Who is a Vaishnava?

Once during a lunch my manager joined me & we slowly started talking about a lot of things.

He asked about my liking , hobbies.I answered i am interested in spirituality & reading Bhagavad gita & Srimad Bhagavatam.

He said "oh you are Vaishnava !"

My manager is a gujarathi , born & brought in Ahmedabad. And Gujarat is a place where

people are very religious & it has a very large number of followers in Vallabhacarya Sampradaya.

Lord Krishna is very famous diety & Janamastami is celebrated with great honour & festivity.

Even common people while greeting each other say " Jai Sri Krishna".

A Krishnas devotee is called a Vaishnava . In Gujarat the followers of Vallabhacarya are known as Vaishnavas.My manager seem to have good acquittance with many vaishnava families.

In our discussion i was explaining about Lord Krishna & Vaishnavism. But i found he had a very external & not indepth meaning of Vaishanavism or spirituality.I was avoiding any conflict there.

Out of curiosity i asked "What do you think is a Vaishnava?"

He answered with quite a good confidence "Vaishnavas are those who do Business!!!!"

In gujarat many Vaishnavas do good business & are very rich as he didnot had the

right meaning of Vaishnavas he linked it to their business ability.

He thought Vaishnavas are the best business people because he saw that in Gujarat.

Later i was reading Prabhupad pastimes & in one incident a devotee who had taken great responsibility in the movement fell down. He wrote Prabhupad a letter saying " I Quit"

Prabhupad read the letter & said one statement " How can anybody leave his Fathers business?"

Prabhupad here sees that a devotee is carrying the order of Lord Krishna or Lord Caitanya

to propagate his message & mission of preaching the holy name & sublime spiritual message.

So it is Krishnas or Lord Caitanyas preaching business when they appear in this material world

& as they are Father of all living entities it a Fathers business &

any soul who takes part in this mission or business is continuing his Fathers business.

So another definition of Vaishnava is one who continues , carries forward, takes responsibility

of Lord Krishna or Lord Caitanya (The Supreme Father) Business of Preaching.

So a vaishnava is a business man but his business is spiritual business, to preach to the lost souls of this material world & encourage them to come back home back to Godhead.

My manager has thus answered rightly " A Vaishnava is a businessman " except i pray that he gets to know what is their real business.

The Dance of Surrender

The Dance of Surrender

I always wondered why we dance with our hands raised??

I am very shy person , very reserved but at the very first mangal arati of my life at
Sri Sri Radha Kunjhabihari mandir Iskcon pune my hands raised for the first time
without reservation & i danced !
And till today i dance without reservation , an amazing thing happens which cannot be described in words ,when the hare krishna maha mantra enters your ears.
It is the spiritual experience which make many devotees dance. Mostly all devotees are
very shy & timid personalities but when it comes to Kirtan something Amazing happens
we just shed away our SHYNESS.

Krishna says in 18.66 gita that we should surrender to him in loving devotional service
& to actually demonstrate the process of Surrendering he comes as Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu & Teaches us the DANCE of SURRENDER.

like a police cop when he points his gun to you says " HAND UP !!!!! SURRENDER !!!! ELSE i shall shoot you " The hands go up



Similarly we are been taught on how to surrender but in a very loving & voluntarily way
This is the greatness of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu
Who freely gives the Spiritual taste regardless of ones Qualification !




Why one should hear about KRISHNA only ?
As i analyse we are very eager to hear about great famous personalities like film stars , politics etc
but we are not satisfied by them because they are tasteless
We are ALL looking for a person who has infinite amount of all 6 qualities namely 1) Fame 2) Beauty 3) strength 4) knowledge 5) renunciation & 6) wealth

And we are misplacing our search on temporary false personalities of this world
who have only an iota of one of the above qualities.

And Krishna is the only Person who has all 6 qualities in infinite proportions

One hears about the flimstars from magazines dedicated to films & these magazines can create amazing taste for persons in a particular film star.
Similarly we should hear about Krishna from persons & sources which are fully dedicated to KRISHNA ie the SRIMAD bhagavatam & guru.

so our dance is nothing but an expression of Surrender to Lord
& prayer that i have heard a lot about your greatness Oh Krishna ! I have thus come to take shelter of YOU.Please engage me in your service .

Lord Caintanya Mahaprabhu ,,,, our TRUE friend

Song Name: Jiv Jago Jiv Jago
Official Name: Arunodaya Kirtana Song 2
Author: Bhaktivinoda Thakura
Book Name: Gitavali
Language: Bengali

LYRICS
(1)
jīv jāgo, jīv jāgo, gauracānda bole
kota nidrā jāo māyā-piśācīra kole

(2)
bhajibo boliyā ese saḿsāra-bhitare
bhuliyā rohile tumi avidyāra bhare

(3)
tomāre loite āmi hoinu avatāra
āmi binā bandhu āra ke āche tomāra

(4)
enechi auṣadhi māyā nāśibāro lāgi'
hari-nāma mahā-mantra lao tumi māgi'

(5)
bhakativinoda prabhu-caraṇe pariyā
sei hari-nāma-mantra loilo māgiyā

TRANSLATION
1) Lord Gaurānga is calling, "Wake up, sleeping souls! Wake up, sleeping souls! How long will you sleep in the lap of the witch called Māyā?

2) You have forgotten the way of devotional service and are lost in the world of birth and death.

3) I have descended just to save you; other than Myself you have no friend in this world.

4) I have brought the medicine that will wipe out the disease of illusion from which you are suffering. Take this mahā-mantra-Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare."

5) Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Thākura says: "I fall at the Lord's feet, having taken this mahā-mantra."

Commentary :

This song explains Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu is our true friend

I came across some quotes on true friendship & below they are
“Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Just walk beside me and be my friend.” Albert Camus quotes (French Novelist, Essayist and Playwright, 1957 Nobel Prize for Literature, 1913-1960)
----Lord Caitanya is Paramatma himself & he is seated in ones heart beside the soul .

At the time of death we take new bodies & he comes with us to sits next to us in every body .So isn't he our TRUE friend.?

“A friend is a hand that is always holding yours, no matter how close or far apart you may be. A friend is someone who is always there and will always, always care. A friend is a feeling of forever in the heart.”
---Everyone ,near dear ,friends,enemies shall leave us for various reasons like miscommunication,misunderstanding,difference in opinions,fights ,ego clash or the final separation death but Caitanya mahaprabhu as paramatma shall never even after death he shall follow.Isn't he our TRUE friend?

“A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words.”

---We have forgotten the song in our heart ie the longing to serve Krishna & Radharani ie nothing but the Hare Krishna mahamantra & he has come with this GOLOK premdhana to make our remind of our personal Song . Isn't he out TRUE friend ?

“A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.” Walter Winchell quotes

---In our great desperation,disgust& disappointments it is only the Hare krishna mahamantra which walks in to illuminate & give us joy . if Caitanya mahaprabhu had not sung loudly & spread it what would be our Hope ? Isn't he our TRUE friend ?

I wonder people ,philosophers are writing the true definitions of TRUE friend but how shall they come to know about the TRUE friend Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu ?

We need to spread him as fast as we can for the whole world is moving towards great cataclysm of Spiritual suicide.

& i ask & beg to be a part of the team of Spiritual Warriors lead by Srila Prabhupad to spread the movement of Lord Caitanya in every town & village.

2 Lord Caitanya

Lord Caitanya


The Vedas call the present age the "Age of Kali"the age of quarrel.
This age began approximately 5,000 years ago. In this age people are
less for tunate, less intelligent, shorter lived, have shorter
memories, and have weaker bodies. Good qualities such as sympathy for
other seducation , truthfulness, cleanliness,forgiveness, and mercyare
quickly disappearing. Society is beset withcheating, diplomacy, and
violence. The so called leaders of society are encouraging
intoxication, illicit sex, gambling, and meat eating, which are
considered the principles of irreligiousity.


There is one good quality in this age. That is, simply by chanting the
Lord's names, one can escape the miseries of this age, and go back to
the kingdom of God at the end of life.

Krishna incarnates in every age to preach the religious practice that
is applicable for that particular age. In other ages Krishna taught
meditational yoga, or temple worship, or sacrifice.

Krishna appeared about 500 years ago as Lord Caitanya. This advent was
predicted in the Vedic literatures more than 5,000 years ago. Lord
Caitanya taught the religious practice recommended for this age,
Sankirtana, the congregational chanting of the Lord's names: Hare
Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare.

Devotees of the Krishna consciousness movement engage in the chanting
of the Lord's names in public, distributing transcendental literatures
(which encourage others to chant), and performing personal meditation
on the Lord's names (called Japa).
1. Srimad-Bhagavatam 12.3.51