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Archive for August, 2012

Bhakti Immersion Retreat 2012 (video)

Bhakti Immersion Retreat at Pumpkin Hollow

August 27th, 2012

During August 23-26, 2012, dozens joined Dhanurdhara Swami, Raghunatha, and Visvambhar and Vrinda Devi for a weekend of sat sanga, meditation, kirtan, and yoga at the Pumpkin Hollow Retreat Center in Craryville, New York.

The following pictures are just a glimpse of the activities that took place.

 

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Krishna-lila: How to Relish and Understand the Krishna Story

Lotus Festival: The Bewilderment of Lord Brahma

August 23rd, 2012

Lotus Festival: The Bewilderment of Lord Brahma

On August 11, 2012, Srila Dhanurdhara Swami gave a lecture entitled The Bewilderment of Lord Brahma on the final day of a three day Sri Krishna Janmastami festival at The Bhakti Center in New York. The following is a recording of that talk.

 

Lotus Festival: The Bewilderment of Lord Brahma

Sri Krishna Janmastami

August 21st, 2012

Sri Krishna Janmastami

On August 9, 2012, Srila Dhanurdhara Swami gave a lecture about Sri Krishna Janmastami, the appearance day of Krishna, as part of a three day festival at The Bhakti Center in New York. The following is a recording of that talk.

 

Sri Krishna Janmastami

Bhakti in Essence – Narada Bhakti Sutra – Sutra 3

August 16th, 2012

Narada Bhakti Sutra

Sutra 3

amṛta-svarūpā ca

This pure love for God is eternal.

All spiritual paths, or yogas, are simply a means or practice (sadhana) to achieve a transcendent objective (sadhya). Bhakti, unlike other yogas, is not just a steppingstone to a goal but also the goal itself, the sadhya. By the practice of selfless devotion we attain the fruit of pure devotion, the only difference being their respective maturity. In contrast, the practice and goal of all other paths are quite at variance. For example, the jnani strives for moksa (liberation), a state of untroubled awareness, but his practice is vairagya, arduous renunciation. And like every other path, except bhakti, its mode of practice is relinquished upon accomplishment. To highlight that bhakti unlike other paths is not just an intermediary step to achieve something else but also what the practitioner is seeking to attain in perfection, Sri Narada asserts that bhakti is eternal. In implying that bhakti is the goal or ultimate attainment, Narada is following the authority of standard texts like the Taittiriya Upanishad, where the ultimate reality is described as rasa vai saha, a flow of pure and intense devotion.

 

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