Sunday, November 28, 2010

God Is Seated In Everyone's Heart


You come to see so many people in this world. Some are rich, some are poor; some are white, some are black; some are qualified, some are illiterate; some are healthy, some are weak. In fact each person is unique & different in this world. We all are having different bodies & each one of us is having a different face of it's own. Such variety in nature creates the illusion that we all are different individual beings. But all that variety in nature is at the physical level & at the Soul level we all are one as there is only one indivisible, Omnipresent Soul that is present in all of us.

It is the Indestructible, Indivisible, Omnipresent Soul present in our bodies that makes it so lovable, otherwise no one can love this body of five nature elements. All attractions in the body are due to this Divine Soul only. Once this Divine Soul leaves this body, it is called the death of that body & all attractions, all love departs with that Soul. This divine Soul is nothing but a spark of the "Universal Omnipresent Soul", the Almighty God. All human beings are lovable due to the presence of this Divine Soul in our body.

Below is a story which depicts how a devotee of God could not attain to immortality as he could not see the God present in all beings.

"Once there was a 'High Caste devotee' of God. He always used to practice the rituals as followed by high priests. He had no home & always used to wander in different villages & places. He was free of desire, lust, hatred, greed & used to live in a world of his own.

God became very happy with his devotion & asked him for a boon. 'High Caste devotee' told the God that he was desire less and he did not want anything, but God insisted for some boon to be granted to him as a reward of his devotion. At this 'High Caste devotee' asked for a boon that, whenever, he was in need of food & he felt hungry, food may be provided to him. God granted him that boon & disappeared.

One day, 'High Caste devotee' after wandering for a long distance felt hungry, but there was nothing available nearby. Then he remembered that the God had granted him a boon that he would find food at his desire. Suddenly, he saw a man dressed in torn & dirty rags, carrying food in a bag asked him, "Sir, would you like to have some food." Looking at the apparent dirty & impure condition of the man & being himself of High caste, he felt repelled at that man's condition. He politely refused "No, Thank you". The person carrying the food again approached him, but in utter disgust & in anger the 'High Caste devotee' told that person to go away and that he was not interested in his food. The person carrying the food disappeared. Seeing the sudden disappearance of that person, he realized that it must be God, who disguised Himself as that man dressed in torn & dirty rags and came to provide him food.

On his prayer now God again appeared before the 'High Caste devotee', smiled and told him, It was the "King of heaven" only who had come to fetch you food. In fact this food was not the ordinary food but was the divine one, Nectar Food. If he would have accepted & eaten it, he would have become immortal, but on one condition to test whether you could see the Divinity in all, whether you could see the divine being in that man dressed in torn & dirty rags.

That 'High Caste devotee' now understood how he had failed in the test. It was his Ego, which made him refuse the Nectar Food.

So the moral of the story is that we should see the God / Divinity present in all beings & we should not discriminate with any body & love everyone equally."

All the religious texts & Bhagwat Gita also teaches us that we should love all human beings equally as the God as Soul resides in everyone's heart & seeing the presence of that divinity present in all beings, we should not discriminate with any body & love everyone equally. Below verses of Bhagwat Gita explain that only:

sarvasya chaham hridi sannivisto
mattah smritir jnanam apohanam cha
vedais cha sarvair aham eva vedyo
vedanta-krd veda-vid eva chaham" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fifteen verse 15)


"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, I am seated in everyone’s heart, and from Me comes remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness. By all the Vedas, I am to be known. Indeed, I am the compiler of Vedanta, and I am the knower of the Vedas."


"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 dwells/resides in the hearts 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."

S
o let's see God equally seated in everyone's heart. Let's not differentiate people between their body skin color, their language, nationality, status etc. & see the presence of God equally in all beings. Let's Love everyone equally.


Jai Sri Krishna

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Peaceful Mind Is Key To Happiness

Just do a reality check in your daily day to day life. Check whether you remain stressful, tense, disturbed in mind or you remain calm, peaceful, happy in mind. If you remain stressful, tense, disturbed in mind then it shall lead to unhappiness while if you remain calm, peaceful in life then you shall be happy in life. We see this world through our mind so if our mind is peaceful; we enjoy the beauties of nature & love being born to enjoy this life. But if our mind remains tense, stressful, disturbed; life seems like a curse. We can never enjoy our life if our mind remains in a disturbed state of mind. So the key to happiness in life is that our mind remains calm & peaceful.

To understand your state of mind, you should introspect & see what are the reasons that your mind becomes stressful, tense & disturbed. If you throw a small stone in the calm, peaceful pond of water then ripples are generated in the pond. If you try to stop those ripples with your hand or any other means, more & more ripples are generated. Same is the case with our mind. When our peaceful mind is disturbed due to any reason in our life then trying to undo that situation is very difficult. So we should try to analyze in our life, what was the reason that caused those ripples in the first place in your peaceful mind. Also, in future you should try to stop such situations in your life.

The main reason why our mind remains disturbed is that we are not satisfied with our present state. If you have something, you are not happy with it. In your relations you may not have harmonious relations with your near & dear ones. If you have a particular amount of money with you, it seems less to you & you want more of it. Same is that, you have Greed for other things & don’t know how to enjoy the one’s you are already having.

To be peaceful at mind, the first & foremost thing is to be satisfied with what you have at present & try to make harmonious relations with the people all around you. Once you are able to do that then you shall find that you are better off & much peaceful. Just try to appreciate the positive aspects in your life & avoid pondering over negatives in life & that shall make you more peaceful. Also try to control your desires as unfulfilled desires are the ones which keep our mind disturbed.

Below are few verses of Bhagwat Gita which teaches, how a person of peaceful, unwavering and undisturbed mind behaves in life:

“aapurya-manam achala-prathistham
samudram apah pravishanti yadvat
tadvat-kama yam pravishanti sarve
sa shantim-apnoti na kama-kaami” (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter II verse 70)

"As the waters (of different rivers) enters the Great Ocean, which though full on all sides remains undisturbed, like wise a person who is not disturbed by the incessant flow of desires - can alone achieve peace, and not the man who runs after these desires & strives to satisfy such desires."

"sama-duhkha-sukhah sva-sthah
sama-lostasma-kanchanah
tulya-priyapriyo dhiras
tulya-nindatma-samstutih" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fourteen verse 24)

Sri Krishna said to Arjuna: One who is situated in the Self (soul) and behaves same during happiness and distress; one who looks upon a lump of earth, a stone and a piece of gold with an equal eye; one who is equal toward the desirable and the undesirable; one who is situated equally well in praise and blame is the one who is of steady mind.

"manapamanayos tulyas
tulyo mitrari-pakshayoh
sarvarambha-parityagi
gunatitah sa ucyate" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Fourteen verse 25)


Sri Krishna said to Arjuna: One who is steady in honor and dishonor; one who treats alike both friend and enemy; and who has renounced all material activities—such a person is said to have transcended the three modes of nature & lives in a peaceful state of mind.

So if you want to have peace of mind in life, you need to be satisfied with what you have at present in life & should not hanker after those desirous objects which are beyond your reach. Just try to make harmonious relations with the people all around you & you shall feel peaceful & happy in life. Other than that turning your mind's attention towards God or Spiritual practices like listening to devotional songs (Bhazans), reading spiritual literature, chanting religious mantras, doing Yoga etc. shall also make your mind peaceful & the "Key to Happiness lies in a Peaceful Mind only".

Jai Sri Krishna

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Devotion

Devotion is the commitment to any person, cause or thing. A person devoted to something always remains in the thought of that thing, does all his actions toward that thing & always remains committed to that thing. Similarly Devotees of God also do live in the thought of God, do all their actions toward Him only & always remain committed to God. In this way they always live in a mood of ecstasy and self-surrender to God. Such devotees always channel their emotional energies toward God only. Stories of such devotees abound in Hindu scriptures. Here below is a story "God's Devoted Crow" about that only :

"In the "Treta Yuga" Lord Vishnu descended on earth as "Prince Rama". He was looked upon as God embodied on earth. Not only were human beings devoted to Him, but also were there many from the animal kingdom. One of those was a crow.

One day Lord Rama and his younger brother Lakshmana were walking beside the Lake Pampa. Lakshmana saw on the other side of the lake a large crow, behaving very strangely. Crow would run up to the water, look at it, bend its head, and then run back into the forest without drinking the water. Lakshmana saw the crow doing the same thing many times. So Lakshmana (who had great respect for his brother's opinions) asked Rama what he could make out of such a behavior of the crow. Why should a bird act like that?

Lord Rama gave one look at that crow and said, "Oh Lakshmana, I can tell you about it: this crow is very devoted to me -- so much so that he is chanting my name constantly upon his tongue. Just now he is thirsty, quite thirsty. But to drink the water he would have to interrupt his repeating of my name, and he just cannot bear to do that." So such was the devotion of that crow towards Lord Rama that it would always chant & repeat Lord Rama's name."

Among humans 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 Kurukshetra war while Kauravas (his enemies) lost the war. In the Bhagwat Gita, teachings given by Lord Krishna to Arjuna on the battle field of Kurukshetra, Lord is saying:

"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 says to Arjuna: I envy no one, nor am I partial to anyone. I am equal to all. But whoever renders service unto Me in devotion is a friend, is in Me, and I am also a friend to him."

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


"Sri Krishna says to Arjuna: 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."

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


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

"patram puspam phalam toyam
yo me bhaktya prayacchati
tad aham bhakty-upahrtam
asnami prayatatmanah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Nine verse 26)


"Sri Krishna says to Arjuna: If any one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or even water, I readily accept that offering of that devotee."

So let's have devotion towards the God. Let's remember God for some time in our daily life so that we can too generate some "Spiritual Emotion" toward the God. Once that is developed, we shall always find God near us & our life shall be filled with joy, love & ecstasy. So the Devotion to God is the supreme. It removes all the sins of a devotee & removes all the ignorance from one's life.


Jai Sri Krishna.

Friday, November 05, 2010

God is One


There are said to be 330,000,000 or 330 Million (33 Crore) Gods & Goddesses in Hinduism. To me the only explanation for such a huge numbers may be like that all the residents of some "Godly Planet" are called Gods or Goddesses. In other words 330 Million (33 Crore) is the population of that "Godly Planet" on which all these Godly people live. Anyway, on this our own earth, people follow different religions & have different faiths in regard to God. Different religions of the world depict God in different forms. In Hinduism God is depicted as Rama, Krishna, Shiva, Vishnu, Brahma, Durga, Kali, Lakshmi, Saraswati 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 the God in different forms or formless God too.



In reality "God is One" who but appears in different forms. All these Gods & Goddesses are manifestation of one Supreme God only. It can be understood very easily like this:

"There is a potter who makes different forms of Gods & Goddesses from clay of the ground. Clay is basically the same in all the forms but out of same clay different Gods & Goddesses appear to us. In the same way there is only One God but it appears in different forms. Similarly if you see that Gold for making different ornaments is same but with this gold various types, shapes of ornaments are made & are given different names. Similarly God is One but He is worshipped in different cultures, countries in different ways, forms & with different names. There are different paths in this world to reach that same One God."

In Bhagwat Gita Chapter Ten, Lord Krishna is himself saying that He is the source of all beings & gods. Not even that, as per Lord Krishna, all these universes & creations spring from but a spark of His splendor only. As per Him, He is seated in the hearts of all living entities. He Himself is Lord Vishnu, Lord Shiva & Lord Brahma. He Himself is Sun, Moon, Wind & Fire. He Himself is Rama God too. He Himself is Lord of wealth - Kubera. He Himself is Spiritual word Om. He Himself is river Ganges. Among women He Himself is manifested as Goddess of fortune (Lakshmi), Goddess of wisdom (Saraswati) & other Goddesses of fame, memory, intelligence, steadfastness and patience. As per Lord Krishna His opulence is limitless.

Hindus likewise believe in only one God. They glorify and praise His thousands of qualities. For example when God is love, He is symbolically represented by Lord Krishna, God as virtue is represented by lord Rama, God as power is represented by Lord Hanuman, God as wisdom is represented by Goddess Saraswati etc. etc. So these different aspects of Gods represent spirituality, purity, power etc. of the Ultimate One who is endless truth and bliss.

If there are many "Pots filled with water" & if these pots are put under the Sun then Reflection of the Sun can be seen in all these pots. It appears that individual Sun is appearing in each pot. Not only that, water of each pot gets heated equally when Sun is reflected in the water pots. Now just as the Sun may be reflected in numerous pots of water, so the same one God is reflected in everything. Similarly there is one True Universal Self or One God who is appearing in different forms.

Below are some verses from Bhagwat Gita which explain about the Oneness of Supreme God:

"yac chapi sarva-bhutanam
bijam tad aham arjuna
na tad asti vina yat syan
maya bhutam characharam" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Ten verse 39)
"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, I am the generating seed of all existences. There is no being—moving or nonmoving—that can exist without Me."
"aham atma gudakesha
sarva-bhutasaya-sthitah
aham adis cha madhyam cha
bhutanam anta eva cha" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Ten verse 20)

"Sri Krishna said: I am the Super Soul, O Arjuna, seated in the hearts of all living entities. I am the beginning, the middle and the end of all beings."

"yad yad vibhutimat sattvam
srimad urjitam eva va
tat tad evavagaccha tvam
mama tejo-’msa-sambhavam" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Ten verse 41)
"Sri Krishna said: Know that all opulent, beautiful and glorious creations spring from but a spark of My splendor."
So let's see one God in all different forms. Let people not fight on the basis of religion. There is only one God & He is called by different names by his lovers, devotees in affection. Sri Ram, Sri Krishn, Gobind, Waheguru, Allah, Jesus are all the same. So let's all have wisdom to respect each others faith & let's all realize that One God in all the different forms.

Jai Shri Krishna