Sunday, January 31, 2016

What is the Value of Life?

"A man asked Lord Buddha: What is the value of life?
Lord Buddha gave him a Stone & asked him, “Go & know about the value of the stone, but take care not to sell the stone.”
The man went to an Orange seller in the market and asked him about the value of the stone.
Looking at the bright Stone, Orange seller said, "You give it to me & I shall give you 12 oranges"
Further, nearby a vegetable seller saw the bright stone & said, "You can take a sack of potatoes, if you want to sell it to me"
Further in the market he went to a gold seller & showed it to him. Seeing it, Goldsmith said, ”You can take 5 million, if you want to sell it to me.”
When the man refused, Goldsmith said, "Give it to me in 20 million or tell me at what price you want to sell.”
Man said to Goldsmith, ”I cannot sell it as my guru has asked me not to sell it.”
Then he went to a Diamond jeweller & showed the stone.
On seeing the invaluable Ruby, diamond jeweller put it on a red cloth & then moved around the invaluable Ruby in prayer with folded hands.
Then the jeweller said, "This Ruby is invaluable. By selling the whole universe, the whole world, it cannot be bought, no one can put a price on it.
After that the man came back to Lord Buddha & told all the story. 

Now he asked Lord Buddha, "Now tell me, Lord, what is the value of human life?
Lord Buddha said, “You showed the stone to the Orange seller & he declared its price as "12 oranges".
You showed the stone to the vegetable seller & he declared its price as "1 sack of potatoes".
You showed the stone to the Goldsmith & he declared its price as "20 million".
You showed the stone to the Diamond jeweller & he declared it as invaluable.
Now it is the same with human life also. Everyone as per his status, his capacity shall put a different value of life. Don’t worry, You are undoubtedly a Diamond..!!!! Do not worry, this world, will also identify, find your true value one day."

“Durlabham manusyam janma, tadapya dhruvam arthadam” – The human form is reached by many pains, but a life by which God can be attained is still more difficult to get.

A human body is one of of some 8.5 million life forms, up from the unicellular organism, into which a soul can incarnate. It is only achieved when there is a perfect balancing of karmas, and is, in fact, the best form of incarnation for the rapid exhaustion of such karmas. It is because a human life is fraught with so many obstacles, tests, trials, and sufferings, that one can spiritually progress and evolve very, very rapidly in such an incarnation.

kaumara acaret prajno
dharman bhagavatan iha
durlabham manusam janma
tad apy adhruvam artha-dam
                          (Bhag. 7.6.1)

Disparity in human society is due to lack of principles in a godless civilization. There is God, or the Almighty One, from whom everything emanates, by whom everything is maintained and in whom everything is merged to rest. Material science has tried to find the ultimate source of creation very insufficiently, but it is a fact that there is one ultimate source of everything that be. This ultimate source is explained rationally and authoritatively in the beautiful Bhagavatam, or Srimad-Bhagavatam.

Human birth is very precious. Through this human body we can realize our true self, soul & can realize God. We took this birth with the grace of God. The real father and mother of all living beings in this world is the almighty God. The physical body is given by our parents. Soul is given by God! God has given us this chance as human to realize our self. Realize soul and God. So let’s devote this precious life for Self Realization and let’s devote our Life in the service of God. Then only true value of this human life can be realized.

Jai Shri Krishna

Sunday, January 24, 2016

Positive Thoughts, Positive Thinking

“A king was touring his kingdom on his elephant. Suddenly he stopped in front of a shop in the market and said to his minister, "I don't know why, but I want to hang the owner of this shop." The minister was shocked. But before he could ask the king why, the king had moved on.

The next day, the minister went to that shop dressed as one of the locals to see the shopkeeper. He casually asked him how his business was faring. The shopkeeper, a sandalwood merchant, reported sadly that he had hardly any customer. People would come to his shop, smell the sandalwood and then go away. They would even praise the quality of the sandalwood but rarely buy anything. His only hope was that the king would die soon. Then there would be a huge demand for sandalwood for performing his last rites. As he was the only sandalwood merchant around, he was sure the king's death would mean a windfall.

The minister now understood why the king had stopped in front of this shop and expressed a desire to kill the shopkeeper. Perhaps, the shopkeeper's negative thought vibration had subtly affected the king, who had, in turn, felt the same kind of negative thought arising within.

The minister; a noble man, pondered over the matter for a while. Without revealing who he was or what had happened the day before, he expressed a desire to buy some sandalwood. The shopkeeper was pleased. He wrapped the sandalwood and handed it over to the minister.

When the minister returned to the palace, he went straight to the court where the king was seated and reported that the sandalwood merchant had a gift for him. The king was surprised. When he opened the package, he was pleasantly surprised by the fine golden colour of the sandalwood and its agreeable fragrance. Pleased, he sent some gold coins to the sandalwood merchant. The king also felt sorry in his heart that he had harboured unbecoming thoughts of killing the shopkeeper.

When the shopkeeper received the gold coins from the king, he was astounded. He began to proclaim the virtues of the king who had, through the gold coins, saved him from the brink of poverty. After some time, he recalled the morbid thoughts he had felt towards the king, and repented for having entertained such negative thoughts for his own personal goal.

If we have a good and kind thought for another person, that positive thought will come back to us in a favourable way. But if we harbour evil thoughts, those thoughts will come back to us as retribution.

"What is Karma?" asked Swami
Many replied, "our words, our deeds, our feelings, our actions......"

Swami shook his head and said

"Your thoughts are your Karma!"

Below are the verses from "Bhagwat Gita-Chapter Twelve- Verse - 6-7", in which God is asking his disciple Arjuna to do all his actions / activities for Him only.

'Ye tu srvani krmani
myi sanyasya mat-para
anany-naiv yogen
maam dhyayant upasate'

'Tesham-aham samud-dharta
mrityu-sansar-saagrat
bhavami na-chirat parth
mayy-avesita-chetsam' (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter XII verse 6-7)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, Those people, who worship Me by surrendering all their activities unto Me, are always devoted to Me, always meditate upon Me, Having always fixing their minds upon Me, O Parth - to them, I swiftly rescue from the ocean of birth and death.'

Below is a good verse, "Verse - 70, Chapter Two of Bhagwat Gita" teaching peace of mind.

“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)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, 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."

Keep your desires in control & think positive; do not hanker after these desires & be just like an Ocean & never lose your peace of mind in any of the circumstances. So always be creative in life by thinking positively as thoughts have the power to change one’s life completely. Be always Positive & always be Happy in Life thereafter.

Jai Shri Krishna

Sunday, January 17, 2016

Do Not Worry, Have Faith in Lord Krishna

"Once there was a rich man who was having all the amenities of life but was not happy because of this worrying nature.

He went to an astrologer and showed his horoscope.

The astrologer said, “Everything is alright in your horoscope for now. Your anxiety of mind is without any reason & it is simply troubling you. Astrologer advised him that he should learn Bhagavat Gita from a Spiritual Teacher and implement it in his life. That will solve all of his anxieties. There is no other solution”.

The rich man went to a Spiritual Teacher and the Teacher was very happy to teach him Bhagavat Gita.

He said “OK. We’ll start with the first chapter and complete the whole book of 18 chapters in 3 months”.

The man said, “No Sir. I’m very busy with many things. So teach me the most important part of Bhagavat Gita”.

The teacher said, “OK. Just learn 18th chapter. It is the summary of the Bhagavat Gita and it will take 2 weeks”.

The man said, “Even 2 weeks is difficult. Teach me something more simple”.

The teacher said, “OK. There is one Shaloka (Verse) in the 18th chapter starting with “Sarva dharman parityajya”. Just learn that one Verse and it will give you the essence of the Bhagavat Gita”.

The man said “One Shaloka (Verse) is also difficult for me to learn. Tell me something more simple.”

The Spiritual Teacher said, “There is one important word in that Shaloka (Verse) ‘Ma shuchah’, which means, “Do not worry”. Just understand this and Gita is understood.”

The man said “That’s alright. But I’m already in anxiety and tell me how to remove it. Just telling “do not worry” will not help me. Please tell me what I should do to get rid of anxiety”.

The teacher said, “That is what the Bhagavat Gita is all about. If you want to know how to be free of worries then you should start from the chapter 1 of Bhagavat Gita and go through patiently and understand all the chapters. There is no shortcut to this process as Bhagavad Gita is itself a short cut given by the Lord Krishna to learn spirituality. It is the essence of all Vedas and the Lord has mercifully given that so that one need not go through the Upanishads and Vedic mantras to understand the truth.” The man came to his senses and started studying Bhagavat Gita from the beginning seriously under that Spiritual Teacher."

Moral of the story:

In the Bhagavat Gita Chapter Two verse 11, Lord Krishna starts his teaching by saying,

"sri-bhagavan uvacha
asocyan anvasochas tvam
prajna-vadams cha bhasase
gatasun agatasums cha
nanusochanti panditah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Two verse 11)

"Sri Bhagavan said: Arjuna, You speak the learned words but you are mourning for what is not worthy of grief & not be mourned . Those who are wise mourn neither for the living nor for the dead."

Here Lord Krishna states Arjuna not to worry for something which is not worthy of worrying.

In material existence we take so many bodies and without fail in all these bodies, we think we’re the controllers and the anxiety follows without fail.

And in the Bhagwat Gita there is only one point stressed by Lord Krishna from the beginning to end.

He starts with ‘Don’t worry’ in Chapter Two verse 11 and many times in the second chapter he repeats “na tvam shocitum arhasi” (you have no reason to worry).

In the Bhagwat Gita Chapter 16 verse 5 Lord Krishna again tells Arjuna ‘Ma shuchah’ (do not worry) and in the final instruction he concludes again with the same words, “I will deliver you from all sins. Do not worry (Ma shuchah)”.We can understand from this that the summary instruction of the Bhagwat Gita is one should throw out anxiety. The whole world is in the control of the Lord.

We worry for lack of riches or comforts and become anxious when others possess it. In this way, worrying has become a part of our nature. Actually this anxiety is due to lack of faith and surrender to Lord Krishna. And there are no shortcuts to be free from anxiety.

"dehi nityam avadhyo ’yam
dehe sarvasya bharata
tasmat sarvani bhutani
na tvam socitum arhasi" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Two verse 30)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, he who dwells in the body can never be slain. Therefore you need not grieve for any living being."

The only way to stop worrying is constant chanting of the Lord’s names and scrutinizing study of scriptures like Bhagwat Gita and Bhagavatam in an attitude of surrender to learn how GOD controls everything.

The more intensely we chant and more intensely we study Bhagavad Gita and Bhagavatam the more we become surrendered to Lord Krishna (maam ekam sharanam vraja). And as much as we are surrendered to Lord Krishna, that much we become fearless and anxiety-free.

"avyakto ’yam acintyo ’yam
avikaryo ’yam ucyate
tasmad evam viditvainam
nanusocitum arhasi" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Two verse 25)

"Sri Krishna said: Arjuna, It is said that the soul is invisible, inconceivable and immutable. Knowing this, you should not grieve for the body."

"atha chainam nitya-jatam
nityam va manyase mrtam
tathapi tvam maha-baho
nainam socitum arhasi" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Two verse 26)

"Sri Krishna said: Arjuna, If, however, you think that the soul [or the symptoms of life] is always born and dies forever, you still have no reason to lament, O mighty-armed."

"jatasya hi dhruvo mrityur
dhruvam janma mrtasya cha
tasmad apariharye ’rthe
na tvam socitum arhasi" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Two verse 27)

"Sri Krishna said: Arjuna, One who has taken this birth is sure to die, and after death one is sure to take birth again. Therefore, in the unavoidable discharge of your duty, you should not lament."

Jai Shri Krishna

Sunday, January 10, 2016

Lord Krishna's Sweet 108 Names

"Divine Chants of Lord Krishna" are chanting the names of God which give peace of mind. Listening to these Divine names of Lord Krishna regularly gives lot of peace of mind. These Divine names of Lord Krishna purify the mind of devotee. Chanting the Divine names of Lord Krishna leads to spiritual development.

In "Bhagwat Gita" also Lord Krishna is saying to Arjuna:

"satatam kirtayanto mam
yatantas cha drdha-vratah
namasyantas cha mam bhaktya
nitya-yukta upasate" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Nine verse 14)

"Sri Krishna said to Arjuna: Always chanting My glories, endeavouring with great determination, bowing down before Me, these great souls perpetually worship Me with devotion."

Below are 108 names of Lord Krishna. If a person remembers these 108 names of God & chants these names in his / her mind then that person achieves to the supreme devotion of God.

    NAME :  MEANING

1.  Achala : Krishna is Still Lord

2.  Achyuta : Krishna is Infallible Lord

3.  Adbhutah : Krishna is Wonderful God

4.  Adidev : Krishna is The Lord Of The Lords

5.  Aditya : Krishna is Like Sun

6.  Ajanma : Krishna is One Who Is Limitless And Endless

7.  Ajaya : Krishna is The Conqueror Of Life And Death

8.  Akshara : Krishna is Indestructible Lord

9.  Amrut : Krishna is One Who Is Sweet As Nectar

10.  Anaadih : Krishna is One Who Is The First Cause

11.  Anandsagar : Krishna is Compassionate Lord

12.  Ananta : Krishna is The Endless Lord

13.  Anantajit : Krishna is Ever Victorious Lord

14.  Anaya One : Krishna is Who Has No Leader

15.  Aniruddha : Krishna is One Who Cannot Be Obstructed

16.  Aparajeet : Krishna is The Lord Who Cannot Be Defeated

17.  Avyukta : Krishna is One Who Is As Clear As Crystal

18.  Balgopal : Krishna is The Child Krishna, The All Attractive

19.  Bali : Krishna is The Lord Of Strength

20.  Chaturbhuj : Krishna is Four-Armed Lord

21.  Danavendra : Krishna is Granter Of Boons

22.  Dayalu : Krishna is Repositiory Of Compassion

23.  Dayanidhi : Krishna is The Compassionate Lord

24.  Devadidev : Krishna is The God Of The Gods

25.  Devakinandan : Krishna is Son Of Mother Devaki

26.  Devesh : Krishna is Lord Of The Lords

27.  Dharmadhyaksha : Krishna is The Lord OF Dharma

28.  Dwarkapati : Krishna is Lord Of Dwarka

29.  Gopal : Krishna is One Who Plays With The Cowherds, The Gopas

30.  Gopalpriya : Krishna is Lover Of Cowherds

31.  Govinda : Krishna is One Who Pleases The Cows, The Land And The Entire Nature

32.  Gyaneshwar : Krishna is The Lord Of Knowledge

33.  Hari : Krishna is The Lord Of Nature

34.  Hiranyagarbha : Krishna is The All Powerful Creator

35.  Hrishikesh : Krishna is The Lord Of All Senses

36.  Jagadguru : Krishna is Preceptor Of The Universe

37.  Jagadisha : Krishna is Protector Of All

38.  Jagannath : Krishna is Lord Of The Universe

39.  Janardhana : Krishna is One Who Bestows Boons On One And All

40.  Jayantah : Krishna is Conqueror Of All Enemies

41.  Jyotiraaditya : Krishna is The Resplendence Of The Sun

42.  Kamalnath : Krishna is The Lord Of Goddess Lakshmi

43.  Kamalnayan : Krishna is The Lord With Lotus Shaped Eyes

44.  Kamsantak : Krishna is Slayer Of Kamsa

45.  Kanjalochana : Krishna is The Lotus-Eyed God

46.  Keshava : Krishna is One Who Has Long, Black Matted Locks

47.  Krishna : Krishna is Dark-Complexioned Lord Who Attracts

48.  Lakshmikantam : Krishna is The Lord Of Goddess Lakshmi

49.  Lokadhyaksha : Krishna is Lord Of All The Three Lokas (Worlds)

50.  Madan : Krishna is The Lord Of Love

51.  Madhava : Krishna is Knowledge Filled God

52.  Madhusudan : Krishna is Slayer Of Demon Madhu

53.  Mahendra : Krishna is Lord Of Indra

54.  Manmohan : Krishna is All Pleasing Lord

55.  Manohar : Krishna is Beautiful Lord

56.  Mayur : Krishna is The Lord Who Has A Peacock Feathered-Crest

57.  Mohan : Krishna is All Attractive God

58.  Murali : Krishna is The Flute Playing Lord

59.  Murlidhar : Krishna is Murlidhar One Who Holds The Flute

60.  Murlimanohar : Krishna is Murlimanohar The Flute Playing God

61.  Nandgopala : Krishna is The Son Of Nand

62.  Narayana : Krishna is The Refuge Of Everyone

63.  Niranjana : Krishna is The Unblemished Lord

64.  Nirguna : Krishna is Without Any Properties

65.  Padmahasta : Krishna is One Who Has Hands Like Lotus

66.  Padmanabha : Krishna is The Lord Who Has A Lotus Shaped Navel

67.  Parabrahmana : Krishna is The Supreme Absolute Truth

68.  Paramatma : Krishna is Lord Of All Beings

69.  Parampurush : Krishna is Supreme Personality

70.  Parthasarthi : Krishna is Charioteer Of Partha - Arjuna

71.  Prajapati : Krishna is Lord Of All Creatures

72.  Punyah : Krishna is Supremely Pure

73.  Purshottam : Krishna is The Supreme Soul

74.  Ravilochana : Krishna is One Who Eye Is The Sun

75.  Sahasraakash : Krishna is Thousand-Eyed Lord

76.  Sahasrajit : Krishna is One Who Vanquishes Thousands

77.  Sahasrapaat : Krishna is Thousand-Footed Lord

78.  Sakshi : Krishna is All Witnessing Lord

79.  Sanatana : Krishna is The Eternal Lord

80.  Sarvajana : Krishna is Omniscient Lord

81.  Sarvapalaka : Krishna is Protector Of All

82.  Sarveshwar : Krishna is Lord Of All Gods

83.  Satyavachana : Krishna is One Who Speaks Only The Truth

84.  Satyavrata : Krishna is The Truth Dedicated Lord

85.  Shantah : Krishna is Peaceful Lord

86.  Shreshta : Krishna is The Most Glorious Lord

87.   Shrikanta : Krishna is Beautiful Lord

88.  Shyam : Krishna is Dark-Complexioned Lord

89.  Shyamsundara : Krishna is Lord Of The Beautiful Evenings

90.  Sudarshana : Krishna is Handsome Lord

91.  Sumedha : Krishna is Intelligent Lord

92.  Suresham : Krishna is Lord Of All Demi-Gods

93.  Swargapati : Krishna is Lord Of Heavens

94.  Trivikrama : Krishna is Conqueror Of All The Three Worlds

95.  Upendra : One who is Brother Of Indra

96.  Vaikunthanatha : Krishna is Lord Of Vaikuntha, The Heavenly Abode

97.  Vardhamaanah : Krishna is The Formless Lord

98.  Vasudev : Krishna is All Prevailing Lord

99.  Vishnu : Krishna is All Prevailing Lord

100.  Vishwadakshinah : Krishna is Skilfull And Efficient Lord

101.  Vishwakarma : Krishna is Creator Of The Universe

102.  Vishwamurti : Krishna is The Form Of The Entire Universe

103.  Vishwarupa : Krishna is One Who Displays The Universal Form

104.  Vishwatma : Krishna is Soul Of The Universe

105.  Vrishaparvaa : Krishna is Lord Of Dharma

106.  Yadavendra : Krishna is King Of The Yadav Clan

107.  Yogi : Krishna is The Supreme Master

108.  Yoginampati : Krishna is Lord Of The Yogis

Jai Shri Krishna

Sunday, January 03, 2016

Spend some Time with God Daily

God is the First necessity of Life. So finding God & having a relationship with Him is the most basic thing we need to do in order to grow in spiritual life. We all were created to have a relationship with God. This relationship is the goal of all religions and where the true joy in being a true devotee of God is found. So if we neglect it, we’re missing the basic joy of having a relationship with God & attaining peace through it.

So we should daily spend some time with God. Spending time with God is always good. Once you establish a relationship with God, many people find that their time with Him is the best time of their day. Or the part they most miss if they don't have the opportunity to spend time with Him. We can relate to God just as we would relate to a close friend. While this may be a hard concept to grasp at first, in time you will experience what it means to have God as your friend. We should make it a priority that we spend daily some time with God and also teach others how we are to relate to our Loving God.

In "Bhagwat Gita" also Lord Krishna is saying to Arjuna:

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

"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 said: 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 of Mine, is in Me, and I am also a friend to him."

"ananyas cintayanto mam
ye janah paryupasate
tesham nityabhiyuktanam
yoga-ksemam vahamy aham" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Nine verse 22)

"Sri Krishna said: 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."

So lets spend some time with God daily so that He can always bestow His mercy on us. Once you start finding joy in relationship with God then you shall also move towards finding Bliss in your life.

Jai Shri Krishna