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The most
powerful means of cleansing the mind is to engage it in selfless love of
God. Spirituality becomes simple if you
can believe this.
***********
True love is
that where we only desire to give, give, and give, without any expectation of
return. Such sacrifice by devotee
enslaves God.
*********
Unlimited
Divine Bliss is the nature of God, and is available to us all. Our lack of surrender to Him is preventing us
from experiencing it.
********
God is
all-pervading. By keeping Divine
sentiments towards all creation, we purify our mind, and overcome dualities of
hatred & attachment.
************
External
greatness may come from the fulfilment of personal desires, but internal
greatness and true peace comes from giving them up.
Decide
firmly - God alone is mine. A
many-branched intellect cannot make the strong resolve necessary for success in
God-realization.
These tweets were sent
by Swamiji from his Twitter account, to remind us of the eternal spiritual
principles, as taught by Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj.
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Mayor's Recognition
for
JKYog and
Swami
Mukundananda
The Mayors of Plano, TX and the City of
Richardson, TX have expressed their recognition for Swamiji's efforts for
spiritual upliftment of the community.
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The Labor Day Weekend
for the final Retreat of 2010
Sept 4th - 6th 2010
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The Editor
Jagadguru Kripalu Yog
XVII/3305, 1st Floor,
Ranjit Nagar,
Near PUSA,
New Delhi - 110008
India
7405 Stoney Point Dr
Plano, TX 75025
USA
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Welcome to the
Jagadguru Kripalu Yog
e-Magazine |
How to recognize a
true Saint
by Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj
Continuing
from the last edition...
We have now understood that to attain
unlimited happiness, i.e. God, we have to first surrender ourselves to a Saint
who has attained the Divine Bliss of God, and has complete knowledge of
Him. That means, we have to recognize a Shrotriya Brahmanishth Mahapurush (Shrotriya means one
who has full and thorough knowledge of the scriptures; and Brahmanishth means one who has practical experience of God). By surrendering to such a Guru, attaining our
goal becomes easy. But if we try to understand God merely
through our intellect, we will not be able to know Him even in infinite
lifetimes, because God is not a subject of the human intellect. Thus, let us throw light on the entity called
Mahapurush, or Guru, else our journey towards God cannot begin.
Earlier in our discussion about Mahapurush, we learnt that it is
extremely difficult to recognize a true Saint because his external behavior is
different from his internal personality, and our intellect only judges by
observing external behavior. We have had
great Saints like Dhruv, Prahalad and Ambarish, who were beyond Maya from inside, but they performed
worldly deeds.
In Satya
Yuga, the four sons of the creator Lord Brahma who were eternally liberated
souls and constantly realized Brahm everywhere, cursed the two gatekeepers of Lord
Vishnu in anger. Once a soul is
liberated from Maya, no Mayic thought can enter that person's
mind. Then, how can a person who is
liberated from material bondage and God-realized be overcome by anger?
In
Ramayan, there is an episode where
Lord Ram is in search for His wife Seeta in the jungle. Parvati
could not understand this. She thought, "God is omnipresent, He
experiences neither union nor separation from any one, and is ever
Blissful by
His own self. He is neither sad nor
happy by being separated or united with any one."
kabahooṁ yog
viyog na jāke | dekhā pragaṭ viraha duḥkha tāke ||
Again she says, "How is it possible for
the formless and omnipresent God to take a personal form?" Even a simple, uneducated person would not
get this kind of doubt. Everybody knows
that the soul is formless, but takes a personal form (body) and keeps revolving
within the 8.4 million forms of life.
Similarly, God, who created this universe by just smiling, can
definitely take a personal form.
So, to clear her misunderstanding,
Parvati assumed the form of Seeta, in order to test Shree Ram. However, the All- Knowing Lord Ram saw her
and recognized her immediately. He addressed
Parvati in the form of Seeta "O Mother".
Similarly, when Lord Ram was performing
His leela of being bounded by the Naagpaash, or rope of snakes, His
eternal servant, Garuda was watching
the event. He was confused and thought,
"By just taking the very name of God, the individual soul becomes free from the
bondage of material actions, deeds and relationships. Then how can God Himself be bound by the ropes
of a mere demon?"
He then approached Kaag Bhushundi. He said, "Maya has bewildered you. It is not surprising. Even great personalities like Lord Brahma and
Lord Shiva come under the clutches of powerful Maya."
Now think about the Braj Gopis who are considered to be the
supreme amongst all classes of Mahapurush. Lord Brahma performed severe austerities for
sixty thousand years to attain the dust of the lotus feet of the Gopis but was unable to attain it. These Gopis are giving birth to
children. Arjun, even after attaining
the knowledge of 'The Geeta' got
infatuated with Naagkanya and had sons. Arjuna and Hanuman, who felt the presence of
God everywhere and at all times, killed people in war.
All examples above are of Saints who
behaved like worldly people from outside, although they were, in fact, eternally
liberated and ever-Blissful personalities.
An ordinary person who is under the influence of Maya can never understand the actions of these Saints. He understands that a Mahapurush can perform only righteous deeds. It is difficult for him to comprehend that a Mahapurush can also perform unrighteous
deeds without his mind getting absorbed in that
action. Saints do this with a power
called Yogmaya. We souls who are under Maya cannot understand the actions of Maya.
In reality, a Mahapurush, or Saint, is a person who does no work whatsoever,
either righteous or unrighteous. Just as
a seed gets destroyed with the appearance of a sprout, and flower with the
emergence of fruit, in the same manner, after the attainment of God, a Saint is
no longer in need of attaining anything, and becomes self-contented.
Why can't a Saint perform any action
after God-realization? This is because
firstly, the goal of every action performed is the attainment of the Divine
Bliss, which a Mahapurush has already
achieved. Therefore, there is nothing
left to be achieved or accomplished thereafter. That is why, if nothing is to be achieved then why would a Saint perform
any action? Secondly, if he performs any
action i.e. good or bad, then it will be a cause of bondage. Therefore, having freed himself from all the
bondages, why would a Saint engage in such actions again? Thirdly, before attainment of God, Maya is the controller of the soul and
after God-realization, God governs and directly controls the soul. Hence, every action a Mahapurush performs, is governed and
inspired by God. All the actions of the Saint are performed by God.
Therefore, every action of his is
respected and honoured, as God becomes the governor of the Saint and directs
his every action. For example, a driver
drives a car. If the car meets with an
accident, the car is not to be blamed as it is a material object. It is the driver that is to be blamed and
punished.
Hence, there is no need for a Mahapurush to perform any good or bad
actions. Yet, why does a Saint appear to
perform such actions? What reason does he have to perform actions thereafter?
To be continued in the next edition....
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Secrets of Spiritual Sadhana
by Swami Mukundananda
Continuing from the last month...
man jahāṁ bhī jāya hari ko, khaṛo karu tahaṁ pyāre
manahiṁ te śhriṅgār karu
sab, jaisā bhāe pyāre
Moving
further, Shree Kripaluji Maharaj tells us that when we practice sadhana, devotion, we move a few steps ahead, but
we also fail at times. There are
situations, when thoughts about the material world are stronger, and detachment
from this world becomes weaker. You may
repeatedly contemplate about detachment from the material world, and try to
concentrate on God, but it is difficult.
It does happen that when there are bad days, how much ever you try
contemplating on God, it becomes very difficult to concentrate on Him.
People get frustrated and
say, "What to do? The mind is not under
my control." Shree Kripaluji Maharaj tells us not to get scared. If you scold your mind, it will react
negatively. You were concentrating on
God and suddenly your mind started thinking about your son. Now if you scold your mind as to why is it
doing this, the mind will get more disturbed. So, first of all, be calm. Let
your mind go wherever it wants to go, and then visualize the form of God in that
place. If your mind started thinking
about your son, visualize the
form of God in your
son. If your mind starts thinking about ice
cream, place God in the ice cream and concentrate upon Him. If it thinks about the cricket match, imagine
that God it standing in the field. So,
in one way or the other, tie your mind to God.
This is just as a
monkey is unsteady by nature.
grah gṛihit puni vātavaśh
tā puni bīchhī mār puni pivāiya vāruṇī kahiya kahā upachār
At the end of the Ramayan,
Tulsidasji says:
"O
Lord! The mind of
a monkey is very restless by nature. If
you tie a scorpion to its tail, what will be the condition of that
monkey! And if that monkey gets hysteria, then how restless
will it be? Further, it is made to drink alcohol! Just imagine
the condition of that
monkey. My mind is similar to the
condition of that monkey. What can I
do?"
But you must have
seen how the monkey trainer controls the monkey. On the first day,
he ties a rope around the monkey which is 100 feet long.
The monkey has to jump and play within 100 feet. The rope presses
its neck. It cannot go further, else the rope will hurt
his neck. The next day he reduces the
rope to 80 feet. The monkey wants to go
beyond, but the rope hurts his neck and hence he learns to jump within
that
limit. Slowly, when the rope is reduced
to 3 feet by the trainer, the monkey thinks, "Leave it. Let me
stay quiet and lie down right here."
Now
that
energetic and restless monkey is totally under control. Our mind
is similar to this monkey. You need to tie this mind with the
rope of Shyamsundar.
Imagine God wherever your mind goes. If your mind wishes to see
the beautiful
seashore of Puri (sacred place in Eastern Orissa),
imagine Shree Krishna to be standing there. Shree Krishna is
standing on the beach with his flute. If your mind thinks about
Taj Mahal, imagine Shree Krishna
standing on the marble stone. Just like
the monkey, the mind will come under control. It will be bound
with Shree Krishna wherever it goes. Slowly, the mind will come
to rest in Shree
Krishna. This is the solution.
Note that
this is not just your imagination. It is
a fact that God resides everywhere, and we have to realize that wherever our
mind goes, God is present there. Keep
practising this way and it will only happen when you practice Roop dhyan, or meditation on the form, constantly
for some time. Close your eyes and
imagine your personal form of God to be in front of you. To strengthen Roop dhyan in your mind, imagine that you are dressing your
God. Imagine as if you are decorating
Him with a beautiful necklace and offering Tulsi at His lotus feet.
So, by
constantly meditating like this, your Roop
dhyan will get stronger. And when
that stage arrives that as soon as you close your eyes, you can see your God's
personal form in front of you, then you do not have to worry.
To attach
your mind in God, it is very important that a devotee practices Roop dhyan. During devotion, wherever your mind goes in the material world,
place Shree Krishna in front of you. Moreover,
decorate Shree Krishna with your mind. By doing this, Roop dhyan will
become more firm and deeper. And our
love for God will progress in leaps and bounds.
Now, you
will be able to progress with the steps which Shree Kripaluji Maharaj has explained in the next lines of his self composed
kirtan series. |
Question:
There
is some confusion and I would be really grateful if you would spare your
valuable time to help me with it.
I want to know
till what depth or what detail does the influence of our prarabdh extend in
our life?? We are free to do our karma.
And what we get as a result of it....is it our prarabdh? And if it is our prarabdh then is it not pre decided? Then what is our control on what we do?
Answer:
The matter of
destiny and free will is really very simple.
What is destiny?
It is not something that comes to us out of the blue. Destiny is determined by the karmas we
performed previously by our free will. You may even say that it is another name
for our own past karmas. Another name
for it is prarabdh, and it is decided
at the time of birth, based on the karmas of our endless past lives. However, God has also given us a certain
amount of free will that permits us to think and act as we wish. Actions performed by exercise of our free
will are called purusharth.
Whatever we get
in life is a consequence of both our destiny and the present effort. Consider
the analogy of a game of cards. The
cards that are dealt to you are unchangeable. This is like the prarabdh,
which got decided by our past karmas. But how you play is in your own hands. This is like the purusharth,
or actions that you perform by your free will. Good players can win even when bad cards are dealt to them, while bad
players lose even when they have been dealt good cards.
Fatalists
declare that everything is decided by prarabdh,
and we do not possess a free will to do purusharth. However, the fact that prarabdh exists, implies that we have created it by our purusharth. If we did not possess the free will to do purusharth, there would have been no prarabdh either.
Now
coming to your dilemma, it is not given to humans to know what exactly our
destiny is. If you get good results in your exams, it could be the consequence
of purusharth or prarabdh, or both. Astrologers
do make attempts to predict prarabdh,
but these are highly inaccurate and unreliable. Even if they could tell you
your destiny, it would not help you. If
an astrologer told you a good destiny, "You are going to pass
in the exam,"
you would reduce your endeavour and become lazy. On the other hand, if the astrologer told you
a bad destiny, "You are going to fail in the exam," you would become
dejected. So while endeavouring, it best
not to bring destiny to mind. Simply put
in your best effort.
However,
remember that the result of your work is not totally dependent on your
efforts. So when the result comes, feel
contented by thinking, "It may be because of my destiny or the will of
God, etc." In this way, if the
result is unfavourable, you will not be disturbed. And if the result is favourable, you will not
feel proud. Thus, the sutra for work is:
prayatna mein savdhan, phal mein santushtha. "Work very carefully, as if the results
depend upon your efforts. Be contented
in the fruits, thinking, they could be the result of destiny and other
factors." Swamiji
answers selected questions related to Yog, Spirituality and Philosophy every
month on our e-Magazine.
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Bal-Mukund Showcase
Bal-Mukund welcomes all contributions of
creative works from children in different areas including poetry, moral
stories, art work, etc.
*********
Bal-Mukund Contributions
Contributions from Bal-Mukund Children
Plano, TX
Hand-flower for Guru by young children (5-7)
By:
Devan,
Dhanush
By:
Rohan, Saumya,
Keshav
&
Janki
Rishin
& Sonia
Acrostic Poem on GURU
Bal-Mukund Poster
by Bal-Mukund Children by Esha Harish
*********
Moral Story
God Protects His Devotees
A little boy named Prahlad was born into the household of a demon
king-Hiranyakashipu. While Prahlad was still in his mother Kayadu's
womb, he had listened to the discourses from sage Narad. Needless to
say, Prahlad was born a lover of the Lord.
However, his father was apprehensive
of Prahlad's devotion. He applied various means to deter him, and then
to intimidate and at last to kill him. Initially he threatened, then
he beat him up and finally when he saw nothing could stop Prahlad from
taking Name of Lord Vishnu, Hiranyakashipu ordered his demons to throw
Prahlad from the top of a mountain. Prahlad came back unhurt. He was
saved by none other than Lord Vishnu himself. Hiranyakashipu's sister Holika had once received a boon from Bramha.
She was immune to fire. So, she tried to kill Prahlad by putting him on
her lap and dousing herself in fire. But, the fire deity couldn't
even touch the devotee of Lord Vishnu. Instead, Holika was burnt to
ashes. Hiranyakashipu was so enraged that he started strangulating Prahlad.
"What Vishnu Vishnu you are chanting, where is your Vishnu?" shouted
Hiranyakashipu. "If he is so mighty, why doesn't he come in front, why
is he hiding?" Prahlad calmly answered that Lord Vishnu is everywhere in this world. He is the omnipresent Lord and he resides within all. Hiranyakashipu was all the more furious. In the fits of rage he started
banging everything around him. He shouted "where is he, where is he?"
Trembling with anger, he took a mace (gada) and hit a nearby concrete
pillar. "Is Vishnu in this pillar?" shouted Hiranyakashipu. Suddenly a big roar came from the pillar. Everything started to
tremble. And from within the pillar appeared Lord Vishnu in the form of
Narshimha-half man half lion. He came out of the pillar, pulled
Hiranyakashipu to His lap and tore apart his stomach with His long sharp
nails. After killing Hiranyakashipu, Lord Narshimha lovingly took Prahlad on His lap and ordered him to rule the neither world. Prahlad, thus, showed the world that age is no bar in practising devotion. He famously said,
kaumāre ācharetaprājñodharmānbhāgavatānihoo
Which
means devotion to the Supreme Lord should be started from young age
itself. Shree Kripaluji Maharaj also cites this example many times in
his lectures. ********
This story is selected from the book,
A must have for all kids!
Get your collection of Bal-Mukund books TODAY!
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Trivia Time
Jagadguru Nimbarkarcharya
Jagadguru Nimbarkacharya
was a great Saint and philosopher. He
was a proponent of the Dvaitadvaita school
of Hindu philosophy. He is believed to have been the avatar of the
Sudarshan Chakra of Lord Shree Krishna.
His
philosophy is counted amongst the six main schools of Vedant. Hindu scholars honour Nimbarkacharya as one
of the four original Jagadgurus of the past.
Nimbarkacharya
was born to Aruna Muni, a great ascetic and his wife, Jayanti Devi who lived on
the banks of Godavari in modern day Andhra
Pradesh. According to the Nimbarka
Sampradaya, his appearance day was in the year 3096 B.C. The date of his birth is subject to much
controversy, as some historians state that he was born in the eleventh century.
According to the Bhavishya Purana, the
Brahmins prayed to Lord Vishnu to protect them from the asuras. The Sudarshan Chakra of the Lord descended in
the form of Nimbarkacharya, who was
named Niyamananda at birth.
Niyamananda
was a very bright child and became a scholar at a very young age. He was the embodiment of divine qualities
such as love, kindness and mercy.
In
search of a true Guru, he performed austere penance. Sage Narad was pleased with his penance, and
blessed him with the knowledge of Vedanta. Niyamananda then meditated on Shree Radha Krishna, who instructed him to
preach the path of bhakti.
Nimbarkacharya
propagated the Dvaitadvaita philosophy, which explains the existence of duality
and non-duality at the same time. He
stated that there are three entities: Bhagavan (God), Jeev (soul) and Maya (material energy). Jeev and
Maya are both separate from Bhagavan,
and yet part of Him. Both have
attributes that make them different from Bhagavan but in some ways similar to
Him. Thus, there are three real and
eternal realities.
Nimbarkacharya
laid down five aspects to the path of salvation: Karma (action), Vidya (knowledge), Upasana or Dhyana (meditation of the Lord), Prapatti (devotion and surrender to the
Lord) and Gurupasatti (surrender to the Guru). Nimbarkacharya spread the message of worshipping Shree Radha
Krishna. Therefore, his followers hold
the holy places related to Their pastimes in great reverence, such as
Vrindavan, Nandgaon, Barsana and Govardhan. Even today, devotees visit the Shree Nimbarka temple in Neembgram,
situated near Govardhan.
Nimbarkacharya
wrote a bhashya (commentary) of the Brahma Sutra based on his philosophy,
called the Vedant Parijat Sourabh. He
authored many other literary works such as the Prata Smarana Stotram, Sadachar
Prakash, Vedanta Kama Dhenu, Savisesh Nirvisesh Sri Krishna Stavam, Mantra
Rahasya Shodashi, Radha Ashtak, etc.
The
greatest contribution of Nimbarkacharya's commentary on the Brahma Sutra appears
to pre-date all the other commentaries on it, as there is no reference to the
others in Nimbarkacharya's work. It thus
seems that Nimbarkacharya belonged to an earlier era than the five other
schools of Vedant.
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Jagadguru Kripalu Yog
Ardha Padmasan
Method
Sit in Dandasan.
Fold your right leg and place it above the left thigh; the sole of the foot should
face upward.
Fold the left leg
and place the foot under the right thigh. Place your hands on the knees in any
mudra. Close your eyes and relax your body. Keep your head, neck and spine
straight. You may swap the legs and repeat the asan in the other direction.
Benefits
Same as Padmasan.
Contra-indications
People with sciatica
or weak knees should not practice this asan.
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