lord's Names, and it's a chanting, but he was blaspheming Kṛṣṇa. He still had this hatred towards the Lord, and in his last act at the Rājasūya Yajña, where he tried to ruin the whole yajña, he waited till the perfect time to stand up and say, "Kṛṣṇa is not qualified," because previously, they could have taken back the yajña, but after it was already finished, and he said, if they had followed him and said Kṛṣṇa wasn't qualified to be the first one worshiped in this yajña, it would have nullified the whole rājasūya. So he was diabolical in his calculation, because he hated Kṛṣṇa so much, and he stood up in the assembly and began blaspheming Kṛṣṇa. So what happened there? Kṛṣṇa artfully cut off his head—artfully, I say because it was a yajña, he didn't want to spill any blood. So He's so precise in the way He chopped off his head. Sorry, I know it's a family show that no blood hit the ground. What's deeper and what's related to this conversation is that Śiśupāla, in the last moment before his head was severed, drank the beauty of the face of Lord Kṛṣṇa. What's more, he had been chanting Kṛṣṇa's names, and this I brought up at the Japa circle this morning, as mentioned by Rūpa Gosvāmī, there are two main ways that one becomes perfect in this life: one is by saying the names of the Lord, and the other is by seeing His beauty, because it's unparalleled. Rūpa Gosvāmī uses this as proof because Hiraṇyakaśipu saw Lord Nṛsiṁhadev, Rāvaṇa saw Lord Rāmacandra—no liberation. But when Śiśupāla saw Kṛṣṇa and chanted His names, he was liberated at that point. So there's a way in which Kṛṣṇa is Bhagavān Svayam. We have the description of Lord Rāmacandra within the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, but it's by way of comparison to take us through the rasas and bring us to the ultimate conclusion that Kṛṣṇa is the reservoir of all rasas. What's more, His beauty is incomparable even to His other forms. Let's not get it wrong. They're all Kṛṣṇa, but only Kṛṣṇa is Kṛṣṇa, and only those killed by Kṛṣṇa are completely liberated. (excerpt from the talk) ------------------------------------------------------------ To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Add to your wisdom literature collection: https://iskconsv.com/book-store/ https://www.bbtacademic.com/books/ https://thefourquestionsbook.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Join us live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FanTheSpark/ Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sound-bhakti/id1132423868 For the latest videos, subscribe https://www.youtube.com/@FanTheSpark For the latest in SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/fan-the-spark ------------------------------------------------------------ #vaisesikaprabhu #vaisesikadasa #vaisesikaprabhulectures #ramayan #rama #ramanavmi #spirituality #bhaktiyoga #krishna #spiritualpurposeoflife #krishnaspirituality #spiritualusachannel #whybhaktiisimportant #whyspiritualityisimportant #vaisesika #spiritualconnection #thepowerofspiritualstudy #selfrealization #spirituallectures #spiritualstudy #spiritualexperience #spiritualpurposeoflife #spiritualquestions #spiritualquestionsanswered #trendingspiritualtopics #fanthespark #spiritualpowerofmeditation #spiritualgrowthlessons #secretsofspirituality #spiritualteachersonyoutube #spiritualhabits #spiritualclarity #bhagavadgita #srimadbhagavatam #spiritualbeings #kttvg #keepthetranscendentalvibrationgoing #spiritualpurpose
You might feel overwhelmed by circumstances, if that's ever happened to anybody, because there's a lot of pressure to perform in the world, academically, socially, and when we take to the water of hearing and chanting, like we're doing here on Youth Jam, it's a natural way we feel revived. What to speak of, we grow. I mean, there are so many ways in which, by watering the heart and the seed within the heart, which is the sincerity to become closer, to come closer to Kṛṣṇa, then it happens quite naturally, as naturally as when you water a plant, it grows. Some of the ways that are naturally effective are to hear in the association of like-minded devotees who are more advanced than oneself. That was a suggestion that Caitanya Mahāprabhu gave to Sanātana Gosvāmī, and it's also mentioned in the Bhāgavatam, a phrase that I picked out when reading Prabhupāda's purports. He said that the holes of the ear appear to be very small, but actually, once the sound goes in, it's as big as the sky. It's unlimited. It's not that you'll fill up, "I've heard enough and now that's it," but you can continue hearing and hearing, you'll never find a satiation point. So, these two points are helpful in calibrating how we continue our devotional service and how to position ourselves so we make advancement here, in the association of like-minded devotees who are more advanced than oneself. If you're the smartest one in the room, you're in the wrong room. Try to be in the room where there are people more advanced than you. (excerpt from the presentation) ------------------------------------------------------------ To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Add to your wisdom literature collection: https://iskconsv.com/book-store/ https://www.bbtacademic.com/books/ https://thefourquestionsbook.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Join us live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FanTheSpark/ Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sound-bhakti/id1132423868 For the latest videos, subscribe https://www.youtube.com/@FanTheSpark For the latest in SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/fan-the-spark ------------------------------------------------------------ #vaisesikaprabhu #vaisesikadasa #vaisesikaprabhulectures #spirituality #bhaktiyoga #krishna #spiritualpurposeoflife #krishnaspirituality #spiritualusachannel #whybhaktiisimportant #whyspiritualityisimportant #vaisesika #spiritualconnection #thepowerofspiritualstudy #selfrealization #spirituallectures #spiritualstudy #spiritualexperience #spiritualpurposeoflife #spiritualquestions #spiritualquestionsanswered #trendingspiritualtopics #fanthespark #spiritualpowerofmeditation #spiritualgrowthlessons #secretsofspirituality #spiritualteachersonyoutube #spiritualhabits #spiritualclarity #bhagavadgita #srimadbhagavatam #spiritualbeings #kttvg #keepthetranscendentalvibrationgoing #spiritualpurpose
I was just thinking Kṛṣṇa consciousness means Kṛṣṇa's family, and all of the elements that everyone's looking for in their life, for loving exchanges, is there in Kṛṣṇa's pastimes with His mother, His father, His friends, and so forth, but also in the association with devotees. We have Godbrothers, Godsisters, nephews, aunts, uncles, grandchildren—everything's there, only on a spiritual platform. And so I was just appreciating, I could say, after many years in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, that one of the aspects that I relish the most is being with my Godbrothers or Godsisters. And as time goes on, it becomes more relishable, because it's obviously rarer. There are fewer of us. So just thinking to say, take advantage of the deep friendships that you have, the loving exchanges. Rūpa Gosvāmī puts it in his book on devotional service, and says, "dadāti pratigṛhṇāti, guhyam ākhyāti pṛcchati, bhuṅkte bhojayate caiva, ṣaḍ-vidhaṁ prīti-lakṣaṇam"—that have these loving exchanges with the devotees, because it's a mainstay of the process of devotional service. Do you agree? Do you want to say anything about it? (excerpt from the talk) ------------------------------------------------------------ To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Add to your wisdom literature collection: https://iskconsv.com/book-store/ https://www.bbtacademic.com/books/ https://thefourquestionsbook.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Join us live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FanTheSpark/ Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sound-bhakti/id1132423868 For the latest videos, subscribe https://www.youtube.com/@FanTheSpark For the latest in SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/fan-the-spark ------------------------------------------------------------ #vaisesikaprabhu #vaisesikadasa #vaisesikaprabhulectures #spirituality #bhaktiyoga #krishna #spiritualpurposeoflife #krishnaspirituality #spiritualusachannel #whybhaktiisimportant #whyspiritualityisimportant #vaisesika #spiritualconnection #thepowerofspiritualstudy #selfrealization #spirituallectures #spiritualstudy #spiritualexperience #spiritualpurposeoflife #spiritualquestions #spiritualquestionsanswered #trendingspiritualtopics #fanthespark #spiritualpowerofmeditation #spiritualgrowthlessons #secretsofspirituality #spiritualteachersonyoutube #spiritualhabits #spiritualclarity #bhagavadgita #srimadbhagavatam #spiritualbeings #kttvg #keepthetranscendentalvibrationgoing #spiritualpurpose
The word sampradāya has a specific meaning, which is a bequeathment, which means to pass down, and in this case, the greatest gift. And we are a sampradāya of givers, and what we give very specifically—because, although there are many ways that one can try to help others—we give the light of knowledge through the Guru paramparā's teachings so that people can extricate themselves from the material world, as Caitanya Mahāprabhu taught Sanātana Gosvāmī: māyā-mugdha jīvera nāhi svataḥ kṛṣṇa-jñāna—it's not automatic, not svataḥ, that people come out of ignorance. But when jīvera kṛpayā koila kṛṣṇa veda-purāṇa, there's an intervention of knowledge. Then living beings who are within the portal of a human body can very readily come to their senses, and we see it very often, don't we? In book distribution, when somebody makes a U-turn in their life just after getting even a smidgen of information—I know it happened for me. (Excerpt from the presentation) ------------------------------------------------------------ To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Add to your wisdom literature collection: https://iskconsv.com/book-store/ https://www.bbtacademic.com/books/ https://thefourquestionsbook.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Join us live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FanTheSpark/ Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sound-bhakti/id1132423868 For the latest videos, subscribe https://www.youtube.com/@FanTheSpark For the latest in SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/fan-the-spark ------------------------------------------------------------ #vaisesikaprabhu #vaisesikadasa #vaisesikaprabhulectures #spirituality #bhaktiyoga #krishna #spiritualpurposeoflife #krishnaspirituality #spiritualusachannel #whybhaktiisimportant #whyspiritualityisimportant #vaisesika #spiritualconnection #thepowerofspiritualstudy #selfrealization #spirituallectures #spiritualstudy #spiritualexperience #spiritualpurposeoflife #spiritualquestions #spiritualquestionsanswered #trendingspiritualtopics #fanthespark #spiritualpowerofmeditation #spiritualgrowthlessons #secretsofspirituality #spiritualteachersonyoutube #spiritualhabits #spiritualclarity #bhagavadgita #srimadbhagavatam #spiritualbeings #kttvg #keepthetranscendentalvibrationgoing #spiritualpurpose
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura has kept his place of bhajana here, and the name Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta is indicative of his personality. As we hear from the Ādi-līlā of the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Kavirāja Gosvāmī gives this admonition: siddhānta baliyā citte nā kara alasa, ihā ha-ite kṛṣṇe lāge sudṛḍha mānasa—that in order to have a determined mind, one's mind has to be determined. One has to be determined to carry on with one's devotional service. And actually, the word "determine" has the word "terminus" in it, meaning you have to finish what you started. You can't stop, despite the fact there may be obstacles. And in the verse, Kavirāja Gosvāmī says you shouldn't be lazy. 'Alasa ' means to be neglectful, lazy about what? About discussing the nuances of our relationship with Kṛṣṇa and the meaning of life. siddhānta baliyā citte nā kara alasa—don't be lazy. Face the hard questions. Discuss them, even if there is some difference of opinion, and there always is. Discuss it, as Prabhupāda used the phrase, "thoroughly threadbare." We should come together, he said also before he left the world, and hear Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam together and discuss it, and in that way, your questions will be answered. So, siddhānta baliyā citte nā kara alasa, ihā ha-ite kṛṣṇe lāge sudṛḍha mānasa —that in this way, in this world, you'll be able to stay steady despite the anomalies that all of us face, which we were discussing when we were over by the Gopīnātha Mandir. (excerpt from the talk) ------------------------------------------------------------ To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Add to your wisdom literature collection: https://iskconsv.com/book-store/ https://www.bbtacademic.com/books/ https://thefourquestionsbook.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Join us live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FanTheSpark/ Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sound-bhakti/id1132423868 For the latest videos, subscribe https://www.youtube.com/@FanTheSpark For the latest in SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/fan-the-spark ------------------------------------------------------------ #vaisesikaprabhu #vaisesikadasa #vaisesikaprabhulectures #spirituality #bhaktiyoga #krishna #spiritualpurposeoflife #krishnaspirituality #spiritualusachannel #whybhaktiisimportant #whyspiritualityisimportant #vaisesika #spiritualconnection #thepowerofspiritualstudy #selfrealization #spirituallectures #spiritualstudy #spiritualexperience #spiritualpurposeoflife #spiritualquestions #spiritualquestionsanswered #trendingspiritualtopics #fanthespark #spiritualpowerofmeditation #spiritualgrowthlessons #secretsofspirituality #spiritualteachersonyoutube #spiritualhabits #spiritualclarity #bhagavadgita #srimadbhagavatam #spiritualbeings #kttvg #keepthetranscendentalvibrationgoing #spiritualpurpose
There's a devotee named Sudāma who dressed up as a Hare Kṛṣṇa in Hawaii for Halloween. And on a dare, his friends told him, "Why don't you jump in the van with the Hare Kṛṣṇas?" because they go out chanting on Halloween. And being a joker or a prankster, he jumped in, and then he took it a step further by getting in the van with them and going home and taking prasādam. And it was all fun and games, and it was to impress his friends. Then he found himself on the other side of the world. He was back in Boston, going to school, and he became very depressed about his life. And then he met a devotee who had a book table, and he got a book, and then he remembered his experience with the Hare Kṛṣṇas. So, in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, there's a description—the gopīs talk about Kṛṣṇa as being very sticky. They say, "Be careful of Him, because He's like mango sap. If you get mango sap in your hair, you just got to chop it off, because you're not going to get it out. It won't come out—mango sap!" So they said, "Kṛṣṇa is like mango sap. He gets in you and you can't get Him off." And Rūpa Gosvāmī says, yad-ābhāso 'py udyan kavalita-bhava-dhvānta-vibhavaḥ"- even if somebody is in complete abject darkness and ignorance, if they hear "Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare, Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare," then Rūpa Gosvāmī says that even that person in complete ignorance, they get a feeling for bhakti. It awakens in their heart because the holy name goes in their ears. It dances in their heart and it awakens their sense of bhakti. (excerpt from the talk) ------------------------------------------------------------ To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Add to your wisdom literature collection: https://iskconsv.com/book-store/ https://www.bbtacademic.com/books/ https://thefourquestionsbook.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Join us live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FanTheSpark/ Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sound-bhakti/id1132423868 For the latest videos, subscribe https://www.youtube.com/@FanTheSpark For the latest in SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/fan-the-spark ------------------------------------------------------------ #vaisesikaprabhu #vaisesikadasa #vaisesikaprabhulectures #spirituality #bhaktiyoga #krishna #spiritualpurposeoflife #krishnaspirituality #spiritualusachannel #whybhaktiisimportant #whyspiritualityisimportant #vaisesika #spiritualconnection #thepowerofspiritualstudy #selfrealization #spirituallectures #spiritualstudy #spiritualexperience #spiritualpurposeoflife #spiritualquestions #spiritualquestionsanswered #trendingspiritualtopics #fanthespark #spiritualpowerofmeditation #spiritualgrowthlessons #secretsofspirituality #spiritualteachersonyoutube #spiritualhabits #spiritualclarity #bhagavadgita #srimadbhagavatam #spiritualbeings #kttvg #keepthetranscendentalvibrationgoing #spiritualpurpose
Śrī Īśopaniṣad, everyone knows the verse, 'vāyur anilam amṛtam, athedaṁ bhasmāntaṁ śarīram, oṁ krato smara kṛtaṁ smara, krato smara kṛtaṁ smara (mantra 17).' Let this temporary body be burned to ashes. Let the air of life be merged with the totality of air. Now, my Lord, please remember all my sacrifices, and because You are the ultimate beneficiary, please remember all that I have done for You. And in his purport, Prabhupāda says you don't have to remind the Lord; He knows what you've done for Him. And one of the things you can do for Him is come to His hometown. There are verses in the Bṛhat-bhāgavatāmṛta—they're so touching,about coming to the Dhāma. Those who come to the region of the district of Mathurā and just visit there, Kṛṣṇa takes it personally. "He came to My hometown!" After all, how does it feel if somebody went to your hometown? If somebody hears I'm from Coimbatore, and they say, "Coimbatore!" And they go, "Coimbatore!" Who said Coimbatore? I'm from Coimbatore! So Kṛṣṇa appreciates. In fact, there's a verse that Prabhupāda quotes in the next devotion, that Rūpa Gosvāmī obviously quotes, saying somebody comes to the district of Mathurā during Kārtika, even if they're not very serious. But if they're serious enough, or lucky enough, to get on the train and get there for Kārtika, and they just hang around, maybe offer a lamp, He said, then Kṛṣṇa takes that personally. (excerpt from the talk) ----------------------------------------------------------- To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Add to your wisdom literature collection: https://iskconsv.com/book-store/ https://www.bbtacademic.com/books/ https://thefourquestionsbook.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Join us live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FanTheSpark/ Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sound-bhakti/id1132423868 For the latest videos, subscribe https://www.youtube.com/@FanTheSpark For the latest in SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/fan-the-spark ------------------------------------------------------------ #vaisesikaprabhu #vaisesikadasa #vaisesikaprabhulectures #spirituality #bhaktiyoga #krishna #spiritualpurposeoflife #krishnaspirituality #spiritualusachannel #whybhaktiisimportant #whyspiritualityisimportant #vaisesika #spiritualconnection #thepowerofspiritualstudy #selfrealization #spirituallectures #spiritualstudy #spiritualexperience #spiritualpurposeoflife #spiritualquestions #spiritualquestionsanswered #trendingspiritualtopics #fanthespark #spiritualpowerofmeditation #spiritualgrowthlessons #secretsofspirituality #spiritualteachersonyoutube #spiritualhabits #spiritualclarity #bhagavadgita #srimadbhagavatam #spiritualbeings #kttvg #keepthetranscendentalvibrationgoing #spiritualpurpose
Those who take shelter of Lord Nityānanda Prabhu, who is merciful to all, He is called adoṣa-darśī. He doesn't see the faults in anyone. Adoṣa-darśī means anyone who approaches Him with some eagerness in his or her heart to serve, He empowers them and gives them pure devotional service, which is impossible to get otherwise. So the process of devotional service comes through eka-cakra and comes through Nityānanda and Gaura. Without approaching Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityānanda, it's impossible to enter into Vṛndāvana. Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura writes in his famous bhajan about how when one dives into the ocean of the pastimes of Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityānanda, which are the pastimes of saṅkīrtana, then one comes out on the shore of the ocean of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa pastimes. So, by performing vaidhī bhakti over many, many lifetimes, one may attain Vaikuṇṭha, says Kavirāja Gosvāmī. But if one approaches Lord Nityānanda and Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu in service in the saṅkīrtana movement, then one can easily come to the highest position in the spiritual world, Goloka Vṛndāvana, where spontaneous love is flowing. (excerpt from the talk) ------------------------------------------------------------ To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Add to your wisdom literature collection: https://iskconsv.com/book-store/ https://www.bbtacademic.com/books/ https://thefourquestionsbook.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Join us live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FanTheSpark/ Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sound-bhakti/id1132423868 For the latest videos, subscribe https://www.youtube.com/@FanTheSpark For the latest in SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/fan-the-spark ------------------------------------------------------------ #vaisesikaprabhu #vaisesikadasa #vaisesikaprabhulectures #spirituality #bhaktiyoga #krishna #spiritualpurposeoflife #krishnaspirituality #spiritualusachannel #whybhaktiisimportant #whyspiritualityisimportant #vaisesika #spiritualconnection #thepowerofspiritualstudy #selfrealization #spirituallectures #spiritualstudy #spiritualexperience #spiritualpurposeoflife #spiritualquestions #spiritualquestionsanswered #trendingspiritualtopics #fanthespark #spiritualpowerofmeditation #spiritualgrowthlessons #secretsofspirituality #spiritualteachersonyoutube #spiritualhabits #spiritualclarity #bhagavadgita #srimadbhagavatam #spiritualbeings #kttvg #keepthetranscendentalvibrationgoing #spiritualpurpose
Compassion is one of the features of Advaita Ācārya, and also this idea of servitude towards the Lord, where he declares, "caitanyera dāsa muñi, caitanyera dāsa," (CC Adi 6.86) that "I am a servant of Lord Caitanya. I'm the servant of Lord Caitanya. I'm the servant of Lord Caitanya. I am the servant of the servants." And this is the foundation for perfection in spiritual life—that is, to come to this position of being a servitor. Fortunately, we have Chaitanya Mahāprabhu to worship in this mood of servitorship. And there's nobody better than Lord Caitanya. He's Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa combined. Kavirāja Gosvāmī said he's the Deity of the paramahaṁsas. So if we engage ourselves in His service and emulate the mood of Advaita Ācārya, which was showing compassion to the living entities in Kali Yuga, helping to spread the saṅkīrtana movement, then through that method given to us by Advaita Ācārya, we can attain the perfection of devotional service. (excerpt from the talk) https://vedabase.io/en/library/cc/adi/6/86/ ------------------------------------------------------------ To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Add to your wisdom literature collection: https://iskconsv.com/book-store/ https://www.bbtacademic.com/books/ https://thefourquestionsbook.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Join us live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FanTheSpark/ Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sound-bhakti/id1132423868 For the latest videos, subscribe https://www.youtube.com/@FanTheSpark For the latest in SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/fan-the-spark ------------------------------------------------------------ #vaisesikaprabhu #vaisesikadasa #vaisesikaprabhulectures #spirituality #bhaktiyoga #krishna #spiritualpurposeoflife #krishnaspirituality #spiritualusachannel #whybhaktiisimportant #whyspiritualityisimportant #vaisesika #spiritualconnection #thepowerofspiritualstudy #selfrealization #spirituallectures #spiritualstudy #spiritualexperience #spiritualpurposeoflife #spiritualquestions #spiritualquestionsanswered #trendingspiritualtopics #fanthespark #spiritualpowerofmeditation #spiritualgrowthlessons #secretsofspirituality #spiritualteachersonyoutube #spiritualhabits #spiritualclarity #bhagavadgita #srimadbhagavatam #spiritualbeings #kttvg #keepthetranscendentalvibrationgoing #spiritualpurpose
So, one point that Rūpa Gosvāmī makes about the practice of bhakti is that one should never assume that one knows why one is doing it. And it's always a good question to say, 'Why am I doing this?' before engaging in a practice of bhakti. So, I have a question that we can entertain over the next couple of minutes: Why are you here? Why are you chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa today? But you've got to back it up with some kind of scriptural reference. ------------------------------------------------------------ To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Add to your wisdom literature collection: https://iskconsv.com/book-store/ https://www.bbtacademic.com/books/ https://thefourquestionsbook.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Join us live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FanTheSpark/ Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sound-bhakti/id1132423868 For the latest videos, subscribe https://www.youtube.com/@FanTheSpark For the latest in SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/fan-the-spark ------------------------------------------------------------ #vaisesikaprabhu #vaisesikadasa #vaisesikaprabhulectures #spirituality #bhaktiyoga #krishna #spiritualpurposeoflife #krishnaspirituality #spiritualusachannel #whybhaktiisimportant #whyspiritualityisimportant #vaisesika #spiritualconnection #thepowerofspiritualstudy #selfrealization #spirituallectures #spiritualstudy #spiritualexperience #spiritualpurposeoflife #spiritualquestions #spiritualquestionsanswered #trendingspiritualtopics #fanthespark #spiritualpowerofmeditation #spiritualgrowthlessons #secretsofspirituality #spiritualteachersonyoutube #spiritualhabits #spiritualclarity #bhagavadgita #srimadbhagavatam #spiritualbeings #kttvg #keepthetranscendentalvibrationgoing #spiritualpurpose
Wi-Fi, the farther away you are, the less you get a connection. So by the pure faith and in the Holy Name and having sādhu-saṅga and chanting the primary names, one can very quickly become advanced. But if our chanting is weak or distracted or influenced by aparādha, covered by offenses, then the process is very slow. And that's dangerous, because there's a way in which I might think, "Well, it's not working, therefore it doesn't, it's imagination." Fifth defense. So Rūpa Gosvāmī says that we have to be careful of this. Niyamāgraha said, "Don't just chant for the sake of chanting without getting a result." In other words, we have some responsibility, not that. How come the name didn't deliver me? I have to also be eager and attentive and very enthusiastic to chant. And then we'll feel the reciprocation from Kṛṣṇa, and we'll be able to overcome the fifth offense, or thinking that it's imaginary. And maybe I'll just do something else. I'll read the encyclopedia, or something. (excerpt from the talk) ------------------------------------------------------------ To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Add to your wisdom literature collection: https://iskconsv.com/book-store/ https://www.bbtacademic.com/books/ https://thefourquestionsbook.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Join us live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FanTheSpark/ Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sound-bhakti/id1132423868 For the latest videos, subscribe https://www.youtube.com/@FanTheSpark For the latest in SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/fan-the-spark ------------------------------------------------------------ #vaisesikaprabhu #vaisesikadasa #vaisesikaprabhulectures #spirituality #bhaktiyoga #krishna #spiritualpurposeoflife #krishnaspirituality #spiritualusachannel #whybhaktiisimportant #whyspiritualityisimportant #vaisesika #spiritualconnection #thepowerofspiritualstudy #selfrealization #spirituallectures #spiritualstudy #spiritualexperience #spiritualpurposeoflife #spiritualquestions #spiritualquestionsanswered #trendingspiritualtopics #fanthespark #spiritualpowerofmeditation #spiritualgrowthlessons #secretsofspirituality #spiritualteachersonyoutube #spiritualhabits #spiritualclarity #bhagavadgita #srimadbhagavatam #spiritualbeings #kttvg #keepthetranscendentalvibrationgoing #spiritualpurpose
Anybody need an attitude lift? Yes, lift your attitude. One, two, three, lift. So much of our progress has to do with our attitude, and it's easy to get pushed down by the three modes of material nature. The way to rise above it is by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. And I'm going to repeat the first verse that came from the Antya Līlā, Caitanya-caritāmṛta, written by Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī. Simply by chanting The Holy Name of Lord Kṛṣṇa, one can be freed from all undesirable habits. Simply by chanting The Holy Name of Lord Kṛṣṇa, one can be freed from all undesirable habits. That's what everybody's talking about and preparing for: how can I overcome undesirable habits? There are millions of self-help books, courses, psychology majors, everything. How can I overcome undesirable habits? But this one process, chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa is the way to rise above it. Correct. Who can prove it with śāstra? Give me a Sanskrit verse. Why does it work? Because we're not blind followers. We need evidence. (excerpt from the talk) https://vedabase.io/en/library/cc/antya/20/11/ ------------------------------------------------------------ To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Add to your wisdom literature collection: https://iskconsv.com/book-store/ https://www.bbtacademic.com/books/ https://thefourquestionsbook.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Join us live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FanTheSpark/ Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sound-bhakti/id1132423868 For the latest videos, subscribe https://www.youtube.com/@FanTheSpark For the latest in SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/fan-the-spark ------------------------------------------------------------ #vaisesikaprabhu #vaisesikadasa #vaisesikaprabhulectures #spirituality #bhaktiyoga #krishna #spiritualpurposeoflife #krishnaspirituality #spiritualusachannel #whybhaktiisimportant #whyspiritualityisimportant #vaisesika #spiritualconnection #thepowerofspiritualstudy #selfrealization #spirituallectures #spiritualstudy #spiritualexperience #spiritualpurposeoflife #spiritualquestions #spiritualquestionsanswered #trendingspiritualtopics #fanthespark #spiritualpowerofmeditation #spiritualgrowthlessons #secretsofspirituality #spiritualteachersonyoutube #spiritualhabits #spiritualclarity #bhagavadgita #srimadbhagavatam #spiritualbeings #kttvg #keepthetranscendentalvibrationgoing #spiritualpurpose
I was thinking about how today, in the world because people don't know this. This means they don't know that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Everything emanates from Him. They try to solve the problems of life through their own devices. They make adjustments—politically, economically, physically, socially—and all of them create more complications. That is, when we try to solve our problems through our own intellects, we always create more problems. This is something Prahlād Mahārāj mentions in his prayers to Lord Nṛsiṁhadev, that the so-called remedies of this world are often times worse than the disease itself. And so, while I was reading the Puruṣa Sūkta, I was thinking how the ultimate solution to life always traces back to what Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā: "man-manā bhava mad-bhakto (18.65) – Just remember Me." In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Kavirāja Gosvāmī mentions that if you remember Lord Caitanya, then difficult things become easy. And if you forget Him, then what should become simple becomes very complicated (CC Adi 14.1).Near the end of the Puruṣa Sūkta, it is mentioned in a benedictory verse that anyone who becomes aware of The Supreme Puruṣa, who is the source of this manifested world, becomes liberated. It's something that Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā also, everything's there in the Gītā, right? (excerpt from the talk) https://vedabase.io/en/library/cc/adi/14/1/ ------------------------------------------------------------ To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Add to your wisdom literature collection: https://iskconsv.com/book-store/ https://www.bbtacademic.com/books/ https://thefourquestionsbook.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Join us live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FanTheSpark/ Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sound-bhakti/id1132423868 For the latest videos, subscribe https://www.youtube.com/@FanTheSpark For the latest in SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/fan-the-spark ------------------------------------------------------------ #vaisesikaprabhu #vaisesikadasa #vaisesikaprabhulectures #spirituality #bhaktiyoga #krishna #spiritualpurposeoflife #krishnaspirituality #spiritualusachannel #whybhaktiisimportant #whyspiritualityisimportant #vaisesika #spiritualconnection #thepowerofspiritualstudy #selfrealization #spirituallectures #spiritualstudy #spiritualexperience #spiritualpurposeoflife #spiritualquestions #spiritualquestionsanswered #trendingspiritualtopics #fanthespark #spiritualpowerofmeditation #spiritualgrowthlessons #secretsofspirituality #spiritualteachersonyoutube #spiritualhabits #spiritualclarity #bhagavadgita #srimadbhagavatam #spiritualbeings #kttvg #keepthetranscendentalvibrationgoing #spiritualpurpose
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