The Prayer of Saint Francis

Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace. 

Where there is hatred, let me sow love; 

Where there is injury, pardon; 

Where there is doubt, faith; 

\Where there is despair, hope; 

\Where there is darkness, light; 

Where there is sadness, joy. 

O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek 

To be consoled as to console, 

To be understood as to understand, 

To be loved as to love; 

For it is in giving that we receive; 

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned; 

It is in dying to self that we are born to eternal life. 

Attributed to Francis Bernadone, perhaps the most universally loved of Christian saints, who were born in Assisi, Italy, in 1181 or 1182. At the age of twenty two, after a sudden illness that brought him almost to the point of death, he left his home and inheritance to follow an injunction that he felt he received from Christ himself: "Francis, go and rebuild my Church." Three great Franciscan orders quickly grew around the monks, nuns, and lay disciples who responded to his joyful example of universal love and selfless service.

Courtesy: easwaran.org; Image: tinybuddha

When Swamiji was desperate to save his family

Naren loved and respected Sri Ramakrishna but sometimes mocked his fervent devotion to Ma Kali.
Some years passed but, slowly under the influence of Sri Ramakrishna’s spiritual power, Naren’s doubts and skepticism melted.  Though he continued to rebel and argue some times, in the end, he had to surrender to the Divine Mother.

When Naren’s father died in 1886 and left the family at the brink of starvation, Naren begged Sri Ramakrishna to ask a boon of Ma Kali on behalf of his family.
“My boy, I can’t make such demands,” said Sri Ramakrishna.  “Why don’t you go and ask the Mother yourself.”  

Desperate to save his family, Naren put aside Brahmo Samaj principles and bowed down low before Ma Kali.  He stood in the inner shrine of the Divine Mother, but he could not pray. He saw the beautiful form of  Ma Bhavatarini Kali and was engulfed in a surging wave of love.  Naren forgot everything else.  
Flushed, and intoxicated in a divine mood, Naren addressed Ma Kali with folded hands:  “Ma, give me discrimination, give me renunciation, grant me knowledge and devotion.  Ma, grant me that I may have uninterrupted vision of You!”

Naren failed to ask a boon for his family. Sri Ramakrishna sent him back three times, but every time, Naren forgot the world when he saw the beautiful face of the Divine Mother.  He no longer saw a statue.  He saw Ma and felt overwhelmed.
Sri Ramakrishna was very happy that his Naren had finally accepted the Divine Mother and, full of compassion he blessed him, saying: “All right, your people at home will never be in want of plain food and clothing.”

What followed was a night of blissful adoration during which Sri Ramakrishna taught Naren a song glorifying the Divine Mother.  Naren was a superb musician and had a beautiful voice.

“Mother, Thou art our sole Redeemer,

Thou the support of the three gunas,

Higher than the most high.

Thou art compassionate, I know,

Who takest away our bitter grief.

Thou art in earth, in water Thou;

Thou liest at the root of all.

In me, in every creature,

Thou hast Thy home; though clothed with form,

Yet art Thou formless Reality.

Sandhya art Thou and Gayatri;

Thou dost sustain this universe.

Mother, the Help art Thou

Of those who have no help but Thee,

O Eternal Beloved of Shiva! 
~Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play (tranlated by Swami Chetanananda)

Happy Mother's Day

My son, if a thorn pricks your foot, it hurts me like a spear entering my heart. Never fear, and whenever you are in distress just say to yourself, "I have a mother."
- Holy Mother, Sri Sarada Devi

Rama Navami: Victory to you Lord Rama!

Greetings on Rama Navami! May Lord Rama bring harmony and peace to the world. Jai Sri Rama.

शुद्धब्रह्मपरात्पर राम् ॥१॥कालात्मकपरमेश्वर राम् ॥२॥शेषतल्पसुखनिद्रित राम् ॥३॥ब्रह्माद्यामरप्रार्थित राम् ॥४॥     राम् राम् जय राजा राम् ।राम् राम् जय सीता राम् ।

I take refuge in Sri Rama, who is of the nature of pure Brahman and who is superior to the best.

I take refuge in Sri Rama, who is of the nature of Kala (i.e. master of everyone's destiny) and the supreme Lord.

I take refuge in Sri Rama, who sleeps blissfully on the bed of serpent Sesha Naga.

I take refuge in Sri Rama, whose lotus feet is desired by everyone beginning with Brahma to gain immortality.

O Rama, Sri Rama, victory to you king Rama,

O Rama, Sri Rama, victory to you Sita Rama,

(From Nama Ramayanam, Trans./Image: greenmesg(dot)org)

Sri Ramakrishna: Many names of one God

"You may say that there are many errors and superstitions in another religion.  I should reply: Suppose there are.  Every religion has errors.  Everyone thinks that his watch alone gives the correct time.  It is enough to have yearning for God.  It is enough to love Him and feel attracted to Him: Don't you know that God is the Inner Guide? He sees the longing of our heart and the yearning of our soul.  Suppose a man has several sons.  The older boys address him distinctly as 'Baba' or 'Papa', but the babies can at best call him 'Ba' or 'Pa'.  Now, will the father be angry with those who address him in this indistinct way? The father knows that they too are calling him, only they cannot pronounce his name well.  All children are the same to the father.  Likewise, the devotees call on God alone, though by different names.  They call on one Person only.  God is one, but His names are many."

(Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, Chapter IV; Advice to householders)

Dive deep taking the name of Kali

A popular Bengali devotional song which would be sung by Sri Ramakrishna in the company of his devotees:

Taking the name of Kāli, dive deep down, 
O mind, Into the heart's fathomless depths, 
Where many a precious gem lies hid.  
But never believe the bed of the ocean bare of gems 
If in the first few dives you fail; 
With firm resolve and self-control 
Dive deep and make your way to Mother Kāli's realm. 

Down in the ocean depths of heavenly Wisdom lie 
The wondrous pearls of Peace, O mind; 
And you yourself can gather them, 
If you but have pure love and follow the scriptures' rule.  
Within those ocean depths, as well, 
Six alligators, lurk - lust, anger, and the rest -
Swimming about in search of prey.  
Smear yourself with the turmeric of discrimination; 
The very smell of it will shield you from their jaws.
Upon the ocean bed lie strewn 
Unnumbered pearls and precious gems; 
Plunge in, says Ramprasad, and gather up handfuls there!

Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, Chapter 4

Greetings on the 181st birth anniversary of Sri Ramakrishna

ॐ स्थापकाय च धर्मस्य सर्वधर्मस्वरूपिणे।
अवतारवरिष्ठाय रामकृष्णाय ते नमः॥
ॐ नमः श्री भगवते रामकृष्णाय नमो नमः॥

Salutations to you, O Ramakrishna, the establisher of dharma, the embodiment of all religions, and the paragon of avataras.
Om, salutations to Bhagavan Sri Ramakrishna, salutations again and again.

Greetings on the 181st birth anniversary of Sri Ramakrishna!

Śivastotram: a Hymn to Shiva by Swami Vivekananda

Swami Vivekananda expresses profound devotion in this hymn to Shiva, composed by him in Sanskrit. The translation is by Swami Ashokananda.

॥शिवस्तोत्रम्॥

ॐ नमः शिवाय॥
निखिलभुवनजन्मस्थेमभङ्गप्ररोहाः
अकलितमहिमानः कल्पिता यत्र तस्मिन्।
सुविमलगगनाभे ईशसंस्थेऽप्यनीशे
मम भवतु भवेऽस्मिन् भासुरो भावबन्धः॥१॥

निहतनिखिलमोहेऽधीशता यत्र रूढा
प्रकटितपरप्रेम्णा यो महादेवसञ्ज्ञः
अशिथिलपरिरम्भः प्रेमरूपस्य यस्य
प्रणयति हृदि विश्वं व्याजमात्रं विभुत्वम्॥ २॥

वहति विपुलवातः पूर्वसंस्काररूपः
प्रमथति बलवृन्दं घूर्णितेवोर्मिमाला।
प्रचलति खलु युग्मं युष्मदस्मत्प्रतीतम्
अतिविकलितरूपं नौमि चित्तं शिवस्थम्॥ ३॥

जनकजनितभावो वृत्तयः संस्कृताश्च
अगणनबहुरूपो यत्र एको यथार्थः।
शमितविकृतिवाते यत्र नान्तर्बहिश्च
तमहह हरमीडे चित्तवृत्तेर्निरोधम्॥ ४॥

गलिततिमिरमालः शुभ्रतेजःप्रकाशः
धवलकमलशोभः ज्ञानपुञ्जाट्टहासः।
यमिजनहृदिगम्यः निष्कलं ध्यायमानः
प्रणतमवतु मां स मानसो राजहंसः॥ ५॥

दुरितदलनदक्षं दक्षजादत्तदोषं
कलितकलिकलङ्कं कम्रकह्लारकान्तम्।
परहितकरणाय प्राणविच्छेदसूत्कं
नतनयननियुक्तं नीलकण्ठं नमामः॥ ६॥

Translation from Sankrit

May my luminous love fasten firm to Him, to Shiva,
In whom arise visions of glories immeasurable!
May my luminous love cling to Him who is utterly pure, like the sky,
Who is Lord of all, having no lord over Himself!

May my luminous devotion be attached to Him
By whom all delusion is destroyed,
In whom Lordship is forever existent!
May it be attached to Him who, manifesting surpassing Love,
   is named “the Great God.”
The firm embrace of Him—Love Itself—reveals within the heart
The infinity of being, the falseness of the worlds.

I salute Mind which has its support in Shiva,
But has lost its pristine perfection and assumed misshapen forms;
I salute Mind in which all the impresses of the past are blowing
   like a furious tempest,
Stirring up energies violently, like waters lashed into furious waves;
In which flows ceaselessly the dual current of the sense of “I” and “thou.”

I worship Shiva in whom ideas of cause and effect,
Thoughts and impresses and countless varied forms become the Real One.
I worship Him in whom—when the wind of change is calmed—
There is neither within nor without.
I worship Him who is the perfect stillness of the Mind.

He whose thunderous laughter is the flood of Knowledge,
He from whom all darkness is dispersed, who manifests as white radiance,
   who is beautiful as the white lotus;
He who is indivisible, who is sought in meditation;
He who is realized in the heart of men of self-control—
May He, that Lordly Swan of my mind, protect me!
May He protect me, who am bowing before Him!

Him, who destroys sin and removes the dark stain of our age;
Whose benign eyes watch over all who have surrendered to Him;
Who joyously sacrifices Himself for the good of others,
Whose throat is blue from drinking the poison intended for others—
Him, lustrous as the white water lily—
Him I salute!

from The Voice of India, published by the
Vedanta Society of Northern California in the 1940s. (Source: vedantadc.org, Image: vedicstore)

Sri Sarada Devi: Practice meditation

Thus spake Holy Mother:
"Practise meditation, and by and by your mind will be so calm and fixed that you will find it hard to keep away from meditation."
She would say "Japat Siddhi" i.e. regular practice of japa leads to realization. Blessed are those who pray to her and receive her boundless love.

Sri Ramakrishna: The four classes of men

Men may be divided into four classes: those bound by the fetters of the world, the seekers after liberation, the liberated, and the ever-free.

Suppose a net has been cast into a lake to catch fish. Some fish are so clever that they are never caught. They are like the ever-free. But most of the fish are entangled in the net. Some of them try to free themselves from it; they are like those who seek liberation. But not all the fish that struggle succeed. A very few do jump out of the net, making a big splash in the water. Then the fishermen shout, ‘Look! There goes a big one!’ But most of the fish caught in the net cannot escape, nor do they make any effort to get out. On the contrary, they burrow into the mud net and all, and lie there quietly, thinking, ‘We need not fear anymore; we are quite safe here.’But the poor things do not know that the fishermen will drag them out with the net. These are like the men bound to the world. “The bound souls are tied to the world by the fetters of lust and greed. They are bound hand and foot. They think that ‘woman’and ‘gold’will make them happy and give them security, they do not realize that it will lead them to annihilation.
- Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

MOTHER'S ADVICE TO THE HOUSEHOLDERS

"Those who belong to a very high plane of existence alone can take to the monastic life and free themselves from all bondages. Again there are some who are born to have a little taste of this worldly life. I say that one should see through worldly enjoyments. …Let X — marry and finish all enjoyments in this life; otherwise there is no knowing when he may fall a victim to some unfulfilled desire. But you may be sure of this, that so long as he remains under the Master's protection he can never slip."

Teachings of Sri Sarada Devi, Chapter VII

The necessity of work for a seeker: Holy Mother

How many are there who can meditate and practice japa all the time? At first they earnestly practice these disciplines, but their brains become heated in the long run by sitting constantly on their prayer rugs. They become very vain. They also suffer from mental worries by reflecting on different things. It is much better to work than to allow the mind to roam at large. For when the mind gets a free scope to wander, it creates much confusion. My Naren (Swami Vivekananda) thought of these things and wisely founded institutions where people would do disinterested work. - Teachings of Sri Sarada Devi, the Holy Mother – Part 2, Vedanta Society of Southern California

Holy Mother: Love God Alone

Always do your duty to others, but love you must give to God alone. Worldly love always brings in its wake untold misery.

If you love any human being you will have to suffer for it. That person is blessed, indeed, who can love God alone. There is no suffering in loving God.
-Sri Sarada Devi

Swamiji on the essence of worship

This is the gist of all worship — to be pure and to do good to others. He who sees Shiva in the poor, in the weak, and in the diseased, really worships Shiva; and if he sees Shiva only in the image, his worship is but preliminary.
The prayees of those that are pure in mind and body will be answered by Shiva, and those that are impure and yet try to teach religion to others will fail in the end.

Ramakrishna's practice of Christianity and Islam

 At a time when the nineteenth century was just seeing the rise of “comparative study of religions” in the modern sense, Ramakrishna ventured into verifying the major religions of the world with the touchstone of experience. He embarked upon experiencing God in and through the paths laid down in the different religions. From now on for more than a decade he was to pass through many a fiery ordeals. He had earlier realized Rama as an incarnation of God. Now he underwent the difficult Tantric disciplines and realized the Divine Mother; then through the path of knowledge he attained the acme of Vedantic realization, a state in which he remained absorbed for almost six months; then he realized God through the path of Islam, and also vindicated the path of Christianity by having a vision of Jesus and realizing him to be an incarnation of God. He would take up one path, remodel himself according to its needs, and see s end; and then he would take up the next, and so on; one after the other lie experientially researched the different paths to God. Finally, his more- than-a-decade long trailblazing experiential researches in religion made him declare, “As many faiths, so many paths.” He pronounced. (Western Disciples of Sri Ramakrishna)

Saranaagathi: Surrender to the Divine -by Swami Sivananda

I came across a good website on Hindu religion and philosophy. http://saranaagathi.wordpress.com is the treasure trove of message of the great spiritual masters. It provides the life and teachings of the saints and sages of india. There is a section on Bhagwad Gita and Vishnu Sahasranama, and Govinda Damodara Strotam. A great resource for the spiritual seekeers. This brillant article by Swami Sivananda lucidly explains the concept of Surrender or Saranaagati in the context of the Shastras. 

Saranaagathi means “Surrender Unto the Lord”. Surrender is also called as “आत्मनिवेदन or AtmaNivedana” is the highest form of Bhakti or Devotion, where the Self is surrendered to God in entirety. This Surrender is the culmination of the sadhana of Bhakti and Jnana.

Saranaagathi in its true sense is the ultimate aim of all branches of yoga – Karma, Jnana and Bhakti. In Saranaagathi, the devotee is just like a small child, barely months old, which surrenders itself completely and exclusively to the mother’s care, because the child is innately assured of mother’s caring for it. The child does not depend on its self even for a small work. The devotee also becomes completely child-like, entrusting everything into the hands of God.

In most of our day-to-day lives and actions, we have very little “ Saranaagathi” to the Divine. We act as independent beings, and perform all actions of grown-up adults, with the feeling that we have enough mental and physical capabilities to take care of ourselves. But, there is also a “Surrender” that we do here, but in the reverse direction. We surrender to the world around us. We surrender to our temptations, to our sensual pleasures, relationships, emotions, what to speak of big things, even to the smallest thing like “taste buds”, we surrender ourselves. We bend our inner nature for the outer-world. We take the first step towards “Saranaagathi”, in one Swamiji’s words, only when we bend the outer to the inner.

Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad-Gita Himself gives the gist of Saranaagathi or self-surrender in “Moksha Sannyasa Yoga or The Yoga of Liberation by Renunciation”. (Chapter – 18, Sloka: 66).

सर्व धर्मान्परित्यज्य मामेकं शरणं व्रज ।

अहं त्वा सर्वपापेभ्यो मोक्षयिष्यामि मा शुचः ।।

“Abandoning all duties, take refuge in Me alone; I will liberate thee from all sins. Grieve not.”

With the inspiration of our Revered Gurudev Sri Swami Sivananda Maharaj, we have named this effort of ours on the internet as “Saranaagathi – Surrender to the Divine”. We pray to God and Gurudev to bless us with his Grace in our journey towards “Saranaagathi”.

“Work ceaselessly for the Lord but surrender the fruits of all actions to the Lord. Take the Lord as your sole refuge. Live for Him. Work for Him. Serve Him in all forms. Think of Him only. Meditate on Him alone. See Him everywhere. Worship Him in your heart. Consecrate your life, all your action, feelings and thoughts to the Lord. You will rest in Him. You will attain union with Him. You will attain immortal supreme peace and eternal bliss.”

“True and sincere surrender unto the Lord is the essence of Bhakti (God-love). ‘I am Thine, All is Thine. Thy will be done, my Lord’ – This is the best Saranaagathi Mantra or prayer of self-surrender. Seek His will. Do His will. Surrender to His will. You will become one with the cosmic will.”

http://saranaagathi.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/saranaagathi_to_divine.jpg 

Vedic Mantras: आ नो भद्रा: क्रतवो यन्तु विश्वत: का क्या अर्थ है ?

 मानवीय गुणों के संस्कारों से अनुप्राणित जीवन जीने की व्यवस्था संस्कृति कहलाती है । विश्व परिवार ‘वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम्’ की भावना के साथ सब का हित चिन्तन भारतीय संस्कृति का मूल आधार है । इसीलिए वैदिक ऋषि परंब्रह्म से प्रार्थना करते हैं कि हे प्रभु ! हमें सब ओर से कल्याणकारी विचार प्राप्त हों -

आ नो भद्रा: क्रतवो यन्तु विश्वत: |

 हमारे लि‍ए (न:) सभी ओर से (वि‍श्‍वत:) कल्‍याणकारी (भद्रा:) वि‍चार (क्रतव:) आयें (आयन्‍तु).

Let noble thoughts come to us from every side.
- Rig Veda, I-89-i

सर्वमंगल की कामना करते हुए ऋषि कहते हैं -

सर्वेभवन्तु सुखिन: सर्वे सन्तु निरामया: |
सर्वेभद्राणि पश्यन्तु मा कश्चिद् दु:खभाग भवेत् ||

अर्थात् समस्त प्राणि सुख शान्ति से पूर्ण हों, सभी रोग, व्याधि से मुक्त रहें, किसी के भाग में कोई दुख न आए और सभी कल्याण मार्ग का दर्शन व अनुसरण करें ।

Courtesy: http://hp.gov.in

THE SERENITY PRAYER

God,
Grant me the serenity;
To accept the things I cannot change;
The courage, to change the things I can;
And the wisdom, to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
As it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
If I surrender to His Will;
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life
And supremely happy with Him
Forever and ever in the next.

                                        - Reinhold Niebuhr