Jagat

An interesting day. Prema Madhuri is still in the hospital after the operation. Today I more or less got a day off. I was in the hospital room when they brought her from the operating theater and stayed with her as she slept through the anesthetic induced discomforts.  I played the same meditation music which brought her BP down from pretty high to normal levels in a couple of hours before the operation. But around 1.30 or 2 at night, the nurse told me visitors were not allowed to stay the night. So I ended up taking a taxi home and got a couple of hours of sleep on a flat surface after a couple of days.  But Prema Madhuri told in the morning that she would not need me today, so I have a day off. I took a walk through one of my municipality's walking paths. It is a pretty nice interesting walk, pretty quiet, but sustaining natural aesthetic experiences for most of it. Ideal for a japa walk. So I want to film it with a japa soundtrack.  For the pleasure of those who are cr...

I am in the hospital waiting for Prema Madhuri's operation to be finished. One week ago, she fell and fractured her hip. She tried to wait it out but the pain was too great and finally we went for the X-ray. We were told almost immediately to get to an emergency room and get it fixed. So finally on Friday we took a taxi to Sacre Coeur hospital in Montreal and after a rather long and uncomfortable wait on an emergency room stretcher, the orthopedic surgeon was able to get to her and operate. I have been with her the whole time, and indeed for the whole week I have been acting as her nurse to the best of my ability. I know that I have said a lot of pious words about love -- many of them are quoted here and over the past few weeks. At some point I came to the conclusion that prema prayojana meant a certain human culture that requires sacrifice that goes beyond the academic. But looking at them all I have to admit that they are theory and not so much practice.  The Hindu scriptures gen...

Sun rising over canal between Rishikesh and Haridwar Yesterday was an unusually quiet day for FB memories. That is made up for today. There are a couple of political comments about Modi's win in 2018. Of course  political opinions are pretty unstable as new infor mation co mes up so I  may  or  may not be ready to defend any of the m . More on Vrindavan Today difficulties in 2018. A Vrindavan walkabout and a discussion of the Vrindavan being for "shallow thinkers", a quote apparently attributed to Bhaktivinoda Thakur, coming via Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati. I find it very hard to believe. Prema Madhuri broke her hip and we are in the hospital awaiting attention. She may need an operation. It is Ekadasi, so there is something of an enforced vrata. We are getting a close up on socialized medicine in Canada. Patience required. FB Memories May 28. 2018 Actually where Vrindavan Today is concerned, I am getting a lot of love from the devotees. It somehow did not seem li...

View from Vindhyavasini temple in Hardwar district, UK. Bhaktivinoda Thakur writes in his memoirs about a book, Hari-bhakti-kalpa-latikā , that fell into his hands while in Jagannath Puri. Here is the relevant paragraph: I did not yet have full mastery of Sanskrit grammar. While in Calcutta I had read Sanskrit literature with the help of [Ishwar Chandra] Vidyasagar Mahashay and Boro Dada [Dwijendranath Tagore]. After that, I had also studied a bit in Midnapore, and in Dinagepore and Motihari also, but in Puri I studied books thoroughly. After finishing the Bhāgavata I copied the Ṣaṭ Sandarbha and read it. Then I copied and read the Vedānta commentary, Govinda-bhāṣya , written by Baladeva. Then I read the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu . Thereafter I made a copy of the Hari-bhakti-kalpa-latikā . Little by little I also began to write in Sanskrit myself. I wrote a book in Sanskrit entitled Datta-kaustubha while in Puri. Many of the verses of the Śrī-kṛṣṇa-saṁhitā were also composed at t...

2022 क्षमी दाता गुणग्राही स्वामी पुण्येन लभ्यते । अनुकूलः शुचिर्दक्षः कविर्विद्वान् सुदुर्लभः ॥ Only after much pious action does one attain a master or husband who is forgiving, generous, and a taker of one's virtues. Even more rare is one who is favorable, pure, expert. wise and learned. Bhoja-prabandha 93 व्याघ्रीव तिष्ठति जरा परितर्जयन्ती रोगाश्च शत्रव इव प्रहरन्ति देहम् । आयुः परिस्रवति भिन्नघटादिवाम्भो लोकस्तथाप्यहितमाचरतीति चित्रम् ॥ Old age awaits like a tigress, threatening, menacing; diseases, like enemies, attack the body, Life is slipping away like water from a burst jug, and even so people engage in evil acts... is it not astonishing? Vairāgya-śataka 38 यावत्स्वस्थमिदं शरीरमरुजं यावज् जरा दूरतो यावच्चेन्द्रियशक्तिरप्रतिहता यावत् क्षयो नायुषः । आत्मश्रेयसि तावद् एव विदुषा कार्यः प्रयत्नो महान् सन्दीप्ते भवने तु कूपखननं प्रत्युद्यमः कीदृशः ॥ When the body is still healthy, when old age is far away, when all the senses are working with peak efficiency, when there are stil...

We appear to still be on the Gurukula issue here in 2016. I am rather pleased with that reflection. Weather snippets -- exhaustion from the hot season. A discussion on the connection of yoga to the bhakti-yoga path: pravartaka - sādhaka - siddha , a major subject of discussion in the early period of this blog and very important matter indeed for my way of understanding the spiritual path. A lot of articles. FB Memories May 24.

Some days definitely have more substance than others. Several unpublished and published stuff today. One on Corona from last year, where I more or less cemented my position on the great pandemic panic. Then there is a nice excerpt from  Prīti Sandarbha on sthāyi-bhāvas , a subject that has many posts on this blog. Then there is another reflection on karma, again based on the Gurukula abuses. And finally a short reflection on love. I could have split this up, but I just threw it all into one post. Memories from May 23

  This is the second time that I mentioned that I was preparing to leave for Canada three years ago and how I was nervous. Often before traveling to Bengal or elsewhere I would try to spend a few days at Priya Kunj. Baba even arranged for me to stay in a nearby house one time for a week. Usually though, I would stay in a guest house on the main entry road to Barsana a few hundred meters away. I often had to climb over the fence outside to get in at night because the kirtan would end at 11 when everyone at the guesthouse was already tucked away in their own quarters. I liked the top floor room at Radha Guest House, because I could work there nicely during the day in peace and privacy, but still get to observe the street  life down below. This time also I missed getting Babaji's association. On account of Covid I hadn't been to visit for the whole two years I was back. I get to see him on video, which is uploaded every day, but it's not the same. The last two years were weird...

Tatiya Sthan I posted some material about śraddhā. This appears to  be the result of a discussion I was having with Babaji. My opinion on Hindu nationalist reactions to things like Ganesh on toilet seats and so on was that it was a bit hysterical and diminished Hindu gravitas. Babaji did not agree. This was stated in relation to Vaishnavas distress at the popular Radha-Krishna TV serial, which I saw in fact was popular with many devotees in Vrindavan. Other links:  Śraddhā and Bhakti Sandarbha ;  Label shraddha

Thank goodness today's post has something more edifying in it. The negative Vrindavan Today memories have been coming back from 2018 and they are here too. I would rather not remember that whole episode, but I am keeping to the discipline of cross-posting the memories being sent daily by Facebook. At the very least, I am finding it interesting to observe.  There is always something redeeming, however, and the post from last year is one such. I keep talking about Prīti Sandarbha, and the progress is slower than it should be. I am doing practically nothing else for the time being. I was rather surprised to see it had not been posted here before. And I added some material about Bhagavata Niwas, since there are more memories related to this place, which is just around the corner from Jiva and with which Babaji has been long connected due to his guru's having been intimately involved with the history of that locale. It has a powerful aura. (Memories from May 20.)

It is hard to find a title that covers the spread of topics in these posts, which usually cover a variety of topics very briefly. What struck me here is the pretty defensive post about Satyanarayana Dasaji that comes out of one of the events  from 2018 that was preoccupying me. All this was hashed out on the blog over a fairly extended period of time. At some point I took the risk of being a little public and that particular philosophy of life has obviously had the expected results. Anyway, four years ago I decided I had to state the nature of my relationship with Satyanarayana Dasa Babaji, and you may find other such statements on this blog. I am bound to Babaji until at least the end of the Sandarbhas project, which is currently in its final phase, but I am feeling the pressure to get it done. There is still quite a bit to do, but naturally Babaji is anxious to get it completed. So really it is topmost in my mind at the present time. I don't want to get too sentimental about it; ...

I have spent a lot of time over the past 15 years traveling between Rishikesh, Vrindavan and Birnagar or Nabadwip. Today's memories pinpoint a bit of those movements. Memories from May 18.

Memories from May 17 on Facebook. Snips and snails and puppy dog's tails, that's what little boys are made of. Sugar and spice and everything nice, that's what little girls are made of. So what are bhaktas made of? Little boys AND little girls.  

"Give me one Gaur Govinda Maharaj over any of these backbiters. For association, give me just one Fakir Mohan Das, one of the nicest sweetest, humblest and learned Vaishnavas I have ever met, likely one of the most advanced Gaudiya Vaishnavas in the whole state of Orissa, who has done tremendous service to Mahaprabhu by discovering and publishing many rare Orissan texts written by associates and followers of Mahaprabhu."  (Jagadananda Das, shared by Ashok Harichandana 2019) 2018 Unfortunately, our situation at Vrindavan Today has become a little more difficult due to the work of Alexander Shenkar, who has decided to be a thorn in our side for as long as the evil energy possesses him. https://www.facebook.com/vrindavantodayofficial/ At any rate, we humbly ask all our friends to like our new FB page and help us to circumvent the trouble he is causing. 2015 यदा नेच्छति पापानि यदा पुण्यानि वाञ्छति। ज्ञेयस्तदा मनुष्येण हृदि तस्य हरिः स्थितः॥ yadā necchati pāpāni yadā puṇ...

2016 Verses in glorification of the Holy Name. I have revisited these translations several times. They were done in connection with my work on Hari-nāma-cintāmaṇi . It appears that on this day in 2016 I was relishing a few of them which I posted on Facebook. The complete collection was put on the blog for the first time in January this year: Verses in glorification of the Holy Names from various sources I Verses in glorification of the Holy Names from various sources II Verses in glorification of the Holy Names from various sources III 2014 Vote counting has started in India. The exit polls show a BJP led majority. Indeed, it looks like they are crushing the opposition. Namo NaMo. The full moon over Rishikesh. Last day tomorrow. As usual, I am completely behind in everything. It has been pretty silent. Swamiji was looking a little better today, but yesterday he said that each day brings new physical problems. I said, "We just pray that you finish your Yoga Sutra work and your fiv...

The very moment that the obstacles to worship are overcome, the devotee discovers the Name, in all its divine splendor, dancing on his tongue. From then on, he cannot stop drinking the streams of its nectar, and he dances in unbound ecstasy from divine intoxication. (May 14)

Not much in today's memories. Photo from Rishikesh 2012  I wish I could post links to my blog on FB and share with you some of the stuff that is there. A lot of it is quite extraordinary as I look back on it. I have to again lament that so little of it was published in hard copy. I am currently bringing my Dāna-keli material together for an article for JVS, and there are just tons of articles on the subject on the blog. I count at least 21 articles with the label  dāna-lila , but there are probably more. Basically, the idea I was working on was the evolution of the lila as described in the Bengali folk traditions when the Bhāgavata exercised an influence on them. Since Rupa Goswami wrote Dāna-keli-kaumudī and since Chandidas's dāna-khaṇḍa was so important, it seemed like a perfect element to study. Anyway I have to get this done, so I will cut this short today.

It is somewhat interesting how these memories accidentally come together thematically. There are several references to classes here, none of which went to term. I still want to give classes but I don't seem to have much luck except on the internet these days, teaching Sanskrit. And that is not a big earner, as it were. Anyway, I still hope my day will come. 2018 [Please note that this announcement is not current.] For those in the Vrindavan area who are interested. Since I am currently working on Bhakti Sandarbha , I have decided to give a daily class in English, based on Satyanarayana Dasaji's original work as I am going through it to get it to publication. Three or four people here have signed up, so there will be a group of devotees discussing this important work together. The time will be 5 p.m. in the Jiva Institute library. Jai Radhe.   2016 cinmaya bhāskara tumi kiraṇera kaṇa āmi tumi prabhu āmi nitya dāsa | caraṇa pīyūṣa tava mama sukha suvaibhava tava...

Verse 1.1.1 of the Bhāgavatam is commented on three times by Sri Jiva Goswami in the Sandarbhas, once in Paramātma Sandarbha (Anu 105) and twice in Kr̥ṣṇa Sandarbha (Anu 82 and 189). All of these are contained within the Krama Sandarbha. This is a Facebook post from May 12, 2016 but was never published on the blog,

The inner path is the way of the singular. The external is that of the plural. Their meeting place is in the dual. Like the lamp on the doorstep that sheds light both inside and out, it reveals both the one and the many. Know this and you know the path of Sahaja.  (See  Lessons from Sanskrit: Singular, dual and plural . (April 06, 2011)  

I think that today's edition contains the last instalment of my reactions to the Paramadvaiti debacle (2021). This is a final reflection. Other than this there are several memories of Rishikesh, especially the walk through Rajaji Park, which I used to enjoy on a regular basis while there. (FB Memories: May 10)

I thought I was done with the Paramadvaiti issue, but I retracted my earlier statements because of the uproar that followed. This post elicited 333 comments but I only chose a couple of my own longer comments. FB Memories May 9

It appears  that I was recycling old poems and that recycling process seems to have taken place more than once, which goes to show that just by cutting down lines into digestible chunks can make them seem more profound or at least is an attempt to imbue them with profundity. Profundity is in the eye of the beholder, but a trick of arranging things into lines signals to the reader "this is profound." Occasionally, it is. But profundity is cheap in our day and age. Anyway, today's poem on the Rasa Dance is one that I have commented on several times in this blog, which presupposes that I thought I was hitting on something deep. The other links are given below. Facebook Memories May 8.

Seems this time that I have memories of the "clean up Vrindavan" activist stage of consciousness that I was going through -- this time of year in different years. The poem at the end I have posted before; it has some autobiographical relevance as I am back to where I was before going through that crisis. Facebook Memories from May 7.