Humility

Saint Narada is most known for creating mischief and quarrels between people (although the quarrels always lead to good things and makes everyone happy). Apart from his mischief making, however, Narada is also well known for his supreme musical talents - according to Hindu mythology, he introduced people to the gift of music. Narada always appears with a Veena in his hands and constantly chants the name of Lord Narayana. Even today, In India, when a religious discourse or a Yakshagana (a type of dance-drama or an opera) is held, the programs begin after invoking the name of Narada.

Saint Narada, wasn't without flaws, however. He was proud of his musical skills, but looked down on others who were less skilled than he was. Once he went to the kingdom of Lord Krishna. Krishna knew of Narada's arrogance and wanted to teach him a lesson on modesty and respect for others. Krishna asked Narada to play his Veena before an assembled audience in his court. Narada played the Veena brilliantly and delighted the audience with his music. At the end of his performance, Narada turned to Krishna and waited for the God to express his appreciation of Narada's music. Krishna, instead, turned to Hanuman, the monkey God, who was sitting in the audience, and asked him what he thought of Narada's music. Narada, unaware of Hanuman's divine status, was very unhappy that Krishna, instead of expressing his appreciation, sought the opinion of a mere monkey. "What does a monkey know about music?" Narada thought.


Krishna reading the mind of Narada said, "Oh Narada, I understand your concern, but first, let us find out if this monkey really knows anything about music. Give him your Veena and let him play it." Narada became even angrier because musicians consider their musical instruments sacred. Narada didn't want to share his Veena with anyone, especially not a monkey. He couldn't refuse Krishna's request however, and reluctantly handed the Veena to Hanuman. Hanuman began to play the Veena and sang beautiful hymns in praise of Lord Rama. The Monkey God's singing and playing was so sincere and so devoted that the entire audience was mesmerized. Even the great musical genius Narada was compelled to appreciate Hanuman's music. Being a person of enormous wisdom, Narada began to realize the lesson that Krishna was teaching him. Narada asked Krishna's forgiveness for not respecting the greatness of Hanuman and for underestimating Hanuman because he was a monkey.

Be Yourself. Never imitate.

One day, Saint Gorakhnath and his followers were walking down in a forest, when they happened to pass a dirty lake.
Saint Gorakhnath saw a few small fishes in the lake. So, he stopped and then bending forward towards the lake,
he caught a small fish with his hands and then gulped it down his wide open mouth.
His followers, who were watching his actions carefully were really taken aback to
see their spiritual master consuming non-vegetarian – Fish !!!

So, they thought that if our master can have fish, so why cant we too?
And in turn they all looked for fishes in the dirty lake and like their master gulped a few down their throats.

Saint Gorakhnath who was silently watching the antics of his followers, then started moving ahead and so did his followers.
On the entire way Saint Gorakhnath was quite.
Finally after walking down quite a distance they reached a fresh water lake.
Seeing the fresh water lake, Saint Gorakhnath walked towards it and on reaching there,
he did some kriyas and out came the small fish alive which he had consumed earlier.
He spat out the fish into the fresh water lake and then looked towards his followers
and said - "NOW YOU ALL TOO DO THE SAME ! "....which of course none of the followers could do !!!

Dosa Meditation

A young boy of 7 years old came to Ramana and asked him, "Can you explain to me what is meditation?Whenever I ask my parents they tell me that I need not bother about it now."I will come to know when I grow up." Ramana said," I shall tell you,but you sit quietly by my side."

A little later someone brought a carrier full of Dosa ( a preparation of rice and lentils-something like a pancake) and placed it before Ramana who would not eat anything unless equal quantities are distributed to all the people present. Ramana took a small piece himself, gave one full Dosa to the boy by his side in a leaf and ordered the rest to be distributed to the devotees present.

He told the boy," Look here,till i raise my finger and say "Hoon" you will go on eating and you should not finish it before I give the signal. The moment I give the signal hoon no portion of the Dosa should reamin and you should stop eating.

The boy was looking with concentration on Ramana for the signal and was eating in big pieces first and later in small bits.Suddenly the expected signal came. The boy put the entire balance Dosa in the mouth and atopped eating. Ramana then said,"what you now did is the process of meditation.You were looking at me all the time but were eating the Dosa. Similarly keep your mind onepointed on God but continue with your normal duties."

Let your normal activities like walking,eating,talking etc., go on but your mind should be concentrated on God all the time. That is Meditation.

Krishnamachari Santhanam

Advaithic simplicity

To be frank all this advaitha talk without a deep conviction of the truth behind it can be the worst bane. There are many who just read JK and Uk and don't understand a fig about the reality behind it , so it becomes a play of words like there is no you, no me everything is bliss etc., Major waste of time.

My Master explains Advaitha simply by way of this parable.

Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa taught through simple stories and parables, the loftiest truths for an easy grasp of it.

One such story was about a clever villager. One of the common trades in the Indian villages in those days was dyeing. One takes a white cloth to a dyer and has it dyed in the desired colour by having the cloth dipped in the mixture of the respective vat.

One day a dyer who travelled from place to place set foot in the village. However this dyer sought to a strange way of dyeing. He just had one vat but produced multiple colours according to the preference of the villagers. It was supposed to be a magical tub in which he soaked the cloths. People were amazed with the same tub producing different colour cloths. One clever villager approached the dyer with his piece of cloth and asked him to colour the cloth according to the colour of the dye in his tub!

Ramakrishna Paramahamsa using the above story said that God gives everyone different things according to their preference. However if one would want to know Him, one would have to be intelligent like the clever villager.

God has no Name Or form or Colour. He does not belong to any relegion,caste or creed. He can not be known by the intellect or dissected by the mind. He is pure consciousness,Awareness and bliss.

You can feel him and grasp him. If you try to know him through your mind alone you will fail. That is why even great seers like Ramana Maharishi kept the fire of devotion intact in them as without that the heart will not have the mosture of Love for the seeds of Advaitha to germinate.

Anger Management

The teachings of great masters help one to rise from base behaviours to become a balanced individual. Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, the great Indian master illustrated an event to his disciples to handle anger.


Once the great master was standing by a river in the company of His disciples. As they stood there, the master pointed out to a boat that was advancing upstream. The boatman was shouting out to another boat that was moving down stream in the opposite direction to avoid collision. When the boat in the opposite direction rushed closer, the boatman realised that it was an empty boat with no one to monitor its movements. Hence he just changed his course of movement and avoided the danger.


Ramakrishna Paramahamsa then explained to the devotees that the boat man neither tried to change the course of the other boat nor did he continue to yell. All that he did was to steer around the on rushing boat. Ramakrishna compared, the boat without a boatman to a person who is angry. Hence when one is confronted with the anger of another person it is wise to move away like the boatman who avoided the onrushing boat. He taught not to indulge in flinging abusive words in return. When when retorts back in anger, his case is also like that of a boat without a steerer

Self

On a day when the clouds are black
and the thunder strikes
I want to be with myself.

On a night when the silver moon shines
and the stars are bright
I want to be with myself.

On a noon when the white sun scorches
and the dogs rest under the tree
I want to be with myself.

On a rainy day when the rainbow strikes
and the wet grass shines
I want to be with myself.

Birds fly and the bee hums
cats peacefully lick its paws
I am in myself.

The waves roar and the wind howls
the trees waves its branches
I am myself.

Silence is heavy and the breathing is heard
Footsteps fall
and i feel the self.

See a rose slowly unfolding
and the bee sits on its throne
I sip the nectar and self remains.

Om

As I played the surrenders song on the Golden harp the player disappeared,the harp disappeared, the heart disappeared, the song disappeared.Pure joy remained and the song of surrender vibrated from the Being and I could just hear it nay feel it as OM

As you slip into silence

As you silently slip into silence

The warmth of Love envelops you

The Light footsteps of the guy who steals your
heart is heard

The chiming bells of the temple and the church
starts fading ever so slowly

and the ripple it creates expands your awareness
All that was unheard and unseen gets heard and seen

and you would not want to see and
hear it either.

Heart opens slowly and each petal as it unfolds gives
a vision of the unknown
and the unknowable to the physical world that is.

The breathing slows and i doubt if one breathes
and the sound of the even thin life force
is heard as the raging wind

World around you is seen in slow motion
and sky sheds a tear or two in joy

at the ever expanding consciousness which gives
it company.

If only it is possible to capture that tiny moment
into the capsule for eternity

That is one capsule i would like to be buried with.


Krishnamachari Santhanam

Karma Yoga

Karma Yoga

The Bhagavat Gita says, “ Surrender the fruit of action”. Yes we agree but does the karma yogi get the fruit ? even if he has surrendered it?
The answer is Yes. Maybe he will get the beneficial fruit multi fold if he does not aspire for it. The story of Mahalakshmi goes to prove it. The ocean of milk was churned and out of it came Mahalakshmi, the mother of all auspiciousness. The devas who had studiously avoided all the other entreaties of Uchisravas and iravatha fell pray to the charm of moha incarnate and stood in line to be chosen as bridegroom. But Mahalakshmi chose Narayana as bridegroom who was totally detached and watching the entire proceeding with amusement! This is what happens to the karma yogi. He surrenders the fruit of action and the onus is on the Creator to measure and dispatch the fruits and his measure is always bountiful!!

Also love your work. That is the secret of happiness and avoiding boredom. Let us take an example. A man grows up the rank and becomes C.E.O. But he gets job dissatisfaction soon as he has learnt all that has to be learnt and gets disinterested and distant. But his wife who does the same cooking and cleaning gets about her work with a cheerful demeanor and starts every day as if it is a new routine. This is so as she does the act of cooking and cleaning lovingly and dedicates every routine to the welfare of her family.

Bhavna or feelings behind the act gives the currency the stamp for it to be valid.
That is why no amount of worshipping routine without the genuine love and aspiration for GOD will be fruitful. It will remain a routine! This also explains why inspite of various temples being destroyed in India the murthis could never be destroyed, as the murthis have their form in the hearts and the image of Rama and Krishna and the qualities they stand for could never be destroyed and the pure feelings of devotees have made the images purer. This is why Ganga can be H 2 0 or the destroyer of all sins as per the bhavna one has. If one has the remembrance of the origin of the Ganga and how it flows through the matted hair of Shiva and washing the holy feet of Narayana then one can wash his sins by bathing in the Ganges but one considers it purely as two atoms of hydrogen and one atom of oxygen he could catch a cold!

Karma yogi’s action unites him with the cosmos and this leads to cosmic consciousness. For example the simple act of watering the tulsi plant before taking food creates a bond of love between us and the lower order of nature. This simple karma makes one have a pang of empathy and love and hands stretch automatically to water the tulsi before our own mouth has a morsel of food!

Karma yogis have a great preceptor- the Lord himself. They just have to picturise the kurukshethra war and how when all the tired souls after a long and hard day’s battle have gone to rest Krishna himself would be busy untying the horses and washing and feeding them and applying medicine to their wounds. Thus he would be last to bed and first to rise because of the love of the karma of charioteer which he chose.

Repetitive action is like a Japa, and when done with feeling it becomes worship and one’s action transforms the mind and elevates the consciousness. The story of Tuladar and jajali, Sena the barber and Gora the potter goes to prove it.

All the farmers know a simple axiom- Sow deep but sow moist. Similarly the Karma yogi’s action should be based on deep faith and moistened with the love of GOD.

When mind stand united with action it is Vikarma. This is true in Bakthi as well as Karma yoga. Activity outside should be accompanied by meditation( Japa) inside. Dwell close while in austerity( Upa Vasa). When mind does not meditate outer form of austerity is a waste. Tantra must be accompanied by mantra- action by meditation! Here Swami’s 3hv principle needs to be applied. For example if body is fasting but mind is thinking of food then mind is feasting! This disparity in thought word and deed can be disastrous. Take the action of a mother stroking a child. Because of the bond of love and empathy the simple act of stroking becomes a Yoga and gives bliss to both the souls-mother and child. If a person watching it bewitched thinks if I stroke the child downwards 10 cms and repeat the same motion upwards 10cms thrice it will create bliss-How stupid it sounds? The bhavna is again the key- unless the mind is united with the action bliss can not surface.

Akarma= Vikarma+ Karma. (inaction in action). Because purity of thought creates disinterest in action or desirelessness and this in turn can make a simple act of karma as akarma. Take the action of a mother beating a child out of love for its well being. The child goes back to the mother as if nothing happened. But if we do the same??

We can not learn akarma from books . We can learn only by moving with saints and serving them. We would learn in their speech of silence all the clarity.

Whether the man who is naked or clad
Is a matter, which bothers only the other
As a mad man’s mind is not in his apparel.

So let us keep our mind unattached to the various apparels of Maya.

Waste Paper Basket

All that we know is nothing, we are merely crammed waste-paper baskets, unless we are in touch with that which laughs at all our knowing. ~D.H. Lawrence

Well, My basket was brimming with crumpled thoughts. One day I decided enough is enough and emptied the full basket. By the time i put it back i already noticed one or two crumpled sheets.Bend to pick it up. Tring..Tring Phone rang Who My Mother? by the time i finished the conversation and came back the basket was full again. I was tired, emptied it again and this time resolved not to look into the basket as i place it back. proverbial Ostrich... Anyway got into FB and started my connections. I came to know of my close friend's child not faring well, my other friend was down with pharyngitis and one was going to Maldives. My mind and heart were filled with concerns and emotions and by the time my tired eyes asked me to shut the laptop i idly glanced at the basket and i could see no basket ,it was covered with papers.

Now I am not emptying the basket anymore. I am on the lookout for the rascal who fills the basket so ever stealthily. Please put a note on FB if you find him.


Krishnamachari Santhanam

Allah is Vishnu

Allah is Al-Ahad or The One and Vishnu is called Eka, The One. It’s curious
but there are striking similarities between the many names of Vishnu and
those of Allah.
The Vishnu Sahasranamam (the thousand names of Vishnu) was composed by
Ved Vyas and incorporated in the Mahabharata. The sahasra here is not meant
to be a finite digit; it is in fact the opposite. ‘Thousand’ is meant to
suggest infinitude. The poem is a tool for meditating on God, the Formless
One, avyakta, of multifarious forms, anekamurti. Names connoting these two
opposite aspects follow one another in the poem: first the name, then the
counter-name. Because, the intention is not to define, but rather to convey
the futility of definition through a surfeit of definitions. The names
listed in the Sahasranamam are not all nouns: they are mostly adjectives.
They are attributes of God, juxtaposed to create a dhvani or suggestion of
the all-inclusive, all-surpassing, definition-defying Being.
The countername does not cancel the name; rather, it illustrates that
every name, every murti, is equally correct and incorrect: it is both iti
(so) and neti (not so). It is futile, likewise, to think of adding up the
names to arrive at any algebraic ‘finality’. Among the thousand names of
Vishnu are also Shoonya (zero) and Ananta (infinity). The movement of a
seeker after truth, as Swami Vivekanand put it, is not from error to truth,
but rather from one truth to another, until he reaches the end of all
knowledge, vedanta, to arrive at a consciousness of truth and bliss. This is
sat-chit-ananda: the state of truth-consciousness-bliss. This is Godhood.
One who realises it cannot define it; he can only point towards it or
suggest it — through sahasranama.
The Gracious Names Of Allah lists the various names of Allah occurring in
the holy Qu’ran. It is interesting how similar the names or appellations of
Allah are to those of Vishnu in the Vishnu Sahasranamam. Allah, as the
Paramatma, is Al-Ahad, The One or Eka. He is Al-Quddus, the Holy One
(Pavitram), Ar-Rahman, The Beneficent (Varadaya), Al’Maalik, The Lord
(Prabhu), Al’Aziz, The Mighty One (Mahaveera), Al’Alim, The All-knowing
(Sarvagya). He is Al’Khaliq, The Creator (Srishta) and Al’Musawwir, One who
fashions all things (Vishwakarma). He is Al’Hakam, The Judge (Vidhatre), who
is Al’Adl, The Just (Nyaya). Al’Latif, The Subtle One (Sookshma), Al’Kabir,
The Great (Mahaan).
Allah is also Al’Matin, The Firm One (Sthir), and As-Samad, The Eternal
One, The Absolute (Achyuta, Sthavar). He sends down distress as Ad-Daarr
(Bhayakrat), and deals death as Al’-Mumit (Yama). Himself is Al-Muhaymin,
The Protector (Rakshan). God is An-Nur, The Luminous One (Prakash), and
Al-Hakim, The Wise One (Mahabuddhi). He is An-Nafi, The Propitious One
(Mangala). He is Dhul-Jalal-Wal-Ikram, The Bountiful (Srinidhi). As in the
case of Vishnu, contradictory names apply equally perfectly to Allah. For
example, He is Al’Muqaddim (The Expediter) and also Al’- Mu’akhkhir (The
Delayer).
What is the significance of reciting all these names? The Sahasranamam
uplifts; it expands thought to include everything and every nonthing. If all
is the One, where is room for malice? The Phalshruti (Fruits of Recitation)
of Vishnu Sahasranamam promises to rid the devoted reciter of anger, malice,
greed and evil thoughts. One is also rid of the fear of birth, death, old
age and disease (janma-mrityu-jara-vyadhi). All these are the results that
follow the highest form of positive thinking. Similarly, reciting the names
of Allah, too, is bound to bring lasting benefit to the devout.