Writings

There is a great misunderstanding in the secular and religious world and especially within the Abrahamic traditions, (Judaism, Islam and Christianity) on the question of Deity worship. The English word 'idol' is usually used when describing any worship that concentrates on likenesses of demons, gods, goddesses, Visnu or Krsna. The term 'idol' has a very bad connotation in the west and conjures up images of pagans, heathens and other wild uncultured persons ...

After wandering in this material world for many lifetimes, by the mercy of guru and Krsna, the seed of devotion is awakened within our heart. The process starts with a little faith (adau sraddha) and this faith leads us to seek answers (pariprasna) and the association of devotees (sadhu-sanga), those who are practitioners of the devotional process. The cultivation of this seed of the creeper of devotion is the substance of our devotional life.

"Don’t feel discouraged, Krsna and His devotees are reaching out to you. They are reaching to embrace you. Their causeless mercy is our greatest fortune. For some reason unbeknownst to us, we have this opportunity. We are being canvased into that sankirtana , as He has appeared as Mahaprabhu."

In popular western thinking, no two symbols could possibly be more at odds with each other than the swastika and the cross. The swastika is the symbol of Nazi war crimes against humanity and the cross is the symbol of goodness, mercy and divine grace.But what if this isn’t true?

I received hari-nama from Srila B.P. Puri Maharaja, gayatri from Srila B.R. Sridhara Maharaja and sannyasa from Srila Prabhupada

The Gaudiya conception of the maha-mantra is exclusive and stands distinct from all other sampradayas. The Gaudiya conception is exclusive in that it surpasses even the greatest expectations of the Vedas (liberation) and affords one the highest fulfillment of the ultimate goal of life. This is not simply party spirit propaganda or sampradaya jingoism, but an ontological fact.

Some scholars of Gaudiya Vaisnavism claim that the associate of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Prabodhananda Sarasvati and the Mayavadi sannyasi Prakasananda Sarasvati are one and the same person. From the historical and sastrika perspective it is clear that Prabodhananda was never a Mayavadi sannyasi.

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura composed the verse, matala hari-jana visaya range pujala raga-patha gaurava-bhange, in 1930 on the occasion of moving the Deities of Sri Gaurasundara and Sri Sri Vinoda-Anandajiu from the old house at Ultadanga Junction Road to the new temple in Bagh Bazaar, Kolkata.

Real renunciation means to engage everything in the service of the Lord and to fix one's aspiration to serve Him with great determination -- not just simply renouncing for the sake of renouncing. If one does so, he is not actually a sannyasi.

Question: Do you think that Jesus was the example of a perfect Christian? Narasingha Maharaja: Historically and ontologically speaking, Jesus was a Jew and not a Christian. Jesus was a Jewish rabbi who studied the Jewish scriptures [the Torah] and taught Halakha, or Jewish law, as given in the Torah. Jesus was for many the perfect Jew, but for others he was a heretic.

If you accept this sannyasa-vesa, this is only favorable to the activity, but the real thing is the service. The all-important thing is the service, not the dress. The dress can help me to a certain extent to remind me, 'Oh, I am a sannyasi, I am disconnected with other branches of knowledge and interest. My sole interest is the service of Krsna, Guru and Vaisnava.

There is no such statement in the revealed scriptures [sastras] that Visnu/Krsna [God] reveals His teachings in many places simultaneously. When it is mentioned that religion is taught according to time, place and circumstances, then that is referring to bona-fide teachers of eternal religion like Sri Ramanujacarya and Sri Madhvacarya and not upstarts like Mohammed, Jesus or St. Paul.