Accepting A Guru
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Vijaya: Prabhu, please give us some detailed instructions regarding accepting shelter at the lotus feet of a spiritual master (śrī-guru-pādāśraya).
Vaidhi-bhakti or Raganuga-bhakti?
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The meaning of this sloka is that in Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s sampradaya the practices of vaidhi-bhakti take one to raganuga.
It is not raganuga at first. It begins from vaidhi-bhakti. If one in the line of Srila Rupa Gosvami follows vaidhi-bhakti, that vaidhi-bhakti is really the beginning of raganuga.
Mahaprabhu Was Also Very Strict
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If you want to love and honor Caitanya Mahaprabhu and you want His mercy to come to you, always remember the pastime of Caitanya Mahaprabhu banishing Chota Haridasa. Do you know that history? You should speak something about it in brief...
Sudama Vipra Visits Dvarakadisa Krishna
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Sometimes we are very worried. How will we maintain our family, also worried for ourselves? Very worried. What is the meaning of this? That you have no belief in Krishna. If we are worried for anything in this world, what is this? What will be of this? Then you have no strong belief in Krishna. Krishna has told, "Believe Me." If Krishna is our protector...
Initiations and Other Topics
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Somebody may say that because in some societies there are no high-class Vaisnavas, there is a need for kanisthas to give initiation...
A Christmas Message
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Today is Christmas Day, the birthday of Jesus Christ. In Europe and other countries, hardly anyone knows what Jesus Christ was doing in his youth, at around 15 years of age. Indian history shows that he was in India, where he visited Vrndavana, Ayodya, Jagannatha Puri, and other pilgrimage places...
Jesus Christ is Jagad-guru
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If someone accepts such a great soul from the past – in this case Jesus Christ – as jagad-guru and wishes to follow in his footsteps in the present but considers that there is no need for any mahānta-guru, it is questionable to what extent he will be able to properly follow the views of Jesus...
Without Sādhu-saṅga, One Cannot Perform Bhajana
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by Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Māhārāja
The first lesson is that bhajana can be performed in both stages: householder and renounced, but it is very essential that one has access to sādhu-saṅga. In either situation, one cannot perform bhajana without sādhu-saṅga. ...
The Acarya's Example [A Vyasa-Puja Celebration]
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Srila Gaura-kisora dasa Babaji Maharaja was illiterate; he could not even write his own name. When he would speak, however, he would do so with all Vedic references. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada was the greatest scholar of his time, and he accepted Srila Gaura-kisora dasa Babaji Maharaja as his Guru...
You Cannot Bluff Guru
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I have previously explained about the duties of disciples. I explained that guru-nishta is the backbone of bhakti. Without guru-nishta, no one can have any kind of devotion. One may have taken initiation, but if there is no nishta, he is inferior to a person who has not taken initiation and has not had a fire sacrifice, but is actually following guru. I have seen and realized this...
Vyasapuja - Who Is Gayatri?
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Today we are going to observe guru-puja, or Vyasa-puja. First of all we should know what is guru-puja and what is Vyasa puja. Both are the same. Sri Krsna Dvaipayana Vedavyasa divided the one Veda into four. Then to reconcile, because it was difficult to extract the essence of the four Vedas, he wrote Brahma-Sutra (Vedanta-sutra).
Rays - First Disappearance Day Anniversary
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The Rays of The Harmonist team humbly announces the last of three special editions published in honour of Srila Gurudeva. This beautiful third edition is dedicated to the first disappearance day anniversary of Srila Gurudeva...
Srila Gurudeva’s Auto-biographical Sketch
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The following is a transcription of Srila Gurudeva speaking on February 23, 2003 in Olpe, Germany, on the topic of his own life history. It was kindly translated from his Hindi talk by Radhika dasi of Russia.
Remembrances of Śrīla Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja – Part 5
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Remembrances of Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Māhārāja
❝Once Śrīla Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja went for pracāra in Assam, along with some of his god-brothers, to attend a huge religious assembly there. Due to the heavy and continuous downpour of rain, none of his god-brothers was feeling inclined to go to the assembly place. But Śrīla Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja, walked with great difficulty to the assembly’s location, holding an umbrella over his head and lifting his clothes above his knees.❞ ...
“Narahari Prabhu would gently shake me awake”
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Remembrance of Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Māhārāja
❝I would be quietly and gently shaken awake, and I’d understand that Narahari Prabhu had come. Immediately rising from bed, I’d put on a gāmchā and follow behind him to the many toilets, one toilet after another. Narahari Prabhu would hold the torch and I would take a broom and a bucket of water and clean each toilet.❞ ...
Remembrances of Śrīla Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja – Part 3
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Remembrances of Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Vāmana Gosvāmī Māhārāja
❝Śrīla Guru Mahārāja – Śrīla Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja – said, “The festival of Dīpāvalī begins from Kṛṣṇa Trayodaśī (the thirteenth day of the waning moon) of Kārtika month and lasts for four days – Trayodaśī, Caturdaśī, Amāvasyā and Pratipada [Annakuṭa Day]. On the day of Trayodaśī, there is Yama-dīpa-dāna [Yama–one of the mahājanas]. Outside the gate, one should place fourteen (7+7) dīpas (lamps) for the son and daughter of Sūrya (Sun), Yama and Yamunā.❞ ...
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