Jagat

A Positive Alternative: Why Not Join Thakura Bhaktivinoda's  Original Guru Parampara? by Gadadhar Pran Das (Part One) illustration above connects us with a rarely known story: that Bhaktivinoda's guru parivara actually begins from Vishnupriya devi in Navadvipa and from Radha's younger sister Ananga Manjari in Vraja. Hence a major discovery can be uncovered for those who may wish to investigate the matter: that the Gaudiya Math and ISKCON's ancient heritage truly lies here. For would it be improper for us to join the Vaisnava family lineage parivara that Thakura Bhaktivinoda accepted wholeheartedly as his guru varga? Pictured above are the Sampradaya's leading Acaryas (Nitai and Gaura's internal saktis) Jahnava Thakurani (Ananga Manjari) and Vishnupriya devi seated on Sri Goura-Govinda's right and left sides.   How the Parampara Began   Just prior to Gauranga's taking sannyasa, he personally gave the siksa of his rasaraja upasana doctrine to Vamsiv...

Facebook reminded me that last year was the 50th anniversary of my joining the temple in Toronto. A year on down the road and headed back to Canada. It seems another momentous change is occurring in my life.  I told the story of " Oct. 1, 1970 " on this blog. In myth, travel is always associated with some dramatic change. In 1970, I hitch hiked with another seeker, who for some reason struck me as something of a fool, and intentionally headed, on his whim, to the Toronto temple on Beverley Street. Just the other day, I visited a friend of mine, Shyama Priya, originally from Holland, who is the same age as me, also white haired, pony-tailed and bearded. He has a little jewel of an ashram out on the Ramtaal road. It is right near the protected "forest" land that stretches from Chattikara Road all the way to his neighborhood. It is a cul-de-sac and thus very quiet. The road is barely tended to and it has that old Braj feel. When I arrived in the late afternoon, he was ...

 Raman Iyer has started a GoFundMe page to collect funds for my travel to Canada. I thank him for his support and approve of it. https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-jagadanandaji-travel-to-find-his-missing-son ( https://gofund.me/ccab272e ) Thanks to all those who are so generously helping me with this painful but necessary pilgrimage. 

जीव तीर्थ संस्कृतम् I don't want to leave Vrindavan or my cave in the Jiva Institute, but I have been obliged to change my plans somewhat and resume a responsibility towards my family because of these very painful circumstances. These are the crazy years of Covid. I will continue giving classes in Sanskrit and even if I cannot be back in Vrindavan by Karttik (because of visa and flight restrictions) I will continue to give them on Zoom, as currently. It is best when we have live students present physically on the premises, but in the current circumstances, easy movement between countries has been disrupted, and India is considered to be a particularly tough place for Covid, even though in terms of cases per population [342 per million, compared to USA nearly 2000 or Brazil 2700.], it is quite far down the list. But there are still a huge number of cases. So the new normal appears to be Zoom. Let me state unequivocally, however, that I am committed to my students and I am looking f...