Showing posts with label Karma and spirituality. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Karma and spirituality. Show all posts

5/16/2011

I am The Knower In All Bodies

TRANSLATION
O scion of Bharata, you should understand that I am also the knower in all bodies, and to understand this body and its knower is called knowledge. That is My opinion.

PURPORT
While discussing the subject of the body and the knower of the body, the soul and the Supersoul, we shall find three different topics of study: the Lord, the living entity, and matter. In every field of activities, in every body, there are two souls: the individual soul and the Supersoul. Because the Supersoul is the plenary expansion of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa says, "I am also the knower, but I am not the individual knower of the body. I am the superknower. I am present in every body as the Paramātmā, or Supersoul."

One who studies the subject matter of the field of activity and the knower of the field very minutely, in terms of this Bhagavad-gītā, can attain to knowledge.
The Lord says, "I am the knower of the field of activities in every individual body." The individual may be the knower of his own body, but he is not in knowledge of other bodies. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is present as the Supersoul in all bodies, knows everything about all bodies. He knows all the different bodies of all the various species of life. A citizen may know everything about his patch of land, but the king knows not only his palace but all the properties possessed by the individual citizens. Similarly, one may be the proprietor of the body individually, but the Supreme Lord is the proprietor of all bodies. The king is the original proprietor of the kingdom, and the citizen is the secondary proprietor. Similarly, the Supreme Lord is the supreme proprietor of all bodies.

The body consists of the senses. The Supreme Lord is Hṛṣīkeśa, Which means "the controller of the senses." He is the original controller of the senses, just as the king is the original controller of all the activities of the state; the citizens are secondary controllers. The Lord says, "I am also the knower." This means that He is the superknower; the individual soul knows only his particular body. In the Vedic literature, it is stated as follows:

kṣetrāṇi hi śarīrāṇi
bījaḿ cāpi śubhāśubhe
tāni vetti sa yogātmā
tataḥ kṣetra-jña ucyate

This body is called the kṣetra, and within it dwells the owner of the body and the Supreme Lord, who knows both the body and the owner of the body. Therefore He is called the knower of all fields. The distinction between the field of activities, the knower of activities, and the supreme knower of activities is described as follows. Perfect knowledge of the constitution of the body, the constitution of the individual soul, and the constitution of the Supersoul is known in terms of Vedic literature as jñāna. That is the opinion of Kṛṣṇa. To understand both the soul and the Supersoul as one yet distinct is knowledge. One who does not understand the field of activity and the knower of activity is not in perfect knowledge. One has to understand the position of prakṛti (nature), puruṣa (the enjoyer of nature) and īśvara (the knower who dominates or controls nature and the individual soul). One should not confuse the three in their different capacities. One should not confuse the painter, the painting and the easel. This material world, which is the field of activities, is nature, and the enjoyer of nature is the living entity, and above them both is the supreme controller, the Personality of Godhead. It is stated in the Vedic language (in the Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad 1.12), bhoktā bhogyaḿ preritāraḿ ca matvā/ sarvaḿ proktaḿ tri vidham-brahmam etat. There are three Brahman conceptions: prakṛti is Brahman as the field of activities, and the jīva (individual soul) is also Brahman and is trying to control material nature, and the controller of both of them is also Brahman, but He is the factual controller.

In this chapter it will also be explained that out of the two knowers, one is fallible and the other is infallible. One is superior and the other is subordinate. One who understands the two knowers of the field to be one and the same contradicts the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who states here very clearly, "I am also the knower of the field of activity." One who misunderstands a rope to be a serpent is not in knowledge. There are different kinds of bodies, and there are different owners of the bodies. Because each individual soul has his individual capacity for lording it over material nature, there are different bodies. But the Supreme also is present in them as the controller. The word ca is significant, for it indicates the total number of bodies. That is the opinion of Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa. Kṛṣṇa is the Supersoul present in each and every body apart from the individual soul. And Kṛṣṇa explicitly says here that the Supersoul is the controller of both the field of activities and the finite enjoyer.

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Those Who Fix Their Minds



TRANSLATION
The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: Those who fix their minds on My personal form and are always engaged in worshiping Me with great and transcendental faith are considered by Me to be most perfect.

PURPORT
In answer to Arjuna's question, Kṛṣṇa clearly says that he who concentrates upon His personal form and who worships Him with faith and devotion is to be considered most perfect in yoga. For one in such Kṛṣṇa consciousness there are no material activities, because everything is done for Kṛṣṇa. A pure devotee is constantly engaged. Sometimes he chants, sometimes he hears or reads books about Kṛṣṇa, or sometimes he cooks prasādam or goes to the marketplace to purchase something for Kṛṣṇa, or sometimes he washes the temple or the dishes — whatever he does, he does not let a single moment pass without devoting his activities to Kṛṣṇa. Such action is in full samādhi.

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5/15/2011

No One Before You



TRANSLATION
O best of the Kuru warriors, no one before you has ever seen this universal form of Mine, for neither by studying the Vedas, nor by performing sacrifices, nor by charity, nor by pious activities, nor by severe penances can I be seen in this form in the material world.

PURPORT
The divine vision in this connection should be clearly understood. Who can have divine vision? Divine means godly. Unless one attains the status of divinity as a demigod, he cannot have divine vision. And what is a demigod? It is stated in the Vedic scriptures that those who are devotees of Lord Viṣṇu are demigods (viṣṇu-bhaktāḥ smṛtā devāḥ). Those who are atheistic, i.e., who do not believe in Viṣṇu, or who recognize only the impersonal part of Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme, cannot have the divine vision. It is not possible to decry Kṛṣṇa and at the same time have the divine vision. One cannot have the divine vision without becoming divine. In other words, those who have divine vision can also see like Arjuna.

The Bhagavad-gītā gives the description of the universal form. Although this description was unknown to everyone before Arjuna, now one can have some idea of the viśva-rūpa after this incident. Those who are actually divine can see the universal form of the Lord. But one cannot be divine without being a pure devotee of Kṛṣṇa. The devotees, however, who are actually in the divine nature and who have divine vision, are not very much interested in seeing the universal form of the Lord. As described in the previous verse, Arjuna desired to see the four-handed form of Lord Kṛṣṇa as Viṣṇu, and he was actually afraid of the universal form.

In this verse there are some significant words, just like veda-yajñādhyayanaiḥ, which refers to studying Vedic literature and the subject matter of sacrificial regulations. Veda refers to all kinds of Vedic literature, such as the four Vedas (Ṛg, Yajur, Sāma and Atharva) and the eighteen Purāṇas, the Upaniṣads and the Vedānta-sūtra. One can study these at home or anywhere else. Similarly, there are sūtras — Kalpa-sūtras and Mīmāḿsā-sūtras — for studying the method of sacrifice. Dānaiḥ refers to charity which is offered to a suitable party, such as those who are engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord — the brāhmaṇas and the Vaiṣṇavas. Similarly, "pious activities" refers to the agni-hotra and the prescribed duties of the different castes. And the voluntary acceptance of some bodily pains is called tapasya. So one can perform all these — can accept bodily penances, give charity, study the Vedas, etc. — but unless he is a devotee like Arjuna, it is not possible to see that universal form. Those who are impersonalists are also imagining that they are seeing the universal form of the Lord, but from Bhagavad-gītā we understand that the impersonalists are not devotees. Therefore they are unable to see the universal form of the Lord.

There are many persons who create incarnations. They falsely claim an ordinary human to be an incarnation, but this is all foolishness. We should follow the principles of Bhagavad-gītā, otherwise there is no possibility of attaining perfect spiritual knowledge. Although Bhagavad-gītā is considered the preliminary study of the science of God, still it is so perfect that it enables one to distinguish what is what. The followers of a pseudo incarnation may say that they have also seen the transcendental incarnation of God, the universal form, but that is unacceptable because it is clearly stated here that unless one becomes a devotee of Kṛṣṇa one cannot see the universal form of God. So one first of all has to become a pure devotee of Kṛṣṇa; then he can claim that he can show the universal form of what he has seen. A devotee of Kṛṣṇa cannot accept false incarnations or followers of false incarnations.


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He Transcends The Modes Of Nature




TRANSLATION
The Supersoul is the original source of all senses, yet He is without senses. He is unattached, although He is the maintainer of all living beings. He transcends the modes of nature, and at the same time He is the master of all the modes of material nature.

PURPORT
The Supreme Lord, although the source of all the senses of the living entities, doesn't have material senses like they have. Actually, the individual souls have spiritual senses, but in conditioned life they are covered with the material elements, and therefore the sense activities are exhibited through matter. The Supreme Lord's senses are not so covered. His senses are transcendental and are therefore called nirguṇa. Guṇa means the material modes, but His senses are without material covering. It should be understood that His senses are not exactly like ours. Although He is the source of all our sensory activities, He has His transcendental senses, which are uncontaminated. This is very nicely explained in the Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad (3.19) in the verse apāṇi-pādo javano grahītā. The Supreme Personality of Godhead has no hands which are materially contaminated, but He has His hands and accepts whatever sacrifice is offered to Him. That is the distinction between the conditioned soul and the Supersoul. He has no material eyes, but He has eyes — otherwise how could He see? He sees everything — past, present and future. He lives within the heart of the living being, and He knows what we have done in the past, what we are doing now, and what is awaiting us in the future. This is also confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā: He knows everything, but no one knows Him. It is said that the Supreme Lord has no legs like us, but He can travel throughout space because He has spiritual legs. In other words, the Lord is not impersonal; He has His eyes, legs, hands and everything else, and because we are part and parcel of the Supreme Lord we also have these things. But His hands, legs, eyes and senses are not contaminated by material nature.

Bhagavad-gītā also confirms that when the Lord appears He appears as He is by His internal potency. He is not contaminated by the material energy, because He is the Lord of material energy. In the Vedic literature we find that His whole embodiment is spiritual. He has His eternal form, called sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha [Bs. 5.1]. He is full of all opulence. He is the proprietor of all wealth and the owner of all energy. He is the most intelligent and is full of knowledge. These are some of the symptoms of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is the maintainer of all living entities and the witness of all activity. As far as we can understand from Vedic literature, the Supreme Lord is always transcendental. Although we do not see His head, face, hands or legs, He has them, and when we are elevated to the transcendental situation we can see the Lord's form. Due to materially contaminated senses, we cannot see His form. Therefore the impersonalists, who are still materially affected, cannot understand the Personality of Godhead.
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You Will Always Live In Me


TRANSLATION
Just fix your mind upon Me, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and engage all your intelligence in Me. Thus you will live in Me always, without a doubt.

PURPORT
One who is engaged in Lord Kṛiṣṇa's devotional service lives in a direct relationship with the Supreme Lord, so there is no doubt that his position is transcendental from the very beginning. A devotee does not live on the material plane — he lives in Kṛṣṇa. The holy name of the Lord and the Lord are nondifferent; therefore when a devotee chants Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa and His internal potency are dancing on the tongue of the devotee. When he offers Kṛṣṇa food, Kṛṣṇa directly accepts these eatables, and the devotee becomes Kṛiṣṇa-ized by eating the remnants. One who does not engage in such service cannot understand how this is so, although this is a process recommended in the Bhagavad-gītā and in other Vedic literatures.

Lovely Thoughts for Lovely People Just Like You

5/09/2011

How To Turn Budha ON ?



Even though life is hard, even though it is sometimes difficult to smile, we have to try. Just as when we wish each other, “Good morning,” it must be a real “Good morning.”

Recently, one friend asked me, “How can I force myself to smile when I am filled with sorrow? It isn’t natural.”

I told her she must be able to smile to her sorrow, because we are more than our sorrow. A human being is like a television set with millions of channels. If we turn the Buddha on, we are the Buddha. If we turn a smile on, we really are the smile. We cannot let just one channel dominate us. We have the seed of everything in us, and we have to seize the situation in our hand, to recover our own sovereignty. When we sit down peacefully, breathing and smiling, with awareness, we are our true selves, we have sovereignty over ourselves.

When we open ourselves up to a TV program, we let ourselves be invaded by the program. Sometimes it is a good program, but often it is just noisy. Because we want to have something other than ourselves enter us, we sit there and let a noisy television invade us, assail us, destroy us. Even if our nervous system suffers, we don’t have the courage to stand up and turn it off, because if we do that, we will have to return to our self.

Meditation is the opposite. It helps us return to our true self. Practicing meditation in this kind of society is very difficult. Everything seems to work in concert to take us away from our true self. We have thousands of things, like video tapes and music, which help us to be away from ourselves. Practicing meditation is to be aware, to smile, to breathe. These are on the opposite side. We go back to ourselves in order to see what is going on, because to meditate means to be aware of what is going on. What is going on is very important.

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Calming. Smiling, Present moment, Only moment

Calming. Smiling, Present moment, Only moment

From time to time, to remind ourselves to relax, to be peaceful, we may wish to set aside some time for a retreat, a day of mindfulness, when we can walk slowly, smile, drink tea with a friend, enjoy being together as if we are the happiest people on Earth. This is not a retreat, it is a treat. During walking meditation, during kitchen and garden work, during sitting meditation, all day long, we can practice smiling. At first you may find it difficult to smile, and we have to think about why. Smiling means that we are ourselves, that we are not drowned into forgetfulness. This kind of smile can be seen on the faces of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.

I would like to offer one short poem you can recite from time to time, while breathing and smiling.

Breathing in, I calm body and mind.

Breathing out, I smile.

Dwelling in the present moment

I know this is the only moment.

“Breathing in, I calm body and mind.”

This line is like drinking a glass of ice water – you feel the cold, the freshness, permeate your body. When I breathe in and recite this line, I actually feel the breathing calming my body, calming my mind.

“Breathing out, I smile.”

You know the effect of a smile. A smile can relax hundreds of muscles in your face, and relax your nervous system. A smile makes you master of yourself. That is why the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are always smiling. When you smile, you realize the wonder of the smile.

“Dwelling in the present moment.”

While I sit here, I don’t think of somewhere else, of the future or the past. I sit here and I know where I am. This is very important. We tend to be alive in the future, not now. We say, “Wait until I finish school and get my Ph. D. degree, and then I will be really alive.” When we have it, and it’s not easy to get, we say to ourselves, “I have to wait until I get a job, in order to be really alive.” And then after the job, a car. After the car, a house. We are not capable of being alive in the present moment. We tend to postpone being alive to the future, the distant future, we don’t know when. Now is not the moment to be alive. We may never be alive in our entire life. Therefore, the technique, if we have to speak of a technique, is to be in the present moment, to be aware that we are here and now, and the only moment to be alive is the present moment.

“I know this is the only moment.”

This is the only moment that is real. To be here and now, and enjoy the present moment is our most important task. “Calming. Smiling, Present moment, Only moment.” I hope you will try it.

Lovely Thoughts for Lovely People Just Like You

5/03/2011

Neither Be Not Not Be . Instead Be Without Being

Many days, I spent in wonder:
Who am I? Where do I come from?
Where am I going?
This writing is the result of my meditation.
It is by no means truth.
The truth, can only be realized within.
These words interpret
What I have found within my own heart.


We are body.
We are mind.
We are heart.
We are spirit.
We are light.
The body is what does.
The mind is what thinks.
The heart is what feels.
The spirit is what lives.
The light is what is.


The body is sustained by food, water, and air.
The mind is sustained by truth.
The heart is sustained by joy.
The spirit is sustained by purpose.
The light is sustained by its source.


The light is what was before being
and remains after being.
Yet being is not separate from what is,
for it is light taken shape and form
and coming into being.
Everything is light and born of light.
Even the shadows do not exist without light.


Examine the ten thousand things,
beyond form,
and find its only being
is the shape of its light.

The difference between the living
and the non-living
is that the sentient tend to the light.
The rest are like lamps without oil,
cold and still.


The world of being
is a world of suffering,
a world sustained by shadows.
It is created by our mistaking
this body, this mind, this heart and this spirit
for what is.
In forgetting our light
we forget what sustains us,
draw away from the source,
and we begin to grow dim.
We hunger
and desire is born.
We consume the light
of what surrounds us.
Our fulfillment is always short lived.
A desire fulfilled is replaced with another.
Fire must always be fed to be.
Suffering is born.


In the world of non-being
the flame is no longer fed.
It is losing self,
it is being no longer,
it is the flame put out.


Neither be
nor not be.
Instead,
be without being.


Like the bright star
in our corner of the universe,
that does not let go
of what she protects,
the source of our light
keeps us near.


Close your eyes
and see the shapeless form
that embraces us
within and without.
Close your ears
and hear the whisper
of the music that calls us home.


Find your original face.
Find the Way back home.


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How Come Angels Can Fly...?

“Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly.”

Lovely Thoughts for Lovely People Just Like You

5/02/2011

Peace Love And Happiness CAN WE ??


Can We Eat More Than our Hunger?
Can We Drink More Than What We Are Thirsty Of?
Can We Sleep More Than What Our Body Wants?
Can We breath More Air Than What We Require?
Can We Laugh more Than Our Heart Will Let Us?
Can We Hold Sand In Our Hand?
Can We Acquire and Never Loose It?


NO WE CAN NOT But..........
We Can Love More than What We Are Doing Now.
We Can help More People Than We Are helping Now.
We can Bring Smiles TO More People Around.
We can Share and Feed The Hungry.
We Can Love More and hate Less.
We Can Laugh More and Cry Less...


So Concentrate on What We CAN And Stop trying to DO What WE CANT.
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4/28/2011

Namasmarana

Namasmarana


 
Namasmarana is the best antidote for all ills. Never be ashamed to sing the name of God. Vemana did not visit any temple for long; for years he was laughing at those who considered the image as a symbol of Divinity. But when his daughter died, he was one day holding her picture in his hand, weeping over the loss. Then it struck him that if the picture could cause sorrow and bring tears, the divine image can evoke positive feelings and bring tears of joy to those who know the beauty and glory of God. The image was a reminder of divine presence.


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4/15/2011

We believe that this is a beautiful universe


We are the decent people of the world. We are in the majority, for men and women are essentially decent. We live in all nations, we live under all the flags that fly.



Decency is not determined by our economic status, our religion, the language we speak, the color of our skin, or the ideology under which we live. Human decency is a universal quality.



We, the decent people of the world, often have our voices drowned out by the shouts of leaders who misrepresent the things for which we stand.



We the decent people carry enough weight to tip the scale for decency if we will make ourselves heard...



We believe that war is the great indecency, that it kills and destroys all the higher sensibilities of man and leaves only death, suffering, and destruction in its wake.



We believe that this is a beautiful universe and that it is made for love and not for hate; for peace and not war; for freedom and not slavery; for order and not riot; for compassion and not violence; for happiness and not misery.



We believe that there is only one war to be waged in the name of human decency, and that is the war against all the common enemies of man... hunger, disease, poverty, ignorance, crime and failure.



We believe that every child should have the chance to grow up in an atmosphere of faith, not of fear.



We believe that the ultimate decency is to help men and never harm men, to lift men and not degrade men, and to respect the dignity of all men as individual human beings.



We the decent people of the world stand for the kind of life that will be good for all of the people, all of the time, everywhere."

Lovely Thoughts for Lovely People Just Like You

4/11/2011

If you've cheated the man in the glass.

When you get what you want in your struggle for self

And the world makes you king for a day,

Just go to the mirror and look at yourself

And see what that man has to say.



For it isn't your father or mother or wife,

Whose judgment upon you must pass.

The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life,

Is the one staring back from the glass.



You may be like Jack Horner and chisel a plum

And think you're a wonderful guy.

But the person in the glass says you’re only a bum

If you can't look him straight in the eye



He's the fellow to please-never mind all the rest,

For he's with you clear to the end.

And you've passed your most dangerous, difficult test,

If the man in the glass is your friend.



You may fool the whole world down the pathway of years

And get pats on the back as you pass

But your final reward will be heartache and tears

If you've cheated the man in the glass.



-Anonymous- Lovely Thoughts for Lovely People Just Like You

4/08/2011

If only we know

If only we know
The flare burns between our hearts
How much it burns us from within
How much it hurts us in tremendous ways
How much it warms us together

If only we know
The zephyr that sweeps our hearts
How much the healing it brought to us
How much the calmness emits from inside
How much hormany synchronised in our rhythm

If only we know
The secrets that we kept deep in the core of our hearts
How much it kills us, putting our soul screaming in agony
But then
It is only a part of our story
That drives us away in distance but never be far in heart
How much it burns, sweeps and kills me away from my life
My love to you will never be drifted away
As my love to you is remain for eternity
If only you know….

I love you

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2/18/2011

Karma and spirituality


Two friends were on the way. As they were moving across the nasty place filled with prostitutes, one of them had a desire to spend a night indulging himself in physical pleasure. The other one was given this idea to which he denied, and told his friend not do so.

They both parted, one going with a prostitute, the other with anger and resentment in his mind, decided to visit a temple and read a holy scripture. Along the way thoughts of comparison and how lowly his friend was dominated his mind.

The first one, as he moved with the prostitute began to have resentment on what he was doing. His mind was engrossed in how great his friend was, who decided to visit the temple and read a spiritual book. He was greatly started t miss that.

The other with the religious book in his hand and siting in the temple, was engrossed in the thought f his lowly friend.

An earthquake struck claiming many lives, both the friends included.

The officers from heaven and hell were busy with their work. The first one was taken by the officers of heaven, and could see at distance his friend being ruthlessly driven by the officers from hell.

'There must be some mistake', he said, 'According to what we were doing I deserve to be there and that friend of mine deserves to be graciously led by you to the heaven.'

'We are following the orders, and there is no mistake,' the officer from the heaven said.

The first one demanded and explanation for what had happened in the heaven. 'Your mind was engrossed in how your great your friend was, and was on the temple and sacred text, while your friend's mind was dwelling in how lowly the other was filled with deep resentment.' came the answer.

'Thinking of others as low and self higher is the door to hell.' the voice continued.
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