Miracle

The dictionary defines it as “An event due to supernatural agency”. It could be a remarkable event or object. Dyneshwar maharaj simplified the definition of Miracle for the confused humanity at large and showed the way to we mortals to see and feel God’s miracles. The great saint’s writings explained to his followers and devotees the simplest and easiest way to see and feel miracles during their journey of life . He said “ You need to purify your mind to the highest level by surrendering at Vitthal’s feet and dedicating every daily karma to HIM. Leave the fruits and end result to HIS wishes. Only then you will see and feel Miracles happening around you “ One has to achieve this supreme state as early as possible in one’s life time. Tukaram maharaj further simplified the path by singing Bhjans and conducting Kirtans and writing wonderful ‘Dohe”( two liners )which one can recite silently while doing karmas.

Feeling & seeing miracles means being with God for sure. I can vouch that I have felt at least four miracles and seen two miracles where I distinctly felt the presence of a superpower around me in those very serious situations in my life of 80 summers!

  Innumerable examples of miracles

To start with we mortals are the supreme example of God’s miracle. Followed by creation of mother Earth , Solar system and the infinite Universe. Somewhere due to unprecedented progress of scientific and technological knowledge of Mankind seems to have eclipsed the God’s miracles around us and we mortals have started to lose faith in our creator –GOD. Dyneshwar perhaps sensed this centuries ago and kept the remedy for our salvation as such.

Today , Corona –covid 19 pandemic has brought back all of us to our senses ! We, mortals are once again searching peace , safety , salvation and relief from this devil. The whole world has come to a standstill ,totally helpless and utterly confused. At this point of time ,I have a question to all those who are ‘Nastic –non believers in God and his work “. Such people always say “ No one has ever seen God” But then no one has seen corona virus floating around them and we fear it to our bones and we believe its existence world wide . Why? , we mortals fear it because it is killing the humanity in thousands on daily basis unabated for last one year plus. Do we need to fear God so that we may believe in his presence and existence. Then be it so , because Covid 19 is also his creation to teach us all a lesson of our life time . Why not ?

Ultimate Truth

Every thing originates from Lord Vitthal and every thing ends at his feet believed the great Saints such as Dyneshwar, Tukaram , Namdev, Eknath so many other greats. We all need to surrender our thoughts and mind at his feet as early in life as possible. Do not waste precious time given to us.

 Presence & Belief

“God’s presence is to be felt ,seen or felt & seen by we mortals” is what the great saint Dyneshwar worked in his shot life of 22 yrs before took the live Samadhi at Alandi near Pune in Maharashtra. Our capability for awareness and ability to see things helps us in this matter. But we need to be alert towards God’s presence and appreciate miracles around us. It is truly and widely believed that Vitthal( God) used to attend every kiran /bajan of his great disciple Namdev maharaj and in turn Namdevji could feel God’s presence and see the radiant form of the Lord , But others could not as they were not pure enough yet to see the miracles! Almost every one of us, use very common phrases such as ;

 “ God has been kind to me or us or them. “

 “He /She came in the nick of time to help out just like an Angle sent by God”

 Oh! It was a Godly intervention that saved her/his life .

 Oh! my God! is very common phrase used in daily conversation but grossly misued /misplaced and utterly meaningless too.

 Doctor’s special “Now, only God can save her/him”

 Typical condolence message ,”May God bless his/her soul with eternal peace in the heaven”

 A common condolence message to a grieving family,” we pray to Almighty God to give you all the strength to overcome this irreplaceable and untimely loss “

I am sure there are many such short lines used in all the languages where God is evoked, quoted or perhaps remembered inadvertently to accept that only superpower’s help or timely intervention saved the situation or gave desired results!

Dyneshwar and Tukaram worked towards eradication this human weakness or shall we say reluctance or ignorance of we mortals to believe in HIS omnipresence ,

Sant Tukaram ‘s life time work.

( Expressed as understood by this mortal)

Tukram was born in a rich family. He began his life like all we mortals do but he soon realized that the material comforts and money had very limited role to play in uplifting the Atma,“Soul “ living in the Deh(humanbody) to help attend ultimate goal ,Moksha,”State of ultimate bliss” explained The great saint found the way forward through teachings of Dyneshwar to uplift the humanity from the 3Ds Despair, Delusion ,Depressionand other fall outs such as other 3Mohas mainly Kama, Krodha, & Lobha meaning Lust ,Anger & Greed.

 I presume that by now , most of us and the humanity at large are well aware about the shortcomings and weaknesses mentioned above, but most of us find ourselves helpless and drifting directionless even if some of us want to pull ourselves out of the rut and up lift our soul for all round betterment of it.

Meaning of “MANDIR” ( Temple)

In Sant Tukaram’s words he defined it, M for Mamata, DI for Dvyata and R for Ramata as in Hindi /Marathi . In english it means Love ,Brightness and Involvement

COMMENCEMENT OF KIRTAN

Every Kirtankar starts his/her Kirtan by singing the famous Bhajan penned down by Sant Tukarm .In Marathi language it is titled as “ Roop Pahata Lochani—– “ . Roop means beautiful face of Lord Vitthal , Pahata means on seeing and Lochani meaning eyes. Kirtankar evokes the Lord as to how inspiring it is for him to see God’s beautiful murti with his eyes. (I would request you to hear at least one Kirtan that comes on ZEE –TALKIES channel every day –Mon to Saturday at 6 Pm. So that you could link with these articles.

TUKARAM’s study of Human Mind & Behavior.

The great saint first decided to study human mind and its intricacies and behavior pattern of we mortals before writing his teachings and conducting kirtans . He soon realized that most fragile thing in this world is ‘Human Mind” and it was imperative as well as prudent to master the art of understanding and handling the Human Mind . He developed one of his blessings “Amrut vani’(ability to address all with equal love and affection) to perfection . People would simply go in trance and felt blessed during and after hearing Tukaram’s recitation of his Abhang , Bahjan and Dohe .

Instead of asking ourselves “ Mai Kya Karu” ask “Mai Dusaro Kye liye kya kar Sakta Hu? . We must try our best as to how not to hurt the fragile mind of any human being by our karmas .

 ETERNAL AMBIGUITY IN HUMAN MIND

We mortals are totally confused when we try to understand “Karma/Fruit relationship. Tukaram was very clear about it and several other great saints who followed him . They all agree that every white or good Karma or black or bad Karma is reflected back towards the doer with the fruit or the result of the karma . If during the time lag between karmas done and fruits gotten the doer may change his/her human body ( He or she dies and takes another (birth)Janam) In such a case the fruit or the result catches up with the new body but same soul who did the Karma. It all means that system of check & balances continue till we attend Moksha. Please think on this theory seriously because it is the ultimate truth which Tukaram has tried to bring to us. The proof of this is seen when we see people getting god rewards and bad rewards during their life time. I do not want to name persons but there are ample examples around where a very well to do person has everything but no children, bad health , bad luck. We also learn a beggar , or a driver or a poor person suddenly winning a million rupee lottery! The stories can go on till the cows come home. We need to fully trust and understand Tukaram’s sayings and teachings. and eventually try to instill those qualities , practices and principles .

Story of Swami Vivekananda

Great men and women show their good qualities very early in their lives. Once as a small boy , Vivekanandji was playing with a group of boys in a garden. Suddenly ,the wind started blowing hard and a nearby tree fell close the group . A boy was injured seriously but in panic all the boys fled leaving Vivekananda alone with the injured boy. Vivekananda did not lose his cool but helped the injured friend till the medical help arrived to take the injured boy for further treatment. Vivekanada then went to meet the parents of the boy and explained that it was act of God and not the fault of the boy. These are qualities of great souls.

ULTIMATE TRUST IN GOD

There is a vast difference between Trust and Ultimate Trust . When we say” I have trust in God” perhaps what we may mean is Trust may or may not be unshakable! Whereas, when we say “I have ultimate trust in God” we definitely mean that I unconditionally and gracefully accept whatever is the end result of my Karma . Tukaram had ultimate trust in Vitthal . A story from the great Epic Mahabharata will clear the matter ;

“ When Pandavas lost everything in the gambling game with their cousins Kowravas ,the thing Pandavs could bet was Dropadi ( wife of Pandavas ). In sheer arrogance, Dushant ( one of the Kowravas) dragged Dropadi into the open public view to shamed Pandav brothers. Dropadi expected her husbands ( She had 5 brave Pandavas as her husbands)to come her rescue and save he dignity and honor . None of them stood up nor came forward to resist and stop Dushant from going ahead with bad intensions . Dropadi was an ardent devotee of Lord Krishna(Another form of Vitthal). She cried out for help “ Krishna please rush and help me “ When she was crying loud and high she held out her right hand looking upwards while she struggled with her left hand to hold her sari trying her best to save her modesty. Nothing happened ,till in her absolute desperation she lifted her left hand upwards praying for God’s intervention . And it happened at the very instant !God sent down endless length of sari which Dushant kept on pulling hoping to disrobe the great devotee of Krishna, Dropadi!

The moral of the story for we mortals is to have ultimate ( total & unconditional ) trust in God and do our karmas leaving the fruits or result to HIM.

Following passages are my thoughts based on the way I have adopted Dyneshwar’s and Tukaram’s teachings . (You may agree / not agree )

BUT WHEN THINGS GO AGAINST OUR WISHES?

Our common mistake is when things go wrong , against our wishes or not as per plan our Ultimate trust changes into Trust or perhaps seriously shaken . Is it not ? ,otherwise we will not be mortals . Fate / destiny is the result of our karmas . Even God could not escape it. The great wheel of ETERNITY is moving for infinite time and so it will for infinite future times too. Tukram found the answer during his life time not only for himself but for entire humanity. The great saint had implicit faith in VItthal . His life time work on Abahngs / Dohe / Bhajan was dumped in the river Chandrabhaga by jealous and hypocrite Brahmin samaj. Yet the written books did not get damaged by water of the river and were salvaged by the villagers. Karma of Tukaram was too pure and godly to be destroyed !

We need to accept fruits and results of our karmas , doings , actions , reactions and our thoughts too.

WHO IS THE GREATEST MORTAL?

Anyone who stands for others in their needs and works selflessly for humanity , does good karmas only , has sweet and affectionate words for everyone , one who takes every step for uplifting others and not for self progress only. Tukaram followed it all till God called him in his arms and blessed him with Moksha.

The greatest Karma is to return every “Bad with Good” !

 In modern times and today’s context , people will call me call me stupid and perhaps will not hesitate to criticize likes Dyneshawar /Tukaram , Vivekananda and many great men of our living times . But you cannot over look the fact that the choices we mortals make to live our lives are responsible for the results and fruits . Karmas do not occur they are made to happen by our choices /wishes /desires etc.

  POWER OF AMRIT VANI

The Marathi word “Amrit” means Elixir and “Vani” means sound (predominantly eloquence of words or music ). In practical life , the great saint Tukaram fully understood the importance of this tool of communication with lord Vitthal as well as common man in street . He adopted mode of Amrit Vani in dealing with everyone he dealt with till his end. Every word that spoke sounded like God’s words in the ears of his devotees. The ability and mastering of Amrit Vani helped the great saint to make his Kirtans , Bhajans and Abhangs an experience of eternal bliss for all those who gathered to hear him and listen to his words for salvation of the soul of a mortal .The magnetic power of his voice attracted the famous founder & ruler of Swaraj ,Shri. Shivaji Raje who attended his kirtans in the disguise of a common farmer!

Amrit Vani helps us to do only good karmas , heal the wounded hearts , give comfort , peace and tranquility to disturbed minds of millions of people suffering from various types of losses in their lives . Tukaram’s kirtans had a healing touch which was miraculous in its effects . There was all ways a definite” take away” for every person who heard him . Shivaji was motivated to the core to take up arms against the atrocities of Mogul rulers after he heard the Kirtans of the great saint.

So what is our take away from this paragraph on Amrit Vani ;

 Our words for others should not be sharp and hurting but express support in soothing tone.

 Our utterances are reflections of what we are .

 Bad words are very destructive and lead us to bad karmas.

 Right words spoken at the right time and at the right place to right person can change the course of history for the mortals. Best example is GEETA. Lord Krishna set the finest example ever to prove this point when he spoke to Arjuna at the battle field.

 We have to choose our words because they essentially convey either a lie or absolute truth !

I hope I have managed to convey the power and importance of Amrit Vani.

WHAT IS MIND ( CHITA)

Tukaram maharaj realized very early in his life that control over “Mind “was the only way for the mortals to attend the final goal , Moksha. He worked like a scientist to find the exact location of Mind in human form ( Deha). He was guided by Vitthal in this karma because he dedicated every karma to the lord!. Eventually, he managed to locate the exact location of Mind and indicated so in his Kirtan . Mind is situated beyond all the organs in the human body but before the Intellect ( faculty of knowing , reasoning and understanding) component of human brain. It so right and an apt reasoning indeed in case of we mortals. This can be best explained as follow;

A person having diabetes goes for a marriage celebration dinner. His/her Mind temps him/her to have extra sweet helpings but the Intellect exercises its control and prevents the extra helpings of sweets . If the Mind beats the Intellect in us we are drawn/ sucked in dark hole of bad karmas that finally destroys us. The great saint points out the fatal mistake on part of Ravana who lost control over his Mind and kidnapped Sita . The single bad karma destroyed Lanka and Ravana .

Moral of the story for we mortals is simple ,” avoid temptations , wrong desires , jealousy, false completion , and many such pitfalls which crow our Mind on daily basis . Our Intellect must be used to control our Mind and force it and train it to good deeds.

MONEY & MORTALS

The great saint points out a hard hitting and realistic equation between money and mortals . Money & riches takes Mortals to great heights in their life time but Alas! Mortals can’t carry the money & riches when they go up ! Money has a very small and limited role in true betterment of our mind and soul.

RIGHTS OF MOTHER NATURE

The great saint made a very touching observation in one of his teachings. He says ‘A mortal who did not care green of the trees and never watered them has no right to be provided with wood to be used in his pyre!

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VITTHAL’S BLESSINGS

We humbly share the day with you all wonderful people

Today, 15^th JAN 2021, is a land mark day for me and my beloved wife Ishwari as we complete 57 years of togetherness and eternal bliss that we got as blessings from God. Looking down the winding and twisting narrow lane of memories I can only say with all the humility that it was perhaps our past karmas that allowed us and helped us to live happily till day. We both bow down at the feet of Vitthal who guided us safely through our lives till today. Because of our utter trust in Lord Vitthal we could make it thus far . Those of you who have read my book “ Uncharted Waters” would be convinced for sure about my total belief in God’s presence in our lives.

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 GOD & ELECTRICITY

There is great functional similarity between God and Electricity . We mortals can’t see them with naked eyes but you can feel their existence with a touch! The working speed of Electrical power is supposed to be 186,000miles per sec., an unimaginable mathematical figure ! God’s speed to help us is even greater if you truly surrender your mind at his feet. There are umpteen examples of such miracles experienced by saints and devotees of the Lord.

GOD IS IN EVERY HEART

A poser that comes to my mind ,” During Covid-19 lockdown for months , we mortals locked out God in his abode of Temples, Churches and Mosques” Was HE non functional then during his long confinement ? No! we mortals who believe in HIM continued our trust and faith in HIM and we survived . Is it not? Fears of covid virus got defeated because of unshakable faith in God and man’s good karma in all parts of the world to discover vaccine . God is within us and not in any man made structure for sure. Dyneshwar and Tukaram rejected a structured image of God and instead promoted the basic concept that there is God in every heart and every heart owner has to discover HIM through his/her efforts by doing good karmas and sweet words.

LOOKING INTO MIRROR ( My thoughts)

The discovery of Mirror glass has profound influence on our lives . We in fact all of us star our day with a look in the mirror in the morning and also end the day similarly . It is at that moment and in our ultimate privacy we should do personal karma audit and see that we increase our good deeds ! I am driving you all towards the point of talking to yourself through visible virtual image of self .

Part 2 was completed on the Birthday of Ishwari Karkare (Capt. Karkare’s Wife) on 21st January 2021

For More inspiration go to Part 3
https://onevorld.org/2021/01/22/the-kirtan-of-sant-tukaram-part-3-capt-arun-karkare/

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Message from the Author:
I hope and pray that these spiritual extracts will help you all to live in peace , harmony and happiness within this world with all its turmoil , daily pressures of work and rigors of life and dealings with other human beings . The Original verse is in Marathi Language. I will be re-interpriting Sant Tukaram’s verse in English – Captain Arun Karkare

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  At the outset, I would like to explain some nomenclatures used in Kiratan

“Kirtan“ is combination of two words; Kir means darkness and Tan means Human mind &Body.

  Kirtan is for removing the darkness in minds of we mortals so that we can feel and see God (if one is pure enough in his/her thoughts and deeds – Like Dyneshwar , Tukaram , Namdev , Sai baba-Shirdi or Mirabai many other saints) .

Bhajan is a devotional song carrying the message of God and is generally sung in musical ragas by a Bhajan mandali (trained group ) followed by a congregation of devotees in the place of worship. Tukaram would go from village to village and sing Vitthal Bajans to convey the message from Geeta and Dyneshwari.

Abhangs were written by Dyneshwar in simple words which carried deep knowledge for we mortals as to how to reach out to God and ultimately attend Moksha/ Nirvana( State where a Soul finally escapes Birth/Death cycle and a place at the feet of the Lord..

Dohe are the two liners written by Tukaram in very simple way in day to day used Marathi-language of his time . They carried the same message as given by Saint Dyneshawar but were far easier to read , sing and adopt in life. The skill of Tukaram was absolutely par excellance and are still in vogue and practice even after 500 years.

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 “ Sukha peksha Samadhan reshtha ahe”

Instead of worldly pleasures ,Satisfaction is of greater value. We need to be satisfied with our karma or whatever we do good.

 “ Mann Sudhi karta ,Acharan changale pahije”

For achieving purity of Mind ,our Behavior should be good.

 “Aachar va Vichar he permodharm ahe”.

Deeds & Thoughts are ultimate religions we need to adopt.

 “ Deva kade prarthana” “ Tuza Visarana Vavha Deva”

Ultimate prayer to Lord Vittahal ,” Let me not forget for ever during my life journey”

 “Chukichi teen karne”

We mortals commit mistakes due to following three reasons.

1. We all are born in the “KaliYug” the worst period of life cycle

2. Our bad deeds , mistakes , behavior etc is sum total of +/- of our past ( last life)so we are forced by those karmas to do good/bad deeds . It simply means that during present life we suffer or be happy according to our past life . Therefore, all our actions in present life should be towards doing all the good deeds that we can so that our deficit of bad past is reduced progressively and ultimately our soul attends MOKSHA.

3. The third reason being utterly selfish non -caring to others

Sant Tukaram did self retrospection on these 3 reasons and wrote his “ABHANGS “ to address them and how to get rid of it.

Finally , He said “ It is never too late to bow down before Vitthal and confess your wrongs and start a new chapter of pure goodness in life that will surely lead you to happiness and satisfaction .The great Saint was convinced that Happiness has to live with Satisfaction ( Sukh & Samadhan )

 Vitthal is the name for the lord given by the great saint Tukaram

 Dhul aapalya cheheryawer aasate purantu Manus aarasa saf karat asato.

It means Dust is on our face but the we try to clean the mirror ! It is irony and tragedy of our life. When we are wrong we pretend we are right !

 “Kalanahi nahi ha upai”

Ignorance or not knowing is a bliss because it leads you to the ultimate remedy that helps eradicate the fault or the misery etc.

 “Changla kiti he aapan sangto pun wite kiti he sangat nahi”

We only tell and share good &right about us but never tell ,regret nor confess our wrong doings. So to elevate our morals and quality of life we need to accept our shortcomings , mistakes , bad things done to others so that Vitthal will be able to forgive you and show you the way forward.

 Aapalyatelay Aavagun Samajalay pahijay

We must do retrospection and search for our faults and shortcomings and get rid of them. Then only we will be able up lift our soul to higher level to perform good karmas that will lead you to Moksha ultimate goal of every SOUL .

 Jugache Dosh mojanaypecsha aapale Dosh moja

Instead of finding and counting faults & shortcomings of others do the your self audit of the same .

 Tumhi Gelya Janma che Chitra aaha.

You are the image of the last life . The quality of your present life depends upon the karmas of last life . That is why we need to keep doing good karmas and keep improving our lot to reduce birth/ death cycles to the minimum to attend Mokha. This is the essence of life said Dyneshwarmaharaj.

 “Chuka parat naka karu”

Never ever repeat your mistakes , wrongs or bad deeds . This will only happen when you truly surrender your trust at his feet Vitthal . Don’t let HIM down again. For sure He too will never let you down

 Jeewanatil Parivartan

“Change “ is a powerful tool for betterment of our lives . Try to change things for better for yourself and people around you and the surroundings too. God has given all the faculties, abilities and disciplines to change for better life for peace and happiness.

 Paschatap

REMORSE is a great quality and a tool that helps us to build new foundation of life which in turn brings calm ,peace ,happiness and finally the satisfaction one craves for. Our remorse must be surrendered at the feet of Vittal so that He can bless you .

 Avaga Eka Rang Zala.

There are rainbow colors and they appear only in sky when sunlight is split but when we surrender to God there is only one color “You &HIM “

 Keleya Chuka Visara, Deva war Vishwas Thewa.

Forget & Forgive your and other’s mistakes and bad deeds and start fresh in your present life leaving entire future in HIS hands . Do your daily Karmas dedicating it all to God including the fruits of your work and labor.

 Prapanch he eka oze ahe.

Our daily family life with its commitments towards every member of the household

 ( Grandparents, father , mother, wife , children , then siblings plus extended relationships as well as close friends etc add continuous pressures on our mind and body too. These strains and stresses form what is called in Hindu Phylosophy “ PRAPANCH’ which means INSIDUOUS or treacherous situations that continuously distract our mind and body from peace , tranquility and happiness . The satisfaction element too is seriously

 Compromised . The remedy recommended by Tukaram maharaj is simple and doable.

“ Do all your duties and discharge your responsibilities towards all dear near ones with outcome/result or reactions as per will of the God. You only please God and not the mortals to whom you are only duty bound during your or their lifetimes! Leave the burden ,pains , frustrations etc to God and trust HIM that it will be handled by him . Do your karma towards yourself and others with smile, honesty and sincerity. That si the secret of satisfaction and happiness says Tukaram

 Durachar wadhala aahe.

Today , the crimes, rapes in society , murders , cruelty towards animals and birds , Destruction of mother Nature etc have surpassed all the acceptable limits. Why? Because Good people are standing spectators and society has become very selfish .We need to rise, react and rightly respond to stop it all to protect all creations of the God.

  Vitthal is the identity for devotees given by the great saint Tukaram

 ‘Fakt Garajecha Paisa camawa”

Earn according to your and family needs .Anything wealth in excess is destructive and non productive to the earner as it increases his /her lust , superficial needs and results in bad /wrong use of the money . It is a very well known fact that the wealthy people think they can buy out the Lord Almighty too. We waste our precious life years in wrong and selfish activities. Utilize excess wealth in charity and good work for the humanity and that is true worship of Vitthal.

 Dyneshwar and Tukaram Abhanga he satashe varsha pasun aahet.

The two liner sayings of Saints Dyneshwar and Tukaram Maharaj have survived 750 years of history . They have been guiding the society in India for avery long time and that is why Indian culture have survived 450 years of slavery under the Moguls and British ,French and Portuguese colonial powers. The sayings are time tested and hence doable and can be adopted by anyone who believes in them.

 Tatvadyan he jeevanche gudh ahe. Te Tumhi visaru naka.

Live in any part of the world but while doing your karma there ,do not forget the sayings of these two saints . Practice them in your daily life . Do not be a robot while living in this materialistic world because when you came in this world you had empty hands and when you go away you will have empty hands then too.

 Karta va Karvita ha Vitthal ahe.

There has to be a creator of this great Universe , solar system , life , water , air , light , fire and means to survive and sustain life. We need to believe in creator for sure. Some say we don’t see that creator so how can we believe ! We breathe Air to survive but we can’t see it yet we are very sure of its existence. Corona -19 can’t be seen yet the whole world is well aware of its existence. Who created the virus and for what reason ? I guess God’s and Mother Nature’s annoyance of humanity and its behavior!

 Andha vishwas naka theu

Never have or create blind faith in the name of God and also do not allow the Technology to overwhelm your faith or cloud your mind or shake your faith in time tested basic principles of simple living and high thinking to do good karmas .

 Fakt Swatala Badla

Only try and change yourself for better and do not waste precious life time to change others. !

 Story of Thomas Edison

The great scientist was travelling in a train . Another passenger sitting in the same compartment observed that Edison was reading Bible. He asked Edison “ Sir do you believe in God? Edison just smiled and continued his reading . The two exchanged their visiting cards before parting. The stranger noted from the card the identity of the great man and decided to call at his laboratory with a surprise visit . Edison received the stranger at the gate . The visitor was overwhelmed by the grandeur of the magnificent building. He asked “Sir Is this building made by you “? Edison politely replied “No”. Both walked in the sprawling laboratory crowded with curious and intricate equipments of the experiments being done by the great scientist . The stranger once again quarried “Sir Is the laboratory yours? Edison replied” No”. By now the visitor was totally perplexed with the replies of Edison and He said “ There has to be a builder and an owner of this vast set up! Edison certainly “ God Almighty is the owner of all this and I am a temporary worker scientist entrusted with research work for the benefit of humanity at large. ! The stranger went away with full understanding as to Why Edison was reading the book of God in his spare time while travelling on the train.

 Story of Padamashri –Vikram Sarabhai

( Well honored & renowned Scientist of India )

Viram Sarabhai used to read “Geeta “ every morning, during sunrise, by sitting on the banks of the river near his place of work. One day a stranger( a tech savvy young man ) walked past the great man and quipped “ Hi ! Man, forget Geeta it is science & technology that runs our lives “. Do not waste your precious time in this book knowledge . Viram ji looked at him said “ I believe in Geeta “’ . The stranger just smiled and went away and stood at a short distance in total disbelief as he saw a special car approaching under police escort . The car stopped in front of Vikram Sarabhai . A guard came saluted the scientist and ceremoniously took the Geeta from Vikramji and wrapped it in a red cloth and the guard put it in the car . The car under police escort drove away towards the residence of the great scientist. The stranger followed the car on his bike but he also noticed that Vikramji walking slowly back towards his home. The car stopped at the big sprawling bungalow (official residence) of Vikram Sarabhai . The Geeta was taken inside with great reverence by a Pandit. The stranger waited for the man slowly walking towards the same house. Now the stranger was well aware that the man he saw on the river bank was VS himself . He was so overwhelmed that he got of his motorcycle and fell at the feet of VS and said “ Sir I am sorry for my act “. The saintly scientist simply said “ Geeta is ultimate knowledge “ I am doing my karma only .

Dyneshwar and Tukarm were fully convinced through their prayers that we mortals are what our parent were . The good karmas of our past Janama( past life)allows us to choose a good womb which in turn allows us to live our present life in a good way. The parents of Dyneshwar were very good people in all walks of life but suffered at the hands of ignorant and bad society .Yet they gave birth to four children( Neevrithinath, Dyneshwar , Sopan and Mukta bai) who eventually became most worshipped saints of their times and their still influence us and help better our spiritual and emotional state. It means parents have to be pure in mind and deeds to give births to good human beings. Parents can bring and raise Ram or Ravan according to their own karmas .

GOODNESS AS UNDERSTOOD & DEFINED BY DYNESHWAR AND TUKARAM

The Hindi word ‘HEETH’ means goodness. The two great saints defined it as follows,

“Doing selfless work for the Humanity , Society , Country and preservation of Mother nature is defined as Heeth”

KARMA & ITS FRUITS

Dyneshwar and Tukaram fully understood and followed Lord Krishna’s message that is “Do your Karma and leave the fruits & final result in the hands of God. We may do a karma ( deed)with good intensions but result may not be good but it may happen so that we may do a bad karma ( deed)and result may be unexpectedly good!

 Following stories will perhaps convince you as to how true the saying is!

Story No. 1

A beggar stood on the pavement under a multistoried building and kept shouting for some alms, looking upwards towards the high-rise floor flats. A lady from 3^rd floor threw Rs 10 coin towards him altering him well in advance to catch it. She was wanting give some money to the needy person. ( a good deed indeed)but what happened next shocked her. The beggar grossly misjudged the fall of the coin and hurt his eye so badly that he lost his eyesight!

The moral of the story is clear . Karma was good and well intended but the result was totally unexpected and perhaps unwarranted too. God’ will was that beggar was due to lose his eye sight as per his destiny .

Story No. 2

A man was sitting in a public garden and was eating an apple . A beggar came and stood near him and asked for some food. The man was upset at the beggar’s presence at that time. In sheer anger he threw the half eaten apple at the beggar’s face but apparently beggar was fully alert to catch it ! He caught the apple like an expert cricket fielder and walked way happily munching the fruit.

 The moral of the story is again very clear . Karma was bad and ill intended but the result was totally unexpected but good too. God’ will was that hungry beggar was due to get that half eaten apple as his share as per his destiny .

Story No. 3

A frail and weak looking man begged for some money to a stranger waiting at the bus stand .The stranger took pity and gave the Rs 50/- and said “ Go and have some snacks .” The man thanked him but then what happened shook the stranger completely. The beggar was actually an alcoholic who simply walked inside the near- by pub for a drink!

By now ,the moral of the story must be very clear to you.. Karma was good and well intended but the result was totally unexpected and very bad too. God’ will was that hungry beggar will fall victim to his bad habit as per his destiny .

In short we all should do our karmas and leave the final result ( fruit) to GOD only.

  Power of the word “VITTHAL”

Believe it or not , it is true that there is an immense strength in this beautiful word “VITTHAL . It was felt by and eventually proven by Saint Dyneshwar 700 years, and similarly experienced by Tukaram ,Namdev and Eknath maharaj. But very recently , a group of doctors who are great followers of ‘Vitthal tried a novel experiment on their patients ( 10 nos )while treating them for high BP ailment. They divided them in two groups of ( 5 nos)and asked one group to recite the word ‘VIITHAL’ for 10 minutes every morning for a week during their meditation period and the other group was told to do their meditation in normal fashion without reciting the word . The doctors kept the records of BP readings of all the patients who were part of the experiment .

 The comparison of BP records astonished the doctors! Those who recited had a 25% drop in their BP .The experiment was repeated on the other group who had not recited and the result was almost the same! Just to add to this fact , is another classical example ;every year on the auspicious day of Ashadhi Ekadashi thousands of Warkaries of different age groups from 10 yrs to 80 yrs ( Devotees of Viithal)walk down a distance of 200kms doing Pandharpur Yatra simply chanting “ Jai hari Vitthal “ The Yatra is supported by the Government of Mahrashtra for supply of food , water and medical aid etc. The sheer power of the word “ Vitthal “carries the devotees to their destination ‘Vitthal mandir at Pandharpur. The moral of this story is that faith can move mountains.

OBLIGATIONS & DUTIES OF CHILDREN TOWARDS THEIR PARENTS.

Dyneshwar and Tukarm are two great saints who enlightened the humanity about the importance of obligations and duties of children towards their parents. Dyneshwar Maharaj was totally convinced that our souls are born to different parents according to our karmas of the past life . With +/- ratio of Good and Bad Karmas we get our present life parents. And it is here that we must all understand our obligations and duties towards our parents( Janmadatas).

In today’s world ,it is absolutely imperative for all children to follow the great saint’s message, “Matru dev Bhav, Pitrudevdev bhav”. We are what our parents are or were but children’s responsibilities and role towards parents remain unchanged. We need to accept their good karmas and reject their bad karmas . Following story may help to clarify the point of view being expressed here;

A good natured but foul mouthed administrative officer in government service had a bad habit of very frequently using the word “Haramkhor”( Bastard) while generally addressing his staff and juniors. His only son ( 5yrs ) got used to hearing this word and stared using it freely while he used to play with his friends. One day the child was playing a game with his friends in which he was posing as a conductor /ticketchecker of Bus. “ those Haramkhors who want to get down at Andheri stop ,Be ready . Then again he said “ those Harmkhors who do not have tickets will be fined Rs 200/- “ Thus this went on for awhile and the boy’s father who was hearing got up in disgust and shouted “ Stop using this bad word “ The boy sheepishly replied Papa” I thought every other person must be addressed so as I have heard you using this word so frequently!We need to reject bad from parents and retain good for ever during our life time. It is obvious therefore ,that if we have more +,positive and good in us it is due to our parent’s DNA.

DEFINITION OF BEING EDUCATED

Dyneshwar and Tukaram defined what is the true meaning of “Being educated”. Those who do good karmas for the Society, Humanity , Country and Mother nature and care for flora, fauna and all types of life created by God are truly educated.

BLOOD has been analyzed, classified and stored safely for transfusion but I wonder if it will be ever produced in the laboratory by Man ! Because Blood is life and Life is God –Vitthal

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More About The Author:
Capt. Arun Karkare, was honored with VARUNA AWARDS. The National Maritime Day Celebrations (Central) Committee institutes its highest national award to recognize and honor persons for their sustained and outstanding contribution to the Indian Maritime Sector.

Also Read Part 2:
https://onevorld.org/2021/01/13/the-kirtan-of-sant-tukaram-part-2-capt-arun-karkare/

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I will come back again and again…if need be, a trillion times, as long as I know that one stray brother is left behind.

– Yogananda Paramhansa

Proud moment for his Devotees worldwide. The Indian Ministry of Culture had posted on his 128th birth anniversary on 05/01/2021 a commemorative poster of Paramhansa Yogananda on it’s official handle on instagram See the image below.

Life “is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” So said Shakespeare in Macbeth, a tragedy of epic proportion where the eponymous hero fell because of only one tragic flaw: “Vaulting ambition, which overleaps itself.”  Covid19 brought the “sound and fury, signifying nothing” part of Macbeth like a thunderbolt rolled onto an unsuspecting mankind. And Hamartia, or the tragic flaw, that Shakespeare’s tragic heroes had, has its echo in present times too. Covid19 lays bare our fault lines and exposes our flaws like never before. It has, in fact, come as a great teacher to mankind – perhaps because the ‘kind’ in “man” had shrunk to a miniscule level. It has given us a huge nudge to readjust our priorities that were slinking to abominable levels of putrid materialism.  Hmm…..looked closely, it also has been a period of wish-fulfillment, the collective wishes of entire mankind, or rather man-unkind, witnessing fruition of shared desires in a way unparalleled.

To further explain my points, let me take the first premise of collective wish fulfillment. Was the entire human race not clamoring for clearer skies, cleaner air and sparkling water? Millions of dollars were being spent on hosting international meets that often ended up revealing more dissensions than agreements. Each country blamed the other for being a greater polluter, never wanting to clean its own Augean stables. Year after year, there were foreboding studies that announced imminent doom of the planet if countries did not clean up the environmental mess. Countries met, they bickered and blamed each other, and dispersed.

“Monday morning blues” was the litany of all working people. I remember beginning to feel the blues just when Sunday dawned. Why can’t weekends be longer, was the refrain echoed in all corners of the world – languages varied, refrain the same.  “Let all days be Sunday,” said the mighty voice. And we all huddled home every day, day after day. Beautiful day-planners lying on the desk were an investment most futile!!

Don’t blame any virus or any government for the pandemic…..all wishes are coming true. Is it self-fulfilling prophesy, or mere Ignis Fatuus!  Is it a passing phase, or the new world order is here to stay. Only time will tell.

One thing is for sure. The virus is not atemporal. It may either gradually die a natural death after peaking, or human intervention will see it rendered less menacing. Whatever it may be, but it surely will have taught us the much-needed and long-forgotten basic lessons before it exits.

First and foremost, Covid19 has added the fundamental “Pause” button to human race – race, both as noun and verb – the former defining the species, and the latter their feverish scurrying forth. I feel it has made us stop as the traffic light gradually turns red, so that we have time to reflect until it turns green and hence signal us to recalibrate our speed and direction.  We were all racing from morning until night, 24X7, in pursuit of something that was always outside our grasp.  Were we not all running away from life, looking for a meaning in a place it did not exist.  And now, staying within the confines of our homes we are learning to live with ourselves. Most friends and family I have spoken to have expressed how little we actually need in life and yet we carry the heaviest baggage. Our priorities had gone misplaced and it is time to set them right.  

What is of utmost importance is human life. This lesson, unfortunately, a deadly virus had to come and teach us. It has showed us that we need to value people and use things when we had been doing the reverse – Valuing things and using people. Time for some reverse-engineering. Time to smell the coffee!

People in lock-downs, living away from families learnt the value of a family, and those locked with their families are learning to share, care, and the biggest of all, to let-go. Sharing limited home space has strained many a family, for the virus leaves no option of quietly slipping away from home in case of any friction.  And therein lies the lesson of developing tolerance. “Love me when I deserve the least because that is when I need the most,” my friend’s recalcitrant teenager told his mother. Mighty lesson that is! Equally relevant for the youngster and his mother.

“It would seem resourceful, perhaps wise, to use suffering as a vehicle of transformation that allows us to open ourselves with compassion to those who suffer as we do, or even more than we do”, said Matthieu Ricard in his book Happiness. Roman philosopher Seneca once said that “Suffering may hurt, but it is not an evil.” Schopenhauer, the German philosopher may have had similar belief when he said that suffering is the purifying process through which alone, in most cases, a person is consecrated.  Sure enough, no one wants suffering and all human endeavor is towards forswearing it. However, it can be argued that while suffering by its very nature is abhorrent but when unable to avoid, we can use it to learn and to change.

While we wait with bated breath for this Covid19 to pass, we can only forget the lessons it continues to teach us – both, at the physical level and at a deeper existential, philosophical level, at our own peril.  In the latter half of this century when it is well behind us, and human race has the wisdom of hindsight, Covid19 may seem to be the one game-changer humankind desperately needed for course correction.

I started writing this piece when we were, what is now known as the middle of Covid, or the first phas (It may be known differently sometime down the line) . As we are a cat’s whisker away from getting the vaccine, these disembodied times however seem  here to stay for a while. I’m quite inclined to close with Hafiz : “I wish I could show you, when you are lonely or in darkness, the astonishing light of your own being!” So instead of taking a world trip, go inside yourself and find the true essence. Nice things, beautiful scenic places, gourmet food and all the pompous pursuits of men are a happy place to be in, but the joy they provide is never ever-lasting. It is transitory. The value of things is only the value we ascribe to them. As Vivekananda said: “Things are dead in themselves. We breathe life into them, and then we either run after them or run away from them.”

Covid-19 has provided a big insight into what really matters in the race we call Life. The Pause-button ought to make us reflect on where we were headed, and which direction we need to take. Almost a year into the pandemic, the self-importance of man dissolves in laughter. Life will never be easy. It will always be hard, but we can choose our hard wisely. Look to the light within, for the more light you allow within you, the brighter the world you live in will be.

Yogananda said: “One moon gives more light than all the stars.” The mooned life of one true devotee sheds more light of God’s goodness and love than all the twinkling lives that glimmer only with human love. With the devotion of a heart filled with longing for the one Beloved, sing unceasingly to God alone: “Night and day I am looking for You, my Lord, night and day.”

Daya Mata, Self Realization Magazine, Fall 1976

Real Address – Where Distinction Devotee , Prophet and Lord Vanishes

You ask me how to know my real address . In the scriptural language I might say , ” My address shall be known to you when you have realised yourself . ” But I shall prefer to reply it as , ” When you become only myself . ” That means you must begin seeing me in you automatically , not purposely ; or when the very same condition gets created in you , then alone shall you be able to know my real address . All this shall come to pass through the practice of meditation .
You ask me to tell you about the natural state of mind , matter and spirit .
Herein the devotee , the prophet and the Lord do not come into cognition and the trinity vanishes altogether .

Complete Works of Ram Chandra Volume II
P. 133 – 135
Shri Ram Chandra of Shahjahanpur

I am a universal soul, free like the soul that is the Brahma soul you see, the cosmic soul. Why am I bound? Because I think I am in this body, I am a slave of my body, I am imprisoned in my body, I am a slave of my bodily desires for pleasure, for satisfaction and for comfort, therefore I am bound. Nothing binds me. In this prapancham [universe], nothing can bind me unless I bind myself.

– Guru Chari Ji

When the senses contact sense objects, a person experiences cold or heat or pain. These experiences are fleeting; they come and go. Bear them patiently.

Bhagavad Gita

Learn self-conquest, persevere thus for a time, and you will perceive very clearly the advantage which you gain from it. As soon as you apply yourself to contemplation, you will at once feel your senses gather themselves together: they seem like bees which return to the hive and there shut themselves up to work at the making of honey.

Saint Teresa of Avila

Do not mourn the worldly loss; ask for your soul to be saved. Many delighted in what you hold dear. In the end it left them and became mere wind. Escape from its love before it escapes you.

Rumi.