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The Hindi Bhagavatam translates qualification as “aukad” – is that correct?
Answer Podcast
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Lecture Podcast
http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/ccd%20classes/desiretree/2015%20classes/11-15%20classes/Appreciating%20Prabhupada’s%20resourcefulness%20and%20sharing%20his%20legacy%20-%20Prabhupada%20Disappearance%20day%20class.mp3
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Lecture Podcast
http://www.thespiritualscientist.com/audio/ccd%20classes/desiretree/2015%20classes/11-15%20classes/Govardhan%20Dashakam%20Meditation.mp3
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(1)
nija-pati-bhuja-dandac-chatra-bhavam prapadya
pratihata-mada-dhrstoddanda-devendra-garva
atula-prthula-saila-sreni-bhupa priyam me
nija-nikata-nivasam dehi govardhana tvam
(2)
pramada-madana-lilah kandare kandare te
racayati nava-yunor dvandvam asminn amandam
iti kila kalanartham lagnakas tad-dvayor me
nija-nikata-nivasam dehi govardhana tvam
(3)
anupama-mani-vedi-ratna-simhasanorvi-
ruha-jhara-dara-sanu-droni-sanghesu rangaih
saha bala-sakhibhih sankhelayan sva-priyam me
nija-nikata-nivasam dehi govardhana tvam
(4)
rasa-nidhi-nava-yunoh saksinim dana-keler
dyuti-parimala-viddham syama-vedim prakasya
rasika-vara-kulanam modam asphalayan me
nija-nikata-nivasam dehi govardhana tvam
(5)
hari-dayitam apurvam radhika-kundam atma-
priya-sakham iha kanthe narmanalingya guptah
nava-yuva-yuga-khelas tatra pasyan raho me
nija-nikata-nivasam dehi govardhana tvam
(6)
sthala-jala-tala-saspair bhuruha-chayaya ca
pratipadam anukalam hanta samvardhayan gah
tri-jagati nija-gotram sarthakam khyapayan me
nija-nikata-nivasam dehi govardhana tvam
(7)
surapati-krta-dirgha-drohato gostha-raksam
tava nava-grha-rupasyantare kurvataiva
agha-baka-ripunoccair datta-mana drutam me
nija-nikata-nivasam dehi govardhana tvam
(8)
giri-nrpa-hari-dasa-sreni-varyeti-nama-
mrtam idam uditam sri-radhika-vaktra-candrat
vraja-nava-tilakatve klpta-vedaih sphutam me
nija-nikata-nivasam dehi govardhana tvam
(9)
nija-jana-yuta-radha-krsna-maitri-rasakta-
vraja-nara-pasu-paksi-vrata-saukhyaika-datah
aganita-karunatvan mam uri-krtya tantam
nija-nikata-nivasam dehi govardhana tvam
(10)
nirupadhi-karunena sri-sacinandanena
tvayi kapati-satho ‘pi tvat-priyenarpito ‘smi
iti khalu mama yogyayogyatam mam agrhnan
nija-nikata-nivasam dehi govardhana tvam
(11)
rasada-dasakam asya srila-govardhanasya
ksitidhara-kula-bhartur yah prayatnad adhite
sa sapadi sukhade ‘smin vasam asadya saksac
chubada-yugala-seva-ratnam apnoti turnam
(1) O Govardhana, O king of all incomparable great mountains, O hill that became an umbrella with the arm of your own Lord as the handle and then destroyed the pride of thedeva king madly attacking with raised weapons, please grant the residence near you that is so dear to me.
(2) O Govardhana, please grant to me the residence near you that will guarantee the sight of the youthful divine couple as they enjoy passionate amorous pastimes in your caves.
(3) O Govardhana, O hill where Lord Krsna happily plays with Balarama and His friends in the incomparable jeweled courtyards, jeweled lion-thrones, trees, waterfalls, mountain-brooks, caves, peaks, and valleys, please grant the residence near you that is so dear to me.
(4) O Govardhana, O hill that provides the dark courtyard that witnesses the dana-keli pastime of the nectar-treasure youthful divine couple, O hill that brings great bliss to the best of they who relish transcendental nectar, please grant to me residence near you.
(5) O Govardhana, O hill that, hiding as you playfully embrace the neck of your dear friend, Lord Hari’s dear, unprecedented Radha-kunda, secretly gazes at the pastimes of the youthful divine couple, please grant to me residence near you.
(6) O Govardhana, O hill that by nourishing the cows with its water, grass, and the shade of its trees declares to the three worlds the appropriateness of its own name, please grant to me residence near you. (Govardhana means “that which nourishes (vardhana) the cows (go).”)
(7) O Govardhana, O hill that the enemy of Agha and Baka honored by transforming into a new house to give Vraja protection from the sustained fury of the sura king please grant to me residence near you.
(8) O Govardhana, O king of mountains, O hill whose nectar name “the best of Lord Hari’s servants” flows from the moon of Sri Radha’s mouth, O hill that the Vedas declare to be the tilaka marking of Vraja, please grant to me residence near you.
(9) O Govardhana, O philanthropist that gives transcendental happiness to Vraja’s people, animals, and birds, all anointed with the nectar of friendship for Sri Sri Radha-Krsnasurrounded by Their friends, out of Your immeasurable mercy, please accept unhappy me and please grant me residence near you.
(10) Although I am a cheater and a criminal, unlimitedly merciful Lord Sacinandana, who is very dear […]
The post Govardhan Dashakam Meditation – Ten appeals for residence at Govardhan appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.
Prayer is the universal language by which the human heart communes with the divine heart. Poetry is an artistic method for verbalizing the heart’s deep emotions. Singing is a popular method to express one’s emotions.
Verse 5: Devotion catapults us to the summit of yogic meditation
The fifth verse moves from rejection of the negative to elucidation of the positive. It describes the beauty of the form on which the sage desires to constantly meditate. Comparing the Lord’s face to a lotus, he mentions some of its striking features: the silken locks of hair that frame the face, the beautiful reddish lips, and the marks of Yashoda’s loving kisses. He desires fervently that his mind be absorbed perennially in such contemplation. Stressing the intensity of his aspiration, he proclaims that millions of other benedictions are of no value to him.
The sage’s expression echoes the Bhagavad-gita’s description (06.20-23) of samadhi, the state of the topmost absorption in transcendence. Yogis thus absorbed feel that there is no gain greater than this. That the sage has attained a similar level of unflappable absorption indicates that he is situated in samadhi.
And he has attained samadhi not by any laborious process of body-twisting asanas (postures) or any other demanding form of world renunciation – he has attained it simply by meditating on the Lord’s pastimes. Whereas yoga focuses on stopping the negative, material emotions of the mind, bhakti focuses on activating the positive, spiritual emotions of the soul. As emotions are natural to us, activating pure emotions is easier than rejecting all emotions per se. Thus, bhakti makes progress towards transcendence easier, faster and sweeter. Pertinently, the Gita’s chapter on yoga concludes (06.47) with the declaration that the topmost yogis are those who are devotionally absorbed in Krishna.
Verse 6: Two strategies for begging
The sixth verse expresses the sage’s longing for the direct darshan (sight) of Krishna, distinct from the constant inner darshan that he has sought in the previous two verses. Knowing that such a visual darshan is an extremely exalted boon, he reserves the verbalization of his request till the end of the verse, prefacing it with glorification of the Lord and expression of his own destitute condition.
Seeking grace is akin to begging. While asking for alms, beggars often praise the donor’s magnanimity and express their own penury, thus hoping to invoke compassion. A similar dual strategy can be applied when we beseech the Lord for mercy.
The sage spontaneously resorts to one of the best means of pleasing the Lord and invoking his compassion: recitation of his names. While offering obeisances, he refers to the Lord by five relevant names: deva (the giver of everything, including his own darshan), Damodara (the Lord who was bound by love and so by implication can out of love grant him the benediction of darshan), Ananta (the unlimited one who can do even extremely elusive such as granting his own darshan to an unworthy soul), Vishnu (the all-pervading one who can easily make himself visible, for he is already present everywhere) and Prabhu (the master who can and does protect his servants).
The sage then conveys his destitute condition in three ways. He states that he is fallen and is also ignorant, not knowing […]
The post Meditating on the Damodarashtakam: The supreme controller is controlled – and still remains in control (Part 2 – Verses 5 to 8) appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.
Prayer is the universal language by which the human heart communes with the divine heart. Poetry is an artistic method for verbalizing the heart’s deep emotions. Singing is a popular method to express one’s emotions.
The integration of these three – prayers composed poetically and sung individually or collectively – is a powerful and joyful way to channelize human emotions towards the divine. In the world’s great theistic traditions are found many examples of beautiful prayer-songs. Such prayers are usually composed by saints who verbalize their love and longing for the Lord.
In the bhakti tradition, the singing of poetic prayers is an important limb of praxis. One such prayer-song is the Damodarashtakam found in the Padma Purana. The song is composed by the great sage Satyavrata Muni and sung in the presence of another great sage Narada Muni. In the Vaishnava bhakti tradition, during the sacred month of Kartik, this song is sung daily, often in both morning and evening. Singing the Damodarashtakam and offering a lamp to Lord Damodara is a treasured form of devotional service that attracts thousands the world over to come to Krishna temples.
The song’s title is a combination of two words: Damodara (a name of Krishna) and ashtaka (a composition with eight parts). This title reveals both the song’s theme and literary structure. It is about the Lord, whose belly (udara) was bound with a rope (dama) and who is therefore celebrated as Damodara. In literary structure, the song belongs to the genre of ashtakas. As the bhakti tradition considers the number eight auspicious, many prayers are composed as songs of eight stanzas.
Damodarashtakam is essentially a meditation on a Krishna pastime described in the bhakti texts, especially the Srimad Bhagavatam. The song integrates narration and exposition in a seamless poetic flow.
Verse 1: The uncatchable is caught
The song’s first verse begins with the mode of expression with which it ends: the offering of obeisance. The object of obeisance is predictably the Supreme, but he is referred to with a significant name: the controller (isvara). This pastime centers on the theme of how the supreme controller becomes controlled and still remains in control. It depicts a form of God that can seem to the devotionally uninformed diminutive and un-godlike. God is usually conceived and revered as the supreme ruler of all of existence. The bhakti tradition acknowledges this divine majesty, but focuses on a far more personable manifestation of God – as a loving and loveable cowherd who in his childhood play seems to be like an ordinary child. Lest hearers be misled by appearances, the song begins with an assertion of the protagonist’s divinity by identifying him as the controller. Further underscoring his transcendence, the song declares that his form is made of eternity-knowledge-bliss (sac-cid-ananda vigraha).
The verse conveys his beauty by referring to one of his ornaments: his effulgent earrings. Bhakti savants explain that whereas we humans wear ornaments to enhance our beauty, Krishna’s beauty is complete in itself, not needing any ornaments. When he wears ornaments, […]
The post Meditating on the Damodarashtakam: The supreme controller is controlled – and still remains in control (Part 1 – Verses 1 to 4) appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.
Bhagavatam class at Radha Gopinath Mandir, Mumbai
Podcast
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Sunday feast class at Radha Gopinath Mandir, Mumbai
Podcast
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Bhagavatam class at Radha Govinda temple, Kolkata
Lecture Podcast
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Answer Podcast
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Answer Podcast
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Answer Podcast
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Answer Podcast
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Bhagavatam class at Radha Gopinath Temple, Mumbai
Lecture Podcast
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Answer Podcast
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Answer Podcast
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Answer Podcast
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Answer Podcast
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The post Is detachment not included in 64 items of bhakti because it makes one hardhearted? appeared first on The Spiritual Scientist.
Answer Podcast
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Our emotions are a big part of who we are, but they are not all of us. We are bigger than our present emotions, most of which relate with our external material shell, not our spiritual core.
Both Yamaraja in Suyajna pastime and Kamsa while consoling Vasudeva-Devaki talk about karmic causality.
Answer Podcast
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Answer Podcast
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Answer Podcast
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Answer Podcast
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Answer Podcast
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Answer Podcast
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Answer Podcast
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Answer Podcast
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Answer Podcast
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Answer Podcast
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By holding on to something that someone might have unintentionally spoken during a tense situation, we poison our consciousness and paralyze our capacity for loving interactions.
Srimad Bhagavatam class at ISKCON, Kolkata
Lecture Podcast
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Answer Podcast
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Answer Podcast
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Answer Podcast
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Answer Podcast
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Answer Podcast
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Answer Podcast
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Answer Podcast
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Answer Podcast
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