Author Archives: Chaitanya Charan das

When the gopis were Dandakaranya sages, why does the Bhagavtam say that they had not gone on pilgrimage?
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From Anuj Agarwal: NOD 19 give following reference.   SB 11.12.7: “The gopīs in Vṛndāvana did not study the Vedas to achieve Me. Nor had they ever been in holy places of pilgrimage. Nor did they devoutly execute any regulative principle. Nor did they undergo any kind of austerity. It is simply by My association that they have attained […]

What are the ten principles of godly life mentioned in Gita 16.1-3 purport?
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From Anuj Agarwal P Answer Podcast My thanks to Hari Parshad Prabhu for providing this list: In the book named Saṁskāra-tattva by the famous smārta “Raghunandan Bhattacharya”, the following ten saṁskāras have been counted: 1) vivāha 2) garbhādhāna 3) puṁsavana 4) sīmantonnayana 5) jāta-karma 6) nāma-karaṇa (also included with anna-prāśana) 7) cūḍā-karaṇa 8) vidyārambha 9) […]

Which other Purana mentions that Bhagavatam is the commentary on the Vedanta Sutra?
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From Abhiram Gopal P If it is mentioned in other puranas then how can SB be the last purana written by Ved vyas coz if it would be the last then it can’t be mentioned in other writtings of vyas dev? Answer Podcast Reference from Garuda Purana quoted in CC Madhya 25.143-144 artho ‘yaḿ brahma-sūtrāṇāḿ bhāratārtha-vinirṇayaḥ […]

Why does the list of eight siddhis not include garima?
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From Anuj Agarwal: In NOD 1 Srila Prabhupada mention the names and description of mytic siddhis. He mentions Anima and becoming so light as one can fly (part of laghima) as achieved by scientist. Then he mentions 6 other siddhis that are not attained Laghima, prapti, isita, vasita, prakamya and kamyavasiyata. He doesn’t mention mahima […]

Aren’t Brahmavadis ultimately Mayavadis because they consider the Lord’s form to be temporary?
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From Keshava Kashmiri P why there exist the two different class of impersonalist at all . since brahmavadis don’t condemn the personal form as krishna as material ,that means they accept the spiriual form of krishna as sac-cid ananda .so if they are in knowledge ,why they still hanker for merging into brahma- jyoti . […]

Is the ability to remember past lives the mercy of the Lord?
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From Nimai Dasa: If remembering out past lives can create the mental problem in this life like you said ,we may had came under truck ,or chopped off in our previous lives ,why then bhagavatam ( 5.9.3) describes that remembering our past lives to be the mercy of supreme lord .it says ” bhagavad-anugrahenanusmrta-sva-purva-janmavalir ” […]

Bhagavatam-daily feature started
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Bhagavatam-daily is a daily talk of approximately 10 min on a verse of Srimad Bhagavatam. This feature is especially meant to serve those devotees who want to hear the Bhagavatam regularly and systematically in short segments that they can conveniently fit into their schedules. The talk will involve a quick explanation of the Sanskrit verse […]

Bhagavatam-daily feature started
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Bhagavatam-daily is a daily talk of approximately 10 min on a verse of Srimad Bhagavatam. This feature is especially meant to serve those devotees who want to hear the Bhagavatam regularly and systematically in short segments that they can conveniently fit into their schedules. The talk will involve a quick explanation of the Sanskrit verse followed by a […]

Don’t reduce all thinking to logical thinking
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“No, no, you are not thinking; you’re just being logical.” This was Noble Laureate physicist Neil Bohr’s startling admonition to a student. Bohr was a pioneer of quantum physics, a field of science whose insights have stretched the limits of logic well beyond breaking point. To defend his field, he often had to challenge the […]

Can we take charanamrita when curd is forbidden during Chaturmasya?
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From Dinabandhu P Answer Podcast hari-bhakti-vilAsa 12.100aṣṭaitāny avrata-ghnāni āpo mūlaṁ phalaṁ payaḥ havir brāhmaṇa-kāmyā ca guror vacanam auṣadham “These eight do not break a fast — (1) water (2) roots (3) fruits (4) milk (5) haviḥ (anything offered to the Lord viz. charanamrita) (6) brāhmaṇa-kāmyā (offerings usually dear to a brahmana viz. ghee, curd etc.) […]

How festivals such as birthdays are celebrated in Vedic culture
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It is the Vedic system to observe all kinds of festivals, including birthday festivals, marriage festivals, name-giving festivals and festivals marking the beginning of education, by especially inviting brāhmaṇas. In every festival the brāhmaṇas are to be fed first, and when the brāhmaṇas are pleased they bless the festival by chanting Vedic mantras or the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. Chaitanya Charitamrita Adi 12.20 purport

Is sensitivity the same as sentimentality?
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Whenever I tell a devotee-friend to be sensitive, he replies, “You are just being sentimental. We should just speak the philosophy straight.” I get confused: what I consider as sensitivity he dismisses as sentimentality. I feel we are talking about two different things, but I can’t put it in words properly. Can you please explain […]

Is birthday celebration non-Vedic?
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When something is not Vedic, why do we need to even consider celebrating it? If we are faithful followers of the Vedas, we shouldn’t even be considering it, leave alone trying to somehow rationalize it. Answer Podcast My thanks to Hari Parshad Prabhu for providing the below compilation of quotes on birthday celebration: Ayuvardhapanam (birthday […]

Do devotees have to go through Brahman realization to attain Bhagavan realization?
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From Keshava Kashmiri P you made one point which says that brahman is the transitional realization (like a coast or negative y-axis) ,whereas bhakti towards bhagavan as ultimate realization ( + ve y-axis ) does this transition indicates that one can only get bhakti ,when one first goes through brahman realization .cant bhakti be obtained […]