Jagat

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.)

This was a response to something an ex-devotee posted about self-love. As often is the case, something else crossed my path at about the same time, namely this verse by Haridas Shastri. It provoked certain thoughts in me that I felt worth sharing. As prayers go, it seems particularly good to me and I had  even included it in an earlier post . I wrote this comment on Facebook but never posted it on the blog, though I rather like the trend of the meditation.

This is Part 5 of a series called "Confession and the Authentic Self." 1. Prologue . 2. Setting the scene. The saga of the Paundraka Vrindavan Today . 3. Staking out the high ground. The frequentations of swans and crows . 4. Confession, a religious act. A concealed provocation. I won't give too much of a preamble here. As stated below, this article appeared after negative material about Babaji started appearing on the other website. I felt that the only way to counteract the negativity was by speaking what I saw as positives. I know that when I read this, it is not full of glorification of Babaji's external achievements or of dramatic hagiography. His disciples can do that. I thought it was more important to say why I decided to serve here in the Jiva Institute and the nature of my relationship with Babaji. How I see him as a human being. Babaji is younger than me, and he took to bhakti at a later time than me. But these are externals that are less important...

Sorry, friends, for not posting much of late. As usual, there are many beginnings, but most don't pass the editor's desk. This post was begun on the 16th. I am posting on the 21st, so there are mixed time references. ================= Interesting day, yesterday. First a lengthy class and discussion with Satyanarayana Dasa, and then a visit to Haridas Shastri. I spent the earlier part of the day indulging in my greatest distraction and perhaps the bane of my existence, typing a book, the Sarva-siddhānta-saṅgraha , attributed to Shankaracharya, but clearly not. Even here, in the section on Nyaya, the following verse is found— varaṁ vṛndāvane ramye śṛgālatvaṁ vṛṇomy aham vaiśeṣikokta-mokṣāt tu sukha-leśa-vivarjitāt 40 yo veda-vihitair yajṣair īśvarasya prasādataḥ mūrcchām icchati yatnena pāṣāṇavad avasthitim 41 I prefer to be a jackal in the beautiful land of Vrindavan rather than accept the liberation of the Vaiseshikas, which is without even a drop of happiness. By...

These verses were posted by me in 2003 on Gaudiya Discussions, "Pearls of Wisdom" . I came across them as the result of a Google search (in fact, some of them I had completely forgotten), so I am just crossposting them here for the record, as they are so nice, with a few editing changes. A nice simple prayer. I believe it may be Haridas Shastri's own composition. vaiṣṇave prītir āstāṁ me prītir āstāṁ prabhor guṇe sevāyāṁ prītir āstāṁ me prītir ārtiś ca kīrtane āśrite prītir āstāṁ me prītiś ca bhajanonmukhe ātmani prītir āstāṁ me kṛṣṇa-bhaktir yathā bhavet May I have love for the Vaishnavas. May I have love for the Lord's qualities. May I have love for service. May I have love and enthusiasm for Harinam Kirtan. May I have love for those who have taken refuge in the Lord. May I have love for those who even have a desire to engage in bhajan. May I have love for my own eternal self, by which devotion to Krishna comes about. aiśa-buddhi-vāsitātma-loka-vṛnda-dur...