Sri Krishna Kathamrita

tava kathāmṛtaṁ tapta-jīvanam

Bindu
Fortnightly email mini-magazine from Gopal Jiu Publications

Issue No. 416 Śrī Ṣaṭ-tilā Ekādaśī 13 January 2018 Circulation 9,109

• Beyond the Kanistha Platform

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
• Who is an Actual Disciple?
Highlights

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur Prabhupada

• Worldly and Spiritual News
Srila Thakur Bhaktivinode
• Nama-tattva: Prema-sankirtana
Bṛhad-Bhāgavatāmṛta 2.3.166
• Traditional Bathing
Hari-bhakti-vilāsa (3.237 – 238) with the Dig-darśinī commentary

thirst, fear and so on gradually cease disturbing the

mind. As stated in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (1.2.114):
alabdhe vā vinaṣṭe vā bhakṣyācchādana-sādhane
aviklava-matir bhūtvā harim eva dhiyā smaret

“Even if a devotee is frustrated in his attempt to eat

properly or clothe himself properly, he should not
allow this material failure to disturb his mind; rather,
he should use his intelligence to remember his master,
Lord Krishna, and thus remain undisturbed.”

When one becomes mature in this process of

Beyond the Kanistha Platform remembering Krishna in all circumstances he is
His Divine Grace awarded the title mahā-bhāgavata.
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada There are three kinds of devotees: kaniṣṭha-adhikārī,
madhyama-adhikārī and uttama-adhikārī. Uttama-adhikārī
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur has described
means first class, most advanced; and madhyama-adhikārī
the process by which one becomes an uttama-adhikārī. If
means in the middle stage, not very advanced, not very
one is fortunate, he gradually becomes disgusted with
lower; and kaniṣṭha-adhikārī, just the neophyte, beginning.
the limited vision and activities of the kaniṣṭha-adhikārī
So for the beginners it is recommended that you see
and learns to appreciate the expanded vision of the
madhyama-adhikārī, who is able to recognize that every the deity daily or always. Beginning from the lotus feet,
living entity should become a devotee of Krishna and as you are practiced, then go up to the smiling face.
that one achieves the perfection of life by following in And hear also Śrīmad Bhāgavatam. Simply if you try
the footsteps of an uttama-adhikārī devotee of the Lord. to see and if you don’t hear, then it will not stay very
As one’s devotional service gradually intensifies and much. Therefore, we see practically in many temples,
one repeatedly bathes in dust from the lotus feet of a because there is no discussion about Krishna, simply a
pure devotee, the harassment of birth, death, hunger, deity is there, people go for some time, then gradually,
next column  
Issue Four Hundred Sixteen, Page — 2
especially those who are educated, so-called educated, poets are not always coming to the material world.
they do not feel very much interested. And it has actually They are rare. Therefore, it is very difficult to find
happened so. Many temples, they are not visited even by great poets after Jayadev Goswami and Sri Rupa
the devotees, because there must be also hearing about. Goswami. Only when some recipients of Sri Krishna’s
Two things must go on — the deity must be mercy appear in this world will we again see books like
worshiped, which is called pāñcarātra-vidhi, and Śrī Gīta-govinda and Śrī Bhāgavatāmṛta. To feel happy by
bhāgavata-vidhi is to hear about the Supreme from reading the work of modern authors and poets is like
Bhagavad-gītā, Śrīmad Bhāgavatam — Vedic literature. imagining one is relishing milk by drinking buttermilk
So the pāñcarātra-vidhi and bhāgavata-vidhi must go because there is an absence of milk.
parallel. Then even if one is a neophyte, gradually We do not find any writing sweeter than the writing
he will come to the intermediate stage between the of the mahājanas. Oh! What can be a more instructive
neophyte stage and the advanced stage. book about rasa than Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu? All
— Lecture in Bombay, 5 December 1974.
glories to Sri Rupa Goswami! All glories to Sri Sanatan
Worldly and Spiritual News Goswami! We do not find any sweet and conclusive
composition other than their compositions. O
Srila Thakur Bhaktivinode readers! Please daily relish the essence of Śrī Brahma-
Newspapers that make the readers happy by daily saṁhitā, Śrī Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta, and Śrī Bhāgavatāmṛta.
writing of new topics only write about varieties of the — Śrī Sajjana-toṣaṇī 10.5, quoted in Śrī Bhaktivinoda Vāṇī Vaibhava,
chapter 39. Compiled by and with questions from Sri Sundarananda
material world, but the topics of Lord Hari are different. Vidyavinode. Translated by Sri Bhumipati Das. Published by Sri
They never become old. The more one hears or speaks of Iswara Das and Touchstone Media. Vrindavan. 2002.
the Lord the more one relishes these topics. O readers!
If you have any attachment for the topics of Hari, then
again and again relish the descriptions written by the
mahājanas. Although this newspaper [in which this Nāma-tattva
article first appeared] is very small, nevertheless in each
edition the conclusive descriptions of the mellows of Prema-sankirtan
devotional service written by the previous mahājanas Bṛhad-Bhāgavatāmṛta 2.3.166
are published part by part. sal-lakṣaṇaṁ prema-bharasya kṛṣṇe
Since there is no question of worldly stories in this kaiścid rasa-jñair uta kathyate tat
paper, we must publish some compositions of the premṇo bhareṇaiva nijeṣṭa-nāma-
previous great learned scholars. The material world is full saṅkīrtanaṁ hi sphurati sphuṭārtyā
of nonsense talks; therefore, do not avoid relishing the According to some knowers of rasa, the real
pastimes and the science of devotional service available sign of a person full of prema is this: As he
in this small newspaper, Śrī Sajjana-toṣaṇī. There is no performs saṅkīrtana of the name he worships, the
doubt that the compositions of the previous great saintly full force of spiritual agony erupts in him by the
persons will be more covered than our own writings. weight of his own love.
Another point of consideration is that those who are Commentary: Other expert vaiṣṇavas consider
fond of reading should certainly read the devotional saṅkīrtana and prema to be altogether the same.
work of the previous saintly persons. If such readers They are mutually the cause of one another and
gradually enter into and relish these writings, they are therefore non-different.
will obtain immense pleasure. Unfortunately, we — Sanatan Goswami. Śrī Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta. Translated from
love to read our own writing or the writing of some the original Sanskrit, with a summary of the author’s Dig-
darśinī commentary, by Gopiparanadhana Das. Bhaktivedanta
new modern authors. But when we deeply absorb Book Trust. Los Angeles. 2002.
ourselves in the compositions of the mahājanas, we no
longer like the modern compositions. The point is that
we think we can compose better than the mahājanas,
but when this illusion is destroyed we no longer like
the modern compositions. Great personalities and
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Sri Krishna Kathamrita Bindu Issue Four Hundred Sixteen, Page — 3

Painting by Rosana Araujo

Krishna Devotees

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Issue Four Hundred Sixteen, Page — 4
Who is an actual disciple? serve his spiritual master; he considers his spiritual
master as good as God. A good disciple possesses firm
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur Prabhupada faith in and spontaneous love for his spiritual master.
“If I can fully surrender at the lotus feet of my A true disciple accepts the spiritual master as his most
spiritual master, in whose hands Lord Krishna has intimate well-wisher. He knows that his guru is most dear
entrusted the responsibility for my well-being, then I to Krishna and therefore an object of love. The guru is his
am an actual disciple. It is my duty to accept, without eternal master, his life and soul. A disciple knows that the
fail, whatever arrangements my spiritual master spiritual master is simultaneously the personification of
makes for me.” This is how a true disciple thinks. To devotional service and of the Supreme Lord. The spiritual
think otherwise means our downfall is inevitable. master is dearer to Krishna than even his own life. He is
Those who instead of becoming sense enjoyers non-different from Krishna because he is a manifestation
serve the Supreme Lord constantly under the spiritual of Krishna. It is not possible to attain Krishna’s service
master’s guidance are genuine disciples. Everything in without serving the spiritual master. Only those who
this world is meant to be used in the spiritual master’s serve their spiritual master are real vaiṣṇavas and disciples.
service for Krishna’s service. We will not find benefit Others are simply bewildered by false ego. Frankly
if we think anything is meant for our pleasure. If we speaking, they are filled with material desire.
— From chapter 3 of Amṛta Vāṇī, a collection of statements from
fail to see that all objects in this world are intended for Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur. Originally compiled in
service to guru and Krishna, we will certainly become Bengali by Sri Bhakti Bhagavat Mayukha Maharaja. Translated
into English by Bhumipati Das. Published by Iswara Das and
degraded. An ideal disciple realizes this fact and always Touchstone Media. Mumbai. 2004.
makes service to his guru and Krishna his life and soul.
A real disciple sees his spiritual master both
Traditional Bathing
internally and externally. Although he considers Hari-bhakti-vilāsa (3.237 – 238)
himself insignificant, a disciple’s vision is not low. With the Dig-darśinī commentary
A sincere disciple certainly possesses the good nadī-nada-taḍāgeṣu deva-khāta-jaleṣu ca
intelligence to know that he has no well-wisher in this nitya-kriyārthaṁ snāyīta giri-prasravaṇeṣu ca
kūpeṣūddhṛta-toyena snānaṁ kurvīta vā bhuvi
world other than his spiritual master. A real disciple snāyītoddhṛta-toyena athavā bhuvy asambhave
is always steady in the understanding that he should
[The Viṣṇu Purāṇa (3.11.25) says that] one should

bathe regularly in rivers, rivulets, ponds, stepwells
Sri Krishna Kathamrita Bindu of temples, or waterfalls emerging from hills. Or else
one should extract water from a well and bathe on
A free bi-monthly service provided by: the land next to the well. Or if one is unable to do that
Gopal Jiu Publications then one should bathe [at one’s home] using water
c/o Sri Krishna Balarama Mandir extracted from these sources.
National Highway No. 5, Commentary by Srila Santana Goswami: One
should bathe on the land next to the [nearby] well
IRC Village
in the condition that one is unable to go to [faraway]
Bhubaneswar, Orissa, India, 751015
rivers, rivulets etc. If one is unable to go even to the
Email: katha@gopaljiu.org nearby well, one should bathe at home using cold
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Gopal Jiu Publications is a branch of the International Soci-
using warm water. The previous authorities have said:
ety for Krishna Consciousness, Founder-Acharya: His Divine āpaḥ svabhāvato medhyāḥ kiṁ punar vahni-saṁyutāḥ
Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. tasmāt santaḥ praśaṁsanti snānam uṣṇena vāriṇā
Quotations from the books, letters, and lectures of His Divine Grace A.
Water is by its very nature purifying. What then to
C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada ©Bhaktivedanta Book Trust
International. All other materials, unless specified, © ISKCON speak of warm water? It is certainly more beneficial.
Bhubaneswar/Gopal Jiu Publications. All rights reserved. Blanket Therefore, great sages praise a warm water bath.
permission is given to redistribute Bindu in electronic or print form
provided no changes are made to the contents. — Translated by Hari Parshad Das from the Sanskrit available at
Gaudiya Grantha Mandira (www.granthamandira.net).