Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami Maharaja

  • WHAT IS SRILA GURUDEVA'S INTERNAL SEVA?

    ByBhaktabandhav

    “When I am going on my morning walk, I am present with Rādhikā and the mañjarīs. My skirt is rose pink and my shawl and blouse are light yellow—the color of a campaka flower. People are seeing me on a morning walk in some place in this world, but this is only in my external form. Daily, at this me, I go with Rādhikā to Nanda-bhavana. I place the fresh butter made by Rādhikā in the hand of Yaśodā Mātā. Kṛṣṇa is sleeping in His bed. Yaśodā Mātā quietly enters Kṛṣṇa’s room. Kṛṣṇa opens His eyes slightly as Yaśodā Mātā washes His face with a warm, damp towel and places the butter with sugar-candy in His mouth. Kṛṣṇa takes the mākhana-miśri, and then closes His eyes and smiles, savoring the nectarean butter churned by the hand of His beloved. Yaśodā Mātā leaves His room and tells the boys and animals waiting outside the house, ‘Don’t make any noise; Kanhaiyā is sleeping.’ “Yaśodā Mātā then enters the kitchen,” Śrīla Gurudeva continued, “where I am cleaning the stoves and preparing ingredients—honey, ghee, rice, dāls, various grains and flours, vegetables and fruits—for Rādhikā to cook. While Yaśodā Mātā looks over the cooking, she sends me to fan Kṛṣṇa. She says, ‘Nīlimā, Kanhaiyā is still resting. Go fan Him and make sure no one disturbs Him.’ I enter His room and begin to gently fan Him. Kṛṣṇa sits up to see who is there and playfully tries to catch my hand, but I run out of His reach. “Shortly after, the sakhās enter the room and, with them, Kṛṣṇa goes to milk the cows. When He returns, the cooking is complete and Śrīmatī Rādhikā says to Yaśodā Mātā, ‘We will bathe and dress Kṛṣṇa while you prepare His breakfast.’ “According to her bhāva, Yaśodā Mātā sees Kṛṣṇa as her small baby boy and Rādhikā and the gopīs as young girls. So, without hesitation, she arranges Kṛṣṇa’s morning meal in the kitchen, giving the kiśorīs a chance to intimately serve kiśora Kṛṣṇa. Śrīmatī Rādhikā bathes Kṛṣṇa with pitchers of fragrant water that I fill for Her. When Kṛṣṇa is touched by Rādhikā’s hand, He shivers uncontrollably in bliss.

  • CAN YOU BE GENEROUS AND OPEN-HEARTED?

    ByBhaktabandhav

    Sin is inevitably attached to the wealth you earn by work. If you use that wealth only to fill your own stomach, ill-effects will certainly befall you. If you offer what you have to God and his family members, it is called yajña. And if you only accept the remnants of that yajña for sustenance, then you are partaking in amṛta, nectar. Most of Mahāprabhu’s associates were gṛhasthas. They exemplified perfect householder life. Every year, the devotees from Bengal brought many gifts and edibles for Mahāprabhu, Jagannātha, and the devotees in Purī. This tradition continues today. These Bengali devotees that have come here for Ratha-yātrā are poor, but they still brought mangoes, jackfruits, and coconuts for the temple. Some devotees from Uttara Pradeśa put aside a handful of flour every time they make capatis for their family. They reserve that flour for Gurudeva’s temple and when there is a substantial amount they bring it to the temple as bhikṣā. I used to advise devotees that would come to Keśavajī Gauḍīya-maṭha to put aside one rupee of every hundred rupees they earned and reserve it for donating to the temple. This is mādhukarī. If I were to use that money for myself, my life would be destroyed. But because I used it in the service of Guru and Vaiṣṇavas I was safe. Śrīla Gurudeva told me that 60% of the donations I received were to be given to him, and the remaining 40% were for the temple maintenance and taking care of the brahmacārīs. “None should be for yourself,” he said. “I will worry about your maintenance.”

  • GURUDEVA'S SAMADHI CENTER – How Should We Pray There?

    ByBhaktabandhav

    All the conditioned living entities are physically arrested by the five material elements. It is not possible for them to break their relationship with these elements and cross over māyā on their own accord. However, if someone goes to the samādhi center of a bona fide guru and prays for help there, this physical attachment…

  • WHAT IS REAL SAMADHI? How can we enter?

    ByBhaktabandhav

    Now Śrīla Gurudeva will explain the process how we can cross over māyā and enter his samādhi-kuñja in the eternal world. How can we be present there? Śrīla Gurudeva explains in Jaiva-dharma how Bābājī Mahārāja entered into samādhi early in the morning and started serving in the eternal world. Externally, Sannyāsī Ṭhākura was present with…

  • Unbroken Cultivation

    ByBhaktabandhav

    Certain forms of jnana and karma are integral parts of bhakti. Pure jnana is present within bhakti as the search for one’s worshipful deity and as knowledge of the reality of God, bhagavat-tattva-jnana. Pure karma is present within bhakti as serving the Supreme Lord by cleaning His temple, cooking for Him and so on. These activities are included among the nine limbs of bhakti…