In the Shrimad Bhagavat, Shri Shankar Bhagavan has been referred to as 'Vaishnavaanaam yathaa Shambhuhu', meaning, Shri Ved Vyas ji has described Lord Shankar Bhagavan as a Vaishnav. This is perfectly true because our Bhole Baba is the leader of the path to devotion (bhakti).
Remember, Shri Ram katha was first and foremost narrated by Shri Shankar Bhagavan. It is in the nature of a true devotee to keep chanting their beloved deity's name day and night. In Baalkaand (the first chapter of Shri Ram Charit Manas) Shri Tulsidasji describes the following chopaay (verse) on how Shri Bhole Baba continuously recites Shri Ramji's name:
'Tum puni Ram Ram din raati, saadar japahu anang aaraati.'
Shri Tulsidasji created Shri Ram Charit Manas with the inspiration of Shri Bhole Baba which is why he offered this divine scripture to Shri Shankar Bhagavan.
There is a well known katha that when Shri Goswami Tulsidasji wrote Shri Ram Charit Manas the Sanskrit scholars refused to approve and respect the Manas as a scripture as it was written in Hindi instead of Sanskrit. In the end, it was decided to leave all the scriptures in Baba Vishwanath's temple, where Shri Ram Charit Manas written by Tulsidasji was kept at the bottom of the pile and the doors to the temple closed.
It has been said that the next morning when the doors to the temple were opened, people were surprised to see that Shri Ram Charit Manas written by Tulsidasji was now on top of the pile of all the scriptures and Shri Shankar Bhagavan had written three words on top of Shri Ram Charit Manas: 'Satyam Shivam Sundaram'.
Since Lord Shiv respected and approved Shri Ram Charit Manas, this scripture, even to this date, leads us towards our welfare and towards Lord Shiv.
Jai Bholenath to all the devotees on this very auspicious occasion of MahaShivratri.
With Blessings,
Bhaishri
Ja Gurudev...
18/03/2012
Our Body Is A Temple Of God
A very beautiful articlle by Poojya Bhaisri Ramesh Bhai OZA
Read on...
Jai Shri Krishna,
When building a grand and divine temple, let us ask ourselves, 'who have we built this temple for'? The answer is that although we say we are building it for God, as a matter of fact, we build this temple for our purpose, so that we can go there sit, pray, sing bhajans, meditate and attain mental peace. This is a man-made temple.
Now think, 'who are you?' Your body is also a temple. It is created by God and he dwells in it. Lord Shri Krishna dwells within us in the form of our soul. A temple built by man of cement, stone and sand becomes so divine and pure after the installation of the deity God in it that we take extreme care to preserve its sanctity.
If we are so alert and careful to protect the purity of a man-made temple, then, have you ever thought how much effort we should be putting in to respect and protect the purity of this human body which has been created by God himself? How faithful should we be to this human body which is also a temple? How much should we worry to protect its sanctity?
Human beings protect the purity of man-made temples. Similarly, looking after the sanctity of this human body, a temple created by God, should become a spiritual endeavour of utmost importance.
Once this concept, that our human body is a temple, becomes firm in our minds, our bad habits and addictions will wither away automatically; we will not need to make any effort to get rid of them. Furthermore, divinity will manifest itself and you will progress towards good conduct, consequently leading to the creation of a beautiful life.
With Blessings,
Bhaishri
Jai Gurudev...
Read on...
Jai Shri Krishna,
When building a grand and divine temple, let us ask ourselves, 'who have we built this temple for'? The answer is that although we say we are building it for God, as a matter of fact, we build this temple for our purpose, so that we can go there sit, pray, sing bhajans, meditate and attain mental peace. This is a man-made temple.
Now think, 'who are you?' Your body is also a temple. It is created by God and he dwells in it. Lord Shri Krishna dwells within us in the form of our soul. A temple built by man of cement, stone and sand becomes so divine and pure after the installation of the deity God in it that we take extreme care to preserve its sanctity.
If we are so alert and careful to protect the purity of a man-made temple, then, have you ever thought how much effort we should be putting in to respect and protect the purity of this human body which has been created by God himself? How faithful should we be to this human body which is also a temple? How much should we worry to protect its sanctity?
Human beings protect the purity of man-made temples. Similarly, looking after the sanctity of this human body, a temple created by God, should become a spiritual endeavour of utmost importance.
Once this concept, that our human body is a temple, becomes firm in our minds, our bad habits and addictions will wither away automatically; we will not need to make any effort to get rid of them. Furthermore, divinity will manifest itself and you will progress towards good conduct, consequently leading to the creation of a beautiful life.
With Blessings,
Bhaishri
Jai Gurudev...
08/03/2012
Holi The festivakl of colours!!
Guruji on Holi.(Speaking Tree)
The ‘Holi’ festival is a fun-filled and popular occasion for celebration. People play Holi with chandan or sandalwood powder and coloured water. The festival is celebrated around early March each year, coinciding with the full bloom of spring.
People believe that bright colours represent energy, life and joy. Huge bonfires are also lit in the evening as part of celebrations.
Life should be full of colours! And each colour is meant to be seen and enjoyed separately, for if they are all mixed together, all the different colours merge and will appear all black. All colours like red, yellow, green and orange should exist side by side and simultaneously be enjoyed together.
Similarly, in life, different roles that are played by the same person should exist peacefully and distinctly inside him. For example, when a father continues to play his role of a ‘father’ in office, things are bound to go for a toss. In our country, a politician is sometimes a father first and a leader later!
In whichever situation we are in, we should play the corresponding role to the hilt and then life is bound to become colourful! This concept was called ‘varnashram’ in ancient India. This meant that everyone – whether a doctor, teacher, engineer, father, brother or son – is expected to play their roles with full enthusiasm. Mixing professions will always be counterproductive.
If a doctor wants to do business, he should run a business separately and that should be secondary to his first profession and he should not make business out of medicine. Keeping these ‘containers’ of the mind separate and distinct is the secret of a happy life and this is what Holi teaches us.
All colours emanate from white, and when they are mixed together again, they become black. When your mind is white and aware of consciousness – pure, peaceful, happy and meditative – different colours and roles emerge. We get the strength to play various roles with full sincerity against the background.
We have to dip into our consciousness time and again. If we only look at and play around with colours outside of us, we are bound to find blackness all over again. Between roles we have to take deep rests, in order to play each role sincerely. Now, the biggest impediment to deep rest is desire. Desire means stress. Even petty desires cause high stress – the higher goals give relatively less botheration! Desire tortures the mind at times. So what does one do?
The only way out is to focus attention on that desire and surrender it. This act of focussing awareness or sight on the desire is called ‘Kamakshi’. With awareness, desire loses its grip and surrender happens and then nectar flows out from within.
The goddess, Kamakshi, holds a sugarcane stem in one hand and a flower in the other. The sugarcane stem is so hard and has to be squeezed in order to obtain sweetness, while the flower is soft and collecting nectar from it is so easy. This truly represents life, which indeed has a little of both! It is far easier to obtain this bliss from the inside than it is to try to extract pleasure from the outside world – which needs a lot more effort. So lift your Spirit with joy of colour!
Jai gurudev....
The ‘Holi’ festival is a fun-filled and popular occasion for celebration. People play Holi with chandan or sandalwood powder and coloured water. The festival is celebrated around early March each year, coinciding with the full bloom of spring.
People believe that bright colours represent energy, life and joy. Huge bonfires are also lit in the evening as part of celebrations.
Life should be full of colours! And each colour is meant to be seen and enjoyed separately, for if they are all mixed together, all the different colours merge and will appear all black. All colours like red, yellow, green and orange should exist side by side and simultaneously be enjoyed together.
Similarly, in life, different roles that are played by the same person should exist peacefully and distinctly inside him. For example, when a father continues to play his role of a ‘father’ in office, things are bound to go for a toss. In our country, a politician is sometimes a father first and a leader later!
In whichever situation we are in, we should play the corresponding role to the hilt and then life is bound to become colourful! This concept was called ‘varnashram’ in ancient India. This meant that everyone – whether a doctor, teacher, engineer, father, brother or son – is expected to play their roles with full enthusiasm. Mixing professions will always be counterproductive.
If a doctor wants to do business, he should run a business separately and that should be secondary to his first profession and he should not make business out of medicine. Keeping these ‘containers’ of the mind separate and distinct is the secret of a happy life and this is what Holi teaches us.
All colours emanate from white, and when they are mixed together again, they become black. When your mind is white and aware of consciousness – pure, peaceful, happy and meditative – different colours and roles emerge. We get the strength to play various roles with full sincerity against the background.
We have to dip into our consciousness time and again. If we only look at and play around with colours outside of us, we are bound to find blackness all over again. Between roles we have to take deep rests, in order to play each role sincerely. Now, the biggest impediment to deep rest is desire. Desire means stress. Even petty desires cause high stress – the higher goals give relatively less botheration! Desire tortures the mind at times. So what does one do?
The only way out is to focus attention on that desire and surrender it. This act of focussing awareness or sight on the desire is called ‘Kamakshi’. With awareness, desire loses its grip and surrender happens and then nectar flows out from within.
The goddess, Kamakshi, holds a sugarcane stem in one hand and a flower in the other. The sugarcane stem is so hard and has to be squeezed in order to obtain sweetness, while the flower is soft and collecting nectar from it is so easy. This truly represents life, which indeed has a little of both! It is far easier to obtain this bliss from the inside than it is to try to extract pleasure from the outside world – which needs a lot more effort. So lift your Spirit with joy of colour!
Jai gurudev....
07/03/2012
Why Visit Temple??
(Got this as a forward)
Here is a scientific explanation for our daily temple visit.
There are hundreds of temples all over India in different size, shape and locations but not all of them are considered to be in the Vedic way. Generally, the temples are located in a place where earth's magnetic waves pass through. In simple terms, these temples are located strategically at a place where the positive energy is abundantly available from the magnetic wave distribution of north/ south pole thrust.
Because of its location, where high magnetic values are available, the Main Idol is placed in the center, and also because they place a copper plate written with some Vedic scripts, which is buried, beneath the Main Idol's placement known as "Garbhagriha" or Moolasthan, the copper absorbs the earth's magnetic waves and radiates to the surroundings. Thus a person who regularly visits a temple and makes clockwise pradakshina of the Main Idol's placement, automatically receives the beamed magnetic waves which get absorbed by his body.
This is very slow and a regular visit will make him absorb more energy, known as positive energy. In addition, the Sanctum Sanctorum is completely enclosed on three sides. The effect of all energies is very high in here.The lamp that is lit radiates the heat and light energy.
The ringing of the bells and the chanting of prayers gives sound energy. The fragrance from the flowers, the burning of camphor give out chemical energy. The effect of all these energies is activated by the positive energy that comes out of the idol. This is in addition to the north/south pole magnetic energy that is absorbed by the copper plate and utensils that are kept in the Moolasthan.The water used for the Pooja is mixed with Cardamom, Benzoine, Holy Basil (Tulsi), Clove, etc is the "Theertham". This water becomes more energized because it receives the positive-ness of all these energies combined.
When persons go to the temple for Deepaaraadhana, and when the doors open up, the positive energy gushes out onto the persons who are there.The water that is sprinkled onto the people passes on the energy to all. That is the reason why, men are not allowed to wear shirts to the temple and ladies have to wear more ornaments because it is through these jewels (metal) that positive energy is absorbed in ladies. It is proved that Theertham is a very good blood purifier, as it is highly energized.
In addition, temples offer holy water. This water is mainly a source of magneto therapy as they place the copper water vessel at the Garbhagriha. It also contains cardamom, clove, saffron, etc to add taste and Tulsi (holy Basil ) leaves are put into the water to increase its medicinal value! The clove essence protects one from tooth decay, the saffron & Tulsi leave essence protects one from common cold and cough, cardamom and benzoine known as Pachha Karpuram , acts as a mouth refreshing agents. This way, one's health too is protected, by regularly visiting Temple !
Jai Gurudev..
Here is a scientific explanation for our daily temple visit.
There are hundreds of temples all over India in different size, shape and locations but not all of them are considered to be in the Vedic way. Generally, the temples are located in a place where earth's magnetic waves pass through. In simple terms, these temples are located strategically at a place where the positive energy is abundantly available from the magnetic wave distribution of north/ south pole thrust.
Because of its location, where high magnetic values are available, the Main Idol is placed in the center, and also because they place a copper plate written with some Vedic scripts, which is buried, beneath the Main Idol's placement known as "Garbhagriha" or Moolasthan, the copper absorbs the earth's magnetic waves and radiates to the surroundings. Thus a person who regularly visits a temple and makes clockwise pradakshina of the Main Idol's placement, automatically receives the beamed magnetic waves which get absorbed by his body.
This is very slow and a regular visit will make him absorb more energy, known as positive energy. In addition, the Sanctum Sanctorum is completely enclosed on three sides. The effect of all energies is very high in here.The lamp that is lit radiates the heat and light energy.
The ringing of the bells and the chanting of prayers gives sound energy. The fragrance from the flowers, the burning of camphor give out chemical energy. The effect of all these energies is activated by the positive energy that comes out of the idol. This is in addition to the north/south pole magnetic energy that is absorbed by the copper plate and utensils that are kept in the Moolasthan.The water used for the Pooja is mixed with Cardamom, Benzoine, Holy Basil (Tulsi), Clove, etc is the "Theertham". This water becomes more energized because it receives the positive-ness of all these energies combined.
When persons go to the temple for Deepaaraadhana, and when the doors open up, the positive energy gushes out onto the persons who are there.The water that is sprinkled onto the people passes on the energy to all. That is the reason why, men are not allowed to wear shirts to the temple and ladies have to wear more ornaments because it is through these jewels (metal) that positive energy is absorbed in ladies. It is proved that Theertham is a very good blood purifier, as it is highly energized.
In addition, temples offer holy water. This water is mainly a source of magneto therapy as they place the copper water vessel at the Garbhagriha. It also contains cardamom, clove, saffron, etc to add taste and Tulsi (holy Basil ) leaves are put into the water to increase its medicinal value! The clove essence protects one from tooth decay, the saffron & Tulsi leave essence protects one from common cold and cough, cardamom and benzoine known as Pachha Karpuram , acts as a mouth refreshing agents. This way, one's health too is protected, by regularly visiting Temple !
Jai Gurudev..
04/03/2012
Fun Time With Friends
During the weekend had friends come over to visit Pune and needless to say we had a great weekend.For me too,visits to Sarasbaug and Sinhagad were indeed refreshing,because its almost a decade or more since I went to these places.
Company of friends is always enjoyable.So all of us sure had a good time.
My friends arrived home around five in the evening and were treated to some hot batata wadas straight from the kadai, along with bakarwadi, chiwda, karanji, badusha and home made filter coffee,which they all throughly enjoyed.
Friday evening we spent some time at Sarasbaug,first at the famous Sarasbaug Ganapati temple.Though it was weebit dark still loved the blooming lotuses of varied colours in the said to be fountains which didn't work.There were some dummy cranes in the midst of the water which did for a few seconds dupe us into thinking they were real.Close by was a seagull perched so comfortable on a rock there and this time we were yet again taken for a ride,because this time we thought it was dummy and it turned out to be a real one, sitting still waiting for its prey.
Couldn't click any pictures, first we forgot our cameras second it was a little too dark.
We next visited our mutual friend at Katraj who has recently been elevated to the status of grandmother.All babies are cute and so was this one too.
Enjoyed coffee and Kolhapuri misal at their place.
After pet pooja all of us were just in the rght frame to hit the bed, but we had 45 minutes of ride before we reached home.
Saturday we were all ready for Sinhagad after a typical Maharashtrian breakfast of Kanda poha and chai.On the way we stopped for a bit to click some pictures(We remembered to carry the camera today) at Khadakwasala lake.The early morning chill breeze and the lake view was indeed very scenic and sure would inspire any poet to write a few lines....bad luck I am no poet:).
We reached Sinhagad to find a big notice there saying vehicles will not be allowed uphill for 2 months due to work going on there.Aah!!that was soooo very disappointing for all of us,none of us had the energy to even imagine doing it on foot,so a bit dejected and disappointed, we walked back to the car and were about to get in when someone just signalled to us to come,and came to us and said if anyof us were a govt servant and carried our ID's we could take our vehicle.He gave us option 2 too, which was to wait and go in the workers jeep.We did have two govt servants with us and both of them had their ID's with them.So with the smiles back and thanking GOD for coming to our help as HE ALWAYS does,(We just need to put all our faith on HIM and be rest assured that HE will take care of us) we drove our way up.It was good weather,sun shining and also a nice chill breeze to keep the heat away.
We spent sometime exploring the fort and seeing the important spots there,the DEv tanki, Kalyan Gate and many such.It is truly unimaginable how during Shivaji's time they climbed this on day to day basis and how the food and other material reached them.
A visit to Sinhagad is never complete without the famous Kanda bajji, bakri pitla and matka dahi,sure enough we did total justice to all of it and we alsi had barleli vangi this time which was spicy and would burn a hole right through.The bakri was excellent, so very soft and piping hot,pitla was good too.The matka dahi was indeed awesome,made from full cream milk,waah!! was just out of the world stuff.
Afer a sumptuous and enjoyable mini meal it was time for us to head downwards because we had a couple of other places too on the agenda.
Our next stop was Chitale Bandhu for soem bakarwadi&farsan, Laxmi road, a brief vist to PN Gadgil,some time at the famous and very old 'Kirti' a look around Vishrambaug wada and then the most popular Tulsi baug.My friends were totally lost at the antique brass shops in Tulsi baug,the result was that we ended spending a couple of hours there.
I must not forget to mention here that my friends were so impressed with the fruit basket I have at home and they all wanted one.Unfortunately that particular model was
no more in stock in any of the shops there.Quitting or giving up when you have once set your mind on something was sure one important thing I learnt here.We had only a shop which could probably have the fruit basket we were looking for and he was closed briefly for a lunch break.It was indeed amusing to me to watch so many like us queued up there outside the most popular TULSI shop,as if they were waiting for darshan of God Almighty,of course me too waited out there and just barged into the shop asking around for the fruit basket, and sure enough we did get it here, what a sign of relief on all our faces.Little things in life give us great pleasure and joy and such an immense sense of achievbement is what this experience taught me.Since we were already way behind schedule we had to cut out Aghakhan palace from our agenda and our next place of visit was Chatushringi Mata Temple.
After so many many years I climbed the temple and had a blissful darshan of "MAA".Went back down memory lane when our 'Lalitha Sahasranama' Group of ladies used to be here on the first day of navratri and chant Lalitha sahasranama in the temple premises which used to be so full of energy and great vibrations.
After temple darshan time once again for some snacks and so headed towards canal road for some sev puri stuff.It was a take away and so we headed homwards with sev puri,enjoyed sev puri with some filter coffee and then as is natural all of us were a teeny bit exhausted and needed to rest a while.
Dinner was simple home made phulaks ,cabbage bajhi,amti,which my maid Savita so lovingly served us all hot.The conversatiobn went to the bhakri we had at Sinhagad and Savita(my maid)had to prove that she was equally efficient in turning out soft bhakris insisted on making them for us.So we all enjoyed another round bhakri and this time home made.
My friends had an early train to catch the next morning so after sitting a while and recollecting the days events, it was time for all to say good night for the day.
Next morning after chai with bread toast it was time for them to say bye.I must conclude by thanking the driver for doing a great job for us all through their stay.
A nice weekend that!!
jai gurudev....
Company of friends is always enjoyable.So all of us sure had a good time.
My friends arrived home around five in the evening and were treated to some hot batata wadas straight from the kadai, along with bakarwadi, chiwda, karanji, badusha and home made filter coffee,which they all throughly enjoyed.
Friday evening we spent some time at Sarasbaug,first at the famous Sarasbaug Ganapati temple.Though it was weebit dark still loved the blooming lotuses of varied colours in the said to be fountains which didn't work.There were some dummy cranes in the midst of the water which did for a few seconds dupe us into thinking they were real.Close by was a seagull perched so comfortable on a rock there and this time we were yet again taken for a ride,because this time we thought it was dummy and it turned out to be a real one, sitting still waiting for its prey.
Couldn't click any pictures, first we forgot our cameras second it was a little too dark.
We next visited our mutual friend at Katraj who has recently been elevated to the status of grandmother.All babies are cute and so was this one too.
Enjoyed coffee and Kolhapuri misal at their place.
After pet pooja all of us were just in the rght frame to hit the bed, but we had 45 minutes of ride before we reached home.
Saturday we were all ready for Sinhagad after a typical Maharashtrian breakfast of Kanda poha and chai.On the way we stopped for a bit to click some pictures(We remembered to carry the camera today) at Khadakwasala lake.The early morning chill breeze and the lake view was indeed very scenic and sure would inspire any poet to write a few lines....bad luck I am no poet:).
We reached Sinhagad to find a big notice there saying vehicles will not be allowed uphill for 2 months due to work going on there.Aah!!that was soooo very disappointing for all of us,none of us had the energy to even imagine doing it on foot,so a bit dejected and disappointed, we walked back to the car and were about to get in when someone just signalled to us to come,and came to us and said if anyof us were a govt servant and carried our ID's we could take our vehicle.He gave us option 2 too, which was to wait and go in the workers jeep.We did have two govt servants with us and both of them had their ID's with them.So with the smiles back and thanking GOD for coming to our help as HE ALWAYS does,(We just need to put all our faith on HIM and be rest assured that HE will take care of us) we drove our way up.It was good weather,sun shining and also a nice chill breeze to keep the heat away.
We spent sometime exploring the fort and seeing the important spots there,the DEv tanki, Kalyan Gate and many such.It is truly unimaginable how during Shivaji's time they climbed this on day to day basis and how the food and other material reached them.
A visit to Sinhagad is never complete without the famous Kanda bajji, bakri pitla and matka dahi,sure enough we did total justice to all of it and we alsi had barleli vangi this time which was spicy and would burn a hole right through.The bakri was excellent, so very soft and piping hot,pitla was good too.The matka dahi was indeed awesome,made from full cream milk,waah!! was just out of the world stuff.
Afer a sumptuous and enjoyable mini meal it was time for us to head downwards because we had a couple of other places too on the agenda.
Our next stop was Chitale Bandhu for soem bakarwadi&farsan, Laxmi road, a brief vist to PN Gadgil,some time at the famous and very old 'Kirti' a look around Vishrambaug wada and then the most popular Tulsi baug.My friends were totally lost at the antique brass shops in Tulsi baug,the result was that we ended spending a couple of hours there.
I must not forget to mention here that my friends were so impressed with the fruit basket I have at home and they all wanted one.Unfortunately that particular model was
no more in stock in any of the shops there.Quitting or giving up when you have once set your mind on something was sure one important thing I learnt here.We had only a shop which could probably have the fruit basket we were looking for and he was closed briefly for a lunch break.It was indeed amusing to me to watch so many like us queued up there outside the most popular TULSI shop,as if they were waiting for darshan of God Almighty,of course me too waited out there and just barged into the shop asking around for the fruit basket, and sure enough we did get it here, what a sign of relief on all our faces.Little things in life give us great pleasure and joy and such an immense sense of achievbement is what this experience taught me.Since we were already way behind schedule we had to cut out Aghakhan palace from our agenda and our next place of visit was Chatushringi Mata Temple.
After so many many years I climbed the temple and had a blissful darshan of "MAA".Went back down memory lane when our 'Lalitha Sahasranama' Group of ladies used to be here on the first day of navratri and chant Lalitha sahasranama in the temple premises which used to be so full of energy and great vibrations.
After temple darshan time once again for some snacks and so headed towards canal road for some sev puri stuff.It was a take away and so we headed homwards with sev puri,enjoyed sev puri with some filter coffee and then as is natural all of us were a teeny bit exhausted and needed to rest a while.
Dinner was simple home made phulaks ,cabbage bajhi,amti,which my maid Savita so lovingly served us all hot.The conversatiobn went to the bhakri we had at Sinhagad and Savita(my maid)had to prove that she was equally efficient in turning out soft bhakris insisted on making them for us.So we all enjoyed another round bhakri and this time home made.
My friends had an early train to catch the next morning so after sitting a while and recollecting the days events, it was time for all to say good night for the day.
Next morning after chai with bread toast it was time for them to say bye.I must conclude by thanking the driver for doing a great job for us all through their stay.
A nice weekend that!!
jai gurudev....
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