Practicality of spirituality

Most of the people consider spirituality to be practiced by the one who doesn't have anything to do in life or one who has lots of time. According to them spiritual life means quitting everything and going to forest alone, eating only fruits and dry leaves, drinking river water, practicing yoga throughout the day, sleeping very little etc. They think spiritual practices are not at all practical in today's day and age.

But if we see from perspective of scriptures and saints spiritual life is the only practical thing. We need not to give up our current occupation or duties to take up to spirituality. Arjuna on the name of being spiritual wanted to run away from his duty as Kshatriya but Lord Krishna restrained him from avoiding his responsibilities and asked him to fight. In the crucial moment of life such as fighting a war Arjuna was practicing spirituality. Amazing isn't it, without going to forest and practicing austerities he was spiritual.

As a spirit soul, part and parcel of God we must practice spirituality to go back to Him. Actually that's the whole and sole purpose of us coming to this material world and if we avoid that then it's a greatest failure in life.

God is most practical. He knows our conditions and conditionings thus He gives us most simplest path to be spiritual. There is no need to do any extra thing or activity to become spiritualist. We are already spiritual in material body, we just need to dovetail our nature, propensities, current duties for the pleasure of supreme. As they say spirituality doesn't mean to give up everything but it means adding Krishna to everything in our life. In conclusion We have to be conscious of His presence at all point of time and act according to His instructions given in the form of scriptures to be spiritual while dealing with material.

Article by Rupesh Gauranga Dasa 
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Let's Pray before we fall prey

According to some of the people praying is like flattering the God for getting our work done from Him. Others say that we don't need any help from god because we are capable of solving our problems or issues.

In Kurukshetra war also we find that before surrendering to Krishna Arjuna was trying for different solutions. Arjuna was most capable person. But later he realised that all other solutions will lead him to misery in either way. He humbled in front of Lord. He prayed to Krishna revealing his inabilities to find out most perfect solution in such a confusing situation. Lord responding to his prayers offered him a valuable guidance to overcome unavoidable situation. Similar thing happens with us too, we also get caught up into such situations that nothing can help us, all our proposed solutions can turn us into prey at this moment a sincere prayer can help us.

Praying is compared to revealing our problems to the doctor. If someone who is suffering due to disease says, I don't believe in Doctor or I don't believe in his treatment then patient's disease will become worse and worst. He will fall prey to his disease. Similarly we all are diseased with our material conditionings, contaminated mind, our heart is full of anarthas etc. We are in serious diseased condition. We don't have any other choice than surrendering and praying to supreme doctor, Krishna. Prayer is a means of connecting to God.

World is full with distractions, challenges, miseries, problems in such chaotic situations We all need intelligence, guidance to go on perfectly with our duties in this world as well as to go to eternal spiritual world. God as our eternal loving father can help us in this regard if we seek help from Him. Praying doesn't mean falsely glorifying God and getting our work done from Him, but it simply means revealing our incompetency, our heart to Him so that He can make us perfect thus we can walk on the path given by Him in the form of scriptures. Praying doesn't means only asking but also means showing our gratefulness for whatever we have received from God. Praying Also means showing our due respect, love and appreciation for supreme person.

Article by Rupesh Gauranga Dasa
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Impress the creator not the creation..that can save you from frustration!!

Why do we want to look better, why there so many things to beautify and decorate body? Why we prefer doing things in unique way? One of the reason is that we want to impress the people around us. There is subtle pleasure which we derive by impressing others. Although it's said first impression is last impression but that doesn't mean we should keep impressing the people.

Actually we all have this innate tendency to show others that how I am better than you, how can I do things in better way etc. And we lose most of our time in proving that. We prove this through good looks, good grades and knowledge, good position, big home etc. There is no problem in having best of the things of the world with us but problem is when we start using them to impress others. Due to that we forget about ourselves and keep thinking how can I impress that person.

Those who love us they are anyways impressed with us for even little thing we do but those who hate us, envious of us are not going to get impressed for whatever we do, in fact their envy will increase. If someone gets impressed we feel happy but if not then it can only causes distress and dissatisfaction. This very bad disease because we try to live according to expectations of others and we lose our natural way of life.

Impressing people of this world is always a difficult job their standards and expectations are very high but in case of God although he is highest of all he expects the least from us. Lord Krishna speaks in Gita, "just offer me leaf, fruit, flower with devotion", that's all, he doesn't need anything, with simplest things he gets impressed. Historical references proves that, there were so many poor devotees who didn't have practically anything in their possession but still they pleased the Lord. We find Sudama, he just offered some chipped rice and Lord was impressed with his devotion. We find shabari in Ramayan, she just offered some wild berries to Lord and lord was pleased. In Chaitanya Lila we find that Sridhar Kolawecha just offered some bananas to the Mahaprabhu. Lord was not only pleased but he also reciprocated with those devotees and offered them eternal benefit. People of this world are very complicated, complicated and difficult things pleases them, but God and his devotees are very simple and simple and natural things please them the most. In conclusion Impressing the people of the world is anyways useless because they are also temporary and we too, better live naturally and try to impress the God with our devotion and love to attain eternal credits!!

Article by Rupesh Gauranga Dasa
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12 Reasons to accept Spirituality

Most people consider spirituality to be path of escape, they think by accepting spirituality one is avoiding or one is escaping from his duties. But it's not at all true. Without knowing the benefits of practicing spirituality they avoid following it thus missing something substantial in life.
Here are some reasons for practicing spirituality:-

S-Strength to deal with all challenges- many times circumstances are so sudden and new that we don't know how to deal with them. Spirituality is not the path of running away from circumstances but it's the path of dealing with them with clarity of mind and thoughts.

P-Positivity- world is filled with negativity. There are people who are jealous of us, who keeps us pulling down, who belittle us which results into lacking faith in oneself. Spirituality and scriptures shows us the hopes and teaches us to be positive in all circumstances.

I-Inner strength- most of us doesn't lack the skills but we lack the will. We try to avoid our responsibilities and challenges due to lack of will power and laziness. But the scriptures reminds us about our circumstantial duties as well as our eternal duties. It inspires us to deal with challenges  by suggesting us practical way to fight and to deal with them.

R-Realisation of real self, reconnecting with yourself- spirituality is the only thing which teaches us about our real nature, our true self. We consider our body to the whole and soul but it's not the fact. Body is just a temporary covering over the eternal soul. In the age of technology we have developed modern instruments to connect to people of the other continents within seconds but we have totally forgotten to connect to ourself.

I-Intelligence gets purified- ideally intelligence should guide the mind but due to our conditionings and past bad habits mind was instructing intelligence which was only resulting in havoc. Spiritual practices and guidance from saintly people makes intelligence strong and purified which doesn't bend on mind's demands.

T-Transformation- as soon as one starts practicing authentic path of  spirituality his heart transforms. He becomes more sober, calm and cool. He becomes more sensitive to oneself as well as towards others including trees, birds and beasts. He doesn't unnecessarily harm them. So there is no necessity of practicing non-violence and other good moral conduct separately it gets automatically developed in the heart of practitioner.

U-Understanding the nature of the world- no university teaches about real nature of this world. For most of us world is place to eat, sleep and be merry but it's not the case, world is filled with unlimited miseries and suffering. Spirituality teaches us that this world is meant to give us the chance for reforming our conditioning thus making spiritual world as our goal.

A-Attention and awareness increases- practicing spirituality gives us the understanding that we are just caretakers of the world and not the enjoyer. As a obedient servant it becomes our duty to take care of everything which is given to us. Thus matters about ecology, social welfare etc are improved without special endeavour.

L-Loss of fear- the greatest fear is of death. When one realises that I am eternal soul and death exist for body but not for me then there is no fear.
loss of interest in petty issues and things - when one understands that we have some higher goal in our life to attain he stops taking interest in small things of the world.
laziness of mind is cured- body may be active but mind becomes lazy in the sense it doesn't want to adopt to the changes and keep postponing the things. One learn to deal with crazy and lazy mind in spirituality.

I-Immense benefit and bliss- one learns to control his desire and doesn't hanker for unnecessary things. Thus satisfaction and fulfilment enter into the heart. One can experience the real bliss by coming into contact with bliss personified God.

T-Temptations can be tackled easily- spirituality teaches us sense control in fact it gives us the higher taste by which we can easily overcome cheap temptations of this world.

Y-Yields are not temporary but everlasting- fruits or benefits of our labour or any activity are temporary they will last till we last in the world. But credits of spiritual practices are eternal and never diminishing. They come to our rescue in future births too!!

Article by Rupesh Gauranga Dasa

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Is Gita relevant today? Is it for me?

Hindus as well as practically people of all other religions have great respect towards Bhagavad Gita. Not only religionists but even scientists like Albert Einstein, Henry David Thoreau, Albert Schweitzer and others would also derive great inspiration from it. Although it's a book of inspiration hardly anyone of us are interested now a days in opening it to see what's written in it. We just pay obeisances to Gita religiously from a distance.

Many of us do mistake thinking that Gita was only for the Arjuna and it's not relevant for me today. They say, what will I gain by reading which was spoken, written 5200 years ago? now we are living in modern 20th century, we are technically more advanced than people of those times, time has changed we want something new, so we can't derive any lesson out of such book written in bygone ages which doesn't has any connection with me, better not to waste time by reading it.

But we fail to understand that although we have advanced so much we are facing the same problems of life which were faced by people of that time. Although technically more advanced same problems of birth, old age, disease and death still exists. Reasons can be different but anxiety, depression, tension still haunts the mind. Still there is confusion and tussle of thoughts going within. Arjuna was just a medium to transfer the message of God to all humanity. Gita is not at all a lofty talk but it's a practical guidance offered to the needy one.

In Gita Lord doesn't only give us the way to come out of this miserable material conditions and attain to His eternal abode full with bliss but also teaches us how to live in the world. Arjuna was more competent than anyone of us today, he was expert in even controlling wind(tornados), his skills were mind blowing but he was lacking the will. More than telling Arjuna about fighting a war lord instructed him to fight the inner war with his own mind and desires which were restricting him to fulfil his responsibilities. Like a Arjuna we also go through the similar situations isn't it? All of us are in warlike situations in day to day life, challenges come every day, we can't avoid them and like Arjuna we also don't want to perform our respective duties many times due to lack of will power or due to laziness. We want to run away from responsibilities. But Lord's words can inspire us to fight with our external war by winning over the internal war, war with own mind and senses. Gita is not time bound it's eternal, it's message was relevant in past, it is relevant in present and it will be relevant till eternity. Because Lord's message necessarily instruct the eternal souls who have somehow accepted the material bodies. In conclusion till the time we are in this world Gita will be the 'life-line' for us to reach the eternal world.

Article by Rupesh Gauranga Dasa
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Lessons from kite flying!!

India is the country of festivals, which are celebrated with full enthusiasm and excitement. Today we are celebrating Makar Sankranti. People fly kites on this day because by doing it unknowingly they receive the benefits of sun exposure. During winter, our body gets infected and suffers with cough and cold and the skin also gets dry during this season. When Sun moves in Uttarayana(North), its rays act as medicine for the body. During kite flying the human body is continuously exposed to sun rays, which eradicates most of the infections and insanitation. Apart from that we can learn many lessons from kites.

Go higher- Kite is meant to fly and go high, kite is not meant to be on ground, similarly human form of life is also meant to go high. Go high doesn't mean fly in aeroplane or stay in skyscrapers it means raise our consciousness. Don't keep it on same level or degrade it. Deal with our bad conditionings which keeps us binding to lower nature and habits, give them up!!

Be grounded - although kite is flying higher but still it's ready to come down. It teaches us humility. Whoever we are, however high we may be flying(in terms of getting fame and prosperity) but we must be grounded and always remember from where we have come, we have come from ground level.

Be connected- Kite is connected to tread. If kite thinks I am free I want to enjoy freedom I want to go more higher but this thread is restricting me and kite breaks the thread. Now what will happen for time being kite will be high up in the sky but it will ultimately come down. Similarly some people want to enjoy unrestrictedly, without the concern of the scriptures. For time being they feel they are the enjoyer of all pleasure but ultimately they fall down as a result of sinful life. Just like a kite which is connected to thread we need to make connection with Lord Krishna, who can help us to raise and purify our consciousness.

Don't carry burden, be light to go high- More the weight a kite carries less height it will reach or it won't fly only. Similarly if we want to progress or advance either materially or spiritually we shouldn't carry unnecessary weights or attachments. Empty your heart which is filled with envy, hatred, egotism, anger, greed etc. Attachments to such things is compared to an anchor of ship, if everyone is trying for movement of ship but if anchor is not removed then there no possibility of ship rowing. Forget the misdeeds, mistreatments done by others to us, it acts as heavy anchor, better forgive them. Lighten the heart so that it can be enlightened.

Article by Rupesh Gauranga Dasa 
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Chit-chat or Chitta-chat

Talk is one of the free gifts of nature given to us by our creator to express ourselves freely with those around us. Chit-chat litteraly means talking unnecessarily or useless talks. Previously people would chit chat when they would come together but after innovation of phones especially mobile phones even the person is not in front or at distant place they can talk and share words, great isn't it? But it has many disadvantages too. Often we observe people are in front of computer or mobile, chatting on what's app or Facebook or twitter, there is no limit for chit chatting, it's actually intoxicating.

Chitchat drains our energy, consumes the time and you don't know when it turns into gossips. People that talk too much have made it a habit of talking about other people. In today's technical world we are so absorbed and simultaneously disturbed by modern things that we forget to turn to our internal world(chitta- consciousness). In practicing silence, in meditation we connect with our inner world, Which can give us immense strength. Today hardly anyone bothers about inner strength. Let's chat with inner world, connect with the consciousness.

That's why we see in previous ages the great sages would follow the vow of silence and meditation, they would not talk for a week or for a month with anyone to conserve the energy of speech thus their words used to have so much power. Whatever they used to say it would come true. They would not waste their time in gossiping, understanding death can come at any moment.

Silence not only mean not speaking unnecessarily but also mean speaking about the God and His pastimes. It's one of the way by which one can advance on spiritual path the goal of human life. Talking about mundane things like politics, games, movies, actors or actresses etc. won't help us in anyway in this life as well as in next. But discussing about God can relieve us from pangs of miseries. Lord Krishna in Gita explains, "my devotees derive great pleasure in discussing about me  and my pastimes." So let's not waste our time in chit chat but utilise our time and energy in Chitta chat (chatting for elevation of consciousness that is chanting and hearing about lord) by which we can connect to supreme Lord who is residing in our heart.

Article by Rupesh Gauranga Dasa
www.iskcondesiretree.com

Spirituality transforms Victims into Victors

Many people think that spiritual practices are for weaker, those who can't fight back against atrocities or problems, weaker depends on God for their protection and help. According to them spirituality means 'just accepting whatever is happening to me is because of my past deeds and I just need to suffer without doing anything'. But that's wrong philosophy.

Yes, spirituality teaches us to be humble, grateful, tolerant, forgiving, kind to everyone but that doesn't mean we should just keep watching violence or aggression on us or on others. No we have to fight back, we have to defend and protect. Lord never taught us that keep suffering, become victim and let aggressor flourish. No, that wasn't message of Gita. Panadavas were humiliated, tormented again and again, they were kept deprived of their rights to rule not only that but queen Draupadi was insulted in whole assembly. So many troubles they went through in their life. They were the victims of atrocities performed by Kauravas.

On the battlefield of Kurukshetra Arjuna had almost decided not to fight back against the aggressors and go to forest but this decision was not sanctioned by Lord Krishna at all. If Lord would have agreed to this decision of Arjuna then it would become the custom or perpetual legacy that, 'if you are victim or sufferer keep suffering and if you are aggressor keep exploiting good people'. But no, Lord never wanted that. His incarnation in the world is for destruction of demons and protection of good people. Lord inspired Arjuna with divine knowledge and made him to fight with Kauravas. He says in Gita 11.33 to Arjuna that, "Therefore get up and prepare to fight. After conquering your enemies you will enjoy a flourishing kingdom". Lord wants us to enjoy and be happy.

In conclusion Spirituality(Bhagavad Gita) teaches us not only to fight back with our external enemies but also gives us strength to deal with internal enemies. Actually internal enemies are stronger that external because they decreases our resolve to fight with external enemies. Lord doesn't want that we should keep suffering and always become victimised, He wants us to fight back against injustice, problems, issues. So let's not become victim but become victor by taking up to the path of spirituality!!

Article by Rupesh Gauranga Dasa
www.iskcondesiretree.com

Become a warrior not a worrier

Worry, tension or anxiety is very common word in today's world. Everyone seems to be annoyed by something or someone. Worry is state of being troubled over problems in life. Student is worrying about exams and homework, husband is upset about his salary and relationship with wife, older generation is worrying about their health and future so on and so forth. According to Gita(ch. 16.11-12) this 'worry' doesn't leave the person till the end of his life.

In today's digital and modern world existence of worry simply shows that none of the things of the world can solve the problem of 'worrying'. So many things are being created to relieve us from worry but no, no permanent solution has found yet. In fact those things which are created for relieving our worry gives more anxiety. Worry is like a mobile application which is constantly running at the back of mind, which just drains our mental and physical energy without any constructive result.

Not only common people but everyone goes through worries but great personalities know how to deal with it. Arjuna was also worried about so many things, his own future, his relatives, his kingdom, his soldiers etc. Nothing could help him at the crucial moment on battlefield, although he was considered to be most perfect archer of that time still he was perplexed, he gave up his bow and arrow and was about to leave for the forest. Nothing could convince his mind except Lord Krishna's promising and hope giving words.

Many of us think that by accepting the spirituality we shall lose all our worries, our problems, but no. It was not that after listening to Bhagavad Gita war was cancelled and Arjuna lived happily ever after, the war was same, the fighters were same but now Arjuna's purpose for fighting was different. Now he was fighting on behalf of Krishna, he was not bothered about victory or loss. Similarly by accepting Bhakti process the problems of life won't diminish they will still be there, but now Lord is with us and we struggleto please him. In conclusion let's not keep worrying about past, present or future but try our best to fight with those issues like Arjuna and for results depend upon Krishna that will actually reduce our worries and anxiety.

Article by Rupesh Gauranga Dasa
www.iskcondesiretree.com

The Resolution that can create Revolution...

Most of you must have taken a resolve on the the eve of new year to do something. Something for improvement or change in our own self, in society or in nation or in the world.

But it's observed that very few people can stick to resolution, those promising resolutions fail before they ever really begin. Even those who follow their resolve properly hardly becomes successful in improving himself what to say of transforming or influencing others. If at all someone becomes successful in improving the conditions of society with his resolve it's temporary. So many resolutions are made but hardly we see any result, still suffering in the world exists, still people are in various anxieties, still people are fighting and killing each others in wars, still they behave worst than animals, so on and so forth. We don't see any change, any improvement then what's the use of such resolutions which neither create any good change in individual nor in community. Perhaps we are just making wrong resolutions.

What if there was one New Year’s Resolution that had the inherent ability to completely transform our lives? Instead of changing or improving something, what if we went to the core of all issues and we resolved it once and for all?

Practicing Bhakti is the only resolution that can create revolution in the heart as well as in the world. Core cause of all issues is forgetfulness of our real nature as a part and parcel of Krishna. When one practices the process devotional service he realises his true nature, his real self, his real identity, his relationship with the God as well as with every living entity. As soon as one understand that Lord Krishna is the enjoyer, master, proprietor of everything, He is the best friend of everyone then there can be real peace. At the end of the Gita, Sanjay speaks very relevant verse in this regard, he says, where there is Lord Krishna, where there is Arjuna(devotee) there will be unlimited prosperity, victory and morality. So until and unless one resolves to practice Bhakti his resolves will dissolve without having any effect on himself or on others it will be just a waste of time.

Article by Rupesh Gauranga Dasa
www.iskcondesiretree.com