Jagat

The discussion of  sat-saṅga continues on until 245. From 238 to 242 covers the first part of Canto 11, chapter 12. This subject then morphs into a glorification of the gopis, which was covered in Kṛṣṇa Sandarbha 175-177. The first of those verses is quoted at the end of Anu. 242. Anuccheda 240 Sat-saṅga is Independently Potent तेषां सत्सङ्गव्यतिरिक्तसाधनाभावमाह (भा. ११.१२.७) — ते नाधीतश्रुतिगणा नोपासितमहत्तमाः। अव्रतातप्ततपसो मत्सङ्गान् मामुपागताः॥ In the verse that follows this group of four, Śrī Kṛṣṇa declares that these individuals or groups did not undergo any form of spiritual discipline other than the association of devotees: Although they did not study the Vedas, worship great devotees, observe vows or undertake austerities, they attained Me through association with Me or My devotees.  (SB 11.12.7) नाधीताः श्रुतिगणाः यैः। तदर्थं च नोपासिता महत्तमा यैः। किं च, अकृतव्रता अकृततपस्काश्च। पूर्ववदध्ययनादिकं भगवत्प्रीणनमेव ग्राह्यम्। This verse s...

I have been appreciating Babaji's morning chanting of hymns, which I happily participate in each morning. He has a teacher who has given him a number of striking tunes for these Sanskrit verses, which make my "chanting of Sanskrit mantras" in need of updating. I was also inspired to make a few spontaneous recordings, using those tunes and on my SoundCloud page I have also added a few recordings of Babaji also. Most Gaudiya Vaishnavas tend to chant songs in Bengali or common Sanskrit hymns like Rādhā-kṛpā-kaṭākṣa-stotram , but Babaji has chosen to select notable hymns or passages from the Bhagavatam itself, which is a testament to his devotion to our main shastra. The following verses are Uddhava's famous panegyric glorifying the gopis in 10.47. These verses are unique because there is no other such praise dedicated to any devotee by another devotee found there. After staying in Vrindavan in the association of the cowherd folk, Uddhava is so impressed by ...

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 ...

Today someone, after reading the following article, Raganuga bhakti and sahaja sadhana (Part I) ,  presented the familiar argument  on FB ,  "Don't you have to be at the stage of anartha-nivṛtti  to begin the raganuga path?" I answered, "How many lifetimes of  anartha-nivṛtti  do you think it takes to get to where you just like hearing about Radha and Krishna? So, if you like it, you are ready. And you are really ready if someone like your guru says 'don't,' and you do it anyway. Or if someone tells you that you must wait, you say, 'can't'. Then you are ready, nothing else counts. And if you fail (i.e., lose interest), what was the loss?" This was responded to with the customary protestations: how can one possibly ignore the orders of the spiritual master? There are of course numerous examples of individuals such as Bali who rejected their guru's orders when it went against a higher principle. So in the same spirit as in anot...

We have been reading about the gopis in separation and how they are madly asking the trees for Krishna's whereabouts. In 10.30.4, the first trees the gopis approach to ask for Krishna's whereabouts are the ashwattha, plaksha and nyagrodha , all variants of the banyan or sacred fig. This is ostensibly because they are the tallest trees and would have been best able to see Krishna from their lofty height. They are also the kings of the forest, representing Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma respectively. But when these trees don't answer their polite request, which is accompanied by a confession of their distressed state of mind ("the son of Nanda has stolen our minds and run away!"), Vishwanath paraphrases the gopis' reaction, saying that they insult them, saying, "You are just dirty-minded men and, besides, you just have small fruits!" When I read this, I burst out laughing because of the implications of this insult. Some people suggested that the gop...

Just as I finished writing about my renewed sense of purpose about teaching about the role of sexuality on the bhakti path, I came across an article posted by Abhaya Mudra Dasi on the Sampradaya Sun. Abhaya Mudra is a Bulgarian disciple of Suhotra Swami who has a jyotish website with Prabhupada disciple Patita Pavan Das. At first view, her article, Sex and Spirituality , is a defense of standard ISKCON teaching on sexuality, though it adds a few interesting twists. I have personally come to the conclusion that even though mainstream Western devotees still following ISKCON and the Gaudiya Math start out deeply committed to a doctrine that marginalizes sexuality, as the years go by, a great number of them become frustrated by double standards and hypocrisy that seem endemic in the movement. The Western Krishna consciousness movement has no bigger " shadow " than sexuality. Though child abuse scandals have rocked ISKCON and repeated "falldowns" or sexual peccadill...