Liberation or peace or mukti or moksha is the goal of many. All these words indicate a freedom from sorrow, pain, and suffering. In pursuit of this goal, many turn to God and pray to make their lives less painful. One would then be surprised to learn that a true...
Often, we come across people who will settle for nothing less than perfection in their chosen tasks or professions. Maybe this person is a musician who is rehearsing their song for the umpteenth time before a performance; or an Olympic runner constantly working on beating the world record; or a...
Bhakti requires engaging the mind in the divine realm— abodes, forms, names, pastimes, virtues, and saints of God. In the Bhakti Rasāmṛit Sindhu, Rupa Goswami writes, śhubhāniprīṇanaṁ sarvajagatāmanuraktatā sadguṇāḥ sukhamityādīnyākhyātāni manīṣhibhiḥ meaning, bhakti is considered śhubhadā i.e. it brings auspiciousness to all, the divine virtues are exhibited to a...
The story of how Vibhishan, Ravan’s younger brother, surrendered to Lord Rama is an example for all devotees in the art of surrender to the divine. Though born into a family of Rakshasas or demons, Vibhishan held in his heart a great love for the Supreme Lord Rama. Notably,...
In the Bhagavad Gita, Shree Krishna explains to Arjun that there are three paths to attain Him: bhakti yog, karm yog, and jñān yog. The knowledge of bhakti is described by Shree Krishna as the king of sciences and the most profound of all secrets (BG v9.2). Why? Let...
The Vedic scriptures inform us that we are eternal servants of God. 500 years ago Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said the same thing: jīver svaroop hay kṛiṣhṇer nitya dās meaning, we are the eternal servants of Shree Krishna. But what does it mean to be a servant and to serve Krishna? As...
Bhakti is a widely used word in Indian spirituality and religion. Most of us believe ourselves to be a ‘bhakt’, a devotee of Radha Krishna or Sita Ram or Shiv and Parvati. Yet, few of us take the time to truly understand the depth of the meaning contained in the...
The topic of surrender has been explained in various scriptures and was most recently covered in our blog titled “What does it mean to Surrender?” The surrender of the Gopis of Braj was such that even Shree Krishna longed for their footdust! How can we get any where close to...
Vishwamitra and Vashishtha are two of the most illustrious sages in Indian history and both play key roles in the Ramayana. Vashishtha was the spiritual preceptor of the Ikshvaku dynasty to which Lord Rama belonged. The famous Yog Vashishtha is a dialog between Lord Rama and Vashishtha, describing spiritual truths...