suddhabhakti

Sri Gurvashtakam Eight Prayers to the Guru by Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura, who appeared in the middle of the seventeenth century, is a great spiritual master in the Krishna conscious chain of gurus and disciples. He says, "One who, with great care and attention, loudly recites this beautiful prayer to the spiritual master during the brahma-muhurta obtains direct service to Krishna, the Lord of Vrindavana, at the time of his death." (1) samsara-davanala-lidha-loka tranaya karunya-ghanaghanatvam praptasya kalyana-gunarnavasya vande guroh sri-caranaravindam The spiritual master is receiving benediction from the ocean of mercy. Just as a cloud pours water on a forest fire to extinguish it, so the spiritual master delivers the materially afflicted world by extinguishing the blazing fire of material existence. I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of such a spiritual master, who is an ocean of auspicious qualities. (2) maha...

  The Glories of the Eighteenth Chapter of  the Bhagavad Gita  from the Padma Purana Parvati said “My dear husband, you have told me the glories of the Seventeenth Chapter of the Srimad Bhagavad-gita, now kindly relate the glories of the Eighteenth Chapter of Srimad Bhagavad-gita. Lord Shiva said; “Oh daughter of the Himalayas (Parvati), please listen to the glories of the Eighteenth Chapter of Srimad Bhagavad-Gita, which is higher than the Vedas and the giver of unlimited bliss. When it enters into one’s ears it destroys all material desires. For the pure devotee, it is divine nectar, it is Lord Vishnu’s very life and it is a solace to the hearts of Lord Indra and the demigods as well as the great yogis headed by Sanaka and Sananda. One who recites it sends the messengers of Yamaraja far away. There is no other recitation, which can so quickly destroy all sin and free one from the threefold miseries of this world. Now listen with great devotion. On the topmost peak of Mo...

  The Glories of the Seventeenth Chapter of  the Bhagavad Gita  from the Padma Purana Lord Shiva said, “My dear Parvati, you have heard the unlimited glories of the Sixteenth Chapter of Srimad Bhagavad-gita. Now, kindly hear the nectarine glories of the Seventeenth Chapter of Srimad Bhagavad-gita. King Khadgabahu’s son had a servant by the name of Dushasan who was very crafty and exceptionally foolish. Dushasan made a bet with the prince that he could ride the elephant, at which time he jumped upon the elephant and after going a few steps, the people there started requesting him, not to ride that dangerous elephant. But foolish Dushasan started to prod that elephant and used strong words to urge him on. Suddenly, that elephant became very angry and started to run wildly here and there. Unable to hold on, Dushasan fell to the ground. The elephant stomped on him and Dushasan died. After that he attained the body of an elephant in Simhaldwip, where he stayed in the king’s pa...

  The Glories of the Sixteenth Chapter of  the Bhagavad Gita  from the Padma Purana Lord Shiva said, “My dear Parvati, I will now tell you the glories of the Sixteenth Chapter of Srimad Bhagavad-gita. In Gujarat, there is a town of the name Saurashtra (Surat). King Khadgabahu had his kingdom there, where he lived just like another Indra, king of heaven. He kept a very passionate male elephant of the name Arimardana from whose temples liquid oozed due to his pride. One day that elephant, in a fit of anger, broke loose from his chains and started to destroy the elephant shed, after which he began running here and there, wildly chasing the citizens. Everyone fled as fast as possible. The elephant keepers immediately reported the news to the king and when the king heard, he went along with his son to the place, where the mad elephant was. King Khadgabahu knew the art of controlling wild elephants. When the king reached the spot, where the elephant was running amok, he saw tha...

  The Glories of the Fifteenth Chapter of  the Bhagavad Gita  from the Padma Purana Lord Shiva said, “My dear Parvati, now I will tell you the glories of the Fifteenth Chapter of the Srimad Bhagavad-gita, kindly listen carefully. In Gaudadesa, there was a king of the name Narasingha. He was so powerful that he was able to defeat the demigods. The commander of his army was known by the name Sarabhmerund. He was very greedy and along with the prince, he planned to kill the king, and become the ruler of Gaudadesa. But before he was able to carry out his plan, he got cholera and very quickly died. After he took his next birth as a horse in the country known as Sindhu. That horse was very beautiful and was very fast at running. He had all the qualities of a prize horse, one day, the son of a very rich man of Gaudadesa saw that horse and decided to buy him with the intention of selling him to the king of Gaudadesa. After having purchased that horse, he took him to the capital o...

  The Glories of the Fourteenth Chapter of  the Bhagavad Gita  from the Padma Purana Lord Shiva said “Oh, Parvati kindly hear from Me the glories of the Fourteenth Chapter of the Srimad Bhagavad-gita, with the greatest attention. In Simhaldvip was a king of the name Vikram-Vetala. One day, when he was going to the forest for hunting, he took his son and two hunting dogs along with him. When he reached the forest he released one dog to chase a rabbit. When that dog was chasing it, the rabbit looked as if it was flying. Running and running, that rabbit reached a beautiful hermitage, which was very peaceful. A deer were sitting happily under the shade of the trees and the monkeys were joyfully eating the fruits of those trees. The cubs of the tigers were playing with the baby elephants and snakes were crawling over the peacocks. In this forest, the great sage Vatsa lived, who worshipped Lord Krishna by reciting the Fourteenth Chapter of the Srimad Bhagavad-gita. Near the ash...

The Glories of the Thirteenth Chapter of the Bhagavad Gita  from the Padma Purana Lord Shiva said, “Oh Parvati, please hear the unlimited glories of the Thirteenth Chapter of the Srimad Bhagavad-gita, by hearing which, you will become very happy. In the South, there was a very large river of the name Tungabhadra, on the banks of which; there is a very beautiful town of the name Hariharpur. There, the deity of Lord Shiva, known by name Harihar, is worshipped. One, who has His darshan, attains auspicious things. In Hariharpur lived one brahmana by the name of Hari-diksit, who was very learned, and lived a simple, austere life. His wife was called Duracara, by the people. The reason for this was due to her low-class activities. She would always speak to her husband in abusive language, and she had never slept with him. She was always rude to her husband’s friends, and she would keep company with other men, to satisfy her lusty desires. She was also addicted to taking various kinds of ...

  The Glories of the Twelfth Chapter of the Bhagavad Gita  from the Padma Purana Lord Shiva said, “I will recite the wonderful glories of the twelfth Chapter of Srimad Bhagavad-gita before you, dear Parvati.” In the South there is an important holy place by the name of Kolhapur, where the temple of the Lord’s divine consort Maha Lakshmi, is situated. Maha Lakshmi is continuously worshipped by all of the demigods. That place is the fulfiller of all desires. Rudragaya is also situated there. One day, one young prince arrived there. His body was the color of gold. His eyes were very beautiful. His shoulders were very strong and his chest was broad. His arms were long and strong. When he arrived in Kohlapur, he first went to the lake known as Manikanth-tirth, where he took bath and offered worship to his ancestors. And then he went to the temple of Maha Lakshmi, where he offered his obeisances, and then started to pray, “Oh Devi, Whose heart is full of mercy, Who is worshipped thr...

  The Glories of Eleventh Chapter of the Bhagavad Gita  from the Padma Purana Lord Shiva said “My dear Parvati, now I will relate to you the glories of the Eleventh Chapter of Srimad Bhagavad-gita. It is not possible to tell it’s full glories, as there are thousands of stories, I will relate one of them only. On the banks of the Pranita river is a large town of the name Megankara in which is the famous temple of Jagat Isvara. Jagat Isvara is holding in His hand a bow. In that town of Megankara, there was a pure brahmana of the name Sunanda, who remained a brahmachari his whole life. Sunanda would sit in front of Lord Jagat Isvara and recite the Eleventh Chapter of the Srimad Bhagavad-gita and remember the Universal Form of the Lord. By reciting that Eleventh Chapter of Srimad Bhagavad-gita, he gained complete control over his senses and was able to remember Lord Jagat Isvara continuously. Once that pure brahmana Sunanda went on a tour of the holy places on the banks of the God...