Swami B. V. Tripurari

Questions on today's Swami call: Can one go directly from tamo-guna to suddha-sattva, or does one have to pass through rajas and sattva? What did Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura mean when he said that he saw his home turn into Goloka Vrindavan? If one has had a semblance of bhava (bhava-abhasa), will the memory of that be helpful for one’s progress afterwards? Dandavats, Guru Maharaja. Can you expl...

Questions on today's Swami call: How can we follow Vedic culture in its essence while living in the modern western world? What is Vedic culture in essence? Is the mantra that Syamananda Pandit received from Subala the Subala gayatri? In the Laghu-bhagavatamrta, Srila Rupa Goswami gives many examples to show that Vraja Krishna is the source of all other forms of the Godhead. Some of them are di...

Questions on today's Swami call: Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura stated that only those who have developed madhurya-rati (transcendental conjugal affection) are able to understand the madhurya-rasa pastimes. That makes sense to me. However, he also said that those who have developed vatsalya-rati (transcendental parental affection) are able to appreciate the sweetness of those pastimes...

Questions on today's Swami call: In what light should we see Lady Subhadra as she stands between Lord Baladeva and Lord Jagannatha? Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura writes in the niyamagraha section of Sri Bhaktyaloka that what is helpful for us at one stage maybe become an obstacle as we are advancing to the next stage. What are some examples of things that would be helpful in the stage of nistha b...

Questions on today's Swami call: Dandavats pranams, Srila Guru Maharaja. Can you explain the divisions of devotees into kanistha, madhyama, and uttama and the further divisions into kanistha-kanistha, kanistha-madhyama, and kanistha-uttama and so forth? Would the illiterate brahmana that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu met in south India be an example of a blend of kanistha and uttama as he did not ha...

If Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu taught that service to Sri Krishna is the natural function of the jiva in the liberated state, how can we as Gaudiya Vaishnavas accept sayujya as a type of mukti? What did Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura mean when he said that Vrindavana is for shallow thinkers and that the ideal place for bhajana is Kuruksetra? Should we make commitments based on how we feel or...

I have heard that some devotees enter both Gaura and Krishna lila, while others enter only Gaura or Krishna lila. How could a Gaudiya Vaishnava enter only Krishna lila when Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is so central to our understanding of Krishna lila? How can a sadhaka engage sustainably in atma-nivedanam? Do you know whether Sri Krishna feels guilty about creating jivas that are susceptible to come...

How did demigod worship begin? Was Hinduism originally monotheistic or has polytheism always been there? Can you explain the term panentheism? Dandavats, Maharaja. Thank you for your kind mercy. What is the most effective way to receive Sri Nityananda’s mercy? Dear Guru Maharaja, what are the most important Vaishnava qualities that enable someone to truly change the hearts of others, rather than m...

In the chapter on sakti-tattva in Java-Dharma, it is said that cit-sakti, jiva-sakti, and maya-sakti are three aspects of svarupa-sakti. Furthermore, it is said that hladini, samvit, and sandhini are three manifestations of svarupa-sakti that acts on the three aspects. Can you explain this? In the Bible it is said that humans should be good stewards of nature. Is there any similar statement in our...

Some spiritual practitioners have one focus, such as Lord Rama, but we have both Sri Krishna and Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Should we think of them as one person alternating moods or highlight their difference? Can excessive attachment to truth, both relative and absolute, be an obstacle on the path to prema? Can a Sikh become a Hare Krsna? What is the best way to please the spiritual master for a d...

How can we discriminate between which senior devotees it will be helpful or not helpful to associate with? What is your opinion on the Lalita-sakhi sampradaya? What to do if we are attracted to Radha-bhava and feel the lack of her personal presence in Gaura-lila? Is it proper to offer everything to Sri Krishna, including our shortcomings? If so, what is the proper way to do it? How can a tiny jiva...

Questions on today's Swami call: If a sadhaka is given different services from Radha and Krsna simultaneously, whose service should be done first? What should be our mood in doing services contrary to our personality? What is your history of preaching with Bhakti Abhaya Narayana Maharaja? Does the relationship between soul and intelligence change according to one’s advancement? Why does Visnu...

Questions on today’s Swami call: Can you elaborate on the power of the holy name and its relation to our inability to honor the holy name? Can you explain the difference between the kinds of humility explained in the second and third verses of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s Siksastakam? Can one who is chanting with impurities in one’s heart hope that their chanting will benefit others? Can you explain...

Questions on today’s Swami call: How can someone's brain become so munted that they think the Earth is flat? Why do some devotees place so much importance and spend so much time and energy on weird explanations of phenomenon in this temporary world? How to deal with devotees who conflate such conspiracy theories with Krishna consciousness? If I understood right, the Bhagavatam speak of the Ear...

Questions on today’s Swami call: Pranama. Can you explain what you meant when you stated that Sri Krishna’s lila on earth involves elements of karma? Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura has stated that in Brahma-sayujya the opulences of knowledge and renunciation are derived from the opulence of fame. What did he mean by that? What does it mean when it is said in Sri Caitanya-caritamrta that there cannot b...

Questions on today’s Swami call: If someone is addicted to alcohol, does one come in contact with Sri Krishna from the moment that one first calls out to him? Is it wrong to keep calling out for Krishna’s help even if one falls back into old habits one time after another? Is the will of the jiva the same as atma-jnana? Is our only real will as an atma to serve Krishna? Some people say that they ar...

Questions on today’s Swami call: How did such a nice devotee like Akrura get mixed up with such a bad guy like Kamsa? What is your favorite story from the lives of the six goswamis of Vrindavana? As there are sakhas with an influence of madhurya, are there gopis with an influence of sakhya? In Bhagavad-gita 9.30, what is the meaning of ananya-bhakti? Furthermore, what is the proper understanding o...

Questions on today’s Swami call: Pranama. Sometimes scripture says logic and reasoning will not give us any standing in absolute reality. At other times, healthy debate is encouraged as it will strengthen our resolve. What kind of debates should we avoid and which ones will be helpful? I read in a book from another tradition about seeing God as one’s husband. Is there a way to translate that into...

Questions on today’s Swami call: What does it mean that Sri Krishna is dependent on his devotees in a perfect, more perfect, and most perfect way in Dvaraka, Mathura, and Vrindavana dhama respectively? Can you elaborate on Srila Sridhara Maharaja’s observation that Srila Prabhupada was saktyavesa? If Sri Krishna did indeed eat dirt in his childhood pastimes, why would he do that? Some disciples of...

Questions on today’s Swami call: What does it mean to ask the right questions spiritually? Is the same for everyone? Should we serve and be submissive to everyone and everything in life? How can we harmonize our own limited view with the view of the uttama-bhagavata that everything is fine and all that happens is according to the will of Sri Krishna? Sometimes Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura uses the w...

Questions on today’s Swami call: In one place in Jaiva Dharma, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura says that in raganuga bhakti, bhava produces ruci from the very beginning. Here it sounds like the order of the stages of bhakti as they are usually explained is reversed. Can you explain this? Is it better to do more practice even though it’s shallow or to do less in quantity but qualitatively more substanti...

Questions on today’s Swami call: Are all worshippers of God from the different religions realizing the lila of Sri Krishna according to their approach? Does Narada Muni have a place in the intimate lilas of Krishna in Vrindavan? How can we assess statements from practitioners outside of our tradition who claim they have attained perfections that we see as unique to our tradition? If a saint outsid...

Questions on today’s Swami call: Is the worship of Sri Sri Krishna-Balarama unique to our lineage? If not, is the form worshipped by Srila Prabhupada unique to our lineage? You have told the story of your sannyasa-initiation. Can you also share the stories of your first and second initiations? Recently, you posted on Facebook: “If the knower is not known...” What did you mean by that? Sometimes, i...

Questions on today’s Swami call: What is the actual difference between bhakti and other paths such as yoga in terms of prerequisites for practicing? May I add the singing of Nitai Pada Kamala to my sadhana? Is it appropriate to share my love for Sri Nityananda Prabhu with others? Not doing it feels like a waste of heart. During the year that Sri Krishna played the roles of his cowherd-boy friends...

Questions on today’s Swami call: How can a sadhaka get a glimpse of their potential? How can we stay motivated when it feels like no effort in this path is enough? Can you say something about the nature of friendship between Vaishnavas and how we can reciprocate appropriately to a Vaishnava’s affection? How can I make amends to Vaishnavas who have passed away since I offended them? How would you d...