Q: Is Jiva Institute a Gauḍīya organization?
A: Yes, of course it is.

Q: Is it related to Iskcon?
A: No. Jiva institute traces its lineage back to Śrī Gadādhara Pandit Goswami, who was Mahāprabhu’s close associate and confidante.

Q: What is Jiva Institute’s paraṁparā?
A: As I mentioned, we trace our lineage to Pandit Goswami.

Q: Is it run by Babajis? Are they bonafide?
A: The word ‘Babaji’ is a respectful address. These days, the word ‘Babaji’ is used as a pejorative by some Gauḍīyas. Being a Babaji simply means someone who has taken veṣa, or the vairāgi order. Jiva institute was founded by and is run by Dr. Satyanarayana dasa Babaji. He is an IITian (mechanical engineer), and the world’s top scholar of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism. Read about him here.

Q: So he is a sannyasi?
A: No. Sannyasa, which involves wearing saffron and carrying the daṇḍa, is not traditionally a practice in Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism – it is a new thing that has become prevalent in some organizations.

Q: What are the rules of Jiva institute? Are there rules regarding who to hear and who to avoid? Should we only hear from Jiva institute speakers?
A: There are no such rules. The reason people come to hear from Babaji is because he is a scholar without parallel. He has translated Śrī Jīva Goswami’s Sandarbhas into English. The Sandarbhas are the foundation of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism.

Q: So we can hear from speakers outside Jiva institute?
A: Babaji has only one rule for residents at Jiva institute: do not quarrel with each other! There is no other rule. At Jiva institute, no one is afraid of losing members to other organizations. It is easy to see why – if Albert Einstein is teaching you relativity, would you wish to go learn it from someone else? And if you do, would Einstein care?

Q: Who is his guru?
A: Śrī Haridāsa Śastrī Maharāja. We call him Maharajji. He was the topmost scholar of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism of the last century. Read about him here.

Q: How did you come to Jiva institute?
A: I was searching for an authentic guru, who was part of an authentic Gauḍīya paraṁparā, and who focused on the Goswamis writings. In any sampradāya, one studies the original writings of the founders of that sampradāya. For example, Śrī Rāmānujācārya’s books are the basis for the Śrī Vaiṣṇava sampradāya, and they are the main object of study. In my search for an authentic teacher of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism, I found no one who was teaching the Sandarbhas, or the Bhakti rasāmrta Sindhu, or the Bhāgavatam, directly from the Sanskrit, while also teaching the Sanskrit commentaries. I know only one person – Babaji – who teaches in this way today. He sits on the dais with a book in Sanskrit, and starts reading from it – on any topic – nyāya, Bhāgavata, vyākaraṇa, sānkhya and so on. What a wonderful thing!

Q: Does he do any kathā beyond the Sanskrit commentaries?
A: No. He has no interest in ‘preaching’ or other types of inspirational talks. He is steeped in scripture. I often think that if Śrī Jīva Goswami were to walk among us today, he would be very similar to Babaji. They are both consummate scholars. They are well-versed in all the six darśanas. And like Babaji, Śrī Jīva Goswami had no other interest than to study and teach śāstra.

Q: What is Babaji like?
A: Babaji’s personality is very easy going – he comes across as a kindly uncle who may be your next door neighbor. No airs. No theatrical acting like you see from youtube preachers. No threats. No thundering about what to read and whom to hear. No emotional manipulation and no falsehoods. No falsity – just truth. No pretending to be what you are not, and no false pretense. If you like to hear, you are welcome to join his lectures. If not, that’s fine. He is just a completely normal person- as I said, like the kindly uncle or next door neighbor. On the inside, though, he is completely special. And, if you spend some time with him, you will realize that he has a fierce intellect and his scholarship is unmatched anywhere in the world today.

Q: Is your practice japa? Or manjari sādhanā? Or something else?
A: Study of scripture, vigraha and guru sevā, and japa/kīrtana. There is no manjari sādhanā at Jiva institute.

Q: Don’t all Babajis do manjari sādhanā? Isnt their focus on mādhurya?
A: There is no manjari sādhanā at Jiva institute. I cannot talk about everyone. I can only talk about Jiva institute. There is no special focus on ‘mādhurya’, whatever that means to you, at Jiva institute. The focus is squarely on the Goswamis writings. Their writings are madhura for us.