Category: AshramDiary
life at the Amritapuri ashram
-
time table bhakti
Today, Swami discussed the 12th chapter, Bhakti Yoga. Here is one shloka; ‘tesham aham samuddharta, mrtyusamsara sagarat,Bhavami na cirat partha, mayyaveshita cetasam.’ 12.7. The Lord tells Arjuna, ‘For those devotees who surrender all actions to Me, intent on Me, with one-pointed devotion, I rescue them from the ocean of death, this Samsara, in no time at all, when there minds have entered Me.’ Here, Swami said some interesting points. One is that we are studying the Shankara Bhashya, by Sri Shankaracarya. This shloka is a promise to the devotee, that ‘I will save you from Samsara, I will liberate you.’…
-
Para bhakti and Jivanmukti
Today Swami discussed part of the 12th chapter, Bhakti Yoga. Here, there were a few questions by the brahmacaris. One asked, ‘what is the difference between para bhakti (supreme devotion) and jivanmukti (liberation while alive)? Because once para bhakti is attained, ignorance should be destroyed, isn’t that the same as jivanmukti?’ To this, Swami replied that we should understand that these are two separate things. The idea of ‘jivanmukti’ is only spoken of in the scriptures of Advaita. The idea of ‘para bhakti’ is something said in the scriptures of bhakti (bhakti shastra). We shouldn’t mix these two up. Jivanmukti…
-
Devi in Dallas
Day before yesterday we were watching the webcast from Dallas, Texas and I couldn’t but wonder at Amma’s leela. There Amma was giving Devi Bhava in Dallas like it was a completely normal thing to do. What I mean to say is how incredible it is in a way that Amma is going to all these places to shower her love and enact the sacred ritual of the Devi Bhava. A place like Texas is culturally so far removed from where Amma was born in Kerala that one might think a connection cannot be made. But with Amma it can!…
-
inevitability of destruction
Today Swami discussed more about the 11th chapter, vishva rupa darshana yoga. Here is another shloka; ‘Dronam ca bhishmam ca jayadratham ca,Karnam tatha’ nyan api yodhaviran,Maya hatams tvam jahi ma vyathishta,Yudhyasva jetasi rane sapatnan.’ 11.34 The Lord says to Arjuna, in His vishva rupa, ‘All of these brave warriors, Drona, Bhishma, Karna, Jayadratha, etc., are already killed by Me. Don’t hesitate, kill these enemies and fight!’ Here, one thing Swami pointed out in particular is the habit of commentators of the Gita in today’s time. Here, the Lord says, ‘jahi,’ ‘Kill!’ Some people don’t like this. They want peace, and…
-
The Lord of Death
Today Swami discussed the 11th chapter, continuing about the vishva rupa darshana. Here is one shloka, ‘Kalo’ smi lokaksayakrt pravrddho, lokan samahartum iha pravrttah,Rte’ pi tvam na bhavishyanti sarve, ye’ vasthitah pratyanikeshu yodhah.’ 11.32 After Arjuna sees the fearful and destructive form of the Lord, he asks, ‘who are You?’ To this, the Lord says, ‘I am Death, intent on destroying all the worlds. Besides you, all of the warriors here will cease to exist.’ Here, the Lord is showing His destructive form to Arjuna. This is where some of us become confused. Why can’t the Lord reveal His nature…
-
divine sight
Swami Kaivalyananda discussed some parts from the 11th chapter of the Gita. Here is one shloka;‘Na tu mam shakyase drashtum, anenaiva svacakshusha,divyam dadami te cakshu, pashya me yogam aishvaryam. 11.8. The Lord tells Arjuna, ‘but you are not able to see Me with your own eye; therefore, I give you divine sight. See my glorious Yoga!’ Thereafter, Sanjaya describes the form the Lord showed to Arjuna; several eyes, arms, feet, mouths, and wonders; divine fragrances, divine dresses and garlands, etc. One thing we should understand is that this ‘vishva rupa,’ or universal form of Sri Krishna is not something material.…
-
delusion is removed
Today, Swami discussed the first part of the 11th chapter, The Yoga of the Universal Form.’ Here is the first shloka, said by Arjuna; ‘Madanugrahaya paramam guhyam adhyatma samjnitam, Yat tvayoktam vacas tena moho ‘yam vigato mama.’ Here, Arjuna tells the Lord, ‘out of compassion, You have instructed this highest secret of spirituality. By this, my delusion is gone.’ Here, we can understand that after so much instruction, a small dent at least was created in Arjuna. He finally understood who was sitting in front of him in the chariot; the Supreme Lord Himself. At least this much was achieved.…
-
Divine Glories
Swami Kaivalyananda discussed part of the 10th chapter of the Gita, dealing with the Lord’s divine glories, or vibhutis. Here is one shloka;‘aham atma gudhakesha sarvabhutashaya sthitah,aham adis ca madhyam ca bhutanam anta eva ca.’ The Lord tells Arjuna, ‘I am the Self, seated in the hearts of all beings. I am the beginning, the middle, and the end of all creation.’ Here, this is the first glory the Lord reveals of himself. This means that the highest devotee of the Lord should see Him as the Self of all beings. However, not everyone is capable of having that understanding.…
-
Multidimensional Interaction
Last night we were watching Amma giving Devi Bhava Darshan in LA. This era of webcasts has really changed the atmosphere here in Amritapuri during the times Amma is away. Some years ago when Amma used to do the Europe and US tours one after the other she was away from the ashram over three months at a stretch, which really felt like an eternity to be separated from her especially in the years when there was not even an email connection to get some news about her every now and then. Of course there was the inner email of…