● svayambhū – Lord Kṛṣṇa is the self-effulgent Lord;
● śambhu – His auspicious transcendental qualities bring great happiness to the devotees;
● āditya – He appears in a splendid golden form among the demigods;
● puṣkarākṣa – He is all-pervading;
● mahāsvana – He is the supreme object of worship;
● anādi-nidhana – He was never born and will never die;
● dhātā – He is the original creator, before Brahmā or anyone else;
● vidhātā – He is the original author of all Vedic injunctions;
● dhatur uttama – He is the Supreme Person.
References:
“Lord Brahmā, the creator of the cosmic manifestation, is known as Svayambhū, or one who is born without father and mother. The general process is that a living creature is born out of the sex combination of the male father and the female mother. But Brahmā, the firstborn living being, is born out of the abdominal lotus flower of the Mahā-Viṣṇu plenary expansion of Lord Kṛṣṇa. The abdominal lotus flower is part of the Lord’s bodily limbs, and Brahmā is born out of the lotus flower. Therefore Lord Brahmā is also a part of the Lord’s body.” [Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.6.23 Purport]
“Lord Brahmā, Bhagavān Nārada, Lord Śiva, the four Kumāras, Lord Kapila [the son of Devahūti], Svāyambhuva Manu, Prahlāda Mahārāja, Janaka Mahārāja, Grandfather Bhīṣma, Bali Mahārāja, Śukadeva Gosvāmī and I myself [Yamarāja] know the real religious principle. My dear servants, this transcendental religious principle, which is known as bhāgavata-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.” [Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.3.20-21]
jñānena tu tad ajñānaṁ
yeṣāṁ nāśitam ātmanaḥ
teṣām āditya-vaj jñānaṁ
prakāśayati tat param
“When, however, one is enlightened with the knowledge by which nescience is destroyed, then his knowledge reveals everything, as the sun lights up everything in the daytime.” [Bhagavad-gita 5.16]
prahlādaś cāsmi daityānāṁ
kālaḥ kalayatām aham
mṛgāṇāṁ ca mṛgendro ‘haṁ
vainateyaś ca pakṣiṇām
“Among the Daitya demons I am the devoted Prahlāda; among subduers I am time; among the beasts I am the lion, and among birds I am Garuḍa, the feathered carrier of Viṣṇu.” [Bhagavad-gita 10.30]
PURPORT
Diti and Aditi are two sisters. The sons of Aditi are called Ādityas, and the sons of Diti are called Daityas. All the Ādityas are devotees of the Lord, and all the Daityas are atheistic. Although Prahlāda was born in the family of the Daityas, he was a great devotee from his childhood. Because of his devotional service and godly nature, he is considered to be a representative of Kṛṣṇa.
“Then, in the Satya-yuga, the lotus-eyed Supreme Personality of Godhead, being pleased, showed Himself to that Kardama Muni and displayed His transcendental form, which can be understood only through the Vedas.” [Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.21.8]
antar bahiś cākhila-loka-pālakair
adṛṣṭa-rūpo vicarasy uru-svanaḥ
sa īśvaras tvaṁ ya idaṁ vaśe ’nayan
nāmnā yathā dārumayīṁ naraḥ striyam
“My dear Lord, just as a puppeteer controls his dancing dolls and a husband controls his wife, Your Lordship controls all the living entities in the universe, such as the brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas and śūdras. Although You are in everyone’s heart as the supreme witness and commander and are outside everyone as well, the so-called leaders of societies, communities and countries cannot realize You. Only those who hear the vibration of the Vedic mantras can appreciate You.” [Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.18.26]
na tv evāhaṁ jātu nāsaṁ
na tvaṁ neme janādhipāḥ
na caiva na bhaviṣyāmaḥ
sarve vayam ataḥ param
“Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor all these kings; nor in the future shall any of us cease to be.” [Bhagavad-gita 2.12]
pitāham asya jagato
mātā dhātā pitāmahaḥ
vedyaṁ pavitram oṁkāra
ṛk sāma yajur eva ca
“I am the father of this universe, the mother, the support, and the grandsire. I am the object of knowledge, the purifier and the syllable om. I am also the Ṛk, the Sāma, and the Yajur [Vedas].” [Bhagavad-gita 9.17]
tal loka-padmaṁ sa u eva viṣṇuḥ
prāvīviśat sarva-guṇāvabhāsam
tasmin svayaṁ vedamayo vidhātā
svayambhuvaṁ yaṁ sma vadanti so ’bhūt
“Into that universal lotus flower Lord Viṣṇu personally entered as the Supersoul, and when it was thus impregnated with all the modes of material nature, the personality of Vedic wisdom, the controller of the universe, whom we call the self-born, was generated.” [Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.8.15]
“The foolish with a poor fund of knowledge cannot know the transcendental nature of the forms, names and activities of the Lord, the creator, who is playing like an actor in a drama. Nor can they express such things, neither in their speculations nor in their words.” [Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.3.37]
David Bruce Hughes, aka Gaurahari Dasanudas Babaji, will present a rare two-day live workshop in the San Diego, California area on January 12 & 13, 2008.
Topics for January 12 include: 2012, the Singularity and How to Escape the Matrix by Changing your Consciousness.
Topics for January 13 include: Vedic Astrology, Cosmology and Our Place in the ConsciousCosmos.
Attendees will be offered a personal Vedic Astrology (Jyotish) reading on the question of their choice. The reading may be completed at the workshop or later by web videoconference at your convenience.
Like all of Baba’s work, fees for this unprecedented presentation of the Esoteric Teaching of the Vedas are based on a sliding scale according to income and need. Attendees are urged to make a freewill donation according to the value they receive and their means.
Babaji is based in Mexico City and is establishing a rural retreat center in the mountainous wilderness near Huautla, Oaxaca. His website http://esotericteaching.org presents a treasure trove of courses, articles, books, videos, and live webcasts of seminars and satsangs based on the Esoteric Teaching, the transcendent essence of the ancient Vedic spiritual tradition of India. There is even a complete searchable and downloadable library of original Vedic transcendental literature in English and Spanish. His large and diverse international community of students participate enthusiastically in the online forums and interactive webcasts on his site.
Register by contacting Randy Johnson, laserandy@gmail.com 760-644-5554. For questions about the content of the workshop, contact Baba directly at das.dasanudas@gmail.com 202-629-3746.
Time is short; please assist us by passing this message on to friends who may be interested in the Esoteric Teaching.
● sarva – Lord Kṛṣṇa is present everywhere and therefore He is, in one sense, everything;
● śarva – His association is supremely beneficial;
● śiva—He is the most auspicious personality;
● sthānu – He is always very merciful;
● bhūtādi – He is the creator of all living entities;
● nidhi – He gives happiness to all;
● avyaya – He is imperishable;
● saṁbhava – He descends to this material world to protect His devotees;
● bhāvana – He always considers how to protect His devotees;
● bhartā – He is the maintainer of the devotees;
● prabhava – He is the origin of everything;
● prabhu – He is the supreme spiritual master who can perform feats impossible even for
Brahmā or Śiva;
● īśvara – He is the supreme controller of all living entities.
References:
namaḥ purastād atha pṛṣṭhatas te
namo ’stu te sarvata eva sarva
ananta-vīryāmita-vikramas tvaṁ
sarvaṁ samāpnoṣi tato ’si sarvaḥ
“Obeisances from the front, from behind and from all sides! O unbounded power, You are the master of limitless might! You are all-pervading, and thus You are everything!” [Bhagavad-gita 11.40]
saṅgaṁ tyajeta mithuna-vratīnāṁ mumukṣuḥ
sarvātmanā na visṛjed bahir-indriyāṇiekaś caran rahasi cittam ananta īśe
yuñjīta tad-vratiṣu sādhuṣu cet prasaṅgaḥ
“A person desiring liberation from material bondage must give up the association of persons interested in sex life and should not employ his senses externally [in seeing, hearing, talking, walking and so on]. One should always stay in a secluded place, completely fixing his mind at the lotus feet of the unlimited Personality of Godhead, and if one wants any association at all, he should associate with persons similarly engaged.” [Srimad-Bhagavatam 9.6.51]
“The blessed Lord Śiva becomes all the more blessed by bearing on his head the holy waters of the Ganges, which has its source in the water that washed the Lord’s lotus feet. The Lord’s feet act like thunderbolts hurled to shatter the mountain of sin stored in the mind of the meditating devotee. One should therefore meditate on the lotus feet of the Lord for a long time.” [Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.28.22]
idaṁ hi viśvaṁ bhagavān ivetaro
yato jagat-sthāna-nirodha-sambhavāḥ
tad dhi svayaṁ veda bhavāṁs tathāpi te
prādeśa-mātraṁ bhavataḥ pradarśitam
“The Supreme Lord Personality of Godhead is Himself this cosmos, and still He is aloof from it. From Him only has this cosmic manifestation emanated, in Him it rests, and unto Him it enters after annihilation. Your good self knows all about this. I have given only a synopsis.” [Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.5.20]
“The sense organs are attached to the modes of material nature, and the modes of material nature are products of the false ego. The mind is subjected to all kinds of material experiences (happiness and distress), and the intelligence is the feature of the mind’s deliberation.” [Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.10.32]
mora sei kalā-nidhi, prāṇa-rakṣā-mahauṣadhi,
sakhi, mora teṅho suhṛttama
deha jīye tāṅhā vine, dhik ei jīvane,
vidhi kare eta viḍambana!
“Kṛṣṇa is the reservoir of art and culture, and He is the panacea that saves My life. O My dear friend, since I live without Him, who is the best among My friends, I condemn the duration of My life. I think that Providence has cheated Me in many ways.” [Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila 19.43]
ajo ‘pi sann avyayātmā
bhūtānām īśvaro ‘pi san
prakṛtiṁ svām adhiṣṭhāya
sambhavāmy ātma-māyayā
“Although I am unborn and My transcendental body never deteriorates, and although I am the Lord of all sentient beings, I still appear in every millennium in My original transcendental form.” [Bhagavad-gita 4.6]
ko nv atra te ’khila-guro bhagavan prayāsa
uttāraṇe ’sya bhava-sambhava-lopa-hetoḥ
mūḍheṣu vai mahad-anugraha ārta-bandho
kiṁ tena te priya-janān anusevatāṁ naḥ
“O my Lord, O Supreme Personality of Godhead, original spiritual master of the entire world, what is the difficulty for You, who manage the affairs of the universe, in delivering the fallen souls engaged in Your devotional service? You are the friend of all suffering humanity, and for great personalities it is necessary to show mercy to the foolish. Therefore I think that You will show Your causeless mercy to persons like us, who engage in Your service.” [Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.9.42]
nāsti buddhir ayuktasya
na cāyuktasya bhāvanā
na cābhāvayataḥ śāntir
aśāntasya kutaḥ sukham
“One who is not in transcendental consciousness can have neither a controlled mind nor steady intelligence, without which there is no possibility of peace. And how can there be any happiness without peace?” [Bhagavad-gita 2.66]
“I am the goal, the sustainer, the master, the witness, the abode, the refuge and the most dear friend. I am the creation and the annihilation, the basis of everything, the resting place and the eternal seed.” [Bhagavad-gita 9.18]
pitāsi lokasya carācarasya
tvam asya pūjyaś ca gurur garīyān
na tvat-samo ’sty abhyadhikaḥ kuto ‘nyo
loka-traye ‘py apratima-prabhāva
“You are the father of this complete cosmic manifestation, the worshipable chief, the spiritual master. No one is equal to You, nor can anyone be one with You. Within the three worlds, You are immeasurable.” [Bhagavad-gita 11.43]
“The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone’s heart, O Arjuna, and is directing the wanderings of all living entities, who are seated as on a machine, made of the material energy.” [Bhagavad-gita 18.61]
● yogo – Lord Kṛṣṇa is the auspicious reservoir of yogic perfection, and success in yoga practice depends on Him;
● yoga-vidāṁ netā – He is the leader of those advanced in yoga; ● pradhāna-puruṣeśvara – He is the supreme controller of the material universe and all living entities;
● narasiṁha-vapuḥ – He appeared in a half-man, half-lion incarnation;
● śrīmān – He is extremely handsome;
● keśava – He is the Father of Brahmā and Śiva;
● puruṣottama – He is the Supreme Person.
References:
“The stage of perfection is called trance, or samādhi, when one’s mind is completely restrained from material mental activities by practice of yoga. This is characterized by one’s ability to see the self by the pure mind and to relish and rejoice in the self. In that joyous state, one is situated in boundless transcendental happiness and enjoys himself through transcendental senses. Established thus, one never departs from the truth, and upon gaining this he thinks there is no greater gain. Being situated in such a position, one is never shaken, even in the midst of greatest difficulty. This indeed is actual freedom from all miseries arising from material contact.” [Bhagavad-gita 6.20-23]
sa vai patiḥ syād akutobhayaḥ svayaṁ
samantataḥ pāti bhayāturaṁ janam
sa eka evetarathā mitho bhayaṁ
naivātmalābhād adhi manyate param
“He alone who is never afraid but who, on the contrary, gives complete shelter to all fearful persons can actually become a husband and protector. Therefore, my Lord, you are the only husband, and no one else can claim this position. If you were not the only husband, You would be afraid of others. Therefore persons learned in all Vedic literature accept only Your Lordship as everyone’s master, and they think no one else a better husband and protector than You.” [Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.18.20]
PURPORT
Here the meaning of husband or guardian is clearly explained. People want to become a husband, a guardian, a governor or a political leader without knowing the actual meaning of such a superior position. There are many people all over the world—indeed, throughout the universe—who claim for some time that they are husbands, political leaders or guardians, but in due course of time the Supreme Lord desires their removal from their posts, and their careers are immediately finished. Therefore those who are actually learned and advanced in spiritual life do not accept any leader, husband or maintainer other than the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Lord Kṛṣṇa personally states in Bhagavad-gītā 18.66, ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi: “I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions.” Kṛṣṇa is not afraid of anyone. On the contrary, everyone is afraid of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore He can actually give protection to a subordinate living entity.
nimitta-mātram evāsau sṛjyānāṁ sarga-karmaṇi
pradhāna-kāraṇī-bhūtā yato vai sṛjya-śaktayaḥ
“The Lord is only the supreme cause in the material creation. The immediate cause is material nature by which the cosmic manifestation is visible. The created beings are of many varieties, such as the demigods, human beings and lower animals, and all of them are subject to the reactions of their past good or bad activities. The Lord only gives them the proper facilities for such activities and the regulations of the modes of nature, but He is never responsible for their past and present activities.” [Bhagavad-gita 4.14 Purport]
In the Vedānta-sūtra 2.1.34 it is confirmed, vaiṣamya-nairghṛṇye na sāpekṣatvāt:“The Lord is never partial to any living entity.” The living entity is responsible for his own acts. The Lord only gives him facilities, through the agency of material nature, the external energy. Anyone who is fully conversant with all the intricacies of this law of karma, or fruitive activities, does not become affected by the results of his activities. In other words, the person who understands this transcendental nature of the Lord is an experienced man in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and thus he is never subjected to the laws of karma. One who does not know the transcendental nature of the Lord and who thinks that the activities of the Lord are aimed at fruitive results, as are the activities of the ordinary living entities, certainly becomes entangled himself in fruitive reactions. But one who knows the Supreme Truth is a liberated soul fixed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
hato hiraṇyakaśipur
hariṇā siṁha-rūpiṇā
“Appearing as Nṛsiṁhadeva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Hari, killed Hiraṇyakaśipu.” [Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.1.41]
namas te narasiṁhāya prahlādāhlāda-dāyine
hiraṇyakaśipor vakṣaḥ-śilā-ṭaṅka-nakhālaye
“I offer my obeisances to Lord Narasiṁha who gives joy to Prahlāda Mahārāja and whose nails are like chisels on the stonelike chest of the demon Hiraṇyakaśipu.”
ito nṛsiṁhaḥ parato nṛsiṁho yato yato yāmi tato nṛsiṁhaḥ
bahir nṛsiṁho hṛdaye nṛsiṁho nṛsiṁham ādiṁ śaraṇaṁ prapadye
“Lord Nṛsiṁha is here and also there. Wherever I go Lord Nṛsiṁha is there. He is in the heart and is outside as well. I surrender to Lord Nṛsiṁha, the origin of all things and the supreme refuge.”
tava kara-kamala-vare nakham adbhuta-śṛṅgaṁ
dalita-hiraṇyakaśipu-tanu-bhṛṅgam
keśava dhṛta-narahari-rūpa jaya jagadīśa hare
“O Keśava! O Lord of the universe! O Lord Hari, who have assumed the form of half-man, half-lion! All glories to You! Just as one can easily crush a wasp between one’s fingernails, so in the same way the body of the wasplike demon Hiraṇyakaśipu has been ripped apart by the wonderful pointed nails on Your beautiful lotus hands.” [Śrī Nṛsiṁha Praṇāma, traditional Vaiṣṇava prayer]
paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ
vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām
dharma-saṁsthāpanārthāya
sambhavāmi yuge yuge
“In order to deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I advent Myself millennium after millennium.” [Bhagavad-gita 4.8]
pūtātmā paramātmā ca
muktānāṁ paramā gatiḥ
avyayaḥ puruṣaḥ sākṣī
kṣetrajño ’kṣara eva ca
● pūtātmā – Lord Kṛṣṇa is supremely pure;
● paramātmā – He is the Supreme Soul; ca – and;
● muktānāṁ paramā gatiḥ – He is the ultimate goal and the destination of the liberated souls;
● avyayaḥ – He is eternal;
● puruṣaḥ – He is the Supreme Person;
● sākṣī – He is the witness of everything;
● kṣetrajño – He knows everything that happens to all living entities;
● akṣara – He is infallible; eva ca – even so.
“In the presence of the glaring effulgence of the bodily luster of Nārāyaṇa, everyone else’s luster faded away, and everyone stopped speaking. Fearful with awe and veneration, all present touched their hands to their heads and prepared to offer their prayers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Adhokṣaja.” [Srimad-Bhagavatam 4.7.23]
na jāyate mriyate vā kadācin
nāyaṁ bhūtvā bhavitā vā na bhūyaḥ
ajo nityaḥ śāśvato ‘yaṁ purāṇo
na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre
“For the soul there is never birth nor death. Nor, having once been, does he ever cease to be. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing, undying and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain.” [Bhagavad-gita 2.20]
“After being situated in this yoga practice and vibrating the sacred syllable om, the supreme combination of letters, if one thinks of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and quits his body, he will certainly reach the spiritual planets.” [Bhagavad-gita 8.12]
tvam akṣaraṁ paramaṁ veditavyaṁ
tvam asya viśvasya paraṁ nidhānam
tvam avyayaḥ śāśvata-dharma-goptā
sanātanas tvaṁ puruṣo mato me
“You are the supreme primal objective; You are the best in all the universes; You are inexhaustible, and You are the oldest; You are the maintainer of religion, the eternal Personality of Godhead.” [Bhagavad-gita 11.48]
“The Personality of Godhead is perfect and complete, and because He is completely perfect, all emanations from Him, such as this phenomenal world, are perfectly equipped as complete wholes. Whatever is produced of the Complete Whole is also complete in itself. Because He is the Complete Whole, even though so many complete units emanate from Him, He remains the complete balance.” [Sri Isopanisad, Invocation]
“I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, the first progenitor who is tending the cows, yielding all desire, in abodes built with spiritual gems, surrounded by millions of purpose trees, always served with great reverence and affection by hundreds of thousands of lakṣmīs or gopīs.” [Brahma-samhita 5.29]
“I am the goal, the sustainer, the master, the witness, the abode, the refuge and the most dear friend. I am the creation and the annihilation, the basis of everything, the resting place and the eternal seed.” [Bhagavad-gita 9.18]
The Blessed Lord then said: “This body, O son of Kuntī, is called the field, and one who knows this body is called the knower of the field.” [Bhagavad-gita 13.2]
“Although the two birds are in the same tree, the eating bird is fully engrossed with anxiety and moroseness as the enjoyer of the fruits of the tree. But if in some way or other he turns his face to his friend who is the Lord and knows His glories—at once the suffering bird becomes free from all anxieties.” [Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 3.1.2]
● oṁ – I offer my respectful obeisances;
● viśvaṁ viṣṇur – unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead who pervades the entire
universe;
● vaṣatkāra – He is worshiped in the Vedic sacrifices;
● bhūta-bhavya-bhavat-prabhu – He is the supreme controller in all phases of time: past, present and future;
● bhūta-kṛt – He is the creator of the cosmic manifestation;
● bhūta-bhṛt – He maintains the cosmic manifestation;
● bhāva – He is the master of all spiritual and material potencies;
● bhūtātmā – He is the creator of all living entities;
● bhūta-bhāvana – He is the supreme well-wisher who promotes everyone’s ultimate welfare.
References:
śrī-bhagavān uvāca
mayā prasannena tavārjunedaṁ
rūpaṁ paraṁ darśitam ātma-yogāt
tejo-mayaṁ viśvam anantam ādyaṁ
yan me tvad anyena na dṛṣṭa-pūrvam
The Blessed Lord said: “My dear Arjuna, happily do I show you this universal form within the material world by My internal potency. No one before you has ever seen this unlimited and glaringly effulgent form.” [Bhagavad-gita 11.47]
iṣṭān bhogān hi vo devā
dāsyante yajña-bhāvitāḥ
tair dattān apradāyaibhyo
yo bhuṅkte stena eva saḥ
“In charge of the various necessities of life, the demigods, being satisfied by the performance of yajña [sacrifice], supply all necessities to man. But he who enjoys these gifts, without offering them to the demigods in return, is certainly a thief.” [Bhagavad-gita 3.12]
“Thereupon the supplementary Vedic literature, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, which was described by the Personality of Godhead and which contains ten characteristics, was told with satisfaction by the father [Brahmā] to his son Nārada.” [Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.9.44]
na ca mat-sthāni bhūtāni
paśya me yogam aiśvaram
bhūta-bhṛn na ca bhūta-stho
mamātmā bhūta-bhāvanaḥ
“And yet everything that is created does not rest in Me. Behold My mystic opulence! Although I am the maintainer of all living entities, and although I am everywhere, still My Self is the very source of creation.” [Bhagavad-gita 9.5]
“O lotus-eyed Lord, by concentrating one’s meditation on Your lotus feet, which are the reservoir of all existence, and by accepting those lotus feet as the boat by which to cross the ocean of nescience, one follows in the footsteps of mahājanas [great saints, sages and devotees]. By this simple process, one can cross the ocean of nescience as easily as one steps over the hoofprint of a calf.” [Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.2.30]
“Brahmā, who was not born of a material source but of the lotus flower coming out of the navel abdomen of the Lord, is the creator of all those who are materially born. Of course, by the grace of the Lord, Brahmā was able to see the form of the Lord.” [Srimad-Bhagavatam 2.8.9]
It’s hard to believe it’s December already. This has been a very busy and productive year. But Thanksgiving is a good time of year to slow down, take a good look at what we have accomplished this year, and plan where we want to go in the next. So we will take a short break between mid-December and the beginning of January for detailed evaluation and planning.
The model of world domination and competition between religious organizations is fatally flawed.
We will not create yet another religious organization or -ism.
We will remain a small esoteric school based on the close personal guru-disciple relationship.
We will not seek out nor engage in conflicts with sectarian religious organizations.
We will maintain an extensive Internet presence and develop tools to help individuals find meaningful answers to their questions about spiritual life.
We will develop a rural community where sincere students of spiritual life can retreat and practice intense sadhana in a pure, wholesome environment.
2008 Goals
2008 will be our last year of full-time public preaching. Actually we have already accomplished almost all of the tasks and goals set by our Guru, Srila Prabhupada, when he left this world 30 years ago in 1978. Therefore following the examples of the great souls like Lord Caitanya and Bhaktivinod Thakur, in mid-2008 we will retire to an isolated rural location for intensive chanting and hearing of the Holy Name and pastimes of the Lord. We will select a limited number of sincere and dedicated disciples to accompany us.
In addition, we will accomplish the following goals:
Complete Jyotish course based on BPHS
CompleteSri Visnusahasranama podcast
Continue Jyotish and Satsang videoconferences
Complete JYOTI program
Complete AskBaba program
Interview, select and initiate disciples for rural community
Stats
Our rapid growth of earlier this year is levelling off, but the stats show that our visitors are going deeper into the site and spending more time. I interpret this as a good sign that our community is maturing and getting serious about studying the Esoteric Teaching. Quality is more important than quantity in spiritual matters.
I look forward to helping you advance in spiritual life and attain complete enlightenment through the power of the ancient Esoteric Teaching of the Vedas.
love,
Baba
David Bruce Hughes Master Teacher,
Esoteric Teaching Seminars
love,