WHAT IS BHAKTI ?

According to NArada Bhakti SUtra, Bhakti represents exalted and ecstatic unconditional love towards SrI RAdhA KrshNa. It is known as prema bhakti and is eternal. On achieving the supreme stage of prema bhakti one becomes perfect, peaceful and fully satisfied. After attaining this stage, one wants nothing else, grieves not, hates not, rejoices not in materialistic pursuits.

sA tvasmin parama prema rUpA !

amruta svarUpA ca !

yal labhdvA pumAn siddho bhavatyamruto bhavati trupto bhavati !

yat prApya na kincid vAncati na Socati na dveshti na ramate notsAhI bhavati !

-- NArada Bhakti sUtra

SUPREMACY OF BHAKTI ACCORDING TO SANDILYA BHAKTI SUTRA

SANdilya Bhakti sUtra emphasizes the supremacy of Bhakti over means like karma (Action) and jnAna (Knowledge). Bhakti is the substratum which constitutes the fundamental and principal means. Other means like karma and jnAna are subordinate to Bhakti and are dependent on it.

According to Jaimini Rishi, chanting of divine name is the best path to develop unconditional love. Chanting of SrI RAdhA KrshNa in ecstasy quickly leads to premabhakti. Hence Bhakti is the highest of all means and a Bhakta is superior to a kArmi, jnAni or Yogi.

sA mukhyetarApekshitatvAt !
prakaraNAcca !
Namneti jaimini: sambhavAt !
Tadeva karmajnAniyogibhyah Adhikya SabdAt !
--- SANdilya Bhakti sUtra

IMPORTANCE OF BHAJAN ACCORDING TO SANDILYA BHAKTI SUTRA

According to SANdilya Bhakti sUtra, Bhajan is the ultimate attainment of Bhakti and all other aspects of Bhakti are only its components. Singing the countless glories of Supreme RAdhAKrshNa in divine ecstasy is the best path to attain prema bhakti. Both sambhoga and vipralambha moods are embedded in nAmasankIrtana and hence it is superior in all respects.

BhaktyA bhajana upasamhArAt gauNyA parAyai tat hetutvAt !
--SANdilya Bhakti SUtra 

WHETHER KRISHNA CAN BE WORSHIPPED WITHOUT RADHA?

The proper means to worship KrshNa is only through obtaining the divine grace of RAdhA. One who strives for the divine association of KrshNa without first unconditionally  surrendering to the lotus feet of RAdhA is like one who wants to enjoy the beauty of Full Moon on a night which is not a full moon night. One who has not tasted RAdhA prema rasa will not be able to enjoy a drop of nectar in spite of the availability of the vast divine nectar ocean.

râdhâ-dâsyam-apâsya yah prayatate govinda-sangâshayâ

so’yam purna-sudhâ-rucheh parichayam râkâm vinâ kânkshati.

kincha shyâma-rati-pravâha-lahari-beejan na ye tâm viduste

prâpyâpi marmita-ambudhim-aho bindum param prâpnuyuh.

जय जय  श्रीराधे   

WHETHER “RADHA” IS MENTIONED IN YADAVABHYUDAYAM OF SRI VEDANTA DESIKA?

RAdhA is mentioned in two places in YAdavAbhyudayam of SrI VedAnta DeSika.

9-90
Nirapeksha ihaiva NIlayA rasikah pAlikayA sa rAdhayA !
Prithagatra kimetaducyate kuhakah kaScidasau kulasya na : !!
10-71
devakI tanujasthUNA divyam dhAma vrjAngaNam !
ramA rAdhAdayasceti rAsibhedair va bhidyate !!

जय जय  श्रीराधे  !

WHAT ARE THE EIGHT FLOWERS (ASHTA PUSHPANI) WHICH ARE VERY DEAR TO BHAGAVAN SRI VISHNU?

The following eight flowers (ashta pushpANi) are very dear to BhagavAn Sri MahA VishNu :
(1) Non-violence
(2) Control over senses
(3) Compassion towards all beings
(4) Patience
(5) Tranquility
(6) Austerity
(7) Meditation
(8) Truthfulness

AhimsA prathamam pushpam pushpamindriya nigraha: !
sarvabhUta dayA pushpam kshamA pushpam viSeshata: !!
SAnti: pushpam tapa: pushpam dhyAnam pushpam tathaiva ca !
Satyamashta vidham pushpam vishNo: prItikaram bhavet !!

SRI DAMODARASHTAKAM

It is very auspicious to recite  SrI DAmodarAshtakam and pray for the blessings of SrI RAdhA KrishNa especially on  DeepAvali day.

(1)
namAmISvaram sac-cid-Ananda-rUpam
lasat-kuNdalam gokule bhrAjamAnam !
yaSodAbhiyolUkhalAd dhAvamAnam
paramrushtamatyam tatodrutya gopyA !!
(2)
rudantam muhur netra-yugmam mrujantam
karAmbhoja-yugmena sAtanka-netram !
muhuh SvAsa-kampa-trirekhAnka-kantha
sthita graivam damodaram bhakti-baddham !!
(3)
itIdruk sva-leelAbhirAnanda-kuNde
sva-ghosham nimajjantamAkhyApayantam !
tadIyeSitajneshu bhaktair jitatvam
punah prematastam satAvrutti vande !!
(4)
varam deva moksham na mokshAvadhim vA
na cAnyam vruNe‘ham vareSAdapIha !
idam te vapurnAtha gopAla-bAlam
sadA me manasyAvirAstAm kimanyaih !!
(5)
idam te mukhAmbhojamayakta-neelair
vrutam kuntalaih snigdha-raktais ca gopyA !
muhuscumbitam bimba-raktAdharam me
manasyAvirAstAmalam laksha-lAbhaih !!
(6)
namo deva dAmodarAnanta vishNo
prasIda prabho duhkha-jAlAbdhi-magnam !
krupA drushti vrushtyAtidInam batAnu
gruhANeSa mAmajnamedhyakshi-drSyah !!
(7)
kuberAtmajau baddha-mUrtyaiva yadvat
tvayA mocitau bhakti-bhAjau krutau ca !
tathA prema-bhaktim svakAm me prayaccha
na mokshe graho me‘sti damodareha !!
(8)
namaste‘stu dAmne sphurad-dIpti-dhAmne
tvadIyodarAyAtha viSvasya dhAmne !
namo rAdhikAyai tvadIya-priyAyai
namo ‘nanta-leelAya devAya tubhyam !!
जय जय  श्रीराधे  

WHETHER VAJRASUCIKOPANISHAD IS AUTHENTIC REGARDING PERFORMANCE OF SAMSKARAS?

VajrasUcikopanishad is a minor Upanishad which is attributed to SAma Veda.Ancient AcAryas have not quoted from this Upanishad.It is said to be popular mainly in Buddhist circles. There are stated to be different versions of this Upanishad.There is reference about vAlmiki, VyAsa, RishyaSrunga, JAmbuka, agastya, gautama and vasishtha in this Upanishad.

In a nutshell, VajrasUcikopanishad says that :

(1) JIva is not BrAhmaNa

(2) deha is not BrAhmaNa

(3) jAti is not BrAhmaNa

(4) jnAnam is not BrAhmaNa

(5) karma is not BrAhmaNa

(6) dhArmika is not BrAhmaNa

Finally in essence it means that one who has realized the non-dual Self is a brAhmanah --"advitIya Atma sAkshAtkAravaneva brAhmaNah!"

Assuming for a moment the authenticity of this minor Upanishad,regarding performance of samskAras only dharma SAstras would prevail over such texts as they only deal with the samskAras clearly from birth to death based on one's varNA and ASrama.

WHETHER THE WORD "JANMA" IS MENTIONED IN THE VEDAS?

The word "Janma" is mentioned in the Vedas in many places.
Rg Veda Samhita

1.31.7
त्वं तम॑ग्ने अमृत॒त्व उ॑त्त॒मे मर्तं॑ दधासि॒ श्रव॑से दि॒वेदि॑वे
यस्ता॑तृषा॒ण उ॒भया॑य॒ जन्म॑ने॒ मयः॑ कृ॒णोषि॒ प्रय॒ आ च॑ सू॒रये॑
1.58.6
द॒धुष्ट्वा॒ भृग॑वो॒ मानु॑षे॒ष्वा र॒यिं न चारुं॑ सु॒हवं॒ जने॑भ्यः
होता॑रमग्ने॒ अति॑थिं॒ वरे॑ण्यं मि॒त्रं न शेवं॑ दि॒व्याय॒ जन्म॑ने
1.60.1
वह्निं॑ य॒शसं॑ वि॒दथ॑स्य के॒तुं सु॑प्रा॒व्यं॑ दू॒तं स॒द्योअ॑र्थम्
द्वि॒जन्मा॑नं र॒यिमि॑व प्रश॒स्तं रा॒तिं भ॑र॒द्भृग॑वे मात॒रिश्वा॑
1.70.2
दैव्या॑नि व्र॒ता चि॑कि॒त्वाना मानु॑षस्य॒ जन॑स्य॒ जन्म॑
1.70.6
ए॒ता चि॑कित्वो॒ भूमा॒ नि पा॑हि दे॒वानां॒ जन्म॒ मर्तां॑श्च वि॒द्वान्
2.26.3
स इज्जने॑न॒ स वि॒शा स जन्म॑ना॒ स पु॒त्रैर्वाजं॑ भरते॒ धना॒ नृभिः॑
दे॒वानां॒ यः पि॒तर॑मा॒विवा॑सति श्र॒द्धाम॑ना ह॒विषा॒ ब्रह्म॑ण॒स्पति॑म्
2.6.7
अ॒न्तर्ह्य॑ग्न॒ ईय॑से वि॒द्वान् जन्मो॒भया॑ कवे
दू॒तो जन्ये॑व॒ मित्र्यः॑

WHETHER THE WORD "NARAKA" IS MENTIONED IN THE VEDAS?

The word "Naraka" is mentioned in the Vedas.
Yajur Veda -Taittiriya Aranyaka i-72
दक्षिणपूर्वस्यान्दिशि विसर्पी नरकः । तस्मान्नः परिपाहि ।
दक्षिणापरस्यान्दिश्यविसर्पी नरकः । तस्मान्नः परिपाहि ।
उत्तरपूर्वस्यान्दिशि विषादी नरकः । तस्मान्नः परिपाहि ।
उत्तरापरस्यान्दिश्यविषादी नरकः ।तस्मान्नः परिपाहि ।
आ यस्मिन्थ्सप्त वासवा इन्द्रियाणि शतक्रतवित्येते ।।

WHETHER THE WORD "SVARGA" IS MENTIONED IN THE VEDAS?

The word "svarga" appears in many places in the Vedas.
Rg Veda Brahmana
1.1.2

वा ऊतयस्त उ एवैतत्स्वर्गयाणा यजमानस्य भवन्ति तदाहुर्यदन्यो जुहोत्यथ योनु चाह यजति
8.5.1 
एनं शान्ततनवोऽभिहुता अभिप्रीताः स्वर्गं लोकमभिवहन्ति  
7.5.4
यतो वा अधि देवा यज्ञेनेष्ट्वा स्वर्गं लोकमायंस्तत्रैतां 
7.2.11
पाप्मोर्ध्वः स्वर्गं लोकमेतीति वै ब्राह्मणमुदाहरन्ति
7.2.9

श्रद्धया सत्येन मिथुनेन स्वर्गाँल्लोकान्जयतीति

WHETHER THE WORD "DHARMA" IS MENTIONED IN THE VEDAS?

The word "Dharma" is mentioned in many places in the Vedas.
Rg Veda Samhita

1.134.5
तुभ्यं॑ शु॒क्रासः॒ शुच॑यस्तुर॒ण्यवो॒ मदे॑षू॒ग्रा इ॑षणन्तभु॒र्वण्य॒पामि॑षन्त भु॒र्वणि॑
त्वां त्सा॒री दस॑मानो॒ भग॑मीट्टे तक्व॒वीये॑
त्वं विश्व॑स्मा॒द्भुव॑नात्पासि॒ धर्म॑णासु॒र्या॑त्पासि॒ धर्म॑णा
10.90.16
य॒ज्ञेन॑ य॒ज्ञम॑यजन्त दे॒वास्तानि॒ धर्मा॑णि प्रथ॒मान्या॑सन्
ते ह॒ नाकं॑ महि॒मानः॑ सचन्त॒ यत्र॒ पूर्वे॑ सा॒ध्याः सन्ति॑ दे॒वाः
10.56.3
वा॒ज्य॑सि॒ वाजि॑नेना सुवे॒नीः सु॑वि॒तः स्तोमं॑ सुवि॒तो दिवं॑ गाः
सु॒वि॒तो धर्म॑ प्रथ॒मानु॑ स॒त्या सु॑वि॒तो दे॒वान्त्सु॑वि॒तोऽनु॒ पत्म॑
10.63.13
अरि॑ष्टः॒ स मर्तो॒ विश्व॑ एधते॒ प्र प्र॒जाभि॑र्जायते॒ धर्म॑ण॒स्परि॑
यमा॑दित्यासो॒ नय॑था सुनी॒तिभि॒रति॒ विश्वा॑नि दुरि॒ता स्व॒स्तये॑
10.65.5
मि॒त्राय॑ शिक्ष॒ वरु॑णाय दा॒शुषे॒ या स॒म्राजा॒ मन॑सा॒ न प्र॒युच्छ॑तः
ययो॒र्धाम॒ धर्म॑णा॒ रोच॑ते बृ॒हद्ययो॑रु॒भे रोद॑सी॒ नाध॑सी॒ वृतौ॑

WHETHER THE WORD "KARMA" IS MENTIONED IN THE VEDAS?

The word "karma" is mentioned in many places in the Vedas:
Rg Veda Samhita

1.101.4
यो अश्वा॑नां॒ यो गवां॒ गोप॑तिर्व॒शी य आ॑रि॒तः कर्म॑णिकर्मणि स्थि॒रः
वी॒ळोश्चि॒दिन्द्रो॒ यो असु॑न्वतो व॒धो म॒रुत्व॑न्तं स॒ख्याय॑ हवामहे
1.102.6
गो॒जिता॑ बा॒हू अमि॑तक्रतुः सि॒मः कर्म॑न्कर्मञ्छ॒तमू॑तिः खजंक॒रः
अ॒क॒ल्प इन्द्रः॑ प्रति॒मान॒मोज॒साथा॒ जना॒ वि ह्व॑यन्ते सिषा॒सवः॑
1.103.6
भूरि॑कर्मणे वृष॒भाय॒ वृष्णे॑ स॒त्यशु॑ष्माय सुनवाम॒ सोम॑म्
य आ॒दृत्या॑ परिप॒न्थीव॒ शूरोऽय॑ज्वनो वि॒भज॒न्नेति॒ वेदः॑
1.11.4
पु॒रां भि॒न्दुर्युवा॑ क॒विरमि॑तौजा अजायत
इन्द्रो॒ विश्व॑स्य॒ कर्म॑णो ध॒र्ता व॒ज्री पु॑रुष्टु॒तः
1.112.2
यु॒वोर्दा॒नाय॑ सु॒भरा॑ अस॒श्चतो॒ रथ॒मा त॑स्थुर्वच॒सं न मन्त॑वे
याभि॒र्धियोऽव॑थः॒ कर्म॑न्नि॒ष्टये॒ ताभि॑रू॒ षु ऊ॒तिभि॑रश्वि॒ना ग॑तम्
10.56.6
द्विधा॑ सू॒नवोऽसु॑रं स्व॒र्विद॒मास्था॑पयन्त तृ॒तीये॑न॒ कर्म॑णा
स्वां प्र॒जां पि॒तरः॒ पित्र्यं॒ सह॒ आव॑रेष्वदधु॒स्तन्तु॒मात॑तम्