#bhagavadgita

[keshavsmelody]

"Those who are devoted and have love for Me, in their constant contemplation of Me, their lives intertwined with Mine, they illuminate each other with their knowledge of Me, and their conversations are filled with the joy and contentment they find in Me." ~Bhagavad Gita 10.9

[bhagavanbhakthi]

Lord Narayana, Lakshmi & Bhudevi Abhishekam

[whencyclopedia]

Krishna

Krishna (Krsna or Hari Krishna) is a major god of the Hindu pantheon and considered the eighth incarnation of Vishnu. He is perhaps the most popular of all the heroes of Hindu mythology. Krishna's adventures appear in the Mahabharata, Bhagavad Gita, Harivamsa, and the sacred texts known as the Puranas where he is described as the Supreme Being and creator of the universe.

The most ancient tales of Krishna in sacred texts involve his adventures with the Pandava princes whilst later, stories accumulated over the centuries which describe his eventful youth, when Krishna used his proficient weapons skills to good effect to defeat a host of fearsome enemies, demons and monsters.

Family & Adventurous Youth

According to tradition Krishna belonged to the Yadava - a pastoral race - and the god's birth is picturesquely described in the Mahabharata. One day Vishnu, the great Hindu god pulled two hairs from his own head, one white and one black. The black hair was planted into the womb of Devaki, a princess of the city of Mathura, and so Krishna was born into the Pandava family, his earthly father being Vasudeva. Unfortunately for Krishna his mother's brother, Kamsa, had been warned that Devaki's eighth child would kill him, and so Kamsa determined to murder the eighth child, a crime he had already carried out seven times before Krishna was born. Fortunately, Vasudeva took the precaution of hiding Krishna in the remote village of Vrindavana where the boy was brought up as a simple cowherd (in this guise he can be referred to as Govinda). There he spent an idyllic childhood and stirred the hearts of many gopis or herd-women with his dark good looks, playful charm, and mastery of music and dance.

Thus the story of Krishna contains a double concealment - Krishna is both a god disguised as a mortal and a prince disguised as a commoner. Accordingly, the myths contain many metaphors of disguise, such as a spark within a pile of ashes or a mighty sword in its scabbard, and these hint at Krishna's dual purpose as the punisher of human deeds but also as a bringer of enlightenment.

Krishna's foster parents at Vrindavana were Nanda and Yashoda, his sister is Subhadra, and his brother Balarama. Krishna's favourite consort was the cowherd woman Radha (or perhaps even his wife if they married in secret, as some sources claim). Tradition has it that the god actually acquired 16,108 wives and fathered 180,000 sons. Queen Rukmini, an earthly form of the goddess Lakshmi, is considered Krishna's second most favoured wife after Radha. With Rukmini, Krishna had a son, Pradyumna, and a daughter, Carumati.

Krishna was involved in many escapades in his adventurous youth. Notable amongst these are his various killings and thrashings of prominent enemies such as the ogress Putana, the giant bull danava, the giant snake Kaliya, and the king of the Hayas (horses). Also swiftly dealt with was the scheming tyrant Kamsa – after whose beheading Krishna established himself as king of Mathura. Krishna slew many demons and demon kings: Muru and his 7,000 sons, Pralamba – who Krishna beat up using only his fists, Naraka – son of the Earth and who had accumulated a harem of 16,000 captured women, and the sea-demon Pancajana who looked like a conch shell and who lost his magic shell to Krishna which the hero carried thereafter and used as a trumpet. Krishna also found time to lift the mountain Govardhana to foil a terrible deluge sent by Indra, to conquer Saubha, the floating city of the Titans (daityas), got the better of the sea-god Varuna, and even managed to steal the divine discus possessed by the fire-god Agni. Against mere mortals Krishna also wreaked havoc amongst the Gandharas, Bhojas, and Kalingas, amongst others.

Continue reading...

[know-the-self]

Ego Vs True Self - Sunny Sharma

The mind is only a bundle of thoughts. The thoughts arise because there is the thinker. The thinker is the ego. The ego, if sought, will vanish automatically.

— Ramana Maharshi

[teanicolae]

Draupadī and the Dharma of Women

"Strī" translates from Sanskrit as "woman", while "dharma" is a complex principle with manifold meanings, in this context bearing the significance of "duty"; in simple terms, it refers to an individual conduct that contributes to harmony in a greater framework, be it societal or cosmological.

Draupadī is lauded in the Critical Edition of the Mbh several times as being the epitome of strī-dharma, of the dharma of women. (2.62.20; 2.63.25-30; 2.64). Interestingly, she is most intensely praised as such after she angrily (yet elegantly!) questions the men of the royal court and demands justice, being anything but meek and demure. I would argue that this showcases that in the Mahābhārata voicing oneself and standing up for oneself are considered responsibilities belonging to the dharma of women.

To nuance this even more, Eknath Easwaran, an eminent translator of the Bhagavadgītā, highlights that, etymologically, the term "dharma" can be traced back to the root 'dhri', which means 'to support, hold up, or bear'; "dharma" therefore translates as "that which supports", and Draupadī's conduct therefore supports both society and cosmology.

In the Sanskrit Mbh, Kṛṣṇa does not appear in the sabhā (royal hall) at the time of Draupadī's attempted disrobing, and no direct mention of him is made during this episode. In a conversation with Dr. Brian Black, a Mbh researcher whom I had the honour to have as my MA supervisor, we talked about the implication of this, which is that Draupadī's adherence to strī-dharma appears to be that which shields her. A question that could arise here could be whether there is a contradiction between the Critical Edition and modern renderings of the Mahābhārata, with Draupadī being shielded by her dharma as opposed to by Kṛṣṇa.

For me there is no contradiction.

Kṛṣṇa in the Bhagavadgītā establishes himself as 'the eternal dharma' (14.27); and so, Kṛṣṇa is all dharmas, including strī-dharma. We tend to associate Kṛṣṇa with a fully-fledged incarnation; but he is beyond that. I would maintain that, as the divine principle, he exists in Draupadī's consciousness and in her actions as dharma (and not only!). The latter renditions, for me, in which he is physically there, only bring forth in tangible projections the internal process extending Draupadī's consciousness.

You can find me on IG: @musingsonthemahabharata.

Painting: Jadurani Dasi, 1986.

[myadventureswithmyself]

DAY 827

Anger is that gust of wind which blows out the lamp of the intellect.

[blessed1neha]

How to control mind?

Arjuna asked: Oh! Krishna, since the mind is unsteady, turbulent, obstinate, and very strong, controlling the mind is more difficult than controlling the wind." (Bhagavad Gita 6:34) Shri Krishna answered: "Arjuna, no doubt the mind is very difficult to control. However, it can be controlled by constant practice and detachment." (Bhagavad Gita 6:35) Without DETACHMENT to people and things, MIND cannot be controlled. Shri Krishna said : When a person constantly thinks about objects attachment to those objects arises in the mind From attachment, desire is born and from desire, anger is born From anger comes delusion from delusion comes the loss of memory. From the loss of memory comes the destruction of intellect and once the intellect is destroyed, the Person perishes. (Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2: 62, 63)

[freshwastelandpeace]

#पूर्णगुरु_की_पहचान

#CompleteGuruSantRampalJi

#SantRampalJiMaharaj #guru #guruji

#bhagavadgita

#harekrishna #viralpost

यज्ञ का आयोजन करके हम जीवन को सार्थक बना सकते हैं। क्या आप तैयार हैं?

अधिक जानकारी के लिए अवश्य पढ़ें आध्यात्मिक पुस्तक "ज्ञान - गंगा"।

[musingsonthemahabharata]

Arjuna's consorts!

[viraajsisodiya]

The generation of questions follows two states of mind; the first is excitement and astonishment, and the second vote is aberrant and rampant.

Man's energy is besotted in corporeity, where he keeps being surprised by the tense; the imitation of the concepts of his soul is embodied in his verbs.

If man pursues his solutions, then he can crystallize his answers properly; it means he has become engaged like an intransigence (Hatha Yogi) in the season of troubles to get rid of that time.

#StatesOfMind #BhagavadGita #Inspiration🙏🙏

[sunday03s]

[keshavsmelody]

Might I be the most tamasik (ignorant) creature in the cosmos, but knowledge disguised as love flows through you, Bhagavan! Idolizing you makes my heart soft. This tamas is bliss!

[bhagavanbhakthi]

Lord Balaji darshan from foot to head and vice versa

[whencyclopedia]

Mahabharata

The Mahabharata is an ancient Indian epic where the main story revolves around two branches of a family - the Pandavas and Kauravas - who, in the Kurukshetra War, battle for the throne of Hastinapura. Interwoven into this narrative are several smaller stories about people dead or living, and philosophical discourses. Krishna-Dwaipayan Vyasa, himself a character in the epic, composed it; as, according to tradition, he dictated the verses and Ganesha wrote them down. At 100,000 verses, it is the longest epic poem ever written, generally thought to have been composed in the 4th century BCE or earlier. The events in the epic play out in the Indian subcontinent and surrounding areas. It was first narrated by a student of Vyasa at a snake-sacrifice of the great-grandson of one of the major characters of the story. Including within it the Bhagavad Gita, the Mahabharata is one of the most important texts of ancient Indian, indeed world, literature.

Learn more about Mahabharata

[know-the-self]

KARMA YOGA - NON DOERSHIP

All actions are being done by the forces of nature, but a human being deluded by the I-sense imagines, “I am the doer.”

They who sees that all actions are performed by nature alone and thus that they are not the doer—they see truly.

The Self - Consciousness, abides as the heart of all beings, O Arjuna, causing all beings to act by it's power of Maya, as if they are mounted on a machine.

-The Bhagavad Gita

[musclemsn]

Best wishes to all the countrymen on Devuthani Ekadashi. May Lord Vishnu fulfill all your wishes.