ARISE! AWAKE! JAGADGURU KRIPALU PARISHAT
JKP e-Magazine | Issue 8 (May 2020)
MESSAGE from our Master... Enshrine in golden letters the divine secret that I am about to reveal to you. e day a soul genuinely develops an unwavering deep conviction in his heart that God and His names are eternally one and the same, with equal powers and attributes, at that very moment he will become God-realised. God is so merciful that He declares in the scriptures - I have made Myself omnipresent, but you do not believe in this. I reside in My divine abode, Golok, but you cannot reach there. I reside within your heart, but you do not accept this. erefore, for your convenience, I have seated Myself with all My powers in My divine names. e day this truth sinks into your heart, you will be so overwhelmed with bliss that you will not be able to recite 'Radhe'. Your emotional voice will choke in your throat and your mind will drown in the ocean of bliss. Without delay, your Guru will shower his Grace and make you God-realised. Just believe in these words of mine
Yours, Kripalu
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Arise! Awake! JKP eMagazine
An
Aspiring Devotee’s Plea
An aspiring devotee is yearningly addressing Radha Rani by saying, "O Radhe You causelessly bestow grace and mercy. You shower grace without any condition of service. Please don't look at me; rather, think upon Your mercifully gracious nature. Whether I am quali ed or unquali ed is immaterial, for I am Your child. Worthy or unworthy, I may be, but I am Your child and therefore, You ought to listen to my humble plea." To clarify: Even in the world, a newborn child does not know and does not recognise his or her mother, but this does not mean that the mother would turn bitter towards her child and desert him or her. If she were to say, Why do you not know me I am your mother. I carried you in the womb for nine months and, even so, you do not identify me as your mother But, how could I I just took birth. In the same way, this devotee is saying, "O Radha Rani You are divine. I, on the other hand, am a icted by maya. Please look to Your kind and benevolent nature. You are patit pavani (the One Who divinises the sinful souls). You are causelessly merciful and, therefore, I beg You to give thought to Your own divine disposition and grace me. Please do not pay attention to my wretchedness. It is no surprise at all that the one who is under the in uence of maya would undoubtedly be sinful."
Jagadguruttam Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj
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HOW TO RECEIVE
Love Lord Krishna says in the Gita, Dedicate your heart and mind to Me in faith, conďŹ dence and love. Having done this, perform your regular activities and live normally, but always remain dedicated to Me. e motivation of your mind and heart should be to receive God's love in this life. In order to do this, we need to have a clear concept of what we mean when we say God . God in His personi ed form is omnipresent. His abode, grace and love are also omnipresent. Many people think that the omnipresent form of God exists only as an energy, a divine power that animates creation. Our mind imagines an abstract existence that is somehow everywhere. We forget that God in His full potential and beauty are omnipresent. God is so near that you can never be separated from His loving kindness. He is within you and beside you, so close to your heart and mind, that you are
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unable to express in words. Holding Him in your awareness during your regular meditation, and at various times during the day, develops a loving consciousness of Him. rough remembrance of His 'presence' your devotion and dedication will become real and stable. Five hundred years ago a Supreme Divine Personality appeared on this earth. He was Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, a descension of Shri Krishna. During his whole life he distributed the love of Krishna. He did not write any book, because he felt there were enough books available to read and study. He said, You have to know how to love God, nothing else, and to love God you must forget intellectual analysis. Intellectual analysis or psychic transcendence are based on the rationality of your mind, whereas love for God appears only in a devotionally emotional mind, and that love gradually deepens. Any kind of intellectual or
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technical practice is thus an obstacle on the path of love for God. e consciousness of divine love dawns in a humble mind when the feelings of your heart are subjected to the loving remembrance of the leelas of Krishna. We need to develop a longing for Krishna, desiring His love and vision. ese feelings of devotion draw Him close to us. But, the true a nity for God is not something we can achieve on our own. It is a gi which is received with the grace of an authentic divine personality, and to receive his grace you only have to sincerely desire God with no worldly ambitions. e words Divine Love have been used so much by various groups, sects and religious teachers that in the world it has lost its real meaning. In sanskrit, divine love is called Prem Bhakti or Prem Ras , which is the highest attainable bliss of Krishna's love. It is not just a feeling, but is something deep and rich,
Issue 8, May 2020
something luscious, which a saint experiences with his whole being. A re ection of that divine sweetness experienced by a dedicated devotee surpasses all the worldly happiness. When we reach a certain stage in this devotion, the experience of divine love and beauty slowly grows in our mind and stays in our heart. is experience of bhao is unbelievably great. Only then, are we able to guess a little about the greatness of the power of divine love and the divine beauty of Krishna. rough sel ess devotion anyone on earth can nd Krishna's love. Krishna does not exclusively belong to any religion, group, culture or nationality, so devotion to Krishna is like following a universal truth, because Krishna is that eternal truth satyam param dheemahih (the Bhagwatam rst canto), which your soul, your inner conscience, has been longing for since eternity.
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Sat Asat REALITY, ILLUSION
To st ar t on t he pat h of G o drealisation, a soul must know and understand the basic knowledge of what is real and what is not real. e Gita tells us: at which exists, has substance or existence (sat), cannot cease to exist, and, that which does not exist or has no substance (asat), cannot be thought of or even dreamt about, because it is totally non-existent. Reality consists of three main eternal powers: the personal power of God, all the souls and maya. All the souls are governed by Krishna, but they are bound to experience cause and e ect (karma) and attachments because of their attraction to the world. With the grace of
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Krishna, they can be liberated from space, time and limitations of this world and experience divine happiness and perfect love forever. is world is real but it o ers limited amounts of happiness, pain and pleasure. Whatever we assume or imagine about the world is fake. Our soul desires perfect happiness; happiness that increases and lasts forever. Our mind picks up this desire from our soul. Failing to understand it, we turn to the world where we look for s at i s f a c t i o n i n p hy s i c a l a n d m e nt a l entertainment, which is never fully satisfying. How can we break this attraction to worldly objects that keeps us bound in unful lling attachments We cannot break the attraction of the world but
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converted into yearning for the divine world. A devotee thinks, Oh Krishna, I long to see You. I have desired Your love since eternity, but I forgot for a while. Now I know Your love is the only desire of my soul. I want to see You. I want to meet You. I want to come to You. When our desire to nd divine love takes the shape of longing and stays in our consciousness, it is called divine-love-consciousness. By giving rst importance to God in our life we have already proceeded on the path to God Realisation. en, what happens a er that Krishna Himself takes care of you.
we can divert our focus to a more charming one. e bigger attraction will nullify the smaller attraction. Suppose there is a magnet attracting a piece of iron and we put a bigger magnet next to it. What will happen e bigger magnet will draw it away from the smaller one. We magnify the attraction of the world and make it greater than it is. e grace of Krishna can have a much stronger attraction for us. is world is attracting us from outside, and within our heart divine grace is attracting us. As this develops, worldly attraction weakens and love for Radha Krishna becomes stronger. e desire to nd Krishna, just the desire, activates the power of grace which is dormant in our heart. If the desire for Krishna is weak, we have to keep on thinking and multiplying it. In this way, the force of the mind is used and Issue 8, May 2020
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Please grace us with your motherly a ection and the power to absorb all that you have mercifully bestowed upon us. We remain indebted to you...
Our countless obeisance at your lotus feet! Words do not exist that can glorify our great for tu n e of e ven hear ing t he name of Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj. Lovingly called Shri Maharaj Ji by his devotees, he dedicated his life actively spreading the path of bhakti (devotion) as the ultimate formula in Kaliyug for attaining divine bliss. rough enlightening discourses and divine chanting, Shri Maharaj Ji made unceasing e orts to reveal the true philosophy from the Vedic scriptures in the simplest form possible, so that everyone, 79
everywhere could attain their ultimate goal. Unlike other great Jagadgurus before him, mankind was privileged to have his physical association on this planet earth for an unprecedented 92 years. Although our merciful Gurudev is no longer visible to our material eyes, he is available to all of us through his divine teachings, and will live in the hearts of his sincere and pure devotees forever. Arise! Awake! JKP eMagazine
UNIQUENESS of
Shri Maharaj Ji THE REVELATION OF THE IDENTITY OF GOD
Jagadguru 1008 Swami Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj The Descension of Divine Love and Bliss
Although it is true that one requires divine eyes to see the beauty of God's moonlike toenail, it is with unfathomable grace and kindness that Shri Maharaj Ji has revealed not only the identity, but also each and every radiant part of God's divine form. He solves the unsolved mystery of what God looks like and describes the unparalleled beauty and magni cent glory of Radha and Krishna's divine form. Our Beloved Shyamsundar Upon beholding Shyamsundar, one would sacri ce their mind, body and very life on the matchless beauty of His blue cloud-like divine body. Kamadeva and his wife, Rati are the epitome of beauty in the three worlds, but the beauty of Shyamsundar far surpasses their beauty and is countless times more charming and captivating. Our Swamini Radha Rani Shri Radha Rani has a fair complexion and is both charming and extremely innocent, stealing the heart of beloved Shyamsundar. Gold shines brighter when it is heated, but Shri Radha Rani's body is even more glowing than molten gold.
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The
Power of
Guru’s Grace
e following translation is an explanation of a kirtan written by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj Nit seva mangun Shyama Shyam Teri, na bhukti nahin mukti mangun mein O Radhe O Krishna I desire Your seless service. I am not asking for bhukti, the mayic luxuries, or mukti, liberation.' Whatever we o er to God will only be material. All the material objects of the entire world combined cannot equal to even a tiny speck of God's divine bliss. If Guru reveals even a single word of true spiritual knowledge to us, and if we were to think about repaying that debt, we couldn't possibly repay it even if we were to place the entire world at his lotus feet. Do you think that (any amount of) worldly wealth could buy the in nitely divine knowledge that God or a saint has granted you us, only God and saints have the power to 9
grace a soul, and that too is received on the basis of sincere and faithful practice of sadhana bhakti. ey do not ask for anything in return. Moreover, there is nothing that we (as limited souls) can o er to em in return, no matter how g reat of an as cet ic one m ay b e . Vishwamitra created a new swarg (heaven) in competition against Sage Vashishth, but he failed to conquer maya in the form of desires, anger, greed and attachment. In this way, in this world, any and every object that we could utilise in sadhana (devotion) toward the attainment of our sadhya (ultimate goal of eternal servitude of Shri Radha Krishna) will undeniably be mayic. Any kind of spiritual practice done with the material senses, mind and intellect by an ascetic, a yogi or even a gyani will be material. In essence, the outcome of any practice performed with material things will undoubtedly be material, not divine. Everything that God has is divine. en who will pay the price How could it be possible to pay a price for that which is priceless It can only be gi ed from God. Arise! Awake! JKP eMagazine
Meaning: Our Swamini Radha Rani has a fair complexion. She is both charming and extremely innocent, and steals the heart of beloved Shyamasundara. Gold shines brighter when it is heated, but Shri Radha Rani's body is even more glowing than molten gold. e sweet intoxicating fragrance emanating from Her Divine body permeates to and increases the fragrance of Shyamasundara's body. Each and every part of Her is so delicate and sweet that it surpasses sweetness itself. e saint poet Kripalu Ji says that beloved Shyamasundara falls into ecstatic trance looking at Her divine form. JAGADGURU 1008
Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj (Radha Trayodashi | राधा योदशी)
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Jai
Ganga Maiya Ki Dr. Vishakha Tripathi Kripalu Bhaktiyoga Tattvadarshan SPIRITUALITY IN DAILY LIVING
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failed to satisfy them, while others remained silent. Feeling disappointed by what had transpired, the convener of the conference humbly appealed to Shri Maharaj Ji to provide the answer.
You will nd large numbers of people taking a holy dip in the sacred River Ganges everyday. Hindus believe that Mother Ganga is a form of God possessing sanctifying virtues, and so, by bathing in her waters, we can absolve ourselves from all our sins. In other words, by submerging ourselves in her waters, all our sins are washed away. Our scriptures also support this truth. During special occasions such as Kumbha Mela, Poornima, Chaturmas and so on, hundreds of thousands of people throng the ghats of the sacred Ganges solely for this purpose. So, a question that naturally arises is, that if this were true, why are people not absolved of sins yet If it were simply the case of bathing in the Ganges, then everyone could be automatically freed from the consequences of committing sins.
e boys were rst invited by Shri Maharaj Ji to sit near him. A er they were all seated, he then requested that they listen attentively as he would now logically and very simply dispel their confusion. He said, My dear ones Take a bottle and ll it with urine. Seal it tightly and submerge it in the Ganges for a few hours and then take it out. If I ask you to drink the contents, what would your reaction be You would atly refuse. Why You would say, and rightly so, that there is pure urine inside the bottle. It has not merged with Ganga Ji so how can it be puri ed Now tell me, where do your sins reside You would say that our innumerable sins reside in the mind. Exactly
Once during a religious convention, a group of ill-intentioned youths challenged the learned scholars assembled there in a very discourteous manner to answer this age-old riddle. ose who attempted to by quoting from the scriptures
Just as the urine sealed tightly inside a bottle cannot merge with the holy Ganges and become pure, the sins that reside within the mind cannot be puri ed by just dipping your body in the Ganges. To absolve yourself of sins, the mind has
Arise! Awake! JKP eMagazine
to be submerged in devotion for the Supreme Lord and overwhelmed thinking that I am bathing in the holiest of holy waters that has come a er washing the lotus feet of the Lord. It is the mind that has to be puri ed, not the body. But what do people do ey merely bathe physically in the Ganges while their minds are miles away, or at best focused on their belonging on the riverbank.
Not only this, you will nd many people dipping in the names of their friends or relatives. All this will serve no purpose . us, next time you sing the glories Jai Ganga Maiya Ki and take a dip in her waters, engage your mind uninterruptedly in God alone to derive the bene t.
Shr Radha
THE HEART AND SOUL OF RASIK SAINTS
Shr Shyam ’s INTOXICATING EYES
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Rupadhyana In Kaliyug, sankirtan, or the chanting of the divine name, has been prescribed as the only means to attain God. Even if we do accept that there are other spiritual practices to attain God, it would not be wise to practise those various di cult processes as sankirtan is the easiest process to take us to our goal. However, the important part of sankirtan is rupadhyana, loving remembrance. Without rupadhyana, sankirtan is like a body without a soul. Kaliyug is a dreadful age in which the sinful tendencies of an individual combined with the external environment cause mans spiritual downfall. e only way to be free from this is to sing the glories of Shri Radha Krishnas names, forms and pastimes, along with practising rupadhyana and shedding tears of longing for eir divine vision and divine love. If a sadhak does not practise rupadhyana while engaged in sankirtan, he will eventually doubt even the words of the scriptures because he will think that even a er practising sankirtan for a long time his sinful tendencies have not been eliminated. erefore, we can benegit from sankirtan only when we give full importance to rupadhyana. an extract from
Rupadhyana - Loving Remembrance
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Arise! Awake! JKP eMagazine
The
MEDICINE for
maya
curing the afflictions of
The Medicine for curing the afflictions of Maya (A Translation of Shri Maharaj Ji’s words)
Every human being has mental a ictions. Just as among physical illnesses, the illnesses due to an imbalance of three doshas - vat, pitt and kaf (the bodily humours described in Ayurved) are considered the most prominent, similarly, lust, anger and greed are most prominent among the mental a ictions. Attachment to the world is the root cause of these a ictions. When these three become strong and develop friendship with each other, what disaster is not possible ere are uncountable mental a ictions such as attachment, jealousy, hatred, pride, etc. e soul is restless every moment due to these a ictions. When someone asked Tulsidas Ji for a cure for these a ictions, how beautifully he clari ed this topic in his incomparable divine writings, नेम, धम, अचार, ताप, योग, य , जप, दान। भेषज पु न को टन क रय, ज न जाही ं ह र जान॥ Kakbhushundi Ji says, O Garud Ji Even a er taking millions of medicines like following the rules of the Vedas, observing dharm, performing good actions, austerities, yog, vedic rituals or giving charity, these mayic a ictions still can t be eliminated without a true Saint. Tulsidas Ji further explained the means for eliminating these a ictions, Issue 8, May 2020
रघुप त भ सजीवन मरूी। अनपूान ा अ त री॥ येिह व ध भलेिहं कु रोग नसाही।ं नाही ं तो को ट यतन नही ं जाही॥ं is means that when such a situation happens by the grace of Shri Ram that a sincere aspirant who is unattached to the world nds a doctor in the form of a true saint, if he completely trusts the saint, follows the saint s instructions, saves himself from worldly desires up to moksh, and takes the medicine of sel ess devotion with faith, only then can his mayic a ictions be cured. Imagine you are sick and go to a hospital to have your illness diagnosed. How will you diagnose your illness by yourself Even if this were possible and you were able to diagnose your illness, out of millions of medicines, which one will you take You are not quali ed to determine this. Even if this were possible, then how will you know the correct dosage of that medicine Even if that were possible, then who will regulate the course of the medicine based on your medical condition Even if all of these were possible, as far as your spiritual progress is concerned, how will you know when you are on a wrong path and what is right path Similarly, there are many problems like these which can t be solved without the help of a true saint. 14
Presidents of Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat
H.H. Dr Vishakha Tripathi H.H. Dr Shyama Tripathi PRESIDENT PRESIDENT Shyama Shyam Dham, Vrindavan Bhakti Dham, Mangarh
H.H. Dr Krishna Tripathi PRESIDENT Rangeeli Mahal, Barsana
JAGADGURU SHRI KRIPALU JI MAHARAJ ENTRUSTED JAGADGURU KRIPALU PARISHAT TO THE LEADERSHIP OF HIS DAUGHTERS
PRESIDENTS MESSAGE 2020
“
World peace means peace for all those living in this world; they must remain in a state of peace. Each individual should possess divine qualities and have good feelings towards others. Feelings of kindness, oneness, brotherhood and benevolence should prevail and there should be a nity amongst all.
“
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Arise! Awake! JKP eMagazine
Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat (JKP) Presidents, H.H. Sushri Dr. Vishakha Tripathi, H.H. Sushri Dr. Shyama Tripathi and H.H. Sushri Dr. Krishna Tripathi, are the embodiment of all the divine teachings of Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj. ey 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. ey nurture, inspire and guide aspiring souls towards God-realisation. ey answer seekers spiritual questions, wipe away the tears of life's disappointments and guide holy festivals and sadhana programs, all perfectly
aligned with the teachings of Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj. As a result, all the satsangis are able to focus wholeheartedly on sadhana and seva. Most importantly, with their association, we live with Shri Maharaj Ji in such a way that we feel that he is always with us.
Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat contributes 100 Lakhs to PM CARES Fund for Covid-19 relief Continuing the legacy of humanitarian and philanthropic e orts of Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj, the Presidents of Jagadgur u Kr ipalu Par ishat made a contribution of 100 Lakhs to the Prime Minister s CARES FUND in March 2020. e initiative was taken to support the government ght against the Covid-19 outbreak and to help the impoverished manage during these di cult times.
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Our Philanthropic Efforts
HEALTHCARE OVER
500,000
UNDERPRIVILEGED HELPED ANNUALLY, REACHING
17
40 Lakhs
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EDUCATION
4,000 GIRLS EDUCATED ANNUALLY, REACHING 60,000+
SOCIAL OVER
100,000 POVERTY-STRICKEN HELPED ANNUALLY, REACHING 10 Lakhs
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Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat 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 e ectively 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 distribution programmes throughout the year, giving the poor and underprivileged communities in rural parts of North India hope and opportunities for a bigger and brighter future.
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