Beyond Moral Absolutes: Understanding Dharma in a Complex World

 

It is said that 'One should not look at the source of a sage or a river,' because a little dissatisfaction and many doubts arise. Questions such as whether the actions of our soldiers on the borders (killing enemies and terrorists) are righteous are usually raised by "armchair intellectuals."

Consider a farmer who grows 70 to 80 bags per acre. We call him a great man who is solving the food shortage. The government honors him with the title of "Rythu Ratna." He gives advice to fellow farmers, and it seems that he truly cultivated his land in a righteous manner and deserved such fame.

But along with the rice plants, many weeds grow in the field. What harm does it do if he lets them grow alongside the crops? Does he plant the seeds and let the weeds flourish? No—he uproots them and throws them out. They dry up and die. Is this dharma?

He applies pesticides to protect his crops from harmful insects. Is this moral? Can insects be killed like that?

He sets traps so that rats don't damage his harvest. They die. Is this dharma?

So, is it virtuous to eat food grown through all these acts that involve taking life?

In this mortal world, happiness has a touch of sadness, and sadness has a touch of happiness. Similarly, good has a touch of bad, and bad has a touch of good. If a good deed accomplishes more good than harm, then one should pursue it. One should not sit around overthinking like Pisces and Aries caught in endless deliberation.

Understanding the Trap of Endless Deliberation

This phrase uses astrological archetypes to illustrate the mental trap of "analysis paralysis"—when someone is so caught up in their own thoughts that they fail to take necessary action.

Pisces: The Dreamer (Emotional Overthinking)

Pisces is often associated with a vast inner world, sensitivity, and idealism. A person "thinking like a Pisces" might get lost in the moral complexity of a situation. They might worry so much about the "soul" of the weeds or the feelings of the insects that they forget the goal is to feed people. It represents being drowned in empathy to the point of indecision.

Aries: The Initiator (Frustrated Deliberation)

Aries is traditionally known for action, fire, and moving forward. When an Aries is "caught in deliberation," it is a state of internal conflict. They want to move, but they are stuck questioning the "rightness" of the path. It represents the friction of a naturally decisive person who has been paralyzed by "armchair intellectuals" or social criticism.

Dharma requires action. People are spending too much time in the "mental" or "spiritual" clouds (Pisces) or fighting internal battles of ego and doubt (Aries), rather than simply performing the duty at hand.

The farmer doesn't overthink the weeds; he pulls them. The soldier doesn't overthink the enemy; he protects the border. Krishna doesn't overthink the war; he establishes righteousness.

"Endless deliberation" is a luxury of those who don't have to produce results or protect lives. It's a call to move past the "what-ifs" and focus on the root cause and virtuous action.

War is violence and injustice. What is the point of seeking righteousness in it?

One should think about the action first—not about the reaction—and discern the virtue within it.

This is what we are witnessing in society now: condemning reactions without understanding why such reactions occurred. No one cares to examine the root cause. The way of society needs to change.

If a snake eats a frog, it should be considered nature's law. There is no place for human morals in observing this.

I remember once speaking to a person who was criticizing Krishna, saying that he could have avoided war if he wanted. That person even went one step further and said, "I actually support Duryodhana. He was a righteous king," etc. I inquired further: "What's your problem with Krishna?" Finally, he told me that his grandfather was a devotee of Lord Krishna and left home to go and stay in Vrindavan alone. (Obviously, if he had grandchildren, he would have completed all his so-called family duties.)

In the Vishnu Sahasranama, we worship the Lord as "Dharmayupa," meaning "He who possesses all dharmas within Himself." We worship Him as "Dharmagub, Dharmakrit, Dharmi"—"He who protects dharma, who practices dharma, who is established in dharma." The Upanishads declare that "He who is the foundation of all the dharmas of the universe is the Supreme Soul."

What Krishna did was Dharma. What he taught was Dharma. What he embodied was Dharma. Why doubt?.

Here are a couple of slokas from Srimad Bhagavatham (1.2.28-29),

vāsudeva-parā vedā
vāsudeva-parā makhāḥ
vāsudeva-parā yogā
vāsudeva-parāḥ kriyāḥ
vāsudeva-paraṁ jñānaṁ
vāsudeva-paraṁ tapaḥ
vāsudeva-paro dharmo
vāsudeva-parā gatiḥ.

In the revealed scriptures, the ultimate object of knowledge is Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead. The purpose of performing sacrifice is to please Him. Yoga is for realizing Him. All fruitive activities are ultimately rewarded by Him only. He is supreme knowledge, and all severe austerities are performed to know Him. Religion [dharma] is rendering loving service unto Him. He is the supreme goal of life.

Festival of Diwali

 

Lord Rama and Sita Devi

Festival of Diwali or Deepavali refers to a row of lamps,  which symbolises victory of light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance, and good over evil. Diwali is a five-day festival and the third day, Chaturdashi also called as Naraka Chaturdashi is celebrated is the most important day. The Hindu scriptures mention that on this day, the demon Narakasura was killed by Lord Krishna accompanied by his wife Satyabhama.

It is also said that on the day of Diwali, Lord Krishna as a baby boy performed the Damodhara Lila of mother Yashoda tying him to a grinding stone and Krishna than dragged the grinding mortar with him to pulldown the two gigantic trees in his backyard, delivering the two sons of Kubera, Manigriva and Nala Kubera who were cursed by Narada Rishi and standing as trees. Of course, before all this there was an amazing pastime of Lord Krishna breaking the pots of butter, yogurt, throwing them everywhere, feeding the monkeys. And then he started running away like a child in fear of mother Yashoda who was chasing him with a stick in her hand. Queen Kunti explains that this pastime is unconceivable to her because, the person whom by seeing even the fear personified becomes fearful the Yogis and Jnanis trying to catch him with their practice of Yoga, Pranayama and knowledge and unable to do so, such a person is running away in fear. And, when Krishna seeing his mother is getting tired, finally allows himself caught by her. The pastime continues, when Mother Yashoda tries to tie baby Krishna with a rope, it was short by two fingers. And, she added more and more rope from the neighborhood. And, seeing her determination Lord Krishna again, allows himself from abdomen to be tied to the grinding stone. The Acharyas explain that the two fingers signify, devotee’s determination and the Lords Mercy. 

Sri Ram, Lakshman, Sita and Hanuman

It is also mentioned in the scriptures that Diwali is the day, when Lord Ramachandra along with Lakshman, Sita Mata, Hanuman returned to his Kingdom of Ayodhya. The people welcomed Lord by lighting up their houses with lamps.

On this Auspicious day, may Lord Rama with his immense strength and fierce arrows, who in a moment (40 mins) killed 14,000 Rakshsas (race of unrighteous beings) in the forest of Dandakarunya may kill those demons sitting in our hearts in the form of Lust, anger, greed, jealousy, hatred etc. and bring all auspiciousness in to our lives.  Happy Diwali to you ☺…

Gita Jayanti and Jyotisar

Few days ago, 8thDec was the day of Gita Jayanti,the day of the Advent of Srimad Bhagavad-Gita i,e  the day on which Lord Sri Krishna spoke Bhagavad-Gita to Arjuna on the Battlefield of Kurukshetra war.As per Hindu calender, it was a Shukla Ekadashi, 11th day of the waxing moon of Margashirsha month.Also known as Gitopanisad, Srimad Bhagavad Gita contains the essence of Vedic knowledge and one of the most important Upanisads in Vedic literature.The speaker of Bhagavad-Gita is Lord Sri Krishna who is mentioned as Bhagavan or the Supreme God in every page of Gita and, the same is confirmed by all the great acharyas (spiritual masters) like Shankaracarya, Ramanujacarya, Madhvacarya, Nimbarka, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and many other authorities of Vedic knowledge.

Thus about 5000 years ago, on this very day Gita was spoken by Lord Krishna to Arjuna, who accepted him as a spiritual master. Arjuna is confused about his duty and surrendered to Lord Krishna and requested him to guide him and clarify his doubts.This is when, Lord Krishna starts speaking to Arjuna.

JYOTISAR - The place where Lord Krishna spoke the Gita

JYOTISAR - The place where Lord Krishna spoke the Gita

The subject of the Bhagavad-Gita entails the comprehension of 5 basic truths: Isvara (the Supreme Lord), jiva (the living entity), prakrti (nature), kala (eternal time) and karma (activity) are all explained in the Bhagavad-Gita. Out of these five, the Lord, the living entities, material nature and time are eternal. The manifestation of prakrti may be temporary, but it is not false. Some philosophers say that the manifestation of material nature is false, but according to the philosophy of Bhagavad-Gita, this is not so. However, the karma, is not eternal. We are suffering or enjoying the results of our activities from time immemorial, but we can change the results of our karma, or our activity, and this change depends on the perfection of our knowledge. We are engaged in various activities. Undoubtedly we do not know what sort of activities we should adopt to gain relief from the actions and reactions of all these activities, but this is also explained in the Bhagavad-Gita.

Sometimes People say that Kurukshetra does not exist and that it's a mythological place, a symbol of the body or Kshetra and the senses. They say it is an allegory to explain certain truths.But,the fact is that Kurukshetra is a place in Haryana State of India. It is located at a 2 hour journey from New Delhi by Train and about by by Bus takes about 3 and haif hours.While travelling by bus there is a stop called “Pipli” on Kurukshetra by-pass. From there catch an auto-rickshaw to reach ISKCON Main Bazaar temple (6 km) and then see the holy places with the assistance from the local devotees, or at a nominal cost one can take the auto-rickshaw to visit all the important places to be seen in and around Kurukshetra.There are so many old temples and historic places to see in and around Kurukshetra that once,one is lucky enough to visit this places, no longer considers the place Kurukshetra and the historical incidents as a myth. One can see everything that is mentioned in the Mahabharata and Bhagavad Gita.

One can visit “JYOTISAR”a place in Kurukshetra which is the Exact Spot where Lord Sri Krishna spoke Srimad Bhagavad-Gita to Arjuna.Today, as a testimony at the place a huge banyan tree can be seen.During the rule of Moghuls, the tree was cut down but, the tree again grew back. What is seen today is the tree that came back to life from the roots of the original tree.There is a board placed on the tree in which is written “The immortal banyan tree witness of the celestial song Bhagavad-Gita”. In fact this place is named as the “Gitopadesh sthal - place where the Bhagavad-Gita was spoken”.Doing the Parikrama or Circumambulation of the tree is considered as a very auspicious.There are a number of historic places and old temples including the recent ones like, ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) which has 3 Temples in Kurukshetra: (1) Sri Krishna-Arjuna Jyotisar Temple which is very next to “Jyotisar”, the exact spot where Lord Sri Krishna spoke Srimad Bhagavad-Gita., (2) Sri Sri Radha-Radha Kant Temple, Main Bazaar (3) A preaching centre in Kurukshetra.

Everyone knows, about the famous incident of Grandsire Bhisma lying on a bed of arrows, asks Arjuna for water to quench his thirst.The problem was and could be

only percieved by ones dear to him (Pandavas - Arjuna), that only the special water of river ganges would be able to quench his thirst.Thus,during the course of discussions between Bhismadeva and Yudhisthira Maharaj,when Bhismadeva asked for water, and Arjuna shot an arrow on the ground from which emanated the sacred Ganga

water which flowed into Bhisma’s mouth like a jet that quenched his thirst. This body of water is called ‘Ban Ganga’ which means that the Ganga that emanated from the e shot of a ‘Ban’ (arrow).Today, you can find a lake called Ban Ganga.

Similarly, you can find other places like,

Karnavadha - a long trench where the wheels of Karna's chariot were stuck before Arjuna killed him.

Parasar/Dvaipain: Parasara Muni, the father of Srila Vyasadeva, had his asrama here, about twenty-five miles south of the town of Thaneswar. Duryodhana hid in

the lake here after running away from battle at the end of the Mahabharata war. He came out of the water when the Pandavas challenged him to fight.

Chakravyuha: At Chakravyuha, 8kms south of Thaneswar, the general Dronacarya organized his army in the shape of a discus (cakra). It is also where Abhimanyu, the

son of Arjuna and Subhadra, was killed.

For further reading and details please visit the link;

http://www.dandavats.com/wp-content/uploads3/Jyotisar%20Kurukshetra%20-%20Exact%20Spot%20Where%20Lord%20Krishna%20Spoke%20Bhagavad-Gita.htm

Bhagavad Gita - As it is

There are so many versions of Bhagavad Gita written by so many authors but,  I would like to encourage all my readers to read this version called “ Bhagavad Gita – As it is” written by Srila Prabhupad. I remember myself, from childhood reading so many copies of Bhagavad Gita written by different authors but, they did not make much difference to my understanding of the subject matter of Gita. Yes, I would get the dry meaning of the verses and some interpretation  and I actually got more confused and wonder what is it, all about.Then, once I got a copy of Bhagavad Gita As it is by Srila Prabhupad and just by reading the introduction, I was blown away. I could get so much information and knowledge just by the initial few pages that, I then read the whole book like crazy. Everywhere, in the bus, tram, Lunch time, night etc and completed the book in 7 days. Since then, I keep going back to the book, reading it again and again and every time, I find that I find something new

As they surrender unto Me-I reward accordingly

From a Ashram during Govardhan Parikrama

Once I went to a well known busy shop and invited the business owner to come and visit the temple. And, he said things like, Oh, I am so busy with my work. Everyday, I am here from morning to evening looking after the business and I hardly get time to come to the temple. I wondered, what would be the fate of this man. No doubt, he will grow in his business, make more profits etc. but, what about his personal and then spiritual life?. Anyway, I am not passing any judgements and wishing anything bad for this guy. Everyone has their fate and destiny and one reaps the fruits of his actions, but I was reminded of a Verse from Bhagavad Gita Ch 4:11 and a story I heard some time ago.

"ye yatha mam prapadyante
 tams tathaiva bhajamy aham
 mama vartmanuvartante
 manusyah partha sarvasah

All of them-as they surrender unto Me-I reward accordingly. Everyone follows My path in all respects, O son of Prtha".

You walk one step closer to God and he will walk 100 steps towards you.

One time, Lord Krishna and Arjuna went on a touring expedition of their kingdom.As the sun started going down, they decided to take rest for the night in a remote place.They visited the small house owned by a pious old lady.The lady was a great devotee of Krishna and she was ecstatic and  happy to recieve both of them.She is old, poor, widow and had nothing much to serve them.The only way of her sustnance was a Cow,which was giving ample milk.The old lady took a nice care of both Krishna and Arjuna in every way she could by serving them with nice milk from the cow, showing them a place to sleep etc. Next morning, Krishna and Arjun thanked the pious Woman and continued their journey. Arjuna made a petition to Krishna that, my dear Krishna, I am sure you must have been pleased by the way, the lady took care of us. I request you to reward her accordingly. Lord Krishna said, that’s right. I give a benediction that the Cow passes away. Arjuna was shocked and lost for words but, because he respected the wisdom of Krishna, never spoke a word.

The journey continued and the sunset again. This time, Krishna and Arjuna reached the Mansion of a wealthy person and they decided to take rest for the night. The personal servants of the wealthy person received both Krishna and Arjun and went to inform their Master about, their arrival. They came back after a short while and informed, Krishna and Arjun that their Master, had acknowledge their visit and but, is busy to see them. However, they said that, they were advised to be taken care in every possible way and make their stay a pleasant one. The night passed with all the wonderful services provided by the servants and next day morning, it was time to leave. Arjun, little bit hesitantly said to Krishna that to reward the wealthy merchant accordingly. Immediately, Krishna replied that, may the wealth of the person increase many folds and he become richer. Arjun could not take this anymore and said to Krishna – “ My dear Krishna, what kind of justice you are giving to people?. Previously, you pronounced the only Cow of the old lady to be dead, making her helpless and poor. And, now for this arrogant merchant who did not even bother to come and meet us, you are giving more wealth?.” Lord Krishna smiled and replied back to Arjun – “ My dear Arjun, the old lady had very little time left to give up her body and she had all the good qualities and devotion to come back to the spiritual world but, she was too attached to her Cow, which might cause her to take birth again in this material world. The wealthy merchant had too much attachment to his wealth and does not want to give up any of his riches. And, he wanted to avoid seeing me, incase if I ask him for any share of his wealth. So, I have understood his heart and allowed his to go further away from me. Whereas, the old lady had all the love and devotion towards me and made it easy for her by removing the source of her only attachment – the Cow”.   

Thus, the Supreme God is fulfilling everyones desires and reciprocating accordingly.

For, people who want him to be their Master, friend, Lover, Child – he becomes one. For, some Yogis who want to perceive as the blissful, impersonal light, he is appearing as a light. For other Yoga practitioners, who want to perceive him within their heart as Paramatma or Supersoul, he is fulfilling their accordingly. And, for people who want to forget and go away from him, he is helping them so. 

Let me get some Good Karma

Saving a Butterfly for Good Karma

One day as I got into the lift at my workplace and noticed that One of my colleague was standing in a stiff and funny way. 'What's wrong with him', I thought and then I noticed that he is having a butterfly sitting on his shoulder."What are you upto Mate ?." I asked him, trying to not disturb his mood of whatever that he is upto.Looking a little bit embarrassed and proud my colleague replied." Oh, You see ! Found him trapped in the lift.Obviously, he is in the wrong place. I am going to take him out of the building and leave him in the nature. Let me get some Good Karma". I thought this is a good act by my colleague. If someone wants to bestow kindness, there are so many ways he can.Man is endowed with a higher sense, which is different to the animals. For animals in the jungle, the laws are different. There, the strongest will survive. But, laws of human beings are different.It is not the survival of the fittest but, Live and let live. It is showing compassion and taking care of other living beings suffering in the world.What could be the intention of my colleague - I wondered. Because, most of the times people consider Karma to be something straight forward and black and white. Also, some people visualize it as a dramatic event of equal justice, ' An eye for eye' etc.I also remember seeing a movie, long time ago where the villian is a Mafia Don and getting people killed.Once he hears the news of someone dead, he dramatically saves a Ant or a insect drowing in a glass of water or somthing and says something like ‘One killed and another saved.It is now even..Ha ha ha’ Actually, it is not so. The laws of Karma are so intricate and difficult that even the most knowledgeable persons are sometimes bewildered. Bhagavad Gita advises the same thing. There is a story of  a King Nrga in Bhagavatam who performed a wonderful Fire sacrifice and donated a lots of Cows to brahmanas but, had to take birth as a lizard for a simple mistake of donating same cow twice.Similarly, we see a rich person who has practically everything like fleet of Cars, Bank balance and a huge mansion can only eat so much or may be cannot eat sweets due to health reasons, or he might have a 20 bedrooms but, cannot go to sleep suffering with insomnia. So, the Karma for a living entity as Mahabharata explains, especially an evil deed is like a indigestible food in the belly- which is its own punishment, if not experienced in this life will follow us to the next life. No one can escape the laws of Karma (Not even by suicide)

So, it is completely wrong to consider that one wrong act or deed can be counteracted by another noble act or a good deed.

An Evil Act - Law of Karma

As per Bhagavad Gita chapter 2 and 3 Krishna explains karma, akarma and vikarma. Karma Yoga is essentially acting, or doing one's duties in life as per his/her dharma, or duty, without attachment to results – a sort of constant sacrifice of action to the Supreme. It is action done without thought of gain. In a more modern interpretation, it can be viewed as duty bound deeds done without letting the nature of the result affect one's actions. Krishna advocates Nishkama Karma yoga (Selfless Action) as the ideal path to realize the Truth. The most important theme of Karma Yoga is not focused on renouncing the work, but doing the work in the spirit of detachment and sacrifice.

Thus, there are various paths or Yogas explained in Bhagavad Gita like, Karma Yoga which is further subdivided into Sakama Karma Yoga which is performing a work with a God Consciousness but there is still an attachment to the fruits of the work, and Nishkama Karma Yoga where one is completely detached from the fruits of work with God as center.

Lord Krishna, advises Arjuna to fight without considering happiness or distress, loss or gain, victory or defeat and informs him that by this he will not incur Bad Karma, Vikarma or Sin. And, then further on Lord Krishna talks about various other yoga, like Jnana Yoga, Dhyana or Ashtanga Yoga and  finally Bhakti Yoga, which is the devotional service to God.

Sunshine and Different forms of God-Realisation

Morning Sunrise

Oh What a beautiful morning, I thought as I looked at the sunshine coming through the glass windows of my living room.I suddenly thought, why am I calling the light as sunshine, I can as well call it Sunlight, Sun rays or Sun and it would not be wrong.Still,Sunrays is the most appropriate description.Similarly, everything we see around including ourself is a manifestation of the energy of the god but, still can't be called as god.Its the energy of the God that took these various forms.The ancient scriptures tell us there there are two types of energies of the the Lord, the Spiritual energy and the material energy.Spiritual energy is eternal, everlasting and intelligent while the material energy is inert, does not have a consciousness and does not undergo six transformations like,manifesting,sustaining, producing by products and dwindling.

As explained in Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 2- verse 16,

“nasato vidyate bhavo

nabhavo vidyate satah

ubhayor api drsto ’ntas

tv anayos tattva-darsibhih

Those who are seers of the truth have concluded that of the nonexistent [the material body] there is no endurance and of the eternal [the soul] there is no change. This they have concluded by studying the nature of both”.

Srimad Bhagavatam explains that the Supreme absolute truth or God is realised in three different forms.Brahman, Paramatma and Bhagavan.The Brahman aspect can be compared to the Sun rays or sunlight,which is an impersonal feature which is perceived by many of the Philosophers.

So Brahman realisation can be compared to a mystical experience where you can percieve or feel the presence of god as a light.So more people like to worship god this way, impersonal. God is light, god is everywhere and everything is god.But, God is not impersonal but, formlessness is one aspect of the god.Everything is a manifestation of God's energy but, still everything is not god.That's what is explained by Lord Krishna in Bhagavad Gita by saying 9.4'By Me, in My unmanifested form, this entire universe is pervaded. All beings are in Me, but I am not in them."

The Paramatma feature is explained as the localised aspect of the Supreme Lord.Bhagavad Gita explains that the Supreme Lord as Paramatma is seated in the Heart region and Astanga Yogis realise this, in their deep meditation and practicing Pranayama, controlling their breath. In Bhagavad Gita Lord Krishna says this, ‘sarvasya caham hrdi sannivisto - I am seated in everyone's heart’ –( as  Paramatma).

The Bhagavan feature or the most complete and spiritual form of the Supreme God is realised by the people practicing Bhakti Yoga or devotional service to the Lord. It is said that when a person's eyes are anointed with the pulp of love and pure devotion to God, then they can see the beautiful form of the God.

Coming back to the example of Sun and the Sun light.When one can see the Sunlight and realises that this is the sunlight coming from Sun, it is called Brahman realisation.When one actually goes out and looks at the blazing ball of light, the Sun planet, he is said to have realised the Paramatma feature of the Lord. And, when actually goes to the Sun planet, meets the presiding deity of the Sun God – Surya Narayana and offer services to him, it is called Bhagavan or the complete realisation.

What Movie Character are you? And the real You.

Whenever a new movies that becomes a hit,great fan following,audience - this is a common thing that comes up.Displayed below is the famous south indian (Telugu) movies that had recently hit the silver screen. 

The movie is called Bahubali and made record collection.And, in Facebook you can see the quizzes that come up. One of your facebook friend answers the quiz and the verdict is given. The app will display what character of the movie your friend is and provokes you to try and see who  you are. A nice of engaging audience is to involve them in the movie so much that they ascribe themselves to a character in the movie. Long time ago, I had a friend who confessed to me that he watched a movie about 50 times (an era when there was no internet and the only way you get to watch a movie is to go to the theater and watch it).He would come out of the movie, half way when the role of character that he identified with is finished. So, its a common thing. People watch movies because, they enjoy the movie, the characters, the melodrama, story and identify themselves with a character.But, as soon as the movie is finished at least majority of the people come out of the movie world and back (or forced to come back)to reality.Humm, a person may watch a movie where he becomes a hero of the movie driving a Ferrari or Porsche.Once the movie is over, he has to come out,go to carpark and get back into his broken Car or may be a bike, which he had to kick start 10 or 15 times to start it.Actually, one of my friend told me an interesting incident. One day he went to a movie (this is in India) and parked his bike in a no parking area where there are

already a number of other bikes parked illegally.He had a good time at the movie and slowly,lazily came out of  the Movie hall and walked to the place where he parked his bike.Lo Behold ! there was not a single bike remained at the place where he parked his bike and of course his bike was still parked there but, there is a Police Conestable sitting on it, smoking a Cigarette and patiently waiting for the owner to turn up.I don't want to write what happened next but, you can imagine.

So this is easy.People identify with some character because, they like, adore whatever but, quickly out of it because, it's a movie. It's something external to us and we can see the difference.What is difficult is the fact that is stated in Bhagavad Gita about our real identity as a spiritual Soul, that never dies, simply takes up different bodies just like one changes a dress from old to new.Furthermore, when people read that the spirit soul is indestructible, can never be destroyed by any weapon, cannot be cut, burnt or made moist, it just goes out of their rational and logical brain which immediately shouts back "What do you mean that I am not this body.? I can touch it, feel it, I suffer when something hits me and of course,I have burnt my fingers too many times. It's me that is this body and the body is mine.

Its interesting if you think about this. Who is this "me saying mine"?.The knowledge of soul is so basic that Lord Krishna talks about the Soul and its nature in the 2nd Chapter of Bhagavad Gita from verses 12-25 succinctly and with examples and does not further talk about it in the further Chapters.The Soul resides in the region of heart and like sun illuminates the whole body with consciousness.When someone dies, people say that he passed away. But, who passed away?. The body is still there (except the Consciousness).Thus, Consciousness is the symptom of the presence of the Soul.Further on Lord Krishna talks about, various Systems of recognising one's eternal nature which is Soul. Various practices like Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Astanga Yoga and Bhakti yoga.Of which, Bhakti yoga or devotional service to the Lord is explained as the most sublime and easiest method. Enter the Bhakti laboratory and experience your real self.

why and How of controlling your Mind

Suppose you tell this to your children, don't worry about anything. Keep playing, dont need to take bath, washing your hands or going to bed.You can break things, throw your toys everywhere in the house and by the way hit and hurt someone, after all you are small and you dont really mean it.And, also dont worry about having you breakfast, lunch or dinner.Just eat and sleep whenever you want.How does this sound?.You would say "Pure Insanity or craziness ?".True, children not only need to be given love and affection, protection but, a proper guidance, discipline, some rules and regulations, so that they don't go over the top or blow things, hurt themselves. We have to give them enough freedom under guidance so that they develop right values and Character. 

Well that is about children but,it is said that our mind is like a child which is rebellious,hard to control,constantly blabbering like a child,demanding things, not letting us to focus on things that we want to do.

Infact,in the Chapter 6 of Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna the greatest of warrior confided to Lord Krishna in Bhagavad Gita that the mind is restless, Obstinate,turbulent and very strong and to control the mind is more difficult than controlling the wind.And, Lord Krishna acknowledges this fact and says that it is undoubtedly difficult to control the Mind but,it is possible by suitable practice and developing vairagya - detachment.The detachment Lord Krishna is talking here is the detachment from the matter and engaging it in the spirit.Firstly, the vedic scriptures advise us that to satisfy minds desire's is life adding the fuel to a raging fire. When some fuel is added to the fire, for a short while the fire seems  to have subsided but, within no time comes back with greater force and proportion. Similarly, when we listen to our mind and try to satisfy our desires through material things like, latest Mobile, latest dress or by gratifying our senses and over indulging in things like excess food, drinks or other sensations, we seem to get a temporary relief for the time being, only to see them come back with more force.We need use our intelligence to make the distinction and right choice of things we need and desires we want to fulfil.Another aspect of trying to listen to mind's desire is that, if the desire is not fulfilled, that will actually lead to anger, restlessness and wrath.And, if the desire is fulfilled, then we want more and more of that particular sensation which develops into propensities like lust, anger and greed.

Mind Control

Thus, it helps us to become cool headed and act with our intelligence rather than dance to the whims and fancies of the child like mind.As Lord Krishna explained to Arjuna, we need to take up suitable practices for controlling the mind.Some of the suitable mind control techniques available are like Self Hypnosis, NLP - Nuero Linguistic Programming, Meditation,Healing, Pranayama, Yoga which are good to elevate from the gross to subtle realms or spheres of life.However, I found the practice of Mantra Meditation " Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare" is the most practical and suitable method of controlling your mind, which is only the begining and there are many more benefits to follow.The other aspect of what Lord Krishna said - develop detachment, I found is achieved by reading and listening to the sacred texts like, Bhagavad Gita and Bhagavatham from realised Souls like His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada and his disciples. As explained in Bhagavatam, as soon as one starts listening to the sacred narrations and chanting the names of God, he automatically develops detachment and also control of  mind.Just like a person having meals with every morsel of food that he takes he feels satisfaction and gets strength.

Finally, my thoughts are that one experiences real freedom when he has control of senses, one who can control what he speaks, what he eats etc.The first step to control the senses is to control the mind, which purifies our consciousness and senses.One of the easiest way to control the mind and senses is engage them in service of the Master of senses "Hrishikena hrishikesha-sevanam bhaktir ucyate".Hrishikesha is another name for Lord Krishna.Engaging our senses in service of God or Krishna is basically called as devotional service where the centre of ones life is not himself but the Supreme God.

Holi - Festival of Colours 2016 at Barwon Park Mansion

Barwon Park Mansion

20th Mar 2016 11:00 am. 

It was a perfect weather with temperatures hitting just around 22°C and perfect for a day in the sun.This is what, it was when we entered the arena of Festival of colors at historic Barwon Park Mansion, Winchelsea.Built in a bluestone this pretty 42 room Mansion with stables is built in 1871 on a Victorian rural landscape. The event was organised by ISKCON Melbourne. Actually, the main event organisers and crew members are from – Hare Krishna Valley  which is one of ISKCON’s farming community. It was a well organised event with facilities like, Toilets, Car Park and also stalls featuring some of Hare Krishna’s delicious dishes etc. Then, there was some other stalls and designated areas like Book Shop, Hare Krishna Mantra Meditation tent, Bhagavad Gita Card reading, Jumping Castle for kids, Henna Body art etc.However, the and center of attraction was the live Music stage and stage performances by various artists. I played Holi after a long time and had fun. My eldest son enjoyed the coloring part very much and he finished packets and packets of colors – spilling colors everywhere I guess.The best part was, all the colors are organic and wouldn’t stain your clothes, body or place where they are thrown.

Holi is a age old festival of india celebrated traditionally for two day. On day one, all the clutter and junk in the house is burnt, which is synonymous with killing of a demoness Holika. The scriptures say that, in the days of yore there was a small boy called Prahlad who is the son of the greatest of demons called Hiranyakashipu.The name Prahlad means – always joyful with love of God and Hiranya means Gold and Kashipu means a soft bed. So the father was a gross materialist who did not believe in God and son was totally spiritual and a transcendentalist.So, this was the basic incompatibility of the demoniac father. He did not like his own son worship in the Supreme God Vishnu, whom he hated. He ordered his sister Holika to Kill Prahlad. Holika a demoness had a magical blanket which if one wears, will not be burnt in fire. So she entered a huge fire, wearing this blanket and holding Prahlad. Then, suddenly there was a huge wind which blew away the blanket she was wearing and Holika was burnt to ashes in no time. Meanwhile, the little Prahlad who was always absorbed in the thoughts of God remained perfectly fine and the fire did not harm him at all.

Festival of Colours 2016 at Barwon Park Mansion

Festival of Colours 2016 at Barwon Park Mansion

Holi is celebrated in all parts of India but, it is especially (Albeit two days before the Holi) celebrated with zeal and fervour of Radha and Krishna in Mathura, Vrindavan and all over Vraj. In Barsana the place where Srimati Radha Rani grew up and Nandgaon where Lord Krishna grew up the holi is not only played with colors but, women of Barsana hit the men of Nandgaon with sticks mockingly and the men carry shield to protect themselves from this beating by womenfolk. Why is this so? The history says that one time Lord Krishna visited his beloved Radha's village on this day and playfully teased her and her friends. Taking offence at this, the women of Barsana chased him away. Since then, men from Krishna's village,Nandgaon, visit Barsana to play Holi. 

Finally late noon, after a wonderful time playing Holi and having a delicious lunch headed back to Melbourne with my family. I look forward to this event in 2017 and would highly recommend everyone to join this family fun - The festival of colours.

Its Me

Enjoy the colours of life, sometimes Blue - go beyond the Blue, Red - don't be angry, Pink - Hold on, Stay Healthy, yellow - Be Happy, make others Happy, Orange - Purity in words, thoughts and deeds, Green - don't become green with envy but become like a tree - develop the tolerance and serving others selflessly.... 

Mahadevji - Lord Shiva in Vrindavan

Gopeshwar Mahadev

I had recently been to Vrindavan and upon my visit to the holy place realised the fact “Vaishnavanam Yatha Shambu”. It is said that Lord Shiva is the greatest Vaishnava. So, no wonder where Krishna is doing his pastimes, Lord Shiva is there. We see a proof of this in Braja Mandala ,Vrindavan where Lord Shiva appears as Mahadev, Keshtrapal (Protector of Dham).Thus, it is said that anyone visiting Braj requires to take the permission of Mahadev to enter the dham. Featured Photo is taken at the entrance of one of the famous Shivji temple in Vrindavan, called as Gopeshwar Mahadev, where Lord Shiva is dressed as a Gopi. The pastime is that one time Lord Shiva, along with mother Parvathi visited Vrindavan during the pastimes of Lord Krishna and wanted to enter the Rasa Lila dance of Krishna with Gopis. Lord Shiva was stopped and was explained that in Vrindavan pastimes, there is only one Purusha or the enjoyer and the rest are Prakriti or the enjoyed, existing purely to serve the Lord. Lalitha Sakhi, a confidential sakhi of Radha rani took Lord Shiva to a Kund (pond) and asked him to take a dip. Once he came out of the Kund he transformed into a beautiful Gopi.

And there are so many other temples of Lord Shiva like, Chakleshwar Mahadeva near Manasi ganga at Govardhan, Nandishwar Mahadeva in Nandgaon and Bankhandi Mahadev in Vrindavan, Kundeshwar Mahadev in Radha Kund, Kedareshwar Mahadev, the Kedarnath temple located in a remote corner in the Braj mandala parikrama marg, Kameshwar Mahadev and many others.

Even in  Mathura Lord Shiva’s temples surround the town in all the four corners. There are 4 Shiva lingas located in the four corners to protect the city, called as the dik-pala of Mathura. They are namely, Gokarnesvara Mahadeva in the north, Pippalesvara Mahadeva in the east, Rangesvara Mahadeva in the south and Bhutesvara Mahadeva in the west.

Aasheshwar Mahadev

Aasheshwar Mahadev

 The below photos are from a place called Aasheshwar Mahadev, near Nandgaon where Lord Shiva sat down in meditation with Aasha – a hope or desire to get a darshan of baby Krishna. The story goes that, once Lord Shiva visited Nandgaon disguised as a Babaji covered with ashes and snakes hanging around his neck and knocked the door of Nana baba. Mother Yashodha was shocked to see the form of Babaji and feared that her little baby Krishna would be scared to see this Babaji, she refused to show him. Then Mahadev left that place and at a distance sat under a tree and started meditating on the form of Baby Krishna for his darshan. Meanwhile, Lord Krishna who is the Supersoul and Paramatma understood the desire of Shiva and suddenly started crying incessantly. Then, the woman folk of the village explained to Yashoda Mataji that probably, she might have offended the Babaji by not letting him have look at baby Krishna. Then, Mother Yashoda took baby Krishna to the place where the Babaji was meditating and immediately upon seeing him, Krishna started smiling happily.Mother Yashoda requested the Babaji (Shiva) to live permanently in Nandgaon so that Krishna is always happy. And, Shiva agreed to stay on the condition that everyday, the prasadam of Krishna is given to him. And, it is a custom that is still followed today at Nandgaon temple.