From the
Master... As Gaurang Mahaprabhu said, “Do not become lazy when studying philosophy (theoretical knowledge). The knowledge you gain, you will not remember it all the time. It is necessary to hear the philosophy again and again, and think about it to retain the knowledge. Just like worldly love or animosity becomes stronger the more you think about it. In the same manner, the philosophy should be reviewed again and again to retain it or you will forget it. All humans suffer from this bad trait of forgetfulness. Therefore, listen to the philosophy again and again, understand it properly and revise it and your love for Radha Krishn will increase by leaps and bounds. We should never believe we know it all. The person is the greatest fool, if he believes he knows it all.
1
Arise! Awake! JKP eMagazine
Issue 6, March 2019
2
39
Arise! Awake! JKP eMagazine
Issue 6, March 2019
10 4
The
Beauty
of
Determination In the life of every devotee there remains, along with the loving gratitude and blissfulness we all feel, certain periods when our devotions seem less than full, and our minds are agitated with the distractions of everyday life. As good devotees we understand the truth that life is indeed short and that this opportunity to serve our beloved Guru with mind, body, wealth is exclusive and most precious. Still, there are times of struggle.
know that it is not due to any lack of divine grace, but sometimes we experience “devotional dryness” due to previous bad sanskars, which are blocking and hindering our heart's devotional intensity and receptivity. So a devotee can struggle hard just to maintain his divine love feelings. It may seem like devotional progress is out of the question. But, in actuality, for those intelligent and courageous devotees who persevere and stand firm in their faith, it is fuel for great spiritual awakening. It is a time to chart the very depths of faith, commitment and renewal by discovering that one important ingredient necessary for all aspects of a successful life: willpower. To consciously begin to have devotional willpower in the face of great obstacles is a flower of great beauty that can be offered at the lotus feet of Radha Krishna.
Our minds are part of maya and filled with impurity and limitation. Even so, we must reason fully that at all times and in all ways our good, bad and devotional sanskars are affecting us in powerful ways in spite of our sincere faith in God and Guru. We must reflect clearly on the fact that if we do not seem to be making progress in our devotion, in spite of our following the guidelines prescribed by our Master of r e m e m b r a n c e , a s p i r a t i o n , No one can achieve anything humbleness, service and regularly without effort in the world, and so attending satsang, then we should t o o , a fi r m d e t e r m i n a t i o n i s 59
compulsory for a devotee. And there is such a beauty in determination as it is greatly purifying to our character and God is very pleased with each and every effort. If one can maintain that one quality alone, his devotion will not break even in the periods of bad sanskars, and one will achieve a steady progress towards God-realisation. When there is so much bliss and divine opportunity being showered on the earth at the present time, where is there the need to fret and concern ourselves with a few moments of life's bumpy highway? Indeed, when there is so much divine love raining down from the Divine Vrindavan Dham of our Beloved Radha Rani, why is there the need to worry at all?
Arise! Awake! JKP eMagazine
Everyone is a fallen soul prior to God-realisation, but by constantly absorbing the mind in loving remembrance of Shri Krishna's name, leelas, virtues and abode, the heart is completely purified and all the sins are automatically destroyed. Even then, one question that comes to mind is that not everyone is interested in Krishna's qualities. Then what should such a fallen human being do? Because, the one whose heart is totally impure due to great sin does not believe in the scriptures or saints. The Darshan Shastra says, “Divine teachings are worthless for a person who has an impure mind. For people with such impure minds Ved Vyas says, “Such fallen souls should go to those holy places where there is a shrotriya bmrahmanishth saint (one who has the divine knowledge of scriptures and who is God-realised). They should take benefit from the association of those saints. An interest in Krishna will naturally develop by continuous association. For this purpose Ved Vyas again says that, “Faith, love and devotion will automatically develop by continuously listening to the name, virtues, leelas etc of Krishna from God-realised saints. Once again a question comes: What will happen to the past wrongful desires of those fallen souls? How will they go away? This answer has also been given by Ved Vyas in the Bhagwatam. One receives faith, love and devotion by listening to topics related to God from a saint and doing devotion according to their instructions. Because Krishna resides within everyone and He keeps on destroying the wrongful desires of that fallen soul. As the fallen soul continues to be in the association of a saint and does devotion, devotional desires will continue to come and replace worldly desires. In this way, he too will develop interest in Krishna little by little. But this effort has to be continuous. Therefore, even the greatest fallen soul (even greater than Valmiki, Ajamil, etc) should not get disappointed. It is the challenge of Ved Vyas, “A fallen soul doesn't have as much power to commit sin as the name, virtues, etc. of Krishna have power to destroy sin. In essence, all the divine powers of Shri Krishna eternally reside in His name, form, virtues, leelas and abode. Therefore, by constantly absorbing one's mind in them, worldly desires will keep on ending due to the influence of His divine powers. In this way, little by little, with the association of a rasik saint, worldly desires will end. At that time, pure selfless devotion will be established in Krishna.
Issue 6, March 2019
MONEY WEALTH F A M E SUCCESS CAREER H E A LT H WORLDLY WISDOM DESIRES POWER MONEY WEALTH H E A LT H POWER ENDING
6
Rangeeli Radha The Soul of All the Rasik Saints
Part 3 of 4 Radha is the source of divine love. She is the soul and life breath of all the Rasik Saints of Vrindavan, Golok and Dwarika. In Saket abode, Radha and Krishn are not there. It is the abode of Bhagwan Ram and Sita. During Bhagwan Ram's descension, when those saints of Dandakaranya desired the internal love of God, Bhagwan Ram said, “You will receive that love in Dwapar Yug when I'll come as Krishna.” It means that Krishna and Ram are the same, but with some difference. The saints that were graced by Ram waited for 6 million years to appear in Braj as Gopis and receive the love of Krishna in maharas. So if Ram is not Krishna and Krishna is not Ram, how could Ram have planted Krishna bliss? Since Ram has some divine godly dignity so His love is restricted. Only divine bliss is seen, not divine love. In Vrindavan and Golok, love is not restricted. Where does the blissfulness of divine love in all the abodes originate - Radha Rani. She is the one absolute divine love source.
7
the soul of all the saints. The Radhikopanishad says God has uncountable powers. Hladini Shakti is the main power out of all of them. The word Hladini itself means the power of bliss. ‘Hlad’ means extreme eternal happiness. Hladini is the power that makes G o d h a p p y. G o d Himself is the form of happiness, so He Himself is Hladini power. The essence of that power is Radha. Krishna worships that form of Radha. Radha is the prime essence of Hladini Shakti, the original origin of any kind of blissfulness or happiness or divine love in any form in any of the divine abodes.
Those who receive the love of Bhagwan Ram, Dwarkadhish, Krishna or Radha are called rasik saints. Those who receive the experience of Bhagwan Vishnu, Shankar or Durga, the almighty forms are called bhakt saints.
So all rasik saints worship Radha Rani in some way, even those who receive Krishna's fraternal or maternal love. Krishna is called ‘rasik shiromani’ which means the topmost rasik. When Krishna looks to the beauty of Radha, He has no words to express Himself. Because He has offered everything in Her service, there is nothing else to offer. His every action is for Radha's pleasure so what else can He do? He just surrenders, He forgets Himself and says “You are My everything”. He only experiences that Radha is His soul, beloved, life, life-breath, everything. In this way, Radha is the soul and life-breath of all the rasik saints.
Radha is called ‘Rangeeli Radha rasikan pran’; She is
To be continued in the next issue. Arise! Awake! JKP eMagazine
Authenticity of the path of
Divine
Love
The history of our Vedas dates back to 1.9867 billion years ago when Brahma renovated this earth planet. His latest reproduction along with Gita and the Bhagwatam was 5,000 years ago. You should know that our Sanskrit language is eternal. It was never formed and developed like other languages in the world. The Vedas say (bhakti rev bhooyasi) that Bhakti is the only supreme path to God. The Gita says, (bhaktya twanannyaya) purified selfless mind of divine love ensures divine vision, divine knowledge and divine unity with the Supreme form of God, Krishna; and the Bhagwatam tells us to attain the nectar of the bliss of Krishna through the practice of bhakti and drink it till eternity. Hundreds of saints have proclaimed the authenticity of the path of divine love/bhakti. They have experienced, propagated and described it in their writings.
So we have a very precise, specific, scientific, and definite philosophy of divine love which is not bound to any religion or any sect of Krishna devotion because most of the sects were formed within the last five hundred years and other religions were formed within the last three thousand years. This “knowledge of divine love' which is, for the first time, brought to the western world also, has been directly introduced, revived and established by Radha Herself when She descended upon the earth. So, the philosophy of Divine Love is an eternal truth, the path of Bhakti of Radha Krishn is the actual Divine substance your soul has been looking for since eternity.
Kahun Dekhe Ali! Lalita Tribhangi Laal Watch this beautiful Pad Sankirtan written and composed by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj from His book ‘Prem Ras Madira’ (The Intoxicating Bliss of Divine Love).
Issue 6, March 2019
8
kindness
care help joy
ion
compass
Life
Dona
tion
CHARITY t ppor
D at
on
Love
Su io
Su
pp
ort
n
Love
compassion Life
Work
Once all the three children of Brahma went to him - celestial gods, man, and the demons. And they said to Brahma, “Please teach us som e t h i n g . ” B r a h ma looked at each of them and said, “da, da, da” and left. That was the lecture “da, da, da”. Now the celestial gods called for a meeting, “Father said ‘da’ but what does it mean?” And the humans were also discussing and debating the meaning of ‘da.’ Everyone decided it would be best to ask Father himself. When asked, he said - firm control, charity/donation, kindness/compassion. To the celestial gods he said, “Firmly control your senses.” Heaven offers many material pleasures so all the celestial gods have become indulgent and have f o rg o t t e n G o d . दा दा दा And he told the humans, “Look, you came to this world nude as babies, and when you leave, you will not even have this gross body. So whatever you have received here, believe it to be God's, not yours. So, donate, donate. donate.” And then he told the demons, “For your self-happiness, you behave in violent ways, killing others. Be kind / compassionate. Have mercy. Otherwise you will keep rotating in these
IMPORTANCE OF
8.4 million species of life.” So for us humans, Father Brahma's instruction is to donate, to give in charity.
CHARITY
9
Donation is of four kinds. If you donate to a tamasik person, the result will be hell. “What?! First we donate and then we get punished by going to hell too?” Yes! You donated to the wrong person and he misused the money. So you are also considered a participant in the crime. And if you donate to a rajasik person, you will receive a rajasik result. If you donate to a satvik person, you will go to heaven. These three are perishable. And if you donate to God, He will grace you, you will receive God's gifts, meaning, you will receive the bliss of God, you will get His abode. It was based on the strength of this donation that people like Harishchandra became great saints and attained Golok (abode of Shri Krishna). All because of donation!
So the donation made to God is the true charity. Even if we donate only 1 rupee, it should not be in the wrong basket. Donation should not be made to advance oneself or for one's own importance. These days this happens a lot. In temples you might have seen, people's names are engraved on the walls - father's father's father's name. Will these people go to Vaikunth? If you donate and tell others about it, then you will not receive the reward for it. Indra, the king of heaven, made the great saints and sages suffer. So they thought Indra must be taught a lesson. So the sages and saints outsmarted him. They Arise! Awake! JKP eMagazine
kind of money, I built this kind of ashrams, I did...” In this way, he told them about all the good he had done. That's it, he fell. He came to earth as a dog, the king of heaven! So the donation must be kept secret and we must not be proud that others should know we donated. Even when we give a beggar 10 rupee, we look around to see who is watching. Here, take it. The same God who resides within you, also resides within him. One day you were also like this. While donating, we should not have thoughts or sentiments of reciprocation. And our name should not be publicised- this sentiment should not be there. A secret donation will purify the heart. And then the grace of God will follow. We should think long and hard before donating. And we must donate.
Issue 6, March 2019
“Have to leave this body?” Yes! So go. “So all this, everything we have built?” So go, go on, all this you made - leave it here. “Well, I worked hard and built this house.” Yes, yes, that's ok. But you are aware that this world belongs to God? “Yes.” So then to build on top of the land that belongs to someone else, this is wrong! But you did it, that's fine. So then you have to bear the consequences of that and leave the building here. This is God's law. See God in everyone, poor and rich alike, and treat all with kindness and compassion-what we call empathy/humanity. By doing this kind of charity, after we die in the next life, we will attain a human birth and if there is something missing we can work on it and attain God-realisation or if we are 100% purified, we go to Divine Golok.
10
PRESIDENTS Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat
JKP Presidents, Sushri Dr. Vishakha Tripathi, Sushri Dr. Shyama Tripathi and Sushri Dr. Krishna Tripathi, are the embodiment of all the divine teachings of Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj.
association, we live with Shri Maharaj Ji in such a way that we feel he is always very much with us.
They are not only expanding the reach of Bhakti to people all over the world, but also furthering the reach of all the JKP charitable activities in India. They nurture, inspire and guide aspiring souls towards Godrealisation. They answer seekers’ spiritual questions, wipe away the tears of life's disappointments and guide holy festivals, and Sadhana programs, all perfectly aligned with Shri Maharaj Ji’s teachings. As a result, all the satsangis can focus wholeheartedly on sadhana and seva. Most importantly, with their
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 postgraduate 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. 11
Arise! Awake! JKP eMagazine
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. We have a conventional belief that saints live in the mountains, on the bank of a river or in a quiet quaint hut in a place of pilgrimage. They either sleep on the floor or on a bed of rags. They lead a renunciant life etc. In fact, those saints who are helping our planet generally may live like that. However, Shri Maharaj Ji had come to our earth planet in a family of saints, so that his grace could be distributed beyond his desired time here. One never knew when he would deliver a life changing speech. It could be in front of an enormous crowd or sitting casually with a few devotees. So he was videotaped everywhere he went. His golden words to be saved and shared for posterity. Even his kirtans would disclose his 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 had to ask anyone to quit non-veg food or alcohol. His philosophy has such a one-of-a-kind tremendous impact on the devotees that they naturally desist from these things. He never advised his followers to renounce their family life. He said live in the family and practice devotion. Also, one's desires for material objects and happiness from them are greatly minimised. Shri Maharaj Ji's guidelines allow devotees to live in the world and take care of their responsibilities while growing their devotion in their hearts and minds through remembrance of Radha Krishna and their leelas, dham, chants and following the practice of bhakti.
Scan QR Code or Click on "sign up" button to SUBSCRIBE to our magazine NOW.
MAILING LIST Issue 6, March 2019
12
NEW English Releases
WHY CHARITY is a compilation of important answers Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj gave to questions regarding the true nature and purpose of charity.
SHRI RADHA NAAM MAHIMA - Glories of the Holy Name of Shri Radha is the fourteenth chapter of Radha Govind Geet that describes the glories and unique power of the holy name of the Supreme Divine Entity, Shri Radha.
Upcoming Events/Festivals
Visit our
13 - 22 MARCH Holi Sadhana Shivir
Bhakti Dham Mangarh, Kunda District Pratapgarh Uttar Pradesh 230204
Bhakti Dham, Mangarh Wed, 20 Mar - Mahaprabhu Jayanti Thur, 21 Mar - Holi
SAT, 13 APRIL
Shri Vrindavan Dham Raman Reti Road, Vrindavan District Mathura Uttar Pradesh 281121
Ram Navmi
SUN, 12 MAY Mother’s Day
UPCOMING Temples &Ashrams
+ 91 8882480000
KIRTI MANDIR Rangeeli Mahal Shri Barsana Dham District Mathura Uttar Pradesh 281405
SUN, 16 JUNE Father’s Day
WED, 04 JULY Jagannath Rath Yatra
13
Dwarka Sub-city New Delhi 110075
400 Barsana Road Austin Texas 78737
Arise! Awake! JKP eMagazine