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Aja Ekadasi Samvada

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Acharya Vani

Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur

Religion: One or Many?

Vaiṣṇavism is the only religion in this world. The other religions that have been preached or will going to be preached in future either have their foundation in Vaiṣṇavism or the distorted form of Vaiṣṇavism. One should adore the foundation of Vaiṣṇavism, and on the other hand, when the religious form is distorted, one should explain the true devotional ideals without having any malice towards the distorted one One should not envy any other path of religion. When the auspicious day arrives in the life of  a person, he will spontaneously become a Vaiṣṇava.

Is Worship of Viṣṇu pure devotional practice?

The worship of Viṣṇu, a part of Pancopāsona( five forms of worship), includes initiation and prayer. These rituals are related to Viṣṇu, sometimes they are also related to Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. This however is not the pure form of Vaiṣṇavism. By segregating this alloyed Vaiṣṇava practice( Viddha Vaiṣṇava Dharma), the pure form emerges out. This is real Vaiṣṇavism. Due to the defects of the age of Kali, some are unable to understand the true form of Vaiṣṇavism. They consider alloyed-form of Vaiṣṇavism (ViddhaVaiṣṇavism) as the real form.

Is Vaiṣṇavism hereditary?

There is existence of Varṇa-dharma (class division) or Jāti-dharma (social and occupational division) for maintenance of the worldly affairs and has no influence of the highest religion. The highest occupation or religion (Vaiṣṇavism) is always individual-centric. The addressing of a  Vaiṣṇava as a clan is misleading. A person from a Vaiṣṇava family will not necessarily be a Vaiṣṇava. We see many wicked persons taking birth in  Vaiṣṇava families making acts like demons, on the other hand, many great personalities born in the lowest classes or Muslim families become a Vaiṣṇava by practising pure devotion. Many non-Vaiṣṇavas are observed in the family of a Vaiṣṇava Ācārya. There is birth of a Vaiṣṇava individual often in a family that is completely irreligious. Thus showing respect to any one by using terms like ‘Vaiṣṇava descendant’ or ‘Vaiṣṇavācārya family’ does not increase the glories of Vaiṣṇavism, rather increases the audacity of the non-Vaiṣṇavas. The root cause for this is selfishness and incapability. We cannot adopt simple devotion for Lord Śrī Gaur Hari even by taking birth in the lineage of Caste- Gosvāmīs. We pretend in front of a Vaiṣṇava to be true in nature but continue to remain indulged in the worldly gratifications. This Kali Yuga is the main culprit behind our apparent problems and they always deceive us. All Mantrācārya Gosvāmīs should try to build their own character. They should not show any lust for other’s wife, other’s wealth and other’s property. A true Vaiṣṇava naturally never gets himself  involved in such wrong performances. The fake people dissemble as  Mantrācāryas and perform such sinful acts.

Is the name of Kṛṣṇa a commodity for the worldly people?

Earning money by selling the divine name of Lord Śrī Hari is a wrongful deed and against devotional virtues. There is hardly any possibility of attaining  divine love by both the chanter and the listener, instead of that  it leads for one to gather sins. Money is not the value for chanting the divine name of Hari. One who has faith is worthy of performing this divine chanting. So chanting the name of Supreme Divinity and listening to it should be accomplished with profound faith.

Who are the ideal preachers?

Those who can understand what is pure devotion and by gaining the knowledge can serve the divine mellow of the Holy Name without any offence are ideal for preaching. It is necessary for the preachers to know the offences to the holy name. During preaching one should be made conscious about those offences by the preacher otherwise the preachers themselves will become the offenders in chanting of the divine name.

What is the actual manner of giving honour?

Vaiṣṇ̣avas should be given honour. If a Vaiṣṇava descendant is pure Vaiṣṇava, then he should be honoured according to the extent of his bhakti (devotional service) . If a descendant of Vaiṣṇava family is pragmatic in nature then he should be considered as a pragmatic person. There should be no respect or consideration for him as a Vaiṣṇava. One should honour a person as a Vaiṣṇava if he is a real Vaiṣṇava. The person who is not a Vaiṣṇava should be honoured as normal human being.  The right to chant the Holy Name of Lord Śrī Hari never develops without honouring others.

Who are the Servants of the Age of Kali?

Some people pretend to be devotional and earn money. They profess that congregational divine chanting is an act of welfare. They try to control plague, pandemics and sins by performing congregational chanting in towns and cities. The karmis ( fruitive  workers) have devised a deceitful approach of ‘Kṛṣṇārpaṇamastu’ (a hypocrisy in the name of surrendering fruits of activities to Lord Krsna) for the sake of earning money. The atheists try to prove themselves religious by establishing the philosophy of ‘Śunya’ (zero) or ‘Brahman’ almost similar to voidism and yet continue to perform deceitful acts every day. They argue that the apparent practice of good things is also good in nature. Through this instruction, they are eventually increasing the number of pseudo-Vaiṣṇavas in this world and are serving the Kali Yuga. (787 words, Source: Nadīyā Prakāśa, Vol.26, pp.3-4).

What is the actual manner of giving honour?

Vaiṣṇ̣avas should be given honour. If a Vaiṣṇava descendant is pure Vaiṣṇava, then he should be honoured according to the extent of his bhakti (devotional service) . If a descendant of Vaiṣṇava family is pragmatic in nature then he should be considered as a pragmatic person. There should be no respect or consideration for him as a Vaiṣṇava. One should honour a person as a Vaiṣṇava if he is a real Vaiṣṇava. The person who is not a Vaiṣṇava should be honoured as normal human being.  The right to chant the Holy Name of Lord Śrī Hari never develops without honouring others.

Who are the Servants of the Age of Kali?

Some people pretend to be devotional and earn money. They profess that congregational divine chanting is an act of welfare. They try to control plague, pandemics and sins by performing congregational chanting in towns and cities. The karmis ( fruitive  workers) have devised a deceitful approach of ‘Kṛṣṇārpaṇamastu’ (a hypocrisy in the name of surrendering fruits of activities to Lord Krsna) for the sake of earning money. The atheists try to prove themselves religious by establishing the philosophy of ‘Śunya’ (zero) or ‘Brahman’ almost similar to voidism and yet continue to perform deceitful acts every day. They argue that the apparent practice of good things is also good in nature. Through this instruction, they are eventually increasing the number of pseudo-Vaiṣṇavas in this world and are serving the Kali Yuga. (787 words, Source: Nadīyā Prakāśa, Vol.26, pp.3-4).

Words of Wisdom

“Back to God and back to Home is the message of SreeGaudiya Math.”

“To arrest the current perverted tide of this averse world is the seemingly unpleasant duty of SreeGaudiya Math.”

Nadiya Prakasa

Issue –  25th Phalguna,1335 Saturday

From the annals of "The Daily Nadia Prakash"

Activities of Kavindra Rabīndranātha

The National Education Council of Canada has invited Rabīndranātha Tagore to Vancouver. There will be an assembly of educationists from  countries all over the world. According to present arrangements, the poet will travel in the ship of P & O Company from Bombay. After crossing the ports of Colombo, Pinang, China, he will reach Japan in the third week of March. From there he will set out for Vancouver to attend the International Educational Conference. Then he wishes to visit the American Universities. If his health goes well, he will make a trip to Europe while returning back to India. (105 words/Source:Nadīyā Prakāśa/Vol.26, p12.,20thPhālguna, 1335, Monday)

New Pilot

Mr R. N. Chawla has recently returned back to India after completing his training as an airline pilot. He is now residing at Montgomery district of Punjab. Mr. Chawla has done this training at his own cost and has received the certificate of his training from Royal Aero Club of London. He has also received a certificate from the Airplane Department of Great Britain.

He has informed a newspaper representative that the flight to India is very safe and more comfortable than any  other countries. According to him, the weather of India seems far better as well as reliable. In England often a pilot sets out in his airplane when the weather is pleasant but as soon as he rises high, the cloud engulfs the airplane. The weather changes continuously in England. Mr. Chawla will soon travel to Delhi to accept his duty as a pilot. (151words ,Nadīyā Prakāśa,Vol.26,p.33., 25th Phālguna,1335, Saturday)

News from Bhaktivedanta Research Center

The Bhaktivedanta Research Center is a premium research center, library and academic institute in India dedicated to preserve, research and disseminate the rich history, philosophy and cultural heritage of India as well as to create awareness and foster cooperation on Indian studies internationally. It has its branches in Kolkata, Mumbai, Pune, Vrindavan and Puri.

History of BRC

BRC was started on 30 June 2009 by HG Hari Sauri Prabhu and HG Pranava Prabhu.

Collect - Shastra Sangrahan

Manuscript Mission

The BRC Manuscript Mission Team is tirelessly, often under challenging conditions,continuing its mission to accumulate rare scriptures and books. BRC representatives painstakingly travel all over eastern India, Vrindavan and other areas central to Vaishnava practice to digitise and preserve rare Vaishnava manuscripts. We are very excited to house these findings in our well maintained and organized library. The Manuscript Mission Team at the BRC has carefully preserved the rare and exquisite manuscript which is said to contain annotations by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu by digitising it and engraving it on zinc plates.Till date over 1250 manuscripts have been digitised and more than 70 manuscripts are preserved in the BRC library.

Preserve - ‘Shastra Sanrakshan’

Library & Museum

The Bhaktivedanta Research Center houses a library with a precious collection of over 17000 rare books, 4000 journals, 70 manuscripts, and various letters and memoirs, encompassing history, philosophy and culture of Medieval and Early Modern Spirituality of Gaudiya Vaishnavism, centrally located at Kolkata. One gets a real sense of history at the BRC, with its ancient manuscripts, both palm leaf and printed works, and handwritten documents by stalwarts of the tradition.Some of the significant displays are the first edition of Jaiva Dharma, a very old edition of Bhaktiratnakara, the original hand-written song book of Bhaktivinoda Thakur, a century old Srimad Bhagavat Gita written in Urdu and the astrological journals edited by Sri Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati himself. Apart from the aforesaid books, manuscripts like a Ramayan in Odia language and an early 19th century Sakta manuscript are also on display.

BRC is privileged to host the prestigious Sundarananda Vidyavinode Library containing the Personal Library Collection of HDG Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakura Prabhupada containing over 2300 books and over 75,000 pages of journals and newspapers.


Since its inception, BRC has been focused on digitally preserving its treasured collection and making them available to research scholars in this field. Till date more than 3000 books and 5,000 newspapers, 425 journals and 1250 manuscripts have been scanned.Additionally, scholars are provided access to over 3,000 latest editions of international publications at BRC in the digital format, covering a wide range of topics such as encyclopedias, history, philosophy, sociology and culture. This library has already now proven to be a treasure chest for scholars searching for unique documents. The Central library is open 6 days a week between 10 am – 5 pm.

Research - ‘Shastra Anusandhan’

Research Center

BRC is privileged to be working on 15+ pioneering research projects in Vaishnavism with more than 7 International Scholars, 5 National Scholars and 9 Research assistants from eminent universities.
Few of the prominent research projects are :
Vaishnava Encyclopedia Research Project, Svalikhita Jivani Research Project, 1 Ultadanga Junction Road Research Project, Bhaktivinoda Thakura Song Book Research Project, OCHS – Dialogical Chaitanya Research Project, OCHS – Vaishnava Classics Research Project – Manjusha, HDG Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakura Research Projects, Padyavali (with Yale University) Research Project, Philosophical Counseling Research Project, Bhagavata Tradition in Maharashtra Research Project, “Indian Journal of Religious Studies”

Teach - “Shastra Sikshan’

Academic Institute

As a part of our PhD program, BRC has scholars pursuing their PhD and Masters by Research program in Mumbai. BRC has conducted more than 8 courses in the past two years by eminent faculties from India and abroad. BRC has organized more than 15 conferences with leading institutions like Yale University, Mumbai University, Jadavpur University etc. BRC Mumbai is affiliated to University of Mumbai while affiliation of BRC Pune with Savitribai Phule University of Pune is in progress. In August 2019, BRC also started the “Samvad”- Academic Lecture series. As a part of this program,eminent scholars from around the world are invited to give lectures and topics related to Indian history,religion and culture. The first session was conducted by Prof Gopal Gupta, University of Evansville Indiana USA on “Vaishnavism and Academia”.

We welcome each one of you to assist us in any of our four areas of your choice:-

Collect

Become a Shastra Sangrahak
* Join our manuscript mission and get hands on experience of saving our cultural heritage
* Locate new and useful artifacts,books etc which can become a part of our collection
* Spread the word around
* Suggest new and rare items for our collection

Research

Contribute in Shastra Anusandhan


* Contribute your skills in translation,proofreading, typing etc for various projects like The Vaishnava Encyclopedia Project, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur’s Swalikhit Jivani project, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur’s Sarasvati Jayasri Project etc.
* Assist in designing various flyers,posters and material for various events.

Preserve

Become a Shastra Sanrakshak

* Assist in research on improving preservation and storage techniques to increase the longevity of our rare manuscripts and books
* Assist for the smooth running of library
* Assist in cataloging of the books
* Help BRC organise various exhibitions,sessions and workshops

Teach

Contribute in Shastra Sikshan
* Join our PhD and Masters programme
* Attend and help us organise various academic conferences

For any opportunity you can reach out to us
* info@brcindia.com
* +91 8779071763

BRC welcomes offers of donations for its collections, in digital and physical form. The knowledge and ideas in our extraordinary collection help shape the world. By supporting the Library, you have the opportunity to bring this wealth of knowledge to life and secure it for the next generation.Whether you join our Patrons’ Programme, leave a gift in your will or give a regular donation, you will be opening up a world of discovery for all.

Visit by HG Pancharatna Prabhu and HG Atitaguna Mataji

HG Pancharatna Prabhu and Atitaguna Mataji visited the Bhaktivedanta Research Center, Kolkata on 14th & 15th May 2021. The team here provided Prabhu an overview of the Shastra Seva at BRC along with a tour of the library and the newly inaugurated Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu rare artifacts exhibit. He was very kind to appreciate and encourage the seva.

Message from HG Pancharatna Prabhu

We are grateful that Prabhu adopted a rare Shastra as part of our “Adopt of Shastra program”.
“I am proud to join the family of supporters of this very important & essential initiative. Srila Prabhupada desired that teachings of Caitanya Mahaprabhu should be researched, established, preserved & taught in the academic circles. This is being made possible by BRC which is not only researching & teaching but also collecting manuscripts & other rare books. We invite everyone to join the family of BRC supporters”
We are very grateful for Prabhu and Mataji’s kind encouragement, support and blessings and eagerly look forward to collaborating with GBC SPT for future series.

BRC experts

Sourish Das (Sundar Gopal Das)

Position- Research Assistant

Sourish is currently working as an Assistant Researcher at Bhaktivedanta Research Centre at Kolkata. He completed his bachelor’s degree in Journalism in 2013 from Agrasen College under Delhi University. In 2014 he was appointed in BRC and since then he is working as an Research Assistant. He is working in some important projects like- Ultadanga Junction and Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur Diary. He regularly assists several reputed scholars in their research work.

Message from Sundar Gopal Das

“I feel blessed working here at BRC. In these seven years I met many renowned scholars, got the opportunity to work with some of them and I learned a lot from this place and still learning for which I am ever grateful to this place, to Harisauri Prabhu and to all the other members of BRC. I couldn’t have asked for a better place to work other than BRC. The constant guidance and advice helped brighten my career. Thanks to the team.I am very grateful to be a tiny part of this knowledge trove, BRC”

Our Team

Patron Council

  1. Chairman – Hrishikesh Mafatlal (Krishna Chandra Das), Mumbai, India
  2. HH Gopala Krishna Goswami
  3. HH Radhanath Swami
  4. HH Jayapataka Swami
  5. HH Devamrita Swami
  6. Braja Vilas Das, Mayapur, India
  7. Charles Power (Ramesta Das), Seattle, WA, USA
  8. Robert Grant (Ramesvara Das), Great Neck, NY, USA
  9. Srinivas Kasam (Srinivas Sharan Das), Seattle, WA, USA
  10. Dr. Ludwig Manfred Jacob (Radharadhya Das), Mainz, Germany
  11. Hiaquan Zhao (Krishna Kirtan Das), Seattle, WA, USA
  12. Simon Haas (Sundar Gopal Das), UK

Editorial Team

 
1. Dr. Abirbhab Chakraborty (Arjuna Sakha Das)
2. Dr. Surapriya Chakraborty
3. Mrs. Sarla Menon (Sitapreeti Devi Dasi)
4. Sourish Das (Sundar Gopal Das)

Co-ordinator

Shinjinee Choudhuri

Design and Marketing Team

Vikas Beniwal
Shivangi Purohit

Website Developer

Shalmalee Pandita

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