karma

Krishna said to Arjuna, "All these attachments that you now have, all these desires to possess things, are not tendencies that you acquired yesterday or the day before. They have been with you for numerous births and they are responsible for all the pain that you are experiencing. You have no way of knowing when you will finally be able to rid yourself of the pain they have caused. But you cannot do much about the past, so do not worry about it. Focus, instead, on the means for eliminating the pain that would come to you in the future, were these attachments and desires to continue ruling over you. 

 "In the battle that you are about to fight, you have provided yourself with worldly armor. That will help protect your body from external enemies; but how will you be able to protect yourself from the internal enemies which you are battling inside you? To protect yourself from them, you have to wear the armor of wisdom. You are concerned about your external enemies, but you are not thinking about the inner enemies at all. If you succumb to your inner enemies you will never be able to conquer your external enemies. Therefore, first conquer these inner enemies." 

 It is natural to search for a doctor when you are sick and suffering, but it is of greater importance to see to it that you do not contract any illness in the first place. It is said that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. From earliest times, the inner enemies have been subduing mankind and filling human beings with sorrow. 

 As long as you are filled with egoism and attachment, you will not be able to free yourself from grief and sorrow. You have been engaged in wrongful actions, and these have been responsible for all your pain. Does this mean that you should abstain from action? No. You have no choice but to act. You must act, and you are free to enjoy your actions as well. But from now on, you must perform all your actions properly, in a way which will not accrue harmful consequences and pain to you in the future. In keeping with this, it is very important that you understand the underlying principles of right action. 

 Action is called karma. You are born in karma, you develop in karma and you die in karma. It is karma, or the actions you perform, which are responsible for all good or bad, sin or virtue, profit or loss, joy or sorrow. Truly, karma is responsible for your very birth itself. Karma is really the creator for mankind. It shapes your life. It follows then that you should not look upon action with carelessness. Your entire life is associated with action. Therefore, recognize the importance of right action and engage in that, unwaveringly. 

Do not think that action is just a small thing. It may start as a small sapling but it will grow into a very big tree. Before a seed can become a tree, it has to break out of the soil in which it was sown. Then, once it has become a big tree, it will offer you its fruit. Whether this fruit brings you joy or sorrow depends on the seed that you have sown. To get the very finest fruit, the seed of action which you have performed must be of the highest quality and it must break out of the soil of egoism. Then this action can be transformed into yoga. Yoga is union with God.

Inner battle

In battle, warriors wear shield and armor. This gives them some protection against the powerful weapons that are shot at them by their enemies. In the spiritual battle which you must fight, you must also wear a type of shield and armor. Here the shield is devotion and love for God, and the armor is wisdom. In an ordinary war relating to the world, the fighting may last only a few days, or it may drag on for a few months or even some years. But the spiritual battle goes on continuously; it never ends. It has been fought by mankind unceasingly, right from ancient days. Since time immemorial there has been the fight between good and bad, between virtue and sin, between attachment and detachment.

 Humanity has been waging an endless war with its feelings of I ness and my-ness, with its feelings of hatred and jealousy and other evil qualities that have taken shelter within it. Egoism and attachment, in particular, have extraordinary strength. They are really dreadful. Compared to them, you, the individual who is fighting them, are not so strong. You are really quite weak. In fact, you have become so dominated by these negative qualities that, like Arjuna, you have identified yourself with them. Now, to fight such powerful enemies and qualities, you have to follow the directions of the indwelling Lord and you have to wear a very strong shield and armor. The mighty shield and armor that you have to wear in this spiritual battle are devotion and wisdom. They will protect you from such formidable enemies.

 When you have a parasol to shade you, you are not troubled by the hot sun. When you wear sandals or shoes, you are not concerned about stepping on a thorn. When you wear a shield and armor, you are not too much bothered by the weapons being hurled against you. " Therefore, Arjuna," Krishna said, "in this inner battle you must don your spiritual shield and armor." When Krishna lifted Arjuna out of his despondency at the beginning of the Gita, he gave Arjuna the armor of wisdom. That was the first teaching that Krishna offered.

Difference Between Desire And Longing

Arjuna raises a question: “O Krishna, I don’t want to do bad, but something is forcing me to do it. Therefore, what is that force which propels a person to do something even though he does not desire it to happen?

Krishna repies: “You may say, I do not desire it but I am doing it, but deep within your unconscious you are desiring it.” Like lot of smokers will say, “I don’t want to smoke Swamiji”. This is so often a spoken value, it is not a cherished value. Therefore, what Krishna answers is, ‘understand Arjuna, it is nothing but desire. There is a desire and that desire is propelling you, and if that desire is not fulfilled the kama itself becomes krodha, anger.’

There are two types of desires – desire out of happiness and desire for happiness. Desire for happiness leads you to samsara. But the desire out of happiness is different. If you have desire for happiness that means you have come to a conclusion that you are not happy. When you have formed this conclusion, you are never looking into yourself.

Nagarjuna, a great master of Buddhism, says very clearly that desire for enlightenment is also an obstacle for enlightenment. That is why in Buddhist teachings, at the end of the whole teaching – and I have never found a more meaningful statement than this – in one section of the Buddhists, they say, ‘if you come across a Buddha, kill him’ – in the sense, let not Buddha become an ideal which you start imitating and so destroy your uniqueness.

And if you see the great masters, each one was great in his own time. If enlightenment is going to happen, it is going to happen here. And therefore, you should be available here. Understand the paradox. That is why Nagarjuna says, “Have a longing but not a desire.” And he makes a distinction between longing and desire. Longing is being in the here, you have thirst. Desire is what J Krishnamurti called ‘future psychological time’. Therefore, longing is being here. The whole process is in the here and now and not in the future. Krishnamurti used to say, negative psychological time and just be in the here and now. And if you are here and now, you will find a different quality of receptivity opens up. The moment you are happy with what is, then you have a desire which is out happiness. You have to be receptive to the happiness which is always bubbling here.
Desire is always an enemy. What is desire? “I am going to become happy” – that is always an enemy. He calls desire fire, and if you add ghee to fire, it becomes more, it never says enough, therefore, desire also goes on increasing. For a stupid man nothing is an enemy. But for a man of understanding this is an enemy. Where does this great rascal exist? It exists in yourself only. Its abode is in your sense organs, mind and your intellect.

The sense organs are superior to sense objects; mind is superior to the sense organs – they are running according to the mind, so the mind is superior. And compared to the mind, your buddhi is superior. Because of the conviction, your mind is running; because of the value, the mind is running; therefore, superior to even the buddhi, he says, is that atma, that chaitanya, which cannot be defined, which can be only experienced.

~speakingtree.in

For Self-Knowledge Total Surrender of the Mind is Required

For Self-Knowledge Total Surrender of the Mind is Required.....

 Once a person has offered up his mind, and with it all his words, deeds and thoughts, then he will not have the authority or the power to perform any actions without the permission of the one to whom he has surrendered his will. As was the case with Astavakra and Janaka, so also with Krishna and Arjuna. Krishna told Arjuna, "Arjuna, offer everything to me. Surrender all your actions to me. I will take care of you and I will guide you towards liberation and deliverance." So also, you need to offer all your physical, mental, spiritual and worldly duties, all your various actions, thoughts and words, to the Lord, the inner director installed in your heart.

 But, you may wonder, if every duty and desire is relinquished and offered to the Lord, then does that mean that even the desire for liberation has to be given up? After all, that is also a type of thought. No. The real meaning is that when you offer up your load of desires and duties and responsibilities to the Lord, and allow him to make all your decisions, then he will carry all your burdens. And then you can be one-pointed in the one worthwhile goal of life, that of self-realization.

 All this education that you acquire, all this learning that you pursue, is associated with the three qualities of delusion. Only when you transcend these three qualities will you be able to gain self-realization. In celebrating a marriage, a benediction is given so that the couple might be blessed with a successful career, with material prosperity, and with a fine family. These are three of the four primary goals of human life. The first refers to duties and responsibilities and position, the second refers to the accumulation of wealth and the third refers to the desire for progeny and the continuation of the family line. All three of these goals have to do with the worldly life. But there is a fourth goal of human life. That final and most important goal is liberation. The fourth goal relates to the spiritual life. The first three of these goals of human life cannot be considered equal to the fourth, which is liberation. Offer up all your little acts involving these first three goals. Give them all to the Lord, and trade them in for the one priceless treasure which he will give you in return, namely, liberation.

Devotion, Wisdom and Detachment will keep you Pure

Devotion, Wisdom and Detachment will keep you Pure....

When ladies go out, they frequently take along a little mirror, a comb and a handkerchief, to make sure that they will present a neat appearance. Why do they take these three particular items? During the journey, it is quite likely that their hair will get disturbed. To put their hair back in order they take the comb. To see if their hair is properly in place, they take the mirror. And to wipe their face they take the handkerchief. If they leave any one of these behind, they will not be able to achieve perfection in their appearance. So, a comb, a mirror and a handkerchief are necessary to help maintain facial cleanliness and a neat appearance.

 In the same way, if you want to correct the disturbed beauty of your heart, you have to take certain aids for that too. Whether your hair is disturbed or not is shown to you by the mirror. Whether your heart is disturbed or not is shown to you by your devotion, which acts as the mirror. This mirror must be pure. When the mirror is clean, you will be able to see if your heart and mind are pure or if they have become covered by impurities. When you recognize that your heart is disturbed, you have to correct it. And for this purpose you need a comb, namely, the comb of wisdom. Wisdom clarifies the heart and returns it to a state of order and beauty. Then, just as you have a cloth to clean the dirt that has come on your face, you have to remove the dirt that has entered your mind with the cloth of detachment. With the help of detachment you can wipe off all the dirt that has accumulated in your mind.

 Just as ladies take these three things, the mirror, the comb and the handkerchief, along with them whenever they go out on a journey in the world, so also, in your journey of life, you have to take devotion, wisdom and detachment to keep your heart and mind pure.

Clean your heart

Clean your Heart thoroughly to Welcome God there......

If you are inviting a great spiritual being such as a sage or a revered teacher to your house, there are certain preparations which you will have to undertake in cleansing, adorning and decorating your house.

You will have to clean inside and out and bring order to the surroundings before the guest arrives. Great people will not enter a house which is full of dirt and which lacks sacredness. In the same way, when you have invited the governor or a high official to your town, you clean the roads and decorate the paths and keep everything ready and fit to receive the distinguished personage. Even though this person holds only a temporary position, you will still take great care to clean your house and make many preparations to welcome the honored guest to your place.

When you make so much effort to receive a worldly official, then how much more effort and preparation should you make to invite the very creator and protector of the world to come to your house? Clearly, when you welcome God into your heart, you must cleanse your heart thoroughly. Only when you purify your heart will God be pleased to enter it.

Krishna said, "Arjuna, up to now you have been taking me only as the charioteer of your chariot, but you must take me as the charioteer of your life! The seat on which I am seated in the chariot is clean and well decorated. Now, think of how clean and grand your heart must be to make a seat for me there, if I am to install myself as the charioteer of your life."

If you go to a park and decide to sit down on the ground, you put down a mat, or a newspaper or a large kerchief and sit on that. When you take so much care about the seat for this body, which, after all, is just temporary and full of impurities, how much more care should you take when you are inviting God into the inner sanctum of your heart?

As long as the two qualities rajas and tamas are in your heart, your heart will remain impure. These two qualities continuously pollute and dirty the heart. As long as it is dirty, the divinity will not enter your heart; you will not be able to perceive the divine presence there. Therefore, you must first remove the quality of density and inertia, the tamas quality, and having done that, you must remove the rajas quality. Then the satva quality will shine in you, and you will become a self assured human being, in touch with your divine source.

Start now by making every effort to remove every bit of dirt that has accumulated in your heart.

Mukti!

People may have different views on freedom.
For this slave, real mukti (freedom) is that i am never ever "freed" from Your service!
Real "mukti" is in unalloyed devotion and hurdle-free service!
Real "mukti" is always being caught in the web of Your love!
 Here's begging You to grant that boon!

Dear Dreams

Of silent evenings spent together,
Of beautiful nights in the company of my Lover;
Of days spent staring into Your Lotus Eyes,
i dream, at times with closed, and at times with open eyes!

 Krishna, of Your hug's warmth and comfort,
Of the electricity, dearest Hari, that Your touch would elicit,
O Parthasarathy! Of the loving kisses You would imprint,
i dream, at times with closed, and at times with open eyes!

 Of serving You sumptous food,
And fanning Your beautiful features as eat You would;
And the nectar of Your lips to partake in Your remains if i could:
Endlessly, infinitely; dream this slave would!!

 i dream, Parthasarathy, of our hands intertwined,
But somewhere, in between, myself lost i find;
Dearest Lord, i dream of serving Your beautiful Lotus Feet
But, lost, i suffer miserably in between.

 i have none but You
So, dearest Lover, save me anew.
Kill me if You wish with Your dazzling smile:
Own me in entirety with Your unparalleled might!

Be my guide

O Beloved Lord!
Usually, for but a glance this slave begs away,
Adorning You, Damodara in dreams so far, far away!
Today, o dearest, i am afraid i ask for more:
For if the end be defeat, it'd be rather sore!

 In this battlefield called Life
Except for You, alone myself i find!
Uplift me, guide me, stir me
Make me work for victory!

 Surrendered unto Your feet as always:
i beg You to cast Your merciful gaze.
You show the light at the tunnel's end
i beg You now to illuminate the path and its numerous bends!

state of Jnana or wisdom

What is this state of Jnana or wisdom that all scriptures prod us to achieve?

You see and hear certain things during the day. But when you go to bed and dream during sleep, you are not aware of all this; you see and experience a new set of events, which seem as real, as impressive, and as significant as those you witnessed when awake. And when in deep sleep, nothing ‘is’, except probably the inner consciousness that you are. When you dream, the dream is real; when awake, the waking experience is as real as the dream was. The fact is, it is all a dream, a creation of the mind when the Atma (the true self) is reflected on it. Remove that mind, then there will be nothing on which the Atma reflects. The Atma shall then shine in its own splendour. Jnana (Wisdom) is passing from the dream stage to the waking stage, and realising the dream to be unreal. Seek the springs of bliss within you and happiness will be your lot, here and for ever. Believe that the bliss within you is derived from God who is your Reality.

How to integrate the practice of human values in our day to day life?

A glowing electric lamp can be compared to Prema (Love). For the lamp of love to burn, there should be a bulb, which is Shanthi (peace). The electric wire connected to the bulb is Dharma (Right Conduct). The current flowing into the wire is Sathya (Truth). Thus, the lamp of love glows and sheds its light, using all other human values. Sathya, Dharma, Shanthi and Prema constitute a single whole and not separate values. All the four values have to be adhered to equally. Prema must express itself in professional life too. Develop the feeling that all in your place of work - managers, workers and others are members of one family. Develop fraternal feelings towards all. With mutual love and regard, harmony can be achieved even in one’s profession.

How eager is God to fulfill our desires?

How eager is God to fulfill our desires? And what is it that we need to do?

The best among men is one who has compassion; the most blessed time is the 'present', this very second, and the best act is to relieve the pain and grief of others. You decide to start Naamasmarana (remembrance of the Divine Name) ‘next Thursday’, as if death has assured you in writing that he will not call on you till that date. Do not postpone what you can do today or do now, this very moment. Make your efforts towards your goal. The goal will near you faster than the pace with which you near the goal. God is as eager to save you as you are eager to be saved. He is Love, He is Compassion for all who flounder on the path. God grants the desires of each one of His devotees, and hence has won the name, Bhaktha Abheeshta Pradha.

How can we remain focussed on our goal?

When you feed the cow with fermented gruel so that it may yield more milk, the milk emits an unpleasant smell. When you engross yourself too much with the trifles of the world, your character and conduct will also become unpleasant. It would indeed be tragic to witness the downfall of a ‘child of immortality’, struggling in despair and distress. If only you were to ask yourself: “What are my qualifications? What is my position? What are the opportunities I am bestowed with?” Then you will soon realize your own downfall and make efforts to recover. Will a tiger, however hungry eat popcorn or peanuts? Stay focussed on the goal worthy of your lineage. Never slacken the effort, whatever be the obstacle, however long the journey. Keep your efforts on, in line with the dignity of your noble goals.

Whom does the Avatar descend for?

God incarnates to foster spiritual aspirants (sadhus), it is said. The term sadhus does not refer to just those renunciants who dwell in forests. Sadhu is the virtuous person who forms the inner reality in each one of you. Every being is a sadhu, for all mankind is an embodiment of love, peace and bliss. By allowing the crust of ego to grow thick and fast, your real nature is tarnished. By the action of sathsang (the company of the noble and pious), and systematic attention to self-control and self-improvement, you can overcome the delusion that makes you identify with the body, its needs and cravings.

Does reasoning impede or assist spiritual progress?

Repeating the Name of God saved Prahladha from the agony of torture. He learnt the Sacred Name and understood its sweetness. He chanted it constantly and internalized its nectarine taste. When the enraged elephant rushed towards him, he did not call out for his physical parents to rescue him; he instantaneously cried out "Narayana". The Lord is the source of strength for the weak and the strong; He is the Supreme Power. When Prahladha took the Name of the Lord, enraged elephants backed out, no fire could touch him and no poison could affect him. The Lord’s Name was his armour, his shield, his breath, infact his very life. For chanting the Divine Name, no expense is involved, no materials are needed, no special place or time is required. Scholarship, caste or creed does not matter. When a piece of iron is rubbed on a slab of stone, heat is generated. So too, in order to generate sufficient heat to melt the soft heart of the Lord, repeat the Divine Name vigorously and constantly. Then, the Lord will shower His Grace.

 In the firmament of the heart, the intellect (sun) and the mind (moon) revolve on their regular courses. If envy, greed, hate or malice dim the glory, they are to be dismissed as passing clouds that cannot affect the sources of light. The more you reason out things, the clearer will become the reality. Reasoning power will never hinder the discovery of the Truth; only you have to go as far as reason can take you; then you can see the vast vistas beyond. Man has been endowed with enormous, immeasurable talents, skills and power; but is using all that to journey towards the moon, instead of journeying towards the wonderland of one’s own inner realms, where one can come face to face with God who is the inner Reality of this entire phenomenal world.

importance in the present times

What needs to be given more importance in the present times to ensure peace and joy?

The tree of life can yield the fruit of bliss only when it is watered with virtue and fed on faith. Provision of food, clothing, and shelter will not ensure peace and joy; they can come only through virtue and faith. Virtue alone can endow love and sympathy. We are now putting the cart (the body) before the horse (mind) and providing for the safety and strength of the cart alone. The horse (mind) is allowed to grow wild or is starved. Harmony at home and in society can be brought about only through the recognition of the Oneness of All. Virtues alone can endow love and sympathy, peace and joy for one and all.

obtain peace and happiness in our lives

How can we obtain peace and happiness in our lives?

If your thoughts are centred around the body, you will have worries of pains and illnesses, real or imaginary. If they are centred on riches, you will be worried about profit and loss, tax and exemptions. If they roam round fame, then, you are bound to suffer from the ups and downs of scandal, calumny and jealousy. So let them centre round the seat of power and love which deserve willing submission - the Name of the Lord. Let your whole being surrender to it. Then you will be happy forever. For the sages of the Vedic culture, the Name of the Lord was the very breath; they lived on the sustenance, which contemplation of the Lord’s glory provided. God is the very embodiment of Love. He can be won only through Love.

care for the essential

Why should we care for the essential upkeep of the human body?

The body is but a boat, an instrument for crossing the sea of births and deaths, that you have earned through the merits of many generations. Crossing the sea is to realise the Dweller, in the Dwelling. The purpose of the body (deha) is to realize the Indweller (Dehi). So even when the body is strong and skilled, the intellect is sharp and the mind alert, every effort must be made to seek the Indweller. So keep your body fit, strong and free from trouble. Just as the boat should be seaworthy, your body too should be fit for its purpose. You must take good care of it.

realize the Divine

Why is concentration supercritical to realize the Divine?

You have to become Divine, the Divinity from which you have arrived. So lessen your attachment to the world, not by cutting yourself off from the world, but by being in it, as an instrument in His hands. To realize the omnipotent Divine within you, recognize your kinship with the Universe. Keep your body fit, light and bright. Don’t add to it the burden of attachment to this and that. Subdue the heads of all the tendencies within you that lead you to egoism. Have single-minded attention to the dictates of God and practice right-conduct. Edison, the great scientist concentrated so much on the solution of the problems that worried him that at times, he left food untouched for days on end, when they were pushed through the doors of his lab. You must have that same concentration and earnestness, when engaged in spiritual practices.

train our mind to welcome noble thoughts

How can we train our mind to welcome noble thoughts and weed out others?

Be thankful to the Lord, for He gave you Time, as well as action to fill it with. He gave you food, as well as hunger to relish it. But that does not entitle you to engage yourself in action indiscriminately. When you build a house, you install a door in it, don’t you? What is the purpose of the door? It has dual objectives - to welcome all you would like to offer hospitality to, and to keep out all and sundry, so that they cannot walk in whenever they like. So too, install a door in your mind. Select the impulses, the motives, and the incentives that appear in your mind and welcome them in. Keep out the demeaning, the debasing and the deleterious. Then, gradually you will be able to admit and experience the highest wisdom of the scriptures, the wisdom culled out of the crucible of experience (anubhava jnananam).

experience Oneness with the Divine

How can we experience Oneness with the Divine, amidst the constant pulls of the World?

 If only the agony and toil now being experienced by you to accumulate the symbols of wealth and power for keeping yourself and your family in comfort, are directed towards God, you can be infinitely happier. The veil of maya (illusion), however, hides from you the face of God which is shining from every being and thing around you. Maya creates the universe and attracts the mind with the vast paraphernalia of the objective world. It is a narthaki, an enchantress who entices the intelligence and traps the senses. This na-rtha-ki can be subdued by ki-rtha-na (note the re-ordering of the syllables). Kirthana is the concentrated contemplation of the glory of God.

hurts our progress

What is it that we tend to do to ourselves, that hurts our progress?

 Like the silkworm that spins from out of itself the cocoon that proves to be its tomb, man spins from out of his mind the cage in which he gets trapped eventually. But there is a way of escape, which the spiritual teacher (Guru) can teach you or which the God in you will reveal to you. Take to the spiritual practices that will bring you relief. Forget the past; do not worry about possible errors or disappointments. Decide and Do. Substitute good thoughts for the bad and cleanse the mind of all evil by dwelling on righteous deeds and holy thoughts. Forget the things you do not want to remember and bring to memory only those things that are worth remembering. Take on the role of the Hero from now on, not the Zero. This is a sure way to achieve spiritual progress.

means of performing the Vedapurusha Yajna everyday

Your heart is the ceremonial altar; your body is the fire place; your hair is the holy grass, darbha; wishes are the fuel-sticks with which the fire is fed; desire is the ghee that is poured into the fire to make it burst into flame; anger is the sacrificial animal; the fire is the tapas you accomplish. People sometimes interpret tapas as ascetic practices like standing on one leg, and so on. No, tapas is not physical contortion. It is the complete and correct coordination of thought, word and deed. When all words emanating from you are sweet, your breath becomes Rig Veda. When you restrict what you listen to and prefer only sweet speech, all that you hear becomes Saama gaana. When you do only sweet deeds, all that you do is Yajur homa. Thus, you will be performing every day the Vedhapurusha Yajna, the yajna which propitiates the Supreme Vedic Being.

What exactly is surrender?

Many often believe and state in the spirit of surrender: “I offer to You my body, my mind, my possessions, my all." This is incorrect and is a sign of ignorance. It concedes that you and God are distinct entities. God is not separate from you, for God is in all, everywhere, at all times. (Ishwarassarva-bhoothaanaam). How then can you or God be apart? To see God in everything, everywhere, at all times, is true surrender (Sharanaagathi). Repetition of mantras (holy formulae) and platform speeches on holy texts alone is not true devotion. The real devotee is one whose deeds are in accordance with the words of advice they utter. Devotion cannot tolerate in a devotee, the slightest trace of envy or jealousy. Make your daily life holy and pure. Render your life worth-while through service to man and service to society. That is the most important aspect of surrendering the self.

processes involved in the assimilation of precious wisdom

What are the processes involved in the assimilation of precious wisdom?

 Believe in your experience; confidently accept whatever has given you peace and joy. This is the basis for faith. Also, gather wisdom from wherever you can acquire it. Listen to the good things that teachers of different denominations elaborate upon. Weigh in your own mind, against your own experience, the teachings you have heard. Listening (Shravanam) should be followed and confirmed by Reflection (Mananam). You must think through the background, implications, reservations, and limitations of what you have been told. Then comes Nididhyaasana - you should meditate on the truth that you have painstakingly garnered over the years and plant this wisdom deep down in your consciousness and let it become part of yourself.

first step

What is the first step to redemption and the identity of a true spiritual aspirant?

 The very first lesson I gave when I declared My Identity at Uravakonda was: "Maanasa Bhajare Gurucharanam, Dusthara Bhava Saagara Tharanam." That is to say: First know that you are in this cycle of birth and death, the ocean of worldly life (bhava saagaram); then resolve on crossing it (tharanam); then fix on a Guru or the Name and Form of God which appeals to you; lastly, dwell on His Glory, do bhajan, but do it with all your mind. He, who is deluded by this relative reality is the worldly person (samsaari); he who is aware that it is only relatively real is the spiritual practitioner (saadhaka).

who is eternal and absolute

Many worry themselves with questions on the multiplicity of Divinity. The same current activates the fan and gives air, illumines the bulb and gives light, heats the stove and cooks, moves the wheels around in a train. The instruments are different, but the inner energizer is the same. Some bulbs are 40 watts and some are 60, 100 or 1000 watts. Hence, though the current is one, the illumination varies. Name and form are not essential, focus on the inner truth. Take the case of your own body - the hand is a limb of the body, the hand has fingers, the fingers have nails and so on. Through every part of this and every other limb, flows the same life force. So too, in this universe, which is the body of God, every being is a part, sustained by the same divine essence. So honour everyone, revere the essential Divine.

Ego

Egoism is the most dangerous illusion that has to be exploded and destroyed. Arjuna too suffered this ego. One day when Krishna brought the chariot back to camp, Arjuna wanted that like all charioteers, Krishna should get down first and open the door of the chariot for him. Krishna refused and insisted that Arjuna should alight before He does. At last Krishna won and Arjuna got down. As soon as Krishna left His seat and touched the ground, the chariot went up in flames! The fact was that the various fiery arrows that had the power of burning the chariot had actually hit the target, but due to the presence of Krishna, their igniferous powers could not manifest themselves. Realising this, humbled Arjuna; his egoism had a rude shock. He also realised that every action of Divinity was full of significance.

im running directionless ~poem

i am running directionless
Apparently away from my Lord, and yet careless!
This slave is unable to halt her fleeing O Lord blemishless-
Save me, i be drowned in an unfortunate sea lest!

Caught in a web of wants and desires,
Distress and despair, procrastination and lies-
There is no account now of how times flies!
There are no definitions of weakening ties!

When again will You permit this girl
To be lost in the magic of Your beautiful lotus Eyes?
When again will You hold me so close
That my heart suffers from an emotional overdose?

i may be hopeless and worthless
But without You, this existence is meaningless!
Surrendered unto Your Lotus feet, i beseech forgiveness;
Dearest Krishna! Abandon Your fury, and save me from this distress!

deeper meaning of the chariot

In India, there has been a tradition from ancient days for temples in villages and towns to conduct chariot festivals. During these festivities the idol of the deity installed in that temple is taken in procession. First, a huge chariot is constructed for this purpose. Then the chariot is elaborately decorated and a beautiful seat is provided therein for the deity. On the auspicious day, the deity is transferred from the temple to the chariot with appropriate rituals and incantations. The chariot is then taken through the streets in a colorful procession pulled by devotees and preceded by groups of dancers, musicians and singers. Along the course of the procession, many people offer worship to the deity by lighting sacred lamps and waving them as the chariot comes by. 

 During these festivals thousands of people gather, coming from all the surrounding villages. Three kinds of people come. The first kind, which constitutes the bulk of the people present for the festival, concentrate all their attention on the chariot and its external appearance. Then there are others who concentrate mostly on the sacred feelings generated by the procession, such as the fervent piety of those who are pulling the chariot, the ecstatic joy of the dancers and singers, and the reverence of the priests and devotees who are offering worship. Thirdly, there are a few who recognize the real purpose for which this festival has been arranged. Only this small handful cares to have a vision of the indweller, the sacred person who is seated in the chariot.  

Of course, the festival is being celebrated for the purpose of installing the image of God in the chariot. Without the representation of God, the festival would have no meaning. This sacred figure inside the chariot represents the indweller, who is God himself. But only the rare individual will turn his full attention towards that divinity. Most people will see only the physical appearance of the chariot, its decorations and other such things as the fine raiment put on the sacred image inside, the costumes worn by the dancers and musicians, and all the sound and color of the festivities. The largest number will concentrate only on these external things. But there will also be some people who concentrate their attention on the rituals of worship and the offerings being made, such as the breaking of coconuts, the waving of lamps and incense, and the devotion expressed through these rituals. The number of people with this kind of vision and interest will be much smaller than those who concentrate on the decorations, the dances and dramas and all the external paraphernalia associated with the festival. 

 But the divine person who has been installed in this chariot, who is driving this chariot and who is the resident of this chariot will be seen by only a very small number of intensely-devoted people who yearn to have the sacred vision of the divinity. In the huge throng turning out for the festival, such people may be counted on the fingers of one's hand. For them, all the outer trappings and all the sound and excitement of the procession will only get in the way of their having a real vision of God. All they long for is to see and be with their beautiful Lord, whose representation is seated in the chariot. 

 What is the deeper meaning of this chariot? How many such chariots are there? The chariot that is being spoken of here is the human body. So there is not just one chariot but millions upon millions of chariots. Every day, these chariots move from street to street and house to house, taking the indwelling resident in procession. You have been developing your vision in such a way that you see only the body and its external features or the expressions arising from various feelings and emotional states, but you have not learned to develop the internal vision, the vision which perceives the indwelling person in this chariot of the body, and understands who he really is. It is a very rare individual who attempts to look deeper, beyond the external and superficial aspect of the body, and beyond the emotional and mental traits of the individual, to try to discover the sacred divine principle which is there inside. 

The bodies of human beings are not the only chariots. The bodies of animals like dogs or tigers or elephants are also chariots. In fact, the body of every being is a chariot. For example, Lord Shiva is depicted as riding on Nandi, the bull. The bullock is Shiva's chariot. Yet, when you see a bullock, you do not think of Lord Shiva; still he will be seated there. When you see a rat, you will not be thinking of Ganesha, the elephant god, who represents the aspects of protection and wisdom in the divinity. Lord Ganesha will be there, riding on that rat. The rat is his vehicle, so it is also a chariot in which God is installed. In a similar way, lions, crows, dogs, snakes, eagles and so many other animals and birds are used as vehicles for the many different aspects of God. In truth, every living being is a chariot taking God in procession. 

 These days you are developing the vision that sees only the chariot. You are focusing all your concentration on the external decorations. In this age, almost your entire time is spent on adorning the chariot and seeing to the comforts and pleasures of the body. As a result, you are paying attention only to the external differences and you are not spending any time trying to see the indweller. 

 "Therefore, Arjuna," said Krishna, "know that all these people about whom you are so concerned, are only chariots. They may be grandfathers, they may be brothers, they may be cousins, whoever they may be, they are only chariots. In truth, you are seeing only chariots in the form of these various relatives and teachers. You have been keeping your vision clouded by seeing only the body. But a sacred person like you should not care so much for externals. You must concentrate your mind on the indweller who is seated in every human body. Then only will your vision become sacred. Such sacred vision alone can provide the basis for your victory. 

 "Only a person who has sacred vision can achieve success in great undertakings. Arjuna, people are giving the same value to the shadow as they give to that which is casting the shadow; they are giving the same value to the reflection as they give to the one whose reflection they are seeing. But that is not correct. The unchanging, sacred principle which has given rise to all these shadows and reflections is the eternal self. It is the atma. Its value is unlimited and beyond all measure. On the other hand, the external beauties of these bodies and all the thoughts and feelings and behaviors that are being manifested in these bodies, are all just images. They are only shadows or reflections without any real substance or lasting value." 

 When Arjuna gave so much value to mere reflections, he was displaying his ignorance. His was not a worldly type of ignorance, but ignorance related to the spirit. Arjuna had not developed his inner vision. He was not yet able to discriminate between that which is real and that which is unreal. In order to save him from all the misunderstandings and confusion which would inevitably arise when there is a lack of inner vision, Krishna undertook to teach Arjuna the sacred knowledge of the eternal self. 

 Krishna instructed Arjuna in the spiritual exercises which had to be practiced in order to attain this highest wisdom.

Turn towards God and God will turn towards You

When you develop your power of discrimination and become fully awake to the indwelling divinity, you will not suffer sorrow nor be subjected to fear. But as long as you have attachment to the body and attachment to objects, fear and suffering will be with you. Therefore, Krishna told Arjuna to develop his discrimination and rid himself of body consciousness. He told him that once he was free of body consciousness he would be able to develop integral vision. 

 Mankind today has three types of vision. The first is body oriented vision, which is totally superficial. When you have this kind of vision you see only the external appearance of others, such as the clothes and the ornaments they wear, their facial features, their body characteristics, their peculiarities of speech, etc. This type of vision is oriented only towards the phenomenal world. 

The second kind of vision is insightful vision. Instead of focusing on the external characteristics of others, you focus on their inner feelings, particularly as it is reflected in their behavior and expressions. You gauge the thoughts in another's mind and the feelings in their hearts by carefully watching what they say and do. When you have this kind of vision, you become concerned primarily with the deeper feelings and motivations of the other person. 

The third kind of vision is integral vision. With this kind of vision, you do not concentrate on another's external features or even their inner feelings. When you have integral vision you see the divine consciousness that pervades everyone, the inner unity that prevails everywhere despite body differences and differences in expression and emotional makeup. You realize that feelings, thoughts and behavioral characteristics all undergo change and transformation. But, you are not interested in characteristics that change with time. With integral vision you are wholly oriented towards the unchanging, indwelling divinity. Such a deep inner vision is a sacred vision. When you have this you are in the hands of God. More than that, not only are you in the hands of God, but verily you become God himself. 

The truly wise say that one who knows God becomes God. As you perceive so you become. Therefore, when you gain integral vision, you take on the sacred nature of the divinity itself. To become a person of the highest wisdom, you must develop integral vision. You must steadily abide in the inner unity that is at the core of all the outer diversity. 

 It is for this reason that Krishna commanded Arjuna to steadily turn his vision towards his highest self, and to maintain that vision at all times, under all circumstances.

How should we lead our lives

How should we lead our lives in the world?

 All water is not potable. The stagnant pool is to be avoided, the flowing river is better. Select safe and pure water to drink. Use the mosquito net, but see that mosquitoes do not enter into the net, when you go to bed. Keep the mosquitoes away; do not imprison them inside the net. Sail in the boat that floats on water, but do not allow the water to enter the boat. So too, be in worldly life, but do not allow it to get into you. The lotus born in slime and mud rises up through water and lifts its head high above the water. It refuses to get wet though water is the element which gives it life. Be like the lotus.

root that we must nourish

What is the root that we must nourish, to get sweet and tasty fruits in life?

 The root of education fulfills itself in the fruit of virtue. Earning a fat salary is not the chief thing one should expect from education. The goal should be the cultivation of virtues. Education is the root of the tree of life. The affection which the individual develops towards kith and kin, the objects of the world, the ideals and the goals, the fancies and fashions - these form the branches and twigs. The blossoms which the tree produces are the intelligence and its manifestations. These flower blossoms yield the fruit of joy (anandam). The sweetness this fruit confers is character. The essence of character is virtue. It is in virtue that the tree of life justifies itself.

What exactly is surrender?

Many often believe and state in the spirit of surrender: “I offer to You my body, my mind, my possessions, my all." This is incorrect and is a sign of ignorance. It concedes that you and God are distinct entities. God is not separate from you, for God is in all, everywhere, at all times. (Ishwarassarva-bhoothaanaam). How then can you or God be apart? To see God in everything, everywhere, at all times, is true surrender (Sharanaagathi). Repetition of mantras (holy formulae) and platform speeches on holy texts alone is not true devotion. The real devotee is one whose deeds are in accordance with the words of advice they utter. Devotion cannot tolerate in a devotee, the slightest trace of envy or jealousy. Make your daily life holy and pure. Render your life worth-while through service to man and service to society. That is the most important aspect of surrendering the self.

I am the same in all

The Geetha clearly declares that only the Hrudaypushpa (heart-lotus), free from impurities, that grows in the Manasa-sarovar, the pellucid waters of the mind, is worthy to be offered to God. That is the reason why Krishna told Arjuna, "My dear brother-in-law, whatever activity you are engaged in, whatever gift you give, whatever food you take, do it as a dedicated offering to Me; do everything in the dedicatory spirit as a tribute to God; for only such acts reach Me. I have no special preference for any one name; all names are Mine. I know neither friend nor foe. I am the unaffected witness. I reside with all who serve Me and derive joy from that service." 

 This raised some doubts in Arjuna's mind. He asked, "Krishna! You say that you do not make any distinction, that you have neither friend nor foe; how then does it happen that some are happy and others are unhappy, some are strong in body and mind, some are weak and sickly, some are poor and some rich? What is the reason behind all this? When you yourself are above any distinctions of such type, why can you not keep all in the same condition? Observing facts as they are, it is difficult to believe that you look upon all without any partiality." 

 Krishna laughed at this 'doubt' which worried Arjuna. "I give expression only to truth. I do not adjust My speech to merit your approval or disapproval; I am not elated when you approve, or depressed when you disapprove. I am the same in all. But all are not the same in Me. You have observed that during the cold months villagers sit around a fire at night; but only those who sit near the fire get refreshed by the warmth. Those squatting far away have also to put up with the darkness. If people stay afar and complain that they do not receive the warmth and that they have to suffer darkness, can you ascribe it to the partiality of fire? It is meaningless to argue from this that fire treats different people differently." 

 "The splendour of divine vision is akin to this - if you seek to earn it, you have to approach it and stay there. Everyone has equal right to do so and to feed the fire, so that it might illumine and warm even more. Fire is impartial; in deriving its benefit and in making it grow into greater capacity, there are differences. I am splendour; I have no partiality at all. To experience Me and derive bliss from Me, all have equal chance, opportunity and authority. Distinctions and differences arise as a result of the faults of the Sadhakas. They are not blemishes in Me."

The King who was Ruled by his five Wives ~ story

Once there was a great king who had five wives. But his wives never listened to him. He might have been a king to everyone else, but he was not lord over his own wives. And so he was suffering very much. He had a crown on his head, but inside his head there were only worries. 'I have become a slave of these wives and I am suffering very much,' he thought. 'Is there anyone in the world who is not afraid of his wife? If there is such a one, how does he control her? How does he manage not to be dominated by her?' To inquire into this directly by asking individual citizens would not have been considered proper, so he decided to hold a public meeting and invite all his male subjects to attend. There were two stadium-sized tents put up at the meeting-ground. One was erected on one side of the field, the other was put up on the other side. 

 The king announced that the first tent was meant for people who had controlled their wives, and the second one was meant for people who were controlled by their wives. All the male citizens of that country started pouring into the capital; they all went straight into the second tent. The king went there and found that this huge tent, the one that was intended for those who were controlled by their wives, was filled to capacity. He got a little courage from this for he realized that he was not the only one controlled by his wives. But before beginning the meeting he saw one lone person waiting in the first tent which was meant for those who had control over their wives. That mammoth tent was totally empty except for this one man. The king was overjoyed to see him there. He went to him and told him how glad he was to see that at least one person in his kingdom had gained control over his wife. 

 The king questioned him, "Tell me, good man, what is your secret in controlling your wife?" The man, trembling with fear, replied, "No sir! No sir! That is not how it is. I cannot control her. It is I who am being completely controlled by her." The king said, "Then why did you come into this tent?!!" With his knees shaking and stammering his words, the man replied, "My wife ordered me to come into this tent. She forbid me to go into the other. That is why I am here. My wife ordered me not to go inside the tent where the slaves of their wives are staying. She made me go into this one." The king got very irritated with the man and commanded him, "You must leave here immediately! Under no condition can you remain in this tent! Go and join the others in the second tent!" The citizen turned white with fear; the blood rushed out of his face. He got down on his knees and implored the king with his hands folded in supplication, "My lord, please listen to me! You may punish me. You may do anything you wish to me. But I am terrified of disobeying my wife. Please! Don't make me go to the other tent!" The king then realized that there were no people anywhere in his kingdom who were not slaves of their wives.

 ~~~The Mind with its five Wives, the Senses~~~ 

 This king is the mind, and he is never able to satisfy all his wives, namely, the senses. The eye demands, "Take me to a place where only the most beautiful sights are to be seen." The tongue demands that only the tastiest of foods be supplied to it. The ear commands that the most melodious sounds be played for it. The skin desires to feel only materials which are the most pleasing to touch. And the nose wants to smell the very best perfumes in the world. Who can satisfy all these desires of the senses? There is no coordination and cooperation among them. If you yield to the sense organs, they are going to give you a lot of trouble. Right from the beginning you must find a way to bring them under absolute control. Then you will have accomplished something truly worthwhile. The real hero in this world is the one who has managed to completely control his senses. 

 When the senses make their demands do not listen to them. Instead, turn your mind towards the higher intellect. Let it decide what is to be done. Then, the lower mind will follow and, in turn, give its commands to the senses. This way, the senses will have to obey. That is the proper way to curb the senses. A person who bases his life on his lower mind and senses will come to ruin and become worse than an animal. The wise one bases his life on his higher mind, which is his intellect, his power of discrimination and discernment and intuition. One who follows his higher mind becomes the most excellent of human beings. If you base your life on your higher mind, your buddhi, it will take you straight to the final goal. But if you base your life only on the lower mind and the senses, then every moment new changes will come about. It will become difficult to predict what will happen to you and where you will land. It is something like crossing a raging river or a storm-tossed ocean in a small boat. You do not know when your little boat will get flooded and when disaster will overtake you.

reciting mantras

Is merely reciting mantras and reading holy books going to lead us to liberation or is there anything more we need to do?

 It is true that milk contains butter; sesame seeds contain oil; cane yields sugar. But by merely holding milk in the hand, you cannot get butter; filling the lamp with sesame seeds you cannot light the wick, shaking the cane will not result in a shower of sugar. By placing sweets on a plate in front of you and reciting 108 times "sweets, sweets.." can your tongue relish it? Similarly you study many holy books, and chant mantras and hymns. Of course, the time spent in these activities is thereby rendered holy. But, these are not helping you to transform the work you are engaged in into an offering acceptable to God. Are you putting into practice at least one percent of what you read or recite? Mere reading and singing will not free you from the cycle of birth and death. God has to be planted firmly in the mind, the omnipresent God has to be enshrined in the heart; God has to flow with the blood in the veins. God has to be visualised through the inner eye.

stay connected to the Divine Self

How can we stay connected to the Divine Self, present within ourselves and those around?

 The best means to stay in contact with the Higher Self at all times, is to follow the simple exercise of Namasmarana, the repetition of any one of the Names of the Lord; a Name that signifies the glory that lies embedded in every being. People indulge in all types of purposeless gossip, conversations and scandal. Many find time and interest in these degrading pursuits. But they have no inclination to awaken the Divine in them by constant remembrance of the Creator and His Splendour. See only those scenes that will foster this discipline; speak only of elevating and uplifting subjects; listen only to purifying topics; think and feel only pure thoughts and emotions. That is the way to develop the Divinity inherent in each one.

true strength and its source

What is true strength and what is its source?

 Proceed ever towards strength (balam). Do not take to untruth, wickedness, and crookedness – all of which denotes a fundamental fatal trait of cowardice and weakness (bala heenam). Weakness is born of accepting as true, a lower image of yourself than what the facts warrant. That is the main mistake. You believe you are the husk, but you really are the kernel. All spiritual practices must be directed to the removal of the husk and the revelation of the kernel. So long as you say, ”I am so and so”, there is bound to be fear. Once you say and feel “I am Divine” (Aham Brahmasmi), you get unconquerable strength.

Krishna

Friendship reminded of Him and Sudama;
Enmity reminded of Him and Kansa;
Jealousy reminded of Him and Shishupal;
Love reminded of Him and Gopis;
Compassion reminded of Him and Arjun;
Sri Krishna's name reigned every emotion;
Sri Krishna embraced all souls with their varied ways of devotion.

******
Selfless love for Sri Krishna a sensation;
Selfless love for Sri Krishna an inspiration;
Selfless love for Sri Krishna our destination;
As Sri Krishna loves us without any expectation

Life may be compared to a river

Life may be compared to a river. If you allow this river of life to proceed unchecked and unbounded, you are likely to destroy many villages.

You have to take whatever measures are needed to see to it that this river remains within its bounds and reaches the ocean. It is only the ocean which can bear this river and absorb it.

How to make this river of life reach the ocean?
In the Gita it has bee

n said, you must have two banks constructed. When the river has two banks, it can safely go on and reach the ocean.

What are these two banks for the river of life?
They have been described as two powerful mantras. On one side you have a mantra which says,

He who has doubts will perish.

On the other side you have a mantra which says,

He who has faith will attain wisdom.

So the two banks for the river of life have to do with renunciation of doubt and the blossoming forth of faith. When you have these two banks channeling your life, then you will reach the goal and merge in the ocean. This teaching given by Krishna is the very
essence of devotion. It enables you to reach the ocean of infinite
grace.

The three Principles that take you to your Divine Goal.

Krishna said, "Child, that ocean of divine grace is the goal of mankind. It is the ultimate goal of all life.
Don't forget that goal.
Don't believe in the world and don't be afraid of death, but ever remember the divinity which is the very reason for your having taken birth. These are the three principles I give you:

Never forget God.
Never believe in the world.
Never be afraid of death.

Take these three and inscribe them in your heart.
Always remember them, for they will sanctify your life and bring you to me."

All have equal chance

The Geetha clearly declares that only the Hrudaypushpa (heart-lotus), free from impurities, that grows in the Manasa-sarovar, the pellucid waters of the mind, is worthy to be offered to God. That is the reason why Krishna told Arjuna, "My dear brother-in-law, whatever activity you are engaged in, whatever gift you give, whatever food you take, do it as a dedicated offering to Me; do everything in the dedicatory spirit as a tribute to God; for only such acts reach Me. I have no special preference for any one name; all names are Mine. I know neither friend nor foe. I am the unaffected witness. I reside with all who serve Me and derive joy from that service."

This raised some doubts in Arjuna's mind. He asked, "Krishna! You say that you do not make any distinction, that you have neither friend nor foe; how then does it happen that some are happy and others are unhappy, some are strong in body and mind, some are weak and sickly, some are poor and some rich? What is the reason behind all this? When you yourself are above any distinctions of such type, why can you not keep all in the same condition? Observing facts as they are, it is difficult to believe that you look upon all without any partiality."

Krishna laughed at this 'doubt' which worried Arjuna. "I give expression only to truth. I do not adjust My speech to merit your approval or disapproval; I am not elated when you approve, or depressed when you disapprove. I am the same in all. But all are not the same in Me. You have observed that during the cold months villagers sit around a fire at night; but only those who sit near the fire get refreshed by the warmth. Those squatting far away have also to put up with the darkness. If people stay afar and complain that they do not receive the warmth and that they have to suffer darkness, can you ascribe it to the partiality of fire? It is meaningless to argue from this that fire treats different people differently."

"The splendour of divine vision is akin to this - if you seek to earn it, you have to approach it and stay there. Everyone has equal right to do so and to feed the fire, so that it might illumine and warm even more. Fire is impartial; in deriving its benefit and in making it grow into greater capacity, there are differences. I am splendour; I have no partiality at all. To experience Me and derive bliss from Me, all have equal chance, opportunity and authority. Distinctions and differences arise as a result of the faults of the Sadhakas. They are not blemishes in Me."

3 types of duties

In your daily life in the family, there are three types of duties which may be considered to be three aspects of dharma. There is social duty, there is obligatory duty,and there is family duty. These duties express themselves in different ways. 

First consider an example of social duty. Assume that tomorrow is Sunday, which is a holiday for you.You may want to invite some people to come to your house for tea. Suddenly in the night, you develop a fever. While you are sick, you realize that if you were to invite your friends to visit the next day, you would not be able to receive them properly, and so, it would not make you or them happy. Therefore, in consideration of your obligations to your friends, which you would not be able to perform while sick, you decide to postpone the tea party. On the basis of the change in circumstances and your consideration for your friends, you change the tea party to the following Sunday. You are free to make the arrangements that fulfill both your wishes and your social obligations. 

Next, consider an example of obligatory duty. Let us say you are a lecturer in the university. In connection with the upcoming examinations, the department head has directed that the whole teaching staff of the department assemble for a meeting. As this is an important department meeting, you will have to attend. Even if you are suffering from fever, you take some aspirin pills and go to the meeting. This is an obligatory duty and you have no right to cancel this. The scheduling of this meeting was not in your hands, and once it has been called, you are expected to attend. 

Now, consider an example of family duty. You are in your own house. There is a small family quarrel between husband and wife. Inside the room, the husband and wife are having a tiff. She is very angry. Suddenly, the door bell rings and he goes out to answer it. He finds that a co-worker had dropped by for a casual visit. As soon as the husband sees the visitor, he greets him with a smile and a fond hello. He asks the visitor to be seated. With the visitor he is quite cordial. When he enters the bedroom and tells his wife of the visitor and finds that she is still very angry with him, he may resume his stern tone. But as soon as he goes into the other room to meet the colleague who has come by, he carries on with his friendly conversation. It is his duty to protect the good name of his family by conducting himself in such a way that an outsider would not know that he had quarreled with his wife. 

If a person who is angry with his wife inside the bedroom comes out into the living room and irritatedly asks the visitor to leave the house, then the guest will be appalled. It is important to see to it that the secrets and confidences of the family are not thrown out into the street. This is an important duty of a family man. He must be ever vigilant to protect the honor of his family. If by his indiscretion the family honor is destroyed,then there will be no happiness for him or his family throughout their lives.

obstacles in our daily life

Why should we welcome obstacles in our daily life?

Obstacles that come in the way are often treated with a certain amount of resentment by the pilgrims on the spiritual path. But these tests are to be treated as a means of ensuring safety. You drive a nail into the wall to place a picture thereon; but before hanging the photo, you try to see whether the nail has been well driven by shaking it; when you are certain it does not move a bit even when all your strength is used, you have the confidence to hang the picture on it. You must welcome tests because it gives you confidence and it ensures promotion.

Be like the lotus

How should we lead our lives in the world?

All water is not potable. The stagnant pool is to be avoided, the flowing river is better. Select safe and pure water to drink. Use the mosquito net, but see that mosquitoes do not enter into the net, when you go to bed. Keep the mosquitoes away; do not imprison them inside the net. Sail in the boat that floats on water, but do not allow the water to enter the boat. So too, be in worldly life, but do not allow it to get into you. The lotus born in slime and mud rises up through water and lifts its head high above the water. It refuses to get wet though water is the element which gives it life. Be like the lotus.

barometer to measure

What is a barometer to measure our spiritual progress?

Cleanse the heart with the water of love and the detergents of prayer and contrition, so that the stains of desire will be removed. Then God will pour His Grace into it. If you yearn for God, you should give up attachment to the external world and to the body (Loka bhranthi and Deha bhranthi). There is no use trying to put one foot in one bo at and another in a different boat. You may have been a spiritual aspirant for 20 or 25 years, but if you worry more about physical needs and comforts than meditation and spiritual progress, then the years of practice is of no value, as there has been no progress. The waving of the camphor flame (aarti) at the end of the prayer or bhajan session is to remind you that your sensual cravings must be burnt away without leaving any trace behind. You must offer yourself completely to God, to be merged in His Glory.

story...

There was once a world-famous artist. 

He had an extraordinary talent for figure and portrait painting. He came to Krishna, in his capital city of Dvaraka, and wanted to paint Krishna's portrait. With a beaming smile Krishna said, "Well, if you want to paint my image you can certainly do so. 

Tell me what I should do." The artist requested, "Swami, if you would kindly just sit still for an hour in the same place, I will draw an outline, and then later on I will fill in the details." Krishna sat down on for the artist and remained without moving. The artist made some preliminary sketches. After a while, he prostrated at Krishna's feet and said, "Swami, I am done now." Smiling, Krishna asked, "When are you going to show the picture?" 

 The artist answered, "Swami, by tomorrow at this time I should have completed it." 

Throughout the night, he worked untiringly on this difficult task of accurately painting a likeness of the Lord on canvas. When the picture was done the next morning, the artist was extremely pleased with his work. He covered the painting with a beautiful cloth and brought it to Krishna. 

But when the cloth was removed, it was seen that in the intervening 24 hours the form of Krishna had undergone a remarkable change. The artist put the portrait directly alongside Krishna. He looked at the picture and then looked at Krishna. He realized that there was very little resemblance between the two. Krishna also looked at the painting and pointed out, "My dear fellow, there seem to be a number of defects." The artist said, "Please forgive me, Swami. Please give me another chance. Let me try again and I will do better." It went on like this for ten days. 

Each day the artist did his work over again, but it was impossible to get a proper picture. Now the artist began to feel ashamed. He decided it would be best if he just disappeared from there, and so he hurriedly left the city. On the way, sage Narada happened to meet the artist departing from the city. Narada asked the artist, "You seem quite disturbed. Tell me what is making you so unhappy." 

The artist explained to him all that had happened. Narada told the artist, "Well, Krishna is a master actor and a master director. He is enacting this whole drama. Using your methods you will never be able to get a true likeness of him. But if you really want to succeed then listen to my words and follow them implicitly. The artist agreed to do exactly as Narada instructed. He returned to Dvaraka, and the very next day went to Krishna, carrying with him a picture covered with a fine cloth. He told Krishna, "Swami, I have finally been able to bring you your exact picture. Please have a look. This will always give the correct likeness of you. Whatever changes come into your expression and form, the image that is seen here will show all these changes faithfully." 

Then he got ready to remove the covering cloth and said, "Please accept this as my best picture of you." When the cloth came away, it revealed a clean mirror. 

If you want to paint a portrait of the Lord who is permanent with temporary materials like brushes, paint, etc., you will not be able to succeed. In the physical universe everything is temporary. All forms are constantly undergoing change. Such transient forms cannot give a proper vision of the permanent Lord. 

 If you want to have a clean and unchanging vision of the Lord, you will be able to obtain it only in the clean mirror, which is your own purified heart.

experiencing the state

There are a number of striking differences in your experiences of the dream-state and those of the waking-state. Considering this, what should you believe and what should you not believe? You may ask, 'Which is true, which is not true? Am I the one who experiences all these various happenings in the waking state, or am I the one who experiences all those other happenings in the dream-state?' The wisdom teachings give the answer, 'You are neither this nor that. You are not the one experiencing the waking-state, nor are you the one experiencing the dream-state, nor are you the one asleep in the deep-sleep state. You transcend all these. You are the transcendental reality itself.' 

 That which you think exists really does not exist. 

 That which you do not believe exists really exists. When you acquire wisdom you realize that there is only the One which really exists and is eternally true. That is the atma, the transcendental principle. But this principle of atma is not easily accessible to ordinary people. 

 All that you read, listen to and experience are merely attributes of the physical state. Starting with this you have to reach out and try to achieve your goal. From the form you have to progress to the formless, from the changeable you have to progress to the changeless, from the attributeful you have to progress to the attributeless. Beyond all these, transcending all attributes and going even beyond the attributeless and formless, is the unchanging and unwavering superconscious state. This is the goal of all spiritual aspirants. One who has become immersed in this state is described as a wise sage. 

You may wonder if Arjuna achieved this state. Yes, Krishna himself conferred this state on Arjuna. Krishna transformed Arjuna into an instrument of the divine and thereby turned him into a truly wise being. If a wise man does not engage in activities he will not be able to set a good example to the common people. In schools you will find a director of physical education and a drill master. The drill master takes his orders from the director. During the calisthenics drill, the director will keep quiet, but the drill master will call out, '1..2..3..!' and perform all the drill movements. He has to set the example. Only then can the others be expected to follow him. Similarly, the wise man, while taking his orders from the inner director, sets an example so ordinary people will be able to follow. 

When Krishna gave Arjuna the Gita he transformed him into an ideal man. Krishna told him, "I will turn you into my instrument to do my work, so that you will be an example to all of humanity." What is the deeper meaning of Krishna doing all this for Arjuna? Arjuna means the one with a pure heart. Arjuna was always living in Krishna. A number of times Krishna referred to Arjuna as 'the one who lives in the effulgence of God'. All the deeper aspects of the relationship of Krishna and Arjuna can be gleaned from the names that Krishna gave to Arjuna. Arjuna's only duty was to implicitly follow Krishna's commands. 

Arjuna said, "Swami, I will obey your commands, whatever they may be. Whatever you ask of me I will do. I will not undertake anything on my own, anything that is outside of your directions." This is the true attitude of a sage. He will not have the feeling of I and mine. He will not have any egoism or attachments. His every action will destroy any traces of ego or possessiveness. He will accept and follow only the commands of the Lord, who is no different than his own inner director. Because these noble qualities are so important for spiritual unfoldment, the characteristics of a wise man are explained at great length in the second chapter of the Gita. 

But, just describing the qualities of a wise sage would not have been of much use, so Krishna began by explaining the qualities of the three states and the different aspects of the three worlds. Arjuna had the intellectual capacity to grasp the true significance of this. After being given the vision of the cosmic form of the Lord, he immediately understood its deeper meaning. He realized that it meant the union between the physical, the mental and the causal. After having had the vision of the cosmic form, whenever Arjuna closed his eyes thereafter, he would continuously see Krishna as an indelible impression on his heart. He realized that what he had seen with his eyes wide open was in the physical plane. Then, after closing his eyes, whatever still registered in his mind and was being seen by him internally, was in the mental plane. The indelible impression of this vision that remained in his heart was in the causal plane. 

It is something like print on paper. Once a picture is printed, it is impossible to separate it again from the paper. In this way, the cosmic form of Krishna became a permanent impression in Arjuna's heart. 

Arjuna was the ideal man. Yet, in order to serve as an example for all of humanity, he undertook all kinds of common activities just like an ordinary person. Inside, within himself, he always kept his mind firmly fixed on Lord Krishna, who was the formful expression of his own true self, the atma. Arjuna knew that this physical body was for the sole purpose of obeying the commands of the inner director, manifested for him in the divine form of Krishna. In the Gita, Krishna held out this quality of inner surrender as the ideal mark of a truly wise man.

six stages of life

Whatever is born passes through six stages of life, namely, birth, growth, maturity, decline, degeneration and death. But, what is never born, never dies. For it these stages do not apply. 

The second chapter of the Gita relates to the path of wisdom. The principle that underlies the wisdom teachings is that whatever is born must die, but what was never born, can never die. 

What is never born and will never die? The atma. Atma has neither birth nor death. It never undergoes any kind of modifications. 

Atma is permanent. 

It is immutable. 

It is everlasting. 

It is attributeless. 

It is your own true nature. 

The body is born and the body experiences the various phases of life and dies, but the indweller of the body remains unaffected by all these bodily changes. This indweller is the atma. It is free of illusion, devoid of maya. Once you understand this divine principle you will recognize it as the only thing of true value, the only thing worth knowing. Everything else is ephemeral and impermanent. You must make every effort to acquire the knowledge of atma and thereby gain lasting joy. 

Be Satisfied, Do not Chase after Desires. 

Do not encourage the multiplication of desires. Be satisfied with whatever you have been given. In the chapter on devotion, Krishna enumerated the 26 noble qualities which endear a devotee to the Lord. Of these, contentment stands out as one of the most important characteristics of a devotee. It means not running after worldly enjoyments. You have enjoyed so many luxuries and so many sensual things in your life but you have not gained peace and fulfillment from them. Give up chasing after them and you will gain contentment. 

The heart of a person who does not have contentment is like a bamboo basket riddled with holes. If you try to draw water out of a well using such a basket, by the time it comes up, all the water will have leaked out. There will not even be a drop of water left to quench your thirst. 

Similarly, when you are suffering from pangs of desire and greed, all your contentment leaks away before you even have a chance to fulfill your desires. When contentment leaves your heart, discontent remains behind to take its place.

surrender in the locker (safe vault) of the Divine Banker

What should we surrender in the locker (safe vault) of the Divine Banker?

To protect valuables, jewels, legal documents and precious metals like silver and gold from thieves, you go to the banks and deposit them in the safe vaults or lockers. Thus, you dismiss the anxiety in your minds, are freed from worry and are able to sleep in peace at your homes. So too, you must surrender to the Lord, you r jewels of intelligence, brilliance and capacity to serve. Most importantly, you attach a lot of value to your ego – leave it also to His care. Then you will be very happy. In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna advises Arjuna – Maam Ekam Sharanam Vraja - Surrender to Me alone. Then, He assures, Maa suchah - You need not grieve at all.

key instruments gifted to us

What are the key instruments gifted to us and how do we put it to best use?

The body is the temple of God, He is the resident of the heart, and intelligence (Buddhi) is the lamp that is lit in its altar. Protect the lamp and its glow from the wind that blows through the windows of the senses and threatens to put them out. Close the windows, do not keep them open for dire attraction from objects. Keep your intellect sharp, so that it may cut the mind into a diamond and convert it into a blaze of light, instead of being a dull pebble. Discrimination is an important instrument of spiritual progress. Attachment, affection, and interests - these create prejudice, partiality, and illusion. They hide the truth and dull the intelligence. The reasoning faculty must be employed to distinguish between the limited and the unlimited, the temporary and the Eternal.

when trials and tribulations strike us

How should we respond when trials and tribulations strike us?

When a few tiny stones get mixed in rice and get between the teeth, one laments in disgust that the plate of rice is but a plate of stones. It is human nature to exaggerate in order to create an impression. Often, people treat joy as incidental and insignificant and dwell more on grief and pain. Do not give in during times of trouble. The root-cause for losses, troubles, poverty and difficulties is the loss of self-confidence and enthusiasm. The secret of strength and courage lies within you. Good people and well-wishers imbued with spontaneity, sacrifice and a spirit of detachment are very much present amongst us. Have faith and do not despair or lose faith in yourself or God. With sincere faith, act, speak and think in a manner that God is pleased and surrender yourself to Him completely. Be pure, be simple, be sincere and He will answer your agonising call

path to self-advancement

What is the path to self-advancement?

Instead of indulging in vain prattle, glorify God and walk in His path and pray to Him. Spend the allotted span of years in the contemplation and the adoration of the Almighty, not in servile praise of the feeble, the futile and the weak. Life is an opportunity afforded to each, not to merely eat and drink, but to achieve something nobler and grander: to master oneself and merge in the Reality. The discipline must come from within, not from without; people must control themselves through their own innate strength, not get controlled through fear of someone or desire for temporary gain. Self-control promotes self-reliance, self-knowledge and self-advancement.

Rotten bananas story!

For Youth:Why surrender to god during youth? 

Rotten bananas story! 

Nariman was a good man. He would sit in prayer and connect with God to draw strength and inspiration. He spent a good portion of his time and money in the service of the po or. He would offer his services at the hospital whenever they put up free medical camps. He would buy fresh fruits and distribute them to the poor patients in the hospital. Sometimes he would treat the children in the labour colony to a movie or to ice cream. Each act of service was done as if it was service to the Lord. 

One day, he told his teenage son Manit, “Son I am going to the temple today to offer bananas to the Lord. Later I will distribute these bananas to the beggars who sit outside. Why don’t you come with me?” 

The boy said lazily, “Oh! Come on Dad! This stuff about going to the temple and praying; this seva activity… it’s not my kind of thing. You are old Dad. This stuff is for oldies. I am young. I am not interested. May be when I am as old as you, I could think about it, but right now…. never!” 

The boy re-adjusted his walk-man and swayed his hips to the beat of the rap-music. Nariman heard his son’s statement, but did not retort back. He went out and completed his work of distribution for the day. 

A few days later, Nariman bought a huge basket of over-ripe bananas and placed them just outside his house. He went in to bathe. His son happened to spot the basket of blackened bananas and also noticed the insects hovering over them. Some of the bananas were almost rotten and were quite unsightly. Father came out wearing a crisp white kurta-pajama and proceeded to transfer the bananas to his car. The son asked, “Father, where are you taking these bananas?” “To the temple,” replied father, most unassumingly. 

“But father, these bananas are rotten. I mean if you want to offer them to God, then at least you should have taken care to buy a fresh lot. They are all gooey and pulpy. They are infested with insects too. It would be a shame to offer them at the temple.” 

Father said, “If you can wait to grow old, to offer yourself to the Lord; if you think that you shall be presentable or of any use to the Lord when you are an old man, surely these old and rotten bananas can be offered to the Lord too!” 

The son was rendered speechless. He wasn’t able to look his father in the eye. Father knew he had struck the right chord at the right time. He continued, “When you are young and able-bodied, you can work for the Lord. You can offer your services. You can spare some time and money to give to those who are in need. When you are old, your body shall have its own problems. You may not be physically fit enough to do service. You may have financial constraints, for you shall no longer be earning and your expenses may be many. You may not be able to sit in prayer; for who knows, you may be troubled by arthritis or rheumatism. What can you offer then? That time you shall be in need of God’s grace, perhaps more than ever!” 

Having said that, father put the last bunch of rotten bananas into his car and drove away. He had made his point. Do you know where he went? He did not go to the temple, for he knew that these bananas were unfit for offering to the Lord. Instead he went to a Gaushala where stray cows were kept and fed the bananas to them. The rotten bananas had done their work!

Slowness and haste

Slowness and haste are two extremes. 

On the one hand if you are too hasty your actions may be fatal, but if you delay too long they may also be poisonous. So, you must use your discriminating power and exercise patience to the degree appropriate to the circumstances. 

If first-aid must be given immediately, or if you are attending to a person who is very sick and is likely to lose his life in a few minutes if medicine is not given, then you must act quickly. In such situations there must be no delay. Delay would be poisonous and you must act fast and do the proper thing. 

There are also circumstances when you are faced with people who are wicked and who are pursuing harmful ways. Then it may be necessary for you to warn them and correct them or otherwise deal with the situation. In such a case, appearing to lose patience may be your best recourse. Frequently, all that is necessary is just to change the sound of your voice a little. It doesn't mean that you have lost your inner quality of forbearance. 

 Even if you elevate your voice and appear to be angry, you can still maintain the sacredness of your heart and not lose your peace, inside. 

By following the path of truth, you will be naturally practicing forbearance. In all circumstances, always stick to the path of truth. But sometimes you may have to change the tone of your voice and the volume of your speech in a way that will deal appropriately with a difficult situation.

For whom was the Geetha delivered?

Just think of this for a moment. Milk is not drawn from the cow’s udder for its own sake, for cows do not drink their own milk; Arjuna, the calf, has had his fill and Krishna needs nothing! The Lord Himself clarifies: He milked the Upanishads and brought out the Geetha for the "Sudhee-jana", those who possess intelligence (Su-dhee) that is moderated by goodness and controlled by virtue. 

 But when does one become worthy of receiving the lessons of the Geetha? Rather than exult over your excellence, search for your own faults with the desire of removing them. You will then progress fast without being dragged behind by fear or anxiety. When you move on thus, placing all your burdens on the Lord and with faith in him, you will reach a state of mental calm, which is the sign o f a true aspirant. Arjuna arrived at this stage and then Krishna gave him the teaching that confers immortality.