Rukmini krsna

Rukmini worshipped Krsna as a boy with this deity in Dwarka 5,000 years ago. He carries a churning stick and a rope. Over the centuries he ended up buried in the mud of coast near Dwarka. Merchants unwittingly dug him up with the loads of dirt they were using for ballast. The ship ran into trouble off the coast near Madhavacarya's home village near Udupi, where he was meditating by the shore. Seeing the trouble, Madhacarya waved one of his garments, calming the storm and saving the ship and crew. The grateful captain offered Madhacarya gifts, but he would only accept a heap of balast dirt. Inside was this deity Who has been worshipped in Udupi ever since.

Gopinath

Tota Gopinath is the Deity worshipped by Sri Gadadhara pandit. Sacimata and Gadadhara's mother were friends as close as sisters, so Gadadhara was Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's friend since earliest boyhood. When Sacimata noticed that Gadadhara could soothe Nimai's moods of intense separation from Krsna, better even than she could, she asked him to stay always at Nimai's side. Gadadhara took a vow to serve Tota Gopinath in His temple and never leave. The diary of a devotee in Orissa at that time says that when Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu left the planet everyone first thought he had gone missing inside the Gundica Matha. Devotees searched Puri in every direction for a sign of him. Finally his outer garment was found on the ground outside Tota Gopinath's temple and a small crack or mark had appeared in the Deity's right knee. Devotees understand that Sri Mahaprabhu merged with this Deity.

Gadadhara was the appearance of Srimati Radharani, and after Sri Caitanya's disappearance his longing for Mahaprabhu was so great that every day he aged another year. He got so frail that he couldn't reach up to garland the Lord properly, so Sri Gopinatha obligingly knelt and He remains kneeling to this day. He is flanked on either side by Radha and Lalita.

The fourteen lokas

athala
vithala
suthala
talAtala
rasAtala
mahAtala
pAthAla
bhooloka
bhuvarlOka
suvarlOka
tapOlOka
mahAlOka
janarlOka
sathya

Forests of Vraja

Twelve Divine Forests...of vraja
Madhuvana
Tälavana
Kumudavana
Kämyavana
Bahulävana
Bhadravana
Khadiravana
Mahävana
Lohajaìghavana
Bilvavana
Bhäëòiravana
Våndävana

Jiva Gosvami's Questions and the Answers

From Nawadwip Dham Mahatmaya Chap 17
Chapter Seventeen


All glories to Lord Gauracandra and Prabhu Nityananda! All glories to Advaita and Gadadhara, who relish ecstatic prema! All glories to the devotees headed by Srivasa! All glories to Nabadwip-Dham! And all glories to nama-sankirtana, the abode of prema.

Nityananda Prabhu was sitting in Srivasa Thakura's courtyard with tears of love for Gauranga streaming from his eyes. From all directions saintly Vaisnavas came, overcome by that inundation of love. At that time, Jiva Gosvami appeared there intoxicated with love for Radha and Krishna. Offering dandavats to Nityananda's lotus feet, Jiva rolled in the dust of that place.

Nityananda Prabhu affectionately asked him. "After how many days will you go to Vrndavana?"

Jiva answered, "The Lord's order is supreme. Accepting that order, I must indeed go to Vrndavana. But I have a few questions to ask. O Lord, for the benefit of Your servant, please answer. You say that Nabadwip and Vrndavana are non-different. If that is so, why should one make the effort to go to Vrndavana at all?'"

After hearing Jiva's question, Nityananda Prabhu answered, "This is a deep topic, so listen carefully. But as long as the Lord's pastimes are manifest, see that the materialists do not know of this.

"Nabadwip and Vrndavana are one principle, one is neither less than nor greater than the other. Vrndavana is the receptacle of rasa, the goal of the living entities, but one who is not qualified cannot receive that nectar. Therefore, that same Dham has mercifully become Nabadwip, where the living entities can attain qualification for that nectar. In other words, Radha and Krishna's pastimes are the highest of all transcendental mellows, therefore one has no immediate right to them.

"After many lifetimes of austerity one reaches the stage of knowledge. When that knowledge matures, one inquires about this rasa. But there are always many obstacles, so to obtain the great treasure of this nectar is very rare indeed. Therefore, anyone and everyone who goes to Vrndavana does not get that rasa. Rather, because of offenses, that sweet nectar turns sour.

"In this terrible age of Kali, offenses are continuous, the body is short-lived, and there are many troubles, so even if one wants the Vrndavana rasa, it is not attainable. Therefore, the only method of getting that rasa is by the mercy of Krishna.

"Radha and Krishna have given that mercy to the living entities by manifesting Vrndavana in the form of Nabadwip and by incarnating in the womb of Saci in a combined form as Gaurahari. In that form, They have given the process to qualify for vraja-rasa. Even the initial presence of offenses does not bar one from quickly attaining the goal of prema.

"If one lives in Nabadwip and takes shelter of the holy name, his offences will be destroyed and the qualification for the rasa will appear. Love of Krishna will soon shine within his heart and topics of' Radha and Krishna will prevail. In this way, by achieving Gauranga's mercy, the living entity attains Vrndavana, the holy abode of Radha and Krishna's nectarean pastimes.

"As this in a confidential topic, do not discuss it openly. Actually, there is absolutely no difference between Nabadwip and Vrndavana. Now you are qualified to take shelter of the place where Radha and Krishna's rasa is fully manifested, so you should go to Vrndavana. In the strict sense, there is no need to go to Vraja-Dham, for upon attaining qualification that Vraja-Dham appears here in Nabadwip. Still you should go to Vraja, for that is the Lord's order. For living entities it is always proper to first take shelter of Nabadwip to obtain the qualification for relishing the rasa of Vraja. Then one may live in Vrndavana, the place for actually acquiring that rasa, and there he will enjoy those transcendental mellows. When you get the mercy of Nabadwip, you will easily attain Vrndavana."

Hearing Nityananda Prabhu's conclusions, Jiva caught His lotus feet in ecstatic bliss and said, "I have one more question. Please listen. Many people live in Nabadwip, but why they are still unable to attain Krishna-bhakti?" As they are staying in this Dham, how do offenses remain in them? This has been disturbing me. O Lord, You are the abode of the universe, yet You remain eternally free from material contamination. Please tell me how the devotees will be freed from this doubt?"

Desiring the shade of the lotus feet of Nitai and Jahnava, this low and worthless Bhaktivinoda speaks these topics.

Wonderful Quotes

to give & take affection is a natural craving for every living entity"

-H.H.Radhanath Swami Maharaj



"Humility does not mean to think yourself less, but to less think of yourself"

-H.H.Bhakti Tirtha Swami Maharaj



"Devotional service is so simple,
but devotees because of their material
inclinations make it complicated".

-H.H.Gopal Krishna Goswami Maharaj



"If you want to be happy in this world,
then "stop" searching happiness in this world".

-Prahlad Maharaj



"Guru is heavy, because he carries Krishna in his heart".

- H.H.Radhanath Maharaj



If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

- Sridhara Maharaj



"a disciple serves the spiritual master with the sole purpose of getting instructions from him"
-Srila Prabhupada

"Yes! Krishna is so nice! but this thing to really go inside our heart we must understand how awakward & miserable is our condition in this material world"
-H.H.Radhanath Swami Maharaj



"A good dancer does not blame the stage!
A good cook does not blame the utensils!
A good engineer does not blame the instruments,
so a good preacher does not blame the field of his preaching"
-H.H.Tamal Krishna Goswami Maharaj

Four Arrows of Kamadev
1)Harshanam-boy & girl indulging in flowery thoughts for each other 2)Roshanam-endeavoring hard to get each other 3)Shoshanam-exploiting each other 4)Maranam-killing each other
-H.G.Gaurang Prabhu

"If we are proud we are already fallen, rest is just details"

-H.H.Radhanath Maharaj

"beware of anarthas! they are there to distract us from our unified purpose of serving God, and so bringing disunity among us"

-H.H. Niranjan Swami Maharaj

"there are many in this world, and specially in India,
who think wealth & power can make a person happy,
for them I say, I am comming right from that point, down the road, there is nothing!"

-H.G.Ambarish Prabhu(Albert Ford) (Owner of FORD company)



"A tree full of ripened fruits bows down naturally, because of
1) the weight of the fruits
2) its willingness to make its fruits accessible to others"
-H.G. Madan Gopal Prabhu



The three final instructions
1) Do not try to be a hero, simply try to be a speck in the hands of the spiritual master.
2) Always take shelter of Hari Naam & Hari Katha.
3) Beware of disunity

-H.D.G.Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur



"Krishna and pure devotees see through the substance, not the maya the world sees through"

-H.H.Radhanath Swami Maharaj



"There is nothing lacking in Krishna consciousness, its only that we lack Krishna consciousness"

-H.H. Bhakti Marg Swami Maharaj

"Efforts to enjoy spiritual ecstacies -Discipline + Sense Gratification = Sahajiya
(imposter devotee)"

-H.H.Bhakti Vikas Swami Maharaj

"to expect utopia in life is impersonalism"

-H.G.Braj Bihari Prabhu



once Srila Tamal Krishna Goswami Maharaj was admitted at Jaslok Hospital, Mumbai He had a dream He saw the spiritual world Where he saw all the previous acaryas They were asking Srila Prabhupada- "Whats the news from the material world?" Srila Prabhupada said, "there is no one who has the determination to do devotional service,including my followers" "only thing they have is, little attachment with me" "thats their hope"

Srila Tamal Krishna Maharaj told the dream to Srila Prabhupada Srila prabhupada replied, "Its true"



"a devotee doing sense gratification out of material conditionings, if keeps on listening to pure devotees, soon becomes disgusted of sense gratification and gives it up, and so attains the pure devotion to krishna"

-H.G.Govind Prabhu

"Krishna does not remove those karmas from our lives,
reaction of whose are needed to install wonderful qualities in our lives "

-H.G.Gopi Paranadhana Prabhu



Mundane educational qualifications are no evidence of genuine intelligence. Rather they are a certificate of a person's stupidity or at least misfortune in having dedicated much time and energy in amassing information that has no intrinsic value.

-H.H. Bhakti Vikasa Swami Maharaj

The nectar of Your words and the descriptions of Your activities are the life and soul of those suffering in this material world. These narrations, transmitted by learned sages, eradicate one's sinful reactions and bestow good fortune upon whoever hears them. These narrations are broadcast all over the world and are filled with spiritual power. Certainly those who spread the message of Godhead are most munificent.

-Vrindavan Gopies

"unless you are very very advanced in Krishna consciousness, you should be very very busy, else sense control is not possible"

-H.H.Radhanath Maharaj

"impurities in heart make it so complexed that simple spiritual truths do not appeal to the person"

-H.H.Candramauli Swami Maharaj

"early morning meditation of a devotee
1) I am eternal spirit soul
2) I am part & partial of Krishna so
3) I have to serve Krishna as per instructions of Guru & Krishna

All things else must pass"

-H.H.Saccinandan Swami Maharaj

"Lord Caitanya declares a war against Kali Yuga with "the bow""the six Goswamis", by pulling back "the string"" Bhakti Vinod Thakur" making a thunderous sound, puts "the long strong arrow""Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur", having "the direction giving feather back of the arrow""Sri Gaur Kishore Das Babaji Maharaj", and "the sharp penetrating arrow front""Srila A.C.Bhakti Vedanta Swami Prabhupada"

-H.G.Atma Tattva Prabhu



I have opened a crying school here in Bhubaneswar. Unless we cry for Krishna, we can not get His mercy.
-H.H.Gaur Gavind Swami Maharaj.



"Complaining is the pastime of the mind engrossed in petty selfishness"

-H.H.Radhanath Maharaj

"Devotional service means to give the best you have to Krishna "

-H.H.Radhanath Maharaj



"April fool"
"its difficalt to say who is a bigger fool, one who things himself to be happy in this material world
or one who thinks he will become happy by his plans in the future"
-H.G.Tejas Prabhu



"the way Krishna katha brings a person to devotional service 'prajalpa(useless talking)' takes him away from devotional service"

-H.H.Gopal Krishna Goswami Maharaj

" a proper leader works with
1) integrity ( does justified activities, does not justify after doing it)
2) maturity ( Couragiousness + Consideratness)
3) nonenviousness (towards the fellow devotees)"

-H.G.Radha Gopinath Prabhu

Be very humble when you plan so that Krishna is happy with you

-H.G.Bihari Gopal Prabhu



Our quota is not sixteen rounds, but attentive sixteen rounds.

-H.H.Gopal krishna goswami maharaj

"fault of Eklavya"
'he wanted to be the greatest'
-H.D.G.Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur

"Goal of life is not to become great but to become an instrument in the hands of great persons"
-H.H.Radhanath Maharaj



"you can think your self to be great, you can go on thinking your self to be great, till you see all fellow devotees going back home back to Godhead, while you remain in this material world only"
-H.H.Radhanath Swami Maharaj



"Details are sign of love"

-H.G.Radha Gopinath Prabhu

"because of anarthas, a person forgets the principle & gets stuck up with details"

-H.G.Gaurang Prabhu

"compromise with details may make a person deviate from the principles"

-H.G.Govind Prabhu



"its not easy to give up blaspheming devotees through determination only, thinking that just determination can work is illusion, its trap of maya,you fail, you hide and live in shame,
because maya is more powerful than your determination"
-H.H.Kadaba Kanan Maharaj



".........by Krishna's help only you can overcome maya,so cultivate knowledge given by Krishna,consider sreyas & preyas like a brahmana,then make it the basis of your determination,not like a kshatrya make only a decision to be the basis of your determination.for whom passion about decision is every thing.so you can make determination to be less austere"

-H.H.Kadamba Kanan Maharaj



"most importent thing in a dicussion is
1) What is the adhikar of the speaker to discuss the topic
2) What is the adhikar of the inquirer about the topic"

-H.G.Gopi Paranadhana Prabhu

"Sensitive topics are supposed to be handled by compitent devotees"

-H.H.Bhakti Vikas Swami Maharaj

"natural life is when power of love forces you always to do the right thing"

-H.G.Gopi Paranadhana Prabhu

"Krishna's karuna sakti (mercy) spontaneously flows to a sincere devotee, and devotee reciprocates it with love, and then Krishna becomes a prisoner in his heart".

-H.H.Radhanath Maharaj



" earlier I would pray to Krishna 'Please purify me' now I pray 'please purify me softly'."

-H.H.Hridayananda Maharaj

"Do not condemn a dirty man, who is standing below a shower"

-Srila Prabhupada

"Naimettik Kriyas are ment to give new life to Nitya Kriyas "

-H.H.Kadamba Kanan Maharaj



"If you cannot forgive your enemy then what is the difference
between you and a tax collector"

-H.H.Radhanath Maharaj

Struggle with maya "a football match"
you may be winning by 20-0 till the end wistle blows,
but at the last moment maya becomes heavy
and match ends with 20-21.
you may be loosing by 0-20 till the end wistle blows,
but at the last moment Krishna's infallible mercy becomes heavy,
and the match ends with 21-20.

-H.G.Shyamanand Prabhu

Four 'R's of Krishna Consciousness

Recognition, (locating the weeds inside the heart)
Remorse, (feeling ashamed of them)
Rectification, (removing the weeds from the heart)
Reunion, (Krishna's awarding us His love)

-H.H.Satswaroop Das Goswami Maharaj



"a delayed decision is better than a wrong decision"

-H.G.Radha Gopinath Prabhu

"feed your faith, your doubts shall starve to death"

-H.G.Gaur Gopal Prabhu

"Devotional Service is so pure & perfect that once having begun, one is forcibly dragged to ultimate success"


Srila Prabhupada (NOI pg 36)
"A humble servent of the spiritual master is the best preacher"

-H.G.Sankirtan Prabhu

"Aggressive intellectualism is atheism"

-H.D.G.Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur

"You want to see God through your material eyes, so God manifests through matter in the form of a deity"

-H.G.Jananivas Prabhu

"I had Krishna, and I have lost Him." thats humility.

-H.H.Radhanath Maharaj

"We are always fighting in one of the wings of the armed forces against maya
either in the navel wing in the ocean of material nescience with the tides of duality
or having been saved from this, fighting in the air wing with our inflated false ego
or getting the false ego crushed, fighting on the ground thinking,
how humble I am.!"

-H.H.Radhanath Swami Maharaj

"we are supposed to dovetail our sentiments
as per love of Godhead
but for this we need so much philosophy"

-H.H.Radhanath Swami Maharaj

"When a non envious devotee sees a better devotee than himself, he becomes very happy and at once makes friendship with him"

-H.G.Krishnananda Prabhu

"How many of us, while going through unfavourable situations, think "Why me ?"
How many of us, While being rewarded, think "Why me and not he?"
How many of us, While seeing others suffer, think "Why he and not me?" "

-H.H.Bhakti Tirth Swami Maharaj


"Material world is not ment for setleing down, but for getting out"

-H.G.Govind Prabhu

"envy is indirect appreciation, just make it direct"

-H.H.Radhanath Maharaj

"If you want to develop a particular quality, then serve the devotee who has that quality"

-H.G.Shyamanand Prabhu

"In giving you receive! Krishna Consciousness teaches you, in giving you learn the art of giving more".

-H.G.Govind Prabhu

"Collective unity is better than individual purity"

-H.H.Radhanath Swami Maharaj

"Responsibilities does not mean some fancy dress compitition, your mental composure should match with the gravity of the situation around"

-H.G.Radha Gopinath Prabhu

"Guru is not on the way to Krishna, Guru is 'the way' to Krishna"

-H.H.Satswaroop Maharaj

" Holy name alone is sufficient to take you back home back to Godhead, but to cultivate surrenderence you need Guru".
-H.H.Bhakti Caru Swami Maharaj

"Heart seems to have just a few wishes, as the surface of a sea seems to have just a few fishes, but if you see the deep inside, it gives a mesmerizing view"

-H.H. Radhanath Swami Maharaj

" Democracy "
Where the pilot is not selected by the airways company,
but the passengers elect, who among themselves would be the pilot.

-H.G.Sankarshan Nitai Prabhu

" Holy name alone is sufficient to take you back home back to Godhead, but to cultivate surrenderence you need Guru".

-H.H.Bhakti Caru Swami Maharaj

" The nature of false ego is, that we think we have the right to judge anyone and every one."

-H.H.Radhanath Swami Maharaj

Every one should be friendly for the service of the Lord. Every one should praise another’s service to the Lord and not be proud of his own service. This is the way of Vaisnava thinking, Vaikuntha thinking.
- Bhagavatam 7.5.12 purport

"When you are chanting "Hare Krishna" the body may be breaking, the mind may be reeling but you should know for sure that the soul is in 'ecstacy' "
-H.H.Radhanath Swami Maharaj



Do your best to serve Krishna and He will give you required intelligence to cope with disturbing situations.

-Srila Prabhupada in his letter to Jayagovinda, September15, 1967.

To love to preach is one thing, & to love those whom we preach is quite different.
-H.G. Govind Prabhu

"A general instruction of the spiritual master becomes a personal and specific instruction for a sincere disciple"

-H.G.Govind Prabhu

"Grudge for some one means you drink poison and expect the other person to die."
-H.G.Shyamanand Prabhu

"Gopis burnt the bridge behind while surrendering to Krishna"

-H.H.Radhanath Swami Maharaj

“No great thing is cheap and no cheap thing can be great”

-H.H.Radhanath Swami Maharaj

"Out of all the opulences of a living entity its humility which pleases Krishna,other opulences can also please Krishna if offered with humility."

-H.H.Radhanath Swami Maharaj

"Surrenderence is the substance of devotional service"

-H.G.Govind Prabhu

As a kshatriya has no problems taking the wounds on his chaste, So a devotee has no problems taking wounds while serving Krishna

-H.G.Govind Prabhu

"The trascendental knowledge of devotional service is digested by the engyme of humility"

-H.H.Radhanath Swami Maharaj

Whichever ashram you may be in you should stand by the responsibilities, you should live a life of integrity, and you should be exemplary in your behavior

-H.H.Radhanath Swami Maharaj

A devotee is one who has recovered his intelligence and sanity. Thus he avoids sin, just as an intelligent child or sane person avoids touching fire.

-H.H. Satswarupa Goswami Maharaj

If an ordinary man does not eat, he will grow weak and die. Similarly, if a devotee does not taste the transcendental pastimes of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Lord Krishna, he will gradually weaken and die spiritually.

-H.H. Satswarupa Goswami Maharaj

Defining Friendship in True Sense

"Be slow to fall into friendship; but when thou art in, continue firm and constant."
-Socrates

The people that you surround yourself with have a huge impact on your life, association can effect you so strongly even without the phsycial presence. The things you read, watch, listen to, eat...etc have the potential to lure you deeper into the clutches of Maya. Almost anything around you has the potential to make you identify with the body. That's why it's important to understand the Antaranga Shakti (Internal Energy of the Divine) and Bahiranga (external aspect of the lord usually referred to as the inferior nature or matter). We are actually the internal energy but when we identify with The Bahiranga then we are called Tatasha Shakti (Marginal Energy).
It is very easy to be absorbed in the things around you, specially with the help of the raging senses, the mind, intelligence and the false ego. The process that is recommended to surpass these obstacles is by trying to situate your self in the mode of goodness.
Once situated, then one can start to see how things really are. Appreciation and gratefulness take over...this leads to the natural mood of service that is embedded within our hearts. This mood of service develops in to Love. The intention of that service is the key.
If you notice, everybody is serving in some way. If its your dog, your wife, husband, friend, company, society etc...however what we tend to serve most is our desire to lord it over material nature. We are constantly finding ways to satisfy our senses for our own pleasure.
The more we try and manipulate material nature for our desires, the deeper we interact with our Karma.
However, by dovetailing these propensities to a higher level of consciousness allows one to experience Ananda transcendental bliss that cannot be explained by words. If the intention is Bhakti then every act becomes pure and you can step out of the cycles of birth. death and Karma It has to be real though...If there is a tinge of selfish desire to enjoy then it is called Viddha Bhakti (contaminated devotional service), the way you can really cleanse all misconceptions is through Paraa Bhakti (unalloyed devotional service and unconditional love which is the purest form of Bhakti).

Thus the self-controlled yogi, constantly engaged in yoga practice, becomes free from all material contamination and achieves the highest stage of perfect happiness in transcendental loving service to the Lord.
B.G 6.28

Instead of being distractions for one another, we can help each other dovetail our habits and help one another fight the anarthas (unwanted things) that keep us grounded in this material platform. We have to be Spiritual Warriors. We should be strong mentally, physically, materially and spiritually. Just because guns might not be firing around your vicinity doesn't mean there isn't a war...she is trickier and more powerful than that. And once you become a little sincere is when she starts to wage full on war, Guerilla style.
Trying to fight a war alone can be difficult for us weaker folk. But that is why there is Sankirtan Yoga, the more the merrier.

"Reminding each other about our constitutional position is the true meaning of friendship...being Firm and Constant."

(Views from Krishna Kishore Prabhu's Facebook Page of Mayapuris Kirtan )




"Real friends do not just stroke each other's egos or encourage nonsense, but remind one another about what is most essential. True friends are those who connect with us spiritually, motivating us to move faster toward the ultimate goal. Their own examples should remind us of the benefits of remaining faithful to the devotional process." -
BT Swami, Spiritual Warrior p.105



"When a non envious devotee sees a better devotee than himself, he becomes very happy and at once makes friendship with him"
H.Radhanath Swami Maharaj