Writings

The following article has been written to counteract the accusation that Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Prabhupada and his disciples and grand disciples are not in the Parampara of Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura.

According to the Vedic pramana (sruti, Puranas, Mahabharata, and Srimad-Bhagavatam) Sri Caitanya is none other than Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who has descended in Kali-yuga in the guise of a devotee.

A Gaudiya Vaishnava feels and thinks that his only hope in approaching Radha Krishna is by surrender to the lotus feet of Guru and Gauranga. Surrender, saranagati, slavery to the infinite is the highest freedom. This principle has been accepted as essential by all Gaudiya Vaishnavas.

An excerpt from a Bengali article found in The Gaudiya magazine written in 1935, explaining the prediction of Sri Nityananada Prabhu and it's fulfillment by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura and Srila Prabhupada Sarasvati Thakura.

"O mind, I grasp your feet and beg you with sweet words: Please cast away all hypocrisy and develop intense, unprecedented love for my spiritual master, Vrajabhumi, the people of Vraja, the Vaisnavas, the brahmanas, the Gayatri mantra, the holy name, and the transcendental shelter that is the fresh young couple of Vraja, Radha and Krsna."

"May Lord Govindadeva, who charms the eyes of all living beings with the graceful movement of the peacock feather in His golden crown shining with pearls and gems, be my shelter."

Recently, we came across a discussion on the internet regarding sraddha - the importance of faith. Is it essential or only a necessity for the beginner? It is an area of siddhanta that is little understood by a vast majority of the Gaudiya Vaishnavas residing in western countries.

"The constitutional position of the jiva is that of an eternal servant of Krishna. The jiva belongs to the marginal potency of Krishna and as such the jiva is considered a manifestation simultaneously one and different from Krishna."

Although worlds apart in terms of geography and culture, no two nations have been so intimately connected as the United States and India. It was Christopher Columbus' fateful error, in his search for a new route to India, that led him to the discovery of America. He had heard of India from the writings of Marco Polo...

Some regard the ideal forms of sacred Vastu architecture as metaphors while others prefer to see them as fixed, eternal truths. In any case it is a fact that sacred architectural forms (as presented in the Vastu Shastra) have the ability to uplift the human consciousness from the mundane reality to the supernatural.

The following is an excerpt from a talk given by Sripad Bhaktibhavana Visnu Maharaja on the occasion of Srila Prabhupada's Sannyasa initiation anniversary at Kesavaji Gaudiya Matha in Mathura.

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu instructed Srila Sanatana Gosvami that a most essential element of Sadhana Bhakti is guru-padasraya — one must take shelter at the feet of a qualified guru. Without this shelter one's devotional activities will not lead to pure devotional service.