More satsanga at Rādhākuṇḍa:
Bhakta:"Some sādhus in Navadvīp told me that when the Guru gives mantra to a śiṣya the mantra becomes nirjīva (lifeless) and needs to be recharged through puraścarana (an austere ritual in which one chants the mantra many times)."
Advaitadas:
"pūrṇa śuddho nitya mukto 'bhinnatvan nāma nāmino (Padma Purāṇa) " The holy name is fully pure and eternally liberated due to being non different from the named." That is because the name is God Himself. God needs no recharging. He is not a cellphone. On the contrary, it is the practitioner who constantly needs to recharge his/her own spiritual batteries, by practising this mantra."
Bhakta:
"Should I just sit here, chant and wait for the Guru to come to me or should I go out searching for one?"
Advaitadas:
tad vijñānārthaṁ sa gurum evābhigacchet (Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad) "To know and realize that one must approach a Guru". The word abhigacchet is in imperative case - one must approach a Guru, so you should go to him."
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Some reflections.....
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If there was one reason why I was sick for so long in Vṛndāvan and spent just 33 of these 117 days at Rādhākund it must have been to help remind me how precious the days are at this rasamaya aprākṛta dhāma, this divine rasa-laden abode.
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And finally -
Two more prominent Rādhākuṇḍa-residents passed away - in November Sādhu Bābā's tīrtha guru Radhacharan Desla (75) and in July Madanmohan Das Babaji (85). The former, like Gopal Ghosh, told me much about Sādhu Bābā's ambrosial pastimes, and the latter I have often consulted on bhajan-matters somewhere between 1982 and 2002.
RAdhe Radhe Advaita Da!
ReplyDeleteI am always still reading your blog avidly, thanks for continuing to post.. I am heading to Vraj/ RAdhakund on the 18th of January for 10 days, will you still be gracing the Dham and will we be fortunate enough to meet in person? Looking forward to it if you are still around during that time!
Sudevi
RAdhe Radhe Advaita Da!
ReplyDeleteI am always still reading your blog avidly, thanks for continuing to post.. I am heading to Vraj/ RAdhakund on the 18th of January for 10 days, will you still be gracing the Dham and will we be fortunate enough to meet in person? Looking forward to it if you are still around during that time!
Sudevi
You mentioned
ReplyDeleteAdvaitadas:
tad vijnanartham sa gurum evabhigacchet (Mundaka Upanishad) "To know and realize that one must approach a Guru". The word abhigacchet is in imperative case - one must approach a Guru, so you should go to him."
Devotees may be confused who real guru is,since many gurus are there nowdays.Can you explain how we can know who real guru is?
Dear Sun,
ReplyDeleteThis is an elaborate subject matter. I am travelling now from India to Holland and have no time to answer this. You can, however, consult the opening chapters of Sri Sanatan Gosvami's 'Haribhakti Vilasa' for all the details. The point I wanted to make in this part of the blog was that the sisya should seek the Guru, not vice versa, although sometimes it does happen that the Guru mercifully comes to the sisya.
I am heading to Vraj/ RAdhakund on the 18th of January for 10 days, will you still be gracing the Dham and will we be fortunate enough to meet in person? Looking forward to it if you are still around during that time!
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid we again won't meet each other this time. I am just completing my journey to India today. If I miss my plane we may be able to meet still, but that would cost me a lot of money of course...
Back in cold Holland, for this trip to Vraja I want to especially thank (First and foremost) Anuradha, as well as: Bhagavati, Jaro, Sudevi, Dharani Bhaumik, Sakhi-caran, the Mittal Family, Vasudev and Krishnadas (Bangladesh) for their great and selfless help.
ReplyDelete