Post Aarathi Talk 29 on 4th March 2018

Full Transcript(Not Corrected)

2018. Harrow's Art Centre. Where is it? In Harrow? In Harrow, yeah. Is it a big place? I haven't been there. I think a few hundred people, maybe. So her dance teacher from Bombay, she's gone to America because her son's wife has given birth. So on her way back, she's coming for this. So she's staying with us so that she can do the singing and the matavangam for the event. Very good. And the violinist that the dance teacher uses from Bombay, he's coming as well. And then local mridangists and flute. Excellent. You got this? You got? Okay. You got the meaning of that? I started reading it. Thank you. You know, 1973, my grandparents, they had a bhajan teacher in Madras came to their house. And he sang all these songs. And that bhajan, I know it. But I know it through my mother who doesn't know Hindi. But I know the tune in my heart or whatever. But when he started saying, yesterday a Tulsidas bhajan, I thought you were going to do that one. I got really excited. Yesterday you described another bhajan in detail. That's why I was desperate to know the meaning of this one. So, this is a beautiful song. No, no, did you not do it yesterday? No, you did a different one yesterday. Oh, no, no, this is not that one. This is the book, Navagrahasa Navagrahasa. That is the song. How does it begin? The one you sent the mail of. Janaki Nath Sahaye Kare Jebu Kaun Bigad Kare Nara Tero We can take it out. You have sung that before, right? Yes, it is a beautiful song. These are all wonderful songs. So you said you could sing that one? I can. Sing the first few lines. So, Anitya has become Anitya. I won't deny that. There is no way you can do that. Janaki Nath Sahaye Kare Jebu Kaun Bigad Kare Nara Tero Janaki Nath Sahaye Kare Jebu Janaki Nath Sahaye That is the tune. Why not pronounce it properly? South Indian pronunciation of North Indian Hindi, it has a certain accent, but it is more or less okay. It is the Bhava in music. As I mentioned, six things count in music. What are the six things? Bhava, Sahitya, Raga, Shruti, Laya and Tala. What is the difference between Laya and Tala? Laya is rhythm. Tala is rhythm. Laya means rhythm. Tala is also rhythm. But Laya is set to a particular lyric. Because the Laya is the same. How you do that depends upon... Tala depends upon your lyrics. So you can give me two. Before you ask me, I already brought it out. When do you want to meet? Next Saturday. Will you go to Agamikar? No, I will go to Agamikar from the office. I will start reading in the evening. Okay, next Saturday. You have only one car, right? Yes. Okay. So it is here. These are the songs, you know. This is Bhava. And Sri Ramkrishna was so particular about this Bhava. It means you feel. If the singer himself doesn't feel, then he cannot convey it to the other people. But there are some people whose very voices convey that feeling, but that has nothing to do. That is the greatest mistake we commit. This person must be feeling. Because if he could create that echo of feeling in me, then that person must be a great person. No, when Lata Maheshwari is singing, Ha Priye, aisa kitna din katega? She is thinking, Oh, why this rogue has given me so less money? So it won't last. But if Sri Ramkrishna sings, Swamiji sings, that impression will be there forever. Subbalakshmi could convey that feeling because she was genuinely a spiritual singer. Genuinely. Most of the other people, they are all for the sake of name, fame, and other things, they go on doing it. Janaki Natha Sahaye Kare Jebu Jebu means when. Janaki Natha Sri Rama Sahaye Kare When Rama is in our favour and is helping us. Kounu nara bigaad kare nara theru Kounu nara, which man, bigaad kare, can do any harm to you? Bigaad means literally meaning spoil. Do any harm to you. Is it not? It is not possible. Aksheparthi. Oh, you are going to stay only a few days with me? When a guest comes, this is an expression, it is called Akshepa, in the form of apparently a question. So you are only going to stay a few days? No, it means I have decided that you are not going to stay only a short time. But if you use that tonal expression, you are going to stay a few days? You know that nuance. Few days? Few days only. You see the difference in our idiotic expression. Idiomatic expression. So, Janaki Natha Sahaye Kare Jebu Koun Bigaad Kare Nara Tero Nara means oh man, who can do any harm to you or who can obstruct your progress. And usually our superstition is the Navagrahas. They are the things which are obstructing us. So, Suraj Mangala Soma Bhegusuta Budha Aru Guru When God is favourable to us, Suraj means the Sun, the Mangala Graha, the Soma Graha, Chandra, then Bhegusuta, Budha, Guru, these are called Navagrahas. So, Varadayaka Tero, they turn into your benefactors. They become givers of the bones to you. But they are not giving. Who is giving? God is giving through them. Whatever God gives to us, that only comes to us. Anything that anybody gives us, good or bad, it all is given by God according to our karma phala for our good. Both. Rahu and Ketu are considered to be very inauspicious planets. They have no power at all to change us. Sangha, Shani, Chara, Shanishwara has absolutely no power of all the Navagrahas. Which is the Navagraha, which is supposed to be most powerful? Saturn. Shani Graha. Shani Graha. You know, there was a funny story. You must be knowing. On a colour television, there is about 330 episodes of Shani. About Shanishwara? Yes. I think really Shanishwara has caught hold of that. It is running. Now it is 70 years old. Yes. So, once there was a discussion about the prabhava, power of this Shanishwara in front of Lord Shiva. And Lord Shiva was laughing, you stupid Devas, you are so much frightened of the Shanishwara. Then they asked, are you not frightened? He says, what frightened? What can that fellow can do? Even Mrityunji, Mrityu also cannot do anything to me. He is my slave. What can this idiotic Shanishwara can do? Then Shanishwara heard it and sent a SMS, next Saturday I am visiting you. Shiva simply said, and all the Devatas were watching, what he will do next Saturday. So next Saturday, for a good measure, Shiva knew nothing can be done. He said, anyway, onward some event might happen, so I will get out. So early morning, before sunrise, he went outside his Kailasa Parvatha, entered into a deep forest, there was a huge banyan tree, and there was a big hole, and he went and hid himself there. So Shanishwara came to the Kailasa, went on searching for him, and he was asking, somebody said, I saw Shiva early morning going this way, this way, at sunset, just before sunset, he reached, he found out, and he said, Shiva, what is this you are hiding here? Shiva came out laughing, see, what could you do to me? He said, what do you mean? Hearing my name, he said, from early morning, you are hiding here being Lord Shiva, due to whose influence? Anyway, Swami, what is his name? I am forgetting. One senior Swami, Sohanandaji, he used to tell a nice thing. There was a man who was suffering, going through a lot of problems. So several years he had to go, he was visiting all astrologers. You know, people only, those who are in trouble only, they visit astrologers. So, he visited one famous astrologer. And these are very psychologists. As soon as this man entered, he said, oh my God, you have been suffering so much. Seeing his face itself, you can see, you don't need a psychologist. Like South India, you know, in Bangalore, one man was walking. Early morning, suddenly he saw another man coming. Both were totally strangers. So this man addressed him, Hanumanthappa, how are you? Absolutely stranger. So the other fellow was astounded, shocked. Sir, how did you know my name? This fellow said, I did not know, but seeing your face, I knew. You must be Hanumanthappa. Seeing this fellow, he said, you must be suffering. Then he paid the fees, and he asked, how many years more do I need to suffer? And he said, you have to suffer another seven years. After that, what happens? After that, you become accustomed. This is what generally happens. We accept in the end so many things. So, all these Navagrahas, which we consider as powerful forces, which shape, influence, cause problems, if we do not please them. So they have no power, because it is only God's power who comes to them. So if God's grace is there, all of them will become very favourable. Because it is not that they are all malevolent forces. If they are in a particular house, they call it Rashi. Then even Shineshwara also becomes very favourable. Dushta, Dushasana, Vimala, Draupadi, Sheera, Uttara, Kumantara, Prero. So this Dushasana, he was trying to disrobe the Draupadi. Then what did she do? She only called on Krishna, and you have to come. There is also a very interesting addition to this kind of story. She was trying to hold her sari so that she could preserve her modesty, and at that time she was in that what is called monthly period, Rajaswala. And then she was only wearing one cloth. In that state, somebody, this Dushasana went and caught hold of her hair, and then he was dragging her. That was unimaginable in Indian culture. But that shows there are also people who are capable of doing that. And she was closely related. That is something very strange. Then you see, she was trying to preserve her modesty, and then she was praying. But Krishna, Krishna was not coming. So there is also a small variation in this story. So she was praying, O Krishna, who dwells in Dwaraka, please come and save me, rescue me. Apply, apply. No reply. Krishna was not coming. Then she changed her prayer. O Krishna, you who dwell in the hearts of every being. The moment she did that, immediately Krishna appeared. And then, you know, he saved her. Then later on, after all this episode is over, Raupadi asked, when I prayed first, why did you not come to my rescue? He asked, what was the prayer you applied? O Krishna, you who dwell in Dwaraka. Now even if I start immediately, what is the distance between Dwaraka and Hastinapura? It takes a long time. Then you said, O Krishna, I am there within you, so all the time I need to do it, come out. So this is Harikatha's variation. And that's a great lesson to be learned. In Gajendra Moksha also, right? Yeah. The reason of everybody, please come and save me, is that what the... No, but in Gajendra Moksha, the Lord Narayana was in Vaikuntha. So he did not say Sarvantariyami. He said, O Lord, I tried my best, I am losing my strength, there is no other rescue. You are Anadha Bandhu, Deena Bandhu. So you will have to come out. Then immediately the Lord comes. But how much time will it take for Him to come? It's a beautiful description in the Bhagavatam. The Lord heard the prayer, and He was playing with Lakshmi. And she was holding her cloth. And He did not leave her cloth, He did not tell, He did not even call Garuda, you take me there. Because He was in such a hurry to come and save. But incidentally, this is not called Gajendra Moksha. It is called Gajendra Mokshana. There is a difference between Moksha and Mokshana. Moksha means liberation. So Gajendra did not ask for Moksha. He could save me from this trouble. So he came, killed the crocodile, now you are free, you can do whatever you like. So this is called Sahetuka Bhakti and Ahetuka Bhakti. Sahetuka means you give me money, give me this, give me that. This is called devotion with a motive. Ahetuka Bhakti means, I don't want anything from you. I don't want anything from you. An atheist praying to God. Remember? You don't remember? An atheist, you know, was walking in a forest. Suddenly a hungry tiger spied him, started chasing him, and fell down and very soon he was trying to run, fell him down and was about to eat. Then he thought, atheist whole life. So he said, is there anyone up there? Anyone up there? God said, yes, I am God, I am there. What can I do? How can I help you? American style, you know. Then atheist thought, so God exists. Now if I say God exists, help me, whole life I have been, you know, declaring that there is no God, I don't believe in God, etc., etc. What will people think about me? That I changed my color because of this problem. He said, I will be clever. I said, Lord, I don't want anything. I am perfectly okay. But you know this tiger, you make him your devotee. God said, tathastu, let it be so. This tiger which was about to tear him, it became devotee. What did it do? Brahmaar padam, Brahmaar padam. It did Brahmaar padam and it became devotee. Very good. So, be careful. Wonderful stories are there about this atheist, you know. One atheist was walking on the edge of a mountain. Suddenly he slipped and fell down. Remember? Suddenly he slipped and fell down. It was deep valley and on the way he saw one branch of a tree was jutting out. So, he caught hold of it. It was hanging. So, he looked up. There is no way. High. Looked down. Jogged rocks were waiting for him. So, he thought this is the right time to know, find out whether there is anyone up there. He said, is there anyone up there? Immediately God said, yes, I am God. How can I help you? So, this fellow said, please come and save me. Then this, come and save me. And then God said, yes, you let go of the branch. I will hold you from below. He looked up and said, is there anyone else up there? Because he doesn't want to let me go. So, you come and take me and put me out, out of my trouble. This is the problem of people, you know. So, two types of devotees are there. Those who are Sahetuka. They have a motive. Devotees. So, these devotees who are Sahetuka are classified again into two categories. Artha and Artharthi. Artha means one who is in distress. Artharthi means he is not in distress, but he wants more than what he has. So, an Artha is our first stage. Whenever we are in distress, then we want God to come and save us. And Artharthi means life is going on okay. There is no problem. But I wish I had much more than what I have. Especially, at least equivalent to what my neighbour has got. This is called keeping up with the yoga. That's what they call it. So, these are the problems that we have. Anyway, did I tell you the story about Sardarji? Sardarji, he was working in an office. It is a six-storied building. As he was working, suddenly another Sardarji dashed into the room and said, Hey Bhai, your daughter, Srilatha, has met an accident and died. I just came to tell you about this. The moment this Sardarji heard, he became distraught, dashed to the window and jumped down. As he came one story down, fifth story, he remembered that his daughter's name was not Srilatha. When he came to the fourth floor, he remembered he has no daughter's name. When he came to the third floor, he remembered that he was not married. When he came to the second floor, he remembered his name was not Bata Singh. When he came to the first floor, he looked into the kitchen window. His sister was cooking. He said, there is no need to prepare dinner for me. Famous memory, you know. Enjoy. Dushta Dushasana Vimala Draupadi Cheera Uttara. Cheera means sari. When he was trying to disrobe her, Kumantara prayer was inspired by wicked advice. Then who came to her rescue? The Lord came. So if the Lord is in our favour, who can do anything? What could Dushasana do? He could not do anything. Jaake sahaya kare karuna nithi. Karuna nithi, compassionate Lord. Jaake sahaya kare. To whom he extends his help. Badhagaye cheera ke maaru ghanero. So in this case, he was trying to help, to rescue Draupadi. What happened? All the saris, endless number of saris, was started to... Finally he could not disrobe her, he just fell down. So there is a humorous, what is called, footnote to this. After this rescue was over, and Draupadi asked, Lord, where from did you get all these saris? Then he said, you know, I knew something like this was going to happen. So I stole the Gopis' saris earlier and was... You know he stole the dresses of all the Gopikas. So I was storing them. This is one side dish. Pickle, side pickle. But another side pickle also was there. When this event was happening, you know Duryodhana has got 100 brothers. All of them were married. And all their wives were sitting on the gallery and watching. And as soon as the new sari was coming, their eyes were popping open. Is this for me? This is the latest version. Have you seen the Mahabharata story? Have you seen all those saris? Well, I know the story. No, no. The way they have depicted the saris, most marvellous the designs. Really? Yes. You have been looking at them. These fellows totally forgot about Draupadi. They were only focused upon all the saris and they must have been envious. Who is supplying them all these saris? Endless saris. This is a side story. Badhagaya cheera ke. Badhagaya means the saris went on increasing, unending quantity, until Dushasana could no longer do anything. Mar ghane ro. I don't know exactly what it means. It means who can do any harm when the Lord has decided to help them. Jaake sahaye kari karunanithi. The divine compassionate Lord, when he decides to help somebody, thaake to that person. Jagat mein, in this world, bhaag bade ro. His fortune, good fortune, keeps on increasing. Raghuvamshe santana sukha dai. Raghuvamshe means Raghunath. Vamshe means lineage. Raghuvamsha. Raghuvamsha means Sairama. Santana sukha dai. Sukha dai. He is the giver of sukha for whom to all santas. Santan means saints. Santalok. And who is the Santalok? All the spiritual aspirants of any nation, any country. Tulasi dasa charanako chero. Chero means servant, slave. So Tulasi dasa is the slave of such a Raghunatha. This is the meaning of this particular, this one. Guruji, yesterday one of the poems, verses that you described from Ramcharitmanas, the letter which he writes to Meenabhai, what are the sort of people one should let go of even if they are close relatives? Anybody, that is to say a devotee should have no drug with anybody excepting devotees. So why did Bhishma then stay down with Duryodhana? Duryodhana. That was the question Draupadi puts. Clearly we could see Bhishma had deviated from dharma. Even though Bhishma is depicted. What is dharma? Dharma means what is righteousness, what is right. So the moment he found out that Duryodhana was not obeying the right conduct, he was deviating from his right conduct because he was not obeying his own father, his own mother. And others, Bhishma, Drona is his guru. So he gave up his guru. So yesterday's poem, that if your guru says do not become a devotee, then you should give him up. Here he is telling you give up God. Giving up righteousness means what? Giving up God. So he obeyed. This Karna, this what is called Dushta Chatustaya, the gang of four. Duryodhana, Dushasana, Karna and Shakuni. These are called gang of four. So Bhishma knew clearly this is wrong. And Bhishma knew Shakuni was cheating. So why did he not prevent this one and say you are cheating? Because the invitation was not for getting cheated. It is for playing. There are many things. Even the brothers of Yudhishthira themselves accused him that it is not right that you could gamble away. Okay, you want to play for entertainment. Take small bets and within your means. That is called play. So there are many wrong things I have done. First of all, who was Shakuni? He was nobody. So why should Yudhishthira play with Shakuni? He was supposed to play with whom? Only Duryodhana. If you are not playing, that means he should have suspected that there is some foul play going on. He did not. Because Yudhishthira was what is called Juhudal Olupa. He was a slave. He was addicted to this gambling. Otherwise, he would not have gone to all those things. But the most important question was Sri Krishna was giving advice on a rare occasion. He knew that this was going to happen. Why did he not give that advice? It's a lesson to be learnt, isn't it? It's a lesson to be learnt for the human. No. There is a divine purpose. Did not Rama know that Sita is going to be... Yes, there is a beautiful interpretation of Ramayana. In this news, Dasaratha decided that he was going to coronate Rama next morning. It was the first thing that we did historically, not devotionally. Why such a haste? At that time, Bharata and Kshatrughna were away in their grandfather's house, Kaikeyi's father's house. Why did Dasaratha need to take this hasty decision that it has to be done tomorrow morning? He could have postponed for some days and then invited Bharata and Kshatrughna because they were very close brothers. He could have waited. No, he suspected something. That itself was a suspicion. Anyway, the story goes, everybody was very happy because Rama's character was such everybody wanted Rama only. Bharata would not have stood in his way because Bharata was more devoted than anybody to Rama. Otherwise, he would have grabbed the kingdom later on but he left. So, he even renounced his own mother and went to the forest. He said, I am not going to be the king. You are going to be the king. But Rama had a mission in mind. He said, I will give you my paduka. These are the representations. So, Bharata and Rama, they say, outside Ayodhya, you build a special house. From there, as though I am ruling, you are like a protector of the kingdom, manager of the kingdom and you continue until I return and I am going to return. He promised. That means he knew. So, the story goes that the whole city was being decorated and everybody was very happy. Kaikeyi did not know about this. Manthara did not know about this. Those few people did not know about it because Dasaratha had not yet reached Kaikeyi's palace so that he could inform. He would have informed Kaikeyi first. That was a very wrong thing. He should have gone to Kausalya because it is her son who is going to become the crown prince. She should have been the first. She was the first queen. But he did not do it. He deviated from dharma because his favorite queen was Kaikeyi. So, straight he made there. So, the story goes that Rama was commanded, today night you fast and do certain rituals so that tomorrow you could be crowned officially. And Rama was doing it. As he was doing, Narada came running. He said, Rama, Rama, what is this? You incarnated for the destruction of Ramanasura. If you become prince here, then Ramanasura will be going on doing his job there. This Mao Zedong and Hitler and all those fellows, Saddam Hussein and President Bush and all those fellows will be doing. All these things. So, how is it? Rama smiled and said, don't worry. Before the night is over, the whole drama, the scenario will change. And that's what happened. Early morning, the mantra, she heard this Mangala Dhwani, all this musical, you know. And then she went out and said, what is so special today? By that time, even Dasaratha did not reach. Then somebody told, don't you know, Rama is going to be coronated? And today, that's why we are decorating and we are so happy. People were very, very happy. Then, of course, you know, mantra was also devoted to Rama. We have to understand. But somebody has to be the instrument of this villain. Somebody has to be the villain. So, like Hiranyakashyapu has to be the villain for Prahlada and like that. Torture and all those things. So, the drama is going on. So, Mother Saraswati entered into her tongue. Saraswati. Because the capacity to perceive Kaikeyi. What can an ordinary house maid servant do? The maid servant influences the queen or the queen commands the maid servant. So, she must have that power to influence Kaikeyi. So, she ran and in spite of herself, she did not know what she was doing and she went on telling Kaikeyi, did you hear about this news? Kaikeyi, what news? Rama, your Rama is going to be coronated. You know what Kaikeyi did? Immediately she took out an ornament and said, this is the best news I have ever heard in my life. Here is the reward. Mantra threw that and said, you must be really mad. You must be really mad. Have you heard that joke? There was a factory worker. He went mad. Do you remember? It is out of Arjuna's memory. The factory worker admitted him into a lunatic asylum. You know American lunatic asylums, UK lunatic asylums are beautiful. So, one month passed and his factory workers, co-workers, out of sympathy, they came. John, how are you? Oh, I am doing very well, absolutely fine. Oh, is it so? And when are you going to return to the factory? He said, what? Leaving this beautiful place, these beautiful, enchanting nurses and the first class service they are doing from breakfast, lunch, dinner, you want me to return to that ramshackle back-breaking work? You must be really mad to think. Actually, this happened in our Kankhal Ashram. I was a brahmachari at that time. In Haridwar, we have a hospital. And in that place, the main service is for the sadhus. There was nobody to take care of them. So, our hospital, whenever they fall sick, either we go and bring them or somebody, somehow they bring them and deposit in the hospital and they go away. And it's completely free treatment for a few days. So, one sadhu came. My duty was to go and then, you know what we used to do? At night, we have to serve them dinner, breakfast, dinner, and then we have to put up the mosquito curtain. And in between, some days we have night duties. So, we have to go and then give them medications at the right time, like that. So, early morning, first duty is we wake them up and then remove them. They are rogues, patients. So, we have to put up the mosquito curtain, put it properly, fold it, and then make them sit down, supply this toothpaste and other things, and after that, bathe them if necessary, and then afterwards supply first-class breakfast, toast, and many other things, halwa, whatever it is, according to the doctor's prescription. And then, from morning till evening, and then supply newspapers. And then they will be quarreling because newspapers are only one or two. Every sadhu wants it first only. So, according to seniority, we have to say, this is the old most. So, first you give it to him. And he wants to spend his time because there is nothing else to do, you know. He will take care of it. Others are glaring. What can we do about it? So, like that, one sadhu came and he had fever for 7-8 days. We served him. Doctor came and examined him and said, you are perfectly alright. There is no fever and you can be discharged. He said, no, I don't want to be discharged. I am not well. Doctor says, you are well. And this fellow says, I am not well. That means he doesn't want to live because outside he has to walk, he has to beg, he has to sleep under the tree. Here, you know, first class courts and all the brahmacharis are serving there. This royal service, where else do you get? Yes, that is the service we render there. I don't know, today, now they have employed professional nurses. But in those days, we were the nurses. So, then I went and reported this to one of my senior brahmacharis. And then, he was a very strong man from Konkini. He came and he told, Mahatmaji, the doctor says, we also don't see that you have any fever or anything. So, you will have to go. But he was stubborn. There was no option. Saharan Dhananjaya, catch hold of him, bundle. Whenever a patient enters into a hospital, first thing is, all his possessions will be taken away from him and bundled and labelled with name and everything and safeguarded. Here also they do it. And hospital dress will be given. When getting discharged, their original things will be given, hospital dress will be taken out. So, this is how, very wonderful experience I had. And there is one room, two rooms, they are called death wards. And sometimes, it is our duty to go there. People saw those with gangrene and they can never be cured. In those days, I am talking about 60 to 63. We do our best to go and dress. It is a harrowing experience dressing them because such foul smell used to come. Gangrene, you know? Gangrene means, diabetic people, etc., a kind of rot starts. Even slightest injury turns into gangrene. Nowadays, medicines are there. Incurable, what is called infection. So, the only way is, slowly they die. But until they die, it is our duty to go and bathe them, to change the dress. And they will be screaming. And there are also very good sadhus. I have seen one sadhu. No complaint. Whenever I go, Bhai, Bhagwan apko bhala karein. He will bless me. Though I know he was in a lot of pain, but he never complains. So, various types of responses are there. So, this sadhu, I have to report. The doctor's duty is to discharge him. Then it is our duty to see that they are really out of the hospital. Then the Swami came and he was given his things and caught hold of him until he was thrown out of the gate. We have to do. Otherwise, he will be occupying a seat needed for somebody else. This was one experience. But the other one, one young man, married person, he was working. He climbed a ladder and was working. Somehow the ladder slipped and his bone broke here. And the doctor decided there is no way to get him well. The only thing is amputation. So, with a little bit of anesthesia, I was holding and then just took an axe within few, not even the mechanical axe, it is a hand. Just like this, within 15 minutes or so, leg was separated, then we have to antiseptic and all those things. Oh, terrible. Anyway, these are varied experiences we had. Okay, coming back. So, this is what happens. Tulasi Dasa, Charana Nako Chero. Chero means, I am your slave, slave to Ramachandra's lotus feet. This is the signature of the Tulasi Dasa. This is the meaning of Janaki Natha, Sahaye Kare Jeb. Then, Narsi Mehta, Vaishnava Janato Tene Kahin is giving definition of who is a Vaishnava. Vaishnava means, you should not take it as a devotee of Vishnu. A devotee, a spiritual aspirant. Any spiritual aspirant is a Vaishnava. He could be Shaiva, he could be Shakta, he could be Christian, he could be Muslim, anybody. This is only, he happened to be a devotee of Krishna. Narsi Mehta was a devotee of Krishna and in Gujarati language. This is Gujarati. Vaishnava Janato Tene Kahin he is defined as a real Vaishnava devotee, real devotee. Who? Je Peda Paraye Janere He who knows the affliction, sorrows, sufferings of other people. A person who doesn't feel the sorrows of other persons, he cannot be a devotee of God. Because he sees God in everybody. This is what Swami Vivekananda wanted to revive. He who sees Dharidra Narayana, then Rogi Narayana, then Arthi Narayana. Dharidra means very poor person. Don't say, that's why Mahatma Gandhi changed his locus, Harijan. He is not untouchable. Harijan, he belongs to God. God is there. That was the greatness of Mahatmaji. That's why he was called Mahatma. Je Peda Paraye Paraye means other persons suffering. Only he who knows means feels as though I am suffering. Such a person alone can be called a devotee of God. Paradukhe Upakar Kare Tohe Without any prompt, he himself will go and do what best he could do for relieving the suffering of other people. Paradukhe In the affliction of anybody. Upakar Kare Tohe He himself will go and do whatever help he could do. And at the same time, Mana Abhimana Na Aane Re He doesn't feel I am doing some good. Egotism, I am a doer of good. That feeling never comes. This is a grand opportunity for me to serve my Lord. So whom is he serving? He is not serving a human being. My God is here. My Narayana is here. So I am serving this Narayana. Only a person who could see God in everybody. He is a true Vaishnava. And he doesn't have any egotism because it is God who gave me that strength, that understanding and that inspiration that I should go and serve him. Sakala Lokama Sahune Vande Sakala Lokama I salute Sahune Vande. I salute everybody. This is how our Khandana Bhava Bandhana Jaga Vandhana Vandi Thoma The whole world salutes God. And I also salute you. Why? You are the breaker of the bondage. Khandana Bhava Bandhana Beautiful hymn Swami Vivekananda composed. It is called Avatar Stotram. It is not called Sri Ramakrishna Stotram. Because it applies to every Avatar. By the way, are you aware this Chinnagir Swami who stays in Hyderabad this is 1000 years of Ramayana's birthday. Sahasrabdhi. 2017 1000 years. So they are celebrating specially in Hyderabad they are constructing a temple 1000 crore is the estimated cost. Have you seen that? Yeah, they had YouTube? Yeah, that email came through. Have you seen in YouTube? Yeah, the whole video. One of the grandest temples. And the largest statue of Ramanujan. Ramanujan. I think some 270 feet or something like that. And I think it revolves. Oh! You know the light is going to come on. No, I think what I saw this entire statue is revolving. My God! And the contract has been given to a Chinese contract. I don't know why. There must have been a reason that they are quite advanced. When I go to Srirangam I stay in Chinnagir ashram every time. Okay. That's how I know. Anyway, this is one of the grandest temples. One doesn't need any temples, does he? You know, that is another aspect of my thinking. Do we really need more temples? And do we need 1000 crore temples? This is a... If that is given to the poor people, how much... That is most people's thinking. But anyway, India is like that. Hindu is always like that. Wherever he goes, first thing is he will put up a house for himself. He doesn't believe in mortgage. He believes in outright owning the house. First his house, then God's, next God's house. This is Hindu's mentality. Wherever Hindus go, this is the first thing, his own house. They don't believe in borrowing. There is a very good book regarding the rich God and poor people. Regarding India as such. Anyway, this is Hindu's nature. But one way, I am very happy that we are... I mean, such a beautiful temple is coming. It is mind-dazzling. Mind-boggling. Anyway. So, That means, whatever happens in this world, forbear it. If it is something not desirable. And salute. Do not blame anybody. This is the Lakshana of a devotee. If some suffering comes to a devotee, he doesn't blame anybody. He blames himself and says, I must have done some karma. So, I am suffering and it is God's grace. He wants to purify me. That is what he thinks. Vacha means speech. Kacha means Kaya. And Mana means mind. So, these three. Bodily and speech-wise and thought-wise. He will keep all pure. And Nischala means complete rest, peaceful. He who is not peaceful, he cannot be a devotee of God. So, I don't know exactly what it means. It means the mother who gave birth to this kind of person. She is a great... Blessed is the mother who gave birth to such a great devotee. That is very good. Every word of this, in the Bhagavad Gita, there is a parallel. That means A Brahmana. Who is learned and who is humble. That means a great spiritual Brahmana. One who eats the dogs. Means locus people. A saint never makes any distinction. He sees the same Brahmana everywhere. Tyaga means to give up. Trishna means all desires. Thirst. Trishna means thirst. Thirst means here, but all desires. I want this. Whatever God gives, that's absolutely okay. Parastri jene matare. Parastri means every other woman, excepting his own wife. He considers it as only with the idea of a mother. That is what Chandi also. That is the way. Jifwa means the tongue. Thaki means at any time, even by mistake. It will never speak. No untruth will ever come out of that mouth. If such a person, that means he will always speak only truth. And if he speaks truth, whatever he speaks will come. That's why God is called Satya Kama, Satya Sankalpa. Whatever desires arise in the mind of God, they will only... Satya Kama means true desires. True desire means a desire which will always elevate us, never make us go down. Only desire is that I want God, nothing else. And Satya Sankalpa, whatever desires come, they will be fulfilled. So there is a story. Once, what happened, there was a great devotee of Narayana. He was a householder and he didn't have children. Then you see, he prayed to God. And God came. He said, what do you want? I want some children, if you are kind enough. He said, I am kind enough, but you are not fit to have any children. In this life, you are not going to have. What can the devotee do when God himself, straight from the horse's mouth, the betting, the winning horse, is going to be told. Then, another devotee was witnessing this. So what happened, after a few years, that witnessing devotee, he wanted to see what is the condition of that devotee. So he went and saw the whole house was crawling with children, that fellow's children. He was shocked. God himself came and said, that he is not fit to have any children. And how come that this fellow is having so many children? So, he ran to Narayana. He said, Lord, you remember, several years back, that devotee prayed, you came, and he asked for children, and you said he is not fit to have in this life. But now I see. What is this? How did it happen? God said, what can I do? My devotee Narada was once passing through that village, and this householder entertained him. And Narada was highly pleased. As soon as that man bowed down, he said, Putravan bhava, pautravan bhava. May you have children. May you have also grandchildren. And in brackets, grand-grandchildren and all those people. So he overruled God's wishes. Because when my bhakta, this word came, let my words go down, I don't care. But I will never allow my devotees' words to become mithya. So that's why they should always speak truth. Yes, that's what Shri Krishna did in the Mahabharata. He took a vow, I will not take a weapon. And when Bhishma was trying to finish the Pandava army, and Arjuna and others could not stand him, you know what happened? Then Krishna understood. So he got down with his chakra to finish Bhishma. And then what happened? When Krishna took a vow, I will not take a weapon. Bhishma took a vow, I will make you take a weapon. So Krishna was asked later on, you took a vow that you are not going to take up a weapon. How come you broke your own vow? He said, you know, I am ready to break my vow in order to protect the vow of my devotees. And Bhishma is one of my greatest devotees. So he took a vow, and I have to make his vow come true. It's complications. How did they count it, Swami? When he took the chakra, how did it... So Krishna wanted to finish Bhishma. The moment Bhishma saw Bhagavan Krishna, he knew who he was, he stopped fighting, he came down, and then he said, you can kill me. Then Krishna, he had a plan in mind, you know, all this drama. He told, don't worry, we know how to finish you off. So that night, you know these both camps, after sunset they can visit each other and share a peg or two. You know this is called relief, temporary relief. So tension, tension relief. So Arjuna went there and said, Grandpa, Grandpa, today you are invincible. If you continue like this, there is no way. So he said, what can I do to finish you off? Bhishma said, don't worry, put Sikhandi in front of you, then I will not fight. He himself told him how to kill himself. So next day, happily, Sikhandi was brought, and then Bhishma would not look at him, and then of course it was very easy, Bhishma was defeated, and then he fell down. Before he fell down, Arjuna made one bed of arrows. Yeah, like that, then he became thirsty, then he said, Duryodhana wanted to give, he said, no, I am not going to drink this Hastinapura water, Kurukshetra water, I want only pure Ganga water. Then Arjuna pierced Mother Ganga, because Ganga was his mother, his own mother. Such a beautiful story. There are also things we have to learn from that story. Let us complete this one. A real devotee gives up all desires, all desires that are inimical to devotion. But all desires, I want to have satsanga, I want to serve sadhus, etc., and I want to chant God's name, and all those things he will cherish. Every woman, other than his own wife, he looks upon as his own mother. This tongue will never utter anything improper or untruthful or harmful. So, it is a distinction. What is satyam? Priyam, hitam, satyam. That which does benefit, and that which is sweet, that which is not hurt, that alone is satya. That which does not benefit a person, harms a person, one should not speak such a truth. We have to be careful. So, that is the meaning of this third verse. The whole world is enveloped with this tremendous power of Mahamaya, and nobody takes notice of it, because of Mahamaya, clouded intellect. So, this person, a true devotee, in his mind should be endowed with dhrida vairagya, unbreakable vairagya. So, what is unbreakable vairagya? That is, if no temptation is there, I have tremendous vairagya. The moment some temptation comes, since you say so, I don't want, but since you are insisting upon it, I will have a peg or two. That is how it starts. Two bums are having a drink in the pub. So, one fellow was asking, Baba, how many pegs makes you drunk? He said, only one peg will make me completely drunk. And usually it is either the seventh or eighth peg. Only one peg will make me drunk. So, this is how sliding down takes place. So, dhrida vairagya jena mana mare, Ramanamasu thali lagi, Ramanama should always be there on this, thali means on this tongue, should be there. Sakala theeratha thena tanumare. So, when we find such a devotee, all the punyakshetras, as it were, are present in his body, because he is called a theerthi. He can make a punyakshetra. I think we discussed it. Yesterday we discussed it. So, such a person who is having all these qualities, he is a real devotee, Vaishnava. Vaishnava means not only a follower of Vishnu, any spiritual aspirant belonging to any path. If he doesn't have these qualities, he is a worldly person. He is not a spiritual person. So, this Mahabharata, you see, there is a general concept among people that all Pandavas are righteous and all the Kauravas are unrighteous. It is not true. Because Pandavas are also... If they are righteous, why were they killed? Excepting few people in the Mahabharata war, everybody was destroyed. Only a handful of people survived. So, the point was, why did Yudhishthira become an addicted person? This is one lesson. So, you did not suffer because of your righteousness. You suffered because of your weakness. Who the hell asked you to go and gamble? Okay, if you are supposed to, you like to gamble, okay, go on, there is a limit. Will anybody gamble away one's brothers and one's wife and one's property to some extent? And that too, it doesn't belong totally to you. Did you take the permission of anybody that was very wrong of Yudhishthira to do it? Okay, first time he did it. What happened, you know Bharata story? First time, then they lost everything. That going to Dandakaranya did not come first time. Only they lost everything. Then what happened, either Gandhari or somebody told Dhritarashtra, this is your own, you are doing injustice to your own brother's children. So, this is not right. Now and then, he comes to his senses, Dhritarashtra. So, he called Draupadi and said, I will give you a boon. He said, you restore whatever belongs to my husband. And he gave. And they were happy. Then Dhritarashtra said, you go back. When they were going back, then Duryodhana went and caught hold of his father, said, no, it is not right, you invite them back. So, second time when they were invited back, they had a choice. First time, they knew that. Second time also, same thing was going to happen. Why did again he come back? Has he got a right to gamble away others' property? That was not right. So, what happened to his sense of logic, reason, why did he gamble away? Gambling is very bad. Gambling is called one of the pancha-papas. Then why did he gamble away? That is a lesson we have to learn. You did not suffer not because of your righteousness. I can give you every instance like that. I will give you two other instances. Nobody suffers from righteousness. If you believe in the law of karma, if any person does righteous thing, the result will be good. If anybody does evil, invariably the papa will come. There is no doubt about it. So, this Yudhishthira, he had done some papa. That is why everybody had to suffer. Bhishma had to suffer because why did Bhishma support Duryodhana when you know that this person is following an unrighteous path? You should have left them immediately. Did he not promise that he will take care of Hastinapura? He promised to take care of Hastinapura not by hook or crook. It should be run in the proper way. And it is not being run in the proper way. Either you should have prevented it or if you are incapable of preventing it, you just come away to Pandava army. They would have been very happy. So also Drona. That is why they had to die because of their own sins. So what is the lesson? But the ultimate thing is where was Krishna all this time? He knows everything. He could do anything. He could save Draupadi by supplying fashionable saris. Why did you not prevent this gambling? Because his purpose was to finish off all these unrighteous people. And in the process, the Pandavas also had to suffer their fate. But at the same time, so many people had to be finished. So same thing in Ramayana. Ramayana also. Kai Kai helped Dasaratha conquer an evil result. That is fine. So you are a human being. You should be careful. You should not give boons like a God. Even Gods also are considered, according to Vaishnavas, stupid people. Brahma says to Basmasura, you don't know that Basmasura's story? Okay, later on. So Dasaratha was pleased with Kai Kai. He said, what boons you want? Am I capable of giving? Whatever I am capable of giving, I will give you. What did he do? He said, two boons I will give you. First of all, he was not a God. He cannot give a boon. What he means is, two of your wishes I will fulfill. He should have asked, what wishes you have? You first let me know. Then I will see whether I am capable of fulfilling them. Then only I will give. Simply in that particular state of mind, he told. And she was also very clever. He said, when the need arises, then I will... So when she asked, should he have given happily or not? He should have, but he died. Oh, you are Rakshasi, you are this and that. No, why did you give the boons? You did not put any condition. Unconditionally you gave. That's why you suffered. There are also other lessons. What is the lesson? If you marry more than one wife, this is going to be the fate. Like that Muslim man who entered and married twice. Did not Krishna and Rama incarnate to protect righteousness of their mind? Yes, these were not righteous people. So their whole purpose... Vaisharatha was not a righteous person. Because if he was righteous, he should have given his love equally to all the three wives. But he was favouring only the youngest wife. That he should never have done. How much agony, you just imagine. Kausalya and Sumitra would have gone when their husband deliberately was neglecting them and going to only Kaikeyi. Just imagine. We can understand it. From human point of view. So what kind of righteousness is that? If you are married, okay. But you should have been treating everybody fairly. That is the problem. Okay, Harishchandra. Story of Harishchandra. Harishchandra suffered so much. He had to sell himself, sell his wife. And his son Rohitaksha died. And he became the keeper of a smeshana. Is it because of his truthfulness? No. This is the point. Vishwamitra came. He said, Sir, please come. Is there anything I can do? Americans are clever fellows. How can I help you? Tell me first. I am not going to say I am going to help you. How can I help you? You specify. You vocalise what you want. Then I will see if I can do it or not. Very diplomatic people, you know. Americans are highly diplomatic. Yeah. You know how diplomatic? A fellow is working in a company for 25 years. And they want to get rid of him next morning. So, previous evening, the manager calls him and says, Harry, I don't know how we are going to work without you. But starting from tomorrow morning we will try. That's all. Give the paycheck and then kick him out. He knows what it means. We will try means what? You are not there anymore. This is called diplomacy. Yeah, British people are also... They are cousins. They are not cousins. This is the elder cousin. Chota bhai, bada bhai. Chota bhai, bada bhai, you know. One American, he went to India. And he hired a taxi. And the taxi driver was driving furiously. Any red light, he was just passing through. Red light. So, this American was, Hey, you are passing through the red light. He says, if I don't pass the red light, the taxi behind, he will come and dash me. So, many, many red lights like that. Suddenly, there was a green light. He put a sudden brake. What? Green light? You stopped? Red light, you are passing? He said, you see, my elder brother is passing that way. What was the red light for him? If I also pass, there will be a... So, these are diplomatic people. So, Harishchandra should have told, Please come. So, what is it that, how can I help you? So, Vishwamitra is unthinking what is called boon. And Vishwamitra said, let a most strong person stand up on the tallest elephant. Take up a stone and throw it high. As high as the stone goes, that much of wealth I want from you. So, for that, Harishchandra, you know, he was a Satya Paripalaka. He had to fulfil his, whatever words came. So, I told you, whatever you want, I will give you. Now, he has to sell his whole kingdom. So, there is a Hindu law. Very humorous, you know. Nobody can excel Hindus in this. That law is, if you are giving something, you have to give Dakshina along with that. So, he gave the Moola, original. Now, Dakshina, there is no money. Vishwamitra said, you go and somehow earn this money and he could stay, this Harishchandra could stay only in Kashi because Kashi is supposed to belong to Lord Vishweshwara. Not to anybody. It's a divine city. So, you can stay here. Even though it was his own kingdom, he had no right because he has given away everything to Vishwamitra. But he could stay in Kashi. But he sent to Harris, to Pester, that Dakshina. Otherwise, the Dhana is not complete. So, this person, he had no option because he had no money. Nobody will give him a job. Then he had to sell his wife to a Brahmana and he had a small son called Rohithaksha. And then he had to sell himself, employ himself under a crematorium keeper. And that is how he was earning that money and that money he had to give. You know this story. And one day, his son was killed in the forest and the lady had no money. So, she brings him to this crematorium and her husband who was there, she could not recognise him and then he demanded money. And then she said, I have no money. My husband has disappeared. I don't know where he is. I have nothing to pay. Then he said, Why are you telling a lie? I see a special jewel here in your neck. And only she understood. Only her husband could see that jewel. That means this must be my husband. So, she said, Don't you recognise me? I am your wife and this is how you recognised me. And our only son died. And he also breaks now. But he says, I cannot bury you, bury our son, because I am under the oath whatever fees come, that will be given to my owner. And I get only a monthly salary, just a little bit. I cannot say, because nobody knows about it. I cannot do it. I am deviating the righteous path. But Swami, in the year 2018, nobody should be sold or bought for anything. There are a lot of people who are living very comfortably. Nobody should be sold or bought. It shouldn't be going on. Anyway, so this is the story. What is the point? Point is, we are not talking about observing the truthfulness. We are talking this foolish promise without knowing anything, without understanding your capability or not. Simply just don't go on saying that I will do this for you. Don't say that. You simply say, if something, if it is within my means, then I will try. Because even when you try sometimes, you may not be able to help. That is why, even in the aeroplanes, we have to learn our lessons. Before you help your child, you put on your own oxygen mask. Then only you help. If you are helpless, you will also go and your children also will go. Anyway, recently I saw a beautiful cartoon. It's wonderful. So I thought I will share with you. This cartoon is like that. If you want to keep your husband with you, then don't try to love him. Try to understand him. Advice for the wife. Advice for the husbands. If you want to keep your wife, don't try to understand her. Try to love her also. Sometimes brilliant these things will come. This beautiful song, yesterday we were discussing, Janaki, Sakhi, Kripa, Jagavathi. It's a beautiful song. Have you heard it any time? I think Guruji, you sang it. Did I sing? It's one of the most wonderful songs. We had a wonderful singer in Bangalore, Swami Purushottamananda. He has a divine voice. Please come. Okay, Nitya. This is the new house. You are happy?