Swami B. V. Tripurari Live Q&A; August 18, 2024: Is Vraja-Bhakti Transcendental Paganism?

Questions on today’s Swami call:

0:00 Does the stage of unsteady devotional practice (anisthita bhajana kriya) manifest differently in eastern and western practitioners?

00:09:20 In my understanding, true bliss can only be experienced in love, and love requires a lover and a beloved (asraya and visaya). Still it is said that there is ananda in Brahman. Can you explain this?

00:34:15 With the simplicity, lack of majesty, and focus on nature and animals in Vraja-bhakti, could we say that Gaudiya Vaisnavism is a suddha-sattvic form of paganism?

00:38:00 When jivas are manisted from the Viraja, what is the cause of that, as they do not have previous samskaras?

00:58:07 Tomorrow is Lord Balarama’s appearance day. Would you like to share something about that?