Category Archives: Hari Katha

Srila Jiva

Goswami Prabhu, who is the protector of our Sampradaya and a great Acharyya. Srila Guru Maharaj said, Jivadyair abhiraksitam, our whole Sampradaya with so much wealth came from Jiva Goswami Prabhu. Rupa-Sanatan gave so much and Jiva Goswami Prabhu protected them from the other schools of religion like Sankaracharyya and (the atheist) Kapila’s sankhya philosophy. They wanted to establish nirakara, nirvisesa, brahma (impersonalism, non-variagatedness), but Jiva Goswami Prabhu very authentically and wisely defeated them. He established achintya bhedabheda siddhanta of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

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TEXT 14

tanū rūpe netraṁ tava yaśasi nāmni śruti yugaṁsunir malye ghrāṇaṁ tvag api mahadāliṅghanavidhautvadīye nirmālye vasati rasanā cen mama sadātadā kṛṣṇāsmābhirjitaṣiha nitāntaṁ viṣayibhiḥ

O Śrī Kṛṣṇa! If we engage our eyes in seeing Your beautiful Deity form, our ears in hearing Your holy names and glories, our noses in smelling the flowers that have been offered to You, our bodies in embracing devotees, and our tongues in relishing food that has been offered to You, then You are always conquered by us even though we are engaged in pleasing our senses.

TEXT 15

bhavad dāsye kāmaḥ krudhapi tava nindākṛtijanetvaducchiṣṭe lobho yadi bhavati moho bhavati catvadīyatve mānas tava caraṇa pāthojam adhunāmadaś ced asmābhir niyata ṣaḍ-mitrair api jitam

O Lord! If we engage our lust in serving You, our anger against those who blaspheme You, our greed in honoring Your remnants, our illusion in trying to achieve Your Lordships, our ego in being Your devotees, and our pride in drinking the honey of Your lotus feet, then, we may easily defeat these six enemies of lust, anger, greed, illusion, false ego, and pride, which are always surrounding us.

Sri Srimad Gaura Kisor Das Babaji Maharaj

Composed by Srila B.R. Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj

guror guro me paramo gurus tvam
varenya! gauranga-ganagraganye
prasida bhrtye dayitasrite te
namo namo gaura-kisora tubhyam [1]

O Divine Master of my Divine Master, my most venerable preceptor, you are supremely worshippable in the group of the foremost associates of Sri Gauranga. May you be gracious upon this servitor surrendered unto your loving servitor (Dayita Dasa). O Gaura Kisora, again and again do I make my obeisance unto you.

sarasvati-nama-jagat-prasiddham
prabhum jagatyam patitaika-bandhum
tvam eva deva! prakati-cakara
namo namo gaura-kisora tubhyam [2]

O worshipful one, you alone revealed my Lord and Master, who is renowned throughout the universe as Sri Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati, and who is the only friend of the fallen souls of the world. O Gaura Kisora, again and again do I make my obeisance unto you.

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Srila Rupa Goswami Prabhu’s Sri Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu

Sraddha (1) Faith in the scriptures’ meaning, developed by hearing the scriptures from the sadhus.
Sadhu-sanga (2) Taking shelter at the feet of Sri Guru to learn the practice of bhajan.
Bhajana-kriya (3) Practising hearing, chanting, and other forms of service according to Sri Guru and the sadhus’ instructions.
Anartha-nivrtti (4) Removing sins, misconceptions, sorrows, and so forth, which are opposed to the ultimate goal of life.
Nistha (5) Constant, undeviating service.
Ruchi (6) Insightful desire for the Lord and His service.
Asakti (7) Natural attraction to the Lord and His service.
Bhava (8) That which melts the heart with divine attraction to the Lord and His service; the rays from the sun of prema.
Prema (9) Intense bhava that completely melts the heart and fills one with intense affectionate attachment.

The Sixty-Four Practices of Devotion
(Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur’s Amrta-pravaha-bhasya on Sri Chaitanya-charitamrta)

(1) Taking shelter at Sri Guru’s feet.
(2) Accepting initiation
(3) Serving Sri Guru

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vinā bhavet kiṁ hari-dāsa-varya-
padāśrayaṁ bhaktir ataḥ śrayāmi |
yam eva saprema nijeśayoḥ śrī-
govardhano me diśatām abhīṣṭam ||

(Viśvanātha Cakravartīpāda’s Govardhanāṣṭakam: 8)

“Does bhakti ever manifest without the shelter of the feet the best of Hari’s servants [i.e., Govardhana], who is endowed with prema for his own masters [i.e., Rādhā and Mādhava]?
[Never.] Therefore, I take shelter in him. May Govardhana fulfill my desire [for prema-sevā to Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava].”

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu teaching us:

bhakta ashirvada prabhu shire kari’ laya
bhakta-ashirvade se krishnete bhakti haya

The Lord accepted the devotees’ blessings on His head, for devotional service to Lord Krishna is attained only by the blessings of devotees.

COMMENTARY

Although the Lord is the only sovereign master of the fourteen worlds, He nevertheless accepted on His head the blessings of His devotees. The devotees’
blessings are so powerful that by their influence even a living entity who is averse to Krishna becomes attached to His lotus feet.

CB Adi-khanda 12.47