Lecture on Gopi Prem Divas (Valentine's day)

Shree Maharajji gives real definition of lover's day (Valentine's day).  He says that people say "I love you" to each other in the world without knowing the real definition of love. 

Click on the play button bellow to listen to the audio lecture (Hindi) by Shree Maharajji on Valentine's day:

The Dangers of Asking God for Worldly Things

Translation of Lecture by Shree Maharajji

Everyone knows that worldly attainments are transient, and that God is the only reality.  When a death occurs, we say, "Ram Naam Satya Hai (The only reality is the name of God)."  So, when we know that the world cannot give us happiness, then to make material demands from God is in-discrimination.  Let us understand why it is wrong to askGod for worldly things.

First, we must love God, only then do we have a basis of asking Him for anything at all.  Even in the world, we ask only from those people whom we love and with whom we have a relationship, not from just anyone and everyone.  It would be a joke to ask God for something when we have no love for Him.  Therefore, we should not make this mistake as long as we still love the world.

There is an incident about Ramakrishna Paramhans.  He developed throat cancer.  Everyone knew that the Saint's death was imminent.  He was famous in Kolkata and all over Bengal as a Saint who had transformed many lives.  So, people went to him and said, "You have attained perfection.  To rid yourself of cancer is child's play for you.  Just ask God to cure you, and your cancer will disappear."  Ramakrishna Paramhans replied strictly, "Should I divert my mind from God to worrying about cancer?  And how can I ask God to do such dirty work for me?  I have loved God only with the desire to serve Him.  I cannot engage in such pettiness and ask for His help just for the sake of this wretched body.  Moreover, even if I am cured, I will still have to leave my body at the appointed time.

Whether it is a sage, an ascetic, a yogi, a Saint or even God, everyone has to leave the world at the appointed time.  The world may say that so-and-so died of heart attack, or cancer, but the fact is that his time to die had arrived.  Even God does not stay a moment longer than the scheduled period of His descension.  Then how can anyone else stay beyond his appointed time?  You may have heard of an incident in Ayodhya in this context.  Yamraj came to Lord Ram to tell Him that the period of His descension was over.  When Yamraj comes to God and the Saints, he places his head at their feet and says, "I have come to inform you that the period of Your descension is complete.  You may choose to stay or leave.  I am merely fulfilling my duty."  He cannot force them to leave as he does for others.  Yet, the supremely independent Ram did not stay a moment longer than His planned 11,000 years.  At the exact time, to the second, He left the world.  And this is true for every descension of God, and every Saint, whether it be Tulsidas, Surdas, Meera,orKabir.  Seeing that even God, who is the lawmaker Himself, does not violate this rule, then why should the Saints, who are His servants break the law?

When we say we do not wish to die, it can be for two possible reasons.  One reason is that we are too attached to the world-to wealth, home, father, mother, wife, son-and still wish to enjoy them, and so do not wish to leave.  On the other hand, elevated aspirants have a sensible reason for not wanting to die.  They think, "I have not attained God as yet.  If I had some more time I could achieve my goal."  They want more time, just like students who become very happy when given a few extra days to study for exams.  But, God and Saints have nothing to attain.  They leave at the appropriate time, without any reluctance.

So, Ramakrishna Paramhans said, "Everyone has to leave at the scheduled time.  I have no objection to this hole in my throat.  This body has nine holes anyway-the eyes, nose, ears, mouth, etc.  So what if there is one more!  It would be very wrong to bother the Divine Mother over it."  Thus, asking God for worldly favours is the greatest folly.  This should not be done even after becoming a devotee.  It is said in Bhagavat:

yatpṛithvyāṁ vṛīhiyavaṁ hiraṇyaṁ paśhavaḥ striyaḥ

nālamekasya paryāpt tasmāttṛiṣhṇāṁ parityajet

"Even if one is given the wealth of infinite universes, his desires, cravings and longings will not reduce in the least."  

tṛiṣhṇā tu taruṇāyate (Hitopadesh)

"When you try to satisfy desires, they grow stronger."  Thus, worldly opulence, no matter how great, cannot provide true happiness.  So, it is foolish to desire worldly objects.  But, to ask for them from God is even greater foolishness.  Devotion, which is practiced with the aim of attainment of material desires, has many dangers.  Firstly, it is clear that, the devotee is not yet sure where true happiness lies-in the world, or in God?  If it is in the world, then what is the need of God?  If it is in God, then what is the need for this world?  If our goal is to attain happiness, then going to God, who is the source of unlimited bliss and asking Him for the world, which is a source of misery, evidently implies that we still have hopes of getting unlimited happiness from the world.   When our goal itself is not right, then how can we practice devotion?

In the material realm, ninety-nine percent of the people desire worldly things.  These desires are often fulfilled by their own prarabdh (destiny).  When material possessions are acquired by people according to their destiny, they misunderstand it as the blessing or Grace of God.  When people pray to God and wish for a material thing, if that desire is fulfilled, people think that it was due to the blessing they received from God.  And, when they do not receive these possessions due to their destiny, they start cursing or criticizing God, and even think it as a sign of God's anger.  This is dangerous as it has a harmful effect.  A person will be a believer as long as he acquires worldly possessions, and when the material desires are not fulfilled, this faith in God immediately disappears and he can even become an atheist.   

Not even God can grant a person worldly gains, if it is not destined for him.  Whatever worldly happiness is destined for each person is given to him according to his fate.  The results of past actions are awarded in the present life.  In Ramayan, the Almighty Lord Ram could not save His father Dashrath.  In Mahabharat, Abhimanyu's uncle was God Shree Krishna Himself, his father was the great Saint, Arjun, and the person who conducted his marriage was God Ved Vyas.  Yet, they could not save him from being killed in the battle.  Then how can God change the destiny of an ordinary person?  

Lastly, lack of worldly happiness is actually God's Grace, because in this state we remember God.  Kunti also asked for this wish from God, "O Shree Krishna! Give me sorrow and pain, so that due to the lack of material pleasures, I can chant Your glories."

God is all-knowing and whatever He does, is for our benefit, then why do we interfere and ask Him for anything?  We do not know what is best for us.  Therefore, if we always remember that God is Omniscient and leave everything to Him, then the disease of asking will never arise. 

Diwali Special- Everyday is Diwali for the Saints !!

Heartiest Greetings to everyone on the auspicious occasion of Diwali, the Festival Of Lights !!!  

This day marks the triumphant return of the Supreme Lord Shree Ram and the Mother of the Universe Seeta to Ayodhya, amidst celebrations of lighting of lamps by the residents of Ayodhya.  May the festival of Diwali also remind us to illumine our intellects with the light of the knowledge of God, and dispel the darkness of material conditioning.  

Composition and lecture by Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj: 

हरि सूर्य माया तम गोविन्द राधे।
याते संतों की दिवाली नित्य बता दे।।  

Hari surya maya tama Govinda Radhey

Ya tey santon ki Diwali nitya bata dey.

“God is like the Sun, and maya is like darkness.  Hence, every day is Diwali for the Saints.”  

Diwali is the festival of light.  And what is the opposite of light? Darkness! Light is a manifestation of God, and darkness is a manifestation of maya.  These two things have existed since eternity, and they are opposite of each other. Where there is light, darkness cannot remain. 

Krishna surya sama maya hoye andhakar

jahan surya tahan maya nahi adhikar

Darkness in front of light? Impossible. Maya or darkness cannot stand in front of the Form of Effulgence, Shree Krishna. So, these two things are contradictory - God and maya. The biggest contradiction is - God is Supremely Sentient and maya is always totally insentient.

However, both God and maya are alike in one thing.  God is eternal, and maya is also eternal.  God did not create maya, and neither can He destroy it. Don't be surprised by this statement. God cannot destroy the existence of the entity, maya shakti.  All He can do is to remove the maya upon you.  Remove means just as someone was tied up and he is released. The ropes of bondage still exist, but he has got released from them.  His darkness has gone, but darkness still exists, and others are in the grip of it.

Let me tell you a joke. Amongst the followers of Shankaracharya, some say that there is only one entity called Brahm. That Brahm is sitting inside all. What about the soul? They say that there is no soul. The soul and Brahm are one; one is there and only one will remain; the rest is all illusion. Is that right? If this philosophy is correct, then tell me one thing - this is Kripalu's logic - if there is only one Brahm in all and you do not consider the soul, when that one soul's darkness is removed, everybody's ignorance should be removed.  If one soul’s darkness has gone and he becomes a brahmagyani, he may be any of the God-realised personalities, Brahma, Sanakadik, Janakadik, Sukadik, Sankaracharya, then every soul should become God-realized.  When they claim that there is only one Brahm, and ignorance of one Brahm has gone by doing sadhana, then everybody else's ignorance should also go. But this is not the case. One's is gone, and the rest's is still remaining.  All souls need to do their individual sadhana. And you say there is only one Brahm! 

So maya, which is the nature of darkness, exists only in the absence of God, who is the nature of light. Once a soul realizes God, his darkness is dispelled, and he becomes illumined with light. Now God resides in him, which means God manifests His splendour in that soul. From that point onwards, God remains forever with that soul.  Now when God is light and He is there always with the God-realized Saints, such Saints will have Diwali every day. Then the statement, “Tomorrow is Diwali,” becomes redundant. They now experience Diwali for the rest of eternity.  Thank you.

Happy Sharat Poornima and Shree Maharajji's Birthday

नाचो गाओ सब साधक समुदाय, आज गुरुदेव जन्मदिन पुन‌िआय। 

हम सब की उमर इन्हें लग जाय, युग युग जीयें ऐसे साधना कराय। 

पुण्य पुंज से ही सब नर तनु पाय, पुनि पुण्य पुंज से ही सद्‍गुरु पाय।  

पुण्य पुंज ही तो उर श्रद्धा उपजाय, सच्ची श्रद्धा ही तो सच्ची साधना कराय। 

मन ते तो हरि गुरु स्मरण कराय, तन धन ते जो बने सेवा भी कराय। 

भुक्ति मुक्ति डाकिनी को मुँह न लगाय, माँगो दिव्य प्रेम नित्य सेवा बलभाय। 

अश्रु निष्काम मन शुद्ध कराय, तब दें ‘कृपालु’ गुरु प्रेम बलभाय।

 

I am His Vs He is Mine

Translation of Lecture by Shree Maharajji

There are three entities: the lover, the Beloved and Love.  That which unites the lover and the Beloved, is called Love.  In other words, Love is the intimate union of the lover and the Beloved.  The lover is the one who loves the entity "Beloved".  And the "Beloved" is he, towards whom love is directed.  He is the one who possesses Divine Love.

This "Love" is God's most intimate personal power, which can be attained only by the Grace of a Rasik Saint.  It cannot be attained through personal effort. This is why even the greatest yogis, paramahansas beg for Divine Love.  The treasure house of this Love is Shree Krishna and His associates alone.  No one else can lay claim to owning this power called "Love".  No personality controlled by Maya, not even the king of heaven, can occupy the seat of the Beloved.  Therefore, no material personality can be the Beloved.

We have to begin by developing the two sentiments within us: "I am His," and "He is mine."  Let us consider both of these carefully.  Which of the two sentiments do you prefer?  Do you prefer to think, "I am His," or "He is mine?"  Some prefer to think, "I am His."  Some prefer to think, "He is mine."  However, "He is mine" is a superior sentiment.  "He is mine", that is all.  "I do not care whether or not He considers me His.  There is no doubt about my being His, because I am a part of Him, I have an eternal and natural bond with Him and cannot be anyone else's."

chinmātraṁ śhriharaṁshaṁ

The Vedas say, "All individual souls are parts of God."

dhātā mātā pitāmaḥ

The Vedas declare, "All relationships of the soul are with God alone.  No one else can have any true relationship with the soul."  This proves that we belong to God.  There is no denying that "I am His."  However, knowing this has not helped us.  Countless lives have passed.  "The soul was His.  The soul is His.  The soul will always be His."  This has been declared boldly by Shree Krishna personally and has been clearly stated in the Vedas but to no avail.  So, how will we get results?  By instilling the sentiment "He is mine".  We have to accept Him as ours. 

The fortunate souls, Tulsi, Sur, Meera, Kabir, Nanak, Tukaram, who accepted Him as theirs, reached the goal, crossed the ocean of Maya, and attained the ultimate Bliss of Divine Love.  They who have not realized this fact are rotating in the 8.4 million species of life.  So, we must endeavor to develop the sentiment that "He is ours."

Some people think, "He is only mine."  Shree Maharajji says that this expression is inaccurate.  Rather than, "He is only mine," we should think, "Only He is mine."  In other words, "I have no one else but Him."  The day this sentiment "He alone is mine" becomes grounded in us, our work will come to an end.  We will have nothing more to do - no karm, no gyan, no bhakti, or anything else.  The last action required by the soul is to accept that "He alone is mine," after which everything will be attained and we will be free forever.

In the world, you love many people.  What do you think twenty-four hours a day?  Whether it is the mother, father, son, husband or wife, you always wonder whether or not the other person loves you.  Why are you troubled by this thought?  Keep on loving, without wondering about whether or not the other person loves you.  You will say, "Am I a fool that I should keep on loving him even if I receive no love from him?  I will not love him any more.  I sent him four letters; he did not send me even one.  I vow never to write him a letter again."  Or, "I sent him four letters, and he sent me eight.  He loves me a lot."  What a wonderful way you have of measuring love!

You are innocent, and this is why people fool and cheat you.  Now, if you want perfect reciprocation for your affection, you cannot love, because if the love of the other party reduces, so will yours.  If he becomes neutral, so will you.  And if he opposes you then you oppose him too.  Where did your love disappear?  This is not called love.  It is the opposite of love.

A child loves rasgulla (a popular Indian sweet).  He never thinks, "O Rasgulla!  I always cry in front of mummy and daddy for you.  Do you love me also?"  The child loves the rasgulla and does not care whether or not the rasgulla loves him back.  If we love someone, why do we want to know whether that person loves us or not?  This is not love.   It is a business, where we are constantly weighing profit and loss.  "I gave you ten dollars, but you gave me only five dollars worth of goods."  This is not proper. You get upset.  For ten rupees, you expect ten rupees worth of goods.  If you get eleven rupees worth, you are happy.  But at the very least you expect ten rupees worth.  This is called good business sense.  The problem is that we apply the same business sense when it comes to loving.  We try to show all the time that we love the other person more than he loves us.  All the while, internally we want the other to love us more than we love him. 

Now, if we accept the sentiment "He alone is mine," then we will not be in this constant dilemma, wondering "Am I His or not?  Does He love me or not?  Does He consider me His own or not?"  We will not get caught up in thinking any of this.  God proclaims in the scriptures:

ye yathā māṁ prapadyante tāṁstathaiva bhajāmyaham (Geeta)

"I reciprocate the love of the individual soul to the exact degree and with the exact sentiment." This is an indisputable, unchanging Divine law. Keeping this Divine law in mind, you should never worry that perhaps He does not love you.  He has to love you; He has no choice.  You do not need to think that someone may have poisoned His ears against you which may have made Him stop loving you or not loving you as much as before.  Why the doubt? He is not some worldly person, that He will listen to some third person and stop loving us, or reduce His love.  Why is there any doubt on your part about His love for you?

He is All-seeing, All-knowing, the witness to everything, the well-wisher of all, the Supreme Almighty Lord.  There is no question of doubt in this regard.  There is no power that can shake or disturb the degree and amount of His love.  There is no need to speculate, "Does He love me?"  Or, "How much does He love me?"  How much He loves you, depends on how much you love Him.  "How much love do you want from Him?"  "A lot."  "Then love Him a lot."  How is it that you love Him a little bit and expect Him to love you a lot?  Even if your love is just a business transaction, you still cannot expect a hundred rupee shirt for only ten rupees.  The paper money in your hand is a ten rupee note, and the shirt made of cloth is worth a hundred rupees.  You should stay within your means.  If you want a hundred rupee shirt, you must spend a hundred rupees.

So, God loves us to the extent that we love Him and surrender ourselves to Him.  When you understand this law, you no longer worry about whether He considers you His or not.  Questions such as, "Does He love me and how much does he love me," come to an end.

We speculate in the world about the status of someone's love for us because people are not all-knowing and can get confused if someone poisons their ears against us.  Moreover, in the world, love is measured by external behavior.  But, Shree Krishna is eternally seated within our heart noting all our ideas and cannot make such mistakes.

sākṣhī chetā kevalo nirguṇśhcha

So, there is no question of His not knowing the extent of our love for Him.