Vaishnava Kathamrita

 .....  continuation after part 1; To read Part - 1, click here: PART 1 The woman’s husband with astonishment inquired from Bilva “ Namaste, we are so fortunate to have you visit our home after all it's the householders duty to serve their guests especially holy man like you, kindly tell us how we can serve you, is there anything we can get for you ”. Bilva with nervous voice says “ umm… yes, I would like to… I would like to be alone with your wife” . Woman’s husband “ Oh! this is the strange request but yes, if that's what you want then it's our duty to serve you… I will wait outside sir & you can be alone with my wife ”. Later Bilva goes (after getting alone with a woman in a room) “ Dear lady, kindly let down your hair & now hand me your hairpins, once again I have been tempted by the sight of a beautiful woman, these eyes have betrayed me, they are my enemies ”. Ashamed of himself for once again falling victim to his lusty desires, Bilva plucked o

Many years ago, there lived a South Indian Brahmin. He is Bilavamangala ; he born in a rich & respectable family. By the will of providence he attracted to a prostitute; her name is Chintamani . He was so captivated by her beauty that even when the priests were performing his father's death ceremony, he was so impatient that he left crematorium in between just to see her. Bilva to priests “ I have to go, can't you hurry up, I have to go, how much longer is this going to take ”. He desperately wanted to be with Chintamani. He could think of nothing else. As soon as he could, he left the funeral ceremony & set off to meet his beloved Chintamani. That evening there was a terrible storm raging but that didn't stop him. When he got to the river it was a raging torrent but without a thought for his own safety he dived into the river & swum across to the other side. Chintamani thought “ Oh! it's such a terrible night, I don't think Bilva will come, not in

  kṛṣṇa—sūrya-sama; māyā haya andhakāra yāhāṅ kṛṣṇa, tāhāṅ nāhi māyāra adhikāra Translation : Kṛṣṇa is compared to sunshine, and māyā is compared to darkness. Wherever there is sunshine, there cannot be darkness. As soon as one takes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the darkness of illusion (the influence of the external energy) will immediately vanish. (CC Madhya 22.3) Krishna is like sun. When sun is there we can see the things as they are. Sunlight enables us to see rope as a rope, snake as a snake. Maya is like darkness. In darkness we can not see properly. In darkness we may consider a rope as a snake or vice versa. This confusion is very obvious. This is the nature of darkness to create confusion. But as soon as there is light, immediately truth becomes prominent. Under the influence of light there is no scope of illusion or confusion. There is no scope for guess and speculation. Truth manifests automatically as soon as light is there. Now let’s dive deep to understand h

After going through the intense summer and a humid monsoon, we in India perceiving one of the most beautiful seasons of the year. According to the Vedic calendar, Sarat falls during the months of Asvin and Karttika, of which Karttika carries special significance. Everyone loves certain foods, drinks, clothes, and music, and Lord Krishna also has no exception. Krishna loves butter, yellow clothing, peacock feathers, cows, flutes, and the land of Vrindavan. Similarly, of all months, He loves Karttika the best. A Month of Love and Devotion  Devotional service can be performed at any time, in any place, yet devotees know well that devotional service performed during Karttika is especially pleasing to the Lord. Therefore they perform additional austerities and devotional practices during this month. Although the Vedic scriptures describe in detail material benefits one may derive by performing devotional service during Karttika, pure devotees of Lord Krishna have no intere

India is the land of colorful festivals, interesting stories, and unending philosophical discussions. Controversies and debates were everywhere to somehow grab the title - "I am Right" or "My version is correct". The beautiful festival of lamps - Deepavali also a victim of this controversy club. Each individual of India had his own unique version to explain Why Deepavali is celebrated? But the reality remains unaffected. Let us explore through various Puranas...... Diwali comes from the word Deepavali which has two words Deepa means light and Avali means carrier. Therefore Deepa signifies ‘ coming to light ’. In the Vedic Literature it is mentioned: “ Tamasa Ma, Jyotir Gamaya ” means ‘ Do not remain in Darkness, Come to Light ’, meaning ‘ come to spiritual awareness or awakening’ . Diwali is celebrated for the following reasons and more: Return of Lord Ramachandra from His exile for 14 years. The appearance of Laxmidevi from the ocean of milk.

Gopal, Lover of Cows Story: Once, in one of the forests of Vrindavan, a cow named Bahula was peacefully grazing when a tiger attacked her. Bahula requested the tiger to allow her to return to her newly born calf, feed it, and bid it farewell before it made a meal of her. After a long discussion, the tiger agreed to her proposal and waited for her return. In the meantime, the cow went to her master, a brahmana, and to her calf and told them what had happened. When they heard her pitiful story, they volunteered to go in her place as the tiger’s meal. Brahmana said - " My dear Bahula, you please stay here and take care of the calf. I am an old man, I will go in your place to be the meal of Tiger ".  The calf said - " My dear mother,  I am just born a few days ago, there won't be much loss whether I die or alive. Please let me go ". Bahula declined their selfless offer, but in the end, all three – cow, calf, and brahmana – returned to offer themselves

Sri Krsna-Lila from Srimad Bhagavatam, 10th canto: Seeing that her maidservant was engaged in different household duties, Mother Yaśodā personally took charge of churning butter. And while she churned butter, she sang the childhood pastimes of Kṛṣṇa and enjoyed thinking of her son. There were drops of perspiration on her face, and the flower garland which was on her head scattered here and there. Lord Kṛṣṇa appeared as a child. He felt hungry, He wanted her to stop churning and indicated that her first business was breastfeeding him. Mother Yaśodā chasing Kṛṣṇa with a stick in her hand Mother Yaśodā took her little son on her lap and started to breastfeed him. While Kṛṣṇa was sucking the milk, she was smiling, enjoying the beauty of her child’s face. Suddenly, the milk which was on the stove began to boil over. Just to stop the milk from spilling, Mother Yaśodā at once put Kṛṣṇa aside and went to the stove. That made Kṛṣṇa became very angry, and His lips and eyes became red i

Story from Brahma-vaivarta Purana: Once there lived a poor brahmana in the city of Pratishthanapura in South India. He was a very sincere devotee of Lord Narayana and was satisfied with whatever the Lord had given Him. Knowing well that his present material condition is due to his past deeds, he is always peaceful and grateful to the Lord. He was very open-hearted and used to hear the glories of the Lord from realized souls. At one such meeting, while he was very faithfully hearing about Vaishnava activities, he was informed that these activities can be performed even by meditation. As part of his daily routine, he used to take bath in river Godavari. After taking bath he would sit in a secluded place on the bank of the river and then started meditating on the Lord in his mind. When he had fixed the form of the Lord in his mind, he began to imagine in his meditations that he was dressing the Lord very nicely in costly clothing, with ornaments, helmets and other para

Once a man was chased by a rogue elephant in a forest. Seeing no respite, he climbed a tree to save himself but unfortunately slipped off. Before hitting the ground he could hold on to one of the lowest branches of the tree. He looked around and found that the elephant is lingering just nearby waiting to crush him with its mighty mountain like legs. He then looked above, there were two rats, one black and another white, were slowly nibbling the branch he was hanging on to. As the man looked down, he discovered that there were many venomous snakes awaiting to suck his life out. He understood that very soon the branch would fall to the ground and his life came to an end.  Suddenly a drop of honey fell on his face. He pulled his tongue out and licked it. Tasty! There was a honeycomb between the two branches he was holding. Due to disturbance caused by his holding and shaking the branch, bees were out to bite him. But at the same time honey was also oozing from the comb. He just ad