Are you happy? Need honest answers...

[Shakti-Fan 0]

Berlin, Germany: July 6, 2003

Tridandisvami Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja:

 

...In the meantime, Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya, Svarupa Damodara, and especially Raya Ramananda told King Prataparudra, “This is the time. Leave your royal dress and be like a simple devotee wearing a simple dhoti. Go to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and recite the verses of the Bhagavatam from Gopi-gita. He will then be merciful to you. He will embrace you and fulfill all your desires.” King Prataparudra offered his obeisances to Sri Nityananda Prabhu, Sri Advaita Acarya, the other devotees. Then he slowly went to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, sat near His lotus feet, and began to recite Gopi-gita. He began from the first sloka and gradually came to this sloka:

tava kathamrtam tapta-jivanam

kavibhir iditam kalmasapaham

sravana-mangalam srimad atatam

bhuvi grnanti ye bhuri-da janah

 

[The nectar of Your words and the descriptions of Your activities are the life and soul of those suffering in this material world. These narrations, transmitted by learned sages, eradicate one's sinful reactions and bestow good fortune upon whoever hears them. These narrations are broadcast all over the world and are filled with spiritual power. Certainly those who spread the message of Godhead are most munificent. (SB 10.31.9)]

He sang this in a very sweet tone. You are now hearing my tune, but you cannot compare mine with his. His tune was millions of times superior and His eyes were full of tears. As he sang he massaged Mahaprabhu’s feet, and when the Lord heard this verse especially, He regained consciousness and exclaimed, "Who are you? Who are you? Without My asking you are giving Me so much high class of nectar. I cannot repay you; I am a street beggar. Be merciful andcontinue." In this verse beginning “tava katamrtam tapta jivanam,” the gopis are telling Krsna, “We are about to die without You.” Krsna appeared to them, as a spurti, and told them, "You should die at once Don’t delay." Then the gopis said, "How can we die? You are the reason we are not dying."

“Tava katamrtam – discussions of Your sweet pastimes is greater then nectar, and even greater then heavenly nectar and moksamrta, the nectar of liberation. If we die, who will hear that harikatha of Your nama, form and pastimes? Tapta jivanam – those who are greatly suffering will get life by hearing these discussions. They will at once be relieved. This harikatha is so much cooler then a cool breeze.

“The word kavibhir is used because Lord Brahma, Lord Sankara, Sri Sukadeva Gosvami, Sri Narada Gosvami, and Srila Vyasadeva have all told the glories of Your harikatha. They have said that one who hears it cannot die, and that is why we have not died. “Kalmasapaham:” If anyone will hear your katha, all kinds of karma, anarthas, sins and suffering will go away at once. This statement is not a poet’s imagination; it is true to the fullest extent.

“Sravanam mangalanam. When one begins to hear your pastimes, from that very moment all kinds of qualifications and all kinds of auspiciousness will come to that person. The whole world will know of him; his glories will be everywhere. Bhuri da jana. Those who discuss and explain your sweet pastimes are the greatest donors in the entire world.”

Harikatha is the largest donation; the greatest charity. You should realize this. You can never repay me and my associates – never.

Who is telling this? Candravali or her sakhis. They are praying to Krsna, "Please come at once. You have disappeared from us, so please come at once.” They pray in this way, but another group of gopis, Srimati Radhika and her sakhis, are very angry by this cruel action of Krsna. Srimati Radhika wants to forget Krsna, but She cannot. Krsna told Her in the form of a sphurti, "Why are You not dying in My separation? She replied with anger “Tava katamrtam. Why are we not dying? You are responsible for that. You are most cruel, and the pastimes we are discussing are more then cruel.

“We were very happy in our family life, serving our husbands, children, fathers and mothers, but when we heard Your pastimes our lives were at once changed. From that time onward we began to die. Your pastimes are therefore like mrtya, very strong poison; more poisonous than snakes.

“We realize this. Tapta jivanam. Your katha gives our lives so much suffering – because You are not here. It is therefore more poisonous then a snake’s venomous poison. Your glories are only the imagination of poets.”

A poet may write a poem saying, "Jagannatha-deva's chariot was touching the sky." The chariot was not touching the sky, but this has been written in exaggeration. Even in Srimad Bhagavatam a poet wrote: "The horses of Arjuna where running in the sky." What is this? Can it be? Similarly, the gopis in Srimati Radhika’s group are telling Lord Krsna, “Poets have glorified Your harikatha, but actually it is very painful. Its glories are only the imagination of poets like Srila Vyasadeva and Srila Sukadeva Gosvami. Kalmasapaham: some suffering goes away, but it is replaced by more and more suffering. No one should hear the sweet pastimes of Krsna, or that person will always suffer. If you want to be happy with your family, don't chant Krsna’s name. Try to forget that black cheater; don't hear harikatha. Sravana-mangalam. This is quite false. By hearing, inauspicity will come. We have realization of this. At first we were happy, but when we heard His katha our life became upset and full of suffering. We have realization of this.

Srimad atatam. According to Srimati Radhika and Her group, this point is more dangerous. If any devotee, with a shaven head, wearing tilaka, kanti-mala and harinama-mala, holding a book under his arm, announces, "Come on. Come here. Without any price, free of cost, I will tell this harikatha,” he is the greatest and most dangerous cheater. He will spoil your life forever. Don't hear from him; remember this always. If you see a devotee wearing tilaka, kanti mala, and carrying a book, and especially in saffron cloth, you should offer dandavat pranama from afar – and run away.

This gopi, Srimati Radhika, is saying, “Be careful to avoid this dangerous person. Be far away. Don't chant; from today, stop.” There may be so many more meanings of this verse – depending on the nature of the different groups of gopis uttering it.

Srila Sukadeva Gosvami is explaining that if Sri Krsna Bhagavan is always with gopis, dancing, singing and playing with them, then His katha is amrta; otherwise it is mrtya.

Gaura Premanande!

[Shakti-Fan 0]

 

Being a recent Gayatri initiate, I've been meditating on why the final Gayatri mantra I was given is, at least on the surface, a prayer to Kama Dev, the God of "lust". It seems strange, unless we gain some insight into the true nature of lust.

 

 

<table> <tbody><tr></tr></tbody> </table> Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrī Caitanya Caritāmṛta Madhya 13.79

jayati jana-nivāso devakī-janma-vādo

yadu-vara-pariṣat svair dorbhir asyann adharmam

sthira-cara-vṛjina-ghnaḥ susmita-śrī-mukhena

vraja-pura-vanitānāḿ vardhayan kāma-devam

SYNONYMS

jayati — eternally lives gloriously; jana-nivāsaḥ — He who lives among human beings like the members of the Yadu dynasty and is the ultimate resort of all living entities; devakī-janma-vādaḥ — known as the son of Devakī (No one can actually become the father or mother of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore devakī-janma-vāda means that He is known as the son of Devakī. Similarly, He is also known as the son of mother Yaśodā, Vasudeva or Nanda Mahārāja.); yadu-vara-pariṣat — served by the members of the Yadu dynasty or the cowherd men of Vṛndāvana (all of whom are constant associates of the Supreme Lord and are the Lord's eternal servants); svaiḥ dorbhiḥ — by His own arms, or by His devotees like Arjuna, who are just like His own arms; asyan — killing; adharmam — demons or the impious; sthira-cara-vṛjina-ghnaḥ — the destroyer of all the ill fortune of all living entities, moving and not moving; su-smita — always smiling; śrī-mukhena — by His beautiful face; vraja-pura-vanitānām — of the damsels of Vṛndāvana; vardhayan — increasing; kāma-devam — the lusty desires.

TRANSLATION

"'Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is He who is known as jana-nivāsa, the ultimate resort of all living entities, and who is also known as Devakī-nandana or Yaśodā-nandana, the son of Devakī and Yaśodā. He is the guide of the Yadu dynasty, and with His mighty arms He kills everything inauspicious, as well as every man who is impious. By His presence He destroys all things inauspicious for all living entities, moving and inert. His blissful smiling face always increases the lusty desires of the gopīs of Vṛndāvana. May He be all-glorious and happy!'

PURPORT

This is a quotation from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.90.48).

 

 

Srila Narayana Maharaja:

 

Sthira-cara-vrjina-ghnah su-smita-Sri-mukhena vraja-puravanitanam. In Vrndavana, Krsna always took away all kinds of problems and suffering, simply with His smiling face and His flute. What was the suffering of the Vrajavasis? It was only their mood of separation from Him. They had no other problems at all. This verse includes the pastimes of Gokula, Vrndavana, Radha-kunda, Syama-kunda, rasa-lila, and all the other Vraja pastimes as well. Vardhayan kamadevam. In this connection, Kamadeva does not mean lust, but prema. What kind of prema? Sneha, mana, pranaya, raga, anuraga, bhava, and mahabhava. The gopis tell Krsna, “You are that person – that Kamadeva.” In this way, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is offering pranama and praying, putting the whole of Srimad-Bhagavatam, and all of Krsna’s pastimes as well, into this one sloka.

[theist 1]

 

 

"Am I happy? Of course I am happy. The books say devotees are always blissful. Why do you ask such a silly question?"

[Beggar 0]

 

 

Reintarnation!!!!

 

[Vedesu 0]

 

 

Reintarnation!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bhakta Sam lives in Yosemite National Park. He lives in a van parked down by the river. That river is known as Viraja. It's a lovely place:

 

[Beggar 0]

 

 

Sampradaya Sun Sam, Editor in Chief!

 

[theist 1]

Sampradaya or Yosemite; Sam is the man, no matter which side of the viraja he camps on.

[Vedesu 0]

 

 

Sampradaya Sun Sam, Editor in Chief!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh! That Sam. Yikes! The same Sam who grants George A. Smith carte blanche to spew his venom. For those unaware, George A. Smith is none other than Wsypery aka Janus, (net.nut as once described by gHari prabhu) who regularly blasphemed Srila Prabhupada and Lord Krsna on the old VNN forums and had numerous posts deleted by the moderator as a result. The same G.A.S whom Sam recently instructed to reply to Sita-Pati:

Perhaps George, who is very knowledgeable on the philosohy, will be so kind as to take him to task on this front.

in Rocana's editorial dated Jan. 6th. The same Sam who has such a bizarre editorial policy that even our own Babhru prabhu brought it into question in a reply to Janmastami das a couple of weeks ago; a policy that allows those with similar views with Sam to basically run off anyone who differs philosophically (Bhagavata prabhu, Loka Krsna prabhu, Brahma das prabhu, Tripurari Maharaja, and others.)

 

Okay, got it! The same Sam who says "If you don't like it, go start your own website!!!"

 

Hear ya loud and clear Sam. But say it ain't so, Joe. Say it ain't so!

[theist 1]

A little too serious there mate. Best be careful before Sam caps you one in the butt.

[Vedesu 0]

And the same Sam who loathes the GBC henchmen, but apparently has a few of his own (Wyspery, Mahavidya, et al.)

 

Aw c'mon Sammy boy. You can do better than that.

[theist 1]

 

Makes little sense, no offense. Why is it important to realize bhagvan is happy, or how is it going to help us in any way? Seeking happiness for oneself is natural, why would anyone care whether bhagvan is happy? It's like saying, I worry more about my neighbor's happiness than I do of my own....

 

This is a very good point and one which aspiring devotees should understand IMO. Real concern with Bhagavan's happiness is a post liberation activity. Up to that point the soul is self motivated to bring himself to the natural condition of atma-rama, or fully satisifed in himself. Then at that point having no desires to fulfill for himself the soul is free (liberated) to concentrate fully on pleasing Bhagavan.

 

We should not prematurely think we are on that platform.