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.

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.

Santan Dharm is a fully coordinated system of spiritual knowledge

Swami Nikhilanand recently gave a six-day series of speeches on the Devotional Philosophy of the Gita And Upnishads at the Sarva Dev Mandir in Oxford, MA.

According to Swami Nikhilanand, the Sanskrit scriptures of Sanatan Dharm are a fully coordinated system of spiritual knowledge whose aim is to guide the souls to their ultimate good. Among all of these scriptures, three hold prime importance: the Upnishads, the Gita and the Bhagwatam. The Upnishads give the knowledge of supreme God and teach that a soul has to desire God; they also briefly indicate the path to God.

The Gita is the essence of all of these Upnishads. The knowledge of God is scattered throughout 1,180 Upnishads. The Gita, said by Shree Krishn, consolidates the Divine philosophy of all those Upnishads and gives a clear and precise understanding of several important topics: 1) There are three eternal tattvas (existences): God, the souls, and maya. All three of these have existed for ever and will continue to exist forever.

2) The soul is our true identity, not the physical body. The soul remains unaffected by the changes which we experience through our physical body, like birth, maturing, aging and death. The soul can never die. When this body dies, the soul takes another body.

3) This world has a nature to produce situations which are both pleasing and displeasing to our senses; to produce situations which give us both comfort and pain, hope and disappointment. These two situations follow one another in an endless cycle. This is the eternal nature of this mayic manifestation; it will never change. Thus, we must learn to accept the dual nature of physical existence and remain calm in all the situations. Someone who can do this is eligible to become God realized.

4) Following the path of God realization while living in the world is called karm yog. To do this, a person has to decide that the attainment of God is the first priority of his life, and then he simply fulfills his other duties in the world in a detached and efficient manner, with the feeling that his beloved God is always with him. This is called offering all of your actions to God, and this is karm yog.

5) Upon the perfection of karm yog, a person becomes qualified to receive the Divine vision of God. Arjun received this in the eleventh chapter. When Shree Krishn Graced him with Divine eyesight, Arjun saw in Shree Krishn's body what had been described in the Upnishads: that God has a Divine personal form, and within that form He is holding the whole universe, and with that form He is omnipresent in the universe, yet He can also be seen at one place, at one time. This is a very important philosophy which is made clear by the Gita.

6) In the end, Shree Krishn concludes His teachings in the Gita by revealing "the secret of all the secrets" to Arjun: that if any soul comes to Shree Krishn wholeheartedly, it is His promise that that soul will reside with Him forever. If a soul leaves all of his prideful efforts in the world and takes refuge in Krishn alone, Krishn releases that soul from the bondage of maya and gives him whatever he wants in the Divine world: either absolute liberation, or the Divine vision, or Divine love. Thus ends the philosophy of the Gita.

It is said that where the Gita ends, the Bhagwatam begins. The Gita ends with selfless devotion to God (bhakti) and the Bhagwatam explains the real form of bhakti, how it is practiced and what are the indications of true bhakti. Thus, the scriptures of Sanatan Dharm are arranged in a Divine style to systematically guide the souls toward the ultimate goal of God realization.

However, all of the scriptures advise that if a soul wants to receive the real benefit of this scriptural knowledge, then he should seek the help of a God-realized Saint who can explain the true meaning of these Divine scriptures and impart a practical experience of bhakti. The true Spiritual Master, who is one with God, has the ability to teach the process of devotion and to Grace the devotee with relational affinity for God. These devotional feelings purify the heart and ultimately qualify a soul to receive the Divine vision and Divine love of God.

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