Jayati jaya, jaya sadguru maharaj.
All glory to my Guru (Spiritual Master).

Chake yugal-ras raas saras janu, moortiman rasaraj.
My Guru, who is always engrossed in the bliss of Shri Radha Krishna, is the true personification of divine love.

Binu karan karunakar jakar, asa swabhava bhal bhraj.
It is his inherent nature to uplift the fallen souls through his causeless grace.

Barabas patitan deta prem ras, asa rasikan sarataj.
The crest-jewel of all the rasiks, he forcibly imparts the bliss of divine love even on fallen worldly souls.

Dubata apu dubavat jana kahan, prem sindhu braj-raj.
Immersed in the blissful ocean of divine love himself, he immerses his surrendered disciple in the same ocean.

Haun ‘Kripalu’ guru charan sharan gahi, bhayo dhanya jag aj.
Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj expresses the feelings of a disciple, “I am truly blessed to have taken refuge at the lotus feet of such an indescribably great Guru.”

Exerpted from the Sadguru Madhuri section of “Prem Ras Madira”, written and composed by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj.

© Radha Govinda Samiti and Bhakti Bliss, 2009-2010

Ghadi ghadi pal pal nam tiharo,
rate meri rasana, mere Ghanshyam.
Oh my Ghanshyam Shri Krishna! May my tongue each and every moment lovingly repeat Your divine name.

Lali-Lal dou dai garabahin,
hamare hiye basana, mere Ghanshyam.
Oh my Ghansham Shri Krishna! Please come with Shri Radha and, with Your arms lovingly placed around each others’ shoulders, eternally reside in my heart.

Bhav hindore dari hiye men,
jhulavun nit jhulana, mere Ghanshyam.
Oh my Ghanshyam Shri Krishna! I wish to swing both of You in my heart on the swing of my deepest devotional feelings.

Dai upahar har ansuvan ko,
banalun tujhe apana, mere Ghanshyam.
Oh my Ghanshyam Shri Krishna! I wish to gift You with a necklace made of my tears of devotional love and thus make You my very own forever.

Kaisehun kari ‘Kripalu’ prabhu apano,
puravo mam sapana, mere Ghanshyam.
Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj says, “Oh my gracious Lord, please fulfill this dream of mine by making me Your own forever.”

Exerpted from the Prakeern Madhuri section of “Prem Ras Madira”, written and composed by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj.

© Radha Govinda Samiti and Bhakti Bliss, 2009-2010

(Synopsis of a lecture given by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj in Sitapaila, Nepal, explaining the first line of this pad kirtan from the Rasiya Madhuri of “Prem Ras Madira”)

Temporary worldly happiness is of 3 kinds: sattvic, rajas, tamas. These relate to the three qualities of Maya. Rajas happiness is much better than tamas happiness, and satvik happiness is much better than rajas happiness. Satvik happiness relates to happiness of swarga, the celestial abodes.

You all think about swarga with great respect. A Hindu will say when his father dies, that his father has received swargavas, in other words he is now residing in swarga (heaven). The happiness of the celestial abodes is millions of times greater than the happiness of this earth, but it is still destructible, temporary, material, limited and mixed with sorrow. But, as the saying goes, something is better than nothing. Despite these flaws, it is considered that the greatest material happiness is in swarga.

The second best form of material happiness is experienced by human beings on this earth. The third best is the happiness experienced by animals, birds, and insects. A person may wonder, “Do animals experience happiness?” Definitely. A cow finds a little green grass to eat today. As a result, she feels happy and thinks she is having a wonderful meal. Similarly, a poor man eats dry bread every day. Today he went to a feast and there he found fried breads, vegetable dishes, and sweets. He said, “Oh, I really enjoyed myself!” A rich man eats this kind of food every day, so it’s not special for him.

Everyone experiences happiness. For example, a queen hugs her son, the royal prince, and experiences happiness. In the same way, a sow licks her dirty little piglets and also feels happy. When a animal gives birth, it doesn’t go to a hospital to be taken care of. As soon as an animal gives birth, she cleans her baby herself with her own tongue, and she feels happy seeing and touching it. But all animals also suffer greatly. They have no idea where they will find shelter in at night. They don’t know where they will find water to drink. Some days they have enough to eat, some days they only find
half of what they need, and some days they find nothing.

But a human being has the greatest capacity because his foremost quality is knowledge. When he earns one million, he desires to have two million, and then four million. What will he do with all that wealth? He only has one child. He thinks, “That person has more than me. I have to get more than him.”

“Aahar-nidra-bhayamaythunan cha samanyametat pashubhir naranam.”

There is no difference in the quality of happiness experienced by all living beings. Just as we get great happiness from the things we consider best, so all other life forms experience the most happiness from what they consider best.

When celestial beings see what makes us happy they think, “How dirty!” The human form is such that it excretes waste from every pore, and waste is constantly excreted from its nine orifices. On the other hand, a celestial body is constantly exuding a fragrance and it doesn’t excrete waste of any kind. So when the celestial gods look towards us, they make a face and say, “How dirty!” But we make a similar face when we see pigs reveling in filth and say “What disgusting creatures!” But what is our actual condition? Whenever we see ourselves in a mirror we feel joy. But what is stored inside your body? If you were able to take out everything in your intestinal track you would run away.

So all life forms experience their own kinds of happiness and suffering. Similarly, the indescribable, unlimited divine happiness or ananda of the divine world is also of three kinds. These are brahm-ananda, paramatma-ananda, and prem-ananda.

The lowest of these is brahm-ananda. This relates to the impersonal, formless aspect of God which manifests only as a divine existence. It doesn’t have any form, name or qualities and it performs no actions or leelas. Naturally, if it has no form then what actions could it perform? This aspect of God is worshiped by gyanis or followers of the path of gyan. They refer to God as brahm. Still, this experience of bliss is absolutely unlimited. The one who attains brahm is forever free from Maya.

“Na sa punaravartatey, na sa punaravartatey.” (Brahm Sutra)

A greater experience of bliss is paramatma-ananda. Here God has a form, name, and qualities, but He does not perform leelas or divine actions.

Beyond this is the bliss of prem or divine love. This aspect of God is referred to as Bhagavan. This is Shri Krishna. He has a name, form, qualities, abode, leelas and eternal associates. He performs unlimited blissful leelas. This is the bliss of divine Barsana referred to in this pad kirtan.

“Brahmanando bhavedesha chetparardh gunikritah.
Naiti bhakti sukhambhodheh paramanu tulamapi.” (Bhakti Rasamrit Sindhu)

This is why it is said that if uncountable blisses of brahm were gathered together, collectively they still would not equal even one drop of divine love bliss. Even so, it’s important to remember that brahm-ananda is still related to Shri Krishna and that it is absolutely unlimited.

Understand this through a simple example. After a long time, a married woman becomes pregnant. She and her husband had prayed for a child, and had gone to many doctors to find out why she wasn’t conceiving. Even though her child is still in her womb, she feels very happy. Her husband is also very happy. She experiences the child’s body growing month by month and all his activity in her womb. She feels excited, “Oh, he’s moving! He’s kicking!” Men don’t understand what this feels like. Only mothers know. She feels great anticipation, “When will that day come that I will see my child? Will he be attractive or ordinary? Fair or dark?” Finally the child is born and the mother sees, touches and hugs her baby.

If you were to now ask the mother what the difference is between the happiness she felt when the child was still in her womb and the happiness she feels now when she sees her baby crawling on his little knees and making baby talk and performing endearing naughty acts, she will say, “What a foolish question! When I was pregnant, I had so much difficulty even moving around with my heavy body, and then, too, I had morning sickness. And now I am seeing my baby, kissing him, hugging him and listening to his innocent talk. There is an enormous difference in my happiness!”

Similarly, there is an enormous difference between the bliss of impersonal brahm and the bliss of Shri Krishna (divine love), although they actually are not two. Impersonal brahm does not manifest attributes such as a name, form, or any qualities, yet they are all present.

For example, a piece of grain has been kept in someone’s house for years. A visitor picks it up and says, “In this seed there is bread.” The homeowner may think his visitor is crazy for saying this. To prove it, he puts the piece of grain in the ground and waters it. It receives sunlight and fresh air, and a little fertilizer. It will almost immediately begin to sprout and grow. From one grain, a hundred other grains are formed, which can all be ground to make bread. All these things are inside a seed, but in a subtle, unmanifest form, just as the baby in the mother’s womb was not yet manifest externally.

Similarly, all of God’s powers are present in impersonal brahm, but in a seed-like unmanifest form. The bliss of impersonal brahm could be compared to the happiness that the mother felt for her unborn child. This is why this line of the kirtan says that uncountable blisses of brahm feel insignificant before divine love bliss.

© Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat and Bhakti Bliss, 2009-2010

Anupama, jori Shyama Shyam.
Shri Radha (Shyama) and Shri Krishna (Shyam) are an utterly incomparable and unique divine pair.

Ika sorah singar sajin ika,
natavar bhesh lalam.
Shri Radha is decorated with all of the sixteen traditional adornments and Shri Krishna is dressed in a natural country style.

Galabahin dai dou Vrindavana,
viharat athon yam.
Their arms are lovingly placed around each other’s shoulders. They remain constantly engaged in transcendental leelas in Vrindavan.

Punja nikunjani manju raas ras,
khelata puranakam.
Although Shri Radha Krishna are ever-contented, yet They perform the divine pastime of raas in the beautiful flowering bowers and arbors of Vrindavan.

Sanak samadhi chandi sanakadik, bane vitapa brajdham.
The greatest paramhansas like Sanaka and others abandon their samadhi (meditative trances) and live in Braj in the form of trees just for a glimpse of these pastimes.

Atmaram ‘Kripalu’ Shyam ki, atma Shyama nam.
Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj says that the very soul of ever-contented supreme God, Shri Krishna (Shyam), is known by the name of Shri Radha (Shyama).

Exerpted from the Yugal Madhuri section of “Prem Ras Madira”, written and composed by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj.

© Radha Govinda Samiti and Bhakti Bliss, 2009-2010

Lakho re man, vrinda vipina-bahar.
Oh, my mind! See the divine effulgence of transcendental Vrindavan…

Jahan biharati Vrishbhanu-Nandini, chhavi-nidhi Nandakumar.
…where the divine couple, Shri Radha Krishna, always perform pastimes of divine love that captivate and steal one’s heart;

Jahan chinmaya sab jeev charachar, jahan Radhey sarkar.
…where all the living beings are divine and the supreme governess
is Shri Radha;

Jahan basant ritu vasa karata nita, bhramar karat gunjar.
… where it is always springtime and the bees are always seen humming
here and there;

Jahan vikasita nita kunda kevada, karanikar kachanar.
…and visiting ever-blooming fragrant flowers such as the kunda, kevar, karnikar and kachanar

Jahan keki, kokila, kiranita, Radhey nam uchar.
…where peacocks, cuckoo birds and parrots chant ‘Radhey Radhey’ unceasingly;

Jahan ‘Kripalu’ Jalaja prvesh nahin, nigama na pavat par.
.. and where, in the words of Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji, Maharaj, even the supreme almighty Goddess Mahalakshmi cannot gain entrance. The divinity of Vrindaban is such that it is beyond the comprehension of even the Vedas.

Exerpted from the Dham Madhuri section of “Prem Ras Madira”, written and composed by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj.

© Radha Govinda Samiti and Bhakti Bliss, 2009-2010

Sanvaro, jadugar sardar.

Commenting on the longing of the Gopis of Braj for their sweet reunion with beloved Krishna, Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj says, “Shri Krishna, whose complexion is like a rain-laden cloud, is the leader of all magicians!”

Lakhatahin latu, bhatu hwai javati, deta muthi si mar.

He wounds everyone with His divine love-filled glances, and whoever looks towards Him becomes fully encharmed by His unlimited beauty.

Byahi anabhyahi sab hi sakhi, mohin braj ki nar.

The hearts of all the Gopis of Braj, whoever they are and whatever is their situation, are captivated by His love.

Jit dekhun hi tiya talafati, kahi Ha! Pranadhar!

Everywhere in Braja, the Gopis are overwhelmed with the pain of being separated from Him and crying out, ‘Oh Pranadhar! (‘Oh Lord of my life!’)

Bindhi ban hirani jyon van van, dhundhati Nandakumar.

Like wounded does, piteously wandering from forest to forest in search of refuge, they are searching for their Beloved everywhere in Braj.

Jab ‘Kripalu’ sab hi baurayin, ko kehi kahai gamar.

Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji says, “When all the Gopis are thus mad in the love of Shri Krishna, the supreme divine Beloved, who shall call whom mad?”

© Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat and Bhakti Bliss, 2009-2010

Daras kab daihaun Nandakishor!

Oh Krishna! When will You grace me to see You?

Lakhi Ghyanshyam shyam ghan nachihain, kabai mor man-mor!

When will my mind dance as a peacock before dark rain-laden clouds upon seeing your dark complexioned beauty?

Kabai driganchal chanchal chanchal! Lakhihau hamarihun or!

When will you glance at me with Your mischievous eyes that are filled with divine love and regard me as Your own?

Kab laihan chit chor morahun, braj banitani-chit-chor?

Oh stealer of the hearts of the Gopis of Braj! When will You steal my heart as well?

Kab brajvasini dasini dasini, dasi banihaun tor?

When will I become Your true servant by becoming the servant of the servant of Your eternal servants who reside in Braj?

Kab ‘Kripalu’ tanu sudhi bisaraihaun, hwai ras prem vibhor?

Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj asks, “When will I lose awareness of everything physical and become completely absorbed only in the bliss of Your divine love?”

Exerpted from the Dainya Madhuri section of “Prem Ras Madira”, written and composed by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj.

© Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat and Bhakti Bliss, 2009-2010

Shri Krishna in Bhakti Mandir

Jhumat chalat pramatta chal son,
lajavat bal maral.
The intoxicated manner in which He walks puts even the gait of a young swan to shame.

Ati ras bhare naina jit ghumat,
tit saba hot bahal.
He forcibly attracts the hearts of everyone He glances at with His nectar-filled eyes, and makes them lose all consciousness.

Mor mukut pat peet manohar,
lat urajhi ghungharal.
He is wearing a beautiful peacock-feather adorned crown on His head and an alluring silken cloth around His waist. His curly locks of hair are softly entangled.

Shruti kundal nasa bhal besar, ur dukul vanamal.
There are lovely earrings in His ears and He is wearing a charming nose-pearl. A finely woven shawl and a fragrant garland of wild flowers are embracing His chest.

Pag nupur kati kinkini aru mukh, murali shabda rasal.
The anklets on His lotus feet are making a tinkling sound, His golden waist-belt is making a jingling sound, and the flute resting on His lips is producing sweet melodious music.

Lakhatahin banat ‘Kripalu’ na baranat, kukavi bajavat gal.
Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj says, “The beauty of beloved Krishna can only be experienced, not expressed in words.” He humbly adds, “Therefore, this foolish poet is doing nothing but demonstrating his scholarship in trying to describe it.”

(Excerpted from the Shri Krishna Madhuri section of “Prem Ras Madira” written and composed by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj.)

© Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat and Bhakti Bliss, 2009-2010

We need a thorough knowledge of how we react to praise and dishonor, and then we need to put our knowledge into practice. Simply knowing this will not produce any changes. We have to practice managing them. For example, a person insults you. Don’t reply. First practice not responding. If your spouse criticises or scolds you, be quiet. Do not respond. Our habit is to respond.

One spouse says, “Why have you left this book on the pillows we sleep on? It is a holy book!” Immediately the other will respond, “Where else do you want me to put it? On my head?!” This is the kind of language we use in our relationships. Then this will escalate. One will give a response in kind, and the other will react to these outbursts until eventually their interaction will result in complete silence and both will refuse to speak to each other. Now the husband will call the son, “Pappu! Go tell you mother so and so.” His wife is sitting right next to him, but he is calling his son because he refuses to speak to her directly.

So we should see the truth of this and change ourselves because we desire what is in our ultimate self-interest and we also desire God’s grace. Such behaviour may be the key to success in the world, but it will never serve you in your spiritual life and you will get no peace.

A beggar thinks, “If only I could get two pieces of bread, I won’t want anything else.” He gets two pieces of bread. Then he thinks, “If only I had some soup and vegetables with this.” He gets that, too. Now he thinks, “If only I could get some dessert.” These desires keep on increasing. That person may even become a billionaire one day. Now the desires for celestial pleasures will arise.

So your aim of attaining happiness is not going to be fulfilled here in the material world. Make this firm decision beforehand. When you give up your desire for praise and your aversion to disrespect and dishonor, and instead feel true humility, then devotional tears will automatically begin to fall.

Even if you committed only a single sin in this lifetime, you have had uncountable lifetimes. If you do the math, this results in uncountable sins. What do we think instead? “I haven’t committed any horrible crime in this lifetime like murder. All I have done is tell a few lies. These are very ordinary sins.” The actual fact is you have committed uncountable murders and uncountable lies. You do not know this. But it is all recorded in God’s files. Accept this as an actual fact. It is in acknowledging this fact that great Saints say in the words of a devotee,

Mo sam kaun kutil khal kami.

“No one is as devious, wicked and lustful as me. Lord, if you do not forgive my past sins, it will take me an eternity to reap the consequences of my past actions.” They will never, ever come to an end. It is God’s grace that he forgives all our past deeds and that He also takes complete responsibility for our future. But He has one condition. We must surrender to Him completely and give up all our deception, craftiness, and pretense and accept the mind to be the enemy.

What have we done til now? The mind says, “It’s time for satsang but lie down and go to sleep.” Then you think, “But what if my Guru Ji calls me?” You answer your own question by thinking, “I will tell him I had a backache or my head was hurting. I’ll lie.” By just giving into this whim, you have become the mind’s servant and committed a grave sin. If you had just scolded yourself then and said, “You have come to the ashram for devotional practice! You made the decision to leave your home behind for some time specifically to do this and I should listen to your suggestion to sleep just now? I have done all this my whole life. I have eaten, I have slept, I have spoken, and I have sinned according to your whims.”

The mind says, “Do this and you will become happy.” But the happiness the mind desires is the opposite of what the soul needs. The mind is a product of Maya, and the soul is a child of God. They are opposite to each other. We forget this fact.

There was an descension of God whose name was Rishabdha. Great yogic powers known as siddhis approached him in their personified form. He asked them, “Who are you? Where have you come from?” They replied, “Lord, we are the great supernatural siddhis, and we have come to serve you as you are a great devotee.” Hearing their praises, he immediately responded, “Get away from me this very instant! You will serve me?” He advises us, “Oh, humans, don’t accept the demands of the mind, even by mistake.” (Bhagwatam, 5/6/3)

There was a renunciate named Shaubhari Muni who was so evolved in his yoga practice that he performed his austerities underwater in the Yamuna River. Once, he saw two fish mating and he immediately thought, “I should get married.” He was swayed by the whims of his mind. He emerged from the water and went to Mandhata, a king who had fifty daughters.

Shaubhari Muni asked to marry one of King Mandhata’s daughters. The king thought, “If I give a daughter to this old man, I will go to hell because I failed in my duty as a father. But if I don’t do this, he may curse my daughters, and all fifty may become animals!” Vishwamitra had, after all, cursed the celestial maiden Menaka to become a rock. Alhalya was also cursed in a similar manner. Great ascetics have this power to curse. The king said, “I will hold a swayamvar, a ceremony in which my daughters will choose their own husbands.” The king thought, “Not one of my daughters will choose him, and I will be off the hook.”

Shaubhari understood the king’s intention, so using his yogic power, he turned his body into that of a 16-year-old youth. He was so attractive, that all fifty princesses chose him to be their husband and started fighting with each other over him. King Mandhata thought, “All I have done is bring new trouble on myself.” But Shaubhari Muni said, “It’s all right, I’ll marry all fifty of them.” With his yogic power, he created fifty bodies, and married all the princesses.

This family over time expanded to over 5,000 people, including his children, and grandchildren. One day, sitting by the Yamuna River where he first had the idea that led to his present circumstances, he woefully said, “Oh, what was I then and what am I now!”( Bhagwatam, 9/6/50) Shaubhari Muni said, “Oh humans! Witness my downfall caused by following the whims of my mind! Please be extremely careful and treat your mind as your enemy. Never consider it to be your friend.”

Understand this principle in relation to praise and dishonor and practice this diligently in your own personal lives.

© Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat and Bhakti Bliss, 2009-2010

So the simple fact is that as long as you are under the control of Maya, you will have every fault and these faults will remain with you in the future.

No amount of effort, no matter how great, will free you from these. All actions originate from the mind, and the mind believes that happiness is found in the material world. After experiencing material sense objects and still not finding happiness, anger is inevitable. What is happening day and night in your home? Your father, mother, son, and spouse are all making you feel miserable. You can’t find peace anywhere. You may regularly say, “What a father I have gotten!” or “What kind of mother is this?” or “How did I get such a spouse?”

But what about you? Think about yourself, also. You say, “No one listens to me. No one cares about my happiness.” But whose happiness do you care about? Just look to yourself if you want what is in your best self-interest. You are harming yourself even more by looking at others and seeing their faults.

If you thought about the fact that you are at fault, then you would be less concerned with the bad behavior of others. Someone without a nose can’t call noseless people names. Only a person who has a nose can call someone without a nose ‘noseless’. We have to fully accept what we actually are. True Saints who were beyond lust and greed openly expressed in their writings,

Mo sam kaun kutil khal kami.

“No one is as devious, wicked and lustful as me.” They wrote such words for everyone to read. But those who actually have these faults don’t want to hear even one word of this. “My neighbor called me devious! Can you imagine? Devious!”

So the desire for respect and the consequent bad feelings that arise on being disrespected are two enemies that are constantly after us. They are the reason that we do not accept God to be God nor do we accept a Saint to be a Saint. They cause us to keep on committing spiritual transgressions, and to keep on fighting with our parents, children and spouses.

We say, “My wife insulted me!” “My husband dared to call me characterless! Me!” Don’t you know that today is April Fools Day? “Oh, I didn’t realise that my husband was playing a joke on me.” But if it’s April 2 instead of April Fools, just see what kind of situation arises from those very same words. But how many women are not characterless? What does it mean to be characterless? What does it mean to be a chaste or faithful wife?

Once a faithful wife was pounding rice with a pestle. Her husband said, “Just give me a little water.” She had just raised the pestle in the air, but on hearing her husband’s request, she removed her hand from the pestle. Miraculously the pestle remained suspended in mid-air and didn’t fall down. She gave water to her husband who drank it and then left. She returned to her work. Her neighbor saw this and asked, “Sister, where did you learn this magic?” She replied, “This isn’t magic. This is the result of being perfectly faithful to my husband.”

The neighbor thought, “I am also faithful. I haven’t had any kind of physical relationship with any other man up to now.” When she went home she told her husband, “Look, when I raise this pestle, ask me to bring you some water.” Her husband asked, “What is this all about?” She replied, “By the power of my faithfulness, this pestle will remain suspended in the air.” Her husband was very impressed. “This is great! We could even earn money from this!” He went some distance away and said, “Bring me water.” She let go of the pestle and it fell, striking her nose. Her husband said, “What kind of faithful wife are you?”

She want to her neighbor and started fighting with her, “You have spoiled everything in my home!” Her neighbor replied, “Sister, a woman is considered a faithful wife only if she has not had even a single negative thought about her husband.” How can a woman who fights with her husband ten times a day be called faithful? Whether one is faithful to one’s Guru, one’s spouse, one’s mother or to God, this all has one meaning – the mind should not harbor even a single negative thought towards the object of one’s love.

So we have all the faults because we are under the control of Maya. If we accept this fact, we will develop humility. If we are humble, we will not desire praise and we will not feel resentful when we are reprimanded or corrected by someone. This is why the first instruction of Gauranga Mahaprabhu was to be humbler than a blade of grass and more tolerant than a tree. A blade of grass bows down when trampled upon. A tree gives its fruits and shade to everyone, even those who throw stones at it or strip it of its bark and branches.

From within, we should offer genuine respect to everyone. This should not be just an external act, such as when we say, “Sorry!” Do you genuinely feel that you have done something wrong when you say this? No, it is just an external act for the sake of etiquette. Day and night we keep on saying to others, “Sorry,” “Thank you,” and “I love you,” but this is just to fulfill our own personal self-interest.

So God and the Saints advise us to stop all this acting and get real. When you say the word ‘sorry’, feel that you have done something wrong and that you won’t do it again. If you do not feel this, and keep on saying, “Sorry!” and keep on repeating the same mistake, you will never improve. Saints have exhausted themselves and become hoarse by repeating these instructions over and over. We have heard these same guidelines repeatedly from the Vedas and other scriptures. We listen to them, but do not put them into practice, because this means we have to put in constant effort, and this goes against the wishes of the mind. For this reason, a Guru tells you that your mind is your real enemy. You have to go against it and not give in to its desires.

Swami Ram Tirtha used to be very attached to apples. To overcome this, he placed an apple before himself and kept on looking at it until it became completely rotten. He was stubborn, “I will not eat it! I will not give in to my mind!” Similarly the great Saint Ramakrishna Paramahansa, use to put dirt in one hand and money in the other and keep repeating, “Taka mati, taka mati, Money and dirt are the same.”

Diogenes was a great Greek philosopher. He used to practice begging from a stone statue. He would say to it, “I am hungry. Give me something to eat.” People thought, “He was such an elevated ascetic, but he has gone completely mad!” Someone else thought it would not be possible for such a great soul to be mad, so he asked him, “Why are you begging for food from a stone statue?” Diogenes replied, “I know it won’t give me anything. I’m practicing not getting angry. This way when I beg at four or five homes and I receive no response, I don’t feel any resentment. I don’t feel bad and think, ‘Just look at this person! He has so much but he can’t spare two or three slices of bread’.”

Even nowadays, when a street beggar doesn’t get anything in alms he thinks, “This person is sitting in an expensive car and he can’t spare me even a few coins!” Most of them don’t say anything, but some say it out loud.

(Continued in Part 3)

© Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat and Bhakti Bliss, 2009-2010