In His footsteps

VAISHNAV BEHAVIOUR His Divine Grace OM Vishnupad 108 Tridandi Swami Sri Srimat Bhakti Sravan Tirtha Goswami Maharaj (While teaching Sanatana Dharma, Lord Chaitanya described twenty-six qualities of the Vaishnav J) Krpalu, akrta-doha, satya sara, sama, nirdosa, vadanya, mridu, suci, akincana sarvopakaraka, santa, krsnaik a-sarana akama, aniha, sthira, vijita-sad guna mita-bhuk, apramatta, manada, amani gambhira, karuna, maitra, kavi, mauni Devotees are always merciful, humble, truthful, equal to all, faultless, magnanimous, mild and clean. They are without material possessions and they perform welfare work for everyone. They are peaceful, surrendered to Krishna and desire less. They are indifferent to material acquisitions and are fixed in devotional service. They completely control the six bad qualities- lust, anger, greed and so forth. They eat only as much as required and they are not inebriated. They are respectful, grave, compa...

dear visitor, Pranams. Welcome to my home. See, I have spread a nice mat for you to sit on. I am so happy you are here. Make yourself comfortable in my home and enjoy yourself as you look around. Yes, you will see that my home is my temple for my Guru. He is the Master of this House as much as He is a master of my life, my heart, my soul. You will notice that while He is Centre and the spoke that holds the wheel, the empty spaces are me and you, to create and craft at will. My Guru's energies suffuse me, yet leave me completely free to be. His is the love of limitless options. I feel He wants for me what I want for myself. To be true to Him, I have to be true to myself. And to truly do that, I wish to relate to you from the deepest part of me, where everything falls away, and all that remains is love. My dear guest, in this space I invite you to sit and ponder on what is your most magnificient dream for yourself. To dream on becoming the grandest vision of you that you are capable ...

SRI KRISHNA, THE CENTRAL FIGURE OF ALL LOVE By His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad 108 Tridandi Swami Sri Srimat Bhakti Sravan Tirtha Goswami Maharaj Heart is the seat of love. As love is Godhead Himself, so the God of love dwells eternally in our heart of hearts. So we should love god and all beings with all our heart. We do not say, “I love you with all my intellect” but we say, ‘I love you with all my heart’. The brain is the seat of the intellect. It leads us to polemnic discussions without arriving at any definite conclusion. On the contrary, it leads us to endless dry reasoning resulting in agnosticism. It is the Vaishnavas who are Godloving in their element and possess the qualities of head and heart simultaneously, because without the knowledge of Godhead, Sri Vishnu or Sri Krishna, there is no love for Him. So sambandha-jyana is indispensably necessary for releasing Kris hna-Prem. The three qualities which are characteristic traits of pure love are : 1) Eternal qualities after the e...

SRI SRI PRABHU SHYAMANANDA Om Vishnupad Paramhansa Paribrakacharya Tridandi Swami Sri Srimat Bhakti Sravan Tirtha Goswami Maharaj Gouridas was born at Saligram, about eighteen kilometers away from Sreedham Navadeep. His father was Kansari Mishra, mother Kamala Devi. Suryadas was his elder brother. Suryadas had two daughters, Basudha and Jahnavi. Suryadas was a boyhood companion of Sri Gouranga. He was a sadhaka of Sakhuyabhava, i.e. friendship with God. He told Gouridas : “Go and live at Ambika-Kalna and do your sadhana and worship at a lovely place near the river Ganga.” What could have been more close to the heart of Fouridas? He left for Ambika. One day Sri Gouranga was returning from Shantipur. He took a boat at Harinadi village. Pulling the oars with his own hands he crossed the Ganga and arrived at Ambika. But he did not leave the oar behind. He went to Gouridas’ house with the oar in his hand. ...

The Harmonist THE RATHA YATRA OF PURI OM VISHNUPAD 108 TRIDANDI SWAMI SRI SRIMAT BHAKTI SRAVAN TIRTHA GOSWAMI Shree Shree Jagannath is the beloved deity of the Vast sea of humanity -, of one and all. ‘Jagat’ means ‘Universe ‘ and ‘Nath’ means ‘Lord’. Hence, the name, ‘Lord of the Universe’ or ‘Lord Jagannath’. Lord Jagannathis considered to be the Supreme God, head of the pantheon of Indian deities and his abode ‘Puri’ is considered to be the most sacred of all four ‘dhamas’ – places of pilgrimage. He is also said to be the ‘Uttam-Purusha’ meaning ‘the best and highest of mankind’ or, ‘Purushottam’. Puri is also named as ‘Purushottam Kshetra’ or ‘Sri Kshetra’. The wooden image of Lord Jagannath is unique in the sense that all religions seem to have some sort of affinity and irresistible attraction, spiritual experience and a great reverence for this particular ‘God-head’. This can be confirmed from the texts of ‘Dadavya-Bhakti’, where one comes across the devotions of saints, religious...