A DIVINE MESSAGE
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2016 Holi
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Philosophy
Why are Guru and God both referred to as Father?Arti of Shri Ram |
Kripalu Leelamritam
Guru Entices Devotion |
Pelting Shivling with stones |
Philosophy
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सब जीव भाई भाई गोविन्द राधे । सबका पिता है परमेश्वर बता दे ॥
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saba jīva bhāī bhāī govinda rādhe । sabakā pitā hai parameśvara batā de ॥
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"All living beings are each other’s brothers and the Supreme Lord is the father of them all."
In Tatriyopanishad, Saint Bhrigu asked his father Varun, a God-realized soul and supreme scholar,
In Tatriyopanishad, Saint Bhrigu asked his father Varun, a God-realized soul and supreme scholar,
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भृगुर्वै वारुणिः। वरुणं पितरमुपससार। अधीहि भगवो ब्रह्मेति। तस्मा एतत् प्रोवाच। अन्नं प्राणं चक्षुः श्रोत्रं मनो वाचमिति।तं होवाच। यतो वा इमानि भूतानि जायन्ते । येन जातानि जीवन्ति।
यत् प्रयन्त्यभिसंविशन्ति। तद्विजिज्ञासस्व। तद् ब्रह्मेति।स तपोऽतप्यत। स तपस्तप्त्वा॥ तैत्तरीयोपनिषद् |
bhr̥gurvai vāruṇiḥ। varuṇaṁ pitaramupasasāra। adhīhi bhagavo brahmeti। tasmā etat provāca। annaṁ prāṇaṁ cakṣuḥ śrotraṁ mano vācamiti।taṁ hovāca। yato vā imāni bhūtāni jāyante।yena jātāni jīvanti।
yat prayantyabhisaṁviśanti। tadvijijñāsasva। tad brahmeti।sa tapo'tapyata। sa tapastaptvā॥ taittarīyopaniṣad |
“Who is God? We hear that God is the father of all living beings, please explain this to me”.
The disciples of Ved Vyas asked the same question.
The disciples of Ved Vyas asked the same question.
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अथातो ब्रह्मजिज्ञासा ॥
वेदान्त 1.1.1 |
athāto brahmajijñāsā ॥
vedānta 1.1.1 |
Ved Vyas answered their question in the next verse in Vedant and also in Bhagavat Mahapuran-
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जन्माद्यस्य यतः ॥
वेदान्त 1.1.2 |
janmādyasya yataḥ ॥
vedānta 1.1.2 |
"The One from whom the sansaar-The World originates, the One who protects the world and the One who is responsible for its dissolution, is God".
Adi Jagadguru Shankaracharya, elaborated on this verse. The Guru lineage of Jagadguru Shankaracharya, traces its history back to Ved Vyas Ji Maharaj: Jagadguru Shankaracharya’s Guru was Swami Govindacharya, Swami Govindacharya’s Guru was Swami Gaurpadacharya, Swami Gaurpadacharya’s Guru was Shukdev Paramhans and Shukdev Paramhans’ Guru was none other than Ved Vyas.
Ved Vyas composed 18 Purans, and divided the Vedas in 4 parts. He was also the author of Vedant & the Bhagwat Gita. Shankaracharya, the first Jagadguru of this age of Kaliyug, elaborated this verse.
Adi Jagadguru Shankaracharya, elaborated on this verse. The Guru lineage of Jagadguru Shankaracharya, traces its history back to Ved Vyas Ji Maharaj: Jagadguru Shankaracharya’s Guru was Swami Govindacharya, Swami Govindacharya’s Guru was Swami Gaurpadacharya, Swami Gaurpadacharya’s Guru was Shukdev Paramhans and Shukdev Paramhans’ Guru was none other than Ved Vyas.
Ved Vyas composed 18 Purans, and divided the Vedas in 4 parts. He was also the author of Vedant & the Bhagwat Gita. Shankaracharya, the first Jagadguru of this age of Kaliyug, elaborated this verse.
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अस्य जगतो जन्म ...
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asya jagato janma
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"The Supreme Lord Shri Krishna is the father of all the living beings (mobile and immobile) and non-living things."
The last inscription of Ved Vyas is Shrimad Bhagwat Mahapuran. In the first verse of Bhagawat, He wrote, “I am going to write about Shri Krishna,
The last inscription of Ved Vyas is Shrimad Bhagwat Mahapuran. In the first verse of Bhagawat, He wrote, “I am going to write about Shri Krishna,
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जन्माद्यस्य यतोऽन्वयादि तरतश्चार्थेषु भिज्ञ स्वराट तेने ब्रह्महृदा य आदिकवये मुह्यन्ति यत्सूरय: ॥
भा 1.1.2 |
janmādyasya yato'nvayādi tarataścārtheṣu bhijña svarāṭa tene brahmahr̥dā ya ādikavaye muhyanti yatsūraya: ॥
bhā 1.1.2 |
"Who is the cause of all creation, Who maintains the creation, and in Who it will merge again. He is the father of all."
Padam Puran says,
Padam Puran says,
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चेतनास्द्विधा प्रोक्त
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cetanāsdvidhā prokta
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There are 2 types of sentient entities •
Mobile - Mobile beings are those who walk, see, listen, smell, taste, touch, think and know for e.g. Human beings, animals, birds etc.
Immobile - this type of living beings are born, grow and eventually die, but they cannot move around. An example of immobile beings is trees.
Mobile - Mobile beings are those who walk, see, listen, smell, taste, touch, think and know for e.g. Human beings, animals, birds etc.
Immobile - this type of living beings are born, grow and eventually die, but they cannot move around. An example of immobile beings is trees.
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आत्मावारे दृष्टव्यः श्रोतव्यः मन्तव्यः निदिध्यासितव्यः
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ātmāvāre dr̥ṣṭavyaḥ śrotavyaḥ mantavyaḥ nididhyāsitavyaḥ
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य आत्मनि तिष्ठति ... ॥
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ya ātmani tiṣṭhati ... ॥
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So, Padma Puran says, all souls are sentient and the atma (God) is grandiose-sentient
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आत्मैकास्तु जनार्दन ।
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ātmaikāstu janārdana ।
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Means ALL, including celestial beings, except Shri Krishna are jeev (souls). There are two types of souls. Some are
• swansh - Swansh are part of the inner potency of God like Shankar etc. avatars.
• Vibhinnansh : Vibhinnansh are part of the intermediate power (tatastha shakti) of God. Vibhinnansh are of 2 types,
Starting from the Vedas, all scriptures unanimously declare that God is the Father of all.
Understand by an example given by Shankaracharya -
• swansh - Swansh are part of the inner potency of God like Shankar etc. avatars.
• Vibhinnansh : Vibhinnansh are part of the intermediate power (tatastha shakti) of God. Vibhinnansh are of 2 types,
- those who have never been under the control of Maya. These are eternal associates of God called parikar.
- The other ones are like us, who have been under the control of Maya since eternity. These too can be divided into 2 categories,
- those who have already realized God or sadhan siddha mahapurush and
- those who are still working on realizing God or mayadheen jeev.
Starting from the Vedas, all scriptures unanimously declare that God is the Father of all.
Understand by an example given by Shankaracharya -
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सत्यापि भेदापगमे नाथ तवाहं न मामकीनस्त्वम् । सामुद्रो हि तरङ्गो क्वचन समुद्रो न तारङ्ग ॥
शंकराचार्य |
satyāpi bhedāpagame nātha tavāhaṁ na māmakīnastvam । sāmudro hi taraṅgo kvacana samudro na tāraṅga ॥
śaṁkarācārya |
"O Shri Krishna! Although by virtue of being sentient, we are not different from you (like the ocean and its waves), yet we are different from you since we, the individual souls are not endowed with the same powers and attributes as You. For instance, the waves originate from the ocean but the ocean does not originate from the waves."
When two waves meet each other, they think they are like sisters. Yet, the very next moment they disappear as they merge into the ocean. One wave does not know the whereabouts of another wave. Only the ocean knows, since each wave rises from the ocean and mingles back into the same ocean.
In much the same way, in each lifetime, we establish one relationship with each individual, while it is a fact that we may have had different relationships with the same individual in the innumerable past lives. The relationships we establish in this world are only physical and limited to one life only. Just think, if your father is attached to you, where will he take birth after his death? Just because of attachment with you, he will be born again in your family as your son or grandson.
When two waves meet each other, they think they are like sisters. Yet, the very next moment they disappear as they merge into the ocean. One wave does not know the whereabouts of another wave. Only the ocean knows, since each wave rises from the ocean and mingles back into the same ocean.
In much the same way, in each lifetime, we establish one relationship with each individual, while it is a fact that we may have had different relationships with the same individual in the innumerable past lives. The relationships we establish in this world are only physical and limited to one life only. Just think, if your father is attached to you, where will he take birth after his death? Just because of attachment with you, he will be born again in your family as your son or grandson.
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प्रजामनु प्रजायन्ते श्मशानान्तक्रियाकृत: ॥
भा 3.32.20 |
prajāmanu prajāyante śmaśānāntakriyākr̥ta: ॥
bhā 3.32.20 |
We maintain all these relationships either due to gratitude (that he did so much for me e.g. parents), or due to selfish motives (in the hope that he/she may help me in the future).
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प्राणो हि माता पिता भर्ता ...
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prāṇo hi mātā pitā bhartā ...
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This body is transitory and so are our relations. Just like two passengers travelling to different destinations, meet in the train and start conversing with each other. When the first passenger reaches his destination, he disembarks from the train. The second passenger says to him, “Brother! why are you leaving? We were getting along so well.”
The first passenger would say, “well, my destination has come, if you want to accompany me, you may come along.” The second passenger says, “No, I have to go to the next city.”
Likewise, when time comes, the son might leave the world before the father. Father says how come I am still here and you are leaving. Well, this is how it is. My time has come, so I have to go. Every soul has to depart on its own predestined time. The time of death is pre-determined before an individual is born. God says, you have been given this human body for these many years, months, hours, min, sec. You have only this much time to attain Me. If during this time, you are unable to attain Me, you will again have to go around in the cycle of life and death.
God is the father of all souls. The meaning of celebrating father’s day is to resolve to attain your Father. The most important and the only personality, who can help you, to attain your Father, is the Guru. That is why both God and Guru are considered the real father of all.
The first passenger would say, “well, my destination has come, if you want to accompany me, you may come along.” The second passenger says, “No, I have to go to the next city.”
Likewise, when time comes, the son might leave the world before the father. Father says how come I am still here and you are leaving. Well, this is how it is. My time has come, so I have to go. Every soul has to depart on its own predestined time. The time of death is pre-determined before an individual is born. God says, you have been given this human body for these many years, months, hours, min, sec. You have only this much time to attain Me. If during this time, you are unable to attain Me, you will again have to go around in the cycle of life and death.
God is the father of all souls. The meaning of celebrating father’s day is to resolve to attain your Father. The most important and the only personality, who can help you, to attain your Father, is the Guru. That is why both God and Guru are considered the real father of all.
Philosophy
Lord Ram Arti This is Lord Ram’s birthday is falls on 15th of April. In order to praise Lord Ram, saint Tulasi Das Ji Maharaj wrote a beautiful arti. Let us learn its meaning. This year when we sing it, let us sing it with greater understanding and with sentiments to go with those words.
श्री राम चंद्र कृपालु भजमन हरण भाव भय दारुणम् । नवकंज लोचन कंज मुख कर कंज पद कन्जारुणम् ॥1॥
Śrīrāmacandra kr̥pālu bhaju mana haraṇa bhavabhaya dāruṇam. Navakañja lōcana, kañjamukha kara kañjapada kañjāruṇam.1.
O mind! Remember the ever so merciful Shri Ram, who eliminates the fear of death from the minds of the devotees forever. His eyes, face, palms and soles are a ravishing pink color just like the lotus flower.
कंदर्प अगणित अमित छवी नव नील नीरज सुन्दरम् । पट्पीत मानहु तडित रूचि शुचि नौमी जनक सुतावरम् ॥2॥
Kandarpa agaṇita amita chabi nava nīla nīraja sundaram. Paṭapīta mānahuṁ taṛita rūci-śucī naumi janaka sutāvara
His beauty dulls the beauty of myriads of Cupids. The splendor of His unique blue complexion exceeds the beauty of new water laden clouds. His yellow silk clothes have a bright illuminating shine. He is the groom of the purest, pristine daughter of King Janak.
भजु दीन बंधु दिनेश दानव दैत्य वंश निकंदनम् । रघुनंद आनंद कंद कौशल चंद दशरथ नन्दनम् ॥3॥
Bhaju dīna bandhu dinēśa dānava daityavanśanikandanam. Raghunanda ānandakanda kōśala canda daśaratha nandanam.3.
Sing the glories of Shri Ram who is the supporter of the destitute, who exudes brightness like that of the Sun, who is the destroyer of demons. He is the descendant of the illustrious Raghu clan, the ocean of bliss, the moon of the Koshal dynasty and the son of King Dasharath.
सिर मुकुट कुण्डल तिलक चारु उदारू अंग विभूषणम् । आजानु भुज शर चाप धर संग्राम जित खर-धूषणम् ॥4॥
Sira mukuṭa kuṇḍala tilaka cāru udāru aṅga vibhūṣaṇam. Ājānubhuja śara cāpadhara saṅgrāma-jita-khara dūṣaṇam.4.
Sing the glories of Shri Ram whose head is adorned with a crown, forehead with a beautiful mark (Tilak) and whose beautifully curved body looks magnificent. He has a splendid personality, with His long arms, embellished with a bow and arrow, reaching up to his knees. He is the conqueror of the mighty demons Khar and Dooshan.
इति वदति तुलसीदास शंकर शेष मुनि मन रंजनम् । मम हृदय कुंज निवास कुरु कामादी खल दल गंजनम् ॥5॥
Iti vadati tulasīdāsa śaṅkara śēṣa muni manarañjanam. Mama hr̥dayakañja nivāsa kuru kāmādi khaladalagañjanam.5.
Saint Tulasidas Ji says, “O joy of Lord Shankar, Sheshnag and other sages! O destroyer of the enemies of the mind, passion etc., please dwell in my heart”.
गोस्वामी तुलसीदास
Gōsvāmī tulasīdāsa
श्री राम चंद्र कृपालु भजमन हरण भाव भय दारुणम् । नवकंज लोचन कंज मुख कर कंज पद कन्जारुणम् ॥1॥
Śrīrāmacandra kr̥pālu bhaju mana haraṇa bhavabhaya dāruṇam. Navakañja lōcana, kañjamukha kara kañjapada kañjāruṇam.1.
O mind! Remember the ever so merciful Shri Ram, who eliminates the fear of death from the minds of the devotees forever. His eyes, face, palms and soles are a ravishing pink color just like the lotus flower.
कंदर्प अगणित अमित छवी नव नील नीरज सुन्दरम् । पट्पीत मानहु तडित रूचि शुचि नौमी जनक सुतावरम् ॥2॥
Kandarpa agaṇita amita chabi nava nīla nīraja sundaram. Paṭapīta mānahuṁ taṛita rūci-śucī naumi janaka sutāvara
His beauty dulls the beauty of myriads of Cupids. The splendor of His unique blue complexion exceeds the beauty of new water laden clouds. His yellow silk clothes have a bright illuminating shine. He is the groom of the purest, pristine daughter of King Janak.
भजु दीन बंधु दिनेश दानव दैत्य वंश निकंदनम् । रघुनंद आनंद कंद कौशल चंद दशरथ नन्दनम् ॥3॥
Bhaju dīna bandhu dinēśa dānava daityavanśanikandanam. Raghunanda ānandakanda kōśala canda daśaratha nandanam.3.
Sing the glories of Shri Ram who is the supporter of the destitute, who exudes brightness like that of the Sun, who is the destroyer of demons. He is the descendant of the illustrious Raghu clan, the ocean of bliss, the moon of the Koshal dynasty and the son of King Dasharath.
सिर मुकुट कुण्डल तिलक चारु उदारू अंग विभूषणम् । आजानु भुज शर चाप धर संग्राम जित खर-धूषणम् ॥4॥
Sira mukuṭa kuṇḍala tilaka cāru udāru aṅga vibhūṣaṇam. Ājānubhuja śara cāpadhara saṅgrāma-jita-khara dūṣaṇam.4.
Sing the glories of Shri Ram whose head is adorned with a crown, forehead with a beautiful mark (Tilak) and whose beautifully curved body looks magnificent. He has a splendid personality, with His long arms, embellished with a bow and arrow, reaching up to his knees. He is the conqueror of the mighty demons Khar and Dooshan.
इति वदति तुलसीदास शंकर शेष मुनि मन रंजनम् । मम हृदय कुंज निवास कुरु कामादी खल दल गंजनम् ॥5॥
Iti vadati tulasīdāsa śaṅkara śēṣa muni manarañjanam. Mama hr̥dayakañja nivāsa kuru kāmādi khaladalagañjanam.5.
Saint Tulasidas Ji says, “O joy of Lord Shankar, Sheshnag and other sages! O destroyer of the enemies of the mind, passion etc., please dwell in my heart”.
गोस्वामी तुलसीदास
Gōsvāmī tulasīdāsa
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Kripalu Leelamritam
This is a story of Shri Maharaj Ji during his younger days. One of Shri Maharaj Ji’s devotees in Agra, was an old lady by the name of Susheela Ji who used to live with her only son. Her husband had died few years ago. She had immense love for Shri Maharaj Ji and treated Him as her son.
Shri Maharaj Ji climbed on a tall tree
One day, her biological son died unexpectantly. She was heart-broken. As she sat crying and mourning her son, Shri Maharaj ji reached her house un-announced (as was usual in those days). Shri Maharaj Ji entered the room and placed his head on her lap and said, “why do you grieve mother, am I not your son?” Moved by this loving gesture, she broke down and tears of joy started flowing down her face. She was filled with motherly sentiments towards Shri Maharaj Ji.
But as we all know, Shri Maharaj Ji has only one objective; to turn material beings towards God and bless them with divine love bliss. He does not establish material relations with anyone.
Knowing her dedication and love towards Him, Shri Maharaj Ji wanted to grace her. But as per God’s own laws, grace can only be granted to the deserving souls. One can become deserving of God’s grace, only when one’s mind is completely purified and mind can only be purified by practicing devotion. Shri Maharaj Ji wanted to give her the same message, but instead of saying anything to her directly, He decided to play a very loving pastime (“leela”).
But as we all know, Shri Maharaj Ji has only one objective; to turn material beings towards God and bless them with divine love bliss. He does not establish material relations with anyone.
Knowing her dedication and love towards Him, Shri Maharaj Ji wanted to grace her. But as per God’s own laws, grace can only be granted to the deserving souls. One can become deserving of God’s grace, only when one’s mind is completely purified and mind can only be purified by practicing devotion. Shri Maharaj Ji wanted to give her the same message, but instead of saying anything to her directly, He decided to play a very loving pastime (“leela”).
The window kept imploring Maharaj Ji to come down
He ran out of the door and disappeared into the backyard. She came behind Him, shouting, “son wait, where are you going”. He started climbing a tall tree in her backyard and shouted back saying, “I am not your material son. I am your spiritual son. Promise me that you will spend two hours every day performing devotion”. She thought He was joking and asked Him to climb down, to which He repeated his original statement. This time she realized that He was serious and started begging Him to climb down. At this Shri Maharaj Ji climbed even higher and said, if you do not promise me now, I will jump.
She was caught in a strange dilemma. She wanted Shri Maharaj Ji to climb down, but she was not ready to accept his condition for climbing down. She could not bring herself to commit to spending two hours every day to do Sadhana. Seeing her unrelenting attitude, Shri Maharaj Ji climbed up even further and said, I will really jump down if you do not accept my condition and you will lose your second son as well, if you are so obstinate. She was torn between her motherly love for Shri Maharaj Ji and her inability to commit to spending couple of hours doing sadhana every day. Finally, when she saw that Shri Maharaj Ji had almost reached the top of the tree and was about to jump off, her motherly love, overpowered her resistance and she promised Him that she would do two hours of devotion every day. Hearing this Shri Maharaj Ji quickly came down.
MORAL
God is omnipresent, yet he cannot be realized by the material mind and senses. Spiritual aspirants have to practice devotion to cleanse their mind. Once their mind is completely cleansed, the Guru can grace them with divine mind and senses and grant divine love. Only then one can perceive God with their senses.
Due to material attachments, people are not readily inclined towards practicing devotion. All glories to our spiritual master who does not leave any stone unturned to coax, cajole, nudge, prod and even force people into performing devotion, to enable them attain their ultimate goal.
She was caught in a strange dilemma. She wanted Shri Maharaj Ji to climb down, but she was not ready to accept his condition for climbing down. She could not bring herself to commit to spending two hours every day to do Sadhana. Seeing her unrelenting attitude, Shri Maharaj Ji climbed up even further and said, I will really jump down if you do not accept my condition and you will lose your second son as well, if you are so obstinate. She was torn between her motherly love for Shri Maharaj Ji and her inability to commit to spending couple of hours doing sadhana every day. Finally, when she saw that Shri Maharaj Ji had almost reached the top of the tree and was about to jump off, her motherly love, overpowered her resistance and she promised Him that she would do two hours of devotion every day. Hearing this Shri Maharaj Ji quickly came down.
MORAL
God is omnipresent, yet he cannot be realized by the material mind and senses. Spiritual aspirants have to practice devotion to cleanse their mind. Once their mind is completely cleansed, the Guru can grace them with divine mind and senses and grant divine love. Only then one can perceive God with their senses.
Due to material attachments, people are not readily inclined towards practicing devotion. All glories to our spiritual master who does not leave any stone unturned to coax, cajole, nudge, prod and even force people into performing devotion, to enable them attain their ultimate goal.
Kid's Story
This is a story of two villagers who lived in the same village. One of them was rich and used to love God. The other man was very poor and hated God for making him so poor. Both of them used to go to the same village temple. The rich man used to worship the Shivling in the temple every day and performed all necessary rituals, while the poor man used to go to the temple every day to pelt stones at the Shivling and curse God for making him so poor and deprived.
Once in the monsoon season, it started raining heavily. It became very cold and dreary. Not a soul was seen on the streets. The rich guy decided to stay back at home thinking, “I go to the temple every day and pray with all my devotion. Today the weather is terrible, God will surely understand, if I don’t go!” But the other poor man was even more aggravated. He could not go out and do manual labor or beg for food. Having had nothing to eat and no way of getting food, he made it a point to go the temple and pelted twice the number of stones at God and called Him a lot more ill names. Seeing his uninterrupted (‘nirantar’) devotion and faith, God appeared before him and blessed him.
MORAL
God does not take note of the number of hours spent in performing rituals or place of worship. He notices the faith and sentiment of love towards Him. The rich man was methodical and sincere in his worship, but lacked the faith that God Himself was present in the idol. He worshiped Lord Shankar as a Shivling made of stone only, while the poor man worshiped Shivling with an unwavering faith that Lord Shankar Himself was present in the form of Shivling. And the way he fought with His Lord was full of cordiality. This selfless and innocent cordiality, pleases God immensely.
Once in the monsoon season, it started raining heavily. It became very cold and dreary. Not a soul was seen on the streets. The rich guy decided to stay back at home thinking, “I go to the temple every day and pray with all my devotion. Today the weather is terrible, God will surely understand, if I don’t go!” But the other poor man was even more aggravated. He could not go out and do manual labor or beg for food. Having had nothing to eat and no way of getting food, he made it a point to go the temple and pelted twice the number of stones at God and called Him a lot more ill names. Seeing his uninterrupted (‘nirantar’) devotion and faith, God appeared before him and blessed him.
MORAL
God does not take note of the number of hours spent in performing rituals or place of worship. He notices the faith and sentiment of love towards Him. The rich man was methodical and sincere in his worship, but lacked the faith that God Himself was present in the idol. He worshiped Lord Shankar as a Shivling made of stone only, while the poor man worshiped Shivling with an unwavering faith that Lord Shankar Himself was present in the form of Shivling. And the way he fought with His Lord was full of cordiality. This selfless and innocent cordiality, pleases God immensely.
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