All the scriptures, from the Vedas to the Ramayana, and all other religious books and spiritual paths to God believe that God is omnipresent. He doesn’t merely permeate everything, but He also resides in ours hearts as paramatma. In this form He is not just a divine presence but also a performer of action. He calculates the consequences of our uncountable accumulated karmas or actions of the past, gives those consequences in the form of our present destiny, and most importantly, He notes our current actions. Actions in this sense are our thoughts, not our physical actions.

Karmas were performed by all great Saints. For example, Arjuna killed millions in the war of the Mahabharat. Hanuman destroyed Lanka. But what was the internal state of their mind? This is what God observed, not their external actions. Similarly, our government has particular rules and laws. Only if a person commits a crime with premeditated intention to cause harm is his action called a crime. If it was an accident, his action won’t be judged a crime. For example, the car a person was driving was in good operating condition, he had a license, and suddenly a man walked in front of his car to commit suicide. He won’t be found guilty of any crime, because he had no premeditated intention.

A worldly court can only examine physical evidence. God is not like this. He notes our internal intention, judges it and gives a consequence. God Himself does all this work. If we were to reflect upon and practice this understanding, all crime and wrong actions would come to an end. It also would put an end to all police departments and armies.

Otherwise, if a government gave an opportunity for its citizens in the next 24 hours to do whatever they wanted with no consequences, then after 24 hours you could imagine what condition that country would be in. The capacity for this wrongdoing is in all of us, hidden. But due to fear of the law and punishment, we resist acting out in this way.

So what we have to realize is that God is really and truly seated within and He is noting our every thought and organizing the consequences we will receive for that. He won’t listen to our excuses or give us time in court for our case. He will straightaway give us a punishment. This realization has to be practiced. You heard it – that’s fine. You also read it – that is also fine. Still, it’s not enough. It has to be practiced.

For example, you believe your physical father is your father. This is very firm in your understanding. Why? You repeatedly thought, “He is my father.” You did this on the basis of what he and others told you. So to practise the understanding of God’s presence, repeatedly think, “God is seated in my Heart. I am not alone. We are together.”

Dva suparna sayuja sakhaya samannam vriksham parikhasvajatey.
(Shvetashvataropanishad, 4/6)

The Vedas are also saying this.

Ur prerak raghuvansh vibhushana. (Ramayana)

He is residing in everyone, even in evil rakshasas. Look at the situation that occurred with Hiranyakashipu. He said to Prahlad, “Does God dwell in the home of demons?” Prahlad said, “Yes, He does.” “Well,  is He in this pillar?” “Yes, He is.” Finally when Bhagwan Narsingh appeared, Hiranyakashipu had no doubt about this.

So we have to practice this. Everything we have achieved in the world we have accomplished through practice. When you are driving, you simultaneously talk to friends in the car, talk on the phone, see what is behind you, avoid what is on the road, look to the left and right. Is this some special skill that we humans possess? No, this was all accomplished through practice. All the amazing things that you see circus performers do is the result of practice.

Just add one more practice to what you already know – practice the presence of God. If you do, you will become peaceful. The amount of anxiety, restlessness and lack of peace in the world is escalating. Whether we become a victim of this or transcend it is in our hands.

God gave us such a machine in the form of the mind, that the intellect can’t go against its own judgments. The mind acts according to the intellect, and the senses act according to the mind. None of these can revolt against each other or strike. Whatever the intellect decides, it follows in a straight line all the way down.

A five year old boy is on his way to school and he passes by a shop that is making jalebis, “Oh, yummy!” But he didn’t bring any money with him today. He thinks, “If I take even one, the shopkeeper will punish me! He has a terrible temper.” With great regret, he longingly gazes at the jalebis as he walks past the store, just because his intellect said, “You will get a beating.” So everything is dependent on the intellect. The Vedas say,

Atmanagwam rathinam vidhi shariragwam ratha meva cha…
Kathopanishad 1/3/3-4

God gave us a chariot. There is a passenger seated on this. There are horses, who are being guided by bridles. The reins of the bridles are in the hands of a driver, who is determining the direction of the chariot. Why were we given the chariot? The Vedas say you were given this chariot in the form of the body to go to God. The passenger is the soul. The horses are the senses. The reins are the mind. The driver is the intellect. In the world, horses can run away with a chariot, but our chariot is different – as the intellect dictates, so the other parts have to obediently follow.

In the heat of the hot season, who wants to get up in the morning? No matter who it is, everyone feels sleepy. Your spouse shakes you, “Hey, it’s six o’clock.” “6:00??? Oh, no I have to get up to go to the office.” You don’t think, “Just go to sleep! Forget about the office!” If you forget about the office, they will forget about you by firing you. So in all these instances of life, we are careful. Similarly, we have to come to this realization of God’s presence through practice. If we say, “No, I won’t do it,” we will still have to come back to this even if it is after 10,000 lifetimes. Plus if we do it, we attain peace.

If everyone were to accept and follow this, the pious age of satyuga would come again on this earth. Otherwise, every rule and manner of civil behavior we have to externally enforce. This doesn’t create true peace. Instead we think the really important things to do in life are to make more money, act according to our whims, and engage in as many sensual entertainments as possible. These tendencies will only go away when we remember God’s presence. If we don’t practice remembering Him, then the consequence is tension and the suffering that comes from incarnating in lower species – because there is no guarantee that we will receive a human birth in our next life.

Iha che dashkadbodhum prasharirasya visrasah. (Vedas)

The human form is only occasionally received in millions of lifetimes.

Kabahunk kari karuna nar dehi,
deta Isha binu hetu sanehi. (Ramayana)

God grants this sometimes according to our karmas. Thus, begin by practising this every hour. Don’t say anything aloud. No one has to know what you are doing. For just one second think, “He is seated within.” Then repeat this every 30 minutes. You can still do this while working. You don’t have to enter into meditative trance to do this. Then repeat this every 15 minutes. After this, the feeling, “He really is seated within,” will come naturally.

Think of the pride that a billionaire like Mukesh Ambani or Bill Gates has when they think about their position in life. But what would we feel if we fully realized that supreme God who is the Lord of the universe is seated in our hearts? This feeling would remain and we wouldn’t be able to perform wrong action.

(Part 5– Synopsis of a talk given by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj on January 17, 2011, in Bhakti Dham, Mangadh, India, explaining this new kirtan verse.)

What is selflessness or niskhamata? To desire your beloved’s happiness, not your own. A little selflessness is seen in the world when a baby is born. A mother and father serve their child even though their child does nothing in return for them – everything is done by them for the baby. How many dirty and messy things the mother has to do, and if another baby is born within the year she undergoes even more hardship. She keeps on running back and forth changing diapers, keeping them warm, feeding them, holding them when they are crying. How can she sleep? Her husband, who is also woken up every night, is convinced at this point, “There is only suffering in this world!”

So some selflessness is seen in the relationship of a parent and child, but within this there is a hidden desire. “When my baby grows up he’ll get a good job and make a lot of money. Then he’ll take care of me in my old age…” This is the hidden planning that is going on in the parents’ mind. “The scriptures say that my child will enable me to cross over to the next world after death…” So there are many hidden desires like this, but only one desire is missing – that the child should find God. In its place are only worldly desires.

If some selflessness is seen in the world, it is found wherever there is love. Someone loved his father selflessly and that father, who was an alcoholic, died. As a consequence of his debauched lifestyle, the father was reborn as a dog. Due to his attachment, that child will also have to be reborn to his father, regardless of what form his father has taken. Whoever we love, we will have to follow them wherever they go.

This doesn’t refer to just ordinary souls, it also applies to great renounced paramhansas such as Jadbharat. He raised and had great affection for a baby deer. At the time of his death, his last thoughts were of the baby deer. As a result, he had to be reborn as a deer. You all may be familiar with this story from the Bhagwatam.

There are four classes of attachment. If you love a sattvik being, you will enter swarga, the celestial abodes. After staying there for some time, you will return to this earth plane – not in a human form, but in a lower form of life. If you love a rajas being, after your death you will return to this earthly plane and receive a human form. If you love a tamas being. you will enter naraka, the hellish abodes after death. If you love God and Guru, who are divine, you will enter the divine world. No matter with what feeling you love someone, if you are mentally attached, you will go wherever he has gone after your death.

So whether one has selfish or selfless love for a material being dominated by satvik, rajas or tamas, the consequence is always mayic or material and binds the soul in the cycle of birth and death. But if one has selfless or even selfish love for God, he will enter the divine world.

However, Saints advise against selfish devotion. Selfishness in devotion means that before God realisation, you asked God to fufill your devotional desire. What
will happen if your desire is unfulfilled?

For example, someone desires to see God, to have His divine darshan. But his mind has not become completely purified, there is still 10% more to go. So he will not receive God’s swaroopa shakti that will divinise his senses, mind and intellect. Therefore he won’t be able to perceive God’s divine form. But his desire was, “I will see God within a year!” But two years have passed and still he hasn’t had God’s darshan. At this point he may start thinking, “This is all useless!” He does an about turn and leaves his devotional practice. If this person does not have a Guru, who will tell him that he is purifying the sins of uncountable lifetimes and that he still has a little farther to go?

When a person is digging a well for water, first he encounters some damp soil and feels excited, “I’ll find water soon!” As he continues to dig, he finds big rocks. He is surprised, “Why are these here? I thought I would find water!” If an experienced well-digger is nearby, he will say, “Don’t worry. You have to dig out the rocks first. Water is definitely there.” He takes out the rocks and finds a layer of pebbles and small stones. “Hey! What is this?” Again that experienced well-digger says, “Just keep digging.” He does and he finally finds water.

If a person gives up digging after finding rocks, he will spend his whole life digging wells in different places and never finding water. This is what happens to the person who has selfish devotion. Someone tells him, “Why are you practicing devotion to Krishna? Worship Lord Shiva instead. He is so easily pleased. He will grace you immediately! You just have to sprinkle a little water on Him and give Him some bel leaves and He will be happy.” He feels swayed by this and leaves his practice of Krishna devotion. After some time another person comes and says, “Why aren’t you practicing devotion to Mother Durga? She is so gracious!” Like this, innocent practioners pass their whole lives going from here to there until their death. They don’t attain anything.

If they had met a true Saint who understood scriptural philosophy and was also a practical knower of God, and if that Saint had explained to them the difference between selfish and selfless devotion, and how to practice selfless devotion, then they could continue their practice unperturbed, “So what if I don’t attain God realisation in one birth? I’ll attain it in my next birth.” They wouldn’t give up.

Just see, when a child is learning to walk, at this stage he can’t even talk or understand what is said to him. He uses the wall for support, then a nearby couch or bed, then he holds onto his mother. He takes a few steps and then falls. This fall hurts his tender body. But again he stands up, takes a few steps and falls down. But he doesn’t give up.

You all went through this stage. You just don’t remember. No one was ever born who could start running right away. You first tried day and night and then you learned to turn over, and from there you progressed. Now if an athlete has an operation and must be confined to bed for one week, he becomes extremely restless and unhappy. But a newborn is confined to not only being bed, but remaining in the same position. This changes only if his mother holds him for
some time. After this he is again confined to his bed. This is his condition at the start.

So this is the essence of the secret of selfishness and selflessness. Using these guideliness, form desires for God and Guru, not the world. Render service to them, make their desire your desire and give them happiness. This is selfless devotion.

© Radha Govinda Samiti and Bhakti Bliss

(Part 4 – Synopsis of a talk given by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj on January 17, 2011, in Bhakti Dham, Mangadh, India, explaining this new kirtan verse)

After God realisation one does not continue to have material desires.

Bhidyate hridayagranthish-chidyante sarva sanshayah.
Ksheeyante chasya karmani tasmin drishte paravare.

This verse is found in the Mundak Upanishad 2/2/8, Yogashika Upanishad 5/45, Saraswati-darshan Upanishad 32, Bhagwatam 1/2/21 and 11/20/30. It says that after God realisation, one’s mayic ignorance is destroyed. As a result, all of one’s material desires are eliminated. Really, after experiencing such great divine bliss, why would one continue to have material desires? God’s bliss is unlimited. Worldly happiness has no comparison to this.

So there can be nothing more foolish than to ask God to fulfill your material desires. To say one’s desires were fulfilled by God is utter nonsense. If they were  fulfilled, this was bound to happen anyway according to one’s karmic destiny. We wrongly give God the credit for this.

Further, if we have material desires, this only means we have not yet understood the ABCs of spiritual philosophy. We are still confused about whether happiness is in the world or in God. This is the very first stage of understanding. And if one realises that there is no happiness in the world  including up to Brahma’s abode, then why would we ask God for the world? Why don’t we pray to God to realise God?

Urvashi

Once God went to the celestial abodes. Indra welcomed Him with great respect, “God has come to my kingdom!” When He was leaving, God said to Indra, “Son, ask for a boon.” Indra said, “Please give me such a woman whose beauty has never been equalled in the past nor will be in the future.” God smiled and thought, “I can’t believe what a foolish request this is. What does he lack here in the celestial abodes? The most beautiful maidens are already here.” Celestial gods have so much power they could  produce thousands of such maidens simply by thought.

But to fulfill Indra’s desire, God produced thousands of extraordinarily beautiful women and said, “Choose one from among these.” Indra only saw the very first maiden and said, “I choose that one.” Her name was Urvashi. Indra took her to his Guru, Brihaspati. Brihaspati said to Indra, “Who have you brought with you? This isn’t Indrani, your wife.” Indra sheepishly said, “Oh, well, God appeared today… and… He said I could ask for something…” Brihaspati said, “What? You have given your Guru a bad name! You asked for this from God?”

So when the emperor of the celestial abodes can make this kind of mistake, how much more foolish are those who go to the temple and pray to God for the fulfillment of their material desires?

The defeat of Abhimanyu

Even if God Himself where to appear before you, He will not fulfill such prayers. What is it that God could give? Take a look at history.

Even Abhimanyu, who was sinless, had to die. Although Veda Vyas, a descension of God, performed Abhimanyu’s marriange, and Abhimanyu’s uncle was Lord Krishna, who was supreme God, and his father was Arjuna, a true saint, decension of Nar-Narayana and knower of the Bhagavad Gita, no one could save him. Why not? What is death to God? Is anything impossible for Him to do? Surely He could have saved him.

Yet, when Arjuna was weeping after Abhimanyu’s death, He asked Lord Krishna, “Please let me see him just once.” Even at that time, Lord Krishna couldn’t bring him back. He said, “One’s time of death is determined by the destiny created by one’s actions. I do not interfere in this.”

So unlike Abhimanyu, when you have no relationship with Lord Krishna, what will you receive by asking Him to fulfill your desires?

Even Lord Ram’s father, Dasharath, had to die. Lord Ram Ram did not save him, even though He saved thousands of monkeys killed in the battle of Lanka. This is because when one’s destined time of death has come, he must go. We can’t do anything to alter this. Then why do we hope that merely by asking God to fulfill our material demands He will do so?

Material desires are only a source of suffering, and to ask God to fulfill these is outright foolishness. This is also pure selfishness, sakamata. What is selflessness, niskhamata, will be described next.

(Continued in part 5)

© Radha Govinda Samiti and Bhakti Bliss

(Part 3 – Synopsis of a talk given by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj on January 17, 2011, in Bhakti Dham, Mangadh, India, explaining this new kirtan verse.)

What is the nature of selfless devotion? People are very confused about this, including those who are supposedly learned. There are two areas – Maya’s area and God’s area. For this reason there are two kinds of desires – desires for material things related to the world and desires related to God. Therefore selflessness or niskhamata is of two kinds. One kind is directed towards the world and the other kind is directed towards God.

To have worldly desires is only natural. We perceive the world before us and so we form worldly desires thinking that by fulfilling them we will attain happiness. If clarified butter is poured on a fire, the flames reduce as if the fire is being extinguished, but then they rise up again. Similarly, when we fulfill worldly desires, these desires don’t come to an end, they only grow stronger. The Ved says,

Na jatu kamah kamanam mupabhogena shyamyati... Narad Parivrajak Upanishad, 3/37.

This verse is also in the Bhagwatam, the Vishnu Purana and the Padma Purana. Worldly desires don’t come to end when they are fulfilled; they grow stronger.

A poor person thinks, “If only I could have $100,000.” After attaining this, he starts thinking, “$100,000 is nothing. I want $200,000!” Desires keep on growing like this. The greatest billionaires feel distressed that in the coming year someone else’s wealth will surpass theirs. Even in an ordinary family it is seen that if one person is more financially successful than the others, those who have less feel jealous. This is also seen in the celestial abodes,

Surapatir brahmam padam yachatey.

Indra is the emperor of the celestial abodes. All the other celestial gods like Varuna, Kuber, Yamaraj and others are under his command. Even so, he is not satisfied with his own abode; he desires the abode of Brahma. He feels restless and has no peace of mind.

Remember this: Desires only increase when you fulfill them. This is where everyone is stuck. There are five kinds of desires of the five senses – to see, to hear, to smell, to taste, and to touch. Whatever kind of desire you have, it will either be fulfilled or not. We feel happy when a desire is fulfilled. But after this, that desire grows stronger. This is the double danger with worldly desires.

If someone says he will pray to God to fulfill his material desires, what will happen? Nothing. Why? Because God only listens to His devotees. If one hundred people go to the temple and pray to God to make them prime minister the next day – how is this possible?

Imagine that you are standing on the side of the road and you must reach Allahabad. You flag down an approaching car. The driver wonders, “Who is that person? Why is he trying to stop me?” But he does stop and you tell him, “I must go to Allahabad.” The passenger refuses and as he drives away he thinks,”That person is absolutely crazy. I have no idea who he is but he wants me to take him to Allahabad?!”

But if that driver’s relative were standing by the side of the road or if his Guru suddenly appeared there, he would immediately stop and ask, “Why are you standing here?” “My car broke down.” “Oh! Please come with me.” Without even asking, that person is invited into the car. This is because there is a relationship between the driver and that person. There is a feeling of love and devotion and that is why he stopped.

Similarly, great Saints such as Tulsi, Meera, Sur, Kabir, Nanak, Tukaram asked for something from God, and God had to fulfill their desire, even if that meant making the impossible possible. But what about the other requests that people make? Nowadays people rush to pilgrimage places like Vaishno Devi or a particular Shankar Temple, Ganesha Temple or Durga Temple to ask God for something. What is this? Fruitless effort. God will not listen to even 1% of such requests. Why not?

You had a desire so you went to Vaishno Devi and prayed, “Bless me with a son.” By chance you had a son. You believed, “Vaishno Devi performed a miracle for me!” You went to Vaishno Devi a second time. When you returned home you learned your son had died. Now you believe, “This is all a deception! There is no God. My neighbour had five children and he just had a sixth. But I had just one child and he died!”

If you believe your worldly acquisitions are the result of the grace of God or Guru, when these acquisitions are lost or destroyed, you will blame Him, lose faith in Him and act adversely towards Him. Thus, as long as you haven’t attained God realisation, do not ask God, even by mistake, to fulfill your worldly desires.

(Continued in part 4)

© Radha Govind Samiti and Bhakti Bliss

(Part 2 – Synopsis of a talk given by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj on January 17, 2011, in Bhakti Dham, Mangadh, India, explaining this new kirtan verse)

Now let’s consider bhava or devotional sentiment. How should Radha Krishna be loved or worshiped? As almighty God? Arjuna listened to the teachings of the Gita from Shri Krishna on the battlefield before the Mahabharat War. Again and again Shri Krishna referred to Himself as supreme almighty God, “There is nothing beyond Me. Everything has arisen from Me. I reside in everyone’s heart.” But Arjuna thought of Shri Krishna as his friend. He said, “You keep on saying that you are almighty God. How am I to believe this? Any one could say this. Show me how you are God!”

Shri Krishna said, “How will you see this? Your eyes are mayic, material. They are made of the same material elements as is this world. Your body and senses are made of material elements and after your death they will merge into material elements. But I am divine. My body is not made of material elements.”

The Padma Purana explains that the body and soul are separate in all living beings, including celestial gods and goddesses. In God’s case, however, God’s body and soul are one. Shri Krishna asked Arjuna, “So how will you see My divine body with your material eyes?” Material eyes only see the material objects of the world – provided a person has good eyesight and light is present. These two conditions must be met. Even so, we can see only a limited distance, and small objects such as atoms are imperceptible to us even with magnification.

So with what feeling should we love God? Even the celestial gods and goddesses are terrified of God in His almighty form. When Narsingh Bhagwan appeared on this earth to kill Hiranyakashipu, all the celestial gods and goddesses said, “We must give thanks to Him. He appeared in our world to kill such a terrible demon. But He is manifesting such a scary and angry form! Who will go first?”

They said, “Brahma, you are His son. You go.” Brahma said, “No, not now.” They then said, “Shiva, you have the power to reduce this world to ashes. Please go.” Lord Shiva also said, “No, I won’t go right now.” Finally they decided, “Send for Prahlad and let him go first. After all, God appeared on his account. When He sees Prahlad, He will cool down. Then we will all go to Him.” When Lord Narsingh saw Prahlad, He started smiling. He took Prahlad in His lap and affectionately hugged and stroked him, as you see parents do with their children. Then all the celestial gods and goddesses, and Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva came forward with songs of praise.

So Shri Krishna said to Arjuna, “First I will bestow on you divine vision, then afterward you will see God.” He graced Arjuna with divine eyes so Arjuna could see His almighty form. But Arjuna started to tremble in fear. He shut his eyes. He started perspiring. Stammering, he said, “I don’t want to look! You really are almighty God! Until now I had no idea. I always accepted You as my friend. Please forgive me!”

So if you worship God’s almighty form, you will not be able to love Him. Instead you will feel afraid. However, God says, “My children, don’t think of Me as a supreme almighty power. Relate to Me in the same way you relate to others in the world.”

The first type of relational feeling with God is that of dasya bhava, the love of a servant for his master. Now our devotional feelings have a way to develop because a master is benign, not angry. In the world we see there are servants in homes. A prime minister or president has a personal assistant. But the familiarity a servant is entitled to with his master is very restricted. The Ramayana says,

Sir bal chalau dharma as mora, sab tey sevak dharma kathora.

When Ram, Lakshman and Sita were leaving Ayodhya to enter the forest, Lakshman would walk behind Ram and Sita in such a way so that he would not step in their footprints. How difficult this is! A true servant instead places only his head wherever his Guru places his feet. Does this mean we have to walk on our head? How is this possible? What this implies is the role of a servant is very difficult. There are many rules of propriety that must be observed.

Beyond this is sakhya bhava, the relational feeling of a friend to a friend. What does a friend do? He places his arm around his friend’s shoulders and informally asks, “Hey, where did you go today?” Still, the rights of a friend are also restricted.

Beyond this is vatsalya bhava, the relational feeling between a parent and child. In this bhava God is loved as your child. You may spank Him, twist His ear and scold Him for being naughty. You may request, “Son, please bring my slippers…” And He will have to bring them! He has become your son. But even this feeling of love still has some restrictions.

Beyond this is madhurya bhava. This is the relational feeling of a lover and a beloved. This is not the same as the love between a husband and wife. The feelings of a lover and beloved are even beyond this. A woman’s husband is at home, but she secretly loves another. This quality of love, which was the love of the Braj Gopis for Krishna, is called jar prem.

Love in madhurya bhava is selfless. This is its uniqueness. Selfless means with no personal desire for one’s happiness. The other unique quality of this bhava is one may think of God as one’s beloved, one’s child, one’s friend, or one’s master. However, those who love God with any of the lower types of relational feelings may not think of Him with the intimacy of madhurya bhava. They do not have this right. A devotee who thinks of God as his master, cannot even love Him as a friend, let alone as a beloved. If any servant were to place his arm around his master’s shoulders, his master would scold him and say, “What is this nonsense! Maintain your distance!” A servant is not entitled to this kind of closeness.

The feelings of a lover and beloved are the most intimate. Whatever the lover asks, the beloved must do. A wife, on the other hand, cannot speak like this to her husband. She has to abide by the rules of propriety that relate to her prescribed duties as a wife. There are many social rules that relate to this kind of relationship. A wife can’t say her husband, “Son, come here.” Her husband would think, “She called me ‘son’?!” His next thought might be to send her to the hospital for treatment.

But God gives us the right to love him with all these relational feelings in madhurya bhava. We may relate to Him and love Him as a Beloved, as a Son, as a Friend and as a Master.

(Continued in Part 3)

© Radha Govinda Samiti and Bhakti Bliss

(Synopsis of a talk given by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj on January 17, 2011, in Bhakti Dham, Mangadh, India, explaining this new kirtan verse)

The one who is worshiped (ishta) or the one who is served (sevya) is of many kinds. Some are even mayic or material, such as celestial gods and goddesses. These include Indra, Varuna, Kuber and others. Such ishtas are millions in number. By acquiring spiritual understanding through the teachings of a true Saint, we come to know that the worship of a material personality results in a  material consequence.

The word deva applies to both celestial beings and to supreme God.

Kah paramo devah. Krishno ha vai paramam daivatam.

This verse asks: Who is the greatest deva? Here the word deva refers to supreme God. Similarly, the word divya (divine) refers to both material celestial beings and also to God. The word atma (soul) refers to both the individual soul and God. Only Saints know which  meanings apply to what words in the scriptures. Those with merely intellectual understanding of the scriptures don’t have this knowledge.

One single God has many worshipable forms. These include impersonal brahm or Brahman and paramatma. Paramatma has three aspects: (1)  karanarnoshayi paramatma, (2) garbhodashayi paramatma, and, (2) ksheerodashayi paramatma. Even though these forms are non-different from each other, the aspect of paramatma is superior to impersonal brahm.

Impersonal brahm is completely neutral, and remains this way even when loved or worshiped. Brahm is purely a divine existence. It reveals no divine powers or qualities. For example, a grain of wheat lies in a cabinet for years. An innocent person might say, “I put that grain in there, thinking in ten days it would sprout and then after a month it would be a fully grown plant, but it has stayed the same for years!”

A grain or seed is full of power but this manifests only after it comes into contact with the soil, the sun, water and air. When all these are present, a seed could grow into a plant in one month. Similarly, even though brahm possesses all the divine powers, none of these are manifest. Therefore, brahm is called avyakta shaktik – endowed with powers that remain unrevealed.

Paramatma, on the other hand, manifests powers, form, name, and qualities, but does not perform leelas or divine pastimes, and does not have divine associates. However, don’t be confused about this point – the same brahm is paramatma, because God is only one.

So paramatma has three aspects. Karanarnoshayi paramatma permeates uncountable worlds. Garbhodashayi paramatma permeates one world. Ksheerodashayi paramatma resides in all our hearts, notes our thoughts and gives us the consequences of these actions. This is the object of worship for yogis.

The final and supreme form of God is Radha Krishna, who manifest all the divine powers, including divine love and divine pastimes. Brahm and paramatma are Their other forms.

These three forms all pertain to the same one God, but in the form of Radha Krishna every kind of divine bliss is manifest. That is why this kirtan verse says, “Out of all the worshiped forms of God, I worship Radha Krishna.” There is no other form beyond this.

(Continued in Part 2)

© Radha Govinda Samiti and Bhakti Bliss

(Synopsis of a talk by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj on January 16, 2011, in Bhakti Dham, Mangadh, India, explaining this new kirtan verse)

A mother and father have four children. They all live in the same home, share the same environment and eat the same food, but the aim and interest of each is different. All four children went to see a Saint. One of them sincerely followed the Saint’s teachings. One half-heartedly following them and then stopped. One didn’t follow them at all. One criticised the family member who was practising devotion, “Why has he started this ‘Radhey Radhey’ in our home?” Why is there so much difference? This verse gives the reason.

Our mind is filled with the stored impressions of actions from uncountable past lifetimes. This is collectively called sanchit karma. During this time we have committed uncountable sins. There is no such sin, even one such as murder, that we have committed just two or three thousand times. We have performed such actions uncountable times. Because we have been in existence as long as God, we have had uncountable births. If we had committed one murder in uncountable lifetimes, then we have committed uncountable murders, because our lifetimes are innumerable. There is no such sin that we have committed in the thousands and millions; we have committed them all uncountable times.

When all of Dhritarashtra’s sons were killed in the Mahabharat War, he called Shri Krishna. Dhritarashtra knew that Shri Krishna was supreme God. He asked, “You know everything. What sin did I commit that all my children died?” Blind Dhritarashtra at that time was sitting alone and weeping. Shri Krishna said, “How many of your previous lifetimes do you remember?” Dhritarashtra said, “Three lifetimes.” Shri Krishna said, “What is uncountable minus three? Can you calculate this? You can’t even calculate the sins from three lifetimes.”

We only see the present, and even in the present we don’t understand what is a right action and what is a wrong action. Not even 1%  of the people in the world understand this, including those who are very knowledgeable. During my lifetime, I have met many great scriptural scholars. They would come to me and ask, “What is sin? What is virtue? What is good? What is bad?” The definition of this is very simple.

That amount of time that we remember God or Guru is the amount of time that we do not commit sin. Everything we do apart from this is a sin.

Now a person can calculate how much remembrance of God he has done during the course of his lifetime. He alone is our only relation. It is for realising God that we were given a human birth. Why have we forgotten this and instead of loving Him we love each other?

So there is one philosophy that applies to sin and virtue: Whatever time your mind is absorbed in loving remembrance of God is the amount of time you are saved from performing wrong actions. Otherwise, we are always performing wrong actions. For example, you loved our mother. Is this wrong? When you go to the temple and say,

Tvameva mata cha pita tvameva tvameva bandhusch sakha tvameva,
tvameva vidya dravinam tvameva tvameva sarvam mam deva deva.

Do you know the meaning of ‘tvameva‘? It means ‘only You’, not  ‘also You’. This prayer says, “Oh my beloved God, You are my only father, You are my only mother, and You are my only property and wealth.”

Yet if a hungry beggar comes comes to the window of your car and starts speaking to you, even though you have $10,000 in your pocket, you will turn your face the other way and say to the driver, “Let’s get out of here!” If you takes something out of your pocket for that beggar, you give the smallest bill you have and throw it at the beggar disdainfully, “Here! Take it!”

You have all been like this beggar in uncountable births. How must that poor person have felt when that money was thrown at him? Yet we have all heard and read and believe that God dwells in everyone’s heart. If you are going to give him something, even if it’s just a few pennies, give it with love. This is just your pride. The different ways in which you have hurt others is part of your sin.

So the amount of attraction one feels for God and Guru depends on the extent of the sin he has committed. This is proof positive of how sinful we are. Is our mind attracted to God and Guru or is it attracted to our worldly relations and property? When you are alone you can assess both and then you will know what is your status. It is our material attachment that has not allowed us to go towards God. If we did go towards God, we were just pretending. If we sincerely went towards God, we went some distance and then turned around and went back to our material attachments.

Take a magnet, for example. Place a variety of needles around it. Some needles are pure iron, some are 10% iron, some are 20% iron and so on. The needles of pure iron will be immediately attracted to the magnet. The ones mixed with another metal will be attracted slowly. The needles that have very little iron will remain where they are. Our minds are similar to the needles.

Papvant kar sahaj subhau, bhajan mor tehi bhavana.

You people are so lucky. You may be traveling by train or airplane and if someone says, “Radhey” even while yawning, you will immediately think he is a good person, “Oh, he said ‘Radhey’!” You have acquired this attraction through the grace of God and Guru. Otherwise you would never have these positive feelings. You might feel instead that God’s name was painfully piercing your ear like an arrow.

When we were building Shyama Shyam Dham, we set up loudspeakers to start playing kirtan at 3 am. I thought, “Everyone will hear God’s name and feel happy.” It didn’t take even a month before I started receiving complaints and that, too, from so-called holy men who have renounced family and home to live in Vrindaban, “Could you please request the Jagadguru Ji to change the position of the speakers so they are not facing in our direction?” It is only our sins that do not allow us to feel receptive to the divine name.

Yavatpapaistu malinam hridayam tava deva hi.

Our attraction to God and Guru is related to the extent of our sin. If one has a perfectly pure mind, he will be attracted immediately, and that, too, just by sight. So if in the future you wish to know how far you have advanced, you can use this as a measure.

© Radha Govinda Samiti and Bhakti Bliss

(Synopsis of a talk given by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj at Bhakti Dham, Mangarh, India, on January 14, 2011, explaining this kirtan verse.)

This verse contains the essence of all spiritual philosophy. It mentions four points:

(1) Hari Guru bhaju – The scriptures do not prescribe that our worship should be to God alone. Yasya deve para bhaktir yathe deve tatha gurau. The Vedas explain that the Guru should be worshiped with the same devotion as God. Devotion to both is compulsory.

(2) Nit – Many people practice devotion, but only for a short time. This is like saving $10 and spending $20, or washing your clothes once with soap and afterward making them dirty ten times. If you do this, your clothes will never become clean.

First, we don’t practise devotion properly. Even if we do practise devotion for an hour or two, we do it pridefully. People observe with some awe, “Do you know that person is a tax collector and he worships God for one full hour?” But just ask him what he did during that time. He recited the Hanuman Chalisa or the Shiva Chalisa or Durga Chalisa. He did a little japa. This isn’t devotion.

Even if someone were to properly practice devotion for one hour, afterward he virtually becomes an atheist. How is this so? Just consider one small point, which we need to bring into our understanding: Shri Krishna is seated in our hearts. This is stated everywhere in the scriptures and everyone knows this. “God resides within all!” But how many truly realise this? This realisation should be continuous or nit, not just for 10 minutes, half an hour or 23 hours.

For example, we feel a continuous sense of “I am.” We know the same ‘me’ that existed yesterday is the same ‘me’ that observed dreams while we were sleeping, and it is the same ‘me’ that is existing now. Just as we have a continuous sense of “I am”, we should continuously realise with full confidence that our divine Father, our soul-beloved God is seated in our hearts. If we do this, then we are a true believer.

If we should forget this, even for just a minute, then we start having private thoughts, “No one knows what I’m thinking right now!” There are even those who sit before their Guru and silently criticise him. It may be that the Guru doesn’t know what his disciple is thinking, but God is still dwelling in that person’s heart. He forgot this point.

In fact, everyone forgets this. This is everyone’s shortcoming, regardless of how knowledgeable they are. For this reason, Kripalu has written ‘nit‘ – devotional remembrance of God and Guru should be continuous.

(3) Bhava nishkam - 99% of the devotion that people are engaged in is selfish. There is a huge crowd at a particular temple. Why has everyone gone there? Because the form of God worshiped there performs miracles! On this basis, some temples collect millions in gold. A person places a heap of gold before a statue of Sai Baba. He explains, “God blessed me – I just won the lottery! So, of course, I have to give God a percentage.”

This is selfish devotion. If such a selfish devotee encounters the slightest hardship, “Oh Lord! Hear my cry! My son is very sick.” But your Guru taught you to be selfless – so selfless that even at the point of death you should not request God, “Let me live.” Your material attachments to your family and relations have made you forget spiritual philosophy.

(4) Ananya - People worship a god or goddess, then someone convinces them they should instead practise tantric meditation, so they leave their worship and start that. Then they go to the shrine of a deceased holy man where huge crowds gather and they also worship there.

People pilgrimage to such places simply due to hearsay. The holy man who left this world is gone now. If he was a Saint, he has gone to Golok, God’s abode. What did he leave behind? Just his mortal remains which must have decomposed by now. Still people are convinced, “He performs great miracles!” Even presidents and prime ministers frequent such places.

When we worship celestial gods and goddesses and also supreme God, this means we still don’t understand who is the supreme divine power. If we did understand, then why don’t we worship Him alone? This just means we don’t understand spiritual philosophy, even though we have listened to it a lot. Spiritual philosophy has been explained to us in every age. We have listened to it, understood it and then forgotten it.

So we have to constantly reflect on these four points and practise them. Without practise, neither God nor Guru will give you anything. God Himself is already seated in your heart; what are you receiving from Him? Even if a person were to find a true Saint and stay with him 24-hours a day, this doesn’t automatically guarantee anything. Everything is dependent on practise.

Thus these four important points have been incorporated in this verse:

1. Hari Guru bhaju – worship God and Guru with the same devotion;
2. Nit – your remembrance of God and Guru should be continuous;
3. Bhava niskham – your devotion should be selfless;
4. Ananya - your devotion should be exclusive

If you forget the philosophy of the scriptures, by simply remembering these two lines you could attain your spiritual aim.

© Radha Govinda Samiti and Bhakti Bliss

(Synopsis of a talk given by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj on December 31, 2010, in Bhakti Dham, Mangarh, India, explaining this new kirtan verse)

There are two kinds of people in the world – the souls under the bondage of Maya (mayadheen) and the Saints beyond Maya (mayateet). Saints are very few; mayic souls are more than 99.9% of the total. Whether Saint or soul, whoever comes into this world, one day must go.

A Saint leaves according to his own will. A Maya-bound soul is a prisoner and is taken away. You don’t remember from your previous birth how much pain you experienced when you left your body at the time of death. A person thinks, “Oh! My father! My son! My daughter! My house! I have to leave all this? And I’m going alone? What is happening to me?!” This pain can’t be explained.

Depiction of Yamaraj

So one must leave this world and this applies to everyone. Even the time that supreme God descends on this earth is fixed. When that time arrives, Yamaraj respectfully approaches God and says, “My Lord, Your time has come. I am only reminding You. If You wish to remain longer, please do so. I am only doing my job.”

Yamaraj also appears before a Saint at this time and says, “If it is your wish, please stay longer. I am just reminding you that the time fixed for your leaving has come.”

Saints do not violate God’s laws.  We see Jagadguru Shankaracharya left this world at the age of 32. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu left at the age of 48. Some leave at the age of 50, some at the age of 80. There is no fixed age for a Saint to leave. Rather a Saint’s prarabdh or destiny due to his past actions also determines the time of his leaving.

The "Angel of Death" in Christianity

So just as souls are bound to undergo their destiny, Saints also undergo a destiny. The difference is that if the Saint’s son dies or all his wealth or property is stolen, he remains ever-blissful, “My Lord, this is only your desire. Please do as you wish!” We mourn these losses with great pain, “Oh! My son left this world!” Yes, but everyone knows that whoever comes in this world must leave this world.  Don’t you also know this?

You may not have studied the Vedas and scriptures, but just have a look at the world around you. You see a child dying before his father. You see these things daily – why don’t you accept it? This is the state of our intellect. We see these things but we don’t accept them. We think, “I’m not going to die. I’m only 50 years old!” But now you have become 80 years old. “So what! I’m not going to die now.”

If you pretend you are going to wring the neck of a person who is so elderly he can no longer sit up or a person who is terminally ill, they will shout, “Hey! What are you doing? I don’t want to die!” If you say, “But I want to put you out of your misery.” They will say, “So what! Let me suffer.”

So those who come into this world must leave. Saints leave according to their own will and souls who leave must return to this world. As long as a soul hasn’t been liberated from Maya, he must return to this material jail. What kind of form one receives is a separate point. The one who has practiced devotion and wholeheartedly rendered service to God and Saint will obtain a human form. The one who has merely satisfied his senses and wholeheartedly absorbed himself in the world will go into a lower birth.

So whoever comes into this world must leave – regardless if it is a soul, a Saint, or even supreme God when He descends. Lord Krishna remained on this earth for 125 years. Lord Ram remained on this earth for 11,000 years. Lord Narsingh remained for only ten minutes – but however long anyone remains on this earth, he will have to go eventually. You should keep remembering this philosophy and be prepared. Don’t look to your age and think you are still young. Remain alert all the time.

A person is driving in the city. On the road there are also many other vehicles. He remains extremely alert – what is behind him, what is ahead of him, what is happening to his left, what is on his right. He also has to remember the way and his destination. He keeps all this in mind because if he makes the smallest mistake he will have an accident.

Remain ever-vigilant because you could go at any moment. And what we receive after death is determined what we are emotionally attached to at the time of our death. If you have your father in mind at the time of your death, you must go to that father afterward. If that father is reborn as a dog, that will also be your destiny.

Yanti devavrata devan pitrin yanti pitivratah.
Bhutani yanti bhutejya yanti madyajinopimam. (Gita, 9/25)

In your next birth you will return to the one with whom you were attached in this birth. In this regard, there are a total of four consequences. If you are attached to a tamsi person, you will receive a tamsi consequence (narak or hell). If you are attached to a rajsi person, you will receive a rajsi consquence and remain on this earth. If you were attached to a sattvik person or celestial god, then you will receive a sattvik consequence and enter the celestial abode or swarga for a limited time. If you love God or His Saint, you will attain Golok, God’s divine abode. Decide what your final goal is and love accordingly.

We can’t delay the moment of our death for even ten minutes. You may not even have left your house when this happens – so many people have heart attacks while sleeping. The engineer who designed this hall was from Agra. He was at home in bed with his wife by his side. When his wife woke up the next morning, she saw her husband had died in the night.

When we have to go, we must, and no one knows when that time will be.

Therefore, every moment remain vigilant.

© Radha Govinda Samiti and Bhakti Bliss

(Synopsis of a talk given by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj on December 29, 2010, in Bhakti Dham, Mangarh, India, explaining this new kirtan verse)

The Vedas and scriptures and also Saints have said that there is no difference between God and His Saints.

Tasminstajjaney-bhedabhavat. (Narad Bhakti Darshan)

In some places in the scriptures, God has even regarded His devotee Saint as greater than Him. How astonishing!

Nirapeksham munim shantam… (Bhagwatam, 11/14/16)

Shri Krishna said to Uddhava, “When My Saints walk on the earth, I secretly walk behind them.” Uddhava wondered, “Why do You secretly follow them? It must be to protect them.” Shri Krishna said, “No, Uddhava, anubrajamyaham nityam puyeya, I do this so their footdust may fall on Me and purify Me. That is how loving My Saints are to Me.”

After God realisation, God bestows all His powers on the bhakta Saint. For this reason, the Saint’s actions also become divine. In other words, God Himself performs the Saint’s actions; the Saint from his side does nothing. Has a soul attained God realisation? If so, now he does nothing. And why should he do anything? He has attained everything.

When a pot is placed in water, while it is filling it makes a gurgling sound - bak, bak, bak… When it is completely full, it is silent. You can keep on dunking it under the water, but now it won’t make a sound.

There is some water that is naturally mixed in butter. When butter is heated to make ghee, it also makes a sound, pat-pat-pat… The reason for this is the water is being cooked off. When the butter is fully cooked and it becomes ghee, then this sound comes to an end. Now, no matter how much you heat the ghee, it may burn but it won’t make a sound.

Raw dough for puris

Frying puri

Fully cooked puri

Yet we have seen when people cook with ghee that it makes sounds. When does this happen? When you place raw dough in it. When this becomes a fully cooked puri, then the ghee once again is silent. If you put more raw dough in, then it will again make noise. The ghee itself is not making any noises; the ghee is causing the sound to come from the raw dough as it is cooking.

Arjuna and Hanuman killed thousands, but this wasn’t their own decision. They were following the order of Lord Krishna and Lord Ram for the salvation of the world. Both God and His Saints have performed great activities in the world. Prahlad ruled this world for 300 million years. They were great God realised Saints like this who performed worldly-looking actions like ours, but unlike our actions, their actions were not worldly at all.

Shri Krishna had 16,108 wives, and with each wife he had 10 children. These children in turn also had children. But in the midst of this, Shri Krishna had no attachment. In the end, even though the whole Yadav clan was destroyed, Shri Krishna remained ever-blissful.

How could lust, anger, greed, delusion and jealousy remain in a Saint’s heart after God realisation? If a Saint appears to exhibit these qualities after God realisation, it only for the spiritual upliftment of the souls, not for himself.

Our material intellects cannot understand this secret of a Saint’s actions. Why not? Look, if you slap someone, first you became very angry. Then an argument follows. Your anger escalates until it’s out of control and this ends with a slap. But Arjuna killed millions in the Mahabharat War with no anger at all. Instead, everywhere he only saw Shri Krishna. Hanuman saw only his beloved Lord Ram everywhere in the world.

We think, “How did they do it? I could never do that!” Yes, it is true that you couldn’t, but does that mean there is nothing beyond what you experience? You are bound by Maya; Saints are beyond Maya. You have limited powers and Saints have unlimited powers.

For this reason, in uncountable births we have seen uncountable descensions of supreme God and in spite of this we said, “This Krishna is nothing but a loafer. Day and night He keeps traipsing after girls.” When we saw a Saint like Surdas we said, “He visits a prostitute and afterwards he goes here and there playing his tanpura and chanting ‘Hare Ram Hare Ram’!”

Now that  these divine personalities have left this world, we worship them. While they were here, we tried to measure their divinity with our material intellect.

We were not able to understand them because we don’t have a divine intellect. As a result, we have always committed spiritual transgressions and caused our own spiritual downfall. We ruined the opportunity of a human birth. We have done this in uncountable births. We have met innumerable Saints and descensions of supreme God. God is not senior to us; like God, we have also existed eternally. Shri Krishna appeared 5,000 years ago on this earth. We were also living at that time.

Imagine, if we had the chance to associate with a divine descension in this birth, we would still try to measure his divinity using our material intellect. We would say, “Look, that person is eating and drinking just like I do. He also gets angry. He is also acting greedy. Well, what is the difference between me and him?” Someone else says, “Listen, I heard he is a descension of God!” We would say, “Rubbish!” And if we were to see any contrary behavior from that divine personality, we start heaping even more criticism on him.

For this reason, do not apply your intellect and try to analyse the actions of God or His Saints. Gaurang Mahaprabhu said,

Jar chitte Krishna prema karai uday,
Taro vakya kriya vigyena bhujhe.

The words and actions of the God realised Saint who has attained Shri Krishna’s divine love cannot be understood even by great intellects such as Brihaspati. Only when one achieves the same divine status and becomes a Saint will one understand.

God bestows worldly possesions on a soul. This is His grace. God destroys the worldly possessions of another. This is also His grace. We can only accept that one of these situations is the result of God’s grace, not both simultaneously.

After Prahlad attained God realisation, God told him, “Rule this earth for one manvantar (300 million years)” Prahlad said, “My Lord, you want me to do this for one whole manvantar?” God said, “Yes, you have to stay in the world this long.” Prahlad thought, “After attaining God’s bliss I have to remain in this rubbish heap of a world? Anyway, it is his order. It’s fine.” Otherwise, Prahlad might have said, “What nonsense is this? I attained God realisation. I’m going to Golok abode! Why should I stay here?” Because here one doesn’t see Saints like Prahlad. The world is full of selfish and ignorant mayic souls with material attachment. And in every age only a few true Saints are on this earth.

So, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu says that since we can’t understand the words and actions of God and His Saints, we should accept and follow their teachings. When we achieve their divine status, then we will understand everything.

A child of four years can’t yet understand how he is the child of both his mother and father. He wonders, “Why do they both call me ‘son’?” His mother and father also can’t explain this to him as he still is unacquainted with the facts of life and has no sensual desire. When he reaches 16 years of age and starts having these feelings, then he’ll realise, “Oh, so that’s how babies are born! Why didn’t they explain this to me before when I was younger? Instead they kept shooing me away and told me to stop talking nonsense!” Now his understanding comes naturally.

Similarly, when you arrive in the class of a God realised Saint, who even while performing action remains free from all karmic consequences, you will naturally understand. You do have some degree of understanding of this in the world, but you keep forgetting. When you love someone, you hug them to your chest. You hug your husband, wife, mother, father, sister, brother, and child. But the feeling you experience while hugging each of them is different.

A person is observing a man and woman hugging on the street. If he has a pure mind, he will have pure thoughts about this. If he has an impure mind, he will immediately criticise them, “Look at that promiscuous behavior! Hugging on the street!” What is the actual situation? A brother lost his sister for some days. When he finally found her, he couldn’t control his joy and embraced her. But the onlooker observing this is thinking something quite the opposite.

When we make such wrong appraisals of worldly behavior, then what would happen in our analysis of a Saint’s actions? We just cannot understand their actions. For this reason Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said not to apply one’s intellect in such areas that could lead to one’s spiritual downfall.

When you are studying in school, you don’t attempt to imitate the teachers. If a student sat in the teacher’s chair and made the teacher sit on the floor with the other students, what would happen when the teacher asks the imitation teacher a question? That child has no knowledge.

Thus we should always remain careful not to have a negative or judgemental attitude towards God and His Saints.

© Radha Govinda Samiti and Bhakti Bliss