Weekly Sanga

Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta Part 1 Chapter 6 Text 42 śrī-parīkṣid uvāca tac chrutvā duṣṭa-kaṁsasya jananī dhṛṣṭa-ceṣṭitā jarā-hata-vicārā sā sa-śiraḥ-kampam abravīt TRANSLATION Śrī Parīkṣit said: Upon hearing this, the mother of the wicked Kaṁsa spoke out, her head shaking, her manner bold, her judgment spoiled by old age.

Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta Part 1 Chapter 6 Texts 36-38 mama pratyakṣam evedaṁ yadā kṛṣṇo vraje ’vrajat tato hi pūtanādibhyaḥ keśy-antebhyo muhur muhuḥ daityebhyo varuṇendrādi- devebhyo ’jagarāditaḥ tathā cirantana-svīya- śakaṭārjuna-bhaṅgataḥ ko vā nopadravas tatra jāto vraja-vināśakaḥ tatratyās tu janāḥ kiñcit te ’nusandadhate na tat TRANSLATION My own experience is this: When Kṛṣṇa lived in Vraja, so many calamities threatened to destroy it. Vraja was disturbed by demons, from Pūtanā to Keśī, by demigods like Varuṇa and Indra, by creatures like the python, and by the falling of familiar things at Kṛṣṇa’s house like the cart and the arjuna trees. But to these dangers the residents paid no regard.

Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta Part 1 Chapter 6 Text 33 athāgataṁ guru-gṛhāt tvat-prabhuṁ prati kiñcana saṅkṣepeṇaiva tad-vṛttaṁ duḥkhād akathayaṁ ku-dhīḥ TRANSLATION But I am not very intelligent. After your Lord returned from the house of His spiritual master, my sadness drove me to tell Him briefly how the Vraja-vāsīs were faring.

Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta Part 1 Chapter 6 Texts 31-32 ahaṁ śrī-vasudevena samānītā tato yadā yaśodāyā mahārtāyās tadānīntana-rodanaiḥ grāvo ’pi rodity aśaner apy antar dalati dhruvam jīvan-mṛtānām anyāsāṁ vārtāṁ ko ’pi mukhaṁ nayet TRANSLATION When Śrī Vasudeva brought me back from Gokula, the cries of the greatly distraught Yaśodā made even stones shed tears and lightning bolts shatter. And who can let the mouth speak about the other women of Vraja, who after Kṛṣṇa left became like living corpses?

Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta Part 1 Chapter 6 Text 28 śrī-parīkṣid uvāca tad-vākya-tattvaṁ vijñāya rohiṇī sāsram abravīt cira-gokula-vāsena tatratya-jana-sammatā TRANSLATION Śrī Parīkṣit said: Because Rohiṇī had long lived in Gokula, its residents held her in high regard. She knew the inner meaning of Uddhava’s words. So with tears in her eyes, she decided to speak.

Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta Part 1 Chapter 6 Text 25 tata eva hi kṛṣṇasya tat-prasādasya cādbhutā tat-premṇo ’pi mayā jñātā mādhurī tadvatāṁ tathā TRANSLATION Since then I have understood the amazing sweetness of Kṛṣṇa’s mercy, of love for Him, and of those who possess that love.

In today’s sanga, Śrīla Dhanurdhara Swami shares his realizations from his recent travels and studies.

Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta Part 1 Chapter 6 Texts 19-21 śrī-parīkṣid uvāca uddhavo ’tyanta-sambhrānto drutam utthāya tat-padau nidhāyāṅke samāliṅgya tasyābhipretya hṛd-gatam hṛt-prāpta-bhagavat-tat-tat- prasāda-bhara-bhāg-janaḥ tadīya-prema-sampatti- vibhava-smṛti-yantritaḥ rodanair vivaśo dīno yatnād dhairyaṁ śrito munim avadhāpyāha mātsaryāt sāttvikāt pramudaṁ gataḥ TRANSLATION Śrī Parīkṣit said: Impelled by great respect for Nārada, Uddhava suddenly stood up, held Nārada’s feet, and embraced them. Aware of what Nārada was thinking, Uddhava remembered many devotees who had received the Lord’s special favor. As Uddhava meditated on those devotees, their love for the Lord, and the wealth of their loving ecstasies, he felt distress, thinking himself fallen, and cried helplessly. Only with some effort was he able to regain his composure. Then he became joyful and spoke to the sage, moved by the sāttvika emotion of jealousy.

Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta Part 1 Chapter 6 Text 10 utthāya yatnād ānīya svāsthyaṁ nītvā kṣaṇena tam premāśru-klinna-vadanaṁ prakṣālyāhuḥ śanair laghu TRANSLATION Standing up, they brought him carefully to where they had been sitting. They took a moment to restore him to a condition closer to normal and wiped dry his face, wet with tears of love. Then they spoke to him, simply and gently.

Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta Part 1 Chapter 6 Text 4 bhūmau kvāpi skhalati patati kvāpi tiṣṭhaty aceṣṭaḥ kvāpy utkampaṁ bhajati luṭhati kvāpi rodity athārtaḥ kvāpy ākrośan plutibhir ayate gāyati kvāpi nṛtyan sarvaṁ kvāpi śrayati yugapat prema-sampad-vikāram TRANSLATION He sometimes tripped and fell to the ground and sometimes stood motionless. Sometimes his body trembled, or he rolled on the ground, or he wept in great distress. He sometimes shouted and jumped about, sometimes sang and danced. And sometimes all the transformations of priceless love of God converged in him at once.

Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta Part 1 Chapter 6 Text 5 he man-mātar idānīṁ tvaṁ sāvadhāna-tarā bhava sthiratāṁ prāpayantī māṁ sa-dhairyaṁ śṛṇv idaṁ svayam TRANSLATION My dear mother, please now be fully attentive. Listen soberly with steady concentration to what I am about to say.

In today’s sanga, Śrīla Dhanurdhara Swami shares the story of his disciple Krishna-mayi Devi Dasi on the 25th anniversary of her passing.

In today’s sanga, Śrīla Dhanurdhara Swami gives a talk during his bhakti immersion retreat at Shyam Ashram in Cali, Colombia.

In today’s sanga, Śrīla Dhanurdhara Swami gives a talk during his bhakti immersion retreat at Shyam Ashram in Cali, Colombia.

Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta Part 1 Chapter 6 Texts 1-3 śrī-parīkṣid uvāca tac chrutvārye mahā-prema- rasāveśena yantritaḥ mahā-viṣṇu-priyo vīṇā- hasto ’sau vismṛtākhilaḥ sadā-dvāravatī-vāsā- bhyastāntaḥ-pura-vartmanā prabhu-prāsāda-deśāntaḥ- praveśāścarya-vāhinā pūrvābhyāsād ivābhyāsaṁ prāsādasya gato muniḥ bhūtāviṣṭo mahonmāda- gṛhītaś ca yathetaraḥ TRANSLATION Śrī Parīkṣit said: Noble mother, after hearing Ugrasena’s advice, Nārada, the dear devotee of Lord Mahā-viṣṇu, became absorbed in the taste of exalted love of God, which seized him in its grip. Forgetting everything else, he started off, vīṇā in hand. Having spent much time before in Dvārakā, Nārada automatically took the familiar roads to the center of the city, amazing roads that led to the neighborhood of the Lord’s palaces, and came to a palace of Kṛṣṇa’s that he knew how to reach from earlier visits. Under the spell of intense transcendental agitation, Nārada seemed like an ordinary person haunted by a ghost.

Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta Part 1 Chapter 5 Text 129 yathāhaṁ prārthya tat-saṅga- sthitiṁ nāpnomi karhicit tan-mahā-lābhato hīno ’satyayā rājya-rakṣayā TRANSLATION In contrast, despite my begging to stay in Kṛṣṇa’s company, I never obtain that blessing. I am deprived of that achievement because of my degraded occupation of protecting the kingdom.

Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta Part 1 Chapter 5 Text 120 yas tiṣṭhan bhojana-krīḍā- kautukāvasare hareḥ mahā-prasādam ucchiṣṭaṁ labhate nityam ekalaḥ TRANSLATION Uddhava stays alone with Kṛṣṇa when the Lord playfully enjoys His meals. So he is the only person who can always obtain the Lord’s mahā-prasāda remnants.

Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta Part 1 Chapter 5 Text 116 kintv asmāsūddhavaḥ śrīmān paramānugrahāspadam yādavendrasya yo mantrī śiṣyo bhṛtyaḥ priyo mahān TRANSLATION But among us, blessed Uddhava has received Kṛṣṇa’s greatest mercy. That exalted soul is Lord Yādavendra’s adviser, His disciple, His servant, and His extremely dear friend.

Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta Part 1 Chapter 5 Text 89 tad yāhi tasya parama-priya-varga-mukhyān śrī-yādavān nirupama-pramadābdhi-magnān teṣāṁ mahattvam atulaṁ bhagavaṁs tvam eva jānāsi tad vayam aho kim u varṇayema TRANSLATION Therefore, go see the divine Yādavas, the Lord’s most beloved associates, who live immersed in a vast, unequaled ocean of joy. My lord Nārada, you know very well how great they are. What can I tell you about their glories?

Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta Part 1 Chapter 5 Text 83 śrī-pṛthovāca anāthāyāḥ sa-putrāyā mamāpad-gaṇato ’sakṛt tvarayā mocanāt samyag devakī-mātṛto ’pi yaḥ kṛpā-viśeṣaḥ kṛṣṇasya svasyām anumito mayā TRANSLATION Śrī Pṛthā [Kuntī] said: I had no husband to protect me, but Kṛṣṇa always interceded just in time to save me and my sons from calamity. From this I understood that Kṛṣṇa’s mercy on me was special, greater even than His mercy on His mother, Devakī.