Sound Bhakti

Everything begins with hearing and chanting. When devotees take to the practice and make vows, there is a feeling of exhilaration because we have unlimited potential. There may be times at which we feel waylaid by our own mind, senses, or other occupational obligations, and therefore it's helpful to come back to remember what the horse is and what the cart is, and always put the horse before the c...

It's important to have a bhajana. A legitimate bhajana means that you have a set amount of practice that you do every day and develop yourself spiritually. Be very determined to do more than the minimum, if possible; try to read more, expand your hearing more, and try to get association with devotees who are enthusiastic. One of the best ways is what many of you are doing, and it's bearing fruits,...

There is a word, duḥkha, which is generally translated as misery, but what it really means is to be out of alignment. Duh- kha, 'kha' means space. We say in California, "I'm in a bad space, man." Or sukha means I'm in a good space. But what it refers to is being out of alignment and then feeling friction because of that. That's simple enough, right? For instance, if an axle is bent and it's not al...

I spoke about this in London the other day. What we want is loving relationship with Kṛṣṇa. Nothing else will do. It goes to 'ye ’nye ’ravindākṣa vimukta-māninas,' and that indicates there is a person there. And what does "person" mean? It means somebody who reciprocates with us. It’s not even the beauty of Kṛṣṇa, although that’s unsurpassable and we have to have that. Everyone’s looking for it ev...

In the spiritual world, there is rāga, which means there’s nuance in the music meant to bring out our emotion. So, when you open the heart with rāga and then you fill it up with the divine sounds of the names of God, then what you have there is a way to be instantly in touch with the feelings of the spiritual world. I wanted you just to hear this Darbārī rāga that we’ve been practicing a little bi...

The holy name is more merciful than Kṛṣṇa himself, because he avails himself to us—even when we are in the worst possible condition, which is being irrationally attached to suffering in the material world. In the third line (Śrī Nāmāṣṭaka - 6), which I didn't go into, the last time we met—'yas tasmin vihitāparādha-nihavaḥ prāṇī samantād bhaved'—he (Rupa Goswami) mentions us in the word prani, whic...

We want unlimited happiness. In this world we get advertisements for "some" happiness, and it causes us more distress. Then, we try to take some medicine; it comes with a long list of warnings that this could really mess you up. What we want is the real thing, and it's our birthright. We were born from nectar, we belong in nectar, and it's available. We can take it at any time. So, this Ratha-yātr...

I’ve noticed a phenomenon in the reading of the Śrī Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta, of which I’ve marked a couple of verses that I want to read to you to make my point. I found that in the first reading that I ever heard of Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta, which was with a group of godbrothers and godsisters, there’s a section in which Gopa-kumāra goes back home, back to Godhead. We are interested that when he reaches G...

I love talking about preparation, because there’s a way in which being in preparation mode is exhilarating. In the verse we read, 'prayāṇa-kāle manasācalena bhakti-yuktō yoga-balena caiva'—Kṛṣṇa says you have to have some kind of yoga-balena, some spiritual strength, and that, He says, comes from practicing some kind of yoga. Saṭ-cakra-yoga is indicated here, but He recommends bhakti-yoga, one sho...

The antidote to māyā is to change one's intention. Brahmaṇy ādhāya karmāṇi saṅgaṁ tyaktvā karoti yaḥ. The person gives up any claim of proprietorship over any paraphernalia of this world, including one's own body or one's family. "Mānasa, deho, geho, jo kichu mor." Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura makes this clear statement that whatever I have—mind, body, my home, my family—and then he says, even myself, I d...

Bhaya means we become afraid of our own existence. When we deny God, we deny ourselves, because we are part and parcel of God. Just as Prabhupāda mentions in the Nectar of Devotion, when you see the Sun, you also see yourself; and if you deny God, you deny yourself. You are not able to see yourself, because we are always in relationship with God. Prabhupāda explains in his unique purport—unique be...

There may be times when we feel distracted through the whole 16 rounds, but afterwards—while we are doing some laundry or washing the dishes—all of a sudden we feel some sublime repeat of what we just finished, which was chanting 16 rounds. In that case, we can understand that even when we’re not able to be fully attentive, the power of the holy name is effective. An example of this that I extract...

Nārada Muni Bājāya Vīṇā - 6 śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāma, rasane sphuri’, purā’lo āmāra āśa śrī-rūpa-pade, yācaye ihā, bhakativinoda-dāsa The holy name of Kṛṣṇa has fulfilled all my desires by thus manifesting on everyone’s tongue. Bhaktivinoda, the humble servant of the Lord, therefore prays at the feet of Śrī Rūpa Goswāmī that the chanting of Hari-nām may always continue in this way. -------------------------...

My mother used to tell me, "Never underestimate the power of 'I’ll show them.'" So many personalities who have succeeded in life have, have at one point or another, been considered losers—and they thought, "I’ll show them," and they put their full attention into improving themselves in one area or another. Michael Jordan, for instance, was cut from his high school basketball team. So, the third wa...

You can tell what your position is in Kṛṣṇa consciousness just by praying. That's why there are so many prayers in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Rādhika Ramaṇa Prabhu once had given a class in New Vrindavan; he talked about prayer, and he said when he was a kid he grew up on the Bhāgavatam—his mother taught him how to read from the Bhāgavatam. He said he loved hearing the stories, but when the prayers st...

This morning, just after the program at the Rādhā Govinda Mandir, I took a walk down Nevin Street and turned the corner to the CVS. As I was waiting for Nirākulā Devī Dāsī, my wife—who had some items to purchase—I was chanting outside. I saw a father and son come out; his little boy was probably six, and his face was puckered, and he was crying. His father said to him, "Tell me in words, why you’r...

Tattva means to understand 'that, because tattva is "thatness." Tat means it's a demonstrative pronoun—there's something you can point to that exists. There are categories that are distinguishable, and when one relegates—that is, puts in the proper perspective—what the material body is, what its purpose is, and to whom it belongs, then one is properly situated. One should relegate his body to the...

We're only in this life for a few seconds. In geological time it is just a flash and we have an opportunity right now to get off the wheel of saṃsāra. The only way to step off is by the Lord's mercy, and we have to pray hard and realize the opportunity that we have. It's the need of the moment. So, please dig deep and pray hard. ------------------------------------------------------------ To conne...

Caitanya Mahāprabhu said that you should practice giving respect to all others and not accepting respect in return. The fact is, it’s uplifting. The ego has a diatribe going on that if you don’t assert yourself, you’ll cease to exist; your reputation will not be held, your power in the world won’t be held, and you’ll lose out on everything. If you don’t assert yourself, however—those like Mādhaven...

Not only does the Supreme Personality of Godhead enjoy the company of His devotees, but because He is unlimited, He wants to increase His devotees unlimitedly. Thus, He descends to the material world to induce the non-devotees and rebellious living entities to return home, back to Godhead. He requests them to surrender unto Him, because, unlimited as He is, He wants to increase His devotees unlimi...

Śāstra Maṇḍala is an organization we started specifically to make a pipeline for those who want the Gosvāmī literatures, and we've been advertising for this over the last year or so. We have over 1,000 members. This helps us to predict how many volumes we're going to need to print, because when you print a set with five books, it's a big investment. So, we want to be very clear about that. In fact...

Attention is where everything begins. It's our asset. May I go out on a limb and say it's our main asset? Or even further to the tip of the limb: it's our only asset. We get to choose where to place our attention. Attention management is what determines the direction of our life. In fact, a student of mine made me a beautiful sign for my birthday, and I have it hanging outside my office here on th...

Lord Caitanya has said that in this age no one needs to change his position, but one should give up the endeavor to understand the Absolute Truth by speculative reasoning. One should learn to become the servant of those who are in knowledge of the Supreme Lord. If one is fortunate enough to take shelter of a pure devotee, hear from him about self-realization and follow in his footsteps, one will b...

Anugraha, which we translate oftentimes as mercy, literally means someone who grabs you and takes you in the right direction—brings you along, doesn't leave you behind. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu taught that Kṛṣṇa not only can become known, or that He reveals Himself through the process of bhakti, but He also takes us by the hand and brings us to our eternal position in the spiritual world. So, chant...

I have noticed that in the Kali Yuga, although the last pillar supposedly is truthfulness, that seems to have been eroding quite quickly. I have noticed, however, that oftentimes people make public statements in a political setting, but then, when they’re under deposition, they completely change their story because they know that in deposition under oath, you’re liable for telling the truth and ca...