Understanding God's Purpose for Your Life | Swami Mukundananda

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnOBoSXHpbo Main Points:  1 this material energy is the cause of many problems under its influence, we are suffering in this world, everybody is running for happiness but not achieving it and the reason is the material energy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnOBoSXHpbo&t=0 2 Maya is an insentient (incapable of feeling or understanding things; inanimate) energy and yet it is so powerful that the biggest people of knowledge are not able to overcome it, what is the reason for that? God is inspiring Maya, just like this cloth is insentient and yet the hand is inspiring it and the cloth is moving, if the hand gives up that inspiration the cloth is insentient again, in the same way Maya is insentient but by the power of God it starts working https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnOBoSXHpbo&t=29 3 what is the function of Maya? its function is to trouble the souls until they realize that without God I cannot be happy, I need to surrender to God, that is why the Ramayan says "fire may emanate from the ice this impossible may become possible but with back towards God one can never be happy" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnOBoSXHpbo&t=80 4 now everybody realizes that we are not really happy but what they don't realize is that others are also not really happy, everybody thinks the grass is greener on the other side of the fence  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnOBoSXHpbo&t=130 5 Vidur Maharaj had asked that everybody is running for happiness but everybody is experiencing unhappiness. What is the reason for that - it is the material energy, Maya.  Kripalu ji maharaj says Maya is not an enemy of God it is an energy of God and it's service to God is to trouble the souls. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnOBoSXHpbo&t=172 6 so the material energy performs various functions. First function is it allows the soul the freedom to act independent of God, so in this material realm the soul has this little bit of freedom - I can do what I like but then based on our karmas on our actions from time to time, it gives misery to the soul and that misery is also a form of Grace https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnOBoSXHpbo&t=208 7 it is God's way of indicating "don't go in the wrong Direction of the worldly pleasures"  but come to Me - just like the mother's Grace sometimes showers in the form of a hug to the child and sometimes she says I'll not speak to you & stand up by the side of the wall - both of these are forms of the mother's affection for the child, similarly the material energy Maya is serving God and one of the services it performs is to trouble the souls until they reach the feet of God  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnOBoSXHpbo&t=250 8 no matter how much of effort you employ, you cannot conquer the mind without the grace of God https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnOBoSXHpbo&t=307 9 There are three pathways to God realization, the path of Karm yog the path of Gyan yog but none of them are complete without the addition of Bhakti  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnOBoSXHpbo&t=355 10 an episode in the Srimad Bhagavatam Mahapuran, 11th Canto, Lord Krishna is giving knowledge to Udhav (His closest childhood friend) - this is also called the Udhav Gita, it is at a much higher level than the bhagwat Gita because the speaker speaks to the level of the listener https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnOBoSXHpbo&t=375 11 Arjun was in ignorance thinking these are my relatives thinking of himself to be the body so Lord Krishna explained to him Arjun your true relative is God https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnOBoSXHpbo&t=406 12 In this 11th Canto 14th chapter first verse Udhav asks Shri Krishna question,  he says oh Shri Krishna in the Indian culture there are so many processes and pathways to the ultimate goal, every scholar who comes describe another path every book we read talks about another path and we see them practiced variously  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnOBoSXHpbo&t=439 13 Lord Krishna said oh Udhav, in my Vedas I had talked about the path to God realization, however what happened was that a lot of people came to read the Vedas, now each person based upon his or her own intellect interpreted the Vedas differently – listen to the examples given https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnOBoSXHpbo&t=530 14 and so many paths to God came into existence and some others, they got created by tradition - listen to examples https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnOBoSXHpbo&t=664 15 and so many paths to God came into existence and some others, they got created by tradition - listen to examples like "I meet many people they say Swami ji in our house we never read the Ramayan,  what happened? what's the problem? you know if we read the Ramayan somebody will die in our house - strange traditions got established wrongly https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnOBoSXHpbo&t=664 16 the scriptures say do good and don't tell anybody about it, the pious merits of that will increase  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnOBoSXHpbo&t=949 17 further examples of wrong traditions https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnOBoSXHpbo&t=1039 18 wrong use of upvas (fasting) - another improper use of fast https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnOBoSXHpbo&t=1370 19 Lord Krishna says Udhav so many pathways have been created and they are all wrong, they are all helpful and good but they are not sufficient to liberate you from the cycle of life and death they are not sufficient to take you beyond the material energy (maya), the benefits you get from them will all be temporary https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnOBoSXHpbo&t=1511 20 so how do you cross over worldly birth death cycle and reach the ultimate goal, the one essential addition in all of these rituals without which they are useless, alongside with which they all become beneficial, just like the one and the zeros, without the one they are all zeroes and with the one, they all keep adding up, so in the same way the one in this case is bhakti or devotion to God, without that bhakti, all the rituals are mere physical drill, a waste, an exercise in futility  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnOBoSXHpbo&t=1574 21 reg. upvas, people ask "Swami ji, is it wrong to fast ? absolutely not, if you fast once in a while it will help your body some of the food stuck inside which has not been digested, it will get digested, the jathra agni the fire of digestion will get enhanced but if you want spiritual benefit out of it then you have to do it properly https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnOBoSXHpbo&t=1634 22 if after the pilgrimage the mind is in the World, has the pilgrimage served any purpose ? it has not, that is why Kripalu ji maharaj says you are going for the four dham yatra and God is sitting inside you, the Bible says the kingdom of God is within you, the goal should have been to purify the mind, if the mind is not getting purified through bhakti through devotion, the external ritual remains empty https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnOBoSXHpbo&t=1724 Transcript 0:01 this material energy is the cause of many 0:06 problems under its influence we are suffering in this 0:13 world everybody is running for happiness but not achieving it and the 0:20 reason is the material energy Maya so in this verse Kripaluji Maharaj 0:29 says that Maya is an insentient (incapable of feeling or understanding things; inanimate) 0:35 energy and yet it is so powerful that the biggest people of 0:42 knowledge are not able to overcome it what is the reason for  0:49 that God is inspiring Maya just like this cloth is 0:57 insentient and yet the hand is inspiring it and the cloth is 1:03 moving if the hand gives up that inspiration the cloth is insentient 1:09 again in the same way Maya is insentient 1:15 but by the power of God it starts 1:20 working and what is the function of Maya its function is to trouble the 1:27 souls until they realize that without God I cannot be 1:35 happy I need to surrender to God that is why the Ramayan 1:53 says fire may emanate from the ice 2:01 this impossible may become possible but with back towards God one 2:10 can never be happy now everybody realizes that we are 2:16 not really happy but what they don't realize is that others are also not really 2:24 happy everybody is in touch with their own dissatisfaction and discontent 2:31 you know my wife she's such a nuisance she's an avatar of Chandi the other's 2:38 wife he must be very happy everybody thinks the grass is 2:44 greener on the other side of the fence and the fact is that nobody is 2:52 happy Vidur Maharaj had asked  3:05 everybody is running for happiness but everybody is experiencing 3:12 unhappiness and what is the reason for that the material energy 3:18 Maya the Kripalu ji maharaj says  Maya is not an enemy of God it is an energy of God 3:28 and it's service to God is to trouble the souls  so the material 3:36 energy performs various functions first function is it allows the 3:43 soul the freedom to act independent of 3:49 God so in this material realm the soul has this little bit of freedom I can do 3:55 what I like but then based on our karmas on our actions from time to time 4:03 it gives misery to the soul and that misery is also a form of 4:10 Grace it is God's way of indicating don't go in this Direction come to 4:18 me just like the mother's Grace sometimes showers in the form of a hug 4:25 to the child and sometimes she says I'll not speak to you stand up by the side of 4:31 the wall both of these are forms of the 4:36 mother's affection for the child similarly the material energy Maya is 4:43 serving God and one of the services it performs is to trouble the souls until 4:52 they reach the feet of God so because it is God's energy 5:01 by your self effort you can never conquer 5:07 it and the mind is made from that Maya hence nobody no matter how much of 5:16 effort you employ, you cannot conquer the mind without the grace of God  you may engage 5:25 in any kind of meditation any endeavor until God bestow 5:32 his grace we will not be able to conquer this 5:39 mind now Kripaluji Maharaj has completed his discussion of the three entities the 5:46 soul the material energy the Divine energy and God now he talks about the 5:55 pathways to God realization he says there's the path of 6:01 Karm the path of yog the path of Gan but none of them are complete without the 6:09 addition of Bhakti  in this regard I'd like to relate 6:15 to you an episode in the Srimad Bhagavatam 6:20 mahapuran 11th Canto Lord Krishna is giving knowledge 6:26 to Udhav this is also called the Udhav 6:31 Gita it is at a much higher level than the bhagwat Gita because the speaker speaks to the 6:40 level of the listener in the case of the bhagwat Gita Lord Krishna is delivering 6:46 knowledge to Arjun Arjun was in ignorance thinking these are my 6:53 relatives thinking of himself to be the body so Lord Krishna explained to him 6:59 Arjun your true relative is God and in Srimad Bhagavatam Sri Krishna is giving 7:06 knowledge to Udhav, Udhav is a Paramahans he is at an extremely elevated state of 7:14 realization so the Udhav Gita has very sophisticated 7:19 knowledge in this 11th Canto 14th chapter first verse Udhav 7:28 asks Shri Krishna question he 7:41 says oh Shri Krishna in the Indian 7:48 culture there are so many processes and pathways to the ultimate 7:56 goal every scholar who comes describe another path every book we read talks about 8:04 another path and we see them practiced 8:09 variously this leads to great confusion which of these is right and which of 8:15 these is wrong and why did so many pathways come into 8:22 existence oh Shri Krishna please illumine me so that I understand 8:31 what is my dharma what is my duty in this 8:37 world and thereby I'm able to do it this is a beautiful question because 8:44 this is the question before most people somebody explain to me what my dharma 8:50 is so that I can do it Lord Krishna 8:57 said oh Udhav 9:09 in my Vedas I had talked about the path to God 9:15 realization however what happened was that a lot of people came to read the 9:21 Vedas now each person based upon his or her own intellect interpreted the Vedas 9:31 differently just like suppose there's a bird sitting on a tree and the bird in 9:39 its language is saying something a group of people were sitting 9:44 below they started discussing what is the bird 9:50 saying one of them was a Trader he said listen the bird is saying 9:57 the bird is saying sunth, mirch, adrak, sunth, mirch, adrak" grocery items the other was a wrestler he said 10:06 you have got it wrong listen again the bird is 10:11 saying the bird is saying “dand, vaithak, kasrat, dand, vaithak, kasrat." exercises the third was a devote he said 10:17 you both are not listening carefully listen again the bird is saying “Ram Sita Dashrath” 10:22 so each of them interpreted the 10:28 voice of the bird according to their own mentality in the same way Lord Krishna 10:36 said that four kinds of people came to read the Vedas some were tamasik some 10:43 were rajasic some were satwik (satogun) and some were Gunatit (above the three gunas ,i.e., material modes of nature) some were affected by the mode of 10:51 ignorance some by the mode of passion some by the mode of goodness and some 10:57 were beyond the three modes each of them found a different meaning 11:04 to the same Vedas that I had manifested and hence so many paths came 11:11 into existence and some 11:17 others they got created by tradition 11:24 how there was an ancestor he started something 11:30 his son said my father used to do like this so I also do like this the son  11:36 said my father's father used to do like this so I also do like this the son’s son’s son said my father's father father used 11:42 to do like this and that is why I do like this now that tradition got 11:48 established like I meet many people they say Swami ji in our house we never read 11:56 the Ramayan what happened what's the problem you 12:02 know if we read the Ramayan somebody will die in our 12:07 house how did you reach that conclusion no this is going on from my father's 12:12 father's father's father's time what does that mean in the time of 12:18 one of your ancestors the Ramayan was being read at home and somebody passed 12:24 away yes so today also if we read the Ramayan somebody will pass away 12:30 now what kind of logic is this ? this is self-created logic tell me 12:38 how many ancestors have you had oh I must have had thousands and 12:43 millions and how many days are there seven days from Sunday up to Saturday so all 12:53 these ancestors must have died in one of 7  days yes so then none of these 7 days 12:59 should be auspicious to you why is it that only the Ramayan is not auspicious to 13:05 you if you say that somebody passed away because of the Ramayan then on each of 13:11 these seven days some ancestors passed away should be inauspicious but a tradition got 13:20 created once I was sitting on the steps of a 13:26 temple and a lady came she stopped on the first step she took 13:33 the water in her hand and she sprinkled it on one side of the step and then on 13:39 the other side of the step and then she threw it from under the left arm pit 13:46 then she caught her ears like this and went up and down then she took a circle 13:51 and did like this and walked into the Temple when she came out I asked her 13:59 Davi ji what is it that you were doing she said Swami ji I don't know I 14:08 have been observing my mother-in-law do this and that is why I do 14:13 it as luck would have it 5 minutes later the Mother-in-law also 14:20 came she took the water in her hand she sprinkled a little on the first 14:25 staircase left side and then on the right side she put it from under the left armpit and she caught her ears she 14:32 went down and she went up she did a little like this took a circle and went in when she came out I asked her mata ji 14:41 what is it that you were doing she said Swami ji don't ask me when I was small I 14:47 used to watch my mother-in-law do this that is why I do it now the 14:52 mother-in-law's mother-in-law mother-in-law square is not alive that you ask her why 14:59 was she doing it but the tradition got established so Shri Krishna says Udhav 15:07 in this way hundreds and hundreds of paths kept getting 15:12 created and he describes some of them in the Srimad Bhagavatam 15:29 He says one party came they said perform 15:35 Karma dharam the path of rituals just do the 15:41 Karm kand everything will happen another party came they said the 15:49 path of rituals in this age of Kali impossible how can you follow all the 15:56 six rules alright then you tell us what to do so they 16:03 said earn a name for yourself after death the only thing that 16:09 will remain is the name that is why one businessman went to 16:15 a temple and he donated a fan with his name his father's name his grandfather's 16:21 name all on the fan I will die but this man will remain 16:26 here somebody went to sevakunj in Vrindavanand he put a 16:32 brick there with this whole dynasty on it this brick will come to save me at 16:37 the time of death now whatever you did all your life you will get the karmic 16:44 reactions the fan and the brick are not going to come and save but it is a 16:50 disease it's a wrong understanding while the scriptures say 17:02 do good and don't tell anybody about it the pious merits of that will 17:10 increase the bible says let not the left hand know what the right hand gives in 17:19 charity but still people have this urge I need to earn a name so a third party 17:27 came  17:32 they said this is all nonsense all you need to do is to enjoy 17:39 yourself eat drink and be merry the epicurean (getting pleasure from food and drink ) philosophy amongst 17:46 the Greeks it has its version in the Indian culture Charvak’s theory Charvak was a 17:54 gross materialist he said 17:59 there is no afterlife there is no soul you are the 18:04 body the moment the body is destroyed it's all over so while you live just 18:10 enjoy 18:20 yourself if you get happiness from ghee beg borrow or steal but drink the ghee 18:27 and be happy Charvak gave his 18:32 Viewpoint, another party came they said this philosophy is totally ridiculous 18:40 eat drink and be merry there must be something higher in 18:46 life all right then you tell us what to do so they said satya tell the 18:56 truth the truth will be 19:01 victorious now another party came they said you know the truth will be victorious in this age of Kali if you 19:09 speak the truth people will not let you live there was one young 19:15 boy his father instructed him that look you are now in your adolescence and you 19:23 need to get some spiritual wisdom so go to the temple every day in the 19:29 morning Pandit does the katha you listen to the katha the boy went to the temple 19:37 that day panditji was relating the katha of Harish 19:43 chandra there is no sin as big as lying and no merit as good as saying the 19:52 truth so the boy made a resolve henceforth I will always tell the truth 19:59 he came back his father had a small shop he sat in the shop to do his duty 20:08 one customer came he said do you have such and such item he said here it is what is the 20:15 price so he remembered I had to tell the truth he said you know we are selling it 20:21 for $145 but the cost price is only 20:26 $45 that customer went off what is the point the next one came again he said 20:33 you know this is $350 The marked price and the cost at which we purchases it is 20:40 175 now the father heard father said my child you are running us out of business 20:46 what has happened the child said father you asked 20:52 me to go to the temple and listen to the katha so from pandit ji I learned 21:00 the truth will be victorious and that is why I made a resolve henceforth I will 21:06 only speak the truth and nothing but the truth the father caught his 21:14 head he said my child I sent you to the temple to the katha but I forgot to tell 21:20 you how to listen to the katha when you sit there you put your 21:27 cloth in front let all of pandit ji's katha come in this 21:33 cloth but when you get up you just shake the cloth like 21:39 that everything I have heard let it all remain here pandit ji the knowledge you 21:45 gave was invaluable but what I received from you I offer it 21:52 back to you for me my worldly knowledge is fine my child just look at me for 25 22:01 years I've been going to the temple to listen to pandit ji katha and till today I have 22:08 not shaken one inch from my place you went one day and transformed 22:14 yourself completely some people said you know this is not a very practical philosophy 22:22 we'll tell you a better way to do it do “dum (दम)” control your  22:30 senses another party came they said what will happen by controlling the senses 22:35 the mind is the cause of bondage and liberation do “sham (शम)” learn to control the 22:42 mind yet another party came they said no we'll tell you the most powerful 22:50  spiritual practice and what is that perform a fast 22:55 do an upvas which fast to perform any the Monday 23:02 fast or the Tuesday fast or the ekadashi fast or the amavas fast and if you can't 23:09 figure out which is suitable for you create a new 23:14 fast Santoshi mata fast etc., so what do you do on the day of a 23:21 fast you don't eat, do you do any spiritual meditation contemplation no no 23:27 no no just don't eat today is ekadashi so today we will 23:34 do the fast what happens is that on a normal 23:39 day people don't think about food but when ekadashi is coming the day of fasting 23:47 two days in advance people have started meditating on food the mother says ekadashi is coming my 23:55 child what will you eat you are not allowed to eat any grains, what is it that you will eat ask the husband all the 24:03 children so everybody gives their preference and keeping that in mind the 24:09 phalahar the allowed food is made and a whole pile is made so now they sit down to eat the 24:16 ekadashi food and the rule is you must eat only once a day in a little while 24:22 the stomach is full now what to do some people say look if you get up 24:28 you won't be able to eat again just keep sitting 24:34 there after 1 hour when you again become hungry eat a little more and sitting if you become exhausted 24:42 you can lie down if you fall asleep never mind the fast is not broken you can wake up and 24:48 then again eat it you see people with their Innovative 24:54 mind have created new kinds of foods, pandit ji was telling us a few days ago 25:00 that they have the normal day halwa of course and the ordinary halwa but now they've got the ekadashi pizza as 25:11 well so some people say what is going to come out of these fasts Lord Krishna 25:17 says Udhav so many pathways have been 25:23 created and they are all wrong 25:37 Udhav said wrong my Lord they have got truth they have got austerity they have got rules 25:44 and regulations how are they wrong Shri Krishna said not wrong Udhav 25:50 they are all nice they are all helpful and good but they are not sufficient to 25:58 liberate you from the cycle of life and death they are not sufficient to take 26:06 you beyond the material energy the benefits you get from them will all be 26:14  temporary so how do you cross over and reach the ultimate goal 26:32 the one essential addition in all of these without which they are useless 26:41 alongside with which they all become beneficial just like the one and the 26:47 zeros without the one they are all zeroes and with the one they all keep adding up 26:54 so in the same way the one in this case is bhakti or devotion to God without that 27:04 bhakti all the rituals are mere physical drill a waste an exercise in 27:14 futility see what is the meaning of this word fast in Hindi in Sanskrit the word 27:21  is upvas people ask Swami ji is it wrong to 27:29 fast absolutely not if you fast once in a while it will help your 27:37 body some of the food stuck inside which has not been digested will get digested 27:44 the jathra agni the fire of digestion will get 27:49 enhanced but if you want spiritual benefit out of it then you have to do it 27:57 properly so the word for fast in Sanskrit is 28:04 upvas and what does upvas 28:11 mean to go close to God that 28:16 Is upvas now if you stop eating and you're only thinking when 28:22 will it be 12 midnight and I'll eat today I am celebrating Shivaratri 28:28 so then your mind has gone close to food the fast is not serving any purpose 28:37 instead of that if you had eaten and then engaged in remembrance of God that 28:44 would have been more beneficial people go to holy 28:54 pilgrimages oh I need to go to Badrinath Ashram 29:01 my guide has told me that if I do the four Dham yatra then I will definitely 29:07 attain Go-lok before going to Badrinath Ashram 29:12 there's a spiritual sentiment I need to go for holy pilgrimage the son says father if you go 29:20 what will happen to this big business doesn't matter I have to make my 29:26 spiritual earnings now undertaking so much of inconvenience 29:34 going by trains going by buses for that holy pilgrimage and with so much of 29:41 spiritual sentiment oh Badrinath Ashram is coming I am so close 29:48 now and once you have darshan the mind changes my god there are so many flies 29:56 here and this hotelier is troubling me unnecessarily there's so much of dirt 30:02 out here how is my business running I hope my child is taking care of 30:09 it you see before the pilgrimage the mind was in 30:15 God after the pilgrimage the mind is in the 30:20 World,  has the pilgrimage served any purpose ? it has not that is why 30:28 Kripalu ji maharaj  30:45 says you are going for the four dham yatra and God is sitting inside you the Bible 30:53 says the kingdom of God is within you the goal would have been to purify the 31:00 mind if the mind is not getting purified through bhakti through devotion the 31:06 external ritual remains empty and that is why in the 31:15 Srimad Bhagavatam, Shri Ved Vyas 31:26 writes in this human form o souls your primary duty is to engage in loving 31:35 Devotion to God and that devotion means to see him in everyone Standby link (in case youtube link does not work) Understanding God's Purpose for Your Life Swami Mukundananda.mp4