He Submits to the Will of the Devotee

|| Sri Ramakrishna Sharanam||

Aum Namo Narayanaya

We often hear people speak about the sport of the Lord, or His leelas. People attribute this past time to many reasons namely: for the pleasure of His devotees; to teach mankind and others; and even suggest removing evil and freeing the world from the clasps of tyranny. Although reading these divine plays exalts the consciousness to the most sublime boundaries of our existence; in actual fact I believe it to be a wakeup call to abandon our frivolous ambitions and subject ourselves to intense introspection and evaluation of our core purpose.

Our abnegation for the nectar of eternal truths often thought off as fruitless clichés with no relevance in our time, finds us often grasping at straws at some of the artless situations that confront us. In all our sophistication and readiness, the Lord often finds a way to bruise our ego to indicate to us that there is a supreme cause that forms the backdrop of this world stage.

Friday’s weather report of high temperatures on Saturday slid past unattended - as we consider ourselves ready to combat nature with our creativity and genius. Super cool air-conditioning, cinema quality home entertainment and a fridge stocked with eats provides a utopian resort from the harsh and adverse weather conditions.

An almost 18 hour power outage held central and northern Tongaat hostage subjecting them to the realities and evanescence that comforts are. Facebook, BBM and other social media were inundated with furious protests as many were left irresolute on how to proceed without the assistance of the fancy aids they have become so attached to and dependent upon. We always utilise all the resources at hand  to ensure we make the best and sound financial investments, yet to our detriment, pay little heed and attention to our spiritual life and future.

Every saint and scripture has eulogised the techniques of being ‘Master of our own destiny’ - ultimately being one with Brahman that is free from all bondages and action, resting on the ocean of eternal bliss. Yet many incidents and small lessons by the merciful Lord expose how we are slaves to our own creation. History has shown us that slaves were never happy and never progressed until they freed themselves from the fetters of their masters.

Utilising these best practice methods as used by Rishis to great success evinces potential divinity within us, as proclaimed by Swami Vivekananda - unleashing torrents of bhakti, that it even places us in a position to arrest the Lord.

 

 

Mother Yashoda trying to tie the Lord

 

 

The Bhagavatam relates how one day, whilst Mother Yashoda was busy engaging in her household duties and churning the curds, she was approached by baby Krishna full of hunger. He instantly abducted her attention from her activity and solicited her milk to appease His hunger. Whilst affectionately feeding Him with an abundance of love, She noticed that the milk kept on the fire for boiling was overflowing.  She immediately left the child on the floor and ran to its attention.

Angry at this, Krishna’s eyes became red and hands trembling He used a stone roller and broke the churning pot letting go of all its contents. After taking down the boiling pot, Mother Yashoda returned only to find spilled curd and the broken pot. It was without any doubt She reasoned that it was Her son’s work.  The boy was not to be seen anywhere. He soon caught Her eye, eating and playing with butter stolen from the store.  As She approached Him from behind with a stick in Her hand, He took off with great haste. She intensely followed Him (Him whom even a Yogi’s mind well prepared by practice and austerity fails to do - as mentioned by Vyasa). After much effort, He was finally caught , but upon looking at His terror-stricken-eyes, His mother caste off the stick releasing the intent to beat Him, but decided to tie Him to the husking mortar instead. Our revered Vyasa further explains: ‘He who is neither inside nor outside, who was neither before nor after, who is the universe Himself, the unmanifest Supreme, sporting as a human the master of all senses, Him the Gopi taking as Her child tried to fasten to the mortar’.  

In trying to fasten the guilty Krishna to the mortar, Yashoda Maiya found that the string in Her hand was short by two inches to complete the round. She attached another string to it and that to was short by two inches. This continued until all the string in Her house was exhausted, but was still short of two inches to complete the round. All the Gopis standing and watching began to laugh at Yashoda’s predicament and She also burst into laughter in utter astonishment. Finally seeing His mother perspiring, with hair disheveled and exhausted, the Lord felt pity for Her and allowed Him to be tied up out of kindness for Her.

This heartrending and melting incident sheds light upon the core purpose of our birth. Like when the mother was feeding her child, and left him to attend to the boiling pot, we also have left the Lord to attend to our duties on earth.  Due to this separation, the Lord plays wonderful sports to remind us of our goal and draw our attention back to Him (breaking the pot). Living in this world busy with our earthly activities, we have failed to arrest His full love and attention by two inches. I was contemplating on this idea and through the grace of Sri Ramakrishna arrived upon an insight.

In the midst of the deadliest silence you will notice the heart beat (duk-duk) two distinct sounds, which represents the two inches. The heart which through this two beats supplies oxygenated blood to all parts of the body allowing us to live.  That heart beat is the power of God. However we have used this power given to this body to embark on activities that deviate from the path of releasing the effervescence of bhakti that is within (lust, hatred, greed, anger, envy etc). When we start to use these two heart beats for good - through our actions, words and thoughts - the Lord will allow Himself to be bound to our lives out of mercy and love for a pure devotee.  With the Lord attached by your side, can there be any problems for you?

The Brahmani in the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna explains to Master: "My son, everyone in this world is mad. Some are mad for money, some for creature comforts, some for name and fame; and you are mad for God." She assured Him that He was passing through the almost unknown spiritual experience described in the scriptures as mahabhava - the most exalted rapture of divine love. She told Him that this extreme exaltation had been described as manifesting itself through nineteen physical symptoms: including the shedding of tears, a tremor of the body, perspiration, and a burning sensation. She declared the scriptures had recorded only two instances of this experience, namely, those of Sri Radha and Sri Chaitanya. We have thus witnessed how through this mad love for God, the Divine Mother Herself manifested before the Master.

May we also develop this love for God, which brings Him within arm’s length of our lives, is my sincere prayer.

With love and prayers always

Yogan

Bhagavatam - Translated by Swami Tapasyananda

Pic courtesy of internet

Every Bit Counts

||Sri Ramakrishna Sharanam||

Aum Namo Narayanaya

Baby Krishna

As the winter makes its graceful exit - the torment of the chill and icy winds are slowly being replaced by exceptionally balmy days.  The alarms are being sounded, as life is intravenously being infused into the dormant grass, shrubs and trees by Mother Nature. The bugle band of spring has barged in stridently arousing the hibernating creatures to action. In the midst of this jamboree I still lay seized to winter, recovering from a chest infection. Confining me to the bed for many a day; my mind though was adjunct from the body and revelling in the ambrosia of the nectar of the Bhagavatam.  It was in a way the tonic that augmented the allopathic treatment for my illness.

Speaking of winter, I must add that the Province of KwaZulu-Natal is the famed destination of travel in winter as warm beaches provide excellent recreation despite falling temperatures in other provinces. However, one of nature’s most phenomenal acts which draws tourists by the thousands is termed the "sardine run" - an annual spectacular that occurs from May through July when billions of  sardines – or more specifically the Southern African pilchard - spawn in the cool waters of the Agulhas Bank and move northward along the east coast of South Africa. Their sheer numbers create a feeding frenzy along the coastline. The run, containing millions of individual sardines, occurs when a current of cold water heads north up to Mozambique where it then leaves the coastline and goes further east into the Indian Ocean.

In terms of biomass, researchers estimate the sardine-run could rival East Africa's great wildebeest migration. However, little is known of the phenomenon. It is believed that the water temperature has to drop below 21°C in order for the migration to take place. In 2102 - the sardines failed to 'run'. The shoals are often more than 7km long, 1.5km wide and 30m deep, and are clearly visible from spotter planes or from the surface.

Sardines group together when they are threatened. This instinctual behaviour is a defense mechanism, as lone individuals are more likely to be eaten than large groups. I recall how one year, I watched as an entire batch of the shoal was netted out at our local beach. It was not a pretty site for me to watch, as literally thousands of fish gasping for air were dragged to the shore and left to die.

While laying on my bed these few days thinking of the "no show" of these silvery treasures of the ocean, I for some reason instantly connected this thought with man and the one episode I read from the Bhagavatam.

Being envious, jealous and desirous of each other we have lost our individuality; and like these fish, slavishly follow other cultures and way of life. It is so evident in our times that activities with such meaning and positive impact on our lives are being replaced by transitory, baseless activities - for instant pleasure and gratification.

This type of behaviour makes it so easy to be trapped by the net of maya and dragged from the ocean of bliss onto the shores of worldly life to wither and die gasping for air.

At Kamsa's behest, the demoness Putna entered Vraja and by her special powers transformed into the most beautiful woman. She approached the house of Nanda and found Baby Krishna laying in His cot. She then picked up the child, placed Him on her lap and took Him to her breasts to suckle highly toxic poison which would kill any being in an instant.  However, Sri Krishna, the indweller of all beings, who was to be the death of her, gripped and pressed her breast and began to suck - drawing the life blood out of her.  Screaming to be released, she struggled and collapsed to her death.

Relieved that the baby did not fall into any harm, they performed special pooja for His well-being.  They then cut the huge body of Putna into pieces and carried it some distance away from the village, and cremated it on a pyre of firewood

But alas, as the pieces of her body burned, the sweet smell of sandalwood spread from it and permeated the air. This was because Krishna suckled the demoness.  Those sacred feet of His which devotees cherish in their hearts, which receive the worship of even those who are the objects of the worlds adoration - with those feet He stepped onto her lap and suckled her breast; with the consequence that, even though she was a demoness, she got the reward due to the mother of God incarnate - what shall we then say to those mothers and cows who fed Him with love and attention.

In this world, no amount of sadhana or prayer is wasted - despite living in the world and being trapped in this maya. Instead of wasting our lives away gasping and crying for material possessions or things that have not materialised (like relationships etc); even if we can simply just utter the Lord's name we will have some sort of relief from the clutches of desire and maya. As much as Putna acted on the account of desire (Kamsa) - by merely touching the Lord, she got liberation. This is further propounded in the Gita when Sri Krishna says in Chapter 8, Verse 2:  And whoever, at the time of death, quits his body, remembering Me alone, at once attains My nature. Of this there is no doubt.

In this age of Kaliyuga, the Lord, understanding the forces of Maya being so over-powering on the mind; through His infinite mercy is willing to grant His grace to His devotees by merely calling His name - for that which sages in the other ages had to perform years of austerities.

So always remember that every little bit of sadhana counts. Never loose a single moment to engage in devotional service. May He through His infinite mercy grant us all  liberation by His name, glance and touch is my sincere prayer.

With love and prayers always

Yogan 

(sardine run- Wiki pedia)

Efficiencies in the Life of Man

||Sri Ramakrishna Sharanam||

Shree Krishna

Aum Namo Narayanaya

The incipient  “birth” of Krishna found solidity on Thursday when after an intense longing to hear Swami Vimokshananda read from the Bhagavatam bore fruit. In my recollection of last year’s Gita Week in the last blog, I was much desirous to receive once again through his mellifluous tongue, the leelas of our beloved Kanhaiya. Like a venus fly trap, its words so adorably strung on a thread of intense bhakti, that on contact it encloses your being - so much so, that I actually feel the Bhagavatam should be the prescribed text preceding the Lord's appearance day. Within the spiritually charged ambiance of the ashram adequately lit, and seated at the feet of Maharaj, it is a sojourn you want never to end.

Exchanging thoughts with people as they emerge from such celebrations and satsangs always extracts very positive and inspiring words. The mood and energy around them is nothing short of divine. A few days later, speaking to the same person paints an altogether different picture. In total contrast to the post satsang, the person has liquefied into volatility reactive to all sorts of external stimuli. Even they would agree that the challenge would be to maintain the amped feeling post satsang.

At this time, we query the agent that dissipates our accumulated positive and divine feelings. Sri Ramakrishna said that the winds of God’s grace are incessantly flowing and we must unfurl our sails to catch it. Within the campus of the ashram or temple seated within this laboratory of divinity with our sails fully extended, we trap excessive amounts of grace and sail vast tracts on the ocean of ananda (bliss). Outside the confines of this controlled environment however, we seem to fall prey to the pirates of desire who cognitively make holes in our sails inhibiting us from sailing the high seas of ananda.

In this light, we ask the relevance of scriptures like Bhagavat Gita and Bhagavatam in providing solutions to our helpless slavery of the world, on us. The common themes that run through them, penned by the same author, written well after the incidents depicted in them, notifies our earthy minds that deep within these words lies a treasure of Vedanta that can help us wage battle with the pirates of worldliness. Stitched with this quest to derive some answers, I bowed before Swami Vivekananda palms together, and with humility I asked: "O teacher amongst teachers, have mercy upon me and reveal to me your ignorant child, the secrets of these ancient wisdoms."

Through Swamiji's infinite grace and compassion, some ideas came to mind which I would like to share with you all. Why did Sri Krishna have to born in the dark fortnight? And why especially the 8^th child of Vasudev and Devaki will slay Kamsa? Vasudeva is the embodiment of truth. And Swami Vimokshananda mentioned that Devaki is the embodiment of the enlightened heart.  Kamsa - derived from the root of kama symbolises desire. When desires imprison truth and an illumined heart; it  heralds the reign of darkness, ignorance and adharma. Hence, as promised by the Lord in the Gita: 

Yada yada hi dharmasya; Glanir bhavati bharata; Abhyutthanam adharmasya tadatmanam srjamy aham. -Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O descendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise of irreligion - at that time, I descend Myself.

In his inspiring discourse on Thursday, Maharaj described how the kundalini shakti lays coiled like a serpent at the base chakra. It needs to rise to the  7^th stage known as sahasrara (the thousand petaled lotus). After reaching this, Master says the aspirants enter into samadhi (the 8^th phase) which is the eternal union with God, In the Gospel, He refers to this as the "black waters of the ocean”. Interestingly, Krishna means the “dark one”.

The first step in this battle that we wage against the pirates would be to have intense love for God, thus gearing ourselves into an armour of spiritual life. This will invoke the divine kundalini shakti to awaken and rise.  In the Gospel, Master says that the kundalini, when awakened, passes through the lower centres and comes to the anāhata, which is at the heart and stays there. At that time, the mind of the aspirant is withdrawn from the three lower centres. He feels the awakening of divine consciousness and sees light. In mute wonder, he sees that radiance and cries out: 'What is this? What is this?' This is the readiness of the heart to be the seat of the Lord (Devaki).

It is then after surpassing the 7^th stage and entering samadhi (8^th stage) that Krishna (8^th child) is born, freeing truth and enlightenment from the fetters of desire. The supreme union with God where all the fetters of the manifest world and desires fall away, floating free in the ocean of satchidananda in absolute freedom.

The route to achieving this state is for man to become efficient by plugging the holes of desires. This can only be achieved by concentration. As in the corporate world, efficiency is derived through a process of outsourcing; this technique was given by Bhagwan more than 5000 years ago, when He said: "Surrender all actions unto me with your thoughts centred on self; cured of mental fever, engage in battle" (BG 2,30); asking Arjuna to surrender all actions to God alone and concentrate on the goal. Leave and outsource all your troubles and needs at the lotus feet of God and undertake the task of self realisation - that's our goal.

Swami Vivekananda said: "Concentration is the essence of all knowledge; nothing can be done without it". Ninety percent of thought force is wasted by ordinary human beings, and therefore he is constantly committing blunders; as the trained mind never makes mistakes.

In concluding, I want to leave you with this beautiful song sung by Sri Ramakrishna, about Sri Krishna:

Behold the waves of Gora's ecstatic love;

Under them all, the universe lies submerged!

And in His love,  I too, long to be drowned.

O friend, Gaurānga's love has swallowed me;

Who else feels for our misery like Gaurānga,

Dragging us from the mire of worldliness?

Dive deep, O mind, dive deep in the Ocean of God's beauty;

If you descend to the uttermost depths

There you will find the gem of Love. . . 

May Sri Krishna take birth in all our hearts and remove us from the fetters of desire, and help us to that ocean of ananda is my sincere prayer.

With love and prayers always

Yogan

Krishna - Our Eternal Protector

||Sri Ramakrishna Sharanam||

Aum Namo Narayanaya

Second Century BC - Europe: the thick fog hangs over the dimly lit city. Brisk winds disturb the loose roof timbers, releasing trapped leaves and twigs to rain violently to the ground.  The silence is periodically broken by the horn of a passing barge struggling against the evening current. It's Shravan Poorinima, (full moon). Down the narrow corrugated alleyway runs an average-sized lad gasping for breath, armed with a silver dagger. He cringes with fear as he hears the long sustained howl of a supposed werewolf that is terrorising the county.

Current day South Africa in a school: Shravan Poorinima - the horn drowned all sounds, signalling morning break. Amongst the barrage of learners wrestling their way to their social nodes - one well groomed, physically enhanced lad makes tracks towards the isolated sports arena. Gasping for breath, he searches frantically for a safe hideout. Making enquiries of his whereabouts, armed with an exquisite rakhi, is the most gorgeous girl in the school who has captured the heart of every boy. 

The above refers to the lighter side of the tradition of Raksha Bandhan, where thousands of boys' hearts are crushed when girls use this opportunity to recruit brothers for their protection and safety, and reduce the trail of boys on their tail. However, on a more serious note, the tradition runs deep with significance within a religion that expounds the philosophy of Vasudevam Kutum Bakkam (the world is one big family). In modern times, it is unthinkable for a girl to walk alone without the potential threat of being harmed.  If every woman is first looked upon as a manifestation of the Divine Mother, such a risk would be removed entirely. Reading parts from "God Intoxicated State" from the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, one  can truly understand this concept after we see how Sri Ramakrishna looked upon all women as manifestations of the Divine Mother, irrespective of who they were.

There are a few references to the origin of this tradition. However in this auspicious period of Gita Week, as a precursor to the all important and globally venerated appearance day of Shri Krishna, I am but all directed to tell you about the one related to Bhagwan, out of deep sincere love for Him. In a battle with the evil King Shisupal, Krishna was hurt and was left with a bleeding finger. Upon seeing this, Draupadi without hesitation, tore off a piece of her sarie and wrapped it around His finger. Deeply moved by this unselfish sisterly love, He vowed to protect her always. On one occasion the Pandava brothers lost her in a game of dice, and she was dragged to centre of the court to be disrobed; the Lord instantly came to her rescue. With His blessings, her sarie became an unending weave.

With seven days dedicated to the study of His divine glorious words given in theBhagavad Gita, together with some extractions from the Srimad Bhagavatam, one will gather, nurture and appreciate a new love for Shri Krishna. Glorified by Brahma as being the primeval Lord - being adept in playing His flute, whose blooming eyes are like lotus petals, whose head is bedecked with a peacock feather, whose figure of beauty is tinged with hues of blue clouds, and whose unique loveliness charms millions of cupids. Even through the descriptions of visions by great sages we cannot get over the celestial beauty of the Lord, I can only imagine how one would be entranced upon having a direct vision.

After writing all the most profound and intellectual works on our Dharma, Vyasa said to Narada that He feels so unsatisfied. Narada reveals the source of the problem as Vyasa’s failure to write of the glories of Narayana and his beautiful pastimes - which brings such joy, contentment and peace to the disturbed mind. Thus came forth from the pen of the great Vyasdev, the most glorious enchanting literary work of all times, the Srimad Bhagavatam, which will melt and move any heart to adoration and devotion.

I was mesmerised by the book when during one Gita Week, Swami Vimokshananda read just a few pages from it and I was immediately addicted to the bhakti that flowed through. In the same year, I was gifted a complete set from the Sri Sarada Devi Ashram by a very dear and divine friend which I will treasure with my life. The Gita in general with its intense philosophy may appear dry; but when moistened with wonderful incidents of the Lord’s life and pastimes, it becomes very palatable and digests with relative ease.  The Gitashall remain the panacea of man's woes for time immemorial.

It will forever remain relevant as this wisdom speaks to the core impediments that will always obstruct man to his ultimate aim of peace and liberation. Being the originator of all creation, who better to understand the psychology of man than the creator himself? In a mere 700 verses composed in 18 chapters, Krishna Bhagwan is able to deliver the problems and its solutions to humanity at large; irrespective of religion, caste or race. Many leading personalities of the world have commented and even written commentaries on the Bhagavad Gita, attesting to this divine book's capacity to reduce the most difficult situations into easy triumphs.

As we would never know the taste of a pudding if we haven’t tried it - I make an appeal to you to attend at least one satsang during this auspicious week and see for yourself the eternal wisdom packed into every word uttered by the Lord. His words have yet to fail anyone. In Chapter 9, Verse 31, the Lord said to Arjuna: "O son of Kunti, boldly declare that my devotee never perishes”. 

So as a precaution to all the ladies out there, considering the unreliable men in the world - consider tying a rakhi for Sri Krishna next year - and like Draupadi, you will always enjoy His divine protection.

PS: My dear brothers: You rather take the rakhi - or else you have to take the engagement ring; then the wedding ring; which will ultimately lead to suffering :-)

May Shri Krishna guide and protect us always, is my sincere prayer.

Devaki  paramanandam Krishnam vande jagat gurum.

Sri Krishna, son of Devaki, is the world teacher.

With love and prayers always

Yogan