Nimaihuset

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Pictures from the Gaura Purnima celebration in Nimaihuset

The Golden Avatar – Sri Krishna Chaitanya, Gaura, Mahaprabhu, or Nimai – just before the Gaura Purnima celebration starts. The Deities to the left of Nimai: Sri Laddu Gopal and Sri Giriraj. To the right: Sri Nrsimhadeva and Sri Sri Sri Jagannatha, Baladeva and Subhadra. 7 representations of the sentient Absolute in a small basement in Gårda/Gauda.

Love is higher than law — Gaura Purnima lecture by Swami B.A. Sridhar Maharaj

Swami B.A. Sridhar Maharaj's brilliant lecture from the Gaura Purnima celebration in Nimaihuset, on raganuga bhakti — “Defined by Sri Chaitanya as bhakti which is governed by raga, or love, as against vaidhi bhakti, which is governed by law, or rules and regulations [of the sastras/holy scriptures]. So that means bhakti can be practiced both ways, but love is always higher than law.” (From 4:59)

Sunday, March 16, 2014

Two Instructions (Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu)

Mahaprabhu's hands

“You should engage yourself in the service of the servants of Krishna and always chant the holy name of Krishna. ”

— Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (Nimai), Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya lila 16.70

Gaura Purnima: Sri Krishna Chaitanya Prabhu Doya Koro More

Beautiful and swinging Narottama Dasa Thakura-bhajan with unknown children singing to Sri Krishna Chaitanya (Nimai). Don't miss the ship's bell in the background. A Nimaihuset classic. To be played on repeat for a couple of hours or more.

Gaura Purnima: Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu — The Golden Avatara

“Lord Chaitanya [is] the boy genius, who casually defeated the greatest scholars; the young revolutionary, who organized India’s first civil disobediance-movement; the social reformer, who transcended the rigid hindu caste system; the supreme renouncer, to whom common people, religious leaders, and even kings bowed; and above all, Sri Chaitanya is the perfect devotee, who blessed the world with sankirtan — congregational chanting of the names of God. [---] In 15th century Europe, the Renaissance was turning people’s vision from God to man, from religion to humanism, from a search for the self to a search for unexplored continents. But in India, Sri Chaitanya and His associates were to shift people’s vision back to God, and make God’s love accessible to everyone.”

Saturday, March 15, 2014

Sri Siksastakam (Gaura Vani)

Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s Sri Siksastakam — the only writing this supreme scholar left to the world (unless you consider His life supreme poetry, living Literature) — in a beautiful bhajan by Gaura Vani.

Sri Siksastakam — Translation and Illumination by Srila Sridhar Maharaj

Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s Sri Siksastakam

with Illumination by Sri Srila Bhakti Rakshak Sridhar Maharaj

Just run (Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Maharaj)

Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj (successor acharya of Srila Sridhar Maharaj)

Just run — and don’t look back — whether your eyes are open or closed it does not matter, you won’t fall down. We cannot guess from here how much joy and ecstasy is there in our home, how much happiness and enjoyment.

— Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Maharaj

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Kula Shaker: (Acintya Bheda-Abheda) Tattva

)

Acintya bheda-abheda tattva*

Like the flower and the scent of summer
Like the sun and the shine
Well the Truth may come in strange disguises
Send the message to your mind

Acintya bheda-abheda tattva

At the moment that you wake from sleeping
And you know it's all a dream
Well the Truth may come in strange disguises
Never knowing what it means

Acintya bheda-abheda tattva

For you will be tomorrow
Like you have been today
If this was never-ending
What more can I say?

* Inconceivable (for the mind to grasp) simultaneous oneness and difference.

Gaudiya Vedanta: Acintya Bheda-Abheda — The philosophical basis of Krishna Consciousness (Srila B.A. Paramadvaiti Maharaj)

"The impersonalists exclude the personal interpretation, or explanation, or revelation [of Vedanta], they simply ignore that, and focus on a few Upanisadic slokas which lend to believe that all is one, or lend to believe that unity and liberation is the highest. But because they ignore other sections, they can not substantialize their way of thinking. Whereas the Gaudiya Vedantist does not exclude anything. [---] Impersonalists can not deal with the descriptions of Goloka Vrindavan. They can not deal with it. They don't know what to say."

"Gaudiya Vedanta is a heart issue. [---] The Gaudiya Vedantists are the Bhakti Vedantas, those who understand the loving message of the Vedanta, that love reigns supreme, love is all in all, and that love governs even Krishna — even God Himself is a slave of love."

Achintya Bheda-Abheda is a school of Vedanta representing the philosophy of inconceivable simultaneous oneness and difference, in relation to the creation and the creator, Krishna — svayam bhagavan; and also between God [Source, The Absolute, Krishna] and the individual souls – His fragmental parts and parcels, or emanations. In Sanskrit achintya means 'inconceivable', bheda translates as 'difference', and abheda translates as 'non-difference'. It was taught by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and can be best understood as integration of the strict dualist (Dvaita) view of Madhvacharya and the qualified monism (Vishishtadvaita) of Ramanujacharya, while rejecting the absolute monism (Advaita) of Adi Sankara. (From Wikipedia)

Monday, March 10, 2014

Gaura Purnima Celebration — With Swami B.A. Sridhar Maharaj!

Come down to Nimaihuset saturday March 15 and celebrate Gaura

Purnima with us — the appearance day of Sri Krishna Chaitanya,

“The Hidden Avatar”, a.k.a. Mahaprabhu, Gaura, and Nimai (born under a neem tree)!

Sri Krishna Chaitanya is Krishna Himself — The Supreme

Personality of Godhead, The Supreme Spirit/Light/Consciousness,

The Absolute, Source, OM, The Spiritual Sun, Prime Cause, Adi,

Logos, I AM, God — incarnating “secretly”, in the form of

a devotee of Himself, for the double purpose of experiencing His

devotees’ ecstatic love for Him, and to show the conditioned

souls how to be a devotee.

We will sing bhajans, Swami B.A. Sridhar Maharaj visits from Poland and will give a lecture about Nimai, there will be abhishek (ceremonial bathing of the Nimai Deity), arati (Deity greeting), and afterwards prasadam (sanctified vegetarian food)!

We start at 5 pm.

The feast does not cost anything but donations are gladly accepted.

Welcome!