I am interested in Chaitanya Vaishnavism. This site is inspired by the teachings of Sri Satyanarayana dasa Babaji, scholar and practitioner.
One of the defining characteristics of Bhagavān is that it is most difficult to understand how He functions. In Anuchheda 40 of the Bhagavat Sandarbha, Śrī Jīva Goswami analyzes Brahmā’s prayers to Bhagavān from the tenth canto of the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, and gleans the four ways in which […]
All objects or entities are classified into four types according to nyāya. This understanding is essential to grasp Śrī Jīva’s explanations in the Sandarbhas of the nature of our existence. The classifications are based on whether the object has a beginning and an end. To describe objects, it […]
A common understanding is that Nārayāṇa, from whose navel Brahmā was born, spoke the catuḥśloki Bhāgavatam to Brahmā. However, Śrī Jīva Goswami disagrees with this concept, and provides evidence that it was Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself who revealed the Bhāgavatam to Brahmā. In Anuccheda 10 of the Bhagavat Sandarbha, […]
In the final verse of the Bhāgavata’s catuḥśloki, Bhagavān speaks about the fourth item, aṅga. The aṅga, Śrī Jīva Goswami explains in Anuccheda 96 of the Bhagavat Sandarbha, is sādhana bhakti or the means, to attain the rahasya, prema. Below, we present Śrī Jīva’s analysis of how the […]
We continue our discussion on the Bhāgavatam’s catuḥśloki. The third item of the catuḥśloki according to Bhagavān, the speaker of the catuḥśloki, is rahasya or secret. Yet, a first look at the verse offers no such rahasya to the reader. Śrī Jīva Goswami takes this verse up in […]
From Śrī Babaji’s commentary on Anuccheda 96 of the Bhagavat Sandarbha: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam was spoken by Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa and not by His expansion Nārāyaṇa or Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu. Therefore, it is called Bhāgavatam. The derivational explanation of this great Purāṇa’s name can thus be explained in four different […]
As discussed in a previous article, the four topics of the Bhāgavata’s catuḥśloki are jñāna, vijñāna, bhakti and prema. The first of the catuḥśloki gives jñāna, while the second gives vijñāna. Śrī Jīva Goswami analyzes the second verse in Anuccheda 96 of the Bhagavat Sandarbha, which goes as […]
We continue our discussion of Śrī Jīva Goswami’s commentary on the catuḥśloki in Anuchheda 96 of the Bhagavat Sandarbha. As discussed in a previous article, the four topics of the catuḥśloki are jñāna, vijñāna, bhakti and prema. The first of the catuḥśloki gives jñāna: aham evāsam evāgre nānyad yat sad-asat […]
In Anuccheda 96 of the Bhagavat Sandarbha, Śrī Jīva Goswami analyzes seven verses spoken by Bhagavān to Brahmā. Four of these seven verses constitute the famous catuḥśloki or four seed-verses of the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam. The word ‘seed’ here means that these verses constitute the essence of the Śrīmad […]
A book should begin by explaining the following four topics: Sambandha: the relation (sambandha) of the book (vācaka) with its main subject (vācya). Abhidheya: the means of attainment propounded in the book. Prayojana: the completion state or end state brought about by the means stated in point 2. […]
The Advaitavādis reject the notion that the absolute truth has energies. As such, for them the material world does not exist, because the absolute truth, or Brahman is completely devoid of energies required for acting, for cognition and for experience. Śrī Jīva Goswami presents a logical argument derived […]
According to Nyāya philosophy, “The attributes of an eternal object are also eternal” (nityaṁ gataṁ nityaṁ, Tarka-saṁgraha, 3.6). Bhagavān is eternal, and therefore it follows that all aspects of Him, including His form, His name and His actions are eternal. But every action has a beginning and an end […]