Book Review - Bhagavad Bhakti (True Devotion)

Bhagavad Bhakti contains the transcripts translated into English of all eight discourses in their entirety and sequential order, complete with all the scriptural quotations given by Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj.  As each discourse is complete within itself, Bhagavad Bhakti is compelling reading as a series and also as a collection of individual discourses.

Shree Maharajji delivered a series of discourses elaborating on a devotional couplet:

hari anurāg ho yā govind rādhe,

jaga virāga ho, ho mana se batā de

In the elaborate explanation of this couplet, Shree Maharajji clarifies the nature of attachment and detachment. He discusses the importance of 'desire' in a devotees journey towards God, clarifying that desire for God is in fact devotion, and this can flourish when one firmly decides that there is no true happiness in this world.   He further says, "We have to replace our desires for the world with desires for God.  It is that simple.  This is what is called true devotion or bhakti.  In this practice, desires remain.  You don't have to eliminate desires, and in any case you are incapable of eliminating desires even if you tired for millions of years."

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Satsang - Explanation by Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj

 

You would be familiar with the word satsang.  Sat means "Saint" or "Divine Personality" and sang means "to associate".  If sat, the Saint, is genuine and our sang, association with him, is also genuine, then we will attain our ultimate goal of God-realization and divine bliss.  The Vedas state:

                                            tadvigyānārthaṁ sa gurumevābhigachchhet
                                   samitpāṇiḥ śhrotriyaṁ brahmaniṣhṭham (Mundakopanishad)

A true Saint is one who has complete knowledge of the scriptures, and also practical realization of God.  He should be able to impart to us the theoretical knowledge of the Vedas.  Furthermore, he should have attained divine vision of God.  He must possess the treasure of divine love bliss.  If someone has a cheque book but nothing in the bank, what can the cheque book achieve?  If one merely talks about God, without having surrendered to him and having attained divine love, then that talk will merely increase ones pride.

What do we mean by sang or association?  It can be of three kinds.  We possess three things: body, mind, and soul.  Amongst these three, what must we associate with God and the Saints?  Scriptures say that we must associate all three.  The surrender must be complete.  God says we must offer all that we have in our possession.  It is true that whatever we have is impure and dirty, but we must offer it anyway.  God does not expect us to offer him divine things from Golok.  He says, "Whatever you possess, offer it all to Me."  Of our three possessions, the mind is the most important.  This mind has two states: mind and intellect.  The advaitis (monists) mention four states, but that is not important.  In the Bhagavad Gita, Shree Krishna has himself mentioned only two states of the mind: 

                                                    mayyeva mana ādhatsva mayi buddhiṁ niveśhaya

"Arjun!  Offer your mind to me, and offer your intellect also to me."  Arjun thought, "The mind is one, then how is he is asking for two things?"  Shree Krishna said, "Yes!  Yes!  There is only one mind, but it has two states.  When it thinks, it is called the mind, and when it takes decisions, it is called the intellect."

Thus, it is mainly the mind and the intellect that must associate with the Saint.  And of these two, the intellect is more important.  The mind is a mere servant of the intellect.  It simply does what the intellect tells it to do.  You people say time and time again, "Oh!  My mind does not want to think of God.  My mind is telling me to sleep.  My mind is telling me to go away from here."  Granted the mind may be telling you to do all this, but you must learn to control it with the intellect that God has given you.

HAPPY GURU POORNIMA!!

jayati guruvara jayati guruvara, jayati guruvara pyāre
All glories to beloved Gurudev; all glories to beloved Gurudev.

tū hī brahmā tū hī viśhṇu, tū hī śhankar pyāre
Beloved Gurudev!  You are Brahma; You are Vishnu and you are Shankar.

tere pāche chalata naṭavara, chahata pada raja pyāre
Even Shree Krishna walks behind you, beloved Gurudev, desiring the dust of your Lotus Feet.

harihiṅ bhāveṅ śhuddha mana tohiṅ, patita bhāveṅ pyāre
While God accepts only pure-hearted souls, beloved Gurudev accepts even sinful souls.

tū karāve jñān hari ko, śhruti purānana pyāre
Beloved Gurudev!  You bestow knowledge of God as revealed in the Vedas and Puranas.

tū batāve hari milan kī, sādhanā bhī pyāre
Beloved Gurudev!  You also teach the method of uniting with God.

śhuddha mana ho jāya to tū, prema bhī de pyāre
And once the heart is pure, you bestow Divine Love to the surrendered soul. 

 

 

 

God is Causelessly Merciful - by Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj

Shree Krishna is eagerly waiting to meet you, but you are not aware of this fact.  Even if you were, you don’t believe it.  You think, “How can it be possible that he wants to meet me?  It can’t be true.”  It is such feelings and lack of faith alone that has kept you away from Shree Krishna for ages and ages.  The moment you truly believe that he is causelessly merciful and loves you selflessly, you will establish firm faith in him.  That very moment will be the golden moment of your life.

 

In this world, you have never seen or met anyone who is causelessly merciful and graceful.   This is probably the reason for your lack of faith.  If you believed that your Beloved Shree Krishna is restless to meet you right now, then you too could develop a burning desire in your heart to meet him.   At that very moment, he would come and lovingly embrace you.

Shree Krishna carefully observes your thoughts of every moment; He constantly watches you—how do you perform devotional practice, how do you practice roopdhyan and sankirtan of his names and attributes.  He always remains hopeful and waits for the moment you will perform his roopdhyan and sing his glories correctly, so that he may bless you with Divine Love.  But due to lack of faith in his causeless mercy, you become careless. Understand the divine secret that he is closer to you than your own soul, always waiting for you to be completely surrendered.