Pray to God & God will answer your Prayer

All the religions of the world believe in one God. We all pray to God with different types of prayers. Prayer is basically an act of addressing the God for the purpose of worship. Prayer is a way of having a personal experience and intimate connection with our loving God, through which He listens silently to what we have in our mind.

Story: 

“Once there was a very poor woman. She was having 4 sons & 2 daughters. Her husband was not keeping well & was bed ridden, so there was no source of income in the house. As the food & vegetable items in the kitchen started diminishing, she started worrying, how she shall arrange for these items for her family in the future. She thought of taking some lentils & vegetables on credit from the nearby shopkeeper.

She humbly approached the shopkeeper & explained the situation of her family to him. She had hoped that he will help her & give her food items but the shopkeeper refused to help her & asked her to go somewhere else for help. Seeing her plight a nearby standing man tried to help her & told the shopkeeper that he shall pay for whatever she wanted in food items.

The shopkeeper asked the woman reluctantly to put her buying list on the weighing scales and whatever her list weighs, he shall give her that much items. The woman on hearing this just bowed her head. Then she just closed her eyes & after some time took out a piece of paper and wrote something on it. She then put that piece of paper on the weighing scale carefully with her head bowed down. Just as woman put that piece of paper on the scales, it went down as if the paper has taken the place of weights on the scale.

Both the shopkeeper & the other man stood there in amazement when the scale went down and stayed down with the weight of paper. The shopkeeper looked at the scales in bewilderment & started putting the food items on the other side of the scale. The scales did not balance & he continued to put more and more food items on the other scale until the scales would balance. To the amazement of the shopkeeper, the scales would not balance at all.

Finally, he pounced to take that piece of paper from the scales and looked at it with greater amazement. It was not a food items list. It was instead a prayer which said: "Dear God, you know of my needs and I am leaving this in your hands to give me, as much as, You want."

The shopkeeper gave her the food items that he had put on the scales & did not charge the woman anything after seeing that miracle. Woman thanked the shopkeeper for his good gesture. Later on the shopkeeper discovered that, in fact the scales were broken with the weight of that mysterious piece of paper; therefore, only the Lord knows how much a prayer weighs.”

Through Prayer a person can address the Lord, his/her feelings & mind. Prayer is a way of having a personal experience and intimate connection with our loving Lord. He is willing to listen to you and responds with love and concern, all the time. The method of such calling our Lord is PRAYER. Those who have faith in Lord, generally Pray for Him. Prayer can be done during the worship or can be done just silently in our mind. If we pray to the Lord with sincerity then He shall answer to our prayers immediately.

Below are verses of Bhagwat Gita in which Lord Krishna is telling about His devotees & how He always protects them:

"ye tu sarvani karmani
mayi sannyasya mat-parah
ananyenaiva yogena
mam dhyayanta upasate"

"tesam aham samuddharta
mrityu-samsara-sagarat
bhavami na cirat partha
mayy avesita-cetasam" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Twelve verse 6-7)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, But those who worship Me, giving up all their activities unto Me and being devoted to Me without deviation, engaged in devotional service and always meditating upon Me, having fixed their minds upon Me, O son of Pritha—for them I am the swift deliverer from the ocean of birth and death."

"mayy eva mana adhatsva
mayi buddhim nivesaya
nivasisyasi mayy eva
ata urdhvam na samsayah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Twelve verse 8)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, Just fix your mind upon Me and engage all your intelligence in Me. Thus you will live in Me always, without a doubt."

"ye tu dharmamritam idam
yathoktam paryupasate
sraddadhana mat-parama
bhaktas te ’tiva me priyah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Twelve verse 20)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, Those who follow this imperishable path of devotional service and who completely engage themselves with faith, making Me the supreme goal, are very, very dear to Me."

So let's always engage in devotional service of the Lord. Let's sing His glories so that He can always be merciful on us. If we shall do such devotional service to the Lord then we shall get special mercy of the Lord & He shall bestow all the good things in our life.

In Hinduism there is a simple prayer in the form of Vedic hymn which is called "Gayatri Mantra". This Gayatri Mantra is a highly revered mantra in Hindu Religion. It is a sacred Hindu chant. It is widely used in meditation & listening to this chant brings peace of mind. As per Bhagwat Gita God is present in the form of WORD as "Gayatri Mantra". It consists of the prefix: oṃ bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ ॐ भूर्भुवस्वः, a mantra taken from the Yajurveda, and the verse 3.62.10 of the Rigveda. The Gayatri mantra is found in all the four Vedas in Hindu religion. The God invoked in this mantra is Savitr, and hence the mantra is also called Sāvitrī Mantra.

In Devanagari Lipi, it is:

ॐ भूर्भुवः स्वः ।
तत् सवितुर्वरेण्यं ।
भर्गो देवस्य धीमहि ।
धियो यो नः प्रचोदयात् ॥

AUM BHOOR BHUWAH SWAHA,
TAT SAVITUR VARENYAM
BHARGO DEVASAYA DHEEMAHI
DHIYO YO NAHA PRACHODAYAT.

Brief about the Gayatri Mantra:

Gayatri Mantra is the foremost mantra in Hindu religion and Hindu beliefs & it inspires wisdom. Its meaning is that "May the Almighty God illuminate our intellect to lead us along the righteous path". The mantra is also a prayer to the "giver of light and life" - the sun.

Oh God! Thou art the Giver of Life,
Remover of pain and sorrow,
The Bestower of happiness,
Oh! Creator of the Universe,
May we receive thy supreme sin-destroying light,
May Thou guide our intellect in the right direction.

How to worship Gayatri Mantra:

The mother Gayatri lives in the Gayatri loka which is a planet like our earth though not visible through any scientific instruments available to date on our earth.Then how can we reach towards our divine mother? Our ancient saint, rishi vishvamitra found a simple method to reach towards our divine mother and get her blessings through Gayatri Mantra.The mantra asks wisdom from mother which is a necessity in today's stress full life. So just chant this Mantra & God shall bless you.

In Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Ten verse 35, Lord Krishna himself declares that he himself is there present if someone chants Gayatri Mantra as it is the king of all the Mantras & God himself resides in this mantra.

"brihat-sama tatha samnam
gayatri chandasam aham
masanam marga-sirso ’ham
rtunam kusumakarah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Ten verse 35)

"Sri Krishna said: Of the hymns in the Sama Veda I am the Brihat-sama, and of all the mantras, I am the Gayatri Mantra. Of months I am Margasirsa [November-December], and of seasons I am flower-bearing spring."

So let's daily do the worship of God by chanting this Gayatri Mantra. By chanting this "Divine Vedic Mantra" we shall get peace of mind. So let's make it a practice to invoke the God daily through this simple prayer of Gayatri Mantra. By doing so God shall be happy with us & shall bless us always through His mercy & compassion.

See here some other beautiful Hindu Divine Chants

Jai Sri Krishna

Lets thank God for what we have in Life

 

Lets thank God for what we have in Life. 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. Listen to above musical video which thanks God in every way & its lyrics are very beautiful.

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.

Story:

“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

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

How to Keep Your Mind Peaceful & Happy

Many of us do Prayer sometimes, some do it daily. We all do get some peace of mind & happiness while doing Prayer. Later on when we get involved in our daily chorus, all tensions of life again surround us. Little peace that we get during prayer is lost when we experience tensions of our job. How can it be that our mind remains at peace & in a happy state of mind always?

To be at peace with yourself & be happy all the times, you need to surrender your ego to the God completely. We need to be in constant remembrance of God. We need to take complete refuge in God by surrendering our ego at the feet of God. By complete surrender to God we do get freedom from all our sins and sorrows. In God there is no sin or sorrow. God is like the Sun in which darkness cannot exist. God is complete Joy, complete Bliss. When we are surrendering our ego to God, then we are surrendering ourselves to Joy & Bliss.

Whenever our ego separates ourselves from God, we become sad & unhappy & all tensions of life surround us. In any case we should not be egoistic, as to be egoistic is to show our separate existence from God, separate existence from Joy & Bliss. When the subtle veil of ego is torn between you & God then you are full of Joy & happiness. Just think yourself to be an instrument of God & devote fully to God.

So do Complete Surrender to God, as in this way you shall be free of all tensions of life & shall be at peace & be happy during all walks of life. Below verse of Bhagwat Gita teaches the same.

"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, Surrender unto Me alone. By surrendering all duties to Me, seek refuge in Me. I shall absolve you of all sins; grieve not."

Jai Sri Krishna

Change the Negativity of Your Mind into Positive Energy

Having negativity, negative thinking, depression, worry, fear etc. in life makes one’s life very miserable & disturbing. If you feel hopelessness, despair, rejection in your mind then there is urgent need for you to reverse all that negative thinking by feeling optimistic & having positive thoughts in your mind. One should start affirming his mind with positive thoughts as it shall bring positivity in your life. Negative thoughts are always counterproductive in life & it drains one’s energy in life. So we should totally eliminate negative thinking from our mind & always think positive. Just think good about you & feel that everything good shall happen to you. Such positive thinking shall change your life completely.

In your normal life, just introspect & check the state of your mind. Normally whether it remains calm or it remains agitated & disturbed. It is generally said that we see this world through our mind, if our mind is peaceful; we see this world in a Good way & enjoy the beauties of nature & love being born to enjoy this life. But if our mind remains in a disturbed, agitated state of mind, we may miss the simple beauty of a flower in our nearby place also. We shall never enjoy our life if our mind remains in a disturbed state of mind.

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. If you have your family, sons, daughters etc. then you may not have harmonious relations with them. 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.

The great Bhagwat Gita also teaches us on the same matter & teaches us to be like an Ocean in which all the rivers merges & yet it remains undisturbed. So we too should be calm like an Ocean & though enjoying all things of life & doing our duties should be peaceful just like the Ocean.

In relations, we should also act like shock absorbers where we are not able to retaliate, if some near & dear one says something which is not pleasing to ourselves. We should make understand others about their mistakes by passive rather than active, retaliatory methods. In all cases, we should not lose the peace of our mind by any of our acts & just be Calm like an Ocean. Below is a good verse, "Verse - 70, Chapter Two of Bhagwat Gita" teaching the same thing.

“aapurya-manam achala-prathistham
samudram apah pravishanti yadvat
tadvat-kama yam pravishanti sarve
sa shantim-apnoti na kama-kaami” (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

The God You Pray is Bigger than the Problems of Your Life

We all encounter problems in our life, whether it is at workplace or problems at our home. Some problems, we are able to solve while some remain unresolved, which keep our mind disturbed & agitated. In our problems of life. somehow we loose faith in God & forget that God is almighty, who can solve our problems of life. Our problems might seem big to us but our God is having much much greater powers to solve these problems. Only thing is that we should have faith in God & we should pray to Him to solve our problems.

Other than faith in God we need to see, what should be our attitude of mind, when we are disturbed by problems of life. Let us understand a very simple thing regarding the law of Nature. In this Nature, whatever there is, it is there for a limited period of time. In Nature, plants grow from seeds & after a particular life cycle, these cease to exist. When you see a movie, it starts & ends after few hours, which means it has a beginning & an end. In nature, everything changes & change is the law of nature. Seasons too change, spring goes then summer comes, summer goes then autumn comes, autumn goes then winter comes. Similarly times in our lives change as per the law of the nature.

Same is the case with the problems in our life. There is nothing called permanent problems. No problems last forever in our life & these get resolved with time just like seasons change in nature. Problems too have a birth date & a death date. Problems too have a limited duration of lifetime. Either problems automatically get resolved with time or with your understanding & acumen gets resolved very soon. So we should not get discouraged in life with problems of life. We should have faith in our mind that problems always have a solution. Have faith in God & try resolving the problem. If you are able to solve the problem, it’s well; otherwise do not get discouraged, as these shall die down it's own death with time as no problem is there to stay forever in our life. Also besides that let’s have “Full faith” in our God as He shall help us in resolving the problems of life.

Now below are few verses from Bhagwat Gita which teaches, how a person of peaceful, unwavering and undisturbed mind should behave in life:

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

Sri Krishna said: 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: 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 do not get discouraged in life with the problems. Keep your mind peaceful & think that problems in life are like small hurdles when we walk in a rough terrain but sooner that rough terrain passes with time & we come once again in a smooth terrain. Just have faith in God & let your mind be unwavering and undisturbed in all circumstances, keep your mind in control & then you shall overcome all problems of your life.

Jai Shri Krishna

You Should Appreciate What You Have In Life

Once a wealthy man took his son on a trip to the countryside, so that he could have his son see how poor life the country people live.

They stayed one day and one night in the home of a very humble farmer. At the end of the trip, when they were back home, the father asked his son, "What did you think of the trip?"

The son replied, "Very nice dad."

Then the father asked his son, "Did you notice how poor they were?"

The son replied, "Yes."

The father continued asking, "What did you learn?"

The son responded, "I learned that we have one dog in our house, and they have four.

And we have imported lamps in our garden . . . where they have the stars!

Also, we have a fountain in our garden, but they have a stream that has no end.

And our garden goes to the edge of our property. But they have the entire horizon as their back yard!"

At the end of the son's reply the father was speechless.

His son then said, "Thank you dad for showing me how poor we really are."

Isn't it true that all depends on the lens you use to see life?

One can ask himself what would happen if we give thanks to God for what we have in life instead of always asking for more.

So now do you remain sad sometimes? Do you feel frustrated that you do not have what you wanted in life? Do you feel jealous of others for the things they possess & you don't have? Do you feel disillusioned with your life sometimes? Have you lost something in life which you already had?

In your life you always want to achieve more & more but feel frustrated if you do not get it. If you have some money, you want more of it. If you have a house, you want a bigger one with more facilities in it. If you do not have a car, you want to have one. If you do have a car then you want a bigger & more luxurious one. We want to fulfill all of our dreams in life but feel depressed & frustrated if we are not able to achieve these. We do also feel frustrated if we lose something which we were already having. In fact, our mind is very fickle. It constantly hankers after the "Things of Desire" & feel sad, depressed when it's wishes are not fulfilled. Below verse of Bhagwat Gita tells about the fickle nature of our mind. As per that our mind is very restless, turbulent, obstinate and very strong & controlling it is more difficult than controlling the wind. Due to this fickle nature of our mind, it always demand & want more. Due to restless nature of mind we are not at peace with ourselves.



"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, I think, is more difficult than controlling the wind."

Now just see your present life as it is. Our basic problem is that we do not appreciate the positive aspects in our lives. Our nature is to ponder on the negatives & what we don't have in life. To us others grass always seem greener. In fact we should appreciate what we already have. That shall give you a strength that at least you have been able to achieve that much. Do not compare yourself with someone very rich & with much more facilities & resources than you. Just see how good you are from those who lay a life along roadside without even having a roof over there head. If you have a small house then be happy that at least you are having a roof over your head despite the fact that you're not yet living in the home of your dreams. Just 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.

Let us learn to appreciate what you have in life. Wealth is all in one's point of view.



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

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

Prayer is the key to God's Heart

All the religions of the world believe in one God. We all pray to God with different types of prayers. Prayer is basically an act of addressing the God for the purpose of worship. Prayer is a way of having a personal experience and intimate connection with our loving God, through which He listens silently to what we have in our mind.

In Hinduism there is a simple prayer in the form of Vedic hymn which is called "Gayatri Mantra". This Gayatri Mantra is a highly revered mantra in Hindu Religion. It is a sacred Hindu chant. It is widely used in meditation & listening to this chant brings peace of mind. As per Bhagwat Gita God is present in the form of WORD as "Gayatri Mantra". It consists of the prefix: oṃ bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ ॐ भूर्भुवस्वः, a mantra taken from the Yajurveda, and the verse 3.62.10 of the Rigveda. The Gayatri mantra is found in all the four Vedas in Hindu religion. The God invoked in this mantra is Savitr, and hence the mantra is also called Sāvitrī Mantra.

In Devanagari Lipi, it is:

ॐ भूर्भुवः स्वः ।
तत् सवितुर्वरेण्यं ।
भर्गो देवस्य धीमहि ।
धियो यो नः प्रचोदयात् ॥

AUM BHOOR BHUWAH SWAHA,
TAT SAVITUR VARENYAM
BHARGO DEVASAYA DHEEMAHI
DHIYO YO NAHA PRACHODAYAT.

Brief about the Gayatri Mantra:

Gayatri Mantra is the foremost mantra in Hindu religion and Hindu beliefs & it inspires wisdom. Its meaning is that "May the Almighty God illuminate our intellect to lead us along the righteous path". The mantra is also a prayer to the "giver of light and life" - the sun.

Oh God! Thou art the Giver of Life,
Remover of pain and sorrow,
The Bestower of happiness,
Oh! Creator of the Universe,
May we receive thy supreme sin-destroying light,
May Thou guide our intellect in the right direction.

How to worship Gayatri Mantra:

The mother Gayatri lives in the Gayatri loka which is a planet like our earth though not visible through any scientific instruments available to date on our earth.Then how can we reach towards our divine mother? Our ancient saint, rishi vishvamitra found a simple method to reach towards our divine mother and get her blessings through Gayatri Mantra.The mantra asks wisdom from mother which is a necessity in today's stress full life. So just chant this Mantra & God shall bless you.

In Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Ten verse 35, Lord Krishna himself declares that he himself is there present if someone chants Gayatri Mantra as it is the king of all the Mantras & God himself resides in this mantra.

"brihat-sama tatha samnam
gayatri chandasam aham
masanam marga-sirso ’ham
rtunam kusumakarah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Ten verse 35)

"Sri Krishna said: Of the hymns in the Sama Veda I am the Brihat-sama, and of all the mantras, I am the Gayatri Mantra. Of months I am Margasirsa [November-December], and of seasons I am flower-bearing spring."

So let's daily do the worship of God by chanting this Gayatri Mantra. By chanting this "Divine Vedic Mantra" we shall get peace of mind. So let's make it a practice to invoke the God daily through this simple prayer of Gayatri Mantra. By doing so God shall be happy with us & shall bless us always through His mercy & compassion.

See here some other beautiful Hindu Divine Chants



Jai Shri 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

Can Money Give us Real Happiness of Life?

Money is one thing which is required by all of us to live a normal life. We all need money & without it our life seems incomplete. So we have a aim in life to earn money & the more we earn it, the more we feel satisfied in life. But, is money everything in life & can money give us Real Happiness in Life? With money we can buy many things & these things may make us happy for a short while, but such happiness does not last for a long time. If we need only material things to make us happy, then we live a pretty sad and unfulfilled life.

Happiness is not much to do with material goods or high achievements in life, rather it is all about our outlook on life. A poor person can be much happy in life than a rich person. One of the good way to be happy in life is to attain happiness by doing your work in life (whether it is your household duties, office job, teaching, managing children, doing social work etc.). Money that comes from your doing the job is only a fruit or by-product of doing your job. If we hate what we are doing and rely on the money that we earn to make us happy by buying products in the market, then we are living a meaningless life. True happiness in life comes from doing your job / work properly without caring much for the money it earns.

As per Bhagwat Gita also, it is doing your job / duty in a proper manner without caring much for the fruits or the money that it shall generate, gives true happiness in life. As per "Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Two verse 47", Lord Sri Krishna says to his disciple Arjuna:

"karmany vadhikaraste
ma phalesu kadachana
ma karma-phala-hetur bhur
ma te sango’stv akarmani"

"You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of action. Never consider yourself the cause of the results of your activities, and never be attached to not doing your duty."

So as per Bhagwat Gita, money etc. are just the "by-products" of doing your duty. Main thing is that you do your duty with full devotion in life without caring much for the fruits or money it shall generate.

As per another Bhagwat Gita verse, true happiness of life comes not by hankering after the Material desires. One who is able to control his/her desires, finds peace in life & with peace comes happiness 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."

So let’s do our job / duty properly without much caring for, how much money it shall generate. Let’s not hanker after money unnecessarily & do the good work in life. Let’s enjoy our work & that selfless work only shall give us happiness in life. Also Love & appreciate your loved ones, your children, as loving them shall bring peace & happiness in your family life.

Jai Sri Krishna

Keep God In Mind

Happy Janmastami to You & Your family

Jai Shri Radhe Krishna.

When someone asks you to focus your mind on God, then you feel it difficult to do so, as there are SO MANY distracting things here in this world, and it's so difficult for the mind to reject them. Though we know that and feel that "Concentrating our mind on God is the only way to connect with our true nature and stop suffering" but still things of the world capture our mind & we are unable to divert our mind towards the God. But once we are able to get on to the road of God then we shall be thinking about Him more often. Though It's hard, but it's all the worth for the beauty, peace & happiness that it brings to your life. So just don't think that it is difficult to focus the mind on God, just try & you shall be able to concentrate your mind on God.

We generally have things of the world on our mind. These are our daily affairs, our family etc. which are on our mind most of the times. To have God on our mind or to be God minded, we need to develop love for God & need to understand that our own self (Soul) is a spark of the almighty consciousness. We need to understand that we all are a reflection of the Divine Light called God.

Our mind always wanders outside in this world & always goes about the objects of the senses. Our mind always loves things of this outside world, be it the beautiful scenery, music, scent etc . but does not normally find joy in things or songs related to God. Our mind always believes in visible things of this world & somehow believes with difficulty in someone, who is invisible, just like the God or Soul which is so subtle that it is invisible through our gross human eyes. Our mind rarely goes inside ourself & tries to find joy over there but always hankers in the outside world for the joy.

If we have have devotion to God, He shall always be on your mind. Lord Krishna says in the Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Eight verse 14

"ananya-cetah satatam
yo mam smarati nityasah
tasyaham sulabhah partha

nitya-yuktasya yoginah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Eight verse 14)

"Lord Sri Krishna says: Whosoever, always & constantly remembers Me with undivided mind; by that person, I am easy to obtain, O Arjuna, because of his constant engagement in the devotional service to Me."

So, let's have devotion towards God & then we shall always have "Peace of Mind". Let's divert the direction of our "Mind" towards the God who is sitting in our heart. It is the promise of the God in Bhagwat Gita that He shall welcome anyone who shall come to Him & He shall always protect that person.

Jai Shri Krishna

A Simple Prayer with Gayatri Mantra

All the religions of the world believe in one God. We all pray to God with different types of prayers. Prayer is basically an act of addressing the God for the purpose of worship. Prayer is a way of having a personal experience and intimate connection with our loving God, through which He listens silently to what we have in our mind.

In Hinduism there is a simple prayer in the form of Vedic hymn which is called "Gayatri Mantra". This Gayatri Mantra is a highly revered mantra in Hindu Religion. It is a sacred Hindu chant. It is widely used in meditation & listening to this chant brings peace of mind. As per Bhagwat Gita God is present in the form of WORD as "Gayatri Mantra". It consists of the prefix: oṃ bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ ॐ भूर्भुवस्वः, a mantra taken from the Yajurveda, and the verse 3.62.10 of the Rigveda. The Gayatri mantra is found in all the four Vedas in Hindu religion. The God invoked in this mantra is Savitr, and hence the mantra is also called Sāvitrī Mantra.

In Devanagari Lipi, it is:

ॐ भूर्भुवः स्वः ।
तत् सवितुर्वरेण्यं ।
भर्गो देवस्य धीमहि ।
धियो यो नः प्रचोदयात् ॥

AUM BHOOR BHUWAH SWAHA,
TAT SAVITUR VARENYAM
BHARGO DEVASAYA DHEEMAHI
DHIYO YO NAHA PRACHODAYAT.

Brief about the Gayatri Mantra:

Gayatri Mantra is the foremost mantra in Hindu religion and Hindu beliefs & it inspires wisdom. Its meaning is that "May the Almighty God illuminate our intellect to lead us along the righteous path". The mantra is also a prayer to the "giver of light and life" - the sun.

Oh God! Thou art the Giver of Life,
Remover of pain and sorrow,
The Bestower of happiness,
Oh! Creator of the Universe,
May we receive thy supreme sin-destroying light,
May Thou guide our intellect in the right direction.

How to worship Gayatri Mantra:

The mother Gayatri lives in the Gayatri loka which is a planet like our earth though not visible through any scientific instruments available to date on our earth.Then how can we reach towards our divine mother? Our ancient saint, rishi vishvamitra found a simple method to reach towards our divine mother and get her blessings through Gayatri Mantra.The mantra asks wisdom from mother which is a necessity in today's stress full life. So just chant this Mantra & God shall bless you.

In Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Ten verse 35, Lord Krishna himself declares that he himself is there present if someone chants Gayatri Mantra as it is the king of all the Mantras & God himself resides in this mantra.

"brihat-sama tatha samnam
gayatri chandasam aham
masanam marga-sirso ’ham
rtunam kusumakarah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Ten verse 35)

"Sri Krishna said: Of the hymns in the Sama Veda I am the Brihat-sama, and of all the mantras, I am the Gayatri Mantra. Of months I am Margasirsa [November-December], and of seasons I am flower-bearing spring."

So let's daily do the worship of God by chanting this Gayatri Mantra. By chanting this "Divine Vedic Mantra" we shall get peace of mind. So let's make it a practice to invoke the God daily through this simple prayer of Gayatri Mantra. By doing so God shall be happy with us & shall bless us always through His mercy & compassion.

See here some other beautiful Hindu Divine Chants

Jai Shri Krishna

Anger

Once a student came to his Master and complained: "Master, I have an ungovernable temper. I get angry every now & then. How can I control & cure it?"

Master said, "Oh! You have a very strange problem, Just show me & let me see what problem do you have."

Student said "Just now I cannot show it to you."

O.K. "When can you show it to me?" asked the Master.

"It arises unexpectedly," replied the student.

Master said, "Then, it must not be your own true nature. If it were, you could show it to me at any time. When you were born you did not have it, and your parents did not give it to you. Your true nature is Soul nature in which all the calm & peace is there, just think over it."

We all know that getting angry is not good in our life but all of us get angry at some point of time in life. Why at times our mind gets violent & anger is expressed in our nature? In a state of anger we hurt our near & dear one's mind 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 also. In the state of anger we are at the mercy of an unpredictable and powerful emotion which if not controlled by us does harm only to our life. If anger is not controlled, it can lead to physiological, as well as, psychological problems in our life.

Now how we can 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 Soul nature rather than hankering after outside worldly objects i.e. we should daily do some meditation, as in meditation mind becomes peaceful. If mind continuously runs after outside 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.

Below is a verse from Bhagwat Gita which explains why we should avoid anger:

"tri-vidham narakasyedam
dvaram nasanam atmanah
kamah krodhas tatha lobhas
tasmad etat trayam tyajet" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Sixteen verse 21)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, There are three gates leading to the hell — Lust, Anger and Greed. Every sane man should give these up, for they lead to the degradation of the Soul."

So let's avoid arising of negative emotion like anger in our mind. A mind free of anger remains calm & peaceful.

Jai Sri Krishna

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

How to be Happy in Life

Happiness is a state of mind. It is a choice that we make in our life. If we choose our state of mind to be happy, then we feel happy, otherwise we feel sad.

In our life we have always options to choose & feel happy in all of the circumstances in our life. So always make a choice about happiness & not otherwise in your life.

We cannot be happy all of the time, but we certainly can be more fulfilled than others if we are having a positive attitude towards life & we handle all of the situations in life with rational & positive attitude. Happiness is not much to do with material goods or high achievements in life, rather it is all about our outlook on life.

Here below are few points which needs to be considered for happiness in one's life:

1) Believe in yourself. Your inner strength is your Soul strength, Mental strength which comes into action in your hard times, which defeats all of your negative symptoms of sadness, depression etc. in your life. In hard times your self confidence builds your low esteem. When you are passing through bad times, you have a feeling of self dejection & a feeling that you have lost all in life. In all such times, your Soul strength comes into play & if you believe in that inner Soul strength then you can easily over come all of your negative traits & can feel happy. Bhagwat Gita teaches us that we are a Soul which is indestructible & is having infinite powers in it. Problems in life, how big these may seem are too small in front of the infinite powers of your Soul. So believe in that Soul & it's inherent infinite powers. As our Soul is a spark of the Infinite, all powerful, all pervasive Universal Soul, so it's powers are also limit less. This soul present inside our human body, in fact gives strength to our mind to carry out all difficult tasks. Believing in oneself is nothing but believing in one's inner Soul. All fountains of knowledge & strength come out of this inner Soul only.

"You really have to look inside yourself and find your own inner strength, and say, "I'm proud of what I am and who I am, and I'm just going to be myself." Mariah Carey
2) Appreciate what you have: We generally do not appreciate the positive aspects in our lives. Our nature is to ponder on the negatives & what we don't have in life. To us others grass always seem greener. In fact we should appreciate what we already have. That shall give you a strength that at least you have been able to achieve that much. Do not compare yourself with someone very rich & with much more facilities & resources than you. Just see how good you are from those who lay a life along roadside without even having a roof over there head. We should 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's 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.

3) Have positives in your life: Just have positive traits in your life & you shall feel happy. Having a nature of Forgiveness shall remove unnecessary tensions in your life. Showing Gratitude towards others is also a positive aspect in life as it makes you humble & creates an environment of peace & harmony in your life. Have smile on your face & laugh a little in your life as it makes your mind cheerful. Don't be dormant in life & be physically active as active people are the one's who feel happiness in life.

4) Be peaceful in mind: To be peaceful at mind, the first & foremost thing is to be satisfied with what you have at present in life & 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. Other than this do little prayer daily to God & if you are able to find time then do little meditation daily, as meditation makes one's mind peaceful. Here below is a verse of Bhagwat Gita & as per that let's control our desires & let's not hanker after these desires. One who is able to control his/her desires finds peace in life & with peace comes happiness in life.

“aapurya-manam achala-prathistham
samudram apah pravishanti yadvat
tadvat-kama yam pravishanti sarve
sa shantim-apnoti na kama-kaami” (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."

Change the Direction Of Your Mind

In India, sometimes you find that there are some Devotional songs (Bhazans) that are made while copying the tunes of popular Boolywood songs. To the people, when they listen to such Devotional songs, often the original Boolywood song comes in their mind. Some don't like these type of Devotional songs (Bhazans), while some enjoy these very much & in rural India, such type of Devotional songs made on Tunes of Boolywood songs are very popular.

Now, why it is so that such Bhazans or any other type of Devotional songs are enjoyed by many people, while not liked by other people at all. Simple answer to it is that our mind always wanders outside in this world & always goes about the objects of the senses. Our mind always loves things of this outside world, be it the beautiful scenery, music, scent etc . but does not normally find joy in things or songs related to God. Our mind always believes in visible things of this world & somehow believes with difficulty in someone, who is invisible, just like the God or Soul which is so subtle that it is invisible through our gross human eyes. The other thing is that your mind finds joy in your family, relations, sons, daughters etc. & not in God who is invisibly sitting in your heart in a subtle way. Your mind rarely goes inside yourself & tries to find joy over there but always hankers in the outside world for the joy.

Last weekend, while going out for the dinner in my car, my 6 year old niece asked me to stop the devotional songs (bhazans) which were playing in my car & instead asked me to play the popular bollywood songs. That little girl listens daily to the popular bollywood songs on TV etc. & understands those type of songs only. Bhazans playing in my car were not understandable & enjoyed by her. It's O.K. for a child but for the grown ups like us, our mind shall find joy in the things of the God only when we shall have some devotion towards the God. God is sitting in our heart & the pure soul joy is there within each of us. If our mind shall turn inwards & see the God sitting in our heart, then only we shall get the eternal pure joy & peace which is much better than the joy of the senses of the outside world.

Now human mind is so stubborn that it shall not turn easily inwards as it is accustomed to the things of the outer world. Our mind always hankers in our daily affairs, in our family & in the things of this world & has no place for the God in our day to day life. It is only due to the stubborn nature of the mind that it refuses to move towards the God, if it is finding joy in the outside world. In fact "Mind" is very powerful one & to control it, is just like keeping in control a raging bull. It just wanders like the wind, here & there & it takes enough of self discipline & practice of meditation to control it. In Bhagwat Gita, nature of mind is beautifully described which is there in below verses:

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."

So, if we want to have some devotion in God & want "Peace of Mind", then we need to change the direction of our "Mind", from this world to the God sitting in our heart. Unless our "Mind" stops wandering in this world, it shall not find peace. Our Soul is the centre in our heart & unless our "Mind" turns toward that centre, it shall not find peace. Our "Mind" shall not find peace & joy, if it moves away from the "Soul center" in our heart & moves in the outside world. So if you want to find the joy, bliss & peace in your life, just turn your mind inwards towards the God, who is sitting in your heart invisibly. It is the promise of the God in Bhagwat Gita that He shall welcome anyone who shall come to Him & He shall always protect that person. So let's change the direction of our mind from the outside world to the God. As per the below verse, if we shall do so, then we shall reach the God & shall enjoy the Bliss, Peace, Joy & Eternal Love with Him.

God, Lord Sri Krishna says to Arjuna in Bhagwat Gita:

"Be aware of me always, adore me, make every act an offering to me, and you shall come to me; this I (Krishna) promise to you, for you are dear to me.
(Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Eighteen verse 65)

"Whosoever, always & constantly remembers Me with undivided mind; by that person, I am easy to obtain, O Arjuna, because of his constant engagement in the devotional service to Me" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Eight verse 14)

Wise Man

How can you solve all the problems in your life? Simple answer to it is that if you act wisely, then all problems in your life shall be solved & no problem shall affect you. To act wisely, the prime thing is that, while taking any decision your mind should be peaceful. In all such troubled situations, your mind should be controlled, unwavering and undisturbed. Only such a mind can take correct decisions. Now how can you be such peaceful in mind or how can you control your mind?

Simple way of keeping your mind in control & be peaceful is described in the below verse of Bhagwat Gita. As per that if a person keeps faith in God & does practice of meditation regularly, then his mind is not disturbed in normal circumstances. Such a person always acts wisely in life. Meditation is a powerful means of directing the mind towards God.

"tad-buddhayas tad-atmanas
tan-nisthas tat-parayanah
gacchanty apunar-avrttim
jnana-nirdhuta-kalmasah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Five verse 17)

"Sri Krishna said to Arjuna: When one’s Intelligence, Mind, Faith and refuge are all fixed in the God, then one becomes fully cleansed of misgivings through complete knowledge and thus proceeds straight on the path of liberation." Such a person is really called a wise man.

In our life, if we daily think of God & do little prayer to Him with true love and devotion, then all our problems will become lighter and eventually will disappear. Just like the ice which, with the addition of the heat will turn into water, and that will eventually evaporate as steam and disappear.

Now here below is a Beautiful Story in which a Wise Man solved the tedious problem of the villagers:

"In ancient times, there was a rich man who owned 19 horses. One day he died. In his last will and testament he had written that upon his death, half of the horses he owned should go to his only son; one fourth should go to the village temple and one fifth should go to the faithful servant.
The villagers were puzzled, how to divide the horses as per his will. How can they give half of the 19 horses to the son? You cannot cut up a horse. Villagers were puzzled over this dilemma for more than two weeks and then they decided to send for a wise man who was living in a neighboring village.

The wise man came to the village riding on his horse and asked the villagers if he can be of any help to them. The villagers told him about the rich man's last will and testament which stated that half of the (19) horses must be given to his only son, one fourth must go to the temple and one fifth to the faithful servant.

The wise man said he will solve their problem without any delay. He had the 19 horses placed in a row standing next to one another. Then he added his own horse as the 20th horse. Now he went about giving half of the 20 horses – that is ten horses to the son. One fourth of 20 - that is 5 horses were given to the village temple. One fifth of twenty - that is 4 horses were given to the faithful servant. Ten plus five plus four made 19 horses. The remaining 20th horse was his own which he promptly mounted, spoke a few inspiring words, and rode back home.

The villagers were simply awestruck, full of disbelief and filled with admiration. And the parting words of the wise man were inscribed in their hearts and minds which they greatly cherished and passed on to their succeeding generations till today.

The wise man said: In our daily lives, in our daily affairs, simply remember God’s name, do little prayer to Him and then go about facing the day’s happenings & all of the problems in your life shall be solved."

Problems In Life

Problems, we all have problems in our life. Everyday we encounter problems at work, problems at home, problems in our relations & also in many other situations of our life. Some problems we are able to solve, some unresolved ones remain in our mind which keep our mind disturbed & agitated.

Natural state of our mind should be a peaceful one. It is generally said that we see this world through our mind, if our mind is peaceful; we see this world in a good way & enjoys the beauties of nature & love being born to enjoy this life. But if our mind remains in a disturbed, agitated state of mind, we may miss the simple beauty of a flower in our nearby place also. We shall never enjoy our life if our mind remains in a disturbed state of mind.

Now what should be our attitude when our mind is disturbed by problems of life. Let us understand a very simple thing regarding the law of Nature. In this Nature, everything that is there, is there for a limited time period. Say, every creature that is born in Nature lives for a limited time period & then die with time. Similarly plants grow from seeds & after a particular life cycle cease to exist. When you see a movie, it starts & ends after few hours i.e. it has a beginning & an end. In nature everything changes & change is the law of nature. Seasons too change, spring goes then summer comes, summer goes then autumn comes, autumn goes then winter comes. Similarly times in our lives change as per the law of the nature.

Same is the case with the problems in our life. There is nothing called permanent problems. No problems last forever in our life & these get resolved with time just like seasons change in nature. Problems too have a birth date & a death date. Problems too have a limited duration of lifetime. Either problems automatically get resolved with time or with your understanding & acumen gets resolved very soon. So we should not get discouraged in life with problems. We should have faith in our mind that problems always have a solution. Try resolving the problem, if you are able to solve the problem then it is well, otherwise do not get discouraged, as it shall die down it's own death with time as no problem is to stay in our life for ever.

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

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

Sri Krishna said: 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: 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 do not get discouraged in life with the problems. Keep your mind peaceful & think that problems in life are like small hurdles when we walk in a rough terrain but sooner that rough terrain passes with time & we come once again in a smooth terrain. Just be unwavering and undisturbed in all circumstances, keep your mind in control & then you shall overcome all problems of your life.