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Post by malati on May 1, 2011 14:45:20 GMT -6
13. The Lord, the friend of distressed souls, is worshipped by various formal rituals (and which may yield little)
But it is only worship in the mode of pure love that can cause the devotee's heart to melt and become infused with bliss.
The devotee attains as much bliss as he has love for the Lord --- just as food and drink are certainly only as pleasing as the intensity of hunger and thirst.
. Sri Ramananda Ray
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Post by malati on May 2, 2011 16:44:40 GMT -6
14. If you ever happen to be offered, for sale, a state of consciousness imbued with the relish (rasa) of Krishna bhakti, then purchase it at once.
The value of such a state is only in the intense desire it creates (for savouring the pastimes of the Lord).
And pious deeds of several lifetimes cannot enable one to acquire such a state of consciousness.
. Sri Ramananda ray
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Post by malati on May 3, 2011 15:06:46 GMT -6
15. Jhana or metaphysical knowledge (which is devoid of bhakti) is measurable in a weighing balance, but prema or divine love is not measurable on the weighing balance.
Occult yogic powers can also be weighed, here in this world, on a scale, but Lord Krishna's name cannot be weighed on a scale.
. Sri Sridhar Swami
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Post by malati on May 4, 2011 16:40:55 GMT -6
16. The name Lord Hari
Is a great benediction to the world,
And upon its utterance, at once destroys all the sins of all living beings, just as the rising sun dispels the vast expanse of darkness.
Glory be to the name of Hari!
. Sri Laksmidhara
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Post by malati on May 5, 2011 14:46:08 GMT -6
17. Lord Hari extracted all the wisdom of the four Vedas and He expressed their quintessence in four syllables when He articulated His name 'Narayana'.
Thus we may now purify our souls by incessantly singing this name of the Lord and we know not any other means of pleasing Lord Hari.
. Anonymous
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Post by malati on May 6, 2011 14:34:35 GMT -6
18. By means of yogic discipline
By mastery over the Vedas
By practicing meditation n a lonellly forest
Or by undertaking pilgrimages
May the dvijas
Upon realizing their fearless, self-resplendent nature (as pure spirit)
Be liberated from wordly existence
As far as devotees (who have no desire for moksha)
All that we seek
Is to savour for a hundred thousand life-times
The name of the Lord
The Lord who embodies the splendour of the multitudes of blue lotuses blooming in the enclosures of the bowers of Kadamba trees.
. Sri Isvara Puri
* The dvijas comprise the upper three social orders of traditional hindu soiety -- brahmanas, ksatriyas and vaisyas. The study of the Vedas and the observations of Vedic religious practices are obligatory upon all dvijas.
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Post by malati on May 7, 2011 15:39:19 GMT -6
19. The name of Krishna
Is the treasure house of all auspiciousness and good fortune
Cleanses the contamination of kali-yuga
Consummates all the purificatory and sanctifying undertakings (such as yajnas, austerities, charity, and pilgrimage)
Provides sustenance for travelers on the path to moksha and leads to the swift attainment of their supreme destination
Is the one resting place for the expressions of the finest poets (who seek bliss in the glorification of the name upon failing to find solace in mundance topics)
Is the very life of noble souls
Is the seed of the tree of dharma
And is the ultimate source of your well being, prosperity and happiness
. Anonymous
*The period of time between each cycle of the creation and annihilation of the world is divided into 4 successive yugas or ages. They are satya, treta, dwapara and kali. The power of dharma diminishes progressively with time and our present age of kali-yuga is characterized by an extreme moral decay and religious decadence.
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Post by malati on May 8, 2011 15:11:00 GMT -6
20. For those devotees who are desirous of the chanting of your holy name
Their sins begin to tremble
The great delusion of worldliness itself becomes bewildered The artful Citragupta* too, fearfully seizes his pen ( to erase the sins of such devotees)
And Lord Brahma takes great pleasure in serving such devotees, within his creation, with preparations of Madhuparka* O Lord what can we say is greater than thy name?
. Anonymous
* Citragupta is the bookkeeper of Yama, the god of death and retribution and he keeps accounts of the good and evil deeds of departed souls
* Madhuparka comprises a mixture of honey, ghee, yoghurt, sugar and water and it is ceremoniously offered to deities, guests and respected persons
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Post by malati on May 9, 2011 1:19:51 GMT -6
21. Krishna's name is the one and only benediction in the world and it lies enthroned in the sacred altar of the speech of his devotees.
What power has (Yama) the king of the realm of the dead, or have his agents over such devotees?
. Sri Ananda Acharya
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Post by malati on May 10, 2011 14:37:14 GMT -6
22. Sankirtan of the names of Krishna Cleanses the mirror of our hearts Extinguishes the great forest fire of worldly woes Bestows that beneficent moonlight which brings to bloom the white lotus* of salvation Is the very life of the Bride of Enlightenment Expands the ocean of transcendental bliss Gives complete relish of nectar with each syllable Bathes every fibre of our being And always reigns supreme (over all other modes of salvation*)
. Lord Chaitanya
• Kairavam is the white lotus which is known for its property of opening at moonrise • Other paths such as those of jnana, karma or astanga yoga, which claim to give salvation, all are considered incomplete without devotion, bhakti, and without chanting of the holy names sankirtan. Sankirtan is said to be, by itself, efficacious in giving salvation.
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Post by malati on May 12, 2011 15:44:31 GMT -6
23. The millions of universes, their grandeur and all the sentient beings inhabiting them
Constitute but a fragment of the entity of the Lord
And all the glory of the Lord is manifested in his name "Krishna"
That name is my final destination, my means of salvation, my very life
. Anonymous
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Post by malati on May 14, 2011 15:35:03 GMT -6
24. Only the name of Visnu
Can remove a man's sins and give rise to religious merit
Can free one from the desire of attaining the abode of Brahma and other heavenly realms
Can inspire devotion to the feet of the guru
And grant us knowledge of Visnu, the supreme spiritual reality
Upon burning up the seed of ignorance, which is the cause of repeated birth and death in this word
And upon situating the purusa* in the Supreme Being, who is of the nature of absolute bliss and enlightenment
The name of the Lord finally attains its purpose
. Lord Vyasa
* Purusa here means the jiva, the individula soul
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Post by malati on May 15, 2011 16:52:35 GMT -6
25. The Lord who is eternally free from the bondage of samsara and is completely untainted by wordliness, is non-different from his name.
By virtue of being non-different from the Lord, the name is the wishfulfilling philosopher's stone.
The name verily is Krishna himself. Krishna the embodiment of divine love.
. Lord Vyasa
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Post by malati on May 17, 2011 0:52:05 GMT -6
26. O best among Bhrgus
The name of Krishna
Is the sweetest of the sweet
Is the most benefic of all benefactors
Is the ripened fruit of the vine of all Vedic knowledge
And is the nature of Pure Spirit
If the name of Krishna is chanted just once
Whether faithfully or frivolously
It delivers all mankind from worldly existence.
. Lord Vyasa
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Post by malati on May 18, 2011 16:21:13 GMT -6
27. The religious practices undertaken for the attainment of heaven impoverish one of higher spiritual virtues.
The quest for moksha (without devotional aspiration) entails only pain and suffering (as the path to moksha is extremely difficult)
The practice of astanga-yoga is completely devoid of the pleasure of divine love; what then is the benefit of such an endeavour?
Abandoning every other spiritual practice, may my tongue be always engaged in chanting "Krishna-Krishna".
. Anonymous
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