A positive attitude and a positive faith

Dear devotees,

          Nityananda Gauranga Hare Krishna!  My humble obeisances!

          I am beginning to see the power of my thoughts. The nature of those thoughts decides how sincerely I perform anything. If they are really positive, I have been able to work with more sincerity than I thought I was capable of. Unfortunately this can also prove to be my undoing if my faith is broken and I fall down to negative thoughts. Within my limitations, how well I can do something is governed only by my thoughts, so I have to go and do some mind reprogramming so that I can keep going strong.  I see this as a very useful gift from the Lord for devotion because I can voluntarily set my attitude towards devotion. It is possible to become as sincere as I can be in chanting, or any other service, etc... by the power of positive suggestions. Positive suggestion to the mind is an asset which not everyone realize.

          It requires a lot of positive thinking. Earlier I wrote about faith. But to have faith our thoughts have to be fully positive. It is not easy, I know. There are days when the whole world becomes enemy and screams, "You will never become a devotee. You have betrayed us. You have disappointed us. You have done an unforgivable crime. You have broken our hearts. For this, our anger will not leave you. You will pay for this. Whatever you may become, someday you'll live to regret this....etc...etc..." So many negative thoughts. That is the way maya works. Some people take this as a sign that they have failed in devotion and they lose heart and become negative. Nothing can down a person's faith more than that -- a negative attitude and negative thoughts.

          Previously I used to lose heart and drown in an ocean of negativity. But finally one day my spiritual masters pointed it out that material circumstances have no power to attack devotion unless we give them permission to do so. So we must be positive. People have umpteen reasons to find fault in us. We are not perfect. Ok, so what? Since we have resolved to become devotees, we should not fear that. Who has the power to curse in Kali Yuga? None of those souls can really curse. We must take shelter of the Supreme Lord even more during these times. Even if they had powers to curse us, those souls have to get past Lord Nityananda -- no chance.  As for us we should just forgive ourselves for our limitations and try to correct them, if possible.

          So these bad days, all the yelling, beating, curses and negative atmosphere are simply psychological warfare tactics. We are tested psychologically and the cure is a positive attitude. First understand this -- In devotion, you can never become a failure unless you want to fail. No one can come in your way. It is only you who can kill your own devotion by desiring things like Vaishnava aparadha -- which we all do not want. So our opportunity is never lost.  Look up and tell yourself, "I am going to succeed. Their words are just words. They will be utterly disproved. Those who curse me to fail in devotion will see the truth for themselves. They cannot harm my devotion. I will become a devotee even if the whole world brands me as a gone case. All this simply makes me even more determined than ever. I throw the negativism into the garbage bin!" That's being positive! And when one is positive, one's faith increases. Externally it may be hell out there, but within you go closer and closer to the Lord.

          Unnecessary fears -- the what ifs -- "What if this...or that...or him/her/they....". "Will it or will it not...." should be treated like taboo because they make us skeptic. Being skeptical even after having experienced everything this far will be a big roadblock for pure faith. Such thoughts should be dismissed with positive counter-attacks.  When we keep beating the mind up with positive spiritual thoughts, we can force taste in devotion to come even if it does not come naturally. There is nothing more important in devotion than our attitude towards it. The Lord and the spiritual masters always show their boundless love and mercy, so we only have to watch ourselves.

      After all, pure devotion is the goal of our life friends! If it won't come spontaneously, then it has to come by force. And we can do it. We just have to accept it and advance with simple, positive faith!

Daaso'smi,
Srinath

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Re: Shri Chaitanya Bhagavata Verses about Nitaai Gaura Naama

Dear devotees,

      Nityananda Gauranga Hare Krishna! In total there are totally an astonishing 284 full verses from Chaitanya Bhagavata + 1 chapter Summary. Jaya Nityananda Gauranga!

Daaso'smi,
Srinath

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Shri Gaurasundara by Bhaktivinode Thakur

Dear devotees,

        Nityananda Gauranga Hare Krishna!

       Sri Gaurasundara

1.What is the difference between Sri Caitanya and other ordinary teachers?

If one very carefully and impartially discusses the characteristics, instructions, and scriptural conclusion of Sri Mahaprabhu Caitanyadeva, one will be  compelled to accept Him as sarvacarya or the supreme authority of everything. All the dcaryas who belong to the authorized sampradayas are subordinate to  Him. Although Sri Caitanyadeva is the indwelling Supersoul of all living entities, He has personally manifested before them. Therefore all living entities  should become free from material bondages and drink the nectar of freedom from the lotus feet of Sri Caitanyadeva.(Tattva-sutra 49)

2.Who came first, Sri Krsna or Sri Caitanya?

Sri Krsna and Sri Caitanya are eternally manifested. It is hard to say who manifest first and who manifest second. First Caitanya was there, then He became  Radha and Krsna, and again this combination of Radha and Krsna manifested as Caitanya. The conclusion of this statement is not that one manifested before and  the other manifested later, but both manifestations are eternal.(Jaiva Dharma Chapter 14)

3.Are Krsna and Gaura, separate truths? What are the differences between Them?

Krsna and Gaura Kisora are not separate truths; both of Them are the shelter of madhurya-rasa. The only difference is that in madhurya-rasa there are two  divisions: madhurya (sweetness) and auddrya (magnanimity). When the presence of madhurya is prominent, the Lord manifests as Krsna, and when the presence of  auddrya is prominent, the Lord manifests as Sri Gaurahga. (Jaiva Dharma Chapter 17)

4.Why is Gauranga known as a covered incarnation?

In the age of Kali, the incarnation of the Lord distributes the rarest love of God through the process oiklrtana. Because love of God is rare, Lord Gaurahga,  the best among the Lord's incarnations, is unknown to ordinary living entities.(Rasika Ranjana commentary on Bhagavad-gita 4/8)

5.What are the combined forms of Gaurahga on the path of arcana and bhajana?

On the path of arcana, Sri Gaurahga is worshiped with Visnupriya, and on the path of bhajana, Sri Gaurahga is worshiped with Gadadhara.
(Jaiva Dharma Chapter 14)

6.Is Sn Gaura a paramour?

Know for certain that Sri Nimai is directly the son of Maharaja Nanda. Do not consider Him separate from Krsna. Do not think that because He incarnated in  Navadvipa and exhibited separate pastimes to demonstrate the process of bhajana that He is therefore Navadvipa-nagara or the paramour of Navadvipa. If you  think in that way, you will ruin your bhajana; your bhajana should be in the mood of Vraja.(Jaiva Dharma Chapter 39)

7.What is the difference in worshiping Krsna by following or by not following in the footsteps of Gauranga?

Anyone who worships Krsna without first chanting the holy names of Gaura, attains Krsna after a long, long time. Whereas a person who chants the holy names  of Gaura, immediately attains Krsna because such a person is free from all offenses.(Navadvipa-mahdtmya Chapter 7)

8.Unless one takes shelter of Gaura, one cannot worship Sri Radha Govinda properly. Does this mean that the worship performed by previous dcdryas was  incomplete?

Unless one worships Krsna by taking shelter of the lotus feet of Sri Gaurahgadeva, one cannot achieve the ultimate goal of life. Before the advent of Sri  Gaurahga, many great personalities like Srlman Madhavendra Puri performed their bhajana, which was full of love of God. Although Sri Gaurahgadeva had not  externally manifested at that time, nevertheless, their hearts were filled with His sentiments.(Sajjana-tosani 11/6)

9.Why is it a disturbance to worship Gaura but neglect Krsna, or to worship Krsna but neglect Gaura?

The unfortunate situation is that those who have resolved to give up the worship of Krsna to worship Sri Gaurahga do not follow the order of Sri Gaurahga.  There is no difference between Gaura and Krsna. Some people think that by taking shelter of Gaurahga's lotus feet they do not need to remember Krsna. We can  understand that such persons think Gaura and Krsna are different. There is no difference between the pastimes of Krsna and Gaura; they are the same. In the  pastimes of Krsna, the object of worship is exhibited, whereas in the pastimes of Gaura, the process of that worship is exhibited. Worshiping without the  object and simply following the process can never become complete. The more one studies the characteristics of Sri Gaurahga, the more one develops love for  the pastimes of Krsna. And the more one studies the pastimes of Krsna, the more one remembers the pastimes of Gaura. One can never relish Krsna without  Gaura, and one can never relish Gaura without Krsna. When someone firmly believes that Sri Gaurahga is the supreme worshipable Lord, the Krsna pastimes of  Sri Gaurahga fully manifest to such a person. Although these topics are most confidential, I have to disclose them with great distress. Some wicked people  propose, "We will worship Gaura but we will not remember Krsna" or "We will worship Krsna but we will not remember Gaura." This is most unfortunate.  (Sajjana-tosanl 11/6)

69.Who is the servant of Kali?

One can worship Krsna with the Gaura mantra and Gaura with the Krsna mantra. They are all one. Anyone who differentiates between Them is extremely ignorant  and a servant of Kali.(Jaiva Dharma Chapter 14)

Daaso'smi,
Srinath

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Re: Nityananda Gauranga Naam Mahima Mahastotra Hindi

Hare Krsna Neil,

Tiny tiny parcel of land and space here Neil.

In devotional life if we use what we have (our simple pots and pans, our unique personality and gifts, and some soil etc), using wisely and simply, all will be nice for Sri Krsna I feel. Simple living high thinking ;) As they say Neil, everything is Krsna's anyhow - even us. Karma yoga is non-different to bhakti yoga, according to Srila Prabhupada. Art and cultivation... Each soul is integral and wonderful!

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 4 verse 23
gata-sangasya muktasya, jnanavasthita-chetasah
yajnayacharatah karma, samagram praviliyate

"For one who is detached, enlightened and liberated, all his actions, performed in the spirit of sacrifice, are perfectly dissipated" - translation by Srila BR Sridhara Dev Goswami.

purport "...the Lord indicates that the actions offered to Him by the selfless karma-yogi do not cause any subsequent reaction to be either enjoyed or suffered by others in this mundane plane." Srila BR Sridhara Dev Goswami.

y.s.

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Re: Nityananda Gauranga Naam Mahima Mahastotra Hindi

Nityananda! Gauranga! Hare Krishna!

I think gardening is a wonderful thing, Nava! Do you have much space for your garden? I would love to have a place where I could have a nice garden.

I recently planted some Tulasi seeds and she is doing very nicely. I am so pleased!

Take care!

Neil

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