knowledge & detachment

One cannot be bhakti-yogi without jnana and vairagya. It is not a sentimental thing; it is based on pure knowledge. What is that pure knowledge? Pure knowledge means "I do not belong to this material world. I am spirit soul. Aham brahmasmi. Therefore my business is to serve the Supreme Brahman, or Para-brahman." Param brahma param dhama pavitram paramam bhavan [Bg 10.12].    (More...)

Therefore Krsna says, bahūnam janmanam ante jnanavan mam prapadyate [Bg 7.19]. Who surrenders to Krsna? Unless one is fully in knowledge, "What is Absolute Truth, what I am, what is my relationship with the Absolute Truth..." That is called knowledge. And if one understands that "Krsna is my eternal master. He is my eternal father. I am not this body. I am also the same thing as Krsna, spiritual..." Mamaivamsaḥ. "I am part and parcel of Krsna. If Krsna is gold, then I am also gold. But Krsna is gold mine; I am gold earring, that's all." This is knowledge. Jnana-vairagya-yuktena. And when one comes to this knowledge, then he becomes reluctant to this material attachment. That is called vairagya.    (More...)

So jnana-vairagya-yuktena bhakti-yogena [SB 3.25.18]. How this jnana and vairagya can be awakened? The jnana is there, but it is now covered. Nitya-siddha krsna-bhakti sadhya kabhu naya. It is stated in the Caitanya..., that my relationship with Krsna is nitya-siddha. Nitya-siddha means it is eternal; it is not artificial. Not that we accept Krsna as my master or father or like this, artificially. This is eternal fact. But by forgetting Krsna, I am suffering. This is your fact. So if we want to be free from this fearfulness, sada samudvigna-dhiyam... That is the Prahlada Maharaja's advises. Prahlada Maharaja was asked by his father, "My dear boy, what best thing you have learned from your teachers?" So he said,    (More...)