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Sitaram · Site Admin Joined: 14 Sep 2005 Posts: 1079

Date: Sat Apr 19, 2003 7:08 pm
Subject: Vallabh, Chaitanya & Pushti Marg

http://www.sulekha.com/chpost.asp...ilosophy&show=0&cid=55942

Pluralism Project Affiliates Dr. Allen Richardson and Dr. Cate
Cameron's research has produced a slide show of the dedication of the
Pushti Marg Temple in Pennsylvania, now available online at

http://www.pluralism.org/affiliates/richardson/index.php

<A
HREF="http://www.pluralism.org/affiliates/richardson/index.php">Pictur
es of Temple Dedication</A>

http://www.dalsabzi.com/Books/Nisaadhanta/nis_first_discourse.htm

Once during his visits to Jagannathji temple, Sri Vallabhji met
Chaitanya Mahaprabhuji. How wonderful it must have been the meeting
between these two great men. After greeting each other they decided
to share their spiritual experiences.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhjuji said to Vallabhji, "Even if one were to spend
no more time in the company of a saint or an enlightened human being,
than a mustard seed remain on the tip of a horn, all sins would be
destroyed."

To this, Sri Vallabhji said " If you give up good company and
thoughts for even as short a time as it takes for a mustard seed to
stay on a cows horn, you will become a victim to negative thoughts
and actions

===========================

Take the example of an industrialist who establishes a factory and an
office. His subordinate, the manager takes care of the day to day
work. Now, think carefully. Who will reap the profits, or suffer the
losses? The boss or the manager? The manager does his work but the
profit or the loss is the concern of the boss. We must also, like the
manager perform our actions, and surrender our profits and losses to
the Lord, who is the big Boss. The Lord says: Give me all, because I
have made you act. Why do you chose to be the doer and get bound (by
the karma)?

===========

There are many characters in the Ram charit Maanas who did not do
anything great to attain to the Lord, but they had unshakeable faith
in Him and knew how to wait with devotion for His grace. Ahilya who
had turned to a stone due to a curse, did not do anything but wait
until the Lord Rama redeemed her.

She did not undertake any pilgrimage, nor did she chant or pray. The
boatman who had the good fortune to ferry Lord Ram across the river
had only one quality: that of honestly carrying out his duty to earn
his livelihood; apart from an intense longing to meet and serve Sri
Ram. Jatayu fought with Raavana. He was confident that Sri Ram would
come that way; so he waited and waited until Sri Ram did come and
Jatayu had the good fortune of dying in His arms. Shabri waited her
whole life, looking into the path that would bring Sri Ram to her.
When at last Sri Ram did come, all she had to offer was some berries
which she had tasted to make sure they were sweet. Sri Ram lovingly
accepted her token of love. The Gopis of Vrindaavan also waited and
waited for Krishna to come to them and, while they waited, they felt
His presence in every tree and leaf of that place.

===================

It has already been discussed that you must offer all your actions to
the Lord. But then a devotee feels hesitant to offer his evil deeds.
The truth of the matter is, that even if you offer your unworthiness
to the Lord, He takes it upon Himself. When a new government takes
over, it inherits the assets as well as the debts of the previous
government. So when you offer yourself to the Lord, He accepts you in
totality with your good and bad aspects. The truth is that when the
Lord wants to make you His own, He becomes the inspiration for you to
chant His name and love Him and then finally surrender to Him.

================

Shukdevji told Parikshit: "Once you start the katha, even if you keep
it going for 360 days, the curse of the Rishi will be rendered
useless, and I will not die, because the power of the katha will keep
me alive! If you stop the katha after 4 days, then also the curse of
the Rishi will be proven false because I will die as soon as
the 'katha' stops, and not after a week as he had predicted. But I
want the Rishi's word to be proven correct".
This is the power of the 'katha'!

===========

Ramahi sumiriya
Gaayee-ai Rama
Santat suneeya Ram guna gaana

Which means 'Think of the Lord, sing of the Lord, hear of the Lord,
speak of the Lord.'

When you think of the various incidents in the Lord's Incarnation,
then you will think of Him in everything that you do. Without Him,
nothing should please you. That is how this fourth state of 'Guna
kathan' should be like.
Think : My Lord is All Powerful and He can do everything, He looks
after everyone, so would He not look after me? The Lord is achieved
by people with knowledge, people who have renounced, so would He not
take care of me, who like a child, knows and does nothing?'
'Guna kathan' is not only speaking of the Lord...you may sing, you
may intellectualize, like a child you may speak in child language, if
you know Sanskrit and are a scholar, that is fine, and if you are a
simple villager, it does not matter, if you are the silent type, then
pray in silence. The Lord listens and understands every state and
prayer.
======
Naam khumaari Nanika chadhi rahe din raat
Which means that Guru Nanak says that other intoxicants will only
have effect for a limited amount of time, but the state of
intoxication that is achieved by taking the Lord's name stays with
one constantly, day and night.

=======

Aapke darbaar mein ham aa gaye
Phool shradha ke chadhaane aa gaye
Lok ninda ki koyee parva nahin
Aapke didaar ko ham aa gaye

Which means:

I have come to Your door-step
Brought flowers of faith to surrender at your feet
I do not worry about the world and its opinion
I only seek to have a glimpse of You

==============

There was a great saint in Vrindaavan called Udiya baba. He was very
well respected. Once he was asked whether he was a believer of the
Advait branch of philosophy (which believes that there is only one
God and everyone and everything is but a reflection of "That One").
He answered: "I am a believer of Advait (Not two), I am not a
believer in any "branch". How can I believe in any branch, if the
Lord is One and everything is His reflection?" People have believed
and propagated that which has proven beneficial to them. Thus a man
who has been cured by a certain medication will swear by it and
another man will swear by another medication which has cured him for
the same problem. The patients may fight about the merits of
different medication, but good doctors never do. In the above lines
Tulsidasji says: "Drop all actions and opinions because their
ultimate aim is to love the Lord."

Once Swami Vivekanandji was asked, "What is poison?" He
answered, "That which exceeds its limit is poison" The intellect has
been praised by our scriptures, specially by "The Geeta" and yet Sri
Krishna says, "Surrender your intellect to Me! Immerse it in me!"

===========

Sukh aur dukh

Joy and sorrow

Joy and sorrow is relative. The very same thing, person or
circumstance that brings joy to one, may bring sorrow to another. If
you understand the above theory you may stop hankering for a lot of
things. For e.g.. Two people are standing somewhere, and a third
person comes by. Between the two people standing, one likes the
person that has just come and the other does not. The person that has
entered the scene is the same and yet he produces joy in one person
by his presence and sorrow in the other one. What I am trying to say
is that we should know that the source of joy is within us, and that
that joy is solely dependant on us and not on any other person and/or
circumstance.

You cannot get clothes from a kerosene shop. If you want joy at all
times and under every circumstance, then go towards the source of
joy. Go towards the Almighty! Tulsidasji says:

Jatiheen adhajanma mahimukta kinha asibaari

Mahamand man sukh chahasi aise prabhuhi bisaari

Which means that man wanders hither and thither in search for
happiness and forgets the Lord who is verily the Fountainhead of Joy.

=================

Sri Ram claims that love and devotion is what matters. Caste,
knowledge wealth, strength, cleverness is as unproductive as a cloud
without water. A devotee full of love for the Lord does not ask for
liberation (Moksha). Liberation runs after a true devotee ready to
serve him. Narsee Mehta, a true devotee asked to come to earth again
and again, to serve the Lord repeatedly. Though it is believed that
there are certain rituals which are meant for men, or women, or a
certain caste; in the case of Shabri, it boils down to the fact that
one need not belong to any caste or/and creed. All that is required
to achieve the Lord is a heart full of faith and love.

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