Living in Krishna consciousness
The King, who had achieved the destruction of the agitations caused by desire and thus succeeded in eliminating the “mind”, folded his palms together and prayed, with just one last desire urging him. “Master! Time is fast nearing its end, as far as this body is concerned. The culmination of the curse of the sage is rushing fast toward me. Of course, I’m prepared in every way to welcome it most gladly. Nevertheless, as long as I am resident in this physical habitation, I have vowed to engage myself in divine thoughts, in recapitulation of the divine, and in listening to the divine. Let that vow not be broken to the slightest degree.
“May the short balance of the allotted time be spent in imprinting the charming lotus face of Nandanandana on my heart - the lovely divine child that illumined the Nanda’s home. May that sportive form fill my consciousness and overflow, conferring on me immeasurable spiritual bliss (ananda).
“Describe to me the s...
The children of India (Bharathiyas) believe that they are, each one, the Atma, the eternal Self. They are aware that the Atma cannot be cut in twain by the sword, that fire cannot burn It, that water cannot wet It, and that the wind cannot dry It. The Atma has no bounds. Its centre is in the body, but, its circumference is nowhere. Death means the Atma has shifted from one body to another. This is the belief that every Indian has firmly in mind.
The Atma is not subject to material or worldly limitations or laws. By Its very nature, It is free; It is Unbounded; It is Purity; It is Holiness; It is Fullness. But, since it is associated with material, inert, bodies, It imagines that it is also a product of material composition. This is the wonder, the mystery, the miracle that It manifests! To unravel this mystery and explain this miracle are beyond the capacity of anyone.
Atma is unbound, eternal, full
How could the Full (purna) Atma get entangled in the delusion that It is “not full”...
But peace does not mean inactivity, the mere inert life of eating and squatting. You should not spend your time eating and sleeping, saying to yourself that the Lord will come to your help when the need arises. You must arise and work. God helps those who help themselves, and He will help no other. Learn from the life of Prahlada the lesson that the Lord alone is to be loved; learn also the technique of that process. Do the work that has fallen to your lot sincerely and efficiently. Give up everything that is outside the service of the Lord. Follow the footsteps of Prahlada. Through the grace of the Lord, you can win the joy of peace, the thrill of fullness, and the bliss of immortality.
Work has to be undertaken, so that time does not hang heavily on you and is not a burden. Work is your mission. Without it, you will get lost in the darkness of ignorance and be overwhelmed by dullness and sloth (thamas). Ignorance will multiply your doubts - and these have to be chopped off with the s...
One must always have calm thoughts. Only then can one’s mind have equanimity. It is just a question of the discipline of the mind - difficult in the beginning, but once mastered, capable of conquering all troubles and worries. An unruffled mind is very necessary for every aspirant who is marching forward; it is one of the benefi- cial qualities. Such a mind gives real strength and happiness. Strive to gain it. Though you may fail even in seven attempts, you are sure to succeed in the eighth if you refuse to be dispirited.
The story of Bruce, who drew inspiration from a spider and won the honours of victory at the eighth attempt, is worth remembering. What gave him victory? Peace, the unruffled mind. He did not yield to despair, cowardice, or helplessness; he was calm throughout, and he secured success. Even if calamity befalls, the aspirant should not lose heart. The mind must ever be pure, untarnished, and calm, full of courage. No weeping for the past, no faltering in the performa...
Rama embraced Vibhishana, Hanuman, Nala, Nila, and others and thrilled them all with the divine touch. At this, the pain that tortured them disappeared in an instant; the wounds on their bodies were healed. Rama’s compassionate look fell upon the monkeys, and the monkeys were delighted at the sight of His happy face.
Sulochana berates Ravana
Sulochana, Meghanada’s wife, heard the news of her husband’s death through her maids, who ran to her with the tragic information. Ravana talked to her, saying, “Until now, I believed that this small task could be accomplished easily by either Meghanada or Kumbhakarna. Now I have observed with my own eyes the failure of their prowess. I’m ashamed that Meghanada fell a victim to the attack of monkeys. How can those who are killed by monkeys claim to be heroes?” Ravana said.
He tried to console Sulochana. “Respected consort! Give up your grief. Don’t think that I am a hero of that type. I’ll bring you solace within an hour or so. You...
“Great Master! I never get satiated, no matter how many stories I hear about Krishna’s boyhood sport! Really, this lovely boy Krishna is the Divine, who had within Him everything that exists. Even so, He played about as if He was an ordinary human child!
“O, what good fortune I have! When I think of it, I feel that it didn’t accrue to me as a result of merit earned in this life. Ah! I’m spending these last days of mine listening to the exploits of Him, who has the hooded serpent as His couch! The sage’s curse has helped cleanse me of the sin, through this means! Once again, I offer a thousand prostrations to the sage’s ire for affording me this beneficent opportunity!
“As the final moment draws nearer and nearer, my yearning centres in the joyful quaffing of the sweet narrative of Krishna’s sport. It intoxicates me. It makes me ‘Insane’. Give me, who is burning with that desire, the cool comforting drink throughout the few hours that are left of my life.” Pariks...
The very first experience in the history of Indian thought is the thrill of wonder. This is expressed in the hymns (riks) found in Rig-veda, the earliest revelations of the Indian mind. These hymns are all about the demigods (devas) or the Shining Ones. There are many such deities - Indra, Varuna, Mitra, and Parjanya to name a few. They appear in these hymns, one after the other. Of these, Indra, with the thunderbolt (vajra) as his weapon, is the chief. He is the mighty one who confers rain upon the earth. Indra is so called because he is the master of the senses (indriyas), that is to say, he is the mind that handles the senses. He is also known as Puruhutha - puru meaning “often”, hutha “invited”, and the entire name meaning “the God who is most called upon”.
The mind (which is identified with senses, since it masters them) is also adored in the Vedas as Rudra. The mind contacts the objective world and experiences it through the instrumentality of the five senses; this as...
Krishna commands Arjuna to protect Yadava survivors
Dharmaraja, who was lost in contemplation, recapitulating the advice, help, grace, love, and sympathy that they had earned from Lord Krishna, suddenly raised his head and asked, “Arjuna, what did you say? What calamity overtook you on the way? Tell us in full, dear brother!” He slowly lifted Arjuna’s chin while asking so.
Arjuna looked his brother in the face and said, “Brother, all my skill and attainments have departed with Lord Arjuna. I am now without any powers, incapable of any achievement, weaker than the weakest, indeed lifeless.
“Brother, listen. This most unlucky fellow did not have the chance to be with Lord Vasudeva when He left for His Abode, even though he was in Dwaraka at that time. I hadn’t earned enough merit to get that chance. I couldn’t have the sight (darshan) of our divine Father before He left. Later, the charioteer of the Lord, Daruka, gave me the message He had given for me when He departed. He ...
Winning such perfect security requires following the path of full devotion, dedicating oneself to the Lord. It cannot be obtained by other means. The path of spiritual wisdom (jnana) is possible only for one in a million; it is beyond the reach of all. Is it possible to negate the body and the objective world, so patent to the senses, by repeating “Not this, not this (nethi, nethi)”? Unless this is possible, how can the “Not this, not this” argument be applied? Under present conditions, the path of wisdom is indeed very difficult. The path of selfless activity is also not quite so feasible. It is also full of difficulties. To work in the proper spirit, love and devotion are essential for success. The path of yoga or communion also bristles with obstacles. Thus, the path of devotion is the smoothest, the most conducive to success, and the most bliss-yielding.
Even this path of devotion cannot be defined and demarcated as such and such. Since it has many forms, roads, and types o...
Yudhishtira feels sinful of war killings
The prince’s naming ceremony gave great delight to the subjects of the state as well as to the inmates of the palace and members of the royal household. But Yudhishtira, the eldest of the Pandava brothers, was not content with the joyous festival alone and felt that something more had to be done. That evening, he called for an assembly of all the elders, scholars, pundits, subordinate rulers, and leaders of the people; he prayed for Lord Krishna to preside over the gathering and confer joy on all. The sages Vyasa and Kripa also attended.
Coming to the assembly, Yudhishtira stood before everyone in silence for a few seconds, before he fell at Lord Krishna’s and sage Vyasa’s feet. He then turned toward the rulers, scholars, and leaders and said, “I was able to defeat foes through your help, cooperation, and best wishes, as well as the blessing of the Lord who is present here and of the sages and saints who had installed Him in their hearts...
