Narada Bhakti Sutram 23 and 24—Love Vs Lust

Embodiments of Love!

Love failure 1, love failure 2, love failure 3……..?

Read it as  “Lust failure 1, Lust failure 2, Lust failure 3, so on and so forth!

Many of us would have loved many girls/boys from adolescent stage and continue to behave like adolescents and lust many girls/boys, till Death calls it a day!

There are a few who just bluff that they never loved any girl/boy in their life…

…it is another disease; it is out of scope of this subject matter!

Narada has made a beautiful alliteration of Love and lust!

Let us juxtapose Love and Lust, the way Narada does.

Text for sutram 23 and 24

तद्विहिनं जारानामिव​…..23

नात्येव तस्मिम्स्तत्सुखमुखित्वम्……24

Transliteration for sutrams 23 and 24

tad-vihīnaḿ jārāṇām iva—23

nāsty eva tasmiḿs tat-sukha-sukhitvam---24

Word by word meaning

Sutram-23

tat — of it (awareness of the Lord's greatness);

vihīnam — devoid;

jārāṇām — of couples indulging in illicit love;

iva — like.

Sutram-24

na — (there is) not;

asti—is

eva —surely/ indeed;

tasmin — in it(in that profane love) ;

tat — His;

sukha — in the happiness;

sukhitvam — finding happiness.

(tat suka sukitwam means happiness in the happiness given to another

Simple meaning for 23 and 24

Love without the knowledge of His true nature is like the illicit love for the paramour…23

In the profane love for the paramour, the sense of happiness in the happiness-given-to-another does not exist at all….24

My Explanations

Very simple; let us draw a few basic differences between Love AND Lust!

Love is the LEGAL TENDER;

Lust is the COUNTERFEIT!

Love creates;

Lust destroys!

Love is the Victory of the soul;

Lust is the condemned cry of the lower mind!

Love lives the Joys;

Lust just seeks them!

Love is for the One in Many;

Lust is for the Many in One!

Love is Selfless;

Lust is selfish!

Love generates Tranquility;

Lust begets excitement all around!

LOVE……………………TO BE!

LUST………………NOT TO BE!

Choice is YOURS!

धन्यवाद:

See you in the next episode

With lots of love

श्वस्ति , मङ्गलं भूयात्

राजगोपालः

rajagopal

22.05.2013

Narada Bhakti Sutram 22--Live Fast and Die Young

Embodiments of Love!

Text for sutram 22

तत्रापि न महात्म्यज्ञान विस्मृत्य पवादः

Transliteration for sutrams 22

tatrāpi na māhātmya-jñāna-vismṛty-apavādaḥ

Simple meaning for 22

Even in the case of the gopīs, one cannot criticize them for forgetting the Lord's greatness.

Word by word meaning-22

tatra — there/ in that place;

api — even;

na — there is not;

māhātmya — of greatness;

jñāna — of awareness;

vismṛti — of forgetting;

apavādaḥ — criticism.

My Explanations:

Often, love and respects are in conflict.

Respect needs a certain distance and love cannot tolerate any distance.

However, Divine Love is a combination of love and respect and both are totally nurtured.

Okay, even going by the prescription of Narada there is a geometrical progression and love should culminate in the liberation of the soul through the path of fearlessness

There are a few arguments I will put forth to emphasise this sutram

Discrimination is called Kaivalya in Hindu Faith; Discrimination is seven fold ( do you correlate this with the Hindu faith that there are 7 worlds up and 7 worlds down the earth?; we cannot discuss that here as it is out of scope)

They are called 7 Jnana Bhumikas

4 are objective and 3 are subjective

1)  I have known all that was to be known and nothing further remains to know. The dissatisfied state of mind has disappeared. All doubts vanish.

2)  Nothing can give me any pain.

3)  By attaining Kaivalya, I have attained everything and nothing more remains. (Here he is an Aptakama).

4)  I have fulfilled all my duties now. (Here he is a Krita-kritya). My mind is at complete rest. All distractions have vanished. (Here the freedom of the mind is threefold).

5)  The Gunas have all dropped away, like stones from the mountain-top, never to rise up again.

6)  I am what I am, ever free. I am established in my Self. I am all bliss and knowledge.

7)     I have no connections. I am Kevala Purusha.

So the Gopis who were the extremely realized souls would have attained the Kaivalya state where the differences vanish making the  “ Advaita  mode” of existence possible

Perfection is attained when the intellect becomes as pure as the Atman itself. When the soul realizes that it is absolutely independent and it does not depend on anything else in this world, this highest knowledge, Kaivalya, Isolation or perfect independence comes in. The soul feels that it is ever free, unchanging, immortal, beginningless, endless, infinite, beyond time, space and causation, full of bliss, peace and knowledge.

Here the Gopis were the realized soul

Now the question comes:

“Does a realized soul need Love and require to respect Godhood?”

Gopis limited the unlimited! How was it possible?

Gopis identified themselves with Krishna in the true sense of Satchitananda!

But the devotee never considers God to be her slave. The devotee always considers that she is the slave. Meanwhile, God has become her slave.

Sri Krishna said in the Bhagavad Gita, 'I am seated in my devotee's heart.'

So if the heart is full of love, that is Radha,  Krishna must be there.

When the heart reaches out, God is powerless.

Devotee’s intellect, which is Krishna – what happens with that? It dissolves. In love, like a block of ice dissolving in the ocean,

So if your heart is full of love that is Radha, and where Radha is, Krishna can't stay away.

Krishna must come!

Gopis and Krishna are complementary to each other!
(Note: Radha is considered to be a symbolic representation of Gopis)

Okay friends! I have tried to share my views; Love(Bhakti) is such a great subject that even thousands of rajagopals cannot define in mere words.
After all Love has to liberate people; that’s what happened in the case of Gopis!

Do love! Get Liberated!

धन्यवाद:

See you in the next episode
With lots of love

श्वस्ति , मङ्गलं भूयात्
राजगोपालः

rajagopal

21.05.2013

Narada Bhakti Sutram 20 and 21-White paper on LOVE

 Embodiments of Love!

Text for sutram 20 and 21

अस्ति एवम् एवम्

यथा व्रजगोपिकानाम्

Transliteration for sutrams 20 and 21

asty evam evam

yathā vraja-gopikānām

Simple meaning for 20 and 21

 So it is or it is like that------20

                                               

 Like it happened to the Gopis of Brindavan------21

Word by word meaning

asti — it is;

evam --thus

evam —thus.

yathā — (just) as;

vraja — of Vraja ( of Brinddavan)

gopikānām — of the cowherd women( milk maids-Gopis)

My Explanations:

Narada emphatically says the love for the auspicious qualities which qualifies our mind and body making my Mother MAHAKALI prefer us HER permanent residence, should be similar to the love exemplied by the Love of Gopis of Brindavan;

You may wonder why Narada has taken the example of the milk maids for his Love subject

Read this beautiful conversation:

reference: Gaudiya Vaishnavism.

(Note :

for those who do not know Uddhava

Uddhava (also known as Pavanayadhi) is a character from the Puranic texts of Hinduism, who is the friend and counsellor of Krishna the Avatar.

He plays a significant role in the Bhagavata Purana, being taught the processes of yoga and bhakti directly by Krishna. The principle of these discussions is often referred to as the Uddhava Gita, similarly to the Bhagavad Gita wherein Krishna instructs Arjuna.

According to some texts Uddhava was also Krishna's cousin, being the son of Devabhaga, who was the brother of Vasudeva, Krishna's father. His physical appearance was so like that of Krishna's that in some instances he is temporarily mistaken for the latter.)

Once, Uddhava went to Gokulam with a message from Krishna to the gopikas.

Uddhava told them: "I have brought for you a remedy for the pain you are suffering as a result of separation from Krishna. You must take this medicine. Through this yoga you will be relieved of the roga (the ailment) from which you are suffering."

The gopikas replied: "Oh, Great One! We do not suffer from any malady. Hence we don't need any yoga. It is enough if we know the yoga by which we can get back Krishna."

Uddhava asked: "What is this yoga?"

A gopika replied: "The ordeal we enjoy on account; of thyaga (renunciation) is itself a kind of yoga."

Uddhava observed: "How can there be anything common between renunciation and enjoyment? The renunciation does not seek enjoyment. The one who enjoys is not concerned about renunciation. As the two are irreconcilable, how can you regard the enjoyment of separation as form of yoga?"

The gopika said: "You simpleton! Is this all you have learnt from your nearness to Krishna? When a person gives up egoism in his doings and attachment to the enjoyment of their fruits, then Thyaga (sacrifice), Yoga (spiritual austerity) and Bhoga (enjoyment) become one. First get rid of the conceit that I am the doer. Then free yourself from the desire to enjoy the fruits of your actions. When you have no attachment to the fruits of your actions and have no sense of ego in what you do, then there is no difference between Yoga and Bhoga."

Uddhava asked the gopikas, "If you are not prepared even to listen to Krishna's message, what sort of devotion do you have towards Krishna? What is the form of your devotion?"

HERE COMES THE BEAUTIFUL ANSWER FROM THE DIVINE MILK MAIDS:

The gopikas gave the essence of yoga in the following words:

"Uddhava! We have only one mind. That mind is no longer with us. It has gone to Mathura along with Krishna. As we have no mind of our own and have become totally mindless, how can we receive your message? If we had ten different minds like you, we could listen to your message, think about Krishna, attend to the commands of our mothers-in-law and husbands and do other things."

Dear Friends, rajagopal being a small person, does not want to add anything as the above if understood and practiced in daily life, will make us DIE-HARDS, and elevate us to live a life free from FEAR!

LOVE and become FEARLESS

धन्यवाद:

See you in the next episode
With lots of love

श्वस्ति , मङ्गलं भूयात्
राजगोपालः

rajagopal

21.05.2013

Narada Bhakti Sutram 19-Obsessive Love

Embodiments of Love!

Text for sutram 19

नारदस्तु तदार्पिताखिलचारता तद्विमरणे परमव्याकुलतेति

Transliteration for sutram 19

nāradas tu tad-arpitākhilācāratā tad-vismaraṇe parama-vyākulateti

Simple meaning for 19

Nārada, however, says that bhakti consists of offering one's every act to the Supreme Lord and feeling extreme distress in forgetting Him.

Word by word meaning

nāradaḥ — Nārada;

tu — but;

tat — to Him;

arpita — offered;

akhila — all;

ācāratā — having one's activities;

tat — Him;

vismaraṇe — in forgetting;

parama — supreme;

vyākulatā — distress;

iti — so.

My Explanations:

Oil and water cannot go together

Rat and tortoise cannot go together

Normally when we love a human being, we feel depressed when we fail to contact them, fail to see them, fail to touch them, fail to feed them

These are realated to the body only

In the case of Almighty we have assigned great qualities which we visualize as God

कल्याणशैलनिलया , KalyaaNasailaNilayaa, this is the 4 th Name in lalitha Trisathi;

This means one who dwells in the mountain of Auspiciousness ( Kalyanam)

Auspiciousness in dictionary gives a meaning “the favorable quality of strongly indicating a successful result.”

Indirectly Narada recommends the method which will always keep us focused on positive attitude mode;

Bhakti for the positive qualities and feeling the pangs of pain when we forget and derail from those good qualities ensure that we are always on the right track

Friends, Life is once

Live like a warrior

Die like a warrior

Being cunning, treacherous and evil are the easy means of poor souls and just come to us without effort

Reaching the peak of a mountain is difficult after reaching which we get pure air and from where we get the vision of the world

Falling down is the cheap mentality and lying down is the worst behaviour

Just Try! Try!! Try!!!,

Keep trying till you become the embodiment of Auspiciousness, that is till you become Almighty!

धन्यवाद:

See you in the next episode
With lots of love

श्वस्ति , मङ्गलं भूयात्
राजगोपालः

rajagopal

20.05.2013

Powerhouse of LOVE-Lalithaamma

 Embodiments of Love!

कल्याणी

KalyaaNii

The above is the second name we chant in Shri Lalita Trisati

The literal meaning is Blissful Auspiciousness

You may wonder!

Auspiciousness is itself blissful; then what is blissful auspiciousness?

If you see certain people, you can make out they are special; among them we would like to get associated with a few as we may perceive peace, energy and confidence while interacting with them

A few bhasyams( explanations) by experts suggest this word Kalyani means “SUKHA SWAROOPINI” which means a forms which implies happiness, delight, joy, pleasure, comfort and wellbeing

One thing we should remember and appreciate

We all are behind Happiness whether a beggar, saint, family person or King

The beauty is that when we worship Lalithambha, who is embodiment of Happiness, Ocean of Bliss we seek a small portion of Her

It is something like standing in front of a candy hill asking for a small candy piece

It is something like begging Gold Mountain to give 2 g of Gold

Let us ask for HERSELF, as She is Kevalam ( The Absolute without a comparison, witness of everything)

Friends, do you think that this is meaningless that begging in front of a God?

No

We all know yathu bhaavam thathu bhavathi------what you think you become

When you are in front of कल्यानगुणशालिनी –KALYANAGUNASAALINII, you get those properties similar to our getting a tinge of the perfume smell when we pass through a flower shop

SAALINII comes from the word शालिन्—saalin which means possessing a house, endowed, provided with, distinguished for

So Lalithamma is the POWERHOUSE of high voltage energy which will not give shock but will impart Her qualities if we a get an opportunity to embrace HER LOVE!

धन्यवाद:

See you in the next episode
With lots of love

श्वस्ति , मङ्गलं भूयात्
राजगोपालः

rajagopal

19.05.2013

Narada Bhakti Sutram 18--Centre of Gravity

Embodiments of Love!

आत्मरत्य विरोधेन इति शाण्डिल्यः

ātma-raty-avirodheneti śāṇḍilyaḥ

word by word meaning:

atma=individual self/one’s self

rati=of pleasure

avirodhena=by freedom from obstruction

iti=so

Meaning:

According to Sandilya reveling /rejoicing in one’s self without discrimination/conflict (is bhakti or divine Love)

My interpretation

Paul Brunton beautifully explains this process

Seek the centre of inner gravity and try to stay in it. Try to avoid being pulled out of it by emotions and passions, whether your own or other people's, by anxieties and troubles--in short, by the ego.

He who lives in the higher levels of his being comes into a beautiful serenity as part of his reward. This is a pointer to us. By consciously cultivating such serenity, we prepare the way for entry into such a level.

In the end and after many an experience, he will come to see that :

peace must take the place of passion,

truth must banish falsity,

and

reality must come through the illusion which covers it.

धन्यवाद:

See you in the next episode
With lots of love

श्वस्ति , मङ्गलं भूयात्
राजगोपालः

rajagopal

18.05.2013

Death defying Acts-Part 30—Simple Stress Management

Embodiments of Love!

In the earlier days elders in India used to prescribe household works like cleaning vessels, cooking, cleaning the house, decorating the front and and back of the house after spraying water&brooming and ultimately cooking; unfortunately the Men-folk who were cunning specified these duties to be performed by Ladies only;

But believe me I de-stress myself by cooking great food and taking up more work at home; I go to the extent of offering help when I visit other houses ( which my wife objects and stamps it as overacting ha ha ha)

Coming to the point stress happens if we “feel” something great has happened to me

“I” have achieved

“I” have been insulted

“I” am responsible

“I” have to do it

“I” will perish

“I” will succeed

The problem could be that “ I” factor just kills the person constantly and makes him/her feel that they neither belong to the heaven nor hell and almost unfit for existence on earth

We, the habituated animals are conditioned to do anyone of the following continuously till death;

searching, wanting, controlling, needing, doubting, praying, keeping, dreaming, desiring, manipulating, forcing, grasping, fearing, using, wasting, lying, seeking, moving, believing, holding, imagining and thinking.

I am not sure if I would continue to do anything else after my soul forsakes the body

So a state is reached when we want to get rid of all these nonsense!!!!!

Is there any Royal Road for this Great Escape?

Let us see what the person without work, Krishna, has to say on this:

Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 18—slogam 66

sarva-dharman parityajya
mam ekam saranam vraja
aham tvam sarva-papebhyo
moksayisyami ma sucah

Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear.

Ordinary people like rajagopal immediately jump into a conclusion that Krishna talked about “ Him “ as the supreme body and by way of telling this he was trying to establish his religion

Let us be sane; forget about religion; just cease to think there is another God

My interpretation of this slogam is:

“You leave alone all your affiliations; surrender unto me; i will alleviate you from all pains"

So when I do my work without indulging in too many activities like thinking, searching etc, I will not be affected at all even if the project on hand turns successful or fails;

You may ask, Areh rajagopal, “Surrender unto me” only is not happening; how can I surrender?

For surrendering I need another object; so who is that ?

Believe me friends…..there is NO GOD!

Study carefully the 2 following slogams

BG 10.32:

sarganam adir antas ca
madhyam caivaham arjuna

Of all creations I am the beginning and the end and also the middle, Oh Arjuna

Here people interpret creations as creation of beings/world/objects etc by Almighty;

NO NO NO

It is actually what we create for ourselves

Life

Education

Job

Wife/husband/children

Style of living

It is all created by us for ourselves; at any point of time we can change the quality of life as “middle” also is created by us

( DO NOT TRY TO CHANGE YOUR WIFE OR HUSBAND PLEASE)

You may question that Krishna is declaring that He is the doer…

no

see slogam 20

BG 10.20:

aham atma gudakesa
sarva-bhutasaya-sthitah
aham adis ca madhyam ca
bhutanam anta eva ca

I am the Supersoul, Oh Arjuna, seated in the hearts of all living entities. I am the beginning, the middle and the end of all beings.

If he is seated in the Heart, He and I are not different

BG 10.34:

mrtyuh sarva-haras caham udbhavas ca bhavisyatam
kirtih srir vak ca narinam
smrtir medha dhrtih ksama

I am all-devouring death, and I am the generating principle of all that is yet to be. Among women I am fame, fortune, fine speech, memory, intelligence, steadfastness and patience.

Udbhavas means generation( of new things)

Ca means also

So combine both the above 2 principles

What do we get…I am the Creator…..i am the generating principle

If you start believing this STRONGLY, believe me you will start growing WITHOUT STRESS

You will create Great things and recreate a NEW LIFE and will enjoy your life stress-free!

Still if you are confused please write to me: hrajagopal2004@gmail.com

Why fear when I am here? Ha ha ha ha ha

धन्यवाद:

See you in the next episode
With lots of love

श्वस्ति , मङ्गलं भूयात्
राजगोपालः

rajagopal

17.05.2013

Death defying Acts-Part 29—The Secret of Winners

Embodiments of Love!

In India there is a well of knowledge and with reason ancestors have kept them in the abyss;
Purpose is that if one person is serious he/she certainly would get to that sphere; that is the secret of nature

In the Bible I have support to my theory

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you: For every one that asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened. ---Mathew 7.7

Let us see what my friend Krishna says:

yam yam vapi smaran bhavam

tyajaty ante kalevaram

tam tam evaiti kaunteya

sada tad-bhava-bhavitah--------------------Bhagavad Gita Chapter 8-slogam 6

The simple meaning for ordinary people like rajagopal:

Whatever state of being one remembers when he quits the body, that state he will attain without fail

But as usual I was not convinced; when Krishna was advising Arjuna to live this life he would not refer to death and next birth;

See below

Kalevaram means Body

Tyajatmeans gives up

Ante means at the end

The word” ante” is important as that word is taken as the last moment of a person and construed as death

I humbly disagree

If I have a dream and pursue it with all diversions along with body consciousness, I may not succeed

I give an example from Ramakrishna Paramahamsa:

When a person is drowned who does not know swimming, he would not think about anything except getting another lease of life; he verily forgets his body also to sustain which he struggles like anything;

So my interpretation of this slogam is:

Oh Partha, Thinking of a higher goal if a person forgets the body, at the end, he reaches/attains that goal!

Dream big!

Achieve bigger

धन्यवाद:

See you in the next episode
With lots of love

श्वस्ति , मङ्गलं भूयात्
राजगोपालः

rajagopal

16.05.2013