by Vrinda Devi Dasi – Please Come Meet Us! These days we hear words like ashram, kirtan, bhakti, yoga, very easily and very freely. And to discern what is what may not be so easy since everything sounds like a drop of a mystic, far away India. Yet a part of us can feel we are lacking some substance.

Bhakti Lalita Devi Dasi, who was Srila Govinda Maharaj’s personal secretary for over ten years, explains in this article the importance of associating with spiritually superior devotees to help us make progress in our spiritual lives.

Srila Sridhar Maharaj: “My true self exists on the spiritual plane, on a higher level. If we can really have a touch of that realization, a glimpse of our own identity – if we can feel within that the soul…”

Srila Sridhar Maharaj: “It is not that all of a sudden–in one stroke–everything is cleared. Rather, according to our bhajana, our sadhana, our attempt, the undesirable elements will gradually vanish, go away.”

Srila Sridhar Maharaj: “Those who are living the life of the scriptural advice are scripture personified. In their association, and by their grace, we can imbibe such higher, subtle knowledge and faith.”