Pure Mind

Life is complicated. But a pure mind is simple. It is truthful and straightforward.  It is intelligent and sensitive and reacts to circumstances in positive manner and is not bound by old conditioning.  It responds from inner conviction and freedom of thinking. The pure mind has no time to indulge in falsehood or in deceptions. 

The mind has four fold qualities of discrimination (viveka), detachment (vairagya) forgiveness (shama) and intense longing for liberation (mumukshutva). When these four qualities are well developed in a person, he lives with a pure mind and his life is wonderful. He sees the world with pure eyes and has the right and higher reaction to all events in his life. When there is right understanding about people and events, there are no problems.

When we live in right awareness of the Self as the Universal Consciousnesses, our mind is less likely to fall prey to temptations and desires. The pure mind has the ability to see beauty and harmony around despite the raging needs and demands of life.  It can go deep into the problems of life and find the right solutions easily. It can easily see through self imposed limitations, baseless assumptions, limited knowledge and pinpoint the crux of problems and offer the apt solution. It is steady and can see the differences between the real from the unreal.

A pure mind rises from the mundane to the divine levels where it sees God in all. It enjoys making all living beings happy. It does not impose on others or seek favours from others. A person with pure mind lives with awareness of the higher goals of life and fulfils them. Let us see the life of one such person:

In the days of yore, there was a king name Rantideva. He was loving and generous towards all his subjects. His mind was simple and pure and he saw only goodness in all. For him, all creation was a reflection of his God Shri Hari (Lord Vishnu). He gave generous donations to the needy and treated the rich and poor, old and young and men and women alike. He believed that he was made king and given wealth so that he could serve all. He was very popular with his subjects and was well known for his ability to solve problems and give justice. Rantidev walked the path of bhakti of Shri Hari and performed his daily chores as offerings to the Lord.

Once there was a severe famine. Rantideva shared the food in the granary with all. He distributed all his wealth to the needy. He and his family would eat only after the subjects were fed. There were days when he and his family went hungry. The famine continued and conditions turned worse. Rantideva fasted for 48 days and someone brought him a bowl of porridge made of wheat flour, sugar and ghee. Overcome by hunger and thirst, he and his family sat down to eat. An old Brahmin appeared at the door seeking food. Rantideva received him with respect and offered him a portion of the food. As they all sat down to eat again, a beggar appeared at the door. His face was pinched with hunger and the king offered him a portion of the food. Then a sweeper appeared at the doorway with several dogs and begged for food. The king offered him the balance of the porridge.

The king and his family had no food to eat and sat down to have a bit of water to drink. Just then a low caste man appeared exhausted and dying of thirst. The king saw in him the form of Shri Hari and offered him water to drink praying to God: O Shri Hari, give me strength to help all my subjects. Let me be your instrument in serving all. As soon as the man drank the water, he looked refreshed and surprisingly, all the tiredness, fatigue and hunger disappeared from Rantideva and he felt refreshed and rejuvenated. Maya the Illusionary Power of Sri Hari appeared in front of him.  She blessed him and offered him vast riches. Rantideva’s mind was absorbed in the form of Shri Hari and he refused the wealth as he has no more desires left. Maya disappeared and the enchanting, effulgent form of Shri Hari appeared. Rantideva worshipped Him and sought blessings that his mind should always be one with the Lord. He became a great yogi and finally attained salvation. All this was possible due to the pure mind of Rantidev, his love and service towards his subjects and all living beings.

Lack of Progress in Disciples

The Guru is veritably the Kalpavriksha (the wish granting tree). His spiritual vibrations, selfless love, compassion, knowledge of the universal laws, wisdom, lack of ego and pride attract disciples the way bees are pulled to a garden of sweet scented flowers.  Whatever is lacking in the average man is found in fulsome measure in the Guru. He stands apart as an extraordinary being whose very presence grants peace beyond measure. People flock around him seeking to fulfill their varied and endless demands. Through his blessings and grace, the Guru grants his disciples wealth, health, home, power, name, fame, family, children, knowledge, wisdom and finally self realization.  Over the years, it is seen that there is progress in the lives of most of the disciples and improvement in their status, wealth, knowledge and spiritual progress. 

Yet there are some disciples who show no significant improvement in their spiritual progress though many of their material needs are fulfilled by the Guru.  The Guru is all wise, all knowing and all giving. Then how come there is such lack of progress in some disciples, even those who are very close to the Guru?

There are two sides to this equation: the competence of the Guru and the qualities of the disciple. We have already said that the Guru is knowledge, wise and all giving. Then the results depend on the disciple. The Guru has numerous disciples. Each disciple comes to him with his own personal agenda. The Guru helps the disciple to fulfil his desires.  There are some disciples who come to the Guru with sole focus on their material desires. They have intense desire for wealth, power, name, fame, sexual desires, progeny and properties. They follow the Guru around and do the practices solely for sake of fulfilment of desires. When one desire is fulfilled, another stands in its place and when that is fulfilled, multiple desires take its place. In their quest for self gratification, their anger, lust, jealousy, hatred, attachment and ego take on massive proportions. Instead of self improvement, we can see steady spiritual deterioration in them. When the Guru chastises them for their unacceptable behaviour or lowly qualities, they fume and do not correct themselves. When the main objects of desires are obtained, and they are unable to take the reprimands of the Guru, they leave the Guru. But before they do that, they defame the Guru, cheat him, spread rumours about him so that others do not come near the Guru and the Guru is cut off from his disciples and is left alone. They make their getaway and ensure that there is no chase. The all knowing Guru merely smiles and moves on, for he  has no ego, pride, hatred, attachment or feelings of vengeance.

The Guru is always aware of the shortcomings of his disciples and also the needs and urges. He fulfils the demands of the disciples in hope that having got all their desires, the disciples will move forward in the path of knowledge and wisdom. Unfortunately it does not work out that way. The relationship here between the Guru and such disciples is like that of the sandalwood tree and the serpent. The sandalwood tree is cool and fragrant and it attracts the serpent which it entwines itself around the branches of the tree. The serpent spends a lifetime entwined around the sandalwood tree. But it does not lose it poisonous nature and the tree does not lose its nature of sweet fragrance. Both of them  neither give up their nature   nor take of the qualities of the other.

Unless the disciples  give up their lower beastly nature and overcomes the qualities of anger, lust, greed, attachment, jealousy and pride – even if they spend their entire lifetime with the Guru, there will be no change in them. At no point of time does Guru or God force their will on others. The disciples are given a choice of decision; it is up to them to take the right decision. They have been given intelligence and the power of discrimination. They take their decisions knowingly and have to face the consequences. Yet the loving Guru always gives such erring disciples the second, third and the hundredth chance to change and move forward and upwards in the path of life towards the Light.

Kama - Sugriva

One of the four Purusharthas of life is Kama or fulfillment of desires. We have a variety of desires and seek name, fame, power, wife, children, home, fulfillment of sexual desires and a whole host of other things. Fulfillment of desires is right and must be done. It is not wrong or a sin to want name, fame, partner, home, children etc. We have a right to fulfill our desires but we must do so keeping the laws of dharma or ethics in our mind. When we keep fulfilling desires we learn many lessons. We learn that all beings have desires and have a right to fulfill them. We understand that just as we yearn to fulfil our desires and seek opportunities to do so, we must also permit others to fulfill their desires. We learn by experience that desires give temporary happiness and as soon as one desire is fulfilled, multiple desires are there to take the place of the fulfilled one. Finally, we understand that in order to escape from the endless cycle of earning, yearning and new desires cropping up, we must let go and reach out to the desire of love of God which will help us overcome this maddening spiral of wants and fulfillment.

The Ramayana speaks of Sugriva, the brother of Vali who was the ruler of Kishkindha. Vali and Sugriva had great love and respect for each other. Once, a demon came raging to the gates of Kishkindha and challenged Vali to a fight. Vali accepted the challenge and attacked the demon with great force. The demon sensed that he would be defeated soon, and ran off. Vali ran behind him and chased him into a cave. Vali informed Sugriva to wait outside the cave. Sugriva waited for a week and heard horrific screams and saw blood oozing out of the cave, he concluded that his brother was dead and he sealed the mouth of the cave with a huge stone. He wished to prevent the demon from coming out and attacking the kingdom. The ministers of the kingdom forcibly crowned the reluctant Sugriva as King, as the kingdom could not be left alone without a Head. In the meantime, Vali, managed to kill the demon. He broke through the blocked door of the cave and returned to the capital and found his brother sitting on the throne as king. He felt betrayed and attacked Sugriva. Sugriva humbly explained what happened but Vali would not listen. Vali threw him out of the kingdom and forcibly took Sugriva’s wife Ruma. As a result, the brothers became bitter enemies.

Sugriva was hunted and hounded by his brother. He lived in hiding from his brother. He wanted to avenge the wrongs done to him, defeat his brother and get back his wife Ruma. He wanted his kingdom and his family back.  He doubted the strength of Sri Rama and tested him. Sri Rama passed the tests imposed on him by Sugriva and Sugriva was finally convinced of prowess of Sri Rama. Sri Rama killed Vali and crowned Sugriva as King of Kishkindha. In return, Sugriva helped Sri Rama in locating Maa Sita and building a bridge to Lanka and finally fighting the war with Ravana.

Kama or desires of material fulfilment - of wanting family, kingdom, wife, power, defeating enemy, brought Sugriva to Sri Rama and all his kama or wishes were fulfilled. Surgriva served the Lord with body, mind and soul. His seva earned him blessings of Sri Rama by which he attained salvation. His driving need for fulfilment of Kama or desires, led to his meeting the Lord and then working to help the Lord. When we look to God’s help for fulfilment of material desires, He shows us the way to attain them and slowly puts us on the right track to salvation.

How to progress quickly in spiritual path

The Guru is the treasure trove of the Universe who can grant us what we need or seek.  This truth is widely known and disciples throng around the Guru for fulfillment of their needs. Many come to him in pain and sickness and seek healing of their miseries.  After the healing and receiving the blessings of good health, many such disciples seek fulfillment of immediate desires from the Guru and stay on with the him following his teachings. There are many other disciples who come to the Guru for the fulfillment of their wants – wealth, power, family, property, possessions, name and fame. When they receive the blessings of the Guru and their needs are fulfilled they go to the next level of seeking knowledge. Many come to the Guru out of curiosity, to get knowledge and understand the working of the Universe. When they attain some levels of knowledge and their heads and heart bow to the magnificence of the Universe and its workings, they seek the final knowledge of Self Realization. Many come directly to the Guru for self realisation and work to attain it.

The disciples who work on erasing their ego and overcoming their negative qualities are the ones who progress quickly.  We need to have a basic understanding about the nature of desires – that they are endless and can never be fulfilled. When we have been given  enough  wealth to fulfil basic needs in life and we are also blessed with the intelligence, knowledge and experience to earn and progress in material world, our focus with the Guru should not be aimed at more wealth, name, fame and material aspiration but with spiritual progress. The disciples who seek the Guru for sake of self realisation are the ones who move quickly forward.

The quickest way of progressing in the spiritual path and towards God is doing seva or service to the Guru. Seva would mean doing any work allotted by the Guru. It can be cooking or cleaning or washing or teaching, spreading the teachings etc. If no work is allotted to the disciple, following the teachings of the Guru and doing the daily practices are seva. The Guru should be seen as the Primordial Energy of the Universe and be treated and respected in a suitable manner. The Guru is not his body. He is the sum total of the knowledge and powers of Divinity which has come down to earth to teach and guide man and lead him towards light and knowledge. When the human foibles of the Guru are not highlighted and only his divinity focussed upon, the Guru Shakti responds and guides the disciple in the right manner. The disciple who sees Divinity in his Guru, experiences the Formless Power of the Universe in Him – the Nirguna ParaBrahman.  The disciple who seeks nothing for himself but to serve and love his Guru receives all the treasures of the Universe. Guru bhakti is a combination of love for the Formless and the form of the Guru in his body. Enough has been said, seen and known about disciples who have guru bhakti and do selfless service to the Guru.

The disciple has to transcend his lower beastly nature to reveal the divinity within him. Man has been blessed with the sixth sense, knowledge, intelligence and discrimination to rise higher to his true destiny. Instead, if the disciple indulges in the craftiness of the fox, the poisonous tongue of the viper, the greed for enormous wealth, endless lust and schemes to fulfil it, he falls from his lofty status as man and is reborn as an animal or reptile or insect. It takes endless cycles of birth and rebirths to attain the birth of man and then climb steadily on the path of spirituality.

The disciple who sees the Ultimate in his Guru and surrenders to Him is blessed indeed. The Guru takes on the responsibility of the material welfare and spiritual progress of such a disciple.  The Guru Shakti or the Grace of the Guru guides the disciple each moment of his life. This does not mean that the disciple does not face problems. It means that he is guided to the right solutions and strengthened to face problems effortlessly. The burdens and responsibilities of such a disciple are literally shouldered by the Guru and the disciple is guided and taken by hand towards his goal of self realisation as the disciple has total and unconditional surrender towards the Guru. The disciple who sees the Universe in the Guru attains the Universe effortlessly.

Shankara Jayanti

Shankara Jayanti is celebrated today – 26 April 2012

Shankara Jayanti is the birth anniversary of Jagad Guru Adi Shankaracharya. It falls on the pachami or the fifth day of the bright fortnight of Vaisakha month. Adi Shankaracharya was also known as Sankara Bhagvadpadacharya . He is revered as the greatest philosopher saint of India. He mastered all the hindu scriptures and consolidated the doctrine of Advaita Vendanta. Advaita is non dualism – meaning only the Atman or the Supreme Soul exists and the individual souls are not separate from the Supreme Soul but one with it. The Individual Souls are like the reflections of the Moon in the various ponds and water bodies. But there is only one Moon in the skies.

The key source texts for Vedanta are the Upanishads, the Bhagwad Gita and the Brahma Sutras. Adi Shankara consolidated the principles of Advaita Vedanta and the first historical proponent of Advaita Vendata was his Guru – Govinda Bhagavatpadacarya.  Adi Shankara explained the concepts of Atman or Soul, Paramatman or the Divine/Supreme Soul, vairagya or renunciation or moksha or salvation. He wrote commentaries or bhasyams on all Vedas and the Bhagwad Geeta. He travelled all over India on foot and in each town he had philosophical discussions with learned masters and always won the debates. His writings are considered supreme and popular even today for this reason.

Adi Shankara was born in the 8th century AD at Kaladi in Kerala to a Namboodhri  Brahmin couple. The parents were childless for a long time and undertook fasts and prayed at the Vadukunathan temple. Lord Shiva appeared to them in a dream and blessed them. It is believed that Adi Shankara was a minor incarnation of Lord Shiva himself. His father died when Shankara was young and his mother took care of him. Shankara was brilliant and excelled in the traditional vaidika learning. After his sacred thread ceremony was performed, Shankara used to beg for alms as was the tradition. Once he called out for alms at the home of a poor woman. This woman was very loving at heart and devoted to God but had nothing to give. There was no food in her home. When she saw Shankara standing at her doorway seeking alms, the effluence from his face attracted her and she was heartbroken that she had no food to give him. She hunted in the shelves of her hut to see if she could get anything. She found a dry amla fruit and offered it to him with tears in her eyes. Seeing her goodness and distress, Shankara invoked Goddess Lakshmi and sang the Kanaka Dhara Stotram – an invocation to the Goddess of Wealth to rain down gold. Sure enough, there was a rain of gold amlas which fell into the woman’s house, shattering the roof and filling her life with riches and blessings.

Adi Shankara respected and loved his mother very much. She was already old when she gave birth to him and as he grew, he watched her daily struggle walking to the river for bathing. So he sang an invocation and the river Purna changed its course and began flowing near his home. When he took sanyas and left home, he gave word to his mother that he would be by her side at her death. He fulfilled his word to her in a miraculous way. After many years, he was suddenly aware of her impending death and rushed to be with her in her last moments. After her death, he sought help from the villagers for her final rites. None helped him as he was a sanyasi who had come back home to his dying mother. In the thunderstorm and rain, he performed the final rites of his mother by putting her dead body on a bed of plantain stems(which are water filled and never burn) and invoked fire from the skies. Lo and behold, the plantain stems caught fire and burned brightly. The entire village fell at his feet and sought pardon.

Adi Shankara reunited the fragmented Hinduism and established the four mutts or monastries in India – in Sringeri, Puri, Dwarka and Badrinath for the establishment, spread and revival of the Advaita Vedanta. He established the Shanmata tradition of worship. Adi Shankara Jayanti is regarded as Philosopher’s day. Worship is offered to him today, throughout India in various monasteries and his teachings and hymns  are discussed and sung. It is a great occasion to study  Advaita Vedanta and his works.

Are you a Lizard?

The mind is very fickle and like the monkey, leaps from branch to branch and tree to tree. Like the leaping, long tailed one, our mind leaps about and is suspicious where there is no reason to be. It picks up fights with people around or even with our own self. It causes us great misery in our daily lives at home and at work place. We are unable to maintain steady relationships or good friendship. A steady mind with a purpose  to achieve and goals in life is essential for success in any field – including spirituality. Our mind is the cause of our hell and heaven. The story of Pitambar and Kishan teaches us great lessons regarding the mind:

Pitambar and Kishan were disciples of a great Guru. Both of them were beloved to their Guru and he showered his grace equally on both. But their thoughts, actions and karmas were different. At the end of their lives, it was declared Pitambar’s total karmas were extremely good  and that he would rule as an emperor for a thousand years but because of one misdeed, he had to have a short birth and live in the body of a lizard. Kishan karma’s resulted in the total of one day as an emperor and a thousand years in hell. Both were given a choice regarding which experience they would like to undergo first.

Pitambar chose to suffer for short time as a lizard and then rule uninterrupted for a thousand years as an emperor. So he became a lizard. Immediately he began to dart here and there in search of food. His mind was as restless and fickle as his tongue. So he moved around in many places catching and eating insects. In that short period of time, his mind changed many thousands of times and he committed endless sins by simply catching insects even though he was not hungry. As a result, all of his good karma got wiped out and he was doomed to many thousands of years in hell.

Kishan looked back on his life and was very sorry that he had committed many blunders. He yearned for a chance to redeem himself. So he chose to have a day as a King first and then suffer the thousand years of hell. As soon as he was crowned King, he gave orders for distribution of food and clothes for the poor in the land.  He sat with his ministers and gave orders for immediate execution of digging more wells, laying roads and build shelters for the travellers. Then he participated in a yagna conducted for the welfare of all his subjects. By the end of the day, he had done enough good karma to get an extension of the post of King for a hundred years. Kishan spent every day of his life as a King working for the welfare of the people and worshiping God for welfare of his subjects and kingdom.  His growing deposits of good deeds wiped out the thousand years in hell and ensured him a long and successful life as a benevolent monarch.

When our mind is fickle, we commit many blunders. Our judgement is not right and our decisions are not stable. We neither stick to our  values of ethics or principles but sell them to anyone who is ready to appease our ego with material things or with false sweet words. We are not true to ourselves or to anyone else. We don’t belong to our family or friends or guru or God. We distance ourselves away from the life of a decent human being with our fickleness. Let us not forget the fate of the lizard or the redemption of the man who performed good deeds in the short time allotted to him. Let us make our minds stable, determine our goals and be firm in our  value of ethics and principles in life.

Regular mantra japa and meditation and following of the teachings of the Guru stabilises the mind. Then we can wipe out the fickle aspects of our mind (as exhibited by the lizard) and bring out our divine nature. Living with steadfastness and purpose in life, we can achieve the goals of life  - artha, dharma, kama, moksha- earning of wealth in right way and fulfilment of desires and finally achieving salvation.

So check yourself out... are you a  fickle minded? 

The Miser does not get Deliverance

Nature and God have bestowed on us vast richness and treasures. We are born with a healthy body and given nourishment by our mother and Nature. Warm sunshine, sparkling clean water, cool breeze, the solidity of mother earth beneath our feet, the food grains and cereals, innumerable varieties of fruits and vegetables nurture and nourish us. We are given intelligence and logic and other talents by which we are able to make discoveries and inventions which have made our lives more comfortable and earned us wealth, pleasure and power. 

When we compare our lifestyles today with the lifestyles of the royalty in past, we are much better off. The facilities and luxuries we enjoy in our daily lives were not heard of in the past. Despite their wealth, the maharajas could not travel at super speed in trains and planes like we do today. Despite such huge growth of material prosperity at the family, village, state and national levels, there is never enough for some. There are some people who are misers. They have enough of wealth for a comfortable living or even a luxurious living and yet they will not spend money on themselves. And they will definitely not spend on others. 

Misers live in spiritual poverty and there is no deliverance for them. Nature teaches us daily to share of what we have. The sun, moon, wind, water, trees and plants - all give effortlessly without any expectations of returns or gratitude. We do not learn the lesson of giving despite experiencing such wonders on a daily basis. Unless we sow, we cannot reap. Unless we give freely of what we have and share with our needy brethren, we cannot get salvation. We must tithe a portion of what we earn and have and offer to the poor, saints and places of worship.  The amount that we tithe is the seed; the seeds grow into plants and yield fruits. We get rewards in the quantities we tithe. The more we give freely, the more we will receive from nature. The man who has in plenty and cannot and will not share, will  receive neither Grace  nor Deliverance.

Long time ago there lived a Saint. He was a store house of knowledge and wisdom. He was widely respected and had a large following. People came to him in large numbers for knowledge and advice and he helped all lovingly. Because of him, many lives were transformed and saved spiritually. Even Kings and Ministers visited him for his darshan and receiving solutions to many tricky political problems they faced.

Time passed and the Saint grew old.  He was aware that his end was coming soon and he would be leaving his body. So he spent all his time in doing the Nama Smaran – chanting the holy name at all times and waiting for his death.  The news of his impending death spread all over the country and people came from different parts of the land for his last darshan. True Bhaktas came for sake of darshan and last minute wisdom. But some came for getting some power or materialistic benefit or donations from the Saint.

Amongst those who came to see the Saint was a rich miser. This man had enough wealth to last for seven generations, yet he sought more. He came to get gifts of wealth from the old Saint. The miser sat out with many hundreds of people waiting for the Saint’s darshan. The Saint did not want to meet anyone. But when he saw the miser, he invited him to come and sat near him. The miser looked around at all those waiting with a look which said: see –Only I am called. I am the chosen one. I am great!

The miser asked the Saint: Respected Sir, please tell me why did you call me only and not the others? The saint replied: These good people sitting out there and I have a definite chance of meeting some time in future in the heavenly spheres. A miser can never get deliverance. So there is no chance for me to meet you. Hence I called you now to give you some spiritual advice!

Let us learn to be generous of heart and share with all a portion of what we have with the needy! Let us give up our miserly nature and share with others the blessings poured on us by Nature and God. Such giving only increases the blessings we receive.

Akshaya Tritiya

(Akshaya Tritiya is celebrated on  23-24 April  this year )

Hinduism divides the cosmic play of life into four yugas or periods of time: Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga, Dwapar Yuga and Kali Yuga. We are presently in the Kali Yuga – first phase.  When the time period changed from Satya Yuga to Treta Yuga – the period when Sri Rama was born –the first day of the Treta Yuga was Akshaya Tritiya. This day  marks the beginning of a new era and of good times to come. This is the third day or Tritiya of the bright fortnight of the Hindu month of Vaishakh. Great importance is given to this day as this is the day when Lord Hayagriv, Lord Narayan and Lord Parashuram descended on earth.

The Hindu Calender has three and half days of great auspicious times in a year – the Gudi Padwa, the Akshaya Tritiya , Dassera and  half a day of Balipratipada. The effect of the cosmic transition and its blessings lasts for the entire period of twenty four hours on these days (half day for Balipratipada) and the whole day is considered auspicious. Any good work, business work, spiritual practices, material work, donations, marriages, housewarming ceremonies etc can be performed on these days at any time of the day without checking for good time or good muhurtha. We buy gold and silver, cars and sign papers for purchase of land and property.

 Sri Krishna explains to Yudhisthira, the importance of this day – Akshaya Tritiya, in one of his talks of advice to him. The Lord says: Oh King! Donation or sacrificial fire done on this day never goes waste. Thus our great sages have called this day 'Akshaya Tritiya.' The rituals performed on this day, for pleasing God and helping ancestors in going to higher planes, always prove to be fruitful. 

We have accumulated a lot of negative karma from our past lives and by offering donations to the needy on this day, we accumulate a lot of punya or goodness which offsets the past karmas. Many people offer donations with the specific intent of acquiring punya or goodness to reach heaven after death. We must remember that once the accumulated punya is over, it is back to earth for the soul. Many who are wise and have love for God, offer donations without seeking any merit or punya. They offer donations for good work or to worthy people just for sake of love of God. Such people go beyond the realms of heaven to higher realms and with the accumulated merit attain salvation.

On this day, offerings of black til or sesame seeds and water are done to the ancestors. We owe duty to our ancestors as we come from their lineage and have the gifts of their qualities, potentials and also physical qualities. When such offering is done with sincerity, we receive their blessings from the different plane that they exist in and many of our karmic blocks are removed and we are able to progress in material and spiritual life.

The Akshaya Tritiya falls at the start of the monsoon season in India. On this day, worship is offered to Mother Earth for plentiful crops and good seeds.  The fields are ploughed on the day of Gudi Padwa and the fields are made ready for sowing seeds. Tree planting is also done on this day with the faith that the trees yield abundant fruits. Ayurvedic plants and herbs are also planted on this day so that the plants and herbs yield plentiful crops and the plants live for long periods of time. This ensures that there is no shortage of herbs and medicines for the people.

On this day, worship is offered to Goddess VaibhavLakshmi – the Goddess of Wealth and Abundance along with Her Consort – Lord Vishnu. Worship is offered to Her so that Her Grace remains with us in plentiful throughout our lives. On this auspicious occasion of Akshaya Tritiya, let us resolve to increase our love and devotion to God and follow the spiritual practices which will keep us connected to Him.

Moksha - King Bhagirath

The fourth purushartha of life is moksha. Moksha is liberation. It means freedom from all limitations. The four purusharthas teach us to live life with ethics, morals, sensitivity to needs of others. We earn wealth in a moral way and fulfill our desires ethically. We share our wealth, time and energy with all and provide for the needy in society. We live an ideal life. 

We have enough means at our disposal but we are still striving for more wealth and fulfillment of desires. We are not as yet satisfied or content. What are we seeking liberation from?

Liberation comes when there are no self centred desires. Under such conditions, we live a balanced life.   We neither jump with joy nor go into depression with pain. We are the same in prosperity and pain. Therefore we live in a peaceful state of mind, whatever are the conditions of life. Living in this manner and being free from the need to fulfill desires, we overcome fear and insecurity. As dharma is the basis of our life and moksha the end, we live our lives sharing with love and compassion the wealth and gifts we have and see all creation as one.  We become free from the limitations of desire, ego, time and space. We know that we are not limited beings but are a spark of the Eternal which reflects in all animate and inanimate beings around us.  We understand that – this is that and that is this –which means the self and God are same and hence all creation is one. Then we live for a higher purpose, for service to others like all saints live. We leave our mark in the soil of the Universe. 

Let us see the story of King Bhagirath of the Raghuvamsha who brought the Ganga river to earth. He was an ideal king, virtuous and compassionate. He ruled well and brought prosperity to his kingdom. He handed over the reins of the kingdom to his son at an early age and did tapas to bring Ganga to earth so that his ancestors could get moksha or salvation. By giving up his desires selflessly and working for the salvation of his ancestors, he attained his own moksha. The story of the tapas of this king is a mighty one which shows us how one man stood firm against rejection and dejection and worked tirelessly to attain his goals and then achieved the ultimate goal of immortality. 

King Sagar had 60,000 sons. He defeated all the demons on the earth. He started an Ashwamedha Yagya to declare his supremacy. For this, as was the practice prevalent, he sent his horse across the earth accompanied by his sons.

The King of Heaven, Lord Indra feared that King Sagar would grow more powerful than him. In order to stop King Sagar, he stole the horse and tied it to the ashram of Sage Kapil. When the 60,000 sons came searching for the horse, they saw the horse tied near Sage Kapil who was in deep meditation.  They got furious and abused Sage Kapil.  On hearing the vile shouts, Sage Kapil opened his eyes in anger and all the 60,000 sons of King Sagar were reduced to ashes, except for Prince Asamanjas.

Anshuman  was the son of Asamanjas and the grandson of King Sagar. He went to Sage Kapil and sought his forgiveness and brought the horse back.  Sage Kapil told him that the burnt sons of King Sagar could get salvation only if Ganga was brought from heaven to earth. Neither Anshuman nor  his son Dilip were successful in their tapas to do so..  But Dilip's son, Bhagirath was determined to get this task done. He started meditating intensely for several years and finally Ganga got pleased and  agreed to descend to the earth provided she was allowed to fall safely without flooding earth. So Bhagirath did tapas and pleased Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva agreed to hold the waters in His Hair and allowed the river current to fall in a controlled manner. Then Bhagirath did tapas and pleased Ganga and she came thundering down from heaven to earth. Lord Shiva received Ganga on his matted locks and she got locked up there and no waters were released as she came down with pride.   Bhagirath then worshipped Lord Shiva and Lord Shiva blessed him and released Ganga from his locks in a stream. The stream moved behind Bhagirath towards the sea where the ashes of the sixty thousand sons lay. On the way the waters of Ganga flooded the ashram of Sage Jahnu and he caught the waters in his kamandalu or jar and locked her up. Again Bhagirath did tapas and pleased the sage who let the water flow from his kamandalu. So Ganga is called Janhvi .  Finally the river flowed freely and the water of Ganga touched the ashes of Sagar’s sons who rose to the eternal rest in heaven.

The selfless efforts and tapas of Bhagirath brought the Ganges to earth. Today her waters give life to all of North India.

 

Dharma - King Shibi

The Rishis of the ancient eastern tradition have delved deep into the reasons for human birth and existence. In their meditation, when they were merged with the highest levels of consciousness, they were able to see that the Supreme Power was the cause of origin of the cosmos and all existence in all dimensions. The sentient and insentient beings are all a part of that Great Power. That Supreme Power exists within every person. A spark of the Supreme Soul lights up every being as the individual soul. Therefore each of us is a part of the Supreme Soul. We are here to realize our Supreme Self. And this journey of our life is mapped out for us by the Ancient ones as the four Purusharthas or goals of life. 

Dharma is the first Purushartha of life. It is conscientious living. It is an orderly and holistic living. It is all about live and let live policy where all co-exist in perfect harmony and understanding. Dharma makes us sensitive to others and makes us care for others. It makes us compassionate and helps us understand the pain of others and take steps to alleviate their pain. When we walk the path of Dharma, we understand that we are part of one huge Universal family and all our actions – in thought, word and deed will be in accordance with this truly holistic understanding.

This is the story of King Shibi who was a great follower of dharma: King Shibi belonged to Raghuvamsham. He was an ancestor of Sri Rama. He was a great king and was well known for being a follower of dharma. He had deep understanding of the tenets of dharma and the dharma of a King. He was kind and charitable. His fame spread in all the earth and heavens. Lord Indra was curious to check if King Shibi was indeed as great as his reputation. He took the help of Lord Agni – Fire God and both of them went to test King Shibi. Lord Indra took the form of a fierce hawk and Lord Agni assumed the form of a dove

King Shibi was in his gardens offering donations to the needy when suddenly a fluttering dove landed on his wrist. There was fear and pain in the eyes of the dove. King Shibi felt pity for the dove and caressing it softly with his hands, he promised it safety and sanctuary. Immediately behind, a hawk came flying with great speed and tried to grab the dove from the King’s hands. When the King obstructed the hawk, the hawk was angry and said: O King, kindly give me my prey. I chased and hunted it first. The King replied that he had offered protection to the dove and could not hand it over. The hawk was disturbed and said to the King: It is your dharma or duty to protect the dove. You have done so. But you are denying me my rightful food. I am hungry. Provide me with suitable food to appease my hunger. Providing me food is also your dharma. So are you going to kill another life to give me food?

King Shibi offered flesh, equal to the weight of dove, from his body to the hawk. He cut portions of flesh from his body and placed then on a scale with the dove as weight. To the surprise of all, the dove was very heavy.  No amount of flesh cut from the King’s body could balance the weight. So the King finally sat on the scale and then the scale balanced. King Shibi said to the hawk: O hawk, the scales are finally balanced. Eat me and leave the dove alone.

At that moment, flowers rained from the skies over the King and the hawk and dove assumed their true forms. Lord Indra told King Shibi that he had come to test him and see if he was truly a man of his word and followed dharma. They blessed him that his name and fame would be eternal and he would be an example of dharma. The wounds in the King’s body healed and he stood strong and healthy as before. He lived long and ruled wisely and well. Even now his name is well known for his acts of charity and dharma.

The Four Goals of Life

The ancient sacred scriptures of India speak of four goals of life: dharma (virtue), artha(success), kama(pleasure) and moksha (salvation). They are called ‘Sadhya’ which means ‘that which needs to be attained’ viz goals of life. They are also called ‘Purusharthas’ or that which is desired by every human being. The seers of India, the Rishis of yore delved deep into themselves in meditation and studied their basic desires and wishes and then identified four goals of life. These four goals of life are common to all mankind irrespective of status, sex or nationality. These four goals are universal and also basic needs for survival of man. We all aspire to be virtuous, successful, fulfil our desires and also be dear and close to God. Our lives will be incomplete and unsatisfactory even if one of the goals remains unfulfilled. Having identified the goals, we must understand them and work hard in order to achieve them. By doing so, we attain a well rounded life.

Dharma: means being virtuous. It is a righteous way of living. It is living an ethical life with principles. The definition of virtue depends on caste and the ashramas. A brahmin is supposed to offer worship and sacrifices and teach the society. A vaishya should trade or do land cultivation to the best of his ability. Every person was expected to do the work allotted to him as per his caste. This was the primary duty of all. It also depended on the stages of life or ashrama. A brahmachari or student was expected to study and gain knowledge and learn his craft or trade. Dharma also means living peaceful with all so that the atmosphere and society are conducive to attaining our material and spiritual desires. Dharma is so fundamental that even a murderer expects others to be good and truthful to him.

Artha: is achievement of success. It is earning of wealth and power for man needs both. We need wealth for survival, living in comfort and enjoying some luxuries. Having wealth helps us to fulfil our duties and obligations towards family, society and nation. It also gives us security in times of emergency and sicknesses and in old age. Religion gave power and sanctioned man to work hard and earn wealth, success, fame and name. Religion also gave guidelines on how to achieve name, fame, success and wealth – do it virtuously and ethically. Achievement of artha is easy and possible when a man is a Grahastha or householder.

Kama: is all kinds of pleasures including artistic pleasures. This includes arts, music, dance, drama, literature, poetry, painting and sex. Religion says man must develop and relish all kinds of arts in a virtuous manner. Hinduism believes all literature, speech, music, dance and other pleasures are divine and they must be respected and honoured and used and not misused. Desires can also be about things beyond. When we try to quench desires, we understand the futility of our quest. After many futile trials and failures, we let go and move towards the divine.

Moksha: it is striving for salvation; for release from the cycle of births and deaths. We are not born to just eat, sleep, work and continue our lineage. There is a higher purpose to life – we need to find out from where we have come and why and how we can go back to our original state. Moksha means total freedom. It is freedom from limitations of time and space, from our dependence on artha and kama. Practices for moksha lead us to Enlightenment, the Supreme Power. 

When we look at the life of all beings in world today, we see that these four goals are true and still applicable since ancient times. When we follow the guidelines given by the Rishis, we achieve our goals and live a successful and happy life.

Do not be stuck in the dung pile!

We live in our little worlds with our special likes and dislikes. Our world is warm, beautiful comfortable, cosy and ideal for us. It gives us maximum happiness. And we do not like anyone telling us that there is a better world out there. We would rather stick to what we have and where we are, even if there is paradise around the corner.

A drug addict thinks that he has the best life. He lives in his colourful, confused world and waits for the next fix. Craving for the drug, getting the money for it, the physical setbacks of using drugs are nothing to him. His world is the fix and the swimming psychedelic colours. When we try and explain to him that he damages himself and his life and family and there is a better life out there without drugs, he is enraged. His world is challenged and he clings to it.

The same is the problem with the alcoholic, the gambler, the sex addict, the sadist and others. These are extreme cases and understandable. But we are not addicts or perverts. We are normal people. But are we like them? Yes. We are! We are stuck in our little set ways and habits and grouch and fight when someone tries to change them even a little bit. Our routine worlds of gossip, grouching, self destruction, judgemental ways, overbearing attitudes,  bullying – we hold on to all these with both hands. We suffer from the stress in life, bad relationships and sleepless nights due to our behaviour and habits. When we are told that better things like love, compassion, patience, peace are out there and we can get them, we dig our heels in and stick to our pain and stresses. We are  so much used to the pleasure of our pain. When we are approached by others and taught about the spiritual path, we refuse to consider what they say and live in our comfortable miserable worlds. Logic tells us that definitely there are always better things and better levels in life, but we do not wish to consider them. Let us see the lives of two monks who were friends:

Two monks lived in a monastery. They did all the daily chores and their spiritual practices together. They were great friends. They had a pact of friendship which extended beyond death. They decided that after death and when they would be reborn, the one who remembered the past birth would search out the other friend and remind him of their past spiritual practices and aspirations to achieve salvation.

With the passage of time, both of them died, each within a few months of the other. One was reborn as a saint and the other as a worm who lived in a pile of dung. The saint has memories and knowledge of the past birth and he began searching for his friend. He searched in the divine realm and did not find him there. Then he searched for him in at the level of man, animal, birds, insects and plants. Finally he found his friend reborn as a worm in a dung pile.

The saint said to the worm: O worm, I am your friend from the past birth. We had both decided that the one who has memories of past life will search for the other and remind him of the spiritual practices and goal of salvation. I recall our past and have come to remind you. So please come with me. Let us do our meditation together so that when you are reborn again you will remember who you are and join me again in human body.

The worm screamed: Go away! Go away! This dung pile is my paradise. I am the most happy here with my wife and family. I await the birth of my grandchildren.  I wish to play with them and be here. The saint said: This is a pile of dung which is rotten and stinking. Let me get you out of here and we will go to my ashram which is clean and fragrant with jasmine creepers and together we will be happy again.

The saint tried to pick up the worm but the worm clung tight to the dung pile. The harder the saint tried, the harder the worm stuck to the dung pile! His heaven was right there amidst the stench and gas of the rotting dung. He was the most happy with his form as a worm and with his little world. He refused to believe that there was a better world out there. 

How many of us cling to our pile of dung? 

How to deal with opponents - The Rabbit and the Elephant

We see many times, that the little guy who is cornered by the giants is bullied and finally smashed. We feel helpless in such situations. How can a small group or a little person deal with those who are in power and have so much of strength and brawn? The thin boy at school, the lowly clerk, the helpless wife, the soft sister, the loving brother, the harassed employee, the citizen bullied by an autocratic government  – we see daily examples of victims of problems in different walks of life. How can they solve their problems without strength and might? They can do so, if they follow the rules of the ancients – sama, dana, bheda, danda. Let us see this illustration:

A large herd of elephants lived in a jungle. Their leader was a huge tusker who took care of them with love. Once there was a drought in that area. The birds and animals in the forest died of thirst. The elephants too suffered from thirst. The leader knew that if they did not get water soon, many of them would die of thirst. So he sent out scouts to search for water in different directions. One of the elephants found a large lake of water in a far off jungle. The leader was happy. He ordered the herd to start moving towards the lake.

Close to the lake was a colony of rabbits. The elephants had to pass through this colony to reach the waters. They were thirsty and were charging their way through the forest to quench their thirst. Thousands of rabbits were trampled and killed and many more were injured. The rabbits were in a panic. An emergency meeting was held and the king addressed all the rabbits: the herd of wild elephants are passing through our colony and they have already injured and killed thousands of us. We must take urgent action to prevent more damage and death to our lot. I want you all to think of ways to save our group.

The rabbits gathered in groups and discussed. One little rabbit stood up and addressed the king: Your majesty, please send me as your messenger to the leader of the elephants and I will find a solution to the problem. The rabbit went off with the king’s blessings and best wishes. The rabbit found the group of elephants returning from the lake.  In order to be seen and heard, he stood on a huge rock and addressed the leader of the elephants: O great leader of elephants, please hear me, I am a messenger of the Mighty Moon. He sends you an urgent message. But before I deliver the message, I want you to remember that I am only a messenger and you must not be angry with me or harm me. I am only doing my duty.

The leader of the elephants was impressed with the courage of the little rabbit and asked him to speak out. The rabbit gave the message: the Moon says that you are a mighty and wise leader and you brought your herd safely here to drink water and saved their lives. But you killed thousands of rabbits on your way to the lake and soiled the waters of the holy lake that belongs to me. The rabbits are under my special protection. The king of rabbits lives with me. So I ask you not to kill any more rabbits or something terrible will happen to you and your herd.

The leader of the elephants was shocked. He replied: O Rabbit, you are right. We have unknowingly killed many rabbits on our way to the lake. I shall see to it that you do not suffer any more. I shall request the Moon to forgive me for the sins of my herd. Please tell me what to do. The rabbit asked the leader of the elephant to come alone with him to the lake so that he could meet the Moon. When they reached the lake, they saw the Moon reflected in the still waters. The elephant bowed to the Moon. He dipped his trunk into the waters to worship the Divine Moon. At once the water was disturbed and the Moon seemed to move to and fro.

The rabbit looked at the shifting reflection of the Moon and said to the elephant that the Moon was angrier than ever because the elephant had touched the holy waters of the Moon’s lake.  The elephant bowed his head and begged the Moon to forgive him and he promised never to touch the waters of the holy lake again. Nor would his group harm any of the rabbits who were so dear to the Moon. The herd of elephants went away. Soon there were rains and all lived happily.

This story illustrates the use of sama, dana, bheda and danda. The rabbit praises the elephant for its mightiness and leadership – sama.  It points out the damage caused and the elephants ask for forgivness of Moon in return for not harming the rabbits – dana. The rabbit takes the leader alone to the lake and makes him feel he has committed more mistakes and now is in danger of punishment - bheda. The rabbit tells the elephant if the holy waters of the lake are disturbed again he and his herd will suffer – danda.  Thus by cleverly using the right technique and words, the little rabbit was successful in protecting his group from the strength of herd of wild elephants. This is indeed a lesson for us to ponder. Brains, soft words and right technique of negotiation win – not might and brawn!

How to deal with opponents

Where there are two people, there are three or more opinions. Even a single person holds many opinions on the same topic. Where there are differences of opinion, there will be friction and problems of establishing superiority. There are many approaches to dealing with problems and differences of opinions.  Ancient Hindu philosophy teaches four ways of dealing with opponents:Sama, dana , bheda , danda.

Sama:  Sama is the conciliation method. It is always better to deal with the opponent in a diplomatic manner and solve the problem with the least possible friction. The differences of opinion are sorted out by explanation, by common sense and logical explanation. Sama can be used in four ways: 

We can praise the opponent on the basis of his lineage, personal qualities, occupation, good nature, wealth, learning, beauty, wisdom etc.

We can link ourselves to the opponent by blood relationship, relationship by marriage, being students of same guru or college or university or belonging to same community, caste, village, town or area or other commonalities.

We can point out the various advantages and mutual benefits which both parties get when the problem is solved.

Where the enemy is an internal enemy we can award him honours and placate his quarrelsome tendencies.

Dana: When Sama or reconciliation does not work, we use dana. Dana means offering of gifts to placate the person. It is the quintessential carrot offered to the stubborn mule that does not move.

We can offer our opponent money, favours etc and win him over. In short, we bribe him to our side. The gifts given can be cancellation of what is owed, returning of something received, donations or allowing the opponent to keep something.

Bheda:  Where good words do not work, diplomacy has no value, gifts and favours are disregarded, a sterner step is taken. That is bheda.  Bheda means sowing dissension. It is creating friction and mutual suspicion between the members of the opposition.  It can also be threatening one of them. Rumours are sown and when the mutual cooperation and trust of the opposition is shaken, it is easy to bend them to bring about a solution. This is the art of selective discrimination and differentiation in order to settle issues.

Danda:  Danda is the use of force. Where good words, gifts, creation of friction and breaking down of cooperation and loyalty does not work, only force works. It involves destruction of the enemy, his property or liberty. It can be in form of plunder or harassment of death.

We see many examples of Sama, Dana, Bheda and Danda in the ancient texts of India. When Hanuman went to Lanka in search of Sita Maa, he met Ravan in the royal court. There we can see a fine display of diplomacy and appeal by Hanuman. He praises Ravan, his force and might  as a King, his knowledge of Vedas and Shastras, his mastery over music and fine arts, his wealth, his courage and bravery and his conquest of many kingdoms. Having appealed and complimented him in this manner, he requests Ravan not to spoil his great name and reputation by kidnapping a loyal wife and holding her by force. When Ravan does not listen to him, he challenges Ravan and declares that Ravan will be defeated and creates fear in all. He then sets fire to all of Lanka and punishes Ravan for the wrong doing.

This ancient technique is useful and applicable even today. Always use soft words and genuine sweetness to explain and solve the problems first.

Four Kinds of Bhaktas

Bhakti or love for God is a natural expression of man. The spark of God is within us and it pulls us towards God without anyone teaching us about Divinity or Supreme Power. We instinctively know about hunger, thirst and other things. In the same way, instinctively, we also know that there is a Supreme Power which creates, sustains and nourishes the entire Universe. We all love God for different reasons. In Bhagwad Geeta, Sri Krishna classifies four different kinds of bhaktas(lovers of God) – Artha, Artharthi, Jijnasu and Jnani.

Artha – He is the suffering devotee. He is distressed and in pain and sorrow. He could be suffering from sickness, incurable diseases, be in danger from wild animals or attack from other humans, or be in trouble due to earth quakes, storms and other natural calamities. He craves for the Grace of God to relieve him from suffering. He could also be facing small minor problems for which he wants quick fix from Divinity without any effort from himself. 

Draupadi was Artha- Bhakta. When Dussasana dragged her and tried to disrobe her in front of all present in the court, she called out to Sri Krishna and sought help to keep her honour and respect. Gajendra – the elephant king is also another example. His leg was caught by the crocodile and despite all his efforts and help from his group, he was not able to free himself. So he plucked a lotus from the water and called out to the Primeval Supreme Power for rescuing him. Before the exams, students are often found at temples praying to God for help in passing the exams. The sick and his well wishers seek healing from the Healer of the Universe. Most of us are in this category. It is definitely better to ask God for help than be at mercy of others.

Artharthi – He is one who seeks wealth and worldly possessions. He seeks  wealth to have a happy life. All his prayers are focussed on appeasing God in order to win His favour and amass wealth. He craves for money, wife, children, position, name, fame and power. Sugriva was Artharthi bhakta. He made friendship with Sri Rama in order to get Sri Rama’s help in killing his brother Vali  and taking over the kingdom and getting back his own wife. A huge majority of the people in this world are Artharthi bhaktas. They seek God and perform worship and poojas and japas only to amass wealth, get wife, children, cars, homes, and a long list of other material possessions. We seek God not for sake of God but for the gifts He can give us.

Jijnasu –He is a seeker of knowledge. He is the enquirer. He is dissatisfied with the world as he feels that what is apparent is not the reality. He wants to know the reality.  He is aware that the material world with its sensual pleasures does not give eternal happiness. He seeks relief from the sufferings and miseries of the earthly existence.  He wants to know about the everlasting bliss. There is an emptiness in his life which cannot be filled by wealth, relationships and possessions. He seeks God for sake of knowledge and wisdom. He wants to know more about God and His Universe. Uddhava was a Jijnasu. He sought Sri Krishna for knowledge and wisdom and found eternal bliss.

Jnani – He is a man of wisdom. He is satisfied with the Self. He is contented in the Self. He has no desires. He is freed from desires, he has fulfilled all desires, and his only desire is the Self. The Jnani considers his own Self as the All-inclusive God. Sage Suka, the son of Ved Vyas was a Jnani. He narrated the Srimad Bhagvat to Parikshit Maharaj and helped him to receive the Highest Grace.

Sri Krishna says that He carries the burden of the bhakta who has surrendered to Him completely. All others are ego stricken and have forgotten their real self. They live in ignorance and chase material things and desires. They are born again and again due to their karma and desires. They suffer endlessly due to their urges, want and past actions. Only repeated pain makes them aware that they are going wrong somewhere and then they ask questions and seek God to know about Him. The jnani is the only one who can surrender truly to God and seek Him for the sake of Himself. Such a jnani is most beloved to Him. Let us rise from our huge egos and endless wish lists of desires and learn about the Supreme Power and Love God for sake of Love.

Atma Nivedan - Bali

Atma Nivedan is the culmination of the journey of bhakti, the soul takes on its way to God. Love for God is not an overnight episode. It comes gradually and blossoms slowly and sweetly and raises the understanding and knowledge of the devotee.  Suffering comes to the devotee due to his own karma and lack of understanding of the rules of Universe. The devotee gets experiences of love of God and begins understanding the laws of Universe and God. As his bhakti deepens, he reaches a stage where  nothing exists for him but God and his love. This is atma nivedan or surrender in complete to God. This stage leads to merger of self with God and self realization.

Atma nivedan is letting go of one’s ego and bowing in surrender to God. It is accepting the demands of God for complete love from the bhakta regardless of the consequences. The devotee is brought to a crucial point where he takes a leap of faith and surrenders his body, mind and soul to God. The rewards of such a leap are very great indeed as we can see from the story of King Bali who is a great example of Atma Nivedan:   .

Bali was a great king endowed with the qualities of courage, generosity, patience and will power. He performed a hundred ashwamedha yagna – fire worship of specific type which endows the doer of the yagna with great powers.  The yagna was going on successfully and the Gods feared the final result of the yagna, as Bali was a demon or asura. They appealed to Lord Vishnu to save them from the disaster. 

Lord Vishnu took avatar as Vaman or the dwarf. He was born to Aditi who had performed tapas for saving her children who were the Devatas or Gods. He was short in stature. When he grew up to the right age, his thread ceremony was performed. At that time Bali was performing the last and hundredth yagna.  Lord Vaman went to the site of the yagna to seek donations which were given in plenty to Brahmins.

When Lord Vaman reached the place of yagna, his divine appearance and radiance enthralled everyone present. All were spell bound looking at the small and splendid form of Lord Vaman. Bali was so impressed with the personality of Lord Vaman that he offered him his throne and asked what else he could do for him. Lord Vaman praised Bali and his lineage for generosity and benevolence and sought a donation of earth measured by his three steps.  Bali was taken aback and laughed looking at the short stature of Lord Vaman. He asked him to demand more land and other gifts. But Lord Vaman told him that he would be satisfied with just three measures of land and if a man was not satisfied with what he got, he would never be satisfied as demands are unlimited.

Bali agreed to fulfil the demands of Lord Vaman. His teacher, Shukracharya recognised Lord Vishnu and warned Bali that there was treachery and he would be cheated and vanquished. Bali refused to listen to his teacher as he felt that when the Lord of the Universe Himself had come and sought biksha or donation from him, he was very fortunate and blessed and he must give Lord Vaman what he sought. Lord Vaman transformed his body into a giant form. With his first step, he covered the entire earth. The second step covered the heavens. There was no place to keep for the third step. Bali bent his head in surrender and offered his head to Lord Vaman to step on for measuring the third step. Bali was satisfied that he saved his name and reputation for benevolence. Lord Vaman stepped on Bali’s head and blessed him. Bali was pushed into the ‘Sutala’ world which is even more splendorous than heaven. Lord Vishnu was very pleased with the atma nivedan of Bali and made him the king of Sutala and also remained there as his security or door man protecting Bali.

The Bhagwad Gita speaks of karmarpan – offering of karma to the Lord, samarpan – surrender to God and atma nivedan which is complete self surrender to God. This is the highest pinnacle of bhakti that we can reach.

Atma Nivedana

Atma Nivedana is the ultimate height of Bhakti or love of God, which is self-surrender to God  of body, mind and soul. The devotee has no self identity. He surrenders all unto God. He has no desires, no urges, no ego; he has no pain, sorrow or grief; he seeks nothing but loving God for the sake of loving Him.  In such state of surrender, the devotee understands that whatever happens to him is the doing of God and is only for his own good. He sees the events of pleasure, pain, highs and lows as blessings from God. He is balanced and peaceful at all times. His mind is eternally immersed in God. He considers the world as a stage and himself as a puppet in the hands of God who is the master puppeteer. He works and lives as instrument in hands of God. This is the last step in bhakti of Nava Vidha Bhakti as explained by Sri Rama to Shabari.

The soul is a spark of God. It is clothed with consciousness and the sense organs and gunas- qualities of goodness, passion and inertia. The soul dons the body and lives on earth in various forms to fulfil its desires as per it gunas or qualities. In the variety of forms that it lives on earth, the soul moves away from its original state and forgets its divine nature. It is now fully embroiled in the material world and sensual pleasures. It suffers terribly as the wants are not fulfilled, there are expectations and the ego asserts itself at all times. As karma accumulates and suffering increases, man turns to God and prays for freedom from the pain and suffering.  That is the beginning of bhakti or love for God. Once he is pain-free, man seeks wealth, wife, family, home, land, etc. to live a good life. Then he develops inquisitiveness about God and seeks to know about Him. Finally he begins to love God for the sake of love.

The Nava Vidha bhakti  is a very logical way of development of bhakti which culminates in surrender of body, mind and soul to God and attaining Him and His love in return.

We start our journey of bhakti with a desire to listen to the glory and grandeur of God and the various avatars and manifestations of Divinity – Shravana.

We then relish singing about the Lord and praising Him –Keertana.

As our love for God develops, we think about God , His Glories, Love, Compassion and Magnificence at all times  – Smarana.

We start our worship of God by falling at the feet of the Lord – Padaseva

Performing systematic worship of lord as per rituals in which we get inner satisfaction  - Archanam.

Our bhakti now is developing well and we see our favourite form of God in all beings and objects and we develop reverence or attitude of Vandana towards all life and nature – Vandana.

Where there is reverence to all life, we develop an attitude of service towards all mankind  - Dasya.

The relationship with God now is very strong and He becomes our near and dear and our best friend – Sakhya.

This leads us to the final step of total surrender, yielding fully to the Will of the Lord –Atma Nivedan.

The lives of all saints and also the Bhagwad Gita teach us the importance of self surrender as the only way to attain the Supreme.  Sri Krishna teaches Arjun that only and only self surrender will give him peace and relieve him from all sins. Self surrender leads to the overcoming of ego and individual consciousness and attaining Absolute Consciousness.  The spark that is the soul merges with the Light of God. Man becomes one with God and the mortal becomes Immortal. He lives in the world as perfected soul. He has no karma and no duties. He lives life merged in bliss.

The gopis of Vrindavan loved Sri Krishna as the Supreme and surrendered unto Him in full. King Bali also surrendered unto the Lord, offering Him, his body, mind and soul. They all attained the Supreme.

Be Content!

We are given the gift of life, a healthy body and nature provides us with all necessities of life. With our intelligence and work, we have succeeded in making our lives far more comfortable than before and have everything we need. Yet we are always discontent. We seek more and more. Today the amenities and comforts we enjoy are far superior to those enjoyed by the Kings of yore. Yet we are unhappy and discontent.

The soul moves through 8, 40,000 life forms –from the single celled creature, insect, fish, bird,  and animal and finally evolves to the body of man.  After getting body of man, it is our primary duty to recognise the soul within us and our connection to universe and God. But we are caught up in the endless cycles of desires and fulfilment and are rarely content and happy. We never know when grace descends on us and we are given the gift of human body and its wealth. And we never know when we are going to lose this precious gift by our own ugly discontent, greed and other vices. The story of this insect is the story of our lives:

Once, Lord Shiva and Maa Parvathi, were moving across the Universe, when the gaze of the Mother fell on the desert region of earth. Her keen sight picked up a pathetic scene. An insect was dragging itself across the hot sands. It has three broken legs and the other three legs had been cut off from its body. It was vibrating with pain and the heat of the sands was scorching it. Maa Parvati was moved by its condition. She asked Lord Shiva why it was suffering this way. The Lord replied that it was reaping the fruits of its karma. The Mother could not bear to see its pain anymore. She requested the Lord to transform it into a man. The Lord refused saying that it was not evolved enough and that man generally misused anything given to him. The Mother kept begging Him, so He transformed the three legged insect into a man. That man stood bewildered in the heat of the desert. The Mother requested Lord to create a house for the man to dwell and also provide it with enough stock of food supplies, bed, clothing and furniture for a comfortable living. Lo and behold, a good home and all necessary furniture, food and clothes were made ready and the man was stood in his new home. He had a huge smile and walked around all the rooms inspecting the things. The Lord had provided great quality stuff and surely anyone would be happy with it. 

After the man finished inspecting the entire home, the smile was wiped off his face and he looked very unhappy. The Mother was also unhappy looking at him. She told the Lord – Let us go and ask him what else he wants and give it to him. Let him be happy. The Lord replied: You are playing a game you do not understand. There is no point in asking and giving this man anything more. He has been given so much – a new healthy human body, a new life and a new home filled with so many things. Yet he is discontent and unhappy. He should have been left in the desert to undergo his karma and finish it. But due to the repeated pleadings of the Mother, They both appeared in front of the man. The Mother said: You were an insect with three broken legs and three legs cut off. We gave you a human form and this lovely home and all these things. Why are you unhappy? What else do you want? Ask, and the Lord will grant you all your wishes.

The man looked around and said: O Lord, you gave me a good home and great furniture and food in the kitchen cupboards. But who will clean my home and keep it tidy? Who will cook my food and wash the vessels? Who will tend to the garden? Please leave Maa Parvathi here. She can be my cook, cleaner and gardener. Then my wants will be complete for now! 

The Mother was furious. She turned to the Lord and said: You were right. This man does not deserve anything. Turn him back into that insect again with broken legs and let him suffer his karma! And the man became an insect again with three broken legs suffering in the hot sands of the desert. 

A mighty lesson indeed to us to be content with our lot in life! We should work hard, strive for more but be content with what we get. We never know when grace descends and we are given this human body with the all the wonderful gifts of health intelligence, senses reasoning etc. We also don’t know, when due to our discontentment and ingratitude, we may turn back into a three legged insect  broiling in the desert!

Padasevanam - Bharat

Padasevanam – or serving the Holy Feet of the Lord is another means of bhakti. The Feet of the Lord are stressed in Hinduism as we fall at the Feet of the Lord in surrender and seek help and protection. Padasevanam is a part of the Nava Vidha Bhakti taught by Sri Rama to Shabari. When we do the japa of the mantra or take the Holy Name of God or pray to Him, we focus on the Feet of the Lord and surrender unto Him. Being intensely attached to thinking or smaran of the Lotus Feet of the Lord is also Padasevanam. Along with the constant thinking of the Holy Feet of the Lord, visiting temples, seeing the Form of the Lord there, circum-ambulating around the form of God and the temples, visiting holy spots, bathing in holy rivers are all a part of Padasevanam. Following all these practices of Padasevanam helps us to advance in spiritual path.

Sri Maha Laxmi, the Shakti of Sri Vishnu is always doing Padasevanam of Sri Vishnu. Sri Vishnu lies on the Seshnag on the Shirasagar or Ocean of Milk in Yoga Nidra nurturing the world and taking care of the needs of all creation and Sri Maha Laxmi is seated at His Feet, pressing His Feet and giving Him comfort. She is doing Padasevanam bhakti.

The greatness of the grace from the Feet of Sri Rama is elaborated well in Ramayana. Ahilya was cursed by her husband Rishi Gautam for being in state of unawareness because of which she was tricked into a wrong relationship with Lord Indra.  Because of the curse, she turned into a stone and lay at the ashram waiting for Sri Rama to come there and redeem her. When Sage Vishwamitra brought Sri Rama to the deserted ashram, the dust from Sri Rama’s feet touched Ahilya and she was transformed back into a living being. In her praise of Sri Rama, Ahilya says that her life was fulfilled when the dust from the feet of Sri Rama touched her.

Guha, the tribal king of Nishads ferried Sri Rama, Maa Sita and Sri Laxman across the Ganga river so that they could go to the other bank and continue their journey towards the forest for their exile period. Guha had already heard of the transformation of Ahilya into living flesh from a stone. He used this excuse to perform Padasevanam of Sri Rama. He told Sri Rama that he had to wash the dust off His Feet so that when He sat in the boat, the boat should not turn into a woman. He washed Sri Rama’s feet with the waters of Ganges and drank that water as prasad. Then he ferried them across the river.

Bharat – the brother of Sri Rama is an outstanding example of Padasevanam. When Sri Rama went into exile, Bharat went after Him and asked Him to come back. Sri Rama refused as He was fulfilling the word of His father. So Bharat took the Padukas or foot wear of Sri Rama and carried them on his head and installed them on the throne of Ayodhya. He worshipped the Padukas of Sri Rama daily and governed the kingdom as a servant of Sri Rama. The Padukas of Sri Rama ruled the kingdom. The devotion of Bharat to Sri Rama and his Padasevanam are exemplary. The peace, progress and prosperity in the kingdom of Ayodhya when it was ruled by the Padukas of Sri Rama was noteworthy.

Hanumanji by His bhakti and seva has won the heart of Sri Rama and is always seated at His Feet ready for doing seva. Nandi the bull who is the greatest devotee of Lord Shiva is always seated at the Feet of Lord Shiva ready for doing seva.

Padasevanam is done to the Guru by touching the feet of the Guru in humility, surrender and bhakti and by following the teachings and practices taught by the Guru. Completing the tasks given by the Guru in a spirit of seva and bhakti is also Padasevanam. We may not be physically near Guru or God but we can do mental worship or Padasevanam and live in surrender and bhakti.

Vandana - Akrura

The sixth step on the Nava Vidha Bhakti is Vandana. It is offering of prayers and obeisance to the Lord. Bhakti is a natural expression in man. Man’s innate self is Divine and bhakti or love for God is an instinctive expression in man. Just as Arjun became famous for his Sakhya Bhakti and Hanuman for Dasya Bhakti, Akrura became famous for his Vandana or prayers and prostration to Sri Krishna.

Akrura was the uncle of Sri Krishna. He was a courtier in King Kamsa’s court. Kamsa’s was doomed to die at the hands of Sri Krishna. So he plotted to kill Sri Krishna by inviting Him to Mathura. He ordered Akrura to go to Vrindavan and bring Sri Krishna with him to Mathura. Akrura knew of the evil plans of Kamsa. He was very eager to go to Vrindavan as he knew that Sri Krishna was the Supreme Power and he wanted the blessings and darshan of Sri Krishna. It would be the greatest moment of his life when he would have the darshan of the Lord and He would call him as ‘Uncle’. He travelled to Vrindavan melting with love for Sri Krishna.

When Akrura reached Vrindavan, he saw the footprints of Sri Krishna in the dust. He got down immediately and prostrated on the ground. He rolled over the earth to get the dust of the Lord’s footprints over his body. He set an example of the reverence with which we should enter any holy land, whatever be our status, wealth, power or position in life. When Akrura finally met Sri Krishna and Balaram, he prostrated before them with all the eight limbs touching the ground and touched Their Lotus Feet. He sought Their Blessings despite being elder in age and relationship status. Sri Krishna embraced him and took him to His home as an honoured guest. Akrura delivered the invitation and explained about the evil scheme of Kamsa. The Divine brothers laughed and decided to accompany Akrura to Mathura the next morning.

The next morning, Akrura, Sri Krishna and Balaram left for Mathura. The cowherds tried to stop the chariot and prevent Sri Krishna from leaving them. They proceeded and by evening they reached the banks of the Yamuna River. Akrura stopped the chariot to perform his daily worship. As soon as he took a dip in the river, he saw in the waters, Sri Krishna lying as Lord Vishnu on Balaram who became the Anantha Sesha Nag with thousand of heads. He saw Lord Brahma, Shiva , Indra, other Gods, Rishis and Sages surrounding Lord Vishnu and offering Their Prayers.

Amazed and astonished, Akrura came out of the water and went to Sri Krishna and Balaram who were sitting in the chariot. He prostrated before Them and glorified Sri Krishna:  My dear Lord, Your transcendental eternal form is full of knowledge. Simply by concentrating one's mind upon Your form, one can understand in full, the knowledge everything that is, because You are the original source of all knowledge. You are the supremely powerful, possessing all kinds of energies. You are the Supreme Brahman and the Supreme Person, supreme controller and master of the material energies. I offer my respectful obeisance unto You because You are Vasudeva, the resting place of all creation. You are the all-pervading Supreme Personality of Godhead, and You are also the Supreme Soul residing in everyone's heart and giving directions to act. Now, my Lord, I have completely surrendered unto You. Please give me Your protection.

Sri Krishna was pleased with the Vandana of Akrura and blessed him. They reached Mathura where He defeated and killed Kamsa.  By simply offering Vandana, Akrura became famous and achieved the highest goal of Godhead.

Vandana - Nava Vidha Bhakti

Bhakti is utmost love for God and surrender unto Him.  We express our love for God by folding our hands in the Namaste position and head bent in humbleness and also by prostrating. Prostration is lying on the earth at the feet of God or Guru with all the eight limbs of the body touching the ground. It is also called ‘Sashtanga Namaskar’ or ‘ Namaskaram’  and it is done with great love, faith and reverence. This is called Vandana. It is one of the limbs of the Nava Vidha Bhakti as taught by Sri Rama to Shabari.

Prostration is an essential part of worship and showing respect for saints, sadhus , Guru and God. When we prostrate with humility, we are open to receiving the vibrations of love and grace emanating from the feet of Guru and God.  Such grace wipes out much of our negative karma and frees us from a great deal of suffering in life.

Why is it necessary that we fall completely flat on the ground with all eight limbs touching the earth? Such a position is one of utter humbleness. Our ego is wiped out during such time and bhakti flows out from us to the Supreme. Another reason is it is prostration to all creation. The sky, air, fire, water, earth, stars, all planets, all living creatures on land, air, sea, plant life, bird life, mountains, rivers- everything in the universe constitutes the Body of the Supreme. Doing the Vandana is offering respect to the Body of God.

The goal of bhakti is to develop such deep love for God that the Supreme Power manifests itself and graces us within and without. We need to develop exclusive love for God. Any worship offered in any form goes to the Supreme Lord who is One. Let us learn from Arjun and his Vandana of Sri Krishna. He prostrates to Sri Krishna and says: : Salutation to You from the front, salutation to You from behind, salutation to You from every side! O All! Immeasurable in strength, You pervade all. You are all! Arjun’s understanding of Vandana is correct. When we offer Vandana to Guru and God this should be our thought: You are all, all is in You.

Vibhishan, the brother of Ravana practised Vandana. He left Ravana as Ravana broke all dharma by unjustly kidnapping Sita who was devoted to her husband Sri Rama and was forcing her to marry him. Vibhishan left home and hearth and crossed the seas and prostrated before Sri Rama in bhakti and surrender. Sri Rama accepted him as a friend and also promised him the throne of Lanka after the defeat of Ravana. Vibhishan’s bhakti and Vandana blessed him with the utmost Grace of Sri Rama.

Laxman and Hanuman are also examples of Vandana bhakti. Both of them served Sri Rama with the dasya attitude – servant of God. And both were blessed with the utmost Grace of Sri Rama and Maa Sita.

Bhisma – the Grand Old Man of Mahabharat practiced the Vandana Bhakti. Though he belonged to the Kaurava group and fought against the Pandavas in Mahabharat, he was a staunch devotee of Sri Krishna. Bhisma offered Sri Krishna salutations in a voice choked with love, Sri Krishna blessed him with the light of Divine Knowledge.

Akrura, the uncle of Sri Krishna, is also famed for the Vandana Bhakti.  Vandana helps us to easily overcome our ego. Overcoming ego is not normally possible except with grace of God. All those who practice the Vandana Bhakti are blessed with the Grace, Wisdom, Love and Self-realisation.

Archanam - Prithu Maharaj

Archanam is the ritualistic worship of God. Every religion in the world has its own rituals and rites. By following these rites, the worshiper shows his loyalty, love and devotion to God. Worship by prescribed rites is pleasing to man. Man likes established rituals and rites. They give him comfort. And the rituals prescribed by the sacred texts give definite results. These can be fulfillment of material desires like health, wealth, home, wife, children, fame, name, power etc. Archanam can be done for the welfare of all such as pooja for rains, for abundant food and water for all, for peace and prosperity in the land. Archanam is also done for increasing bhakti, self transformation, and self realization. The blessings of this world and the other world can be achieved by archanam. Prithu Maharaju adopted this method and achieved perfection as a king and later in life achieved the highest results possible – Self realization.  This is the story of Prithu Maharaj and his worship:

King Vena was an atheist and a tyrant. His misrule resulted in poverty and food shortage in his kingdom.  Seeing the suffering of the people, the sages counselled the King. When nothing moved the King, the sages killed him to free the kingdom from his tyranny. Then the sages worshipped Lord Vishnu to grant a just and good ruler for the kingdom.  With help of mantras, the sages churned the dead body of the King and created a new King. This new King was King Prithu, a minor incarnation of Lord Vishnu. 

As soon as King Prithu was crowned as King, the starving and suffering citizens sought him to solve their problems. Immediately he summoned Mother Earth and asked Her to produce ample food grains for his hungry subjects. She said She would do it, if the  King performed worship – archanam, in order to satisfy Lord Vishnu and Lord’s blessings were obtained. So King Prithu organised ninety-nine ashvamedha yagnas and performed them. 

The ashvamedha yagnas have elaborate rituals and need proper preparations. The shaligrama shila is worshipped as Lord Vishnu – the Yagna Purusha or the receiver of the rites of worship. King Prithu’s dedication and devotion was so strong that Lord Vishnu personally appeared and accepted the worship. With the blessings of Lord Vishnu, there was all round peace and prosperity in the kingdom. King Prithu was the first ruler who had planned cities and townships on Earth. He put in his best efforts and dedicated all his royal work to the Supreme Power. 

As the peace and prosperity of his kingdom had been received due to the Grace and Blessings of Lord Vishnu, King Prithu engaged all his subjects in worship of the Supreme Power.  He ensured that his subjects were prosperous and engaged fully in faithful worship of Lord Vishnu. As he grew old, King Prithu gave up his vast and rich kingdom and went to the forest for tapas. Under the instructions of Sanat Kumara – one of the sons of Lord Brahma, he practiced austerities. He gave up cooked food and lived on fruits and leaves. Then he lived only on air. He was continuously engaged in thinking of the Lord. With his mind focused on the Lotus Feet of the Lord, King Prithu gave up his physical body voluntarily and attained self-realisation.  

We cannot perform large expensive yagnas like King Prithu. But we can do regular worship in our homes and temples. We can to archanam of God and Guru in our hearts with mental worship. By being sincere and disciplined in our worship, we receive Grace and are guided and taken to the highest goals of human existence – self realization.