What follows is a review of one reader of Gaura Book:

Here's the info of what it contains :

Vedic Cosmography

Your Best Friend
Grhasta Manual
Cookbooks (Yummy...)
Brahmacharya Section (Can’t miss this one…many original articles. Also has 2 fantastic books.)

And many other books are there ....you read and find out what else is there. (My incentive :-)

And many articles … almost all articles are from this section. The philosophical analysis and mention of whatever pure spiritual teachings available in all the religions of the world are really a revelation and a welcome addition. They include.

Modern Science (starter)
Anthropology and History (Hmmm...very interesting. It has some real revealing facts that support the Puranic conclusion and we see a lot of lies exposed in the name of writing history)
Astronomy and Cosmography (Vedic Cosomology is a very great science alright...)
Modern Scientific theories exposed (Prabhupada was fond of bashing these speculations on evolution, universe)
Introduction to Vedic Science (Baby Feeding...Karma, Soul, etc...good sources). Also nice magazine articles.
Important Lessons for devotees (Really important as it says)
Advanced Philosophy (You should read this in real detail very carefully ... it's quite involved with so much analysis of every major faith and philosophy in the world and it is a minefield of pure devotional revelations. Now-a-days we see so much hate and other problems, and this loving approach to appreciate everything good in others is characteristic of our paramahamsa acharyas.

So anyway, getting to the book list, it has :

All Prabhupada Books (by browsing links to Vedabase, Vanipedia, etc… These books are not available in this ebook. Includes links to Bhagavad Gita, Bhagavatam, Chaitanya Charitamrita, Nectar of Devotion, Books on Reincarnation, Life comes from life etc...)
[Note : It has links to where you can download all Prabhupada's books posted by others on websites and even Internet Archive -- Sacred texts, so that is consolation for those who want to read offline]

Books directly available in this database are :

Special mention is needed as this is the Only place where you can download the full Chaitanya Bhagavatam.

Krishna Chaitanya Charita Mahakavya -- this is rare. I have yet to find this anywhere else.
Chaitanya Charita (Kavi Karnapura — rare)
Shrimad Bhagavad Gita By Acharyas (Vishvanatha Chakravarthi Thakura commentary (this HAS to be read, we haven't seen Gita in this flavour + Srila Prabhupada (only links to The BBT Vedabase)
Glories of Lord Nityananda Prabhu
Nityananda Charitamrita
Compilation of The Pastimes of Lord Nityananda

Chaitanya Bhagavata (Full 7 volumes — verses patchy, perhaps CHM botched up the diacritics, but the English is perfect. It is Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati's Commentary. For consolation, a separate book of only verses is available and it is perfectly done.)

Shrimad Bhagavatam (Links To Vedabase Given)
Chaitanya Charitamrta (Links To Vedabase)
Shri Chaitanya Chandramrita
Jaiva Dharma
Brahma Samhita
Navadvipa Dhama Mahatmya
Shikshashtaka with Commentaries

The Holy Names of Nityanaanda and Gauraanga (A LOT of info from so many scriptures. I say this changed my spiritual life totally along with the Hare Krisha maha mantra. I have sworn allegiance to them)

Maha Mantra Yoga (Hare Krishna Mahamantra MUST READ)
Hari Naam Chintamani (By the Naamacharya Himself)
Divine Name Haridasa
Shri Namaamrita
Levels of Nityananda Gauranga and Hare Krishna Chanting
Nityananda Gauranga in Vedas, Puranas, Smritis and Shrutis
Additional Important Scriptures
Songs on Nityananda Gauranga
Bhaktivinoda Vani Vaibhava (All 3 volumes — Sambandha, Abhideya, Prayojana … All his writings in one book)
Glories of Lord Balarama
Glories of Lord Krishna
Glories of Shri Radha
Chaitanya Mangala
In Search of the Ultimate Goal of Life (A very rare unpublished book of Prabhupada — very advanced)
Life of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
Gaudiya Kanthahara (Essence of the Siddhanta)
Other books also include : Tattva Muktavali (Mayavada Shata Dushani – Madhva smashes imposters who claim to be Supreme)
Madhurya Kadambini (For the science of spiritual advancement)
Prakrita Rasa Shata Dushani
Unauthorized and Deviant sects
Hari Bhakti Kalpa Latika
Brihad Bhagavatamrita (Sooo sweet….)
The Path of Dedication
Tulasi Worship
Ekadashi Glories
Krishna Bhajanamrita
Sri Gayatri Mantrartha Dipika
Vaishnava Song Books (Infinite Bhajans for the Soul. Also contains poems -- Sharanagati & Kalyana Kalpataru)
Ramayana Mahabharata (Pure Devotional translation. No devotee’s collection is complete without these 2 greatest and most well known books.)
Ananda Vrindavana Champu
Vaishnava Siddhanta Mala QnA
Six Sandarbhas (Most advanced, for the real serious. These are really advanced)
Vedanta Sutra (Govinda Bhashya — the Ultimate Commentary on Vedanta. This is the only English translation made by pure devotees and is almost fully complete, except for some few odd verses and a smalls subsection. No one has fully translated it as of yet...)

1000 Questions and Answers (Mixed bag. Some of them are not answered - deals with various topics at random but some of them have some really good realizations. Very fitting replies given too.) But there was this one set of 30-40 odd questions that was really botched up with questions and answers randomly scattered with no continuity. Hope they fix that.

Some Beautiful Realizations of devotees (I’ve seen this one before, taken from well known sources).
Beautiful and inspiring -- but if you're really serious, then read, or it might be too much to swallow.


The book is available from 2 links : http://www.be-pure.info/Vedic-Literature.html


Also the full review for the book is located here : http://nitaaiyoga.com/ebooks/#comment-2447GauraEbook.zip

Sonntag, 20. April 2008

Science and Faith

Reaction to this picture/idea

In my humble opinion and experience: faith and science don't contradict each other. Faith is needed for science to work and scientific approach is needed to establish the real standing of faith in God and His existence. Let me explain a little.

In the above picture faith and science were dealt separately. But in reality that is not the case. Faith is a prerequisite present in every action. If one carefully observes one's day to day actions, one can find out that mainly all of them (if not all) are based on some particular kind of faith. Example: One gets in to a bus, one has faith, that it will drive one safely to a desired destination. Or: One cooks a meal, one has faith, that it will come out tastefully.

This faith is based mainly upon one's experience, or experience of others. Sometimes even that not. But faith is always needed and present.

Faith (although probably unknown or denied by the majority of scientists) is an integral part of the scientific approach. And on the other side scientific approach is a support for the real and tangible holding of one's faith (be it faith in anything). Following picture illustrates this idea:

In the scientific world one gets a particular idea, which was triggered by one's or others' experience, feeling, observation, intuition... Then follows FAITH, that this idea might be true and FAITH that by following some particular process, experiment, one can come to some tangible results.

In the realm of a particular kind of religious faith the same holds true, or should hold true. One gets an idea, due to one's or others' experience, observation, feeling... For example an idea: Behind each mechanism there is some responsible entity. So behind this universal mechanism there has to be also some universal responsible entity, which can be termed as God. Then follows FAITH. Faith that it holds true and that, following some particular process (in this case some religious system), and performing a specific experiment one comes to some tangible results, speak one will realize the existence of the eternal God.

Now comes the most crucial point: The object of the experiment in any religion is ONESELF. One has to modify oneself, and with the new self one is then able to experience God. As usual, any experiment needs some specific setups, some specific time to be performed, some specific conditions, under which to perform it, etc. In one word, some specific PRICE has to be paid. One has to put the object of experiment under a specific modification, in religious terms: PURIFICATION (of oneself). In terms of religious practices that can mean: restraining from sinful activities, adjusting one's daily activities, performing some austerities, regular meditation, modifing one's diet, etc. Hence, as our own life is very dear to us, the price which has to be paid to for realizing God is much higher in comparism with the usual scientific experiments. Few are ready to pay this price and thus God's realization remains a mystery for the majority of common men.

So the quality and trusthworthiness of some particular religious system can be judged by the following criterium: it has to provide a detailed scientific approach of realizing God. This means clear specification/description of the whole process, from beginning to the end, which includes: intended goal, conditions to be respected, prerequisites to be assured, actions to be performed, intermediate steps together with intermediate results (in order to check if the process is working as described), symptoms of getting negative results, symptoms of failure, etc. That why, religion doesn't remain only something imaginary and sentimental anymore and one can get the desired faith needed to start thinking of performing the religious experiment.

To conclude i again mention, science and faith (including faith in God) can't and shouldn't be separated from each other and should be dealt with and studied conjointly. This approach marks a powerful, trusthworthy and dynamic way of understanding life and the nature of the Absolute Truth.

Matus

Freitag, 18. April 2008

Anything good should be accepted

It is quite striking and astonishing how universal many instructions of Shrila Prabhupada appear to be. "Anything good should be accepted." So simple and universal! Many good and valuable advice was left for us, which aim to foster and enhance our spiritual practice of Bhakti Yoga. Regular chanting of the Holy Names of Nityananda Gauranga is one such good advice. "Anything good should be accepted." So why not accept this powerful medicine for the Age of Kali, the regular chanting of the Holy Names of Nityananda and Gauranga?

Mittwoch, 16. April 2008

Shrila Prabhupada on Nityananda Gauranga Naam



Video presentation of the most important quotes of Shrila Prabhupada regarding the chanting of the Holy Names of Nityananda and Gauranga. Commented by H.H. Shrila B.R. Sadhu Swami Gaurangapada.

Samstag, 12. April 2008

News of great happiness

Divine relationships and hierarchy within Pancha-Tattva

In Shrila Prabhupada's Teachings of Lord Chaitanya, there is one very important chapter called "Lord Chaitanya, the Original Personality of Godhead", which establishes the Supreme Divine Position of Lord Gauranga and explains the Gaura- as well as Pancha-Tattva. One paragraph i would like to share with You here:

"By analytically studying the five diverse manifestations of the Supreme Lord, we can come to know that Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is the Supreme Absolute and that Lord Nityananda is an immediate expansion of the Supreme Absolute Truth. We can also come to understand that Advaita Prabhu is also in the category of the Supreme Personality of Godhead but is subordinate to Lord Caitanya and Nityananda Prabhu. The Supreme Personality of Godhead and His immediate subordinate expansions are worshipable by the other two -- namely the representation of the internal potency and the representation of the marginal potency. The representation of the internal potency, Gadadhara, represents the confidential devotee, and the representation of the marginal potency is the pure devotee. Both of these are worshipers of the other three categories, but all of them are engaged in the transcendental service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu."

Just to add here one small observation of mine:

If You look at any picpancha-tattvature of the Pancha-Tattva You can also see this hierarchy represented within: Lord Gauranga, the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the middle and top; on His right Lord Nityananda and Lord Advaita - the other two Vishnu-Tattvas, yet bellow Lord Gauranga because subordinate to Him; Lord Advaita at the very bottom of the right side, because subordinate to both Lord Gauranga as well Lord Nityananda; on Lord Gaurahari's left side are His two Shakti-Tattvas, Shri Gadadhara and Shrivasa Pandita, both below Lord Chaitanya because subordinate to Him (His Energies); Shrivasa Thakura below Shri Gadadhara Pandita, because representing pure devotee whereas Shri Gadadhara Pandita is representing a (topmost) confidential devotee (Shrimati Radharani), who is considered to be higher (highest). 

:)

Your servant,

Matus

Sonntag, 6. April 2008

The most powerful names of God

DSCN0506 Shrila Jagadananda Pandita says in Prema-vivarta:

gaura ye vishala nama sei nama gau;
anya saba nama-mahatmya sei name pau.

"The most powerful names of God are the names of the most merciful incarnation of God, who is known as Lord Gaura. The glories and power of all the other names of God are completely present in the names of Lord Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu."

Donnerstag, 3. April 2008

Govinda Ghosh

Today is the disappearance day of Shrila Govinda Ghosh here in Switzerland. It is very important to remember the glories transcendental qualities of the associates of Lords Nityananda Gauranga on such days, as They are very powerful and grant us the access into Nityananda Gauranga Naam and Lila. Shri Devakinandana dasa says also in His famous song:

brahmanda tarite shakti dhare jane jane
e veda purane guna gaya jeva shune

"I have heard their glorification (of Lord Gauranga's devotees) in the Vedas and Puranas, which proclaim that each one of His devotees has the shakti to deliver an entire universe."

The Ghosh brothers, namely Govinda, Madhava and Vasudava, were great singers and Lords Nityananda Gauranga would very much delight in dancing to the sweet and ecstatic kirtana of Govinda, Madhava and Vasudeva Ghosh. Shri Chaitanya Charitamrita 1.15.115: "Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityananda Prabhu danced to the kirtan of the three brothers, Govinda, Madhava and Vasudeva".

In Krishna-lila They are gopis: "Govinda, Madhava and Vasudeva were three gopis in Vraja, namely Kalavati, Rasollasa and Gunatunga, who used to sing the songs composed by Vishakha." (Gaura-ganoddesha-dipika 188)

Shrila Govinda Ghosh also composed 2 very beautiful nectarean songs about Lord Gauranga and the situation of Navadvipa and the sorrowful condition of the bhaktas there when Mahaprabhu left Navadvipa. The same feelings of separation which the Vrajavasis felt when Krishna left Vrindavana is being felt by the Navadvipa-vasis when Their beloved Lord Gaurahari is leaving Them. Oh Lord, when i will be able to join Them in Their crying of not seeing Lord Gauranga's face and having His sweet association?

One of the songs, which i like very much goes as follows:

hede re nadiya vasi kara mukha cao
bahu pasariya goracande phirao
to sabare ke ara karibe nija kore
ke jaciya dibe prema dekhiya katare
ki shela hiyaya haya ki shel hiyaya
parana putali nabadvipa charii jaya
ara na jaiba mora gaurangera pasha
ara na kariba mora kirtana vilasa
kandaye bhakata-gana buka vidariya
pashana govinda ghosha na jaya miliya

"O people of Nabadwip, at whom are you staring? Spread your arms to stop Gora, make him come back! Who is there now who will clasp you to his chest? Who will come and beg you to take love of Krishna? A shaft has pierced my heart! A shaft has pierced my heart! The image of my life has abandoned Nabadwip and gone. No longer will we be able to go and sit with Gauranga; no longer will we be able to enjoy kirtan the way we did. All the devotees are crying; their hearts are bursting and, like a stone, Govinda Ghosh does not go to join them."

So beautiful, isn't it? i sang and recorded that song for You. i kindly ask You to sing with me and cry in Your heart for the association of Lord Gaurahari :)

Your fallen servant,
Matus