A DIVINE MESSAGE
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Philosophy
Aim for the highest goal |
Kripalu Leelamritam
Present at multiple locations at the same time! |
Kids Story
Don’t procrastinate in performing good actions! |
Shri Maharaj Ji revealed this mysterious couplet on July 14, 2012 in Mangarh
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पाँच छः सात, गोविन्द राधे। त्यागि आठवें को निज लक्ष्य बना दे ॥
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pām̐ca chaḥ sāta, govinda rādhe। tyāgi āṭhaveṃ ko nija lakṣya banā de ॥
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Our scriptures state that there are four paths, leading to the attainment of happiness:
dharm (vedic rites),
arth (wealth),
kaam (passion) and
moksha (liberation)
The first three in this list are material pursuits. It has been explained several times in the past that the pursuit of material pleasures does not lead to the attainment of true lasting happiness. Pursuing material desires leads to attainment of material abodes Swarg – celestial luxury abodes Narak – hellish abodes Mrityu lok – earth
Of these three types of abodes, the most luxurious and materially gratifying is the abode of the creator Brahma called Brahmlok. But even the residents of Brahmlok suffer from all material afflictions including anger, passion, greed etc. Thus, the pursuit of these three material abodes is deplorable. The fourth one i.e. the pursuit of attaining moksha (liberation) has been widely praised and glorified. Many people ask God to grant them liberation by singing bhajans such as: “Take me across the ocean of Maya”. However, it needs to be known and understood, that our eternal scriptures – the Vedas, condemn the objective of attaining liberation. Gyani asks for liberation (mukti) which means the merger of the soul into the super soul. In this state, the soul is devoid of the mind. Since it is the mind that experiences both sorrow and joy, it is obvious that when the soul is devoid of the mind, it experiences neither sorrow nor joy. This is the reason why, upon the attainment of liberation, the soul forever loses the opportunity to enjoy the unlimited bliss of the divine form, attributes and pastimes of God. On the other hand, when a devotee practices devotion to God and attains God, the soul does not merge in the super soul and maintains a separate identity from God, with its own mind and intellect. In this state, the devotee gets to experience and enjoy the unlimited bliss of the divine form, attributes and pastimes of God with all his senses.
There are several classes of devotees, ranked in the order of the sweetness of the nectar of the bliss experienced by them: The fifth form of bliss is the bliss of Baikunth Lok, the divine abode of MahaVishnu - the Supreme Lord with four arms carrying conch, disc, mace and lotus. In Baikunth, the devotees enjoy the divine abode, names and form of MahaVishnu. However, in the form of MahaVishnu, God does not have any associates and does not engage in any loving pastimes with the devotees. His four arms always remind the devotee of His magnificence and Godly powers. The devotees respect and fear Him, but do not love Him. Due to the abundance of almightiness, this kind of bliss, lacks the nectar of love.
The sixth form of bliss is the bliss of Dwarika, where the devotees enjoy both the majesty and sweetness of the proximity with God. In Dwarika, majesty is the more dominant quality. Glimpses of love are also seen but those are far and few in between e.g. it was in Dwarika that Shri Krishna welcomed his friend Sudama by washing his feet with tears of love. The seventh form of bliss is the bliss of Mathura, where the Supreme Lord behaves like an ordinary human being and for most part, hides His divine powers. So the devotees who love Shri Krishna of Mathura attain higher bliss of proximity and intimacy. The episode of Kubja happened in Mathura. Even beyond the bliss of Mathura, is the bliss of Braj. In this abode, His almightiness is completely shadowed by His love. He forgets His divinity and behaves like an ordinary being. In Braj, the devotees experience the sweetness of loving Him as a friend, son and beloved. For example, Shridama sits on Shri Krishna’s back and rides Him like a horse. He kicks Shri Krishna in the belly just as a rider kicks a horse and says “giddy up horsy”. Here Shri Krishna forgets that he is God Almighty and the individual devotees forget that they are infinitesimally insignificant souls. They both consider themselves equal. This is the sign of extreme love!! This is the eighth and the highest level of bliss where God forgets that He is God and the individual souls forget that they are the soul.
Gopis (the milk maidens of Braj) lovingly call him ill-names like (dari ke, shameless! keeps following us everywhere). He loves to hear those love filled words even though they are ill-names. He loves it so much that He pretends to be hard of hearing and asks them to repeat it. When they repeat it, He playfully tells them, I am hard of hearing. Come closer and tell Me in my ear. In His divine abode Golok, no one is under the influence of Maya. There He is always welcomed and adored. Vedas sing His glories. No-one calls Him ill names. Hence when He descends on earth and is addressed with ill-names full of love, He enjoys it. In Braj, the devotees have the freedom to love Shri Krishna with four sentiments (bhav). These four sentiments in the order of increasing intimacy are:
Dasya: He is my Master, I am His servant
Sakhya: He is my friend, I am His friend
Vatsalya: He is my son, I am His parent
Madhurya: He is my beloved , I am His lover
He remains under the control of his fully surrendered and loving devotees. Even though the lowest expression of love is “Dasya Bhaav”, being the epitome of mercy, Lord Krishna forgets to maintain His decorum as a Master. “Lord Ram is sitting under a tree and all the monkeys including Hanuman Ji are sitting on the tree”. Servants always sit at a lower seat than the master. But Shri Ram does not remember that He is the master and Hanuman Ji does not remember that he is the servant. Hence, they are sitting on top of the tree and looking down at Ram. This is the state in the initial form of love – the master servant relationship of love. The gopis are the emblem of selfless love. Their love is called "Madhurya Bhav of Samartha rati". Shri Krishna always remains captivated by their selfless love and feels indebted to them. So, the eighth form of bliss is of the highest order. Souls should strive for this bliss. Even if it takes ten, twenty or even fifty births, but the goal should be worthy and the highest. To achieve that love and bliss, one will have to forsake all forms of love, prior to that and pursue only one ultimate goal.
dharm (vedic rites),
arth (wealth),
kaam (passion) and
moksha (liberation)
The first three in this list are material pursuits. It has been explained several times in the past that the pursuit of material pleasures does not lead to the attainment of true lasting happiness. Pursuing material desires leads to attainment of material abodes Swarg – celestial luxury abodes Narak – hellish abodes Mrityu lok – earth
Of these three types of abodes, the most luxurious and materially gratifying is the abode of the creator Brahma called Brahmlok. But even the residents of Brahmlok suffer from all material afflictions including anger, passion, greed etc. Thus, the pursuit of these three material abodes is deplorable. The fourth one i.e. the pursuit of attaining moksha (liberation) has been widely praised and glorified. Many people ask God to grant them liberation by singing bhajans such as: “Take me across the ocean of Maya”. However, it needs to be known and understood, that our eternal scriptures – the Vedas, condemn the objective of attaining liberation. Gyani asks for liberation (mukti) which means the merger of the soul into the super soul. In this state, the soul is devoid of the mind. Since it is the mind that experiences both sorrow and joy, it is obvious that when the soul is devoid of the mind, it experiences neither sorrow nor joy. This is the reason why, upon the attainment of liberation, the soul forever loses the opportunity to enjoy the unlimited bliss of the divine form, attributes and pastimes of God. On the other hand, when a devotee practices devotion to God and attains God, the soul does not merge in the super soul and maintains a separate identity from God, with its own mind and intellect. In this state, the devotee gets to experience and enjoy the unlimited bliss of the divine form, attributes and pastimes of God with all his senses.
There are several classes of devotees, ranked in the order of the sweetness of the nectar of the bliss experienced by them: The fifth form of bliss is the bliss of Baikunth Lok, the divine abode of MahaVishnu - the Supreme Lord with four arms carrying conch, disc, mace and lotus. In Baikunth, the devotees enjoy the divine abode, names and form of MahaVishnu. However, in the form of MahaVishnu, God does not have any associates and does not engage in any loving pastimes with the devotees. His four arms always remind the devotee of His magnificence and Godly powers. The devotees respect and fear Him, but do not love Him. Due to the abundance of almightiness, this kind of bliss, lacks the nectar of love.
The sixth form of bliss is the bliss of Dwarika, where the devotees enjoy both the majesty and sweetness of the proximity with God. In Dwarika, majesty is the more dominant quality. Glimpses of love are also seen but those are far and few in between e.g. it was in Dwarika that Shri Krishna welcomed his friend Sudama by washing his feet with tears of love. The seventh form of bliss is the bliss of Mathura, where the Supreme Lord behaves like an ordinary human being and for most part, hides His divine powers. So the devotees who love Shri Krishna of Mathura attain higher bliss of proximity and intimacy. The episode of Kubja happened in Mathura. Even beyond the bliss of Mathura, is the bliss of Braj. In this abode, His almightiness is completely shadowed by His love. He forgets His divinity and behaves like an ordinary being. In Braj, the devotees experience the sweetness of loving Him as a friend, son and beloved. For example, Shridama sits on Shri Krishna’s back and rides Him like a horse. He kicks Shri Krishna in the belly just as a rider kicks a horse and says “giddy up horsy”. Here Shri Krishna forgets that he is God Almighty and the individual devotees forget that they are infinitesimally insignificant souls. They both consider themselves equal. This is the sign of extreme love!! This is the eighth and the highest level of bliss where God forgets that He is God and the individual souls forget that they are the soul.
Gopis (the milk maidens of Braj) lovingly call him ill-names like (dari ke, shameless! keeps following us everywhere). He loves to hear those love filled words even though they are ill-names. He loves it so much that He pretends to be hard of hearing and asks them to repeat it. When they repeat it, He playfully tells them, I am hard of hearing. Come closer and tell Me in my ear. In His divine abode Golok, no one is under the influence of Maya. There He is always welcomed and adored. Vedas sing His glories. No-one calls Him ill names. Hence when He descends on earth and is addressed with ill-names full of love, He enjoys it. In Braj, the devotees have the freedom to love Shri Krishna with four sentiments (bhav). These four sentiments in the order of increasing intimacy are:
Dasya: He is my Master, I am His servant
Sakhya: He is my friend, I am His friend
Vatsalya: He is my son, I am His parent
Madhurya: He is my beloved , I am His lover
He remains under the control of his fully surrendered and loving devotees. Even though the lowest expression of love is “Dasya Bhaav”, being the epitome of mercy, Lord Krishna forgets to maintain His decorum as a Master. “Lord Ram is sitting under a tree and all the monkeys including Hanuman Ji are sitting on the tree”. Servants always sit at a lower seat than the master. But Shri Ram does not remember that He is the master and Hanuman Ji does not remember that he is the servant. Hence, they are sitting on top of the tree and looking down at Ram. This is the state in the initial form of love – the master servant relationship of love. The gopis are the emblem of selfless love. Their love is called "Madhurya Bhav of Samartha rati". Shri Krishna always remains captivated by their selfless love and feels indebted to them. So, the eighth form of bliss is of the highest order. Souls should strive for this bliss. Even if it takes ten, twenty or even fifty births, but the goal should be worthy and the highest. To achieve that love and bliss, one will have to forsake all forms of love, prior to that and pursue only one ultimate goal.
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This leela happened when the first edition of Prem Ras Madira was in print. Shri Maharaj Ji sat behind on a devotee’s scooter to go to the printing press for proof reading the book. Since they were going through a crowded market place, the devotee driving the scooter was navigating the traffic at a slow pace. As they were driving, Shri Maharaj Ji suddenly pointed to a side street and asked if one of the devotees lived on that street. The driver devotee replied in the affirmative and continued to drive on. The ride through the crowded street had slowed them down significantly and they still had over 30 minutes to get to the printing press, by which time, the press was expected to close for the day. Reaching late would have meant having to make another trip. So the devotee kept his focus on the road and finally managed to reach the press, just moments before it closed. As he parked his scooter, he noticed that Shri Maharaj Ji was not riding the pillion. He looked around and Shri Maharaj Ji was nowhere to be seen. Thinking that Shri Maharaj Ji may have got off the scooter at the busy market place as the ride was too slow, he started blaming himself for not paying due attention and driving so slowly. Cursing himself, he slowly walked up to the press man to explain what happened. As he explained the situation, the press man continued to look at him quizzingly. After he was done speaking, the press man said, “what are you talking about – Shri Maharaj Ji came here 30 min back, proof read the book and left just couple of minutes back”. He showed the devotee, the corrections that Shri Maharaj Ji had asked to be made, in Shri Maharaj Ji’s own handwriting. The devotee was totally confused and did not understand how Shri Maharaj Ji could have reached the printing press 30 minutes before him, when they were coming together. He decided to request Shri Maharaj Ji to demystify this incident. As he reached Shri Maharaj Ji’s residence, half an hour later, he saw the same devotee about whom Shri Maharaj Ji had asked in the market, also walk in behind him. Seeing the second devotee, he narrated the conversation about his house with Shri Maharaj Ji and indicated that Shri Maharaj Ji may be planning to visit him. The second devotee smiled and told him, “Yes you are right. Shri Maharaj Ji already visited me an hour back.” An hour back was precisely the time, when Shri Maharaj Ji was in the market place and had enquired about the second devotees house, it was also the same time when the pressman said Shri Maharaj Ji had visited the printing press and was also the same time, when the second devotee said that Shri Maharaj Ji had visited his home. Moral: God and God-realized saints are beyond all constraints including those of time and space. Even devi-devatas can manifest themselves in multiple places at the same time. God fulfills all the desires of a God-realized saint. So, it should be no surprise that God-realized saints can perform simple feats like being in multiple locations at the same time. God realized saints descend on the earth to help fallen souls walk on the path of devotion. They do not perform miracles to dupe people or collect money. When they perform miracles their sole purpose is to foster feelings of devotion in the hearts of the devotees.
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Ravan was the villain in the story of Ramayan. While Lord Ram was in exile for 14 years, Ravana abducted Mother Sita, wife of Lord Ram and kept her in Lanka for over a decade. Then Lord Ram killed Ravan and rescued Mother Sita. This is the story of what happened before Ravan died. The pre-story of Ravan is as follows. Jaya and Vijay were the gate keepers of Baikunth. Once, the four Kumars - Sanak, Sanandan, Sanatan and Sanatkumar reached the gates of Baikunth. Jaya and Vijay stood guard at the gates and stopped the 4 Kumars from entering. Denied entry to meet Lord Vishnu, the four Kumars cursed Jay and Vijay to be born three times on earth as demons. The first time they appeared as Hiranyakashipu and his brother Hiranyaksh. Lord Narsingh and Lord Varah killed them. The second time they were born as Ravana and his brother Kumbhakaran. And the third time during the descension period of Shri Krishna, they came as Shishupal and his brother Dantvakra. Being the eternal associates of the Lord, they were well versed with the knowledge of the scriptures. Also, in his leela, Ravana was born to great sage Vishrava and his demoness wife Kaikeshi. He grew up to be a great scholar of Vedas, a great musician and a devotee of Lord Shiva. The story After being defeated by Lord Ram in the battle of Lanka, Ravana lay on the ground breathing his last. Knowing Ravan to be a great Vedic scholar, Lord Ram asked Lakshman to go and seek wisdom from Ravana. Lakshman followed the orders of his elder brother Ram but went and stood near the head of Ravana. After all Ram’s side had won and Ravana had lost! Ravana reprimanded Lakshman and said, “the one seeking knowledge must humble himself by standing near the feet”. So Lakshman went and stood near Ravana’s feet. Ravana then gave a astute of advice to Lakshman. He said, “Lakshman! Don’t err like me. I wanted to build a stairway to heaven but kept postponing it. I hastened in the wrongdoing of kidnapping Mother Sita. And now I am reaping the fruits of my bad actions. Do not make such mistakes. Postpone doing a wrong action but make haste in performing good actions”.
Morale: There are 2 reasons for that: Since our intellect is material, it waivers from one moment to the other. So, when it decides to perform a good action, act on it immediately, as who knows when bad “sanskars” will take over and alter your decision. No one knows when we have to leave this body. Hence, if death were to come today, postponing performing a good action would result in a loss for our parmaarth.
Morale: There are 2 reasons for that: Since our intellect is material, it waivers from one moment to the other. So, when it decides to perform a good action, act on it immediately, as who knows when bad “sanskars” will take over and alter your decision. No one knows when we have to leave this body. Hence, if death were to come today, postponing performing a good action would result in a loss for our parmaarth.
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