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Thoughts on the passing of Tarek Fatah

May 02, 2023

Tarek Fatah's recent death met with mourning in Indian nationalist circles. Those not aware of Indian (especially Hindu-Muslim relations) politics might not know Tarek Fatah's name, but even as a member of the Muslim community (a Pakistani immigrant to Canada) he was one of the most outspoken critics of Islamicism, especially as it exists in the subcontinent. He was a great friend to Bharata and I certainly hope that there will be others who will step in to fill the void he leaves behind. I subsequently watched a number of videos like the following, all of which give a rather good idea of what I wrote above. In this one, Jaipur Dialogs 2016 , is in mixed Urdu and English. The English bits are worth the wait. The jokes are in Urdu. His sense of urgency about the Islamicist threat and a criticism of Indian and Hindu weakness in the face of intransigent Muslim nihilism. It is a very good critique of Islam from the point of view of an enlightened Muslim. He calls himself an In

Learning from Mistakes

May 01, 2023

I had an exchange with a devotee on Facebook. He called on me to confess in more vivid detail and with greater honesty, etc., about my activities in the Gurukula. He hinted that my sins were likely much worse than those meager details I had given in my confessions. He hinted that beneath my facade of gray beard and sophistry I was a seething cauldron of wickedness. I got a bit scratchy with him, a bit annoyed that I cannot be done with these events, and having undergone some public humiliation on account of them, and so on, culpability that I have accepted and have spent my life trying to understand, things that happened over forty years ago. I have been watching a lot of right wing stuff of late, starting with Jordan Peterson, and the self-righteous social-justice warrior type virtue-signaling some kind of moral superiority because he can hold these things over your head and just ignore everything else, often the things that are more important. However, after learning that he was also

Service

April 17, 2023

Leaving aside questions of the eternity of the soul, the afterlife and everything else that people take "on faith," the question is, "Why must I serve?" and then, "What [or whom] must I serve?" This is an existential question about the here and now. (Facebook, April 13, 2010)

Locan Das's Dhāmāli Part 2: Nāgara songs by Narahari

April 10, 2023

Some may find the erotic nature of these posts distasteful. Be forewarned. Sri Narahari’s Padavali at a Glance Since Lochan Dasa is Thakur Narahari’s disciple, let us examine some of his poetry first. Then we will have a good idea about what inspired Lochan to write his Dhāmāli . (1) Looking into the Mirror tore kahi marama kī bāta nibhṛta niketane hama ekākinī dosara jana nāhi sāthe mukura kare dhari nija mukha herāite paridhāne bigalita bāsa kuṅkuma candana aṅge bilepana pīṭhopari keśa udāse henaite samaẏa gaura sunāgara āola hama nāhi jāna pīṭhe āre rahi catura nāgara bara deẏala mukere baẏāna gaurāṅga badana bidhu mukura para herāite taikhane camakita aṅga grība phirāite mukhe mukhe lāgala sakali haila majhu baṅga bāhu pasāri karahi agoralo paitalo madana bilāse nija kāja sādhi calalo nāgara bara kahatahi narahari dāse “O sakhi! I have a secret to tell: while standing alone in a solitary pl

Locan Das's Dhāmāli (from Gadadhar Pran Das) Part I (Introduction)

April 03, 2023

It is my great pleasure to post this revised and updated edition of Gadadhar Pran's translation and commentary on Lochan Das Thakur's Dhāmāli. More than twenty years ago our first edition of Locana das Thakura’s Dhāmāli came out. But since then our understanding of the topic has grown considerably. We have also strived in many ways to improve our first presentation in this second edition. Thus we sincerely hope that the Vaishnavas will get pleasure in reading this. Lochan dasa Thakur’s Dhāmāli Second Revised Edition Translation and commentary by Gadadhar Pran Das, whatsapp/email +91-7501237557 than twenty years ago we published the first edition of Lochan das Thakur’s Dhāmāli . Since then, however, our understanding of the topic has grown considerably. We have also strived in many ways to improve over our first presentation in this second edition. Thus we sincerely hope that the Vaishnavas will get pleasure in reading this. What is Dhāmāli ? After completing

The Second Year of Jiva Ratna comes to an end.

March 31, 2023

Jai Sri Radhe! So, today another year of the Jiva Ratna courses by Satyanarayana Dasa Babaji at the Jiva Institute came to an end. The Jiva Institute is slowly growing each year through the online courses which allow Babaji Maharaj to remain in Vrindavan with a core group of students while still shepherding a small international group from around the world. These students have developed a taste for his teaching method -- basically studying the Sandarbhas line by line from beginning to end, accompanied by a second field of study based on the six philosophical systems and other aspects of the Sanskrit literary tradition such as Alankara. This appeals to those who seek a more profound analysis of the philosophical basis of the Gaudiya Vaishnava doctrine. Babaji rightly believes that for Gaudiya Vaishnavism to prosper, this kind of thorough scholarship is absolutely necessary. That is arguably following in the footsteps of Jiva Goswami himself, the last of the six Goswamis and the one who

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