Unlock Your True Self

Don't cheat yourself out of the unlimited bliss that is your constitutional original nature. All you really have to do to relish unlimited bliss at every minute is just be yourself. The difficulty is that we live right now in a world where we have been completely, totally programmed with a false conception of who we are. Even though our material bodies are just temporary garments that we are wearing for some time, we foolishly accept them as our actual selves. Thus we unnecessarily suffer the pangs of birth, death, old age, and disease.

By hearing from revealed scriptures and the bona fide spiritual master we can understand that we are not these bodies, but are instead eternal spiritual beings currently foolishly misidentifying ourselves with our material bodies. And then by apply the yogic techniques taught by the spiritual master and the scriptures we can become fully awakened back into our original enlightened and fully bliss consciousness.

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Answers According to Vedic Wisdom

Question: How Can I Advance from Bhava to Prema?​​​​​​​

I am a servant of your lotus feet. I have been in Krishna consciousness since 2013 for 5 years now. Now I have developed bhava bhakti. By the grace of Sri Gurudev I show all 8 symptoms of love like crying, hair standing on end, laughing out loud, feeling ecstasy while chanting, burps or belching while chanting, yawning while chanting, rolling on the floor when thinking of Radha Krishna and dancing. Please tell me how can I attain pure Krishna prema quickly. I am dying to reach prema bhakti. Please be merciful on me. Please help me reach Krishna prema.

Thank you your servant
Abhay C.

Answer: You Need to First Become Perfect in Sadhana

What you are experiencing is a shadow of bhava bhakti. If you had actually attained the bhava stage of bhakti, you would not be needing to ask me how to proceed further to the prema stage of pure love of God.

The real bhava bhakti stage is attained only after one becomes perfect in executing sadhana-bhakti. This perfection is attained by taking initiation from the bona fide spiritual master and fully surrendering yourself unto him. Only after becoming perfect in sadhana bhakti can one gradually reach the stage of bhava-bhakti, which naturally transforms into the supreme perfection of prema bhakti.

The various stages of bhakti are explained as follows in the Sri Caitanya Caritamrita Madhya 23.14–15:

"‘In the beginning there must be faith. Then one becomes interested in associating with pure devotees. Thereafter one is initiated by the spiritual master and executes the regulative principles under his orders. Thus one is freed from all unwanted habits and becomes firmly fixed in devotional service. Thereafter, one develops taste and attachment. This is the way of sadhana-bhakti, the execution of devotional service according to the regulative principles. Gradually emotions intensify (bhava), and finally there is an awakening of love (prema). This is the gradual development of love of Godhead for the devotee interested in Krishna consciousness."

Sankarshan Das Adhikari