bhaktivaibhav.net

Thank you, Jagadish prabhu! We have just received Nityananda prabhu's MP3's, and we are now "filling in the gaps" so to speak. Now, lectures that aren't found on Nityananda prabhu's CD's are being added to the archive, including Srila Puri Maharaj's lectures in Sardinia, Italy, as well as the lectures in Spain, are currently being converted into MP3 format. This process should be finished by the end of the weekend. Now, anyone in North America and surrounding areas who want to hear the lectures of Srila Bhaktivaibhav Puri Maharaj from his 2002 European tour, can do so by getting the CD's from me. They can also get many photographs taken during the tour. It'll probably come out to being 4 CD's. I'll sell the whole set for 10 US dollars, which includes media rate shipping to the continental United States. Proceeds will go to Srila Maharaj's preaching mission, which includes missions in Vrindavan, Mayapur, and Puri Dhams, as well as throughout South India. If you can't afford it, just email us, and we can work something out. The most important thing for us to do is to spread the nectarian words of one of the remaining spiritual sons of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupad. Write to us at contact@bhaktivaibhav.net

Thanks for the great story, Stonehearted! I hope to do this someday, but I for one am quite shy. The 2002 European Tour of Srila Bhaktivaibhav Puri Goswami Maharaj was delayed until Janmastami, and is concluding today in Vienna (I am not sure if Srila Maharaj gave class today, since I have returned home only a few hours ago). Sweet and ecstatic. I have recorded (via MiniDisc) almost every lecture given by Srila Maharaj during the tour, including one newspaper interview. I am hoping to soon transcribe to text, convert all the lectures to MP3 format, and place everything on a CD for distribution. I am hoping many will enjoy and benefit from these nectarine lectures. Om Visnupad Paramahamsa Parivrajakacharya ashtottara shatta Sri Srimad BhaktiVaibhav Puri Goswami Maharaj ki jaya!

Because of the serious damage that occurred in ISKCON partially because of false renunciation and renunciation of family in general, I trust that BV Puri Maharaj must have elaborated more in his lectures and writings on this serious topic. If you read the biography of Srila Maharaj that is on www.bhaktivaibhav.net, you can see that he is lifelong brahmachari, and took sanyas from Srila Giri Maharaj at the age of 53. I know as a fact that the 1-2 sanyasis that I inquired also never married. Beyond that, I'm not going to take a census, since it is an awkward situation to ask sanyasis about their pre-renunciation lives. I've not heard of any westerners taking sanyas initiation from Srila Maharaj though. In the coming weeks, I may very well have access to a very large number of lectures, and I will be sure to look for anything pertaining to renunciation and copy it. If any other readers here are looking for a specific topic, please let me know by next week, and I will try to facilitate your desires. As for the age of 50 being the minimum age of sanyas, I didn't see this in the Jaiva Dharma, and I've read two different translations. Perhaps I read too fast, if anyone can cite such a passage, please do so. It should be known that Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupad was only 44 when taking sanyas. Gauracandra: Fascinating vision. Maybe I'm wrong, and Srila Maharaj was quite literal with the door to door quotation. I'll have to ask someone close to him. Personally, I'd imagine it very difficult for a Krishna devotee to get a foot in the door to talk about Krishna and Bhagavad Gita for starters. I'd like to know if any devotees are endeavoring to do this method of preaching. The encounters would probably be more interesting than those found in airports and the like. [This message has been edited by bhaktivaibhav.net (edited 07-17-2002).] [This message has been edited by bhaktivaibhav.net (edited 07-17-2002).]

Bhaktavasya: Well, I personally believe Srila Maharaj's point was that fewer were holding to the commitment of sanyas. The western followers of Srila Maharaj treat renunciation in a very serious, reverent manner, in line with the strict guidelines set by Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur (not that the Indians would be different, but I wanted to stress on western followers). You don't see so many westerners in saffron in this camp, but when you do, they are usually in a very humble, gentle mood. As for "door to door style preaching", I'm not sure if it was meant quite literally, or as a hope to see a more intrepid Gaudiya mission of seriously reaching the masses of the world, one person at a time. My intuition tells me the latter. Gauracandra: Thank you for your kinds words of encouragement, prabhu. Here is the current schedule. Local contact information is pending, but if you have a question about a specific stop, I'll be happy to help you. July 25-29: Vienna, Austria July 29 - August 5: Sardinia, Italy August 6-12: Rome, Italy August 12-15: Rimini, Italy August 15-22: Florence, Italy August 23-25: Turin, Italy August 26-28: Milan, Italy August 28-30: Vicenza, Italy August 31 - September 1: Vienna, Austria September 2-4: Slovenia September 4-7 Croatia September 9: Vienna September 9-15: New York September 16-19: Denver September 28 - October 8: Mexico October 20: India arrival I apologize for the gaps, but I haven't received 100% of the information. I'm pretty sure California will be included in due time, though. Gaura Premanande! bhaktivaibhav.net webservant [This message has been edited by bhaktivaibhav.net (edited 07-16-2002).]

For all who are interested, more lectures are available on bhaktivaibhav.net . Also, you'll all be most interested to know that Srila BV Puri Maharaj will be soon embarking on his 2nd World Tour. More information will be posted soon, but in the meantime I shall be more than happy to answer questions here. bhaktivaibhav.net webservant