From comfort zone to effort zone

It's easy to be in comfortable walls where we face fewer problems, we receive predictable happiness and mental security. But by avoiding venturing out of our comfort zone we limit ourselves to vast opportunities for growth and varieties of experiences. By nature, every jivatma is very active but when he accepts the garb of a material body he is captivated and bound by mode of ignorance.  Unless one is very much inspired, under the spell of ignorance he tends to avoid responsibilities and always seek comforts for body and mind. Gita wakes us up to our real nature by its wisdom. 

As we see that even Arjuna wanted to avoid his duty of fighting and for that he was presenting convincing reasons in front of the lord.  Lord understood that Arjuna just wanted to be comfortable with becoming beggar so he didn't  allow him to do so. Rather by various means, again and again, he pushed Arjuna to take up to this war, effort. He says, Tasmad uttistha kaunteya yuddhaya krta-niscayah, Therefore get up and fight with determination (2.37), similarly we find  tasmat tvam uttistha yaso labhasva, Therefore get up Arjuna, and prepare to fight(11.33) etc. 

Krishna explains the importance of efforts and hard work, especially in the 3rd chapter. He says, do not avoid duties because without work you can't even maintain your body. He asks us to carry out our responsibilities without getting attached to it just like he himself carries out his duties although he is the supreme lord. Similar verse we find in subhashit mala where it says that, "उद्यमेन हि सिध्यन्ति कार्याणि न मनोरथैः । न हि सुप्तस्य सिंहस्य प्रविशन्ति मुखे मृगाः" work gets accomplished by effort, industry, not merely by wishing. the animals don't enter a sleeping lion's mouth.

Not only in material life but also in our spiritual life we need to have this kind of attitude of taking efforts and not giving up easily for some cheap benefits. Generally, it happens that we tend to think, now because I have come to spirituality everything will be taken care by the God and I need not do anything, I will simply rest. But no, just like we see in Gita that Arjuna had to fight the war and then Krishna stood along his side helping him, making him victorious. Similarly, we all have our own wars and Warfield to deal with, when we become courageous and responsible like Arjuna then Krishna can provide his help in multifarious ways. Simply by sitting in one place and doing nothing won't help in any way neither it will attract Krishna, this is the essence of Gita.

Dusshera meditations

Our festivals are not only meant to be celebrated externally with pomp but also internally with introspection. We burn statue of Ravana on the day of Dusshera signifying destruction of the evil tendencies within. The character of Ravana teaches us multiple lessons to meditate upon.

1) *Power tends to corrupts*
When Ravana pleased Lord Shiva with his austerities, lord blessed him with all boons. By getting puffed up by powers he overpowered his own brother and snatched his kingdom and famous Pushpak Vimaan. Not only that he also started obstructing the religious acts of the saints and holy kings. He considered himself to be the centre of the universe thus he treated universal controllers like Surya, Chandra, Agni as his personal servants. He forgot their position and offended them.
Similarly when we get some authority we start considering others to be lower and insignificant than us, we disrespect them forgetting their contributions in our lives that begins our doom. The last stage of this mentality is that we start considering ourselves to be greater than God. Using this power, authority in the service of the supreme is the only solution for such disease.

2) *Lust deafens the ears*
It all started with the obsession to have Sita as his wife. What not Ravana did to have her. His cravings corrupted his intelligence and that's why he couldn't act properly even after repeated warnings by his near and dear ones'. Although being the controller of the many planets a thought of not having Sita as his wife made him incomplete he gave up all moral codes to obtain her. Similarly when we get obsessed with certain things we forget about the things which we own, making our life more miserable and frustrating.

3) *Time changes everything*
Position in this world is very transient, today's king is tomorrow's bagger. So one shouldn't be so proud of his positions. Ravana who had sovereignty all over universe was destroyed within matter of seconds by the mighty bow of Lord Ram and his monkey soldiers. However great, powerful we may become but time eventually snatches everything from us better use everything in the service of the real possessor.

4) *Morality stands higher than birth, skills and knowledge*
Born in high class Brahmin family Ravana learned all the scriptures thoroughly not only that but he compiled several verses glorifying Lord Shiva. His mastery over music was unparalleled, He had invented the ancestor of bow violin called the Ravanhatha which is played widely in Rajasthan even today. It's said he has written a book named Kumar tantra which describes about causes, symptoms and treatments of over 100 diseases pertaining to motherhood and pediatrics. But Ravana used this knowledge for his own selfish purposes. So rather than getting benefitted people were exploited by Ravana. Likewise we must understand that world won't get benefited by our knowledge unless we use it for their welfare. Also the same knowledge same skills can cause our destruction if used immorally.

5) *Nothing can help you if you are against the Lord*
Being puffed by boons given by Brahma and Shiva, Ravana started misusing his powers to go against the will of the Lord. He wanted to build the staircase for heaven so that anyone without performing sacrifices can enter into it. He was backed by the mighty Indrajita, Kumbhakarna and many others from the golden Lanka but they couldn't help him, rather they go destroyed while supporting his evil deeds. We also many times try to find out pleasures and peace while taking support of others but avoiding the Lord but that can't help. So we must fold ourselves in such a way that Lord becomes the centre and his service becomes the aim of life because that's the way to gain peace and bliss.

*Are you a diver, or a surfer?*




Scuba Diving and surfing are water sports played especially in ocean waters, the main difference between them is that one is played deep in the ocean while the other is on the surface. The surfer, sometimes, might be able to surf above or in the barrel of the wave, but eventually, he gets hit and thrashed by the waves again and again; whereas the diver swims peacefully. Just as the waves incessantly agitate the ocean, similarly various sorrows, miseries, issues, hankerings and other emotions constantly keep agitating and disturbing our life. 

Gita says that there is no end to this anxiety for materialists because they are like surfers, who want to enjoy and play with material nature, they make multiple plans, devise various schemes to exploit the world to become happy (BG 16.11-12). With a false hope that these tides will stop or will become smooth one day, they are busy making plans to acquire the flickering pleasures of this world, forgetting that these tides are not meant to stop and are meant to be here for eternity, that's the nature of the ocean.

Divers are those who swim deep into the ocean, they hardly get affected by the waves, where water is not just calm but also compose & one can even find tranquility. Diver is like a spiritual practitioner who understands that "these tides of the material ocean are never going stop, so let me change my approach of playing in this ocean". Diving deep also means going deeper into thoughts of understanding our purpose of existence, introspecting, enquiring, practicing and trying to achieve the goal of life ordained in scriptures. Just as one can find precious Pearls, Gems & stones in the deep waters, Similarly if one dives deep down into the Ocean of spirituality he finds valuable essence of human life, we find that Gita tells us that: we are not meant to just act according to our desires and emotions but we are meant to control them, direct them towards our ultimate benefit, that will make us blissful and happy. One who just keeps fulfilling his wants and moves according to his drives remains unsatisfied because wants never end, but one who tolerates and controls them understanding their true nature attains everlasting peace(2.70).


Arjuna and other Pandavas have not just survived but also won over the internal as well as an external battle because they learned the art of diving. Whereas Kauravas got thrashed and swayed away by the tides of Material nature. In conclusion, Gita's philosophy doesn't teach us materialism nor escapism, it guides us how to be in this world but not of the world. With the regular spiritual guidance and practice, this becomes possible. 

*Happiness Demystified*

Few incidents which had taken place in the past few days shook my heart and made me ponder "Where does Happiness actually lie?". Happiness seemed like a mystery for me after hearing about such incidents. One person was born with silver spoon, while the other had attained the height of his career and another who had received everything which he wanted throughout his life, but all of them were frustrated and ended up their lives unnaturally. For most of us, we can hardly dream of the luxuries, comforts and achievements they had possessed. They had everything in life, yet they were unhappy. What was lacking? What could be the reason? What made them take such extreme decisions?

When every other knowledge fails to resolve this query, then our last resort is 'The Bhagavad Gita', which answers all of them. It not only demystifies Happiness by revealing the root cause of our misery but also gives us the perfect remedy for it. In summary, Gita talks about the following two concepts of Happiness.

*We seek pleasure from those who/which can not give us pleasure.*
Seeking pleasure is not wrong but seeking pleasure at the wrong place is very wrong and that's the first mistake we do. We think happiness lies outside of us, may be in objects, places or in other people. We live in a misconception that "when I get something that I seek, I will be happy forever". Thus we plan, we contemplate, we endeavor, we put our mental and physical energy to obtain those things or relationships but after sometime we realize that the real pleasure doesn't exist in that particular object, place or person. We again start our search mission expecting some new results at the same old place in different ways or sometimes by same old tactics in different places or things. When we  fail and get frustrated, again we start searching for happiness, it becomes a vicious cycle in one's life, unless one puts efforts to break it.

*We neglect those who/which can give us pleasure*
We immerse ourselves so much in the false happiness of this world that we tend to forget the real happiness and its sources. Gita describes ourselves that we are eternal part of the Supreme, Who is embodiment of Bliss, Knowledge and Eternity. Just as a son of a rich father becomes miserable when gets separated and forgetful of his father, similarly, 'we', the souls embrace the misery as soon as we become forgetful of  God. As described in Gita, by re-establishing the lost connection again with Him by various means we can again experience that lost joy & bliss deep within our hearts. This bliss can be felt irrespective of material riches, wealth and things because it is the matter of heart, thus it can be experienced by the richest as well as the poorest too.
*Bhakti transforms lust into Lustre*

Undoubtedly our heart is a store house of desires, while some are good, some are vicious and there are some others which keeps prompting us for enjoyment. Lust is an intense craving or burning desire for enjoyment. Sometimes these longings are so strong that even the intelligent gets carried away and becomes the tool in the hands of our own desires. Lust blinds our sense of discrimination and binds us to our lower nature which in turn chokes up our advancement.

Gita describes, the lust to be an eternal enemy of intelligence. When intelligence gets consumed in the thoughts of sense enjoyment, we get overpowered by mighty lust. And then the mind and senses just start following its dictations just like a slave follows the cruel master against one's own will. Lust just drags us to the hellish conditions(16.21). As soon as we fulfil one desire another springs up, thus one helplessly wastes his precious time and energy in the fulfilment of unending, unreal and transient desires till the last breath of his life(16.11-12).

But when one's intelligence gets backed up by teachings of scriptures, association of pure souls (who are free from such desires) one gradually understands his actual position as an eternal servant of Krishna and his higher duties towards Krishna. With the determination to serve Krishna, the reservoir of real pleasure, under able guidance of those who have realised Krishna, it becomes easy to break these shackles of unholy desires from the heart.

As one takes up to the bhakti process, his mind, his desires, his intelligence, his senses gets illuminated by coming in contact with the all purifying Krishna(14.6). With the help of transcendental knowledge which actually brightens the heart, one gets strength to fight with this all devouring lust. Thus by becoming victorious over the lower nature which was the cause his suffering, he starts radiating and permeating the happiness which he experiences by being with Krishna .

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Are you postponing your happiness?

What is the first thought that comes to our mind when someone asks "When will you be happy?"
If our answers are more or less similar to these:  "When I pass my exams, I'll be happy" "when I get promotion", "when I lose my weight", "when I get married", "when I travel Overseas", "when I eat such kind of food", "when I meet my friends", "If I could be rich, I will be happy", "If I have a good job", " when I have a villa", "If I can attain this, I will be happy", "when I get that, I will be happy", etc...  Or our statements contains the conditions "If and when" then many of us are victims of 'if' and 'when' syndrome. We are simply postponing our happiness and constantly thinking, planning or waiting for the magical future. Even if we fulfil such desires they will be short-lived. Absorbed in making plans of the future happiness, we completely forget about present, which is in our hands right now. Rather than relishing present to its full capacity, we simply waste it by building castles in the air.
If we carefully observe the above answers, most of the answers are dependent on either things or somebody. Happiness exists neither in the things nor in other people. Happiness is our personal choice and it completely depends upon us. When we want to be happy, we can do it without being dependent on others. Happiness is our choice, 
we have the complete right to experience it at the moment. The more we try to find pleasures from outside or in others, the more we become miserable and frustrated. 

"Anandomayo abhyasat" we are all meant to experience happiness, but we have completely forgotten where to seek for that Happiness and what is that real Happiness. While running after false and temporary pleasures of this world, we have lost our contact with our eternal pleasure giving God, Sri Krishna. Vedic scriptures describe Krishna to be "satchidananda vigraha", the embodiment of Eternal Knowledge and Bliss. Lord Krishna is eager to share His Bliss with all of us. Bliss is even far superior than Happiness. When we come in contact with Him by different means such as chanting His Holy Names, worshipping Him, reading about Him; we can surpass the temporary happiness and can experience real pleasure within. When we start experiencing such purest and highest Bliss at all the times, we naturally stop searching for pleasures of this world, understanding its true nature. Then we situate ourselves in a state where external conditions no more affects our "Happiness".

The road to success is dotted with many tempting parking places, don't stop continue your journey

Suppose you are driving a car to reach specific destination urgently but you see wonderful parking spaces which you haven't seen before. You park your car and take rest forgetting urgency of your travel. Now the result will be you don't reach your destination within required time also you end up losing precious time and energy.

Similarly when spiritual aspirant is progressing on his spiritual path to reach supreme destination many times he gets allured by verities of temptations which he has neither seen nor experienced before. He may think let me experience some of these and then I will continue my sojourn again with full vigour. But that's where illusion traps him. These allurements presented by illusory potency are entangling and not easy to overcome.

Gita describes rarity of human birth and it's ideal purpose which is to attain love of godhead but unless one is determined and focused on his goal he may get blown away. Saubhari muni's example reminds us of this fact that even if you are serious and advanced practitioner you will be tested time again and again. Thus it becomes necessary to keep reminding ourselves of that goal by regularly reading and hearing of scriptures which actually eradicates dullness of our intelligence and provides clear vision. Lord also talked about taking shelter of him exclusively if we want to surpass his illusory energy. When one understands the speciality and supremacy of spiritual destination he can be inspired to attain that surpassing all kinds of distractions on his path. 

Economising our thoughts

Imagine you go to a mall to purchase a thing but end up buying more number of things than expected and mostly the things which are not needed too. We all might have faced this scenario. What will happen?, as a result we will shell out more money and cram our house with things which we actually have no use for. Now we are in a predicament whether to have them or discard them. We do not want to discard them because we have invested our hard earned money and we can neither keep them because it requires more time and energy to maintain them. Hence it's always better to think twice before purchasing any item to avoid regrets.

Similar things happen within us at every single moment. We invest and spend so much of our time & mental energy on contemplating  unnecessary thoughts which doesn't help us in any way, rather we are drowned in those thoughts. Just as any physical activity requires energy, so does mental activities too, sometimes they require even more. These thoughts of selfishness, hatred, envy towards others, superiority complex, egotism drains us completely. Many a times, we identify ourselves with these thoughts so much that it becomes difficult to give them up completely. Constant contemplation on such thoughts occupy a lot of room in our mind restricting the growth of our healthy and positive thoughts.

When we sit quietly and meditate, we realize that the mind is just chattering unrestrictedly, roaming here and there, everywhere, unlimited thoughts just come and go through the mind in a day. That's why Lord krishna in Gita has emphasized so much on the thoughts which we invest upon(BG 6.5-6). A single unregulated thought can put us into most abominable circumstances, a single thought at the time of death decides our future birth, a single thought can become cause of our spiritual fall or rise. Thus we need to keep track of our mind & it's thoughts.

We have to channel our mental energy into the things which actually benefit us, elevate us and take us closer to the God. It is better to examine our thoughts regularly in order to immediately expel unimportant, sadistic, unrealistic and anxious thoughts from the mind. The same space can be filled with more creative, positive & constructive thoughts. And for one who does that experiences immense bliss and satisfaction in this life (BG6.7). In conclusion we all have a choice of either to thinking about things which are going to help us or drain us.

Ordinariness of an extraordinary

Janmashtami is the special occasion when the immortal lord Sri Krishna appears in the mortal world for several reasons. Actually occasion, place, reasons doesn't bind him or forces him to take birth here, he appears by his own sweet will, primarily to reciprocate with his loving devotees. Although extraordinary in all the aspects he becomes and behaves as ordinary human being and pleases his parents, friends, relatives and so on by his simple and heart touching acts. Being transcendental to the laws of this world he can just transgress them but to set good example and teach amazing lessons he acts humanly and shows his highly unusual powers only when it is extremely needed.

We can just meditate on his various pastimes to understand this. If he wished he could have killed Kamsa and other demons by his potency without taking birth through the womb of Devki but He appeared in the jail and that too also in the mid-night when everyone was in slumber of deep sleep, no one except demigods knew that he is born, such a simplicity. He asked his father Vasudev to carry him to Gokul and replace him with baby girl who was born to Yashoda, for that he travelled in the basket. In Gokul Vrindavan he lived a life of a simple cowherd boy who cherished to play with cows, his other cowherd friends, not only played but got defeated by them several times. He wasn't attracted by the well versed Brahmanas but by their wives who offered him simple fruits. He is simple for those who are simple and complicated to those who are complicated. He danced on the instructions of the gopis, he stole their clothes, their butter and their hearts by his simplicity filled with divinity.

His pastimes doesn't end with this but continues in Mathura and in Dwarka too. After killing Kamsa and others, he restored Ugrasena as the king, later he accepted Sandipani as his guru and humbly learned from him not only that but he offered gurudakshina as a token of reciprocation. Later He kidnapped Rukmini and other queens by defeating other envious kings, he worshipped sudama, Narda and several other rishis and Brahmanas regularly in the Dwarka. Although the most powerful of all He took part in the most important war of history as a chariot driver of Arjuna.

Through these various Lilas we see that the Krishna although being phenomenal and exceptional, he is filled with simplicity. Simple, ordinary and genuine things when offered with devotion please him the most we can see this when He asks for a leaf, fruit, water and flower from his devotees. Although full with divinity Lord also lived a life of practicality to set an example in front of ordinary people like us who sometimes simply believes in divinity forgetting the endeavour is also a inseparable part of successful spiritual life.

Are you ready for GST?

Tax is a financial charge imposed upon an individual by the government in order to fund various public expenditures. Some of these include expenditures on economic infrastructure (roads, public transportation, sanitation, legal systems, public safety, education, health-care systems), military, scientific research, culture and the arts, public works, distribution, data collection and dissemination, public insurance, and the operation of government itself. So there are different types of taxes such as commercial tax, food tax, entertainment tax etc. levied to recover money. And from today the GST taxation laws will put an end to multiple taxes which are levied on different products, starting from the source of manufacturing to reaching the end consumer.

In short we need to pay money for using systems, facilities and services provided by the government in the form of tax and if we avoid or neglect it then we become criminals according to the law. If we analyse and observe closely we will find that actually it is the nature through its cosmic management provides us all the essentials in the form of earth, water(rains), air, sun and moon rays, oceans, trees etc to maintain and sustain our lives on this planet. But it's surprising to know that we have hardly ever bothered to pay the taxes to that universal governance which is incessantly providing us with all those basic things from time immemorial.

Scriptures explain us that universal management is done by the demigods who are empowered servants of the supreme God Krishna thus We are indebted to them. In order to clear that debt, to live happily in this world and in the next world scriptures asks us to perform sacrifices for their pleasure which is similar to paying different taxes(3.10). Just like for a smooth governance there has to be a cooperation between government and citizens similarly to gain prosperity in human society there has to be a constant cooperation between a man and the demigods(3.11). We are not only liable to the demigods but also to the sages or teachers who give us the knowledge, we are liable to our parents who gave us the birth, we are liable to society that has facilitated our upbringing and to the so many others. One who avoids to repay these obligations in the form of verities of sacrifices is considered as a thief(3.12).

But the question may arise that if we are indebted to so many then how much time it will take to please everyone and nullify everyone's debt? Just like GST includes all the other taxes within it similarly when one engages in the service of Krishna, he need not to bother about so many other obligations. Loving service to Krishna includes service to everyone, he is like a root of the giant tree, when one waters the root of the tree every part of the tree is nourished. GST may or may not be beneficial for people in general but sacrifices performed as a loving offering to Krishna such as sankirtana yajna will surely bring fortune in the society. Pleasing Krishna is not at all a difficult task, even a bagger can do that. Krishna asks for minimum things like a leave, a flower, a fruit and the water in return from his devotees(9.26). In conclusion just like a lawful civilian pays his taxes to the government dutifully similarly one must understand the contribution of Lord Krishna in our lives from millions of birth and engage in his devotional service (may not be lovingly at initial stage but at least) dutifully.

Bhakti toughens the skin and softens the heart

It's a general misunderstanding that spirituality is something esoteric  with its unattainable, theoretical, impractical and only imaginary results. But from the point of view of those who have rigorously practiced it in their lives concludes that Bhakti is the most practical method with its immense attainable benefits, even an ordinary neophyte practitioner can see and experience some of these. These outcomes are extraordinary, substantial and more valuable than superficial and temporary material experiences.

Sincere practitioner begins his journey gradually from a relative to the absolute world by following the words of scriptures and realised souls thus start setting up the connection with supreme reality, Krishna. He understands and fulfils his material as well as spiritual responsibilities without getting affected by challenges realising the world is filled with dualities. Just like thick objects absorb the impact of striking hammer(toughness) similarly his skin gets tougher in the sense that he becomes indifferent when he is ignored, praised or blasphemed, respected or insulted or criticised or even physically assaulted etc. He continues to be concerned with carrying out his duties for upliftment of everyone without getting least bothered about reversals.

Although his skin gets toughened but his the heart is softened. He becomes sensitive in dealing with others, he makes sure that he is not disturbing or agitating or troubling others. He feels pain for others because he realises that on the spiritual plane we all are brothers and sisters, we have very close relationship with each other. Due to his compassionate nature he want to benefit everyone eternally. He eagerly shares his fortune of being krishna conscious with others because he knows the ultimate reason for their misery is lack of knowledge of krishna and forgetfulness of his relationship with them.

Scriptures gives us innumerable examples of such souls who have actually executed these qualities, Jesus is one of the example. People were criticising him, cursing him not only that but he was crucified (toughness) for preaching god consciousness amongst them but he kept wishing well for everyone without having a tinge of grudge in his heart (softness). In conclusion Bhakti gives us the direct higher experience which helps us to tolerate short material miseries and empowers us to share the joy of practicing it with others.

Before you go high, go deep

Just imagine an architect making a beautiful building without bothering much about its foundation. What will happen? Such a construction won't survive even a smaller natural calamities what to say of storms, earthquakes and floods, therefore foundation plays a major part than aesthetics of building. A properly-built foundation could sustain the wrath of a natural phenomenon at a much higher level and remain safe for the people inside it. Just because foundation is unseen we can't ignore its importance.

Similarly when it comes to a building of a life we care much about our goals and externals, our looks or aesthetics appearances than our foundations which are based upon core values and spirituality. Just like the nature life is also not smooth it's filled with many upheavals, it tries to knocks us down by various challenges and if we are not grounded well within then we may collapse (psychophysically and emotionally) like a building constructed by an immature engineer.

More the height of a building more deep it is within the earth. So if we want to attain the heights of success our life should be based on strong spiritual principles which act like a foundation. Lord krishna in several verses of Gita gives the characteristics of a person who is well established in his spiritual understanding. Such a person realises the real nature of problem thus remains fixed up in his duties in the midst of the difficulties, because he is fixed in knowledge he neither gets elated nor gets disturbed but maintains equal attitude towards good and bad situations(BG 2.56-57). Just like a Foundation transfers load to ground similarly when we are loaded heavily with disturbances, tensions, agitations etc spirituality can help us to unload or to bear all those things.

In conclusion, when it comes to building projects, the foundation is the most important work and the basis of everything that comes after. It should not be taken for granted. Similarly Life is much more precious and rare than any project if it is not well built on strong spiritual foundation one may suffer from occasional collapses in various ways. Thus we must fold our life in a way to include spiritual practices like reading, hearing scriptures and chanting, in it to make foundation more deeper and stronger.

Leap of faith or leak of faith


“To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible.” — Thomas Aquinas

Faith is an essential element in life, just like an air or oxygen is for the body similarly faith nourishes the heart. Faith isn’t just a notion that some people hold onto in tough times but we need it in all parts of our lives. We couldn’t drive our cars without faith that someone wouldn’t cross the divider and crash into us. If we didn’t have faith, how could we fly in an airplane, a metallic machine flying 35,000 feet high in the air? Without faith, how can we marry and decide to stay together for a lifetime with a person who has just met a few times before? A leap of faith, in its most commonly used meaning, is the act of believing in or accepting something outside of the boundaries of reason.

Similarly, faith is the root of Bhakti. Bhagavad Gita(9.3) explains, "those who are not faithful to the devotional service won't achieve Krishna." Faith goes beyond the logic, reasoning, and explanations. One who is always suspicious can't lead a happy life either materially or spiritually, “For the doubting soul there is happiness neither in this world nor in the next(BG 4.40)." A devotee has explicit faith that the Lord will protect him in every circumstance thus he keeps taking leaps of faith for service and mission of the Lord.

In the case of neophyte devotees when things go in their way they feel elated and joyful which increases their faith in Krishna but sometimes, when things don’t go according to plan, they tend to lose faith, not only in themselves but also in any potential outcome in their lives and in omnipotent God. Failure will do that to us unless we are deep rooted in spiritual understanding based on scriptures and teachings of saintly beings. When we experience life’s monumental failures, it’s easy to lose hope and faith in God and start doubting his abilities this is a time when our faith starts leaking out.

Despite having troubles in life to continue with one's faith in Bhakti process is a remarkable thing, in fact, such troubles deepen one's faith. It requires a significant leap of faith to believe that we can succeed where so many others have failed. Our scriptures give plenty of examples of such fixed up devotees like Dhruva, Prahlad, Parikshit, Kunti, Draupadi etc. who were amidst problems and dangers but continued to serve and to have faith in Krishna. They didn't get distracted by temporary upheavals, such devotees are determined to execute teaching and instructions of the lord in favorable or unfavorable situations. We see in the life of Prabhupada also that he had to face so many reversals and challenges to establish worldwide Krishna conscious society. It was a struggle but he did that without questioning Krishna and now we can see the fruits of that faith which has expanded into thousands of temples and millions of followers all over the globe.
In conclusion, when we go through situations when our faith gets challenged or weakened we must observe and study the lifestyle of great devotees who had put their faith explicitly in the mercy of Lord and continued their devotional service during bad times.

By Rupesh Gauranga Dasa

Those who always look for material security remain spiritually unsecured

Many people postpone their surrender to Krishna until they feel materially secured enough. They think when everything gets settled nicely, when we earn enough bank balance, when we complete all our material responsibilities then we will surrender, then we can practice bhakti and devote our time and energy to the God. But actually this feeling of security never comes, even it comes hopes and hankering for more security keep on arising in the heart.

Material securities are not only temporary but lead to miseries
However secured we may materially be but it's all transient. Greed for security never stops and even it stops the desire to enjoy those securities can arise in the heart. Then mind starts hovering over material opulence gained from such securities(BG16.13). In such situations, it becomes extremely difficult to practice bhakti(BG 2.44). More the securities more the attachments and anxieties till the time of death(BG16.11). Also, there is a danger that those who are secured enough may become proud of their abilities and refuse their surrender to Krishna by denying his existence thus bound by networks of illusions and immersed in unreal enjoyment they lead their path to hell(BG16.16).


Krishna provides both material and spiritual securities 

By the practice of bhakti yoga, one comes to the understanding of his real eternal nature and Lord's benevolence thus he doesn't get too much obsessed for material securities and desires. He knows that Krishna takes care of his surrendered soul by providing whatever devotee lacks and protecting whatever devotee has(BG9.22). He takes care of them by placing them under his divine energy(BG9.13). And while practicing Bhakti even someone fails to attain Krishna in this life or the next he is never overcome by evil either materially or spiritually (BG6.40)- means he is secured in both circumstances. 

Interestingly Krishna doesn't ask us to give up all our material aspirations and duties but asks us to use them intelligently in his service without being attached to their yields, that's bhakti yoga, that leads to elevation(BG 8.7). In conclusion rather than proroguing bhakti for some insignificant material benefits and reasons, one should start bhakti yoga from his very position by including Krishna in all aspects all his life and considering unlimited eternal spiritual gains of practicing it.

By Rupesh Gauranga Dasa

Life beyond Facebook likes

Our day starts with checking emails, what's app messages and most importantly Facebook notifications. We are eager to see how many likes our post have received. When there are many likes we feel elated but it's a painful to see our post lingering overnight on the timeline with a handful of likes. We feel dejected as if nobody cares for us, nobody wants to listen what We want to say, no one values us, we feel worthless, ignored and embarrassed. Not only that but we experience jealousy in the heart when others get more likes than us.

We have become so shallow that we define our value, success based on Facebook likes and others' opinions for us. Rather than thinking what likes us, what inspires us and following that with whole heart we start putting emphasis on what others think of us, what others like etc. The lack of likes is not necessarily a projection of how liked we are personally, or whether or not we are good enough. We must work on this wrong tendency of comparing ourselves with others based on some externals.

Start liking ourselves:
We have to understand that we all are different in the way we think, feel and do things. Everyone is endowed with unique potential. We must find out that unique nature of ours and work on that to improve and upgrade it. Each one of us is different with different success parameters, so it's better to compete with our self than with others. Make decisions that reflect our true self. Express who we really are, without being overwhelmed with the joy of acceptance and the fear of rejection.

Stop hankering for likes:
Even if we get likes after few days again we will desire for it and if we don't get that we will be miserable, better stop hankering for it. Let not externals affect our internal emotions, desires, mindset etc. Keep our inner world intact by not depending upon others' perspective about us. When we are satisfied within we won't hanker for appreciation through any means, we will be happy contributing in an efficient way.

It's not only with the Facebook but in life's journey also we are so dependent on others' outlook about us. We must go beyond likes and dislikes and find out the solid purpose to live with and continue doing it enthusiastically despite being recognized or ignored by others. Ups and downs will keep coming in lives through various means, dealing with them on the basis of deep spiritual foundation can protect us from all crisis.

By Rupesh Gauranga Dasa

Protecting the relationship from sinking

“When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but creatures of emotion.”
— Dale Carnegie

However fast world may progress towards automation and robotics, every individual will still require an another human to love him because machines can not fulfil the most basic urge of the heart, that is 'to love and to be loved'. Relationships are the most important but simultaneously difficult to cultivate if not cared properly. Just like the plants have to be supplied with water, fertilisers, sunlight etc from time to time else they will dry up sooner or later, similarly relations gets flourished or can bear fruits when cared and gets broken up or uprooted from hearts when ignored.

Following things can surely help in nourishing the relationships.

Respect the difference
“When you stop expecting people to be perfect, you can like them for who they are.”
– Donald Miller
No 2 people are made similar, each single of us is created unique physically as well as emotionally. Individuality can become great asset If we can use it to grow, but can become great cause of frustration if we start comparing with other's individual natures and likings. Respecting the uniqueness means appreciating the creation of god. No one is perfect so rather than competing with each other and making life more complicated it is better help and assist each other on our sojourn towards perfection.

Expectations has to be minimised
"Expectations are cause of misery." - Buddha
It is great to have expectations! It is also natural to expect your partner to be there for you all the time; to love you unconditionally; to always understand you; to always remember your birthday. If you find out that your expectations are not fulfilled, rather than getting angry at your partner, ask yourself whether your expectations are realistic and attainable. Keeping unrealistic expectations and hoping them to be fulfilled soon can break the connection eventually.

Loving exchanges
“They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel.” — Carl W. Buechner
Although love is faculty of heart it has to be expressed with the words and actions, it's not a good idea to keep respect and love only within one's mind. Srila Rupa Goswami, a Saint and an aacharya of 16 th century shares the time tested formula of developing relationships by quoting a verse in his Nectar of Instructions which says by Offering gifts, accepting charitable gifts, revealing one’s mind in confidence, inquiring confidentially, accepting food and offering food one can nurture the connection with others.

Acknowledge the contribution
Many times we forget about the contributions of people in our life thus we starts taking them cheaply or deal neglectfully that can ruin our relationship. Recognising and appreciating their participation in our upliftment(physical or emotional) can help in bridging of several minds together. Inspite of having vast information available for keeping relationships intact for years together still we see so many of them getting destroyed because people fail to apply this knowledge in their practical life.

Trust
“To be trusted is a greater compliment than being loved.” ― George MacDonald
Trust is a super important part of a healthy relationship, but it’s something that many people struggle with, for a lot of different reasons. What does trust mean? Trusting someone means that you think they are reliable, you have confidence in them and you feel safe with them physically and emotionally. Trust is something that two people in a relationship can build together when they decide to trust each other. You can’t demand or prove trust; trusting someone is a choice that you make. Trust is important than love because it fuels the love. Trust is one of the major foundation of any relationships.

I consciousness has to be overcome
The only things which can harm the relationship is that to think how I can get benefitted by this. Relationship is all about to serve and not only to be served. Personal agendas are like tight noose around the neck of relationships. Self centred consciousness has to be transformed into selflessness. Relationship means Seeking to give more than you receive. As long as we have exploitative tendencies in heart the real relationship can never grow.

Overlook the mistakes
 “We can improve our relationships with others by leaps and bounds if we become encouragers instead of critics.” — Joyce Meyer
To err is a human, no one is perfect so rather than pondering upon others' mistakes let's learn to ignore it. Make a habit of focusing on the positives. Pay attention to your and other's strengths.

Nonjudgmental
"If you judge people, you have no time to love them." — Mother Teresa
Most of the times it happens that people react over the issues without understanding the intent of others. We judge very quickly just by seeing the externals but they are not always real. We should treat others just like we want to be treated by them.

Speak it up
“Assumptions are the termites of relationships.” — Henry Winkler
We are not the god who understands and notes down every single thing that goes on in mind or in heart. How others will understand us if we won't speak it up. Not speaking anything and expecting others to behave or act in certain way is illogical. It's observed that those who regularly share their sorrows and happiness with others at least through words they are more blissful than those who keep everything in mind.

Hold on
“The ultimate test of a relationship is to disagree but to hold hands.” – Alexandra Penney
Real relationships are much different than they are shown in romantic movies. When everything is nice and happening according to our way then it's easy to have good relations but the real test comes when ups and downs come in life's journey. Rupa Goswami gives the definition of love, he says, there may be multiple reasons to quit but still relationship continues and that's the real love. One must strive to hold on to it inspite of having many impediments.

Inner connection
We are much more than our physical body, we are spirit soul at our core. If we are attached to each other on the basis of physical charms and external skills then such relationships will end soon because neither the body nor anything related with body has permanent place in the world. But if we are loving each other, respecting each other understanding that we are eternal souls, servants of one God then that relationship can go beyond time and space. We must try to develop that inner connection with each other which not only includes binding of bodies and mind but also the soul.

Pure Purpose has to be focused upon
One can keep relationships with others only if he can deliver his dependents from the path of repeated birth and death. -SB 5.18.18
One must check what he actually seeks from relationship, mere bodily or mind's needs or something higher than that. God and service to god should be the centre of any relationship. If the foundation of relationship is strong that is service to each other and to the supreme , then all other mentioned things become secondary and relations bear the fruits of satisfaction and higher bliss.

By Rupesh Gauranga Dasa

Finding difficult to control Lust, try out following A,B,C,D...

While most of the people are enjoying delights of sex pleasure indiscriminately there are few who are trying to go against the current of material civilisation, for attainment of higher bliss by restraining their senses and mind by regulating sex. History reminds us by giving the examples of great personalities like King Yayati, Pururava, Saubhari etc that it's not easy to curb this desires but still not impossible. If one is unable to control his desires then he can't fulfil his material responsibilities also what to say of attaining spiritual world which is free from such selfish desires. Here are few principles which can help us in accomplishing our higher goals.

Avoid bad association
Association leads to aspirations and aspirations becomes the cause of actions. If we associate with those who are attached to enjoy through opposite sex, wine and wealth then we may fall in trap of material enjoyment which leads to reactions again. It's a vicious cycle very difficult to come out of it therefore One has to be very conscious about his company. Not only people but also keep a distance from magazines, films, novels, stories which aggravates our passion.

Be aware of your thoughts
Mind is like a generator and nerves are like wires which carry a current to machines that are compared to senses. When certain desires comes to the mind they are sent to the senses, mind propels the senses to carry out or to fulfil its wishes. As krishna explains in Gita, fall down of soul starts with contemplation on sense objects, this contemplation leads to lust(2.62-63) which is enemy of conditioned soul(3.37). Therefore checking lust at the very beginning is most important. Try to check your thoughts, don't let mind wander everywhere, keep it engaged in productive work(6.26). The more it thinks of sense enjoyment more it feels unsatisfied.

Control the diet
Lord explains in Gita about 3 kinds of foods, that is in mode of goodness, passion and ignorance. Gross part of food affects body and subtle part of food affects the mind. If one consumes passionate food like too hot or pungent, meat, fish, eggs his passion gets nourished which actually agitates the mind. Lord recommends healthy diet in mode of goodness that includes wheat, rice, lentils, milk and fruits which also helps in getting happiness and satisfaction(17.8)

Develop a higher taste
To be blissful always is the nature of soul and therefore it's searching for some kind of pleasure at all the time. When one is not experiencing higher bliss he will look out for lower form of bliss available in sense enjoyment(2.59). When the beggar is full with tasty, nourishing food he won't beg neither will eat cheap and unhealthy food. When we engage ourself in processes of Bhakti we naturally becomes happy and contented at heart and mind thus we try to give up enjoying senses through the medium of sex.

By Rupesh Gauranga Dasa

When puppy becomes happy....

Once a lady went to veterinery with her puppy. She complained to the doctor about his misbehaviour, his disobedience towards her. She was attached to puppy but she was worried because of his indifference. She requested doctor to cure him because she couldn't think to live without him. Doctor observed the puppy for a while and told her not to be worried, he asked her to leave this puppy with him for a day or more, assuring her of his cure. As soon as she left doctor called his assistant and told him to tie the puppy in buffalo's shed. He also ordered him to not feed him anything except water and to give lashes with whip if he barks. Puppy was miserable, whole night he couldn't sleep there due to hunger and mosquito biting and when he barked asking for something he was whipped. Lady came after 2 days, she asked about her puppy. Doctor asked assistant to free the puppy from chains, as soon as he was freed he ran towards his mistress, he felt comfortable in her arms, under her shelter, he started kissing her, licking her, he was happy. She realised the puppy is cured. She asked the doctor, "how did you do that?", doctor replied, "due to your pampering he had forgotten about his position as a dog and was thinking himself to be boss, we just gave him proper psychological and physical treatments to give him his identity back, now he is okay."

Many times people question about their existence in material world, they ask if they were happy in spiritual world then why did they land up coming here, what is the purpose of life so on and so forth. This simple story reveals their answers.

We the souls were staying happily with Krishna in his eternal blissful abode named 'Goloka'(Vaikuntha). But because of developing indifference, insubordination towards him we were taken to the hospital for curing our diseased attitude of 'wanting to enjoy independently from god'. Material world is compared to a hospital and illusory potency of Lord, Maya Shakti, the Durga Devi is doctor. By her various treatments categorised by adhidaivik, adhyatmik, adhibhautik miseries she makes us realise that, we are not the boss, nor the independent enjoyer, we are eternal servants who are meant to serve the lord.

We can understand Krishna's unlimited love for us through this act, he could have forsaken us eternally for our misconduct but for sake of us he creates this material world to give us an opportunity to rectify our mistake by understanding his and our's position. Just like puppy became happy by accepting shelter of his mistress we the individual soul similarly can experience happiness when sheltered by eternal master, Krishna.

By Rupesh Gauranga Dasa

Are you healthy??

Exercises are generally neglected because while practicing one needs to come out of comfort zone and really push himself to do it, but one suffer the health issues as a consequence of avoiding it. While I was in hospital for some treatments I was told by the doctors to start exercising regularly to stay healthy and fit so that there will be less possibility of body to get diseased again. People who do regular exercises have a lower risk of many chronic diseases, such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, and some cancers. I started exercising and now experiencing better results, it really helps.

We exercise to improve our heart health and we lift weights to build and tone our muscles. But what about our inner health? What do we do when we feel lonely, dejected, discontent, despondent, annoyed, depressed, tempted and frustrated? Research shows that for some degree physical exercise can heal mental sickness but not all. We come across the people who are physically fit but mentally ill (eg. anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, eating disorders and addictive behaviours).

Gita tells us that there was no warrior like Arjuna, he was perfectionist in terms of power and skills but still he felt crippled because of mind and refused to fight(6.34). One may be strong without but if he is weak within he can not use his strength effectively. As an to answer to Arjuna's query lord Krishna replied by saying, certainly mind is powerful and centre of all sensory activities but it can be controlled with suitable practices(abhyas) and detachment(vairagya) - spiritual exercise(6.35).

Spiritual exercises can help us in building inner muscles. It gives us strength to deal with temptations, provoking situations, bad habits and teaches us to be satisfied. Suitable practices involves engaging the mind in superior bliss which is available in practices of devotional service such as chanting and hearing, and detachment means keeping the mind away from inferior pleasures of material world. Sometimes one may need to really push and come of out of comfort zone to practice spirituality but it will help us to be fit and healthy within, making us immunised for all mental diseases. In conclusion healthy is one who not only keeps his body but also his mind sound and fit.

By Rupesh Gauranga Dasa

God - The Munificent Banker

Imagine a person borrows money from bank and forgets or neglects to pay it off back within given time, what will happen? The banker will surely sue a case against him to recover whole money. However bank may tell you that they offer best loans at attractive interest rates with flexible pay back options they won't leave you until you return a single paisa. In fact before giving loan they will check your financial conditions and your ability to pay back money, if you fit in their criteria then only you will receive the loan.

If we observe our life carefully we will find that we own practically nothing and everything is borrowed from someone else, may it be from parents, nature, from animals, birds and trees etc. And a good responsible human tries to repay his debt by various means to those who have helped him in so many ways.

But if we see God although he has given everything he never expects anything from us. Lord explains in Gita that earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and ego, which later helps in creating different bodies and species, emanates from him(BG 7.4). 7th chapter further explains that krishna is taste of water, abilities in man, life in all lives, power in all powerful men, strength of the strong etc. He is the one who nourishes the herbs and plants, provides seed for creation, he sends forth the rain which causes growth of food crops not only that he is also a digestive fire in stomach and in other innumerable ways he provides us everything that is required to live a life without looking at our qualifications and conditions. We are certainly indebted to him, more than anyone else.

Although he doesn't asks us anything in return but as a responsible, sensible humans we must try to repay him back. Although being omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient, lord Krishna is very simple at heart, simple and genuine things please him the most. Suppose a money lender comes to you and you just offer him water or leaf to nullify debt, he will not only get infuriated but also beat you up. But Krishna is not like that, he says he is happy accepting the things such as water, a flower, a leaf and a fruit if offered with devotion in return to enormous things which he has provided. By being grateful to him, appreciating and using things in his service we can repay his debt.

By Rupesh Gauranga Dasa

Scriptures-Fantasised or fantastic

Most of the people consider scriptures to be fantasy of someone's fertile mind. They think these are merely lessons intended stories, texts, verses for morale evolution of humans and not more than that. They ignore the importance of scriptures saying it's just a mythology, like an ordinary film story.
But scriptures are wonderful creation of God for helping everyone to reach him eventually, certainly they contain substantial matter for all of us.

Offers us the ideal path to go on with in life-
Often we want to have standardised or most perfect or ideal things but when it comes to living a life we just want to live it without standardising it. Scriptures includes the lifestyles of various successful kings of past history such as Yudhisthira, Janaka, Dhruva, Bali, Shibi etc. These kings didn't not only live their life for completing material responsibilities but also fulfilled their spiritual duties. By following such examples we can also become successful in both the worlds like them.

Guides us in crucial moments-
Life is not completely in our hands, we are not sure that when tragedy will arrive. But responding to problems is in our hands. Some consider that religion or scriptures tells us to run away from everything but no, they actually prepare us beforehand to deal with different situations resulting in jubilance, distressing or disturbing.

Gives us the specific purpose to live for-
Scriptures gives us much more than morale instructions, they offers us the higher purpose in life. Without a purpose life don't have any meaning. They tell us the importance, advantage, rarity of human birth and prepares us to attain the goal of human life that is to please God through our actions. They shift our focus from sense gratification to self realisation which awaken us to eternal reality which exists beyond this mortal world.

Scriptures are Filled with extraordinary information-
They have talked about all kinds of sciences and information such as embryology, health, space, species, miliatary and political sciences etc much before than advancement of technologies. Scriptures doesn't limit till gross science but also deals with subtler sciences, where it teaches to deal with mind, intelligence and ego. In fact it talks about most subtle thing the soul, supersoul and their relationship which is not at all taught by any other education system. This knowledge makes us aware of our predicament here in this world and ignites the fire within to go to spiritual world where eternal bliss exists.

Carries the potency for transformation-
Scriptures are filled with instructions and pastimes of God who is all purifying, thus by getting in contact with such literatures one can experience internal purification, change of heart and attitude towards this world and towards everyone, which is not possible by any mundane subjects. Purified heart is store house of bliss and satisfaction. There are many who attained transcendental bliss by practicing this wisdom.

In conclusion when we study scriptures under expert guidance many dimensions of realities which are beyond our physical approach can be known to us. These are fantastic words from God in fact scriptures are the incarnation of God in words, by learning and following these words we can actually experience and reach him who is beyond this world.

By Rupesh Gauranga Dasa

'And they happily lived ever after'......are you sure??

For classic fairy tales, “And they lived happily ever after” is the most popular ending. Here’s the pattern: The story opens with, “Once upon a time. . . .” Then the characters are introduced, and they get into various adventures and troubles. Finally, their troubles are resolved, their adventure ends in success, and they live happily ever after.

After reading narrations from such books or watching movies based on these books one may question that I am also going through troubles and adventures, in fact my inconveniences and anxieties are more than hero of a story, problems are non-ending and I am trying my best to deal with them but when this 'happily lived ever after' is going to come in my life? Does such thing really exist?

We all have practical experience that till the end of life one struggles. Initially one struggles for basics necessities, wishes, desires then for social positions etc and at the end for every life breath. Responsibilities, struggles don't end they keep on increasing, so to think that now everything is settled we can live happily here in this world for long time is simply a myth. The books and movies many times fanaticise about 'happiness' and 'ever after(eternity)' not knowing where to get and how to get them. In other words they only misguides us in our journey for real eternal pleasure.

On the other hand we have scripture like Gita which exactly tells us about the nature of pleasures of this world and their transience(BG 5.22). While portraying real picture of material world Gita wisdom
not only provides us the way to deal with temptations, problems and every single issue of life but also offers us the way to reach abode of God where actually we can 'live happily ever after'(BG 15.6).

Rupesh Gauranga Dasa

Regulate before you regret

Imagine a school without any discipline or rules, students can come and go at any time, if they wish they can study else no worries, they can eat and play whenever and wherever they want etc. Of course for time being students will be happy but how helpful it will be for children's future or a nation at large? No, it won't be. Regulation, rules, laws are must in all parts of life. It's said 'Discipline leads to success'.

Still we find there are few who just don't want to control or regulate their own lives. According to them regulations, laws restrict their enjoyment, 'enjoy the life indiscriminately' is their whole philosophy. But we can see from our own life that we can't enjoy unlimitedly, for eg we can't eat sweet balls beyond certain numbers. And even we eat them we can't digest them, and even if we digest them we may suffer from diabetes in future(if we eat them regularly and indiscriminately). This can be highly regretful situation for lover of sweet balls, because now he can't enjoy them anymore. This sorrow could have been avoided only if he could have regulated.

People in general don't want to follow spirituality, scriptures and their direction because they want to 'enjoy', they keep distance from God thinking he will restrict me. But any ways how long such enjoyment can last? The whole motto of enjoying can be thrashed in few moments putting one in miserable state of life. Uniqueness of scriptures is that they offers us not only regulated way of enjoyment which doesn't harm us, but also the way for higher and purer enjoyment.

In conclusion one must regulate his life and whims in reference to scriptures to get rid of pains and to experience bliss even in this mortal world(BG 6.17). In other words if someone is unregulated in his life he can never properly enjoy his material life and will be always remorseful what to say of going to spiritual world.

By Rupesh Gauranga Dasa

Light can save us from plight

Imagine you are walking on a road which is devoid of street lights at dark night of no moon day. How difficult it would be to reach your home, you may fall due to pot holes, or bang on trees injuring yourself in fact you may come to a point again from where you started your journey. All these problems could have been avoided if torch was carried.

Walks of life are also filled with darkness arising from confusion and bewilderment. Many of us are trying to walk on our life's journey without carrying torchlight of proper knowledge. So we fall due to our inabilities to tackle with unpredictable difficulties, challenges, chaotic situations etc which are like potholes and other obstacles and we fail to achieve our goal. Ignorance is compared to darkness it makes us hopeless and gives rise to many problems making journey troublesome. In light road gets clear and easy for walk. Similarly when darkness of ignorance is overcome with light of knowledge life becomes easy to go on.

We see that Kurukshetra war was being played during day time, everything was visible and clear, the opponents, the goal etc but still Arjuna was unable to play, he refused to take part in war, he was confused(BG 2.7). Why? Because his inner world was covered with darkness. When he was illuminated with wisdom of Gita he not only fought but also won the war. Lord compares spiritual knowledge to a light of lamp which dispels the darkness within hearts(BG 10.11). Problems in the world are because of ignorance of our real nature thus Inner illumination is more important than outer. In conclusion many times our goals are clear to us but internally we may get perplexed while execution and give up our attempts to reach goal. Gita can help us during such times by offering its wisdom which acts like a light to overcome our plight which can arise on different walks of our life.


By Rupesh Gauranga Dasa

The Game Commentary which can help you to win your game

Cricket commentary or for that matter any sport's commentary has the magical power of making viewers and listeners fall in love with the sport or vice-versa. Commentary enriches the sport and takes it to a whole new level; and the past few years have seen the influx of witty and researched minds that have something positive to offer the cricket fan every time, be it Harsha Bhogle with his liveliest voice and honest opinions or a Sanjay Manjrekar with his crisp tone and perfect analysis. First commentary was broadcasted through radio in 1922 in a Testimonial match for Charles Bannerman [Test cricket’s first centurion] at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

Game commentary gives detailed account of action happening in stadium via medium of radio or TV, especially for those who are not in stadium. Surprisingly scriptures also gives us the account of that historical commentary which was spoken and written down 5000 years ago when there was major war being played between righteous and wicked kings of the world, Pandavas and Kauravas. The king Dhritarashtra couldn't participate in war but he had desire to know what's happening on battlefield of Kurukshetra. Then his minister Sanjaya, who had mystic powers narrates to Dhritarshtra the action in the climactic battle of Kurukshetra. This commentary is known as Bhagavad Gita. The entire Bhagavad Gita is Sanjay's recital to Dhritarashtra of the conversation between Arjuna and Krishna. Sanjaya was the first person apart from Arjuna to listen to the Gita as it was being instructed.

Sports commentaries are for specific time and for specific people e.g. football commentary can't be used for cricket match, even we have never heard that someone reciting or repeating it over again and again for same kind of play. But uniqueness of Bhagavad Gita is that although it was spoken to Arjuna during battle to tackle his problems it is still useful for all of us. It provides the universal principles of life management for everyone for all times to come. It never gets stale like commentaries of an ordinary sport. Not only that but also First commentator Sanjaya was getting thrilled at every moment while narrating it, he was rejoicing again and again(BG 18.76-77).

Our life is no less than any game or battle. Everyday we have to face so many challenges, oppositions, provocations and disturbances. Many times our enemy or objector is not someone from outside but from inside, it's our own mind. Gita not only teaches us to deal with external enemy which creates physical harm but also with internal enemy which is much more powerful and can create psychoemotional harm. Lord spoke Gita to invoke hope in the hopeless heart of Arjuna who had decided to quit the war and ready for begging. The impact of Gita was so solid on Arjuna that not only he fought the war but also won the war. In conclusion sport commentaries can give us analysis and report of sports but can't teach about the life's sport, can't guide us on our individual life's journey for victory, the true happiness. But if one hears Gita, the divine commentary, narrated by Sanjaya to Dhritarashtra, with submissive heart like Arjuna, and follows the principles of it can snatch the victory from loosing hands in all events of life(BG 18.78).

By Rupesh Gauranga Dasa 

What's new about news?

News are integral part of life, our day starts with watching or reading the breaking news while sipping a tea or a coffee. News are rich source of information of things happening around the corners of the world. Billions of newspapers are published every single day, there are thousands of news channels telecasting and updating us at every moment. Trillions of dollars are invested in news related businesses.

But if you analyse carefully news doesn't change with the time, it is same all the time. Similar kind of problems such as terrorism, corruption, abuse, death, theft etc we find everyday in news, only a performer, place and time of performance is changed. We have seen there are so many people who actually take so much interest in watching, reading, contemplating and revising same news over again and again. But we need to introspect over the significant benefits of news apart from some information. We must think over the questions like is this news taking me anywhere, is that making any change in my lifestyle or attitude or nature or habits or bringing transformation of my mind and heart? We haven't heard of anyone yet whose heart is changed or anyone whose character is developed by reading or watching a news.

Humans by nature are very curious and inquisitive, they are eager for knowledge, especially the knowledge which will make them happy. And if this inquisitiveness is not dovetailed in proper way then they take shelter of mundane knowledge which is actually not so beneficial for them. I am not against the news but we must not waste our precious time on chewing the subject matter discussed in it rather one must contemplate on how can we get rid of these problems (corruption, death, disease etc.) of life 'permanently' to lead our life with bliss and satisfaction.

News while giving description of problems doesn't give any substantial solution over such issues or crisis. On the other hand we have the scriptures, which does not only give us information of this entire material cosmos but also update us about transcendental cosmos which is 'Nitya-Navanavaymana'- always new and fresh. Like a news, scriptures also describe material problems lead by birth, old age, disease and death but it offers us solution and guidance not only to deal with such troubles of life but also to avoid these troubles in next life in most practical way.

“Now, how can we transfer our thoughts from the material energy to the spiritual energy? There are so many literatures which fill our thoughts with the material energy – newspapers, magazines, novels, etc. Our thinking, which is now absorbed in these literatures, must be transferred to the Vedic literatures. The great sages, therefore, have written so many Vedic literatures, such as the Purāṇas. The Purāṇas are not imaginative; they are historical records.”

“Just as materialists engage their minds in reading newspapers, magazines and so many materialistic literatures, we must transfer our reading to these literatures which are given to us by Vyāsadeva; in that way it will be possible for us to remember the Supreme Lord at the time of death.”
-Excerpt From: His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. “Bhagavad-gita As It Is.” Introduction.

By Rupesh Gauranga Dasa

Are we patient of impatience ?

If you're too impatient, you can make rash decisions with terrible consequences. If you're too patient, you can waste vast stretches of your life pursuing the wrong goals. On one side are rocks, and on the other is a vast vortex. And you must guide your ship between the two. - Anonymous

I remember when I was hospitalised, whenever doctors would come for visit I asked them only two questions several times. When I will get cured? And When you will free me? And they would reply, 'soon'. I was really getting frustrated and loosing my patience. Later I realised, it's not that doctors want me to be there for longer but it's my disease which was really deep and serious, that was holding me back.

Generally we want things to be done quicker and faster, but everything takes time. One has to wait patiently for results. No one has become rich or successful overnight. After sowing mango seeds one can't expect fruits on next day, in fact it takes few decades for a tree to bear the fruits. Even if you invest money in bank or shares it takes time to get good interest. It takes time for progressing from KG to PG. In relationship also one has to invest time, one has to wait for relationship to grow. Getting irritated or panic over the issues doesn't solve them. So better try to tolerate unavoidable situations without getting irritated.

Similarly when one comes to spirituality he expects things to go fast. People say, I am being a practitioner from so many years still no change? Does it actually works? Yes it works but process takes time. And this time depends upon sincerity of practitioner and seriousness of material disease which is deep rooted in the heart. Our conditionings and lower nature holds us back to this miserable world like a disease, more we detach ourself from such misgivings we take lesser time for perfection. In conclusion without loosing hope, doubting and switching goal one must continue on his spiritual sojourn patiently understanding that every single process takes time.

By Rupesh Gauranga Dasa

Fixing 'ERR_CONNECTION_TIMED_OUT'

It's extremely annoying when during the most important work your computer fails to connect to a server and you don't know how long it will take to fix the problem again. Even in case of gadgets a little absence of network connection makes people feel insecure and disturbed. Connection is very important part of life, people wants to remain connected with others, that is very natural for all of us.

Connection to proper source energises us, empowers us. For eg. As long as train's coaches are connected to an engine it will move, alone it can't. Not only that, connection also provides deep sense of love and feeling of security, For eg. connection to our family members gives us an experience of love and care. Connection fulfils our needs. But these all connections, may be with people or things, keep failing because they are time bound thus gives rise to miseries and frustration.

Just imagine small failure of internet connection disturbs us so much, how much pain we must be having at our spiritual core because of no connection with supreme server, the God from so many millenniums. Interestingly we don't realise such intense pain because we have been injected with anastasia of deep ignorance, we have forgotten our real identity. Even after knowing about spirituality we have hardly tried to fix this most important and sacred connection again which can give us everlasting bliss. We are trying to connect to a wrong server from so many years for our needs and that is a root cause of different problems in life.

It's an utmost urgency to set up this connection soon. We approach expert networking engineer to fix such network related issues, similarly a spiritual guide can help us to choose and to set up a lost connection with God. Just like without a proper connection expensive, high end computers and mobiles are of no use similarly without connection to supreme server, God, the priceless and rare human form of life is of no use.

Article Written by Rupeshgauranga dasa

Establishing Ramarajya within (part-1)

Lord Krishna in Bhagavad Gita(Ch. 16) explains about 2 kinds of created beings, divine and demoniac. It's not always that one who has big teeth, horns on head, unkept and unclean is a demon and one who is good looking and handsome is a demigod. The lord, rather than giving emphasis on the external looks of either one he focuses on their nature, attitude, qualities and behaviour.

We see in Ramayana that Manthra, who was a maid servant of kaikeyi was very duplicitous by nature. She had come to Ayodhya with kaikeyi thinking of her own enjoyment. She thought, Kaikeyi is younger and more beautiful than other 2 queens of Dasaratha, so she will soon become special of Maharaj, if I become servant of her then I also will be recognised as servant of an important queen. In fact when she came to know that Lord Ram is getting coronated as king she was very disturbed. And then she started poisoning Kaikeyi with her words. She was not actually concerned about Kaikeyi or her position, she was concerned about herself, what will happen to me if Ram becomes the king? She was apparently within Ramarajya but still her consciousness was not of Ramarajya, her mind was tuned with Ravanrajya where self enjoyment prevails over anything. She was wicked, she always opposed Ram, she had separatist mind, she wanted to separate Ram from his Ayodhya devotees.

On the other hand we have the example of Vibhishan, brother of Ravna. He was also great and powerful demon. Although staying in Ravanarajya and apparently serving Ravana, he had the consciousness which was inline with Ramarajya. He also gave the instructions to the Ravana, but these instructions were totally opposite of manthra's. He was convincing Ravana to return Sita back again to lord. And he knew if I speak against the ego of Ravana he may kill me but still he spoke against Ravana and glorified Ram. This show he was not concerned about his own life and pleasures. He was always thinking that how can I help for the union of Sita and Ram.

Similarly some of us may be staying very close to Ram, we may be associating with Ram in the form of his deity or holyname or his devotees but if we have the attitude like manthra then Ramarajya won't have any effect on us. On the other hand if somebody is staying in condition which unfavourable for devotional service but still if his attitude is like Vibhishana then while staying in that ghastly atmosphere he can experience Ramarajya. Yes, of course Ramarajya is physical thing but more than that it is a state of consciousness, manthra couldn't achieve it by being in Ramarajya where as Vibhishana achieved it being in ravanrajya.

Article written by Rupesh Gauranga Dasa

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