BODY OF SAINTS ARE LIKE PILGRIMS

साधूनां दर्शनं तिर्थभूता ही साधवः
कालेन फलते तीर्थं सद्य साधुसमागमः

साधुओं का शरीर ही तीर्थ स्वरुप है, उनके दर्शन से ही पुण्य होता है. साधुओ में और तीर्थो में एक बड़ा भारी अंतर है,तीर्थो में जाने का फल तो कालांतर से मिलता है,किन्तु साधुओ के समागम का फल तत्काल ही मिल जाता है. अतः सच्चे साधुओ का सत्संग तो बहुत दूर की बात है , उनका दर्शन ही कोटि तीर्थो से अधिक होता है.

The body of the saints are just like a pilgrim. The only darshan of a true saint equalizes Punya(Good Deeds) of that obtained from going to a pilgrims. The most important difference between the saint and pilgrims is that the fruit of going to pilgrims will be obtained after long long time but the benefit or fruit of saints company will be obtained immediately. Therefore only the darshan of true saints have more fruit or good deeds than that of going to the pilgrims.

- JAGADGURU SHREE KRIPALUJI MAHARAJ

SURRENDER MEANS TO DO NOTHING

What is Surrender? Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj  explains - We have to surrender to God. Sharanagati or Surrender means to do nothing. But since eternity we are used to doing everything so to come the state of doing nothing, we have to do a lot - and the name of this is Sadhana.We have to ultimately reach a stage where God does everything and surrender completely to Him.The mind has to be forcibly removed from the wrong place. You have to remove it from the place it is attached and this will not happen unless you attach it to God.

SHREE KRISHNA IS THE FOREMOST OF ALL DIVINE FORMS OF GOD

ब्रह्म के अनेक रूप, गोविन्द राधे,

सर्वरूप आश्रय कृष्ण बता दे.

brahm ke anek roop govind radhe

sarvaswaroop ashray krishna bata de

Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj says that God has uncountable forms, but three are main: Brahma, Paramatma, and Bhagawan. Bhagawan Shri Krishna is foremost of all the divine forms of God because all the divine powers are revealed in His personality; they are only partially revealed in the other forms. There are not multiple Gods, rather one God has different forms related to the powers that are manifested. For this reason, the form of Shri Krishna has special importance.

DIVINE BIRTHDAY OF H.H.SWAMI MUKUNDANANDAJI

Wishing You Happy Happy Birthday to Swami Mukundanandaji, a senior Disciple Of Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj. Auspicious was the day, Blessed were the Souls, Grace Saw no limits when you came here for all. Thank You Swamiji for coming in our life and making it worth living. Radhe Radhe.

Swami Mukundananda: An Introduction

 Swami Mukundananda is a renowned spiritual teacher from India, and is the senior disciple of Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj. Swamiji is a unique sanyasi,who has a distinguished technical and management  educational background as well.

Academic and Professional Accomplishments

Swami Mukundananda completed B.Tech. from the world-renowned Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi.  He then did MBA from the equally distinguished Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Kolkata.  After that, he worked for some time with one of India's topmost industrial houses. However, distinguished material education and a promising corporate career did not quench his thirst for knowing the Absolute Truth. The longing for God was so strong that he renounced his career and travelled throughout India as a sanyasi.

Inspiring Discourses

Swamiji’s lectures cover the teachings of the Vedas, Upanishads, Shreemad Bhagavatam, Puranas, Bhagavad Geeta, Ramayan, and other Eastern scriptures and Western philosophies. Like the true Disciple of a true Master, Swamiji masterfully quotes from the scriptures of all the great religions, to satisfy even the most discerning of knowledge-seekers.  He also reveals the simple and straightforward path to God-realization that can be practiced by anyone. Hearing the profound secrets of the Vedas from him is a rare privilege, for he is able to explain the ancient esoteric knowledge with rigourous scientific logic, in the modern context.           Using perfect logic, and a simple-yet-scientific approach, Swamiji offers new ways of understanding and applying the knowledge of the scriptures in our daily lives.

For the last quarter of a century, Shree Swamiji has been traveling far and wide, awakening hundreds of thousands of seekers.  Wherever Swamji goes, he attracts huge audiences.  Although Swamiji started preaching in India two decades ago, he now preaches both in India and abroad.  He has inspired innumerable devotees in Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong, where his visit is always anxiously awaited.  Since 2008, on the instruction of Shree Maharajji, Swamiji has increasingly begun spending more time in USA, where his educational background and command over the English language make his programs particularly charming to the intelligentsia, professionals, and academicians.

          

Hearing the profound secrets of the Vedas from Swamiji  is a rare privilege, for he is able to explain the ancient esoteric knowledge with rigourous scientific logic, in the modern context.

APPRECIATION - REASON FOR SPIRITUAL DOWNFALL

We like to be appreciated by others. This is a major reason for a person's downfall spiritually. We should try to become a good person, rather than expecting others to appreciate us even though we might have ill-feelings for others. When someone criticizes or scolds us, we start feeling bad. We get angry and annoyed with that person and we sometimes turn hostile towards that person. We harbor hatred and negative feelings for others. This kind of feeling is very harmful for us.

If we continuously remember people or incidents that increase negative feelings inside us, then we are causing harm to ourselves by dirtying our mind. Our aim should be practice the art of continuously remembering God and Guru, who are pure and Divine personalities. This alone will cleanse our heart and mind. In our lives, we have developed a one-sided attitude where we only like to be appreciated and not criticized.

NEVER THINK YOU ARE ALONE

We assume that we are all alone and that nobody knows what we are thinking. A man thinks against his wife while sitting next to her, because he is confident that she cannot read his thoughts. However , we forget a very important point. Our thoughts are never completely private . 

Sitting in our heart, God takes note of each and every thought , and gives us the fruit of that thought .In our false confidence of privacy , we commit many offences and throw away the benefits of devotional practice. On one hand we cry and on the other hand , we commit many wrongful actions.

It will take some amount of practice to remember that God is living inside us. Make it a point to realize Him in your heart. First try to do this every hour.

SURRENDER TO A GOD REALIZED SAINT

We should first faithfully surrender to a Guru (a God-realized Saint whom we have chosen to be our Spiritual Master). We should wholeheartedly follow His every instruction and teaching. This is the true beginning of Sadhana or spiritual practice. By surrendering ourselves to a Guru, we begin our spiritual journey.

In the material world, we gain knowledge by trusting the words of people with a higher intellect. Let us suppose that a person without any knowledge of law visits an advocate. The advocate teaches him how to tackle questions in a court to escape penalties. If the person does exactly as told by his advocate, he might win the case. We see that by having faith in the advocate's words, the person overcomes his challenges.

Similarly, when we are sick, we completely trust a doctor for our treatment without having any knowledge of medicine. We follow his instructions with full faith to get well. If we take medicine according to our wish, then it could be harmful to us. Even at school, we follow the words of people with a higher intellect (teachers), and complete our education.

We have to apply the same principle in the spiritual realm also. First, we have to search for a true Saint. Till we find a true Saint (God-realized Saint) we have to keep searching for Him. Once we find and accept such a Guru, we must stop searching and visiting other Saints. We have to surrender our mind to that Guru and do exactly as He instructs, without any questions or arguments. This is true or complete surrender - surrender of the mind.

POPULARITY AND PRESTIGE- HURDLES IN DEVOTION

The goal of popularity and prestige is also extreme kusang. Often what happens is that a devotee, upon gaining some knowledge and experience, goes around bragging amongst people and gradually assumes a form of self-pride and self-superiority, and as a result of that he loses the greatest treasure, 'humility' as a devotee. In addition to that, such casual behavior only strengthens and further deepens the desire for greatness and glory.

BAL-MUKUND PRESENTS – “CHHOTE PHILOSOPHER CONTEST 2012″

Bal-Mukund is proud to announce the launching of the “Chhote Philosopher Contest 2012” designed for children residing in US between the ages of 5 and 15 years.

Chhote Philosopher Contest is designed to:

-Inspire youth to develop their creativity, writing skills and analytical abilities.

-Encourage study of Vedic culture and instill pride in it.

-Locate talent amongst youth and help build their confidence.

Description and Topics

The contestants will be categorized with the following age groups.

Group 1: 5 to 7 years

Pick a topic from the following:

[Max word limit: 500]

1. Describe about any one playful act of Krishna as a child.

2. Tell us about your favorite personal form of God (ishta devata) and describe why you like that form the most. 

Group 2: 8 to 11 years

Pick a topic from the following:

[Max word limit: 800]

1. Explain about the significance of any one avatar of Vishnu and outline the lessons you’ve learned from that avatar, which you can adopt in your life.

2. Describe how temples and holy places, play a vital role in helping us to reach the omnipresent God.

Group 3: 12 to 15 years

Pick a topic from the following:

[Max word limit: 1200]

1. Pick two characters from Ramayan and explain what you can learn from them.

2. What morals we can learn from Ramayan and how it can be applied today ?

There will be three winners in each group.  First Place holders will be awarded the “Chhote Philosopher 2012″. All the winners will receive a certificate and a special prize.

FREE REGISTRATION !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Register Now ! Registration Closes on: January 31st, 2012 || Last date for Submission:  February 15th, 2012

For More Information Visit http://www.jkyog.org/bal-mukund/chhote-pholosopher-contest-2012

BAL-MUKUND - PLAYGROUND FOR VEDIC WISDOM

Bal-Mukund is a specially designed personality development program for children, envisioned by Swami Mukundananda.

“Time spent in inculcating eternal values in children is an investment into the future.  It is the finest gift of love from parents to their children.  The Bal-Mukund Personality Development Program contains invaluable instructions, famous verses, bhajans, stories, life histories and information about festivals, for building values in children.  These sets of values will teach children to be heroic from within, and instill nobleness in their thought, word and deed.”

-Swami Mukundananda

Bal-Mukund endeavors to:

- Educate young minds in the knowledge of Vedic wisdom, to lead a virtuous  life

- Enthuse the spirit of giving with a service attitude

- Encourage problem solving with courage, confidence and faith

- Entertain creativity, expand power of concentration and focus

- Elevate young minds to higher levels of consciousness, and fill their hearts  with love and reverence for God

Weekly personality development sessions for children include:

- Character Building Values, imparted through fun-filled inspiring                stories from Vedic scriptures and the rich literary heritage of India

- Yoga and Pranayam especially packaged for children, to develop  healthy minds in healthy bodies

- Meditation designed for children, to enhance their concentration, creativity and strengthen their love for God.

- Shlokas and Prayers to recite, learn and treasure throughout life

- Kirtans and Bhajans that instill love for God in young hearts

- Festivals related to the rich spirituality and culture of India

- Inspiring stories from the lives of great Saints of India

Bal-Mukund provides:

- Spiritual time for the whole family

- Separate concurrent schedules for children and adults.

- Opportunities for parents to volunteer and learn while teaching.

- Positive vibrations and fun time for everyone to connect and develop spiritually.

- Vedic playground and collaborative internet forums.

- Chote Philosopher and Chote Kavi contests, painting and quiz competitions.

For More Information Visit http://bal-mukund.org.