I am interested in Chaitanya Vaishnavism. This site is inspired by the teachings of Sri Satyanarayana dasa Babaji, scholar and practitioner.
Misconceptions of how to deal with material desires has led many a beginner to repress desires. However, frustrated desire simply turns into anger as the Gita so eloquently explains (कामात् क्रोधो अभिजायते!), which breeds fanaticism and ambition. Build up of this frustrated energy can also come out in […]
One-pointed focus is required for success in any sphere of life – whether it is business, academia, politics, law or medicine. Generally it is difficult to focus the mind on something that we do not consider important, or something that we do not like. Therefore it is necessary […]
In kārikā 1.2.9, Rupa Goswami writes that vaidhī bhakti is the duty of everyone in varṇāśrama : इति असौ स्याद् विधिर् नित्यौ सर्व-वर्णाश्रमादिषु| नित्यत्वेSपि अस्य निर्णितम् एकादश्यादिवत् फलम्|| This vidhi (vaidhī bhakti) is a compulsory or regular activity (nitya) for all varṇas and āśramas. Even though it is nitya, […]
Having defined uttamā sādhanā bhakti, Rupa Goswami lists its two divisions: वैधी रागानुगा चेति सा द्विधा साधनाभिधा| vaidhī rāganugā ceti sā dvidhā sādhanābhidhā That sādhanā bhakti is known to be of two types: vaidhī and rāganugā. There is a common misconception in some modern sects of Caitanya Vaisnavism that vaidhī bhakti […]
Rupa Goswami in his भक्तिरसामृत सिंधु has presented three divisions of उत्तमा भक्ति (uttamā bhakti): sādhanā, bhāva and prema. sādhya and sādhana are only two. Jiva Goswami and Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakur have given two different explanations for why Rupa Goswami makes three divisions. Their explanations offer deeper insight into bhāva and […]
We have seen that साधना (sādhanā) is the activities of the senses (इंद्रिय-व्यापार) that result in भाव (bhāva). Someone who has bhāva will also serve Kṛṣṇa with the senses, but there is a difference. The activities at the stage of bhāva are external manifestations of the internal bhāva. […]
There are two opposing views on where bhāva, the sādhya of sādhanā bhakti1, exists before it manifests in the heart (heart refers to the unconscious mind). One view is that bhāva is dormant in the heart, that is, it has been eternally present. This is the view in some modern […]
