The Pursuit of Bliss

Surrender to God (The most confidential of all knowledge!) Shri Krishna says to Arjun in the Gita: सर्वगुह् तमं भूयः श्रृणु मे परमं वचः (Gita) “Arjun! I have disclosed some confidential knowledge, and also some very confidential knowledge to you. Now listen to the most confidential of all knowledge.” After hearing about the paths of Karm, Gyan and Bhakti, Arjun had not yet reached the point where he would be ready to fight the Mahabharata war and kill everyone as per Shri Krishna’s instruction. Arjun did not have the courage to say, “I will fight not one but ten Mahabharata wars; I will kill them all.” So God said to him, “Because you are very dear to me, I will disclose to you the most confidential of all knowledge.” Shri Krishna said, सर्वधर्मान् परित्यज्य मामेकं शरणं वज्र (Gita) Most acharyas have explained this verse to mean, “Renounce all dharma, or prescribed Vedic duties, and surrender to Me alone.” Only Adi Jagadguru Shankaracharya has explained it as, धर्म अधर्म च...

If someone asked you "What is the highest Grace of God" what would you say. As such, God doesn't do anything except Grace. Killing a demon is a Grace since all demons killed by God went to Golok. Punishing a sinner is a Grace because of which he starts moving towards God. If there was no punishment, all of us would have gone astray. So God cannot do anything but Grace. Only due to Grace He created the world, He took us out of His belly, brought us in this world and revealed the Vedas. What a Grace it is that God can only be found by doing nothing or surrendering, not by doing Jap(repeating the name), Tap(austerities) or Yog. Just as when we were born, we did not do anything. At that time, our mothers did everything. As we started doing something, our mothers reduced doing something for us. When we started doing everything for ourselves, our mothers stopped doing anything for us. So even if someone tries to write each Grace of God for ten million kalps, they will ...

Vijaya Dashami (Victory of Bhagawan shri Ramachandra over Ravan) On this day in the Treta Yug, Bhagawan Shri Ram killed the great demon Ravana who had abducted Shri Rama's wife Mother Sita to his kingdom of Lanka. Shri Rama, his brother Lakshmana, Hanuman, Jambavan and an army of monkeys fought a great battle to rescue Mother Sita. The entire narrative is recorded in the epic Ramayana, a Hindu scripture. Shri Rama had performed "Chandi Yagna" and invoked the blessings of Godess Durga, who blessed Shri Rama with secret knowledge of the way to kill Ravana. On the day of Ashvin Shukla Dashami, Rama's party found Mother Sita and defeated Ravana. Thus it is termed as Vijaya Dashami. Based on the scriptural writings from Valmiki’s Ramayana, Kalidas’s Raghuvans, Tulsidas’s Ram Charit manas, and Keshavdas’s Ram Chandra Yas Chandrika as well as common perception in India, Shri Rama, Mother Sita, and Lakshmana returned to Ayodhya on the 30th day of Ashvin (19–20 days after Vi...

One goal we often hear voiced by the Hindu community in America is to preserve the authenticity of the teachings of Hinduism and pass that heritage on to future generations. There is a statement many of us make which undermines these efforts. We often say, "All religions are the same." Why do we say it? Sometimes we don't want to offend anyone. This is a safe, politically correct, fallback position. Sometimes, not knowing the intricacies of Hinduism, we fail to recognize its uniqueness and greatness. If Hinduism were the same as all other religions, then why would we care if our children convert to other religions? Why would we organize conferences to preserve our essential teachings and develop better ways of teaching them to our kids? If Hinduism were the same as all other religions, then why would I, who was not raised Hindu, have chosen Hinduism over other religions? It is true that there cannot be two Gods. There cannot be a separate Hindu God, a separate Christian G...

Guru Poornima coincides with the full moon day of the Hindu Lunar calendar month of Ashadh, which usually falls during the month of July every year. On this particular day, Guru Kripa (Grace) is far more active than on any other day of the year. The primary mission of the Guru is to spread spirituality. So on this day, when one undertakes an activity towards the spread of spirituality, one is graced by the Guru a thousand times more. Participation in the Guru Poornima celebration also helps to generate spiritual emotion in the seeker. This auspicious day presents seekers with the unparalleled opportunity to pay their gratitude to the Guru. In truth, the seeker grows spiritually by participating wholeheartedly in festivities through the sacrifice of his body, mind and wealth for the Guru’s mission of spreading spirituality. This is the full moon night when devotees all over the world pay special honour to the Guru. "Gum Rauteeti Guruh”. This Vedic mantra states that the one, who is...

Ishton men Radha Krishna Govinda Radhey, Bhavon men madhurya shreshta bata dey. (Synopsis of a talk given by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj on January 17, 2011, in Bhakti Dham, Manghar, India, explaining this new kirtan verse.) The one who is worshiped (ishta) or the one who is served (sevya) is of many kinds. Some are even mayic or material, such as celestial gods and goddesses. These include Indra, Varuna, Kuber and others. Such ishtas are millions in number. By acquiring spiritual understanding through the teachings of a true Saint, we come to know that the worship of a material personality results in a material consequence. The word deva applies to both celestial beings and to supreme God. Kah paramo devah. Krishno ha vai paramam daivatam. This verse asks: Who is the greatest deva? Here the word deva refers to supreme God. Similarly, the word divya (divine) refers to both material celestial beings and also to God. The word atma (soul) refers to both the individual soul and God. ...

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...