The Pursuit of Bliss

Q. Maharajji! Is it possible to minimize (the effect) of destiny? A. God and Saints are all-knowing and all-powerful. They can do whatever They want, They can do whatever They don’t want, and They can do the opposite. However, They also observe the rules and regulations (of this world). God does not alter destiny, and Saints also do not alter destiny. They don’t even alter Their own destiny, what to say of others’? (As an exception,) there have been a few such great, great Saints who had to ascend to Golok sooner than expected, so in order to reduce their longer destiny of fifty years, each multiplied their body by fifty times so as to remain in this world for only one year, but they still lived that (fifty years) destiny. Although Saints live their destiny, the fact is that they remain unaffected by the pains of their destiny. Son died – “Fine, cremate his body.” (In other words,) whatever people commonly practice in the world does not affect Saints. If anything gets destroyed,...

Answer by Jagadguru Shree Kriapalu Ji Maharaj, in response to the question “Why does Discouragement In Devotion Occur?” Discouragement occurs as a result of prior practice. It has to be eliminated through knowledge, through practice. The feeling of discouragement comes when not just one, but all of our weaknesses culminate. They reside in our subtle body and therefore, from time to time, they become strong and manifest. Just like a strong wind that suddenly comes and passes, in the same way, they also come and go. They are not permanent. During that time (a devotee) should hasten his devotion. Everything will be possible with practice only. For example, when someone is riding a bike or when someone is driving a car up a hill or a slope, he puts the car in first gear, puts it in second gear and the car easily drives up the hill. One who is riding a bike puts out more effort trying to get up a hill. When the slopy part ends, then the bike runs smoothly. Similarly, due to the old p...

Naag Panchami Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj (Shri Maharaj Ji) explains the significance of Naag Panchami. Once, King Pareekshit was hunting in a forest. Tired and thirsty, he entered the ashram of a sage Semeeka with the hope to get some water to quench his thirst. The sage however was engrossed in deep meditation and could not hear the king repeatedly asking for water. Pareekshit, was the emperor of the entire Earth. Never in his life had he been so disrespectfully ignored. He misunderstood the sage’s silence to be a great insult to him. In a fit of fury, he picked up a dead snake and put it around the meditating sage’s neck (to insult him) and left the Ashram. As soon as he left, the sage’s sons came back after a bath in the river and were infuriated seeing a dead snake hanging around their father’s neck. One of his son, Shringi, went into meditation, to find the offender who had committed this unpardonable offense. Realizing that King Pareekshit was the offender, he p...

Meditating on Krishna’s Form by Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj (Translated from a speech at Brahmand Ghat, 1965) Leave your physical body here and think of yourself in a Divine body, like Krishna’s body. In your Divine body go towards Golok, Krishna’s eternal abode. In Golok the sun, moon, air, land and hills are Divine because Krishna Himself has become all these. Every object there glows with a Divine effulgence. Now imagine that you are walking there along the gently flowing Yamuna river. On either side there are Divine meadows. The plants and trees on its banks are blossoming with flowers. They are attracting honey bees, which are droning around them. On the banks of such an enchanting Yamuna, which are studded with sentient, Divine jewels and precious stones, is Brahmand Ghat. Having reached there, you can’t find Shyam Sundar. It is possible He has gone somewhere else to play. Look for Him; He may be coming soon. Look for Him in all directions. He will come only wh...

Jagadguru shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj explains Hare Ram kirtan Hare Ram Hare Ram Ram Ram Hare Hare  Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare  You see, this 'Hare Ram' sankirtan is described in the Vedas. Other sankirtans have been composed and revealed by Saints and some have been written by ordinary worldly people. These days, people make kirtans based on tunes from film songs and in all-night chanting events they create a huge storm of devotional entertainment. That's not what kirtan is all about. This 'Hare Ram Hare Ram' is a mantra of an Upnishad. There is an Upnishad called 'Kalisantarnopnishad'. This (Hare Ram) Ved mantra has been revealed for the souls of kaliyug. All the Ved mantras in the Upnishads have particular and very distinct vocalics and rules. However, in this (Hare Ram mantra), there is no formality or protocol. The Vedas have given this freedom. You could be in the most unpleasant environment and in the most unfavorable si...

Sat Sattya Sattya Ho - By Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj (English Translated Lecture)   "Sat Sattya Sattya Ho Govind Radhey Sang Sattya Sattya Ho To Lakshya Dilaa De" You are no doubt familiar with the word 'Satsang.' 'Sat' means 'Saint,' and 'Sang' means 'Association.' If 'Sat' (Saint) is 'Sattya Sattya', (a true Saint), and the 'sang' (association) with him is 'Sattya', (true), then the ultimate goal of God-realization can be attained. The Vedas say: "Tadvijnanaartham sa Gurumevabhigachhet samitpaanih shrotriyam brahmanishtham" (Mundakopanishad) A true saint is one who possesses theoretical knowledge of scriptures and a practical experience of God. A genuine saint is one who can impart to us the theoretical knowledge of Vedas and Vedic scriptures. Furthermore, he must have attained darshan of God; he must possess the treasury of divine-love-bliss. If he has a chec...

जोइ वृषभानुनन्दिनी राधे - Joi Vrishbhanu Nandini Radhey

HOLI POORNIMA AND HOLI CELEBRATION. Holi Poornima (Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Jayanti) Holi Poornima is the full moon night before the Holi celebration day and is of extreme importance to mankind. On this auspicious full moon night, our supreme Divine Beloved Shri Radha -Krishna descended on this earth as the supreme embodiment of Love and Devotion in the form of Shri Chaitanyadev Gaurang Mahaprabhu.  In Shri Mahaprabhu Chaitanya is to be found, the culmination and fulfilment of the philosophy and religion of Love (Bhakti).  The essence of devotion is contained in his “Ashtapadi” (eight verses), like the ocean concentrated in a little pot. Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is the descension of Shri Radha Rani. He propounded the message of devotion to lord Krishna, by practicing devotion himself.  His lovelorn condition reached a climax in the last six years of his life, which were spent in intensive bhava (ecstatic feelings) of Shri Radha Rani. In those days, all the e...

Makar Sankranti is the first Hindu festival of the solar calendar and is celebrated with great devotion, zeal and fervour on 14 January each year. It falls on the day when the sun enters the zodiac sign of Makar (Capricorn) and when day and night are of equal duration.   On the auspicious date of January 14th,1957, our beloved Shri Maharaj Ji was honoured with the title of `Jagadguru' by the 500 scholars of Kashi Vidvat Parishad in Varanasi, India.   Shrimatpadavakyapramanparavarin Vedmargpratisthapanacharya Nikhildarshansamanvayacharaya Sanatanvaidikdharmpratishthapan-satsampradayaparamacharaya Bhakti-yog-rasavatar Bhagavadanantashrivibushit Shri 1008 Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj Ji   In 1957, Jagadguru Shri Kripaluji Maharaj (Shri Maharaj Ji) was invited by the Kashi Vidvat Parishat, a body of 500 foremost scriptural scholars of Varanasi, India, to speak for nine consecutive days on scriptural philosophy. During this time, Shri Maharaj Ji q...

Radhey Radhey Everyone, Wishing all of you a blessed 2012, and may this New year bing clarity of thought and you closer to Hari and Guru. Recently someone sent me a mail about the the world ending in 2012, if that prediction is true then there is no worry as every problem we experience in this life will end with the end of the world. The truth of the matter is that only the problem of this life has ended but the Sanchit karma  (accumulated) & Prarabdh Karma (karma from past actions) will haunt us in the comming lives. We cant escape the :- trigun -  the three mayic qualities - satvik, rajas, tamas trikarm - the three kinds of actions (sanchit-past accumulated, prarabdh, fate of this life, kriyaman, new actions of present life) tridosh - the bodily humors described in Ayurved - vat, pit, kaph). panchkosh - five material sheaths – earth, air, water, fire and ether Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaji the 5th current Jagadguru says.... "So I advise ...

Understanding God means removing our ego   Chaitanya Dev Gaurang Mahaprabhu says that a person becomes a Saint when the Divine love of Krishna appears in his heart. Until then, even the celestial gods of intelligence like Saraswati and Brihaspati cannot understand a Saint’s words, actions, and behaviour. Even great yogis and munis cannot understand a Saint. Only God and other Saints can understand a Saint. Why? Sometime Saints act just as we act in the world. Sometimes they may appear very formal and sometimes they may act in an anti-social way. Sometimes they may seem as if they have one screw loose, sometimes two, three, and sometimes all four screws loose. Sometime a Saint cries, sings, laughs, jumps, or does anything else. Occasionally his condition may appear to be like of a crazy person. Sometime he may seem normal. He lives in an ever-changing state. Depending upon his Divine bhav (state of Divine love absorption), he acts accordingly. From inside he loves you,...