Month: March 2022

Guru (spiritual master) – Why a Guru is Essential and how can he transform your life?

Post author By gaudiya
Post date March 12, 2022

siddha bakul guru

Who is a Guru ? Why do we need a Guru? How to identify a real Guru ? What is the difference between a real Guru and a Bogus Guru? In this article, we shall try to discuss, cite Vedic scriptures and find answers to these above questions.

#1 Why do you need a Guru ?

Tad vijnanartham sa gurum evabhigacchet
Samit panih srotriyam brahma nistham
(Mukunda Upanishad 1.2.12)
–
One who desires to know the absolute truth must approach a bonafide spiritual master and offer him everything required for sacrifice. Such a spiritual master must be fixed in the absolute truth, having heard it in disciplic succession.

bhaktivinoda thakura's house bhakti kuti guru

Yasya deve para bhaktir yatha deve tatha gurau
Tasyaite kathita hy arthah prakasante mahatmanah
(Svetasvatara Upanishad 6.23)
–
Only unto those great souls who possess implicit faith upon Guru and Krishna are all the imports of the Vedas fully revealed.

Janana-maranadi-samsaranala santapto dipto sira
Jala rasim iva upahara panih srotriyam
Brahma nistham gurum upasrtya tam anusarati
(Vedanta Sara 11)
–
Just as a person whose head is afire runs towards water, similarly one burning from the fire of material existence birth, death, old age, and disease must run to a Guru for relief. Such a guru must be well versed in the conclusions of Vedic literature. One should strictly follow the Guru’s instructions and become subservient to him.

Brahmanda bhramite kona bhagyavan jiva
guru-Krsne prasade paya bhakti lata bija
(CC, Madhya, 19-151)
–
Wandering throughout the universe, by the mercy of Guru and Krishna, a fortunate living entity receives the seed of the plant of devotion.

Chaitanya Bhagavata Recitations Pastimes of Chaitanya

Marriage of Sri Chaitanya and Lakshmipriya devi | Chaitanya Bhagavata recitation

Post author By gaudiya
Post date March 7, 2022

The following is a recitation from Sri Chaitanya Bhagavata, Adi Khanda, Chapter 10, Verses 79 – 131. In these verses, Srila Vrindavan das Thakur describes the marriage of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Lakshmipriya devi.

Gaudiya Vaishnavism - An overview Lord Nityananda

Who is Lord Nityananda ? | Doyal Nitai

Post author By gaudiya
Post date March 6, 2022

nitai gaura nityananda trayodashi

Sri Nityananda Prabhu is none other than Lord Balarama, the first expansion of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Narottam das Thakur sings ‘vrajendra nandana yei, saci suta haila sei, balarama haila Nitai’. Vrajendra Nandana is Lord Krishna, the master of Vraja (Vrindavana) and Saci suta means the son of mother Saci.So the same person who previously had been the darling of Vrindavana has now incarnated as Sri Chaitanya, the son of Saci mata. Similarly, the person who previously had been Lord Balarama has now appeared as Nityananda Prabhu.

Lord Nityananda was born on shukla trayodashi tithi of 1474 AD (the year 1395 of the Saka era) in the village of Ekachakra (Birbhum, West Bengal, India). Nityananda Prabhu freely distributed the treasure of the Lord’s love, attaining which is rare even for demigods like Brahma, to one and all without judging one’s qualification (Brahma-ra durlabha prema sabakare yache). His uncommon unique pastimes moved even the atheists to cry tears of love.

Lord Nitai was almost completely devoid of any external consciousness and remained intoxicated in an ecstatic love of God. In such a state of utter ecstasy, He would sometimes jump high up in the air or at other times roll over the ground, while continuously glorifying the Supreme Lord.

Chaitanya Bhagavata Recitations Pastimes of Chaitanya

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s daily activities in Nabadwip | Chaitanya Bhagavata Recitation

Post author By gaudiya
Post date March 5, 2022

The following is a recitation from Sri Chaitanya Bhagavata, Adi Khanda, Chapter 12, Verses 88 – 213. In these verses, Srila Vrindavan das Thakur depicts the daily activities (pastimes) of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in Nabadwip.

Chaitanya Bhagavata Recitations Pastimes of Chaitanya

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s horoscope presented by Nilambar Chakravarty | Chaitanya Bhagavata recitation

Post author By gaudiya
Post date March 4, 2022

The following is a recitation from Sri Chaitanya Bhagavata, Adi Khanda, Chapter 3, Verses 9 – 32. In these verses, Srila Vrindavan das Thakur describes Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s horoscope and how it was presented by Pandita Nilambara Chakravarty and other brahmanas.

Gaudiya Vaishnavism - An overview Radha Krishna

Vishnu Avatars | Types & Details of all Incarnations

Post author By gaudiya
Post date March 2, 2022

purusha avatar vishnu incarnations

Krishna is also referred to as ‘Bhagavan Swayam’ in Srimad Bhagavatam, thereby implying that He is the source of all avatars (incarnations) of Godhead. Krishna is ‘Svayam rupa’ or the original supreme personality of Godhead, and is also referred to as ‘puskala’ or the most complete. When various forms of the Supreme Lord (Krishna) manifest their appearance in this material world for various purposes, they are known as ‘avatars’. We have previously discussed the various forms of the Supreme Lord (Svayam rupa, tad ekatma rupa, avesha) and they are known as avatars when they descend from the spiritual to the material world. These various forms of the Supreme Lord are eternally existing in their own spiritual abodes. Vishnu avatars can appear through parents, as expansions, or without the help of any agency.

For example, Lord Krishna and Ramachandra appeared as the sons of Vasudeva and Dasaratha respectively. Garbhodakasayi Vishnu originates as an expansion of Maha-Vishnu. While among those Vishnu avatars who appear without help are Matsya and Hamsa avatars.

There are six types of avatars of the Supreme Lord namely –

Purusha avatar
Guna avatar
Lila avatar
Manvantara avatar
Yuga avatar
Shaktyavesha avatar

We shall discuss briefly about each of them in this article.