Happy New Year - 2009

Wishing all our readers a very "Happy New Year - 2009". May this Year - 2009 bring joy, happiness & prosperity to all our readers. May God Bless all in this year.

"Hey Rom Rom Mein Basne Wale Ram" - Music Video

"Hey Rom Rom Mein Basne Wale Ram" is a beautiful bhazan sung in the praise of Lord Rama. It is a song from a bollywood movie Neel Kamal. Really sweet Godly song.

God Manifests Himself Before His Devotees

God is omnipresent (present everywhere) in it's un-manifest aspect & is always present all around us. This omnipresent God consists of knowledge & knows everything about this whole world & also knows about all the people of this world. Every inch of the space is occupied by Him. Every nook & corner is filled by Him. He is therefore called Brahm (God) who is Truth Absolute, Knowledge Absolute and is Infinite.

To fulfill the desire of a devotee, this un-manifest, all pervasive Brahm (God) by the power of His Yogmaya, manifests Himself as an embodied Being and appears before the devotee. In fact there is no difference between the Manifest and Un-manifest aspects of God. It is the Un-manifest that becomes manifest only.

Brahm (God) manifests Himself in the same form in which a devotee likes to see Him. In Bhagwat Gita, Arjuna wanted to see God's Universal form in the first instance, then His celestial form endowed with four arms, and last of all His human form with two arms only. Divine Lord Krishna, in order to fulfill the desire of Arjuna, appeared before him in all these forms successively within a short time.

So the God appears before a devotee in whatever form he worship Him, whether it is the form of Rama, Krishna, Vishnu, Shiva, Shakti, Ganesha or any other form. A devotee should always remember that the God whom he worships, always pervades through this whole universe & can manifest Himself in any form, anytime He wants to appear before his devotee. God is never invisible to such souls who have understood His true nature, nor does He ever lose sight of them.

Oh God, as you always hear to your devotees, so pl. pl. "Hear Me Lord"

"Bhagwan Ke Ghar Der Hai Andher Nahin Hai" - Music Video

"Bhagwan Ke Ghar Der Hai Andher Nahin Hai" is a beautiful song sung in the praise of God. It is a song from a bollywood movie Naya Daur.Really sweet Godly song.

God, Steal My Mind

Human mind is very fickle. It moves from one object to another, from one desire to another. It sways as per the three modes (Gunas) of nature. Three modes of nature are Sattva (goodness), Rajas (passion) and Tamas (ignorance). In Sattva (goodness) mode mind sees all things in right perspective, while in Rajas (passion) mode mind is not able to determine what is right or what is wrong, while in Tamas (ignorance) mode mind sees wrong to be right.

In Sattva (goodness) mode mind worships the God & does good to all human beings always, while in Rajas (passion) mode mind indulges in passionate sensual pleasures, while in Tamas (ignorance) mode mind does all the wrong things & believes wrong to be right.

When the mode of goodness becomes prominent, it defeats the modes of passion and ignorance. When the mode of passion becomes prominent, it defeats goodness and ignorance, and at other times ignorance defeats goodness and passion. In this way there is always competition for supremacy among the three modes of nature.

But when the human mind is pointed towards God only, then mode of goodness becomes prominent always & the other modes i.e. passion & ignorance cannot touch it in anyway. Person in devotion to God is always rescued from the other two modes i.e. passion & ignorance.

So Hey God, You steal my mind & put it in devotion of Yourself so that it can always be in Sattva (goodness) mode & does not hanker towards passion or ignorance. Hey God, please please Steal My Mind & put it in devotion of Yourself.

Below are few verses of Bhagwat Gita which explain about the three modes of nature i.e. Sattva (goodness), Rajas (passion) and Tamas (ignorance) & how these three modes of nature empower the human mind.

"sattvam rajas tama iti
Gunnah prakriti-sambhavah
nibadhnanti maha-baho
dehe dehinam avyayam" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fourteen verse 5)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, Material nature consists of three modes—Sattva (goodness), Rajas (passion) and Tamas (ignorance). When the eternal living entity comes in contact with nature, he becomes conditioned by these three modes."

"rajas tamas chabhibhuya
sattvam bhavati bharata
rajah sattvam tamas chaiva
tamah sattvam rajas tatha" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fourteen verse 10)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, Sometimes the mode of goodness becomes prominent, defeating the modes of passion and ignorance. Sometimes the mode of passion defeats goodness and ignorance, and at other times ignorance defeats goodness and passion. In this way there is always competition for supremacy."

Why You should read Bhagwat Gita?

Here is a beautiful story illustrating, Why You should read Bhagwat Gita? Read the story here.....................Why do we read Bhagwat Gita?

"Virat Rupa" - the Cosmic or Universal Form of God

In Chapter - 10 of Bhagwat Gita, Arjuna enquires from Lord Krishna about the various forms through which Lord is pervading in all these worlds in His divine opulence. To this query of Arjuna Lord Krishna replies that, "Of lights He is the radiant sun; of immovable things, He is the Himalayas; among the stars He is the moon; of purifiers He is the wind; of the wielders of weapons He is Lord Rama etc. etc.

Now as per Chapter - 11 of Bhagwat Gita, Arjuna asks Lord Krishna to show him the Cosmic Form of God, the way Lord Krishna just described Himself. On this request of Arjuna, Lord Krishna bestows a special “vision” to Arjuna so that he can see the Divine God in His universal form. In this Cosmic or Universal Form, Lord Krishna shows His opulence's, hundreds of thousands of varied divine and multicolored forms. Lord Krishna shows Arjuna, different manifestations of Adityas, Vasus, Rudras, Asvini-kumaras and all the other demigods. Lord Krishna also shows in His Universal Form many wonderful things which no one has ever seen or heard of before.

Arjuna saw in that Universal Form, unlimited mouths, unlimited eyes, unlimited wonderful visions. The form was decorated with many celestial ornaments and bore many divine upraised weapons. He wore celestial garlands and garments, and many divine scents were smeared over His body. All was wondrous, brilliant, unlimited, all-expanding.

"If hundreds of thousands of suns were to rise at once into the sky, their radiance might resemble the effulgence of the Supreme Person in that Universal Form."
On seeing such a fierce form of God, Arjuna gets frightened & asks God, “Who are you in this fearful form & what is Your mission in this form?”

To this query of Arjuna "Lord Sri Krishna says: Time I am (Kala), the great destroyer of the worlds, and I have come here to destroy all people. With the exception of you (the Pandavas), all the soldiers here on both sides will be slain."

Arjuna now realizing the might of the Lord apologizes to Lord Krishna, that he has considered Him as his friend & rashly addressed the Lord, “O Krishna,” “O Yadava,” “O my friend,” not knowing His divine glories.

Arjuna asks Lord Sri Krishna to return to his “intimate, beautiful form (saumya-rupa)." At Arjuna's request, Lord Krishna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, again displays His real four-armed form and at last shows His two-armed form, thus encouraging the fearful Arjuna.

The above said article explains well that we should not talk lightly of God & should show full reverence to God.

Jai Shri Krishna

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all our readers. May Jesus Christ bless all our readers. May coming year bring joy, happiness & good luck to all our readers.

God is one, whether it is Jesus Christ or Lord Krishna or Lord Rama. Really God is one as Universal Soul is one & indivisible. You can call it by any name but God in reality is one & one only.

Regards,
Sancho

Desire

Desire: Simple meaning of desire is to crave for worldly pleasures of all kinds. But in philosophy, "Desire" has been identified as a philosophical problem since Antiquity. As per Plato, individual desires must be postponed in the name of the higher ideal.

As per the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama (Buddhism), craving is said to be the cause of all suffering that one experiences in human existence. The extinction of this craving leads one to ultimate happiness, or Nirvana. Nirvana means "cessation", "extinction" of suffering. It is also known as "Awakening" or "Enlightenment". As per the teaching of Gautama Buddha, suffering is an inevitable part of life as we know it & the cause of this suffering is attachment to, or craving for worldly pleasures of all kinds. The suffering ends when the craving and desire ends, or one is freed from all desires.

In "Bhagwat Gita" Arjuna asks "Lord Krishna" a very pertinent question,“What makes a person do the wrong thing, even when he/she knows, it’s wrong and don’t want to do it?”

Lord Sri Krishna tells Arjuna that: It is Desire & Lust only which makes a person do the wrong thing, even when he/she knows, it’s wrong and don’t want to do it.

When we desire something then we are empowered by a powerful emotion to get it which clouds our reasoning. Our passionate desires clouds our mind and senses & it distorts our perception and reasoning. It is our relentless passionate desire to enjoy the material pleasures that it leads us to commit Sin. Desire covers our reasoning like smoke covers fire, or dust covers a mirror. Due to this blurred reasoning & our passionate hankering for desires, we do commit Sin in our life.

Below are verses of "Bhagwat Gita" in which "Arjuna" asks "Lord Krishna" about the same:

"arjuna uvacha
atha kena prayukto ’yam
papam charati purushah
anicchann api varsneya
balad iva niyojitah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Three verse 36)

"Arjuna said: O Sri Krishna, by what is one impelled to sinful acts, even unwillingly, as if engaged by force?"

"sri-bhagavan uvacha
kama esa krodha esa
rajo-guna-samudbhavah
mahasano maha-papma
viddhy enam iha vairinam" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Three verse 37)

"Sri Krishna said: It is desire & lust only, Arjuna, which is born of contact with the material mode of passion and later transformed into wrath, and which is the all-devouring sinful enemy of this world."

"dhumenavriyate vahnir
yathadarso malena cha
yatholbenavrto garbhas
tatha tenedam avrtam" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Three verse 38)

"Sri Krishna said: As fire is covered by smoke, as a mirror is covered by dust, or as the embryo is covered by the womb, the living entity is similarly covered by different degrees of this lust."

"avrtam jnanam etena
jnanino nitya-vairina
kama-rupena kaunteya
duspurenanalena cha" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Three verse 39)

"Sri Krishna said: Thus the wise living entity’s pure consciousness becomes covered by his eternal enemy in the form of lust, which is never satisfied and which burns like fire."

"tasmat tvam indriyany adau
niyamya bharatarsabha
papmanam prajahi hy enam
jnana-vijnana-nasanam" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Three verse 41)

"Sri Krishna said: Therefore, O Arjuna, in the very beginning curb this great symbol of sin (lust) by regulating the senses, and slay this destroyer of knowledge and self-realization."

"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 & lust which is the insatiable enemy."

From the above verses of "Bhagwat Gita" it is very clear that it is the individual's Desire, Lust & constant feeding of one's senses that a person commits sinful activities. Due to such constant craving for desires, one's intelligence gets covered with ignorance, just like a mirror is covered by the dust & one is not able to see the things in right perspective. So we should not constantly hanker to satisfy our desires, rather we should control these desires.

Radhe Ke Bina Shyam Aadha - Music Video

"Radhe Ke Bina Shyam Aadha" is a beautiful bhazan sung in the praise of Lord Radha Krishna. This bhazan is sung by "Anup Jalota". Jai Shri Radhe Krishna.

Tere Mann Mein Ram, Tann Mein Ram - Music Video

"Tere Mann Mein Ram, Tann Mein Ram" is a Devotional prayer sung in the praise of Hindus God Rama. A beautiful bhazan pleasing to the ears & sung by Anup Jalota.

Omnipotent God

Omnipotent: Meaning of Omnipotent is all-powerful; almighty; unlimited in power & ability; one who is able in every respect and for every work. A supernatural being who can create worlds.

Omnipotence is attributed to God who is considered all-powerful & has created all universes. It also refers that God is supreme & is having power over all things.

Omnipotence is also the attribute of God which describes his ability to do whatever He wills. No one or no force or happening can frustrate or prevent God from accomplishing his designs. God's power is sufficient to fulfill all his purposes and promises, including his promise of eternal life for all who obey him.

The term Omnipotent has been used to connote a number of different positions in regard to God. These positions include, but are not limited to, the following:

• God is able to do anything that is logically possible for it to do.
• God is able to do anything that it chooses to do.
• God is able to do anything that is in accord with its own nature (thus, for instance, if it is a logical consequence of God's nature that what it speaks is truth, then it is not able to lie).
• Hold that it is part of God's nature to be consistent and that it would be inconsistent for God to go against its own laws unless there was a reason to do so.
• God is able to do anything that is with its world plan.
• God is able to do absolutely anything, even the logically impossible.

However, on all understandings of Omnipotence, it is generally held that God is able to intervene in the world by superseding the laws of physics, since they are not part of its nature, but the principles on which it has created the physical world.

Bhagwat Gita also talks about God to be Omnipotent. Below are some verses regarding that:

"namah purastad atha prsthatas te
namo ’stu te sarvata eva sarva
ananta-viryamita-vikramas tvam
sarvam samapnosi tato ’si sarvah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter 11- verse 40)

"Arjuna said to Lord Sri Krishna: Obeisance's to You from the front, from behind and from all sides! O All powerful, You are the master of Limitless might! You are all-pervading, and thus You are everything!"

"yad aditya-gatam tejo
jagad bhasayate ’khilam
yac chandramasi yac chagnau
tat tejo viddhi mamakam" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fifteen verse 12)

"Lord Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, The splendor of the sun, which dissipates the darkness of this whole world, comes from Me. And the splendor of the moon and the splendor of fire are also comes from Me."

"bijam mam sarva-bhutanam
viddhi partha sanatanam
buddhir buddhimatam asmi
tejas tejasvinam aham" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Seven verse 10)

"Lord Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, know that I am the original seed of all existences, the intelligence of the intelligent, and the prowess of all powerful men."

"yo mam evam asammudho
janati purushottamam
sa sarva-vid bhajati mam
sarva-bhavena bharata" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fifteen verse 19)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, Whoever knows Me as the All powerful Supreme God, without doubting, is the knower of everything. He therefore engages himself in full devotional service to Me."
Bible also says:

Matthew 19:26
"But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible."

Water in the Pot

"Pani Re Pani Tera Rang Kaisa", this a line from a Hindi Film Song, which means in English, "Oh Water, What's your Color". Can anyone describe the color of water or in fact can anyone tell us the shape of water? There is unlimited amount of water in the ocean or a river but what's the color & shape of this water?

In reality there is no color or shape of water. In fact, whatever, color is put into water, it appears of that color. Similarly, water takes the shape of the Pot, whatever type & size of pot is. If the pot is spherical, then water takes the shape of sphere, if the pot is rectangular, water appears to be taking the shape of rectangular pot. So the shape of the water is spoken in relation to the shape of the Pot, in which water is put.

Same is the case with "Soul". The Omnipresent Soul which is invisible, indivisible & all pervasive in the universe, appears to be taking the shape of a body, when seen in relation to a body. In fact all pervasive, omnipresent soul is beyond the concept of shape, color etc. but similar to water, it appears to be taking the shape of the body, with which we are relating it. If we see a human being, we relate the omnipresent soul behind that body to be limited to the body of that particular human being. Same is the case with other bodies of animals etc. too. If we see a dog, then we think the omnipresent soul behind that dog's body is limited to that dog only, while in fact it is still beyond that body & is omnipresent.

Most of us identify ourselves with this body of ours. We see this body of ours in the mirror & feel that this is our real self. We start feeling ourselves as one point body in space & forget to feel the greatness of soul which is sustaining this body of ours & which is all pervading in this universe.

As per Bhagwat Gita, think yourself to be that soul which is beyond this body, which is unthinkable, imperishable, ineffable, eternal, all pervading, immobile, un-manifest & immutable. In fact your nature is also that only which is also called Brahmn.

In fact we are the omnipresent soul inside our body & this soul can never die though body may die. Bhagwat Gita explains this:

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

"Sri Krishna said: 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."

“dehi nityam avadhyo-ayam
dehe sarvasy bharat
tasmat sarvani bhutani
na tvam shochitum-arhasi” (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter II verse 30)

"Sri Krishna said: O descendant of Bharata, this soul residing in the bodies of all can never be slain. Therefore you should not grieve for any living being."

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

"Sri Krishna said: Understand that just as the mighty wind, blowing everywhere, rests always in the sky, so do all created beings rest in Me (Universal Soul)."

The above verses explain the omnipresent & everlasting nature of God or the Universal Soul (one who is present everywhere).

So we should not think our self limited to this body only. We are that omnipresent soul which is appearing to be this perishable body, due to our self relating it with the body; just like we think water is of the shape of the Pot, while in reality, water is having no shape & appears to be taking the shape of Pot.

"Govinda Gopala" - Music Video

"Govinda Gopala" is a beautiful bhajan sung in the praise of Lord Krishna. It is a song from a bollywood movie.Really sweet Gopala bhazan.

Tamas or TamoGun

"It is chilling cold night. You are cozily lying in your bed inside your quilt. Your room heater is also on to beat the cold. You fall asleep in such a cozy environment. You have a nice deep sleep. Morning dawn has occurred still you are deep asleep. Sleep in such a cozy environment is making you lazy. You do not want to come out of your bed as outside you shall feel cold again. Sun has risen & it's your time to start your daily chorus but your laziness is not allowing you to do anything. You want to enjoy your sleep only in your cozy quilt. You ignore your call for your daily duty also. Your laziness has taken over your call to daily routine duty. Lo, today you have decided not to do anything & ignore your duty. You go back to sleep in your cozy bed."

The above said stanza clearly states that if you are inclined to laziness, inertia, do not do your daily duty & just becomes careless about your life, then you are falling a pray to "Tamas" or "TamoGun". A person falls a pray to "TamoGun" due to his/her ignorance & delusion only which causes indolence, laziness and sleep.

Bhagwat Gita illustrates the "Tamas" or "TamoGun" very clearly & beautifully. As per Bhagwat Gita this Material nature consists of three modes i.e. Sattva, Rajas & Tamas. Out of the three modes of Nature, "Tamas" or "Tamo Gunn" is the one which is responsible for ignorance, delusion, indolence, laziness and sleep. We should not fall a pray to this "TamoGun". We should do our daily duty, coming out of this laziness and sleep, which are born of ignorance. Below are verses of Bhagwat Gita which explains about the qualities of this "TamoGun".

"sattvam rajas tama iti
Gunnah prakriti-sambhavah
nibadhnanti maha-baho
dehe dehinam avyayam" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fourteen verse 5)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, Material nature consists of three modes—Sattva (goodness), Rajas (passion) and Tamas (ignorance). When the eternal living entity comes in contact with nature, he becomes conditioned by these three modes."

"tamas tv ajnana-jam viddhi
mohanam sarva-dehinam
pramadalasya-nidrabhis
tan nibadhnati bharata" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fourteen verse 8)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, know that "Tamas"- the mode of darkness, born of ignorance, creates delusion in all embodied living entities. The results of this mode are madness, indolence and sleep, which bind the conditioned soul."

"aprakaso ’pravrttis cha
pramado moha eva cha
tamasy etani jayante
vivrddhe kuru-nandana" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fourteen verse 13)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, When there is an increase in "Tamas"- the mode of ignorance, then darkness, inertia, madness and illusion are manifested."

"karmanah sukritasyahuh
sattvikam nirmalam phalam
rajasas tu phalam duhkham
ajnanam tamasah phalam" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fourteen verse 16)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, The result of pious action is pure and is said to be in the mode of goodness. But action done in the mode of passion results in misery, and action performed in "Tamas"- the mode of ignorance results in foolishness."

"rajas tamas chabhibhuya
sattvam bhavati bharata
rajah sattvam tamas chaiva
tamah sattvam rajas tatha" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fourteen verse 10)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, Sometimes the mode of goodness becomes prominent, defeating the modes of passion and ignorance. Sometimes the mode of passion defeats goodness and ignorance, and at other times "Tamas"/Ignorance defeats goodness and passion. In this way there is always competition for supremacy."

Pl. note that all those people who have a destructive way of life, like those terrorists who struck in Mumbai, killing people mercilessly, were in fact under the influence of "Tamas" or "TamoGun", as their mind & intellect were covered with ignorance due to Tamasic nature. Hence their perverted mind thought that killing the innocent people was their duty, while they were doing demonical work only by doing such killings.

In fact "TamoGun" engulfs one's mind & intellect with the darkness of ignorance & makes a person believe that, whatever, wrong he/she is doing is right, while it is their perverted thinking only which make them do wrong only, the consequence of which shall be misery only in future. So we should not fall a pray to Tamasic nature & should not do devilish acts which lead one's soul to degradation only. To read more about the qualities of people of 'Demoniac Nature' who are under the influence of "TamoGun", read my earlier Blog Post here.......................Qualities of People of 'Demoniac Nature'.