Sound Bhakti

This is one of the first exercises for developing your constitution for 2026. You could take some time to examine what values means, and look at some of the values. This is a nice list from Brené Brown of values that we may look forward to developing. It's not necessarily values we have now, but it just means what we consider worthwhile, where we'd like to put our attention. You know, the word "worship? It originally comes from where the word "worth", and when you put "-ship" on the end of something, it turns into a noun. And over time, "worth-ship" morphed into "worship." So what we consider value is that place where we worship. What are the values? Now I'll just give another element to this: All of these values are metaphysical. How will you measure empathy? You can't do it empirically. Empirically, you can't go to Ace Hardware and get a meter that measures empathy. You can judge how generous somebody is, but you don't know how much they have, so are they being really generous? These values are intrinsica

I brought a quote with me this morning that I found Śrīla Prabhupāda speaking about chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa. He says, "In this age, hearing is more important than thinking, because one's thinking may be disturbed by mental agitation, but if one concentrates on hearing, he will be forced to associate with the sound vibration of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa and the sound vibration Kṛṣṇa are non-different. So if one loudly vibrates Hare Kṛṣṇa, he will be able to think of Kṛṣṇa immediately. This process of chanting is the best process of self-realization in this age. Therefore, Lord Caitanya preached it so nicely for the benefit of all humanity." I added to a section of this paper I'm writing about Prabhupāda's statement that chanting japa is 'forced meditation.' And in one sense, we consider that the name has force: nāmnām akāri bahudhā nija-sarva-śaktis. There's śakti in the name. So it's not simply mindfulness, but it's direct association with Kṛṣṇa, who has his own power and his own agenda. --------------------------------------

Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! he Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! he Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! rakṣa mām Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa! pāhi mām That is, “O Lord Kṛṣṇa, please protect Me and maintain Me.” He also chanted: Rāma! Rāghava! Rāma! Rāghava! Rāma! Rāghava! rakṣa mām Kṛṣṇa! Keśava! Kṛṣṇa! Keśava! Kṛṣṇa! Keśava! pāhi mām That is, “O Lord Rāma, descendant of King Raghu, please protect Me. O Kṛṣṇa, O Keśava, killer of the Keśī demon, please maintain Me.” https://vedabase.io/en/library/cc/madhya/7/96/ Chanting this verse, Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, known as Gaurahari, went on His way. As soon as He saw someone, He would request him to chant “Hari! Hari!” (CC Madhya 7.97) https://vedabase.io/en/library/cc/madhya/7/97/ Watch the entire Youth Jam session here: https://youtube.com/live/RD3QEkOQS6o?feature=share To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/ -------------

(1) jaya rādhā-mādhava kuñja-bihārī gopī-jana-vallabha giri-vara-dhārī (2) yaśodā-nandana braja-jana-rañjana yāmuna-tīra-vana-cārī TRANSLATION 1) Krsna is the lover of Radha. He displays many amorous pastimes in the groves of Vrndavana, He is the lover of the cowherd maidens of Vraja, and the holder of the great hill named Govardhana. 2) He is the beloved son of mother Yasoda, the delighter of the inhabitants of Vraja, and He wanders in the forests along the banks of the River Yamuna! Remarks: Srila Prabhupada was very fond of this sort and sang it just before his lectures. In Allahabad and Gorakhpur, Srila Prabhupada fell into a trance after singing the first two lines, and after some time he came back into external consciousness and said, "Now just chant Hare Krsna." Srila Prabhupada said that this song is "a picture of Vrndavana. Everything is there--Srimati Radharani, Vrndavana, Govardhana, Yasoda, and all the cowherd boys." To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit www.fanthe

My only wish is to have my consciousness purified by the words emanating from his lotus mouth. Attachment to his lotus feet is the perfection that fulfills all desires. (Translation, Sri Guru Vandana Verse 2) ------------------------------------------------------------ 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://iskconsv.com/book-store/ https://www.bbtacademic.com/books/ 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 ------------------------------------------------------------ #spiritualawakening #soul #spirituale

During our lives, we'll go through various eras, and in some of the eras we're required to work. It's not going to be possible to dedicate the same amount of time that others can at different periods in their life. Let's use Śrīla Prabhupāda as an example. He had a family, children, and he was also working as an employee in a chemical company in high-level management. He expressed how little time he had too during that era. Evidence: He split his rounds up throughout the day. He mentions this, that he chanted four, four, four, and four, because he had to time it so that he could chant his rounds around his work schedule and around his family schedule. Another piece of evidence is that when Prabhupāda joined his spiritual master's Yātrā in Vṛndāvana, it was a ten-day Yātrā, and he could only go for one day because he had so much work to do. So, Prabhupāda during that time maintained sādhana as best he could, but he also had those other obligations. Then, at a particular time in his life, he got the opportuni

I had to drive to an early morning appointment, and here in my area, on the 101 freeway, which is the main thoroughfare, they have put up this system where the fast lane has signs above it that tell how much it's going to cost you to drive in the fast lane, and it's constantly changing according to how much traffic is there. It's become very sophisticated. You can see early in the morning it's practically nothing, and then later it goes up to $5, $17 if you want to drive a few miles in the fast lane. I was just thinking, because I left a little early for my appointment, that it didn't cost that much, and if I had waited a couple more minutes, it would have jumped. And I was thinking how important it is in the human form of life to try to take advantage early. Don't think, "Okay, I'll do the wrong thing and it won't make a difference." Every minute makes a difference if we want to stay in the fast lane, keep making the decisions to take Kṛṣṇa first, deal with Māyā later, and maybe next life, or never at all.

1) 'rādhā-kṛṣṇa' bol bol bolo re sobāi (ei) śikṣā diyā, sab nadīyā phirche nece' gaura-nitāi (miche) māyār bośe, jāccho bhese', khāccho hābuḍubu, bhāi (2) (jīv) kṛṣṇa-dās, e biśwās, korle to' ār duḥkho nāi (kṛṣṇa) bolbe jabe, pulak ha'be jhorbe āńkhi, boli tāi (3) ('rādhā) kṛṣṇa' bolo, sańge calo, ei-mātra bhikhā cāi (jāy) sakal' bipod bhaktivinod bole, jakhon o-nām gāi TRANSLATION 1) Chant, chant "Radha-Krsna!" Everyone chant! When Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda came dancing through Nadia, They gave these teachings: Chant, chant "Radha-Krsna!" Everyone chant! You are caught up in a whirlpool of senseless action and are sinking lower and lower. Chant, chant "Radha-Krsna!" Everyone chant! 2) If you just understand that the spirit soul is the eternal servant of Krsna, you will never have any more sorrows. Chant Hare Krsna and your eyes will fill with tears and your body will feel transcendental shivering. Chant, chant "Radha-Krsna!" Everyone chant! 3) Simply chant "Radha-Krsna" and join

(1) parama karuṇa, pahū dui jana nitāi gauracandra saba avatāra-sāra śiromaṇi kevala ānanda-kanda (2) bhajo bhajo bhāi, caitanya nitāi sudṛḍha biśwāsa kori viṣaya chāḍiyā, se rase majiyā, mukhe bolo hari hari (3) dekho ore bhāi, tri-bhuvane nāi, emona doyāla dātā paśu pākhī jhure, pāṣāṇa vidare, śuni' jāńra guṇa-gāthā (4) saḿsāre majiyā, rohili poriyā, se pade nahilo āśa āpana karama, bhuñjāye śamana, kahoye locana-dāsa TRANSLATION 1) The two Lords, Nitai-Gauracandra, are very merciful. They are the essence of all incarnations. The specific significance of these incarnations is that They introduced a process of chanting and dancing that is simply joyful. 2) My dear brother, I request that you just worship Lord Caitanya and Nityananda with firm conviction and faith. If one wants to be Krsna conscious by this process, one has to give up his engagement in sense gratification. One simply has to chant, "Hare Krsna! Hari Hari!" without any motive. 3) My dear brother, just try and examine this. Wi

(1) parama karuṇa, pahū dui jana nitāi gauracandra saba avatāra-sāra śiromaṇi kevala ānanda-kanda (2) bhajo bhajo bhāi, caitanya nitāi sudṛḍha biśwāsa kori viṣaya chāḍiyā, se rase majiyā, mukhe bolo hari hari (3) dekho ore bhāi, tri-bhuvane nāi, emona doyāla dātā paśu pākhī jhure, pāṣāṇa vidare, śuni' jāńra guṇa-gāthā (4) saḿsāre majiyā, rohili poriyā, se pade nahilo āśa āpana karama, bhuñjāye śamana, kahoye locana-dāsa TRANSLATION 1) The two Lords, Nitai-Gauracandra, are very merciful. They are the essence of all incarnations. The specific significance of these incarnations is that They introduced a process of chanting and dancing that is simply joyful. 2) My dear brother, I request that you just worship Lord Caitanya and Nityananda with firm conviction and faith. If one wants to be Krsna conscious by this process, one has to give up his engagement in sense gratification. One simply has to chant, "Hare Krsna! Hari Hari!" without any motive. 3) My dear brother, just try and examine this. Wi

You receive the mantra from a spiritual master who is in disciplic succession, who has a spiritual master, who has a spiritual master, etc. And from that process, he (Lord Caitanya) says that anyone can become a brāhmaṇa and become purified. And I already quoted earlier Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu's acceptance of this principle. He said, "dīkṣā-kāle bhakta kare ātma-samarpaṇa"—when you surrender to the process, when you surrender to Kṛṣṇa through accepting dīkṣā, then he says, "sei-kāle kṛṣṇa tāre kare ātma-sama (Cc Antya 4.192)." You no longer have a material body. You don't have a Siddha Deha, which is the perfected spiritual body you have in the spiritual world. But you have what's called the sādhaka deha, or practitioner's body. Because when you surrender in initiation, you're saying, "Kṛṣṇa, I'm just going to use all my senses for you in your service." And therefore, they're no longer material by the principle of: brahmārpaṇaṁ brahma havir brahmāgnau brahmaṇā hutam brahmaiva tena gantavyaṁ brahma-karma

Balarāma, Gopāl Prabhu, I came to your house in that little enclave called SLO, San Luis Obispo. It's a little isolated place. You have to airlift in all supplies. If you fly there, you have to drop in by parachute. It's a little place surrounded by reality. And we came to your house and saw that because of your sincerity, you had facilitated hundreds of young people, non-traditional, as Devavrata said, no previous connection with anything that has to do with Hare Kṛṣṇa. But I've never seen any dancing or chanting in kīrtan like the one that took place in your house. I kept looking up to see if the roof was still on. If it hadn't been a slab floor, it would have broken through, and that's a harbinger for your devotional service that you started in such an environment and facilitated it. Therefore, I pray to Śrīla Prabhupāda, to your spiritual master, and to Devavrata Prabhu and his team, and all the previous ācāryas, that may your sojourn in this life be marked by enthusiasm, full engagement in devotional se

In this Age of Kali, hari-kīrtana is very, very important. The importance of chanting the holy name of the Lord is stated in the following verses from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (12.3.51-52): kaler doṣa-nidhe rājann asti hy eko mahān guṇaḥ kīrtanād eva kṛṣṇasya  mukta-saṅgaḥ paraṁ vrajet kṛte yad dhyāyato viṣṇuṁ tretāyāṁ yajato makhaiḥ dvāpare paricaryāyāṁ kalau tad dhari-kīrtanāt “The most important factor in this Age of Kali, which is an ocean of faults, is that one can be free from all contamination and become eligible to enter the kingdom of God simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. The self-realization that was achieved in the Satya millennium by meditation, in the Tretā millennium by the performance of different sacrifices, and in the Dvāpara millennium by worship of Lord Kṛṣṇa can be achieved in the Age of Kali simply by chanting the holy names, Hare Kṛṣṇa.” (Cc Madhya 6.242) ------------------------------------------------------------ To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fa

(1) jaya rādhā-mādhava kuñja-bihārī gopī-jana-vallabha giri-vara-dhārī (2) yaśodā-nandana braja-jana-rañjana yāmuna-tīra-vana-cārī TRANSLATION 1) Krsna is the lover of Radha. He displays many amorous pastimes in the groves of Vrndavana, He is the lover of the cowherd maidens of Vraja, and the holder of the great hill named Govardhana. 2) He is the beloved son of mother Yasoda, the delighter of the inhabitants of Vraja, and He wanders in the forests along the banks of the River Yamuna! Remarks: Srila Prabhupada was very fond of this sort and sang it just before his lectures. In Allahabad and Gorakhpur, Srila Prabhupada fell into a trance after singing the first two lines, and after some time he came back into external consciousness and said, "Now just chant Hare Krsna." Srila Prabhupada said that this song is "a picture of Vrndavana. Everything is there--Srimati Radharani, Vrndavana, Govardhana, Yasoda, and all the cowherd boys." To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit www.fanthe

"How could this happen to me? I'm so powerful. I have everything." This is one of the inevitable, startling moments in the life of every soul in this world who identifies with the body and thinks, "I've got it made. I went to the best school," or not, whatever it may be. "Everything's lined up." And then the crocodile comes. And then there's this reckoning point in Gajendra's struggle with the crocodile, which I've mentioned many times: that he realizes, "I can't win and I'm helpless." Then he prays. There is a way in which the Bhāgavatam shows us: if you feel delight when you walk and the underbrush crackles under your feet, if you feel leisurely happy, the happy of the leisure you have gotten by your material advancement, watch out! Because Padam Padaṁ yad vipadam na teṣām... When we hear that story, where else are you going to hear it? Well, of course, you hear it every day—people coming into mishaps. But there's a sense of, "Well, at least it wasn't me." And, of course, people have empathy. They feel so

Every mantra is a medicinal dose. It has to go in the ear. It's auṣadhi. Hear, then it goes into your heart. So, you get 108 individual medicinal doses per round. So, make sure you get all 108 here (ear) and then into here (heart). Don't think of it as one round. Think of it as 108 individual medicinal doses, and each one you've got to put the dose here (points to the ear). So, make sure it goes here (ear); then it'll go here (heart), and it's perfect. It's pūrṇa means there's nothing perfect in this world, except for the Holy Name. So, as soon as you hear the perfection in the name, then you'll start drinking the whole bottle as fast as you can. But now, get every individual dose in, inside. ------------------------------------------------------------ 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://iskconsv.com/book-store/ https://ww

So as the cloud is collection of water from the sea—cloud means evaporation of water from the sea—similarly, guṇārṇavasya, there is an ocean of mercy of Kṛṣṇa, or God. If one is able to collect water, or the dust, from the merciful ocean of Kṛṣṇa, and if we can pour over it the saṁsāra-dāvānala, then it is possible to extinguish this fire. In other ways, just like the forest fire cannot be extinguished without the water from the clouds, similarly, this saṁsāra, this dāvānala, the blazing fire of all material existence, problems after problems, they cannot be extinguished unless there is pouring of incessant merciful rain from Kṛṣṇa, and one who bestows, one who distributes this rain, he is called the guru. Therefore Viśvanātha Cakravartī says, "I offer my respectful obeisances to such guru, spiritual master, who is able to distribute the merciful rain of Kṛṣṇa to extinguish this blazing fire of material existence." So this is the meaning of this verse, saṁsāra-dāvānala-līḍha-loka- trāṇāya kāruṇya-ghanāghanat

(1) je ānilo prema-dhana koruṇā pracur heno prabhu kothā gelā ācārya-ṭhākur (2) kāhā mora swarūp rūpa kāhā sanātan kāhā dāsa raghunātha patita-pāvan (3) kāhā mora bhaṭṭa-juga kāhā kavirāj eka-kāle kothā gelā gorā naṭa-rāj (4) pāṣāṇe kuṭibo māthā anale paśibo gaurāńga guṇera nidhi kothā gele pābo (5) se-saba sańgīra sańge je koilo bilās se-sańga nā pāiyā kānde narottama dās TRANSLATION 1) He, who brought the treasure of divine love and who was filled with compassion and mercy--where has such a personality as Advaita Acarya gone? 2) Where are my Svarupa Damodara and Rupa Gosvami? Where is Sanatana? Where is Raghunatha Dasa, the savior of the fallen? 3) Where are my Raghunatha Bhatta and Gopala Bhatta, and where is Krsnadasa Kaviraja? Where did Lord Gauranga, the great dancer, suddenly go? 4) I will smash my head against the rock and enter into the fire. Where will I find Lord Gauranga, the reservoir of all wonderful qualities? 5) Being unable to obtain the association of Lord Gauranga accompa

Meanwhile, he (Srila Bhaktisiddhanta) had given attention to this printing process, with which he printed pamphlets, newsletters and books. He advocated for a mansion of books. He advocated for millions of pamphlets and articles and newsletters to go out. In fact, he had several newsletters that would go out on a regular basis, daily. He had been questioned once by a reporter who was amazed that he could print a newsletter every day. "Have any of you ever done a newsletter?" "Come on, somebody say yes." "Did you do it daily?" I did one for maybe fourteen years, and I did it twice a week, and Śraddhā Devī helped me, and she can attest to the fact that a lot of times I'd sleep some days because I was trying to finish the newsletter and get it sent to her before the deadline. But he did several newsletters that were going out every day. And the reporter, being incredulous at this, said, "How do you have so much news?" And Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākur said, "Well, newspapers in the mundane world come

My only wish is to have my consciousness purified by the words emanating from his lotus mouth. Attachment to his lotus feet is the perfection that fulfills all desires. (Translation, Sri Guru Vandana Verse 2) ------------------------------------------------------------ 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://iskconsv.com/book-store/ https://www.bbtacademic.com/books/ 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 ------------------------------------------------------------ #spiritualawakening #soul #spirituale