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Our Disciplic Succession:
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"The Sun Never Sets on Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math":
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Sun, 8 December 2024
Rusted Souls'
Solace
'You must not only say it. You sing this kirtan, but do you actually
keep the words from gurudev's holy mouth in your hearts? It is
necessary to keep what gurudev says in our hearts and never forget it.
I am praying to you all: please do not forget what I am telling you; always
remember the Lord!'
Sri Bhakti
Siddhanta Vani
A quote of Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur Prabhupad that is printed
and hung on the wall at the veranda of His Divine Grace Srila Bhakti Nirmal
Acharya Maharaj and many of the temples as well as in Sri Gaudiya
Gitanjali: "If someone does not consider it necessary to faithfully
follow their Guru and the Vaishnavs, their endeavour to serve the Lord is not
service to the Lord—it is service to maya."
Today in the calendar:
Gaura Astami. Disappearance of Srila Madhusudan Das Babaji Maharaj.
His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad Srila B.N. Acharya Maharaj: "Even if you do
not know anything about the Vaishnav mentioned in the calendar, you must
still give them 'jay' on this day."
—{ Sri Gurupadpadma's Worldwide Address }—
Treasure of
Devotion
"Everybody will die one day, but you have got this human body, so what is
your duty? We are not meant to live like cats and dogs. We have got so many
facilities—eyes, mouth, ears, etc. What will we do with them?"
•
Download / listen to the audio (2.5 Mb, 6 min | 14 June 2020)
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—{ Srila B.R. Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj's Treasury }—
• SERMONS OF THE GUARDIAN OF DEVOTION (Vol
Four)
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(1) THE FOUR SITTINGS OF SRIMAD
BHAGAVATAM
'So many rsis, authorities of different departments, were recommending
to him [Pariksit Maharaj] differently, and he was perplexed. He told, “You
give some unanimous verdict to me. I have no time, so please you give some
unanimous instruction.” At that time by chance Sukadev arrived here at the
meeting. Sukadev was a man of fable: many had heard about him, about this
peculiar realised soul.'
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Sat, 7 December 2024
Lord Vamandev's
Gift
'"So, Bali!" Vamandev said. "You have said one step of land, two steps of
land, what about the third step? Where are My three steps of land? I have
already made two steps – where am I to make the third step?"'
—{ Sri Gurupadpadma's Worldwide Address }—
Our Greatest
Aspiration
"We sometimes cannot consider ourselves a proper disciple—we always consider
ourselves a guru. That is the problem in our life. We have no quality, no
qualification to serve Vaishnavs, but the Guru and Vaishnavs are always very
kind, they will accept our service, so relying on their kindness, we will try
to serve them properly."
•
Download / listen to the audio (2.5 Mb, 6 min | 14 June 2020)
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—{ Srila B.R. Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj's Treasury }—
• SERMONS OF THE GUARDIAN OF DEVOTION (Vol
Four)
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FOREWORD
'I offer my humble obeisances unto the lotus feet of my Divine Master Sri
Gurupadapadma Om Vishnupad Astottara-sata-sri Srimad Bhakti Raksak Sridhar
Dev-Goswami Maharaj, and all the Vaishnavs. By his unlimited grace the
exalted Vaishnav community has already received with transcendental joy many
glorious publications of Srila Guru Maharaj, the Guardian of Devotion, from
our Nabadwip Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math and branches.'
INTRODUCTION
'There is the land of the Lord and if we can enter into that plane then we
can be really happy by giving and not by exerting. To sacrifice for Him will
bring for us both quantity and, especially, quality. If we can have entrance
into that plane we shall be able to swim in the pool of nectar. It is very
much appreciable. We can understand that it is very much appreciable, that so
many from foreign lands have also come being attracted by the instructions
and advice of Mahaprabhu and Srimad Bhagavatam.'
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Today in the calendar:
Gaura Sasthi. Sri Sri Jagannathdev’s Odan-Sasthi. Manifestation Anniversary
of Sri Sri Nitai Chaitanya at Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math, Sri Puri
Dham.
His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad Srila B.N. Acharya Maharaj: "Even if you do
not know anything about the Vaishnav mentioned in the calendar, you must
still give them 'jay' on this day. We must always remember disappearance and
appearance days of all Vaishnavs. If we can remember such personalities, such
great souls, it will bring a great benefit to our spiritual life."
"We should always check the calendar, and when we see some dates mentioned
there, even if we do not know anything about the Vaishnav or events mentioned
there, we can at least give 'jay' to them—that also brings some good sukriti,
some purification to us. Seeing the calendar and taking devotees' names early
in the morning, from the beginning of the day, is very good for all
devotees."
"Wake up, look into the calendar and give 'jay' to your Guru and
Vaishnavs. Always pay obeisance to your Guru and Vaishnavs when you wake up
in the morning, always give them 'jay'. Always keep faith and show
respect to them. Always see the calendar—whose appearance day it is, whose
disappearance day it is. Even if you cannot make a festival, at least you can
give them 'jay', it will bring you benefit. When you give 'jay'
to your Guru and Vaishnavs, it brings you sukriti. For example, today
is the disappearance day of a Vaishnav—give 'jay' to him, remember
him. We must always remember the words of Vaishnavs. If I remember the words
of Vaishnavs, I get some benefit, some deposit through that."
On the Way to Sri Puri Dham
(Divine
Guidance, chapter 2):
"We are not going sightseeing but we are going to a place of pilgrimage, a
holy place. Going there will purify us—body, mind, and soul."
Fri, 6 December 2024
Bali
Maharaj's Sacrifice
'Nobody could stop Bali Maharaj, not even his guru. He actually
rejected his guru at that time. People say that once you take a
guru, you cannot reject him, even if the Lord Himself comes, but here
you can see that Bali Maharaj did it. Prahlad Maharaj also rejected his
father, and Bharath Maharaj rejected his mother.'
—{ Sri Gurupadpadma's Worldwide Address }—
Service
Eagerness and Attachment
"This pure conception of Krishna consciousness is very sweet. It is necessary
to connect with it and to have faith, proper surrender, humility, tolerance,
and to give honour to others. Be patient. Do not be proud. Always reject
pratistha. We are tiny servitors, but we will try to do small
service."
•
Download / listen to the audio (2.7 Mb, 7 min | 31 May 2020)
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—{ Srila B.R. Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj's Treasury }—
• SERMONS OF THE GUARDIAN OF DEVOTION (Vol
Three)
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(12) OUR GREATEST WEALTH
'Narottam Das Thakur said, “If we have the favour of the great personages
then what can such types of temptation do to us? They can’t do anything. If
we work under our guardian and he is very careful, very strong and very
judicious then no temptation can do any harm to us.” This attitude is the key
to the success of life.'
Download (epub)
Download (pdf)
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Thu, 5 December 2024
Lord
Vamanadev's Appearance
'These are the things we hear the Lord always imparting. He has personally
come many times, assuming various forms, to protect His devotees, to take His
devotees' service. But many people cannot understand this...'
—{ Sri Gurupadpadma's Worldwide Address }—
Love for Guru,
Not Yourself
"To test Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Srila Advaita Prabhu one time started
preaching mayavadi conception, and Mahaprabhu came to his house and beat him.
Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu explained the glory of Sri Advaita Prabhu...."
•
Download / listen to the audio (3 Mb, 7 min | 14 June 2020)
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—{ Srila B.R. Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj's Treasury }—
• SERMONS OF THE GUARDIAN OF DEVOTION (Vol
Three)
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(11) DISTRIBUTING DIVINITY
'Our connection with Krishna is so urgent. What a valuable life that is, and
where are we?—in the jaws of mortality! So, everyone needs to be saved. Save
them. Do relief work. In this general activity no specific order is
necessary. It is a general thing; it is common sense in the devotional school
and by this process you will be helped yourself. You will be able to keep
yourself from sinking just as by the movement of one’s hands and feet one can
keep himself floating on water—it is something like that. Kirtan will help
you in that way. So try to practise Krishna consciousness, any time and every
time.'
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Wed, 4 December 2024
My Appeal to
You
'We always worry about ourselves, thinking, "What will I eat?", "Where will I
sleep?", "What will I wear?" There is a person above everybody – the Lord –
just leave everything to Him! He does everything; everything that happens
happens by His will. We must always remember this.'
—{ Sri Gurupadpadma's Worldwide Address }—
Service Code
"We always do service with some little fault, little mistake, and the Lord
does not easily accept such service, but if we ask great Vaishnavs, Gurudev,
for forgiveness, they will always forgive us. That is why, it will be good if
we serve the Lord through Gurudev."
•
Download / listen to the audio (2.1 Mb, 5 min | 31 May 2020)
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—{ Srila B.R. Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj's Treasury }—
• SERMONS OF THE GUARDIAN OF DEVOTION (Vol
Three)
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(10) DICTATION OF SRI GURU
'It is mentioned that one who has surrendered may not commit any offence. If
you are surrendered and then appeal, “What am I to do, my Master? Please
dictate to me,” and do accordingly with sincerity, then if it is wrong also,
you are not to be a party to that wrong because you did not consciously want
to disobey the Guru—you tried your utmost to obey him cent-per-cent.
But you are not a perfect person, still, from your position, as much as
possible you have done and he will be satisfied with that. He is all-knowing.
He is omniscient and will see, “He has tried his best.”'
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Tue, 3 December 2024
Pursue Eternal
Wealth
'We think that if we had a lot of money, we would live a happy life, but
everything depends on our fate and fortune. Even rich people suffer from the
three-fold miseries. The only way one can get relief from this suffering is
to take shelter at the holy feet of the Lord.'
—{ Sri Gurupadpadma's Worldwide Address }—
Perfect Vision
"We are told to be slow and steady, but when some service is going on, we
sometimes do it fast because everybody's character is not the same. Being
slow does not mean laziness. If you keep a perfect aim and continue steadily
to your aim, then you will succeed."
•
Download / listen to the audio (5.4 Mb, 13 min | 31 May 2020)
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—{ Srila B.R. Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj's Treasury }—
• SERMONS OF THE GUARDIAN OF DEVOTION (Vol
Three)
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(9) THE FOUNDATION OF FORTUNE
'There is a bird called a chataka which always faces towards the sky
praying for water. His nature is such that he can only swallow from above and
cannot collect from the ground. We should be converted into that type of bird
in our hankering temperament for a divine drop of the divine sweetness, of
the divine nectar which Mahaprabhu is distributing.'
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Mon, 2 December 2024
Be Content and
Focused
'If you go here and there following the cravings of your tongues, you will
not come to Krishna. Be happy with whatever the Lord arranges for you,
whatever He puts you through. The Lord runs this whole world, He is managing
everything, then why do you want to be a manager yourself? We cannot manage
anything. The manager is He, and He is already doing everything.'
—{ Sri Gurupadpadma's Worldwide Address }—
Service
Without Sahajiyaism
"You must do service under the guidance of Gurudev, then you will know what
is necessary to do. We are not independent, we are always under the guidance
of Gurudev. We do not want to be sahajiyas. Vraja-basis do
raga-marga seva, but we must follow viddhi-marga."
•
Download / listen to the audio (6.1 Mb, 15 min | 31 May 2020)
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—{ Srila B.R. Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj's Treasury }—
• SERMONS OF THE GUARDIAN OF DEVOTION (Vol
Three)
•
(8) BEYOND THE YOGI
'What is yoga? There is air and there are so many things but by
controlling those do you think you will force Me to come to you? I am the
Absolute Autocrat. I don’t care for anything else. I have no necessity to
care for anything else. Not any force, any tactics, any cunning methods, any
canvassing—nothing can influence Me. I am the Autocrat. And admitting the
line of autocracy, try to come to Me. There are many demigods. They are
making trade, but I am not amongst the commodities of their trading. None can
make trade with Me. I am Absolute. I look only for devotion, exclusive
devotion which is not formal, but natural, hearty and sincere. I look for the
heart and not for anything else.'
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Sun, 1 December 2024
Step Forward
'You can see in this hell that so many insects, bugs, flies, beasts, birds,
worms, pigs, dogs are eating all kinds of stool and urine – filthy things. If
you want to save yourself from such a fate, then come to the Lord and live a
spiritual life.'
Today in the calendar:
Amavasya. Disappearance of Srestharya Srila Jagabandhu Bhakti Ranjan.
His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad Srila B.N. Acharya Maharaj: "Even if you do
not know anything about the Vaishnav mentioned in the calendar, you must
still give them 'jay' on this day."
In honour of Sripad Jagabandhu
Bhakti Ranjan:
Srestharyya Sripad Jagabandhu Das Adhikari
(From The Harmonist)
"THE day before the close of the spiritual Exhibition that had been organised
in the spacious compound of the Gaudiya-Math, which function formed the
concluding, activity of the long series of the festivities of the auspicious
Inauguration of the New Buildings of the Math, Srestharyya Sripad Jagabandhu
Das Adhikari Bhaktiranjan, the donor and architect of those superb Buildings,
took his departure from the scene of unique devotional labours with the
supreme satisfaction that his soul had at last found and successfully
performed his duty to Godhead and humanity...."
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—{ Sri Gurupadpadma's Worldwide Address }—
Chaste
Service Consciousness
"If somebody wants to take initiation, they must follow Sri Chaitanya
Saraswat Math's line; they must follow the rules and regulation. They must
always take prasadam, always chant the Holy Name, and engage in service. You
are not a servant of Krishna—if you are ready to become a servant of
devotees, then you can take shelter of Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math."
•
Download / listen to the audio (2.7 Mb, 7 min | 7 June 2020)
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—{ Srila B.R. Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj's Treasury }—
• SERMONS OF THE GUARDIAN OF DEVOTION (Vol
Three)
•
(7) INTELLIGENTLY AWARE
'Lust is not easily accessible, but is hidden. We cannot easily trace where
he lives, but he comes suddenly and, after looting, disappears. But we are
told here that really he lives in the intelligence, the mind and the senses.
To conquer that lust we are to regulate the senses, but in order to do so we
first have to analyse what the senses are and what is their position, and
then, what is the position of the internal king of the senses, the mind.'
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GUIDANCE 2021 (epub)
(Last update: 7 Apr. '24)
Distributors of
Mercy
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'Today is the appearance day of Nitai Gaurachandra in Puri. Actually, you
know that Deities always come through devotees—the Lord takes the hand
of His devotee and comes in the form of a Deity..'
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CALENDAR FOR 12/2024
DAMODAR
8 DECEMBER (SUN).
Gaura Astami.
Disappearance of Suryakunda-basi Srila Madhusudan Das Babaji Maharaj.
9 DECEMBER (MON).
Gaura Navami.
Appearance of Tridandi-swami Srimad Bhakti Kamal Madhusudan Maharaj.
10 DECEMBER (TUE).
Gaura Dasami.
Disappearance of Tridandi-swami Srimad Bhakti Kusum Sraman Maharaj.
11 DECEMBER (WED).
Gaura Ekadasi.
Fast on Moksada Ekadasi.
12 DECEMBER (THU).
Gaura Dvadasi.
Ekadasi paran is at 6:11:45–9:44:05.
15 DECEMBER (SUN).
Purnima.
NARAYAN
17 DECEMBER (TUE).
Krishna Dvitiya.
Grand festival in honour of the appearance day of Om
Visnupad Paramahamsa Parivrajakacharya Sri Srimad Bhakti Sundar Govinda
Dev-Goswami Maharaj.
18 DECEMBER (WED).
Krishna Tritiya.
Festivals at Bamunpara and Nadan Ghat, the places of Om Visnupad Srila Bhakti
Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj's holy appearance and childhood
pastimes.
19 DECEMBER (THU).
Krishna Chaturthi.
Festival in honour of the disappearance of Bhagavan
Sri Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami Prabhupad.
26 DECEMBER (THU).
Krishna Ekadasi.
Fast on Saphala Ekadasi.
Disappearance of Srila Devananda Pandit and Srimad Bhakti Prakas Aranya
Maharaj.
27 DECEMBER (FRI).
Krishna Dvadasi.
Ekadasi paran is at 6:20:54–9:52:08. Disappearance of Sripad Bhakti
Bhudev Srauti Maharaj.
28 DECEMBER (SUN).
Krishna Trayodasi.
Disappearance of Srila Mahesh Pandit and Srila Uddharan Datta Thakur.
30 DECEMBER (MON).
Amavasya.
31 DECEMBER (TUE).
Gaura Pratipad. Appearance of Srila Lochan
Das Thakur.
JANUARY 2025
2 JANUARY (THU).
Gaura Tritiya.
Disappearance of Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu and Srila Jagadis
Pandit.
10 JANUARY (FRI).
Gaura Ekadasi.
Fast on Putrada Ekadasi.
Appearance of Srila Jagadis Pandit.
11 JANUARY (SAT).
Gaura Dvadasi.
Ekadasi paran is at 6:24:10–7:42:48.
13 JANUARY (MON).
Purnima.
Pusyabhisek Yatra of Sri Krishna. Departure of Sripad Bhakti Saran Vaisnav
Maharaj.
MADHAV
14 JANUARY (TUE).
Krishna Pratipad. Makar Sankranti.
Remembering Sriman Mahaprabhu's pastime of leaving home.
15 JANUARY (WED).
Krishna Dvitiya.
Sriman Mahaprabhu takes sannyas. A three-day remembrance festival in
honour of Sriman Mahaprabhu's sannyas-lila.
16 JANUARY (THU).
Krishna Tritiya.
Appearance of Srila Gopal Bhatta Goswami Prabhu and disappearance of Srila
Ramachandra Kaviraj.
17 JANUARY (FRI).
Krishna Chaturthi.
Disappearance of Sripad Yadavendu Bhakti-Chandan.
20 JANUARY (MON).
Krishna Sasthi.
Disappearance of Srila Jayadev Goswami Prabhu.
22 JANUARY (WED).
Krishna Astami.
Disappearance of Srila Lochan Das Thakur.
25 JANUARY (SAT).
Krishna Ekadasi.
Fast on Sat-tila Ekadasi.
26 JANUARY (SUN).
Krishna Dvadasi.
Ekadasi paran is at 6:23:37–10:00:39.
29 JANUARY (WED).
Amavasya.
30 JANUARY (THU).
Gaura Pratipad.
Disappearance of Tridandi-swami Srimad Bhakti Gaurava Vaikhanash Maharaj and
departure of Sri Haripada Chaudhuri Das-Adhikari.
31 JANUARY (FRI).
Gaura Dvitiya.
Disappearance of Tridandi-swami Srimad Bhakti Saran Santa Maharaj.
FEBRUARY 2025
2 FEBRUARY (SUN).
Gaura Chaturthi.
Appearance of Om Visnupad Srila Bhakti Pavan Janardan Maharaj.
3 FEBRUARY (MON).
Gaura Panchami.
Sri Krishna's Vasanta Panchami. Appearance of
Sri Sri Visnupriya Devi. Appearance of Srila Pundarik Vidyanidhi, Srila
Raghunath Das Goswami and Srila Raghunandan Thakur. Disappearance of Srila
Visvanath Chakravarti Thakur. Disappearance of Tridandi-swami Srimad
Bhakti Vivek Bharati Maharaj and Tridandi-swami Srimad Bhakti Svarup Parvat
Maharaj. Sri Saraswati Puja.
4 FEBRUARY (TUE).
Gaura Saptami.
Appearance of Sri Mahavisnu Avatar Sri Advaita Acharya.
5 FEBRUARY (WED).
Gaura Astami.
Disappearance of Tridandi-swami Srimad Bhakti Prapanna Parivrajak Maharaj and
departure of Sripad Virendra Krishna Prabhu.
6 FEBRUARY (THU).
Gaura Navami.
Disappearance of Sripad Madhvacharya.
7 FEBRUARY (FRI).
Gaura Dasami.
Disappearance of Srila Ramanuja Acharya.
8 FEBRUARY (SAT).
Gaura Ekadasi.
Fast on Bhaimi Ekadasi and in
honour of Lord Sri Varahadev's appearance (tomorrow).
9 FEBRUARY (SUN).
Gaura Dvadasi.
Appearance of Lord Sri Varahadev. Ekadasi
paran is at 6:17:41–9:59:51 after offering worship to Lord Varahadev.
10 FEBRUARY (MON).
Gaura Trayodasi.
Appearance of Sri Sri Nityananda Prabhu.
Fast until noon. Annual
festival in honour of the manifestation anniversary of Sri Guru Sri Gaura Sri
Nityananda at Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math in Sri Ekachakra Dham.
12 FEBRUARY (WED).
Purnima.
Sri Krishna's Madhurotsav. Appearance of Srila Narottam Thakur.
GOVINDA
15 FEBRUARY (SAT).
Krishna Tritiya.
Disappearance of Tridandi-swami Sripad Bhakti Premik Siddhanti Maharaj.
17 FEBRUARY (MON).
Krishna Panchami.
Grand Sri Sri Vyasa-puja festival in honour of the
holy appearance day of Bhagavan Sri Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami
Thakur. Annual festival at Sri Gupta-Govardhan Mandir (Sri Govinda Kunda,
Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math, Nabadwip). Disappearance of Srila Purusottam
Thakur.
FULL CALENDAR >>
Sri Gaudiya Calendar 2024–2025 (pdf)
THE TEN OFFENCES TO THE HOLY NAME:
1) Criticise sadhus, Vaishnavs
2) Consider Lord Siva and gods to be independent of Lord Krishna
3) Consider Guru to be an ordinary mortal man
4) Criticise scriptures
5) Interpret the Name with the help of a dictionary, etc.
6) Consider the Name imaginary.
7) Sin and chant to remove the sin.
8) Consider chanting equal to pious activities.
9) Instruct faithless people in chanting; inattentive chanting.
10) Remain attached to things, your body, etc.
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HARE KRISHNA HARE KRISHNA KRISHNA KRISHNA HARE HARE |
HARE RAMA HARE RAMA RAMA RAMA HARE HARE
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