What are the graces of the Lord? It is stated here that the graces of the Lord are abhaya, free from fearfulness. In the material world, if someone accumulates a million dollars, he is always full of fear because he is always thinking, “What if the money is lost?” But the benediction of the Lord, bhagavat-prasāda, is never to be lost. It is simply to be enjoyed. There is no question of loss. One simply gains and enjoys gaining. Bhagavad-gītā also confirms this: when one achieves the grace of the...
Nov 03, 2024•47 min
..just after Kṛṣṇa left the world for His own abode, then to fill the darkness again, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam then appeared, and it's non-different from Kṛṣṇa. So, when the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam appeared in the world, then we have the life of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu who personifies the Bhāgavatam. We know that Śrīla Prabhupāda, when he was in Vṛndāvana and he was considering how to carry out his mission to spread Krishna Consciousness all over the world, embarked on the translation and commentation on the...
Nov 03, 2024•1 hr 33 min
As for determination, one should follow the example of the sparrow who lost her eggs in the waves of the ocean. A sparrow laid her eggs on the shore of the ocean, but the big ocean carried away the eggs on its waves. The sparrow became very upset and asked the ocean to return her eggs. The ocean did not even consider her appeal. So the sparrow decided to dry up the ocean. She began to pick out the water in her small beak, and everyone laughed at her for her impossible determination. The news of ...
Nov 03, 2024•3 min
Charmingly, we found in the commentary where Kṛṣṇa meets Indra, but He arranges to meet him in a solitary place. When He meets him in a solitary place, Vishvanath Cakravarti Thakura says that He expresses his heart to Indra, and He says, "I hope I didn't offend you by doing this." This is indicative of the heart of Kṛṣṇa. Although He wants to rectify those who are wayward, He does it in a way that makes them more attracted to Him. This is one of the lessons that Kṛṣṇa gives throughout the Bhāgva...
Nov 02, 2024•1 hr 22 min
Kardama underwent austerities to gain the causeless mercy of the Lord, and when the Lord arrived there He was so compassionate that in pleasure He shed tears, which became Bindu-sarovara. Bindu-sarovara is therefore worshiped by great sages and learned scholars because, according to the philosophy of the Absolute Truth, the Lord and the tears from His eyes are not different. Just as drops of perspiration which fell from the toe of the Lord became the sacred Ganges, so teardrops from the transcen...
Nov 02, 2024•1 hr 13 min
My Lord, Your Lordship can easily be approached, but only by those who are materially exhausted. One who is on the path of [material] progress, trying to improve himself with respectable parentage, great opulence, high education and bodily beauty, cannot approach You with sincere feeling. (SB 1.8.26) To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Add to your wisdom lite...
Nov 02, 2024•1 hr 18 min
Actually, to be one with the Supreme Lord means to be one with the interest of the Lord. Becoming one with the Supreme Lord does not imply becoming as great as the Supreme Lord. It is impossible. The part is never equal to the whole. The living entity is always a minute part. Therefore his oneness with the Lord is that he is interested in the one interest of the Lord. The Lord wants every living entity to always think about Him, to be His devotee, and to always worship Him. This is clearly state...
Nov 01, 2024•33 min
A question may be raised: Since Kardama Muni was advanced in spiritual life, why then did he not ask the Lord for liberation? Why did he want to enjoy material life in spite of his personally seeing and experiencing the Supreme Lord? The answer is that not everyone is competent to be liberated from material bondage. It is therefore everyone’s duty to enjoy according to his present position, but under the direction of the Lord or the Vedas. The Vedas are considered to be the direct words of the L...
Nov 01, 2024•35 min
The time early in the morning, one and a half hours before sunrise, is called brāhma-muhūrta. During this brāhma-muhūrta, spiritual activities are recommended. Spiritual activities performed early in the morning have a greater effect than in any other part of the day. (SB 3.20.47, purport) https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/3/20/advanced-view/ https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/3/21/advanced-view/ To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vai...
Nov 01, 2024•1 hr 17 min
The Lord is described here by the word viviktādhyātma-darśanaḥ. If anyone can completely perceive another’s distress without doubt, it is the Lord Himself. If someone is in distress and wants to get relief from his friend, sometimes it so happens that his friend does not appreciate the volume of distress he is suffering. But for the Supreme Lord it is not difficult. The Supreme Lord, as Paramātmā, is sitting within the heart of every living entity, and He directly perceives the exact causes of d...
Nov 01, 2024•51 min
Just as a highly posted manager is almost as independent as the owner of a firm, Brahmā is described here as independent because, as the Lord’s representative to control the universe, he is almost as powerful and independent as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Lord, as the Supersoul within Brahmā, gave him the intelligence to create. Therefore the creative power of every living entity is not his own; it is by the grace of the Lord that one can create. There are many scientists and great w...
Nov 01, 2024•1 hr 12 min
What are the benefits? The benefits are that if we're mindful that every time a problem comes up, it's an opportunity. I'm not trying to sound like a self-help person here, but BG is the origin of all self-help. So, the fact is when we get challenges, and we're able to be self-realized in the way that we deal with them, and not react emotionally, but react methodically or act methodically, towards solving them. As an example, here's a guiding principle that helps me, and that is that 'workaround...
Nov 01, 2024•12 min
Even if one concentrates his mind on the boar form of the Lord, that is also yoga. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā, one who concentrates his mind constantly in meditation upon the Personality of Godhead in one of His many varieties of forms is the first-class yogī, and he can very easily attain trance simply by meditating upon the form of the Lord. If one is able to continue such meditation on the Lord’s form at the time of one’s death, one is liberated from this mortal body and is transferred to ...
Oct 31, 2024•55 min
The Māyāvādī philosopher cannot understand that the Lord has feelings. The Lord is satisfied if someone offers Him a nice prayer, and similarly, God is dissatisfied if someone decries His existence or calls Him by ill names. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is decried by the Māyāvādī philosophers, who are almost demons. They say that God has no head, no form, no existence and no legs, hands or other bodily limbs. In other words, they say that He is dead or lame. All these misconceptions of the...
Oct 31, 2024•1 hr 21 min
Drink the pure nectar of the holy name of Krsna. There is nothing but the name to be had in the fourteen worlds. It has filled the soul of Sri Bhaktivinoda Thakura. ( Translation, Paragraph 8) To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Add to your wisdom literature collection: https://www.bbtacademic.com/books/ (USA only) https://thefourquestionsbook.com/ ----------...
Oct 31, 2024•10 min
The conclusion is that if one can feed a brāhmaṇa or Vaiṣṇava, it is better than performing hundreds of thousands of sacrifices. In this age, therefore, it is recommended that harer nāma — chanting the holy name of God — and pleasing the Vaiṣṇava are the only means to elevate oneself to spiritual life. SB 3.16.8, purport To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Ad...
Oct 31, 2024•1 hr 14 min
Similarly, one may speak very nicely from the rhetorical or grammatical point of view, which may be very much appreciated by a materialistic audience, but if one’s words are not offered to the service of the Lord, they are useless. The holes of the ears are very small and can be filled with any insignificant sound, so how can they receive as great a vibration as the glorification of the Lord? The answer is that the holes of the ears are like the sky. As the sky can never be filled up, the qualit...
Oct 31, 2024•48 min
tasyāravinda-nayanasya padāravinda- kiñjalka-miśra-tulasī-makaranda-vāyuḥ antar-gataḥ sva-vivareṇa cakāra teṣāṁ saṅkṣobham akṣara-juṣām api citta-tanvoḥ Translation When the breeze carrying the aroma of tulasī leaves from the toes of the lotus feet of the Personality of Godhead entered the nostrils of those sages, they experienced a change both in body and in mind, even though they were attached to the impersonal Brahman understanding. (SB 3.15.43) https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/3/15/advanced...
Oct 30, 2024•45 min
Brahmājī confirms herewith that only persons who have developed the desirable qualities can enter into the kingdom of God. In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, the devotee’s desirable qualities are described to be twenty-six in number. They are stated as follows: He is very kind; he does not quarrel with anyone; he accepts Kṛṣṇa consciousness as the highest goal of life; he is equal to everyone; no one can find fault in his character; he is magnanimous, mild and always clean, internally and externally; h...
Oct 30, 2024•1 hr 25 min
