Articles by Satyanarayana Dasa
Articles by Satyanarayana Dasa

Vedic Wisdom

Traditional Indian society was organized by the sages of India who had a deeper and holistic view of the world and life principles. The knowledge of the common person is obtained through external cognitive senses, jñānendriya, and through the mind. The ancient thinkers of India, known as ṛṣis and munis, however, had a different means

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Articles by Satyanarayana Dasa Sandarbhas

Who Is a Qualified Teacher

To practice spiritual life, one needs to study from a teacher. There are various types of spiritual paths such as Jñāna Yoga, Aṣṭāṅga Yoga, Rāja Yoga and Bhakti Yoga. At present, there is also of a fusion of different paths and thus the boundaries among these paths are blurry. Practices of one path have been

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Articles by Satyanarayana Dasa

Don’t Take Me Seriously–My [Anādi] Lighter Side

Vaiṣṇavas are gracious in general, but some go out of their way to pull others onto their way. I experienced this recently through a comment on my blog. I was made to realize that when it comes to understanding śāstra, I am an ignorant toddler. I was ignorant (anāḍi, which means foolish in Hindi) of

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Articles by Satyanarayana Dasa Sandarbhas

Two Types of Śraddhā – Laukīkī and Śāstrīya

In Anucchedas 186 to 202, Śrī Jiva Gosvāmī describes various types of sādhus belonging to the paths  of karma, jñāna and bhakti. His intention is to make us understand those sādhus who are fit to be associated with. In the course of this description, he also describes a lower level bhakta, citing the statement of

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Articles by Satyanarayana Dasa Bhakti Sandarbhas

How One Attains Bhakti

In Anucchedas 179 to 185 of Bhakti Sandarbha, Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī establishes that bhakti descends into the heart of a jīva only by the association of a devotee, sadhu-saṅga or satsaṅga. Then, from Anucchedas 186 to 202.1, he describes various types of sādhus on the path of karma, jñāna and bhakti while emphasizing bhakta-sādhus. He

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Articles by Satyanarayana Dasa

Verbal Violence

Non-violence (ahiṁsā) is a fundamental principle of dharma. “Do not be violent towards any living being” (mā hiṁsyāt sarva-bhūtāni) is a universally accepted injunction. Manu-smṛti describes non-violence as a dharma to be followed by all four varṇas (10.63). Nārada Ṛṣi says the same in Śrīmad Bhāgavata 7.10 .8. Non-violence is the first and most important

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Articles by Satyanarayana Dasa

From Corona to Karuṇā

Everyone is talking about coronavirus. There does not seem to be any other subject of discussion. Social Media is full of Corona news. Everyone seems to be Corona conscious. I do not know how much virus is in the air, but I know there is a lot of talk for sure. I do not read

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