Soul Survives The Body

We all see our self in the mirror & think our self to be this body. We daily feed this body of ours with different types of food & decorate it with designer clothes, perfumes etc. so that this body of ours can look good to others.We all also know that this body of ours shall perish or die in the some point of time in future. But is there life after death? Can we survive after death also? Are we different from this body & shall we survive death? Yes, as per 'Bhagwat Gita', it's so. As per 'Bhagwat Gita', we in essence are different than this body & we in essence are that indestructible 'Soul' & this 'Soul' is there in our body even when we are living right now.

As per 'Bhagwat Gita -Chapter Two Verse - 18',

"antavanta ime deha
nityasyoktah saririnah
anasino ’prameyasya
tasmad yudhyasva bharata" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Two verse 18)

"Sri Krishna says: All these bodies pertaining to the indestructible, immeasurable and eternal living entity / Soul are spoken of as perishable; therefore, considering this Soul as indestructible, you should fight, Arjuna."

As per 'Bhagwat Gita -Chapter Two Verse - 22',

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

"Sri Krishna says to Arjuna: 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."

Our body is like our clothes that we wear on our body & after death these worn out clothes are dropped by the embodied soul . You in essence are a 'Soul' & this 'Soul' of yours shall wear another body ( read, shall wear another pair of clothes) after death. So this eternal Soul which is indestructible, changes its present embodied form for another embodied form, when the physical body perishes.

As per 'Bhagwat Gita-Chapter Two Verse - 20',

"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 says to 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."

Eternal Soul was there always & was there even before this 'World creation'. This Soul is never born nor does it die ever. It is an indestructible substance. So if we have a firm belief that we are that eternal Soul which never dies then we shall also feel to be someone beyond this body & fear of death shall go away from our mind as then we shall know that we have life even after the death. Yes, we all are that immortal Soul & shall never die. Have firm faith in these words & all your fears of death shall go away in thin air.

Best Purifier of all Sins - Devotion to God

Sins are the bad karmas that we do which are forbidden by the religious scriptures. Otherwise, sins are in general bad actions that we should not do. But in our life, we knowingly or unknowingly, sometimes commit the sin. In scriptures there are many ways told such as penance, charity etc, through which atonement to such sins can be attained. But there is no way more swift, fast for atonement to sins than the Devotional service to God.

In this regard Bhagwat Puran & Bhagwat Gita, both explain about these assurances in detail that Devotion to God is the supreme purifier for all the sins that a person commits in life time. Below are few verses from Bhagwat Puran regarding this:

"In this world devotion & surrender to God is the path that is really appropriate & the one that is to be followed by the well-behaved, fearless and auspicious, saintly people."

 "Like all the rivers of the world cannot purify a liquor jar by washing it, similarly Most of the atonement well performed by a nondevotee will not purify. We need to be a devotee of God."

 "Once the mind is full of surrender to the two lotus feet of Lord Krishna & the mind hankers after His qualities only then that person shall never encounter Yamarâja (Death God) and his superintendents, or even in one's dreams meet his servants carrying the ropes to bind. Devotion to Lord Krishna is the right atonement."

 "Like the Sun does away with all the fog, similarly Devotion to God does away with all the sins. A man full of sin, is for certain not as much purified by penance as by the devotion to Lord Krishna."

In Bhagwat Gita also God himself is giving that assurance:

'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.'

Through above verse, God is telling Arjuna that even if the most sinful of person worships Him with full devotion, then He considers him to be a saint only as he has rightly resolved in his life. So many times we too think that we have done many sins in our life & how God shall accept us, but here God makes it very clear that once a person becomes devoted to Him, He does not consider that person to be 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. Let's all be devotees of God.

"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 purify you from all the sins. Do not fear."

'man-mna bhav mad-bhakto
madhyaji maam namaskuru
maam-evaishyasi yuktvaivam
atmanam mat-parayanah' (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Nine 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, 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 God by praying Him daily. God is very clear that once a person comes in God's refuge, then all his problems & sins are resolved & God becomes his/her protector in this life & life beyond.

So from the above said verses it is very clear that to get rid of all the 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 the 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 it very clear in Bhagwat Gita that once a person become devoted to Him, He does not consider 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.So let's all be devotees of God.

Jai Sri Krishna.

Love Him, hate Him but don’t ignore Him

In Hindu philosophy it is the ultimate goal of a person to attain the 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 that person to His devotion. Krishna is all attractive, that's why He attracts the soul of a person.

Now, it is not only the emotion of love & devotion towards the God by which you can attain Him. As per Bhagwat puran if you are having any emotion, even that of hate towards the God then also you can attain Him. Therefore, whether one's emotions are of constant enmity towards God, of devotion, of fear, of affection or of love towards the God, one is certainly going to attain Him. By having the emotions of love, hatred, fear, affection and devotion towards the God & having the mind absorbed in the Supreme Lord many have given up the sin and thus attained the path of liberation. The gopîs with their love desires towards Lord Krishna, King Kamsa out of fear, S'is'upâla and others out of hatred towards Lord Krishna, many Kings out of kinship, Krishna's family out of affection and many through bhakti have attained the God. So one should fix one's mind on Lord Krishna in any of these ways & he shall attain Him.

In Bhagwat Gita also God himself is giving that assurance:

"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, "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."

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

"So let's always pray to Lord Krishna & let's always engage our mind in devotional service of Him. Let's love the God like "Gopis of Vrindavan" loved Him. If you shall love God a little bit then He shall love you ten folds, as God is hungry of love & devotion only. Other than that let's read religious texts, scriptures & literature regarding the Lord Krishna. Let's always sing His glories so that He can always be merciful on us. If we shall do such devotional service to God then we shall get special mercy of Lord Krishna & we shall be purified of all the sins in our life.

Jai Sri Krishna.