Radhanath Swami jee's pearls of knowledge

Bhakti is the combination of gyan and vairagya.Krishna told Arjuna, “Do not be depressed. Do not just artificially close your eyes and escape the problems of life. Do not run away and negate them. See the positive opportunity that you have in this situation and work accordingly.” That is the teachings of Bhagavad-Gita. Do your work for the welfare of others in a spirit of compassion to others with consciousness of your relationship with God. That is what Bhagavad-Gita is all about: developing a very positive attitude, not on the basis of just physical and emotional, but physical, emotional and spiritual

"Bhagavad-Gita teaches how there is a positive opportunity in every situation, and however bad the world may be, as far as all kinds of corruption and pollution and ego, we can always look for the good. We know about the bad: we do not hide from it, we know about it and we are conscious about it. But we look for the good.”

 "The depth of our positive attitude is very much determined by how much we have knowledge of our spiritual self.” 

 "This human life is so rare, we shouldn’t waste it. It is so precious. Human life is the facility to fall in love with Krishna. Our acharyas explains that Krishna has actually arranged that this specie of life is in His form so it is easy to fall in love with Him."

                ~ Radhanath Swami ~

Quote a day~ Radhanath Swami jee~

             ~ Power of Love ~

Love is the most influential and powerful force in the world.

People are willing to go to war, even sacrifice their lives, for the sake of love. It is so deeply ingrained in us that it is the basic theme of almost every movie and TV-show produced. Every living being feels the need to love and to be loved. We see it manifest between friends, family, paramours and so on. No matter the circumstance, still love prevails. Let us examine this all-pervading force and uncover the essence. For by understanding the nature of love, we may never be without it.

 ~ A Spouse’s Love ~

One great example of the power of love is found in the case of the Civil War’s hidden soldiers. 19th century America tore into two opposing sides, resulting in gruesome combat for years on end. Hundreds of thousands of young men were slain in battle. There was no time for training. The government would recruit them, put a cold pistol in their hands, and off to the battlefield.  The thought of their husband being gone and possibly never returning was unbearable for many young brides. In separation from their husbands, many women tied up their hair, threw on a baggy uniform and joined their husbands on the front line. The couple would stay side by side and die together. That is the power of love.
 
~A Parent’s Love~

Another instance of love’s potency is that between a parent and their child. What austerities a woman will endure for her child! You practically can’t even pay someone to do what a mother does for her baby. No one else is willing to stay up all night, every night, 24-hour call. A mother is willing to sacrifice her life out of love for her child. And a father, out of his love for his children, sometimes works all day long, 6 or even 7 days a week. Foaming at the mouth like a beast of burden.  A parent sacrifices so much of their own pleasure and comfort, all for the sake of their beloved child. That is the power of love.
 
~A Love Lost,the Greatest Misery~

Perhaps the instance in which love exhibits its influence most powerfully is in the form of a broken heart. People sing about it, people write books and dramas about it. There’s no greater pain than when our need to love is reposed in someone, and then that someone cheats you or deserts you or dies. No greater pain. Rarely do people with physical miseries such as cancer or even terminal diseases commit suicide, but when their lover leaves them, they cannot face life. The story is there of Romeo and Juliet. The star-crossed lovers fell for one another only to face the fact that their families and society would not allow their marriage. So then, “To be or not to be” Should we continue living or should we die? Romeo and Juliet found the only way to relieve the pain of their frustrated love was to commit suicide, and so they did. That is the power of love.

~Loving Nature of the Soul~

Now let us examine the origin of this most powerful conqueror of all conquerors. The Bhagavad Gita describes the material body as yantra, like a vehicle. The passenger within the vehicle of the body is the atma. The atma, or soul, is the life-giving force of the body and the mind.

When that soul leaves this body, the body is dead. Like a vehicle without a driver, it can do nothing. Where is that person we love? If he is the body, why are we disposing of him? The real person, who loves and who is the object of love is the atma, the soul.
 
The nature of the soul is sat-chit-ananda: eternal, full of knowledge and full of bliss. Because our very nature is ananda, blissful, we cannot live without bliss. It is our integral, constitutional position to enjoy ecstatic fulfillment. That is why everyone, whether Indian, American or Eskimo is looking for pleasure. And the most fulfilling pleasure is love. Thus the soul is, by nature, always striving to love and to be loved.

The Soul’s Nature and Impersonal Liberation

Some strive to fulfill this need for love through impersonal liberation (merging into the oneness of the all pervading spiritual light.) This liberation is a genuine spiritual level of transcendental experience, but it is partial. The Vedic scriptures explain that from this non-dual, peaceful state, eventually, one falls down into material consciousness. Why? Because although there is complete relief from all sufferings, we have not fulfilled the essential need of the soul to reciprocate pure love. Brahmeti paramatmeti bhagavan iti shabyate Therefore the great Vedic texts and acharyas declare the highest, most complete realization of the absolute truth is Bhagavan, the supreme personality of Godhead. For it is only through connection to the source of all love that the soul’s longings may be perfectly fulfilled.

~Krishna Prema, The Supreme Love & Satisfaction~

The source of all existence is called upon by the name Krishna. There are many names of God. Krishna is the all-inclusive name because Krishna means all attractive. Due to our being a part of Krishna, love of Krishna is our essential constitutional nature.

Without love of Krishna, whatever arrangement we make, whatever spiritual realization we gain, we are like fish trying to be happy outside of the sea. You can imagine you are happy if you have all phantasmagoric devices around you. But a fish can never find real satisfaction lying in the hot sand nor can the spirit soul find complete satisfaction with any materialistic arrangement.

This longing for satisfaction is immediately satiated when we experience the unlimited pleasure of Krishna’s love.  What is his love? Even though we may rebel against him, still he remains in our heart, never leaving us for a second.  Even though we may reject and forget him, still Krishna continues to empower the saintly to attract our hearts back to his eternal abode of transcendental love. This is the nature of the highest love, unconditional, unmotivated and unceasing.

~A Practical Approach to Enlightenment~

It is commonly believed that this spiritual perfection of pure love can only be attained through renunciation. But the Bhagavad Gita teaches otherwise. A few rare souls are meant to leave everything behind for the sake of enlightening others, but most are meant for a more balanced approach. In Bhagavad Gita, we see Arjuna was a warrior. He wasn’t told to give up his profession or family; he was told to work in a spirit of selfless service. We may be a doctor, a salesperson, a secretary, a CEO or a janitor, doesn’t matter, if our consciousness is properly situated, we experience spiritual growth.

By living a life where our activities, our words, and our thoughts are being directed from “what will please me” to “what will please Krishna”, from lust to love, and by associating with others who do the same, we gradually awaken the power of love within.

That is the purpose of life, to awaken the power of pure love.
Conclusion

There is no greater power in all creation than the power of love. Even one particle of a drop of pure love can drive us to sacrifice everything for the sake of our beloved.
 
We see the power of love manifest before our eyes between lovers, friends and families. But the source, the essence, the fullest manifestation of love’s power is the love of the soul for the supreme soul, or God.

 This love is within all of us. It is the greatest of all powers because it grants realization of the highest truths and simultaneously provides the deepest inner fulfillment in our lives. By imbibing a loving consciousness through association and service, we experience this power of love and obtain the ability to share it with the world.

Quote a day ~ Paramahansa Yognanda ~

"Stars, planets, plants, animals, and human beings are all let loose on a beautiful cosmic stage, with each one playing an assigned part. Very few people understand the meaning of the play because they do not pause to think deeply about it. To the unenlightened, the drama often seems chaotic and unjust. But God purposely did not automatically make all people poor or all people millionaires, because if everyone were alike this drama could not go on. Diversity is the basis of Nature, and self-evolution is one means of maintaining this diversity. By the law of cause and effect, action and reaction, we make of ourselves what we presently are and what we will be. The result of this variety, created by both man and Nature, is what we experience as the cosmic drama. However, God does not want us to suffer because of these differences. He wants us to know that whether one is currently playing the part of a king or of a servant, he must do his best, but never forget that as a soul, made in the image of "God, he is only enacting a temporary role. Therefore, it doesn't matter whether we scrub floors, or whether we are the leaders of great nations; unless we know that we are merely playing a part on the stage of time, we will suffer from the dualities inherent in the consciousness of being identified with these different stations and conditions. Stage actors do not bemoan their particular parts, but enact their roles to the best of their ability, knowing they are temporary portrayals. Do you see? It is only when we take life too seriously that we suffer." 
~ Paramahansa Yognanda ~

Gurudeva ~Yogiraj Sri Shyamacharan Lahiree jee ~quote

Regarding the necessity of the help of a Guru to deep yoga practice, he said:

It is absolutely necessary for all devotees to totally surrender to their Guru. The more one can surrender to the Guru, the more he can ascertain the subtlest of the subtle techniques of yoga from his Guru. Without surrender, nothing can be derived from the Guru.

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"If one had to travel to a distant place for a few days, some requisites would be necessary. In this instance, the traveller is conversant about the place and period of stay. Yet without the prescribed requisites, travel is impossible. But when this body is abandoned and you have to proceed to an unknown path for an indefinite period of time, then how many requisites would be necessary? No material objects will be required then. The destination and duration of stay is unknown. That requisite has to be acquired in this present life through yogasadhana and carried over and that sadhana-derived experience will be the only requisite in the form of reformation. This requisite is imperishable."   Regarding Kriya Yoga, he said:

Always remember that you belong to no one, and no one belongs to you. Reflect that some day you will suddenly have to leave everything in this world–so make the acquaintanceship of God now. Prepare yourself for the coming astral journey of death by daily riding in the balloon of God-perception. Through delusion you are perceiving yourself as a bundle of flesh and bones, which at best is a nest of troubles. Meditate unceasingly, that you may quickly behold yourself as the Infinite Essence, free from every form of misery. Cease being a prisoner of the body; using the secret key of Kriya, learn to escape into Spirit

~Yogiraj Sri Shyamacharan Lahiree ~🙏🌻

~ Quote a day ~

 “We can only escape from the world by outgrowing the world. Death may take man out of the world but only wisdom can take the world out of the man. As long as the human being is obsessed by worldliness, he will suffer from the Karmic consequences of false allegiances. When however, worldliness is transmuted into Spiritual Integrity he is free, even though he still dwells physically among worldly things.” 

(Manly P. Hall)

मैले कपड़े ~ एक कहानी

एक बार की बात है , एक नौविवाहित जोड़ा किसी किराए के घर में रहने पहुंचा . अगली सुबह , जब वे नाश्ता कर रहे थे , तभी पत्नी ने खिड़की से देखा कि सामने वाली छत पर कुछ कपड़े फैले हैं , – “ लगता है इन लोगों को कपड़े साफ़ करना भी नहीं आता …ज़रा देखो तो कितने मैले लग रहे हैं ? “ पति ने उसकी बात सुनी पर अधिक ध्यान नहीं दिन एक -दो दिन बाद फिर उसी जगह कुछ कपड़े फैले थे . पत्नी ने उन्हें देखते ही अपनी बात दोहरा दी ….” कब सीखेंगे ये लोग की कपड़े कैसे साफ़ करते हैं …!!”
पति सुनता रहा पर इस बार भी उसने कुछ नहीं कहा .पर अब तो ये आये दिन की बात हो गयी , जब भी पत्नी कपडे फैले देखती भला -बुरा कहना शुरू हो जाती .लगभग एक महीने बाद वे यूँहीं बैठ कर नाश्ता कर रहे थे . पत्नी ने हमेशा की तरह नजरें उठायीं और सामने वाली छत की तरफ देखा , ” अरे वाह , लगता है इन्हें अकल आ ही गयी …आज तो कपडे बिलकुल साफ़ दिख रहे हैं , ज़रूर किसी ने टोका होगा !”पति बोल , ” नहीं उन्हें किसी ने नहीं टोका .”  ” तुम्हे कैसे पता ?” , पत्नी ने आश्चर्य से पूछा .
  ” आज मैं सुबह जल्दी उठ गया था और मैंने इस खिड़की पर लगे कांच को बाहर से साफ़ कर दिया , इसलिए तुम्हे कपडे साफ़ नज़र आ रहे हैं . “, पति ने बात पूरी की ज़िन्दगी में भी यही बात लागू होती है : बहुत बार हम दूसरों को कैसे देखते हैं ये इस पर निर्भर करता है की हम खुद अन्दर से कितने साफ़ हैं . किसी के बारे में भला-बुरा कहने से पहले अपनी मनोस्थिति देख लेनी चाहिए और खुद से पूछना चाहिए की क्या हम सामने वाले में कुछ बेहतर देखने के लिए तैयार हैं या अभी भी हमारी खिड़की गन्दी है !

           
           
           
           

           

           
           
           
          
           
          

           
           

Sri Yukteswar jee's Meetings with ~Babaji~

【Sri Yukteswar’s Meetings with Babaji, the Guru of His Guru】
“Three times I have been blessed by the sight of the deathless guru. Our first meeting was in Allahabad at a Kumbha Mela (a religious festival).”
“I was not a swami at the time I met Babaji,” Sri Yukteswar went on. “But I had already received Kriya initiation from Lahiri Mahasaya. He encouraged me to attend the mela which was convening in January, 1894 at Allahabad. It was my first experience of a kumbha; I felt slightly dazed by the clamor and surge of the crowd. In my searching gazes around I saw no illumined face of a master. Passing a bridge on the bank of the Ganges, I noticed an acquaintance standing near-by, his begging bowl extended.
“‘Oh, this fair is nothing but a chaos of noise and beggars,’ I thought in disillusionment. ‘I wonder if Western scientists, patiently enlarging the realms of knowledge for the practical good of mankind, are not more pleasing to God than these idlers who profess religion but concentrate on alms.’
“My smouldering reflections on social reform were interrupted by the voice of a tall sannyasi who halted before me.
“‘Sir,’ he said, ‘a saint is calling you.’
“‘Who is he?’
“‘Come and see for yourself.’
“Hesitantly following this laconic advice, I soon found myself near a tree whose branches were sheltering a guru with an attractive group of disciples. The master, a bright unusual figure, with sparkling dark eyes, rose at my approach and embraced me.
“‘Welcome, Swamiji,’ he said affectionately.
“‘Sir,’ I replied emphatically, ‘I am not a swami.’
“‘Those on whom I am divinely directed to bestow the title of “swami” never cast it off.’ The saint addressed me simply, but deep conviction of truth rang in his words; I was engulfed in an instant wave of spiritual blessing. Smiling at my sudden elevation into the ancient monastic order, I bowed at the feet of the obviously great and angelic being in human form who had thus honored me.
“Babaji — for it was indeed he — motioned me to a seat near him under the tree. He was strong and young, and looked like Lahiri Mahasaya; yet the resemblance did not strike me, even though I had often heard of the extraordinary similarities in the appearance of the two masters. Babaji possesses a power by which he can prevent any specific thought from arising in a person’s mind. Evidently the great guru wished me to be perfectly natural in his presence, not overawed by knowledge of his identity.
“‘What do you think of the Kumbha Mela?’
“‘I was greatly disappointed, sir.’ I added hastily, ‘Up until the time I met you. Somehow saints and this commotion don’t seem to belong together.’
“‘Child,’ the master said, though apparently I was nearly twice his own age, ‘for the faults of the many, judge not the whole. Everything on earth is of mixed character, like a mingling of sand and sugar. Be like the wise ant which seizes only the sugar, and leaves the sand untouched. Though many sadhus here still wander in delusion, yet the mela is blessed by a few men of God-realization.’
“In view of my own meeting with this exalted master, I quickly agreed with his observation.
“‘Sir,’ I commented, ‘I have been thinking of the scientific men of the West, greater by far in intelligence than most people congregated here, living in distant Europe and America, professing different creeds, and ignorant of the real values of such melas as the present one. They are the men who could benefit greatly by meetings with India’s masters. But, although high in intellectual attainments, many Westerners are wedded to rank materialism. Others, famous in science and philosophy, do not recognize the essential unity in religion. Their creeds serve as insurmountable barriers that threaten to separate them from us forever.’
“‘I saw that you are interested in the West, as well as the East.’ Babaji’s face beamed with approval. ‘I felt the pangs of your heart, broad enough for all men, whether Oriental or Occidental. That is why I summoned you here.
“‘East and West must establish a golden middle path of activity and spirituality combined,’ he continued. ‘India has much to learn from the West in material development; in return, India can teach the universal methods by which the West will be able to base its religious beliefs on the unshakable foundations of yogic science.
“‘You, Swamiji, have a part to play in the coming harmonious exchange between Orient and Occident. Some years hence I shall send you a disciple whom you can train for yoga dissemination in the West. The vibrations there of many spiritually seeking souls come floodlike to me. I perceive potential saints in America and Europe, waiting to be awakened.’”
At this point in his story, Sri Yukteswar turned his gaze fully on mine (Paramahansa Yogananda’s).
“My son,” he said, smiling in the moonlight, “you are the disciple that, years ago, Babaji promised to send me.”
I was happy to learn that Babaji had directed my steps to Sri Yukteswar, yet it was hard for me to visualize myself in the remote West, away from my beloved guru and the simple hermitage peace.
“Babaji then spoke of the Bhagavad Gita,” Sri Yukteswar went on. “To my astonishment, he indicated by a few words of praise that he was aware of the fact that I had written interpretations on various Gita chapters.
“‘At my request, Swamiji, please undertake another task,’ the great master said. ‘Will you not write a short book on the underlying basic unity between the Christian and Hindu scriptures? Show by parallel references that the inspired sons of God have spoken the same truths, now obscured by men’s sectarian differences.’
“‘Maharaj,’ I answered diffidently, ‘what a command! Shall I be able to fulfill it?’
“Babaji laughed softly. ‘My son, why do you doubt?’ he said reassuringly. ‘Indeed, Whose work is all this, and Who is the Doer of all actions? Whatever the Lord has made me say is bound to materialize as truth.’
“I deemed myself empowered by the blessings of the saint, and agreed to write the book. Feeling reluctantly that the parting-hour had arrived, I rose from my leafy seat.
“‘Do you know Lahiri?’ the master inquired. ‘He is a great soul, isn’t he? Tell him of our meeting.’ He then gave me a message for Lahiri Mahasaya.
“After I had bowed humbly in farewell, the saint smiled benignly. ‘When your book is finished, I shall pay you a visit,’ he promised. ‘Good-by for the present.’
“I left Allahabad the following day and entrained for Benares. Reaching my guru’s home, I poured out the story of the wonderful saint at the Kumbha Mela.
“‘Oh, didn’t you recognize him?’ Lahiri Mahasaya’s eyes were dancing with laughter. ‘I see you couldn’t, for he prevented you. He is my incomparable guru, the celestial Babaji!’
“‘Babaji!’ I repeated, awestruck. ‘The Yogi-Christ Babaji! The invisible-visible savior Babaji! Oh, if I could just recall the past and be once more in his presence, to show my devotion at his lotus feet!’
“‘Never mind,’ Lahiri Mahasaya said consolingly. ‘He has promised to see you again.’
…“I soon left Benares, and set to work in Serampore on the scriptural writings requested by Babaji,” Sri Yukteswar continued… “The morning after I had concluded my literary efforts, I went to the Rai Ghat here to bathe in the Ganges… There, under the shade of the banyan, and surrounded by a few disciples, sat the great Babaji!
“‘Greetings, Swamiji!’ The beautiful voice of the master rang out to assure me I was not dreaming. ‘I see you have successfully completed your book. As I promised, I am here to thank you.’
“With a fast-beating heart, I prostrated myself fully at his feet. ‘Param-guruji,’ I said imploringly, ‘will you and your chelas not honor my near-by home with your presence?’
“The supreme guru smilingly declined. ‘No, child,’ he said, ‘we are people who like the shelter of trees; this spot is quite comfortable.’
“‘Please tarry awhile, Master.’ I gazed entreatingly at him. ‘I shall be back at once with some special sweetmeats.’
“When I returned in a few minutes with a dish of delicacies, lo! the lordly banyan no longer sheltered the celestial troupe. I searched all around the ghat, but in my heart I knew the little band had already fled on etheric wings.
“I was deeply hurt. ‘Even if we meet again, I would not care to talk to him,’ I assured myself. ‘He was unkind to leave me so suddenly.’ This was a wrath of love, of course, and nothing more.
“A few months later I visited Lahiri Mahasaya in Benares. As I entered his little parlor, my guru smiled in greeting.
“‘Welcome, Yukteswar,’ he said. ‘Did you just meet Babaji at the threshold of my room?’
“‘Why, no,’ I answered in surprise.
“‘Come here.’ Lahiri Mahasaya touched me gently on the forehead; at once I beheld, near the door, the form of Babaji, blooming like a perfect lotus.
“I remembered my old hurt, and did not bow. Lahiri Mahasaya looked at me in astonishment.
“The divine guru gazed at me with fathomless eyes. ‘You are annoyed with me.’
“‘Sir, why shouldn’t I be?’ I answered. ‘Out of the air you came with your magic group, and into the thin air you vanished.’
“‘I told you I would see you, but didn’t say how long I would remain.’ Babaji laughed softly. ‘You were full of excitement. I assure you that I was fairly extinguished in the ether by the gust of your restlessness.’
“I was instantly satisfied by this unflattering explanation. I knelt at his feet; the supreme guru patted me kindly on the shoulder.
“‘Child, you must meditate more,’ he said. ‘Your gaze is not yet faultless — you could not see me hiding behind the sunlight.’ With these words in the voice of a celestial flute, Babaji disappeared into the hidden radiance.