Learning Verses by Heart
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You should realize the mood of these verses. I am giving you these verses so that you will truly realize them and enter the realm of bhakti. If you see a beautiful lady, are your eyes and heart attracted to her, or not? Though you reject the idea, still your heart goes there. It is extremely difficult to be a muni, one who is undisturbed in the midst of all adversities. You must realize this, and with tears in your eyes, pray all these verses.
Srila Jiva Gosvami
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All jivas (spirit souls) have a special relationship with Sri Krsna. Some are related with Him in the mood of friendship. Others have a relationship in the mood that "Krsna is my son," and that is called parental mood (vatsalya). Moreover, some have the mood that "Krsna is my beloved." All jivas have their own original, eternal relationship with Krsna...
Srila Jiva Gosvami's Disappearance Day
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Today is a very auspicious day. It is the disappearance day of Srila Jiva Gosvami. We don't observe the disappearance days of Lord Krsna, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Lord Rama or any other incarnation of Bhagavan, but we observe the disappearance days of His associates. By such observance we learn many things about their worshipable Sri Sri Radha-Krsna, Sriman Mahaprabhu and Lord Nityananda Prabhu...
Is Srila Jiva Gosvami Different?
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Jiva Gosvami also means to say that since the svarupa of the jiva, which is in an unmanifest or seed-like state in the jiva's conditioned life, has everything in it in seed form (as a seed of a tree has the whole tree in it). Therefore, the planet on which we live, Vaikuntha, Vrndavana, etc., is also there in the soul. In this way the parsada, the spiritual body of the jiva that is presently in a latent position can also be explained....
A New Year's Greeting
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I wish you all a happy New Year. The New Year we are now celebrating is according to Western calculation. This mainly affects our physical body and mind, because those in the Western world are very concerned about their physical health and mind – not more than that. Very few persons in the Western world know about the soul...
Accepting A Guru
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Vijaya: Prabhu, please give us some detailed instructions regarding accepting shelter at the lotus feet of a spiritual master (śrī-guru-pādāśraya).
Sudama Vipra Visits Dvarakadisa Krishna
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Sometimes we are very worried. How will we maintain our family, also worried for ourselves? Very worried. What is the meaning of this? That you have no belief in Krishna. If we are worried for anything in this world, what is this? What will be of this? Then you have no strong belief in Krishna. Krishna has told, "Believe Me." If Krishna is our protector...
A Christmas Message
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Today is Christmas Day, the birthday of Jesus Christ. In Europe and other countries, hardly anyone knows what Jesus Christ was doing in his youth, at around 15 years of age. Indian history shows that he was in India, where he visited Vrndavana, Ayodya, Jagannatha Puri, and other pilgrimage places...
Without Sādhu-saṅga, One Cannot Perform Bhajana
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by Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Māhārāja
The first lesson is that bhajana can be performed in both stages: householder and renounced, but it is very essential that one has access to sādhu-saṅga. In either situation, one cannot perform bhajana without sādhu-saṅga. ...
Rays - First Disappearance Day Anniversary
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The Rays of The Harmonist team humbly announces the last of three special editions published in honour of Srila Gurudeva. This beautiful third edition is dedicated to the first disappearance day anniversary of Srila Gurudeva...
Remembrances of Śrīla Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja – Part 5
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Remembrances of Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Māhārāja
❝Once Śrīla Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja went for pracāra in Assam, along with some of his god-brothers, to attend a huge religious assembly there. Due to the heavy and continuous downpour of rain, none of his god-brothers was feeling inclined to go to the assembly place. But Śrīla Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja, walked with great difficulty to the assembly’s location, holding an umbrella over his head and lifting his clothes above his knees.❞ ...
“Narahari Prabhu would gently shake me awake”
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Remembrance of Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Māhārāja
❝I would be quietly and gently shaken awake, and I’d understand that Narahari Prabhu had come. Immediately rising from bed, I’d put on a gāmchā and follow behind him to the many toilets, one toilet after another. Narahari Prabhu would hold the torch and I would take a broom and a bucket of water and clean each toilet.❞ ...
Remembrances of Śrīla Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja – Part 3
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Remembrances of Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Māhārāja
❝Śrīla Guru Mahārāja – Śrīla Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja – said, “The festival of Dīpāvalī begins from Kṛṣṇa Trayodaśī (the thirteenth day of the waning moon) of Kārtika month and lasts for four days – Trayodaśī, Caturdaśī, Amāvasyā and Pratipada [Annakuṭa Day]. On the day of Trayodaśī, there is Yama-dīpa-dāna [Yama–one of the mahājanas]. Outside the gate, one should place fourteen (7+7) dīpas (lamps) for the son and daughter of Sūrya (Sun), Yama and Yamunā.❞ ...
Remembrances of Śrīla Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja – Part 2
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Remembrances of Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Māhārāja
❝Once, when I (Rasika-rañjana dāsādhikārī) was in Navadvīpa, I went to offer praṇāmas to pūjyapāda Trivikrama Mahārāja in his bhajana-kuṭīra. As we discussed various topics, pūjyapāda Trivikrama Mahārāja said, “Once, in a conversation with Vāmana Mahārāja, I said to him, ‘Mahārāja when I will grow old, who will take care of me and make efforts to help me? I am getting worried about this even now.’ Vāmana Mahārāja replied, ‘You should not worry about this. If nobody will be there, I will personally take care of you and will personally clean your urine and stool. In this regard you need have no worry or anxiety.’ The way Vāmana Mahārāja said this to me actually made me free from any anxiety or worry. And he did not speak mere words. He has actually been very conscientious about this.” While speaking this incident, tears began to roll down from the eyes of pūjyapāda Trivikrama Mahārāja.❞ ...
Memories of Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja
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Memories of Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Māhārāja
Once, the day before pūjyapāda Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja was to arrive in Kolkata from his first preaching tour abroad, Guru Mahārāja said to everyone, “Go and decorate the temple very nicely. Also nicely decorate the room that Śrīla Mahārāja will be staying in.” In the evening Guru Mahārāja went to the temple for darśana and saw that it had not been decorated. “If none of you have the time to do it, I will personally collect the flowers.” Hearing him say this, the brahmacārīs immediately went to the market and brought many kinds of flowers and other decorations. They nicely decorated Ṭhākurajī’s temple and then went to Guru Mahārāja’s room to decorate it. Guru Mahārāja said, “First ṭhākura-sevā, after that, vaiṣṇava-sevā, and after that, my sevā. Even though there is no need to decorate my room, if Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja sees it not decorated [but that his own room is decorated], it will make him feel uneasy. Our only aim is the pleasure and satisfaction of guru and Vaiṣṇavas, so decorate my room as well.” ...
The Appearance Day of Srila Bhaktivedanta Vamana Maharaja
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Vamana Maharaja is very grave and quiet, and there is another special quality that he possesses: I have seen many people, myself included, who give explanations from the scriptures and enjoy taking praise from others for it. But having known Vamana Maharaja for almost fifty years, I have never seen him do this, not even by accident. He is also very tolerant...
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