Maharajji answers questions in Śrī Guru Darśanam, pp. 343-344 Question: How can we understand these different levels of spiritual development? Sometimes there is a different pace of growth, or even regression in spiritual life. Does this depend on the discipline of the person, on his personality, or is this just […]
From the Yoga of Dejection: pp. xxiv-xxv [sub-headings added by this author]: Misery wakes us from slumber Although no one welcomes misery, it should not be despised, nor should we allow ourselves to become bitter because of it. Misery comes of its own accord and actually has an […]
Rupa Goswami defines japa in the Bhakti rasāmṛta sindhu (1.2.149-151) as follows: mantrasya sulaghūccāro japa ity abhidhīyate || Here, sulaghūccāraḥ = su + laghu + uccāraḥ. uccāraḥ means pronunciation. Laghu means light. Su-laghu is very very light, i.e. inaudible. The translation then is Inaudible chanting of the mantra […]
We have previously examined the concept of sādhanā bhakti and bhāva bhakti, and the difference between them. The article below explains the difference between them in less technical terms by expanding on concepts introduced in a lecture by Sri Babaji (Bhakti-rasamrta Sindhu lectures, 2017, Vrindavan). The mind of […]
In this article, we examine the difference between bhakti and fanaticism, by quoting from two sources. The first one is from the Yoga of Dejection: pp. 176-177 — [sub-titles are added by this author]. The second source is a great article written on fanaticism more than a hundred […]
[ādi-guru means the teacher of all teachers, or original teacher]. From Śrī Guru Darśanam, pp. 177 – 178 Question: Previously we have heard that Balarāma and Nityānanda are the ādiguru, and also that the guru is a manifestation of Śrimatī Rādhārāni. Is that true? Answer (by Maharajji): These […]
With the globalization of bhakti, people argue that Kṛṣṇa is not Indian because God cannot belong to any country. So the idea that Kṛṣṇa is Indian is sectarian and ought to be rejected. Sounds nice, but is it the truth? Lets look at the evidence. Kṛṣṇa is described […]
The concept of the guru is unique to Indian theology. Rupa Goswami quotes a famous verse spoken by Kṛṣṇa (Bhāgavatam 11.17.27) in the Bhakti rasamrta sindhu – “ācāryam mām vijānīyān nāvamanyeta karhicit | na martya-buddhyāsūyeta sarva-deva-mayo guruḥ || Know the ācārya to be my manifestation, and never disrespect […]
Rupa Goswami cites verse SB 11.3.21 in the Bhakti rasamrta sindhu to describe both the guru and the disciple. Gopala Bhatta Goswami also cites this same verse in his book Hari Bhakti Vilāsa in a similar context, and Sanatana Goswami elaborates on it further in his commentary. Maharajji’s […]
Limbs sixteen to twenty are as follows: śokādy-avaśa-vartitā – not being controlled by lamentation. One may think that Vaiṣṇavas are hard-hearted because they may not easily be moved to displays of grief. But grief is not a sign of intelligence or advancement, it is a sign of foolishness […]
Limbs eleven to twenty are prohibitions or the dont’s of bhakti. They are as important 1 as the previous ten prescriptions. Here are the first five with comments. saṅga-tyāgo vidūreṇa bhagavad-vimukhair janaiḥ – giving up from far the company of those who are turned away from Bhagavān. This […]
‘Life comes from Life’ is posed by some modern bhakti sects as a key challenge to science. However, Louis Pasteur, the father of microbiology, summarized his scientific experiments in the phrase “Omne vivum ex vivo“, which means ‘Life [is] from Life’. Here is a bit from wikipedia: Biogenesis is […]
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