The Pursuit of Bliss

The mind is our enemy. The biggest fault of the mind is pride. Due to pride we are not able to become humble. And God is friend of humble souls. He cannot become our friend as long as we are not humble. We may bang our head against the ground uncountable lifetimes, but it will be useless. The very first verse of the Ashtpadi (eight verses) of Gaurang Mahaprabhu says – Be more humble than a blade of grass. If you step on grass – on ‘doob’ etc. – you will notice that the blade of grass bends down. When you remove your foot, it becomes normal once again. A tree bears fruit. When you throw stones at the tree, the fruit drops to the ground. The tree does not get angry. In fact, it gives you fruits to eat. The tree responds to your stones with fruits. It is so tolerant. The tree does not eat its own fruits. It feeds you instead. What do we have in our possession that we are proud of? If Sarasvati becomes proud of her knowledge; if Ravan becomes proud; if Indra becomes proud; if Kuber ...

Kaun duhave gaiya, Kanha topai kaun duhave gaiya? ( Oh Kanhaiya! Who is going to have You milk their cow?) Thakurji (little Krishna) used to go to the house of  Gopis .  This was a daily routine and He used to beg and plead,  “O  Gopi ! Have Me milk your cow. I will milk your cow.  You don’t need to work so hard.”  All the  Gopis  had a meeting and they all decided that they should tease Lala (little Krishna).  So, today when Thakurji went and said, “Have Me milk your cow,”  all the  Gopis refused.  “I don’t need Your help to milk my cow.  I will do it myself.” Kanhaiya was taken by surprise as to what could have happened?  The  Gopis  said, “Listen to the reasons.” Karo rang aru kari kamariya, bidak jayagi gaiya . (Seeing Your dark complexion and Your black blanket, the cow will jump back.) The color of Your body is black and You wear a black blanket; (seeing that,) the cow will jump back,...

उद्धव गोपी संवाद - Conversation of Uddhao with Gopis Lecture by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj Ji with English Subtitles Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Hari Guru chumbak Govinda Radhey, Man loha shuddhi matra so kinchva dey. (Synopsis of a talk by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj on January 16, 2011, in Bhakti Dham, Mangadh, India, explaining this new kirtan verse.) A mother and father have four children. They all live in the same home, share the same environment and eat the same food, but the aim and interest of each is different. All four children went to see a Saint. One of them sincerely followed the Saint’s teachings. One half-heartedly following them and then stopped. One didn’t follow them at all. One criticised the family member who was practising devotion, “Why has he started this ‘Radhey Radhey’ in our home?” Why is there so much difference? This verse gives the reason. Our mind is filled with the stored impressions of actions from uncountable past lifetimes. This is collectively called sanchit karma. During this time we have committed uncountable sins. There is no such sin, even one such as murder, that we have committed j...

On January 14, Makar Sakranti, millions took an early morning dip in the chilly waters at the sangam of Ganga and Yamuna in Allahabad. Further downstream, in Varanasi, Kripaluji was formally installed as the Fifth Jagadguru. I mention this because, to a non-believer like me, Kripaluji’s sayings make more sense than the others who appear on TV channels to discourse on spirituality. All of them have the gift of the gab, but he is more forthright, logical, lucid and gives chapter and verse of the sacred texts he quotes from. His memory is truly phenomenal. He was born Ram Kripalu, into an affluent Brahmin, land-owning family of Mangarh near Allahabad. He received his prilimary education in Hindi and Sanskrit at the local school. He went on to study advanced Sanskrit and Ayurveda, and spent another year studying the Vedas, Upanishads, the epics and Bhakti literature. Besides giving spiritual discourses, he has set up two well-equipped hospitals. He provides all the modern methods of diagno...