Happy Friendship Day!

मन तेरो साँचो यार, ब्रजराज कुमार |
जैसो जीव करे प्यार, तैसो करे प्यार यार |
O my mind! Only Shree Krishna, the prince of Braj, is your true friend. 

As the soul loves him, so does he love the soul.

आज है फ्रेंडशिप डे, गोविन्द राधे |
साँचो फ्रेंड हरि गुरु, बस दो है बता दे ||
On the occasion of Friendship day, it is to be contemplated today that only God and Guru are our true eternal friends.
 

Why do we have desires?

This is because, all souls desire true happiness, i.e. happiness associated with God.  To fulfill this natural desire for bliss, the mind constantly creates 'desires' every moment.  There are five types of desires - the desire to see, desire to hear, desire to smell, desire to taste and desire to touch or feel.

The mind desires to enjoy subjects related to these five senses, and it can desire for objects only in two areas - either related to God or related to Maya, the material world.  Hence, this mind can either desire for God or for material objects. There is no third area where the mind can seek for happiness.

If we believe that happiness can be achieved from this material world, we will aim to fulfill our desires in this realm. If we believe that happiness can be achieved from God, we will automatically desire to attain Him.  This is a natural tendency and not learnt from anyone.  Not just humans, but even animals and birds have this innate understanding. The mind works in accordance with the decision of the intellect, and has to desire what the intellect thinks is the source of true happiness.

svatantraḥ kriyamāṇe vai kṛito bhagavatā vidā

The material world is readily visible, but God is not easily seen. It is the nature of the mind to desire material pleasure, as it is made of the same elements (Panchmahabhut) that constitute the material world.  It is very natural and easy to get attracted to things that we can see, and we can see this material world and not God.  Although the Vedas, Shastras and Puranas praise God, and the message is repeated by the saints, our mind is not able to concentrate in that direction. The mind is easily attached to material objects of pleasure, and seeks happiness in them.

Materialism or Spirituality - Which way to choose?

According to materialists, the creation, development and destruction of the world are according to the rules of nature and not by the rules of God. They say that everybody wants happiness and by the fulfillment of every material desire, one can be happy. They believe that we are not eternal souls but mortal bodies, and by the fulfillment of the material senses one can be happy. The sense of seeing, hear, smell, touch, taste are five senses of our body. With the help of these senses we make use of this world. So, according to the materialists the means of happiness in this material world is this corporeal body. 

On the other hand, according to spirituality, we are eternal souls and not this physical body. This body is destroyable and is made up of five structural elements (water, air, fire, ether and earth) whereas, the soul ('I') is spiritual, eternal, and is an eternal part of God. Bliss is the other name of God and being a part of "Him", we naturally desire for 
happiness -

raso vai saḥ

Now which way to choose?

This is a very difficult question for an individual to answer. Every religion claims to be perfect in its own ways. The answer to this can be explained in the following way:

We have two entities - the soul and the physical body. It is true that we will achieve our goal of attaining supreme bliss only by surrendering to God, and that the soul needs God. Similarly, we have to realize that this body requires the material world because this body is made up of five elements and this world is also comprised of these five elements. 

No spiritualist can oppose a materialist, and no materialist can oppose a spiritualist. It is only with the help of this material body that devotional practice is made possible and without God-realization, mental afflictions, i.e. material desires, anger, jealousy, ego, etc. will never go away and we cannot have peace and happiness. Therefore, with the point of view of keeping our body healthy we have to do devotion. We have to keep our body healthy with the idea of serving and worshipping God.  If we don't provide the necessary proteins, minerals, vitamins and all the required nutrients to our body, we will surely fall sick and instead of remembering God we will only remember pain and misery.

To summarize, we could say that we have to follow spirituality along with materialism. This can be explained with the help of example:  

A nurse takes care of thousands of children in a hospital over her lifetime. She feeds and cleans them, gives them medicine, etc. She performs these tasks as part of her duty and not because she is attached to them.  Her love and attachment are mostly for her children and family. She does not love the babies in the hospital as much as she does her own. The sickness of her own child brings her anxiety and pain. She will do everything possible to bring her own child back to normal health at the earliest. 

But if a child falls sick in the hospital, the nurse will tend to it immediately and perform her duties well. Her reaction to the sickness will be quite normal and not emotional. She is not emotionally attached to the sick child.  In the same way, we have to perform our material duties without any attachment for sake of duty and not being bothered of the loss or profit. This is called as Karm-yog.

man hari meṅ tan jagat meṅ, karmyog tehi jān |

tan hari meṅ man jagat meṅ, yah mahān ajñān ||

 

Attaching our mind to this material world and worshipping God with our body and material senses is a sign of great foolishness.

Hence, both materialism and spirituality are necessary for us because we are spiritual by nature — soul and we have this material body. We need this material world for existence.

God Alone is Ours

Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj says that God has declared in Vedas that he alone is everything. All the souls belong to him. All of us who think that our worldly relations with our mother, father, husband, son, etc. to be true are actually ignorant. This is because they are temporary and stay with us until the point of death. We will again create new relationships in our next and subsequent lives. We may take birth as not just human beings, but other lower species too. In that case, a dog, a cat or a bear can be our father! In the same sequence, we have already made infinite fathers, mothers, husbands, wives, sons and daughters, etc., in our past infinite lifetimes. We can't trace them now. We can't reach them. So how can they be truly ours?
 

Just as waves are born out of an ocean, collide with each other and separate after sometime. The relation of a wave with other waves is temporary, whereas the relationship of a wave with the ocean is perpetual (it comes out of ocean and it merges back into ocean). Similarly, the soul, which resides in our body, will transmigrate into another body after death.  We will have a physical mother of that body again. There are 8.4 million species of life and we (soul) have traveled from one species to other because of our good deeds and sins. This human form is received very rarely.  It is scarcely available even to the celestial gods of heavenly abodes. 

                                      divyo deva eko nārāyaṇo mātā pitā bhrātā suhṛit gatiḥ

“O souls! I alone am your mother, father, brother. Not even this but everything you can imagine!” 

The material world and material relatives are all temporary. None of them are truly yours. You get deceived in every life by believing that your father of this current lifetime is your real father. It is nothing but a play-act of limited time period. So we should contemplate upon this fact repeatedly that we are eternal souls over and above our physical body. Soul is our real identity. So if this knowledge is firm, our mind will be detached from the worldly relations and we can attach our mind towards God with ease who is our true relative!!!

DIVINE ASSOCIATION (SATSANG) AND MATERIAL ASSOCIATION(KUSANG)

There are only two areas in the world. One is divine,satya and the other is material,asatya. God and his saints who are beyond maya alone are 'satya'. Association with them through the complete involvement of the mind and intellect is referred to as 'satsanga', 'divine association'. Anything or anyone else apart from this naturally comes under the three modes of maya- 'tamasa','rajasa' and 'sattva'. Therefore, association with this area is referred to as 'kusanga','material association'. In short, whatever leads to the attachment of the mind and intellect to the divine is "satsanga",apart from this,everything else is "kusanga" or 'wrong association'.

KHUSHWANT SINGH’S ANALYSIS

Khushwant Singh Tells

I am nastic but deeply intrested in all religions. Like other people I have been trying to find answers to three questions

1. Where have we come from?

2.How should we conduct ourselves in the life given to us ?

3. Where do we go when we die?

In the quest for answers to these questions I read sacred texts, listen to talks given by holy men and scholars of religion. The only one who impressed me above others is Kripaluji Maharaj.

I am most impressed by what Kripalu Ji Maharaj has to say. His scholarship is profound ,His memory chapter and verse He quotes from the world scriptures is phenomenal, He is lucid His logic irrefutable and his manner of putting across his ideas most convincing He is in short my idea of Jagadguru in a true sense of word. I listen to Him in spellbound attention and share the joy of singing and dancing at the end of His lectures. Kripaluji Maharaj brings happiness in peoples lives.

SHED TEARS FOR GOD

Shedding tears will purify your mind, everyone remember this, memorize this statement of Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj. Cry out to God like an innocent child, Shree Krishna (God) will come running. Throw away all your knowledge, all the dirt-garbage that you have accumulated. When you realize yourself to be an insignificant, weak, shelter less, humble, fallen sinful soul, from within, then tears will start flowing incessantly, then your mind will be purified, and then Guru will Grace you. With the Grace of your Guru, you will see Shree Krishna (God), you will receive the Love of Shree Krishna (God) and you will be blissful forever. 

GOD,SOUL AND MAYA ARE ETERNAL

ब्रह्म,जीव, माया तत्त्व, गोविंद  राधे,

तीनों है अनादी अनंत बता  दे.

Brahm, Jeev, Maya Tattva, Govind Radhey. Teenon hai anaadi anant bata de

There are 3 eternal entities: God, soul and Maya. They have no beginning nor end. They are eternal and will always remain eternal. They haven't been created nor can be destroyed.

ब्रह्म जीव चेतन, गोविंद राधे,

ब्रह्म शक्ति जीव ,याते अंश बता दे.

Brahm Jeev Chetan, Govind Radhey. Brahm Shakti Jeev Yatey Ansh Bata De.

Supreme God and the souls are chetan, full of life. The soul is a power of God and it is an ansh or part of God.

ब्रह्म शक्ति माया जड़ , गोविंद राधे .

जीव माया शाषक ब्रह्म  बता  दे .

Brahm Shakti Maya Jada, Govind Radhey. Jeev Maya Shashal Brahm Bata De.

Another eternal power of God is Maya, which is lifeless. The governor of both Maya and the souls is God. They are both His powers and are governed by Him.

INCREASE PATIENCE,HUMILITY AND MODESTY

Patience, Humility, Modesty are all divine qualities, you should increase these. The more these qualities increase, the more your Sadhana has progressed and one person tells you a sentence and you are feeling it from within then you have not done Sadhana. You are under a false impression. You are merely uttering Ram Ram, Shyam Shyam, Radhey Radhey, this is not enough. (Always remember to do Roop Dhyan, bring God in your mind). Increase so much humility that you develop this hobby that someone criticizes you and you do not feel it. Someone says in front of you that you are selfish, cunning, a cheat and a miser and you are feeling happy - Yes, you are right. Only Hari and Guru should remain in your mind, there should be no other matter of Raag or Dvesh (Matter of Love or Hatred) in your mind. You all practice this for your own welfare and it will also make Me happy.

THERE IS NEITHER HAPPINESS NOR SORROW IN THE WORLD

Jag mah such dukh dukh dou nahi, As ur dhari le gyan |

Sukh mane dukh milat hai, Sukh na Jagat mah maan ||   Bhakti Shatak

There is neither happiness nor sorrow in the world, this knowledge shoul be firm in the mind. When we believe that there is happiness in the world, when it is snatched away from us, we experience sorrow.

The world is made up of Maya. Still there are 3 entities in it - 1. Brahm (God) 2. Jeev (Soul) and 3. Maya

The soul as well as Maya are powers of God. Maya is jad (lifeless) whereas the soul has is chetan (has life). The material mayic lifeless world is present in front of us, everyone also knows the soul. Only God is omnipresent but cannot be seen with the material eyes. The material world is meant for the utilization of the soul. So, the Vedas state that -

Bhokta Bhogya Preritaram cha Matwa proktam Brahmamenatatah || (Sveta. Up. 1-11)

You will say that is the material world is mean for the utilization of the souls then why are we told to practice detachment from the world? And why don't we experience complete happiness in the world? This material world is meant for the utilization of the world not over-involvement.

The bodies of the souls are material and the world is also material. So, for the material world is meant for the utilization to keep the bodies alive. But, the soul is divine. So,

Chinmatram Shri Hareransham Sukshmamsharamvyayam |

Krushnadhinmiti Prahujirvam Gyangunashrayam || (Veda)

Bhagwat states that -

Atma Nityovyayam Shudh Ekam Shetrajjam Aashrayamah |

Avikriyam Svadruga Hetuvyarpakosagyanavrutah || (Bhag. 7-7-11)

When the soul is an eternal divine entity, then its subject may also be divine. The material world cannot possibly be the subject of the divine soul. Naturally, every part naturally loves its whole. So, the soul is also naturally desiring the eternal divine unlimited happiness of God who is present everywhere in the world which is the subject of the soul.

The false sense of happiness that we experience in the world, is the result of the imagination of our mind. If we did not believe that there is happiness in the world then our sorrows would automatically be finished.

Everyone does not get the same amount of happiness from same thing in the world. When a person constantly forms a belief that there is happiness in an object or a person, he gets attached to it. Then, he desires that object or person. Then, in the fulfillment of that desire, he receives temporary happiness. This is the same reason why a beggar who is a mother receives happiness from her son even though he maybe squint and  ugly. A drunkard receives happiness from alcohol. A Pandit may not be able to stand the sight of alcohol and receive unhappiness from it. If there was happiness in alcohol then even the Pandit would have recieved the same amount of happiness from it.

Even the imagined happiness in the world is not equal for everyone. A thirsty person receives a lot of happiness from water and a lustful man recieves happiness from a lustful woman. This happiness also decreases with the passage of every moment. When a mother who has lost her infant since many days first finds him and embraces him for the first time after she finds him, she experiences tremendous happiness, then again in the second and thrird embrance the happiness decreases and then she may even feel detached from it.

FROM THE MOUTH OF JAGADGURU

There are just two areas- Shree Krishna and the Material world.

The mind alone is the performer of all good and bad actions. If the mind is attached to Shree Krishna, you will attain divine knowledge and divine bliss. If your mind remains attached to the material world, you will continue to suffer in ignorance and misery.

Therefore you should always practice detaching your mind from the world, and attaching it to Shree Krishna alone.

For this, Rupadhyana , loving remembrance of Shree Radha Krishna is absolutely essential. Attentively listen to the divine words of your guru, strictly follow his instructions and engage yourself in devotional chanting, Sankirtana.

Always feel the presence of Shree Krishna and Your Guru with You. Avoid Committing spiritual transgressions.

- YOUR’S KRIPALU

DEVOTION TO SHREE KRISHNA - THE ONLY MEANS FOR PURIFICATION OF HEART

“Taistanyadhani puyante tapodaanjapadibhi

Nadharmajam taddhrudaym tadpishandhrisewaya”( Part 6-2-27)

“Vedic karm such as charity, fire sacrifice, penance, fasting etc does destroy sin, but it cannot purify the heart.” You may ask that when sins are destroyed, will not the heart be automatically purified? But it is not so. Let us say that a person has committed the sin of killing a cow. If he performs the atonement for it according to Vedic karm, his sin will be destroyed, but his sinful mentality will remain. Thus, he will commit sin again. Now, he may repeatedly commit sin, and then do the atonement for it, but the heart will never be purified in this way.

Secondly, the sin is committed in a short time, but the performance of the atonement takes an exceedingly long time. Besides, even if we suppose that all the present sins have been destroyed through actions of atonement, there will still be innumerable accumulated sins from endless past lifetimes. These will never be destroyed even by repeated atonement, because the accumulated sins of endless past lifetimes are infinite. Thus, to purify the heart, devotion has to be performed. Adi Shankaracharya has said:

“Shudhayati hi naantratma krishnapadambhoj Bhaktiyuke”  

“Without devotion to the Supreme Lord Shree Krishn, the heart can never be cleansed.” And when the heart is not cleansed, there is no guarantee that external repentance for sins will prevent the person from committing sins in the future. The conclusion is that the mere performance of karm without devotion, is not only incapable of giving liberation, it does not even result in the purification of the heart.

DO NOT HIDE YOUR FAULTS

Everyone has faults. Instead of accepting our shortcoming and trying to improve upon them, we try to hide them. We refuse to accept that we are faulty. On the contrary, we try to exaggerate our good qualities before others, including our level of devotion. We try to show off that we are high level devotees. We do not realize that whatever progress we have made on this path due to the mercy of God and Guru.

THE PRACTICAL ASPECT OF DEVOTION TO GOD

While remembering Radha Krishn and meditating on Their Divine form, you have to chant Their name, virtues and leelas with tears of love and longing, and with a deep desire to receive Their Divine vision and Divine love. During devotion, loving meditation on Their form is most important. You may form Their image in your own mind according to your liking. You may take the help of a Deity or a picture of Radha Krishn. But, whatever form you create in your mind, you must have Divine feelings in that, because the body of Radha Krishn is always Divine and Blissful.

You can choose any form of Krishn (or Radha) from a newly born baby up to sixteen years of age and mentally decorate that form according to your desire and choice.

Along with the meditation on His form you should also remember His loving leelas and His virtues, just like: He is the true friend of every humble soul (deenbandhu) and a true companion to every fallen soul (patit pavan).

All the names, virtues, leelas, abodes and the rasik Saints of Radha Krishn are totally synonymous.

You should not have any worldly desire or even the desire of liberation from Them. You must only desire for Their selfless Divine love and Divine service.

You should always think that your Divine Beloved (Radha Krishn) and your beloved Master are always with you and are protecting you. Never ever think that you are alone.

All the time in your heart you must remember the name ‘Radhey Shyam’ or ‘Radhey Radhey.’

You have to keep yourself away from damaging thoughts and bad associations. They are: looking to another person’s fault; criticizing other devotees; desire for popularity; disappointment in devotion; laziness in doing devotions; and friendliness with such worldly people whose association may spoil your devotional feelings.

You have to keep yourself away from the spiritual transgressions related to the name, form, leelas, virtues, abode, associates, and the Divine love of Radha Krishn.

‘Only They are my everything,’ this feeling has to be strengthened in the mind.

TWO CATEGORIES OF SAINTS

The first category of Saints consists of those who are saintly inwardly, and their external behavior is also Saintly. They possess Divine knowledge, realization and Bliss within them, and externally too they appear to be Saints. Their behavior is not contrary to our notion of a Saint, and hence it is easy to recognize them. However, history bears witness to the fact that very few Saints belong to this category.

The second category of Saints consists of those who are saintly inwardly, but appear to be worldly in their outward behavior. We usually judge others by their external behavior, so it becomes difficult to recognize such Saints. Most Saints belong to this category, because it is their nature to conceal themselves from the world.

“Gopaniyam Gopaniyam Gopaniyam Praynataha”

“Spiritual greatness should be kept secret, and not displayed to the world.” The possible reason for this is that it is a common notion that a good man does not declare his greatness with his own mouth. So, if a Saint were to declare his identity himself, people would never accept him as a Saint. Whatever the reason, history bears witness to the fact that most Saints appeared outwardly worldly, but they were Divine from within.

PRE-REQUISITES OF A SPIRITUAL MASTER

The scriptures mention two pre-requisites for a Spiritual Master: He should possess complete knowledge of the scriptures, and he should be perfectly situated in God-consciousness. This means that he should be perfectly proficient in theory as well as in practice. One who is merely a scholar of the scriptures, but has not attained God-realization, cannot be considered a genuine Guru. However, between these two pre-requisites, the practical aspect is more important. If one is not well versed in the scriptures, but is established in God-consciousness, then he may still be considered a genuine Guru, for on knowing God everything automatically becomes known.

THE NEED OF SPIRITUAL MASTER

After detachment from the world, and before surrender to God, there is need of another Divine Personality without whom one cannot proceed further. That entity is a God-realized Saint or Spiritual Master. It is the Spiritual Master who decides which path is best for each devotee, in order to surrender to God. Again, when we traverse the path, it is the Spiritual Master who dispels our doubts and helps overcome obstacles. Without His guidance, we can never reach our destination.

Veda Says that “Learned men have concluded that the mere performance of Vedic rituals cannot destroy the bondage of past karmas. On the contrary, they only serve to increase that bondage. Hence, one needs the guidance of a Saint who has known and experienced God.”

The Bhagavad Geeta states:“To gain knowledge of God, one must surrender to a God-realised Saint, with an attitude of service and enquire from him submissively.”

Ved Vyas also states: “The goal of God-realization can only be attained by surrendering to genuine Spiritual Master.”

The Ramayan also says: Without the guidance of a Guru, one cannot cross over the ocean of material existence.” “Without the guidance of a Guru, one cannot attain knowledge of God” Thus, the unanimous view of all the scriptures is that we must surrender to a Spiritual Master, in order to know the unknown entity called God.

PRACTICE SADHANA EVERYDAY

Just put aside few minutes every day to do Sadhana. You have nothing to loose but to gain. You do not have to make any special accommodation. Where ever you remember God becomes pure ambiance. Just like the sun evaporates dirty water and turn it into rain drops. God will purify you from all your sins and make you his own forever.

SHREE KRISHNA IS FOREMOST OF ALL FORMS OF GOD

ब्रह्म के अनेक रूप, गोविन्द राधे,

सर्वरूप आश्रय कृष्ण बता दे.

Brahma ke anek roop, Govinda Radhey. Sarvaroop aashreya Krishna bata dey.

God has uncountable forms, but three are main: Brahma, Paramatma, and Bhagawan. Bhagawan Shri Krishna is foremost of all the divine forms of God because all the divine powers are revealed in His personality; they are only partially revealed in the other forms. There are not multiple Gods, rather one God has different forms related to the powers that are manifested. For this reason, the form of Shri Krishna has special importance.

BHAKTI - THE EASIEST PATH TO GOD

What is so difficult about Bhakti? The one whom we have to worship is sitting within our heart. One God, Shri Krishna is sitting within the hearts of everyone, Everyone - Man, Dog, Cat, Pig, Demon, everyone. And, he is everywhere, within every particle of the universe. But, we cannot see Him. We will be able to see Him after we are purified by doing Bhakti. Right now, we have to try to bring God in our hearts. Later, we will not have to try, we will be able to think about God continuously without any effort. It will be very natural.Once there was a beautiful Gopi sitting near the Yamuna river and someone thought look at this beautiful girl, she is thinking about Shri Krishna. Someone asked her you are thinking about Shri Krishna ? She said, you took His name again, I am trying hard to remove Him out of my mind but in vain. I have small kids to take care of and my family for whom I have to cook and run errands. Whenever I am cooking or trying to do something, He comes in front of me and plays His melodious flute and I forget everything and get lost in His thoughts. Such is the high state of the Gopis who are physically doing all the work at home but in their mind, she is continuously thinking about Shri Krishna.