Short Kathas: July 2016

Saturday, July 30, 2016

Why cry over and over

A wise man sat in the audience and cracked a joke. All laughed like crazy. After a moment he cracked same joke again. This time less people laughed. He cracked same joke again and again. When there was no laughter anymore in the crowd, he smiled and said : "You can't laugh at the same joke again and again. But why you keep crying over the same thing again and again?"

When someone

When somebody told me that he has failed in his exams, my question is,

*"Is it a law that you will pass every time?"*

When someone told me that my boyfriend broke up with me, my question is,

*"Is it a rule that you will have successful relationships everywhere?"*

When somebody asked me why am I in depression, my question is,

*"Is it compulsory to have confidence all the time?"*

When someone cried to me about his huge business loss due to his wrong decision, my question is,

*"Is it possible that you take all right decisions?"*

The fact is our expectation that life has to be perfect/permanent is the biggest reason of our unhappiness.

One has to understand the law of impermanence of nature.

After each sunny day, there has to be a dark night, after each birth there have to be certain deaths, for the full moon to come again it has to pass through no moon. In this imperfection of nature, there is perfection.

So *stop taking your failures and bad part of your life soooo personally or intensely,* even God does not like to give you pain but its the cycle through which you have to pass. Prepare yourself for one more fight after each fall because even failures cannot be permanent...!

Enjoy life....

*Your breath comes to go.*

*Your thoughts come to go.*

*Your words come to go.*

*Your actions come to go.*

*Your feelings come to go.*

*Your illnesses come to go.*

*Your phases come to go.*

*Your seasons come to go.*

*You have come to go.*

Then why do you hold on to your guilt, anger, unforgiveness, hatred

so so so tightly,

when it too has come to go...

Let it go ......Jai Shri RamJai Hanuman...........

When someone

When somebody told me that he has failed in his exams, my question is,

*"Is it a law that you will pass every time?"*

When someone told me that my boyfriend broke up with me, my question is,

*"Is it a rule that you will have successful relationships everywhere?"*

When somebody asked me why am I in depression, my question is,

*"Is it compulsory to have confidence all the time?"*

When someone cried to me about his huge business loss due to his wrong decision, my question is,

*"Is it possible that you take all right decisions?"*

The fact is our expectation that life has to be perfect/permanent is the biggest reason of our unhappiness.

One has to understand the law of impermanence of nature.

Enjoy life....

*Your breath comes to go.*

*Your thoughts come to go.*

*Your words come to go.*

*Your actions come to go.*

*Your feelings come to go.*

*Your illnesses come to go.*

*Your phases come to go.*

*Your seasons come to go.*

*You have come to go.*

Then why do you hold on to your guilt, anger, unforgiveness, hatred

so so so tightly,

when it too has come to go...

Let it go ......Jai Shri RamJai Hanuman...........

Bag of Fruits

Once a king ordered his three ministers to take a bag and go to the forest and fill up the bag with fruits.

The first minister thought that since the king has ordered for collection of fruits, he must collect the best of the fruits in the bag.

The second minister thought that since the king is a very busy person, he may not look very thoroughly into the bag what has been collected and hence he collected whatever he could lay his hands. Thus his bag was filled up with a mixture of good and rotten fruits.

The third minister thought that the king would see only externally how big the bag is and hence he just filled up the bag with all dried leaves and dust.

All the three ministers came back to the court with their respective bags, having executed the order of collecting the fruits.

The King, without even seeing what their bags contained, just ordered that now the three ministers must be sent to separate jails for three months, where they will not be provided with any food and they were only allowed to carry the respective bags wherein they had collected the fruits.

The first minister could spend the three months in the jail by eating the very nice fruits he had collected.

The second one could survive for some time with the good fruits in the bag and later he developed diseases by eating the rotten fruits he had collected.

The Third minister had nothing to eat and hence could not survive.

Moral of the story:

From the above story we understand that we have to undergo the consequences of our own activities.

“You will be suffering your own reactions after your karmas, any single karma you perform, you have to suffer for it. Good and bad, everything, you have to have this reaction. No doubt about it.

In Mahabharata, Anushasana Parva, it is said

yathaa dhenu sahasreshu / vatso gachhati maataram

yat ca krtam karma / kartaaram api gachhati

“Amongst thousands of cows, the calf finds its own mother cow. Similarly the results of our past karma (deeds) when fully ripened, will find us without fail.”

Friday, July 29, 2016

What Krishna steals

Radha asked Krishna "Why do people call you a thief? Krishna said, "I am a thief and thats why thay call me thief. Radha" What do you steal?" Krishna said, "when I was babay I stole everyone's heart. When I grew a little I stole butter. When I grew more I stole Gopis' dresses. Now I am in such a love with my devotees that I have started a new kind of stealing. Radha asked, "Whats that?" Krishna said ,"Now I steal the sins of the devotees!". Radha again asked, "Wow! where are these devotees?" Krishna said, One is sending the message right now and the second one is reading it."

If you want Krishna to steal your sins share this message.

Translated from a note by Aparna Challa.

Pundit And Soap Maker

/// The Pandit and the Soap Maker ////

A Pandit and a Soap maker went for a walk together. They were school friends

who had grown up to take different professions. They caught up with old times, shared a few laughter's, voiced opinions on various topics and then, with sarcasm in his voice, the soap maker said, "What good is religion? Look at all the trouble and misery in the world! The troubles and miseries are all still there, even after years thousands of years of teaching about goodness and truth and peace. Animosity and

bitterness is still there, after all the scriptures and prayers and sermons and teachings. People fight and kill in the name of religion. If religion is good, necessary and true, why should this be?"

The Pandit said nothing. They continued walking until he noticed a child playing in the gutter. Then the Pandit said, "Look at that child. You say that soap makes people clean, but see the dirt on that young one. Of what good is soap? With all the soap in the world, over all these years, the child is still filthy. I wonder how effective soap is, after all!" The Soap maker protested. "But, Pandit, soap cannot do any good unless it is used! And every time there is dirt, soap must be used. In fact, it is only soap that can clean." "Exactly!" replied the Pandit.

"What the soap does to the human body; religion does to the thoughts, emotions and beliefs of a human being." "As the soap cleans the body, religion cleans our thoughts, purifies our emotions and takes us closer to our maker." "Every time the body is dirty and stinking, soap is required. Every time my thoughts are dirty, sinful temptations take me off track, greed ego lust anger make me stink, my religion helps me come back on track. It stops me from doing wrong. It strengthens me. It cleanses me." "This is indeed the objective of every religion in this world." "Then why people fight in the name of religion? Why is there so much hatred in the name of religion? Why are people so possessive of their religion?" asked the Soap maker. "Aren't you possessive of your soap brand?" asked the Pandit and laughed. The Soap maker stood puzzled. The Pandit pulled his hand encouraging him to

continue walking.

"It is the insecurity within people that makes them fight in the name of

religion. When a person understands their religion, they CANNOT fight in the

name of religion. It is ignorance that makes them fight. Look at the fingers

of your right hand. They are all different. Yet they all belong to the same

hand. Just imagine if one finger is insecure that the other finger will take

over its place. Then, there will be fights. If the finger understands, it is

there to serve a purpose; it will work together with the other fingers. No

purpose is served when the fingers fight. If there is peace within, fights

cannot happen outside. All the religions of the world are beautiful and

needed. All of them serve a purpose. All of them clean."

They have reached the Soap maker's home. The Pandit was invited inside. The

Soap maker¹s wife presented them with cut fruits on a platter. The Pandit looked at the platter and said, "Some people like me, would like to eat these fruits using their fingers. Some adventurous ones would like to use chop sticks. Some with higher degree of etiquette might like to use forks and knives. Some would prefer using spoons. A child might want the mother to feed it. One alternative is NOT BETTER than the other. They all are just alternatives. They all can serve the purpose. They are all good. There is no point in fighting which is supreme. Depending on your likes, you can choose what you want to use, to eat. As long as the food properly goes

inside you, nothing else should matter. When people understand this, there

will be no fights in the name of religion. There will be harmony and celebrations."

The soap maker smiled. "If I do not fight over the brand of soap someone

uses, why should I fight over the religion someone follows? The purpose of

both is to clean, right?" The Pandit laughed at the brilliant simplification by soap maker. The soap maker had indeed got the point right. "Thanks..." he said to the Pandit. There was gratitude in his eyes. The Pandit too smiled. There was peace in their hearts. The world is beautiful...and looked clean too. :)

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Happiness

Posted By Shalu Sharma :

This story is about a beautiful, expensively dressed lady who complained to her psychiatrist that she felt that her whole life was empty, it had no meaning.

So, the lady went to visit a counselor to seek out happiness.

The counselor called over the old lady who cleaned the office floors.

The counselor then said to the rich lady "I'm going to ask Mary here to tell u how she found happiness. All I want u to do is listen to her."

So the old lady put down her broom and sat on a chair and told her story:

"Well, my husband died of malaria and three months later my only son was killed by a car. I had nobody. I had nothing left. I couldn't sleep, I couldn't eat, I never smiled at anyone, I even thought of taking my own life. Then one evening a little kitten followed me home from work. Somehow I felt sorry for that kitten. It was cold outside, so I decided to let the kitten in. I got some milk, and the kitten licked the plate clean. Then it purred and rubbed against my leg and, for the first time in months, I smiled.

Then I stopped to think, if helping a little kitten could make me smile, may be doing something for people could make me happy.

So, the next day I baked some biscuits and took them to a neighbor who was sick in bed.

Every day I tried to do something nice for someone. It made me so happy to see them happy.

Today, I don't know of anybody who sleeps and eats better than I do.

I've found happiness, by giving it to others."

When she heard this, the rich lady cried. She had everything that money could buy, but she had lost the things which money cannot buy.

"The beauty of life does not depend on how happy you are; but on how happy others can be because of you..."

Happiness is not a destination, it's a journey.

Happiness is not tomorrow, it is now.

Happiness is not dependency, it is a decision.

Happiness is what you are, not what you have..

Dint demand

Posted By Shalu Sharma :

Don't demand that people need to recognize you. So what if everyone doesn't recognize you, or if everyone recognizes you, so what? Let the whole world recognize you, so what? And if nobody recognizes you, so what? There are flowers in the garden, there are flowers in the forest. Do they say, '' Oh, nobody saw me, I have blossomed?'' Does it matter to the rose whether someone looks at it or not? In fact, if people look at it, they may pluck it! It is better nobody sees them - they are happy.

This urge for recognition from somebody is what kills you. You do your job and that's it! What has to come to you. Why do we need to crave for other's recognition? That brings ego - ''Me, me, me, I did it.'' So many lives like this you have existed on this planet and they have all gone - so many mosquitos like you.

You know that story of an elephant and the fly on it's leg? A fly was living on the leg of an elephant. Once the fly got so angry at the elephant, it said, ''I'm leaving you today! Finished! Enough is enough! I'm done with you.'' It got so angry, it left. At that moment, just by accident, the elephant moved it's leg and some dust arose. But the fly thought that the storm has come because it is leaving the elephant. It told the elephant, ''Yes, you see, the storm has come? I'm leaving you - you suffer from the storm.'' The elephant didn't even know that the fly was sitting on it's leg!

And that is how nobody really cares what you are, what you do, what you don't do. And all impact gets wiped out by the flood of time. Time comes and just floods you, wipes you out, wipes all the memory out of this planet. This me, me, me can only dissolve and you serve. He becomes free from this identity of ego, identity of the smallness. Identifying yourself with the smallness, because this smallness is the cause of misery. ''I was not recognized. Nobody looked at me, nobody loves me.'' Come on, wake up. You are love! Love is in giving, not in demanding.

- An extract from 'Narada Bhakti Sutra' by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Don't Quit

Posted By Shalu Sharma :

Do not Give Up !

"One day I decided to quit... I quit my job, my relationship, my spirituality... I wanted to quit my life. I went to the woods to have one last talk with God.

"God", I said. "Can you give me one good reason not to quit?"

His answer surprised me... "Look around", He said. "Do you see the fern and the bamboo?"

"Yes", I replied.

"When I planted the fern and the bamboo seeds, I took very good care of them. I gave them light. I gave them water.

The fern quickly grew from the earth. Its brilliant green covered the floor. Yet nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo. In the second year the Fern grew more vibrant and plentiful. And again, nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo."

He said: "In year three there was still nothing from the bamboo seed. But I would not quit. In year four, again, there was nothing from the bamboo see. I would not quit."

"Then in the fifth year a tiny sprout emerged from the earth. Compared to the fern it was seemingly small and insignificant...But just 6 months later the bamboo rose to over 100 feet tall. It had spent the five years growing roots. Those roots made it strong and gave it what it needed to survive.

I would not give any of my creations a challenge it could not handle."

He said to me. "Did you know, my child, that all this time you have been struggling, you have actually been growing roots?"

"I would not quit on the bamboo. I will never quit on you."

"Don't compare yourself to others." He said. "The bamboo had a different purpose than the fern. Yet they both make the forest beautiful."

"Your time will come", God said to me. "You will rise high"

"How high should I rise?" I asked.

"How high will the bamboo rise?" He asked in return.

"As high as it can?" I questioned.

"Yes." He said, "Give me glory by rising as high as you can."

I left the forest bringing back this story. I hope these words can help you see that the Divine will never give up on you.

HE will never give up on you!"

Pearl Necklace

📍 *THE PEARL NECKLACE!!!* 📍

There was this pretty 8 year-old girl who was checking out at a store with her mother and saw a plastic pearl necklace. She wanted that necklace very badly and when she asked her mother if she would buy it for her, her mother said, "Well, it is a pretty necklace, but it costs an awful lot of money. I'll buy you the necklace provided when we get home you can clean up your room & your bed. Okay?"

She agreed and her mother bought the pearl necklace for her & when they went home the little girl kept her promise.

How she loved those pearls! She wore them everywhere - to school, bed, and even when she went out with her mother to run errands.

The only time she didn't wear them was in the shower - her mother had told her that they would turn her neck green.

She had a very loving daddy. When she went to bed, he would get up from his favorite chair every night and read her a nice story. *One night when he finished the story, he asked her, "Do you love me?"*

"Oh yes daddy! You know I love you," the little girl said.

"Well, then, give me your pearls!" Daddy said.

"Oh daddy! Please, not my pearls!" she said*. "But you can have this Barbie, my favorite doll. Remember her? You gave her to me last year for my birthday. And you can have her tea party set too. Okay?"

"Oh no, darling, that's okay." Her father brushed her cheek with a kiss. "Good night."

A week later, her father once again asked her after the story, "Do you love me?"

"Oh yes, daddy! You know I love you."

"Well, then give me your pearls."

"Oh, daddy, not my pearls! But you can have these colored Ribbons & another Barbie doll. Do you remember her? She's my favorite. Her hair is so soft, and you can play with it and braid it also. You can have both, daddy."

"No, that's okay," her father said and brushed her cheek again with a kiss. "God bless you. Sweet dreams."

Several days later, when her father came in to read her a story, she was sitting on her bed and her lips were trembling. "Here, daddy," she said, and held out her tiny hand. She opened it and her beloved pearl necklace was inside. She let it slip into her father's hand. "You can have the necklace Daddy." She said with tears in her eyes.

With one hand her father held the plastic pearls and with the other he pulled out of his pocket a blue velvet box. Inside the box were real, genuine, beautiful pearls & he gave them to her!!! The little girl was completely stunned at that beautiful pearl necklace & was overjoyed!

He had them all along. He was only waiting for her to give up the cheap stuff so he could give her the real thing!!!

*PS: So it is with our Heavenly Father. He is waiting for us to give up all the cheap things in our lives so that he can give us his beautiful treasure that he has all the time for us. But we've to give up our desires first.*

*Why are we holding onto things which God wants us to let go of? Are we holding onto harmful or unnecessary possessions which we have become so attached to that it seems impossible to let go?*

Sometimes it is so hard to see what God has in the other hand, but we must believe that God will never take away anything without giving us in return something precious in its place.*

*"I will give you what you want so that one day you will want what I really want to give you…"*

Monday, July 25, 2016

Sarva Dharmam Parityajya

MANY SCHOLARS HAVE INTERPRETED THIS VERSE BASED ON THEIR SPECULATION WHAT THEY THINK EACH WORD MEANS. THE INTERPRETATION BELOW IS ALSO CONFUSING AND CONTRADICTING. WHAT DOES KRISHNA MEAN WHEN HE SAID "ALL VARIETIES OF DHARMAS"?

सर्वधर्मान्परित्यज्य मामेकं शरणं व्रज |

अहं त्वां सर्वपापेभ्यो मोक्षयिष्यामि मा शुच: || 66||

sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śharaṇaṁ vraja

ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣhayiṣhyāmi mā śhuchaḥ

sarva-dharmān—all varieties of dharmas; parityajya—abandoning; mām—unto me; ekam—only; śharaṇam—take refuge; vraja—take; aham—I; tvām—you; sarva—all; pāpebhyaḥ—from sinful reactions; mokṣhayiṣhyāmi—shall liberate; mā—do not; śhuchaḥ—fear

Translation

BG 18.66: Abandon all varieties of dharmas and simply surrender unto me alone. I shall liberate you from all sinful reactions; do not fear.

Commentary

All along, Shree Krishna had been asking Arjun to do two things simultaneously—engage his mind in devotion, and engage his body in fulfilling his material duty as a warrior. He thus wanted Arjun not to give up his Kshatriya dharma, but to do devotion alongside with it. This is the principle of karm yog. Now, Shree Krishna reverses this teaching by saying that here is no need to fulfill even material dharma. Arjun can renounce all material duties and simply surrender to God. This is the principle of karm sanyās. Here, one may question that if we give up all our material dharmas will we not incur sin? Shree Krishna tells Arjun not to fear; he will absolve him from all sins, and liberate him from material existence.

To comprehend this instruction of Shree Krishna, we need to understand the term dharma. It comes from the root word dhṛi, which means dhāraṇ karane yogya, or “responsibilities, duties, thoughts, and actions that are appropriate for us.” There are actually two kinds of dharmas—material dharma and spiritual dharma. These two kinds of dharma are based upon two different understandings of the “self.” When we identify ourselves as the body, then our dharma is determined in accordance with our bodily designations, obligations, duties, and norms. Hence, serving the bodily parents, fulfilling the responsibilities to society, nation, etc. are all bodily dharma. This is also called apara dharma or material dharma. This includes the dharma as a Brahmin, Kshatriya, etc. However, when we identify ourselves as the soul, we have no material designations of varṇa (social class) and āśhram (status in life). The soul’s Father, Mother, Friend, Beloved, and resting place are all God. Hence our one and only dharma becomes loving devotional service to God. This is also called para dharma or spiritual dharma.

If one leaves the material dharma it is considered a sin due to dereliction of duty. But if one leaves material dharma and takes the shelter of spiritual dharma, it is not a sin. The Śhrīmad Bhāgavatam states:

Saturday, July 23, 2016

Where's your umbrella

WHERE’S YOUR UMBRELLA?

The rains failed again that year. It was the third year in succession when there was no rain. The crops had disappeared and the land was a brown swath of dusty rubble. Trees had lost their leaves years ago and stood out like silhouettes of cactus on the dusty horizon. There was a stream that skirted the village in years bygone. Now the riverbed was dry. Where once flowed clean, fresh water from the nearby mountains, there was now a bed of clay, cracked in a checkerboard pattern with gaps as wide as a foot. No one knew what had happened to the birds except for the vultures that circled the town, looking for a carcass or two of an animal that was left dying.

There was famine in the land. People walked around like sticks, sans flesh, surviving on whatever ration was brought to them by various international charities.

Desperate for help, the people of the village held a meeting under a big banyan tree that was as old as the village. “Let us pray”, said an elderly woman. “Only God can help us now.”

There lived people of many faiths in the village and there ensued a big debate as to where to hold the prayer – in a church, a mosque, a synagogue or a temple. There was no consensus. Exhausted, they decided to hold their prayer in the open, under the open sky, away from the town.

Amongst the people gathering for prayer a little boy came running from a nearby village, holding high an open umbrella his head. Huffing for breath, he stood there, looking up, umbrella still unfurled. The gathered crowd could not but help turn around and wonder what was going on. Some were curious; others were annoyed and some others were even furious as they kept being poked by the spokes of the umbrella.

Finally a curious bystander asked, “Why did you bring the umbrella? Can’t you see there is no rain and we have come here to pray for rain? Only a foolish person would stand on a clear night like this with an open umbrella.”

“Yes indeed”, I came to pray too. I am certain that our prayer will be answered and it will rain. That is why I brought this big, colourful umbrella!

This is FAITH!

Faith is vital for progressing in devotional journey...!!!

Yada Yada

"yadā-yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata"......Expounded through metaphysical vision from Bhagavad Gita!!!

A Soul realizes the ultimate essence while he is yet in his assumed human body. If there is even the slightest flaw, he has to undergo another birth. Arjun has thought Lord Krishn to be a mortal like him.

Is Lord Krishn like other bodies?

Lord Krishn sings:

"Although imperishable, birthless, and God of all beings,

I manifest myself subduing the materialistic world of nature

by the mysterious power of atm-maya."

Sri Krishn is imperishable, birthless, and pervading the breath of all beings, but he is manifested when he restrains materialistic attachments by atm-maya.

One kind of maya is the moral ignorance that makes one accept the reality of the material world, and which is the cause of rebirth in low and inferior forms. The other maya is that which Lord Krishn calls yog-maya, of which we are unaware. This is the maya of Self that provides access to the Soul and leads to awareness of the Supreme Spirit.

It is by the operation of this yog-maya that Lord Krishn subdues his three-propertied nature and manifests himself.

People usually say that they will have a vision of God when he manifests himself through an incarnation. According to Lord Krishn, however, there is no such incarnation as may be seen by others. God is not born in a corporal form. It is only by gradual stages that he controls his three-propertied nature by the exercise of yog-maya and manifests himself.

But what are the circumstances of such manifestation?

We will find this in next verse of Bhagavad Gita which is well quoted and known through out the entire globe.

Lord Krishn sings:

यदा यदा हि धर्मस्य ग्लानिर्भवति भारत ।

अभ्युत्थानमधर्मस्य तदात्मानं सृजाम्यहम् ॥

yadā-yadā hi dharmasya

glānir bhavati bhārata,

abhyutthānam adharmasya

tadā’tmānam sṛjāmy aham

"Whenever, O Bharat, righteousness (dharm) declines

and unrighteousness is rampant,

I manifest myself."

Sri Krishn tells the devout Arjun that when hearts fall into inertia in regard to the Supreme Spirit, the most sublime dharm, and when the pious are unable to see how to cross safely to the other bank, he begins to shape his form in order to manifest himself. Such a feeling of weariness had come to Manu. Goswami Tulsidas has written of his grief-laden heart because his life had passed without contemplation of God.

When despairing tears flow from the eyes of loving worshipers because of their overpowering feeling of helplessness at their inability to steer across unrighteousness, God begins to mould his form into a manifest shape.

But that also implies that God manifests himself to only loving worshipers and only for their well-being.

God’s incarnation comes about only within the heart of a blessed worshiper.

But what does the manifest God do?

Lord Krishn answers in next verse:

परित्राणाय साधूनां विनाशाय च दुष्कृताम् ।

धर्मसंस्थापनार्थाय सम्भवामि युगे युगे ॥

paritrāṇāya sādhūnām

vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām,

dharmasansthāpanārthāya

sambhavāmi yuge-yuge

"I manifest myself from age to age to defend the pious,

destroy the wicked, and strengthen dharm."

God manifests himself as a saviour of saintly men. He, the adored, is the one God after attaining whom there is nothing else to contemplate. Lord Krishn assumes a manifest form from age to age to destroy impediments that obstruct the smooth flow of righteous impulses such as wisdom, renunciation and restraint, as also to annihilate the demoniacal forces of passion, anger, attachment and repugnance, and to reinforce dharm.

"Age", as used by Sri Krishn here, does not refer to historical ages like the Golden Age (Satyug) or the Iron Age (Kaliyug). It rather alludes to the stages of rise and fall, of the waxing and waning, of dharm through which human nature has to pass. These are stages of dharm and the human heart has to progress through them.

Goswami Tulsidas has written about it in Ram Charit Manas :

The stages of dharm undergo variation in every heart at all times, not because of ignorance but because of the operation of the divine power of maya.

This is what has been named atm-maya by Lord Krishn. Inspired by God, this knowledge is the one which makes the heart a veritable dwelling of God.

But how can one know through which Stage one is passing at the moment?

When virtue and moral goodness (sattwa) alone are active in the heart, when passion and ignorance have subsided, when all fears are stilled, when there is no feeling of repulsion, when there is the necessary strength to rest firmly on the signals that are received from the desired goal, when the mind is overflowing with happiness-then alone is one enabled to enter into the Golden Age.

On the other hand, when the forces of darkness (tamas), combined with passion and moral blindness (rajas), are sweeping through, when there are animosities and conflicts all around, the worshiper is passing through the Iron Age (Kaliyug).

When there is predominance of ignorance and abundance of lethargy, slumber and procrastination, that is the stage of the Kaliyug of dharm. The man passing through this stage does not do his duty even though he knows it. He knows what he is forbidden to do, and yet he does it.

These stages of dharm, of its ascent and descent, are determined by innate properties. These stages are the four ages (yug) according to some, the four classes (varn) according to others, and the four levels of spiritual seeking-excellent, good, medium, and low-according to yet others.

In all the stages God stands by the worshiper. Nevertheless, there is a plenty of divine favour at the highest stage, whereas the assistance appears to be meagre at the lower stages. So Lord Krishn tells Arjun that a worshiper who is earnestly devoted to his ultimate goal is a sage, but he can be saved only when the flow of divine impulses such as wisdom, renunciation, and self-restraint, which provide access to the object, is unimpeded. Similarly, doers of wicked deeds are not undone just by the destruction of their nonexistent mortal bodies, because they will be reborn with the same wicked impressions (sanskar) they had earned in the previous life, and do the same evil which they had done before. So Lord Krishn manifests himself in all ages to destroy moral perversions and to strengthen dharm.

Installation of the one changeless God alone is the final destruction of evil.

In brief, Lord Krishn has said that he manifests himself again and again, in all circumstances and categories, to destroy evil and foster good, and to strengthen faith in the Supreme Spirit.

But he does this only if there is profound regret in the worshipers’ heart.

So long as the grace of the worshiped God is not with us, we cannot even know whether evil has been destroyed or how much of it still remains. From the beginning to the moment of final attainment, God stays by the worshiper at all stages. He manifests himself only in the devotee’s heart.

Doesn’t everyone see him when he manifests himself ?

According to Lord Krishn it is not.

~Revered Gurudev Swami Adgadananad Jee Paramhans~

http://blogs.geetadhara.org/yada-yada-hi-dharmasya-glanir-bhavati-bharata-expounded-metaphysical-vision-bhagavad-gita/

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Humble Wishes.

~mrityunjayanand~

Friday, July 22, 2016

Alexander

When you see a man selling handkerchiefs and still sweating profusely in traffic, it tells you that possession is not the same as ownership! Your life belongs to God; you are only having it but you don't own it. So, be careful what you do with your life before the owner asks for it.

The last wishes of Alexander the Great...!!!!!!

On his death bed, Alexander summoned his army generals and told them his three ultimate wishes:

1. The best doctors should carry his coffin ...

2. The wealth he has accumulated (money, gold, precious stones) should be scattered along the procession to the cemetery ...

3. His hands should be let loose, so they hang outside the coffin for all to see !!

One of his generals who was surprised by these unusual requests asked Alexander to explain .

Here is what Alexander the Great had to say :

1. "I want the best doctors to carry my coffin to demonstrate that in the face of death , even the best doctors in the world have no power to heal .."

2. "I want the road to be covered with my treasure so that everybody sees that material wealth acquired on earth , will stay on earth.."

3. I want my hands to swing in the wind, so that people understand that we come to this world empty handed and we leave this world empty handed after the most precious treasure of all is exhausted, and that is : TIME.

We do not take to our grave any material wealth. TIME is our most precious treasure because it is LIMITED. We can produce more wealth, but we cannot produce more time.

When we give someone our time, we actually give a portion of our life that we will never take back . Our time is our life !.

The best present that you can give to your family is your time and to God is your life..

May God grant YOU plenty of TIME, to share this important message with all your contacts.

The watchman

This is a beautiful story, exactly two years ago I had shared it so I would like to share it again specially for those who missed it.

A Watchman's Story !!!

My boss drove a luxury car everyday and it was my duty to greet him and to open the gates for him, as I worked as a watchman in his villa. But he never responded back to my greetings.

One day he saw me opening the garbage bags outside the villa in search for any left over food. But, as usual he never even looked at me, it was like as if he never saw anything!

The very next day I saw a paper bag at the same place, but it was clean and the food inside was covered well. It was fresh and good food like someone had just brought it from the supermarket. I didn't bother as to where it came from, I just took the paper bag and I was so happy about it.

Every day I found this paper bag at the same place with fresh vegetables and all that we needed for home. This became my daily routine. I was eating and sharing this food with my wife and kids.

I was wondering who this fool could be?! To forget his paper bag full of fresh food everyday.

One day there was a big problem in the villa and I was told that my boss has died. There were too many guests coming to the villa that day and I didn't get any food that day, so I thought that one of the guests must have taken it. But the same thing happened the 2nd day, the 3rd day and the 4th day.

It went on like this for a few weeks and I found it difficult to provide food for my family, so I decided to ask the wife of my boss for a raise in my salary or else I would quit my job as a watchman.

After I told her, she was shocked, and asked me, how come you never complained about your salary for the last 2 years? And why is this salary not enough for you now?!

I gave her so many excuses but she was never convinced! Finally in the end, I decided to tell her the truth, I told her the entire story of the bag of groceries, and as to how it was my daily provision.. She then asked me as to when this stopped? I told her after the death of her husband. And then I realized that I stopped seeing the paper bag immediately after the death of my boss.

Why didn't I ever think of this before? That it was my boss who was providing this for me? I guess it was because I never thought that a person who never replied to my greetings could ever be this generous!

His wife started to cry and I told her to please stop crying and that I'm really sorry that I asked for a raise, I didn't know that it was your husband who was providing me with the meals, I'lll remain as a watchman and be happy to provide my service.

His wife told me, I'm crying because I've finally found the 7th person my husband was giving this bag full of food. I knew my husband was giving 7 people everyday, I had already found the 6 people, and all these days I was searching for the 7th person. And today I found out.

From that day onwards, I started to receive the bag full of food again, but this time his son was bringing it to my house and giving it to my hand. But whenever I thanked him, he never replied! Just like his dad!

One day, I told him THANK YOU in a very loud voice! He replied back to me to please not be offended when he doesn't reply, because he has a hearing problem, just like his dad!

Oh! May God forgive us all, for we have all, as humans, judged another person without knowing the real story behind their actions.. May God forgive us all and guide us towards the right path in life !!!

Thursday, July 21, 2016

4 misguided Quotes

Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Guru Purnima

GURU POURNAMI/VYASA POURNAMI.

India, the birth place of Hinduism is rich in spirituality, religious cultures, faiths, austerities, customs and traditions that we don’t find any where else in the world.

Matru devobhava, pitru devobhava, Acharya Devobhava is what our Vedic texts say. Meaning that the after mother and father it’s the teacher who must be worshipped. A teacher must be respected and treated as an equivalent to God. People use the word Guru in various contexts, but actually the word “Guru” has the following meaning. In Guru Gita it is said that

“Gukaraschandhakarastu rukaarastannirodhakrut |

Andhakaravinaasitwaat gururityabhideeyate ||”

“Gu” Kara means the darkness and “Ru” Kara means the remover of the darkness. On account of the power of removing darkness, the teacher is known by the significant name “Guru”.

Ignorance is darkness, it’s the state where we do not know anything and the person who brings us out of this darkness and shows us light is the Guru.

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The importance of a teacher is all the more important when it comes to the spiritual path. Everyone , in the spiritual path has and needs a “Guru”. In Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna emphasizes the importance of Guru .In the fourth chapter of Gita Lord Says

tad viddhi pranipatena

pariprasnena sevaya

upadeksyanti te jnanam

jnaninas tattva-darsinah

meaning :

For knowledge we have got to go to the right person, one who has actually seen or experienced the Absolute Truth. Unless we find such a person who has actually seen the Absolute Truth or who has in his experience what is Absolute Truth, there is very little chance of our spiritual advancement.

Lord Krishna himself stood as a Guru to Arjuna and gave Bhagawad Gita to this world .Hence we say Krishnam vande Jagadgurum”.

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SIGNIFICANCE OF GURU/VYASA POURNAMI:-

Full Moon day in Aashaada masam/Karkataka Masam, known as Guru Pournima is celebrated across the country, symbolically honouring the Gurus and teachers who have taught us the Vidya. This day is also popularly referred to as Vyaasa Poornima associated with Lord Veda Vyaasa, the Divine Literary incarnation of Lord Sri Maha Vishnu. It is believed that Sri Veda Vyasa was born on this day of Pournami in the Lunar month of Aashaada. It is also said that it is the day on which Sri Veda Vyasa commenced his work on Brahma Sutras.

VEDA VYASA:-

The subtle unnoticed factor that binds the various facets of a nation is, it’s culture.It is adherence to this culture that makes life more refined and peaceful.Anyindividual working to preserve the culture of his land is indeed a hero.One such hero who made an eternal contribution to the betterment of humanity is Maharishi Veda Vyasa. Veda Vyasa was born to Rishi parashara and a fisher woman named satyavathi.

Vedas are divine revelations, which were offered to humanity through the Rishis of Bharat.They stand as indicators that lead mankind to their inherent divinity through the science of perfect life.Traditionally the vedas werenot written.They were passed on from generation to the nest generation by weord of mouth.As time passed on, the skills of memory declined, thus leading to distortions in the original meaning of the invaluable verses.

To avoid the Vedas reaching the next generation in an adulterated form it had to be complied.It was then that Veda Vyasa’s mission began.He then compiled the Vedas in the written form.He classified it as RigVeda, Yajurveda, SamaVeda, and Atharva Veda according to their message and the part of life they dealt with.

The divine poet casts a magic spell on us through his works that has an unparalleled imapct even today.His works include Mahabharata, Adyatma Ramayan, the 18 puranas, Brahmasutras etc., Vyasa reached all levels of people by employing different approaches.For example, Brahmasutras for deeply contemplative minds, Bhagavatam for the devotional minded and the puranas that conveyed the truths of vedanta in the form of stories.

Vyasa and his works were instrumental in synchronizing the different approaches of worship, which remained scattered till then.

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VEDA VYASA AND VISHNU SAHASRA NAMA STOTHRAM

Poorva Peetika of Sri Vishnu Sahasra Nama Sthothram which forms a part of the Epic Mahabharatha describes Vyasa in a befitting manner. Veda Vyasa is the presiding Rishi for Vishnu Sahasranama Sthothram. Following slokas from Sri Vishnu Sahasra Nama Sthothram tells us about Sri Veda Vyasa in a nutshell.

Vyaasam Vasishhta Naptaaram Shakteh Pautramakalmasham
Paraasharaatmajam Vande Shukataatam Taponidhim

Vyasaaya Vishnu Roopaaya Vyaasa Roopaaya Vishnave
Namo Vai Brahma Nidhaye Vaasishtaaya Namo Namah

KrishnaDvaipayanam Vyasam sarvalokahite ratam
VedaabjaBhaskaram Vande Samadhinilayam Munim

Meaning: Salutations to that Vyasa who is free from all defects; who is a treasure of austerities, is the great-grandson of sage Vasishta, grand-son of Shakti, son of Parasara and father of Sukha. My repeated salutations are to Vyasa who is a form of Lord Vishnu and to Vishnu who is a form of Vyasa, who is a descendent of sage Vasishta, who is a treasure of Brahman. Let us worship sage (Muni) Vyasa who is Krishna Dvaipayana, who is devoted to the welfare of the world, who is like a Sun to the Vedas.

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VEDA VYASA AND BHAGAWADGITA.

Bhagavathgeetha the divine preaching of Lord Sri Krishna forms a part of Epic Mahabharatha composed by sage Veda Vyasa. In chapter ten of Bhagavath Geeta (Vibhuthi yoga), Lord Sri Krishna says "Of all sages, I am Vyasa” (Muneenamapyaham Vyasah).

NamosthuThe Vyasa Vishala Bhuddhe
Pullaravindhayatha Pathra Nethra
Ena Thvayaa BharathaThailaPoornah
Prajvalitho Gnanamaya Pradeepah

This is a part of the Dhyana sloka for Bagavad Gita. This verse salutes Sri Veda Vyasa who has very wide knowledge (Vishala Buddhi) has eyes like the petals of a fully blossomed Lotus. Veda Vyasa is like a brightly glowing lamp (with Divine Wisdom) in the oil of Maha Bharatha which is called as Panchama Veda.

Vyasa is a great poet-philosopher and has become an institution representing the Hindu heritage. No scriptural study or Vedic chanting has ever begun without prostrations unto this greatest of seers. If we must attribute Hinduism to any Single individual there is none else to Whom we can most appropriately attribute its present existence aid past glories except to Veda Vyasa.

Last but not least I wish to conlude this with my favourite doha of saint Kabir Das:”If my Guru and the Almighty come and stand before me , I would bow o the Guru first ,because it’s my Guru who showed me the Almighty”. On this auspicious day let us respect all our gurus who brings us out of this darkness and shows us light.

Aano bhadra krtavo yantu vishwatah.(- RIG VEDA)
"Let noble thoughts come to me from all directions"

REGARDS
Miss.Shaija Vallikatri Bhaskaran

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Posted by: Shaija v bhaskaran <shaijavb@gmail.com>

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