Issue 4, April 2018
JKP Quarterly e-Magazine
Dear Devotional Reader,
that feeling of wanting true love, God’s love.
Welcome to Arise! Awake! e-Magazine, Issue 4.
Given the magnitude of Shri Maharaj Ji’s divine greatness, any soul at any time can receive his blessings, guidance and protection from his teachings on the greatness of bhakti, taken solely from the holy scriptures such as the Gita and Bhagwatam.
You are most welcome to join us and become a part of our Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat family. For those of us looking for everlasting peace and happiness, this magazine is for you. It will enliven a feeling of closeness to the original Jagadguru of this age, Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj.
Follow the call of your soul and imbibe in bhakti, the path to God Realisation. All glories to our great Spiritual Master!
There is an amazing drone video of Prem Mandir and several articles, leelas and more to satisfy the seeker of
- Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat
Message from Shri Maharaj Ji I am always with you! I am not going anywhere. Never think even for a moment that I will ever leave you. I will always remain with the one who surrenders to me. Guru is always very, very close to us. Day and night he stays with us. He is never away from us. Whether we go to the divine abode or hell, our Guru will always be with us. It is incorrect to think that he will leave us. Understand this truth, and try to practically experience it too. Remain steadfast in your belief of the fact that God and Guru are with you. In this way, you will be able to control your worldly desires and all such vices. Feel the presence of God and Guru with you 1
always, as your protectors and observers, and never feel yourself to be alone. I reside within you. No matter how much you try to distance yourself from me, you will ultimately come back to me. Therefore, do not despair. If you ask why is it that you cannot perceive me? Well, seeing me physically in close proximity to you is but a small thing, and not very important at all. Is it necessary for a mother to always remain within the sight of her child, whom she loves dearly? No. However, being seated inside someone's heart is an entirely different proposition altogether. Yours, Jagadguru Kripalu
If you wish to come out of the illusive happiness of this world and want something real that could make your life blissful forever, Divine Love is for you. The simple and practical path to achieving God's Divine Love, as taught by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj, is to desire for the divine world rather than the material world, and to humbly ask God for His grace. This plea should be strengthened by improving faith, submission, humbleness, and a natural self-acceptance of your eternal relationship with your beloved God. We cannot reach God by any material method we employ. But God can reach us. And He will, if we seek Him with a loving and humble heart, with a heart that desires nothing but His love. Only the supreme form of God, Radha Krishna can bestow the final grace and open the gates to the divine world of Vrindavan where only love, happiness, bliss and eternal life are enjoyed to the fullest by all. No words can describe it and no feeling in the material world can compare. After all, how much happiness have you received from anything you have desired from this world? How long did your new car bring you happiness before it broke down? How long did a family member or a friend make you
gopis
happy before they disappointed you? Has any amount of money ever calmed your desire for more? Think of one thing that has made you happy every minute of every day; one thing that relieved all the anxieties of your mind; one thing that satisfied your endless desires. Unless you have already received God's love and grace, there cannot be anything that has calmed all of the many desires of your mind or brought you true happiness. But when you follow the path of Divine Love (bhakti) and believe in your heart it is the one true path, all anxieties, all miseries, all desires begin to slowly slip away and in their place your heart and mind are filled with God's pure love and you begin to feel the presence of the personal form of your beloved God near you. This will progress to complete heart purification and then one is qualified to receive Divine Love. In the ultimate divine world - Divine Vrindavan - there is only love. But this love is like no other. It is permanent, eternal with an ever-increasing charm, beauty and excitement. Everyone is intoxicated with the ras of this love. There is complete harmony and adoration for all beings in Divine Vrindavan and everyone can serve Radha Krishna in their own style to their hearts’ content. There is no example of this true love in any world, any universe, anywhere except in the land of love - Divine Vrindavan of Radha Krishna.
The greatest wealth for a devotee is the selfless divine love of the for Radha
Krishna. Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj 2
Prem Mandir The Temple of Divine Love
When visitors enter Prem Mandir The Temple of Divine Love, they are immersed in an undeniably unique feeling that this temple has surely descended directly from God’s abode just to grace them.
astonish the mind. Everywhere your eye falls, it appears that life size, full colour, ever charming leelas are happening. Krishna with His cowherd friends, Radha with celestial gods and goddess, the divine
The divine vibration of Divine Love emanating from these holy grounds is of such a divine quality, that those who visit it experience an enhanced closeness and love for God in the supreme form of Radha Krishna and/or Sita Ram.
Maharaas dance and much more. There is also a Govardhan leela depicted with Shri Krishna holding up the hill on His little finger and the brajwasis, cows, peacocks, etc in His protection underneath.
The divine leelas which are depicted outside and inside the temple reveal the divine Bharatvarsh history and philosophy for all to behold. The temple itself also represents India and it’s national heritage. One can marvel in viewing Prem Mandir that it holds Indian culture, architecture and technology all in one. The grounds around Prem Mandir 3
Let us not forget to mention the amazing, gigantic Kaaliya Naag display. There he is in his full glory with Lord Krishna dancing His most beautiful dance on top of all his heads. Kaaliya Naag’s wives are there begging Krishna for His mercy, not to hurt Kaaliya, although he was poisoning the Yamuna river. All the brajwasis came to the shore to witness this sight. All emotions are expressed by them watching this
incomprehensible sight. Apart from these magnificent leelas, thousands come every evening to see the one-of-a-kind musical fountain show. This captivating feature of
Prem Mandir is a colourful musical fountain that dances to the melodious tunes of the sankirtan it plays, and acts as a water screen for the projected video of Shri Maharaj Ji. No words, photos or videos can ever do justice to the spectacular fountain show... seeing is believing! Apart from deity darshan, aarti and sankirtan, Janmashtami and Radhashtami are grand celebrations where thousands of seekers come and pay obeisance to Krishna and Radha at Prem Mandir. The purpose of Prem Mandir is to inspire those souls with open hearts and minds to embrace Raganuga
Bhakti, the practice of devotional chanting to RadhaKrishna, for the end result of attaining God Realisation; Divine Love.
composed by Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj, is displayed just next to the shrine. Historical saints and the Jagadgurus of India are prominently displayed on both levels.
Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj dedicated this gift of love to Shri Vrindavan Dham and the millions of souls
It took almost 12 years and 1,000 skilled artists to give Prem Mandir its special shape and design. On the one hand, people were using chisels and hammers to engrave special inlays and on the other, computerised robotic machines were giving shape to those stones; replicating the leelas of Shri Radha Krishna. Such specialised machinery has rarely been used anywhere in India before. Yet who w e r e t h e workmen no one knows because this temple appears to have descended from Divine Golok itself.
Click to watch a special video of Prem Mandir drawn to it who are knowingly or unknowingly looking for eternal bliss. Considered a perennial source of Divine Love, an unending stream of devotion will flow for ages to come through this unique monument. It is unprecedented, unbelievably gorgeous, special beyond words and a must-see for everyone of any religion, country or creed. This temple dedicated to God’s Divine Love is a grand monument constructed of white Italian marble to express the purity of that love. 84 figures of Shri Krishna and His followers depicting important events surrounding His existence cover the outside of the temple. One can view the philosophy of Bhakti Yog, as revealed by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj, inlaid in the ornate walls with semi-precious stones.
Visitors have often said that Prem Mandir is situated in Vrindavan, but that day is not far from now when it will be said that Vrindavan is the name of the place where Prem Mandir is.
Kripalu Trayodashi, the famous concise overview of all of the philosophy of Hindu Dharm in only 13 verses, 4
Rangeeli Radha
New Article The Soul of All the Rasik Saints
Part 1 of 4 Radha is Rangeeli. She is the life source, soul, everything of all the rasik saints. The word ‘Rangeeli’ indicates that She has all the loving, exciting forms of divine love in Her, and from Her, all the forms of loving leelas happen.
Radha and Krishna are not two. They are one. Radha is Krishna and Krishna is Radha, but They are in two forms. That is how divine love happens. You see if there is only one existence, there cannot be any leelas. The same divine love power in the male form is Krishna, and in the female The one who receives the divine love of God is called form is Radha. Radha Krishna both reveal the leela bliss of rasik. There are many kinds of rasik saints because ‘ras’ all kinds as we know through the Bhagwatam and writings means divine love and the bliss of divine love is of other saints. experienced in many abodes, starting from Saket to Dwarika to Golok to Vrindavan. Those who worship I'll give you an example because it is absolutely Bhagwan Ram are called rasik saints and those who impossible to even grasp the situation with a material mind, but you can have some idea. experience the bliss of Braj leelas are also rasik saints. How could it happen that Radha is the source of bliss of Saket where Bhagwan Ram and Sita are and also the source of bliss of Dwarika where Krishna and Rukmani are? For this we have to understand the personality of Radha Rani.
Radha and Krishna are sitting, and Krishna is looking towards Radha. Radha is looking towards Him. Some gopis are there. Krishna feels so much love for Radha, He thinks, “Oh, Radha is so beautiful, She's so great, She's so kind”. Seeing Her kindness, Her beauty, Her love, Her affection, Her Grace for the gopis, He drowns in Her love. He is experiencing that love and drowns in that love. Is He still experiencing? Yes, He is experiencing but He has now drowned in that love. The same thing happens to Radha also. Krishna is drowned in that absolute ecstasy nearing mahabhao but Radha is still conscious. She watches Krishna drown in Her love. Then She feels, “Oh, Krishna, how much He loves me.” She drowns in Her own love but remains conscious. This is just a little expression of mahabhao.
Click to watch the video
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To be continued in the next issue.
Love God your way
There are three eternal entities: God, the individual soul and maya. The individual soul has been under the bondage of maya since time immemorial, and this is the root cause of all our sorrow and suffering. Even though there are many prevalent spiritual disciplines in the world today, none will free you from the bondage of maya except the path of devotion. While traversing this path, an aspirant encounters the intriguing dilemma of how to practice devotion correctly. In our scriptures, many types of devotional processes have been described, for example, in the crest jewel of all Puranas, the Bhagawatam, the most learned sage, Vedavyas, who classiďŹ ed one type, ďŹ ve types, nine types, eleven types and up to thirty types of devotional practices at different places. Nevertheless, most spiritual teachers recommend the nine processes of devotional practice, Navadha Bhakti, as revealed by the child-devotee Prahlaad to his fellow beings.
devotional practice. In whatever way one can absorb his mind in loving meditation of God, it will be a type of devotion in itself. For example, one sings the glories of God being fully absorbed in His loving remembrance, while another offers Him a variety of delicacies totally unaware of the outer world. One chooses to decorate the deities installed in the temple, while another is equally absorbed meditating on decorating their self-created image in his mind, or contemplating upon some other sweet loving pastimes, and so on.
So there is no speciďŹ c method to engage your mind in the loving remembrance of God. Whichever method is effective in attaching the mind to God is called bhakti. Our only goal is to attach the mind to God and not the senses. The mind! It can be attached in any manner. Iron and touchstone should Saint Tulsidas in the Ramayana also describes nine kinds touch each other. It does of devotional processes as recommended by Lord Ram to not matter whether you the great devotee Shabari. However, Shukadev bang them together angrily Paramahans advised King Parikshit to practise only three: or bring them together shravana, kirtana and smarana, i.e. listening to spiritual gently, the iron will turn principles from one's Spiritual Master, singing the glories into gold. of God or chanting His holy name, and engaging your Hence, do not restrict mind in loving meditation. yourself to one type of Shri Maharaj Ji also advocates the practice of these three devotion, love God in your kinds of devotional processes. He attributes a name to the own way. combination of all these three - Bhaktiyog Sadhana. He further states that the essence of all the scriptures is to lovingly meditate on God, regardless of the process, and hence there are not only three, but innumerable types of
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Divine VRINDAVAN
Divine Vrindavan is heralded by the Hindu scriptures as the place of eternal happiness, true love and everincreasing, never-ending charm, thrilling excitement and perfect bliss. The definition of perfect bliss is perfect happiness and the final definition of perfect happiness is God. It is not that God has perfect happiness, it is that God is perfect happiness. That God is Radha Krishna, whose residence is Divine Vrindavan. In Divine Vrindavan souls are awarded and ensured divine vision, divine knowledge and divine unity with Radha Krishna. They personally care for each and every devotee and give their maximum love which everyone in Divine Vrindavan experiences in every pore of their divine body. Here are a few glimpsesKishori Ji is always a source of bliss to the gopis who are eternally drowned in the ecstasy of divine love. A gopi says, “I sacrifice myself again and again at the sweetness of Radha Krishna’s love. I give myself to the divine love enacted in the kunj of Divine Vrindavan. I further sacrifice myself on the four love-intoxicated eyes of Radha and Krishna that are always fixed on each other, attracted by each other's infinite beauty, and which appear to be drowsy due to being drunk with love.” The matters of divine love of Radha Krishna can only be understood by one who has received their final grace and no one else. Kishori Ji's love laden looks seem as if nectar, poison, and wine have personified themselves as the pupils, white and the redness of Her eyes. Krishna seeing this, who is 7
omnipotent, who is worshipped by and captivates the three worlds, becomes unable to bear this bliss, drowns and sometimes faints. This indescribable love is also experienced by the gopis who can never stop being grateful for the glory of their divine lives. Kishori Ji and Shyamsundar (Krishna) are just entering the Yamuna river on a romantic moonlit night. The gopis are thrilled they have come and are beginning to shower them with fine droplets of water. Then as Shyamsundar showers Kishori Ji with the droplets, the gopis all turn and shower Him. In this divine world, what must these droplets feel like filled with grace and bliss, what must playing with the soul of your soul and the queen of your heart feel like, what must the divine waters, divine soil and the rays of the divine moonlight feel like, all to be experienced when one reaches Divine Vrindavan. This bliss of Radha Krishn is the actual divine substance your soul has been looking for since eternity. We can attain the divine nectar of supreme love of Radha and drink it till eternity by following the devotional guidelines set forth by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj.
Question & Answer
Q: Are there any special mantras to use during meditation?
A:
All the names of Radha-Krishna are equally powerful. Any name of Radha-Krishna remembered with feelings of love and afďŹ nity can be used in meditation and remembrance. Devotion is not a physical act or a mental technique. It is a submission of the heart and mind to God.
Q: Was soul ever one with God? A: Souls were never totally one with God. They are separate, individual and under material bondage since eternity. But, all of those individual souls can ďŹ nd God. Once a soul is divinised and joins with God, it is permanent. Nothing can ever separate him.
Divine Loving Names of Krishna Priyatam, Pyare, Piya - the beloved of my heart and soul; the most loving beloved; my beloved; the loving beloved of Radha Rani Swami - my beloved Lord; the master of my heart and soul Thakur - the owner and master of my heart and soul Nath - Lord Pranan Pyare, Pran Pyare, Pranvallabh - the One who is intimately more loving than one's own soul Pranadhar - the 'life' of my life Jeevandhan - the most valued treasure of my life Mohan, Manmohan - the fascinator of the gopis' hearts Chitchor - the stealer of gopis' hearts
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Dear Devotees,
All of you are very dear to Shri Maharaj Ji. You are blessed with the divine grace of Shri Maharaj Ji. Shri Maharaj Ji worked very hard with us, and now we have to see that all his cherished dreams become fully realised. Let us pledge that we will vehemently follow his teachings and example by spending every moment of our lives in the loving remembrance of God and Guru. While dedicating our lives in devotional service to our Guru, we must further those projects he launched. Shri Maharaj Ji is already with us and will continue to be so forever. Guru takes care of the welfare of those who have surrendered to him. We should continue to strengthen our faith in his boundless benevolence and continue to listen to his divine words again and again.
H.H. Vishakha Tripathi (Badi Didi) President, Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat Bhakti Dham, Mangarh
Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat (JKP) For over 60 years, Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj worked tirelessly for the welfare of humanity. He founded an organisation - Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat (JKP), to effectively carry out various spiritual, philanthropic and humanitarian activities in order to serve the general public. JKP has established three 100% charitable hospitals which provide free treatment and medications to the poor and a free educational institution for underprivileged girls from primary to post-graduate level. JKP also organises several free distributions throughout the year, giving the poor and underprivileged communities in rural parts of North India hope and opportunities for a bigger and brighter future. To know more about JKP's charitable work,click here. If you would like to support any of JKP's noble causes, click on the 'Donate' button. 9
Jagadguru 1008 Swami
Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj The Descension of Divine Love and Bliss
Just one charm of his divine loving nature is that whoever met him, thought “He loves me the most”. Even more charming than this, Shri Maharaj Ji's divine love, divine protection and divine association is even more strongly felt now, than when he was on this earth planet. So coming close to him now, through his books, his chanting, his videos, visiting his ashrams, will create an intense feeling of closeness and love for any soul who is looking for perfect love and happiness.
extraordinary divine personality glowing in ecstasy. When he danced in unrestrained enthusiasm in the ‘Hari Bol’ kirtan, the whole environment exuded Divine Love Bliss. As one gets to know him and comes close to his heart, his title of 5th original Jagadguru of this age subsides and the feelings and thoughts of “my Maharaj Ji” is all that remains.
His video discourses and chantings are such that he never We have a conventional belief that saints live in the had to ask anyone to quit non-veg food or alcohol. His mountains, on the bank of a river or in a quiet quaint hut in philosophy has such a one-of-a-kind tremendous impact a place of pilgrimage. They either sleep on the floor or on a on the devotees that they naturally desist from these things. bed of rags. They lead a renunciant life etc. In fact, those saints who are helping our planet generally may live like He never advised his followers to renounce their family life. He said live in the family and practice devotion. Also, that. one's desires for material objects and happiness from them However, Shri Maharaj Ji had come to our earth planet in a are greatly minimised. family of saints, so that his grace could be distributed Shri Maharaj Ji's guidelines allow devotees to live in the beyond his desired time here. world and take care of their responsibilities while growing One never knew when he would deliver a life changing their devotion in their hearts and minds through speech. It could be in front of an enormous crowd or sitting remembrance of Radha Krishna and their leelas, dham, casually with a few devotees. So he was videotaped chants and following the practice of bhakti. everywhere he went. His golden words to be saved and shared for posterity. Even his kirtans would disclose his
Jagadguru Kripalu Bhakti Tattvadarshan Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj revealed an enormous amount of literature in an easy-tounderstand style for people from all walks of life. Don't miss out on these devotional gems. Grab your copy now!
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NAMES
WORD SEARCH
X M J A N M A S H T A M I G B G A A N A Y
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R A A K A N Q T B U R E T R E J A A H D K T
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T A S U D A M A Z P A O H L T N U B R H S A Y T H N D T U D D H A V L D H T B U S E B E A F V G M U E T U L F C V H E O J R O P M S
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1. Krishna’s Mother 2. Krishna’s Sister 3. Krishna’s Friend 4. Krishna’s Uncle 5. Krishna’s Birthplace 6. Krishna’s favourite Food 7. Krishna plays this Instrument 8. Krishna lifted this Mountain 9. Krishna danced on his head 10. Krishna’s Birthday Celebration 11
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Recent Awards received by Swasth Hindustan Conclave 2017
16 December 2017 Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat President, Sushri Dr. Vishakha Tripathi was awarded with “Swasth Hindustan Conclave 2017” for providing excellent and free health care services to society through the work of Jagadguru Kripalu Chikitsalaya. The award was presented by Union Health Minister, J.P. Nadda Ji on 16th December 2017.
Zee Uttar Pradesh-Uttarakhand Award
20 December 2017 Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat Education President, Sushri Dr. Vishakha Tripathi Ji was honored by Zee TV Uttar Pradesh-Uttarakhand Channel in Lucknow for the great efforts undertaken by JKP Education in educating impoverished girls. The award was presented by U.P. Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath Ji on 20th December 2017.
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