हरे कृष्ण मंत्र Gaudiya Vaishnava General

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Eastern philosophies often get accused of fatalism. The concept of karma and the Hindu castes especially seem to tell the populace "Stay in your place and learn to be happy." Striving for more is deleterious, and a trap to bind you further to the material. Better to abandon all desire for improvement. Bhakti yoga is in direct contention to this. The process which Srila Prabhupada likened to the woodworking method of dovetailing is not to abandon pursuits, but to purify them.
>Bg 9.27 — Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer or give away, and whatever austerities you perform – do that, O son of Kuntī, as an offering to Me.
The desire to act is not the issue, but the motivation behind the act. The intended enjoyer of the act is what needs to be corrected.
> Bg 2.47 — You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of action. Never consider yourself the cause of the results of your activities, and never be attached to not doing your duty.

With bhakti yoga, every act is meant to be an act of loving devotion to your Supreme Lover. Why WOULDN'T you want to perform the best you absolutely can? Why would you give your absolutely best and perfect lover a haphazard effort and go "meh, that's what karma produced?" A person making something for themselves to enjoy might settle, but a person making something for their best and perfect lover should want to make it the biggest and the best and the most perfect thing ever.

And what should we be doing for Krishna? Well, this is where independence kicks in. Imagine you are cooking for your best and perfect lover. And you want them to REALLY enjoy what you make, so you ask them what you should make for them. What is the mundane response we so often get? "You decide. Surprise me." It is similar with Krishna.
Of course we know everyone has favorites and even when they say "surprise me" they sometimes mean "show me you know what I want.

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>>19261888
And to top it all off, with Krishna we know He can know everything we think, what we'll choose...heck, He could make us choose; He basically does. But that's just it. The action isn't the issue. We aren't doing the action. What's important is that mentality. That moment when you're sitting there WANTING TO PLEASE your best and perfect lover. When your identity is "I am my lover's pleasure" and your mind is meditating on "What can I do to please my lover?" and your senses are engaged in determining what is available and how to bring about whatever the mind comes up with. And anything and everything that is you is focused and aware on the One you love.

THAT is love. THAT is what Krishna wants. THAT is what will satisfy us now, and eternally.

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Just a quick thought to all the other Personalists on the board hoping for a chance to make their Deity smile.

> Bg 2.40 — In this endeavor there is no loss or diminution, and a little advancement on this path can protect one from the most dangerous type of fear.

>>19261888
>>19261899
the doubles and the tripples, lord krishna has surley blessed you, you will soon reach the highest state of octuplets in only a few life times,

In a time period called "countless billion universes a go" I was called "Light of the Moon". I was advised by spirits to assume a male form to increase my powers.
I did not see any relation between the potential for powers and the shape of the body, thus I vowed to become a goddess in female form.
Then I entered into deep trance for several aeons, until I achieved the state of "Effortlessly protecting from all negativity" and became known as "The Saviour“.
In a time period called "Boundless primordial light" I was still in trance when I, together with The Great Loving One took the vow of helping every creature in every possible direction for eternity.

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>>19263132
Then from the God called "Infinite Light“, (Because he made the vow to instantly fulfill the wishes of everyone with a pure intention) out of his right eye came the sun ontop of wich sat The Great Loving One, and out his left eye the full moon ontop of I sat.
Then in a time period called "The present moment of now" I was still in trance and spontaniously entered the state of "Supreme peace" and I became known as "The lady who destroys every obstacle“

>>19263136
Then in a time period called "Beyond time, the timeless beginning“ I was still in trance and entered the state of "Supreme Truth of Reality" and I became known as “Primordial Mother of All"
During that same time I entered the state of “Destroying every possible existence" and I became known as "The Majestic Mother, Face of Reality". I am both the creator, protector, and destroyer of all life in all possible universes, yet at the same time I am life, and I am death. I am the air you breath. I am the water you drink. I am the earth you walk upon. I am the plants you eat. I am the light of day. I am the darkness of night. I am the space you occupy. I am every person and animal you will ever encounter. I am both your producer, and your ending, yet at the same time I am you. I am everything, yet I am nothing too. Nobody can escape my gaze.

Is this quoting from something or are you inspired?

>>19263132
Is boundless infinite light the same as Ein Sof Aur?

>>19263214
Both sound like descriptions of Brahman. Gaudiya Vaishnava understanding is the Person has primacy over the Effulgence, but both are descriptions of ultimate reality. Nirguna - without qualities.

Bg 14.27 — And I am the basis of the impersonal Brahman, which is immortal, imperishable and eternal and is the constitutional position of ultimate happiness.

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>>19263269
Today is Guru Purnima. (or tomorrow depending on timezone)

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>>19263292
Even NASA mentioned it!
http://www.ndtv.com/offbeat/guru-purnima-2017-find-out-why-usas-nasa-is-tweeting-about-it-1722179

I wonder if going over to check on my elder brother's AC in his absence counts as puja...

After work I'll have to come up with something nice to post for the guru.

bump


interested to know more

Bhakta, what is your opinion on the mahamantra not being included in Bhagavad Gita? Perhaps because it was written in a yuga where harinam wasn't dharma?

>>19265234
Yes, Krishna was speaking specifically to Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita, which was set in the Dwapara Yuga where the dharma consisted of elaborate diety worship. Thus you see Krishna advising Arjuna to worship him. Only by literature referencing the Kali Yuga dharma is the mahamantra mentioned.

>>19265234
Prabhu above me gives a response I concur with; it was not the proper method of worhsip at the time.

Another understanding I have heard is the due to the potency of the maha-mantra, it was "hidden" from the general public. Even in some versions of the Kali-santarana Upanishad, the mantra is given as
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
and that when Lord Chaitanya "broke open the storehouse of loving devotion" he reversed the lines in order to circumvent the stipulation that this mantra be kept secret.
Basically, the mantra was always there, but it was waiting for Lord Chaitanya to become the prominent mantra of bhakti yoga. I found a rather nice (but long) page detailing how Gaudiya Vaishnava conception of the maha-mantra is different than how other philosophies view it, even other Vaishnava schools.

http://gosai.com/writings/the-maha-mantra

The relevant verses from the Kali-santarana Upanishad:

(1)
harih om
dvaparante narado brahmanam jagam katham
bhagavan gam paryatan-kalim santare-yamiti

sa hovaca brahma –
sadhu prsto’smi sarva sruti-rahasyam gopayam
tacchrnu yena kali-samsaram tarisyasi bhagavata
adi-purusasya narayanasya namoccarana-matrena nirdhuta-kalir bhavati

(2)
naradah punah papraccha tananam kimiti
sa hovaca hiranyagarbah –

hare krsna hare krsna krsna krsna hare
hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare

iti sodasakam namnam
kali-kalmasa-nasanam
natah parataropayah
sarva-vedesu drsyate

>At the end of Dvapara-Yuga, Narada, who had traversed the whole world, went to Brahma and addressed him thus, ‘O Lord, how shall I be able to ward off the effects of Kali?’
>Brahma thus replied, ‘You have asked an excellent question. Listen to that secret which all the Vedas keep hidden, through which one may cross over material existence during the age of Kali. One becomes free from the influence of Kali by merely uttering the Names of Lord Narayana, who is the original Supreme Person.

>Thus again Narada asked Brahma, ‘What are those Names?’
>Lord Brahma replied, ‘Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. These sixteen Holy Names will destroy the sinful influences of the age of Kali. I do not see any other method

Has anyone read Principle of Sri Guru and Service to Sri Guru by Bhaktivedanta madhava goswami maharaja? Trying to distribute the books of my spiritual master

>>19265915
http://www.purebhakti.com/resources/ebooks-a-magazines-mainmenu-63/bhakti-books/english/20-harinama-maha-mantra/file.html

On page 66 you can actually see how the mantra is concealed in this purana

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>>19265942
I haven't, but I found a link here
http://www.purebhakti.com/resources/ebooks-a-magazines-mainmenu-63/bhakti-books/english/232-principle-of-sri-guru-and-service-to-sri-guru.html

Bhaktivedanta Madhava Goswami Maharaja is indeed a very fortunate soul, as I am reading of his close and traditional seva to Srila Narayana Maharaja Prabhupada. I also like the blurb to his book:

>Guru-seva is the backbone of bhajana, or devotional absorption. Whoever wants to enter into the realm of bhajana must first dedicate his life to the service of a bona fide guru. Such a guru will never consider the disciple to be his or her own property. Rather, he will consider the disciple to belong to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and the Divine Couple, Sri Sri Radha-Krsna. He will transfer the disciple's attachment and dedication to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Sri Radha-Krsna. Whoever reads this work, will obtain a clear conception of the subject of the guru in Gaudiya Vaisnava thought. For those eager to attain bhakti, this book is therefore a lighthouse that guides the aspirant to spiritual perfection. Without guru-seva, no one can advance in Krsna consciousness.

Especially the part of a disciple is not owned by or to be used for the pleasure of the guru. A disciple is owned by Krishna, like a ward, and as such needs to be properly trained to love and serve Krishna.

He doesn't do short videos, does he? :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0-XacFDIQY

>>19265959
What a delightful book, but I don't know if I'm seeing what you refer to. On page 66 in the book is a chart showing how the maha-mantra is hiding in the Pada-kalpataru song. Is that what you mean?

>>19266081
Yes, he was the personal servant of Srila gurudeva for 30 years. They were so close that Narayana maharaja considered him an expansion of his very self.

Yes, I was referring to the song

>>19266081
Here's a short video from one morning walk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVXPcA6lIyo

>>19261849
i think im vishnu reincarnation
how does it work?

>>19267853
Vishnu does not reincarnate. Vishnu is never carnate, of the flesh, material. Vishnu has a spiritual form.

> Bg 7.24 — Unintelligent men, who do not know Me perfectly, think that I, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, was impersonal before and have now assumed this personality. Due to their small knowledge, they do not know My higher nature, which is imperishable and supreme.

> Bg 9.11 — Fools deride Me when I descend in the human form. They do not know My transcendental nature as the Supreme Lord of all that be.

But any soul can be empowered and imbued by Vishnu. All that takes is purity and desire to serve.