Question: How do you understand the term paraṁ padam in SB 10.2.32 (ye’nye’ravindākṣa vimukta-māninas…) in the sense that paraṁ padam refers to the highest abode, and this verse is speaking about falling from there. Some argue that the verse mentions paraṁ padam and therefore must be speaking about some fall from the “highest position,” which
Question: I would like to understand the Islamic rule in the Indian subcontinent. Although there is evidence to suggest that Islamic rulers were cruel and carried out barbaric practices in the name of religion, most people seem to think otherwise. Several of my friends have pointed out that there were also conflicts between Hindu rulers
Question: Does aprakata-līlā take place on earth in a form unmanifested to ordinary souls or does it take place in Goloka, which is beyond the earth? Answer: Aprakata-līlā is in aprakata-prakāśa. Now the question is, where is this aprakata-prakāśa? One way of understanding is that it is in the spiritual realm. This is what you
Question: In Paramātma Sandarbha 93.5, Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī explains in detail how Bhagavān has no experience of material misery. I still have some doubts on this concept, based on the following passages from the Bhāgavata. When Duryodhana was lying on the battlefield, Kṛṣṇa was not happy to see that scene. This is explained in SB
Question: After the Govardhana episode, the Bhāgavatam makes several statements that the Vrajavāsīs (vrajaukasaḥ) were aware of Kṛṣṇa as Īśvara: “They worshipped Kṛṣṇa with great respect”—ānarcuḥ kṛṣṇaṁ ca gata-vismayāḥ (SB 10.26.24); The cowherd men desired to see the abode of Kṛṣṇa—naḥ sva-gatiṁ sūkṣmām upādhāsyad adhīśvaraḥ (SB 10.28.11). Gauḍīya ācāryas in their commentaries mention that the
Question: In Bhagavad Gītā 17. 22, Kṛṣṇa says that charity, dāna, performed “adeśa-kāle,” at the “wrong place and time,” is dāna dominated by tamas. After having looked through different commentaries (Rāmānuja, Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura, and Śrīdhara Svāmī), I could not understand what Kṛṣṇa means by “wrong place and time.” Śrīdhara Svāmī mentions aśucisthane, an unclean place, but how can
Question: Is the ātmā a separate entity compared to Paramātmā? Answer: The ātmā has its own distinct identity. It is not absolutely identical with Paramātmā. Advaitvādīs, however, believe that ātmā and Paramātmā are ontologically one. Question: If the ātmā is an aṁśa or integral part of Paramātmā, how did it become separate? Answer: The problem
