suddhabhakti

O jiyat kaisora-caitanyo murti-matya grihasramat lakshmyarcito ’tha vag-devya disam jayi-jaya-cchalat TRANSLATION    Long live Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in His kaisora age! Both the goddess of fortune and the goddess of learning worship Him. The goddess of learning, Sarasvati, worshiped Him in His victory over the scholar who had conquered all the world, and the goddess of fortune, Lakshmidevi, worshiped Him at home. Since He is therefore the husband or Lord of both goddesses, I offer my obeisances unto Him. (Shri Chaitanya Charitamrta. Adi lila 16:3.) kamais tais tair hrita jnanah prapadyante ’nya-devatah tam tam niyamam asthaya prakritya niyatah svaya    “Those whose minds are distorted by material desires surrender unto demigods and follow the particular rules and regulations of worship according to their own natures.” (Bg. 7.20) There are many different types of men in the world, and they’re functioning under the different modes of material nature. Generally spea...

This is the first day of spring in India (Northern Hemisphere). On the fifth day of the waxing moon one should celebrate the coming of spring to Vrindavana by offering Krishna many types of leaves and flowers, and fresh shoots of sprouting grasses. Things that symbolise life and new growth. Following in the footsteps of the Vraja-basis of Vrindavana, one should paint designs on His (Krishna's) body and perform a special aratrika for Him. It is appropriate to offer yellow flowers too.    The vasanta raga should be played on this day. The Deities in the temples, especially in Vrindavana wear yellow or yellow and green on this day.    In places like Vrindavan, Mayapur, Jagannath Puri and Udupi many of the women folk dress in yellow also. As it is the first day of spring many fertility rites are performed at this time - for the family, for the women folk, for the crops, for the cows, etc. It's a very festive time.    Many new projects are begun, weddings perfor...