Aug 28: Radhashtami Satsang
The Nama Sankirtan was performed by Narayanan and Sri Aravind’s family from Orlando, FL.
This was followed by the introduction…
‘In our Sanathana Dharma, there are numerous paths to reach Bhagavan. However for this Kali Yuga, it is said that Bhakti is the easiest path. In Padma Purana, it is said, ‘alam vrataih alam thirthaih alam yogaih alam makhaih alam jnanakathalabhaih…. Bhaktirekaiva muktida’. In this Kali Yuga, Vrata, Yoga, Pilgrimages, Vedanta – none of them can be performed perfectly and hence it is only Bhakti that leads us to Mukti. Bhakti is done for different reasons – one may do Bhakti in order for having his worldly miseries obliterated, or may do Bhakti for worldly pleasures or one might perform Bhakti for Moksha. All these are Sadhana Bhakti – that which use Bhakti as the means to attain a goal. But which among these kinds of Bhakti is the greatest? There is a Bhakti that is greater than all these – that is the Bhakti that is done for the sake of Bhakti. – Sadhya Bhakti – Bhakti being the means as well as the goal itself. Such a Bhakti doesn’t expect anything in return. Who is the authority for such a Sadhya Bhakti? Padma Purana says,
na tapobhir na vedaischa na jnaanenaapi karmana |
harirhi saadhyate bhaktyaa pramaanam tatra gopikaa ||
It is verily the Gopikas who are the epitome of Sadhya Bhakti. On this auspicious day of Radhashtami, let us pray that we get such a Bhakti too.
Following introductions, Gayathriji from Boston gave a wonderful discourse on Prema Bhakti.
We just saw that Bhakti is the easiest path in Kali Yuga. But what is Bhakti? Offering flowers? Performing Puja? Offering Naivedya to the Lord? What truly is Bhakti? Offering two drops of tears for the Lord – that is indeed Bhakti. In Bhakti Sampradaya, we often sing the Pundareeka – ‘Gopika Jeevana Smaranam – Govinda Govinda!’ – Does this itself not show us that Gopikas are the Gurus in Bhakti? Today, let us see how Gopikas excelled in their Bhakti.
Krishna rules the kingdom and his minister is Uddhava. Sri Shuka introduces Uddhava as ‘Sakshat Brihaspati Sishya’. Brihaspati is said to be the master of all knowledge and Uddhava is the direct disciple of Brihaspati! So one can imagine how shrewd and intelligent he would have been! No wonder he is Krishna’s minister! But what advice would he give for Krishna, who rules all the worlds and knows all? Uddhava simply stayed in the palace in order to get drenched in Krishna’s kataksha (grace pouring forth from his sight) – which, otherwise, would go waste. Being a friend of Krishna, he always used Krishna Prasadam, he wore all what Krishna wore and discarded – right from the Gopi Chandan, clothes , garland etc.
Sometimes, Krishna would go into solitude and shed tears. Uddhava came to know about it and was surprised. “What would make Krishna sad? Sad enough for him to shed tears”, he thought. ‘Krishna, why are you in tears. As a friend, it is my duty to annihilate your worries; go on!’
Krishna, ‘nothing Uddhava! I am just thinking about the wonderful time I had in Gokulam and Brindavan…. You know what a wonderful time I had there? We used to play ‘raas lila’ and dance day and night! I don’t think I will ever get back that life. This life is boring and listless.’
Uddhava said, ‘Krishna! Nothing is stable in life. Everything is fleeting. That is why, you have to realize the Brahman’.
Krishna, ‘Oh! By the way, what is Brahman, Uddhava?’
Uddhava, ‘Krishna, are you kidding? You are verily the Brahman!’
Krishna in all seriousness, said, ‘Oh ya! Our master Sandeepani taught us, ‘Aham Brahmasmi’. Now I remember… but guess what, Uddhava, I may convince myself by saying so. But you can never make the Gopis say this or observe this Mahavakya’
Uddhava, ‘Really? I think the gopis truly deserve a class from me, at least for the sake of the tears you shed for them. If you permit me, I shall go to Brindavan and teach them the import of ‘Aham Brahmasmi’ and ensure they are free from worries. After all, your happiness is my happiness, Krishna!’
Krishna said, ‘Go ahead Uddhava! But remember, if you succeed, I shall deem that your education has truly borne fruit!’
Uddhava rides on his chariot to Brindavan. All along, he plans in his mind on how his lectures should be designed, so that he could drive the truth of ‘Aham Brahmasmi’ into all the Gopis’ brains!
At Brindavan, Nanda and Yashoda welcome him, with a smiling face, but with emptiness in their heart, because they miss Krishna. Uddhava was fed and let to rest.
Yashoda Ma starts, ‘Uddhava, I switched off this stove the day Krishna left for Mathura. It has never been switched on since! Whenever I switched it on, Krishna ran around me asking for milk. The joy is simply inexplicable Uddhava! ’
‘This is the mortar in which I bound Krishna. This is the rope I used…. This is the dress I got him for Diwali last year…. Even when he slept, he wouldn’t let go of his flute.. see now he has left that back too… What is he doing in Mathura? Is he still grazing cattle?’
Nanda Baba interjected, ‘Are you mad? Why would he graze cattle when he has had his education? He must be a king now!’
Uddhava is spellbound by their love for Krishna. He strolled on the banks of Yamuna, and felt Yamuna shedding tears for Krishna too. On the streets of Brindavan, he heard Krishna Kirtan always. Does not Krishna’s lilas the constant subject of talk right from a 2 year old to a 90 year old? ‘Krishna stole butter’, ‘Krishna broke the pots’… this is the song every individual sings…
He gets to his job – meets the Gopis. All of us know the beautiful Bramara Geetham that Gopis sing, expressing their love for Krishna addressing the honey bee. Our Swamiji would say that all of Uddhava’s learnings under Brihaspati were deployed to decode the import of Bramara Geetam! Gopis become friendly with Uddhava and ask, ‘Uddhava, you are Krishna’s best friend. Does He ever talk about us to you? Does he ever remember us? Does he ever say, when I was in Brindavan, the Gopis used to do this kainkarya for me? Is Krishna thinking about us? Does he cry because he misses us? We are sure he does. But you know what Uddhava, we don’t want him to cry. We want him to be happy always.’
Uddhava is shell-shocked to hear the extent of the Gopis love for Krishna. He has never seen such a love. That moment, forgetting his age, learning (that he is a disciple of Brihaspati), gender (he being a male), position (that he is a Krishna Mantri), he falls right at their feet.
“Vande nandavraja streenaam padarenum abhiskhnasah
yaasaam harikathodgeetam punati bhuvanatrayam”
What a wonderful Satsang, thought Uddhava. He didn’t want to go back, for he thought, Krishna is not in Mathura anymore, he lives in every single house and heart in Brindavan! After a few days, he realizes that Krishna would miss his company – at least to cry out his woes. So let me return!
The return date is announced. That morning, when he was about to ascend his chariot, he was shocked to see that he didn’t have a place to sit! One gopi said, ‘I have stacked this corner with ‘murukku’ – Krishna’s favorite. Please give it to him.’ Another said, ‘I have kept butter in this big box. Krishna loves butter from my home’. Yet another, ‘Please give these savories to Krishna and tell Him that I made it especially for him!’ So many items, that he doesn’t have a place to sit. He falls at the feet of the Gopis yet again, and rolls in the sands of Brindavan and takes all the ‘rajas’ on his body, for, he knows how much Krishna would enjoy the ‘rajas’. On his way back, he recollected every single moment he spent in the company of Gopis and remembered their devotion.
Meanwhile, Krishna would peep at the window every now and then to see if Uddhava arrived. His impatience and anxiousness just kept growing with time. When he finally saw Uddhava coming, ‘Uddhava! Uddhava! How was your trip? How is everyone doing at Brindavan?’
Uddhava could not control his emotions anymore. He simply fell at Krishna’s lap and started weeping – so much that he could not answer Krishna. Krishna, ‘Uddhava, are you okay? Why are you weeping?’
‘Krishna, am I crying? Do you see tears in my eyes? Am I really crying? Alas! Times have changed Krishna. You used to weep and I would ask for the reason. Today, I am crying and you are asking me!’
‘Krishna, this is not because of any sorrow! It is because of Prema Bhakti. Oh Krishna! Did I also get Prema Bhakti? Oh Krishna! Did I also get Prema Bhakti?
If I ever got Prema Bhakti, then I deem my Brindavan trip as successful! Krishna, remember, don’t think that I got this Bhakti because of your satsanga. It is absolutely not because of your grace!’
Uddhava continued, ‘It is because one drop of devotion from the huge ocean of love (prema Sagara) that the gopis have for you, has fallen on me! That is why I am in this state, Oh! Krishna!’
Krishna asked, ‘How are the goips doing?’
In Ramayana, Valmiki says that Hanuman could narrate Ramayana but never ‘Seethayana’ He would simply be unable to narrate the glory of the Mother, albeit being an intelligent person and an orator like Uddhava. Uddhava says, ‘Ask me to lecture on Krishna Bhakti and I shall speak volumes, Oh Krishna! How can I ever tell what Gopi prema is?
Thus, the teacher of ‘Aham Brahmasmi’ eventually became a student of Prema Bhakti and obtained it from the Gopis!
When we wish to do meditation, we command everyone to be quiet and silent and lock ourselves up. But the gopis have tons of work every day, and in spite of all this, they don’t need a room for meditation; not even a silent environ. No one could take Krishna from their hearts!
Uddhava, a student of Brihaspati was with the Brahman, Lord Krishna all along, and yet did not get Prema Bhakti. Prema Bhakti cannot be attained without a Guru. Uddhava had to take tutelage from the Guru namely the Gopis in order to realize Prema Bhakti for Krishna.
Who is the Guru for prema Bhakti? Sri Sri Swamiji speaks about this in a beautiful Kirtan of His. This goes as a conversation between Radha Devi and Lalita, one of the Sakhis (friends).
Lalitha: “Mukti endraal enna Radhe! Radhe!” [Radhe! What is Mukti?]
Radha: “Krishnabhaktiye mukti Agum Lalithe! Lalithe!” [Krishna Bhakti is verily Mukti, Lalitha!]
Lalitha: “Krishna Bhakti edanaal valarum Radhe! Radhe!” [Radhe! How can one grow Krishna Bhakti?]
Radha: “Keerthanathinaal Valarum, Lailthe! Lalithe!”[Krishna Bhakti grows by performing Kirtan,Lalitha!]
Lalitha: “Keerthanam edhanaal valarum, Radhe! Radhe!” [Radhe! How does Kirtan grow?]
Radha: “Satsangathinaal valarum, Lalithe! Lalithe!” [Kirtan grows through Satsang, Lalitha!]
Lalitha: “Satsangam ethanaal valarum, Radhe! Radhe!” [Radhe! How does satsang grow?]
Radha: “Gurukripaiyinaal mattum kittum, Lalithe! Lalithe!” [Satsang happens only through Guru Krupa, Lalitha!]
Lalitha: “Gurukrupai yethanaal kittum Radhe! Radhe!” [Radhe! How does one acquire Guru Krupa?]
Radha: “Bathilarindum nee ketpatheno Lalithe! Lalithe! “[Why do you ask me knowing the answer well, Lalitha!]
Lalitha: “Un krupai irunthaal Krishnan sulabanaam Radhe! Radhe!” [Is it true that your compassion can bring Krishna easily?]
Radha: “Yen Krupaiyum Guru Krupaiyum ondre Lalithe Lalithe! [My Krupa and Guru Krupa are one and the same, Lalitha]
Lalitha: “Prema Ragasiyathai sonnai Radhe! Radhe! “[Radhe! You just revealed the secret of Prema.]
Radha: “ Muraliyai isaithavan solvathum idhuve Lalithe! Lalithe!” [This is what was said by the One who plays the flute too, Lalitha!]
Indeed Radha Devi is verily the Guru for Prema Bhakti. On this auspicious Radhashtami, let us pray to Radha Devi to grant us Prema Bhakti to the Lord.
The satsang ended with prayers with Mahamnatra Kirtan.
Aug 14: Faith in Guru and Surrender to the Lord
The satsang started with Nama Sankirtan by Sriramji from Houston, Texas.
Sri Narayanan from Boston spoke in relation to the Janmashtami.
“We celebrate quite a few events – Janmashtami, Ganesh Chaturti, etc. Where in our scriptures is the authority or the authenticity of such celebrations? In Srimad Bhagavatam, in the 11th Canto, the Lord describes the qualities of a Bhakta to Uddhava. In that, He mentions, “It is the duty of my devotee to always worship my form, go on pilgrimages, celebrate my birth and festivals related to me, sings my divine names and my divine glories… “. So it is Lord Krishna Himself who is the authority for our celebrations.
This satsang happens in the context of the Janmashtami. And we are celebrating this great festival in our satsang through Nama Sankirtan and Katha Shravanam. Can there be a better way to celebrate Krishna’s birth?”
Following the introductions, Sri Narayanaswamy from Seattle spoke on Surrender and faith.
“We all celebrated Janmashtami. Lord Krishna was born and He visited all our residences! How could He visit all the houses at the same time? It is simply because He is a ‘Lila Lola’ (conjurer of divine plays). In Brindavan, He was found with each of the hundreds of Gopikas who were playing ‘raasa’ with the Lord. Likewise, He entered our houses, as well as our hearts! When we talk about Krishna, Mahabharata comes to our mind. – He has shown us two key principles – Surrender to the Lord and Faith in Guru.
The Kurukshetra battle was in the offing. Duryodhana rushes to Dwaraka to seek Krishna ‘s help, as also Arjuna from the Pandava’s side. Duryodhana was the first to come. He sat at the head of Lord Krishna who was asleep. Arjuna came later and sat by His foot. As soon as Krishna woke up, He saw Arjuna. He welcomed both of them. Duryodhana rushed and said, ‘Krishna! I came first. Entertain my request first!” Krishna said, “But I saw Arjuna first!” While Duryodhana was anxious about Arjuna’s request, Krishna said, ‘Two options – one: I will not touch arms, but will remain by your side. Two: I will offer all my gallantry’. Arjuna, unhesitatingly said, ‘Prabhu! You are the Jagadguru! Please be with us. That is all we want!’. Duryodhana heaved a sigh of relief and passed on the accepted all the military power of Krishna’s army. What happened eventually? All of us know that the Pandavas prevailed over the Kauravas in the battle. It was possible only due to the faith of Arjuna on his Guru, Lord Krishna. When Guru’s blessings are abundant, no harm can near, and victory is ours.
In another instance, we see that when the Kurukshetra battle was over and the Pandavas were seated around Krishna in a tent, when Draupadi said, ‘Krishna! I have a question to you! Everybody says you are ‘Aapat Bhaandava’. You rushed to Gajendra’s call. You rushed to Prahalada’s call. But, in my case, I shouted and cried for a long time, and you came in very late, when I was ill-treated in the court. What sin did I commit?’. Krishna smilingly replied, ‘Draupadi, when Duschadana wanted to remove your clothes, you did not call me first. You called your husband, the elders, the great warriors on the court, and all the brave men. Even after that, you trusted your own might and fought with Duschadana. Only at the end, when you ran out of options did you raise both your arms and called me. Did I not come then?’ Draupadi replied, ‘Krishna! I understand. I surrendered to you only as a last resort. Had I surrendered to you earlier, the story would have been different. Thus surrender to the Lord is important.”
Now, can we see Krishna? Kanchi Paramacharya says, it is not possible to see Him because Krishna denotes black. Our mind is filled with darkness. How can one see a black spot in darkness? Krishna says in Bhagavat Gita, ‘Hey Arjuna, you cannot see Me with your naked eye. I am granting you special sight to ‘see’ me’. So, its not possible to see Him with our eyes. However we can see Him in our heart. Having created the entire universe, He is hiding like a thief, nowhere else, but in our own hearts. So all we need to do is find him there – and that is Bhakti – make your heart white. This is possible only through a Guru’s blessings . ‘Gu’ denotes darkness and ‘Ru’ denotes removal. Thus Guru is indispensible to dispel the darkness.
What is the fundamental difference between Mahabharata and Ramayana, given that both Rama and Krishna are avatars of the Lord. Krishna’s avatar is a display of the Lilas, while Ramavatar is a human incarnation. It is simply impossible to impersonate Krishna, be it stealing butter, killing his demon-uncle or dancing on a snake. On the other hand, Rama lived as a truthful person, a honest husband (ekapatni vrata), obeyed his father’s word, protecting the surrenderer, being a best friend etc. Thus Krishna’s advices can be ‘heard’ and assimilated, where Rama’s life should be lived.
When Rama was informed that his coronation was being cancelled, he stood unmoved, with the same smile he sported on his face since morning – his expressions were unchanged even when he had to give up all grandeur and go to the forest. Sorrows may come but we should see them with equanimity and consider them as the grace of God.
In the Mahabharata war, no one could conquer Dronacharya. Krishna asks the Pandavas to utter a lie to fall him – and accosted Yudhishtra with this idea. Yudhishtra turns Him down, because he wouldn’t utter a lie. After Krishna’s convincing words, Yudhishtra shouts ‘Ashwattama hatah’ – in a high voice and ‘kunjarah’ in a low tone. Is it right for the Lord to be an accomplice in untruth?
Tiruvalluvar says, ‘poimaiyum vaimai idatha purai theerntha nanmai payakkum enin’ – it is okay to utter a lie if it is going to provide relief to a suffering person. A person bound to kill another, loses his target and asks you if you saw the target. You can lie there (by saying you didn’t know) because you are indeed saving a life.
Thus let us have faith in our Guru and surrender to the Lord and be thankful to our Guru for the satsangs we are enjoying.
The satsang ended with prayers with Mahamantra.
Jul 31: First Anniversary – Rukmini Kalyanam
For any activity to succeed, be it spiritual or otherwise, we need the grace of Lord. How do we know that our activity is being blessed by Lord? The Lord’s presence can be felt in various ways, like through pleasant showers or a great Mahan comes when we undertake the activity (like Vamana in Bali’s sacrifice), or unexpectedly anything auspicious happens.
Likewise, our Friday satsangs started on August 1, 2008 and today is the first-year completion of the satsang and it happens to be on an Ashada-Friday A Friday on Ashada (Aadi) month is considered auspicious, because it is special to Lakshmi Devi. What to say of today, when it is verily Varalakshmi Puja! It is indeed a blessing.
The grace of Mahalakshmi is required to attain the Lord. In Srirangam, only after Mother’s darshan and after a big Pradakshina around the temple, can we have Lord Ranganatha’s sanctum. By the time we reach the Lord’s sanctum, it is said, that the Mother quickly goes from her place to the Lord’s sanctum and apprises of our ensuing visit and places a recommendation on our behalf to show His compassion on us! In Tirupati, Lakshmi Devi resides in the heart of Lord Balaji. Everytime a devotee comes and falls at the Lord’s feet, Mother looks at us and then at the Lord to see if the Lord blesses him. First her divine sight (‘kataksha’) falls on us. In Vaishnava Sampradaya, Lakshmi Devi’s krupa only can reach us to the Lord. Even the fact that Varalakshmi Puja precedes Janmashtami by 2 weeks shows this very fact!
We sometimes mistake that Lakshmi is the goddess of monetary benefits alone. However, that is incorrect. There are 8 different Lakshmis. Even those who wish for Moksha have to pray to Moksha Lakshmi. Let us pray to Mahalakshmi and our Sadguru Maharaj that our satsang flourish in a grand manner, and more and more devotees get an opportunity to attend satsangs.
Signifying the fact that there are 8 forms of Lakshmi Devi, In Srimad Bhagavatam, the birth of Mahalakshmi is in the 8th Canto – 8th Chapter – 8th Sloka. During the churning of the milky ocean, she appears with enchanting beauty as a lightening.
Then it mentions how everyone wants to marry Lakshmi Devi, while the mother sees that everyone has a vice if he has a virtue. There was no one other than Lord Vishnu who did not have a vice, but only had virtues. And it was only the Lord who stood without any expectations. Hence she chose Lord Maha Vishnu as her match – ‘ramaa mukundam nirapeksham iipsitam’
Lakshmi Devi wishes to to be with the Lord in every of His avatars. Another wedding of Lakshmi Devi, this time in the form of Rukmini Devi, with her consort, Lord Krishna is described in great detail. Today we shall listen to “Rukmini Kalyanam” by Gayathriji from Boston.
Following this, Gayathriji gave a wonderful talk on Rukmini Kalyanam.
We talk a lot about the necessity and importance of Satsang. We all desire. The best desire is to desire for Lord – the more we listen to the glories of the Lord, our desires for the Lord increases. Rukmini’s wedding is an illustration of this very fact.
The Lord created Dwaaraka and he ruled it. The wedding of Balarama with Revathi was also over, and it was time to get Lord Krishna married.
Bhishmaka was the king of Vidharba. He had 5 sons – Rukmi, Rukmaratha, Rukmakesan, Rukmabaahu, Rukmamaali, and a little daughter – Rukmini. She gets a lot of satsang through Sadhus in the palace. They talk about the creation of the Universe, Matsya Kurma Avatars, Dhruva Charita, Prahlada Charita, and Rama Avatar. They say, the very valorous Lord Rama has now incarnated as Lord Krishna. They talk about the Lord’s birth, Puthana Moksha, Shakatasura Vadham, Navaneetha Lila, Brindavan Lilas, Vanabhojanam, Yagna Patni Uddharana, Kaliya Moksha, Govardhana Uddharana , Murali gana, Rasa Kreeda and Kamsa Vadam. The very same Lord is now ruling Dwaraka.
Rukmini would long to marry Krishna and look at her dad. Her dad knew his daughter’s heart. The 5 sons never had a chance to have satsang, so these stories do not interest them. Her dad would think, ‘Will I be fortunate to have Lord Krishna as my son-in-law?’ The next day, in court, he expresses this wish. Everyone but Rukmi is happy about the decision. He opposes it and says, ‘Dad! Are you a lunatic? Krishna’s status is no match to us! He is pitch dark, while our Rukmini is golden. He is a cowherd. He has no education! He went to school only for 64 days! His parents were in prison! He is hiding from his enemies and lives inside the seas!’
Bhishmaka stopped him short and said, ‘You talk so because you lack Satsang. You cannot bad mouth someone because you don’t know about him. Do whatever you like.’
Rukmi decided that Sishupala, his close friend and the son of Dhamagosha (king of Chedi) was the apt match to Rukmini and he sent invitations to everyone for the wedding. Rukmini was in the ‘kanya matam’ and when she learned of this news, she was depressed and broke down. ‘Who will meet my Gopala and convey my message to him! There is just one day to go’, she thought. ‘Can I send the cloud as the messenger? No! the cloud will be busy drinking the waters of the seas. Can I send the bee? No, it will be lost in the honey of the Lord’s Vyjayanthi Mala. How about my companions? No, its not possible in a day. Mind is the fastest! So why not send it? If my mind goes to Sri Krishna, how can it ever return?’
One should not go in search of a Guru. We donot have the intellect to judge a Guru. If our thirst for God is true, the Lord sends a Guru. That was when the Guru came in the form of a Bhagavata, singing ‘Kshemam kuru Gopaala…’. Consoled, she invited the Bhagavata and the girls, after paying respects, conveyed this information.
The Bhagavata said, ‘Lord Krishna would certainly be a great suit to you. Don’t worry, these invitations are only man-made. Don’t worry about it. I am on my way to Dwaraka, I will take your message.’ The Guru takes the message of the devotee to the Lord. Rukmini wrote 7 crisp, sweet slokas as her message for Krishna.
The Bhagavata appeared at Krishna’s court in Dwaraka in no time. The Lord paid his respects and inquired. ‘I am coming from Vidarbha and I have a message from Rukmini.’, said the Bhagavata. ‘Go on, read it yourself’, said the Lord.
He read it wonderfully, just as Rukmini would herself read it for Krishna.
Shrutvaa gunaan bhuvanasundara shrunvataam te
Nirvishya karna vivarair haratonga taapam’
Rukmini debates on how she would address the Lord.
“ ‘Swami’ ? No, he would think I am saint. How about ‘raaja raaja raaja..sri..’ No. it would seem like a citizen with a petition! How about ‘Prabhu’ ? no it would mean I am a beggar expecting money. How about ‘Prananatha’? No! Krishna may think, how dare this girl address me as her saviour even before marriage!”
Finally she picks the word ‘Bhuvanasundara’ – a word that describes the sum and substance of the Lord’s beauty and prods Krishna to read further.
The letter contained answers to all of Krishna’s questions if he read the letter.
Krishna, ‘Bhuvanasundara! Hmm! Are you entranced by my looks? Do you know about my character?’
She says, ‘Shrutvaa Gunaan!’ – I have heard all about your character.
Krishna, ‘What have you heard about me?
Rukmini, ‘Your character is such that all the worldly miseries are lost by merely listening to them. Only one misery(‘thaapa’) is left behind – and that thaapa is the longing to attain Your Feet. ‘
Krishna, ‘Now that you have heard about me, have you seen me?’
Rukmini, ‘Roopam – akilaartha laabam’ – Your form is the essence of the world. The more I listen to your glories, the more I get your form in my Dhyana and that is how I have seen you.
I am not an expressive girl. I am a shy person by nature. Now I overcome my shyness and write this letter. Please understand how desperate I am to reach you, Oh Krishna! Not only me, any one who listens to your glories and gets your form in Dhyana, will long to attain you!’
Krishna, ‘You desire to attain me! Have you done enough merits to attain me?’
Rukmini, ‘poorthe ishta datta dharma’. Yes Indeed I have done all the merits. But Krishna! You are not the one that can be reached by accruing merits, are you? How can you be reached? You can be reached only by ‘aatma samarpana’ (surrendering oneself to You). Here I surrender myself. Please accept me.’
Krishna, ‘Well, If I do accept you, you are going to be in the women’s harem and I am a king. How am I to meet you?’
Rukmini, ‘My marriage with Sishupala has been arranged. In our family custom, the bride will perform Gauri Pooja before the wedding and so I will be there and you can take me from there.’
Krishna, ‘Should I elope with you?’
Rukmini, ‘Nay! Only a coward does that. You are a man of courage and valor. Please bring your bow ‘saarnga’ and defeat anyone who opposes you and rightfully take me as kanyashulkam.’
Krishna, ‘Okay, If I don’t show up at the Gauri temple on the day of the wedding, are you going to marry Sishupala?’
Rukmini, ‘I will take hundreds of births to attain you. Not in one birth shall I get wedded to anyone other than you.’
Saying so, Rukmini signs ‘-Yours Rukmini Devi’.
The Lord is extremely pleased with this surrender of Rukmini Devi, gets his chariots ready and goes to Vidarbha desa followed by Balarama.
Rukmini is dressed like a bride in a magnificent silk saree with borders of swan-designs. Her hair is beautifully plaited and decked with ornaments and flowers. Her earrings are moving back and forth. She sports a beautiful ‘kasturi tilaka’ on her forehead and wears different kinds and sizes of ornaments on her neck. Her fingers shine with finger rings and wears a toe ring on her toe. Her head is bent down and she walks at the pace of a swan, holding a lotus on one hand and her friend’s hand with the other. She gets the blessings of all elderly women there.
Suddenly, she hears the sound of Panchajanya and senses the smell of Tulsi, which gives away the fact that the Lord has arrived there to take her. At that moment, she sees the Bhagavata – her eyes well with tears of gratitude and folds her hands in respect. After all, can we ever repay a Guru who takes us to the Lord?
The princes waiting to see Rukmini are blinded by the glitter on the gems in her finger-rings. As her head bends down in shyness, her curly hair falls on her forehead. In the pretext of setting it right, she raises her forehead and her eyes meet with that of the Lord. The moment their eyes meet, the Lord takes her on His chariot and rides her away in a flash. The enemies see with awe at the divine couple. One of them shouted, ‘Hey! Krishna has taken away the bride. Let’s chase him!’ the other, still unable to come out of the awe, ‘Oh! What a wonderful sight it was!’
When Shishupala hears the news that Rukmini has been taken by Krishna, he screams at Rukmi in anger, ‘I trusted that you will get me married to her. You betrayed me!’. Rukmi waged a war against Krishna and the Yadava, but eventually loses. Rukmi, out of shame, goes to a place called Bhojagatam.
Krishna brings Rukmini to his parents – Devaki and Vasudeva. On an auspicious day, when all the Mahans, Rishis, Sadhus, Bhagavatas Devas and other elders are present, the Divine Couple are united in a wedlock, as described by Sri Narayana Thirtha in his ‘Kalyana tharangam’.
“Acharya vachanaat sarvam akarotu yadunandhanah vaachaama gocharaatmaanam vasudevasva maayayaa
Dwaarakaa nagari madhye sahasrasthamba mantape
Rathna simhasanaaroodam sagalatram jagusurah
Alokaye rukmini kalyana gopalam….
Neelamegha nibhaakaaram baalaarka samaana chelam
nilambaranujam gopa baalakam neelalakandham ”
Nishaji added something that she listened to Sri Ramuji’s speech about this: ‘When Rukmini heard Govardhana Udharanam lila, she was pretty sure the Lord will accept her, for that Lila verily goes to show that the Lord does not forsake anyone who surrenders unto Him.’
Narayananji added, ‘Our Swamiji would say that all our Puranic stories have philosophies behind them but it is not necessary to look at philosophies when it comes to Bhagavatam, for the very stories are filled with Bhakti Bhaava. Still, if there is a dry-hearted person who wants to look at philosophy behind this particular episode, there is certainly one!
Rukmini Devi represents the Jivatma which longs to attain the Paramatma and Lord Krishna is the Paramatma. The 5 brothers of Rukmini represent the 5 senses. These five senses always try to get us into worldly matters and away from God. When the quest for God is true, the Guru comes by Himself and takes the message of the devotee to the Lord. If the message is delivered by the Guru, the Lord Himself comes. We usually imagine that it is we who who have to go to temples to see the Lord. But the fact is, the Lord Himself comes right to our place and takes.
‘Rukmini Kalyanam’ is indeed the merger of the Jivatma into the Paramatma.
The satsang ended with prayers with Mahamantra Kirtan.
Jul 3: Ashada Ekadasi & Guru Poornima
The Nama Sankirtan was led by Raj and Chitraji family from Sunnyvale, California.
Narayananji from Boston talked about the significance of Ashada Ekadasi. The Friday satsang was indeed very significant since it was Aashada Ekadasi, a very auspicious one. The birth star of two great vaishnavite saints is celebrated this week – Nathamuni and Periyaazhwar.
There is a beautiful Abhang that extols the glory of Ashada Ekadasi
nAmAchA bajAr paNdarI nAmAchA bajAra
nAmachagEti nAmachadEti kOtiguLam uddhAra (paNdari)
dAyIm dAyIm santhamiLAlE karitI jai jai kAra (paNdari)
AshADa kArthika yAthrA barati vittalahA saradhAra (paNdari)
gOpALa pUrim kAlA hOyI lAypukyAnchAbatimAra (paNdari)
bALakadAsA lAgali kOti tarilEm harichEm dwAra (paNdari)
Pandarpur is a marketplace of the Divine Name! By buying and selling Nama in this marketplace, one transcends crores of Janmas! Sadhu groups merrily dance and sing all around echoing ‘Jay! Jay! Vittal’ everywhere!
They undertake Pandarpur Yatra during the holy months of Ashada and Karthika to see the countenance of the Emperor Vittala! The whole of Pandarpur becomes a ‘RAsamandala’ with puffed rice, fragrances and colored powder strewn all over the place! Standing on the portals of the Lord’s temple, they sing the Divine Name of Vittala!
Tejas from Houston TX, very beautifully talked about the significance of Guru.
Ramcharitmanas states that
“binu satsanga bibeka na hoi, rama krupa binu sulabha na soi”
It is very lucid that it is not possible to gain wisdom without satsang and without the grace of the Lord, it is not possible to be blessed with satsangs.
Tuesday, the seventh of July is Guru Poornima. It is the Full Moon day of the Ashada month and the birth date of Veda Vyas, who is the author of the Puranas and Vedas. On this day, worship is offered to Veda Vyasa and the Guru.
Veda Vyasa was the re-incarnation of the Lord, and so the lord himself took an incarnation on Guru Poornima only to show the importance of the Guru to the mankind.
To understand the full meaning of Guru Poornima, we must first understand who the Guru is. Guru Gita, in the Skanda Purana states that:
Yo guru sa shivaha prokto yaha shivaha sa gurusmrutaha
Vikalpam yastu kurvit sa naro gurutalpagaha
The Guru is Lord Shiva himself and the fact that Shiva is the Guru, is reminded to us in all the Smritis. He, who makes any distinction between the two, is guilty of a great crime.
So one can proclaim that guru is none other than the Lord in human form.
However, it is a difficult task to recognize a Guru among others in this world, so Guru Gita has expounded upon this.
Gukarastam rukarovai rukarastanivardhaka
Andhakaraniroditva gururitya vidiyate
The word Guru is none other than the Brahman that swallows ‘ajnana’ (ignorance) ‘Gu’ means darkness; ‘ru’ means to remove it. So Guru removes the darkness of ignorance.
Ramcharitmanas describes the grace of the Guru:
Bandau guru pada padma paraagaa | suruchi subaas saras anuraaga ||
Amia moorimaya choorana chaaru | samana sakala bhava ruja parivaaru || (1)
sukrti sambhu tana bimala bibhooti | manjula mangala moda prasooti ||
jana mana manju mukur mal harani | kiyen tilak gun ganbas karani || (2)
Sri gur pad nakh mani gana joti | sumirat dibya drishti hiyam hoti ||
Dalan moh tam so suprakaasu | bade bhaag ur aavayi jaasu || (3)
Ugharahim bimala bilochana hi ke | mitahim dosha dukh bhav rajni ke ||
Sujahim raam charit mani maanik | guputa pragata jahan jo jehi kaanik || (4)
The splendid radiance in the lotus feet of the guru forces divinity in the mind just by his glance. It removes all the infatuation [Maya] and blesses one with eternal bliss.
So how does the Guru bestow knowledge? It is said in Ramcharitmanas –
“srigura pada nakha mani gana joti, sumirata dibya dhristi hiya hoti”
By merely thinking of the toenail of the Guru, one is blessed with his divine vision. Guru’s grace is causeless and infinite and through this causeless mercy, one can attain the Supreme Truth.
So what is Guru Poornima? It is on this day where we offer our prayers to the Guru.
Lord Rama, the master of the whole universe has illustrated the glory of the Guru and how one must worship the Guru. Ramcharitmanas says that –“
“gurahi pranamu manahimana kinha, ati laghava uthai dhanu linha..”
Lord Rama offered obeisance to His guru (Vishvamitra), and then lifted the bow with great agility.
Shabari’s life-history expains how one should offer worship to the Sadguru.
“sabari dekhi rama gruha ae, muni ke bacana samujhi jiya bhae”
When Sabari saw that Lord Rama had come to her abode she immediately recalled the words of her Guru, Sage Matanga.
Sage Matanga was Sabari’s guru. During his final moments of his life he told Sabari that the Lord would come to her ashram. Sabari faithfully and eagerly waited for years and years for the arrival of the Lord. It is to be said that she would pick fruits and flowers to offer to the Lord everyday. She never questioned the words of her Guru and prepared for the Lord’s arrival everyday, despite the fact that people around her called her insane.
So the best way to serve the Guru, and attain the Lord, is to listen to what the Guru says verbatim, just like Sabari. And what does our Guru Maharaj say? He says to merely chant the Maha Mantra to attain the Lord.
“Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare”
On account of Guru Poornima, Tejas shared some beautiful thoughts of great mahans which extolled the glory of the Sad guru.
“Let no man in the world live in delusion. Without a Guru none can cross over to the other shore.” — Guru Nanak
“Guru, God and Self are one.” - Ramana Maharshi
“ It is not necessary for you to meet your guru on the physical plane. The guru is not external”. Neem Karoli Baba
Swami Papa Ramdas says –
“Let His Name be your most precious possession,
To be His servant be your honoured status,
To feel that you are His child be your supreme privilege,
To love, adore and serve Him be the sole occupation of your Life”.
Sri Guru Granth Sahib
I am a mere insect, a worm. O True Guru, I seek Your Sanctuary. Please be merciful, and bless me with the Light of the Naam, the Name of the Lord.
O my Best Friend, O Divine Guru, please enlighten me with the Name of the Lord.
Through the Guru’s Teachings, the Naam is my breath of life.
The Kirtan of the Lord’s Praise is my life’s occupation.
The prayers unto Guru in Ramacharitamanas elaborates the significance of guru
Shri Guru Charan Saroj Raj Nij mane mukure sudhar
Varnao Raghuvar Vimal Jasu Jo dayaku phal char
I clean my mind with the pollen dust of lotus feet of Guru. The mind is tainted with bad thoughts and we need some thing to clean the mind and it is only that dust that can clean our minds and bestow the four fold fruits of life (Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha)..
Tejas concluded his lecture with a beautiful doha from Saint Kabir:
“Guru gobind dou khade, kaake lagoon paay
Balihari guru aapne gobind diyo batay”
If the Guru and the Lord both are here whom should I bow to first.
Glory be unto the guru, who showed the path to God. Guru is like a mother. A mother takes care of the child from the day she conceives it. She puts up with lots of difficulties and sacrifices her desires for the welfare of the child. My Guru too took me into His arms and fondled me when I was called as sinner by the rest of the world just as a mother would fondle a child. But God turned to look at me only after I was purified by the grace and love of my Guru just as a father would cherish to see his grown up child holding a high position in the society and shares none of the difficulties of a mother. ”
The satsang ended with prayers with Mahamantra Kirtan.
Jun 19: Guru – The Sorcerer’s Stone?
The Nama Sankirtan was led by Nainar Mohamed and family from Mountain View, California.
This was followed by a talk by Narayanan from Boston.
We have been starting our satsangs by talking about the glory of satsang over the past few weeks and hence I thought we will talk about that, today too.
In Srimad Ramayana we see people with different characteristics. One is Sugreeva who is terror stricken at the thought of his brother Vaali. His life is in danger as Vaali can kill him any moment and he hides to save himself. He had lost all his materialistic possessions [his share of the kingdom] On the other side of the spectrum is Ravana. He was one of the most learned person, adept in shastras and a very powerful ruler indeed. This is at the beginning of Ramayana. However at the end of Ramayana, we see that Sugreeva is the ruler of Kishkinda and he leads a happy life. On the other hand, Ravana dies a miserable death. The main difference to note is that Sugreeva had Hanuman has his pal and that bought all the fortune for him, whereas Ravana set fire to Hanuman’s tail, thereby insulting the Bhagavatottama. He got rid of all the satsangs that he had destroyed Vibishana’s kingdom. These acts verily lead to the downfall of Ravana. The company of Sadhus and taking a refuge in the holy feet of Sadguru and not insulting any Bhagavatottama will keep one happy in this life and beyond.
Then, who is a Guru? Anyone who shows us the Lord is verily the Guru. There are many different Gurus illustrated in our scriptures.
It would be surprising to note that even Kamsa and Sukracharya were Gurus? How? It was Kamsa who showed the place of Lord Krishna to Akrura and created an opportunity for Akrura to meet Lord Krishna, although his intent was to slay Krishna. That way, Kamsa becomes Akrura’s Guru. During Vamana Avatara, when Lord Vamana comes to the place of King Bali’s sacrifice, Sukracharya, the preceptor of King Mahabali, warns the King ‘Hey Vairochana! this young lad is none other than Hari. Beware!’. By showing the Lord to King Bali, Sukracharya becomes a Guru.
But who is a Uttama Guru? Some say that the Uttama Guru is like a sorcerer’s stone. A sorcerer’s stone is one that when brought into contact with any object turns that object into gold. But Mahans beg to differ. The object may turn into gold. However that very object cannot be used to turn other objects into gold. Whereas in the case of a Uttama Guru, by a mere touch, a Uttama Guru can turn his disciples into Jnanis and the chain does not stop there. The disciples can turn other disciples into Jnanis by their touch. Now, do we see why a Uttama Guru cannot be compared to a sorcerrer’s stone?
There was a pious brahmin couple who lived in the state of Andhra Pradesh, whose family had been continuously doing ‘Soma Yaga’ (Soma Yaga is a particular sacrifice that has been advocated in our scriptures for all brahmin householders). It was said that when he had completed a hundred soma yagas, the Lord Himself will be born to them.
This couple had shifted to Varanasi to earn their living, for he was a Vedic scholar and Varanasi was the seat of Vedic education during that time. It was the time of Muslim invasions in India and often dacoits and looters came in horses and scared the lives out of the residents. During one such attack, fearing for life, the couple moved into a forest. The wife was bearing the aforesaid god-child in her womb as they made their way into the forest. One night, in the middle of the forest, the wife gave birth to a beautiful boy. There was no help to reach out to, and it is said that the animals and other natural forces verily guarded the child after it was born. They named the child “Vaishvanara” (Vaishvanara is the name of Agni – the God of Fire, which was their primary deity worship).
Vaishvanara grew up to be a great scholar in his later life and came to be called by everyone as Sri Vallabhacharya. Sri Vallabhacharya has written commentaries on the Upanishads and various other scriptures. His commentary on Srimad Bhagavatam – called as “Subhodini” is till date, considered as one of the best commentaries of Srimad Bhagavatam till date. He propounded the path of worship known as “Pushti Marg” and had temple establishments in various places, including Allahabad and Brindavan.
Krishnadas was one of the disciples of Sri Vallabha. Sri Vallabha had appointed Krishnadas as the Manager of the Srinathji temple in Mathura he founded. Sri Vallabha instructed Krishnadas that only the best of the best products be offered to the deity. This, Krishnadas, took as the initiation of the Guru and followed it in word and spirit. Even today, the betel leaves for the deity come from Vellore in Tamilnadu (which is known to produce the best betel leaves in the country), water from the Yamuna is brought to this place daily and saffron from Kashmir is flown to the temple on a daily basis!
Once Krishnadas was going on a horse carriage to Mathura to get groceries for the temple when he heard a melodious music coming from somewhere. He was so much drawn to the music that he asked the carriage driver to halt. Later, he asked that the carriage be driven towards the source of the music and finally, he reached a place where a beautiful maiden was singing in a melodious voice and dancing in front of a few rich people.
Krishnadas sat mesmerized by the elegance of the maiden’s dance and the melody of her voice. He felt there could not be a greater vocalist and dancer than her in the whole world. He approached her after the dance and learned that her name was Ranjani.
He remembered his Guru’s instruction and told Ranjani, ‘Ranjani! will you dance in front of my Master?’
Ranjani immediately turned down Krishnadas’ request – ‘I don’t come outside to dance. Ask your Master to come here!’
‘My master wouldn’t come. But I assure you, you will be very satisfied after having danced in his presence.’
Ranjani, ‘Well! Will your master pay me enough? I demand a large sum when I perform outside.’
‘Don’t every worry about it. My Master is extremely affluent. No one in this world is as rich as him, so much so that, the Goddess of wealth herself is at his feet!’
Ranjani said, ‘I don’t dance in front of oldaged people. Is your master handsome enough?’
Krishnadas said, ‘My master is the most handsome person on earth! He is like a million cupids put together, and he is ever a young man in his sweet-sixteen.’
Ranjani asked, ‘Is your master a rasika (conneisseur)? I will be really upset if my audience cannot appreciate and enjoy my music and dance and hence will not perform if he is not a rasika.’
Krishnadas immedately said, ‘My master is the greatest conneisseur of music and dance. He is ‘akhilakalaadi guru’ – the master of all arts!
Having convinced Ranjani, Krishnadas took her along with him to the temple. When Ranjani asked him to take her to his master, Krishnadas pulled open the screen that kept the deity of Lord Krishna from her… and lo! Ranjani was speechless when she gazed at the divine beauty of the Lord.
She immediately started singing and dancing. Her performance for the ‘Master’ was extra-ordinary that particular day and went on for a long time. With bhaava filled in her dance and music, her performance reached a cresendo. Eventually, as she finished her performance, in a lightning flash, she went into the sanctum and merged into Lord Krishna.
Within a single performance in front of the Lord, that very state that Mirabai had attained, by merging into the Lord of Dwaraka; that very state that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had attained by merging into Lord Jagannath of Puri, Ranjani had attained, inspite of the fact that Ranjani did not even perform a fraction of the devotion that the Mirabai and Mahaprabhu had performed all their lives! – The only reason being the fact that she was shown the Lord by Krishnadas, who as the disciple at the feet of the Uttama Guru Sri Vallabhacharya.
Vallabhacharya had many such disciples who have delivered so many souls by their mere presence and touch.
Poojya Poornimaji surprised the satsang by her presence and talked about the path of complete surrender to god. She is currently visiting Australia for satsangs.
We all have numerous questions that we want to have cleared when we have our Guru Maharaj’s darshan, don’t we? I happened to read a nice incident in the life of Bhagavan Ramana in this connection, which I am happy to share in this satsang.
Muruganaar is the disciple of Ramana who, today, is the person behind bringing out all of Bhagavan Ramana’s works to light. Once, Muruganaar when in the presence of Bhagavan Ramana, put forth a bunch of questions to Bhagavan. ‘How come I have so many doubts’, asked Muruganaar. Bhagavan replied that it was common to have doubts even if one is in the abode of the Sadguru and that is because of the fact that one has not reached the point of complete surrender.
In this context, Bhagavan Ramana narrates the story of Sanatkumaras. This is slightly different from the one we find in Srimad Bhagavatam, but nevertheless, conveys the idea very well.
‘Once Sanatkumaras had numerous doubts which they wanted to get clarified. Firstly they reached Vaikunta, the abode of Vishnu. Seeing Vishnu along with His divine consort Lakshmi, they felt that being a householder, Vishnu would not be the right person to answer their questions. So they moved on and decided to meet Lord Shiva to pose their questions.
Knowing beforehand that the Kumaras would turn Him down if he was with Goddess Parvati, Shiva took the form of a young man and penance under a banyan tree. The Kumaras approached Dakshinamurthy and decided to stay there until their doubts were cleared. They sat in front of Lord Dakshinamurthy and started firing their questions. Patient as he was, Lord Dakshinamurthy answered their questions one by one, and this went on for about a year. Although time passed by, there was no sign of cessation of doubts and questions. Sanatkumaras kept volleying their doubts. A year passed and Lord Shiva decided, ‘There is not going to be an end for this. Let me go into meditation.’. Thinking so, He went into deep meditation and enquiry. This very dynamic silence created peace and bliss in the Sanatkumaras.!
When Bhagavan Ramana completed the anecdote, Muruganaar looked extremely addled. He said, ‘But Bhagavan, I have never heard of a story that Lord Dakshinamurthy spoke volumes to Sanatkumaras! I have heard of Lord Dakshinamurty as a guru in silence always! This story sounds so new to me!’
Bhagavan Ramana smiled at Muruganaar and exclaimed, ‘True! It is not found in the Puranas, But that is what happened!’
Having narrated this incident from Bhagavan Ramana’s life, Poornimaji added,
‘The very silence of the Guru explains it all. ‘Gurostu Maunam Vyaakhyaanam’. Seeing this in conjunction with the story in Srimad Bhagavatam reveals a very interesting fact…
What is the story in Bhagavatam? The Sanatkumaras long to cherish and behold the beauty and bliss of the Almighty Lord Vishnu and reach the gates of Vaikunta. At the entrance, they are stopped by the gatekeepers Jaya and Vijaya, and they are cursed. The story goes on…
Now, what do we see? Initially, when the Sanatkuamaras saw Lord Vishnu, although He was the Lord Almighty, they saw Him only as a householder!
Then after they acquired the supreme knowledge at the feet of their Guru Lord Dakshinamurthy and have been recipients of the Guru’s grace they longed to behold the beauty and cherish the bliss of the same Lord Vishnu, whom they considered a mere householder earlier!
Without the grace of the Guru, even if you meet God face to face, you will not realize the grace and Glory of the Lord. It is only with the Guru’s grace that you can realize God.
The satsang ended with prayers and Namasankirtan.
June 5: Kagabhusundhi
The Nama Sankirtan was lead by the Gopas and Gopis of the Gopa Kuteeram in Houston.
June 6th marked the Aradhana of Sri Alangudi Periyava, a saint whose breath was verily Srimad Bhagavatam. June 7th was the Jayanti of Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati Swamigal of Kanchi. The same day is also the thiru nakshatra of Sri Nammazhwar. Swati Nakshatra that falls on June 5th is our Guru Maharaj’s Janma Nakshatra. This weekend is certainly very propitious to be in a Satsang and chant the Divine Names.
In Srimad Bhagavatam, Lord Prahalada, while counseling his fellow-students gives various advices on Bhagavata Dharma and Bhakti. In one such parley, he urges them to inculcate Bhakti at a very young age. Half of the 100 years that is destined for man is spent sleeping. A part of it is lost in young age, where we lack knowledge, and a part of the rest is spent in old-age where our body no more cooperates. We hardly get anytime to think about God. So Prahlada says that one should be inculcated into Bhakti at a young age.
Our Guru Maharaj also urges parents in our satsang to inculcate bhakti and good spiritual and moral values in the kids as early as possible. With that goal in mind, “Gopa Kuteeram” has come into inception. It is a retreat for kids in order for them to get exposed to Bhagavata Dharma. A 2-day program tightly packed with fun and spiritual activities for young minds. More about the retreat can be read here.
Following this, one of the Gopas from Houston – Shivam, talked on Shiva Bhakti and the significance of Guru, by quoting excerpts from the Uttara Kanda of Ramacharithmanas. He talked about the ill-effects incurred by disrespecting a guru, the extreme compassionate nature of a guru and also talked about Lord Shiva who is the Adi Guru. He talked about a great devotee of Lord Rama, by name Kagabhusundhi.
In his previous birth, Kagabhusundhi was born in the holy city of Ayodhya. Even though he was born in the birth place of Lord Rama, he was a staunch devotee of Lord Shiva and was hostile to all other forms, including Lord Rama. In the later years, he moved to Ujjain where he continued to worship Lord Shiva in a temple. In that temple he met a very devout Brahmin who was also a devotee of lord Shiva. Unlike Bhusundhi, the Brahmin was devoid of any arrogance. When he saw him showing disrespect to Lord Vishnu, he admonished him and advised him to worship both Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu.
“Siva seva kara phala suta soi, Abirala bhagati rama pada hoi
Ramahi bhajahi taata siva daata, nara pavara kei ketika baata”
There is only one path of devotion to Lord Shiva. That path is continued devotion to Lord Rama. Lord Shiva himself worships Lord Rama, then what to speak of ordinary human beings? It is said that Lord Shiva does incessant chanting of Rama Nama.
One day when Bhusundi was worshipping the Lord in the temple, his guru walked in. Having known his traits, he ignored his guru and did not seek his blessings. The Guru who was compassion-personified ignored his disrespect. However, Lord Shiva, being the AdiGuru could not stand this and he spoke vehemently through an asarira-vaak.
“Tadapi sapa satha daihahu tohi, niti birodha sohai nahi mohi
je satha guru san irisha karahi, raurava naraka koti juga parahi
baitha rahasi ajagara iva papi, sarpa hohi khala mala mati byapi”
Lord Shiva expressed his displeasure with Bhusundhi for the act of disrespecting his guru. He said a person who harbors ill-doings and disrespect to a guru will be thrown in hell for millions of years. And since he sat like a snake when his guru arrived, Lord shiva cursed Bhusundhi to take birth as a virulent snake. The guru however could not see this horrible thing happening to his disciple even though he deserved it.
Suni binati sarbagya siva dekhi bipra anuraga,
puni mandira nabhabani bhai dvijabara baru maga
Tava maya basa jiva jada santata phirai bhulana
tehi para krodha na karia prabhu krip sindhu bhagavana
Sankara dinadayala aba ehi para hou kripala
sapa anugraha hoi jehi natha thorehi kala
Bhusundi’s preceptor could not stand the curse on his disciple. This clearly shows his compassionate nature. He cried to Lord Shiva and he sang praises of Lord Shiva called Rudrashtakam to nullify the curse and instead turn this into a blessing.
In this Stuti, Lord Shiva is praised in many different forms. He is described as the ruler of the universe and as the Veda swaroopam (the manifestation of the Vedas). He is described as Bhakta Vatsala (an act of being gracious to his devotees). He is extolled as the lord of the mountains and the devourer of death and whose abode is beyond the universe. He is like the Himalayan snow and as beautiful as innumerable cupids and his head sparkles with Ganga with a crescent moon adorning him and with coiled snakes around his neck. It is said in the Stuti that if he is not worshipped there is no happiness, peace or freedom from suffering not just in the present birth but in all subsequent births.
After having listened to this wonderful Stuthi, Lord Shiva replied to the Brahmin, “Even though Bhusundhi had sinned, just because of your prayer, I shall be benevolent to him”. Bhusundhi will go through cycles of births and deaths but he will not feel the pain. The lord told the brahmin that,” Bhusundhi having been born in the holy land of Ayodhya, his devotion to me (Lord Shiva), and his association with a pious soul like you, Hari Bhakti will be born in his heart”. Having said this, he also gave a very important piece of advice to Bhusundhi. “Never insult a saint. Rather consider them equal to God.” Thus due to the Lord’s curse he took countless births and in the course of which he became a great devotee of Lord Rama. In his final birth, he was born as a crow. He was blessed by a saint to remain the favorite of Lord Rama. When Lord Shiva appeared on the earth, Kagabhusundhi was a playmate for Lord Rama and he also astounded Ramayana to Garuda, the celestial vehicle of Lord Vishnu. He became a great devotee of Lord Rama only because of the grace of a Guru.
Thus we can clearly see that no good can out by disrespecting a guru and that a mere association with Sadhus and being in a satsang can alleviate the Jivas.
The Satsang concluded with prayers with Nama Sankirtan.
Jan 09: Surest Path to Liberation
Blessed were those who attended this unique satsang which is conducted through the medium of telephone. About 18 families attended the satsang. The satsang began with Nama Sankirtan lead by Ramyaji from San Jose, CA. The lecture was given by Sri Narayananji from Boston, which was preceded by introductions.
He started with the Mahamantra
“Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
Hare Krishna hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare
Kalaye sundarAkAram sadaika priyadarshanam |
AgnAna nAshakam dEvam sadgurum muraLidharam ||”
Narayananji spoke on the glory and compassion of the Lord and described one of the easiest paths to attain Him.
“One cannot measure the compassionate nature of the lord.
If we see the sky, we see the stars, the moon and the planets. What a wonderful creation of the Almighty.! They are so synchronous to each other. If we look at the plant kingdom, we see trees with leaves in many different shapes, colors and in innumerable sizes. If we delve into the animal world, we cannot help wondering wonder on His adept creation right from micro-organisms to sharks and dinosaurs. The Lord is a beautiful Rasika. He is known for his ‘Raasikya’ (connoisseur).If we ponder further on His creations, we can clearly see that no human is the same as the other. If we ask a painter to paint a picture, he can paint a unique painting. If we ask him to do another different painting, he does it. Perhaps after few paintings, he will tend to reuse the ideas of his previous paintings to create new one. That is the case with a novel author who may reuse his ideas in writing subsequent novels. When we take the case of human beings, God has created each one with not only a different facial identity but also with different taste buds, emotions, attitude and personality. The beauty of the Lord is that he possesses a shy nature and doesn’t want to show off His beautiful creation. He is omnipresent. He is present in the beautiful melody of the cuckoo, in the feathers of a peacock and in the beautiful sound emanating from the flute. The Lord is called “Paroksha Priya”. He likes to hide his great qualities. Such is the compassion and humility of the Lord Himself!
A great Sri Vaishnava Saint , Sri Vedanta Desika wrote a beautiful piece of literature called Daya Shatakam. It is a collection of hundred verses that extols the compassion of the Lord. In that, he goes to the extent of saying that the ‘Pralaya’ (the dissolution of the universe) is also an act of compassion of the Lord!
Let’s probe into this. If we are forced to work all the twenty four hours a day, without sleep, then it leads to total chaos, does it not? Can we imagine a world without the concept of sleep? ‘Pralaya Kaala’ is when everyone is in ‘laya’, just like a mother putting her baby to sleep and wakes it up again when the ‘Shrishti’ (Creation) begins. Is it not an act of compassion of the Lord?
But we as humans, fail to understand His very gracious nature. So the Lord to attempt again to shower His grace on us. So He gave us the Vedas. The Vedas are ‘Apaurusheya’. It is the only text that is not composed by a human. The moment a scripture is written by humans, it is subject to ‘Raga Dvesha’ and ‘Paksha Paata’ (prejudices of the human mind). The Vedas are the breath and the language of the Lord. It doesn’t contain any prejudice. The Lord showed us the means to attain him through the Vedas.
Our Swamiji beautifully says that we see many different deities in this universe. All these different forms of the lord have their own temples and have their own ways of worship. There is only one deity for whom worship is not prescribed at all. He is Lord Brahma. Why is this so? Our Swamiji gives a rational reason as to why it is so. Lord Brahma is Himself in the form of Vedas. The moment we give a form and temple to Him, we tend to ignore the Vedas and instead do processions and utsavs. Hence it is strictly prescribed that there is no temple for the Vedas and the Vedas verily are the Lord. What is the best way to worship Lord Brahma? The one who learns Vedas is verily worshipping him. Lord Brahma has 4 faces (Chaturmukha). The word ‘Mukha’ has two interpretations in Sanskrit. It means face as well as mouth. The right usage depends on the context. In this background, the word ‘Mukha’ means mouth. He chanted the four different Vedas through the ‘Chatur Mukha’. He gave the Vedas in which he showed two most important facts. The first of which is how one should lead a life and secondly, the means to attain the Lord’s lotus feet.
But then we human beings were not intelligent enough to understand this and we have been going in our own ways. It is said in Bhagavat Gita “Tasmaat Shaasthram Pramananthe Karyaakaarya vyavastitau”
Sri Veda Vyasa says that “Veda Shastram Param nasti” which means that the Vedas are the supreme Shastras and urged everyone to look into the Vedas to see how one should lead his life. So, the Lord out of his sheer compassion decided to show himself the path in addition to instructing the people through the Vedas. Hence He took the beautiful avatars of lord Rama and Lord Krishna. In Rama Avatar, he showed how a man should lead a life by following the path of Dharma. It is shown in Vedas “Dharmam Chara”. Coming in the human form, Rama showed how to lead a life. In Krishna Avatar, he clearly showed how to attain Him. By the virtue of the qualities of his devotees he showed the path to attain Him. All the Vrajavasis and Gopis in Brindavan showed the path to attain the ultimate feet of the Lord and that is ‘Sharanagati’. The Lord in Krishna Avatar shows how one needs to surrender unto Him. Our Guru Maharaj beautifully conveys this in his kirtan – “Kazhalai thookki thalaiyil vaithu gathi idhuvae endran” – Showing the path to Surrender, the path to Liberation.
That was an ideal example for all of us to follow. However the Lord’s nature was to punish the negative minded (‘asuras’ or demons). Taking exception to this act of the Lord, He Himself vowed not to look at any ‘asuric’ quality of humans.
And so he decided to take the form of Archavatara (form of a deity in the temple). Thus he promised not to look at negativities and will only keep showering His grace. But did this still show the compassion of the Lord?When we go to a temple (which is nothing but a wish-fulfilling tree ‘Kalpatharu’ / Chinthamani), they can bestow us with whatever we ask, but they don’t suggest the right thing that one should ask for. And since the Lord had taken a vow to not to open his mouth, this form was also becoming counter-productive as people became more and more mean and selfish.
The Lord again started to ponder on how to take the humans to His feet and that was when he decided to send the Sadhus down to the earth as Avatara Purushas to show His grace. These Mahans speak the glory of the Lord, but only the Lord knows the glory of these Mahans! And Alas! The Lord does not speak! So the glory of the Avatara Purushas goes unspoken. It can only be experienced!
The Lord has been a little thrifty on the number of such Avatara Purushas on earth! It is by mere compassion of the Lord that one can get attracted to these Jivan Muktas.
There are three things that take us ashore but they themselves remain as it is. Firstly, it is the ladder that takes one up but stands in the same place. Secondly it is the boat that helps one to cross a body of water body but it itself remains in the water. Thirdly, the citrus fruit (Elimichangai in tamil). It aids to alleviate indigestion. It helps to digest all the undigested food in the stomach but it itself doesn’t get digested.
The Mahans/ Jivan Muktas are very similar to this. They take us ashore and they themselves remain there. Such is the Lord’s compassion. Why is that they don’t get liberated? It is because, they are always in the state of Mukthi and they don’t need to attain a different state.
To get a darshan of such Sadhus is indeed very rare. In Srimad Bhagavatam, when Sri Suka was wandering in the forests, there were some womenfolk who were bathing in the river. When they saw Him coming, they immediately circumambulated and prostrated unto him. When they were asked as to why they didn’t even cover themselves properly before prostrating to the great sage, they replied that getting a glimpse of these Jivan Muktas is very rare and that they didn’t want to miss it! So precious is the darshan of Mahapurushas.
One has attained the feet of such a Jivan Mukta as a Guru. What next?
There are four things that one needs to follow. 1. Pilgrimage. There is no more a need to take a bath in Ganga and Yamuna and go to pilgrimages. Just by merely drinking the water from the feet of a Guru is equivalent to going on a pilgrimage. The reason for a pilgrimage tour is to attain ‘Chitta Shuddhi’ (cleansing our mind). When our mind is faced with lot of disturbances, the first thing that one needs to do is to come to a calm state. A pilgrimage is a place that can accomplish it. In Srimad Bhagavatham it is said,
“Swayam hi theerthaani punanti santha:” It says that the Jivan Muktas are truly the pilgrimages. The drops of water from the feet of the Guru are verily Ganga and Yamuna.Secondly one should stop worrying of his sins. A glimpse of his vision on us will wipe out all the sins. Sri Andal says “Theeyil thoosagum cheppaelor rembabvai”, which means that all the sins will be burnt to ashes the moment the Guru’s gracious vision falls on us. The moment when one’s sins are washed out, it is then we get the taste of the Lord. It is only then we get Bhakti.
Thirdly, one should partake the food left ofer by the Guru. (the Uchchishta). When we take in anything that is left over by our Guru’s consumption, it means to follow his Upadesa. Follow whatever he says verbatim. Never ask any questions. Chant the Divine Name that He has given as a Upadesa to you. That will give Bhakti.
And lastly, Surrender to His feet in order to attain liberation. Prostrating to him means that we are not only giving ourselves but also our family members and our possessions. It is under the supervision of the Guru that we take care of our family members and possessions but they essentially belong to him.
When we do the above mentioned four things in a repeated manner, then one is for sure to get his abundance grace.The beauty here is that one is not directly attaining the Lord by any one of these means, but the glory is if it were a true Guru then it will automatically lead you to the Lord.
A beautiful example to this is Sri MadhuraKavi Azhwar. He was a disciple of Sri Nammazhwar. Being a very learned scholar himself, Madurakavi Azhwar served His guru. He only sang praises of his Guru. He wrote ten ‘pasurams’(verses) in which he has sung praises of his Acharya Namazhwar and not the Lord. And without even his knowledge, he alluded to the Lord!
In his pasurams, he starts off by saying -
“Kanninum Siruthambinal Katum na pannirpaeruvai” He refers to Sri Krishna’s leela and says Oh! my Acharya who fell for Sri Krishna’s Damodhara Leela, unto that guru, I prostrate!When one prostrates to the Guru and follows the four steps as mentioned He is for sure to attain the feet of the Lord. We are all fortunate to be at the feet of our Sadguru Maharaj and for the Nama Sankirtan, which is a simple path that he has shown us. May the grace of Sadguru and the Lord be with all of us.
Sri Sankarji from San Jose mentioned about the second Bhagavatam Study Circle that was scheduled on 10th Jan at his residence.
The satsang was wrapped with Nama Sankirtan which was lead by Chitraji from San Jose, CA
