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8. "I have to serve God in the straightforward way."

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"As the saying goes, 'having started on the dance it is no use to draw close the veil.' I am doing the duty of the Guru, but if I preach that no one should shout 'Jai' to me, that is to say, if I say in a round about way, 'sing Jai to me,' it would be nothing short of duplicity. Our Gurudeva has not taught us such insincerity. Mahaprabhu has not taught such insincerity. I have to serve God in the straightforward way . The word of God has come down to the Gurudeva; I have to obey it in all sincerity. I will not disrespect the Guru at the instance of any foolish or malicious sectarians." - by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda Excerpt from " Assuming Responsibility Of Being Guru" https://www.bvmlu.org/SBSST/guru.htm

7. "The result of serving śrī dhāma is..."

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"Within this world, only those who attend to Śrī Bhagavān’s holy name (nāma), His abode (dhāma) and His desires (kāma) are truly worthy of adoration. No being can extricate himself from misunderstanding, which arises from māyā, without serving śrī nāma. The result of serving śrī nāma is that one will be freed from all forms of prejudice and will become settled in serving Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s desires (kāma). And the result of serving śrī dhāma is that one will be freed from the clutches of the tremendously dangerous conception that “I am the Lord; God has no eternal name, form, qualities, pastimes, majesty and so on .” Then, by serving Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s kāma (desires), one will save oneself from the serious danger of selfish, sensual gratification. Thus freed from transient lust (kāma), one will become firmly established in serving the transcendental Kāmadeva, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, as well as the Kāma-gāyatrī. If by good fortune we are able to gain attachment to serving the desires (kāma) of Śrī Kṛṣṇa then

Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Sarvasva Govinda Mahārāja has entered the eternal pastimes of Śrī Śrī Rādhā and Krishna at 10:00 AM on 15 March 2024

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We offer our sincere praṇāmas repeatedly to Śrīmad Bhakti Sarvasva Govinda Mahārāja. Despite his profound knowledge, he remained remarkably humble and held deep honor for our beloved Śrīla Gurudeva. This reverence is evident in the heartfelt puṣpañjalīs he wrote to Śrīla Gurudeva, such as the following (published in Rays of The Harmonist No. 23): A Humble Offering  For the occasion of Śrī Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja’s Appearance Day by Śrīmad Bhakti Sarvasva Govinda Mahārāja nama om viṣṇu-pādāya gaura-kṛṣṇa-priyāya ca śrīmate bhaktivedānta nārāyaṇaya te nāmaḥ (1) I offer my obeisances over and over again unto oṁ viṣṇupāda Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja, who is very dear to Gaurahari and Śrī Kṛṣṇa, or to that Kṛṣṇa whose form is golden [Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Vinoda-bihārī]. rūpānuga-rasajñāya rāga-bhakti-pradāyine  visva-pracarakottama-yatīndrāya namo nāmaḥ (2) He is exceptionally enlightened in the mellows of service (sevā-rasa) under the keen guidance o

"One should not maintain any animosity towards the followers of other religions"

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The following is an excerpt from  Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura's Jaiva Dharma, chapter 8. Nityānanda dāsa: How should a Vaiṣṇava behave towards the followers of other religions? Bābājī: The instruction of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.26) is: nārāyaṇa-kalāḥ śāntāḥ bhajanti hy anasūyavaḥ Those who are free from the propensity to slander others and who are fully peaceful worship Śrī Nārāyaṇa and His plenary portions. There is no dharma other than vaiṣṇava-dharma. All other dharmas that are or ever will be propagated in the world are either steps on the staircase of vaiṣṇava-dharma or else distortions of it. Those dharmas that are steps leading to bhakti should be respected in proportion to their degree of purity. One should not bear any malice towards dharmas that are distortions of bhakti, but one should focus exclusively on the cultivation of one’s own devotional truths. One should not maintain any animosity towards the followers of other religions. When the time is ripe, the followers of v

"Kṣamā (forgiveness) is the bhāva situated between humility and compassion"

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The following is an excerpt from Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura's Jaiva Dharma, chapter 8. Nityānanda dāsa: It seems from this that one cannot be a Vaiṣṇava without humility and compassion. Bābājī: That is quite true. Nityānanda dāsa: Then does Bhakti-devī depend on humility and compassion? Bābājī: No, bhakti is completely independent. Bhakti is the personification of beauty and she is the supreme ornament; she does not depend on any other good quality. Humility and compassion are not separate qualities, but are included within bhakti. “I am a servant of Kṛṣṇa,” “I am destitute,” “I have nothing,” “Kṛṣṇa is my all-in-all‚” – the bhakti that is expressed in these attitudes is itself humility (dainya). The tenderness of heart experienced towards Kṛṣṇa is known as bhakti. All other jīvas are servants of Kṛṣṇa, and tenderness of heart towards them is compassion (dayā). Therefore, compassion is included within bhakti. Kṣamā (forgiveness) is the bhāva situated between humility and compassion

6. "Neither the delible stamp of birth, worldly knowledge and riches do in any way stand in the way of devotion nor do low birth, ignorance and poverty help or endanger devotion. "

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"It was in the year 1486 A.D. that Shri Chaitanya Deva appeared before us at Mayapura in Antardwipa [the island at the core or centre of the nine (nava) islands (dwipa) of which Navadwipa consists] on the eastern bank of the holy Ganges and lived there for the first twentyfour years of His stay here playing the part of house-holder. He accepted as his father, Jagannatha Misra a respectable Brahmin Pandita of Sylhet, then settled at Navadwipa, and Sachi Devi, an ideal Brahmin lady of the time as His mother. He had a human form so perfectly built, so lustrously complexioned, so highly statured and so lovely as purely inconceivable in a human body, and possessed such a pleasing and overpowering intelligence before whose effulgence the brightest and sharpest human intelligences burned like glow-worms.  With all these superhuman gifts and possessions, He led the life of an ideal Vaishnava and with a view to establish an exemplar life of a pure and sincere devotee, extremely painful at

Harinam Sankirtan - Saturday 16th March

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