10. FLUENT A person who can speak meaningful words and with all politeness and good qualities is called vāvadūka, or fluent. There is a nice statement in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam regarding Kṛṣṇa’s speaking politely. When Kṛṣṇa politely bade His … Read More
9. PLEASING TALKER A person who can speak sweetly even with his enemy just to pacify him is called a pleasing talker. Kṛṣṇa was such a pleasing talker that after defeating His enemy Kāliya in the water … Read More
8. TRUTHFUL A person whose word of honor is never broken is called truthful. Kṛṣṇa once promised Kuntī, the mother of the Pāṇḍavas, that He would bring her five sons back from the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra. After … Read More
7. WONDERFUL LINGUIST Rūpa Gosvāmī says that a person who knows the languages of different countries, especially the Sanskrit language, which is spoken in the cities of the demigods – as well as other worldly languages, including … Read More
6. EVER YOUTHFUL Kṛṣṇa is beautiful at His different ages – namely, His childhood, His boyhood and His youth. Out of these three, His youth is the reservoir of all pleasures and is the time when the … Read More
5. STRONG A person who has extraordinary bodily strength is called balīyān. When Kṛṣṇa killed Ariṣṭāsura, some of the gopīs said, “My dear friends, just see how Kṛṣṇa has killed Ariṣṭāsura! Although he was stronger than a … Read More
4. EFFULGENT The effulgence pervading the universe is considered to be the rays of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The supreme abode of Kṛṣṇa is always throwing off the effulgence known as brahma-jyotir, and that effulgence is … Read More
4. EFFULGENT The effulgence pervading the universe is considered to be the rays of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The supreme abode of Kṛṣṇa is always throwing off the effulgence known as brahma-jyotir, and that effulgence is … Read More
3. PLEASING Beautiful bodily features which automatically attract the eyes are called rucira (pleasing). Kṛṣṇa possesses this attractive feature of rucira in His personal features. In the Third Canto, second chapter, verse 13 of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, there is … Read More
2. AUSPICIOUS CHARACTERISTICS There are certain characteristics of different limbs that are considered to be very auspicious and are fully present in the body of the Lord. In this connection, one friend of Nanda Mahārāja, speaking about … Read More
1. BEAUTIFUL BODILY FEATURES Any comparison of the different parts of the Lord’s body to different material objects cannot factually be a complete comparison. Ordinary persons, who cannot understand how exalted are the bodily features of the … Read More
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE Qualities of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Personal features can be divided into two: one feature is covered and the other feature is manifested. When Kṛṣṇa is covered by different kinds of dress, His personal feature is … Read More
ASSOCIATION WITH PURE DEVOTEES Although many different processes for developing love of Godhead have been explained so far, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī now gives us a general description of how one can best achieve such a high … Read More
THE LORD’S EXTRAORDINARY MERCY When a devotee is found to be always associated with the Lord in ecstatic love, it is to be understood that such a position has been awarded by the Lord Himself out … Read More
ECSTASY Ecstatic love of Godhead can be potently invoked simply by following the rules and regulations of devotional service as they are prescribed in scriptures, under the direction of a bona fide spiritual master. In the … Read More
CHAPTER NINETEEN Devotional Service In Pure Love of God When one’s desire to love Kṛṣṇa in one’s particular relationship becomes intensified, this is known as pure love of Godhead. In the beginning a devotee is engaged … Read More
ATTRACTION FOR LIVING IN A PLACE WHERE KṚṢṆA HAS HIS PASTIMES In the book Padyāvalī by Rūpa Gosvāmī there is the following statement about Vṛndāvana: “In this place the son of Mahārāja Nanda used to live … Read More
EAGERNESS TO DESCRIBE THE LORD’S TRANSCENDENTAL QUALITIES Attachment for chanting the glories of the Lord is also expressed in the Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta as follows: “What shall I do for Kṛṣṇa, who is pleasing beyond all pleasurable conceptions, … Read More
ATTACHMENT TO CHANTING THE HOLY NAMES OF THE LORD In the same Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta there is another statement about the chanting of Rādhārāṇī. It is said by one of the associates of Rādhārāṇī, “O Lord Govinda, the … Read More
EAGERNESS FOR ACHIEVING THE DESIRED SUCCESS When one is sufficiently eager to achieve success in devotional service, that eagerness is called samutkaṇṭhā. This means “complete eagerness.” Actually this eagerness is the price for achieving success in … Read More
