Sleep and the path of bhakti

Is there a point where even sleep can be transcended?

For ordinary people like us, sleep is a necessity. As long as we have a physical body, there are certain things that we must provide it: adequate nutrition, adequate sleep, protection from the elements, etc. Although there have certainly been great yogis and tapasvis who were able to greatly reduce their reliance on such things, this is not part of the path of bhakti. The path of bhakti requires us to moderate our use of food and sleep in order to maintain a healthy existence. Then we focus on attaching our mind to God through practicing daily devotion. We do not try to or hope to develop siddhis or to transcend the physical elements.

Sleep is necessary for our bodies, but it should be used in moderation. Sleeping too much is not good for maintaining a devotional state of mind, because it promotes the tamas quality of the mind. Sleep just enough to meet the requirements of the body. The reason that we are so attached to the pleasure of lying in bed and sleeping is because of that tamas gun of our mind. The more we give into it, the more it grows. The more we control it, the more it subsides. As our heart purifies through the practice of bhakti, so does our attachment to sleep begin to reduce. But even a God realized Saint who is beyond the three gunas of maya still sleeps for some time every night.

Mind, soul and our true identity

Question: I was reading in the Bhagavad Gita that we are not really the doers of our actions. These are the verses I was reading:

The spirit soul bewildered by the influence of false ego thinks himself the doer of activities that are in actuality carried out by the three modes of material nature. BG 3:27

The place of action [the body], the performer, the various senses, the many different kinds of endeavor, and ultimately the Supersoul — these are the five factors of action. BG 18:14

Whatever right or wrong action a man performs by body, mind or speech is caused by these five factors. BG 18:15

Therefore one who thinks himself the only doer, not considering the five factors, is certainly not very intelligent and cannot see things as they are. BG 18:16

If this is the case, which it certainly must be if Krishn says it is, then who are we behind all of that? If we are not the actual doer then who are we? What is our individual identity once we break free from maya? Do we even have an individual identity? Does each jiva have individual characteristics in the spiritual world that define us the way that we do here in the material world?

I know that in essence we are all jivas (souls) but we also have individuality in this world as defined by our personalities and other characteristics that define us materially. I also understand that those characteristics are worldly and temporary. Are we, then, as individual souls, any different from each other once we reach the point of shedding the body or in reality are we all the same/equal in the spiritual sense?

Answer: Our true identity is the Divine soul. The soul, being infinitesimal, has no form (is nirakar), so it is impersonal. Along with the soul, we eternally have a material mind and senses which are part of our personality. The same mind and senses have been with us since eternity and go with the soul when we change bodies (die). The soul has a personal identity when it has a mind. When the soul gets liberation, the material mind and senses are dissolved back into the mayic energy and only the pure soul merges into formless God. In this state, the soul still exists. The soul can never cease to exist. However, the soul no longer has a personal identity, because it has no mind or body or senses. But soul retains its impersonal identity as an individual soul merged within God. This is the situation when a soul receives mokch or mukti and merges into impersonal God (nirakar brahm).

When a soul attains the personal form of God (sakar brahm), then that soul receives a Divine mind, senses and body, and thus retains his personal identity. He enters into the abode of the form of God which he attained. The individual traits of that soul's (Divine) personality are unique to him because they are determined by how he loved Krishn during his devotional period, what his relationship is with Krishn, what kind of desires he had from Krishn while doing devotion, how he likes to interact with Krishn, etc. So the Saints in Krishn's Divine abode are all very individual in their behavior, personality, love for Krishn, etc. In the Divine world, there are tall Saints, short Saints, young Saints, old Saints, skinny Saints, hefty Saints, quiet Saints, loud Saints, playful Saints, serious Saints, bashful Saints, bold Saints, etc. In other words, you are still you, even after God realization. Your personality remains, but you have become Divine.

Regarding the soul being the doer (karta) of actions, or being a non-doer (akarta), we find both kinds of references in our scriptures. Soul on its own cannot think or know or experience or do anything. Soul with a mind can think, know, experience and act. Technically, it is the mind that thinks, knows, experiences and performs actions, but it only does so because the soul is giving life to it. Since the mind cannot do anything unless the Divine soul is giving life to it, so from that point of view, the soul could be said to be the doer. But since it is actually the mind with which we think, and soul cannot think without a mind, so the mind is said to be the doer. The mind is made of maya, and the soul is Divine. Since the mind is made of maya (as are the senses and body), so it means the mind is made of sattva, raj and tam (the 3 qualities of maya). Each person thinks and performs actions according to the quality which predominates in his mind at that time. When sattva predominates, then a person's thoughts and actions will be good. When tam predominates, then a person's thoughts and actions will be bad. When raj predominates, then a person's actions will be selfish, but neither good nor bad. According to a person's quality of mind, so will be the quality of his thoughts and actions, thus the mind is said to be the doer. The soul is beyond sattva, raj and tam because the soul is not mayic. Thus, the soul cannot be sattvic or rajas or tamas, but our mind is. So, the soul cannot be said to be the doer of any sattvic or rajas or tamas action. It is the mind which is the doer. For all of these reasons, our scriptures say that mind is karta and soul is akarta.

However, if we understand the situation more deeply, we see that the mind is not our true self and cannot do anything without the energy it receives from the soul. It is a very subtle matter, and the analogies I am about to give you do not exactly capture the truth of the matter, but they point us in the right direction. First of all, understand that the soul and mind are completely together, like if you pour water (the mind) into milk (the soul), then you cannot visually see any separation between the two. They apparently are one. Like this, the mind is adhyasth (established) in the soul. Secondly, understand that the potential for all thought and action resides only in the soul. The mind is a lifeless energy since it is part of maya. So mind has no life, and it cannot think or do anything on its own. The potential for thought and action lies within the soul, just like the potential to see lies within the mind and the subtle sense of sight (with which you see the dreams). However, just as you cannot see unless your physical eyeball is in place, you cannot think unless you have a mind. The eye is just a physical thing and the real sense of sight is subtle and lies within the mind, yet without the lens of the eye in place, the potential to see cannot be realized. Similarly, the mind is just a lifeless mayic energy, yet without the mind in place, the potential to think which lies within the soul cannot be realized. Another analogy is that of the engine of a car, which produces potential kinetic energy. The firing of the pistons turns the drive shaft which has the potential to move the car forward. However, unless the drive shaft is connected to the axle of the car, the wheels will not move forward. Similarly, the soul provides the energy for all of our activities, but without the mind, that potential energy cannot be put into action. Thus, from this point of view, soul is said to be karta (the doer).

Now that I have laid out these basic points, let me address the specific verses which you mentioned.

The spirit soul bewildered by the influence of false ego thinks himself the doer of activities that are in actuality carried out by the three modes of material nature. BG 3:27

The meaning of these verses is very abstract is a part of the Sankhya philosophy. It is a very dry and intellectual philosophy which in gist tells us that we are not the mind, we are the soul. If you know that much, it is enough. Nonetheless, I will elaborate a little on these verses to clarify things and eliminate any confusion. When Shree Krishn says that you are not the doer - the 3 gunas of maya (sattva, raj, tam) are the doers - it doesn't mean that you are not responsible for your actions. You are. It means that your mind, which is made of sattva, raj and tam, is the doer. But you are not the mind. You are not a mayic being. You are the Divine soul. Depending on the quality of your mind, you will perform actions accordingly, but the soul is beyond sattva, raj, tam. So the soul cannot be said to be the doer of any sattvic or rajas or tamas action. But the person who is deluded by the effect of maya, who is not beyond ego, believes that he is his mind and he is his body. So he performs all of his actions with attachment in the world. The main point is that you are not mayic, so don't be attached to the mayic world. You are Divine and you belong to God, so love Him. The one who believes himself to be the mind and body believes that he is enjoying the pleasures of the world and suffering the pains of the world. In fact, it is just the interplay of the mayic gunas. Your mayic mind and senses indulge in the mayic objects and then experience pleasure or pain. But none of this has anything to do with the soul. The soul is Divine and desires only God. Therefore, live in the world without attachment, moving through your life and fulfilling your duties with your attachment in God. Then you will not perform any binding actions, because the binding quality of an action is due to the worldly attachment. That means that while performing all of the actions, you will not be performing any actions, because you are doing them without any attachment. This is the "non-action action" of the Gita, which is also called karm yog.

The place of action [the body], the performer, the various senses, the many different kinds of endeavor, and ultimately the Supersoul — these are the five factors of action. BG 18:14

Whatever right or wrong action a man performs by body, mind or speech is caused by these five factors. BG 18:15

Therefore one who thinks himself the only doer, not considering the five factors, is certainly not very intelligent and cannot see things as they are. BG 18:16

In this sequence of verses from the 18th chapter, Shree Krishn elaborates on what factors are involved in performing an action. As I explained above, soul alone cannot perform any action. Here Shree Krishn mentions five factors: body, senses, mind, cheshta (effort) and daiv, which means destiny (in this case, the destiny being referred to is our sanskars, which affect the state of our mind and influence our moods and desires). All are involved in carrying out any action. Krishn also mentions that not only what we do physically counts as karm, but also what we say and what we think. Then He says that if someone believes that the soul alone can perform actions, then they are mistaken. The soul plus the mind, senses, body, etc. performs the actions. In the 17th verse He tells Arjun again that if he performs his actions without attachment, then those actions are non-actions (they will not bind him).

I will conclude by mentioning that to correctly understand any spiritual philosophy, it is imperative to learn it from a God realized Saint. This is why I strongly recommend all people to read the books and listen to the speeches of Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj in order to understand the teachings of any scripture, including the Gita. By reading these scriptures directly, we multiply our confusion, not our understanding. Only a true Saint can distill the knowledge of the Gita and other scriptures into a form which is understandable to ordinary souls like us. His book "Prem Ras Siddhant - The Philosophy of Divine Love" and his speeches "Brahm Jeev Maya Tattva Gyan" and "Main Kaun Mera Kaun" are treasures of knowledge which clear all a devotee's confusions and give him correct spiritual knowledge. These are available (or will be available soon) from the JKP bookstore.

The soul is ansh of God, part of jeev shakti, anu chit, ansh of sat chit anand, thus desires sat chit and anand.

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.

Another question on "Radhey Shyam" and "Hare Ram Hare Krishn" maha mantra

Question: I have a question about chanting the holy names of God. Over the last couple of years I have been chanting the Hare Krishn maha mantra daily. I do about one round in the morning and then as a means to try and remember Krishn, I chant it quietly to myself throughout the day whenever I can remember. Last night I heard in a lecture that I was listening to, that Maharajji instructed one of his disciples to chant the name "Radhey Radhey" instead of what he was used to chanting which was chanting "Ram Ram". Also, tonight I just read on the JKP website a letter written by Maharajji about how to do devotion. In it he says,

"All the time in your heart you must remember the name ‘Radhey Shyam’ or ‘Radhey Radhey."

My question to you is, should I do the same and chant "Radhey Radhey" instead of the maha mantra or does it not make a difference?

Also, what does Radhey Shyam mean? Is Shyam a name of Krishn, like Govinda?

Answer: Practically speaking, you can chant anything that helps you remember Radha and Krishn. There is no strict rule about what name to chant. In JKP, we do devotion to Radha Krishn, and we desire to attain Their Divine love. They are the most loving form of God. It is a natural phenomenon that you are likely to think about the one whose name you are saying. When you chant the name "Radhey", you are likely to remember Radhey, so you will attain Radhey. When you chant the name Ram, you are likely to remember Ram, so you will attain Ram. Thus, you should chant the name of the form of God you wish to attain.  

Regarding the Hare Ram maha mantra, it contains the names of Krishn, Ram and Vishnu and can be used for devotion to any one of Them. In JKP, we do many chantings with the different names of Radha and Krishn, and we also chant the Hare Ram mantra. When I am quietly remembering God's name throughout the day, sometimes I like to chant the Hare Ram mantra too. But most of the time I say either 'Radhey Shyam' or 'Radhey Radhey'. The reason is that it is simpler and also, it can be done with the breath which helps. You can say "Radhey" on the inhalation and "Shyam" on the exhalation (silently in your heart). Or you can say 'Ra' on the inhalation and 'dhey' on the exhalation. Both work very well. The effect is very deep and immediate. This is something which Shree Kripaluji Maharaj emphasizes a lot. He says it is important to do this throughout the day as much as you can. This helps to maintain a remembrance of Radha and Krishn so that your devotion continues throughout the day, even when you are working.

Shyam is a name of Krishn, just like Govind. Shyam means the one who is dark complexioned. Shyama is a name of Radha, which means the one who is with Shyam or belongs to Shyam.

Of course, along with remembering any name of God, it is most important to do roop dhyan. The power of the name for the most part remains dormant unless we also visualize the form of God whose name we are taking. You can see the form of Radha Krishn in whole or in part. You can visualize any part of Their body, and you can even have an interaction with Them. Feel that They are close to you, even if your imagination of the visual form is weak. And feel that They are yours and you belong to Them.

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

Hare Ram maha mantra

When doing devotion, should I chant Radha's name, or the maha mantra? Which is better?

As far as what name or mantra to remember, that is a personal choice for you. Every name of God contains His unlimited power.  One cannot be said to be more powerful than any other. The same goes for any mantra: the power in the mantra comes from God's name which is in the mantra. So any name of God is a powerful mantra. But of course the name or mantra must be taken with faith (that God is in His name) and along with roop dhyan (remembrance of the form of Radha Krishn, or whatever form of God you are worshiping).  In the satsang of Shree Kripaluji Maharaj, we chant many names of Radha and Krishn, and we also chant the maha mantra. It is totally up to your personal preference. Just remember to do roop dhyan while you are chanting, and you are on the right track. Roop dhyan is the term Maharajji uses to describe thinking of the form of Radha Krishn, which also includes thinking of Their abode, leelas, qualities of Their personality, etc.

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.

What is the meaning of the various Hindu festivals?

Hindu festivals are so many that they would be impossible to count, but almost all of them commemorate some leela or Divine historical event. For instance, Holi is the day that Krishn protected His devotee Prahlad from being killed in a fire. Shivratri marks the day Shiv and Parvati had Their marriage ceremony. Ram Navmi marks the appearance day of Bhagwan Ram. Janmashtmi marks Shree Krishn's appearance day. Diwali marks the day that Ram returned home to the city of Ayodhya after spending 14 years in the jungle. Everyone decorated the whole city with lights to welcome Him home. The true meaning of any Hindu holiday/festival is to remember that the aim of life is to find God. We are supposed to remember this all the time, but the various festivals help us to re-focus our energy in this direction.

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.  

Relationship of soul to soul and soul to God

The relationship between souls is that we are all brothers and sisters in the true sense because we all have the same Divine mother and father (Radha Krishn). However, the attachment of our mind should only be for Radha and Krishn because that will result in attaining Them and going beyond maya. If we attach our mind to any of our brothers and sisters who are bound by maya, that will increase our material bondage and result in rebirth.

Like all the waves on the ocean are related eternally to the ocean. They originate from the ocean, are established in the ocean and return to the ocean. The individual waves may meet up with each other (like the individual souls on this earth), but that meeting is only temporary. The relation of the wave to the ocean is permanent (like the relation of the souls to God).

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

Vishnu, Shiv, and Durga - The 3 forms of Almighty God

Response to a question: In one of your lectures, you have said that there are 3 main forms of the Almighty - Vishnu, Shiva, and Durga. Isn't the third main form of the Almighty Brahma? I thought Durga was a part of Shivji. Can you kindly clarify my confusion?

This is a very good question and a common misconception. Brahma is actually a celestial god (note that it is written with a small or lower case 'g'). He is a devta, not bhagwan. Devtas or celestial gods are under maya, which means their abode is temporary and is destroyed when the universe is dissolved. Supreme God (big or upper case 'G') or Bhagwan's abode is beyond maya, Divine and eternal, so it is not affected by the dissolution of the universe. If somone worships a celestial god (like Brahma, Indra, Vayu, Agni, Varun, Kuber, etc.), they go to the abode of that celestial god. But they don't stay forever. They return to this world and take birth again. If someone worships any form of supreme God (like Krishn, Ram, Vishnu, Shiv, Durga, Ganesh, Kartikeya, Kali, Gauri, Amba, Lakchmi, Saraswati, Parvati, Hanuman, etc.) then they go to the supreme Divine abode of God which is beyond maya and they stay there forever, never to be reborn in this world under the bondage of maya.

To address your questions directly, yes Shiv and Durga (or Parvati) are one. Durga is shakti and Shiv is shaktiman (the base in which the power resides). The three main almighty forms of God are Vishnu, Shiv and Durga, because all the other almighty forms are affiliated to them. Lakchmi and Saraswati are affiliated to Vishnu; Ganesh, Kartikeya and Hanuman are affiliated to Shiv; and Kali, Gauri, Amba, etc. are affiliated forms of Durga. So all those forms are Divine and almighty, but Vishnu, Shiv and Durga are considered main. Beyond the almighty forms of God (and including Them and all Their powers) are the loving forms of God Krishn and Ram (which included Radha and Sita).

Where does Brahma come in and why do we talk about Vishnu, Shiv and Brahma? In the creation of the universe, Krishn's almighty power, Maha Vishnu of Vaikunth abode, creates the whole universe and becomes omnipresent in it. The universe is endless. In the endless universe, uncountable number of planetary systems, or brahmandas are created (a brahmand includes an earth planet with its sun and other planets, and a corresponding swarg (celestial abode) and narak (hellish abode). In every one of those brahmandas, God Vishnu and God Shiv take avatar in order to manage the affairs of that planetary system. In every brahmand there is also a Brahma who is assigned to be the creator of that brahmand. He creates with the power given to him by supreme God. Vishnu maintains the brahmand and Shiv destroys it in the end. These are the three governors of a brahmand. Both Vishnu and Shiv are avatars of God from the Divine world. Their abodes in this brahmand are also Divine, like embassies of the Divine abode, here in the material plane. Brahma's abode is the topmost celestial abode, and Brahma himself is not a form of supreme God, he is a celestial god.

To review, Brahma is one of the three governors of a brahmand, along with Vishnu and Shiv. However, Vishnu and Shiv are forms of supreme Divine God, and Brahma is a celestial god.

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

Remembering Radha Krishn through their Divine names

You can chant anything that helps you remember Radha and Krishn. God's name is all-powerful and all-Blissful. Any name of God is a direct connection to God. You do not need any special mantra. All you need to do is to take the name with faith (that this is the Divine name of God, not just a word) and feel God close to you. Kripaluji Maharaj says to chant either Radhey Shyam or Radhey Radhey with each breath. You can say Radhey on the inhalation and Shyam on the exhalation (silently in your heart). Or you can say 'Ra' on the inhalation and 'dhey' on the exhalation. While doing this, it is important to visualize or feel the presence of Radha Krishn very close to you (this is called roop dhyan). The effect is very deep and immediate; all you have to do is try it.

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.

Devotional Service to God

Devotional service means service to a Saint. Although it is our ultimate goal to be able to serve Radha Krishn personally in Their Divine abode, that is only possible when we meet Them, which happens after God realization. Until then, the true Saint who is one with Radha Krishn, and who represents Them on the earth planet, accepts the service of the souls on behalf of Radha Krishn. Thus, during the devotional period, we serve Radha Krishn by serving Their Saint.

The benefit of such service is received immediately in the form of heart purification, which brings us closer to our goal of God realization. Service to a true Saint improves the humbleness of the devotee and develops a connection between him and his Master which becomes a channel for receiving more of his Grace. This Grace takes the form of loving feelings for Radha Krishn in the heart of the devotee. One should remember that if a Saint accepts our service, it only shows his greatness, like a king accepting a gift of a few pennies from a beggar. The Saint does not benefit from our service, but nonetheless accepts our service because we benefit from getting the chance to serve.

Devotional service is said to be of three kinds: tan, man, dhan (physical, mental and financial service). Physical service means offering any service to the Saint or his mission that we perform with our physical body. Mental service is performed simply by thinking positively about the Saint. Financial service means offering any financial support for the Saint's mission. All three are considered devotional service and lead to the same benefit. Out of the three, the most important and the one that can be practiced all the time is mental service; maintaining a feeling of surrender and having positive thoughts about the Saint is the most important form of service. Physical and financial service are meant to help us improve our mental surrender. 

This is the secret of service and surrender which has been described in beautiful detail in the book "The Science of Devotion, Divine Love and Grace" which is available at http://shop.JKP.org.

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

Leelas of God

(Reply to a question on why Bhagwan Ram killed Sambuca)
There are some very important points to keep in mind when reading or listening to any leela of God. The first is that all of God's leelas are Divine. What does it mean that they are Divine? It means that since God has no personal reason to do anything, whatever He does is because of His unconditional kindness. Whereas, before God realization, a soul can only perform actions for the fulfillment of his own happiness, so all of his actions are material. Once he finds that happiness by attaining God, he becomes a Saint, and then that Saint also performs all of his actions for the benefit of others. So all the actions of God and God realized Saints are done for the benefit of others, because they do not need anything for themselves, and they are also beyond anger, greed, desire, etc. So their actions are considered Divine. They are already whole and complete and do not have any reason to do any action, but they still perform actions just to Grace the souls.

The second thing to remember is that we cannot understand all of the reasons behind every Divine action of God and the Saints. It is similar to how a 5 year old cannot understand all of his parents' actions, even if they try to explain them to him. When his intellect reaches the level of his parents' intellect, then he can understand all of their actions. So when we become God realized and we get a Divine intellect, then only will we be able to understand all the actions of God and the Saints.

For these two reasons, it is best not to allow our mind to indulge in asking 'why' when it comes to God's actions. We should assume that whatever Ram or Krishn did was all out of Grace and kindness, even if we can't understand how it is so. When we get to His level, with His Grace, we will understand. Regarding the specific instance to which you refer, the individual whom Ram "killed" was sent directly to Ram's Divine abode. This is true for all instances of "killing" in God's Divine leelas. When Ram killed Ravan, Ravan went back to Ram's abode, as did any other demon or person who was killed by Ram or Krishn or any other form of God. So the act of God "killing" someone is in fact just the act of God sending that person from this material world to His Divine abode. What greater Grace could there be?

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

Effect of the Divine name

A feeling of happiness, peace and well-being are all good signs that you are receiving the effect of the Divine name in your heart. That is the beginning of sattvic bhao. They will continue to manifest in a progressive way as you continue to do devotion and purify your heart.

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

Food for mind, body and soul

All foods have an energetic quality: they are classified as sattvic, rajas, or tamas. Since our mind also has these 3 qualities, the food we eat encourages the development of the corresponding quality. Fresh and healthy vegetarian food is considered sattvic. This includes fruit, vegetables, milk, grain, dal, nuts, etc. Even vegetarian food is considered rajas if it is over-spiced, over-cooked, or has too much chili or oil.

Garlic and onion is considered by some to be rajas, so they choose not to eat it. We do not cook with garlic or onions in any of our ashrams, so that any person who comes will be able to eat the food. However, Kripaluji Maharaj has not forbidden the consumption of garlic and onions in one's personal food for those following the path of raganuga bhakti.

Although we do not force people to become vegetarian, but I would like to make it clear that in order to really follow the path of bhakti a person would eventually have to become vegetarian. If someone consumes meat, eggs, alcohol or drugs, then the tamas effect on the mind would counteract the purification achieved through doing bhakti. So the end result would be that even if they purify their mind somewhat doing bhakti, they don't progress very far because of the negative effect on the mind of consuming tamas things. 

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. 

Meeting God, knowing God, experiencing God

There is a saying that a person gets to meet God face to face 7 times in his life. The truth is that even if we met God face to face, we would not recognize His Divinity. He is omnipresent, yet we are unable to see Him. He resides in our heart, yet we do not experience Him. In uncountable lifetimes, we have seen Him uncountable times during his descension on the earth planet. Yet not once have we recognized Him. That is why we must do devotion to purify our heart. Upon complete heart purification, God will Grace you. With His Grace, you will receive a Divine mind and senses. Then you will be able to see Him, know Him, and experience Him.

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

What are the rules for meditation?

On the path of bhakti there are no restrictions of time or place for meditation. You can meditate anytime, anyplace. There is also no required posture for meditation. The only requirement is that you should be remembering Radha Krishn.

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

Why should one not seek liberation and why it is not good for us?

The reason for not desiring liberation can be understood in several ways:

1) We all want perfect happiness. Liberation is a state of no experience, or absolute peace. This means that you are not experiencing any pain or any happiness. We attain such a state every night in deep dreamless sleep. While in that state we do not experience anything. Only when we awaken or when we start dreaming do we start experiencing pleasure and pain again. A state of no experience that extends forever and ever is the state of liberation. So liberation is undesirable because it is not a state of happiness, it is a state of no experience. However, if you attain God in His personal form (sakar brahm) then you get to experience Divine happiness, which is perfect and unlimited and you are also free from pain.

2) In the state of liberation, the soul loses its personal identity and merges into formless God (absolute non-dual state). The soul still continues to exist, but has no personal identity because the body and mind are destroyed forever and only the soul remains. Without a body or mind, the soul has no means of experiencing anything, not the world nor God. So even though the soul has merged into God, there is no experience of God or even any self awareness that you exist. So liberation is undesirable because you remain bereft of any experience of God. However, if you attain God in His personal form, then you receive Divine mind, body and senses with which you can experience God. You can see God, touch God, hear God, etc. You are not separate from God, but at the same time, there is a duality which allows you to experience God and God's Bliss. You enter into God's Divine abode and stay there forever.

3) The Bliss of liberation is called brahmanand. This is the Bliss of formless God which is unlimited, but which is unexperienceable once you merge into God. The Bliss of Radha Krishn is called premanand. This is the Bliss of Divine love. It is said to be uncountable times greater than the Bliss of formless God. Liberation is undesirable because if you get liberation, you remain bereft of premanand forever.

4) If you attain premanand, it includes liberation. You are automatically liberated from maya and the cycle of birth and death when you attain God's love.

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

What is the goal of human life?

The answer to this question is very simple. The purpose of human life is to attain God. Every human desires happiness, and only God is perfect happiness. Every soul naturally desires happiness because he is eternally related to God, Who Himself is perfect happiness. For a deeper explanation on this topic, please see the first chapter of the book by Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj, "Prem Ras Siddhant".

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

The path of the Gopis

The path of the Gopis is called raganuga bhakti. Raganuga bhakti means loving Krishn with one of 4 relational feelings (bhao). The 4 bhao are called:

1) daysa bhao: loving Krishn as your master and you are His servant
2) sakhya bhao: loving Krishn as your friend
3) vatsalya bhao: loving Krishn as your son and you are His mother or father
4) madhurya bhao: loving Krishn as your beloved

Each one is progressively sweeter and closer. The sweetest and closest relationship you can have with Krishn is madhurya bhao. Someone who loves Krishn with madhurya bhao becomes a gopi after God realization. The different Saints are classified according to their relationship with Krishn. The gopis are considered the topmost Saints because their relationship is the closest of all. Any soul can become a gopi by loving Krishn as their Divine beloved. The process of heart purification through such raganuga bhakti in order to attain God realization is described in detail in our publications 'The Science of Devotion, Divine Love and Grace' and 'Prem Ras Siddhant'.

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.  

Biography of Swami Nikhilanand

Radhey Radhey! Welcome to the blog. Scroll down, or browse the labels on the right hand column, to read a selection of articles and answers by Swami Nikhilanand. Subscribe to keep up to date with the latest inspiration.

Swami Nikhilanand, affectionately known as Bhaiya Ji (respected brother), is a disciple of Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj and a spiritual leader at JKP Radha Madhav Dham. JKP Radha Madhav Dham is a nonprofit, religious, educational, and charitable organization whose aim is to reveal the eternal knowledge of the Upnishads (Vedas), the Gita and the Bhagwatam, etc. and to impart the practical process of divine upliftment called ‘raganuga bhakti’ or ‘divine love consciousness.’

Swami Nikhilanand lives at the Radha Madhav Dham ashram, a beautiful temple and ashram on 200 acres near Austin, Texas. Born in Canada, he worked for many years as a professional wilderness guide in the remote regions of British Columbia. He took his first solo trip into the wilderness at the age of 16. At the age of 17, he left for New Zealand and Australia, where he toured on mountain bike for a year. Underlying his spirit of adventure was a deep spiritual longing. His life-long search led him to India, where he met Jagadguru Shree Kripalu Ji Maharaj, our beloved Shree Maharajji.

Under the guidance of Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj, he studied Sanskrit scriptures, meditation and devotional music, and found the inner fulfillment he had been seeking.

He was given the renounced order of sanyas, and with the blessings of Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj, he leads chanting meditation and offers talks and workshops throughout North America. He effortlessly bridges the gap between East and West and gives us practical insight into how to improve our everyday life, inspiring us to awaken our inner spiritual potential.

There are lots of inspirational spiritual websites these days - here's one more. Please subscribe by clicking "Join this site", located on the right hand column. Read it every morning for inspiration throughout the day. All writings are by Swami Nikhilanand, based on the teachings of Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj.