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JKYog
e-Magazine, Issue No. 86
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Editor's Message Dear Readers,
This
month our theme is 'Sacrifice Leads to Inner Happiness.' The Indian
culture is full of saints who are outstanding examples of this value.
Lord Ram and Mother Sita sacrificed the comforts of a palace for
fourteen years as they roamed around in the forest. During these
fourteen years, Lakshman sacrificed sleep; he did not sleep a wink as he
perpetually guarded his Master, Lord Ram.
Urmila,
Lakshman's wife, separated from her husband for 14 years during this
time, did not sit down at all. Bharat also sacrificed the comforts of
the palace, and slept in a grave he had dug on the outskirts of Ayodhya,
from where he ruled the kingdom. Mandavi (Bharat's wife), Shruthi
(Shatrughan's wife), Queen Kaushalya, and all other such saints of
Ramayan have their own story of sacrifice.
To
learn more about this topic, we bring you two articles. The first one
is an excerpt from Shree Maharajji's lecture and is titled 'Bhakti Makes
Liberation Seem Insignificant' which explains the devotees focus on the
Lord's happiness alone. The second article titled 'Sacrifice Leads to
Eternal Happiness' elaborates on the same theme and explains how
sacrifice for the divine leads us to everlasting happiness.
Our regular
feature columns share the highlights from Swamiji's recent India tour
and BM contributions. Learn about how to cure headaches naturally with
home remedies in our wellness section. Finally, enjoy our bhog recipe
of Himachali Pulao this month.
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चाह इहै, कछु चाह न रह उर,
दास न मुक्ति बिचारी के |
chāha ihai, kachu chāha na raha ura,
dāsa na mukti bichārī ke
It is my only desire that no desire should remain in my heart, not even the desire for liberation.
- Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj
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Bhakti Makes Liberation Seem Insignificant
Liberation or peace or mukti or moksha
is the goal of many. All these words indicate a freedom from sorrow,
pain, and suffering. In pursuit of this goal, many turn to God and pray
to make their lives less painful. One would then be surprised to learn
that a true devotee is willing to reject the happiness attained by
liberation. After suffering so much why would one be willing to give up
this happiness? What would make one have a change of heart?
puruṣhārthāstu chatvārstṛiṇāyante samantataḥ
Bhakti Rasāmṛit Sindhu
The material desires are dharm (religious wealth), arth (material wealth), and kaam (desire for sensuous enjoyment) while the other desire is that of moksha
(liberation). Bhakti gives such immense strength to the devotee that he
throws away the material happiness and the happiness of liberation-just
as one throws away a blade of grass-without a second thought.
hari bhakti mahādevyāḥ sarvāmuktyādi siddhayaḥ bhuktayaśhchādbhutāstasya chetikā vadanuvratāḥ Narad Panchratra
In this verse, Narad Muni says that the bliss of bhakti is such
that even when the five types of liberation come and stand in front of
the devotee, he does not acknowledge or accept them. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu says:
tāra madhye mokṣha vānchhā kaitava pradhāna
meaning, of all the dangerous things, the most dangerous is liberation.
In the Bhagavatam, Ved Vyas writes:
dharmaḥ projhita kaitavaḥ
Bhāgavatam 1.1.2
What is the true dharma of an individual? That which is free from all selfishness. Thus, all acts that are free from the four desires related to dharm, arth, kaam, and moksha-that alone is the true dharma of an individual.
na pārameṣhṭhyaṁ na mahendradhiṣhṇyaṁ
na sārvabhaumaṁ na rasādhipatyam
na yoga-siddhīr apunar-bhavaṁ vā
mayy arpitātmechchhati mad vinānyat
One who has fixed his consciousness on Me desires neither the position
nor abode of Brahma, nor Indra, nor an empire on earth, nor freedom in
the hellish abodes, nor the eightfold perfection of yoga, nor liberation
from birth and death. Such a person desires Me alone.
apunar-bhavaṁ, in this verse, means that the devotee does not seek liberation from birth and death. It is not that he does not desire just sāyujya mukti because he merges into God, but he also rejects all other forms of liberation as well.
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Sacrifice Leads to Everlasting Happiness
Sacrifice
means giving up something. We all make sacrifices for those we love.
For instance, we give up our sleep for the health and well-being of our
children. Sacrifices may be big or small but we make them for the ones
we love. It is not uncommon to see some sacrifice their dreams to make
the dreams of their younger siblings or children come true. Every time
we see two siblings fight and one give in to the other, there is a
sacrifice involved.
The Indian culture is filled with stories of Saints who made extraordinary sacrifices. One such example is Bheeshma Pitamah
(grandfather). In Sanskrit, Bheeshma means one who undertakes a fierce
vow and fulfills it. His fame is unparalleled in history.
Bheeshma was the son of King Santanu and his wife Ganga. He was the
last of their eight children who Mother Ganga was going to drown in the
river but the king stopped her. As a young adult, Bheeshma undertook
two vows. The first vow was that of celibacy so that his father, King
Santanu, could marry the fisherwoman, Satyavati. By doing so he
sacrificed his life of marriage and bearing progeny to carry forward the
rule. The second vow was that of faithful service to the throne of
Hastinapur. Thus, he sacrificed his right to the throne of Hastinapur,
which according to tradition, was rightfully his as the eldest son of
the king. His entire life was spent making the requisite sacrifices to
fulfill these vows. So much so that he tolerated the wrong-doings of his
nephew Dhritrashtra, and his evil son, Duryodhan.
However, in current times, sacrifice is not held in such high
regard as it used to be. Today, we are more focused on fulfilling our
desires. The focus on satisfying our material senses is due to the
ignorance from endless lifetimes where we believe ourselves to be the
body. This misidentification with the body results in the false ego.
Thus, believing our happiness lies in fulfilling our self-interest, we
are constantly engaged in activities designed to bring happiness to the
body. We desire material wealth, respect, fame, etc. for the sake of
this false ego. All the while, the happiness we seek keeps eluding us.
The happiness that will truly satisfy us is the happiness of the
soul. That divine bliss is not attained by self-seeking but by
self-sacrifice. The more we sacrifice the desires of our senses, mind, and intellect,
the more our soul experiences satisfaction. And, to the extent we
sacrifice our self-seeking nature for the happiness of the Almighty, our
selflessness and resulting happiness bring the pure joy and bliss we
have been seeking for endless past lifetimes. "For it is in giving that
we receive" said Saint Francis of Assisi.
When we were in school, we attended the class where the concepts
were taught. Along with this, we had to participate in the lab class
where we could apply these concepts and truly understand their
application and impact. The spiritual path is no different. We have to read the scriptures under the guidance of a Guru to understand the concept. And then he helps us understand their application in the lab called life.
Each concept or lesson requires a sacrifice. It could be sacrifice of the desire for fame, love, respect, wealth, etc.
To the extent we make the requisite sacrifice and learn the lesson
intended for us, our selflessness grows. And our happiness grows to the
extent we stop caring for ourselves but care only for the happiness of
God and Guru. Thus, sacrifice purifies the soul and takes us toward God,
while indulgence satisfies the material senses and takes us in the
opposite direction.
When our intellect becomes firm in divine love for God, then
sacrifice becomes natural to our being. From thereon, we spontaneously
sacrifice our happiness to serve our Divine Beloved. And in that
sacrifice, we experience the highest Bliss of God. The Gopis of Braj
were great Saints in previous lives who had sacrificed their all for
their beloved Krishna, and reached the state of pure selflessness where
they had no concern for themselves. Their every thought and breath was
for Krishna's happiness alone.
In order to help us become as elevated as these gopis, the great Sage Narad, in his Narad Bhakti Darshan, teaches us to adopt the mantra of tat sukh sukhitvam
i.e. to make the requisite sacrifices for the happiness of God and Guru
alone. Thus, in order to truly love Krishna, our ultimate aim is to sacrifice the desire for bhukti (material pleasures) and mukti (liberation). It is this sacrifice that leads us to the everlasting happiness we have been seeking for endless lifetimes.
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Will ethics and values see me through life?
Sacrifice is a very noble value that can be harnessed to live a life of
satisfaction and fulfillment. While it was greatly valued in the olden
days in India, it has lost its significance in the age of Kali. The two
articles of this month's issue explain the importance of sacrifice in
our lives. However, it is one thing to gain theoretical knowledge about a
topic and another to practice it regularly. Click here to watch this video by Swamiji where he explains how to integrate the good values in our daily life.
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The last event Swamiji attended in the US was the Diwali
Dinner organized by the Radha Krishna Temple of Dallas. In his speech,
he explained the importance of spiritual knowledge, and the role of
temples and culture in a society. To read more about the event, click here. The
very next day, Swamiji left for India. Delhi devotees were very excited
to receive him. After spending about ten days at gurudham (Mangarh),
Swamiji flew out to Banara, Odisha. India tour is in full
swing! The first stop was the Radha Govind Dham ashram at Cuttack.
Devotees were thrilled to see Swamiji after such a long time and a
beautiful satsang was organized. Swamiji also stopped at the local
village of Nayasahi where the villagers gave him a very warm welcome.
Volunteers of Jagadguru Kripalu Yog Trust spent a heart
warming day at the Government School in Nayasahi and gave away sweaters
to the students. The little ones were very happy to receive their gifts
and posed for pictures. Dr. Ramaratnam, Vice Chancellor of Jagadguru
Kripalu University was also present. He shook hands which each and every
student while handing over the sweaters and said it was a truly
humbling experience for him to make the kids happy.
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Nov 6th
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Arrival in Vrindavan
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Nov 9th to 10th
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Vrindavan
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Arrival in Odisha
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Nov 14th to 20th
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Jajpur, Odisha
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Nov 21st & 22nd
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Nov 23rd & 24th
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Rairangpur, Odisha
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Nov 25th & 26th
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Karanjia, Odisha
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Sambalpur, Odisha
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JKYog Presents
Bal-Mukund
Personality Development Classes for Children
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All
the Bal-Mukund centers celebrated Diwali this month. At each center,
children greatly enjoyed their craft activity such as making diyas,
rangolis, etc. At the Connecticut center, they also chanted sholkas and
bhajans and received sparkles that they could enjoy at home.
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How to Cure Headaches Naturally with Home Remedies
While lifestyle is moving more towards modernity people are moving
more towards our age old home remedies for common ailments. Home
remedies and herbs provide natural, no side effects remedies to dozens
of common ailments. Work stress, family demands, skimpy sleep
schedules-everyday stresses can give us all a headache every now and
then. Try these natural remedies to help ease your pain.
Trigger Points
Let us first examine the trigger points:
- empty stomach
- strong sun
- dehydration or low intake of water
- stress; physical and mental
- acidity
Try some simple home remedies:
- Soaking your feet in hot water,it is immensely relaxing and
eases out stress helps your head feel better. The hot-water foot bath
will ease pressure on the blood vessels in the head by drawing blood to
the feet.
- For headache due to tension, placing a hot compress on the
forehead or the back of the neck relaxes the tensed muscles in the area.
- The heat treatment can be followed by applying a cold compress
to the forehead by putting ice cubes wrapped in a washcloth Cold
compress contracts and shrink blood vessels and they stop constricting
the sensitive nerves.
- Another alternative to cold compress is to soak your hands in
ice water for as long as you can bear it. While your hands are
submerged, repeatedly open and close your fists and the cold constricts
the dilated blood vessels.
- Caffeine or a cup of strong coffee or tea reduces blood-vessel
swelling, and helps relieve headache. Though for a regular coffee
drinker it might prove counter productive. Caffeine withdrawal can cause
headaches, creating a vicious cycle.
Click here to read the entire article.
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Himachali Pulao
A slightly sweet rice, containing dried and fresh fruit
Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4-5
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Ingredients:
- 1½ cups Basmati rice
- 1 apple, chopped in small cubes
- ½ cup of fresh pomegranate seeds
- ½ cup of fresh green peas
- 10 cashew nuts
- 10 raisins
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 2 bay leaves
- 2-3 black cardamoms
- 4 green cardamoms
- 3 sticks of cinnamon
- few strings of saffron
- ½ cup of milk
- 2 tablespoons ghee
- 2 teaspoons of sugar
- Water 4 cups
- salt to taste
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Process:
- Wash basmati rice and soak for half an hour.
- Boil 4 cups of water in a saucepan. Add the rice. When rice is cooked, drain out the water and keep the rice aside.
- In
a non-stick heavy pan, add 2 tablespoons of ghee and heat on low flame
for 2 minutes. To this add bay leaf, black cardamom, green cardamom and
cinnamon sticks. Let them cook till fragrant.
- Add
green peas and a pinch of salt. Then add cashew nuts and raisins. Keep
stirring the mixture in the pan for 5 minutes on low fire.
- Now, add the rice. Mix it well with the masala in the pan.
- In a separate pan, heat milk to lukewarm temperature and add saffron to it. Add this milk-saffron mix to the rice pan.
- Next, add in the apple and pomegranate seeds.
- Last,
add salt as per taste, sugar and garam masala. Mix it all well and let
it cook for another 5 minutes on low heat with the lid on the pan.
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Contact us
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The Editor JKYog: XVII/3305, 1st Floor
Ranjit Nagar (Near PUSA)
New Delhi - 110008, India
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7405 Stoney Point Dr, Plano TX 75025, USA
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Copyright © Jagadguru Kripaluji Yog 2017. All rights reserved. Reserved.
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