Jagat

I just want to say that as I slowly start to get deeper into Bhakti Sandarbha (I reached Anuccheda 10 today), I am gaining even more appreciation for Satya Narayan Dasji, not only of his understanding of the Sanskrit text, but his commentaries. These, I feel, are getting better as we go through the Sandarbhas , and I am sure that the Priti Sandarbha will truly be the crown jewel, the pot of gold at the end of this rainbow. In the meantime, we follow Jiva Goswami's path through these six books, where we have just now arrived at the abhidheya , bhakti . In a sense you could say that the other four books were just preparations for this. The actual journey really starts with Bhakti Sandarbha . Jiva stated in the very beginning that you should know what to do now that you have gone through the first four books (and in fact, just by going through them, you already have), but now you are going to stop looking so much at the external tattvas and start to consider what is going on ins...

The appearance and disappearance days of Gadadhar Bhatta Goswami, the disciple and successor of Raghunath Bhatta Goswami, come on successive days, the dwadashi and trayodashi of the dark fortnight in Bhadrapada month. This year that fell on August 28th and 29th. Raghunath Bhatta (1505-1579) was especially noted for his sweet presentation of Srimad Bhagavatam and as the innovator of the Bhagavata vachak tradition in Vrindavan. Gadadhar Bhatta was his successor and to this day his descendants maintain the tradition of preaching from the Bhagavata Purana. Gadadhar Bhatt was a reservoir of all virtues and a bringer of pleasure to all. He was naturally gentleman and a strict follower of the teachings of the acharyas. He was free of flaws like envy and desire, and an ocean of compassion to the less fortunate. It was as though he had taken birth only to awaken exclusive devotion to Radha and Krishna in the people of the world. Once he had come to stay in Vrindavan he never left, absor...

So in the previous post I left things open a bit in order to follow up on the context, to see whether the asti nāsti was specifically refering to any particular debate. The chapter does begin with an inquiry into differences of opinion about the number of tattvas according to different analyses of the Sankhya categories. Krishna said they are all okay depending on the particular point of view. After explaining what the different enumerations of the tattvas intend and how these differing views can be reconciled, he stops at verse 11.22.25. Uddhava then asks further about the Sankhya philosophy, in particular about its dualism of Consciousness and Matter, prakṛti and puruṣa . prakṛtiḥ puruṣaś cobhau yady apy ātma-vilakṣaṇau | anyonyāpāśrayāt kṛṣṇa dṛśyate na bhidā tayoḥ | prakṛtau lakṣyate hy ātmā prakṛtiś ca tathātmani || Consciousness and Matter, though differing in essence, appear to not be different because of their interdependence. Thus the ātmā is observed in Nature and...

So, I have finally been able to retrieve my mind from its incessant detours and brought it squarely back into Jiva Goswami’s mind and the Bhāgavata-purāṇa . I am working on Bhakti-sandarbha now. And I am thinking about this verse, which Jiva Goswami is going to use as the first cornerstone of that book, in the first of nearly 400 anucchedas or sections, each centered around a single important verse from the Bhāgavata-purāṇa . The central verse of the first anuccheda (11.2.37) is important and worthy of extended reflection, and thus somewhat difficult to translate. This is my job: to edit Satyanarayana Dasaji’s translation and process it through my understanding to most perfectly illustrate Jiva Goswami’s thought process. I don’t pretend to understand better than Satyanarayana Dasaji -- I consider him my Sandarbhas guru and that is the way I do this work. But we are both serving Jiva Goswami, and as a servant of the servant of Jiva Goswami, I try to present my understanding of ...

As anyone following me will know, I am working as part of a team with Satya Narayana Das Babaji of the Jiva Institute in his great project of making an authoritative and comprehensive translations of the Bhāgavata Sandarbha or "Six Sandarbhas," Jiva Goswami's principal contribution to the world of Indian philosophy and theology. The first three volumes have been published and my work on the Krishna Sandarbha has been completed, and so I am now turning my attention to the fifth book, Bhakti Sandarbha . The first four deal with sambandha , the fifth with abhidheya and the sixth with prayojana . The first anuccheda , or section, (of which there are 382) is introductory in nature and serves to act as a bridge between what has gone before and the subject of this book, which is the abhidheya . The word abhidheya is an interesting one in itself and seems to have acquired its technical meaning in the context of the anubandha-catuṣṭaya , or four things that an author sets ...

Along with several other titles, Himalayan Yoga Publications Trust has published a book I did to facilitate Sanskrit teaching to the students of Swami Rama Sadhaka Gram. This publication was made to coincide with the first anniversary of Swami Veda Bharati's Mahasamadhi. This book contains first of all a guide to understanding the Sanskrit grammar and vocabulary of many of the essential materials used at SRSG, such as the morning and evening prayers, many of Swamiji's favorite verses from the Bhagavad Gita, and so on.  There is also a section of additional materials and exercises to help the Sanskrit student, such as sandhi rules, principal parts of verbs, as well as supplementary reading exercises. This handbook was originally conceived as a collection of supplementary reading exercises for students of Sanskrit at Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama. The primary goal was to help non-Indian students of yoga and Indian philosophy to acquire a working knowledge of textual Sanskrit as ...

From Vrindavan Today . Yesterday, devotees gathered at the Sudama Kutir in Vamshi Vat to honor the memory of Sudama Das Baba. It has been eleven years since Sudama Dasji entered the eternal Vrindavan, but his impact on the sadhu community is still being felt. Bhagavan Das and Sutikshna Das, his disciples and grand-disciple who succeeded him as Mahants of the ashram, lit the lamp and garlanded the murti of their guru that graces his samadhi shrine. This was followed by speaker after speaker who remembered his commitment to service, to the sadhus, to Mother Cow and to humanity at large. Sudama Das, it was said, embodied the mantra from the Ramananandi tradition that all repeat constantly: bhakta bhakti bhagavanta guru catura nāma vapu eka inake pada vandana kiye nāsaiṁ vighna aneka These four – devotion, the devotee, the Supreme Lord, and the Guru – are one in name and form. By worshiping them, all impediments will be destroyed. Since he founded the Sudama Kutir nearly 9...

Bhajana Rahasya 8.5: The spiritual identity of this perfected devotee This is described by Prabodhananda Saraswati in the Rādhā-rasa-sudhā-nidhi (53)— dukūlaṁ bibhrāṇam atha kuca-taṭe kañcuka-paṭaṁ prasādaṁ svāminyāḥ sva-kara-tala-dattaṁ praṇayataḥ sthitāṁ nityaṁ pārśve vividha-paricaryaika-caturāṁ kiśorīm ātmānaṁ caṭula-parakīyāṁ nu kalaye When will I see myself as an adolescent girl, excited by the mood of being married to someone else, expert in all varieties of personal service, standing beside the Divine Couple, wearing a dress and blouse formerly worn by my own mistress Radharani and affectionately given me by Her personally. Extended translation: How sweet it is to think "I am Radha's maidservant!" How tender and delicious is the remembrance of one's siddha svarupa! Srimad Jīva Goswami said in Bhakti Sandarbha (304), "Even if one does not perform any other spiritual practice, one can attain perfection simply by having the attitude that ‘I ...

Rupa Goswami quotes the following prayer by Sanatan Goswami, which is a verse indicating fixed hope ( āśā-bandha ) in the mind of a devotee who has attained the state of bhāva . na premā śravaṇādi-bhaktir api vā yogo’thavā vaiṣṇavo jñānaṁ vā śubha-karma vā kiyad aho saj-jātir apy asti vā hīnārthādhika-sādhake tvayi tathāpy acchedya-mūlā satī he gopī-jana-vallabha vyathayate hā hā mad-āśaiva mām O my Lord, I have no love for You, nor am I attached to devotional service in practice, such as chanting and hearing. I do not practice the disciplines of Vaishnava yoga; I have no knowledge or pious activities. I cannot even claim to be well-born. Despite my lack of any qualification, O beloved of the gopis, my sacred hope in You is so deep that it will not be uprooted, because You fulfill the desires of the least qualified, giving them even more than they ask. Alas, alas! This hope of mine is causing me pain . (BRS 1.3.35) Comment by Jiva Goswami: In this verse, both direct an...

Many of Vrindavan’s scholars and sants gathered at the Bhava Sadhana Ashram in Gaura Nagar in order to offer homage to Prabhudatta Brahmachari in a special Guru Puja celebration. Haribol Baba recalled the role that Brahmachariji played in the anti-cow slaughter movement. As a result of his leadership, those devoted to Gomata were united in their efforts to end the mistreatment of cows. Many others remembered the contributions of Prabhudatt Brahmachari to the cause of Hindu nationalism. The following account of Prabhudatt Brahmachari’s life is taken from several sources, but primarily from G. Kamesh’s Athato blog . Prabhudatt Brahmachari was born in 1885 to a poor Brahmin family in a village in Aligarh district. He took a deep interest in Sanskrit studies early in his life and left home to study in various Gurukula including ones in Mathura and Vrindavan, finally ending up in Varanasi where Swami Karpatri Maharaj was one of his co-students. It was when still a young student that...

One attains Krishna through love Love for Krishna is auspicious for all conditioned souls, for through such love, they will attain Him. Krishna says this to the gopis— mayi bhaktir hi bhūtānām amṛtatvāya kalpate diṣṭyā yad āsīn mat-sneho bhavatīnāṁ mad-āpanaḥ Whoever engages in My devotional service attains immortality, i.e., liberation or eternal felicity. You are especially blessed on account of the deep love you have for Me, by which you will surely attain Me. That is most auspicious. This love forcefully attracts Me and makes Me come quickly to your sides . (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.82.44) Expanded translation: Expecting that the gopis will say, “O eloquent one! You are blaming the Supreme Lord for our separation, but everyone knows that You are none other than the Lord Himself. We also know it,” Krishna answers, “Yes, indeed. It is true. I am none other than the Supreme Lord. Even so, as the Supreme Lord, I am subservient to the affection that you, My devotees, have f...

Bhajana Rahasya 7.21: The gopis only wish for Krishna to return home to Vrindavan On meeting Krishna in Kurukshetra, Radha’s only prayer is that He return to Vraja— āhuś ca te nalina-nābha padāravindaṁ yogeśvarair hṛdi vicintyam agādha-bodhaiḥ saṁsāra-kūpa-patitottaraṇāvalambaṁ gehaṁ juṣām api manasy udiyāt sadā naḥ O lotus-naveled Krishna! Brahma and other great yogis like him, who have unfathomable wisdom, meditate constantly on Your lotus feet in their hearts, for such meditation is said to be the best means for conditioned souls to climb out of the dark well of material existence. May those feet always manifest in our minds, for we are attached to our householder lives and families. (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam10.82.48) Expanded translation: O lord of My life! Kindly hear My submission. Vrindavan is My home, and if I cannot have Your company there, I will not be able to survive. O Krishna! For the materialistic person, the mind that accepts and rejects sense objects is cons...