August 2008

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Hindu Society of  North Carolina, Raleigh - August  22nd 2003

The glory of Lord Sri Krishna’s avatar

 Embodiments of Love,

You are verily the embodiments of the Divine walking on this planet. This is a very pure and sacred temple filled with divine vibrations due to the devout and sincere efforts of the people who created it. The Triangle region i.e. Raleigh – Durham – Chapel Hill area, reminds me of the Trinity of Lord Dattatreya.

It gives me a lot of happiness  that in spite of living so far from your native place, India, you are continuing the traditions of India adhering to Sanaatana Dharma. We are living in a fast paced society, almost supersonic in speed, and can survive only by keeping up with it, and working hard at your jobs not knowing what the future holds in this competitive job market, yet striving to maintain the Indian roots and upholding the traditions. I am especially very pleased with the husband-wife relationship in the USA, where they are working together and cooperating with each other. Here is an example: At a devotee’s home, after performing the puja and serving dinner to all the guests, when the guests left and I retired to my room, I heard a strange noise coming from downstairs around 1 am. I saw the man of the house vacuuming the carpets at that late hour. His wife and children had already gone to bed, tired after all the puja preparations, but the husband was awake and cleaning the house. I was extremely pleased at this sight and I would have and hugged and kissed the man if he was a small child. At another devotee’s home, when the wife was busy with food preparation, the husband was carrying his child in his arms and doing other chores. This cooperation and harmony is exactly what Sri Krishna taught us.

 Embodiments of Love,

There is a huge difference in this physical form from the last visit to the US in 2001. There is a big difference in the energy in this cosmic body. The divine power in this physical body has linked with the cosmic energy pervading in the Universe and is on a renewed mission with guidance and orders from the Supreme Gurus. That is the reason why this body does not feel tired in spite of the hectic travel schedule and without any rest, and being available to the devotees at all hours. This body has no need to take food, but to satisfy the devotee’s wishes, accepts it. This physical body has a special significance in this particular year. It has completed 59 years on March 5th 2003 and entered the 60th year and I declared this year as Year of Universal Integration and Peace. During the birthday celebrations in India, I announced at the very beginning that I am going to start the Divine March for Universal Integration. Usually, the announcements are made at the end of the speech but this year it was announced at the very beginning.

 The current state of the world is worrisome to all those concerned with the well being of the world. The Prophets, Jesus, Mohammed, Buddha are unhappy that we have not understood their message. Their teachings show us how to live as decent human beings but we are fighting petty and selfish wars in the name of religion. This is what is worrying them.  This Lunar year is called “Swabhanunama Samvathsaram”, and so was the year when this body was born. “Swabhanu” means self-illuminating. Sun is the main form of energy for the solar system. The sun itself gets its energy from the universal cosmic energy. Just as the  Sun is self-illuminating and not dependent on any other source, so also, we  have the energy within ourselves. If we realize the light and energy in ourselves then we will find contended with happiness in our selves(Swa Ananda amrutha triptaya).

 Embodiments of Love,

God created human beings with mind and intellect to create happy and peaceful lives but we are instead creating conflicts and unhappiness because of our ignorance.  In these situations, God comes in  human form to rescue us from our misery. We think God is somewhere far away from us, but God is the Universe and is in the Milky Way. This theory sounds different from what we usually learn from Puranas i.e. whenever there is a rise in Adharma(unrighteousness) or decline in Dharma(Righteousness), Lord Vishnu manifests himself in human form. Who is Vishnu? In “Vishnusahasranamam” i.e. the 1000 names of Lord Vishnu, the very first name is “Viswam” which means Universe. The whole Universe is the same as Lord Vishnu (God). If you want to worship God, then you have to worship the whole infinite Universe. To serve Vishnu, you have to serve  the Universe. Who are “Rakshasas” (Demons)? We usually see in movies or books that Rakshasas are depicted as very ugly and despicable. But they are not like that at all. In fact they can be very beautiful and handsome looking, and knowledgeable scholars. Even Ravana was a scholar, good administrator and a great devotee who got boons from Lord Siva, after doing penance. But instead of utilizing their God given talents to improve the world, they try to misuse it for their own personal power and glory and try to create terror and unhappiness. To correct this situation, God manifests as a human being to save the world. Think of all the realized souls, yogis and siddha purushas, when their mental energy is combined together with the energy of the universe, the cosmic energy and the whole energy manifests itself as a human being then it is called an incarnation. Actually the real scientific truth is that when the world is in trouble the sacred sages and gurus and realized souls combine their powers and establish contact with the cosmic energy, and it manifests as a human being who tries to bring unity in people and re-establish “Sanathana Dharma”.

 Sri Krishna came to this world in “Dwapara Yuga” in times of great turmoil. His manifestation has 16 divine characteristics and is a complete incarnation. The important thing about this Avatar is that He came not only to establish the right path in Dwapara Yuga but also for the future times. Lord Krishna is universal cosmic energy; the same energy is also in Dattatreya. This is the reason why the sacred cow – Kamadhenu and the sacred tree – the kalpavriksha are common to Lord Krishna and Lord Dattatreya. Sri Krishna’s birth started with miracles. We think that they are miracles but those are his natural qualities. Lord Krishna’s maternal uncle Kamsa put Vasudeva and Devaki in prison, because he heard that his sister’s eighth born would be the cause of his death. You all know the story of how Lord Vishnu entered Devaki’s womb to destroy Kamsa, how he reached the house of Yasoda. Even as an infant he killed demons that were terrorizing people. I am not going to tell you these stories again as they are well known.

 Sri Krishna’s avatar is a complete manifestation and incarnation of infinite Divine Love. We recently celebrated Krishnaasthami. Lord Krishna was born on the asthami. But we don’t consider asthami as an auspicious day. That is a wrong way of looking at things. It is not the phase of the moon that is important. How we are conducting ourselves is what is important. How Lord Krishna conducted himself is known by the study of the Bhagawata and Mahabharata. He propagated complete humanity just as Sri Rama was himself a symbol of humanity. Sri Krishna taught us how to be a good human whereas Sri Rama is an example of a perfect human being. We have to follow Sri Rama’s conduct and follow Sri Krishna’s teachings. The real example of Guru and Disciple are “Nara-Narayana” . Lord Krishna is Narayana and Arjuna is Nara. One is God and the other is human. One is Guru and the other is the disciple. They are real examples of God and devotee. Right from his child hood Lord Krishna killed evil people who were misusing their powers. He is God’s manifestation. He used love, tact, humor and diplomacy to get rid of the evil in this world. He was the embodiment of Divine Love just as Lord Dattatreya.

 We have lot of doubts about Sri Krishna especially after listening to the sacred texts, Bhagavatham and Mahabharata. He had 8 wives. We hear He had 16,000 wives. The yogic explanation for that is that the 8 powers are the “Ashthasiddhis” and when the Kundalini is awakened after yogic practice, one sees 8 petal led lotus and 1000 forms. God has 16 divine characteristics, and 16 times 1000 are 16,000. Our tradition is to associate wives even with the Lord.  We are satisfied only if we associate wives with the God, be it Hanuman, Dattatreya or Ganesha.

 Embodiments of Love,

Lord Krishna is like the 8 petal lotus with ashtasiddhis. Physically on this earth he might have had 8 wives.  The story behind the 16,000 wives is that when Sri Krishna killed the demon Narakasura, there were 16,000 women who were imprisoned by the demon. They entreated Sri Krishna to save them as they had no status in society, so he agreed to marry them. He married them because he was the embodiment of righteousness and not for enjoyment of the senses. Lord Sri Krishna acted like he did not know anything even though he was all-knowing, acted like He was scared of some people and the story says that he was so scared that He ran away and hid underwater and even built a city there, Dwaraka. Today, scientists have established that there indeed was an ancient city under water. Lord Krishna pretended that he was scared, but in reality he wasn’t scared at all. Lord Krishna’s acts are always a mystery and a divine play; those of Sri Rama are noble examples. That is why we should conduct ourselves like Rama and follow what Sri Krishna preached. He was always very tactful and never hurt anybody’s feelings and always rescued those who believed in Him.  The state of the world today is much worse than it was in Dwapara Yuga and Sri Krishna’s skills and diplomacy are in great need. We have heard stories about Sri Krishna massaging Satyabhama’s feet, and also and also being kicked by her. The popular movies and stories depict Sri Krishna indulging in romantic escapades with Radha and other gopikas. Actually, a young lad growing up in Yashoda’s home cannot have these kinds of feelings. He has a pure mind. It is a reflection of our own thoughts and our own imaginations that have created these feelings. It is very difficult to understand the relationship between Radha and Krishna. The stories of Sri Krishna stealing butter from other homes and women complaining to Yashoda of His mischief are misunderstood. The butter stolen is equivalent to the minds and hearts of the people and the women wanted Him to come to their homes and complained to Yashoda when He did not visit them.

 Embodiments of Love,

Sri Krishna gave us the sacred text “Bhagavat Gita” and he guided Arjuna calmly in the midst of fierce battle like Mahabharata The scene of a battlefield is very scary, even in such a situation Lord Krishna calmly sang the divine song, The Gita. Before the start of the war, the Pandavas represented by Arjuna and Kauravas represented by Duryodhana went to Sri Krishna to request His help. Duryodhana was the first to reach Krishna’s palace. On reaching His place, they found Him sleeping, and Duryodhana went and sat on a chair at the head of the bed, imagining it to be beneath his dignity to sit at the foot of the bed. Arjuna on the other hand, humbly stood at the foot of the bed and waited for Sri Krishna to wake up. When He woke up, He first saw Arjuna standing and greeted him, but Duryodhana objected saying he had come first. After greeting both of them, Sri Krishna enquired about the reason for their visit, and they both asked for His help during the war. Then He replied that, He would be on one side alone and on the other side would be his entire army of accomplished and skilled warriors, some even superior to Him. He would not fight the war, nor hold any weapons, but just be an observer. He allowed them to choose between those two sides. He looked at Duryodhana and said that since Arjuna was the younger he should be given a chance to choose first. But Duryodhana objected saying, he had arrived earlier, but Sri Krishna asked him to let Arjuna choose first since he was the younger one, and also Sri Krishna had seen Arjuna first. Arjuna seeks Sri Krishna and not His enormous army. Duryodhana is smug and triumphant on getting the whole army of Sri Krishna on his side, rejoicing that the Pandavas made a mistake by sending the young and immature Arjuna to make this decision. When Sri Krishna asks Arjuna why he chose Him, he replies that he needs His blessings to win the war and get glory as a warrior, whereas if His army fights, they would get all the credit. What Sri Krishna says in reply to this is very important. Lord Krishna said that since Arjuna had put so much faith in Him, He couldn’t be without doing anything, so He said that he would be Arjuna’s charioteer in the war. Not only was he Arjuna’s charioteer, but he guided them throughout the war and blessed them with victory.

 During the war, when Arjuna defeated great warriors like Karna and Bheesma, he became arrogant. When they returned from the battlefield, Arjuna refused to get down the chariot and insisted on Sri Krishna as the charioteer to get down first and open his door. But after several requests, when Arjuna was still adamant, He pushed Arjuna down forcibly to the ground and later alighted from the chariot. The chariot then burst into flames. Sri Krishna explained that, He had until that time, suppressed the deadly weapons from enemies under His foot and hence did not want to get down first from the chariot and thus saved Arjuna. Then Arjuna fell at the Lord’s feet. In the same way, the Guru suppresses the evil doings of others and protects us and guides us through life and helps us get glory and happiness. If we have total faith in the Guru, He will protect us in this immense ocean of life. Not only that, during the war Lord Krishna asked Arjuna  to keep his feet on Lord Krishna’s head, and the thumb of the foot on the Lord’s eyebrows,  and tell him by using the thumb  as to which side he should move the chariot. He was so happy to keep his disciples feet on his head. Sri Krishna was an incarnation who had so much tolerance as to let his disciple place his feet on his head, and move forward. Sri Krishna protected them like the eyelid protects the eye. He caught hold of Arjuna in the middle of the battlefield and sang 18 chapters of the Gita. Arjuna had no choice but to listen to the entire Gita. After listening to everything he had a doubt and asked Lord Krishna as  to which of the paths taught by the Lord i.e. Karma Marga, Bhakti marga or Gyana marga should be followed to be one with the Lord. Lord Krishna said, “ you follow any path you like, but Arjuna, you should become a Yogi, “Yogivi ka”. “

 Embodiments of Love,

We can follow any of the paths given to us by God, but always try to establish connection with God i.e. become a yogi. As an example, numerous planes fly in and out of airports everyday. As long as they have connection to the Flight control center, there is no problem, but if the connection is lost, then there would be chaos. If we are connected to the Guru always, He will always protect us. In this battle of life, wherever you are, whatever you are doing, have connection with Guru and have firm faith in him. Like a mother and father he will protect you. Lord Krishna is an example of this. That is why we say “Krishnam Vande Jagadgurum” and  bow to Lord Krishna saying that he is the Universal Guru. Although Sri Krishna’s Avatar is past, whenever we think of Him, in whatever form we think of him,  He protects us.

 The union of Divinity and Nature is the real relationship of Radha and Krishna. We have to take care of nature and follow the universal rules and not go against nature and dominate it. Worshipping the Universe is the same as worshipping Sri Krishna and worshipping the nature is same as worshipping Radha. Raasa leela is nothing but the great divine dance between Nature and Universe(Purusha) . This union between life and Supreme life is Raasa Leela. Matter is composed of solid, liquids and gases.  At one time, the atom was thought to be indivisible, but now we know it has electrons revolving around the nucleus. The electrons can be compared to the planets and the nucleus to the Sun. The real truth is that the entire Universe is in the atom. The real significance of Raasa Leela is that Brindavan is the Universe, and the Gopikas are the atoms, in each one of the atoms the divine presence is shining, and the Raas Leela is an expression of divine cosmic energy in every atom of the universe.

Embodiments of Love,

Lord Krishna was a Brahmachari. Even though he had 8 wives or 16000 wives he was a Sat Brahmachari(100% celibate). But impression created in the movies is that he was  the most romantic person. If some one produces a movie depicting what I am saying, it will not run at all. Unfortunately, people appreciate it only if their own thinking and passions are reflected in the movie. Not only that we teach wrong things even to our children. If we see clouds enveloping the place we are in we tell the children that the clouds have covered the sun. But in reality the cloud has covered us, so we are not getting light and warmth from the sun. That is what we should tell our children. We also say that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. In reality the sun neither sets nor rises. The sun is stationary. Since the earth rotates about its axis, when it faces the sun it is day on the earth and when it faces away from the sun it is night. That is how it should be taught. In the same way  Sri Krishna’s Avatar is also not being interpreted correctly. We are often told that Lord Krishna practiced deception and played pranks. But the truth is that Lord Krishna was an embodiment of Divine Love, followed the right path and was an able administrator, politician, great  husband, king, social worker and above all a great human being. He was also the greatest servant of the society. During the war, when everyone used to go for Sandhya Vandana(Prayers) in the evening, he used  to serve the horses wounded in the war, and did other acts of service. Being a charioteer in the war the horses are of utmost importance to him, so he did service to them. His greatest gift to mankind is the Bhagavat Gita, which is incomparable in the world. Thanks to the great sage Vyasa, who wrote this text without actually witnessing it, but seeing the entire story in his mind’s eye. Even Ramayana was written by Sage Valmiki much before the birth of Lord Rama. It is more important to practice Gita than to recite it thousands of times.

 If you recite one shloka from the Gita you can get the benefit of the entire Gita. It is often referred to as the Eka Shloki Gita.

Yathra yogeswara Krishno, yathra Partho dhanurdharaha
Thatra shree vijayorbhuti dhruva nithir matir mama

 Meaning, wherever there is the Lord of yoga, Sri Krishna and where there is Arjuna ready with his bow and arrow, there victory is certain. Similarly, wherever there is a Guru ready to teach and a disciple ready to learn, victory is guaranteed. If we have total faith in Guru and completely surrender to him, he too will guide us in the battle of life, just as Sri Krishna guided the Pandavas, protected them from evil and blessed them with victory in the battle.

 Embodiments of Love,

Just as in he Dwapara Yuga, today the world needs Sri Krishna again with full effulgence, not to fight another war, but to spread Divine Love and make this world an abode of peace. At that time at least there were some survivors after the war however today if there is a war no one would survive. His shower of love conquers evil.

 What is now happening is that Lord Vishnu is trying to empower the realized sages and yogis all over and marshal their powers  to create a peaceful world. We should all pray to Lord Vishnu who is the embodiment of the universe to fill love in heart of present day rulers so that they will work for peace in the world.

 Dwapara yuga’s Krishna is still here as the universal power in each and every atom, in every shape and form. Let us offer our salutations  to such a divine form, Lord Krishna. Let us also follow and practice the Bhagwad Gita and make this world an abode of peace.

 Today’s discourse is very serious, tomorrows discourse will have a more serious tone with lot of laughter. We should be laughing and make others laugh and fill the world with laughter. We should not cry for any reason.  However when we are born, we are born crying saying, “O Lord, why did you bring me  into this world to suffer”?  When we are born, we are crying and everyone else is happy and celebrating. There is a tribe called Banjaras who actually cry when a child is born and are happy when someone dies.

 Embodiments of Love,

Even Adi Sankara who preached Advaita and said “Aham Brahmasmi” meaning “I am the ONE” also preached devotion. While he was passing by he saw a grammar pundit reciting rules of grammar early in the morning. He immediately tells him to pray to Govinda(Lord Krishna).

 Bhaja Govindam Bhaja Govindam
Govindam Bhaja Mooda mate ……

 Adi Sankara said in the famous Bhaja Govindam that if you worship Lord Krishna who is an embodiment of the universe, and has effulgence of universe embodied in himself  and who is Lord Vishnu himself then everything is easy, you will be happy and attain salvation. It is better than reciting the rules of grammar.

 Many people may get a doubt as to whether God really responds to our prayers. After all if you yell out from the kitchen or bathroom to your spouse, it will take a while even for him to respond back, then will God who is somewhere far away respond to us. Some one asked  Sri. Veluri Sivarama Sastri, a poet and devotee of Sri Satya Sai Baba that in spite of doing bhajans and praying to God does he ever appear? If so why are we all still facing difficulties? Since he is a poet, he gave the answer in the form of a beautiful poem which should be kept in our hearts.

Pilichina palikadi Daivamu, kaladaayani samsayambu kaligina yadala
Pilichi pareekshimpudu, Pilichi pareekshimpudu, pilichi pareekshimpudu
mee pilupu hridayantarangamunundi pegalaga valayu

 If ever you get a doubt if God responds to your prayers just call and see, but the  call should come from deep inside the heart and filled with devotion and faith. That is why if you believe in Guru or God you should cling to them. It is an illusion that you seek a Guru and cling to him, but in reality I will never leave you. The spell of Saturn lasts for seven years, but if I get hold of you, I will not leave you  even after seven births. You may forget me, or leave me due to some reason, but I will always keep you in my heart and place you on my head and protect you.

 Embodiments of Love,

You should hold on to your Guru. There is nothing wrong in having desires as long as the desires are good. You should not wish bad for others. I mentioned earlier that those who use their intellectual powers for the evil of society are Demons or Rakshasas. One such Demon was Bhasmasura. Bhasmasura  did penance and prayed to Lord Siva following all rules. Lord Siva was pleased with Bhasmasura’s penance, appeared before him and granted him a boon. Bhasmasura wanted a boon whereby any one on whom he places his hand should be reduced to ashes. Lord Siva granted the boon, because he saw only the devotion there. Now having got the boon, Bhasmasura wanted to test this on Lord Siva himself.  Seeing this Goddess Parvati goes to Lord Vishnu for help. Then Lord Vishnu came in form a beautiful maiden. The maiden enchants the demon, and proposes to him. Bhasmasura forgets all his penance and wants to marry her. The maiden says that since she is a good dancer, she will marry him only if he dances with her . She  danced by doing many steps, and Bhasmasura followed her dance. Finally she placed her hand over her head, and Bhasmasura  placed his hand over his own head, and  he was destroyed.  Today the situation is like that. We have a lot of Bhasmasuras who have acquires powers in their own way of penance. How this world could be saved from these Bhasmasuras will be the topic for tomorrow.

 In this Kaliyuga, the kalki avataara is the divine knowledge and divine love,  riding the divine power  and the weapons are weapons of knowledge and love. The weapons are not for destroying people but for transforming their minds and hearts. They will surrender and change themselves  on seeing these weapons of love and knowledge. There is no reason for anyone to fear. All of you will be safe. This great Kalkiavataara of Sri Krishna, which is an embodiment of divine knowledge and divine love will incarnate and bring peace and happiness in the world. We should all make this world an abode of peace.

Embodiments of Love,