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 […]
As we saw in an earlier post, the jīva misidentifies with the mind and body, causing it to undergo suffering. Here we will examine Śrī Jīva’s explanation for the cause of this misidentification. In Anuccheda 91, Śrī Jīva Goswami cites the following verse from the Bhāgavata purāṇa: yad-arthena […]
Bhagavān, in the form of Paramātmā, is present in every living being. And yet, He does not ever identify with any body, unlike the jīva, who, even though present in only one body, and despite hearing from scripture thousands of times, cannot let go of its false misidentification […]
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, […]
Maharajji answers questions about guru, which we reproduce below from Śrī Guru darṣanam (page 204 onward)
We present Babaji’s translations below of the prayers of Vṛtrāsura from the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam SB 6.11.22–27.
Kṛṣṇa is popularly known to have been born in Mathurā to Devakī in Kaṁsa’s prison. But the ācāryas explain that He was also born in Gokula. Here we examine this extraordinary concept. The main reason for proposing that two Kṛṣṇas were born is to reconcile two statements in […]
A vexing issue for many is the fact that the different scriptures indicate different beings as the Supreme. For example, Śiva purāṇa states Śiva as the supreme, while Viṣṇu purāṇa states Viṣṇu as the supreme. The Devi Bhāgavata mentions Devi as the supreme. Which purāṇa is to be […]
A non-existent object cannot come into existence.
Is the universe real? What does the word ‘real’ mean?
Absolute reality is called advaya-jñāna in the scriptures. What does this term mean?
In Anuccheda 60 of the Paramātmā Sandarbha, Śrī Jīva Goswami accepts the Vedantic concept of sat-kārya-vāda as applying to the material world. Here we examine what sat-kārya-vāda means.
The Krishna Bhakti site 