Category: Leela – Spiritual pastimes

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Radha Krishna

Krishna’s cowherd friends | Krishna in Vrindavan

krishna cowherd boys

There are countless cowherd boys of Vrindavan who are greatly attached to Krishna and assist in His pastimes in various ways. Some of them are fond of joking, some are always eager to give their counsel, some are very talkative and engage in arguments with Krishna, some of them are very gentle and give pleasure to Krishna by their sweet words. etc. All of these friends are very intimate with Krishna, and they exhibit expertise in their different activities, their purpose always being to please Krishna. Among the contemporaries of Sri Krishna, Sri Baladeva is the foremost. He is the elder brother of Krishna and is the killer of the demon Pralamba. Krishna’s friends can be grouped into four categories depending upon the closeness of their relationship with Krishna. They are described as below :

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Radha Krishna

Names of Krishna’s accessories, articles and Ornaments | Krishna in Vrindavan

Srila Rupa Goswami had recorded the names of Krishna’s articles, accessories, and ornaments in his book Sri Radha Krishna Ganoddesa Dipika. Below is the brief summary of his presentation.

Names of Krishna’s Articles and Accessories

#1 The name of Krishna’s mirror is Saradindu

#2 Krishna’s camara is called Madhu-maruta. It always produces fresh air during the spring season.

#3 Krishna’s favorite lotus flower is named Sadasmera

#4 Krishna’s toy ball is named Citrakoraka

#5 Krishna’s golden bow is named Vilasakarmmana

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Radha Krishna

Lord Krishna’s beautiful attractive form | Krishna in Vrindavan

Lord Krishna – the all attractive

radha krishna beauty attractive

#1 The nectarean bodily luster of Krishna is as smooth as an ointment.

#2 His bodily hue resembles the tone of a blue sapphire or a blue lotus flower.

#3 His form is as enchanting as a young fresh Tamala tree or a dense cloud.

#4 He beams as brightly as an emerald.

#5 Lord Krishna is dressed in yellow garments. His body is decorated with garlands of forest flowers and jewelled ornaments. He is the source of all kinds of ecstatic pastimes.

#6 His long curly hair is fragrant with various sweet aromas. His crown is adorned with different kinds of flower garlands.

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Radha Krishna

Gopis of Krishna | Astha Sakhi | Gopis of Vrindavan

krishna radha gopis

The cowherd girls of Vrindavan, the companions of Sri Radha (Astha Sakhi – eight principal cowherd girls) and Krishna are commonly referred to as the Gopis of Vrindavan. According to authorities, these gopis can be broadly divided into three groups – Samaja, Mandala, and Gana. Samaja can be further subdivided into two – Varistha and Vara. These most exalted Gopis of Vrindavan are celebrated as the most intimate associates of Sri Radha-Krishna and they are always engaged in assisting the divine couple manifest their loving pastimes. The love that these Gopis hold for Sri Radha and Krishna is unique and unmatched. They are endowed with beautiful forms, transcendental qualities, and sweet features.

Among all the gopis of Vrindavan, Sri Radha and Chandravali are the topmost. They are leaders of other gopis and their groups in turn comprise millions of other gopis. Between these two, Sri Radha is considered to be the more exalted. She is the ultimate source of all the transcendental qualities. Radha is the most loveable object of Sri Krishna. The eight principal gopis of Vrindavan (as described below) are all expansions of Sri Radha, who is the queen of Vrindavan.

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Radha Krishna

Dust of Radha Rani’s lotus feet | Radhika Charana Renu

Radhika Charana Renu – The dust of Srimati Radharani’s lotus feet
(Sri Prema Bhakti Chandrika)
– by Narottam das Thakur

srimati radharani krishna

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Srila Prabhupada

26 qualities of Srila A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada | Vaishnava acharya

Srila A.c bhaktivedanta swami Prabhupada

Kind (Kripalu), Compassionate (karuna), Magnanimous (vadanya) & works for the welfare of everyone (sarva-upakaraka)

By the time Srila A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada passed away in 1977, he had already established 108 temples across six continents. These temples are a shelter for those who want to learn, preach and practice the science of devotion unto the Supreme Lord. He inaugurated the Rathayatra festival of Lord Jagannatha in major cities across the globe. He had initiated more than 5000 disciples and launched the ISKCON life membership program enrolling thousands of members. He encircled the globe fourteen times in these 10 years. He established major centers in Vrindavan, Bombay and Mayapur. He established the ‘Bhaktivedanta Swami Charity Trust’ to unearth and renovate the holy places of Lord Chaitanya’s pastimes. He founded the BBT (Bhaktivedanta Book Trust) in 1972. He wrote approximately seventy books on the science of Krishna consciousness, sleeping only a few hours per day. These books continue to be an inspiration for devotees all over the world. Dozens of prominent scholars and educators from leading universities highly praised his work. Srila Prabhupada was magnanimous in the truest sense of the word, as his gifts to the world were unlimited and filled with tremendous spiritual value. In Chaitanya Mangala, Locana Das Thakura quotes Lord Chaitanya predicting that if the sinful people, giving up their religious principles, travelled to far off lands, His empowered commander in chief (senapati bhakta), would go there in due time to deliver them as well. Srila Prabhupada was the commander in chief of Lord Chaitanya. Another of Lord Chaitanya’s prediction that in every town and village of this world, the chanting of His holy name would become heard, came to pass through the pastimes of Srila A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (prthibite ache yata nagaradi grama,sarvatra prachar haibe mora nama).

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Gaudiya Vaishnavism Glorifications of Sri Chaitanya

Shikshashtakam – by Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Shikshashtakam

Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead ,had mercifully appeared at Yogpeeth (in  Mayapur, West Bengal, India) about 500 years ago (in the year 1486 AD), to bless us with the most wonderful, deep and ecstatic pastimes of Gaura lila. The identity of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu as the Supreme Personality of Godhead can be verified in a number of Vedic scriptures like Srimad Bhagavatam, Mahabharata, Garuda Purana, Nrsimha Purana, Padma purana, Bhavishya Purana, Narada Purana etc. Sri Chaitanya  Mahaprabhu is the most munificent incarnation of the Supreme. Lord Gaurahari freely gives what no other incarnation of the Supreme Lord has ever given before – the ecstatic pure love of God. He does not consider one’s qualifications or background or pedigree before bestowing this supreme gift upon them, receiving which one achieves the ultimate perfection of his human life. This ecstatic love of God eludes the great demigods like Brahma, Shiva and Indra. Even Lakshmi devi, the wife of Lord Narayana, hankers to receive it. A yogi cannot achieve it , even after performing severe austerities for thousands of years. A Jnani cannot smell it even after analysing the whole of the vedic scriptures. This ecstatic love of God is extremely rare but it can be easily achieved by the causeless mercy of Lord Gauranga. That is why lord Chaitanya is known to be the essence of all the other incarnations of the Supreme – ‘Avatara sar Gaura avatara’. Although being the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself and having broadcasted the congregational chanting of the holy names of Krishna in all four directions, he did not pen any transcendental literatures Himself, but rather empowered his associates like Sri Rupa and Sanatan Goswamis to compose various literatures on devotion. It was through them that he expounded the science of bhakti (devotional service) and glorified Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The only work that is known to have been penned by him is the famous eight verses of Shikshashtakam. Sri Shikshashtakam carries the essence of the entire process of devotional science (Bhakti) from the very basics up to the highest goal of Krishna Prema (unconditional selfless devotional service unto Krishna). It can be stated without uncertainty that whoever deeply studies these instructions of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, follows them, and imbibes them to their heart, has indeed been blessed with a higher understanding of the path of Bhakti. These glorious shlokas are as follows :

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Vaishnava acharyas

Ramanujacharya – Biography & Teachings | Visistadvaita philosophy

Ramanujacharya visistadvaita

A brahmana named Keshavacharya, a descendent of Harita, the compiler of Dharma Shastras, lived in a village named Sriperumbudur (Mahabhuta Puri) situated about twenty-six miles from Madras (Chennai). Keshava and his wife Kantimati were pious and possessors of all good qualities. One day, desiring to have a son, they bathed in the river Kairavani and prayed to the Supreme Lord. Lord Hari being pleased with them soon fulfilled their desire. During those days, the land of Bharata-Varsha suffered from a lack of devotion to the Supreme Lord Vishnu. People were largely opposed to the principles of devotional science. To deliver the land of Bharata (India), Lord Hari empowered a suitable entity with the potency of His sankarsana to usher in an age of devotion. Thus Sri Ramanujacharya was born in the year 1017 AD to Keshavacharya and Kantimati devi on a Thursday during the period of Adra Nakshatra in the village of Mahabhuta Puri. He became the acharya of the Sri Vaishnava sampradaya and the proponent of Visistadvaita philosophy.

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Vaishnava acharyas

Madhvacharya – Biography and Teachings | Dvaita philosophy | Vaishnava acharya

Madhvacharya purnaprajna vasudeva udupi

Narayana Bhatta, a pious brahmana who had hailed from the exalted Madhyageha family, lived with his wife Vedavati at Pajaka Kshetra on the shores of the Papanasini river. This place is situated by the Vimanagiri mountains on the southeast of Udupi Kshetra (Karnataka, South India) and is famed to be the place where Lord Parasurama had created holy tirthas. In due course of time, Narayana Bhatta and Vedavati devi had two sons but unfortunately, both died prematurely. The brahmana couple, then being bereft of any progeny, performed severe austerities for twelve years while subsisting only on milk. They yearned to have an immortal son. The Supreme Lord was pleased with their austerities and wanted to reward them. This was the time when pure devotional service was scarce all over Bharata-Varsha. Sanatana Dharma was on the decline while atheism, in the form of Buddhism, and covered atheism, in the form of Shankaracharya’s Mayavada, was forcibly pushing people towards existence in dense ignorance. To revive Sanatana Dharma and its essence of pure devotional service, Vayu, the demigod of wind, appeared in this world by the divine will of Lord Vishnu. Just as he had previously appeared as Hanuman in Treta Yuga and as Bhima in Dvapara Yuga, similarly, Vayu appeared as Sri Madhvacharya (Purnaprajna) in this age of Kali from the womb of mother Vedavati. He was born in 1238 AD, on the auspicious occasion of Vijayadashami, and he was named Vasudeva.

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Hare Krishna Mahamantra Leela - Spiritual pastimes

Namacharya Haridas Thakur – Biography and Teachings

namacharya haridas thakur phulia

Lord Brahma, Prahlada Maharaja, and Richika Muni’s son Mahatapa had combinedly incarnated as Haridas Thakur. Srila Haridas Thakur is the namacharya of the Brahma-Madhva-Gaudiya sampradaya and is an eternal associate of Sri Chiatanya Mahaprabhu. Srila Haridas Thakur had accompanied Lord Chaitanya in most of His magnanimous pastimes. He was an empowered incarnation of the Supreme Lord who had appeared just to set an example for all of us to follow. He had delivered innumerable suffering souls by bestowing upon them the nectar of the holy name. Though being born in a family of Muslims, Haridas Thakur widely propagated the chanting of Krishna’s holy name as the ultimate spiritual practice and preached how the Lord and His holy names are actually non-different from each other. Haridas Thakur teaches us that the holy names of Krishna are non-sectarian and that God is one though we might call upon Him by different names. The relationship between the Lord (supersoul) and the jiva (soul) is eternal and chanting of the ‘Hare Krishna Mahamantra’ is the most effective means to evoke and revive this eternal relationship, especially in this age of Kali. Haridas Thakur used to chant Krishna’s holy names, 300000 times a day, a practice he continued till the very end of his life.

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