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JKYog e-Magazine, Issue No. 61
September, 2014
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"Surrender
to the lotus feet of Radha. Her grace will remove all the obstacles of
the material existence. Even the Supreme Lord desires her grace. All
glories to Radha Rani!"
~ Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj
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This month 'Sumiran' team is picking up Radhashtami as the topic of the month.
In
this issue we will be presenting articles on Radha Rani: The highest
ideal of selfless devotion to Shree Krishna, Radha Tattva, Radha Rani's leela.
Readers will also find Q/A session with Swami Mukundananda, News &
Updates, Featured Items, and 7 foods that help you sleep.
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māya! mohiṅ sakhiyana bahuta chiṛhāya
Little Kishoriji (Radha Rani) fretfully tells her mother Keerti, "O mother! My friends tease me a lot."
kahati sagāī hoti jāsu tava, so kāro tanu āya
They say that the boy I have been engaged to is black-complexioned.
hama saba kī to karī sagāī, gore tana mama māya
They say, "Our mothers have engaged us with fair complexioned boys."
jo yaha sāńchu māya! nahiṅ karihauṅ, kabahuń sagāī yāya
O mother! If what they say is true, I will never get engaged to him.
baṛe bhaye lālī! saba kāre, gore tanu bani jāya
Mother Keerti said, "O Lali! All black-complexioned boys become fair complexioned when they grow up."
taba to māya! sabai gore tanu, kāro tanu puni pāya
Kishoriji said, "That means all fair-complexioned boys would also become black-complexioned when they grow up?"
hāń rī kuńvari! sāńcha yaha, taba to, jaihaiṅ sakhi khisiyāya
Mother
Keerti said, "Yes Lali!" Relieved, Kishoriji said, "O mother! Then all
my friends will be embarrassed when their grooms grow old."
kaha 'kṛipālu' kāro tanu rāmahuń, jehi bhagavāna batāya
Says Shree 'Kripalu', "O Lali! Even Shree Ram, whom the Saints call God, was black-complexioned just like your Shree Krishna."
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 Radha Rani: The highest ideal of selfless devotion to Shree Krishna
Scriptures
have declared in unison that the ultimate goal of every human being is
to attain the selfless divine love for Shree Krishna and his eternal
service. Every soul is an eternal part of God, and since God is
the ocean of bliss every soul is drawn towards bliss. A soul's
incessant search for bliss will end when it will stop searching for
transitory happiness in the material world and will surrender to
God. There is no doubt that our search for momentary pleasures
since endless lifetimes has led us nowhere. It is time we realize
that our true happiness lies in the selfless service to Shree Krishna
alone.
When
we speak of selfless service to the Lord, who other than Shrimati Radha
Rani can be glorified as the highest ideal for selfless devotion to
Shree Krishna? Radha Rani, being the divine power of Shree
Krishna, has only one goal - selfless devotion towards her
Beloved. In fact, divine love or Prema Shakti is a subsidiary power of Radha Rani, and so the highest level of bhakti
resides in her. This is characterized by intense longing for
Shree Krishna, to the extent that is inconceivable to the human
mind. It is said, "When Radha does not have darshan
(sight) of Shree Krishna, the fire of the pain of separation in her
heart is so intense, that if the hazy lines above the smoke of that fire
were to come out from her body, the entire universe would burn to
ashes." Such is the extent of Radha Rani's longing for Shree
Krishna.
Radha
Rani's devotion is also characterized by the highest level of
selflessness, and complete absence of self-seeking. There is only
one thought in her mind - how to give happiness to her Beloved.
Such selfless devotion manifests in the gopis to a lesser extent, and in
other Saints to an even lesser extent. Thus, the topmost form of
pure divine love resides in the heart of Radha. This is also
called Madanakhya Mahabhav Bhakti. All the other
God-realized Saints, eternally liberated souls, and aspirants, derive
inspiration from the nature of Radha's devotion. This devotion of
Radha for Krishna has been termed as "Radha Bhav" by poets and Saints.
An
elevated devotee always wants to serve Radha Rani instead of serving
Shree Krishna directly. In fact there is a beautiful logic behind
rating service to Shree Radha Rani as higher than Shree Krishna's seva.
Radha Rani is the foremost servitor of Shree Krishna and nobody
possesses the qualities of Radha Rani, hence nobody can serve Shree
Krishna the way she does. Now since the goal of every human is to
serve Shree Krishna, an elevated soul says, "I will serve Radha Rani
through Shree Krishna because by myself I am incapable of serving Shree
Krishna".
In the divine realm the lower the level of servant we consider ourselves, higher the level of Bhakti
we attain. Therefore those who consider themselves as servants of
Shree Radha Rani and then serve the Lord attain an even higher seat of Bhakti.
So Radha Rani is the ideal of selfless love and devotion to Shree
Krishna and if we aspire to serve Shree Krishna selflessly we must serve
him through the beloved queen of Vrindavan, Radha Rani. |
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Radha
and Krishna are two aspects of the one Supreme Lord, they are
inseparable from each other, just as milk and its whiteness are
inseparable from each other, and fire and its light are one with each
other. Thus, there is no question of separating Krishna and
Radha. However, in their divine pastimes, to relish the bliss of
divine love, they separate and again unite in many inconceivably sweet
ways.
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Dallas and Chicago Retreats with Swamiji - A Divine Experience
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Inspirations from Chaitanya Mahaparbhu
Bhakti Yoga Retreat
Date: (Oct 10th (Fri) to Oct 12th (Sun)
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News & Updates
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Sacred ashes immersion of Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj at Jaipur Ghat, Pushkar, Rajasthan
As part of the last
rites, the sacred ashes of Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj was
immersed in Jaipur Ghat, Pushkar, Rajasthan on Sept 7th, 2014.
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Swami
Mukundananda conducted a 7-day lecture on Bhagavat Mahapuran and yoga,
meditation classes in Chicago, IL. He also conducted yoga,
meditation classes & gave enlightening discourses in Canton, MI.
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by Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj
The
Radhopanishad states that the personality whom Shree Krishna
worships is known as Radha. And the personality whom Radha
worships is known as Krishna. Both worship one another.
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Narad Pancharatra states: harerardha tanu rādhā tādhikārdhatanu hariḥ Shree
Krishna's half part is Radha, and Radha's half part is Krishna.
Shree Krishna says, "I have assumed the form of Radha." Radha
says, "I have assumed the form of Krishna."
mamaiva pauruṣhaṁroopam gopikājana mohanaṁ (BrahmaVaivarta Puran)
Radha
says, "The form of Krishna is none other than myself. When I
assumed the male form, people started calling me Shree Krishna."
yasyā reṇuṁ pādayorviśhvabhartā dharate moordhnī (Atharva Vediya Rādhikopaniṣhad)
"Radha is that Entity, the dust of whose lotus feet the Master of the Universe places on his head."
Radha
and Krishna are two aspects of the Supreme Personality. One is
the energetic and the other is the divine energy. The Upanishads
state:
anādirayaṁ
puruṣhaṁ ekamevāsti tadeva roopaṁ dwidhāvidhāya samārodhana
tatparobhoot tasmāttāṁ rādhāṁ rasikānandāṁ vadavido vadanti (Sāma Rahasyopaniṣhad)
"Since
eternity, the one Supreme Lord has divided himself in two forms, the
energetic and the energy. That Supreme energy (the Yogmāyā power)
is Radha, who is worshipped by the knowers of the Vedas."
Since
Radha and Krishna are two aspects of the one Supreme Lord, they are
inseparable from each other, just as milk and its whiteness are
inseparable from each other, and fire and its light are one with each
other. Thus, there is no question of separating Krishna and
Radha. However, in their divine pastimes, to relish the bliss of
divine love, they separate and again unite in many inconceivably sweet
ways. These divine pastimes of God are called leelas. The
Vedas say that Radha and Krishna are one, but have assumed two forms for
the purpose of performing loving pastimes. They who are known as
Sita and Ram in the age of Treta, and as Radha and Krishna in the age of
Dwapar.
Again,
Narad Pancharatra says that Mahalakshmi, the consort of Mahavishnu, the
creator of countless universes, was manifested from Radha's left
side. Durga, Jayanti, Kali, Bhadrakali, Kapalini, Durga,
Shivadhatri, Svaha, Tvadha, and Vaishnavi are all born from fractions of
Radha Rani. Countless Vishnus are born from the toenails of Radha
Rani, not just one.
Ved Vyas ji explained the meaning of the name 'Radha':
rādhnoti sakalān kāmāntasmāt rādheti kīrtitaḥ
"The
one who fulfills the pure and genuine desires of any individual who
cries out to her is known as Radha." This is stated in the Brahma
Vaivarta Puran.
Some
people ask: "If Radha and Krishna are one and the same, then why is
Radha always mentioned before Krishna?" Why do we always hear
Radha-Krishna, never Krishna-Radha? The Devi Bhagavat Puran says:
ādau rādhām samuchārya paśhchāta kṛiṣhṇam parātparaṁsevā panḍito yogī
golokam yāti līlayā
First
utter the name of Radha, then Krishna. One, who does keertan in this
manner, attains Golok. Radha's name is uttered first. No one
says, "Krishna Radhey." Everyone says, "Radhey Krishna" or
"Shyama Shyam".
The
Vedas explain that Radha is the soul of Krishna. All are servants
of the soul. Radha is the soul of Krishna, so say the Vedas.
Shree Krishna is the soul of all souls, and he also has a soul, which is
Radha. Our body is constantly trying to serve the soul. The soul is
ever occupied in serving the Supreme Soul, and the Supreme Soul is
always busy trying to please his soul, Radha. But,
does this mean that Shree Radha is superior to Shree Krishna? It would
seem so, for the soul is greater than the body. However, this is
not so. Although for ordinary material people it is true that the
soul is superior to the body, yet in God there is no difference between
body and soul. Since God's body and soul are one and the same,
there is no difference between Radha and Krishna. |
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Bhakti Shatak
Explained by Swami Mukundananda
Bhakti Śhatak
is one of Shree Kripaluji Maharaj's principle writings, with
hundred golden couplets of inspiring quotes, advice, and
guidance for sincere devotees seeking to firmly establish
themselves on the path of bhakti.
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Continuing with the explanation of the verse:
saba sādhan sampanna kahań, poochhata saba saṅsār
sādhanahīna prapanna kahań, poochhata nandakumār
Jagadguru
Ramanujarcharya said that devotees can be divided into three
categories. The first are those for whom God is the sadhan
(means) and the world is the goal. They worship God with the aim
of attaining worldly things. There is no shortage of such
devotees. We see hundreds and thousands of devotees going to
Temples, Churches, Mosques and Gurudwaras to seek worldly things.
For these people, the goal is the world and God is the means.
The second
category is those for whom the world is the means and God is the
end. In other words, through material means they wish to attain
that spiritual goal. They think, "If I perform five yagyas then I will attain God." They believe that by their practice of sadhana (devotion), they will attain God.
The third category
is those for whom God is the means and God is the end. In other
words, they wish to attain God, but the means is his grace. The
devotee thinks, "I can't do it by my sadhana. God is not sadhan sadhya. He is kripa sadhya.
He is not attained by self effort. He can only be attained by his
own grace. We should put in our best efforts but the effort by
itself will not result in God-realization. The effort will only
attract his grace." This point is important to understand.
No matter how much sadhana you do, it does not automatically entitle you to God-realization. Some people think, "If I do three crore japa of 'Hare Ram' mahamantra, I will attain God." There is no such formula that you do some amount of sadhana,
and you will attain God. You can lie on a bed of thorns or eat
dry leaves and live in the Himalayas but you will not attain God just by
the practice of such austerities. Nothing will help. You
attain him only by his grace. Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj
says, "You will receive God's grace when you perceive yourself to be sadhan heen." Sadhan heen means to feel from within your heart, "I have no support other than your grace."
He further says
that the worldly people respect those who have got material means.
They run after those who have got riches, scholarship, great beauty,
great power, high post, influential relatives, etc. But God does
not run after such people. He doesn't care for that. He runs
after that person who feels from within, "I am sadhan heen. I have no support other than his grace. My complete dependence is upon his grace." This sadhan heenta is an aspect of surrender as God's grace is dependent upon surrender.
Understand this
from the example of a newborn baby. As long as a newborn baby does
nothing, the mother does everything for her. When the child
starts doing something, the mother lessens her responsibilities to the
same extent. When the child begins to do everything, then the
mother does nothing. This example is illustrative of the process
of surrender. As long as we possess the pride of performing our
actions, God declares us as the doer, and we have to suffer the
consequences of our actions according to the Law of Karma. The
moment the feeling of doership ends and we surrender this pride, we
become the non-doer, and God will personally take care of all our needs
and protect whatever we have for eternity. One day we have to give
up our sense of doership and become nirashraya (without any support). When we become nirashraya, that is when God bestows his grace.
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 Diwali Fundraising Dinner
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Have you heard about the Diwali fund-raising dinner for the RKT?
Saturday, October 18, 2014
6:00 pm at South Fork Ranch 3700 Hogge Dr, Parker, TX 75002. The
Diwali dinner will constitute an evening of incessant
exuberance and entertainment along with delicious food for
the body and spiritual food for your soul.
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Highlights of the evening
- LIVE music by Dhoom Unlimited and Shaivangi Nirav
- A special talk by keynote speaker, Swami Mukundananda
- A mesmerizing magic show
- A cultural program
- A sumptuous Diwali banquet
- Sign off with scintillating fireworks
- Children's activities and seating in their specific area
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You can participate in the Diwali dinner in person or VIRTUALLY
to support the construction of Radha Krishna Temple. Virtual
participants will receive Diwali sweets, Radha Krishna 3D photo,
and letter of appreciation.
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Featured Items
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Radha Krishna [ENG Subtitles]
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JKYog App
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Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj's Varshiki and other programs will be held in Mangarh, Vrindavan & Barsana.
Swamiji will be reaching Mangarh on October 28th. He will participate
in all programs till Nov 16th. For details, please write to secretary@jkyog.org
Click Here for full program schedule
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JKYog Presents
Bal-Mukund
Personality Development Classes for Children
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Highlights:
· Character Building Values
· Yoga & Meditations
· Bhajans, Shlokas & Prayers
· Inspiring Stories
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Showcase:
Bal-Mukund
welcomes all contributions of creative works from
children in different areas including poetry, moral
stories, art work, etc.
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Bal-Mukund Center Activities
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7 Foods That Help You Sleep
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 According to Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 50- 70 million US adults have sleep disorder.
Lack of sleep is recognized as an important public health issue
including chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, depression
and obesity. According to the National Institutes of Health, school age
children need at least 10 hours pf sleep, teen's need 9 -10 hours and
adults need 7-8 hours of sleep in a day. Functioning without sleep is
difficult and dangerous especially behind the wheels. Below are some foods that can help combat insomnia and may help you get the good night sleep that is much needed for once wellbeing and productivity.
1. Almonds: Almonds are good sources of protein. Almonds contain tryptophan as well as magnesium. Both of these ingredients can enhance sleep and promotes muscle relaxation.
2. Honey: The honey is known to diminish your brain's alertness. This allows your mind to relax so you can fall asleep.
3. Banana:
Banana contains typtophane, sleep inducing substance that gets
converted to serotonin and melatonin in the brain. Serotonin promotes
relaxation and melatonin promotes sleepiness. It takes four hours for
tryptophane to reach the brain. So have a banana earlier as a snack.
Deficiency of B vitamins causes insomnia. It is also packed with
potassium and magnesium, nutrient that help muscle relax naturally.
4. Milk:
Milk is loaded with tryptophane, which has a sedative effect. It is
also a good source of calcium, which helps regulate melatonin. If you
are unable to sleep in the middle of the night, have a glass of warm
milk and some honey for extra sedation.
5. Cherries: It is the only nature's melatonin source. If it's not in season have cherry juice or dried once for some good night sleep.
6. Tea: Green tea contains theanine that promotes sleep. Choose the one which is de-cafe as all teas contains sleep inducing compound. 7. Whole Grains: Whole grains like oatmeal provides calcium, magnesium, phosphorous and potassium, are all sleep promoting nutrients.
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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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