On Receiving Real Satsang, Change is Inevitable

Ram Ram
Hare Krishna
Radhe Radhe
A manager or owner of a business at the end of day takes stock of all sales/income/expense/stock in/stock out etc...
Likewise, the spiritual path also requires the serious sadhaka (Spiritual aspirant) to take stock of their progress...even more so ...in the twilight of the new year approaching one needs to introspect and reflect on where we are compared to before.  
Spiritually....
        it does not matter how materially richer we have become in the past year
        It does not matter how many promotions we have had in the past year
        it does not matter how many friends we have made in the past year
        it does not matter how much donations we have given in the last year
        it does not even matter how many "religious" programs we have attended in the last year
What does matter is...
        has the love for the LORD increased in the past year?
        have I lovingly chanted more and more names of the LORD in the past year?
                have I done more selfless service at the feet of Thakurji and Shri Guru in the past year?
                have I improved as a person.?
Would like to share a nice writing by Swami Shri Ram Sukhdasji on this occasion.       
Question:  Inspite of hearing many things in Satsang (gospel, truths from exalted souls), in our relationships during our associations and dealings, we become pleased (raag)and displeased (dvesh),  what to do? 
Answer:  In relating with others, if you become pleased and displeased, it is childishness.   When children play they collect dirt and create mounds , little hills and houses etc, and then they draw a line in certain areas indicating this land is mine and that on the other side is yours.  
If another child takes a little piece of land out of that, then there is a fight over it.  Why did you take away my land?  This is not yours, it is mine.  Some grown-up arrives at the scene and asks the children why are you fighting?  The child says,  I first drew the line in this area,  therefore it is mine.  Now the grown person suggests they should divide the land in a particular manner, and then both children become happy with the proposed solution.  In the mean time the mother calls out,  "Children, lunch time is here!"  Both the children leave the land to go for lunch.  They have now nothing to do with that land! 
Similarly we too say,  this wealth is mine,  this property is mine.  As such it is neither mine,  nor yours.  It is a play, it is a show.  One day you will have to leave everything and go away.  There will be no remembrance at all of these things. Not in the least bit.  In previous life,  what was our house like,  what was our family, do you remember it now?   In the world, not a single thing is personal "vyaktigat".  Just like a dharmashaala is for everyone.  Therefore the houses stay right there, the land stays right there, but the persons keep changing. 
Your attention should go towards these points.  If one who is engaged in satsang,  if he does not pay attention to such things then who will?   On one hand you are doing satsang,  and on the other you have likes, dislikes, become pleased and displeased (raag-dvesh), then true satsang (company of truth, exalted souls) has not taken place, you have not understood the satsang,  even a whiff (trace, smell) of satsang  has not reached you!  If getting pleased-displeased (likes-dislikes), having desires-anger are not reduced after satsang, then how else will they be reduced?  If there is no change, no improvement in the outlook, the sentiments, in the behavior and conduct, then what type of satsang have you done ! 
You have simply wasted your time!  It is impossible that on engaging in satsang,  that there is no change whatsoever.  If you do satsang,  there will definitely be a change.  If there is no change, then you have not received real (asli) satsang.  On receiving real satsang (association of Truth or exalted Souls),  change is inevitable (one cannot remain without being changed). 
From "Manav Maatre Kalyaan ke Liye"  in Hindi pg 67-68 by Swami Ramsukhdasji.
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TIll the next time we meet in the name of LORD!
ys Deepak
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
=================
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Sunderkand recital

Radhe Radhe,

Jai G

Dec4th 2009

We took part in Full sunderkand Recital - from Ramcharitmanas- at Ram Krishna Temple in Sydney.

In the team, It was nice to see youth who were singing Sunderkand with great zeal.

The session was energy-filled. 

A crowd of over 120 were rapped in the recital.

Jai Shri Ram.

Mantra from Guru is Powerful

JAI GURUNATH!!
Ram Ram Hare Krishna
Radhe Radhe
The following is a small transcript from a lecture from our God-Brother (Sri Ramanujamji) on the topic of "The potency of Mantra recieved from a Guru"  - Very nice analogy to send the message.

Mantra from GURU has a powerful effect.

If a Mantra/Nama comes from a GURU, spirituality is infused in it.
A mantra itself is powerful.  However a Mantra from a GURU is extraordinarily powerful.
Once, there was a KING who never followed any proper NIYAMA in his life wanted to learn and chant GAYATRI Mantra from his Minister who was a vedic Scholar who followed all the Niyamas.  So he asked the MINISTER to give him GAYATRI Mantra.  The Mantri said, "I cant tell you that.  I cant give you that" . 
The King then replied. "Ok, if you cant tell me that, I will find some other way."  He went and looked at a few books and asked a few people and got GAYATRI Mantra. 
The King then came to the Minister and said, "See, I got Gayatri Mantra now".
He recited and he said is it right.  The minister said yes!
So what is the difference, the king asked, between the GURU giving GAYATRI MANTRA and finding the mantra from elsewhere...?  It is the very same sound.
The Minister said, " You will understand this in a few days.  But before that would you please accept my invitation for Dinner at my house tonight?"
 So the King came, with his bodyguards.  At Dinner time, the KING and the Minister took their seat at the table.  Suddenly, the Minister, with an angry gesture, got up and started abusing the KING and in a commanding tone ordered the ROYAL Guards to arrest the KING. 
The ROYAL Guards stood still, a bit dumbfounded as to what was going on.
By now the KING himself was angered by the behaviour of the minister and himself ordered the GUARDS to arrest the Minister.  Immediately, the Guards, without any hesitation, held the minister.
Then Minister then smiled and commented that, "See! When I told them to arrest you, they didn't move.  But as soon as you ordered they immediately actioned the order.  The words were the same but the result depends on who is actually Uttering the words!"  So likewise, the Lord's names are the same. It is said "GYANIHI TRILOKE"  - Everyone is aware of the divine names of the LORD.  But when the name comes from the GURU the Divinity is infused in it.  And it takes us faster to the Lord's Feet.
So what do we do if we don't have a GURU Yet???  Just Keep chanting the name sincerely waiting for the GURU.
tasmad gurum prapadyeta   jijnasuh sreya uttamam  sabde pare ca nisnatam  brahmany upasamasrayam
 One who is searching for the Ultimate Truth must surrender to a guru who  knows the inner meaning of the  Vedas, is fixed in the Absolute Truth and is  expert in the sastra. (Bhag. 11.3.21)
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VEDIC THOUGHT
"See how universal is the religion of Bhagavat [Bhagavat Dharma]. It is not intended for a certain class of Hindus alone, but it is a gift to the mankind at large in whatever country born, in whatever society bred, and of whatever culture produced. In short, Vaisnavism [Bhagavat Dharma] is the Absolute Love binding all men together into the Infinite Unconditioned, and Absolute God."
(Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura - The Bhagavat: Its Philosophy, Its Religion, Its Ethics & Its Theology)
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TIll the next time we meet in the name of LORD!
ys Deepak
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
=================
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His Holiness Sri Sri Swamiji personally answers these questions for you and suggests prayers.

Gratitude!

Ram Ram Hare Krishna
Radhe Radhe
Nice little article by our GOD-sister,
By Nisha Giri, Houston, TX   from USA.
Gratitude to God - the Best Thanksgiving Gift
November is Thanksgiving time in the US. People across the country celebrate the fourth Thursday of November as a day of thanksgiving, when gratitude is expressed to family, friends, clients and customers, and by some, to God.
Gratitude is a wonderful virtue and to whom should we first show gratitude but to God, who is the reason we exist and who is ever blessing us with His Grace?
But how do we show our gratitude to God? Whenever we face misery, we generally complain that God has been unsympathetic to us, but when we are happy, we get a sense that we have "earned" the happiness by ourselves.
Instead, we should pause for a moment and thank Him for keeping us in that blissful/happy state. Sri Muralidhara Swamiji beautifully states this as:
Friend behind the mask of bias! Lets us not play the game of unfairness where we Never forget to indict the Almighty's "mercilessness" during murky days And ever forget to remember His Grace during sunny days! Friend! Tear off your mask of bias!
Come face to face! Let us play it fair and square by Never failing to thank Him for His boundless Grace on days of shine!
This is verily devotion or bhakti! Devotion is nothing but showing gratitude to God or the Guru for all the wonderful things He has given us.
In the Mahabharata, we see how Queen Kunti, the mother of the Pandavas, suffered throughout her life, which was never smooth or comfortable, even though the Lord was always on her side. She lost her husband early and was forced to live with the support of her husband's brother's family who were none-too-welcoming; she had to bring her sons up in a hostile environment, fearing every min-ute for their lives; she, her sons and her daughter-in-law had to face untold hu-miliation at the hands of their cousins; she and her family had to spend a large part of their lives in the forests, either in exile or in hiding; she also had to give away her first child early in life, only to later see him become the enemy of her other sons and finally be killed by his own brother.
Kunti could easily have berated the Lord for all the difficulty that she had to un-dergo. But in Srimad Bhagavatam, she sings a beautiful stuti (song of praise) to Lord Krishna, in which she only remembers the situations when He came to her aid; when He saved her family from death, danger and disgrace. Because she knew that, even if they had to undergo hardships in the Lord's watch, He ultimately only had their well-being in mind. In fact, Kunti even goes the extra mile and asks to be blessed with a stream of never-ending sorrows if it meant that she would always have the Lord by her side!
This is how we ourselves should show gratitude to God-by remembering the times (known and unknown) when He has helped us; for His compassion is so bound-less that He is always only helping us, whether we may be aware of it or not.
Accepting that every passing moment of our life, rain or shine, is owed to the Grace of the Lord and showing our thankfulness to Him by way of pure untainted love for him, which is the only thing He craves for, is indeed true Thanksgiving.
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How Kunti Devi prays to Bhagavan Krishna. (couple of verses from her beautiful prayer)
vishan mahagneh purushada-darsanad  /  asat-sabhaya vana-vasa-kricchratah
mridhe mridhe 'neka-maharathastrato  /  drauny-astratas casma hare 'bhirakshitah
My dear Krishna, Your Lordship has protected us from a poisoned cake, from a great fire, from cannibals, from the vicious assembly, from sufferings during our exile in the forest and from the battle where great generals fought. And now You have saved us from the weapon of Asvatthama.
vipadah santu tah sasvat   /  tatra tatra jagad-guro 
bhavato darsanam yat syad  / apunar bhava-darsanam
I wish that all those calamities would happen again and again so that we could see You again and again, for seeing You means that we will no longer see repeated births and death
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TIll the next time we meet in the name of LORD!
ys Deepak
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
=================
If you have any questions or doubts concerning Spirituality, Mental peace or problems in life or about dharma, please write to us by clicking here:
http://www.namadwaar.org/answers/askquestion.php
His Holiness Sri Sri Swamiji personally answers these questions for you and suggests prayers.

Dharma and Happiness

Radhe Radhe
Jai Gurunath
Would like to share with you a beautiful piece from a Bhagavtam Saptaah spoken by our senior GOD-Brother, His Grace Shri Ramanujam Ji
Often hear people say: I follow all the rules and regulations religiously, but i am not rewarded.
Dont we have this problem now? Is this not a ground-level issue we all face or come across with? Once we read Bhagavatam, we wont have that question. Because Bhagavatam says following Dharma is not for promotion or artha or worldly things. The moment we understand why we should follow Dharma, then we wont have all these questions. We will follow Dharma because it is grand.
Once the Pandavas were all camping on the foot hills Himalayas. Dropadi, who is Dharma Personified once lost patience with all the adversities in life, and asked Yudhisthara, Can you tell me, What did we gain by following Dharma. Every second it is Dharma Dharma Dharma. See where we have ended up because of your Dharma.
Yudhisthara: Dropadi! YOu are asking me why I am following Dharma. Just look at this wonderful mountain - the Himalayas. I love it. Not because Himalaya gives me something in return. I love it because it is GRAND! BEAUTIFUL! Look at the beautiful rives flowing at the foothills. I cannot help but love it.
Likewise DHarma is GRAND, DHARMA is Beautiful. That is why I follow/love Dharma. The moment we expect something from Dharma, then it has become a little bit of a business. And Bhagavatam talks about Pure Dharma. Dharma only for one purpose since it is a bhakti Shastra. Only to make sure our Thakurji is happy and he smiles at us. Thats why i follow Dharma. The objective of my Dharma is HAri Toshanam. Happiness of my GURU. If I follow Dharma then Krishna will be happy. If I follow Dharma my Guru will be happy.
Do we want a greater reward than this?
Yogi Rram Surat Kumar Maharaj gives a beautiful explanation. Everybody wants to be happy? Correct! We do everything in our lives to be happy.
And Srimad Bhagavatam explains it so simply in the 2nd chapter of 1st canto -just 2 lines.
EVERYBODY WANTS TO BE HAPPY. TO WANT TO BE HAPPY IS TO MAKE THE LORD HAPPY.
WHY? HOW?Because, for instance, we have a mirror and we know we can see the reflection in the mirror.
Now imagine the LORD to be the Original person and we are all his images.[MAMAIVAMSHO JIVALOKE JIVABHUTAH SANATANAH - The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal, fragmental parts. BG- 15]So if you want to put the smile in the image, where should the smile originate from? It should originate from the original object, which is HIM (BHAGAVAN).

If Bhagavan is happy with us, we will also be happy.
To want to be happy is to make the LORD happy. So simple. I tell you this.Bhagavat Dharma is simple - which is why it is so difficult and rare! We always expect complications. Mind expects complications and struggle.Bhagavat Dharma is straight and simple - Direct path.
So to want to be happy is to make the LORD happy. So how do I make the LORD happy?
To make the LORD happy is to chant HIS Names. THis is Bhagavat Dharma. 7 days of lectures if it gives this little conviction in our hearts, then Bhagavan has done his job on all of us. So Bhagavat Dharma says, whether it is DHARMA ARTHA KAMA OR MOKSHA - if it is directed at HARI TOSHANAM - then we have led our lives in full.
If the LORD is happy with what we are doing, then we have led a proper life. Dharma means making the LORD happy.
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Shloka referenced in above passage can be found in Srimad Bhagavatam 1:2:13atah pumbhir dvija-sreshtha / varnasrama-vibhagasah
svanushthitasya dharmasya / samsiddhir hari-toshanam
O best among the twice-born, it is therefore concluded that the highest perfection one can achieve by discharging the duties prescribed for one's own occupation according to caste divisions and orders of life is to please the Personality of Godhead.

Krishna - Hriday : A bundle of JOY

Radhe Radhe
Jai Gurunath

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

Wow....

Friday Feb 13 11:am, we were graced with the birth of our first child, a baby Boy.
He was a tough delivery for Kajal Mataji....C-Section...

It was an amazing Moment - being there at the moment of birth.

Indeed blessed we were again that hours after the birth, he had the bhagya to hear G's Voice.
Later G gave a name that we are still astounded about and couldn't have thought of such a wonderful name in our wildest Imagination.

KRISHNA-HRIDAY. Yes Guruji has named him Krishna-HRIDAY. Wrapped in these two words only was a totally invaluable blessing from Swamiji for a Baby which was HIS Gift to start off with. Hence, I feel totally satisfied and at peace in heart knowing that the MASTER is controlling the destiny for this child.

Being a novice in the field of parentage, I believe that "FEAR" of child's Future, Safety, Health, well-being etc etc are are forever the main emotion or mental state of a parent.

However, should there be room for any of the above when a sadguru has taken control.

Anyway...the arrival of the Krishna-Hriday has really created a wonderful atmosphere around home and between friends and families. I must say... I have never felt like this before.

Jay G..Jay G...JAY G

Some pics of the little one
http://picasaweb.google.com.au/deepak.vinod/DivineGIFT13209#

http://picasaweb.google.com.au/deepak.vinod/KrishnaHridayaSChatti#


Additionally, I must say we have been overwhelmed by the amazing support and well-wishes for KH and Kajal Mataji. Our Satsangh Members, Friends, Family, Brahmanas, Sadhus, Sanyasis from Chitrakoot, ShriDhaam Vrindaban, Chennai, Ahmedabad...and the like

- In the end...repeating the words of Shri Swami....What is it that Rama Nama cannot give...??? It can give Absolutely everything.


Radhe Radhe

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

Waiting and Waiting and waiting......

Radhe Radhe
Jai Shri Gurunath

Waiting for the little one. Was due to be born on the 6th. At this stage we are still waiting....So much anticipation....He certainly is taking his time....

Today was my beloved Guruji's (Jagadguru Shri Ramanandacharya Shri Rameshvaranandacharya Ji Maharaj) Shri disappearence day..(one year after he left his body).

Photo

I have a feeling and believe that I will meet HIM sometime again...

Spoke to G abt this..
I was speechless by G's response. He said that Guruji is in HIS form now...wow.
How can it not be..G took me in HIS shelter immediately after Guruji left his body...

There were 2 boys who were great friends. One was a son of a King and one an ordinary person. When they grew up, the son of the KING became KING himself and the other boy somehow turned out to be a dacoit. One day, his actions caught up with him and he found himself in the prison. In the prison he remembered that the KING was his childhood friend. He asked to see the King, in order to seek favour to be pardoned and released from the prsion.

The message was relayed to the King. The King sent a reply..if you can come to me, definitely you might get a chance to be pardoned, knowing well the it was impossible for his childhood friend to come to him.

This is the case with Jiva and Paramatma... If the jiva is able to reach the Lord's feet then he can become the subject of Bhagavan's grace. However how does a Jiva, who is imprisoned in Maya's cage, actually get to the feet of Bhagavan? He so shackled by Moha of his bodily relationships and is guarded by prison officers in the form of the Indriyas- Senses. It is next to impossible for him to get to the LORD in this state.

That is where the GURU comes in. Due to the Guru's grace, who is freely roaming as a Jivan Mukta in the same realm as imprisoned soul, the Jiva is freed from the clutches of Maya. The association of the GURU, the updesha of the Guru, the sparsha of the GURU breaks the shackles (bondage) of the soul into pieces and puts the Jiva at the feet of Bhagavan.

All glories to the UNIVERSAL PERCEPTOR.
ALL glories to Guru Tattva
Shri GuruMaharaj Ki Jaya

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare