Om Namah Shivaye

Today is Maha Shivratri. It is also called Sivaratri or Shivaratri (Night of Shiva or "Great Night of Shiva"). It is a festival celebrated every year by the Hindus. It is celebrated in the honor of Lord Shiva who is one of the Hindu Gods forming the trinity, Brahma, Vishnu & Mahesh (Shiva). Sivaratri (Night of Shiva) literally means ‘the grand night dedicated to the worship of Shiva. This festival is observed for one day and one night every year.

Many legends are associated with the Sivaratri festival. According to one legend, Sivaratri is the wedding day of Lord Shiva and Parvati. As per another legend it is the night when Lord Shiva performed the Tandava Dance - the dance of primordial creation, preservation and destruction. Another legend associates Sivaratri with the great mythical churning of the ocean called Samudra Manthan. According to the legend, during the churning of the ocean, a pot of poison emerged. The gods and the demons were terrified as it could destroy the entire world. When they approached Lord Shiva for help, He, in order to protect the world, drank the deadly poison. However, he held it in his throat instead of swallowing it. This turned his throat blue. Since then Lord Shiva came to be known as ’Nilkantha’, the blue-throated one. Mahashivaratri celebrates this event by which Lord Shiva saved the world.

As per the Hindu mythology, God is ONE. Lord Krishna is same as Lord Rama & also same as Lord Shiva. As per Bhagwat Gita Chapter Ten Verse - 23, God himself declares that He (Lord Krishna) is same as Lord Shiva.

"rudranam sankaras chasmi
vitteso yaksha-rakshasam
vasunam pavakas chasmi
meruh sikharinam aham" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Ten verse 23)

"Sri Krishna said: Of all the Rudras I am Lord Shiva, of the Yakshas and Rakshasas I am the Lord of wealth [Kubera], of the Vasus I am fire [Agni], and of mountains I am Meru."

Now here below is a beautiful story which shows the kindness of Lord Shiva to his devotee & how He saved one of His devotee from the tiger.

Lord Shiva saves the Hunter

Once a hunter was wandering in a dense forest, to chase a deer and suddenly he found himself on the banks of river Kolidum, where he heard the roar of a tiger. In order to defend himself from the tiger, he climbed up a tree close by. The Tiger sat on the ground below the tree without the purpose to leave.

The huntsman stayed at the tree whole night and to keep himself awake, he plucked one leaf after another from the tree and threw it down. There was a "Shiva Lingam" under the tree and gracefully the tree turned out to be a ''bilva'' tree (leaves of this tree are adored by Shiva). Without any knowledge, the huntsman had delighted the Lord Shiva by pouring Bilva leaves all night. With the arrival of the sun, the hunter looked down and found that the tiger has gone. In its place, Lord Shiva was standing there and he prostated before the lord. With Shiva's blessings, he attained salvation from the bondage of the material world.

Om Namah Shivaye

See the God in your heart

Our mind always wanders outside in the world & always goes about the objects of the senses. Say, if you see a beautiful fruit or food, your mind wants to eat it. If there is good music going on out there, then your mind wants to listen to it. If there is good fragrance out there, then your mind wants to smell that. After seeing a picturesque scenery in the nature, your mind says Wow!! So it's certain that your mind finds joy in the external world objects which are experienced by your senses. But your mind rarely goes inside yourself & tries to find joy over there.

The pure joy is there in your self (soul) which is a part of the God only who sits in your heart. If your mind shall turn inwards & see the God sitting in your heart then you shall get the eternal pure joy & peace which is much better than joy of the senses. Below is a little tale--"parable" about looking for the God in your heart. This little tale is by India's great saint from Bengal, Sri Ramakrishna.

"In the olden days, one Indian village hired a night-watchman to keep a vigil during night time to check for robbers that were frequent in those times. Night-watchman would go around the streets and lanes in the village with a square metal lantern, open only at the front. The watchman could see, wherever the lantern cast its light. No rays of light used to fell on him, who carried the lantern. If you wanted to see who the watchman was, you had to ask him to turn the lamp back on his own face. We too are like that watchman!!! Our eyes (ears, tongue, nostril etc.) are all facing outward, looking at and feeling the things of the world. God says, "If you want to see me, turn the lamp around; look within your heart and you shall find the Source of all the light over there."

Same is said in the Bhagwat Gita by Lord Krishna:

"sarvasya chaham hridi sannivisto"
God is seated in everyone’s heart

"ishvarah sarva-bhutanam
hrd-dese ’rjuna tishthati"
The Supreme God dwells/resides in the hearts of all beings.

So let's look inwards & find the God in our hearts who is the source of all Joy, Peace & Bliss. Be sure that "God Loves You", only thing is that you need to turn toward HIM.

Body & Soul

How many of you see your face & body in the mirror?
How many of you have sometimes closed your eyes & tried to be peaceful?

Now what is the link between the above two questions? When you see your body in the mirror, you are seeing & relating yourself to this body of flesh & bones. When you try to close your eyes & try to be peaceful, you are trying not to link yourself to this body but to something inward inside you where you can find peace. What is that inward thing that you are trying to find where you find yourself to be more peaceful? Yes, It's your Soul. In Soul, there is peace & you are trying to delve into that only in times of closing your eyes or in meditation.

I am remembering an old English song whose two lines are here;

"Faces.......all around different faces I see,
Some are happy, some in misery.............."

On this earth there are more than 7 billion people & each one is having a unique face. In fact God has created a vast variety of human bodies (to create illusion) & it seems that these all people are different only. But if we see closely then we shall find that all the bodies are made of similar nature elements & at Soul level all these are same only. Variety of bodies is external only but on deep analysis it is not so & are the same consequence of few nature elements. As per Bhagwat Gita, at soul level all these people are one only as one all pervasive soul pervades through all these bodies.

"Sri Krishna said:
There is nothing else besides Me,
Like clusters of Yarn-Beeds,
Formed by knots on a thread,
All this world is threaded on Me (universal soul)." (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Seven verse 7)


So a person should not consider himself/herself limited to this body of flesh & bones but should consider himself/herself to be that universal soul only. 

In fact a person's soul is infinite, omnipresent and is diffused everywhere throughout the space. A person's soul is as much same in London or New York as in Bombay, although it can only apprehend and feel and act where the body is. As the soul is subtle so it is not the object of physical perception.

Human body is made of Eight constituents of material nature. These elements are Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego. At death when the body perishes it is dissolved in these elements only but the soul which is indestructible survives. So it's up to you, if you perceive yourself to be a body then one day you shall die but if you consider yourself to be indestructible, infinite, omnipresent universal soul, then there is no death for you & you are immortal.

Here below is a saying from Upanishad which explains about the mortal body & immortal soul:

"It is true that the body is mortal, that it is under the power of death,but it is also the dwelling place of Atman (Soul), the Spirit of immortal life..............when a man is in the joy of the Spirit, he is free from all bondage, the bondage of pleasure and pain."

Same is said in Bhagwat Gita:

"na jayate mriyate va kadacin
nayam bhutva bhavita va na bhuyah
ajo nityah sasvato ’yam purano
na hanyate hanyamane sarire" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Two verse 20)


"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, The soul is never born nor dies at any time. Soul has not come into being, does not come into being, and will not come into being. Soul is unborn, eternal, ever-existing and primeval. Soul is not slain when the body is slain."

Persistence

Here Below is the most famous verse of Bhagwat Gita which explains that one should excel in doing his work without keeping the end result in mind. If you do not work with the end result or preset outcome in mind & rather enjoy the way, the process, the path in doing any work, you shall certainly succeed in your work. So it is always better to perform your actions and carry out your duty in an efficient way rather than caring or worrying about the results.

"Karmanye vadhikaraste
ma phalesu kadachana
ma karma-phala-hetur bhur
ma te sango ’stv akarmani "(Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Two verse 47)"

"Sri Krishna said to Arjuna: 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."

Here below is a beautiful real story which teaches us the same.

"In 1947, Lester Wunderman was arbitrarily fired from his advertising job in New York. But he felt he still had a lot to learn from the head of the agency, Max Sackheim. So the next morning, Wunderman went back to his office and began working as he had before. He talked to co-workers and clients; he sat in on meetings - all without pay. Sackheim ignored him for a month.

Finally, he walked up to Wunderman: 'Okay, you win', he said, shaking his head. 'I never saw a man who wanted a job more than he wanted money.' Well, guess what? Wunderman went on to be one of the most successful advertising men of the century. He's credited with having invented preprinted newspaper inserts, plus subscription cards such as those used by Time-Life Books and the Columbia Record Club; ideas that have produced billions of dollars in profit. Now, advertising may not be your thing - but action must be.

What are you willing to do to achieve your dream? Work without pay? Refuse to quit? Success begins at the beginning, and it continues with consistent action without caring for the success or failure."

Life is a Chess Game

How many of you have ever played a Chess Game? Those who have played it, know very well that in a Chess Game there is a square Chess Board on which each player controls sixteen pieces: king, queen, two rooks, two bishops, two knights & eight pawns. There are two armies of such sets in Black & White opposite to each other & this game is played between two players. Moves are played in the Chess Game & slowly pawns, knights, rooks, queen, king etc. are killed or checked out. In this way Chess Game goes on.

Same is the case with our lives. Through ages God is playing this Chess Game with us. He puts us on this Chess Board called "Earth" & makes His moves through all of us so that His game goes on. We all are just puppets of God on this Chess Board called "Earth". Slowly, one by one, people are Checked Out (die) & again God plays this game with His new people (new one's born). In this way God's game is going on since time immemorial.

Just see that in Egypt, you find tombs of Kings & Queens in Pyramids which date back to many centuries ago. In Taj Mahal in India there is tomb of Shah Jahan & Mumtaz Mahal who were King & Queen of their times. So where have all of them gone? They were very much real people like you & me in their times but now their Chess Game is over. At their time, they were King, Queen & they were having their own "life real" rooks, knights, pawns etc. That army of people used to serve them in their times but all of them were checked out from the Chess Board i.e. all of them have died with their army of people. Now new players are on the Chess Board.

So anyone who is born on this earth is sure to die. We are here on this earth for a limited period of time after which we need to leave this earth. So let's not get attached to things in life too much. Below verse of Bhagwat Gita explains that only:

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

"Sri Krishna said: One who has taken his 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."

In Fact we all become so much involved & busy in our life on this earth that we all forget that one day we all have to leave this earth, leave this body. Our Life is not permanent on this earth & it is for a limited period of time after which it shall pass away. Transient nature of life is aptly described in below few lines of the Persian Poet, 'Omar Khayyam' :

'Lo! some we loved, the loveliest and the best
That time and fate of all their Vintage prest,
Have drunk their Cup a Round or two before,
And one by one crept silently to Rest. '

'Omar Khayyam'

Lo, here were all those our near & dear one's, whom we loved the most & are gone now. Wine of life that used to flow through their mortal body has gone. Time & fate ( karmic law of cause & effect) has acted in their case & after drinking a Cup or two (of life), they have departed from this earth & have died a short or long before us. So shall be the fate of our self also & we shall too some day depart after drinking a Cup or two.

So instead of letting time & fate rule our destiny & lead us to death, why not let God immortalize us. So let's remember & pray to God daily, let's know Him daily so that God can bless us with the immortality

GOD

Today @liveadarsh on You Tube posted an interesting comment on GOD over "Hey Ram Hey Ram" - Lord Rama Prayer video, which I am reproducing below:

If you expand GOD it becomes

Generator
Operator
Destroyer

So for all those who say GOD is this and that

Believe me GOD is our very own

Brahma
Vishnu
Mahesh

It is the real truth of Hindu Philosophy & I liked it. Hope you too like it.

Attitude in Life

Many times, it happens in life that if you are not successful then people scorn you & you feel humiliated in life. If you are earning alot & are a rich person, then people salute you but otherwise people just ignore you. This world in this age is just like that money is saluted & whosoever, is having this money power, is considered successful. As per me this conception is not fully correct, as money can be earned by ill means also but can we call such persons truly successful in society? As per me we should not. Anyway the nature of the many people in society is such that they shall laugh at you if you do not fit well in their way of life & thinking. What should be our attitude in life when people scorn you & you feel humiliated with their such actions. Below is a beautiful story "Donkey in the well" which gives answer to this question.

"Once a donkey owned by a farmer fell down into a well. The donkey cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally the farmer thought that as donkey was old so he decided that the well needed to be covered anyway and that it just wasn't worth retrieving the donkey. So he invited all his neighbors to come over and help him.

They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone's amazement, he quietened down. A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well and was astonished at what he saw. With every shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up. As the farmer's neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and trotted off!"

This story simply gives us a lesson that Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. People in society are going to laugh at you many times & throw dirt on you but the trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. We should take a lesson from Bhagwat Gita teachings also that "We should remain same during the praise & ignominy." We should just have faith in God & pray to God only. By doing so & living equanimously, you shall not be bothered much about the people in the society, who do not like you & your way of life. Finally just believe in what Swami Vivekananda said:

"Let people say, whatever they like, stick to your own convictions & rest assured, world will be at your feet."

Look for Face of God in others

Recently I came across a beautiful article, "Look for Face of God in others". This article also gives us the same message as given in Bhagwat Gita that we should see the same one Soul present in all beings, as God resides the same in the hearts of all beings. A few lines from that article are here below:

"When you look for the face of God — his likeness — in other people, other people will begin to see that likeness in you."

"I also think it's why Mother Teresa always looked so radiant and divine — because she saw radiance and divinity in every destitute soul she comforted on the streets of Calcutta, India."

"When we look out at the world we are actually looking into a mirror. And what we are inside gets reflected in what we see and what we see soon becomes part of who we are."

"If we see "God in disguise" in others, he soon shows up, disguised as us as well."

Read full article here..............."Look for Face of God in others".

God Is There In Clay Idol

In many religions of the world people do idol worship while there are other religions where idol worship is forbidden. In Hinduism people do pray the idols of their revered Gods but there are people in other religions who disapprove of such idolism. Now big question is whether God is actually there in Clay Idol or not?

As per the philosophy of Bhagwat Gita & Hinduism, God is omnipresent (present everywhere) in it's un-manifest aspect & is always present all around us. Every inch of the space is occupied by Him. Every nook & corner is filled by Him. In this aspect He is called Brahm (God) who is Truth Absolute, Knowledge Absolute and is Infinite.

It is this un-manifest aspect of God that is present in Clay Idols that Hindus worship as their God. Now to fulfill the desire of a devotee, this un-manifest, all pervasive Brahm (God) who is there in Clay Idol, by the power of His Yogmaya, manifests Himself as an embodied Being and appears before the devotee. So in this way the Un-manifest God in Clay Idol becomes manifest before the devotees.

So this omnipresent, un-manifest God appears before a devotee in whatever form he worships Him, whether it is the form of Rama, Krishna, Vishnu, Shiva, Shakti, Ganesha or any other form. A devotee should always remember that the God whom he worships, always pervades through this whole universe & can manifest Himself in any form, anytime He wants to appear before his devotee. God is never invisible to such souls who have understood His true nature, nor does He ever lose sight of them.

In Bhagwat Gita, Arjuna asked Lord Krishna to show him the "Cosmic Form of God" & Lord Krishna showed Arjuna his physical "Virat Rupa" or "Cosmic Form of God" in which all these universes & all these planets, stars etc. were present. This physical "Virat Rupa" of God or this whole universe is the external body of the omnipresent, un-manifest God. Similarly this small Clay Body of God is the miniature aspect of that "Virat Rupa" or all inclusive physical universes.

Generally we see that, whenever, people go to the temple & come in front of the Clay Idol, people close their eyes. Why it is so that when people come before their revered God, they close their eyes? Simple answer to this is that they feel God much closer to their heart inside themselves when they come in front of the Clay Idol. Yes, God who is there in omnipresent, un-manifest aspect in the Clay Idol is also sitting in their hearts in un-manifest aspect. So that is the reason that while closing their eyes before the Clay Idol, people feel the presence of un-manifest God present everywhere & also in their heart.

So the answer to the question, "Whether God is actually there in the Clay Idol or not?" is in Yes. Yes, God is there in the Clay Idol. Let us respect the feelings & thinking of those people who do Idol Worship.

Mind & the Ripple Effect

In your day to day life we are faced with problems & this makes our mind disturbed. Our natural peace of mind is gone at that time. Whenever our mind becomes disturbed & agitated, we should introspect & see why it is happening so. As we never enjoy our life if our mind is disturbed, so we should analyze & see how we can improve upon it in future & avoid our mind becoming agitated.

Below is a story in which a Master is telling his Disciple how to keep his mind cool & how to introspect when his mind is disturbed. This story shall also give you a lesson, how you can too avoid, being agitated in your mind & be always peaceful:

Once there was a Master in whose hermitage many disciples used to live. Once in the morning when the Master was going for a walk, he saw one of his disciple sad & in a troubled state of mind. Master approached him & asked, "O Dear, On such a beautiful day, it must be difficult to stay so serious."

Disciple: Yeah, it is so but I am unable to comprehend why my mind is so disturbed & agitated. Watching intently, the Master continued to walk.

"Join me if you like."The Master walked to the edge of a still pond, framed by tall dense trees.

"Please sit down," the Master invited, patting the ground next to him. Looking carefully before sitting, the Disciple brushed the ground to clear a space for himself.

"Now, find a small stone, please," the Master instructed.

Disciple: "What?"

Master: "A stone. Please find a small stone and throw it in the pond."

Searching around him, the Disciple grabbed a pebble and threw it as far as he could.

"Tell me what you see," the Master instructed.

Straining his eyes to not miss a single detail, the Disciple looked at the water's surface.

Disciple: "I see ripples."

Master: "Where did the ripples come from?"

Disciple: "From the pebble I threw in the pond, Master."

"Please reach your hand into the water and stop the ripples," the Master asked.

Not understanding, the Disciple stuck his hand in the water as a ripple neared, only to cause more ripples. The Disciple was now completely baffled. Where was this going? Had he made a mistake in seeking out the Master? Puzzled, the Disciple waited.

"Were you able to stop the ripples with your hands?" the Master asked.

Disciple: "No, of course not."

Master: "Could you have stopped the ripples, then?"

Disciple: "No, Master. I told you I only caused more ripples."

"What if you had stopped the pebble from entering the water to begin with?" The Master smiled such a beautiful smile; the Disciple could not be upset.

"Next time you are unhappy with your life, catch the stone before it hits the water. Do not spend time trying to undo what you have done. Rather, change what you are going to do before you do it." The Master looked kindly upon the Disciple.

Disciple: "But Master, how will I know what I am going to do before I do it?"

Master: "Take the responsibility for living your own life. If you're working with a doctor to treat an illness, then ask the doctor to help you understand what caused the illness. Do not just treat the ripples. Keep asking questions." The Disciple stopped, his mind reeling.

Disciple: "But I hoped you to ask you for answers. Are you saying that I know the answers?"

Master: "You may not know the answers right now, but if you ask the right questions to yourself, introspect what caused the ripples & made your mind agitated & disturbed, then you shall discover the answers."

Now here is my suggestion on how you should behave in your daily day to day life. Just follow the below two verses of 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 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.

Milk & the Butter Story

In relation to God we have generally many queries like, Who is God? Where is God? Why don’t we see Him? What does God do all the time? etc. etc. In this blog, earlier I have written many articles which describe about, Who is God? or about the Omnipresence of God & that God is sitting in everyone's heart. But here below is a beautiful story from Hinduism which answers these questions beautifully. Here is the story:

Once upon a time, in ancient India there lived a poise Brahmin who was considered by all to be the best authority on Hindu Philosophy. One day the local king asked him to appear before him. When Brahmin did so, the king said:

“I have three questions that puzzle me, rather torment my mind always: Where is God? Why don’t I see Him? And what does God do all the day? If you can’t answer these three questions then I will have your head cut off.”

The Brahmin was appalled and terrified, because the answers to these questions were not just complex but they were impossible to formulate. In other words: he did not knew the answers. So his execution date was set.

On the morning of that day the Brahmin’s teenage son appeared before the king and asked him if he would release his father if he-the son-would answer his questions. The king agreed, and the son asked that a container of milk be brought to him. It was done. Then the boy asked that the milk be churned into butter. That, too, was done.

“The first two of your questions are now answered,” he told the king.

The king objected that he had been given no answers, so the son asked: “Where was the butter before it was churned?”

“In the milk,” replied the king.

“In what part of the milk?” asked the boy.

“In all of it.”

“Just so, agreed the boy, “and in the same way God is within all things and pervades all things.”

“Why don’t I see Him, then,” pressed the king.

“Because you do not ‘churn’ your mind and refine your perceptions through meditation. If you do that, you will see God. But not otherwise. Now let my father go.”

“Not at all,” insisted the king. “You have not told me what God does all the day.”

“To answer that,” said the boy, “we will have to change places. You come stand here and let me sit on the throne.”

The request was so audacious the king complied, and in a moment he was standing before the enthroned Brahmin boy who told him: “This is the answer. One moment you were the king and I was a common man. Now things are reversed, I am the king & you are a common man. God perpetually lifts up and casts down every one of us. In one life we are exalted and in another we are brought low. Oftentimes in a single life this occurs, and even more than once. Our lives are completely in God's hand, and He does with us as He wills.”

The Brahmin was released and his son was given many honors and gifts by the king.

Now here below are many verses of Bhagwat Gita which explain about the Omnipresence of God:

"sarvatah pani-padam tat
sarvato ’ksi-siro-mukham
sarvatah shrutimal loke
sarvam avrtya tishthati" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Thirteen verse 14)

"Sri Krishna told Arjuna about God: Everywhere are His hands and legs, His eyes, heads and faces, and He has ears everywhere. In this way the Super soul exists, pervading everything & everybody."

"mattah parataram nanyat
kincid asti dhananjaya
mayi sarvam idam protam
sutre mani-gana iva" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Seven verse 7)

"Sri Krishna said: There is nothing else besides Me, Like clusters of Yarn-Beads, Formed by knots on a thread, All this world is threaded on Me (universal soul)."

"athakasa-sthito nityam
vayuh sarvatra-go mahan
tatha sarvani bhutani
mat-sthanity upadharaya" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Nine verse 6)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, Just as the extensive and all-pervading Air always remains in Space, likewise know that all creation & beings reside in Me (God)."

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.

Spiritual Intelligence

Today I came across a beautiful article at TOI, "What is spiritual intelligence?". It describes in detail about what it is "Being Spiritual" & "What is the difference between spiritual intelligence and spirituality?" etc. Just few lines from it below:

"Spirituality is to ‘know’ who you are and Spiritual Intelligence is to ‘realize who you are and to live life in that awareness. You have always been who you are and, in truth, you can never be other than who you are, but it requires ‘realization i.e. that moment when you ‘see it’, when you ‘get it’ and then you ‘be it’.

Spirituality is the knowledge of yourself as spirit/soul, and the understanding of your highest spiritual qualities and attributes, which are love, peace, purity and bliss. Spiritual Intelligence is the expression of these innate spiritual qualities through your thoughts, attitudes and behaviors. Being spiritual means the ego has dissolved, virtue has been restored to character and spiritual values connect your inner and outer worlds (thought to action). It is the ability to see every other human being as soul/spirit, and thereby transcend all the false identities of race, colour, gender, nationality, profession and religion. It is in this awareness that we are then able to recognize and connect with the Supreme Power."

Read full article here at TOI............What is spiritual intelligence?

You Should See the Divinity in All

We all are having different bodies & each body is having a face of it's own. Such variety in nature creates the illusion that we all are different individual beings. But all that variety in nature is at the physical level & at the soul level there is only one indivisible, omnipresent soul that is present in all of us. Its the indestructible soul present in our bodies that makes it so lovable, otherwise no one can love this body of five nature elements. All attractions in the body are due to this divine soul only. Once this divine soul leaves this body, it is called the death of that body & all attractions, all love departs with that soul. This divine soul is nothing but a spark of the universal omnipresent soul, the Almighty God. All human beings are lovable due to the presence of this divine soul in our body.

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

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

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

God again says in the Bhagwat Gita that He Himself resides in the heart of all human beings. Below verse explains that:

"ishvarah sarva-bhutanam
hrd-dese ’rjuna tishthati
bhramayan sarva-bhutani
yantrarudhani mayaya" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Eighteen verse 61)

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, The Supreme God dwells/resides in the hearts of all beings, who are mounted on the automation of this body, causing them by His illusive power of material energy to revolve (according to their actions) and is directing the wanderings of all living entities."

So it is certain that, God is there in your heart who is sitting silently over there in the "Antaryami" aspect, watching you & your actions. Same is the case that God is sitting in everyone's heart & watching over our actions. Now if a person is able to see that God is present in everyone's heart then he/she shall love every creature of this universe equally as he/she shall be adoring the lovable God only in every creature. Below verses of Bhagwat Gita explain that only how a person of true knowledge sees all equally.

"vidya-vinaya-sampanne
brahmane gavi hastini
suni chaiva sva-pake cha
panditah sama-darsinah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Five verse 18)

Sri Krishna said: The humble sages, by virtue of true knowledge, see with equal vision, the God present in a learned and gentle Brahmin, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater (outcaste) even.

"ihaiva tair jitah sargo
yesham samye sthitam manah
nirdosam hi samam brahma
tasmad brahmani te sthitah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Five verse 19)

"Sri Krishna said: Those whose minds are established in sameness and equanimity have already conquered the conditions of birth and death. They are flawless like Brahman, and thus they are already situated in Brahman."

Now here below is a beautiful story how a devotee of God could not drink the nectar & attain to immortality as he could not see the God present in all beings.

"Once there was a Brahmin who was a great devotee of Lord Krishna. He had no home & always used to wander in secluded areas. He was free of desire, lust, hatred, greed & used to live in a world of his own.

Lord Krishna became very happy with his devotion & asked him for a boon. Brahmin told Lord Krishna that he was desire less and he did not want anything, but Lord Krishna insisted for some boon to be granted to him as a reward of his devotion. At this Brahmin asked for a boon that ,whenever, he was in need of water & he felt thirsty, water may be provided to him. Lord Krishna granted him that boon & disappeared.

One day, Brahmin after walking for a long distance felt thirsty, but there was no trace of water. Then he remembered that the Lord Krishna had granted him a boon that he would find water at his desire. Suddenly, he saw a hunter dressed in torn rags accompanied by furious dogs, carrying water in a leather pouch and asked him, "Sir, would you like to have some water." Looking at the apparent impure condition of the hunter & being a staunch Brahmin (High caste), he felt repelled. He politely refused "No, Thank you". The hunter again approached him for the water, but in utter disgust & in anger the Brahmin told the hunter to go way and that he was not interested in the water. The hunter and the dogs disappeared. Witnessing this, he realized that it must be God, who disguised Himself and came to quench his thirst. He felt hurt how Lord Krishna could send water to him through an impure, Scheduled Caste person. How could Lord expect a Brahmin to accept and drink water from the impure leather bag?

Now Lord Krishna again appeared before the Brahmin, smiled and asked him 'Who was the hunter? Lord Krishna told the Brahmin that He had asked the Indra Devta (King of heaven) to fetch the water, who instead of water, had actually brought nectar to make you immortal, but on one condition to test whether you could see the Divinity in all. 'Hence I allowed him to do so'.

Brahmin understood how he had failed in the test. It was his Ego, which made him refuse the nectar, which came in the form of water and through Indra Devta.

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

Unattached in Mind

We at all times are involved in the daily affairs of our family & our life. In this way, things of this world always revolve in our mind. We become so much engrossed in our mind about this world that we are unable to see beyond our daily day to day life. In such a state, our mind cannot think beyond what you are used to in your routine daily life. The higher purpose of life, what is beyond the daily routine life is always missing in your life. That higher purpose is knowing the true nature of your self & knowing the God.

Now is there any way in which we are able to live our daily day to day life normally & also able to achieve higher goals of knowing our self & making our next births beautiful. Yes, there is a way to do so. Bhagwat Gita gives us a solution for this. In Bhagwat Gita Lord Krishna teaches Arjuna that if a person's mind is unattached internally to worldly things then that person lives in this world just like a water drop living on a lotus leaf, which is there on it but is still not attached to it. If you turn your mind towards God's devotion internally then your mind shall start revolving around God internally & shall not be wandering in the outer worldly things. So if you do all your duties thinking of God only then though living with your family & living a normal life you can yet attain to higher goals.

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

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

So do not let anything else take control of your mind & let God be always on your mind. Here below is the story of two monks which describes that if you are always absorbed in thought of God then how you can still remain unattached in mind.

"Two monks were returning to the monastery in the evening. It had rained and there were puddles of water on the road sides. At one place a beautiful young woman was standing unable to walk across because of a puddle of water. The elder of the two monks went up to a her lifted her in his alms and left her on the other side of the road, and continued his way to the monastery.

In the evening the younger monk came to the elder monk and said, "Sir, as monks, we cannot touch a woman?"

The elder monk answered "yes, brother".

Then the younger monk asks again, "but then Sir, how is that you lifted that woman on the roadside?"

The elder monk smiled at him and told him "I left her on the other side of the road, but you are still carrying her"

What People Think & Say About God

Till now I have been writing my thoughts & views on this blog about God. Today I am presenting below what people think & say about God. I have one "Bhakti Sangeet" video channel on You Tube on which at present 106 devotional videos are uploaded & all those videos are on my this blog also. I have scanned through some of the comments posted on my "Bhakti Sangeet" channel on You Tube which gives a fair idea of views of different persons regarding God. Here below are those comments:

Hindus like to believe in only one God. They glorify and praise his thousands of qualities. For example God is love, he is symbolically represented by Krishna, God is virtue is represented by lord Ram, God is power is represented by Lord Hanuman, God is wisdom represented by Goddess Saraswati etc etc. by these symbols we develop spirituality, purity, to the ultimate one who is endless truth and bliss.

Why do people cry on the basis of religion.
There is one God,
He is called by different names by his lovers in affection.
And he also takes a visible form - like to save Prahalad he came and it is mentioned in Gurbani and also at other places.
Sri Ram, Gobind, Sri Krishn,Waheguru, Allah are all same.
The fight between people because of different names is idiotic and they are simply illiterate.

Its a matter of faith one may believe in any of the god but if he is a real believer he will have wisdom to respect others and not to comment on others faith.

Jai Shri Krishna, Jai Guru Nanak, God of gods, pls give courage to all of us so that we can achieve our final destination, that's your abode above (heaven) and get liberated from sufferings. "Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare", Jai Wahe Guru

Chant the Maha-Mantra
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Ram Hare Ram Ram Ram Hare Hare
and be happy

Krishna consciousness is for everyone.
Krishna is one of the names of God and means all-attractive. Praise the Lord!

Jai Shri Raam Jai Shri Krishna.
God of Gods, Operator of universe, the universal truth. Please bless us all and give us eternal bliss

Antaryami means who can observe every thing of your heart without explaining to him, Thats why God is Antaryami. we don't need to explain any problem to him he is Antaryami, he knows what we want.

Oh Lord of the whole Universe
Mighty Lord of the whole Universe
All Thy devotees' agonies
All Thy devotees' sorrows
Instantly Thou banisheth
Oh Lord of the whole Universe
He who's immersed in devotion
He reaps the fruits of Thy love
Lord, he reaps the fruits of Thy love
Joy, prosperity and health
Enter the homes of those who pray to thee
Oh Lord of the whole Universe...

All Happens for the Good only

In India, whenever, I go to any grocery shop (baniya ka kiryana shop), I invariably find hanging a calendar of "Gita Saar" or "गीता सार" over there. Same wall hanging or a calendar is found, whenever, I visit barber's shop for haircut. In fact you can find this "Gita Saar" calendar hanging in most of the traditional Hindu shops & houses in India. In this "Gita Saar" is written the brief essence of the Philosophy of "Bhagwat Gita". It is generally written in Hindi language & starts with:

"जो हुआ अच्छा हुआ, जो हो रहा है अच्छा हो रहा है, जो होगा अच्छा होगा। जो बीत गया उस के लिए मत रोवो, जो आने वाला है उस की चिंता मत करो, अपने वर्तमान में धयान लगाओ"

"Whatever happened in the past, it happened for the good; Whatever is happening, is happening for the good; Whatever shall happen in the future, shall happen for the good only. Do not weep for the past, do not worry for the future, concentrate on your present life."

Now basic meaning of these lines is that a supreme power is controlling all this universe on a macro scale & is also controlling the lives of every person on this earth on a micro scale. Whatever good we are doing, Almighty is rewarding us for that & whatever wrong we are doing Almighty is punishing us for that so that we can come back to the right path. In this way Almighty is maintaining the world order in which goodness prevails over evil always & it moves in a positive direction always. Now when something bad happens to us then we think that God is doing something bad for us but in fact He is only doing so in our life for our betterment only. Below story also illustrates that, whatever, happens in our life, always happens for the Good only.

"Once upon the time there was an old farmer who had worked his crops for many years. One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit. “Such bad luck,” they said sympathetically.

“All happens for the Good only,” the farmer replied. On hearing this his neighbors were surprised.
The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses. “How wonderful,” the neighbors exclaimed.

“All happens for the Good only,” replied the old man.
The following day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown, and broke his leg. The neighbors again came to offer their sympathy on his misfortune.

“All happens for the Good only,” answered the farmer. On hearing this his neighbors were again surprised.

The day after, military officials came to the village to draft young men into the army. Seeing that the son’s leg was broken, they passed him by. The neighbors congratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out.

“All happens for the Good only,” said the farmer. "

Read complete "Gita Saar" over here.........Gita Saar

Jai Shri Krishna

Our Understanding or Perception of God

Can anyone tell, how God's Face look like?? May be no one can answer this question properly, as no one has come face to face with God anytime & we all have seen His pictures, idols etc. only in which God's face looks like, whatever, the painter or craftsman imagined it while making that picture or idol. There are others who believe in unmaniifest aspect of God i.e. they believe in faceless, nirakar aspect of God. So we have different perceptions of God as per our thinking & faith.

In general God is the faith of human beings that a Supernatural Power exists in this universe which has created us & all other universal forms. He is having supernatural powers, who is omniscient (knows everything), who is omnipresent (who is present everywhere), omnipotent (who is having all the powers & is all powerful), who is imperishable & indestructible. Faith of humans in such a big & great entity having all the powers is known as God.

When God is someone Superhuman, having Infinite size, knowledge & powers, then it is very difficult for a human being with limited knowledge & power to fully understand & describe the God. In this respect there is an analogy as to how differently we each understand or experience the God. There is this story about four blind men and the elephant:

There are four blind men who discover an elephant. Since the men have never encountered an elephant, they grope about, seeking to understand and describe this new wild being. One gets hold of the trunk and concludes that it is a snake. So for him elephant is like a snake. Another explores one of the elephant's legs and describes it as a tree. So for him elephant is like a tree. A third one finds the elephant's tail and announces that it is a rope. So for him elephant is like a rope. And the fourth blind man, after discovering the large body of the elephant, concludes that it is, after all, a wide mountain.

Each in his blindness is describing the same thing: an elephant. Yet each describes the same thing in a radically different way. We all are like those blind men only in our knowledge of God who describe the God as per our own understanding. Now say a fifth man (who could see) comes to the scene and he were to describe the elephant as an elephant, then he would tell clearly about the elephant as it is. Same is the case that only a true master who has seen God actually can tell how God looks like. Let's seek such a True master, Great soul or Guru who shall tell us about the true nature of God & shall lead us to Him.

Are You Attached to Your Pile of Dung?

Ancient "Mahabharata" war happened because blind king 'Dhritarashtra' was so much infatuated with his wicked son Duryodhana that he could not see what bad things his son was doing to his younger brother Pandu's sons. In fact the poise Arjuna, the devotee of Lord Krishna too fell a pray to Infatuation on the battle field of Kurukshetra & forgot his duty to fight the justful war. At that time Lord Krishna reminded Arjuna of his duty to fight a lawful, justful war & gave him the teachings of Bhagwad Gita. Arjuna after having been taught in the path of knowledge by Lord Krishna came back to his path of duty & fought a lawful battle against the Kauravas (his enemies) & won the battle with the grace of Lord Krishna.

So Infatuation is something that deludes us in our life & in such a state we get attached to some person or our family badly. Due to such Infatuation to our family, our mind always wanders about that only & forgets other important things in life. Same applies to other material things like your home, your car, money etc. etc. So if your mind is attached to these things greatly, then also you are infatuated with these things & again are forgetting other important things in life. The most important thing that we forget when we get Infatuated is God. We always remain involved with our family & do not think of God anytime. When we think of God & work for God in this life, then only our next life becomes beautiful, otherwise an infatuated person goes into lower wombs only in the next births. Below is an interesting story regarding that only.

Once there were two great friends. One of them was a monk who lived in a monastery while his friend was a family man who was deeply attached (in fact Infatuated) to his wife & children. Then in the course of time, they died within a few months of one another. Monk got reborn in the heaven realms, while his friend got reborn as a worm in a dung pile. The Monk up in the heaven realms was having a wonderful time, enjoying all the heavenly pleasures. But he started thinking about his friend, "I wonder where my old friend has gone?" So he scanned all of the heaven realms, but could not find a trace of his friend. Then he scanned the realm of human beings, but he could not see any trace of his friend there, so he looked in the realm of animals and then of insects. Finally he found him, reborn as a worm in a dung pile... Wow! He thought: "I am going to help my friend. I am going to go down there to that dung pile and take him up to the heavenly realm so he too can enjoy the heavenly pleasures and bliss of living in these wonderful realms."

So he went down to the dung pile and called his friend. And the little worm wriggled out and said: "Who are you?", "I am your friend. We used to be together in a past life, and I have come up to take you to the heaven realms where life is wonderful and blissful." But the worm said: "Go away, get lost!" "But I am your friend, and I live in the heaven realms," and he described the heaven realms to him. But the worm said: "No thank you, I am quite happy here in my dung pile. Please go away." Then the heavenly being thought: "Well if I could only just grab hold of him and take him up to the heaven realms, he could see for himself." So he grabbed hold of the worm and started tugging at him; and the harder he tugged, the harder that worm clung to his pile of dung.

Do you get the moral of the story? How many of us are attached to our pile of dung?

In fact most of us are deeply involved with our family only & do not care much about God. We do not pray to God, think of God or chant his name or His Glories. Thinking of God & praying Him only can make your this & next lives beautiful. We day in day out are feeding our family & forgetting the God. Pl. remember that all relatives of yours are yours, till the time you are in this physical body. At the death of the physical body all relations too die with the body. Nothing of this World is Yours FOREVER, neither property, nor relatives. All these seem to be yours, only once you are in this physical body.

So we should not attach our mind greatly to any material thing or human being as one day we shall have to leave these or these shall go away from us someday or the other. On that day, if you have a great attachment to these, you shall feel great pain, otherwise it shall be a normal life for you. So let us not allow our mind to be INFATUATED by any material thing or with any person, which can lead our self to sorrow someday. Gita also teaches us to live in this world like that without getting attached to anything or any being. Just live like a drop of water on Lotus, where though water drop is there on it but it is not attached to it.

Read also...........Nothing is Yours

Read also...........Infatuation is the Cause of Most Sorrows

Divine Grace Of God

God is all merciful. His Divine grace or Blessing or 'Kripa' (कृपा) happens on all creatures. Divine grace is of two types. First one is Normal mercy & second one is Special mercy. Normal mercy is the one which is happening on all creatures, equally by God. Like Sun is shining on all beings equally or God provides for the water, air & food etc. for all the creatures, irrespective of whether these creatures love Him or not. Say there are many people who do not like or believe in God & rather there are many people who abuse the God or say ill of Him but still God never stops providing sunshine, air, water, food etc. to such people. This is called God's Normal mercy.

Other than that is Special mercy of God. This type of mercy happens on God's devotees. Such special Divine grace on devotees in Hinduism is the central tenet of Bhakti Yoga and Bhakti movements. It is a key towards realizing the spiritual path of self-realization in which God embraces His devotee. When Special mercy of God happens on any person then God gives that person, whatever, that person is lacking in life & also protects his/her life & belongings. In fact that person is always protected in life by God. Such type of Special mercy of God only happens on a person who engages his/her mind always in thinking of God, becomes God's devotee, offers obeisance's to God and always worships the God. Being completely absorbed in God, surely that person becomes eligible for God's Special mercy.

That is the reason that Adi Shankaracharya composed his famous verse Bhaja Govindam in 8th century, where he declared:

"bhajagovindam bhajagovindam
govindam bhaja muudhamate
sampraapte sannihite kaale
nahi nahi rakshati dukrijnkarane"

Worship Govinda, Worship Govinda,
Worship Govinda. Oh fool!
Nothing else will save you
at the time of your death.
Similarly below verses of Bhagwat Gita explain that:

"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, 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."

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

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, Abandon all varieties of religion or Setting aside all meritorious deeds, just surrender unto Me. I shall liberate you from all sins. Do not fear."