Jagat

Facebook  January 11, 2015 Visit to Barsana in 2017. Facebook.   My account of this visit on this blog . A couple of conversations of late have made me reflect on the concept of aparadha. Many people seem to want to reject the concept wholesale. No doubt, there are some who overplay the aparadha card, citing verses that talk about cutting out tongues and the such. But it is wrong to say that it is a purely ISKCON idea, when it can be found in the earliest Gaudiya Vaishnava texts. It is the naturally corollary to the understanding that the grace of advanced devotees is the secret to all spiritual progress-- mahīyasāṁ pāda-rajo-’bhiṣekam . The assassination of several cartoonists in Paris the other day for "offensive" cartoons of Mohammad has rightly disgusted people around the world. In fact, there is no need to retaliate for offenses in such a barbaric and counterproductive way. Sati said to Daksha, after he had offended her husband, the greatest of devotees according to the...

This is Part 6 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. 5. A profession of love and respect for Babaji. At this point, I am still thinking about how to deal with the situation and marking out how to behave and what principles I should operate on. There were some responses to this article from someone calling himself "Good Egg" to which I will give some brief consideration at the end of this post. The dust of Vrindavan will not tolerate Vaishnava ninda  (June 3) There is no difference between the teachings of the Bhāgavata and the philosophy of Braja-vāsa-sādhana. When one lives in Vrindavan or Braj, then one is to see everyone living there as a blessed person and not in terms of their external actions. Though many verses can be c...