Sound Bhakti

Verse for discussion: https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/11/2/31/ Prabhupāda once said, "God helps those who help themselves." And helping oneself means, he said, putting yourself in front of transcendental sound vibration. There's a great, great advantage to just showing up. Some people say, "I'm unqualified. I, I can't go there." Well, go there, and then you become qualified. Some people say, "I'm overqualified." Those people aren't advanced enough for me. So go there and give them your association so they can become qualified. And this is smārtāḥ smarantas ca—mitho 'ghaugha-haraṁ harim. If you show up in the association of devotees, then you'll be carried along; you'll be lifted to the next level. When I look back over my life in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, it seems to have gone very quickly, and it seems like one thing—just, yeah, one thing. But if I think of all the varieties of programs that I've had the advantage of going to, and the different devotees I have had the opportunity to associate with, it's a lot.…

Prabhupāda once said, "God helps those who help themselves." And helping oneself means, he said, putting yourself in front of transcendental sound vibration. There's a great, great advantage to just showing up. Some people say, "I'm unqualified. I, I can't go there." Well, go there, and then you become qualified. Some people say, "I'm overqualified." Those people aren't advanced enough for me. So go there and give them your association so they can become qualified. And this is smārtāḥ smarantas ca—mitho 'ghaugha-haraṁ harim. If you show up in the association of devotees, then you'll be carried along; you'll be lifted to the next level. When I look back over my life in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, it seems to have gone very quickly, and it seems like one thing—just, yeah, one thing. But if I think of all the varieties of programs that I've had the advantage of going to, and the different devotees I have had the opportunity to associate with, it's a lot. There is a lot to be consumed and a lot of association to be had…

Deep inside everybody knows God's there, but they're like (gestures ignoring ). When you ignore God and you push Him away, you hold back, there is one result. There is one obligation for such a person. There is one way to pass your time if you are holding away God. It comes in one word: pachinko. Pachinko is the stupidest thing. What is it? The whole material world could be described in one word: pachinko, delulu. It's complete delusion. Trains running, where are they going? Where are they driving little cars for? It's all pachinko. Bhāgavatam—it saves you from pachinko. To save us from pachinko—the pachinko of our mind, bing bing bing bing, and the pachinko of the whole world. Lifetime after lifetime of pachinko. Animals are just doing pachinko, and you come to the human life, and then let's do more pachinko! But you don't have any other choice unless you have the Bhāgavatam. So this is a very satisfying conversation because the king knows all this, and now he's saying, "Please tell me the alternative. I'm…

Deep inside everybody knows God's there, but they're like (gestures ignoring ). When you ignore God and you push Him away, you hold back, there is one result. There is one obligation for such a person. There is one way to pass your time if you are holding away God. It comes in one word: pachinko. Pachinko is the stupidest thing. What is it? The whole material world could be described in one word: pachinko, delulu. It's complete delusion. Trains running, where are they going? Where are they driving little cars for? It's all pachinko. Bhāgavatam—it saves you from pachinko. To save us from pachinko—the pachinko of our mind, bing bing bing bing, and the pachinko of the whole world. Lifetime after lifetime of pachinko. Animals are just doing pachinko, and you come to the human life, and then let's do more pachinko! But you don't have any other choice unless you have the Bhāgavatam. So this is a very satisfying conversation because the king knows all this, and now he's saying, "Please tell me the alternative. I'm…

Śrīla Prabhupāda had spoken Kṛṣṇa-kathā in one place in New York City, and then, from the power of his speech, the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement spread to millions of people around the world. It is especially mentioned in this purport that the Yogendras had no inclination for deception or exploitation. One shloka spoken by Parikshit Maharaja in the 10th Canto of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.1.16) indicates the power of sound vibration in which the speaker has no desire to exploit or deceive the audience. He said, vāsudeva-kathā-praśnaḥ puruṣāṁs trīn punāti hi vaktāraṁ pracchakaṁ śrotṝṁs tat-pāda-salilaṁ yathā Which means that when a pure person, a pure devotee, speaks the Bhagavatam, then three kinds of people, three entities, are purified: first, the speaker; second, the inquirer; third, everybody else who walks by and hears anything.. He also mentions that previously I had some anger in my heart, because Parikshit went to the forest to hunt, and then he wasn't greeted properly by Shamika Rishi, and Parikshit…

Śrīla Prabhupāda had spoken Kṛṣṇa-kathā in one place in New York City, and then, from the power of his speech, the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement spread to millions of people around the world. It is especially mentioned in this purport that the Yogendras had no inclination for deception or exploitation. One shloka spoken by Parikshit Maharaja in the 10th Canto of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.1.16) indicates the power of sound vibration in which the speaker has no desire to exploit or deceive the audience. He said, vāsudeva-kathā-praśnaḥ puruṣāṁs trīn punāti hi vaktāraṁ pracchakaṁ śrotṝṁs tat-pāda-salilaṁ yathā Which means that when a pure person, a pure devotee, speaks the Bhagavatam, then three kinds of people, three entities, are purified: one, the speaker; second, the inquirer and third, everybody else who walks by and hears anything. He also mentions that previously I had some anger in my heart, because Parikshit went to the forest to hunt, and then he wasn't greeted properly by Shamika Rishi, and Parikshit…

In medicine, the biggest reason that people don't improve is called patient noncompliance. That means the reason that most people don't improve is because either they stop taking the medicine because they think, "I'm okay," or they don't take it at all. So that is also a metaphor that Lord Caitanya uses for His devotees: enechi auṣadhi māyā nāśibāro lāgi hari-nāma mahā-mantra lao tumi māgi He says, "You've been given the medicine, so you should beg: "Please make me take this. Let me take the medicine." So, when we associate with devotees, they'll make us take the medicine. Just like last night, Ananta Gaurāṅga Prabhu told me that Jayasrī always makes people read Prabhupada's books out loud. Good association means those who will make you take the medicine. This is why people come and take a yoga class, because they know they won't do it at home. They have to go inside the class, and the teacher says, "Okay, now do Warrior One, do Warrior Two. There are plenty of books in the world, but unless you go to school…

In medicine, the biggest reason that people don't improve is called patient noncompliance. That means the reason that most people don't improve is because either they stop taking the medicine because they think, "I'm okay," or they don't take it at all. So that is also a metaphor that Lord Caitanya uses for His devotees: enechi auṣadhi māyā nāśibāro lāgi hari-nāma mahā-mantra lao tumi māgi He says, "You've been given the medicine, so you should beg: "Please make me take this. Let me take the medicine." So, when we associate with devotees, they'll make us take the medicine. Just like last night, Ananta Gaurāṅga Prabhu told me that Jayasrī always makes people read Prabhupada's books out loud. Good association means those who will make you take the medicine. This is why people come and take a yoga class, because they know they won't do it at home. They have to go inside the class, and the teacher says, "Okay, now do Warrior One, do Warrior Two. There are plenty of books in the world, but unless you go to school…

There was that mood thrown into the '60s: the counterculture. "Nothing matters. Institutions don't matter. Let's burn them all down. Wooden ships on the water, very free, talking about you and me. Let's go off to an island somewhere on a wooden ship and get away from all this." That's what Arjuna thought also, and Kṛṣṇa said mm-mm (gestures no). There may be this bristling effect where we think, "Oh, institution, I have to live in an institution." But Prabhupāda specifically combined the two ideas together. That is, that it's not antithetical to have an institution and within it have a process through which one could develop spontaneous love for God. Therefore, ISKCON (I-S-K-C-O-N), which emerged from the divine mind of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada who penned it—just as Jīva Gosvāmī penned many legal documents to protect temples. One could say, "Well, just let Kṛṣṇa protect them," but he said, "We need documents to protect us." There are various ways in which he established standards…

After participating in a regional call for Bhadra campaign with leaders and managers from across South India, Radhanath Maharaj commented on how gratifying it was to see everyone along and working together towards a common goal, especially since they are usually at loggerheads. This Bhadra campaign is doing more than distributing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam; it is bringing devotees together in a shared mission. You have always found ways to share your love of reading Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books with the devotees. By taking time to read for five or six hours a day while staying at Govardhana during Kārtika, and holding group reading sessions whenever we can on our travels or online reading sessions before festival days, you have not only fulfilled your desire to spend more time studying Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books, but you have planted the seeds of that same desire in others. We have lemon and lime trees in our yard, and in the past, even when fruit seemed perfectly ripe, I always had to give a firm tug to get it to come…

People keep asking me where these kids come from, and I say, "I don’t know but they are here now and it’s time for us to transform the world." No more pussyfooting around. We have to organize to get all the books translated into every language. There should be a marathon going on constantly for translation. More paintings. Dhṛti said the day Prabhupāda left the world, she felt a void in her life. Because when she walked into the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, it was right during the Caitanya-caritāmṛta Marathon. And as soon as she landed in Los Angeles as just a little kid, practically, they took her to a room and said, “You know how to paint? Start painting.” And she didn’t stop until Prabhupāda left the planet. They would just bring her a little khichdi with some lime, and she stayed in there until Prabhupāda left about six years later, and then she said the music stopped. The music shouldn’t stop. We should carry it on. It should be on every street corner in New York, in San Francisco. Who said baseline?…

There is a story going on in everyone's head about who I am, what I can do. Arjuna was stifled going into the battle of Kurukshetra because that story was so strong, and it wasn't until śaraṇāgati, he gave himself up to Kṛṣṇa's guidance and left his story behind. And similarly, when we approach this most sacred of all practices, the chanting of Krishna's divine names, we have to learn to give up our story. Story may tell us, "I can't get a taste." Story may say, "Maybe something else is more interesting." We can notice that this is our constant, stifling companion, story the mind gives us. Here we have opportunity. Just remember the sheer happiness—which sounds paradoxical—of being helpless. And that means giving up the story-making to try to make oneself whole, and just let Kṛṣṇa make you whole. You might remember a time when you were completely helpless, and you called out, "Please help me," even if you didn't know it was Kṛṣṇa who was there to help you. In japa the most effective means of chanting; it's…

When we are transforming ourselves, turning towards the spiritual world, there is a lot we're afraid that we might lose. It can be a fearful situation. I feel rooted here. So if I'm to turn towards spiritual practice, spiritual world, and so forth, then I may think, "Well, what am I going to give up?" This is a point that Arjuna makes in the Bhagavad-gītā, isn't it? Kṛṣṇa tells him about how to embrace his duty and also take up spiritual life, and he tells him about the spiritual world, and then Arjuna says, "Yeah, but what if I go for it and then I lose my job, and I also blow it in spiritual life, too? What's that about? What would I do then?" Very encouraging! First time I read it in Bhagavad-gītā, Kṛṣṇa said to Arjuna that you never lose anything because He said that a person who's sincere and tries to reach the spiritual world, even a little bit, will never lose that progress. He further says that such a person will never be lost. Sincerity is ironclad, it is the best currency that we have. (09:06)…

Reflection: What I felt really nice about is something that you spoke about—content. And I feel that I can put better content in myself, and therefore impact my consciousness better, by having better association. HG Vaisesika Dasa: You made my whole day, because that's the simple point. You may think that was too simple of a point, but points that are that simple, you can apply in your life. And when you walk away from here, think again and again: “Every Cow Sings.” Energy—know your energies—higher, lower. If you look at the lower ones, you're going to feel it. Next one is container. What are you putting in? What are you eating? What are you hearing? What are you seeing? And the third one is subject. If you don't like what you are being subjected to—duh—change the subject! (30:07) ------------------------------------------------------------ To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit…

Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead, who is the Paramātmā [Supersoul] in everyone’s heart and the benefactor of the truthful devotee, cleanses desire for material enjoyment from the heart of the devotee who has developed the urge to hear His messages, which are in themselves virtuous when properly heard and chanted. (SB 1.2.17) ------------------------------------------------------------ To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=launch2025 https://vaisesikadasayatra.blogspot.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Add to your wisdom literature collection: https://iskconsv.com/book-store/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=launch2025 https://www.bbtacademic.com/books/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=launch2025 https://thefourquestionsbook.com/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=launch2025…

We are fortunate to have the opportunity to discipline our minds—have this opportunity early in the morning to focus on one thing that's all-important, leaving beside everything else with no other consideration whatsoever. This is a luxury, because most people are harassed 24 hours a day by various desires, thoughts, anxieties, and worries. But we don't have that, because we know that just by meditating on the name of Kṛṣṇa, everything else is perfectly achieved in life—like watering the root of a tree. So now, let's take that benediction we've been given to focus solely on Kṛṣṇa's name. Consider any other thoughts that come knocking at your door to be intruders, and just tell them that you are busy right now. Mercilessly leave them out in the cold, and continue in the warmth of chanting the holy names of the Lord. (00:56) ------------------------------------------------------------ To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit…

Those who keep the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in their home are worshiped by the devas. What’s more, all ancestors of those who keep the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in their home are benefited by the simple act of honoring the Bhāgavatam—inviting the Bhāgavatam into one’s home. kṛṣṇe sva-dhāmopagate dharma-jñānādibhiḥ saha kalau naṣṭa-dṛśām eṣa purāṇārko ’dhunoditaḥ Just after Kṛṣṇa left—true to His nature, always protecting all living beings and giving everyone an equal opportunity to go back home, back to Godhead, or more than an equal opportunity. He’s equal, samo ’haṁ sarva-bhūteṣu, to those who are indifferent to Him; but for those who have even the slightest inkling to reach Him, He gives more attention, opportunity, and even a little nudge here and there (or a big nudge) to go back home, back to Godhead. So today is very auspicious. I’ve been getting texts all this morning from victorious-sounding yātrās around the world saying, "We did it! We met our goal!" Toronto this morning—Śhyama Mohini texted me and said, ‘We…

I read a book some time ago by David Allen called 'Getting Things Done.' You may have heard of it, it's a pretty popular book. He points out there that many people have systems for organizing their lives, but the one part they leave out is the review. Although they collect information—they may even put it in the right piles, or right files, better say that—there's a way in which they don't stop on a weekly basis to review. He gave this example about how people may go on an annual vacation. I mean, some people go more than that, but you know, the big one—the big annual vacation. Right before leaving, or let's say two, three weeks before, everyone gets active in making sure everything's tidied up, things are done, and getting ready to go, reviewing what needs to be done before we walk out the door. Well, he said: why do it once a year? Why not do it once a week? That same kind of review, you can do regularly. This is a call to action that comes from the ancient wisdom literature as well: that now that you've…

In conclusion, all these people everywhere in San Diego, they're spirit souls from the spiritual world. This is where they should be; they're just disoriented, and it's a sleeping condition. But you can see, even when the soul is asleep, how powerful it is. It creates all these things while sleeping. This is all built while people are sound asleep—the soul is sound asleep—and they build all these semblances of a civilization. Imagine if they wake up! So the Bhāgavatam is the intervention. I've been asking lots of devotees to make these two-minute videos to promote the Bhādra Pūrṇimā. Viśākhā Devī Dāsī from the Manor in London sent me one last night, and she quoted from Śrīla Prabhupāda's writings on the Jaladuta when he was just coming into Boston Harbor. He was talking about how the Bhāgavatam would be the means through which everyone could wake up and come into their original consciousness. So this is an essential service: to transfer the Bhāgavatam into the society. (8:33)…

Have you ever been invited over for dinner? Let's just say you go over to the house and they invite you, and it's a nice invitation. You're looking forward to the night; you actually get a little dressed up, and then they invite you to the sitting room, and they bring a few hors d'oeuvres. You hear somebody in the kitchen, but it keeps getting later and later, and nobody's bringing anything out. There is no main course. It's just like they're going to give you a couple of crackers. That's it. Here's some rasam and crackers. That's it. You are wondering is anybody in the kitchen? Is there some food in there? Is there anything going to happen? And it never comes out. You're there left with some hors d'oeuvres, and you're hungry and you're angry inside, but you don't want to show it. Then you go home, and on the way home you're thinking, "What the heck was that?" That's how everyone feels. That's why people honk at each other on this 101 freeway. It's like, "Get out of here! I'm starving. I didn't get what I…

During the pandemic, the biggest month was the last month. That's when everyone jumped in. We were nowhere until the last four weeks, so it can all happen now... To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/? utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=launch2025 https://vaisesikadasayatra.blogspot.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Add to your wisdom literature collection: https://iskconsv.com/book-store/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=launch2025 https://www.bbtacademic.com/books/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=launch2025 https://thefourquestionsbook.com/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=launch2025 ------------------------------------------------------------ Join us live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FanTheSpark/ Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sound-bhakti/id1132423868 For the latest videos, subscribe…

As Jīva Gosvāmī says, Kṛṣṇa means unlimited potencies. This is the meaning of Bhagavān. Bhagavān has unlimited, inconceivable potencies, and the most important of those potencies is called hlādinī. Hlādinī means potency of enjoyment, and that's personified in Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. So, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is known as the one who serves Kṛṣṇa the best. Kṛṣṇa certifies this when he meets the residents of Vṛndāvana at Kurukshetra (ŚB 10.82.44), mayi bhaktir hi bhūtānām amṛtatvāya kalpate diṣṭyā yad āsan mat-sneho bhavatīnāṁ mad-āpanaḥ Here, our ācāryas have explained how Kṛṣṇa is making an exclamation of appreciation for the mood of service of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, saying that there is no better servitor in the context of the verse, and of course anyone who adopts this mood attains the perfection of life. As explained by Kavirāja Gosvāmī in the Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī will take the service of those who are eager to serve Kṛṣṇa and bring that service to Kṛṣṇa, and as Prabhupāda told us, that if we…

Prabhupāda encouraged all of the young people within his movement to take a risk. Don't think that you can get comfortable in this world. You can do your due diligence, which you have to do—tena tyaktena bhuñjīthā. But really, try to extend yourself to take a risk for giving other people opportunity to take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and by that you make swift advancement in devotional service, because śuśrūṣoḥ śraddadhānasya vāsudeva-kathā-ruciḥ syān mahat-sevayā viprāḥ puṇya-tīrtha-niṣevaṇāt (ŚB 1.2.16) Serve the great souls, considering oneself servant of the servant of the servant. Find the servant of the servant to please. Yesterday, I was on a call with Zone Two in North America, and the devotees from various temples were on there, and we were telling them about how to distribute sets of Bhāgavatams, and also we were showing them what their quotas were. Several of them rather surprised at the high number, but we were telling that everybody has to produce in order to come to the next level for us to…

Rādhe Jaya Jaya Mādhava-Dayite - 3 karuṇāṁ kuru mayi karuṇā-bharite sanaka-sanātana-varṇita-carite O most merciful goddess! O You whose divine qualities are sung by Sanaka and Sanātana Kumāras! O most merciful Rādhā, please have mercy on me! ------------------------------------------------------------ To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=launch2025 https://vaisesikadasayatra.blogspot.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Add to your wisdom literature collection: https://iskconsv.com/book-store/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=launch2025 https://www.bbtacademic.com/books/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=launch2025 https://thefourquestionsbook.com/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=launch2025 ------------------------------------------------------------ Join us live on Facebook:…

Smart people have confidential associates because nobody's—'no man is an island.' You know that phrase. We're all dependent on others. Our good friend Dr. Sloman points that out in his book, which is called The Knowledge Illusion. We think we're independent, but we are integrated into everybody else and everything here in the world that we are dependent on. If we admit the frailty that we have, and we make it a point to identify room for improvement in our own attitudes, in our own practices, see where we can improve ourselves, it's exhilarating! The mindset where, "I'll just do what I've always done, and I'll ignore my foibles and my shortcomings"—that's a life full of cognitive dissonance, where we know we should be doing one thing, but we're not doing it! And then we always live with a grinding sense in our heart: "Why can't I do it? Why can't I do it?" But you can! So have those kinds of associates who you can talk to anonymously and say, "Listen, I think I'm really messed up, and here is what I have…

Thinking about two of the offenses this morning—five and ten, I considered a few points that I'll mention now. Number five is to consider the glories of chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa to be imagination. This is a form of tacit atheism. That is, although Kṛṣṇa is present fully in His holy name, I write it off as insignificant. It doesn't exist. It's a kind of denial of God: atheism. And number 10 is related because 10 means to maintain material attachments, which doesn't mean just that I'm attached to chewing gum (nothing wrong with chewing gum, probably, and I'm trying to give it up) but it's more of a commitment to staying in the material world. That's something that Prahlāda Mahārāja mentions in the verse: matir na kṛṣṇe parataḥ svato vā mitho 'phipadyeta gṛhīvatānām adānta-gobhir viśatāṁ tamisraṁ punaḥ punaś carvita-carvaṇānām In this verse, he mentions a vrata, a vow, to stay in the material world and be engaged in materialistic activity: gṛha-vratānām. So, we are faced with a kind of conspiracy. There is a…

Take japa as the mainstay of our practice of devotional service, and take time to settle into it. There is maybe a warm-up period where it takes some time to get momentum, to get the mind back on track after sleeping. Sometimes the mind is elsewhere, or we may have things that are troubling us. We have deadlines. We have fears that something is going to happen, but those can be overcome by getting on the train of sound—it's coming, and we create it—and then we take time to settle in. Once we are on that train, we can hear the boxcars going over the rails: clackety-clack, clack, clack......and we're rolling along. Then we can stay on that train as long as possible and keep the sound vibration going. Every day, if we continue that sādhana, then that will become the place where we take shelter. And then throughout the day, we can remember: get back on the train. Just in my mind, I can stay on the train, no matter what else is happening. I'm performing my duties, but still my mind is absorbed in that sense of…

I wanted to read to you one verse that's appropriate for today, because it's from chapter four of the Ādi-līlā, "The Confidential Reasons for Lord Caitanya's Appearance," and it's a verse that you know, but Kavirāja Gosvāmī quotes it here in this, and you can remember because it's 4.34 of the Ādi-līlā, and it's..(1:14) Incarnations of the Supreme Personality of Godhead appear in all the species of life, although this is inconceivable to the human brain. The Lord’s pastimes are differentiated according to the appreciating capacity of the different types of bodies of the living entities. The Supreme Lord bestows the most merciful benediction upon human society when He appears in His human form. It is then that humanity gets the opportunity to engage in different kinds of eternal service to the Lord. Special natural appreciation of the descriptions of a particular pastime of Godhead indicates the constitutional position of a living entity. Adoration, servitorship, friendship, parental affection and conjugal…

yathā yathā gaura padāravinde vindeta bhaktiṁ kṛta-puṇya-rāsiḥ tathā tathotsarpati hṛdy akāsmad rādhā-padāmbhoja-sudhambu-rāsiḥ Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī Ṭhākura has said that by worshipping Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu's lotus feet, or to the degree that you worship His lotus feet—yathā yathā gaura-padāravinde, tathā tathā sarpati—to that degree you are able to understand Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī and the very essence of what Caitanya Mahāprabhu came. It is in Him; He is Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa combined. So, by worshipping Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu—what to speak of take the vibration that He passed on through disciplic succession, then one can come to understand Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, because it is inherent in Caitanya Mahāprabhu. As far as the verse attributed to Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, 'pūjāla rāga-patha gaurava-bhaṅge,' we heard that he had composed that verse and the devotees sang it when they moved the Deities by chariot to the Bāgbazār Mandir. In any case, that may not be as relevant as what his followers said…

pūjāla rāgapaṭha gaurava bhaṅge mattala hari jana viṣaya raṅge The path of spontaneous love for Kṛṣṇa is worshipable to us and should be held overhead as our highest aspiration. By Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura ------------------------------------------------------------ To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=launch2025 https://vaisesikadasayatra.blogspot.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Add to your wisdom literature collection: https://iskconsv.com/book-store/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=launch2025 https://www.bbtacademic.com/books/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=launch2025 https://thefourquestionsbook.com/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=launch2025 ------------------------------------------------------------ Join us live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FanTheSpark/ Podcasts:…

00:08— Saṁsāra dāvānala prayers 29:33 — Ohe Vaiṣṇava Ṭhākura 39:08 — Kṛṣṇa Deva Bhavantaṁ Vande 44:18 — Jaya Rādhā Jaya Kṛṣṇa 47:52 — Vibhāvarī Śeṣa 56:17 — Hari Haraye Namaḥ 1:07:24 — Jaya Rādhā Mādhava 1:16:15 — Jīv Jāgo 1:25:42 — Udilo Aruṇa 1:35:00 — Bhaja Bhakta-vatsala Śrī Gaura-hari 1:55:37 Daśāvatāra Stotram 2:03:26 Hare Kṛṣṇa Mahā-mantra (Śivarañjanī) 2:29:34 Rādhā Kṛṣṇa Bol Bol 2:45:44 Kṛṣṇa Jinka Nām Hai 2:55:03 Hare Kṛṣṇa Mahā-mantra 3:24:00 Janmāṣṭamī Midnight Kīrtan and Narasimha Prayers For lyrics and meaning: https://versecircle.com/?s=0 ------------------------------------------------------------ To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=launch2025 https://vaisesikadasayatra.blogspot.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Add to your wisdom literature collection:…

What you can do now is put your energy into what Prabhupāda put his energy into, which is: let's give this to the world, and the best thing to give is the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. We have a project right now which will catch your imagination. It started circa 2018. We came across a verse in the 12th Canto of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that says: "When you give away a set of Bhāgavatas as a gift on the full moon day in the month of Bhādra, you get the return gift of going back home, back to Godhead." We saw that, and we conceived of a worldwide effort, as we feel that devotees everywhere feel most empowered when they work together in cooperation. Yes, there is competition, and that will always be there because it's the nature of the individual soul to want to compete; but when we work together as one global team, we feel that we're united all over the world for the highest purpose—an unassailable purpose, which is to distribute the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, following in the footsteps of Śrīla Prabhupāda and the great ācāryas.…

This morning I’m going to read something from Śrīla Prabhupāda; it’s a letter that he had written to Mahendra. He said, "You have expressed the desire to become an Āyurvedic physician, but I do not think that this proposal is very good. This science is not so important to us now, because in your country there is ample facility for receiving medicines. Besides, many of the herbs which are needed for Āyurvedic treatment would have to be sent here from India, and this is not very practical. This homeopathic medicine you have mentioned is not genuine, and therefore it is a bluff. So the first medicine which you should be concerned with is to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa and to become increasingly steady in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Study Bhagavad-gītā As It Is and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and continue to help your godbrothers in developing Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So develop your preaching abilities in this way, and this will be the most successful and appreciated endeavor." So the first medicine which you should be concerned with is to…

Another of the phrases that Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta especially appreciated was in number six. It says, "Absolute is sentient; thou hast proved. Impersonal calamity; thou hast moved," which is a reference to the fact that many so-called teachers of the Vedic system give an impersonal conclusion that the Ultimate Truth is impersonal, and this is incorrect. One need only refer to the Bhagavad-gītā, where Kṛṣṇa says things like: brahmaṇo hi pratiṣṭhāham amṛtasyāvyayasya ca śāśvatasya ca dharmasya sukhasyaikāntikasya ca to understand that He is the source of impersonal Brahman, or kleśo ’dhika-taras teṣām avyaktāsakta-cetasām avyaktā hi gatir duḥkhaṁ dehavadbhir avāpyate (BG 12.5) Kṛṣṇa mentions the pursuit of impersonality causes great suffering and is a stumbling block to coming to the perfection of life. So, who would remove that? Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī, by his very straightforward, strong preaching. In this talk, Śrīla Prabhupāda mentions the paramparā system. He specifically refers to it. You should…

In December of 1969, Śrīla Prabhupāda descended into the basement pressroom of ISKCON Press in Boston – a former funeral home, unheated in winter – and stood before a large offset printing press. According to the eyewitness account of Patita Uddhāraṇa Dāsa, one of the press’s bookbinders who was present that day, Prabhupāda “affectionately pointed to the press machine and said, ‘This is my heart.’” When a devotee replied, “You are the heart of ISKCON, Prabhupāda,” he said simply: “And this is my heart.” That press, in that cold basement, was Śrīla Prabhupāda’s heart. From that beginning – which the Śrīla Prabhupāda-līlāmṛta, by Satsvarūpa dāsa Goswami documents in full – the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust grew to become, as Patita Uddhāraṇa Dāsa records in his compilation This Is My Heart (Bhaktivedanta Archives, 2015), the world’s largest Indological publisher, distributing millions of books in over fifty languages. Śrīla Prabhupāda wrote in a letter preserved in the Līlāmṛta: “When one book is published, I think…

For the past few months, Prabhu and I have been reading biographies written by some of your earliest disciples. It has been inspiring to hear, in their own words, how you empowered them and how, through their association with you, they began to imbibe that same mood of surrender, fearlessness, and willingness to take risks in order to please their spiritual master and spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Just as you had taken up the order and mood of your Guru Mahārāja into your heart, you somehow placed the same spirit within theirs. Depending on your guidance and what they sometimes experienced as "Kṛṣṇa magic," they ventured far beyond what they themselves thought they were capable of—with little experience, few resources, and often no clear idea how what you had asked of them could possibly be accomplished. They simply went forward on the strength of your instruction and their desire to please you, and by your mercy and Kṛṣṇa's arrangement, they accomplished things that even they could not have imagined. That…

When you hear the vignettes and the longer stories from the Bhāgavatam about certain people's interactions with the material nature, it has that effect that it forewarns us about what the consequences of following these are. It gives us that strength of purpose in mind. So the combination of chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa and hearing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam regularly is very powerful, and also we have to take steps on a regular daily basis to practice controlling the mind. Contrary to what the mind says—because it's unruly: "You won't be happy if you control the mind"—it's the opposite. When you control the mind, then you become peaceful. You can't do it all at once, but take tiny, tiny steps to make sure that from the time you wake up, you have a way to keep your mind contained—you don't just let it go anywhere. As an example, there is a waking-up routine to make sure. First thing when you open your eyes, or you open your consciousness out of sleep, you have a mantra that you can meditate upon. I do jayati jana-nivāso…

Prabhupāda writes that it's by one's determination and effort that one can perfect one's japa, which means that we have to take responsibility. There is a phenomenon in medicine that I read about recently and wrote something about. One of the main reasons that people aren't cured of certain ailments is because of noncompliance in taking the medicine: they either stop too early, and then it comes back, or they don't take it at all. In a similar way, japa is medicinal and has to be taken. So, just as one has to take responsibility—although a doctor gives medicine and says, "Take it," you have to be responsible about when you take it and making sure that you finish it; otherwise, the doctor can't help, as we have to help ourselves—existentially, we have to accept also that we're fallen. However we fell, that's a whole another issue that will never be resolved from this plane of consciousness. But in every śāstra and every utterance of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, He says we've fallen, and from a position of being…

Just after Kṛṣṇa-Balarāma appeared, 5,000 years later, Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityānanda appeared on the horizon of Gauḍadeśa like the sun and the moon to give benedictions to all. Śrīla Prabhupāda took the message of his spiritual master to spread the teachings of Lord Caitanya all over the world, and in the mood of Lord Nityānanda, he went from town to town to teach everyone the process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. He stepped off the Jaladūta, and from that very day, people began to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. It spread all over the world; now, in every continent and time zone, somebody is chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. If you listen very carefully, you can hear even now people calling out for the mercy of Lord Gaurāṅga: gaura-kṛpā hale he. ------------------------------------------------------------ To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=launch2025 https://vaisesikadasayatra.blogspot.com/…

I resonate with what you said earlier about being very genuine and vulnerable. As if you focus on trying to do everything right, then you probably won't. But if you're just being yourself and express yourself very clearly, then oftentimes it's a more natural exchange. For instance, to someone going on talking and talking, just tell them what's on your mind and say, "Are you interested in this," or "Is this something that you want to take?" It's not that you're balancing whether you should say it or not. If you feel that urge, just be straightforward and tell people. And I find the more straightforward you are when you go out, and don't depend on a set number of lines or whatever it is—although that sounds contradictory because I teach a template, but it's a scale that you can then deviate from later. But I find personally the more natural I am and very straightforward with people, the more they appreciate it and the less intimidated I feel. As far as whether the person is interested or not, I just ask them.…

Reflection by participant: I was realizing it's a lot easier to chant when the mind is not straying away, because it's a lot harder to chant when you're distracted, and it's almost like doing that makes the whole process harder. So it's in your benefit to stay focused. And I tried doing that a lot more today. Comments by HG Vaisesika Dasa: That's such an excellent point, and it's one that comes up in all of the śāstras about controlling the mind. A couple of thoughts I have on that: it takes a lot of practice throughout the day. We might note our habits throughout the day and where the mind's going, because it makes a difference if you're constantly keeping your mind under control throughout the day. One of the places a lot of people lose control of their mind—and they don't even know it—is on the phone. Because everything's packed into one little screen, and then you can get pulled in many different directions, and get into a 'no benefit' zone where the mind's becoming weak. And if you have a replacement…

I want to mention at the outset of this meeting that Janmashtami has been historically the best time to distribute Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam sets. People come to see Kṛṣṇa; they're in a very open-hearted mood. Last night, we did a pre-Janmashtami festival in a far-flung place on the dark side of the moon near where we live here in the Bay Area—it's a long drive. The devotees had put on an amazing Janmashtami ceremony for the local people who live there. Their consumption of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam was seemingly insatiable, and one of the reasons that they took so many Bhāgavatam sets last night was because we had three stations to present them in the crowd. People were milling from one place to the next, and then they would inevitably come to a station where the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam was prominently displayed and where there were several devotees there to assist them in taking their copy of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam home with them. So, my suggestion is: take advantage of Janmashtami, because it's the most logical time that people…

yathā yathā gaura padāravinde vindeta bhaktiṁ kṛta-puṇya-rāsiḥ tathā tathotsarpati hṛdy akāsmad rādhā-padāmbhoja-sudhambu-rāsiḥ To the degree that we surrender to Lord Caitanya’s service, to that degree we gain qualification for the service to Rādhārāṇī’s lotus feet in Vraja. (Caitanya-candrāmṛta by Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī ) To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=launch2025 https://vaisesikadasayatra.blogspot.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Add to your wisdom literature collection: https://iskconsv.com/book-store/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=launch2025 https://www.bbtacademic.com/books/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=launch2025 https://thefourquestionsbook.com/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=launch2025 ------------------------------------------------------------ Join us live on Facebook:…

yathā yathā gaura-padāravinde vindeta bhaktiṁ kṛta-puṇya-rāśiḥ tathā tathotsarpati hṛdy akasmād rādhā-padāmbhoja-sudhāmbu-rāśiḥ There is an ocean that floods the heart of such unqualified people just by getting introduced to Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. How has it happened? By the mercy of Lord Balarāma. So Rāma is the part: ramante yogino ’nante satyānande cid-ātman iti rāma-padenāsau paraṁ brahmābhidhīyate (eighth verse of the Śata-nāma-stotra of Lord Rāmacandra, Padma Purāṇa. Quoted in Cc Madhya 9.29) By Rāma, and even by the name Rāma, you experience such a high pleasure that you can just move on from the material world. Bala means you can get the strength, because balam balavatāṁ cāham—Kṛṣṇa says, "I am the strength of the strong." Right? That’s Balarāma. If we are in an unfortunate situation where we know where to move on to, we know what we want, but we just can’t do it—that’s called weakness of heart, W.O.H., weal and woe. We can pray to Lord Balarāma to overcome weakness of heart. What would it feel…

Hari Hari Biphale By Śrīla Narottama Dāsa Ṭhākura (Iṣṭa Deve Vijñapti - Prayer to One’s Beloved Lord) (from Prārthanā) 1 hari hari! biphale janama goṅāinu manuṣya-janama pāiyā, rādhā-kṛṣṇa nā bhajiyā, jāniyā śuniyā biṣa khāinu O Lord Hari, I have spent my life uselessly. Having obtained a human birth and having not worshiped Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, I have knowingly drunk poison. 2 golokera prema-dhana, hari-nāma-saṅkīrtana, rati nā janmilo kene tāy saṁsāra-biṣānale, dibā-niśi hiyā jwale, jurāite nā koinu upāy The treasure of divine love in Goloka Vṛndāvana has descended as the congregational chanting of Lord Hari’s holy names. Why did my attraction for that chanting never come about? Day and night my heart burns from the fire of the poison of worldliness, and I have not taken the means to relieve it. 3 brajendra-nandana jei, śacī-suta hoilo sei, balarāma hoilo nitāi dīna-hīna jata chilo, hari-nāme uddhārilo, tāra śākṣī jagāi mādhāi Lord Kṛṣṇa, who is the son of the King of Vraja, became the son of Śacī (Lord…

Regarding the word determination, it has the word terminus in it, which means an ending point. Those who are determined finish their vow of chanting—or, by finishing your vow of chanting, you can be considered determined, or see that you're determined. When we visited Jagannātha Dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja's samādhi, one of his descendants there was speaking about how he used to talk to his disciples about chanting and say: "The most important aspect of your daily practice is to finish your vow of chanting. No matter what else happens in the world or in your life, make sure that you finish, and by that you'll advance in devotional service. (excerpt from the Japa talk) ------------------------------------------------------------ To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=launch2025 https://vaisesikadasayatra.blogspot.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Add to your…

In the 87th chapter of the Bhagavatam, 10th Canto, 'Prayers by the Personified Vedas,' Prabhupada comments in the Krsna book, in his commentary on that chapter, that the most munificent of all of the Lord's pastimes—the Lord has many pastimes—the best of all of them is His rescuing the living entities from the material world. Now, if you help Him in that, what is your position? You may think, "I'm nobody." Fine, but you are now because Prabhupada said, "Kindly help me." If you take it up and you feel, "I'm fortunate, why shouldn't I make other people fortunate? I have medicine. Why shouldn't I distribute the medicine?" Then this is the heart of the Saṅkīrtana movement, and this is high sādhana. tapyante loka-tāpena sādhavaḥ prāyaśo janāḥ paramārādhanaṁ tad dhi puruṣasyākhilātmanaḥ That's a comment that Śukadeva Gosvāmī makes (SB 8.7.44) about Lord Śiva, you know, during the pastime in the Eighth Canto when Śiva sees the universe is going to be destroyed by the poison halāhala that's coming out of the…

Immerse yourself in the nectar of special Jagannathashtaka and special verses recited by HG Vaisesika Prabhu before Their Lordships Sri Sri Jagannatha, Baladeva, Subhadra, and Srila Prabhupada! Link to verses: https://versecircle.com/?s=0 ------------------------------------------------------------ To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=launch2025 https://vaisesikadasayatra.blogspot.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Add to your wisdom literature collection: https://iskconsv.com/book-store/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=launch2025 https://www.bbtacademic.com/books/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=launch2025 https://thefourquestionsbook.com/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=launch2025 ------------------------------------------------------------ Join us live on Facebook:…

I first offer my respectful obeisances to His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, who said, "So kindly help me," and he readily engaged anyone who came forward with some enthusiasm to help expand the flood of the ocean of love of God—which is flowing all over the world, but it needs to be expanded at this very moment, much wider and broader, to inundate the world. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu appeared over 500 years ago, and as is mentioned in the Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, the members of the Pañca-tattva danced and chanted the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra and enjoyed the fruits of love of God, and then they distributed them to people everywhere without considering who was a fit or unfit candidate. The more that they distributed it, the more the contents increased. This is spiritual mathematics: the way in which, by distributing Kṛṣṇa consciousness to others, it increases in our own hearts. As mentioned by Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, the more we dance in ecstasy to the beat of the kīrtana and the Hare…

You don't have to divert your attention anywhere else. It's all complete there, and therefore Rūpa Gosvāmī begins his Nāmāṣṭakam, verses that I'll comment on over the next several days: that you can fully surrender there, put your full attention, and that's one of the most important aspects of chanting japa. "Nām binā kichi nāhi ko'r, catur-daśa bhuvan-mājhe." Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura says, "Don't look anywhere else. There's nothing else to be had in all of the fourteen worlds except the Holy Name." One of the ways to keep the mind focused is to just know that everything comes from the Holy Name. Everything attainable comes from the Holy Name. ------------------------------------------------------------ To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=launch2025 https://vaisesikadasayatra.blogspot.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Add to your wisdom literature…