If I had to pick the most misunderstood topic in the Caitanya tradition today, it would have to be jīva-tattva. The ontology of the jīva as taught in the Sandarbhas is fundamental to the bhakti tradition but few know and understand it clearly. The same types of questions […]
A reader requested that I explain the definitions of the term ‘śakti’ present in Śrī Jīva Goswami’s Sarva-samvādinī commentary on the Bhagavat Sandarbha. As I examined the commentary, I realized that I would have to present his arguments in their entirety. I have therefore decided to translate Śrī […]
In a previous article, I had discussed the meaning of the word ‘acintya’ in Caitanya Vaiṣṇava theology. There, I had shown that the word ‘acintya’ in the term ‘acintya bheda-abheda’ has the following related meanings: A reader reminded me that I owe readers an article on a related […]
A skeptical reader asked where Śrī Jīva Goswami explicitly states that experience, which is a type of perception, requires a mind-body complex. That this is so is a rather commonplace feature of Vedantic thought, although the reader seemed to think that this is somehow a feature of the […]
I am often asked about verse 10.2.32 from the Bhagavata purana. Proponents cite this verse to support the mistaken notion that the jīva can fall from Brahman. That is, after death, the jīva can attain Brahman, but it will fall down from there eventually, back into the material […]
Chapters 29-33 of the Bhāgavatam describe the rāsa-līlā of Bhagavān and the gopīs. Some claim that sādhakas should not hear these chapters till they have freed themselves from material desires, as otherwise, hearing the rāsa-līlā can further inflame their material desires. However, these claims do not find support […]
Q: It is said that distributing Bhagavat-prasāda to others is equivalent to distributing bhakti for Bhagavān. What are your views on this? A: If that is true, then every person who gets prasāda should become a devotee. But that is not seen to happen. Q: These people could […]
Given the popularity of Caitanya Vaiṣṇavism these days, there is much use of the term ‘acintya bheda-abheda’. I am not sure if the popular descriptions of this term are accurate. I therefore decided to collect the precise language that Śrī Jīva uses to justify the use of acintya […]
I have previously stated in articles on this site that acintya means śāstraika-gamyam – knowable only through śāstra. śāstra states that there is neither bheda nor abheda between Bhagavān and His śaktis. As such, there is no option but to accept acintya bheda-abheda, even though bheda and abheda […]
Śrī Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Goswami wrote a section in the Hari Bhakti Vilāsa, where he states that Śivarātri must be observed by Vaiṣṇavas. Here I translate his statements and Śrī Sanatana Goswami’s commentary on them. Śrī Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Goswami begins the section with: śivarātrivratamidaṁ yadyapyāvaśyakaṁ na hi | vaiṣṇavānāṁ […]
Question: Should Caitanya Vaiṣṇavas observe Śivarātri? Answer: In the Gadādhara parivāra, we fast on Śivarātri. Q: Some say that there is no need to observe Śivarātri. They cite the following from Śrī Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Goswami: śivarātrivratamidaṁ yadyapyāvaśyakaṁ na hi | vaiṣṇavānāṁ tathāpyatra sadācārādvilikhyate ||186|| Could you help me […]
I have presented Śrī Babaji’s translations of the ten offenses to Hari-nāma from the Bhakti Sandarbha in a previous article which were based on Śrī Jīva’s commentary. Here I present my translations of Śrī Sanātana’s commentary on each of the ten offenses. The first two offenses are: satāṁ […]