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Chanting before starting our Bhāgavata sessions

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Minimum Chanting before starting our Bh ā gavata sessions (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 12, 13) (1)  janmādy asya yato ’nvayād itarataś cārtheṣv abhijñaḥ svarāṭ / tene brahma hṛdā ya ādi-kavaye muhyanti yat sūrayaḥ // tejovāri-mṛdāṃ yathā vinimayo yatra tri-sargo ’mṛṣā / dhāmnā svena sadā nirasta-kuhakaṃ satyaṃ paraṃ dhīmahi // (BhP 01.01.001) We meditate (dhīmahi) upon that Supreme Reality (satyaṃ param) from whom (yataḥ) arise the creation, sustenance, and dissolution (janma-ādi) of this universe; who is directly (anvayāt) present in all that exists and indirectly (itarataḥ) distinct from all that is non-existent; who is fully cognizant (abhijñaḥ) of all objects and self-dependent (svarāṭ); who imparted (tene) the Veda (brahma) into the heart (hṛdā) of the first-born sage (ādi-kavi Brahmā), about whom even the learned (sūrayaḥ) are deluded (muhyanti); in whom (yatra) the threefold creation (tri-sargaḥ of sattva, rajas, tamas) appears real (amṛṣā) like the apparent transformation (vinimayaḥ)...
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Sri Chandraśēkhara Aṣṭakam

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  chandraśēkhara chandraśēkhara chandraśēkhara pāhimām । chandraśēkhara chandraśēkhara chandraśēkhara rakṣamām ॥ ratna-s ā nu  ś ar ā sana ṃ rajat ā dri  śṛṅ ga niketanam ratna-s ā nu ś ar ā sana ṃ rajat ā dri śṛṅ ga niketanam ś iñjin ī -k ṛ ta pannag ēś vara ṃ acyut ā nala s ā yakam । k ṣ ipra-dagdha puratraya ṃ trida śā layair abhivanditam chandra śē kharam āś raye mama ki ṃ kari ṣ yati vai yama ḥ ॥ 1 ॥ Week 1 phāla-lōchana jāta-pāvaka dagdha-manmadha-vigraham pañca-pādapa puṣpa-gandha padāmbuja-dvaya-śōbhitam phāla-lōchana jāta-pāvaka dagdha-manmadha-vigraham । bhasma-digdha ka ḻ ēbara ṃ bhava-nāśanam bhavam avyayam chandra śē kharam āś raye mama ki ṃ kari ṣ yati vai yama ḥ ॥ 2 ॥ matta-vāra ṇ a mukhya-carma k ṛ tōttarīya (k ṛ ta-uttarīya) manōharam ( This is a beautiful wall carving of “Gajasamhara” Lord Shiva slaying the elephant demon Gajasura. This carving is in Hoysaleswar temple, Halebidu, Karnataka, India which was built in 12th century by Hoysala ...
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Sri Sri Satchidanandendra Saraswati Swamiji and His influence on my Advaita Studies

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Preface This is a personal reflection, not a scholarly verdict, offered in gratitude to Sri Satchidanandendra Saraswatij (whom I shall refer to in this blog, as Sri Swamiji) for quietly clarifying my Advaita foundations and reshaping how I read our Ācārya’s bhāṣyas. At the same time, my own understanding, though refined and sharpened by Sri Swamiji, continues to hold all later Advaitins after Sri Śri Śa ṅ kara  in the highest reverence, and I still see deep value in the positions they adopted in their respective times and contexts. Here is a link to Swamijis book available in PDF at the  https://adhyatmaprakasha.org/php/sanskrit_books.php https://adhyatmaprakasha.org/php/english_books.php   Theme: Dwelling on Sri Swamiji’s Contribution to Advaita Sri Satchidanandendra Saraswati Swamiji entered my life at a time when I was trying to reconcile Sri Śri Śa ṅ kara - our bhagāvan bhāṣyakāra, with Sri Vyāsa, with the authors of itihāsa and purāna and to...
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One Without a Second - The Nondual Vision of the Bhāgavata

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  Skandha 1 BhP 1.2.11 vadanti tat tattvavidas tattva ṃ yaj jñānam advayam / brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate //   Knowers of Reality speak of that nondual Reality as Brahman, Paramātman, or Bhagavān. BhP 1.15.30 gīta ṃ bhagavatā jñāna ṃ yat tat sa ṅ grāmamūrdhani / kālakarmatamoruddha ṃ punaradhyagamat prabhu ḥ //   The Lord recollected again that knowledge taught by Bhagavān on the battlefield, which had been obscured by time, action, and darkness. BhP 1.15.31 viśoko brahmasampattyā sañchinnadvaitasa ṃ śaya ḥ / līnaprak ṛ tinairgu ṇ yādali ṅ gatvādasambhava ḥ //   Having attained Brahman, freed from grief, and with all doubt about duality cut off, he became beyond material nature, without limiting marks, and thus beyond rebirth. Skandha 2 BhP 2.5.18 sattvaṃ rajas tama iti nirguṇasya guṇās trayaḥ / sthiti-sarga-nirodheṣu gṛhītā māyayā vibhoḥ // Sattva, rajas, and tamas are the three guṇas of the Lord who is in himself beyond the g...
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