Jagat

There is something about being chained to your guru. When you sell yourself to your guru, then you are bound to be brought back to him, even if in some cases you try to renege. The prodigal son who returns is twice as dear. I wanted to use the example of runaway slaves, but that is unfortunately a little incorrect politically, triggers the wrong kinds of response. But bhakti, dāsya , is voluntary slavery to the will of God. The will of God is primarily mediated through Guru-tattva. Guru-tattva is that aspect of God that occupies itself with the education of humanity. Guru-tattva is the manifestation of intelligence, individually and cosmically.. You can find a discussion of this verse here (towards the end): sei bhakta dhanya, ye nā chāḍe prabhura caraṇa sei prabhu dhanya, ye nā chāḍe nija-jana “Glorious is that devotee who does not give up the shelter of his Lord, and glorious is that Lord who does not abandon His servant." durdaive sevaka yadi yāya anya sthāne ...

Dr. Jayalakshmi Alankar shared this video, wherein the good doctor Lustig explains scientifically the difference between pleasure and happiness, dopamine and serotonin.. Her summary: "Pleasure is SATISFACTION derived from things and persons OUTSIDE US. Happiness is SATISFACTION derived from the CORE OF DEEPEST BEING INSIDE US." - so simple to understand :) I think prema-sukha is happiness AND pleasure. It is pleasure experienced as waves in the ocean of happiness. This thought was provoked by the sheer impossibility of tasting ALL of the rasa that is present in so many writings of so many rasika mahatmas of so many sampradayas, and knowing that I have to stick to ONE to get it. That I have to concentrate on ONE toenail or whatever, one sentence of one book. That is when the rasa hits. Not otherwise. The key to the door goes through one keyhole. And yet, the thirst -- the thirst of one with cholera -- to drink it all, even in the frustration of kn...