There is only one question before the entire world
"How will we get what we want?"
We see that everyone in the world is doing something or the other.
The Vedas say in Yoga Shikha Upanishad 1.37: "No action is done without a reason"
So why are the entities of this world, inert or conscious, always doing something?
There must be a reason.
Veda Vyas has explained the reason - (Verse)
Everyone's actions are for one reason alone.
And that reason is the desire to obtain happiness.
That was Bhagavatam 3.5.2
Again the Bhagavatam says in 7.7.42 - (Verse).
All that every person does is for bliss, for happiness.
A secondary reason is to relieve pain.
But relieving pain is not the right goal
Because upon obtaining happiness, pain goes away automatically.
Like when light shines, darkness goes away automatically.
If someone says, "Let the light shine and let the darkness also go away"
then people will say he is foolish and doesn't know how to speak
When the light shines, the darkness will go away by itself.
Again the Bhagavatam says this in 6.16.60 - (Verse)
The gist is that there is only one reason behind all actions – Happiness. Bliss.
How surprising this is!
There is so much of variety in this world.
God has made 8.4 million kinds of bodies and all are different
Some live in water, some on land, and some in the air
Some are born from eggs, some from womb, some from soil and some from sweat
What unusual life-forms you see in this world, and each one is different.
Consider the variety just amongst human beings.
Today there are 7 billion people on this planet
and no two have even the same fingerprint!
How amazing!
And yet everyone's aim is the same - Happiness!
Some naïve people will say, "No, we don't want happiness"
"We want wealth"
"We want material necessities"
People keep many types of desires and keep running to fulfill them
Let me tell you one more thing
No soul can remain inactive for even a moment
The Gita says this in the 5th verse of the 3rd chapter - (Verse)
So every moment we act solely to obtain happiness.
And if a naïve person says, "No, I want this"
then ask him why he wants that
Why do you want wealth?
"So I can get material goods"
Why do you want material goods?
"So they can give me happiness"
Why do you want happiness? No answer.
No one has an answer to this question!
Neither atheists nor believers have an answer.
We want happiness, that's all.
What we do not have an answer for, we call nature.
Why does fire have the ability to burn?
Well, it just does – that is its nature. It burns and it illuminates.
In the same way, it is the nature of the soul to seek and obtain happiness.
Why? Our Vedas have given us the answer to this.
We have become devoid of the knowledge of the Vedas
and hence we are unhappy and restless
All our lives we spend every moment seeking and acquiring knowledge
from books, from neighbors, from so many sources.
And yet we haven't even been able to understand: Who are we?
What is Happiness? How will we obtain it?
The Vedas answer in Chandogya Upanishad 7.23.1 - (Verse)
That which is of unlimited quantity is called Happiness (Ananda).
Plus once obtained, it must remain forever.
Plus it must keep on increasing every moment. These are the three conditions.
You will say you get happiness in the world too – from parents, spouse, children, sweets
from so many worldly sources
But it doesn't satisfy all three conditions
First, it is not unlimited in quantity
When we see a greater happiness than what we have, our happiness ends.
A poor person gets a cycle. At first, he is happy.
Then he sees a motorcycle and he complains, "With this cycle I have to pedal and struggle"
"If only I had a motorcycle, I would just sit and enjoy"
He gets a motorcycle and again he is happy – until he sees a car
Then he complains again, "With this motorcycle I suffer in sun and rain"
"If only I had a car, I would relax and enjoy"
That is, because there is a happiness greater than yours, your happiness no longer makes you happy
It instead starts making you sad!
You experience this daily.
So firstly, worldly happiness is limited and small
Secondly, it does not remain forever.
You get happiness when you are eating rasagullas
The first one gives you more happiness
Second one, less happiness
Third one, even less
Fourth one, happiness is finished
The fifth one makes you vomit!
From the same parent, spouse, child – ten times a day you get happiness and sorrow alternatively.
What kind of happiness is that?
"Yes, but what to do? We can't get any better so we live with what we have."
Now this is correct, you do it out of no choice.
So, true happiness is that which is unlimited in quantity, lasts forever, and increases with every moment.
This is the kind of happiness that we all desire.
Why?
To answer that, please pay attention to philosophy.
There are three eternal entities in existence
We are not the only ones existing! There are two entities besides us.
(Verse) 12th mantra of the 1st chapter of the Shvetashvatara Upanishad
This mantra is in many other Upanishads and Vedic Scriptures as well
It is the 11th verse of the 9th chapter of the Narad Parivrajaka Upanishad as well
The mantra says there are three eternal entities in existence. 'Him', 'I', and 'this'.
'Him' refers to God. And you all know whom the 'I' refers to, right?
No, actually you don't. Never mind, I will tell you.
When you say "Ramesh died today"
What is your experience? His body is lying there and Ramesh has passed away.
So the one who has left the body and passed away, that is the 'I'.
It has many names – some call it atma, some call it jeev, some call it soul
You can name it whatever you want, but that 'I' is different from the body.
That is why the one you always called Ramesh
"Ramesh came here" or "Ramesh went to Bombay, to Delhi"
Today, when that Ramesh has left the body and passed away
you say "We have to cremate the body"
You want to cremate Ramesh?!
"No, no, Ramesh has passed away."
That means you all know what passed away is the actual 'I' – the soul.
Then why do you consider yourself to be the body?
There it is!
Uddhav asked God in the Bhagavatam: "Who is a fool?"
God replied (Verses 11.19.40-45): "There is no bigger fool than he who considers the soul to be the body."
And such fools are all of us. All!
Yes there are a few exceptions – Tulsidas, Surdas, Meera, Nanak, Tukaram, Shankaracharya, Vallabhacharya etc.
But all others are fools!
But if someone calls you a fool – "Hey! What did you say? I will pull your tongue out!"
And you didn't even stop at the body – you went on ahead!
"I am a Brahmin", "I am a Kshatriya", "I am a Vaishya", "I am a Shudra".
And then even further! "I am a Punjabi", "I am a Bengali", "I am a Gujarati"
You have cultivated so many illnesses!
You are a soul! Why don't you keep it simple?
So, 'Him' is God, 'I' is the soul and 'this' is Maya.
These are the three eternal entities
They have existed since eternity, and will exist for eternity.
Pay attention! None of these three created any of the others!
Secondly, none of these three can destroy any of the others!
Yes, not even God. No one can destroy an eternal entity.
And understand this as well - if all three are eternal, then no one is senior to the other!
The Vedas do say that all souls are sons of God.
But here the father is not senior! The father and sons are the same age.
The Vedas say this repeatedly - (Verse)
"All souls are born from God"
That was the 1st section of the 3rd part of the Taittiriya Upanishad
From whom all souls originate, by whom they are maintained, and into whom they are absorbed
That is the "Him", or God.
And another name for God? (Taittiriya Upanishad 3.6)
Another name for God is Ananda or Happiness
Second name? Chitananda Third name? Satchitananda.
Understand these three names. First is Satchitananda.
When the Sat merges into Chit, He is called Chitananda
When both Sat and Chit dissolve into Ananda, then God is called Ananda.
So, He is Ananda or Bliss.
And what are we to Him?
A tiny part of Him!
Tiny part? We are a tiny piece of God?
God cannot have parts or pieces
(Gita 2.23-24)
Even the soul cannot be partitioned. How can God?
That which can be broken into parts is not eternal.
We are not really parts. We are just called parts because - (Shat Sandarbh 3.39.1)
We are an energy of God. Yes, this makes sense.
(Gita 7.4-5)
(Vishnu Purana verse 6.7.61)
We are God's energy - parashakti or superior, higher energy
Then there is His aparashakti – meaning lower or inferior energy – Maya
Why do I call a power of God inferior?
Because it is lifeless, like this hanky
It doesn't have senses, mind, intellect or consciousness
It's inert, unconscious – like this mud. You walk on this mud every day.
This is made of that same Maya.
So because we are an energy of God, we are called His part or fraction.
We are also called His parts because all our relationships are with Him alone.
Subala Upanishad 6.4 states that God is our Mother, Father, Brother, Home, Shelter, Friend and Goal
Gita 9.18 says that God is the Goal, Sustainer, Master, Witness, Refuge
Guardian, Well-wisher, Creation, Destruction, and Preservation of all
Lord Kapil tells His mother in Bhagavatam 3.25.38 – (Verse)
"I am the soul's everything – Mother, Father, Guru ... Everything!"
So for this reason also we are called a tiny part of God
The Vedanta also declares in many aphorisms - (Verses)
All these aphorisms of the Vedanta say that all souls are tiny parts of God
Bhagavatam 10.87.20 also declares all souls to be a tiny part of God
God Himself openly declares in the Gita that all souls are His eternal fractions (Gita 15.7)
So because we are a tiny fraction of bliss ...
all souls, without anyone teaching them to
naturally and eternally seek, and have to seek, only bliss
Until we attain happiness, our every work
from thought to action will be for Happiness alone
Now the question is - how do we attain this Happiness?
We want the divine happiness of God.
Understand in simple terms: we are His fractions and thus we seek Him. Simple.
Other than Him, there is Maya which we have attained a lot of in endless lifetimes.
You are all here in this earth planet. You are enjoying the "happiness" of this world - you are crying daily!
You have heard there is a Swarga or celestial heaven. Or just believe it.
When your relatives die, you say "They went to heaven"
because you think there is happiness there - "father attained heaven"
All who died, you speak of them as residents of heaven!
All of them went to heaven!
Now listen to what the Vedas say.
(Verses)
Mundaka Upanishad verses 1.2.7-10 tell us
that monumental fools - not even ordinary ones – strive for heaven and attain it
So don't write again that your father went to heaven
It's not respect, it's an insult!
It implies he was so terribly foolish that he went there
And not just the Vedas
Gita verses 9.21, 9.25, 14.18, 5.22, 7.20, 7.23, 8.16
All these verses confirm that seekers of heaven are great fools
They can stay only for a short while and then have to return again
And even that short stay is filled with the same lust, anger, greed and attachment.
Then where is happiness?
With all these diseases, happiness is impossible.
Even Indra, emperor of heaven, is miserable – what to speak of others?
He has so many celestial women
and yet got infatuated with sage Gautam' wife - a dirty human body!
The human body is the dirtiest of all!
You all know this. You start sweating even as you finish bathing.
The sweat stinks to anyone who smells it. Such a dirty body!
Such is the emperor Indra's condition! What to speak of the common public there?
Even the Bhagavatam – verses 11.14.11, 11.19.18, 11.10.26, 9.5.25, 11.3.20, 11.25.22, 2.10.41
You can read in these how much heaven has been insulted.
So the Vedas to the Ramayan all say this - (Verse, Ramcharitmanas)
Because this is a world of Maya
Maya has three gunas or modes – goodness, passion and ignorance.
(Shvetashvatara Upanishad 4.5)
Maya is red on this planet where you all are
It is white in the celestial heavens, and black in the hellish abodes
But all three worlds are under Maya, and with Maya comes sorrow
Lust, anger, greed, attachment are Maya's servants and will remain
No one can dare remove them.
So, God alone is left now
Hence the Vedas say - (Verse)
Pay attention
Shvetashvatara Upanishad 6.23
He who practices devotion to both God and a God-realized Guru
can attain the divine bliss of God
You'll have to practice devotion to both.
Not a Guru who gives you mantras in the ear - (Mundaka Upanishad 1.2.12)
The Guru must be a knower of the Scriptures, plus must have already attained God-realization.
He must possess Divine Love and Happiness.
Such a Guru.
This mantra is so important
it is repeated in Yogashikha Upanishad 2.22
and Subala Upanishad 16.1 and Shatyayani Upanishad 37
Shvetashvatara Upanishad also says the same thing
(Verse)
The soul that surrenders to God will receive His grace and attain divine happiness
(Verse)
Shvetashvatara Upanishad. The first one was 3.17. This one is 5.14.
These Vedic mantras say that only by surrender and devotion will God bestow His grace by which we will attain happiness.
Yogashikha Upanishad again states - (Verse)
That Supreme Power will be attained only by Bhakti (devotion)
(Mathara-Shruti)
No soul can cross over Maya of its own ability.
The Vedas say - (Verse)
Narayana Upanishad 4.1
(Verse, Atharva Veda)
(Verses, Rig Veda)
(Verse, Atharva Veda)
(Brahma Sutra)
Countless Vedic mantras say that only by devotion will we get God's grace
And then will God give you the happiness that you seek.
The biggest non-dualist of the Bhagavatam is Uddhav
He had knowledge equal to God's! (Bhagavatam 3.4.31)
God states that Uddhav is no less than Him!
That Uddhav asks God: (Bhagavatam 11.14.1)
He is answered in great detail (Verse)
"I am attainable only by devotion. All other austerities, sacrifices, knowledge etc. cannot attain Me"
That was Bhagavatam 11.14.21
(Bhagavatam 11.14.23)
(Bhagavatam 11.14.22)
No matter how perfect his religious activities or how great his non-dualist knowledge
God says: neither can he cross over Maya nor attain Me
But when he lovingly remembers Me and sheds tears
then his heart will get purified
Otherwise even the heart cannot be purified, forget attaining God
And this even the original Jagadguru Shankaracharya has accepted
He says: (Verse, Prabodhasudhakar)
Without devotion to the lotus feet of Krishna, the heart will not be purified.
The first step is to purify the heart – whether you follow the path of non-dualism or devotion
Shankaracharya said: "Come to me only after your mind is pure."
And how to purify? "Do devotion, whatever you need to".
He instructed his own mother to practice devotion to Krishna
And he himself practiced devotion! (Verse, Prabodhasudhakar)
He says he doesn't even want liberation!
(Verse, Prabodhasudhakar)
I have become a honeybee at the lotus feet of Krishna. I think of Him alone.
Shankaracharya is saying this!
(Verse) Shankaracharya has said this in the Vedanta Siddhanta Sara Sangrah
(Verse) Shankaracharya has said this in the Vivek Chudamani
So, there is no path other than the one through the gateway of Devotion.
(Ramcharitmanas) "God cannot be attained without love. Try Yoga, Japa, Gyan or Vairyagya all you want."
Do anything you want - but you will only revolve in this world of Maya.
You'll go to heaven and come back, that's all.
Only through devotion will God bestow His grace.
God's grace! By grace alone will our job be done.
Our efforts cannot attain God. They can only purify our mind.
And only devotional practice can do this. Other spiritual practices cannot even purify the mind.
Neither honest and charitable religious rituals
nor austere non-dualistic practice
Neither can even purify the heart - what to speak of God-realization?
So only by devotion can attain our goal be attained.
The Bhagavatam begins with Shaunak and other perfected sages asking Suta Ji
(Verse) "What is the ultimate goal and how is it attained?"
He began to answer but they said, "Hold on."
"What's the matter?"
"Kali Yuga is approaching. People will have weak memories and small intellects."
(Verses)
Those were Bhagavatam 1.1.9-11
"So tell us that which will give the happiness the souls seek, and yet be possible for the humans of Kali Yuga."
He answered: (Bhagavatam 1.2.6)
Listen carefully, O Sages! The Kali Yuga souls should:
1. Practice devotion to Krishna
2. Do it ceaselessly, and
3. Do it selflessly.
These are the three conditions.
We people do practice devotion to Krishna
But at the same time we also do devotion to celestial gods, humans, and even spirits and ancestors!
No, it must be focused, selfless, continuous and ceaseless devotion.
There all these conditions.
If there is such devotion then by God's grace, divine love and happiness will be attained.
Parikshit asks later on - (Bhagavatam 1.19.38)
"I have only seven days before I am to be killed by Takshak"
"What should I do to attain my goal as soon as possible? There are many kinds of devotion."
Shukadev replies in Bhagavatam 2.1.5 – (Verse)
Do three things, O Parikshit
First, listen to the lectures of a genuine God-realized Saint
If you listen to random pundits you will be lost
They have incomplete knowledge and will misguide you
"Do so many chants, march around on pilgrimages, do so many Pujas, read so many books"
And this is what you and the entire world are doing - devotion with the senses
But the mind is firmly attached to the world, and is not changing a bit
"I practice devotion for two hours, for four hours"
What devotion? How many tears did you shed in longing for God?
"None"
Then what devotional practice did you do? You are just cheating your own soul!
So, first listen to a bona fide God-realized Saint
Next is the kirtan (chanting) which you all do
But the foremost devotional practice is remembrance or meditation on God's form
Here all have failed
Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Sikh, the whole world is making this one mistake.
The mind's thoughts should be on God but they are not.
The devotion of remembrance.
Don't say Ram or Shyam even once and you will still attain God - if your mind is attached to Him.
Just as a fish suffers without water – so should be your condition in yearning to meet Krishna
That's it! Don't say a word.
If speaking was essential, the dumb would have asked for free God-realization.
They can't speak!
But God says, "I am here for the dumb as well. You have a mind - attach it to me."
Attach your senses if you have them. Else, don't.
I don't see the devotion of the senses, only of the mind.
Again Shukadev says in Bhagavatam 2.2.34 - (Verse)
Brahma pondered over the Vedas three times and arrived at one conclusion
"O humans, don't read the Scriptures or you'll be entangled and lost!"
Do what I tell you. Just practice devotion to Krishna.
Don't hear, read, think or do anything else.
(Bhagavatam 2.2.36) - Again Brahma states the same three kinds of devotion
Hearing, chanting and remembering.
This is repeated in 11.3.27 - (Verse)
Where the nine supreme yogis tell King Nimi to hear, chant and meditate on God
And in the end Veda Vyas says that even hearing and chanting are external activities
Just do one thing: just remember God (Verse)
(Verse) This is Padma Purana 71.100
Just remember God, nothing else needs to be done
"But we have never seen God. How will we remember Him?"
This is what you will discuss on your way home
No need to see Him. God is so merciful that He will accept whatever form we make.
When Aghasur was killed by God, he attained God's abode
When Parikshit heard this from Shukadev, he asked
"How did such a demon attain God's abode? He was going to eat all of Krishna's friends."
Shukadev said - (Bhagavatam 10.12.39)
When even the form of God made in man's material mind can lead to God-realization
Then when God Himself entered in his mouth, will he not attain God's abode?
So make any form you like, and God will accept it as real and give you real results.
When God comes before you, He will come in His real form. Not your imagined one.
So don't worry, make it as you like.
Everyone's likes are different
Some like Krishna dark, some fair
Some like Him tall, some short. Some as a baby, some as a youth.
Some may even like Krishna as an old man!
God will become all of these! (Shvetashvatara Upanishad 4.3)
It says God even becomes an old man with a walking stick!
God becomes a Man-Lion and even a Boar!
He will become whatever you like (Bhagavatam 3.9.11)
So there is no problem now
Make any form you like, decorate Him as you like
Feed Him whatever you like, serve Him as you like
But all with the mind!
There are eight kinds of Deities - (Bhagavatam 11.27.12)
Of these eight, you know the stone Deity the most
But there is also the Deity made in the mind.
The stone Deity will look the same everyday
But the mind Deity can keep changing!
A small Krishna, a little bigger, then even bigger.
You desire to offer a diamond necklace to the stone Krishna
and are saddened you can't afford even a gold necklace
But in the mind, you can offer the most divine necklace of millions of diamonds
To make it in the mind costs no money!
So Kripalu's advice is to just meditate on the form of God in the mind.
At all times and places. No need to wash or prepare yourself.
(Hari-Bhakti-Vilas 11.408) No restrictions on place, time or cleanliness
Meditate on God even in the latrine, pub and bathroom. Do it at all times, everywhere.
Just as you love your mother, father and children everywhere
Your son is seriously ill. You sit even in the latrine and think, "His fever is 108 – let him not die."
All the time! God is equally everywhere (Ramcharitmanas)
Pilgrimage places are important because Saints live there
not because some big God lives there
God is equally present everywhere
When Hiranyakashipu challenged Prahlad, "Is your God in this pillar?"
Prahlad said, "Yes. He is even in your heart."
"What nonsense" He broke the pillar with a blow. He was so strong!
Lord Narasimha appeared. "Yes, I am everywhere. Even in a demon's heart."
"A dirty place cannot make Me dirty. I purify the impure – the impure cannot soil Me."
So there are no rules or laws. You just have to love.
Like you love your parent, spouse or child. You have to love God with the mind.
Everywhere and at all times.
"He is with me." Realize this.
This will happen by practice, not by listening to lectures.
Initially practice every hour.
After each hour think "He is sitting inside me."
No one will know what you are thinking! Your mind is within, hidden to them!
Then do it every half hour.
Just for a second - "He is sitting inside. I am not alone!"
You have to practice this. It will take a month or two of effort.
After that you will not be able to forget Him!
We will never think ourselves alone any more.
When you are about to do something wrong, He will say, "Hey! I am sitting inside. I will note your actions!"
We will never be able to sin!
When someone comes we say "Please come"
but privately think "Why did this scoundrel come here?"
and externally we say "Welcome dear sir, you don't visit me enough"
Sitting inside, God notes this quietly. Without telling us.
So always be mindful – "He is sitting inside".
And in any hours of free time, shed tears and increase your eagerness to meet God.
Don't ask Him for anything!
If you must ask, ask for His Love and His Vision. Nothing else!
Practicing like this will purify the mind.
Then comes the Guru's job
He will make your mind divine and give you that divine love and God-realization.
Then this disease of Maya - with its lust, anger, greed, attachment, the three modes etc. – will all end.
And then you will attain God's abode and divine body, divine knowledge and divine bliss forever.
Forever will you become wealthy!
With these words, today's discourse comes to an end.
All glories to Krishna, the Lord of Dwarika!!!
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