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bhakti_lata

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Everything posted by bhakti_lata

  1. A devotional outpouring that i have composed in Hindi. For non-hindi speaking devotees, i have included an english translation. bhool gayii jo rishtaa tujh se, uskii yaad dilaa de, Bhagavan! bhaTak rahii sansaar meiN kab se, terii raah dikha de, Bhagavan! (Remind me oh Lord! of the relationship with You that i have forgotten about. Show me oh Lord! way to Your abode as I am lost in this material world!) maiN moorakh is deh ko kab se, apnaa satya samajhtii hooN satya - asatya kaa bhed bataa kar, us kaa bhaas karaa de Bhagavan! (I am so foolish that I identify my body and everyting associated with it to be my truth! Help me oh Lord! to appreciate the absolute truth by showing me the difference between the truth and false!) Guru kehtay haiN sukhii wohii, jo tujhko samjhay tujhko jaanay mujhko teraa gyaan karaa kar, mere bhaag jagaa de Bhagavan! (Shri Guru says that one becomes happy only by knowing and understanding You. Awaken my destiny oh Lord! by helping me understand You!) baahar dukh ke kaalay baadal, antar meiN agyaan kaa kaajal miT jaaye har aik kaalikh, aisii jyot jalaa de Bhagavan! (Outside are the dark clouds of material suffering and within is dark as kohl due to ignorance, Please light such a lamp, oh Lord! that wipes out all the darkness within and without!) ghor agyaan ke jwar ke kaaran, tere naam kaa swaad na jaanoN naam ras kaa aaswaad le sakooN, meraa taap miTaa de Bhagavan! (Due to fever of deep ignorance, i am unable to taste Your Holy name Treat me of my malady, oh Lord! so I am able to relish the amborisa of Your holy name!) Govoinda! Hari! Hari! Bhakti~Lata
  2. * Morning of Revelation * Feeling the intense pain of separation from Your Divine Grace's association I immerse myself in nectar of devotion and thank the Lord for His benediction. Thank you, Oh Lord! for this isolation for cutting the strings off every relation that serve only as sense gratification becoming the cause of dissatisfaction. Keeping me from my fondest attraction I see only mercy in Your loving action The suffering is burning all my reaction Giving a boost to my devotional action. Intense devotion is cause for jubilation As my soul dances and sings in elation Ending my nights of pain and frustration I awaken to the morning of revelation. bhakti~lata
  3. * Empty cups, filled cups * Sadhu came to town and he poured a rain of light and love. Only cups that were empty and cups that were emptied were filled to the brim. But high and dry were left those in which conditioned thoughts had collected forming a thick mind set that had made it indistinguishable from the cup. God helps those those who can empty their cups. Can you empty yours? Bhakti~Lata
  4. "if fellow devotees don't mind, would you please list some ways of surrender to Krishna. how does one come to that platform to surrender to Krishna? what i'm asking is, exactly what is 'surrendering' unto Krishna, and how do we surrender unto Krishna." Dear Guest Hari bol! Please accept my humble obeisences. Thank you for asking this question. I too have been eager to understand the practical meaning of the word 'surrender to Krsna'. And I can share with you some of my own realizations that i got while reading Shrimad Bhagavad Geeta and serving my Spiritual master. It began when one fine day, I suddenly found myself understanding the verses 8-12 of Chapter 12 of Bhagavad Geeta in new light. For the first time i realized that Lord Krishna has Himself so clearly shown us 'the way to surrender to Him' in these verses. If you read the verses, you will also realize that Lord is so so merciful and kind to us creatures of Kaliyuga that he has given us several options - if you cannot do this try this , if you cannot do that also, then try this and so on. In verse 8, Lord begins with option no 1 and says "just fix your mind upon Me and engage all your intelligence in Me" promising us that by doing so "thus you will live in Me always, without a doubt." Then in verse 9, Lord continues and describes option 2 and says "If you cannot fix your mind upon Me without deviation then follow the regulative principles of bhakti-yoga. In this way you will develop a desire to attain Me." Then verse 10, option no 3 is presented by the infinitely merciful Lord when He says " if you cannot practice bhakti-yoga then just try to work for Me because by working for Me you will come to the perfect stage." Then verse 11, Lord offers yet another option (no 4) and says "If however you are unable to work in this consciousness of Me, try to act giving up all results of your work and try to be self-situated." And finally in verse 12, Lord presents yet another way : "If you cannot take to this practice, then engage yourself in the cultivation of knowledge." by explaining that better than knowledge is meditation and better than meditation is renunciation of the fruits of action for by such renunciation one can attain peace of mind. My experience in application of these verses: When i focused on these verses, I decided to continue to read (cultivation of knowledge) Bhagavad Geeta as I still did not know or was unable to meditate or renounce the fruits of my action. Then i began making effort to part with a very tiny proportion of my income (fruits of action) in the service of my spiritual master. This i found resulted in helping with my chanting which in turn broadened my heart further and i willingly felt like putting a larger proportion of my salary in Guru's service. And now I feel very happy, blissful and at peace when i am holding a full-time job and achieved a state of mind where i am putting all my savings into service of Krishna. What i realized from my experience is: that surrendering is like learning to swim - we do not want to let go for fear of drowning not realizing that it is by not letting go (letting go = sacrificing or putting or utilizing fruits of action and/or our intelligence and/our time and/or whatever resources we have in the service of Krishna) that we are holding ourselves from the joy of swimming in the ocean of bliss and peace. Take one small step at a time to practice surrender (while continuing to cultivate knowledge which will help you with ur chanting and which in turn will help you to surrender) and as you see the results of those small steps for yourself you will automatically want to do more and more. My spiritual master says that Krishna Consciousness or Bhakti-Yoga is about learning the art of depending upon Krishna. That is a complete contrast of the material world where everyone around us is conditioned to take control of everything and dont feel that they are libing unless they are constantly fighting it out and taking control. As we come from such conditioning, it is very natural to feel scared and unwilling to give up the act of controlling and surrendering to the Lord. But remembering that the cosmic law actually works the opposite of the material world - once we GIVE UP TAKING CONTROL and depend upon the LORD - everything (not only spiritual advancement but also any material welfare is taken care of by the Master Controller). Also, Lord is controlling and doing things irrespective of we surrendering. The difference is that when we forget Him, we are controlled by another cosmic law also created by Lord Himself - the law of karma. When we surrender we come directly under His Control and He loves devotees better as we are not meddling and fooling around by ignoring and forgetting Him. Hope this helps. GovindA! Hari! Hari! bhakti~lata
  5. .....to the Guest for the enquiry and gHari Prabhu for the scriptural explanation. I especially liked "the drop in and out of the ocean" concept. I am going to use this concept to control my mind each time it loses its balance at the ever changing material events. All Glories to Srila Prabhupada! GovindA! Hari bol! bhakti~lata
  6. ....singing along, please allow me the pleasure of completing the last stanza of this beautiful bhajan (which as u may know is sung in a faster rhythm than the earlier stanzas).. hA hA prabhu nanda-suta, vrZhabhAnu-sUta-juta, korunA karoho ei-bAro narottam dAsa koy, nA theliho rAngA pAy tomA binA ke Ache AmAra Translation: Oh! Son of Nanda along with Daughter of vrZhabhAnu, pour Your mercy on me, (in) this (life) time, Marottam Das says please do not push me away from Your lotus feet, for I belong to no-one except You. Hari Hari bifale janam gONAinu.... bhakti~lata PS - wouldnt it be wonderful if we had a "bhajan-room" built using "voice facilitated chat-room" technique...where devotees online could meet and sing some nice bhajans.
  7. I am looking for publications and books (in any language - English, Indian or others) that contains the messages of Srimad Bhagavat Geeta and Shrimad Bhagavatam in a style and language that will appeal to children and junior members. Will appreciate help with references and links to such publications. GovindA! Hari Bol! bhakti~lata
  8. Hari! Hari! anAdi Prabhu, am i glad to find someone on the forum has heard this touching bhajan and thanks for writing the original bhajan. The reason i love this bhajan is: the pathos that the blend of the words and the traditional music convey touches one's heart to the core....and the words ring true to the stark reality of the material world..... "O Hari! Even after receiving this rare human birth, I have wasted this life, not having performed bhajana of RAdhA-KRSNa. Rather, I have knowingly drunk poison." so true...and conveyed with such humility by an advanced devotee like Srila Narottamdas Thakur!!! Oh! when will my proud mind ever reach such a state of humility!!! GovindA! Hari bol! bhakti~lata
  9. "Is Hindi difficult to learn? How long does it take usually?" If you are already exposed to Sanskrit verses and bhajans and kirtans, you may pick it up quite easily. How long? well that depends on several factors - if u aleady have some exposure to the language and most imp opportunities u have of listening and speaking the language. For example if u spent say 6 months in brindavan while learning the language, u would become proficient very soon. Any language is best learnt and remembered when in constant use - lisening to others' speak (thru people or movies or audios) and getting the chance to make conversations with others in the language. GovindA! Hari bol! bhakti~lata
  10. Here is another favorite bhajan of mine which is said to be quite popular in Brindavan dhaam. I have only heard it from my Guru Maharaj. And i love it. Now, the original bhajan has only two stanzas and i always felt it is too short for such a sweet sounding bhajan ..so on the day of janmaashTamii i composed two more stanzas in the bhajan so that i can sing it for longer /images/graemlins/smile.gif ! So, the first two stanzas are the original and the last two are my creation...which i most humbly dedicate to the Lord and Brindavan Dhaam. <font color="blue"> 1. brindaavan so van nahiiN, nand graam so graam vanshii vaT so vaT nahiiN, Krishna naam so naam (There is no van (forest) like brindavan, no village like the village of Nanda. There is no tree as the banyan tree under which Krishna played His flute, no name like the name of Krishna). 2. brindaavan ke vriksh ko, marm na jaane koye Daal Daal aur paat paat pe, raadhe raadhe hoye (the trees of brindavan, nobody understands their significance and essence every branch and every leaf (there) calls out Radhe Radhe) 3. brindaavan meiN aaj hai, khaas aik tyauhaar krishna naam kee, sab taraf chhaayii hai bahaar (in brindavan today, there is a special festival the name of Krishna can be heard wherever u go) 4. brindaavan kii gopiyaaN, dekh ke Sundar Shyaam paNkh diloN ke khol kar, naacheN mor samaan (the gopis of brindavan, upon seeing the Handsome Blueboy have spread out the wings out their heart and (in joy) are dancing like peacocks) bhakti`lata </font color>
  11. Hari Bol! Knowing that there are some members who do understand Hindi quite well, I am posting a Hindi translation of a Gaudiya Vaishnav bhajan that i love. The original bhajan is in Bengali written by Srila Narottam Das Thakur. All Glories to Srila Prabhupada! All Glories to All Vishnava Acharyas! <center> <font color="blue"> Hari! Hari! vifal janam gaNvaa deenhaa manushya janam paayaa, Naam Hari kaa naahi liyaa jaan sun kar bhii kaahe vish leenhaa Go-lok kaa prem-dhan, Hari naam sankeertan phir bhee us peh, dil kyoN naa aay sansaar kee aag visham, hiyaa jale jismeiN nish-din soojhe naahiiN koyee bhee upaay Hari! Hari! vifal janam gaNvaa deenhaa manushya janam paayaa, Naam Hari kaa naahi liyaa jaan sun kar bhii kaahe vish leenhaa. GovindA!!! bhakti~lata </font color> </center>
  12. from discussing pururSA prakRuti to desiring love and humility these are the signs of anAdi krsna's devotee /images/graemlins/smile.gif lest u think this smile is in mock u got to know that i display it in times of joy /images/graemlins/smile.gif bhakti~lata
  13. "Even a very wretched, wicked person who chants nama can very easily be liberated and saved from death." anAdi Prabhu Please accept my humble obeisences! All Glories to my Guru and Srila Prabhupada! Thanks for sharing the glories of mahamantra. I have a comment regarding the above statement. "Being liberated" AND "saved from death".....they both could well be contradictory. "Liberation" is not about "being saved from death". If liberation from this material entrapment is what is the aim then "death" could well be either a trap or a means for liberation depending upon the advancement the person has made on the spiritual path. To illustrate my point I would like to tell a story (from the scriptures....pardon me for not being able to give full reference etc of the source) that I have heard from my Guru. A spiritual master and his disciple lived in a temple. One day the spiritual master was visited by a very pious king and a murderer - both of them had come to asking for his blessings. Spiritual master blessed them both. After they left, the disciple was curious to find out what blessing the spiritual master gave to each of them. Guru Ji said he blessed the pious king with immediate death and blessed the murder with a long life. The disciple was preplexed - death for the pious and a long life for the murderer? What's the logic, Guru Ji? Guru Ji replied: The pious king has accumulated enough good karmas and therefore upon his death he would be elevated to a higher planet like 'swarga lok'. The murderer however has accumulated so many bad karmas that by blessing him with a long life on this planet i am saving him from going to 'naraka lok'. So, if the wretched person chants the mahamantra, he would indeed be liberated....liberated from this material entrapment....eventually..... when he has burnt up all his bad karmas in the sacred fire of mahamantra and not added more to them.......once he has done that....death could well be the means for his liberation. Until he has done that, death is just an extended time out for him from going to 'naraka' that's all. It is upto him to make the best use of being in the minimum security jail ..the earthly body :-). I hope I was able to convey my point. I just thought that statement needed more explanation. Once again thanks for sharing these conversations. bhakti~lata PS - Why did u name your post as "easy money"? Was that a material metaphor for spiritual currency :-)....Golokera prema dhana - harinaama sankeertana! Or was it to get the devotees of maya to read ur post?
  14. wrapped within my clumsy words my tender devotion you could see! and yet maintain that you still are not dAs of anAdi you revealed yourself through your humility! :-) bhakti~lata
  15. Dear devotee of Krishna I think one of the things as devotees we have to get used to is oftentimes walking on the path alone by ourselves. When i took to bhakti-yoga under the guidance of my spiritual master, i experienced that many of my friends moved away from me (without me saying anything to them and them saying anything to me) and just disappeared eventhough i had made no attempt whatsoever to preach to them. My spiritual master always says when we take to krishna consciousness, people around us either ship out or shape up to krishna consciousness. So, if you notice people opposing you, just know that this is one of the 2 reactions you can expect throughout. As you advance, you will be less affected by these reactions. When we become upset by people's reactions to our ways, our reaction is often indicative of our own conviction and faith. The deeper our convictions and faith, less we tend be affected by such reactions. Therefore when your faith is still maturing and until it matures enough, it is best to guard your faith with zeal and not display it to a non-devotee. Also try and take as much as possible association of devotees and books to draw strength from. For you will need it even more to offset for the non-devotional environment around you. Also do pray to Krishna for your mother that some day she may be shown the light of knowledge. Krishna loves His devotees and may well answer your prayers. With love and best wishes bhakti~lata
  16. To the materialists who are completely covered over by Maya and who do not have any idea that there is anything beyond matter, the most admirable professions would be- - Stock Market Broker - Lawyer - Accountant To the materialists who have some idea that there is something like spirit besides material but do not quite understand what to do with the knowledge and therefore to the admirable professions would be that benefits society,environment etc. like - - Doctor - Social Worker - Environmentalist - Scientists and Researchers To those who are fortunate enough to not just know about that the relationship between matter and spirit but also have been graced by the blessed guidance of a spiritual master to know what exactly is meant to be profession of human beings, the profession most admired would - the one and only one - - Serving Krishna (through every act that may appear to be mundane but the consciousness behind the act makes the whole lot of difference!) Hari Bol! GovindA! bhakti~lata
  17. i bow my head to the head that bows owing to the the sheer weight of the fruits it bears. i realize that it was an irrelevant, if not irreverant, poser about what your id poses to be. irrelevant because for a krsna dAs does it matter if he is an anAdi das or an anADii das as long as he remains a dAs of the anAdi krsna. thank you for reminding me our true constitutional position... Hari bol! GovindA!!! bhakti~lata
  18. Gaurachandra Prabhu, Hare Krishna! All Glories to you for presenting a very true analysis of our conditioning. My spiritual master (All Glories to Shri SadGuru!!!!) always reminds us that the rules forspiritual advancement are just the opposite of the rules for material advancement. In order to be spiritually advanced one must be eager to be serve and be a servant (not of a karmii but of The Lord or even better of the servant of the servant of the servant of The Lord). Whereas for material advancement people as you rightly said are ever eager to make oneself the centre of the Universe. Govinda!!! Hari!!! Hari!!! bhakti~lata
  19. Avinash Prabhu Thanks for the tip. I never knew this trick of making jpg file. And i realized that i did not give u my email address. My email address is lata_bhakti@. GovindA! bhakti~lata
  20. Prabhu, am i correct in thinking that your ID name is anAdi as in "anAdir-aadir govinda sarva kAraNa kAraNa ". Anaadi meaning One who is unborn has no beginning ie "The Supreme Lord". The reason I am clarifying this is that someone in reply to one of your posts, i think, thought your id name was 'anadi' a word in hindi which means 'inexperienced'. GovindA! bhakti~lata
  21. Thank you anadi prabhu. You say i have talent...but I wrote the poem to express my devotion...I hope my poem is able to convey my devotion rather than my talent. Thanks for your comments. Prabhu, am i correct in assuming that your ID name is anaadi as in "anaadir-aadir govinda sarva kaaraNa kaaraNa ". Anaadi meaning One who is unborn has no beginning ie "The Supreme Lord". The reason I am clarifying this is that someone in reply to one of your posts, i think, thought your id name was 'anadi' a word in hindi which means 'inexperienced'. Thank you also to guest prabhu for appreciating my poem. Govinda! bhakti~lata
  22. thank u Avinash Prabhu how do u convert text file into jpg??? u have done such a good job! r u in india? i am visiting india in a few weeks. would love to meet some vaishnavas if i can. please email me your details if u would like to meet and organize a hari katha. Govinda !!!! bhakti~lata
  23. I was given these tips by my spiritual master (All Glories to my Sporitual Master!!!!!) and it works like a charm each time for me. 1. If you want to rise early make sure you eat very light prasadam the previous night/evening. If at all you are to eat heavy then make sure it is well before bed time - at least 3-4 hours before bed-time. By doing this the lethargical feeling (which is one of the main reasons why we dont feel like waking up early) does not creep in. 2. Also make sure that u get the best hour of the sleep which happens between 10 pm and 1am. Even if you have not had enough hours of sleep for any reason then as long as u sleep between those hours your body is well rested and that also helps to wake up early. 3. My spiritual master always says that giving good rest to our body by sleeping in time is the luxury which is the easiest to enjoy. Those who work late or party late (karmiis) think they are enjoying but how can they enjoy when they are missing out on the most enjoyable part of life - a good sleep ! This thought really inspires me to make sure that i dont miss out on the simple and yet most enjoyable joys of material life - a good sleep! i am off to bed now....for a good sleep...yaaaaaaaaaaaawn!!!!!!!!! i want to wake up early at 4.30 am and do my morning services in my home which i have turned into a small temple. all the best bhakti~lata
  24. Haridhaam Prabhu I thought you stooped reading my poems :-(...but now i know that u r still reading them :-) hehehehe ! Haridhaam, i want u to know things will work out just fine....relish all difficult moments by dipping them in the syrup and nectar of Hari Naam....they will all feel as delicious as Rasagullaas :-) LOL !!! ha ha ha !! hey i think i just wrote a poem...dont u think ;-)? The deities are called Sri Sri Radha Shyamasundar Jiv..yes they do inspire me. By the way, do you know Hindi? Where are you originally from? Well i am originally from India but now living outside India .....down under :-). bhakti~lata
  25. here is a poem that was written to express my surrenderance to the Lord.. first in hindi later translated in english. <font color="green"> chanchal paagal manvaa re dukh kaa dukh kyoN kartaa re sukh aayaa jab bhii dwaare too naam Hari kaa bisraa re dukh hee teraa haath dhare Hari ke sharaN le jaataa re dukh usko hee miltaa re jo hai Hari ko pyaaraa re chanchal paagal manvaa re dukh kaa dukh kyoN kartaa re </font color> the english translation of the poem is <font color="blue"> Oh restless and crazy mind of mine why are you grieving over your grief each time happiness came at your door you never remembered to take the holy name of Lord It is the grief that holds your hands and leads you to the lotus feet of The Lord suffering is given only to those who are dearest to the Lord (as He is too eager to burn their karmas) So restless and crazy mind of mine why are your grieving over your grief. bhakti~lata </font color>
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