Blogs

Rave Reviews for The Journey Home

BY: KUTAMUGDARA DAS

Jan 24, 2014 — AFRICA (SUN) — Devotees love Radhanath Swami's The Journey Home just as much as the Mayavadi reviewers, whose blissful praises adorn the book's cover. Sure, you'll find the admiration of Shiva Rea, BKS Iyengar, David Frawley and Ram Dass on Radhanath Swami's autobiographical classic, but it is a shame that the reviews of ISKCON's finest had to be omitted for want of space. Now for the benefit of the Sun readers we have collected many of them, so devotees can merge with the eternal oneness of the fun also.

"The Journey Home is a tremendous example of an ISKCON leader …"
-Devi devi dasi

"Reading this book has proven to be a rare opportunity for me …"
-Dasadasa dasa

"The author weaves a tale that takes you from the deepest Himalayan valleys to the highest peaks …"
-Bhakta Bob

"This is a no holds barred account that lays bare the complete experienc

See the dot to the left, above horizon? See below for close -up ten years later...

 Shri Lochana Dasa Thakura was a disciple of Shri Narahari Sarakara Thakura, a dearest associate of Lord Gaura Raya.      "My hope of hopes is to be near the lotus feet of Shri Narottama Dasa Thakura and serve him with my very life. The cherished desire of the fallen Lochana Dasa is to be allowed, by Narahari's grace, to sing the glories of Lord Gauranga. My Lord is Shri Narahari Thakura, I am His servant. Bowing before him I beg for his service. This is my only aspiration." (Lochana Dasa, Chaitanya Mangala)      Lochana Dasa Thakura wrote Chaitanya Mangala which tells many pastimes of Lord Chaitanya not revealed by Vrindavana Dasa Thakura or Krishna Dasa Kaviraja. He mentions an especially touching conversation Shri Gaurasundara had with Vishnupriya Devi the night before He took sannyasa. Being a talented musician, Lochana Dasa told Mahaprabhu's pastimes in beautiful poetry filled with fire and rhythm. Common people could easily understand the divine character of Shri Chaitanya and

The Divinity of the Guru

by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda

First published in the
Harmonist, August 24, 1933

Srila Bhaktisiddhnata Swami Srila Prabhupāda

Theism necessarily implies the distinctive personality of the guru. If there is to be any real distinction between God and man, there must also be a means for making this distinction possible. This third entity is the guru. He is the means.

There is another line of argument also by which the personality of the guru can be entertained. This line of argument is concerned with the nature of worship. If God and man exist separately from one another, it becomes also necessary to find out their relation to one another. This gives rise to an endless series of considerations which is represented by the conception of the divine power, or śakti. Man is subservient. God is absolute master.

Absolute subserviency is the characteristic quality of power. Between subserviency and mastership, there should be an unbridgeable g

All Glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga
The Loving Search for the Lost
Servant
by Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Deva Goswami Maharaja
Sri Krishna and Gopakumara
Preface

A Christian theologian predicted that Christianity is on the verge of a
Copernican revolution. Prior to Copernicus, it was believed that the
earth was at the center of the universe, and that the sun and other
planets orbited the earth. Until recently, in the Western world it has
been thought that Christianity was the central conception of divinity in
the theistic universe. But as Western man has begun to gaze Eastward,
he has discovered a plurality of theistic conceptions orbiting the
Supreme Truth.
Accepting that plurality, we must also accept the accompanying
gradations of theism, superior and inferior. As the planets are situated
according to their gravitational attraction for the sun, the varieties of
theistic conception are situated higher or lower according to their
attraction toward the Absolute Center. The Krsna

naumidya te 'bhravapuse tadidambaraya
gunjavatamsa-paripicchala-sanmukhaya
vanyasraje kavalavetravisana-venulaksmasriye
mrdupade pasupangajaya

Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.14.1
"I offer my prayers unto You, O praiseworthy Lord who are the child
of the cowherd Nanda. Your complexion is the dark blue color of a
thundercloud and You are clad in silk garments that shine like
lightning. Your charming face is adorned with gunja-mala ornaments
and Your hair is decorated with a peacock feather. You look beautiful
wearing a garland of forest flowers, and that beauty is enhanced by the
morsel of food in Your left hand. You carry a buffalo horn and a stick
for herding cows tucked beneath Your left arm. You hold a flute and
other emblems, and Your feet are as soft as a lotus." That is the
general meaning of this verse. The internal meaning of this verse
however, is this: "O venerable one, we submit our prayers to You.
Who are You? You are un-seeable, un-feelable, unknown, and
unknowable. Your complexio

Shri Gopala Bhatta Goswami.

   Shri Gopala Bhatta Goswami (the son of a Vyenkata Bhatta, a Shri Vaishnava brahmana) appeared in Shri 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. Shri 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." Freely conversing with each other, they would often laugh and joke together. One day in a humorous mood Lord Chaitanya asked Vyenkata:

   "Why does your worshipable goddess of fortune, Shri Lakshmidevi, abandon the happiness of Vaikuntha and her service to Her Lord Narayana? Why does she go to Vrindavana and perform severe austerities to attain the association of My Lord Gopala, the cowherd boy of Vraja?"

   "I can't understand these

pamho agtACBSP,jai prabhu

I'm glad to hear that mantra and although I been always very fond in Vedic mantra i stopped to do that nowadays by realizing the real utility of spiritual life and that's bhakti paresanu bhavo viraktir anyatra ca,

Of course nothing is lost in the perfect path of bhakti yoga, i mean i still recite three times daily purusa sukta, brahma sammita, sri narasimha deva kavacha, siksastaka, plus many songs to glorify the six gosvami, vrinda devi and all the other tadiyanam samarcanam of the Lord. That's remain stored in my mind even for the next lives through the daily sadhana bhakti of sri krsna smrti smarana. It gets stronger life after life.

I been always attract by yoga practice since my childhood,i heard the brahma sammita for the first time when i was a teen, immediately i memorize it in few days by remembering something about my previous lives, Actually Krsna put me in the track where i left the life before, when i was just a teenager, i mean i became devotee

Srila Prabhupada once explained the festival this way: "Krishna was just a toy in the hands of the Gopis, so one day the Gopis decided that we shall decorate Him. Puspa abhisheka means a ceremony to decorate the deity profusely with flowers, ornaments, cloths.

After there should be lavish feasting and a procession through the streets, so that all the citizens should see how beautiful Krishna appears."

- See more at: http://harekrishnacalendar.com/vaishnava-calendar/sri-krishna-pushya-abhishek-2014/#sthash.AFno8Lmd.dpuf

Ganga Sagar Mela is a festival observed especially at the confluence of the Ganges and the Bay of Bengal. Kapilasrama, the asrama of Lord Krsna’s incarnation as Kapiladeva, the son of Devahuti, is located at this place.

The festival commemorates King Bhagirathi’s bringing the River Ganges down from the celestial planets to the ocean and the lower worlds.

- See more at: http://harekrishnacalendar.com/vaishnava-calendar/ganga-sagar-mela-2014/#sthash.BtWheTjZ.dpuf

The following has been translated from an article in Sadachara Vybhavam of the great Vaishnava devotee Sripad Madhvacharya.

Today is "Makara Sankranti"  which is celebrated when the Sun begins the northward journey, marking the beginning of the "uttaraayana punyakaalam". Sun enters the sign of "Makara", (Capricorn) from Cancer at this time. (This is also called equinox, when the day and nights are exactly the same). Starting this day, the duration of day starts to increase until "dakshiNaayanam" comes. Makara Sankranti signifies two things. One is the changing path of Sun and other is the beginning of "Uttarayana Punyakaala" Makara literally means "Capricorn" and sankranti means "change" or 'sankramaNa' literally means 'crossing'.

On this day, it is said that Sun passes from one Zodiac sign to another. A sankranti or sankramaNa marks the beginning of every solar month in the Vedic calendrical system when Sun passes from one sign to the other, it's the cusp of the

"Shri Jagadish Pandit was the savior of the world. He was a thundercloud of Krishna prema who rained showers of mercy upon everyone.  (CC Adi 11.30)

    Shri Jagadish Pandit took birth in Gohati.  His father's name was Shri Kamalaksha Bhatta, and he was the son of Bhatta Narayana. Jagadish Pandit's father and mother were both great devotees of Lord Vishnu. After they passed away, Jagadish Pandit, along with his wife, went to live near the Ganges. Jagadish Pandit's wife was named Dukhini Devi. Jagadish Pandit's younger brother, Mahesh Pandit also wanted to live near the Ganges, and so he accompanied them on their journey. They moved nearby the house of Shri Jagannatha Mishra, in Mayapura.

     In Bhaktivinod Thakur's Anubhashya commentary on Caitanya Caritamrita, (CC Adi 11.30) there is further information about Jagadish Pandit: "He lived in the village of Yashora Gram in the district of Nadia near the Chakadoha railway station.  Shri Gaurasundara ordered Jagadish Pandit to preach the glo