Rays of The Harmonist
- Enter Into the Message of the Gosvāmīs
- Associating with Sādhus
- The Nature of True Devotees
by Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Māhārāja
❝Within your mind, you should always reside in Vraja or Śrī Dhāma Navadvīpa. In other words, you should always think about those places. Try to enter into the message of the Gosvāmīs. By performing harināma and hearing hari-kathā with prīti (affection), all perfection is attained. This is the opinion of the scriptures.❞ ..
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by Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Māhārāja
❝When one reads spiritual texts on one’s own, often one does not attain the real result of hearing and reciting hari-kathā. That is why it remains imperative for one to hear the sounds issuing from the mouths of sādhu and guru. Only within a siddha (perfected) mantra is all potency manifest, and only that yields special results. Hence, there is more benefit and welfare contained within hari-kathā issuing from the mouths of the devotees [than from spiritual texts]. Dry skeptics who are bereft of sādhu-saṅga are incapable of appreciating the necessity and attracting potency of sādhu-saṅga.❞ ...
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by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda
❝Devotion to God is attained by associating with those who serve both Him and His devotees. They have made service to God the very essence of their life. They have made the narrations of the names, appearance, attributes and sports of God the mainstay of their existence and they are always engaged in discoursing about them.❞ ...
Read MoreThree Considerations - for Siva Ratri
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There are three considerations (vicaras) from which to understand the relationship between Lord Krsna and Lord Siva. One is called tattva-gata-vicara - the consideration of their relationship by established philosophical truth. Another is called aisvarya-gata-vicara - the consideration of their relationship in the Supreme Lord's pastimes of majesty, and the third is naravat-gata-vicara - the consideration of their relationship in the Supreme Lord's sweet, human-like pastimes....
The Post and the Person
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Both as the post and the person, Siva is superior to Brahma. Lord Siva is an expansion of Lord Visnu, but sometimes a jiva may become Siva's expansion known as Rudra. If a man purely performs the duties of varnasrama for one hundred births, he may become Brahma. In other words, he may attain the position or post of Brahma. In turn, when a person in the post of Brahma carries out his function expertly for one hundred births, he becomes qualified to perform the function of Siva in his manifestation as Rudra...
The Glories Of Lord Siva And Siva-Ratri
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We should try to understand all the pastimes of Sankara and Rama. We should try to see what is the position of Lord Siva and what is the position of Rama. In this way we should do our bhakti. Those who take Lord Siva as an independent Lord are like Vrkasura. They want to have sense gratification with Krishna potency...
Siva-tattva
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Sri Narada has gone to Sankara, Lord Siva, and is glorifying him; “You are very near and dear to Lord Krsna. Not only that, you are Krsna’s manifestation; you are non-different from Him. You can give moksa, liberation, and also krsna-prema.” Hearing Narada glorify him in numerous ways, Sankara became somewhat angry and said, “Your glorification of me is all false. I am not very dear to Krsna – not at all – but I want to be. I want to be Krsna’s beloved, but actually I am not. I’ve done so many things against Him...
Lord Siva's Highest Benediction
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Once, the great sage Narada Muni traveled to the abode of Lord Siva and began to glorify him, saying, "You are very near and dear to the Supreme Lord Krsna. Not only that, you are Krsna's manifestation; you are non-different from Him. You can give liberation and also Krsna-prema, the rare jewel of transcendental love for Krsna."
An Airport Darsana
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Now I must go. Thank you all. Now, my children, my sons and daughters, you should return to your homes – and we will meet again after one or two months...
Who Are You?
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Although we are suffering, we think that we are doing well. We are like a person who has drunk great quantities of alcohol and has fallen in a drain that is full of stool and urine. At the same time that person thinks, "I am monarch of all." His face is being 'washed' by the 'hot water' coming from the urine of dogs, and yet he thinks, "I am happy." He is like a madman, and in a sense we are also like this.
I Was Weeping For You
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What can you take from this world? What you have collected from this world or are still going to collect, you cannot take with you - not even one paisa, nor one farthing nor one hair. You have come with nothing and when you leave you will have nothing. So why are you doing so much hard labor from morning to night - working like donkeys and monkeys?
On Renunciation
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According to your impressions from previous lives and this life, if you are hankering for bhakti, it will come through service to your Gurudeva and it will come with renunciation. From his boyhood Raghunatha dasa Gosvami did not like wealth, praise, or anything else of that nature. He was trinadapi sunicena. Try to follow his life from the beginning...
Hear This Great Secret
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There is a reason that Sri Sukadeva Gosvami did not reveal this truth clearly at first. Many problems may have come for ordinary people, and especially for the Vedic Smarta brahmanas. They would not have read the Srimad-Bhagavatam; or, they would have spoken against it...
Please Do Not Be Late
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I have been explaining the aim and object of all living beings, which is gopi-prema. You should know the aim and object of our practices and devotion; but do not jump, otherwise you will become mad. Do not try to artificially enter raganuga-bhakti...
Impressions of Bhakti
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Although our gurudeva has also entered his unmanifest, eternal pastimes, we happily remain in this world. On the occasion of special days, like his appearance or disappearance day, we might remember him, but often we are involved in arranging the festival in his honor, and there is very little chance to contemplate our separation from him. A tear may come to our eye as we speak something about him; but it may not come...
Srila Gurudeva’s Auto-biographical Sketch
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The following is a transcription of Srila Gurudeva speaking on February 23, 2003 in Olpe, Germany, on the topic of his own life history. It was kindly translated from his Hindi talk by Radhika dasi of Russia.
A Fireside Darsana
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Try to fix your mind in harinama kirtana and japa. This is first. Pray to Nama Prabhu, who is not less than Krsna and Srimati Radhika. In fact, Nama Prabhu is more powerful even than Krsna. So pray to them: "Please make me qualified to serve you in all respects." Then, serve with your senses, mind, words and everything you possess...
The Blazing Forest Fire And The Burning Ghata
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One day, when Krsna was out cow-herding with His billions of cowherd friends and innumerable cows, He took them to Bhandiravana, one of twelve prominent forests of Vrndavana. Roaming from one forest to another, He and His associated finally reached Bhandirvana and began to play. Balarama and Krsna and all their friends, like Dama, Sudama, Sridama...
Unconventional Teachers
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"'However, most of my time was spent in cutting the "jungles" of mayavada, sahajiya-vada, sakhi-bekhi and all other non-devotional ideas. If there is a mayavada jungle, the seeds of bhakti will not sprout. I therefore had to cut so many jungles, and still there are so many jungles left throughout the world. Most of my time was spent in clarifying philosophical points.'
"Saying this, his mood changed and his face became reddish. Then he spoke the following verse...
