Weekly Sanga

Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta Part 2 Chapter 3 Text 157 ekākitvena tu dhyānaṁ vivikte khalu sidhyati saṅkīrtanaṁ vivikte ’pi bahūnāṁ saṅgato ’pi ca TRANSLATION Meditation one can successfully perform only in seclusion, but saṅkīrtana either in seclusion or in the company of many others.

Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta Part 2 Chapter 3 Text 150 evaṁ prabhor dhyāna-ratair mataś ced buddhyedṛśaṁ tatra vivecanīyam dhyānaṁ parisphūrti-viśeṣa-niṣṭhā sambandha-mātraṁ manasā smṛtir hi TRANSLATION If those attached to meditation on the Lord still insist that remembering is of greater importance, with their intelligence they should make the following distinction: In meditation the Lord reveals Himself fully with His particular qualities, but in remembrance the mind merely comes in contact with the Lord.

Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta Part 2 Chapter 3 Text 146 premṇo ’ntar-aṅgaṁ kila sādhanottamaṁ manyeta kaiścit smaraṇaṁ na kīrtanam ekendriye vāci vicetane sukhaṁ bhaktiḥ sphuraty āśu hi kīrtanātmikā TRANSLATION Some think that remembering, rather than chanting, is the essential means of devotional practice, the means that most effectively leads to prema, for bhakti in the form of chanting appears quickly and easily, and in only one sense, that of speech, which is not itself alive and conscious.

Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta Part 2 Chapter 3 Text 143 tvarā ced vidyate śrīmad- vaikuṇṭhālokane tava sarvābhīṣṭa-prada-śreṣṭhāṁ tāṁ śrī-vraja-bhuvaṁ vraja TRANSLATION If you are in a hurry to see the divine world of Vaikuṇṭha, then go to Śrī Vraja-bhūmi, the place that can best award the fulfillment of all your ambitions.

Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta Part 2 Chapter 3 Text 133 nijendriya-manaḥ-kāya- ceṣṭā-rūpāṁ na viddhi tām nitya-satya-ghanānanda- rūpā sā hi guṇātigā TRANSLATION You should not consider devotional service merely an activity of the body, senses, and mind. It is in fact the eternal absolute reality, manifesting itself as the most intense ecstasy, beyond the material modes.

Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta Part 2 Chapter 3 Text 128 teṣāṁ kasmiṁścid ekasmiñ śraddhayānuṣṭhite sati svayam āvirbhavet premā śrīmat-kṛṣṇa-padābjayoḥ TRANSLATION When one engages with faith in even one of these forms of bhakti, pure love for the lotus feet of Śrī Kṛṣṇa automatically arises.

Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta Part 2 Chapter 3 Text 127 tathāpi tad-rasa-jñaiḥ sā bhaktir nava-vidhāñjasā sampādyate vicitraitad- rasa-mādhurya-labdhaye TRANSLATION Yet devotees who understand the rasas of devotional service may practice all nine forms of bhakti to easily obtain the sweetness of its diverse tastes.

Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta Part 2 Chapter 3 Text 120 śrī-gopa-kumāra uvāca nija-stutyā tayā tasmin hriyā tūṣṇīṁ sthite prabhau bhagavat-pārṣadās te mām āśliṣyocuḥ suhṛd-varāḥ TRANSLATION Śrī Gopa-kumāra said: Abashed at hearing himself praised, Lord Śiva remained silent. Then the associates of Lord Viṣṇu, who were Lord Śiva’s dearmost friends, embraced me and spoke.

Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta Part 2 Chapter 3 Text 120 śrī-gopa-kumāra uvāca nija-stutyā tayā tasmin hriyā tūṣṇīṁ sthite prabhau bhagavat-pārṣadās te mām āśliṣyocuḥ suhṛd-varāḥ TRANSLATION Śrī Gopa-kumāra said: Abashed at hearing himself praised, Lord Śiva remained silent. Then the associates of Lord Viṣṇu, who were Lord Śiva’s dearmost friends, embraced me and spoke.

Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta Part 2 Chapter 3 Text 113 atrāpi bhagavantaṁ yad dṛṣṭavān asi tādṛśam sad-guroḥ kṛpayā kṛṣṇa- didṛkṣā-bhara-kāritam TRANSLATION Yet even here you have seen the Supreme Lord in this form because your divine guru gave you his mercy. That mercy created in you the strong desire to see Kṛṣṇa, which impelled Kṛṣṇa to reveal Himself.

Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta Part 2 Chapter 3 Text 107 athāpi govardhana-gopa-putras tam arhasi tvaṁ mathureśa-bhaktaḥ tad-eka-bhakti-priya-vipra-śiṣyas tadīya-tan-mantra-paro ’nuraktaḥ TRANSLATION But you deserve to go to Vaikuṇṭha, O son of a Govardhana cowherd, for you are a devotee of the Lord of Mathurā, a disciple of a brāhmaṇa attached only to the Lord’s devotional service, a soul dedicated to the Lord’s mantra given you by your guru, and one who is faithful in your service to the Lord.

Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta Part 2 Chapter 3 Text 98 yady asya mat-pituḥ samyak karuṇā syān tadā tvayā śroṣyate mahimā tasya gatvā cānubhaviṣyate TRANSLATION If you receive the full mercy of my father, you will hear the glories of Vaikuṇṭha and go there to see them for yourself.

In today’s sanga, Śrīla Dhanurdhara Swami shares his realizations from his studies and travels.

In today’s sanga, Śrīla Dhanurdhara Swami shares his realizations from his studies and travels.

Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta Part 2 Chapter 3 Text 100 vicāra-jātataḥ svasya sambhāvya tad-ayogyatām prarudañ śoka-vegena mohaṁ prāpyāpataṁ kṣaṇāt TRANSLATION From the many thoughts flashing through my mind I concluded I was unfit to go. I cried profusely, and the force of my sorrow made me faint and suddenly fall to the ground.

Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta Part 2 Chapter 3 Text 93 vasanti ca tapo-loke prabhuṁ nārāyaṇaṁ vinā anāthānām iva kṣemaṁ vahantas tan-nivāsinām TRANSLATION They live on Tapoloka, where they give reassurance and security to the residents, who at times feel helpless in the absence of their Lord Nārāyaṇa.

Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta Part 2 Chapter 3 Text 80 tad-darśana-svabhāvottha- praharṣākṛṣṭa-mānasaḥ nājñāsiṣaṁ kim apy antar bahiś cānyan nija-priyam TRANSLATION So attracted was my mind by the spontaneous joy of seeing them that I was aware of nothing but them, internally or externally, not even things most dear to me.

Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta Part 2 Chapter 3 Text 70 abodhayaṁ mano ’nena maheśenaiva sā khalu līlā-viśeṣa-vaicitrī kṛtā mūrti-viśeṣataḥ TRANSLATION I told my mind that it is Lord Śiva himself who performs these wonderfully varied pastimes in the special form of Lord Gopāla.

Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta Part 2 Chapter 3 Text 70 abodhayaṁ mano ’nena maheśenaiva sā khalu līlā-viśeṣa-vaicitrī kṛtā mūrti-viśeṣataḥ TRANSLATION I told my mind that it is Lord Śiva himself who performs these wonderfully varied pastimes in the special form of Lord Gopāla.

Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta Part 2 Chapter 3 Text 62 śrīman-madana-gopālān nija-prāṇeṣṭa-daivatāt abhinnaḥ śrī-maheśo ’yam uta tad-bhāva-vardhanaḥ TRANSLATION This Lord Śiva, I realized, is nondifferent from Madana-gopāla, the Deity I worship, the Lord more dear to me than life itself. Lord Śiva serves the cause of love for my Lord by promoting it everywhere.