A DIVINE MESSAGE
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2012 New Year
Philosophy
Translation of a short speech given by Jagadguru Swami Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj
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हरि गुरु भजु नित, गोविन्द राधे । भाव निष्काम अनन्य बना दे ।
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hari guru bhaju nita, govinda rādhe । bhāva niṣkāma ananya banā de ।
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This couplet is the essence of all the scriptures and the Vedas. An aspirant of devotion must assimilate and remember it all the times, since there is no knowledge beyond it. Shri Kripalu Ji challenges that “if someone claims there is any knowledge beyond this, he should come and see me.”
There are a staggering number of Indian scriptures. You would be hard-pressed to read through them in thousands of years. That is how vast the ocean of Indian scriptures is! Understanding them on your own accord is impossible.
I am summarizing all those scriptures in my discourses under the title “Mein Kaun Mera Kaun” being aired on TV. In this series, I am presenting thousands of quotations from various scriptures quoting their numbers as well. But the gist of all of them is contained in this one couplet.
There are a staggering number of Indian scriptures. You would be hard-pressed to read through them in thousands of years. That is how vast the ocean of Indian scriptures is! Understanding them on your own accord is impossible.
I am summarizing all those scriptures in my discourses under the title “Mein Kaun Mera Kaun” being aired on TV. In this series, I am presenting thousands of quotations from various scriptures quoting their numbers as well. But the gist of all of them is contained in this one couplet.
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मोरे मन प्रभु अस बिस्वासा राम ते अधिक राम कर दासा ।
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more mana prabhu asa bisvāsā rāma te adhika rāma kara dāsā ।
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There are four important points in this couplet. The first one is Hari Guru Bhaju. Our scriptures say that just by worshipping God, one cannot realize God. One must perform devotion to the Guru in exactly the same way as God.
God and Guru are the same. Neither one is superior to the other. However, God gives more importance to the Guru
God and Guru are the same. Neither one is superior to the other. However, God gives more importance to the Guru
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मद्भक्तपूजाभ्यधिका सर्वभूतेषु मन्मति: ॥
भा 1.19.21 |
madbhaktapūjābhyadhikā sarvabhūteṣu manmati: ॥
bhā 1.19.21 |
Lord Krishna says
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निरपेक्षं मुनिं शान्तं निर्वैरं समदर्शनम्।
गीता 11.14.16 |
nirapekṣaṁ muniṁ śāntaṁ nirvairaṁ samadarśanam।
gītā 11.14.16 |
The worship of my devotee is greater than My worship. My devotee’s devotee is dearer to Me than My devotee. One attains the result of My worship by worshipping My devotee. Worshipping Me alone is fruitless.
Shri Krishna said to Uddhav -
Shri Krishna said to Uddhav -
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निरपेक्षं मुनिं शान्तं ...
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nirapekṣaṁ muniṁ śāntaṁ ...
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I follow my devotees. Why? To protect them? No, I follow them so that their foot dust may fall on Me and I become pure. God gives so much importance to His devotees !
But, the fact remains that no one is Higher than God. At the time of God realization; God gives all His knowledge and bliss to the devotee. Thus the devotee becomes equivalent to God. See, the touch stone turns iron into gold not into touch-stone. However, God is so benevolent that He turns His devotee into a touch-stone, just like Himself.
As Narad Ji wrote in aphorism 41 of Narad Bhakti Sutra
But, the fact remains that no one is Higher than God. At the time of God realization; God gives all His knowledge and bliss to the devotee. Thus the devotee becomes equivalent to God. See, the touch stone turns iron into gold not into touch-stone. However, God is so benevolent that He turns His devotee into a touch-stone, just like Himself.
As Narad Ji wrote in aphorism 41 of Narad Bhakti Sutra
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तस्मिंस्तज्जने भेदाभावात्॥
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tasmiṁstajjane bhedābhāvāt॥
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There is no difference between God and Saint. That’s why the couplet starts with “Hari Guru Bhaju”. You know the meaning of “Bhaju”. Bhaju means “attachment of mind”. The senses will also be used, but mind is primary. This is called love in worldly terms. For example there is a difference when the mother cooks for her son versus when the chef cooks for the family. The difference is not in the quality or taste of the food. The difference is in the feeling with which the food was cooked. The mother cooks the food lovingly as per her child’s liking and taste while the chef cooks delicious food out of fear to save his job.
So, God does not pay any attention to the devotion, which is performed by our senses alone. Chanting “Radhey Radhey” while the mind is thinking of husband, wife, children and grand children is futile. It is merely a physical exercise. It is not devotion (Bhakti). It is similar to giving marching orders to someone, whose legs are tied with an iron shackle. Thus bhaj means attachment or love of mind.
So, the first important point is to worship God and Guru with the same intensity and feeling. Second, the worship should be (int) nit or Continuous. Attachment of mind to God should not be limited to a few hours or 23 hours. It should be incessant. Shri Krishna said in the Gita, “Arjun if you keep your mind focused on Me alone all the time, while fighting and killing the enemies, you will get the result of worshipping Me. Remembering God continuously comes with practice. It does not happen in one day. The area of our attachment is limited to 10-12 people only i.e. parents, husband, wife and children. That’s all. Our mind is entangled only in this small area. And we have been repeating the same mistake in each life. We have spent countless lives. God is not senior to us. This human form is very rare. But we have kept ourselves attached to the same 8-10 relatives and pretended devotion to God. We went to various temples and to various saints. We did lots of jap (rotation of rosary beads), recitation of verses and physical worship, while our mind remained attached to our kith and kin.
So you have to remember God and Guru continuously. Like when you go out on the road, you are very conscious about the traffic coming from all directions, while still being focused on your destination. A little negligence may cause a big accident. So the second most important thing is continuity. This has been repeated by Lord Krishna many times in the Gita.
The third important point is selflessness or Nishkaamta. Generally people who perform Bhakti (devotion) are not Nishkaam (selfless) i.e. their devotion is not devoid of material desires. People pray to God for attainment of material objects-fame, wealth, son, good job etc. In many famous temples, people make big donations. Why? To get their wish or ‘mannat’ fulfilled. Why should there be a ‘mannat’? We are supposed to abandon love of material possessions to love God whole-heartedly. Instead we pray to God to get more material pleasures! Isn’t this sheer insanity? Who would ask for shoes standing in a sweet shop? If he does, wouldn’t he be considered insane.
God is the ocean of bliss. And you are asking Him for material gratifications, which will give you nothing other than misery. You are asking for misery standing at the doorsteps of personified bliss.
So Nishkaam Bhakti is essential. No material desire should exist in your heart. That is love. Love means giving without any trace of desire of getting something in turn. We have never learnt this ideology of love. The cause of dispute between parents, husband, wife and children in our day to day life is the desire of attaining self- happiness. We all wish to attain our own happiness only. And that is because we have a firm belief in our mind that there is happiness in this world. Consequently we accuse our family members, saying that my wife is bad, my husband is bad, my son is bad. Nobody is bad. They are all trying to get their own happiness, just like you are. So the third condition is Nishkaamta.
The fourth important point is Ananyata. What is Ananyata? We have 2 things. One is the ocean of bliss and the other one is the source of unlimited miseries. One is the area of God and the other one is the area of Maya. What do we want? Happiness? That is the area of God. We must keep our minds engaged in the area of God only. It should not be attached anywhere in the world.
But the reality is that we claim to love God but at the same time we love our parents, wife, husband and children – the worldly relatives. We try to befool both. Worldly people can be easily befooled because they are not Omniscient. We cannot play the same trick with God. He is sitting inside our heart and notices everything. Due to disbelief we try to play tricks with Him as well. We say at the temple, you alone are my mother. What about the physical mother who is sitting in your home? We love her too. Yet we hide it from God. It gets revealed when we cry upon their death. This trick doesn’t work in the area of God. God expects us to love Him or His devotees alone. Attachment with any other celestial God Goddesses, human being or demon is prohibited in Bhakti. We can attain divine grace only after completely surrendering to God.
The essence of all scriptures is contained in these four important points. So remember these 4 important points: Perform devotion to God and Guru, Continuously, Selflessly and Exclusively, and apply them practically in your life too. As a baby you had to practice to roll on one side, to sit, to stand and to walk etc. You have forgotten all about your efforts as a baby, but everything happened only by practice. In the same way we have to practice to remember God with the help of these four fundamental points.
So, God does not pay any attention to the devotion, which is performed by our senses alone. Chanting “Radhey Radhey” while the mind is thinking of husband, wife, children and grand children is futile. It is merely a physical exercise. It is not devotion (Bhakti). It is similar to giving marching orders to someone, whose legs are tied with an iron shackle. Thus bhaj means attachment or love of mind.
So, the first important point is to worship God and Guru with the same intensity and feeling. Second, the worship should be (int) nit or Continuous. Attachment of mind to God should not be limited to a few hours or 23 hours. It should be incessant. Shri Krishna said in the Gita, “Arjun if you keep your mind focused on Me alone all the time, while fighting and killing the enemies, you will get the result of worshipping Me. Remembering God continuously comes with practice. It does not happen in one day. The area of our attachment is limited to 10-12 people only i.e. parents, husband, wife and children. That’s all. Our mind is entangled only in this small area. And we have been repeating the same mistake in each life. We have spent countless lives. God is not senior to us. This human form is very rare. But we have kept ourselves attached to the same 8-10 relatives and pretended devotion to God. We went to various temples and to various saints. We did lots of jap (rotation of rosary beads), recitation of verses and physical worship, while our mind remained attached to our kith and kin.
So you have to remember God and Guru continuously. Like when you go out on the road, you are very conscious about the traffic coming from all directions, while still being focused on your destination. A little negligence may cause a big accident. So the second most important thing is continuity. This has been repeated by Lord Krishna many times in the Gita.
The third important point is selflessness or Nishkaamta. Generally people who perform Bhakti (devotion) are not Nishkaam (selfless) i.e. their devotion is not devoid of material desires. People pray to God for attainment of material objects-fame, wealth, son, good job etc. In many famous temples, people make big donations. Why? To get their wish or ‘mannat’ fulfilled. Why should there be a ‘mannat’? We are supposed to abandon love of material possessions to love God whole-heartedly. Instead we pray to God to get more material pleasures! Isn’t this sheer insanity? Who would ask for shoes standing in a sweet shop? If he does, wouldn’t he be considered insane.
God is the ocean of bliss. And you are asking Him for material gratifications, which will give you nothing other than misery. You are asking for misery standing at the doorsteps of personified bliss.
So Nishkaam Bhakti is essential. No material desire should exist in your heart. That is love. Love means giving without any trace of desire of getting something in turn. We have never learnt this ideology of love. The cause of dispute between parents, husband, wife and children in our day to day life is the desire of attaining self- happiness. We all wish to attain our own happiness only. And that is because we have a firm belief in our mind that there is happiness in this world. Consequently we accuse our family members, saying that my wife is bad, my husband is bad, my son is bad. Nobody is bad. They are all trying to get their own happiness, just like you are. So the third condition is Nishkaamta.
The fourth important point is Ananyata. What is Ananyata? We have 2 things. One is the ocean of bliss and the other one is the source of unlimited miseries. One is the area of God and the other one is the area of Maya. What do we want? Happiness? That is the area of God. We must keep our minds engaged in the area of God only. It should not be attached anywhere in the world.
But the reality is that we claim to love God but at the same time we love our parents, wife, husband and children – the worldly relatives. We try to befool both. Worldly people can be easily befooled because they are not Omniscient. We cannot play the same trick with God. He is sitting inside our heart and notices everything. Due to disbelief we try to play tricks with Him as well. We say at the temple, you alone are my mother. What about the physical mother who is sitting in your home? We love her too. Yet we hide it from God. It gets revealed when we cry upon their death. This trick doesn’t work in the area of God. God expects us to love Him or His devotees alone. Attachment with any other celestial God Goddesses, human being or demon is prohibited in Bhakti. We can attain divine grace only after completely surrendering to God.
The essence of all scriptures is contained in these four important points. So remember these 4 important points: Perform devotion to God and Guru, Continuously, Selflessly and Exclusively, and apply them practically in your life too. As a baby you had to practice to roll on one side, to sit, to stand and to walk etc. You have forgotten all about your efforts as a baby, but everything happened only by practice. In the same way we have to practice to remember God with the help of these four fundamental points.
- A particle of the foot dust of Shri Gurudev Braj Banchary
Philosophy
How Does God's Descension Benefit Us?
Mystery of divine descensions - Part 3
During descension period of Lord Ram and Lord Krishna there pastimes were such that common man found it hard to believe that he was a normal human being. Seeing his actions believing that He was God was out of question. For example, when Sita Ji was abducted by Ravan, Shri Ram was so grief stricken that He lost all sensibilities and asked the trees, mountains, animals and birds the whereabouts of Sita Ji.
रे वृक्षाः पर्वतस्थागिरिगहनलतावायुना वीज्यमाना, रामोऽहं व्याकुलात्मा दशरथतनयः शोकशुक्रेण दग्धः ।
बिम्बोष्ठी चारूनेत्री सुविपुलजघना बद्धनागेन्द्रकाञ्ची, हा सीता केन नीता मम ह्0र्दयगता को भवान्केनदृष्टा ।
बा. रामायण
बिम्बोष्ठी चारूनेत्री सुविपुलजघना बद्धनागेन्द्रकाञ्ची, हा सीता केन नीता मम ह्0र्दयगता को भवान्केनदृष्टा ।
बा. रामायण
If a family member is kidnapped, even an ordinary person would not ask the speechless trees and mountains the whereabouts of the missing person. Ram is God, Almighty, Omnipresent and Omniscient! He should have known the abductor and the location of Sita Ji.
Although, it was just a pastime of almighty Shri Ram and this fact was revealed when He recognized Parvati Ji [1] immediately when She appeared in the guise of Sita Ji. Yet it creates a doubt in our mind about His divinity and these doubts result in hellish sufferings [2].
Shri Krishna’s pastimes of stealing butter, cheer haran (stealing the clothes of Gopis) [3] and Maharas etc. create the same kind of doubts in our mind. This is the only reason that we could not benefit from His divine presence in both descensions.
The third and the most authentic reason of the descension of God is His nature of mercy on us. During His descension period many were bewildered upon seeing the divine pastimes. He graces even those people. Hence the Bhagavat says -
Although, it was just a pastime of almighty Shri Ram and this fact was revealed when He recognized Parvati Ji [1] immediately when She appeared in the guise of Sita Ji. Yet it creates a doubt in our mind about His divinity and these doubts result in hellish sufferings [2].
Shri Krishna’s pastimes of stealing butter, cheer haran (stealing the clothes of Gopis) [3] and Maharas etc. create the same kind of doubts in our mind. This is the only reason that we could not benefit from His divine presence in both descensions.
The third and the most authentic reason of the descension of God is His nature of mercy on us. During His descension period many were bewildered upon seeing the divine pastimes. He graces even those people. Hence the Bhagavat says -
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यश्च मूढ़तमो लोके यश्च बुद्धे: परं गत:। तावुभौ सुखमेधेते क्लिश्नात्यन्तरितो जनः ॥
भा 3.7.17 ॥ |
yaśca mūढ़tamo loke yaśca buddhe: paraṁ gata:। tāvubhau sukhamedhete kliśnātyantarito janaḥ ॥
bhā 3.7.17 ॥ |
"It is easy to deliver the most intelligent ones or the most innocent ones, but the average people suffer without any remedy". Because the brilliant ones can easily assimilate the philosophy, yet they are rare like Shankaracharya, Vallabhacharya etc. On the other hand the most ignorant people can admit their incompetence. They easily trust others and tend to follow the advice of others. Therefore, those naïve ones too can be easily delivered.
For example, there was a boy, who was very naïve and poor. Once he asked a priest of a temple, “I see you serving these idols every day. Why do you do all this?” The priest replied, “He is God, That’s why I serve Him everyday”. “Why?” asked the little boy.
The priest replied “If He gets pleased by my service, He will give me everything and I will become happy forever.”
The boy asked again with great astonishment, “Really? Can He make me happy too?”
The priest said,” Of course, if you also worship Him like me.” The innocent boy insisted that the priest give him an idol. The priest knew the boy cannot afford to buy an idol of God. So, just to get rid of him, the priest gave him an old toy idol of Shri Krishna and said to him, “He is your friend. If you please Him, He will provide you everything”.
The boy asked, “What should I do to please my friend?”
The priest, considering his ability, said, “Just burn one incense everyday in front of Him; He will be pleased very soon”. The poor boy brought the idol home and managed to buy a packet of incense. He faithfully burnt one incense everyday but he did not find any difference in his poor condition. After ten days the boy warned God, “I made you my friend based on the advice from the priest, since he assured me that you would help me as a good friend. But, it seems you are not a good friend at all. I will watch for couple of more days. Then I will bring another friend”.
But again the situation was same. In his disappointment he managed to bring another idol of Shri Krishna and replaced the old one with the new one. He put the older one aside as if it was now rejected. But when he burned the incense the scented fumes continued to go towards the older one. He changed the direction of incense and also the direction of the older idol several times, saying, “No, You can’t enjoy the fragrance anymore. I burned it for my new friend only.” Yet the fumes still went towards the older idol. Then He thought, Krishna is very stubborn and selfish so Krishna would not listen to me. He brought some cotton and inserted it in the nose of the older idol. Still the fume continued to go in the same direction. Being extremely displeased he brought more cotton and kept inserting it in the nose of older one. Eventually, Shri Krishna was pleased with the boy’s innocence and the firm faith that the idol was God himself and He appeared from the idol. He held the boy’s hand and said “What are you doing yaar! Do you want to kill your friend?
Thus his innocence and faith made him realize God.
But most of us, who neither accept our ignorance due to ego, nor are competent to comprehend the abstruse philosophy of the Vedas get stranded. It is for such people that God descends on earth. We do not get any benefit at the time of His descension but when He leaves this mortal world, He leaves behind His names, forms, pastimes, attributes, abodes and also His devotees. These devotees educate us of His divine relationship with us, the need to know Him, the path and methods to get to know Him to attain unlimited bliss. Then we, with the help of all what belongs to Him, remember God, practice devotion and become free from Maya. Most of His devotees such as Soor, Meera, Tulasi, Kabir, Nanak, Tukaram etc, realized God only by remembering His pastimes and names etc.
Thus, His descension makes it easy for ordinary beings to worship Him.
First, if God were to not take a form and descend, we would have to worship formless God, which is very difficult. The path of gyan teaches to worship formless God. The prerequisite to tread on this path is to be completely detached from the world. In other words, even the sudden loss of family, wealth, and job at the same time, must not perturb the devotee on the path of gyan (4). He should be completely neutral. It is very difficult for any material human being to be so.
Second, formless God has no name, form, attributes or pastimes. How can a person focus on Him? Lord Krishna said in Gita -
For example, there was a boy, who was very naïve and poor. Once he asked a priest of a temple, “I see you serving these idols every day. Why do you do all this?” The priest replied, “He is God, That’s why I serve Him everyday”. “Why?” asked the little boy.
The priest replied “If He gets pleased by my service, He will give me everything and I will become happy forever.”
The boy asked again with great astonishment, “Really? Can He make me happy too?”
The priest said,” Of course, if you also worship Him like me.” The innocent boy insisted that the priest give him an idol. The priest knew the boy cannot afford to buy an idol of God. So, just to get rid of him, the priest gave him an old toy idol of Shri Krishna and said to him, “He is your friend. If you please Him, He will provide you everything”.
The boy asked, “What should I do to please my friend?”
The priest, considering his ability, said, “Just burn one incense everyday in front of Him; He will be pleased very soon”. The poor boy brought the idol home and managed to buy a packet of incense. He faithfully burnt one incense everyday but he did not find any difference in his poor condition. After ten days the boy warned God, “I made you my friend based on the advice from the priest, since he assured me that you would help me as a good friend. But, it seems you are not a good friend at all. I will watch for couple of more days. Then I will bring another friend”.
But again the situation was same. In his disappointment he managed to bring another idol of Shri Krishna and replaced the old one with the new one. He put the older one aside as if it was now rejected. But when he burned the incense the scented fumes continued to go towards the older one. He changed the direction of incense and also the direction of the older idol several times, saying, “No, You can’t enjoy the fragrance anymore. I burned it for my new friend only.” Yet the fumes still went towards the older idol. Then He thought, Krishna is very stubborn and selfish so Krishna would not listen to me. He brought some cotton and inserted it in the nose of the older idol. Still the fume continued to go in the same direction. Being extremely displeased he brought more cotton and kept inserting it in the nose of older one. Eventually, Shri Krishna was pleased with the boy’s innocence and the firm faith that the idol was God himself and He appeared from the idol. He held the boy’s hand and said “What are you doing yaar! Do you want to kill your friend?
Thus his innocence and faith made him realize God.
But most of us, who neither accept our ignorance due to ego, nor are competent to comprehend the abstruse philosophy of the Vedas get stranded. It is for such people that God descends on earth. We do not get any benefit at the time of His descension but when He leaves this mortal world, He leaves behind His names, forms, pastimes, attributes, abodes and also His devotees. These devotees educate us of His divine relationship with us, the need to know Him, the path and methods to get to know Him to attain unlimited bliss. Then we, with the help of all what belongs to Him, remember God, practice devotion and become free from Maya. Most of His devotees such as Soor, Meera, Tulasi, Kabir, Nanak, Tukaram etc, realized God only by remembering His pastimes and names etc.
Thus, His descension makes it easy for ordinary beings to worship Him.
First, if God were to not take a form and descend, we would have to worship formless God, which is very difficult. The path of gyan teaches to worship formless God. The prerequisite to tread on this path is to be completely detached from the world. In other words, even the sudden loss of family, wealth, and job at the same time, must not perturb the devotee on the path of gyan (4). He should be completely neutral. It is very difficult for any material human being to be so.
Second, formless God has no name, form, attributes or pastimes. How can a person focus on Him? Lord Krishna said in Gita -
क्लेशोऽधिकतरस्तेषामव्यक्तासक्तचेतसाम् || अव्यक्ता हि गतिर्दु:खं देहवद्भिरवाप्यते || गीता 12.5||
The human beings are endowed with a form. They have a natural habit of loving things with form only. Therefore it is almost impossible for them to love formless entity.
Third, the final result after perfection of formless devotion is liberation, in which the devotee merges into the Supreme Being and thus becomes one with God. Then despite remaining in the ocean of bliss forever, he cannot enjoy the ever increasing divine bliss, because he becomes bliss himself. Then who will enjoy the bliss? He gets rid of miseries of the world forever, yet he has no possibility of enjoying the bliss. Thus the path of knowledge, which teaches to worship formless God, fulfills only half the goal of life. The more significant goal of enjoying ever increasing bliss remains unfulfilled.
So, God descends to bestow ever increasing divine love bliss, which is the highest goal of human life. Otherwise how could we know about personal forms of God and then how could we, who cannot be fully detached before commencement of practice of God-realization, cross the ocean of Maya?
In other words, God realization was quite impossible for an ordinary man. This is His mercy that He descends as a human being, acts like us to uplift us, gives us knowledge that He is formless but He can reveal Himself in countless forms. All His forms are divine with ever new and ever increasing bliss. He also tells us that constant remembrance of His divine names or pastimes or forms etc. may enable one to traverse the ocean of Maya.
The path of devotion needs no other knowledge, rituals or material aids. Just love God exclusively by heart and realize Him. He brings forth many other parts of philosophy through his pastimes or lifestyle to establish peace in life.
Third, the final result after perfection of formless devotion is liberation, in which the devotee merges into the Supreme Being and thus becomes one with God. Then despite remaining in the ocean of bliss forever, he cannot enjoy the ever increasing divine bliss, because he becomes bliss himself. Then who will enjoy the bliss? He gets rid of miseries of the world forever, yet he has no possibility of enjoying the bliss. Thus the path of knowledge, which teaches to worship formless God, fulfills only half the goal of life. The more significant goal of enjoying ever increasing bliss remains unfulfilled.
So, God descends to bestow ever increasing divine love bliss, which is the highest goal of human life. Otherwise how could we know about personal forms of God and then how could we, who cannot be fully detached before commencement of practice of God-realization, cross the ocean of Maya?
In other words, God realization was quite impossible for an ordinary man. This is His mercy that He descends as a human being, acts like us to uplift us, gives us knowledge that He is formless but He can reveal Himself in countless forms. All His forms are divine with ever new and ever increasing bliss. He also tells us that constant remembrance of His divine names or pastimes or forms etc. may enable one to traverse the ocean of Maya.
The path of devotion needs no other knowledge, rituals or material aids. Just love God exclusively by heart and realize Him. He brings forth many other parts of philosophy through his pastimes or lifestyle to establish peace in life.
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Philosophy
प्रेम मंदिर यमुना के मनोरम तट पर स्थित श्री वृन्दावन धाम श्रीकृष्ण भक्ति का एकमात्र केन्द्र है । जहाँ के पशु-पक्षी और लता पता भी श्री राधा कृष्ण के प्रेम से ओत-प्रोत हुये राधे-राधे का ही उच्चारण करते दिखाई देते हैं । जहाँ की परम पावन चरण रज में स्नान करने के लिये बड़े-बड़े योगीन्द्र मुनीन्द्र अमलात्मा परमहंस वरदान माँगकर वृक्ष लता आदि बनकर खड़े हैं । उसी ब्रजधाम में वर्तमान काल के रसिक शिरोमणि, संतध्वज जगद्गुरु श्री कृपालु जी महाराज ने प्रेम मंदिर की स्थापना करवा कर वृन्दाबन के सौंदर्य व गरिमा में चार चाँद लगा दिये हैं ।
श्री कृपालुजी महाराज, जिनको काशीविद्वत् परिषत् ने जगद्गुरूत्तम के साथ भक्तियोग रसावतार की उपाधि से भी अलंकृत किया है वे स्वयं अवध निवासी हैं तथापि इन्होंने १००८ ब्रज रससिक्त पदों की रचना अपने प्रेम रस मदिरा नामक ग्रंथ में ब्रजभाषा में की है । सभी पद भाषा-सौष्ठव एवं भाव की गहनता के दृष्टिकोण है से अनुपमेय व अद्वितीय हैं ।
ऐसे रसिक संत के द्वारा जब वृन्दाबन धाम में श्री राधाकृष्ण मंदिर की स्थापना कराई जाय और उसका नाम प्रेम मंदिर हो तो भला उस मंदिर की महिमा को बखानने में कौन समर्थ हो सकता है ?
तदपि कहे बिन रहा न कोई ।
श्रीकृष्ण की अनंत अचिन्त्य दिव्य शक्तियाँ हैं । जिनमें प्रधानभूता शक्ति है ह्लादिनी शक्ति ।
ह्लादिनी शक्ति की सारभूता शक्ति का नाम है 'प्रेम' । प्रेम की सर्वोच्च परिणिति का नाम है महाभाव और महाभाव की प्रकृष्ट अवस्था का नाम है अधिरूढ़ महाभाव और इसी अवस्था का प्रकृष्टतम् रूप है मादनाख्य महाभाव । प्रेम की इसी पराकाष्ठा का सर्ववंद्य नाम है 'श्रीराधा' । श्री राधा परात्पर ब्रह्म श्रीकृष्ण की परमान्तरङ्गा शक्ति हैं । अतः जहाँ श्री राधा कृष्ण अपने पर मोत्कृष्ट रूप से सदा उल्लसितहोकर मुक्तहस्त से अपने परम निष्काम प्रेम को उलीचते रहते हैं, वही है प्रेम मंदिर |
यह प्रियाप्रियतम श्रीराधामाधव का वह मनभाया धाम है जहाँ वे नित्य रास विहार करके अहर्निश प्रेमामृत का वर्षण करते रहते हैं और जहाँ श्री कृपालु महाप्रभु जैसे रसिक शिरोमणि संत एकमात्र श्रीराधा रानी की कृपा से साध्य महारास रस पाने के अधिकारित्व व तन्निमित्त साधना का प्रशिक्षण दे कर हजारों भक्तों के जीवन को धन्य बना रहे हैं ।
ब्रजधाम में स्थित ऐसे राधामाधव केलि केन्द्र का उद्घाटन १५, १६,१७ फरवरी २०१२ में होने जा रहा है । इस महत्तम ब्रज-उत्सव की प्रतीक्षा भला कौन नहीं कर रहा होगा ? गुप्त रूप से उपस्थित श्रीराधामाधव के समस्त परिकर, रसिक जन, ब्रह्मा, शंकर आदि, सनकादिक परमहंस व स्वर्गादिक लोको की अपसराएँ ब्रज चन्द्र युगल को रिझाने का सुअवसर पा कर, अपनी अपनी कलाओं का प्रदर्शन करने के लिये व्याकुलता से प्रतीक्षा कर रहे होंगे । इन सबकी अज्ञात उपस्थिति, साक्षाद् वेदों द्वारा मंत्रों की चतुर्दिक् प्रतिध्वनि, हजारों भक्तों की परम उत्साहमयी भीड़द्वारा श्री वृन्दाबन धाम की जो अद्वितीय शोभा होगी, वह युगयुगान्तर तक स्मरणीय रहेगी । वे भक्त जो वहाँ उपस्थित हो कर उस अलौकिक दृश्य का अवलोकन करेंगे उनके भाग्य की सराहना यदि स्वयं वृहस्पति हजारों मुख से करना चाहेंगे तो भी वह पूर्णतया सक्षम नहीं हो सकेंगे ।
ये तो मेरी क्षुद्र बुद्धि की सीमित कल्पना की परिधि है । इस उद् घाटन समारोह की अलौकिकता को यथार्थतः तो कोई रसिक संत ही समझसकता है और तदर्थ कुछ कह सकता है । यदि एक बूँद बराबर भी गुरुदेव कीकृपा हो जाय तो कदाचित् मैं भी उस अनिर्वचनीय अलौकिक ब्रज सौंदर्य व उस दिव्यातिदिव्य वाड्.मय का यथार्थ दर्शन कर सकूँ व इस भावी रस के सिंधु मे डूब सकूँ । यह उत्सव वस्तुतः श्री राधा कृपा उत्सव भी कहा जा सकता है।
अतएव श्री राधाकृष्ण कृपाभिलाषी समस्त भक्तों को जगद्गुरु कृपालु परिषद् की ओर से इस प्रेम मंदिर के उद्घाटन हेतु आयोजित महान् ब्रज- महोत्सव पर सादर आमंत्रण है ।
राधाकृष्ण स्वरूप प्रेम है, प्रेम रूप यह मंदिर जान, मंदिर ही गुरुवर स्वरूप है, जो रसिकन के जीवन प्राण ।
श्री कृपालुजी महाराज, जिनको काशीविद्वत् परिषत् ने जगद्गुरूत्तम के साथ भक्तियोग रसावतार की उपाधि से भी अलंकृत किया है वे स्वयं अवध निवासी हैं तथापि इन्होंने १००८ ब्रज रससिक्त पदों की रचना अपने प्रेम रस मदिरा नामक ग्रंथ में ब्रजभाषा में की है । सभी पद भाषा-सौष्ठव एवं भाव की गहनता के दृष्टिकोण है से अनुपमेय व अद्वितीय हैं ।
ऐसे रसिक संत के द्वारा जब वृन्दाबन धाम में श्री राधाकृष्ण मंदिर की स्थापना कराई जाय और उसका नाम प्रेम मंदिर हो तो भला उस मंदिर की महिमा को बखानने में कौन समर्थ हो सकता है ?
तदपि कहे बिन रहा न कोई ।
श्रीकृष्ण की अनंत अचिन्त्य दिव्य शक्तियाँ हैं । जिनमें प्रधानभूता शक्ति है ह्लादिनी शक्ति ।
ह्लादिनी शक्ति की सारभूता शक्ति का नाम है 'प्रेम' । प्रेम की सर्वोच्च परिणिति का नाम है महाभाव और महाभाव की प्रकृष्ट अवस्था का नाम है अधिरूढ़ महाभाव और इसी अवस्था का प्रकृष्टतम् रूप है मादनाख्य महाभाव । प्रेम की इसी पराकाष्ठा का सर्ववंद्य नाम है 'श्रीराधा' । श्री राधा परात्पर ब्रह्म श्रीकृष्ण की परमान्तरङ्गा शक्ति हैं । अतः जहाँ श्री राधा कृष्ण अपने पर मोत्कृष्ट रूप से सदा उल्लसितहोकर मुक्तहस्त से अपने परम निष्काम प्रेम को उलीचते रहते हैं, वही है प्रेम मंदिर |
यह प्रियाप्रियतम श्रीराधामाधव का वह मनभाया धाम है जहाँ वे नित्य रास विहार करके अहर्निश प्रेमामृत का वर्षण करते रहते हैं और जहाँ श्री कृपालु महाप्रभु जैसे रसिक शिरोमणि संत एकमात्र श्रीराधा रानी की कृपा से साध्य महारास रस पाने के अधिकारित्व व तन्निमित्त साधना का प्रशिक्षण दे कर हजारों भक्तों के जीवन को धन्य बना रहे हैं ।
ब्रजधाम में स्थित ऐसे राधामाधव केलि केन्द्र का उद्घाटन १५, १६,१७ फरवरी २०१२ में होने जा रहा है । इस महत्तम ब्रज-उत्सव की प्रतीक्षा भला कौन नहीं कर रहा होगा ? गुप्त रूप से उपस्थित श्रीराधामाधव के समस्त परिकर, रसिक जन, ब्रह्मा, शंकर आदि, सनकादिक परमहंस व स्वर्गादिक लोको की अपसराएँ ब्रज चन्द्र युगल को रिझाने का सुअवसर पा कर, अपनी अपनी कलाओं का प्रदर्शन करने के लिये व्याकुलता से प्रतीक्षा कर रहे होंगे । इन सबकी अज्ञात उपस्थिति, साक्षाद् वेदों द्वारा मंत्रों की चतुर्दिक् प्रतिध्वनि, हजारों भक्तों की परम उत्साहमयी भीड़द्वारा श्री वृन्दाबन धाम की जो अद्वितीय शोभा होगी, वह युगयुगान्तर तक स्मरणीय रहेगी । वे भक्त जो वहाँ उपस्थित हो कर उस अलौकिक दृश्य का अवलोकन करेंगे उनके भाग्य की सराहना यदि स्वयं वृहस्पति हजारों मुख से करना चाहेंगे तो भी वह पूर्णतया सक्षम नहीं हो सकेंगे ।
ये तो मेरी क्षुद्र बुद्धि की सीमित कल्पना की परिधि है । इस उद् घाटन समारोह की अलौकिकता को यथार्थतः तो कोई रसिक संत ही समझसकता है और तदर्थ कुछ कह सकता है । यदि एक बूँद बराबर भी गुरुदेव कीकृपा हो जाय तो कदाचित् मैं भी उस अनिर्वचनीय अलौकिक ब्रज सौंदर्य व उस दिव्यातिदिव्य वाड्.मय का यथार्थ दर्शन कर सकूँ व इस भावी रस के सिंधु मे डूब सकूँ । यह उत्सव वस्तुतः श्री राधा कृपा उत्सव भी कहा जा सकता है।
अतएव श्री राधाकृष्ण कृपाभिलाषी समस्त भक्तों को जगद्गुरु कृपालु परिषद् की ओर से इस प्रेम मंदिर के उद्घाटन हेतु आयोजित महान् ब्रज- महोत्सव पर सादर आमंत्रण है ।
राधाकृष्ण स्वरूप प्रेम है, प्रेम रूप यह मंदिर जान, मंदिर ही गुरुवर स्वरूप है, जो रसिकन के जीवन प्राण ।
Philosophy
Vrindavan Dham, situated at the banks of holy river Yamuna, has always been the exclusive place of Shri Krishna Bhakti. Even the birds, animals and trees in Vrindavan, seem to chant the name of Shri Radha constantly. Great saints, sages, seers and scholars dwell secretly in the form of trees and creepers to get immersed in the pious dust of Vrindavan. It is in these serene surroundings that the greatest Rasik saint of modern times, Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj has established Prem Mandir, thereby exemplifying the beauty and prestige of Braj Dham even further.
Even though, Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj hails from the region of Avadh in Northern India, He has composed 1008 devotional songs in His book “Prem Ras Madira” in Braj dialect. These hymns are outstanding from the viewpoint of magnificence of language and depth of sentiments.
When such an esteemed Rasik saint resolves to establish a Radha Krishna temple in Vrindavan Dham and decides to call it Prem Mandir, who can describe the spiritual significance of such a great temple!
Even then, one has to say something about its glory!
Shri Krishna is the Supreme Lord. He is the Master of innumerable, unintelligible and divine powers. “Hladini Shakti” is the supreme amongst them. The essence of Hladini Shakti is the power of love. The highest form of love is Mahabhav and the supreme form of Mahabhav is Adhiroorh Mahabhav which at its peak converts into Maadan Mahabhav. This state of love is addressed with the most respected name of Shri Radha, the most intimate power of Shri Krishna. Hence, the place, where Shri Radha Krishna both rejoice in their highest form and where they abundantly distribute their infinitely selfless love, is Prem Mandir. This is that favorite abode of Shri Radha Krishna where they joyously dwell permanently and shower the nectar of love day and night.
Prem Mandir is also blessed with the presence of Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj, who has been gracing the mankind by enlightening them on the secrets behind becoming a deserving soul for Maharas, which is attainable only by the grace of Shri Radha. Shri Maharaj Ji has been providing practical training on devotion to acquire those inner qualities that are essential to participate in Maharas.
The Inauguration of Prem Mandir will be held on February 15, 16 & 17, 2012. Who can wait for this celebration of Braj? All the divine associates of Shri Radha Krishna, the Rasik saints, Brahma, Shankar, Sanakadik Paramhansa and the celestial dancers present in an invisible form, must be eagerly waiting to reveal their excellent talents of fine arts. Their invisible presence, echo of the recitation of Vedic hymns by the veritable Vedas, the huge crowd of enthusiastic devotees from around the world and the decoration of Vrindavan will create a spectacular view that will be remembered for ages to come.
The fortune of those devotees, who will witness this divine celebration, cannot be described, even if the Guru of the heavenly gods, Brihaspati states them with several thousand mouths.
This is the limit of visualization of my insignificant material mind. The divinity and grandeur of this event can only be described by a Rasik saint. I wish to attain a drop of grace of my Gurudev Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj to get a real idea of this upcoming divine scene and its vibrations, which will be enough to drown me in the ocean of nectar of love-bliss.
On behalf of Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat (JKP), I invite all aspirants who desire for the divine grace of Shri Radha Krishna to attend this great event in Braj to celebrate the auspicious occasion of inauguration of Prem Mandir, Vrindavan.
Even though, Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj hails from the region of Avadh in Northern India, He has composed 1008 devotional songs in His book “Prem Ras Madira” in Braj dialect. These hymns are outstanding from the viewpoint of magnificence of language and depth of sentiments.
When such an esteemed Rasik saint resolves to establish a Radha Krishna temple in Vrindavan Dham and decides to call it Prem Mandir, who can describe the spiritual significance of such a great temple!
Even then, one has to say something about its glory!
Shri Krishna is the Supreme Lord. He is the Master of innumerable, unintelligible and divine powers. “Hladini Shakti” is the supreme amongst them. The essence of Hladini Shakti is the power of love. The highest form of love is Mahabhav and the supreme form of Mahabhav is Adhiroorh Mahabhav which at its peak converts into Maadan Mahabhav. This state of love is addressed with the most respected name of Shri Radha, the most intimate power of Shri Krishna. Hence, the place, where Shri Radha Krishna both rejoice in their highest form and where they abundantly distribute their infinitely selfless love, is Prem Mandir. This is that favorite abode of Shri Radha Krishna where they joyously dwell permanently and shower the nectar of love day and night.
Prem Mandir is also blessed with the presence of Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj, who has been gracing the mankind by enlightening them on the secrets behind becoming a deserving soul for Maharas, which is attainable only by the grace of Shri Radha. Shri Maharaj Ji has been providing practical training on devotion to acquire those inner qualities that are essential to participate in Maharas.
The Inauguration of Prem Mandir will be held on February 15, 16 & 17, 2012. Who can wait for this celebration of Braj? All the divine associates of Shri Radha Krishna, the Rasik saints, Brahma, Shankar, Sanakadik Paramhansa and the celestial dancers present in an invisible form, must be eagerly waiting to reveal their excellent talents of fine arts. Their invisible presence, echo of the recitation of Vedic hymns by the veritable Vedas, the huge crowd of enthusiastic devotees from around the world and the decoration of Vrindavan will create a spectacular view that will be remembered for ages to come.
The fortune of those devotees, who will witness this divine celebration, cannot be described, even if the Guru of the heavenly gods, Brihaspati states them with several thousand mouths.
This is the limit of visualization of my insignificant material mind. The divinity and grandeur of this event can only be described by a Rasik saint. I wish to attain a drop of grace of my Gurudev Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj to get a real idea of this upcoming divine scene and its vibrations, which will be enough to drown me in the ocean of nectar of love-bliss.
On behalf of Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat (JKP), I invite all aspirants who desire for the divine grace of Shri Radha Krishna to attend this great event in Braj to celebrate the auspicious occasion of inauguration of Prem Mandir, Vrindavan.
- A particle of the foot dust of Shri Gurudev Braj Banchary
Kid's Story
Once there was a beggar. He used to beg all day on the streets near the king’s palace. Still, he did not manage to get enough to feed his family.
One day as he was sitting on the side of road to beg for alms, he heard the king’s procession will pass through the streets of the town today. He was excited about seeing the king. He picked up his mat and went to sit on one of the streets though which the king’s convoy was to pass. As the convoy passed in front of him, the king dismounted from his horse and approached him and humbly begged for alms from him.
The beggar was dismayed. He asked O King! Why do you seek alms from a beggar like me? The king replied humbly, “I had a dream that unless I ask for alms from a beggar, some miseries are going to befall on me. O beggar! Please give me something, whatever you can and save me from the miseries that are coming my way.” The beggar had a few coins in his bag. He picked them them and was about to give all of them to the, then he thought, if I give so much I won’t have enough to feed my family tonight. Thinking so he dropped a couple of coins. As he was about to give those he again thought, if I give this much then I won’t be able to get even a loaf of bread. Likewise he kept reducing the amount and finally took a penny and gave it to the king. The King thanked him profusely and left.
The beggar stayed there all day and left for home in the evening. Upon reaching home his wife looked thru his bag. Lo and behold! She found a gold coin in the bag. She was surprised and asked her husband about it. The beggar now realized that he had given the king a penny and he got a gold penny back. If he had given all the pennies then he would have a fortune right now. But his opportunity is lost!
Thus, God gave a lesson to all of us that wealth grows by sharing. The reason of poverty is the tendency of not giving alms for the good cause. The scriptures say
One day as he was sitting on the side of road to beg for alms, he heard the king’s procession will pass through the streets of the town today. He was excited about seeing the king. He picked up his mat and went to sit on one of the streets though which the king’s convoy was to pass. As the convoy passed in front of him, the king dismounted from his horse and approached him and humbly begged for alms from him.
The beggar was dismayed. He asked O King! Why do you seek alms from a beggar like me? The king replied humbly, “I had a dream that unless I ask for alms from a beggar, some miseries are going to befall on me. O beggar! Please give me something, whatever you can and save me from the miseries that are coming my way.” The beggar had a few coins in his bag. He picked them them and was about to give all of them to the, then he thought, if I give so much I won’t have enough to feed my family tonight. Thinking so he dropped a couple of coins. As he was about to give those he again thought, if I give this much then I won’t be able to get even a loaf of bread. Likewise he kept reducing the amount and finally took a penny and gave it to the king. The King thanked him profusely and left.
The beggar stayed there all day and left for home in the evening. Upon reaching home his wife looked thru his bag. Lo and behold! She found a gold coin in the bag. She was surprised and asked her husband about it. The beggar now realized that he had given the king a penny and he got a gold penny back. If he had given all the pennies then he would have a fortune right now. But his opportunity is lost!
Thus, God gave a lesson to all of us that wealth grows by sharing. The reason of poverty is the tendency of not giving alms for the good cause. The scriptures say
अदत्तदानाच्च भवेद दरिद्राे । दरिद्रभावाच्च कराेति पापम्।
पापप्रभावात्। नरकं प्रयाति । पुनर्दरिद्रः पुनरेव पापी ॥
पापप्रभावात्। नरकं प्रयाति । पुनर्दरिद्रः पुनरेव पापी ॥
The habit of not donating invites poverty. State of poverty compels to perform unrighteous deeds to survive. The unrighteous deeds result in sufferings of hell. Then he becomes a beggar again and again.
Hence, Kids! Develop your habit of sharing to fulfill the needs of others and to attain a peaceful life.
Hence, Kids! Develop your habit of sharing to fulfill the needs of others and to attain a peaceful life.
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