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.

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.

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."

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

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.

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."

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