Sep 4: The Lord’s plan
The satsang started with Nama Sankirtan by Sri Thiagaraj and family from Dallas. Following this, a brief introduction was given by Sri Narayanan from Boston…
The first streak of Bhagavan’s grace falling on us in the form of a Satsang. Many a Mahan has talked about the glory of Satsang. Srimad Bhagavatam talks about the glory of Satsang in each story that it narrates – right from Narada’s story and Ajamila’s story, all the way until Rasa Lila, where the Gopis, after having lost Krishna amidst their dance, join as a satsang and sing His glories in order to get him back. Likewise, the greatest compilation of Azhwars – the Divya Prabandham talks about the glory of Satsang. Andal in her tiruppavai, does not go as a single person to do the ‘Paavai Nonbu’. She invites all her friends along, in order to gather a satsang. Most of the verses in Tiruppavai is such an invitation. She mentions ‘koodi irundhu kulirndhelorempaavaai’. Right at the beginning of the Prabandham, the first three Azhwars have shown us the glory of Satsang. It is only when there was a wonderful satsang consisting of the first three Azhwars – Poigai Azhwar, Boodathaazhwar, and Peyaazhwaar at Mrukandu Ashram in Tirukkovilur that the Lord appeared before them and it was only in such a satsang that we got the verses in Divya Prabandham. Such is the glory of a Satsang. Ours is one such satsang which has Nama Sankirtan and Katha Shravanam.
Following this, Sudhaji spoke about the glory of Bhakti and Nama Sankirtan.
na saadhayati maam yoga na saankhyam dharma uddhava
na svaadyaayah tapah tyagah yatA Bhaktir mamorjitA
Uddhava! Neither Yoga nor Sankhya, study of Vedas, austerities or renunciation captivates me as does intense devotion.
The Lord thinks of innumerable ideas to liberate the Jivas, and till date, his attempts have not been fully successful, as creation still takes place! Although Bhagavan may be omnipotent and omnipresent, our ignorance is so deep as to even outwit the Omnipotent Bhagavan! “Is there no way to bring these ‘jivas’ ashore?” We are an obstinate lot! We possess ‘intolerable’ stubbornness. We are very cautious and avoid being caught in the net spun and thrown by Bhagavan to liberate us. And Bhagavan possesses ‘intolerable’ compassion! In what “Try as he may I will not give up my effort to bring him ashore!” says Bhagavan and is relentlessly creating new ideas to attract us.
As the first effort Bhagavan gave the Vedas. All those who have learnt the Vedas are aware that the essence of the Vedas is Bhagavan. But merely giving the Vedas did not help the Lord in completing His sankalpa!
Then Bhagavan decided to incarnate Himself as Lord Rama. Periyavachhanpillai Swamy in His ‘vyakyana’ says, ‘Man kondu man pidiparpole’ – to catch a deer with the help of another (deer)’. A thorn has pricked the sole of a deer’s hoof. When we approach it to render help the deer runs away out of fear. The reason for this is we do not belong to its class/group (’swajathi’). While another deer would be able to easily approach this one. So, Bhagavan desires to be born as a man
Having incarnated on earth, if Bhagavan always remained in Bliss it would not serve the purpose; He could have remained in Vaikunta itself! Well! Having incarnated on earth if Bhagavan were to be immersed in sorrow like we do, this too, would not serve the purpose. We, jivas, here on earth are already drowned in sorrow. We do not need a Bhagavan to add up to this number! How then should an Avatara be?
He should always be in Bliss within but externally behave as if He, too, were affected deeply by the joys and sorrows of the world. Act like a human – ‘Kapatankiikrita manusha vesham’ – Wear the garb of a man and act like one. Behave like a man. And how should that man be?
A man should hold himself in such a position as to create awe in God and the Guru. This is the essence of Ramayana.
Sri Sri Swamiji says, ‘If you question, “Is it enough if I do not try to assimilate Rama’s qualities but just surrender to Him?” Well! The answer is simple. “Surrender to him. You will become one like Him. He will transform you!’ Ramavatara has been so great. ‘
But has Ramavatara served the purpose of the Lord’s incarnation? No. What is the reason for this? Till date actions of Rama in having hit Vali, hiding behind a tree and the like are being questioned. So Bhagavan decides to take an Avatara exhibiting his entire prowess. “Tam adbutam balakam ambujekshanam, chaturbujam, shankagadharyudayudam, srivatsalakshmam galashobikoustubam”.
Bhagavan took an Avatara that exhibited His divinity right from His birth. His birth itself is a marvel! Even as a babe Bhagavan destroyed asuras like Putana, Trinavarta, Sakatasura, etc. The entire Bhagavatam is filled with His wonderful divine lilas. One wonder after another! It is filled with His wonderful feats.
Well! Did this Avatara whence Bhagavan exhibited His entire glory fulfill His desire? The answer is a simple ‘No’ once again!
Bhagavan also shows His colossal form (‘Viswaroopa’) to Arjuna. Probably just for that moment Arjuna felt awed; wondering, “is this the One who has been so friendly with me?” but within a few days he is his old self again, having forgotten the colossal form. There is absolutely no sign of any transformation in Arjuna. He even wonders if it were some sort of a hallucination! So, in Krishavatara also Bhagavan’s wish was not fulfilled.
Neither the Vedas nor Rama-Krishnavataras fulfilled the wish of the Lord. Bhagavan, therefore, felt that He Himself should not come down to the earth.
“Kalau Khalu bhavishyanti Narayana parayanah”
“Tamraparni nadi yatra kritamala payasvini”
says the Bhagavatam
In this Kali Yuga innumerable Sadhus will come down to the earth, and being compassion incarnate, they liberate the Jivas by giving them the Divine Name of God. Once Perumal asked Bhagavat Ramanuja how he had so much of a following, while Perumal had very few people listening to what He said. Ramanujacharya replied, ‘Lord! You pointed them to yourself and said sing ME, sing ME! And they did not listen. Whereas, I point them to you and say ‘Sing HIM, sing HIM’ and they do listen!’
The sadhus and Mahans transform us into a beautiful golden flower and throw them at the Feet of Bhagavan, even without our knowledge.
When you attend a Nama Sankirtan, first you will be just sitting, then slowly you will start clapping, then you start singing and one point of time it will make you to dance too. That is the power of Sankirtan.
How did we acquire Ramayana? In Ayodhya, having sacrificed Sita, Ramachandra Prabhu is in silence and solitude. He, therefore, appears majestic. After attending to His royal duties he gets back to His room. He shows a deaf ear to anyone who speaks about Sita to Him. He behaves as if he is in no way connected to Sita! But in the solitude of His room he sheds tears thinking of Sita. Filled with love (‘prema’) within He sports a rough exterior. Therefore, nobody is able to approach Rama. It is at this time that two young children sing the life of Rama on the streets of Ayodhya. In Ramayana, Valmiki says that Rama was an adept in Sangeetha Shastra (Music shastra). Valmiki explains that Rama knew the intricacies of music. These two children who went about singing the life of Rama on the streets of Ayodhya were very fine looking. Valmiki writes, “If Rama were to look at His own reflection in the mirror and call out to it and the reflection took a young form and came out how would that be? These two children seemed to possess such a form!”
Their melodious rendering of Ramayana was heard and enjoyed by Lakshmana, Bharata, Shatruguna and all the others. All of them desired Rama to hear this since it was the story of Rama. But none of them had the courage to approach Him with this request.
Once Rama was strolling around in His garden. The melodious singing of the two children reaches His ears. Rama at once enquires of Lakshmana, “Lakshmana, where does such melodious music come from? Who is singing so captivatingly?” Lakshmana informs Rama, “Brother! Two children have come to our Kingdom. They resemble you very much and are going about the Kingdom singing the story of our family. You should definitely listen to them.” Rama replies, “It would not be proper for me to invite them to the court and ask them to sing my life. Let them come to Naimeesaranya where a Yajna is to be held and sing there.” Rama is anxious to hear the two children not for the reason of listening to his life being depicted; instead to listen to how Lakshmana, Bharata, Shatruguna, Piratti (Sita) had all sacrificed their lives for His sake.
Rama invites the two children to Naimeesaranya and requests them to sing Ramayana. “Tapaswadhyayaniratam…….” – the children begin to sing. Totally engrossed in their singing, Rama slowly moves up to the children and with tears flowing from His eyes listens to the rendering of the ‘Divya Charitra’ (the divine life history). The glory of Ramayana lies in the fact that the very first rendering of Ramayana on stage (‘arangetram’) was heard by Lord Rama Himself! At close the children sing, “All the people of Ayodhya are content and comfortable. Rama is their protector. This is the reason for their well-being. Henceforth, anyone who reads or listens to Ramayana will enjoy all comforts.” “Vishnorbalam vardhate” — Even Vishnu receives His strength from this. But Rama’s family is suffering till date. Sita and Rama have been separated. The children are wandering about like orphans. The children explain that Rama was undergoing sufferings as He had no protector But since Ramayana has now come as His protector the sufferings of Rama’s family has at last come to an end!
So what has given Ramayana to the World? ‘Gana’ – music! Attracted by music Rama desired to listen to it. Therefore, music attracts Bhagavan.
In Bhagavatam, Bhagavan performs ‘rasa’ with the gopis. But, Bhagavan disappears since the gopis are seized with what is known as ’sowbhaga mada’. Gopis yearn to see Bhagavan again and play lila. They do not then perform dhyana or yoga or mantra japa or go on fast. ’ruruduh suswaram rajan’- they sing Gopika Geetham. As soon as they sing Gopika Geetham Bhagavan appears before them. So, it was music that attracted Bhagavan here. This is the reason that one finds ‘pancha geetam’ in Bhagavatam. Just as there are pancha ratna keertanas of Thiagaraja Swami the five ‘geetas’ in Bhagavatam are known as ‘pancha geetam’. Thus, music attracts Bhagavan.
The Azhwars, the Nayanmars, Thiagaraja Swami, Panduranga Bhaktas, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu have all shown that one CAN attain liberation through mere chanting of Nama.
The power of their (such Mahans’) Namasankirtan is known by the incident in Ramakrishna Paramahamsa’s life – He used to dance in ‘bhava’ on the banks of the Ganga (when no one was around) clapping his hands and singing the Maha Mantra ‘Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare! Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare!’ People who happened to witness this believed that he was none other than Chaitanya Mahaprabhu as it was the period immediately in succession to Mahaprabhu’s period. Totapuri used to mock at his clapping the hands for Namasankirtan as ‘preparing roti’! Once, Totapuri suffered from severe stomach ache. Ramakrishna Paramahamsa sat near him and sang ‘Hare Rama …’ and he was cured of it! This is found in the Gospel of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. They have all enjoyed Namasankirtan to this extent.
So, Mahans have shown two ‘margas’ in Kali. One ‘marga’ is ‘katha sravanam’ and the other is ‘kirtanam’. These are the only ways that will do ‘uddharana’ (liberate) of all the Jivas.
Even today we find Sadhus who have attained the highest state through mere chanting of Nama. This is the glory of ‘Nama Sankirtana’ — An absolutely easy, simple path.
As a final thought,
shRunvanti gAyanti gRuNantyabhIkshNasha: smaranti nandanti tavehitam janA:
ta eva pashyantyahireNa tAvakam bhava praVahoparamam padAmbujam.
The Meaning: Those people who listen to, sing, repeatedly narrate, often reminisce your story and derive joy out of it, are the only ones who attain, in no time, your lotus feet that terminated the cycle of births and deaths.
Gayathriji from Boston shared her Nama Anubhava.
The satsang ended with prayers with Mahamantra Kirtan.
Aug 7: Bhagavata Dharma
The Namasankirtan was led by Shaliniji from CA.
This was followed by a satsang talk by Sri Narayanan from Boston.
“Dharmo rakshati rakshitah” – our Shastras say. What does that mean? If we continue to perform a dharma, that very dharma will save you. Our Sanathana Dharma – Hinduism is actually a way of life.
Generally, Dharma is misinterpreted to mean charity. But the right interpretation is that Dharma is a practice that we follow – a way of living.
The first word of an epic or scripture is supposed to be auspicious. When Pauranikas narrate puranas, they start their discourse with the word ‘Sriyahpati’ – (meaning the Lord) because that is an auspicious term. Ramayana starts with the term ‘tapah’. Srimad Bhagavatam starts with ‘Janmasyadya’. ‘Dharma’ is also a very auspicious term. Many a scripture starts with the word ‘Dharma’.; for one, Bhagavat Gita starts as ‘Dharamkshetre kurukshetre…’ it starts with ‘Dharma’.
In Bhagavatam, this Dharma is spoken of in the second sloka. ‘Dharamh projjita kaitavotra paramo…’. The first chapter of the first canto also ends with ‘dharma’. The last of the six questions that the sages put forth is: ‘dharmah kam sharanam gatah’. Whom did Dharma take refuge in? Does this not sound paradoxical, because, in the beginning, we said, that it is Dharma that protects us!
This statement really means that Dharma cannot stand by itself. There has to be a Maha Purusha or an Avatara who will rejuvenate and resurrect Dharma when Dharma is subject to a threat, as Bhagavan says in Gita – ‘yada yada hi dharmasya glaanir bhavati bharata.. abhyuktaanam adharmasya dadaatmaanam srujaamyaham’ – I will incarnate whenever there is a threat to Dharma. Just like a creeper needs a support, Dharma requires a Maha Purusha to sustain itself.
In Thiagaraja Swami’s life, we see that he took the Upadesha of the Narada Mantra and chanted it continuously, as a result of which Sage Narada, a great Jnani in Sangeetha Shastra, presented him with the musical treatise called ‘Swaraarnavam’. It is said that this particular text did not remain in the earth. The moment, Thiagaraja Swami digested its contents, this text disappeared from the earth. Likewise, many such divine texts cannot remain in the earthly plane. Vedas are a classical example. Yogiramsuratkumar would say that the Vedas are a lifeline not just of our country, but the entire world. There are innumerable branches of the Vedas (Vedas are called ‘anantha’- infinite), and today, only a handful of them are found. Thus the Vaideeka Dharma cannot live on itself especially on this Kali Yuga without the support of a Mahatma. Such an Avatara was Kanchi Mahaswamiji. If we are even able to listen to some Veda Parayana today, it is thanks to this great Acharya. Volumes can be written about his dedication to the Veda Samrakshana (protection). He would summon his devotees and instruct them to collect support – monetary and otherwise, from those who could afford – for the sake of Samrakshana. One such devotee came to Mahaswamiji one night – with a list of people who had contributed for the sake of Vedas. Acharya asked him to read the list. The devotee read out the names, only the top few. Acharya asked, ‘you seem to have a lengthy list. You did not read all of them! Why so?’. The disciple said, ‘Periyava! These are the top contributors. The rest of the contributors are trivial. I don’t want to waste Periyava’s time by reading out the entire list!’. Periyava quickly remarked, ‘Why are you depriving me of the Punya (merits) I would get by listening to the names of those who contributed for the Vedas!’
One can imagine the Humility and dedication of this great Acharya towards Veda Samrakshana.
No doubt the Vaideeka Dharma took refuge in Him.
There are other Dharmas too, that took refuge in Avatara Purushas. It is important to see, which dharma is being referred to in the sixth question in the first chapter of Srimad Bhagavatam.
The answer is being given by Vyasa in the second sloka – ‘Dharmah projjita kaitavo…’. He says, that I am going to talk about a particular Dharma – that supersedes all other dharmas – and the name of that dharma is Bhagavata Dharma. Why Bhagavata Dharma – because it is devoid of all kind of hypocrisy. Every other dharma has an expectation of the fruit. (eg. Feeding the poor fetches a punya), but Bhagavata Dharma does not expect any results – not even expectant of the supreme result called Moksha (according to Sridhara’s commentary). Such is the glory of Bhagavata Dharma.
What is Bhagavata Dharma? The Dharma shown by Srimad Bhagavatam. Right in the center of Srimad Bhagavatam, it is said that only 12 people know the import of this secret Dharma called Bhagavata Dharma – Brahma, Narada, Shiva, Sanatkumaras, Kapila, Manu, Prahlada, Janaka, Bheeshma, Bali, Vyasa, and Yama – and the narration of the Bhagavata Dharma by these 12 people is what Srimad Bhagavatam is all about. Bhishma speaks of Bhagavata Dharma in the first Canto. In the second chapter, Brahma speaks this. In the third chapter, Kapila speaks of Bhagavata Dharma his mother. In the sixth chapter, Yama speaks of Bhagavata Dharma. In the Seventh chapter, Prahalada speaks of Bhagavata Dharma. It is in the 11th canto, after listening to all these narrations, and even Lord Krishna’s story, Narada speaks of Bhagavata Dharma to Vasudeva, (Krishna’s father), in the form of Nava Yogi Upakhyana. It is here that Bhagavata Dharma is explained in great detail.
If this Dharma is so secretive, then it must mean, it is only for an elite few. But it is not so. Narada says, Bhagavata Dharama is said by verily the Lord, and is for those unintelligent, mundane people, who cannot follow other dharmas, as well as for the scholarly and the learned. Then we see that the glory of Bhagavata Dharma is in the fact that is most harmless!
If ‘Stree Dharma’ is not followed, it backfires. Mahabharata is a classical example. Likewise, any other dharma, if not followed properly, will backfire and harm the person. But, Bhagavata Dharma is the only dharma that will not cause any harm, even if one quits following it in due course, or follows it blindly without knowing the fruit.
Then, the eleventh canto speaks in four sloka, what Bhagavata Dharma is. It would be interesting that all of us are following Bhagavata Dharma when we truly mean it while chanting this very common sloka, which is indeed a sloka from Srimad Bhagavatam:
‘kayena vaacha manasendriyar vaa bhudyaatmanaava prakrutair svabhaavaat |
karoti yat yat sakalam parasmai narayanaayeti samarpayetat’
Offering anything done through intellect, body, mind and word to the Lord is the first characteristic of Bhagavata Dharma. ‘yat’’yat’ – One ‘yat’ denotes those acts that are permitted by the Shastras, the second ‘yat’ denotes those activities that are prohibited. Even if you commit a sin by mistake, offer it to Lord.
The second characteristic of Bhagavata Dharma is that due to the Maya, we think we are the body, and one has to get rid of this thought. It would be highly difficult to follow this Dharma, if this sloka were left here, for, we are not given a means for getting rid of this thought. Luckily for us, the sloka continues, ‘this will be shown by a Guru’. Fall unto the feet of a Guru and the Guru will make you experience the truth that you are the Atma. Until such a time, live cognizant of the fact that the Lord, Atma and Guru are one and the same, and meditate on Him.
‘Srunvan subhadraani rathaangapaane…’.
Listen to the glories of Bhagavan Sri Hari on and on and on… and perform Nama Sankirtan. When you blindly perfom this incessantly, what happens?
‘Evam vrattastat priya naama kirtya, jaataanuraga nija ucha shikshaihi..’
Slowly, one develops the desire for the Lord, and one gets into the blissful state of experiencing the Supreme state – the state of Mukti. Thus simply performing Nama Sankirtan will lead one to Mukti, and that is the essence of Bhagavata Dharma.
Eventually, a beautiful comparison is given. When a hungry man eats a morsel of food, what happens? The moment he takes a morsel, his hunger vanishes, he gets happiness and thirdly, he derives strength from the calories that he intakes. It is not that your breakfast appeases your hunger, lunch gives happiness and dinner provides you strength. All these happen at once – the moment you take in a morsel of food. Likewise, the moment you perform Nama Kirtan – three thinks happen – you are filled with Prema Bhakti (a form of devotion that is devoid of any kind of expectation and in a bhaava that the Lord is everything for you). Secondly, one attains ‘Self-realization’. Thirdly, one acquires dispassion – everything else but the Feet of the Lord becomes mundane and dispensable.
Such a lucid explanation of Bhagavata Dharma is found in the 11th canto (Chapter 2) of Srimad Bhagavatam.
The satsang ended with Prayers with Mahamantra Kirtan.
Apr 3: Rama Navami & Sant Tulsidas
In Srimad Bhagavatam, there is an episode where the Prachetas are instructed to perform penance to the Lord. They head in a particular direction towards doing penances. When they were in a confusion as to how to meditate on the Lord and what to ask, Lord Shiva himself comes as a guru and instructs them. In the song known as the “Rudra Geetam”, He describes the beautiful form of the Lord to meditate upon. He says, “When God comes in front of you, do not ask Him to bestow you with any worldly or spiritual goodness. If at all you ask for something, it should be satsang for even half a second.
Kshanaardhenaapi tulayam na svargam naapunarbhavam |
bhagavat sangi sangasya martyaanaam kimutaasishah ||
The union with Bhagavatas is indeed the rarest of the rarest. Satsang represents sheer bhakti. Association with a Jivan Mukta, or constant chanting of the Divine Name and listening to the glories of the Divine is indeed satsang.
The Nama chanting was lead by Sri Thiagaraj and family from Dallas. It was Rama Navami, a very auspicious day.
Followed by brief round of introductions, Gayatriji from Boston gave a blissful satsang talk.
When Sri Sukha talks to King Parikshit about Prahalad’s life-history he says “Yat bhagavatha mahatmyam bhagavat bhakti vardanam”. By listening to the life-histories of the devotees of the lord, one develops bhakti. Why should one develop bhakti? Our aim in life is to reach the holy feet of God. Bhakti is a special path because the journey to the destination is enjoyable if that path is followed. Unlike other margas, where one has to perform many difficult tasks and also undergo lot of physical stress to attain God, the path of bhakti is very pleasant and is very joyful indeed. How does one develop bhakti? We are not the right person to define what bhakti is. We tend to develop bhakti by listening to the life-histories of great devotees. One such devotee of Lord Rama was Sri. Tulsidas.
Tulsidas was born in a village near Kasi under a tulasi plant. What is special about a Tulsi plant? Every other flower releases its fragrance only when it blooms but tulsi releases its fragrance right from the time it sprouts. Akin to the tulasi plant, Tulsidas exhibited his love for Lord Rama ever since his birth. Instead of crying “qua qua” he shouted “Rama Rama” when he was an infant. Being born in a Brahmin family, he learnt all the shastras and Upanishads. His parents got him married to a woman by name Ratnavali.
Tulsidas was a person who loved his wife a lot. He worked as an adviser for a king. The king one day asked Tulsidas to accompany him to a trip to some other town. Tulsidas couldn’t deny this offer but was also not very happy to leave his wife alone. He cautioned his wife Ratnavali to be at most cautious when she was alone. Those days it was not safe to leave women alone at home. So he stocked his house with all groceries and promised his wife that he would return in a few months. But his trip got delayed and it took some more months for Tulsidas to return to his town. The day when he returned he found that his wife was not home and the house was locked. He immediately enquired his neighbors and they informed him that she had left for her parents’ place. They also informed him that she was accompanied by an unknown person. Scared, Tulsidas started to his parents-in-law’s place. It was dark when he went there and he found her sleeping in her room. Ratnavali was shocked to see Tulsidas and asked him “Why did you come here at this point of time?” In reply, he asked her how she could leave that house and come to her parents place. He told her that he was very much worried about her. Ratnavali said “Oh You always tell that Lord Rama will always take care of everything –
“Apathadam apahartharam dhathaaram Sarvasampadaam
lokabiramam Sriramam bhooyo bhooyo Namamyaham”So why should you worry that I am in danger when Lord Rama will always be there in case of any lingering danger? She continued further and said “You love my body that is made of bones and flesh more than what you love Lord Rama. Had you placed the same love upon Lord Rama, you should have seen Lord Rama by now”. This enlightened Tulsidas. He decided to do Bhakti to Lord Rama and wished to have his darshan and so he left for Kasi the very same night.
Since then, he performed crores and crores of Rama Nama chanting in the mornings and in the evenings he discoursed on Ramayana. In the night, he used to write his own version of Ramayana in Sanskrit. One morning, when he woke up, he found that all the Ramayana he wrote the previous night were all gone. However, the leaves in which he wrote the Ramayana still remained there but all the slokas had disappeared. So Tulsidas decided to see who the culprit was and stayed awake the whole night. And guess who that person was? It was none other than Lord Shiva. He had done this deliberately so that he could talk to Tulsidas and request him to write Ramayana in Prakrita Bhassha, which is the local language so that the local people could understand it better. From then on he started to write Ramayana in Prakrita bhassha. Every evening he discoursed on the portion of Ramayana he wrote the previous night. Tulsidas noticed an old man who came to his lectures every day and he listened to his lectures with rapt attention and with tears flowing in his eyes.
One morning after his daily ablutions, he splashed the water from his kamanadalu in a nearby tree and instantly a brahma rakshasha (a demon) came out of the tree. Tulsidas asked “who are you? The demon said that he had got this birth as a demon because of the sins he had incurred in the past. And now the Rama Nama Kamandalu Thirtha (the holy water) had purified him and just when he was about to leave to his holy abode, he expressed his desire to do some good deed for Tulsidas. Tulsidas told the demon that all his life he has been longing to have the darshan of Lord Rama and asked him if he can help him get the darshan of Lord Rama. The demon replied back by saying that he didn’t have the powers to give him Lord Rama’s darshan. He however told him that the old man who listens to his daily lectures with rapt attention was none other than Lord Hanuman.
Tulsidas now couldn’t wait for the evening lecture. When the lecture was over, he immediately followed the old man behind and fell at his feet. Tulsidas said to the old man, “I know that you are Lord Hanuman”. The moment he said that, the old man disappeared and there was hanuman. From that day onwards, Lord hanuman and Tulsidas became friends. Tulsidas in a song sings, “Pavanathanaya Paramasakha”
One day Tulsidas asked Hanuman if he could recommend Lord Rama to bless him with his darshan. Hanuman agreed to put forth the request to Lord Rama. He told Hanuman that he didn’t want a darhsan of Lord Rama for few seconds and instead desired to have Lord Rama come to his house, have dinner at his place and rest that night. He came back to Tulsidas and told him that he will have Lord Rama’s darshan on the next Punarvasu day. On hearing this he was very excited to see Lord Rama.
On the day of Punarvasu, he prepared everything for Lord Rama and was eagerly waiting for him, when he suddenly heard heavy footsteps at the door in the middle of the night. The sound was akin to an army marching towards his door. Tulsidas feared that it could be attackers and that they could damage all the decorations that he had done for his Lord and decided not to open the door. The sound receded after sometime and was quite very soon.
Next day, Tulsidas was very upset that he didn’t have Lord Rama’s darshan and asked Hanuman as to why even his words went wrong. Hanuman told him that Lord Rama had indeed been to his house and knocked his house but he didn’t open the door. After listening to this, Tulsidas asked him if it was a reason to not to bless him with his darshan. He told hanuman that he could have himself opened the door and come in to give him darshan. Hanumanji immediately told him that it was not how he wished to have Lord Rama’s darshan! Since he wanted Lord Rama to come like an ordinary person, Lord Rama decided to do so. Tulsidas felt that he lacked bhakti and thought that hanuman’s words would never go wrong. He went to Brindavan and performed Ramayana Navaham and that’s where he was blessed with Lord Rama’s darshan.
People in Brindavan greet each other by saying “Radhe Radhe”, whereas Tulsidas who didn’t want to let go his Rama bhakti greeted everyone by saying “Sitaram”. Tulsidas was sitting and reading out Ramayana right across the Vamshi Vat. Suddenly he heard the sound of a flute and turned back and there was Lord Krishna standing in front of him with his Vyatyasta Charana with his flute and peacock feather in his head. Tulsidas was now very confused as to whether he wanted to have Lord Krishna’s darshan or not. All these years he had truly wished to see Lord Rama and not lord Krishna. He requested Lord Krishna to go away. Lord Krishna said to him that he would not go away. He said that a great saint (mahan) has come to his place to discourse on Ramayana and that he wouldn’t go away. Tulsidas decided not to get distracted with Lord Krishna’s darshan and continued to read Ramayana with rapt attention. But the beauty of Lord Krishna had a greater impact on him than his Ramayana and Lord Rama. With tears rolling down his eyes, he fell at the feet of Lord Krishna and said, “Oh Lord Krishna, I am akin to a pathivratha (a faithful wife). I am a Rama Bhakta! Please preserve my bhakti for Lord Rama. Please bestow me with a darshan of Lord Rama. Lord Krishna told Tulsidas that “Pathivratha para grham na gacheth”. Pathi vratha does not go to somebody else’s house. You are not in Ayodhya, but in Brindavan! He further added that even if a Pathivratha goes to somebody’s house, she would not see the men in that house. Even if she saw the men, she would not talk to them. Lord Krishna said that he had not only seen him but also talked to him. Even when talking to the Lord, he should have only referenced Ramayana and Lord Rama in the conversation. Tulsidas pleaded with him asking him to preserve this bhakti to Lord Rama. He stood and raised his hands. Immediately his flute became the bow and arrow and there stood Lord Rama. Krishna told him that he will show his form as he desired and blessed him with Lord Rama’s darshan. Thus Tulsidas was blessed with Lord Rama’s darshan. With all humility, he prayed to Lord Rama
“Tu dayalu deena ham
Tu dhani ham bhikari
Ham Prasidda papa ki
Tu papa punja haari”He returned to Kasi and established an ashram there. During the day, many sadhus used to visit the ashram and have the darshan of Tulsidas, recite Ramayana for some time and take leave. One day few Brahmin sadhus had come to have darshan of Tulsidas. After their morning ablutions, they were seated to have their lunch. At that instant of time, a person who appeared to be Bhagavatha, with sita ram cloth on his body, chandan on him and came inside singing the nama kirtan. Tulsidas was very happy to see him and invited him to have lunch. When he was about to be seated , the Brahmin sadhus got up and told Tulsidas that it was not correct to have lunch with that man and it is one of the means to accrue sin. Tulsidas told him that anyone who chants the name of Lord Rama is not a sinner. The Brahmins did not reconcile to this fact. Tulsidas in the meanwhile took the uchistam (the left-over of the food) and placed it in front of the Nandi in the temple and started to pray. Nandi came right there to consume the food and that verily proved the fact that the divine name chanting of the lord can do wonders.
It was the Akbar reign then and he honored people who were adept in different skills. He had a love for music. Tulsidas who was very skillful in music was invited by Akbar to his court. Tulsidas had accepted the invitation. After Tulsidas sang some songs on Lord Rama,the king asked Tulsidas if he can recommend his name to Lord Rama so that he is blessed with his darshan. Tulsidas told the king that he didn’t have enough qualifications to see Lord Rama. Akbar immediately asked as to what are the qualifications to see Lord Rama. Anybody who aspires to see Lord Rama should have Rama bhakti. How can one get Rama Bhakti, the king questioned. Tulsidas replied that one should always think of Lord Rama, perform to pooja to Rama’s idol, speak Rama stories(Katha), sing Rama’s praises. Live for rama and breathe for Rama. When King Akbar heard that he was not eligible enough to see Lord Rama, he threw Tulsidas into the prison. Since Hanuman was Tulsidas’s pal, he called him for help and requested him to ask Lord Rama to save him. Hanuman told Tulsidas that they themselves can deal with this issue and not involve Lord Rama! So that night, about a dozen huge monkeys called gorilla monkeys, came into the palace and ransacked the whole palace. The king was furious because every single item in the palace which his queen would enjoy had been destroyed. When he inquired about this incident to his minister, he was told that it was because of Tulsidas arrest who is an ardent devotee of Lord Rama. The king immediately went to his prison and there Tulsidas told him that he had requested Lord Rama to give darshan to the king and it looks like his family is in the midst of arrival and Lord Rama will himself be here shortly. Akbar took back his request to see Lord Rama and Tulsidas told him that anyone who values his palace and other worldly possessions more than Lord Rama doesn’t deserve to see him. He then walked out of the prison and went back to his ashram and lived happily by spreading the glories of Rama Nama.”
Following this wonderful lecture, Narayananji from Boston talked about Lord Hanuman. In all our Friday satsangs, there is one person who sits and listens to the satsang but is always anonymous. It is none other than our Hanunmanji. It is said that –
“Yatra Yatra Raghunatha Kirthanam
Thatra Thatra krutam mastakaanjalim
Bhaspavari paripurna lochanam
Maruthim mamada raakshasaandhakam”
Wherever there is chanting of Lord Rama’s Names, wherever one reminisces on Lord Rama, Hanumanji is verily in that place listening to all of these. It is true even today.
There is a great saint in the lineage of Sringeri Mutt. He happened to narrate Ramayana and he kept a plate which had fruits that was offered to Hanuman. One of his disciples one day asked this saint about the plate. The saint replied that it was for Hanuman as he comes wherever Rama Katha is being expounded. But this disciple didn’t quite understand it. When the Ramayana katha was about to conclude on the last day, Hanumanaji did come in form of a vanara and consumed the fruits and went away. This dates back to some few years ago.
In 2004 Our Guru maharaj preformed a Maha Samrajya Patabishekha, in which about hundred and twenty eight Bhagavathas were reading Ramayana. There was one person who listened to Ramayana with full concentration and when there was a small break during the parayana, he used to climb a tree and chant Rama Nama and when the parayana resumed he joined back again. He participated in each and every event during the navaham and after the nineth day he was not to be found. Our Guru Maharaj told the devotees that he was verily a form of Hanuman.
Following this, Sri Thiagarajan talked on the difference between Sharadha navarathiri and Vasantha navarathiri. The former is very holy for goddess Devi and Rama Navami falls during the Vasantha Navarathiri. It is very auspicious to do any parayana or chanting the divine names of the Lord during Vasantha Navarathiri. It is a good time to do Ramayana Parayana because Rama Navami falls on the navami day akin to Sarasawati pooja which also falls on the navami day of the Sharadha navarathiri.
The satsang wrapped up with Namasankirtan prayers.
Dec 26: Last session for the year…
This telecom satsang was the last satsang for the year 2008. Karthikji from Cincinnati lead the Namasankirtan. 13 families participated in the telecon satsang. Followed by the brief round of introductions, Aravindji from Orlando discoursed on the importance of Namasankirtan.
Why should we all perform NamaSankirtan? If we take any path for attaining the eternal bliss, it has to be specified in the Vedas and Shastras. Vedas and Shastras are the guiding light to attain god. So what does these scriptures talk about human life? There is a famous saying which goes “Jantu Nam Nara Janma Dhurlabam” which means, Out of all the living beings, the human birth is the rarest of the rarest. One of the Tamil poet says “Aridhu Aridhu manidarai pirappal aridhu” – Rare and rare indeed is the human birth. Why is human birth glorified that we have got now? It is the human birth that has the sense of ‘Viveka’(discrimination) to understand the purpose of life. With the discriminating power of human life, we can analyze the scriptures and get the essence out of it.
The scriptures say that the only purpose is to realize God. Every activity that we do in our lives is to attain happiness. Every single activity of ours is tied to happiness. And this happiness is always coupled with sorrow.
To substantiate this let us take an example, a person buys a car and is extremely happy about it. His happiness is however short-lived till he saw another brand new car that had more sophisticated features on the road. He then starts to work hard to get that new car. He works hard for a few years to get that new car and once he got that car, his mind now wanders on more luxurious car. It is only God realization that will give the rarest of the rarest happiness without an iota of sorrow. It is like a person who has lost his keys in the bushes on a dark night and was searching for it under the street light. There comes a friend who was passing by and asked him what he was searching for. The man replied that he had lost his keys in the bushes and was searching for it. The bushes were a few meters away from the street light. The friend who was puzzled by his reply, asked him as to what he was doing under the street light. This person replied that he could only search under the street light! Friends, we have lost the happiness under the bushes and we are searching it under the street light. This friend is none other than the scriptures, Mahans and Guru who are the guiding us with a torch-light till we find the lost keys.
So what does our Scriptures say about the path to the eternal happiness? These scriptures have been given to us for this KaliYuga by Sage Veda Vyasa. He gave us the 4 vedas, the BrahmaSutras and the 18 Puranas. As we all know after the seventeenth Purana, he was feeling a bit depressed and something was troubling him, till Sage Narada came to him and advised him to write the eighteenth Purana, Srimad Bhagavatam which is the gem of all the puranas.
The last verse in Srimad Bhagavatam says “
NAma Sankirtan yasya sarva pApa praNAshanam |
PraNAmo dukha shamana: tam namAmi harim param ||”Sage Veda Vyasa who has given us the four margas (Karma, Jnana, Raja, Yoga and Bhakti Margas) through Lord Krishna in Srimad Bhagavath Gita has also mentioned about Nama Sankirtan.
Why did he mention about Nama Sankirtan? If we look at the four yugas, each path has been specified as a specific remedy for that Yuga. In Tretha Yuga, life was very peaceful and who can do meditation for days in the forest just by eating berries. Similarly in Dwapar Yuga, everything was rich and pure but in Kaliyuga, everything is adulterated. There are many rules to do Pooja in order to reap its benefits. Foremost of them is that they have to be performed in the land of Bharatha. Secondly, every Akshara should be spelled correctly. But if take the path of Nama Sankirtan, it is one path that has no rules binding it. The chanting of Divine Names of the lord pose no rules and regulations and can be chanted during any part of the day irrespective of whatever work we do. To prove that it is indeed one of the easiest path, the Lord has sent Mahans after Mahans in this KaliYuga, who have followed and preached this path, and reached the ultimate.
Srimad Bhagavatam says
” kalau kalau bhavishyanti naaraayana paraayanah
tAmraparni nadi yatra kritamaala payasvini…”The Sadhus will incessantly keep incarnating in the banks of Tamraparni, Kritamala…in this Kali Yuga.
Every state had a Mahan who showed the path of NamaSankirtan, To name a few, we have Sri.Bhadrachalam Ramdas from Andhra Pradesh, Azhwars and Nayanmars from Tamil Nadu, Sri.Pappa Ramadas from Kerala, Sri.Chaitanya MahaPrabhu from Bengal, Sri.PurandaraDasa from Karnataka The great Marathi Saints (Saint Tukkaram, Sant Tulasidas, Sant Namadev, Sant Eknath), Bhakta Meera from Rajasthan, Saint Lalla Bhai from Kashmir, Saint Guru Gobind Singh from Punjab, Swami Sivananda from Uttar Pradesh and Sri Narsi Mehta from Gujarat.
Nama Sankirtan is like fire. It not only gives light but also gives heat. Similarly Nama Sankirtan will not only bestow one with worldly benefits, cure diseases and also take us to the path of eternal bliss.
Chaitanya MahaPrabhu, one of the greatest philosophers He was the master in the Upanishada, Vedas and Shastras. But he just gave us eight verses.
“Nam Nam Akari Bahudari NijaSarva Sakthi:”
Thatrar Pita Niyamita Smaranena Kalaha”Friend, There is absolutely no rules for following the path of chanting the Divine Names of the Lord.
Why is it called the Mahamantra? There is a scripture specifically mentioned for this Kaliyuga and it is called KaliSantara Upanishad. Sage Narada requests Lord Brahma to show him a path that can counteract the evil effects of this Kali. Lord Brahma told him the 16 verse
“Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare”
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare”It is the Vedic mantra. This mantra will guide one through the Kali Yuga.
Sri.Thiagaraja in one of his Kirtan mentioned the greatness of the name Rama. The word Rama is eternal. It is coined from the following two mantras ‘Om Namo Narayanaya’ – the ‘Ra’ is the key syllable in this Mantra. If we remove Ra, it becomes “Om Namo Nayana which means there is no path. In ‘Om Nama Shivaya’ ‘ma’ is the key syllable of this Mantra. On Na Shivaya means, No auspiciousness. Putting these two key syllables, together, we get ‘Rama’.
The maha mantra is reverberating in the cosmos and by chanting the Divine Name we will verily reach the feet of the Lord.
Sri. Narayananji then talked about the inception of Global Organization of Divinity (GOD) and the activities carried out by the organization in the past two years.
The satsang wrapped up with Nama Sankirtan.
Dec 12: Tiruppaan Azhwar, Tirumangai Azhwar and Nama Sankirtan
The Friday telecon began with Nama Sankirtan lead by Sankarji from San Jose. 13 families tuned into the satsang from different parts of the country. The agenda for the telecom satsang was outlined – . It is an hour-long satsang, which begins and ends with Namasankirtan. After the first 10 minutes of Nama Sankirtan, a quick round of introductions follows. Then one of the satsang members gives a short discourse for 15-20 minutes on any topic related to Sanatana Dharma. Upon the conclusion of the discourse, it is then opened to questions/discussions relating to that lecture. The last 10 minutes includes any satsang related announcements and is wrapped up with Nama Sankirtan.
Zenithaji from Houston gave this week’s satsang talk. She enthralled the devotees with a brisk talk on the importance of Nama Sankirtan.
“We have all been enjoying many satsangs and have also been doing Nama Sankirtan for a while. So by now, we would have realized the conspicuous blissful impact associated with Nama Sankirtan. How can one be so sure of this blissful impact? In general, people never do anything without really understanding the benefit of doing an action in some form or the other. Even if one is not able to explain the benefit of chanting the Nama, there is indeed a divine impact that can be proclaimed. Some may call it peace, while others call it as a sense of calmness.Even though there are many paths to attain the bliss, Nama Sankirtan is one of the easiest and infallible paths to reach the ultimate. There are no eligibility criteria to partake in chanting the Divine Name of the Lord.”
She substantiated this with our Guru Maharaj’s kirtan
“-
Bhagyam Ullore Varungal
Parandaman Pugazh PadaOur Guru Maharaj calls out to all the fortunate people to chant the Divine Names of the Lord.”
She beautifully told that one is fortunate to chant the Divine Names of the Lord because of the punya accrued in one’s previous birth.
“There was a guy who was walking down the street. He was immersed in thoughts that he was not aware of a nearby ditch. He fell into the ditch and made many futile efforts to get out of that ditch. A person passed by and seeing him in that state, offered him help. The guy who was in the ditch, instead of taking help from him, started to doubt the ability of the passer-by in helping him get out of the ditch. The passer-by just asked him to hold the rope and convinced that guy of his abilities to retrieve him from the ditch. The guy was now convinced on the passer-by’s ability but then started doubting the rope. He knew the fact that he couldn’t get out of the ditch by himself, he then harbored suspicion on the passer-by who offered help and lastly he doubted the tenacity of the rope!Friends, we are all in the same state as the guy in the ditch. We are drowned in the ocean of samsara and we fail to understand the compassionate nature of our Sadguru and the grace that he is showering on us by explaining the strength and power of Nama Sankirtan. The only favor our Sadhguru asks us is to chant the divine name and we question the power of it.
Our Guru Maharaj clears all our concerns by the singing the following lines “
Annai meera sendra vazhi edhuvae
Arumai guruvum seppu mozhi idhuvae
Tarunam idhai nazhuva vidadir
Hariin madiyil ammarthidalamae “He says that Nama Sankirtan is a proven path of success, which we can clearly see in the life history of Meerabhai, Sant Tukkaram, Sant Tulasidas and other great Bhaktas. He requests one and all to not miss this opportunity. By chanting the Divine Name of the Lord, He says, one is not only liberated from the ocean of samsara, but we also get to sit in the very lap of Lord.
Hari kirthanthuku nigarrillai kan
Parisramam illai avanai pada
Vedathin saram hariyin namam
Edhum aayam illai idhuvae thinnamHe says there is nothing more powerful than Chanting the Divine Names of the Lord. Our Guru Maharaj just requests one and all to hold on to the rope of Nama Sankirtan and he will free us from the ocean of samsara. He extols the power of Divine Name by equating it to the essence of Vedas.”
She lucidly explained the analogy between a boat and human being.
The physical form of every human being is just like a boat and every boat can float on the water. But can all the boat reach the shore? A boatman is essential to rove the boat to the shore. The boatman is our case, is none other than our beloved Sadguru. In addition to the boatman, the weather conditions should be favorable in order for the boat to reach the shore. Similarly, the divine grace along with our Sadguru’s compassion and Nama Sankirtan can get one to reach the shore for sure.The only vision of our sadguru is that every person in every nook and corner of the world should chant the divine names of the lord. He has beautifully sung “
Ore analiyil nam anaivarum koodi
Dharani thanil avan pugazh pada Kalamegamum ketu maguzha
Muralidharanum pannindu nindran “It says we should join as a team to spread the power of Nama and make everyone chant the Divine Name. ‘Kalamegam’, the deity of the Lord Perumal, which is a ‘Divyadesam’ is situated close to Madurai in Tamil Nadu. Thirumangai Azhwar has sung in praise of Kalamegam Perumal. 11th of December happens to be the thirunakshatram (birth star) of Thirumangai Azhwar. If one preaches the power of Divine Name to this world, then Kalamegam himself is very pleased. What more do we need to make the lord happy?
With our Guru Maharaj’s grace bestowed on all of us, we should all take a step ahead and go out and reach out to the world and spread the glory of Nama Sankirtan and thereby fulfill our Guru Maharaj’s vision.
After the lecture, Nama Chanting program on the New Years’ eve was brainstormed. An hour-long relay program over telephone where all the devotees across the country can join the Nama Sankirtan is currently in the works.
Aravindji from Orlando summarized the satsang activities in the Orlando area. They have Nama Sankirtan interspersed with our Guru Maharaj’s kirtans. Following this they have a satsang talk.
Narayananji mentioned the satsang activities in Nashua, New Hampshire on December 13th.
Poojya Poornimaji’s satsang programs in Houston were also announced – Sri Kamalesh’s residence on Gita on the 13th and the talk in Tamil on “Vidhiyum Karunaiyum” at Bharthi Tamil Mandram on the 14th instant.
Sri Thiagarajan from Dallas briefed on the satsang activities in their area.
Sujathaji from San Jose mentioned the auspiciousness of December 13th. It happened to be Narayaneeya Dhinam and is celebrated in Guruvayoor in a grand manner. Sriman Narayneeyam was written by Narayana Bhattatri. It consists of 100 dasakas and each one was written in a day and was completed in 100 days.
It is considered very holy to chant Narayaneeyam on that day. She requested all the satsang members to remember Lord Guruvayoorappan on this very auspicious day. In Guruvayoor, a Narayaneeyam saptaham is conducted for 7 days.
12th December also happened to be the birth star of Tiruppan Azhwar, whose 10 verses ‘Amala Adhiparaan’ glorifying Lord Ranganatha of Srirangam finds its place in Nalayira Divya Prabandham.
The satsang concluded with Nama Sankirtan for the last five minutes.
