If you are really thirsty...

Here is Srila Gurudeva at Radha kund. I am uploading this because today on Vraj Mandala Parikrama - walking through sacred Vrndavana - the devotees are going to Radha Kund.

om ajnana timirandhasya jnananjana salakaya
caksur unmilitam yena tasmai sri gurave namah
O Gurudeva, you are so merciful. I offer my humble pranama unto you and am praying from the core of my heart that, with the torchlight of divine knowledge, you open my eyes which have been blinded by the darkness of ignorance.


This beautiful reassurance and encouragement to be a good disciple and be humble comes from Srila Gour Govinda Swami:

Devotee: Some devotees say that now that
Srila Prabhupada [Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaja] has left they don’t know
how to get his mercy and they are not sure
what to do. In reply you said that if someone
is really eager, their guru can appear in different
forms to help. Can you explain?


Gour Govinda Swami: This is a most
important question. You can see your guru
if you have developed the right vision.
Prahlad Maharaja saw the Supreme Lord
in a stone pillar. But his father saw only
the stone. You can see your guru if you are
really eager to see him. “Yes, my guru is
here. He is speaking to me.”

If you are really thirsty you will cry for water
and run,“Where is water? Where is water?”
This isreal eagerness. In the same way, if you
are eager for your guru’s instruction then you
will be able to see how he is there. He will
give you instructions. He will definitely
impart knowledge.


Devotee: In the form of sādhu and śāstra?


Gour Govinda Swami: Just like śāstra is always
there and sādhu is always there, similarly,
guru is always there. He is eternal. But
you are not eager. You have no thirst, so how
can you get water? You are not eager for
water, so how can you get water? “Oh, I have
gotten. I have no thirst.” This mentality is
very dangerous. You think yourself so great.
You are puffed up. You are not humble at all.
In the Śrī Caitanya Caritāmṛta Ādi 17.31
Mahaprabhu says:

tṛṇād api su-nīcena
taror iva sahiṣṇunā
amāninā māna-dena
kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ

This is a very important thing. Kaviraj
Goswami says, make a garland of this verse,
put it around your neck, and do hari-bhajana.
Otherwise you are not doing hari-bhajana at
all. You are not feeling lower than the grass,
you are not more tolerant than a tree, you are
not free of false pride, and you are not giving
respect to all. So how will you do hari-bhajana?
But you say, “Oh I am doing hari-bhajana. I
am doing. I am doing.” This is not bhajana.

— From a darśana in Bhubaneswar, 14 November, 1991

The Way to Transcendence

om ajnana timirandhasya jnananjana salakaya
caksur unmilitam yena tasmai sri gurave namah
O Gurudeva, you are so merciful. I offer my humble pranama unto you and am praying from the core of my heart that, with the torchlight of divine knowledge, you open my eyes which have been blinded by the darkness of ignorance.


Lately I have not been able to post daily, weekly, even monthly. In order to rectify this, I am going to start a new thing - short posts with quotes from our guruvarga and vaisnavas. That way I can still get a post in and share, but I can have time for other things. Right now it is Kartik, and here in Srila Gurudeva's New Braj, we are doing daily parikrama. This week is especially busy because we are preparing for Govardhan Puja! =) Jai!

Also I am doing evening pujari service for Sri Sri Radha Govinda. Pictures of them soon!

Here is our quote today:

Srila Gurudeva (Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayana Goswami Maharaja):

"You should know that the transcendental names and pastimes of Krsna are all transcendental. Our body, our senses, our tongue, and our ears are material. They can never reach transcendence. There is only one process by which they can touch it. By praying, praying, praying to the lotus feet of gurudeva and Krsna, they will come and they will be in oneness with our tongue, ears, senses, and hearts."

- 29 April 2001

Srila Bhakti Rakshak Sridhar Maharaja

"We must take shelter of His holy name; it is inseparable from His existence. The sound aspect of divinity can help us a great deal on the way back to Godhead. His holy name is our slogan, our war cry - "Hare Krsna!" With that slogan, we shall march on with His genuine agents. We must follow them and withdraw ourselves from all other possibilities and promises, all so-called prospects of life."

- Swami B.R. Sridhar

It has been far too long since my last post. I have been engaged in reading, chanting, and parikrama, but still, this blog is something I shall not abandon and want to continue to engage myself in.

Today is the holy appearance day of Srila Bhakti Rakshak Sridhara Maharaja - JAI!!

Here is one excerpt from this very beautiful gem of a book, Sri Guru and His Grace:

"Everyone must ask himself, 'Where am I? What is my real need? And how much am I hankering for the real thing?'

"All these things will be expressed, and made public. So, this is the real field of sadhana, or practice. Our practice, our advancement, needs all these difficulties. Otherwise we may not know what is progress...So, to purify ourselves it is necessary that many disturbances come.

"...The environment is in the hands of the Lord. He has not done any wrong to me. If I am sincere, then I have to adjust myself with this environment and put my faith before Him. By our stand in any circumstances in the battle, our patriotism will be put to the test. We will be tested to see whether we are real soldiers or not.

"Anything will come, but we will have to face that. I must not forget my Lord, my guru, my Gauranga, my Radha-Govinda, under any circumstances. Under all unfavorable circumstances, I must stand with my head erect and say, 'Yes! I am a servant of that clan, that sampradaya. Everyone may leave me, but I shall stand alone!'

"With this attitude, we must march on, whatever the circumstances may be. Then....our superiors will be pleased with us.

"We must analyze ourselves. How much as we selfish? To what percent are our unwanted bad habits, anarthas, still present in our hearts? How much are the impurities of karma, jnana, mental desires, and other filthy things mixed with the real faith - that must come out, and that must be eliminated in different ways. If we want real good, no one can hinder us. With this spirit we must move and then we will be able to understand what is what."

Srila Bhakti Rakshak Sridhara Maharaja ki JAI!

The Spotless Authority

om ajnana timirandhasya jnananjana salakaya
caksur unmilitam yena tasmai sri gurave namah
O Gurudeva, you are so merciful. I offer my humble pranama unto you and am praying from the core of my heart that, with the torchlight of divine knowledge, you open my eyes which have been blinded by the darkness of ignorance.


I am about to begin memorizing the following verse, which Srila Gurudeva wanted all his disciples to learn:

aradhyo bhagavan vrajesa-tanayas tad-dhama vrndavanam ramya kacid upasana vraja-vadhu-vargena va kalpita srimad bhagavatam pramanam amalam prema pum-artho mahan sri-caitanya mahaprabhor matam idam tatradarah na parah

"The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna, the son of Nanda Maharaja, is worshipped along with His transcendental abode Vrndavana. The most pleasing form of worship for the Lord is that which was performed by the gopis of Vrndavana. Srimad Bhagavatam is the spotless authority on everything and pure love of Godhead is the ultimate goal of life for all men. These statements, for which we have the highest regard, are the opinion of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu."

- (Caitanya-matta-manjusa by Srila Viswanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

The Srimad Bhagavatam is the spotless authority on everything! wow! That is amazing. To think, we have the answers right there in that book. It will show us how to get the goal of life. Srila Prabhupada said this - he says it in his Preface to the 1st Canto of Srimad Bhagavatam - that by reading Srimad Bhagavatam, in order, by the end "one will know God perfectly well."

How merciful are the Lord and His devotees, to give us this gem? It is spotless, without flaw. We can consult it on anything. And ANYONE can read it! Prabhupada says further in his Preface that, "The only qualification one needs to study this great book of transcendental knowledge is to proceed step by step cautiously, and not jump forward haphazardly as with an ordinary book."

So, it is important that we read the Srimad Bhagavatam in order. Then we can reap full benefit.

Further glorification of Srimad Bhagavatam from the Bhagavatam itself:

"On the other hand, that literature which is full with descriptions of the transcendental glories of the name, fame, form and pastimes of the unlimited Supreme Lord is a transcendental creation meant to bring about a revolution in the impious life of a misdirected civilization. Such transcendental literatures, even though irregularly composed, are heard, sung, and accepted by purified men who are thoroughly honest."

(Bhagavatam, 1.5.11, namanty anantasya yaso...)

I feel so fortunate to have heard Srila Gurudeva speak on this gem so many times. And yet, how much have I heard, and really taken in? Even so, I know I am fortunate to have had the transcendental power of his voice, his sweet harikatha, enter my ears, and I can only aspire to hear one day properly, to "take it in to [my] heart," as he instructed us to at the end of each class of his. And! Just today, I heard from one didi that these transcendental personalities like Srila Gurudeva and Srila Prabhupada, they give us the power to follow their instructions. So we know that even if we can't follow in this life, in some lifetime we can, and we should try for sooner rather than later, right? Srila Rupa Goswami tells us in his Upadesamrta to have both enthusiasm and patience in the path to bhakti (two of the six favorable qualities, Verse 3).

There is so much more to be said on that Bhagavatam verse, especially about the esteemed gopis of Sri Vrndavana dhama, and the topmost gopi, Srimati Radhika. I am not qualified to say anything. Here is more from Srila Gurudeva on the meaning of that verse, aradhyo bhagavan...

"Here, vraja-vadhu means the mood in which the gopis of Vraja worship Krsna, and the Srimad Bhagavatam is the immaculate scriptural evidence to verify this.

"We are so happy to invite all the vaisnavas just after Kartika to join in this program at Gopinath Bhavan on the bank of the Yamuna River. We have only one request. Listen attentively to drink this nectar. The benefit of hearing Srimad Bhagavatam is inestimable. The topmost achievement of the human form of life is krsna-prema."

Jai! Gaura Premanande!

"This path of bhakti is all optimism."

Here's a really amazing excerpt from Srila Gour Govinda Swami's book, Amrutera Tarangini - The Flow of Nectar.

"Somehow or other we have come to this path, so we should be serious. Our Guru Maharaja Srila Prabhupada says, 'This is for serious students.' It is for those who are very serious like Dhruva Maharaja. Dhruva was so serious and determined. 'I must get Narayana.' So be serious and determined like him, then in this very life we will get Krsna. But if there is no seriousness and determination, rather, so many material desires, still whatever little we have earned is never lost.
"There is no despondency or pessimism on this path. This path of bhakti is all optimism. Never become disappointed. If it will not be achieved in this life, definitely in the next life or the life after that it must come to us. This path of bhakti is all gain, there is no loss. We may commit some aparadha, fall down or whatever, so in this very life our advancement is checked. But whatever we have earned is with us, it is never lost.

"There is no loss, it is all gain. So there is no pessimism. This bhakti is so powerful, and this is the teaching."

Sincerely serve and take shelter of Sri Guru

om ajnana timirandhasya jnananjana salakaya
caksur unmilitam yena tasmai sri gurave namah
O Gurudeva, you are so merciful. I offer my humble pranama unto you and am praying from the core of my heart that, with the torchlight of divine knowledge, you open my eyes which have been blinded by the darkness of ignorance.

Just recently I picked up the book "The Principle of Sri Guru and Service to Sri Guru," by Sripad BV Madhava Maharaja. This book is very wonderful, as is its author, and elucidates so many truths on sri guru.

While reading it, I became very humbled. One part lists the qualities of a disciple who has sraddha, or firm faith, and I realized most definitely that I do not fit in that category. Another part, which I am going to share, I found very encouraging for its simplicity and loving mood. Reading this part answered a question that had been floating in my mind, many questions actually, such as, how to progress? And how to become a strong devotee and disciple?

Here is the excerpt:

"...if the neophyte sevaka is sincere and takes full shelter of Srila Gurudeva and the senior Vaisnavas, he will quickly be able to progress to the intermediate level, at which his determination to serve Gurudeva will be focused and strong. One who reaches the intermediate level is said to be mahabhagyavan, 'greatly fortunate.'" [CC Madhya Lila 22.67]

When I read this, I thought of myself and also of jiva souls in general. I thought how, if only I could realize how Gurudeva is my only shelter, and appreciate what he has given, then I could serve him every moment - heart, mind, body, words. Gurudeva said once that we can never repay him for what he has given, not in a million lifetimes. And yet still we should try, we should serve him, to show our gratefulness. Instead, I am in maya, and my mind is so weak, and I do not make extra effort.

I thought of examples we have where people take shelter of Krsna, and how we should follow these examples and take shelter of Guru. For example, Draupadi, she gave up the idea of independence and control, knowing Krsna as her only shelter (when the Kauravas were trying to disrobe her), so she literally threw up her arms and cried out, "Govinda! Krsna!" Because of her immense affection, because of her begging, Krsna gave her mercy and helped her; and also because he is so merciful.

We want to attract Krsna to us. Guru has already attracted Krsna; he can give us Krsna. If I can just take shelter sincerely at Gurudeva's lotus feet, than my life will be successful.

Today here in New Braj, Kishori Mohan prabhu gave a very nice class that is relevant to this post. He said many good things, but one was, we should be like a dog, and guru is our master. The dog has affection for master, he follows him always, he does not compromise and wander away, he barks when someone ambivalent to his master comes along, and he is controlled by the instructions of the master. So by following guru's instructions and serving, sincerely, then as Sripad BV Madhava Maharaja says, we can become strong! I want to become strong, and focused, and progress.

Jai Srila Gurudeva! Jai Srila Prabhupada! Jai Sripad BV Madhava! All glories to the vaishnavas!

One should endeavor with great eagerness for spiritual attachment

om ajnana timirandhasya jnananjana salakaya
caksur unmilitam yena tasmai sri gurave namah
O Gurudeva, you are so merciful. I offer my humble pranama unto you and am praying from the core of my heart that, with the torchlight of divine knowledge, you open my eyes which have been blinded by the darkness of ignorance.

Today I am sharing from Srila Raghunath Das Goswami's Sri Manah Siksa. This book has the commentary of Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura and Srila Gurudeva. Gurudeva instructs that we should read Upadesamrta, then Manah Siksa, etc. So this book is very important. I actually haven't read it before, so I was happy to read it. I might read it again, because there is so much in it, and I sortof whisked through it; I'm not able to take it all in, anyway.

Just think! Manah Siksa before Upadesamrta. And both of those before Bhagavad Gita...I find Upadesamrta intimidating, myself. So many things in it and Manah Siksa are beyond...but I guess it's supposed to be like that. They tell us the goal. Gurudeva says that Bhagavad Gita is the doorway to surrender; the doorway to Srimad Bhagavatam.
Anyway, the topic of this bit is, spiritual attachment versus material attachment, how spiritual attachment is true attachment -atma rati, our soul's attachment - and should be endeavored for with eagerness.

This part of the commentary is by Srila Gurudeva:

Apurva Rati
Atma rati or rati of the soul is pure rati (spiritual attachment). The jiva is by nature a servant of Krsna. Pure krsna-rati is present in his spiritual form. But when the jiva is diverted from Krsna and bound by maya, his rati (material attachment) is directed toward perishable material objects. This perverted rati which is connected with maya is incidental and distressful.

It is only in pure krsna-bhakti that rati of the soul finds its place. In other words, pure krsna-prema is itself atma-rati, because Sri Krsna is the Supersoul of all souls. In its mature state, the more this pure atma-rati evolves, the more it is known as apurva-rati or unprecedented spiritual attachment.

Atitaram kuru: Make Intensive Endeavors
One should endeavor with great eagerness to obtain atma-rati. One should not remain complacent thinking that bhakti will arise of its own accord by some good fortune. The more one's spiritual strength increases, the more the effects of one's karmic activities will diminish, and without doubt one will obtain the mercy of pure devotees and the Supreme Lord.
The purport of this instruction is that as long as the desire for reward-seeking activity is not diminished by the association of devotees, sraddha will not arise. As long as sraddha or deep faith does not arise, one is unfit to hear and assimilate harikatha and spiritual instructions.

When, by good fortune, paramarthika or transcendental sraddha arises, one should take shelter of a diksa-guru and receive the sri yugala-mantra. Having obtained this mantra, one should worship the diksa and siksa gurus with intense attachment or atma-rati.

One should not be satisfied simply to offer respect to Sri Gurudeva considering him to be a mere sage. Rather, one should serve him with love and devotion, accepting him as one's dearest friend and well-wisher. The three kinds of Vaisnava devotees - kanistha, madhyama, and uttama - should be offered respects suitably and received with affection. One should cultivate true attachment to harinama and the mantra given by one's diksa guru. Considering Sri Sri Radha-Krsna Yugala to be one's life and soul, one should take shelter at Their lotus feet.

I really enjoyed reading this. I found it very encouraging, and I also feel like it explains why so many times I heard Gurudeva, but I didn't *really* hear, because I still have material desires. I feel encouraged, like if I just take shelter of guru and cultivate love and affection, I will be okay; Gurudeva said that guru and Krsna are always supporting and protecting us. So of course, they are taking care of me, too.