Gaudiya Vaishnavas
Gaudiya Vaishnavas Questions & Answers

The Role of Varnashrama Duties in Bhakti

Question: According to Baladeva Vidyābhūṣana, what happens to nitya-karma upon attainment of vidya (prema-bhakti)? Does it become ineffective, or does it become vidya (prema-bhakti)? Answer: I am not sure if I understand your question. Do you mean what happens to the result of nitya-karmas performed by a devotee who attains prema-bhakti? If yes, then Baladeva

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Bhakti Gaudiya Vaishnavas Questions & Answers

Samanya-bhakti, Bhakti-yoga and Sharanagati

Question: I heard you say that sāmānya-bhakti can be attained without dīkṣā and that it would grant one sālokya. How does sāmānya-bhakti manifest in this world and where does it bring the sādhaka who practices it? Is there any diversity in it? Answer: The word sāmānya means general. The word meaning itself implies that it is

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Bhakti Gaudiya Vaishnavas Sandarbhas

Diksha Guru Is Also Shiksha Guru

The following are the last questions in the context of Babaji’s podcast interview with Namarasa.   Question: If dīkṣā and śikṣā are never separated, why did Narottama, Śyāmānanda, and Śrīnivāsācārya all take śikṣā from Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī who was not their dīkṣā guru?  Answer: First of all, I did not say that dīkṣā and śikṣā

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Gaudiya History Questions & Answers

Bhagavata Parampara

The following questions were asked following Babaji’s podcast interview with Namarasa Das. Question: The term bhāgavata-paramparā is commonly used in our saṃpradāya, but you seem to doubt it. I was under the impression that there is no difference between śīkṣā-paramparā, the process of receiving spiritual knowledge through Hari-kathā or spiritual instructions, and bhāgavata-paramparā. Can you

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Articles by Satyanarayana Dasa Gaudiya History Gaudiya Vaishnavas

Female Guru

“Can a female be guru?” is a frequently asked question. Such a question did not arise in the minds of people a few decades ago because people in general, and in India specifically, were clear about their identities and roles. With the advancement of technology and science, our lifestyles have changed drastically. This has also

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Gaudiya Vaishnavas General Questions & Answers Sadhana

Mahamantra and Diksha Mantras

Question: As practicing Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas, we chant the Hare Krishna mahāmantra. Did Śrī Caitanya and His associates chant the Hare Krishna mantra? In Caitanya-caritāmṛta or other biographies of Śrī Caitanya, the mahāmantra is not mentioned as the mantra that was chanted. The mahāmantra is itself a legitimate mantra as per Kali-saṇṭāraṇa Upaniṣad, so I have

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Gaudiya Vaishnavas

Guru-tattva: Different Kinds of Dīkṣā

Question: Bhāgavata-vidhi and Pañcarātrika-vidhi are different kinds of initiations. Is Pañcarātrika-vidhi the first initiation? Answer: The initiation process that is practiced in the Caitanya school is of Pañcarātrika-vidhi. There is no mention of Bhāgavata-vidhi initiation. I do not know what it would mean. In Śrīmad Bhagavata Purāṇa, Śrī Kṛṣṇa mentions only two types of dīkṣā,

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