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Who am I?
Who am I? What is the goal of life? Many of us ask these questions. In my case, the quest started when I was about 9 years old. At that time I was reading magazines and watching documentaries that explained the Big Bang and other mainstream scientific theories. However, I was not very satisfied with these explanations. If the universe just came into existence by chance and everything ends when we die, then what’s the purpose of life? Why do we need to go through all the difficulties and anxieties of life?
Shortly afterward I found a few works of Alan Kardec, a French Author who researched in the area of paranormal phenomena and wrote several books about spirits and their subtle world. Although his work is rather vague, it gave me many important answers. There is life after death and we go through a process of spiritual evolution that can take several lives. Life has a goal!
From there I started reading different books, going a little bit into Eastern philosophy.
A little later, in 1992, I saw a real monk –dressed in saffron clothes and all– in the middle of the city. I was intrigued and went to speak with him. He explained that they were distributing books about spiritual knowledge and showed me the Bhagavad-Gita, explaining how this book was studied by Einstein, Gandhi, and many other great thinkers. I wanted the book but didn’t have money at the time, so I went back home, got some money, and came back.
This was my first contact with the books from AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and with the Vedas. At first, I had difficulty understanding the Bhagavad-Gita, I saw that it had a knowledge much deeper than what I was finding before, but I saw that it would take time to really understand it. In fact, 29 years later I’m still trying to fully grasp the deep spiritual wisdom that it contains.
As I was studying, I had the opportunity to come back to the monk and ask him questions. Thus, he became my Vartma-pradarsaka-guru, the teacher who shows the way. His name was Agnideva Prabhu, the same name as a great singer. Gradually I was introduced to the concepts of Krsna Consciousness and Vaishnava philosophy, started chanting on beads, following the spiritual process, and studying more books, including the Srimad Bhagavatam, which gradually became my favorite book.
Later I started a career in the field of technical education, writing books and teaching about computers, networks, and operational systems. Like many, I went through the challenges of combining spiritual practice and mundane responsibilities. It was not such a bright period from a spiritual standpoint, but I learned some skills and got some important realizations. One thing is to read about the shortcomings and contradictions of materialistic life, another is to experience it firsthand.
As I became foiled in my efforts to become happy in this world by attaining money and material prestige, I started to again practice the spiritual path more seriously and started sharing this knowledge with others, by teaching and distributing books. Thus, I started the third phase of my life, visiting different cities and countries to share spiritual knowledge. I visited many cities in Russia, all the way to Irkutsk on the Trans-Siberian railway, lived in Mayapur (India), and visited many small cities in the south of Brazil.
With the Covid pandemic, traveling became more difficult, which led to the creation of this website, and other projects of spiritual education over the Internet, where I’m trying to share what I learned in this journey.
One of the most important points in Vaishnava philosophy is the acceptance of a spiritual master, an enlightened teacher who can help us overcome our deficiencies and progress further in the spiritual path. In this way, I was initiated in the Gaudiya Vaishnava line by His Holiness Bhakti Dhira Damodhara Swami, who is in turn disciple of Srila Bhakti Thirta Swami, who is in turn disciple of AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. In this way, I became part of a line of spiritual teachers who go all the way back to Krsna Himself!
As Srila Prabhupada mentions in the introduction of his commentary on the Bhagavad-Gita:
Evaṁ paramparā-prāptam imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ (Bhagavad-gītā 4.2). This Bhagavad-gītā As It Is is received through this disciplic succession:
Kṛṣṇa
Brahmā
Nārada
Vyāsa
Madhva
Padmanābha
Nṛhari
Mādhava
Akṣobhya
Jaya Tīrtha
Jñānasindhu
Dayānidhi
Vidyānidhi
Rājendra
Jayadharma
Puruṣottama
Brahmaṇya Tīrtha
Vyāsa Tīrtha
Lakṣmīpati
Mādhavendra Purī
Īśvara Purī, (Nityānanda, Advaita)
Lord Caitanya
Rūpa, (Svarūpa, Sanātana)
Raghunātha, Jīva
Kṛṣṇadāsa
Narottama
Viśvanātha
(Baladeva), Jagannātha
Bhaktivinoda
Gaurakiśora
Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
