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Monday, 29 September 2014
Offences Against Vaishnavas: Most Dangerous!
Sunday, 28 September 2014
Eating with Your Hands is Healthier
By: Stasia Bliss http://guardianlv.com on Sept. 25, 2014
Photo Credits: www.indianwedding.info
"Ayurvedic wisdom teaches that our bodies can respond to this food-touch by producing the needed enzymes and digestive juices before the food even meets our lips."
We have long been conditioned in the western world that eating appropriately meant using utensils such as forks, spoons
and knives. Generally eating with the hands is left to pizza, hamburgers and little ones, right? In some other countries, especially India, much of Africa and the Middle East, eating with one’s hands is appropriate etiquette and might actually prove to be healthier.
.’ A famous Vedic sloka or verse suggests that divinity rests within human effort – brought about through the hands.
When we touch our food before putting it into our mouths the millions of nerve endings on the tips of our fingers are getting a temperature and texture reading that is immediately sent to the stomach – like a warning signal. Ayurvedic wisdom teaches that our bodies can respond to this food-touch by producing the needed enzymes and digestive juices before the food even meets our lips – and that the fingers themselves even contain enzymes which start the digestive process upon first touch.
Julie Sahni is a New York chef who grew up in India, never having eaten with utensils until a weekend visit to Europe when she was in college had this to say about hand eating: “Eating with the hands evokes great emotion, it kindles something very warm and gentle and caressing. Using a fork is unthinkable in traditional Indian eating. It is almost like a weapon.”
Experts say eating with the hands engages all the senses and keeps one present while eating. Using utensils can become more mechanical, done without even thinking, as there is no actual physical contact with the food until it touches the lips. When food is touched with the hands, there is automatically more careful attention placed on it – how you will retrieve it, what the temperature is, how much you can carry, how the hand must be held in order to keep the food in it. Some call it ‘primal eating’ since it is plainly assumed in times before utensils people used their hands to eat.
and knives. Generally eating with the hands is left to pizza, hamburgers and little ones, right? In some other countries, especially India, much of Africa and the Middle East, eating with one’s hands is appropriate etiquette and might actually prove to be healthier.How is it Healthy?
In the Vedic tradition, eating with ones hands is tied to the practice of hand mudras – or meditative gestures using the hands and other body parts. The hands are honored as a beautiful ‘organ of action.’ A famous Vedic sloka or verse suggests that divinity rests within human effort – brought about through the hands.When we touch our food
before putting it into our mouths the millions of nerve endings on the tips of our fingers are getting a temperature and texture reading that is immediately sent to the stomach – like a warning signal. Ayurvedic wisdom teaches that our bodies can respond to this food-touch by producing the needed enzymes and digestive juices before the food even meets our lips – and that the fingers themselves even contain enzymes which start the digestive process upon first touch.Julie Sahni is a New York chef who grew up in India, never having eaten with utensils until a weekend visit to Europe
when she was in college had this to say about hand eating: “Eating with the hands evokes great emotion, it kindles something very warm and gentle and caressing. Using a fork is unthinkable in traditional Indian eating. It is almost like a weapon.”Experts say eating with the hands engages all the senses and keeps one present while eating. Using utensils can become more mechanical, done without even thinking, as there is no actual physical contact with the food until it touches the lips. When food is touched with the hands, there is automatically more careful attention placed on it – how you will retrieve it, what the temperature is, how much you can carry, how the hand must be held in order to keep the food in it. Some call it ‘primal eating’ since it is plainly assumed in times before utensils people used their hands to eat
.What's The difference between Real freedom & Ignorance?
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Friday, 26 September 2014
The Complete Story Of Lord Jagannatha Appearance In Puri...........
The term "juggernaut" entered the English language long before Lord Jagannatha came to British shores. Describing an "irresistible force" or procession, "juggernaut" eventually became identified with mighty battleships - and now means a large lorry.
But the original Lord Jagannatha truly embodies an irresistible force, because He is none other than Krisna: the all attractive Lord of the Universe. And the annual procession of the Deity of Krisna in the form of Jagannatha carried on the Ratha chariot enacts one of the world's oldest and largest festivals. A celebration dating back thousands of years in India. Rathayatra has spread to cities throughout the world since the late 1960's.
The history of Lord Jagannatha is a story of devotion, the eternal love between man and God. It tells how the prayers of a devotee caused the Lord to make His appearance in a wondrous way. And it shows how Krisna came as the Deity Jagannatha, so that He could accept loving service from all classes of men.
The ancient Vedic literature describes the world ruled by King Indradyumna as a tranquil place. From his capital in Avantipura, the emperor surveyed a land filled with peace and prosperity unknown in modern times. Abundance was everywhere during the enlightened age of Satya-yuga, except in the heart of the King. Indradyumna felt all vacant in the world he ruled, because he hankered for a pleasure beyond material bounds: he long to see the Lord face to face.
This is a difficult feat, even for the greatest monarch in the world. The Gita states that such a boon is rarely achieved by mystics who devote their entire lives to God realization. Usually, the more one is involved in material pursuits, the less likely one is to make spiritual advancement. So how is it possible for a king absorbed in worldly affairs to obtain the Lord's special mercy?
Krisna is not partial to displays of material wealth or power: they are insignificant compared to His glories. What is significant though is the love each soul may direct to the Lord. And sometimes Krisna can be conquered by a very pure love.
The Search Begins
One day as Indradyumna lamented that he was not able to serve God directly, a pilgrim suddenly appeared. This man revealed how he had actually seen the Lord accept direct loving service in His Deity form of Nila Madhava. God incarnates in many ways throughout the ages, and sometimes He manifests in the form of stone or wood just to please His devotees and accept their loving service.
The traveler described how, on the remote mountain top of Niladri, he had seen the demigods worshiping the Lord. The King immediately dispatched his chief brahminical priest, Vidyapati, to find this Deity, so that all of Avantipura could be presented at the lotus feet of the Lord as an offering of love.
After a month's journey without rest, Vidyapati found Mount Niladri, where he discovered Sabaras, low-born pig herders, camped near the holy ground. Looking beyond class distinctions married the daughter of the tribal chieftain, Vishvavasu, who had been worshiping the Lord in great secrecy. Due to his daughter's pleas, Vishvavasu finally agreed to show Lord Nila Madhava to Vidyapati - only if he went to the site blindfolded. But the brahmin tricked his father in law by sprinkling mustard seeds along the path, seeds that would eventually sprout and lead the emperor back to claim the Lord's attention.
For many years Lord Nila Madhava had been served by Vishvavasu with simple fruits and flowers. Knowing the prayers of Indradyumna, Nila Madhava spoke to Vishvavasu and revealed His intention of accepting more opulent worship according the desires of Indradyumna. Vishvavasu was devastated.
No-one can predict the plan of the Lord; sometimes He bestows special mercy on His devotee by being present before them, and sometimes that mercy is also shown through separation which increases the longing and attachment of the devotee.
That the Deity was speaking to him did not strike Vishvavasu as remarkable, he was too much absorbed in grief at Nila Madhava's imminent disappearance. He blamed Vidyapati for persuading Nila Madhava to accept Indradyumna's worship. Accusing the brahmin of cheating him out of Cod's favor, Vishvavasu bound Vidyapati with ropes. But his daughter heard her husband's cries for help and freed him to return to Avantipura.
The Deity Vanishes
Upon Vidyapati's return, Indradyumna climbed upon his chariot and led an army to the mountain, where they located the trail of tiny mustard plants. The two struggled with the temple door and discovered that Nila Madhava had vanished.
Only Vishvavasu could be suspected of removing the Deity. In his desperation to keep the Lord he might have done anything. However, when they found the chief of the Sabaras, he was still mourning Nila Madhava's departure. Not believing his lament they arrested Vishvavasu. Suddenly Narada Muni, a great sage, appeared and revealed what had really happened to Nila Madhava.
The Lord had withdrawn due to His own choosing, but He would re-appear again in the form of Lord Jagannatha to bestow benedictions upon the entire world. Whereas Nila Madhava had enjoyed the simple and intimate service of Vishvavasu, His appearance as Jagannatha would be for the benefit of everyone. First, however, Narada Muni announced that a great temple must be constructed. Then Lord Brahma, chief of the demigods, would receive Indradyumna on his own planet and plan for the sacred installation of Jagannatha Swami, the Lord of the Universe.
When the temple was finally completed, Narada Muni escorted Indradyumna to his father's abode on Satya-loka. The home of Lord Brahma is inaccessible to ordinary human beings, but so great was Indradyumna's devotion to God that even Lord Brahma was eager to meet him. Lord Brahma further described how Lord Jagannatha would appear in a wooden form from a great kalpa-vrksa tree, transported from the spiritual planet of Svetadvipa.
As Indradyumna returned to earth in a space ship from Brahma's planet, he noticed that things had changed. Though he was away for what seemed a short time, the earth had aged many years. No one recognized him in his own kingdom, and his trusted priest Vidyapati had been replaced by another.
The Sacred Tree
The King remained bewildered until a mystical crow revealed how all Indradyumna's associates had died in his absence. For the sake of worshiping the Supreme he had lost everything: family, friends, and kingdom.
Despite this hardship, Indradyumna remained steadfast in his courage. He knew that God sometimes tests the love of His devotees by removing all other objects of affection. King Indradyumna was determined to hasten the Lord's arrival by fasting, if necessary until death. Then Jagannatha did appear - but only in a dream - and the emperor was guided to a great log floating in the ocean. No ordinary tree, this giant had come uprooted from the spiritual sky, part of the same transcendental energy as the Lord's own body. Even the might of the army could not budge it.
A lowly Sabara stepped from the crowd and handled the huge trunk with ease. This amazing fellow turned out to be a descendant of Vishvavasu, and he carried the sacred log to Gundica Temple for preparation.
The greatest craftsmen in all the world assembled to carve the Lord's Deity form, according to scriptural injunctions. But all their tools simply shattered to pieces. Then a mysterious old brahmin appeared, Ananta Maharana, and he agreed to carve the Deity of the Lord. But it had to be done on his own terms: complete isolation for three weeks. Gates were locked and the beat of the chisel resounded for days. After only two weeks however, it stopped and Indradyumna worried. The brahmin was old, perhaps...
Jagannatha's Appearance
Overcoming the restraints of priests and advisors, the King wrenched open the doors to discover an unusual sight: a form of the Deity never before seen. The Lord's form was apparently unfinished having no hands or feet, and the Emperor feared he had made a great mistake in opening the doors too early. The aged sculptor had vanished.
As Indradyumna cursed his foolishness, new found friends tried to console him. The descendant of the Sabaras said, "Whatever happens is by the Lord's will. You acted out of love so there can be no wrong." And the chief priest said that the Deity of Jagannatha, along with His brother, Baladeva, and sister, Subhadra, should be painted and dressed and prepared for the installation ceremony by Lord Brahma.
Indradyumna felt ashamed until God's plan was finally revealed by Narada Muni. A passage in the Vedas mentions that the Lord has no hands or feet, which impersonalists and atheists interpret to deny the Lord's personal existence. So Jagannatha's appearance proves that He is a person - unlike any other - and that He can still bestow blessings and accept offerings of love, even without hands and feet.
Narada Muni then described how he had seen this form before, while visiting Dvaraka. At that time, the Lord's Vrindavan pastimes were being discussed, and the Lord overheard the conversation and felt loving separation for His devotees. He went into a trance and His eyes opened wide, His feet and hands retracted into His body. Sharing in this transcendental exchange, Krisna's sister and brother were similarly transformed.
Then, Narada Muni announced that his father, Lord Brahma, would soon arrive to install the Jagannatha Deity. Before the celebration began, Brahma gave Indradyumna divine vision to see that his new friends were, in fact, the embodied souls of his old companions Vidyapati and Vishvavasu. Thus the story of Jagannatha's appearance ended happily, with the reunion of loving devotees to honor and serve the Lord.
After thousands of years, the Jagannatha Deity remains a source of unlimited joy to His friends and servants. And the Rathayatra procession is a time to celebrate the loving exchange between the Personality of Godhead and His devotees. All those who take part in this festival will receive His special blessings and help on their journey back home, back to Godhead. Hare Krisna. Jagannatha Swami Ki Jaya!
But the original Lord Jagannatha truly embodies an irresistible force, because He is none other than Krisna: the all attractive Lord of the Universe. And the annual procession of the Deity of Krisna in the form of Jagannatha carried on the Ratha chariot enacts one of the world's oldest and largest festivals. A celebration dating back thousands of years in India. Rathayatra has spread to cities throughout the world since the late 1960's.
The history of Lord Jagannatha is a story of devotion, the eternal love between man and God. It tells how the prayers of a devotee caused the Lord to make His appearance in a wondrous way. And it shows how Krisna came as the Deity Jagannatha, so that He could accept loving service from all classes of men.
The ancient Vedic literature describes the world ruled by King Indradyumna as a tranquil place. From his capital in Avantipura, the emperor surveyed a land filled with peace and prosperity unknown in modern times. Abundance was everywhere during the enlightened age of Satya-yuga, except in the heart of the King. Indradyumna felt all vacant in the world he ruled, because he hankered for a pleasure beyond material bounds: he long to see the Lord face to face.
This is a difficult feat, even for the greatest monarch in the world. The Gita states that such a boon is rarely achieved by mystics who devote their entire lives to God realization. Usually, the more one is involved in material pursuits, the less likely one is to make spiritual advancement. So how is it possible for a king absorbed in worldly affairs to obtain the Lord's special mercy?
Krisna is not partial to displays of material wealth or power: they are insignificant compared to His glories. What is significant though is the love each soul may direct to the Lord. And sometimes Krisna can be conquered by a very pure love.
The Search Begins
One day as Indradyumna lamented that he was not able to serve God directly, a pilgrim suddenly appeared. This man revealed how he had actually seen the Lord accept direct loving service in His Deity form of Nila Madhava. God incarnates in many ways throughout the ages, and sometimes He manifests in the form of stone or wood just to please His devotees and accept their loving service.
The traveler described how, on the remote mountain top of Niladri, he had seen the demigods worshiping the Lord. The King immediately dispatched his chief brahminical priest, Vidyapati, to find this Deity, so that all of Avantipura could be presented at the lotus feet of the Lord as an offering of love.
After a month's journey without rest, Vidyapati found Mount Niladri, where he discovered Sabaras, low-born pig herders, camped near the holy ground. Looking beyond class distinctions married the daughter of the tribal chieftain, Vishvavasu, who had been worshiping the Lord in great secrecy. Due to his daughter's pleas, Vishvavasu finally agreed to show Lord Nila Madhava to Vidyapati - only if he went to the site blindfolded. But the brahmin tricked his father in law by sprinkling mustard seeds along the path, seeds that would eventually sprout and lead the emperor back to claim the Lord's attention.
For many years Lord Nila Madhava had been served by Vishvavasu with simple fruits and flowers. Knowing the prayers of Indradyumna, Nila Madhava spoke to Vishvavasu and revealed His intention of accepting more opulent worship according the desires of Indradyumna. Vishvavasu was devastated.
No-one can predict the plan of the Lord; sometimes He bestows special mercy on His devotee by being present before them, and sometimes that mercy is also shown through separation which increases the longing and attachment of the devotee.
That the Deity was speaking to him did not strike Vishvavasu as remarkable, he was too much absorbed in grief at Nila Madhava's imminent disappearance. He blamed Vidyapati for persuading Nila Madhava to accept Indradyumna's worship. Accusing the brahmin of cheating him out of Cod's favor, Vishvavasu bound Vidyapati with ropes. But his daughter heard her husband's cries for help and freed him to return to Avantipura.
The Deity Vanishes
Upon Vidyapati's return, Indradyumna climbed upon his chariot and led an army to the mountain, where they located the trail of tiny mustard plants. The two struggled with the temple door and discovered that Nila Madhava had vanished.
Only Vishvavasu could be suspected of removing the Deity. In his desperation to keep the Lord he might have done anything. However, when they found the chief of the Sabaras, he was still mourning Nila Madhava's departure. Not believing his lament they arrested Vishvavasu. Suddenly Narada Muni, a great sage, appeared and revealed what had really happened to Nila Madhava.
The Lord had withdrawn due to His own choosing, but He would re-appear again in the form of Lord Jagannatha to bestow benedictions upon the entire world. Whereas Nila Madhava had enjoyed the simple and intimate service of Vishvavasu, His appearance as Jagannatha would be for the benefit of everyone. First, however, Narada Muni announced that a great temple must be constructed. Then Lord Brahma, chief of the demigods, would receive Indradyumna on his own planet and plan for the sacred installation of Jagannatha Swami, the Lord of the Universe.
When the temple was finally completed, Narada Muni escorted Indradyumna to his father's abode on Satya-loka. The home of Lord Brahma is inaccessible to ordinary human beings, but so great was Indradyumna's devotion to God that even Lord Brahma was eager to meet him. Lord Brahma further described how Lord Jagannatha would appear in a wooden form from a great kalpa-vrksa tree, transported from the spiritual planet of Svetadvipa.
As Indradyumna returned to earth in a space ship from Brahma's planet, he noticed that things had changed. Though he was away for what seemed a short time, the earth had aged many years. No one recognized him in his own kingdom, and his trusted priest Vidyapati had been replaced by another.
The Sacred Tree
The King remained bewildered until a mystical crow revealed how all Indradyumna's associates had died in his absence. For the sake of worshiping the Supreme he had lost everything: family, friends, and kingdom.
Despite this hardship, Indradyumna remained steadfast in his courage. He knew that God sometimes tests the love of His devotees by removing all other objects of affection. King Indradyumna was determined to hasten the Lord's arrival by fasting, if necessary until death. Then Jagannatha did appear - but only in a dream - and the emperor was guided to a great log floating in the ocean. No ordinary tree, this giant had come uprooted from the spiritual sky, part of the same transcendental energy as the Lord's own body. Even the might of the army could not budge it.
A lowly Sabara stepped from the crowd and handled the huge trunk with ease. This amazing fellow turned out to be a descendant of Vishvavasu, and he carried the sacred log to Gundica Temple for preparation.
The greatest craftsmen in all the world assembled to carve the Lord's Deity form, according to scriptural injunctions. But all their tools simply shattered to pieces. Then a mysterious old brahmin appeared, Ananta Maharana, and he agreed to carve the Deity of the Lord. But it had to be done on his own terms: complete isolation for three weeks. Gates were locked and the beat of the chisel resounded for days. After only two weeks however, it stopped and Indradyumna worried. The brahmin was old, perhaps...
Jagannatha's Appearance
Overcoming the restraints of priests and advisors, the King wrenched open the doors to discover an unusual sight: a form of the Deity never before seen. The Lord's form was apparently unfinished having no hands or feet, and the Emperor feared he had made a great mistake in opening the doors too early. The aged sculptor had vanished.
As Indradyumna cursed his foolishness, new found friends tried to console him. The descendant of the Sabaras said, "Whatever happens is by the Lord's will. You acted out of love so there can be no wrong." And the chief priest said that the Deity of Jagannatha, along with His brother, Baladeva, and sister, Subhadra, should be painted and dressed and prepared for the installation ceremony by Lord Brahma.
Indradyumna felt ashamed until God's plan was finally revealed by Narada Muni. A passage in the Vedas mentions that the Lord has no hands or feet, which impersonalists and atheists interpret to deny the Lord's personal existence. So Jagannatha's appearance proves that He is a person - unlike any other - and that He can still bestow blessings and accept offerings of love, even without hands and feet.
Narada Muni then described how he had seen this form before, while visiting Dvaraka. At that time, the Lord's Vrindavan pastimes were being discussed, and the Lord overheard the conversation and felt loving separation for His devotees. He went into a trance and His eyes opened wide, His feet and hands retracted into His body. Sharing in this transcendental exchange, Krisna's sister and brother were similarly transformed.
Then, Narada Muni announced that his father, Lord Brahma, would soon arrive to install the Jagannatha Deity. Before the celebration began, Brahma gave Indradyumna divine vision to see that his new friends were, in fact, the embodied souls of his old companions Vidyapati and Vishvavasu. Thus the story of Jagannatha's appearance ended happily, with the reunion of loving devotees to honor and serve the Lord.
After thousands of years, the Jagannatha Deity remains a source of unlimited joy to His friends and servants. And the Rathayatra procession is a time to celebrate the loving exchange between the Personality of Godhead and His devotees. All those who take part in this festival will receive His special blessings and help on their journey back home, back to Godhead. Hare Krisna. Jagannatha Swami Ki Jaya!
The Elephant and the Crocodile
Once a lordly elephant, leader of a herd, inhabiting that mountainous forest, roamed with his retinue of female ones, breaking through trees, bamboo clusters and clumps of cane. By the mere odour of animal, even lions and tigers not to talk of the elephants, hyenas, rhinos, pythons, sarabhas, yaks, wolves, boars, bisons, bears, porcupines, baboons, jackals, monkeys, all ran away in fear, while the weaker ones like the deer and the hares moved about joyously by the protective presence of that very animal. (20-22).Oppressed by the heat of summer, dripping ichor and swarmed by bees settled on it for its sheer taste, tormented by thirst, accompanied by the whole herd of bull and female elephants and the young ones, almost causing tremors in the mountain by their weight, he smelt from afar the lotus pollen-filled breeze on the lake, and with eyes tremulous in a state of rut, speedily approached the vicinity of the lake. (23-24). Plunging into it, he drank to his heart's content the immaculate, sweet ambrosial water, flavoured by the pollen of the golden lotuses, lilies, sucking it with his trunk and freely showering on himself, and with his fatigue gone, equally offering mouthfuls and a liberal sprinkle of bath to his retinue of cubs and female elephants like a loving householder, unaware in his self importance of impending peril (25-26).
There, Oh king! as ill luck would have it, a powerful crocodile fiercely caught his leg, and the elephant, accidentally so caught unaware, himself of immense strength, accordingly tugged his best. The cow - elephant and other chicken hearted ones seeing their leader in distress, just pulled forcibly, trumpeted in sorrow, unable to extricate him by pulling him holding from the rear. (27-28).As the noble elephant and the crocodile so fought one pulling in and the other out, a thousand years elapsed, both yet alive and alert to the amazement of even the celestials (29).
Then by the long passage of time the strength of the elephant both mental and physical as well as his energy slowly ebbed; and as the strength of the one pulled into the water diminished, that of the aquatic animal increased. Thus when the elephant was in a sad situation and despaired of his life, unable ever so long to free himself, thought of an idea. Those of my ilk cannot save me, how can the female ones help? Caught by the noose of Providence in the shape of the crocodile I shall seek Him the ultimate refuge. I seek refuge of the Lord that protects the scared seeking His refuge, for refuge from the powerful serpent of Death that pursues ever so swiftly, but yet itself runs away in utter fear of the Lord. (30-33).
Here ends the second chapter
The Lord Frees the Tusker
Sri Suka Spoke: Having so resolved and with his mind at ease the elephant repeated the most noble prayers he had learned in a previous birth. (1)
The Lord of elephants uttered:
(Note : The text of Srimad Bhagavatam here gives one of the most magnificent hymns addressed to Vishnu as the Supreme one, the Almighty who is extolled in multiform in the Upanishads, Ithihasas and in the various Puranas. Hence the relevant Sanskrit slokas are also given here, with the English translation).
Gajendra's Prayers of Surrender to Lord Vishnu
shri-ganjendra uvacha
om namo bhagavate tasmai
yata etac chid-atmakam
purushayadi-bijaya
pareshayabhidhimahi
Gajendra said: I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Person, Vasudeva [om namo bhagavate vasudevaya]. Because of Him this material body acts due to the presence of spirit, and He is therefore the root cause of everyone. He is worshipable for such exalted persons as Brahma and Shiva, and He has entered the heart of every living being. Let me meditate upon Him. (Srimad-Bhagavatam 8.3.2)
yasminn idam yatash chedam
yenedam ya idam svayam
yo 'smat parasmach cha paras
tam prapadye svayambhuvam
The Supreme Godhead is the supreme platform on which everything rests, the ingredient by which everything has been produced, and the person who has created and is the only cause of this cosmic manifestation. Nonetheless, He is different from the cause and the result. I surrender unto Him, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is self-sufficient in everything. (8.3.3)
yah svatmanidam nija-mayayarpitam
kvachid vibhatam kva cha tat tirohitam
aviddha-drik sakshy ubhayam tad ikshate
sa atma-mula 'vatu mam parat-paraha
The Supreme Personality of Godhead, by expanding His own energy, keeps this cosmic manifestation visible and again sometimes renders it invisible. He is both the supreme cause and the supreme result, the observer and the witness, in all circumstances. Thus He is transcendental to everything. May that Supreme Personality of Godhead give me protection. (8.3.4)
kalena pancatvam iteshu kritsnasho
lokeshu paleshu cha sarva-hetushu
tamas tadasid gahanam gabhiram
yas tasya pare 'bhivirajate vibhuhu
In due course of time, when all the causative and effective manifestations of the universe, including the planets and their directors and maintainers, are annihilated, there is a situation of dense darkness. Above this darkness, however, is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, I take shelter of His lotus feet. (8.3.5)
na yasya deva rishayah padam vidur
jantuh punah ko 'rhati gantum iritum
yatha natasyakritibhir vicheshtato
duratyayanukramanah sa mavatu
An artist onstage, being covered by attractive dresses and dancing with different movements, is not understood by his audience; similarly, the activities and features of the Supreme Artist cannot be understood even by the demigods or great sages, and certainly not by those who are unintelligent like animals. Neither the demigods and sages nor the unintelligent can understand the features of the Lord, nor can they express in words His actual position. May that Supreme Personality of Godhead give me protection. (8.3.6)
didrikshavo yasya padam sumangalam
vimukta-sanga munayah susadhavaha
charanty aloka-vratam avranam vane
bhutatma-bhutah suhridah sa me gatihi
Renunciants and great sages who see all living beings equally, who are friendly to everyone and who flawlessly practice in the forest the vows of brahmacarya [celibate student], vanaprastha [retired] and sannyasa [renunciation] desire to see the all-auspicious lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. May that same Supreme Personality of Godhead be my destination. (8.3.7)
na vidyate yasya cha janma karma va
na nama-rupe guna-dosha eva va
tathapi lokapyaya-sambhavaya yaha
sva-mayaya tany anukalam ricchati
tasmai namah pareshaya
brahmane 'nanta-shaktaye
arupayoru-rupaya
nama ashcarya-karmane
The Supreme Personality of Godhead has no material birth, activities, name, form, qualities or faults. To fulfill the purpose for which this material world is created and destroyed, He comes in the form of a human being like Lord Rama or Lord Krishna by His original internal potency. He has immense potency, and in various forms, all free from material contamination, He acts wonderfully. He is therefore the Supreme Brahman. I offer my respects to Him. (8.3.8-9)
nama atma-pradipaya
sakshine paramatmane
namo giram viduraya
manasash chetasam api
I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the self-effulgent Supersoul, who is the witness in everyone's heart, who enlightens the individual soul and who cannot be reached by exercises of the mind, words or consciousness. (8.3.10)
sattveno pratilabhyaya
naishkarmyena vipashcita
namah kaivalya-nathaya
nirvana-sukha-samvide
The Supreme Personality of Godhead is realized by pure devotees who act in the transcendental existence of bhakti-yoga. He is the bestower of uncontaminated happiness and is the master of the transcendental world. Therefore I offer my respects unto Him. (8.3.11)
namah shantaya ghoraya
mudhaya guna-dharmine
nirvisheshaya samyaya
namo jnana-ghanaya cha
I offer my respectful obeisances to Lord Vasudev, who is all-pervading, to the Lord's fierce form as Lord Nrisimhadeva, to the Lord's form as an animal [Lord Varahadeva], to Lord Dattatreya, who preached impersonalism, to Lord Buddha, and to all the other incarnations. I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Lord, who has no material qualities but who accepts the three qualities of goodness, passion and ignorance within this material world. I also offer my respectful obeisances unto the impersonal Brahman effulgence. (8.3.12)
ksetra-jnaya namas tubhyam
sarvadhyakshaya sakshine
purushayatma-mulaya
mula-prakritaye namaha
I beg to offer my respectful obeisances unto You, who are the Supersoul, the superintendent of everything, and the witness of all that occurs. You are the Supreme Person, the origin of material nature and of the total material energy. You are also the owner of the material body. Therefore, You are the supreme complete. I offer my respectful obeisances unto You. (8.3.13)
sarvendriya-guna-drashtre
sarva-pratyaya-hetave
asata cchayayoktaya
sad-abhasaya te namaha
My Lord, You are the observer of all the objectives of the senses. Without Your mercy, there is no possibility of solving the problem of doubts. The material world is just like a shadow resembling You. Indeed, one accepts this material world as real because it gives a glimpse of Your existence. (8.3.14)
namo namas te 'khila-karanaya
nishkaranayadbhuta-karanaya
sarvagamamnaya-maharnavaya
namo 'pavargaya parayanaya
My Lord, You are the cause of all causes, but You Yourself have no causes. Therefore You are the wonderful cause of everything. I offer my respectful obeisances unto You, who are the shelter of the Vedic knowledge contained in the shastras like the Pancharatras and Vedanta-sutra, which are Your representations, and who are the source of the parampara system. Because it is You who can give liberation, You are the only shelter for all transcendentalists. Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto You. (8.3.15)
gunarani-cchanna-chid-ushmapaya
tat-kshobha-visphurjita-manasaya
naishkarmya-bhavena vivarjitagama
svayam-prakashaya namas karomi
My Lord, as the fire in arani wood is covered, You and Your unlimited knowledge are covered by the material modes of nature. Your mind, however, is not attentive to the activities of the modes of nature. Those who are advanced in spiritual knowledge are not subject to the regulative principles directed in the Vedic literature. Because such advanced souls are transcendental, You personally appear in their pure minds. Therefore I offer my respectful obeisances unto You. (8.3.16)
madrik prapanna-pashu-pashu-vimokshanaya
muktaya bhuri-karunaya namo 'layaya
svamshena sarva-tanu-bhrin-manasi pratita-
pratyag-drishe bhagavate brihate namaste
Since an animal such as I has surrendered unto You, who are supremely liberated, certainly You will release me from this dangerous position. Indeed, being extremely merciful, You incessantly try to deliver me. By Your partial feature as Paramatma, You are situated in the hearts of all embodied beings. You are celebrated as direct transcendental knowledge, and You are unlimited. I offer my respectful obeisances unto You, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. (8.3.17)
atmatma-japti-griha-vitta-janeshu saktair
dushprapanaya guna-sanga-vivarjitaya
muktatmabhih sva-hridaya paribhavitaya
jnanatmane bhagavate nama ishvaraya
My Lord, those who are completely freed from material contamination always meditate upon You within the cores of their hearts. You are extremely difficult to attain for those like me who are too attached to mental concoction, home, relatives, friends, money, servants and assistants. You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead, uncontaminated by the modes of nature. You are the reservoir of all enlightenment, the supreme controller. I therefore offer my respectful obeisances unto You. (8.3.18)
yam dharma-kamartha-vimukti-kama
bhajanta ishtam gatim apnuvanti
kim chashisho raty api deham avyayam
karotu me 'dabhra-dayo vimokshanam
After worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead, those who are interested in the four principles of religion, economic development, sense gratification and liberation obtain from Him what they desire. What then is to be said of other benedictions? Indeed, sometimes the Lord gives a spiritual body to such ambitious worshipers. May that Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is unlimitedly merciful, bestow upon me the benediction of liberation from this present danger and from the materialistic way of life. (8.3.19)
ekantino yasya na kanchanartham
vanchanti ye vai bhagavat-prapannaha
aty-adbhutam tach-charitam sumangalam
gayanta ananda-samudra-magnaha
tam aksharam brahma param paresham
avyaktam adhyatmika-yoga-gamyam
atindriyam sukshmam ivatiduram
anantam adyam paripurnam ide
Unalloyed devotees, who have no desire other than to serve the Lord, worship Him in full surrender and always hear and chant about His activities, which are most wonderful and auspicious. Thus they always merge in an ocean of transcendental bliss. Such devotees never ask the Lord for any benediction. I, however, am in danger. Thus I pray to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is eternally existing, who is invisible, who is the Lord of all great personalities, such as Brahma, and who is available only by transcendental bhakti-yoga. Being extremely subtle, He is beyond the reach of my senses and transcendental to all external realization. He is unlimited, He is the original cause, and He is completely full in everything. I offer my obeisances unto Him. (8.3.20-21)
yasya bramadayo deva
veda lokash characharaha
nama-rupa-vibhedena
phalgvya cha kalaya kritaha
yatharchisho 'gneh savitur gabhastayo
niryanti samyanty asakrit sva-rochishaha
tatha yato 'yam guna-sampravaho
buddhir manah khani sharira-sargaha
sa vai na devasura-martya-tiryan
na stri na sandho na puman na jantuhu
nayam gunah karma na san na casan
nishedha-shesho jayatad ashesaha
The Supreme Personality of Godhead creates His minor parts and parcels, the jiva-tattva, beginning with Lord Brahma, the demigods and the expansions of Vedic knowledge [Sama, Rig, Yajur and Atharva Vedas] and including all other living entities, moving and nonmoving, with their different names and characteristics. As the sparks of a fire or the shining rays of the sun emanate from their source and merge into it again and again, the mind, the intelligence, the senses, the gross and subtle material bodies, and the continuous transformations of the different modes of nature all emanate from the Lord and again merge into Him. He is neither demigod nor demon, neither human nor bird nor beast. He is not woman, man or neuter, nor is He an animal. He is not a material quality, a fruitive activity, a manifestation or nonmanifestation. He is the last word in the discrimination of "not this, or not that," and He is unlimited. All glories to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. (8.3.22-24)
jijivishe naham ihamuya kim
antar bahish chavritayebha-yonya
icchami kalena na yasya viplavas
tasyatma-lokavaranasya moksham
I do not wish to live anymore after I am released from the attack of the crocodile. What is the use of an elephant's body covered externally and internally by ignorance? I simply desire eternal liberation from the covering of ignorance. That covering is not destroyed by the influence of time. (8.3.25)
so 'ham vishva-srijam vishvam
avishvan vishva-vedasam
vishvatmanam ajam brahma
pranato 'smi param padam
Now, fully desiring release from material life, I offer my respectful obeisances unto that Supreme Person who is the creator of the universe, who is Himself the form of the universe and who is nonetheless transcendental to this cosmic manifestation. He is the supreme knower of everything in this world, the Supersoul of the universe. He is the unborn, supremely situated Lord. I offer my respectful obeisances unto Him. (8.3.26)
yoga-randhita-karmano
hridi yoga-vibhavite
yogino yam prapashyanti
yogesham tam nato 'smy aham
I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme, the Supersoul, the master of all mystic yoga, who is seen in the core of the heart by perfect mystics when they are completely purified and freed from the reactions of fruitive activity by practicing bhakti-yoga. (8.3.27)
namo namas tubhyam asahya-vega-
shakti-trayayakhila-dhi-gunaya
prapanna-palaya duranta-shaktaye
kad-indriyanam anavapya-vartmane
My Lord, You are the controller of formidable strength in three kinds of energy. You appear as the reservoir of all sense pleasure and the protector of the surrendered souls. You possess unlimited energy, but You are unapproachable by those who are unable to control their senses. I offer my respectful obeisances unto You again and again. (8.3.28)
nayam veda svam atmanam
yach-chaktyaham-dhiya hatam
tam duratyaya-mahatmyam
bhagavantam ito 'smy aham
I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, by whose illusory energy the jiva [individual spirit soul], who is part and parcel of God, forgets his real identity because of the bodily concept of life. I take shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whose glories are difficult to understand. (8.3.29)
[The Lord now replies to Gajendra]
ye mam stuvanty anenanga
pratibudhya nishatyaye
tesham pranatyaye chaham
dadami vipulam gatim
"My dear devotee, unto those who rise from bed at the end of night and offer Me the prayers offered by you, I give an eternal residence in the spiritual world at the end of their lives." (8.4.25)
Thursday, 25 September 2014
Do you Still Believe in God?"
A skeptical friend challenges a devotee's faith after the devotee's painful injury.
I recently came across a Gallup poll, conducted in 2011, in which Americans were asked, "Do you still believe in God?" Ninety percent answered yes.
The poll reminded me of an exchanged I had with a college friend that same year.
“Do you still believe in God when He didn’t – or couldn’t – protect you in His own temple?”
This blunt question in my friend’s email brought a smile to my face. Some months before, I had slipped on some spilled water in the ISKCON temple at Juhu, Mumbai. The fall was minor, but the pain was severe. An x-ray showed a cervical hip fracture that had dislocated the bone at its neck.
I was rushed to the devotee-run Bhaktivedanta Hospital in Mumbai, where the orthopedic surgeon Giriraja Dasa (Dr. Girish Rathore) performed a 4.5-hour surgery and advised a three-month rest for healing.
When a former college roommate came to know about the fracture, he wrote offering his good wishes for a speedy recovery. After a couple of email exchanges, he asked his blunt question. I knew he had a good heart, but he had always found it hard to understand why I had thrown away a bright career to become – of all things – a monk (brahmachari). His question about my continued belief in God had reminded me of his loving exasperation with my life’s choice and so had brought a smile to my face.
After due prayerful contemplation, I replied to him as follows:
Dear . . . ,
Thank you for your email with your candid question. I am sure several of my acquaintances had this question, but you alone had the forthrightness to raise it upfront, and so I appreciate your candor.
In reciprocation, I will give you my frank answer: a resounding “Yes.” Not only do I continue to believe in God, but this accident has increased my faith in Him enormously. Let me explain why.
To start off, I would like to remind you of an incident when we were staying in the same hostel room during our first year in college, in 1993. One night I was gripped by an agonizing pain in the abdominal area. I couldn’t reach a doctor till the next morning due to a variety of factors: it was a Sunday night, there had been a public strike the previous day, and we didn’t know what to do, as we were away from home in a new place where we had just arrived a few days earlier. As I lay moaning in pain throughout the night, you tried your best to help me. But little could be done till the next morning, when a doctor dealt with the kidney stone that had been piercing – “biting” would be a better word – me from within.
A Subconscious Tolerance Strategy
My recent fall was much more painful. But my suffering was much less. Here’s why.
When I fell I instinctively tried to remember Krishna – not out of devotion, but as a subconscious tolerance strategy. Since my college days, I had read many self-help books and was struck by one consistent theme in them: the enormous role of the mind in shaping our perceptions. Life presents problems to all of us, but we – or rather our mind – determine their sizes. When we let our mind dwell on a problem for too long, we blow it out of proportion and increase our misery many times over. If we take our mind off the problem whenever we are not doing something specific to deal with it, we can prevent the problem – no matter how big – from overwhelming us, and can go on with other aspects of our life.
I had found this strategy to deal with the mind’s influence highly sensible – and extremely impractical. It seemed that problems had powerful inbuilt glues that enabled them to stick to the mind. Despite knowing that I was wasting my time and mental energy fretting over an unsolvable problem, I had often found myself utterly unable to take my mind off the problem.
It was only when I started practicing Krishna consciousness that I discovered the practical means to counter the adhesive power of problems. The first and foremost principle of Krishna consciousness, as suggested in the name itself, is to be always conscious of Krishna, for this increases our desire and devotion for Him, as stated in the Bhagavad-gita(12.9).
A fringe benefit of keeping our mind on Krishna is that it no longer dwells on problems. Over the fifteen years that I have been practicing Krishna consciousness, I have repeatedly experienced that irritating or painful situations become less troublesome when the mind is taken off the disturbing stimuli and fixed on Krishna. Consequently, I have tried to cultivate the habit of calling out Krishna’s names whenever I have to do something not so pleasant, be it routine, like a cold-water bath on a frigid morning, or occasional, like a medicinal injection in a sensitive body part.
Suffering Happily
On that fateful morning, as soon as I fell I started feeling excruciating pain, like no other pain I had felt before. It seemed as if a live electric current was shooting up and down my thigh with no sign of abating. After several awfully long minutes and a few desperate prayers, I got the idea from within to start reciting verses from the Bhagavad-gita. Within moments, as if by magic, I found my mind getting absorbed; a calming, comforting sense of relief started sweeping over me. For the next several hours as I was taken first to the x-ray clinic, then to the hospital, to the CT scan center, and to the hospital bed, I was almost continuously reciting verses from the Gita. Thanks to the many opportunities to study, speak, and write about the Gita that Krishna had presented me, most of its verses were a quick recall away. As I remembered and recited the verses, I found myself relishing one of the most sublime experiences of my life. I had just recently taught the full Bhagavad-gita to a group of devotees, and our many discussions based on the commentaries of various acharyas, especially Srila Prabhupada and Vishvanatha Chakravarti Thakura, were fresh in my mind, enhancing my absorption in the Gita verses.
I have often found contemplating the Gita absorbing, but this time, in great pain, the absorption was unparalleled. The main reason for the absorption obviously was not devotion, but necessity. Letting the mind wander away from the Gita verses meant that it would by default go to the hip pain, which was intolerable.
When the doctor at the hospital saw my x-ray and then saw me, he remarked in surprise, “Normally a patient with a fracture like this is never as calm as you are; he is crying in pain.”
When I reflect on that remark, I know that I too would have been crying in pain, as I indeed had been several years ago on that frightful night in the hostel. But thankfully in the interim period I had discovered Krishna consciousness.
I remembered an incident in which my spiritual master, His Holiness Radhanath Swami, had asked an ailing godbrother, “How are you?” When he candidly answered, “Suffering," my spiritual master replied, “Suffer happily.”
When I had heard of this incident, I had thought of “suffer happily” as delightful wordplay, but now I had a glimpse of the words' profound import: even when our body is suffering, we can still be happy by cultivating Krishna consciousness.
From Cricket to Krishna
In the months since the fracture, I have been analyzing that extraordinary experience of pain relief. Was the relief due specifically to Krishna consciousness? Or was it merely due to mental absorption – irrespective of the object of absorption? If I had been a cricket lover, could I have tolerated the pain by absorbing myself in cricket thoughts?
For a decade before I was introduced to Krishna consciousness, I was a passionate cricket lover; I could effortlessly rattle off the names of not just the players of all the cricket-playing countries, but also the detailed statistics of their stellar performances. From my own experience I can say that absorption of any kind can offer relief; I vaguely recollect seeking relief by mentally going over cherished cricket memories and fantasies while lying in pain on the night of the kidney stone. But experience testifies for me that the relief from Krishna consciousness is substantially greater. Moreover, Krishna absorption differs from mundane absorption in two fundamental ways.
1. It is independent of externals: Any mundane absorption has nothing to do with my essential being, the real “me.” The real me, the Bhagavad-gita(2.13) explains, is a soul. When I as the soul seek happiness by absorption in cricket, I do so by a chain of misidentifications with temporary externals: I, the soul, identify first with the material body that I presently have, then with the country in which that body has been circumstantially born, and then with the game that is currently popular in that country. As these externals keep changing unpredictably and uncontrollably, so does my happiness. If India wins, I rejoice; if India loses, I lament. But when I seek happiness by absorption in Krishna, I am re-identifying myself as what I am eternally: a beloved part of the all-loving Lord, Sri Krishna. That’s why happiness through Krishna absorption remains accessible amidst all externals, even if India loses and even if the body breaks. The Srimad-Bhagavatam (3.25.
2. It is enhanced by Krishna’s reciprocation: Absorption in Krishna is not only real, but also reciprocal. Krishna is a living, loving person, who graciously reciprocates with our attempts to think of Him. In stark contrast, if we think of cricket it can’t reciprocate. Even if we think of not the general game of cricket but the specific cricketers, they, being limited persons like the rest of us, can’t reciprocate in the way Krishna can.
Krishna describes in the Gita (18.58) how He reciprocates with those who think of Him: “If you become conscious of Me, you will pass over all obstacles by My grace.” This verse had become a living reality, thanks to the accident; I had passed over the obstacle of the intolerable pain with the divine grace of absorption in Krishna. I know from experience that this divine absorption is not automatic or mechanical; it is a gift of Krishna’s grace. I have recited the verses from the Gita before and after the accident, and though I generally find such recitation relishable, I have rarely been able to replicate the sublimity of the absorption during the post-fracture period.
The Protective Value of Pain
Now, coming to your insinuation that Krishna didn’t protect me, my response is that He did protect me. First, He protected me from the intensity of the pain by giving me His remembrance. Second, He protected me from the complications that could have resulted from the fracture by arranging to send me to a state-of-the-art devotee-run hospital for treatment by a caring and competent doctor who is a devotee of Krishna. Third, and most important, He protected me from the painful illusion that life in the world can be peaceful and joyful.
You will probably be surprised with my use of the words “painful illusion.” Let me explain with the example of a medical disorder called Congenital Insensitivity to Pain with Anhidrosis (CIPA). Children with CIPA feel no pain, nor do they sweat or shed tears. They are highly vulnerable to injuring themselves in ways that ordinarily would be prevented by feeling pain. Often they have eye-related problems, like infection due to having unfeelingly rubbed the eyes too hard or too frequently or having scratched them during sleep. CIPA children often play recklessly, being unafraid of banging into anything. From a child’s perspective, obliviousness to pain may seem a blessing that grants fearlessness. But from a mature parental perspective, that same obliviousness to pain is seen as a curse that impels foolhardiness. Parents of a CIPA child often have one prayer: let our child feel pain.
Just as intellectual maturity helps the parents understand the protective value of pain in this particular case, spiritual maturity helps us grasp the protective value of pain in general. Unfortunately, we are kept spiritually immature by our present materialistic culture, which by its incessant promises of worldly pleasures makes us forget or neglect the unpalatable yet undeniable signs of suffering that surround us: acquaintances get agonizing cancers, energetic people get mortifyingly immobilized by old age, thousands are instantaneously wiped out by a sudden tsunami. Thus, we unwittingly become like the CIPA patients, recklessly playing our corporate and family games, oblivious of the dangers that may befall us at any moment. And when the dangers come – as they inevitably will, sooner or later – we often resent having been unfairly singled out by misfortune. But everybody will be singled out. Though the specifics of how different people suffer vary according to individual past karma, the universal fact is that everyone has to suffer the inescapable onslaught of old age, disease, and death. Serious contemplation on these miseries, the Bhagavad-gita(13.9) informs us, begins our spiritual maturation.
By spiritual maturity we gain the understanding that the sufferings of this world:
a. Protect us from the futile and fatal illusion that we as eternal beings can be happy in a temporary setting.
b. Provoke us to redirect our desires to the spiritual level, where we can reclaim the eternal happiness that Krishna wants us to relish.
I chose to redirect my desires about fifteen years ago when I made cultivating Krishna consciousness my life’s primary focus. For me, the recent accident – with its physical pain and spiritual relief – served as a definite vindication of my choice. Of course, the accident also showed me that I still have a long way to go in redirecting my desires; during the aftermath of the accident, I chanted not out of devotion, but out of necessity. Still, Krishna implies in the Gita (7.16) that necessity is often the mother of devotion. I hope and pray that in the future a day will come when I will chant the verses of the Gita with devotion. I feel confident that such a day will surely come if I diligently keep cultivating my absorption in Krishna. But till that day, I am happy and grateful to seek relief in Krishna memories – and not cricket memories.
Material pains are inevitable for all of us, and we usually either complain publicly or suffer privately. Why not explore another option, offered by spiritual growth: joyful transcendence of the pain?
Your loving friend in the service of Lord Krishna,Chaitanya Charan das
"Chant Hare Krishna and be happy"हरे कृष्ण हरे कृष्ण कृष्ण कृष्ण हरे हरे || हरे राम हरे राम राम राम हरे हरे||
Please do chant
¸♥¸.•* Hare Krishna *•.¸♥¸.•* Hare Krishna *•.¸♥¸.•**•.¸♥¸.•*.Krishna Krishna*•.¸♥¸.•*.Hare Hare *•.¸♥¸.•..Hare Rama..*•.¸♥¸.•* ..Hare Rama.. *•.¸♥¸.•**•.¸♥¸.•* ..Rama Rama. *•.¸♥¸.•* ..Hare Hare.. *•.¸♥¸.•**
And be Happy. Gauranga, Radhe Radhe, Hari Bol! Hare Krishna.
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