*Spiritual lessons from driving* 

Since last few years I had strong desire to have the bike and When I purchased brand new Jupiter scooter I was on the seventh sky. This happiness lasted until I banged onto another vehicle while driving, that accident was minute but it gave several scratches to me as well as to new bike which taught me few lessons for my healthy spiritual life. Hope these lessons will help you too!

1)Drive while your are driving- after contemplating on this mishap I realised that for fraction of seconds I had lost my focus on driving due to which I applied front brakes instead of rear thus my vehicle slipped and banged on another vehicle which was parked aside. In spiritual life also focus is most essential, one thing at one time, eg if you are chanting get involved 100% into it. (BG 2.41 and 12.13)

2)Overcome the Overconfidence- I had not fully learned the vehicle, I was unaware of proper application of front brakes but still I dared to drive on busiest street of the city and rest is the history. Similarly a neophyte may think himself to be the pure and experienced devotee and execute the task just like pure devotee does but he may get slipped away from the position. 

3)Purpose - the purpose of vehicle is to drive you or to take you to your destination earliest. So when someone rather than using it for proper purpose keeps it at home as antic piece for show off then it’s a shear waste of money. Similarly human body is also considered as a machine(18.61) which can help us to reach our goal earliest, that’s the prime purpose, and if we miss that then it’s a waste of our fortune. 

4)Company(association) matters- it’s said if you want to walk fast walk alone but if you want to walk far walk together. With whom are you walking that’s also matters a lot. If the person siting behind you is distracted or disturbed then you may also loose your focus on driving which may again lead to mishap. Similarly in spiritual life our progress depends on the association which we keep, the real sadhus will inspire us to continue our driving. Healthy association is like lubricant which strengthens the engine, the impure association will again drag us to impurity. 

5)Adulterated fuel- vehicle needs pure fuel a minute adulteration will cause serious problem in engine. Similarly our soul is for seeking pure devotion unto Sri Krishna if we mix that with karmakanda and jnankand  and other philosophies the desired effect of Krishnaprem is prolonged. We need to fill the fuel tank of our spiritual life regularly with The topics only related to Krishna that will energise our engine. 

6)Who is your guide- I had heard if you know how to do cycling you can drive your vehicle and I tried, I was successful but for very short time. After banging onto another vehicle while driving I came to know that I don’t know many things. So in spiritual life also choose your teacher learn minute details from him, don’t just hear here and there and practice but sit in front of proper guru serve, ask and then experiment.(4.34) 

7)Where is your helmet? - helmet and seatbelt helps us to protect the vital parts of body. Similarly we should be careful in wearing helmet against vaishnavninda, just close your eyes, ears and tongue wherever  and whenever blasphemy is going on that will protect the most vital part where Krishnaprem is developing gradually, that is our heart. 

8)Servicing- for the well functioning of the vehicle for the long duration servicing is mandatory similarly service to the Vaishnavas is like the servicing for the spiritual practitioner. 

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 .

Rgd

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.