Vaisesika Das – Giriraj Swami

Maha Gaura-purnima Festival, March 26, Laguna Beach, California

Association, Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Caitanya-caritamrta, Gaura Purnima, Lectures, Vaisesika Das Comments Off

Mar 282016

“Devotees are infused with bhakti-sakti, and Krishna consciousness comes out through every pore in their body. Just as someone can get a person’s disease by eating the remnants of his or her food, because devotees are infected by Krishna consciousness, by coming in touch with them—through the dust of their feet, the water that has washed their feet, or the remnants of their food—one can get that infection. And we want that infection.

bhakta-pada-dhuli ara bhakta-pada-jala
bhakta-bhukta-avasesa—tina maha-bala

‘The dust of the feet of a devotee, the water that has washed the feet of a devotee, and the remnants of food left by a devotee are three very powerful substances.’ (Cc Antya 16.60)

“It is by the association of devotees that one comes to Krishna consciousness. And even after developing love for Krishna, the association of devotees is still most essential.

krsna-bhakti-janma-mula haya ‘sadhu-sanga’
krsna-prema janme, tenho punah mukhya anga

‘The root cause of devotional service to Lord Krsna is association with advanced devotees. Even when one’s dormant love for Krsna awakens, association with devotees is still most essential.’ (Cc Madhya 22.84)”

—Giriraj Swami

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Kirtan by Giriraj Swami
Talk and kirtan by Vaisesika Dasa
Realizations by various devotees
Talk by Giriraj Swami

Prelude to Gaura Purnima, Part 1, March 15, ISKCON Silicon Valley, Mountain View, California

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Mar 172014

Giriraj Swami and Vaisesika das read and spoke from Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila.

“When we take up the process and make the effort to chant without offense—which means without distraction, with attention—we will see how many different thoughts pass through our mind. Those thoughts have underlying conceptions, mainly related to the body, that ‘I am the body’. Some are gross, like ‘I’m hungry; when can I take prasada?’ And some are subtle, like ‘How are people regarding me? Are they appreciating me?’ But if we stay steadfast in our practice, these things will vanish. Srila Prabhupada gave the example of making ghee from butter. When you put the butter on the fire, the impurities come up, and you wipe them off. Then more come up, and you wipe them off. And then, eventually, none come up, and it is pure ghee. So the fact that these things come up need not discourage us as long as we remain steadfast in our practice. They come, and they go—the holy name takes care of them. It may be that some are a little persistent, and in such cases we may want to consult some senior devotee or go deep into the scriptures to find an answer. Then gradually the chanting becomes more relishable.”—Giriraj Swami

Prelude to Gaura Purnima, ISV, Part 1