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“Because People Must Be First of All Gentle”
Srila Prabhupada Lecture on Srimad Bhagavatam 1.3.13, September 18, 1972, Los Angeles Prabhupāda: Hare Kṛṣṇa. (sings of Jaya Rādhā-Mādhava) (prema-dhvani) Thank you very much. Devotees: All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda. (obeisances) Prabhupāda: Recite. Pradyumna: Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto One, Chapter 3, text 13. (leads chanting of verse) (Prabhupāda and devotees repeat) aṣṭame merudevyāṁ tu nābher jāta urukramaḥ darśayan vartma dhīrāṇāṁ sarvāśrama-namaskṛtam (SB 1.3.13) Prabhupāda: Ladies. (ladies chant) That’s all. Now, word meaning. Pradyumna: aṣṭame—the eighth of the incarnations; merudevyām tu—in the womb of Merudevī, the wife; nābheḥ—of King Nābhi; jātaḥ—took birth; urukramaḥ—the all-powerful Lord; darśayan—by showing; vartma—the way; dhīrāṇām—of the…
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Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s Mahaprakasa
Sri Chaitanya Bhagavat, Madhya Kanda, Chapter 9-10, English translation by Bhumipati dasa, Commentary by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada Chapter 9 – The Lord’s Twenty-One Hour Ecstasy and Descriptions of Sridhara and Other Devotees’ Characteristics This chapter describes Sri Gaurasundara’s sata-prahariya-mahaprakasa, or twenty-one-hour divine manifestation, His sitting on the throne of Lord Visnu, the performance of His abhiseka by the devotees, the offering of prayers and the worship of Mahaprabhu with sixteen ingredients according to the rules and regulations prescribed with the ten syllable Gopala-mantra, the Lord’s eating foodstuffs offered by the devotees, Mahaprabhu’s narration of the previous histories of devotees headed by Srivasa, the devotee’s performance of evening arati, topics…
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Vaiṣṇava Nindā (Offenses to Devotees)
by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura (translated by Swami B.V. Giri and Sanātana Dāsa) Of all the various offences a jīva can commit, no offence is as severe than offending a Vaiṣṇava. Thus it is crucial to deliberate upon the meaning of vaiṣṇava-nindā according to the śāstras. It is said in Skanda Purāṇa: nindā kurvanti ye mūḍhā vaiṣṇavānāṁ mahātmanām patanti pitṛbhiḥ sārdhaṁ mahā-raurava-saṁjñite hanti nindati vai dveṣṭi vaiṣṇavān nābhinandati krudhyate yāti no harṣaṁ darśane patanāni ṣaṭ “Those fools that blaspheme those great souls who are devoted to Viṣṇu fall down into the hell known as Mahā-raurava, along with their descendants. There are six types of behaviour that result in such…
