JayGurudev!
London, June 2018
...Narada Rsi said there is only one way:
“guru-śuśrūṣayā bhaktyā sarva-labdhārpaṇena ca saṅgena sādhu-bhaktānām īśvarārādhanena caśraddhayā tat-kathāyāṁ ca kīrtanair guṇa-karmaṇām tat-pādāmburuha-dhyānāt tal-liṅgekṣārhaṇādibhiḥ”(Srimad Bhagavatam 7.7.30-31)
“One must accept the bona fide spiritual master and render service unto him with great devotion and faith. Whatever one has in one’s possession should be offered to the spiritual master, and in the association of saintly persons and devotees one should worship the Lord, hear the glories of the Lord with faith, glorify the transcendental qualities and activities of the Lord, always meditate on the Lord’s lotus feet, and worship the Deity of the Lord strictly according to the injunctions of the śāstra and guru.”
“Guru-śuśrūṣayā bhaktyā sarva-labdhārpaṇena ca”; by rendering service to guru you can conquer all of your senses and attain the Lord.
Srimad Bhagavatam very clearly discusses how we will enter into spiritual life. If someone properly follows grhasta jivana, that grhasta will be higher than the brahma jnani, yogi and tapasvi. I will give an example, sastra gives evidence. If you read Caitanya Caritamrta, the dialogue between Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Raya Ramananda. Caitanya Mahaprabhu Himself asked Raya Ramananda:
“prabhu kahe, — “pa a śloka sādhyera nirṇaya” rāya kahe, — “sva-dharmācaraṇe viṣṇu-bhakti haya” ” (Sri Caitanya Caritamrta Madhya lila 8.57)
“Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu ordered Rāmānanda Rāya, “Recite a verse from the revealed scriptures concerning the ultimate goal of life.””
“Prabhu kahe “pa a śloka sādhyera nirṇaya”” Lord Caitanya asked Raya Ramananda “Can you explain what is our goal and what is our process?” What is our goal? How to attain Krsna prema, but in the beginning what should we do?
“varṇāśramācāra-vatā puruṣeṇa paraḥ pumānviṣṇur ārādhyate panthā nānyat tat-toṣa-kāraṇam”(Sri Caitanya Caritamrta Madhya lila 8.58/ Viṣṇu Purāṇa (3.8.9))
“The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Viṣṇu, is worshiped by the proper execution of prescribed duties in the system of varṇa and āśrama. There is no other way to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One must be situated in the institution of the four varṇas and āśramas.”
“Varṇāśramācāra-vatā puruṣeṇa paraḥ pumān” If someone follows all of the rules and regulations of Varnasrama dharma then Bhagavan Visnu will be very pleased. Our aim and object is what? How the Lord will be pleased. ‘Bhagavat prasannata’- This is our aim and object, how the Lord will be pleased.
So the first sloka explains this:
“varṇāśramācāra-vatā puruṣeṇa paraḥ pumānviṣṇur ārādhyate panthā nānyat tat-toṣa-kāraṇam”
There are no other ways to please the Lord. First follow varnasrama dharma. If you follow varnasrama dharma then you will be higher than the yogis, jnanis and others.
I will give an example. Once one brahmacari performed hard austerities; ‘chator tapasya’. For about 30 years he left his house and he went into the jungle. For thirty years he performed hard austerities. He stood on the tips of his toes and raised his two hands. His hair turned into jata, dreadlocks. Big, big jata grew, but still he performed hard austerities for thirty years. Even some birds built a nest in his dreadlocks. Then one day, after thirty years, he opened his eyes. In the meantime, one bird came out from the nest and passed stool on his nose. At that time he became very angry, he opened his red eyes and the bird was burned into ashes. Then he realized “By the strength gained by my austerities, I have destroyed that bird”.
Then he left the jungle, and he arrived in the countryside. First he went to the house of one householder, a very perfect grhasta, not ‘cats and dogs’ householder. A perfect grhasta. Try to understand the meaning of grhasta. Grhasta and grhamedi are not the same thing. What is the meaning of grhasta? ‘Householder’ means what?
“na gṛhaṁ gṛham ity āhurgṛhiṇī gṛham ucyatetayā hi sahitaḥ sarvān puruṣārthān samaśnute”( Sri Caitanya Caritamrta, Adi Lila, 15.27)
“Merely a house is not a home, for it is a wife who gives a home its meaning. If one lives at home with his wife, together they can fulfill all the interests of humanlife.”
If you live in a house, this is not called ‘grha’. Grha means ‘patni saha, bharya saha nivashet’. When someone lives in his house with his wife and performs bhajana and sadhana to the Lord, that is called a grhasta. That is called grha; grha mandir. If you stay with your wife and perform bhajana and sadhana in the proper way that is called grhasta jivana.
Another type of person who lives in a house is called ‘grhamedi’. ‘Medi’ means those who are so much attached and who are only moving around their house. Grhamedi. In the past, some farmers took the seeds of wheat or mustard and put one stick in the middle and a rope, and all of the cows would walk around the stick, around one place, that is called medi. Those who are only staying in their house, who are not chanting, not doing any bhajana or sadhana, and who are only attached to their wife and children are called grhamedi.Srimad Bhagavatam and also the Vedas explain that their lives are completely useless. ‘Grhasta’ means they perform bhajana and sadhana to Krsna. The centre is only Krsna....
~ excerpt of Varnasrama Dharma on Vedic Culture by Guru Maharaj
May, 2012
For video follow link,
Photo taken:
Program at King’s Cross, London
Sunday, 24th June, 2018
London, June 2018
...Narada Rsi said there is only one way:
“guru-śuśrūṣayā bhaktyā sarva-labdhārpaṇena ca saṅgena sādhu-bhaktānām īśvarārādhanena caśraddhayā tat-kathāyāṁ ca kīrtanair guṇa-karmaṇām tat-pādāmburuha-dhyānāt tal-liṅgekṣārhaṇādibhiḥ”(Srimad Bhagavatam 7.7.30-31)
“One must accept the bona fide spiritual master and render service unto him with great devotion and faith. Whatever one has in one’s possession should be offered to the spiritual master, and in the association of saintly persons and devotees one should worship the Lord, hear the glories of the Lord with faith, glorify the transcendental qualities and activities of the Lord, always meditate on the Lord’s lotus feet, and worship the Deity of the Lord strictly according to the injunctions of the śāstra and guru.”
“Guru-śuśrūṣayā bhaktyā sarva-labdhārpaṇena ca”; by rendering service to guru you can conquer all of your senses and attain the Lord.
Srimad Bhagavatam very clearly discusses how we will enter into spiritual life. If someone properly follows grhasta jivana, that grhasta will be higher than the brahma jnani, yogi and tapasvi. I will give an example, sastra gives evidence. If you read Caitanya Caritamrta, the dialogue between Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Raya Ramananda. Caitanya Mahaprabhu Himself asked Raya Ramananda:
“prabhu kahe, — “pa a śloka sādhyera nirṇaya” rāya kahe, — “sva-dharmācaraṇe viṣṇu-bhakti haya” ” (Sri Caitanya Caritamrta Madhya lila 8.57)
“Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu ordered Rāmānanda Rāya, “Recite a verse from the revealed scriptures concerning the ultimate goal of life.””
“Prabhu kahe “pa a śloka sādhyera nirṇaya”” Lord Caitanya asked Raya Ramananda “Can you explain what is our goal and what is our process?” What is our goal? How to attain Krsna prema, but in the beginning what should we do?
“varṇāśramācāra-vatā puruṣeṇa paraḥ pumānviṣṇur ārādhyate panthā nānyat tat-toṣa-kāraṇam”(Sri Caitanya Caritamrta Madhya lila 8.58/ Viṣṇu Purāṇa (3.8.9))
“The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Viṣṇu, is worshiped by the proper execution of prescribed duties in the system of varṇa and āśrama. There is no other way to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One must be situated in the institution of the four varṇas and āśramas.”
“Varṇāśramācāra-vatā puruṣeṇa paraḥ pumān” If someone follows all of the rules and regulations of Varnasrama dharma then Bhagavan Visnu will be very pleased. Our aim and object is what? How the Lord will be pleased. ‘Bhagavat prasannata’- This is our aim and object, how the Lord will be pleased.
So the first sloka explains this:
“varṇāśramācāra-vatā puruṣeṇa paraḥ pumānviṣṇur ārādhyate panthā nānyat tat-toṣa-kāraṇam”
There are no other ways to please the Lord. First follow varnasrama dharma. If you follow varnasrama dharma then you will be higher than the yogis, jnanis and others.
I will give an example. Once one brahmacari performed hard austerities; ‘chator tapasya’. For about 30 years he left his house and he went into the jungle. For thirty years he performed hard austerities. He stood on the tips of his toes and raised his two hands. His hair turned into jata, dreadlocks. Big, big jata grew, but still he performed hard austerities for thirty years. Even some birds built a nest in his dreadlocks. Then one day, after thirty years, he opened his eyes. In the meantime, one bird came out from the nest and passed stool on his nose. At that time he became very angry, he opened his red eyes and the bird was burned into ashes. Then he realized “By the strength gained by my austerities, I have destroyed that bird”.
Then he left the jungle, and he arrived in the countryside. First he went to the house of one householder, a very perfect grhasta, not ‘cats and dogs’ householder. A perfect grhasta. Try to understand the meaning of grhasta. Grhasta and grhamedi are not the same thing. What is the meaning of grhasta? ‘Householder’ means what?
“na gṛhaṁ gṛham ity āhurgṛhiṇī gṛham ucyatetayā hi sahitaḥ sarvān puruṣārthān samaśnute”( Sri Caitanya Caritamrta, Adi Lila, 15.27)
“Merely a house is not a home, for it is a wife who gives a home its meaning. If one lives at home with his wife, together they can fulfill all the interests of humanlife.”
If you live in a house, this is not called ‘grha’. Grha means ‘patni saha, bharya saha nivashet’. When someone lives in his house with his wife and performs bhajana and sadhana to the Lord, that is called a grhasta. That is called grha; grha mandir. If you stay with your wife and perform bhajana and sadhana in the proper way that is called grhasta jivana.
Another type of person who lives in a house is called ‘grhamedi’. ‘Medi’ means those who are so much attached and who are only moving around their house. Grhamedi. In the past, some farmers took the seeds of wheat or mustard and put one stick in the middle and a rope, and all of the cows would walk around the stick, around one place, that is called medi. Those who are only staying in their house, who are not chanting, not doing any bhajana or sadhana, and who are only attached to their wife and children are called grhamedi.Srimad Bhagavatam and also the Vedas explain that their lives are completely useless. ‘Grhasta’ means they perform bhajana and sadhana to Krsna. The centre is only Krsna....
~ excerpt of Varnasrama Dharma on Vedic Culture by Guru Maharaj
May, 2012
For video follow link,
Photo taken:
Program at King’s Cross, London
Sunday, 24th June, 2018