LALITHAMBIKAI

Lalita means The One Who Plays. All creation, manifestation and dissolution is considered to be a play of Devi. Tri-Pura means the three worlds and Sundari means beauty. She is the transcendent beauty of the three worlds. Tripura also signifies:- She is the ruler of the the three gunas of Satva, Rajas and Tamas; and sun, moon and fire - the zodiac and the planets, and therefore Time itself; She is also "tripura" as Will (Iccha), Knowledge (Jnana) and Action (Kriya). She is also "tripura" as intellect, feelings & physical sensation; and She is triple as the three states of the soul - awakening, dreaming and -sleeping states. Her five triangles also represent the Pancha Tatwas and the Pancha Bhootas. (This is what the verse in Lalita Sahasranama means by -"Panchami pancha bhuteshi pancha sankhyopacharini ". It is difficult to say what She is not.
Lalita holds five flowery arrows, noose, goad and bow. The nose represents attachment, the goad represents repulsion, the sugarcane bow represents the mind and the flowery arrows are the five sense objects.

Guru and God

Gurus do not appeal to scriptures for their authority, nor are they prophets who declare the will of God. Indeed, there is an understanding in some forms of Hinduism that if the devotee were presented with the guru and God, first he would pay respect to the guru, since the guru had been instrumental in leading him to God. Some traditions claim "Guru, God and Self" (Self meaning soul, not personality) are one and the same. Saints and poets in India have expressed the following views about the relationship between Guru and God:

Kabir

Guru and God both appear before me. To whom should I prostrate?I bow before Guru who introduced God to me

Brahmanand

It is my great fortune that I found Satguru, all my doubts are removed.I bow before Guru. Guru's glory is greater than God's.

Brahmanda Purana

Guru is Shiva without his three eyes,Vishnu without his four armsBrahma without his four heads.He is parama Shiva himself in human form

Adi Shankara begins his Gurustotram or Verses to the Guru with the following Sanskrit Sloka, that has become a widely sung Bhajan:

Guru Brahma, Guru Vishnu, Guru Devo Maheshwara. Guru Sakshath Parambrahma, Tasmai Shri Gurave Namaha.

(tr: Guru is the creator Brahma, Guru is the preserver Vishnu, Guru is the destroyer. Guru is directly the supreme spirit — I offer my salutations to this Guru.)

The guru-shishya traditionThe guru-shishya tradition is the transmission of teachings from a guru (teacher, गुरू) to a 'śiṣya' (disciple, िशष्य). In this relationship, subtle and advanced knowledge is conveyed and received through the student's respect, commitment, devotion and obedience. The student eventually masters the knowledge that the guru embodies.The dialogue between guru and disciple is a fundamental component of Hinduism, established in the oral traditions of the Upanishads (c. 2000 BC). The term Upanishad derives from the Sanskrit words upa (near), ni (down) and şad (to sit) — "sitting down near" a spiritual teacher to receive instruction

Guru Bhakti - A Definition

We very often talk about Guru Bakthi and confine ourselves to this narrow definition, i.e. be devoted to Guru. Is there any thing beyond this? As per our scriptures there many stages of Guru Bhakthi. I am describing the last two stages of Guru Bhakti. Here it is.

The first of this is "MARKATA KISHORA NYAYAM".

Markatam means monkey.Kishoram means baby.

Just as a baby monkey, clings on to the mother's belly, a true sishya clings on to the "Guru". In this stage, The SHISHYA cannot part from the GURU at any cost

The next stage is defined as "MARJARA KISHORA NYAYAM"

Marjara means catKishoram is already explained.

In case of a cat, it is the mother who holds it's sibbling by the mouth and takes it along with her.In this case Guru cannot part from his Shishya.

This is the final and penultimate surrender to GURU.

Perhaps this is what is called "Total Surrender"

Thulasi - The Holy Plant

Thulasi (ocimum sanctum) is possibly the holiest plant for the Hindus. There is a story in Devi Bhagavatam about her.

Long long ago Lord Vishnu had three wives viz., Lakshmi, Saraswathi and Ganga. (I have verified this in several sources.) One day Ganga looked at Lord Vishnu with lot of passion when the other two were present. A big quarrel erupted between them. When Saraswathi attacked Ganga, Lakshmi tried to separate them. Saraswathi got infuriated and cursed Lakshmi that she should be born as a plant in earth. Ganga cursed Saraswathi, that she should become a river and Saraswathi in turn cursed Ganga that she should become an ever flowing river. Lakshmi, who was loved a lot by Lord Vishnu, told her, “Please do not worry. You would be first born as a daughter of a very pious soul called Dharma Dwaja and later marry an Asura called Shanka Chooda, who would be one of my incarnations. Later you would come and join me in Vaikunta after becoming the holy plant Thulasi.”

There was a great king called Rudra Savarni, in his clan was born a great king called Vrusha Dwaja. Vrusha Dwaja was a very great devotee of Lord Shiva. Because of this he banned worship of all other Gods except Lord Shiva in his kingdom. Due to non worship of Goddess Lakshmi during the Kanya (October-November) month, there was a great famine in his country. Apart from that Lord Surya, who was also not worshipped, cursed the king that he would become a wretch. This infuriated Lord Shiva. He sent his Trident against Lord Surya. Lord Surya, afraid of Shiva’s trident ran to his father Kashyapa Prajapathi for help. Since he was not in a position to help, both of them approached Lord Brahma. He also expressed his helplessness to protect Lord Surya and all of them together went to meet Lord Vishnu. Lord Shiva also came there. Then Lord Vishnu pointed out that since the time of Deva’s was very much different, thousands of years have passed in the earth and Vrusha Dwaja was no more. He requested Lord Shiva to take back his trident. Then Lord Vishnu told them that in the clan of Vrusha Dwaja, two kings viz., Dharma Dwaja and, Kusa Dwaja were remaining and both of them were doing extreme penance to Goddess Lakshmi so that she would bless their kingdom. Goddess Lakshmi appeared before them and blessed them saying that she would be born as daughter to them and with this their country would become fertile and rich.

Kusa dwaja married a lady called Malawathi and a daughter Veda Vathi was born to them. When Veda Vathi was doing Thapas (penance), Ravana tried to rape her. She cursed Ravana that if he touches any lady without their consent his head will beak in to thousand pieces. She then jumped in to the sacrificial fire and died. Ravana took the ashes of the fire, put them in a box and threw it in the sea. This box was swept ashore in the kingdom of Mithila and was found by Janaka. Vedavathi was inside the box in the form of a girl child. She was called Sita, who later became the wife of Lord Rama.

Dharma dwaja married a lady called Madhawi and Goddess Lakshmi was born to them as a girl child. Since she was an incomparable beauty, they called her Thula Si (Incomparable one). Thulasi grew up in to lady as soon as she was born and left her kingdom and started doing Thapas in Bhadrinath with a wish to marry Lord Vishnu. She did Thapas in the middle of fire all round her in summer and under water in winter. She did Thapas for twenty four thousand years eating only fruits. Another thirty six thousand years eating only leaves, another forty four thousand years eating only air and the last ten thousand years without eating anything. Lord Brahma, appeared before her and asked her what she wanted. She told him that she wanted to become the wife of Lord Vishnu. Lord Brahma told her, “Hey Thulasi, Lord Sudhama who was a part of Lord Krishna is now born as an Asura called Shanka Chooda. He is a part incarnation of Lord Vishnu. You would first become his wife. Later you would become the wife of Lord Narayana. While going back, a part of you would remain in this world as a holy plant called Thulasi. Any worship which does not include worship with the leaves of Thulasi, would be incomplete and would not be accepted by Gods.”

Shanka Chooda at that time had pleased Lord Brahma by his Thapas and was given a Vishnu kavacha (armour) and a boon that unless the armour is removed from his body and till his wife looses her virtue (Pathivruthya), no body can kill him. Shanka Chooda requested Thulasi to marry him and both were married. They lead an extremely happy life. This time Shanka Chooda started giving trouble to the Devas. Devas accompanied by Lord Shiva approached Lord Vishnu for a solution. Lord Vishnu gave his spear to Lord Shiva so that he can break the Vishnu Kavacha, which Shanka Chooda was wearing, when Lord Shiva and Shanka Chooda were engaged in a fierce battle and Lord Vishnu assumed the form of Shanka Chooda and went to Shanka Chooda’s palace. When they entered the bed room Thulasi started suspecting Lord Vishnu. Then Lord Vishnu took his real form and told her, “Lakshmi, you have been doing great penance to marry me. By Now Shanka Chooda would have been killed by Lord Shiva and it is time for you to leave this body and come as Lakshmi to Vaikunta and be with me. Your body which you leave here will become a great river called Gandaki and your hair would transform itself in to a holy plant Thulasi. This plant would become the holiest among plants.”

Lord Vishnu and goddess Lakshmi returned to Vaikunta.

By P. R. Ramachander

THE NEED FOR ‘SRAVANA’

THE NEED FOR ‘SRAVANA’

(Sri Swamigal in the Sat Sangh’s Tamil monthly magazine ‘Madhura Murali’, August, 1995 issue)

Focusing the mind on spiritual matters is very difficult since it has been accustomed to dwelling on worldly matters for crores of janmas (births). Most of the time, people are aware of the mistakes they commit. Yet they are unable to avoid it as it has become habitual. When we listen to a person describing vividly about a place that he has visited, don’t we feel a strong urge to visit that place? Similarly, it is true that reading or seeing pictures of certain places or things kindles our enthusiasm to visit that place or acquire that thing. The desire is deeper on listening about it from a person than by learning about it through a book or a picture. So, we should constantly listen to spiritual subject matters and about Mahatmas.

It is not enough to read or hear about such matters just once because the mind will indulge in sattvic (good) thoughts for a while and dawdle back to the usual worldly thoughts. We have to constantly listen to spiritual matters till the mind dwells on nothing but sattvic thoughts. Sravana (listening) is one of the nine forms of Bhakti. Moreover, King Parikshit attained moksha just by Sravanam. Just as listening to one who speaks superfluous worldly things is wrong, so too is not listening to one who speaks healthy spiritual matters. God has bestowed on us the power of speech that no other living being has been blessed with, just so that we will constantly talk about Him and attain Him. Let Saraswathi, the Goddess of Knowledge and Speech, shower her grace on us to achieve this.

Eternal bliss

Haripath - Sant Gnyaneshwar
saadhubodha jhaalaa to nuroniyaa.n Thelaa . Thaayii.ncha muraalaa anubhave.n .. 1..
kaapuraachii vaatii ujaLalii jyotii . Thaayii.ncha samaaptii jhaalii jaisii .. 2..
moxarekhe.n aalaa bhaagye vinaTalaa . saadhuuchaa a.nkilaa haribhakta .. 3..

GYaanadevaa goDii sa.ngatii sajjanii.n . hari dise janii.n aatmatattvii.n .. 4..
Meaning
When one receives the grace of a saint, His ego-consciousness dissolves; eventually, leading to a state of Eternal bliss. If you light a piece of camphor, it produces a bright flame; but after a while, both camphor and flame disappear. He joins the company of saints, becomes a devotee of Hari and engages in the pursuit of final emancipation. One who comes under the influence of a saint has arrived at the gates of Liberation; He will attain all glory.

Jnanadev says: I delight in the company of the saints! It is due to their grace that I see Hari everywhere In the jungle, in the crowds, and also in myself.

To Rest-An real incident from Alexander's Life

The country of Greece had many Jnanis (saints), as the people there had such spiritual inclination.

Alexander desired to meet such a great Jnani in India. His minister searched and found one such Jnani in a forest.

The Jnani was lying idle!The minister said to him, “Alexander, the great Emperor, is coming to meet you.”

The Jnani remained silent. Alexander arrived after a time and was shocked to find no response from this Jnani.

He felt insulted and roared in anger,

“You have no respect for a great Emperor that I am. You did not even get up. What are you doing?”

The Jnani, “I am just lying idle. I do not do any work!”

Alexander, “How can you be idling?”

The Jnani asked Alexander, “What do you do?”

Alexander said proudly, “I am going about conquering other countries.”

The Jnani questioned, “What would you do after that?”

Alexander, “I will conquer all the countries in the world.”

The Jnani, “What would you do after conquering the whole world?”

Alexander, “I will rest!”

The Jnani, “This is what I am doing now!”(I am doing that which you would after so much work!)

Spirituality Means Willingness to Change By Sri Swami Atmaswarupananda

It is not uncommon that when a speaker is speaking toan audience that he or she will get insights from whatthey said and perhaps be affected even more than theiraudience. This will normally happen if a speaker hasthought deeply upon a subject, if it’s a subject thatthey are keenly interested in. A theme like"Spirituality Means Change" is meant to be such achallenge to the speakers—so that as they prepare thetalk, or give it, they themselves realize theimplications of what they are saying and it goes invery, very deep. When this happens it cannot help butcommunicate itself to the audience. Actually, most of us are not totally satisfied withour lives. We want change. So when we hear thatspirituality means change, we can see many things inour lives that we would like to have changed.Especially we would like to have more Be good, Do goodin our lives. And, also, we would like to expand ourconsciousness beyond its present narrow boundaries—toenter into greater understanding. If that is so, why is it that we haven’t seen greaterchange in ourselves over the years? Why do most of ussometimes even feel that there has been no change, noimprovement? Perhaps the discovery we will make thisis that while there definitely is one part ofourselves that wants to change, there is another partof ourselves that simply does not want to change. Eachone will have to ponder this question for oneself,because no one else can know our interior exactly. Butwhat we may discover by the end of the week is thatthere is a surprising balance between wanting tochange and not wanting to change. Therefore, one way of looking at the themeSpirituality Means Change would be to see that in thefinal analysis spirituality means the willingness tochange. We have all tried to change things and beenunable to do so; we all have things we want to change;we’re in a stalemate. What is the solution? Beingwilling to change. That seems like a very reasonable suggestion. However,if we’re willing to change, then perhaps that impliesthat we will lose control over our lives. But, whatdid Jesus mean when He said, "Follow Me." He implied,"I know best. I know the way. Trust Me. Let go of yourcontrol of your life and put it in my hands." What didLord Krishna mean when He said, "No one crossessamsara without taking refuge in Me alone." What didHe mean when He told us to abandon all dharmas, allour ideas of right and wrong, and take refuge in Himalone. "I will save you from all sins. Don’t worry,"Lord Krishna said. He meant that our idea, our keepingcontrol of our life is what is killing us spiritually.The solution is to trust Him, take refuge in Himalone. And so, as we explore the theme Spirituality MeansChange, perhaps in the final analysis we will have tolook at the subject in terms of Spirituality MeansWillingness to Change.

Greatness of Guru

Once Swami Vivekananda was touring North India by walk.One day he walked for long and felt totally exhaustedand was looking for ashram which offers food. He wasinquiring the people there and one boy toldVivekananda that nearby there is an ashram run by aBabaji who offers food for the wandering monks. Swamiwent to the ashram and had his food and after that metthe Babaji & introduced himself and also about hisGuru Ramkrishna paramahamsar.During the interaction Babaji enquired him whether heknew Bhav hari Baba from Ghazipur - near to Kasi andVivekananda replied him, " yes, I know and I have alsomet him once , Babaji continued saying that Bava Haribaba is a great Mahatma and even your Guru Paramahamsahas talked about him"Babaji narrated an incident to Swami about thegreatness of Bhav Hari Baba:Bhav hari Baba used to live only in the caves and alsofeed peoples whoever comes to him when hungry. On onesuch occasion a thief entered his cave and started tosteal certain items and packed whatever were availablethere when Baba was meditating. When Baba opened hiseyes after Meditation he saw the thief stealing andrealizing this, the thief started to run. Babaimmediately started chasing him with food in his handand finally caught him.Bava hari baba asked the thief, :" why you are afraid?All items lying in that place belongs to you andwhatever you want, you can.... Moreover, whoever comesto my ashram, I used to see them as Narayana and offerfood to them. So please have this food & bless me"moreover Baba hugged him with love after the food wastaken by the thief.Listening to this from Baba, Swami Vivekananda said,"Yes, I have heard of this, such is the greatness ofthat guru"After narrating all these, Baba with a smile toldVivekananda “I WAS THAT THEIF"Morale: If a Guru touches a person (sparsha), thenthat person undoubtedly becomes a holy person(irrespective of his past deeds).P.N: Similarly in this forum I would like to share myTrue and honest experience about the greatness of myGuru which has transformed me till date not by histouch but only by his look.We have seen lot’s of mail from our Guru how the GreatSaint Thyagaraja expounded the name RA & MA, (Rama)Today I have put it in a different way to show withoutmy Guru this Life would have been a mere waste,Our Life’s 5 years back was full of ---Adhar MA Surprisingly GOD guides us to our----Guru MAAnd there on our GURU….Initiated us to chant the powerful name of-SriRa MAMade us understand the Life’s ---- Trau MAGuiding us in the each scene’s of Life’s -Dra MA One and only to rescue us from our --Kar MAShouldering us & guiding on the Divine Journey to place -- Brah MAAnd finally the meaning of LIFE understood by meBefore & Now Live In Fear/Feeling Ever MALive In Fun/Finally Enlighten MALet’s all chant and pray to invoke the grace of thelord to guide us to the Sath Guru.Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

Life And Its Purpose

By Sri Swami Sivananda

Have you understood the significance and the glory of human life? Have you realised what a precious gift and veritable divine power this human birth is? Do you not feel that life is meant for the fulfilment of a most sublime purpose? Truly it is meant for the attainment of a lofty goal, namely divine perfection and perennial peace and bliss. You all know quite well that life is not merely the act of breathing, digesting, eliminating, thinking, feeling, knowing, willing, etc. Life is not meant for eating, seeing, sleeping and dying miserably in the end.You truly live your life when you strive manfully for working out and driving the mind to spiritual realisation and service of humanity. A little toast, butter and jam, a little stylish clothing, a bungalow and a motor car and a round of cinemas, attendance at parties—these do not really constitute life. This is not the end of the real man who has been ‘made in the image of God.’ Mere sensual life is after all only the life of an animal. Every day you must polish it and make it look divine and be divine. Egoism, desire and sensuality—all this is ignorance; it is deep delusion. Can material comforts elevate the souls of the people? Can gross physical prosperity alone confer upon you solace, courage, peace, joy, immortality and eternal perfection in the spirit? Certainly not.O blessed children of immortality! Reflect yourself over what I say. Think deeply. Discriminate. You will realise the truth about this most transitory pain-filled life on earth. In the dizzy whirlpool of fleeting sensual pleasures and ceaseless seething desires, do not forget the true purpose of life and its real goal. No greater blunder than to think, to feel, to mistake the unreal for the real, the transitory for the permanent and to forget the most important duty in life. What greater folly, what greater tragedy is there than when a man neglects to reach the goal of life?You are helpless when you are a baby, you are helpless when disease overtakes you and when you are seriously ill and you are helpless when powerful calamities like fire, flood, earthquake, cyclone, etc., strike down mankind, you are helpless and you are miserable when you become old and senile. Why then are you so proud and eccentric? Rise above this delusion and attain your goal through discrimination and dispassion, analysis and enquiry of your real spiritual nature. Enquire ‘Who am I’ and try to realise your essential natural self. Then alone you will transcend your body and mind and realise the Self. Then alone you will be really free and ever blissful.Virtue is the way to peace and Light. Righteousness is the real secret of Self-realisation. Purity is the path to perfection. Goodness leads you to godliness. Strive for ethical perfection. Live a strictly ethical life. Adhere to truth and righteousness, even at the cost of your life. Base your life upon absolute righteousness. Cultivate noble qualities with diligence and care. Be sincere, friend! Actively practise all virtues in right earnest and with real zeal. Become an embodiment of goodness. Think no evil. Speak no evil. See no evil. Do no evil. Be good in thought, speech and action.Remember the Lord daily and every moment of your lifetime. Pray to him fervently with humility and devotion for purifying your nature and helping to attain the glorious goal of life. Live for God. Boldly face all the difficulties and tribulations of this petty earthly life. Be a man. With courage, struggle for the great attainment. Climbing a mountain, crossing a channel, bombing a city or blasting a fort, these are not the true acts of heroism and real courage. Controlling your mind and senses and overcoming anger, passion and egoism, by attaining self-mastery; these constitute the real heroism in man. How long will you be a slave of passion and the senses? Assert your real divine nature and your mastery over your lower nature and lower self. This is your most important duty.Do not identify yourself with this perishable body. Do not run after fashion and passion. Do not cultivate the habit of clinging to the glittering names and forms. Do not be ignorant, O man; and think of no delusion. Do not feel: ‘I am an Indian,’ ‘I am an American,’ ‘I am an Italian’, etc., "I am black, I am white, I am yellow"; ‘I am superior, I am inferior’; ‘I know everything, he knows nothing: I have done this, I have done that—I am a Hindu, I am a Christian, I am a Mohammedan and I am so and so, I am a Parsi, I am a Jain’, etc.All this is the worst type of ignorance. Hear the great truths declared boldly by the prophets and godmen, saints and men of real deep wisdom. Thou art neither this perishable body nor this impure mind. Thou art in truth eternal, ever free and ever perfect and ever blissful spirit Immortal. Thou art in essence Sat-Chit-Ananda Atman. Thou art imperishable. This is thy real glorious nature.Feel this, meditate over this and assert this. Realise this and attain the Wisdom of the Self. Be for ever in bliss. Life is meant for the practice of Yoga. Strive ever to attain this great goal. Practise the Yoga of saintliness. Do selfless service in a spirit of pure worship. Cultivate devotion to the Lord and worship Him daily. Purify the heart through charity and generosity. Meditate daily upon the Lord.Through ceaseless discrimination, reflection and enquiry attain the Wisdom of the Self. Love, give, purify, meditate, Realise. Be good. Do good. Be kind. Be compassionate. Enquire ‘Who am I?’ Know the self and be free. The one Lord indwells all beings. Feel his presence everywhere. See Him alone in all men and things. Give up all distinctions and differences. Feel oneness with all beings. Embrace all. Love all. Feel the bliss with all in a spirit of brotherhood and live to kindle the light of life in your heart. Be all-inclusive. Radiate pure love throughout your life. Start the good life right from today and fight from now.Cast aside all doubts, fears and misgivings. Do not hesitate, be bold; life is short. Time is fleeting. You have to be practical O man! Do not be weak in thy faith. You must have faith that can move mountains. Never forget your Immortal nature. Never forget your true purpose in life. Wake up from your long sleep of ignorance. Realise thy hidden real nature. Stop not till the goal is reached. Stop not till you attain the wisdom of the Self. O Wanderer in this quagmire of Life (Samsara)! Overcome all evil. Annihilate all lust, greed and egoism and come back to your sweet original home, the abode of eternal peace, eternal bliss and eternal sunshine. Through sincere struggle with the lower nature and the lower self and through a life of practical goodness and Yoga, attain perfection in thought, word and deed in this very life. To whatever nation you belong, to whatever race you belong, to whatever society you belong, your real duty and the most importantwork is this, the attainment of the highest spiritual perfection and bliss.May the Lord, the one God who is known variously bestow upon you all the highest bliss and perfection in this very life. May love alone prevail everywhere. May peace and prosperity be unto all living beings.

Sri Shirdi Sai By Sri.Sri.Muralidhara Swamiji

“The Lord, in His absolute mercy and compassion, desires to redeem the ‘samsaris’ (worldly people) from ignorance. The Lord is just as adamant to save the ‘jivas’ from the clutches of the darkness of ignorance, as the Jivas are adamant to remain in the pit of darkness!At first the Vedas and scriptures were given for the purpose, but to no avail. The learned did not seem to experience the essence of it all. So, the Lord took various ‘avataras’ (incarnations) to show the way. Ramavatara is widely known to have been taken to emphasise the need for the upkeep of dharma or to kill the asura ‘Ravana’ and Krishnavatara to kill ‘Kamsa’: but, the real reason behind such avatars is entirely different. They were taken more for the show of His divine play! For Him who is omnipotent and has the whole cosmos within Him an asura like Ravana or Kamsa is but a speck of dust. The need for Him to incarnate on earth to kill them is absurd. So, the real reason is only for the ‘Bhaktas’ to sing his glory and ‘lilas’ (divine play). The Lord’s avatara as Rama was more comprehensible as He worked for the upkeep of dharma. But His avatara as Krishna was absolutely out of this earth, since, even as a child He killed many an asura and carried out feats such as ‘kaaliyanardhana’. Fingers were pointed at Ramavatara when He killed Vali using what was considered as improper tactics and also later when He sent his wife Sita away to the forest. In Krishnavatara when He blessed Arjuna with ‘Viswarupa Darshana’, the outcome was devastating, for, Arjuna developed fear of Krishna whom he had until then held as his closest and dearest friend. Thus, when even His incarnations failed to serve their purpose the Lord sent innumerable ‘Mahans’ onto the earth. ‘Mahans’ lived and moved amidst the people. It was easier for the people to relate themselves to ‘Mahans’. However, just as it is difficult to comprehend the Lord it is absolutely impossible to understand the actions of ‘Mahans’. ‘Maha Periyaval’ lived every moment of His life in absolute accordance with the prescribed dharma. This is quite comprehensible and not impractical to follow. Whereas, there were ‘Mahans’ like Shirdi Sai Baba, Seshdriswamigal, Sri Ramakrishna Parahamsa, whose behaviour was beyond the understanding of an ordinary mortal. Baba procured food through alms. In later years when wealthy devotees advised him, “Baba, why do you go out for alms when we are so eager to provide food and other things required by you?” Baba explained, “Do you think I beg for food because I am hungry? No, not at all. I can go without food. Through their offerings of food I take away the ‘papam’(sins) of these people. Baba also used to visit the shops in Shirdi and beg for oil for lighting lamps, in his place of stay, at night. The shop-keepers once decided to stop supplying Baba with oil for the lamps. When he could not procure oil, that night Baba lit the lamps with just water! To the wonder-struck devotees he explained, "I collect oil from all these people only to burn away their sins at night by lighting the lamps!” The compassion of ‘Mahans’ extended to animals and other creatures as well. Baba once instructed a lady devotee, "A buffalo will come to your doorstep tomorrow. Feed it with 18 ‘polis’!" The lady acted as she was bid. But the buffalo on consuming the 18th ‘poli’ fell down dead! Totally shaken she ran to Baba and cried out, "The owner of the buffalo will sue me with the mistaken notion that I have poisoned his buffalo.” Baba consoled her, “Relax. Nothing of the sort will happen. This buffalo was my devotee in its previous birth but nurtured the desire to eat 18 polis. Due to other reasons my devotee has been born as a buffalo. Now that its desire has been fulfilled it has left the world and come to me!” When a devotee once called out to Baba to save him from some crisis Baba not only saved him from that particular crisis but also assured him,"I shall protect you not only from this crisis but from all others as well; not only here but wherever you are; not only in this janma (birth) but in all other janmas, too." And when another devotee asked Baba, "Baba, is this grace of yours extended only to him?" Baba assured, "No, it is meant for all. To all those who show unstinted and one-pointed devotion to me, wherever they be, they shall enjoy my blessings." With a mere look a ‘Mahan’ will know all about the past, present and the future births of his devotee. A devotee of Baba worked under a District Magistrate. Baba instructed him to bring the Magistrate to him. The devotee, occupying a subordinate post in the place of work, approached the Magistrate with much apprehension. As anticipated, the Magistrate did not take his words seriously when approached with the message from Baba. However, Baba continued to instruct him to bring the Magistrate to him; and finally the Magistrate did come to Baba only to become one of his ardent devotees! Once when this devotee was massaging Baba’s feet, the latter asked him, "Nana, you have held a high post in the Government. I am but a fakir. Would not people laugh at you for massaging this beggar’s feet?" The devotee replied, "In the ‘Gita’ it is said, "tadviddhi pranipathena pari prashnena sevaya." Baba, "Nana, what does it mean? Would you educate me on this?" The devotee remained silent. Baba asked, "Do you know what these words mean?" The devotee looked doubtfully at Baba, "Baba, this is Sanskrit. Do you know Sanskrit?" Baba, "How do you ask if I understand? Or is it that you do not know what they mean?" The devotee, "Baba, it means that the devotee should serve the Guru and when the Guru is happy and relaxed have his doubts cleared"” Baba, "What does ‘pari’ mean?" D: "Question." Baba, "And ‘Preshnena’?" D: "Question." Baba, "If both mean ‘question’ why use two words meaning the same?" The devotee accepted his ignorance in the matter. Baba then explained, "Pari is used here as a supplement to emphasise that one should pose questions to the Guru in all humility. And not with the ego sense - to show off to the Guru that he knows everything - or in order to test the Guru’s knowledge in the matter!" Baba then blessed this devotee with ‘viswaroopa darshana!’"

We should not under estimate the power of women

Swami Vivekananda, in one of his speeches abroad, said, ‘For India to grow, we have to admire, accept and utilize the power of women.’ Once, a female disciple of Swami Vivekananda happened to meet the great Tamizh poet, ‘Mahakavi’ Subramanya Bharati, in a freedom-struggle gathering when she was on a visit to Tamil Nadu. She enquired of the poet’s wife Chellamma and asked him why she did not make it to the meeting. Bharati replied that she was at home. The disciple quipped, ‘Your talks are revolutionary and stress on women’s liberation, but you don’t bring your wife along. Only if you recognize the power of women and use it for the sake of the country can we attain independence and nurture growth.’ The great poet humbly agreed. Beginning with our scriptures, throughout history, we see the importance that has been accorded to women. Never have our scriptures, at any point, failed to portray the prominence and power of women. In the Brahadaranyaka Upanishad, Sage Yagnavalkya decided to renounce his family and go to the jungle for penances. He turned to his two wives and asked them how they wanted his property to be shared between the two. One of them jumped forward and demanded the riches and the most expensive of his wealth. Maitreyi, the other wife said, ‘You have decided to renounce these riches and embrace an ascetic life. Would someone do that without any rhyme or reason? To me, that verily indicates that there is something more valuable than these material riches. Pray impart to me that knowledge before which these possessions are but trifling.’ Yagnavalkya was pleased at the quest of his astute wife Maitreyi and taught her the supreme Truth of the Vedanta. In Ramayana, Soorpanaka wanted Sri Rama alone. She was injured by Lakshmana. Ravana wanted Sitadevi alone and he too met his end. Hanumanji wished to have darshan of Sita-Rama and therefore He remains as a chiranjeevi to this day and revered by one and all. Ramayana thus shows the importance of worshipping Devi along with the Lord. Long ago, there was a great scholar in Andhra Pradesh by name Bilwamangala. One day, he met a beautiful maiden by name Chintamani and fell in love with her at first sight. He started leading a licentious life and always longed for her company. On a terribly stormy night, he wanted to have her company and risked his life to meet her. As soon as she saw him, she rebuked him for having led such an amorous life and advised him that if he expressed even a fraction of the longing and devotion that he had for her, towards Sri Krishna, the Lord will appear before him. Great realization dawned on Bilwamangala and he immediately fell at her feet, beseeching her to accept him as her disciple. With the feeling of guilt writ large in his mind, he pierced his eyes with a needle and blinded himself. Later he went to Brindavan and became an ardent devotee of Krishna and subsequently had His darshan too. Bilwamangala, who later came to be known as Lila Suka, composed a spectacular work called ‘Krishna Karnamrutham’ which is a mellifluent masterpiece on Lord Krishna. But for Chintamani, we would not have had the great Mahan by name Lila Suka in our history, nor his glorious work on Sri Krishna. Goswami Tulasidas lived the life of a householder and loved his wife very much. One evening, after he returned from a tour, not finding his wife at home and learning that she was at her parental home, he rushed to see her in the middle of the night. Seeing that Tulasidas came to see her unmindful of the grave perils of the night, instead of reciprocating his fervour, she admonished him, ‘You have so much love for this fleeting body, which is nothing but a bag of flesh and bones! If you had the same passion and thirst for Sri Rama, you would have see Him face-to-face!’ Tulasidas took these very words of his wife as Upadesa. The rest of his life was spent in Rama Dhyana. We should realize that it was verily his wife who made a Saint of the otherwise commoner. But for his wife, we would not have got the great Tulasi Ramayana today. In the recent past, we see the life of Janaki Mata, a great Rama Bhakta from Tanjore. She was a standing example to the fact that even women can attain Realization in spite of being in family life. We see the same being illustrated in the life of another great woman-saint, Andavan Pichai too. There have been so many such instances where women have been great Mahatmas or have played an important roles in the lives of great Mahatmas. It is high time that we revived our glorious past by upholding, celebrating and utilizing the power of women and using it for the welfare of the world. Let us bring this latent power to the fore and use it to propagate Mahamantra Kirtan throughout the world.

The True Taste of Bhakti

Those with a taste for materialistic and worldly ways of life wish to live long to enjoy the sensory pleasures.
Those who get Satsang (Company of Divine) and perform a little Bhakti (Devotion) get tired of life very soon and don't want to live long!
Some consider Bhakti and Satsang as a means for Moksha and hence want to die early!
This is before they have not progressed enough in Bhakti to consider it as anything other than a means for liberation.
If we read the scriptures and the prayers of Maha Bhakthas, we find that they have always cried out to be blessed with in many many Janmas to come. These are the Mahans who nourish the true taste for Bhakti!

From : As it strikes me.. by H.H. Sri Muralidhara Swamiji

Make hay while Sun shines

Once King Parikshit ( a great emperor who was the grandson of Arjuna, one of the five Pandava brothers) came to the banks of the Ganges seeking a way to liberation.

By his good fortune, he came across Sage Suka a Jivan Mukta (a liberated soul)

Sage Vishwamitra was able to create a heaven for King Trishanku. Sage Agasthya could contain the mighty ocean in no time. If Parikshit had wanted to escape death and had requested the same from Sri Suka, the latter would have readily granted him the same. Sri Suka was very much capable of bestowing that wish on Parikshit. Parikshit was also well aware that Suka could grant that wish and yet he remained steadfast in his dispassion and never deviated from his goal even for a moment. Liberation was all he sought and that is very great indeed!

The lesson that Srimad Bhagavatam teaches here is that when faced with a difficulty in the world, one should use it as en excuse to strive for liberation an d not try to find a remedy to it.

One may never know what one's next Janma (birth) will be and when one may get the darshan (glimpse) of a Jivan Mukta.

So, make hay while the sun shines!

Source : As it strikes me..., H.H.Sri Muralidhara Swamiji