Glories Of Navadwip Dham

Excerpt from Navadwip Dham Mahatmya by Bhaktivinoda Thakur: Conversation between Lord Shankar and Mother Paravati.
"O Paravati, anyone who hears with devotion how Lord Gauranga traversed Navadwip with His kirtana party will never again fall into the ocean of material existence. O Paravati, you will not find any place comparable to Navadwip, any form of the Lord comparable to Gauranga, nor anything comparable to krsna-prema. The success of life, particularly for Vaishnavas, is attained in Navadwip by worshiping the Lord following the path of the inhabitants of Vraja."Shaving the head, fasting, shradha rites, bathing, and charity, which are prescribed at other tirthas are not prescribed in Navadwip. If one performs any pious activities in Navadwip, the effect is quickly dissipated, because all the knots of karma are cut. Just by seeing the Supreme Lord Gaurasundara, the knots in the heart are cut, as all doubts and material reactions are destroyed. O Paravati, for this reason the sages take shelter of Navadwip and perform pure devotional service to the lotus feet of Rädhä and Krsna. They see the various forms of the Lord in the different islands, sing the names of the Lord, and bathe in the waters of the Ganges. With great devotion they spend nine days visiting the nine islands and pass their lives in bliss while taking maha-prasada."If anywhere in Navadwip a chandala offers vishnu-prasäda to Lord Brahmä, he will certainly eat it. Even if the prasäda is dried up, stale, or brought from a distant place, one should immediately eat it without consideration of proper or improper time. In taking Gauranga maha-prasada, there is no rule concerning purity of place, giver, or receiver. O Paravati, if a person takes Gauranga maha-prasada up to the throat, he will develop devotion to Gauranga. In eating gaura-prasäda, there is no consideration of the fault of overeating."There is no consideration of fitness for hearing the glories of Navadwip. Dying in other tirthas gives either material enjoyment or liberation, but dying in Navadwip gives pure devotion to the Lord. In Navadwip there is no consideration of a faulty death-at an inauspicious time, in pain, in the house, or by accident. Death at other tirthas while practicing yoga or death in Kashi while absorbed in impersonal meditation become insignificant when compared to death in Navadwip."Living in Navadwip for one day is better than living in Prayäga, Varanasi, or any other tirtha for a kalpa. Whatever results one obtains by yoga, one achieves in Navadwip. With every step one attains the results of great sacrifices, and by lying down and sleeping in Navadwip, one gets the results of offering obeisance's. Just by taking an ordinary meal in Navadwip, one gets the results of eating the Lord's remnants. So, what more can I say regarding the faithful person who is devoted to chanting the holy name and taking Gauranga's remnants with faith and devotion?

Glories Of Navadwip Dham!

Accept Reversals gratefully without getting disturbed

Accept Reversals gratefully without getting disturbed

Excerpt from Journey Home-HH Radhanath Swami

As soon as something appears, it is vanishing by the power of time. But the beauty of the current of Ganga down deep is forever. If we go deep into a perception of this world with the spiritual perspective we find there everlasting truth which is not subject to the fickle waves of the joys and sorrows of this world. The Ganges begins in Gangotri in the Himalayas and is coming down and never stops its current till it reaches the sea. On the way so many impediments, giant trees fall onto the current, massive rocks and even mountains, yet mother Ganga flows around, over, somehow or other never stops its path to the sea. Similarly, whatever impediments still may be in our lives, they are like rocks in the river of life. And if we learn from the Ganga to always perceiver to somehow or other managed to get around through every impediment with the help of God. We will all reach the sea in our inner most aspiration. But as Ganges is flowing I was watching, there were trees, there were leaves, there were flowers, there dead buffalos, there was even some dead human corpses. If they just stay with the current, they will reach the sea, the ultimate destination of Ganga. But most things will be diverted to the banks. And as soon as it diverted to the banks it doesn't go further. Similarly, in spiritual path there will be many temptations, many diversions, many alternatives, inviting us to come out from the current of the teachings of the god, or scriptures, or the teaching of the guru. Only those remain in the current of that grace will reach the sea of human life to destination.

Ganges forever flows to the sea without hindrance, let my attraction be constantly drawn to you

Why Krsna descends in this material world ….

if you want to be happy in this world, then simply stop trying to be happy in this world....

What is Real Wisdom?



It is hard to have deep relations. The reason is that more you are controlling, more you become addicted and condition to controlling spirit. You want to control everything and everyone and you can’t have deep relationships as long as you are controlling. So there is little love for people who are extremely successful. It’s always been that way. The only way they can be is if you take a humble position and really accept people as your equals. So here is the promise, people are fighting, fighting to get there and then when they get there they can’t give up what they have and at the same time, it’s a very lonely and unsatisfying life.

Srimad Bhagavatam is trying to break through the misconception of this type of dream for happiness. That is why Srila Prabhupada was so strong when he spoke there is no really no happiness in the material world. All the so called happiness is just on the level of this ever chaning waves and foaming bubbles. In the 1st canto Prabhupada says, "All of our happiness, all of our possessions, all of our relationships in this world are like foaming bubbles on the surface of the ocean of material existence and all these bubbles any movement will burst into oblivion." So are we going to be attached to the bubble or we are going to be depth of what’s deeper in the ocean. He krsna karuna sindhu. Deeper down there is ocean of Krsna’s mercy, Krsna’s kindness, Krsna’s love. That’s where we want to dive deep. The entire ocean is Krsna’s love. We are attached to the foaming bubbles. Jiv Jago Jiv jago.

Mahaprabhu say’s wake up sleeping souls. Usually waking us means to get us out of the sleep, it’s disruption. Just like if you are having a really sound sleep and the alarm clock rings, what’s your first reaction. You don’t have to say it publically. First reaction is it’s a disturbance. Is it not ? You are sleeping, you are dreaming that you are having a vacation with your lover on a tropical island and all of a sudden. Today there are so many alarm clock’s, different bells. All of sudden (Maharaj makes sound of alarm clock). You just turn it off. It’s disruptive but wakes you up. So the problems in this world are like alarm clocks, the reversals and difficulties. Because when things keep going our way we just stay in our dreams. Yes, we stay asleep. May be good dream, may be bad dream. When reversals comes, it is like a alarm clock to wake us up. But we have a choice of actually waking up from that alarm clock, now they have snooze controls. Snooze controls means, "Yeah I know I should wake up, I should become serious about my spiritual life, but later. I will do it after this and this and this is complete, then I will do it.

So some people just turn off the alarm clock and just go back to sleep. Some people do the snooze control thing, which means I knew I turn it off, I am little wake up, I will become serious like Kailash of Narad Muni. He was always on snooze control. Yes Gurudev, I know there is suffering, I know I should be chanting the name of God and associate with saintly people, but I will do it later. Just let me do this more, let me sleep little longer, then I will do it. After all last night I didn’t got so much sleep, just a little longer. Wake up. Life is short. You should take advantage, take the opportunity now and the tragedies that come upon us transform them into blessings .That’s wisdom, wisdom is not memorizing slokas, wisdom is applying the slokas to your life and what does it mean, here is a sloka

Tat te anupamkam
Wisdom is when there are reversals which appear to be a curse however painful, distasteful and unacceptable it may appear, to transform it into a blessing by trying to go deeper not deal with it on the level of foaming bubbles in the waves but to go deeper and this Srimad Bhagavatam is taking us deeper.

--HH Radhanath Swami