Sound Bhakti

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 3.20.46,purport) Full Video: https://youtu.be/ELDHfqq2118 ------------------------------------------------------------ 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/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Join us live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FanTheSpark/ Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sound-bhakti/id1132423868 For the latest videos, subscribe https://www.youtube.com/@FanTheSpark For the latest in SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/fan-the-sp

nāhaṁ tiṣṭhāmi vaikuṇṭhe yogināṁ hṛdayeṣu vā tatra tiṣṭhāmi nārada yatra gāyanti mad-bhaktāḥ “My dear Nārada, actually I do not reside in My abode, Vaikuṇṭha, nor do I reside within the hearts of the yogīs, but I reside in that place where My pure devotees chant My holy name and discuss My form, pastimes and qualities.” Because of the presence of the Lord in the form of the transcendental vibration, the Vaikuṇṭha atmosphere is evoked. This atmosphere is without fear and anxiety. One living entity does not fear another. By hearing the holy names and glories of the Lord, a person executes pious activities: śṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṇaḥ puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtanaḥ (Bhāg. 1.2.17). Thus his material hankerings immediately stop. This saṅkīrtana movement started by the Society for Krishna Consciousness is meant for creating Vaikuṇṭha, the transcendental world that is without anxiety, even in this material world. The method is the propagation of the śravaṇaṁ kīrtanam process throughout the world. In the material world ever

Link to the entire video : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELDHfqq2118&t=1732s 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/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Join us live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FanTheSpark/ Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sound-bhakti/id1132423868 For the latest videos, subscribe https://www.youtube.com/@FanTheSpark For the latest in SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/fan-the-spark ------------------------------------------------------------ #vaisesikaprabhu #vaisesikadasa #vaisesikaprabhulectures #spirituality #bhaktiyoga #krishna #spiritualpurposeoflife #krishnaspirituality #spiritualusachannel #whybhaktiisimportant #whyspiritualityisimportant #vaisesika #spiritualconnection #thepower

------------------------------------------------------------ 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/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Join us live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FanTheSpark/ Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sound-bhakti/id1132423868 For the latest videos, subscribe https://www.youtube.com/@FanTheSpark For the latest in SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/fan-the-spark ------------------------------------------------------------ #vaisesikaprabhu #vaisesikadasa #vaisesikaprabhulectures #spirituality #bhaktiyoga #krishna #spiritualpurposeoflife #krishnaspirituality #spiritualusachannel #whybhaktiisimportant #whyspiritualityisimportant #vaisesika #spiritualconnection #thepowerofspiritualstudy #s

It's so true that when we take risks for Kṛṣṇa and we overcome our fear—"What'll happen if I do this, if I give this to Kṛṣṇa, or if I go outside my comfort zone for Kṛṣṇa?"—but once I start practicing that, and I see not only wasn't I harmed, like my mind told me I would be, I'm still alive, and I feel better for it. And one builds momentum in that way by taking more and more risks for Kṛṣṇa. Risks mean even giving some things up because the mind says, "Unless you have all these things, you won't be happy. How can you be happy without them? You might need it someday." Or, very often, as you're giving in the context of sankirtana, when we go out to distribute books, the mind says, "Oh, somebody's going to say no," and then there's a scenario in my head where everyone will see that, "Oh, I don't have any spiritual potency, I can't do this," and who knows what else. You can add in the color commentary about how it all goes downhill, like everyone will hate me, and you know everyone will know I'm a fraud, and I

Prabhupāda said in a lecture, yoga means plus, doesn't mean minus. So this idea of adding ghee and following the order of the spiritual master—these are all plus. We have active, positive practice. It's not block out thinking, and it's not giving up everything, but it's adding Kṛṣṇa. If you add Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa is all-purifying,"sa paryagāc chukram akāyam avraṇam asnāviraḿ śuddham apāpa-viddham kavir manīṣī paribhūḥ svayambhūr yāthātathyato ’rthān vyadadhāc chāśvatībhyaḥ samābhyaḥ" (Īśo 8) He's the purifying force. 'Om apavitraḥ pavitro vā sarvāvasthāṁ gato 'pi vā yaḥ smaret puṇḍarīkākṣaṁ sa bahyābhyantaraḥ śuciḥ'.If you remember Kṛṣṇa, then you become purified inwardly and outwardly. So just add Kṛṣṇa—that's the plus. And how to adhere to that? Remember the order of the spiritual master: "vyavasāyātmikā buddhir ekeha kuru-nandana bahu-śākhā hy anantāś ca buddhayo ’vyavasāyinām" (BG 2.41) There are so many speculations about what I can do: go here, go there, get sick, get well, hang around, and inkwell. But the

Everyone has an external situation, meaning psychophysiological nature, based on their modalities. And you can rise above that—anyone can rise above that. Kṛṣṇa says, by simply getting back in touch with devotional service, you know the material world is really about forgetfulness of our personality, of our true nature. Sometimes people get amnesia, and they forget who they are. There was a famous recording artist, Jan and Dean—you guys have never heard of him, I guarantee you—Jan and Dean, from the 60s. Not that I was a big fan, but I do remember him—Jan and Dean. One of them, you know, just like a regular hot shot rock and roll star would do, had a major car accident in his fancy car, driving too fast, and then had a head injury and got amnesia. And one of the ways that they brought him back to remembrance of his actual position—because he forgot who he was, that's amnesia, "Who are you?" "I don't know, I don't know where he came from"—they played some of his music. He was like, "Oh yeah, I remember that."

Bhaktivinode Thakur says this principle we should apply. And if we can do that, if we have our hand out, we really feel like, "I didn't get anything; I'm actually starving," then this mood will naturally stimulate our attention. We will lean into our japa. So we can start or continue this morning with remembering that every breath we take is borrowed, and that actually we're hanging by a thread at every second. Our heart is going on voluntarily; it can be asked to stop at any minute, and we're really at the mercy of others. So we can remember our time in the womb when we felt completely helpless, just as Bhaktivinode Thakur mentions at the beginning of the song, and try this mood of begging. What do you all think? Try? 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

My dear King, although Kali-yuga is an ocean of faults, there is still one good quality about this age: Simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, one can become free from material bondage and be promoted to the transcendental kingdom. ( SB 12.3.51) https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/12/3/51/ 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/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Join us live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FanTheSpark/ Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sound-bhakti/id1132423868 For the latest videos, subscribe https://www.youtube.com/@FanTheSpark For the latest in SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/fan-the-spark ------------------------------------------------------------ #vaisesikaprabhu #vaisesikadas

Some devotees of the Lord exhibit external symptoms, acting like madmen, others are introspective devotees, and still others partake of both natures. It is by one’s steadfastness and by the merciful vibrations emanating from one’s mouth that one’s devotion can be judged, not otherwise. (SB 11.2.40) Link to the entire talk : https://youtu.be/8ZpjFMtpByc?feature=shared 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/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Join us live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FanTheSpark/ Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sound-bhakti/id1132423868 For the latest videos, subscribe https://www.youtube.com/@FanTheSpark For the latest in SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/fan-the-spark ------------------

The mind can be one-pointed, especially when one is praying to Kṛṣṇa for a specific kind of service. Prabhupāda mentions that he fixed his mind on the mission of his spiritual master because Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura says in the purport to BG 2.40 that if one has some order from the spiritual master to do service in a certain way and one's praying to fulfill that, then also, as one's chanting, one can be very fixed in mind by calling out, "Please show me how to do this." As Prabhupāda says in one place, when he had an impossible mission, he was asking, "How can I do? How can I do? How can I do?" Which is natural that we want to do something because we're living entities, and if we're calling out, "How can I fulfill this mission?" and that's the way we're chanting, then the mind tends to be fixed also.Any thoughts you have about fixing the mind? I'll ask a more specific question. In what ways do you find what states of miind do you find that your mind is most fixed when you're chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa? (

kaliṁ sabhājayanty āryā guṇa jñāḥ sāra-bhāginaḥ yatra saṅkīrtanenaiva sarva-svārtho ’bhilabhyate Those who are actually advanced in knowledge are able to appreciate the essential value of this Age of Kali. Such enlightened persons worship Kali-yuga because in this fallen age all perfection of life can easily be achieved by the performance of saṅkīrtana. ( SB 11.5.36) https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/11/5/36/ 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/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Join us live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FanTheSpark/ Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sound-bhakti/id1132423868 For the latest videos, subscribe https://www.youtube.com/@FanTheSpark For the latest in SoundCloud: https://sou

In the fifth chapter of the Bhagavad-gītā, Kṛṣṇa makes a few basic statements about happiness. He says, oh, here's one thing he says—this is a little bit different than most people think in the world about how you can be successful and happy. He says: "śaknotīhaiva yaḥ soḍhuṁ prāk śarīra-vimokṣaṇāt kāma-krodhodbhavaṁ vegaṁ sa yuktaḥ sa sukhī naraḥ." This kind of follows the last verse, where the last verse talked about tolerance, if you're able to tolerate the changes that are going on, be "dhīra"—everyone say "Dhīra". "Dhīra" means that you remain steady even amidst the changes. As your body's changing and there are ups and downs coming, you stay the same. And here, he says the secret to being happy as a human being, where you have the wherewithal to notice these changes and not react to them or overreact to them. "Śaknoti" means that you have some power to do this. You develop the power of what ? "Iha eva" as you're in the present body. "Iha" means right now, right here. So it means right now you're in this

Every institution, every person, needs a base. A house has to have a strong foundation. Corporations start off with the reason that they exist, a mission vision statement, and say, "This is why we're doing this." Otherwise, it becomes confusing and complicated. But when we have a clear idea why we're doing something, we have a foundation, then everything else can take its proper place when we have the foundation laid. So, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's proposition was very simple, and that's been passed down through our disciplic succession, and that is to make a mantra out of it Your bhajan is your base. Base your life and all the other things that you're doing in your life on your bhajan. Make sure that you have that in place before you try to build other things on top of it. Otherwise, eventually, they'll fall apart. As Śukadeva Gosvāmī tells us in the Bhāgavatam: 'dehāpatya-kalatrādiṣv ātma-sainyeṣv asatsv api teṣāṁ pramatto nidhanaṁ paśyann api na paśyat'i (SB 2.1.4). He basically says all other things that

Oh! When there is attachment to the holy name of Krsna, the life of a living being very easily becomes successful! Oh! Without affection for Krsna, life is simply useless! At the end of life, you will obtain the beautiful vision of Radha and Syama in Vrndavana – but only when the mercy of Lord Gaura is first received! Oh! (Translation) 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/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Join us live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FanTheSpark/ Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sound-bhakti/id1132423868 For the latest videos, subscribe https://www.youtube.com/@FanTheSpark For the latest in SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/fan-the-spark ---------------------------------------------------

The way one resides in Vṛndāvan or in Rādhā-kuṇḍa isn't necessarily just to move in, and I'll stop with this point, but it means that, we should be careful. Caitanya Mahāprabhu said that you should live in Vṛndāvan always; if you can't be there physically, then you should live there within your mind and heart. So if you're living here, you can cultivate that mood. It does help to go to Vṛndāvan during our lifetimes if we could make the pilgrimage to Vṛndāvan, as suggested by Prahlāda Mahārāja in today's verse 'vanaṁ gato yad dharim āśrayeta'. You should try to go there and take shelter. My personal experience is going to the dhāma and spending time there means that you develop a relationship with it because the dhāma is non-different from Kṛṣṇa. If you go there and serve the dhāma and you hear in the dhāma, then you start to develop an affection for the dhāma and you think, "Let me be in the dhāma."And then, you can think of the dhāma, and that was Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's recommendation or order that 'Live

Of course we have to control the mind, and I have already instructed you and all my students that the restless fickle mind can only be controlled by putting the mind to the lotus feet of Krsna, and that can best be done by chanting Hare Krsna mantra, and there is no alternative in this age. By chanting without offenses, the devotee cries to Radharani and Krsna to please lift him out of the material energy and put him into the spiritual energy, which is devotional service. And because we are not at the stage where we can chant and do nothing else all day, there are so many other engagements. So you have sufficient engagement there? Because if we are not fulltime engaged then the mind is free to do its fickle business of rejection and acceptance for sense gratification. Maya will immediately enter—we do not even have to call her—the moment we are not absorbed in Krsna's devotional service. Śrīla Prabhupāda’s Letter to: Govinda Dāsī Dated: July 20, 1973 To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit h

There are competent people who have clear consciousness. I collect them personally. I find it much easier than trying to figure out stuff myself. I try to find those people who are loyal, well-accomplished and devotional. I can see that they have Krishna Consciousness in their life. And then I.. (Excerpt from the answer) Link to the entire talk: https://youtu.be/9tMx200-y04 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/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Join us live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FanTheSpark/ Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sound-bhakti/id1132423868 For the latest videos, subscribe https://www.youtube.com/@FanTheSpark For the latest in SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/fan-the-spark -----------

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/ ------------------------------------------------------------ Join us live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FanTheSpark/ Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sound-bhakti/id1132423868 For the latest videos, subscribe https://www.youtube.com/@FanTheSpark For the latest in SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/fan-the-spark ------------------------------------------------------------ #vaisesikaprabhu #vaisesikadasa #vaisesikaprabhulectures #spirituality #bhaktiyoga #krishna #spiritualpurposeoflife #krishnaspirituality #spiritualusachannel #whybhaktiisimportant #whyspiritualityisimportant #vaisesika #spiritualconnection #thepowerofspiritualstudy #selfrealization #spirituallectures #spiritualstudy #spirituale

When Tapana Miśra, who was a very elevated person and had great intelligence, got tangled up in understanding what was the goal of life, because he was so adept at studying various literatures that he got confused. And then he couldn't ascertain what the goal of life was because there were so many different opinions, and they all sounded reasonable to some degree. So then he had a dream, and a brāhmaṇa came to him in the dream and said, "You should meet Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and ask him." So Tapana Miśra, the next day, awakened and then he met Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, who happened to be in his area at that time. And he submitted himself to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and said, "I've lost my way. I don't know what to do; there are so many opinions." And Caitanya Mahāprabhu told him that he should chant Hare Kṛṣṇa because it's the Yuga Dharma. It's also the one process through which, the Bhāgavatam says, one can directly see The Supreme Personality of Godhead and understand everything. There's nothing left out o