Philosophy Points

Romapada Swami Memo Motivational sharing from Romapada Swami

  • Gokarna History
    by Romapada Swami on September 3, 2024 at 11:51 pm

    Only Listening to the Bhägavatam with Full Attention Will Produce ResultsEven after an aspirant to spiritual life has attained the company of devotees and hears the Bhägavatam in their association, he must still be careful to hear it in the proper manner. Otherwise, he will not get the full result of this powerful devotional activity.The

  • Missile Launch canceled the day Srila Prabhupada stepped into USA
    by Romapada Swami on September 3, 2024 at 11:37 pm

    This is a story of how a missile attack from Russia on the United States was called off on the very day Srila Prabhupada arrived in America. This is an excerpt from the tribute to Srila Prabhupada from Palaka dasa in the recent Tributes book. This story was told by one Russian devotee, whose uncle

  • BHAKTIVINODA THAKUR on CHRISTIANITY, from Tattva-Viveka Text 25
    by Romapada Swami on January 16, 2024 at 3:57 pm

    Some philosophers say that because of the first living entity’s sin all the other living entities are imprisoned in the material world. Later, punishing Himself for their sins, God delivers the living entities. Commentary by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura “Thinking about the virtues and faults of this world, some moralistic monotheists concluded that this material world is not a place of unalloyed pleasures. Indeed, the sufferings outweigh the pleasures. They decided that the material world

  • Lord Caitanya’s Promise
    by Romapada Swami on January 16, 2024 at 3:49 pm

    Sri Caitanya-candrodaya by Kavi KarnapurChapter 10, Texts 279-284 Advaita: What more may You do to please Me? Lord, You have revealed the most confidential pastimes of Lord Krishna. You have crushed the age of Kali, and You have described the secret meaning of devotional service in pure love of Krishna. You have brought all auspiciousness to the devotees expert at relishing the mellows of transcendental

  • Krsna teaches a parrot to recite a mantra
    by Romapada Swami on January 16, 2024 at 3:27 pm

    Krsna-teaches-a-parrot-to-recite-a-mantraDownload

Bhakti Sandarbha 236 – Say Yes and No

saranapatti = the condition HAVING ATTAINED SURRENDER; being already surrendered

Afflicted by fear of saàsära by the enemies in the form of the six vargas (lust, greed, anger, delusion, pride and envy) one surrenders to the Lord, being without any other shelter. Though a person desires bhakti, he is afflicted by aversion to the Lord caused by the six vargas. Thus the person surrenders…

1-Bhakti Sandarbha 236- Say Yes and No

Gopakumar’s expression about fullness of Mantra

Taking full shelter means to express the mood, ‘O Krsna, I am Yours! I am taking shelter of You!’ ~in the mind and out loud.” (Jaiva Dharma Ch.20)

2-Gopakumar_s_expression_abt_fullness_of_Mantra

Sudama Vipra

Quotes from Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur on Sudama in “Amrta Vani – Nectar of Instructions for Immortality”

3-Sudama Brahmana _Say Yes to Krsna

Weakness yet Faithful to Bhakti

Having awakened faith in the narrations of My glories, being disgusted with all material activities, knowing that all sense gratification leads to misery, but still being unable to renounce all sense enjoyment, My devotee should remain happy and worship Me with great faith and conviction…

4-SB 11.20.27-28 Weakness yet Faithful to Bhakti

Acceptance of Reversals & Advising Others to “Say Yes to Krsna”

My dear King, do not be agitated and anxious because your sacrifices have not been properly executed due to providential impediments. Kindly take my words with great respect. We should always remember that if something happens by providential arrangement, we should not be very sorry. The more we try to rectify such reversals, the more we enter into the darkest region of materialistic thought…

5-Acceptance of Reversals

Moving from head to heart

In the Bhagavad-gita, Lord Krsna says that above the senses is the mind and above the mind is the intelligence and even above the intelligence is the soul.
In the purport of the 3rd chapter 40th verse, Srila Prabhupäda also explains that intelligence is the next-door neighbor of the soul…

6-moving_from_head_to_heart

Say Yes to Krishna’s Name and to Spiritual Sound

Sound is characterized in modern science as mechanical waves that propagate through a medium such as air, water, and solids. Sound waves are generated by a sound source, or a vibrating medium….

7-Say Yes to Krishna_s Name

Atmarama but not Atmarama (part 1)

The Lord was present in the past, is present now and will be present in the future. Båhad-äraëyaka Upanisad 3.8.3. Upasam-häryatvam means that it is proper to gather all forms during meditation. The Lord’s birth is different from material birth. It is an appearance of the Lord, which resembles a material birth. Sometimes it is not similar to a material birth also. Ajäyamänä bahudhä vijäyate: unborn, he is born in many ways. (Puruña-sükta)

Atmarama Part 1

Atmarama but not Atmarama (part 2)

BB 2.2.210: The final fruit of devotional service is prema, in which, by its nature, one will never be satiated. Saintly authorities deem self-satisfaction the most unwanted secondary fruit of prema. A devotee who relishes prema is never satisfied with himself but always wants to surrender more and more for the satisfaction of his Lord…

Atmarama but not Atmarama- Part 2

Ayodhya is at the topmost region of Hari Dhama

Commonly in ISKCON we understand the Ayodhya is the topmost realm within Hari dhama, and above that is Goloka dhama (Dwaraka, Mathura + Vrndavan).
What are the scriptural references which support this understanding?

Ayodhya is at the topmost region of Hari Dhama

Jesus Christ and Muhammad in Srimad Bhagavatam

In case of benefit, no one will deny that it is God-sent, but in case of loss or reverses one becomes doubtful about how the Lord could be so unkind to His devotee as to put him into great difficulty. Jesus Christ was seemingly put into such great difficulty, being crucified by the ignorant, but he was never angry at the mischief-mongers. That is the way a devotee accepts a thing, either favorable or unfavorable, and thus for a devotee, the identifier is as much a sinner as the mischief-monger. The devotee tolerates all reverses as God’s grace.

Christ and Muhammad in Srimad Bhagavatam

 

Destination of demons killed by Krsna

In some cases, such as Putana and Aghasura, to give but two examples that come straight to mind, their destinations after being killed are clearly stated. In other cases, such as Trinavarta or Sakatasura, to give two other examples that come straight to mind, their destinations after being killed are not clearly described. In such cases where it isn’t explicitly described, at least in the 10th canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam, what should we presume in this regard?…

Destination of demons killed by Krsna

 

Divinity of Krsna for the Vrajavasis

Do the Vrajavasis know of Krsna’s divinity?

On rare occasions, very briefly Krsna “draws back the curtain”, by bringing to their conscious awareness His being the Supreme Person. However, swiftly – immediately in fact – He again covers them with His yoga-maya potency. Thus, they completely forget all that they saw or understood, and resume their madhurya feature of prema and pranaya…

Divinity of Krsna for the Vrajavasis

 

Jive daya name ruci vaisnava sevana

jive daya name ruci vaisnava sevana

iha chara dharma nahi suna sanatana

“Hear, Sanatana! Kindness to all living beings, taste for the holy name, and service to Vaiñëavas—apart from these there is no other religion.”

When one has a taste for the holy name, one develops more compassion for the jivas. When one becomes free from offenses to the Vaisnavas, offenses rooted in envy, hatred, and false competition, the spirit of rendering genuine service to the Vaisnavas awakens.

Jive daya name ruci vaisnava sevana

 

Krsna: Son Born of Both Vasudeva & Nanda

We always hear that Kåñëa was born in the prison-house of Kamsa, as the son of Vasudeva and Devaké. However, mention is occasionally made of Kåñëa being directly born from the womb of Yasoda. Where is the scriptural reference which states that Kåñëa was one of two children, twins, born of Yaçodä and Nanda Maharaja?

Krsna born as son of both Nanda+Vasudeva

 

Krsna’s Human-Like Form

“Superficially, Krsna’s personal form, words and activities resemble those of ordinary conditioned souls. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura explains that this apparent resemblance between the Lord’s activities and those of the living entities is a merciful concession by the Lord so that the conditioned souls…

Krsna’s Humanlike Form

 

Krsna’s Return to Vrndavana

In Srila Rupa Gosvami’s Lagu-bhagavatamrta (Purva-khanda 5.467), he describes Krsna’s return to Vrndavana:

Krsna’s Return to Vrndavan

 

Meat-Eating for Ksatriyas

Were ksatriyas allowed to eat meat, in Vedic culture? If so, under what circumstances?

Meat-Eating for Ksatriyas

 

Mindfulness

Achieving Mindfulness has one primary obstacle: a distracted restless mind!…

Mindfulness- Ear Conquers the Mind

 

Multiple Expansions of Jivas Who Are Intimately Assisting Krsna

BB 3.5.51-54 ~ Narada speaks to Gopa Kumar in Dwaraka…

Multiple expansions of jivas who are intimately assisting Krsna

 

Nanda and Yasoda Not Visiting Krsna in Mathura

Why did Mother Yasoda and Nanda Maharaja not pay a visit to Krishna at Mathura, or even Dwaraka? They could have even stayed there for some time…

Nanda and Yasoda not visiting Krsna in Mathura

 

Putana’s Previous Life

In her last life, Putana was Ratnamala, the younger sister (daughter according to Garga Samhita) of Bali Maharaja…

Putana’s Previous Life

 

Rama’s Ideal Humility

As Rama took up his bow and advanced toward Ravana, Surya spoke to him from the sky urging…

Rama’s Ideal Humility

 

Say “Yes” to Krsna

As stated in the Bhagavatam (11.20.9), until one’s faith has been awakened by listening to discussions of devotional subjects…

Say Yes to Krsna

 

SB is the Form of Krsna

Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 16 – Santana Goswami to SCM…

SB is the form of the Lord

 

Subtle Body’s Dissolution

When a soul transitions from the covered and conditioned state in this material world to the brahmajyoti, is the subtle body relinquished?…

Subtle Body’s Dissolution

 

Valmiki’s Curse

Was there some significance to Valmiki’s cursing the hunter, at the beginning of the Ramayana?

Valmiki’s Curse

 

Krsna’s Departure & Sequence of events, leading to Vidura’s meeting with Uddhava

    1. The demigods go to Dvaraka [SB 11.6.1-20 discusses #1- #4 below]
    2. They offer prayers
    3. Brahma asks Krsna to withdraw the Yadus…

Krsna’s Departure & Sequence of events

 

Drona and Dhärä

How to reconcile the contradiction between our standard understanding that Nanda Maharaja and Yasoda are nitya-siddha devotees, eternally situated as the father and mother of Krsna in his eternal unmanifest pastimes, or aprakata-lila in Goloka – while SB 10.8.48-50 indicate that Drona and Dhärä ‘became’ Nanda and Yaçodä?

Drona and Dhara

 

Mahäräja Devämidha had 2 sons:

Parjanya Maharaja (father of Nanda +4 brothers) &

Surasena (father of Vasudeva, Kunti, Devabhaga -> father of Uddhava)

 

St Francis: The Greatest Joy

In Italy, near the city of Perugia, is the place called Assisi, the birthplace of a very popular saint named Francis. He was the son of a wealthy merchant, but he took up the life of renunciation. Committed to a life of self-imposed poverty, humility, and devotion, he attracted many to follow him…

St Francis – The Greatest Joy

 

Uddhava’s Family Relationship with Krsna

Q: Was there a family relationship between Krsna and Uddhava?

Answer: Yes. Krsna’s father was Vasudeva, and Uddhava’s father was Devabhaga. In this way, they were 1st cousins, just as Arjuna and Krsna were 1st cousins.

 

Madhukantha and Snigdhakantha

Q: In Jiva Goswami’s Gopal Campu, we hear the names Madhukantha and Snigdhakantha. Who are they?

Answer: The two brothers are twins and are disciples of Narada, who have been trained by him in the art of singing, praising, and reciting. From their total devotion to Narada, he bestowed upon them the capacity to know everything, and because of that, they are protectors of the poetic arts. The elder of the two twins is Madhukantha, who is the primary reciter of Gopal Campu.

 

Katha Upanisad 1.2.23

 The Supreme Lord is not attained by expert explanations, by vast intelligence, nor even by much hearing. He is attained only by one who He Himself chooses. To such a person He manifests His own form.

Detachment and Association

Translation: The vairägya of that person who employs objects suitable for devotional development, while remaining detached from them, is said to be suitable for bhakti. The objects should be persistently related to Krsna…

CC Madhya 22.105

When transcendental devotional service by which love for Kṛṣṇa is attained is executed by the senses, it is called sādhana-bhakti, or the regulative discharge of devotional service. Such devotion eternally exists within the heart of every living entity. The awakening of this eternal devotion is the potentiality of devotional service in practice…

Manasa Puja – Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu

One brahmana—he was a great devotee—he wanted to offer very brilliant service, archana, in the temple worship. But he had no money. But someday he was sitting in a Bhagavata class and he heard that Krsna can be worshiped even within the mind. So he took this opportunity because he was thinking since a long time how to worship Krsna very gorgeously, but he had no money…

“What is the intended meaning behind Srila Prabhupada’s use of the word ‘Godhead’?”

– HG Ravindra Svarupa Prabhu

If you look up the contemporary definition of the English word “Godhead”, you will find out that it means “the Divine nature or essence”, and that is in a way an abstraction of God…

Do Non-devotees have Good Qualities?

All the demigods and their exalted qualities, such as religion, knowledge and renunciation, become manifest in the body of one who has developed unalloyed devotion for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vāsudeva. On the other hand, a person devoid of devotional service and engaged in material activities has no good qualities…

Do Non-devotees have Good Qualities

What is the scriptural authority for the statement found in the purport below, which compares the relative effect of chanting the names Visnu, Rama and Krsna?

According to the Varaha Purana, as quoted by Srila Jiva Goswami, there is no difference between the water of the Ganges and the Yamuna, but when the water of the Ganges is sanctified one hundred times, it is called the Yamuna…

Visnu-Rama-Krishna Names Compared

Yamaraja’s Four Abodes

We learn from Narada Muni that elevated associates of the Lord exist simultaneously in different realms, by the Lord’s arrangement, to allow them to serve Him in different ways. [BB 3.5.51-54]…

Yamaraja’s Abode

The Effect of the Modes on faith (Suddha Bhakti Cintamani, Ch 2, HH Sivarama Swami)

Serious devotees are naturally interested in knowing the details of how and why the Vaishnava’s faith is influenced by the modes of nature. Simply put, practicing devotees who do not take full shelter of liberated Vaishnavas and their liberating instructions are victimized by their own previous conditioning. They then succumb to their lower nature…

Effect of the Modes on faith- sraddhabhasa

Why Krsna and Balarama didn’t attend gurukula in Vrindavan/Nandagram?

According to VCT, Krsna spent 3 years and 4 months in Gokula, 3 years and 4 months in Vrindavan, after which time Nanda Maharaja shifted residence to Nandagram. At the age of 10 years and 7 months, on the eleventh lunar day of the dark fortnight of the month of Caitra, Krsna went to Mathura, and on the fourteenth day thereafter He killed Kamsa.  Thus Krsna completed His kaisora period at age ten, and He eternally remains at that age…

Upanayana in Mathura for Krishna

Balarama’s Appearance Timeline

Srimati Rohini came to Gokula from Mathura at the beginning of the month of Sravana. At that time, she was pregnant for about three months. Later, when Devaki was pregnant after several months, the 7th child of Devaki was transferred by the power of Yogamaya to the womb of Mother Rohini – just as Sri Vasudeva has brought Lord Krsna from Mathura to Gokula. At that time Lord Krsna, who was brought by Vasudeva, entered into baby Krsna, who was already in Gokula born from Mother Yasoda. They became one entity, one Krsna.

In the same way, Balarama, who was in the womb of Devaki, was taken out by Yogamaya and He entered the womb of Mother Rohini where Balarama was already there, in Rohini’s seventh month of her pregnancy. In this way, both Balaramas merge together and became one also. At that time the news spread that there was a miscarriage of Mother Devaki. They didn’t understand that the child in her womb had been transferred to the womb of Mother Rohini.

Lord Baladeva remained in the womb of Rohini for 16 months. Just a little before the birth of Lord Krsna, Lord Balarama was born of Mother Rohini on the Purnima day of the month of Sravana, after Rohini had been pregnant for 16 months.

 

No Liberation attained by Hiranyakasipu or Ravana

As Hiranyakasipu and Rävana (this demon) enjoyed sensual pleasures unavailable for even the great demigods, and then was personally killed by Lord Vishnu Himself. Why did (this demon) not attain säyujya-mukti then? Only as Çiçupäla did he attain säyujya-mukti, the liberation of merging into eternal Lord Hari?…

The Position Tamasic Sastras

The position of tamasic sastras:

In some places, sastras say (and acaryas confirm) that there are some false stories and that tamasic sastras are misleading…

The Position Tamasic Sastras

 

Sukadeva’s Krsna-Bhakti – While Still Within the Womb

Q. How to understand the following statement of Chapter 17 of Nectar of Devotion? Our standard understanding is that Sukadeva Goswami was immersed in the brahman conception, while still in the womb…

 

Plants & Trees as Presiding Deities of Hair

SB 2.10.13 ~ VCT Translation + Commentary

TRANSLATION

When he desired to experience softness, hardness, lightness, heaviness, warmth, and coolness, the gross skin became differentiated along with body hairs and plants, the sense devatäs of the hairs…

 

Urmila and Lakshmana: Conversation between them upon Rama’s Departure

Ranganatha Ramayanam by Gona Budda Reddy, in Telugu (13th century)

Urmila, the beautiful wife of Laksmana, was an exemplary artist. She immersed herself daily in painting canvases. No one except Laksmana was allowed anywhere near her when she was in her painting frenzy. She had been painting her favorite couple, Rama and her sister Sita, that fateful day…

 

Books are the Basis

Sarve sukhino bhavantu. This is Vedic civilization: “Let everyone be happy”…

 

Hellish Planets

Question: See the references below. Both Samyamani and Pitrloka are used as names of the abode of Yamaraja. Their locations are diverse, at least 3 in number…

 

Nama-Karana

Nama-karana ~ is a different samskara than diksa!…

 

Brahma’s Night (SB 1.6.30 and SB 3.11.22)

Question: Srila Prabhupada writes in his SB 1.6.30 purport, “The duration of a day in the life of Brahma is 4,320,000,000 solar years. This is stated also in the Bhagavad-gita. So for this period Brahmaji rests in yoga-nidra within the body of the Garbhodakasayi Visnu, the generator of Brahma…”

Unsteady Bhakti

Bhajana kriya is divided into two parts anisthita (unsteady) and nisthita (steady). When devotional activities are performed on the anisthita platform, there is no fear of deviation or lethargy. Anisthita (unsteady devotional service) is further divided into six gradations…

Vasudeva’s ‘Amor Fati’ Moment

Most individuals in the world who take to religion or God are often looking for something in exchange. After a religious institution designates them as God’s chosen ones, they expect God to bend the rules of the universe in their favor. Succinctly put, they expect God to give them an ego massage by fulfilling their desires in exchange for the prayers and eulogies that they send up in the sky…

Partial Devastation

Question: I have 3 questions regarding the Partial Devastation.

1. How much of the universe is flooded, during partial annihilation?

2. Where does Brahma reside during the Partial Annihilation? How much of the universe does he have to reconstruct at the end of each night?

3. Where do the living entities reside, during the devastation?

Sri Nrsimha Maha-Mantra

I bow down to Lord Nrsimha, who is ferocious and heroic like Lord Visnu. He is burning from every side. He is terrific (terrifying; fearful), auspicious and the death of death personified…

SB 7.9.50

Paramahmsa = one who has accepted the essence of everything [see 7.10.3 below]…