The four types of ānanda
The word “ānanda” can generally indicate any one of the following four different types of happiness.
Śrī Jīva Gosvāmi explains the essence of the Bhagavad Gītā
The Bhagavad-gītā has been variously explained by different commentators as teaching karma, jnāña or bhakti yoga. Some non-Hindus interpret it in their own way to justify their own acts. In their view, the Bhagavad-gītā was spoken to justify ‘holy war’. Others criticize it for advocating violence. How can […]
Śrī Jīva Goswami refutes Advaita-vāda – part II
As we examined in a previous article, the concept of mithyā in Advaita-vāda must be properly understood and represented. As a reminder, mithyā means sat-asat-bhinnam or “neither sat nor asat” Water seen in a mirage is neither sat nor asat. It is not asat like a son of […]
The meaning of the word ‘apauruṣeya’
The word apauruṣeya is bandied about a lot, but few understand what it really means.
How to build a nyāya
A nyāya is a logical argument that is used to establish one’s point. Śrī Jīva Goswami and Śrī Visvanatha make copious use of nyāyas to support their conclusions. Being the main tool for argument and refutation, it is important to be able to construct nyāyas without defects. Many […]
Why a cultural context is critical for understanding śāstra
There are many sentences in śāstra which at first sight seem impossible. For example, śāstra contains the common example of a swan that can separate milk from water. Is this literally true? There is no mechanism in the swan’s beak to separate milk from water; also milk itself […]
Is the duration of the four yugas to be taken literally?
According to Hindu tradition, time is divided into four yugas named Satya, Tretā, Dvāpara and Kali. The span of these yugas is extremely long. For example, Kali is 432,000 years long, Dvāpara goes for 864,000 years. Tretā is 1,296,000 years while Satya is 1,728,000 years long. Many interpret […]
Bhakti does not require isolation from society
Is dropping out of society in the name of bhakti a good thing?
The difference between a viśeṣaṇa, an upādhi and an upalakṣaṇa
Definitions of viśeṣaṇa, upādhi and upalakṣaṇa.
How pratyakṣa is given by śabda
Frequently one comes across the concept that Kṛṣṇa’s names are Kṛṣṇa Himself. The reason this is a difficult concept is that śabda or a word, in our experience, at best gives parokṣa jñāna or knowledge that is obstructed from the seer or subject’s perception in some way. If […]
Envy for Śrī Kṛṣṇa is an impossibility
A curious notion in the minds of many in some modern sects of Caitanya Vaiṣṇavism is that they are in the material world because they envy Śrī Kṛṣṇa. The explanation proffered is that one’s desire to be the center of attention reflects an intrinsic desire to take God’s […]
Different types of bhakti in the Bhagavad-gītā
We have seen the definition of pure or uttamā bhakti elsewhere. Many practitioners tend to mix pure bhakti with other methods like karma-yoga, jñāna-yoga and dhyāna-yoga which gives rise to varieties of mixed bhakti. Śrī Viśvanātha Cakravartī’s commentary on the Gītā explains the various mixtures at various places, […]
The Krishna Bhakti site 