--> Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from April 16, 2018


Story of Janabai and Sant Namdev

Janabai was an ardent devotee of Lord Vitthal of Pandarpur. She was adopted by Sant Namdev. This is the story of Janabai; and how she got the blessing of her Guru and Lord. Janabai was seven years old when she first visited the temple of Lord Vitthal at Pandarpur. She was on a pilgrimage along with her parents. To the surprise of her parents, she informed them that she no longer wished to go back with them to her home. She wanted to stay in the temple and offer prayers to Vitthal. Her parents tried all means to change her mind. Love and coercion had no effect. Her devotion was steadfast. Ultimately, the parents left her at the gate of the temple and returned to their home. When Sant Namdev discovered such a young girl sitting alone and meditating on Lord Vitthal, he took her home. Her devotion became even stronger in the pious atmosphere of the Sant. She enjoyed the devotional songs composed by Sant Namdev. She listened to the conversation of the Sant with other pious

Book – Sri Brahma Samhita – Interview with Translator and commentator James Hall

Sri Brahma Samhita is an Hindu scripture dedicated to Bhagavan Srihari Vishnu and it was discovered by Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Bhakti of Sri Krishna is the main theme of the book. James E Hall has translated the Sri Brahma Samhita into English. There is also a simple commentary. To know more about the book, I did an interview with Author James E Hall. You can learn more about the book through the interview. There are several other Hindu scriptures dedicated to Lord Krishna but you chose Brahma Samhita to translate. Why? I chose the Brahma Samhita for several reasons:  It was very influential to me personally in my own spiritual development — while I was well-versed in Hindu scripture before reading it, the Brahma Samhita, as well as various other texts associated with Gaudiya Vaisnavism gave me the idea of worshipping God in separation, rather than pursuing the idea of dissolution into Brahman — I related this to the relationship between partners which was formational in