by Śrīla Bhakti Rakṣaka Śrīdhara Gosvāmī Mahārāja
Once, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura had a dream in which he was wandering in the sky chanting the holy name. He came upon the court of Yamarāja, where Yamarāja himself was sitting with Brahmā, Nārada, and others discussing a point from a verse in Bhagavad-gītā ...
by Śrīla Bhakti Prajnana Kesava Gosvami Maharaja
When it comes to discussing the life of mahā-puruṣas (great self-realized personalities who are transcendental to mortal existence), it would be a mistake to consider their birth, life span and death to be similar to that of mere mortals, because mahā-puruṣas are beyond birth and death. They are situated in eternal existence, and their coming and going from this world is strictly a matter of their own appearance and disappearance...
Hearing this pastime someone may think, “Mother Yasoda is controlling Sri Krsna in such a wonderful way. I also want Krsna as my son. I also want to control Him.” Mother Yasoda is a ragatmika-parikara, an eternal associate of Krsna, and those who want to be like her are called raganuga...
Baladeva Prabhu has been hearing the conclusions of Rohini Maiya - who had been describing the separation of the cows in Sri Vrndavana...
It was Srimati Rohini devi who gave this description of the beauty of Vrndavana - in response to the statements of Padmavati, the mother of King Kamsa. When Padmavati heard the glories of Vrndavana she said, "Rohini, you talk too much. If Vrndavana is so sweet and attractive, and if there is no jealousy there, then why are the cows there dying?" When Krsna heard this His mouth dried up and He became practically unconscious. Nobody knew what to do, so everyone turned towards Sri Balarama...
Last evening I discussed how Srimati Radhika appeared in Raval in the Yamuna River on a one-thousand-petal lotus flower. There are two births described for Her, and they are both correct. In this age (yuga) She appeared in Raval and in another She appeared in Varsana.
Radhe – what is the meaning of Radhe? "Aradyate iti." Sri Krsna Himself worships Srimati Radhika, and Radhika worships Him. When She came from Krsna's left side in the rasa-lila She at once ran to Him to worship Him – and He ran towards Her. "Radhe Jaya Jaya – Radhe, all glories to You, all glories to You...
Sri Krsna was present at Vamsivata, the place of the rasa dance, but He was not happy. He wanted to perform loving pastimes but He was all alone. Srimati Radharani then appeared from His left side, and Sankara (Siva), Sri Gopisvara, appeared from His right side as guru-tattva. Radha ran to Krsna with great pleasure. Ra is for anuragi, meaning ‘deep spiritual loving attachment,’ and dha is for dhavati, which means ‘to run very fast, with great eagerness.’ Krsna worshiped that very Radha, and therefore Her name became Radhika...
Sri Jayadeva Gosvami knows in his heart that the best prayers to Sri Krsna Bhagavan are those which glorify Him in relationship to the gopis, and especially in relation to Srimati Radhika. He therefore begins this kirtana with the words "srita-kamalakuca-mandala! dhrta-kundala! e."
Desire is also a power, and that desire-power is called iccha-sakti. Radhika is present (as the personification of that iccha-sakti). Without Radhika, there is no existence of Krsna. He is nirvisesa-brahma...
Only under the guidance of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura is it possible to render service to Srimati Radhika. In the mood of a maidservant of Srimati Radhika, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura has written that he cannot tolerate Radhika's condition during the time of Her separation from Krsna. And, for Their meeting together, he is readily prepared to easily give up his life...
She is Krsna-mayi; She sees Krsna everywhere – inside and outside of Herself. Wherever Her mind or senses go, it is only for and about Krsna. When She sees a tamal tree She thinks, "Oh, there is Krsna." Her name is Radhika because She fulfills all the desires of Krsna and because He Himself worships Her...
There is one person whose name is never mentioned in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. And yet Bhāgavatam’s steadfast readers constantly nurture the ardent hope of becoming that person’s devout, one-pointed servant. May that person, who means everything to Śrī Bhagavān, kindly destroy our false ego in all its various forms and bestow upon us the shelter of Her lotus feet. Today is the day of Her advent.
Lalita-devi was born in the village of Karehla, and later on her father brought her to Uccagaon, the place of her pastimes (lila-sthali). There are still many evidences of her pastimes here, like a rock containing the imprints of her lotus feet and some small utensils she used when she and the other sakhis fed Krsna there...
To fulfill the wish of our beloved guide and well-wisher nitya-lila om visnupada Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Narayaṇa Gosvami Maharaja, we cordially invite you to Sri Vrndavana Dhama for Sri Vraja-mandala Parikrama this Kartika, 2025!
You will have to add something in your sadhana-bhajana. Try to follow the instructions given in the book Hari-bhakti-vilasa, for all rules and regulations can be found there. Also, for arcana (formal deity worship), there is a book coming from Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu through Sri Vakresvara Pandita and Sri Gopala-guru Gosvami, and after that through Gopala-guru Gosvami's disciple Sri Dhyanacandra Gosvami. This book is called Arcana Padhati...
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