Sri Sri Navadvip Bhava Taranga - part 2

Sri Sri Navadvip Bhava Taranga
by Bhaktivinode Thakur

In the middle of the eight islands, which are the eight petals of the lotus, is the supreme island called Antardvipa, and in the centre of that dvipa rests Mayapur, appearance place of the Lord on earth. Upon seeing that, I shall achieve overwhelming bliss. The Vedas sing of the transcendental place called Brahmapura. When my eyes are free from illusion, I shall see that place as identical with Sree Mayapura. It is in this place the supreme Gokula or Mahavana of Vraja, that the son of Saci performed His eternal pastimes.

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Only one who can learn the process of nescience and that of transcendental knowledge side by side can transcend the influence of repeated birth and death and enjoy the full blessing of immortality.

~Sri Ishopanishad, Mantra Eleven

Some neophytes on the spiritual path may fall into the illusion that taking care of the body is somehow evil, or a sign of spiritual backwardness. Not only may they neglect the needs of the body, but they may go out of their way to actually damage the body. Such people actually hate the body. They see it as a source of misery, and thus they take out their anger on it. This is certainly a mistake.

Science of Identity Foundation - Siddhaswarupananda

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What was the abode of Gopas & Gopis(vaisyas)in Vraja has become the abode of brahmin families in Navadvipa Dham. In the centre of Mayapur exist eternally the dwelling of brahmin Jagannath Misra, the supreme purifying agent. "Though eyes affected by material illusion will see there only a small house, some earth, water and a few articles, if maya becomes merciful and lifts her covering, one will see the vast spiritual dwelling where Sri Gauranga is served by His eternal mother, father and countless servants, all incessantly mad with love. There Laksmipriya and Visnupriya , eternally serve the Lord`s lotus feet, Sri Gauranga, embodying the whole Panca Tattva in His wonderful body. Sri Nityananda & Sri Advaita, Gadadhara & Srivasa, and innumerable devotees have their individual places in Mayapura. Everywhere are the houses of the Vaisnavas. O Mayapur, please be merciful to me.

To the south west, the Ganga or Yamuna, twisting like serpent, for her own benefit comes to serve Gaura, the jewel of twice-born. Upon her banks are many ghats, temples, the images of Praudha Maya & Vrddha Siva, and multitude of groves. Throughout Mayapur are scattered countless houses of brahmins, wide roadways, courtyards woods and temples. In the south-east, on the bank of the Sarasvati river is the eternal area known as Isodyana, the garden of the Lord.

SRI SRI NAVADVIP BHAVA TARANGA - Introduction

Bhaktivinode Thakur’s
Bengali Verses
(1899)

TRANSCENDENTAL POETRY REVEALED THROUGH THE SPIRITUAL EYES OF BHAKTIVINODE THAKUR

About author:

Bhaktivinode Thakur

The intimate student of Srila Jagannath das Babaji and the spiritual master of Srila Gaurkisor das Babaji, Bhaktivinode Thakur was the pioneer of the program to inundate the entire world with Vedic wisdom.

If we look back one century we would find Vaishnavism, with its pure origin in the deep and majestic spiritual philosophy of Lord Chaitanya, in a degraded condition. It was the spiritual attempts and divine writings of Bhaktivinode Thakur that turned the scale and led the intelligent and educated community to follow the noble precepts and teachings of Lord Chaitanya and inspired a program to spread the teachings of Lord Chaitanya to every town of the world.

Mystic Yogis

Mystic yogis, by the practice of mystic or psychic powers, can do things that ordinary people consider very wonderful and miraculous. Such yogis then exploit the people, claiming that they are God Himself. And millions of foolish people believe such charlatans and blindly follow them. This is very unfortunate.

~Jagad Guru Siddhaswarupananda Paramahamsa (Chris Butler)
Science of Identity Foundation

Masochism can never lead to spiritual perfection. The body is actually a most precious property of the self; it enables the self to engage in various devotional activities that can bring about a change in consciousness. A person's external activities affect his consciousness, and his consciousness affects his external activities. Knowing this, a bhakti yogi consciously chooses to engage in particular external activities in order to bring about the desired spiritual happiness and wisdom.

~ Chris Butler (Jagad Guru Siddhaswarupananda Paramahamsa)
Science of Identity Foundation

The negative social results of a society populated primarily by hedonistic people should be obvious to anyone. A society of self-centered, animalistic people who have no other interest than their own sense enjoyment cannot be at all peaceful or progressive—either materially or spiritually.

~Jagad Guru Siddhaswarupananda Paramahamsa (Chris Butler)
Science of Identity Foundation


(On the other hand), the positive results of a society populated mostly by people who are serious about cultivating wisdom and spiritual understanding should be clear. If the citizens are peaceful, satisfied, respectful of others, compassionate, selfless, and so on, then society will be progressive both materially and spiritually.

~Jagad Guru Siddhaswarupananda Paramahamsa (Chris Butler)
Science of Identity Foundation

Culture of Ignorance

Those who engage in the culture of nescient activities shall enter into the darkest region of ignorance. Worse still are those engaged in the culture of so-called knowledge.

~Sri Ishopanishad, Mantra 9

Unfortunately, most of humanity spends the majority of its time in the culture of ignorance. We cultivate ignorance by serving our tongue, belly, genitals, and other senses like obedient slaves. The vast majority of our energy goes into this mad pursuit of sense pleasure. Left with frazzled nerves, frustration, anger, jealousy, envy, greed, hate, loneliness, and confusion; we seek an escape in alcohol, cocaine, heroin, and a myriad of other legal and illegal consciousness dimmers. This is the cultivation of ignorance.

~Jagad Guru Siddhaswarupananda Paramahamsa (Chris Butler)
Science of Identity Foundation

"Who Are You? Discovering Your Real Identity", published by the Identity Institute. Author: Jagad Guru Siddhaswarupananda (Chris Butler)

The physical body is made up of countless numbers of tiny material particles called molecules and atoms. These material particles are constantly being replaced by material particles from the outside environment (in the form of food, water, air, and so on). Over a period of five to seven years, this process of metabolism brings about a complete change of the matter that makes up your body.
~ Jagad Guru Siddhaswarupananda Paramahamsa (Chris Butler)
Science of Identity Foundation

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The body is yours — but it is not you. The body is a garment that you are wearing, a machine that you are using, a vehicle that you are driving. The body is your possession. Just as a person does not identify himself as being the shirt he is wearing, he also should not identify himself with the body that he is wearing.
~ Jagad Guru Siddhaswarupananda Paramahamsa (Chris Butler)
Science of Identity Foundation

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No matter how much sensual pleasure people have, no matter how much they consume, they always want more. This endless personal craving manifests as ever increasing material consumption.
~ Jagad Guru Siddhaswarupananda Paramahamsa (Chris Butler)
Science of Identity Foundation

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The search for wisdom is a great challenge; to act on wisdom is an even greater challenge.
~ Jagad Guru Siddhaswarupananda Paramahamsa (Chris Butler)
Science of Identity Foundation

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Many people believe that a person is the brain or some part of the brain. You may be one of them. If so, the following should boggle your mind:

Recent studies on the turnover of the molecular population within a give nerve cell have indicated that … their macromolecular contingent is renewed about ten thousand times in a lifetime.*

In other words, the matter making up each brain cell is completely renewed every three days. Your brain — that mass of matter which is contained in your skull today — is not the same brain that was in your skull last week.
~ Jagad Guru Siddhaswarupananda Paramahamsa (Chris Butler)
Science of Identity Foundation
_{*Paul Weiss, “The Living System: Determinism Stratified,” in Arthur Koestler and J.R. Smythies, eds., Beyond Reductionism (London: Hutchinson, 1969), p. 13.}

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There is more than enough food, water, fuel and so on to satisfy the actual needs of everyone on the planet. But there is not enough to satisfy everyone's greed. Even if it were physically possible for you to consume all the food, water, and fuel in the world, you still would not be satisfied. "Material food" cannot satisfy spiritual craving. Since the materialist is never satisfied, he never feels that he has had enough.
~ Jagad Guru Siddhaswarupananda Paramahamsa (Chris Butler)
Science of Identity Foundation

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Let me ask you a few simple questions: Do you exist at this moment? Did you exist five years ago? Are you your body? Most people would answer "yes" to all three questions. But if you identify your body as yourself, and simultaneously accept that you exist now and also existed five years ago, then you have a problem: The body you had five years ago does not exist today. There is a dynamic turnover of atoms and molecules which make up your body. There isn't a single particle of matter — not one atom — present in your body today that was present five years ago. The body you have today is not the same body you had five years ago. It's not that the body you had still exists but has now changed somewhat. No. The body you had is gone. That collection of atoms appearing as flesh, bone, blood, hair, and so on no longer exists. Yet you still exist.
~ Jagad Guru Siddhaswarupananda Paramahamsa (Chris Butler)
Science of Identity Foundation

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If life is materially based, then why don't we see it springing from matter in the natural world? And why can't we create life from matter in our laboratories?
~ Jagad Guru Siddhaswarupananda Paramahamsa (Chris Butler)
Science of Identity Foundation

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Perfection means being in tune with reality. The first thing we must understand is reality — the reality of my identity, i.e., my essence, position and function. Who am I? Just as a person does not identify himself as being the shirt that he is wearing, he also should not identify himself with the body that he is wearing.
~ Jagad Guru Siddhaswarupananda Paramahamsa (Chris Butler)
Science of Identity Foundation

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