Does Karma Yoga Apply to YOU? Watch Lord Krishna's Answer by Swami Mukundanand

Does Karma Yoga Apply to YOU? Watch Lord Krishna's Answer by Swami Mukundanand

https://youtu.be/ZQMzaa15yIc

1 the vedas are talking of do your duty, but at the same time keep your mind in God and then Krishna ends the gita “sarva dharman paritaya….”Arjun, just give up all this and just surrender and devote yourself to Me”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQMzaa15yIc&t=3

&  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQMzaa15yIc&t=313 2 so now imagine three clearly distinct levels of instructions in the same one Bhagavad-Gita and the same thing with our scriptures, the more you read the scriptures the more confused you become, I approached them for knowledge and what I got was doubt  so, what should i do Bhagavad-Gita chapter 3 Karma Yoga Verse 17  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQMzaa15yIc&t=27 & https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQMzaa15yIc&t=180 3 “BG 3.17 But those who rejoice in the self, who are illumined and fully satisfied in the self, for them, there is no duty”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQMzaa15yIc&t=80 https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/3/17/ 4 having talked all the while about duty,  duty, duty,   He now comes to this point saying that    those who are illumined for them there   is no duty,   that is what makes philosophy so complex -   if there was one single instruction, we   could universally accept it and   implement it   but our vedas abound in this you are   going in this direction and suddenly   there is a diversion   and then there is another diversion and   another diversion, so the poor traveler   becomes confused   so what should I do     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQMzaa15yIc&t=133 5 well the fact is   the vedas are and the vedic literature   are presenting subtle knowledge,   so that knowledge is subtle it has got   numerous branches to it,   it's like   you can't fit the same shirt to everyone,   similarly the same instruction doesn't   fit everyone,   different shlokas for different folks,   everybody is at a different level of   enlightenment, at a different level of   growth, different level of purification  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQMzaa15yIc&t=173 6 Now if there was one uniform instruction  it would not work for all of them,  there are people  for whom the instruction is, you take the  rosary beads, take the mala  and chant on it the name of God,  that is a valid bona fide instruction  but there are people  who have discarded the mala  and they are chanting with their breath,  with every breath,  well, that is suitable for them  now they find that the mala is an  encumbrance (hindrance) because they wish to take the name of  God always and there is no need to count,  you don't count how many times you take  the name of your beloved,  they want to take it always  that is their stage  and then there are  people who are not taking the name of  God  why because their minds are naturally  absorbed in God,  the name was the means, they have reached  the goal of  absorption in God,  they don't feel the need of it  so there are all different categories of  people, now you try to fit everybody in  one instruction it is not possible,  so the vedas they recognize  this variety  and they cater to it,  that is the beauty of it   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQMzaa15yIc&t=215 7 here theory    does not result in understanding,    a realization is needed,    so approach a guru who has realized this    knowledge,    and through him you will be able to    clarify all these doubts    and get a true understanding , when the theory is clarified, the practical will be easy and if there is doubt in the theory, you will be confused at the time of the practical  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQMzaa15yIc&t=229 8 now here shri Krishna is the guru of  Arjuna  because arjuna has surrendered to him so  although He is God, He is now in His  divine leela as guru and He is  enlightening Arjun,  so having spoken throughout this chapter  about duties  he now  turns the topic and says Arjun, those who  are enlightened, have no duties,  why not,  because  they are now directly performing the  higher duty,  there is one karma,  the actions,  and there is the other – devotion,  so they have got hold of bhakti (devotion),  now that duty is immaterial to them as  they are discharging a higher duty   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQMzaa15yIc&t=469 9 these worldly duties like I said were  meant for our gradual elevation,  they have reached that point,  they have passed through the university  of the world,  like you have a university,  for the students in the university  it is obligatory for them to follow the  rules of the university,   if they don't have sufficient attendance  they will not be allowed to take the  Exam,  they must attend the classes. they must  submit their homeworks because they are  students,  now somebody who has passed the university  Now, that person if the professor says I  don't see you in college ?,  what is this  Mr Professor, tell these things to your  Students, don't tell them to me  as I'm already a graduate,  this university is not applicable and  relevant to me any longer   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQMzaa15yIc&t=528 10 similarly the vedas are meant for us   conditioned souls,   to help us get enlightened,   they are not for the enlightened souls,   the vedas are saying the enlightened   soul places his feet on the head of the   vedas and walks,   so the rules of the vedas are not   applicable to the God realized souls,   you can't ask the God realized saints that   this is the code of conduct in the world,   why are you not following it ?   the God realized says I am not of   this world,   I am directly with God.   God himself is not obliged to follow   dharma,   we people   we get confused   shri Krishna   why did he steal butter   Himself, He has instructed in the   bhagavad-gita   you must not steal anything   and Himself He goes to the house of   gopis to steal butter, He has no respect   for the rules, what kind of God is He ?   the rules are not for Him   the rules are for us   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQMzaa15yIc&t=596 11 even in the world, it is the same there   are a set of rules for the children, they   are not applicable to the adults,   the father says beta it's your exam   Tomorrow, sit and study I and mummy will   watch the television,   the child says, papa, what is this you? say   something and do something else, you are   watching the television and making me   Study, I will also sit and do exactly   what you are doing,   the father says my child   at your stage, this is your duty   when you grow up and you have a job   then you can also sit comfortably and   watch the movie   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQMzaa15yIc&t=685 12 you can't copy what i am doing,   now if we eliminate all these classes   and say well you know we should all do   the same thing,   that is incorrect,   rules of the vedas   were created for us for our purification,   once the soul is with God,   the vedas return   that soul who has attained God   is now   “Krit” (कृत),    “Krit” (कृत) is   work that is done & “krity” (कृत्य) is to do, so he   has already done what he had to do   because he has attained what he had to   Attain,   so   now those shastras which were saying this   is right & this is wrong, that this is vidhi (विधि- “what to do”)   this is nished (निषेद- “what NOT to do”), they (vedas) all return saying that he has   gone beyond our territory,   he has now gone to God https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQMzaa15yIc&t=728 13 just like you know, a pandit ji,   he gets a boy and a girl married,   so he says alright now hold the hands,   now recite the mantras,   throw water like this,   circle around the fire, the ceremony is   over, he says i declare you husband and   Wife, i am now going   his work is finished,   let's say after five years, the wife says   you know pandit ji, all those   vows you made my husband took, he's not   following them,   now whether you both follow or don't follow   that is your concern,   my job is complete,   my job was to unite you as husband wife   after that, it is your lookout   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQMzaa15yIc&t=809 14 similarly the vedas are like that   pandit ji,   the soul is to be united with God,   once that is done,   the vedas say now our work is over now   don't call us back   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQMzaa15yIc&t=894 15 so Krishna makes it very clear,   Arjuna i have told you all these   duties, now don't apply them   But Guruji you know you are telling us   to do this and you are not doing the same thing,   guruji is at a different level   because whatever he is doing, he is doing   for the welfare of the souls,   so that is why shri Krishna says Arjun,   those souls   who have got enlightened,   for them,   there is no duty   but then this creates the confusion that   what is Arjun supposed to do   because shri Krishna gave one   instruction then He gave the other,   so for Arjun what is the appropriate   path now should he accept his duty or   reject it ?   ultimately Arjun you know he may pretend   to be in ignorance but he's actually God   realized so Arjun can say well in that   case I have no duty so i don't have to   fight this war,   so shri Krishna is going to resolve this   in the coming verses in a very beautiful   and convincing manner   so we will look into that  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQMzaa15yIc&t=867 Transcript Intro 0:03 the vedas are talking of do your duty 0:06 do your duty but at the same time keep 0:10 your mind in God and then He ends the 0:13 gita “sarva dharman paritaya….” 0:20 Arjun, just give up all this and just surrender and devote yourself 0:24 to me 0:25 you don't need to consider any of this 0:27 so now i imagine three clearly distinct 0:31 levels of instructions in the same one Bhagavad-Gita 0:35 and the same thing with our scriptures 0:47 the more you read the scriptures the 0:49 more confused you become i approached 0:52 them for knowledge and what i got was 0:55 doubt 0:57 if there was one single instruction we 1:00 could universally accept it and 1:03 implement it but our vedas abound in 1:06 this you're going in this direction and 1:08 suddenly there's a diversion and then 1:10 there is another diversion and another 1:12 diversion so the poor traveler becomes 1:14 confused 1:16 so what should i do 1:20 bhagavad-gita chapter 3 karma yoga Verse 17 1:24 verse chanting is followed by 1:25 translation and commentary by swami 1:28 mukundananda 1:34 yes Bhagavad Gita Chapter 3 Verse 17 Chanting 1:51 me 1:55 “BG 3.17 But those who rejoice in the self, who are illumined and fully satisfied in the self, for them, there is no duty”. Bhagavad Gita Chapter 3 Verse 17 Translation by Swami Mukundananda 2:13 having talked all the while about duty 2:16 duty duty 2:18 he now comes to this point saying that  Does Karma Yog apply to you? Lord Krishna answers 2:21 those who are illumined for them there 2:23 is no duty 2:26 that is what makes philosophy so complex 2:30 if there was one single instruction we 2:34 could universally accept it and 2:36 implement it 2:38 but our vedas abound in this you are 2:41 going in this direction and suddenly 2:43 there is a diversion 2:44 and then there is another diversion and 2:46 another diversion so the poor traveler 2:49 becomes confused 2:50 so what should i do 2:53 well the fact is 2:54 the vedas are and the vedic literature 2:57 are presenting subtle knowledge 3:01 so that knowledge is subtle it has got 3:04 numerous branches to it 3:09 it's like 3:10 you can't fit the same shirt to everyone 3:15 similarly the same instruction doesn't 3:18 fit everyone 3:21 different shlokas for different folks 3:26 everybody is at a different level of 3:28 enlightenment at a different level of 3:32 growth different level of purification 3:35 Now if there was one uniform instruction 3:39 it would not work for all of them 3:43 there are people 3:44 for whom the instruction is you take the 3:47 rosary beads take the mala 3:50 and chant on it the name of God 3:55 that is a valid bona fide instruction 3:59 but there are people 4:01 who have discarded the mala 4:04 and they are chanting with their breath 4:07 with every breath 4:09 well that is suitable for them 4:14 now they find that the mala is an 4:16 encumbrance 4:19 because they wish to take the name of 4:21 God always and there is no need to count 4:24 you don't count how many times you take 4:26 the name of your beloved 4:32 they want to take it always 4:35 that is their stage and then there are 4:37 people who are not taking the name of 4:39 God 4:40 why because their minds are naturally 4:43 absorbed in God 4:45 the name was the means they have reached 4:48 the goal of 4:48 absorption in God 4:50 they don't feel the need of it 4:52 so there are all different categories of 4:55 people now you try to fit everybody in 4:57 one instruction it is not possible 5:02 so the vedas they recognize 5:06 this variety 5:08 and they cater to it 5:10 that is the beauty of it 5:13 so if the whole philosophy is so aligned 5:17 you have the varnasrama system the vedas 5:21 are talking of do your duty that's it 5:25 and then the bhagavad-gita also shri 5:27 Krishna starts with that but then he 5:29 moves to karma yoga 5:32 do your duty 5:34 but at the same time keep your mind in 5:37 God 5:39 and then he ends the gita and karma 5:41 sannyas 5:48 “sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam sharanam vraja aham-tvam sarva-papebhyo mokshayishyami ma shuchah” Arjun, give up all 5:50 this and just surrender and devote 5:54 yourself to me 5:57 you don't need to consider any of these 6:00 so now i imagine 6:01 three clearly distinct levels of 6:05 instruction the same one bhagavad-gita 6:09 and the same thing with our scriptures 6:12 so that is why 6:14 it is said that these scriptures 6:18 must be understood with the help of a 6:21 guru 6:25 if we try from our part we will 6:28 naturally become confused 6:40 the more you read the scriptures the 6:42 more confused you become i approached 6:45 them for knowledge and what i got was 6:48 doubt 6:49 here theory 6:51 does not result in understanding 6:56 a realization is needed 6:59 so approach a guru who has realized this 7:03 knowledge 7:05 and through him you will be able to 7:08 clarify all these doubts 7:11 and get a true understanding 7:14 and move on this process in a proper 7:19 manner 7:20 when the theory is clarified the 7:24 practical will be easy 7:27 and if there is doubt in the theory 7:31 you will be confused at the time of the 7:33 practical 7:35 so 7:36 it is important to clarify this 7:39 that is why the vedas tell us 7:43 you use the scriptures 7:45 and understand them through the guru 7:49 now here shri Krishna is the guru of 7:51 arjuna 7:53 because arjuna has surrendered to him so 7:55 although he is God he is now in his 7:58 divine leela as guru and he is 8:01 enlightening Arjun 8:02 so having spoken throughout this chapter 8:06 about duties 8:09 he now 8:10 turns the topic and says arjun those who 8:13 are enlightened have no duties 8:17 why not 8:19 because 8:20 they are now directly performing the 8:23 higher duty 8:26 there is one karma 8:28 the actions 8:30 and there is the other devotion 8:34 so they have got hold of bhakti devotion 8:39 now that duty is immaterial to them 8:43 they are discharging a higher duty 8:48 these worldly duties like i said were 8:51 meant for our gradual elevation 8:55 they have reached that point 8:58 they have passed through the university 9:01 of the world 9:03 like you have a university 9:06 now the students in the university 9:09 it is obligatory for them to follow the 9:12 rules of the university 9:15 if they don't have sufficient attendance 9:18 they will not be allowed to take the 9:20 exam 9:23 they must attend the classes they must 9:25 submit their homeworks because they are 9:27 students 9:29 now somebody has passed the university 9:33 now that person if the professor says i 9:37 don't see you in college 9:39 what is this 9:41 mr professor tell these things to your 9:44 students don't tell them to me 9:46 i'm already a graduate 9:49 this university is not applicable and 9:52 relevant to me any longer 9:56 similarly the vedas are meant for us 10:00 conditioned souls 10:02 to help us get enlightened 10:04 they are not for the enlightened souls 10:07 verse 10:10 the vedas are saying the enlightened 10:13 soul places his feet on the head of the 10:17 vedas and walks 10:19 so the rules of the vedas are not 10:22 applicable to the God realized souls 10:26 you can't ask the God realized saints 10:28 this is the code of conduct in the world 10:32 why are you not following it 10:36 the God realized says i am not of 10:38 this world 10:40 i am directly with God 10:44 God himself is not obliged to follow 10:47 dharma 10:50 we people 10:51 we get confused 10:53 shri Krishna 10:55 why did he steal butter 10:58 himself he has instructed in the 11:00 bhagavad-gita 11:02 verse 11:08 you must not steal anything 11:11 and himself he goes to the house of 11:13 gopis to steal butter he has no respect 11:17 for the rules what kind of God is he 11:21 the rules are not for him 11:23 the rules are for us 11:25 even in the world it is the same there 11:27 are a set of rules for the children they 11:30 are not applicable to the adults 11:33 the father says beta it's your exam 11:36 tomorrow sit and study i and mummy will 11:39 watch the television 11:43 the child says papa what is this you say 11:46 something and do something you are 11:47 watching the television and making me 11:49 study i will also sit and do exactly 11:52 what you are doing 11:54 the father says my child 11:56 at your stage this is your duty 12:00 when you grow up and you have a job 12:03 then you can also sit comfortably and 12:06 watch the movie 12:08 but you can't copy what i am doing 12:13 now if we eliminate all these classes 12:16 and say well you know we should all do 12:17 the same thing 12:19 that is incorrect 12:22 rules of the vedas 12:24 were created for us for our purification 12:29 once the soul is with God 12:33 the vedas return 12:36 verse 12:53 that soul who has attained God 12:57 is now 13:00 “Krit” (कृत)  13:01 “Krit” (कृत) is 13:02 work that is done “krity” (कृत्य) is to do, so he 13:06 has already done what he had to do 13:09 because he has attained what he had to 13:12 attain 13:13 so 13:16 now those shastras which were saying this 13:18 is right this is wrong this is vidhi (विधि- “what to do”) 13:20 this is nished (निषेद- “what NOT to do”), they (vedas) all return he has 13:23 gone beyond our territory 13:26 he has now gone to God 13:29 just like you know a pandit ji 13:32 he gets a boy and a girl married 13:35 so he says alright now hold the hands 13:38 all right now recite the mantras 13:41 throw water like this 13:43 circle around the fire the ceremony is 13:46 over he says i declare you husband and 13:48 wife i am now going 13:50 his work is finished 13:52 let's say after five years the wife says 13:54 you know pandit ji all those 13:56 vows you made my husband take he's not 13:59 following them 14:02 now whether you both follow don't follow 14:04 that is your concern 14:06 my job is complete 14:09 my job was to unite you as husband wife 14:12 after that it is your lookout 14:14 similarly the vedas are like that 14:16 pandit ji 14:18 the soul is to be united with God 14:22 once that is done 14:24 the vedas say now our work is over now 14:27 don't call us back  14:30 so shri Krishna makes it very clear 14:32 arjuna i have told you all these 14:35 duties now don't apply them 14:38 guruji you know you are telling us 14:40 to do this and you are not doing it 14:43 guruji is at a different level 14:46 because whatever he is doing is doing 14:48 for the welfare of the souls 14:52 so that is why shri Krishna says arjun 14:56 those souls 14:58 who have got enlightened 15:00 for them 15:01 there is no duty 15:05 but then this creates the confusion that 15:07 what is arjun supposed to do 15:11 because shri Krishna gave one 15:12 instruction then he gave the other 15:14 so for arjun what is the appropriate 15:17 path now should he accept his duty or 15:19 reject it 15:20 ultimately arjun you know he may pretend 15:23 to be in ignorance but he's actually God 15:25 realized so arjun can say well in that 15:27 case i have no duty so i don't have to 15:30 fight this war 15:32 so shri Krishna is going to resolve this 15:34 in the coming verses in a very beautiful 15:37 and convincing manner 15:39 so we will look into that but not today 15:42 tomorrow Standby link (in case youtube link does not work): Does Karma Yoga Apply to YOU Watch Lord Krishna's Answer Swami Mukundananda Bhagavad Gita.mp4

What Did This Ancient Sage WARN Us About? Are You Making the SAME Mistake? by Swami Mukundanand

What Did This Ancient Sage WARN Us About? Are You Making the SAME Mistake? by Swami Mukundanand

*Must learn about these 4 happiness chemicals produced in our bodies* https://youtu.be/SUrivVeneRE Main points: 1 there are four chemicals  identified with  happiness, these are called the DOSE  chemicals,  dopamine,  oxytocin, serotonin and  endorphin - let us understand and these  will give us an idea of the varieties of  Happiness  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUrivVeneRE&t=6 2 so let's start off with  endorphin, endorphine basically means  morphine which is a pain killer  that is given to mask pain, so for example if you are having a terrible pain somewhere the doctor will  inject morphine to mask it - in exercise (or injuries), the pain signals are masks by the Endorphin, also those who exercise regularly, experience withdrawal symptoms if they skip exercise one day due to endorphin missing   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUrivVeneRE&t=34 3 the second chemical is oxytocin,  oxytocin is the social bonding  Chemical, in social  interactions it gets secreted making you  feel good about it, that is why man is a  social animal because the oxytocin  is making you so, making you  enjoy interpersonal interactions, for example  when a mother hugs her little baby  there's such a flow of oxytocin making  her feel so good about it  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUrivVeneRE&t=146 4 now the third one Dopamine  this is the deluding Chemical, earlier people thought it is  responsible for happiness, in fact if  somebody's brain is not secreting  dopamine that becomes the primary cause  for depression, the dopamine creates the  Desires, only problem is dopamine gives  an anticipation of  happiness but never a  Fulfillment, so we human beings we create  desires because of dopamine  It promises, dopamine does two things it  gives you a promise, if you get that  object of your senses the ice cream cake  and you can bring your tongue in touch  with it and enjoy the taste, oh it is so  much of happiness and if you don't get  the ice cream cake then you are in  Tension, so dopamine also creates tension https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUrivVeneRE&t=194 5 all this marketing environment, the social media etc, it is just kicking the dopamine in the head, pressurizing you to take it  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUrivVeneRE&t=303 6 there is the story of Saubhari Rishi, who was fooled by dopamine, a false promise of seeing happiness in the world - the blunder was realized by Rishi after thousands of years - listen to the happening - after this realization, Rishi warned all humankind not to be fooled this way by dopamine chemical but we still continue to be fooled by this illusion of maya which is temporary & we do not turn to God who is our eternal friend & father https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUrivVeneRE&t=338 7 Dopamine fools us to make all the wrong decisions whether it comes to eating the healthy food versus that you know chocolate chip ice cream, whether it comes to exercising or becoming a couch potato and watching Netflix etc.,  it's all this dopamine that is responsible https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUrivVeneRE&t=570 8 the fourth  one is Serotonin, it is the chemical that gives you good feeling, while dopamine thrills but doesn't fulfill, Serotonin calms the Neurons, makes you feel good about yourself, Serotonin could be produced in a few ways, one of them is laughter, brain doesn't care whether you fake the laughter or not   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUrivVeneRE&t=593 9 intuitively we all realize we need to be  better, there's a program God has written  in our soul, which informs us that I have  still not become as I need to  become, I have yet not done what I need  to do, I am yet not feeling as I need to  feel, our soul is pushing us forward, you  need to improve  yourself, when we strive to  improve, we feel good about  ourselves that leads to the secretion of  Serotonin    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUrivVeneRE&t=705 Transcript D.O.S.E Chemicals 0:00 how does our brain cooperate in our 0:04 experience of 0:06 happiness that there are four chemicals 0:10 identified with 0:13 happiness these are called the DOSE 0:17 chemicals 0:19 dopamine 0:21 oxytocin serotonin and 0:25 endorphin let us understand and these 0:29 will give us an idea of the varieties of 0:34 Happiness so let's start off with 0:39 endorphins endorphine basically means 0:44 endorphine morphine is a pain killer 0:47 that is given to mask 0:51 pain so for example if you are having a 0:54 terrible pain somewhere the doctor will 0:56 inject morphine to mask it! 1:00 an endorphine means 1:02 internally produced 1:05 morphine its function is to mask the 1:08 pain you experience in physical 1:13 exercise so when you engage in physical 1:16 exercise the muscles they convey 1:19 pain signals, the body tissues etc the 1:22 bodily parts the joints they all convey 1:25 pain signals but the Endorphin masks it 1:30 and that's why people continue to 1:32 exercise in fact they enjoy the 1:36 exercise there's a thing called the 1:38 runners 1:40 high 1:42 Runners they get the Endorphin kick it 1:46 makes them feel 1:48 euphoric because of this happiness 1:51 chemical that is getting secreted that 1:54 is leading to the runner's 1:58 high and 2:00 the day they are not able to run or 2:02 exercise they experience withdrawal 2:06 symptoms those who are regular in their 2:09 Exercise, if one day that get missed out 2:12 they feel really bad about it incomplete 2:16 why they did not get the Endorphin kick 2:18 on that day so it's a withdrawal symptom 2:20 like a drug addict this is the chemical 2:24 called 2:26 endorphin and the second chemical is oxytocin 2:33 oxytocin is the social bonding 2:38 chemical in social 2:41 interactions it gets secreted making you 2:45 feel good about it that is why man is a 2:49 social animal because the oxytocin 2:53 is making you so making you 2:56 enjoy interpersonal interactions 3:00 when a mother hugs her little baby 3:03 there's such a flow of oxytocin making 3:07 her feel so good about Dopamine 3:10 it there oxytocin the social bonding 3:14 chemical now the third one Dopamine 3:17 this is the deluding 3:21 chemical earlier on people thought it is 3:25 responsible for happiness in fact if 3:28 somebody's brain is not secreting 3:32 dopamine that becomes the primary cause 3:34 for depression the dopamine creates the 3:38 desires only problem is dopamine gives 3:43 an anticipation of 3:46 happiness but never a 3:50 fulfillment so we human beings we create 3:54 desires because of dopamine 3:58 It promises, dopamine does two things it 4:02 gives you a promise if you get that 4:05 object of your senses the ice cream cake 4:10 and you can bring your tongue in touch 4:13 with it and enjoy the taste oh be so 4:16 much of happiness and if you don't get 4:19 the ice cream cake then you are in 4:23 tension so dopamine creates tension 4:27 unless I get the object of my desire 4:29 I'll suffer a result worse than death 4:33 and if I get it there will be so much of 4:36 happiness the problem is when you get Tension 4:39 the object the desire goes for a 4:43 moment and then again it 4:46 arises so again you have this tension I 4:49 need to get rid of this tension this 4:52 desire is giving me so much of anxiety 4:55 and if I can get that object then I'll 4:57 get my happiness so just going from one 5:00 desire to the next to the next to the 5:03 next and all this marketing environment 5:08 the social media etc it is giving just 5:12 kicking the dopamine in the head until 5:16 people realize oh my God I want this 5:18 stimulation and the next and the next 5:20 and the next and the 5:23 next so now people don't have the 5:25 patience to look at one reel in 5:28 Instagram for more than three 5:32 seconds but this is all the 5:35 dopamine it fools 5:38 us there is the story of Saubhari 5:41 Rishi, Saubhari Rishi was such a great 5:45 sage he used 5:48 to immerse himself in the river yamuna 5:51 and engage in 5:53 samadhi and then one day he saw two fish 5:57 mating and he thought oh my God there 6:00 must be happiness there so he went out 6:04 of his 6:05 samadhi and he said I need to marry he 6:08 went to ayodhya the king of ayodhya was 6:13 Mandhata he entered the palace and Mandhata saw 6:16 this Great Sage welcome 6:20 Maharaj you are blessing us with the 6:23 dust of your feet so Saubhari rishi said 6:27 Rajan give me the hand of one of your 6:30 daughters in 6:32 Marriage, Mandhata had 50 daughters he caught his 6:38 head oh my 6:40 God now whichever daughter I’ll marry to 6:43 this old emaciated (weak) Rishi her life will be 6:48 ruined so Mandhata played a trick he said oh 6:53 so be it let's do it like this I'll 6:58 bring them all in front of you 7:01 whichever selects you, you do varana of 7:04 that daughter I'll give her hand to you 7:08 man's trick was that nobody will select 7:11 This rishi 7:13 but Saubhari understood the trick so he did 7:18 a counter trick he said all right rajan 7:21 not today 7:23 tomorrow in one day by his 7:26 yogic prowess and the power of His 7:30 austerities he made himself extremely 7:34 handsome what to talk of Mr Universe Mr 7:36 world and he came there, Mandhata brought the 7:40 50 daughters all of them 7:42 selected Saubhari, father this is the one I was 7:45 looking for this marriage is made in 7:48 heaven so Mandhata had to give all his 7:52 daughters he had given his word now his 7:55 worry is compounded how will he stay 7:57 with 50 of them so the story is in the 8:02 Srimad Bhagavatam, Saubhari rishi’s yogic abilities did not end 8:07 there he created 50 bodies for himself 8:12 and he manifested 50 palaces so that he 8:16 stayed in each palace with each 8:19 queen but the plot 8:22 thickens now, from each queen he had 10 8:27 children and those 10 children had 8:30 further 10 8:32 children ,now the Bhagavatam says thousands of 8:35 years went 8:37 by and one day Saubhari started doing some 8:43 contemplation self analysis, atma nirikshan 8:47 and he said where was I, I used to sit 8:53 in the river yamuna in 8:56 samadhi and this dopamine mean really fooled 8:59 me 9:00 there is going to be happiness there I 9:03 chased it and chased it and chased it 9:07 never found any 9:09 fulfillment so he conveyed a message to 9:13 human beings he said oh humankind 9:18 look what happened to me what ability 9:22 do you have to enjoy the world I tried 9:26 with yog bal but found no satiation 9:30 Dopamine fools us to make all the wrong 9:34 decisions whether it comes to eating the 9:37 healthy food versus that you know 9:40 chocolate chip ice cream whether it 9:43 comes to 9:44 exercising or becoming a couch potato 9:47 and watching Netflix etc it's all this 9:50 dopamine that is 9:53 responsible now the fourth 9:57 one this is  10:02 Serotonin is the chemical that gives you 10:07 good 10:08 feeling while dopamine thrills but 10:12 doesn't fulfill Serotonin calms the 10:16 neurons makes you feel good about 10:20 yourself Serotonin could be produced in a 10:24 few ways one of them is 10:26 laughter when you laugh the brain secretes 10:30 Serotonin you feel 10:33 good, that is why in any yogic 10:38 regimen laughter is an essential part 10:42 but the interesting thing is for the 10:44 production of Serotonin if you can't make it 10:47 you can fake 10:48 it means the brain doesn't care whether 10:52 you fake the laughter you actually did 10:54 it the laughter will make you feel good 10:56 let's try it out you will laugh with all 10:59 our might lifting our hands along with me so you got everybody is feeling good 11:27 right so Serotonin in the brain makes you 11:30 feel good it's also good for your health Serotonin 11:34 serotonin gets secreted when you feel 11:38 good about 11:41 yourself how do you feel good 11:45 intuitively we all 11:47 realize we need to be 11:50 better there's a program God has written 11:54 in our soul which informs us I have 11:57 still not become as I need to 12:01 become I have yet not done what I need 12:05 to 12:07 do I am yet not feeling as I need to 12:11 feel our soul is pushing us forward you 12:15 need to improve 12:18 yourself when we strive to 12:22 improve we feel good about 12:24 ourselves that leads to the secretion of 12:28 Serotonin  12:31 it's not 12:33 even how good you are but the Delta (small increment / progress) that 12:38 you are trying for you are here you're 12:40 trying to get there you here you're 12:42 trying to get there because it's an 12:45 incremental growth so as long as you're 12:48 trying your best the serotonin will get 12:51 secreted Standby link (in case youtube link does not work): What Did This Ancient Sage WARN Us About Are You Making the SAME Mistake #swamimukundananda.mp4

#1 thing You should Ask God For - 99% make this mistake by Swami Mukundanand

#1 thing You should Ask God For - 99% make this mistake by Swami Mukundanand

https://youtu.be/RsxiWXE-nvU Main Points: 1 people in the west sometimes ask me this question that swamiji there is so much of bhakti in India in some form or the other, spirituality is being practiced in every household practically, somebody is worshiping mother Durga, somebody is worshiping Laddu Gopal, somebody has got a shaligram and so on, then why is it that corruption is not getting eliminated from India, why is it that this bhakti is not cleansing the hearts and minds of the people  https://youtu.be/RsxiWXE-nvU&t=3 & https://youtu.be/RsxiWXE-nvU&t=409 2 when we ask God for material boons,  we are behaving like a child in the  jewellery shop,  put a child in a shop that is full of  jewels displayed everywhere but place a  chocolate in front of her  and then ask her beti take what you  want,  do you think the child will pick the  jewels ? absolutely not, for she has no  idea about their value ! Rrather her experience of happiness is  limited to the pleasure she has derived  from chocolates in the past  https://youtu.be/RsxiWXE-nvU&t=58 3 likewise in the spiritual realm we are  like little children,  our experience over endless lifetimes  has been of material pleasures, we have  no idea what is the Brahma-anand and the  Divya-anand and Param-anand in the realm of  God, so when we approach the Lord we ask  Him for those broken pieces of glass  the soul has come to the ocean of nectar  and is asking for a cup of poison,  how foolish  https://youtu.be/RsxiWXE-nvU&t=104 4 we need to understand there are  three kinds of affection,  the first is lust, the second is business,  and the third is love.  Lust is that relationship where the goal  is to take take,  what can I get ? my happiness is my  singular objective  2. Business is that that which is  characterized by give & take, give & take  and 3. Love involves give give give, where  the goal is the happiness of the Beloved  https://youtu.be/RsxiWXE-nvU&t=164 5 Do not do business with the Lord, the  concept of give and take comes very  naturally to us, we do it in the world  and when we engage in devotion we do the  same,  God, if you get my daughter married I will  donate a golden ring at the temple,   O Lord Venkatesh I will feed 100  Brahmanas, if you improve my health,  however this is not true bhakti, it is  tantamount to trading with God because  the intention remains what will I get in  Return,  this is why it is not true love it is  Business,  if we wish to  grow our loving devotion let's make  nishkam bhakti as the goal, in that bhakti  you don't think what God will do for me,  rather you think what can I do for the Lord  https://youtu.be/RsxiWXE-nvU&t=215 6 when we engage in such a selfless  attitude we never lose out because the  Lord is already a selfless Lover, He  showers His graces upon us,  as the saying goes  those who go to the Lord to get something,  actually  lose out as a consequence BUT those who go  to give to God, are the ones who are the  Gainers, in fact our scriptures say God  feels indebted for their nishkam bhakti  and offers Himself in service to such  devotees  The Srimad Bhagavatam statement, God says I get bound by the  Selfless Love of my devotees  https://youtu.be/RsxiWXE-nvU&t=292 7 there is another big problem here and  that our mind does not get  purified because the mind is still stuck  in material desires, if you go to  Hanumanji's mandir for 40 days with this manoti, oh Hanuman ji may my child become  all right  are you doing bhakti of Hanuman or of your  child, it is bhakti of your child, care of  Hanuman because the mind is attached to  the child  https://youtu.be/RsxiWXE-nvU&t=369 8 In continuation to Sr 1 above,  the reason is what seems to be bhakti of the Lord is actually bhakti of worldly desires, if you go to God for the fulfillment of worldly desires, your mind is not going towards the Lord and hence not getting purified https://youtu.be/RsxiWXE-nvU&t=447 9 the story of two neighbors who were envious / jealous of each other, so much so that they prayed to Shiva & got the boon from Shiva that let me become blind - listen https://youtu.be/RsxiWXE-nvU&t=469 10 Bhakti means “upasna”, to go and sit close to the Lord,   how will you go close ? by taking your   mind there and that requires freeing   your mind from material desires, if we   wish to avoid the kind of foolishness   that Ramdutt and Vishnudutt (story at Sr 9 above) did, we   must say,   my Lord, even if I ask you for material   boons, please don't fulfill them for I   don't know what is right for me, I have   been in ignorance since endless   Lifetimes, You are my benevolent   Benefactor, my well wisher and full of   knowledge and compassion, my Lord You   please decide what is best and You   bestow that boon upon me  https://youtu.be/RsxiWXE-nvU&t=775 Transcript Introduction 0:00 [Music] 0:03 people in the west sometimes ask me this 0:06 question that swamiji there is so much 0:09 of bhakti in India in some form or the 0:12 other 0:14 spirituality is being practiced in every 0:17 household practically 0:19 somebody is worshiping mother Durga 0:22 somebody is worshiping Laddu Gopal 0:24 somebody has got a shaligram and so on 0:26 then why is it that corruption is not 0:30 getting eliminated from India 0:33 why is it that this bhakti is not 0:37 cleansing the hearts and minds of the 0:41 People 0:58 when we ask God for material boons 1:02 we are behaving like a child in the 1:05 jewellery shop 1:07 put a child in a shop that is full of 1:11 jewels displayed everywhere but place a 1:15 chocolate in front of her 1:18 and then ask her beti take what you 1:22 want 1:23 do you think the child will pick the 1:25 jewels absolutely not for she has no 1:30 idea about their value 1:32 rather her experience of happiness is 1:37 limited to the pleasure she has derived 1:40 from chocolates in the past 1:44 likewise in the spiritual realm we are 1:48 like little children 1:51 our experience over endless lifetimes 1:54 has been of material pleasures we have 1:59 no idea what is the brahma-anand and the 2:04 Divya-anand and param-anand in the realm of 2:07 God so when we approach the Lord we ask 2:12 him for those broken pieces of glass 2:32 the soul has come to the ocean of nectar 2:37 and is asking for a cup of poison 2:41 how foolish 2:44 out here we need to understand there are 2:48 three kinds of affection 2:51 the first is lust the second is business 2:57 and the third is love 3:00 lust is that relationship where the goal 3:05 is to take take 3:08 what can I get my happiness is my 3:12 singular objective 3:15 business is that that which is 3:17 characterized by give & take, give & take 3:22 and love involves give give give where 3:27 the goal is the happiness of the Beloved 3:31 let's learn about it from the golden 3:33 Rules book Give and Take 3:35 do not do business with the Lord, the 3:40 concept of give and take comes very 3:43 naturally to us we do it in the world 3:47 and when we engage in devotion we do the 3:51 same 3:54 if you get my daughter married I will 3:57 donate a golden ring at the temple 4:00 O Lord venkatesh I will feed 100 4:05 brahmanas if you improve my health Trading with God 4:08 however this is not true bhakti it is 4:13 tantamount to trading with God because 4:18 the intention remains what will I get in 4:23 return 4:24 this is why it is not true love it is 4:28 business 4:30 if we wish to 4:32 grow our loving devotion let's make 4:36 nishkam bhakti as the goal, in that bhakti 4:41 you don't think what God will do for me 4:46 rather you think what can I do for the *Selfless attitude* 4:51 Lord 4:52 when we engage in such a selfless 4:56 attitude we never lose out because the 5:00 Lord is already a selfless Lover he 5:03 showers his graces upon us 5:06 as the saying goes 5:15 those who go to the Lord to get something,  actually 5:19 lose out as a consequence those who go 5:23 to give to God are the ones who are the 5:27 gainers in fact our scriptures say God 5:31 feels indebted for their nishkam bhakti 5:35 and offers himself in service to such 5:40 devotees 5:49 The Srimad Bhagavatam statement, God says I get bound by the 5:53 Selfless Love of my devotees! now instead 5:59 of that if we go with the formula oh God 6:02 please do this for me oh Lord I need 6:06 this work to be done *Material desires* 6:09 there is another big problem here and 6:13 what is that our mind does not get 6:17 purified because the mind is still stuck 6:21 in material desires if you go to 6:25 hanumanji's mandir for 40 days with this 6:29 manoti oh Hanuman ji may my child become 6:33 all right 6:35 are you doing bhakti of Hanuman or of your 6:38 Child, it is bhakti of your child, care of 6:43 Hanuman because the mind is attached to 6:47 the child! *Spirituality* 6:49 people in the west sometimes ask me this 6:52 question that swamiji there is so much 6:54 of bhakti in India in some form or the 6:58 other 7:00 spirituality is being practiced in every 7:03 household practically 7:05 somebody is worshiping mother Durga 7:07 somebody is worshiping Laddu Gopal 7:09 somebody has got a shaligram and so on 7:12 then why is it that corruption is not 7:16 getting eliminated from India 7:19 why is it that this bhakti is not 7:23 cleansing the hearts and minds of the 7:27 people the reason is what seems to be 7:31 bhakti of the Lord is actually bhakti of 7:34 worldly desires if you go to God for the 7:39 fulfillment of worldly desires your mind 7:42 is not going towards the Lord and hence 7:47 not getting purified *Story* 7:49 there's the story of two neighbors 7:52 Ramdutt and Vishnudutt who developed 7:55 envious feelings towards each other a 7:59 competition began Ramdutt went on a 8:02 cruise to Alaska and posted the pictures 8:04 on his Facebook profile Vishnudutt also went 8:07 for a trip to Hawaii and posted his 8:10 pictures Ramdutt got a Mercedes Vishnudutt 8:13 got a Tesla that competition became 8:17 so stiff they developed deep bitterness 8:20 for each other 8:21 one day Ramdutt decided the only way to 8:25 go ahead of Vishnudutt would be to get 8:28 a boon from bhagavan Shiv early in the 8:32 morning at 5 00 am he reached the 8:34 Shivalay in that locality he offered his 8:38 pranams to the shivling and sat down 8:40 under a tree and began chanting the 8:43 names om namah shivaya however sometimes 8:48 evil minds think alike that very day 8:51 Vishnudutt had the same inspiration and 8:55 at ten past five he too reached the same 8:57 shivalay he offered his pranams to the 9:00 shivling and sat down under another tree 9:03 in the courtyard however he heard the 9:07 sound om namah shivaya coming in a jiffy 9:10 he understood what his neighbor was 9:12 doing he decided let's see who is able 9:16 to appease 9:19 first he began chanting om namah shivaya 9:25 as the time went by around seven 9:29 o'clock 9:30 darshanarthi started arriving by nine 9:33 o'clock the darshanarthis the temple ! 9:35 were pouring in and they all witnessed 9:38 these two people 9:40 completely absorbed in chanting the 9:43 names of lordship 9:45 they thought two mahatmas have 9:48 manifested in our neighborhood with 9:51 great reverence they would go and do 9:52 pranam 9:54 moved by their apparent devotion they 9:57 would offer flowers and some even place 10:00 dakshina there it was now evening time 10:04 Parvati asked Lord shiv Maharaja those 10:08 two are taking your name incessantly 10:11 since morning please go and give them 10:13 darshan 10:15 lordship said Parvati I will but they 10:18 will not benefit nevertheless on her 10:21 request he first stood before Ramdutt and 10:25 said beta I have come ask what you want 10:28 Ramdutt  opened his eyes at darshan of 10:32 lordship he was thrilled and said 10:36 Maharaj I do wish to ask but I have a 10:39 question before asking can you please 10:42 tell me have you yet given darshan to 10:44 Vishnudutt that 10:46 lordship said not as yet but I will do 10:49 so after speaking to you 10:53 Ramdutt was then in a dilemma 10:57 he said oh my God what should I ask now 11:01 if I say give me a five bedroom house he 11:06 will say give me a 10 bedroom house if I 11:09 say give me one billion dollars he will 11:11 ask for two billion dollars 11:14 so Ramdutt  had a sudden brain wave he 11:17 said my Lord upon meeting Vishnudutt  that 11:20 whatever you give to him give me double 11:22 of that Lordship Maharaj 11:24 Bhole Baba Shankar ji said “Tathastu”  11:28 after that lordship went before Vishnudutt 11:32 and said beta I have come open your 11:34 eyes 11:35 Vishnudutt, he beheld the Lord in front 11:39 of him offered pranam 11:43 lordship said beta you have been 11:45 engaging in the chanting of my name what 11:48 do you want 11:50 Vishnudutt that said Maharaj I will 11:52 definitely ask for a boon but first 11:54 please tell me what have you given to 11:56 Ramdutt  11:58 lordship said whatever you get he should 12:01 get double 12:03 Vishnudutt that saw the futility of his 12:06 exercise now because at the end of it he 12:09 would still remain at 50 percent no 12:11 matter what he asked 12:13 but he too suddenly got an inspired 12:16 brain wave and said there's only one way 12:18 to move ahead Maharaj please make me 12:21 blind in one eye 12:23 Lord Shiv again said “Tathastu” 12:28 Vishnudutt became kana “he lost one eye) and Ramdutt  12:32 became andha completely (totally blind) and the 12:36 devotees of the locality who were 12:38 thinking two mahatma's have manifested 12:40 realized they were not mahatmas at all 12:44 they seemed to be engaging in devotion 12:47 but the mind was elsewhere placed 12:55 Bhakti means “upasna”, to go and sit close to the Lord *My Lord* 12:59 how will you go close ? by taking your 13:03 mind there and that requires freeing 13:07 your mind from material desires if we 13:11 wish to avoid the kind of foolishness 13:13 that Ramdutt and Vishnudutt did we 13:17 must say 13:25 my Lord even if I ask you for material 13:29 boons please don't fulfill them for I 13:32 don't know what is right for me I have 13:35 been in ignorance since endless 13:36 lifetimes you are my benevolent 13:40 benefactor my well Wisher and full of 13:45 knowledge and compassion my Lord you 13:48 please decide what is best and you 13:51 bestow that Boon upon me !so somebody may 13:56 ask here is it wrong to ask for bhakti, 13:59 for Gyan, for vairagya ? not really once you 14:02 decide I wish to love the Lord and my 14:05 goal is to serve him 14:08 for that service if you ask for bhakti 14:12 it is still selfless intention 14:16 so pray God give me devotion so I may 14:21 serve you, bless me with Divine knowledge 14:25 so I may offer it in your loving service 14:28 help me get detached 14:31 so I may do 14:33 Bhakti for Your pleasure in this way ask for 14:39 divine gifts with which you may serve 14:43 your lord 14:53 thank you

Standby link (in case youtube link does not work) #1 thing You should Ask God For - 99% make this mistake Swami Mukundananda.mp4

To Love HIM or To Not Love HIM - The surest way to reach God | Swami Mukundananda

To Love HIM or To Not Love HIM - The surest way to reach God - by Swami Mukundanand

Main Points:

1 gyani says there is only one entity Brahman and nothing else, that this world doesn't exist, it's all an illusion, you yourself are God https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ex9yfGdNsNY&t=0 2 shankaracharya realized this problem, he says one must always (1) respect The Vedas, (2) must always respect the guru and (3) must always respect his material mother, is saying these three personalities even the sannyasi must respect  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ex9yfGdNsNY&t=90 3 so if the guru is there and we are there, we are already in “dvait” (,i.e., not one, but two)  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ex9yfGdNsNY&t=154

(reference on “dvait” (द्वैत, i.e., not one, but two): He is the supreme eternal. He is the supreme living entity. So the whole yoga system is to concentrate mind on the Supreme Self. We are not Supreme Self. That you can understand. Supreme Self is God. This is dvaita-vada. Duality. Duality means God is different from me. He is supreme. I am subordinate. He is great, I am small. He is infinite, I am infinitesimal. This is the relationship. https://vanipedia.org/wiki/Prabhupada_0656_-_Those_Who_Are_Devotees,_They_Have_No_Hate_for_Anyone

4 

Gyan yog sadhana has its limitations, through gyan yog sadhna, the gyani comes to know the self, however that gyani is still not liberated, gyani at his peak, has destroyed swarupa varika (like) Maya, he has not destroyed guna varika Maya https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ex9yfGdNsNY&t=167 5 Lord Krishna says in the Bhagavad-Gita: Arjun this Maya will not go by gyan yoga, whatever you do it will only go by My grace https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ex9yfGdNsNY&t=199 6 so if a Gyani's Guru is a brahmagyani not an atmagyani, that Guru will say, yes beta now surrender to Shri Krishna, “Aham Brahmasmi” ("I am Brahman") - this will not take you any further https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ex9yfGdNsNY&t=239 7 so the gyani at the very end, also surrenders to God  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ex9yfGdNsNY&t=293 8 Tulsidas ji he says in the Ramayan, this Maya is not mithya, it's not an illusion, it is a Shakti of God so you may keep on saying “jagat mithya”, but your work will not be done, only when Ram ji (God) does His grace will you get liberated  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ex9yfGdNsNY&t=370 9 the way to reach God is through bhakti, although there are so many paths, each path requires the addition of bhakti https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ex9yfGdNsNY&t=409 10 That yog is kuyog (bad yog) which doesn't have bhakti in it and then gyan is agyan which is not imbued with love for God  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ex9yfGdNsNY&t=540 11 somebody can say if bhakti is essential, then why are all the other paths there https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ex9yfGdNsNY&t=557 12 the reason is everybody's sanskars are different, based on sanskars many people are not able to develop faith in bhakti, bhakti is the easiest, what is the difficulty, it is lack of faith https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ex9yfGdNsNY&t=591 13 I just need to love God and I will attain him - people cannot believe that how can it be so simple to attain God - so they unnecessarily look for cumbersome methods - listen to examples https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ex9yfGdNsNY&t=617 14 God does not need us to sleep on a bed of thorns, He is ocean of grace and mercy, He says (first have faith in Me) close your eyes and run,but some lamppost or tree may come in the middle, Shri Krishna says don't worry I will maintain the yoga kshem ( https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/9/22/) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ex9yfGdNsNY&t=762 15 although bhakti is so easy because people don't have faith in it that is why all these other paths are there but the day you develop faith in the grace of God, your bhakti path is clear https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ex9yfGdNsNY&t=792 16 so Jagatguru Ramanujacharya said:  three kinds of people approach God : (1) the first are those for whom God is the  means and the world is the goal ,i.e., such people say katha “सुख संपत्ति घर आवे , कष्ट मिटे तन का”  such people never attain God  (2) the second are  those for whom the world is the means and God is the goal,  by this yagya, I will attain him by this kind of practice, I will attain him, in  other words, by my practice I will attain him so they also don't attain him and for the  (3) third God is the means and God is  the goal, their whole faith is in the grace of God how will I attain Him ? by His grace,  it doesn't mean I just sit down doing nothing but I will put in my best effort to attract  His grace but I know always that my effort is  finite and unless His grace comes, I will  never consummate (complete) this journey so that faith in the grace of God  helps us develop Nishtha (faith) towards bhakti https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ex9yfGdNsNY&t=815  17 that nishta (faith) in God is very important - like digging of wells example (listen) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ex9yfGdNsNY&t=929 18 what we have been doing in endless lifetimes, is a little bit of this and a little bit of that... (hence we are still not God realized) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ex9yfGdNsNY&t=970 19 those who give up material desires and engage in Devotion to God, will cross over the ocean of birth and death https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ex9yfGdNsNY&t=1064 20 Take the bow (धनुष) of vedas / upanishads and put on it the arrow of bhakti and let the edge of it be भाव (sentiments), with this, now you go to hunt for the Supreme Divine entity, in other words use scriptural knowledge to do bhakti https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ex9yfGdNsNY&t=1131  21 there is one Bhagwad Gita which Lord Krishna spoke to Arjun and there is Udhav Gita which Lord Krishna spoke to Udhav (best & closest friend of Krishna since childhood), Udhav was a renounced paramahans https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ex9yfGdNsNY&t=1158 22 look it is only through bhakti that I am  Known,  He says look Arjun, God is everywhere but  by bhakti alone and no other means now (I am known), when He says by bhakti alone that  should become good enough but Shri Krishna knows that these worldly souls will still do तर्क वितर्क कुतर्क   so He says by no other means (other than bhakti)    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ex9yfGdNsNY&t=1186  23 without engaging in Bhakti you will not cross over this ocean of life and death, this is an irrevocable Divine principle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ex9yfGdNsNY&t=1297 24 when Jesus was asked “you gave us so many instructions,tell us what is your most important   instruction, so he said the first and foremost   commandment is to love the Lord, thy God with all thy heart and all thy might and   all thy soul that is the most important commandment  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ex9yfGdNsNY&t=1331  25 Veda Vyas, he wrote the Mahabharata which has the Gita embedded in it, he wrote the 18 puranas, he wrote the vedanta darshan and after all this he started thinking what is the conclusion of all these scriptures, to read all the scriptures you need a lifespan of 500 years,who can live till the 500 years https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ex9yfGdNsNY&t=1427 26 So Ved Vyas ji thought that let me encapsulate it and give it to all the people, it is interesting to know How Ganesh ji helped him write these shastras  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ex9yfGdNsNY&t=1479 27 in the 18 puranas, there are 4,00,000 verses & out of these there are 8,000 koot (difficult) shlokas, such verses which are so intricate that even Ganesh ji had to think, however look at the ability of Veda Vyas he doesn't even need to think, he just goes on speaking to Ganeshji https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ex9yfGdNsNY&t=1640 28 in the Padma puran Shri Ved Vyas ji is saying, our   Lord, I have churned all the scriptures and   contemplated over them again and again   they are all telling us that we need to love God and attach our   mind in loving absorption upon God & that   is the conclusion of the scriptures  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ex9yfGdNsNY&t=1663 29 Kabir ji's famous words “पोथी पोथी पड़ जग मुआ, पंडित भया न कोय, ढाई अक्षर प्रेम के  पढ़े सो पंडित होय”      he says reading the pothies (granths), the whole world passed away,   nobody actually became a Pandit but   these two and a half syllables of प्रेम Prem (Love) the one who understood and   made it practical is the true Pandit, the Bible & the Quran Sharif also support same point  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ex9yfGdNsNY&t=1708 Transcript 0:00 so the gyani the advice now remember advaith is not the only 0:07 interpretation of vedant advice 0:13 he says there is only one entity Brahman 0:19 and nothing else 0:29 so there's only one entity Brahman then what is this world 0:35 the gyani says it doesn't exist it's all an illusion 0:40 but then if there is one entity then there is God and there is me so we are 0:46 Two, the gyani says you are under confusion you yourself are God 0:53 so there is only Brahman and nothing else and you are Brahman 1:01 however if there is only Brahman and nothing else 1:06 then what are The Vedas from which you are getting Gyan of Brahman 1:14 because if you accept The Vedas then there is Vedas and there is Brahman so 1:19 there are two and if you say that The Vedas are mithya 1:24 then how can you get knowledge of Brahman from the mithya Vedas 1:30 shankaracharya realized this problem in his philosophy so he said before brahmagyan Vedas are 1:38 Satya and after brahmagyan Vedas are mithya 1:43 when we all know something that is Satya is always Satya 1:49 and second who is the guru then if there is only one entity then who is 1:55 the guru shankaracharya himself is admitting 2:11 he says as long as you live even this vedanti sannyasi must always 2:19 respect The Vedas must always respect the guru and must always respect his 2:27 material mother, is saying these three personalities even 2:34 the sannyasi must respect so if the guru is there and we are there 2:40 we are already in “dvait” (द्वैत) (,i.e., not one, but two) now we came to this point that (reference on “dvait” (द्वैत, i.e., not one, but two): He is the supreme eternal. He is the supreme living entity. So the whole yoga system is to concentrate mind on the Supreme Self. We are not Supreme Self. That you can understand. Supreme Self is God. This is dvaita-vada. Duality. Duality means God is different from me. He is supreme. I am subordinate. He is great, I am small. He is infinite, I am infinitesimal. This is the relationship. https://vanipedia.org/wiki/Prabhupada_0656_-_Those_Who_Are_Devotees,_They_Have_No_Hate_for_Anyone 2:47 through Gyan yog sadhana it's a genuine sadhana I am not saying it's wrong I'm 2:53 only giving its limitations, through gyan yog sadhna, the gyani comes to know the self 3:03 however that gyani is still not liberated 3:10 he has destroyed swarupa varika (like) Maya, he has not destroyed guna varika Maya 3:19 for guna varika Maya Lord Krishna says in the bhagavad-gita 3:32 Arjun this Maya will not go by gyan yoga whatever you do it will only go by 3:41 my grace, so the gyani in samadhi realizes 3:47 I have reached the last stage of this sadhana 3:53 and Maya is still there now what to do 3:59 so the manduk upanishad has got an interesting mantra 4:04 it says the mukt will have to get mukt 4:12 in other words he was thinking I will be mukt but he is not mukt 4:18 now he will have to get truly liberated by grace of God 4:24 so if his Guru is a brahmagyani not an atmagyani 4:31 that Guru will say yes beta now surrender to Shri Krishna 4:38 surrender but guruji you are saying just keep on repeating “Aham Brahmasmi” 4:45 Beta, this will not take you any further now you need the grace of God and for that 4:53 Grace you will have to surrender so the gyani also at the very end 5:01 surrenders to God hence I was telling you in the morning the bhagwan Gita says “verse” 5:16 this is the end stage of Gyan marg and what is the last one fourth line of 5:25 that verse  5:30 now he's doing bhakti and through bhakti, next verse, now he comes to 5:38 know God so Kripalu ji Maharaja is saying that look when that gyani does 5:47 Krishna bhakti by God's grace he gets 5:52 Brahma Gyan and in the path of yog we already 5:57 discussed patanjali has himself said it “samadhi 6:02 siddhari ishwar pranidhanat” that for siddhi you will have to surrender 6:10 and tulsidas ji he says in the ramayan, verse 6:23 he says this Maya is not mithya, it's not an illusion 6:32 it is a Shakti of God so you may keep on saying “jagat mithya” 6:39 Your work will not be done, verse 6:49 Only when Ramji does His grace will you get liberated from Maya so the gyani has to 6:57 do bhakti to complete the path, the ashtang yogi has to do bhakti to 7:03 complete the path and the bhakt doesn't need any other sadhana, verse,   7:20 in other words the way to reach God is 7:26 through bhakti although there are so many paths 7:33 each path requires the addition of bhakti 7:38 just like there is the mythical Amrit, Amrit is the Divine ambrosia 7:47 you drink it and you become immortal so if you like you take Amrit by itself 7:57 or if you like you mix it in water and take it you will still become immortal 8:03 or if you like you mix it in milk and take it you will still become immortal 8:10 but what is making you immortal is not the water or the milk it is Amrit  8:18 similarly bhakti you can mix with Gyan and it becomes full-fledged Gyan yog 8:27 or bhakti you can mix with ashtang and it takes you to the goal or else you do 8:34 bhakti by itself but if you remove bhakti then what happens 8:41 Yoga, kuyog -  tulsidas is getting so annoyed he says verse 9:00 That yog is kuyog which doesn't have bhakti in it and then gyan is agyan which is not imbued with 9:08 love for God in other words bhakti is essential for 9:17 reaching God now this somebody can say if bhakti is 9:24 essential then why are all the other paths there 9:30 why is this complex part of gyan yog you go so high and then from there you do 9:38 bhakti and ashtang yoga why is this part so difficult why are all these paths created 9:45 why did God not just present the path of bhakti everybody do this 9:51 the reason is everybody's sanskars are different 9:58 based on sanskars many people are not able to develop 10:04 faith in bhakti, bhakti is easy 10:10 the easiest, what is the difficulty lack of faith 10:17 I just need to love God and I will attain him ah how can it be so simple 10:24 no no no no no no I'll tell you you leave your house and live in a cave in 10:29 the Himalayas and don't sleep on a bed you have to 10:35 sleep on a bed of thorns and you are not allowed to wear clothes otherwise everything will be wrong 10:42 and you should only eat dry leaves and for two hours every day you do 10:48 shirshasan you hang from the roof of your cave and you will meet God 10:53 ah this must be a wonderful sadhana , in other words if it's something is simple 11:01 we don't realize the value of it if it is complicated we think it must be very 11:08 special now if somebody says how do you do pranayama and I say you know you just do 11:15 the nasagra mudra and you do your pranayama so simple swamiji doesn't know anything 11:22 all right I tell you you take your left hand and you put it behind the back and 11:29 three fingers should be visible not the fourth otherwise it will be all useless and your right hand you take it over the 11:37 head and it must not cross the chin otherwise it will all be useless and now you do it 11:43 ah this must be a special pranayama right 11:50 see similarly somebody says how do you attain God 11:56 say love him and you attain him really ah, this is a bogus sadhna 12:01 love him and you attain him ?  12:08 Ok you do khand yoga I've read it in a book khand-yog means your meditation you have to split 12:16 your body into half and then you take out a lamp from there 12:22 and you offer that lamp to God and you will attain him, if God requires us to do those kinds 12:30 of things then he is not God he is a madman 12:36 if he is actually God why does he need us to cover ourselves with ashes why 12:42 does he need us to sleep on a bed of thorns God says 12:47 that 12:53 He is ocean of grace and mercy he says close your eyes and run 13:00 close the eyes and run but some lamppost or tree may come in the middle 13:06 Shri Krishna says don't worry I will maintain the yoga kshem  you just come 13:12 towards me in other words although bhakti is so 13:18 easy because people don't have faith in it that is why all these other paths are 13:25 there but the day you develop faith in the grace of God 13:35 Now your bhakti path is clear, so Jagatguru Ramanujacharya said 13:41 three kinds of people approach God the first are those for whom God is the 13:49 means and the world is the goal 13:55 God is the means and the goal is सुख संपत्ति घर आवे , कष्ट मिटे तन का  14:07 so if God is the means and the goal is the world that is first category of 14:13 people they never attain God the second 14:19 those For Whom the world is the means and God is the goal 14:25 by this yagya I will attain him by this kind of practice I will attain him in 14:32 other words by my practice I will attain him 14:38 so they also don't attain him and for the third God is the means and God is 14:45 the goal their whole faith is in the grace of God how will I attain him by his grace 14:53 it doesn't mean I just sit down doing nothing I will put in my best effort to attract 15:02 his grace but my I know always that my effort is 15:08 finite and unless his grace comes I will 15:13 never consummate this journey so that faith in the grace of God 15:23 helps us develop Nishtha (faith) towards bhakti 15:29 and that nishta (faith) is very important you see people dig a hundred Wells 15:39 you dig in one place three feet water did not come out dig in the second place 15:45 two feet it's a bed rock out here water is not coming you dig in a third place 15:51 dig three feet four feet five feet you've dug a hundred Wells and water has 15:57 not come out anywhere and if you can make a firm resolve and 16:02 keep on digging in one proper place that water will definitely come 16:10 so what did we do in endless lifetimes a little bit of this and a little bit of 16:17 that swamiji I have been doing satsang for 16:22 the last 30 years how did you do satsang, every swamiji and 16:29 panditji ji who came to Dallas I went to listen to all of them 16:36 so then you must have got complete Clarity on how to attain God 16:42 what Clarity swamiji I am totally confused because one said that you yourself are 16:49 God the second one said that you do Homa (havan, yagya) and you will attain God and the 16:54 third one said that you attain nirvikalp (free from difference or doubt) samadhi and you will attain God and then I did a little of this a little of that 17:00 a little of this a little of that little I forgot little I remembered wrongly and little I made a khichdi of it all 17:08 so this is the example of digging a hundred Wells so through the scriptures once and for 17:16 all understand and fill it in every pore of your body how will you attain God 17:25 what do The Vedas say everybody understands what is upasana verse 17:44 those who give up material desires and engage in 17:51 Devotion to God will cross over the ocean of birth and death 17:57 and the shweta upanishad states yes 18:11 those who consider God and Guru as non-different and engage in their 18:18 devotion they shall get liberated from Maya 18:25 verse 18:51 Take bow of vedas / upnishads and put on it the arrow of bhakti and let the edge of it be भाव (sentiments) 18:58 Sentiments, with this now you go to hunt for the Supreme Divine entity 19:05 in other words use scriptural knowledge to do bhakti 19:11 and the bhagavatam says Udhav Gita 19:18 there is one bhagwan Gita which Lord Krishna spoke to Arjun and there is 19:31 Udhav Gita which Lord Krishna spoke to Udhav (best & closest friend of Krishna since childhood) so Udhav was a renounced paramahans 19:39 he is speaking to that renounced paramahans and he says 19:46 look it is only through bhakti that I am 19:52 known as 20:05 he says look Arjun God is everywhere but 20:12 by bhakti alone and no other means now (I am known) when he says by bhakti alone that 20:19 should become good enough but Shri Krishna knows that these worldly Souls will still do तर्क वितर्क कुतर्क  20:27 so he says by no other means (other than bhakti) now come to the ramayan 20:40 tulsidas he says come over to that Riverside 20:46 and they have an oil mill there is it a special oil mill yes they are 20:54 churning the river sand and extracting oil impossible how can oil come from Sand 21:02 then he says come over to my house I will give you butter 21:07 is it a special butter yes we churn the water and extract butter 21:14 again you will say impossible how can you get butter out of water 21:20 he says this impossible may become possible 21:37 but without engaging in Bhajan you will not cross over this ocean of life and 21:44 death this is an irrevocable  21:51 and irrevocable Divine principle so from The Vedas till 21:58 the ramayan every scripture has given us the same bhakti 22:05 and this bhakti is what the religions of the world talked about 22:11 when Jesus was asked you gave us so many instructions tell us what is your most important 22:18 instruction we cannot keep so many in our head so he said the first and foremost 22:24 commandment is to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and all thy might and 22:30 all thy soul that is the most important commandment what to love God 22:38 is it so difficult to understand you are supposed to love God is it so 22:45 difficult what is the problem why can people not understand that you're supposed to love 22:51 God Shri Krishna says in the bhagavad-gita Veda is 23:03 he says Arjun by All The Vedas I am to be known 23:09 I am the creator of The Vedas I am the true knower of The Vedas and I 23:17 am the object of Vedic knowledge so what is the goal of all the Vedas to 23:24 know God now you can keep on doing your Kundalini jagran if you don't have faith 23:30 in God all right something is better than nothing but the day you have faith in God there 23:35 is no need of that you just do radhe radhe and keep trying to improve your 23:41 bhakti that is why you know this 23:47 story our panditji related a little while ago but just because it's topical 23:52 I will repeat it Veda Vyas he wrote the Mahabharata which has the 24:00 Gita embedded in it he wrote the 18 puranas 24:06 he wrote the vedanta darshan and after all this he started thinking 24:12 what is the conclusion of all these scriptures I have written so many scriptures what 24:19 is the conclusion of all these scriptures so to read all the scriptures you need a 24:25 lifespan of 500 years now who can live till the 500 years 24:32 dementia strikes by the age of 90 itself so even if we live we won't be able to read the scriptures the way it was 24:39 So Ved Vyas ji thought that let me encapsulate it and give it to them verse  24:51 I have churned all the scriptures and contemplated over them again and again 24:59 now I imagine if Ved Vyas starts contemplating what will be the consequence of that 25:07 because when he had to write the Mahabharata he did not need any contemplation 25:14 he said look I am not going to take a quill and write this 25:19 I will only keep speaking somebody needs to keep writing 25:25 who will write a scripture which has a hundred thousand verses 25:30 the people readied Ganesh ji is, The Giver of buddhi  25:39 Ganesh accepted he said I am prepared and I present myself you 25:46 keep speaking I will keep writing but 25:52 I have a condition you will not stop anywhere in between if 25:59 you do I'll put my quill down and I'll not pick it up again 26:05 and that was a challenge and with Ved Vyas felt a little doubtful 26:11 about himself I just keep speaking in case I need to think a little bit he'll 26:17 put the quill down and the scripture will become incomplete 26:23 Ved Vyas said all right Ganesh ji you have given me your condition 26:28 now I hear my condition I will continue speaking and you will 26:34 keep writing but whatever you write you will first understand the meaning of the 26:40 verse and only then will you put it down now he got some respite so he would 26:48 speak and Ganesh ji would understand right away and put it down, again would 26:53 speak Ganesh he would put it down but wherever Ved vyas needed a little break 27:00 he would compose a difficult verse so Ganesh ji would now start pondering 27:07 what does that mean and Ved Vyas would get respite he would go and do his 27:13 nityakarama his morning abolutions and take a little snack and return 27:20 that is why in the 18 puranas the 4,00,000 verses there are 8,000 koot (difficult) shlokas   27:30 such verses which are so intricate that even Ganesh ji had to think 27:36 however look at the ability of Veda vyas he doesn't need to think he just goes on 27:43 and on speaking that way that we are here in the Padma puran he's saying our 27:50 Lord I have churned all the scriptures and 27:58 contemplated over them again and again 28:07 they are all telling us that we need to love God and attach our 28:16 mind in loving absorption upon God that 28:22 is the conclusion of the scriptures and that is what all the saints said as! 28:28 well hence Kabir ji's famous words “पोथी पोथी पड़ जग मुआ, पंडित भया न कोय, ढाई अक्षर प्रेम के  पढ़े सो पंडित होय”    28:38 he says reading the pothies (granths) the whole world passed away 28:45 nobody actually became a Pandit 28:55 and these two and a half syllables of Love Prem the one who understood and 29:02 made it practical is the true Pandit, who is the true pandit, who has learned 29:11 love for God although Veda said it, the Bible said it, and the Quran Sharif 29:18 it ends out here,  verse 29:36 Allah has made you so that you love and 29:45 worship him one who does so is called insan and one who doesn't do that is 29:51 called shaitan so  30:01 your primary duty is to develop love for God and Guru nanak says a verse 30:25 there is no scripture like Gita, there is no personality like the guru and there is 30:32 no path like the path of divine love so how will you attain God 30:41 how will you attain God bhakti I thought we were all say in 30:47 unison how will we attain God that's right now the confusion of many 30:53 parts is all dispelled now we are firmly situated so he is 31:00 going to further elaborate on this path of bhakti we will see in the subsequent 31:06 verses

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To Love HIM or To Not Love HIM - The surest way to reach God Swami Mukundananda.mp4