Sound Bhakti

One thing is that everyone knows Bhagavad-gītā. They know about it, and it keeps it simple, because after you distribute sets of Bhāgavatams, Bhagavad-gītā is easy as everyone wants it. It's famous everywhere in the world, and the Bhagavad-gītā is complete. It's only 700 verses. It's highly consumable for people; the verses are short, and although they're philosophical, Kṛṣṇa has spoken very succi...

kaliṁ sabhājayanty āryā guṇa jñāḥ sāra-bhāginaḥ yatra saṅkīrtanenaiva sarva-svārtho ’bhilabhyate Those who are actually advanced in knowledge are able to appreciate the essential value of this Age of Kali. Such enlightened persons worship Kali-yuga because in this fallen age all perfection of life can easily be achieved by the performance of saṅkīrtana. ( SB 11.5.36) https://vedabase.io/en/library...

Everyone wants to know, they're tuned into the radio station, WIIFM: 'What's In It For Me?' This is what's in it for the soul: complete happiness, freedom from distress, all auspiciousness, non-interest in any kind of liberation. And they know that they can attract Kṛṣṇa by taking to this process. Mūlaprakṛti Dāsī was a great saṅkīrtana devotee. Did you know there were many very powerful women in...

Lord Gauranga is calling, "Wake up, sleeping souls! Wake up, sleeping souls! How long will you sleep in the lap of the witch called Maya? (Verse 1, Jiva jago) To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Add to your wisdom literature collection: https://iskconsv.com/boo...

(1) doyāl nitāi caitanya’ bole’ nāc re āmār man nāc re āmār man, nāc re āmāra man (2) (emon, doyāl to nāi he, mār kheye prema dey) (ore) aparādha dūre jābe, pābe prema-dhan (o nāme aparādha-vicāra to nāi he) (takhon) kṛṣṇa-nāme ruci ha’be, ghucibe bandhan (3) (kṛṣṇa-nāme anurāg to ha’be he) (takhon) anāyāse saphal ha’be jīvera jīvan (kṛṣṇa-rati vinā jīvan to miche he) (ese) bṛndābane rād...

In his teachings to Śrīla Rūpa Goswāmī, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu gave a schema indicating the rarity of those who take to the process of pure devotional service. He started with the population of all the living entities: some of them are humans. Out of them, very few are interested in religious principles. Out of those, some are serious about religious principles. And out of those, there are fewer...

If we have false expectations about what we're going to get in life and don't trace it back to the way we're doing our own planting, then this is illusory. An illusory lifestyle is not very satisfying. But what is satisfying is coming to grips with how what we're planting is coming up in various ways. So, being fully aware that the seeds we plant will give us specific results, and in our lives, al...

Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā that we assume the qualities of those with whom we associate. And if one were to want to advance in a particular discipline, one quite naturally would search out a community, a society, a club, an organization where people were focused on that discipline, and one would take the association of those people. In a similar way, if one wants to advance spiritually, it's...

(1) devādi-deva gauracandra gaurīdāsa-mandire nityānanda-sańge gaura ambikāte vihare (2) cāru-aruṇa-guñjā-hāra hṛt-kamale je dhare viriñci-sevya-pāda-padma lakṣmī-sevya sādare (3) tapta-hema ańga-kānti prātaḥ-aruṇa-ambare rādhikānurāga prema-bhakti vāñchā je kare (4) śacī-suta gauracandra ānandita antare pāṣaṇḍa-khaṇḍa nityānanda-sańge rańge vihare (5) nityānanda gauracandra gaurīdāsa-ma...

Everybody carries a song in their heart. That's what moves all of us. Melody and rhythm are universal. So in Bhakti, when we sing these bhajans, they go deeply within our body. They overwrite the other sound vibrations that are there, and they leave us with the clear, pristine spiritual sounds of another realm. And when we have those and we can aspire for that realm, actually, we'll be carried to...

In the Age of Kali, intelligent persons perform congregational chanting to worship the incarnation of Godhead who constantly sings the names of Kṛṣṇa. Although His complexion is not blackish, He is Kṛṣṇa Himself. He is accompanied by His associates, servants, weapons and confidential companions. (SB 11.5.32) ------------------------------------------------------------ To connect with His Grace Vai...

Rūpa Goswāmī explains that we understand the hierarchy of The Lord’s manifestations in terms of His qualities. And one of His qualities is that He plays a flute. Think about that: He is a musician. Once, when somebody asked Prabhupāda why Kṛṣṇa (God) plays a flute, Girirāj Mahārāj told us, Prabhupāda said it means that He is all play and no work. In the 1960s, way before you guys were born, here i...

Thakura Bhaktivinoda, the humble servant of the Lord, says, “The holy name of Krishna has fulfilled all my desires by vibrating on everyone’s tongue.” Bhaktivinoda therefore prays at the feet of Sri Rupa Goswami that the chanting of harinam may continue like this always. (Verse 6, Narada Muni Bajaye Vina) ------------------------------------------------------------ To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣ...

Regarding the daily chanting, Prabhupāda wrote the following in a letter to one of his disciples, and I'll just read part of it: "My dear Jayapataka, please accept my blessings. I am very glad to receive your letter dated February 28 and noted the contents with great pleasure. The transcendental experience which you had during kīrtana performance at the Loyola University is very nice. Relishing th...

We started our reading in Govardhan Hill with a theme led by a specific verse (SB 11.3.31): smarantaḥ smārayantaś ca mitho ’ghaugha-haraṁ harim bhaktyā sañjātayā bhaktyā bibhraty utpulakāṁ tanum The last line says that you'll experience transcendental symptoms in your body. Tanum means the body, and that means when we interact with the world, we experience various changes in our bodies, like heart...

Envy is born of ignorance, in the sense that when we forget that we have a relationship with Kṛṣṇa, who's our best friend, and who's the best resource you're ever going to meet. I met, I was introduced to somebody who said he'll be a good resource for you. Who could be a better resource than Kṛṣṇa? Actually, Kṛṣṇa says it himself (BG 5.29), "I'm the best resource. bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-lok...

There is nothing more direct and personal that we can do than repeat Kṛṣṇa's names. He is completely present, 100%. In fact, Rūpa Goswāmī says the name is better than Kṛṣṇa personally. And therefore, out of all the practices we do, this is the most direct. We have complete, full access to Kṛṣṇa just by his name. So, it's very personal. You can remember that the name and the named—Kṛṣṇa and his nam...

In the Western countries, where the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement is spreading, learned scholars and other thoughtful men are realizing its effectiveness. For example, Dr. J. Stillson Judah, a learned scholar, has been very much attracted to this movement because he has actually seen that it is turning hippies addicted to drugs into pure Vaiṣṇavas who voluntarily become servants of Kṛṣṇa and humanity. Even...

(1) gāye gorā madhura sware hare kṛṣṇa hare kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa hare hare hare rāma hare rāma rāma rāma hare hare (2) gṛhe raho, vana meń raho, sadā hari hari kaho, sukha meń duḥkh meń bhulo nahiń, mukha se hari-nām bolo re (3) māyā-jāla baddha hoyā, bṛddha hi ke kāja liye, ab bhī mana tū ceta hokara, rādhā-mādhava bol re (4) aba to jīvana huwā śeṣa, bhajā nahiń hṛṣīkeśa bhaktivino...

People like to accumulate. In fact, the whole airline interest industry is supported and based on the reward systems they have. They wouldn't exist today if they didn't have the frequent flyer programs. I saw a documentary about it. They got that idea from an idea that was in America ,circa 1960. I remember it well: it was Blue Chip Stamps. You used to get these little stamps you could paste in a...

Those who are actually advanced in knowledge are able to appreciate the essential value of this Age of Kali. Such enlightened persons worship Kali-yuga because in this fallen age all perfection of life can easily be achieved by the performance of saṅkīrtana. (SB 11.5.36) https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/11/5/36/ To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/ne...

Question: What is so special about reading together in the association of devotees? Excerpt from the answer: It is because it pleases Kṛṣṇa. In fact, there's a verse from Bhāgavatam (SB 11.3.31) that explains the phenomenon. It says: smarantaḥ smārayantaś ca mitho ’ghaugha-haraṁ harim bhaktyā sañjātayā bhaktyā bibhraty utpulakāṁ tanum The first line, smarantaḥ smārayantaś ca, says "those who come...

If you just understand that the spirit soul is the eternal servant of Krsna, you will never have any more sorrows. Chant, chant “Radha-Krsna!” Everyone chant! (Translation,verse 3) https://versecircle.com/?s=1515 To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Add to your...

Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! he Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! he Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! rakṣa mām Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! pāhi mām That is, “O Lord Kṛṣṇa, please protect Me and maintain Me.” He also chanted: Rāma! Rāghava! Rāma! Rāghava! Rāma! Rāghava! rakṣa mām Kṛṣṇa! Keśava! Kṛṣṇa! Keśava! Kṛṣṇa! Keśava! pāhi mām That is...

The sages of the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam tell us that before the creation of the material universe, everything exists in subtle potential within the consciousness of the Supreme Lord. When He glances upon material nature, His will awakens the machinery of manifestation. The universe begins to print itself into being, one layer at a time, from subtle to gross, from vibration to form, from thought into th...