Questions on today’s Swami call:

Pranama. Can you explain what you meant when you stated that Sri Krishna’s lila on earth involves elements of karma?

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura has stated that in Brahma-sayujya the opulences of knowledge and renunciation are derived from the opulence of fame. What did he mean by that?

What does it mean when it is said in Sri Caitanya-caritamrta that there cannot be pure love of Krishna in this world because pure love involves separation, and such separation would not be bearable here?

Is it harder to practice bhakti in this yuga as there are so many distractions?

Questions on today’s Swami call:

If someone is addicted to alcohol, does one come in contact with Sri Krishna from the moment that one first calls out to him? Is it wrong to keep calling out for Krishna’s help even if one falls back into old habits one time after another?

Is the will of the jiva the same as atma-jnana?

Is our only real will as an atma to serve Krishna?

Some people say that they are spiritual but not religious. What has religion done for the spiritual life of people? 

Are there gopas who desire to serve only Sri Balaramaji and not Krishna?

Is it common for the gopas to call Balarama Dauji? Is he seen as an older brother by all the cowherd boys?

How can I preach to people in a way that they get something out of it and without turning them away?

Questions on today’s Swami call:

How did such a nice devotee like Akrura get mixed up with such a bad guy like Kamsa?

What is your favorite story from the lives of the six goswamis of Vrindavana?

As there are sakhas with an influence of madhurya, are there gopis with an influence of sakhya?

In Bhagavad-gita 9.30, what is the meaning of ananya-bhakti? Furthermore, what is the proper understanding of this verse? It seems like it could be used as an excuse to engage in sinful behavior.

During the forest fire in Vrindavan, the cowherd boys appear to be praying to Sri Krishna in the mood of aisvarya, which would not be natural for them. Can you comment on this?

What is the significance of a deity having a particular name, since Sri Krishna has so many names?

What should we be the most optimistic about, and what should we be the most pessimistic about?

In the second chapter of the Bhagavad-gita, it says the soul does not slay and is not slain. This raises the question for me, where does the jiva’s will reside? Can we align our will with Sri Krishna’s will and still have our own individual will?

Questions on today’s Swami call:

Pranama. Sometimes scripture says logic and reasoning will not give us any standing in absolute reality. At other times, healthy debate is encouraged as it will strengthen our resolve. What kind of debates should we avoid and which ones will be helpful?

I read in a book from another tradition about seeing God as one’s husband. Is there a way to translate that into our tradition? Because we are not aspiring to become spouses of God in the lila. 

Do we sometimes have to wait for certain phases of karma to pass so that we can practice more deeply? Sometimes, it seems that one is too covered by karma to really practice.

What is the difference between lila smaranam and imagination?

Is it possible to name a single founder of Hinduism?

How can we know that we are doing seva and not just pleasing our senses?

Questions on today’s Swami call:

What does it mean that Sri Krishna is dependent on his devotees in a perfect, more perfect, and most perfect way in Dvaraka, Mathura, and Vrindavana dhama respectively?

Can you elaborate on Srila Sridhara Maharaja’s observation that Srila Prabhupada was saktyavesa?

If Sri Krishna did indeed eat dirt in his childhood pastimes, why would he do that?

Some disciples of Srila Sridhara Maharaja will on principle not read Srila Rupa Goswami’s Ujjvala-nilamani as Srila Sridhara Maharaja said he did not read it. What is your take on this?

Is it possible for a devotee to perform sankirtana alone?

Questions on today’s Swami call:

What does it mean to ask the right questions spiritually? Is the same for everyone?

Should we serve and be submissive to everyone and everything in life?

How can we harmonize our own limited view with the view of the uttama-bhagavata that everything is fine and all that happens is according to the will of Sri Krishna?

Sometimes Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura uses the word sahaja with a positive connotation, whereas were are used to hearing it with a negative connotation (sahajiya). Can you explain this?

Some argue that the fetus in the early stages is only a combination of cells and that abortion therefore is not killing a person. Can you comment on this?

What is the source of the teaching that the Bhagavad-gita deals with five topics?

Regarding abortion, tumors are also alive, but we don’t consider them as beings. Can you comment on that?

Questions on today’s Swami call:

In one place in Jaiva Dharma, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura says that in raganuga bhakti, bhava produces ruci from the very beginning. Here it sounds like the order of the stages of bhakti as they are usually explained is reversed. Can you explain this?

Is it better to do more practice even though it’s shallow or to do less in quantity but qualitatively more substantial practice?

If we understand that we should not pray for material things but do not yet have the desire to pray for devotion, what should we do?

Is Lord Balarama’s consort Revati an expansion of Srimati Radharani? What is her position?

How do we balance the aspiration to overcome material ego which includes family attachment with our day-to-day family responsibilities?

Can we talk to others about Sri Krishna at any stage or does it require some level of qualification?

What is your understanding of the teaching that one should keep one’s guru a secret?

Why do some Gaudiya temples have a deity of Sri Jagannatha without Lord Balarama and Lady Subhadra?

Questions on today’s Swami call:

Are all worshippers of God from the different religions realizing the lila of Sri Krishna according to their approach?

Does Narada Muni have a place in the intimate lilas of Krishna in Vrindavan?

How can we assess statements from practitioners outside of our tradition who claim they have attained perfections that we see as unique to our tradition?

If a saint outside of our tradition appears to have had visions related to our tradition, can we assume that they belonged to our tradition in a previous life, and in their next life had old impressions resurface?

What does it mean when it says in Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu that Sri Narasimhadeva is the presiding deity of vatsalya-bhava? Can a devotee see the Lord as a parent?

What does it mean when it says that Sri Madana-mohana, Sri Govindadeva, and Sri Gopinatha are the presiding deities of sambandha-, abhidheya-, and prayojana-jnana respectively?

Questions on today’s Swami call:

Is the worship of Sri Sri Krishna-Balarama unique to our lineage? If not, is the form worshipped by Srila Prabhupada unique to our lineage?

You have told the story of your sannyasa-initiation. Can you also share the stories of your first and second initiations?

Recently, you posted on Facebook: “If the knower is not known...” What did you mean by that?

Sometimes, it is said that Krishna married the gopis while he was in the form of all the cowherd boys during the Brahma-vimohana-lila. Is this in accordance with sastra or mere folklore?

In your commentary to text 29 of Gopala-tapani Upanisad you state with support from our acaryas that the term brahma-sayujya can be used for the goal of raganuga-bhakti. Can you explain this?

Why is the Damodara-lila so prominent during Kartika, the most important month in the Gaudiya Vaishnava calendar?

Questions on today’s Swami call:

What is the actual difference between bhakti and other paths such as yoga in terms of prerequisites for practicing?

May I add the singing of Nitai Pada Kamala to my sadhana? Is it appropriate to share my love for Sri Nityananda Prabhu with others? Not doing it feels like a waste of heart.

During the year that Sri Krishna played the roles of his cowherd-boy friends in the Brahma-vimohan lila, Krishna in his original form could not experience the same rasa as he could with the cowherd boys. The form of the boys during this year are said to be svamsa-expansions of Krishna. Sri Balarama is also said to be a svamsa-expansion, and Krishna is able to have sakhya-rasa with him, so why not with those other cowherd boy forms?

When the bengali brahmin took Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s footwash as prasadam during the Gundica-marjana lila, why did Mahaprabhu manifest anger?

Why are there in some temples a crown next to the deity of Sri Krishna instead of a murti of Srimati Radharani?

What made Lord Krishna, Lord Balarama, and Lady Subhadra take on the forms that we see in Jagannatha Puri?

There is a verse in Sri Laghu-Bhagavatamrta that appears to suggest gopis and gopas acted as suras and asuras during the churning of the ocean. Can you comment on this?

Does the jealousy between Srimati Radharani and Srimati Candravali affect the relationships between their respective priya-narma sakhas? 

Is Subala-sakha a sambandha-rupa or kama-rupa devotee?