June 2017 archive

Jun 18 2017

Datta maata 24: Every married couple should aspire to develop qualities of Atri and Anasuya

June 18, 2017

Just like the body stands on the feet, the entire family depends on wife and husband. The entire society is based on them. Couples are very important. That is why; we worship demigods as Lakshmi-Narayana, Gauri-Shankara (in the form of couple) etc. We can also quote several examples about the sage couples. But, the most famous amongst them is the couple, Atri and Anasuya. We can know about the entire history with their names. They were an ideal couple.

Nistraigunyo bhavarjuna – Krishna says that one has to overcome the Trigunas (the three gunas (traits) namely Sattva, Rajas and Tamas). Many have a doubt whether one has to necessarily leave sattva guna as well along with rajasic and tamasic traits. If sattva guna is the reason behind the ego of a person that he is sattvic, then it is of no use. You must be very careful. Hence, it has to be sacrificed.

Sage Atri was like an intense flame of fire and pure Ganga water. He was ever pure. The head of a family must be like him. Feeling an envious resentment of others for their growth is known as ‘Asuya’ (jealousy). In fact, that is the reason behind all the losses. With such envy, many families are ruined. Those who think of others can never grow themselves. If there are such feelings in the woman who handles a family, then we need not mention the consequences. Hence, women must give up jealousy. When the couple become like Atri-Anasuya, God will bestow himself as Datta. Datta incarnates in every house either in the form of Datta or Anagha Lakshmi.

In this way, world is getting benefitted. The entire society relies on such family. It is Datta who makes it happen so. For Datta to offer himself, the couple must lead their life like Atri- Anasuya. Only then, the entire world will be filled with the vibrations of Datta. Everybody can see Datta. Because of the penance of Atri and Anasuya, the paramatma offered himself to them. Datta means ‘one who gives himself’. Hence, a couple must be like Atri and Anasuya. Atri is a pure soul who is beyond the trigunas. Anasuya had no asuya (jealousy) at all. By seeing God everywhere, she has seen the truth in every being. Such is the greatness of Anasuya matha. She is Jaganmatha (mother of the world). That is why, a couple must become like Atri and Anasuya. Hence, Datta is born to them as the son. They have also shown many good ways to the society. Hence, we describe them as the ideal couple. We too many a time wish to become the ideal couple. The couple must understand each other, being good at heart and without indulging in any fights. If we can lead such a happy life, our house will be like ‘Nanda Gokulam’.

Jai Guru Datta! Sri Guru Datta!

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Jun 18 2017

Datta maata 23: Who is a samsari? What is samsara?

June 18, 2017

Samsāra (worldly bondages) does not mean possessing wife, children, house and others. It is this ‘life’ which is the foundation of everything. Getting rid of this is called liberation (mukti). In the worldly life, a samsari (one who is in samsāra) who is fully habituated to the sensory pleasures will not forget the samsāra even if death has approached him. He will not at all think of chanting the divine names at least at this point of time.

Once, a man (samsāri) was travelling in a forest. At some point of time, he heard the sound of cruel animals. He saw a big tiger at some distance. He soon started running. He was hurt on his way but soon gathered stamina and resumed running. Seeing the man, the tiger followed him. He ran much faster and fell into a well which had thorny shrubs. The man was hanging upside down in the well. There was a venomous snake which was hissing at him, watching over him. The man was trembling with fear trying to safeguard his life amidst the thorny shrubs.

On top of the well is the tiger and on the bottom is the snake. Because of the movement of the shrubs, the beehive around it got disturbed and the bees pierced him on his body. Only God knows the difficulty of that man! Surprisingly, the honey started to ooze out from the hive and dripped into his mouth. He gradually started to sip the honey and felt happy for its delectable taste. He got the desire of taking the honey to his wife and children. How foolish he is! This is māya (illusion).

Inspite of struggling with death, he is still dreaming. If he slips down; he will be gulped by the snake. If he goes up, he will become prey for the tiger. Meanwhile, he does not know when he will fall down. On top of that, the honey bees are hurting him. In such a situation, one must involve in singing the names of God. If one does not remember the divine names despite knowing that death is certain, then one has to meet the downfall.

When King Parakshit got to know that he would die in a week’s time; he gave up all the luxuries and spent his time in listening to Bhāgavatam. We know this story very well. Let everyone inculcate such good traits. Despite knowing that death is fast approaching, many people have lot of desires. During the time of death, we must fearlessly chant the mantra given by Guru, follow righteousness or chant the divine names of God. Instead of that, we wish to live for two more days just because the share market would come out of losses and that it would bring more money for us. We wish to live for few extra days to see our daughter getting married. We want the grace period of two days only to buy an apartment. This is how many people think foolishly. They do not want grace period for chanting God’s names. It is just to buy apartments, to get the child’s marriage done or to witness the growth of share market. This is not good.

Permanent link to this article: https://puttugam.com/datta-maata-episode-23-who-is-a-samsari-what-is-samsara/

Jun 16 2017

Datta maata 22: Walk on path specified by Sadguru to reach ultimate destination

June 16, 2017

Some people say that God exists and few other say that he does not. We have been listening to such arguments everywhere now. Sometimes, we too get doubts about God’s existence. A teacher teaches his science students that the Earth is round. He tells them that people live in America that lies in a straight line to India. The teacher gives explanation that it is the gravitational pull of Earth that makes the people stay in America without falling. He explains them that even though they are upside down, they do not fall down because of the Earth’s gravitational pull. Few students believe the teacher’s words while few others do not. For them to believe, they themselves have to go to America. There is perhaps no other way. Once they see themselves, they will certainly understand.

Similarly, to get rid of the doubts about the existence of God permanently, we must try to see him perfectly. However, it is not so easy. If we wish to go to America, we obtain the passport, VISA; ask others about the flight charges, etc. Likewise, to experience God, we must follow the path that Sadgurus followed and with their help, we must practice and follow the righteous (dharmic) path. We must not go in the way we want. We cannot argue about going to America without passport, VISA or without taking flight. We cannot go by bus. That is not possible. Those who want to go independently without the help of anybody cannot reach the goal.

You must practice in the way the experienced persons tell you. Only then, you can get the realization. You cannot argue saying that, ‘I will do as I wish’, ‘I will follow only this mantra’, ‘I do not need a Guru’ and so on. If you do so independently, you will not get to know the way. Instead, you can listen to the experienced persons and better yourself in it. Without leaving the friendship of experienced persons, if you share their experience and follow the path, then you can definitely reach the goal.

Instead if you argue that you do not need passport, VISA or flight, you cannot go to America. Same is the case with the spiritual practice. One cannot argue saying that, ‘Why should I do only this?’ Why should I do these many lakhs of mantra?’ ‘Will I reach God only if I do these many vratas (austerities)?’ If you argue so and do as you wish, you can never realize God. Sadgurus will teach the disciples the way they adopted. They will narrate their experiences to their friends and fellow human beings. If we follow them, we will reach the goal we want to. Otherwise, we cannot.

In the spiritual life, by following Guru, we must trust each and every word of him. If we follow each and every step of Guru, we can experience the true bliss and realize God. Only then you will grow spiritually and can certainly see God.

Permanent link to this article: https://puttugam.com/datta-maata-22-by-walking-on-path-specified-by-sadguru-we-will-undoubtedly-reach-the-destination/

Jun 16 2017

Datta maata 21: God is a Self-experience.

June 16, 2017

Our ancient philosophers have given us four yardsticks to understand and establish truth. They are called means of knowledge (pramāna). They are the five sense organs – eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin.

The most important amongst the five is eye. Eye is a direct means to know anything (pratyakṣa pramāna). This is the first yardstick. But there are many situations where our own eye deceives us. To an infant, the moon appears very small. We cannot agree with him. But we tell children that the moon is very big and that is at a far distance and hence it appears small. This means that along with the direct means of knowledge, we also take help of another means which is imagination. It is named as ‘anumāna pramāna’ (obtaining knowledge by means of imagination). This is the second yardstick.

When we listen to few incidents, we feel that they are impossible to happen but we have to agree to such matters when we are shown the examples of similar incidents having occurred somewhere else. We agree only because there is some proof. Hence, an example also can be considered as a means of obtaining knowledge. It is called ‘upamāna pramāna’ (obtaining knowledge by means of an example). This is the third yardstick.

We don’t understand few things without asking anybody. For instance, we do not know our fathers and forefathers. We have to believe somebody who tells us their details. This is the ‘shabda pramāna’ which is the fourth yardstick.

So, the four standards are:
1) Pratyakṣa pramāna
2) Anumāna pramāna
3) Upamāna pramāna
4) Shabda pramāna

To decide the truth of anything, we need all these four yardsticks. But, God is a feeling. How can we measure him? He is beyond the senses and any other standards. In this world that is filled with such feelings, each and every individual is a witness for himself. He himself is the ultimate means of knowledge. This is greater than the four yardsticks that we have mentioned above. We have different experiences. We must analyze all of them and decide which experience is the real one. The science of analyzing the experiences and providing the solutions is known as ‘Tattva shāstra’ (philosophy). The basis of this science is the swayam sākshi (considering the self as the witness). Hence, those who wish to see God must try to put in effort to see God through their own experiences. That is the one and only one way to experience God. Let us all follow that way and cultivate it as the method of practice. Realizing God implies happiness. There is no impurity in that happiness. It does not mean that God comes down to us. Achievement of that live experience is known as satya sākshi (witnessing the truth). We must put in our efforts to experience that happiness. You must read ‘Datta Darshanam’ to understand much about this.

Permanent link to this article: https://puttugam.com/datta-maata-episode-21-god-is-a-self-experience/

Jun 15 2017

Datta maata 20: Unless ego is sacrificed, spiritual success cannot be achieved

June 15, 2017

Sacrificing ego is a tool for attaining Yoga. It is the means to attain Yoga siddhi (enlightenment). How is this possible?

Once, Vishnu called Sudarshana chakra and told him that it is only because of him that he is able to win over the demons. It is a wonderful story which is being told to you subtly. By listening to the words of Vishnu, we may feel that he is saying so jovially. But, Sudarshana did not feel so. He instead felt very happy listening to Vishnu. He felt greatly rewarded. He felt happy internally because of his ego. The result of that is that he was curse-stricken and had to be born on Earth. The moment Sudrashana thought he was great, he got the curse.

We get a doubt here. How come Sudarshana did not have the intelligence that we have? Why did he become so? If he did not possess that intelligence, how could he serve Vishnu in Vaikuntha? In fact, Sudarshana was very great. He is superior to everyone else in both muscle power and brain power. He is such a great saint. He is utmost devoted to Sree Hari. He is one of the greatest devotees of Sree Hari. But at that moment, succumbing to ego, he made a mistake.

Sometimes, ego comes to us unknowingly. Why should we get such ego only at that moment? We get such doubt. To understand that, we must know how ego is born. In this world, it seems as if many works are done because of you. When all such great deeds go on successfully, your belief that you are the reason behind it will become stronger. It might happen sometimes too. But, you are becoming egoistic.

In fact, all the works happen automatically as part of God’s divine and magnificent plan. You are just a tool in his hands for getting the works done. This is God’s miracle and not your greatness. Even though we study about these things from the scriptures, we forget at the moment and get the feeling of ‘I’ ness which is nothing but ego. As a result, you are attaching the unnecessary doership which you do not need. Hence, the good and bad associated with such works bind you. Your journey will go downwards.

Hence, it is said that egoism will accrue sin and it will ruin you. This ego will envelop you which will block your ability to think. That is why; the mistakes that others can identify clearly cannot be identified by you even slightly. The mind is covered with the fog called ego. Your bad traits do not appear to you even though they are like a big heap.

To come out of this danger, there is one and only one solution. You must come out of the feeling that all the works are done because of you. You must practice this and stabilize this feeling. Once it is attained, ego will never ever come to your mind at any moment. Let us remember this.

Permanent link to this article: https://puttugam.com/datta-maata-episode-20-unless-ego-pride-is-sacrificed-spiritual-success-cannot-be-achieved/