Sound Bhakti

O King, constant chanting of The Holy Name of the Lord after the ways of the great authorities is the doubtless and fearless way of success for all, including those who are free from all material desires, those who are desirous of all material enjoyment, and also those who are self-satisfied by dint of transcendental knowledge. https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/2/1/11 -----------------------------...

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...

Cc Madhya 11.49-126 https://vedabase.io/en/library/cc/madhya/11/advanced-view/ ------------------------------------------------------------ In this context, there is a way in which Kṛṣṇa describes to Uddhava in the Eleventh Canto of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam that the soul is never really liberated from the material world, because it was never bound in the first place. There is no liberation unless you are...

Cc Madhya 10.177-11.48 https://vedabase.io/en/library/cc/madhya/11/advanced-view/ ------------------------------------------------------------ There are cases when insincere people who are immature or ill-motivated approach a saintly person. In fact, one of the stories is about how a capitalist from Calcutta had gone to meet Babaji Maharaj where he was chanting in the field. Because this guy was r...

whenever a kīrtana of pure devotees takes place, the Lord is immediately present. By chanting the holy names of the Lord, we associate with the Lord personally. (Cc Madhya 1.126) To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Add to your wisdom literature collection: http...

Cc Madhya 10.109-175 https://vedabase.io/en/library/cc/madhya/10/advanced-view/ ------------------------------------------------------------ If one is to take advantage of the position of the spiritual master, then there has to be a sense of reverence, because mercy flows down. But, at the same time, one may lose the intimate connection of friendship in which the heart of the spiritual master open...

Cc Madhya 10.10-108 https://vedabase.io/en/library/cc/madhya/10/advanced-view/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Physical proximity isn't necessarily the thing that helps, because you can be in somebody's physical proximity, and your mind can be elsewhere. For instance, who's in a better position? Somebody who lives in Delhi, has to work there, has to stay there, and is...

It is concluded, therefore, that the holy name of the Lord and topics in relation with Him are always worth hearing, and therefore He is called here in this verse nāma-dheya, or one whose holy name is worth chanting. (SB 2.7.15) https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/2/7/15/ To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/ ---------------...

Verses discussed: Cc Madhya 9.280-10.17 https://vedabase.io/en/library/cc/madhya/9/advanced-view/ People might think, 'Oh, this is very audacious to claim that this is the specific path, and there is no other.' Or they might find relief, because with deconstructionism and no ultimate conclusion, people are exhausted. They're sick of the retreat of logic; it keeps going back. People lie, and then t...

Verses discussed: Cc Madhya 259-279 Prabhupāda explains that in one of his purports. He quotes from Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, and he said, there are three kinds of sukṛti. There's jñāna-sukṛti, which qualifies one for impersonal liberation. That's why some people—they already have that sukṛti—and they are attracted to that. Another is karma-sukṛti. It's called something else, but it means the same thi...

Verses discussed:Cc Madhya 9.146-258 Text 210: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu returned to southern Mathurā [Madurai] and delivered the original manuscript of the Kūrma Purāṇa to Rāmadāsa Vipra. Texts 211-212: “When he was petitioned by mother Sītā, the fire-god, Agni, brought forth an illusory form of Sītā, and Rāvaṇa, who had ten heads, kidnapped the false Sītā. The original Sītā then went to the abode...

Verses discussed: Cc Madhya 9.99-144 When we are performing something dutifully, there is an emotion, which is, "I'm doing this for Kṛṣṇa," because why else would you do it? I mean, there could be other motivations. But if you remember that even though you don't have a taste, you're dutiful in chanting your rounds, for instance, there is a taste in that because you're doing your duty. And you thin...

Verses covered: Cc Madhya 9.49-98 yasya deve parā bhaktir yathā deve tathā gurau tasyaite kathitā hy arthāḥ prakāśante mahātmanaḥ “Only unto those great souls who have implicit faith in both the Lord and the spiritual master are all the imports of Vedic knowledge automatically revealed.”(Śvetāśvatara Up. 6.23) Actually the meaning of the words of the Bhagavad-gītā or Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam are revealed...

We are trying to please the Supreme by the supreme music. Golokera prema-dhana hari-nāma-saṅkīrtana. These sounds are not mundane sounds. These are Vaikuṇṭha sounds. Nārada muni bājaya vīṇā rādhikā-ramaṇa nāme. It is brought by Nārada Muni. It is not manufactured here. (Srila Prabhupada, Room Conversation, April 14th 1975, Hyderabad) ------------------------------------------------------------ To...

It is said, tīrthī-kurvanti tīrthāni. A tīrtha, or holy place, is a place where great saintly personalities visit or reside. Although the holy places were already places of pilgrimage, they were all purified by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s visit. Many people go to these holy places and leave their sinful activities there, thus becoming free from contamination. When these contaminations pile up, they...

Question: "The Supersoul within everyone’s heart speaks not externally, but from within (C.C. Madhya 8.265)." What does that mean? Well, I will tell you what it doesn't mean. It does not mean that Krishna can't speak to you through nature or through the voices of other people. That's why the idea of vartmana-pradarśaka Guru comes from: as somebody who's unrelated to Krishna consciousness, who's ju...

Verses covered:Cc Madhya 8.216-248 https://vedabase.io/en/library/cc/madhya/8/advanced-view/ Whenever I have a sense of being overwhelmed, I try to come back into the present moment and say, 'What can I do right this second that will be progressive?' And I just keep asking myself that question: 'What's the next thing I can do right now that will add to my progress? Is picking that up or picking th...

Verse Cc Madhya 8.139- 215 https://vedabase.io/en/library/cc/madhya/8/advanced-view/ When a pure Vaiṣṇava speaks, he speaks perfectly. How is this? His speech is managed by Kṛṣṇa Himself from within the heart. Śrīla Rāmānanda Rāya accepts this benediction from Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu; therefore he admits that whatever he was speaking was not derived from his own intelligence. Rather, everything wa...

Verses covered: Cc Madhya 8.128-138 Knowledge of Kṛṣṇa consciousness is more important than caste. In the system of varṇāśrama-dharma there are various duties for the brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas and śūdras. Actually the brāhmaṇa is supposed to be the spiritual master of all other varṇas, or classes, but as far as Kṛṣṇa consciousness is concerned, everyone is capable of becoming a spiritual maste...

Verses covered: Cc Madhya 8.78-127 A materialistic person with material opulences should not be very proud or puffed up before a transcendental devotee. If one approaches a transcendental devotee on the strength of one’s material heritage, opulence, education and beauty and does not offer respect to the advanced devotee of the Lord, the Vaiṣṇava devotee may offer formal respects to such a material...

Devotional activities, however, sometimes appear to be impure in the neophyte stage, but in the mature stage they are completely pure, or free from material activity. Therefore Rāmānanda Rāya replied after hearing the last statement of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu: prema-bhakti — sarva-sādhya-sāra. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu actually accepted this verse (jñāne prayāsam) as the basic principle of perfectio...

Take time to discuss what we are reciting by rote every day—because when you do something every day by rote, you might not be aware of what you're even saying. My father used to work in a repertory theater when he was in college, and he said that the producer would have the actors come on stage off cue, or they would say lines that were different from what was in the actual play. In repertory thea...

One who surrenders to Him and is ready to follow Him with heart and soul does not need to change his location. Nor is it necessary for one to change his status. One may remain a householder, a medical practitioner, an engineer or whatever. It doesn’t matter. One only has to follow the instruction of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra and instruct relatives and friends in the...

It's such an important part of the culture, and that is that devotées are recommended. After seeing the character of a certain person as you said, then an elevated Vaiṣṇava will accept and appreciate based on that. When Prabhupāda got initiated in Allāhābād from Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākur, the local devotees there recommended him to Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta. Because he came there and upli...

There is a long passage on that in the Bṛhat Bhagavatamṛta, and there, Sanātana Goswāmī gives ample evidence about how the primary process in Kali Yuga is the chanting of the holy names. Jīva Goswāmī also concludes that there are, other processes that we engage in. For instance, arcanam is there in the nine, but he says there that because in this age, the prime method is chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, even...