Sound Bhakti

kṛṣṇotkīrtana-gāna-nartana-parau premāmṛtāmbho-nidhī dhīrādhīra-jana-priyau priya-karau nirmatsarau pūjitau śrī-caitanya-kṛpā-bharau bhuvi bhuvo bhārāvahantārakau vande rūpa-sanātanau raghu-yugau śrī-jīva-gopālakau I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Six Gosvāmīs, namely Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī, Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmī, Śrī Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī, Śrī Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī, Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī, and...

(1) ohe! vaiṣṇaba ṭhākura, doyāra sāgara, e dāse koruṇā kori' diyā pada-chāyā, śodho he āmāya, tomāra caraṇa dhori (2) chaya bega domi', chaya doṣa śodhi', chaya guṇa deho' dāse chaya sat-sańga, deho' he āmāre, bosechi sańgera āśe (3) ekākī āmāra, nāhi pāya bala, hari-nāma-sańkīrtane tumi kṛpā kori', śraddhā-bindu diyā, deho' kṛṣṇa-nāma-dhane (4) kṛṣṇa se tomāra, kṛṣṇa dīte pāro,...

When Caitanya Mahāprabhu was teaching about devotional service, he presented 64 items. One of them is chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa; another is associating with devotees; and others are living in a holy Dhāma, reading Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and worshiping the Deity. He said that of all the 64, these five are so potent that even if you have a little connection with them, you'll make advancement in devotional ser...

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...

I was thinking also in terms of the Avanti brāhmaṇa, as he had also become disgusted with material life, just as Aṅga, Vena's father, had walked away. The Avanti brāhmaṇa had walked away because he had been a wealthy landowner, and then he got stingy. He didn't offer sufficient respect to the demigods or to his family members, and he gradually lost everything. But in the course of his daily activi...

My deepest thanks to the Mayapur Institute, to my teachers, Rādhikā Nāgara and Śrīvāsa Paṇḍita Prabhu, and my wife, Nirākulā Devī Dāsī, without whom I would not have been able to procure this diploma. Seeing Śrīla Prabhupāda’s dedication to writing his books, and having received a personal instruction from him in 1973 to read his books, I’m very happy to offer this diploma to His Divine Grace A. C...

There's an interesting, if not humorous, statement in the Bhāgavata about how there are only two kinds of people who are happy: there is the fool who is in ignorance and the person who has attained complete perfection. Everybody else in between feels 'a pinch.' In fact there is a verse Kṛṣṇa speaks (SB 11.20.27-28) about this interim stage where He says: jāta-śraddho mat-kathāsu nirviṇṇaḥ sarva-ka...

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...

Kṛṣṇa is saying in that context that what is going to happen to you is you’re still going to be under the control of the same mode of nature, because that maneuver is not going to help you. That’s why He goes on to talk about the modes of nature and how to transcend them and so forth. As far as our prospects go, they’re excellent. First of all, as we’ve discussed before, we’re not even part of the...

Prabhupāda was looking not just to save souls, but also to recruit those who could save souls. When he came across Śrīla Gour Govinda Mahārāja, he immediately promoted him to the ideal position from which he would have full authority to spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness—to preach Kṛṣṇa consciousness everywhere—by giving him three initiations at once. In that, he served as a bridge to Kṛṣṇa consciousness...

1) saḿsāra-dāvānala-līḍha-loka- trāṇāya kāruṇya-ghanāghanatvam prāptasya kalyāṇa-guṇārṇavasya vande guroḥ śrī-caraṇāravindam (2) mahāprabhoḥ kīrtana-nṛtya-gīta- vāditra-mādyan-manaso rasena romāñca -kampāśru-tarańga-bhājo vande guroḥ śrī-caraṇāravindam (3) śrī-vigrahārādhana-nitya-nānā- śṛńgāra-tan-mandira-mārjanādau yuktasya bhaktāḿś ca niyuñjato 'pi vande guroḥ śrī-caraṇāravinda...

In Kṛṣṇa’s greatness, He has the power to reveal Himself to us. If you’re going for a job interview, you really need the job—but they don’t really need you—they’re going to listen to 200 applicants. What is your attitude when you go in? Consider that relationship. I’m not saying it’s synonymous with our relationship with Kṛṣṇa because, unlike a cold-hearted employer, Kṛṣṇa is always our friend. Ga...

Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī has also cited the Cāturmāsya-māhātmya of the Skanda Purāṇa concerning the necessity of chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa in this age: tathā caivottamaṁ loke tapaḥ śrī-hari-kīrtanam kalau yuge viśeṣeṇa viṣṇu-prītyai samācaret “In this way the most perfect penance to be executed in this world is the chanting of the name of Lord Śrī Hari. Especially in the Age of Kali, one can satisfy the Supre...

Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued: My dear King, the chanting of the holy name of the Lord is able to uproot even the reactions of the greatest sins. Therefore the chanting of the saṅkīrtana movement is the most auspicious activity in the entire universe. Please try to understand this so that others will take it seriously. (SB 6.3.31) ------------------------------------------------------------ To connec...

harer nāma harer nāma harer nāmaiva kevalam kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva nāsty eva gatir anyathā ‘For spiritual progress in this Age of Kali, there is no alternative, there is no alternative, there is no alternative to the holy name, the holy name, the holy name of the Lord.’ https://vedabase.io/en/library/cc/adi/7/76/ ------------------------------------------------------------ To connect with His G...

Caitanya Mahāprabhu got the real thing directly from the Kūrma Purāṇa. He took that and He had it copied; and then He came all the way back here to Madurai, specifically to assuage the anxiety of Rāmadāsa Vipra—his anxiety that Sītā had been stolen—and He showed him the original passage of the Kūrma Purāṇa, which definitively states what Mahāprabhu had concluded and had presented to Rāmadāsa Vipra...

In the next verse in Śrī Īśopaniṣad (Mantra 5), it says: tad ejati tan naijati tad dūre tad v antike tad antar asya sarvasya tad u sarvasyāsya bāhyataḥ "The Supreme Lord walks, but He does not walk. He is far away, but He is very near as well. He is within everything, and yet He is outside of everything." These verses are given so we cannot "speed read." We have to stop and consider what they mean...

In the 11th Canto of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.5.36), Karabhājana Muni gives us the essence of advice about yajña. He says: kalim sabhājayanty āryā guṇa-jñā sāra-bhāginaḥ yatra saṅkīrtanenaiva sarva-svārtho 'bhilapyate He says, in the Kali-yuga age, people who are intelligent understand the purpose of life. Kalim—in Kali (check your watch and see if it’s Kali-yuga; they have that on the new Apple...

Śukadeva Gosvāmī continued: My dear King, the chanting of the holy name of the Lord is able to uproot even the reactions of the greatest sins. Therefore the chanting of the saṅkīrtana movement is the most auspicious activity in the entire universe. Please try to understand this so that others will take it seriously. (SB 6.3.31) ------------------------------------------------------------ To connec...

In fact, one of Prabhupāda’s godbrothers had said many years ago—just after Prabhupāda had left that Prabhupāda was an āveśa, or an empowered person, to spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness all over the world. One of the devotees asked this godbrother, who was a well-wisher of Prabhupāda, 'What kind of āveśa?' And he said, 'Nityānanda-āveśa'—especially empowered by Nityānanda to spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness a...

(1) jaya rādhā-mādhava kuñja-bihārī gopī-jana-vallabha giri-vara-dhārī (2) yaśodā-nandana braja-jana-rañjana yāmuna-tīra-vana-cārī TRANSLATION 1) Krsna is the lover of Radha. He displays many amorous pastimes in the groves of Vrndavana, He is the lover of the cowherd maidens of Vraja, and the holder of the great hill named Govardhana. 2) He is the beloved son of mother Yasoda, the delighter of the...

(1) parama karuṇa, pahū dui jana nitāi gauracandra saba avatāra-sāra śiromaṇi kevala ānanda-kanda (2) bhajo bhajo bhāi, caitanya nitāi sudṛḍha biśwāsa kori viṣaya chāḍiyā, se rase majiyā, mukhe bolo hari hari (3) dekho ore bhāi, tri-bhuvane nāi, emona doyāla dātā paśu pākhī jhure, pāṣāṇa vidare, śuni' jāńra guṇa-gāthā (4) saḿsāre majiyā, rohili poriyā, se pade nahilo āśa āpana karama, bh...

While in Seattle in the fall of 1968, Śrīla Prabhupāda introduced for the first time this song to be sung during the evening ārati ceremony. GAURA-ĀRATI by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura (1) jaya jaya gorācānder ārotik śobhā jāhnavī-taṭa-vane jaga-mana-lobhā (2) dakhiṇe nitāicānd, bāme gadādhara nikaṭe adwaita, śrīnivāsa chatra-dhara (3) bosiyāche gorācānd ratna-siṁhāsane ārati koren brahmā-ādi deva-g...

So what we have here is an institution meant to continually channel the water that Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu, brought from the great ocean of mercy of Kṛṣṇa. We're kind of like civil engineers, right? Sometimes they cut channels like Mulholland; Los Angeles wouldn't be a name right now if Mulholland, a very expert engineer, hadn't figured out how to "steal" all the water from Northern California (you...

The lotus feet of Lord Nityananda are a shelter where one will get the soothing moonlight not only of one, but of millions of moons. If the world wants to have real peace, it should take shelter of Lord Nityananda. Unless one takes shelter under the shade of the lotus feet of Lord Nityananda, it will be very difficult for him to approach Radha-Krsna. If one actually wants to enter into the dancing...