You are very lucky. If anyone comes here, or even takes a vow, that “I will go to Ksetra-mandala, Nilacala (Jagannatha-ksetra) or Bhubanesvara,” and if he dies before his vow is completed, still he will get the fruit. He will become four-handed. What relationship do you want with Lord Krsna?
We are far from the truth when we cannot see that everything, all waves, are flowing towards the satisfaction of one: Svayam Bhagavān. We are labouring under a deception. We are deceivers who are not just deceiving ourselves but the world also. We are guilty of misunderstanding everything and of carrying that false knowledge to others...
He was the godbrother and sannyasa-guru of our Gurudeva. I offer my heartly obeisances at his lotus feet. He was one of the dearest disciples of Jagat-Guru Nitya Lila Pravista Om Visnupada Sri Srimad Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Thakura. So, Srila Prabhupada Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura gave him the title, “Bhakti Raksaka Sridhara Swami.”
If one's guru is not qualified, then, taking his permission, the disciple should at once take initiation from a higher rank of guru. This is not an offense. If that guru is not giving permission, he should at once be given up and the disciple should take proper initiation. This is because that guru is not a Vaisnava...
You should understand who is a real guru. He is the abode of bhakti, and he has all kinds of serving moods towards Radha-Krishna Conjugal or Mahaprabhu. He can give sadhana-bhakti, and he can also give rati - a high class of rati. If he is qualified to even give prema-bhakti in Goloka Vrindavana, and the love and affection of Conjugal Radha-Krishna, can he fall down?
[Question:] Since we spirit souls haven't fallen from Krsna's pastimes in Goloka Vrndavana, why do the scriptures say we ‘revive' our relationship with Krsna, or that we have ‘forgotten' that relationship? Since we have never experienced it, what is the question of ‘reviving' or ‘forgetting' it?
Without accepting diksa from a bona fide guru, can one develop bhakti or not? Some think that chanting, remembering, reading books, and performing arcana, sravanam and kirtanam is sufficient and there is no need for a mediator. They think that accepting a 'ritvik' person is sufficient for attaining pure bhakti, and there is no need of accepting diksa from any living self-realized guru...
Sripad Bhaktivedanta Tirtha Maharaja, one of Srila Gurudeva's prominet servants, left this world in 2020, in Vaisanva month of Sridhara, Krsna Dvadasi tithi. His samadhi is at Kesavaji Gaudiya Math, Navadvipa, next to Srila Gurudeva's samadhi mandira...
Those of you who know Mula Prakriti will remember the intensity with which she lived her life. She had a burning desire to serve Srila Prabhupada by preaching. She joined ISKCON in L.A. in 1973, and in the early years, shot to the top of the book distribution charts, distributing literally hundreds of thousands of books all over the United States and Japan and collecting millions of dollars for Srila Prabhupada's projects.
Sri Ramananda Raya then suggested sva-dharma-tyaga, giving up one’s occupational duty. Ultimately, even if one wants to offer the fruits of ones worldly activities to Krsna, since Krsna actually owns everything, what can one actually offer to Him? Everything belongs to Krsna, and therefore one should simply renounce and leave one’s material designation in varnasrama. One should be very careful to avoid anything that is against bhakti...
If we accept only guru and not guru-paramparā there will be problems [in our spiritual life] and divya-jñāna will not manifest. Therefore we also worship guru-paramparā on the day of Vyāsa-pūjā. Nityānanda Prabhu was waiting for Mahāprabhu...
Once, someone said to Gurudeva, Srila Bhakti Prajnana Kesava Gosvami Maharaja, "Those who have left the Gaudiya Mission have left Srila Prabhupada's teachings." Gurudeva replied, "We have never left Srila Prabhupada, we will never leave, and in the future we will continue to serve. Let us see what happens in the future....
If you are abusing anyone, criticizing anyone, or quarreling with anyone, these sounds will evaporate in the air and it go throughout the whole universe. If you are speaking any nonsense it will not 'go in vain.' It will go throughout the whole world by air. An example may be given of a big pond....
Great souls have one-pointed faith, determination, enthusiasm and complete conviction in the service of Lord Krsna; and they want to distribute this to others. But who can receive such mercy? Only those who feel themselves to be utterly insignificant. Those who receive the mercy of Vaisnavas can become successful in their life and realize the service of the Lord. Without the mercy of Vaisnavas this is not possible...
This behavior of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu cannot be imitated. When Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu would do parikrama, He would have a direct vision of the pastimes of Srimati Radhika and Sri Krsna. So we cannot imitate Him. This stage will come naturally if we follow the process of bhakti. Do not try to jump over the stages in the progressive development of bhakti – sraddha, bhajana kriya, anartha nivritti, nista, ruci, asakti and bhava. In this way some realization will begin to come...
We should pray to madhurya-bhakti, which lives in the gopis, and among the gopis, Srimati Radhika is the embodiment of hladini-sakti (Sri Krsna's pleasure potency). When hladini-sakti and samvit-sakti mix together, that essence is called lila-sakti, or Yogamaya. If we pray to this Yogamaya, Paurnamasi, who is a manifestation of Srimati Radhika, she will arrange that a chain of pastimes will automatically manifest in our hearts...
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