Question: I was going through the commentary on SB 5.8.26 where Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura talks about two kinds of prārabdha – śobhanam and aśobhanam. The śobhanam aspect produces bhakti which gives the pain of separation. This is like medicine applied to the eyes which might initially give irritation but results in good sight later.
Question: If the Guru leaves this world and attains the nitya-līlā of Radha-Govinda, how does he actually hear the prayers of his disciples? He is only aware of his nitya-seva to Kṛṣṇa and is unaware of the prapañca (material word)? So do the prayers of the disciples fall on deaf ears? How should we understand
Seeing Kṛṣṇa as per One’s Bhāva Question: In a Bhagavat Sandarbha lecture, you mentioned that God appears in a mutually exclusive way to devotees, such that if one sees Him as a child, then one cannot see God’s Majesty. You cited the examples of Yaśodā and of Arjuna. However, Vyāsa saw Him in His complete
Question: Certain schools of thought, namely Buddhism, put forward the idea of momentariness. The flow of events gives rise to a continuum of consciousness, but this continuum is observed by a subtle level of mind, and not by a witness like the ātman/soul from an underlying substratum. Schools such as the Gelugpa tradition state that there
Question: Different characters of the Purāṇas, even Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Śiva, whom we consider guṇāvatāras, are shown to commit immoral acts. By such incidents, are we to understand that the rules of morality pertain only to humans, or is there another explanation? Answer: Yes, there is a more convincing explanation. You need to study
Question: Who feels pain and pleasure in the conditioned stage? Is it the soul or the mind? Answer: The mind feels it. Question: From where does viveka or the faculty to choose between wrong and right come? Does it come from the buddhi or ātmā? Answer: It comes from buddhi. Question: Does the soul have intrinsic
Question: An ordinary person has jealousy—how to overcome this problem? Answer: Jealousy comes because of ignorance and attachment to your own self or body. First, you should understand what jealousy is. These two words in English, envy and jealousy, have similar meanings but with subtle differences. Envy means that someone has more than you and
