Understanding the Bhagavad Gītā
The Bhagavad Gītā is an amazing book for many reasons. One reason is that it is amazingly difficult to understand.
Summary of definitions of uttamā bhakti and its divisions
Here we summarize uttamā bhakti, its divisions and the definitions which were discussed in previous articles. uttamā bhakti is defined as continuous service directed favorably towards Kṛṣṇa and His devotees. It should be devoid of all material desires and not covered by desire for brahma-sāyujya mukti, and/or faith in […]
The definition of rāgānugā bhakti
We examine Sri Rupa Goswami’s definition of raganunga bhakti.
The r-word
On the taboo subject of rāgānugā bhakti
The principles of vraja-bhakti
There is a beautiful kārikā by Śrī Śrīnāth Cakravarti which captures the principles of vraja-bhakti and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s mood. We examine this kārikā below. ārādhyo bhagavān vrajeṣa tanayaḥ tad-dhāma vṛndāvanam ramyā kācit upāsanā vraja vadhu vargeṇa ya kalpitā Śrīmad Bhāgavatam pramāṇam amalam prema pumartho mahān Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhor matamidam […]
Q/A: about women
Maharajji answers questions in Śrī Guru Darśanam, p 505 Question: In Caitanya Caritāmṛta in the purport, it is mentioned that Mahāprabhu had three and a half confidential associates (CC Adi 10.137: “Caitanya Mahāprabhu had three and a half very confidential devotees. The three were Svarūpa Gosāñi, Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya, and Śikhi Māhiti. Śikhi Māhiti’s younger […]
Spiritual form follows function
In the spiritual world, form follows function. This is true of everyone- including Kṛṣṇa’s associates
Avoiding logical fallacies
Logical fallacies are tricks that are typically used to fool people. One might commit logical fallacies to also fool oneself. Generally, people are not trained to notice fallacies, and therefore are liable to fall victim to predatory organizations including marketing agencies, political parties, and pertinent to this website, […]
Unlearning wrong concepts is much more difficult than learning them
The process of learning necessarily involves emotion. The stronger the emotion, the deeper the memory, and the better the learning. If we have learned some concepts, and these concepts have been reinforced by emotions associated with them over a long period of time, then it becomes very hard […]
All śāstras confirm Kṛṣṇa as Svayaṁ Bhagavān, Part II
Śrī Jīva Goswami provides two examples in which the Bhāgavata purāṇa is seen to override other scriptures. The first is from the story of the Syamantaka gem. The sun god had given Satrājit this marvelous jewel, which produced eight bhāras of gold every day and in the proximity […]
