Dear Devotees and Visitors, Nityananda!! Gauranga!! Hare Krishna!! All Glories of Shri Guru Parampara! All Glories to the Shrimati Radha's Holy Month of Damodara which is so dear to Lord Krishna!
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You can never find the taste of sugar from reading a book or by speculating "Is it this or that?" That is not the right way to taste. The correct thing to do is to place a lump of sugar on the tongue and then you will know immediately how it tastes.
Similarly, spiritual life is known only by getting into it and doing things -- chanting, worshipping, following -- not by just debating, doubting or speculating "What ifs?". . Skepticism is simply WASTE OF TIME AND OPPORTUNITY.
Is Skepticism Heroic?
Many people in the modern times tend to be skeptical about spiritual life and they are often proud of their skepticism thinking it to be sign of their freedom from dependence on any unverifiable schools of thought. However, despite the bluff and bravado of such skeptical people, underneath the veneer, their life is aimless, meaningless and filled with an existential emptiness. On a deeper examination, one will find that their skepticism does not come from an intelligent inspection and rejection of different spiritual philosophies. Rather it arises from an obstinate determination to enjoy the things of this world irrespective of the facts of life. An American comedian has poignantly stated, 'I have already made up my mind. Don't confuse me with the facts.' Similarly most people who take shelter of skepticism have already decided that wealth, women, wine are the goals of their life. And even if the facts of spirituality - existence of God, the existence of soul, the potency of prayer - are presented to them with scientific evidence and sound logic, they blindly reject these facts so that their materialistic and often hedonistic lifestyle is not disturbed. The factual miseries of life ? bodily disorders, mental anxieties, relationship problems, climatic inconveniences and natural calamities and ultimately old age, disease and death ? are an inescapable reality and are a spur for intelligent people to search our a spiritual solution. A skeptic is like a sick person who instead of searching for a competent doctor and medicine, pretends to be healthy ? and is proud of his pretense. Though seeming to be bold, skepticism is actually cowardice because a skeptical person does not have the willpower to control his unbridled mind and senses and discipline himself to live a life of spiritual principles. This unwillingness or inability to live a principle-centered life is covered over with a veneer of skepticism, which is used to offer a philosophical justification for an unprincipled life. Once Srila Prabhupada after giving a discourse in New York was asked a question by a young man, "Swamiji, your philosophy sounds like the philosophy of Buddha." Srila Prabhupada counter-questioned, "Do you follow Buddha?" The person was taken aback. He said, "No". Srila Prabhupada chastised him, "This is the problem with you Americans. You just talk but don't follow anything. Follow Buddha, follow Jesus, follow Krishna, follow someone. Don't just talk." Here Srila Prabhupada was emphasizing that armchair speculation will get us nowhere. If we follow a spiritual path properly, if it is faulty that will be exposed to us by the fact that we will get no results. And if it is proper, that too will be revealed to us by the fact that we will see transformation in our life. But if we just keep discussing about various paths and don't apply anything, we will get nowhere in life. And that is the ultimate unfortunate destiny of a skeptic. Achieving happiness neither in this life nor in the next, a skeptic simply suffers. On the other hand, a wise person intelligently examines different philosophies and praying to the Almighty God to guide him to what is the ultimate truth and what is the ultimate good for him, he takes a leap of faith. For such a person sooner or later, the best path will be revealed to him and he will be able to attain happiness not just in the next life but also in the next, because his life will be empowered and protected by the universal principles with which he is harmonizing. Thus skepticism is not a philosophy, rather its a 'foolosophy,' the sophistry of fools Millions of people since time immemorial and thousands even now have experienced the transforming potency of the Holy Names of God, which has elevated them from confused self-destruction to enlightened self-actualization. Therefore as a test case, as a bold path breaking personality who refuses to follow the beaten track that takes ordinary lesser people to their inevitable destiny of misery, anxiety, old age, disease and death, why not take an intelligent leap of faith and experience for yourself the wisdom of Srila Prabhupada?s timeless instruction, "Chant Hare Krishna and be happy"? Why continue to deprive yourself of spiritual empowerment and enrichment In the name of self-destructive skepticism?
Please accept my humble obeisances at your lotus feet. All glories to the guru parampara. All glories to Lord Nityananda. All glories to Lord Gauranga. All glories to Sri Sri Radha Krishna.
Today I humble ask for your blessings so I may continue to serve your lotus feet. Your gift to the world is beyond comprehension especially for devotees who question the importance of chanting the holy Names of Lord Nityananda and Gauranga.
I humbly pray at your lotus feet for those who are offensive to your preaching the mantrarajas that you kindly forgive them and they can continue their spiritual practice so at one point in time they understand the glories of chanting the holy Names of Lord Nityananda and Lord Gauranga.
I humbly pray at your lotus feet for everybody who has ever committed knowingly and unknowingly an offence at your feet and that in the greatness of your loving heart you will forgive them.
You are the gate and the connection to the parampara and the Lord and I pray that this gate will remain wide open for everybody who wants to enter into the highest of all experiences: love for the Lord.
Thank you my dearest guruji for being my guru and by guiding me by your own example.
Nityananda! Gauranga! Hare Krishna! Jaya Jagannatha! All Glories to the Guru Parampara!
Dear Swami Gaurangapada
Thank you for your clear explanation. I especially appreciate your clarification of the primacy of chanting of the Holy Names. It is true that this is most important. Any meditation or thought that I might do around Nitaai Gaura or Radha Govinda lila is only an auxiliary practice and not the primary. The Holy Names alone are sufficient.
So what I hear you saying is that it is ok to use the descriptions of Radha and Krsna's (and Nityananda and Gauranga's) pastimes in our meditation to try our best to see them, but we shouldn't try to see how we will be participating in those pastimes once we attain our spiritual identity? To do so would be premature. That makes sense, because if we try to artificially imagine ourselves doing something, we might be mistaken.
Dear Neil, you have understood perfectly. Thank you so much. In addition, we have to remember one thing. We should never forget or replace the transcendental sound of the Holy Names in favor of only meditation on the Pastimes since meditation alone is for Satya Yuga not for Kali Yuga. All such meditation or visualization should be accompanied with the transcendental sound of Nityaananda, Gauraanga, and, Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Raama Hare Raama Raama Raama Hare Hare, to make if actually real and effective.
"Unless we first realize the Names, Forms, Qualities, Pastimes and Associates of Shri Shri Radha Krishna during our chanting, we cannot approach our own svarupa or spiritual form in those Pastimes. So artificially imagining it does not makes sense. Though, one can certainly visualize the Names, Forms, Qualities, Pastimes and Associates of the Lord in our chanting meditation according to our qualification."
So what I hear you saying is that it is ok to use the descriptions of Radha and Krsna's (and Nityananda and Gauranga's) pastimes in our meditation to try our best to see them, but we shouldn't try to see how we will be participating in those pastimes once we attain our spiritual identity? To do so would be premature. That makes sense, because if we try to artificially imagine ourselves doing something, we might be mistaken.
I guess I am just anxious to be in Divine Navadwip and Divine Vrindavan. I really don't like the material world and wish I could go to the spiritual world sooner rather than later!
practice of giving manjari svarupa and a manjari name at the time of initiation. From the very beginning, their initiates would claim to have understood their position as a manjari (intimate gopi assistant of Srimati Radharani). Sarasvati Thakura did not approve of such a process and would say, “FIRST CHANT THE NAME OF GAURANGA".
Dear Neil, Nityananda!! Gauranga!! Hare Krishna!! Here Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada is not objecting or preventing anyone to become a devotee of Shri Shri Radha Krishna. He is just not approving the process of "siddha pranali" or "manjari diksha" for his own followers since this is not something to be attained by imagination but by purification and realization. This "process" of the Guru telling the manjari svarupa or name to the normal disciples at the normal process of initiation is not authorized or explained in any scriptures or by any Acharyas.
The Guru imparts the Holy Names to the disciple and the Names in turn impart the spiritual svarupa and the eleven characteristics of our spiritual body at the time when the disciple becomes qualified to receive it i.e. when the disciple attains rasa, rati and sthayi bhava. The Guru gives it in the form of the seed in the Name and leaves it to Naama Prabhu to reveal this at the correct time when the disciple becomes advanced and qualified since the Naama Prabhu is all omniscient. At that time, the disciple can approach the Guru and confirm these revelations of one's siddha svarupa which the Name is already revealing to the disciple.
Since the Guru imparts Naama Initiation to disciples who are on different levels of Bhakti, it will be an improper transgression on the part of the Guru to tell all of these disciples to start imagining their svarupa after initiation. That would mean that the Guru does not have faith that the Naama will reveal the svarupa to the disciple at the right time when the disciple is qualified. We cannot force our way into the pastimes of Shri Shri Radha Krishna simply by imagination. It is only possible by adequate purification via the causeless mercy of Shri Shri Guru and Gauranga.
If the Guru tells a disciple, who has anarthas or misgivings, to think about his or her svarupa, then it may have an opposite effect because the disciple is trying to attain it without proper purification and qualification. dusta phala karibe arjana. Unless we first realize the Names, Forms, Qualities, Pastimes and Associates of Shri Shri Radha Krishna during our chanting, we cannot approach our own svarupa or spiritual form in those Pastimes. So artificially imagining it does not makes sense. Though, one can certainly visualize the Names, Forms, Qualities, Pastimes and Associates of the Lord in our chanting meditation according to our qualification.
And to do so, our Acharyas state that one requires to first approach and realize the more merciful Holy Names, Forms, Qualities, Pastimes and Associates of Shri Shri Nityaananda Gauraanga. That said, sometimes an Acharya can reveal the svarupa to one's disciple along with imparting the Naama, if he finds that the disciple is sufficiently advanced to practice Bhajana on that level, but this is very rare. And certainly, this should never be done as a general practice to attract followers, otherwise it may have an opposite effect i.e. to take us away from the Pastimes of Shri Shri Radha Krishna due to the offense of approaching it without proper qualification and patience. That is why Shrila Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada did not approve of this method for the common people as it totally negates or nullifies the basic practice and importance of practicing vaidhi bhakti in order to progress to the higher stage of ruchi and bhava.
You can further read the two articles: Qualification to Hear Radha Krishna Lila and Prakrita Rasa Shata Dushani, to understand the full depth of this matter. I hope this helps.
Good question. You see, the acharyas are more powerful than what we imagine -- time and time again I have repeatedly witnessed this for myself. That is also why preaching requires that much spiritual qualification and is not so simple. There are many complicated issues that you will see in real life that you won't find in a book. Some cases are so tricky that unless you actually know what people's inner thoughts are, you can never really know for sure.
When an acharya preaches, it is never done alone. The Lord is always with his devotees. While someone can hide one's cheating from people like us or the society, no one can fool the Lord. The Lord knows fully well who is a cheater and who is not, and since His devotees are always with Him, they too know this. Externally one may look like some great Vaishnava, but what is within one's heart is really what matters. I do not know how far anyone may believe this, but logic alone can't answer trick questions regarding other people's hearts. But from my experience I can tell you, no one can fool a real devotee. One who knows real bhakti automatically knows what's fake too. That is why in spirituality, we HAVE to believe the true guru, even if it doesn't fit in with our level of experience or qualification.
Either I can choose admit my limitations, trust the Lord, believe the scriptures and believe the guru, or else I can question everything and try to figure out everything on my own.
The scriptures very clearly ask us to see the spiritual master as not different from the Lord, for some very good reasons. It is the Lord who speaks through the mouth of the guru, so it has to be given the importance it is due.
Regarding proper worship, the Lord has given all the instructions on how one must be worshipped and how one must not. They are found in all the scriptures. No one can just say, "I'll do this my way..." and expect the Lord to be pleased. Unfortunately those who have preached those ideas have done great harm to real devotion over the years.
So we accept any method of worship that is accepted by the Lord. If the Lord is happy with that type of worship, so are we. That is the criteria. Yes if someone thinks of Radha Krishna and chants their names, it is very good. But when someone starts doing things like coming up with all the imaginations like what the Sahajiyas, mayavadis and others do...I am sorry, but anyone who claims oneself to be the Lord's follower has to stand up and speak the truth and say, "This is wrong and it is against what the Lord said." Failure to follow the Lord's instructions can result in big offenses being committed against His devotees. It is not simply that the Lord has told us the right way to do things.
So next you may choose to ask me, "Alright Mr. Smarts. How do YOU know that? Can you read minds and hearts?" The answer is I am NOT qualified, and I certainly have ZERO power to read what people think. I wouldn't be able to identify who's pure or not. But I prayed to Lord Nitaai to give me a real guru, and eventually He not only led me to one, but also gave me the eyes to recognise him too. I wasn't in proper company before I came here, but now I know, thanks to the devotees.
That is where faith is required. And in my experience this is always the hardest part in dealing with people who have some interest in spirituality. Either one believes everyone is right or one believes everyone is wrong. Both of them are not correct. If you really want to know if the Lord approves of what some people do, just open your heart to Him and ask. Sooner or later an answer is bound to come. A sincere plea to the Lord always gets an answer. I got mine. And from my experience I've learned a bit about who's genuine and who's not. And if someday the Lord is pleased with whatever qualification I've got, I am sure He'll show me more light through the fog. Nityananda! Gauranga! Hare Krishna!
Daaso'smi, Speaking from my personal experiences, Srinath
Please forgive me if I am being disrespectful, but this post brings up a question for me.
How can we make a blanket statement and say that people who worship Radha but do not follow our line exactly are worshipping falsely?
Doesn't that presuppose that we know everyone else's innermost heart?
How can we say another person's worship of Radha is false?
To me, anyone who worships Radha is a friend. Granted, I might not want to follow their method of worship, but I wouldn't expect them to follow my method of worship either.
I can't expect that Gauranga would say that anyone who worships Radha is "false." I think that Gauranga would be extremely happy if anyone thought of Radha and Krsna at all. Isn't that the reason Gauranga came here? To get all people to think about Radha and Krsna and chant their names?
"After getting the mercy of Lord Caitanya there will be anartha nivritti"
Srila Visvanatha Chakravarti Thakura explains that the stage of anartha-nivrtti consists of elimimation of four kinds of anarthas:
(1) Duskrtottha Anarthas coming from one's past sinful activities leading to envy & anger even while performing devotional service.
(2) Sukrtottha Anarthas coming from one's past pious activities leading to a craving in the heart for temporary sensual pleasure even while performing devotional service.
(3)Aparadhottha Anarthas coming from our offenses (basically nama-aparadhas). Most strong anartha.
(4) Bhaktyuttha Anarthas coming from devotional service like desires for profit, adoration & distinction.
Nitaaaai Gauraaaaanga! All glories to Swami Gaurangapada! It is also very impotant to notice that brahmana/ghost got positive result of his spiritual activities/chanting in form of saintly association of Srilla Bhaktivinoda Thakura. He was able to hear his chanting and therefore he surerly continue his spiritual life and soon again atain human form of life. Nityananda Gauranga Hare Krsna
The Jata Gosais and Brijbasis had the practice of giving manjari svarupa and a manjari name at the time of initiation. From the very beginning, their initiates would claim to have understood their position as a manjari (intimate gopi assistant of Srimati Radharani). Sarasvati Thakura did not approve of such a process and would say, “FIRST CHANT THE NAME OF GAURANGA". After getting the mercy of Lord Caitanya there will be anartha nivritti. Then there is the possibility of artha pravriti. Anartha nivritti means to get rid of all the bad things in the heart, and artha pravriti means to enter into, or develop ones actual goal of life. Those who do not obey Caitanya Mahaprabhu, their claims of being manjaris and their worship of Radharani is all false.”
Nityananda!! Gauranga!! Hare Krishna!! Yes, that is true Mihir. Since Nityaananda Gauraanga Naama do not consider our offensive mentality, he would have neutralized his reactions towards the offensive chanting of Hari Naama and would have been saved from the ghostly body.
Thank you for such a wonderful post. I would like to request you to post more of such nectar daily.
However there is a question that has arisen in my mind. Incase if this cheater brahman would have chanted NGN also along with HKMM then would he have become a ghost or he would have got liberation ? Can someone pls guide me with my query ?
When Sarasvati Thakura was young he was often taken to visit holy places of Bengal by his father, Bhaktivinoda Thakura. Bengal abounds in holy places connected to Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His associates. Once they set out for Kulina-grama, a village whose inhabitants were very dear to Caitanya Mahaprabhu (cf. Caitanya-caritamrta Adi-lila 10.80-83). Arriving there late one evening, father and son were given a house to stay in. Next morning the villagers asked, “Did you sleep comfortably?” Bhaktivinoda replied, “Yes! Thank you very much.” Surprised, the villagers asked, “How could you sleep? That house is haunted by a brahma-raksasa (the ghost of a brahmana). We had no other place to give you. But no-one can sleep there peacefully because of disturbances from the ghost.” Bhaktivinoda Thakura replied, “Yes, that ghost came and tried to disturb us. But I chanted the Hare Krsna maha-mantra very loudly. As a result, not only did the ghost go away, but I can assure you he will not trouble anyone else any more.” Astonished, the villagers asked Bhaktivinoda Thakura, “How could you send him away by chanting Hare Krsna? He was a priest here in this village and he chanted ‘Hare Krsna’ throughout his life. How then, did he become a ghost, and how was it that your chanting has sent him away?” Bhaktivinoda Thakura explained that the priest’s chanting could not have been actual chanting at all. Sinful people make a show of chanting with the intention of acquiring wealth and reputation. Such so-called chanting is only cheating. It is not actual chanting. Bhaktivinoda Thakura quoted Jagadananda Pandita’s Prema-vivarta: ” ‘asadhu-sange bhai nama kabhu naya, bahire nama-aksara bate, tabe nama nahi haya’ ‘Those not in the association of bona-fide devotees, strictly following theirinstructions, cannot actually chant the holy names. Even though they may externally vibrate the sound, “Hare Krsna,” thatis not actually the name of Krsna.’ The name of Krsna is non-different from Krsna. It is completely pure and spiritual. Krsna-nama does not allow Himself to be hijacked by materialists. This man never actually chanted the Hare Krsna mantra even once in his life. On the contrary, he was a sinful person who wanted to use the name for sense gratification. Because of the great offense of taking Krsna’s name to cheat people, he became a ghost. When I chanted, Krsna was pleased to manifest Himself as that sound. A sinful ghost cannot stay in the presence of such chanting.” This incident was published in a famous daily newspaper of Bengal, the “Amrit Bazar Patrika.”After this, the glories of Bhaktivinoda Thakura becamewidely known for the first time.
Nityananda Gauranga Hare Krsna All glories to Srilla Bhaktivinoda Thakura! All glories to guru parampara! Nityanaaaaandaaaa! Gauraaaaaanga!
I have realized a very important point in my spiritual life. When we have a very good health then we can chant and serve the Lord much much more. However when our health is not good bhakti is a bit difficult. Therefore I think that when we are in good health we must use every moment of our time to chant chant and only chant. This way at the end of the day we can derive a lot of satisfaction because we never know what misery is waiting for us in the near future therefore why not use every moment of our good health days to serve the Lord.
Lord Shri Krishna continued, "Now I am going to narrate a famous historical event concerning the previous birth of Draupadi. In her previous birth Draupadi was the daughter of a great brahmana sage called Medhavi. Her mother died when she was a small child, and so she was under the care of her father. Day by day, she grew to full bloom youth. She was very beautiful, but her father was not interested in arranging her marriage Seeing her other girlfriends with their husbands and young children she passed her days in a very miserable way In the mean time, her father passed away from this material world while uttering the sacred name ofHari.
" This made his daughter even more miserable. Fortunately, the great sage Durvasa Muni appeared in her asrama shortly after her father's death. Seeing the great sage, the girl paid her obeisances to him and respectfully worshiped him. She offered flowers and fruits to the great sage When he expressed his pleasure with her reception, she began lamenting and crying before him. Concerned, the sage inquired about her lamentation. The brahmana girl began to speak, "Oh great saint Durvasa, you know everything - past, present and future. 1 have no shelter in this world. I have lost all of my relatives. My parents have passed away, and I have no elder brother. I am also unmarried, and therefore there is no husband to protect me. Oh great sage, please do something, please help me! Please give me some advice to relieve me from this miserable condition." After listening to her prayer, Durvasa began to consider the unfortunate condition of the girl, and he decided to show mercy towards her.
Durvasa rsi began to speak, "Oh beautiful one, three months from now the most auspicious Purusottama month will begin. This sacred month is most dear to Lord Shri Krishna. Just by taking a holy bath in this month a man or woman can become completely sinless. This Purusottama month is more glorious than all other months, including Kartik month The glories of all other months is not even equal to one sixteenth of the glories of Purusottama month the merit of a person who takes a holy bath even once in this month is equal to the merit of taking bath in the Ganges for twelve thousand years, or the merit achieved by a person who takes a bath in holy water of Ganges or Godavari when Brihaspati [Jupiter] enters to Leo [lion] If you will take a holy bath, give in charity and chant the holy name of Krishna during this month all your miseries will go away, you will attain all kinds of perfection, and all of your desires will be fulfilled. Please follow my advice - please do not forget to worship the forthPurusottama month very sincerely "
After speaking these words. Sage Durvasa remained silent. Unfortunately, the young brahmani did not believe in his words, rather she became angry and started blaspheming, "Oh great sage, you are lying. How could this extra month, which is also called Mala-masa [stool month], be superior to other great months like Magha, Kartika and Vaisakha. I cannot believe your words. You are trying to cheat me. This extra month is known to be most abominable for any kind of pious activity " Hearing these words of the brahmana girl Durvasa became very angry, his whole body started burning, and his eyes became red. But remembering the helpless condition of the girl, he consciously controlled himself
Sage Durvasa told the girl, "Oh unintelligent one, I am not going to curse you because your father was a good friend of mine. You are in such a helpless condition Being an ignorant child, you cannot understand the sastric conclusion. I am not going to take your offenses towards me seriously. But at the same time, I cannot and should not tolerate your offences towards Purusottama month. In your next life you will certainly reap the results of your offensive words" The great sage Durvasa then hurriedly left that place to perform his service for Lord Narayana.
Lord Shri Krishna told Arjuna, "Oh sinless one, when Durvasa Muni left that place the brahmin girl [Draupadi in her previous birth] lost all of her opulences in a moment. Being an offender to Purusottama month, her body began to look very ugly, and she lost all of her bodily effulgence. She then decided to worship Lord Siva who is known as Asutosa, one who is very easily pleased.
This young brahmani then began to perform great austerities to please Lord Siva, the husband of Parvati She continued her austerities for nine thousand years. In the summer season, she would sit for meditation surrounded by fire and under the hot sun. In the winter season, she meditated under freezing cold water. Observing her great austerities, even the demigods became fearful. Lord Sankara then appeared before the brahmin girl because he was pleased by her worship and austerities. When Lord Siva appeared before the girl in his spiritual form, the girl immediately stood up rejuvenated. In the presence of Lord Siva all of her bodily weakness disappeared and she again started to look beautiful. Seeing Lord Siva in front of her, she started to worship him in her mind, and then began to recite nice prayers to please Him.
Being very pleased with the girl. Lord Siva said, "Oh performer of austerity, all good fortune to you Now please ask some boon from me. 1 am pleased with you I shall grant whatever you want "
Hearing these words from the mouth of Lord Siva, the girl said, "Oh friend of the poor, if you are pleased with me then please give me a husband. Repeatedly speaking the same words - "give me a husband" - five times, the girl then fell silent. Then Lord Siva replied, "Let it be. You have asked for a husband five times, and so you will get five husbands." Hearing Lord Siva's words, the girl became very ashamed. She said, "Oh Lord, it is most abominable for a girl to have five husbands. Please retract your words " Lord Shiva then spoke to her very gravely, ""That is impossible for me. What you have asked from me will be granted. You will get five husbands in your next life. Previously you offended Purusottama month by not following the kind advice of sage Durvasa. Oh brahmana girl, there is not difference between the body of Durvasa and mine. All we demigods, including Lord Brahma and all the great saints like Narada, worship this Purusottama month in accord with the order of Lord Shri Krishna.
A devotee of Purusottama month achieves all good fortune in this life and at the end of his life he goes back to Goloka Dhama, the abode of Lord Shri Krishna. Being an offender to this sacred Purusottama month, you will get five husbands in your next life." The girl became very remorseful, but Lord Siva immediately disappeared from the place. After Lord Siva's departure, the young brahmani became very morose and fearful about her future life In this way, after few days, the girl left her body by the arrangement of providence.
Lord Shri Krishna then said, "Oh Arjuna, in the meantime the great king Draupada had been performing an elaborate sacrifice. From this sacrificial fire, the young brahmani took her birth. She appeared as the daughter of Maharaja Draupada. Oh Arjuna, the same daughter of Medhavi Rsi has now became famous in the world as Draupadi - she is none other than your present wife. Because she blasphemed Purusottama month in her previous life, she was insulted by Dushasana in front of the whole Kuru assembly in the presence of all her Pandava husbands. Fortunately she remembered Me [Shri Krishna] and took My shelter. Forgiving her offenses, I protected her from that most abominable condition and saved her from the hand of Dushasana. Oh dear Pandava brothers, please don't forget to worship the forthcoming Purusottama month. A person who blasphemes Purusottama month and doesn't worship her, and doesn't worship Me, will never attain good fortune. This Purusottama month is fully potent to fulfill all your desires and remove all miseries. Now your fourteen years of forest life is coming to an end. Please worship this Purusottama month sincerely, for it will bestow all good fortune upon you." Giving full consolation to the Pandavas in this way, Lord Shri Krishna then left that place for Dwaraka.
After a few days, when Purusottama month appeared, Maharaja Yudhistira reminded his younger brothers and wife Draupadi of the words of Lord Shri Krishna. All of them followed the instructions He had given them. They worshiped Purusottama Shri Krishna in various ways during this sacred month The merit they achieved by performing Purusottama vrata meant they regained their lost kingdom, and after enjoying a happy life they all returned back to Godhead by the grace of Lord Shri Krishna.
Nityananda Gauranga Hare Krishna! I have found some more information about this topic. Previously I had not found a complete answer to why the Pandavas had to suffer and I said that there was more to it than meets the eye
Once Shri Krishna, son of Devaki, visited the Pandavas in that forest. All the Pandavas, including Draupadi, were very happy to see their Lord, and they forgot their painful forest life immediately. They felt enriched with a new life just by taking Krnsa's darshan. They paid their obeisances at their Lord's lotus feet Seeing the miserable living condition of the Pandavas, Lord Shri Krishna became very upset. and at the same time He became very angry towards Dhuryodhana. It appeared as if the Lord was going to destroy the whole universe, and so the Pandavas became fearful and all began to pray to the Lord in a humble mood. Listening to the humble prayers of Arjuna, the Lord composed Himself and said, "Oh Arjuna, being very pleased with all of you [ Pandavas], and being controlled by your devotion and friendship towards Me, I will now tell you about the wonderful history of Purusottama month....
A fortunate person who follows My instructions and observes this Purusottama month properly, and in a faithful way worships Me will attain fame, opulence and a good son in this very life And after enjoying a happy life, he will return back to Goloka Dhama. By following My instructions, everyone should worship this sacred month. 1 have made it the best among all other months Oh husband of Rama devi (Vishnu), give up all kinds of mental speculation about (his extra month Just take this Purusottama month with you to your Vaikuntha abode
After narrating this brief history of the Purusottama month. Lord Shri Krishna glanced very mercifully upon Yudhisthira and Draupadi, and then began speaking to Arjuna
"Oh lion among man, can you now understand the reason why you Pandavas are suffering? You did not acknowledge or honor the presence of Purusottama month, which has just recently finished. That month which is most dear to Vrndavana Chandra has passed, but you Pandavas were in the forest and did not worship Purusottama month. So now you are suffering. You have been following the ritualistic principles given to you by Vyasadeva, but unless you worship Purusottama month you cannot perform pure devotional service to Me."
More to come in the next post. Very interesting. Mihir, our questions are answered at the right time!
Nityananda Gauranga Hare Krishna! That kirtana was on your deities in the ashram right? And Lord Jagannatha alone is there in your ashram... manima! manima! Gaura Nitaai! Jaua Pancha Tattva! Hare Krishna!
Your kirtans are so beautiful! One day we should also be able to join you in that!
This is from a reply to a previous topic on bhoga but since it crossed over into other subjects I have put this separately.
I would agree with Ishana Thakur Dasa prabhu. I am simply getting excessively confused and bewildered by topics like this. Hari Bhakti Vilasa's standards are so high that they belong to previous yugas literally. It is that ideal standard which one can only dream of today. It has so many thousands of rules and regulations that if you saw it all, you would faint! I can't follow everything and it would be too much to expect it out of other people like me. I am not finding any fault in the scripture, I am just saying I am too fallen for its higher standards.
First please understand that we don't live in those times anymore. In this present age of Kali Yuga, you never get something near an ideal situation for devotion. All over the world there are always some limitations or the other and we have to make do with what we have. We can only follow so much....the rest is practically impossible. As they say, "Look at what you have and count your blessings. Don't keep moaning over what you don't have and can't get." Make the best use of your life with whatever limitations you have.
I will tell you my painful experiences. It is an effect of too much dabbling in theory. Come down to earth and see what is practically feasible today. When we read without realizing whether it is possible or not, we simply raise the bar to unreal expectations and then get frustrated if we cannot reach it. Not only that all this excess theory simply makes life unlivable and only causes a big disturbance. Finally it becomes irritating for both oneself and others. You offend many people and your result becomes counter productive. Finally we simply become some sort of fanatic or eccentric, and you would end up quarrelling with practically everyone around you and create unnecessary trouble. Soon your life would be so miserable that you would ruin your chances of advancing, and also make others around you develop a hatred for bhakti and devotees -- that is badly offensive.
I live in a hostel, I have to eat food which is by no means ideal, and has all masala, onion and other stuff. I have to mingle with people who have zero interest spiritually, I have work that keeps me awake till late night, so many limitations. But am I supposed to starve and die because its unethical and non-ideal? Please! I would lose this opportunity to do chanting and whatever little bhakti I can do...food problem is not so important compared to losing out on whatever little bhakti I can do. Of course I would follow a better standard if I could, but when I can't there's no point complaining.
Following all the rules and regulations is only useful so long as it can strengthen one's devotional service. If they go so far that they become an obstacle and distract us from what is really important, then it is not worth spending all that time and effort on them. Soon one will only become a rule follower and forget the devotion that was the most important thing. So while reading the rule books, please use some discretion. If I were to force newcomers who don't know ABCD of devotion to follow Satya Yuga standards right away, they would all run away, defeating the purpose of preaching! So I have to use my common sense and know where to draw the boundary lines.
So first I recommend that we all forgive ourselves and others for their limitations. Only when we accept that and say, "All right. With this I must make my success." Only then can we allow devotion to enter in and allow us to transcend those limitations and make advancement in spite of all that stands in the way. So please forgive me if any of this was offensive in any manner. I just wanted to share my feelings about my limitations and hope that you will still give me a chance for bhakti despite them.
In this age, life is short and opportunities few. We don't even have enough memory to remember all the rules! We ought to concentrate more on the most important principles. The important principle is chanting the Holy names and the main rules that everyone has to follow are only those pillars that can never be compromised.
In the past I had just such bitter lessons. Issues like this caused so much trouble, dreadful offenses (even Vaishnava aparadha which I had to see and hear) and pain - the bitter results of which I have to eat today that is affecting me spiritually. I have no desire to re-live those scenarios which I cannot forget. I realized that I can argue logic and prove my point is right, but in the process I would lose friends and a budding devotee, and ruin my own chances! Having said that, in fact I wonder if I have indeed contradicted myself by writing this post and fallen into the same error that I have written about avoiding.
I hope that no one is offended and that what I have written does not bounce back and result in another such embarrasment.
So I am sorry, but this will be the final time that I participate in this kind of discussions. My humble pranams! Nityananda! Gauranga! Hare Krishna!
Nityananda Gauranga Hare Krsna Thank you so much for sharing it with us. You are inspiring us with your example. Hopefully in some life time we will be able to feel drop of that Naam-rasa.
Nityaananda!! Gauraanga!! Hare Krishna!! This is the first lecture (Ramanand9-9-09) on the divine conversation between Shrila Ramananda Raya and Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu. It is in mixed Hindi and English.
Nityaananda!! Gauraanga!! Hare Krishna!! I had tears in my eyes to see this sincere effort of our Bhakta Tommy to request people on the street to chant "Gauranga" many times. Tommy has induced them to begin their spiritual journey to Godhead.
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