01.27.10
Posted in Bhagavad-gita, Darshan, Esoteric Teaching, Podcasts at 06:23 by anandavardhana
Uddhava Prabhu gives a nice class on Bhagavad-gītā 10:31:
pavanaḥ pavatām asmi
rāmaḥ śastra-bhṛtām aham
jhaṣāṇāṁ makaraś cāsmi
srotasām asmi jāhnavī
“Of purifiers I am the wind; of the wielders of weapons I am Rāma; of fishes I am the shark, and of flowing rivers I am the Ganges.” [Bhagavad-gītā 10.31]
PURPORT
Of all the aquatics the shark is one of the biggest and is certainly the most dangerous to man. Thus the shark represents Kṛṣṇa. And of rivers, the greatest in India is the Mother Ganges. Lord Rāmacandra, of the Rāmāyaṇa, an incarnation of Kṛṣṇa, is the mightiest of warriors.
Please join us for Evening Darshan live webcast daily at 6:30 PM India time, on our main site.
The video can be watched here on Youtube.
You can also download the original .mov file here.
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01.26.10
Posted in Bhagavad-gita, Darshan, Esoteric Teaching, Podcasts at 06:18 by anandavardhana
mayy eva mana ādhatsva
mayi buddhiṁ niveśaya
nivasiṣyasi mayy eva
ata ūrdhvaṁ na saṁśayaḥ
“Just fix your mind upon Me, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and engage all your intelligence in Me. Thus you will live in Me always, without a doubt.”
atha cittaṁ samādhātuṁ
na śaknoṣi mayi sthiram
abhyāsa-yogena tato
mām icchāptuṁ dhanañjaya
“My dear Arjuna, O winner of wealth, if you cannot fix your mind upon Me without deviation, then follow the regulated principles of bhakti-yoga In this way you will develop a desire to attain to Me.”
abhyāse ‘py asamartho ‘si
mat-karma-paramo bhava
mad-artham api karmāṇi
kurvan siddhim avāpsyasi
“If you cannot practice the regulations of bhakti-yoga, then just try to work for Me, because by working for Me you will come to the perfect stage.”
athaitad apy aśakto ‘si
kartuṁ mad-yogam āśritaḥ
sarva-karma-phala-tyāgaṁ
tataḥ kuru yatātmavān
“If, however, you are unable to work in this consciousness, then try to act giving up all results of your work and try to be self-situated.”
śreyo hi jñānam abhyāsāj
jñānād dhyānaṁ viśiṣyate
dhyānāt karma-phala-tyāgas
tyāgāc chāntir anantaram
“If you cannot take to this practice, then engage yourself in the cultivation of knowledge. Better than knowledge, however, is meditation, and better than meditation is renunciation of the fruits of action, for by such renunciation one can attain peace of mind.” [Bhagavad-gītā 12.8-12]
Please join us for Evening Darshan live webcast daily at 6:30 PM India time, on our main site.
The video can be watched here on Youtube.
You can also download the original .mov file here.
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01.23.10
Posted in Community News, Darshan, Esoteric Teaching, Podcasts at 06:06 by anandavardhana
We want to hear from our University students and community members about their questions, experiences and problems.
Please join us for Evening Darshan live webcast daily at 6:30 PM India time, on our main site.
The video can be watched here on Youtube.
You can also download the original .mov file here.
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01.06.10
Posted in Bhagavad-gita, Darshan, Esoteric Teaching, Podcasts at 05:27 by Nava-yauvana dāsa
Today’s Darshan was led by Uddhava Prabhu, focusing on a verse from the Bhagavad-gītā about the various grades of sacrifice.
śreyān dravya-mayād yajñāj
jñāna-yajñaḥ parantapa
sarvaṁ karmākhilaṁ pārtha
jñāne parisamāpyate
“O chastiser of the enemy, the sacrifice of knowledge is greater than the sacrifice of material possessions. O son of Pṛthā, after all, the sacrifice of work culminates in transcendental knowledge.” [Bhagavad-gītā 4.33]
Please join us for Evening Darshan live webcast daily at 6:30 PM India time, on our main site.
The video can be watched here on Youtube.
You can also download the original .mov file here.
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09.08.09
Posted in Community News, Darshan, Esoteric Teaching, Podcasts at 12:46 by anandavardhana
Some rascal former students want to criticize us and find fault, but they cannot demonstrate any expertise in transcendental knowledge, spiritual life or devotional service. What right do they have to criticize? Let them become expert, then they can criticize and we will accept. But no one can show this expertise. Who else is preaching on Nectar of Devotion, rasa-tattva, ontology, Vedānta-sūtra, consciousness and the physics of transcendental sound vibration? Let them become expert, then we will take their criticism seriously. They are simply looking for some excuse to fall down. They cannot take responsibility for their own fallen condition, so they want to project it on us. Our present students should not be disturbed by this; rather, see it as a warning not to become fallen like that. Just like I learned so much from my Godbrothers about what not to do, and as a result we studiously avoid so many similar problems.
Please join us for Evening Darshan live webcast daily except Sunday at 6:30 PM EDT at our main site.
The video can be watched here on Youtube.
You can also download the original .mov file here.
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09.03.09
Posted in Darshan, Esoteric Teaching, Podcasts at 21:06 by anandavardhana
We install Devesh Prabhu’s Gaura-Nitāi Deities for worship in his home in Connecticut. Everyone bathes the Deities with milk, yogurt, ghee, honey and water while we chant the Holy Name. Then we have a talk based on Bhagavad-gītā 3.30:
mayi sarvāṇi karmāṇi
sannyasyādhyātma-cetasā
nirāśīr nirmamo bhūtvā
yudhyasva vigata-jvaraḥ
“Therefore, O Arjuna, surrendering all your works unto Me, with mind intent on Me, and without desire for gain and free from egoism and lethargy, fight.”
Please join us for Evening Darshan live webcast daily except Sunday at 6:30 PM EDT at our main site.
The video can be watched here on Youtube.
You can also download the original .mov file here and the extracted audio here.
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09.02.09
Posted in Community News, Darshan, Esoteric Teaching, Podcasts at 12:34 by anandavardhana
Recently we have seen that some former students used our network to establish their own network, then start preaching some different philosophy. This is completely unacceptable, and we have deleted their accounts. In this Darshan we go into detail why political behavior is unacceptable in spiritual life. Our Godbrothers became completely embroiled in politics and as a result, stopped their preaching. We cannot allow this kind of disturbance in our saṅga, because it makes the communication of the higher teachings of bhakti impossible. We are not a church but an esoteric school; we aim for quality rather than quantity. We are not dependent on our students for financial support, so we do not have to compromise. We can present the Esoteric Teaching of Śrī Kṛṣṇa exactly as it is, without distortion.
Questions: * My question is related to the differences between Vaisnavas and Brahmins. Does a Vaisnava transcend varnas? If so, please help me understand why the goal is to produce 10-12 Brahmins and not all Vaisnavas? * Have the plans for India changed in any significant way? * When a person changes a career (from being an employee to being self-employed or become a teacher in a corporate school), does this mean his guna has changed? What does it mean when Lord Krsna mentions in Bhagavad gita (3.35) that “It is far better to discharge one’s prescribed duties, even though they may be faultily, than another’s duties. The reason I am asking is because everyone serves others somehow for survival.
Please join us for Evening Darshan live webcast daily except Sunday at 6:30 PM EDT at our main site.
The video can be watched here on Youtube.
You can also download the original .mov file here and the extracted audio here.
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Posted in Esoteric Teaching, Nectar of Devotion, Podcasts, Sunday Satsangs at 12:26 by anandavardhana
This is my last Satsang from the US, at least for some time. “Coincidentally”, we finish the Second Wave of Nectar of Devotion. We also discuss the great importance of truthfulness in spiritual life.
Please join us for Evening Darshan live webcast daily except Sunday at 6:30 PM EDT at our main site.
The video can be watched here on Youtube.
You can also download the original .mov file here and the extracted audio here.
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08.29.09
Posted in Darshan, Esoteric Teaching, Nectar of Devotion, Podcasts at 14:36 by anandavardhana
The continuous ecstasy of love can remain like a powerful king, subduing all temporary manifestations of love as well as any opposing elements of anger. It can be exhibited directly or indirectly, and thus ecstatic love can be described as direct or indirect. These symptoms of ecstatic love are possible only when one is fully situated in a transcendental position. Direct ecstatic love can be divided into two groups-namely, selfish and selfless.
When noncontradictory symptoms of ecstatic love are distinctly manifest, any contradictory symptoms create a sense of abomination. Contradictory ecstatic love is called selfish. That ecstatic love which can adjust all contradictory or noncontradictory symptoms is called direct selfless love. These selfless symptoms can again be divided into five groups: neutrality, servitude, fraternity, parenthood and conjugal love. Such ecstatic love assumes a particular mode in contact with different objects of love.
Please join us for Evening Darshan live webcast daily except Sunday at 6:30 PM EDT at our main site.
The video can be watched here on Youtube.
You can also download the original .mov file here and the extracted audio here.
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08.28.09
Posted in Darshan, Esoteric Teaching, Nectar of Devotion, Podcasts at 12:55 by anandavardhana
All the above-mentioned thirty-one symptoms of ecstatic love are called vyabhicārī, or disturbing. All these symptoms refer to apparently disturbed conditions, but even in such disturbed conditions there is acute ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa. These symptoms, however, can be divided into three groups: first class, second class and third. There are many disturbing symptoms in ecstatic love, such as envy, anxiety, pride, jealousy, conclusion, cowardliness, forgiveness, impatience, hankering, regret, doubtfulness and impudence. These are included in the thirty-one conditions of ecstatic love. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī has very nicely analyzed the different kinds of disturbing symptoms, and although it is very difficult to find the exact English equivalents for many Sanskrit words used here, his analysis will now be presented.
Questions: * Is it correct understanding to say that Radha displays both kind of hearts, golden and cotton ? * Bhishma’s father gave him a boon that he can choose the time of death. But Bhishma’s father Shantanu didn’t lead an austere life. He liked a fisherwoman. My question is how could people in that age have the potential to give boons without leading an austere life? * In Kali Yuga everyone is born sudra ? * If brahmana is soft hearted and ksatriya golden, what about vaisya and sudra ?
Please join us for Evening Darshan live webcast daily except Sunday at 6:30 PM EDT at our main site.
The video can be watched here on Youtube.
You can also download the original .mov file here and the extracted audio here.
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