शायद धृतराष्ट्र को यह आभास था कि उसका पुत्र (दुर्योधन) युद्ध में पराजित होगा, पर वह उस अपरिहार्य परिणाम से डर रहा था। वह जानता था कि जो होना है, उसे टाल नहीं सकता, फिर भी वह उसका सामना नहीं करना चाहता था।
कमज़ोरी और क्रूरता में क्या अंतर है? कमज़ोरी में व्यक्ति जानता है कि सही क्या है, लेकिन उसे करने की शक्ति नहीं होती। जबकि क्रूरता में व्यक्ति सही और गलत का बोध ही खो देता है — जो गलत है, वही उसे सही प्रतीत होता है। धृतराष्ट्र की दुविधा इसी सीमारेखा पर खड़ी है — वह केवल भ्रम या मोह नहीं है, बल्कि गहराई में जाकर एक नैतिक संकट है।
तीन प्रकार की शुरुआतें — गीता की समझ के लिए:
Textual शुरुआत – गीता का पहला श्लोक: “धर्मक्षेत्रे कुरुक्षेत्रे…”, जो 1.1 से आरंभ होता है।
Conceptual शुरुआत – जहाँ से गीता का मूल विषय शुरू होता है: अर्जुन का प्रश्न और उसका मानसिक संघर्ष।
Speaker-centered शुरुआत – जहाँ से श्रीकृष्ण का उपदेश शुरू होता है: अध्याय 2, श्लोक 11 से।
गीता के पांच लक्षण (लक्षण पंचक):
उत्पत्ति (Origin) – ग्रंथ की शुरुआत कहाँ से होती है?
उपसंहार (Conclusion) – अंत में क्या निष्कर्ष निकलता है?
अपूर्व (Uniqueness) – क्या कुछ ऐसा है जो इस ग्रंथ को विशेष बनाता है?
अभ्यास (Repetition) – कौन-सी बात बार-बार दोहराई गई है?
उद्धार (Emphasis) – कौन-सी बात को विशेष रूप से ज़ोर देकर कहा गया है?
धृतराष्ट्र का पहला प्रश्न — गीता की शुरुआत का रहस्य: धृतराष्ट्र का प्रश्न — “धर्मक्षेत्रे कुरुक्षेत्रे समवेता युयुत्सवः…” — सिर्फ एक साधारण सवाल नहीं है। यह उसके भीतरी द्वंद्व को प्रकट करता है। वह जानता है कि उसका पुत्र धर्म से विचलित है, लेकिन फिर भी उसे रोक नहीं पाता। उसका एक भय यह भी है कि कुरुक्षेत्र का “धर्म क्षेत्र” होना कहीं दुर्योधन पर प्रभाव न डाल दे — शायद वह युद्ध से पीछे हट जाए या हार जाए।
धर्मक्षेत्र क्यों कहा गया? क्योंकि वहां धर्म प्रकट होने वाला है — न केवल उपदेश के रूप में, बल्कि व्यवहार के रूप में भी। गीता का पहला शब्द “धर्म” है और यह दर्शाता है कि यह ग्रंथ धर्म के उद्घाटन और प्रदर्शन का माध्यम है।
वक्ता का उद्देश्य और ईश्वर की योजना: कई बार वक्ता एक बात कह रहा होता है, लेकिन श्रोता उसी बात में कुछ अलग, गहराई वाला संदेश अनुभव करता है। भगवद्गीता में ज्ञान केवल वक्ता (कृष्ण) के माध्यम से नहीं आता — बल्कि श्रोता की प्रामाणिकता और भगवान की कृपा से वह और गहराई में प्रकट होता है।
कमज़ोरी और क्रूरता — विवेक और संकल्प: हर व्यक्ति में दो शक्तियाँ होती हैं:
Conscience (विवेक बुद्धि) – जो बताती है क्या सही है।
Willpower (संकल्प शक्ति) – जो सही कार्य करने की शक्ति देती है। कमज़ोरी में विवेक होता है, पर संकल्प कमज़ोर होता है। क्रूरता में विवेक ही नहीं होता, इसलिए गलत को सही समझा जाता है।
दुर्योधन की राजनीतिक चतुराई: युद्ध शुरू होने से पहले दुर्योधन द्रोणाचार्य के पास जाता है — भीष्म के पास नहीं, क्योंकि भीष्म को वह उकसा नहीं सकता था। लेकिन द्रोण को वह उनके पुराने शत्रु द्रुपद का स्मरण दिलाकर उकसाता है। यह एक राजनेता की मानसिकता है — वह जानता है कि किसको कैसे प्रेरित करना है।
कृष्ण बनाम दुर्योधन — प्रेरणा की भिन्नता: जब अर्जुन कहता है कि वह युद्ध नहीं करेगा, तब कृष्ण उसे गहराई से मार्गदर्शन देते हैं — तर्क, भावना और अध्यात्म के साथ। जबकि दुर्योधन केवल उकसाता है, भावनाओं से खेलता है। गीता में यह स्पष्ट दिखाया गया है कि कैसे कृष्ण और दुर्योधन के प्रेरणास्रोत और प्रेरणा के तरीक़े बिल्कुल भिन्न हैं।
दुर्योधन एक भौतिकवादी दृष्टिकोण वाला व्यक्ति था, इसलिए वह लोगों को भौतिक दृष्टिकोण से उकसाने की कोशिश करता है। वह तुलना करता है, संख्या गिनता है, और सेनाओं की ताक़त का विश्लेषण कर यह दर्शाना चाहता है कि उसकी सेना श्रेष्ठ है। लेकिन यह तुलना उसके भीतर चल रही असुरक्षा को भी दर्शाती है। जब वह अपनी सेना को “अपर्याप्त” या “असीमित” कहता है, तो स्पष्ट नहीं होता कि वह आत्मविश्वास से बोल रहा है या भ्रमित होकर।
इसके विपरीत, कृष्ण कभी भी अर्जुन को उकसाते नहीं हैं। वे केवल उसे समझाते हैं, प्रेरित करते हैं — आध्यात्मिक दृष्टिकोण से। यहाँ से भगवद गीता एक गहरा अंतर दिखाती है: दुर्योधन लोगों को manipulate करता है, जबकि कृष्ण उन्हें elevate करते हैं।
दुर्योधन बार-बार द्रोणाचार्य और भीष्म को उकसाता है। भीष्म एक समय के बाद इस बात से थक जाते हैं। संजय बताते हैं कि जब दुर्योधन बार-बार बोलता है, तो अचानक सबकुछ रुकता है — जैसे फुटबॉल में कोच बहुत बातें कर रहा हो और अचानक रेफरी सीटी बजाकर खेल शुरू कर देता है। भीष्म शंख बजाते हैं, और इसके साथ ही बाकी कौरव पक्ष भी शंख बजाता है।
अब दूसरी ओर, पांडव पक्ष की एंट्री होती है — और इसी समय भगवान श्रीकृष्ण की पहली बार गीता में उपस्थिति होती है (श्लोक 1.14)। यह दृश्य एक नाटकीय एंट्री जैसा है — जैसे किसी फ़िल्म में नायक की पहली झलक। लेकिन यहाँ कृष्ण नायक नहीं, नायक के सारथी के रूप में आते हैं।
सिर्फ एक ही सारथी का उल्लेख किया गया है — श्रीकृष्ण का। बाकी किसी सेनापति या सारथी का उल्लेख नहीं किया गया, क्योंकि कृष्ण की उपस्थिति ही इतनी महत्वपूर्ण है। दुर्योधन ने पहले कृष्ण का नाम तक नहीं लिया — क्योंकि उसकी दृष्टि में कृष्ण युद्ध नहीं कर रहे थे, तो उनका कोई महत्व नहीं था। लेकिन संजय जब वर्णन करता है, तो सबसे पहले कृष्ण का नाम लेता है। यह अंतर संजय और दुर्योधन की दृष्टि का है — एक में दिव्य दृष्टि है, दूसरे में भौतिक दृष्टि।
दुर्योधन पांडवों का वर्णन करते हुए पहले भीम का नाम लेता है, क्योंकि भीम से उसका व्यक्तिगत द्वेष था। कृष्ण, अर्जुन के रथ में बैठे थे, लेकिन दुर्योधन उन्हें अनदेखा करता है। संजय उन्हें सबसे पहले स्थान देता है — यह भागवत दृष्टि की महिमा है।
अब शंख बजाए जाते हैं — कौरव पक्ष भी और पांडव पक्ष भी। लेकिन पांडवों की शंखध्वनि इतनी ज़ोरदार होती है कि शत्रुओं के हृदय विदीर्ण हो जाते हैं (1.19)। “स घोषो धार्तराष्ट्राणां हृदयानि व्यदारयत्” — यह युद्ध का मनोवैज्ञानिक पक्ष दर्शाता है।
यह ऐसा है जैसे क्रिकेट में कोई टीम बड़े आत्मविश्वास से खेल रही हो, लेकिन अचानक एक विकेट गिर जाए — against the run of play — जैसे अपेक्षा के विपरीत कुछ घटित हो जाए।
गीता की शुरुआत में यह मनोवैज्ञानिक युद्ध स्पष्ट दिखता है:
पहले श्लोक में धृतराष्ट्र की असुरक्षा दिखाई गई है।
फिर दूसरे से ग्यारहवें श्लोक तक दुर्योधन की असुरक्षा दिखती है।
इसके बाद शंखध्वनि होती है — जिसमें पांडव पक्ष की ध्वनि प्रभावशाली होती है, कौरव पक्ष हतोत्साहित होता है।
फिर भी अर्जुन के भीतर संघर्ष पैदा होता है। और यहीं से गीता का असली संवाद शुरू होता है।
यह दिखाया गया है कि अर्जुन को किसी बाहरी भय से नहीं, बल्कि आंतरिक द्वंद्व से हिचकिचाहट होती है। जो भी भ्रम या शंका उसे आती है, वह गहरी और मानवीय है। इसलिए श्रीकृष्ण का मार्गदर्शन आवश्यक बनता है।
तो अब कृष्ण से अर्जुन क्या कहते हैं?
जब अर्जुन ने अपना धनुष उठाया, तो वह कृष्ण से कहते हैं — “हे कृष्ण! मैं देखना चाहता हूँ — कौन युद्ध करने आया है? मैं अपनी आँखों से देखना चाहता हूँ।”
यहाँ पर, श्लोक 21 से 24 तक की जो बातचीत है, उसमें eyes (आंखों) का कई बार उल्लेख आता है। अर्जुन बार-बार कहते हैं: “मैं देखना चाहता हूँ”, लगभग तीन बार। आगे भी दृष्टि और देखने का विषय आएगा। बाद में ‘skin’ (त्वचा) का भी उल्लेख होगा — इस पर चर्चा आगे होगी।
लेकिन यहाँ अर्जुन देखना क्या चाहते हैं?
ऐसा नहीं है कि जैसे क्रिकेट मैच में आख़िरी समय में टीम बदल गई हो और अब बल्लेबाज़ आ गया है — तो कोई कहे: “अरे, मुझे देखना है कि कौन-कौन टीम में है? कौन फील्डिंग में है? कौन बॉलिंग कर रहा है?” — युद्ध की तैयारी तो कई महीनों से चल रही थी, और यह भी तय था कि कौन-कौन कौरवों की ओर से लड़ रहा है। अर्जुन को सब पहले से मालूम था।
तो फिर अर्जुन युद्धभूमि के बीच में आकर देखना क्यों चाहते हैं?
इसका कारण है — अर्जुन के हृदय के एक कोने में अभी भी यह भाव था कि शायद युद्ध टल जाए।
पांडवों की ओर से युद्ध टालने के प्रयास पहले भी हुए थे। जब कृष्ण शांति दूत के रूप में गए थे, तब भीम ने कृष्ण से कहा था: “जहाँ तक हो सके, शांति से सुलझाने की कोशिश कीजिए।” तब कृष्ण हँसते हैं और कहते हैं: “अरे, अब जब युद्ध सामने आ गया है, तो तुम भी डर गए? पहले तो बड़े-बड़े शपथ लिए थे — कि उसे मार दूँगा, उसे जला दूँगा!” भीम जवाब देते हैं: “अगर युद्ध हुआ, तो मैं ज़रूर करूंगा… पर मैं युद्ध नहीं चाहता। यह हमारा ही कुल है।”
तो पांडव अंत तक युद्ध टालने का प्रयास कर रहे थे।
अर्जुन के मन में भी यही भाव था कि शायद युद्ध टल जाए — और यदि हो भी, तो इतना भीषण युद्ध न हो।
लेकिन जब अर्जुन रथ को दोनों सेनाओं के बीच में लाकर खड़ा करते हैं और सामने देखते हैं, तब एक कड़वा सत्य उनके मन में गहराई से उतरता है:
“बाप रे! यह तो बहुत भयानक होने वाला है!”
यह स्थिति वैसी है जैसे दो भाइयों के बीच संपत्ति को लेकर झगड़ा हो रहा हो। पिता का देहांत हो चुका हो और अब संपत्ति के बंटवारे को लेकर दोनों पक्ष कोर्ट में पहुँच गए हों। एक भाई धमकी देता है: “मैं कोर्ट में ले जाऊँगा।” लेकिन जब वह कोर्ट में देखता है कि सामने उसका ही भाई और परिवार के अन्य लोग उसके विरुद्ध बैठे हैं, और उसे घृणा से देख रहे हैं — तभी उसे एहसास होता है कि “अरे, यह सच में होने वाला है!”
उसी तरह अर्जुन के मन में बैठता है कि यह तो रक्त की नदी बहने वाली है — और वह भी अपने ही रिश्तेदारों के बीच।
इसे अंग्रेज़ी में कहा जाता है: “Fratricide” — यानी भाई-भाई एक-दूसरे को मार डालें।
अर्जुन योद्धा थे, उन्हें पता था युद्ध क्या होता है। लेकिन जब वे यह सब अपने सामने देखते हैं, तब उन्हें पहली बार यह पूरी गंभीरता से “Register” होता है — यह एक भयावह यथार्थ है।
यहीं से अर्जुन का मन डगमगाने लगता है।
वे कहते हैं: “कृपया रथ को यहाँ खड़ा करें।” और उसके बाद उनकी भावनाएं फूट पड़ती हैं। वे पूरी तरह से मानसिक और भावनात्मक उथल-पुथल में आ जाते हैं।
अब यहाँ पर प्रश्न उठता है — अर्जुन यह निर्णय क्यों नहीं ले पा रहे?
क्या यह करुणा थी? क्या यह आसक्ति थी? क्या यह मोह या वासना थी?
इन कारणों का विश्लेषण करने से अर्जुन का द्वंद्व पूरी तरह समझ में नहीं आता।
अगर हम इसे निर्णय लेने की समस्या के रूप में देखें — तो सवाल यह बनता है कि:
“अर्जुन के लिए यह निर्णय इतना कठिन क्यों था?”
क्योंकि जब हम किसी दुविधा में होते हैं, तो वह दुविधा कई प्रकार की हो सकती है।
1. Informational Confusion (जानकारी की दुविधा):
जहाँ हमें बस सही जानकारी नहीं होती — क्या करना है, कहाँ जाना है। इसका समाधान है: सही जानकारी मिल जाए।
2. Moral Confusion (नैतिक भ्रम):
जहाँ हमें पता नहीं होता कि क्या सही है और क्या गलत। इसमें मदद मिलती है मार्गदर्शन से — कोई हमें बताए कि क्या उचित है।
3. Ethical Conflict (नैतिक संघर्ष):
जहाँ दोनों विकल्पों में कुछ सही भी है और कुछ गलत भी।
अर्जुन की स्थिति यही थी।
उन्हें न तो जानकारी की कमी थी, न ही यह कि सही क्या है पता नहीं था। बल्कि दोनों ओर कुछ सही था, कुछ गलत था — और यह निर्णय करना कठिन था कि किसे चुना जाए।
इस तरह के नैतिक संघर्ष का समाधान सिर्फ ज्ञान या इच्छाशक्ति से नहीं होता — इसके लिए Insight (आंतरिक दृष्टि) चाहिए।
जैसे कोविड महामारी के समय कई देशों ने लॉकडाउन किया। एक ओर लोगों की जान बचाना ज़रूरी था, दूसरी ओर उनकी आजीविका भी महत्वपूर्ण थी। दोनों ही विकल्प ज़रूरी थे — लेकिन उनमें संतुलन बनाना कठिन था।
ऐसे समय में कोई साफ़ जवाब नहीं होता — निर्णय के लिए चाहिए: गहरी समझ, विवेक, और आत्मदृष्टि।
और यही अर्जुन को गीता में मिलने वाला था — श्रीकृष्ण के माध्यम से।
तो अर्जुन का जो अभी भ्रम था, वह एक गहरा नैतिक द्वंद्व (ethical confusion) था। हमारे जीवन में सबसे कठिन फैसले तब आते हैं जब हम नैतिक दुविधाओं में फँसते हैं।
नैतिक दुविधा का मतलब क्या होता है? यही कि — मेरे लिए कौन सी चीज़ ज़्यादा महत्वपूर्ण है? किसका अधिक मूल्य है?
मान लीजिए कोई व्यक्ति नौकरी कर रहा है। उसे किसी और जगह बेहतर नौकरी मिलती है, पर उसका परिवार वहाँ शिफ्ट नहीं हो सकता। तो अब क्या वह पैसे को ज़्यादा महत्व दे या परिवार के साथ रहने को? कभी-कभी निर्णय लेना बहुत कठिन हो जाता है कि क्या सही है और क्या नहीं।
अर्जुन की जो दुविधा थी, वह भी एक नैतिक दुविधा थी। एक तरफ था उनका क्षत्रिय धर्म — कि एक योद्धा को युद्ध करना ही चाहिए। दूसरी ओर था कुल धर्म — अपने परिवार और समाज के प्रति जिम्मेदारियाँ।
अब युद्ध किससे हो रहा है? अपने ही परिवार वालों से — अपने गुरु, अपने बंधु-बांधवों से।
इसे समझने के लिए एक उदाहरण लीजिए: मान लीजिए कोई पुलिसवाला है जो बहुत ईमानदार है और उसने कई खतरनाक अपराधियों को पकड़ा है। अब उसे आदेश मिलता है कि एक अपराधी इस इलाके में छिपा है — पकड़ो या ज़रूरत पड़े तो गोली मारो। वह वहाँ पहुँचता है, दौड़ के पकड़ने लगता है — तभी वह व्यक्ति गिर जाता है और जब वह उसका चेहरा देखता है, तो पता चलता है — वह उसका छोटा भाई है।
अब क्या करे? क्या पुलिस धर्म निभाकर गोली मार दे? या भाई धर्म निभाकर उसे बचाए?
यही अर्जुन की स्थिति है। वह जानते हैं कि क्षत्रिय धर्म है युद्ध करना। पर वह जिनसे युद्ध कर रहे हैं — वे उनके अपने ही हैं। इसलिए अर्जुन कहते हैं: “स्वजनं हि कथं हत्वा सुखिनः स्याम माधव?” (हम अपने ही स्वजनों को मारकर कैसे सुखी रह सकते हैं?)
यह कोई भोग की भावना नहीं है, यह एक धार्मिक भ्रम है।
फिर वह कहते हैं: कुल क्षय प्रणश्यन्ति कुल धर्मः सनातनाः (जब कुल नष्ट हो जाते हैं, तो उनके धर्म भी नष्ट हो जाते हैं।)
अर्जुन के तीन मुख्य चिंतन हैं — 1. व्यक्तिगत (Personal) 2. सामाजिक (Sociological) 3. वंशगत / भाविष्यगत (Genealogical)
1. व्यक्तिगत: उन्हें डर है कि युद्ध करने से पाप लगेगा और वे नरक में जाएँगे। यह डर मृत्यु का नहीं, बल्कि आध्यात्मिक पतन का है।
2. सामाजिक: यदि इतने सारे कुल नष्ट हो जाएँगे तो धर्म का पालन कौन करेगा? धार्मिक रीति-रिवाज़ों का पालन करने वाले, धर्म के मार्गदर्शक लोग समाप्त हो जाएँगे। इससे समाज में अराजकता (disruption) और विनाश (destruction) आ जाएगा।
3. वंशगत: वे कहते हैं कि वर्णसंकर (intermixture of varnas) उत्पन्न होगा। यदि नैतिक सीमाएँ न रहें, तो समाज दिशाहीन हो जाएगा।
जैसे एक यूरोपीय नेता ने कहा था: “Most of Europe and America is born in the back of a car over a bottle of beer.” (अर्थात् बहुत से बच्चे आकस्मिक संबंधों से पैदा होते हैं, बिना जिम्मेदारी के।)
अगर परिवार में कोई देखभाल करने वाला नहीं होगा, तो बच्चों को सही संस्कार नहीं मिलेंगे, और वे गलत मार्ग पर चले जाएँगे। आज अमेरिका जैसे देशों में बहुत से अपराधी, टूटी हुई या अव्यवस्थित (dysfunctional) परिवारों से आते हैं।
तो अर्जुन का डर यह नहीं है कि उन्हें मार दिया जाएगा, बल्कि यह है कि कहीं उनके कर्मों से उनका कुल, समाज और भविष्य की पीढ़ियाँ बर्बाद न हो जाएँ।
इसलिए कहा जा सकता है — Arjuna is far-sighted but not far-sighted enough. (अर्जुन दूर की सोच रखते हैं, पर उतनी दूर नहीं जितनी गीता उन्हें दिखाने वाली है।)
और यही दूसरे अध्याय में श्रीकृष्ण उन्हें समझाने वाले हैं।
अर्जुन की यह दुविधा एक महान नैतिक संघर्ष है — जहाँ वह कह रहे हैं — “मैं युद्ध नहीं करूंगा।” पर यह पलायन नहीं है, यह नैतिक उलझन का परिणाम है।
सारांश: आज हमने पाँच मुख्य बिंदुओं पर चर्चा की।
1. भगवद गीता की संरचना को कैसे समझें: किसी भी ग्रंथ का सार समझने के लिए उसकी शुरुआत, अंत और उनके बीच की repetition पर ध्यान देना चाहिए। जहाँ भी कोई बात अपूर्व रूप से दोहराई जाए, वहाँ यह समझना चाहिए कि उस पर विशेष ज़ोर दिया जा रहा है।
2. गीता की शुरुआत ‘धर्मक्षेत्रे कुरुक्षेत्रे’ से क्यों होती है: यह केवल एक भौगोलिक स्थान नहीं है, बल्कि एक धार्मिक युद्धभूमि है। गीता का मुख्य उद्देश्य इस धर्मक्षेत्र में क्या धर्म है — यह स्पष्ट करना है।
3. दुर्योधन का वर्णन क्यों विस्तृत रूप में हुआ है: क्योंकि दुर्योधन यह दर्शाता है कि कैसे कोई व्यक्ति दूसरों को manipulate कर सकता है, और इसके विपरीत कृष्ण यह दिखाते हैं कि कैसे सही तर्क और मार्गदर्शन से अर्जुन जैसे महान योद्धा को persuade किया जाता है। गीता में दोनों के दृष्टिकोणों की तुलना की गई है।
4. कृष्ण की सरल लेकिन प्रभावशाली एंट्री: जब संजय कृष्ण का वर्णन करते हैं, तो वह बहुत ही विनम्र ढंग से होता है — एक सारथी के रूप में। लेकिन जैसे-जैसे कथा आगे बढ़ती है, कृष्ण की भूमिका का वास्तविक महत्व उजागर होता है। पहले धृतराष्ट्र की असुरक्षा, फिर दुर्योधन की और अंत में कौरवों की demoralized स्थिति दिखती है। इसके बावजूद अर्जुन युद्ध से पीछे हटते हैं — जो पूरी expectation के विपरीत है।
5. अर्जुन का नैतिक द्वंद्व: अर्जुन के भीतर जो संघर्ष है, वह केवल डर या अज्ञान का नहीं, बल्कि ethical confusion का है। जब दोनों ओर सही बातें हों और दोनों ओर कुछ गलत भी हो — तब निर्णय लेना कठिन हो जाता है। क्षत्रिय धर्म कहता है कि युद्ध करो, लेकिन कुल धर्म कहता है कि अपनों का विनाश मत करो। अर्जुन सोचते हैं कि यदि उन्होंने कुल का नाश किया, तो उन्हें नरक भोगना पड़ेगा। समाज में धार्मिक परंपराएँ नष्ट हो जाएँगी। यह कुल कोई साधारण कुल नहीं है, बल्कि राजघराना है — जिसके नष्ट हो जाने से पूरे राज्य और समाज पर असर पड़ेगा।
इस प्रकार, पहले अध्याय में अर्जुन की दुविधा एक गहरी नैतिक चिंता के रूप में सामने आती है। लेकिन जैसे हम दूसरे अध्याय में प्रवेश करेंगे, वहाँ कृष्ण दिखाते हैं कि — “अर्जुन दूरदर्शी हैं, लेकिन पर्याप्त रूप से दूरदर्शी नहीं हैं।”इसी के साथ: श्रीमद् भगवद्गीता की जय! श्रील प्रभुपाद की जय! गौर भक्तवृंद की जय! तत् गौर प्रेमानंदे — हरि हरि बोल!
Devotee men from across North America will gather at ISKCON New Vrindaban, West Virginia, for the 8th annual MAN-tra Retreat, happening from Friday, September 19 to Sunday, September 21, 2025. Conceived in 2018 by Bhaktimarga Swami and Anuttama Dasa, the retreat aims to empower Krishna-conscious men to live with greater integrity, devotion, and purpose. The […]
For the second year in a row, ISKCON Gurugram organized a Rathayatra marathon, hosting 13 Rathyatras across the city over just 11 days, from June 26 to July 6. The celebrations, held in various housing societies, neighborhoods, and city sectors, provided devotees with a powerful opportunity to share Krishna Consciousness with thousands of residents. According […]
Today is Srila Lokanatha dasa Gosvami’s disappearance day. Some of his pastimes are described in Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila, Chapter 18:
TEXT 48
tabe rupa gosani saba nija-gana lana eka-masa darasana kaila mathuraya rahiya
TRANSLATION
Srila Rupa Gosvami and his associates stayed in Mathura for one month and saw the Gopala Deity.
TEXT 49
sange gopala-bhatta, dasa-raghunatha raghunatha-bhatta-gosani, ara lokanatha
TRANSLATION
When Rupa Gosvami stayed at Mathura, he was accompanied by Gopala Bhatta Gosvami, Raghunatha dasa Gosvami, Raghunatha Bhatta Gosvami and Lokanatha dasa Gosvami.
PURPORT
Sri Lokanatha Gosvami was a personal associate of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and a great devotee of the Lord. He was a resident of a village named Talakhadi in the district of Yasohara (Jessore), in Bengal. Previously he lived in Kancadapada. His father’s name was Padmanabha, and his only sibling was a younger brother named Pragalbha. Following the orders of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Sri Lokanatha went to Vrndavana to live. He established a temple named Gokulananda. Srila Narottama dasa Thakura selected Lokanatha dasa Gosvami to be his spiritual master, and Narottama dasa Thakura was his only disciple. Because Lokanatha dasa Gosvami did not want his name mentioned in the Caitanya-caritamrta, we do not often see it in this celebrated book. On the E.B.R. Railroad, the Yasohara station is located in Bangladesh. From the railway station one has to go by bus to the village of Sonakhali and from there to Khejura. From there one has to walk or, during the rainy season, go by boat to the village of Talakhadi. In this village there are still descendants of Lokanatha Gosvami’s younger brother.
COMMENT
The purport to text 52 states, “In the Bhakti-ratnakara (Sixth Wave), there is a list of many of the chief devotees who accompanied Srila Rupa Gosvami. . . . ‘The following Vaisnavas were present with Srila Rupa Gosvami: the merciful Gopala Bhatta Gosvami; Bhugarbha Gosvami; Sri Lokanatha dasa Gosvami, a reservoir of good qualities . . .’ ”
Discussing the song Sri-guru-vandana by Srila Narottama dasa Thakura, Srila Prabhupada commented, “Lokanatha lokera jivana. Narottama dasa Thakura’s guru’s name was Lokanatha Gosvami. You have seen, those who have gone to Vrindavan, there is Lokanatha Gosvami’s tomb.” And he took his disciples to Lokanatha Gosvami’s samadhi on parikrama.
According to SriGaura-ganoddesa-dipika (187), Lokanatha Gosvami was Lila-manjari in Krishna lila.
On this auspicious occasion, we pray to Lokanatha Gosvami with the words of his disciple, Narottama dasa Thakura:
sri-guru karuna-sindhu, adhama janara bandhu, lokanath lokera jivana ha ha prabhu koro doya, deho more pada-chaya, ebe jasa ghusuk tribhuvana
“O spiritual master, ocean of mercy and friend of the fallen souls, you are the teacher of everyone and the life of all people. O master! Be merciful unto me and give me the shade of your lotus feet. May your glories now be proclaimed throughout the three worlds.”
And:
ha ha prabhu lokanatha, rakha pada-dvandve kripa-drishthye chaha yadi haiya anande
tumi na karile daya ke karibe ara manera vasana purna kara ei bara
ei tini samsare mora ara keho nai kripa kari nija pada-tale deha thani
sri radha-krsna-lila-guna gana ratri dine narottama vancha purna nahe tuwa vine
“O Lokanatha, O Gurudeva! If you are pleased with me, please keep me in the shelter of your lotus feet and cast your merciful glance upon me. By your mercy I can find the perfection of inner fulfillment. And by your mercy I can someday meet Sri Chaitanya and Radha-Krishna. If you are not merciful to me, then what shall I do? Please, just once, fulfill my heart’s desire. In the three worlds of birth and death no one is more in need of your mercy. Please give me your mercy and give me a place at your lotus feet. Day and night I sing the qualities and pastimes of Radha and Krishna. Still, the inner aspirations of Narottama for the service of Sri Sri Radha-Govinda and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu can be realized only through your grace, O Lokanatha Gosvami Prabhu.”
“I worship Sri Lokanatha Prabhu, the son of Sri Padmanabha, who possessed a great wealth of devotion to Sri Sri Radha-Vinoda and always engaged in Their service.”
Mayapur, Mumbai-Juhu, and Los Angeles were the top three large temples. Pune Camp, London-Soho and Bharuch were the top three medium temples. Atlanta Krishna Life, Swansea and Surat were the top small temples and Baltimore, Winnipeg and Kishinev were the top maha-small temples this month. Over 434,000 literatures were distributed this month.
Continue reading "WSN May 2025 – World Sankirtan Newsletter → Dandavats"
A beautiful and heartfelt yajna ceremony was held to honor a significant moment in the journey of the Avanti Schools Trust. The ceremony was conducted to express deep gratitude to Nitesh Gor OBE (Navina Krsna das), the Founding CEO, and to warmly welcome Dr James Biddulph MBE as the new CEO of the Trust. The […]
A personal associate of Lord Gauranga, fully absorbed in pure love, Shri Lokanatha Goswami was the eldest of the Goswamis living in Vraja-bhumi. He shunned name and fame so much that he asked Krishna Dasa Kaviraja to keep his name out of Chaitanya-charitamrta.
Once Shri Krishna Himself appeared and gave Lokanatha a Deity of Radha-Vinoda. Lokanatha Goswami carried his Deity all over Vraja in a cloth bag hung around his neck.
Although first rejecting, Lokanatha Goswami finally accepted Narottama Dasa for initiation as his only disciple. He appreciated his genuine humility and determination to serve. Every night for one year Narottama Dasa secretly served his guru by carefully cleaning the field where Lokanatha Goswami passed stool.
Lokanatha Goswami’s original Deities of Radha-Vinoda are now worshiped in Jaipur, Rajasthan. A prati-bhu murti (expanded form of the original Deity) of Radha-Vinoda adorns the altar at the Radha-Gokulananda Temple in Vrindavana. The samadhi of Lokanatha Goswami is the largest one in the Temple courtyard. He serves Shrimati Radharani as Manjuali-manjari in nitya Vrindavana lila.
srimad radha vinodaika, seva sampat samanvitam padmanabh atma jam srimal, lokanatha prabhu bhaje
“I worship the lotus feet of Shri Lokanatha Goswami Prabhu, the son of Shri Padmanabha. He is a storehouse of single-minded service to the lotus feet of Radha-Vinode.” (Narottama Dasa Thakura)
This year’s Hare Krsna Festival at the National Mall was another amazing event. Literally thousands of people from all walks of life, all ethnic backgrounds, and age groups couldn’t help but hear this chanting of the Hare Krsna Maha Mantra. As a direct result, so many people were feeling genuine spiritual ecstasy by Nama Prabhus’ […]
Today, I’ve lost a father figure, mentor, and one of the gentlest, most spiritually grounded souls I’ve ever known. Vrindavana Candra Prabhu guided me on the path of Krishna consciousness for over 26 years. Even before I was married, I saw him daily at Mangal Arati—he’d open the temple door for me with a smile […]
The ISKCON Law Department held its first Law Conference in the Asia Pacific region. The Conference, held in Sydney, Australia, brought together a diverse audience of more than 25 devotee attorneys, those in the provision of legal services, law students, temple leaders, National Council members, and SABHA members from eight jurisdictions. Their shared mission was […]
Concluding Statement from the Executive Committee of the Governing Body Commission Regarding Trivikrama Dasa 16 July 2025 Dear ISKCON Devotees, Please accept our humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. Following the 24 June 2025 resolution by the Guru Services Committee and the Sannyasa Standing Committee regarding Trivikrama Swami’s removal from the positions of sannyasi […]
16 July 2025 Dear ISKCON Devotees, Please accept our humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. Following the 24 June 2025 resolution by the Guru Services Committee and the Sannyasa Standing Committee regarding Trivikrama Swami’s removal from the positions of sannyasi and initiating guru in ISKCON, and the 27 June follow-up statement by the GBC Read More...
On August 14, 2025, ISKCON devotees worldwide will observe the 81st appearance day of His Holiness Gopal Krishna Goswami, our dedicated Prabhupada man, and benefactor of all. His legacy of service and devotion to Srila Prabhupada over his glorious lifetime will never be forgotten, and will remain an enduring example for generations of devotees to come.
We at the TOVP owe him a great debt of gratitude for his service and support of the project since its inception in 2009. He was keen on attending all the major milestone events over the years, and constantly encouraged his disciples to financially contribute to the construction, as he did himself personally. His name will live on as one of the TOVP’s greatest pillars of support.
In his honor, we have inaugurated the Gopal Krishna Goswami Bhakti Ratna Seva Campaign. Bhakti Ratna means ‘Jewel of Devotion’, and is a fitting acronym for Maharaja. Three large medallions (gold, silver and bronze) with his image have been produced for sponsorship, and the proceeds will fulfill his wish to help complete the TOVP, a direct instruction to him from Srila Prabhupada.
Take this opportunity on Gopal Krishna Goswami’s 81st appearance day to both further honor Maharaja in your life and also give to the TOVP so this historic project, the greatest gift to the world from Srila Prabhupada, can be completed.
Note: All medallions will be shipped to donors in the U.S. and Canada. Other donors may pick up their medallion at the TOVP office in Mayapur, or contact tovpinfo@gmail.com if they are unable to do so.
On June 29, 2025, honoring the divine journey of Lord Jagannath, ISKCON Phoenix joyfully celebrated our Rathayatra festival, aligning the celebration with the same auspicious day as the Rathayatra in Puri, India. While our main Rathayatra celebration typically takes place in February due to the milder weather in Arizona, this year we planned a modest […]
Today I thought to read a verse and purport about Srila Gopala Bhatta Gosvami from Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila, Chapter Ten, “The Branches of the Caitanya Tree”:
TEXT 105
sri gopala bhatta eka sakha sarvottama rupa-sanatana-sange yanra prema-alapana
TRANSLATION
Sri Gopala Bhatta Gosvami, the forty-seventh branch, was one of the great and exalted branches of the tree. He always engaged in discourses about love of Godhead in the company of Rupa Gosvami and Sanatana Gosvami.
PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada
Sri Gopala Bhatta Gosvami was the son of Venkata Bhatta, a resident of Sri Rangam. Gopala Bhatta formerly belonged to the disciplic succession of the Ramanuja-sampradaya but later became part of the Gaudiya-sampradaya. In the year 1433 Sakabda (A.D. 1511), when Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu was touring South India, He stayed for four months during the period of Caturmasya at the house of Venkata Bhatta, who then got the opportunity to serve the Lord to his heart’s content. Gopala Bhatta also got the opportunity to serve the Lord at this time. Sri Gopala Bhatta Gosvami was later initiated by his uncle, the great sannyasi Prabodhananda Sarasvati. Both the father and the mother of Gopala Bhatta Gosvami were extremely fortunate, for they dedicated their entire lives to the service of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. They allowed Gopala Bhatta Gosvami to go to Vrndavana, and they gave up their lives thinking of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. When Lord Caitanya was later informed that Gopala Bhatta Gosvami had gone to Vrndavana and met Sri Rupa and Sanatana Gosvami, He was very pleased, and He advised Sri Rupa and Sanatana to accept Gopala Bhatta Gosvami as their younger brother and take care of him. Sri Sanatana Gosvami, out of his great affection for Gopala Bhatta Gosvami, compiled the Vaisnava smrti named Hari-bhakti-vilasa and published it under his name. Under the instruction of Srila Rupa and Sanatana, Gopala Bhatta Gosvami installed one of the seven principal Deities of Vrndavana, the Radharamana Deity. The sevaits (priests) of the Radharamana temple belong to the Gaudiya-sampradaya.
COMMENT
Actually, one of the families entrusted with the Deity service at the Radha-ramana Mandir has a history of relations with the line of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura and Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati. Visvambhara Gosvami’s father or grandfather had relations with Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, the family maintained relations with Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, and then Visvambhara Gosvami had very friendly relations with Srila Prabhupada. And he spoke very nicely about Srila Prabhupada. Now Visvambhara Gosvami’s son Padmanabha Gosvami is also very favorable to ISKCON. In fact, ISKCON devotees often honor prasada at his home at the Radha-ramana Mandir. When I took prasada there with His Holiness Tamal Krishna Goswami, Padmanabha Gosvami showed us a letter that Srila Prabhupada had written to his father, Visvambhara Gosvami, about how all Vaishnavas should cooperate. So, not only does the Radha-ramana temple belong to the Gaudiya-sampradaya, but at least some of the sevaits have had close relations with the line of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura.
PURPORT (concluded)
When Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami took permission from all the Vaisnavas before writing Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Gopala Bhatta Gosvami also gave him his blessings, but he requested him not to mention his name in the book. Therefore Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami has mentioned Gopala Bhatta Gosvami only very cautiously in one or two passages of the Caitanya-caritamrta. Srila Jiva Gosvami has written in the beginning of his Tattva-sandarbha, “A devotee from southern India who was born of a brahmana family and was a very intimate friend of Rupa Gosvami and Sanatana Gosvami has written a book that he has not compiled chronologically. Therefore I, a tiny living entity known as jiva, am trying to assort the events of the book chronologically, consulting the direction of great personalities like Madhvacarya, Sridhara Svami, Ramanujacarya, and other senior Vaisnavas in the disciplic succession.” In the beginning of the Bhagavat-sandarbha there are similar statements by Srila Jiva Gosvami. Srila Gopala Bhatta Gosvami compiled a book called Sat-kriya-sara-dipika, edited the Hari-bhakti-vilasa, wrote a foreword to the Sat-sandarbha and a commentary on the Krsna-karnamrta, and installed the Radharamana Deity in Vrndavana. In the Gaura-ganoddesa-dipika (184) it is mentioned that his previous name in the pastimes of Lord Krsna was Ananga-manjari. Sometimes he is also said to have been an incarnation of Guna-manjari. Srinivasa Acarya and Gopinatha Pujari were two of his disciples.
COMMENT
Srila Gopala Bhatta Gosvami ki jaya!
One story about Gopala Bhatta Gosvami is that on the eve of Nrsimha-caturdasi all the other Gosvamis and Vaishnavas in Vrindavan were preparing to worship their Deities and hold festivals. Gopala Bhatta Gosvami had only a salagrama-sila; he didn’t have a Deity with arms and legs and a body that he could dress and decorate. So he was feeling deprived of the opportunity to serve like the other devotees{,} who had Deities they could serve in these ways. And out of Gopala Bhatta Gosvami’s strong desire, a salagrama-sila became manifest in the form of Radha-ramana. Radha-ramana is considered the most beautiful Deity of Krishna. He is the one original Deity of the Gosvamis that has remained in Vrindavan, while the others had to be taken elsewhere to protect Them from the Muslim invaders. And near the temple of Radha-ramana in Vrindavan is the samadhi of Sri Gopala Bhatta Gosvami.
Gopala Bhatta Gosvami’s uncle and siksa-guru was Prabodhananda Sarasvati. His samadhi is also located in Vrindavan, just off the parikrama path near Kaliya-ghata, quite near our Krishna-Balaram Mandir. So, often when we go on parikrama down the path near the Yamuna, we visit Prabodhananda Sarasvati’s samadhi and bhajana-kutira, and then we proceed to Srila Sanatana Gosvami’s samadhi. Srila Sanatana Gosvami was the most senior of the Gosvamis and was also a close associate and instructor of Gopala Bhatta Gosvami. In fact, Gopala Bhatta Gosvami worked with Sanatana Gosvami to produce the great treatise Hari-bhakti-vilasa.
I feel that Gopala Bhatta Gosvami has been especially merciful to me on two occasions. On one, I visited his bhajana-kutira at Sanketa, a place between Nandagrama and Varsana where Radha and Krishna used to meet and sometimes perform rasa-lila. Gopala Bhatta would sit and chant underground in a deep cavern accessible only through a long, narrow passage. At the end of the passage was a somewhat roomier place where Gopala Bhatta used to chant, now marked as his bhajana-sthala. I went there with Tamal Krishna Goswami and others on a very hot day and struggled to crawl through the passage to the bhajana-sthala. It was difficult, but when I finally reached there, Gopala Bhatta Gosvami was very merciful: he allowed me to chant with a glimpse of taste. And after all the devotees emerged from the cavern, I stole back in. I crawled back to Gopala Bhatta’s lotus feet, and I sat there chanting. I will never forget his mercy to me there, and I pray that he will enable me to chant with relish and love.
On the other occasion, during Kartik of 1999, shortly before my surgery, I visited Gopala Bhatta’s samadhi near the Radha-ramana Mandir. We arrived just after raja-bhoga-arati, and the pujari was closing the doors to the samadhi-mandira. But he was kind enough to open them for us and allow us darshan of Gopala Bhatta Gosvami. He gave us some flowers and caranamrta and invited us to stay for prasada. Thus our small party, along with some local sadhus, honored Gopala Bhatta’s maha-maha-prasadam with great relish, and we even stayed to take a little rest before we continued on our way, filled with bliss. So, Gopala Bhatta Gosvami is very kind.
Years later, when some of my disciples from Bombay went to Vrindavan on pilgrimage, they visited the samadhi. They told the pujaris about me, how my health no longer allowed me to visit Vraja, and asked for some prasada for me. And one of the pujaris kindly gave them a piece of cloth from the samadhi. It is very special. Now, twice a year, once on Gopala Bhatta Gosvami’s appearance day and once on his disappearance day, we bring it out and touch it. So, now we shall pass it around and touch it to our heads and to our hearts—and pray to Gopala Bhatta Gosvami for his sublime mercy.
Thank you.
Hare Krishna.
[A talk by Giriraj Swami on July 31, 2002, Carpinteria, California]
July 14, 2025 Official Statement Regarding Incident at ISKCON Toronto Rathayatra Parade By ISKCON Communications North America On Saturday, July 12th, during the annual Rathayatra parade organized by ISKCON Toronto, multiple eggs were thrown from a residential balcony onto the public street where thousands of parade-goers had gathered. One egg struck a female participant on […]
The streets of Accra come alive with ecstatic kirtan and dancing during the Rathayatra. Each year, the streets of Accra come alive with vibrant kirtan, smiling devotees, and the majestic presence of Lord Jagannatha on His chariot. What began two decades ago as a humble extension of Ghana’s Food for Life initiative has now become […]
Sri Gopala Bhatta Goswami (the son of a Vyenkata Bhatta, a Sri Vaishnava brahmana) appeared in Sri Rangam, South India. Lord Chaitanya once stayed four months in his home, and converted the family to Gaudiya Vaishnavism.
A mere boy at this time, Gopala personally served the Lord. Sri Chaitanya treated him affectionately giving His remnants and blessings to become an acharya.
During His four month stay, Lord Chaitanya developed a close friendship with Vyenkata Bhatta, which Krishna Dasa Kaviraja describes as “sakhya rasa.”
After receiving initiation from Sri Prabodhananda Saraswati, Gopala Bhatta came to Vrindavana and became a dear friend of Sri Rupa and Sanatana Goswamis. He did bhajana in Vrindavana for forty-five years, mostly at Radha-Kunda.
On pilgrimage he obtained twelve Shalagrama shilas. Later the Damodara shila manifested Himself as the beautiful Radha Ramana Deity. Since 1542, Radha Ramana has been worshiped with pure devotion following precise sastric rituals.
Lord Chaitanya ordered Gopala Bhatta to write a book to check the spread of pseudo-loving rasas and negligence to vaidhi bhakti. In corroboration with Sri Sanatana Goswami he compiled the Hari-bhakti-vilasa, the authorised book explaining the ritual and devotional practices of the Gaudiya Vaishnava sampradaya. He also wrote Sat-kriya-dipika and the outline for Sri Jiva Goswami’s Sat Sandarbhas.
He eternally serves Srimati Radharani as one of Her asta manjaris, Guna-manjari. His samadhi is within Radha Ramana’s temple compound behind the appearance place of the Deity.
The twenty-seventh week of 2025, I lived at ISKCON Paris in Sarcelles, eighteen minutes by train north of Paris itself. The sankirtana devotees were finishing their summer book distribution marathon on July 5, and I would join them for the last few days and chant Hare Krishna for three hours each afternoon, usually from 3 to 6 p.m., except Thursday when we chanted from 5 to 8 p.m. with a group of devotees who do harinama after work. Yashomatinandana Prabhu came out every day. Premamoya Narottama Prabhu, a Bangladeshi student who teaches mrdanga, came out frequently. On Sunday the sankirtana devotees did a home program instead of going out, and I attended a two-hour park kirtan program in Luxembourg with Radhadesh devotees, invited by Yadurani Devi Dasi.
Monday was frustrating as I was tired from my seven-hour journey from Radhadesh, and only Yashomatinandana Prabhu joined me from the temple. The police stopped us twice and two vendors made us relocate. We still chanted for two and a half hours somehow or other. Tuesday was much better.
I share quotes from Srila Prabhupada’s Srimad-Bhagavatam and from his Bhagavatam lectures. I share notes on classes by Aksayananda, Rasa Parayana, Dayal Nitai, and Yashomatinandana Prabhus.
Thanks to Yadurani Devi Dasi for the opportunity to participate in the Luxembourg park kirtan and for assistance with my stay there. Thanks to Sanjeev of Luxembourg for the Ekadasi lunch and the place to rest. Thanks to Shruti for the Ekadasi dinner. Thanks to Gopinath Prabhu of Radhadesh for letting me stay in the ashram there and for the ride there from Luxembourg and the ride to the train station the next morning.
Itinerary
June 19–August 19: Paris – August 5–9: Balarama Festival, New Mayapur August 20: London harinama August 21–22: Liverpool harinamas August 23: Liverpool Ratha-yatra August 24: Manchester harinama August 25: London harinama and flight to New York
On Tuesday, we did a walking harinama beginning in a new place for me, Luxembourg Garden in Paris. The walking harinama idea was inspired by the fact the police stopped us in two different locations the previous day. Whenwe are walking and chanting, people do not complain, and thus the police do not stop us.
We chanted at the entrance to Luxembourg Garden for about half an hour, and then we walked through the city, passing Saint-Michel and Notre Dame, to Les Halles. While we were chanting there a woman was very happy to take a video of us. It turned out she had a cousin who was living in our New Vrindaban temple in West Virginia.
Insights
Srila Prabhupada:
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.8.17, purport:
“The human being is so limited in his capacity that without the help of the Supreme he can hardly understand the mystery of the creation, continuance and destruction of the cosmos by the will of the Lord.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.8.18, purport:
“The most intelligent man is he who tries to find the cause of his personal existence and that of the whole cosmic creation and thus tries to find the ultimate cause. If his attempt is properly executed with penances and perseverance, it is sure to be crowned with success.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.8.19, purport:
“By dint of one’s personal endeavor one may go nearer to the Lord, but without the Lord's mercy one cannot reach the ultimate point. Such understanding of the Lord is possible only by devotional service.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.8.21, purport:
“Samadhi involves concentrating the mind upon the supreme cause of all, even if one is unaware of whether His actual nature is personal, impersonal or localized. Concentration of the mind on the Supreme is certainly a form of devotional service. To cease from personal sense endeavors and to concentrate on the supreme cause is a sign of self-surrender, and when self-surrender is present, that is a sure sign of devotional service. Each and every living entity needs to engage in devotional service to the Lord if he wishes to understand the ultimate cause of his existence.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.8.24, purport:
“Nature’s panoramic beauty, which strikes one with wonder, may be taken as a perverted reflection of the transcendental body of the Lord. One who is therefore attracted by the beauty of the Lord is no longer attracted by the beauty of material nature, although he does not minimize its beauty. In the Bhagavad-gīta (2.59) it is explained that one who is attracted by param, the Supreme, is no longer attracted by anything inferior.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.24.15, purport:
“A disciple should always meditate on the order of the spiritual master, and that is perfectional meditation.”
From lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.9.43 in Calcutta on March 23, 1976:
“Without serving Vaiṣṇava, nobody can be delivered, because he is so merciful, he can demand to Krishna, ‘Please, on my sake please excuse him. I’ll take him with me.’ So Krishna grants him, ‘All right, you take them.’”
From a lecture on Śrīmad-Bhagavatam 1.2.5 in Sydney, Australia, on April 3, 1972:
“God is also an individual person as you are individual person, I am individual person, but the difference between God and you and me is this, that you know your business, I know my business, but God knows everyone’s business. That is the difference.”
From a lecture on Śrīmad-Bhagavatam 6.1.1–4, Melbourne, Australia on May 20, 1975:
“In the spiritual world service is always voluntary, some devotees desire to serve Kṛṣṇa as flower; they become flower voluntary, and can change from flower to unlimited forms in the spiritual world including human form if the devotee desires, that is spiritual life, it is always voluntary with no restrictions. If a devotee wants to serve Kṛṣṇa as cow, he serves Kṛṣṇa as cow, as calf, as flower, as plant, as water, as ground, field, or as father, as mother, as friend, as beloved, anything. It is inconceivable, yet a fact.”
Aksayananda Prabhu:
The stories in the Srimad-Bhagavatam are meant to develop a natural attraction for the Supreme Lord.
Once who cannot control his senses cannot comment on Srimad-Bhagavatam.
Srimad-Bhagavatam contains all the other scriptures like Ramayana, Mahabharata, and the Vedanta-sutra.
Although Hariscandra was an exceptional person, he still fell into maya.
We lie when we have a desire that is not authorized.
If we cannot control our senses, we change the sastra. There is a lower planet for those who change the sastra.
It is the tendency in Kali-yuga to act for sense gratification.
Krishna advises in Bhagavad-gita to control the senses.
Laws do not stop the problems arising from interactions between people, but sense control can solve such problems.
If we can control our senses, we can think beyond ourselves.
In Bhagavad-gita Krishna gives rules, but Srimad-Bhagavatam gives stories that can inspire one to control his senses.
Nistha is the stage of bhakti where events cannot disturb our devotion.
By reading Srimad-Bhagavatam, bhava gradually develops.
Ultimately, as we develop spiritually, what we see reminds us of stories from the Bhagavatam.
On Vyasa-puja day, we should consider what we have done throughout the year to please our guru.
Rasa Parayana Prabhu:
Although Ramananda Raya was not a brahmana, Lord Caitanya engaged him in revealing the topmost limit of love of God.
How to associate with devotees is an important lesson in Sri Caitanya-caritamrita.
In Bhagavad-gita, we learn Krishna’s message. In Srimad-Bhagavatam, we see how Krishna and His devotees behave in different situations. Sri Caitanya-caritamrita we learn how to associate with devotees.
If we do not learn how to live in the association of devotees, we will not be able to live in Goloka Vrindavana.
People will not remember your achievements but how you behaved with them.
It is said that each of the followers of Lord Caitanya has the ability to deliver the universe so how nicely we should treat them!
If we cannot figure out how to have a positive relationship with a devotee, at least we should figure out how to not have a negative relationship with the devotee.
Gopal Krishna Goswami created 17 temples in Delhi alone and widely expanded Krishna consciousness in India. He was asked about the reasons for his success. He said he had only two: (1) a strong morning program and (2) avoiding Vaishnava aparadha.
Dayal Nitai Prabhu:
Gandhari is an example of a wife attaining perfection by following her husband.
It is not by escaping from responsibility we can advance in spiritual life.
Krishna showed by His own example that the duty of the brahmacari is to serve the spiritual master.
Janananda Goswami advised us not do sell incense or paintings in Lyon to supplement our income from book distribution. He said that was not good for brahmacaris. You fall down from the brahmana platform to come down to the vaisya platform, and it is not good for your spiritual life, as many examples in our movement in the past attest to.
Comments by me:
Saubhari Muni, although originally renouncing the world as a yogi, showed he was aware of varnasrama. He realized that if he could not be a brahmacari, he should get married, and he understood that the final duty of the grhastha is to renounce thatashramand move on to the vanaprastha ashram.
The practicality of grhasthas maintaining themselves by book distribution was mentioned. I have two stories about that:
One summer I met a devotee in Ireland, who decided when he got married that he should get a job to maintain himself. He got a job and found that he had no time to visit the temple, associate with devotees, or read Prabhupada’s books. He just had enough time to chant his rounds. He decided that was not such a nice life, so he decided to try to maintain his family by book distribution, his former service as a brahmacari. Then he found he had time to go to the temple, associate with devotees, and read Prabhupada’s books as well as to chant his rounds, and he had just enough money to live. He considered that to be an improvement in his life. During Karttika, I met that devotee in Vrindavan, with his wife and kid. I was surprised that by book distribution that he made enough money to bring his whole family to Vrindavan. He said that his temple president needed someone to do shopping for the deities, so he sent him to do that service.
Hare Krishna Dasa from Italy lived near a city of 5,000 people. He had a map of the city on his wall, and for years every day he would do book distribution in a certain region of the city from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. to maintain himself as a grhastha. When he had visited every region in the city, we would start over again. Many people would greet him on the street because they knew him from his visits.
Yasomatinandana Prabhu:
The Caitanya tree is a growing organism that we are part of.
People are attracted by the simplicity of the Hare Krishna mantra.
Although so many mantras are there, Srila Prabhupada gave us the Pancatattva mantra and the Hare Krishna mantra.
Is my desire to go back to Krishna so strong that I am willing to purify my mind so I can actually go there?
There will always be distractions, but we have to keep focusing our minds on Krishna.
By performing devotional service, we become situated in the mode of goodness, and we can be steady and relish our practice.
Srila Prabhupada has assured us that if we maintain our practice to the end of life, we can go back to Godhead.
From a class on Srimad-Bhagavatam 9.7.2 in Paris on July 8, 2025:
The lists of kings in the Bhagavatam is valuable because Krishna explains that the knowledge of yoga is received by the saintly kings.
Comments by me:
Krishna makes the point that initially one may not have a real desire to attain Him but that by devotional practice that desire will come: “My dear Arjuna, O winner of wealth, if you cannot fix your mind upon Me without deviation, then follow the regulative principles of bhakti-yoga. In this way develop a desire to attain Me.”
To attain Krishna’s abode, we do not have to actually be poor, but we do have to be free from desires for material gain.
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There is a popular sticker that you see all over Brussels, like at this Flixbus stop.
It is in French, and because I am studying French, it was attractive to me: “J’existe”. It is philosophical but reveals a lack of complete knowledge. It means “I exist.” That is Krishna’s first point in the Gita:
na jayate mriyate va kadacin
nayam bhutva bhavita va na bhuyah ajo nityah sasvato ’yam purano na hanyate hanyamane sarire
“For the soul there is neither birth nor death at any time. He has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain.” (Bhagavad-gita 2.20)
I have never come into being, or in other words, “I exist” eternally. The rest of the Gita tells how to attain the best venue for our eternal existence. This venue is described briefly in the Gita, in verses such as this:
avyakto ’ksara ity uktas
tam ahuh paramam gatim yam prapya na nivartante tad dhama paramam mama
“That which the Vedantists describe as unmanifest and infallible, that which is known as the supreme destination, that place from which, having attained it, one never returns—that is My supreme abode.” (Bhagavad-gita 8.21)
In Brahma-samhita it is described more elaborately: “I worship that transcendental seat, known as Svetadvipa where as loving consorts the Laksmis in their unalloyed spiritual essence practice the amorous service of the Supreme Lord Krishna as their only lover; where every tree is a transcendental purpose tree; where the soil is the purpose gem, all water is nectar, every word is a song, every gait is a dance, the flute is the favorite attendant, effulgence is full of transcendental bliss and the supreme spiritual entities are all enjoyable and tasty, where numberless milk cows always emit transcendental oceans of milk; where there is eternal existence of transcendental time, who is ever present and without past or future and hence is not subject to the quality of passing away even for the space of half a moment. That realm is known as Goloka only to a very few self-realized souls in this world.” (Brahma-samhita 5.56)
How the abode is attained is described in the Gita in verses like this:
bhaktya mam abhijanati yavan yaa casmi tattvatah tato mam tattvato jñatva visate tad-anantaram
“One can understand Me as I am, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, only by devotional service. And when one is in full consciousness of Me by such devotion, he can enter into the kingdom of God.” (Bhagavad-gita 18.55)
We wish everybody all success in their devotional service.
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Guru Purnima is observed on the full moon day in the month of Ashadha in honour of the sage Vyasadeva by worshipping him for His blessings. Formerly on this day, gurus who were the traditional teachers, were honoured by their pupils.
“When the second millennium (‘Dwarpa Yuga’) overlapped the third (‘Treta Yuga’), the great sage Srila Vyasadeva was born to Parasara Muni in the womb of Satyati, the daughter of Vasu (the fisherman).” (Srimad Bhagavatam 1:4:14.).
In Srila Vyasa’s childhood he was called Krsna, because of his dark complexion, and because he was born on an island at the confluence of the Sati and Mati Rivers he was called Dwaipayana. After dividing the Vedas he got the name Veda Vyasa.
“The great sage, Srila Vyasa who was fully equipped with knowledge, could see through his transcendental vision the deterioration of everything material, due to the influence of the age.”
“He saw that the sacrifices mentioned in the Vedas were means by which people’s occupations could be purified, and to simplify the process, he divided the one Veda into four, in order to expand them among men. The four divisions of the original sources of knowledge (the Vedas) were made separately, but historical facts and authentic stories mentioned in the Puranas are called the fifth Veda.” (Srimad Bhagavatam 1:4:17-20.).
Today is Guru-purnima. Srila Prabhupada has explained that the system of honoring the spiritual master is current in all sections of Vedic followers. In the Mayavadi (impersonalist) sects, the disciples offer respect to the spiritual master once a year, on Guru-purnima. And in the Gaudiya Vaishnava sampradaya, the disciples offer homage annually on the appearance day of the spiritual master, called Vyasa-puja because the spiritual master represents Vedavyasa, the empowered incarnation of Krishna who compiled the Vedic literatures, and the bona fide spiritual master presents the same knowledge through disciplic succession. Although Guru-purnima is generally observed by the Mayavadi groups, we shall take the opportunity to discuss the principle of guru—and glorify the acharya-sampradaya.
Guru is a deep subject. We sing, vande ’ham sri-guroh sri-yuta-pada-kamalam sri-gurun vaisnavams ca. We offer respects to the spiritual master singular, to the spiritual masters plural, and to all Vaishnavas. The singular spiritual master is our personal spiritual master, the plural spiritual masters are the predecessor acharyas, and the Vaishnavas are the followers of the spiritual master. We offer respects to them all, because they all come in the same line, the disciplic succession, parampara, from Krishna Himself.
Srila Prabhupada explains, “The offering of respect to the spiritual master means offering respect to all the previous acharyas. Gurun means plural number. All the acharyas, they are not different from one another, because they are coming in the disciplic succession from the original spiritual master and they have no different views.” Thus we offer respects to the predecessors.
Similarly, we offer respects to the followers. Srila Prabhupada explains further, “Spiritual master means they must have many followers, who are all Vaishnavas. They are called prabhus, and the spiritual master is called Prabhupada, because at his lotus feet there are many prabhus. Pada means ‘lotus foot.’ All these Vaishnavas are prabhus. So they are also offered respectful obeisances—not the spiritual master alone, but along with his associates. And these associates, his disciples, are all Vaishnavas. Therefore they should also be offered respectful obeisances.” (SP comment on Mangalacarana, January 8, 1969)
For us in ISKCON, Srila Prabhupada is the main guru; he is the founder-acharya. But he also has his associates—Srila Gour Govinda Swami Maharaja, Srila Tamal Krishna Goswami Maharaja, Srila Sridhar Swami, Srila Bhakti Tirtha Swami, and Srila Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Swami, to name some prominent ones who have departed. And, of course, Prabhupada is being served by so many others today, and we can serve and learn from all of them.
“One who teaches can be treated as spiritual master. . . . So if we take instruction from them, all senior godbrothers may be treated as guru. There is no harm. Actually, you have only one spiritual master, who initiates you, just as you have only one father. But every Vaishnava should be treated as prabhu, master, higher than me, and in this sense, if I learn from him, he may be regarded as guru.” (SP letter dated November 20, 1971)
The original guru is Krishna. He speaks the knowledge of the Bhagavad-gita and enunciates the principles of religion. Dharmam tu saksad bhagavat-pranitam: the principles of dharma—bhagavata-dharma, prema-dharma—are enacted by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. We cannot manufacture dharma. Dharma means “the laws of God,” or “the orders of God.” So, dharmam tu saksad bhagavat-pranitam: the principles of religion are enacted by the Lord Himself. We cannot make religious principles any more than we can make our own laws. Srila Prabhupada gave the example that you can’t just get together with some friends and pass your own laws: “Okay, now I think we should legalize marijuana. Everyone agrees? Good. Passed.” Law means that it must be enacted by the government, by the parliament or legislature. Similarly, dharma is enacted by God.
dharmam tu saksad bhagavat-pranitam na vai vidur rsayo napi devah na siddha-mukhya asura manusyah kuto nu vidyadhara-caranadayah
“Real religious principles are enacted by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Although fully situated in the mode of goodness, even the great rsis who occupy the topmost planets cannot ascertain the real religious principles, nor can the demigods or the leaders of Siddhaloka, to say nothing of the asuras, ordinary human beings, Vidyadharas, and Caranas.” (SB 6.3.19)
The conclusion of the Bhagavad-gita is sarva-dharman parityajyamam ekam saranam vraja—to give up all varieties of dharma and just surrender to Krishna. And to understand the confidential truths about religious principles and the knowledge of the Bhagavad-gita, we need the help of mahajanas, authorities in Krishna consciousness—gurus.
“Lord Brahma, Bhagavan Narada, Lord Siva, the four Kumaras, Lord Kapila [the son of Devahuti], Svayambhuva Manu, Prahlada Maharaja, Janaka Maharaja, Grandfather Bhisma, Bali Maharaja, Sukadeva Gosvami, and I myself [Yamaraja] know the real religious principle. My dear servants, this transcendental religious principle, which is known as bhagavata-dharma, or surrender unto the Supreme Lord and love for Him, is uncontaminated by the material modes of nature. It is very confidential and difficult for ordinary human beings to understand, but if by chance one fortunately understands it, he is immediately liberated, and thus he returns home, back to Godhead.” (SB 6.3.20–21)
This confidential knowledge is given by God in scriptures and passed down through disciplic succession (evam parampara-praptam) to great souls who in turn impart the knowledge to their eager followers. And of all scriptures, Srimad-Bhagavatam is considered the most important, the ripened fruit of the tree of Vedic knowledge.
“O expert and thoughtful men, relish Srimad-Bhagavatam, the mature fruit of the desire tree of Vedic literatures. It emanated from the lips of Sri Sukadeva Gosvami. Therefore this fruit has become even more tasteful, although its nectarean juice was already relishable for all, including liberated souls.” (SB 1.1.3)
This nectarean fruit is passed down to us through disciplic succession. In commenting on this verse, Srila Visvanatha Chakravarti Thakura gives the example of a mango tree. To get a ripe mango from the top of a tree, different boys climb onto different branches. The boy at the top plucks the fruit and hands it to the boy on the next branch down, that boy hands it to the one on the next branch, and so on, until finally it reaches the boy on the ground—in the same perfect condition as when it was at the top of the tree. It hasn’t been bruised or broken but has been delivered intact, just as it was.
At the top of the tree is Krishna, and He passes the knowledge down to Brahma. Brahma passes it to Narada, and Narada passes it to Vyasa. (Today is also called Vyasa Purnima because Vyasadeva, who compiled the Vedic literature, appeared on this date.) Vyasa passes it to Madhvacharya, and so on—Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the Six Gosvamis, and, further down, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, Srila Gaurakisora dasa Babaji Maharaja, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, and Srila Prabhupada. And now the followers of Srila Prabhupada are presenting the same knowledge. They follow and present the same teachings—that is their qualification.
About Vedavyasa, Srila Prabhupada wrote, “Vyasadeva was a real person accepted by all authorities, and anyone can judge how wonderful he was to have compiled the Vedic literatures. He is therefore known as Mahamuni. Muni means ‘thoughtful’ or ‘great thinker’ or ‘great poet,’ and maha means still greater. There is no comparison of Vyasadeva with any other writer or thinker or philosopher. Nobody can estimate the scholarly importance of Srila Vyasadeva. He composed many millions of Sanskrit verses, and we try to receive just a fragment of the knowledge in them by our tiny efforts. Srila Vyasadeva therefore summarized the whole Vedic knowledge in Srimad-Bhagavatam, which is known as the ripened fruit of the desire tree of Vedic knowledge. The ripened fruit is received hand to hand through disciplic succession, and anyone who does this work in disciplic succession from Srila Vyasadeva is considered a representative of Vyasadeva, and as such the bona fide spiritual master’s appearance day is worshiped as Vyasa-puja.” (Srila Prabhupada letter dated August 25, 1970)
Today is also the disappearance day of Srila Sanatana Gosvami, the most senior of the Six Gosvamis of Vrindavan. His book Brhad-Bhagavatamrta was the first major work of the Six Gosvamis. Sanatana Gosvami also comes in the disciplic succession from Lord Krishna to Brahma, but he is especially significant because he is a direct follower of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who is Krishna Himself. Because Lord Chaitanya is Krishna, He is capable of beginning His own disciplic succession, but because He was acting as a devotee, He chose to take initiation in the disciplic succession from Krishna and Brahma. Still, He is God, and the process by which He imparted knowledge to His immediate followers—Rupa Gosvami and Sanatana Gosvami—is comparable to the way Lord Krishna imparted knowledge to Brahma.
Srila Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami, in his Caitanya-caritamrta, writes of Sanatana’s younger brother Rupa:
“Before the creation of this cosmic manifestation, the Lord enlightened the heart of Lord Brahma with the details of the creation and manifested the Vedic knowledge. In exactly the same way, the Lord, being anxious to revive the Vrndavana pastimes of Lord Krsna, impregnated the heart of Rupa Gosvami with spiritual potency. By this potency, Srila Rupa Gosvami could revive the activities of Krsna in Vrndavana, activities almost lost to memory. In this way, He spread Krsna consciousness throughout the world.” (Cc Madhya 19.1) Lord Chaitanya also empowered him to write books on bhakti-yoga, and the same could be said about Sanatana Gosvami.
We are followers of the Six Gosvamis—followers of their followers. Srila Narottama dasa Thakura prays,
ei chaya gosai yara-mui tara dasa tan’-sabara pada-renu mora panca-grasa
“I am the servant of that person who is a servant of the Six Gosvamis. The dust of their holy feet is my five kinds of foodstuffs.”
And:
tandera carana sevi-bhakta-sane vasa janame janame hoy ei abhilasa
“This is my desire, that birth after birth I may live with those devotees who serve the lotus feet of the Six Gosvamis.”
A few weeks ago, we were fortunate to have four devotees from Dallas, disciples of Tamal Krishna Goswami, visit us in Santa Barbara—Dharma Prabhu and his wife, Urjesvari; her sister, Saibya; and Padma Mataji. Mayapur dasa, Sridhar Swami’s personal servant for many years, was also with us. So we thought it a good occasion to glorify these two stalwart servants of Srila Prabhupada, these two powerful preachers, Tamal Krishna Goswami and Sridhar Swami. And it was very enlivening and purifying. All of the devotees spoke so beautifully—each and every one—and one could really feel Tamal Krishna Goswami’s and Sridhar Swami’s presence and really feel united with Srila Prabhupada and his associates. His Holiness Niranjana Swami also spoke beautifully and led kirtan.
Although we are all godbrothers in that we were all initiated by Srila Prabhupada, still, among Srila Prabhupada’s disciples, there are some who were—and are—leading the movement and showing the way for others to follow. Certainly His Holiness Tamal Krishna Goswami was a great pioneer, and His Holiness Sridhar Swami and the others I mentioned. And even now, devotees are following Srila Prabhupada and leading us and showing us the way. We also are trying to make our little contributions, but still, there are some who are ahead of us, showing the way and making it easier for us to follow. And that is natural; it will always be that way.
At the same time, it is also very personal and individual—through whom Krishna speaks to whom. It is not that everyone has to follow only one particular person. Krishna can manifest Himself—Srila Prabhupada can manifest himself—through different servants, different Vaishnavas, and we should be open to that flow of mercy however, and through whomever, it comes. It is not stereotyped or fixed or rigid. That mercy can come in different ways, and we should be open to it. That is really the principle of guru: Krishna’s instructions come to us through some servant of Krishna, some representative of Krishna—and it is not limited to only one. Krishna can speak to us through many mouths, through many personalities, and we should be open to that guidance. We should take His instructions on our head and follow them. That is how Krishna guides the conditioned souls back home, back to Godhead. He can engage any number of His servants to help us, and God knows we need all the help we can get. So, we shouldn’t be sectarian. We shouldn’t cut ourselves off from any flow of mercy that may come to us by the arrangement of the Lord, or the arrangement of Srila Prabhupada, or the arrangement of any of our spiritual masters.
I always think of the example of Raghunatha dasa Gosvami, because he had so many gurus. Of course, he was a direct associate of Lord Chaitanya Himself, but even then, he was helped by so many well-wishers and guides. First, He was initiated by Yadunandana Acharya, Raghunatha’s family’s spiritual master. Yadunandana Acharya himself was a great Vaishnava, an initiated disciple of Advaita Acharya and an intimate student of Vasudeva Datta. And Balarama Acharya, a dear associate of Haridasa Thakura, was Raghunatha’s family’s priest. Raghunatha learned from him too. Balarama Acharya and Yadunandana Acharya were friends, and both used to host Haridasa Thakura at their homes. For some time, Balarama Acharya provided Haridasa with a thatched hut and prasada, and at that time, while still a student, Raghunatha visited Haridasa Thakura daily, and it is said that because of the mercy Haridasa showed him then, Raghunatha later attained the mercy of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Once, Balarama Acharya invited Haridasa Thakura to speak in the assembly of Raghunatha’s family, the Majumadaras, and thus Raghunatha heard from him again about the glories of the holy name.
Eventually, Raghunatha dasa met Nityananda Prabhu at Panihati and got His benediction to become free from all obstacles and attain shelter at the lotus feet of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Raghunatha soon escaped from home, traveled by foot to Puri, and attained the merciful shelter of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu—by the mercy of Nityananda Prabhu. Then Chaitanya Mahaprabhu entrusted Raghunatha dasa to Svarupa Damodara Gosvami: “I entrust Raghunatha to you. Please accept him as your son or servant.” Raghunatha was very young then, only about twenty-two. Then the Lord took Raghunatha’s hand and personally placed him in the hands of Svarupa Damodara Gosvami. And so, Raghunatha became Svarupa Damodara’s assistant. Svarupa Damodara was Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s secretary, and Raghunatha dasa in effect became assistant secretary.
After Chaitanya Mahaprabhu left this world, followed by Svarupa Damodara and almost all of His other intimate associates, Raghunatha dasa felt bereft: “I am all alone. There is no reason to live. How can I live without my prabhus, without all my masters?”
Raghunatha dasa felt so much separation that he decided to go to Vrindavan to see the lotus feet of Rupa and Sanatana and then give up his life by jumping from Govardhana Hill. But the two brothers did not allow him to die. They prevailed upon him to stay with them and speak about Mahaprabhu’s later pastimes. “You should not give up your life,” they told him. “You were with Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in Puri and were witness to so many of His intimate pastimes. You should stay with us and tell us about your experiences with Him.” And they accepted him as their third brother. Especially Sanatana Gosvami gave him shelter and took care of him.
At first, when Raghunatha dasa Gosvami was doing bhajana at Radha-kunda, he didn’t have any residence. And while doing his bhajana, he was pretty much oblivious to everything else. He would chant, but sometimes he could hardly chant, because he would go into a trance. Still, he did chant at least one lakh names every day. But it could happen that he would chant one name and then go into a deep trance, and the pastimes of Krishna would play in his mind. Like that, one day he was chanting Krishna’s name and remembering Krishna’s pastimes and the hot sun was beating down on his head. Srimati Radharani Herself then came and held a cloth over his head, but Raghunatha dasa Gosvami didn’t know it, because he was in deep meditation. But Sanatana Gosvami understood, and he personally built a bhajana-kutira for him. He took care of him in every respect.
In his book Vilapa-kusumanjali Raghunatha dasa Gosvami begins by offering respects to his gurus. In Sanskrit devotional works, authors begin by offering respects to their gurus and worshipable Deities. So, at the beginning, he offers respects to Sanatana Gosvami:
vairagya-yug-bhakti-rasam prayatnair apayayan mam anabhipsum andham krpambudhir yah para-duhkha-duhkhi sanatanas tam prabhum asrayami
“I was unwilling to drink the nectar of devotional service possessed of renunciation, but Sanatana Gosvami, out of his causeless mercy, made me drink it, even though I was otherwise unable to do so. Therefore he is an ocean of mercy. He is very compassionate to fallen souls like me, and thus it is my duty to offer my respectful obeisances unto his lotus feet.” (Vilapa-kusumanjali 6)
In this verse, Raghunatha dasa Gosvami describes Sanatana Gosvami with a phrase that Srila Prabhupada often quoted (for all compassionate Vaishnavas): para-duhkha-duhkhi—“he felt sorrow in the sorrow of others.” Raghunatha dasa says, vairagya-yug-bhakti-rasam prayatnair—he gave me the nectar of devotional service enriched with renunciation; anabhipsum andham—but I was unwilling (anabhipsum) to drink it, because I was blind (andham) to my spiritual well-being; so apayayan mam—he forced me to drink it. Sanatana Gosvami is an ocean of mercy (krpambudhi), and therefore I offer my respectful obeisances to him. I take shelter of him, my master (prabhum asrayami).
Srila Prabhupada paraphrased this verse in composing a verse to honor his sannyasa-guru, Srila Bhaktiprajnana Kesava Gosvami Maharaja. He used almost the same words. The idea is that it is very hard to become free from the shackles of family life. Of course, one can be a pure devotee in the grihastha ashrama—that is another thing—but to preach, sannyasa may be advised.
As Srila Prabhupada describes it, he was having dreams—in modern psychological language one might say recurring nightmares—that his guru maharaja was calling him to follow him and preach. And as Prabhupada describes it, he would wake up horrified: “How can I take sannyasa and become a mendicant? How can I leave my wife and children? What will happen then?” It’s a long story, but eventually Prabhupada accepted vanaprastha. He went to Jhansi and began the League of Devotees there. But there was some politics. The wife of the governor wanted the property that Srila Prabhupada had been using for the League of Devotees. She made all efforts to get it for some ladies’ program, and because she was so influential Prabhupada decided not to fight against her. So he left and went to Mathura, where he stayed in the matha of his godbrother Bhaktiprajnana Kesava Gosvami Maharaja. And Kesava Maharaja insisted, “You must take sannyasa.” To fully take up the order of the spiritual master and preach, one must accept the renounced order of life. And Prabhupada did it. He took sannyasa.
Then, in 1968—in the early days of the movement in the West—Srila Prabhupada, in Seattle, got news that His Holiness Kesava Maharaja had passed away. So he held a meeting with the disciples there and spoke about the history, how his guru maharaja and his godbrother had “forced” him to take sannyasa: “My godbrother insisted. Not he insisted—practically my spiritual master insisted through him, that ‘You accept.’ He wanted me to become a preacher, so he forced me through this godbrother: ‘You accept.’ So, unwillingly I accepted.”
Srila Prabhupada saw his guru maharaja working through his godbrother, speaking through his godbrother—another Vaishnava—and he composed this verse, very similar to the one Raghunatha dasa composed for Sanatana Gosvami—but for Kesava Maharaja. Apayayan mam anabhipsum andham. “I was unwilling to take the medicine of bhakti with detachment because I was blind. I could not see my future, that spiritual life is the brightest future. So the Vaishnavas, the spiritual master, they force: ‘You must drink.’ ” Sri-kesava-bhakti-prajnana-nama krpambudhir yas tam aham prapadye: “Sri Bhaktiprajnana Kesava is an ocean of mercy, and I offer my respectful obeisances unto him.”
So, Sanatana Gosvami was a great shelter to Vaishnavas in Vrindavan. He was not only intelligent—all the Gosvamis were most intelligent—but he was very shrewd, very clever. He understood politics and diplomacy. It is said that Rupa Gosvami was very simple but that Sanatana Gosvami was very astute; he could understand people’s motives and intentions. So he was able to protect devotees in the most practical ways, because he had that type of intelligence. And he protected Raghunatha dasa Gosvami on every level.
Then, on the day of Guru-purnima, because Sanatana Gosvami was the most senior of the Gosvamis and the siksa-guru of almost everyone in Vrindavan, the Vaishnavas went to Govardhana to offer him respects. Upon their arrival at his bhajana-kutira at Manasi-ganga, they saw that he was in a trance. He didn’t move at all, and they didn’t want to disturb him. So they waited.
Eventually they understood that he had left, and they all were overwhelmed with separation. They took him on parikrama of Govardhana Hill—he had done parikrama of Govardhana Hill faithfully every day. Then they weren’t sure where to place his body. Jiva Gosvami, who was the leader after Sanatana, decided that they should bring him back to Vrindavan, close to the temple of the Deity of Madana-mohana, who was so dear to him. And that took place on Guru-purnima.
We can see how the devotees helped each other—everyone helped everyone. In Sri Caitanya-caritamrta we find that all the Vaishnavas were always helping each other, and we should learn from their example. We should develop that mood. Of course, help can come in different ways. Sometimes it comes in terms of instruction, and sometimes it comes in practical ways, like Sanatana Gosvami’s building Raghunatha dasa Gosvami’s bhajana-kutira. These exalted devotees were always serving each other—serving Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and serving each other. And that should be our mood: to serve each other, actually help each other, and to learn from each other.
In the Eleventh Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam we learn how an avadhuta brahman took lessons from others—twenty-four siksa-gurus: from material elements, natural phenomena, plants, animals, even from a prostitute. By his intelligence, he learned from all of them, and he accepted them all as his gurus. He learned from the mountain that a saintly person should devote all his efforts to the service of others and make their welfare the sole reason for his existence (as we learn from Govardhana Hill). From the python he learned that one should give up material endeavor and accept what comes of its own accord—one should remain peaceful and steady, indifferent to material gain but always alert to self-realization. He even learned from Pingala, a prostitute. Because she had no other source of income, Pingala was very anxious for customers. One night she was waiting, waiting, waiting, and still no customer came. Finally, at the end of the night, she felt disgusted with her situation and thus became detached. From Pingala he learned detachment—and attachment for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whom she accepted as her ultimate shelter and object of love.
So, we can learn from anyone and anything. If we are sincerely trying to serve Krishna and to understand how best to serve Him, the Lord in the heart will give us the intelligence of how to learn from others—even from trees and grass. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu glorified the trees and grass, for from them we learn how to be tolerant and humble. We can learn from anyone and everyone, and everything.
We can learn even from demons—and we are surrounded by them. Big business people, with their advertising and other strategies, are so clever. We should be that shrewd and clever for Krishna. Materialistic leaders figure out how to trap people in their nets and pull them in and keep them. We can learn from such powerful materialists how to attract people and keep them, for Krishna—how to be organized and intelligent, for Krishna. If we are in the proper mood, anything can remind us of devotional service and be used for Krishna’s benefit. Anyone can be a siksa-guru for us if we are absorbed in the mood of serving Krishna, fixed in Krishna consciousness.
But in particular, and especially on occasions like today, we are enjoined to offer respectful obeisances unto our diksa- and siksa-gurus in disciplic succession, from Krishna to Brahma to Narada to Vyasa, from Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to Sanatana Gosvami, from Srila Prabhupada to his followers, which includes all of you.
Thank you very much.
Hare Krishna.
[A talk by Giriraj Swami on Guru-purnima, July 29, 2007, Dallas]
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Their Lordships Jagannath, Baladeva, and Subhadra Devi grace the streets of Gaborone from atop Their beautifully decorated chariot, offering darshan to hundreds of joyful onlookers. On June 15th, the streets of Gaborone vibrated with rhythm, color, and spiritual energy as ISKCON Botswana held its 9th Annual Rathayatra, also known as the Festival of Chariots. What […]
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Srila Sanatana Gosvami, one of the intimate associates of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, is a well-known personality in Gaudiya Vaishnavism. Mahaprabhu taught the sequence of advancement in devotional service through Sanatana Goswami.
Sanatana Goswami was the oldest and most venerable among the six Goswamis. He propagated the mission of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Srila Sanatana Goswami appeared in 1488 AD and lived for 70 years. He spent 27 years in household life and 43 years in Vrindavan as a renunciate
Srila Kavi Karnapura Goswami described the identity of Sanatana Goswami in Gaura-ganodesa-dipika: “Sanatana Goswami who is non-different from Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is a venerable personality. He was formerly known as Rati Manjari and was very dear to Rupa Manjari in Vrindavan. Scholars call her by the name Lavanga Manjari. The famous sage Sanatana among the Catuh sanah entered his body.”
From his childhood, Sanatana was very fond of Shrimad Bhagavatam. At an early age, a Brahmin gave him Srimad Bhagavatam. Sanatana was immersed in an ocean of joy after receiving the Bhagavatam. At a young age, Sanatana studied all scriptures under the guidance of Vidya Vachaspati, the topmost teacher of that time. He was fond of studying Shrimad Bhagavatam. He used to discuss the conclusions of Bhakti with scholars.
Rupa Goswami received the news that Mahaprabhu would travel to Vrindavana through the forest. He wrote a letter to Sanatana Goswami and gave a hint of his journey. After that, he started his journey to Vrindavana with his younger brother, Anupama. Sanatana Goswami was intensely eager to go to Vrindavan and perform Krishna Bhajana.
As soon as he received Rupa’s letter, he bribed the jail keeper, freed himself from imprisonment by Nawab Hussein Shah and started for Vrindavan. Along the way he stopped at Varanasi where Lord Chaitanya was staying.
Mahaprabhu taught Sanatana Goswami on various topics and ordered him to perform the following services:
Compilation of Bhakti literature and scriptures and propagation of the unalloyed Bhakti,
Rediscovering the hidden sacred places of the Lord’s pastimes in Vrindavan,
Propagation of the daily worship of the deity of Sri Krishna,
Compiling a Vaishnava Smriti (Vaishnava rule book) and introducing Vaishnava etiquettes to establish a Vaishnava society.
One day Sanatana Goswami was going to do madhukari (begging) through the beautiful banks of the Yamuna. He was stumbling, because he was remembering the wonderful glory of the holy Dham. He was thinking “How despicable, lowly, and vile I am! Yet Mahaprabhu is so gracious that He has granted me to reside here.”
Srila Sanatana Goswami was performing intense bhajan in Vrindavana. The deity of Sri Madana Mohana appeared before him. Rupa Goswami, Lokanatha Goswami, Bhugarbha Goswami, Gopala Bhatta Goswami, Raghunatha Bhatta Goswami came from all around. Everyone shed tears of love.
Then the deity was offered Abhisheka (offering milk, yogurt, ghee, honey, etc. to the Deity) and Bhoga (offering foodstuffs to the Deity). The Panda Brahmins came and very happily cooked for the Lord. Gopala Bhatta Goswami himself performed the Abhisheka. Immediately one devotee was sent to Puri to convey the news to Mahaprabhu.
When Sanatana Goswami was in Govardhana, he used to perform Govardhana Parikrama (circumambulation of the holy place) every day. As he grew older, he would get tired going around Govardhana. One day Krishna appeared to him in the form of a cowherd boy.
That cowherd boy brought him a piece of Govardhana rock that had the footprint of Lord Krishna. Then he said to Sanatana Goswami, “You are old. Why are you working so hard? I am giving you this Govardhan Shila, if you circumambulate it daily, you will get the result of the entire Govardhan parikrama.” After saying this, the boy disappeared.
Sanatana Goswami composed many devotional books and hymns. Among them, four books are particularly notable in Vaishnavism. They are Brihat Bhagavatamrita, Haribhakti Vilasa and its Digdarshini commentary, Lilastava or Dasama Charita & Vaishnavatoshini or commentary on the tenth canto of Srimad Bhagavatam.
Srila Sanatana Goswami concluded his pastimes on Asadhi Purnima Tithi in 1480 Sakabda (558 AD). His samadhi is located next to the old Radha Madana Mohana temple.
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ISKCON Toronto welcomes a delegation of Catholic leaders and scholars to the temple. Over the past several months, ISKCON Toronto has actively participated in three meaningful interfaith engagements, strengthening connections with other faith communities through dialogue, collaboration, and compassionate service. On April 26, 2025, ISKCON Toronto welcomed a delegation of Catholic leaders and scholars to […]
The twenty-sixth week of 2025, I lived at ISKCON Paris in Sarcelles, eighteen minutes by train north of Paris itself.
The sankirtana devotees were in the midst of a book distribution marathon from June 22 to July 6, and I would join them and chant Hare Krishna for three hours each afternoon, usually from 3 to 6 p.m., except Thursday when we chanted from 5 to 8 p.m. with a group of devotees who do harinama after work. Janananda Goswami would often participate in the harinamas, and Yashomatinandana Prabhu came out every day. Premamoya Narottama Prabhu, a Bangladeshi student who teaches mrdanga, came several times, and some devotees, like Vedasara Prabhu from Simhachalam in Germany, would distribute books and also lead on harinama. On Sunday I chanted an hour and half with the sankirtana devotees at Sarcelles Market midday and near Montmartre downtown for another hour and half after lunch.
I share quotes from Srila Prabhupada’s Srimad-Bhagavatam, diary, classes, and letters. I share quotes from Sri Caitanya-bhagavata by Vrindavana Dasa Thakura and its commentary by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati and from Prabhupada Nectar by Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami. I share notes on classes by Janananda Goswami, Srutakirti Prabhu, and Vrajarenu Prabhu.
Many, many thanks to Patita Pavana Prabhu, for lending me his harmonium to play on harinama, when the devotee who had previously lent me his harmonum unexpectedly left, along with his instrument, for several days.
Itinerary
June 19–August 19: Paris – July 6: Luxembourg park kirtan – July 11: Amsterdam harinama – July 12: Amsterdam Ratha-yatra – July 13: Holland harinama August 20: London harinama August 21–22: Liverpool harinamas August 23: Liverpool Ratha-yatra August 24: Manchester harinama August 25: London harinama and flight to New York
Chanting Hare Krishna in Paris
Vrajarenu Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Les Halles, and three passersby spontaneously dance and play the shakers (https://youtu.be/kyTrZ7UqtFs):
Janananda Goswami chants Hare Krishna at Les Halles, and a young woman, who had just purchased a Spanish Gita, plays shakers and moves to the music (https://youtube.com/shorts/nIhx1mRTnbg):
We changed our location in the late afternoon, as there was what they call here a “manifestion,” or what we would call a “demonstation” in America, in support of Palestine.
Vidjai, who led the Hare Krishna chant in the above video, is a congregational devotee who greatly impressed me by taking two weeks off from work to participate in the Paris two-week summer book distribution marathon. Who does that? He was almost always among the top three distributors each day. One day he started at Gare du Nord, one of the biggest train stations in the city, and walked about fifteen kilometers, approaching everyone he met. He sold 50 Bhagavad-gitas that day. Another day, without planning it, his path crossed the harinama party, and he sold an Arabic Gita and two small Arabic books to a guy who was dancing with the devotees.
Here is another video of Rohini’s kirtan, from the Paris harinama Instagram (harinam.paris), with me distributing the French “On Chanting Hare Krishna” in the background (https://youtube.com/shorts/4laywz_Ou98?feature=share):
Premamoya Narottama Prabhu chants at Pompidou Center (https://youtu.be/IwjDwrpPlCI):
Rasa Parayana Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at Pompidou Center, and women dance with Vasumati Mañjari Devi Dasi, the wife of Jiva Prana Prabhu, the president of ISKCON Paris (https://youtube.com/shorts/CCkLUlwv4bo?feature=share):
Annapurna Devi Dasi chants at Pompidou Center (https://youtu.be/NrviWsOkKDw):
Three days a week there is a market near the train station, Garges Sarcelles, in the community of Sarcelles where our temple is located. I was impressed that the devotees were able to do a walking harinama for two and a half hours inside the market without being restricted by security or by the police. We usually just chant there for an hour or so. Both Jivananda and Yashomatinandana Prabhus like chanting Hare Krishna at the market very much. Several of the book distributors also did very well there. I had chanted there on Tuesdays and Fridays before, but this time it was Sunday, and I found it is much more crowded then.
Because I only chanted an hour and a half at the market, I chanted another hour and half in downtown Paris after lunch.
These days I have just been taking sabji and a little dal for lunch because I do not have time to take a nap after lunchand eating a lot of grains would make me too tired on the afternoon harinamas.
“Let me now begin speaking on the Bhagavata Purana, which was directly spoken to the great sages by the Personality of Godhead for the benefit of those who are entangled in extreme miseries for the sake of very little pleasure.”
From Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.8.6, purport:
“Without the development of fine affection and love, one cannot offer prayers to the Lord very suitably.”
From Srila Prabhupada’s diary:
“How to Open a Center 1. At least three devotees will form a party to open a center. 2. They will go on the streets to perform kirtana twice in a day—morning and evening. 3. Will hold classes thrice a week where classes will be taken, B.G. etc., preceded and followed by kirtana. 4. On every Sunday there must be a love feast festival. 5. As the members increase, the sankirtana party for street increases and the strength for selling BTG and other books.”
From a class on Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.1.1 in Hawaii on June 8, 1975:
“Don’t think that if one is engaged in the Deity worship, and if one is engaged in the gardening work there is a distinction. No. The one who is working as a gardener, he is as good as the one who is dressing the Deity. Because it is the absolute plane, there is no difference between them, just like in the material world if one is working as a manager and another is working as a menial servant, there is a difference of pay, or a difference of service. No, in the spiritual world there is no such thing. In the spiritual world even a small ant is serving Krishna. If by chance there is an ant and a flower is thrown onto the lotus feet of Krishna, and if the ant kisses the lotus feet of Krishna, he is as good as the pujari. This is the spiritual world.”
From a lecture on Ratha-yatra in San Francisco on July 5, 1970:
The Ratha-yatra is one of the items of this Krishna consciousness movement.
Jagannatha, Baladeva, and Subhadra have come to reclaim you all from your miserable condition of life.
“If anyone sees on the car Jagannatha, Subhadra and Baladeva, then he does not take birth again in this material world.”
“This Krishna consciousness movement is not a religious type; it is a great culture. It is a great culture for spiritual emancipation.”
“Every individual living entity is a combination of matter and spirit.”
“This human form of life is meant for spiritual realization.”
“The younger generation are not very satisfied. In your country, they say that the frustrated community, the confused community, the hippies. But I have got all sympathy for these frustrated community, everywhere. They should be frustrated. In the Vedanta-sutra it is said that athato brahma jijñasa. This human form of life should feel frustration. If he does not feel frustration, then it is animal life.”
“So my request to you, those who are feeling frustration, confused: this is a good qualification. Good qualification in this sense: that those who are feeling frustration and confused, they are disgusted with this materialistic way of life. That is a good qualification for spiritual advancement. But if you are not properly guided, then that will be another frustration. That will be another frustration.
“To save you from that frustration, this Krishna consciousness movement has come to your country, Lord Caitanya’s movement.”
“Fallen soul means anyone who has taken birth in this material world, he is a fallen soul, never mind what he is—he may be Brahma or he may be an insignificant ant. Anyone who is within this material world... Because our constitutional position is spirit soul. Spirit means anandamayo 'bhyasat, by nature joyful.”
“In this material world, because we have been encaged with this material body, although our endeavor is to become joyful, on account of this encagement of this material body, we are not joyful.”
“This Krishna consciousness movement is the essence, or cream, of all these Vedic literature.”
“Lord Caitanya, is so kind that He is giving you Krishna in the form of His name.”
“If you simply chant this Hare Krishna mantra, then you are associating constantly with Krishna.”
“When I was coming, I was waiting there to see the procession, so many boys and girls, they are not within our Krishna conscious group, they are outsiders, but they are also chanting this Hare Krishna mantra very feelingly. I was very much satisfied.”
“So this Ratha-yatra Festival is a mass movement for enlightening people to this Krishna consciousness movement.”
“Wherever you may be, in whatever position, in whatever condition, you kindly chant these sixteen names [everyone chants], Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare / Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.”
Comment by me:
Jagat, usually translated as universe, comes from two words, ja meaning janma (birth) and gam (go). In the material universe, everyone is taking birth and staying for sometime and then going away.
That Srila Prabhupada has everyone repeat the maha-mantra three times shows his great conviction in the value of chanting the mantra. It is significant that although Srila Prabhupada could have told his disciples to do any of the 64 items of devotional service at initiation, he told them to chant Hare Krishna.
From a class on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.7.27 in Vrindavan on September 24, 1976:
“This Srimad-Bhagavatam,maha-muni-krte. It is not written by ordinary person. In the beginning it is said, srimad-bhagavate maha-muni-krte. Not only muni, but maha-muni.”
“He was not feeling satisfied even after writing the Vedanta-sutra. So at that time Narada Muni happened to come to him, and he chastised him, that ‘You have written so many books, but they’re not very useful.’”
“Those who are civilized men, they are attracted with some sort of religion, system. It doesn’t matter whether he’s Hindu or Muslim or Christian; they have some sort of religious practice. That is the beginning of human civilization.”
“How long you can falsely worship Deity and make show of arati? You cannot go on very long time. That is not possible. You’ll be disgusted—unless there is feeling, bhava, that ‘Here is Krishna. Krishna has very kindly come here to receive, to take, accept my humble service. He's so great that He cannot be approached by a person like me.’”
“So it is very difficult. . . . If we have lost that feeling that ‘Here is Krishna. Here is a chance to serve Him.’”
“As soon as you will lose the spirit of service, this temple will become a big go-down, that’s all.”
So this sraddha is defined by Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami,
“Sraddha is confident, firm faith that by rendering transcendental loving service to Krishna one automatically performs all subsidiary activities. Such faith is favorable to the discharge of devotional service.”
“So when we have faith in the words of Krishna: ‘Yes, Krishna says sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam. Yes, I shall do,’ then sraddha begins. Otherwise, there is no sraddha. That is the beginning of sraddha.”
“For our spiritual advancement of life we must have the sense that ‘Why we should accept unnecessary things which is not at all important?’ The four things are restricted: no illicit sex, no meat-eating, no gambling, no intoxication. Nobody dies [by giving this up]. But it is a habit.”
“If you stick to the principle of bhakti-yogam, then ahaituky apratihata. Nobody can check you. You’ll make progress.”
From a class on Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.1.1 in Hawaii on June 8, 1975:
“Don’t think that if one is engaged in the Deity worship, and if one is engaged in the gardening work there is a distinction. No. The one who is working as a gardener, he is as good as the one who is dressing the Deity. Because it is the absolute plane, there is no difference between them, just like in the material world if one is working as a manager and another is working as a menial servant, there is a difference of pay, or a difference of service. No, in the spiritual world there is no such thing. In the spiritual world even a small ant is serving Krishna. If by chance there is an ant and a flower is thrown onto the lotus feet of Krishna, and if the ant kisses the lotus feet of Krishna, he is as good as the pujari. This is the spiritual world.”
From a letter to Jadurani on February 15, 1968:
“If, in the cooking process, food falls on the floor, if it is raw and can be washed nicely, then it can be offered. But if it is prepared and cannot be washed, then it is not to be offered, but can be eaten rather than wasted.”
From a letter to Ravindra-svarupa dasa on January 5, 1973
“In this way, try to recruit some men from the student class for joining us as future leaders of our Society. If we go on expanding and there are no qualified men to lead, then everything will be spoiled eventually.”
From a letter to Hamsaduta dasa and Himavati-devi dasi on March 3, 1968:
“Please continue your very good service, and do not feel any feeling of uselessness. It is true that Krsna has given some the opportunity to serve Him by nice writing, some by good business ability, some by nice cooking, and so on, but these various services are all accepted equally by Krsna. On the transcendental plane, one service is as good as another. There is no question of higher or lower. We are very tiny, and so we cannot really do very much. Simply we can engage our time and energy, and that is all Krsna sees. He sees this boy or girl is spending his time in My service and He is pleased. I hope you are both well.”
From a letter to Prajapati on June 16, 1976:
“So there is no question that one activity is more important than another or that Deity worship is more important than sankirtana. But one individual may be able to perform one activity more satisfactorily than another, so to him that activity will be more important. But in general we cannot say that any of the nine processes is more important than the others, except that if hearing, chanting, and remembering are there, that is the most vital consideration for the general class of men in this age. Service to the Deities, as you are asking me, begins whenever you remember Them and offer all your services by remembering Them at the same time. All activities, words, everything should be offered as service to the Deities, and this offering with remembering will gradually increase as you practice it.”
From a letter to Vedavyasa dasa on August 4, 1975:
“The karmis should not be given so much that there is waste. You can give them a little, and then if they like you can give them more. This system should be introduced everywhere. I have seen myself that so much prasada is being left. This is not good.”
From letter to Jayapataka Swami on December 26, 1971:
“The schedule to be followed in worshiping the Deity is as follows. Morning arati may be performed at 4:30 until 5:00 A.M. Then immediately following, the Deity room should be washed clean and the dirty utensils removed. Then everyone can chant before the Deity until 6:30. The Deity should then be bathed and dressed and fresh flowers put. It should not take longer than one hour to bathe and dress the Deity if one actually knows how it is done. But it may take longer, so you may offer the bhoga at 8:00. The idea of bathing the Deity after offering bhoga is not correct. So please follow this schedule as I have advised.”
From a letter to Sivananda dasa on August 24, 1968:
“You write to say, ‘I really miss Swamiji and my Godbrothers’ association so much.’ But I may remind you that I am always with you. And so wherever I am, and you are there, all your Godbrothers are there. Please remember always the humble teachings you have received from me, and that will make you always associated with me and with your Godbrothers.”
From a letter to Puru on April 6, 1976:
“Concerning the use of sour cream in the temple, it should be stopped immediately. Nothing should be offered to the Deities which is purchased in stores. Things produced by the karmis should not be offered to Radha-Krsna. Ice cream, if you can prepare, is OK, but not otherwise. Now, you have such a big stock of this sour cream, so sell the stock at any cost. Who is the rascal who has purchased without permission?”
Vrindavana Dasa Thakura:
From Caitanya-bhagavata, Madhya 19.28–30:
“One day the Lord was joyfully wandering about the city looking at His creation with Nityananda. Brahma considered himself fortunate, ‘The Lord is mercifully looking at my artistic work.’ It appeared that two moons were wandering about, and everyone appreciated Their presence according to their surrender.”
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura:
From Caitanya-bhagavata, Madhya 19.30, commentary:
“The phrase nati-anurupa is explained as follows: Everyone saw Gaura and Nitai differently according to their service propensity; in other words, they saw Gaurasundara according to the degree of their devotional service.”
Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami:
From Prabhupada Nectar:
From Chapter 5, Number 1:
“When Prabhupada first arrived in San Francisco in 1967, Mukunda dasa had a beard. The beard was very full, but it was not very long, and Mukunda kept it trimmed. Shortly after his arrival, Prabhupada said, ‘You look just like a sage.’ This left Mukunda feeling satisfied, and he did not think it necessary to shave his beard or his hair. Later, however, as more and more disciples shaved their heads, Mukunda felt unsure of himself. One day he approached Prabhupada. ‘Prabhupada,’ he said, ‘do you like this?’ and he gestured to his beard. Prabhupada stroked his own clean face and said, ‘I like this.’ Then he smiled. Mukunda understood that the beard was not in order, and he shaved it off the next day.”
“Once in India, a mailman brought a letter addressed to Prabhupada which required a signature upon delivery. Tejiyas dasa told the mailman that he would sign on Prabhupada’s behalf, but the mailman said that he could not allow this. Tejiyas told the mailman that he was Prabhupada’s secretary and that he could sign, but the mailman was adamant. Then Tejas said that he would take the letter to Prabhupada and return with the signed carbon copy. Again the mailman refused, saying he would not know if Prabhupada had actually signed it. Tejiyas then told the man that Prabhupada was a great saint and that he was very busy, and again he asked the mailman to give him the letter. The mailman refused. Finally Tejiyas went to Prabhupada and explained the situation. Prabhupada agreed to see the man and Tejiyas then showed him into Prabhupada’s room. The man was there for ten minutes, and when he came out, he was smiling broadly. ‘I have seen Swamiji,’ he said.”
From Chapter 5, Number 5:
“Prabhupada said a guitar played expertly is better than a sitar played poorly.”
From Chapter 5, Number 7:
“Prabhupada said that the people of Russia are always under suspicion and that it is a poor, fearful, and wretched country because they deny the authority of God.”
From Chapter 5, Number 11:
“‘Well, Prabhupada,’ Dayananda said, ‘I don’t know what your desire is.’ Like an arrow, Prabhupada answered back, ‘My desire is to spread this sankirtana movement all over the world.’”
From Chapter 5, Number 13:
“Once, Satyabhama dasi was sick and asked Prabhupada if she should go to the doctor. Prabhupada said yes, since we do not know very much about this body, if we are sick, we have to go to the doctor. He also said that if the doctor wants to learn about spiritual life, he has to come to us.”
From Chapter 5, Number 14:
“Prabhupada said, ‘If Radharaṇi were to stop dancing, the whole business would be finished.’ He then explained that in Vrndavana, Radharaṇi never stops dancing, and that of all Her superexcellent qualities, Radharaṇi’s cooking and Her dancing are particularly outstanding. Prabhupada said that no one can excel Radharaṇi in Her ability to please Krishna by cooking and that She cooks for Him eternally without ever making the same preparation twice. In this way, Prabhupada explained, She keeps Krishna under Her control. Then he said that even above Her cooking skill is Her dancing skill.”
From Chapter 5, Number 18:
“Prabhupada was such a saint that anyone who would be exposed to him—even if they were at first inimical—would actually develop some faith that he was at least a great man. —Bahudak dasa”
From Chapter 5, Number 19:
“Prabhupada was the first preacher of Krishna consciousness in the modern age to travel around the world engaging the material energy in Krishna’s service. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati said that only a Vaiṣṇava is ideally suited to ride in cars and to use large buildings for spreading Krishna consciousness, and Srila Prabhupada set a perfect example of using such things without attachment. Prabhupada wanted the Vaishnavas to be appreciated, and in his own sweet and innocent way, he was proud of the material facility which came to him for spreading Krishna consciousness. “Srila Prabhupada would sometimes speak with great pride over the fact that as an author, publisher, and businessman, he had received $50,000 credit with the Dai Nippon printing company of Japan after making a down payment of only $5,000. He also expressed transcendental pride in his Bank of America credit card, which enabled him to withdraw $100 from banks and other businesses simply by showing the card. “Prabhupada was also proud of his ‘green card’ which allowed him to remain in the United States for as long as he wanted. “Prabhupada would sometimes show his Bank of America credit card and his ‘green card’ to life members in India. He took pride in these preaching facilities, which he received on the merit of his good character and his established position.” (Tamal Krishna Goswami, interview)
From Chapter 5, Number 24:
“Navina Krishna dasa was a grhastha with many family responsibilities. He once asked Prabhupada how it would be possible for him to think of Krishna twenty-four hours a day, since he had so many family duties. “Prabhupada looked at Navina Krishna dasa and asked if he had twenty-four hours in a day. Navina Krishna said yes. Prabhupada then said that out of those twenty-four hours, he worked eight or ten hours, spent six or seven hours sleeping, and used two hours for eating. This left five or six hours free. Navina Krishna dasa agreed that this was a true picture of his schedule. Prabhupada then asked him if he was using all of that extra time to serve Krishna. Navina Krishna dasa couldn’t reply. Prabhupada then said that if he used all his time in Krishna’s service, then Krishna would show him how to serve Him more. On hearing this, Navina Krishna dasa became very enlivened.”
From Chapter 5, Number 29:
“Srila Prabhupada was a wonderful person and everyone who met him immediately fell in love with him. The entire city of Bombay is completely infused and permeated by Srila Prabhupada’s personal presence. Wherever we go, we meet people who say they had met Srila Prabhupada—They heard him lecture or they met him on a walk or perhaps they met him at a friend’s house. Invariably they were very impressed with Srila Prabhupada and feel they have some relationship with him. Actually our entire preaching in Bombay is simply encouraging the relationships so many people had with Srila Prabhupada. Wherever we go people welcome us and say, “You are disciples of Swami Bhaktivedanta?” It seems that his significance is being recognized more and more since his disappearance. While we develop our own individual identities as devotees of Krishna and as preachers, still people tend to see us as Swami Bhaktivedanta’s disciples. Unlike other famous gurus who are known in name only, with Prabhupada they also know his philosophy. They know that he was preaching bhakti, surrender to Krishna. They know that he was condemning everything else besides surrender to Krishna. They know he was preaching the regulative principles. And many of them are understanding his preaching about Bhagavad-gita As It Is. —Giriraja Swami”
“Prabhupada said that urad dal is the best, then mung, then lentils, but that soybeans are not needed.”
“Hari-vilasa dasa once accompanied Prabhupada on a morning walk in downtown Paris. While walking along the bustling city streets, Prabhupada stopped suddenly and stood silently for thirty seconds. Then he said, “This is such a nice breeze, just like Vrndavana.” Hari-vilasa then realized that Prabhupada’s senses and consciousness were completely transcendental to the material world.”
“Our treatment is genuine. If they take it, they will be cured. But because they are all lunatics it is very difficult to induce them to take the treatment. Otherwise this is the correct remedy but they won’t take this because they are lunatics. . . . Don’t become angry by this lunatic asylum; otherwise the preaching will be finished.”
From Chapter 5, Number 34:
“Prabhupada explained, materialists are trying to find happiness and pleasure by enjoying the material body, but they find no real happiness or pleasure. The temporary experience of material happiness is like a little spark of lightning in the night sky, whereas real happiness is like the sun which blazes in the sky and illuminates everything.”
From Chapter 5, Number 35:
“Upon arriving at the Bhaktivedanta Manor, Prabhupada asked, ‘Where is Revatinandana Swami?’ “Revatinandana Swami came out of the kitchen. ‘I’m in the kitchen, Prabhupada, cooking,’ he said. ‘I’m a kitchen swami.’ “‘Ah,’ Prabhupada answered, ‘that’s Radharaṇi’s department.’ Then Srila Prabhupada said that Krishna would leave Radharaṇi if He were not so attached to Her cooking.”
From Chapter 5, Number 36:
“In Dallas, Garuda hoped to hear Prabhupada give the Bhagavatam class. Before class Prabhupada chanted Hare Krishna. On this occasion, Srila Prabhupada kept chanting and chanting Hare Krishna from the vyasasana. Instead of giving the class, Prabhupada kept chanting and chanting on and on. Garuda then realized that the sole purpose of Prabhupada’s mission was to spread the chanting of Hare Krishna. He realized that the chanting permeated Prabhupada’s whole life, and that the only reason Prabhupada traveled was for the chanting of Hare Krishna.”
From Chapter 5, Number 38:
“Prabhupada visited San Francisco in July of 1974. After his arrival, the devotees accompanied Prabhupada to his apartment near the temple. Prabhupada sat in a rocking chair, and his leading disciples sat at his lotus feet. Prabhupada began speaking about a song by Bhaktivinoda Thakura in which Bhaktivinoda says he simply wants to be the dog of the Vaishnavas. These words entered Hridayananda Goswami’s heart, and he felt a deep desire to serve Srila Prabhupada. As Prabhupada spoke, Hridayananda Goswami’s desire to serve became even more intense. In his mind he began praying to Krishna to allow him to do some service for Srila Prabhupada. Srila Prabhupada then handed Hridayananda Goswami a pile of checks and said, ‘Write down the numbers of these checks.’ Prabhupada then handed him his pen and a sheet of paper. Hridayananda Goswami became ecstatic and realized that his prayer had been answered. He wrote down the numbers, trying very hard to do it properly. Then the meeting ended, and Prabhupada left the room.”
From Chapter 5, Number 39:
“Srila Prabhupada made a sour face, shook his head, and said that even if they slept fourteen hours a night, they would still sleep in class. He said their excuses were no answers, and that they would only stay awake when they had the conviction that their work in Krishna consciousness was so important that they had no time to sleep. Prabhupada spoke so forcefully that everyone’s attention became riveted.”
From Chapter 5, Number 43:
“Once Prabhupada was leaving Paris. The devotees accompanied him to the airport and sat with him in the departure lounge, waiting with him until the time he could board the airplane. At one point, Prabhupada took off his flower garland and instructed the devotees to distribute it to nondevotees. Hari-vilasa dasa got up and began handing out flowers. Hari-vilasa was struck by Prabhupada’s magnanimous nature; Prabhupada was not only engaging them in service, but also teaching them how to preach. He realized that Prabhupada wanted his devotees to use every minute to spread Krishna consciousness to the conditioned living entities. “Prabhupada watched them distributing the flowers and he seemed very pleased. When they returned to their seats beside Prabhupada, he expressed his pleasure that they had done this, and they too became pleased.”
Janananda Goswami:
From a class at ISKCON Paris on June 25, 2025 on the disappearance day of Bhaktivinoda Thakura:
There is a progression. Bhaktivinoda Thakura sent his books to the West. Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura sent his disciples to the West. Srila Prabhupada personally came to the West.
Bhaktivinoda Thakura said although a grhastha has a life of many responsibilities, in every free moment, he should chant Hare Krishna.
In 1910 Bhaktivinoda Thakura shut himself up to focus on his service to Radha Krishna for the last four years of his life.
On Ratha-yatra we distributed 400 Gitas.
Of all the personal servants of Srila Prabhupada, Srutakirti is my favorite. His Prabhupada memories are devoid of false ego. Srila Prabhupada is always in the center.
If you have uncontrollable itching in your hands, if you wash your hands with soap and leave the lather on your hands for some time, amazingly the itching goes away.
From a class on Cc. Adi 10:
We are conditioned souls who are trying to develop the mood of the liberated souls by following in their footsteps.
The eternal associates of the Lord have no other reason to come into this world other than to assist the Lord in His pastimes.
The eternal associates are not ordinary and can expand in different forms to assist the Lord in His pastimes.
Preaching is to assist the Lord in His mission.
Everyone who sees the harinama-sankirtana, no matter the reaction, is eternally benefited.
The movement is to spread the holy name.
By hearing from the great souls, we change our conception of life.
It is very embarrassing that when Srutakirti Prabhu had come to take breakfast after giving class that there was practically nothing left. That means you gained practically nothing by his class. Everyone was only concerned to fill his own belly.
On the buses and trains, the young people push others out of the way to grab a seat. They have no respect for older people.
There were some devotees who would get up at 2:00 a.m. and chant their rounds outside of Srila Prabhupada’s room. After a while, Srila Prabhupada came out, and asked them what they were doing. They said they were chanting their japa. Srila Prabhupada said they were disturbing him, and told them to go back to bed.
From a Sunday feast lecture in Sarcelles:
The coming of the great personalities in the different religious traditions is meant to help us understand our spiritual identity.
Spiritual knowledge is of no use if you do not use it. It is like having a recipe but not having a meal.
This knowledge is meant to be realized.
The different traditions are meant to get people started on the path of self-realization, to get them to take an initial step.
Sometimes people say, “I have a soul.” But that is not correct. People are souls with human bodies. Generally only in the human form of life, is spiritual knowledge attainable.
In science we put theories into practice in order to prove them.
It is interesting that immediately after Krishna gives Arjuna this knowledge that he is not his body, he advises him to act according to the nature of his body.
In chapter 3, Krishna gets more into how to act to realize this knowledge.
From a Tuesday evening lecture at Yoga Lyrique on July 1, 2025:
You may not see the thread in a necklace but the pearls are situated together because of its presence.
Although the problems of the material world may still be present, the devotee is not disturbed.
The devotee has realized that it is better to adjust the way we see the situation than to try to adjust the situation itself.
Why do bad things happen to good people? My mother said that when I joined the temple.
People say, “Why is this happening to me?” but actually it is not happening to them. They are just identifying with it.
Our goal is not to transcend but to connect.
Instead of seeing everything with ourselves in the center, we see everything with Krishna in the center.
If your motives are mixed, you will have to accept the conditions of birth and death.
We have to come to the point of seeing even disturbing situations in relationship with Krishna.
Everything is going on by the grace of the Lord, and He is trying to help us.
By the purifying effect of the chanting we begin to see the same situation differently.
From a class on Srimad-Bhagavatam 9.6.?? at ISKCON Paris on July 2, 2025:
The spiritual master protects us by reminding us to take shelter of Lord Caitanya.
There was more of a team spirit in the beginning. There were no cleaners. Every devotee was in charge of cleaning some part of the temple. Also every devotee would go on sankirtana. Going out on the street was what the movement was. If you did not like it, you did not join.
Preaching wasn’t online, with devotees sitting at their computer, with a non-caffeinated coffee on one side and chocolate on the other.
Once a Starbucks refused to let a non-customer use their bathroom. The person who was refused took the company to court, and the judge ruled that the establishments have to let people use their bathrooms.
Srutakirti Prabhu:
In two and half months in 1975, Srila Prabhupada went all over the world.
Wherever Srila Prabhupada put his lotus feet, there is now a temple.
When the question of how things would go on would arise, Srila Prabhupada would say, “I have established this branch of the Gaudiya Vaishnava sampradaya.”
In many places in Australia, we have many devotees, but mostly they are Indians who have joined from family relationships and from friendships. They ask, “How can we attract the local people?” I tell them, “We came by harinama. That is how we all became devotees back in the 1960s and the 1970s.”
It is only this chanting of the holy name that keeps things moving in a progressive way.
Srila Prabhupada was disgusted with India because the government did not facilitate him or his followers to the extent that he felt they should.
To have deities installed by Srila Prabhupada is special. Nrsimha Kavaca calls them “legacy deities.”
In Caracas, Venezuela, Srila Prabhupada told the people that Lord Caitanya has come very far to be with you.
Anyone who thinks that Srila Prabhupada has not given us everything we need is a fool and a rascal.
Bhaktivinoda Thakura had a very regulated schedule through which he was able to accomplish much. Srila Prabhupada also had a regulated schedule. The difference is he maintained it while traveling all over the world.
When we traveled with Srila Prabhupada, he was the temple president, the temple commander, the treasurer, and the secretary.
I was amazed to see him reading his own books.
These two activities of harinama and book distribution will make you noticed by Srila Prabhupada.
In the two and a half years I was with him, he traveled around the world four times.
We can never offer obeisances to Srila Prabhupada enough times. Just to acknowledge Krishna’s representative from the spiritual world, who has come to give Krishna consciousness to everyone, is so beneficial.
Once in the afternoon, he called me in just to tell me that this Bhagavad-gita As It Is so nice, that just reading it, anyone could become Krishna consciousness. You do not have to read hundreds of books. No other book is required.
There are so many retreats now. Our only retreat was to go on the streets.
In the afternoon was his bhajana time. He would play the harmonium and chant Vaishnava bhajanas or read his books.
He said the sky is blue because it is reflecting Krishna’s bodily effulgence.
Once in the afternoon, he called me in just to tell me that The Nectar of Devotion so nice, that just reading it, anyone could become Krishna consciousness. You do not have to read hundreds of books. No other book is required.
The first time ever he rang the bell, I came as a brand new servant and offered obeisances. I asked what I could do for him. He said, “Nothing. I just wanted to see how fast you were.” By dealing with me in this way, he at once put me at ease.
One afternoon, two years later, he called me in just to tell me that this Krishna book is so nice, that just reading it, anyone could become Krishna consciousness. You do not have to read hundreds of books. No other book is required. You do not even have to read the whole book. Just one chapter. If you read one chapter, you can be Krishna conscious. Even if you read one page you can be Krishna conscious. You do not even have to read the whole page, you can just read one line. You do not even have to read the whole line. Just one word. This is because Krishna is in every word.
If you are here, you have the permission of Srila Prabhupada to do service here, to these wonderful deities.
Srila Prabhupada made us think that we could become Krishna conscious right now. He made us feel that we could be just like him.
He came to America with faith in the Hare Krishna mantra and in the instructions of his spiritual master.
Do something to help Srila Prabhupada in his mission, and he will secure a place for you.
Srila Prabhupada always wore his shoes. In Vrindavan he wore shoes. We hear sometimes the Vrajavasis say we should not wear shoes in Vrindavan. I know a devotee who went barefoot in Vrindavan and got an infection so bad that in three weeks he was dead.
Kirtans that were too loud he would call Raksasa kirtans.
Srila Prabhupada would stop telling you things if you did not get them after two or three times. It is offensive if the guru tells you something and you do not do it, so he would just tell you two or three times, but that does not mean that the instruction was no longer important.
When you were with Srila Prabhupada, you knew what it was like to be a servant for 24 hours a day.
If you see something dirty, you should clean it. This is a devotee.
In India after they wash the floor, they turn the fans on to dry it. Srila Prabhupada did not like that. He considered it wasteful.
Look at Maharaja [Janananda] here. Fifty years serving Srila Prabhupada. This is Krishna consciousness.
All Srila Prabhupada wanted from us was loyalty and chastity.
One devotee asked Srila Prabhupada for his blessings to find a guru to give him higher knowledge. Prabhupada said of him, “It will be kalpas before he gets Krishna consciousness.”
Srila Prabhupada said, “I put all the tirthas here in Krishna Balaram Mandir courtyard.” I have lived in Vrindavan for five years, but I only went to one temple, Krishna Balaram.
Srila Prabhupada didn’t say next week we would see the form of Krishna but that we would go back to Godhead at the end of life.
In India I see only the men as pujaris on the altar. It is Srila Prabhupada’s mercy on the women that in ISKCON in the west, they can serve as pujaris.
Prabhupada liked crowns for Krishna on the altar. He said anyone can wear a turban, but only a king wears a crown. He said that a turban has to be very opulent to be good.
Vrajarenu Prabhu:
Because we have high expectations of the Vaishnavas we tend to find fault with them for not living up.
You can see the greatness of a Vaishnava in provoking situations.
Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura analyzes that Saubhari Muni committed three offenses against Garuda: 1. He ordered a superior person. 2. He obstructed the enjoyment or plan of action of a superior person. 3. He cursed a superior person.
The root cause was that Saubhari’s compassion was not in line with the Lord’s will.
We do not want to solve others’ problems because we do not see their connection with us.
Progress is seeing Krishna’s will everywhere.
From a class on Srimad-Bhagavatam 9.6.53 at ISKCON Paris on July 3, 2025:
Abhidheya comes from the Sanskrit word abhida means definition. In our practice we are always defining different terms related to our spiritual lives.
Yoga is when we approach Krishna, but in bhakti we call out to Krishna, and Krishna approaches us.
The kanistha mentality is not to acknowledge the people around us and to see everything in terms of ourselves.
Saubhari Muni reviewed his activities but not his mentality.
Saubhari Muni was considering sadhu-sanga is optional when in reality it is required.
It is said that when Maharaja Bharata ended his life as a deer, he chanted the names of Hari and Narayana. He was given the choice of immediately going to Vaikuntha, but decided to stay to perfect his sadhu-sanga.
Q: If we are serving but not acquiring a taste for chanting and feeling satisfied, what should we do? A: Review our mentality in our service to make sure it is proper.
Comment by me: Jayananda Prabhu was asked how to make advancement. He said he was too busy serving to think about it.
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Krishna consciousness is for everybody, but many people think it is not for them, and thus they miss out. Still the followers of Lord Caitanya try to give everyone without discrimination the opportunity to engage in the blissful activities of Krishna consciousness. This is described in this verse from Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi-lila, Chapter 7:
patrapatra-vicara nahi, nahi sthanasthana
yei yanha paya, tanha kare prema-dana
“In distributing love of Godhead, Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His associates did not consider who was a fit candidate and who was not, nor where such distribution should or should not take place. They made no conditions. Wherever they got the opportunity, the members of the Pañca-tattva distributed love of Godhead.” (Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Adi-lila 7.23)
I was invited to give a talk at the new Bhakti Yoga Studio near downtown Seattle. It is a nicely set up facility and especially meant for young people who are searching after the meaning of life.
When I arrived there was already a blissful kirtan happening that lasted more than an hour. At the end everyone was so ecstatic that they spontaneously got up and danced with their arms in the air.
The young devotees organizing the program told me that they took the lead from similar programs around the world. One of the key factors of the program was to finish with “devastatingly” sumptuous prasadam.
By Vijaya Das
16 July 2025 Dear ISKCON Devotees, Please accept our humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. Following the 24 June 2025 resolution by the Guru Services Committee and the Sannyasa Standing Committee regarding Trivikrama Swami’s removal from the positions of sannyasi and initiating guru in ISKCON, and the 27 June follow-up statement by the GBC
Today I thought to read a verse and purport about Srila Gopala Bhatta Gosvami from Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila, Chapter Ten, “The Branches of the Caitanya Tree”:
Today is Guru-purnima. Srila Prabhupada has explained that the system of honoring the spiritual master is current in all sections of Vedic followers. In the Mayavadi (impersonalist) sects, the disciples offer respect to the spiritual master once a year, on Guru-purnima. And in the Gaudiya Vaishnava sampradaya, the disciples offer homage annually on the appearance day of the spiritual master, called Vyasa-puja because the spiritual master represents Vedavyasa, the empowered incarnation of Krishna who compiled the Vedic literatures, and the bona fide spiritual master presents the same knowledge through disciplic succession. Although Guru-purnima is generally observed by the Mayavadi groups, we shall take the opportunity to discuss the principle of guru—and glorify the acharya-sampradaya.
