How to decide which God to worship?

Question by a Sadhak to H.H.Swami Mukundanandaji : There was a Ram temple in our house; I was in the habit of hearing the Tulsi Ramayan, and meditating on the form of Lord Ram.  But after marriage, in my in-laws’ house, I began reading the Durga Saptaśhati and observing Navrātras.  When I heard the Bhāgavat saptāha, I liked the leelas of Shree Krishna.  How should I decide which God to worship?

Answer by H.H.Swami Mukundanandaji :  Although Ram, Durga, Krishna are all different forms of the one Supreme Lord, yet it is advisable to focus your devotion on a single form.  There is a Hindi saying:

eka sādhe saba sadhe, saba sādhe saba jāya

 “If you focus all your attention on a single activity, you will succeed in it.  But if you try to succeed in multifarious things at the same time, you will fail in all of them.”  With the same logic, if you try to love all the forms of God, you will end up loving none.  But if you devote your mind to one form, you will develop love for all of them.  So you must choose one form to worship, which is called “Iṣhṭa Dev”, or the devotee’s chosen form of God for devotion.

Now the question you have asked is about how to choose your Iṣhṭa Dev.  In deciding this, you must consider which form of God is attractive to the mind.  If your Iṣhṭa Dev has a beautiful form, you will find it much easier to meditate on Him.  Also, if your Iṣhṭa Dev has wonderful pastimes, it will be very helpful in your devotion.  To turn your mind towards God, leelas also play an important role.  By hearing and chanting those leelas, devotees increase their love for God.  From both these view points, devotion to Shree Ram and Shree Krishna is both sweet and easy.  Hence, They are also the most popular Iṣhṭa Devs in India.  Their sweet pastimes are lovingly sung and remembered in temples and houses in every part of the country.

Amongst Them, Shree Krishna manifests four special nectars, above and beyond any other Avatar of God:

Exceptionally attractive form (His famous three-fold bending form with a flute on His lips).

1. Amazing sweetness of His flute that attracts even Lord Shankar.
2. The sweetest childhood pastimes that enchant the minds of devotees.
3. Leelas displaying the greatness of love, which reveal how God forgets His Almightiness because of the love of His devotees.
4. For all these reasons, I would highly recommend that you make Shree Krishna and His Divine Consort, Shree Radha Rani, as your Iṣhṭa Dev.  However, if you decide to choose any other forms of God, that is also fine.

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.