A DIVINE MESSAGE
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2017 Jagadguruttam Divas
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Philosophy
You snooze you loseUnintelligible Divine Grace |
Kripalu Leelamritam
Preserving Devotion |
Kids Story
An example of humility |
Philosophy
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भजूँगा भजूँगा कहि गोविन्द राधे, पिछला बिगाड़ा अगला तो बना ले ॥
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Bhajonga bhajonga kahi, Govind Radhey. Pichhlaa bigaraa, aglaa to banaa le
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There are three great blessings of God
1. Being born in a human form;
2. Meeting an authentic God realized saint, who can infuse the true purpose of life in our minds
3. Being born in India, a land where there is an environment of devotion and worship. Even at the time of death people chant “Ram naam satya hai” meaning “God’s name alone is the truth”
Each soul is eternal, meaning that the soul was never created and can never be destroyed. Since creation and dissolution are cyclical in nature, it can be inferred that we must have been born in a human form innumerable times prior to this lifetime. We may also have been born in India, innumerable times.
It was Bishma Pitamah’s (the grandsire of Pandavas), desire and instructions to his great grandsons; the Pandava’s to cremate his body at a place where nobody had been cremated before. Any spot where he Pandavas tried to cremate him, the earth would speak up and say śataṁ bhīṣma (शतं भीष्म) means "Thousands of Bhishm have been cremated at this spot.” Meaning let alone others, Bhishm himself had been cremated in that location thousands of times since Mahabharata happens in every Dwapar.
During all those past uncountable creations, we have been granted the human form uncountable times, we have met uncountable genuine God-realized saints uncountable times and heard their philosophical discourses. Those saints explained the Vedic knowledge in a manner that we could assimilate those philosophical facts, yet we kept procrastinating and did not practice devotion per their instructions. During our childhood, we gave an excuse that I am just a child and this is my time to play. When we grew up, we had the excuse of being in our youth and that it was the time to enjoy life. And eventually in old age we made an excuse, now I do not keep good health and my body is not capable of sitting in Sadhana. In this manner in every human birth we kept on procrastinating and finally the time of death approached. The human body was snatched away from us and we were sent into lower forms of life like that of animals, birds, insects and trees. In those life forms, we were extremely unhappy, yet we hold on to the habit of procrastinating in the human form. Saint Prahlad said
1. Being born in a human form;
2. Meeting an authentic God realized saint, who can infuse the true purpose of life in our minds
3. Being born in India, a land where there is an environment of devotion and worship. Even at the time of death people chant “Ram naam satya hai” meaning “God’s name alone is the truth”
Each soul is eternal, meaning that the soul was never created and can never be destroyed. Since creation and dissolution are cyclical in nature, it can be inferred that we must have been born in a human form innumerable times prior to this lifetime. We may also have been born in India, innumerable times.
It was Bishma Pitamah’s (the grandsire of Pandavas), desire and instructions to his great grandsons; the Pandava’s to cremate his body at a place where nobody had been cremated before. Any spot where he Pandavas tried to cremate him, the earth would speak up and say śataṁ bhīṣma (शतं भीष्म) means "Thousands of Bhishm have been cremated at this spot.” Meaning let alone others, Bhishm himself had been cremated in that location thousands of times since Mahabharata happens in every Dwapar.
During all those past uncountable creations, we have been granted the human form uncountable times, we have met uncountable genuine God-realized saints uncountable times and heard their philosophical discourses. Those saints explained the Vedic knowledge in a manner that we could assimilate those philosophical facts, yet we kept procrastinating and did not practice devotion per their instructions. During our childhood, we gave an excuse that I am just a child and this is my time to play. When we grew up, we had the excuse of being in our youth and that it was the time to enjoy life. And eventually in old age we made an excuse, now I do not keep good health and my body is not capable of sitting in Sadhana. In this manner in every human birth we kept on procrastinating and finally the time of death approached. The human body was snatched away from us and we were sent into lower forms of life like that of animals, birds, insects and trees. In those life forms, we were extremely unhappy, yet we hold on to the habit of procrastinating in the human form. Saint Prahlad said
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कौमार आचरेत् प्राज्ञो धर्मान् भागवतानिह। दुर्लभं मानुषं जन्म तदस् ध्रवमर्थदम्।
भा. 7.6.1 |
kaumāra ācaret prājño dharmān bhāgavatāniha। durlabhaṁ mānuṣaṁ janma tadas dhravamarthadam।
bhā. 7.6.1 |
“O humans! Start practicing devotion during your childhood. Getting a human form is extremely rare.”
Because youth is the time of intoxication! The pride of a youthful body is the biggest element of pride. For instance, there was an 18 years old ordinary looking girl. Through some stroke of good luck, she came in contact with a celestial demi-God and he asked her to ask him for a boon. She casually replied, saying, “grant me whatever you feel like. I don’t need anything in particular”. The celestial being said, “Should I make you beautiful?” Instead of being excited at his generous offer, she slapped him saying, “Do you think I am ugly?”
It is extremely rare to progress on the path of spirituality (paramarth) in adolescence. But childhood is the age of innocence. If guided well, a child can easily start the practice of devotion. If a child were to start practicing devotion early in childhood, then the concept of the importance of devotion is instilled in the mind. Thus the sanskars developed in childhood guide the person during their youthful years as well. One may dedicate only 1 or 2 hours out of 24 hours to devotion but that is better than nothing.
Because youth is the time of intoxication! The pride of a youthful body is the biggest element of pride. For instance, there was an 18 years old ordinary looking girl. Through some stroke of good luck, she came in contact with a celestial demi-God and he asked her to ask him for a boon. She casually replied, saying, “grant me whatever you feel like. I don’t need anything in particular”. The celestial being said, “Should I make you beautiful?” Instead of being excited at his generous offer, she slapped him saying, “Do you think I am ugly?”
It is extremely rare to progress on the path of spirituality (paramarth) in adolescence. But childhood is the age of innocence. If guided well, a child can easily start the practice of devotion. If a child were to start practicing devotion early in childhood, then the concept of the importance of devotion is instilled in the mind. Thus the sanskars developed in childhood guide the person during their youthful years as well. One may dedicate only 1 or 2 hours out of 24 hours to devotion but that is better than nothing.
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न श्वः श्वः उपासीत को हि जानति कस्याद्य मृत्युकालो भविष्यति ।
वेद |
na śvaḥ śvaḥ upāsīta ko hi jānati kasyādya mr̥tyukālo bhaviṣyati ।
veda |
“Do not procrastinate! For no-one knows if they will live to see the next moment or not”.
Once, when the five Pandavas were going through the forest, they felt thirsty. The oldest brother Yudhishthir asked the second oldest brother Bheem to go and fetch water for his brothers. Bheem climbed up a tall tree and spotted a pond nearby. He did not know that the pond was home to a cursed Yaksha. As soon as Bheem bent down to fetch water, the Yaksha warned him saying, “do not touch the water until you answer the 60 questions that I’m about to ask you. If you touch the water without providing satisfactory answers to my questions, I will pull you inside the pond and kill you”. Bheem was young and had the strength of 10,000 elephants. He challenged the Yaksha, saying, “who do you think you are, come in front and talk to me”. The Yaksha re-stated his condition but Bheem did not pay any attention and rather replied arrogantly, “Mind your tongue. Do you not know who I am?”. Saying so, Bheem touched the water and Yaksha pulled Bheem under the water. It is to be noted that Yaksha is a life form in the celestial-abodes. How can a human being compare with his strength? When Bheem did not return for a while, Yudhishthira sent Arjun, Nakul and Sahdev one by one. All of them, intoxicated with their youth, made the same mistake of under-estimating the Yaksha’s strength and met the same fate. Finally, when none of his brothers returned from the pond, Yudhisthir was concerned and decided to go and look for his valiant brothers. When Yudhishthir reached the pond, the Yaksha narrated the same condition to him. Yudhishthir humbly requested Yaksha to ask his 60 questions. The first and most important question, Yaksha asked was:
Once, when the five Pandavas were going through the forest, they felt thirsty. The oldest brother Yudhishthir asked the second oldest brother Bheem to go and fetch water for his brothers. Bheem climbed up a tall tree and spotted a pond nearby. He did not know that the pond was home to a cursed Yaksha. As soon as Bheem bent down to fetch water, the Yaksha warned him saying, “do not touch the water until you answer the 60 questions that I’m about to ask you. If you touch the water without providing satisfactory answers to my questions, I will pull you inside the pond and kill you”. Bheem was young and had the strength of 10,000 elephants. He challenged the Yaksha, saying, “who do you think you are, come in front and talk to me”. The Yaksha re-stated his condition but Bheem did not pay any attention and rather replied arrogantly, “Mind your tongue. Do you not know who I am?”. Saying so, Bheem touched the water and Yaksha pulled Bheem under the water. It is to be noted that Yaksha is a life form in the celestial-abodes. How can a human being compare with his strength? When Bheem did not return for a while, Yudhishthira sent Arjun, Nakul and Sahdev one by one. All of them, intoxicated with their youth, made the same mistake of under-estimating the Yaksha’s strength and met the same fate. Finally, when none of his brothers returned from the pond, Yudhisthir was concerned and decided to go and look for his valiant brothers. When Yudhishthir reached the pond, the Yaksha narrated the same condition to him. Yudhishthir humbly requested Yaksha to ask his 60 questions. The first and most important question, Yaksha asked was:
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किमाश्चर्यम्?
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kimāścaryam?
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“What is the biggest surprise in this world?”
Yudhishthira answered -
Yudhishthira answered -
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अहन्यहनि भूतानि गच्छन्ति चरमालयम् । शेषाः स्थावरमिच्छन्ति किमाश्चर्यमतःपरम् ॥
महाभारत |
ahanyahani bhūtāni gacchanti caramālayam । śeṣāḥ sthāvaramicchanti kimāścaryamataḥparam ॥ - mahābhārata
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It is everyone’s experience that people of all ages are dying each day. Some die even before taking birth, some die at the moment of birth, some after 1 day or 1 year, some attain great degrees or positions e.g. become the most acclaimed Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officers and while celebrating their achievement collapse and suddenly die. Still, those who are left behind don’t realize that they too will have to leave this body with no prior notice and will have no option to choose otherwise. Even great sages, seers and yogis have to leave their body. Yet we wish to be immortal. We do not understand that when even God realized saints have to leave this body, how can we be spared from death?
Due to the ignorance about transience of the human form, we keep procrastinating in commencing the practice of devotion. We forget that death is chasing us and is getting closer with each passing moment and nobody knows that exact moment when it would catchup with us. After losing this human life, we will have to wander in the most miserable cycle of death and birth for ages and ages and suffer in the lower species of life. The human form is the rarest of rare. Saint Tulsidas Ji says -
Due to the ignorance about transience of the human form, we keep procrastinating in commencing the practice of devotion. We forget that death is chasing us and is getting closer with each passing moment and nobody knows that exact moment when it would catchup with us. After losing this human life, we will have to wander in the most miserable cycle of death and birth for ages and ages and suffer in the lower species of life. The human form is the rarest of rare. Saint Tulsidas Ji says -
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कबहुँक करि करुणा नर देही, देत ईश बिनु हेतु सनेही ।
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kabahum̐ka kari karuṇā nara dehī, deta īśa binu hetu sanehī ।
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“God, who is kind and merciful beyond any reason, occasionally confers the human form upon us by His special mercy”.
We roamed around in 8.4 million life forms. In some forms, we had to roam around thirsty, we could not get water to drink and died of thirst. At other times, while we were drinking water, a hungry lion spotted us and devoured us. Yet another time, we died of hunger in a jungle. Thus, suffering immensely for millions of years, God finally took pity on us and gave us a human form again. And again, we kept procrastinating. We kept telling our Guru, “Yes I will start devotion as soon as I take care of this one responsibility”. And that list of responsibilities never came to an end, but our life did. We kept making schemes of earning 100,000, 1million, billion etc. Yet we have never been satisfied till date.
The Garun-Puran says-
We roamed around in 8.4 million life forms. In some forms, we had to roam around thirsty, we could not get water to drink and died of thirst. At other times, while we were drinking water, a hungry lion spotted us and devoured us. Yet another time, we died of hunger in a jungle. Thus, suffering immensely for millions of years, God finally took pity on us and gave us a human form again. And again, we kept procrastinating. We kept telling our Guru, “Yes I will start devotion as soon as I take care of this one responsibility”. And that list of responsibilities never came to an end, but our life did. We kept making schemes of earning 100,000, 1million, billion etc. Yet we have never been satisfied till date.
The Garun-Puran says-
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चक्रधरोऽपि सुरत्वं सुरत्वलाभे सकलसुरपतित्वं ।
भवितुं सुरपतिरूर्ध्व गतित्वं तथापि न निवर्तते तृष्णा ॥ |
cakradharo'pi suratvaṁ suratvalābhe sakalasurapatitvaṁ ।
bhavituṁ surapatirūrdhva gatitvaṁ tathāpi na nivartate tr̥ṣṇā ॥ |
“The king of the entire earth is desperate to become a celestial god. While a celestial god wants to be Indra and Indra wants to become Bramha. Even then the thirst to get more never gets satisfied”.
Our ambitions and material responsibilities don’t end till the last breath. Being given a human form, which is endowed with the capability to reason, an individual must deeply contemplate on this point and stop procrastinating. Else the consequences are grave and will cause you to bear sufferings for infinite lifetimes. Saint Narayan says -
Our ambitions and material responsibilities don’t end till the last breath. Being given a human form, which is endowed with the capability to reason, an individual must deeply contemplate on this point and stop procrastinating. Else the consequences are grave and will cause you to bear sufferings for infinite lifetimes. Saint Narayan says -
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दो बातन को भूल मत जो चाहस कल्यान । नरायण एक मौत को दूजो श्री भगवान्॥
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do bātana ko bhūla mata jo cāhasa kalyāna । narāyaṇa eka mauta ko dūjo śrī bhagavān॥
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“Do not forget two things if you really want to get rid of the miseries of this world -
1. death and
2. God”
The saint’s recommendation is to remember death before remembering God. If we always keep in mind that death may come any moment with no prior notice, then naturally we will remember God.
So, we have to change our habit of procrastination. You may ask “how”. Maintain a strict regimen to remember God all the time. If you get even one moment think this maybe my last moment, hence spend it in the remembrance of Shri Krishna. Whatever you do in life, just feel the presence of God. This is real devotion. Initially it might seem like an uphill task but with constant practice constant remembrance will become habit. Then you will stay so intoxicated in that Bliss, that the miseries of this world won’t bother you. And if you leave the body thinking so, then you will go to His abode because the last thought governs where you go next (गति).
In the present it is necessary to resolve that I will use as much of my wealth, body and mind as possible, in the service of God and Guru. Spending your life in this manner makes life worthy of being a human being. Otherwise, even dogs, cats, donkeys etc. also eat, drink, live and breed like us.
Only human beings are gifted with the precious gift of
1. Power or discrimination means choose what to do or not do and
2. The right to perform fruit bearing actions.
We know about the ultimate goal of life. Only the habit of procrastinating is ruining us, life after life. Once you leave this habit and resolve firmly to utilize each and every moment only in the remembrance of God, you may succeed in realizing the goal of human life in this very lifetime.
1. death and
2. God”
The saint’s recommendation is to remember death before remembering God. If we always keep in mind that death may come any moment with no prior notice, then naturally we will remember God.
So, we have to change our habit of procrastination. You may ask “how”. Maintain a strict regimen to remember God all the time. If you get even one moment think this maybe my last moment, hence spend it in the remembrance of Shri Krishna. Whatever you do in life, just feel the presence of God. This is real devotion. Initially it might seem like an uphill task but with constant practice constant remembrance will become habit. Then you will stay so intoxicated in that Bliss, that the miseries of this world won’t bother you. And if you leave the body thinking so, then you will go to His abode because the last thought governs where you go next (गति).
In the present it is necessary to resolve that I will use as much of my wealth, body and mind as possible, in the service of God and Guru. Spending your life in this manner makes life worthy of being a human being. Otherwise, even dogs, cats, donkeys etc. also eat, drink, live and breed like us.
Only human beings are gifted with the precious gift of
1. Power or discrimination means choose what to do or not do and
2. The right to perform fruit bearing actions.
We know about the ultimate goal of life. Only the habit of procrastinating is ruining us, life after life. Once you leave this habit and resolve firmly to utilize each and every moment only in the remembrance of God, you may succeed in realizing the goal of human life in this very lifetime.
Philosophy
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तेरी कृपा तो कृपा है प्यारी, तेरा कोप भी कृपा है प्यारी ।
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terī kr̥pā to kr̥pā hai pyārī, terā kopa bhī kr̥pā hai pyārī ।
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“O daughter of Vrishbhanu Shri Radhe! Your wrath is also a personified form of grace, just like your grace itself”.
We consider grace to be the opposite of anger like happiness v.s. sadness, day v.s. night, sin v.s. virtue, good v.s. bad etc. But Kripalu Ji Maharaj says otherwise. He says that it is true that Shri Radha Rani’s grace is undoubtedly grace; however, her anger too is a form of grace. We find numerous examples throughout history, of how God has blessed numerous souls in numerous ways, some of which might not seem obvious.
When Kaliya Naag was punished by Shri Krishn, the wives of Kaliya said,
We consider grace to be the opposite of anger like happiness v.s. sadness, day v.s. night, sin v.s. virtue, good v.s. bad etc. But Kripalu Ji Maharaj says otherwise. He says that it is true that Shri Radha Rani’s grace is undoubtedly grace; however, her anger too is a form of grace. We find numerous examples throughout history, of how God has blessed numerous souls in numerous ways, some of which might not seem obvious.
When Kaliya Naag was punished by Shri Krishn, the wives of Kaliya said,
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क्रोधोऽपि तेऽनुग्रह एव सम्मतः ॥
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krodho'pi te'nugraha eva sammataḥ ॥
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"O Lord! Your anger too is a form of grace.”
Why? Because you kill the demons and send them to your divine abode Golok, where they remain blissful forever.
In the world, we know and see that anger is exhibited by a person by first calling the enemy ill-names then rises to Indian penal code (IPC) 323 (voluntarily causing hurt punishable by up-to 1 year imprisonment), then to 325 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt punishable by up-to 7 years imprisonment) and ends with 302 (murder punishable by non-bailable life imprisonment or capital punishment).
But Shri Krishna Himself killed the fiery demoness Pootana. Pootna says, “O poor Krishna! You can kill this heinous body but You cannot punish me since you are incapable of doing anything other than bestowing your grace upon me.”
In the battlefield in Lanka, Lord Ram killed the demon Ravana. While going to Vaikunth, Ravan asked Lord Ram,”who do you think has won”? Lord Ram said, “Obviously me, as I killed you”. Ravana told Lord Ram, “As long as I lived, O Ram! You could not enter my Lanka. But now see I am going to your abode in Your life time before you. Thus, I won the battle not you.”
These are examples of sovereign personalities. Understand this with an example of an ordinary mother. She keeps her child in her womb for nine months and continues to provide nourishment to the child’s body with the food she eats. Then after birth she takes care of every physical need of the child as the newborn is incapable of doing anything. Whenever he suffers from hunger, thirst, pain or fever, he just cries. The mother has to figure out the cause of why her child is crying and take care of all his needs. But when the child grows up and becomes self-sufficient and fully capable of taking care of himself, he becomes ungrateful and not only disobeys her, but even goes to the extent of bluntly rebuking her, saying, “Keep quiet. I know what is good for me. Don’t keep blabbering”. But the mother’s grace is obvious.
Now let us look at examples of reverse behavior, which is still a form of grace. The mother scares the child to keep the child from doing wrong things, “Don’t talk to strangers, else they will take you away”, “Hey don’t do this else I will slap you”, “Don’t steal else you will get severe punishment.” If the child does not listen and indulges into wrong activities, the mother ties their hands behind their back, ties up their feet and even slaps the child. This is anger. She is slapping her own children. Even Yashoda Maiya tied the hands of Shri Krishna to discipline Him.
Similarly, sometimes God punishes His beloved devotees for their welfare by snatching away the wealth and physical comforts from them. As Shri Krishna says in the Bhagwatam,
Why? Because you kill the demons and send them to your divine abode Golok, where they remain blissful forever.
In the world, we know and see that anger is exhibited by a person by first calling the enemy ill-names then rises to Indian penal code (IPC) 323 (voluntarily causing hurt punishable by up-to 1 year imprisonment), then to 325 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt punishable by up-to 7 years imprisonment) and ends with 302 (murder punishable by non-bailable life imprisonment or capital punishment).
But Shri Krishna Himself killed the fiery demoness Pootana. Pootna says, “O poor Krishna! You can kill this heinous body but You cannot punish me since you are incapable of doing anything other than bestowing your grace upon me.”
In the battlefield in Lanka, Lord Ram killed the demon Ravana. While going to Vaikunth, Ravan asked Lord Ram,”who do you think has won”? Lord Ram said, “Obviously me, as I killed you”. Ravana told Lord Ram, “As long as I lived, O Ram! You could not enter my Lanka. But now see I am going to your abode in Your life time before you. Thus, I won the battle not you.”
These are examples of sovereign personalities. Understand this with an example of an ordinary mother. She keeps her child in her womb for nine months and continues to provide nourishment to the child’s body with the food she eats. Then after birth she takes care of every physical need of the child as the newborn is incapable of doing anything. Whenever he suffers from hunger, thirst, pain or fever, he just cries. The mother has to figure out the cause of why her child is crying and take care of all his needs. But when the child grows up and becomes self-sufficient and fully capable of taking care of himself, he becomes ungrateful and not only disobeys her, but even goes to the extent of bluntly rebuking her, saying, “Keep quiet. I know what is good for me. Don’t keep blabbering”. But the mother’s grace is obvious.
Now let us look at examples of reverse behavior, which is still a form of grace. The mother scares the child to keep the child from doing wrong things, “Don’t talk to strangers, else they will take you away”, “Hey don’t do this else I will slap you”, “Don’t steal else you will get severe punishment.” If the child does not listen and indulges into wrong activities, the mother ties their hands behind their back, ties up their feet and even slaps the child. This is anger. She is slapping her own children. Even Yashoda Maiya tied the hands of Shri Krishna to discipline Him.
Similarly, sometimes God punishes His beloved devotees for their welfare by snatching away the wealth and physical comforts from them. As Shri Krishna says in the Bhagwatam,
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तं भ्रंशयामि सम्पद्भ्यो यस्य चेच्छाम्यनुग्रहम ॥ भा 10.27.16
यस्याहमनुगृह्णामि हरिष्ये तद्धनं शनैः ॥ भा 10.88.8 |
taṁ bhraṁśayāmi sampadbhyo yasya cecchāmyanugrahama ॥ bhā 10.27.16
yasyāhamanugr̥hṇāmi hariṣye taddhanaṁ śanaiḥ ॥ bhā 10.88.8 |
“I deprive those who deserve my grace, from material affluence. I take away wealth from my devotees before I bless them.”
However, instead of believing in God’s words, we have our own set of beliefs. We believe that those who are graced, become millionaires and attain all kind of cosmic pleasures. Despite praying for some material benefit, if an adverse event happens dues to bad sanskars, they become atheists and commit the grave sin of abusing God.
But on the other hand, the same Lord Krishna who punished Hiranyakashipu by killing him, asked Prahlad to ask for a boon. Prahlad was surprised, what has happened to my Lord. A true devotee is not supposed to ask his master for anything and a true master also never asks his devotee for anything. Seeing Prahlad’s hesitation in asking for boon, Shri Krishna encouraged him saying, “Ask, I have to give some boon to you. Don’t hesitate at all for it is customary”.
Then Prahlad said,
However, instead of believing in God’s words, we have our own set of beliefs. We believe that those who are graced, become millionaires and attain all kind of cosmic pleasures. Despite praying for some material benefit, if an adverse event happens dues to bad sanskars, they become atheists and commit the grave sin of abusing God.
But on the other hand, the same Lord Krishna who punished Hiranyakashipu by killing him, asked Prahlad to ask for a boon. Prahlad was surprised, what has happened to my Lord. A true devotee is not supposed to ask his master for anything and a true master also never asks his devotee for anything. Seeing Prahlad’s hesitation in asking for boon, Shri Krishna encouraged him saying, “Ask, I have to give some boon to you. Don’t hesitate at all for it is customary”.
Then Prahlad said,
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यदि दास्यसि मे कामान्वरांस्त्वं वरदर्षभ । कामानां हृद्यसंरोहं भवतस्तु वृणे वरम् ॥
भा 7.10.7 |
yadi dāsyasi me kāmānvarāṁstvaṁ varadarṣabha । kāmānāṁ hr̥dyasaṁrohaṁ bhavatastu vr̥ṇe varam ॥
bhā 7.10.7 |
“if it is your mandate to ask for a boon, I wish that I never ever have the desire to ask for anything for my pleasure”.
He stunned Narsingh Bhagwan with this boon. Yet Narsingh Bhagwan had to grant that boon as per His promise. Then God said would you accept one of my order. He said “by all means. I am your servant. It is my prime duty to follow your instructions.” The God said, “I want you to rule the entire earth for 306,620,000 years”.
Although it was against the nature and interest of Prahlad, yet he accepted it without even .1% objection or a desire to dwell in Golok. Prahlad obeyed this order with great joy. It is against the principle of servitude to express or even harbor a desire for self-happiness. In Prahlad’s case granting of all the worldly pleasure is also grace. Killing Ravan is grace upon him likewise giving his kingdom to Vibheeshan is grace upon Vibheeshan. Taking kingdom from Bali and giving it to Sugreev, is equal grace on both of them.
When Shri Krishna picked up the chariot wheel, clenched His teeth with eyebrows drawn towards each other and ran towards Grandsire Bhishm, Bhishm wasn’t upset. Rather he relished this beautiful glimpse of Shri Krishna, dropped his weapons and stood straight with folded hands and thought, ‘many devotees must have enjoyed the glimpse of Krishna smiling, playing flute or dancing etc. This glimpse is the rarest of rare. What a beautiful sight!! My Lord wants to kill this body! What can be a better death than this”!! Seeing this devotion of Bhishma, Shri Krishna gave up.
Always remember, whatever happens as the wish of God, is always opportune even though His actions are beyond the ability of our comprehension.
Once God went to heaven, the abode of Indra. Indra welcomed Him. Then God said, “Ask for a boon”. Indra asked for a girl whose beauty should be unparalleled in the treilokya. God smiled thinking there is no dearth of pretty women in heaven. All nymphs are his maids, and still he is asking for a girl. God still granted Indra’s wish and revealed thousands of most beautiful women and told Indra to choose one. He picked the very first one ‘Urvashi’. Indra took the girl to his guru Brihaspati. Brihaspati asked who the girl was. Indra narrated the story. Brihaspati scolded Indra, for making such a poor choice. He said, when God came, you should have asked for God and not for sensual pleasures.
When Brahma refused to give the boon of immortality to Hiranyaskashipu, Hiranyaskashipu made such a long list of wishes to get rid of death. Yet He was killed by God. While killing him Lord Narsingh kept telling him, see
I am not killing you at day time or night, this is dusk.
I am not killing you inside the house or outside the house, this is the door frame.
I am not killing you on earth or in the sky, you are on my thighs,
I am not a man or an animal, I am both man and animal
I am not killing you bare handed or with a weapon, I am killing you with my nails.
Man’s intellect can’t compare with that of God’s. So instead of making desires, leave it to Him on what is best for you. He is the only well-wisher of all the living beings; He has never and will never short-change anyone. Feel His grace in all situations. There is no difference at all whether He gives or takes away everything.
Consider every situation as His blessing.
He stunned Narsingh Bhagwan with this boon. Yet Narsingh Bhagwan had to grant that boon as per His promise. Then God said would you accept one of my order. He said “by all means. I am your servant. It is my prime duty to follow your instructions.” The God said, “I want you to rule the entire earth for 306,620,000 years”.
Although it was against the nature and interest of Prahlad, yet he accepted it without even .1% objection or a desire to dwell in Golok. Prahlad obeyed this order with great joy. It is against the principle of servitude to express or even harbor a desire for self-happiness. In Prahlad’s case granting of all the worldly pleasure is also grace. Killing Ravan is grace upon him likewise giving his kingdom to Vibheeshan is grace upon Vibheeshan. Taking kingdom from Bali and giving it to Sugreev, is equal grace on both of them.
When Shri Krishna picked up the chariot wheel, clenched His teeth with eyebrows drawn towards each other and ran towards Grandsire Bhishm, Bhishm wasn’t upset. Rather he relished this beautiful glimpse of Shri Krishna, dropped his weapons and stood straight with folded hands and thought, ‘many devotees must have enjoyed the glimpse of Krishna smiling, playing flute or dancing etc. This glimpse is the rarest of rare. What a beautiful sight!! My Lord wants to kill this body! What can be a better death than this”!! Seeing this devotion of Bhishma, Shri Krishna gave up.
Always remember, whatever happens as the wish of God, is always opportune even though His actions are beyond the ability of our comprehension.
Once God went to heaven, the abode of Indra. Indra welcomed Him. Then God said, “Ask for a boon”. Indra asked for a girl whose beauty should be unparalleled in the treilokya. God smiled thinking there is no dearth of pretty women in heaven. All nymphs are his maids, and still he is asking for a girl. God still granted Indra’s wish and revealed thousands of most beautiful women and told Indra to choose one. He picked the very first one ‘Urvashi’. Indra took the girl to his guru Brihaspati. Brihaspati asked who the girl was. Indra narrated the story. Brihaspati scolded Indra, for making such a poor choice. He said, when God came, you should have asked for God and not for sensual pleasures.
When Brahma refused to give the boon of immortality to Hiranyaskashipu, Hiranyaskashipu made such a long list of wishes to get rid of death. Yet He was killed by God. While killing him Lord Narsingh kept telling him, see
I am not killing you at day time or night, this is dusk.
I am not killing you inside the house or outside the house, this is the door frame.
I am not killing you on earth or in the sky, you are on my thighs,
I am not a man or an animal, I am both man and animal
I am not killing you bare handed or with a weapon, I am killing you with my nails.
Man’s intellect can’t compare with that of God’s. So instead of making desires, leave it to Him on what is best for you. He is the only well-wisher of all the living beings; He has never and will never short-change anyone. Feel His grace in all situations. There is no difference at all whether He gives or takes away everything.
Consider every situation as His blessing.
Bibliography - Learn more
Kripalu Leelamritam
This is the story of a devout follower of Shri Maharaj Ji, who belonged to a middle class family living in rural India. Her husband however, did not believe in Shri Maharaj Ji being a genuine God realized saint. He used to oppose her having faith in him and did not like the fact that she used to go every year to Mangarh to attend the Sadhana program. As instructed by Shri Maharaj Ji, after completing her household duties, she used to spend her time reading the vast literature composed by Shri Maharaj Ji or sing bhajans written by Him. Once when she had gone to Mangarh for a few days, to benefit from Shri Maharaj Ji’s satsang, her husband collected all of Shri Maharaj Ji’s literature and compositions and threw them in the well.
When she returned, she started looking for her books, but could not find any. Her husband calmly replied that he had thrown them in the well, so she could not read them anymore. Being a home maker, she was dependent on her husband for providing all her basic needs, hence she was not in a position to confront her husband. She bore this grave insult to her Guru silently, though internally she was deeply saddened by his demonic behavior.
In the afternoon, when the domestic help in the family went to fetch water from the well, he was surprised to find the books, completely dry sitting in the bucket of water, as he pulled up the bucket. As much as he was surprised about how the books landed up in water, he was astonished to find the books completely dry. He brought them back to the lady and her husband and narrated the incident.
Since the husband had himself thrown those books in the well and they had stayed in there for several days, while the lady was away in Mangarh, he was shocked to see the books in a dry and pristine condition. By the grace of God and Guru, it dawned on him that devotion to God is the ONLY right thing to do and she was doing it. That is why God preserved her ability to continue her devotion. This prompted him also to follow the same path to attain his ultimate goal of life.
When she returned, she started looking for her books, but could not find any. Her husband calmly replied that he had thrown them in the well, so she could not read them anymore. Being a home maker, she was dependent on her husband for providing all her basic needs, hence she was not in a position to confront her husband. She bore this grave insult to her Guru silently, though internally she was deeply saddened by his demonic behavior.
In the afternoon, when the domestic help in the family went to fetch water from the well, he was surprised to find the books, completely dry sitting in the bucket of water, as he pulled up the bucket. As much as he was surprised about how the books landed up in water, he was astonished to find the books completely dry. He brought them back to the lady and her husband and narrated the incident.
Since the husband had himself thrown those books in the well and they had stayed in there for several days, while the lady was away in Mangarh, he was shocked to see the books in a dry and pristine condition. By the grace of God and Guru, it dawned on him that devotion to God is the ONLY right thing to do and she was doing it. That is why God preserved her ability to continue her devotion. This prompted him also to follow the same path to attain his ultimate goal of life.
Bibliography - Learn more
Kid's Story
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तृणादपि सुनीचेन, तरोरपि सहिष्णुना, अमानिना मानदेन, कीर्तनीयः सदा हरिः ॥
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tr̥ṇādapi sunīcena, tarorapi sahiṣṇunā, amāninā mānadena, kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ ॥
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“Be more humble than a blade of grass, more forbearing than a tree, give respect to others and never demand respect for yourself. This attitude alone will help you realize God.”
In ancient times, there was a king in India called Janusruti. He was the ruler of a kingdom called Maha Vrishabh. He was a benevolent and generous king. He built rest houses along the side of the road to enable the weary travelers get rested before continuing their journey, charitable hospitals to give medical treatment to his subjects etc.. He was very satisfied with all the philanthropic activities that he was doing, as he believed that this will help him accumulate religious merit, give him peace of mind and get him closer to God. He sincerely believed that he was the greatest philanthropist and there was none like him.
One evening as he was sitting down, relaxing on the terrace of his beautiful palace, he overheard the conversation between two swans who were flying over him. One of them said “be careful while passing over the king Janshruti. The glare of his fame may turn you into ashes.”
The female bird laughed and said, “Do not threaten me, my dear? We are wanderers of the skies. We know more of the world than others. You are talking as if Janshruti is a greater patron than the humble cart-man Raikwa. Undoubtedly the King is very generous but he is proud of his benevolence too. Raikwa is humbly distributing the most precious knowledge of the scriptures to everyone. He does not want to hear a word in his praise”.
King Janshruti had the skill to understand the conversation of animals. So he understood their conversation and became extremely worried. He started thinking, “Who is Raikwa and how can he earn more merit than me? He became so restless that he stayed up whole night.
The next morning when the royal procedure to wake him up commenced, King Janshruti got very upset and said, “Stop these false praises for me. I don’t deserve it.” Then he ordered to seek out the most generous and holy Raikwa, the Cart-man.
The royal servants did not like the attitude of a poor cart driver towards their King. They could not comprehend, what would an illustrious king, launch a massive search for a poor insignificant man such as Raikwa. The king on the other hand was delighted to know that Raikwa’s whereabouts have been established. He ordered his ministers to make preparations to leave for Raikwa’s village the next morning. He took lots of precious gifts, jewels, food items and 600 cows with Him and set out for Raikwa’s village.
Upon arriving at the village of Raikwa the king met him humbly and requested with folded hands, “I have heard much about your spiritual knowledge. I request you to take all these gifts and bestow some knowledge upon me to help me realize God.”
Raikwa smiled and said to the king, “so, you want to buy Brahm-Gyan with these gifts? You are so innocent! The knowledge of Brahm is not a commodity which could be bartered. You do not deserve Brahm-Gyan. Please return back to your palace.”
The king was extremely disappointed and drowned in dejection. But his sincere quest to know God made him humble and indifferent to material fame and achievements. He became a completely different person within few weeks. Now it became impossible for him to stay in his kingdom. All the majesty of the kingdom did not matter to him anymore. He went back to Raikwa and fell on his feet and begged him to impart the knowledge of Brahm. The king cried out bitterly, “Please bestow your grace upon me. Your knowledge is thousand times richer than my entire kingdom. Please give me a drop of it.”
Raikwa noticed that his vanity has gone and he is truly desperate to attain the knowledge of God. Raikwa lifted up the king and embraced him affectionately. He addressed the king, saying, “O virtuous king! Braham-Gyan cannot be attained without shedding ego. Humility is the first step on the path of God realization and you have already attained that by His divine grace. I bless you with the knowledge I possess. From now on, you will have the same knowledge as I have.”
Thus, saint Raikwa enlightened the king and accepted him as his disciple. King Janshruti dedicated his position to the Lord and looked after the kingdom of Maha Vrishabh as a humble servant of God.
In ancient times, there was a king in India called Janusruti. He was the ruler of a kingdom called Maha Vrishabh. He was a benevolent and generous king. He built rest houses along the side of the road to enable the weary travelers get rested before continuing their journey, charitable hospitals to give medical treatment to his subjects etc.. He was very satisfied with all the philanthropic activities that he was doing, as he believed that this will help him accumulate religious merit, give him peace of mind and get him closer to God. He sincerely believed that he was the greatest philanthropist and there was none like him.
One evening as he was sitting down, relaxing on the terrace of his beautiful palace, he overheard the conversation between two swans who were flying over him. One of them said “be careful while passing over the king Janshruti. The glare of his fame may turn you into ashes.”
The female bird laughed and said, “Do not threaten me, my dear? We are wanderers of the skies. We know more of the world than others. You are talking as if Janshruti is a greater patron than the humble cart-man Raikwa. Undoubtedly the King is very generous but he is proud of his benevolence too. Raikwa is humbly distributing the most precious knowledge of the scriptures to everyone. He does not want to hear a word in his praise”.
King Janshruti had the skill to understand the conversation of animals. So he understood their conversation and became extremely worried. He started thinking, “Who is Raikwa and how can he earn more merit than me? He became so restless that he stayed up whole night.
The next morning when the royal procedure to wake him up commenced, King Janshruti got very upset and said, “Stop these false praises for me. I don’t deserve it.” Then he ordered to seek out the most generous and holy Raikwa, the Cart-man.
The royal servants did not like the attitude of a poor cart driver towards their King. They could not comprehend, what would an illustrious king, launch a massive search for a poor insignificant man such as Raikwa. The king on the other hand was delighted to know that Raikwa’s whereabouts have been established. He ordered his ministers to make preparations to leave for Raikwa’s village the next morning. He took lots of precious gifts, jewels, food items and 600 cows with Him and set out for Raikwa’s village.
Upon arriving at the village of Raikwa the king met him humbly and requested with folded hands, “I have heard much about your spiritual knowledge. I request you to take all these gifts and bestow some knowledge upon me to help me realize God.”
Raikwa smiled and said to the king, “so, you want to buy Brahm-Gyan with these gifts? You are so innocent! The knowledge of Brahm is not a commodity which could be bartered. You do not deserve Brahm-Gyan. Please return back to your palace.”
The king was extremely disappointed and drowned in dejection. But his sincere quest to know God made him humble and indifferent to material fame and achievements. He became a completely different person within few weeks. Now it became impossible for him to stay in his kingdom. All the majesty of the kingdom did not matter to him anymore. He went back to Raikwa and fell on his feet and begged him to impart the knowledge of Brahm. The king cried out bitterly, “Please bestow your grace upon me. Your knowledge is thousand times richer than my entire kingdom. Please give me a drop of it.”
Raikwa noticed that his vanity has gone and he is truly desperate to attain the knowledge of God. Raikwa lifted up the king and embraced him affectionately. He addressed the king, saying, “O virtuous king! Braham-Gyan cannot be attained without shedding ego. Humility is the first step on the path of God realization and you have already attained that by His divine grace. I bless you with the knowledge I possess. From now on, you will have the same knowledge as I have.”
Thus, saint Raikwa enlightened the king and accepted him as his disciple. King Janshruti dedicated his position to the Lord and looked after the kingdom of Maha Vrishabh as a humble servant of God.
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