UnderEternityBlue - In Glorification of Sri Caitanya Saraswat Math

Divine Guidance

» This Love Naturally Awakens

nitya-siddha kṛṣṇa-prema 'sādhya' kabhu naya

śravaṇādi-śuddha-citte karaye udaya

Pure love for Krishna is eternally established in the hearts of the living entities. It is not something to be gained from another source. When the heart is purified by hearing and chanting, this love naturally awakens. ~ Sri Caitanya Caritamrta, Madhya Lila 22.107

» So Many Mortal Things
We do not even know the extraordinary nature of our own self. It is of a very high order, but our attention is focused towards so many mortal things; we have been introduced to, and captured by, the meanest aspect of the world. This is the consequence of the mood of enjoyment. We want to enjoy, we want to exploit. A good exploiter is a king to us! But exploitation in itself is degrading, very mean and low. It takes us to the lowest position and makes us victims of a great reaction. ~ from Heart and Halo by Swami B.R. Sridhar

» I Shall Be Good
We are what doing? Arrangement, making arrangement for Sankirtan. If there is no Sankirtan there is no result. And Sankirtan will be without offense. And first offense is satam ninda namnah param aparadham vitanute that meant sadhu ninda we not with... abuse anyone. Who is sadhu we do not know. Then we will be protected with that thought. I shall be good. You are good or bad, that is another thing. But first I shall be good, and with that knowledge if I shall proceed, I shall get benefit. ~ from Sharanagati To Humility, Tolerance & Giving Honor To Others Krsna.cc radio archives, by Swami B.S. Govinda

» That Sort of Heart
It is the nature of one who appreciates the highest that he will think himself to be in the lower position. We find this in the practices and sayings of the great men. It is a question of trnad api sumcena, taror api sahisnuna, and this is a necessary qualification of a devotee. We must have that sort of qualification, that sort of heart. That must not be an artificial thing but if we are not ready to think ourselves lower, we cannot come in connection with the higher. ~ from Sermons of the Guardian of Devotion Volume 3 by Swami B.R. Sridhar

» The Service of the Holy Name
The service of dham frees one from the jaws of Illusion, the terribly wrong theory that a jiva or creature is himself God and Master, and that there is no existence, except in the human imagination, of the holy Name, Form, Attributes, Pastimes and Paraphernalia of Godhead. The service of Krishna's Desire saves one from the hand of the great foe of hankering for one's own sensuous gratification. One is thereby freed from serving the earthly passions and may be installed in the service of the Desire of the transcendental Despot, in the singing of the saving hymn of transcendental love. ~ from Testimony of Love by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura

» The mind must be captured by Transcendence
“If at the time of dying I remember a dog then I shall go to the womb of a dog. Such danger is there. So we must do everything for the service of our Srila Guru Maharaj, then nothing can disturb us. It is necessary that the mind be captured by the transcendental environment.”
~ Swami B.S. Govinda

» The Fickle and Mad Mind
Under the guidance of our mind we may try many things, but that is not really bhakti. Our mind is always going this way and that way. The fickle and mad mind can do anything, but a good result will not always come from that. If we do good things then a good result will come to us, if we do not, then a bad result will come to us; such is our position. We will gain relief from the illusory environment only if in an exclusive way we try to follow our Gurudeva. ~ from Divine Guidance by Swami B.S. Govinda

» Help Comes From Above
Only when you really come in touch with the plane above maya can you fight against maya; only then will maya withdraw. We must have some shelter beyond maya from where we can fight with illusion. We are advised to take shelter of sadhus (saints) and shasrta (scriptures). Their help comes from above, and we must accept that help from the inner core of our hearts. ~ from Sri Guru and His Grace by Swami B.R. Sridhar

» Slaves of the Truth
We are slaves of the truth. We are beggars for the pure current of truth that is constantly flowing: the fresh current. We are not charmed by any formality. I will bow down my head wherever I find the river of nectar coming down to me. When one is conscious that the Absolute Truth is descending to him from the highest domain, he will think, “I must surrender myself here.” ~ from Sri Guru and His Grace by Swami B.R. Sridhar

» One with God?
A bona fide disciple must always remain fully awake to the fact that his highest spiritual fortune is but a gracious grant from the Absolute Lord, and not a matter of right to be demanded or fought out. Constitutionally, we are equipped only to be proper recipients of God’s favor. In this connection it should be clearly understood that an individual soul can never be substantially the same as the Absolute Person. Not even in his liberated or fully realized condition can an individual soul be one with Godhead. ~ From Sri Guru and His Grace by Swami B.R. Sridhar

» Jiv Jago!

jiv jago, jiv jago gauracanda bole

kota nidra jao maya-pisacira kole!

Is this the clarion call or what? We are sleeping on the lap of Maya in ignorance but the clarion call is coming, "Wake up!" The Upanishads say, uttishata jagrata prapya varan nibodhata, "Wake up, arise and begin the search for Sri Krishna. Now is the time to get love for Krishna." The Upanishads, Bhaktivinode Thakur, the song of Krishna's flute; the gist of that sound, its wealth, is realized in connection with the lotus feet of Srimati Radharani. Krishna is only attracted to his Divine Potency. She is serving Krishna wholeheartedly and very extensively with her associates. She is known as Radharani. And Krishna is always and only thinking of her. - Swami B.S. Govinda

» Through His Devotees
The Maya-Sakti is very heavy for us because we are very tiny souls. She is always attracting us through her illusion. In one way, it is for our rectification, no doubt, but it is not a happy position for the conditioned souls. However, we will get relief from this environment if we try to know our position, and what is Krishna consciousness. If we do this, then by the mercy of Krishna and His devotee we will get strength to come out from the illusory environment, and, when we try, Krishna will help us. That assistance comes to us through His devotees. - Swami B.S. Govinda

» What is Krishna consciousness?
What is Krishna consciousness? Krishna consciousness means real love and beauty. Real love and beauty must predominate; not selfishness, or exploitation. Generally, whenever we see beauty, we think that beauty is to be exploited, but actually, beauty is the exploiter, beauty is the master, and beauty is the controlling principle. - Swami B.R. Sridhar

» Bhagavad-Gita (4.34)
“To understand transcendental knowledge, you must approach a self-realized soul, accept him as your spiritual master, and take initiation from him. Inquire submissively and render service unto him. Self-realized souls can impart knowledge unto you, for they have seen the truth.”

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San Jose: Honoring the Appearance of Srila Gopal Bhatta Goswami Prabhu

Sunday 07 January 2007 at 1:20 pm

Srila Gopal Bhatta Goswami Prabhu The appearance of Gopal Bhatta Goswami Prabhu was honored last night in San Jose.

The following is from kindly borrowed from iskcon.com's Disciplic Successions page:

In the year 1510, while Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was on tour of South India, the family of Vyenkata Bhatta had the great fortune of hosting the Lord during the four months of the rainy season. Gopala, Vyenkata Bhatta's seven-year-old son, served Lord Caitanya continuously and developed an intense love for Him.

When Lord Caitanya was about to leave, Vyenkata Bhatta fainted and Gopala Bhatta's eyes filled with tears of love. For Gopala Bhatta's sake, Lord Caitanya agreed to stay a few more days.

During this time, Gopala Bhatta had a spiritual vision in which Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu revealed Himself as Lord Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and said that Gopala would someday meet in Vrindavana two jewel-like devotees - Rupa Goswami and Sanatana Goswami, leaders in Lord Caitanya's movement.

When Gopala Bhatta awoke from trance, he wanted to leave for Vrindavana at once. Lord Caitanya told him to stay and serve his parents.

Gopala Bhatta went on to study rhetoric, poetry, Vedanta, and Sanskrit grammar from his uncle Prabodhananda Sarasvati, a great devotee of Lord Caitanya.

After the passing of his parents, Gopala Bhatta travelled to Vrindavana, where he was lovingly met by Rupa Goswami and Sanatana Goswami. When Lord Caitanya heard that Gopala Bhatta was in Vrindavana, He was extremely pleased. The Lord sent some of His personal belongings to Gopala Bhatta, who worshiped them. The Lord also sent a letter instructing Gopala Bhatta to help Rupa and Sanatana compile transcendental literature. Gopala Bhatta accepted this instruction from the Lord as his life and soul, and he later engaged his disciple Srinivasa Acarya in carrying the writings to Bengal.

Once, on a trip to the Gandaki River, in Nepal, Gopala Bhatta obtained twelve salagrama-silas.(A sila is a special Deity of the Lord in the form of a stone.) The silas entered his waterpot as he filled it with water from the river. When he tried to return them to the river and refill his pot, they again entered the pot. Accepting this as the Lord's mercy, Gopala Bhatta decided to bring the silas back to Vrindavana.

One day, Gopala Bhatta felt the need to worship a Deity of Krishna. The next morning he saw that one of his silas had transformed into a beautiful Deity of Lord Krsna. Gopala Bhatta named the Deity Radha-Ramana, 'Krsna, who brings pleasure to Radharani'. He established the worship of Radha-Ramana, and the Radha-Ramana temple is still one of the main places of pilgrimage in Vrindavana.

Divine Appearance of Srila Gopal Bhatta Goswami Prabhu ki jaya!

Sriman Mahaprabhu ki jaya

All Glories to Sriman Mahaprabhu!

Sarvabhavana Prabhu

Sarvabhavana Prabhu gave a beautiful lecture on the condition of the jiva in the material world, how special is our great fortune to have the sukriti to get the mercy of the Rupanuga Sampradaya, the importance of the association of the devotees to our spiritual life, and the need to avoid viewing seeming faults in the devotees. He quoted Srila Sridhar Maharaj in saying that on a lake (the devotee's soul) there may be some grass growing (representing anarthas or material remnants) but these aren't deep rooted and will easily be removed very soon. Our vision should be to see the devotee and not the material remnants. Sarvabhavana Prabhu ji jaya!

Laxmipriya Devi

Laxmiprixa Devi gave a very sweet account of the primary pastimes of Srila Gopal Bhatta Goswami Prabhu. She is a very inspiring devotee; she said how she gets excited as the rememberance days of the Sadhus in our line approach and is moved to find out all about them. I wish I was so naturally drawn to Krishna Katha! I can't express how nice the talk was. May I always remember Gopal Bhatta Goswami Prabhu because of her. Laxmipriya Devi ki jaya!

Ramananda Prabhu and Ananta Rupa Prabhu

Ramananda Prabhu and Ananta Rupa Prabhu take in the nectar.

Kitchen seva ki jaya!

The hard working kitchen crew endlessly serving Sriman Mahaprabhu: Nandarani Devi, Lila Shakti Devi, Jivana Devi, Rohini Devi, Dikshavati Devi, and Sita Devi.

Dikshavati Devi feet ki jaya!

And last but not least, here are Dikshavati Devi's lotus feet, adorned with very sweet cow socks!

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Divine Guidance

San Jose: Honoring the Appearance of Srila Gopal Bhatta Goswami Prabhu

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