The Curious Case of Krishna's Missing Ring:

A Playful Leela In the vibrant tapestry of Vrindavan, where love bloomed like wildflowers and the Yamuna flowed with the music of devotion, resides a charming tale of Lord Krishna and his beloved Radha. This isn't a story of grand battles or cosmic pronouncements, but a playful leela (divine act) that reveals the depths of their connection. One idyllic afternoon, as Krishna frolicked with Radha and the Gopis (milkmaids) by the Yamuna's glistening banks, a glint of mischief sparkled in his eyes. Adorned with a magnificent jeweled ring, a gift from Radha perhaps, Krishna playfully teased the Gopis, his laughter echoing through the meadows. Suddenly, with a flick of his wrist, the ring slipped off his finger and tumbled down a grassy knoll. 

The Gopis gasped, but Krishna simply grinned. "Fear not, my friends," he declared, his voice brimming with amusement. "This ring holds no power for me compared to the joy of your company." Despite his nonchalance, a playful search ensued. The Gopis, their love for Krishna boundless, eagerly sifted through the vibrant green, their laughter mingling with the chirping birds. Radha, her eyes filled with concern and a hint of playful worry, joined the search. But the ring remained elusive. Had it rolled into a hidden crevice? Or perhaps, carried away by a playful breeze?

 Krishna, observing their endearing efforts, decided to extend the leela. With a mischievous twinkle, he revealed a blade of grass, its tip curled into a perfect ring shape. "Behold!" he exclaimed, his voice laced with amusement. "Nature itself has crafted a ring worthy of your love." Radha, her lips curving into a smile, accepted the grass ring. In that moment, it wasn't the jewel-encrusted ornament they sought, but the depth of their connection that truly mattered. The charade of the lost ring served as a reminder that true love finds joy in the simplest of things, in shared moments and playful exchanges. This leela of Krishna's missing ring exemplifies the essence of JKP (Jnana, Karma, Bhakti) and JKYog. It highlights the importance of: Jnana (Knowledge): 

If you want to hear the leela you can click the link 

https://youtube.com/shorts/ZYoBeZcfrlY?si=ocJIoGVgpafgxv1f

Recognizing the impermanence of material possessions and the true value of love and connection. Karma (Action): The Gopis' selfless act of searching for the ring reflects the importance of service and devotion. Bhakti (Devotion): The playful exchange between Krishna and Radha underscores the joy and lightness found in pure devotion. Through this enchanting tale, we learn that love transcends material objects. It's in the playful moments, the shared laughter, and the unwavering devotion that true connection flourishes.

Why should you offer food to God before eating?

 

The food is cooked with the consciousness that it is for the pleasure of God and not for the sole purpose of gratifying our taste buds.

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In the Vedic tradition, many people make prayers and offer food to God before eating. The food is cooked with the consciousness that it is for the pleasure of God and not for the sole purpose of gratifying our taste buds. A portion of the food items is then put in a plate and a verbal or mental prayer is made for the Lord to come and eat it. After the offering, the food on the plate is considered prasād and is accepted as God’s grace. 

Shree Krishna stated in the 13th Verse of Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 3:

यज्ञशिष्टाशिन: सन्तो मुच्यन्ते सर्वकिल्बिषै: |

भुञ्जते ते त्वघं पापा ये पचन्त्यात्मकारणात् ||

yajña-śhiṣhṭāśhinaḥ santo muchyante sarva-kilbiṣhaiḥ

bhuñjate te tvaghaṁ pāpā ye pachantyātma-kāraṇāt

The spiritually-minded, who eat food that is first offered in sacrifice, are released from all kinds of sin. Others, who cook food for their own enjoyment, verily eat only sin.

Other religious traditions follow similar customs. Christianity has the sacrament of the Eucharist, where bread and wine are consecrated and then partaken. It is simple, whatever we eat has to be first offered to God.  Eating food offered to God changes our consciousness. It not only nourishes the body it also nourishes our soul.

The question may arise whether we can offer non-vegetarian items to God and then accept the remnants as his prasād. The answer to this question is that the Vedas prescribe a vegetarian diet for humans, which includes grains, pulses and beans, vegetables, fruits, dairy products, etc.

Apart from the Vedic culture, many spiritually evolved souls in the history of all cultures around the world also rejected a non-vegetarian diet that makes the stomach a graveyard for animals. Even though many of them were born in meat-eating families, they gravitated to a vegetarian lifestyle as they advanced on the path of spirituality.

According to Leonardo da Vinci:

Truly man is the king of beasts, for his brutality exceeds them. We live by the death of others. We are burial places! I have since an early age abjured the use of meat…

In fact, in the Bhagavad Gita Shree Krishna goes a step further and states that even vegetation contains life, and if we eat it for our own sense enjoyment, we get bound in the karmic reactions of destroying life. However, if we eat food as remnants of sacrifice offered to God, then the consciousness changes. We then look at our body as the property of God, which has been put under our care for his service. And we partake of permitted food, as his grace, with the intention that it will nourish the body.

We understand how food affects our body but we often overlook its impact on the mind.  Vedas say, what we eat is what our body and mind are made of.

‘Who Am I’

 Continuing our short series on ‘Who Am I’, let us now understand the characteristics of the soul.  Scriptures talk about two types of characteristics; Svaroop and tatastha (marginal) characteristics. Svaroop means the natural characteristic of the soul.  The soul is conscious; it is a power of God. At the same time, the Darshan Shastra as well as the Kenopanishad  point out that the entity called ‘I’ is beyond the intellect, and as such, it cannot be understood by the intellect. The ‘I’ is beyond the grasp of the senses, the mind and the intellect since these are material and non-conscious.

Ved-Vyas says in Vishnu Puran that God has three main powers.  The first is para shakti, the second is kshetrajna shakti (tatastha or marginal) and the third is called maya. Para shakti is God’s own personal power.  It is also called as Svaroop shakti or Yogmaya shakti. God’s marginal power (tatashta) refers to the individual soul.   God’s external power is called avidya, i.e. maya.  What function does avidya perform?  It creates the world.  Maya includes God’s power ‘maya’ as well as the world.  So, there are three powers – Yogmaya, Maya and the individual soul.

The individual soul is a fraction of God.  It is the marginal power of God (tatastha shakti).  What is the marginal characteristic of the soul?  It is an eternal servant of God.

Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu says,

The soul’s true nature is God’s servitude

The Puranas, Shastras and God-realized saints say the same thing. The Vedas, the Shastras and the saints, say that there is a difference as well as a ‘non-difference’ between God and the individual soul.  It is a very unique relationship indeed.

God is conscious, and so are we.  From this point of view, we are equal to God.  But there are differences between God and the individual soul. God is unlimited consciousness and we possess limited consciousness.  In other words, God’s consciousness pervades everything, and our consciousness pervades only our own body.  The soul pervades a small body; that of an ant, and it pervades a big body, that of an elephant.  There is no body bigger than that. God is omnipresent; He is unlimited consciousness, and the individual soul is very small, very subtle.

How small is the soul?  The very definition of the soul is that it is the smallest. Every Veda and Shastra says that the soul is so small that there is nothing smaller.  Thus, God is unlimited consciousness and the soul is minute consciousness.  This is a very big difference indeed.  Let us look at the second difference.  God is the controller; the individual soul is controlled.

धरो मन ! गौर - चरन को ध्यान |

धरो मन ! गौर - चरन को ध्यान |

जिन चरनन को राखत निज उर, सुंदर श्याम सुजान |
भटकत कोटि कल्प तोहिँ बीते, खायो सिर पदत्रान |
चार प्रकार लक्ष चौरासी, द्वार फिर् यो जनु स्वान |
चरण - शरण कबहूँ नहिं आयो, अबहूँ करत न कान |
येहि दरबार दीन को आदर, पतितन को सनमान |
पुनि ‘कृपालु’ तुम कत चूकत मन, पंडित बनत महान ||

भावार्थ - अरे मन ! कीर्ति - कुँवरी राधिका जी के चरणों का निरन्तर ध्यान किया कर, जिन चरणों का ध्यान सच्चिदानंद श्रीकृष्ण भी करते हैं | अरे मन ! तुझे भटकते हुए अनन्त जन्म बीत चुके, एवं तूने उन विषयों के अनन्त बार जूते खाये | स्वेदज, अंडज, उद् भिज, जरायुज इन चार प्रकार की उत्पत्ति के द्वारा कुत्ते की तरह तूने चौरासी लाख योनियों में चक्कर लगाया है, किन्तु किशोरी जी के चरण - कमलों की शरण कभी नहीं ली | आज भी मेरी बात नहीं मान रहा है | अरे मन ! किशोरी जी के दरबार में पतितों एवं दीनों को ही सम्मान मिलता है | ‘श्री कृपालु जी’ कहते हैं कि अरे मन ! तुम बहुत बड़े पंडित बनते हो फिर ऐसा अवसर क्यों खो रहे हो, अर्थात् किशोरी जी के चरणों की शरण क्यों नहीं लेते ?

( प्रेम रस मदिरा सिद्धान्त - माधुरी )
जगद्गुरु श्री कृपालु जी महाराज द्वारा रचित

सुखमय, मंगलमय व् भक्तिमय रविवार की शुभकामनाओं के साथ

🙏🙏 राधे राधे 🙏🙏

Look at the grandeur of the month of Shrawan, O Sakhi !

                                  

देखु सखि! सावन मास बहार।

नवल निकुंज-मंजु बिच झूलत, नवल युगल सरकार।

पकरे दोउ, इक-इक कर डोरिन, इक-इक कर गर डार।

दोउ देँ झोँटे झूमि-झूमि झुक‌ि, एकहिं एक निहार।

फहरत नील पीत पट अंचल, चंचल लट घुँघरार।

गावत राग मलार दुहुँन मिलि, अलि कर स्वर-विस्तार।

सखिन बजावति बीन वेनु कोउ, सब प्रवीन इक-सार।

लखि ‘कृपालु’ कह ‘दोउ मम ठाकुर, जय हो जय बलिहार’॥

  

           Look at the grandeur of the month of Shrawan, O Sakhi !

Radha and Krishna are enjyoing the swing in a Kunj

They both are embracing each other with one hand and holding the swing with other

Radha and Krishna are overjoyously swinging and smiling and looking at each other

Yellow dress of Shree Krishna and Blue dress of Radharani are swaying so are their shiny black curly hair

Taking melodious taan in high pitch tone, they are singing a loving song in a very sweet voice

To exhilarate the Bliss of the leela, Sakhis are playing different musical instruments in perfect taal

Looking at this beautiful pastime, Shree Kripaluji Mahraj says- All Glories to my Divine Couple of Radha-Krishna!!

Kripalu Trayodashi

The 13 verse of Kripalu Trayodashi written by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj are the essence of all the Vedic scriptures. They reveal in a sequential manner how to attain the ultimate aim of life.
Brahm, jeev, maya tatva, Govinda Radhey.
Teenon hain anadi anant bata dey. (1) There are 3 eternal entities: God, the souls, and Maya. They have no beginning and they will have no end. They have always been in existence and they will always remain in existence.
Brahm jeev chetan, Govinda Radhey.
Brahm shakti jeev yatey ansh bata de. (2) Supreme God and the souls are chetan, live. In gist, this means they have senses, mind, intellect, physical form and they perform actions. The soul is not independent. It is a power of God, and as such, it is called a part or ansh of God. Read More ∨

Brahm shakti maya jada, Govinda Radhey.
Jeev maya shasak brahm bata dey. (3) Another eternal power of God is Maya, which is lifeless. The governor of both Maya and the souls is God. They are both His powers that are governed by Him.
Sarva shakti swamini, Govinda Radhey.
Ek shakti para antaranga bata dey. (4) The supreme power of all of God’s powers is called para shakti, which is also called antaranga shakti, swaroop shakti and yogamaya shakti. It is God’s most intimate and personal power. This is the swamini or supreme governor of all the other powers of God. It is due to this power that God remains ever-blissful.
Brahm bijna sukhakanda, Govinda Radhey.
Jeev ajna mayadheen sada te bata dey. (5) This verse explains the difference between God and the soul. God is all-knowing and the form of unlimited bliss. Because it is eternally under the control of Maya, the soul is ignorant.
Brahma ke anek roop, Govinda Radhey.
Sarvaroop aashraya Krishna bata dey. (6) 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.
Shri Krishna prapti se hi, Govinda Radhey.
Jeev ko divya sukha prapt ho bata dey. (7) How will the soul attain divine happiness, its ultimate aim? The happiness we desire can be attained only from Shri Krishna, not any of the other forms of God.
Shri Krishna prapti hetu, Govinda Radhey.
Shri Krishna – kripa anivarya bata dey. (8) How will we attain Shri Krishna? Through Shri Krishna’s grace or kripa.
Shri Krishna-kripa hetu, Govinda Radhey.
Sadhan ke bal bhakti bata dey. (9) How will we attain happiness? By attaining Shri Krishna. How will we attain Shri Krishna? Through His grace. How will we attain His grace? This verse explains: only through bhakti or devotion.
Bhakti man se ho nitya, Govinda Radhey.
Bhav nishkam ananya bata dey. (10) How will we practice bhakti? Bhakti has four conditions: (a) it is done by the mind, (b) it is continuous, (c) it is selfless, (d) it is single-mindedly directed towards God and Guru. What happens as a result of practicing the devotion that fulfills these four conditions?
Imi man shuddha ho to, Govinda Radhey.
Man ko swaroop shakti divya bata dey. (11) By completely purifying the mind through devotion, now our work is finished and the work of God and Guru remains. The Guru will grace your mind with God’s para shakti or swaroop shakti, and make it divine.
Tab divya man men den, Govinda Radhey.
Guru hladini sar prem bata dey. (12) Divine love is the absolute essence of God’s personal power, swaroop shakti. The Guru bestows that divine love on the qualified soul who has completely purified his mind.
Tab jeev pa le nij, Govinda Radhey.
Nitya dasatva adhikar bata dey. (13) The divine love that the disciple receives is bestowed upon him by the Guru; it isn’t the result of his devotional effort. It is attained through grace. After this, now free from the bondage of Maya, he is qualified to perform God’s eternal service in God’s abode, Golok, forever.

If someone is doing wrong with me, should I practice forgiveness? Question: You teach us that we should increase our tolerance, but if someone is doing wrong with me, should I practice forgiveness, or should I oppose him and stop the atrocity? Answer: On the spiritual path, we naturally learn to practice tolerance, forgiveness and humility. However, this does not mean that we should knowingly allow others to exploit us. The scriptures instruct us to take whatever action is necessary, for protecting ourselves in self-defense, when attacked. There is a charming story in this regard. In a neighborhood, there lived a venomous and foul-tempered snake. The children of that locality were scared of it to death. The moment they would spy it in the distance, they would run for their lives One day, Sage Narad Muni happened to come to that neighborhood. As was the snake's habit, he approached Narad ji, with his hood raised menacingly and eyes fiercely red. Narad ji stood his ground peacefully, with a benevolent and serene smile on his face. The snake was astonished. "Everyone runs from me in fear. How come you are not scared of me and what is the secret of your peacefulness?" Narad ji taught the snake the process of devotion, whereupon the snake became his disciple and began practicing Bhakti. He shunned violence, giving up his old ways of scaring the neighborhood children. Soon the children came to know that the snake was harmless and did not bite anyone. Now their fear vanished. They would not leave it alone. On sighting it, they would bombard it with a battery of stones and sticks. They would even come close and kick it with their heeled shoes. The poor snake was badly bruised. One year later, Narad ji was visiting that area again. He thought, "Let me see how my disciple is doing." He was dismayed to see the snake badly bruised, with a plaster cast on a portion of his body. "What happened to you, my dear disciple?" he asked. The snake replied, "O Gurudev, this is the result of the Bhakti that you taught me. The people of the world, knowing I will not retaliate, do not let me live peacefully." Narad ji said, "I asked you to stop biting people, but I did not ask you to stop spreading your hood. Whenever the children attack, you should simply raise your head and hiss loudly; then no one will come near you." Henceforth, whenever the children came close to the snake, it would hiss loudly and frighten them all away. Soon, it was living peacefully again. Similarly, on the path of devotion, we should shun actions and thoughts directed at harming others, but we definitely have the right to perform legitimate actions in our self-defense.

Question:  You teach us that we should increase our tolerance, but if someone is doing wrong with me, should I practice forgiveness, or should I oppose him and stop the atrocity? 

Answer:  On the spiritual path, we naturally learn to practice tolerance, forgiveness and humility. However, this does not mean that we should knowingly allow others to exploit us. The scriptures instruct us to take whatever action is necessary, for protecting ourselves in self-defense, when attacked. 

There is a charming story in this regard. In a neighborhood, there lived a venomous and foul-tempered snake. The children of that locality were scared of it to death. The moment they would spy it in the distance, they would run for their lives 

One day, Sage Narad Muni happened to come to that neighborhood. As was the snake's habit, he approached Narad ji, with his hood raised menacingly and eyes fiercely red. Narad ji stood his ground peacefully, with a benevolent and serene smile on his face. The snake was astonished. "Everyone runs from me in fear. How come you are not scared of me and what is the secret of your peacefulness?" 

Narad ji taught the snake the process of devotion, whereupon the snake became his disciple and began practicing Bhakti.  He shunned violence, giving up his old ways of scaring the neighborhood children. 

Soon the children came to know that the snake was harmless and did not bite anyone. Now their fear vanished. They would not leave it alone. On sighting it, they would bombard it with a battery of stones and sticks. They would even come close and kick it with their heeled shoes.  The poor snake was badly bruised.

One year later, Narad ji was visiting that area again. He thought, "Let me see how my disciple is doing." He was dismayed to see the snake badly bruised, with a plaster cast on a portion of his body. "What happened to you, my dear disciple?" he asked.

The snake replied, "O Gurudev, this is the result of the Bhakti that you taught me. The people of the world, knowing I will not retaliate, do not let me live peacefully." 

Narad ji said, "I asked you to stop biting people, but I did not ask you to stop spreading your hood.  Whenever the children attack, you should simply raise your head and hiss loudly; then no one will come near you." 

Henceforth, whenever the children came close to the snake, it would hiss loudly and frighten them all away. Soon, it was living peacefully again.  Similarly, on the path of devotion, we should shun actions and thoughts directed at harming others, but we definitely have the right to perform legitimate actions in our self-defense.