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Fri, 08 Aug 2008 03:21:24 -0500

Dear Devotees, Nityananda! Gauranga! Hare Krishna! Jaya Shri Guru Parampara! Pranams! I have added and reorganized the Forum Categories on the Forum list page. Also there is new feature. Each Category now has a separate page of it's own which you can directly link to. These links to the Category specific pages are given below. New forums may be added in the near future in these below Categories as and when we feel the need for it. Your suggestions are most welcome.

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Daaso'smi, BR Sadhu Swami Gaurangapada.

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Multiple Questions

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 03:00:20 -0500

Dear Swami Gaurangapada,

Nityananda ! Gauranga ! Hare Krishna !

Please accept my humble obeisances.

I have a few questions and would be very grateful if you could answer them.

1-The way NGN is more powerful than HKMM, is the prasadam of Nitaai Gaura also more powerful than Krishna prasadam. ?

2-What are the different stages of realization a devotee experiences from the beginning stage to the last stage. ?

3-What are the spiritual benefits a devotee experiences after being initiated by a guru. ?

4-If a devotee has a desire to accumulate a lot of wealth then does Lord Nityananda fulfill his desire or He burns the desire by purifying the devotees heart. ?

5-What are the eternal pasttimes that are going on in Goloka Navadwipa. ?

6-After the guru and disciple leave for Goloka Navadwipa and Goloka Vrindavan what relationship do they have with each other there. ?

7-Sometimes Lord Gauranga is shown with a shaved head and sometimes He is shown with long hair. How does He actually look like in Goloka Navadwipa. ?

8-Srimad Bhagavatam describes Goloka Vrindavan in great detail. For eg there are desire trees etc. Similarly can you describe how Goloka Navadwipa looks like and what kind of life do all devotees experience there. ?

9-Chanting in front of Tulasi plant magnifies the power of the mantra 1000 times. Does this mean that doing one round of NG in front of the plant is as good as doing 1000 rounds. ?

10- Tulasi Devi is a devotee of Lord Krishna (Lord Gauranga) and not Lord Balarama (Lord Nityananda). Then does the power of chanting Nityananda in front of her get magnified by 1000 times. ?

I have asked all the questions with a very humble intention. Please forgive me for any offenses.

Sincerely,

Mihir.

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Practical service

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 19:21:47 -0500

Nityananda! Gauranga! Hare Krishna!

Dandavats and obeissances.

Dear Swamiji,

I was wondering if there is any practical devotional services that you would like done. I don't know if you have a list like you used to have, but I would be interested in doing something, anything. I need something to help fill up my time on some days.

Sincerely,

Jagannatha Gauranga dasa.

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Viewing Bhakti Yoga Videos is Most Important

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 02:46:46 -0500

Nityaananda! Gauraanga! Hare Krishna! Dotsub.com seems to be a very easy browser-based free subtitling (captioning) tool.Daaso'smi, BR Sadhu Swami Gaurangapada.
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What is really prasadam

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 20:41:47 -0500

Some Points on Prasadam, Cooking and Offering by Gaura Keshava dasa prabhu:

Nowhere in sastra does it mention offering food COOKED by an avaisnava/ non-Vaisnava. There may be instances cited by devotees where Srila Prabhupada did take cooked food when preaching. But surely these are exceptions not rules. We do not have an instance where he offered this COOKED food to a deity.

Traditionally there are two types of devotees who beg from householders. One will accept any cooked food and usually that is because he is begging from a Vaisnava householder who offers him prasadam but the more traditional Vaisnava beggar begs only the ingredients of prasadam and prepares the food he begs himself and offers it. Such beggars beg grains and fruits and prepare an offering
themselves.

In the quotes you give Srila Prabhupada actually never says that COOKED food should be taken or offered. The statement is "Sometimes preachers in the Krsna consciousness movement have to accept food in a home where the householder is an avaisnava; however, if this food is offered to the Deity, it can be taken." It NEVER says what you have stated " if food COOKED by an avaisnava is offered to the Deity, it can then be eaten." because sastra forbids food COOKED by non-devotees to be offered to the deity. I would suggest that you have interpreted that COOKED food can be offered to the deity. It never says that. We know that uncooked food like fruits can be offered to the deity so if food items like this are offered to a Vaisnava he may offer them to the deity. We have never experienced a situation where a deity has been offered food that was actually COOKED by non-devotees??? Do we have any traditional or sastric evidence for that??? So Srila Prabhupada may have occasionally out of politeness taken COOKED food on preaching programs but it was never offered to any deity.

We usually make a distinction between COOKED and non-cooked food. Especially in temple bhoga preparation. How often have any of you known a bhakta or bhaktin to be asked to help in cutting up vegetables or fruits for an offering. It is common. On the other hand how often do bhaktas or bhaktins actually COOK the preparations that are COOKED with the stove or oven for the deity??? This was never done, at least in the old days. So it would seem that from the beginning this distinction was clear. When I joined there was no question of a non-brahmin stirring a pot on a stove. Cutting vegetables and fruit, or even combining uncooked ingredients OK. I myself remember being taught to make coconut (date) honey balls for distribution on sankirtan at the temple when I was just a bhakta (even before I moved into the temple). I know of other people who would make simply wonderfuls although I think this is border line cooking because the butter normally has to be heated to mix with the other ingredients but of course a brahmin could heat the butter and give it to a bhaktin or bhakta to mix into the other ingredients which I am sure is what happened in most cases. As time went on I think we have become more lax about this. Perhaps now is the time to get back to basics and re-assert some of these basic practices.

Another thing I want to mention. Sometimes there is a tendency to hire cooks sometimes to do mass cooking. Such cooks are or were in the olden days always brahmins. Please note that Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has stated that he will not accept food in the home of anyone who does not chant 64 rounds per day. (His standard for Gaudiya Vaisnavas). Yet we have biographical evidence that He did indeed eat food prepared by non-Vaisnavas albeit Brahmins. However note that even above and beyond His prescription of eating in someone's home only if they chanted 64 rounds, He still would not eat anything cooked by non-brahmins. In Puri when he was accepting lunch invitations from different devotees those who were brahmins cooked and offered the food at home and hosted Him. Those who were non-brahmins (but still Vaisnavas) purchased Jagannatha prasadam from the temple to feed Him because it would be improper for Him as a brahmin/sannyasi to eat their cooked food. Thus we have the example of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

So it would seem that food cooked by brahmins and/or Vaisnavas is the only food offerable to deities. This is the traditional and sastric standard. Of course there are many householders who may not be brahmins and yet have to eat. They have normally been encouraged to take temple prasadam or offer their food at home but in the case of home offerings since they are not brahmins they are not usually permitted to perform proper deity worship. Some abridged method should be employed by them, and they should all endeavor to take diksha as soon as possible so they can actually follow the standard Vaisnava practices.

Your conclusion is that devotees may occasionally take Vegetarian food and offer it somehow (in the mind, to a picture, but I would suggest not to the temple deity). This question is about the standards of what may and what may not be offered to a deity. Now granted that there are different forms (8 mentioned in sastra) of the deity including that mental deity within the mind. And we should not be making distinctions between them (one form of Krsna is non-different from another). However in practice we DO make a distinction between offering items casually in the mind, or to a picture and when offering items ON AN ALTAR IN A TEMPLE TO AN INSTALLED DEITY. So without getting into the whole area of what makes the standard of the installed deity in the temple different from that of the deity in the mind or even the picture on a home kitchen shelf, I think that we have been taught to have the highest standards in the temple worship of the installed deity. Other situations may call for improvising and doing the best (most Krsna conscious) thing possible in a particular situation, but let us first and foremost emphasize in no unclear terms that temple deity offerings must be cooked ONLY by those with Vaisnava diksha and by that I specifically mean 2nd initiation or brahmin initiation. Preparing food that is not cooked and by this I mean cutting, stirring, and whatever else that DOES NOT involve physical contact of the person with any COOKING medium like a stove, or oven is acceptable. There is a book by the great saint Vedanta Desika which is still followed by many Orthodox Sri Vaisnavas in South India which is call Ahara Niyama (Rules of Food). In that and also in His magnum opus Rahasya Traya Saram he states clearly that "others may help in the preparation of food items but a Brahmin must supervise" So it is clearly understood by all orthodox higher class Hindus/Vaisnavas that those who are not brahmins should not cook food
for offering.

There are many restrictions on taking other people's food in India. Vaisnavism upholds these. Those who do not accept this should take a trip to India and visit some orthodox Vaisnavas or Hindus and see how they cook, offer and eat even today. Srila Prabhupada was not against being strict in this regard although he was also practical when it came to preaching. He was not a fanatic. However we should try to follow his example and also not be fanatics. We should not imitate him. That means as a matter of common practice we should cook and offer our food in the traditional way. If there is some exceptional circumstance we may take food cooked by others. However I don't see any situation that requires us to offer that food to the deity. It is a sin to eat unoffered food. We may occasionally tolerate this. It is also a sin (seva aparadha) to offer unofferable food to the deity. We should never tolerate this sin.

It is a stretch of the imagination that items cooked by a NON-Vaisnava can be offered to any deity or offered at all for that matter. As you say that goes against traditional practice. Please note that there are more rules and regulations about eating (and offering food) than any other practice. Cooking and eating are things that traditional orthodox people take very seriously. When my wife and I we house-hunting in Sri Rangam (an Orthodox Vaisnava Brahmin neighborhood) we were NEVER allowed to enter the kitchens of the houses we were looking to buy. The Orthodox Vaisnava owners said "After you buy the house they you may enter the kitchen". Still today Orthodox Vaisnavas do not even let their kids go in the home kitchen until they are a little grown up and have received diksha. Before diksha their own children can't even go in their own mother's kitchen. I only mention this because you should understand how traditional people can be and still are in India. In most cases the puja room is either next to or actually inside the kitchen in Vaisnava homes. The kitchen is considered very sacred, like the deity room (garbha grha). Even when Orthodox people get others to cut vegetables they will have them do it outside the kitchen area. Very Orthodox Vaisnava Brahmins will not allow others to help even. Most traditional temples allow only hereditary brahmin cooks to do the cooking and hereditary brahmin pujaris to do the puja. Not even gurus or acharyas are allowed to do these things. One must be born in the right family plus have the qualities as well. I don't expect Western first or second generation Vaisnava devotees to be a strict as the Orthodox Vaisnava Brahmins of India, however in time they should strive to be authentic in their behavior and it is helpful for them to know the tradition they come from.

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Chaturmasya, Kartika and Purnima

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 20:30:29 -0500

Some Points by Gaura Keshava dasa prabhu:

There are two systems of lunar month in India. Purnamanta (ending on purnima) and Amanta (ending on amavasya). The Gaudiya Vaishnavas follow the Purnamanta system. For example the day after Gaura Purnima starts the new Gaurabda or year for Gaudiya Vaishnavas.

Therefore the last day of Kartitika or any other month will be a purnima or full moon. If you started chaturmasya on a purnima then you will end it on the day before a purnima.

Chaturmasya means four months. Therefore Caturmasya ends four months after it begins. Since you can begin the vrata on Ekadasi, or Purnima (or perhaps the day after them) it can end on a corresponding Ekadasi or Purnima four months later. So it depends when you start it. Karttika/Damodara month is however fixed, it will end on a Purnima (for those who follow Purnamanta calendars).

Urja vrata is performed in Karttika or Damodara month. Therefore it ends at the purnima. The next day after purnima will be a new month and NOT Karttika or Damodara month. Please calculate the end of Karttika or Damodara month for your location and offer lamps from the day after the previous purnima (of Padmanabha month) up until and including Karttika purnima.

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Vani, Temples, Sanga and Naama Bhajana

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 08:32:41 -0500

Nityaananda! Gauraanga! Hare Krishna! We are not disputing the necessity of a living Guru. We are discussing about the Vani and Vapu association with a living Guru and living Vaishnavas. Shrila Swami Prabhupada states in Shrimad Bhagavatam that simply reading the books of our Acharyas is also inquiring. Have we not found that so many of our questions get automatically answered when we are reading, viewing a video or hearing an audio about the Lord? That is the power of associating with Vani. I remember when I read Shri Chaitanya Charitamrita many times in my University Library, I felt deep within that I had received the answers to all my questions in life.Daaso'smi, BR Sadhu Swami Gaurangapada.
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Vani, Temples, Sanga and Naama Bhajana

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 08:06:50 -0500

Respected Swamiji, and all VaisnavasSurely we need a living Guru. A book , audio, or video cannot answer our questionslowerthanarat
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Vani, Temples, Sanga and Naama Bhajana

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 00:30:15 -0500

Respected Swamiji, Hadai prabhu and all Vaisnavas,

Nityananda! Gauranga! Hare Krishna! Please accept my respectful obeisances!

Whenever we discuss the importance of one type of spiritual variety, another type catches our attention and seems so glorious. The fact is that each has its own glory. Whether it is vani, vapu or in the 'inner temple', spiritual association in the heart, everything has its own glory and on the absolute level they are not different.

But according to our own individual time, place and circumstances we find one type of association more helpful for us than another. Ultimately the fact that it is spiritual association is all that ultimately matters. Somehow we get it. The more of it we get, and the more ways we get it, the better.

I consider associating with the Lord and worshipping him and his devotees by making a nice temple in one's mind or the heart and therby getting the association to be just as powerful as associating with them personally. Its there in the mind or the heart that one can worship them and enjoy their association unbridled and unrestricted by so many limitations of circumstances in this material world. Actually this is one of the 64 processes of bhakti and the Srimad Bhagavatam has a full chapter dedicated to worshipping the Lord in different ways. Its very rare to see as only great devotees were doing this kind of service as mentioned in Caitanya Caritamrta Caitanya Bhagavata.

I personally been inspired to do that (though it started out very formally) with the Lordships Nityananda and Gauranga and our acaryas and I find its spiritual results to be astonishing. Serving the Lord and chanting his holy name is the best way to keep that huge speculative nature of the mind active in the service of the Lord and it makes our devotion more and more complete. The mind never stops working, and it is a very powerful thing to be used in the Lord's service in a myriad of ways.

But I do personally agree with Hadai Prabhu that we (I am referring to myself and others like me), we are very expert in the knowledge department of spritual science, but when it comes to actually doing bhakti, we aren't that good, actually not that good at all. We know a lot more theory, with hardly much realisation. But on the practical front there are so many irregularities and that department is quite haphazard. Continuous practice is the only way to bring that department to shape. I cannot and did not learn how to play a violin just from a book. Morever theory is highly limited. The realised part of the knowledge is much superior to the external meaning. Sometimes I have to remind myself that I am not reading an encyclopedia to win a quiz competition, but its all for putting into practice and making it one's life.

We new-comers therefore do need to start doing rather than just keep discussing. We have stalwart examples of devotees, many of them yourselves, to follow. I would rather say a simplistic and honest approach (If I have to do, I do, that's all) approach is the best thing to those who tend to follow a knowledge based approach to the path of bhakti. Atleast this is my experience. It elimates that number one enemy called mental speculation and mundane logic.

Actually this putting knowledge to practice is sometimes a feat in itself because knowledge can be a very powerful and very subtle booster to the ego without anyone noticing. The difficulty in putting things into practice is only imaginary, but the problem is the ego likes to speculate and to practice means to surrender that ego down and tolerate that mental agitation (manaso vegam). That's the point, surrendering the ego is the big thing. Our ego likes to sit lazy or do other things, but we must override that ego by beating the mind repeatedly saying that our goal is to act in devotional service, not speculate or do something else. I have had so much bad experience in this matter. Mundane emotion driven practice is very unstable and goes up and down with no consistency or discipline. So its time to call in the military discipline to make things regular. Atleast in my case. In the army its first obey, no room for moods and their fluctuations.

So to sum up, the whole gist of practice is this, "I have to do it, here's my chance, so let me do it. No first or second thoughts. Nityananda Nityananda ..... Gauranga Gauranga... Hare Krishna... !". That's all. No more consideration. The matter's finished. We act. Instant decision implementation.

In our music we know what is called asura sadhaka. The earlier musicians used to put in 7-10 hours daily every single day for several years for that. Music became life 24 hours. Atleast 3-4 hours practice they put in these days. They never skip practice. Even if they are too busy in the day, they practice at night, skipping their sleep till late hours. Do we skip our eating or sleeping? That sort of will power is required and that sort of asura sadhaka with that much determination is needed. That's discipline. Let's be inspired by Dhruva Maharaja's example.

Devotees like yourself are always encouraging us and reminding us that once the spiritual bliss starts flowing, its no longer military. Its bliss! So then we cannot feel like stopping our bhakti. I am hoping to reach that stage where devotion can become as natural as one's breathing or more, without having to be enforced rigorously.

Learning to stabilise and properly discipline my bhakti sadhana,

Srinath

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Vani, Temples, Sanga and Naama Bhajana

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 21:50:43 -0500

Nityananda Gauranga Hare Krishna!Dear Guruji, Jagannatha Gauranga dasa, Bhakta Igor, Bhakta Srinath and devotees. Please accept my humble obeisances.Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts. I think the foremost temple we have to built, maintain, and invite devotees to, is within our hearts. Our inner temple can be made unlimitedly beautiful and clean and it can be built with so much love that, when invited, Lord Nityananda, Lord Gauranga and Sri Sri Radha Krishna will come and occupy our hearts. They will sanctify your inner temple with so much transcendental attraction that it is the only place where you want to be. From this inner temple all you can see is eternal bliss in and around you. Your guru, the acaryas, and all the pure devotees of all the worlds will gather and come within your heart and join the eternal party of Lord Gauranga Krishna. In that inner sanctuary of the core of your being you will be given so much transcendental service at the feet of the pure devotees of the Lord as you could never have imagined possible. Or is it that your pure heart has joined the eternal party of Lord Gauranga Krishna? At this point it doesnt matter anymore because all of your being is constantly drowning in that supreme love for Lord Gauranga Krishna. After having established your inner temple to the degree as described above it is all up to Lord Nityananda where your life is heading too. The only thing you pray for is to stay engaged in which we are engaged already: that you may continue to serve the devotees of Lord Gauranga Krishna. Because sometimes you may fly high on the forceful waves of concentrated bliss, but you should never forget that you are extremely vulnerable. You should never assume that your Bhakti creeper has become indestructible, not as long as you remain within this material word. The dangers are luring everywhere around and it is absolute not certain that you may not fall. I totally agree with guruji that just one pretentious devotee with ulterior motives can disturb the whole atmosphere. However we also have to conclude that that atmosphere was then not strong enough to neutralize the ulterior motives of that devotee. No impurity can actually enter within the Sanga ultimately headed by Lord Gauranga Krishna neither in Vapu nor in Virtual association. It seems that we all are better in the science of devotional service that in the art of living it. Yes it is a great challenge to live with devotees together and make it all work and I respect those who try it tremendously. The advantage is that they all chant (or have at least once chanted) the supreme holy Name of Lord Nityananda and should be considered pure devotees of Lord Gauranga Krishna. The only alternative is that we make our living together with materialistic people. There is so much advantage in living as a group. Together we have so much more time for chanting and devotional service. When we share the devotional duties as keeping the cows, growing the vegetables, cooking for the Lord, taking care of the deities and attracting income for the group, the work for every individual becomes lighter. There are also other advantages. In a group, children have many fathers and mothers and when the natural mother or father dies the children have still all the other moms and dads. They are not ending up with somebody they hardly know and they stay in the trustworthy environment they know. The nowadays individualization of our society has put a tremendous strain on tiny families. Everybody has to work eight to ten hours just to maintain their house, car, electricity bill, and daily needs. Most people have no time for this and that, everything goes in a hurry, instant meals are thrown into the microwave, and nobody within the family has time to associate appropriately with each other. When you live in a group of people, as a tribe, all those tasks are divided over many people who lessen the burden of making the livelihood of every individual involved. There is another advantage of being together physically and that is sankirtana, the foremost instruction of Lord Gauranga Krishna in this Kali yuga. When we congressionally sing the holy Names of the Lord the most pervasive phenomena in the universe is unleashed: synchronicity. When you have two pendulums moving within one room, regardless of there initial state they will adopt the same rhythm. Synchronization occurs when coupling signals are influential enough to overcome the initial vibration of individual frequencies. Below a certain threshold individualization prevails, above it there is a collective rhythm. In modern day this is a whole new science that has emerged but Lord Gauranga Krishna is the originator of this phenomenon and his incarnation as Lord Gauranga is to utilize this in the form of his sankirtana movement. Being collectively together singing His holy Names is the foremost instruction and naturally includes all other instructions because it gives participants and bystanders the collective synchronicity of Himself. I personally love to associate with all devotees that naturally appear on my devotional path. Sometimes I encounter so called devotees with all the ulterior motives as described by guruji and initially I only look and try to activate the best in them. However as soon as I detect it is a danger for my own bhajana I part with the association. My inner question always is: does this association bring me closer to Lord Gauranga Krishna or further away from Lord Gauranga Krishna? Coming back to the inner temple as described above almost everybody fits within my heart especially when I get them to chant Lord Nityanandas Names even just once. Because according to the promise of Lord Gauranga Krishna he or she will be His pure devotee. I just try to humble myself so deeply that I become lower then them so I can take them on my shoulders and carry them to the Lord. The Lord has given here the perfect formula for being undefeatable. So if it is necessary that a group chooses a leader, a temple president as you will, it should be the humblest of the devotees because he or she can not be brought down and will bring all others without fail to the lotus feet of the Lord.I am very grateful for being able to share some of my initial feelings about this subject with the assembly of the wonderful devotees of this forum.Your servant,Hadai Nityananda dasaNityananda Gauranga Hare Krishna!
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Vani, Temples, Sanga and Naama Bhajana

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 19:33:57 -0500

Respected Swamiji and all Vaisnavas,

    Nityananda Gauranga Hare Krishna! All glories to the guru parampara! Please accept my respectful obeisances!

     This is a reply to the earlier post. I have specifically replied to the vani part of it, so I post it separately.

    Even if great devotees like any of our acaryas goes nowhere, still their words will spread all over the universe, what to speak of this little earth planet. This article will have certainly explained all our present postions. Like here I am in a corner of the world with the nearest Vaisnava (who is revealed) being Lord Siva in his temple over here! In some cases, like with Hadai Prabhu, I am nearly 12000 miles away. But the message of The Lord is spiritual and is not bound by material space and time. Not only me, almost all of you I presume. All have got the mercy through vani. Like vapuh is very rare, but vani is much more merciful and accessible.

    My whole process of spiritual advancement has (so far) been solely due to Vani. Starting from the books to contact with all of you. All of you have helped me in ways beyond comprehension that is too incredible in my vocabulary to describe. Although I have never personally seen any of you in Vapuh. These days modern day technology has grown so much that most often we don't even notice that we are sometimes separated by almost half-a-planet in cases. Now a days we can even see each other sitting where we are!

      So many of you devotees have been given diksha without vapuh, physical presence, but instead in the form of vani. Did it really matter how far away you were? I doubt anyone even bothered to notice. The effect is unchanged. The spiritual potency is all powerful and not different from the Lord. Really sometimes vapuh and vani are not different in their potency but at the same time they are different as I'll write later.

     All this modern day technology has been inspired only to spread the divine vani of the holy names and the words of the Lord and his devotees very quickly.

      Dear Vaisnavas, these days I get many insights or realisations (I am not sure, basically they just keep coming) while writing that sometimes I am unable to stop writing short and concise replies or sticking to one topic. Sometimes its as though an entire book flashes by while thinking of one paragraph or one topic. Miles and miles of non-stop trains of words are going through and everything is so significant one doesn't want to miss penning down anything. So please forgive me, I know I am just a fool and my words are very incoherent and may be totally meaningless or even completely mistaken.

       While saying I get realisations I could be completely wrong and I could just be speculating. Only you can point those matters to souls like me owing to the fact you know what is the truth, having had such beautiful realisations. Please forgive me for any inconvenience I put to you if it takes more of your time and energy to go through these long drawn notes.

    Only one thing in vapuh is that if the disciple keeps committing mistakes, the guru can 'pull him up by his ear'. But even that doesn't always seem to be a disadvantage with all the technology around as the chanting process is very simple, all that is required for a person is to be sincere and simple -- the mantrarajas are of a different character. Their effect is very quick. It only requires a person to so much as think or even hear or mentally note the name 'Nityananda' or 'Gauranga' even once and the Lord immediately decides to take direction over his life. The way they spread is very very subtle to notice, but it is exponential. The more people get the message, the more the names will spread to ever more people. Sooner or later I am sure that there will be perhaps a massive explosion of bhakti on this planet if things keep going as they are.

      The revelation of the mantrarajas and the maha mantra is heading for a tidal wave of spiritual revolution all over the world. And its all being done predominantly by vani. Though vapuh is catching up, the vani is the bedrock, that set everything including the vapuh into motion. Vani will go where vapuh doesn't always go. And it stays here permanently whereas vapuh is only rarely available. This preaching movement of Mahaprabhu is one of the finest example of vani and its forever showing more and more of its power until we only become stunned and astonished by its unfathomable power.

     That saying, if one looks at vapuh after this, one sees the glory of that type of association and it has its own glory as well. But its like these two types of association are forever competing with each other and make each other more glorious. On the absolute level, vani and vapuh are non-different, but in terms of availability to the conditioned souls, vani is more significant and merciful. Just like the mantrarajas are more merciful on us fallen souls than the Hare Krishna maha mantra, though on the highest spiritual level, they are non-different.

      At the absolute level, they are both association and so they are not different, but when they descend to the material world, vani is merciful and goes on working whether with vapuh or without vapuh. Even if I may have missed the Lord and His associates in vapuh by just 500 years (the hair's breadth when you see that they descend once in 8.4 billion years), I still have their association with vani always. Vani is always merciful too one and all and at all times whether we get vapuh or do not get vapuh. The spiritual potency is unchanged That's acintya-bheda-abhedha. The spritual association has so many varigated features like this.

       Sometimes I like one type of association, then the other. But then again vani, as with the mantrarajas Nityananda and Gauranga always has a special place for its quality of mercy and its ability to reveal its all pervading power. Vani in the books was my first association, that vani was my first guru. That vani brought me to you and now I am being guided by your vani in aural and written form. Vani is always the bedrock foundation under all the edifice of devotion that is being built slowly by your mercy. It is the support of not only mine, but so many devotees all over the world. In the past, present or future, the vani will always have its own glory.

       All that makes me feel very eager to one day get your association in the form of vapuh as well. That has its own charm and for the materialistic souls, it is the chance for close and personal association with the pure devotees. It has its own glory and its own charm. If you and the Lordshops, Nityananada- Gauranga and Radha Krishna are very merciful upon this worthless soul, I will be fortunate enough to get that association as well

Very insipired with insights and realisations from your vani,

Daaso'smi,

Srinath

Nityananda! Gauranga! Hare Krishna!

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Vani, Temples, Sanga and Naama Bhajana

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 16:35:52 -0500

Nityananda Gauranga Hare Krsna

Thank you so much for this post. I want to say that Vani of Acharyas is most important. That is my small realisation. In 1989 I found Srimad Bhagavatam in local library and started to read, Canto after Canto. I started to chant Hare Krsna and study Bhagavatam, and only after year and half I found some devotees in Belgrade. That is influence of pure devotees, that jivas are starting to chant and make spiritual progress evan they never personally associate with devotees.So from my small experiance, I agree that Vani is most important.

This site is most powerfull form of Vani. I also started to chant Nityananda and Gauranga Mantrarajas, evan I am thousands miles awey from Swami Gaurangapada. Here we have so many nice bhakti katha and so many nice, sincere devotees. This is association of open, non-sectarian, non-political oriented devoteees. We are searching for bhakti, for pure love, and we are happy to have association of Swami and so many nice forum members.

Dissapoitment with institutional or political affairs in the name of spirituality may lead sincere person in isolation as Jagganatha Gauranga Prabhu das mentioned. At least that is my case. Fortunately we have this forum and association of pure devotees in form of Vani.

Nityananda Gauranga Hare Krsna

Bh. Igor

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Vani, Temples, Sanga and Naama Bhajana

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 11:53:23 -0500

Nityananda! Gauranga! Hare Krishna!

Dandavats and obeissances.

Dear Swami thanks for your realizations on this important subject. It surely is becoming increasingly difficult to find physical association with pure devotees in this world. Even if there are Vaisnava centers close to one’s home it is still hard to find pure Vaisnavas there. Many times you will find people there who are the lowest of mankind, worse than the average politician. I could name some centers but I will refrain. It is also not very realistic that centers can be started in every small town in the world even if there were many honest people. One cannot realistically depend on this. People anywhere in the world should be able to advance spiritually without having to move into a temple and completely alter their life. That is what is so great about this website, people anywhere in the world can receive the Vani of the acaryas and visit the holy abodes through videos, etc. I personally live alone and don’t physically associate with anyone but I never feel alone due to all my photos of the Lord and acaryas, books, videos, kirtana always playing etc.etc. I always feel them near me, even though I am not deserving of their association.

Nityananda! Gauranga! Hare Krishna!

Jagannatha Gauranga dasa

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Vani, Temples, Sanga and Naama Bhajana

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 02:23:21 -0500

Nityananda! Gauranga! Hare Krishna! Jaya Shri Guru Parampara! Pranams!

Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada and his illustrious disciple Shrila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada constructed many temples for the community propagation of Nitaai Gaura Krishna Consciousness. Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada clearly said: "prana ache jaar se hetu prachaar" which means that as long as there is genuine enthusiasm to propagate Naama and avoidance of politics (manipulative behavior and ulterior motives), such endeavours will succeed. Shrila Swami Prabhupada also said the same that when politics and beareaucracy enter our Bhajana or Prachara, everything is finished. As we are seeing Kali Yuga progressing more and more, the maintainence of even devotional temples without politics and beareaucracy is becoming a very difficult task. This has already been predicted by Shrila Sacchidananda Bhaktivinoda Thakura in Hari Naama Chintamani where he states that the temples may no longer remain the pure sources of inspiration for pure unalloyed Bhakti.

Even though we know that Vani (spiritual books, videos, audios, instructions etc.) is much more important than Vapu (personal physical association), the devotees in the neophyte stage depend a lot on the physical association in a devotional community of devotees. In fact, without it, some of the beginners are not able to practice Naama Bhajana at all. And they may also easily give up all their spiritual pratices if they experience or see something wrong in their devotional community. Still we all have to live with the fact that this kind of quality devotional community association is becoming increasingly difficult to find as Kali Yuga advances more and more. As the degraded Kali Yuga moves in, it has become much more difficult now, than what it was even at the time of Shrila Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada only around 30 years ago, to find a good, non-political and pure gathering of Vaishnavas, though these certainly do exist in this world.

When a Gaudiya Vaishnava organization or society or institution is formed in the present environment of Kali Yuga, immediately there is a tendency for those with manipulative behavior and ulterior motives to enter such an organization, because an institution means that property, money, assets, power and positions are involved. And in my personal opinion, the presence of even one such person in the garb of a devotee, disturbs the whole pure atmosphere of pure Naama Bhajana. In big institutions, it is very difficult, almost next to impossible, to restrict this fully at the local level. Institutions or groups can somehow avoid these weeds of politics and manipulative behavior to a considerable extent, if there is no beareaucracy in the top leadership and if the leader or Acharya is very strict about not entertaining such things and takes appropriate action to keep the Sanga as pure, simple and sublime while concentrating only on Bhajana, Katha and Prachara, which is the life of Bhakti.

Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada used to say that it is better to rent temples than to buy them because of this precise reason. He did not want the devotees to be attracted by the desire for properties, power and position etc. which are the material allurements big institutions offer. If the property is rented, no one will become attracted to that institution for getting control over that property or for living a luxorious life. Only those who are sincere to advance in Naama Bhajana will come. This is also the reason why the Supreme Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu Himself did not bother to establish temples.

Now a question may arise in the minds and hearts of many sincere devotees. What are we do in such a situation? The only direct answer would be that the spiritual aspirants have to advance a step further and learn to depend and associate more with the real substance of spirituality which is Vani or the spiritual teachings and association of our Gurudeva, Guru Varga and the Acharyas (in the form of books, videos, audios, instructions, qna, live internet sanga etc.). Shrila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, Shrila Sarasvati Prabhupada and Shrila Swami Prabhupada knew this so they stressed more on writing, publishing and disseminating spiritual books (Vani) than building temples.

That said, I know that many new spiritual aspirants are not able to quite understand the ultimate importance of Vani until they have had the opportunity to considerably associate physically with devotees and receive a lot of Vapu. But there also have been many instances of totally new people becoming devotees and practicing Naama Bhajana daily, simply by coming in touch with the Vani of our Guru Varga and the Acharyas, without physically meeting other devotees. I have full faith in the infinite power of the Vani of our Acharyas. I consider this Vani, as the fully-independent wish-fulfilling chintamani stone. This pure Vani can fully change anyone's life anywhere in the world even without personal contact.

Even if we study Shrila Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada's life, we find that most of his inspiration and dedication to fulfil the order of his Gurudeva was through Vani or spiritual instructions and books. Previously he was a grihastha (householder) and thus his physical association with his own Gurudeva and other Gaudiya Math devotees was limited. But his faith and attachment to the Vani of his Gurudeva and the Acharyas was the real inspiration behind his successful fulfillment of the mission of his Gurudeva. So faith in the Vani can surely show wonders. Vani is certainly capable of independently producing new devotees in this world.

When one is inspired by the Vani of our Guru Varga and Acharyas, one can certainly follow the devotional principles like rising early in the morning, morning program, japa, sankirtana, hearing, reading, Tulasi worship, viewing spiritual videos etc. even while staying at one's home without the daily Vapu association with other devotees. That is the power of Vani. One can gradually try to teach Bhakti to one's family to increase the quality of one's association at home. One can meet with other sincere, like-minded and simple devotees on weekends or whenever possible and engage in Naama Sankirtana and discuss pure Bhakti Katha together. Very elaborate Deity Worship is not the requirement for association in Kali Yuga. The only requirement is the quality of our consciousness. Brahmacharies can form their own sanga and stay in an Ashram with the monetary help of the sincere householders.

For the deepening of my personal Naama Bhajana, I personally would prefer association even with a few handful of simple, humble and sincerely aspiring devotees without the political mood, than the elaborate association which may be mixed with manipulative or sectarian motives and considerations for name, fame, power position etc. I would offer all my requests to all devotees but maintain my distance from such association. Of course, this is my personal mood, and it is possible that some devotees can still accept such association and accept only the good devotional things in such an association.

Anyway, I have humbly presented some of my realizations on this subject and I hope they are beneficial in some way. Let me know what you feel about it.

Daaso'smi, BR Sadhu Swami Gaurangapada.

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Nitaai Gaura Still Photo Dancing Animation

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 21:48:46 -0500

Nitaai Gaura Still Photo Dancing Animation
By Bhakta Chhotoo and Meghashri

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Sannyasa addressed to Nityananda Prabhu and Haridasa

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 10:29:18 -0500

Nityananda Gauranga Hare Krishna!

Dear Guruji, Srinath and devotees, please accept my humble obeisances.

Lord Nityananda and Haridasa Thakura Prabhu are above any of the designations of the conditioned souls. Their pastimes within this material world are beyond comprehension. Lord Nityananda Who is the first expansion of Lord Gauranga Krishna, Who is the servitor Lord of Lord Gauranga Krishna, Who is the Guru of all gurus, is naturally above all conditioned specifications. Since sannyasi is the highest spiritual position within the varnasrama system it is the least of titles we can give the Lord Himself although we have to remind ourselves that He is transcendent to the whole system itself. Most students have to climb the university ladder to attain a doctor degree. However some highly self-educated people are honored with a doctor degree by the university because of their extra-ordinary contribution in science or religion. So although they didn’t attain their doctor degree via the traditional ladder they receive the same recognition. To give Lord Nityananda His honorable doctor degree of sannyasi is an understatement to His position. However what else can we honor Him with within the system of varnasrama? It is the highest degree we can give Him. The same is for His pure devotees: they are beyond any social designation but when we want to decorate them with anything from within the system it should be nothing less than the highest.

Your servant,
Hadai Nityananda dasa

Nityananda Gauranga Hare Krishna!

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The cure for the bodily concept of life (which is so troublesome).

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 06:05:24 -0500

Nityananda! Gauranga! Hare Krsna!

Dear devotees please accept my simple obiesances.

Here is an excellent audio from Srila Gour Govinda Maharaja.

ia310110.us.archive.org/0/items/Gour-Govinda-Swami/SGGS_95.03.17_Next_cause_Gauras_app1.mp3

ia310110.us.archive.org/0/items/Gour-Govinda-Swami/SGGS_95.03.17_Next_cause_Gauras_app2.mp3

Lord Krsna's love for us is unlimited....but still we love this bodily conception of life which gives us so much trouble. Srila Maharaja gives us the cure for this 'rascaldom'.

Here is a very nice mp3 stream player with many audios:

www.archive.org/details/krishna-downloads

y.s. Nava

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Sannyasa addressed to Nityananda Prabhu and Haridasa

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 03:11:28 -0500

Title: Re: Lord Nityananda and sanyasa

User: Swami Gaurangapada Date: 2007-01-06 00:27:06

Lord Nityananda accepted the brahmachari order to purify that ashram but He was higher than all sannyasis as He is God Himself. He never officially accepted the sannyasa order but since He exhibited Himself as the topmost brahmachari, He is sometimes addressed as in the sannyasa ashram or as a renunciant or mendicant. This is also explained by Shri Shrila Prabhupada Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura in some verse commentaries of Shri Chaitanya Bhagavata.

Lord Gauranga confidentially instructed Lord Nityananda in Puri Dhaam to marry His two eternal consorts Shrimati Jahnava devi and Shrimati Vasudha devi in His later pastimes and purify the householder ashram also so that as a grihastha he could easily go to the most fallen places and deliver the most fallen souls residing in those places where even Lord Gauranga could not go as a sannyasi. As a previous brahmachari (not a sannyasi), He could accept the grihastha Ashram on the request of Lord Gaura. Lord Nityananda is the creator of the four ashrams of brahmachari, grihashtha, vanaprastha and sannyasa so actually He is always beyond these four but He mercifully accepts Them to show us by His example how to act in those ashrams. Nityananda! Gauranga! Hare Krishna! Jaya Guru Parampara! Pranams and Blessings.

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Sannyasa addressed to Nityananda Prabhu and Haridasa

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 01:49:32 -0500

Respected Swamiji and all Vaisnavas,

Nityananda Gauranga Hare Krishna! All glories to the guru parampara! Please accept my respectful obeisances.

While going through the Caitanya Bhagavata I find that many times Nityananda Prabhu is addresse with the word sannyasi. Like for e.g. when Lord Nityananda and Haridasa Thakura went from door to door to preach the holy name of Krishna, they were called sannyasis.

In another place Haridasa Thakura is called a naistika brahmachari. Since he was born in a Muslim family he did not accept sannyasa formally. Can you please tell me what sannyasa means in that case?

The more important thing is that Nityananda Prabhu always has his two potencies, Jahnava Devi and Vasudha devi as his consorts. According to the commentary he was a brahmachari and he wore the dress and danda carried by brahmacharis. Later on he gave them up when he married his two consorts.

So why is Nityananda Prabhu described as sannyasi? He was not formally a sannyasi so what does sannyasa mean for the Lord? It is not the regular meaning, so why are both of them called sannyasis?

Was this just according to the viewpoint of how they were addressed respectfully by ordinary people?

In doubt,

Srinath

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One should feel the urgency in the human form

Sun, 03 Aug 2008 19:26:46 -0500

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 2.2.3

ataḥ kavir nāmasu yāvad arthaḥ

syād apramatto vyavasāya-buddhiḥ

siddhe 'nyathārthe na yateta tatra

pariśramaḿ tatra samīkṣamāṇaḥ

TRANSLATION

For this reason the enlightened person should endeavor only for the minimum necessities of life while in the world of names. He should be intelligently fixed and never endeavor for unwanted things, being competent to perceive practically that all such endeavors are merely hard labor for nothing.

PURPORT ( By Srila Prabhupada)

The bhāgavata-dharma, or the cult of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, is perfectly distinct from the way of fruitive activities, which are considered by the devotees to be merely a waste of time. The whole universe, or for that matter all material existence, is moving on as jagat, simply for planning business to make one's position very comfortable or secure, although everyone sees that this existence is neither comfortable nor secure and can never become comfortable or secure at any stage of development. Those who are captivated by the illusory advancement of material civilization (following the way of phantasmagoria) are certainly madmen. The whole material creation is a jugglery of names only; in fact, it is nothing but a bewildering creation of matter like earth, water and fire. The buildings, furniture, cars, bungalows, mills, factories, industries, peace, war or even the highest perfection of material science, namely atomic energy and electronics, are all simply bewildering names of material elements with their concomitant reactions of the three modes. Since the devotee of the Lord knows them perfectly well, he is not interested in creating unwanted things for a situation which is not at all reality, but simply names of no more significance than the babble of sea waves. The great kings, leaders and soldiers fight with one another in order to perpetuate their names in history. They are forgotten in due course of time, and they make a place for another era in history. But the devotee realizes how much history and historical persons are useless products of flickering time. The fruitive worker aspires after a big fortune in the matter of wealth, woman and worldly adoration, but those who are fixed in perfect reality are not at all interested in such false things. For them it is all a waste of time. Since every second of human life is important, an enlightened man should be very careful to utilize time very cautiously. One second of human life wasted in the vain research of planning for happiness in the material world can never be replaced, even if one spends millions of coins of gold. Therefore, the transcendentalist desiring freedom from the clutches of māyā, or the illusory activities of life, is warned herewith not to be captivated by the external features of fruitive actors. Human life is never meant for sense gratification, but for self-realization. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam instructs us solely on this subject from the very beginning to the end. Human life is simply meant for self-realization. The civilization which aims at this utmost perfection never indulges in creating unwanted things, and such a perfect civilization prepares men only to accept the bare necessities of life or to follow the principle of the best use of a bad bargain. Our material bodies and our lives in that connection are bad bargains because the living entity is actually spirit, and spiritual advancement of the living entity is absolutely necessary. Human life is intended for the realization of this important factor, and one should act accordingly, accepting only the bare necessities of life and depending more on God's gift without diversion of human energy for any other purpose, such as being mad for material enjoyment. The materialistic advancement of civilization is called "the civilization of the demons," which ultimately ends in wars and scarcity. The transcendentalist is specifically warned herewith to be fixed in mind, so that even if there is difficulty in plain living and high thinking he will not budge even an inch from his stark determination. For a transcendentalist, it is a suicidal policy to be intimately in touch with the sense gratifiers of the world, because such a policy will frustrate the ultimate gain of life. Śukadeva Gosvāmī met Mahārāja Parīkṣit when the latter felt a necessity for such a meeting. It is the duty of a transcendentalist to help persons who desire real salvation and to support the cause of salvation. One might note that Śukadeva Gosvāmī never met Mahārāja Parīkṣit while he was ruling as a great king. For a transcendentalist, the mode of activities is explained in the next śloka.

Nityananda Gauranga Hare Krishna

Jagannatha Gauranga dasa

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Why to Nityaananda and Gauraanga

Sun, 03 Aug 2008 00:03:22 -0500

Respected Swamiji and Vaisnavas,    Nityananda Gauranga Hare Krishna! Jaya Guru Parampara! Please accept my respectful obeisances!

Thank you for your exceptionally wonderful and illuminating replies to the topic of the Govinda Bhashya. In this regard the Prameya Ratnavali has been quoted quite extensively.    One very interesting observation. The very first thing that is explained by Baladeva Vidyabhushana right after declaring that he will speak the Prameya Ratnavali is the chanting of the names of Lord Chaitanya, Lord Nityananda and Lord Advaita Acarya! In the very second sloka, after introducing the book, the very first subject matter is the chanting of the most merciful names of Lord Gauranga, Lord Nityananda and Lord Gauranga. True to its name, it gives validity for everything!     So we can just imagine how important chanting the mantrarajas are as this is the first thing mentioned in the book even before giving the truths of our sampradaya or siddhanta.

TEXT 2

bhakty-abhasenapi tesham dadhane       dharmadhyakshe vishva-nistari-namni

nityanandadvaita-chaitanya-rupe       tattve tasmin nityam astam ratir nah

bhakti—of devotional service; abhasena—ty the dim reflection; api—even; tosham—satisfaction; dadhane—experience; dharma—of religious activities; adhyakshe—the controllers; vishva—the universe; nistarii—delivering; namni—the chanting of their holy names; nityananda—Lord Nityananda; advaita—Lord Advaita; chaitanya—Lord Chaitanya; rupe—consisting of; tattve—truths; tasmin—to them; nityam—constantly; astam—let there be; ratih—intense devotion; nah—on our part.

We pray that we may develop intense constant devotion for Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Lord Nityananda Prabhu, and Lord Advaita Prabhu, the controllers of all religious activities. They are pleased even with the dim reflection of devotional service. The chanting of Their holy names delivers the entire universe. (Prameya Ratnavali 1.2)

Note : Prameya Ratnavali == Jewels of the Vaishnava Philosophy. Constant Devotion to Lord Caitanya, Lord Nityananda and Lord Advaita by the constant chanting of their names is described in this verse

Aspiring to be your servant,

Srinath

Reply by Swami Gaurangapada

vishva-nistari-namni

Nityaananda! Gauraanga! Hare Krishna! That is a fantastic find Srinath. Here the Holy Names of Lords Nityaananda Gauraanga and Lord Advaita are described by Shrila Baladeva Vidyaabhushana as "vishva-nistari-namni" which means They can deliver the whole creation. By accepting the mercy of these Names, Shrila Baladeva is taking up the task to compose the great Govinda Bhaashya. According to Shri Navadvipa Dhaama Mahaatmya, the great scholar of Puri Dhaama, Shrila Gopinatha Acharya from Gaura Lilaa, re-advented as Shrila Baladeva Vidyaabhushana for performing this important service of composing the Gaudiya commentary to the Vedanta Sutra in the modern times.

Daaso'smi, Swami Gaurangapada.

Srinath : The Prameya Ratnavali was written by Srila Baladeva Vidyabhushana to establish our sampradaya as bonafide. It is very important and astonishing to see that it starts with the subject matter of chanting the names of Gauranga, Nityananda and Advaita before any thing else. The very first topic mentioned is that. So important is the chanting of the mantrarajas in our sampradaya

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IMP: Buzz Swami to Join You in the Live Chat Room

Sat, 02 Aug 2008 19:26:31 -0500

Dear Devotees, Nityananda! Gauranga! Hare Krishna! Jaya Shri Guru Parampara! Pranams!

I have finally thought of a way by which you can contact (buzz) me when you enter our NITAAI Yoga Video/Audio Live Chat Room so that I can join you there also and talk to you via microphone or webcam if I am available. Even though I may already be logged into the Room, the Room may normally be open in a different browser tab, so I may not know that you have entered the Live Room and desire to chat. Or I may be available for Live Chat but I may not be logged into the Room at all. Until now, there was no mechanism which would inform me that you have entered the Live Room for chat. So devotees would leave the Live Room thinking that no one is there.

I have added a text buzz box at the top left hand corner of the Live Room. When you enter the Live Room and you don't find me there or am not replying to your messages, please buzz me with a text message if possible with your name in the black box on the top left of the Live Room as shown in the screenshots below. Please note that you have to type and send inside this box. Typing and sending your messages inside the Live Room will NOT reach me immediately.

If I am available for Live Chat, I will join you in the Chat Room within a maximum of 5 minutes. If you do not find me responding in the Live Chat Room within 5 minutes or so, then please understand that I am not immediately available. In such a case, you can leave your offline messages again in this box on the top left (not inside the Live Room) and I will send you an email when I am again available in the Live Chat Room. My active presence is required in the Live Chat Room to approve your messages before they become visible so please do buzz me in this way if you enter the Chat Room and desire to chat. You can also send private messages to me via this box when the Live Chat Room is going on or at any other time.

If you are logged into to the NITAAI.net Forums, you will automatically be logged in to the Live Chat Room with your same name. If not, you will automatically be logged with a random guest name. In case you are logged in as guest, you can always logout by clicking the arrow button on the right corner of the Room two times, and then enter your name, check the Guest box and re-enter again. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Daaso'smi, BR Sadhu Swami Gaurangapada.

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Do Not Pluck Tulasi on Dvadashi

Sat, 02 Aug 2008 17:43:18 -0500

Nityaananda! Gauraanga! Hare Krishna! There is no specific repentance about this mentioned in the scriptures. You could offer a feast to Shrimati Tulasidevi, beg her forgiveness and take care to avoid it in the future. Shrila Sanatana Goswami states in his commentary that the injunction of not plucking on Dvadashi is specifically followed by the devotees. Other days are followed by strict followers of the Smritis.Daaso'smi, BR Sadhu Swami Gaurangapada.
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Do Not Pluck Tulasi on Dvadashi

Sat, 02 Aug 2008 11:56:47 -0500

Dandvats MaharajI just read this article and scared a bit...because a couple of times....by mistake I plucked Srimati Tulasi leaves on Dvadashi .WHat should I do to repent this action?Also I usually dont follow this on sunday,...should we follow the same rule on all sundays also? Like not plucking leaves or not watering her etc..I would be very grateful if you can enlighten me as to what is the proper conduct...Hare KrisnaYour servant Preeti dasi
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please help

Sat, 02 Aug 2008 03:04:14 -0500

dandavats Maharajs and vaisnavas.

Does any one know how to repair a Mrdanga.
I have a brass mrdanga and the top head is broken.

So I am trying reverse engneering to take aprat,but what can I do to repair the head

regards

lowerthanarat

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Shridhara in Yoga Maya

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 16:43:36 -0500

Nityananda Gauranga Hare Krishna!

Dear Guruji and devotees please accept my humble obeisances.

I am still contemplating the whole exchange of Lord Gauranga Krishna with Sridhara. There is so much confidentiality and beautiful instruction here. For instance it is easy to make a hasty conclusion that Sridhara didn’t recognize the Lord during his scholarly pastimes thinking that Lord Gauranga kept His Identity hidden. After all even Lord Advaita Acharya who caused the Lord’s descend didn’t know from the very beginning. However in this context Sridhara says something very remarkable to Lord Gauranga: “Previously You personally told me, ‘The water of your Ganges has emanated from My feet.’ Yet neither did my sinful heart recognize You, nor did I understand the glories of Your valuable lotus feet.” Sridhara blames his sinful heart to be the cause of him not recognizing the Lord. Why does the pure devotee of the Lord consider himself sinful? The pure devotee has no drop of sin in his heart. In my previous post I said in this context that ‘the Lord can stand right in front of His pure devotee, in Person, and still He is able to hide His true identity. This means that we are never able to recognize the Lord unless He reveals Himself. It is solely by the will of the Lord that He is recognized. The Lord uses His pure devotee Shridhara as an example here and covers him with His Yoga Maya, to show us how He reveals Himself to us (conditioned souls).

The Lord asks for Sridhara’s prayers and manifests Sarasvati on his tongue and Sridhara prays: “You are dharma, You are karma, You are bhakti and You are jnana. You are the scriptures, You are the Vedas, and You are the object of all meditation. You are the mystic perfections, You are prosperity, You are enjoyment, and You are yoga. You are faith, You are compassion, You are illusion and greed. You are Indra, You are Chandra, Your are Agni and Varuna, You are Surya, You are Vayu, You are wealth and strength. You are devotional service, You are liberation, You are Brahma and Shiva.” Sridhara shows here that He sees Lord Gauranga in everything but then he says: “But why consider You to be them? They are all subordinate to you.”

Sridhara first sees Lord Gauranga Krishna in all of His manifestation but then he makes a new distinction: actually everything I just mentioned is an expansion from You. Lord Gauranga Krishna’s first expansion is Lord Nityananda Who expands further into the rest of all manifestations. So all the purusha expansions are subordinate to Adi purusha and all of Lord Nityananda and His expansions are there to serve Lord Gauranga Krishna. Sridhara reveals here the glue of the whole of all manifestations: Love for Lord Gauranga Krishna via the medium of Lord Nityananda. First he sees only Lord Gauranga Krishna in al differentiation but then he sees a new differentiation: all he perceives is Lord Nityananda and His expansions in the service of Lord Gauranga Krishna. From then on his ecstasy is fully unleashed.

We know this instruction from another episode when Shrila Murari Gupta was chastised by Lord Gauranga when he offered obeisances to Lord Gauranga first and then to Lord Nityananda. That same night he had a dream and both the Lords appeared and he saw how Lord Balarama was walking ahead of Lord Krishna being the elder brother. So the next day he came and offered obeisances to Lord Nityananda and worshiped Him first and then He did the same to Lord Gauranga. Lord Gauranga was very pleased. There are unlimited wonders hidden in the Lord and there is a never ending, always something more and deeper that He will reveal to his devotees.

In a sense Sridhara was innocent by seeing the Lord in everything. It is a natural evolution in a devotee’s development to come to that super vision of seeing the Lord in everything. It is just that the Lord wants us to discover the differentiation of how He is in everything: via His first expansion Lord Nityananda Who is nothing but love and worship for Lord Gauranga Krishna. Lord Gauranga Krishna wants us to approach Him through Lord Nityananda because He is the absolute expert in love and service for the Lord. So in this wonderful exchange of Lord Gauranga Krishna with Sridhara the Lord not only shows that He is more pleased by being approached through Lord Nityananda, He also reveals that we miss out on so much ecstasy if we don’t approach Him through Lord Nityananda.

Of course Sridhara is not sinful and never was sinful…it is all Lord Gauranga Krishna’s supreme mercy and special instruction to us fallen souls, so we get a glimpse of His transcendental Being that is so way beyond our sense perception.

So I am still stuck at the exchange between Lord Gauranga Krishna and Sridhara. Or am I really? To me these realizations of a few verses contain more ecstasy than I can bear. How could I ever be able to bear the ecstasy of the entire Sri Chaitanya-Bhagavata? Really I have ways to go to expand my tiny container and only by the mercy of Guruji, the Guru Parampara, Lord Nityananda, Lord Gauranga, and Radha Krishna have I not exploded into thousand pieces yet. How can I ever get calm with so much excitement in and around me? And how can I overcome the fear that somebody could get envious about my realizations? It is absolutely not my intention to frustrate anybody and when I do please I want to give you all off my bliss in an instant. It is overflowing constantly. Also I am very aware of my extreme vulnerability because I have lost all grips except the lotus feet of Guruji, the devotees and the Lord. Without Them I am lost because there is nothing but Them. My life is in Your hands. I want You to know dear devotees, that when You read these words awake, that I have fallen into Your hands and that I am totally depending on You to catch me. I also beg to the devotees who are not initiated yet by Guruji, please jump and take it! I promise the wings will come and you will fly. Make it your highest priority and put all other considerations aside. Please make your most important decision now and ask Guruji for diksha. When you think that you will not be able to follow all of the rules, just do the best you can and you will see that you will be able to overcome all obstacles with his mercy. I know who Guruji Swami Gaurangapada is and you don’t want to miss out on a once in a billions of lifetimes opportunity to take diksha from him. After diksha Guruji will forever live in your heart and He will give you Lord Nityananda without delay. Actually the moment you decide to take diksha from Guruji Lord Nityananda takes over your life. If that is what you really want…please, please, I beg you: jump now!

Your servant,

Hadai Nityananda dasa

Nityananda Gauranga Hare Krishna!

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New Videos on NITAAI Blip.tv

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 10:51:51 -0500

Nityaananda! Gauraanga! Hare Krishna! Many new videos have been and are being added to our NITAAI Yoga TV Blip page. They will be added to the NITAAI Yoga Videos Player as soon as possible. Meanwhile, you can directly view them at the Blip page.

Daaso'smi, BR Sadhu Swami Gaurangapada.

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meat-eating condemned

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 10:50:24 -0500

Hare Krishna, Would you please give me quotations from the sruti and smrti that specifically condemn meat-eating?

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Perfect QnA about Nityananda Gauranga Naam

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 10:13:54 -0500

Nityaananda! Gauraanga! Hare Krishna! Thanks Srinath. It has been moved to his Forum List page but it will not appear in his Forum Blog page because we need to keep it in the Nityaananda Gauraanga Naama forum so that it can be easily imported into the right section of the NITAAI Veda for offline archival.Daaso'smi, BR Sadhu Swami Gaurangapada.
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Perfect QnA about Nityananda Gauranga Naam

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 09:17:52 -0500

Respected Swamiji and all Vaisnavas,

Nityananda Gauranga Hare Krishna! Please accept my respectful obeisances!

Hadai prabhu heartily recommends this to his naama bhajana page. This is a very memorable conversation and is very special to me and it will be so to all devotees planning to know about the mantrarajas

Actually I had asked him the questions and he and Swamiji had given such wonderful answers!

This was the first conversation I had with Hadai prabhu and it marks THE turning point in my life when I first accepted the mantrarajas and started chanting them and saw the effect.

So good was the replies that he gave that any little doubts I had on the mantrarajas vanished.

This was the time I received the biggest boost anyone could have asked for and it changed my whole life. I must say I went into orbit.

In the service of all those who want to take up the process of chanting Nitai-Gaura naam,

Srinath

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The future of NITAAI Veda eBook Hardware

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 02:27:20 -0500

Nityananda! Gauranga! Hare Krsna!

Dear Gurudeva, please accept my simple obiesances.

A release of this type of machine, with all the books of the acaryas loaded in it would be fabulous. Then we could go online to update it when needed.

y.s. Nava

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The future of NITAAI Veda eBook Hardware

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 02:18:46 -0500

Nityaananda! Gauraanga! Hare Krishna! I hope that one day a portable eBook like the one above could be released with the NITAAI Veda loaded in it with the search and tree functions. NITAAI Veda may have to be converted into pdf for this since one of the problem is that most of these e-ink readers are not offering native CHM file support though some of them are. The most convenient thing about these eBooks other than the high battery life, is the great ease on the eyes to read on this type of e-ink screen. It is almost the same as reading on paper. It is so cooling for the eyes. One can read much more and relish the pleasure of reading about the Lord. One can feel this difference immensely if one holds such an e-ink screen next to a LCD screen. Personally, I use double filters for my computer LCD screen in order to minimize eye-strain. One is a thin and cheap plastic anti-uv film and above that is a tinted glass filter screen. E-ink displays can be also made to roll-up like paper to make them portable.

Daaso'smi, BR Sadhu Swami Gaurangapada.

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Poem: Nitaai - His devotee, His mercy

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 02:12:00 -0500

Nityaananda! Gauraanga! Hare Krishna! Not at all Srinath. Please feel free to do this nice service.

Daaso'smi, BR Sadhu Swami Gaurangapada.

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Poem: Nitaai - His devotee, His mercy

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 02:02:15 -0500

Respected Swamiji and all Vaisnavas,

Nityananda! Gauranga! Hare Krishna! Please accept my dandavat pranams!

This certainly deserves to be one of the most beautiful posts in Hadai Prabhu's naama bhajana. It was so nice because we all were a part of it. Apart from that it actually marks a very sublime event where the Lord gives the most beautiful birthday gift by causing a phenomenal surge in one's devotion, leading to newer and newer and higher levels, deeper into the unlimitedly and incredibly blissful firmament of the ocean of divine love and bhakti.

I hope I am not being of any nuisance to anyone by giving these frequent reminders left right and centre like alarm bells in the firefighting department at the time of emergencies when all of you also have important duties to do. Sometimes I think I am serving you when I actually give you more work. So please forgive me and let me know if I am of any inconvenience to you.

In your service,

Srinath

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Humbled at the Ocean of Lord Gauranga's Love

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 01:54:50 -0500

Respected Swamiji and all Vaisnavas,

Nityananda! Gauranga! Hare Krishna! Please accept my respectful obeisances!

Forgive me for my impunity. But I feel I could be of some use to you when if it is required to start a separate Naama Bhajana thread for various devotees. I am just currently going around looking at earlier realisations and notifying them to be moved. There are so many posts here that we won't remember all that we ever put up, so once a while I would like to look in whatever little spare time I have.

Here is another beautiful post for Hadai Nityananda Dasa's naam bhajana.

I really love it when someone posts their experience, their realisations up here. Devotion is responsible for more devotion and this is very encouraging to all of us and in turn one person's experience leads to an all-round increase in the devotion within everyone who is fortunate to be engaging in devotional service. Its all for the collective benefit. See, our dharma is congregational!

In your service,

Srinath

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The Marks on Lord Nityananda's Holy Lotus Feet

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 00:38:49 -0500

Nityaananda! Gauraanga! Hare Krishna! Dear Srinath, This topic has been moved as per your request. Thanks for the heads up.Daaso'smi, BR Sadhu Swami Gaurangapada.
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