A DIVINE MESSAGE
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Since eternity, India has been the world leader in the spiritual arena and still is. India has the blessed fortune of being the birth place of most of the finest scholars, saints, sages and ascetics. Jagadguru Swami Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj has further blessed the holy land of India by choosing a small village named Mangarh in Northern India as His birth place. Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj is known the world over for his unparalleled, divine and absolute knowledge.
Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj is the fifth original Jagadguru of present times. In the past 3000 years there have been 4 other original Jagadgurus. Nonetheless, the peculiarity of Shri Maharaj Ji is that He has been honored with the title of Jagadguruttam (supreme amongst all Jagadgurus). As is customary, the undefeated scriptural debater (अविजेय शास्त्रार्थी ) is honored with the title of Jagadguru only. How and why did the unusual event of acclaiming Him with this exclusive title happen! This is an obvious question that generally crosses the minds of the readers.
Apparently, there are some qualities in Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj that did not surface in any of the prior Jagadgurus. So, the point to ponder is what are those exceptional characteristics, which inspired the scholars of Kashi Vidwat Parishat to honor Him with this title?
1. His resplendent, divine personality, followed by a series of lectures in highly scholarly Sanskrit, imbued with numerous examples and quotes from across Vedic scriptures, completely stupefied the assembly of 500 topnotch scholars.
The president, vice president and all other scholars of Kashi Vidwat Parishat had only one thing to say about Him, “His knowledge is Divine. It is impossible for any mortal being to have such a thorough knowledge of all scriptures, at such a young age (Shri Maharaj ji was 35 years old at that time)”. Recognizing His divine knowledge, Kashi Vidwat Parishat honored Him with the title of Srimad Pad Vakya Praman Paravareen (Proficient in all philosophies propounded in “Vyakran”, “Nyay” and “Mimansa”). In this manner even before the scriptural debate started, Shri Kripalu ji Maharaj had ruled the minds of the scholarly audience. This was an unusual occurrence.
Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj is the fifth original Jagadguru of present times. In the past 3000 years there have been 4 other original Jagadgurus. Nonetheless, the peculiarity of Shri Maharaj Ji is that He has been honored with the title of Jagadguruttam (supreme amongst all Jagadgurus). As is customary, the undefeated scriptural debater (अविजेय शास्त्रार्थी ) is honored with the title of Jagadguru only. How and why did the unusual event of acclaiming Him with this exclusive title happen! This is an obvious question that generally crosses the minds of the readers.
Apparently, there are some qualities in Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj that did not surface in any of the prior Jagadgurus. So, the point to ponder is what are those exceptional characteristics, which inspired the scholars of Kashi Vidwat Parishat to honor Him with this title?
1. His resplendent, divine personality, followed by a series of lectures in highly scholarly Sanskrit, imbued with numerous examples and quotes from across Vedic scriptures, completely stupefied the assembly of 500 topnotch scholars.
The president, vice president and all other scholars of Kashi Vidwat Parishat had only one thing to say about Him, “His knowledge is Divine. It is impossible for any mortal being to have such a thorough knowledge of all scriptures, at such a young age (Shri Maharaj ji was 35 years old at that time)”. Recognizing His divine knowledge, Kashi Vidwat Parishat honored Him with the title of Srimad Pad Vakya Praman Paravareen (Proficient in all philosophies propounded in “Vyakran”, “Nyay” and “Mimansa”). In this manner even before the scriptural debate started, Shri Kripalu ji Maharaj had ruled the minds of the scholarly audience. This was an unusual occurrence.
यद्व्याख्याननवीनमेघपटलध्वानेन चित्ताटवी नास्तिक्योपहतात्मनामपि मुदा सूते विवेकांकुरम्।
स्फूर्जत्तर्कविचारमन्त्रनिवहव्याक्षिप्तदुर्भावना- भूतावेशविषश्चिरं विजयतामेकोयमीड्यो नृणाम्।।३।।
yadvyākhyānanavīnameghapaṭaladhvānena cittāṭavī nāstikyopahatātmanāmapi mudā sūte vivekāṃkuram। sphūrjattarkavicāramantranivahavyākṣiptadurbhāvanā- bhūtāveśaviṣaściraṃ vijayatāmekoyamīḍyo nṛṇām।।3।।
स्फूर्जत्तर्कविचारमन्त्रनिवहव्याक्षिप्तदुर्भावना- भूतावेशविषश्चिरं विजयतामेकोयमीड्यो नृणाम्।।३।।
yadvyākhyānanavīnameghapaṭaladhvānena cittāṭavī nāstikyopahatātmanāmapi mudā sūte vivekāṃkuram। sphūrjattarkavicāramantranivahavyākṣiptadurbhāvanā- bhūtāveśaviṣaściraṃ vijayatāmekoyamīḍyo nṛṇām।।3।।
The president of Kashi Vidvat Parishat declared, “Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj's discourses are like the roaring of new rain-laden clouds. They pacify the minds tortured by disbelief in God. Listening to His lectures gives birth to seedlings of divine knowledge in the mind. For those suffering with illusion, misconception and negative sentiments Shri Kriplau Ji Maharaj is like a potion of ambrosia. All glories to him forever”.
2. All 4 past Jagadgurus were well-conversant with and preached divine "knowledge" only. None of them preached the element of Devotion. Shri Maharaj ji is the first Jagadguru who is seated on the highest seat of knowledge and is also the Supreme Teacher of the nectar of devotion. While conducting kirtan, He himself drowns in the ocean of divine-love-bliss. He also imparts the knowledge of delving into that rapture, to aspiring devotees and as far as possible helps them to taste that nectar. That is why Kashi Vidwat Parishat crowned Him with the divine title of Bhaktiyograsavtar (One who is a personification of Bhaktiyog and nectar of divine love). On one hand, glories of His divine knowledge are spreading far and wide and on the other hand, Shri Kripalu ji Maharaj is disseminating the innermost secrets of Madhurya Bhav form of Raganuga Bhakti. He is exalting the “most selfless form of service to Shri Krishn for His pleasure only” in the minds of the devotees. In His own body, one can often see the eight symbols of intense love (Asht Satvik Bhav). In the state of ecstasy while shedding incessant tears, he sometimes dances in uninhibited enthusiasm, at other times he says something incoherent, sings, laughs continuously and other times He swoons unconscious. At those times divinity permeates the atmosphere and even an ordinary devotee gets imbibed with love and naturally starts shedding tears. When Shri Maharaj Ji comes out of that trance, while wiping tears from His transcendental eyes, for a few moments, He looks around in a state of surprise, as if trying to figure out in which undesirable world has He just stepped in. Devotees are always desirous of seeing Him in that state.
3. all the other Jagadgurus embraced one aspect off the Vedic philosophy and emphasized only on that. They disseminated and publicized only that aspect and proved that, that ideology alone is true. E.g. Adi Jagadguru Sharkaracharya Ji Maharaj, spread the word on non-duality. Similarly, other Jagadgurus talked about distinct-duality (vishishta-dwait), duality-nonduality and duality etc. They wrote articles to prove that alone. Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj is the first Jagadguru who has welcomed the thoughts of all prior Jagadgurus and other saints. With surprising critiques and proof from the scriptures, He has proved the relevance of all schools of thought and reconciled the seemingly contradictory thoughts. He has further presented a universalized view of all philosophies. He has also highlighted the benefits that an ordinary soul can derive from following the path of God and explained in great detail, how those benefits can be achieved. This was an incomprehensibly difficult job. And He accomplished it with great ease and separated wheat from the chaff. That is why Kashi Vidwat Parishat crowned Him with the title Nikhildarshan-samanvay-acharya (reconciler of all philosophies according to the scriptures and Vedas.)
4. Whenever such saints descend on this earth, they have one sole purpose; to restore religion to its original pure form, from the prevalent mutilated form, and to reveal the path of welfare to aspiring souls. Jagadguru Shri Kripalu ji Maharaj has removed the word sectarianism from His vocabulary by establishing that the original Guru of every sect is Shri Krishn. Hence, there is no need to use the names of the gurus in the middle as a way to differentiate oneself from others. Instead, use the name of Shri Radha-Krishna, without any bias and perform selfless-devotion only to Them. That is the easiest and the best way to attain personal well-being. He emphasizes on removing the ritualistic actions from devotion. He cautions to not fall in the trap of elaborate process of ritualistic form of worship (karm marg) or follow the hardships of path of knowledge (gyan marg). He preaches that merely by selflessly loving God, considering Him to be your only asset, with the feeling of complete surrender to Him, God will have mercy on you and will accept you, just like a mother accepts her child, ignoring all his shortcomings and without expecting anything from him. This is the basis of devotion. In this manner, the path illuminated by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj is in step with the Vedic ideology. Yet it is un-contaminated by all pomposity. That is why this path is apt for modern times and speedily grants the ultimate goal of life with much ease. Recognizing this fact, Kashi Vidwat Parishat crowned Him with the title Vedmarg Pratishthapan-Acharya (Supreme teacher who competently establishes a path of God realization according to Vedic philosophy) and Sanaatan Vedic Dharm Sthapan Sat-Sampraday-Param-Acharya (Supreme teacher who promotes Sanaatan Vedic religion and the Supreme master of all the authentic schools of philosophy). No words can be found, in any dictionary, to describe such a personality who, with His out of this world and unprecedented knowledge and His Divine effulgence and voice, impressed the 500 top-notch scholars of Kashi Vidwat Parishat and shattered their pride of knowledge. With the title of Jagadgurruttam the scholars, probably, tried to say that He knows the essence of all schools of philosophies and is the ultimate reconciler of all of them. Amidst all Jagadgurus, His supremacy is established by merely knowing that all prior Jagadgurus had to defeat all contemporary scholarly opponents to be crowned Jagadguru, but in the case of Jagadguru Shri Kripalu ji Maharaj, all scholars heard his lectures and knelt before Him and accepted defeat without getting into a debate with Him. He is the first Jagadguru who attained the title of Jagadguruttam without a scriptural debate.
2. All 4 past Jagadgurus were well-conversant with and preached divine "knowledge" only. None of them preached the element of Devotion. Shri Maharaj ji is the first Jagadguru who is seated on the highest seat of knowledge and is also the Supreme Teacher of the nectar of devotion. While conducting kirtan, He himself drowns in the ocean of divine-love-bliss. He also imparts the knowledge of delving into that rapture, to aspiring devotees and as far as possible helps them to taste that nectar. That is why Kashi Vidwat Parishat crowned Him with the divine title of Bhaktiyograsavtar (One who is a personification of Bhaktiyog and nectar of divine love). On one hand, glories of His divine knowledge are spreading far and wide and on the other hand, Shri Kripalu ji Maharaj is disseminating the innermost secrets of Madhurya Bhav form of Raganuga Bhakti. He is exalting the “most selfless form of service to Shri Krishn for His pleasure only” in the minds of the devotees. In His own body, one can often see the eight symbols of intense love (Asht Satvik Bhav). In the state of ecstasy while shedding incessant tears, he sometimes dances in uninhibited enthusiasm, at other times he says something incoherent, sings, laughs continuously and other times He swoons unconscious. At those times divinity permeates the atmosphere and even an ordinary devotee gets imbibed with love and naturally starts shedding tears. When Shri Maharaj Ji comes out of that trance, while wiping tears from His transcendental eyes, for a few moments, He looks around in a state of surprise, as if trying to figure out in which undesirable world has He just stepped in. Devotees are always desirous of seeing Him in that state.
3. all the other Jagadgurus embraced one aspect off the Vedic philosophy and emphasized only on that. They disseminated and publicized only that aspect and proved that, that ideology alone is true. E.g. Adi Jagadguru Sharkaracharya Ji Maharaj, spread the word on non-duality. Similarly, other Jagadgurus talked about distinct-duality (vishishta-dwait), duality-nonduality and duality etc. They wrote articles to prove that alone. Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj is the first Jagadguru who has welcomed the thoughts of all prior Jagadgurus and other saints. With surprising critiques and proof from the scriptures, He has proved the relevance of all schools of thought and reconciled the seemingly contradictory thoughts. He has further presented a universalized view of all philosophies. He has also highlighted the benefits that an ordinary soul can derive from following the path of God and explained in great detail, how those benefits can be achieved. This was an incomprehensibly difficult job. And He accomplished it with great ease and separated wheat from the chaff. That is why Kashi Vidwat Parishat crowned Him with the title Nikhildarshan-samanvay-acharya (reconciler of all philosophies according to the scriptures and Vedas.)
4. Whenever such saints descend on this earth, they have one sole purpose; to restore religion to its original pure form, from the prevalent mutilated form, and to reveal the path of welfare to aspiring souls. Jagadguru Shri Kripalu ji Maharaj has removed the word sectarianism from His vocabulary by establishing that the original Guru of every sect is Shri Krishn. Hence, there is no need to use the names of the gurus in the middle as a way to differentiate oneself from others. Instead, use the name of Shri Radha-Krishna, without any bias and perform selfless-devotion only to Them. That is the easiest and the best way to attain personal well-being. He emphasizes on removing the ritualistic actions from devotion. He cautions to not fall in the trap of elaborate process of ritualistic form of worship (karm marg) or follow the hardships of path of knowledge (gyan marg). He preaches that merely by selflessly loving God, considering Him to be your only asset, with the feeling of complete surrender to Him, God will have mercy on you and will accept you, just like a mother accepts her child, ignoring all his shortcomings and without expecting anything from him. This is the basis of devotion. In this manner, the path illuminated by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj is in step with the Vedic ideology. Yet it is un-contaminated by all pomposity. That is why this path is apt for modern times and speedily grants the ultimate goal of life with much ease. Recognizing this fact, Kashi Vidwat Parishat crowned Him with the title Vedmarg Pratishthapan-Acharya (Supreme teacher who competently establishes a path of God realization according to Vedic philosophy) and Sanaatan Vedic Dharm Sthapan Sat-Sampraday-Param-Acharya (Supreme teacher who promotes Sanaatan Vedic religion and the Supreme master of all the authentic schools of philosophy). No words can be found, in any dictionary, to describe such a personality who, with His out of this world and unprecedented knowledge and His Divine effulgence and voice, impressed the 500 top-notch scholars of Kashi Vidwat Parishat and shattered their pride of knowledge. With the title of Jagadgurruttam the scholars, probably, tried to say that He knows the essence of all schools of philosophies and is the ultimate reconciler of all of them. Amidst all Jagadgurus, His supremacy is established by merely knowing that all prior Jagadgurus had to defeat all contemporary scholarly opponents to be crowned Jagadguru, but in the case of Jagadguru Shri Kripalu ji Maharaj, all scholars heard his lectures and knelt before Him and accepted defeat without getting into a debate with Him. He is the first Jagadguru who attained the title of Jagadguruttam without a scriptural debate.
येनास्मिन्निखिलेपि भारतमहादेशे विशेषोल्लस- त्प्रज्ञेनोज्जवलभक्तियोगकलितं संस्थापितं मण्डलम्।
धर्मोद्धारधुरीणभावमनिशं कीर्त्त्या समं बर्द्धयन् धन्यो मान्य जगद्गुरुत्तमपदैः सोयं समभ्यर्च्यते।।५।।
yenāsminnikhilepi bhāratamahādeśe viśeṣollasa- tprajñenojjavalabhaktiyogakalitaṃ saṃsthāpitaṃ maṇḍalam। dharmoddhāradhurīṇabhāvamaniśaṃ kīrttyā samaṃ barddhayan dhanyo mānya jagadguruttamapadaiḥ soyaṃ samabhyarcyate।।5।।
धर्मोद्धारधुरीणभावमनिशं कीर्त्त्या समं बर्द्धयन् धन्यो मान्य जगद्गुरुत्तमपदैः सोयं समभ्यर्च्यते।।५।।
yenāsminnikhilepi bhāratamahādeśe viśeṣollasa- tprajñenojjavalabhaktiyogakalitaṃ saṃsthāpitaṃ maṇḍalam। dharmoddhāradhurīṇabhāvamaniśaṃ kīrttyā samaṃ barddhayan dhanyo mānya jagadguruttamapadaiḥ soyaṃ samabhyarcyate।।5।।
The president of Kashi Vidwat Parishat declared “Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj is equipped with the highest level of knowledge, in India. He has established “Bhaktiyog Mandal”, an organization illuminated with the real light of devotion. His intense desire to establish and promote ‘Dharm’ is increasing by the day along with His ever increasing fame. Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj is GREAT! He is being conferred the honorable title of “Best of all Jagadgurus.” There are several other characteristics, which are rare elsewhere. In other words, in the history of Jagadgururs, there are several other incidents that have happened for the first time, only in the life of Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj.
a. He is the first Jagadguru, who has no Spiritual Master and He himself is Jagadguruttam.
b. He is the first Jagadguru, who has not made a single disciple and still has hundreds and thousands of followers.
c. He is the first Jagadguru, in whose lifetime; the 50th anniversary of the honoring of the title of Jagadguru was celebrated.
d. He is the first Jagadguru, who holds the highest stature in both knowledge and devotion. And He is distributing it without any inhibitions.
e. He is the first Jagadguru, who travelled across the oceans to the western countries to preach.
f. He is the first Jagadguru, who propagated the Madhurya bhav bhakti of Shri Radha – Krishna and sweet Radha name has become known in the whole world.
g. He is the first Jagadguru, who has taught the practical way of concentrating one’s mind on God.
h. All prior Jagadgurus have stated that devotion has to be performed by the mind. It is also referred to as thinking about God, mediating on God, remembering God, longing for Him. But Shri Maharaj Ji, for the first time told how to meditate on God. He even coined a phase for it called Roopdhyan. He clarified that the consequence of this meditation can only be attained if you choose a desirable form of God and focus your mind only on that form. Focusing your mind on one of the forms of God is called remembrance or devotion. Because by focusing on one form of God, mind will not run around in the world. Furnishing with proof from the writings in Bhakti Rasamrit Sindu, Narad Bhakti Sootra, Brahm Sootra, Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj, for the first time elaborated on Roopdhyan in His book “Prem Ras Siddhant”. Various aspects include “We have never seen God, so how can we focus on His Divine form”, “what is the science of that”, “how to practice it” etc. Such a form of mediation cannot be found in any other scripture.
i. He is the first Jagadguru, who, even at the age of 88, effortlessly quotes the numbers of the verses of Upanishads, Bhagavat etc. Puranas, Brahm-sutra and Geeta and so fast with absolute accuracy, that the listeners are forced to accept the fact that He is the personification of a theoretical and practical saint.
Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj was honoured with the title of Jagadguruttam on 14th Jan 1957, the auspicious day of Makar Sankranti. Since then we celebrate this day as the “Jagadguru Divas”. On 14th Jan 2011, it is the 54th Jagadguru Divas. We wish all readers a very happy “Jagadguru Divas” and true quest for divine love.
a. He is the first Jagadguru, who has no Spiritual Master and He himself is Jagadguruttam.
b. He is the first Jagadguru, who has not made a single disciple and still has hundreds and thousands of followers.
c. He is the first Jagadguru, in whose lifetime; the 50th anniversary of the honoring of the title of Jagadguru was celebrated.
d. He is the first Jagadguru, who holds the highest stature in both knowledge and devotion. And He is distributing it without any inhibitions.
e. He is the first Jagadguru, who travelled across the oceans to the western countries to preach.
f. He is the first Jagadguru, who propagated the Madhurya bhav bhakti of Shri Radha – Krishna and sweet Radha name has become known in the whole world.
g. He is the first Jagadguru, who has taught the practical way of concentrating one’s mind on God.
h. All prior Jagadgurus have stated that devotion has to be performed by the mind. It is also referred to as thinking about God, mediating on God, remembering God, longing for Him. But Shri Maharaj Ji, for the first time told how to meditate on God. He even coined a phase for it called Roopdhyan. He clarified that the consequence of this meditation can only be attained if you choose a desirable form of God and focus your mind only on that form. Focusing your mind on one of the forms of God is called remembrance or devotion. Because by focusing on one form of God, mind will not run around in the world. Furnishing with proof from the writings in Bhakti Rasamrit Sindu, Narad Bhakti Sootra, Brahm Sootra, Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj, for the first time elaborated on Roopdhyan in His book “Prem Ras Siddhant”. Various aspects include “We have never seen God, so how can we focus on His Divine form”, “what is the science of that”, “how to practice it” etc. Such a form of mediation cannot be found in any other scripture.
i. He is the first Jagadguru, who, even at the age of 88, effortlessly quotes the numbers of the verses of Upanishads, Bhagavat etc. Puranas, Brahm-sutra and Geeta and so fast with absolute accuracy, that the listeners are forced to accept the fact that He is the personification of a theoretical and practical saint.
Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj was honoured with the title of Jagadguruttam on 14th Jan 1957, the auspicious day of Makar Sankranti. Since then we celebrate this day as the “Jagadguru Divas”. On 14th Jan 2011, it is the 54th Jagadguru Divas. We wish all readers a very happy “Jagadguru Divas” and true quest for divine love.
- A Saint is a God realized soul.
- A Saint, inwardly, always remains absorbed in divine love ecstasy, yet most of the time, outwardly he behaves normally i.e. like other material beings.
- A Saint always hides his divinity, yet inconceivable symptoms of divine ecstasy, which manifest in his body, reveal the true state of his being. (1)(2)
- A Saint’s nature is like that of an innocent child, while He is fully knowledgeable about all scriptures.
- A Saint teaches how to perform practical form of true devotion. He does not give any importance to ritualistic form of devotion.
- A Saint never promises or grants blessings to achieve worldly wealth.(3)
- A Saint never initiates a spiritual aspirant with Mantras. (3)
- A Saint never pretends or shows miracles to prove Himself to be a real Saint. (3)(4)
- A Saint is very forgiving by nature.
- A Saint may live in a luxurious palace or in a forest; any level of material allurement cannot entice him.
- A Saint’s only purpose of life is to turn material beings towards God, to help them attain unlimited, everlasting, ever increasing divine bliss.
- A Saint is completely oblivious to respect, disrespect, admiration and abuse. He is always happy in all situations.
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Synopsis of lecture delivered in North Texas Hindu Mandir of Dallas (July 31 to Aug 1, 2010)
Didi ji explained that “devotion” means attaching one’s mind to God. Mere physical actions like performing Arti by hands, offering food to God or singing bhajans are not called devotion. For performing these actions one has to engage sensory organs like hands and senses like touch, smell etc. According to scriptures the mind is the doer of all actions while senses are not. Hence, if mind is not focusing on God while performing these actions then these actions are not called devotion. While mind is engaged, if you engage your senses and sensory organs as well, then it is beneficial.
There are 4 pillars of devotion.
1. Devotion should be performed to both Guru and God, considering them to be equal in all respect.
2. Devotion should be performed at all times.
3. Devotion should be performed exclusively to one form of God. No demi-gods should be worshipped.
4. Devotion should be free from all desires of self-pleasure. Devotion should be performed with the sole aim of pleasing your Deity.
Didi ji explained that performing devotion as described above may initially sound impossible. But it can be easily accomplished by practice. Uncountable people such as Tulsidas, Soordas, Meera, Kabir and Nanak have tried it and succeeded.
Didi ji, further explained the practical way of performing devotion. She explained that there are two forms of devotion - Karm Sanyas (performing devotion in solitude) and Karm Yog (performing devotion while doing worldly duties). Karm Sanyas devotion can be performed by creating a quiet secluded place of worship in your home with picture of your Guru and your chosen Deity. One should exercise discipline while practicing to perform devotion. One should choose a specific time. During that time practice focusing your mind on the All–Attractive Divine Form of God and Guru, Their Divine-Abodes, Their Divine Pastimes (Roopdhyan). Practicing devotion in seclusion is essential. Just like for setting yogurt, one has to heat the milk, add the inoculum and then set it aside in a warm place. If one does not set it aside the milk cannot be tuned into yogurt. Then all day long practice remembering that God and Guru are watching you. When you remember that they are watching you then you will try your best to please them. Remembering God and Guru all day long in this manner is called Karm Yog. With practice realizing that God is with you all the time noting down all your actions, you will refrain from performing actions (by your mind) that are unpleasing to God. With constant remembrance of God the material attachments will decrease and one day your mind with become completely devoid of all material attachments.
On that blessed moment Guru will make your mind Divine and will pour the God’s love in it. Then on you will always see the Divine form of God.
Didi ji explained that “devotion” means attaching one’s mind to God. Mere physical actions like performing Arti by hands, offering food to God or singing bhajans are not called devotion. For performing these actions one has to engage sensory organs like hands and senses like touch, smell etc. According to scriptures the mind is the doer of all actions while senses are not. Hence, if mind is not focusing on God while performing these actions then these actions are not called devotion. While mind is engaged, if you engage your senses and sensory organs as well, then it is beneficial.
There are 4 pillars of devotion.
1. Devotion should be performed to both Guru and God, considering them to be equal in all respect.
2. Devotion should be performed at all times.
3. Devotion should be performed exclusively to one form of God. No demi-gods should be worshipped.
4. Devotion should be free from all desires of self-pleasure. Devotion should be performed with the sole aim of pleasing your Deity.
Didi ji explained that performing devotion as described above may initially sound impossible. But it can be easily accomplished by practice. Uncountable people such as Tulsidas, Soordas, Meera, Kabir and Nanak have tried it and succeeded.
Didi ji, further explained the practical way of performing devotion. She explained that there are two forms of devotion - Karm Sanyas (performing devotion in solitude) and Karm Yog (performing devotion while doing worldly duties). Karm Sanyas devotion can be performed by creating a quiet secluded place of worship in your home with picture of your Guru and your chosen Deity. One should exercise discipline while practicing to perform devotion. One should choose a specific time. During that time practice focusing your mind on the All–Attractive Divine Form of God and Guru, Their Divine-Abodes, Their Divine Pastimes (Roopdhyan). Practicing devotion in seclusion is essential. Just like for setting yogurt, one has to heat the milk, add the inoculum and then set it aside in a warm place. If one does not set it aside the milk cannot be tuned into yogurt. Then all day long practice remembering that God and Guru are watching you. When you remember that they are watching you then you will try your best to please them. Remembering God and Guru all day long in this manner is called Karm Yog. With practice realizing that God is with you all the time noting down all your actions, you will refrain from performing actions (by your mind) that are unpleasing to God. With constant remembrance of God the material attachments will decrease and one day your mind with become completely devoid of all material attachments.
On that blessed moment Guru will make your mind Divine and will pour the God’s love in it. Then on you will always see the Divine form of God.
Purpose of New Year Celebrations Generally, we celebrate the last night or the first morning of the upcoming year with great enthusiasm without really understanding the purpose behind the celebration. Let us take a few minutes to seriously ponder on the reasons behind any celebration.
The main reason of a celebration is to mark the achievement of victory or success in a very difficult endeavor or after repeated attempts over a long period of time etc. On the eve of every New Year, contrary to achieving something, we lose one more year of our life. Instead of receiving a special gift, we move closer to losing the most precious gift offered to us by God - the gift of the human form, which was awarded to us with the sole purpose of utilizing it to attain unlimited and everlasting divine bliss.
On the eve of the New Year, did we accomplish the purpose of our life? If not, then what are we celebrating?
There are countless souls obtaining 8.4 million forms of life. Of those, most fortunate are the ones who attain human form but they are much fewer in number as compared to other forms of life. We can count the number of human beings on earth but cannot possibly count the number of creatures living in a small patch of a dirty drain or found in a bowl of yogurt. Remember, human form is the only form of life wherein we can differentiate between good and bad, real and unreal, everlasting and temporary. Only human beings have the power to perform actions and get the result of all their actions performed knowingly or unknowingly. Despite this, we are careless and keep spending the precious time of our precious life without any purpose and without worrying about our unbearable, undesirable and miserable future.
Should we feel sorry or rejoice on our loss and downfall?
As a wise human being, we should be vigilant. If we want to celebrate New Year, we should contemplate on how we can earn that everlasting, unlimited wealth, so as to make our future bright and happy.
For example, we should seriously ponder over these questions:
1. What is the purpose of my life?
2. How can I utilize my holidays to attain everlasting bliss?
3. What are the dangers of engaging in material amusement only?
4. What should I do to repent for losing the precious time of human life?
5. How can I be eternally free from the miseries of life?
6. Where can I get the best answers to the above questions?
My suggestions:
1. Spend most of your time in a spiritual environment.
2. Realize the grace of God in our life.
3. Earnestly do Sadhana - Daily Devotion in a pre-decided, isolated area of your house, remembering His form that appeals to you.
4. Attend Spiritual retreats.
5. Associate yourself with a real saint.
Wishing you swift spiritual progress in this New Year!
The main reason of a celebration is to mark the achievement of victory or success in a very difficult endeavor or after repeated attempts over a long period of time etc. On the eve of every New Year, contrary to achieving something, we lose one more year of our life. Instead of receiving a special gift, we move closer to losing the most precious gift offered to us by God - the gift of the human form, which was awarded to us with the sole purpose of utilizing it to attain unlimited and everlasting divine bliss.
On the eve of the New Year, did we accomplish the purpose of our life? If not, then what are we celebrating?
There are countless souls obtaining 8.4 million forms of life. Of those, most fortunate are the ones who attain human form but they are much fewer in number as compared to other forms of life. We can count the number of human beings on earth but cannot possibly count the number of creatures living in a small patch of a dirty drain or found in a bowl of yogurt. Remember, human form is the only form of life wherein we can differentiate between good and bad, real and unreal, everlasting and temporary. Only human beings have the power to perform actions and get the result of all their actions performed knowingly or unknowingly. Despite this, we are careless and keep spending the precious time of our precious life without any purpose and without worrying about our unbearable, undesirable and miserable future.
Should we feel sorry or rejoice on our loss and downfall?
As a wise human being, we should be vigilant. If we want to celebrate New Year, we should contemplate on how we can earn that everlasting, unlimited wealth, so as to make our future bright and happy.
For example, we should seriously ponder over these questions:
1. What is the purpose of my life?
2. How can I utilize my holidays to attain everlasting bliss?
3. What are the dangers of engaging in material amusement only?
4. What should I do to repent for losing the precious time of human life?
5. How can I be eternally free from the miseries of life?
6. Where can I get the best answers to the above questions?
My suggestions:
1. Spend most of your time in a spiritual environment.
2. Realize the grace of God in our life.
3. Earnestly do Sadhana - Daily Devotion in a pre-decided, isolated area of your house, remembering His form that appeals to you.
4. Attend Spiritual retreats.
5. Associate yourself with a real saint.
Wishing you swift spiritual progress in this New Year!
Kid's Story
Little Kanhaiya is busy playing with His friends. Maiya Yashoda urges Him to drink milk, but He keeps ignoring her. Maiya Yashoda decides to play a little trick on Him. She asks, “Who will become my son?” Kanhaiya, wanting to outsmart Daau Bhaiya, immediately replies “I”. Next, when Kanhaiya and Daau Bhaiya sat in Yashoda Maiya's lap, then giving a hint that a good son should always listen to his parents, Maiya asked “Who will listen to me?” Before Dau Bhaiya could say something, Kanhaiya immediately said “I”.
Encouraged by Kanhaiya’s enthusiasm, Maiya Yashoda asked, “Who will drink the milk of Kajari (Amongst the 9 hundred thousand cows in Nand Baba's house, little Kanhaiya loved Kajari's milk the most).” Hearing this Kanhaiya ran away as He did not want to drink milk.
Maiya tried to coax and cajole Him into drinking milk, but He was not ready. She then came up with a clever plan, she declared, “Whoever drinks milk, his hair will grow very long.” Just like a parrot gets trapped in a net, Kanhaiya got trapped too. He started drinking milk with the hope that His hair will grow long. With every sip, He kept touching His hair to measure how fast it was growing. All His older friends - Shreedama, Dhansukh, Mansukh etc kept looking and laughing at His naïve-ness.
As He was about to finish the milk, Maiya started becoming tense, thinking how will she ever convince Him to drink milk again, if His hair does not grow long as promised. “Kripalu Ji” whispers a suggestion in Maiya's ear and she says, “Your hair will grow all the way to the nethermost planet (patal lok), only if You listen to me the first time and drink Your milk”.
How many kids do you know who listen to their parents the first time? Lord Krishna in His human leela is acting just like an ordinary kid. Since, He will pretty much never listen to His mother the first time, Yashoda Maiya is safe. What a clever plan!
Encouraged by Kanhaiya’s enthusiasm, Maiya Yashoda asked, “Who will drink the milk of Kajari (Amongst the 9 hundred thousand cows in Nand Baba's house, little Kanhaiya loved Kajari's milk the most).” Hearing this Kanhaiya ran away as He did not want to drink milk.
Maiya tried to coax and cajole Him into drinking milk, but He was not ready. She then came up with a clever plan, she declared, “Whoever drinks milk, his hair will grow very long.” Just like a parrot gets trapped in a net, Kanhaiya got trapped too. He started drinking milk with the hope that His hair will grow long. With every sip, He kept touching His hair to measure how fast it was growing. All His older friends - Shreedama, Dhansukh, Mansukh etc kept looking and laughing at His naïve-ness.
As He was about to finish the milk, Maiya started becoming tense, thinking how will she ever convince Him to drink milk again, if His hair does not grow long as promised. “Kripalu Ji” whispers a suggestion in Maiya's ear and she says, “Your hair will grow all the way to the nethermost planet (patal lok), only if You listen to me the first time and drink Your milk”.
How many kids do you know who listen to their parents the first time? Lord Krishna in His human leela is acting just like an ordinary kid. Since, He will pretty much never listen to His mother the first time, Yashoda Maiya is safe. What a clever plan!
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