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Post by Ed on Oct 4, 2019 13:49:07 GMT -6
Hi, Jiva
I used to read the GD forum, I think I remember some of your posts too, it's good to see you here, looking forward to your contributions.
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jiva
Full Member
Posts: 143
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Post by jiva on Oct 4, 2019 14:27:37 GMT -6
Hi, Jiva I used to read the GD forum, I think I remember some of your posts too, it's good to see you here, looking forward to your contributions. Hi, Ed ji I can say that I am surprised that people remember me (hopefully for good) after so many years. Hope to have a nice and useful time here too.
At the same time, I want to apologize because of my (still) bad English __/\ò_
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Post by narottamadasa on Mar 4, 2020 10:39:26 GMT -6
Dear Vaisnavas,
Namo namaḥ.
Searching for a deeper understanding of Caitanya Vaisnavism, I found this forum and was happy to create an account here. It would be a great pleasure for me to go through your discussions in order to quench my spiritual thirst. Since my field of expertise is limited to French literature and Linguistics, my contributions may not be of a great interest. So please be patient with me.
Gaura Gaura!
Your servant,
narottama dasa
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Post by ganesh on Apr 12, 2020 8:32:35 GMT -6
Namaste to all of the aspiring Vaisnavas and Dandavats to all seasoned Vaisnavas.
My family background comes from Warkari Sampradaya of Lord Vitthala Pandarpura. Along through his own spiritual quest my dad has inspired me and always stressed on Pravriti Marg and Krama Yoga.
I myself experimenting with psychedelics for a while couple of years ago in an attepmt to be 'enlightened'(as if enlightenment is offered to you by a Russian peddler in Goa) which gradually took a detour in complete gratification and finally the result was frustration. Out of this frustration only the urge to know what is what came an I came in contact with Prabhupada BG and from there the quest was specific like most of them it is a must I guess that you go through that neophytic stage where you think you have all figured it out and start lecturing your own parents about existential reality thinking that you are helping them...Oh! I regret this so much...there is a short story in this context were a father sends his child to a renowned Gurukula for a decade or so and on his return he asks his son what have you learnerd my child..the son says,"this might come as a shock to you dad but you have wasted all your life pursuit of samsara without endeavouring for mukti" we all know what was missing in the son and that is what we all want in our sadhana ...a natural humility...
I am not initiated, Like Nila Madhavaji I am also 'searching' for that special person who can connect us to our Ista.
I am sincerely grateful to the Nitai-jis efforts.
Dhanyavaad.
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Post by Ed on Apr 12, 2020 14:06:11 GMT -6
Hi, Ganesh
Jay Sacinandana!
Thank you for your honest introduction, and for your contribution during the zoom meeting today, glad to have you on board, like Nitai Das says there’s a lot here and sometimes it can be a real maze and a bit difficult to find stuff, but there are some very rare and valuable jewels, I hope your time here is pleasant and beneficial for your personal spiritual quest.
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Post by ganesh on Apr 12, 2020 22:03:04 GMT -6
Hi, Ganesh Jay Sacinandana! Thank you for your honest introduction, and for your contribution during the zoom meeting today, glad to have you on board, like Nitai Das says there’s a lot here and sometimes it can be a real maze and a bit difficult to find stuff, but there are some very rare and valuable jewels, I hope your time here is pleasant and beneficial for your personal spiritual quest. Gaurhari |
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kd91
Full Member
Radhe Radhe.
Posts: 107
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Post by kd91 on Jul 9, 2020 4:36:21 GMT -6
Dandavats to all the deer seekers here. I am Krishnadas, 28, from West Bengal. Not initiated. I have a voice box issue due to abuse. Therefore I am advised by doctors to keep it minimum and low when using the voice. I was in Vrindavan from Dec 2018 to March 2019. My staying there happened only due to the grace of a great soul. Being in Vrindavan expanded my universe of Radha-Krishna bhakti beyond that of the Gaudiyas, to the Pushti Margis and the Radhavallabhis, among others. I had to leave Vraj for a return to my village where I currently live alone in a house that my maternal grandfather gave me half share of. Here I study Vaishnavism and Buddhism, by downloading ebooks and buying printed ones also. Since my return here I have read a lot of material, mostly on the history of Vaishnavism and especially of CV, most in Bengali, some in English too. I have no companion here of a like-mind. Recently I purchased a keyboard and a violin to practice in dry moments. I do seek initiation but first I am eager to ascertain for myself what exact legacy is it that I will like to carry on. On this issue I often go through great storms in my mind as all Views seem to have some imperfections.
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Post by Nitaidas on Jul 9, 2020 17:27:18 GMT -6
Dandavats to all the deer seekers here. I am Krishnadas, 28, from West Bengal. Not initiated. I have a voice box issue due to abuse. Therefore I am advised by doctors to keep it minimum and low when using the voice. I was in Vrindavan from Dec 2018 to March 2019. My staying there happened only due to the grace of a great soul. Being in Vrindavan expanded my universe of Radha-Krishna bhakti beyond that of the Gaudiyas, to the Pushti Margis and the Radhavallabhis, among others. I had to leave Vraj for a return to my village where I currently live alone in a house that my maternal grandfather gave me half share of. Here I study Vaishnavism and Buddhism, by downloading ebooks and buying printed ones also. Since my return here I have read a lot of material, mostly on the history of Vaishnavism and especially of CV, most in Bengali, some in English too. I have no companion here of a like-mind. Recently I purchased a keyboard and a violin to practice in dry moments. I do seek initiation but first I am eager to ascertain for myself what exact legacy is it that I will like to carry on. On this issue I often go through great storms in my mind as all Views seem to have some imperfections. Thanks for this delightful introduction to yourself and your situation. We all at various times find ourselves in similar straits, trying to decide where we belong in this tradition and how we can relate to other traditions. One can only do as you are doing, read deeply, think long and hard on what is dearest to us, and try to construct a plan to get where we want to be. In my view Vaisnavism and Buddhism are the two greatest religious traditions in the world. They are like sisters born of the same mother and nourished from similar sources and experiences. It occurs to me that they are like the two sisters, Radha and Candravali. In Rupa's play Lalita-madhava we find that though they were born to the same mother of the same father, they were stolen at birth and carried to Vraja where they were dropped and adopted by different parents. Still, they are like two faces of the same person, the same reality. Both love Krsna dearly, but in somewhat different ways. Rupa etches their differences beautifully in his play. Those of us who want to understand the different possibilities of loving Krsna should study that play and meditate on it. |
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Jon
Junior Member
Posts: 53 
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Post by Jon on Nov 13, 2020 11:27:39 GMT -6
A bit late, and I'm rehashing a little what I said in the " Practical implications of traditional CV vs IGM" thread, but I just wanted to do a proper introduction here, too, as I've really enjoyed reading other people's. I'm Jon, 31, from Essex, England. White-bodied, and come from a fairly irreligious family, though I was christened (as is [was?] the custom here) and went to a Church of England school. I first met the devotees (Iskcon) in 2007 and used to visit Bhaktivedanta Manor, the manor house George Harrison donated to Bhaktivedanta Swami in ’70s, quite often between 2007–10, but never quite 'took' to the IGM brand of Krishna consciousness to the point of regularly associating, let alone initiation. As an aside, it was George Harrison that first introduced me to Krishna, as I suspect is the case for many of you. ( All Things Must Pass, as far as I'm concerned, is the greatest album ever made.  ) I spent most of my late 20s with next to no spiritual life at all but rediscovered Lord Caitanya's movement a few years ago. Pre-Covid-19, I was associating mainly with devotees in London from Narayana Maharaja's sangha, as well as occasionally the local branch of the Sri Caitanya Saraswat Math. I can't remember how I became aware there was a whole world of traditional Caitanya Vaisnavism out there, and that the Gaudiya Math ≠ Gaudiya Vaisnavism, but here I am. I think I found myself here through reading Nitaiji's assorted writings which are scattered across the internet (I missed the glory days of Gaudiya Discussions and the like), as well as the occasional essay by Jagat. My sadhana currently consists of chanting a couple of rounds of japa a day and listening to plenty of kirtan. I'm here to learn and maybe contribute where I can, although being here makes me realise I know very little about very little! Jai Nitai! |
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Post by Nitaidas on Nov 14, 2020 23:14:26 GMT -6
Thanks, Jon. It is great to have you here. Feel free to raise questions and add content as you see fit. This forum has been here for a while. Even I don't remember everything that has bee said and posted. Feel free roam about and to question any of it. I tend to question many of the accepted "truths" of the tradition. So don't be surprised if you see me expressing views in opposition to things like Sankara's being a Mayavadi or a Saivite. Rather I think there is good reason to think that we, that is, Caitanya Vaisnavas are really an outgrowth of Sankara's tradition rather than Madhva's. I am also suspicious of much of the information given in Krsnadas Kaviraja's CC. There are some truths there for sure, but there is also a lot of BS. We have to question the text and learn how to distinguish what is true and what is false. Previously I was mostly opposed to IGM, but over the years I have learned that much of what the traditional form of CV presents is also misleading or simply wrong. I advocate for bhakta-scholars rather than just bhaktas. I had this argument years ago with Bhaktivedanta Swami when I traveled with him as his Sanskrit editor and sometimes servant. He asked me to create a curriculum for the Sanskrit Tol he wanted to start in Vrindaban. I took it seriously and created a curriculum that would have been accepted by the Government of India's traditional Sanskrit Pathsala regulation board: grammar, logic, Sankhya, Vedanta, Purana, Bhakti-sastra, Alankara-sastra, Kavya, etc. I even threw in a little Jyotish for laughs. When I presented it to him, he became angry and shouted, "Do you think the world needs more scholars? No! It needs more bhaktas!" I didn't see then and I don't now see why one cannot be both a bhakta and a scholar. I have tried to become throughout my life a bhakta and a scholar. I may not have quite made it yet, but I will keep working at it. Bhakti is after all a special kind of knowledge. I don't see the benefit to the world of bhaktas who are fools, who are ill-equipped to distinguish between what is right or wrong, or what is true or false. And I am reasonably certain that neither Radha nor Krsna want to be surrounded by fools.
भवतां शुभमस्तु
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Post by malati on Nov 30, 2020 23:25:28 GMT -6
Radhe Radhe
sleepingjiva
Welcome! I hope your coming here is not just an excursion for you but a fruitful journey around to the world of bhaktas and the ista devas.
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Post by rdev1008 on Mar 23, 2021 22:32:59 GMT -6
Hello guys. My name is Ranjit Dev, and I'm from Maharashtra. I was introduced to Radha Krishna bhakti through Prabhupad's books, but they couldn't hold my interest longer. I read about Radharaman Charan Das Dev and Jagadbandhu Sundar and always wondered if ISKCON deliberately covered them up. Right now, I listen to a lot of Vinod Bihari Das Babaji, Hit Premanand Maharaj (of Radhavallabh Sampradaya), and sometimes, the occasional Ramesh Baba. I'm very interested to know about obscure details of Mahaprabhu that are not found in mainstream Gauidya literature. I've already asked a question pertaining to it in the forums.
I'm not very well-versed with how Chaitanya Vaishnavism is different from ISKCON/GM. Can somebody explain, or direct me to a thread that discusses the differences in great detail?
Thanks!
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Post by service to Radha's feet on Mar 26, 2021 19:35:28 GMT -6
Hello guys. My name is Ranjit Dev, and I'm from Maharashtra. I was introduced to Radha Krishna bhakti through Prabhupad's books, but they couldn't hold my interest longer. I read about Radharaman Charan Das Dev and Jagadbandhu Sundar and always wondered if ISKCON deliberately covered them up. Right now, I listen to a lot of Vinod Bihari Das Babaji, Hit Premanand Maharaj (of Radhavallabh Sampradaya), and sometimes, the occasional Ramesh Baba. I'm very interested to know about obscure details of Mahaprabhu that are not found in mainstream Gauidya literature. I've already asked a question pertaining to it in the forums. I'm not very well-versed with how Chaitanya Vaishnavism is different from ISKCON/GM. Can somebody explain, or direct me to a thread that discusses the differences in great detail? Thanks! Jaya Radhe! Welcome, Ranjit Dev! In a nutshell, Chaitanya Vaishavism is based on the teachings of the Vrindavan Goswamis and the tradition that has evolved from that time through the generations. ISKCON/GM are 20th century off-shoots that take some aspects of the tradition, e.g. some basic Vaisnava teachings of the Bhagavad Gita, chanting Harinaam, temple worship, but is not connected with the tradition through parampara (disciplic succession). IS/GM does not embrace the teachings of the Vrindavan Goswamis, but rather give precedence to the institution's interpretations through their lectures, literatures and comments of those teachers. There are many books published on the Chaitanya Tradition and translated into English. Much is discussed here and you can always ask something in particular. |
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Post by rdev1008 on Mar 29, 2021 0:07:23 GMT -6
Hello guys. My name is Ranjit Dev, and I'm from Maharashtra. I was introduced to Radha Krishna bhakti through Prabhupad's books, but they couldn't hold my interest longer. I read about Radharaman Charan Das Dev and Jagadbandhu Sundar and always wondered if ISKCON deliberately covered them up. Right now, I listen to a lot of Vinod Bihari Das Babaji, Hit Premanand Maharaj (of Radhavallabh Sampradaya), and sometimes, the occasional Ramesh Baba. I'm very interested to know about obscure details of Mahaprabhu that are not found in mainstream Gauidya literature. I've already asked a question pertaining to it in the forums. I'm not very well-versed with how Chaitanya Vaishnavism is different from ISKCON/GM. Can somebody explain, or direct me to a thread that discusses the differences in great detail? Thanks! Jaya Radhe! Welcome, Ranjit Dev! In a nutshell, Chaitanya Vaishavism is based on the teachings of the Vrindavan Goswamis and the tradition that has evolved from that time through the generations. ISKCON/GM are 20th century off-shoots that take some aspects of the tradition, e.g. some basic Vaisnava teachings of the Bhagavad Gita, chanting Harinaam, temple worship, but is not connected with the tradition through parampara (disciplic succession). IS/GM does not embrace the teachings of the Vrindavan Goswamis, but rather give precedence to the institution's interpretations through their lectures, literatures and comments of those teachers. There are many books published on the Chaitanya Tradition and translated into English. Much is discussed here and you can always ask something in particular. Thank you! |
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Post by meeno8 on Apr 2, 2021 14:23:31 GMT -6
On another thread here there is a link to a document with full details. |
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