Writings

A short article reporting the opening of the Yogapitha temple in 1935, with additional background information.

Mathematics has only recently risen to attempt to usurp the throne of Godhead. Ironically, it originally came into use in human society within the context of spiritual pursuit. Spiritually advanced cultures were not ignorant of the principles of mathematics, but they saw no necessity to explore those principles beyond that which was helpful in the advancement of God realization.

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.

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 gaudiya followers of Caitanya claim to be in the disciplic succession descending from Madhvacarya, yet we find certain anomalies which seem to prove otherwise. In light of these points, how can they claim that they are in the line of Madhvacarya, when they have differed from him philosophically and their lineage is so dubious?

Since time immemorial, man has inquired about the origin of the soul. In the thinking of many neophyte devotees the soul falls down from eternal pastimes with Krishna due to mundane envy. In this brief essay, Srila Sridhara Maharaja answers this most vital of all questions: "Who am I? Where have I come from?

That the Vedas are eternal and apauruseya is a fact that all sampradayas, including the school of Sankara, unanimously agree with. They constitute the means of receiving knowledge about the Absolute Truth. However, there are certain factors that make it practically impossible to study the Vedas in this age.

There is a fundamental justification in seeking to approach the past history of a sect, especially in this country, on the basis of the prima-facie authenticity of the guru-parampara as preserved in the sect. We would be more scientifically employed if we turn our attention to obtaining greater information by comparative study of the different records instead of resorting to gratuitous assumptions against the validity of the preceptorial lists.

Jaiva Dharma - Chapter 15. Translated from the original Bengali by leading Bengali devotee scholars; disciples of and under the direction of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. Published by Sri Gaudiya Math, Madras.

Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati was a highly influential preacher of Gaudiya Vaishnavism throughout India in the late 19th and early 20th Century. He was born as Bimala-prasad Dutta in the pilgrimage town of Jagannatha Puri, Orissa, India. His father was the Vaishnava scholar Sri Kedarnatha Dutta (also known as Bhaktivinoda Thakura) the first to present the teachings of Chaitanyite Vaishnavism to the English-speaking world and was a notable Gaudiya Vaishnava Theologian. Bimala Prasada was well known for having a fiery spirit, an acute intellect and for living a simple, austere lifestyle.

The contents of this webpage are in response to a group of young men claiming to be the followers of Sri Madhvacarya who recently challenged the siddhanta of the Gaudiya sampradaya. Many of their points simply stem from lack of knowledge of the Gaudiya siddhanta, whilst other arguments appear to stem more from the fundamental defects of conditioned souls, such as malice and envy.

"I worship the greatly learned and exalted spiritual master, Srila Gadadhara Prabhu, who appears very splendid, engaged in the Lord's devotional service. He always performs pastimes in Vraja, where he is very prominent among the gopis, who are very dear to Lord Hari. Lord Caitanya, the Son of Saci is the dear Lord of Gadadhara Prabhu, who is preaching the service of Radha and Krsna."