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...

Anuccheda 11: An Example of Attaining the Siddha-deha yathaivāha [bhā.pu. 1.6.29] — prayujyamāne mayi tāṁ śuddhāṁ bhāgavatīṁ tanum | ārabdha-karma-nirvāṇo nyapatat pāñcabhautikaḥ || Similarly, [about the attainment of a spiritual body after giving up the material body,] Nārada told Vyāsa, When I was awarded that pure spiritual body, my prārabdha-karma being extinguished, my body made of the five material elements was dropped. (SB 1.6.29) "hitvāvadyam imaṁ lokaṁ gantā majjanatām asi" [bhā.pu. 1.6.24] iti yā tanuḥ śrī-bhagavatā dātuṁ pratijñātā, tāṁ bhāgavatīṁ bhagavad-aṁśa-jyotir-aṁśa-rūpāṁ śuddhāṁ prakṛti-sparśa-śūnyāṁ tanuṁ prati śrī-bhagavataiva mayi prayujyamāne nīyamāne ārabdhaṁ yat karma tan-nirvāṇaṁ samāptaṁ yasya sa pāñcabhautiko nyapatad iti | Bhagavān alone brought ( prayujyamāne ) Nārada the divine body ( bhāgavatīṁ tanuṁ ) that is a part of His partial effulgence and untouched by matter ( śuddhām ) and which He had earlier promised him [in SB 1.6.24,...

Bhajana Rahasya 8.5: The spiritual identity of this perfected devotee This is described by Prabodhananda Saraswati in the Rādhā-rasa-sudhā-nidhi (53)— dukūlaṁ bibhrāṇam atha kuca-taṭe kañcuka-paṭaṁ prasādaṁ svāminyāḥ sva-kara-tala-dattaṁ praṇayataḥ sthitāṁ nityaṁ pārśve vividha-paricaryaika-caturāṁ kiśorīm ātmānaṁ caṭula-parakīyāṁ nu kalaye When will I see myself as an adolescent girl, excited by the mood of being married to someone else, expert in all varieties of personal service, standing beside the Divine Couple, wearing a dress and blouse formerly worn by my own mistress Radharani and affectionately given me by Her personally. Extended translation: How sweet it is to think "I am Radha's maidservant!" How tender and delicious is the remembrance of one's siddha svarupa! Srimad Jīva Goswami said in Bhakti Sandarbha (304), "Even if one does not perform any other spiritual practice, one can attain perfection simply by having the attitude that ‘I ...

Rupa Goswami quotes the following prayer by Sanatan Goswami, which is a verse indicating fixed hope ( āśā-bandha ) in the mind of a devotee who has attained the state of bhāva . na premā śravaṇādi-bhaktir api vā yogo’thavā vaiṣṇavo jñānaṁ vā śubha-karma vā kiyad aho saj-jātir apy asti vā hīnārthādhika-sādhake tvayi tathāpy acchedya-mūlā satī he gopī-jana-vallabha vyathayate hā hā mad-āśaiva mām O my Lord, I have no love for You, nor am I attached to devotional service in practice, such as chanting and hearing. I do not practice the disciplines of Vaishnava yoga; I have no knowledge or pious activities. I cannot even claim to be well-born. Despite my lack of any qualification, O beloved of the gopis, my sacred hope in You is so deep that it will not be uprooted, because You fulfill the desires of the least qualified, giving them even more than they ask. Alas, alas! This hope of mine is causing me pain . (BRS 1.3.35) Comment by Jiva Goswami: In this verse, both direct an...

One attains Krishna through love Love for Krishna is auspicious for all conditioned souls, for through such love, they will attain Him. Krishna says this to the gopis— mayi bhaktir hi bhūtānām amṛtatvāya kalpate diṣṭyā yad āsīn mat-sneho bhavatīnāṁ mad-āpanaḥ Whoever engages in My devotional service attains immortality, i.e., liberation or eternal felicity. You are especially blessed on account of the deep love you have for Me, by which you will surely attain Me. That is most auspicious. This love forcefully attracts Me and makes Me come quickly to your sides . (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.82.44) Expanded translation: Expecting that the gopis will say, “O eloquent one! You are blaming the Supreme Lord for our separation, but everyone knows that You are none other than the Lord Himself. We also know it,” Krishna answers, “Yes, indeed. It is true. I am none other than the Supreme Lord. Even so, as the Supreme Lord, I am subservient to the affection that you, My devotees, have f...

Bhajana Rahasya 7.21: The gopis only wish for Krishna to return home to Vrindavan On meeting Krishna in Kurukshetra, Radha’s only prayer is that He return to Vraja— āhuś ca te nalina-nābha padāravindaṁ yogeśvarair hṛdi vicintyam agādha-bodhaiḥ saṁsāra-kūpa-patitottaraṇāvalambaṁ gehaṁ juṣām api manasy udiyāt sadā naḥ O lotus-naveled Krishna! Brahma and other great yogis like him, who have unfathomable wisdom, meditate constantly on Your lotus feet in their hearts, for such meditation is said to be the best means for conditioned souls to climb out of the dark well of material existence. May those feet always manifest in our minds, for we are attached to our householder lives and families. (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam10.82.48) Expanded translation: O lord of My life! Kindly hear My submission. Vrindavan is My home, and if I cannot have Your company there, I will not be able to survive. O Krishna! For the materialistic person, the mind that accepts and rejects sense objects is cons...

When the Holy Name blossoms, the Lord’s beautiful form, which amazes even the Lord Himself, begins to exercise its enchanting power on the devotee. Uddhava describes the wondrous power of the Lord’s beauty to Vidura: yan martya-līlaupayikaṁ sva-yoga- māyā-balaṁ darśayatā gṛhītam vismāpanaṁ svasya ca saubhaga-rddheḥ paraṁ padaṁ bhūṣaṇa-bhūṣaṇāṅgam To demonstrate the power of His internal potency, Yogamaya, Krishna took this body, which is perfectly suited to His human pastimes. It is so beautiful that it astonishes even Krishna Himself. It is the supreme achievement of opulent beauty, the ornament that beautifies its own ornaments. (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.2.12) Expanded translation: Of all Lord Krishna’s transcendental activities, His earthly pastimes in the human form are the most excellent, for this is His actual, eternal identity. In this form He dresses as a cowherd boy, plays the flute, blossoms with ever fresh youthfulness and dances expertly. His activities resemble t...

Ah, this chapter five. So Bhaktivinoda Thakur has very expertly taken us through the first four chapters and now we are at ruchi. So this is the stage where one starts thinking about the siddha deha. But first one follows in the footsteps of the gopis by hearing their mood and being affected by their words. I have been through BR before many times, but going through it fairly rapidly from beginning to end like this is revealing the overall path of bhajan very nicely. Bhaktivinoda Thakur did an excellent job, I must say. I should add that Satyanarayan Dasji started me on a program of daily chanting these verses from the Bhagavatam (i.e. the gopis response to Krishna's testing of their love when he sent them back to their husbands and families. I did a recording of it when we first started, but I think now that I have these verses memorized, i can meditate on them better and also sing them with more feeling than I did then. I am thinking of recording it again. The Bhagavatam is r...

Lord Krishna is the only enjoyer. The living entity is constitutionally the object of the Lord’s enjoyment. Therefore, as one worships the Lord more profoundly, he begins to feel a strong desire for the service of Srimati Radharani. This means that he begins to develop the mood of a gopi. Here is how the gopis pleaded with Krishna after He told them to return home— tan naḥ prasīda vṛjinārdana te’ṅghri-mūlaṁ prāptā visṛjya vasatīs tvad-upāsanāśāḥ tvat-sundara-smita- nirīkṣaṇa-tīvra-kāma- taptātmanāṁ puruṣa-bhūṣaṇa dehi dāsyam Therefore, O vanquisher of all distress, please be merciful to us. We have abandoned our families and homes to come here in the hope of serving Your lotus feet. O jewel among men, our hearts are burning with intense desires aroused by Your beautiful smiling glances, so please allow us to serve You. (10.29.38) Expanded translation: We have abandoned our homes and families and come to You, seeking Your service, just like Narayan’s devotees who renounce...

Bhajana-rahasya 5.6: With the manifestation of bhava, a fixed service attitude is natural Vritrasura spoke the following prayer— ahaṁ hare tava pādaika-mūla- dāsānudāso bhavitāsmi bhūyaḥ manaḥ smaretāsu-pater guṇāṁs te gṛṇīta vāk karma karotu kāyaḥ O Lord, when shall I once again become the most humble servant of the servants of Your lotus feet? My mind will remember Your virtues, O master of my life, my power of speech will be used to glorify You, and my body will always be engaged in doing Your work. (Srimad Bhagavatam 6.11.24) Expanded translation: When Vritrasura saw that Indra was not throwing his thunderbolt at him, he thought, why should I speak to this Indra whom I see externally. Why should I not surrender myself to my Lord? The Lord then appeared to him in his meditation and Vritrasura began to speak this prayer: “When shall I once again become the most obedient servant of those who have taken exclusive shelter of Your lotus feet? Tell me please, how long will ...

tad astu me nātha sa bhūri-bhāgo bhave’tra vānyatra tu vā tiraścām yenāham eko’pi bhavaj-janānāṁ bhūtvā niṣeve tava pāda-pallavam O my Lord, please bestow this great fortune on me, that I may live amongst Your intimate devotees and serve Your lotus feet, either here in this life as Brahma or somewhere else in a different body, even if it be that of some lowly creature like that of a bird or beast. (Srimad Bhagavatam 10.14.30) Expanded translation: Lord Brahma prays for service to Krishna, knowing that such service can only come through His mercy: O Lord! O fulfiller of all desires! It seems to everyone that I am very fortunate, for I have attained the supreme position in this universe as its creator. Even so, I do not consider this to be my greatest good fortune. Though I am Your oldest son in this life, it does not matter in which species I am born, as long as I can have the chance to most perfectly serve any one of Your devotees, for it is through service to them that I ...

The third chapter of the Bhajana Rahasya is based on the tṛṇād api sunīcena verse. To elaborate on this verse, Bhaktivinode Thakur depends on Mukunda-mālā and Stotra-ratna , two hymns from the Sri Vaishnava tradition predating Ramanuja. Bhaktivinoda had translated many of these verses in his Gīta-mālā and he reuses those same translations here. In view of the discussions of karma related to child abuse and so on, these verses may cause a bit of discomfort. Actually to think oneself a sinner, a fallen creature -- this goes against the militant humanism of our "enlightened" period of human civilization. Certainly, one of the principal criticisms against cults is that they force-feed teachings that are meant to vitiate a person's self-esteem and thus make him more malleable by the "authorities." In a traditional society, where the leaders themselves would have been trained in humility, and where they bowed down to sages who were completely disinterested ...

This verse gets bandied about a lot. I noticed something in Jiva's commentary that helps clarify the meaning. śruti-smṛti-purāṇādi pañcarātra-vidhiṁ vinā aikāntikī harer bhaktir utpātayaiva kalpate Exclusive devotion to Lord Hari which ignores the regulative principles outlined in the Sruti, Smriti, Puranas and Pancharatra scriptures will simply cause a disturbance. ( Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.2.101) Extended translation : Since the path taken by the great authorities has been canonized in the revealed scriptures, it is a flaw to ignore the edicts found in these texts. Vaishnavas should seek out the scriptures or sections of the scriptures that fit their level of qualification and inclination. If someone out of deliberate faithlessness refuses to accept the scriptural directives, then even if they make a show of exclusive devotion, it will cause a disturbance. If one does not follow these injunctions out of ignorance or laziness, then the same degree of criticism does...

I am going through the Bhajan Rahasya for the nth time. I did the first version of the translation in 2002. I have been finalizing it for publication, which will be done by Gopinath Gaudiya Math. The Bhajan Rahasya has an important place for me in my own spiritual life and as I start reading it again, I can remember back to the powerful effect it had on me way back when I first read it, before there were any translations. This would have been 1979. It was one of the principal influences that led me to a closer relation with Bhaktivinoda Thakur. I think that the following verses in Bhajana Rahasya were amongst those that captured my imagination. Up until this point near the end of the second chapter, it was more or less standard fodder, but this part suddenly made the desire for ekānta bhajana awaken in me. prabhāte cārdha-rātre ce madhyāhne diva-saṅkṣaye kīrtayanti hariṁ ye vai na teṣām anya-sādhanam The single-minded devotee who chants the Holy Names of the Lord in the ...

kṛṣṇeti yasya giri taṁ manasādriyeta dīkṣāsti cet praṇatibhiś ca bhajantam īśam śuśrūṣayā bhajana-vijñam ananyam anya- nindādi-śūnya-hṛdam īpsita-saṅga-labdhyā One should mentally honor the devotee who chants the holy name of Lord Krishna. One should offer his humble obeisances to the one who has undergone spiritual initiation [ dīkṣā ] and is engaged in worshiping the Deity. And if one encounters a pure devotee who is advanced in undeviating devotional service and whose heart is completely devoid of the propensity to criticize others, one should associate with and faithfully serve him, recognizing him to be the ideal spiritual companion. Bhaktivinode Thakur's translation in Bhajana-rahasya : If you hear someone sincerely chanting the Holy Name, then you should offer him respects in your mind, again and again. If he has joined a devotional disciplic line ( sampradāya ) through initiation and is engaged in worshiping Krishna, then you should respectfully fall down and take th...

As I go through the Bhajana Rahasya for hopefully the last time, I am still finding some verses for which no commentary was added. Sometimes this is understandable and has to be left aside, because giving explanations of something like vaco-vegam might take pages or even books in their own right. In fact, too much explanation is the wrong way to go with Bhajana Rahasya . Someone who is ready for this summary by Bhaktivinode Thakur of how to enter into and take up ekanta raganuga bhajan, should already be pretty familiar with most of the concepts, which are being given in reminder fashion, rather than as narrowly focused guide to eliminating anarthas. In the later sections where the verses summarizing the entirety of the sakhi kriyas or the different kinds of sambhoga, etc. are meant to indicate to the practitioner the _next_ level of study. The same is applicable to the Ashta-kala-lila sutras that come at the end of each chapter. It is rather cool, actually, the way that Bha...

The indirect process: combatting the anarthas Weakness of heart, thirst for the impermanent, and offenses must be overcome through the indirect method. In other words, one must make an effort to avoid unproductive desires and activities. The methods recommended to overcome the first three categories of anartha will now be given, one by one. Rupa Goswami states there are six urges that create obstacles to devotional service: vāco vegaṁ manasaḥ krodha vegaṁ jihvā vegam udaropastha vegam etān vegān yo viṣaheta dhīraḥ sarvām apīmāṁ pṛthivīṁ sa śiṣyāt A sober person who can tolerate the urge to speak, the mind’s demands, the actions of anger and the urges of the tongue, belly and genitals can teach the entire world. ( Upadeśāmṛta , 1) Expanded translation: O Lord Hari! I have fallen into this world of five elements where I have no refuge. I see no shelter other than Your feet, which are the only recourse for the helpless, and so I have made You the essential truth in my lif...

I first did the translation work on Bhaktivinoda Thakur's Bhajana Rahasya in 2002 on behalf of Mandala Publishers, which was the publishing arm of Srila Bhakti Promode Puri Maharaj and the Gopinath Gaudiya Math , the current Acharya of which is Sripada Bhakti Bibudh Bodhayan Maharaj. They gave me a great opportunity to study this book again in depth, since this book played an important part in my own spiritual life and progress. Once again I have to show my great gratitude to the Gaudiya Math and its branches. As it happened, this book and Harinama-chintamani, which I also worked on at around the same time, were never published. Recently through the intercession of a couple of ISKCON sannyasis who had seen the earlier work on these books I had done, recommended to Srila Bodhayana Maharaj that he should publish them. Bodhayan Maharaj agreed and so for the past month I have been revising my work and upgrading it, and with Bhajana Rahasya especially making additions. I thou...

I am going to post a bunch of translations. This is from the introduction to Bhajana Rahasya by B.P. Puri Maharaj. ============= My heroic pastimes are very pleasing to the ear and satisfying to the heart when heard in the association of pure devotees. As a result of joyfully relishing these pastimes in such association, one quickly advances on the path of liberation, passing through the stages of faith ( śraddhā ), the revelation of one’s divine relationship with Krishna ( rati ), and true love for Him ( bhakti ). ( Śrīmad-bhāgavatam 3.25.25) satāṁ prasaṅgān mama vīrya-saṁvido bhavanti hṛt-karṇa-rasāyanāḥ kathāḥ taj-joṣaṇād āśv apavarga-vartmani śraddhā ratir bhaktir anukramiṣyati Expanded translation: The mind finds joy in the Lord through association with saintly people. This verse explains the results of such association in their proper sequence. In fact, there is a preliminary stage of faith which comes after hearing that holy association should be sought out. Whe...