Guru Seva

Long ago, there lived a great scholar called Ayodh Daumya. Daumya was a great teacher and had many accomplished students. One of his students was Aruni.

Aruni was not a good student but served his Guru in the maintenance of the the ashram.

One day, it rained heavily in the area. Guru Daumya asked Aruni to ensure that the the fields do not get flooded. Aruni went and saw that the banks between the farms were crumbling. O Lord! If the banks break, the water will flood the field and the crops would be destroyed..

Aruni tried to make a bank with some firewood but it did not work. He tried again and again and even tried to make the banks stronger by plastering it with mud but it still did not work...The rains kept washing the mud away. The water threatened to enter into the fields...

O Lord what should I do....Aruni thought...

Early morning in the Gurukul, Guru Daumya needed Aruni's help as usual and looked for him. 'Where is Aruni?' He asked his students.

The students looked at each other and said - Gurudev! The last we saw him was when you sent him to to check the field banks!

Daumya and his students immediately set out looking for Aruni in the cold rain.

Everyone shouted - Aruni, Aruni, where are you?

'Aruni!' Daumya shouted in the cold night. He strained his ears as he heard a faint reply, 'Gurudev.....the bank..the crops...'

Daumya ran towards the sound. He saw Aruni lying on the crumbling bank. Aruni was acting as the bank preventing the water from entering the field.. 

Aruni looked faint from hunger and cold. He was constantly muttering, 'Bank breaking...crops washed away...' Daumya carried back Aruni to the ashram while his other students mended the bank.

Daumya was extremely happy with Aruni's selfless service. 

He said to him - Son! I am proud of you...You have done a great service to the ashrama....

Guru Daumya blessed him and as soon as he kept his hand on Aruni's head - All the Gyan

that Aruni could not capture entered his brain. 

Guru Daumya said - Henceforth you will be known as Uddalaka [In sanskrit, Uddalaka means, the one who was raised from the boundary].

True to the teacher's words, Uddalaka Aruni after completing his studies became a guru and became a great teacher...Uddalaka was the grandfather of Ashtavakra...A great scholar, who was the teacher of King Janaka, the father of Sita in the Ramayana.

Moral Of The Story

A true saint or a Guru is a Divine personality who knows God and how to attain Him. A Guru has the same powers as God and can give us the Divine Spiritual Knowledge as His Grace in no time.

This story teaches us that Seva (service) is one Sadhan (means) by which we can please our Sadguru and hence get His Grace.

Fire Does Not Spare

Hassan was a smart student in school. He listened to his teachers attentively and analyzed

the lessons with his own creative little mind. He was only in grade 6 but his thinking and analyzing made his teachers proud. They always said - Hassan is smarter than the grade 8 students.

One day, the science teacher Maria taught in the class - When you rub two flint stones, a spark is generated. If the spark falls on the dry grass, a fire is generated.

Teacher Maria continued - Yes, this is the same fire on which we cook in kitchens and light candles. Burning is a property of fire and anyone who came in contact with the fire would be burnt.

Hassan was listening and analyzing at the same time.

He thought of trying something. He lighted a candle at home and then deliberately put a piece of paper in the flame. The paper burnt.

Then he put a piece of paper on the table and shook the table. The paper fell on the candle and again got burnt.

He went back next day to teacher Maria and said - Teacher teacher! I did some experiments yesterday.  Fire will burn whether you put a piece of paper consciously or accidentally in it. Burning is truly a property of fire.

Teacher Maria was once again very impressed and proud of her student Hassan.

Moral Of The Story

Just like fire has a property to burn, a thought of God or saints has a property to clean

the mind. God and saints are pure. Whether we sit down and meditate upon a form of God or we meet someone accidentally who is talking of God which forces us to think of God - both would have the same impact. Both would benefit us by cleaning our material mind.

Similarly, if we think of God with love or with anger or hatred or any other feeling, the thought will still purify our mind. God and His saints are pure and nothing can make them impure. On the other hand, They purify the impurities of the mind.

What is Dharam - Feeding Shri Krishna Or Completing A Yagya?

·   Once, Shri Krishn and his friends (Sakhas) went to graze their cows. They played on their way and

then they were hungry. But for once, all their food was already finished earlier in the day. The Sakhas then asked Shri Krishn - Krishna, do something. We are hungry. 

  

     Shri Krishna said – Close by in Mathura, a Yagya is going on. Go and ask the hosts for some food. 

     They went and asked the hosts for food. 

    The hosts did not give them anything, instead insulted the Sakhas – Well,

the Yagya is not over yet. Once it gets over, the Brahmins will be fed first and then the poor will get to eat. 

               

    So the Sakhas came back. Shri Krishna sent them back and asked them to ask for food from the women in the house this time. The Sakhas went asked the women of the house for food. The women were very happy to see Sakhas of Shri Krishna. They packed so many types of

food and came to Shri Krishna. Some people stopped them, even then they came. 

    After feeding Shri Krishna and His friends, the women said – Now we cannot go back because we did not listen to our husbands. They will not let us enter our house again. 

    But Shri Krishna convinced the women to go back and everything will be alright. 

   There at the hosts house, the hosts had realized that the boys were friends of Shri Krishna. The hosts were repenting that they did a sin by not offering them food. But they were glad that the women of the house made up for their mistake by taking food to Shri Krishna. 

   They cursed themselves - We were born as Brahmins, we did so many Yagya but everything is useless. We failed to realize that the basis of all this Dharam is God and insulted God by not feeding Him and His friends. The ladies of the house are praise worthy. We should abandon our Dharam.

Moral Of The Story 

Any Dharam done not to please God becomes a sin while any sin done to make God happy becomes a virtue.

Four Brothers Attract Differently To God

Neel was playing with a magnet. He had learnt in the class that a magnet has the power

to pull the iron pins and needles. Now his dad got him a magnet from the Toysmart and that made Neel really busy playing and observing.

He asked his mom Sita - Mom! Can you give me all the needles that you have?

Sita said - O Neel! You have so many pins already. And now you want my sewing needles. Take them from the drawer and make sure you don't drop them. They can injure someone.

Neel quickly went up to the drawer and quickly pulled out a dozen needles.

Neel observed something and shouted - Mom! Look. These 3 needles do not get attracted to the magnet. And these 2 get attracted really slow. Mom! Why are these needles behaving differently when the magnet is the same?

Sita had a science background in university. So she quickly explained - Listen Neel. Although all needles appear to be made of pure iron, but they are not. Some are 100% iron, others are 50% and still others are made of alloys that have no iron.

Sita continued - The magnet has the same power of attraction. However, it pulls the needles made of pure iron immediately. The ones which are partly made of iron do get pulled but slowly but the ones that have no iron in them do not get attracted by the magnet at all.

Moral Of The Story

Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj refers to this example to teach us why four brothers born of the same parents get attracted to God and saint differently. (Here the four brothers have been likened to the iron needles and God and his saints to a magnet.)

The Vedas teach us that the devotional practice or Sadhana done by us humans cleans our mind. And the purity of the mind at the time of death is carried forward to the next life. Also, the purity state of our mind dictates the development of a chitt vritti or personal inclination towards God. This explains why the four brothers in the same family had different purity states of mind and thus had different levels of attraction towards God.

We must go through Prarabdh

In the battle of Mahabharata, the Pandavas were fighting the Kauravas to get back their kingdom. The battle was fierce and Yodhas from both sides were showing their valor and creating history everyday.

One day, in the absence of Arjuna and Krishna, Duryodhana created several circles of soldiers and moved forward towards the Pandava army. The Pandavas could only fight the outermost circle. The Kauravas chakra formation put the Pandavas in awe and created fear in the Pandava soldiers.

Yudhishter then approached the son of Arjuna, the brave Abhimanyu for help.
 

He said - O Abhimanyu! In the absence of your father and your uncle Krishna, you are the only brave-heart in the army to pierce through the Kaurava formation and save the prestige of Pandavas.

Abhimanyu said - O respected uncle! I know how to break the formation and move inside the circles. But I do not know how to come out of it. I need help on my way back.

Several commanders were planned to rescue Abhimanyu and enter the formation with him.

But in reality, Abhimanyu broke open the formation and raced inside. The Kauravas however did not let any other Pandava come with him and closed the formation again.

Abhimanyu was surrounded by the Kaurava army. He fought with great valor but gave up and died in the end.

Moral Of The Story

Jagadguru Shri Kriaplu Ji Maharaj tells us that Abhimanyu lived in an age when there were three Divine personalities on earth - Ved Vyas, Arjun and Krishna. They all were witness to the unjust death Abhimanyu went through. It was not death. It was murder literally. And each of the three had the power to save him from such a death.

However, they did not. This teaches us that we must go through the fruits of our actions (Prarabdha) even if we are related to an avatar of God. Although God has powers to help but He does not interfere with His own laws of Jag Vyapar.

The Rise and Fall of Saubhari Muni

There was once a great sage named Saubhari Muni who used to do Sadhana in water in a

Jal Samadhi. He gained more Yogic powers and became extremely powerful with this difficult meditation. 

However, once He saw two fish mating in water and having seen the kusang, his future plans changed. He planned to go back into the world and get married. 

He came out of water and went to king Maanbhaata and said – O King! You have 50 daughters, give me any one in marriage. 

The king thought – The sage is so old. How can I give any of my dear daughters to him? But if I do not, the sage can curse me. He has so many powers.

So the king said - O great sage! It is my great fortune that you have come to ask for the

hand of one of my daughters. But I do not know whom to marry you. So I shall hold a Swayamvar for all fifty of them. Whosoever likes you and garlands you shall be your wife.

Saubhari Muni read the king's mind. On the Swayamvar day, he changed himself to be an extremely handsome 16 year old prince with his Yogic powers. 

All 50 daughters were mesmerized with his beauty and garlanded him. So he married all 50 of them and started a family. He had 5000 kids from his wives. As the family grew, so did his problems and suffering.

One day, he was extremely grieved and broke down to tears. Like a mad man, he started saying to the passers by – O humans! Look at my destruction. Where was I and where have I come? Please take a lesson from my story.

Moral Of The Story

Maya is the power of God. Since God is the power behind Maya, no jeev under its control can challenge it until it realizes God. 

The first thing the Maya does is to make the jeev forget its identity. Under its effect, the jeev begins to feel that it is not a soul, it is a body. And then it starts looking for the pleasures of the body in the world.

With this story, Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj alerts us that even if we are at the last stage of realizing God, we should be extremely focused because Maya can divert us and ruin our Sadhana at any time.

Same Entity But Different Forms

Once, Narad Ji was coming to Dwarika to see Shri Krishna. The sun had set by that time.

But suddenly some devotees saw a bright sun like light from a distance.

A devotee Raghav said - How is this possible? The sun has already set. Is it just me who

can see the sun again?

Shambhu looked in the sky and agreed - You are right Raghav. This light is so bright. 

As Narad Ji came closer to earth, the two saw a human shape.

Raghav said - Look Shambhu! The sun is changing to a human shadow.

And later when Narad Ji reached the earth and was really close, Raghav and Shambhu could see the full form of Narad Ji.

They welcomed Narad Ji - O Narad Ji! Its you. Welcome to earth.

Moral Of The Story

Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj refers to this story to teach us the three forms of God. The first form is Brahm - which can be likened to the bright sun like light that Raghav saw first. The second form is Parmatama which can be likened to the shadow of Narad Ji and the third form is Bhagwan which is like the full human form of Narad Ji.

God is the same but the devotees know Him as the three forms. In each form God reveals different number of powers.

Another example to explain this concept is - Water, ice and steam. These are are all water – but their benefits are different. They are all used in different ways.

Train The Mind

The scriptures advise us to practice detachment with the world and the spiritual principles. This practice is called Sadhana or Bhajan. Saints practically demonstrated some simple tricks to train our minds.

Ramkrishna Paramhansa was once juggling with a ball of soil in one hand and a coin in the other. He

kept saying - Taka Mati Mati Taka. His disciples kept looking at Him.

When He stopped, one of his disciples asked Him - Gurudev! What were you doing?

Ramkrishna Paramhansa said - I am trying to teach my mind that money is dust. It is just that because of this money, my mind does not let me think of God.

******

Another saint became very fond of apples even after taking sanyas. In order to get rid of his attachment, He kept an apple in front of Himself and continuously looked at it for a few days till it spoilt.

Someone asked Him - O Saint! What are you doing?

He replied - I am trying to train my mind to give up apples. So if an apple was in my vicinity, this mind would not feel greedy for it.

******

Yet another saint was begging to a statue for food.

He kept saying – O noble person! Please give me something to eat. I am really hungry.

Someone asked Him - O Sir! What are you trying to achieve?

He replied - My mind is my enemy. When I go to beg for food to the village and people ignore me, this mind feels so bad. I am just trying to train it so if people ignore me, I have no feeling.

Moral Of The Story

The mind is the vehicle that can take us to liberation as well as bondage. 

Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj used these examples to teach us that this mind has learnt to rule and we have been a slave to it for countless lives. In order to tread on the spiritual path, we need to train our mind with practice and detachment from the world.

The mind of the Saints are already divine and they do not need to do any Sadhana but just to teach us its importance, they show us how to break lose of our attachments with practice.

Krishna's Smell Wipes Out The Paramhansas Ego

Jay and Vijay are the two gatekeepers, dwarapalakas of the abode of Vishnu, known as Vaikuntha

Lok. According to the Bhagavata Purana, the Four Kumaras, Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanatana, and Sanatkumara who are the manasaputras of Brahma (sons born from the mind or thought power of Brahma), once visited Vaikuntha, the abode of MahaVishnu, to see Him. Due to the strength of their austerities, the four Kumaras appear to be mere children, though they are of great age and are in the highest category of Gyanis called Paramhansas. 

Jay and Vijay, the gate keepers of the Vaikuntha interrupted the Kumaras at the gate, thinking that they are children. They also told the Kumaras that Sri MahaVishnu was resting and that they could not see Him at that moment. The enraged Kumaras replied to Jaya and Vijaya that this was not possible and that God is available to His devotees all the time, and cursed the two gate keepers Jaya and Vijaya, that they would have to give up their divinity, be born as mortals on Earth and live like normal human beings.  

Kumaras intoxicated

Krishna in the form of MahaVishnu appeared before them, and the gatekeepers requested Him to lift the curse of the Kumaras. As Shri Mahavishnu appeared, the smell of God entered the nostrils of Paramhansas and they forgot their ego and started crying. They bowed to Him and asked for a boon – Give us hell if you want. But we should always get the love of your lotus feet.

Later when the Kumaras calmed down hence, they reduced their curse for Jay and Vijay to take three births as his enemy and be killed by Mahavishnu in each birth before returning to the Vaikuntha Lok.

Moral Of The Story

The bliss of the personal form of God (Premanand) experienced by the devotees (Bhakt) is many times sweeter than the bliss of the impersonal form of God (Brahmanand) experienced by the Gyanis.

Just like when a person riding a bicycle sees a person riding a car, forgets that he also has some luxury and craves for the car, the Gyanis forget their Brahmanand when they experience the nectar of Premanand in the smell, sight or touch of Bhagwan Shri Krishna.

We Interpret Based On Our Own Perception

Three friends Rajesh, Narayan and Ranbir were neighbors in a village. Rajesh was a shopkeeper and would bring grocery items from a nearly town and sell in the village. Narayan was a priest in the village's temple. Ranbir was a wrestler and ran a wrestling school. The three knew each other for years and were family friends.

Once the three were traveling to the town together. After walking a few kilometers, they

were tired and decided to sit under a tree and have some food.

A bird was chirping on a branch of the tree. The sound of the chirp was very sweet. Each of the three friends tried to mimic the sound.

Rajesh, the shopkeeper said – You know the bird is saying "Saunth Mirch Adrakh"

Narayan, the priest said - No No! I think it is saying "Ram Sita Dasharath"

Ranbir, the wrestler said – Well Well! I thought I heard "Dand Baithak Kasrat"

And then the three laughed at their interpretations.

Moral Of The Story

The story teaches us that for every text, sound or sign, people can have their own interpretations based on their way of thinking.

 

In the same way, Shri Krishna gave just one message to all the Jeevas to come and attain Him but different Jeevas interpreted the message based on their own perceptions and the Guna of Maya (Satvic, Rajas or Tamas) that was prominent in them at that specific time and this created so many spiritual paths in the world.

What Is My Duty?

Rita married Rohan last month and started living with Rohan's family. Rita has been reading

what the Vedas prescribe as Dharam or the laws of Karm Marg. She not only makes notes but also tries to follow them.  

Once her husband Rohan asked - Rita! Can you please get me a glass of water?

Her father-in-law who was sitting in another room with his friend called out at the same time - Rita beta, Can you please get me my glasses?

Her mother in law just came out of her room to go out for a walk but was not able to find her slippers. And she said - Rita! Do you know where I kept my slippers?

Rita was thinking – Whom should I obey first? The Vedas tell me that my husband is my everything. But my mother-in-law is like my mother now, so she has more priority than Rohan. But my father-in-law is my mother-in-law's husband, so he is more respectable for her and hence for me too. 

And so she was really confused despite knowing Vedas. She didn't know what to do and she also did not want to make a mistake.

Moral Of The Story

Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj teaches us that the path of Karm Dharam is very complex. It has so many rules that Shri Krishna says that I alone know all the rules. Hence, it is extremely difficult to know and follow this path. 

If at all someone is able to follow all the rules with extreme care, he will get the pleasures of heaven for only a limited amount of time. And then he will be sent back to earth in one of the 8.4 million bodies.

The reward of Karm has nothing to do with liberation from Maya or attaining the love of Shri Krishna and thus should be ignored.

No Difference In Gold And Dust?

A devotee couple Ranka and Banka used to get wood from the forests for their survival.

They used to spend the rest of the time in their Bhajan.

Once while walking towards the forest, Ranka's foot hit a bag of gold coins. When Ranka opened it and confirmed that it was gold, he started digging and covering the bag with dust.

In the meantime, Banka, the wife came and asked - What are you doing? What is it that you are covering with dust?

Ranka replied - Well, now that you have found it, let me tell you. I found a bag of gold coins. I am covering it with dust so that our minds do not get attached to it and our Bhajan does not get affected.

On this Banka laughed and said - Why are you wasting your time? Covering dust with dust?

Ranka was surprised. He had thought that he had the true Vairag (detachment with the world) but his wife had purer Vairag than he did.

Moral Of The Story

The story teaches us that devotees do not give any value to wealth. Instead, they hate it because the worldly happiness it can get is temporary and attachment to it will take them away from the love of God.