' Extracts from pravachans of our guruji '

' hymns in praise of guru '

Mahathsanghastu durlabhaha agamyo amoghashcha

                                                                    - Naaradha Bhakthisutram                                    

 Meaning: It is rare to be in the association (company) of mahatmas, (this company) is not attainable 

by ordinary search, will never go in vain.

Why is an association with mahatmas or sathgurus given importance in our scriptures and texts? Even great saints of the past have recommended sathsanga (company of mahatmas) as the only means of deliverance from the material life. This is so because such noble souls hearts are overflowing with the divine nectar called Bhakthi rasa and they are willing to share this nectar with the mundane people. Without them, there is no chance for the worldly people to even hear about the existence of such nectar.

 This is so because usually, people interact with others so long as their motives are    satisfied. Expectations bind people with each other. In the process of fulfilling each others expectations, where is the time to research on something called bhakthi and experience it? But people need to know that in this untruthful and selfish world, there do exist some true and selfless mahatmas, who have sacrificed their own interests and pleasures for world peace and showing the samsaaris (mundane people), a way to lead a peaceful and a prosperous life.

 But how does one attain a true mahatma? In this world, how does one distinguish between a true guru and a false guru? People are known to believe in false gurus and spoil their lives. But how many people have the interest to be in the company of true sathgurus? Majority dont. This is so because a true sathguru teaches Bhagwan naamasankeertana and builds confidence in the minds of his disciples that the naamsankeertana will protect from any evil and will bestow all the essential things for leading a peaceful life. On the contrary, fake gurus behave with their so  called disciples with a lot of expectations. Money and sense satisfaction are their main interests.

A sathguru is concerned with the internal happiness of his disciples. A disciple may come to his/her Guru after committing some mistake. At that moment the Guru might forgive him/her. The disciple may be satisfied. But again, there is a chance that he/she may commit the mistake again. The Guru may again forgive the disciple. But at the same time, the Guru constantly prays on behalf of his disciple, to get the latter rid of the problem permanently. It is this ceaseless effort of a sathguru that helps the disciple to overcome his/her weakness. At this juncture, when the disciple conquers his/her weakness, the Guru attains complete satisfaction and happiness. What a mercy! What greatness! Can a mundane person even think of the internal welfare of others? Externally everyone wants others to be happy and peaceful, but nobody thinks of internal peace as they themselves are not at peace!

So it is within the powers of a sathguru only, who are at internal peace, to bestow such peace to others.  

Why not try and attain a sathguru ?

The remaining part of the verse will be covered in the next issue.   

Radhekrishna.

Sarvam Guruvaarpanam.

Radhe Krishna

There are many forms in which one can worship Bagawan Sri Krishna. Some may look upon Bagawan Krishna as their child ( Vatsalay Bhavam ) just as Yashoodha , some may consider Him as their friend ( Saakya Bhavam) just as Arjuna, for some He may consider Him as their master (Dasya Bhavam ) just like . , some may look upon Krishna as their enemy ( Dwesha Bhavam ) just like kamsa, where as for some Krishna is their lover ( Prema Bhavam ) just like the ever green Gopis of our Vraja bhoomi. The greatest among all the bhavams is the prema bhavam, considering Krishna as our lover. It is difficult to undertsnad and even accept this bhavam unless one has a true love for Bagawan Krishna.

In this story we shall see how a small school going boy experienced the grace of Bagawan Krishna. His bhavam for Krishna was a totally different one which has not been mentioned in any of our previous issues and which is none among the one mentioned above.

In a small village their lived a lady with her small son. She was a widow. That small boy was a school going kid. That boy was fearful by nature.His school was in some other village and for reaching that school he had to pass through a dense forest. He did not have the courage to go alone so his mother used to accompany him on his way to school daily.

One day his mother was seriously ill. Her condition was such that she could not accompany her son on his way to school. So she asked her son to go to school alone. But this boy was afraid of crossing the forest alone. He was not ready to go to school due to fear. But his mother told him that he has got an elder brother called Gopal Anna. She told him that whenever he shall feel afraid he can call his Gopal anna who shall come running to help him. This boy was amazed and surprised when he heard this. He has never heard about this Gopal anna before. His mothers words aroused a little bit of confidence within him. HE confirmed with his mother whether this Gopal anna would surely come to help him irrespective of the place and time. His mother gave him full confidence that Gopal anna would surely respond to his call.

This is the duty of every mother. Every parent should feed the confidence in their children that Bagawan Krishna is always waiting eagerly to help them. Every parent wants their children to be an extra-ordinary personality in this world. They want them to be a doctor, engineer, lawyer, charted accountant, etc. But in spite of being born on this divine Bharatha bhoomi and in our sacred Hindu dharma the parents fail to teach their childrens the stories of great bhakthas like Dhruva, Prahalad, Meera, Aandal,Tukaram. There is nothing wrong in dreaming that our child should be a renowned personality but at the same time the parents should teach bhakthi to their children. They should guide their childrens to believe in Krishna who shall be with them at every path of their life and safe guard them from all the hardships and difficulties and fill their life with divine happiness.

As the childrens grow and come in contact with this materialistic world they learn everything automatically. (For instance) Computers were not so common and well-known to our previous generation but the childrens even below the age of 3 or 4 years are now well aware about the computer. The childrens observe the things in their surroundings and learn and grasp everything. Parents need not sit with the childrens and teach them the latest developments taking place in this materialistic world. If the parents want their children to be really happy all through their life then they should teach their childs the importance of Krishna namasankeertanam and bhakthi right from their small age. The parents feel proud if their small child picks up a mobile phone and talks on it or recognize a computer or get acquainted with the latest developments. Such are our elders who themselves are unfortunately far away from bhakthi. In fact elders are afraid of teaching bhakthi to their childrens as they feel bhakthi would make their child a sanyasi. So only the elders fail to guide, teach and show their childrens the right way of bhakthi.

Every mother should be like the mother of Dhruva. Dhruvas mother advised her son to arouse within himself an desire to sit on the laps of Bagawan Krishna when his father refused to make Dhruva sit on his lap. She told her son that all the relations in this world are just physical ones and our only Aathma Bhandhu is Bagawan Sri Krishna. He is the one who is ever willing to fill our life with happiness and fulfill all our desire. She told him that he was wasting his tears just for enjoying the materialistic contentment. Instead if he would cry for enjoying and experiencing the grace of Krishna then Krishna would give him spiritual happiness as well as materialistic pleasure which shall last till the end of his life.

The advice of Dhruvas mother aroused a staunch desire within Dhruva to see Bagawan Krishna. This child saw Bagawan Krishna at a tender age of 5 years and till today he is shinning as a brightest star occupying a special and separate place for him. Such is the greatness of doing Krishna bhakthi. Dhruva is recognized today not only for his bhakthi but also for the perfect ness with which he had lived his family life.

This was what the boys mother did. That widow just aroused in her small school going kid a belief in Bagawan Krishna. She did not create a fear in her sons mind by saying that if he does something wrong then Bagawan would prick his eyes. Many a times it is seen that parents instead of bringing up their children as God loving they bring them up as God fearing. This is the reason that childrens as well as elders are away from bhakthi. But the boys mother told him that Bagawan Krishna is his elder brother and HE is waiting to respond to his call. For her Bagawan Krishna was her son and one of their family member. For her the customs and traditions were not important. Her way of bhakthi was a very innocent one. This is the right way of bhakthi which is also cherished by our sweet, charming. Cute Krishna . For Krishna the customs is not at all important. What he wants is every jeevathma should lead a very happy life and for this HE is ready to do anything.

A child who wins in bhakthi wins in his life. A true parent is the one who teaches their child the importance of Krishna namasankeertanam and advice their childrens to consider Krishna as their friend, philosopher, and guide in their life.

Did that boy listen to his mothers words and went to school?  Did the boy call Gopal Anna for help? To get an answer to all these questions wait till our next issue.

Radhekrishna! Our crores and crores of Radhekrishna to Gurujiamma and Guruji! By the grace of Gurujiamma and Guruji we have got many spiritual experiences. By each experience Gurujiamma and Guruji have made us realize that we are not alone and Bagawan Krishna is with us at all the time.

This is one of the most memorable experiences of our lives. Gurujis sathsangam was going on in Mulund. We along with Guruji had to return to Dombivli after the sathsangam. On this particular day, after the sathsangam got over we were feeling very hungry. We had our prasadam but still we were terribly hungry. But we had to rush to the station for our train also. So when we got in the rickshaw we thought well buy something from the station to eat. But as soon as we reached the station the train was coming. We again had to rush for the train.

When we got into the train, we werent upset but still we just thought that it would be very nice if we get something to eat. No sooner did we think like this, one of the devotees who was also with us in the train took some eatables from her bag and gave it to us. Another devotee also gave us some other thing to eat. We felt so happy.

We didnt even pray to Krishna sincerely. We just wanted something to eat for that time being. We really felt very thankful to Krishna. Such is HIS mercy who couldnt even tolerate HIS child to be hungry.

This is a very short and sweet experience of our life which we really cant forget!

Radhekrishna