Individual personality

Q: Can anyone become self realized?

A: Yes. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu taught this lesson to all the smartas, seminal brahmins and caste conscious persons, by accepting Hari Das Thakur as the Genuine Guru Acharya of the chanting of the holy name. Hari Das had no connection to the Brahmin Society and was considered an outcast by all most all of them. Mahaprabhu however praised Hari Das as being a true devotee of the lord. Krishna in his avatar as the holy name danced 24/7 on the tounge of Thakur Hari Das.

Q: How can we become self realized today?

A: There are many answers to this question but the first one is that you should find out a genuine guru. Submit relevant question and try to render some service as he requires. Gradually by hearing the siddhanta (philosophy of bhakti yoga and its conclusion) and rendering service you should be well on your way.

Q: How can I practice Bhakti in my everyday life?

A: You will have to pose that question to your guru. Times, places and circumstances change and require personal advice but I can answer in a general way.

If you like to paint, paint pictures of Krishna, if you like to talk then speak about Krishna. Perhaps you like to cook, then cook for Krishna.

Do what your doing now but learn to do it for Krishna's pleasure. Instead of eating rotten flesh, take wonderful tasty foods that have been cooked with love and devotion then offered to Krishna. Krishna will accept your devotion, then he leaves the foodstuffs for your maintenance.

Q: Where do I find a guru?

A: When you are truly sincere about self realization, he will find you. Krishna in your heart will give you the ability to recognize a genuine spiritual master. Be warned though...if your are not serious you will certainly be cheated. You may end up serving an pathetic idiot dressed like a sadhu, then cry like a baby later. Please be very sincere and Krishna will always help you.

I remember a conversation between my spiritual master and a few students when the topic of bogus gurus came up. He said: "They must be there because so many people desire to be cheated". The point of the discussion was that if you want something other than the truth then that is what you will get. Bogus gurus are a dime a dozen and most certainly you will find one that will tell you what you want to hear, but a genuine spiritual master is very rare in this world as is a genuine disciple.

Q: If you were to give me some general advice , what would it be ?

A: Try to see the individual personality of the spirit soul in every type of body, human, animals, trees insects etc. If you can practice your devotion with that vision then you will not commit crimes against other souls who's only fault is that they have a different looking body than yours. Along with that meditation try to visualize that the lord also resides within every ones heart as a witness.

Q: Are the souls within all bodies the same ?

A: They are all individual souls. They are eternal and part and parcel of Krishna but due to their individual desires and previous activities are embodied accordingly. Regardless of what body covers the soul the individual soul remains a spirit particle and will continue on his journey body after body until he gets the great opportunity (human birth) to associate in full consciousness (satvik-intelligence) with a self realized guru.


Q: What can I do to help maintain that kind of vision?

A: Prepare your own food using satvik ingredients( fresh vegetables,fruits, grains etc).

Show respect to everyone.

See all women as your mother.

Lust, Anger and Greed are huge obstacles on the path toward god realization. These general practices will help free us from their grip.

Stay in constant association with Sri Krishna and his pure devotees by hearing, chanting, reading, serving, meditation etc.

Always chant the holy name like a child crying for his mother. The mother is the only shelter for the baby. The baby is totally dependant on the mother. In the same way, as devotees we recognize that we are completely dependant on the mercy of Krishna.

Questions sent to me via eMail ..... AJD

First faint reflection

The Name of Krishna is identical with Godhead. But the Name of Krishna does not manifest Himself on mundane lips nor to the mundane ear. The Name Krishna appears in His Form of the Transcendental Sound on the spiritual lips of His devotees and is heard by the spiritual ear of the submissive soul by the Grace of Krishna. The Name Krishna is identical with the Possessor of the Name. The Name Krishna appears to the listening ear, as He is, only by degrees. As soon as the dormant soul catches the first faint reflection of His Light he is at once completely free from the bondage of ignorance and sin. It is the Name Who comes of His Own accord to our fettered soul. The bound jiva, or living entity, has no access to the Presence of Krishna on his own initiative. Krishna's Approach is heralded by the harbinger of Light whose first glimmerings on their appearance put an end to all misconception regarding the categorical difference between light and darkness . - Bhaktisiddhanta Sarsvati Goswami Maharaj

Antimaterial World

The transcendentalists and the materialists are two distinct classes of men. The transcendentalist gathers knowledge from authoritative scriptures like the Vedas. Vedic literature is received from authoritative sources which are in the line of transcendental disciplic succession. This disciplic succession (paramparā) is also mentioned in the Bhagavad-gītā. Krsna says in the Bhagavad-gītā that hundreds of thousands of years ago the Gītā was spoken to the presiding deity of the sun, who delivered the knowledge to his son Manu, from whom the present generation of man has descended. Manu, in his turn, delivered this transcendental knowledge to his son King Ikṣvāku, who is the forefather of the dynasty in which the Personality of Godhead Śrī Rāma appeared. This long chain of disciplic succession was broken during the advent period of Lord Krsna (five thousand years ago), and for this reason Krsna restated the Bhagavad-gītā to Arjuna, thereby making him the first disciple of this knowledge in this age. The transcendentalist of this age, therefore, is in the disciplic line that starts with Arjuna. Without troubling himself with materialistic research work, the transcendentalist acquires the truths concerning matter and antimatter in the most perfect way (through this disciplic succession) and thereby saves himself much botheration.

The gross materialists, however, do not believe in the antimaterial worlds of the Personality of Godhead. They are therefore unfortunate creatures, although sometimes very talented, educated and advanced otherwise. They are bewildered by the influence of the material manifestation and are devoid of knowledge of things antimaterial. It is a good sign, therefore, that the materialistic scientists are gradually progressing toward the region of the antimaterial world. It may even be possible for them to make sufficient progress to be able to know the details of this antimaterial world, where the Personality of Godhead resides as the predominating figure and where the living entities live with Him and serve Him. The living entities who serve the Godhead are equal in quality to Him, but at the same time they are predominated as servitors. In the antimaterial world there is no difference between the predominated and the predominator—the relationship is in perfection and without tinge of materialism. ACBSP

sadhane bhavibe jaha -- siddha dehe paibe taha

pakvapakva matra ei vicara

What you meditate on in your spiritual practices is what you will attain in your spiritual body. The only difference is that one is an unripe state, the other is ripe.

Narottam Das Thakur ...Prema-bhakti-candrika

Those fortunate seekers

Q: Is it necessary to be in the association of saintly persons (sadhu-sanga) at all times?

A: We must be in sadhu-sanga at every moment. I am weak. Without sadhu-sanga I cannot possibly save myself. If I remain far away from sadhu-sanga, then I will fall pray to the ill-mentality that “I am the master.” If we do not live in accordance with the instructions of the sadhu or the guru, then we will be plunged into great calamity. The moment we are without shelter, maya will capture us. Consequently, we will roam here and there in this material world as a servant of maya.

Q: How is one delivered from the cycle of material existence (samsara)?

A: Without the mercy of Bhagavan, no one can ever be delivered from material bondage. We are the eternally purchased slaves of Krsna. As soon as we forget this, we must become the slaves of maya. Only service to Bhagavan constitutes bhakti. The desire for sense gratification is not bhakti (abhakti); it is entanglement in material existence. The only way to be delivered from this disastrous material existence is to hear krsna-katha from Sri Guru and the Vaisnavas, accompanied by self-surrender, submissive inquiry and a service attitude. By hearing hari-katha with affection (priti), the tendency to get entangled in material existence will come to an end.

Q: Should one accept disciples?

A: Without becoming a suddha-bhakta* or a mukta (liberated soul), a person should not accept disciples. First, he should become a disciple himself by taking shelter of a bona fide guru, and he should also hear hari-katha from his lips. Then in his own life he should practise all he has heard from Sri Guru. Thereafter, by humbly performing kirtana – that is, repeating to others what he has heard – gradually he may also become a guru himself.

It is self-deception to think “I will intentionally remain laghu (insignificant) forever.” One must become guru..

This does not necessarily mean that one must accept disciples. Still, by the desire of Bhagavan, some suddha-bhaktas impart instructions for the welfare of the people in general. They are devoid of any selfish motive in doing so. Their purpose is to make those who are laghu (insignificant) become guru (significant); to make those averse to Bhagavan inclined towards Him; and to make everyone a devotee of Krsna.

Q: Is Krsna the wealth of the guru?

A: Srila Gurudeva is the proprietor of Bhagavan. Bhagavan Sri Krsna is the wealth of Sri Gurudeva, so only Sri Guru can give us Bhagavan. It is solely by the mercy of Sri Guru that one will attain Krsna’s mercy and have darsana of Him.

Q: What does “darsana of Bhagavan” mean?

A: To have darsana of Bhagavan means cent-per-cent engagement of the senses in the service of Godhead. In other words, it means to serve Bhagavan with all of one’s senses throughout the twenty-four hours of the day. To be thus engaged is in fact to be established in atma-dharma (the constitutional function of the soul) and is actual bhagavat-darsana. Internal and external sphurti (transcendental vision) of Krsna, which arises by Sri Guru’s mercy as well as by the influence of one’s bhajana, is indeed darsana of Krsna.

Q: Is it especially necessary to have antar-darsana (internal darsana)?

A: Certainly. To relinquish external vision – vision aimed at enjoying this world – along with the physical forms therein, it is especially necessary to have internal vision. Someone who does not have internal vision will surely have external vision, in which he sees everything as meant for his own enjoyment. Indeed, external vision means seeing maya, or illusion.

When someone is extremely eager to see the contents of the letter, he won’t waste his time staring at the external envelope. If we can perceive the whole universe as engaged in the service of Bhagavan, our external vision of it will be dispelled.

“Bhagavan pervades the whole universe; everyone’s heart is His place of residence. He constantly resides in the temple of my heart to bestow upon me the opportunity to serve Him.”

When this realization intensifies and becomes strong, we will see the whole world as His residence, just as we see our heart – atmavat manyate jagat. We will perceive the presence of our worshipable Lord everywhere. At that time there will be no question of having bahir-darsana, external vision; itara-darsana, separate vision from the interest of Krsna; laghu-darsana, insignificant vision; visva-darsana, objective vision of the phenomenal universe; and so forth. Only then will we perceive the whole world to be full of transcendental happiness.

Q: Can I protect myself?

A: Never. To think, “I will protect myself,” is a fiendish, non-devotee mentality. As soon as this type of ill-thought comes, one is endangered.

“Sri Krsna is my sole protector. What do I have to fear?” We should exclusively imbibe this exalted conception, just as Bhakta Prahlada Maharaja did. If we become indifferent to the narrations and instructions of Sri Bhagavan, then soon after, our reliance on Him will lessen. As a result of this, our various ill-thoughts and our false-egos would place us in a calamitous situation.

We will constantly busy ourselves in service to Bhagavan without wasting even a single moment. We have to serve, remaining exclusively in the association of sadhus. By constantly remaining in such sadhu-sanga, our aptitude for service will continuously be enhanced.

Bhagavan fulfils every desire of His surrendered bhaktas without fail, and He never rejects them – krsna sei satya kare, yei mage bhrtya [Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila, 15.166]. Only Sri Bhagavan has the ability to protect us by giving us shelter. Other than He, no one else has such power. With such resolute faith, we can become free from fear and anxiety, and become happy and successful. Krsna is the embodiment of auspiciousness; and therefore, if we have complete faith in His nature to bestow auspiciousness, we will certainly attain such auspiciousness. Words cannot express the kind of great auspiciousness that is obtained by surrendering fully at the lotus feet of Bhagavan.

Q: Who will be delivered?

A: It is only when we do not engage ourselves in service to Bhagavan that other thoughts, characteristic of the enjoying mentality, grasp us. The embodiment of compassion, Sri Krsna, is always ready to protect us from this danger, but how will we be protected if we do not entirely depend upon Him? As the guru, Krsna protects the jiva. Sri Guru is the embodiment of Krsna’s mercy. Sri Gurudeva, the representative of Sri Krsna, descends to this world to deliver the jiva from material existence and bring him back to Krsna. Only those fortunate seekers of the Truth who whole-heartedly accept the mercy of Sri Gurudeva can be delivered from this material existence and enter into the abode of transcendental peace and happiness.

Excerpted from the Srila Prabhupadera Upadesamrta
of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati

This picture of Lord Jagannatha was taken in Puri during the annual Snana Yatra festival. Once a year the deities of Jagannatha, Balabhadra and Subhadra are taken out of the temple for a bathing ceremony. This occurs around two weeks before the Ratha Yatra festival.

One night Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu appeared to Gopala Bhatta in a dream and told him to go to the Gandaki River in Nepal and obtain some Shaligram-shilas to worship. Gopala Bhatta Gosvami then went personally to the source of the Gandaki River in Nepal and collected twelve Shaligram-shilas. One of the shalagram was distinctly a Damodara Shalagram. Gopala Bhatta took the shalagrams and placed them in a basket, which he hung on the branch of a tree that was located at the place of the rasa-lila. He worshiped them daily reverentially. Gopala Bhatta would worship these shalagrama-shilas in his place near Nidhivana.

Eventually a rich man came and donated dresses and ornaments for the Deities in the temples in Vrindavana. He also donated some dresses and ornaments for the shalagrama-shilas. Gopala Bhatta went to this man and said, “how can I dress my shalagrams with these dresses and ornaments.” He then thought, that he had been very unlucky not to be able to have the darshan and perform further service to Sri Caitanya. He then prayed to Lord Caitanya that you fulfill the desires of your devotees, please give me your bodily darshan, so I can worship you in this form. This happened on the appearance day of Lord Narasimhadeva.

The next morning he saw that a beautiful Deity of Krishna had manifested from the Damodara-shila. His face was like Sri Radha Govinda dev, His chest was like Sri Radha Gopinath, and His legs and feet were similar to Sri Radha Madana Mohan. Gopala Bhatta gave this attractive Deity the name Radha Raman.

Gopala Bhatta went to the Gandaki River in Nepal. During this time he went to a village near Haridwar named Devaban. He was invited into the house of a brahmana. The son of this brahmana, named Gopinatha, later came to Vrindavana. He was initiated by Gopala Bhatta and he was placed in charge of the Deity worship of Radha-Raman. He did not marry and remained a life-long celibate. Gopala Bhatta asked Gopinatha to get married, so his family could continue the worship of Radha-Raman. Gopinatha requested that he not get married and that his younger brother, named Sri Damodar Das, would continue the Deity worship. This family line from Sri Damodar Das has continued to worship the Deity of Radha-Raman in an unbroken chain, up to this day.

There are about 40 Gosvami families connected to the Radha-Raman temple.

Sri Sriman Madhva-Gaudeshwar-Vasihnav-achraya Padmanabha Gosvami Maharaj, a leading priest of the Sri Radharaman temple lineage of Goswamis, who trace their ancestry to Sri Gopala Bhatta, a close disciple of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. His grandfather Sarvabhaum Madhusudan Gosvami, who was known as a distinguished preacher and a Vaishnava scholar, met both Bhaktivinoda Thakur and Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Gosvami. He met Bhaktivinoda Thakur in 1906 and 1912, and Bhaktisiddhanta in 1911. He wrote in his diary on September 6, 1911: “Sri Vimala Prasad Siddhanta Saraswati (Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Maharaja) today came at night, 9 pm. Ramananda Babaji was also present. Very intimate thoughts were viewed and discussed.” On September 7 he wrote: “At night we heard the voluminous writings by Sri Vimal Prasad, the writings very much appealed to us.” On the 22th of December in 1914 he sent the maha-prasada of Radha-Raman to Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Gosvami, who at that time was doing the installation of Bhaktivinoda Thakur’s samadhi.

His holiness Padmanabh Goswami maharaj's grandfather met both Bhaktisiddhanta Maharaja and A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. H.H Padmanabh Goswami’s father, Viswambhar Gosvami, was considered one of the main scholars of Vrindavan. Srila Prabhupad was very closed friend of Sri Vishambhar Goswami. When Srila Prabhupada came to Vrindavan in 1971, with a group of his disciples, the Vrindavan municipality honored Srila Prabhupada and his Western disciples with a formal reception at the town hall. Sri Vishambhar Goswami was the First Mayor of Vrindavan town. Sri Viswambhar Goswami gave the opening talk at this time in glorification of Srila Prabhupada.