Jagat

These are the qualities one should look for in an instructor guru. (From Padma Purāṇa, Bhāgavata-māhātmya , 6.20) विरक्तो वैष्णवो विप्रो वेदशास्त्रविशुद्धिकृत् दृष्टान्तकुशलो धीरो वक्ता कार्योऽतिनिःस्पृहः virakto vaiṣṇavo vipro veda-śāstra-viśuddhi-kṛt dṛṣṭānta-kuśalo dhīro vaktā kāryo'tiniḥspṛhaḥ virakta. This means the speaker of Hari-kathā should not sufficiently be beholden to the audience in such a way that he speaks just to please them. If one wants unbiased truth, one should listen to someone who is detached. Vaiṣṇava - One should listen to the Bhāgavatam from a devotee since the goal of the Bhāgavatam is to attain perfection in devotion. If one's goal is different, then one may hear from anyone.  vipra - This word means he has undergone the samskāras , not necessarily that he is a born brahmin, though one who is born a brahmin may have a privileged upbringing. He must have undergone spiritual purification. The spiritual aspirant is usually ...

Over the last few days I have gone through a few anxious moments. There is no moment in life where a conflict does not lurk. In Gaudiya Vaishnavism, there is a big conflict between the so-called bhajanānandī and the goṣṭhyānandī , introverts and extroverts. I have been living in Vrindavan, the ultimate destination of all Vaishnavas, at least according to Rupa Goswami, who lived in a different time, a different world from the one today. I love Vrindavan and I wish to cultivate love for Radha and Krishna in the way I do best, by doing bhajan and writing. Indeed, I have a strong introverted tendency. For me it has been characterized by a sense of unworthiness, that I am never good enough or accomplished enough to make a worthwhile contribution.  On the other hand, in my youth I underwent a period of intense indoctrination in ISKCON to the idea of preaching. And that is characterized, as we often see, by an overinflated and borrowed  sense of confidence . Neither of these ...

Kanwaris on road from Haridwar Yesterday, there was a tempo rikshaw strike in Rishikesh. The month of Shravan is a big month here, as there are literally thousands of pilgrims or Kanwarias, mostly young men dressed in bright orange shorts and t-shirts stamped with OM or a picture of Shiva and om namah shivaya . They are going to do the walk to Neelkanth, 25 kilometers away. It is a different kind of group from the one I described doing the same thing around Shiva-ratri time. They are mostly from the cities, Delhi, Chandigarh, etc. (See Kanwarias flock highways to get an idea of the madness.) Anyway, something happened, I never really figured it out or cared much, but it did stop me from going to Madhuban for my Sunday class. It was a little too bad, really, because the subject was the yā niśā verse from Gita (2.69) and I was a little inspired to talk on Hari-kathā itself. I have been appreciating the words kṛṣṇa-bhāvanāmṛta , which are used to translate "Krishna conscious...

Someone told me the other day that my day has come and gone. I am not quite sure what they meant. But the fact is that the day of Hari Katha will never go. I have been pressing on, for better or worse, on this path for nigh on forty years, now. How different things would be today if I had remained an Iskcon sannyasi. But that day came and went. There is no end to days, and there is no end to Hari Katha. God is infinite and each person's adventure in yoga is infinite. Anyway, this verse is from Canto I, Narada telling Vyasadeva about how he developed rati. Some versions give ruchi as the last word in this verse, but we accept the Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu reading. tatrAnvahaM kRSNa-kathAH pragAyatAM anugraheNazRNavaM manoharAH tAH zraddhayA me'nupadaM vizRNvataH priya-zravasy anga mamAbhavad ratiH There, by the mercy of those sages who sang about Krishna, I was able to hear these charming descriptions of the Lord every single day. Since I was listening attentively and with faith a...