Author Archives: Vraja Kishor

To fall in love with Krishna, we have to know what he is like. But we can’t directly know what he is like, because he is initially beyond the perception of our mind and senses. So on the Vedāntic principle of “anyārtha parāmārṣa” we have to infer what he is like by our experience of things that…

To depict Krishna and his rasa-līlā as something totally unlike what we ourselves know of happiness and pleasure is suicidal, for it causes us to feel that Krishna is irrelevant to what we spontaneously, naturally, and powerfully want and need. The fact is that nothing could be farther from the truth. Krishna is called “Krishna”…

Q: Is māyā a “temporary fix” for the jīva who is disinclined to Krishna? It need not be a temporary fix. If a jīva is happy with māyā, so be it; Mission accomplished. Krishna’s mission is to expand happiness, so if a jīva is happy with māyā, his mission is accomplished. Therefore not all jīva…

If you are a man, it’s like living in a candy store, but having persistent jaundice and indigestion. If you are a woman, its like being an amazing candy, but in a store full of cavity ridden, bad-breath mouths. The man tries to cure his jaundice and indigestion, but finds that his eyes are always…

Maya is not the devil. She is not hunting you or persecuting you. You are not the victim, you are the perpetrator and you are the beneficiary. There is no “Satan vs. God” paradigm, please stop imposing Christian world-views on Bhāgavata Dharma. There is no evil super villain who is going to eat your soul…

An extremely important section of the Bhagavatam (1.7.4-6) describes Vyāsa’s samādhi (divine vision). In this vision, he saw Māyā (the power of illusion) subordinate to Krishna (the complete, original personal-consciousness), but bewilering the jīva (individual consciousness). Analyzing this in Tattva Sandarbha, Śrī Jīva Goswāmī brings up a very important question, “Who is to blame for the…

Q: There are many tips and instructions, such as “just hear the mantra” and “listen to yourself chant sincerely”, as well as “the name reveals everything – but to let it do so you need to arrive without own made-up concepts!”. However, there are also recommendations to  actively focus on the meaning, maybe even “imagining” it.…

After a class on Chapter Six of the Gita (which is all about meditation), someone asked… Q: Besides a few poor attemps, I haven’t really started meditating. I am kind of unsure if and how to begin. I wouldn’t say that I am already very advanced on my karma-yoga path. So, should I try to start…

Recently I heard someone say, “We [devotees] shouldn’t be too philosophical, because that would drive all the non-philosophical people away.” This is like a mother saying to her daughter, “Don’t be so beautiful, it will drive away all the ugly men.” First, who cares if she scares away the ugly men? Second, what kind of…

Q: “Falling down” from the spiritual world is quite a strange idea, but if we never met Krishna how to explain our longing for Him? I feel,  everyone longs for Him only,  as nobody is happy here. Longing for Krishna is actually a very rare thing that only the most advanced bhakti-sādhaka’s achieve. It is not…

Q: Krishna is in love with Radha. Radha’s love is so great  it makes Krshna so mad about her that even if He is with another beautiful Gopi,  He can not stop thinking about her. A soul who is in love with Krishna will give Him their entire heart, their entire self – but it seems…

Q: Why did Krishna create us in such a way that we could be attracted to the material world? What purpose does that fulfil? It’s difficult for logical thinkers to grasp this, but not everything happens because of a logical “why.” The ultimate origin of reality is not a logical machine, it is consciousness (jñānam-advayam, ŚB 1.2.11). Consciousness…

Here is a really good question someone kindly sent me recently: Why should we have to work so hard to get love / bhakti ? So much service and so many rules and still Krishna prema doesn’t come! I feel at odds with the entire concept that love should require work / sādhana.  Love cannot be earned, or purchased by any amount of work. In…

Why Announce It? Why not? This is an immensely significant part of my life, which I would certainly want my friends and the people I interact with to know about. “But announcing your departure from a guru and institution insinuates insult towards that guru and institution.” Announcement or not, I am a public person, and…

In response to: On Changing My Dīkṣā In Bhakti Sandarbha Jīva Goswāmī explains that there are circumstances in which a guru-disciple relationship can be dissolved. He quotes Nārada Pañcarātra: “He who gives irrational guidance, and he who follows that guidance, both attain a horrible destination.” He also refers to Mahābhārata: “We should even reject a guru…

Foremost, I want to make it clear that I am not “against” ISKCON. I do not believe that  ISKCON is “bogus.” Nor do I feel that its leaders are without significant merit. Nor do I think that its members cannot attain Krishna-prema. Most certainly, I don’t at all believe that ISKCON’s founder, A.C. Bhaktivedānta Swāmī…

The 7 female qualities Krishna mentions in Gītā 10.34 are: 1. Sri – Beauty 2. Kiriti – Celebrate-ability 3. Vak – Speech 4. Smrti – Thoughtfulness 5. Medha – Intelligence 6. Dhrti – patience 7. Ksama – forgiveness Śrī – Beauty / Ornamentation Everyone can see that women are more beautiful then men. Everyone can…

Q: You mentioned in your video, diksha refers to getting the mantra and shiksa refers to getting instructions on how to chant it… Dīkṣā means acceptance into the educational process (aka “sādhana”) of a given school. This acceptance is accomplished by giving the student the school’s study materials (mantra and śāstra) Q: We already got…

Q: How do we understand the quotes that many of our acaryas pull from the various Puranas about the glories of the dhama? First you have to accept and understand that there are a few different types of statements in śāstra. Some of them are literal information. Others are analogs / analogies. Others are motivational.…

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam (SB 10.30.34) says, in the context of romance, that men are pathetic (dainya) and women are wicked (durātmā). Even more surprisingly, it says that Krishna and Rādhā display (darśayan) the same traits! This is a difficult statement to understand, but is extremely profound. First lets understand  why men are “pathetic” and women “wicked…

If I let myself think, “Aparādhā-bhajan is better than no bhajan at all,” then I probably won’t stop this aparādhā bhajan for a long time to come.  Bhajan with aparādhā is  worse than no bhajan at all. Bhajan with aparādhā is  worse than no bhajan at all. Just as having a negative experience with a person is worse than having no experience with them…

Question: I was wondering why earth is so special? Why did Krishna manifest his pastimes here instead of some other planet? Well, what “other planet” should he appear on? Life is centered on Earth. Yes, there are many dimensions to the earth, sky, heavens, and under-earth, but these multi-dimensional realms (loka) are not literally identical to our modern…

There is a difference between a “sin” (adharma or pāpa) and a “hatred” (a.k.a “offense” – aparādhā). “Hatred” is “sin” but not all “sin” is “hatred.” “Hatred” is a special subset of “sin” – it is the worst type. It is so bad that it is considered in a separate category. A “sin” is simply failure…

Hunger in our mouths Comes from emptiness in our stomachs. Hunger in our senses Comes from emptiness in our hearts. The mouth can fill a stomach’s emptiness But can the heart’s emptiness be filled through the senses? The heart’s emptiness Is best filled by her close friends: the mind and words. If you hear the…

This is the conclusion of Pṛthu’s discussion with Sanāt Kumār. Extremely grateful that the self-knowing young children of Brahmā had given him a clear vision his true self-interest, the King said, “Compassionate Hari must have felt compassionate towards me – for all of you blessed spiritualists have come to me. You, his devotees, are equally…

“What happens to a living being,” the king asked sorrowfully, “as their consciousness and cognition decays and shrinks?” “It is so ironic,” the boy said. “By always concentrating on the pursuit of pleasures, a human ruins his chances for attaining any of them; because his powers of cognition and understanding decline, gradually transforming him into…

Continuing Bhāgavatam’s description of the amazing conversation between Pṛthu and the Four Child-Sages… “Why does this veil hiding the true self and Superself exist in the first place?” the King asked with deep feeling. The boy-sage explained that it exists because of attraction to perceiving objects independently and externally. “How does this loss of self…

Continuing the amazing story of Pṛthu’s conversation with the four child-sages… Delighted to hear the sage speak so clearly and definitely, but with such depth and breadth, the King eagerly asked, “What happens when a person falls in love with that transcendental consciousness?” Sanāt smiled out of satisfaction with the King’s eagerness to hear more…

The child-sages smiled lovingly and happily when they heard Pṛthu’s words, so sweet, appropriate, essential, accurate, and to the point. Sanat Kumār replied on behalf of them all. “What a wonderful question you’ve asked, Emperor, about the welfare of all living beings,” the boy-sage said. “Although very learned, sādhus always ask questions. That is how…

Chapter 22 of Bhāgavatam continues… The four child-sages have appeared at King Pṛthu’s ceremonial arena, and he has welcomed them. Now he begins talking with them and will ask his first question. When they were seated on their golden seats, the boys seemed like sacred fire in an altar. With deeply appreciative deference for these older brothers…

I’ve taken the auspicious opportunity of Śrī Krishna Janmāṣṭhamī to resume my work on presenting Canto Four of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, in the same manner as I have so far managed, despite myself, to present the first three. I resume from the very beginning of Chapter 22: Just as the citizens finished expressing their appreciation to…

Question: Karma applies only in this realm – only in this material world, right? Or does it also apply to the soul in the non material world? My reply: Karma is cause and effect as a result of work. We exist on one side of the kāraṇa ocean (the ocean of causality). Ours is the…

Learn the Gita
with Vraja Kishor
18 Online Sessions, starting Sunday August 7th at 1pm Australian time (10:30 Indian, 7am German). $220 Tuition. Find out more: http://vrajakishor.com/class_gita.html

This question arose when studying chapter three of Bhagavad Gītā in our online course, in reference to text 41. Question: Why is it easiest or most efficient to correct selfishness through disciplining the senses FIRST, as opposed to the intellect or emotions? Intuitively, that seems backwards to me since everything flows from the mind. My Reply: I agree…

The Veda is the beginningless information self-manifest by reality itself. It was to the first entity, Brahmā, that Viṣṇu first revealed full access to it. Brahmā then verbalized it to his initial children. Those children, especially the Seven Sages (Sāpta Ṛṣi) codified his words into specific mantra, thus creating the original Yajur Veda. Over time,…

    What is a “Gāyatrī”? The Veda is mostly poetry, meant to be sung. Chandaḥ — the metrics of poetic rhythm — is therefore one of the six essential subjects of traditional Vedic study, vedāṅga. Gāyatrī is a poetic-meter that has 24 syllables in total, divided into three lines with eight syllables in each.…

I am prepared to begin new semesters of my online courses. I currently offer three courses. Please follow the links for more information: The Role of Sacred Text in Gauḍīya Bhakti Bhagavad-Gita – In Essence and Detail An Ocean of Nectar (Bhakti Rasamrta Sindhu)  

The qualities that degrade us are, unfortunately, so familiar, near and dear to us. They are “the wealth of the evil” (āsura-sampada). Krishna lists them in Gita (16.4): dambho darpo ’bhimānaś ca krodhaḥ pāruṣyam eva ca ajñānaṁ cābhijātasya pārtha sampadam āsurīm Hypocricy & Fraudulance Dambha means being super loud about how wonderful we are, and extremely quiet about how lame we…

What is a “genuine spiritual emotion”? It means different things to different people… “Spiritual” vs. “Mental” Emotion Emotions occur in the mind, and are observed and experienced by consciousness. Since emotions occur in the mind, not the soul, perhaps they cannot be “spiritual”? The mind, however, is not entirely distinct from the soul. The mind and…

If you sense that someone is either very philosophically deep or has some moral issues about sex, then its not a good idea to describe Rādhā as “Krishna’s girlfriend.” In those cases it is better to describe her as the female manifestation of divinity, the goddess epitomizing divine beauty and love. Describe her as the…