Author Archives

T. Krsna dasa

I am interested in Chaitanya Vaishnavism. This site is inspired by the teachings of Sri Satyanarayana dasa Babaji, scholar and practitioner.

The meaning of the word ‘tādātmya’

The inherent bhakti-vādis claim that the primary meaning of the word ‘tādātmya’ is ‘relationship of something with itself’. They then proceed to argue that the ātmā’s relation with the siddha deha is one of ‘tādātmya’ where tādātmya is defined in the previous sentence. That is, the ātmā is […]

The jīva’s root problem: beginningless absence of awareness of the Absolute Reality

In a previous article, I presented Śrī Jīva Goswami’s formulation of the jīva’s basic problem that he defines in the Prīti Sandarbha: atha jīvaś ca tadīyo’pi taj-jñāna-saṁsargābhāva-yuktatvena tan-māyā-parābhūtaḥ sann ātma-svarūpa-jñāna-lopān māyā-kalpitopādhy-āveśāc cānādi-saṁsāra-duḥkhena sambadhyata iti paramātma-sandarbhādāv eva nirūpitam asti | The individual living being (jīva), although belonging to the […]

Translation of Gītā 2.29

Reader Sridhar ji requested a translation of Śrī Baladeva’s commentary on Gītā 2.29. For reference, the verse is below: āścaryavat paśyati kaścid enam āścaryavad vadati tathaiva cānyaḥ | āścaryavac cainam anyaḥ śṛṇoti śrutvāpy enaṁ veda na caiva kaścit || Someone considers the self as amazing, another speaks of […]

‘Svayam-prakāśatva’ refers to the intrinsic jñāna-śakti of the ātmā

Claim: The quality of the jīva of svayam-prakāśatva, discussed in the Paramātmā Sandarbha, means ‘self-manifestation’. This refers to the phenomenon, in which the jīva, upon liberation, ‘self-manifests’ its intrinsic qualities of jñāna-śakti or knowership, its agency or doership, and other qualities, on its own. Further, these śaktis are […]