My Random Thoughts - 1

Below are few of my random thoughts which I have posted recently on Twitter . I post these small thoughts regularly on Twitter , however, I shall compile & post it over here too regularly after few days of posting on Twitter :

There is virtue in God's Name......Chant it daily.

When thoughts start subsiding in mind & mind becomes still, free of thoughts, then come the state called PEACE

Love is Universal.....Infatuation is to an object or person......Love expands......Infatuation is binding

As Your Soul is present everywhere in the universe so at death it's your mind having all your memories, tastes & thoughts leaves the body...

All work & enjoyment in life is good......but thinking about the purpose of life is the most important........

Divine is present everywhere, even all around you just now where you are..........Just feel His presence.....

Get Gita-Blog Updates by e-mail

When God walks by your side

In Bhagwat Gita Lord Krishna has given a promise that He is always with His devotees. Whosoever, worships Him with true heart, He is always with that person. But it is our mind only that is not having complete faith in Him & His powers. We do not actually know how resourceful & powerful God is & that He can take care of all of our problems. It's only that we should have unswerving faith in Him. If we do have such faith in Him & always think of Him, pray Him, then there is no chance that He shall not be with you always & in times of your adversity. Recently I was listening to a devotional song / bhazan by Sh. Vinod Aggarwal Ji in which he was describing about the story of a person, who wanted to test his faith in God - Lord Krishna, whether or not God is always with him. Story goes like this:

Once there was a devotee of Lord Krishna who always used to have faith in the powers of the God & always used to pray Him in his mind. That person was very rich. That person prayed to God & asked the God that I love you, pray you, adore you so much but how come I am to know that You are with me & shall protect me in all circumstances.

God told him, "You see, you daily goes for a morning walk by the bank of the river. Now onwards I shall walk by your side, whenever, you shall go for the morning walk."

Next day that person went for the morning walk but could not see anybody over there. When he came back from the morning walk, he started complaining to God, "As promised, You have not come to my side when I went for the morning walk. God, I could not see You during my morning walk."

God said to him, "I have come during your morning walk but with these eyes you could not see Me".

Devotee, "O God, then how am I to know that You are with me?"

God said to him, " See, whenever you walk by the side of the river, you normally see only two footsteps of yours. Now ,whenever, you see four footsteps instead of two, just think that I am walking by you."

It started happening that way only & that person always saw four footsteps & felt happy & confident that God is with him & walking by him.

Life is the name of change. Now the times changed & with the quirk of fate, somehow that person lost his wealth & got poor. When the wealth was gone, all his near & dear ones turned their faces away from that person. He started to feel very lonely but was confident that in all these times of adversity, though all his near & dear ones, friends & relatives have left him but at least his revered God-Lord Krishna is with him. That person still used to go for the morning walk. But surprisingly during these times of adversity he again started seeing only two footsteps instead of four, during his walk by the river. Now that person was very surprised that his revered, lovable God too has left him during the adverse times. He started regretting & crying but ultimately said in his mind, "Let it be the will of God, what he can do?"

Life for that man went on like that only & with time, again his times changed & he once again became rich & prosperous. But now when he went to the morning walk by the side of the river he again started seeing four footsteps instead of two. Now he got impatient & complained to God that this is not fair.

He said to God, "It's all right that in my adverse times all my near & dear ones had left me but how come that You too, who always promised me to be with me, too had left me in my adverse times. God, how come that You leave your devotee in his bad times?"

Now God could not keep His silence & told that person, "O My Dear one, in your times of adversity the two footsteps that you saw were not yours but these were of Him."
That man said, "How can it be that those footsteps were Yours & not mine?"

God said, "O My Dear one, in your times of adversity, YOU WERE IN MY LAP & I ALWAYS WALKED TAKING YOU IN MY LAP ONLY. In such a condition how can your footsteps be there on the bank of the river. Those two footsteps in your adverse times were mine only. Now your good time has come so now once again I shall be separate from you & shall always walk by your side."
Jai Sri Krishna

Get Gita-Blog Updates by e-mail

"Mujhe Aap Ne Bulaya" by Vinod Aggarwal Ji

"Mujhe Aap Ne Bulaya" is a beautiful bhazan sung in the praise of Hindu God "Lord Krishna." In this devotional video the singer "Sh. Vinod Aggawal Ji" is showing his divine love & devotion to Lord Krishna.

Get Gita-Blog Updates by e-mail

My Random Thoughts

Below are few of my random thoughts which I have posted recently on Twitter . I post these small thoughts regularly on Twitter , however, I shall compile & post it over here too regularly after few days of posting on Twitter :

Those who lived by the sword were perished by the sword; Those who lived by Divine Conciousness were survived by Divine Conciousness.

Chanting God's name produces potent vibrations which cleans & purify your living area & surroundings.

You cannot think of your Inner Self until you are alone......

Your true self, Soul is present everywhere in the world, your body only travels from one place to other, while your soul is already there.

Your mind only leaves one body & enters another, moves from one planet to another, Your soul is stationary & Omnipresent.

Zero (Shunya) is the source of all the creation, from Zero came everything & shall go back again into it. Zero aspect of God is interesting.

Get Gita-Blog Updates by e-mail

Let God take charge of your life

In the Mahabharata war, "Lord Krishna" did not fought the war & only became the charioteer of "Arjuna". In the war, Arjuna did not ask for the huge army of "Lord Krishna" but wanted him to be his charioteer only. Arjuna knew that Lord Krishna is almighty, Supreme personality of Godhead & in all circumstances He will take him in right direction & direct him in such a way that he is always protected from his enemies. It happened in that way only & Arjuna was protected by "Lord Krishna" in all circumstances & he won the war in the end.

In the same way we should also give charge of our life to "Lord Krishna" or God. You just put your life at the feet of God & let God direct every action of your life. When you shall let God take charge of your life, then you too shall always be protected in your life by Him. Just take an example. When you board a flight by buying a ticket, then you just sit in your seat & tie yourself to the seat with safety belt. You do not know how to fly the airplane & if something goes wrong in the air then you yourself are in no position to do anything. In fact when you board a plane you are 100% at the mercy of it's Pilot. If the Pilot is capable & is having good experience in controlling the flight then you are safe & Pilot shall protect you in adverse circumstances & shall land you safely. If Pilot is not experienced enough to manage in adverse circumstances then it's up to your fate only what shall happen.

In the same way let's give the control of our life to the Best experienced Pilot, who is non other than "Lord Krishna".

In Bhagwat Gita Lord Krishna tells Arjuna to always have faith in Him only as, whosoever, keeps faith in Lord Krishna, He always protects that devotee.

"man-mana bhava mad-bhakto
mad-yaji mam namaskuru
mam evaishyasi satyam te
pratijane priyo ’si me" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Eighteen verse 65)

"Lord Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, Always think of Me, become My devotee, worship Me and offer your homage unto Me. Thus you will come to Me without fail. I promise you this because you are My very dear friend."

"sarva-dharman parityajya
mam ekam saranam vraja
aham tvam sarva-papebhyo
mokshayisyami ma suchah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Eighteen verse 66)

"Lord Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear."

In the last verse of Bhagwat Gita, "Sanjaya" is also of the same opinion.

"yatra yogeshvarah krsno
yatra partho dhanur-dharah
tatra srir vijayo bhutir
dhruva nitir matir mama" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Eighteen verse 78)

"Sanjaya said: Wherever there is Krishna, the master of all mystics, and wherever there is Arjuna, the supreme archer, there will also certainly be opulence, victory, extraordinary power, and morality. That is my opinion."

So let's have complete faith in "Lord Krishna" & let's be His devotee. By having devotion in Him we shall be saved always by Him in all circumstances.

Not only of the saints but as per "Lord Krishna", even if a vilest sinner becomes His devotee then also He rescues that person. Below verses of Bhagwat Gita explain that only.

Api chet su-duracharo
bhajate maam ananya-bhak
sadhurev sa mantavya
samyag vyvasito hi sah' (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter IX verse 30 )

'Even if the vilest sinner worships Me with full devotion, he should be considered a noble soul or saint; as he has taken the right step by worshipping Me.'

'kshipram bhavti dharmatma
shasvac-chantim nigachati
kauntey pratijanihi
na me bhaktah pranashyati' (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter IX verse 31)

'He speedily becomes virtuous and secures lasting peace. O son of Kunti, know it for certain that My devotee never falls.'

Through above verse 31, God is telling Arjuna that such a sinful person after becoming His devotee becomes a person of good virtues and always remain in peace & such a peace is not temporary but is ever lasting. God is assuring the son of Kunti (another name of Arjuna, his disciple) that his devotee never falls again in life as He always protect him. So let's all worship the God, "Lord Krishna" always so that He can protect us always. Jai Sri Krishna.

Get Gita-Blog Updates by e-mail

Many Faces of God & Faceless God

Different religions of the world depict God in different forms. In Hinduism God is depicted as Rama, Krishna, Shiva, etc. while in some sects of Hinduism, God is depicted as formless God too. In Christianity God is depicted as Jesus Christ who is said to be the Son of God. Sikhism & Muslim sects mostly believe in a formless God. So different minded people of the world see God in different forms or formless God too.

As per me God is basically formless. As He is almighty, He is free to take any form. That's why there are so many different forms of God in Hinduism & God appears in different forms from time to time as per the Hindu mythology. As any Form is a representation of Maya as per the Hinduism, so even the different forms of God are representation of Maya only, while in fact God is formless. Formless only creates the Forms & not otherwise.

Earlier I had put one video "Allah Tero Naam Ishwar Tero Naam" a God Prayer on "You Tube". Essence of that video is that God is ONE, whether formless or with form. Below are some comments posted on that video which only says that God is one, irrespective of any religion. I am also of the view that God is one, irrespective of all religions. Just go through the below comments & give yours comments too.

"We followers of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityananda Prabhu also recognize that the faces of Godhead are like the waves on the ocean. No one can count ! Krsna, God, Allah, has no limits, is One. But our herats are sold out to the beauty of Radha and Krsnas' love. So we might appear at first glance to be sectarian! Hare Krsna. Jai Prabhupada."

"We need more people with views such as yours. I was born into a Hindu family, however, my heart and mind is open to all religions and their GODS, and thus its followers. May Allah have his blessings upon you and may he give you the wisdom and strength to spread the much needed peace and unity in this world."

"Beautiful, its so beautiful that we all worship the same God. its so sad that we dont resolve our differences. may Allah open our eyes so that we can all see the truth and unite."

"Wow so nice thats what the whole humanity hv to do;...unite and pray and work towards peace of this beautifull world..."

"Come lets pray for the whole world to be at peace & happy."

Get Gita-Blog Updates by e-mail

On Twitter

I've just started Twittering on https://twitter.com/GitaBlog

You can visit it here at this link........Twitter

On Twitter I shall be posting small posts/comments which are just the rumblings of my mind. You may come to know more about me, my life & my thoughts over there on routinely basis.

Get Gita-Blog Updates by e-mail

Offering Actions to God

"Remember, people will judge you by your actions, not your intentions. You may have a heart of gold but so does a hard-boiled egg."

All scriptures tell us that we should do the right action & good action. No action of ours should harm anybody. One way to do action is to lead a normal life by doing your normal duties in which you earn a livelihood for yourself & your family. It is called the normal action. The other way of doing actions as told by Bhagwat Gita is to offer all your actions to God just like you offer the offerings at the feet of God in a temple. Just devote & offer all your actions at the feet of God. By offering all your actions in such a way to God you shall be doing everything for God only & it's outcome shall be good only. God promises to Arjuna that if a person does all his/her actions in this way of offering to God then He shall rescue that person always in life.

Below are the verses from "Bhagwat Gita" in which God is asking his disciple Arjuna to do all his actions / activities for Him only. The below verses are firstly, written in, as it is written in original Sanskrit in Bhagwat Gita & below that is English translation of that verse.

' Ye tu srvani krmani
myi sanyasya mat-para
anany-naiv yogen
maam dhyayant upasate '
' Tesham-aham samud-dharta
mrityu-sansar-saagrat
bhavami na-chirat parth
mayy-avesita-chetsam ' ( Bhagwat Gita: Chapter XII verse 6-7 )

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, Those people, who worship Me by surrendering all their activities unto Me, are always devoted to Me, always meditate upon Me, Having always fixing their minds upon Me, O Parth - to them, I swiftly rescue from the ocean of birth and death."

Through above verse 6 & 7, God is telling 'Parth' (another name of Arjuna, his disciple), that those people who work for God only & offer all their activities & work to Him only, to such a Soul He shows great mercy, always protects him & finally rescues him during & after death.

"mayy eva mana adhatsva
mayi buddhim nivesaya
nivasisyasi mayy eva
ata urdhvam na samsayah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Twelve verse 8)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, Just fix your mind upon Me and engage all your intelligence in Me. Thus you will live in Me always, without a doubt."

In the above verses, God is making very clear that if a person offers all his work & activities to God, thinking this world to be a creation of God only, then also He shall be happy with that person & shall protect & shall deliver that person from the cycles of birth & death. By working for God, we shall attain peace & shall attain His love & devotion. So Let's all Work for God only.

Get Gita-Blog Updates by e-mail

Antaryami - God is in Your Heart

In your hectic day to day life, you are very busy with your work & home life. You have not gone to the temple for quite some time. You used to visit the temple earlier routinely but now you are missing that very badly. You plan to visit the temple today evening. You want to see your revered God once again in the temple. You go to the temple in the evening & feel happy to be back in the temple once again. But Lo! when you come before your revered God, You close your eyes. Why have you closed your eyes when your revered God is in front of you? You were so eager to see your God but now why have you closed your eyes & started praying in your mind? Don't you want to see the face of your God with open eyes who is there in front of you?

Why do people close their eyes & start praying with closed eyes when they are in front of their revered God in the temple or church? Simple answer to this is that they feel God much closer to their heart inside themself than in the standstill figure or statue in the temple or church. Yes, God is there in your heart who is sitting silently over there watching you & your actions. This aspect of God is called "Antaryami".

"Antaryami means the one who can observe & know every thing of your heart without you being explaining anything to Him. So God is called Antaryami as we need not explain to Him about any of our problems. In this aspect He is Antaryami & He knows what we want."

Below verses of Bhagwat Gita explain this aspect of God only:

"jyotisam api taj jyotis
tamasah param ucyate
jnanam jneyam jnana-gamyam
hridi sarvasya visthitam" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Thirteen verse 18)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, He is the source of light in all luminous objects. He is beyond the darkness of matter and is un-manifested. He is knowledge, He is the object of knowledge, and He is the goal of knowledge. He is situated in everyone’s heart."

"ishvarah sarva-bhutanam
hrd-dese ’rjuna tishthati
bhramayan sarva-bhutani
yantrarudhani mayaya" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Eighteen verse 61)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, The Lord / Supreme God dwells in the heart of all beings, who are mounted on the automation of this body, causing them by His illusive power of material energy to revolve (according to their actions) and is directing the wanderings of all living entities."

So when God is there in your heart in "Antaryami" aspect then you can always find daily some time from your daily routine & can pray to Him in your home only, while closing your eyes, sitting in a lonely peaceful place. Daily praying to Him like this shall make you more peaceful & shall make you feel more closer to God. A deer who is having the Kasturi (Musk) in his body only, searches for the cause of fragrance all over there in the wild, while that sweet fragrance is coming from the inside of his body only. Same is the case with us that we are searching for the God outside ourselves while He is sitting in our heart only.

Get Gita-Blog Updates by e-mail

Reincarnation & Scientific Community

Bhagwat Gita & other Hindu scriptures give details about rebirth or reincarnation. As per these every person is an immortal soul which reincarnates after death of the body & the individual soul transmigrates from one body to the other. When such cases happen in society then Scientific Community gets puzzled with such instances. Now what Scientific Community says about these instances. Here below is an article which gives thoughts of modern science regarding that only.

Read here about what Scientific Community says about rebirth or reincarnation.

Read also............Why Indians believe in Rebirth / Reincarnation?

Get Gita-Blog Updates by e-mail

Boundaries of Mind

Once a frog used to live in a well. He was born in the well & his whole life was spent only in the well. He had never seen the world outside the well, as the well was so deep that he was never able to come out of that well. Boundary of that well was his world. Once another frog from the sea accidentally fell into that well. On seeing a stranger in his well, frog of the well asked the frog of the sea:

Where from have you come from? Frog of the sea told that he has come from the sea or ocean which is very big. How big? asked the well-frog. Sea-frog said that it is so big that I cannot tell you. On hearing this well-frog jumped two steps in the well & asked whether sea is that much big. At this, sea-frog laughed loudly & told, no no, sea is very very big. Again the well-frog was puzzled & again jumped bigger steps in the well & asked whether sea is that much big. At this, once again the sea-frog laughed very loudly & told, no no, sea is very very big, it is so vast & big that I can't explain it to you in words. Now well-frog was unable to comprehend what the sea-frog was talking about. For the well-frog, his world was limited to that well only & so was his mind conditioned to that thinking that there is no world outside that well & nothing can be bigger than that well.

Same is applicable with human mind also. Now you just tell me, how big is this space in which so many stars & universes are there. Now if your mind thinks of a certain figure of distance & number of stars, then your mind is limiting itself to a certain boundary. But this vast existence is beyond the boundaries because beyond the boundary, again starts another sky which is limitless & is having so many stars & universes. So in the flight of the mind skies upon skies are there in this vast space.

"Sitaron Ke Aagey Jahan Aur Bhi Hain"

There are more & more Worlds beyond these Stars.

In fact this whole vast creation is limitless & infinite. It is beyond the conception & boundaries of human mind. As per the Bhagwat Gita, this whole universe, in which Supersoul or Brahmn resides is Limitless (Anant). This whole vastness of this universe or space cannot be comprehended by the limited human mind. Human mind always thinks within the boundaries. This limited thinking of human mind limits itself to think about the true vastness of one's own true self, which is unlimited in potential. One can always attain much more in life than what his/her limited mind thinks of attaining. So do not be content easily in life & always strive to achieve more & more in life. You are capable of doing & achieving much more in life than what your limited mind can imagine. Those who remain content easily in life always remain small in life; small are their joys, small are their happiness, small is their being. If you are one among such content people then this smallness is your own imposition upon your unlimited possibilities, upon your freedom, upon your unlimited potential.

Get Gita-Blog Updates by e-mail

Recession & Devotion to God

It seems Love for God is recession free; rather in times of recession it has increased leaps & bounds. It seems in times of adversity people become more religious & become more devoted to God. As per a Times of India report a temple in the town of Unjha, about 80 km north of Ahmedabad in Gujarat state of India has got phenomenal donations in last 7 hrs as per the report:

"On Tuesday, a temple here raised a head-spinning Rs 5 crore (Rs. 50 Million) in seven hours flat — around Rs 1.2 lakh every minute.

The occasion: Fund-raising for the 18th centenary celebration of the Umiya Maa temple, which has a large Patel following, to be held in November this year. About 21 donors, most of them industrialists belonging to Kadva Patel community, contributed to the main corpus collected through a bidding process called ‘Uchamani'. An Ahmedabad-based builder, Amrut Patel donated Rs 1.25 crore to perform the Shahastra Chandi Yagna, which will be performed between November 28 and December 2 this year.

CK Patel, a California-based hotelier chipped in with Rs 61.61 lakh. Patel, an old Congress hand, recently switched sides to join BJP at the behest of CM Narendra Modi. Organisers claim the main temple of Umiya Maa will enter its 1,900th year this November."

Incredible, isn't it!!! Anyway, God is great that it attracts people in all circumstances of life.

Get Gita-Blog Updates by e-mail

Soul & Supersoul

What is the difference between a drop of water & ocean? Ocean is vast & enormous, while a drop is limited in capacity. In ocean, muddy rivers merge itself but still ocean doesn't get muddy in nature but a drop can easily get polluted with little quantity of mud. You can color a drop of water of any color by putting that color in it while ocean cannot be colored by any means.

Now similar difference is there between a Soul & Supersoul (God). Soul is limited while Supersoul is infinite. Soul can get contaminated with the qualities of nature (Sattva, Rajas & Tamas) but Supersoul is beyond the qualities of nature but the Lord of the nature. Soul is a spark of the Supersoul & just like many sparks coming out of fire, all these different souls have come from the Supersoul only. Below verse of "Mundaka Upanisad" explains that only:

"tat etat satyam yatha su-diptat pavakad
visphulingah sahasrasah prabhavante
sa-rupah tathaksharad vividhah saumya
bhavah prajayante tatra caivapi yanti"

The Supreme God is real and eternal. As many thousands of sparks come from a blazing fire, so many different living entities are manifested from the imperishable Supreme God and then again go & merge into Him.

Now how this little Soul is different from the Supersoul (God) in nature. Though soul is part & parcel of Supersoul (God) only & both are unborn, imperishable but still one is limited in capacity & power while other is Lord of unlimited power. Actually soul is the enjoyer of fruits of this vast nature, while Supersoul (God) is the provider of all these fruits & simply watches the actions & play of these different souls.

Mundaka Upanisad compares the soul and the Supersoul as two friendly birds sitting on the same tree (the tree of nature). One of the birds (the individual soul) is eating the fruit of the tree, while the other bird (Lord Krishna or God) is simply watching his friend. Of these two birds, although the same in quality, one is captivated by the fruit of the material tree (this material world) while the other is keeping watch only. Although they are friends, one is the master and the other is the servant. Forgetfulness of this relationship by the individual soul is the cause of one's changing his position from one tree to another, or similarly from one body to another. The Jiva, or individual soul, is struggling very hard on the tree of the material body, but as soon as it agrees to accept the other bird as the Supreme spiritual master, as Arjuna agrees to do by voluntary surrender unto Krishna for instruction, the subordinate bird immediately becomes free from all lamentations.

Below are verses from Mundaka Upanishad explaining that only:

"dva suparna sayuja sakhaya
samanam vriksham praishasvajate
tayor anyah pippalam svadv
atty anasnann anyo 'bhicakasiti"

In the individual spirit soul and the Supersoul, Supreme Personality of Godhead, are like two friendly birds sitting on the same tree. One of the birds (the individual atomic soul) is eating the fruit of the tree (the sense gratification afforded by the material body), and the other bird (the Supersoul) is not trying to eat these fruits, but is simply watching His friend.

"samane vrikshe purusho nimagno
'nisaya socati muhyamanah jushtam
yada pasyati anyam isam asya
mahimanam iti vita-sokah"

Although the two birds are on the same tree, the eating bird is fully engrossed with anxiety and moroseness as the enjoyer of the fruits of the tree. But if in some way or other he turns his face to his friend who is the Lord, and knows His glories, at once the suffering bird becomes free of all anxieties.

Below are also verses from Bhagwat Gita which too explain about the nature of soul & Supersoul:

"dvav imau purushau loke
ksharas chakshara eva cha
ksharah sarvani bhutani
kuta-stho ’kshara ucyate" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fifteen verse 16)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, There are two classes of beings, the fallible and the infallible. In the material world every living entity is fallible, and in the spiritual world every living entity is called infallible."

"uttamah purushas tv anyah
paramatmety udahrtah
yo loka-trayam avisya
bibharty avyaya ishvarah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fifteen verse 17)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, Besides these two, there is the greatest living personality, the God Supersoul, the imperishable Lord Himself, who has entered the three worlds and is maintaining them."

"yasmat ksharam atito ’ham
aksharad api cottamah
ato ’smi loke vede cha
prathitah purushottamah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fifteen verse 18)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, Because I am transcendental, beyond both the fallible and the infallible, and because I am the greatest, I am celebrated both in the world and in the Vedas as that God Supersoul Person."

Get Gita-Blog Updates by e-mail

Rebirth or Reincarnation

We all have heard of the stories of small boys or girls claiming to remember their past life, in which they tell exact details of their previous life. Many times such a child tells about his previous birth's father-mother & even the address of them. In such stories, the present parents have sometimes tried to verify the said facts by going to the previous birth's father-mother & all told by the child comes to be true. All around the world, especially in India, many people believe in rebirth, reincarnation etc.

What is the reason that such a big population on earth believes in rebirth/ reincarnation? Main reason for this is Hindu & Buddhist Spiritualism & also the actual instances of rebirth that press & TV news channels etc. are able to expose. Now what is the truth about rebirth or reincarnation?

In simple terms of Hindu Philosophy, every single person on this earth is a unique soul (Jeeva). In this soul, all the database of life's learning & actions go on a permanent basis & all this database remains always in soul in dormant state. There is not only the database of this life but also of previous lives in this soul (Jeeva). At the death of a person, one person's memory and knowledge remains in dormant state in soul & temporarily suppressed while that soul takes a new birth in a new body. So whenever, a person is born, he/she is always carrying the database of his/her previous lives with them. Though most of the time it remains in dormant state but is always reflected as our likes and dislikes, moods & skills. That is the reason that you may find a child prodigy who suddenly excels in something without any experience. In all such cases past lives memories & skills play a major part.

Though modern science do not believe in soul but it is a matter of individual faith as it is endorsed by many religions & Hindu religion is one of them. As per Bhagwat Gita it is told that individual soul is immortal & everlasting; though human body dies, soul does not. It changes the body when the old body dies. It just does that like the way we change our clothes for a new pair, when the old one's are torn. Below are verses of Bhagwat Gita in which Lord Sri Krishna is telling his disciple Arjuna, the mystery of soul & it's rebirth:

"dehino-asmin yatha dehe
kaumaram yauvnam jara
tatha dehantar-praptir-
adhiras tatra na muhyati" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Two verse 13)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, Just as boyhood, youth & old age are attributed to the soul & the embodied soul continuously passes through these cycles, similarly the embodied soul passes into another body at death. The wise man does not get deluded & bewildered with such a change."

"na jayate mriyate va kadacin
nayam bhutva bhavita va na bhuyah
ajo nityah sasvato ’yam purano
na hanyate hanyamane sarire" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Two verse 20)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, The soul is never born nor dies at any time. Soul has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being. Soul is unborn, eternal, ever-existing and primeval. Soul is not slain when the body is slain."

"vasamsi jirnani yatha vihaya
navani grhnati naro ’parani
tatha sarirani vihaya jirnany
anyani samyati navani dehi" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Two verse 22)

"Sri Krishna said: As a human being puts on new garments, giving up old ones, the soul similarly accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones."

"nainam chindanti shastrani
nainam dahati pavakah
na chainam kledayanty apo
na sosayati marutah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Two verse 23)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, The soul can never be cut to pieces by any weapon, nor burned by fire, nor moistened by water, nor withered by the wind."

“acchedyo-ayam adahyo-ayam
akledyo-asoshya ev ch
nity sarv-gatah sthanur
achalo-ayam sanatanah” (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter II verse 24)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, For this individual soul is incapable of being cut; and insoluble, and can be neither burned nor dried. This soul is eternal, constant, omnipresent, unchangeable, immovable and everlasting."

"sariram yad avapnoti
yac chapy utkramatishvarah
grhitvaitani samyati
vayur gandhan ivasayat" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fifteen verse 8)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, The living entity (individual human soul) in the material world carries his different conceptions of life (individual tastes & actions/karmas) from one body to another as the air carries aromas from one place to other. Thus he takes one kind of body and again quits it to take another."

"srotram chaksuh sparshanam cha
rasanam ghranam eva cha
adhisthaya manas chayam
visayan upasevate" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fifteen verse 9)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, The living entity (individual human soul), thus taking another gross body, obtains a certain type of ear, eye, tongue, nose and sense of touch, which are grouped about the mind. He thus enjoys a particular set of sense objects through the another body."

"utkramantam sthitam vapi
bhunjanam va gunanvitam
vimudha nanupasyanti
pasyanti jnana-chaksusah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fifteen verse 10)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, The foolish cannot understand how a living entity (individual human soul) can quit his/her body, nor can they understand what sort of body he enjoys under the spell of the modes of nature. But one whose eyes are trained in knowledge of soul can see all this."

"yatanto yoginas chainam
pasyanty atmany avasthitam
yatanto ’py akritatmano
nainam pasyanty acetasah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fifteen verse 11)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, The endeavoring transcendentalists, who are situated in self-realization, can see all this (soul transmigration) very clearly. But those whose minds are not developed in this knowledge and who are not situated in self-realization cannot see what is taking place, though they may try to."

Read also...............Our Previous Births

Get Gita-Blog Updates by e-mail

Boon Giving Tree - "Kalpvriksha"

"Kalpvriksha" is a mythological Wish-Fulfilling or Boon-Giving tree. It is a tree that has mythological significance in India and elsewhere. As per mythology, if you ask anything from this tree, it fulfills that wish of a person. Considered as sacred among Hindus, the tree is believed to have been one of the nine jewels, which were churned out of the sea (Samudra Manthan) by the demons and gods.

As per the saints, God too is the "Kalpvriksha" for his devotees. From the God, whatever, is asked for, God provides that to his devotee. God is so kind that he provides everything to his devotee even without being asked for. Surely, He does not give anything which shall be harmful to his devotee or anybody else. If you have firm faith in God & your wish is pure then God shall certainly fulfill that wish. Just like an unmarried woman, who when gets married to a man, automatically enjoys all the affluence of her husband; similarly when a devotee by his/her devotion gets to the God, then that devotee automatically gets all the affluence of God & of this world. This whole world is created by God only, so when one is able to get to the God, then that person too gets all the affluence of this world. As per "Srimad-Bhagwat", in the past, God became very happy with the devotion of child "Dhruva" & gave him all the boons & the kingdom of the world.

The essence is that, whatever you want, material or spiritual, you can get it from God by becoming His devotee. God Himself declares in "Bhagwat Gita"

"ananyas cintayanto mam
ye janah paryupasate
tesham nityabhiyuktanam
yoga-ksemam vahamy aham" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Nine verse 22)

"Sri Krishna said to Arjuna: But those who always worship Me with exclusive devotion, meditating on My transcendental form—to them I carry what they lack, and I preserve what they have."

"mam cha yo ’vyabhicharena
bhakti-yogena sevate
sa gunan samatityaitan
brahma-bhuyaya kalpate" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fourteen verse 26)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, One who engages in full devotional service to Him, unfailing in all circumstances, at once transcends the modes of material nature and thus comes to the level of Brahman & attains God."

"man-mana bhava mad-bhakto
mad-yaji mam namaskuru
mam evaishyasi satyam te
pratijane priyo ’si me" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Eighteen verse 65)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, Always think of Me, become My devotee, worship Me and offer your homage unto Me. Thus you will come to Me without fail. I promise you this because you are My very dear friend."

"sarva-dharman parityajya
mam ekam saranam vraja
aham tvam sarva-papebhyo
mokshayisyami ma suchah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Eighteen verse 66)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear."

So as the God promises that He shall always protect His devotee & fulfill all his/her rightful desires, so let's always be with God & keep Him in our thoughts. Jai Sri Krishna.

Get Gita-Blog Updates by e-mail

Raging Bull

Once a bull escaped from a nearby cattle herd & entered the city. On seeing the mob inside the city it became violent & rushed helter-skelter in between the mob. In this process bull ran down many people & injured them badly. It was tried by many people to capture the bull but all in vain & it ran here & there damaging the property. Then one strong bullfighter was called & the bull was captured. A strong thick rope was put around it's neck & it was tied to a post. Hereafter all the pell-mell ended.

The above story is depicted here to understand the state of our mind in philosophy. Human mind is very fickle & it runs from one object to the other. In this process, mind too sometimes gets violent & anger is expressed in our nature. In the state of anger we too hurt many by speaking angry words. When anger gets out of control and turns destructive, it can lead to problems for oneself, as well as, for others. In the state of anger we are at the mercy of an unpredictable and powerful emotion which if not controlled does harm only. If anger is not controlled it can lead to physiological , as well as, psychological problems for you.

Now how can we control this anger? Basically, to control anger is to first control & calm your mind. If your mind remains in a state of calm then no negative emotions can arouse in it. To be peaceful at mind, the easiest way is that we let our mind delve inside our own inner nature rather than hankering after outside worldly objects. If mind continuously runs after worldly things then it gets disturbed when the thing of desire is not attained. When the mind gets disturbed in this way then anger arouses in the mind & it leads to negative consequences only. When you close your eyes in meditation, you start delving inside your inner nature. What is your inner nature? It's nothing but your soul inside where you delve in times of meditation & attain peace. In soul there is peace only. Now your soul is nothing but part & parcel of Universal Soul only. Universal Soul is nothing but God only who is ultimate peace.

In Bhagwat Gita philosophy it is said that the easiest way to control your mind is to tie it to the feet of God. When mind always remains in remembrance of God then it stops hankering after external worldly objects. When external hankering of mind stops then peace itself comes to mind immediately. So our mind is also like a raging bull which if not controlled does damage to oneself, as well as, to others by expressing emotions like anger, jealousy, fear etc. Just like the raging bull was tied to a post with rope & everything became calm, so let your mind be tied to the feet of God so that all your negative emotions arousing in mind come to a peaceful & calm state.

Here below is what Bhagwat Gita teaches about "Mind Control". Mind is that makes the personality of a person. Angry, jealous, fearful, de-motivated mind makes a person depressed one while a peaceful, calm, motivated mind makes a person cheerful. Mind is very powerful one & to control it is just like keeping in control a raging bull. It just wanders like wind here & there & it takes enough of self discipline & practice of meditation to control it. As per "Arjuna" to "Lord Sri Krishna" in Bhagwat Gita Chapter Six verse 34:

"chanchalam hi manah krishna
pramathi balavad drdham
tasyaham nigraham manye
vayor iva su-duskaram" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Six verse 34)

"Arjuna said: For the mind is restless, turbulent, obstinate and very strong, O Krishna, and to subdue it, to control it, I think, is more difficult than controlling the wind."

"sri-bhagavan uvacha
asamsayam maha-baho
mano durnigraham chalam
abhyasena tu kaunteya
vairagyena cha grhyate" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Six verse 35)

"Lord Sri Krishna said: O mighty-armed Arjuna, it is undoubtedly that mind is very difficult to curb & is restless, but it is possible by suitable practices of meditation and by detachment to control it."

Read also..................Be Calm like an Ocean

Read also..................Motivation & Bhagwat Gita - Management Perspective

Get Gita-Blog Updates by e-mail

Body & Soul

How many of you see your face & body in the mirror?
How many of you have sometimes closed your eyes & tried to be peaceful?

Now what is the link between the above two questions? When you see your body in the mirror, you are seeing & relating yourself to this body of flesh & bones. When you try to close your eyes & try to be peaceful, you are trying not to link yourself to this body but to something inward inside you where you can find peace. What is that inward thing that you are trying to find where you find yourself to be more peaceful? Yes, It's your Soul. In Soul, there is peace & you are trying to delve into that only in times of closing your eyes or in meditation.

I am remembering an old English song whose two lines are here;

"Faces.......all around different faces I see,
Some are happy, some in misery.............."

On this earth there are more than 7 billion people & each one is having a unique face. In fact God has created a vast variety of human bodies (to create illusion) & it seems that these all people are different only. But if we see closely then we shall find that all the bodies are made of similar nature elements & at Soul level all these are same only. Variety of bodies is external only but on deep analysis it is not so & are the same consequence of few nature elements. As per Bhagwat Gita, at soul level all these people are one only as one all pervasive soul pervades through all these bodies.

"Sri Krishna said:
There is nothing else besides Me,
Like clusters of Yarn-Beeds,
Formed by knots on a thread,
All this world is threaded on Me (universal soul)."
(Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Seven verse 7)

So a person should not consider himself/herself limited to this body of flesh & bones but should consider himself/herself to be that universal soul only. In fact a person's soul is infinite, omnipresent and is diffused everywhere throughout the space. A person's soul is as much same in London or New York as in Bombay, although it can only apprehend and feel and act where the body is. As the soul is subtle so it is not the object of physical perception.

Human body is made of Eight constituents of material nature. These elements are Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego. At death when the body perishes it is dissolved in these elements only but the soul which is indestructible survives. So it's up to you, if you perceive yourself to be a body then one day you shall die but if you consider yourself to be indestructible, infinite, omnipresent universal soul, then there is no death for you & you are immortal.

Get Gita-Blog Updates by e-mail

Radhe....Radhe....Radhe....Radhe....

Radhe.... Radhe....Radhe.... Radhe....is a beautiful chant sung in the praise of Goddess Radha Rani, the true devotee of Lord Krishna. In this devotional video the singer "Sh. Vinod Aggawal Ji" & "Sh. Balram Krishan Ji" are showing their divine love to Sri Radha Rani .

Sri Radha Rani is the greatest devotee of Lord Shri Krishna. It is said that Sri Radha is herself the "Devotional energy" of Lord Shri Krishna who is the Lord of the universe. Her name always comes before the name of Lord Krishna that is why God's one name is "Radha Krishna" also. Just take out only one "R" from "Radha Krishna" & it becomes just "half Krishna" & that is the power of the name "Radha".

"Shyama" is another name of Shri Radha.

"Meri bhav badha haro, Radha nagari soey,
Ja tan ki jhaien parat, Shyam Harit duti hoey."

Hey, Goddess Shri Radha, You take care of my life of all troubles, Who's body shadow is enough to make Lord Krishna happy.

Get Gita-Blog Updates by e-mail

Love Krishna, Adore Krishna

In "Bhagwat Gita" Lord Krishna is saying to Arjuna:

Be aware of me always,
adore me, make every
act an offering to me,
and you shall come to me;
this I (Krishna) promise,
for you are dear to me.

(Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Eighteen verse 65)

Abandon all supports and
look to me for protection.
I shall purify you from the
sins of the past; do not grieve.

(Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Eighteen verse 66)

Lord Krishna is assuring Arjuna in Bhagwat Gita that He shall always be with him in all circumstances if he is always in devotion to Him. Same thing applies to every human being also. If a person remains devoted to Lord Krishna then Lord promises that He shall deliver that person of all the sins of the past & purify that person. By doing such loving service to the Lord, certainly that person shall be in the eyes of God always & God shall always protect that person.

So let's be devoted to Lord Krishna always. Let's sing His Glories, read literature regarding Him & also do loving service to humanity (charity etc.) in His name. Jai Sri Krishna.

Get Gita-Blog Updates by e-mail

Attain Krishna

Irrespective of all religions, people do have faith in God. Some call Him by the name of Rama, Krishna while others call Him Allah, God, Jesus etc. Faith in God make people have confidence in a supernatural power whom they call their protector. He is the divine force who manages this whole world on a macro scale. In Hindu philosophy it is the ultimate goal of a person to attain God. For that ascetics do penances & devotees perform rituals in the name of God so that they can come closer to God & finally attain Him.

To attain God the easiest way is to have love & devotion to Lord Krishna. Meaning of the name of Krishna is the one who attracts a soul easily & puts him/her in His devotion. Krishna is all attractive, that's why He attracts the soul of a person. Below is the translation of Mira Bai's devotional song 'Payoji Maine Shyaam Rattan Dhan Paayo...' which shows her love & devotion for Krishna.

Mira Bai says,

"Krishna, the precious
I have attained,
Now I am free of the
birth & death cycle,
Worldly pursuits,
do not exist for me
O, Krishna, the precious
I have attained,

No expenses have I
Nor fear of looting
With Krishna's Name
on my lips
Krishna, the precious
I have attained.

By following the
boat of truth,
Krishna has
accepted me
In infinite Grace
Krishna, the precious
I have attained.

Giridhar Nagar,
Beloved of Mira Bai
Let's all sing His Glory
Krishna, the precious
I have attained.

Get Gita-Blog Updates by e-mail

Trust in God

Trusting in God will not make the mountain smaller, but will make climbing easier.

Do not ask Him for a lighter load, ask for stronger back.

Get Gita-Blog Updates by e-mail

Moon Of My Heart

This article is dedicated to Lord of Supreme Love, Sri Krishna.

"Sweet Heart" is a word used for someone who is really very sweet & close to your heart. Any person who is so dear & so close to your heart is called "Sweet Heart". In poetry many times a lover is compared to the Moon. Of course, in the full dark night, Moon looks so beautiful & pleasing to the eyes that it has been compared to one's Sweet Heart, one's lover.

Though God is almighty, all powerful & everyone prays to Him but there is a cult of devotion in which a person falls in Love with the God & there is a burning desire in that person's mind to meet the God. Gopis of Vrindavan, including Radha were of that cult only who fell in Love with the God, Lord Krishna. Meerabai in recent times also considered Lord Krishna like that only. Here below described is the state of mind of a person (Gopi) who has fallen in love with God. This is the state of the highest devotion to God in which a person always yearns to meet the God.

Gopis & Radha's love for Lord Krishna is so strong that in His absence their mind always yearns for Him. In such pangs of separation one Gopi is thinking in her mind about Krishna & saying:

"O Lord, You are my life. I am sweet to You & so is my Lord sweet to me. O Krishna, You are the only one close to my heart. Whom else I need to seek for besides you. Whenever you come into my heart my heart rejoices. You are the Moon of the inner space of my heart. You are always on my mind.

O Krishna! You are Lord of my life. You always remain so in my life. O Lord, don't keep me out of your mind. O Lord, pl. don't forget me.

O Lord, dust of your feet is so pure that if I put it in my eyes, then my vision becomes divine & I can see anything. I want only that your image remains always in my eyes as I do not want to see anyone else besides You.

O Lord, when shall you come to meet me? Hey Krishna, My heart is parching like a desert which is waiting for the drops of rain to come onto it. On the inner space of my heart You never came & burst like a cloud. So many years have gone by but you never came to fulfill my desire to meet you.

O Krishna! My heart is crying for you, pl. do come. My soul is crying for you, pl. do come. O God, there is burning desire in my heart to meet you, pl. do come. Now pangs of separation are unbearable. Now even if I die Krishna but even after death, my desire to meet you shall not die, as all my such desires are indestructible like You only. It shall live on forever till You meet me.

O Lord, I am yours & You are mine, then how come You are not coming to meet me!!! Pl. do come, pl. do come."

Basically God is our own Soul only & lives within our own heart. So when a person turns towards God, then he/she is actually turning towards his own self only. More & more one turns inward & becomes spiritual, he/she actually yearns for God more & more. He/She actually becomes like that "Gopi" only who always yearns to meet the God.

Get Gita-Blog Updates by e-mail

Previous Births of Lord Krishna

This article is about "Ten Avatars of Lord Vishnu" or "Previous Births of Lord Krishna".

In Hindu mythology God is depicted as Trinity, i.e. Brahma - The Creator, Vishnu - The Preservator & Mahesh or Shiva - The Destroyer. God in the form of Brahma does creation at the start of this world, God in the form of Vishnu does preservation or maintenance of this world, while Shiva finally annihilates this whole world at the end. So in this aspect while Lord Vishnu is responsible for the preservation or maintenance of this world, so He comes on this earth from His celestial abode (Vaikuntha) from time to time for the establishment of Dharma (righteousness). In such a role He puts law & order in it's place on earth & kills the evil elements in the society. So such a coming on this earth of Lord Vishnu is called descending of an Avatar of Lord Vishnu.

Avatar or Avatara (अवतार, Avatāra), is incarnation of God on earth. It literally means descent (avatarati) and usually implies a deliberate descent from higher spiritual realms to lower realms of existence for special purposes. Lord Sri Krishna was one of those Avatars of Lord Vishnu. In the past there had been so many Avatars of Lord Vishnu. In Lord Sri Krishna's case you can call these as His previous births but with a special purpose to establish Dharma (righteousness) on this earth. Below are verses from Bhagwat Gita which explain that only:

"yada yada hi dharmasya
glanir bhavati bharata
abhyutthanam adharmasya
tadatmanam srjamy aham" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Four verse 7)

"paritranaya sadhunam
vinasaya cha duskritam
dharma-samsthapanarthaya
sambhavami yuge yuge" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Four verse 8)

"Sri Krishna said to Arjuna: Whenever Dharma, or the situation of law and order, is endangered on this world, I incarnate onto this world to re establish Dharma, law and order, and to protect the Sadhus or saints and to destroy the evil elements of the society. I do so appear, millennium after millennium."

So here below are 10 Avatars of Lord Vishnu in which He had descended on earth (In Kalki Avatar's case shall descend) in different forms to establish Dharma (righteousness) & Lord Sri Krishna was one of these Avatars.

1) Matsya Avatar (Fish): Lord Vishnu appeared in this form during "Satya Yuga". In this Avatar He had taken the form of a fish during a deluge that submerged the earth. Lord Vishnu commanded a 'Rishi' to gather together all samples of species and wait in a boat. The gigantic golden fish then dragged the boat through the deluge and then enabled Bhrama to start the act of creation all over again. Yet another legend has it that a demon once stole the four Vedas (Hindu religious texts) and hid them under the sea. Lord Vishnu assumed the Matsya (Fish) form and retrieved them and then restored them to their original shape. This legend is held at the Parimalaranganathar temple at Mayiladuturai, near Thanjavur in Tamilnadu state of India.

2) Kurma Avatar (Tortoise): Lord Vishnu appeared in this form during "Satya Yuga" only. In KURMA Avatar, Lord Vishnu incarnated himself as a tortoise & helped in churning of the ocean of milk after adding medicines into the ocean (Samudra Manthan) to get the nectar for the gods (Devtas).

3) Varaha Avatar (Boar): Lord Vishnu appeared in this form during "Satya Yuga" only. Vishnu took the form of a huge wild boar - the Varaaha Avatara, dived into the ocean, and saved Bhoomi Devi (Earth) who had sunk into the bottom of the ocean. Vishnu as Varahamurthy is enshrined at Tiruvidandai near Chennai in Tamilnadu state of India, and also at the Kanchipuram Kamakshiamman temple.

4) Narasimha Avatar ( Half lion half human): Lord Vishnu appeared in this form during "Satya Yuga" only. In this Avatar, Vishnu destroyed the demon king Hiranyakashipu and demonstrated his omnipresence in a powerful way.

5) Vamana Avatar (the dwarf or midget): Lord Vishnu appeared in this form during "Treta Yuga". In this form Vishnu took the form of Vamana the midget to destroy the demon Bali. He visited Bali during a sacrifice where the latter was arrogantly distributing gifts of the seeker's choice, to show his power of wealth. Vamana meekly asked for three feet of land measured by his small feet to which Bali agreed. All on a sudden Vamana the midget assumed the massive form of Trivikrama, dominating the whole of the universe. With his first foot He covered the earth, with the second the heavens. When there was no room for the third, Bali, who never went back on his word offered his head, and Vishnu sent him to the netherworld. Trivikrama is enshrined at Tirukkovilur, kanchipuram and Sirkazhi in Tamilnadu state of India.

6) Parasurama Avatar (Rama with the axe): Lord Vishnu appeared in this form during "Treta Yuga" only. In this form Vishnu quelled the arrogance of the Kshatriya (warriors) rulers who harmed the sages and unprotected mortals.

7) Rama Avatar (king of Ayodhya): Lord Vishnu appeared in this form during "Treta Yuga" only. In this form Vishnu appeared as Ramachandra, the prince and king of Ayodhya who killed demon king Ravana. The great epic Ramayana speaks of the glory of the Rama Avatar of Lord Vishnu.

8) Krishna Avatar (meaning "dark coloured" or "all attractive"): Lord Vishnu appeared in this form during "Dwapara Yuga along with his brother Balarama" Mahabharata speaks of Balarama and Krishna in detail.

9) Balarama Avatar: Some of the texts call Balarama only as the ninth Avatar of Lord Vishnu, while many others call "Gautama Buddha" as the ninth Avatar of Lord Vishnu. Such believers say that Lord Vishnu took up the Avatar of Buddha to purify Hinduism of excessive ritualism. He preached detachment, and the middle path consisting of eight fold virtues of right views, right resolve, right speech, right conduct, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right meditation.

10) Kalki Avatar ("Eternity", or "time", or "The Destroyer of foulness"): Lord Vishnu is expected to appear in future in Kalki Avatar at the end of Kali Yuga, the time period in which we currently exist. It is believed that at the end of the current Kali Yuga, there will be a deluge when Kalki - the tenth and the last Avatar of Vishnu, will ride forth on a horse to redeem humankind and re-establish righteousness.

Get Gita-Blog Updates by e-mail

Mirja Ghalib & God

Mirja Ghalib was a great Urdu & Persian Poet of India. He wrote many Ghazals in Urdu during his life time. Though he was a great poet but he seems like a great philosopher too in his lifetime. At times, in his pensive mood he had written few verses which explain that he was deeply in touch with God. Not only that he felt God around him but also that he touched the greatest philosophical essence, in which a person sees God all around him. To him this whole creation seems to be woven within the all pervasive Universal Soul. Just take few lines written here below by him which explain that only.

" जब की तुज बिन नहीं कोई मोजूद,
तो फिर ये हंगामा ऐ ख़ुदा कया है"

"Jab Ki Tujh Bin Nahin Koi Mojud,
To Phir Ye Hungama Aey Khuda Kya Hai"

The meaning of above lines is that: O God, If there is nobody else present in this world except You, then what is this visibly seen creation / world that I see all around me.

In fact Ghalib had true belief that God is the only reality in this world & in this whole creation it is the God only who is present everywhere & all else does not exist. So as per Ghalib, this whole creation itself is God only, so are all the creatures of the world including all human beings, who too are God only. Nothing exists except God in this world. We all are not separate entities but are one only, as part & parcel of that Universal Soul. In fact we get so many verses in Bhagwat Gita also which say the same thing.

"mattah parataram nanyat
kincid asti dhananjaya
mayi sarvam idam protam
sutre mani-gana iva" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Seven verse 7)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, there is nothing else besides Me, Like clusters of Yarn-beeds formed by knots on a thread, all this world is threaded on Me."

"athakasa-sthito nityam
vayuh sarvatra-go mahan
tatha sarvani bhutani
mat-sthanity upadharaya" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Nine verse 6)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, Just as the extensive and all-pervading Air always remains in Space, likewise know that all creation & beings reside in Me."

So Mirja Ghalib had attained the heights of mysticism in his life time as he was able to feel God all around him & was able to feel His existence in every moment of his life. We too should feel the God all around ourselves as then only we shall be able to see every human being & every creature of this existence as part & parcel of God & ourself too.

Get Gita-Blog Updates by e-mail

Letters From Prison Inmates in USA About Bhagwat Gita

Bhagwat Gita is having the universal appeal. It is above all religions as it teaches the philosophy of truth. Though Bhagwat Gita was taught by "Lord Sri Krishna" to His disciple "Arjuna" more than 5000 years ago but it's teachings are still relevant in our day to day life. It appeals to every human being on earth irrespective of the country, caste, creed or religion.

Recently I came across one article about Bhagwat Gita in which there were views of Prison Inmates in USA about Bhagwat Gita. These are basically the views expressed by Prison Inmates through the letters written by them from the Prisons in USA. It is interesting to read these letters in this article. Click on the link here to read that article............Letters From Prison Inmates About Bhagavad Gita As It Is

Get Gita-Blog Updates by e-mail

God - Take Me In Your Refuge

Once a new born cub of a Lion was moving in the forest when he heard the howling sounds of other animals in the forest. On hearing these sounds, the little cub was frightened & rushed back to the Lion & Lioness. In the refuge of Lion & Lioness he felt comfortable as they were to protect him from any attack from other animals & both his parents were his protector in any eventuality. Similarly, when we are living in this world, whom we should consider our protector; who can take care of us & protect us from any eventuality in our life.

God is an invisible force who is present all around us. He looks after & takes care of the whole of this world. He is the witness of all our good & bad actions. As per Bhagwad-Gita, as the wind is pervasive all around us in the space; so is God or Universal Soul is present all around us. Now if we believe in Him & invoke Him by prayers then He shall certainly come to our rescue, as He always comes to the rescue of His devotees. So just like the lion cub, if we take shelter in the Almighty, then He shall certainly protect us in all circumstances.

God Himself declares in Bhagwad-Gita that, whosoever, comes in His refuge, He protects him fully.

"sarva-dharman parityajya
mam ekam saranam vraja
aham tvam sarva-papebhyo
mokshayisyami ma suchah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Eighteen verse 66)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, Leaving all religions, just come unto Me /surrender unto Me alone. By surrendering unto Me, I shall absolve you of all sins & always protect you, grieve not."

"man-mana bhava mad-bhakto
mad-yaji mam namaskuru
mam evaishyasi satyam te
pratijane priyo ’si me" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Eighteen verse 65)

"Lord Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, Always think of Me, become be My devotee, worship Me and offer your homage unto Me. Thus you will come to Me without fail. I promise you this because you are My devotee."

Below is a beautiful Video with the underlying Bhazan "Mujhe Apni Sharan Mein Le Lo Mere Shyam" ie. "God - Take Me In Your Refuge". In this devotional video the singer "Sh. Vinod Aggawal Ji" is just invoking the Lord Sri Krishna to take him in His refuge. It is basically a more than one hour long Bhazan, sung by "Sh. Vinod Aggawal Ji" but here due to "You Tube" time limitation for a video, I have made a video of 10 minutes out of that Bhazan. Hope you would like it.

Get Gita-Blog Updates by e-mail

"Mein To Apne Mohan Ki Pyari" by Vinod Aggarwal Ji

"Mein To Apne Mohan Ki Pyari, Sajan Mero Girdhari" is a a beautiful bhazan sung in the praise of Hindu God Lord Krishna. In this devotional video the singer "Sh. Vinod Aggawal Ji" is showing his divine love to Lord Krishna.

Get Gita-Blog Updates by e-mail

Indian Yoga and Meditation

This Article is contributed by Sh. M.P. Bhattathiri, Retired Chief Technical Examiner, to The Govt. of Kerala.

In the storm of life we struggle through myriads of stimuli of pressure, stress, and multi-problems that seek for a solution and answer. We are so suppressed by the routine of this every day life style that most of us seem helpless. However, if we look closely to ancient techniques we shall discover the magnificent way to understand and realize the ones around us and mostly ourselves. If only we could stop for a moment and allow this to happen…

Let me bow to Indian Maharishi Patanjali with folded hands who helped in removing the impurities of the mind through his writings on Yoga, impurities of speech through his writings on Grammar, and impurities of body through his writings on Ayurveda.

The American justice Dept. have recently approved the power of Yoga and Meditation vide a recent judgement in the American court. "Man Who Slapped Wife Sentenced to Yoga, It's Anger Management, Says Judge." First there was house arrest. Now there's yoga. A judge ordered a man convicted of slapping his wife to take a yoga class as part of his one-year probation. "It's part of anger management," County Criminal Court at Law Judge Larry Standley said of the ancient Hindu philosophy of exercise and well-being. "For people who are into it, it really calms them down."

Yoga which is one of the greatest Indian contribution to the world has got vast potential in all fields. At Tihar Jail in India, Yoga is experimented among the inmates and found successful. Their criminal mentality is changed. This study aimed at investigating the effect of "Vipassana Meditation" on Quality of Life, Subjective Well-Being, and Criminal Propensity among inmates of Tihar Jail, Delhi. To this effect the following hypotheses were formulated. 1) There will be a significant positive effect of "Vipassana Meditation" on the Quality of Life of inmates of Tihar jail. 2) "Vipassana Meditation" will have a positive and significant effect on Subjective Well-Being of inmates. 3) Criminal propensity of inmates will decrease significantly after attending the "Vipassana Meditation" course. 4) There will be significant difference in Subjective Well-Being and Criminal propensity of experimental (Vipassana) group and control (non-Vipassana) group. 5) Male and female inmates will differ significantly in Subjective Well-Being and Criminal propensity, as a result of "Vipassana Meditation".

In the famous "Time" magazine, the importance of Meditation and Yoga, an ancient Indian system, is highlighted that the ancient Mind- and Spirit-enhancing art is becoming increasingly popular and gaining medical legitimacy. It is a multi billion dollar business in US. In many Universities it is accepted as subject and included in the Syllabus. In the latest famous book "Inspire! What Great Leaders Do" written by Mr. Lance Secretan recently published by John Wiley and sons, the benefit of meditation is elaborately described for good corporate governance. By practicing transcendental meditation, or TM, many people have got relief from back pain, neck pain, depression. The mind calms and quiets. What thoughts you have during meditation become clearer, more focused. Anger, anxiety and worries give way to peace. In the world of exorbitant medical expenses one can definitely make use of meditation. Maharshi Mahesh Yogi and Sri Ravi Sankar are popularizing this.

In Bhagwad-Gita Lord Krishna has inspired Arjuna to rise from his depression by preaching Gita on the battlefield and to rise from the depression to do his duties. In Holy Gita we can see, being hidden by the cosmic overview of any institution beset with myriad of problems, not the least of which is its lack of moral probity, there is a groundswell of educated people seeking answers to deeply personal but universally asked questions. Chief Executives taking lessons from yoga, meditation and learning, how to deal with human resources equations in an enlightened manner. Individuals from every walk of life can get ideas of how to be better human beings, more balanced and less stressed out.

Medical studies continue to show regular meditation working magic in reducing blood pressure and stress-related illnesses, including heart disease. Brain images show that regular meditation helps calm the most active sensory-assaulted parts of the brain. The ancient Hindu sage Patanjali who had mastered the secrets of the human mind has written a book "Yogasutra". In this book we can see how super powers can be achieved by meditation. It has both cosmic relevance and cosmic resonance. In spite of its universal appeal, for most people total control of mind remains an elusive goal and daunting task. From time immemorial, there have been many attempts throughout the world to unlock the mysteries of the mind and to achieve total control over it through a variety of techniques. One of the most powerful of these techniques is meditation. Many spiritual leaders, sages, saints, and holy people such as Sri. Buddha, Sri Ramakrishna, Madam Sarada Devi, and Swami Vivekananda have practiced this. It is said that in the unknown period of Lord Jesus Christ, He too was under meditation.

Ref. Yoga magazines
Newsweek
New York times
Time magazine

Get Gita-Blog Updates by e-mail

When Work Is Play

Have you ever played football or any other game just for the joy of playing it? When you play it with full vigor, then you derive special joy while playing it. If you play that game, for say two hours, then complete two hours give you joy of that game. In such a game it hardly matters for you whether you win or lose. After the game is over, a sense of satisfaction comes to you, as you had a good time playing it & you enjoyed it. But the only thing that is must in such a game to derive pleasure out of it is that you need to play it with full vigor & involvement. You need to be 100% in it while playing that game, as then only real joy of playing it comes to you.

Same is the case with any WORK that you do. If you get fully involved in it & give your 100% to it, then you too get a deep satisfaction doing that work & really enjoy while doing it. If there is a sense of complete involvement in any work, then you will love doing it, as it shall give a deep soul satisfaction that you have done your work with full devotion. In such an involvement, you just forget about the end result that this work shall derive. In any way, if you work with full dedication & devotion, then end result shall be good only & shall give success ultimately. But in such an involvement in work, it is the work only that matters & hardly mind thinks of the end result.

If you derive joy in work, then it becomes just like a play, in which joy of play is more important than the end result. So when WORK becomes PLAY then you are really doing it properly. Doing work in this way is what the Philosophy of Bhagwat Gita teaches us. In doing work in such a way, it becomes "Nishkama Karma" as explained in the Bhagwat Gita. "Nishkama Karma" just means, no egoism in our action, no expectation of any gain or reward but doing your work effectively. It is also that : “You have a right to action but never to the fruits of action.” Below verses of Bhagwat Gita Explains that only.

"Karmanye vadhikaraste
ma phalesu kadachana
ma karma-phala-hetur bhur
ma te sango ’stv akarmani" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Two verse 47)"

"Sri Krishna said to Arjuna: You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of action. Never consider yourself the cause of the results of your activities, and never be attached to not doing your duty."

"Yoga-sthah kuru karmani
sangam tyaktva dhananjaya
siddhy-asiddhyoh samo bhutva
samatvam yoga ucyate" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Two verse 48)"

"Sri Krishna said to Arjuna: Perform your duty with an equipoise mind, abandoning all attachment to success or failure. Such equanimity is called Yoga."

So just do your work with your 100% involvement & dedication & derive pleasure out of doing such work. You yourself shall then see that when you care for the work only & not it's final outcome, you work most effectively. Doing work in such a way is only called "Karma Yoga".

Read also...............It's Journey not the Outcome that matters

Read also...............What is Karmayoga?

Get Gita-Blog Updates by e-mail

River Worship - "Ganga Aarti"

The Ganga ( गंगा Gaṅgā) or Ganges River is a major river of the Indian subcontinent. It is associated with mythology, as well as, reality with the people of India. It is a very sacred river to all the Hindus. In Hinduism it is personified as a Goddess & it is an integral part of Hindu religion. It is believed by all the Hindus that bathing in the Ganges river, generally or on certain occasions causes the remission of sins and facilitates the attainment of salvation (Moksha). So Hindus travel from distant places to take a holy dip in it's waters. Hindus also immerse the ashes of their kin in the sacred waters of the Ganges. Such rituals normally take place at Haridwar, Varanasi (Kashi or Banaras) and Allahabad.

Recently I visited Varanasi which is also called Kashi or Banaras. Varanasi is situated on the bank of Ganges River in Uttar Pradesh state of India. It is considered to be the oldest city on earth. It is also called the city of "Lord Shiva". "Kashi Vishwnath temple" over here is a Shiva temple which is there in the city since time immemorial. For me visiting over here was really a spiritual experience. A spiritual aura pervades through whole of the city & a special peace comes to mind sitting on the banks of Ganges River. The greatest experience was participating in the "Evening Ganga Aarti" (Evening prayers to the Ganges River) at it's bank. It was not less than a cultural festival which happens daily on it's bank. Thousands of people (Indian, as well as, foreigners) take part in this "Evening Ganga Aarti" daily. The devotion of the people is unparalleled at that time of evening prayers. Here below are some pictures of the Ganges River & the ritual of Ganga Aarti, taken by me at Varanasi. Hope you would like it.

In Bhagwat Gita, Lord Krishna himself declares that among all the rivers, God himself is there as "River Ganga ( गंगा Gaṅgā)" on this earth. So River Ganga is a form of living Goddess only. Below verse of Bhagwat Gita explains that only.

"pavanah pavatam asmi
ramah shastra-bhrtam aham
jhasanam makaras chasmi
srotasam asmi jahnavi" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Ten verse 31)

"Sri Krishna said to Arjuna: Of all the purifiers I am the wind; of the wielders of weapons I am Rama; of fishes I am the shark; and of all the flowing rivers I am the River Ganges."

Get Gita-Blog Updates by e-mail

Gita Saar

Here below is the brief essence of the Philosophy of Bhagwat Gita. Teachings of Bhagwat Gita were given by Lord Krishna, the God Himself to his disciple Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra in Haryana State of India. These teachings were given more than 5000 years ago but these are still relevant today in our lives.

• Whatever happened in the past, it happened for the good; Whatever is happening, is happening for the good; Whatever shall happen in the future, shall happen for the good only. Do not weep for the past, do not worry for the future, concentrate on your present life.

• What did you bring at the time of birth, that you have lost? What did you produce, which is destroyed? You didn't bring anything when you were born. Whatever you have, you have received it from the God only while on this earth. Whatever you will give, you will give it to the God. Everyone came in this world empty handed and shall go the same way. Everything belongs to God only.

• Whatever belongs to you today, belonged to someone else earlier and shall belong to some one else in future. Change is the law of the universe.

• You are an indestructible Soul & not a body. Body is composed of five elements - Earth, Fire, Water, Air and Sky; one day body shall perish in these elements.

• Soul lives forever even after death as soul is never born & never dies. So Why do you worry unnecessarily? What are you afraid of? Who can kill you?

• Devote yourself to the Almighty God only. One who takes the support of God, always gains freedom from fear, worry and despair.
  

Get Gita-Blog Updates by e-mail

The Important Three

Always think of :

God

Other's respect

Self deficiency

Always be afraid of :

Pride

Greed

Gluttony

Always Hate :

Sin

Ego

Dirtiness of Mind

Always Care for:

Mother Father

Destitute

Sick Man

Always follow :

Truth

Non Violence

Chanting God's Name

Always Love :

Doing Your Duty

Your Country

God

Always hurry in :

Giving Alms

Worship of God

Reading Religious books

Always Have faith in:

God's Grace

Good Conduct

Self Confidence

Always ponder on :

How to be close to God

How to help the poor

How to make your heart Sin free

Always Talk Lovingly with:

Your Wife

Your Subordinates / Servants

Poor People

Don't Hate :

Lower Caste People

Poor People

Sick Man

Don't Disregard :

Others Religion

Others Deity

Self Determination

Don't always think of :

Money

Son

Self respect

Daily go to :

Saint's place

Worship Place

To your Job's place

Three doors to hell :

Lust

Anger

Greed

Get Gita-Blog Updates by e-mail

Joy of Complete Surrender

Many of us do Prayer sometimes, some do it daily. We all do get some peace of mind & happiness while doing Prayer. Later on when we get involved in our daily chorus, all tensions of life again surround us. Little peace that we get during prayer is lost when we experience tensions of our job. How can it be that our mind remains at peace & in a happy state of mind always?

To be at peace with yourself & be happy all the times, you need to surrender your ego to the God completely. We need to be in constant remembrance of God. We need to take complete refuge in God by surrendering our ego at the feet of God. By complete surrender to God we do get freedom from all our sins and sorrows. In God there is no sin or sorrow. God is like the Sun in which darkness cannot exist. God is complete Joy, complete Bliss. When we are surrendering our ego to God, then we are surrendering ourselves to Joy & Bliss.

Whenever our ego separates ourselves from God, we become sad & unhappy & all tensions of life surround us. In any case we should not be egoistic, as to be egoistic is to show our separate existence from God, separate existence from Joy & Bliss. When the subtle veil of ego is torn between you & God then you are full of Joy & happiness. Just think yourself to be an instrument of God & devote fully to God.

So do Complete Surrender to God, as in this way you shall be free of all tensions of life & shall be at peace & be happy during all walks of life. Below verse of Bhagwat Gita teaches the same.

"sarva-dharman parityajya
mam ekam saranam vraja
aham tvam sarva-papebhyo
mokshayisyami ma suchah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Eighteen verse 66)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, Surrender unto Me alone. By surrendering all duties to Me, seek refuge in Me. I shall absolve you of all sins; grieve not."

Get Gita-Blog Updates by e-mail

Fragility of Life

As per one Report:

"Even as India still has a long way to go before achieving the target of full registration of births and deaths, the country currently registers at least 34 births and 10 deaths every minute............but the figure accounted for less than 70% of the actual data as a number of states lagged far behind in the process."

So if we see, every minute people are born & every minute people are dying. Yet it seems to us that we shall be permanent on earth & forget that we shall have to leave this earth, one day or the other. Life is not permanent on earth & we too shall have to leave everything behind someday. So why this ego & attachment. Let's see the Fragility of Life & do something good in life. What good can be than devoting your whole life to God by doing all our actions for the God so that our present & hereafter life shall be better.

"jatasya hi dhruvo mrityur
dhruvam janma mrtasya cha
tasmad apariharye ’rthe
na tvam socitum arhasi" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Two verse 27)

"Sri Krishna said to Arjuna: One who has taken his birth is sure to die, and after death one is sure to take birth again. Therefore, in the unavoidable discharge of your duty, you should not lament."

Get Gita-Blog Updates by e-mail

Good Words

"To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did.'" When God takes something from your grasp, He's not punishing you, but merely opening your hands to receive something better.

Concentrate on this sentence...................."The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you."

Jai Sri Krishna

Get Gita-Blog Updates by e-mail

Are Women More Religious Than Men?

As per one Report:

"Women pray more often than men, are more likely to believe in God, and are more religious than men in a variety of other ways, according to a new study. Analysts say that the reasons could range from traditional mothering duties to the tendency of men to take risks, reports Live Science. The survey involved interviews with more than 35,000 US adults by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.

A mountain of Gallup survey data attests to the idea that women are more religious than men, hold their beliefs more firmly, practice their faith more consistently, and work more vigorously for the congregation, "Gallup wrote."

As per me, to be religious or not depends upon individual's thinking & faith in God, irrespective of gender. It can vary as per different geographies of the world. I have my own data which varies from this report. I have a "Bhakti Sangeet (Devotional Music) Channel" on You Tube where as on date 101 Videos are uploaded. I joined You Tube one year back & as on date these Devotional Videos have been viewed 2.5 Million times in total. Daily average views by interested ones around the world are around 14,000 Video views on this channel. Below are Demographics Charts for my channel which explain how many % of Male & Female viewers are seeing these Devotional Videos. There is also a Bar Chart which explains the age groups, which are viewing these Devotional Videos.

Demographics
Who is watching the videos in this Channel?

Genders for all age groups

Age ranges for both genders

So from these charts it is clear that overall 36% Females & 64% Males are seeing these Devotional Videos on my channel. Age group 35-54 are the most (for both the genders) who are seeing these Devotional Videos. This data is representative of my channel on You Tube only & not as a whole. I would again like to say that Faith in God is individual matter, irrespective of gender. Anybody & everybody is free to pray & have faith in God irrespective of gender. As per Bhagwat Gita God accepts everyone (even the vilest sinner) who worships Him with devotion. Below verses explain that only.

Api chet su-duracharo
bhajate maam ananya-bhak
sadhurev sa mantavya
samyag vyvasito hi sah' (Gita: Chapter IX verse 30 )

'Sri Krishna said to Arjuna: Even if the vilest sinner worships Me with full devotion, he/she should be considered a noble soul or saint; as he/she has taken the right step by worshipping me.'

'kshipram bhavti dharmatma
shasvac-chantim nigachati
kauntey pratijanihi
na me bhaktah pranashyati' (Gita: Chapter IX verse 31)

'Sri Krishna said to Arjuna: He/she speedily becomes virtuous and secures lasting peace. O son of Kunti, know it for certain that My devotee never falls.'

Get Gita-Blog Updates by e-mail

It's Journey not the Outcome that matters

How many of you want success in life? Everybody. How many of you want Failure in life? Nobody. How many of you have always succeeded in every endeavor in your life? Nobody. How many of you have tasted failure also on the way to success in life? Everybody. Now why it is that we all want Success only in life & no one expects Failure in life, while Failure is as a part & parcel of life as the Success is. Answer is simple, Success makes you feel at the top of the world, while Failure makes you feel depressed, demotivated. Have you ever wondered why we feel uncomfortable at failure & always dislike it?

Simple answer to why we dislike failure is that we are always result oriented & always have end result in our mind. We always expect a preset outcome for our work. If outcome is to our expectation then we are happy, otherwise, we get disappointed & depressed. It is the nature of our mind only that it gets elated & depressed at the results of our expectations. Say you have appeared for an exam & it's result is to be declared. If you have a preset in your mind that you shall get First class in the exams then you have tuned your mind for an expectation of First class. Now mind shall do it's own work when the result is declared. Just think what, simple, if you do get First class, then your mind shall rejoice & if you don't, it shall get depressed. Problem is not with the mind but with YOU who have programmed it for an expectation. Same is the case with all the work you do in your life with a preset outcome or expectation for your work.

Whenever we are doing a work keeping in mind the end result (say money, promotion etc.) then we tend to live in tension & desperation, driven to "the result" and attached to an outcome. While doing the work in this way takes a toll on our life. We may succeed, we may fail in our goal but in such a case we shall not be doing the work with peaceful mind.

Now see this Philosophy of enjoying the process or life experience while doing any work. Now if you do not work with the end result or preset outcome in mind & rather enjoy the way, the process, the path in doing any work, it shall be much better. Doing any work not keeping the preset end result in mind shall also relieve you from the disappointment of failure. In fact "Life is a journey and not a destination". If we love the journey of doing any work, we shall be more happy & satisfied than if we work with a preset end result in our mind. If we love the journey of doing any work then we shall not be in tension while doing the work. It shall also relieve you of any negative feeling, emotion, embarrassment, regret, etc. in the end if the outcome is negative.

It is the same philosophy that "Bhagwat Gita" teaches us. Here below is the famous quote of Bhagwat Gita:

"Karmanye vadhikaraste
ma phalesu kadachana
ma karma-phala-hetur bhur
ma te sango ’stv akarmani" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Two verse 47)

"Sri Krishna said to Arjuna: You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of action. Never consider yourself the cause of the results of your activities, and never be attached to not doing your duty."

Basic meaning of this verse is to do your duty and be detached from its outcome. It is only teaching not to be driven by the end product but rather enjoy the process of getting there. The enjoyment of the process, experience of getting there is more important than the end result. It is teaching the same thing, "Life is a journey and not a destination". So enjoy the Journey not only the end result. So it is better to perform your actions and carry out your duty in an efficient way rather than caring or worrying about the results. Below verse also explains more.

"Yoga-sthah kuru karmani
sangam tyaktva dhananjaya
siddhy-asiddhyoh samo bhutva
samatvam yoga ucyate" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Two verse 48)

"Sri Krishna said to Arjuna: Perform your duty with an equipoise mind, abandoning all attachment to success or failure. Such equanimity is called Yoga."

Basic meaning of this verse is that if we do our duty or work with equipoise, peaceful mind & do not get attached to success or failure or end result of that endeavor, then we shall do our work effectively. In this way disappointment shall also be not there if we somehow do not succeed in the end. All the philosophy of Bhagwat Gita is only teaching that it is the process, journey of doing work which is important than the end result. Having this attitude of mind, you shall enjoy any activity or situation that you shall come across in your life, without the fear of failure.

Let your life be like a River. River flows with full vigor & power throughout it's journey. So same be your attitude to any work. Do your work with full vigor, enthusiasm & power. Enjoy your work. Doing your work or duty in such a way, your whole life shall be full of joy.

Read also...................................What is Karma?

Read also...................................What is Karmayoga?

Get Gita-Blog Updates by e-mail

Mahakaal Tripurari

Here below is a Video of the Devotional song of the Hindus to "Lord Shiva" called "Mahakaal Tripurari" which is a Hindu divine song sung in the praise of Lord Shiva , the Lord of Destruction as per Hindu mythology. To all devotees of Lord Shiva, it is very popular Devotional song & loved by all of them. As per the Hindu mythology god is ONE. Lord Krishna is same as Lord Rama & also same as Lord Shiva.

As per Bhagwat Gita Chapter Ten Verse - 23, God himself declares that He (Lord Krishna) is same as Lord Shiva.So enjoy this beautiful Video dedicated to God in the form of Lord Shiva.

"Mahakaal Tripurari" Bhajan is sung by Anuradha Paudwal.

Get Gita-Blog Updates by e-mail

Appreciate What You Have

Do you remain sad sometimes? Do you feel frustrated that you do not have what you wanted in life? Do you feel jealous of others for the things they possess & you don't have? Do you feel disillusioned with your life sometimes? Have you lost something in life which you already had?

In your life you always want to achieve more & more but feel frustrated if you do not get it. If you have some money, you want more of it. If you have a house, you want a bigger one with more facilities in it. If you do not have a car, you want to have one. If you do have a car then you want a bigger & more luxurious one. We want to fulfill all of our dreams in life but feel depressed & frustrated if we are not able to achieve these. We do also feel frustrated if we lose something which we were already having. In fact, our mind is very fickle. It constantly hankers after the "Things of Desire" & feel sad, depressed when it's wishes are not fulfilled. Below verse of Bhagwat Gita tells about the fickle nature of our mind. As per that our mind is very restless, turbulent, obstinate and very strong & controlling it is more difficult than controlling the wind. Due to this fickle nature of our mind, it always demand & want more. Due to restless nature of mind we are not at peace with ourselves.

"chanchalam hi manah krishna
pramathi balavad drdham
tasyaham nigraham manye
vayor iva su-duskaram" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Six verse 34)

"Arjuna said: For the mind is restless, turbulent, obstinate and very strong, O Krishna, and to subdue it, I think, is more difficult than controlling the wind."

Now just see your present life as it is. Our basic problem is that we do not appreciate the positive aspects in our lives. Our nature is to ponder on the negatives & what we don't have in life. To us others grass always seem greener. In fact we should appreciate what we already have. That shall give you a strength that at least you have been able to achieve that much. Do not compare yourself with someone very rich & with much more facilities & resources than you. Just see how good you are from those who lay a life along roadside without even having a roof over there head. If you have a small house then be happy that at least you are having a roof over your head despite the fact that you're not yet living in the home of your dreams. Just appreciate, whatever, you have achieved in life till today. Just see that there are many who have not achieved even that in life & you are much better of than many many on this earth. All around you, there are many people who are less fortunate than yourself. So we should always appreciate & give thanks to God for what we have in life.

It is all right that we all want to be better in life than what we are today. It is all right that if we work hard in life, we can fulfill our dreams. But there is no reason to get depressed in life just comparing yourself with rich, resourceful persons & moaning that you do not have all that in life. We should not forget about our own limit and capacity.

So let's be grateful to God for whatever we have in life. If you are able to thank God for, whatever, He has given you in life, then also you shall appreciate what you have in life. We should always focus on the positives in life. So let us start appreciating what we have. Appreciate what you have achieved in life till now. Appreciate your own looks & body. Appreciate the house you live in. Appreciate that you & your family are having good food while there are many who are not just having that also. Appreciate your loved ones, your children. Appreciation of yourself shall bring confidence in you, it shall also bring peace & happiness in your family life.

Beautiful story:

Once a wealthy man took his son on a trip to the countryside, so that he could have his son see how poor life the country people live.

They stayed one day and one night in the home of a very humble farmer. At the end of the trip, when they were back home, the father asked his son, "What did you think of the trip?"

The son replied, "Very nice dad."

Then the father asked his son, "Did you notice how poor they were?"

The son replied, "Yes."

The father continued asking, "What did you learn?"

The son responded, "I learned that we have one dog in our house, and they have four.

And we have imported lamps in our garden . . . where they have the stars!

Also, we have a fountain in our garden, but they have a stream that has no end.

And our garden goes to the edge of our property. But they have the entire horizon as their back yard!"

At the end of the son's reply the father was speechless.

His son then said, "Thank you dad for showing me how poor we really are."

Isn't it true that all depends on the lens you use to see life?

One can ask himself what would happen if we give thanks to God for what we have in life instead of always asking for more.

Let us learn to appreciate what you have in life. Wealth is all in one's point of view.

Read also.............Be Calm like an Ocean

Read also.............Peace of Mind

Get Gita-Blog Updates by e-mail

Arjuna - The True Devotee of Lord Krishna

Before the Mahabharata war, both "Arjuna" & "Duryodhana" (the two opponents in the war) went to "Lord Krishna" for His help in the war. At that time "Lord Krishna" was having a nap. "Duryodhana" came a little earlier than "Arjuna" & stood toward the head (pillow side) of "Lord Krishna". "Arjuna" came a little late & due to his devotion to "Lord Krishna" stood near His feet.

When Lord Krishna woke up He saw Arjuna first & then saw Duryodhana. He asked both, why they have come to Him at this moment. Both told Lord Krishna that as the battle is near they wanted Lord Krishna's help in this war. At this Lord Krishna agreed to give help to both & asked Arjuna first, how He can help him. At this Duryodhana said to Lord Krishna , "I have come before Arjuna to You so you should fulfil my desire first." At this Lord Krishna said to Duryodhana, "Though you have come before Arjuna, but I saw him first, so he should be given the first choice to ask." At this Duryodhana was perturbed that Arjuna shall ask all His armies from Him & he shall be left with nothing.

Lord Krishna told Arjuna that he has a choice, either he can take His whole army or he can choose Him alone. But when Arjuna asked Lord Krishna that he only wanted Him & nothing else, Duryodhana was perplexed & thought Arjuna to be a foolish person that he has asked for Lord Krishna alone than His big army. At this Lord Krishna told Arjuna that though he can choose Him alone but in the war He will not fight & He shall only be his charioteer. He told Arjuna that if he chooses Him alone then he shall be deprived of His whole big army. But Arjuna wanted Lord Krishna alone & not His army & accepted Lord Krishna as his charioteer.

At all this discussion, Duryodhana kept mum & thought, what Lord Krishna shall do without the army. Duryodhana actually wanted Lord Krishna's big army only & asked for that army when he got the chance. So Duryodhana got Lord Krishna's army.

Arjuna was a true devotee of Lord Krishna & knew that He was the God of the universe. He knew about all the powers of Lord Krishna & also knew that God in the form of Krishna shall save him & lead him to victory. He was having much faith in Lord Krishna than His army. Due to his faith in Lord Krishna only, ultimately he won the war while Duryodhana lost the war.

In Bhagwat Gita Lord Krishna tells Arjuna to always have faith in Him only as, whosoever, keeps faith in Lord Krishna, He always protects that devotee.

"man-mana bhava mad-bhakto
mad-yaji mam namaskuru
mam evaishyasi satyam te
pratijane priyo ’si me" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Eighteen verse 65)

"Lord Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, Always think of Me, become My devotee, worship Me and offer your homage unto Me. Thus you will come to Me without fail. I promise you this because you are My very dear friend."

"sarva-dharman parityajya
mam ekam saranam vraja
aham tvam sarva-papebhyo
mokshayisyami ma suchah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Eighteen verse 66)

"Lord Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear."

In the last verse of Bhagwat Gita, "Sanjaya" is also of the same opinion.

"yatra yogeshvarah krsno
yatra partho dhanur-dharah
tatra srir vijayo bhutir
dhruva nitir matir mama" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Eighteen verse 78)

"Sanjaya said: Wherever there is Krishna, the master of all mystics, and wherever there is Arjuna, the supreme archer, there will also certainly be opulence, victory, extraordinary power, and morality. That is my opinion."

So let's have complete faith in "Lord Krishna" & let's be His devotee. By having devotion in Him we shall be saved always by Him in all circumstances. Jai Sri Krishna.

Get Gita-Blog Updates by e-mail

"Jai Jai Ram Ramaiya, Jai Jai Krishn Kanhaiya"

"Jai Jai Ram Ramaiya, Jai Jai Krishn Kanhaiya" is a beautiful bhazan sung in the praise of Lord Rama & Lord Krishna. It is basically an invocation to God Rama & Krishna to come to this world & remove all the evil forces from this world. It is sung by Anuradha Paudwal.

Get Gita-Blog Updates by e-mail

"Jannat" or "Hell"!!!

Recently I saw one video of a Suicide bomber on one TV channel, in which a young boy in his later teens blew up a building by blowing himself up while he was wearing loads of explosives. Incidentally in that video, just before the action, he was seen very cheerful & motivated. I am bewildered, how a person can be so cheerful & motivated while someone is going on a Suicide mission!!! I got the answer in that video only where he was made to believe that by doing this terrorist act of destruction, he shall go to "Jannat" or Heaven!! Same is the case with most of the Suicide bombers for whom the sole motivation for such Suicide missions is that they have been brainwashed in believing that they shall go to "Jannat" or Heaven after doing such dastardly act. Same must have been the reason in the case of the terrorists who struck in Mumbai, killing people mercilessly. In the case of 'Ajmal Kasab' (sole surviving terrorist of Mumbai attacks) also similar motivation might have been there that after death they shall go to "Jannat" or Heaven & enjoy a beautiful life over there or otherwise they shall win laurels with their masters if they are able to go back to them after attacks.

In fact all the masters of such Suicide bombers brainwash the minds of these young boys in believing that doing such acts of blowing themselves up shall lead them to "Jannat" or Heaven. But what is the real truth about it or where such persons who do these deadly acts shall go after death? Shall they really go to "Jannat" or Heaven?

Every religion of the world teaches peace & not doing harm to innocent people. Mahatma Gandhi all his life taught non violence. Harming & killing innocent people is against all religions & against humanity. Had 'Ajmal Kasab' ever thought that he shall have to lead a life in jail & may be hanged for all his acts of killing innocent people in Mumbai? He & his other nine accomplices (who were killed in Mumbai attacks) might have thought that either they shall go back to their masters after doing Mumbai attacks or they shall go to "Jannat" or Heaven if they were killed. Now just think, whether any society or community on this earth approve of killing innocent people? Can human justice approve or allow killing innocent people in the society? Certainly not. If human justice cannot approve of such dastardly acts, then how can "Divine Justice" approve of such callous killings? Can God approve of these persons acts & allow them to stay in "Jannat" or Heaven? Certainly not.

Bhagwat Gita clearly states of such people & results of their such heinous acts (Karmas). As per Bhagwat Gita mind & intellect of such people (terrorists) is covered with ignorance due to which they do such demonical acts of killing innocent people. They have a destructive thinking & way of life. Their perverted thinking makes them believe that killing the innocent people is their duty, while they are doing demonical work only by doing such killings. Result of all this is that they shall go to Hell only if they are killed or shall go to jail if they are caught alive. When a person's mind is covered with ignorance (brainwashed in wrong believing) then he believes that, whatever, wrong he is doing is right, while it is their perverted thinking only which make them do wrong, the consequence of which is misery only.

Below are few verses of Bhagwat Gita which clearly tells about the state of mind of such people (terrorists) & the result of doing their such bad Karmas (actions).

"Embracing the wrong views, these lost souls with little understanding, ill disposed & devoted to cruel actions, are born for the destruction of the world."-

Bhagwat Gita: Chapter XVI verse-9

"Thus deluded by ignorance, bewildered by numerous thoughts, enmeshed of the web of delusion & addicted of the enjoyment of sensuous pleasures, men of demoniacal nature fall into the foulest hell."-

Bhagwat Gita: Chapter XVI - verse 16

"Given over to egoism, violence, insolence, passion & anger, these malicious persons hate Me ( God) that dwell in the bodies of others, as well as, in their own body."-

Bhagwat Gita: Chapter XVI verse-18

"These haters, evil, cruel, & vilest among men, I ( God) repeatedly throw into demoniacal wombs in this world."-

Bhagwat Gita: Chapter XVI verse -19

"Arjuna, cast into demoniacal wombs, birth after birth, these fools, attaining not to Me ( God), sink into still lower depths of Hell."-

Bhagwat Gita: Chapter XVI verse-20

So it is very clear that any religion does not teach hatred or killing innocent people. Result of such dastardly acts is misery only while living on this earth or even after death. Persons who believe that by doing such heinous acts of killing innocent people, they shall go to "Jannat" or Heaven are absolutely wrong as God also does not accept such malicious people. By doing such wrong acts, certainly these people shall have a place in "Hell" only after death. Such young people are requested not to be misled by their masters who brainwash their minds for their own selfish motives. By killing someone, no one has ever achieved Heaven but Hell only after death or Jail on this earth.

Read also....................................Tamas or TamoGun

Read also....................................Qualities of People of 'Demoniac Nature'

Get Gita-Blog Updates by e-mail

"Murli Bairan Bhaye" - a Krishna Bhajan by Lata Mangeskar

"Murli Bairan Bhayee" is a beautiful bhajan sung in the praise of Lord Krishna. It is sung by melody queen Lata Mangeskar. It is from a very old classic Hindi Bollywood Movie "New Delhi (1958)".

Get Gita-Blog Updates by e-mail

We All are Children of God

God created this whole universe & it is He only who has created each one of us. Not only has He created each one of us but also has created each big & small creature of this universe; whether it is birds or animals or any other living creature. As per Hindu mythology, God in the form of "Lord Brahma" created each one of us & this whole universe. God in the form of "Lord Vishnu" is maintaining this universe & sustaining all of us. God in the form of "Lord Shiva" annihilates this universe as per His will.

As per Bhagwat Gita, it is not only that God created all of us but also that God himself is seated in everyone's heart. Below verses of Bhagwat Gita explain that only. As God is seated equally in everyone's heart, whether he is rich or poor, black or white, man or woman, small or big, weak or powerful, so we should treat & love every human being equally. We should not discriminate with anybody based on caste, colour or creed etc. We should not hate anybody in any case as hating someone is just like hating the God seated in that person's heart. As we all are Children of God only, so let's love all human beings equally.

"mamaivamso jiva-loke
jiva-bhutah sanatanah
manah-sasthanindriyani
prakriti-sthani karshati" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fifteen verse 7)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, The Immortal Soul (Jivatma) in the body is an eternal part of mine and it is HE who draws the five senses and the sixth the mind that dwell in nature."

"ishvarah sarva-bhutanam
hrd-dese ’rjuna tishthati
bhramayan sarva-bhutani
yantrarudhani mayaya" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Eighteen verse 61)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, The Supreme God is situated in everyone’s heart, and is directing the wanderings of all living entities (as per their own Karmas), who are seated as on a machine, made of the material energy (the Nature)."

"samo ’ham sarva-bhutesu
na me dvesyo ’sti na priyah
ye bhajanti tu mam bhaktya
mayi te tesu chapy aham" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Nine verse 29)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, I am equally present in all beings; there is none hateful to me nor am I partial to anyone. I am equal to all. But whoever renders service unto Me with devotion is a friend of mine, is in Me, and I am also a friend to him."

Get Gita-Blog Updates by e-mail

"Jo Tum Todo Piya" - a Krishna Bhajan by Lata Mangeskar

"Jo Tum Todo Piya" is a beautiful Meerabai bhajan sung in the praise of Lord Krishna. It is sung by melody queen Lata Mangeskar. It is a song from an old bollywood classic movie "Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baje".

A lovely bhazan of saint Meerabai & her devotion to Lord Krishna. This movie's music director was the legendary Vasant Desai. This one is the jewel from the treasure of V.Shantaram.

Get Gita-Blog Updates by e-mail

Our Previous Births

Do you believe in rebirth? Do you believe in your previous lives? What you were in your past lives? How many births have you been through prior to this life? How one is reborn? How soul travels from one body to the other? If all such questions are of any interest to you then this article shall also be of some interest to you.

All the Hindu & Buddhist religion is replete with rebirth stories. As per the philosophy of both the religions, soul of an individual being travels at death from one body to the other. In the case of Lord Buddha, he was able to see all his previous births with vivid clarity. Many Yogis & persons advanced in meditation can also see all their previous lives vividly. So can you if you are also advanced in meditation. As per Lord Buddha an individual soul goes through innumerable births & you have been in different bodies in your past lives before you were born this time. As per him this continuum of births was so lengthy that it did not make sense to see exactly where the process began. In the case of Lord Buddha, he acquired two sorts of insights, the ability to recall with visual clarity his previous lives & the ability to do so in the case of others too. All the previous lives of Lord Buddha are recorded as "Jataka Stories".

Jataka Stories have been an integral part of Buddhist culture through the ages. ‘Jataka Stories’ are a collection of tales about Gautama Buddha’s previous births as a "Bodhisatva". Collections of Buddhist legends compiled at various dates in several countries; the oldest and most complete has 547 stories. So there are 547 recorded past lives stories of Lord Buddha. They were collected before AD 400. They give an account of previous incarnations of the Buddha. The various "Bodhisattva births" (earlier births of Lord Buddha) portrayed in the Jataka stories range from gods to fairies, to kings, Brahmins, merchants, craftsmen, potters, slaves and outcastes, to animals, birds, and fish. So as per Lord Buddha he was in his previous many births, not only in human bodies but also took birth as birds & animals. Hindu religion also talks about 8.4 Million different types of species in this universe & a soul goes from one type of body to the other as per the Karmic law.

Below are few verses of Bhagwat Gita which explain about the rebirth:

"dehino-asmin yatha dehe
kaumaram yauvnam jara
tatha dehantar-praptir-
adhiras tatra na muhyati" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Two verse 13)

"Sri Krishna said: Just as boyhood, youth & old age are attributed to the soul & the embodied soul continuously passes through these cycles, similarly the embodied soul passes into another body at death. The wise man does not get deluded & bewildered with such a change."

"vasamsi jirnani yatha vihaya
navani grhnati naro ’parani
tatha sarirani vihaya jirnany
anyani samyati navani dehi" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Two verse 22)

"Sri Krishna said: As a human being puts on new garments, giving up old ones, the soul similarly accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones."

"jatasya hi dhruvo mrityur
dhruvam janma mrtasya cha
tasmad apariharye ’rthe
na tvam socitum arhasi" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Two verse 27)

"Sri Krishna said: One who has taken his birth is sure to die, and after death one is sure to take birth again. Therefore, in the unavoidable discharge of your duty, you should not lament."

"sri-bhagavan uvacha
bahuni me vyatitani
janmani tava charjuna
tany aham veda sarvani
na tvam vettha parantapa" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Four verse 5)

"Sri Krishna said: Both you and I have passed through many, many births. I can remember all of them, but you cannot, O winner of the enemy!"

Sometimes it happens in our life that some unknown out of the crowd seems so known to you, though you have met that person for the first time. If we meet someone & form meaningful close relationship with that person, then the assumption is that we may have previously met & have associated with that person in previous births also. As a Karmic connection we meet that person again & maintain connections in this lifetime also. Same is the case with all the persons who are close to us in this life. It is not just like that we have suddenly become so close to those people. It is only that all these people were in our lives in our previous births also. We are together here because we had been together before in our previous lives.

In Hindu scriptures Karma is related to the origin of one's own body. Karmas of earlier birth become the basis of this birth & Karmas of this birth become the basis of your next birth & so on. At death, soul of a person takes the stock of all Karmas (having its reservoir in that person's mind) & Divinity or God as per the divine law takes a handful of those Karmas & a new body is made with the seeds of these Karmas. So if a person has done good Karmas he/she gets a good godly body in heavens & if he/she has done bad karmas in this life then that person's soul goes to lower wombs of birds & animals. So it is generally said that we should do good Karmas only.

Below are few verses of Bhagwat Gita which explain about how a soul travels from one body to the other & where it goes as per the Karmic law:

"sariram yad avapnoti
yac chapy utkramatishvarah
grhitvaitani samyati
vayur gandhan ivasayat" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fifteen verse 8)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, As the wind carries away odours from their seat, even so the Jivatma (soul), the lord of the body, snatching these (the mind & the senses) from the body, which it casts off, migrates into the body, which it acquires.

"yada sattve pravrddhe tu
pralayam yati deha-bhrt
tadottama-vidam lokan
amalan pratipadyate" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fourteen verse 14)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, When one dies in the mode of goodness, he attains to the pure higher planets of the great sages."

"rajasi pralayam gatva
karma-sangisu jayate
tatha pralinas tamasi
mudha-yonisu jayate" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fourteen verse 15)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, When one dies in the mode of passion, he takes birth among those engaged in fruit producing activities (i.e. as a man or woman on earth); and when one dies in the mode of ignorance, he takes birth in the bird & animal kingdom."

As per the Hindu Philosophy, any "Karma" done by a person, remains with that person, unless he/she has enjoyed the consequential Fruit arisen out of doing that Karma. For a good act done by him, he shall bear good result & enjoy it. Similarly for a bad act done by him, he shall bear bad result & shall have to bear punishment for it. So ,whatever, action/karma we perform with our body, mind or even speech, it should not do harm to others but should be of some use only to others. By doing good Karmas only we shall get good life in future births & shall finally meet the God.

Read also...............Understanding "Karma" as per the Hindu Philosophy?

Read also...............Is there Life after death?

Get Gita-Blog Updates by e-mail

"Banwari Re" - a Lord Krishna Bhajan by Lata Mangeskar

"Banwari Re" is a beautiful bhajan sung in the praise of Lord Krishna. It is sung by melody queen Lata Mangeskar. It is a song from an old bollywood classic movie "Ek Phool Char Kante (1960)".

It's music was given by Shankar Jaikishan & it's cast included Sunil Dutt & Waheeda Rehman. "Banwari" is another name of Lord Krishna only.

A lovely bhazan sung to show that God's name is the only protection in this world & all else is useless in this world. Really a very meaningful bhajan.

Get Gita-Blog Updates by e-mail

Jai Ram Sri Ram by Lata Mangeskar

"Jai Ram Sri Ram" is a beautiful bhajan sung by Lata Mangeskar. Listening to it peace really comes to mind.

Get Gita-Blog Updates by e-mail

How can we eliminate our Sins?

In Bhagwat Gita, we find many quotes which explain about how we can eliminate our sins. As per Bhagwat Gita there are two main ways to get rid of your sins. One way is to to learn the truth about soul knowledge & God by approaching a spiritual master, inquiring from him submissively and rendering service unto him. The self-realized souls (Gurus, masters having the true knowledge) can impart knowledge unto you because they have seen the truth. So by having the transcendental knowledge you shall burn & get rid of all your sins.

"tad viddhi pranipatena
pariprasnena sevaya
upadeksyanti te jnanam
jnaninas tattva-darshinah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Four verse 34)

"Sri Krishna said: Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized souls can impart knowledge unto you because they have seen the truth."

"api ced asi papebhyah
sarvebhyah papa-krt-tamah
sarvam jnana-plavenaiva
vrjinam santarisyasi" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Four verse 36)

"Sri Krishna said: Even if you are considered to be the most sinful of all sinners, when you are situated in the boat of transcendental knowledge you will be able to cross over the ocean of miseries."

"yathaidhamsi samiddho ’gnir
bhasma-sat kurute ’rjuna
jnanagnih sarva-karmani
bhasma-sat kurute tatha" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Four verse 37)

"Sri Krishna said: As a blazing fire turns firewood to ashes, O Arjuna, so does the fire of knowledge burn to ashes all sins & reactions to material activities."

One other way to get rid of all your sins is to take refuge in God through "Devotion". In Bhagwat Gita, God assures his disciple Arjuna in many ways & asks him to take refuge in Him & says that He shall emancipate him of sin in all ways, shall rescue him in his life always. Many times we think that we have done many sins in life & how God shall accept us, but God makes very clear in Bhagwat Gita that once a person become devoted to Him, He does not considers that person a sinner, rather God considers that person to be a Saint as he has taken the right decision in his life to become devoted to God.

Api chet su-duracharo
bhajate maam ananya-bhak
sadhurev sa mantavya
samyag vyvasito hi sah' (Gita: Chapter IX verse 30 )

'Even if the vilest sinner worships Me with full devotion, he should be considered a noble soul or saint; as he has taken the right step by worshipping me.'

'kshipram bhavti dharmatma
shasvac-chantim nigachati
kauntey pratijanihi
na me bhaktah pranashyati' (Gita: Chapter IX verse 31)

'He speedily becomes virtuous and secures lasting peace. O son of Kunti, know it for certain that My devotee never falls.'

Through above verse 31, God is telling Arjuna that such a sinful person after becoming His devotee becomes a person of good virtues and always remain in peace & such a peace is not temporary but is ever lasting. God is assuring the son of Kunti ( another name of Arjuna, his disciple) that his devotee never falls again in life as He always protect him. So let's all worship the God always so that He can protect us always.

'man-mna bhav mad-bhakto
madhyaji maam namaskuru
maam-evaishyasi yuktvaivam
atmanam mat-parayanah' (Gita: Chapter IX verse 34)

'Fix your mind on Me, be devoted to me, worship Me & offer obeisance's to Me. In this way, linking to Me, you shall surely come to Me.'

Through above verse 34, God is asking Arjuna to fix his mind on God as after worshipping Him & paying obeisance's to God, he shall automatically come to Him. We should also follow the same path & let's become devoted to him by praying Him daily. God is very clear that once a person comes in God's refuge, then all his problems are solved & God becomes his protector in this life & life beyond.

Read also............................God Assures you that He shall protect you

Read also............................Lord, Fill the Cup of my life

Get Gita-Blog Updates by e-mail

O-Palanhare by Lata Mangeskar

"O-Palanhare" is a beautiful bhajan sung in the praise of God. It is sung by
Lata Mangeskar. It is from a Hindi bollywood movie Lagaan.

Get Gita-Blog Updates by e-mail

Maya (माया or māyā)

Maya (माया or māyā): In philosophy the word origin of maya is derived from the Sanskrit roots 'ma' ("not") and 'ya', meaning "that". So the meaning of Maya is "that is not" but which appears to be real. Maya is held to be an illusion in philosophy & it is said to be a veil of the true Self - the Universal Spirit known as Brahman. Maya is a subtle force that creates the grand illusion that the phenomenal world that we see is real.

Maya is said to be neither true nor untrue. Since Universal Spirit (Brahman) is the only truth so Maya cannot be true. Since Maya causes the material world to be seen, it cannot be untrue also. Hence, Maya is described as indescribable. She has two principle functions - one is to veil the Universal Spirit (Brahman) and obscure and conceal it from our consciousness. The other is to present and promulgate the material world and the veil of duality instead of the Universal Spirit (Brahman).

In the darkness, just like a rope is confused for a snake & this illusion gets destroyed when true knowledge of the rope is perceived in the light. Similarly, in the darkness of the night, a pole may be mistaken for a ghost. As the darkness is removed, the ghost disappears; only the pole remains as reality. Similarly, Maya's illusion gets destroyed for a person when he/she perceives Brahman with transcendental knowledge & light. When the light of Universal Spirit (Brahman) falls on Maya, it disappears.

Purpose of Maya: In reality the purpose of Maya is to produce the duality in this world. Maya performs this role at the behest of the Supreme Lord only. God is not bound by Maya, just as magicians are not illusioned and deluded by their own magic.

Maya is beyond our sense-perception & is invisible but this universe which is its effect, is visible (or perceived by the senses). Maya is like night (or darkness) & is very difficult to be understood. Its nature is not perceived here.

In Hinduism, this world in which we live is called unreal not because of that it does not exist, but because it is unstable, impermanent, unreliable and illusory. It is unreal because it is transient & changing every second. Just check the things around you, these are changing every second. So this changing world, which is not permanent is called Maya or illusion & not real, the changeless.

Lord Krishna in Bhagwat Gita details about the 'Maya' in it's various chapters.

"mama yonir mahad brahma
tasmin garbham dadhamy aham
sambhavah sarva-bhutanam
tato bhavati bharata" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fourteen verse 3)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, My womb is the great Nature (Prakriti or MAYA) which is the source of birth of all living entities, and it is in that I place the germ (embryo of life). Thus it makes possible the births of all living beings."

"sarva-yonisu kaunteya
murtayah sambhavanti yah
tasam brahma mahad yonir
aham bija-pradah pita" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fourteen verse 4)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, It should be understood that all species of life, are made possible by birth in this material nature (Prakriti or MAYA), and that I am the seed-giving father."

"yavat sanjayate kincit
sattvam sthavara-jangamam
kshetra-kshetrajna-samyogat
tad viddhi bharatarsabha" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Thirteen verse 27)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, Wherever a being is born, whether unmoving or moving, know that it is from the union between the field and the knower of the field. (Purusha is the knower of the field; Prakriti is the field; Shiva is another name for the knower of the field and Shakti is the field; Spirit is another name for the knower of the field and Matter (Prakriti) is the field).

"prakrityaiva cha karmani
kriyamanani sarvasah
yah pasyati tathatmanam
akartaram sa pasyati" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Thirteen verse 30)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, One who can see that all activities are performed by the nature (Maya) alone and sees that the self does nothing, actually sees." (The Self is the silent witness).

"ishvarah sarva-bhutanam
hrd-dese ’rjuna tishthati
bhramayan sarva-bhutani
yantrarudhani mayaya" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Eighteen verse 61)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, The Supreme God is situated in everyone’s heart, and moves them to act by his divine Maya, who are seated as on a machine, made of the material energy."

Ramakrishna on Maya

Ramakrishna acknowledged the power of Maya in life. He was all love and reverence for maya, perceiving in it a mysterious and majestic expression of Divinity. To him Maya was God.

In the guru Ramakrishna's experience, Maya was divine. Ramakrishna "did not, like a Vedantic scholar, repudiate the world as maya, but gave it a spiritual status, seeing in it the manifestation of Chit and Ananda." Ramakrishna had a "vision of the divine Maya, the inscrutable Power of God, by which the universe is created and sustained."

According to Ramakrishna, Maya projects and withdraws the world.
Further, "Maya . . . is the Mother of the Universe, identical with the Brahman of Vedanta and with the Atman of Yoga.

Ramakrishna discovered that maya operates in the relative world in two ways and he termed these "avidyamaya" and "vidyamaya.' Avidyamaya sustains lower planes, but vidyamaya is enlightening, including qualities like kindness. Vidyamaya elevates a man to a better consciousness. With the help of vidyamaya he then gets free of maya, if only for a while. The two aspects of maya are two forces of creation.

Ramakrishna said further: "When I think of the Supreme Being as inactive - neither creating nor preserving nor destroying - I call Him Brahman or Purusha . . . When I think of Him as active - creating, preserving, and destroying - I call Him Sakti or Maya or Prakriti, the Personal God.

To Ramakrishna maya itself was God - everything was God - [maya] was one of the faces of [the Godhead].

As per Ramakrishna: Maya can not be distinguished from the supreme [Godhead]

As per Ramakrishna: The mighty weaver (Maya) is none other than the Divine Mother.

As per Ramakrishna: Maya releases from bondage.

"I tell you the truth: there is nothing wrong in your being in the world." - Ramakrishna

Vivekananda on Maya

This universe is maya - Vivekananda

Maya is used incorrectly to denote illusion or delusion. - Vivekananda

Get Gita-Blog Updates by e-mail

Spirituality & Religion

Spirituality concerns itself with matters of the spirit. It is quite different from the dogmas of a particular religion. Spirituality is basically what is taught in Bhagwat Gita. The great teachings of Bhagwat Gita are beyond any religion. A particular religion of this world teaches us about the practices to be followed in a particular religion. But spirituality is personal, subjective dimension of religion, particularly that which pertains to liberation or salvation of an individual soul. Spirituality is a state of being incorporeal. Spirituality is basically one's character or quality that makes one transcend the barriers of worldliness, caste, creed and sensuality; and realize one's connection with the Truth.

In contrast a religion is a set of stories, symbols, beliefs and practices that a person believes in or inherits. Religions are many in this world & so are it's different symbols, faiths & beliefs.

As per one report "More and ‘more Indians taking to spirituality", an increasing number of Indians are moving away from conventional religion and embracing spirituality.

As per spiritual leader Sri Samadarshini "Spirituality alone can help at times of crisis. It is beyond religion. Circumstances are never under our control but spirituality helps you give yourself an opportunity amid crisis and come out of it, Therefore a number of people are actually moving away from conventional religion.”

“Not just the corporate sector, people from all fields are now coming forward to learn about spirituality in order to learn how to handle stress,” said Samadarshini.

In Bhagwat Gita also Lord Krishna tells Arjuna to leave all religions & take shelter in Him . God is teaching spirituality only through the discourse of Bhagwat Gita to Arjuna. So Bhagwat Gita is really beyond any religion & is in reality teaching spiritualism. Bhagwat Gita teaches us about the truth of the Spirit rather than any dogmas of religion.

"sarva-dharman parityajya
mam ekam saranam vraja
aham tvam sarva-papebhyo
mokshayisyami ma suchah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Eighteen verse 66)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear."

Get Gita-Blog Updates by e-mail

Breathing

Here is a beautiful post on Breathing, the great energy that rises from the depth of our soul & gives life to our material body. Read the post here.........................Breathing in I calm my body

Get Gita-Blog Updates by e-mail

Jai Dev Jai Dev Jai Mangalmurti - Lata Mangeskar

"Jai Dev Jai Dev Jai Mangalmurti" is a Devotional song of the Hindus sung in the praise of "Lord Ganesha - Son of Lord Shiva". Let's all Pray to Lord Ganesha. It is sung by Lata Mangeskar.

Lord Ganesha is a Hindu God who removes all obstacles in life. Lord Ganesha is the son of Hindu God Shiva.

As per the Hindu mythology, God is ONE. Lord Krishna is same as Lord Rama & also same as Lord Shiva. As per Bhagwat Gita Chapter Ten Verse - 23, God himself declares that He (Lord Krishna) is same as Lord Shiva. So Lord Ganesha is actually the son of Supreme Lord of this Universe.




Read also..........................Who is Lord Ganesha?

Get Gita-Blog Updates by e-mail

Peace of Mind

"Dil Hai Ki manta Nahin" was an Aamir Khan, Pooja Bhatt Starr Hindi bollywood movie but here I am not going to talk about that movie. Basically this post is about how our Dil (heart)/ Mind wanders after "Things of Desire" & is uncontrollable.

Below is a verse by a poet:

"Hazaro Khawaishain Aaise, Ki Har Khawaish Pe Dum Nikle,
Mere Armaan Bahut Nikle, Par Phir Bhi Bahut Kam Nikle."

"There are thousands of desires of mine for different worldly objects & each desirous object is unique & beautiful, But Alas! neither of these desires could be fulfilled & my mind became sad & kept on weeping for these desires."

In life, we want to get every possible object of this world in our lifetime. But just see, have you got everything, whatever, your mind has thought of getting in life? As per me certainly not, as mind imagines to get everything in life but one does not get everything what is wished by the mind. It can be due to want of resources with you or to fulfill such desires are not just within your reach. So what do you do at that time? Compromise, yes, you adjust to this reality that such & such desires of yours cannot be achieved by you & you tell your mind just to forget about these desirous objects. Though you tell your mind that all these objects of desire are not within your reach but still, "Dil Hai Ki manta Nahin" & this mind still wanders about these objects & always want more & more.

In fact, nature of our mind is to crave for worldly pleasures of all kinds but constant hankering of mind about the "Things of Desire" & agony of not getting these makes the mind restless. It can cause psychological problems also & your mood may remain depressed due to this wandering nature of your mind. That's why in "Bhagwat Gita" Lord Krishna asks Arjuna to control his mind & let it not wander about worldly objects.

"evam buddheh param buddhva
samstabhyatmanam atmana
jahi satrum maha-baho
kama-rupam durasadam" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Three verse 43)

"Sri Krishna said: Thus knowing oneself to be transcendental to the material senses, mind and intelligence, O Arjuna, one should steady the mind by deliberate spiritual intelligence and thus—by spiritual strength—conquer the desires which is the insatiable enemy."

So if you want to have peace of mind in life, you need to control your mind & let it not hanker always after desirous objects. Best way to control your mind is to divert your mind's attention towards God or Spiritual practices like listening to devotional songs (Bhazans), reading spiritual literature, chanting religious mantras, doing Yoga etc. It is a certainty that mind finds peace in Godly practices.

Read also.............Be Calm like an Ocean

Read also.............Desire

Get Gita-Blog Updates by e-mail