The EASIEST & MOST POWERFUL Way to RECEIVE GOD's GRACE by Swami Mukundanand ji
https://youtu.be/3KixNXibg7A
Main Points:
1
God is Deenanath the friend & savior of the destitutes
https://youtu.be/3KixNXibg7A&t=0
2
There are three pathways to God realization
https://youtu.be/3KixNXibg7A&t=35
3
karma refers to karma kand the rituals but it practically impossible to follow in Kaliyuga
https://youtu.be/3KixNXibg7A&t=60
4
second is the path of Gyan, this path is even more difficult
https://youtu.be/3KixNXibg7A&t=184
5
The path of bhakti is a simple path & the Best as declared by God Himself
https://youtu.be/3KixNXibg7A&t=302
6
why Bhakti it is easy to say it is simple but difficult to do it, Bharath (brother of Rama) example
https://youtu.be/3KixNXibg7A&t=349
7
if some find bhakti also difficult, there a fourth path of humbleness (humility) because God is deenanath, the friend & savior of the destitutes
https://youtu.be/3KixNXibg7A&t=450
8
why has God not bestowed His grace on us destitutes/ fallen souls since ages immemorial ?
https://youtu.be/3KixNXibg7A&t=484
9
Because of the two reasons 1. we have never considered ourselves as fallen & 2. we have never considered God as the savior of the fallen
https://youtu.be/3KixNXibg7A&t=531
10
in the Narad Bhakti Darshan, Narad ji says God hates one thing Pride, and loves another thing Humility
https://youtu.be/3KixNXibg7A&t=568
11
the day pride goes out from our hearts, God realization will be ours, Saint Kabir says “जब मैं था हरि नहीं, अब हरि हैं मैं नहीं“ (मैं is the sense of self), it is our pride that blocks God’s grace to us
https://youtu.be/3KixNXibg7A&t=673
12
the pride makes us think i am this body i am the mind i am the intellect
https://youtu.be/3KixNXibg7A&t=1019
13
1.first of all recognize that your pride is your enemy and 2. realize that I wish to get rid of it because only then I will be a recipient of God's grace, 3. replace pride by practicing humbleness (humility)
https://youtu.be/3KixNXibg7A&t=1441
14
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (avtar of Krishna & Radha combined, 500 years ago) made this the basis of his philosophy,
He said that consider yourself more insignificant than a blade of grass
trnad api su-nicena
taror iva sahisnuna
amanina mana-dena
kirtaniyah sada harih
trnat api — than downtrodden grass; su-nicena — being lower; taroh — than a tree; iva — like; sahisnuna — with tolerance; amanina — without being puffed up by false pride; mana-dena — giving respect to all; kirtaniyah — to be chanted; sada — always; harih — the holy name of the Lord.
TRANSLATION
“ *One who thinks himself lower than the grass, who is more tolerant than a tree, and who does not expect personal honor yet is always prepared to give all respect to others can very easily always chant the holy name of the Lord*.”
https://vanisource.org/wiki/CC_Adi_17.31
https://youtu.be/3KixNXibg7A&t=1607
15
Humility actually is not the fourth path to God BUT it is the third part only ,i.e., the basis of bhakti itself
https://youtu.be/3KixNXibg7A&t=1670
Full Transcript
0:00
God is Deenanath the savior of the destitutes
0:07
He says I am adham uddharanhar Kripaluji maharaj asked a question
0:14
he said when God is Deenanath
0:20
and we souls are in maya since endless lifetimes we are fallen
0:28
then why has God not bestowed that grace upon us
0:35
the pathways to God realization
0:45
are described as three in the scriptures
0:50
one is karma the second is gyan and the third is bhakti
1:00
karma refers to karma kand the rituals
1:07
these rituals described in the scriptures are so complex
1:13
they are practically impossible to follow in this age of kali
1:34
the scriptures state that any karma kand requires
1:40
six upakarana six items to be fulfilled the place
1:47
should be perfect that time should be perfect
1:54
mantra recitation should be perfect the material used should be perfect the
2:00
person getting it done should have the proper intention and so also the person
2:06
doing it the vedas are saying
2:11
in this kalyug karma dharma is practically impossible
2:16
to follow in the age of Dvapar when Dashrath ji maharaja wanted to
2:24
do putreshti yagya there was only one brahman in the whole
2:31
planet earth who was familiar with its procedures so Vasisht ji did not do it
2:39
he asked Shringy rishi to come
2:54
so the path of karma or the path of rituals is extremely complex
3:04
the second is the path of gyan this path
3:10
is even more difficult
3:22
to walk on the path of gyan is like walking on the edge of a sword
3:31
what will happen when you walk on the edge of a sword you lift one foot and the other gets cut
3:38
lift the other foot and the first gets cut so also is gyan yoga
3:46
because as per gyan yoga this world does not exist
3:53
we are utilizing the world but you are supposed to think it doesn't exist
3:59
if you read the yoga Vashisht that is what it is all about the world is mithya it
4:05
is non-existent in that case the scriptures also don't exist
4:11
and there is no difference between me and guru so it is such a confusing
4:18
perspective for an ordinary mortal
4:23
it is klesh prad that is what lord Krishna told Arjuna
4:31
Arjun this path of stopping your mind from thinking
4:37
of meditating on the formless light is klesh prad for one who is embodied
4:44
you are embodied you have a body and you want to meditate on the lord
4:50
without any body of His, it is very difficult Arjun
4:56
it's not impossible but full of challenges
5:02
and the path of bhakti is a simple path
5:07
in this path of bhakti you want to sing you sing the glories of god
5:13
you want to dance you dance to His keertans you want to read you read about His
5:18
pastimes you want to celebrate festivals celebrate Diwali , Ramnavmi etc so you
5:26
dovetail everything to God that is why it is called easy
5:34
so this easy part is the one for us all
5:40
now what to do if somebody finds bhakti also difficult
5:49
why it's easy to say it
5:54
and difficult to do it why
6:00
because bhakti means to serve
6:12
so when Bharath was walking to go and meet Rama in the forest
6:19
the Ayodhya vasis told Bharath
6:24
why don't you sit on the chariot you are now the yuvaraj of ayodhya the crown
6:32
prince so sit on the chariot and go, Bharath said sit on the chariot
6:41
you know what is my dharma
6:57
It is that where the master's feet have fallen my
7:02
head should fall so Ram walked barefoot out here
7:08
and i sit on a chariot i should walk on my head out here
7:13
how can anybody walk on the head that is why this bhakti is also
7:20
easy to say and difficult to do so what should somebody do
7:30
if they find bhakti also difficult is there a fourth path
7:38
you see the fourth part is humbleness (humility) just become humble
7:45
why because God is deenanath
7:50
the savior of the destitutes He says i am adham udhaaranhar
7:59
the rescuer of the fallen souls
8:04
so in this path all you need to do is to consider yourself as
8:10
fallen to bring actual humbleness
8:15
i am insignificant, Kripaluji maharaja asked a question
8:23
he said when God is
8:28
the friend of the fallen and we souls are in maya since endless
8:36
lifetimes we are fallen then why has God not bestowed that grace
8:44
upon us the answer to this question is twofold
8:51
firstly we have never considered ourselves as fallen
8:59
and secondly we have never considered God as the savior of the fallen
!!9:06
all we need to do is to empty ourselves of pride
9:13
so in this part there is nothing to do become humble
9:18
in the Narad Bhakti Darshan
9:28
God hates one thing
9:35
and loves another thing now Naradji's statement contradicts his
9:41
isht dev lord Krishna's statement because lord Krishna said in the gita
9:47
….sarva bhutah….
9:53
i am equitable towards all
9:59
neither do i have any friends nor i have any enemies
10:05
nor do i put partially love someone nor do i hate someone
10:11
nor am i partial to someone so God is equitable and makes sense
10:19
because He's our father, if you the children ask papa do you love
10:26
me more or do you love my sister more and papa says look beta
10:32
we have five fingers in the hand now we love all five of them isn't it likewise i love all of you
10:40
so our eternal father also says that you are all my children
10:45
so God says i don't have any partiality any hatred
10:52
but Naradji says
11:00
God hates one thing what is that
11:05
the pride in our hearts and he loves another thing
11:13
the humble (humility) spirit see even the bible says
11:20
blessed are those who are poor in spirit
11:25
for they shall inherit the earth all the religious traditions of the
11:32
world have recognized that the biggest enemy of spiritual
11:38
progress is pride this pride
11:45
the day it goes
11:51
God realization will be ours
11:56
saint kabir put it so well he said as long as i had pride in my heart God was
12:02
not there
12:08
जब मैं था हरि नहीं, अब हरि हैं मैं नहीं (मैं is the sense of self)
Kabir sais jab main tha Hari nahin, jab Hari hai main naahi
12:18
now God resides and i don't, “प्रेम गली अति साँकरी, या में द्व ना समाए”
12:30
the street of divine love is very narrow two personalities will not reside in it
12:38
either you keep your lord or you keep your pride
12:44
so what is the problem in receiving grace it is the pride that blocks it
12:53
this pride is there now you ask yourself do i have
12:59
any pride ask yourself what answer do you get
13:06
no swamiji i don't have any special pride but the point is with what did you ask
13:13
yourself with your intellect and the pride is sitting in that
13:19
intellect so the intellect cannot spot its own defect
13:25
the intellect will give you the decision that i have got no pride
13:31
but the scriptures tell us the guru knows that if there was no pride you would
13:38
have become God realized so
13:43
don't ask your intellect ask the scriptures
13:50
once akbar and birbal you know the stories of akbar and birbal
13:56
so akbar was the muhammadan king of delhi at that
14:02
time and he went out on his elephant into the town
14:07
birbal was on the side whereas standing by the wall
14:13
of lal killah was a drunkard he had taken one too many
14:21
he looked at बादशाह Akbar and he said
14:29
hey you will you sell me your elephant now imagine the insolence (rude and disrespectful behavior)of it
14:35
in those days the king had so much of power and this guy
14:41
in an urchin's dress is saying will you sell me your elephant
14:47
akbar boiled over with rage and he said let this man be presented in
14:53
my court now that man's
14:58
intoxication came down he realized he had made a fatal mistake
15:05
the king all he needs to do is to let him be hanged and gone so he went and fell at birbal's feet
15:12
because it was well known that birbal is so wise he said
15:17
oh minister you need to save me now birbal told him there's a little
15:24
trick so the next day he was brought to akbar's court
15:30
akbar said did you ask from me to sell my elephant to you
15:35
he said badshah salamat i said no such thing i have no need for elephants
15:43
and even if i need elephants i don't have money to buy elephants and if i did have money to buy i would
15:49
not buy from you i'd go from the market and buy it
15:54
Akbar said you are speaking reasonably today what happened to you yesterday
16:01
if it was not you then who was it who asked me to sell the elephant
16:07
that person said i know that gentleman and you give me 24 hours time i will
16:13
present him in your court akbar said so be it
16:19
24 hours later that man came with his bottle and he put it in front of akbar
16:27
akbar said what insolence is this he said it was the bottle
16:32
what do you mean i mean at that time i was intoxicated
16:38
so my intellect was inebriated the alcohol had destroyed my intellect
16:47
now when that has gone away i am back to my senses
16:53
akbar laughed and said all right go likewise the pride is sitting in our
16:59
intellect and if we ask ourselves the answer you'll get is yes i'm very humble
17:06
but the fact is it is this pride that is the biggest defect of the
17:13
material realm where does it come from
17:20
it is the first contact point between the soul and maya
17:28
the pride makes us think i am this body i am the mind i am the intellect
17:37
so the pride is making us identify with this false me and false mind
17:47
this pride is the cause of all kinds of conflicts in the world
17:56
there's a book what they don't teach you at harvard business school
18:04
it's a book of street smarts i read it when i was in business school
18:10
what they don't teach you at harvard business school so one statement i liked very much from
18:17
that book it says you know most corporate executives
18:23
are big balls of ego with hands and feet sticking out
18:30
keep this reality in mind but that is a fact
18:35
all of us have this huge ego inside us and the path of spirituality is the
18:46
very reverse so this ego is coming out of
18:54
misidentification this is mine this is mine this is mine
19:00
now one mouse found a hundred dollar bill
19:06
hundred dollars for a mouse that's big money
19:11
so it sat down on the bill the mouse was in the jungle
19:18
an elephant came walking by so elephant did not notice the mouse
19:24
because elephants are huge creatures the mouse was insignificant
19:30
so the elephant very nonchalantly (in a casually calm and relaxed manner) placed its leg over the mouse and walked off
19:38
the mouse looked at the elephant in anger didn't you notice i'm sitting on a
19:44
hundred dollars now you'll say the mouse was crazy
19:50
but all of us are crazy like that whatever little we have we identify with
19:57
this this is mine this is mine that is mine and besides that we identify with our
20:05
titles our positions i am so and so i am like this i am like that
20:10
i am beautiful i am handsome i am intelligent i follow
20:17
i am a swamiji all these identifications
20:25
they are all false identifications once one person went to attend
20:33
the rathyatra so you know lord jagannath when He comes
20:39
to the bordeaux the big street it's a three kilometer (two mile) long
20:45
street extremely wide probably
20:50
30 meters wide or something and then he goes there
20:57
so now of course it's getting covered on television but 30 years ago it there was no live coverage
21:04
so on the day of rathyatra over a million people would fill up the
21:10
street he said what a sight it used to be so they would all see jagannaji from far
21:18
and they're doing dhandavat so prostrate obeisance that is called
21:23
dandavat with all their devotion villagers come from here and there we want to
21:28
participate and from far they lie down flat on the floor
21:34
and one dog happened to walk in front of the rath the chariot
21:41
and the dog saw this guy is doing pranam that guy is doing pranam he said you know i must be something
21:47
they are doing pranam to me that is the pride of the dog
21:54
the dog doesn't realize there is lord jagannath behind
22:00
they are all doing pranam to lord similarly we may think i'm like this i'm
22:08
like that but we don't realize all these qualities are bestowed by someone
22:17
and they can also be snatched away but whatever one may have
22:23
the pride is quick to come
22:41
if somebody is young if somebody is powerful if somebody is rich
22:48
etc it's very difficult not to be
22:53
proud that is why it is said
23:03
at the age of 16 the gadhi the gadhi is the female horse
23:09
the gadhi even she thinks i am an apsara the age is such
23:16
the age is intoxicating one gandharva celestial angel
23:23
came and gave darshan to a lady so you know the vanity (pride) of ladies
23:30
gents have their own vanity ladies have their own vanity so the gandharva said
23:36
ask for a boon as she realized oh she said what should i ask
23:41
so the gandharva prompted should i make you beautiful she slapped him
23:48
you mean i'm not beautiful now you'll laugh but this is the pride
23:55
of all of us in some way or the other
24:01
and this is what we need to target
24:08
so if you remember the yoga sutras maharishi patanjali says
24:14
practice the reverse thinking if you wish if you can first of all
24:21
recognize the pride as the enemy and second
24:27
realize i wish to get rid of it because only then i'll be a recipient of
24:34
grace if you say okay i wish to keep pride and i also wish to keep God
24:39
no hope the gopis made this mistake
24:44
when the maharas started the gopis were at such a high level
24:50
the lord Krishna was dancing with them God is dancing with them imagine what
24:56
privilege but then the gopis made a mistake they were looking at Krishna
25:03
and suddenly they started looking at themselves i must be special that's why he's
25:09
dancing with me and the moment they looked at themselves
25:14
the sight from Krishna, the consciousness shifted
25:22
जब मैं था हरि नहीं, अब हरि हैं मैं नहीं (मैं is the sense of self)
मैं, the pride has come so Shri Krishna disappeared
25:29
so we now have to do the prati paksha bhavanam as maharishi patanjali says
25:37
first of all recognize the devil that pride within you
25:43
second aspire to get rid of it and third
25:50
to replace it by practicing humbleness (humility)
25:56
the moment we think we have pride it is a sure shot indication that we
26:04
have forgotten God see the firefly can be proud at night
26:13
it's very glorious at night you seen fireflies at night, wow
26:18
but when the sun rises can the firefly be proud ? its pride is only in the absence of the
26:25
sun likewise when we forget God we can say oh you know i made a double storied
26:31
house but if you remember God made the whole world and much more
26:37
then what is there to be proud about so replace it with thoughts of humbleness
26:47
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu He made this the basis of his philosophy
26:54
he said that look
27:05
consider yourself more insignificant than a blade of grass
27:11
don't tell others i am more insignificant than a blade of grass that is false humility
27:19
from inside you consider yourself more insignificant than a blade of grass
27:26
and be extremely tolerant don't seek amanina
27:35
don't seek prestige for yourself give all respect to others
27:44
in this state do kirtan all the time
27:50
always chant the glories of God so that critical point
27:59
must be prioritized in our spiritual practice
28:07
and must be the focus as the culprit
28:12
so Kripalu ji maharaj says with humbleness see yourself as fallen and
28:18
then pray to the lord you are the rescuer of the fallen my lord
28:24
now please grace me and this is the fourth path
28:31
actually it is not the fourth path i duped you all
28:36
it is the third part the basis of bhakti itself but just
28:43
To put it as a wake-up call i mentioned it as a fourth but the fact is
28:48
that humbleness (humility) itself is the foundation of all bhakti the radha krishna temple
28:56
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The EASIEST & MOST POWERFUL Way to RECEIVE GOD's GRACE - Bhagavad Gita SwamiMukundananda.mp4