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The Holy Birth-Place of the Supreme Lord Sri Krsna Caitanya
It is only after we have been enlightened as to the real nature of Sridhama by the mercy of the Vaisnava that it is possible for us to serve Her rationally and willingly. In the realm of the spirit there is no such thing as ‘blind’ faith. There is no such thing as service of Vaisnavas and the Power Divine except by enlightenment through grace.
The slippery way of Bhakti
Gaudiya Goṣṭhī Pati Śrī Śrīla Bhakti Siddhanta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda Jagad Guru told that— “So long as people are going to depend upon their own power and intellect, till then they cannot meet with sad-guru”.
Kṛṣṇa´s Damodar līlā
The purpose of listening to the Dāmodara-līlā is not to satisfy man’s craving for knowledge. In the heart of those who want to serve, listening can awaken the desire to become, in a future life – through the mercy of God and those who are His Own – a particle of dust under the feet of those who are His Own eternal associates …
Śrī Vaiṣṇavera Varṇāśrama (The Varṇāśrama of a Pure Vaiṣṉava)
Śrī Vaiṣṇavera Varṇāśrama (‘The Varṇāśrama of a Pure Vaiṣṉava’) was first published in Sajjana Toṣaṇī, Vol. 11. Issue 10 in 1900. In this article, Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura explains how pure Vaiṣṇavas are transcendental to varṇa and āśrama because all of their activities are meant for cultivating kṛṣṇa-bhakti.
Your Son Is a Servant of Kṛṣṇa
Read Śoka-śātana and Śrī Caitanya-bhāgavata. When Mahāprabhu accepted sannyāsa, he told his elderly mother, his wife Viṣṇupriyā-devī, and the residents of Navadvīpa: “I am but a human being. I am connected to you in a variety of relationships. When I go, you should establish all those relationships with Kṛṣṇa, instead of with Me, and thereby give Me the chance to serve Hari independently.”
The eternal Ācārya-ship of Gauḍīya Goṣṭhi Pati Paramahaṃsācārya Varya Śri Śrīla Bhakti Siddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Ṭhākur Prabhupāda
There are three types of Ācārya-ship, one is selected or elected through public vote. But Śrīla Prabhupāda told that – “An ācārya can never be appointed by selection or election. An ācārya is self-manifested sat prakāśa karuna vigraha (mercy Incarnation).” Most of those selected or elected ācārya can expose their dirty picture someday. Even an ācārya appointed by Sad Guru (ācārya), such ācārya is not always successful.
Vigata Vatsarera Samālocanā (A Review of the Previous Year)
Vigata Vatsarera Samālocanā (A Review of the Previous Year) was first published in Sajjana Toṣaṇī, Vol. 11 issue 1 in 1899. In this review, Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura describes the hardships of the previous year, in particular the outbreak of the Kolkata plague and lack of cow protection. He also describes some of the positive aspects such as the preaching and nagara-saṅkīrtana.
Samāvedana (A Respectful Petition)
O Śacīnandana! There is no limit to Your mercy. In Your other avatāras, the activity of maintaining the world is quite obvious, but in the avatāra of Śrī Gaurāṅga one can see the culmination of Your compassion towards the jīvas. You are the deliverer of the fallen! You are the only saviour and friend of the jīvas of the age of Kali. If You had not descended, then that pure gem in the form of prema would have remained unattainable for the jīvas! You descended and distributed that nectar of prema which is rare even for Brahmā and Śiva to everyone – the brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra, caṇḍāla, yavana, mleccha, women and men.
The Eternal Call
It is so cheap to go and to preach about God and the soul and their mutual relation. But there is so little enthusiasm in us to do also. I know for certain that from a stone I cannot press out water. Will my hearers from my dry intellectualism? “From the fruits you will recognise them – the fertile and the barren tree”. Fichte was saying: “A divine behaviour is the most evident proof for the existence of God”. “Not all, who say, O Lord, O Lord! will enter the kingdom of God, but those who do the will of my father” – did not even Christ tell us so?
Śraddhā and Śaraṇāgati
The only way to make the tongue conducive to bhakti is to vow to honour the prasāda of Śrī Kṛṣna and the devotees. At the time of honouring prasāda, one does not think of becoming happy through enjoying, but only thinks of how the Lord of one’s life, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, has become happy by eating. At the time of honouring prasāda, if one feels happy enjoying himself, then there is no mood of anukūlya.