DEEPAN MUKHERJEE

Each New Year, we wish others happiness and prosperity. What really is the sign of prosperity? There are several – a smile, contentment, freedom, the willingness to share, fearlessness and the trust and confidence that you will get what you need in life. Welcome the New Year with a genuine smile. As you flip the calendar, keep flipping your mind as well. Don’t fill your future dates with past events. Learn and unlearn from the past, and move on. You want to be free of greed, hatred, jealousy and all such imperfections. Understand that negative emotions are due to the past. Do not let the past affect your life in the present. If you cannot forgive the past, then your future will be miserable. This New Year make up with someone with whom you are not on good terms. Start life afresh. In the New Year, wish peace and prosperity for all. Do selfless service. Live your life well. Realise that your priority is to check violence in the world, free of domestic and societal violence. Make a resolution to do more good, help people in need and bring solace to those suffering. Whenever you are useful to people, merit will never be lost. Any good gesture or action of yours will always come back to you. Today you have the whole world for a family. That’s what you need to feel, that everybody is part of your own family. Take responsibility. Then there is no suffering. The spiritual dimension of life brings a great sense of belongingness, responsibility, compassion and caring for the whole world, for all life. In its truest form spirituality helps us overcome narrow boundaries of caste, creed, religion and nationality and gives you a broader awareness of life everywhere. Open your eyes and see how much you have been given. Focus on what you have rather than what you don’t have. The more grateful you are, the more will be given to you. Conversely, the more you complain, the more will be taken away from you. This is what Jesus Christ meant when he said, “Those who have will be given more; those who don’t give, and even what they have will be taken away from them.” With gratitude, reach out and help those who are less endowed. You will get much contentment when you serve selflessly. Then you realise that your problems aren’t so big after all. The biggest reason for mental depression is the constant refrain of the mind that says, “What about me?” This is a sign of lack of prosperity. Become free like a bird. Open your wings and learn to fly. This is something you have to experience within yourself. If you think you are in bondage, you will remain bound here. Be free. When will you experience freedom? After you die? Become free right now. Sit down and become contented. Spend some time in meditation and satsang. This not only calms your mind, your inner self becomes strong enough to deal with challenges. When the mind relaxes, the intellect becomes sharp. When the mind is loaded with ambitions and feverish desires, then the intellect loses its keenness. When intellect and observation are not sharp, life does not express itself fully. Ideas don’t flow properly and abilities diminish day by day. With this understanding, you step out of your narrow confines and that will solve many of the problems in your life. When you are centred, there is happiness always. With this calmness, talents arise naturally. Intuition comes, beauty comes, peace comes; Love springs up. Prosperity comes. Note:- You can see the video in - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cP25u1nuMyQ

Inn ankhon mein ankh mila ke dekho to sahi, pyar dikhta hai ki nahi,
Ek kadam bada ke dekho to sahi, rasta milta hai ki nahi,
Hath batake dekho to sahi, kaam hota hai ki nahi,
Ek baar muskarake dekho to sahi, duniya apnati hai ke nahin,
Ek baar naam le ke dekho to sahi, jeevan safal hota hai ke nahi.

-SRI SRI

Jaigurudev!!!

A twenty-one-year-old girl tells her Mom that she has missed her period for two months. Very worried, the mother goes to the chemist and buys a test kit. The test result shows that the girl is pregnant.

Shouting, cursing, crying, the mother says, ‘Who was the pig that did this to you? I want to know!’ The girl picks up the phone and makes a call.

Half an hour later a Ferrari stops in front of their house; a mature and distinguished man with grey hair, impeccably dressed in a very expensive suit, steps out of the car and enters the house. He sits in the living room with the father, the mother and the girl, and tells them,

‘Good morning, your daughter has informed me of the problem. I can’t marry her because of my personal family situation, but I’ll provide support.’

‘If a girl is born, I will bequeath her two supermarket stores, a townhouse, a beach villa and a $1,000,000 bank account. If a boy is born, my legacy will be a couple of factories and a $2,000,000 bank account. If it is twins, a factory and $1,000,000 each. However, if there is a miscarriage, what do you suggest I do?’

At this point, the father, who had remained silent, places a hand firmly on the man’s shoulder and tells him, ‘Then you try again.’

Buddha, one day, was on deep thought about the worldly activities and theways of instilling goodness in human.The following is the text of conversation between him and his disciple

One of his disciples approached him and said humbly " Oh my teacher ! While you are so much concerned about the world and others, why don't you look into the welfare and needs of your own disciples also."
Buddha : "OK.. Tell me how I can help you?"
Disciple : "Master! My attire is worn out and is beyond the decency to wearthe same. Can I get a new one, please."
Buddha found the robe indeed was in a bad condition which needed replacement. He asked the store keeper to give the disciple a new robe towear on. The disciple thanked Buddha and retired to his room.
Though he met his disciple's requirement, Buddha was not all that contended on hisdecision. He realized he missed out some point. A while after, he realized what he should have asked the disciple.

He went to his disciple's place and asked him "Is your new attirecomfortable? Do you need anything more ?"
Disciple : "Thank you my Master. The attire is indeed very comfortable. I need nothing more"
Buddha : "Having got the new one, what did you do with your old attire?"
Disciple : "I am using it as my bed spread"
Buddha "Then.. hope you have disposed off your old bed spread"
Disciple " No.. no.. master. I am using my old bedspread as my window curtain"
Buddha " What about your old Curtain?"
Disciple "Being used to handle hot utensils in the kitchen"
Buddha : "Oh.. I see.. Can you tell me what did they do with the old cloth they used in Kitchen"
Disciple : "They are being used to wash the floor."
Buddha "Then, what about the old rug being used to wash the floor...???"
Disciple "Master, since they were torn off so much, we could not find any better use, but to use as a twig in the oil lamp, which is right now lit inyour study room...."

BUDDHA SMILED IN CONTENTMENT AND LEFT FOR HIS ROOM.

Madan Mohan Malaviya was a freedom fighter, author, editor & publisher of newspapers, educationist, staunch Hindu. He is credited with popularising the slogan "Satymeva Jayate". He was the first one to establish a private university in India which is based on the model of historical Nalanda, Takasheela Vidya Peethams.

When Malaviya was trying to build a good university, he had to overcome many difficulties and barriers. He worked with determination to start the university. There was a funds crisis; but he did not get disheartened. He went from town to town, met many rich people and traders to collect donations.

He went to the Nizam of Hyderabad(then reputedly the richest man in the world) to request him for funds. The Nizam was furious, " How dare you come to me for funds and that too for a Hindu University? " He roared with anger, took off his footwear and flung it at Malaviya.

Malaviya picked up the footwear and left silently. He went directly to the market place and began to auction the footwear. As it was Nizam's footwear, many came forward to buy it. The bids kept going up.

When Nizam heard of this, he became uneasy. He thought it would be an insult if his footwear were to be bought by someone for a pittance. So he sent one of his attendants with the instruction, 'Buy that footwear no matter whatever the price be!'

Thus, Malaviya managed to sell the Nizam's own footwear back to him, for a huge amount. He used that money to build the Banaras Hindu University.

A trainee in a big multinational company dialed CEO by mistake and said,
"Hey, send a hot coffee in accounts Dept in 2 min"
CEO shouted: Do you know with whom u are talking?
Trainee: NO
CEO: I am CEO of the Company.
Trainee in the same tone: Do you know with whom you are talking?
CEO: No
Trainee said: Thank God!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
and disconnected the phone.

One fine day, a bus driver went to the bus garage, started his bus, and drove off along the route. No problems for the first few stops - a few people got on, a few got off, and things went generally well.

At the next stop, however, a big hulk like Pathan got in. Six feet four, built like a wrestler, arms hanging down to the ground. He glared at the conductor and said, "Pathan doesn't pay!" and sat down at the back.

Conductor didn't argue with Pathan, but he wasn't happy about it. The next day the same thing happened, Pathan got on again, made a show of refusing to pay, and sat down. And the next day, and the next..

This grated on the bus driver, who started losing sleep over the way Pathan was taking advantage of poor conductor. Finally he could stand it no longer. He signed up for body building courses, karate, judo, and all that good stuff.

By the end of the summer, he had become quite strong; what's more, he felt really good about himself. So, on the next Monday, when Pathan once again got on the bus and said, "Pathan doesn't pay!"

The Conductor stood up, glared back at Pathan, and screamed, "And why not?"

With a surprised look on his face, Pathan replied,

"Pathan has a bus pass."

Next morning at 4 am a dozen of FBI agents and local police officers dug up the garden and found no guns.

Confused old man wrote a letter to his mentioning what had happened and asked what he should do now.

His son replied,” Go ahead and plant your potatoes , Dad. This is the best I can do for you from here.”

Moral of the Story

NO MATTER WHERE YOU ARE IN THE WORLD,IF HAVE DECIDED TO DO SOMETHING DEEP INSIDE FROM YOUR HEART,YOU CAN DO IT. IT IS THE THOUGHT THAT MATTERS.NOT WHERE YOU ARE OR THE PERSON IS.

Jaigurudev !!!

Someone had asked Bawa how to stay enthusiastic while doing things when many people or the people you care about criticize you often… Here is what he had said to that person

Firstly, know that when you are criticized, it means you are doing something. If you are just sitting around doing nothing, no one will criticize you. They might ignore you or scold you, but they can’t criticize you

Secondly, because you are doing something, it means there are flaws. As Guruji says, there is no action that doesn’t have flaws. Some flaws are apparent and some are not. Forget about us, people even criticize Guruji!!

Thirdly, if there are flaws, feel good that you are coming to know about them, otherwise they may not go away.

And fourthly, yes, it’s tough to be able to take criticism and still not lose your enthusiasm. The best way is to invite criticism and then play with it

Life’s a game, not to be taken too seriously… Relax, Smile and Breathe!!

Jai Gurudev !!!

When Krishna was very young, he was the epi center of many miracles and charming stories…

An extremely poisonous King Serpent called Kaaliya made a home for himself in one of the lagoons of the Yamuna near Vrindavan. He was so very poisonous, that all the fish in the lagoon died, and even the plants and trees near the water’s edge started to wilt. It is said that the vapours emanating from Kaaliya were so poisonous that even birds flying above the waters would drop dead from the sky. He was horrific and malignant.

Krishna with his friends used to take the cows to graze in the forests of Vrindavan and got to know about this terrible snake. He decided to put an end to the monster and boldly jumped into the lake and made lots of loud noises and splashed about in the water to challenge Kaaliya. Soon the fiercesome beast rose out of the water spitting fire and poison making feral hissing noises intent on the destruction of this insignificant (so he thought) protagonist. He wrapped the little Krishna in his enormous coils and to the horror of Krishna’s watching friends dived into the lake with him…

The waters of the lagoon roiled and boiled, and big bubbles came to the surface ans burst and for a long time there was no sign of Krishna… His friends panicked and rushed to the village to call the elders and soon the entire village was assembled at the lake side, praying fervently for Krishna’s deliverance… By now the fight must have been very deep in the water or the snake may have overwhelmed Krishna and gone into deep waters… there was no sign of any activity… and many of the gopis were openly bemoaning and crying about their lost little one…

When Suddenly, the waters parted and the enormous, fearsome Kaaliya with his many hoods emerged out of the lake… but his once proud heads were bowed and he looked a little sheepish… when everyone joyously noticed that the young Krishna was merrily dancing on the the hoods of Kaaliya… A great shout and a huge sigh of relief went out from the crowd and big time celebrations started to felicitate this great victory… Krishna went to the shores and charged the defeated great snake to become the guardian of the lake and protect the villagers from other miscreants and demons… and the one time terror of the Yamuna Lagoon became the protector and guardian… All praised and revered and thanked the Little Lord Krishna…

Isn’t that a really lovely story? There is an even better interpretation to it… which will in the next post

Jaigurudev!!!

Radha was very special to Krishna… Here is one of the most beautiful stories about Radha that i know:

Much after Vrindavan, when Krishna was relaxing with his many wives, Rukmini his head wife threw a tantrum… All the time i hear Radhe Krishna, Radhe Govind… she is not even married to you… how come no one sings about Rukmini, or for that matter any of the other of your wives?! Whats wrong with us?… etc, etc

Krishna listened patiently and then suddenly held his head and complained of a head ache. Now Rukmini felt sorry, and became all loving and docile again… but the head ache refused to go… Each wife had her own suggestion about what to do… some pressed feet, others did some aroma therapy, still others made pastes from herbs… 16000+ cures were presented, none worked, his head ache only grew worse…

Narada the travelling Muni then made an appearance (Besides being a Muni, he was also something of a doctor) and he examined Krishna, felt his pulse, etc and then proclaimed that Krishna was suffering from a very rare type of a headache… one that could only be cured by a Beloved of Krishna putting his or her foot on Krishna’s head… Krishna was in bed moaning softly, and the wives and the courtiers of the palace had a conference… They were all beloved of Krishna, but none dared to put their foot on the Lord’s head, doing so would mean an eternity in Hell! and they were pondering and wondering what to do…

… and the news reached Radha in Vrindavan about Krishna’s ill health and she rushed to his palace and when appraised of everything, asked immidiately to be taken to Krishna, she would happily put her foot on His head… Rukmini, the other wives and the rest of the palace was aghast at her quick decision… Rukmini herself told her that if she Radha did that, she would burn in hell forever…

If my Lord gets even one second of relief from his pain, then i will willingly go to hell forever said Radha as she ran to her Krishna and put her foot on his head, curing Him completely…

An abashed Rukmini along with all the other wives touched Radha’s feet and realised how deep her love for Krishna was… and why people for centuries to come will sing Radhe Krishna!!

May our love for Guruji be like Radha’s love for Krishna!

Jai Gurudev !!!

People have been asking Guruji why we do Om Namah Shivaya chanting… and why we do it 108 times.

Namah, read backwards is manah, the mind which is directed outwards and confused, dull, etc… you turn the mind inwards, it becomes Namah, and when you go inwards, what do you find? Shiva! The embodiment of Bliss, peace and tranquility… So we chant the Om Namah Shivaya to turn ourselves inwards to the Bliss and tranquility of the Being…

Other than this there are 3 more reasons:

1. Like we take a bath everyday (hopefully:)), and that cleans our physical body, we need to take a “mantrasnaan”, a bath with mantras, this rejuvenates and cleanses our subtle body.

2. There are 12 zodiac signs and 9 planets. As the 9 planets move through the 12 signs, their positions affect us either negatively or positively. Chanting the Om Namah Shivaya 108 times (12 x 9 = 108 duh!), nullifies any negative effects and enhances positive effects of the planets on us! You will suddenly find yourself becoming very lucky and notice that things that were troubling you will simply vanish

3. Chanting Om Namah Shivaya is sooooooo nice!!!

Make this a part of your Sadhana everyday… it doesn’t take more than about 10 minutes or so… and you will really feel very nice

Happy Chanting!

Jai Gurudev

Note:- This post is adopted from Bawa's blog.

A very touchy story if you link it with your life ... One fine day it came to know that The God is distributing apples to humans in his place, at heaven. One small kid was so happy to receive that news and it went with lot of enjoyment to heaven to get the apple from The God. There was a big queue standing to get apple from The God and the kid also joined in that queue. While standing, the kid was fully excited and thrilled for the fact that he is going to receive the apple, in person from The God's hands. the kid's turn too came and the kid showed its both the hands to receive apple. The God gave the apple but unfortunately the tiny hands couldn't hold that big apple. Apple fell down and got wasted in mud. The kid got so disappointed & starts crying. The ministers near The God informed that if the kid likes to have another apple from The God again, then the kid has to again follow the queue. Having waited for so long the kid didn't want to return earth with empty hands. So the kid decided to wait again in the queue. This time the queue has become even longer than the previous one. While waiting in queue, the kid could see lot of people who returns back with apple in hands and utmost satisfaction on their faces. The kid was so much disappointed and thought why me alone didn't get the apple in hand when all others were easily able to get it. What is the sin I did that I alone should suffer like this. Now the kid was so scared that it should not miss the apple again. Again its turn came and The God gave the apple to the kid's hands and after giving the apple The God spoke to the kid. "My dear child, last time after giving you the apple only, I noticed the apple I gave to you was a rotten apple and that's why I made that to fell down from your hands. Having given you a rotten apple, I felt bad for you and I wanted to give you the best apple in the farm and that time the best apple in the farm was growing and that's why I made you to wait such a long time in the queue. Here it is. Now the apple that you have in hand is 'The Best' apple in the farm till to date. Enjoy." MORAL : Sometimes it so happens, as even after we put our 100% dedication and commitment things may get delayed or things may go wrong. Believe that The Guru has something great for us and that's why this has happened. Always say, 'Gratitude & patience is absolutely the best way to bring more in one's life'

There are five secrets which are sacred and are guarded by the subtle beings and angels in this creation. They are:

1. Jananarahasya (the secret of birth)
Birth is a secret. How a soul takes a body, the criteria for selecting the place of birth, time of birth, type of body, parents, etc are all a secret.

2. Maranarahasya (the secret of death)
Death is a highly guarded secret. Death remains a mystery. The process of separation of spirit from matter and its journey from then on is a secret.

3. Rajarahasya (the royal secret, the secret of ruling)
The principles of governing; the principles of maintaining the orderliness in creation are a secret.

4. Prakritirahasya (the secret of nature)
Nature is a mystery. The more you know about nature, the mystery deepens. The more a scientist knows, the more he feels there is much more to know. Science, though appearing to resolve the mystery in creation, has deepened it. The knowledge of particles, wave functions, black holes, the vacuum state, etc have only deepened the mystery.

5. Mantrarahasya (secret of mantras)
The mantras and their effect, influence, method and mode of working are all a mystery. Mantras are the impulses or rhythms of consciousness, which itself is a mystery.

Usually in the West, a secret is shameful and dishonest. But in the East, it is honored and regarded as sacred.

- Sri Sri

|| Jai Guru Dev ||

=========================

With a heavy heart we landed in Delhi by 1am .Before going to sleep i prayed to "HIM". In the morning a felt a huge blow on my bum ,it was my bro .He was waking me up for last 7 minutes as I had a call waiting on his mobile. It was 5.30 am and my best school friend Anup Paul was on the line. "Tu Kahan Hai Abhi?"{Where are you now?} "Aur tera fone kahan hai?"{And where is your mobile?} Then I told him the whole episode of last night. "Tujhe pata hai kal raat ko 11 baje mujhe kiska fone aaya?"Anup asked me.{Do you know who called me up last night at 11?}. How the hell am I supposed to know that?
"The Airport security commander in chief of Bangalore Airport called me up and said in a robust voice ,May I know whom am I talking to? I thought it was you pinging me as the call came from your number"Anup said. "Keep going you are sounding interesting "I said. "Do you know whose no. is this? We found it in the Airport Lounge."And then Anup narrated me the whole thrilling story as told to him by the Commander.
My mobile was lying in the chair ,and the sweeper {who was a AOL devotee}saw Guruji's picture as the wallpaper of my mobile and she took the mobile to the security officer who also was a AOL Devotee,who inturn took the handset to the commander.The commander just scrolled through the phonebook and dialled the first number in it which was ANUP PAUL and who also coincidently was settled in Bangalore.
I was then told to fax a authority letter to commanders office stating that i know anup and hence the mobile may be handed over to him.So Yeh hai meri ek aur mazzdar kahani.

Sometimes I feel awkward while bothering for such small things. But its been said when mind is settled with small things then only you can have a broad vision.

Jaigurudev!!!

*Chatur woh jo jane upay char. Chatur kare na chinta ...* *One who knows the four ways is clever and the clever never worries.* Gurudev's short talk was in Hindi. "First option is to see that everything changes. Worry comes because we think a situation will not change. Every situation changes, so where is the need to worry. Secondly we must accept that certain things will not change. Like December month is cold. Everybody will die one day. When we know certain things will not change we feel peaceful inside. Thirdly *bhitar ke josh jagao, samasyayen bhag jayenge-* increase inner enthusiasm, problems will run away. (Guruji has given us a number of tools to do this. Many of our AOL practices are aimed at increasing enthusiasm, dynamism). If all these do not work, fourthly and finally- *samarpan kar do *Surrender. * Jo yeh char upay janta hai, woh chatur kehelata hai* One who knows these four ways is called the clever one, the wise one. *Aur chatur kabhi chinta nahin karta-* And a clever person never worries. If still you have any problem, put it in the Botheration Basket/Question Basket. Yahan Ek niyam hai - * Yahan Ashram mein chinta leke aao. Lekin sab chinta yahan chhod jao.* (There is a rule here - *Bring all your worries here, but before leaving the Ashram leave behind all your worries here.)*"