by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda
by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura PrabhupādaManasi Ganga And The Secret Of Giriraja Govardhana
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We have come here to Manasi Ganga, which is like the mouth of Sri Giriraja Govardhana. His shape resembles that of a cow, or a peacock, and the lower extremity at Puchari (or Punchari) is like the raised tail of the peacock or the raised hindquarters of the cow. At this end are Radha Kunda and Syama Kunda, which are like the eyes of the peacock. Sometimes, when a peacock is dancing, it will raise its back very high and gracefully bend its long neck back towards the stomach...
Celebration of Dipvali and Annakuta
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On the day of Amavasya we observe the festival of Dipavali. What is the meaning of Dipavali? "Tamaso ma, jyotir gamaya – Do not remain in darkness, come to the light." The meaning is that this world is of mahamaya, or illusion, and it is full of darkness. We conditioned souls are all in darkness...
What’s Favorable For Raganuga-bhakti?
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First I explained abhista-bhava-mayi, which may be in an unripe or ripe stage. In the stage of sadhana it is the absorption that "We are gopis;" and in the siddha stage we will actually become gopis. In both cases, it is abhista-bhava-mayi.
The Five Principles of Raganuga-Bhakti
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We have completed the explanations of the first two slokas quoted and discussed by Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura in his Raga-vartma-candrika, but in summary. The first sloka is:
krsnam smaran janam casya prestham nija samihitam
tat tat katha ratas casau kuryad vasam vraje sada
We Should be Very Careful
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Today is a very special festival called Annakuta. For this festival we will perform worship of the cow (go-puja), worship of the Vrajavasis, and also worship of the Vaisnavas and Sri Guru...
Dipavali - The Festival of Lights
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Why do we celebrate Dipavali, and in what mood is it celebrated by Vrajavasis?
Dipavali means 'a time of happiness.' When Lord Rama defeated Ravana and reached Ayodhya, a big Dipavali festival was performed there...
With Greed In The Center
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Abhista-bhava-mayi: Whatever practices we execute at the time of our sadhana (the practice executed to attain our goal) will be the same at the time of sadhya (the goal of life, the stage of siddhi, perfection). Sadhakas remember Krsna, Govinda, now, at the time of their sadhana, and they will do so in siddha-sarira (spiritual form as a gopi-manjari) as well. Both remembrances are the same, but one is unripe and the other will be ripe. The subject of the mood will never change, just as kirtana will never be changed, whether in the stage of sadhana or siddha. The sadhakas' absorption in their constitutional mood is called abhista-bhava-mayi.
Guru Tattva and the Real Disciple
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Those who follow strongly the life and teachings of their Gurudeva, from their heart, are really disciples. Those who have taken initiation from Parama-pujyapada Srila Svami Maharaja but are not following his teachings, are not truly disciples. Those who are not following or practicing may have been outwardly initiated by him, but they are not real disciples. On the other hand, those who have not taken initiation from him but are totally following – they deserve the qualities to be true devotees...
Rays of The Harmonist - Kartik 2011 Edition
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This Kartika, The Rays of The Harmonist team humbly presents the printed edition of "Entering Nitya-lila", the concluding transcendental pastimes of Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami Maharaja. Apart from above pictorial report, this edition's featured articles are entitled "The Real Significance of the Pastime of Illness Manifested by the Maha-bhagavata" and "The Avirabhava and Tirobhava Saktis"...
Sri Guru’s Spiritual Form
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This is the third of the three important slokas discussed by Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura in his Rag-vartma-candrika:
sravanotkirtanadini vaidhi-bhakty uditani tu
yany angani ca tanyatra vijneyani manisibhih
To Be Covered By Sweetness
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As Lalita trains Srimati Radhika in this way [for Radhika’s naocturnal meeting with Sri Krsna], Rupa Manjari watches, and our guru in this world, as sakhi-manjari in that world, also watches.
About Songs and So On
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Brahma told Narada, Narada told Vyasa, and Vyasa told Sukadeva Gosvami. The knowledge is coming in parampara. By this we can know the real explanation of Srimad-Bhagavatam and the Upanisads, and that bhakti is the fruit of all the Upanisads, Vedanta, and so on. The guru-parampara has manifested this in this world, so you should know it. If you don't know all these things, then vraja-rasa-bhakti will not come to you...
Illuminating the Path to Ragatmika-bhakti
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This surrender and complete dedication of the heart to guru is called tadatmya (oneness of heart) in Sanskrit. When an iron rod is placed in fire, the qualities of the fire enter the iron. When fire permeates an iron rod it is the fire that burns other objects; it is not that the iron rod burns other objects; The iron rod may ‘consider,’ “I am fire,” in the sense that the qualities of the iron have become one with the qualities of the fire; it now does the work of fire.
The Goal - Vilap-kusumanjali
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In this world we have a guru and we are his disciples, but in raganuga-bhakti (internally) the guru is like a friend. Visrambhena gurau seva. In the spiritual realm, there is no formal relation of guru and disciple as there is in this world. Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami used to address Srila Rupa Gosvami as guru, and he respected him as such. Inwardly, however, he saw him as a sakhi, as Rupa-manjari, as he will further reveal in the third verse...
How to Enter Raganuga-bhakti
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In this Raga Vartma Candrika, Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura tells us what he has realized about Sri Sri Radha-Krsna’s anuraga by the grace of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Srila Rupa Gosvami. Anuraga refers to that stage of prema which comes just before mahabhava. Within prema comes sneha, then mana, pranaya, raga, and then anuraga...
Holi
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This village, Ganthuli, is one mile from Gulala-kunda. In the month of Phalguna, February-March, at the time of Holi, all the gopis were present here, playing Holi with Sri Krsna and the gopas. This is where Holi took place. Sri Krsna and His friends were in one party and Srimati Radhika and Her sakhis were in the opposite party, and there were more gopis than there were gopas. Both the gopas and gopis held syringes which shot out many colors, and these colors were not easily removable...
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