The Supreme Lord gives us many opportunities to take his shelter

The Lord gives everyone an opportunity, or we can say many opportunities to come to the right path and take his shelter. But many times, we refuse his advances.

While constructing the Rama-setu bridge, the monkey – warriors used to write the name of Lord Rama on the stones and would throw them in the mighty ocean; the stones used to float.  Once Lord Rama Himself threw the stone in the ocean and surprisingly the stone sank.  When Hanuman saw this, he started smiling. 

Hanuman with folded hands said, “My dear Lord this is just one of your lilas.  You make huge planets float in the sky so what is the difficulty for you to make these stones float in the ocean? By this act of yours, you just want to highlight that those who take your shelter will fearlessly cross this ocean of material existence but those who leave your shelter sink in this ocean of nescience.”

Lord is willing to give his shelter to us but unfortunately, we, the adamant souls, are not willing to take his shelter.

Take the example of Ravana, he got so many opportunities to correct his mistakes, but he wasted all those chances. First Vibhishana counselled him then Hanuman and then Angad but each time Ravana refused to listen to them.

In our life too we get good advice from sincere devotees of the Lord but still we refuse to take complete shelter of the Lord. Many of us may say that we are religious because we regularly visit temple and believe in God.

Never leave the shelter of Lord Rama

But if we closely observe our consciousness, we will see that we worship God not because we love God but because we love to get something from him so that we can enjoy independently from God. We just want him to help us in sense gratification.

When our desires are fulfilled then we even forget to remember God. This is why we see people who are rich and famous generally say that they do not believe in God or hardly go to temple to take darshan of the Lord. And if our ask is not fulfilled by Lord then we even become upset with him or we even stop believing in him.

Ask any atheist and they will tell you that what God has done for me. I have seen people saying that we have to defeat God. Ravana is gone but people who have mentality like him are still there in this world.

Let us not forget that this life which we try to enjoy is full of uncertainties. Anything happens at any time. And most importantly the physical body and the adulation and adoration which we get here are temporary.

So, let us never leave the shelter of the Lord. Even if the circumstances are unfavorable, we should remain under the shelter of the Supreme Lord. Vibhishana did so and made his life glorious. We should follow the footsteps of Vibhishana and never leave the lotus feet of Rama.

Lord Rama repeatedly gives us many opportunities to take his shelter. We should grab this opportunity and always remain under his care and protection. If we are with Lord Rama, then we will eventually get free from all bodily and mental sufferings.

Distress, disease, lamentation & fear will completely get vanished.  We can then swiftly sail through this ocean of nescience and reach our ultimate destination which is the abode of the Supreme Lord.  

Three Reflections

• Those who take shelter of Lord Rama will fearlessly cross the ocean of material existence but those who leave his shelter will sink in this ocean of nescience.
• Ravana got so many opportunities to correct his mistakes, but he wasted all those chances.
• If we are with Lord Rama, then we will eventually get free from all bodily and mental sufferings.

Ask Yourself

• Do I sincerely listen to the advice of sincere and senior devotees?

Action Item

• Reflect upon an advice given by a sincere devotee who is your well-wisher and try to act upon it.

Whether our heart longs for Krishna or wants something else? | Bhagavad Gita 10.10

Have you checked, if your heart longs for Krishna or is still attached to things of this world?

Externally we may dress perfectly, speak expertly, recite shlokas scholarly, sing melodiously but these qualities may not attract the attention of the Lord. Maybe we are doing it to seek people’s attention and self-glorification.

Krishna hardly bothers about our externals instead he directly peeps into our heart to see whether our heart longs for him or it hankers for something else.

When Duryodhana invited Krishna for lunch in his palace then Krishna was not interested because Duryodhana did not have a devotional heart. Duryodhana wanted to make a show of his opulence and gesture.

Krishna preferred to eat at Vidura’s house although Vidura did not offer him lavish food. It was because Vidura and his wife had deep love for Krishna. Lord Rama happily chewed the half – eaten berries offered by Sabari because it was being offered with love. So, we should try to cultivate a devotional heart and deep desire to serve Krishna. 

If we have a desire to genuinely serve Krishna then Krishna who always resides with us in our heart will give us intelligence by which we can swiftly come to him.

This is confirmed by Krishna Bhagavad Gia 10.10: “To those who are constantly devoted to serving Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.”

Check your motive

So, while practicing devotion we should seriously introspect and find out with what motive we are doing any activity. We should see if we have offered our heart to Krishna or still our heart is attached to something else.

Because of our past conditionings it won’t be immediately possible to do everything for the pleasure of Krishna. But we should sincerely try for it and pray to Krishna to purify our heart, so that we always do anything for Krishna’s pleasure.

We need to endeavour hard to cultivate a devotional heart and subsequently give up material hankering. If we do so then gradually our heart will start longing for Krishna and then Krishna will immediately manifest his love within our heart.

Ask Yourself

1. Do you serve Krishna to please Krishna?
2. Or do you have some personal selfish interest while serving Krishna?
3. What steps you are taking to give up your selfish motives while serving Krishna?

Unlimited power of Rama Naam

Dear Lord Rama,

Your name has unlimited power, just by absorbing ourselves in Rama Naam, we can attain eternal happiness in life. Today, is the auspicious day of Rama Navami. It is your day. It is the day you appeared in this world for people like me. I am not sure what to pray to you on this auspicious day.

If I contemplate on my life, I find that you have given me everything although I do not deserve anything. Your most important gift to me is your holy name which has unlimited potency. But unfortunately, I take your mercy for granted. In spite of knowing that just by chanting your names I will attain salvation I do not have much inclination to chant your names.

Raam Naam makes the stone float in the ocean

The fortunate monkey warriors who assisted you in rescuing mother Sita saw the extraordinary power of your name by their own eyes. They wrote your name, Rama, on the stones and the power of Rama Naam is such that the stones started floating on the gigantic ocean.

The stones defied the laws of nature, the laws of gravity. The destiny of the stones was to sink deep in the ocean but just because of your name it did not sink but sailed in the turbulent ocean full of gigantic waves.

You gave mercy to the dead stone. When will you give mercy to me? My intelligence is also like a stone – dead and dull deprived of all spiritual emotions.

Struggle in this world

I am struggling hard in the ocean of material existence. But I am so dull headed that instead of trying hard to come out of this precarious condition I am trying to find happiness here.

Expecting happiness in this material world is akin to expecting soothing experience in the middle of a forest fire. It is quite amazing and astonishing that in spite of knowing that this world is meant to give us suffering, everyone tries their best to explore all possibilities to enjoy this world.

Just like a jail is meant for punishment and reformation, similarly this material jail is meant to punish and reform us. But imagine a scenario wherein a criminal start thinking that the jail is his original home and makes plan to live a comfortable life in the jail! Will it be ever possible to live a happy life in the jail? Answer is obvious.  

Similarly, no matter how best we try, we cannot become happy in this world.  In this world, we are continuously attacked by three types of miseries – adi bhautik, adi daivik, adhyatmik. But we have become so accustomed to these sufferings that we consider it as a part of our life.

Just like an obstinate criminal who continues committing felony in spite of getting beatings from the police, we also try to engage our senses in worldly activities in spite of getting so much punishment by the laws of material world.  This world is full of unlimited terrible species who at every moment try to harm us. This is why in Bhagavad Gita 8.15, Krishna says that this world is duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam. So, anyhow we should try our best to come out of this world.

Liberation even in this world

Coming out is not just physical but is also nonphysical. It means that instead of absorbing our consciousness in material activities, we should absorb our consciousness in spiritual activities. Instead of engaging our mind and senses in satisfying our material desires, we should engage our mind and senses in serving the Supreme Lord. Instead of having material emotions we should cultivate spiritual emotions. If we do so, then even in this world we will become liberated.

On our own, it is impossible to cross over the material ocean. So, scriptures again and again ask us to take shelter of Rama Naam i.e the shelter of your holy name. If we do so we will be immediately delivered from all the miserable conditions of life and become liberated. But in spite of knowing this we hardly take this instruction seriously.

Rama Naam helps to bridge the distance  

Monkey warriors built the bridge of stones by engraving your name on it with love. That bridge which is famously called Ram Setu did not just connect Rameswaram to Lanka. But that bridge helped the fortunate monkey warriors to cross over the ocean of material existence and finally get shelter at your lotus feet. Ram Setu connected their heart with your heart which is full of love and compassion.

It was not that you did not have the power to construct the bridge on your own. You are the creator of the universe so is it so difficult for you to build a bridge on the ocean? But by this spiritual pastime you showed us the great importance and power of Rama Naam. You want to tell us that if we just chant your name with love then the distance which is currently between us can be bridged. Our heart will get connected with your heart and we can swiftly cross over the ocean of material existence.

Give me taste in Rama Naam

Standing at the shore, monkeys were in utter confusion. You gave them the intelligence to build the bridge. Drowned in the ocean of material existence I am too in utter helpless condition. Although I know that if I just absorb myself in your holy name, in Rama Naam, and live my life as per the guidelines of the scriptures then I will attain perfection. But due to lack of determination and unlimited impurities in my heart, I am not able to practice devotion to you sincerely.

On this auspicious day of Rama Navami, I beg at your lotus feet to be merciful on me as you were merciful to your monkey warriors. Please give me intelligence so that I can understand the unlimited power of Rama Naam.  I beseech you to cleanse all the impurities from my heart and give me determination to sincere follow the scriptural injunctions.

And please give me taste so that I always enjoy chanting your beautiful name which appears in the Hare Krishna Mahamantra – Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare/Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.  

Your insignificant servant

Purushottam Nitai Das

Kill the Ravana within before it kills us

Lord Rama, the Supreme Lord, did not have to personally appear in this world to kill the demon Ravana and free the world from his atrocity. The Supreme Lord creates this universe and also destroys this universe as per his will. So, he could have killed Ravana just by desiring to kill Ravana.

But he incarnated in this mortal world to reveal that he is so magnanimous that he is always willing to forgive the conditioned souls for even the greatest sin and is ready to give his shelter to anyone who seeks it.

In Ramayana we see that Lord Rama was willing to forgive Ravana for all his misdeeds. So, he gave the demon king several chances to rectify his mistakes and become his devotee. But sadly, overpowered by lust and false pride, Ravana refused to take shelter of Lord Rama who is celebrated as the Supreme shelter of the universe.

Lusty Ravana disregards godly advice

Vibhishana, a devotee of Rama, tried his best to counsel his brother but the arrogant Ravana rebuked Vibhishana and threw him out of his kingdom. Hanuman, one of the most celebrated devotees of Lord Rama, advised Ravana to return mother Sita but Ravana devoid of good sense tried to insult and torture Hanuman by setting his tail on fire. Hanuman showed his prowess by burning the entire golden city of Lanka with his tail which was put on fire by the foolish followers of Ravana. Just before the beginning of the battle Angada too had gone as peace messenger, requesting Ravana to follow the principles of dharma and return mother Sita.

But the ten headed Ravana was so full of ego, arrogance and pride that he thought that he will be able to enjoy with mother Sita by killing her husband, the Supreme Lord, Rama. Ravana’s stubbornness did not just cause his own death but his sons, brothers, ministers and uncountable soldiers were also killed.

In Lanka, women became widow, children orphans and elderly parents had to suffer the agony of the death of their sons and witness the suffering of their daughter in laws and grandchildren.

Lust is the gateway to hell

In Bhagavad Gita 16.21, Lord Krishna says that lust, anger and greed is the gateway to hell. Ravana is a symbol of lust. From Ravana’s life we can understand how dangerous lust is and how it completely ruins one’s life.

As soon as one develops lustful thoughts and starts acting on it, his or her misery begins. Ravana’s suffering and humiliation began as soon as he desired to enjoy mother Sita and started acting on his lustful propensity.  Although he succeeded in kidnapping Sita, but he was not even able to go close to her. He foolishly thought that Sita, the eternal consort of Lord Rama, will be captivated by his heroic deeds and vast wealth and kingdom. For his lust he was rebuked by his near and dear ones constantly. In fact, he had become a laughingstock. Even his sons had advised him to return Sita. 

Just imagine in today’s era if a Prime Minister of a country who is already married, has grown up children, kidnaps someone else’s wife and tries to marry her but the lady constantly refuses his proposal then what will be his image among the people.

From the life of Ravana, we should learn that we should never have any lusty thoughts about opposite sex. And even if such thoughts come to our mind because of our past conditionings, we should never try to fulfill it. It will ruin our life. 

Lord Rama helps his devotee to kill the Ravana within

Lord Rama killed Ravana several centuries back but the demon as lust still resides in our heart forcing us to indulge in sinful activities which brings misfortune in our life. Lust is our biggest enemy, and we should put in our best efforts to free ourselves from all lusty thoughts. As Lord Rama gave many chances to Ravana to reform, similarly the merciful Lord also has given us opportunities to kill the Ravana within us.

We contemplate on lustful thoughts and act on it because we think that it is the highest pleasure we can get. And we do not want to deprive ourselves of that pleasure. But if we analyse our own life, we will see that lust may give some temporary feeling of happiness but ultimately it brings misery. If we study the life of great spiritual personalities in Ramayana, we find that instead of engaging their mind and senses in lusty thoughts and activities, they engaged it in serving Lord Rama and experienced great bliss.

The monkeys are considered inferior to human race but by assisting Lord Rama in his mission they became so glorious that today great scriptures and great devotees of Lord Rama sing their glories.  While serving Lord Rama the monkey warriors enjoyed every moment of their life and thus perfected their lives.  

Happiness one experiences in serving the Lord is trillion times greater than any material happiness  including the happiness of enjoying with opposite gender.  That transcendental joy which is everlasting can be achieved if with determination and courage we give up the shelter of Ravana like Vibhishana.  The all-loving Lord will happily accept us like he accepted Vibhishana.

Chant cleanses the heart of lust

One of the best ways to take shelter of the Supreme Lord is by chanting his holy names like the Hare Krishna Mahamantra – Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare/Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. In Siksastakam verse 1, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu says that chanting is so potent that it cleanses the heart of all the impurities which we have accumulated life after life. Once one starts developing taste in chanting the holy names of the Lord, one starts losing interest in satisfying any material desire.

Sri Yamunacarya, a great devotee of Lord Krishna who is none other than Lord Rama says, “Since I have been engaged in the transcendental loving service of Kṛṣṇa, realizing ever-new pleasure in Him, whenever I think of sex pleasure I spit at the thought, and my lips curl with distaste.” Bhagavad Gita 5.21 purport

The fire of lust will destroy our life but love for Lord Rama will purify our life. Let us kill the Ravana within before it kills us by becoming a sincere devotee of Lord Rama and by engaging our mind and senses in his constant devotional service. The Supreme Lord who conquered mighty Ravana will help us to conquer lust which is a great destructive force.

It will open the gateway to unlimited transcendental happiness

Who is most merciful – Lord Rama or Lord Krishna or Lord Chaitanya?

Who is the most merciful Lord – Lord Rama or Lord Krishna or Lord Chaitanya. Scriptures tell us that they are one and the same. They are the Supreme Lord. They appear in different ages (yuga) to enact different pastimes. But their mission is same – to destroy the demons and to deliver the saintly people.

This is confirmed in Bhagavad Gita by Lord Krishna.

Bhagavad Gita 4.8

परित्राणाय साधुनां विनाशाय च दुष्कृताम् ।
धर्मसंस्थानार्थाय सम्भवामि युगे युगे ॥ ८ ॥

paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ
vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām
dharma-saṁsthāpanārthāya
sambhavāmi yuge yuge

“To deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to reestablish the principles of religion, I Myself appear, millennium after millennium.”

When we study their activities on our earthly planet, we find they exhibited great compassion towards all the living entities. In all the three incarnations they bestowed mercy upon all.

But are all the three equally merciful?  Or one of them is more merciful than other?  Difficult to answer.

Before you and I arrive at any conclusion let us reflect on the below conversations which the Lord had with Sita and Radharani.

Lord Rama’s promise to Sita

When Lord Rama was in the forest with mother Sita, he always carried bow and arrow. Using it he killed many demons. Animals and birds would run away in fear seeing bow and arrow. So, mother Sita was not happy.

Once she said, “Why do you carry your bow and arrow all the time? And why you have to kill the demons? Is there no other way to deliver them?”

Lord Rama said, “Well, in this pastime this is what I am supposed to do. I am a kshatriya and my dharma is to protect the innocents and kill the miscreants.”

Sita did not like the word “kill.” Rama understood her heart.

He said, “Ok. In my next incarnation as Lord Krishna in Vrindavan, I will not carry bow and arrow.”

Mother Sita looked at him with suspicious eyes. “If not bow and arrow then what will you carry.” 

Rama said, “Not just bow and arrow, I won’t carry any weapon.”

Sita was happy. Rama was relieved. Finally, he was able to please her.

Radharani says to Krishna, “You broke your promise”

When the Supreme Lord appeared as Lord Krishna then he killed the demoness Putana when he was only 7 days old. He was in his pram only. And one after the other he killed so many demons –  Trnavarta. Vatsasura, Bakasura, Aghasura and many more It is said that everyday kamsa would send a demon and Krishna would kill him/her.

Radharani was unhappy. Radharani and Sita are same. Radharani expands as Sita when Krishna expands as Rama.

Radha was upset. “You broke your promise, Krishna.”

“Which promise?” Krishna asked.

“As Rama you had said that you won’t kill demons.”

“Wait a minute. You had asked me to not carry bow and arrow. I had agreed. Later you said – no weapon. I agreed for that too. And as per my promise I am not carrying any weapon. Tell me with what weapon did I kill these miscreants. I killed Putana by drinking her poisonous milk. I killed all the demons with my hands and legs only. Since, I did not have any weapon, so I danced on the hoods of kaliya to remove all poison from his body. So much hard work I had to do because you took away all my weapons.“

Radha said, “When I said no weapons, it meant you won’t kill anyone. I never knew that you would use your hands and legs to kill them. It is word jugglery. I know these are extremely sinful beings but still I don’t like you killing them.”

“But you should have clarified with me then and there.”

Radharani understood no use in any further discussion.

Radharani – our eternal mother

Radharani is mother of all the living beings in the entire creation. She is Krishna’s eternal consort. A mother loves her child more than the father. She knew demons are so evil that they need to be punished but still she did not like them to be punished. She wanted Krishna to reform them without killing them. A mother’s heart cries when her child suffers. A child may be mischievous or a hardcore criminal, but a mother will bestow unconditional love upon him/her.  Radharani our eternal mother always wants good for us. Although our hearts are flooded with sinful desires and tendencies, but she still loves us.

Krishna says, “In Kaliyuga I will appear as Chaitanya.”

Now mother Radha wanted to know Krishna’s next move. With eyes full of compassion, she looked towards Krishna and asked, “So, what next. When are you going to appear again?”

“In Kaliyuga as Chaitanya”, Krishna said

Our eternal mother became very worried. “Kaliyuga means ocean of faults. A civilization based on quarrel and hypocrisy. Almost everyone commits sins and justifies it. What Krishna will do in Kaliyuga? Is he going to punish everyone? Let me ask his plan and make him promise that he won’t kill or punish anyone. He will forgive even the worst of the sinful person.”

But she was suspicious. Krishna will give his words. But again, he will find a loophole in the agreement and continue killing the miscreants. So, this time I will have to do something different. I will change his heart. For that I will enter his heart.

So, Radharani entered the heart of Lord Krishna. And that Krishna is called Lord Chaitanya.

The Supreme Lord with the heart of Srimati Radharani is Lord Chaitanya.

Lord Chaitanya kills the sin of the sinner with the holy names

As Lord Chaitanya he did not kill anyone.

As Rama and Krishna, the Supreme Lord established dharma by killing the miscreants. But as Chaitanya Mahaprabhu the Supreme Lord established dharma by propagating the chanting of the holy names of Krishna – the Hare Krishna Mahamantra.  This is the most potent and lethal weapon. The holy name does not kill the people, but it completely burns the sin of the sinner. And the sinner gets totally purified. This pleases Lord Chaitanya the most. Radharani becomes ecstatic.

In this age of Kaliyuga, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has made it so easy to attain perfection.  You and I have to just chant the holy names. And for chanting no qualification is required. Anyone can chant – men, women, children, Hindus, non- Hindus, Indians, non-Indians.

Chanting not only benefits us, but it benefits even the non-human beings like plants, trees, animals, birds etc. These lower species have almost no chance of deliverance but if they somehow hear the holy names then they also get purified.

Lord Chaitanya did not use any weapon to kill anyone. Only once he took his Sudarshan chakra to kill Jagai and Madhai because these two brothers had attacked Nityananda Prabhu. But Nityananda Prabhu immediately reminded him that in this incarnation he is not supposed to use any weapon and kill anyone. The Supreme Lord remembered his words. He got pacified, forgave the two brothers, and transformed their hearts.

Lord Chaitanya – the most merciful Lord

When Lord Chaitanya was present on earth, people were so demoniac. Vedic culture was almost forgotten. Muslims were eating cow flesh. Brahmanas were misinterpreting the scriptures.  He was completely justified to punish them.

But the Supreme Lord having a heart of Radharani, decided to kill the demons of the heart and not the demons. Lord Rama or Lord Krishna would have punished us for our sins and bad habits. But Lord Chaitanya is so tolerant. He has given us the medicine of the holy names which will help us to burn our sins and evil proclivities which is the root cause of all sufferings and evil tendencies.

Once our heart is free of all vices, we develop godly qualities. We become qualified to become Lord’s eternal associate in the spiritual world. So much mercy Lord Chaitanya is bestowing upon you and me.  

He is the most merciful Lord among the three incarnations.

Śrī Caitanya-Caritāmṛta Madhya 19.53

namo mahā-vadānyāya
kṛṣṇa-prema-pradāya te
kṛṣṇāya kṛṣṇa-caitanya-
nāmne gaura-tviṣe namaḥ

“O most munificent incarnation! You are Kṛṣṇa Himself appearing as Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu. You have assumed the golden color of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, and You are widely distributing pure love of Kṛṣṇa. We offer our respectful obeisances unto You.”

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

Prayers of millions of devotees of Lord Rama have been finally answered. After 500 years of injustice, Lord Rama’s temple is going to be built in Ayodhya

Bhoomi Pujan or groundbreaking ceremony was organized in Ayodhya on 5^th August 2020 in which Prime Minister of India, Mr.  Narendra Modi, too participated.

Hindus or the followers of Vedic culture are finally getting justice after 500 years.

The barbarian Babur had demolished the temple of Lord Rama in Ayodhya in 1528–29 AD. He had tried to build a mosque there.  Ayodhya is the place where Lord Rama appeared. A beautiful temple was there exactly at the same spot where Lord Rama had taken birth. And the same temple was demolished by barbarian Babur.

The foreign invaders had razed thousands of temples of the Hindus. Many temples in Vrindavan too were either demolished or desecrated.  Many times, the priests of the temple risking their lives saved the deities. They either hid the deities or took them to some safe place. Sometimes they succeeded, sometimes they got killed.  Millions of Hindus were either savagely eliminated or forced to convert.

The history books talk about how Jews were mercilessly killed in gas chambers. But unfortunately, the plight of millions of Hindus is never highlighted because the communist historians who control academic institutions in India are biased against Hindus.

Why did Babur not succeed in destroying people’s faith in Lord Rama?

In Ramayana, we see Kaikeyi banishing Lord Rama to forest for 14 years. She wanted her son Bharat to become the king. She would have thought if Rama is away from Ayodhya for 14 years then people will eventually forget Rama and accept Bharat as king. 

Out of sight out of mind.

But the opposite happened. When Lord Rama was away from Ayodhya, the Ayodhyavasis, the residents of Ayodhya, developed immense longing for him. Their hearts got flooded with his thoughts. The separation was unbearable for them and they desperately wanted him to come back.

So, when barbarian Babur razed the temple, he thought he will also succeed in erasing Rama from the hearts of all.  But just like cloud cannot cover the splendor of the sun similarly the demons like Babur and his ilk can never ever succeed in checking the glories of Lord Rama.

The devotee’s hearts were filled with anguish and pain when the temple was demolished. They developed intense desire to rebuild the temple exactly at the same place because that is the place where Lord Rama appeared.

500 years of struggle and sacrifice

It was an extremely difficult battle.  As India was under the subjugation of Mughals and then the British so the devotees did not have sufficient power to reconstruct the temple. But they continued their struggle. After independence, millions of devotees of Lord Rama hoped that now their dreams will be realized. They will be able to again build a beautiful temple for their lord.

But unfortunately, after independence India got a government and a Prime Minister who had no interest in respecting the sentiments of the Hindus. In the garb of secularism Hindus were most of the time sidelined.

In fact, the unofficial line from the government was “Hindus should always feel ashamed that they are Hindus.”

Indian history was purposefully modified to show Hindus in bad light. Vedic culture was criticized and demonized. Scriptures were manipulated. Some of the incidents mentioned in the scriptures were taken out of context so that Vedas and its followers can be shown in poor light.

The plight of the devotees of Lord Rama did not end. In fact, it even increased. But the devotees continued their struggle.  Soon even the common man started participating in this movement. It became a mass movement. But still the political parties practicing pseudo secularism and vote bank politics did everything to stop this mass movement.

In fact, in 1990s, Mulayam Singh Yadhav, the then Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh ordered the police to fire on kar sevaks, the devotees of Lord Rama.

In the firing hundreds of devotes died. Scores of dead bodies of innocent sadhus could be been floating on the Saryu river.

But devotees fearlessly continued the struggle.

When Lal Krishna Advani started Rath Yatra in 1990s for the construction of the temple then millions of people supported him. 

Eventually thousands of people on 6^th December 1992 removed the disputed structure built by Babur.

Devotees were simultaneously fighting the legal battle too. Archaeological Survey of India confirmed that temple existed below the disputed structure.  

And finally, on 9 November 2019, the Supreme Court of India in a remarkable judgement ruled that a temple existed of Lord Rama below the disputed structure and so the temple of Lord Rama should be rebuilt there.

And finally, the day has come when there will be a magnificent temple of Lord Rama.

While we are celebrating the construction of a grand temple, we should also pay our heartfelt gratitude to those devotees who lost their lives in this struggle. Surely, they will get the blessings of Lord Ram.

Why did Lord Rama not intervene to build his own temple?

A question may arise in our mind that why did Lord Rama allow all this to happen. If he would have wanted, he could have easily got his temple rebuilt. He is the supreme Lord. He can do anything he wants.

It is true that Lord Rama could have easily intervened to get the temple rebuilt but he wanted his devotees to take the initiative and get all the glories.

• For example, Lord Rama could have easily built a bridge to Lanka, but he engaged all the monkeys who were his devotees to build the bridge. Even a little squirrel participated.

• Lord Rama who is omniscient knew where Sita is, but he engaged his dear devotee, Hanuman, to find Sita.

• Lord Rama could have single handedly killed Ravana and his armies, but he engaged everyone in this epic battle.  In fact, he could have effortlessly killed Ravana without lifting any weapon but to give pleasure to the devotees he fought.

He enacted all these pastimes so that everyone can be engaged in his devotional service. And by engaging in his service, we develop love for him which is the perfection of our life.

In Ayodhya too, he could have built his own temple. But he did not. Because he wants us to be part of it. In the deity form of Ram Lalla he lived in a makeshift tent and accepted service there.  

He was happy in the makeshift tent too because he wants only our love. It was so painful for the devotees to see Ram Lalla residing in a makeshift temple. They always wanted a beautiful temple for him. So, millions of people from all over the world are coming to together to build a grand temple for him.  and for the pleasure of the devotees Lord Rama is willing to reside in a magnificent temple.

• The magnificent temple of Lord Rama in Ayodhya will declare loudly and boldly to the entire world that the miscreants who have been trying for hundreds of years to destroy the Sanatana dharma have failed miserably.

• The wonderful temple in Ayodhya will sing the glories of Lord Rama & will attract millions of people from across the world to the lotus feet of Lord Rama.

• The lovers of Lord Rama will now be able to visit Ayodhya without any fear, take darshan of Ram Lalla to their hearts full content and feel blessed.

What led to the decline of Vedic culture from the world?

While we are celebrating the construction of a beautiful temple it is also a time for introspection. Vedic culture once not just thrived in present day India but was spread all over the world.  Therefore, we see many idols of Vedic gods and many Vedic artifacts in different parts of the world.

But what led to its decline? How can invaders like Babur come and destroy thousands of temples? Were they too powerful or we had become too weak?

In Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 12: The Age of Deterioration, it is mentioned that as Kaliyuga will advance irreligion will be considered as religion and unrighteous behavior will be considered as righteous. And people will stop following the fine teachings of the Vedic scriptures.

Since our forefathers stopped living as per the guidelines of the Vedas so the Vedic culture started disappearing from the world. As sun sets darkness appears. And in the night thieves and rogues become active.

Similarly, when spirituality started declining miscreants started gaining strength. The devils started destroying people’s faith in pure spiritual principles. Those who refused were eliminated. The sacred land of India where Lord Rama appeared to teach the ideal behavior of an ideal human being was attacked innumerable times. Temples were destroyed. Devotees were killed.  Most unfortunately these barbaric invaders got the support of traitors like Jaichand.

The enemies of Lord Rama are the enemies of entire humanity. They are even present today and are still powerful. They are still waging a war against the followers of Vedic dharma. Several Jaichands are still present today.  These Jaichands call themselves as Hindus, have Hindu names, may even wear the dress of a Hindu but their hearts are filled with hatred for the Supreme Lord Rama.  These Jaichands are more dangerous than the barbarian invaders.

Let us spread the glories of Lord Rama all over the world

So, what can be done to re-establish the sacred teachings of the Vedas. What steps can we take so that Vedic culture start flourishing all over the world again?

It may appear an impossible task.  But if all the genuine devotees of Lord Rama come together and start propagating the teachings of the Vedas then the whole world can become flooded with love for Lord Rama.

Srila Prabhupada, the founder acharya of ISKCON, has practically demonstrated it. With his extraordinary purity and determination, he singlehandedly spread the teachings of these transcendental literature all over the world. And it is because of him that today millions of people all over the globe are chanting the holy names of Lord Krishna and Lord Rama.

Lord Rama lives in the hearts of all. Love for Lord Rama is in the heart of all. We have to only reignite that love.  This is what Srila Prabhupada did. 

Srila Prabhupada taught us that we should purify our life first by practicing devotion to the Supreme Lord sincerely. And simultaneously with enthusiasm and determination should spread the message of holy Vedas.

If we want that the glories of Lord Rama to spread on this planet earth, then we should first start living as per the teachings of Lord Rama. He taught us selfless love, compassion, and gratitude. Let us assimilate all these values in our life.  He taught us to shun hatred and spread love. So, let us utilize this wonderful opportunity to spread the message of peace and love all over the Lord.

Lord Rama is the Lord of the entire universe. He is the father of all the living beings. Although today we may call ourselves as Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and so on.  We may be Indians, Americans, Europeans, Russians, Pakistanis and so on. But this entire world belongs to Lord Rama. We all are his children. And our Supreme father will not be happy to see if one of his sons is hating his another son.

Yes, there are miscreants, the enemies of humanity who do not like Lord Rama, there are Jaichands too. But while fighting them if we should also start spreading the teachings of Lord Rama following the footsteps of Srila Prabhupada. 

If most of the people of the world again start loving Lord Rama, Lord Krishna then the evil-minded people and Jaichands will automatically get defeated. 

As sun rises darkness disappears. As the world will get illuminated by the sacred teachings of Lord Rama the thieves and rogues and those whose hearts are full of hatred will disappear.

Let us all come together to build this beautiful temple and enthrone Lord Rama in our hearts. Let there be no enmity among the people based on religion, caste, creed and nationality. And most importantly let us all become a sincere devotee of Lord Rama and live our life as per his teachings.

This is the best gift we can give to our beloved Lord Rama.

Let me know what you think is the best way to spread the teachings of Lord Rama in the entire world and what is the best gift we can give to him.  Leave your message in the comment section below.

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Kurma Purana tells Ravana did not kidnap original Sita

Ramadasa was in deep agony.  His eyes were filled with tears of sorrow. He was so absorbed in remembering Lord Rama, the Supreme Lord, and mother Sita, the mother of the entire universe, that he thought he too was living in the forest with them.

He even forgot that he had invited Lord Chaitanya to his humble home for lunch. Lord Chaitanya is none other than the Supreme Lord.  The Lord during his pastime as Lord Krishna had rejected Duryodhana’s invitation who had arranged an opulent feast. He instead went to the house of Vidura without any invitation and enjoyed eating simple preparation of spinach. 

The same Lord was now at the house of the brahmana for lunch. But Ramdas had not cooked till now.  Mahaprabhu was hungry, not angry. “Why haven’t you cooked?” asked the Supreme Lord.  

“The ingredients for cooking have still not arrived. Lakshman has gone inside the forest to collect vegetables, roots, fruits, and other essential items but has not returned yet. Once he is back, mother Sita will begin cooking.” Ramdas’s deep absorption in the pastime won the heart of Mahaprabhu.

Soon the brahmana realized his folly. Mahaprabhu was at his house at his invitation. It was already noon. Without further delay, he began preparation and served food to Lord Chaitanya. 

Chaitanya Charitrmrta Madhya, Chapter 9, Text 185 informs, “Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu took His lunch at about three o’clock.”

But the brahmana did not eat anything. He fasted. Mahaprabhu inquired, “Why are you fasting? Why are you so unhappy?”

“Thinking that mother Sita has been touched by a nasty person, Ravana, I am feeling utterly miserable. My heart is burning in disgust. I should have died but I am so unfortunate that I am still alive.” Ramdas, the brahmana, was in tears while uttering these words.

Mahaprabhu was so surprised to hear the sorrowful words of the brahmana. He immediately replied, “Mother Sita’s body is spiritual and not material. So how can any materialist even touch her? Forget about touching, a person with material vision can’t even see her. Ravana did not kidnap mother Sita. The demon who lived in illusion kidnapped her illusory material form.”   

The authoritative words of Mahaprabhu relieved him of the pain and the Lord made sure Ramdasa had his lunch, although it was too late.

The saga of Lord Rama and mother Sita is popular all over the world, especially in India.

But millions of people are unaware of the fact that Ravana did not kidnap mother Sita, but he kidnapped an illusory material form who looked like Sita.

But the uninformed people question if that was the case then why Lord Rama asked Sita to prove her chastity?

It is true that all including the demigods headed by Lord Shiva and Lord Brahma were flabbergasted when they heard Lord Rama asking Sita to walk through the fire to prove her purity.

How can it be possible that Lord Rama did not know that Sita was never kidnapped?

He had crossed the gigantic ocean not to kill Ravana but to meet Sita. How can he distrust her now?  

Sitadevi was in tears.

Lakshman was devastated but was helpless.

As per the order of the eldest brother he assembled the woods and lit the fire.

Sita circumambulated Lord Rama, the Lord of the universe, and entered the fire.

The ocean stood still. The sky watched in disbelief. All beings of the land, of the water and of the sky including the demigods headed by Lord Shiva and Lord Brahma wanted to jump in that fire. Rama put his head down. He did not want anyone to see his tears.

Just like a piece of gold glitters more in the fire, similarly, Sita in the fire was so effulgent that her effulgence overshadowed the effulgent rays of the sun.

And from the fire appeared the god of the fire, Agni. He felt immensely blessed having been touched by the lotus feet of mother Sita.

He spoke to Rama, “Her mere presence purifies the three worlds. How can sin even touch her? She is supremely pure.”

Sita wearing red robes, a garland of celestial flowers and beautiful gems walked towards Lord Rama. She was desperate to meet him. And he who was hiding his emotions could no longer contain himself.

Rama declared boldly, “Sita is as inseparable from me as sun rays from the sun.”

It was not that Lord Rama wanted any certification from anyone to know Sita is pure.

But he who resides in the hearts of all knows the hearts of all. He knew people bereft of conscience may question Sita and bring their own downfall.

And how can he tolerate any infamy to Sita whom he loved more than his own life? He knew well that his act will be criticized for sure by the ignorants.

And he also knew that this act will ensure Sita attains all glories. Her virtues will be sung in all the directions for eternity.

He knew that the atheists, the agnostics, the ignorant, the cunning people who can stoop low to defame anything virtuous would also not even dare to question the purity of Sita. One of the foremost duties of the husband is to protect his wife in all situations and in all circumstances.

And he, the best amongst all, protected Sita, his eternal consort, by taking all the pains and giving her all the glory.

Who can better understand the heart of Rama than his father, Dasaratha?  

Dasaratha, the father in law of mother Sita, who was then residing in heaven with Indra, seated on a celestial chariot came down and spoke, “Do not think ill of your beloved husband. He put you in a moment of agony to declare to the entire world that you are extremely pure. For eternity your glories will be sung. Your virtue will overshadow the renown of all virtuous lady.”  Reference: Ramayana -> Part Three – War – Chapter 14 – Sita’s Ordeal, https://vedabase.io/en/library/rkd/3/14/

And in Kaliyuga Lord Rama appeared as Lord Chaitanya to establish this fact again that Sita was never kidnapped and her chastity was never tested.

Lord Chaitanya after meeting Ramadasa visited Ramesvara temple where he found Kurma Purana. 

In the Purana, it is mentioned that as soon as Ravana came to kidnap Sita, Sita immediately petitioned the fire – god, Agni. The fire god brought an illusory form of Sita and Ravana kidnapped the false Sita.

The original Sita went to the abode of the fire god.

And so, when Lord Ramachandra tested Sita then it was the false Sita who entered the fire. And at that very moment, Agni brought the original Sita before Lord Rama. 

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu immediately went to Ramadasa, the servant of Lord Rama, to deliver the script.

Ramadasa was so happy to get the original leaf manuscript of the Kurma Puraṇa.

His doubts were now cleared. He was now delivered from an unhappy condition.

With tears in his eyes he fell at the lotus feet of Lord Chaitanya and said, “Sir, you are Lord Ramacandra Himself and have come in the dress of a sannyasi to give me audience.” Chaitanya Charitamrita Madhya 9.214. 

Overwhelmed by the emotion he pleaded the Lord to accept food at his house again. This time he joyfully cooked the food and served a first-class dinner to the Lord.

Should we forgive those who have hurt us?

We all have heard the virtue of forgiveness umpteen number of times. But we all know how difficult it is to forgive someone especially those who have intentionally tried to make our life miserable. Our mind continuously keeps us reminding of those terrible moments in which we were put by them.

Our heart burns in anger. We are desperate to seek revenge. We eagerly want them to be subjected to great misery like us. And we use all logic to justify these emotions. But little do we realize that these thoughts and emotions are not harming the person who violated us but are instead making our life utterly miserable.

Feeling of hatred, revenge, vengefulness affects our hearts. It is compared to holding a burning charcoal with a hope of throwing it on the person who harmed us. We hold it for days, for weeks, for years little realizing that the burning charcoal is burning us and not others.

The person may have wronged us once or twice or may be few numbers of times. But we are punishing ourselves daily. In fact, we have voluntarily given control of our lives to them. Its an unwise decision.

But as soon as we take a conscious decision of forgiving those who wronged us, we liberate ourselves from the deadly toxic poison which is slowly devouring us. Forgiveness is an art of letting go the feelings and thoughts of anger, bitterness, resentment.

Forgiveness does not mean we are condoning the actions of the perpetrator. It also does not mean we are allowing ourselves to be exploited again by the same person who wronged us. We should always keep a safe distance from the wrongdoer and if we have to deal with them then we should be extremely careful.

When we decide to forgive, we decide to close a bad phase of our life. We release all our negative emotions. We feel relieved. Our mind attains peace. We decide to march ahead in our life.

If we study the life of great personalities, we find that they forgave people who did great harm to them.  Lord Rama unconditionally forgave Kaikeyi who had not just deprived him of the throne of Ayodhya, who had not just forced him to live in forest for 14 years, but it was only because of her that Lord Rama’s father, Dasharatha, left his body. Lord Rama later even beseeched his father to forgive his wife, Kaikeyi, and Dasharatha immediately obliged. 

Forgiveness is a divine quality and so the scriptures glorify it. Srimad Bhagavatam 9.15.40 tells that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Hari, is immensely pleased with those who are forgiving. Forgiveness not just liberate us from intolerable negative emotions, but it also helps us to win the heart of the Lord.  

When we forgive, we find we have so much time and so much energy to pursue our dreams. Our life is Lord’s gift to us, we should not waste it. We should utilize this beautiful gift in doing wonderful things for the pleasure of the Lord.

Ayodhya Case: There cannot be a mosque which has pillars with the images of Hindu Gods

CS Vaidyanathan, the lawyer who is representing the deity Ram Lalla Virajman, told the five-judge bench of Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi that there cannot be a mosque where the images of Hindu Gods are present.

He put before the Supreme Court the 1950 report of Faizabad’s Commissioner. The report states that at the disputed site of Ayodhya there were 14 pillars with inscription of Hindu Gods. The image of Lord Shiva was there on one of the pillars.

The map found at Ayodhya which provides detail of the images inscribed on the pillars and the album containing the pictures of the deities were submitted to the bench.

The counsel also argued that Muslims offering prayers at the disputed site does not make it a mosque just like Muslims offering prayers on the road does not mean that they own the road.

It is almost an undisputed fact that Babri Mosque was built on the ruins of the temple of Lord Ram. According to one version it was Babar who demolished the temple whereas according to second version the temple was brought down by Aurangzeb.

The Supreme Court is holding daily hearing of Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title dispute case.

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.