Question: What is the factual punishment for meat eaters in Kaliyuga? The reason for our question is that in some cases it appears to... Read More
Question: Having, recently, read Rajiv Malhotra’s Being Different and your excellent, soon be published, commentary to Bhagavat Sandharba I have come to realize that... Read More
Two years ago I experimented with something I had been deliberating on for many years. Along with twelve of my students, I rented a house in Switzerland for a week in the summer and engaged in japa meditation as described in bhakti shastra. There was no contact with the outside world, (i.e. no phone or internet) and we cooked our own food. The results were very encouraging.
My intention was to study all the major Gaudiya Vaisnava literature from Maharaja while studying the Sad-darshanas, such as Nyaya and Vaisesika, from another... Read More
I first visited Vrindavan during the month of Kartika. Being fond of buying books I went to Loi Bazar and happened to find the Sandarbhas printed by Guru Maharaja. From these books I got his address and immediately had the desire to visit him. I went there alone in the evening.
One day I was in a mall and discovered a sale of old books. “Easy Journey to Other Planets” by Srila Prabhupada was one of the books I picked up. I began reading this small book immediately and found it quite interesting, but didn’t realize the connection between the author and ISKCON. I was so impressed by Srila Prabhupada’s writing that I would have changed my mind and gone back to the temple had I realized it.
Sri Rupa Gosvami says bhakti develops from sadhana to bhava by passing through eight steps (BRS 1.4.15-16). The first step, sraddha, leads to the second, sadhu-sanga: association with a sadhu, a Vaishnava saint. Commenting on these verses, Sri Jiva Gosvami writes that prior to attaining sraddha, a person
