Guru parampara – Light of Godhead

Nārada muni’s glories
Nārada muni’s glories

Nārada muni’s glories

At the beginning of Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 1, Chapter6, Srila Vyasadeva asks three questions to Nārada muni about his previous life. The last one of which is, “How do you remember your previous life from the previous day of Brahma (4.32 billion years ago)”. Nārada muni replies to this question from 1.6.26 onwards.

After the Lord stopped speaking, Nārada muni (in his previous body) led rest of his life chanting the holy name and fame of the Lord and traveled all over the earth fully satisfied, humble and unenvious. In due course of time as he was fully Krsna conscious, when

syamala2019-10-03T14:22:58+00:00September 30th, 2019|Categories: Brahma, Narada Muni, Poems, Reincarnation, Sessions|Tags: kids bhagavatam sessions, poems|

Lord’s dealings with Narada Muni
Lord’s dealings with Narada Muni

Lord’s dealings with Narada Muni

In his previous life, when Nārada muni was just a 5-year-old boy, his mother, his only guardian passed away due to a snakebite. He took it as causeless mercy of the Lord and started walking to the north. On the way, he saw many metropolises, villages, animal farms, and flower gardens. Nevertheless, he was not attracted by any of them. Feeling very tired and thirsty he finally reached a lakeshore, having refreshed himself by drinking water he sat down under a Banyan tree to meditate on the Supreme Lord as instructed by the Bhakti-Vedantas (sages).

He advances in his devotion very

syamala2019-09-12T16:42:20+00:00September 12th, 2019|Categories: Narada Muni, Poems, Sessions, Supremely independent|Tags: intensify desire, kids bhagavatam sessions, poems|

Lord’s Transcendental form
Lord’s Transcendental form

Lord’s Transcendental form

In our Kids Bhagavatam session today, we discussed SB 1.6.11-19. Kids traveled along with Narada to towns, metropolises, villages, flower gardens. To understand the meaning of “bhava” stage Narada muni was in, they learnt “Nine stages of Bhakti” through a short sing able/poem.

Narada though elated upon seeing the Lord’s form in the first attempt, becomes despondent when the form is lost and frustrated when he couldn’t get to see it again.

Kids learnt the following poem, which encapsulates the essence of 1.6.18-19 verses and purports.

Title: Lord’s transcendental form

So many forms, I have seen, in this world, but none of them gave

syamala2019-09-12T16:39:02+00:00September 7th, 2019|Categories: Narada Muni, Poems, Sessions, Supremely independent|Tags: kids bhagavatam|

Jagannatha dasa Babaji
Jagannatha dasa Babaji

Jagannatha dasa Babaji

Speaker: Giriraj Swami
Source: Tamal Krishna Goswami’s and Jagannatha dasa Babaji’s Disappearance Day

Today is Srila Jagannatha dasa Babaji Maharaja’s disappearance day. He comes in the Gaudiya Vaishnava disciplic succession after Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura and Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana. He was a renounced ascetic, fully engaged in chanting the holy names of Krishna and meditating on His pastimes. For some time, he made his residence at Surya-kunda in Vraja-dhama, near the temple of Suryadeva, where Srimati Radharani used to come and worship the sun-god—or, I should say,where She used to come to meet Krishna on the pretext of coming to worship

syamala.ids@gmail.com2019-03-28T17:33:23+00:00February 21st, 2018|Categories: Bhaktivinoda Thakura, Jagannatha dasa babaji, Lord Caitanya|

Secret of success

Speaker: Srila Prabhupada
Source: SB 3.23.7

In his previous life, Nārada was a maidservant’s son, but his mother was engaged in the service of great devotees. He got the opportunity to serve the devotees, and simply by eating the remnants of their foodstuff and carrying out their orders he became so elevated that in his next life he became the great personality Nārada. For spiritual achievement the easiest path is to take shelter of a bona fide spiritual master and to serve him with heart and soul. That is the secret of success. As stated by Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura

syamala.ids@gmail.com2017-07-10T22:57:55+00:00July 10th, 2017|Categories: Narada Muni, Service attitude, Spiritual master, Stories|Tags: Servant of the Servant, Srila Viśvanātha Cakravartī|

Bhakti Siddhantas determination for initiation

Speaker: Bhakti Vikasa Swami
Source: Sri Bhaktisiddhanta Vaibhava

Bābājī Mahārāja told him, “I once accepted a disciple, but he cheated me and went away. I will not make any further disciples.” But Śrī Siddhānta Sarasvatī was not easily discouraged and again begged for mercy. Bābājī Mahārāja responded, “I will ask Mahāprabhu. If He gives permission your request will be granted.” When after a few days Śrī Siddhānta Sarasvatī returned and inquired, “What was Mahāprabhu’s order?” Bābājī Mahārāja replied, “I forgot to ask.” And when Śrī Siddhānta Sarasvatī came for the third time he was directly refused. “I asked,” Bābājī

syamala.ids@gmail.com2017-01-02T23:17:39+00:00January 2nd, 2017|Categories: Bhakti Siddhanta saraswati thakura, Determination, Gaura Kishor das, Initiation, Stories|

How Suka became Sukhadeva

Speaker: Radha Krishna prabhu

When Radha and Krishna wound up Their pastimes in Earth, They instructed their male parrot Suka, who is Radharani’s personal parrot, to stay back and speak the Srimad Bhagavatam. After They left Suka felt great separation for whilst Radharani was on Earth She would always speak to him about Krishna. So he was daily hearing Krishna katha. But now he was not getting any more stories or talks about Krishna and so he became very unhappy. He felt he would die. Then once he heard that Siva speaks the Bhagavatam in his abode.

light-of-godhead2018-09-21T16:00:45+00:00May 18th, 2016|Categories: Krsna, Radharani, Stories, sukhadeva goswami, Vyasadeva|Tags: Lord Siva, Parrot|

Preaching is also samadhi

Speaker: Srila Prabhupada
Source: Wonderful cure for illusion

Sridhara Svami says that “This process is for giving liberation from all kinds of material bondage.” Akhilasya bandhasya muktaye tam anusmara smrtya varnayata.(?) And again Sridhara Svami gives note herewith that “Not only you meditate, but you preach. That will help your meditation.” Just like I am speaking to you. I am meditating simultaneously. Unless I remember, how can I speak to you? Unless my attention is concentrated without any diversion in Krsna subject matter, how can I speak to you? So that is also samadhi. Don’t think that one who

light-of-godhead2016-03-30T20:04:33+00:00March 30th, 2016|Categories: Liberation, Preaching, Remembering, Sadhana-bhakti, Sridhara swami|Tags: Samadhi|

Turn your home into Vaikunta

Source: Goloka Vrndavana Is Everywhere

Bhaktivinoda Thakura, the father of sankirtana movement within two hundred years. He was acarya and a householder, grhastha. He was very responsible officer, magistrate, householder. But he was a great devotee. Not only devote, acarya in the line of Caitanya Mahaprabhu disciplic succession, acarya. So he sung, ye dine grhete bhajana dekhi, grhete goloka bhaya: “The day whenever we find there is bhajana,” means worshiping the Supreme Lord, “at that time immediately the house becomes Vaikuntha.” Actually, that is so. Vaikuntha or Goloka Vrndavana is not material things.

As Krsna is worship

light-of-godhead2016-03-11T22:32:54+00:00March 11th, 2016|Categories: Bhaktivinoda Thakura, Holy name, Sadhana-bhakti, Vaikuntha, Vrndavana|

Tiny experience

Speaker: Srila Prabhupada
Source: SB 6.1.1-2, Melbourne, May 22, 1975

Devotee: “It says in the scriptures that Lord Brahma rides on a swan. Do we take this to mean it’s a real swan, or is it symbolic?”
Prabhupada: “Not symbolic, it is fact. Why do you say symbolic?”
Devotee: “Because it’s rather unusual.”
Prabhupada: “Unusual? What experience have you got? (laughter) You have no experience. Have you got experience of other planetary systems, what is there? Your experience is very tiny. So you should not calculate Brahma’s life and other things by your tiny experience…Your experience is nothing. Therefore, you have to

light-of-godhead2016-02-18T22:23:31+00:00February 18th, 2016|Categories: Brahma, Krsna, Transcendental knowledge|Tags: Swan|

Krsna is self-effulgent

Speaker: Srila Prabhupada
Source: Paltry research work

Here we get the information. Why should we take so much trouble? Krsna says aham adir hi devanam: “I am the original of all demigods.” Just like Brahma. Brahma is the first demigod within this universe, but he is not original. Original is Krsna. Aham adir hi devanam maharsinam. So He says that He is the adi, adi-purusam. Brahma says adi-purusam, the original person. Govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami **. So He’s the adi-purusa, He’s the original source. Every Vedic literature declares, every

light-of-godhead2015-08-14T01:15:44+00:00August 14th, 2015|Categories: Analogies, Brahma, God realization, Krsna|Tags: Research|

I cannot grant you immortality

Speaker: Srila Prabhupada
Source: The eternal struggle

Hiranyakasipu wanted to become immortal, so he underwent such severe penances that the whole universe trembled. Lord Brahma had to come to pacify him “What do you want?”

Hiranyakasipu said, “I want to become immortal!”

Lord Brahma replied, “Although I have a very long duration of life, even I am not immortal, so I cannot grant you immortality.”

So although Brahma lives for trillions of years, still he has to die. Wherever you go within this material world, either in

light-of-godhead2015-08-13T01:56:19+00:00August 13th, 2015|Categories: Brahma, Hiranyakasipu, Immortality, Lord Nrsimhadeva, Prahlada Maharaja, Stories|Tags: Disease, Immortal, Penances, Real problem|