strongest link between God and Man

What is the strongest link between God and Man? Where can we get it from?

Most agriculturists feed on hope for their survival. Hope sustains them while they plough, sow, plant and manure the crops that they raise. That hope, must become a mental habit not just during agriculture, but as part of everyone’s daily life, in all the manifold activities. Never give any chance for that vile thing, despair, to eat into the vitals of activity and effort. Despair is a sin against God. When He is within you, why do you lose hope? That is why the Lord says, “Why fear, when I am here?” Be always joyful, optimistic and courageous. Know that the strongest connection between you and the Divine is when the life-giving waters of courage and hope, flow in your heart.

valuable tip for harmonious living.

What is it that can guarantee success?

The greatest instrument by which success can be ensured for all your efforts is devotion. That will grant you health, wealth and prosperity too. It will also eliminate hatred and faction, and give more strength to you. A person with devotion will do every act as worship of the Lord, and so the act will be done effectively without any malingering or insincerity. It will also win the Grace of the Lord, so the devotee will be able to do more and enjoy greater health and mental happiness. If every one of you unite and sing the glory of the Lord, it will produce greater harmony and social cohesion than thousand people clamoring and shouting one against the other. Divine Love will flood the area and fertilize all your efforts if all of you sing the Lord’s name together in unison. Do it for some time and you will yourself bear witness to the loving and serene atmosphere.

best way to attain peace and bliss

What is the best way to attain peace and bliss?

A mother holds a child that has soiled its shirt and puts on it a new one. Death is the removal of the soiled shirt and putting on the fresh one. Let the Mother do Her will, be a willing child in Her hands. Have full faith in Her love and wisdom. Be an instrument; submerge your will in the Will of the Lord. That will save you from worry and pain. Do not lose your mind, seeing people who have gone astray. It will be like seeing a stagnant pool and then judging rainwater to be dirty. Rain water is pure; it is the soil that soils it. Also be careful not to decry anyone. It amounts to decrying God. Be aware of the God within you and the God in everyone else. If you do this, there is nothing to equal the joy and peace that you will be rewarded with. I bless you, so that you may attain that bliss.

twist and turn in most relationships

Why do we see a twist and turn in most relationships? What can we do to support, collaborate and live peacefully?

Sometimes the cloud of envy and hatred come to darken relationships. This is primarily due to fear; fear that causes anger. The emergence of devotion, and the humility and wisdom resulting from it, will make fear and anger disappear. Anger wastes health, time and character. Never allow it to have a free play. Just like you cultivate the field, you must cultivate the fields of feelings, motives, desires and promptings. People are often ruined because they cannot tolerate the prosperity of another. Most people are bent on pulling down another. Jealousy is the chief cause of ruin and it is born due to the undue importance attached to the body, the senses and the accumulation of objects that cater to the senses. Develop the spirit of mutual help. See things in proper perspective; give everything its worth and no more.

I am the traveler in an endless journey

I am the traveler in an endless journey
Dreams and hopes show me direction
Treading an unknown, long path
In the repeating cycles of death and birth
Many an experience I have en-route
Sorrows to mourn and joys to gloat
Friends, parents, siblings and others
Have come and gone in many lives
You being the only one
To be with me time and again
My existence entwined with yours
Delight and ecstasy I had in your presence

False Ego Overpowering my conscience
I neglected you for Ephemeral world’s opulence
You have gone leaving me alone
Standing like a stone I am in silence
Those unforgettable emotions and affections
Alive in reminiscences, seeming to be dreams
Your presence and my experience, was it an illusion
The garland of my dreams- withered and forsaken


Traveling in time on the journey of life
I find myself in troubled waters
Building a boat with hopes and dreams
With the oars of knowledge and action I travel

The tides of time and storms of circumstance
Destroy the structure of my hopes and dreams
Amidst the turbulence in the sea of change
I am in danger of being drowned

To you I surrender myself, My Lord
You build my ship and be its rudder
With devotion, under your guidance
I will cross the ocean with ease.



~Raghu Ram Malladi

Thirst we must all strive for

What is the one thirst we must all strive for and why?

Thirst for Krishna, to see Him, to hear Him, to listen to His Flute, for installing Him in the heart and mind, and for grasping His reality through the intellect - this thirst is most conducive to peace and joy. Devotion to Krishna is the chain by which the monkey mind can be fastened and subdued. The word Krish means to attract (as in aakarshana). Lord Krishna attracts your mind towards Him and turns them away from sensory desires that torment you. He satisfies the deepest thirst of all beings, for peace, joy and wisdom. Hence thirst for Krishna is a sign of health in the spiritual field. Repetition of the name Krishna is useless, unless the contemplation of the Glory of Krishna starts purifying your character. The Grace of the Lord is very powerful and is endowed on the deserving alone. Hence begin today to sublimate your character saturated with piety and devotion. Then you will secure the Grace of the Lord.

overcome the ocean of birth and death

Why is faith in the Lord necessary to overcome the ocean of birth and death?

Look at Arjuna! When the choice was placed before him to decide which he should receive – the entire army of redoubtable Yadhava war heroes or Lord Krishna alone, unarmed and refusing to fight – without any hesitation, he chose Krishna alone! He knew; he believed; and so, he was saved. What profit will an individual or country make if it accumulates money, gold and grain? The bliss derived from the worship of the Lord which arouses spiritual joy is, any day, far more desirable than the above. Want of faith is a source of true weakness. Love (Prema) is the seed, the overpowering experience of merging with the Divine is the tree (thanmayathwam), and inexhaustible bliss (Anandam) is the fruit. Achieve this consummation with firm faith in the Divine.

Acts soaked in devotion and dedication

Why should we do all our acts soaked in devotion and dedication to the Lord?

Every one of you has in possession a ticket for liberation from the cycle of birth and death. But most do not know the train that has to be boarded; many get down at intermediate stations, imagining them to be the terminus and wander helplessly in the wilderness, or are carried away by sights and scenes. Until the wound heals, and the new skin is formed and hardens, the bandage is essential. So too, until Reality is realized, the balm of faith, holy company and holy thoughts must be applied to the ego-affected mind. It is dedication to the Lord that sanctifies all activities. He is the Prompter, the Executor, the Giver of the required strength and skill, and the Enjoyer of the fruit thereof. So dedication must come naturally to you, for all is His, and nothing is yours. Your duty is to believe that He is the impeller of your activities and draw strength from that belief.

oh Krishna!!

The flowers that adorned Your shoulders mighty:
The unerring messengers of Your fragrance earthy;
This slave now holds in her hands blessed,
Even as my heart leaps in joy at Your behest!

The world may call them unworthy
For they now appear variably withered!
But oh! They were on my sweet Sarathy smothered:
Does the damned world know that few are as fortunate and worthy?

The roses that are now half-dead,
Hide the scent of my Lord so unmistakable!
In the yellow flowers that are now black instead,
i feel the force of Your perspiration so recognizable!

In the white flowers that You once adorned with grace:
Wearing them, i rejoice in the warmth of Your embrace!
And o Lord! By the leaves of tulasi betwixt strung,
i taste the dust of Your Holy Feet in my tongue!!

There aren't words to describe Your love,
Or Dearest Krishna! The benovelant boons You bestow!
O Merciful Lord who enchants with Your smile so serene:
Let me please be a lotus for Your beautiful Feet!!

mistakes

How should we deal with our own mistakes and that of others?

When you go to a doctor, you must take the medicine that he prescribes and follow his advice and instructions. There is no use blaming him if you default. How can the doctor cure you if you do not take medicines or follow the diet restrictions and regulate your intake according to his advice? Similarly, follow My advice and then watch the result. Also remember, it is a sign of foolishness to brood over mishaps and mistakes once committed, and punish oneself by refusing to take food and so on. What good is it to ill-treat the body to correct the mind? Even as you deal with your own faults strictly, you should pardon that of others. Do not misunderstand their motives and scandalise them; perhaps their motives might be as noble as yours or their action might be due to ignorance, rather than wickedness or mischief.

True wisdom

What is true wisdom (Jnana)? Where can we find it?

When the senses are brought under control by the mind, the mind itself ceases to function; it disappears as it were. Then man experiences a profound silence. That stillness resulting from the absence of the mind is true Knowledge (Jnana). This knowledge cannot be acquired by intellectual ability or mental agility, nor by following an example. It is sui generis. Consider the ashes which cover a burning charcoal or the moss which covers a sheet of water. The ashes have come from the charcoal. The moss has originated from the water. The cataract that dims the vision of the eye, wherefrom has it come? From the eye itself! When the screen that blinds the vision is removed, the true Self will be seen in its real form. Atma Jnana is not obtainable through books, preceptors or even Paramatma (the Supreme Self). You are yourself the Paramatma, the Jnana, the Atma.

Atma

How do we know that Atma or Divine Self is present in all beings?

You may wonder, ‘How is it that the Atma is present in all?’ When you meditate in solitude on this question, a permanent, unchanging sound arises from the mind. All objects manifest the power of the atom. Every object is composed of atoms. It is the nature of atoms to combine and to separate. But in all human beings there is one unchanging and indivisible divine entity, the Inner Voice. The body undergoes change from infancy to old age, but the Inner Voice remains unchanged. People experience three different states of consciousness in the waking, dreaming and deep sleep states. But the Inner Voice has no change in the gross or subtle states of the body. What is that Voice? It is the divine Inner Voice issuing from the Atma-thathwa (Atma Principle). It is continually declaring: ‘I, I, I..’ - ‘Aham, Aham, Aham’. This is the Truth that is subtler and more fundamental than the atom.

What is the best way to be happy?

It is believed that every man has a free will. This is a mistake. It is also believed that it is through the individual's ideas and efforts that many things are accomplished. This is based on misconceptions regarding man's doership and egoism. Strength derived from the Divine alone is true strength. All else is weakness. To realise the Atma, physical prowess is of no avail. It is only by developing the sense of spiritual oneness, that the Atmic Consciousness can be realised. Today the world is plunged in chaos and conflict because this feeling of oneness has been lost. Man engages himself in strenuous efforts to achieve worldly comforts. But he does not make even a minute fraction of such efforts to meditate on God. How much greater happiness would he enjoy if he were to devote even a few moments to thoughts of God!

Likes n dislikes

Likes and dislikes that you now feel, are just temporary phenomena. They are not permanent. Consider for a moment that at some time you felt very hungry. Now suppose that you were served some food which you found very tasty. What made this food so delicious? If you examine this question carefully you would conclude that it was your hunger that made everything taste so good. As long as you were hungry you found the meal that had been served to you to be most delectable. But after your hunger was satisfied, even if the most sumptuous delicacies were placed in front of you, they would not have appealed to you. When you are hungry, ordinary food will taste quite good, giving you great joy. But once your hunger is satisfied, even the most delicious food is not at all tasty to you. The only way that you can understand this change is that all these likes and dislikes emanate directly from you, the individual. They do not come from the objects as such. All your feelings of joy and sorrow emanate from the inner being, not from the external objects.

Ordinary people think that the joy or pain which they get from being with people whom they like or dislike comes from those people; but it is not so. It is one's own likes and dislikes which are responsible for one's joys and sorrows. It may be observed that when people have a strong liking for others, holding them very dear, then whatever be the attitude or the actions of that person, they will still like them all the same. What is the reason for this unshakable fidelity, this affectionate regard one may have for another person, despite a number of unsavory things which that person may be saying or doing? The reason is that when you like someone, the things which that person says and does will appear sweet to you. When you consider a person as very dear to you, then you feel that you love that person very much. This quality which you call 'love' is really a feeling of attachment in you that you are directing towards the other individual. In such an attachment both the love and the joy which appear to be present, originate only from you. Whether or not the other person has similar feelings, the feelings which you actually experience come from within you, only. They are not a part of the other person, at all. A similar thing was told by a great sage to his wife, in the ancient scriptures.

The sage said to his wife, "Dear one, you do not love me for my sake but for your own sake. Everything you love and hold dear, you love only for the sake of the atma, your highest self;. The atma is the dearest of all, and it is for its sake that someone is dear to you. These feelings you have for others are all just manifestations of that great love you feel for your own true self."

attachment

In the whole world each person, whoever he may be, will love another only for his own sake, not for the sake of the other. If he loves an object, he loves it for the self alone, and not for the sake of that object. That self is the atma, the true self. But, when the pure love of the atma becomes tainted with body consciousness, and the senses hold sway, attachment and selfishness arise. This inevitably leads to sorrow.

The body is impermanent. Death is certain for all. Even if someone were to live for a hundred years, he would still have to face death one day. Everyone knows that. But, isn't it strange that the would-be dying are crying and feeling sorry for those who have already died? Everyone is sure to meet death and so everyone may be thought of as among the dying. Yet, even though they themselves are dying, people feel sorrow and grief when thinking of someone who has died. It is as if death were a totally unusual and unexpected thing, rather than the natural conclusion that must come to all. This sorrow that comes on, particularly when someone near and dear has died, can only be there because of attachment. After knowing full well that death is certain, if you still worry about somebody, it must be due to the attachment which you have developed for that body. It is this attachment which is responsible for all your grief. Therefore, when someone has died the primary cause for sorrow is attachment, not love.

Basically, every human being, at all times, is a seeker of joy. He thirsts for joy and does not ever want sorrow. Man always aspires for profit, never for loss. That is his very nature. Profit, joy and bliss are inherent in his makeup; they are at the very core of his being. Every man, right from the beginning, would like to have only gain, not pain. For a business man, the first thing he thinks of is his profit. Here in India, when measuring out some staple such as rice, if the number of kg's goes above six, then the shopkeeper will not say '7', but '6 + 1'. This is because the word for seven also means 'weeping'. The shopkeeper will use another word to avoid uttering this unhappy word. In this way, man never wants to face unhappiness and loss. He wants only profit and gain, and the happiness they bring.

Of all the possible profits and gains, the supreme profit of all, which gives the greatest joy, is self-knowledge, the knowledge of the atma. That is the joy you must seek and make your own.

Consider a beautiful rose; the moment you look at a rose joy emanates from your heart. Similarly, when you see a handsome person or any beautiful thing in this world, you instantly feel joy. Many people undertake trips to go sight-seeing. Why do they go? In order to derive joy from it. Therefore, you can see beauty in nature and you can see beauty in people, and you can derive great joy from all the beauty that you see. But how long does this kind of joy and beauty last? The rose that you picked today starts to dry out tomorrow; then its beauty gets lost. The moment the beauty fades away, the joy that you previously derived from it also subsides. It is the same with the different stages of life: childhood, youth, adulthood and old age.

Childhood may be said to reflect divinity. During early childhood the individual does not suffer much from hatred, jealousy, anger and so forth. Lord said that since children do not have any really bad qualities, they could be considered divine. During that period of life, there are no bad thoughts or bad traits, either in the mind or in the body. Little children are beautiful because they do not have impure feelings arising out of impure thoughts. As they grow up they gradually develop tainted qualities. The moment such negative qualities grow, the beauty of the small child fades away. Therefore, it is the coming in of impure thoughts which lead to impure words and impure deeds, which then results in the child losing its beauty.

Do your duty!

Krishna gave Arjuna a strong injection of courage to save him from drowning in sorrow and dejection. His immediate first-aid treatment was to teach Arjuna how to discriminate between the true self and the personal self. He said, "Arjuna, as long as you are overcome with fear and anxiety, you will not be able to accomplish anything. Be courageous! Know that you are the atma, not this body; then you will be fearless. I can help you to achieve great things, but only if you base your actions on true knowledge and remain fearless." At this point Krishna was smiling, but Arjuna was weeping.

The one who is always smiling is the Lord. The one who is weeping is man. Krishna is the true self, Arjuna is the false self. One is the embodiment of wisdom and the other is filled with ignorance. Krishna said, "I would like to explain some things to you which are very important. Right now we are behaving in different ways. I am smiling while you are crying. But we could both be alike; either I could become like you or you could become like me. If I should become like you, then I would become weak-minded. But that is impossible! Weakness can never enter into me! On the other hand, if you were to become like me, then you would have to follow me and do as I say." At this Arjuna replied, "Swami, I will do exactly as you say. I will follow all your commands implicitly!" Having given Arjuna sufficient encouragement and strength of purpose, Krishna enabled Arjuna to recover his strong resolve. From that point on, Arjuna undertook to fight, following the directions given by the Lord.

Krishna started his wisdom teachings with some important truths relating to the body and mind. He said, "Arjuna, you think that these people are your relatives and friends. But, what is meant by a relative or a friend? Does it refer to the body or does it refer to the indweller? Bodies are just water bubbles; they come and go. These relatives and friends which you are so attached to now, have all existed before, in any number of births. But were they your relatives and friends then? No. You too have existed countless times before, and I as well. The body, the mind and the intellect are all just so much apparel. They are like the clothes you wear; you change them now and again. They are mere instruments. Why develop a close relationship with these things, getting infatuated with them and then having to suffer so much sorrow and grief?

"Do your duty! All the honor that is due to you as a prince will be bestowed on you. But on the battlefield there cannot be room for any feeling of weak-mindedness and feeble-heartedness. Fighting boldly to preserve righteousness and shrinking in weakness are completely incompatible with each other. To have this timidity on the battlefield is not becoming of a great hero. Your cause is just and you have come to fight. Therefore, fight!" With words such as these, Krishna cured Arjuna of his despondency and helped him to find his strength and courage. When Krishna finished his teaching on the battlefield, Arjuna regained his noble ideals and faced the upcoming fight with renewed valor.

Two types of people

Krishna said in the Gita that there are two types of people, the noble ones and the ignoble ones. The noble ones are those who follow the right path, the sacred path. They seek the company of great people and practice their teachings. As a result, they experience the great spiritual truths and enjoy the inner life of the spirit. Opposed to them are those who are full of unsacred thoughts and have impure hearts, who are under the spell of ignorance and live an unrighteous life. Their evil behavior can be said to be the direct opposite of the exemplary behavior of the noble ones, just as darkness is the opposite of light. Therefore, we can describe these two categories as that of gods and demons, or beings of light and beings of darkness. Krishna said, "Arjuna, I thought up to now that you were noble, that you were a true knight, but I see that you are entering the wrong path. You are getting steeped in darkness. You are following unsacredness. It would be wrong to call you noble. You are proving yourself to be otherwise."

Krishna gave Arjuna various such admonishments in order to encourage him to make a heroic effort to manifest the qualities of true nobility. He told him, "The primary cause of your present grief is your attachment, and the basis for your attachment is ignorance. It is out of ignorance that you allow your senses to govern your actions. If you want to free yourself from attachment and sorrow then you must control your senses. You have to clearly understand the nature of the senses. In the journey of life these sense organs are important; they are like the horses of your chariot which can take you to your goal. But only when you have full control over these horses will the chariot and the person riding in it be safe. If you leave them uncontrolled it is inevitable that the chariot and its occupant will come to grief. Therefore, if you want to reach the goal safely you must take charge of these horses. In other words, you must assert absolute control over your sense organs."

When Krishna spoke of the sense organs he mentioned that they have the capacity to measure. For example, the tongue determines the taste of foods, deciding whether a thing is sweet or bitter. It does this by measuring the relative sweetness and bitterness of the food. Similarly, the ears determine whether some music is melodious or not and the eyes discern the beauty of objects seen. In this way, all the senses measure different qualities. Krishna also spoke of certain limitations of the sense organs, as ordained by God to insure their right use. For example, you can use the nose for smelling and for breathing. If you use the nose correctly, you are obeying the commands of the Lord and will surely benefit thereby. If, instead of using the nose for breathing and smelling good things, you use the nose to inhale noxious drugs, then you are not using it in the way specified by God.

As for the tongue, you have the Lord's gentle reminder, "Child, use this tongue to talk sweetly and not to hurt others' hearts. Use words which give them joy." The other function of the tongue must also be attended to. Use your tongue to take in fresh, wholesome food which is full of vitamins and proteins. On the other hand, if you use your tongue and sense of taste for smoking cigarettes or drinking alcohol you will be misusing the tongue. Then you will be disobeying the commands of the Lord and you will come to harm. In this way, you should use all of the sense organs for the specific tasks which have been assigned to them by God. Then you will be fulfilling the purpose for which each instrument has been given. This kind of regulated behavior will help you to achieve your life's goal.

As a result of the functioning of the senses, you may experience joy or grief. This joy or grief that you feel does not come from the senses themselves. It is only after the senses have come into contact with the sense objects that you will experience these feelings. For instance, suppose you are on a protracted visit to a friend in a neighboring town, and while you are away something happened in your home. No matter what happened, whether good or bad, you would experience neither happiness nor grief, joy nor sorrow, as long as your ears had not heard the news. But once you get a phone call and came to know what happened at home, if the news is good you would feel joy and if the news is bad you would feel sorrow. It is only after the senses became associated with the sense objects that the joy or grief would have come to you.

Saranagati

In those days people lived much longer than they do today. At the time of the great war, Krishna and Arjuna were already quite advanced in years, by today's standards. For over 70 years, Krishna and Arjuna had been inseparably together. Although they were together for so many years, at no time during all those years did Krishna teach the Gita to Arjuna. Why was this so? During all those years Arjuna treated Krishna as his brother-in law and his close friend. Krishna did not teach the Gita to Arjuna as long as Arjuna was living with body-consciousness.

The moment Arjuna surrendered and accepted discipleship, then Krishna became his teacher and Arjuna became Krishna's student. Only after this act of surrender on the part of Arjuna did Krishna teach him the Gita. This means that if you really want to acquire spiritual knowledge from another, you have to relate to that person as disciple to spiritual teacher, before the transfer of knowledge can flow freely.

In the ancient scriptures there is a similar story of a great teacher. At that time there was no greater teacher than he. But he sent his own son to another teacher to attain spiritual knowledge. The father himself would not teach his son. He took this step because he knew that as long as the son considered him the father, the boy would not relate to him fully as the teacher, and therefore, the boy would not have been properly instructed in the highest wisdom. This was also the situation with Krishna and Arjuna. As long as the relationship of brother-in-law existed between them, Arjuna could not receive knowledge from Krishna. But once this feeling of brothers-in-law left his heart and the feeling of being in the presence of the supreme divinity entered Arjuna's heart, then Arjuna was able to learn from Krishna.

After Arjuna had surrendered completely and developed the feeling that Krishna was divine, he said to Krishna:

You are my mother,
You are my father,
You are my nearest kin,
You are my dearest friend,
You are my wisdom,
You are my treasure,
You are my everything,
You are my Lord, my loving Lord.

It was then that Krishna accepted him as a disciple. At that point Krishna said, "You do my work. Do everything for me and I shall take care of you." The most important thing that Krishna did was to free Arjuna from the feeling of body-consciousness. So long as body-consciousness persists, regardless of what path you follow, whether it is the path of selfless service or the path of devotion or the path of inner inquiry, you will not be able to practice the required disciplines that will lead you to the goal. Body-consciousness and the attachments resulting from it will constantly pollute your heart. Without emptying the heart of its dross, it is not possible to fill it up with sacred feelings. If a tumbler is full of water, how can you fill it with milk? You first have to empty the water. Krishna said, "Arjuna, you are full of body-consciousness. First you must completely rid yourself of this. Only then will I be able to fill your heart with sacred thoughts."

Krishna's teachings were aimed at freeing Arjuna of his infatuations, and the grief and sorrow which resulted from them. The two most important steps in this process are surrender and elimination of body-consciousness. Once Arjuna's body-consciousness was gone, Krishna was ready to reveal to Arjuna the highest spiritual teaching, that of self-knowledge. With that, Krishna awakened Arjuna out of his sleep of ignorance. He said, "There are a number of reasons for your sorrow but the most fundamental one is your ignorance. You have been unaware of your true nature and therefore you have become overwhelmed with grief. But now you have cried out for God. You have cried out for righteousness. You have cried out for me. When you cry for me, I will take care of you and give you everything you need."

You all cry for so many different things, but do you cry out for God? Do you shed tears when there is a decline of righteousness? When you do, the Lord will establish himself in your heart, teach you his highest wisdom, and make you an instrument in his mission. For this, you must have courage and inner strength. Krishna told Arjuna, "You should never have any kind of weak-heartedness. It is only after you remove such weakness from your heart that the divine power will enter and reside in your heart. If you do not have courage, even sheep will frighten you, not to speak of evil minded men. You must have the capacity to face all circumstances. If you run away in fear, even monkeys will attack you. But, if you have a stick and stand your ground, the monkeys will not come near you. Whatever the circumstance, face it squarely and do not show your back. Then will you be able to achieve what you set out to do."

The essence of this teaching is, "Be courageous! Be fearless!" Courage is the primary instrument for achieving any kind of success. You need to have more courage and more determination. But you should not have blind and foolish courage. Courage must be accompanied by discrimination; only then will success be assured.

oh krishna!!

My Lord!
Your lotus eyes and their depth endless,
Fill a poor girls imagination with desires relentless!
O my Krishna of charm boundless,
Bind me to You by Your mercy causeless!!
Lost in the luxury of Your kind love,
Have i forgotten the boons You have bestowed?
O my Love! Lord of my dreams!
Keep me forever at Your Lotus Feet!

Accept me at your feet.. krishna!

How cursed must this idiot be

That i must Your disappointed form see?

What did i do wrong, my Lord?

That, with Your indifference, i be so scorched?

Like two bright almonds Your beautiful eyes,

Their radiance that charms and enchants the mind:

How come today even a glance they deny?

Than be scorched by Their anger, i'd rather i die!!

My Lord! Please do forgive a slave,

Who does earnestly for Your smile crave!!

O Dearest Lover! Bestow upon me Your mercy,

And please accept me at Your feet!!

What should we thirst and crave for

What should we thirst and crave for to make our earthly existence worthwhile?

The thirst for worldly goods can never be allayed; trying to satisfy it makes it only more acute. Thirst can never be quenched by drinking salt water, which is the objective world. Human desire is illimitable, without end. It makes you pursue the mirage in the desert, it makes you build castles in the air, it breeds discontent and despair once you succumb to it. But develop thirst (thrishna) for Krishna, and you will discover the cool spring of bliss within you. The name of Krishna makes you strong and steady, it is sweet and sustaining. Whoever has the thirst, Krishna will quench it; whoever calls on Him in the agony of that thirst, Krishna, the rain-cloud, will answer that call and appear.

relationship

What is the relationship between the individual and the Lord?

If you have the ear, you can hear 'Om' in every sound announcing to you the Lord's presence. The bell in temples is intended to convey the ‘Om’ as the symbol of the Omnipresent God. When the bell sounds, the Godhead within you will awaken and you will be aware of His Presence. The jeevi (individual soul) has come in with a dress (body), like a pilgrim on a visit to a holy place. The jeevi must have a guide who will show the sacred spots and help fulfil the pilgrimage. That guide is the Lord Himself and the guide books are the Vedas, Upanishads and other scriptures. The essence of the scriptures lies in this one rule: Repeat the name of the Lord, keeping His Glow always before the mind.

How should we approach Divinity?

The Lord is the Kalpatharu (the divine wish fulfilling tree) who gives whatever is asked for. But you have to go near the tree and wish for the thing you want. The atheist is the person who keeps far away from the tree. The theist is the one who has come near. The tree does not make any distinction – it grants boons to all. The Lord will not punish or take revenge if you do not recognize Him or revere Him. Earn the right to approach the Lord without fear and the right to ask for your heritage. You must become so free that praise will not emanate from you when you approach the Lord. Praise is a sign of distance and fear.

devotion Radha had for Krishna

What can we learn from the devotion Radha had for Krishna?

You can understand Radha only if you can fathom the depth of her thirst for Krishna. Radha believed that Krishna is the Aadhar (basis). She performed Araadh (worship) in a continuous Dhara (stream). In fact she is Prakrithi (nature), another form of the Lord Himself. How can those, who are full of evil tendencies and impulses grasp that relationship? The recitation of the Name of the Lord is the best method for cleansing the mind of all these evil impulses. If you have pure and steady faith in the Lord, He will provide for you, not just food, but the nectar of immortality itself. You have the potential in you to make Him grant you that boon.

inherent Divinity to shine

What is the essential step one has to undergo for the inherent Divinity to shine forth?

The poet Kalidasa once said, “I would get liberation, as soon as I go”, implying, liberation is achieved as soon as the ego disappears. For then one would shine in his native splendour, as the indestructible Atma. The ‘I’ when crossed out becomes the symbol of the cross. So what is crucified is the ego. Once this happens, the Divine nature spontaneously manifests itself unhampered. The ego is most easily destroyed by devotion, by dwelling on the magnificence of the Lord. You can call Him by any name, for all names are His. Select the Name and Form that best appeals to you. That is why Sahasranamas (thousand names of the Lord) are composed for the various forms of God; you have the freedom and the right to select any one of the thousand.

inner significance of the Avataric life

What is the inner significance of the Avataric life of Lord Krishna?

When you say that Lord Krishna was born in Gokul, grew up in Brindavan, ruled over Mathura and later Dwaraka, what does that signify? The mind is the Gokul where He was born. He is born to everyone, even today, whoever has taken to a spiritual path. The heart is the Brindavan where He grows. He grows in every heart, where Divine Love develops and expands. Your Intellect (Chitha) is where He begins His rule, and the Nirvikalpa stage (the state of absolute oneness) is the Dwaraka where He firmly establishes Himself as the reigning monarch. Make your thirst and devotion for the Lord grow through these stages, and you will be saving yourself.

Peace and Joy

What should we do to win Peace and Joy as our inseparable companions in this life?

Just as you attend to the needs of the body regularly, feeding it three times a day to keep it in good running condition, so too spend some time regularly to keep your inner consciousness in good trim. Spend one hour in the morning, another at night and the third in the early hours of the dawn (the Brahma Muhurtha) for japam (contemplation) and meditation on the Lord. You will find great peace descending upon you and new sources of strength welling up within as you progress in this spiritual practice (Sadhana). After sometime, the mind will dwell on the Name, wherever you are and whatever you are engaged in. Peace and Joy will become your inseparable companions.

sadhana an important aspect

The mind must become bhakthimaya (saturated with devotion to God). The intelligence must be transformed into Jnana (divine knowledge). The body must be a willing and efficient instrument for the practice of righteousness. Such a life is indeed the crown and glory of humanity. The rest are merely contaminated, contained and caged lives! So sadhana (spiritual endeavours) alone makes life worth while; the rest are like froth which is fake and momentary. Join the company of the good, the striving, the yearning spiritual aspirants and you will soon reach the stage of peace within and harmony without.

Emptiness in life!

Every being is Divine, take it from Me! All of you are really here on a holy mission, for a divine purpose. To consider yourself weak or sinful is itself a sin! You must earn your birthright, which is Peace (Shanthi). Restlessness (ashanthi) is an unnatural state. To recover this heritage of peace, people try many methods – accumulation of riches, maintenance of good health, mastery of knowledge, cultivation of arts, etc. All these are not fundamental. Three basic needs remain even after all these methods are exhausted - the need for Truth, Light and for Immortality. It is only when these are won that Peace will be permanently established.

Practise moderation in speech

Practise moderation in speech – it will help you in many ways. When the foot slips, the wound heals after a few months; when the tongue slips, the wound it causes in the heart of another will fester for life. The tongue is liable to four big errors – uttering falsehood, finding fault with others, excessive articulation and indulging in scandals. These have to be strictly avoided if there has to be peace for the individual and the society. The bond of love and brotherliness will be stronger if people would speak less and speak sweetly. Silence (mounam) has been prescribed as a spiritual practice, for this same reason. You are all spiritual aspirants at various stages of the road and so this discipline is valuable for you also.

Do your duty!

You may be prepared to offer millions of dollars to buy whatever comes your way, but no amount of money can be paid to ever get back the time that has already been spent. Youth is the most precious, the most sacred period of human life. It offers you a golden opportunity to properly utilize your time and sanctify your life. In human life, the time of youth, like the waters that flow in the river, cannot be turned back again. Today's youth should recognize this fact. Utilize your time in a proper way and you will gain fulfillment in life. Always be aware of the many aspects of the wheel of time. Realize how extremely important time is. Think ahead as to what is likely to happen in the future and keep the goal of your life constantly in view.

In the chapter on devotion in the Gita, it is said that time is the most important element in your life and you must use your time wisely. Your time should be used to reach God. The divine teacher taught in the Gita, that even if you have not reached a highly developed detachment from worldly objects, if you use your time in constant awareness of the Lord, performing all your works and duties as worship and offering everything you do to the Lord, then you will have a blessed life.

Krishna told Arjuna, "Do your duty, Arjuna! If you have to fight, then fight. But fight, thinking of me. That way you will incur no sin. If you have offered everything to me, and have me steadily in your heart, you will not suffer any of the consequences of your actions. You are not being asked to go to the forest and do penance or to give up all your relations. You need not give up your family, your house and all your properties. Whatever you see, whatever you say, whatever you hear, whatever you think, whatever you do, do it as my work, and offer it to me. Offer your mind and your intelligence fully to me. That is the proper way to sanctify your time. If you conduct your life in this way, you have my assurance, you will be saved!"

feel and live in the omnipresence

Why do we find it difficult to feel and live in the omnipresence of the Lord?

God is everywhere, and is everything; so, it appears as if He is nowhere, and He is not in anything! For, to know Him you try to identify Him as someone foreign and unique. He is Love, Power, Truth, Wisdom and Beauty. When you accept Love, you accept God. The tender plant of spirituality can grow only in the field of Love. It cannot thrive in the dehydrated loveless land of human hearts. Remove all traces of salinity from your hearts adding to the soil the precious complement of the Name of the Lord. Water it with Faith. Then plant the seedlings of Divinity; have discipline as the fence, and steadfastness as the pesticide to be sprayed. Then, you can reap the rich harvest of Jnana (wisdom), which will free you from the task of cultivation forever.

Question of suffering

As part of their religious observances, people will sometimes say in their prayers, "O Lord, I am a sinner, my soul is full of sin, I have been performing so many sinful acts." But who is this person who is sinning? Can there ever be anyone who is separate from the Lord? Can such a one exist? These declarations about sinning and being a sinner are not good practices for devotees to engage in. Rather you should think, "In truth, I am God. I am not different from God. I am peace itself. I am love eternal. I am pure bliss without end." Keeping such lofty ideas and thoughts in your mind is the best way to reach the goal.

In the Gita, in the list of noble qualities that a devotee should possess, the Lord started with, "Be without hatred towards any living being." If you treat happiness and misery with an equal mind then the question of hatred does not arise at all. If you recognize that the same transcendental principle is embodied in all human beings as well as in all creatures, then there cannot be any room for hatred. If you realize that the one divinity resides equally in all, then how could you ever hate another? Where is the other? In this context, you might ask for whom the phrase, "Be without hatred towards any living being" is intended. Is it meant for those who have realized the one transcendental principle which exists equally in themselves and in everyone else? No, it is obviously not intended for them. This injunction is given for the sake of those who have not yet realized this great truth of the unity of all beings.

There is an extraordinary joy which you obtain when you immerse yourself in the attitude of being the servant of the Lord. You soon become filled with delight from having imbibed the Lord's sweetness, and you never want to leave that happy state. You come to the conclusion that if ever you were to move on from this feeling of being the servant to the state of "I am he", you would not be able to continue to enjoy the consummate sweetness of the Lord. Sugar does not know its own sweetness. You may be concerned that if you were to become one with the sugar you would no longer be able to enjoy its sweetness. Since you partake of the Lord's sweetness in the servant stage, you may prefer to remain in this stage so that you will always be able to taste the nectarine sweetness of the Lord, rather than being one with him.

For example, Hanuman, the great devotee of God, had the experience of extreme bliss arising from his unwavering attitude of "I am the servant of Lord Rama". But how long can such a feeling last? It can last only as long as you have the grace of the Lord and are near to him. If you were to ever become separated from him, then in all likelihood you would experience extreme anguish.

In the stage of qualified non-dualism, the question of suffering does not arise at all, because in that exalted state you are unceasingly with the Lord, and there is no possibility of experiencing any separation or suffering. In the servant stage there is the possibility of separation between the Lord and the servant, but in the second stage of qualified non-dualism there cannot be any discontinuity in the bliss since no possibility of separation can arise.

3 steps leading to liberation

There are three principal stages that you must follow on the spiritual path in order to reach your spiritual goal. They have been described in a number of different ways in the Gita. At the end of the 11th chapter, wherein Lord Krishna gives Arjuna the vision of his cosmic form, you will find the three stages presented as follows:

First, you must know that God is here.
Then you must have a direct vision of him.
Finally, you must merge with him.

These three steps will lead you to liberation.

In the first step, you learn through the words of the scriptures or a teacher, that God really exists. But merely knowing this truth does not give you unlimited joy. You discover that God is here, but you also realize that you and God are separate. This feeling of separation can serve as the basis for subsequent steps on the path, but in itself it does not provide much lasting satisfaction.

Gradually, the anguish of separation from God moves you on to the next step. The desire develops in you to gain the direct personal experience and vision of God. You feel, "I want to see you, dear Lord. How can I experience you directly?" But, you find that it does not happen so easily just by wishing for it. You must deeply pine and yearn for this vision; you must constantly aspire to see him. Whatever form or aspect of God you have come to love in your devotion, you must now yearn for it with all your heart and wish to see it directly. If your yearning is sincere, then after some time he will make himself known to you in a most personal way, and give you this sought-for vision of himself.

There was a poor cowherd boy, who had a great deal of faith and an intense yearning to see God. One day, in the village where this boy lived, a preacher came to deliver some spiritual discourses. The preacher would gather together an audience and sing the glories and exploits of the Lord. It was not possible for this cowherd boy to give up his work and come to all the meetings, because all day long he had to attend to his cows. But in the evenings he would bring the animals into a sheltered place and then go to hear the preacher give his talk. The cowherd boy would listen with great earnestness and care to all that was being said.

The preacher was a follower of Lord Vishnu, and so he related the characteristic features of God in the form of Vishnu, or Narayana, as he is also called. In the course of the discourse the preacher repeatedly described the traditional image of the Lord as one who was dark complexioned, who wore a white mark on his forehead and rode on a white eagle. The preacher also explained that Lord Vishnu was always prepared to go to the rescue of those who sought shelter in him, and that he would accept as an offering anything that was given to him with full faith and love.

As the preacher repeatedly described these characteristics of the Lord, they made an indelible impression on the heart of that boy. The preacher also said that God is a great lover of music, and that he could be won by directing one's prayers to him in song, sung most reverently from the heart.

Well, this cowherd boy used to carry some food with him for his noontime lunch. Daily he would offer this food to God with all sincerity and devotion, praying to the Lord to partake of it. He began his prayers by singing this song, "O loving Lord, You ride on a white eagle, so I have been told. Come. Please come to me and accept this food." The boy went on praying like this to the Lord for one whole week continuously. He never touched his food because it was not shared by the Lord. By the end of the week he became extremely weak.
Besides his weakened physical condition, he was also suffering from extreme anguish because he felt that he wasn't singing properly and therefore the Lord did not respond. He was sure that it was because of his own shortcomings in his songs that the Lord did not come to partake of his food. And so with great determination and devotion he continued to practice his singing, thinking that in the end he would surely win the grace of the Lord.

In his weakened condition he reached the forest. He was feeling extremely exhausted but he was determined not to eat unless his offering was accepted by the Lord. Now his prayerful song poured out of him in a most melodious and sacred way. The boy just kept on singing and singing all the time, imploring the Lord to come down and accept the food and drink that he was offering with so much yearning. When there was perfect harmony in the feeling, in the tune and in the content of the song, the Lord descended. How did he appear before that cowherd boy? He came as a boy of the same age, wearing the simple ochre cloth of a saddhu, a mendicant holy man.

The young cowherd asked the boy he saw standing before him, "Please, dear friend, may I know who you are? Are you a traveler passing through this forest?" The holy boy answered, "I am the Lord. I am Narayana. You prayed to see me and so I have come to give you a vision of myself." Remembering that the Lord liked the sweet sound of music, the cowherd boy continued his questioning in the form of a most melodious song, "But you don't conform to the description given of the Lord, who is dark complexioned, who wears a white mark on his forehead and who rides a white eagle. The preacher said that is how we can know the Lord. But it doesn't seem to be true. O, dear one, if you are really the blessed Lord, please resolve my doubt and let me see you in your true form."

The boy had heard a description of the Lord; now he wanted to see and experience him directly, exactly as he had heard him described and come to believe in him. But God doesn't have any specific name or form; he has a thousand eyes, a thousand ears, a thousand hands and a thousand feet. Yet in order to please and satisfy his devotees who are aspiring to see him, he takes on the particular form which has been earnestly prayed for. To satisfy this cowherd boy the Lord revealed himself by taking on the lustrous form of Vishnu, and accepted the food and drink so lovingly offered by the boy. This is the second stage when one yearns for the vision of the Lord. Even when that vision comes, it will still not be the true form of God but the one chosen through the prayers of the devotee. God loves sincere, heartfelt feelings, and therefore, in keeping with the feeling of his devotee, he will give his vision in the form which pleases the devotee most.

After the Lord left the boy thought to himself, "First I heard a description of him, and then I prayed for a vision of him. Now he has come down and I have seen him directly. But, how can I reach him and be ever with him?" By merely knowing that God exists, a devotee will not be satisfied. Nor does he get full satisfaction by just having a vision of the Lord. Having had the vision, he yearns to be fully merged with him. It is only then that the devotee will be in unending bliss. In the case of this boy, the Lord had given a vision of himself, and then disappeared. But from that moment on the boy kept the picture of the Lord as he had just seen him, in the form of Vishnu, continuously imprinted in his heart. With that lovely form in his mind's eye, he now began inquiring and thinking only of how he could reach him and merge with him. This is the third stage. You must merge with him.

Sow flowers for those who plant thorns for you!

Plant flowers in the path of the one who plants thorns in your way! You will reap flowers while he will get the three pronged trident. Three shools - illness, agonies and accidents will automatically trouble him. Everyone says we do good, it's the others who are wrong. The external circumstances are bad what to do? So, O my dear, who is doing all the bad? Who can decide that? The right of this is with Nature only. That Nature, who is the birth mother of everyone, even God. The mother punishes children only to teach them something.

God is within us. If sitting within, he is only blaming others, this means that we have not found the God within. When we realise him, he is only a form of love, only love. The love that sees everyone with equality, samdrishti, will forgive everyone, like Jesus Christ said about those who crucified him – 'O lord forgive them for they know not what they are doing.'

Whosoever comes in our life comes to help us wash-off our karm and teach us something. Here we come only to learn from others, whether from their mistakes or their goodness. Do not deplete your energy by criticising. Analyse and take the pearl of wisdom, toil on it, experience it, and string it in the garland of life. This is making the divine within happy.

If there was no Kaiykayee, how could Ram be an example of devotion and obedience towards his mother and father. Learn from everyone and bless them, for if there was no one to give us sorrow how would we learn the lessons of forgiveness, patience and humility. Everyone says that they have imbibed these qualities but that is just superfluous because their real test is when there are problems and difficulties in front of us and yet we remain patient and do not get disturbed. Initially we have to do effort to be patient, and slowly it becomes our natural quality. If there are tests in life, then understand that the lesson has not been learnt fully, surely, there is something lacking somewhere.
Bura jo dekhan main chala
Bura na milya koye
Jo dil khoja aapno
Mujhse bura na koye
I went searching for a bad person, could not find any...when I searched my heart, I was the worst.
Nature is very benevolent, it wants to take us towards poornta, but we get swayed by the brain, use our energy to highlight the faults of others and blame our failures on others and circumstances. Every great human, saint, swami who has the power to show us the way also performed absolute penance, that is why Nature makes them deserving to impart wisdom to others. We can all become deserving if we accept the problems in our life joyfully and perform penance. Nature automatically empowers us when we try and root out our imperfection one by one.

True prayer is to concentrate on our shortcomings and ask the Supreme for shakti to eradicate imperfections. In doing this there is neither the need to leave worldly duties and take time out seperately nor the need to pray for hours in temples, masjids, churches, or to go to caves to do penance of dhyan yog. All these are fine in their own way, but they will fructify only when even in these places the philosophy is realised by praying for the welfare and good-will of all with a peaceful-pure sincere heart.

See the truthful, benevolent beautiful, satyam shivam sunderam form of Nature’s absolute arrangement. Obeying his parents, if Ram had not gone to the forest, how would he have prepared himself to fight Ravan. For fourteen years, away from family and political worries, he encountered problems in the forest, survived on roots and tubers, stayed close to Nature and contemplated on it. He gained so much strength that he could win over a powerful person like Ravan. Would he have got such power enjoying the spoils of his kingdom, Raj-sukh? For Ram ji who for fourteen yrs walked barefoot over thorny, stony paths arranging food as well as places to stay for himself and his dear Sita and Lakshman, this was a preparation for virtue to win over sin.

If mother Sita had not been accustomed to living in the jungle, how would she have spent her days alone amongst Nature in Ravan's orchards, and if she had not borne the pain of separation from Ram how would she have later nurtured Luv-Kush alone again, in the jungle? She did not register her sorrows, nor did she get disturbed. Pure like the Ganga, like the moon on Shiva’s head, Ram’s soul-mate, anupraan accepted the command of her husband with absolute surrender to that moment, gave poorn samskars to Luv and Kush preparing them for justice. She did not lose her self-respect.

An example of duty and embodiment of the power of self-respect, she preferred to dissolve into the Earth rather than give importance to Rajya-sukh.

This is Nature’s Law. She is preparing us for some or the other cause, our mind does not know it, we spend our time labelling the problems and pain given by her as suffering and sorrow.

Shri Krishn has stated in the Geeta that we should live each moment in surrender. Penance is to live in surrender. To live every moment fully using all our mental, physical capacities is human endeavour. Happiness, sukh pushes us towards laziness, the mantra to perform effort is imparted by sorrow, dukh. Bless the enemies for they keep us alert, by giving us food for meditation, dhyan and contemplation. Who would worship god, if there was no Satan? We say that God has given us difficulties and we complain to an external God that 'why did you do this?' So if the Supreme is within us, we are complaining, repenting and abusing ourselves. By indulging in this self-pity, we make ourselves weak. Love yourself, become capable of loving yourself only then can you give self-less love to others.

Now we have to fight falsehood. So similar to all wars which have specific rules for preparation, we need to ready ourselves. This preparation should be done by being truthful. There will be difficulties and stumbling blocks in our path but energy has to be attained by winning over these. Work on your truth. Leave the worry of others' to Nature!

The way to liberate humanity from the clutches of falsehood is true karm, satya karm. Love is the path to put one on the path of progress. The one who enhances is dearer to God as opposed to the one who criticises. Maa Bharati is entangled in chains of falsehood. Come let us prepare to liberate her. This is Natures’ call, the message of progress, the need of time, the call for the mahayagya of true karm. Contribute to it according to your capacity.

Good sankalps are themselves seeds of energy. As the mann, such the aspirations, such the oath, such the deeds, such the fruit of action. There is no duality in this rule, only light and more light.
Bharat bhumi mahan hai
Vedon ka pran hai
Yahi se hona vishv kalyan hai
Yahi Pranam hai

The land of Bharat is great
Is the life breath of the Veds
The world will be delivered from here
This is Pranam.
Pranam
Satyamev jayate...........Karm is Dharm.........Love never Fails!

courtesy~speaking tree

Lesson from a Butterfly!

A man found a butterfly cocoon and decided to save it. One day a small opening appeared, and the man sat and watched for several hours as the butterfly struggled to force its body through the little hole.

At one point the butterfly seemed to stop making progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and could go no farther. The man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of cocoon. The butterfly emerged easily.

But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would dry in the warm air and open wide enough to support the butterfly’s body. He thought, too, that the body would contract. But neither happened. In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It was never able to fly.

What the man, in his kindness and haste, did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening was God’s way of forcing fluid from the butterfly’s body into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it had freed itself from the cocoon.

Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need. Each hurdle in life is sent by God to make us stronger, like an athlete in training. The difficulties a coach places before an athlete are designed to increase his competence. If God allowed us to go through life without obstacles, we would become crippled—we would never be as strong as we could have been. We would never fly!

Never lose heart in the face of impossible odds.

How to read Bhagavad Gita?

You should not read Bhagavad Gita to enhance your material activities, but, to go closer to Krishna.

Bhagavad Gita must be read allotting sufficient time for it. Because, it should not be read casually like reading a novel. So, if you read it sparing time for that, it will be very beneficial for you.

You are advised to read the Bhagavad Gita As It Is translated by A.C.Bakthi Vedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada that is available in all ISKCON centres. Because, many authors have written the translations for Bhagavad Gita mixing their own views that deviates from the words of Krishna. As a pure devotee, Srila P)rabhupada has written as said by Krishna.

You can read Bhagavad Gita at any time whenever you feel comfortable. However, if you read in the early morning, your mind will be in Satva guna more and hence, you can understand it well.

Read daily one or two or three slokas with translation and purport. Don’t read it casually like reading a novel. Because, they are the ACTUAL WORDS OF KRISHNA HIMSELF. So, read with full confidence and devotion with Krishna.

I followed a method that was very beneficial. I read Bhagavad Gita 3-4 slokas a day. After completing such reading for a single chapter, I read the entire chapter on that wek end in fast track again. This helped me to keep the links between slokas and chapters in mind when we go to the next chapter. So, while reading sloka by sloka attentively, you can also do fast track revision of all previous chapters every month atleast.

Bhagavad Gita speaks of four yogas. 1. Karma yoga; 2. Gnana Yoga; 3. Dhyana Yoga and 4. Bakthi yoga.

Karma Yoga means connecting with Krishna through duties.

Gnana Yoga means means connecting with Krishna through knowledge.

Dhyana yoga means connecting with Krishna through dhyan.

Bakthi yoga , that is the highest level, means connecting with Krishna through surrender of ourselves to Krishna in devotion.

Bhagawan has also explained about all the four yogas one by one in sequence.

If you are unable to understand fully in your first reading, read again. Bhagavad Gita will give a new meaning every time you read it.

It is better to have the guidance of a senior devotees because if you have any doubts you can ask the devotees in the nearest ISKCON centres. Also attend the sunday Bhagavad Gita class in those centres where the speakers will give you tips to read and understand Gita.

My another advice to you is, read all the small books written by Srila Prabupada that will give an introduction to the concepts given in Bhagavad Gita and other scriptures. If you read Bhagavad Gita after reading those small books, you can easily understand it.

So, start reading those small books followed by Bhagavad Gita As It Is today itself.

How can we get rid of our deep rooted Vasanas?

The greatest obstacle in the path of surrender is egoism (ahamkaram) and Attachment or Possessiveness (mamakaram). This is ingrained in your personality since ages and its tentacles go deeper and deeper with the experience of every succeeding life. It can be removed only by the twin detergents of discrimination and renunciation. Devotion is the water to wash away this dirt of ages, and the soap of japam, dhyaanam and yoga (repetition of God's name, meditation and communion) will help to remove it quicker and more effectively. Slow and steady progress will surely win the race in this one; quicker means of travel can spell disaster. Proceed step by step in your spiritual practices - placing one steady step before you take the next. Do not waver or slide back two paces with one step forward. Cultivate deep faith - that will make your progress steady!

Vasanas

Whether you are actively working in the world or have withdrawn from it, the most important consideration is not the work that you do or not do, but how effectively you have been able to uproot and destroy the deep- seated tendencies which lie hidden in your heart. The principal objective of all spiritual practices is the removal of the deep-seated negative thought forms, impure habits, tendencies, and predispositions, which in Sanskrit are called the vasanas, and which have encased themselves deeply within you. They manifest in your thoughts and actions as the twin evils of attachment and hatred, or attraction and repulsion. You must cleanse yourself of all trace of these evils which have harbored themselves inside you. If you just run away to the forest or to a cave without performing the appropriate exercises to remove your inner enemies, then, whether you like it or not, all your latent tendencies will continue to produce thoughts and actions that bind you. These impurities will lie there as seeds in your heart and prompt a stream of thoughts that will be saturated with likes and dislikes, desires and delusions. As a result, you end up forgetting your true human nature.

The Gita has shown that if you can root out the entrenched tendencies that cling to your heart, then you are free to perform any action without concern for the results. From that point on, you will not be bound by any actions that you may become engaged in. In other words, you will be freed completely from the fruits of your actions. People who do not understand this truth and end up renouncing all outside activities become mired in sloth and laziness. But the Gita has repeatedly warned that there is no room at all for laziness in the world of the spirit. What the Gita teaches is the yoga of impersonal action, in which you remain totally detached and free of any personal interest in the work that you do and in the results that accrue from it. It means working with full concentration to the limits of your capacity for excellence, but orienting all your actions to the service of God and remaining established in God-consciousness. You will not be able to reach this high stage of desirelessness in your actions and renunciation of the fruits of your labors, as long as your vasanas which have arisen from past actions are unfavorable for spiritual progress.

Grateful & Thankful!

What should we be grateful for? What should we thank God for?

Have you not heard the story of the lion suffering from a wound in the foot? A slave who was fleeing through the forest saw it and when he approached it with sympathy, the lion put out its paw. He then slowly pulled out the thorn that had caused all that pain and left the place, only to be arrested later and taken to Rome. There, they decided to throw him into the amphitheatre and let loose upon him a lion that had been recently captured. It was, however, the same lion which the slave had saved and so, its gratitude did not allow it to harm its saviour. See, even animals exhibit gratitude, not only the pet animals, but even the wild ones like the lion. Express your gratitude to the Creator who has poured into you nectar that grants immortality! Be grateful to the Lord for endowing you with powers of discrimination, detachment and evaluation.

Four important teachings

Four important teachings to follow in our lives....

Make four resolutions about your life hereafter and live in joy.
1. Practise Purity - Desist from wicked thoughts, bad habits and mean activities that weaken your self-respect.
2. Do Service – Serve others, for they are the reflections of the same entity of which you yourself are another reflection. No one of you has any authenticity on your own, except with reference to your Creator, the Lord.
3. See Mutuality – Feel always the kinship with all creation. See the same current flowing through all objects in the Universe.
4. Live in Truth – Do not deceive yourself or others by distorting your experience.

Oh God! My Life is yours!

Because you picked me up, when I struggled to get through.
Because you healed my heart, when it was thrown and shattered.
Because you gave me hope, when it seemed so out of reach.
Because you filled me with peace, when chaos flowed through my veins.
Because you showed me the light, when there was only darkness.
Because you gave me comfort, when my voice cried out in pain.
Because you reassured me, when the doubts screamed in my head.
Because you kept me going, when there seemed nowhere to go.
Because you sustained me with strength, when weakness became all I knew.
Because you came and stayed, when everyone else turned around and left.
Because you gave me a purpose, when life seemed so pointless.
Because you restored my happiness, when life seemed to snatch it away.
Because you filled this emptiness, when the void echoed with loneliness.
Because you helped me let it all go, when I gripped the tightest to hold on.
Because you showed me the beauty of life, when the world showed me nothing but hate and corruption.
Because you gave me a better life, when the old one fought to come back.
Because I am nothing without you, nothing but a hopeless being.
Because only You could tear down my wall of pride, and instead build it back up with love and humbleness.
Because of all this, I give you my life Lord.
I will put all my fears and failures in Your hands, my worries that consume me, my pain that destroys me.
You were always there, even when I rejected You.
Because of all You are, my life, oh God, is yours.