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Post by Nityānanda dāsa on Apr 4, 2020 14:31:59 GMT -6
Radhe Radhe and welcome! I'm editing this original post to be more relevant to the ongoing book club that we've been having. For the most recent info and/or invitation to this book club, please contact me. Statement of PurposeThis book club is intended for those who want to learn more about the Caitanya Vaishnava tradition as understood by the unbroken diksa lineages descending from Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's associates such as Nityananda Prabhu, Advaita Prabhu, Gadadhar Pandit, Lokanath Gosvamin, Rupa Gosvamin, Gopal Batta Gosvamin, etc. That is to say that it is not a place for discussing issues pertinent to ISKCON/Gaudiya Math (IGM). Of course a lot of us are still working on trying to rid misunderstandings we've learned from those organizations and those types of discussions are welcome. Mainly the mood we hope for is one of encouragement, inclusivity, honesty, humility, tolerance, and the other Vaishnava qualities described in Gaudiya teachings. We will be selecting books to read that will hopefully give us greater insight into the genuine Chaitanya tradition; books that will help us to develop and enthuse our raganuga sadhana bhakti practice. You are encouraged to please look up the Blazing Sapphire Press, which has published a number of these texts as well as biographers of some of the greatest devotees of modern times. If there's anything you feel that could be added to this 'statement of purpose' please let me know. Jai Sri Radhe! Aspiring to become a servant of the Vaishnavas, Nila Madhava das PS - Below is the original text of this post that started off our book club... I've been wanting to read Sadhya-Sadhana Tattva Vijnana (Topmost Achievable Goal & The Scientific Way to Achieve It) by Sri Ananta das Babaji Maharaja, so we will begin this book club by reading this. Reading and discussion will take place every Sunday, Tuesday, and Friday from 12 noon to 1pm Eastern Standard Time (+ daylight savings) for the next three weeks, with the final session on April 24th as I return to work at that time and won't be able to do weekday readings after that date. Depending on how it goes, maybe we'll continue on Friday evenings or on the weekend. Please message me to sign up. We will hold these meetings via zoom live video. This book we're starting with covers the topics of: Guru-Tattva, Bhakta-Tattva, Bhagavad-Tattva, Krishna-Tattva, Radha-Tattva, Bhakti-Tattva, Nama-Tattva, Raganuga-Bhakti, Prema-Tattva, and Rasa-Tattva. This English translation was done by Srimati Madhumati Dasi. Eventually (hopefully) we can do some Q & A calls and/or special topic calls with learned Vaishnavas such as Nitai Dasji and others. Lastly, I've also announced this on Facebook, so I'm not entirely sure of the crowd we'll have, but I don't intend it to be for folks looking to defend IGM perspectives. Jai Sri Radhe! Attachments:
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Post by Nitaidas on Apr 4, 2020 17:05:22 GMT -6
This sounds great, Nilamadhavadasji. Is there any way to put a link to the live readings from this thread? I just did a class on the history of yoga for a friend who is running yoga-teacher training courses. It was the first time I used Zoom. It worked surprisingly well until our band-width got in the way. Nevertheless, it showed promise. Apparently, one is limited to 40 minute sessions at present.
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Post by Nityānanda dāsa on Apr 5, 2020 4:39:58 GMT -6
This sounds great, Nilamadhavadasji. Is there any way to put a link to the live readings from this thread? I just did a class on the history of yoga for a friend who is running yoga-teacher training courses. It was the first time I used Zoom. It worked surprisingly well until our band-width got in the way. Nevertheless, it showed promise. Apparently, one is limited to 40 minute sessions at present. Radhe Radhe! Below is the invitation for the first session today. I paid for a subscription to Zoom, so we can do hour-long sessions. If you're going to join us please join via video so that we can all see one another (if possible). **** This link has been removed as it expired. **** |
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Post by Nityānanda dāsa on Apr 5, 2020 5:14:27 GMT -6
Question. In going through the first chapter (guru-tattva vijnana), Ananta das Baba states that one of the qualities of Sri Guru is that he or she is practiced in the homa-mantra. This is a quote from Hari Bhakti Vilasa (1.38-41). What is homa-mantra? I will also check Hari Bhakti Vilasa to see if there's more info there.
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Post by Nityānanda dāsa on Apr 5, 2020 5:28:12 GMT -6
The translation of Hari Bhakti Vilasa that I have (by Bhumipati das of ISKCON) says, "A bona-fide spiritual master is...expert in chanting mantras for the performance of a fire sacrifice." So I guess homa-mantra is the mantras for a homa (fire sacrifice). Looks like I answered my own question!
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Post by Nityānanda dāsa on Apr 5, 2020 5:30:24 GMT -6
Also, the Preface is written by Prabhupad Sriyukta Binode Kishor Goswami Mahodoy of Sri Gouranga Mandir in Kolkata. Does anyone know of him? If so, please tell us more!
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Post by Nitaidas on Apr 7, 2020 11:40:37 GMT -6
This sounds great, Nilamadhavadasji. Is there any way to put a link to the live readings from this thread? I just did a class on the history of yoga for a friend who is running yoga-teacher training courses. It was the first time I used Zoom. It worked surprisingly well until our band-width got in the way. Nevertheless, it showed promise. Apparently, one is limited to 40 minute sessions at present. Radhe Radhe! Below is the invitation for the first session today. I paid for a subscription to Zoom, so we can do hour-long sessions... Neil Steinert is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting. Topic: Caitanya Vaishnavism Book Club Session #1 Time: Apr 5, 2020 12:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom Meeting us04web.zoom.us/j/504748018?pwd=bDkxeEhNZkFreTk5NlVaUnZEcTd2Zz09Meeting ID: 504 748 018 Password: 013765 One tap mobile +13126266799,,504748018# US (Chicago) +19292056099,,504748018# US (New York) Dial by your location +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 929 205 6099 US (New York) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) +1 253 215 8782 US +1 301 715 8592 US Meeting ID: 504 748 018 Password: 013765 Find your local number: us04web.zoom.us/u/fitgzLRCIराधे राधे ! Sorry, Nilamadhavadasji. I completely forgot about this. I really meant to listen in. When is the next reading? Was the first one well attended? Please keep us posted? |
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Post by Nityānanda dāsa on Apr 9, 2020 4:23:57 GMT -6
Radhe Radhe Nitaidas Dada! The meetings will be held on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Fridays at 12 noon EST, which is 11am Kirksville time. It would be fantastic to have you there! I just updated the above post with the correct meeting info. So if you use that info, you can log into the meeting. If you have any trouble, please give me a call or text. We've been reading from the book Sadhya-Sadhana-Tattva Vijnana, the English translation by Madhumati Dasi. The link to download the pdf file for the book we're reading is in a previous post in this thread. We're almost finished with the second chapter. I do have the book in Bengali, but not scanned. The first one was recorded but I messed up on the second one and it is not recorded. Jai Sri Radhe! |
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Post by Nityānanda dāsa on Jun 27, 2020 14:49:17 GMT -6
Dear Vaishnavas and Vaishnavis, Dandavat pranam, Sri Sri Guru Gauranga Jayata! Jaya Sri Sri Radha Govinda! Tomorrow we begin reading our second book club book, Srila Rupa Gosvamipad's Dana Keli Kaumudi! For those of you who haven't been on this call before, we usually read during the call and discuss if a point or question arises. We also take turns reading, so if you'd like to read, please chime in and no pressure if you don't want to! This is unlike traditional book clubs where you have to read first and then discuss during the meeting. The reading goes for two hours with a short break in between. Also, if you're not interested in being on this mailing list, please let me know and I'll take your email off the list and I apologize if I've bothered you. Here is a link to a digital copy of Dana Keli Kaumudi for our reading tomorrow. This translation was published by Bharati Research Institute in 1976. Reading will start at 5:30pm Eastern Time / 4:30pm Central Time / 3:30pm Mountain Time / 2:30pm Pacific Time. Please contact me for a copy of the Zoom invitation. Jai Sri Radhe! Aspiring to become a servant of the Vaishnavas, Nila Madhava das |
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Post by Nitaidas on Jun 28, 2020 16:43:52 GMT -6
Dear Vaishnavas and Vaishnavis, Dandavat pranam, Sri Sri Guru Gauranga Jayata! Jaya Sri Sri Radha Govinda! Tomorrow we begin reading our second book club book, Srila Rupa Gosvamipad's Dana Keli Kaumudi! For those of you who haven't been on this call before, we usually read during the call and discuss if a point or question arises. We also take turns reading, so if you'd like to read, please chime in and no pressure if you don't want to! This is unlike traditional book clubs where you have to read first and then discuss during the meeting. The reading goes for two hours with a short break in between. Also, if you're not interested in being on this mailing list, please let me know and I'll take your email off the list and I apologize if I've bothered you. Here is a link to a digital copy of Dana Keli Kaumudi for our reading tomorrow. This translation was published by Bharati Research Institute in 1976. Reading will start at 5:30pm Eastern Time / 4:30pm Central Time / 3:30pm Mountain Time / 2:30pm Pacific Time. Please contact me for a copy of the Zoom invitation. Jai Sri Radhe! Aspiring to become a servant of the Vaishnavas, Nila Madhava das Oops! I blew it, Nilamadhavadasji. I've been thinking 5:30 instead of 3:30. Please send me a Zoom invitation and I will not make that mistake again. राधे श्याम गौर! |
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Post by Nityānanda dāsa on Sept 29, 2020 12:46:07 GMT -6
Radhe Radhe!
Thus far in the book club, we've read the following books:
(1) Sadhya-Sadhana Tattva Vijnana (Topmost Achievable Goal & The Scientific Way to Achieve It) by Sri Ananta das Babaji Maharaja, translated by Madhumati Dasi
(2) Dana Keli Kaumudi by Rupa Gosvamin. Translated and published by Bharati Research Institute in 1976.
(3) In Praise of Krishna - Songs from the Bengali. Translated by Dimmock and Levertov.
And this next title is the book we're presently reading:
(4) Krishna: The Beautiful Legend of God. This is the 10th Canto of the Bhagavata Purana translated by Edwin Bryant (Adwaita Prabhu das).
These readings have been going very nice. We're now reading every Sunday for one hour starting at 6:30pm Eastern Standard Time. Please message me if you would like an invitation to the book club.
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Post by Nityānanda dāsa on Sept 29, 2020 13:08:36 GMT -6
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Post by Nityānanda dāsa on Oct 7, 2020 18:53:06 GMT -6
Radhe Radhe! For those who are interested, I've created a directory of the recordings of our book club. So far I only have a directory of the book we're recently reading, Krishna: The Beautiful Legend of God, which is a translation of the 10th Canto of the Bhagavata Purana done by Edwin Bryant, PhD (a/k/a Adwaita Prabhu Dasa). Here is a link to the recordings... www.dropbox.com/sh/trke2ynhqmkk3o3/AAA1bLi0P2Lr_KVa7DkYXHeBa?dl=0 |
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