Rays of The Harmonist
- Remain in the Line of Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura
- What Śrī Caitanya Meant by Theism
- Call Out, Weeping
by Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Māhārāja
❝Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura is a liberated mahāpuruṣa. After the six Gosvamīs, he is the seventh Gosvāmī. His Jaiva-dharma, his other books, all his books that are there, his commentary on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that is no longer available, his commentary on Vedānta and his commentaries on all Gosvāmīs’ literatures, beginning from Vilāpa-kusmañjali to Manaḥ-śikṣā and so on, Mahaprabhu’s Śikṣāṣṭaka, Upadeśāmṛta – he has written a commentary on all of them after deeply entering [realizing the essence of] those books. If anyone opposes one such as Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, should we go to such a person? Never! Don’t go! Not to speak of gopī-prema, even if he gives everything [related to that], then also, don’t go. Understand this: what he is giving is not gopī-prema. Do not be khaḍa-jaṭhiyā. ❞ ..
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by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda
❝The Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya has asked all sections of the people of this world not to tamper with or mutilate the Absolute Truth with their crippled attempts to regulate Him, but rather to approach Him with an absolutely clean and sincere heart, in which His own feature will be revealed.❞ ...
Read Moreby Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Māhārāja
❝In happiness and distress, in dissent and calamity, in every situation, we have to call out, weeping, to Śrī Gurudeva, Śrī Gauracandra and Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa at every moment. If we are calling out to them sincerely, they will surely bestow their mercy. However, we face obstacles in our calling out.❞ ..
Read MoreDiscussion On Sri Gurvastakam, 6-9
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So Krishna likes so much, to that very gurudeva I'm doing vandana. You should know the symptoms of gurudeva, how high [he is]. Any worldly person who has lust and is falling down moment by moment is not guru. Anyhow if you have accepted a guru like this, give up at once these fallen gurus...
More on Ritvik
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Nowadays, some people have begun to follow the ritvik doctrine.* Having left the actual guru-parampara, they have accepted the ritvik parampara. But the ritvik doctrine has no relationship with spirituality (paramartha). Ritviks simply perform fire sacrifices (yajnas), take some payment (daksina), and then depart.
Some Remembrances of Srila Gurudeva’s Ideal Life
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Sriman Siddhanath Prabhu, Srila Gurudeva's younger brother, departed November 28th, 2014 at 3:15 PM. He attended Vraja Mandala Parikrama this year, 2014, and stayed with devotees of Gopinath Bhavan and Seva Kunja Krsna-Balaram Mandir. We will post more details of his departure and life as they come. Below is his remembrances of Srila Gurudeva, Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Narayana Goswami Maharaja...
The One Real Entity
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"Real objects have eternal existence. Unreal objects only have a semblance of existence; they sometimes exist and sometimes do not. It is said in Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.1.2): ‘vedyaṁ vāstavam atra vastu śivadaṁ. Only a truly abiding substance, that which is related to the Supreme Absolut Truth and yields supreme auspiciousness, is worthy of being known...
Who Is The Better Devotee?
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Actually, it was the wish of Krsna that we should learn something from Bharata Maharaja. He himself did not actually fall down. When the stage of ruci manifests in ones heart he has no opportunity to commit any aparadha, what to speak of one who has rati. He was only teaching us that we ourselves should be careful...
Branch Moon Logic
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We should know that any example or analogy of this world cannot fully explain the transcendental world. Some examples can give us an idea, like, "Krsna is beautiful and black, like a cloud or like a tamal tree." It is not possible, however, to totally describe the transcendental world by any mundane worldly examples. Examples are given to express some idea, but there is nothing in this world that can fully compare with Krsna. Someone may ask, "Can you tell me where is the moon?
Viraha-bhajana
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by Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Narāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja
Those who remain under the shelter of śrī guru will experience intense waves of separation from him when he is no longer manifest, and those waves will surely increase to their utmost magnitude.
What Kind Of Devotee Is Dhruva Maharaja?
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There are many gradations of bhakti and bhaktas, as explained by Srila Sanatana Gosvami in his Brhat Bhagavatamrta. The first category is the sakama-bhakta, then the jnani-bhakta, then the suddha (pure) bhakta, the premi-bhakta, the premapara-bhakta, and finally the prematura-bhakta ...
Even Krsna Accepted A Guru
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Without accepting guru, the name one chants is not transcendental. That name will fulfill your worldly desires, even up to mukti (liberation), but not more than this. In the case of Ajamila, at first he had no guru. He named his son Narayana at the nama-samskara, the ritualistic ceremony in which babies are given their name. By chance...
Occasional Religion Should Melt Away
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This is our object as well, but as far as we are concerned, we waste so much of our time and energy in maintenance. Though we are devotees, our whole time is entangled and we have no time for remembering and chanting. We think, "If we give our whole time to devotional activities, our business will fail. How, then, will we be able to maintain ourselves?" We have no belief in Krsna, and we have no belief that He will continue our maintenance. He is the main root of our maintenance...
The Clear Path
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Always try to follow the teachings of the Eleventh Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam, and try to follow Srila Rupa Gosvami's Upadesamrta and Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami's Sri Manah-siksa. This is first. Then, try to gradually come to the stage of rati (bhava-bhakti), at which time all of Krsna's pastimes will automatically manifest in a very pure form. Try to follow these instructions. Go through the channel opened by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura and by our guru-parampara, and especially by Srila Rupa Gosvami and Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami...
What If Guru Is Not Pure?
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If a guru is not serving his own gurudeva, he has left the process given by him, and his guru is not satisfied by his behavior - only in that case can we reject him. However, if the guru is a madhyama-adhikari and sincere, if he is very obedient and following the footsteps of his guru, then...
Be Careful
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If we imagine that we are meditating on Krsna's asta-kaliya-lila and we have not reached the stage of rati, we will also not experience His sweetness. Rather, we will experience our own lusty and other material desires...
The Guru's Guru
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You cannot imagine what this stage will be like. It will come, after a very long time. That is the general process. However, by the mercy of Gurudeva, it can come very quickly. Sannyasi Thakura said to his Gurudeva, "You are Caitanya parisad (an associate of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu). Really you are." He did not say this blindly, because he had some realization. He had read all the scriptures, and he saw all the symptoms in his Gurudeva...
Rays of the Harmonist in Dutch
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Recent Rays of the Harmonist English articles have been translated into Dutch for the pleasure of Srila Gurudeva and the Dutch speaking devotees. You can find those articles here:
The Ocean Of Essence in a Bottle
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Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura has written this book in the form of a dialogue, with questions and answers. You would not be able to even think of as many questions as Bhaktivinoda Thakura has presented there. As many questions as are possible to be asked has been presented there. No one else could have put forward such questions...
