Infatuation Takes Our Mind Away From God

 "Once there was a family man called “Lala Ji” who was deeply attached (in fact Infatuated) to his wife & children. He had a Guru (Master) who was a great devotee of God & used to wander in the world spreading the message of God. One day his Guru came to his home & asked him to leave the homely infatuation & come with him to work in service of God. On this proposal “Lala Ji” said to his Guru that he is happy with his family & shall join him once his son got married.

After the marriage of his son, Guru Ji again came to “Lala Ji” & asked him to leave the family infatuation & come with him to work in service of God. Once again “Lala Ji” said that he is very happy with his family & shall join him once he enjoyed the pleasure of having a grandson & playing with the little master. His Guru again went back & came to him after the birth of his grandson but this time again “Lala Ji” did not go with his Guru & asked him to come later on as he felt very happy with his family.

In this way, while not listening to his Guru of devoting his life in the service of God, “Lala Ji” died one day. As he was always in the thought of his family, so at the time of his death, he got reborn as an “Insect” in the “small open drain” of his house only. After his death, his Guru once again came to him & said, ” See, you had not listened to me to devote your life in the service of God & see that due to deep Infatuation with your family, you are now born as an “Insect” in the “open filthy drain” of your house only. On this he said to his Guru that he is happy living as an “Insect” in the “open filthy drain” as he still feels that he is in the same house & still near to his near & dear ones. On this, his Guru left him forever & never returned to him again."

So see, what happens to a person who is always deeply Infatuated with his family & not spends his life in the service of God.

In fact most of us are deeply involved with our family only & do not care much about God. We do not pray to God, think of God or chant his names or His Glories. Thinking of God & praying Him only can make your this & next lives beautiful. We, day in day out are feeding our family only & forgetting the God. Pl. remember that all relatives of yours are yours, till the time you are in this physical body.

Bhagwat Gita also teaches us to live in this world like that without getting attached to anything or any being. Just like a drop of water on Lotus, where though it is there on it but it is not attached to it.

"sri-bhagavan uvacha
kutasa-tva kashmalam-idam
vishame samupasthitam
anarya-jushtam asvargyam
akirti-karam arjuna" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Two verse 2)

"Sri Bhagavan said: Arjuna, how has this infatuation overtaken you at this odd hour? It is not at all befitting for a man who knows the value of life. Neither it shall bring heaven, nor fame to you."

"brahmany adhaya karmani
sangam tyaktva karoti yah
lipyate na sa papena
padma-patram ivambhasa" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Five verse 10)

"Sri Krishna said: One who performs his duty without attachment, surrendering the results unto the God, is unaffected by sinful action, as the lotus leaf is untouched by water."

So we should not attach our mind greatly to any material thing or human being, as one day we shall have to leave these or these shall go away from us someday or the other. On that day, if you have a great attachment to these, you shall feel great pain, otherwise it shall be a normal life for you. So let us not allow our mind to be INFATUATED by any material thing or with any person, which can lead our self to sorrow someday. Live your life unattached, just like a drop of water on Lotus, where though it is there on it but it is not attached to it.



Jai Sri Krishna

Let's be thankful to God for what we have

“Once there was a blind boy. One day he sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He also held up a sign by his side which said: "I am blind, please help." He used to get only a few coins in the hat by the end of the day. One day a man walked by him. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words.

Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see, how things were. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, "Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?"

The man said, "I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way." What he had written was: "Today is a beautiful day and I cannot see it." Do you think the first sign and the second sign were saying the same thing?

Of course both signs told people the boy was blind. But the first sign simply said the boy was blind. The second sign told people they were so lucky that they were not blind. Should we be surprised that the second sign was more effective?

Moral of the Story:

Be thankful for what you have. Be creative. Be innovative. Think differently and positively. Invite others towards good with wisdom. Live life with no excuse and love with no regrets. When life gives you a 100 reasons to cry, show life that you have 1000 reasons to smile. Face your past without regret. Handle your present with confidence. Prepare for the future without fear. Keep the faith and drop the fear.”

You should 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.

God, the Great Giver gives His Gifts to His devotees just like the Santa Claus does. The Great Giver, the Lord, keeps on giving, while those who receive grow weary of receiving.

In Bhagwat Gita God too assures:

"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 give what they lack in life, and I protect what they have."

So Lets be thankful to God for, whatever, we have received in our life from Him. Let us learn to appreciate what we have in life.

Jai Sri Krishna

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

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

Light a Candle & Darkness is gone

In the night when there is no light, you are not able to see anything in your room. But have you ever wondered whether there is any real existence or reality of darkness. Darkness is nothing but absence of light. You just lit a candle & darkness is gone. Darkness is just the absence of light & it has no real existence. Once a person saw in the dark that there is a snake in the room but on switching on the light, it turned out to be a rope only. So believing something to be something else is called ignorance. The person believing the rope to be a snake, was an ignorant person.

Same is with the philosophical truth of God & this world. As per the scriptures, God is the truth & has created this universe. He sit's in an invisible way in every nook & corner of the universe. This outer visible world is His creation, while He is there within this world in an invisible way. This whole world is changing all the time, while God is constant, & changeless. So to know God, we need to go beyond the thinking of this changing world.

Here below is a mantra / prayer from Upanishad which asks the God to take us from darkness of untruth which is enveloping our minds to reality of truth (God).

ॐ असतो मा सद्गमय ।
तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय ।
मृत्योर्मा अमृतं गमय ।
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥

Om Asato Ma Sad-Gamya |
Tamaso Ma Jyotir-Gamya |
Mrtyor-Ma Amritam Gamya |
Om Shanti Shanti Shanti ||

Om Asato Ma Sad-Gamya - O Lord, Take me from untruth to Truth! Take me from Transitory Existence to the Reality (of Self, of God), The Truth is eternal and immortal.

Tamaso Ma Jyotir-Gamya - O Lord, Lead me from the Darkness (of Ignorance) to the Light (of Spiritual Knowledge), There lies the light of wisdom. Tamas is the darkness. Jyoti is the light. With light, darkness is dispelled. Darkness is death. The light is Truth, Bliss, Peace. The light is eternal.

Mrtyor-Ma Amritam Gamya - O Lord, Lead me from Death to the Immortality through purity of purpose.

Om Shanti Shanti Shanti - O Lord, Let there be Peace, Peace, Peace.

But why it is so, that we cling to this visible world only & just forget the invisible God, who is the creator of this world. It is due to our ignorance only. In philosophy, it is said that we are clinging to Maya (visible world) & ignoring the God who is the real thing. So that's why, it is said that we should not cling to the unreal, untruth (Maya) & should turn our mind towards the God, who is the only reality & truth. Just like alighting a small lamp eats away all the darkness in the room, so just by illumining your intellect with the knowledge, shall lead you to the truth of God.

Now, why do we fall in to ignorance? It is all due to the Nature born "TamoGun" (mode of ignorance) which we put into practice in our lives. "Tamas" or "Tamo Gunn" is the mode of Nature which is responsible for ignorance, delusion, indolence, laziness and sleep in a person. We should not fall a pray to this "TamoGun".
Now here below is a verse from Bhagwat Gita which also tells us that in this whole creation, unreal has no existence, and the real (God) never ceases to be, So we should always turn our mind towards the God who is the only reality & truth.

"na-asato vidyate bhavo
nabhavo vidyate satah
ubhayor api drsto ’ntas
tv anayos tattva-darshibhih" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Two verse 16)

"Sri Krishna said to Arjuna : The unreal has no existence, and the real never ceases to be; the reality of both has thus been perceived by the seekers of the truth.

So let’s seek truth by praying regularly to God. By such praying, God shall enlighten our mind & thinking by which real truth about this world & God shall reveal to us.

Jai Sri Krishna

Only God Can Save Us

In ancient times in India, there lived a very famous Sculptor. He was very much proud of his achievements and was very ambitious to achieve more. Once an astrologer told him that he would die within few years.

He was very upset and wanted to outsmart God's decision to take away his life. So instead of spending the rest of his precious time in the service of God, he decided to make 10 statues of himself perfectly resembling him in every way, except that they did not have life. On the day he was destined to die, he stood among those statues like a statue. As the astrologer predicted, Yamarâja (Lord of death) came to take him and Yamarâja was very confused to see the eleven statues. He found it hard to differentiate the real sculptor from his perfect statues. Then Yamarâja meditated on Lord Vishnu and a bright idea came to his mind.

Yamarâja said loudly to himself: "One of these statues is defective. Not all of them are equally perfect & same."

The arrogant, real sculptor who was pretending to be a statue jumped out and shouted: "Who is a better sculptor than me to say that one of my statues is defective? All of them are perfect replicas of myself."

Yamarâja confusion was cleared instantly and he took the sculptor away against all his protest. He tried to resist, he cried, he tried to hang on to his beloved statues, but nothing helped him to stay back in the same body.

Yamarâja said: "Nobody can outsmart God. If only you had surrendered to God and spent your remaining life in the service of Him, then end of your life in this body would have been more peaceful and smooth and you would have been experiencing eternal bliss. Arrogance and selfishness destroys one. When I was confused, did you see what I did? I meditated on Lord Vishnu and He persuaded me to say that "one of the statues is defective". Now I have to take you. Please remember Lord in pain and pleasure alike. He is the only one who can change or not change things."

May Lord bless us with an attitude of total surrender!

Below are few verses of Bhagwat Gita which tells that Lord Krishna too loves His devotees & always fulfills their desires & always protect them:

"sannyasas tu maha-baho
duhkham aptum ayogatah
yoga-yukto munir brahma
na cirenadhigacchati" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Five verse 6)

"Sri Krishna said to Arjuna: Merely renouncing all activities yet not engaging in the devotional service of the Lord cannot make one happy. But a thoughtful human being engaged in devotional service can achieve the God without delay."

"tesam jnani nitya-yukta
eka-bhaktir visisyate
priyo hi jnanino ’tyartham
aham sa cha mama priyah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Seven verse 17)

"Sri Krishna said to Arjuna: Of these, the one who is in full knowledge and who is always engaged in pure devotional service is the best. For I am very dear to him, and he is dear to Me."

"purushah sa parah partha
bhaktya labhyas tv ananyaya
yasyantah-sthani bhutani
yena sarvam idam tatam" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Eight verse 22)

"Sri Krishna said to Arjuna: The Lord / God, who is greater than all, is attainable by unalloyed devotion. Although He is present in His abode, He is all-pervading, and everything is situated within Him."

So let's have full devotion towards Lord Krishna. As per the "Bhagwat Puran":

"Once the mind of a person is full of surrender to the lotus feet of Lord Krishna & the mind is full of hankering after Lord's qualities, then that person shall never encounter Yamarâja (Lord of death) and his superintendents, or even in one's dreams meet his servants carrying the ropes to bind, because doing such Devotional service to Lord Krishna is the right atonement for all sins."

Jai Sri Krishna

Extended Ego

Have you ever wondered why Film Stars, other Sports Stars, rich people try to be different than common people on the street. They try to move around in private jets, in flashy expensive cars which separate them from common men on the street. They try to show-off their expensive clothes, watches, shoes, handbags etc. just for that, they want to be different than the common people. So these things that people use to try to show themselves different, than the common people are called the “Extended Ego” of those people.

There are many other variants of “Extended Ego”. Sometimes back an Indian minister described travelling in “Economy Class” of a plane as travelling in “Cattle class”. He described “Economy Class” as “Cattle class”. For him travelling in “Business class” was a thing of pride & his such pride was an “Extended Ego” of his personality. For the readers interest that minister was highly criticized in Indian press, media, political circle & society for his such “Cattle class” comment on Twitter. So any thing, any thought or any action of yours by which you want to be different than the common people on the street, is called “Extended Ego” of yours.

Now why we should not show our ego or extended ego? Ego is nothing but to feel oneself more important than others, to feel different & superior to others. Such a feeling of finding oneself different from others is nothing but the ignorance & such an illusion is called ego. We all are part & parcel of the Omnipresent Soul & that one same soul is present in all of us, whether we are a common man on the street or a rich person or a celebrity star. So if we are able to realize that soul within all of us then we cannot find ourselves different from others.

Human beings generally crave for Name, Fame, Pleasures of life etc. which satisfies one's ego & these are the Idols in one's life which a person adores very much. But these Idols do not do any good to one self as it obscures one's real 'Soul nature', which is divine with unlimited powers & is always blissful. Such craving for Name, Fame & Sense pleasures drowns one's self respect & obscures the divine being from our sight. These worthless temptations destroy one's reputation & always give delusion by which a person is not able to know his Divine Self.

Below is a verse of Bhagwat Gita which tells how an egoistic person behaves:

"ahankaram balam darpam
kamam krodham cha samsritah
mam atma-para-dehesu
pradvisanto ’bhyasuyakah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Sixteen verse 18)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, Bewildered by false ego, strength, pride, lust and anger, these egoistic people become envious of the Supreme Lord, who is situated in their own bodies and in the bodies of others, and blaspheme against the real religion."

Below is a verse of Bhagwat Gita which tells how surrendering one's ego one can achieve the God:

"tam eva saranam gaccha
sarva-bhavena bharata
tat-prasadat param shantim
sthanam prapsyasi sasvatam" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Eighteen verse 62)
"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, surrender your ego fully unto the God. By His grace you will attain transcendental peace and the supreme and eternal abode."

As a rope that is burnt retains its shape intact, but has become all ashes, so that nothing can be bound with it; similarly, the person who feels one with everyone & is devoted to God, retains only the form of his egoism, but not has any idea of vanity (Ahamkâra).

So Let's shed our ego & not be egoistic, as it shall not do any good to one self. Let's not try to be different from common people on the street as the one, same God resides in each human being, whether he is poor or rich, beautiful or ugly. Let's surrender our ego in the Divine feet of the God & adore Him only so that He can give us a blissful life.


Jai Sri Krishna