Sound knowledge of the conception of the proper qualification for BHAKTI can easily protect one from many doubts. (Bhakti-tattva-viveka)

SRI NAVADVIPA ASTAKAM (Srila Rupa Goswami)

1. I meditate on Sri Navadvipa Dham, the beautiful land of Lord Gaura by the side of the heavenly reservoir, which is eternally pure, shining and full of bliss.

2. I meditate on Sri Navadvipa Dham, which some say is the spiritual sky, Vaikuntha loka, and others say is the transcendental realm of Goloka. But those who have realized the truth know it as Sri Vrindavan Dham.

3. I meditate on Sri Navadvipa Dham, where in all directions, gentle , cooling breezes and various shade trees manifest where Lord Gaura performed His lila.

4. I meditate on Sri Navadvipa Dham, where the Ganges flows within banks of golden stairs and where Lord Gaura enjoyed transcendental pastimes.

5. I meditate on Sri Navadvipa Dham, where limitless golden palaces charmingly house the goddess of fortune.

6. I meditate on Sri Navadvipa Dham, where the people are endowed with knowledge, compassion, tolerance, sacrifice and the six opulences, and are glorified by the rishis, demigods and siddhas.

7. I meditate on Sri Navadvipa Dham, where in the center lies the ever blissful home of Jagannatha Misra enriched with the radiant pastimes of Lord Gaura.

8. I meditate on Sri Navdvipa Dham, where the golden Lord Hari is wandering with His devotees, chanting the Holy Names of Krsna with great love, and immersing everyone in the ocean of prema bhakti.

9. That person who daily recites and remembers with affection this astakam to Sri Navadvipa Dham, achieves the very rare jewel of prema and the lotus feet of my Sriman Sacinandan.

To have these inner realizations, we must always humbly chant Krsna's Holy Names following the instructions of Sri Krsna Caitanya in His Siksastaka.

trnad api sunicena taror api sahisnuna
amanina manadena kirtaniya sadaharih

One should chant the holy name of the Lord in a humble state of mind, thinking oneself lower than a blade of grass.

One should be more tolerant than a tree, devoid of all sense of false prestige, and shoud be ready to offer all respects to others.

In such a state of mind one can chant the holy name of the Lord constantly.

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FROM RAMANANDA PRABHU

The following is a transcript of part one from a Hindi-spoken interview. I have tried to translate it as good as possible but undoubtedly I made mistakes. Please forgive me and try to only see the sweetness of Srila Gurudeva’s life history.

“In 1921, in the month of Magha in the night of Amavasya I took birth. My father and mother told me this. My fathers name was Pandit Balesvara Nath Tiwari and my mothers name was Srimati Laksmi Devi. They were initiated in the Sri Sampradaya. Both were expert in Vaisnava songs. My father was expert in wrestling, singing and in all kinds of social activities. He was humble and knew proper vaisnava behaviour. His life was religious.

At the time of birth according to astrology the name Sriman Gaura Narayana was given to me by my family priest. From birth I was very innocent. My mother said that I didn’t use to cry. Wherever she would put me to sit, I would sit there peacefully. Therefore everyone was calling me “bholanath”.
From youth I was always interested in dharma. Maybe this is because of my previous life’s sat-sanga or I had samskars for the path of dharma. I used to go with my father to religious festivals. And together with my father I was hearing Ramayana, Mahabharat and others. My father, after he was free from his house duties in the evening, he would sometimes tell me the Ramayana from beginning to end; or Mahabharat from beginning to end. Many villagers used to hear faithfully to him speak.
In my youth I got such a samskara that while reading Tulsidas’s Ramayan I would cry for hours and keep reading. And when I would stop crying I would read again. Especially when Ramcandra was send to the forest; rejecting Sita; Sita entering Patala and other subjects would make me become immersed in emotions. So much even that in my dreams I saw the fight between Rama and Ravana and the service of Hanuman and I used to have darsan of Hanuman in my dreams.

Once I even saw that with a heavenly chariot Rama, Laksmana, Sita and Hanuman landed in front of my eyes. A transcendental effulgence was shining. And when I wanted to touch their feet, they disappeared. It was a dream, in the morning 4 am. At that time I became very happy.

At school while studying, in my class I was always first or second. Especially after admission in high-school, running 1 mile and 5 miles, in long-jumping, high-jump, cycling-race, boat-race and others I always came first. In high school especially for the long-run etc, nobody got their name written for the first place. They used to sign-up for the second place because they knew that “he would be first”.

I also took part in sanskrit-music and Sanskrit-debate. At the age of 16-17 in Ramtiwari-pur village once a Srimad Bhagavat program was given by a learned scholar and speaker of Srimad Bhagavatam. He was our family-guru. He was greatly learned in Sanskrit. I was serving him. I was setting up the place for class and decorating it. I was arranging his table, putting the Bhagavat there and decorating that place. And with great attention I was listening to his classes. Reciting each sloka in a melodious voice he would speak on them. From neighbouring villages religious listeners also came. It was crowded.

At that time my father was performing and singing the arati of bhagavat and distributing prasadam every day. When the Bhagavat program was finished after one month, a fire sacrifice was done and a grand maha-prasada festival was held. The bhagavat speaker, my family-guru became very affectionate towards me because of my services. This had a great influence in my life. Now I became absorbed in bhakti and slowly slowly my taste towards Krsna-bhakti awoke.

Once on the banks of Ganga close to my village by Ahalyavali (where Ramacandra liberated Ahalya; where Visvamitra’s siddha-asram was; where Rama and Laksman went for Vismamitra’s yajna and killed Tarkasur and Subahu Marich was killed with their arrows) a Mahaviri Jhanda Utsava was held. Mahaviri means that thousands of people came there and many games and wrestling matches were done there. A great festival was there and many great wrestlers came there and my father also took part in this. He was qualified in all subjects.

At that time for the first time in my life I saw a nagar sankirtan of “hare krsna hare krsna krsna krsna hare hare, hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare” in which thousands of persons where dancing and doing kirtan. This is when I saw kirtan for the first time in my life and it influenced my life.
Once in high-school in the 9th class after becoming the first in Sanskrit-debate, I got a book on a Nimbarka Vaisnava Acarya’s life history and instructions as reward. After reading about his vaisnava behaviour, his great attachment to harinam and his strong bhakti-sadhan, taste in Harinam awoke in me. All sakti is in Nama, this I understood from his life history.


Srila Gurudeva, "Be Very Careful About This", lectured in Germany on July 8, 2007

If anyone claims to have greed for service to Srimati Radhika or service like the other Vrajavasis, there should be some symptoms visible If one actually sees or meets Srimati Radhika, he cannot remain in this world. Narada [at the stage of bhava-bhakti] saw only a glimpse of his Lord Narayana, and then the Lord disappeared and told him, “I never give my audience to those who are not pure.” So how is it possible that a conditioned soul will see Radhika?”

We should know all these truths.
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There were many workshops going on during last European festival (July in Germany).

During one workshop held by Syamarani didi, I asked her a question that arised in my heart. The day before, Srila Gurudeva during evening class made a point, that we should be very careful in our spiritual understanding of siddhanta:

„If one actually sees the transcendental form of Krsna, he will leave his body at once and go to Vrndavana, Vraja-mandala, in his transcendental siddha-deha (spiritually perfected) body, and he will serve Krsna there.“

So I was thinking "Srila Gurudeva is always emerged in sweet pastimes of The Divine Couple and other inhabitants of Vrindavana, so how come we are still blessed with his physical presence?

And Syamarani didi mercifully answered: „THE MATERIAL BODY CANNOT TOLERATE PREMA, BUT GURUDEVA'S BODY IS NOT MATERIAL. HE IS ON THE LEVEL OF PREMA AND HE DESCENDED TO THIS WORLD. HIS BODY IS CINMAYA.“

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O worshipable Vaisnava Thakura! Ocean of mercy!
Be merciful upon this servant and, giving me mercy with the shade of your feet, purify me. I am taking hold of your lotus feet!


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