Tag: sraddha

I have some doubt about Bhaktivinoda Thakura's explanation of the jiva. I would be very grateful if you could please enlighten me on this subject.

How should we chant the Holy Name of Krsna? What should be our mood and what should be our meditation?

Faith is the basis of all things and as we advance spiritually then our faith also develops and grows. In Vedic philosophy faith is not an abstract or impersonal concept, it is not a state of mind but an energy that stimulates the heart and confirms the spiritual path for the devotee. Faith in its purest form is the halo of Srimati Radharani, by the light of which we may understand Krsna.

"Don’t feel discouraged, Krsna and His devotees are reaching out to you. They are reaching to embrace you. Their causeless mercy is our greatest fortune. For some reason unbeknownst to us, we have this opportunity. We are being canvased into that sankirtana , as He has appeared as Mahaprabhu."

During a recent visit to Europe I had some informal discussions about religious conceptions with other Gaudiya Vaisnavas and I was surprised to hear some devotees speak about such groups as the Sufis, Whirling Dervishes, Jews, Christians, Catholics, Orthodox Christians and Muslims as being deeply 'surrendered' souls. Of course, generally speaking this may be true – but surrendered to what?

"Guru Maharaja, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, preached exclusively this Madhurya-rasa, but with great precaution. What is not that thing, he used perhaps 90% of his energy to point out the negative side - "This is not Madhurya-rasa" - and clear away the negative side. He had to spare, in his words, 'gallons of blood' to establish what is not that Madhurya-rasa."

I have heard it said recently by some devotees that the origin of the jiva (regarding the soul's falling or not falling from the lila of Krsna) is inconceivable and that we cannot imagine or understand how or from where the soul has come into this material world. Can you please comment on this controversial topic?

I have heard it said that there are some gaps in the list of names in the Gaudiya parampara and that some of the names given there are actually fictitious names of personalities that never really existed. Do you think this could be true?

After Gaura Hari, who descended to purify this age of Kali, made Himself invisible to the eyes of the world, the preaching of His religion of love carried on more or less uninterruptedly up until the time of Baladeva Vidyabhushan. In the time that followed, though there were still many advanced devotees present on the planet, a period of darkness descended on Mahaprabhu’s school of devotion. Many heterodox sects came into existence that vocally claimed to be following Mahaprabhu, but in fact were simply using His name to promote their own false doctrines.

In the eleventh Canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam, we find the instructive story of the brahmana of Avantipura who had previously been a miserly businessman. He was so cantankerous and prone to anger that his wife, children, relatives and servants all despised him. In due course, the avariciousness of the brahmana bore its fateful fruit.

The primary characteristic of a disciple who has received initiation and direction in the practice of worship from his spiritual master is visrambha, an honest desire for faithful and loving service to the spiritual master, the Vaishnavas and the Supreme Lord. The secondary characteristic is that he seeks to destroy all his sinful activities.

One has to first engage in hearing the Names of the Lord so that the mind and intelligence are purified. After this one can begin hearing about Krsna's form through which one's qualifications to visualize it becomes possible.