Jagat

The Bhakti Sandarbha texts that appear here are  not the official version , which still has to go through more editorial changes. It represents the state of the work after I have looked at it and made my changes. The Jiva Institute edition of the  Bhakti Sandarbha  should be finished and published later this year, and also made available in electronic form soon thereafter. This is only meant to give a foretaste, but better not to quote or use it. Thank you. N.B. E-books are now available from jiva.org, as are the  other first four Sandarbhas . Also anyone interested in taking Sanskrit with me or participating in the continuing Jiva Tirtha course (Oct. 2020) can  register here .  Remember that the  Jiva Tirtha courses  with Satyanarayana Dasaji are ongoing. You can also take beginner or advanced Sanskrit with me. Registration is now open. The opportunity to study with an extraordinary Vaishnava scholar like Babaji in the holy dham of Vrindavan is unequaled anywhere in this worl

A "general definition" of mukti means one that can apply both to Brahma-sākṣātkāra and Bhagavat-sākṣātkāra. The reason Jiva Goswami starts with an ambivalent definition that sounds like Māyāvāda is only to remind us that we are acintya-bhedābheda-vādis, which is the basic principle that should guide us when reading the Bhāgavatam. The first few anucchedas will have this capacity for ambivalence, but not to worry. Pure and unadulterated prīti will have its day. Anuccheda 3 is about two aspects of utkrānta mukti (liberation after leaving the body), which are sadyo-mukti (immediate liberation) and krama mukti (gradual libeation). These are concepts that have been encountered since the Buddhist period. I mistakenly equated jīvanmukti with sadyo-mukti and utkrānta with krama-mukti in a previous talk. That should be corrected. Jiva Goswami refers to SB 2.2.15-21 for sadyo-mukti and those translations have been read on the video. Some of these verses have appeared earli

Sometimes I look at a file and wonder if I hadn't reverted to an older version since I remember making changes that don't appear to be there and obvious mistakes are remaining. This appears to be such a case. I hope this doesn't apply to any more. Anuccheda 324 : Devotion is Never to be Found in Inimical Feelings तदेवं भावमार्गसामान्यस्यैव बलवत्त्वेऽपि कैमुत्येन रागानुगायामेवाभिधेयत्वमाह (भा. ११.५.४८)— From the analysis given thus far it is understood that the path of attachment, bhāva , in general is extremely powerful. How much more potent is it then to absorb the mind in Bhagavān specifically through the path of rāga ? Thus by the a fortiori ( kaimutya ) principle, it is concluded that the recommended path to achieve Bhagavān is none other than rāgānugā bhakti , as Śrī Nārada told Vasudeva: वैरेण यं नृपतयः शिशुपालपौण्ड्र- शाल्वादयो गतिविलासविलोकनाद्यैः। ध्यायन्त आकृतधियः शयनासनादौ तत्साम्यमापुरनुरक्तधियां पुनः किम्॥ Even kings like Śiśupāla,

 Yesterday's video had no sound, so I have reposted with sound. My apologies. The transliterated Sanskrit text is below.  Synopsis.  This is now the actual anuccheda here, the previous six readings were only to set up this verse. This is shown by the repetition of the phrase "now the treatise on love of God is to be written." The verse that is quoted as the principal text (SB 12.13.12) for this anuccheda was previously quoted in Tattva Sandarbha 52, where it served the fundamental purpose of showing the intent of the Bhagavatam. That is again its purpose here. The language of the verse is basically oriented towards the Advaita view, but Jiva Goswami's intent here is to show that it should be interpreted in keeping with the devotional philosophy. "This Bhāgavatam is the essence of all Vedānta philosophy" ( sarva-vedānta-sāraṁ yat , ), i.e., the essence of all  scriptures, and "the one ultimate attainment ( prayojana ) [proclaimed therein] is ka

Alanah and Jamie, a nice young couple from Nova Scotia, who are students staying here at Jiva, have been working the garden with organic methods and are breathing life into it. With our guests from Bhakti Marg contributing, the compost heaps are growing exponentially The time they have on their hands has given a positive result. Here it is April 23, 2020.  We have been in lockdown for more than a month. For some time now I have been reluctant to write and especially indifferent about revealing my personal situation. There were a couple of things that I did want  to say. I came back from Canada after a three month stay back in September last year. I think I was already on a bit of a downturn before leaving, with the residue of all that Vrindavan Today business that I went through back then. The whole episode still traumatizes me. Dr. Martins is here on the Jiva premises somewhere, but he is practicing social distancing with vigor and I have barely seen him once or twice since t

King Prithu The Bhakti Sandarbha texts that appear here are not the official version , which still has to go through more editorial changes. It represents the state of the work after I have looked at it and made my changes. The Jiva Institute edition of the Bhakti Sandarbha should be finished and published later this year, and also made available in electronic form soon thereafter. This is only meant to give a foretaste, but better not to quote or use it. Thank you. N.B. E-books are now available from jiva.org, as are the  other first four Sandarbhas . Also anyone interested in taking Sanskrit with me or participating in the continuing Jiva Tirtha course (Oct. 2020) can  register here .  Remember that the Jiva Tirtha courses with Satyanarayana Dasaji are ongoing. You can also take beginner or advanced Sanskrit with me. Registration is now open. The opportunity to study with an extraordinary Vaishnava scholar like Babaji in the holy dham of Vrindavan is unequaled anywhere in

This is the final portion of the introduction to Prīti Sandarbha. This can be recognized by the final words being the same as those with which Sri Jiva Goswami started ( atha prīti-sandarbho lekhyaḥ ). " Now the treatise on love of God ( Prī ti Sandarbha ) is to be written."  Today's reading is a bit longer and I went through it a bit quickly so not enough focus is there on the six characteristics that are in the title. It might not be so easy to see, but a step-by-step argument has been building, beginning with puruṣa-prayojanaṁ tāvat sukha-prāptir duḥkha-nivṛttiś ca | śrī-bhagavat-prītau tu sukhatvaṁ duḥkha-nivartakatvaṁ cātyantikam iti | The purpose of human life is the attainment of happiness and the elimination of pain . However, only with love forBhagavān is the attainment of happiness and freedom from suffering absolute . This is the pratijñā , i.e., the proposition that is to be proved, primarily in this introduction, but in the entire Prīti Sand