Serving the Father or Spiritual Master
Giriraj Swami

Here are a relevant verse and purport from Srimad-Bhagavatam (3.24.13):

etavaty eva susrusa
  karya pitari putrakaih
badham ity anumanyeta
  gauravena guror vacah

“Sons ought to render service to their father exactly to this extent. One should obey the command of his father or spiritual master with due deference, saying, ‘Yes, sir.’ ”

Srila Prabhupada explains, “Two words in this verse are very important; one word is pitari, and another word is guroh. The son or disciple should accept the words of his spiritual master and father without hesitation. Whatever the father and the spiritual master order should be taken without argument: ‘Yes.’ There should be no instance in which the disciple or the son says, ‘This is not correct. I cannot carry it out.’ When he says that, he is fallen. The father and the spiritual master are on the same platform because a spiritual master is the second father. The higher classes are called dvija, twice-born. Whenever there is a question of birth, there must be a father. The first birth is made possible by the actual father, and the second birth is made possible by the spiritual master. Sometimes the father and the spiritual master may be the same man, and sometimes they are different men. In any case, the order of the father or the order of the spiritual master must be carried out without hesitation, with an immediate yes. There should be no argument. That is real service to the father and to the spiritual master. Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura has stated that the order of the spiritual master is the life and soul of the disciples. As a man cannot separate his life from his body, a disciple cannot separate the order of the spiritual master from his life. If a disciple follows the instruction of the spiritual master in that way, he is sure to become perfect. This is confirmed in the Upanisads: the import of Vedic instruction is revealed automatically only to one who has implicit faith in the Supreme Personality of Godhead and in his spiritual master. One may be materially considered an illiterate man, but if he has faith in the spiritual master as well as in the Supreme Personality of Godhead, then the meaning of scriptural revelation is immediately manifested before him.”

On this occasion, I pray to become a proper servant of my spiritual master, or spiritual father, Srila Prabhupada, and of all his other servants.

Hare Krishna.

Your aspiring servant,
Giriraj Swami

There is hope!
→ KKSBlog

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 5 May 2019, Melbourne, Australia, Bhakti Vriksha Talk)

The acaryas were so absorbed in chanting that they did not want to do anything else. When Gaura Kishor das Babaji was chanting and would get hungry, he would simply eat some clay from the Earth. He was hungry, but he did not want to be distracted by going elsewhere to eat since he wanted to keep on chanting. How can we understand this, how can we understand such a high taste for chanting?!

It is said in the Sri Caitanya-carita by Murari Gupta that, “Gopinatha Acarya took the path of hearing Sri Nama Japa. Then fully intoxicated with Krsna-prema, Gopinatha would again and again cry out His names. He thus created a wave of song, dance and music, on which he would dance like the ocean flooding its shores.” Now, that is what you call chanting japa, right?! You are making a wave of a song, dance and music in chanting japa? This is another level! So, here we can see that there are levels of japa that we cannot even imagine, but the acaryas are writing about it! And then we are reading it and now we are imagining it. In this way, we get a little glimpse of what might be coming in the future.

We are maybe not yet chanting with pure love, but there is some hope. Through the spiritual master, we first become free from our temporary material conditioning. And then, we develop our eternal and ecstatic spiritual nature. So let us see how we progress in this movement, it is going to get more and more ecstatic as each day passes by!

The article " There is hope! " was published on KKSBlog.

There is hope!
→ KKSBlog

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 5 May 2019, Melbourne, Australia, Bhakti Vriksha Talk)

The acaryas were so absorbed in chanting that they did not want to do anything else. When Gaura Kishor das Babaji was chanting and would get hungry, he would simply eat some clay from the Earth. He was hungry, but he did not want to be distracted by going elsewhere to eat since he wanted to keep on chanting. How can we understand this, how can we understand such a high taste for chanting?!

It is said in the Sri Caitanya-carita by Murari Gupta that, “Gopinatha Acarya took the path of hearing Sri Nama Japa. Then fully intoxicated with Krsna-prema, Gopinatha would again and again cry out His names. He thus created a wave of song, dance and music, on which he would dance like the ocean flooding its shores.” Now, that is what you call chanting japa, right?! You are making a wave of a song, dance and music in chanting japa? This is another level! So, here we can see that there are levels of japa that we cannot even imagine, but the acaryas are writing about it! And then we are reading it and now we are imagining it. In this way, we get a little glimpse of what might be coming in the future.

We are maybe not yet chanting with pure love, but there is some hope. Through the spiritual master, we first become free from our temporary material conditioning. And then, we develop our eternal and ecstatic spiritual nature. So let us see how we progress in this movement, it is going to get more and more ecstatic as each day passes by!

The article " There is hope! " was published on KKSBlog.

Happy Father’s Day
Giriraj Swami

Srila Prabhupada expressed his appreciation for his father in his dedication to his book Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead: “To My Father, Gour Mohan De (1849-1930)—A pure devotee of Krsna, who raised me as a Krsna conscious child from the beginning of my life. In my boyhood ages he instructed me how to play the mrdanga. He gave me Radha-Krsna vigraha to worship, and he gave me Jagannatha ratha to duly observe the festival as my childhood play. He was kind to me, and I imbibed from him the ideas later on solidified by my spiritual master, the eternal father.”

As devotees, we try to encourage and facilitate our children’s Krishna consciousness, as Prabhupada’s father did with him—an effort that is solidified when our children find their eternal spiritual masters.

Later, Srila Prabhupada wrote one of his disciples, “You have accepted me as father, so I have also accepted you as my dear and real son. Relationship of father and son on spiritual platform is real and eternal; on the material platform such relationship is ephemeral and temporary. Although I cannot give you anything as father, still I can pray to Krishna for your more and more advancement in Krishna consciousness. Your sincerity and service mood will always help you in advancing your genuine cause.”

We are indebted to all our fathers, biological and preceptorial. To those still with us, we wish you Happy Father’s Day. To those who have left us, we love you and miss you, and we shall try to act in such a way as will please you—and Krishna, the Supreme Father.

Hare Krishna.

Yours in service,
Giriraj Swami

Vakresvara Pandit Appearance
→ Ramai Swami

CC Adi 6.49-50:

Śrīvāsa, Haridāsa, Rāmadāsa, Gadādhara, Murāri, Mukunda, Candraśekhara and Vakreśvara are all glorious and are all learned scholars, but the sentiment of servitude to Lord Caitanya makes them mad in ecstasy.

In the Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā (71) it is stated that Vakreśvara Paṇḍita was an incarnation of Aniruddha, one of the quadruple expansions of Viṣṇu (Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Aniruddha and Pradyumna).

CC Adi 10.17, Translation and Purport: 

Vakreśvara Paṇḍita, the fifth branch of the tree, was a very dear servant of Lord Caitanya’s. He could dance with constant ecstasy for seventy-two hours.

In the Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā (71) it is stated that Vakreśvara Paṇḍita was an incarnation of Aniruddha, one of the quadruple expansions of Viṣṇu (Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Aniruddha and Pradyumna). He could dance wonderfully for seventy-two continuous hours. When Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu played in dramatic performances in the house of Śrīvāsa Paṇḍita, Vakreśvara Paṇḍita was one of the chief dancers, and he danced continuously for that length of time. Śrī Govinda dāsa, an Oriyā devotee of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, has described the life of Vakreśvara Paṇḍita in his book Gaura-kṛṣṇodaya. There are many disciples of Vakreśvara Paṇḍita in Orissa, and they are known as Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas although they are Oriyās. Among these disciples are Śrī Gopālaguru and his disciple Śrī Dhyānacandra Gosvāmī.

Actual love
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“Actual love is possible with Krishna. That is actual love. Once you love Krishna, it cannot be broken at any time. It cannot be broken, any, any circumstances. So therefore somehow or other we have to… Yena tena prakāreṇa manaḥ kṛṣṇe niveśayet (Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.2.4). Somehow or other you just engage yourself in loving Krishna. ThatRead More...
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Sri Vakresvara Pandita’s Appearance Day
Giriraj Swami

Today is the appearance day of Sri Vakresvara Pandita, one of Lord Chaitanya’s most dear associates. Sri Caitanya-caritamrta (Adi 10.17–20) states, “Vakresvara Pandita, the fifth branch of the [Chaitanya] tree, was a very dear servant of Lord Caitanya’s. He could dance with constant ecstasy for seventy-two hours. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu personally sang while Vakresvara Pandita danced, and thus Vakresvara Pandita fell at the lotus feet of the Lord and spoke as follows. ‘O Candramukha! Please give me ten thousand Gandharvas. Let them sing as I dance, and then I will be greatly happy.’ Lord Caitanya replied, ‘I have only one wing like you, but if I had another, certainly I would fly in the sky!’ ”

In his purport to text 17, Srila Prabhupada writes, “In the Gaura-ganoddesa-dipika (71) it is stated that Vakresvara Pandita was an incarnation of Aniruddha, one of the quadruple expansions of Visnu (Vasudeva, Sankarsana, Aniruddha and Pradyumna). He could dance wonderfully for seventy-two continuous hours. When Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu played in dramatic performances in the house of Srivasa Pandita, Vakresvara Pandita was one of the chief dancers, and he danced continuously for that length of time. Sri Govinda dasa, an Oriya devotee of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, has described the life of Vakresvara Pandita in his book Gaura-krsnodaya. There are many disciples of Vakresvara Pandita in Orissa, and they are known as Gaudiya Vaisnavas although they are Oriyas. Among these disciples are Sri Gopalaguru and his disciple Sri Dhyanacandra Gosvami.”

A contemporary of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu named Devananda Pandita had no faith in Mahaprabhu and thus avoided Him, but fortunately, Devananda Pandita developed great faith in Vakresvara Pandita and rendered service to him. And by Vakresvara Pandita’s mercy, he developed faith in Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and ultimately achieved His shelter.

Concerning this incident, Sri Caitanya-bhagavata (Antya 3.485–487) confirms the efficacy of serving pure devotees and the results one attains by doing so: “The service of Vaishnavas is superior to the service of Krishna. All scriptures, headed by Srimad-Bhagavatam, confirm this. There may be a doubt whether the servants of the Supreme Personality of Godhead will attain perfection, but there is absolutely no doubt that those who are attached to serving the Lord’s devotees will attain perfection. Therefore service to the Vaishnavas is the best means of deliverance.”

Hare Krishna.

Yours in service,
Giriraj Swami

Brahmananda prabhu in Vrndavana
→ Dandavats

Today is the celebrated Appearance Day of Sri Vakresvara Pandit, 🙏one of Lord Caitanya’s special dancers at the annual Puri Rathyatra. On that auspicious day in 2015, Srila Prabhupada’s beloved Brahmananda das prabhu departed from this world on his preaching chair in his room in Vrndavana..🙏 Brahmananda pr was iconic in the way he described
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Why should one not go to the temple after there is a death in the family? Can we chant on Tulasi beads in a crematorium?
→ The Spiritual Scientist

Transcription in Hindi

प्रश्न – ऐसा क्यों कहा जाता है कि परिवार में किसी की मृत्यु के पश्चात मंदिर नहीं जाना चाहिए? किसी की मृत्यु के पश्चात क्या हम शमशान के भीतर तुलसी माला पर जप कर सकते हैं?

उत्तर – सामान्यतः नियम यह है कि शमशान से लौटने के बाद अर्चाविग्रहों की पूजा नहीं करनी चाहिए। शमशान ऐसा स्थान है जहाँ जाने पर व्यक्ति भौतिक तथा भावनात्मक दोनों दृष्टिकोणों से अशुद्ध हो जाता है। भौतिक अशुद्धि इसलिए कि जैसे ही आत्मा शरीर छोड़ती है तो तुरंत ही शरीर में अशुद्धि आरम्भ होने लगती है और यदि शरीर को संरक्षित नहीं किया जाए तो दुर्गंध आना एवं सड़ना आरम्भ हो जाता है। भावनात्मक अशुद्धि इसलिए क्योंकि मृत्यु के समय दुख एवं आघात के कारण हम भावनात्मक रूप से अशुद्ध हो जाते हैं। अर्चाविग्रहों की पूजा-अर्चना के समय हमें शारीरिक रूप से स्वच्छ और भावनात्मक रूप से एकाग्र एवं सचेत होना चाहिए ताकि हम भगवान की सर्वोत्तम सेवा कर सकें।

अर्चाविग्रहों की पूजा का निषेध, यह नियम भागवत विधि के विरुद्ध नहीं है। भागवत विधि के अन्तर्गत श्रवण एवं कीर्तन और पांचरात्रिक विधि में अर्चाविग्रहों की पूजा-अर्चना का विधान है। अतः सामान्यतः परिवार में मृत्यु होने पर हमें स्वयं अर्चाविग्रहों की पूजा-अर्चना नहीं करनी चाहिए। किन्तु यदि किसी ने अपने घर पर अर्चाविग्रह स्थापित किए हों और किसी अन्य द्वारा अर्चाविग्रहों की पूजा का विकल्प उपलब्ध न हो तब हमें घर पर अर्चाविग्रहों की पूजा अर्चना बंद नहीं करनी चाहिए। ऐसे में भगवान की सेवा चलती रहनी चाहिए। किन्तु यदि कोई मंदिर में विग्रहों की सेवा करता हो तो सामान्यतः उसे ऐसी परिस्थिति में यह सेवा नहीं करना चाहिए।

किसी की मृत्यु पर मंदिर नहीं जाना, कर्मकाण्ड परम्परा में बहुत कड़ा नियम समझा जाता है। किन्तु भक्त समुदायों में यह नियम इतना कठोर नहीं है। कभी-कभी स्थानीय परम्पराओं का सम्मान करने के कारण ऐसा हो सकता है कि भक्त कुछ दिनों के लिए मन्दिर न जाएँ, परन्तु महत्वपूर्ण सिद्धांत यह है कि कृष्णभक्ति का अभ्यास उत्साहपूर्वक चलता रहे। यहाँ उत्साहपूर्वक का अर्थ यह नहीं कि हम कृत्रिम रूप से सकारात्मक एवं प्रसन्न दिखाई दें। परिवार में मृत्यु के पश्चात यह स्वाभाविक है कि हम शोकाकुल होंगे।

किसी प्रियजन की मृत्यु हमें यह सोचने पर विवश करती है कि यह भौतिक अस्तित्व क्षणिक एवं अनित्य है। यह अनुभव स्मरण कराता है कि हम अपने आध्यात्मिक जीवन के बारे में पूरी तरह गम्भीर एवं तत्पर बनें। श्रीमद्भागवतम् में हम देखते हैं कि जब परीक्षित महाराज की मृत्यु होने वाली थी तब उन्होंने अर्चाविग्रहों की पूजा नहीं की थी किन्तु भगवान की कथाओं के श्रवण एवं कीर्तन पर अपना ध्यान केंद्रित किया था। इसी प्रकार हम भी परिवार में किसी प्रियजन की मृत्यु पर श्रवण एवं कीर्तन द्वारा श्रीकृष्ण की शरण ले सकते हैं। ऐसी भी परम्परा है कि ऐसे अवसर पर दिवंगत व्यक्ति की स्मृति में उसके सम्बन्धियों द्वारा श्रीमद्भागवत सप्ताह अथवा भागवत कथा का आयोजन करवाया जाता है। ऐसे अवसर पर भगवान की कथाओं का श्रवण हमें शास्त्रचक्षु तथा भीतरी सांत्वना प्रदान करता है। यह ज्ञान एवं अनुभूति न केवल हमारे शोक को कम करने में किन्तु उससे ऊपर उठने में भी हमारी सहायता करते हैं।

जहाँ तक तुलसी माला का सम्बन्ध है यह अशुद्ध नहीं होती, पवित्र ही रहती है। शमशान में प्रवेश करने पर तुलसी माला को बाहर छोड़ने की आवश्यकता नहीं है। वापस लौटने पर आप माला की थैली को धो सकते हैं। यदि चाहें तो गोमूत्र अथवा गंगाजल तुलसी की माला पर छिड़क सकते हैं। किंतु सामान्यतः तुलसी माला को पवित्र समझा जाता है और शमशान ले जाने पर अशुद्ध नहीं होती।

End of transcription.