How to become a devotee of Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj

What you need to know about Shree Maharajji is that if you have accepted him in your heart, then he has already accepted you. There does not have to be a formal recognition of that. Shree Maharajji does not do formal initiation, nor is there any need to verbally state that you have accepted him as your Guru. If you have surrendered to him internally, then he is already Gracing you. You should focus on applying his teachings in your life. Practice bhakti exactly according to his instructions. Listen carefully to his speeches and you will hear many other instructions for your daily living. Apply these in your life and you will find yourself coming closer to Radha Krishn and to Shree Maharajji. The more you follow his instructions (which you hear in his speeches and read in his books), the more you will please him.

Although meeting him is not a requirement, it is certainly an amazing opportunity for a soul to meet a real Saint in person. It is a natural desire to want to meet him and speak to him and if you keep following his teachings, then maybe one day you have the good fortune to get his darshan. If you keep listening to his speeches and applying his teachings, a day will come when you will feel that it is very important to meet him and you will go and meet him. I hope that day comes soon for you.

Swami Nikhilanand, JKP Radha Madhav Dham. © 2011. All rights reserved.

Hindu customs and etiquette

The etiquette that we follow in Hinduism is to develop and maintain humbleness before God and towards others. There are some main points to keep in mind regarding proper etiquette:

- We take our shoes off before entering a temple or a person's residence.

- We don't point the soles of the feet at another person or at any image of God (by extending the legs out flat).

- We touch the feet of our elders, teachers, and especially our Guru as a sign of respect.

- We don't touch another person with our feet.

- We do not touch any book (religious or otherwise) with the feet; we do not set any book directly on the floor.

- Anytime we give or receive anything it is either with the right hand or with both hands together, but never with the left hand.

- We greet another person with folded hands and bowed head (rather than by shaking hands), and by saying a name of God, like 'Radhey Radhey' or 'Jay Shree Krishn' or 'Ram Ram' (rather than saying 'Hi' or 'Hello').

Observing such formalities helps us develop feelings of humbleness and respect for God and for other people.

Swami Nikhilanand, JKP Radha Madhav Dham. © 2011. All rights reserved.

Choosing a particular tradition, Guru & aspect of God

I'm unsure about how to choose a particular denomination in Hinduism. How would someone new to Hinduism pick a particular tradition, Guru, aspect of God, etc.? What influenced you to decide to worship Radha Krishn and to follow Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj?

The term we use in Hinduism for denomination is 'sampradaya', which means a lineage or tradition within Hinduism which was established by the followers of a particular Saint after he left the earth planet. The truth is that the original Master doesn't start the sampradaya. All Saints essentially teach the same thing: to surrender to God to receive His Grace and through His Grace attain Divine Bliss. This is the essence of Hinduism and the essence of the teachings of all true Saints in history. Internally all Saints are one; and essentially, their teachings are the same. However, the details of their explanations of the Hindu scriptures may appear to differ, but only on the surface. It is difficult (or impossible) for a material mind to reconcile these apparent differences, yet, essentially, all Saints taught the same thing: to surrender to God. A Saint may teach his followers a particular way of worshiping God which differs from what another Saint taught. But the reason for worshiping is the same: to become surrendered. So you see, the essence is the same, but the details differ. A Saint teaches the form of devotion which will be most helpful to those people at that time. Once he leaves, then people continue to follow his teachings, but what often happens is that they rigidly follow the outer formalities and forget that the real goal is to become surrendered. Thus, a sampradaya is born and is followed for many generations. Often the followers of different sampradayas bicker and criticize each other. They debate over the differences in the philosophical descriptions of their original Masters and argue about which form of worship is right. This is all a waste of time. Sampradayas are formed and eventually disappear. But the original teachings of Hinduism in the Vedas, Upnishads, Gita, Bhagwatam and other scriptures are eternal. And the original and eternal path to God (bhakti or surrender) is above differences in physical formalities of worship and above any sampradaya.

Thus, you do not need to choose a sampradaya. However, you do need to choose a goal. Hinduism teaches that the search for happiness can be directed either towards maya (the material world), or towards God. Those who direct their search towards maya find disappointment because there is no lasting happiness in the world. Those who direct their search towards God find perfect happiness. But even those who direct their search towards God need to be more specific in what their ultimate goal is. Why?

Because God has 3 main aspects, called bhagwan (loving God), parmatma (almighty God), and brahm (formless God). These are 3 aspects of one single God. The way to attain any of Them is the same: bhakti. Devotion to formless God is called gyan yog. Devotion to the personal form of God (either loving or almighty) is called bhakti yog. In all cases, complete surrender to God to receive His Grace is required. Those who ultimately attain formless God are freed from all kinds of suffering forever, but then merge into formless God and remain in a state of Divine peace which is unknown to them because they have no body, mind or senses with which to experience. Those who attain almighty God (Whose main forms are Vishnu, Shiv and Durga, and Whose many affiliated forms include Ganesh, Lakchmi, Parvati, Saraswati, Kartikeya, Kali, Gauri, Amba, and others) receive a Divine body, mind and senses and go to the the Divine abode of their worshiped form of God forever. There they experience unlimited Divine Bliss (included in this is the release from all sorrows forever). Those who attain loving God receive that, and more. What is more? They not only get to see God in His Divine abode (like those who attain almighty God) but they get to have close personal interaction with Him. The form of loving God is Radha Krishn, Whose more reserved form is Sita Ram.

A Saint represents the particular form of God which he has attained, and teaches devotion to that particular form of God. This is why different Saints taught devotion to different forms of God. It is a choice we need to make: which form of God do we wish to attain? This choice is made based on what Divine experience we wish to attain. Since we need the help of a Saint to follow the path to God, choose a Saint who is teaching devotion to that particular form of God you wish to attain.

So you see that you are not required to choose any particular sampradaya; but rather you choose to follow the guidance of a particular living Saint based on what your ultimate goal is.

I chose to follow devotion to Radha Krishn because They are the most loving form of God Who award the most intimate relation to the souls who surrender to Them. And I chose to follow Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj because he teaches devotion to Radha Krishn and clarified what the goal is for me, as well as teaching a simple and practical style of devotion.

Swami Nikhilanand, JKP Radha Madhav Dham. © 2011. All rights reserved.

What is the value of mantra dikcha?

Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj teaches that you must purify your mind by doing roop dhyan (loving remembrance) of Radha Krishn. Whether you use a mantra to help you in your remembrance, or you just chant a name of God, or you listen to kirtan to help with your remembrance, the only thing that matters is that you remember Radha Krishn. So he does not give any importance to the use of mantra, and he himself does not give any mantra. He simply teaches how to do remembrance (roop dhyan).

Just because you have taken a mantra from another Guru does not mean that you are bound to keep following that for your whole life. If there is something else which is going to give you more benefit, then you can change your spiritual practice and no one is going to punish you. Some people feel a kind of psychological bondage that because they have taken mantra from someone, they cannot try anything else for their whole life. This is not correct. In fact, this is one reason that mantra dikcha is so popular, because it creates a kind of psychological bondage.

Study the teachings of Kripaluji Maharaj and understand more deeply what the path of bhakti is, what a true Guru is, and how a Guru Graces his devotees. I would recommend reading any of his books, which can be ordered online at http://shop.JKP.org. Also, his speeches come on TV Asia here in America every morning. If you are in India, the speeches are aired every day on Sahara Samay Channel (6.30 AM), Sadhana Channel (7.10 AM) and Aastha Channel (6.20 PM).

Swami Nikhilanand, JKP Radha Madhav Dham. © 2011. All rights reserved.  

Can one accept Lord Krishn as his Guru and do sadhana?

God realization is not possible without a Guru. Shree Krishn Himself has said this in the Gita (chapter 4, verse 34); the Upnishads, Puranas and Ramayan all make similar statements. It would be like trying to get a PhD without the help of a professor. That Guru must be someone whom we can see, talk to and relate to. We should be able to ask them questions and clear our confusions. They will tell us the path so we know how to live our life for God realization.

Krishn helps us by sending a Guru into our life. The Guru helps us to purify our mind through proper bhakti. Once our mind is fully purified and we become surrendered, then Krishn comes to us. (Harihin bhave shuddh jan tohin patit bhave pyare; explanation of the difference between God and Guru from the kirtan "Jayati Guruvar" by Shree Kripaluji Maharaj). It is through the Grace of the Guru that we receive the Divine vision of Krishn (Guru mile kripa Rijhavar, Guru kripa mile sarkar; from the kirtan "Guru charan kamal balihar" by Shree Kripaluji Maharaj). So ignoring the Grace of the Saint and asking Krishn to help you is like the person who is searching for his spectacles when they are hanging on a string around his neck.

One should also know that we not only need to follow the instructions of the Saint for how to do devotions, we also need to open a channel in our heart to receive the Saint's Grace. This is done by surrendering (internally) to the Saint. This allows us to receive the Grace of the Saint, which will redeem past spiritual transgressions and open us to experience bhao in our devotion to Radha Krishn. This is the real devotion. Otherwise, it is like a dry practice of devotion, with no real feelings of affinity. Thus, we see that not only following the teachings of the Guru, but an internal feeling of surrender in order to receive his Grace is required to proceed on the path of bhakti.

Swami Nikhilanand, JKP Radha Madhav Dham. © 2011. All rights reserved.

God realization is not possible without a Guru

God realization is not possible without a Guru. Shree Krishn Himself has said this in the Gita (chapter 4, verse 34); the Upnishads, Puranas and Ramayan all make similar statements. It would be like trying to get a PhD without the help of a professor. That Guru must be someone whom we can see, talk to and relate to. We should be able to ask them questions and clear our confusions. They will tell us the path so we know how to live our life for God realization.

Krishn helps us by sending a Guru into our life. The Guru helps us to purify our mind through proper bhakti. Once our mind is fully purified and we become surrendered, then Krishn comes to us. (Harihin bhave shuddh jan tohin patit bhave pyare; explanation of the difference between God and Guru from the kirtan "Jayati Guruvar" by Shree Kripaluji Maharaj). It is through the Grace of the Guru that we receive the Divine vision of Krishn (Guru mile kripa Rijhavar, Guru kripa mile sarkar; from the kirtan "Guru charan kamal balihar" by Shree Kripaluji Maharaj). So ignoring the Grace of the Saint and asking Krishn to help you is like the person who is searching for his spectacles when they are hanging on a string around his neck.

One should also know that we not only need to follow the instructions of the Saint for how to do devotions, we also need to open a channel in our heart to receive the Saint's Grace. This is done by surrendering (internally) to the Saint. This allows us to receive the Grace of the Saint, which will redeem past spiritual transgressions and open us to experience bhao in our devotion to Radha Krishn. This is the real devotion. Otherwise, it is like a dry practice of devotion, with no real feelings of affinity. Thus, we see that not only following the teachings of the Guru, but an internal feeling of surrender in order to receive his Grace is required to proceed on the path of bhakti.

Swami Nikhilanand, JKP Radha Madhav Dham. © 2011. All rights reserved.   

Devotional & Divine expressions (the 8 sattvic bhao)

Regarding the sattvic bhao, I will tell you what I have understood from the writings and speeches of Shree Maharajji. The 8 sattvic bhao are as follows: stambh (becoming motionless like a statue), sved (sweating profusely), romanch (goose pimples, or hairs standing on end), swar bhed (choking of the voice or change in tone of voice), vepathu (trembling), vaivarnya (change in the complexion of the skin), ashru (tears), pralaya (unconsciousness). These are the physical manifestations of bhao bhakti. Bhao bhakti is only received through the Grace of a Saint by following his instructions for sadhana bhakti and by serving him faithfully. As a devotee progresses, these sattvic bhao become more intense, which is a sign that he is proceeding in the right direction. It is indeed a wonderful sign when these sattvic bhao appear in the body, and it is the desire of every devotee for this to happen.

The precaution which I hear Shree Maharajji repeat is as follows: a devotee should not think that he is important or highly evolved just because he starts experiencing one or more of these sattvic bhao. He should carefully maintain his humbleness. He should remember that he is experiencing these sattvic bhao through the Grace of his Guru, not through any effort of his own, and the basis for his experience is his humble dedication to his Guru. The moment a devotee feels self-important, vanity has risen in his mind, and his humbleness is gone. When his humbleness is gone, then his experience of the sattvic bhao will also cease. In order to maintain humbleness, Shree Maharajji advises to control the outer expression of these sattvic bhao. Try your utmost to control your physical bhao, so that no one notices you and you will not feel proud that, "Someone has seen me in bhao, so now they know what a great devotee I am..."

To help maintain humbleness you can also remember that a Saint shows the same 8 sattvic bhao from his body, but those a Divine sattvic bhao. Let's say that Saint and a devotee are sitting in the kirtan and both are crying tears for Krishn. Both are crying the same amount of tears. The power behind the Saint's tears will be unlimited times greater than those of the devotee. Then why is the devotee crying the same amount of tears? Because along with an increase in the intensity of the sattvic bhao, the ability to control them also increases. So it means that you cannot judge the greatness of a devotee by how many tears he cries (or other sattvic bhao). A Saint may be holding the ocean of Divine love in his heart and only allowing a few tears to escape, whereas the devotee may be experiencing a low intensity of bhao and be unable to control it, thus tears are flowing copiously.

So even if we are unable to control our tears or other sattvic bhao, we should remember that we are just entering the beginning stages of bhao bhakti and we still have a lot of work to do. People from higher stages of bhao bhakti have fallen due to their vanity, so we should not allow self-importance to creep into our mind just because we have experienced a little bit of sattvic bhao. We should try with full force to control our physical expressions of bhao and be thankful to our Guru for Gracing us with the experience of bhao bhakti. Then we will continue to receive his Grace and we will continue to progress higher and higher on the path to God realization.

Swami Nikhilanand, JKP Radha Madhav Dham. © 2011. All rights reserved.