Bhakthadasi

During Navaratri, some devotees worship Durga Devi for the first three days, next three days Lakshmi is worshiped and the last three days, Saraswathi Devi is worshiped. Tenth day is Vijaya dashami which is also called Vidyaarambham. But some other devotees worship Navadurgas or nine Durgas and each day, one particular aspect of Devi is worshiped. First let us explore the meaning of "Durga" and then worship one aspect of Durga Devi each night. Devi Bhagavatham gives several meanings and some of them are : Durga is 1.  one who helps us to overcome misery or suffering. 2.  One who destroys durgathi or bad fate. 3. One who is incomprehensible or one who can never be defeated. 4. One who protects us from all difficult situations. Shailaputri or Daughter of Mountain Himavan's daughter Parvathi Devi is the first among nine Durgas. She carries a trident in one hand and in the other hand, she has a lotus. Nandi is the vahana. Her head is adorned by a beauti...

സദാ പുഞ്ചിരിതൂകിക്കൊണ്ടു നിൽക്കുന്ന കണ്ണനോട് ഒരുദിവസം ഞാൻ  ചോദിച്ചു: "കൃഷ്ണാ, എതുഭാവം കൈക്കൊള്ളുമ്പോഴും ഭഗവാൻറെ മുഖത്ത് പുഞ്ചിരിയാണല്ലോ? സ്വന്തം അമ്മയെ ബാലലീലകളാൽ പമ്പരം തിരിപ്പിക്കുമ്പോൽ കുസൃതി നിറഞ്ഞ പുഞ്ചിരി; പൂതന, ശകടാസുരൻ, തൃണാവർത്തൻ തുടങ്ങി കംസൻ വരെയുള്ള അസുരരോടെതിർക്കുമ്പോൾ ധൈര്യവും നിശ്ചയദ്ദർഢ്യവുമുള്ള  പുഞ്ചിരി; ഗോപികമാരോട് മനം മയക്കുന്ന മദനമോഹനന്റെ പുഞ്ചിരി; ഗോപന്മാരോട് സ്നേഹമൂറുന്ന പുഞ്ചിരി; അർജുനൻ താപഗ്രസ്തനായി, ഇതികർത്തവ്യതാമൂഢനായി  തേരിൽ തേങ്ങുമ്പോൾ  അർഥഗർഭമായ മറ്റൊരു തരം പുഞ്ചിരി; പൌണ്ട്രകവാസുദേവനോട് പരിഹാസം നിറഞ്ഞ പുഞ്ചിരി; കുചേലനോട് അനുകമ്പയും അതിസ്നേഹവും നിറഞ്ഞ പുഞ്ചിരി; രാധയോടും രുക്മിണിയോടും കലവറയില്ല്യാത്ത പുഞ്ചിരി; സ്വധാമത്തിലേക്ക് പോകാൻ തയ്യാറായി പേരിന് വേടന്റെ  അമ്പേൽക്കുമ്പോൽ അവനെ നോക്കി ഹൃദ്യമായൊരു പുഞ്ചിരി. പിന്നെയോ? ഞാൻ സന്തോഷങ്ങൾ അറിയിക്കുമ്പോൾ പകുതി കണ്ണടച്ചു കൊണ്ടൊരു പുഞ്ചിരി; ദുഖിതയായി ഞാനരികിൽ എത്തുമ്പോൾ എനിക്കർഥം മനസ്സിലാകാത്ത വേറെ ഒരു പുഞ്ചിരി! ഞാൻ തോറ്റു കൃഷ്ണാ. ഈ അസ്തമിക്കാത്ത പുഞ്ചിരിയുടെ പൊരുൾ ഒന്ന് പറഞ്ഞു തരൂ." കൃഷ്ണൻ പ...

This story told by Lord Krishnna to Arjuna is about truth and dharma. We   know that Arjuna, like many other characters in the Puranaas and   Ithihaasaas, takes vows on sudden impulse without thinking about the   consequences. This story is about one of those vows Arjuna took. If any one asked Arjuna to keep his bow Gaandeevam down, he would kill that   person. During the Mahabhaaratha war, when Arjuna could not kill Karna,   Yudhishtira was angry and frustrated. In that anger he told Arjuna that he   should be ashamed and should give the Gaandeevam to some body more qualified   in using that. Arjuna was furious and charged at Yudhishtira to kill him and   make his vow true. Krishna stopped him and told this story of Koshikatha. Koshikatha was a saint who lived in a hermitage near a forest. He had taken   a vow that he would only speak the truth. One day some robbers attacked a   group of people travelling through the nearb...

Here is a story of the birth of  coconut.   Sree Parvathy was doing severe Thapas to get Shiva as her husband. Several of the devas advised Sree Parvathy that Shiva would not be a good match for her. But Parvathy did not listen to any of the advices. She knew what she wanted and who is Shiva. So she continued her Thapas with heart and soul committed to Shiva Bhagavan.   She heard the sound of His drum from far. Shiva Bhagavan was coming towards her and Parvathy Devi was extremely happy and excited. Shiva Bhagavan gave an Amrutha Kalasham in her hand. She was overwhelmed with excitement and kept the gift given by her sweet heart carefully in her lap. Then she took some Kumkumam from her forehead and put three dots on the kalasham to represent the three eyes of Shiva Bhagavan. Then She covered the Kalasham with a piece of beautiful green silk cloth.Then she took a small flower from her hair and put it on top as a decoration on the kalasham. Then she pr...

As we all know Uddhavaji is one of he greatest devotees of Bhagavan. There is a small story in which Krishna erases the small lining of ahambhaavam (or ego and pride) emerged in his mind due to his scholarship. Uddhavaji's knowledge of vedas, upanishads and sutras were commendable and once he told bhagavan that in spite of his vast knowledge of scriptures, he was very unhappy that he was not given the title of Maharshi or Maha -Rishi.   As usual Lord Krishna planned a drama. He told Uddhavaji to go and see his heart throb Radhadevi in Vrindavanam and give a message. Uddhavaji agreed, got ready and asked Krishna what was the message to be delivered to Radhadevi. Krishna just smiled and waved good bye. Uddhavaji thought it was strange and anyway did not ask anything more and started his journey towards Vrindavanam. On the way, he was very worried about the message he had to deliver to Radhadevi. How  can he just go and see her with nothing to tell or give? Finally he dec...

Our body (manushya shareeram) x infinity = Body of the Lord (Daiva shareeram)- Virat Purushan- infinity   Our mind (manushya manas) x infinity = Mind of Lord (Daiva manas) - Hiranyagarbhan- infinity   Our power ( jeeva shakthi) x infinity = Power of Lord (Daiva shakthi) - Nirguna brahmam- infinity   Anything multiplied by infinity is infinity. That means, our body, our mind and our power is not contributing anything to God's dimensions. We are just the projections of that infinity.   Aum Poornamadah Poornamidam Poornaath Poornam Udachyathe Poornasya Poornamaadaaya Poornamevavasishyathe. Meaning : That (pure consciousness) is full (perfect, infinity); this (the manifest universe of matter; of names and forms being maya) is full. This fullness has been projected from that fullness. When this fullness merges in that fullness, all that remains is fullness.

We have heard about different exercises or Abhyaasaas. We do physical exercises, mental exercises and intellectual exercises knowingly and unknowingly on a daily basis. Sri Vidyaranya Smagikal explains how we can do Brhamabhyaasa, or atmmabhyaasa by quoting this from Panchadasi:   tat chinthanam tat kathhanam anyOnyam tat prabhodhanam etadekaparatvam cha brhamabhyasam vidurbudhaa:   Brahmabhyaasa is   thinking about God  (chinthanam) . It is   speaking   about God  (kathanam) . Third exercise is awakening the presence of God in each other by  glorifying Lord during mutual conversation (anyaonyam tat prabhodhanam). Fourth is depend completely on Him.  These only are said by the wise to be the marks of Brahmabhyasa.   So anytime we are thinking about Him, (reading and writing about Him, meditating on Him, doing service to Him by serving the community, by serving the devotees etc)  talking about Hi...

Narada muni asked Vishnu bhagavan to explain to him the importance of sajjana samsargam. So Vishnu bhagavn told Narada muni to go to Earth  and meet a worm sitting on a branch of a tree!  That worm would be able to explain to him about sajjana samsargam! Narada maharshi obediently came to earth and approached the worm. But a strange thing happened. As soon as Narada started talking, the worm died. So he went back to Vaikundham and told about his inability to get advice from the worm.   Then Bhagavan told him to go and meet a young calf born to a cow in another region of earth. Narada went there and as soon as Narada approached the calf it fell down dead!  Again he went and informed about this mishap to Bhagavan. Bhagavan smiled and asked him to learn about sajjana samsargam from a new born baby born to a king in another region of earth. Even though frustrated, Narada Muni obediently went to that palace and waited outside until late night. When ...

The word Yoga means union. As per scriptures, the purpose pf practising yoga is to achieve union of jeevatma with paramaatma. (practising yoga may bring physical benefits, but that is not the prime purpose. But unfortunately now we only concentrate on that aspect!).   One Guru or saint was teaching his disciples about yoga and explained it as a means to know God. One smart student had a question: Gopikaas never practised yoga or were not following any strict disciplines. But they are considered as the greatest devotees of Lord. Can you explain this?   Guru said: "Dear disciple,  Gopikaas could not practice yoga because they had no sense of separation from Krishna or paramaatma . Even when they were physically far from Krishna, their minds were constantly fixed on Him. There was the unbroken flow  of loving thoughts towards Him. Only if you feel you are separate, you have to try to unite. Also, until a devotee comes to the stage of total and unconditi...

This is a story to illustrate that every thought, every word and every action of ours has an effect. These follows the the law of cause and effect. King Nruga was a very kind king and believed in giving "daanam". So he gave away thousands and thousands of cows to deserving people, who were in need, who were truthful, who were selfless.   One day King Nruga's herd of cows ready for daanam or giving away were grazing in a field and another cow belonging to a poor Brahman joined the King's herd. Cowherd boy did not notice this and at the end of the day, led all the cows to the King's stable. He was too lazy to count the number of cows at the end of the day. Next morning was the "daanakarmam" or the actual giving away ceremony. King Nruga gave all the cows to deserving families and they were all returning home with their cows. This particular cow that belonged to the Brahman also was given away and that family was returning home with the cow. This ...

This is a small story about the importance of positive thinking. Once a man was travelling in the hot sun and he got really tired and hungry. He saw a big Banyan tree and was happy to rest under the tree. While he was resting and enjoying the cool breeze, he thought: I wish I had some delicious food. Soon, a lady came by that way and offered some food to him as prasaadam. He really enjoyed and ate to his satisfaction. He thanked the lady and was lying down on the hard surface of the ground. Then he thought: I wish I had a nice thick mat to sleep on. Seeing him lying on the ground, the same lady who fed him felt sympathy and went home and brought a mat for him. So he was very happy and tried to get some sleep in the nice breeze. His legs were tired and he thought: I wish I had somebody to massage my tired legs. Then the same lady felt sympathy sent her daughter to massage his tired legs. She went home after some time. Then he thought: I am lying down not very far from the forest. Wh...

A grandfather was telling stories to his grandchildren. First he told the story of Gajendra moksham where an elephant who was King Indradyumna in the previous life was bitten by a crocodile who was a Gandharva called Huhu in the previous life. Both of them were transformed because of the curses they received. Elephant could not relieve himself from the jaws of the crocodile and started praying Vishnu Bhagavan. Because the elephant was struggling for a long time, his voice was very feeble and barely audible. Even then Vishnu bagavan heard, came and with Sudarshana chakram cut off the head of the crocodile and saved the elephant. The elephant became the king and crocodile became the Gandharva.   After this story grandfather told about the story of Draupadi. Dushshasana was trying to disrobe Draupadi. After all her attempts to prevent it failed, she cried for Krishna and even though Krishna's abode was Dwaraka and was far from Hasthinapura where Draupadi li...

On Ganesh Chathurthi day, we do special prayers to Lord Ganesha who is a symbol of love, affection, leadership, wisdom, intelligence and achievement. Ganapathi means Ganaanaam pathi: or lord of the bhootha ganaas or Lord of the five senses. But there is another meaning which is more appealing . "Ga" means buddhi or intellect, and "Na" means Jnaanam or wisdom. Pathi means Lord. So Ganapathi is the lord of buddhi and jnaanam. That is why He is also called Vinaayaka meaning with out a master above Him.   There are several stories about Ganapathis' birth or udbhavam. I would like to share a not-so-popular story. There was an asura or demon called Gajasura-elephent-headed demon. He did lot of penance to please Lord Shiva. Shiva appeared and asked him what boon he wanted. Being an asura, he had crooked ideas, and he said that he would like fire to be emitted continuously from his body so that nobody can come near him. Shiva, with out having second thoughts, gr...

Two people whom we are very familiar with, lived in a house near a river. Their names are Sathyam or truth and Asathyam or untruth. One day they went to the river to take a refreshing bath.   They removed their clothes, kept them in a safe place on the bank and jumped in to the clear and flowing water. They played for a while and suddenly Asathyam had an idea. When Sathyam was floating on the water and gazing at the sky, Asathyam got out of water and walked towards the bank. He made sure that Sathyam was not watching him. Slowly he moved towards Sathyam's clothes and wore them and quickly disappeared.   After some time, Sathyam got on his feet looked for Asathyam and could not find him anywhere. He came out of the water and walked towards his clothes and he saw that Asathyam had taken his clothes and had disappeared in to the vast world.   Since then both of them have been moving in all societies all over the world and people do not know who is w...

Buddha and a few of his disciples were living in a hermitage in a forest. One day Buddha asked one of his disciples to fetch some drinking water from the near by lake. Disciple went to the lake and saw that a herd of elephants were bathing and playing in the lake and they just left. Water was very muddy and red in color.   So he decided to walk towards another stream further up. Buddha saw this and told him not to go to another lake, but just wait for a few munutes and fetch water from the same lake. So he waited for another ten minutes and went there. All the mud had settled and the water was clear and fresh. So he brought the water to Buddha.   Then Buddha told: "Dear disciples, we have to learn a lesson from this incident. Do not do anything in a hurry. When there is turbulence, wait for sometime and when everything settles down, go on with your action. This is true with our mind also. When your mind is agitated  and anger and confusion rules your mind...