19 Apr 2015
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Caaitanya-caritamrta, Sri Caitanya-Caritamrta, Vaisnava Vocabulary
Tags: A. C. Bhakthvedanta Swami Prabhupada, Adi lila, Adi4.60, devotee, devotional service, hladini, hladini potency, Krishna, love of God, pleasure potency of the Lord, Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
click on image to enlarge
Here is a new word for your vaisnava vocabulary; hlādinī . As I was reading from the Caitanya-caritamrta this morning, this word hlādinī was used to describe the pleasure potency of the Lord. Now keep in mind, that this is all way over my head, but still as an aspiring devotee, I am interested in developing “Love of God”. So I find all of Srila Prabhupada’s writings to be wonderfully beneficial.
…Hlādinī is the personal manifestation of the blissfulness of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, by which He enjoys pleasure… When the pleasure potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is exhibited by His grace in the person of a devotee, that manifestation is called love of God. “Love of God” is an epithet for the pleasure potency of the Lord. Therefore devotional service reciprocated between the Lord and His devotee is an exhibition of the transcendental pleasure potency of the Lord. (from purport to Adi 4.60)
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27 Sep 2014
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in Sahajiya, Vaisnava Vocabulary
Tags: 72-07-14, Bhavananda, by the grace of Krsna, cheater, Dr Patel, impersonalism, Lord Caitanya, sahajiyas, sahijiya, Srila Prabhupada
Sahajiyā is a word I have been researching lately, trying to come up with a clear understanding of its meaning, and to better understand why Srila Prabhupada has warned us to ‘avoid the association of Sahajiyā’s and Māyāvādīs, and not to become Sahajiyā’. So the following post is the beginning of our research.
Dr. Patel: What is sahajiyā?
Prabhupāda: Sahajiyā… Sahaj means easy. Easy-going. They will smoke cigarette at the same time they will play rasa-līlā. This is sahajiyā. This is sahajiyā. They will do all nonsense; still, they will become God, imitation of God. (Morning Walk Excerpts; May 1, 1974, Bombay)
…One thing, on the invitation card you have written All Glories to Our Guru Maharaja. This is impersonalism. As soon as we offer obeisances to guru, the name should be there. We are strictly personalists. The sahajiya’s, they write Glories to Guru. Why you are learning this impersonalism, who has taught you? Daily I am offering obeisances to my Guru by vibrating his real name, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, otherwise it is impersonal. (Letter to: Bhavananda London 14 July, 1972)
Prabhupāda: These sahajiyās will come out of so many devotees. What can be done? From my Guru Mahārāja’s disciples, so many sahajiyās came. These are called sahajiyās. Very easily they capture thing. So my Guru Mahārāja used to say, “When my disciples will be sahajiyā, it will be more dangerous.”
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19 Jul 2014
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Krishna Consciousness, Krishna Nectar, Krsna Consciousness, KRSNA The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vaisnava Vocabulary
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, chanting Krsna, cowheard boys, hearing and chanting about Krsna, Krsna Book, krsna consciousness, krsna nectar, Krsna the suporeme personality of godhead, nityanavanavayamana, transcendental subject matter
I am so much enjoying my reading of the Krsna Book every morning. Although I have read and re-read it so many times before, it is more relishable with each new reading.
It is said that it is the nature of a devotee to constantly apply his mind, energy, words, ears, etc., in hearing and chanting about Kṛṣṇa. This is called Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and for one who is rapt in hearing and chanting Kṛṣṇa, the subject matter never becomes hackneyed or old. That is the significance of transcendental subject matter in contrast to material subject matter. Material subject matter becomes stale, and one cannot hear a certain subject for a long time; he wants change. But as far as transcendental subject matter is concerned, it is called nityanavanavāyamāna. This means that one can go on chanting and hearing about the Lord and never feel tired but will remain fresh and eager to hear more and more.
It is the duty of the spiritual master to disclose all confidential subject matter to the inquisitive and sincere disciple.
And thus in the Krsna Book, Srila Prabhupada reveals the activities of the Supreme Person Krsna as is evident from the following excerpt:
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29 Jun 2014
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Caaitanya-caritamrta, Sri Caitanya-Caritamrta, Srimati Radharani, Vaisnava Vocabulary
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, ananda, aradhana, blissfulness, cit, devi, gopis The Supreme Personality of Godhead, His devotees, hladini, hladini energy, hladini-shakti, hlādinī—pleasure potency, krsna mayi, Krsna pleasure, lovely abode of Lord Krsna, pleasure potency, Radha Radhika, resplendent and most beautiful, sat, sat cit ananda, worship
click on image to enlarge
This morning there was this nagging voice that kept saying “read Adi-lila chapter 4, of the Sri Caitanya-caritamrta” I haven’t read from the Caitanya-caritamrta for a while because I was re-reading the Bhagavad-gita and Krsna Book and because it is summer, I am busy with work. But today is Sunday and my time is a bit more relaxed. So I responded to the nagging voice…and pulled Vol. 1 from the shelf. As I read I became more and more enlivened and the words jumped out at me…. Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, who is the attraction for the all-attractive. What is attracting the All Attractive? Srimati Radharani!
And the other thing that jumped out at me was the word hlādinī. Here is another word for your vaishnava vocabulary. So today is a two part post from the Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, describing the hladini energy, and the attractiveness of Srimati Radharani.
Lord Kṛṣṇa enchants the world, but Śrī Rādhā enchants even Him. Therefore She is the supreme goddess of all. (Adi 4.95)
Śrī Rādhā is the full power, and Lord Kṛṣṇa is the possessor of full power. The two are not different, as evidenced by the revealed scriptures. (Adi 4.96)
Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is as fully spiritual as Kṛṣṇa. No one should consider Her to be material. She is definitely not like the conditioned souls, who have material bodies, gross and subtle, covered by material senses. She is all-spiritual, and both Her body and mind are of the same spiritual embodiment. Because Her body is spiritual, Her senses are also spiritual. Thus Her body, mind and senses fully shine in love of Kṛṣṇa. She is the personified hlādinī-śakti (the pleasure-giving energy of the Lord’s internal potency), and therefore She is the only source of enjoyment for Śrī Kṛṣṇa.
Śrī Kṛṣṇa cannot enjoy anything that is internally different from Him. Therefore Rādhā and Śrī Kṛṣṇa are identical. The sandhinī portion of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s internal potency has manifested the all-attractive form of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and the same internal potency, in the hlādinī feature, has presented Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, who is the attraction for the all-attractive. No one can match Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī in the transcendental pastimes of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. (from purport Adi 4.71)
…All the desires of Lord Kṛṣṇa rest in Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. (from purport)
Some notes on the hlādinī potency More
27 May 2014
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Krsna-katha, Srila Prabhupada Conversations, Srila Prabhupada vani, Vaisnava Vocabulary, Vani
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, animal eaters, animal-killing, butcher, commit suicide, hunting, killer of animals, killer of the soul, killing animals, killing cows, Krsna conscious, Krsna-katha, pasu-ghna, pasughna, slaughterhouses
Cow Protection for the Benefit of Civilization
Here is another word for your vaisnava vocabulary; pasughna. I was reading this morning from the Introduction to the Krsna Book and this word [paśughna] just kinda jumped out at me. The meaning is: killing animals or killing oneself. I found this interesting, that killing animals was the same as killing oneself. I did a serch on Vani Quotes of this word and the following post is the results of that search.
…This book, Kṛṣṇa, which is filled with kṛṣṇa-kathā, will thus appeal equally to the liberated souls and to persons who are trying to be liberated, as well as to the gross, conditioned materialist. According to the statement of Mahārāja Parīkṣit, who heard about Kṛṣṇa from Śukadeva Gosvāmī, kṛṣṇa-kathā is equally applicable to every human being, whatever condition of life he is in. Surely everyone will appreciate it to the highest magnitude. But Mahārāja Parīkṣit also warned that persons who are simply engaged in killing animals and in killing themselves may not be very much attracted to kṛṣṇa-kathā. In other words, ordinary persons who are following the regulative moral principles of scriptures, no matter in what condition they are found, will certainly be attracted, but not persons who are killing themselves. The exact word used in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is paśughna, which means killing animals or killing oneself. Persons who are not self-realized and who are not interested in spiritual realization are killing themselves; they are committing suicide. Because this human form of life is especially meant for self-realization, by neglecting this important part of his activities one simply wastes his time like the animals. So he is paśughna. The other meaning of the word refers to those who are actually killing animals. This means persons who are animal-eaters (even dog-eaters), for they are all engaged in killing animals in so many ways, such as hunting and opening slaughterhouses. Such persons cannot be interested in kṛṣṇa-kathā. (Krsna Book Introduction)
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07 Feb 2014
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Mukunda-mala-stotra, Vaisnava Vocabulary
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, birth, bizarre, death, disease, fantasmagoriya, fantastic, illusion, imitation peacock, Lord Mukunda, material nature, material world, Mukunda mala, mukunda murdhana, mukunda-mala-stotra, naked truth, old age, phantasmagoria, temporary beauty, transcendental topics
click on image to enlarge
One thing I have always marveled at, is Srila Prabhupada’s use of words, to describe transcendental topics to us in his books. The word phantasmagoria is one such example. Here it is being used to describe the temporary beauty of this material world…
By the mercy of the Lord, the pure devotee knows all this very well. Indeed, his whole philosophy of life is based on this understanding. Advancement of knowledge means to understand the naked truth of this world and to not be deluded by the temporary beauty of this phantasmagoria. (Mukunda-mālā-stotra #3)
The following is a definition of the word phantasmagoria and the full text and purport from the Mukunda-mala-stotra Sutra #3 More
21 Nov 2013
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Acaryopasanm, Quotes by Srila Prabhupada, Srila Prabhupada, Srila Prabhupada Conversations, Srila Prabhupada vani, Vaisnava Vocabulary
Tags: Acaryopasanam, Alakananda das, photo by Gurudas, Syamananda das, vani quotes, Visnu Murti das
Here is a new word for your Vaisnava Vocabulary; Acaryopasanam. I ran across this word the other day while reading and had to go to Vani Quotes to get a better understanding of the word. The following is some of data which came from the researched words: “acaryopasana” and “acaryopasanam”. Interesting that I have heard or read this word many times and never bothered to look it up. I think it was the previous post that must have sparked this sudden interest in acaryopasanam.
Acaryopasanam: one must approach the acarya for real knowledge. SB 7.15.56, Purport:
In Bhagavad-gita, Thirteenth Chapter, it is clearly stated that one should execute devotional service and advance on the path of spiritual knowledge by accepting the acarya. Acaryopasanam: one should worship an acarya, a spiritual master who knows things as they are. The spiritual master must be in the disciplic succession from Krsna. The predecessors of the spiritual master are his spiritual master, his grand spiritual master, his great-grand spiritual master and so on, who form the disciplic succession of acaryas. SB 3.29.17, Purport:
Don’t follow rascals and fools. Then it will be useless waste of time. Follow the great ācāryas. Ācāryavān puruṣo veda. One who is ācāryavān, who has accepted ācārya, he knows. Lecture on SB 1.2.19 — Calcutta, September 27, 1974:
Ācāryopāsanā. We have to worship the ācāryas. That is recommended in the Bhagavad-gītā, for making advancement in spiritual life, ācāryopāsanā. Lecture — San Francisco, June 28, 19
Ācāryopāsanam. Ācārya upāsanā is one of the process of making progress. Lecture — Bhuvanesvara, January 21, 1977:
much more More
30 Aug 2013
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, KRSNA The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna-katha, Vaisnava Vocabulary
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Krishna, Krsna The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna-katha, Krsna_katha, Liberated souls, narrations spoken about Krsna, narrations spoken by Krsna, path of liberation, Srila Prabhupada, topics about krishna
Here is a another word for your vaisnava vocabulary; Kṛṣṇa-kathā. The following is from the Introduction to the Krsna Book and how narrations describing the transcendental activities of the Lord are relished by liberated souls. But whether one is liberated or is trying to be liberated, or is even grossly materialistic, the pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa are worth studying. The more people know about Kṛṣṇa, the more they will be perfectly benefited in this human form of life.
…Kṛṣṇa-kathā means narrations about Kṛṣṇa. There are two kṛṣṇa-kathās: narrations spoken by Kṛṣṇa and narrations spoken about Kṛṣṇa. Bhagavad-gītā is the narration or the philosophy or the science of God, spoken by Kṛṣṇa Himself. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the narration about the activities and transcendental pastimes of Kṛṣṇa. Both are Kṛṣṇa-kathā. It is the order of Lord Caitanya that Kṛṣṇa-kathā should be spread all over the world, because if the conditioned souls, suffering under the pangs of material existence, take to Kṛṣṇa-kathā, then their path of liberation will be open and clear. The purpose of presenting this book is primarily to induce people to understand Kṛṣṇa or Kṛṣṇa-kathā, because thereby they can become freed from material bondage. (from introduction to “Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead”)
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11 Aug 2013
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Aksauhini, Lectures, Vaisnava Vocabulary
Tags: 109, 21, 600 cavalry is called an akṣauhiṇī, 650 infantry and 65, 870 chariots, 870 elephants, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, aksauhini, bhakta, bhaktas, isvarah paramah, Krishna, mukti, solid phalanx of 21, Srila Prabhupada, Srimad Bhagavatam lecture
Here is a word for your vaisnava vocabulary: Aksauhini (akṣauhiṇī).
The word akṣauhiṇī refers to a military phalanx consisting of 21,870 chariots and elephants, 109,350 infantry soldiers and 65,610 horses. An exact description is given in the Mahābhārata, Ādi parva, Second Chapter, as follows:
“One chariot, one elephant, five infantry soldiers and three horses are called a patti by those who are learned in the science. The wise also know that a senāmukha is three times what a patti is. Three senāmukhas are known as one gulma, three gulmas are called a gaṇa, and three gaṇas are called a vāhinī. Three vāhinīs have been referred to by the learned as a pṛtanā, three pṛtanās equal one camū, and three camūs equal one anīkinī. The wise refer to ten anīkinīs as one akṣauhiṇī. The chariots of an akṣauhiṇī have been calculated at 21,870 by those who know the science of such calculations, O best of the twice-born, and the number of elephants is the same. The number of infantry soldiers is 109,350, and the number of horses is 65,610. This is called an akṣauhiṇī.” (SB 9.15.30)
A solid phalanx of 21,870 chariots, 21,870 elephants, 109,650 infantry and 65,600 cavalry is called an akṣauhiṇī. (SB 1.8.48 purport)
What makes this word so noteworthy, is the fact that many akṣauhiṇīs were killed on the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra. Such was the enormity of the battle.
Following is a lecture by His Divine Grace describing the lamentation of King Yudhisthira. Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, as the most pious king of the world, takes for himself the responsibility for killing such a huge number of living beings because the battle was fought to reinstate him on the throne.
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17 Jul 2013
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Ecstasy, Krsna Consciousness, Nectar of Devotion, Srimati Radharani, Teachings of Lord Chaitanya, Vaisnava Vocabulary
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, amorous pastimes, ecstasy, ecstasy of transcendental love, Krishna, Radha Madana-mohana, Spiritual Life, Srila Prabhupada, Srimati Radharani, supreme ecstasy of srimati radharani
No common man can understand the ecstasy of transcendental love between Radharani and Krsna (from Teachings of Lord Caitanya)
That supreme ecstasy of Srimati Radharani is the essence of spiritual life. Her only business is to fulfill all the desires of Krsna (CC Madhya 8.164, Translation)
This morning as I was doing my morning meditations (japa) I happened to be looking at this beautiful picture of Radha and Krishna. I was very much moved by the picture and was reminded of the following verse…
“Glory to the all-merciful Sri Radha and Madana-Mohana, who are always engaged in amorous pastimes. They are the only shelter of my depraved and crippled self. Their lotus feet are the be-all and end-all of my life” (Songs of the Vaisnava Acaryas)
…and the word that kept coming up in my mind was “Ecstasy”. I could not even begin to understand what Srimati Radharani must be feeling when She looks at Krishna, or what Sri Krishna must be experiencing when He looks into the eyes of Srimati Radharani. It must be Ecstaic Love!
I went to Srila Prabhupada’s “Nectar of Devotion”, to the “Teachings of Lord Caitanya”, and to try to get a better understanding also did a search on the word ‘ecstasy’ in vainquotes. The results of my readings are as follows:
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26 Jun 2013
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Sat-cit-ananda, Vaisnava Vocabulary
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, ananda, eternal, jubilation, knowledge, knowledge and blissful, pleasure, sat cit ananda
This morning while reading I came across the words sat-cit-ānanda. Many of us, we know what the words mean, but have we realized the meaning yet? Do we truly understand what it means to be eternal, full of knowledge and blissfull? I thought I would do a search on the phrase “sac-cid-ānanda” and see how this was explained by Srila Prabhupada.
Cit means knowledge, sat means eternal, and bliss means full of jubilation, ānanda, pleasure. (from lectures)
Because we are spirit soul, our position is ānandamāyā. Ānandamāyā means always blissful. Because we are part and parcel of God… God is blissful, all-good, sac-cid-ānanda…Sat means eternal, and cit means full of knowledge, and ānanda means full of bliss. So we are part and parcel of God. Kṛṣṇa says, mamaivāṁśo jīva bhūtaḥ: BG 15.7 “All these living entities, they are My part and parcel.” So if Kṛṣṇa is sat-cit-ānanda, then we are also sat-cit-ānanda, because we are part. Just like gold and a gold, small particle. That is also gold.
…Part is never equal to the whole. But quality is the same. Therefore we, being part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Lord, we are trying to utilize our original constitutional position. This is going on. But we are doing that without Kṛṣṇa at the present moment. Therefore it is not successful. Part must remain with the whole. I have given this example many times, that a small screw of typewriter or any machine, it must remain with the whole machine. Then it has value. If it is out of the machine, there is no value. A small screw in the motorcar, so long it is with the motorcar, it has got value. And as soon as it is thrown out of the motorcar, it has no value. (Lecture on the Srimad Bhagavatam 1.2.9 given Detroit, August 3, 1975, by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada)
It is interesting to note that Srila Prabhupada used this phrase ‘sat cit ananda’, 41 times in Lectures, 5 times in Letters, and can be found is his books. Some of the usage is as follows: More
11 Jun 2013
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Dharma, Srimad Bhagavatam, Vaisnava Vocabulary
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, adhoksaje, apratihata, His Divine Grace, Lecture by Srila Prabhupada, nivrtti-marga, path of renunciation, path of sense enjoyment, pravrtti-marga, sa vai pumsam paro dharmo, Srila Prabhupada
For some reason I woke up this morning thinking about this very important verse from the Srimad Bhagavatam;
sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo
yato bhaktir adhokṣaje
ahaituky apratihatā
yayātmā suprasīdati
The supreme occupation [dharma] for all humanity is that by which men can attain to loving devotional service unto the transcendent Lord. Such devotional service must be unmotivated and uninterrupted to completely satisfy the self.
I was trying to recall the two occupational paths; the path of sense enjoyment, and the path of renunciation, and the sanskrit words for them. I remembered that the verse and purport was in the first canto, chapter two, so I looked it up and there was the two words my mind was searching for;
“The Vedas prescribe two different types of occupation for the human being. One is called the pravṛtti-mārga, or the path of sense enjoyment, and the other is called the nivṛtti-mārga, or the path of renunciation.”
Both good words for your vaisnava vocabulary. But anyway, as I was searching this verse, I realized just how important this particular verse was. Srila Prabhupada lectured on this verse 13 times. And in one Lecture given by His Divine Grace in Montreal, August 3rd, 1968, Srila Prabhupada begins by saying…
“The real aim of life is how to get satisfaction, full, complete satisfaction. And that satisfaction, complete satisfaction, can be achieved only by prosecution of devotional service. There is no other method. If you want to be happy, free from all cares and anxieties, then you have to engage yourself in devotional servece of the Lord. That will make you free from all material miseries. We are all seeking after that position, how to become completely happy. Our whole struggle for existence…Anyone, in any place, any country, they are all struggling how to become happy. This happiness of the mind, atma, is only possible when we are engaged in Krsna consciousness. That is the only remedy. There is no other alternative.” (Srimad Bhagavatam Lecture Aug. 3, 1968)
I guess this was what I needed to hear this morning before leaving for work.
Full text and purport More
29 May 2013
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Bhagavad-gita, Prajah, Vaisnava Vocabulary
Tags: 84000000, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Bg 14/.4, bhagavad-gita, birth and death, kunteya, living being, material desires, material nature, material world, praja, sarva-yonisu, species of life
Here is a word for your vaisnava vocabulary; Prajah.
Prajā means the living being who has taken his birth in the material world. Actually the living being has no birth and no death, but because of his separation from the service of the Lord and due to his desire to lord it over material nature, he is offered a suitable body to satisfy his material desires. In doing so, one becomes conditioned by the laws of material nature, and the material body is changed in terms of his own work. The living entity thus transmigrates from one body to another in 8,400,000 species of life.
As Krishna points out in the Bhagavad-gita:
It should be understood that all species of life, O son of Kuntī, are made possible by birth in this material nature, and that I am the seed-giving father. (Bg 14-4)
Full verse and purport More
12 Apr 2013
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Chanting Hare Krishna, Mantra Meditation, Srimad Bhagavatam, Vaisnava Vocabulary
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, chanting Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna Mantra, holy name, kirtanad eva krsnasya, Krsna maha-mantra, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Srila Prabhupada
click on image to enlarge
..Simply by chanting the holy name of Kṛṣṇa: Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare simply by chanting the holy name…,” kīrtanād eva kṛṣṇasya, “he becomes free from all these contaminations, by one thing, simply chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa.”
Kīrtanād eva kṛṣṇasya, mukta-saṅgaḥ paraṁ vrajet
…although Kali-yuga is an ocean of faults, there is still one good quality about this age: Simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, one can become free from material bondage and be promoted to the transcendental kingdom.
This is a very important sloka (verse), as can be confirmed by the number of times Srila Prabhupada has cited it. I was curious about this verse so I went to the incomparable web page Vani Quotes and did a search on the phrase kīrtanād eva kṛṣṇasya, mukta-saṅgaḥ paraṁ vrajet, and was surprised to find just how many times Srila Prabhupada used this verse in his preaching. I think this will be the next verse I try to memorize.
Full verse:
kaler doṣa-nidhe rājann
asti hy eko mahān guṇaḥ
kīrtanād eva kṛṣṇasya
mukta-saṅgaḥ paraṁ vrajet
kaleḥ—of the age of Kali; doṣa-nidheḥ—in the ocean of faults; rājan—O King; asti—there is; hi—certainly; ekaḥ—one; mahān—very great; guṇaḥ—good quality; kīrtanāt—by chanting; eva—certainly; kṛṣṇasya—of the holy name of Kṛṣṇa; mukta-saṅgaḥ—liberated from material bondage; param—to the transcendental spiritual kingdom; vrajet—one can go.
My dear King, although Kali-yuga is an ocean of faults, there is still one good quality about this age: Simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, one can become free from material bondage and be promoted to the transcendental kingdom. (SB 12.3.510
Cited Verses More
02 Mar 2013
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Vaisnava Vocabulary, Vani
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, definition of vani, His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada, message, teaching, the power of speach, transcendental words, vaisnava vocabulary, vani, vanipedia, vanisource, vibration, voice, words
By chance I happened upon the Vanipedia About Page this morning while researching a post for Srila Bhaktisiddhanta’s appearance day, and found this most fascinating definition of the word Vani. We can see from studying Srila Prabhupada’s books just how vast the Sanskrit language is just from the example of this one word; vāṇī. In one letter written to Tribhuvanatha in June of 1972, Srila Prabhupada writes:
“I am very much stressing nowadays that my students shall increase their reading of my books and try to understand them from different angles of vision. Each sloka can be seen from many, many angles of vision, so become practiced in seeing things like this.”
So here is a word for your Vaisnava Vocabulary with its many meanings.
“Although according to material vision His Divine Grace Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda passed away from this material world on the last day of December, 1936, I still consider His Divine Grace to be always present with me by his vāṇī, his words. There are two ways of association-by vāṇī and by vapuḥ. Vāṇī means words, and vapuḥ means physical presence. Physical presence is sometimes appreciable and sometimes not, but vāṇī continues to exist eternally. Therefore we must take advantage of the vāṇī, not the physical presence. The Bhagavad-gītā, for example, is the vāṇī of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Although Kṛṣṇa was personally present five thousand years ago and is no longer physically present from the materialistic point of view, the Bhagavad-gītā continues.”
Definitions of Vani
Śrīla Prabhupāda has translated vāṇī in the following ways;
vāṇī—a voice
vāṇī—injunction
vāṇī—message
vāṇī—talking
vāṇī—teachings
vāṇī—the organ of speech
vāṇī—transcendental words
vāṇī—vibration
vāṇī—words
vāṇī—words, the power of speech
and here we see the meaning when connected to other words; More
13 Feb 2013
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Bhava, Srimad Bhagavatam, Vaisnava Vocabulary
Tags: A.C. Bhaktiverdanta Swami Prabhupada, affection, Bhagavad Gita, bhava, highest achievement of human society, love of God, preliminary stage of transcendental love of Godhead, prema, pure devotional service, pure love or prema, Srimad Bhagavatam
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Here is a new word for your Vaisnava Vocabulary: Bhāva. In the Glossary in the back of the Bhagavad-gita As It Is, 1972 Edition, the word Bhāva is defined as; the preliminary stage of transcendental love of Godhead. Bhāva is a big word and has various meanings
…The last stage of the devotional life is called bhāva, or transcendental love of Godhead.
“In the beginning one must have a preliminary desire for self-realization.…This taste leads one further forward to attachment for Kṛṣṇa consciousness, which is matured in bhāva, or the preliminary stage of transcendental love of God. Real love for God is called premā, the highest perfectional stage of life.” In the premā stage there is constant engagement in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. So, by the slow process of devotional service, under the guidance of the bona fide spiritual master, one can attain the highest stage, being freed from all material attachment, from the fearfulness of one’s individual spiritual personality, and from the frustrations resulting from void philosophy. Then one can ultimately attain to the abode of the Supreme Lord. (Bhagavad-gita 4.11)
So it seem that bhāva is not only the preliminary stage of transcendental love of Godhead but we find that this preliminary stage of transcendental love is also the path to the highest perfectional stage of life, pure love or premā. There are two ways to approach the Lord, one is with awe and reverence and the other is with affection; bhāva. One who approaches the Lord with affection, is sure to advance spiritually.
In the Srimad Bhagavatam we find many references to the word Bhāva and highlighted some of them here. More
07 Feb 2013
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Teachings of Lord Chaitanya, The Lords Omnipotency, Vaisnava Vocabulary
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Brahma stealing the cows and calves, Dwaraka, Krishna, Narada Muni, omnipotency, prabhava, rasa dance, svayam-rupa, Teachings of Lord Chaitanya, the Lord's Omnipotency, transcendental form, vaibhava, vaibhava-prakasa
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Here is a new word for your Vaisnava Vocabulary; vaibhava-prakāśa. As I was reading the Krsna Book the other day this word vaibhava-prakāśa just jumped out from the pages, and I was reminded again of the Lord’s omnipotency.
“The Lord’s omnipotency is displayed by His simultaneous presence in every place. He is present always in His eternal abode Goloka Vṛndāvana, and still He is present in everyone’s heart and even within every invisible atom.” (SB 1.9.10 purport)
“The personal form of Kṛṣṇa can be divided into two: svayam-rūpa and svayam-prakāśa. As far as His svayam-rūpa (or pastime form) is concerned, it is in that form that He remains always in Vṛndāvana with the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana. This personal form (svayam-rūpa) can be further divided into the prābhava and vaibhava forms. For instance, Kṛṣṇa expanded Himself in multiple forms during the rāsa dance in order to dance with each and every gopī who took part in forms in order to accommodate His 16,108 wives.
… As far as Kṛṣṇa is concerned, when He manifested Himself in different forms, each and every one of them was a separate individual. When Nārada Muni visited Kṛṣṇa at different palaces at Dvārakā, he was astonished at this,…He wondered how the Lord was present with His queens in each and every one of His 16,108 palaces. With each queen, Kṛṣṇa Himself was in a different form, and He was acting in different ways. In one form He was engaged in playing with His children, and in yet another form He was performing some household work. These different activities are conducted by the Lord when He is in His “emotional” forms, which are known as vaibhava-prakāśa expansions. Similarly, there are other unlimited expansions of the forms of Kṛṣṇa, but even when they are divided or expanded without limit, they are still one and the same. There is no difference between one form and another. That is the absolute nature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” ( Teachings of Lord Chaitanya)
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18 Jan 2013
by The Hare Krishna Movement
in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Brahma, KRSNA The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vaisnava Vocabulary
Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Brahma, chirping of the birds along with cooing of the peacocks, hearing and chanting, Krishna, Krsna, Lord Brahma, nityanavanavayamana, surrounded by the whispering of the leaves in the trees, The Stealing of the Boys and Calves by Brahma, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, vaisnava vocabulary, Vol.1 chapter 13
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Here is a new word for your vaisnava vocabulary, nityanavanavāyamāna This word is explained in following paragraph. And for an example of the word nityanavanavāyamāna in transcendental subject matter we offer the following chapter from the KRSNA Book.
It is said that it is the nature of a devotee to constantly apply his mind, energy, words, ears, etc., in hearing and chanting about Kṛṣṇa. This is called Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and for one who is rapt in hearing and chanting Kṛṣṇa, the subject matter never becomes hackneyed or old. That is the significance of transcendental subject matter in contrast to material subject matter. Material subject matter becomes stale, and one cannot hear a certain subject for a long time; he wants change. But as far as transcendental subject matter is concerned, it is called nityanavanavāyamāna. This means that one can go on chanting and hearing about the Lord and never feel tired but will remain fresh and eager to hear more and more.
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