vanamali

-------- Sree Vishnu Chiththa Kula Nandhana Kalpa Valleem Sree Ranga Raaja Hari Chandhana Yoga Dhrusyaam Saakshhat Kshammaam Kaarunyaa Kamalaami Vaanyaam Godhaam Ananya Sarana: Saranam Prapadhye. Bereft of any other refuge in Godha (Andal) who is merciful like Goddess Mahalakshmi, has come in human form of Andal. She is like a wish fulfilling creeper, that makes the family of Vishnuchitta (Periyaalvar) happy. With her inner eye, she always sees and dwells on her Lord, the king and God at Sriranga. -------------- One of the beautiful creations of the Bhakti Movement is the 'ninda sthuthi'. The Raya uses this concept with admirable power when Goda Devi speaks to her friends about the heartless Krishna. "My friends! I wonder at your songs praising Hari's deeds. Which girl who has fallen in love with Him has been saved by Krishna? Better he is incarnate in every yuga as a fish, a tortoise, a boar and a lion than take a human form as Vamana, Parasurama, Rama, and Buddha, and torture innocent women. There were no women during the other incarnations. Even if there were, the natural enmity between humans and animals would have kept them apart. This (problem of falling in love with the Divine) would not have occurred." Goda Devi's ninda sthuthi becomes keener, as she deals with Krishna avatar : "In the Brindavan he gathered into his arms one cowherdess and condemned another to the sorrow of disappointment. His partiality towards Radha is well known. Why should he thus torture us all the time?" Her state can be compared only to metal being heated, pula paaka prakarambagu viyoga dhava durbharam. Though she speaks harsh words about Krishna when in the company of her friends, she melts with intense devotion when all alone with her thoughts meditating upon the Flute-player: "The left shoulder that appeared soft and gleaming like a blue lotus fresh blown, held up the makara ear-rings; the eyebrow shaped as a neem leaf seemed to be a guardian to keep away the evil eye from the unequalled loveliness of the face; slightly bent lips that were a hibiscus-red; eyes long and bright that look on sweetly; music that flowed like seven floods pleasing the ladies in the seven worlds; all this, O Govinda, from you as your fingers danced upon the flute created soulful music. How have you managed to charm the Yadava maids!"

I think He loves anyone who comes to Him, but doubts arise in my heart because of my wrechedness in this life, that He could possibly love such a one as me. Therefore even when I don't agree with such points of view that I described, still I am disturbed in my heart. My mind does not accept it, but my heart almost does (due to lack of self-confidence) You are right, sister, I should be more like you, more confident in sadhana. Thank you Krishnapriye ~Vanamali

I am so happy to have found you in this little virtual satsang. You have already found answers to all the questions in my heart! /images/graemlins/smile.gif How are you doing, sweet one? ~Vanamali

"BTW: I am not Ahmed, the original poster, but a hindu... Hindus and anything related to it, like hk or vedic teaching etc. are all inferior and worth condemnation. " If you believe all these things about Hinduism and still you are a Hindu, you are the biggest fool on the planet. Nice try Ahmed. And if you are "not Ahmed", you are an Ahmed clone. Anyway, enough about this! Bas hai, bas!

Does anyone else find commercials for medicines wierd? I remember a recent add that said "Tomatoes contain lycopene, an important such and such... so buy lycopene pills!" Geez Louise, eat a frickin' tomato! /images/graemlins/smile.gif

ananyacetaah: satatam yo maam smarati nityasah: tasyaaham sulabhah: paartha nityayuktasya yoginah: I am easily attainable, Partha, by that ever steadfast yogi who always thinks of Me and whose mind does not go elsewhere. ------------- Even worrying counts! So you are doing really good! Jai Sri Krishna!

That post was mine -------- "KRISHNA dealt with the World as with a Sitar, pulling its heartstrings to arouse the melody of comradeship, heroism, love, affection, compassion and conviction. But, of these, the two emotions of love and compassion were characteristically His and His own. His breath was Love! His behaviour was Compassion! Adore Him, placing a garland of tears around His neck; washing His feet with tears, springing from joy at the contemplation of His Love! That very worship will endow you with the wisdom that Sages seek and the Bliss that the Books extol!" ~Sathya Sai Baba -------- Karmanyeva adhikaaraste maa phaleshu kadaachanaa

http://www.vnn.org/editorials/ET0203/ET08-7206.html

don't worry re wretched if anyone has a problem with your devotion. It keeps us humble to be critisized. If you are flying on the wings of love, sometimes it's hard to remember our real posistion in life- that we are less than dust compared to Krishna's radiance! I thank that person for critisizing me and I offer full obeisances at his lotus feet. Prabhu thank you for your words. I think you are surely a selfless devotee of Lord Krishna. I am not even a bhakta. I am a madwoman. Anyway, I think we have gotten off the subject, haven't we... I think the title of the thread is Guru Tattva. /images/graemlins/smile.gif With love ~Vanamali

Jai Sri Krishna! ------- "To be favoured by your glance, not even Brahma can expect, then who are we wretched fallen worthless girls. O ocean of mercy, grant us this boon, at least, that when Yama's servants pour hot lashes on our back as punishment for our innumerable sins, the only words that we utter be, "He KRISHNA...., He KRISHNA...., He KRISHNA...." ------ Wretched, you are so sweet re! Now I feel like I've revealed too much of myself here. Ayyyo! /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

Hello, Vanamali here. A question to all you devotees: how did you get started with devotion to Sri Krishna? For me it was plain as this: I was in a protestant Christian group at the time that encouraged "a personal relationship with god" but did not conceive of god in a very personal way, so it was very difficult for me. One thing they taught me, however, is the first step of religious life that most Americans have not realized. That God will give you whatever you ask for, incuding money, etc. if it is good for you. I have seen people in their group praying "Oh Jesus, I need a thousand dollars for such-and-such in the ministry" and sure enough the money would come in the mail from some source or other. Anyway, at the time I was very focused on getting a husband. But at one point I said, okay God I'm getting more and more miserable, the bible is confusing me and is not giving me answers, I'm not getting the sense gratification that I desire and it's making me depressed. From this moment on I will stop thinking about men and dating and all that. But You: please get me out of this mess! Within the next week I had met my husband-to-be who is a Marathi Kshatriya (this is in US and I am an American by the way) who introduced me to Pujya Prema Panduranga's discourses on tape. She is an excellent speaker, and in one dose, I learned about Bhagavad Gita, some stories from Bhagavatam, etc. The most important thing she said was (not exact quote) Krishna's message to us is "You come to the temple and donate three rupees and ask for three millions in return. Fine! But when will you ask for Me?" This concept of loving God for Himself had never occured to me before, had never been mentioned to me before. The thought that God was lovable in and of Himself was foreign to me. Religion is not a business of I'll do this for You, You send me to heaven, or even I'll do something for Youin exchange for happiness or peace. The easiest, simplest religion is to love God for Himself, and everything else flows naturally. Suddenly, you actually want to work. Everything in life, dedicated to God, becomes pooja. Homework = pooja. Office = pooja. How simple religion becomes! These were the first beautiful words from Krishna to me, offered at the lotus feet of you devotees. ~Vanamali

Register a username or sign your posts so I know who you are ~vanamali

If there's room for 16,108... surely there's room for one more, no? Lakshminivasa niravadya gunaika sindo: Samsarasagara samuththaranaika setho Vedanta vedya nijavai bhava bhakta bhogya Sri Venkatachalapathe thava suprabhatam! Lakshmi's Lord! Devotees in ecstasy are at Your door in all eagerness. You are duty-bound to help them with Your Inimitable caress and affection. Oh Lord of Venkata, please do wake up! Aham doorathasthe padamboja yugma Pranamechya gathya sevam karomi Sakruthsevaya nithyasevapalam thvam Prayacha prayacha prabho Venaktesha! Sri Venkatesha! I pray to You in abundant faith: You hurried to my rescue! Please, grant me The favor of serving You eternally!

Futhermore I wish all you Guestjis would please register a Username so I can remember you all, and keep you straight. ~Vanamali

Anyway, it's different for everybody, guestji. Whether such a Union is possible or not, wanting that relationship is the connection for some. For others even in the bhav of conjugal love they are so selfless that they only think of serving and not having direct relationship. In this case I am a greedy, greedy, selfish person. I want to serve Krishna directly, to become joyful by seeing Him derive joy from my service, to find joy in seeing His joy in my joyfulness at seeing His joyfulness, and so on compounding to infinity. I have not been taught that this is wrong, but if it is wrong from your point of view, then by all means, DO NOT accept it! Don't mix devotional sentiments. I will keep my sadhana, and you stick to yours. Lovingly yours, Foolish Vanamali Jai Sri Krishna!

See how beautiful His eyes are in this picture- how perfectly formed His face. No one can resist His sweet features. He is the Antaryami- he lives within the hearts of all creatures. When you see Him, His beautiful face, His lotus eyes, you know this is the master of your heart. We are like Parikshit who looked into the face of every one he met and said "Are you the one who looked after me in the womb? The one I knew before I knew even my mother?" When even rishis absorped in the bliss of brahman wished to take the form of women just to touch Him, how can we poor stature-less devotees resist? We are lower than the straw in the street, but we yearn to touch the sun! How then, can we go on living without Krishna's loving grace? ----- I wonder do you have to do 100 times at once? I've just been doing every Tuesday, hoping for a 100+ total! See how foolish I am! Love, Vanamali

FASTING POEM How beautiful plays the empty flute You must be empty like Her All the worlds forget themselves in trance When Lord Krishna kisses Her lips Food, food, food. This is the body's desire Day after day, more food to fuel the process For one day, will you not stop your lips from tasting And give yourself to the beatitude of His lips? How beautiful the sound of the empty flute As He gives Her voice, she sings with ecstasy She abandons all memory of being a tree Empty, she is filled with His song. ~Vanamali

Well anyway, Sonia Gandhi is not going to be PM now.

"karuppUram nARumO kamalappU nARumO tiruppavaLa SevvAi tAn tittittu irukkumO maruppu oSitta mAdhavan tan vAic cuvaiyum nARRamum viruppuRRu kETkinREn Sol Azhi veN San~ge" Oh, white conch, who has the blessing of getting the sambandham of Kannan's (Krishna's) beautiful lips! I would like to ask you this: please tell me how is the taste of Kannan's lips, since you are the most experienced one in this regard. Does the fragrance of bhagavan's mouth resemble that of karppuram? Or, is it like the fragrance of a blossomed lotus flower? Do the His red lips taste sweet like rock candy? Please explain to me clearly how His mouth tastes and how it smells, for I am longing for the anubhavam of these. ~From Andal's Nacchiyar Thirumoli

Post deleted by vanamali

"Ranga, because of you I am carrying on with this shelterless life... If I do not see you, my mind will not be steady! " Oh Krishna, won't you come to me, even in my dreams! Come and show me yourself, I cannot bear the separation. "Take the essence of Vedas, convert it into a melodious music, fill it into the flute, and change it into a song Krishna! Sing the song, with lyrics filled with honey Mukunda, talk to me to the satisfaction of my mind Sakkubai used to sing like that. One day, her mother-in-law gave her a big sack of rice and commanded that she grind all the rice into rice flour. Sakkubai grew very tired from the hours of rotating the manual grinder wheel. "Ranga! For how long are these troubles? What for are these lives? Is there no justice? Why do you quarrel with me? Don't you have any compassion towards me? I am your servant, yes? or no? Is it appropriate for you to humiliate me? "If I am truly your servant, why are these troubles for me? There must be some faults in me, that is why you are delaying. Let me know what my faults are and save me", Sakkubai prayed thus. Then Ranga appeared, dressed exactly like Sakkubai and started doing all her household chores and sent Sakkubai to Pandharpur. As the story went, Mother-in-law and the rest of the family including her husband went to a festival at the temple of Panduranga in Pandharpur. Mother-in-law thought that grinding the rice into flour would keep Sakkubai busy until they returned. After Sakkubai fainted at the grinding wheel, Ranga came in the form of the Mother-in-law, woke her up, nourished her and sent her to Pandaripur. Then He assumed the form of Sakkubai and stayed in the house doing all the work. Sakkubai reached Pandaripur. She saw the idol of Ranga, forgot herself and walked straight into Him and merged while the mother-in-law and the rest of the family were watching in awe. Sri Sri Panduranga-Rukmini

/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I will give you the same advice given so lovingly by Shankaracharya, the great Advaita acharya. Bhaja Govindam, Bhaja Govindam Govindam Bhaja Mudhamate Sampraapte sannihite kaale Nahi Nahi rakshati dukhrijnkarane Worship Govinda, Worship Govinda Worship Govinda, O fool! /images/graemlins/smile.gif Rules of grammar will not save you At the time of your death Bhagavad Geeta Kinjnchidadheetaa Ganga jalalava kanikaapita Sakridapi yena muraari samarchaa Kriyate tasya yamena na charchaa Let a man read but a little from Gita, Drink just a drop of water from Ganga Worship Murari just once He will then have no altercation with Yama (death) Punarapi jananam punarapi maranam Punarapi jananii jaThare sayanam Iha samsaare bahudustaare Kripaya apaare paahi muraare Born again, death again, Again to reside in the mother's womb It is indeed hard to cross the boundless ocean of samsaara Oh Murari! Redeem me through Your mercy! ---- If you are really feeling bad, Prabhu, just go to the temple, sit before the God, and cry your eyes out. You will feel better, and He will comfort You without a doubt. ~Vanamali

A lot of people do- remember Krishna is the husband of all the gopis (as per their request in Katyaayani vrat), as well as all the wives in Dwaraka. Not just Radhaji but also Sridevi (Rukmini) and Bhudevi (Satyabhama), and thousands of others. Who knows how many births it may take to find Him? Even the gopis who are perfect devotees, and were rishis during Ramavatara, had to undertake Katyaayani vrat to get Him as their husband. Rukmini was under extreme duress when she wrote her letter to Krishna. We must bear this varaha tapam with patience. Until that time it is our joy to serve Krishna and all His friends/devotees (including Radharani, Hanumanji, Durga Mata, All the gopis, Mahalakshmi, Bhudevi, Sri Maha Ganapati, Saraswati Maa, and all the other devis and devas down the line as well as our gurujis, acharyas, mother and father, guests, and other devotees. This is my humble thought on the matter. Please do not feel I'm trying to obligate anyone to agree with me. It's just that if one's whole sadhana is centered around Krishna and trying to perfect this kind of relationship with Him, one cannot change the course, no matter how foolish or crazy it may seem.

Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Bolo Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Hare Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Sriman Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Satya Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Lakshmi Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Girivara Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Naryana Kaliyuga Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Venkata Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Tirumala Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Krishna Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Narayana Sriya: KaanthAya KalyANa NidhayEarthinAm Sri VenkatanivAsAya SrinivAsAya MangaLam May all auspiciousness shower on SrinivAsA of Venkatagiri! He is the Lord of Lakshmi and is the rich mine of all auspiciousness. He is the immeasurable wealth for all those , who seek Him .He has chosen the Venkatam hills for Hiseternal residence . sarvaavayava soundharya sampadhA sarva-chEthasAm SadhA sammOhanAyAsthu VenkatEsAya mangaLam There is no one on this earth , who has not been overcome by the supreme beauty of Lord VenkatEsA . Every one of His limbs are celebrated for their unmatchable beauty. It is no wonder He enchants His devotees with His soundharyam . Let no evil eye fall on Him and let the world's supreme auspiciousness come His way .