Sarva gattah

I personally believe there s no longer 'West or East' anymore because the world has become a global village. Sannyas is the personal act or renunciation and 100% commitment to serving the desires of the Guru. In Prabhupada's case, that's preaching all over the world however, being Sannyas is really not necessary. Being a devotee who preaches is the best title, if ones a Brahmacari, householder, congregational member or sannyas it does not matter. Actually sannyas is often more of a managerial post these days however, that does not mean there are not traditional Swamis' preaching selflessly and humbly out there, unburdened by managerial tasks. There exists many humble sannyasis who are without the arrogence that demands respect, who are not attached to self centred material opulance and the high life that we see come living today. A real sannyasi commands respect with their 'caring' selfless atitude and never 'demands' respect with their arrogence cleverly and selfishly designed to preserve their own power base, leadership position, and layback life style, no matter what the cost is Srila Prabhupada did not outrightly ban Sannyas, he just wanted the movement to mature and devotees wait longer for that 'renounced order' to be given instead of taking it while the the devotees bodies are way too young. I don't think anyone who took sannyas while under 25 years old, is still a sannyasi, except for Jayapartarka Swami, maybe someone can reseach that. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura accepted sannyasa for the purpose of preaching Krsna consciousness all over the world and he passed that on to his disciples who in turn passed that on to their Godbrothers and disciples who in turn passed that on to their disciples, and who in turn passed that on to their disciples. Therefore the conclusion is that if a man wants to preach Krsna consciousness and serve his Gurudeva with all his energy then he should certainly take sannyasa when he is spiritually mature. A real sannyasi commands respect with their 'caring' selfless atitude and never 'demands' respect with their arrogence to selfishly preserve their own power base and leadership position, no matter the cost Traditionally though, Sannyas attracts respect, for example on seeing a sannyasi, devotees pay obedience’s and people tend to respect you more. This has been the case in the west since the 60s when the Beatles made this popular in the media. Everyone back then was attracted to a “swami” and everyone wanted to become a swami because they were considered ‘advanced’ However, back then it was all a novality. I remember when Hanuman took sannyas at the age of 20 in 1972, he ran around with his new danda like it was a new toy. He was married within two years. Most took sannyas to imitate Srila Prabhupada (the Swami) therefore it would not last. Without a doubt, some have cleverly maintained their external appearence as a Sannyasi, yet to them, it's more of a managerial title than what we traditionally know Sannyas to be. Should sannyasis just travel and preach and leave ALL mananerial posts such as GBC, Regional secretary etc to others? These questions will come up in ISKCON tme and time again. This is only the early pioneering beginning of Lord Caitanya's world movement. Here Prabhupada advises to be very careful and not loose sight of our real purpose - Srila Prabhupada - "We may take the lesson that in our fight with maya we should not be in a position in which our strength, enthusiasm and senses will be unable to fight vigorously. Our Krsna consciousness movement has actually declared war against the illusory energy, in which all the living entities are rotting in a false understanding of civilization. The soldiers in this Krsna consciousness movement must always possess physical strength, enthusiasm and sensual power. To keep themselves fit, they must therefore place themselves in a normal condition of life. What constitutes a normal condition will not be the same for everyone, and therefore there are divisions of varnasrama--brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya, sudra, brahmacarya, grhastha, vanaprastha and sannyasa. Especially in this age, Kali-yuga, it is advised that no one take sannyasa. asvamedham gavalambham sannyasam pala-paitrkam devarena sutotpattim kalau panca vivarjayet (Brahma-vaivarta Purana) From this we can understand that in this age the sannyasa-asrama is forbidden because people are not strong. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu showed us an example in taking sannyasa at the age of twenty-four years, but even Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya advised Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu to be extremely careful because He had taken sannyasa at an early age. For preaching, we give young boys sannyasa, but actually it is being experienced that they are not fit for sannyasa. There is no harm, however, if one thinks that he is unfit for sannyasa; if he is very much agitated sexually, he should go to the asrama where sex is allowed, namely the grhastha-asrama. That one has been found to be very weak in one place does not mean that he should stop fighting the crocodile of maya. One should take shelter of the lotus feet of Krsna, as we shall see Gajendra do, and at the same time one can be a grhastha if he is satisfied with sexual indulgence. There is no need to give up the fight. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu therefore recommended, sthane sthitah sruti-gatam tanu-van-manobhih. One may stay in whichever asrama is suitable for him; it is not essential that one take sannyasa. If one is sexually agitated, he can enter the grhastha-asrama. But one must continue fighting. For one who is not in a transcendental position, to take sannyasa artificially is not a very great credit. If sannyasa is not suitable, one may enter the grhastha-asrama and fight maya with great strength. But one should not give up the fighting and go away". Bhaktivedanta purports of the Eighth Canto, Second Chapter, TEXT 30 PURPORT of the Srimad-Bhagavatam, entitled "The Elephant Gajendra's Crisis

hallelujah Actually sannyas is more of a managerial post these days however, that does not mean there are not genuine Swamis' preaching selflessly and humbly without the arrogence of self centred material opulance, out there. Srila Prabhupada did not outrightly ban Sannyas, he just wanted the movement to mature and devotees wait longer for that 'renounced order' to be given instead of taking it while the the devotees bodies are way too young. I don't think anyone who took sannyas while under 25 years old, is still a sannyasi, except for Jayapartarka Swami, maybe someone can reseach that. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura accepted sannyasa for the purpose of preaching Krsna consciousness all over the world and he passed that on to his disciples who in turn passed that on to their Godbrothers and disciples who in turn passed that on to their disciples, and who in turn passed that on to their disciples. Therefore the conclusion is that if a man wants to preach Krsna consciousness and serve his Gurudeva with all his energy then he should certainly take sannyasa when he is spiritually mature.

Wow, beautiful prose. Share these heart felt thoughts with others. This is where you can start publishing everything you write. This may stimulate you to write more and this way keep your mind busy and engaged. If you want to try, go to http://wordpress.com/ even Dandavats scans this site for comments by devotees to put on their site. Many devotees use this site (see your private message box) Hare Krishna, keep up your inspiring writing.

Me too

You write and prabably talk so much nonsene. Here you go, ring Melbourne Temple and tell them that 61-03-96995122 Actually at the end of Gauragopala's article he explains that the Temple does not perform the nonsense demigod worship you talk about or Kurma not the chef suggests Also kurma (not the chef) has got it very wrong, in the cars they are installing photos of prabhupada, Pancha tattva and Lord Nrsingha FREE OF CHARGE to help them remember the Lord, I have such photos in my car and most devotees do to remind them of Krishna all the time and if there is an accident Anyway Suchandra, your on my ignore list, you can write what ever you want, at least I will not be reading you miss directed mind. Hari Bol

No bija, only this thread, frankly it is really not that important, its personally just my speciality I have greatly studied and written a 500 page book about. I understand Srila Prabhupada’s teachings on this issue. I have also met many others with different opinions like Srila Sridhar Maharaj and his disciple Govinda Maharaj, as well as other Gaudiya math Gurus like Narayana Maharaj – I’ve heard all their opinions and viewpoints but Srila Prabhupada is the real authority on this subject. Others like Kurma prabhu’s speciality is cooking for Krsna, the ‘origin of the soul’ does not interest him because he knows if you chant Hare Krsna, prasadam and do some service, then you will go back home, back to Godhead I f this subject was ever brought up with Kurma prabhu the wonderful chef, he would simply bring out a delicious plate of maha prsad and we would then talk about some blissful pastime about Krsna or Lord Caitanya, or even when we were young teenager Brahmacaris back in 72. No, this thread is not important for everyone, only our sadhana is important

Quote: <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=6 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD style="BORDER-RIGHT: #666666 1px solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 3ex; BORDER-TOP: #666666 1px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 3ex; BORDER-LEFT: #666666 1px solid; BORDER-BOTTOM: #666666 1px solid" bgColor=#e0e0e0>Originally Posted by suchandra therefore the temples are empty and about of being closed. </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> What a nonsense you are Suchandra, you have shown your true colours. Why don't you get out there and make devotees. It is easy to sit back and find fault It aprears you are very envious of Srila Prabhupada's ISKCON like many others from the Gaudiya math. Actually ISKCON Temple have never had the amount of SOULS they have noW The wonderful Hindu invasion of ISKCON Melbourne ( <!-- BEGIN TEMPLATE: threadbit_pagelink -->1 <!-- END TEMPLATE: threadbit_pagelink --><!-- BEGIN TEMPLATE: threadbit_pagelink -->2 <!-- END TEMPLATE: threadbit_pagelink -->)

Try and understand that the 'eternal present' is our original position, and that 'original position is eternal. It gives a whole new meaning to the word 'original' doesn't it. it's just like the word NEW, everything is new in Krsnaloka, everything is forever new because of the'eternal present' Try and understand that the 'eternal present' is our original position, and that 'original position is eternal So, as far as being in the material world is concerned, our original position is Krsnaloka, try and understand Srila Prabhupada -"The living entities are not without spiritual senses. Every living being in his original, spiritual form has all the senses, which are now material, being covered by the body and mind. Activities of the material senses are perverted reflections of spiritual pastimes." Sri Ishopanishad, Verse 11 Srila Prabhupada in his lectures always says that originally we were all Krsna-conscious living entities and on the Hare Krishna album He addresses a large audience with the words: "We are all originally Krishna conscious entities . . ." Srila Prabhupada -"The souls are endowed with minute independence as part of their nature. And this minute independence may be utilised rightly or wrongly at any time, so there is always the chance of falling down by misuse of one's independence." Letter to Jagadish, 4.25.70. The fact is, our original relationship with Krishna is never lost, although temporarily forgotten due to free will and choice. It is not a question of Maya dragging us out of Krsnaloka, it does not work like that, it is simply the choice of the living entity to remain with Krsna or enter the stool house material world. Maya does not exist in Krsnaloka but choice does, there is always free will and choice. As soon as we first chose to leave Krishna and also forget the svarupa body we serve Krishna as, our memory of ‘our original position’ is taken from us by the prakshepatmika-s’akti of Maya Devi, the wife of Maha-Vishnu who creates and manages the mahat-tattva material creation. We are thus covered over by her avaranatmika-s’akti of forgetfulness (after that choice is made to leave Krsna's Lila's) and no longer recall that we are originally nitya-siddha. As such, our original relationship with the Lord is forgotten simply based on choice rather than Maya’s influence. She’s s’akti comes AFTER we made the choice to leave Krsna’s pastimes. Srila Prabhupada -"Originally pure Krishna consciousness exists, but because of misuse of marginal independence there is a chance of forgetting Krishna. From the state of pure consciousness, the false ego is born because of misuse of independence. We cannot argue about why false ego arises from pure consciousness. Factually, there is always the chance that this will happen, and therefore one has to be very careful." SB 3.26.23-24 pp.

Not exactly, as already explained, less from 10% choose to miss use their free will and enter the material creation, not as their nitya siddha body, but as an extended or projected secondary consciousness known as the baddha jiva. The baddha jiva or nitya-baddha non Krsna consciousness state, is then given bodily form or a variety of ethereal and biological containments or vessels, by Maha-Vishnu within His mahat tattva creation to experience those selfish misken desires, thoughts and dreams of grandur and self importance. Most marginal living entities never DREAM they are in the material world like this because they choose NEVER to forget Krsna, and those few that do, on regaining the memory of their eternal nitya siddha Krsna Conscious body, NEVER again come back to the mahat tattva, that is of course, if they choose never AGAIN to forget Krsna. Prabhupada says there is always chance of fall down My point is, because of free will and the ability to choose, it is possiblr for you and me on our return , to again come back at anytime - the choice is always ours. The fact is, if you love Krsna by your own choice, then what have you to fear? You will never fall down As long as you selflessly always choose to serve or love Krsna, you will never come back. On the other hand, if you have just a pinch of selfishness, then yes, you can fall sub-consciously to your baddha-jiva-self-centred-dream state secondary or inferior self and experience material life as you have already understood - Again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again - THE CHOICE IS ALWAYS YOURS BECAUSE YOU HAVE FREE WILL AND THE ABILITY TO CHOOSE SO CHOOSE TO ALWAYS SERVE KRSNA AND YOU WILL NEVER FALL DOWN

I got sucked in by this also but frankly who cares about Suchandra's mates the crazy scientists

Well one thing is certain Suchandra, your not a follower of Srila Prabhupada writing that nonsense offensive impersonalism. Actually Suchandra it is you who is twisting words to foolish preach Mayavadi TEACHINGS You haven't got the spiritual intelligence to understand 'our original position in Goloka'

Yes, that's correct however, less than 10% choose to 'consciously' leave the eternal presents of bhakti in Goloka. It is never a bodily fall down but rather a sub-conscious fall down. That freedom, free will and choice, is always there in Goloka with ALL living entities because without free will (even to leave serving Krsna in Goloka), then how can there be love. We are not Krsna's robots, we are His servants by choice and free will The point is, we ALL came from Krsnaloka to enter the material world and not the impersonal Brahmajyoti or a plain sheet of blanket consciousness, as some you probably know, (Govinda Maharaj and Narayana Maharaj) speak about. We also never came form some dormant realm inbetween the Vaikunthas and material worlds either. We all came from Goloka

Theist, when are you coming out on this thread to play again, it's a little boring with out you 'divine' presents

This is the second most commented article on Dandavats Dandavats » Blog Archive » Our constitutional body is eternal ... Srila Prabhupada - ‘No one falls from the spiritual world or Vaikuntha planet, ... Sarva-gattah - “The goal of the impersonalists is to merge into the ... <CITE>www.dandavats.com/?p=4275 - 837k - </CITE>Cached

Nonsense, you do not understand his teachings or the teachings of his bonafide representatvie Srila Prabhupada who clearly says on many occasions that– “We have also ALL come down from Vaikuntha some millions and millions of years ago." - Lecture on Bhagavad-gita on August 6, 1973<?xml:namespace prefix = o /> In Srimad Bhagavatam, 5.14.1, Prabhupada states in the purport - Srila Prabhupada – “When the pure soul wants to give up the Lord’s service to enjoy the material world, Krsna certainly gives him a chance to enter the material world.” In Tokyo on April 20, 1972 Prabhupada stated – Srila Prabhupada – “He has fallen means he has given up the service of Krsna.” In the early 1970’s, Siddhasvarupananda Swami was preaching the nonsense idea that the jivas came from the Brahmajyoti and not Krsnaloka and Srila Prabhupada told him not to preach that nonsense in his temples. Hare Krsna

Nap time? AGAIN you have not understood. No one lies down in Vaikuntha asleep and then dreams the material world. Such a nonsense idea is a patronizing attack from the 'impersonal Brahmajyoti origin believers' Dreaming we are in the material world is real but temperory. Our suffering is real, but temporary. I have explained this nonsense idea of nap time or 'sleeping' in Goloka while YOU are in the material creation so many tmes. This was explained to Beggar and Guruvani very very clearly Re-read those old posts Yes, the nature of the material world is forgetfullness. All posts are recorded here to overcome our forgetfullness. So you do not have to chew the chewd on this issue. http://www.indiadivine.org/audarya/spiritual-discussions/446566-how-have-we-fallen-material-world-8.html <!-- BEGIN TEMPLATE: threadbit_pagelink --><!-- END TEMPLATE: threadbit_pagelink --><!-- BEGIN TEMPLATE: threadbit_pagelink --><!-- END TEMPLATE: threadbit_pagelink --><!-- BEGIN TEMPLATE: threadbit_pagelink --><!-- END TEMPLATE: threadbit_pagelink --> The Meaning of "Tatastha s'akti"? ( <!-- BEGIN TEMPLATE: threadbit_pagelink --> <!-- END TEMPLATE: threadbit_pagelink --><!-- BEGIN TEMPLATE: threadbit_pagelink --> <!-- END TEMPLATE: threadbit_pagelink -->) ( <!-- BEGIN TEMPLATE: threadbit_pagelink --> <!-- END TEMPLATE: threadbit_pagelink --><!-- BEGIN TEMPLATE: threadbit_pagelink --> <!-- END TEMPLATE: threadbit_pagelink --><!-- BEGIN TEMPLATE: threadbit_pagelink --> <!-- END TEMPLATE: threadbit_pagelink -->... )

Srila Bhaktivinoda Takura - “However, because of contact with matter, the imprisoned soul loses the memory of his original spiritual form in Vaikuntha. . . material rasas are perverted reflections of the soul's original spiritual rasas.” Prema-pradipa, p. 83 Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada - “It is the jivas who are the attendants in His Sports. They become attached to matter, having deviated from their own essential nature as the result of their desire for enjoyment. But when again the soul . . . gains true wisdom of the transcendental region of God . . . he begins to get back his pure essential nature” Sri Caitanya's Teachings, p. 323. Srila Prabhupada – “We have also come down from Vaikuntha some millions and millions of years ago." - Lecture on Bhagavad-gita on August 6, 1973 Srila Prabhupada – “This material creation is the spirit soul's dream. Actually all existence in the material world is a dream of Mahā-Viṣṇu, as the Brahma-saḿhitā describes – · “This material world is created by the dreaming of Mahā-Viṣṇu. The real, factual platform is the spiritual world, but when the spirit soul wants to imitate the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he is put into this dreamland of material creation”. 4.29.83.http://vedabase.net/sb/4/29/83/en Srila Prabhupada – “Existence in the impersonal Brahman is also within the category of non-Krsna consciousness. Those who are in the Brahman effulgence, they are also in the fallen condition. So there is no question of falling down from a fallen condition”. - Letter, June 13, 1970. The reason why all marginal living beings have an eternal bodily form is because they were ‘created’ within a dominion known as the ‘eternal present’ where every living entity in that realm were/are originally (without a beginning point) created as a person with full bodily features. This is the living entities ‘svarupa’ body that eternally and originally exists within that ‘eternal present’ of Goloka-Vrndavana as ever fresh, eternally in the stage of being new and original, an originality that is permanantly, without beginning or end, secure in that realm of origin. Even though our svarupa body, IS our original position, there is no beginning or end to that ‘original position’ because it is situated within the ‘eternal present’ This means technically they, like Krishna, were never actually created. This is because their real identities or eternal bodies, are all within the ‘eternal present’ of time and space, devoid of past and future within Gods eternal Kingdom known as Goloka Vrndavana or Krsnaloka right now. Within that unending world of Krsnaloka, all living entities are perpetually serving Krsna in a never ending state of ORIGINALITY as their svarupa bodily form, if they choose to remember this is who they really are. This means the living entites are always present there in ‘the eternal present’ without the effect of past and future as their bodily (vigraha) svarupa (devotional personality) form, whom are the eternal servants of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Lord Krishna. Therefore, ALL living entities were created as sat, chit, ananda in eternal vigraha (bodily form) in the beginning and remains that way eternally, which paradoxically was beginningless and endless. In this way, the original residence of all living entities (marginal beings) is their original-eternal home Goloka-Vrndavana or Krsnaloka, which is the imperishable Kingdom of God. This is realized, revived, remembered and regained when we (including good hearted souls like Suchandra) stop dreaming we are in the material creation

Very nice however, the following is the point that Srila Prabhupada has taught me since 1971 - EVERY living entity has an eternal svarupa or nitya-siddha body that is ALWAYS PRESENT in Krsnaloka, even if they are 'DREAMING' (This dream state is called nitya baddha) they are in the mahat-tattva, which is the material dream creation of Maha-Vishnu. Or, after becoming fed up with the mahat-tattva, enter a dreamless dream state in the impersonal Brahmajyoti.

The correct understanding of this is that the dormant or impersonal aspect of the Brahmajyoti is a dreamless dream state of the baddha-jiva, which is the projected secondary dreaming consciousness of the marginal living entity. The first is their eternal nitya-siddha body that is permanently in Krsnaloka Actually the full potential of ALL marginal living entities is already eternally established within the 'perpetual present' of Krsnaloka where there is no past or future. This means what is there as our vigraha (form) is always there as nitya-siddha This therefore clearly means EVERY living entity has an eternal svarupa or nitya-siddha body that is ALWAYS PRESENT in Krsnaloka, even if they are 'DREAMING' (This dream state is called nitya baddha) they are in the mahat-tattva, which is the material dream creation of Maha-Vishnu.Or, after becoming fed up with the mahat-tattva, enter a dreamless dream state in the impersonal Brahmajyoti Srila Prabhupada - We have also come down from Vaikuntha some millions and millions of years ago." - Lecture on Bhagavad-gita on August 6, 1973 ... When Prabhupada CLEARLY says 'you are already there in the spiritual sky, he clarifies that by saying relationships with Krsna’, meaning our svarupa body is eternally there, but our memory of who we are, is presently covered by the eternal presence polluted by our added creation of past and future. This immediately places ‘our awareness’ within the mahat-tattva creation of Maha-Vishnu known as the perishable material creation. Srila Prabhupada – “Established means re-establish. It is already established. We have got different types of relationship. That is called svarupa-siddhi. Svarupa-siddhi. (Srimad-Bhagavatam lecture, December 7, 1974, Bombay) Srila Prabhupada: "You are already in the spiritual sky, but you are simply covered. Just like the sun is already there. You are also already there…So actually we are always in the spiritual world. But when you forget Krishna by the cloud of illusion that is material. Try to understand”. In a Srimad-Bhagavatam lecture given in London, on July 30, 1971 This means there is NO evolution of consciousness in regards to our original perpetual bodily identity because that body already eternally exists, we simply have to regain the memory of who we really are. We simply have to once again regain the 'awareness 'of who we really are. We do not grow consciously out of a plain sheet of dormant consciousness and evolve to reach Krsnaloka, but rather, are always are in the process of regaining or re-establishing who we are originally. Srila Prabhupada does not mean we spring to consciousness from a so-called dormant state from the Brahmajyoti. Those who choose to misuse their freewill fall to the material world and they are therefore imperfect because they gave up their perfect position as nitya-siddha. Bhaktivinoda Thakura describes in Jaiva Dharma in Nitya Dharma, part 5 – “The imprisonment of the jiva began when the jiva forgot his position as the eternal servant of Sri Krsna. This forgetfulness is the original offence of the jiva and is the root of all the jiva’s subsequent offences.” In Srimad Bhagavatam, purport of 3.26.7Srila Prabhupada states - Srila Prabhupada – “Whatever the material energy dictates, the conditioned soul does. He has no responsibility. He is simply the witness of the actions, he is forced to act that way due to his offence in his eternal relationship with Krsna.” And what is that original offence? The answer is giving up the Lord’s service. In Srimad Bhagavatam, 5.14.1, Prabhupada states in the purport - Srila Prabhupada – “When the pure soul wants to give up the Lord’s service to enjoy the material world, Krsna certainly gives him a chance to enter the material world.” In Tokyo on April 20, 1972 Prabhupada stated – Srila Prabhupada – “He has fallen means he has given up the service of Krsna.” Giving up the service to Sri Krsna is due to freewill which leads to more forgetfulness due to the choices one makes due to that free will. There are other aspects of freewill, but giving up service means giving up our love to Krsna, or we want to serve in another way that is not compatible in the spiritual world. Krsna does not force you to love Him. You have to desire it willingly and that is the topmost use of freewill, this is what freewill means, to voluntarily serve Krsna. The living entity is given that ‘choice’ because without it, there is no meaning to individuality or being a marginal living being. The other angle is that by misusing our freewill we make the wrong decision and Maya immediately covers us AFTER the living entity chooses to manufacture their existence without Krishna. Freewill is perfect and imperfect and yes it is an inconceivable truth (Acintya Tattva) It is perfect in the aspect of allowing one to freely choose to endlessly increasingly serve and it is imperfect and not suitable for Goloka when we choose to ignore Krsna. This is one reason why the Lord creates the Mahat-tattva (material creation) The perfect aspect of this imperfection of the jiva is that you can go back to serve Krsna again. Srimad Bhagavatam 6.11.25 confirms this - “Oh my Lord, O Supreme Personality of Godhead, will I again be able to be a servant of Your eternal servants who find shelter at Your lotus feet? Oh Lord of my life, may I again become their servant so that my mind may always engage in the loving service of Your Lordship.” Twice Srila Prabhupada uses the word bhuyah (again), stressing the point. When the jivas misuse freewill in Goloka, Vaikuntha it is not like a case of newly transformed envious jivas hanging around. They are instantly covered and ousted from the Lord’s realm. Bhaktisiddhanta Thakura’s purport to text 44 of Brahma Samhita states – “When he forgets his service of Krsna he is at once deflected by the attracting power of Maya in this world.” On a morning walk in Vrndavana, 9-13-75 Prabhupada said: “He has given you little freedom’ you can use it. Yathecchasi tathaa kuru, Krsna says in Gita (18.63), ‘Whatever you like you do.” Some devotees seem to think that this discussion of the “Fall, no fall of the Jiva” started after Prabhupada’s disappearance but that is not a fact. In the early 1972, Madhudvisa had to deal with the issue in Australia while travelling around preaching on a Double Decker travelling Temple that I was also personally on and the Crow and Tal Fruit Logic letter is a result of that exchange with devotees who thought we came from the Brahmajyoti. The letter has typed parts, Prabhupada also added his own handwritten notes, and he signed the letter by hand. Madhudvisa has the letter. In the early 1970’s, Siddhasvarupananda Swamiwas preaching that the jivas came from the Brahmajyoti and Srila Prabhupada told him not to preach that in his temples. In a letter to Caturbhuja Dasa, L.A., 5-9-73, Prabhupada wrote him - Srila Prabhupada – “Your last question ‘How is the soul degraded (by lust, anger and greed) when it is transcendental to the body? Srila Prabhupada – “Doesn’t that imply that the soul has changed? ‘No. The soul never changes, but due to his tinyness, he may become forgetful of his relationship with Krsna”. Srila Prabhupada – “The spiritual quality of the spiritual spark has not changed but he has forgotten his spiritual nature, bewildered by the imperfect desire to become equal or greater than Krsna.” Most of the verses from Brahma Vaivarta Purana are showing how a jiva can go to Vaikuntha or Goloka but unless one’s devotion is FULLY developed he will fall back to this material world due to lack of chit (knowledge) strength. Nevertheless, eventually he/she will return and stay permanently in Vaikuntha/Goloka, regaining his/hers authentic svarupa bodily identity that is actually permanently there in Goloka even if one forgets this fact. Such comments seem inconceivable, But are they? Actually, they are easily understood when one ‘realizes, by dent of bhakti, what the eternal present actually means’. In other words, our perpetual body is permanently locked, protected, and secured in the eternal presentbecause there is no portal of past or future for it to ever leave. Therefore if there id fall down, it is only consciously via ones thoughts, imaginings and dreams, never as ones original body. Now that wasn’t too difficult to understand was it?

Nonsense, all souls have originated from Krsnaloka Also if you think I am a moderator, I am not.

The end of the world? Inspired by Suchandra prabhu Posted by Zack Whittaker @ 6:11 pm Today (Wednesday, well it is for me anyway), we see the first beam test of the LHC, the Large Hadron Collider, in the CERN’s labs in Switzerland. The point of this, quite frankly, bloody huge experiment is to try and recreate the Big Bang on a small scale, to then see how the Universe was created. Sounds a little dangerous and there has been much controversy over how safe this is, but we’ll get to that later. By creating a really tiny Big Bang, they’ll hopefully see how the Universe started and trace back to the very start, even before the biggest implosion/explosion the Universe has and probably will ever see. Some background: we already have a “Standard Model” of physics, the basic core elements of everything we see and touch, including nuclei, atoms, photons, quarks, electrons and suchlike. However the problem these physicists face is knowing where these originally came from. They have this theory that they all came from one bigger particle, called the “Higgs boson”, named after Prof. Peter Higgs who first thought it up. So after nearly a decade of work, construction, digging and thinking, they’ve created the biggest and most advanced particle accelerator the world has ever seen. Today, they’re turning it up to “11″. If my 5 year old god daughter said to me, “Uncle Zack, can I have a Lego playset with horses?”, I’d say, “yeah why not sweetpea.” On the other hand, had she said, “Uncle Zack, can I have a Lego playset with horses that might end the world?”, I’d probably say, “how about a new bike instead?” To be honest, it’s almost an impossibility that anything other than a few protons can get destroyed by the LHC. Prof. Brian Cox, who recently presented a BBC documentary about the LHC, as well as being the “inspiration” for this article, spoke to the BBC about these conspiracy theories about the end of the world: “I am in fact immensely irritated by the conspiracy theorists who spread this nonsense around and try to scare people. This non-story is symptomatic of a larger mistrust in science, particularly in the US, which includes intelligent design amongst other things. The only serious issue is why so many people who don’t have the time or inclination to discover for themselves why this stuff is total crap have to be exposed to the opinions of these half-wits.” I mean, that’s pretty much the jist of the whole thing. They’re recreating the Big Bang on a very small scale, to find a God particle called the Higgs boson which may or may not exist, but will essentially be the golden finding of all physics ever found, and may help us understand what mass is all about - maybe even find something climate-change-ish in the process. Just by the off chance we are all about to die, better time than any to quickly get some things off my chest: Mum, between the ages of about 12 to 17, I’d been stealing incremental amounts of money from your purse. Dad, I know your bank account details, and have been stealing incremental amounts of money from your account. I hate computers with an absolute passion. Sure I use them all the time, I’d be lost without them and I’m bloody good with them - but they really do drive me mad to the point I threw my laptop out the window. I’ve never used a Mac computer for more than 25 minutes in my entire life. Linux still confuses me. Facebook scares me because it seems to know everything about everybody. My mother actually wants me to marry another ZDNet blogger, after calling her one of the most beautiful women she’d ever seen. Even though I hate everything about the iPod; the culture, the arrogance of having one, the technology and the fact you have to use iTunes with it, I still desperately want one. The Live Search team at Microsoft UK use Google as their search engine. Fact. I currently only have 42 songs on my Windows Media Player playlist which I just keep on repeat, regardless of having over 5GB of music on my server. I am (or would have been?) changing courses from Computer Science to Criminology & Social Policy because I just don’t feel geeky enough. I always have, and probably always will love Windows Vista. It never breaks, just sometimes goes a little slow on my desktop computer. I haven’t ever legally bought any software, game, or music online. [hint hint] A couple of years ago, I personally pissed off Bill Gates. Again I reiterate the likelihood of us all being crushed into something smaller than a period point is less likely than zombies roaming the Earth and only feasting on the brains of idiotic politicians called George. Amongst many things, Zack Whittaker is a good-for-nothing, pink-sock wearing, British student at the University of Kent in Canterbury UK studying computer science. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations, or send him an email if you have a story you want to share. ........ type=text/javascript>var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? 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It's not a question of evolving, that's not possible because the process of Krishna Consciousness is an awakening process to what we always have had, but rather presenting the teachings according to the times.

Bishadi, I believe Virakrsna and weallshineon are attempting to understand the art of preaching according to time, place and circumstance. It's not a question of evolving, that's not possible because the process of Krishna Consciousness is an awakening process to what we always have had, but rather presenting the teachings according to the times. Lets face the facts, today with a possible black President of the U.S. and so many women PROVING they are certainly not less intelligent, it is obvious that many Vedic teachings, that are meant for the material world anyway, can not and should not be applied at this particular time and place in Kali –Yuga. Lord Buddha also felt this way 2,500 years ago and would rather preach atheist and impersonalism than follow the Vedas In the West, we tried arranged marriages, 80% of them ended in failure. We tried marrying young girls at 14 or 15 that ended in failure and the courts We tried taking girls out of school at 14 to teach them cooking, sowing and learning how to one day serve their husbands. Today most of THOSE girls are University graduates who rebelled against that nonsense. Another foolish attempt to force Vedic standard in today’s world But many then say, "In India it's working' Actually it isn't, India is changing very fast and many are also rejecting such suppression used under the heading of Vedic culture there as well. Better to encourage people to chant Hare Krishna, as Lord Caitanya told us. Now, that process IS the only way and it does not matter if you are women, black, homosexual or even a dog, the chanting of Hare Krishna will work for all way beyond the mundane Vedas (Except for its essence, the Srimad Bhagavatam, as instructed by Lord Caitanya. ALL other Vedas are not necessary. In time, as the devotee communities become stronger and more Krishna Conscious, then this will change again according to that time and circumstance, but the basic principles will never change. There are many great souls lined up to take birth here, just waiting for those who are Krishna Conscious and attract such great devotees. What is about to happen over the next 50 years, as Krishna Consciousness takes a hold on the world, is beyond our wildest dreams.

<CENTER> Lord Chaitanya comes as Gauragopala to receive the brahmana's offerings</CENTER> The following pastime is found in the Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, but is more elaborately described in the Sri Caitanya-bhagavata, Adi-khanda, Chapter 3 as follows: One saintly brahmana who was most virtuous was touring the places of pilgrimage in order to obtain Sri Krishna. He used to worship Gopala by chanting the six-syllable Gopala mantra, and without having offered bhoga to Gopala he would eat nothing. Hanging from his neck like a brilliant jewel was his Bala Gopala Salagrama. By his transcendental good fortune, one day he came to the home of Jagannatha Misra in Navadvipa. The pious pilgrim's brahma-tejas was incomparable; from his mouth, the sound "Krsna, Krsna" was always emanating, and within his heart he was always relishing the transcendental mellows of affection for Govinda, such that his eyes were always filled with tears. Seeing such a devotee, Jagannatha Misra at once got up and offered him respects. Jagannatha Misra did everthing appropriate to receive his exalted guest. He washed the water of that brahmana's feet and offered him an elevated seat. Inquiring about his welfare, Sri Misra said, "Dearmost brahmana, where is your residence?" The brahmana replied, "Having become indifferent to household life, I have left my own country and continually wander from one holy place to another. I cannot become attached to any one place any longer. That's why I constantly wander." Sri Misra responded with great humility, "Actually, I think that you are wandering about just to spread good fortune among the residents of this world. Especially today the topmost fortune is mine. If you give me your order, may I make arrangements for your meal?" The brahmana said, "Misraji, whatever you desire." Sri Misraji in great ecstasy collected the best of all materials and cleaned the kitchen thoroughly and presented everything to the brahmana. He also supplied the best of all foodstuffs from his pantry. The brahmana, becoming very happy, cooked everthing and sat with eyes closed in meditation to offer the bhoga to Sri Gopala Krsna (his Salagram shila). Sri Sacinandana is the all-knowing Supersoul in the hearts of all living entities. He desired to give His darsana to that brahmana. The brahmana had just begun his meditation when the Lord crawled into his presence. His whole body was covered with dust and he was wearing no clothes at all. His eyes were very restless, and His feet were most beautiful. The child laughed and took a mouthful of the bhoga and the brahmana's meditation was broken. That fortunate brahmana saw what had happened and cried, "Hay! Hay! This child has ruined my offering. Sri Jagannatha Misra came and saw little Gaurasundara eating rice and smiling. Misra became furious and ran toward the child to beat him. The brahmana quickly got up and caught Jagannathe Misra with his hand saying, "Misra, you are very great, you're a very intelligent, pious gentleman. You know better than to hit a child. You know the nature of children. They know no distinction between good or bad. Please do not hit the child." Sri Misra, becoming dejected, sat down and held his head in his hands. He was so angry, he could say nothing. The brahmana said, "Misra, don't become dejected like this. Some days are like this. Bhagavan knows everything. Some days I get only fruits from a house; sometimes wonderful foodstuffs. I'll just take something simple today. Please don't mind." Misraji said, "Priyavara, if you will consider me your servant, please once more cook in my kitchen. I will supply you everything you need. Please cook again and my mind will become peaceful. This is my only request." The brahmana replied, "All right. If that is your desire I will cook again." Hearing this, everyone was happy, and somehow or other collected everything from other places, cleaned everything, and arranged for the brahmana to again cook. Everyone said to one another, "This child is too restless. See that he is restrained and cannot return again to cause more disturbances." For as long as the brahmana was cooking, the Lord was taken to another house and kept there. Then Sacimata, holding young Nimai in her arms, took him away to another house. There, all the ladies said, "Why Nimai? Why did you eat the brahmana's offering?" The Lord smiled. His smile was as beautiful as the moon. He then said, "What fault of mine is there in this? The brahmana himself called me to eat!" They all said, "You rascal Nimai! You ate his cooking, but do you know what his caste is? Or where he's come from? What will you do now? How will you maintain your caste?" Nimai smiled and said, "I am just a cowherd, but I eat the food of brahmanas all the time. Can a cowherd's caste be spoiled by eating the cooking of brahmana?" They all looked at Nimai's mouth and they all looked at Nimai's mouth and began to laugh. Sri Gaura was explaining his factual identity, but they were unable to understand a single thing of it. Hearing the Lord's words, they simply laughed and squeezed Nimai to their breasts; they were unfazed. The brahmana again finished cooking and offered the bhoga to Gopala with his eyes closed, seated in meditation. He began to meditate upon Bala Gopala in his heart. This fact was taken note of by Sri Gauracandra. He is the Lord within the heart. Bewildering everyone, and laughing to Himself, He somehow escaped that house and arrived once more to where the brahmana was meditating. Quietly, He sneaked a fistful of rice and put it into His mouth. T he sounds of His munching broke the brahmana's meditation--he saw Nimai. The brahmana again cried, "Hay! Hay!" and Sri Gaura Prabhu swallowd the rice and ran off. Misraji saw this and quickly took one big stick in a rage, and ran off to catch Nimai. Sri Gauranga became most fearful and ran from one house to another, and Misraji quickly followed Him, burning with anger. Sri Misra said, " If I catch you for what you've done today, I will beat you with this stick. I've lost all my patience and discrimination.Where is that great thief of a son of mine? Which house is He hiding in?" Saying this, Jagannatha Misra pursued his son Nimai. Everyone began to say, "Misraji, you're very great and magnanimous. You ought to forgive such a minor offense. These children, they have no sense. How can you beat a mere child like this? In this way, they began to give him instruction, but to no avail. Somehow or other, the pious brahmana appeared on the scene and, clutching Jagannatha Misra's hand said, "Misra Rai, look, there's no fault in this boy. What's meant to happen is meant to happen. It just must be my fate that today Krsna will not accept my bhoga offering. That's my problem. Please don't be so dejected. This I'm telling you." J agannatha Misra simply stood there completely angry and completely miserable. At this point, Bhagavan Visvarupa arrived there. There was incomparable beauty in all of His limbs and He had great transcendental effulegence, and charming countenance, with a yajna-sutra hanging from His shoulder, He was the personification of brahma-tejas. He was non-different from Nityananda Prabhu. All the sastric conclusions were always ready upon His tongue, and He was always explaining pure devotional service to Lord Krsna. Seeing such an unprecedented personality, the pious brahmana was struck with wonder and began to look at Him. His eyes filled with tears. He asked, "Noble Sir, whose son are You?" Everyone answered, "He is the elder son of Jagannatha Misra." Hearing this, the brahmana became very happy and embraced Visvarupa. "Your mother and father are most fortunate to have such an unequalled son as you." Sri Visvarupa offered His pranamas to the brahmana and the two sat down. As if exuding a stream of nectar from His transcendental mouth, He said, "What a fortunate, greatly auspicious day has come upon us. My house is blessed with such a saintly personality as Your Grace. Great personalities such as you wander from one place to another to bless the denizens of this planet with your purifying association. You are always full in ecstasy and, freed from any material desire, simply wander at will filled with bliss. We are most fortunate that you have arrived as an unexpected guest in our house today. What can I say of our misfortune that you are fasting? The house from which a guest leaves without having eaten will only see misfortune henceforth. Having your darshana, I am most fortunate but hearing what everyone (about your fasting) has said, I have become most unhappy. The brahmana said, don't be unhappy about anything. If there are any roots or berries available, I am content to eat that only. I am a forest-dweller, and I am well-accustomed to eating such things. Some days, nice grains are cooked, and sometimes there is some obstacle which makes this impossible. Just seeing you people has given me greater joy millions and millions of nicely prepared offerings. Jagannatha Misra has been standing nearby, silent. He was unable to speak. Holding his head in his hands, he was simply overcome with despondancy. Sri Visvarupa said, "I am a little fearful to say this, but you are a great personality, and great personalities are like oceans of mercy. Sadhus are always unhappy at the unhappiness of others. They become jublilant in the rejoicings of others too. Therefore if you are pleased to take a little trouble to cook once more and offer your bhogas to Lord Krishna, then everyone's unhappiness will be mitigated. Then we will all experience paramananda." Sri Visvarupa continued, "Priyavara, please don't take offense, please cook something at least, just once more, and everyone will become happy. Bowing down, He clutched the feet of that brahmana in his hand with this entreaty. The brahmana looked at Visvambhara and said, "Alright, I will cook." Hearing this, everyone became joyful again, singing out, "Hari bol, Hari bol!" They all cleaned the kitchen again and in but a minute, everything was assembled and ready. The brahmana then entered the kitchen. Sri Gaura-gopala took note of this. Everyone told Jagannatha Misra, "Misra, lock your door from outside so that Nimai won't be able to get out." Misra said, "Good, I've already locked Him up inside, too. Meanwhile everyone on the outside locked the door to Jagannatha Misra's house from the outside. The ladies all said, "Don't worry, Nimai has gone to sleep now--He won't be going out to eat anything tonight!" The brahmana soon finished his cooking. That fortunate brahmana then began to offer his bhoga to Lord Bala Gopala. The indwelling Supersoul Sri Gaurasundara then thought, "The bhoga is ready now." Once again, the desire to give His darshana to that brahmana arose within His heart. Thus the Lord left the house while everyone was sleeping (by this time, it was late at night). Nobody knew about this. Nimai appeared at the place where the brahmana was meditating. Seeing the child again, the brahmana again cried, "Hay! Hay!" In utter frustration, he began to cry. But this time nobody heard him -- they were all fast asleep. Then Sri Mahaprabhu said, "Oh, brahmana, you are very exalted. What is My fault if I come as soon as you call Me? You're chanting My mantra, invoking My name, how can I not come? Every time you're making your offering with such pure devotion, so every time I come to give you My darshana. At that very moment, the brahmana had the darshans of Lord Gaura in a wonderful form. Before him, Lord Caitanya manifested His eight-armed Bala Gopala form. In four hands were the conch, disc, club, and lotus; with two hands, He was playing the flute; in one hand He was holding a ball of butter; and with the other hand He was eating butter. Upon His breast were the srivatsa and the kaustubha jewel, and brilliant garlands of jewels hung from His neck. All of His limbs were bedecked with beautiful ornaments and jewels, and upon His head was an ornament of gunja beads and a peacock feather. The lips of His moon-like mouth were enchanting, and He looked about here and there as He smiled. He had a vaijayanti mala, and there were shark-shaped earrings swinging from His ears. There were jewelled ankle bracelets upon His feet, and His toenails were resplendent. The brahmana then saw that the Lord was beneath a kadamba tree and He saw Vrindaban, there were birds flying in all directions. On all sides of the Lord, there were cows, gopas, and gopis. Whatever the brahmana was accustomed to meditating upon within his heart, that beautiful vision was now manifest directly before his eyes. That fortunate brahmana saw such wonderful opulence that he simply fainted in bliss. The ocean of mercy, Sri Gaurasundara held him in His own transcendental hands. From His touch, the brahmana regained consciousness, but he was struck dumb with transcendental bliss and he could not even utter a word. Again and again, he fainted to the ground, and again and again he would rise in great ecstasy. There was perspiration, trembling, horipilation, and all manifestation of ecstatic symptoms in his body. A vast river of tears flowed from his eyes. For a moment the brahmana regained his sense and fell at the feet of Sri Gauranga and began to cry loudly. Seeing the condition of this brahmana, Lord Gauranga began to laugh. Sri Gaura Prabhu said, "He, Priyavara, listen. You are My servant for many births. You are always desiring my darsana, and in this way I am always giving you My darshana. In a previous birth, I gave you My darshana in just this way in the house of Nanda Maharaja. You don't remember this. When I appeared in the home of Nanda Maharaja in Gokula, in that birth, you too appeared as a brahmana wandering from one holy place to another. By transcendental fate, you came to the home of Nanda Maharaja and offered bhoga in just this way. At that time, I tricked you and ate your offerings, giving you My darshana just as I have today. You are My servant birth after birth. How could you get the darshana of such a wonderful form if it were not so? The Lord then said, "Hey vipra! This is a very confidential matter. You should not disclose this to anyone. If you mention this to anyone, I will annihilate you! Listen, I have now appeared in this world for the purpose of spreading Krsna Sankirtana, and I will do this. I will go house to house giving out such devotional service as either Lord Brahma or Siva cannot desire. In this way, Sri Gaurasundara pacified the brahmana, and bestowing His mercy upon him left the room. Becoming as if an ordinary baby again, He went to sleep with His mother. No one was able to understand any of these activities because of the agency of Yogamaya. Having seen this wonderful form of the Lord, the brahmana, his whole body filled with ecstasy, took the wonderful prasadam of the Lord and danced in ecstasy, crying, laughing, and singing, "Bala Gopala ki jaya!" Repeated sounds of his calling and crying woke the others in the house. They shook off sleep, said achamana, and came to see the brahmana. Seeing him, everyone became very happy. The brahmana in his mind again and again began to think, "If I could only tell these people that Parameswara is living in their home, they could become liberated from material existence and go back to Godhead." Then he thought, "Oh, even Brahma and Siva cannot have such good fortune to have the Supreme Lord living with them. They all simply think that He is an ordinary child. If I could inform them of the real situation, they could obtain the Supreme destination. But then he remembered that the Lord told him not to reveal this to anyone. And he became afraid, the Lord's request should not be broken. In this way the brahmana said nothing to anyone. Having recognized Bhagavan, that brahmana then stayed only in Navadvipa and resided there concealing his feelings. That brahmana would go here and there to beg and every day would come with the hope of seeing Lord Gaura Bhagavan.

Lord Nityananda was the spiritual brother of Lord Caitanya and incarnation of Lord Balarama, the brother of Lord Krishna. Lord Nityananda was the leader of the Vaishnavas in Bengal, and through Him there were also many followers of the Vaishnava tradition. After His disappearance, however, Mother Jahnavi, His wife and eternal consort, and Virabhadra, His son by His other wife Vasudha devi, became the leaders there and had many followers. They continued the preaching in many ways, along with other prominent devotees and acharyas. Virabhadra Gosani is described as a disciple of Jahnavi devi, and an incarnation of Kshirodakashayi Vishnu. Lord Nityananda had many devotees and followers, out of which Sundarananda was identified as the incarnation of Lord Krishna's classmate Sudama. Another was Parameshavara dasa who was formerly the great warrior Arjuna, friend of Krishna and Balarama. Sadashiva Kaviraja and his son Purushottama dasa were also prominent devotees of Lord Nityananda. The Gaura-ganoddesha-dipika (text 156) relates that the beloved gopi of Krishna, Candravali, took birth as Sadashiva Kaviraja, and that his father, Kamsari Sena, was formerly the gopi named Ratnavali in Krishna's pastimes. Purushottama dasa had many disciples and a son, Kanu Thakura, who was identified as the cowherd boy Dama during Lord Krishna's time. Many more personalities are described in Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi-lila, Chapters Ten and Eleven. Before the appearance of Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda, there was Srila Advaita Acharya. He had worshiped the Lord to descend and deliver the people of this age, since things were deteriorating so badly. It is Sri Advaita Acharya who is recognized as an incarnation or expansion of Lord Maha-Vishnu. He also had many followers. The Caitanya-caritamrita (Adi-lila, 12.17, purport) gives a history of Sri Advaita's sons. One of these, Achyutananda, is described in the Gaura-ganoddesha-dipika (87-8) as the incarnation of Karttikeya, the son of Lord Shiva, and, according to others, formerly the gopi named Acyuta. Lord Caitanya, Lord Nityananda and Sri Advaita played the parts of devotees to instruct the importance for the conditioned souls to engage in devotional service to the Supreme, and to prevent people from accepting impersonalist philosophies. Next we come to Ishvara Puri, from whom Lord Caitanya took initiation. Ishvara Puri was such a great devotee and disciple of Madhavendra Puri that when Madhavendra Puri became an invalid at the end of his life, Ishvara would take care of him and clean him. Thus, Madhavendra Puri gave him his great blessings. This is one reason why Lord Caitanya accepted him as His spiritual master. (Cc.Adi-lila, 9.11) However, before initiating Lord Caitanya, Ishvara Puri had gone to Navadvipa and lived for a few months in the house of Gopinatha Acharya. That was when Lord Caitanya became acquainted with Ishvara Puri. Sometime thereafter, Lord Caitanya went to Gaya with the purpose of performing rites for his deceased father, but also became initiated by Ishvara Puri while there. After that, Lord Caitanya ceased involving Himself in so many debates with scholars and philosophers, and merely engaged in the congregational chanting of the Lord's holy names, giving out the ecstasy of love of God to all. Madhavendra Puri was in the disciplic line from Madhvacharya and was the direct disciple of Lakshmipati. He had two principal disciples, Ishvara Puri and Sri Advaita. Madhavendra Puri established the worship of Radha and Krishna together in this sampradaya, before which time Krishna was worshiped alone. It is he who is accepted as the root of worship in ecstatic love. Therefore, unless one is connected to the disciplic succession of Madhavendra Puri, there is no possibility of awakening the symptoms of ecstatic love in one's devotional service to Sri Sri Radha and Krishna. We can ask, how was it that so many of the intimate associates of Sri Sri Radha and Krishna in the spiritual world descended into the material manifestation. It can be explained that before Lord Krishna descended as Lord Caitanya, He asked His associates to appear before Him in preparation for His descent. He never comes alone, just as a great king also appears with his huge entourage. Thus, numerous members of the Lord's associates came to help manifest the spiritual atmosphere on earth, and to participate in the Lord's pastimes. Even after the Lord's disappearance such associates have continued to appear on this planet, especially in this Brahma-Madhva-Gaudiya sampradaya, to benefit society with the facility to approach the portal through which one can return to the spiritual worlds. Without the gopis, the maidservants of Radha and Krishna, the ecstasy of the confidential pastimes of Their Lordships cannot be tasted or known. Only by their cooperation can such pastimes be broadcast. Otherwise, no one else can open them for our view. Only through their assistance can one enter into these pastimes. Only by following in their footsteps can one engage in the service of Sri Sri Radha and Krishna in the mood of the gopis in the groves of Vrindavana. There is no other procedure for understanding. Therefore, we have to take shelter of the gopis who have appeared in this sampradaya if we wish to enter such intimate and ecstatic love and service. From the evidence in this article, we can understand that for the most part all of the spiritual masters and personalities connected with the Brahma-Madhva-Gaudiya parampara from the time of Madhavendra Puri are all incarnations of great personalities, and mostly in the madhurya-rasa, the mood of the loving maidservants, manjari-bhava, for Lord Sri Krishna. That is the most unique characteristic about this line of disciplic succession. Therefore, we should take advantage of it by understanding this spiritual knowledge. Such a rare opportunity may never again avail itself for thousands of lifetimes. One additional conclusion of this article is to understand that this sampradaya is not only one for distributing the intimate love for Krishna in the mood of the intimate maidservants. It is also a preaching line, mostly through the process of writing and distributing books and publications, and through congregational chanting of the holy names of Sri Krishna. However, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta compared writing and publishing to the great mridanga drum used for congregational chanting. The idea is that rather than merely reaching people in the vicinity of one's voice, writing and publishing preserves one's words and gives the facility to reach many more people from many parts of the world. This is something that all of the acharyas spent much time focusing on. Therefore, we can especially stay connected to the previous acharyas by continuing this process of distributing this knowledge through their books, and by writing new publications that follow this line for the benefit of society. Much of the information regarding the spiritual identities comes from the Gaura-ganoddesha-dipika by Sri Kavi-karnapura. Furthermore, many other associates of Lord Caitanya not mentioned in this article are also described as being incarnations of intimate gopis, sakhis and manjaris of Sri Sri Radha and Krishna in the Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi-lila, Chapters Ten and Eleven, in case you would like to continue this line of study. Although this article gives only brief glimpses into the lives of the great personalities connected with this sampradaya, there is much more information in separate books and biographies about the exemplary lives of all of them. Such books about these devotees are extremely insightful, enlightening and enlivening. I strongly suggest you use the links in this website to look into finding out how you can acquire some. Summary List Here is a summary list of many of the great sages that have appeared in the Gaudiya line, giving their name in their more recent appearances within the pastimes of Sri Caitanya, and also their names as they appeared in the pastimes of Lord Krishna. Gaura Lila Krishna Lila 1. Sacinandana Gaurahari Caitanya Mahaprabhu Syamasundara, Sri Krishna 2. Sacimata Yasodamayi 3. Jagannatha Misra Nanda Maharaja 4. Laksmipriya Janaki & Rukmini 5. Vishnupriya Bhu Devi 6. Nityananda Rama Lord Balarama 7. Hadai Pandita Vasudeva 8. Padmavati Rohini 9. Jahnava Mata Ananga Manjari 10. Vasudha Varuni Devi 11. Biracandra Kshirodakashayi Vishnu 12. Ganga Devi Ganga Mayi 13. Advaita Prabhu Sadashiva / Mahavishnu 14. Sita Devi Yogamaya 15. Gadadhara Pandita Srimati Radharani 16. Srivasa Thakura Narada Muni 17. Malini Devi Ambika Devi 18. Pundarika Vidyanidhi Vrishabhanu Maharaja 19. Mukunda Dasa Vrinda Devi 20. Saranga Thakura Nandimukhi 21. Govinda Acarya Paurnamasi 22. Svarupa Damodara Lalita Sakhi 23. Raya Ramananda Visakha Sakhi 24. Govindanandana Thakura Citra Sakhi 25. Ramananda Vasu Indulekha Sakhi 26. Sivananda Sena Campakalata Sakhi 27. Vakresvara Pandita Tungavidya Sakhi 28. Govinda Ghosa Rangadevi Sakhi 29. Vasudeva Ghosa Sudevi Sakhi 30. Raghava Pandita Dhanistha Sakhi 31. Rupa Gosvami Rupa Manjari 32. Raghunatha Dasa Gosvami Rati Manjari 33. Sanatana Gosvami Lavanga Manjari 34. Jiva Gosvami Vilasa Manjari 35. Raghunatha Bhatta Gosvami Rasa Manjari 36. Gopal Bhatta Gosvami Guna Manjari 37. Lokanatha Gosvami Manjulali Manjari 38. Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami Kasturi Manjari 39. Ramacandra Puri Jatila Gopi 40. Kholavecha Sridhara Madhumangala Sakha 41. Narahari Sarkara Madhumati Sakhi 42. Gauridasa Pandita Subala Sakha 43. Abhirama Thakura Sridama Sakha 44. Sikhi Mahiti Ragalekha Sakhi 45. Madhavi Mahiti Kalakeli Sakhi 46. Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya Brihaspati Maharaja 47. Paramananda Puri Uddhava Mahasaya 48. Keshava Bharati Akrura / Sandipani Muni 49. Jagai & Madhai Jaya & Vijaya 50. Gopinatha Acharya Caturmukha Brahma 51. Haridasa Thakura Prahlada / Brahma 52. Nilambara Cakravarti Garga Acharya 53. Devananda Pandita Bhaguri Rishi 54. Gangadasa Durvasa Muni 55. Vrindavana Dasa Thakura Vedavyasa 56. Vallabha Bhatta Sukadeva Gosvami 57. Madhavendra Puri 58. Isvara Puri 59. Narottama Dasa Thakura Champaka Manjari 60. Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura Vinoda-Vallari Manjari 61. Jagannatha Dasa Babaji Rasika Manjari 62. Bhaktivinoda Thakura Kamala Manjari 63. Gaurakishora Dasa Babaji Guna Manjari 64. Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Nayana-Mani Manjari 65. A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada ----- Manjari You may also want to read the Biographies of of Vaishnava Saints and Sages to find out more about many of these great sages in this line. (This article is from: http://www.stephen-knapp.com)