Is there no happiness in the material world?
Q: How would we define the happiness we experience in the world? A: The Tarka-saṅgraha definition is: sarveṣām anukūlatayā vedanīyaṁ sukhamHappiness (sukham) is that object […]
jīva-tattva
The jīva’s complete dependence on Bhagavān
Q: You state in your articles that the jīva has no independence. This is not mentioned anywhere in the Goswamis’ writings. A: That claim is […]
Do all jīvas possess 50 qualities of Bhagavān?
Reader Shivam ji wrote: Hare Krishna If you read Srila Prabhupada’s teachings in ISKCON, it is common knowledge that 64 qualities are fully manifested in […]
Making a principle out of an example: misconceptions about the jīva
A popular way these days of misinterpreting śāstra is to establish a principle out of an example. Reader V sent me a question which many […]
Bheda and abheda between the Ātmā and Brahman
Śrī Jīva Goswami has established the philosophy of acintya-bheda-abheda in the Sandarbhas, which I have discussed here, here, here and here. Śrī Viśvanātha’s treatment of […]
Does Śrī Sanātana teach that merging into Brahman is not permanent?
Reader Asd ji requested a translation of a section from the Bṛhad-Bhagavatāmṛta that deals with jīvas liberated into Brahman who, after attaining Brahman upon death, […]
What is jīvan-mukti?
The term jīvan-mukti is commonly encountered in Gauḍiya parlance. Here I examine Śrī Jīva Goswami’s explanation of it. He takes this up in the Priti […]
Jīva-tattva
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 […]
Śrī Jīva Goswami explains the types of perception
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 […]
Q/A: did Śrī Jīva Goswami teach that the jīva falls down from the spiritual world?
Q: I saw on social media that some quote text 5 of Anuccheda 4 of Bhagavat-sandarbha about how the jiva ‘regains its natural position’, proving […]
Concluding thoughts on inherent bhakti-vāda
This is my final article on the series of refutations of the newest theory of inherent bhakti-vāda- the idea that bhakti is inherent in the […]
The meaning of the term ‘eka-rūpa-svarūpa-bhāk’
Claim [from the inherent bhakti-vādis]- Although the literal translation of eka-rūpa is “one form,” some devotees opine that eka-rūpa [in the term “eka-rūpa-svarūpa-bhāktvam”, which is […]