{"id":126,"date":"2020-10-16T11:01:15","date_gmt":"2020-10-16T11:01:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nityananda-family.com\/?page_id=126"},"modified":"2020-10-21T11:46:35","modified_gmt":"2020-10-21T11:46:35","slug":"126-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.nityananda-family.com\/index.php\/126-2\/","title":{"rendered":"ABOUT"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n\n

Introduction<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This Website is about attaining the spiritual perfection of pure bhakti \u2013 loving devotional service to the Divine Couple in Vraja, Sri Radha-Krishna. We love them in manjari bhava<\/em>  – the mood of the girlfriends and maidservants of Sri Radha. Such spiritual perfection is attained through devotion to Sri Guru, Sri Nityananda and Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. The main process in bhakti is the chanting of the holy name, the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. In our present state of consciousness our practice of bhakti must be under the guidance of a living genuine Guru, and we have taken shelter of Prabhupad Srila Premgopal Goswami. However, feel free to join our spiritual community, whoever your Guru is and whatever sanga you happened to belong to. Pure bhakti is not sectarian and every spirit soul is welcome to use this facility. Jai Nitai.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are the words of the Acaryas, the saintly teachers in the bhakti tradition, shading light on the spiritual mood we aspire for, beginning with ‘What is Love?” by Srila Premgopal Goswami.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1.      What is Love? Radha-Krishna Prema!<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Devotee: What is Krishna Prema?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prabhup\u0101d \u015ar\u012bla Premgop\u0101l Gosw\u0101m\u012b: Prema is everything for us. Our life here, our smiling, our crying, our exchanging of love \u2013 everything. Without this prema, we cannot exchange our love in the material world. The love we exchange with family members, with friends, with everyone, this love we got from the Divine Couple. The love between R\u0101dh\u0101 and Krishna is the source of all love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Divine love, prema, is always pure. When it discontinues, or when we mix our thoughts with it, our desires, our material needs, then it becomes \u2018impure\u2019, mixed, contaminated: Love itself, prema, is always pure. But when it mixes with our material needs it becomes contaminated, adulterated, like metal, it can be pure gold or mixed with other metals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are pure spirit souls. When we come into contact with the material world, we get confused; the love gets mixed, but still the love is there. Love is always pure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even our material love originates from \u015ar\u012b R\u0101dh\u0101-Krishna, because no-one can create love by himself. No-one can, because it is very pure \u2013 it is not from this material world. That is why we are here. Krishna sent us here to just practice re-awakening this love. We have to exchange this love, the same love, with Him, in these different moods (servitude, fraternal, parental and conjugal). That\u2019s why we have so many relationships in this life, in this world. But we don\u2019t know this, we have forgotten where love comes from \u2013 that\u2019s why we are using this love in a wrong way, an independent way. If we get this feeling of wondering \u201cWhere has this love come from?\u201d then our mind will go one way, towards the Divine Couple, to \u015ar\u012b R\u0101dh\u0101-Krishna. Then our mind will start searching for it. It will be spontaneously attracted to where we got it from. At the beginning this love will take the form of trust in \u015ar\u012b Gru (faith, devotion, dedication). When you feel this love, then your trust will grow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, we are always mixing this love with mundane emotions. We often feel that this emotion is love \u2013 no! It is not the same thing. Emotion can change, affection can change, but love \u2013 never changes. Love is for always. And this same love we can offer to R\u0101dh\u0101-Krishna. But we have to purify it. How? By \u015ar\u012b Guru\u2019s blessing. Guru transforms our contaminated love to pure love so that it can be offered to R\u0101dh\u0101-Krishna.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: So we transfer our love to the Guru?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A: No, not transfer. Just take shelter of \u015ar\u012b Gurudeva. Then he will accept everything from us: Our good things, our bad things, everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: What does it really mean to take shelter?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A: Taking shelter means to offer everything to him. Now we are like soft mud, and the Guru can mould us, and present us to R\u0101dh\u0101 -Krishna after purification. Because we are like clay, inside the clay are little stones, which all need to be sifted out so we can be offered. \u015ar\u012b Gurudev is doing that. That is the duty of the Guru. Then he will present us to R\u0101dh\u0101-Krishna.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remember how Bilvamangala Thakur loved Cintamani the prostitute? He had very deep love for her. He had this love, and she said, \u201cYou have this deep love and you are wasting it \u2013 if only you loved Krishna like you love me, your life would be perfect.\u201d This made Bilvamangala Thakur realize, \u201cYes, this is true. If I have strong love in my heart, I should offer it to Krishna.\u201d And then he took shelter of his Gurudeva, but he never forgot his first lesson about love from Cintamani. That is why she was his first Guru \u2013 she from whom he got the lesson of love, because sometimes \u015bik\u1e63a Guru is very important, more than d\u012bk\u1e63a Guru. D\u012bk\u1e63a Guru will give us the mantras, these are the seeds of realization, but \u015bik\u1e63a Guru will help to cultivate and grow these seeds into the creeper of bhakti.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is Krishna prema. Everything! When you feel the same love for everyone, anything, any subject – realize that this is Krishna prema. He <\/em>gave you this love (all forms of love here in the material world). It is a reflection of the real thing, but love is love. (Delhi, March 2014<\/em>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Addressing a different audience in \u015ar\u012b R\u0101dh\u0101 Kund, \u2018Baba\u2019 (as we affectionately address him) said: \u201cWe shouldn\u2019t give our heart in worldly affairs. We should keep our heart only for Yugal<\/em> (Meaning either the Divine Couple \u015ar\u012b R\u0101dh\u0101 and Krishna, or the lotus feet of \u015ar\u012bmat\u012b R\u0101dh\u0101r\u0101\u1e47\u012b). We should use our mind to manage worldly (mundane) relationships, not our heart. We should love others but be detached. But the problem is that we do the opposite: We use our heart in worldly affairs and our mind in spiritual life. Don\u2019t give your heart to others, not even to Krishna, only to \u015ar\u012bmat\u012b R\u0101dh\u0101r\u0101\u1e47\u012b.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Devotee: \u201cSo we shouldn\u2019t give our heart to Gurudeva?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PSPG: \u201cYes, you should give your heart to Gurudeva because he is the mercy manifestation of \u015ar\u012bmat\u012b R\u0101dh\u0101r\u0101\u1e47\u012b here in this world. You should give your heart to \u015ar\u012b Guru, to Nit\u0101i (Ananga Manjari in madhurya rasa<\/em>) and to Gaur\u0101\u1e45ga (Krishna in the mood of \u015ar\u012b R\u0101dh\u0101) because they will all lead you to the lotus feet of our Sv\u0101min\u012b \u015ar\u012bmat\u012b R\u0101dh\u0101r\u0101\u1e47\u012b.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Sri Guru Dasyam \u2013 Devotion to Sri Guru <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We pray to Sri Guru,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

tva\u1e41 gopik\u0101 v\u1e5bsa-ravesa tanay\u0101ntike \u2018si
sev\u0101dhik\u0101ri\u1e47i guro nija p\u0101da padme
d\u0101sya\u1e41 prad\u0101ya kuru m\u0101\u1e41 vraja k\u0101nane \u015br\u012b
r\u0101dh\u0101\u1e45ghri-sevana-rase sukhin\u012b\u1e41 sukh\u0101bdhau<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

O Gurudeva! You are immersed in an ocean of bliss and you can award transcendental service. You are the beloved gop\u012bk\u0101 of \u015ar\u012bmat\u012b R\u0101dhik\u0101. Please bestow on me the shelter of your lotus feet, so that I can be blissfully engaged in the transcendental service of the Queen of Vraja, our  Sv\u0101min\u012b \u015ar\u012bmat\u012b R\u0101dh\u0101r\u0101n\u012b. (Stava Kalpadruma, \u015ar\u012bla Raghun\u0101tha d\u0101sa Gosv\u0101m\u012b)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Sri Nitai-Gauranga Dasyam \u2013 Devotion to Sri Nitai-Gauranga<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We pray to Sri Nityananda,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

nit\u0101i-pada-kamala, ko\u1e6di-candra-su\u015b\u012btala,
je ch\u0101y\u0101y jagata jur\u0101y
heno nit\u0101i bine bh\u0101i, r\u0101dh\u0101-k\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a p\u0101ite n\u0101i,
d\u1e5b\u1e0dha kori\u2019 dharo nit\u0101ir p\u0101y<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lotus feet of Nitai are as cooling as millions of moons. Their shade gives solace to the entire universe. Without a personality such as Nitai, O brother, it is not possible to attain Radha and Krishna, so firmly take hold of His lotus feet (Srila Narottama d\u0101sa \u1e6ch\u0101kura, Prema-bhakti-candrika). Without the mercy of Sri Guru, it is not possible to get the shelter of Sri Nityananda. Without the mercy of Nitai-Gauranga, it is not possible to get the shelter of Sri Radha-Krishna. Without Guru\u2019s and Nitai-Gauranga\u2019s mercy it is not possible to take shelter of Sri Radha. Without Her mercy and the mercy of Her followers \u2013 the gopis and manjaris \u2013 it is not possible to enter Radha dasyam<\/em>. Sri Guru is the manifestation of the original Guru Sri Nityananda. Without serving Sri Guru we cannot serve Nitai, we cannot serve Gauranga, and we cannot serve Radha-Krishna, what to speak of serving Srimati Radhika in Her confidential niku\u00f1ja<\/em> pastimes in the forest bowers of Vraja. Radha dasyam<\/em> in manjari bhava<\/em> is the ultimate goal of our sadhana-bhajana <\/em>(spiritual practice). It is the essence of Gauranga Mahaprabhu\u2019s mercy, His teaching and His unprecedented gift to the conditioned souls of this mortal world. Serving Srimati Radharani is the goal of raganuga bhakti<\/em>, the very heart of the Gaudiya Vaisnavas, our innermost hearts\u2019 desire. But the key for entering Radha dasyam<\/em> is devotion Sri Guru and to Sri Nityananda whose form in Krishna lila<\/em> is that of Ananga manjari<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Sri Radha Dasyam \u2013 Devotion to Srimati Radhika<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We pray to Sri Krishna,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u015by\u0101masundara \u015bikha\u1e47\u1e0da \u015bekhara
smera-h\u0101sa mural\u012b-manohara
r\u0101dhik\u0101-rasika m\u0101\u1e41 k\u1e5bp\u0101-nidhe
sva-priy\u0101-cara\u1e47a-ki\u1e45kar\u012b\u1e41 kuru<\/strong>
(\u015ar\u012b Vi\u1e6d\u1e6dhal\u0101c\u0101rya)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

O \u015ay\u0101masundara, O beautiful dark boy with a peacock-feather crown, Your playful smile and Your flute completely bewilder our minds. You are expert at tasting the nectar of \u015ar\u012bmat\u012b R\u0101dhik\u0101\u2019s love, and You are an ocean of mercy. Please make me a maidservant of Your beloved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 We pray to \u015ar\u012b R\u0101dh\u0101,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

tavaiv\u0101smi tavaiv\u0101smi na j\u012bv\u0101mi tvay\u0101 vin\u0101
iti vij\u00f1\u0101ya dev\u012b tva\u1e41 naya m\u0101\u1e41 cara\u1e47\u0101ntike<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe<\/em> Dev\u012b \u015ar\u012b R\u0101dhike! I am yours! I am yours! I cannot live without You. Knowing this, please give me shelter at Your lotus feet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We pray to \u015ar\u012b K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, \u201cO Prince of the cowherders (K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a)! I offer my obeisances unto You and I pitifully pray to You: Please make me the object of mercy of the crown garland of the young girls of Vraja (\u015ar\u012b R\u0101dhik\u0101)!\u201d (Srila Rupa Goswami, Utkalika Vallarih, 19)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We pray to \u015ar\u012b K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, \u201cPlease make me the object of \u015ar\u012b R\u0101dh\u0101\u2019s grace\u201d, and we pray to \u015ar\u012b R\u0101dh\u0101, \u201cMay K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a give me mercy, knowing me to be Your loyal kinkari<\/em> maidservant!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u015ar\u012b Caitanya Mah\u0101prabhu (aka Gauranga), the combined form of Radha and Krishna, manifested on earth 500 years ago to bestow upon us the supreme gift of divine love for Radha and Krishna, called prema. This gift is revealed through the writings of the \u0101c\u0101ryas<\/em>. This R\u0101dh\u0101-d\u0101syam<\/em> is an unprecedented gift of mercy. The conditioned souls are floating in the ocean of material existence, but by some stroke of good luck some of them receive the mercy of Sri Guru and Nityananda in the form of the seed of the vine of devotion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

brahm\u0101\u1e47\u1e0da bhramite kona bh\u0101gyav\u0101n j\u012bva<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

guru-k\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a-pras\u0101de p\u0101ya bhakti-lat\u0101-b\u012bja<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Cc Madhya 19.151)<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
By taking shelter of the lotus feet of \u015ar\u012b Guru a fortunate person can attain purification of the self. Gurudeva is bringing the remembrance of a long forgotten thing back into the heart. When fortunate s\u0101dhakas<\/em> take shelter of \u015ar\u012b Guru\u2019s lotus feet in the Gau\u1e0d\u012bya Vai\u1e63\u1e47ava Samprad\u0101ya, they become acquainted with the service of \u015ar\u012b R\u0101dh\u0101. After establishing their spiritual self-identity as R\u0101dh\u0101 d\u0101s\u012b<\/em> (Radha\u2019s maidservant), they continue their bhajana<\/em> according to the love of r\u0101dh\u0101 sneh\u0101dhik\u0101<\/em> (greater love for R\u0101dh\u0101 than for K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a). How enchanting it is to think of oneself: \u201cI am R\u0101dh\u0101\u2019s fallen maidservant!\u201d My bhajana<\/em> is disturbed by bodily consciousness; my life is contaminated by all kinds of external endeavours for material comforts!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u015ar\u012bla J\u012bva Gosv\u0101m\u012b instructs us (Bhakti Sandarbha\u1e25, 286): \u201cWhat to speak of internally, even externally, while following the process of hearing, chanting and deity-worship, one should think of oneself as R\u0101dh\u0101\u2019s maidservant.\u201d This is the bh\u016bta-\u015buddhi<\/em> (spiritual self-identification) of the Gau\u1e0d\u012bya Vai\u1e63\u1e47avas. \u201cHere the bh\u016bta \u015buddhih<\/em> of the pure devotees is explained. This means thinking of one\u2019s own desired spiritual body, in which one associates with the Divine Couple and which is suitable for serving Them. The real bh\u016bta \u015buddhi<\/em> for a pure devotee is to think of himself or herself in their own siddha svar\u016bpa<\/em> (spiritual body). This way of thinking is favourable for those who know that the highest goal of life is to love the Divine Couple in the mood of Srimati Radharani\u2019s maidservants \u2013 ma\u00f1jar\u012b-bh\u0101va.\u201d (Adapted from Srila Ananta das Babaji\u2019s commentary on \u015ar\u012b Utkalik\u0101 Vallari\u1e25, verse 20).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
5. Transforming Our Consciousness<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
There are three level of existence, corresponding to three levels of consciousness, leading to the attainment of three different goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
     1.  The plane of sense enjoyment, covered consciousness, motivated by self interest and exploitation of others, leading to repeated birth and death in this material world \u2013 the realm of karma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
     2. The plane of renunciation, slightly blossoming consciousness, motivated by the desire for freedom from material anxieties or liberation from material existence, leading to impersonal liberation \u2013 the realm j\u00f1\u0101na (cultivation of knowledge or mystic powers aimed at becoming one with the Supreme).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
     3. The plane of dedication, fully blossoming consciousness, motivated by the desire to serve the Supreme Being, leading to spiritual existence in the kingdom of pure love \u2013 the realm of bhakti. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The soul consists of three elements: sat-cit-ananda – eternity, knowledge and bliss. In the perfected stage of renunciation the soul merges into the impersonal aspect of the Supreme and attains eternity and knowledge, but not bliss because such impersonal liberation is devoid of loving exchange with the Supreme. In the perfected stage of dedication the soul attains its full potential of eternity, cognizance, and bliss by rendering loving devotional service to its eternal beloved, the Divine Couple, Sri Radha and Krishna.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Therefore, if we want to change the world, we should start by changing ourselves – changing our own consciousness. One can only transcend one\u2019s limitations and attain spiritual perfection by changing one\u2019s own attitude or consciousness. Such a change requires faith and commitment; it is a life-time marathon, not a sprint. It is a journey without a beginning to a goal that has never changed – the goal of divine love. The process to attain divine love is the path of bhakti. It is the only spiritual path that can dissolve our karma, purify our minds, transform our hearts, and elevate our consciousness to the spiritual realm. The main practice on the path of bhakti is the chanting of the holy name, the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, the most powerful mantra for deliverance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Hare Rama Hare Rama<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Rama Rama Hare Hare<\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Chant and be Happy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Introduction This Website is about attaining the spiritual perfection of pure bhakti \u2013 loving devotional service to the Divine Couple in Vraja, Sri Radha-Krishna. We love them in manjari bhava  – the mood of the girlfriends and maidservants of Sri Radha. Such spiritual perfection is attained through devotion to Sri Guru, Sri Nityananda and Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. The main process in bhakti is the chanting of the holy name, the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. In our present state of consciousness our practice…<\/p>\n
 Read More  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nityananda-family.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/126"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nityananda-family.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nityananda-family.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nityananda-family.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nityananda-family.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=126"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.nityananda-family.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/126\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":198,"href":"https:\/\/www.nityananda-family.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/126\/revisions\/198"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nityananda-family.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=126"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}