Feb 27: Why did God create us?
Madhura, Sriramji and Nishaji performed Nama Sankirtan and started the Satsang. Followed by this, AravindJi from Orlando gave a talk on what is the purpose of our creation and what the world teaches us.
When Sri Chandrasekarendra Saraswathi Swamigal was appointed the next Peetathipathi of Shankara Mutt, he was 13 years old. So when old devotees of the mutt arrived, they asked to meet the Jagatguru sarcastically. Meaning how could a 13 year old boy be considered a Jagatguru and be appointed as the Peetadhipati (head) of a Mutt. When they were shown to Sri Chandrasekarendra Saraswati Swamigal, he explained to them that the Sanskrit word Jagatguru must be understood word by word as in its split as ‘Jagat’ and ‘Guru’. He further explained what each word translates to that is Jagat meaning World and Guru meaning teacher, thus proclaiming the world is my Guru.
He said whatever the world teaches every moment is what I preach to my devotees. Now the learned devotees feel at the lotus feet of the 13 year old Jagat Guru to pardon their ignorance and bless them to relieve themselves of their ego.Now going by what Sri Chandrasekarendra Saraswati Swamigal or affectionately called Maha Periyava says that the world is the Guru. Let’s look at the world and understand what it teaches us. Take an example of a family, why do we get married and procreate children knowing the time, effort and responsibility involved in bring up a child?
The simple reason is we want to share our love, to watch the small baby, to cuddle it, though we also know that they will one day grow up, go miles away for their living and get married and start their own family. But we still want to see them happy and shower our unconditional love wherever they are.
There will be times when the child has gone to a foreign land and does not call his/her parents for months. Even then the parents will always live in the memory of their child and praying for their well being. They may try to send a message through a relative or a friend who plans to visit the same place where their child currently resides. When this friend informs the child that his parents are eagerly waiting to hear from him/her at the earliest and still the child ignores the pleas as he/she is busy in their own life. But one fine day due to some need, the child suddenly calls the parents, the joy is over bound.
They will have tears of joy flowing to hear the well being of their child and be so happy that the child remembered them. They will be over exhilarated to help their child even after being ignored for several years. All they want is the happiness of their child.
That is exactly what God wants. He has created us to share his love. He has created us in the same form like Himself by giving us this human body to share the beauty of the world and all his creations with us. He is our father and mother. He always wishes well for us even when we don’t think of him. He always wants to show only love like our own parents.
A mother makes food, keeps our home clean, takes care of our health and provides us will all the nice things in life for the child. But the child takes everything for granted. But if one day the child turns to tell his/her mother, ‘your food was delicious today.. Thank you Ma’. Imagine the joy the mother will feel, she will be the happiest person on earth as her child though about what the mother has done to keep him/her happy and appreciates her efforts. That’s how God is! He has blessed us with so much of goodness in life. But do we thank him for every single thing? But if one day we turn to God and thank him for all he has been to us, imagine the joy God will feel? That his child has though about him! If we take 1 step towards God, he takes 10 steps towards us. But we should take the initiative to take that first step.
The sun shines everyday for everybody. It does not see any distinction towards anybody. But if we keep our doors and windows closed then we are the ones to lose the sun shine and light. Hence we should be open to receive the love God shows by his creations. We call this God with several names he is all pervading and all the same. Like a person can be a mother to a child, she can be a wife to her husband; she can be a daughter to her parents or a friend to someone. So each one calls the same person with different relationships such as mother, wife, daughter, friend, sister. Thus God also appears as different forms to different people. So finally all we have to do is call him and show him love. He will be happy, the world will be a happy place and we’ll also be happy.
A siddha has sung the following verse ‘Aasaiai arumin! Aasaiai arumin! Eesanodu aayinum aasaiai arumin!’ which means ‘Renounce all desire! Renounce all desire, even if it be for God’. When looked at superfluously we may wonder, “how could a saint ask us to give up the desire for God?” But, when seen in the right perspective we will understand what the saint really means – “Give up even the desire for the Lord and just love Him.” True love seeks nothing whereas a desire expects something in return. And when we fail to get what we seek/expect then it might turn into hatred.”
In Srimad Bhagavatam, a bunch of verses called “Venu Gitam” describes the beauty in the flute recital of Lord Sri Krishna. There it is mentioned that both the doe and the male deer worshipped the Lord by mere looks of affection and love.Sri Sri Swamiji, in His kirtan “Karunamurthy Nee allavo Kanna”, speaks of the love, grace and compassion of the Lord. His compassion and grace is so unique; He magnifies even our smallest offering and gives us unimaginable, multifold returns. The incident referred to in this context is the fruit seller’s episode. An old lady selling Jaumoon fruits, sees the little Krishna. On seeing such a beautiful child she offers a few fruits to him out of spontaneous love. Bhagawan’s tiny hands could have received only two or three fruits from her. Later the fruit seller finds that her Basket is filled with precious gems. Bhagawan had gifted priceless gems for a few fruits, returning her loving offering multifold!
Lets take a very worldly example of an ox and a dog. When an ox works so much to plough the farmer’s field, the dog just cuddles in one corner of his home. But the dog gets more attention and care, doesn’t it? What is the reason? It is because it is the dog showers its love on its master, while the ox only knows to work hard. Thus, the more you shower your love, the more you get back.
When we shower pure love on the Divine, we reach unto Him and get Him in our hearts. The easiest way of showing our love and gratitude to the Lord is by chanting His Divine Names.Lord Sri Krishna in is last verse to Sri Narada says that he does not reside in Vaikunta, he does not reside in the heart of Yogi’s who have conquered the world, but he verily resides amidst a gathering of people who sing his names and glories.
Naham Vasaami Vaikunte Na Yogena Hrudeya Ravau
Mad Bhakta: yatra Gayanti Thatra Thishtami NaradaSo verily Nama Sankirtan and satsang will lead us to love the glorious one and that is what we precisely are doing every week, without fail due to His grace.
We have nothing to worry and all will be well as we follow Mahans’ words.
This was followed by announcements and prayer requests after which a Mahamantra Prayer Session was held in the closing.
Feb 20: Importance of Satsang
Feb20’09 Telecon Satsang Blog-Roll
The telecon satsang started with NamaSankirtan led by Zivanji and Yaminiji from Boston. About 20 families dialed in for the teleconference. Followed by brief introductions, Poojya Poornimaji gave a blissful satsang talk.
“Being Ekadasi, it is the most fitting day to have satsang.
We have been hearing time and again that by singing the Divine names of the Lord on the auspicious days like Ekadasi and Dwadasi, the merits that we accrue are much more than what we would, on normal days. It is very rare to be in a satsang and it is rarer indeed to sustain a satsang.
There are two pishachas (demons), who stop or deter people from attending satsangs. They are specifically called as “karna oishachas”. They come and stand right next to our ears and start talking to us. One of them would start saying that we have been attending satsangs in a regular manner and it is okay to not attend a satsang to take care of some mundane affair. Whereas the other pishacha (devil) would say that “Oh My God, You have been attending satsangs for a long time. If you continue to attend so many satsangs, then your mind will get spoilt!!
The first one would ask us to postpone attending satsangs whereas the second one would just ask us to stop. It is to be said that people who have been attending this satsang as well the organizers of this satsang are oblivious of these two demons and the Friday satsangs are being conducted without fail. This clearly shows the grace of our Guru Maharaj. When we have Guru’s grace then nothing can stop us from attending satsangs.
One is called a devotee of Lord if he makes an effort to attend satsangs in spite of his tight schedule in his/her worldly life. That marks a difference between a devotee of a Lord and someone who is leading a normal mortal life. Our great saint Periyavachan Pillai Swami, in one of his commentaries says it is very easy to differentiate a person who is a devotee of the Lord and who is not. Both of them will have some worldly ties. It does not mean that a devotee of the Lord will not have any worldly ties. But the difference is that the moment a devotee of the Lord hears of an impending satsang, he will immediately adjust his/her worldly schedule in order to attend a satsang.
There are many things that are very rare and the rarest of rare is the birth as a human being. Every Mahatma has agreed to the fact that it is indeed a rare thing to be born as a human being. But the rarest of them is that we have to thank the Lord for bestowing us with a human body. “Dhanyoham Krishna tava krupa PAthroham”
Krishna, I can’t show my gratitude when I think of your immense compassion.
Tava Krupaya Krishna Manusha Dehavanaham
Tava Krupaya Krishna Anga Purnoham
It is out of your sheer compassion and grace that I have been blessed with a human birth and all my limbs being intact (‘Anga purnoham’). We need to thank the Lord every moment for what he has bestowed us with. Our Mahatmas don’t stop here. Rare indeed is to have a human birth and rarest is to be in a satsang.They say that it is not easy to be in a satsang. But there is something rarer than satsang. In Srimad Bhagavatham Videha Maharaja Nimi says,
“Durlabho Manusho deho dehinam shana banguraha
thatrapi dhurlabham manyae vaikunta Priyadarshanam”He says that rarest is to get the darshan of someone who is a Jeevan Muktha and who is a devotee of Lord Krishna. And one should be immensely blessed to have the opportunity to serve a Mahatma in some way and it is indeed the rarest of the rarest.
Mahatmas say “Koti Janma Punya sadhana sadhyam”
“Govinda Dasa Mandala dasyam”
It is not easy to get a chance to serve a great saint, who is a realized soul. They are purna be themselves. One should call himself/herself blessed if one’s service or offering is accepted by saints. We should not let pride settle in us once we start to render any service to Lord’s devotee. We should understand that we are fortunate to be chosen by the Lord and the Mahatma to be of some service to him. We should be grateful to them for accepting our service. The moment the mahatma accepts our service or offering, we instantly get associated with the Lord and this very association is enough for them to liberate us from the cycles of transmigration.In the life-history of the great Acharya Sri.Ramanuja, let us take one incident. He had visited Tirupathi. It was not an easy attempt to climb the hill to have the darshan of the Lord in those days. This dates back to about thousand years. While he was visiting Tiruapthi to have a darshan of Lord Balaji, he found that there was no body to offer flowers to the Lord. There was nothing adorning the Lord and this really pained him a lot. When he came back to his home town, he called all his disciples who were very loving to their guru, Sri Ramanujacharya. He asked if one of them would offer themselves to perform service to Lord of Thirupathi, by growing a garden to offer a garland of flowers to the Lord every day which should not stop for even a day. This clearly meant that devotee who was willing to do this service, needs to relocate to Tirupathi and this also means that he cannot have the darshan of his beloved Guru, Sri Ramanujacharya. None of them wanted to volunteer for this as they did not want to be separated from their guru. But suddenly Sri. Anantalwar stood up and volunteered to take up this task. He told his Guru that he was willing to take up this not to please Tirupathi Balaji but wanted to make his guru happy. When none of them volunteered to take up this, Sri Ramanujacharya was very upset and Sri Anantalwar could not really see his Guru in a depressed mood. He relocated to Tirumala with his wife who was also a great devotee of Sri Ramanujacharya. He made beautiful garlands for the Lord of Tirupathi in the morning and evening. He also started digging a pond for the Lord. Only he and his wife were working on digging the pond. His wife was in her late pregnancy and was solely helping her husband in moving the debris around. One day when they were so seriously working on digging the pond, a small boy stopped by and offered to help him. Sri.Anantazhwar politely turned down the request as he wanted to dig the pond for the Lord all by himself. But the boy persistently asked him that he wanted to be of some help to them. Sri.Anantazhwar started to lose patience and admonished him and the boy went away. The boy however didn’t lose hope and this time he approached his wife. She was kind enough to accept the boy’s offer to help them and both of them worked together in moving the debris around. When Sri.Aantazhwar caught sight of this, he went and hit the boy with a spade on his chin. His chin started to bleed and he ran away.
Later that evening, Sri.Anantahzwar went to the Balaji deity to offer his garland and he was shocked to see Lord of Tirupathi’s chin bleeding. The moment he saw this, he started crying and that was when he realized that it was indeed the Lord who came to offer him help, disguised in the form of a small boy. Lord loves those who serve his devotees. To substantiate this, when Sant Ekanath was serving his guru, the Lord of Dwaraka came running to serve Sant Ekanath. Lord is much more pleased with people who serve his devotees compared to people serving him. There was a great devotee of Pandarpur by name Sri.Senanayi. Even before Senanayi got the darshan of Lord Panduranga it was the King of Pandarupur who had employed Senanayi got the darshan of the Lord. It was because of the very fact that the Lord is happier with people who serve his devotees.
When Sri.Anantazhwar saw the bleeding chin of the Lord, he started crying, “Oh My Lord, What have I done and what can I do to make the bleeding stop.? “. In reply to his question, the Lord said that he was such a great devotee who had sacrificed all his desires and come out of his comfort zone only to serve him. He said that only the dust from the feet of such a Bhagavata will help stop His bleeding. Anantazhwar did not hesitate and immediately placed his “Pada Renu” on the Lord’s chin. Even today the piece of camphor placed in the chin of Lord Balaji signifies this very episode.
That is the greatness of serving a Guru. It should be seen that how Sri.Anantazhwar gave up all his whims and fancies only to serve his guru. This is akin to how Lord Bharatha opted to be away from Lord Rama only to serve him. When we have to serve the Lord, we have to take that extra mile and when we start doing that the extra mile will not be an extra mile anymore. The crux of this is that if we desire to attend satsangs in spite of our tight worldly affairs, the Lord will tune our worldly matters so that we will be attend to satsangs without fail. So let’s keep attending satsangs and continue to organize satsang related activites without procrastinating or totally stopping it in order to attend to our worldly issues.
The satsang wrapped up with prayers and Nama Sankirtan.
Feb 13: Glory of Bhagavatam
Feb13’09 Telecon Satsang Blog-Roll
The telecon satsang started with NamaSankirtan led by Bhoomaji from Dallas. After a brief round of introductions, Narayananji from Boston briefly talked about the two types of Dharma and Sriramji from Houson talked about the significance of Srimad Bhagavatam.
There are two types of dharma, namely Vaidika Dharma and ‘Poortha’ Dharma. Vaidika Dharma advocates the path to attain the lord while Poortha dharma preaches the ways to lead a happy and a prosperous life. The most appropriate vaidika dharma for this age is Bhagavata Dharma which has been clearly advocated by great Mahatmas and Gurus. Bhagavata Dharma is done by Bhagavatas and is the dharma for everyone irrespective of any caste and creed. The primary essence of Bhagavata Dharma is Nama Sankirtan. With this very thought in mind regular satsangs are conducted with Nama in the beginning and at the end of satsang. The satsangs also extol the glories of the Lord. We are indeed blessed to follow Bhagavata Dharma.
Followed by introductions, Sriramji from Houston lectured on the significance of Srimad Bhagavata Srimad Bhagavatam.
In general there are two kinds of states for any living being- drinking and eating. And these two states have their body as the base.
“Aanando Brahmeti Vyajanat” That is how the Upanishads are trying to explain the state of a Brahma Jnani. When a human being lives his life and he continues to progress in his life thinking that it is the body that is the cause of real happiness. When they die, they come back to earth as any life forms that think they are the body. They come back to earth to any life form that can basically eat and drink.There are a few others who have a little more discrimination (Viveka) who are able to recognize that the Self is beyond the body and relate it with the Prana the life-force (as one would realize when he sees a corpse). When they die, they are blessed to go to the Pitru Loka (the world of the manes).
This thought is not completely right either, for if the Prana is the true Self, a sleeping man (who still has life-force in him) should realize happiness and sorrow. But that is not the case. Then one realizes that it is the mind that is the Self. Our experiences and activities are driven by the mind (eg. Dreams). A blind man has a vision based on his mental capacity. A person who thinks so and walks on the path of Vaidika Dharma reaches ‘Swarga’ (heaven).
Then there is this set of people who identify the Self with the intellect (the ability to rationalize based on previously known facts). They prepare for the life after death by doing Upasana of their favorite deity. After they leave their mortal coil, they go to different places in the heaven based on the fruits of their Upasana and Tapas.
Now coming to the Upanishad Mantra, “Aanando Brahmeti Vyajanat’ – It is the state of a Jivan Mukti. They are completely immersed in the “Brahma Swaroopam”. Their state is inexplicable. They are in a state of eternal bliss.
That eternal bliss that was attained in Krita Yuga through meditation, and through sacrifices in Treta Yuga and through Puja in Dwapara Yuga is attained through Nama Sankirtan in Kali Yuga.
So what does this got to do with Srimad Bhagavatam?
The essence of Srimad Bhagavatam is to explain the very fact that in Kali Yuga, Nama Sankirtan is one of the easiest ways to reach the ultimate.When Avatara Purushas are born and descend on the earth they come down with a purpose in their mind. And they will not rest until it is achieved. One such Avatara Purusha was Sage Veda Vyasa. He classifed all the Vedas and the Upanishads and all gave all the Puranas. In spite of all his great works, he was feeling depressed. At that time, Sage Narada came along to Sage Veda Vyasa’s ashram to alleviate his stress.
Sage Veda Vyasa is none other than Lord Narayana himself. Sage Narada is a great Bhakta. The greatness of Sage Narada is that he was welcomed by Sage Veda Vyasa by offering Pujas to him!
Sage Narada advised him to expound on the glories of Lord Vasudeva and until he does that, the sorrow in his mind will not go away. Sage Veda Vyasa did not take this Avatar to give all the Vedas and Shastras but to give us Srimad Bhagavatam which talks about the glories of Lord Vasudeva. Sage Veda Vyasa initially was clueless on how to start Srimad Bhagavatam and requested Sage Narada to help him get started on it. Sage Narada explained how he had attained the lotus feet of the Lord by serving the Sadhus.
He also told him that by consuming the food consumed by Mahans (‘Uchchishtam’) one would get Bhakti. He told Sage Veda Vyasa that by elaborating on the life histories of the devotees of the Lord will instill Bhakti and devotion in the listeners.
Accordingly, the first nine cantos in Srimad Bhagavatam talk about the Bhakta Charithra, to name a few, Dhruva, Prahlada, Ajamila, Jadabharata etc.
Srimad Bhagavatam prepares one and all to listen the stories of the devotees of the Lord. One can cross the ocean of samsara by listening to stories of the devotees of the Lord rather than to stories of the Bhagawan Himself!
Srimad Bhagavatam deals with ‘Keerthana’ (singing the Names and glories of the Lord) and ‘Katha Sravanam’ (listening to His stories).
No sooner was Sage Shuka born (he was born as a young man) than he left his family as he was a born Jnani. Once Veda Vyasa asked some of his disciples to go to the forest to collect wood. The forest posed a threat of wild animals and hence the disciples were scared to go to the forest.
Sage Veda Vyasa realizing this, taught them the beautiful sloka…
“Barha Pitam Nata Vara Vapuh karnayo Karnikaram
Bibrath Vasah kanakapisham vaijayanthim cha malam…”
(A sloka from the Venu Gitam 10:21 of Srimad Bhagavatam that describes the enchanting form of Lord Sri Krishna while describing Lord Krishna’s playing of the flute)Once Lord Rudra, all the Devas and Goddess Saraswati descended to the Earth to listen to Lord Krishna’s flute rendition. The master of ‘Sama Gana’ that Lord Siva was, He could not comprehend the Raga that emanated from Sri Krishna’s flute, when Goddess Saraswati immediately told him not to analyze the Raga, but enjoy the ‘Anuraaga’ (the grace and love expressed by Lord Krishna’s flute rendition), for the only sound that came from the flute was ‘Radhe! Radhe! Radhe! Radhe!’
Sage Veda Vyasa taught this sloka to his disciples and assured them that this would transfix any wild animal and hence would render the forest safe for the disciples!
Sri Shuka who was in the forest heard this sloka and was attracted by the beauty of the Sloka. He immediately approached the disciples and begged them to take Him to their Master who taught them such a wonderful Sloka. Thus Bhagavatam united Sri Shuka finally with his father Sage Veda!
The story continues as to how Sage Veda Vyasa taught Srimad Bhagavatam to Sage Shuka and how he in turn narrated it to King Parikshit who attained Moksha by listening to Srimad Bhagavatam in rapt attention.
The Lord is blamed of being partial to His devotees when it comes to showering His grace! In order to wipe off this blemish, the Lord hands Srimad Bhagavatam to the devotee and with that as an excuse, showers His blessings on the soul! Thus, if we are even able to lay our hands on this sacred Purana, it is only because of His sheer grace.
It is said that King Parikshit by listening to Srimad Bhagavatam attained the lotus feet of the Lord instantly at the end of seven days. Our Guru Maharaj says that Katha Sravana (listening to stories of the lord) is the first step to Bhakti.
After this blissful satsang talk, Sri Thiagarajan from Dallas mentioned a key take away point. When we start to chant the Divine Names of the Lord, the lord enters our hearts and resides there that very moment. So when we do any false act it is not only we who are responsible for this wrong doing, but also make God as an accomplice. So let us avoid any wrong doing that we do intentionally in our daily lives.
The satsang wrapped up with prayers and NamaSankirtan.
The Banyan tree shade
We had placed an advertisement to sell some of their home furniture. When the deal was finalized, we were waiting for the customer to come and pick up the stuff from our home. The woman came home to pay the money and said that the furniture would be picked up later that evening. As she entered our home, she told us that she could feel something very different in their house that was divine. We told her that we chant Divine Names regularly at home. She started talking about her woes and disclosed all the difficulties that she was currently facing and requested us to pray for her in that day’s satsang. We told the lady that they will pray to the Lord for her problems to get solved quickly.
Sri Sri Swamiji says that that when one does Nama Chanting, that place is verily filled with divinity. When a person always basks in shade, he will never feel the comfort in the shade nor its greatness. Likewise, we are all protected in the shade of a huge banyan tree which is our Guru Maharaj. It is only those who walk into a Nama Satsang from outside (akin to the scorching sun) that can feel the divinity of a Nama Satsang (shade).
Grace in ways one can’t imagine
We live in Orlando and visit a temple regularly. There is a Krishna deity in the temple to which we light a candle every week. One day we were shopping to buy a lamp shade for Lord Krishna’s deity. I was being helped by an employee of the shop and when she met me, she immediately asked me if Iwas a Hindu. When I replied yes, her face lit up with joy at the thought of seeing a Hindu.
She being a Dominican descent had some dreams for many years in which came a holy man with long beard meditating in the mountains and she was puzzled as to why she frequently dreamt about this and it seemed very real to her. And finally she found some books on Hinduism which made her start believing in re-incarnation and she realized that she was born in India in her previous birth. She related all this to me in less than five minutes. She was so ecstatic when she saw us and her joy knew no bounds.
I informed her about the weekly satsangs and she happily agreed to come. She in fact participated in their weekly satsang.
It was only last week that they were thinking of ways and means of taking the Nama and Guru’s Mahima to other communities and yes, it was immediately blessed and answered by our Guru Maharaj.
Aravind T, Orlando, FL
Feb 6: Singing the glories
The Nama was lead by Sriramji and Nithyaji from Redding. Followed by introductions, Sankarji from San Jose discoursed on the Significance of Nama.
It is a known fact that every god is worshipped in a different manner. For example, Surya is pleased with Namaskara , while Lord Shiva likes Puja. However, Lord Vishnu very much likes Bhajanam. Bhajanam means incessant chanting of the name of the Lord with Shradda and Bhakti. It means ‘manas’ (mind) and ‘kaayam’ (body) should all be involved in it . Everything should be involved only in uttering the Name of the Lord. To substantiate this, Andal sings in one of her Tiruppavai, “vaayinaal paadi manathinaal sindikka’ – sing through the mouth and think in your mind. Chanting of the divine name should not be mechanical process. One should do Namasankirtan with devotion. Whatever ‘stotra’ we chant, whatever kirtan we sing should be performed with the mind harping on its meaning.
Adi Sankara sings, ‘Bhaja Govindam Bhaja Govindam Bhaja Govindam, moodamate!’ – Oh Foolish Mind, Sing and chant Govinda. Once Adi Sankara found an old man on the banks of the Ganges trying to learn some sutras in grammar in Sanskrit. Sankara was wondering as why this old man who appeared to be in his nineties was trying to learn grammar at this juncture of his life. He was thinking as to what he was going to achieve through this. When he questioned this to the young man, he explained that the king had announced a golden shawl to one who recited the grammar. He said that he wanted to get the golden shawl. Adi Sanakara immediately felt that he should be singing the praises of Tirumal (Lord Vishnu) and pray to attain a birthless state. He wondered if the prana (which is the body’s life force) leaves the old man’s body, will that grammar save him?
A man may be holding a high office. A man may be very wealthy. A man may be highly learned. But, when he dies none would speak of him as ‘the collector’ if he had held that high office but pointing to his body only refer to it as ‘the dead body’. The respect that he had received when holding the high office holds no more. He is referred to merely as ‘the dead body’.
It was at this time that Adi Sankara wrote the lyric,
‘Bhaja govindam bhaja govindam
Bhaja govindam moodamate!
Sampraapte sannihite kale
Nahi nahi rakshati dukrn karane!’
Adi Sankara pointed out to him that at that age when death was so close at hand it is verily the chanting the Divine Names of the Lord that would support him and not some Sanskrit grammar and advised him to take up the chanting of the Lord’s Name. ‘He urged him to chant Govinda! Govinda! and told him that will save him and not thiegrammar; ‘nahi nahi rakshati dukrn karanae’ – This grammar will not save you.’
An Azhwaar sings in one of his ‘paasurams’ – ‘Oh! Lord! I do not know whether I will be able to utter Your Name or even think of you in the last stage of my life.’ Some people fall into coma stage and the life goes out at this stage. Some die in sleep. So, this Ãzhwaar sings, ‘Appodaikku ippode solli vaithen arangamaa nagarulone’ – ‘I will chant ‘Ranga! Ranga!’ now itself, for, I do not know my state at the last moment of my life. I may not even be able to think of You. So, as a precaution I will chant Your Name now while still alive and in good state!’Panduranga is known as ‘sama saroja charanam’ – His two feet are held together side-by-side. This shows the equal treatment he metes out to all bhaktas. All he expects of people is ‘bhajanam’. His devotees were from all castes. Jnaneshwar was a Brahmin, Senayi was a barber, Gora Kumhar was a potter, Naamadev was from the sippiya caste, Tukkaram was a vysya (business man), Raidaas was a cobbler. They were all ‘amsa’ (aspects) of bhaktaas (devotees of the Lord) Prahlada, Narada, Parashara, Pundariika, Vyaasa, Ambareesha, Suka, Saunaka, Bheeshma. When the Lord came down, all his devotees came down to the earth along with Him.
Naamdev was a still a child when he made Panduranga to eat the offerings. Naamdev’s father used to perform pooja to Panduranga daily and offer ‘naivedya’ (offering of food). Naamdev desired to perform this but since he was a child his father told him that he was too small to perform pooja. However, one day his father had to leave town on some urgent work and Naamdev was sent by his mother to perform the pooja. Naamdev, the child, thought that Panduranga ate up the food offering of his father daily. So, after pooja when he offered food and Panduranga did not eat, he hit his head against the stone of the ‘peetah’ and questioned Panduranga as to why he was not eating the food offered by him. He gave an ultimatum to Lord Panduranga that if he didn’t eat the food, he will die in the peetam by hitting his head against the stone.” Panduranga immediately ate the food! This does not mean that the Lord does not accept the food offerings on other days. He does. The Lord does accept the offerings of Mahans and bhaktas. When anything is offered to the Lord, the grace touches it. That particular day the Lord showed it to Naamdev in a ‘stula’ (physical) manner.
Gora Kumhar was a potter. One day, when all were gathered together Gora kumbha playfully hit everybody’s head with his pot testing stick as he would a pot. On hitting Naamdev’s head with the stick he declared, ‘This (pot) is still unbaked!’ This angered Naamdev. He thought that Panduranga was so easily available to him and he speaks and plays with him. He was wondering as to who this Gora Kumbha was and why he called him as unbaked? He was thinking if he was mature enough to judge him. He rushed to Panduranga for support. But, Panduranga asserted this comment. The disappointed Naamdev questioned the Lord. Panduranga explained that he had come to him directly and not through a Guru. A Guru will be strict with his disciples and take them on the right path and asked him to seek a Guru. He further added that he was God and that he possessed only love for everyone. But, a Guru will be strict with his disciples when they err and lead them the right path.”
Naamdev requested Lord Panduranga to show him a Guru. Panduranga sent him to a nearby forest where there lived a Jnani. Naamdev was shocked to find the lying down Jnani’s leg placed on a Siva linga. The Jnani asked him if Panduranga had sent him. This surprised Naamdev. He thought that he knew everything and must indeed be a Jnani. But he was surprised as to why he placed his leg over a Siva linga? It is verily a sin.’ He said to the Jnani that Panduranga had sent him. He also told him that he was not aware that his leg was placed on a Siva linga.”
The Jnani asserted his statement and agreed that it was a sin indeed. He requested him to remove his feet and place it elsewhere. When Naamdev did so, a Siva linga came up there! He then placed the Jnani’s foot elsewhere and a Siva linga rose up there, too. Wherever the Jnani’s foot was placed there a Siva linga rose up! It was then that Naamdev realized that the Lord was omnipresent. He was not limited but was all-pervasive.
Naamdev sat on the banks of Chandrabhaga river doing ‘bhajanam’. But, now Panduranga was unable to stay in the temple without his beloved Bhakta! He came running to Naamdev and said to him that “Tthough I am present everywhere you need not sit here to do ‘bhajanam’. You must sit in my temple and do ‘bhajanam’. It is difficult for me to remain without seeing you. Come to the temple and do your ‘bhajanam’!” The Bhakta had attained ‘Advaita bhaava’ (oneness with God) but Bhagavan could not be without His Bhakta!There is another incident that occurred on Shivaratri. People perform bhajan of Hari Naama at the gates of one of the twelve Jyothirlinga Kshetras. People object on the ground that it was Shivaraatri and how could they perform Hari Naamasankirtan in Lord Siva’s temple? The party moves over to the backside of the temple and continue their bhajan. What happens? The Linga turns to the direction where the Bhaktas were doing bhajan! The Linga continues to be in this position even today.
Panduranga loves ‘bhajanam’. In Bhagavatam we find that Ajamila calls ‘Narayana!’ in the last moment of his life. This came to be only because He had done ‘aavarti’ (repeatedly remembering/chanting) of it earlier – ‘Naryana! Narayana!’ He had been repeatedly calling out his son (whom he had named as ‘Narayana’).
The Lord is attracted only to devotion. Once, on a stormy night all houses were destroyed but for Naamdev’s house which was but a small hut. In the morning he was stunned to find the hut still holding against the storm. He came out only to find Panduranga holding his hut with a hand. Is it necessary for the Omnipotent One to come down to the earth to hold the hut with His hands? Could He not have done this from His abode in Vaikunta? But, this was only to show His love and ‘soulabhya’ (easy access) to His Bhakta.
All spiritual practices are same – dhyaana, yoga, bhakti. None is higher or lower than the other. What matters is faith (in it). Mere sadhana without faith amounts to nothing. One may do any amount of sadhana but if we do it without any faith it will not bear the desired result. Sadhana is only 50%, rest is F A I T H. Only with faith it can fructify. Only the Grace of the Lord can fructify it.
(Chaitanya) Maha prabhu once saw Radharaani and Krishna sailing in a boat. Suddenly the ear drop (‘jhumka’) of Radharaani fall into the waters. At once, the perturbed Maha Prabhu jumped into the waters to retrieve the ‘jhumka’ for Radharaani. Others will not be able to comprehend his ‘bhaava’. One has to get into such ‘bhaava’ to know his ‘bhaava’. Maha Prabhu was a great scholar; He was a great pundit. He stood above all. But, he threw everything away and took to chanting
‘Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare!
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare!’Let us look at it from another logically. Sankara’s period was some 2500 years back. At that time every home performed ‘yaaga’, ‘yagna’ and puja to the Lord. There was no falsehood then – No bribe, no cheating, no robbing, no thieving, etc. Sankara who lived in such a period has said that dhyaana, yoga, ‘vichaara’ (enquiry) are not easy practices and has recommended chanting the Name of the Lord. Then what to speak of today when there is so much falsehood, sorrows, etc.? ‘Bhajanam’ is very easy and one can easily attain God through this.
When we walk in the rain we hold an umbrella over our head. A good umbrella shields us from the rain and we return home safely. Similarly, sorrows are the heavy rains that pour down on us. While walking in it hold the umbrella of the Lord’s Name over you if you desire to remain unaffected by it. Keep chanting the Maha Mantra
‘Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare!
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare!’Let us all not only chant the Nama ourselves but also spread it to all the people whom we come across. This is the best service we can all do to our Guru Maharaj.
There were couple of satsang announcements and the satsang was wrapped with NamaSankirtan.
