Discussions specifically related with the various aspects of practice of bhakti-sadhana in Gaudiya Vaishnavism.
Svarupa Lakshana Of Tilak Dharan -
Sacinandan - Mon, 23 Feb 2004 09:42:09 +0530
Real Nectar...
anamika kamadokta madhyama ayuskari bhavet
angusthah pustidah proktas tarjjani moksa sahani
"One who uses the ring finger to apply tilak achieves his desired goal of life. One who uses the middle finger increases his duration of life. One who uses his thumb to apply his tilak achieves nice nourishment, and one who uses the little finger achieves liberation" (smrti).
betal_nut - Tue, 02 Mar 2004 08:09:58 +0530
That IS nectar!
In this regard, I have recently read that the BSST camp has a "fabricated" type of tilak. Is their tilak not traditional? What are the different styles of gaudiya tilak? Are there any paintings or photos on the net? I've never taken notice of the different types of vaishnava tilak when I've gone to India. What are the differences? What type did BVT wear?
Madhava - Tue, 02 Mar 2004 14:31:20 +0530
And that is NOT nectar!
At any rate, they use a generic tilaka-svarUpa, it's a bit of an in-betweener of all those specific styles. It is closest to Narottami-tilak, with the exception that the tulasi-stem is absent. I've seen pictures of Bhaktivinoda using a similar design, though one might expect to see him wearing a traditional Nityananda-tilak.
Sometimes one can't make heads or tails out of the tilaks people wear. Also, there are so many tilaka-svarUpas out there. Has anyone ever tried to do research into their history, when did they evolve?
Gaurasundara - Wed, 03 Mar 2004 08:41:00 +0530
Those in the Syamananda-parivara descending from Rasikananda have a sort of hollow stem on their noses. It looks like a hollow rectangle along with the 'tuning fork' part. This design originated with Rasikananda-deva.
Madhava - Wed, 03 Mar 2004 14:34:38 +0530
I was under the impression that the design originated from the nupura of Radha pressed on the forehead of Syamananda.
Gaurasundara - Thu, 04 Mar 2004 05:17:55 +0530
Oh yes, that's possible. I only got this information from an article about Rasikananda-deva, but if you say that this design came from Svamini's nupura then I can agree with that. Makes sense anyway.