Early-morning Walk, Mind - your Best friend or Worst enemy?

 Few days ago, It was 7:00 AM in the morning and the weather from the window looked terrible. There is hardly any sign of sun and I could see few drops of rain falling and a fog collected on the windows.Do I need to go for a walk in this cold,

chilly, windy day and what if I get caughtup in the rain, somewhere on the road. Just, take it easy, relax for some more time, get some extra sleep and then go to work,cancel your plans of morning walk for today - announced my mind. Thanks for

your kindness and advice but, going for the walk is the most important part of my day. Morning walk freshens my mind, I love the fresh air, birds chirping and the light of morning sound. Most importantly, it gives me a time to introspect,

plan my day and on a practical level, this is the only time of the day, I am out there in the open air, giving my mind and body bit of exercise. Otherwise, I work all day sitting in front of Computer, in a closed office environment. So, come

what may, I am going out for my daily walk even if that means, carrying an umbrella - and off I went. Sure enough, I was amply rewarded for my hard work, this is what I found. A beautiful rainbow.

Its interesting that in Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna talks about the importance of controlling the mind.

Bhagavad-gītā As It Is 6.6

bandhur ātmātmanas tasya

yenātmaivātmanā jitah

anātmanas tu śatrutve

vartetātmaiva śatru-vat

Translation & Purport by Srila Prabhupad

“For him who has conquered the mind, the mind is the best of friends; but for one who has failed to do so, his mind will remain the greatest enemy”.

The purpose of practicing eightfold yoga is to control the mind in order to make it a friend in discharging the human mission. Unless the mind is controlled, the practice of yoga (for show) is simply a waste of time. One who cannot

control his mind lives always with the greatest enemy, and thus his life and its mission are spoiled. The constitutional position of the living entity is to carry out the order of the superior. As long as one's mind remains an unconquered

enemy, one has to serve the dictations of lust, anger, avarice, illusion, etc. But when the mind is conquered, one voluntarily agrees to abide by the dictation of the Personality of Godhead, who is situated within the heart of everyone as Paramātmā. Real yoga practice entails meeting the Paramātmā within the heart and then following His dictation. For one who takes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness directly, perfect surrender to the dictation of the Lord follows automatically.

So, this is the story of our life every moment. You want to do something and your mind immediately gives you different suggestions. So, what you get is what you put into it.Just like GIGO - Garbage in, garbage out in the field of computer

science or information and communications technology refers to the fact that computers, since they operate by logical processes, will unquestioningly process unintended, even nonsensical, input data ("garbage in") and produce undesired,

often nonsensical, output ("garbage out"). Similarly, our mind is also like a computer. It will take the inputs, impressions that we give to it and when the time comes, it will give out whatever we have fed it with.

Once I heard, a Lecture where the speaker explained wonderfully about the mind and how it makes or breaks a person. It was a simple incident but, left profound impression on my mind. Once, two friends from a small town planned to go to the nearby City to get an important job done. They need to catch a train early in the morning around 5:30AM, go and meet an higher official to talk about their retirement benefits and pension etc. The plan was to meet at the train station  and the second friend never turned up, so the first friend went alone to the city, got his job done and came back in the evening. Then, he met his friend who  failed to turn up at the train station and the reply was like this. I am sorry, I could not make it.I actually wanted to come but, two street away someone told me that, there is a stray, mad dog that had bitten number of people, so it’s dangerous to travel alone. And, also I don’t have small change, had a 100 rupee note. And, who knows, what if the Staff at the Ticket counter does not have the change. I loose the rest of the money. And, also it was rainy, cold. What if I slip and break my leg or something...And, so on. Apparently, the person who had so many excuses never got his pension paperwork done and even left his body without getting that work done in his lifetime. One good stick is enough to scare a stray dog, 100 rupees is nothing compared to the benefits that are going to come and as Bhagavathm explains, “padam padam yad vipadam na tesam”, in this material world, in every step there is danger. That means, there is an element of risk in everything that you do but, that should not stop one from doing right things. Because, even if you are not doing anything and sleeping in your house, things happen.

Let me quote the above verse completely, because it is so wonderful..

“Srimad Bhagavatam 10.14.58

samasrita ye pada-pallava-plavam

mahat-padam punya-yaso murareh

bhavambudhir vatsa-padam param padam

padam padam yad vipadam na tesham

TRANSLATION by Srila Prabhupad : For those who have accepted the boat of the lotus feet of the Lord, who is the shelter of the cosmic manifestation and is famous as Murari, the enemy of the Mura demon, the ocean of the material world is like the water contained in a calf's hoof-print. Their goal is param padam, Vaikuntha, the place where there are no material miseries, not the place where there is danger at every step”.

Ok, I actually started off writing this by talking about Benefits of going for a morning walk but, was inspired to write about mind control. To sum up, please take care of following things –   

Weakness of Heart – Lord Krishna called this Hridaya Daurbalyam. Arjuna, who was the greatest Warrior  (was of course put into illusion by Krishna, so that Bhagavad Gita can be spoken) became completely weak, his body was shivering, his Gandiva Bow slipped from his hand and refused to fight.So, when we give chance for these things like doubt, indecision, loss of  faith in ourselves, loosing sight of our goals,  

Resistance to change – The first thing a man does is to resist and try to stop the change from happening.We want to control so many things in life.Stop old age, control temperature by Air Con or Heater so on. But, change is inevitable, part of life and that’s why so many organisations these days are coming up with Change management, how to cope up with change.

Bad Habits – Which are due to wrong association and company. As someone said “ A man is known by the company he keeps”. It’s important to have the right company and take up a right path in life. If one is trying to be a millionaire, he cannot go around with beggars and expect to become one. Of course, that does not mean that a beggar cannot become a millionaire and even though he is  a beggar, his role models  should be that of millionaires. Of course, ultimately man proposes and God disposes, but that desire and personal endeavour should be there. Rabbits don’t line up tigers mouth. It has to go out and hunt for them.

Nidhivan of Vrindavan

 I noticed this tree on my morning walk today and it somehow reminded me of Nidhivan of Vrindavan.The trees at Nidhivan are also similar to this tree trunk and they are said to be 5000 yrs old.I visited Nidhivan few years ago but, the memories are still fresh in my mind.Nidhivan also called as Madhuvan is one of the most significant and popular places of Vrindavan.This is a mystical and sacred placed, where it is said that every night after evening arti at the Rang Mahal temple, the place  becomes completely empty. Not even monkeys dwell and the whole area, which is surrounded a wall is vacated. The temple, is then locked.It is said that if some one stays back,they will become mentally derailed, deaf, dumb or die.

The belief is that in the nighttime, this the place where Srimati Radha and Krishna spend their time. The priests before locking the temple, leave some items like toothbrushes, some holy water in a jug with four sweets. In the morning once, they open the temple, it becomes obvious and noticeable that someone  was actually there the night before.The items kept there including the toothbrush, water, sweets appear as used.

I remember couple of years ago, a  crew from Zee TV  visited the place, stayed overnight outside the Nidhivan complex to find out about this mysterious and sacred place. Its also, interesting that there are number of houses adjacent to the Nidhivan and apparently, none of them open their windows during night time.

This is also the place where the famous Bankey Bihariji, who is currently worshipped at the Bankey Bihari temple appeared.The history goes that there used to be  great saint called Swami Haridasa who by his incessant devotion and worship of Lord Krishna made him

to manifest in a deity form (Lord Bankey Bihari).

There also the famous pastime of Shyamananda Pandit who previously called as Dukhi Krishna Das used to reside at this placed and clean the surrounds.One day he found a anklet, which was most unique.The moment he touched the anklet, he was filled with spiritual ecsatcy and he immediatly understood that, it is a special anklet and hid it, tightly wound in a cloth and waitied for the owner of the anklet to come.Very soon, a beautiful lady came enquiring about the lost anklet.Shyamananda Prabhu replied her that, he has the anklet but, would give it only to the rightful owner. The sakhi, maid servant took him to Srimati Radha Rani and he was blessed by her and was given the name of Shyamananda.Before he was taken to Srimati Radha Rani, he was asked to take a dip in a pond and he transformed into a beautiful cowherd girl. Srimati Radharani gave her blessings to the new Sakhi or friend by naming him as Shyamananda and applying a special Tilak on the forehead. There is more to the story but, I will write it some other time.

In Nidhivan there are number of places of significance, which contain the spiritual mystery of the Lordships Radha and Krishna. There is a Samadhi of Swami Haridasa, The Rang Mahal, The Sacred Well of Radha Rani, The Appearance Place of Bankey Bihariji etc. 

Remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness

 

Photos of a Full Moon and the clouds using my new Mobile - ASUS Zenfone 2.Not bad for a night shot, the First one taken using a normal mode and the other one using the night mode.

I am sorry to say that, I have been extremely busy both at work and with family. Hopefully, I get some time next week to write something.I need both, an inspiration from Krishna and some time to think and write. Talking about the inspiration actually, in Bhagavad Gita 15.15 Lord Krishna Says,

“sarvasya cāham hrdi sannivisto

 mattah smrtir jñānam apohanam ca

 vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyo

 vedānta-krd veda-vid eva cāham

Translation: I am seated in everyone's heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness. By all the Vedas, I am to be known. Indeed, I am the compiler of Vedanta, and I am the knower of the Vedas.

Purport: The Supreme Lord is situated as Paramātmā in everyone's heart, and it is from Him that all activities are initiated. The living entity forgets everything of his past life, but he has to act according to the direction of the Supreme Lord, who is witness to all his work. Therefore he begins his work according to his past deeds. Required knowledge is supplied to him, and remembrance is given to him, and he forgets, also, about his past life. Thus, the Lord is not only all-pervading; He is also localized in every individual heart. He awards the different fruitive results. He is worshipable not only as the impersonal Brahman, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and the localized Paramātmā, but as the form of the incarnation of the Vedas as well. The Vedas give the right direction to people so that they can properly mold their lives and come back to Godhead, back to home. The Vedas offer knowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, and Krsna in His incarnation as Vyāsadeva is the compiler of the Vedānta-sūtra. The commentation on the Vedānta-sūtra by Vyāsadeva in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam gives the real understanding of Vedānta-sūtra. The Supreme Lord is so full that for the deliverance of the conditioned soul He is the supplier and digester of foodstuff, the witness of his activity, and the giver of knowledge in the form of Vedas and as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Krsna, the teacher of the Bhagavad-gītā. He is worshipable by the conditioned soul. Thus God is all-good; God is all-merciful.

Antah-pravistah śāstā janānām. The living entity forgets as soon as he quits his present body, but he begins his work again, initiated by the Supreme Lord. Although he forgets, the Lord gives him the intelligence to renew his work where he ended his last life. So not only does a living entity enjoy or suffer in this world according to the dictation from the Supreme Lord situated locally in the heart, but he receives the opportunity to understand the Vedas from Him. If one is serious about understanding the Vedic knowledge, then Krsna gives the required intelligence. Why does He present the Vedic knowledge for understanding? Because a living entity individually needs to understand Krsna. Vedic literature confirms this: yo 'sau sarvair vedair gīyate. In all Vedic literature, beginning from the four Vedas, Vedānta-sūtra and the Upanisads and Purānas, the glories of the Supreme Lord are celebrated. By performance of Vedic rituals, discussion of the Vedic philosophy and worship of the Lord in devotional service, He is attained. Therefore the purpose of the Vedas is to understand Krsna. The Vedas give us direction by which to understand Krsna and the process of realizing Him. The ultimate goal is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Vedānta-sūtra (1.1.4) confirms this in the following words: tat tu samanvayāt. One can attain perfection in three stages. By understanding Vedic literature one can understand his relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, by performing the different processes one can approach Him, and at the end one can attain the supreme goal, who is no other than the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In this verse the purpose of the Vedas, the understanding of the Vedas, and the goal of the Vedas are clearly defined.”

Translation and Purport by  His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupad.

As explained by the Lord and Srila Prabhupad, the ultimate object and essence of learning vedas is to know the Ultimate Supreme reality which is Lord Krishna himself. But, so many times people get misguided and loose track, the great philosophers, highly knowledgeable scholar of Vedas, they think that to read Vedas is to enjoy in this life, get liberation from this body and attain heaven and again enjoy there. Infact, in the discussion between Narada and Vyasadev, Rishi Narada explains to Vyasa who is his student that, even though you have compiled the Vedas, Brahma Sutras, Upanishads and other Puranas which explain so many things and give so much knowledge, all of them does not talk about the sweet, nectarean  Glories, pastimes of Supreme Personality of Godhead and his devotees. And, infact whatever you have written in the Vedas will actually make people enjoy their senses albeit in a controlled and regulated way. Thus, you write a book that explains about the Supreme Personality of Godhead and his devotees etc.

And, that is how the Srimad Bhagavatham was written which consists of 18,000 slokas describes the ten subjects, which are (1) the creation of the ingredients of the cosmos, (2) the creations of Brahma, (3) the maintenance of the creation, (4) special favour given to the faithful, (5) impetuses for activity, (6) prescribed duties for law-abiding men, (7) a description of the incarnations of the Lord, (8) the winding up of the creation, (9) liberation from gross and subtle material existence, and (10) the ultimate shelter, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

One more interesting point is the remembrance and forgetfulness, both come from the Lord. So does this mean, God is responsible for what ever we do? No, not really. Please refer to my previous blog post - http://ausram.blogspot.com.au/2014/03/fate-and-destiny-say-no-to-fatalistic.html

Nepal Earthquake

Mount Everest - A mountaineers dream destination

Nepal - the moment we hear the word, we are reminded of Mount Everest.One of my collegue was in Nepal when the earthquake happened.He had just come from Nepal and he looked shocked and broken.A sad and devastating disaster for Nepal.It is very sad to imagine the situation of all the people affected by the calamity.Few years, ago I met a friend who told me that he built the house by himself i, e Project managed the whole building by engaging tradesman and he told me. I have built my house on a solid foundation, strong walls that can withstand something like, 120KMPH winds and so on.He looked satisfied and confident of his safety.But, really when we see or hear news like these, our strength and prowess is so minute compared to the force of mother nature.I felt sorry and was looking foraway to help people of Nepal and came across this article by Food for life - ISKCON.

http://www.ffl.org/2015/food-and-medical-care-being-provided-by-iskcon-kathmandu/

I was moved to see the extent of damage and destruction caused by the catastrophe and an amazing thing I noticed was the happiness in the faces of people lined up for food (prasadam).I immediately donated some money.

How and why this happened?.I am not sure, if we need to talk about this at this moment. The need of the hour is to help the ones affected by the disaster.

Anyway, I read few things like,  As per science, the plate movements are causing the earthquakes to happen. As per neo- scientific theory proposed by three scientists which was originally propounded  by Einstein is called - Pain Wave theory. According to which, if at one place animals are slaughtered on a mass scale, the energy created by the pain caused to the animals go into the ground causing the earth to shake.And, recently there was a mass slaughtering and sacrifices of animals in Nepal as a part of a 260 year old custom and tradition and supposedly about 350,000 plus animals are killed. 

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If only I can see God – Face to Face

A beautiful morning sun rising from East, when God decided to paint on the canvass of the sky with amazing colours

Once, a colleague of mine told me "If I only could see God with my eyes, I believe that the God exists. You see, seeing is believing". Because, I don’t see God, I don't believe that he exists - is the argument of so many people today.But, you don’t see so many things in life. I had never been to USA or so many other countries of this earth.So, can I deny that they don't exist.? And, what happens, if I deny their existence.? Nothing, whether I believe or not they still continue to exist.
Actually, so many millions of people in the Mahabharata war and during Lord Krishna's pastime have seen Krishna but, only few realised and recognised that he is the supreme personality of God. So much so that, even when Lord Krishna displayed

his partial Virat rupa - Universal form to Dhuryodhana, they only gave up their plans of trying to capture Krishna with chains, arresting him and putting him in the jail.Dhuryodhanas reaction was,"Krishna is a magician and had some magical powers.

So, why cant people see God.? Even though they are seeing him face to face ? .The scriptures explain us that to see God, you need the right qualifications to see him.

In Chapter 7 of Bhagavad Gita, Verse 25 Lord Krishna explains,

“naham prakasah sarvasya

 yoga-maya-samavrtah

 mudho 'yam nabhijanati

 loko mam ajam avyayam

TRANSLATION :

I am never manifest to the foolish and unintelligent. For them I am covered by My eternal creative potency [yoga-maya]; and so the deluded world knows Me not, who am unborn and infallible.

PURPORT :

It may be argued that since Krsna was present on this earth and was visible to everyone, then why isn't He manifest to everyone now? But actually He was not manifest to everyone. When Krsna was present there were only a few people who could understand Him to be the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In the assembly of Kurus, when Sisupala spoke against Krsna being elected president of the assembly, Bhisma supported Him and proclaimed Him to be the Supreme God. Similarly, the Pandavas and a few others knew that He was the Supreme, but not everyone. He was not revealed to the nondevotees and the common man. Therefore in the Gita Krsna says that but for His pure devotees, all men consider Him to be like themselves. He was manifest only to His devotees as the reservoir of all pleasure.

But to others, to unintelligent nondevotees, He was covered by His eternal potency.

In the prayers of Kunti in the Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.8.18) it is said that the Lord is covered by the curtain of yoga-maya and thus ordinary people cannot understand Him. Kunti prays: "O my Lord, You are the maintainer of the entire universe, and devotional service to You is the highest religious principle. Therefore, I pray that You will also maintain me. Your transcendental form is covered by the yoga-maya. The brahmajyoti is the covering of the internal potency. May You kindly remove this glowing effulgence that impedes my seeing Your sac-cid-ananda-vigraha, Your eternal form of bliss and knowledge."

This yoga-maya curtain is also mentioned in the Fifteenth Chapter of the Gita. The Supreme Personality of Godhead in His transcendental form of bliss and knowledge is covered by the eternal potency of brahmajyoti, and the less intelligent impersonalists cannot see the Supreme on this account. Also in the Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.14.7) there is this prayer by Brahma: "O Supreme Personality of Godhead, O Supersoul, O master of all mystery, who can calculate Your potency and pastimes in this world? You are always expanding Your eternal potency, and therefore no one can understand You. Learned scientists and learned scholars can examine the atomic constitution of the material world or even the planets, but still they are unable to calculate Your energy and potency, although You are present before them." The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Krsna, is not only unborn, but He is avyaya, inexhaustible. His eternal form is bliss and knowledge, and His energies are all inexhaustible.”

(Bhagavad Gita As it Is by Srila Prabhupad)

Elsewhere in Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna explains that he is the light of Sun and Moon,the syllable Om in the Vedic Mantras,  the taste of Water and the ability in man and sound in the ether.

Who can deny that they have not seen the sunlight or moon light, drank a cup of water and felt the taste and so on. So, everyone is seeing God, albeit in varying degrees.

"Somebody Bigger Than You And I"

Who made the mountains, who made the trees

Who made the rivers flow to the sea

And who sends the rain when the earth is dry

Somebody bigger than you and I

Who made the flowers to bloom in the spring

Who made the song for the robins to sing

And who hung the moon and the stars in the sky

Somebody bigger than you and I

He lights the way when the road is long

He keeps you company

And with His love to guide you

He walks beside you

Just like He walks with me

When we're filled with despair

Who gives me courage to go from there

And who gives me faith that will never die

Somebody bigger than you and I ... by Elvis Presley

Drunken Monkey - A satire on the Mind

Monkeys of Vrindavan

 Here is a nice verse that caught my attention this week –

"MarkaTasya suraapaanaM madhye vrushchika damshanam

tanmadhye bhUta sanchaaro yadvaa tadvaa bhaviShyati”

"A monkey is fickle by nature. Then, he got drunk, consumes alcohol, gets stung by a scorpion, and a Ghost enters or possesses him, his fickleness reaches a level beyond imagination."

Ok, to begin with , he is a monkey who is chanchala or fickle and then surapanam – alcohol to make him tipsy, Vrischika. a scorpion bite to make him real crazy and top of all possessed by a Ghost. I also heard that (not in this sloka) that he also steps on a burning coal.

This is a satire on our mind, which is running, jumping everywhere and going crazy which if not controlled will go to places, do things and act in ways which are totally unimaginable and hard to predict. That’s why we need to control our mind.But, how do we control this mind which is as good as the above monkey.. Read on....

Monkeys of Vrindavan

Imagine this..There was a Monkey.Immediately, my mind runs to vrindavan.The monkeys there are so notorious, they steal peoples spectacles, caps, bags what not for a ransom. So, when they steal something, they wont run away but, go to some high place like a tree or a wall and will be watching the owner.The only way to get the good back from this gentleman is to give him something like, couple of Bananas, piece of coconut or anything that arouses his interest.That's why, the first thing the tourists are advised by local people is to remove their spectacles.What if someone cant see without glasses.? Good luck... So, the negotiation starts..The monkey stilling on the top of a wall or tree and the person below showing her bunch of bananas.You show the gift, move a step forward, he move a step forward.Slowly, the negotiation process continues, step by step, until each other are within the arms distance of each other.Then, depending on how daring the person is, the person might simply exchange the good hand to hand or simply, throws the ransom near the monkey and the monkey throws the belongings of the person at them and snatches the prize.This is a perfect scenario. But, so many times people may loose both the ransom and their belongings, or they may get them in a broken or unusable condition because, after all a monkey might get bored and chew on to the plastic and fiber of the glasses etc.

Anyway, this is the little background and glimpse of a monkeys way of life.

In the Chapter 6 Dhyana Yoga of Srimad Bhagavad Gita, after Arjuna listens to the practices of Dhyana and Yoga of mind and body, sitting on a elevated seat made of Kusa grass, concentrating on the tip of the nose, controlling the breathing and so on,which is practiced by the powerful sages of bygone era, Arjuna says this to Lord Krishna.The system of yoga, which you summarized seems to be impractical and unendurable for me for the mind is restless and unsteady.And, further

on in the next verse 34 he says,

"cancalam hi manah krsna

 pramathi balavad drdham

 tasyaham nigraham manye

 vayor iva su-duskaram"

Translation and purport by Srila Prabhupada

For the mind is restless, turbulent, obstinate and very strong, O Krsna, and to subdue it is, it seems to me, more difficult than controlling the wind.

PURPORT

The mind is so strong and obstinate that it sometimes overcomes the intelligence, although mind is supposed to be subservient to the intelligence. For a man in the practical world who has to fight so many opposing elements, it is certainly very difficult to control the mind. Artificially, one may establish a mental equilibrium toward both friend and enemy, but ultimately no worldly man can do so, for this is more difficult than controlling the raging wind. In the Vedic literature's it is said:

atmanam rathinam viddhi sariram ratham eva ca

buddhim tu sarathim viddhi manah pragraham eva ca

indriyani hayan ahur visayams tesu gocaran

atmendriya-mano-yuktam bhoktety ahur manisinah

"The individual is the passenger in the car of the material body, and intelligence is the driver. Mind is the driving instrument, and the senses are the horses. The self is thus the enjoyer or sufferer in the association of the mind and

senses. So it is understood by great thinkers." Intelligence is supposed to direct the mind, but the mind is so strong and obstinate that it often overcomes even one's own intelligence. Such a strong mind is supposed to be controlled by

 the practice of yoga, but such practice is never practical for a worldly person like Arjuna. And what can we say of modern man? The simile used here is appropriate: one cannot capture the blowing wind. And it is even more difficult to

capture the turbulent mind. The easiest way to control the mind, as suggested by Lord Caitanya, is chanting "Hare Krsna," the great mantra for deliverance, in all humility. The method prescribed is sa vai manah krsna-padaravindayoh:

one must engage one's mind fully in Krsna. Only then will there remain no other engagements to agitate the mind."

And, in the next verse Lord Krishna acknowledges this fact and says, still it is possible to control the mind by suitable practice and detachment.

In Srimad Bhagavatham there is a verse which says,

Srimad Bhagavatam 12.3.52

krite yad dhyayato vishnum

tretayam yajato makhaih

dvapare paricaryayam

kalau tad dhari-kirtanat

Whatever result was obtained in Satya-yuga by meditating on Vishnu, in Treta-yuga by performing sacrifices, and in Dvapara-yuga by serving the Lord's lotus feet can be obtained in Kali-yuga simply by chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra

Personally, I found Chanting of Hare Krishna Mantra was most suitable for me, where you dont need to follow so many rules and regulations, maintain difficult postures and also go to a secluded place in the forest but, can be practiced anywhere

sitting at your home, walking in a park. The ideal way is to chant in the morning before sunrise during the time called Brahma Muhurta,sometime between 4:00Am to 6:00 AM in the morning, because at that time of the day it is said that the mode of goodness prevails.

What about alternative process of Yoga ? All glories to them, few years ago I used to practice Raja Yoga, Meditation, Pranayama and I did that for about 5 to 6 years and I realised that it was not for me, impractical, too hard and less results.

Sovereign Hill Lookout Photos and a Short Story

Sovereign Hill is one of the most famous gold yielding mining of 1850s.Situated in the City of Ballarat and on Mount Pleasant, today it is a historic and cultural place.You step into Sovereign Hill and you will be transported back 150 years, Old Buildings, roads, Mine tunnels, gold refining factory etc. There are free and paid, guided mining tours.Carts being pulled by Horses. You can walk along the old, historic town at your pace, which is not a huge place and max should take about 2 to 3 hours. Then, there is Gold museum, where you can see the artefacts of famous gold nuggets found during the history of Sovereign Hill, various photographs of Europeans, the early settlers and also about the aboriginal people. 

There is an interesting movie about the Aboriginal people and culture that is shown,once in every 20 mins or so.Then, there is the Gold shop and various items of Gold etc.Anyway, I was told by one of my Gold savvy friend who like to buy gold coins informed me that the price of the gold coin is more costly in the shop then at the Gold Bullion here at Melbourne. Anyway, I am not so much into the gold stuff but, I did buy a $5 gold - a bottle that has some transparent liquid, may be distilled water and and some thinnest gold flakes. Looks good and as a Sovenier.

The funny thing about this visit was that, I did not actually go to the Sovereign Hill or the Museum ( I was there 3 times before) because, I am on a different purpose attending a Spiritual Retreat at the Accommodation - Comfort Inn, which is right next to the Hill. We had fun in our own way, but managed to get some photos. Also, when I learnt that my son was going to visit this place again, as a part of his school exclusion, I did not bother much about visiting the hill.

I read this amazing information  from one of the visitor information boards up there which says “In 1853, they have recovered 14 Kg Gold Nuggets For every 30 cms mined and 1 ton gold for claim of  bare 24 feet deep mine”. So, where is all that Gold gone? . 

Reminds me of a verse from Bhagavad Gita 16^th Chapter Verse 21 and a story narrated by HH Mahavishnu Gosvami Maharaj in Sydney .

tri-vidham narakasyedam dvaram nasanam atmanah

kamah krodhas tatha lobhas tasmad etat trayam tyajet

[There are three gates leading to this hell -- lust, anger and greed. Every sane man should give these up, for they lead to the degradation of the soul.](BG 16.21)

Greed is a horrible thing :-

Once Sri Narada muni was walking on the village road and there was one beggar, you know, with a begging bowl. I don’t know, have you seen in India, they have the begging bowl, black long thing. So he was showing the begging bowl to Narada muni and he showed to him and said: “Please Maharaj, nobody is able to fill up my begging bowl, but you are very nice saint, you are not attracted to riches, so you will be definitely be able to fill up my begging bowl.”

So Narada muni said: “What is this, show me your bowl”.

He showed the bowl, and it was just ordinary begging bowl.

“Why, why nobody is able to fill?” he said, “I don’t have anything, but do one thing. I know Kuvera, the treasurer of the demigod, and I’ll write a chit on him. You take my chit and he will fill up within no time.”

So the beggar was very happy, you know. Narada muni took out his address of Kuvera, he had diary, you know, computer, you know, [Laughs], put-put-put, he took out the address, wrote a letter line that “I am sending you this beggar, please fill his begging bowl and oblige. Your Servant, Narada.”

So the beggar went running to heavenly planets and he was very happy that now the bowl will be full. So eventually he reached there and found out Kuvera, you know.

He said: “Kuveraji, I have introduction letter from Narada Muni for you.”

So he took the letter and said, “I am sending you, you please fill up the bowl.”

“Show me your bowl”, he showed his bowl.

“Alright, it is a play thing. Narada does not have any sense. Why should he write a letter for this. I can fill up within a second.”

So he called his servant and said: “You take this beggar and go and fill up the bowl.”

So the servant went running and said: “Come, come with me, I’ll fill it up within no time.”

 To his surprise, half the treasury was empty and even then the bowl was not full. So he was doubting, “whether there is a hole inside or what, I don’t know. It is not getting full.” So somehow or other he could not understand. So, then he started pouring again, within no time the whole treasury was empty and the bowl was not full.

He said, “There must be something wrong.”

He went back running to Kuvera. He said, “Maharaj, you are completely poor now. Nearly you are  beggar and even now this bowl is not full.”

He said, “What are you talking.”

“Yes, I have emptied the whole treasury, you don’t have anything now.”

“Oh!” he said, “Narada, is silly man. He did not see whether he has bowl or not or whether it has hole inside”.

So in the mean time Narada was passing though the heavenly planets.

He called, “Hey Narada. What did you do? This beggar … We are not able to fill up his bowl.”

Narada said: “I didn't know. It looks like an ordinary begging bowl.”

So he called the beggar and said: “Show me your bowl.”

He showed like that.

He said, “No, no, show me the other way.”

So he just showed the other way. And it was not a begging bowl, it was human skull.

 This human skull will never be satisfied even if the Kuvera’s treasury is poured into this. This is our greed. Please, we are all carrying that skull, and unlimited, insatiable desire is there. We have come to Australia, we have come here, we have gone to America, and all over the world we are earning very nice money, and even then running after… you know, this is greed. Please try to limit your things, try to think over these things. Human existence is slipping, away, and in order to protect our own interest, which is spiritual interest, we must draw somewhere the line of this kama, krodha and lobha. In a limited way, we are allowed to have, in a regulated way, but unregulated way, unlimitedly, if  we run after these things then we are going to be destroyed completely.

And these are kaam, krodha and lobha, Lust, Anger and Greed please leave them for good. And this is the clear instruction of Bhagavad-gita. And of the three, greed is the most horrible thing, because as we see from the above story, a person who is greedy can never be satisfied or be happy inspite of having the whole world.