Hanuman and Arjun

There is a story of Hanuman and Arjun in Mahabharat. Both are true bhakts.
Once Arjun met Hanuman, the true bhakt of Shri Ram. Hanuman want on praising his Lord Shri Ram and did not give a chance to Arjun to talk about his Guru, Shri Krishna.

Arjun requested Hanuman to pause a little and give him a chance to say something about his Lord Krishna also. Hanuman said first hear about my Lord Shri Ram and then I will listen to you about your Lord Shri Krishna.

Arjun stopped Hanuman in between and said "I accept everything about your Lord Shri Ram .I also agree that he is the most powerful and the most revered Lord by all. Everybody has true shradha for him but tell me one thing about the setu(bridge)." He further asked Hanuman "why did Ram take help from Vaanar sena to built setu? why was setu built with stones? Hanuman replied "If setu would not have been built with vanaar sena help and without the stones, how would Lord Ram cross over the sea and reach Lanka." He asked Arjun "If you were there what would you have done? Arjun said "I would have made the setu(bridge) with the arrows. There was no need to cut huge trees and carry big and huge stones to make a bridge."

Hanum smiled and said "if you built the bridge with your arrows then how would you walk on it?
Such powerful people cannot walk on the bridge of arrows. Arrows will not able to take such heavy load. It cannot carry the load of Hanuman, how can it carry other heavy vannar sena and Lord Shri Ram."

He told Arjun "Now see there is a river in front of you, make setu(bridge ) of arrows on it." Arjun said I will make bridge with the arrows and you jump and climb on it. If the bridge breaks I challenge you I will not carry this bow and arrow in future." Arjun then made a bridge of arrows on the river. He requested Hanuman to climb over it. When Hanuman jumped over it, the bridge was intact, it did not shake a bit. Hanuman was surprised, he could not believe that the bridge made of arrows can be so strong.

He then remembered his Lord Shri Ram, prayed to him. Hanuman's body became strong as Shri Ram gave him the powers. After gaining this power, Hanuman jumped with full force, the bridge started shaking, it went down but it did not break. Again Hanuman closed his eyes and prayed.
He went under the bridge and came back. He said "Oh, Arjun, Dhananjay, you are great. Your bridge of arrows cannot take my weight. It is very powerful. Look your friend is carrying on his back the arrows. He is carrying the weight of arrows so that the bridge does not fall.
Hearing their conversation, Lord Krishna came up with the marks of arrows on his back.
Seeing his friend, Krishna taking so much pain because of him, Arjun felt very bad. He apologised to Lord and realised his mistake. Krishna did not want to put Arjun down. His false claim that he can built a bridge of arrow was also honoured by Lord. He kept his promise so that Arjun should not give up his talent of being expert arrow shooter. If you become God's, God will become yours. There will be feeling of oneness.

The story clearly indicate that we should not live under false Ego. If we are true and loyal to God, even our tall and false claims Lord takes on himself. Under any circumstances God will never put you down. But troubling your loving Lord for no reason is not correct because it will pain you more. You will feel guilty that to keep your promise Lord has taken so much pain. Lord is our friend, our guide and is always with us. With strong Faith of the Almighty we can overcome all troubles and hardships in life.

Poverty to Greed

Once in Gurukul Diksha festival was going on. All rich people and their children had gathered over there and brought rich gifts as diksha for their Guru. Guru and his wife were sitting. There was arrangement for yagya. The Brahmin was chanting ved mantra and yagya was going on. There was one poor student also. He was crying and feeling ashamed that he has nothing to offer to his Guru.

Guru and wife noticed that their student is crying. They said "there is no difference in our Gurukul, rich and poor are same. You need not worry about gift. You have paid your Gurudakshina by doing service to us. You have done lot of service for the Gurukul, you have studied hard and you are a brilliant student. We have got your Gurudakshina in form of your love, your discipline, your respect for us. Nobody has offered this dakshina to us. This is my biggest and precious gift from you."

But the poor boy was not convinced with his Guru's explanation. He was stubborn and bent upon offering dakshna to his Guru. Then Guru and his wife asked him what do want to offer as Gurudakshina? The boy replied that when I return in your respected feet you should accept whatever I offer you." They blessed him and said "as you wish". The boy took leave from his Guru.

He went and stayed at his friend's house. He was feeling restless, he was not getting sleep. The friend asked him that why is he feeling so tensed and disturbed. The boy said that for twelve years he stayed at Gurukul, learnt so much from his Guru but he has nothing to offer him in Gurudakshina. So many rich boys offered gifts to Guru but I am so poor that I have nothing to offer him."

The friend consoled him and said "there is king staying in our area. He is very generous and whatever you demand, he will try to fulfill your wish." The boy was very happy. He immediately rushed to meet the king. He entered King's darbar. The king came down and observed him thoroughly.The boy explained to him the entire things about Gurudakshina.

The king said "put forward your demand but do not act stingy(kanjoos). Demand for big and I will offer you." The boy was very amused and excited. He thought he will ask for thousands of gold coins. The king said "till now nobody has come to demand anything from me. All the people in my area are happy. They have no demand. You are the first and probably the last person so put forth your demand so don't hesitate, you can ask for anything."

The boy was confused. He thought to himself that when King is ready to give me anything why not demand for lakhs of coins. He was nervous. The king said "think big and think again. You look very tensed. Relax and then come to me. I will just take a stroll around in my garden."

The boy thought why not ask for crores of rupees. Then he thought that he would demand for half of his empire, hal of king's property. Again king came back and asked "have you decided about what you want?" The boy was still hesitant and nervous. The king smiled and said "just relax think properly and take firm decision. I will definitely offer anything you demand." The king gave him time to think and went for another round in his garden.

After sometime the king came back and asked "what have you decided?" In a haste the boy said "I want your entire property, your empire."
The king immediately agreed and thanked gGod by saying "Oh! God, today what sort of person you have sent to me. I have become so old, my hair and beard have turned grey. My entire body has become weak and old. I have got cataract in my eyes. Nobody was willing to take care of this empire. Now I have found one. I am so happy and delighted. Atlast I have found somebody to take this crown, to look after my property. This worry and tension about my empire had made me feel old. Today somebody has come to takeover these worries. I am very relieved."

Hearing the kings pray the boy felt that the king is dumping his tensions and worries upon me. It is like throwing a snake on me. He requested the king to take one more round of the garden so that he can think over again.
The king sternly said "No, now you have sit on this throne." The boy again told the king to take one more round and give him chance to think again. The king said"nothing doing as you are ready to take from me, you should be ready to give it to your Guru as dakshina."

The boy got scared and ran away fast from there without demanding anything.

The greed in us never allows us to sit in peace. The more we get the more we want. Always think and act peacefully otherwise you may miss golden opportunities from your life. Peace is a most precious ornament. Don't let it get stolen from your house. If once it goes, it becomes difficult to get it back. The Peace lies with God.

Peace (Shanti)

When man took leave from God's darbar, God was very happy and asked man to take whatever he wanted. Man being greedy by nature, spread his big sheet and told him to give everything that he has in his bag. He told God give me everything, don't keep anything with you. Man thought that he should become rich and lead a life of king.

God requested Laxmi Mata to handover his big bag. Laxmi brought his bag. God started removing his precious diamonds and other costly things one by one. He gave man the entire thing in his bag. He emptied his bag. But there was one small thing which was stuck with the bag. It could not be removed. God then kept the bag under his feet. He told man now you go back to earth with all these precious things. Man was very pleased and happy. He tied his big sheet with all the material things and without thanking God, without doing pranam to God marched forward.

He was so engrossed in these things that he forgot to say namaskar or thank to God. After sometime when Laxmiji removed the bag, she told Lord "what is this inside the bag." God said "keep quiet, let this man go to earth. Don't let man know about it otherwise he will grab this also without being thankful to me.. This is the most precious thing called PEACE(Shanti). This I have kept under my feet. When man will clear his sheet of money, property, wife, husband, family, children, bank balances, he will enjoy that for temporary period. He will not get Peace(Shanti). He has to come back to me to get Peace. So let him get involved, let him be busy with all the material things of earth. He will get frustrated, tired of materialistic things, he will think of me.
If he will sincerely and honestly agree that Peace is most precious, I will give it to him.

This pleased Mata Laxmi. She also agreed that Peace will be awarded to only one who values My Lord and not to the ones who give importance to worldly things which are not lasting. They will remain in earth after death. But Peace will be carried forward to man's future birth also. With peace man will get moksh. He will get God.

False Claims

Shivaji, the great leader was going to built a big fort. But his region was suddenly affected by famine. There was a situation of hunger and poverty. Thousands of people were working under him to built the fort. It came in Shivaji's mind that despite of famine, he is taking care of food and other things of thousands of people. He felt very happy and contented.

Shivaji used to believe in Guru Randas. His Guru was worried that my disciple should not get egoistic about being the caretaker of thousands of people. He should not get"harshounmad"
He wanted to test Shivaji. Shivaji went to his Guru and did did pranam and bowed in front of him. He was very happy to see his Guru Swami Ramdas. Swamiji called Shivaji and said"since you are going to built a fort, the stones are also laid, now do me favour take a big stone and take a hammer. He then told him to break this stone with a hammer into two pieces."

Shivaji Maharaj sincerely obeyed and did as his Guru had requested him to do. He broke the stone into two pieces. He saw a tiny insect with a bit of rice in his mouth and there was small gap from where the water was dripping.
The Guru asked Shivaji "Inside the stone there is water and bit of rice, have you sent it the insect? Have you made arrangement for this insects hunger and thirst satisfaction? Have you sent water and this bit for rice to the insect to survive on?

Shivaji bent in front of Guru. He understood that his Guru has come to test him. To control his ego and to make him realise that God makes arrangement everybody's food and water. Even a small insect cannot be ignored by God. He is also under his care. But we humans think and claim to look after others, be their caretakers. Sometimes we feel that our family cannot survive without us. We make such false claims. World can survive without strong leaders, saints and others. It is the Almighty who has made us. Why unnecessarily be under wrong impression that we take of others. Nobody is going to live permanently on this earth. Everybody has to meet an end.

It is good to take care of others. You are not doing anything wrong. God has bleesed you and given you good health and enough of wealth as well as strength to take good care of those under you. Just thank him for that and remember that it is with His blessings we are enjoying this life. You should feel happy but don't get involved and stake claim that you are the owner. You do your job and thank the owner.

King Yayati

There is a story of King Yayati in Mahabharat. He went to Heaven with his body( Sadeh swarag).
He had done many good jobs on earth. He did lot of Yaghya, Havan, helped people in their need, lot of donation, tapasaya and sadhana. So he was allowed to go to Heaven along with his body. He was given half of Devraj Indra's throne. From there also he was free to move to Brahmlok and Indralok.

Devraj Indra and other devtaas could not stand this. They wanted him to go back to Prithvilok(Earth). They then knew one weakness of his. So one day when Yayati was seated on Devraj Indra's throne, the devtaas asked him about what all good things he did. How he got such a high post. They said that he is sitting next to Indra, it is a great achievement. Please tell us what yagna, tapasay you have done that you have reached swarag lok along with your body.

Yayati got flattered. He felt very important. He explained to them he has done so much daan, punya, so much sadhana and tapasay. God is so pleased with my good work that he has given me such a high post. The devtaas were very smart. They wanted to hear from his mouth about his good deeds. They went on flattering and Yayati did not realise this. He went on praising himself about his daan, tapasay etc. Till now whatever he said was true. But after that he went on boasting to the extent that he has done such good deed that nobody has ever done such tapasya before him on this earth and in future also nobody can claim to be equal to his good work.
On saying that nobody can be equal to him in daan, tapasya, sadhana on this earth, he had actually insulted the respected Saints,Rishis, Munis and Mahatmas who have done more than him on this earth. After continuously talking about his good deeds and comparing himself with other highly respected saint, Devraj Indra told him to stop. He said "Yayati by disclosing your good deeds to others, you have lost all punya work you gained. All your good work has become nil. Now you have to return to earth.

If you have Gyan, daan, tap, knowledge whatever good things in you, you should not get lost in them. You should not make show of it to others. You should feel happy about your good deeds and good qualities but you should not show of it(Harshounmad). Don't get lost in it.

When Yayati was thrown out of Swarglok, he realised his mistake. He felt very disappointed and felt that we should remain calm and quiet about whatever we achieve. You must hide these qualities, somebody else will take advantage of your habit of talking and boasting. Anyway it was time for Yayati to return back to earth as he had lost all the punya by narrating it to devtaas. He apologised for his mistake and requested them to send him on earth to a place where there are saints and true bhakt of God, where there is satsang. Devtaas agreed and sent him to a place where true satsang was being done.

The Mahatmas picked him up in their arms. They told Yayati that now we will prepare you again for your good deeds. You should become fearless and should not bloat out your qualities to others. Do not bloat up like a balloon. Keep calm. This way Yayati again got place in swarag lok.

This is a story to make us feel and realise that we should not leak out our good qualities to others, it can have negative impact. Save your good deeds to get better and more interest by the Almighty. Our Lord knows better and through his blessings only we are able to achieve good work and do good things on this earth. Count on his blessings and not about what you have done

A true gyani Bhakt is always happy. Under any circumstances he smiles. He has No Ego or any desires. Even if he gets anything he does not get lost in them. He knows that things which he possess today are temporary. Nothing is going to remain permanent with me so why get attached to them. Just enjoy and lead a normal. Do not get anxious and worried about future or regret for past. Everybody has to pass through upheavals of life.

In Japan there used to be a saint(fakir) named Rinjhai. He has written in his autobiography that first time when I met my Guru(teacher) he was sitting near the bank of a river. As I saw him from far, I felt as though some magnetic power is there in him. He was getting attracted towards him like an iron getting attracted to magnet.

Rinjhai has said that when I bowed in front of mu Teacher's feet, I felt I have achieved some supreme power. I was speechless. All my desires and wishes came under control. Everything was very peaceful. I felt very light like a paper which would fly. I was away from the world.

My teacher kept his hand of mercy on me, he patted me. When I opened my eyes, they were moist. With heavy heart, I told my Guru that I have come to become your disciple, kindly accept me.
My Guru said one sentence "Are you fully prepared" Do you have full faith?" I replied immediately and without hesitation "Yes, there is full faith and I am fully prepared."

My Guru said "I accept you Rinjhai as my disciple"

After three days Rinjhai took a notebook and a pencil. He told his Guru to tell me what is right and what is wrong, I will note down in my notebook. Whatever is right I will accept and learn and anything that is wrong I will leave it, I will discard it from my life.

Rinjhai says "My Guru smiled. He said "Oh! Rinjhai throw this notebook and pencil. You stay with me. Observe me and see how I eat, how I drink, how I wake up, how I walk, how I sleep. Hear my voice, my talking style, my behaviour, notice my day to day action and behaviour. Observe me deeply from outside and from within."

The Guru further said with confidence "whatever I do in my routine work is Right and what I don't do is Wrong." Only a true bhakt or saint can say such words.

Rinjhai has written that I was very surprised with my Guru's words. I bowed in front of my Guru and politely asked him "Gurudev, you don't make any mistake, you don't make any error?"
The Guru answered "Rinjhai, I am not that I. I am totally immersed in my Lord. There is no question of I. I have no desires. They are all dead. There is no anger, no greed, no attachment, no Ego. I am fully immersed in my Almighty. I have nothing of these things because these desires of anger, hatred, greed, Ego, attachment only make mistakes. When there is nothing of that sort and when there is no gap of "I and You" between me and my Lord than the question of making mistakes and errors does not arise. Your Ego is the barrier which does not allow you to do right and it does not permit you to say with confidence that whatever you do or act from outside and from within is Right. The thing which instigates you to make mistakes have been erased from my mind and body."

Rinjhai found a true Guru and he himself attained the position of his teacher. The true bhakt is not carried away by money, he does not demand any respect or importance. He is contented.

Desire dont leave us, we have to stop them

A sufi fakir was lying under the shade of a tree. Peacefully sitting and relaxing. A billionaire man passed by. He stopped his car and kept ten thousand golden coins in front of him. The saint got up looked at that man. He asked him that what are these coins for.

The rich man said "please accept this gift from me, I shall be highly obliged. The fakir replied "this is not a small gift. It is very big because there is a tag of Ego attached with it. My dear friend please take back these gold coins immediately. I don't accept gifts from beggars and poor people."

The man said " does a poor man have ten thousand gold coins? A Poor man may not have ever seen or ever dream of so many coins. He may not have seen in your hands also"

The saint(fakir) politely said "Friend, do not tell lies. In fakir's darbar you are telling lies."
The man said that he is not telling lies. He is telling the truth. He is not poor.

The fakir then said "tell me one thing. Whatever money you have accumulated now and whatever luxuries and comforts you have now, would you like to have more. Do you have the desire to get more." The man honestly replied "Yes, I do have."

The fakir replied "then what does it mean to be poor. You want more and more. That means there is no difference between you and a beggar, a poor man. You are like them. They also want more and you are also doing the same thing. You are not satisfied with your earnings.

Desire means Not satisfied

Desire means I am not satisfied with what I am. I want more. The demand to have more is never ending. This body will decay but the demands don't end. It means that whatever qualities and specialties I have, I am not aware of it. The God (atma-Paramatma) who is residing within me, I have No knowledge about him. I am only looking for satisfaction from outside the world. But unfortunately these desires don't allow me look within. We have forgotten our qualities or intentionally we are not interested in knowing them. There should be a well wisher to remind us about good qualities within us.

There is a bird named Maina. The child of Maina is crying. The mother asks the baby maina that why is he crying. The baby replies "Mother, see there on the stem of the tree a peacock's baby is sitting, how beautiful he looks. He has beautiful and colourful feathers. Why I am not like him. why I did not get those looks?"

The baby maina's mother carried him to the other side of the tree. The baby maina saw that the baby peacock was crying. The mother asked the baby peacock that why is he crying. He said "Look Mother, on the stem of the other tree Maina's child is sitting, he has got melodious voice, he sings so beautifully. Why don't I have this beautiful voice?"

See the Maina's baby does not have knowledge about its beautiful voice so he is not happy. He want to look like peacock. Same way the peacock baby does not know the value of it's beautiful body so he is not happy and wants to have beautiful voice like Maina.

We are all like that. Not happy with ourselves. Want to copy others or feel jealous. Same way those others may not be contented with themselves. They also must be feeling jealous and want to look like us. But the true beauty lies within where we don't want to tread. Satisfaction is the true beauty of life.

Do your Job but Remeber your creator

God says do all your routine jobs systematically. There is no harm in working hard and making money. Close your eyes for a second and talk to God by saying "I am going to work, please accompany me." This way you will enjoy doing your work and you will feel that you are not Alone, The Almighty is with you.

Then while having your meals, just for a second Thank to God for the good meal you had. There is no harm in eating in hotels or eating outside food. Just say that "I am eating with you." The food will taste delicious and your stomach will not get upset because Almighty has eaten with you.

When you finish all your regular chores and retire to bed, just close your eyes and say "Today I had a good day, I am going to sleep, my Lord. I am sleeping in your lap, wake me up if you so wish.

Next day morning when you wake up thank him for sound sleep he gave you and for the beautiful day ahead. This way you will always be with God.

A bhakt does not have unnecessary desires. He is contented with whatever little he earns. But the desire to be with and near God should always be there.
Once a King went abroad. He had four queens. He told his wives to write and tell him whatever they wanted so that he could buy for them from abroad.
All the wives gave their demands in writing. One of the queen just wrote one simple word and gave him.
When he returned he brought things for the queens and sent them to their respective rooms. Then he entered the room of his first wife who had written only one word for him. He said I could not understand what you wanted so I have come personally to ask you. She smiled and said "I have got what I wanted. I wanted you, my husband, the King to be with me. I don't need anything else. You have come that is enough for me."
Same way if we demand only God, then everything of his is ours. Like how Arjun wanted only Krishna. He did not demand for weapons or big army, nothing of that sort. Only Lord Krishna, the true friend, true guide was enough to win over Kauravas.

Master and Servant

We are also God's servant. We cannot question him. Bhakti means God's Yes is also my Yes. I cannot say No to God. If everything is going smoothly in life, we forget about God. But when something goes wrong we start getting angry with him. We stop going to temple, stop doing our
pooja and aarti. But will that serve our purpose. If anytime such hatred feeling comes in our mind, we should beg sorry from God. Apologize for your mistakes. We should be satisfied with whatever he gives us. We should accept the reality of life and say "whatever you make me wear I will wear, whatever you make me eat, I will eat, wherever you make me sleep I will sleep. Whatever you tell me to do I will do. There will be Nothing like No in between Yours and My relationship. I am your dedicated Servant. You are my Master, my guide and my true friend.
Just plain feeling of satisfaction makes your life easy to sail.

Once a businessman wanted a servant. He had advertised for the same. Many poor boys came for that post.
One by one he started calling them for interview. As soon as any boy would enter, he would first ask him to fetch him a glass of water.

The boy would bring him a glass of water. Then he would tell him to throw the water. The boy would obediently throw the water. Then he would ask him "Why did you throw away the water?" The boy would say you told me to throw so I threw it. He did not like such boys who give him flat answer. This way he rejected many boys.

Then after many days one boy came. The businessman ordered the boy to get him a glass of water. He obediently filled the glass of water and handed over to him. Before taking the glass in his hand he told him to throw away the water. The boy politely threw the water.

After sometime he asked him that why did he threw the water from glass. The boy replied "I did it by mistake. I apologize for the same." He was very pleased with him and kept him as his servant.

Satisfaction and Jealousy

Once a poor man did strong bhakti, sadhana , tapasaya to please God. God was pleased by his bhakti, he appeared in front of him. Without his asking God gave him vardaan. God said "Whatever you demand, however and whichever way you demand anything, I will immediately fulfill that demand of yours. But one condition that how much you get, your neighbour and your village people will get double of yours"

The man replied " Is this a vardaan or a sharap? Why should my neighbour and my village people get more than me."

God said "there is some suspense to check your true bhakti. This is my condition of vardaan. By then God disappeared.

He reached home looking very sad and low. He had a small hut and very little food to eat. His life was like a beggar. He would roam about here and there to get some food and make his living. He was muttering to himself "I would rather remain like a beggar than allow God to give double of mine to others"

He took suggestion from one of relative and explained to him that God is ready to give me anything I demand but on condition that double of that will automatically go to my neighbour and village people. I can't believe this condition. The relative said just try it for once, there is no harm in trying.

He started asking God "Please give me a palace of seven floors." Immediately his desire got fulfilled. He saw his hut turn into a beautiful bungalow with seven floor. But when he turned around to see his neighbours house. He was shocked that his neighbour and other people of his village got big house of fourteen floors. He felt very disappointed and dejected. he felt very jealous. He said "I want to grow big, but others are getting more bigger than me.

Then the relative of his told him to ask that in front of your house big wells are provided. Immediately the demand was fulfilled. He saw two big well were dug in front of his house. But when he turned up to see his neighbour and other villagers house, he saw that they had four big and deep wells in front of their house. This made him very angry. He became restless. There was so much of hatred and jealousy. He wanted to grab all that his neighbours got.

His friend then told him to ask God to take away your one eye only so that others will lose two eyes. They will become blind. This idea suited him. He was very angry and not in his senses so without thinking and reasoning, he listened to his friend and started demanding from God to take away his one eye. As he wished God took away his one eye and the neighbours lost both. They became blind. He was very happy and amused to see this. To break others two eyes, he broke his one eye.

Aren't most of us foolish like this man. Why do we make more money. We don't earn money for ourselves. We collect more money to prove to others that we are more richer than them. We go to parties wearing heavy ornament, wearing rich clothes to show others our riches. Why should anybody be more richer than me. This is jealousy. This feeling does not allow us to move forward. We are blinded by this hatred and superflous life. We are not living our true self. We are covering our shortcomings by this show biz(dhong). There is so much of hatred in the society because of this feeling. We don't want others to have more than us.

Bhakti Yog

Bhakti means everything is You my Lord. I am nothing. There is no I in between love of God and Me. We are completely attached and bound by the love of Almighty.
Bhakti means to accept the fact that these Eyes see because of You, these Ears can hear because of You, this tongue talks and tastes because of You, these limbs of my body move because of You. My mind can think because of You. This intellect argues and thinks because of You. Because of You I feel hungry, I feel thirsty, I get sound sleep. Whatever changes and movements that are happening within and outside the body are all because of You. To remember this atleast is called Bhakti.

We forget all this. We think everything I am doing. To remember this and thank to the creator of all this is true bhakti. Bhakti does not mean you have to go to temple, do aarti, do chandan and tilak etc. Even there is no need to bow in front of God or attend any satsang whatsoever, but Just remember and thank from your heart's content that whatever physical and mental stability of life I am enjoying despite all odds of life(like loss of dear ones, loss in property or anything that makes us feel sad), is because of You.
We are the barriers between the Lord and ourselves. It is because of this 'I'. If there is no obstacle of I feeling, only You, then you have won over many battles of life. Your day to day routine work will become smooth and normal if you don't disrupt it by saying to yourself that "I have done it" In your mind atleast you should know that who is running our life and who is giving and taking back things from our life. Acceptance of this fact is enough.

Since when Death and Life are not in this "I's" hand, how the middle path be in the hands of this "I". Be it a rich person, poor man, sanyasi, pandit, any person, the end and beginning of everybody is same. When we are born we don't register our Birth Certificate in Municipality, somebody else does it for else. Same way Death is also registered by someone else. Even the registration is not being done by us. Our this "I" cannot move withour the support of the omnipotent power which runs this Universe. So stop this "I" to control your Ego. Ego should be our servant, not our master. Our sensory organs should also be our Servant and not masters. When they become our masters, we become Egoistic and jealous etc. Use your senses for good purpose and within limits. Don't let them drag you towards wrong direction. Keep the reigns or sensory organs and this "I" neither too loose nor too tight, just keep a balance. Once you have mastered this trick, you are close to God. You will learn to keep balance in your life.

Change your Style of talking : your language

Normally we get over anxious or get involved in unnecessary worries due to our style of talking, our language. Control your tongue, your language. You hurt people with your rough language. You lose good friends due to your piercing language.

It would be better to check how do you talk or interact with others. Guruji says if you want to learn to talk nicely then read and understand Geeta. Learn from Lord Krishna. Arjun was under severe depression. He did not want to fight against his near and dear ones. He told Krishna his bow and arrow are falling, he dropped them. his mouth has dried, he is feeling uneasy. These are some signs of depression where we have no strength to fight against our close relatives. But his cousins had no such feeling, they were restless to fight against them. They were making all preparations to punish Pandavaas for no fault of theirs. Krishna tried his best to bring some kind of peace but the enemies did not agree. They were bent on fighting against pandavaas.

When Krishna knew that war is inevitable and Arjun is under deep depression, he used his beautiful weapon of polite and encouraging language. It sounded like flute to Arjun. It gave him extra strength to bring back glory which they had lost. To bring jubilation in Arjun's mind, to wake him up, see how Lord made Arjun sit on the chariot as his Master and Krishna became his sarathi to run the chariot.

Krishna says "Arjun you are my bhakt. Your are my friend. You are my soul, my breath. You are my everything (Bhakto asi Me sakha cheti). Have you heard anybody in your own family talking in this style. We don't talk with our near and dear ones like this. There was no feeling of Ego in Krishna and Arjun's relationship. It was deep love and understanding. It was this beautiful language and wonderful conversation which impressed Arjun totally.

If you speak politely and with love to somebody, they would respect you. They will pay attention to you and would return their love. We should have that quality and tact to help somebody to overcome their depression. In the tenth chapter of Bhagwat Geeta Lord Krishna also told Arjun emphatically "I am Himalaya amongst mountains, Peepal amongst trees, Ganga amongst rivers, Naraad amongst Devarishis, Vyas amongst Yogis, but he says Oh! Arjun, amongst Pandavas I am Dhananjaya, you Arjun. There is no difference between You and Me. Arjun felt he is seventh Heaven. He was so flattered and happy. He started blooming like a flower. Whole feeling of depression disappeared and he felt that if whole world goes against him , his true friend Krishna will always be with him. He will never betray him. Krishna went to the extent to show his Viraat Swaroop. To show that everything on this earth is his creation. He went to the extent that if need be he will use his Sudarshan Chakra. He will do anything for his friend. He told Arjun "I cannot stay without you. You are so precious to me." The bond between them was very strong.

Pay attention to the conversation between Arjun and Krishna. Do we try to help somebody with our polite words and language in overcoming their depression. Do we think of others like this. Our little efforts in changing our style of talking can bring wonders in the life of people who are under severe depression due to physical and mental illness.

Once during Mahabharata war Arjun had some doubts whether they will be able to win over Kauravas, Krishna gave assure to him by keeping his hand on Arjun's shoulder. He said "Ishtoasi me dradmiti" You are my Isht, my God. Isht means the idol in the temple whom we pray. This assurance gave Arjun strength and recovered from his feeling of depression.

If you cant help anybody, then atleast use polite and kind words to them. Don't betray and hurt anybody.

Lord Krishna told Arjun "My Gyani bhakt is not greedy or over ambitious. He is contented with whatever he has or he gets. He has a powerful weapons of concentration and satisfaction.

Earlier the example of Napoleon was cited to show that strong will power and with deep concentration you can achieve your goal. As Napoleon would pay attention only on his goal and would not get disturbed by other outside factors, he could reach his goal. But the story does not end here. Another example is of greed, Ego and desire of over ambitiousness.

When Napoleon became the Chief of France, he was not satisfied with his goal. He wanted more. The desire to have more, makes you greedy. You become insensitive to others feelings and desires. You become Egoistic. You think you are the Lord of this world, nobody is powerful than you. Same happened with Napoleon. He conquered my nations. But there was no satisfaction, no enjoyment of life. he became greedy and restless. He had made a map to see what all he can capture. In the map there was place named St. Helena. He skipped that place thinking that it is not a fertile land.
But see the fate of a man that in the end he was kept in St. Helena. He got shelter in the place which he just dropped to capture.

It is written somewhere that when Napoleon lost everything and was in St. Helena, a poor village girl, carrying grass basket, came in front of him. Napoleon's assistant told the girl in anger to make place for their master, why are blocking his way. Once he was honoured so much and now nobody to respect him. He told his assistant, leave her, whatever I achieved and whatever I saw was all a
Dream.

We must learn from these examples that whatever we achieve, we should think of others also. Be contented. Don't get greedy as there is no end to our desires. It is we who have to control our desires. Desires will not say to put an end. Your will power has to capture the unwanted desires and lusts.

Do not Get Disturbed or Impatient

A true gyani bhakt does not get disturbed by any change in the atmosphere. Be it any circumstances, he remains quiet and patient. He adjusts to any circumstance.

There used to be a very intelligent, highly educated and a very good philosopher, a saint named "Maulong Putra". He had lakhs of followers and disciples. They used to pray and do his aarti. They would touch his feet and take blessings from him. He was a very popular man.

Once he came to Gautam Budha. He bowed in front of him and touched his feet and took his blessings. He told Guatam Budha "I have some queries, some doubts,some questions and I am curious to get the answer from you. I have come to your feet to get the right answer from you alone. These doubts, fears in mind are disturbing me. I don't get sleep at night and during daytime these doubt and queries don't allow me to concentrate on anything. I feel very uneasy and restless. Until these doubts are not cleared from my mind I will not feel at rest. I don't want to die till I am relieved of these doubts. I went to many places to find peace and get answer but nothing worked. I am not satisfied with all that is happening. I am not getting any solution to my questions. Please help me to get rid of this tense situation. I beg of you"

Gautam Budha looked straight into his eyes. Made him feel relaxed. Politely and firmly he asked Maulong Putra "Are you ready to sacrifice something to get peace and answers to your doubts and are you willing to pay heavy price for it? Without paying price,you cannot get such expensive and valuable things like sleep and peace. If you really agree to pay for these valuable thing, then I have a solution." Maulong Putra agreed to lay whatever conditions Gautam Budha would claim on him.
Maulong Putra said" Whatever be your wish(Jo aghya). Gautam Budha said "To get sleep, rest and peace, you have to stay with me in my Ashram for two years. You have to just observe me. No questioning in between. Just observe silence. Watch my every action and movement. How I eat, how I sleep, I talk with people, my way of parting knowledge and all that I do in my daily routine. Exactly after two years at this time I will solve all your doubts."
Maulong Putra said "I have so many followers and disciples, so many people give me importance, how can I stay with you for two years. What will they think of me? It is a long period. In between If I die or something happens to you, then my questions will be unanswered. I have told you that I want to die only after I get the answer. If you know the answer why don't you tell me now. Why create anxiety."

Gautam Budha replied "First of all I assure you that none of us will die during that period and nothing is going to happen." Now, immediately if I answer all your queries like what happens after death, why are so many people suffering, why do people die, why there is so much stress, for what are we born and what are we living etc., you will not be able to grasp or understand it. Now you are so restless, disturbed and nervous that you not in a position to hear anything. The condition of your mind is like that of facing a storm, a whirlpool you are entangled in. You need two years to come out of this storm and gushing winds that are going on in your mind."

After long pause, finally Maulong Putra agreed to stay with Gautam Budha in his ashram. He saw a monk sitting under a tree lost in his concentration started laughing at him. Maulong Putra asked Gautam that why is he laughing.
Gautam Budha replied "Go and ask him."

He went near the monk and asked him "why are you laughing" The monk replied "whatever you want to ask, get the answer now otherwise there will be nothing left to ask after two years. I also came to Budha with same queries and problems. Today I am at peace, no disturbance. No questions to ask and mind is at total rest."

Maulong Putra stayed for two years with Gautam Budha. Exactly after two years and at same time Gautam Budha called Maulong Putra and said "Get up and tell me what are questions, I will answer them all." Maulong Putra touched Budha's feet and tears started dripping from his eyes. He felt a sort of comfort, a peace and elated. There were no questions, no queries only peace and peace alone. No curiosity, no thirst only love and peace everywhere.

We get peace when we sit under shelter of a true Gyani Bhakt. We are satisfied.
Lord Krishna said "My gyani Bhakt is satisfied, he is at peace, he has no anxiety or stress. He is completely relaxed. He is relieved of Birth and Death queries. He gets total Moksh.


Gautam Budha said "

Concentration and Strong Will Power

Lord Krishna tells Arjun that a Gyani Bhakt should have a strong will power and deep concentration. He should have strong control over his sensory organs(like to see,hear, smell, taste and touch) and keep reigns of his emotions under control. Then only he can reach upto his goal.
There is an example of Napoleon Bonaparte who had strong concentration and will power. Napoleon Bonaparte had a strong will power. With firm concentration and determination he could win over his enemies. When he was a young student, he was quite poor. He had bought a small room on rent. Everyday he used to work hard and in the evening he would concentrate only on his studies. He was quite handsome and good looking. Near his house a young beautiful woman used to reside. She became friendly with Napoleon. Very often she used to come to his house. She tried to attract Napoleon by her looks and would try all means to divert his attention. But Napoleon did not pay heed to all this. He never gave her an opportunity to talk to him. He would concentrate only on his goal.

Whatever was his goal he tried to achieve it because he had patience and will power. When he became Prime Minister of France he went to the place where the base of his career started. He went to meet the woman who was his neighbour and who had tried to attract him. He met the woman and asked her about Napoleon. The woman replied by saying that there used to be a young boy named Napoleon. She said that he was very handsome, very serious person. He was very nice but there was one drawback in him. He never appreciated beauty, nor music or dance. He was only involved with his books and his work ans sit alone. Is that a life.

When that lady spoke to him like that he said "if I had paid attention to your looks, your music and dance, I would not have reached upto this position. We must have patience and control over our sensory organs and emotions to achieve our goal.

Do Not Blame Destiny

It is foolish to blame Destiny. If we are unable to achieve any task, we blame it on our Destiny. By saying so we are fooling ourselves, trying to cover our shortcomings or weaknesses and trying to console our mind that it was not in my luck. But think that your destiny is determined by you, by your own good or evil deeds and thoughts. Every second whatever you think or do(karma), adds to your destiny. So the fruit or result of your deeds have to borne by you only. Nobody else is responsible God is our friend, he abides in our conscience. Every second he indicates through red and green signal and reminds us for whatever good or bad things we do. But we are not ready to pay heed to our conscience where our Lord stays. We suppress it and continue to do wrong. Then who is responsible for this? You have nurtured your own destiny. God is not devil or our enemy to give us unhappiness. We are his children. He will always guide his children towards right track. But we are so involved in this materialistic world and engrossed in all sorts of egos, greed, anger, possessiveness that adds to the chain of our destiny. We have forgotten our own father. If we have done good, our destiny will also be good. Therefore, stop blaming God, Destiny or Luck. Do not get illusioned by this. Still it is not too late. Take Destiny in your stride, Act Now. Do not hesitate to take risk, do not be afraid of death. With your strong will power tread on the right, true path and be faithful/honest to yourself at least and then work hard to achieve your Goal. We are independent still we are slave of our Destiny. We have given the reigns of our destiny in others hand. March ahead, hold the strings of luck/Destiny tight in your hand and drive independently towards your task. God is our true friend. Our father. He cannot and does not want us to feel sad or unhappy. Smile and laugh at your follies. In the Bhagwat Gita, Lord Krishna has repeatedly reminded us that Soul is Immortal(Atma Amar Hai). We still live with the fear of death and fear of losing our near and dear once. But that is universal. We cannot escape that. Accept the reality and live fearlessly by surrendering to the Almighty.

A skull(khopdi)

There used to be a saint a philosopher in China. He was very knowledgeable Rishi.
Once when it was evening time and it was raining, he and his disciples passed by a graveyard. Accidentally he stamped upon a skull(khopdi). He sat down over there. He bowed down and begged for sorry from the skull. His disciples said that what are doing, it is raining and they had to reach their place before the rains become heavy. It is graveyard and why are you holding the skull in your hand. Let us go.

The saint said "let me apologise and beg sorry from this skull". His disciples said"this is a skull and why beg sorry from a skull".
He replied "this is not an ordinary people's graveyard. This is specially meant for for kings and higher status people. See the wonder. For death the door is same for all. Everybody has to exit from there. But even after death we have kept differences between rich and poor. Looks like this skull(khopdi) belongs to some King since it is found in this graveyard. Let me beg sorry from him".

Then he took the skull with him. Every morning he used to sit and pray in front of it. People thought he has gone mad. They asked him that why has he kept khopdi in his place and why does he pray in front of it. He said "since I stamped on this khopdi, I should beg sorry for it. It is a King's khopdi. If this king would have been alive and by mistake I would have stamped upon him, he would have immediately ordered his man to kill me and cut my body into pieces. Think about the anger and the wrath the King must have had when he was alive. What a life he lead. But now when he is dead and I stamped upon the skull, there was no response. No anger nor any Ego, it is just being crushed upon by people's foot. Isn't that funny. Just lying unnoticed".

The saint further said "I have kept this with me to remind me every minute that anytime I can also turn into a skull(khopdi). When I get egoistic and angry, it keeps nagging me that I am not what I am today. When I get possessive(moha)or deeply attached, become greedy, egocentric or any sin i commit it reminds me that once this khopdi also had a family, children for whom he must be doing everything to keep them happy. But after death where is the family, the children, the money etc. All turned into a skull(khopdi). I tell myself that this is now a khopdi and in future same will be my fate. I will also become khopdi and people will upon stamp me as I have stamped upon this skull(khopdi). This skull(khopdi) has opened up my eyes, it gives me true picture of life, given me consciousness.

Quality of a Gyani Bhakt : Nirahankar(No Ego)

Lord Krishna reminds again and again to Arjun that my Gyani bhakt is free from Ego and Moha. They will temporarily disturb him, he has to bear it but He will come back to his normal self.

We normally become egoistic towards our looks and body, our property and money, our family, our children, about our job status, our business etc. But think once have we got these things on our own or is it with the blessings of our Almighty. Remember till we are alive these things are ours but after death we leave everything here only. Even when we are alive do we not see people growing old. Beautiful person can become ugly due to accidents or for any other reason. Money, property can be destroyed by natural calamity. We cannot remain in higher status for long, somebody else more powerful than us can grab it. We are constantly under the fear of losing things of which we feel proud of. So do not get blinded by thinking that whatever you have today will remain forever. Feeling of Ego develops by knowing that we have something more than others. How foolish are we.
If we are true and loving children of God, such egoistic ideas will never linger in our mind. We should thank God for whatever extra he has given us. It is his blessings and not your efforts that have made you feel that you have some of the things better than others.

Once when Sikandar who had won through war and bloodshed many countries, was sitting near River Nile. People over there greeted him with garlands, flowers and honoured him for his victory. He was surprised by the behaviour of the people of that area. He was thinking that where he went he had to fight and get his things done, nobody greeted him with respect. Other places people restrained him from entering their region. He had to forcefully fight and capture that place. But here people were giving him and his soldiers great importance. They also invited him and his people for dinner.

All the people of the village had gathered for dinner and to greet Sikandar. They than made the dinner table ready for him. Sikandar sat down for dinner. He was surprised to see the table was decorated with golden plate and bowls. And in the plates they had served food like golden rice, golden chapatis and diamond vegetables.
He got angry and threw the plate. He said "you have gone mad? How can you serve this food to me? You expect me to eat food made of gold and diamond." Everybody was quiet. Nobody dared to answer Sikandar.

An old man stood in front of him with folded hands. He said "Gentleman! If you had to eat simple food like rice, pulses, vegetables and rotis you could have easily have got from any village or town. Why there was so much bloodshed? Why did you take so many lives and destroy their families? Just for simple food you killed so many people. Sikandar felt very ashamed. He said you have opened my eyes and made me aware that nothing is more precious than food. We cannot swallow or eat gold and diamonds.

His Ego then melted and realised that Egoistic person cannot make friends. He is constantly under fear of losing things of which he feels egoistic.

Story of Guru Vashishtha

It is a story from puranik Katha about Moha. It says that nobody is free from Moha. It is bound to be there, but with little patience and understanding we can face it. Do not let this Moha become a permanent guest in your house.

There used to be very big saint, Guru Vashishtah. He was a brahmgyani. He used to teach Lord Rama by saying that this world is dream, nothing is permanent on this earth only brahm is true.

Vashishta had hundred sons. He was very attached to them. Once Vishwamitra, who was very egoistic, killed his hundred sons in anger. Vashistha became very sad and and depressive because he was entangled in the moha of his children. He being a saint could not bear this pain. He became very depressive and wanted to commit suicide. He went and jumped into a river. The river saw such a saint and gyani person has jumped into the river, she threw him out of the river by force. He attempted to jump again, the river just threw him out again. Brahm Rishi Vashishtha felt that he may be too light to drown so he tied himself with a stone to commit suicide by jumping in the river.

The river knew that he is a big saint and tried to help him. So she turned into a woman and stopped him from doing so. She caught hold of him and brought him near the bank of the river. She asked him why is he committing suicide. Vashishta explained to her that how Vishwamitra killed his hundred sons and because of that he does not want to live. Best is to die. The river said "You are such a gyani purush, you have given knowledge to Lord Rama about Brahm by saying the world is not real,it is a dream and now you are finding it real, you are blinded by moha of your sons and want to destroy your life. What is the use of this gyan.
The river then said that you are highly knowledgeable person, highly regarded and respected by all, were going to commit such a grave sin, such a shameful act. What example would you set for your disciplines and the next generation. You have given spiritual knowledge to your disciples by saying that "we are not body, we not mind, we are not intellect, we are not thoughts and we are just souls, the children of Almighty. How can you think of such an act". There was continuous discussions between Rishi Vashishtha and the river who was in form of a woman. Within few minutes Rishi Vashishtha realised his mistake and came back to his original self. He regained knowledge which was covered by the thin curtain of Moha(attachment). Moha got vanished and Vashishtah realised that he is not a body, he is a soul.
The bondage of Moha is very strong. We cannot easily eradicate it. Even big Rishia, Munis get affected. We as normal being should not think that being attached is not a gyani bakht's quality. It is with the help of our well wisher we can overcome this Moha. This all happens with the blessings of God who helps us at the time of grief and sorrow and keeps us away from the feeling of depression.