The two brothers went to the village called Mayuresvara, which was the village of Their maternal grand-father. Close to the village there was a jungle. Once, when these two brothers were about to enter that jungle, two villagers debarred Them, “Hey, don’t go to that jungle. There is a very big poisonous snake that devours everyone who goes there. No one returns. Please don’t go.” Nityananda Prabhu did not listen to them and They both entered that jungle. That big poisonous snake was staying under a tamala tree, and as soon as these two brothers entered the ju...

Lord Nityananda - The epitome of Compassion. So Lord Nityananda, he was in the sublime mood. Although he was the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he took the most humble position in order to satisfy Lord Gaurasundara. Caitanya Mahaprabhu was Patitapavana Avatara. That means He came especially to claim the most fallen and sinful of all living beings. And there is nothing that satisfies Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu more than distributing love of god to another. Therefore lord Nityananda, he would go on both banks of the Ganges and he would ap...

Chaitanya Bhagavata gives us special insight into the transcendental psychology of Nityananda Prabhu. When he heard about the fallen condition of Jagai-Madhai, his eyes lit up with not just compassion but also ambition – the ambition to glorify Lord Chaitanya in a way that would be remembered for all time to come: “These two people are so contaminated that on seeing them pious people feel impelled to bathe in the Ganges to purify themselves. If these sinners can become so pure that people on seein...

In the Bhagavad-gita Krishna makes it clear that we have free will. We are not incapable, helpless pawns. After instructing Arjuna He says, “Deliberate on this fully and then do what you wish to do.” (Gita 18.63) As adults, each one of us has some ability to decide how we want to act; we have some self-mastery and personal power, and therefore we are responsible for our actions. Yet, at the same time and perhaps surprisingly, the scriptural view is that those of us who are not strong devotees of Krishna are victims – victims of Krishna’s illusory energy. We are adversely affect...

The ‘Sumadhva Vijaya’ is an exemplary biographical work by Sri Narayana Panditacharya belonging to the Madhva sampradaya. It presents the glorious life and teachings of Sripad Madhvacharya in the form of verses spread across 16 sargas or parts. In the 14^th sarga, that describes the manner in which Sripad Madhvacharya would perform deity worship, verse 37 speaks about how he would adorn Lord Narayana with the eight kinds of ‘bhava pushpa’ or flowers of emotions.

Material life is when we put the flickering pleasures and securities of the mind and the senses in the center of our lives, our decisions, our aspirations, our goals are according. Spiritual life or true bhakti is when we put the pleasures of God or Krishna in the center of our life— what pleases Krishna, all of our decisions, our aspirations are orchestrated accordingly.

Advaita Acarya’s father and mother disappeared when he was very young. Feeling very distressed he went on pilgrimage visiting many, many holy places. When He came back, some of His relatives requested Him to marry. Therefore, at the request of the relatives He was willing to marry. At that time one very pious orthodox brahmana was living there whose name was Nrsimha Vaduri. He had two daughters; their names were Sri and Sita. They were both very beautiful and Advaita Acarya married both of them. Thus Advaita Acarya had two wives; Sri ...