Vyakhyaan by Vinod ji Agarwal_'B'

It is our own wishes which disturb us and more than that we expect others to live as per our standards. We must always remember that each individual has its own lot to face and hence there is no need to be over concerned for anybody. Moreover, if we sincerely submit to God's arrangement, every occurrence will progressively lead us towards Him i.e. joureny of life will get enrouted through 'Govind ki Galiyan.'

The external ambience acts like an encouraging factor for our devotional sentiment but its foundation lies in our own keenness to meet Him.

Like all the other realized souls, Swami Vivekananda too has said that we need not try to bind God by languages, dress codes etc rather we need to recognize the Supreme Being by building a personal bond with Him. He is formless but readily takes up various forms as per the notions of His different devotees.

The spiritual practices like chanting Lord’s name, singing His glories, reading sacred text, reciting prayers, listening to His pastimes and attending spiritual discourses are highly essential to foster our keenness for Him. It is like learning ‘A’ by referring to an ‘Apple’ but the intended thing is 'A' not the apple. Similarly, our hearts must crave to actually realize Him and not be contented with His references only.

Just like any other pursuit, spiritual success too has three prerequisites- identifying a goal for the soul, second is to tirelessly endeavor towards it and then patiently waiting for the desired result even if it looks to be getting delayed. He may put our faith to severe tests but we have to remain determined. Moreover, the route of divine love frees us from the customary worshiping as love itself is the supreme form of worship. So if we resolutely aim at attaining God in the present life only, things surely begin to fall in place to take us ahead.

Spirituality basically demands the dissolution of self into its source. In the present times of Kalyuga, Hari naam sankirtan is the most favorable way to immerse ourselves into Lord.

There are said to be five stages of reflecting upon personal form of God- Dhaarna, dhyaan, dhruv smriti, svaroop chintan and samadhi. It starts from taking His form as a particular figure which may be Lord Ram, Lord Krishna, Lord Shiva, Devi Durga and like. Second step is to hold the same figure inside our body and attentively focus on it. 'Naam sankirtan' scientifically helps in strengthening this practice of concentrated inner visualization as the centrifugal force of the sound waves throws the wandering thoughts away and the gravitational force of the devotional words makes our heart feel His touch.

Unlike yogic energy, the cosmic energy moves from top to bottom. A devotee visualizes the personal form of God through his closed eyes and the image gets affixed in his heart. The sound waves of his mantra jaap also move in a downward direction due to which an echo is produced from within.

Every word originates from sound and each sound has its echo. So a devotee should practise chanting so fervently that the echo of naam jap/mantra begins to be heard from inside while he is silent outwardly. This is called ajpa- jap i.e. continuous chanting through our sub conscious mind. It happens with the grace of God only but firstly the seeker needs to be desperate for Him. Then only our chants can bring the desired result.

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Ram Hare Ram Ram Ram Hare Hare Mahamntra has been given to the world by Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu with the freedom to chant it at any time, in any condition. There are various interpretations about its words and in every sense this Mahamntra contains the essence of the whole Hindu text. ‘Hare Krishna’ may be taken as Radha Krishna and ‘Hare Ram’ as Sita Ram, both of which represent the amalgamation of Melody (माधुर्य) and Opulence (एश्वर्य).

Once a man asked Goswami Tulsidas ji that which scene he liked the most out of the four- Lord Rama playing in the palace of Ayaodhya or Lord Rama breaking Shiv dhanush in Janakpuri or Lord Rama spending intimate time with His wife in Chitrakut or Lord Rama sitting at a mountain peak in Lanka. Tulsidas ji replied that the fourth scene is closest to heart. On being inquired about the reason he said that land of Ayodhya is 'Karam bhoomi' where king Dashrath performed Yagya and received Lord as his son. Land of Janankpuri signifies 'Gyaan maarg' of King Janak wherein ego (depicted by dhanush) is smashed by Lord which led to His marriage with Goddess Sita. Land of Chitrakut is filled up with 'Bhakti' being personified by Mata Sita. Tulsidas ji said that he was eligible for none of three paths but his conscience was a ready-made Lanka. So he expected that as Lord Rama forcibly entered into the premises of Ravana He would conquer his conscience also and make it free of all pervert tendencies. This is called Sharnagti (unconditional surrender)- the fourth path to reach God.

We all are aware of the heart present in our physical body whose main function is  to circulate the purified blood. Apart from that, a subtle heart is located in the center of our chest which carries the feelings. It is called 4th chakra as per yogic terms. The more we are connected to God through chanting or meditating on Him, stronger this chakra is and greater is its hold on our physical heart. So a devotee expresses gratitude for filling up his subtle heart with the Divine experiences which sustains him against all situational odds. This forms the basis of hypnotherapy too.

Once an affluent trader prayed to Lord, “I know you are there but I wish to experience You more closely.” Lord gave His silent consent. Next morning when that devotee went for a walk on sea-shore he saw four footsteps on sand as he walked on. He immediately understood that Lord was making him feel His presence. He was elated. Soon his business got into a financial dump and many of his associates left him but the man cared for none because he was confident of God's presence with him. As the conditioned worsened he was taken aback to see that sand was now getting the imprint of only two footsteps. This caused him much disappointment that God also left him. Anyhow days of depression passed by and the normality began to return in his life. Now again, four foot-steps became visible. The trader argued with God to know why He abandoned him in the hour of distress. His heart got the answer as if Lord was saying “I did not go away rather i was carrying you in my lap due to which you could see only two foot-steps. As you are now capable of moving on your own I have lifted you down.” In this way He invisibly holds the devotees during their hard times. The situations reamin tough but His grace lets them pass by easily. this way devotees directly experience Him in their hearts, talk to Him and get response too.

He is certainly present everywhere but it is our zeal to see Him which makes Him actually apparent outside and within.

It is only our conviction in His existence that makes us actually feel Him. It is well corroborated by the story of Hiranyakashipu asking his son Prahlad “where is your Narayan?” The boy says that He is omnipresent. The father is not convinced and asks him specifically if Lord is there in a sizzling pillar standing in front of them. As the son replies yes he is asked to touch it. Prahald ji spontaneously embraces the hot pillar but nothing hurts him. This convinces Hiranyakashipu that Narayan is surely present in the pillar due to which Prahalad is unharmed. So he strikes on it with a motive to hit Narayan and then lord Narsimha indeed appears. Hence it can be said that Lord appeared out of his conviction.

We can make efforts to reach God but in reality it is His grace only which can lead us to Him. Whomsoever He desired to encounter, was shown His glimpse and the seeker thus lost himself to Him. In fact, He only moves towards us once we become determined to attain Him. His omnipresence is then personally realized and the devotee becomes free of the religious structures even.

In the field of spirituality, a yogi is compared to a baby monkey whereas a bhakta is seen as a baby cat. Just like infants clasping their mother tightly while jumping from one place to another, Gyaanis and Dhyaanis always keep their hold firm on Almighty. On the other hand, kittens are totally dependent on their mother who softly carries them in her mouth and this explains the state of a bhakta too. However, he has to do meaow meaow at least which means calling out His name. In other words, a devotee zealously chants His name, asking Him to come (पुकारना) and tirelessly waits for His appearance. (इंतज़ार करना)

A man took his child to a fair holding him by his finger. Seeing the attractive toys and candies the boy demanded to have them again and again. As a result the man lost him in the crowd. Likewise we get carried away by the alluring colors of Lord’s creation get lost. However a surrendered soul remarks that devotees are like His children, too small for self protection, enjoying the world’s fair with an assurance that their 'Almighty Father' is holding them. So if we go missing any time, it is His carelessness to let us go astray.

Darshan (visualising God) is of two types- external (maaya sahit) and internal (maaya rahit). Looking at His statues, pictures etc is the external darshan accompanied by various protocols and other paraphernalia. On the other hand, He stays within us in His natural form and encountering Him that way is absolutely hassle free. So we should all pray for His grace that we can behold Him internally and witness His active presence in the whole nature around us, not just in constructed Temples.

A sufi desires to become ‘paagal ‘in God’s love. The word paagal can be interpreted in two ways- ‘paa’ means to receive and in Punjabi language, ‘gal’ means to talk which implies that the devotee wishes to make statements only after actually attaining Him. Also, ‘gal’ means to melt which implies that a devotee wishes to always remain humble because of the belief that he has no ability to achieve anything on his own. It is all God's grace that gets the things done through him. _ If our heart truly holds love for someone, there can be no space for envy, ego and enmity against anybody else too because genuine love is an antidote for all such ill-feelings. It is our own imperfection which makes us see faults in others. So a devotee asks Lord to grant him such a heavy dose of Divine love that every sort of negativity gets spilled out of his heart.

Like any other pursuit, spirituality also demands a resolute and dedicated effort. Guru shows us the way and implicitly prepares us for the journey which we have to cover ourselves. He remains subtly present and keeps us warned against the speed breakers but the success totally depends upon our single mindedness towards the goal.

On getting just a glimpse of Lord's any leela (pastime), the human goes crazy. Lord only starts the chain of events and leads it. The seeker is just required to keep longing for more and more intimacy.

God is undoubtedly present around but He becomes apparent only when we feel personally attached with Him. Just like we feel the need for our relatives and various things, it is all about feeling the need to have God closely by our side. On finding Him to be missing, our mind would get desperate while He has not to come from somewhere out rather has to just uncover Himself within us. So devotee calls Him out saying , "I am anxiously waiting for the day when You will make me see You inside me."

The personal form of God enters our hearts through two ways- first is by making us hear about Him and secondly by making us see His images. Listening to His attributes, stories of His mercy and pastimes develops a sort of fondness for Him causing us to know more and more. This is called guna- aaskti (addiction with His attributes). Looking at His pictures, statues then enables us to feel them as His living figures. The devotee becomes so much obsessed (aasakt) with His beauty that he gets to see it everywhere around. So Shravan bhakti has been given the first preference as directly looking at Him may carry only a short-term impact while aaskati developed through listening is much stronger. Devi Rukamani fell in love with Lord Krishna without seeing Him and Afghani poet, Raskhan too became anxious to meet Shri Banke Bihari just after hearing about Him.

Our subtle body consists of Mind, self, intellect and ego (Mann, Chitt, Budhi and Aham). Mind controls the senses and if our sense organs indulge in any activity with an absent mind, then such an activity is soon forgotten about. Further, it is mind only which enables the intellect to immediately react and respond to what has been received by it. In this super quick process, a trace of everything is stored in our Chitt (self). Therefore it is recommended to mindfully look at, listen to good things so that they get absorbed internally as psychological imprints known as samskaras.

There are mainly three types of Aanand- materialistic pleasure which the body gets through some medium like playing a sport, watching videos, gossiping etc. Second is the intrinsic pleasure for our subtle senses which is related to music, literature, art etc and above all is the super natural pleasure leading us to our sehaj awastha, the epitome of which is Shri Radha bhaav. Therefore a devotee prays to Lord “Please come to me along with Srimati Radharani because You alone will bring pleasure but the company of Shri Radharani (the spirit of devotion) will make it supernatural.”

Once a saint, while meditating, saw that a divine ray of light suddenly entered his conscience which took the form of Shri Radha. The overwhelmed saint said that he did not know where to make Her sit as there was so much darkness and filth inside him. Kishori ji replied that she will herself make her sitting arrangement. Instantly, Lord Krishna too appeared and Radharani asked Him why had He come as the saint assumes his heart to be filthy. Lord Krishna retorted how can filth stay where she chooses to appear. This story hints towards the mercy of Shri Radharani who only makes us eligible for seeking Krishna's permanent grace.

Shri Radha is said to be tatv (element) as well as bhaav (spirit). An Element remains stable but the spirit of devotion is characterized by its low and high moods. Sh Radha is believed to live in Barsana ('bar' means pure and 'aasan' means sitting place). So a devotee prays that may his conscience be so clear that Shri Radha accepts to make it Her abode. Also, She takes birth in the house of Vrishbhanu and Kirtida. 'Vrishab' means dharma (righteousness) and 'bhanu' means king while 'Kirtida' means giving respect. So the rightful people who give reasonable honour to others are blessed with the divine charm of Shri Radha.

By passionately calling His name, we can see the related form of Lord through our closed eyes. Once He becomes visible, we start dealing with Him instinctively and thus make our conscience His Dhaam- where He lives.

For spiritual enlightenment it is said that an aspirant should be dedicated to one saint, one mantra, one form of God, one scripture and one path. Life span is limited so all the available energy should be solely deployed in one particular direction. The strings of divine knowledge should be grasped from every possible source however guidance from Guru is the ultimate refuge against any loop. Repeated recitation of one selected mantra/ naam causes its sound waves penetrate deep inside us. Next, unwavering devotion towards one chosen form of God or towards His formlessness builds a hearty affinity with Him. All the holy books convey the universal truth only through different terminology yet a seeker should pick up one partucular text for deep study and thorough analysis. There are numerous ways to reach Lord as through devotion, knowledge, and selfless action. However once a path is taken up, the seeker should stick to it otherwise it may result into wastage of time.

Shradha (dedication) builds up at the junction of intellect and sentiments. It is an active divine force which enables us to see God in a stone and feel the touch of a word. Dedication towards something/ somebody is reason -based and hence set reserved for a few. In Ramcharitmanas, Goswami Tulsidas ji writes that Goddess Parvati represents shradha while Lord Shiva is Vishwas (faith). We may have faith in existence of Lord but shardha lays the foundation for experiencing Him. In the context of society also, faith sustains a relation while shradha makes it pleasant. Faith is a general requirement for leading a calm life while shradha makes it precise.

Absolute surrender is the most important thing in spirituality and total surrender can be done towards one entity only. God gives us a free choice to have Him in the manner we like. So there exist His various forms and numerous ways to realize Him. We ought to select one and then stick to it through our dedicated faith. Many of us worship multiple figures of God because we fear their annoyance. This fearing attitude needs to be corrected as His every form is the symbol of mercy. So we should reverently pay our obeisances to all divine figures and invoke their grace to attain just one thing- love for our idol (Isht).

Destiny can not be changed just by joining hands in prayer as it has already been written through our past deeds. However, praying does provide us strength to face it daringly. Further the fruit of devotion is not the fulfillment of desires rather 'freedom from desires' is the real achievement for a devotee.

Our intimacy with God is confirmed through our way of observation and general perception. Closeness with Him will make us see the world and people through His eyes. As He holds parity for all and never sees faults of anybody, His devotees too should ignore the negative attributes of others and serve all believing them to be His creation.

Lord Krishna personifies bliss and Shri Radha means the purest form of devotion which lets us experience that bliss. As we wish things from Lord instead of wishing Him, we fail to fulfill the ultimate purpose of human life. The urge for materialistic achievements or protection from human sufferings may induce our interaction with Almighty but His real grace is endowed upon when we start experiencing an inner joy in every sort of situation.

Just like our body treatment, spiritual healing also has two main things- avoidance and medication. By remembering just one fact that everything of the world is transient, we can avoid our excessive involvement in it while association with saints, reading sacred text, chanting etc are the medicines which cure the ailments of our conscience. As cure cannot be effective if due precaution is not taken, we should try to be 'mentally' detached from materialistic things. Many a times, avoidance itself acts like a remedy. So we do not need to physically move out the world rather need to tighten our grip on Lord so that the worldly things automatically move out of our mind.

We are usually asked to our hands while calling out Lord's name. However this should not be done just customarily rather like a child crying for nothing else but his mother to pick him up. All the materialistic possessions are like the alluring toys of maaya. This is the arrangement of Lord Himself that we remain engrossed in playing with them until we start feeling the need to go back to Him. Once we become naturally fed up with His toys we begin to anxiously look for Him and at this instance only, He tends to pick us up in His lap.

During Satyuga, tough penance by human beings led them to God. In Treta Yuga, God said (as per Ram CharitManas) that people with pure mind only could reach Him. In Dwapar Yuga, He declared (in Bhagwad Gita) that absolute surrender would enable His attainment. However in Kalyuga, He made it all easy that merely by chanting/calling out His name we can unite with Him.

Many of us seek Lord to get some sort of materialistic or spiritual favour but there are a few souls whom Lord seeks. Such souls are special for their chaste devotion as they love Him just for the sake- they can't help loving Him.

The saints have interpreted the characters of Ramayana- Shri Ram, Lakshman and Sita as Gyaan (spiritual knowledge),  Viaraagya (spirit of renunciation) and Bhakti (devotional love) respectively. Foreseeing Ravana’s plan, Lord Rama sends his wife Sita in the protection of Agni dev (fire) and her reflection is left there. On looking at a golden deer, the illusory Sita asks Lord Rama to get it for her. This incident conveys the message that Bhakti sends the gyaan away if it falls prey to the illusion of maaya.  Nevertheless it remains safe as long as vairagya is there but in the absence of both, Bhakti is sure to get abducted by tamas (ignorance). Therefore attending Kirtan, Katha, Pravachan etc is good but not enough until our mind becomes ascetic.

Raag can be said to be an attachment with somebody, next stage is of anuraag which implies intimacy but love consummates at the stage called vairaag (vishesh raag) wherein our connection with the beloved becomes so firm that we feel disconnected from the rest. In spirituality, this disconnection is of utmost importance and it has to be through mind not just body. In fact, a devotee has to do ‘na atak’ in the world i.e. abstractly carry out his familial and social responsibilities but without getting stuck anywhere else than God.

Many people visit religious places just as a customary ritual while some formally attend spiritual talks and discourses but none of these two categories get spiritually effected much as we remain untouched by water while strolling on a beach or taking a boat-ride. Further comes the state of swimming which implies being fond of spirituality and hence being an active participant in its programs. However the pearl of enlightenment cannot be sought as long as we remain on the surface. So we need to dive deep into, what is heard or read, through personal contemplation and reflection.

God resides within us but we fail to recognize Him unless He lets us do so. Once we learn to meet Him inside, our ego vanishes and the life becomes simply smooth. This is the essence of spirituality i.e. moving from the body to the soul.

This whole materialism is a part of God's show only. So, every bit of it should remind us of God and all of our deeds should be like paying our obeisances to Him.

Lord demands only one thing from devotees and that is not to carry ill-feeling against anyone. Also, devotion does not mean freedom from action but freedom from the burden of being the doer.

Devotional love demands nothing of the world yet a Sufi says that if any desire arises in his mind he welcomes it as another opportunity to seek the grace of his idol. As He is our supreme well wisher, whether He grants the said wish or not, His will ensures our betterment only.

Nature provides us an opportunity to visualize the divine rendezvous. Looking at a cloudy sky a devotee feels as if the dark colored Krishna is lying on sky and the greenery spread on Earth seems to be Shri Radha. In response to Kishori ji's call Krishna descends in the form of rain drops to embrace Her.

All of us have been assigned certain specific roles in our respective lives, called as ‘swadharma’ (swa + dharma). 'Swa' is self and the word 'dharma' implies the line of duty. No one can advance spiritually if the basic responsibilities of the family/ society are avoided. However one should be careful of not getting over indulged and immediately take leave when the succeeding generation becomes self-sufficient.

When we are able to practically realize that it is God only who exists in everything, the veil of duality disappears. However devotee feels that this veil, called maaya, is also good as it hides away the Lord and thus increases his anxiety for Him. So it is all about our own perspective - maaya is no hurdle if we start focusing on the Creator instead of His creation alone.

In Kalyuga, Hari naam acts like an expressway to take us to Lord as it has no speed-breaker of do's and don't s. We can lovingly chant His name at any time, at any place, in any condition.

It is an attribute of faithfulness to feel good for anything related to the master. On that line, a faithful devotee must never forget that all the creatures (moral as well as 'not so moral'), all the worldly happenings (fair as well as unfair) are the output of His will only. So we should welcome His every type of arrangement and stay contented with whatever has given to us. However, for the sake of Divine love, our faithfulness gives us the right to demand more and more of His proximity.

The form of God, to which we feel dedicated, should be considered to be the Supreme. The divine powers of all the living entities are measured through a unit called 'kala'. Starting from the inert matter- rock and minerals, as we move up the tree of life, the number of kalas go on increasing the . The unicellular organisms like amoeba have one kala, plants exist with two kalas while animals have three to four. Average human beings have five kalas while skillful people may have six. Saints have seven kalas while the advanced souls who have higher spiritual capacities may possess eight to nine kalas. Demigods are said to have ten to twelve kalas and the partial incarnations of God as Lord Parshuram, Lord Narsimha, have divine powers up to the grade of thirteen. Lord Ram, Lord Shiva and Lord Krishna are believed to possess foutreen, fifteen and sixteen kalas respectively. It depends upon the need of time and purpose that how much power would Almighty require to take the avtar with.

In Sufi literature saaki means guru and maykhana means an assembly chaired by guru. All the souls good or bad have the right to purify themselves by coming to such sacred gatherings and receive the holy drops of divinity.