Author: Purushottam Nitai Das

Devotee Care Seminar at Iskcon Kolkata

Almost around 12 years back when I was studying I had visited Iskcon Chowpatty, Mumbai, temple where I saw HG Radha Gopinath Prabhu. I had heard a lot about him so had the curiosity to see him so I just started looking at him. Since he is tall so I had to look up, he might have thought who is this person gazing at me so he looked at me and I immediately put my eyes down. As he being very senior and a role model for thousands of devotees I did not have the courage to go and speak to him personally.

Later whenever I attended Kartik Yatra organized by Iskcon Chowpatty, Mumbai, I used to see him and once during Kartik Yatra in Mayapur I saw him and my spiritual master HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj speaking to each other intimately.  I was sitting little far and was observing them although I could not hear anything.

It is said that Krishna is merciful and he reciprocates with the desires of all living entities. I always had this desire to associate with HG Radha Gopinath Prabhu closely and get his personal guidance.

So when I came to know that there will be a four day ‘Devotee Care’ seminar in Kolkata and it will be conducted by HG Radha Gopinath Prabhu then without giving it a second thought I immediately enrolled for it.  Out of four days two days were on weekdays (Thursday & Friday)  which is working day for me but still I decided to manage somehow.

And I was not disappointed. During the seminar I got the association of Prabhuji, I even got an opportunity to have one to interaction and personal guidance from him. The seminar and his personal association cleared many of my misconceptions which I had about the spiritual life.  He answered almost all of my questions patiently and to my full satisfaction. He shared many real life cases where the devotees who have been practicing devotional life feel tremendous challenges in their devotional journey. The problem is not with the practice but incorrect or incomplete application of devotional principles in our life.

I would like to share some of the principles and examples he shared during the seminar and also when I had one to one interaction with him.  This particular Devotee Care Seminar was mostly for the leaders and the care givers. The purpose of the course was to help leaders to equip themselves with certain traits which would help him to provide care to the devotee community.

However here my purpose is to discuss only those points and examples which underlines why devotee care is must.

Why the need for Devotee Care?

In the last 50 years of Iskcon history it has been observed that the devotees in due course of time start facing challenges while pursuing their devotional life.  This is the reason why after being in Iskcon movement for several years many devotees feel dissatisfied and in some cases devotees even quit Iskcon. Acknowledging the gravity of the situation Iskcon leaders decided to do an exhaustive study to understand the needs and concern of the devotees. They even took help of experts outside Iskcon.

Subsequently a “Devotee Care Committee”  was formed which came up with the vision and mission statement.

Vision of DCC

“Every devotee is spiritually happy and materially well- situated, positively identifying with ISKCON as a caring Society. Each devotee (a) responsibly looks after his or her diverse needs (b) can easily and successfully seek qualified help within society, and (c) wholeheartedly extends that care to others.” (Devotee Care Education, Student Handbook, Chapter: The Mandate for Devotee Care, pg 10)

Twelve areas of Devotee Care

Twelve main areas where devotees need care were identified –  Spiritual Life, Healthcare (Physical) & Healthcare (Mental/Emotional), Marriage, Sex & Relationships, Child – rearing and child – care, Education, Career and Employment, Financial, Housing, Travel and Immigration, Consumer and Lifestyle, Legal and civic, Mediation Advice.

When devotees across the world where consulted to identify the three most important areas of Devotee Care out of twelve then 82% choose Healthcare (Mental/Emotional), 66% choose Education and 54% choose Spiritual Life.

In order to lead a healthy spiritual life it is important that our physical, psychological, emotional and bodily needs are well taken care. Else we may look externally healthy but internally we may be weak and any moment we may drop down like a dead tree.

A tree can withstand mighty storms only if it has deep and strong roots and its branches and stems are robust.

Radha Gopinath Prabhu explained an important lesson which we can learn from the life of a tree.

In a tree roots are the most important because it holds the tree but so are branches and stems which provides stability to the trees. And a tree without leaves, flowers or fruits is good for nothing.

We should grow our spiritual roots

Spiritual practices like chanting the holy names, following regulative principles, reading holy books are like growing the roots which strengthen our inner foundation and holds us strong.  A tree without roots won’t survive similarly a life which does not have deep spiritual roots will crumble down at the whiff of a wind.

Strive for Stability

Trunks, stems and branches give stability to the tree, it holds the tree firmly to the ground even during storms.

Similarly taking care of our physical, mental, emotional and financial needs provide stability to our material life. If our material life is stable then without much anxiety we can utilize our energy in practicing devotional life.  Suppose that we are suffering from stomachache, severe headache or fever then to chant the holy names of Krishna becomes difficult. If we are having relationship problems with our spouse then we will constantly feel  miserable and it will affect our spiritual practices.  If we are not sincere in our jobs then we will be a poor performer and will always fear losing job which again will affect our spiritual life.

So we should proactively take care of our physical, emotional and financial needs.

Serve Selflessly

The crown of the tree consisting of leaves, twigs, flowers and fruits serve the society selflessly. Similarly devotees should serve the society without any selfish motives as per the guidelines of holy books and holy sages. Flowers and fruits grow only on those trees which have strong roots and branches. Similarly we can serve others properly only when we have a strong spiritual foundation and a healthy body and mind.

But sometimes we see that some devotees say that you don’t have to put in much efforts Krishna will take care of everything.  Yes it is true Krishna always takes care of everything but he has also laid down the process by which things functions.  Krishna took care of Arjuna during the battle at Kurushetra but it was Arjuna who was shooting the arrows.   In this world we cannot be passive we need to be proactive.

Yes we find many examples in the scriptures where devotees’ needs were automatically taken care by Krishna even when the devotees did not try for it.

Example is of Srivas Thakura in Caitanaya lila. He used to clap three times and Krishna would arrange food for him. Kolavecha Sridhar was oblivious to his bodily needs so was Jada Bharata. So how do we understand this.

Can a six month old child lift a one kg weight? No. Because his muscles have not developed sufficiently. He may even break his bones while trying to lift the weight.

So while taking any steps we first need to analyze our spiritual strengths and act accordingly and not just foolishly try to imitate the footsteps of self-realized souls.

Srivas Thakura, Kolavecha Sridhar, Jada Bharata and other great souls were absorbed in chanting and glorifying the Lord 24 hours a day. They did not bother about their worldly needs because they had transcended the modes of material nature.  Can we artificially think that we are at that stage of bhakti and start imitating them?  Rupa Goswami used to drink one teaspoonful of milk a day? Can we do so? Haridas Thakura lived with a snake in a cave and chanted 192 rounds of Hare Krishna Mahamantra daily without even thinking of food, water and sleep. Can we do so? Obviously no. Then why to imitate them. Instead we should do things as per the instructions given by them to us.

There are nine stages of bhakti and most of us are currently stuck in anartha – nivritti stage i.e. we are trying to cleanse our hearts of the impurities like lust, greed, pride, anger, envy, illusion, false ego. We need to understand that we are souls currently residing within a contaminated material body and in the material world. In Bhagavad Krishna teaches how this material world functions and how to take care of our gross and subtle body while living in this world.

If we try to portray ourselves as great souls then internally we will always be miserable.

Miserable monk

There was a celibate monk (brahmachari) living in a temple. Before becoming a monk he had relationship with a girl and he had committed that he will marry her. But after he joined the temple as a monk the girl asked him to fulfill his promise but the brahmachari was unwilling to do so. It was not that the brahmachari had lost attraction for the girl but he did not want to accept that he still had attraction for the opposite sex. He tried his best to not reveal his inner desire to others for several weeks but internally he was torn apart, he was miserable. And one day in front of senior brahmacharis he broke down and with tears in his eyes he accepted that he is pretending that he has no liking for her.  He was advised to get married to her. It’s not that he left devotional life after getting married, in fact now as a householder he is practicing his devotional life along with his wife with sincerity.

It does not matter whether one is a householder or in a renounced order of life if one is performing all his duties by keeping Krishna in the centre and is always absorbed in Krishna then his life is successful.

A brahmana & a prostitute

There was a brahmana and in front of his ashram lived a prostitute. The brahmana hated the prostitute like anything. He would constantly look out of the window and count how many people are going in and coming out.

On the other hand the prostitute would constantly think that what abominable life she has to live because of her past sins. And she had great respect for the brahmana. She would think how fortunate he is because he can always remain absorbed in chanting the holy names of the Lord. She had a great desire to live a pure life.

One day somehow both the brahmana and the prostitute died.  So there came the Visnuduttas and Yamaduttas. The brahmana thought that the Visnuduttas have come for him to take him to the kingdom of God but he was surprised to see that the Visnuduttas went towards the house of the prostitute and the Yamaduttas came to him.  Surprised, he asked the Yamaduttas – I was a celibate monk engaged always in worshipping the Lord so the Visnuduttas should have come for me and not you? For what sins I have to be punished?

The Yamaddutas replied, “Although externally you worshipped the Lord but your consciousness did not get purified because you were not absorbed in serving the Lord but you foolishly meditated on the activities of the prostitute and so you incurred sins for which you need to be punished.

The prostitute although was leading a sinful life but she always prayed to Lord to free her from all the sins. She had a deep desire to lead a pure life like you because she respected you. Although externally she was forced to lead an abominable life but internally, she always remained absorbed in meditating on the holy names of God which eventually purified her from all past sins. And since she had a great desire to be with the lord, to serve the Lord, to be with the devotees of the Lord so the Visnuduttas, the servants of Lord Vishnu, have come to take her to the abode of Lord Vishnu.

Both Arjuna and Duryodhana were fighting and killing their opponents during the Kurushetra war.  Externally both were engaged in similar activities. But Arjuna was fighting to protect the dharma as per the guidance of Krishna while Duryodhana was doing it to fulfill his wanton desires. Arjuna got the mercy of Krishna whereas Duryodhana had to suffer for his sins.

So based on our psyhco physical nature we need to identify our roles and responsibilities and then do our duty sincerely as per the directive of the scriptures.

We should ensure that while taking care of our physical, emotional and financial needs we should not get obsessed with it so that it starts affecting our spiritual life. The purpose of addressing our material necessities is to make sure that we practice devotional life throughout our life with sincerity else our life will be a waste.

Seminar was interactive, it helped us to dive deep into the subject matter to understand the needs of the devotees.

I have been associated with Iskcon for more than 14 years and I strongly feel that this seminar is a must for all the devotees.

Most of the devotees in due course of time develop good philosophical understanding but how to implement the teachings of the scriptures in their lives based on time, place and circumstances is lacking.

Seminars like this equip us with sastric understanding which help us to practice devotion to Krishna and serve the mission of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

Muslim man’s love for Lord Rama

In this hate filled atmosphere it was heartening to read in The New Indian Express that a Muslim man sincerely serves in a Ram Mandir located in Rajajinagar, Bengaluru.

Saddam Hussein, a muslim man, has taken the responsibility of cleaning the temple of Lord Rama. Not just he keeps the temple premises free from dust but he also cleans the deity of Lord Rama, Mother Sita, Lakshmana and Hanuman.

As Ramnavami is approaching so along with other devotees Saddam Hussein is doing his job religiously to make sure that devotees do not face any difficulty on the festival day.  

As per the custom of the temple, the deity of Lord Rama is taken in a chariot in the town on Ram Navami day. Saddam Hussein also looks after the chariot and carries out many mock drills so that nothing goes wrong during the procession.

Saddam Hussein does his work with earnestness and without any complaint.

When The New Indian Express asked how does people react when they see him serving in the temple , he said ““There are two kinds of people — one, who appreciate me for doing this job, the second pass comments on my work. I just greet them with a smile,’’

Lord Rama, the Supreme Lord, the best well-wishing friend of all, always wish to see smile on our faces.  He does not want us to be agents of hate but he wants us to be agents of peace.

In fact Lord Rama appeared in the mortal world to deliver this message only. If we study the life of Lord Rama without any prejudice we would find that through his personal example he has taught us how we should defeat the evil which is present in our hearts and how we should fill our hearts with love.

On this Ram Navami let us all take a pledge to spread the message of peace and harmony in our family, in our society, in our country, this would be a perfect gift to Lord Rama.

After saying Hinduism has become “most violent” Urmila Matondkar says “Hinduism is an epitome of peace”

A BJP worker, Suresh Nakhua, filed a complaint against Bollywood actress, Urmila Matondkar, who is a Congress’s Lok Sabha candidate from Mumbai North Constituency, for her remarks against Hinduism in an interview to Rajdeep Sardesai of India Today.  Congress President Rahul Gandhi and journalist Rajdeep Sardesai has also been named in the complaint.

In the interview she can be heard as saying that the “Religion [Hinduism] known for its tolerance has turned out to be most violent.”

#Exclusive
.@OfficialUrmila on why she joined Congress just a month before elections.
Watch #Countdown with @sardesairajdeep
Live: https://t.co/4fqxBVUizL pic.twitter.com/5BofffXGWX

— IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) April 4, 2019

It appears Rajdeep Sardesai allowed her to make the statement and get away with it.

He did not ask the counter question as why she is maligning the entire Hindu community. Imagine if anyone would have said something similar about any other religion then today the print and the electronic media would have pounced upon the person and the party. Editorials would have been written and the secular journalists along with their secular friends would have spent hours discussing how India has now become intolerant.

However Urmila Matondkar has clarified that she has been grossly misquoted and she has not said anything which will hurt the sentiments of the Hindus. In a statement she said, “Hinduism is an epitome of peace, inclusiveness and non violence. I believe in Hinduism which embraces benevolent concepts of ‘Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam‘ (The whole world is a family) and ‘Ahimsa Paramodharma’ (non violence). This is the Hinduism promoted by our great forefathers and Lokmanya Tilak, Gandhiji, Vivekanand and Sardar Patel…I believe in love, and respect Hinduism in this sense and not in what BJP wants to promote.”

If she has such respect for Hinduism then what was the compulsion for her to initially say something which painted Hindus as violent people.

It could be possible that she wanted to please the powerful people of the secular eco system so she said “Hinduism has turned out to be the most violent religion.” Because in India to be secular it is extremely important that you do or say something which hurts the sentiments of the Hindus. Remember how alleged congress workers in Kerala brutally killed a calf publicly, chopped its body into pieces, cooked it and ate it in full public view just because for Hindus cows are sacred.  

Meanwhile Urmila’s twitter account is now filled with pictures where she could be seen visiting and seeking blessings of the Lord in a temple dressed in a sari and with a big bindi.

Visited Bhatladevi Mandir in Dahisar. What a blissful experience. 😇#AapliMumbaichiMulagi pic.twitter.com/vYhl9IVMfU

— Urmila Matondkar (@UrmilaMatondkar) April 8, 2019

Ram Navami celebration at New Town by Iskcon Kolkata

A grand Ram Navami festival was organized by Iskcon Kolkata at Rabindra Tirtha Auditorium, Narkel Bagan, New Town on 7th April 2019.  The devotees of New Town especially from NBCC, Uniworld, Jalvayu Towers, Greenfield, Alka Abasan society actively participated in organizing the program.

The program began with the recitation of Ramcharit Manas by the kids followed by dance drama by kids. My wife, Kanchana Madhavi, along with other ladies were training the kids for last few weeks and there efforts brought wonderful results.

Shantanu Prabhu, an expert actor, presented a drama named, “Live from Lanka.” The drama was filled with humor which entertained the audience but simultaneously it also conveyed the important message that to live happily in this world we need to take shelter of Lord Rama and so we should constantly chant Jai Sri Rama! (Shubha ho ya syam sirf bolo Jai Shri Rama)

Sri Nitai Prabhu who is currently actively preaching in New Town gave a talk on the topic “R.A.M for Prosperity and Positivity.”  Using the acronym R.A.M. he explained how we all can practically apply the teachings of Lord Rama in our life which will bring peace and prosperity.

He explained:

R stands for Reality. The truth of this world is that there is suffering in this world. But many of us refuse to accept this reality and hope that the problems will automatically disappear one day. But when problem continues we become miserable.  The other reality of this world is that for all the problems there are solutions. And to find permanent solution to all our problems we need to be with the right kind of people which brings us to the second letter of the word RAM

A stand for Association. Saintly people who live their life as per the teachings of sacred literature can provide the best solution to all our problems. So we should Associate with holy people whenever possible.  If we refuse to live in the company of genuine spiritual personalities then we are going to suffer like Ravana who kicked out his saintly brother, Vibhishan, from his kingdom.

M stands for the ‘Might of the Holy Name’:  The holy names of the Lord is so powerful that it can make a stone float in the water. So we can just imagine what miracle can happen in our life if we take shelter of the holy name of Lord Rama. The Supreme Lord’s name can help us cross the ocean of miseries and fill our life with unlimited happiness.

Participation of kids made the event colourful. Be it anchoring or dance or drama or songs  the little armies of Lord Rama led from the front.  As cute little monkeys they were carrying big rocks on which in big letter “RAM” was written to build the bridge on the ocean. They were enthusiastically throwing the rocks in the ocean while loudly chanting Jai Shree Ram! Their enthusiasm even enthused hundreds of audience to chant Jai Shri Ram!

At the end there was Pushpa Abhishek of Lord Rama, Mother Sita and Lakshman accompanied with melodious kirtan. 108 special food items which were cooked by different devotees were offered to the Lord.

At the end everyone enjoyed different delicacies which were offered to the Lord along with dinner prasadam.  

The celebration helped to re-kindle the love which we all have for Lord Rama. Lord Rama’s beautiful form got imprinted in the hearts of all.

How to give up bad habits and develop new habits?

Why we distributed Bhagavad Gita on Christmas day?

We decided to celebrate 25^th Dec i.e. the birthday of Jesus Christ by distributing the transcendental teachings of Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.  Jesus Christ is the messenger of God, the son of God. He appeared in this world to free the suffering souls from the miseries of material existence and wanted us all to return to the kingdom of God. And Bhagavad Gita, one of the most sacred and popular literatures of the world, informs us how we can attain liberation from material miseries and return back home back to godhead.

When Srila Prabhupada started disseminating the unadulterated teachings of Gita then it immediately attracted the people all over the world. Be it a Hindu, a Muslim, a Christian or people from any other religion they started appreciating the message of Gita.  “Bhagavad – Gita As It Is”  written by Prabhupada has widely got distributed in almost every country of the world, have got translated in almost all the languages of the world.

Srila Prabhupada had a desire that everyone should read and distribute this literature to as many people as possible.

So we thought that 25^th Dec being a Christmas holiday we should utilize our time in sharing the knowledge of Gita with other people.

We were total 15 devotees and we planned to distribute books at Eco Park, Kolkata. It was estimated that more than 1.5 lakh people will come there on the festive season. We divided the task among ourselves.

Parthasarathi Prabhu, Sayak Prabhu, Ashok Prabhu, Gaurav Prabhu had the responsibility of identifying the place where we could put our table to distribute the books.

Biswa Swaroop Prabhu Prabhu was to collect the books from the Iskcon temple. He then came to my house so that we both can carry together table and other books which I had.

Although we had decided to start distributing books from 1:30 pm onwards but we could start only by 3:45 p.m. It was becoming very difficult to find the venue. Biswa Swaroop Prabhu and I was driving on the road for almost 2 hours searching for the venue.  We had initially thought of doing book distribution at Gate No: 2 of Eco Park but there were barricades everywhere. We then looked for Gate 3, Gate 4 and at Mother’s Wax Museum. Gate 3 and Gate 4 was not a good venue.

Mother’s Wax museum appeared to be a good place but meanwhile the devotees figured out that we can put up our book stall at Gate 1. But before taking the final decision we thought to analyse which would be a better venue – Gate 1 or Mother’s Wax museum.  Biswa Swaroop Prabhu and I were at the Wax museum.  Parthasarathi Prabhu and Sayak Prabhu came from Gate 1 to see the crowd at Wax museum. After short discussion we decided to go to Gate 1 of Eco Park.

So finally after hectic search we put up our book table at Gate 1.  Although the search was tiring but we got immediate reciprocation from Krishna. As soon as we put our table we saw people coming and buying Bhagavad Gita and other Vedic literatures.

Kirtan was playing in the background and devotees especially Ashok Prabhu, Gaurav Prabhu, Sayak Prabhu and Parthasarathi Prabhu were making announcement on mike narrating the glories of Bhagavad Gita, stating how Gita’s wisdom words can transform their lives.

Ashok Prabhu convinced a young boy to buy SSR – Science of Self Realization.  Parthasarathi Prabhu immediately distributed one Bhagavad Gita. Gaurav Prabhu took the books and went directly into the crowds to distribute the books and was able to convince people to buy it. Sayak Prabhu got immediate success and started distributing the books. Swarnavo Prabhu along with his father, Biswa Swaroop Prabhu, also started distributing. Swarnavo Prabhu was able to convince one of his teachers who had come to Eco Park to have Bhagavad Gita. Bijit Prabhu and Parthasarathi Prabhu’s father (HG Chinmoy Gokul Prabhu) also immediately got into the service of distributing the books. Later on Subramaniam Prabhu joined with his wife (Padmalaya mataji) and son, Satyavrat. My parents also joined.  

Service for the pleasure of Krishna has to be always followed by delicious prasadam.

And we had planned about it in advance. Priyanka Sukla mataji had prepared Bhel, Padmalaya mataji had prepared Pakoda, Ashok Prabhu brought sweets. While we were doing book distribution my wife (Kanchana Madhavi) was busy preparing Veg Biryani. We had thought after hectic day of service devotees   should not go back home to cook dinner.

I went to my house with Biswa Swaroop Prabhu to pick my wife and of course prasadam. We got terribly stuck in traffic jam. My house is just 2.5 km from Eco Park but it took almost 1 hour to reach my house. We immediately picked the prasadam and left for the venue.

It was already 7:30 p.m. but devotees were still enthusiastically distributing the books.  Now we thought that everyone should take prasadam.  So everyone sat together to relish the delicious prasadam. It was a spiritual picnic for all of us.

My wife who was at home cooking immediately began distributing the books. And she was able to inspire people to take Bhagavad Gita. One lady was eager to take the books but her husband was too adamant so she gave her at discounted rate.

This we observed that people are ready to spend their money in gratifying their senses, in watching non sensical movies, eating in restaurants but they feel great pain in spending few bucks to buy the sacred books. This is just one time purchase but it can transform their lives forever.

But it is also true that some are very eager to take the books. As a student of Gita and as follower of Srila Prabhupada we just have to keep on trying.

It was a great day for all of us. It was the best way to absorb ourselves in service of the Lord and serve the humanity by gifting them Bhagavad Gita which has transformed the lives of millions of people since time immemorial.

Desire for material gain ultimately goes in vain

We all want inner peace, feel satisfied and want to be happy.  And the best way to achieve this,we think, is by satisfying all our material desires.  We tell to ourselves, “Once I accomplish my goal or goals I would be the happiest person.”

The problem is that even if we succeed in fulfilling some of our material desires we find that it does not give the expected happiness which we had thought of.  And soon some other desires pops up in our hearts and we start putting in our best efforts to fulfill it hoping that achieving it will fill our hearts with immense joy and satisfaction.  But upon achieving it too happiness and peace eludes us. And again we start working on our new material desires. The cycle continues.  In fact the desire for material gain ultimately goes in vain.

The other challenge is that it is not always possible to getwhat we want in this world. And if the desires remain unfulfilled then it generates anger and our mind becomes agitated. We constantly feel miserable.

So the books of wisdom such as Bhagavad Gita teaches us that happiness does not lie in endeavoring hard to satiate our material desires but in controlling them with intelligence and patience. Bhagavad Gita (5.23) teaches us that the forces of speech, the forces of belly, the forces of sexual desires should be controlled. In fact the urges of senses and mind which have the potential to make us and keep us agitated should be nipped in the bud.

Just like a fish if taken out from water and put in a golden jar suffers terribly and ultimately die. Similarly our soul cries in pain if we try to satisfy it by feeding it dollops of worldly pleasures.

Having material opulence does not guarantee happy heart.  Ravana had kingdom made of gold, Hiranyakasipu had every luxury which we can think of but their hearts remained always devoid of peace and bliss.  If we try to extinguish fire by pouring gallons of petrol over it the fire will become more dangerous. Similarly the more the material desires we cultivate the more our hearts will be agitated.

We are parts and parcels of Krishna and so we can be satisfied and be happy only when we dovetail all our desires towards the service of Krishna.  As of now we have willfully severed our relationship with Krishna so the material world keeps us agitated with the waves of worldly desires.   

But if we start tolerating material desires and start cultivating spiritual desires by following the guidelines of sacred books our mind will become peaceful, heart will be satisfied and we would achieve perfection.

“Those who are free from anger and all material desires, who are self – realized, self –disciplined and constantly endeavoring for perfection, are assured of liberation in the Supreme in the very near future.” Bhagavad Gita 5.26.

Spiritual desires keeps us blissful in this world and guarantee Supreme destination in next life. 

Bedi Hanuman: Why Hanuman is bound by chains in Jagannath Puri

How can Hanuman be bound by chains? Who can dare to do so? And how can the Supreme Lord allow his Supreme devotee to be tied by chains?

These are some of the natural thoughts which any devotee of the Lord will have. But spiritual life and spiritual world is filled with many interesting incidents which gives us immense joy.

There is indeed one such pastime when Hanuman the famous devotee of Lord Rama was asked by Lord Jagannath to be bound by chains.

But Why?

Jagannath Puri dham is located on the shore of Bay of Bengal. And in the city we have the world famous temple of Lord Jagannath, the Lord of the entire universe.

It is said that as the temple is near the sea so the water of the sea used to enter the city and upto the temple bringing discomfort to the devotees. Once Varuna wanted to take darshan of the Lord so he went to the temple and as a result the city got flooded.

The residents wanted there should be someone who could prevent the water from the sea entering the temple town. Now who could do this herculean task. It is but natural that Lord Jagannath turned towards Hanuman who during the time of Lord Rama had easily crossed the ocean to find mother Sita.

Hanuman happily agreed. And everyone felt relieved and were happy.

 

But as the days passed Hanuman started becoming unhappy.

Why?

Because of the food which was given to him. It is said that during that time Lord Jagannath was only offered Khichdi (dish made from rice and lentils) as bhoga. And same was given to Hanuman also. He got fed up. He had the experience of enjoying delicious food in Ayodhya.

So one day he could not control himself and thought that let me go for sometime to Ayodhya and eat varieties of food as much as possible and then I will quickly return back to Puri.

So he went in the night to Ayodhya to savour the delicacies. But during his absence the sea entered the city. Everyone was wondering how it happened?

Soon they realized that Hanuman was not in town for brief time and had taken leave without approval.

 

Lord Jagannath ordered that Hanuman be tied by chains. Hanuman accepted his mistake and happily agreed to be tied. It is said that on every chain links name of Lord Rama is engraved.

This is why here Hanuman is also called Vedi Hanuman or Bedi Hanuman i.e. Hanuman bound by chains. He is also known as is Daria Mahavir.

What about the Prasadam?

While pleading his case Hanuman told to Lord Jagannath about the reason why he had to flee in the night to Ayodhya. Lord Jagannath understood the problem and it is said that from that day onwards it was decided that Lord Jagannath will be offered different varieties of food and Hanuman would also get the different delicacies. Hanuman was now pleased and he decided to remain there only.

From that day onwards the tidal waves have never entered the city, never disturbed the residents.

Hanuman became the guardian deity of SriKshetra.

11 unique features of Ram Rajya

After vanquishing the demon Ravana, establishing Vibhishana the king of Lanka and most importantly rescuing mother Sita, Lord Rama who was about to complete his 14 years of exile decided to return to Ayodhya.

 

As soon as the news spread in Ayodhya that Lord Rama will be returning there was jubilation. The citizens of Ayodhya had tears of joy in their eyes, desperately wanting to see the Lord they were cursing the time which they thought was delaying the arrival of their beloved Rama, their lips were singing the glories of Lord Rama. Leaving everything aside everyone immediately departed to Nandigram.

 

It was a festive atmosphere.  Bharat was surrounded by his ministers, priests and thousands of citizens. Learned Brahmanas were reciting Vedic mantras, experts musicians were playing musical instruments.

 

There were several chariots made of gold and were driven by horses decorated with many ornaments. The chariots had many colorful flags of different shapes and sizes..

 

There were soldiers wearing golden armour, beautiful ladies and many dancers. Many servants were carrying different paraphernalia like umbrella, whisks and many other important items.

 

As soon as Lord Rama descended from the Pushpak Viman Bharat ran to embrace the Lord. Carrying the sandals of Lord Rama in his own hands, he placed it in front of the lotus feet of Lord Rama and pleaded him to become the king of Ayodhya for the pleasure of the everyone.

 

Seeing their beloved Lord, everyone was dancing and singing in joy. When Lord Rama accompanied by all his beloved family members were riding through the streets of Ayodhysa the citizens were singing and dancing in joy.  Everywhere there was festive atmosphere. People were showering colourful and fragrant flowers on the way. People had lit their homes with ghee lamp to welcome the Lord.

 

Lord Rama accepted the throne of Ayodhya and as a king he ruled like a father taking care of his own children. Lord Rama’s rule was so unique and so virtuous that still today everyone wants Rama Rajya.

 

Let us see  the 11 unique features of Rama Rajya as described in Valmiki Ramayana.

• Lord Rama ruled the entire earth for 11,000 years.

• At that time Ayodhya was the capital city of the entire world.

• During the reign of Lord Rama the forest, the rivers, the mountains, the hills, the earth, all seven islands and seven seas provided all the necessities of life in abundance. There was no scarcity of food, clothing and shelter. There was no poverty because people were not greedy and they did not exploit the nature.

• There was no physical and mental suffering, no disease, no old age, no lamentation, no fear and no distress.

• There was no theft during his reign.

• Even the forest animals forgot their enmity and would not kill each other.

• All the citizens loved Lord Rama, they always discussed the Supreme Lord’s activities. He was the life and soul of everyone and all considered him and worshipped him as the Supreme Lord.

• People lived for several hundreds years happily and would have many children.

• Even the agents of death would fear to enter the kingdom. People would die only if they wanted to die.

• No women used to become widow.

• The whole earth had transformed into Vaikuntha, the abode of the Supreme Lord.

We can still enjoy the pleasure of Vaikuntha if we live as per the teachings of Lord Rama. Let us enthrone Lord Rama in our hearts, let us spread his glories and create a society where there is no suffering but there is only happiness.

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After 500 years of injustice, Lord Rama’s temple to be built in Ayodhya

How to be a doer and not just dreamer

You are reading an article in a magazine or a newspaper and you immediately think the author is saying the same thing which I already know. “May be I could have written the article too and could have added few more interesting points.”

Your friend comes from a job interview and tells you the questions which were asked. You fret – I could have easily answered these questions and might have got the job.

You think you can do but you never did.

You think you can succeed but you never made the endeavour to succeed.

You think you have the talent but you are still living a mediocre life.

If the above holds true for you then “welcome to the world of dreamers – the obsessive thinkers.”

While you may be thinking big, dreaming big in some corner of the world there will be someone who would have already started putting in best efforts to give shape to his/her ideas.

Doer do not sit idle. They hate to be idle. They relax by working hard. They enjoy their life while doing their work.

Dreamers hope it will happen. Doers do not rest till it happens.

In this world there are many dreamers but few doers. Many planners but few executers.

To be a doer contemplate on the following points

 

 

Stop thinking Start Acting

God is impartial so he has given 24 hours to everyone. So plan your day in advance and for the day plan your every hour. And monitor your hourly progress to see if you put your endeavour during that hour to pursue your goals. Or if you wasted your time in dreaming or idle gossips or reading and sending never ending whatsapp messages or updating facebook status.

 

True, it is always not easy to start it requires tremendous determination. So fight the forces which is stopping you to act now.

 

Have lots of patience

The proverb “Rome was not built in a day” may be too old but it still holds true. Nothing can be achieved immediately. Patience is a must. A woman cannot become mother as soon as she wants  she has to wait for 9 months. So don’t expect quick results. Many times we give up when we find we are not getting the results.

 

Foundation of a building requires lots of labour and during that time nothing is visible. But it is the most important part of the building, upon it multistorey building stands strongly withstanding the forces of nature.

 

Learn while doing

We need to have good knowledge to begin anything but could be possible that we may not be an expert in that area. There is theoretical understanding and practical understanding. If we start doing then during the journey we will gain precious knowledge which we may not get in books.

 

This is why big companies prefer to hire experienced professionals who have made their hands dirty while practically working on technology and not just learned scholars who knows all the definitions and have mastered the jargons.

 

I remember when a very experienced trainer wanted to work in a project my manager was reluctant to include her in the team. He felt that it will be difficult for her to practically apply the knowledge to solve business problems. The interesting fact is that she was the one who had trained the new resources on the technology on which we were supposed to work.

 

Learn while failing:

If you boast that you have never failed then could be possible that you never tried sufficiently.

 

If you want to enjoy the rains you should be ready to spoil your clothes.

 

If you want to achieve something big then you need to take the risk being fully aware that you may succeed or may not.  If you succeed then great.

 

But if not then it does not mean that you failed. During the course of your journey you will learn many vital lessons which will help you to move ahead in life.

 

 

After you start don’t stop

After you started your journey to accomplish your dream then you may lose motivation somewhere and stop pursuing your goals. Many people fail not because they lack the ability but because they refuse to continue. 

 

To keep yourself motivated always surround yourself with people who have positive attitude and who encourages you in your journey. Read the life story of great personalities.

 

One story which I like a lot is of Arjuna one of the most iconic personalities in Indian history. Arjuna was the hero of the epic Mahabharat war and was considered to be the best archer of the world. But he did not achieve this feat overnight, he worked hard for it.

 

Once when as a student Arjuna was in the ashram of his guru Dronoacharya he was taking food in the night and suddenly the lamp got extinguished because of wind. Arjuna continued eating. After sometime he thought although it is dark but still my hand easily finds my mouth. It is happening because I have a desire to eat so even the darkness is not able to stop me. So if my hunger to become the best archer of the world is strong then I can even practice archery in the night. And so from that day onwards Arjuna started honing his archery skills in the night also while rest others enjoyed sleep.

 

Read:Too Busy to Be Lazy

 

Read books which nourish your intelligence

As we need food to nourish our body so we need food to nourish our intelligence. Good books like Bhagavad Gita helps a lot in purifying our thought process and helping us to pursue our goals righteously with strong determination.

The books very logically talks about the actions which will guarantee failure and actions which will help us to not only achieve good results but also helps us to lead a better life to become a better human being.

 

If we work on the above guidelines then it can transform you and me from being a day dreamer to a doer.

 

As soon as we start acting God starts smiling – he guides us inspires us from within and happily gives us the desired result if we pursue our goal righteously.

 

Hard working people never fail they just learn and grow