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    Narada Bhakti Sutra Commentary - Day 1 - Part 1

    Sutra: Introduction to the Narada Bhakti Sutras
    Highlights: Highlights: Why Narada was compelled to wander the universe; bhakti vs. business; the 9 forms of bhakti; para-bhakti and apara-bhakti; the story of Saint Dnyaneshwar and the buffalo…and much more.

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    Narada Bhakti Sutra Commentary - Day 1 - Part 2


    Sutra:
    Introduction to the Narada Bhakti Sutras (continued)
    Highlights: Atmanivedana: a state all devotees should strive for; the 64 aparadhas (offenses); what is a bjia mantra; the meaning and power of a sutra; four aspects of Krishna; why you should never consider Tulsi a mere plant…and more

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    Narada Bhakti Sutra Commentary - Day 1 - Part 3


    Sutras:
    1 & 2
    Highlights: The meaning of Narada; Narada meeting Bhakti Devi; Bhagavan wants only love, not material things; personal deity: ishtadev; devotees talk about the lila of God in their lives, inspiring others to grow; distinction between what is ‘love’ and what is ‘like’… and more

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    Narada Bhakti Sutra Commentary - Day 1 - Part 4


    Sutras:
    3 & 4
    Highlights: What can bring you to Vaikuntha; talk between Nachiketa and Yamraj; Ajamila, Gajendra; those on path of bhakti: Bhakti Marga; moksha is your right; this world in the vast universe; how can we love God; in company of devotees, feeling the presence of God…and more

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    Narada Bhakti Sutra Commentary - Day 1 - Part 5

    Sutra: 5
    Highlights: a dog steals chapati from Namdev; Vitthala comes to Chokhamela & Janabai and in different forms; Purusha Suktam; Bhagavad Gita, Ch. 2, v. 59, leaving the longing behind; Bhagavad Gita Ch. 12, v. 17, ‘He who neither rejoices, nor hates, nor grieves, nor desires…’

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    Narada Bhakti Sutra Commentary - Day 2 - Part 1

    Sutra: 6
    Highlights: Bhakti saints often appear to be mad; Chaitanya Mahaprabhu; when a test comes, you can see how much one has truly surrendered; Guruji drinking liquor in a monastery; devotees start to look like their guru; Bhagavad Gita Ch.5, v. 22; yoga is not gymnastics; bhajan: Aisi Lāgi Lagan

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    Narada Bhakti Sutra Commentary - Day 2 - Part 2

    Sutras: 7 & 8
    Highlights: lust vs. love; Chintamani, the courtesan; Bilva Mangal; when sexual energy transforms into spiritual energy, it becomes the energy of divine contemplation; Bhagavad Gita Ch. 3, verse 39-40; the power of discrimination ; ‘Whatever you do, offer it all unto Me.’…and more

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    Narada Bhakti Sutra Commentary - Day 2 - Part 3

    Sutras: 9 & 10
    Highlights: Bhagavad Gita Ch. 8, verse 14; bringing the mind back; fasting and focusing upon the Lord Himself, for whom you are fasting; You can’t serve two masters; Gajendra; depend on the Lord Himself and he will send the right person to help you…and more

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    Narada Bhakti Sutra Commentary - Day 2 - Part 4

    Sutra: 11
    Highlights: God created only the religion of love; the Gita, the Bhagavatam, etc., are guides that help transcend the limitation; read the Gita daily; the scriptures aren’t just books; Ch. 12, v. 12; three kinds of austerities; preparing the ground for bhakti to manifest; knowing what bhakti is; the power of maya…and more

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    Narada Bhakti Sutra Commentary - Day 3 - Part 1

    Sutras: 14 & 15
    Highlights: Health of mind and body allows you to serve the Divine; overthinking, overeating, to fulfill desire; work and worship; majority of people don’t know why they are living; Samarth Ramdas and St. Tukaram; Narayana-seva: serving the Lord present inside of everyone, every animal, and nature…and more

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    Narada-Bhakti-Sutras - Day 3 - Part 2

    Sutras: 16, 17 & 18
    Highlights: Not an idol, but the essence of the Supreme Lord; external worship becomes internal; Manasa-puja; Ramakrishna slapping queen Rani Rasmani; listening to the glory of the Lord; Gita Ch. 10, v 9; Parikshit listening to Sukadeva Goswami; Ratnakar transformed into sage Valmiki; Tulsidas…and more

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    Narada-Bhakti-Sutras - Day 3 - Part 3



    Sutras:
    19 & 20
    Highlights: Eknath’s wife giving up her body after hearing her husband is dead; Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 10, C.19, v.16, when the gopis saw Krishna returning home; living a state of para-bhakti: complete surrender and service to the Supreme Lord; story of Bhakti Devi from Puri…and more

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    Narada-Bhakti-Sutras - Day 3 - Part 4


    Sutras:
    21, 22, 23 and 24
    Highlights: Whatever the gopis do, they think of Krishna; Krishna raised the gopis to His level so they could have a relationship with Him; this world suffers because they have forgotten about their relationship with God; read the Bhagavad Gita, the Bhagavatam, the life of saints who have forged this relationship…and more

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    Narada-Bhakti-Sutras - Day 3 - Part 5

    Sutra 25
    Highlights: The path of karma, jñāna and dhyana-yoga; service or selfish motive with expectations; service done with the grace of bhakti stays between them and their Lord; worshipping the Lord with form or without form; those who walk the path of Bhakti Marga should walk without any fear, because Bhagavan Himself is your companion…and more

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    Narada-Bhakti-Sutras - Day 3 - Part 6

    Sutras: 26, 27 and 28
    Highlights: Seeds falling on stone or good soil; serving Tulsi Devi; what humility means; Gora Kumbhar; Bhagavan is Bhakta Vatsala, Dina Nath, Dina Bandhu; Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was completely humble, even sitting where all the shoes were kept; only by continuously absorbing oneself in the Name of Sri Hari will that virtue awaken…and more

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    Narada-Bhakti-Sutras - Day 3 - Part 7

    Sutras 29, 30, 31 and 32
    Highlights: Ultimate knowledge, Brahma-jnana; bhakti and knowledge are interdependent, bhakti is not separate from knowledge; Bhagavad Gita Chapter 4, verse 39; Chapter 10, verse 10; Chapter 18, verse 55…and more

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    Narada-Bhakti-Sutras - Day 3 - Part 8

    Sutras 33, 34, 35 and 36
    Highlights: Mere knowledge about bhakti doesn’t awaken devotion; talking about devotion, doesn’t awaken bhakti; to have courage like Prahlad, devotion of Sriman Narayana like Druva, deep longing like Srimati Radharani, faith like Kunti; Pundalika; Teacher vs. acharya; who are you associating with; internal renunciation, be consistent in your sadhana and more…

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    Narada-Bhakti-Sutras - Day 4 - Part 1

    Sutra 37
    Highlights: Incarnated here for a reason, you can’t run away from that duty; Bhagavan said, ‘I dwell in the heart of My devotees…those who sing My glory’; when you are singing the Name of the Lord all your karma gets burned naturally; when you are fully absorbed into that bhajan, wherever you are, He is with you; work is worship

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    Narada-Bhakti-Sutras - Day 4 - Part 2

    Sutra 38
    Highlights: the guru's duty is to remind you continuously all of the Names of the Lord; more than being near to the Master, it's more important to listen to what the Master teaches you; without challenging you, you will not change; Bhagavad Gita Chapter 10, verse 11, ‘Out of pure compassion for them, dwelling within their self, I destroy the ignorance born darkness by shining the light of wisdom.’

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    Narada-Bhakti-Sutras - Day 4 - Part 3

    Sutra 39
    Highlights:  In this time, we see this world is full of hypocrisy; ‘One in a thousand struggle for Self-realisation. And even among such aspirants, only one in thousand attains Self-realisation’; the benefit of association; Shreemad Bhagavatam, Canto 1, Chapter 18, verse 13: sage Vishwamitra and sage Vashishta discussing the glory of a devotee.

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    Narada-Bhakti-Sutras - Day 4 - Part 4

    Sutras: 40, 41
    Highlights: The devotees don’t find the guru--the guru finds the devotees; Krishna said, ‘I come in the form of shastras, the gurus and bhaktas’; Sant Eknath and Sant Kabir Das are the incarnations of Shukadeva and Uddhava; the guru is always with his devotees. No time or space or distance separates them.

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    Narada-Bhakti-Sutras - Day 4 - Part 5

    Sutras: 42, 43
    Highlights: In the Shreemad Bhagavatam, Krishna says, ‘Across the ages countless souls have attained Me simply by keeping association with My devotees’; being in association with the Master you start to resemble the Master; somebody who keeps company of people who are worldly will lose the grace of bhakti; real friends inspire you to have more devotion.

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    Narada-Bhakti-Sutras - Day 4 - Part 6

    Sutras: 44, 45, 46
    Highlights: Desire, anger and the three gateways to hell; ‘Those bereft of wisdom, those who are devoid of knowledge, cannot recognise Me as the eternal Lord’; service to the Feet of the guru and saints and sadhus removes all ignorance;  maya is very powerful. But more powerful than her is your determination to attain to the Lotus Feet of the Lord.

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    Narada-Bhakti-Sutras - Day 4 - Part 7

    Sutras: 47, 48
    Highlights: Retire into the forest of your heart; Chapter 18, verse 52 Bhagavan Krishna emphasised solitude; from time to time just close your eyes, go inside, just one minute; Tinkori Baba and his disciple Mathura Das experiencing Radha Krishna at Radha kunda; one who renounces attachment to the result of one’s action can rightly be called a renunciant.

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    Narada-Bhakti-Sutras - Day 5 - Part 1

    Sutras: 49, 50, 51
    Highlights: Ritual helps you to purify yourself, but when you have reached that excelled state of devotion, all of this disappears; that love which awakens is a love which can't be satisfied. There is only that yearning for more of it; the greatness of love; Shabari; Sudama; words become inadequate in describing what bhakti is. It can't be explained by words.

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    Narada-Bhakti-Sutras - Day 5 - Part 2

    Sutras: 52, 53, 54
    Highlights: Story of Champa; Guruji talks about his childhood; the saints have a different shine in their eyes; that love manifests, that love is given, that grace is easily attained to those which are truly worthy of receiving it; love vs lust; conceptualising, analysing love; when you absorb into that divine ecstasy, it is impossible to describe; Pundalik, Savatamali.

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    Narada-Bhakti-Sutras - Day 5 - Part 3

    Sutras: 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60
    Highlights: Guruji saying: that effort that you have put the tilak on your forehead itself is beautiful; where there is love, that becomes home. In your heart is your home; gopis - the topmost of bhakti; secondary bhakti; devotion: sattvic, rajasic, tamasic; doing spiritual practice with a certain aim;  saints who feel that love inside of them, become silent.

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    Narada Bhakti Sutra Commentary - Day 6 - Part 1

    Sutras: 61
    Highlights: Those who have surrendered should not feel any anxiety for worldly concerns, nor thoughts of worry or public criticism; complete trust in God, even if things don't go the way you think it should go; Rukmini’s letter to Krishna; the wives of great saints were against Krishna, Vitthala; be concerned only about your relationship and your love for Him.

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    Narada Bhakti Sutra Commentary - Day 6 - Part 2

    Sutras: 62, 63, 64
    Highlights: Transform the work you do into a state of selfless work; great saints work for the betterment of mankind; Samarth Ramdas and his disciple Amba Das; Krishna Arpanamastu’, at night when you go to sleep; avoid three things: lust, anger and greed; when you perceive your qualities of egoism, hypocrisy or other negative qualities, focus on the opposite quality.

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    Narada Bhakti Sutra Commentary - Day 6 - Part 3

    Sutras: 65, 66
    Highlights: The prayer that Vidya sent to Guruji; one can also become angry with Him – like gopis, Radaharani were; in bhakti you offer everything. This is the privilege of being a devotee of the Supreme Lord;  Ravana, Kamsa constantly dwelled on Him, but having such anger towards God is not meant for everybody; devotees find joy to serve without motive.

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    Narada Bhakti Sutra Commentary - Day 6 - Part 4

    Sutras: 67, 68
    Highlights: Mukhyah bhakti; Para-bhakti; the greatest devotees don't even long for liberation; Bhagavan about Uddhava, ‘Neither Brahma, nor Shankara, nor Sankarshana, nor Sridevi, nor My own self is very dear to Me as you are’; how lucky are those who come in contact with a true devotee; you don't only purify yourself. You purify your generation, you purify all your descendants and your ancestors; effect of OM Chanting.

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    Narada Bhakti Sutra Commentary - Day 7 - Part 1

    Sutras: 69, 70
    Highlights: Exalted devotees purify their family, their ancestors, their surroundings. They are a blessing, not only for this world, but for this universe; a holy place by itself is not holy, but by the presence of saints and Maha-Purusha these places are transformed;  Ganga went to Trailanga Swami to be purified; Pundalika; Bhu Vaikuntha, Pandharpur; pilgrimage places

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    Narada Bhakti Sutra Commentary - Day 7 - Part 2

    Sutras: 71, 72, 73
    Highlights: Mother Earth gets strength by the presence of devotees; the body of a devotee is not just made of matter, it is love that vibrates; anyone taking on devotee initiation is purifying 21 generations back of their ancestors; you being on the path of Hari Bhakta Sampradaya is not random; the true devotees belong to Him, and their actions reflect Him.

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    Narada Bhakti Sutra Commentary - Day 7 - Part 3

    Sutras: 74, 75, 76
    Highlights: Do something so that you will attract the grace of guru and God in your life; know that your path is right, even while being criticised;  devotees absorbed in the divine Love of God don't go into debates and intellectual gymnastics; study things that will promote the awakening of bhakti in your actions; all the scriptures help in awakening bhakti in the heart of those who practice.

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    Narada Bhakti Sutra Commentary - Day 8 - Part 1

    Sutras: 77
    Highlights: How much time one wastes in feeling pity for oneself; story of Raja Janak; people spend their whole lives slaving away for the wealth they give to doctors at the end; better to spend your time among devotees who remind you of your relationship with God; if you have not practiced chanting His Name, your mind will not remember Him when passing from this life.

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    Narada Bhakti Sutra Commentary - Day 8 - Part 2

    Sutras: 78, 79, 80, 81
    Highlights: Discipline on spiritual path; instead of gossiping, sharing something inspiring you have experienced; on the spiritual path, everybody climbs their own ladder, so there is no need for competition; ‘the devotee is ‘yuktatama’, the best and the highest among those who are united to Him’; para-bhakti means the highest form of devotion

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    Narada Bhakti Sutra Commentary - Day 8 - Part 3

    Sutras: 82, 83, 84
    Highlights: When you have that attitude of serving Him as a servant, then He comes nearer and nearer to you; story of Narada and mother Yashoda; Chaitanya Mahaprabhu; Mirabai carried Giridhar Gopal for 80 years, wherever she went; if you want to have Darshan of Bhagavan, it’s possible only by bhakti.