Bhaktivedanta College Online Campus (BCOC)

Module Overview

The questions Who am I? Where do I come from? Where am I going? Why do I suffer? What is the purpose of my life? are considered to be the beginning of spiritual life. In this module we search for answers of those questions in the transcendental teachings of bhakti-yoga.

Teacher

Maha-vidya dasi was born in Poland in 1982. She first learned about the teachings of Srila Prabhupada in 2004 during her year abroad while doing studies of classics in Germany. She received initiation from Ravindra Svarupa Dasa and looks after the educational development office of ISKCON Germany. She currently teaches diverse online and onsite courses for the German devotees/temples/yatra. She holds a Ph.D. in Ancient Greek Literature from the University of Cologne, Germany and continues to deepen her understanding of the Vaishnava Philosophy especially in dialogue with students while teaching.

Module Structure

Week 1:The nature of oneself

Who am I? In the first week we discuss the nature of the soul, the laws of karma and the concept of reincarnation.

Week 2:The three modes of material nature

Why is it so difficult to loosen the identification with the body? The three gunas: goodness (sattva), passion (rajas) and ignorance (tamas) influence our ways of thinking, feeling and acting. Understanding the gunas can help to overcome their power.

Week 3:Sanatana-dharma

What is the purpose of life? During this week we will discover the ultimate nonsectarian approach to this question.

Week 4:Guru, sadhu, sastra

The Vedic culture stands on a tripod of the spiritual master, holy people and the scriptures. These are the means to find answers to the meaningful questions of life.

Week 5:History of the bhakti tradition

The position of bhakti and Vaishnavism in India. The Gaudiya-Vaishnavism of Lord Caitanya and the yuga-dharma, or means of self-realization for this Age of Kali, the age of quarrel and hypocrisy: chanting Lord Krishna's holy names.

Week 6:The position of ISKCON and Srila Prabhupada

The mission of ISKCON and Srila Prabhupada as its Founder Acarya. What are the accomplishments of Srila Prabhupada? What does ISKCON offer us as seekers of spiritual knowledge?

Module Overview

To live in eternal, loving relationship with Krishna and our fellow souls is our natural state of existence, and the goal of bhakti-yoga is to return to our original, personal identity in the spiritual world – where eternity, knowledge and bliss constitute the essence of all beings. Spiritual realization culminates in re-awakening our dormant love for Krishna, and in order to do this, we must first get re-acquainted with Him. Therefore, the Prayojana module introduces Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, in His many qualities and manifestations. Among the questions we explore are: What does it mean to be ultimately liberated? Who is Krishna? What is He like? What does Krishna have to do with me? What are the qualities of a pure devotee of Krishna? What are the holy days and places recognized in ISKCON?

Teacher

Labangalatika Dasi completed a BA degree from the University of Arkansas, plus four years of post-graduate study in intellectual, religious, and social history at the University of Iowa, where she spent two years as a teaching and research assistant. She later worked at a Chicago-based consulting firm as an assessor, developer, and trainer for job-candidate selection processes. She encountered Krishna consciousness in late 2003 while reading Bhagavad-gita As It Is. In 2008 she earned a Bhakti Shastri degree, and in 2009 joined Vanipedia, a web project, where she has served as a content developer and a writer. She is now enrolled in the Theology and Religious Studies program at Bhaktivedanta College and provides independent tutorial and editorial services for devotees.

Module Structure

Week 1: Ultimate self-realization. Our true nature and ultimate goal; three aspects of Divinity; the Supreme Absolute Truth.

Our first week will lay the philosophical foundation for our study of Krishna by overviewing our constitutional position as individual souls with respect to Krishna and identifying the topmost goal of spiritual realization. In addition, we will learn about the three aspects of Godhead: impersonal Brahman, localized Paramatma, and Bhagavan, the Supreme Person whom we know as Krishna.

Week 2: Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Krishna’s qualities, expansions, potencies and avataras.

Next we introduce Krishna, the Cause of All Causes, the Supreme Controller and Supreme Enjoyer. Although Krishna is source and summit of all opulence and the original, Supreme Person, He also expands Himself into many forms and manifests His will and desire through His various potencies. In addition, Krishna descends or sends His representatives to the material world to fulfil specific purposes. During the second week of the module, we will learn about Krishna’s qualities, expansions, energies and avataras, and we will be introduced to His feminine counterpart, Srimati Radharani.

Week 3: Krishna, the reservoir of all pleasure. Glimpses into the spiritual world: Krishna’s pastimes, associates and loving relationships.

In the third week we take a peek into the wonderful world of eternal, loving relationship with Krishna. When we make Krishna happy we become unlimitedly happy, and in this lesson we learn about the five primary rasas, or flavours of devotional relationship, which individual souls enjoy with Krishna. We will discover, through Krishna’s pastimes, how He relates in a very personal way with His beloved associates and how His associates relate with Him. The spiritual world is our eternal home, and Krishna is inviting us to return!

Week 4: Attaining spiritual consciousness. Pleasing Krishna; Krishna’s mercy; stages of devotion; qualities of the devotee.

The key to advancing in spiritual consciousness is to please Krishna, and through His infinite mercy, Krishna makes Himself available to us through the spiritual master, the pure devotee, His Deity form, His prasadam, and His holy names. In our fourth lesson, we introduce the principle of serving and pleasing Krishna, and we discuss the benchmarks of progress in Krishna consciousness – the twenty-six qualities of the devotee and the progressive stages of spiritual realization.

Week 5: Krishna culture. Festivals, observances, holy places.

The fifth week, we will take a virtual tour through the Vaishnava calendar. We will discuss the observance of Ekadasi and give an overview of the major yearly festivals (such as Janmastami and Gaura Purnima) and the auspicious appearance days of other important incarnations and of our Founder-Acharya, Srila Prabhupada. In addition, we will be introduced to the holy places where we can go to deepen our devotion and recharge our spiritual batteries.

Week 6: Vaishnava songs. Philosophy and devotion poetically expressed in songs of the Vaishnava acharyas.

For our final week, we will bring everything together with a study of selected songs composed by our acharyas, where philosophy and devotion merge into beautiful, evocative and instructive expressions of spiritual realization.

Module Overview

The practice of bhakti awakens eternal love and devotion to Radha and Krishna. Our spiritual predecessors named five practices that have the power to quickly awaken pure love in our hearts: (1) serving and associating with devotees who are advanced, like-minded, and affectionate, (2) hearing Srimad Bhagavatam, (3) hearing and chanting Krishna’s holy names, (4) serving Deities, and (5) residing in Krishna’s sacred abodes. We will examine these practices and discuss how to best apply them in our circumstances. Some questions we will discuss: What constitutes a spiritual practice on the path of bhakti? What attitude will best facilitate spiritual progress? Why am I progressing slower than I would like to? How do I properly interact with Vaishnavas and with people I work with? How do I worship Krishna at home? Why is chanting Krishna’s names important? How is Srila Prabhupada’s movement based on the greater tradition’s teachings?

Teacher

Sudevi dasi first read Srila Prabhupada's books during her Indology studies in Berlin, in 2000. In 2003 she took the Bhakti Shastri course in Vrindavana, and from 2004 through 2007 she earned a Bachelor of Theology degree at Bhaktivedanta College, Radhadesh. She now teaches Bhakti Sastri and academic courses at Bhaktivedanta College, oversees the ladies' ashram, and is finishing her work for a Master's degree in Religious Studies from Lampeter University. She likes to study and teach Gaudiya Vaishnava philosophy, especially with reference to Srila Prabhupada's books.

Module Structure

Week 1 – Principles of devotional practice

We discuss 64 devotional practices given by Srila Rupa Goswami in The Nectar of Devotion. Are they part of our daily program, and to what extent can we daily take advantage of them? Since the beginning of spiritual practice is marked by surrendering to a spiritual master, we consider our relationship with Srila Prabhupada and other mentors.

Week 2 – Taking shelter of Krishna’s holy names

Chanting is the most important spiritual practice at this time, and it can elevate even the greatest materialist to the most exalted stages of Krishna-bhakti. We explore our relationship to Krishna’s holy names by discussing nama-tattva, the various levels of chanting and their respective results. We will assess our current level and explore tangible steps to improve our relationship with the holy names.

Week 3 – Transformation through association with advanced Vaishnavas

Our entire spiritual practice starts with, is maintained by, and reaches its ultimate goal by the mercy of Vaishnavas. Thus association with devotees more advanced than us, who are like-minded and affectionate towards us, is the key for making rapid spiritual progress. We discuss proper interaction with Vaishnavas and their reciprocation in fulfilling our spiritual desires. We look at obstacles in our interactions and ways to overcome them.

Week 4 – The transformative power of Krishna-katha

Devotees like Pariksit Maharaja became fully Krishna conscious by listening attentively to narrations about Krishna and his pure devotees, and so can we. We discuss some principles of hearing about Krishna and how to apply ourselves to this wonderful process. And we will hear a lot of the Krishna-katha in the Bhagavatam.

Week 5 – Attracting Krishna by serving His Deity form

Srila Prabhupada writes that “if someone becomes attached to the ?r?-m?rti, or Deity of Krishna, by worshiping at home, then he will forget his relationships of so-called friendship, love and society. “ Through Deity worship we learn to offer our hearts fully in service to Krishna. We learn how to properly set up an altar at home and how to offer simple, sustainable worship. We also discuss Tulasi Devi.

Week 6 – Living in a sacred place or space

Living in a sacred place where Krishna performed his pastimes may seem impossible. But we will learn how to transform our environment into a holy place. Since this is the end of the course, we will do an overall autumn-cleanse in our lives to replace objects, habits, attitudes, desires, and value structures that no longer serve us on our spiritual journey with those that we newly acquire in the course.