See the loving hand of god behind everything and tolerate inconveniences-1

                However such resentment and envy is actually a sign of cowardice, a sign of the absence of the courage to accept the reality that they cannot control   world around them. They are disturbing their peace of mind for no gains whatsoever, because nobody has the power to change the will of god. Wisdom lies in understanding that the happiness and distress destined for us at the time of our birth, as fixed according to our past karma, are inevitably going to come, no matter what we do. Just as distress comes in our life uninvited, by higher arrangement, happiness will also come on its own peace.. Therefore real wisdom lies in seeing the loving and well-wishing hand of god behind everything that happens in our lives. Only with such a vision we can live in peace.

But, if a person is jealous of others and is trying to pull them down or destroy them, then he can never be at peace. Why? Because such a person is concerned not so much with how well he has fared, but with how badly others have fared. His success lies in the failure of others. His mentality is like that of a crab, who having been trapped in a fisherman’s basket along with many other crabs, is worried, not about saving his own life by jumping out of the basket, but about pulling other crabs down so that he may stay at higher level than them within the basket. What an utterly foolish mentality!

NO ONE CAN MAKE OR MAR YOUR CAREER; SO DON’T BLAME OTHERS-5

In a similar way, in the present time of cutthroat competition, most people live totally insecure lives, being torn apart by immeasurable anxieties, ‘this person is trying to pull me down’, “it is only because of that person is growing bigger than me, how can I cut him down?” such people greet their teeth, bit their lips, frown, and grumble, brood and, riding on the chariot of their mind, making elaborate plans to destroy all their so-called enemies and become supreme. But all their endeavors are repeatedly frustrated and they have no peace of mind.

NO ONE CAN MAKE OR MAR YOUR CAREER; SO DON’T BLAME OTHERS-4

          

               When Dhritarashtra came to know about the devilish mentality of Duryodhana, he tried to pacify him, “My dear son, whatever you may want for your enjoyment is already at your disposal. Our opulence is no less than that of the gods in heaven. We have immense wealth, magnificent mansions. The best of clothes, the finest food and beautiful women. All these are just waiting to give you pleasure. What reasons is there for you to become depressed?”  Duryodhana suddenly muttered, “Don’t you know that they got thousands of invaluable gifts in Rajsuya yajna?”

        Dhritarashtra suggested, “You can also perform a similar sacrifice and you will also get those gifts,”But Duryodhana would not get even one tenth of the gifts that Yudhishthir got.

       Therefore the evil-minded Duryodhana, along with the diabolical Shakuni, decided to devise some devious ways, by which the Pandavas could be destroyed. Duryodhana knew that he could not challenge the Pandavas in a battle; they would easily defeat him. So he decided to invite the Pandavas to gambling match so that their kingdom can be usurped and they can be exiled into the forest.

Even during the exile of the pandavas, Duryodhana, though the emperor of the entire world was constantly in anxiety about the possibilities of return of Pandavas in the future; he was never at peace. On the other hand, Pandavas,who were great devotees of Krishna, being non envois, lived peacefully though they were in utter poverty in the forest.

NO ONE CAN MAKE OR MAR YOUR CAREER; SO DON’T BLAME OTHERS-3

               At that time, Maharaj decided to conduct the Rajasuya yajna to establish the supremacy of the Lord Krishna. He invited all the kings and sages from all over the universe for the yajna. At the time of yajan, he allocated various services to his relatives and close friends. He requested Bhisma and Drona to oversee the organization of the sacrifice, Dushasana to take care of distribution of the food to all the guests. Asvathama to attend to the brahmanas and Duryodhana to receive all gifts, Lord Krishna took the humble role of washing the feet of all the sages and brahmanas arriving for the Rajasuya yajna.

             Seeing the hundreds and thousands of   priceless gifts that came for Yudhisthir, Duryodhana’s heart burnt with envy. And when he saw the incomparable opulence of the famed palace of the pandavas, theMayasabha, he could no longer control his jealousy, He sniffed and huffed and frowned harshly at the innocent servants who were cheerfully passing by within the palace. He was in a state of total misery and despondency.

               Once his way back to Hastinapura, Duryodhana told his uncle, Shakuni, “It is impossible for me to see the prosperity of the Pandavas.What type of man who possesses any self-respect can bear to see his enemies prosper more than him? How can I ever equal power and the opulence of the Pandavas?  Myall efforts to do so have been completely frustrated. And my attemots to destroy :Pandavas have also met with total failure. On the contrary, they are flourishing like lotuses in a pond. Therefore I cannot live any longer. I will enter into fire or I will swallow poison and thus end my life. Please inform my father Dhritarashtra about  the terrible anguish I am in.” And while he was speaking, the fire of envy in his heart

NO ONE CAN MAKE OR MAR YOUR CAREER; SO DON’T BLAME OTHERS-2

         When he realized that the Pandavas had become very  powerful and wealthy due to their alliance with Drupada, the father of Draupadi and the king of Panchal, he feared that they might attack and defet him. So he decided to give them half of the kingdom, but once again, due to his envious nature, he tried to cheat them by offering them the barren part of the Kuru kingdom, called Khandavaprastha.

               But, by the mercy of Lord Krishna, that desolate land was miraculously transformed, in no time, into the great city Indraprastha. Indraprastha was a magnificent and opulent city filled with learned brahmanas, chivalrous sudras. All the subjects were living a very happy god-centered life in accordance with the Vedic scriptures. All the cows, women, old men, children and brahmanas were  protected. The mellifluous chanting of auspicious Vedic mantras could be heard everywhere in the city. And Mayadanava constructed the Mayasabha, a gorgeous mansion akin to a heavenly abode, for the Pandavas. When Duryodhana heard about the opulence of the Pandavas, he just could not stand it. In fact, the very thought that he was now the emperor of the world caused him indescribable agony. He felt that position was his exclusive birthright and that the pandavas had unlawfully usurped his position.

NO ONE CAN MAKE OR MAR YOUR CAREER; SO DON’T BLAME OTHERS-1

            We should know that no one can make or mar our career. Sometimes we imagine, “A has blocked my promotion.” Or “B has ruined my business by competing in the same field.” And so on. And due to such imaginary conceptions, we feel envy and animosity towards others. But actually your career and life is shaped by our previous karma, others cannot influence it.

         A typical example of one nourishing such needless envy and enmity is Duryodhana, Right from the time of Pandavas came to Hastinapura as small children,Duryodhana was envious of them, He was afraid that they might take over the kingdom, So. To destroy them, He hatched various demoniac schemes such as feeding Bhima a poisonous cake. Gifting the Pandavas a place made of inflammable shellac and then arranging to have it set on fire so that they would burn to death and so on, Buy by none of these tricks could he succeed in killing them.

              Later during the svyamvara of Draupad.. He became mad with lust on seeing her exquisite beauty,but he was crestfallen when he could not win her hand. And when the Pandavas won the hand of Draupadi, his envy increased manifold.

   

              On seeing how Drupada had been thoroughly humiliated, Drona smiled at him and asked him, “Oh my dear king, do you now desire to revive our old friendship? It seems that your kingdom and wealth have all become mine.” Humiliated and ashamed, Drupada could’t speaks a word. Adding insult to the injury, Drona further said, “After all, I am a liberal brahamana, I am not going to take away your life. Moreover I have always cherished affection for you as a friend. So I still desire your friendship, but, my dear Drupada, friendship can only be among equals. Now you have lost your whole kingdom and have become a beggar. And your entire kingdom and wealth have now become mine. So how can friendship exist between a king like me and a beggar like you? Having pity on a beggar like you, I am giving half of my kingdom to you.” And Drona gave half the kingdom of Panchal to Drupada.

 A massive fire sacrifices (yajna) to beget a son Dhristadyumna, who would kill Drona.

Thus we can see that, when one is insulted by another and the fight goes on and on. So, when we meditate on insults there is no end to such fights. Therefore instead of wasting precious human form of life in brooding over such past events, it is better to turn to God and seek refuge in him, and, even if our heart is very pain by such insults, we should go to God for shelter just like Dhruva did.

When he was insulted by his stepmother, Dhurva took the right Shelter. He went to the forest and approached the lotus feet of lord Vishnu. By taking shelter of lord Vishnu, instead of being left in cold futilely mourn grieve, all of the Dhurva were wiped out and he achieved a kingdom greater than that of his grandfather, lord Brahma.

In all the same way, we can also become free from all sufferings if we turn to God when we are insulted.

SHUT YOUR EYES TO INSULTS-4

         
                 
               
In the same way, if hundreds of people respects us but one person insult us, that one insult makes us thoroughly miserable; the respect of hundred other people has no value for us. But if we understand that all these insults are coming upon us as a result of our past activities then we can learn to shut our eyes to the insults.

And when we are insulted in such a way due to some reasons, we should learn to forget and forgive. We should never maintain grudges. if we nurture  an ill feeling in our hearts towards a man who has insulted us without openly expressing it, that is even worse than openly expressed anger. Suppressed anger is like mental cancer. It leads to sleeplessness, it poisons blood, and it increase blood pressure and take away all peace of mind. An insult is like split milk, if milk is split on the ground, then what can we do about it? It’s finished; it’s done. So we should learn to forget such incidents, which have already occurred and just go ahead with our regular activities without becoming distracted or different. But if we nourish the grievances and brood over the past happenings, then not only does it cause immense pain to our heart but it may also lead to disastrous consequences, as seen in the following incident from Mahabharata

When Drona, brahamana’s son, and Drupada, a prince, were studying in the same gurukula, they became close friends. One day in a moment of intimate friendship, Drupada promise, Drona, “when I inherent the kingdom of my father, I will give half of it to you.”

Later, Drupada went to become the king of Panchal, whereas Drona became poor brahamana. Once in a moment of acute poverty, when his son was crying piteously for milk and Drona had no money to get any milk, he remembered the promise of his boyfriend, Drupada. He, therefore, went to meet Drupada and reminded him of their old friendship. Sitting on his majestic royal throne, in the midst of the court, Drupada looked at the poor brahamana standing in front of him and said, “o unfortunate brahamana, how do you consider me as your friend now? Past friendships are meaningless. Only equals can be friends. Now I am a great king and you are a poor brahamana. Do not try to invoke a long dead relationship.” Saying this, Dhrupad laugh at Drona, gave him a little charity and sent him off. Deeply insulted Drona left Panchal, but his mind was fixed on revenge. He didn’t forget and forgive; instead he kept the memory of the incident burning in his heart and resolved to take revenge when the right moment came.

Later on Drona became the military teacher of the Pandavas and the Kauravas. When they completed their training and asked him what guru-dakshina they could give him, Drona requested them to capture Drupada and him bring him as a prisoner before him. On hearing the desire of their guru, first the Kauravas, headed by Duryodhana, attacked Drupada, who easily defeated them. When the Kauravas returned defeated then. When n the Kauravas returned defeated, the Pandavas headed by Arjuna invaded Panchal. They defeated Drupada, arrested him, brought him as a captive to their gurukula and threw him at the feet of drone.

SHUT YOUR EYES TO INSULTS-3

               In this way, Parikshit reacted to the curse in a very composed, positive way. And consequently he was able to end his life on a very glorious not by returning to the kingdom of God.

On the other hand if someone takes an insult very seriously then he can never be peaceful as is seen from the story of Hiranyahashipu.

The king of the demons, Hiranyakashipu, was the master of all the three worlds. He had practically conquered the entire universe. Just by the raising of his eyelashes, all the powerful demigods would start trembling in fear. His small five years old son, Prahlada, however, did not accept him to be supreme and did not obey him. Though he was the empreror of the whole universe,just one tiny boy not accepting his supremacy was intolerable for him. His life became completely miserable; he lost his night sleep. He decided to ruthlessly murder small innocent Prahalada. But when all his attempts to do so were foiled, he became totally dejected. And finally Hiranyakashipu himself had to meet a ghastly death.

SHUT YOUR EYES TO INSULTS -2

The emperor of the whole world at that time was Maharaj Parikshit. Once when he was going through the forest, he was afflicted by severe thirst. Though he was the king of the entire world, here he was in the midst of the forest and there was no one to fetch even a glass of water for him. At that time he saw a sage, shamik rishi, performing penance in a hut. Being desperate to quench his thirst, he requested the sage to give him a glass of water. The sage was in deep trance and so he didn’t even hear the king. Parikshit was angered due to this apparently discourteous behavior of the sage. In his anger he put a dead snake around the neck of the sage and went away. After some time when the son of Shamik Rishi Shringi came to know how his father had been insulted, he pronounced a curse in Praikishit, “you will die after seven days due to the bite of poisonous snake-bird.”

When king Parikshit was informed about the curse, his response was highly exemplary. He was the emperor of the entire world and he was a pure devotee of lord Krishna. And for a monor mistake on his part, a young impudent boy had sounded his death-knell. If king, Parikshit had wanted, he could easily have counter cursed Shringi. But far from trying to ‘get even’ with Shringi, Parikshit humbly Ganges, offered his humble obeisances to the great sages assembled there and requested them:

Tam mopayatam pratiyantu

Vipraganga ca devi dhrta-cittam

Isedvijoparstah kuhakas taksako va

Dastv alam gayata visnu-gathah

“o brahmanas,just accept me as a completely surrendered soul, and let mother Ganges, the representative of the lord, also accept me in that way, for I have already taken the lotus feet of the lord into my heart. Let the snake-bird----or whatever magical thing Brahmana created---bite me at once. I only desire that you all continue singing the deeds of Lord Vishnu.”

SHUT YOUR EYES TO INSULT

              Generally, we can see that our mind becomes especially agitated whenever we are insulted and the thorn of desires to take revenge torments the mind for a long time.

The only way to control the mind in such circumstances is by shutting our eyes to insults. On reading this, you will probably be thinking, “why in the wide world should I not take revenge on the person who has insulted me?” he has caused me so much pain; he must suffer.” But the reality is that he is not the actual cause of our suffering. We must have done some sinful activities in past as a reaction to which we are insulted now as per the law of karma. And the person who has insulted us is just acting as an instrument in the hand of nature to deliver us our due sufferings. When we understand this, then we will be able to take the insult in a mature way without being unnecessarily agitated and without maintaining a vengeful feeling. This is vividly illustrated in an instructive pastime that took place about 5000 years ago.

         Due to our stay in material world, our mind has become the storehouse of varieties of thoughts, impressions and unfulfilled desires. These materials impression on the mind drag the atma from one body to another, birth after birth until all these material impressions are wiped out from the mind and pure spiritual consciousness is established, there is no possibility of returning back to the kingdom of God.

But as long as we are in this material world, we are inseparably stuck up with the body and mind. And the mind gives us variety of sufferings.

Herein we will try to learn a few tips, which can help us to control the mind. But these tips have to be applied while a person simultaneously engages in cultivating knowledge about god, the ultimate goal of life and about himself. There is no overnight, short cut to control mind; if it were so easy, the modern man would not talk so much about mind control. We request the reader to refer to our previous book on ‘Art of Mind Control’ to some understand about the soul-body-mind-intelligence mechanism so that he can apply following tips more effectively.

THE "ABC ......." PART -2

            Krishna, the Supreme Lord is universally acclaimed as the jagat guru or spiritual master of the whole universe. And he is teaching Arjuna in Bhagavad-gita how  to control one’s mind and how to lead a pure life.

Right at the outset of Bhagavad-gita, Lord Krishna explains to Arjuna that we are not these material bodies; we are actually spiritual souls. This body is simply like a dress; it is just an eternal being, who is the eternal servant of god, is now trapped in this body exactly like a parrot on the cage. Being trapped in the body we are constantly suffering due to the miseries caused by this body and the mind. It is not that we are suffering only now; our history of suffering dates back to many, many lifetimes. Therefore according to all the scriptures, the ultimate goal of life, the only way to lasting happiness,is to liberate oneself from cycle of birth and death and to achieve the kingdom of god.That is our original home and it is from there that we have come to this foreign place, the material world.

THE “ABC…”

               The mind frequently causes us a variety of problems. And amateur attempts to tackle these problems are bound to fail since the body-mind mechanism is extremely complex. Therefore the first step in mind control is to understand the answer to the following basics question: what is this body? Who am I? what is the purpose of this creation?

In order to get authentic answers to these questions, the best course of action is to approach the super intelligent designer of this body, the mastermind behind the creation, the supreme lord, and ask him, “why did he create these problems?” This approach involves tackling problem of life by going to their root cause so it can provide a permanent solution. Just as when  we get disease, we go to a doctor, an expert in that field, to diagnose the root causes of disease and get it cured, similarly, we need a help of guru or spiritual master, an expert in the knowledge of the essence of life, who can teach us why our mind and body give us so much suffering in this world and the way to permanently get rid of all sufferings.

THE NECESSITY OF MIND CONTROL

We all know that, somehow or other, if we can learn to control our mind, then we can accomplish many things in our life. So, naturally, all of us are interested in controlling our mind. At the same time, we are all well aware of the disastrous consequences of an uncontrolled mind. If the mind of a person is uncontrolled, it will make him miserable throughout his life and may harass him so much that he may even go to the extent of committing suicide.

Every intelligent person should learn to control his mind and lead a peaceful life. There are many institution offering courses on mind control, but most of them don’t go to the root of the problem. They are based on only superficial knowledge of the mind and the way in which it works. Mind control without proper understanding of oneself, god and the purpose of life is just an eye wash; it can yield no tangible benefit.  

THE MODERN SCENARIO

The search for happiness is the eternal quest for every living entity. In the modern times, the propaganda throughout the world is to work very hard to earn one’s livelihood, to accumulate more and more wealth, name and fame and thus become happy. Consequently, everyone is caught up in an environment of cut-throat competition. In such a situation, every avenue to stay alive and get ahead in life thoroughly exploited. Mind control plays a decisive role determining the performance and shaping the future of a person and it has therefor become a buzzword in the professional circles nowadays.
 

GOPESHWOR MAHADEV (PART-1)

               Just as the holy Ganga is the best amongst all rivers and Lord Vishnu Achyuta, the best amongst all Lords, so foremost amongst all Vaishnavas is Lord Shambhu and best of all the puranas is the Srimad Bhagavatam.

Once while in deep meditation on Mount Kailash, Lord Shiva heard the sweet vibration of Krishna playing His divine flute. Mesmerized, He entered samadhi. He followed that transcendental sound until He came to Vrindavan, where Lord Gopinath was getting ready to start the Maha raas with His gopis.

Desiring intensely to join the maha-raas, when He came to the entrance of the raas-sthali, He was stopped by Yogamaya, who told him, "No males except Krishna are allowed entry. First you must have gopi-rupa, the form of a Vraja milkmaid, a gopi, only then can you enter."

Lord Bholanath asked "How can I get gopi-rupa?" Yogamaya replied, "Seek the shelter of Vrinda Devi. She will grant you the form of a gopi."

Vrinda devi asked Lord Shiva to take a dip in the waters of Manasarovar. After bathing there, Lord Shiva emerged from the lake with the form of a beautiful gopi.

Vrinda devi then took Lord Shiva in her gopi form to one corner of the raas sthali. Lord Shiva stood there and prayed to Sri Sri Radha Krishna for getting prema-bhakti.

Then the raas started. Lord Krishna danced with all the gopis. He also danced very elegantly with Lord Shiva disguised as a gopi.

Then after some time, when they rested, the Lord said 'I'm not getting the usual pleasure from our raas. Something is not right. I think there is another man in our midst." Then He asked Lalita devi to check all the gopis and make sure no man was lurking amongst them dressed as one of them.

Lalita devi went around and lifted the veils of all the hundreds of gopis but couldn't find any man disguised as a woman. She came and reported to Krishna, "I have not found any man, but there is one gopi with three eyes." she said puzzled.

GOPESHWOR MAHADEV (PART-2)

              Lord Krishna asked her to bring her to Him. When the Lord saw the Shiva gopi, He laughed heartily and addressed him, "O Gopeshwar, I am very pleased to see you in the form of a gopi. But you know that this raas is not for grihastas (householders). Therefore, since you have already participated and fulfilled your desire, now I offer you the post of raas dwaar paal (gatekeeper of the raas). I also give you the blessing that henceforth, all the gopis will offer respect to you and seek your blessing to get gopi bhava."

From that time, Gopeshwar Mahadeva has been worshipped in Vrindavan in the form of a Shiva linga in the mornings. In the evenings, the shiva-linga is decorated beautifully as a gopi.

Srila Sanatana Gosvami, who resided in Vrndavana near the old Sri Madana-Mohana temple, would go daily to see Sri Gopeshwar Mahadeva at his temple.

GOPESHWOR MAHADEV (PART-3)

                Once, in his older years, Sanatana Gosvami had a dream wherein Gopeshwar Mahadeva appeared and instructed him: Now that you are old, please do not go through so much trouble to see me. Sanatana Gosvami replied, I will continue to come. I cannot change this habit.

Lord Gopeshwar said, Then I will come and stay very near to your residence, manifesting in Bankhandi. The very next day, Sri Gopeshwar Mahadeva appeared in Bankhandi, halfway between his orginal temple and Srila Sanatana Gosvami's residence.

Seeing this, Sanatana Gosvami became overwhelmed with transcendental ecstasy, and from that day on he visited Bankhandi Mahadeva every day.

Prior to this, Lord Siva had asked Sri Krsna for the boon to witness His childhood pastimes. Lord Krishna ordered him to situate himself in Nandagaon in the form of a hill. Shiva followed this order and became Nandisvara Hill, and he thus became known as Nandisvara Mahadev.

SHREE JAGANNATH TEMPLE VRINDAVAN (JAGANNATH GHAT)

Shri Haridas ji Maharaj, a Vaishnav Mahatma of Vrindavan, one day observed that Lord Shri Krishna appeared before him and told him that in the month of Ashad the existing Vigrahas (idols of Shri Jagannath ji, Shri Balram ji and Subhadra Devi) will be replaced by new ones. Lord ordered him to bring the old Vigrahas to Vrindavan. Mahatma Haridas ji went to Puri on foot with his disciples. After every thirty-six years old Vigrahas are replaced by new ones at the time of Ratha Yatar. Haridas ji reached Puri four days before Rath Yatra. He requested priest of the temple to hand over the old Vigrahas to him as desired by Lord Krishna himself. The priest asked him to see the King of Puri, Maharaja Pratap Rudra, for this. The king also refused as he could not break the tradition of immersing the old Vigrahas in ocean. Mahatma Haridas ji thought that if he was unable to carry out the orders of his Lord it was better to die. He went to sea-shore and soon entered deep meditation. In 

mid-night Lord Jagannath ji ordered the King in a dream to hand over the old Vigrahas to mahatma Haridas ji as Lord Krishna wanted to live both in Puri and Vrindavan. The king gave old Vigrahas to Mahatma Haridas ji. He along with his discliples brought the vigrahas in a chariot to Vrindavan. On the banks of sacred river Yamuna, the place where Lord Krishna appeared before Haridas ji, which is now called Jagannath Ghat, a temple was constructed. Vigrahas were placed and worshipped. This is now known as Shri Jagannath Mandir. It is one of the most famous and old temples of Vrindavan. Same Vigrahas are still in this temple. The atmosphere of the temple is very peaceful and serene. One automatically feels like performing bhajana-kirtan etc in the temple premises. The special feature of this temple is that it is open to devotees of all castes, creed and religions, whereas the entry in Jagannath temple in Puri is restricted to Hindus only. One gets same blessings of the Lord by visiting temples of Puri and Vrindavan. Lord Jagannath ji is the Lord of the Universe in Kaliyug.

SHREE RADHADAMODAR TEMPLE

Shree Radha Damodar temple was established by Srila Jiva Goswami in 1542 Vrindavan Dham.The Deities of Sri Sri Radha Damodar were given to Srila Jiva Goswami by his guru, Srila Rupa Goswami Prabhupada and have been worshipped here since then. The bhajan kutir and samadhi of Srila Rupa Goswami as well as the samadhis of Srila Jiva Goswami, Krisnadasa Kaviraja Goswami, Bhugarbha Goswami and the bhajan kutir of Srila A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada are present here also on the temple premises.

Giriraj shila with footprint of krishna given by himself( lord krishna) to Shrila  Jiva goswami which was situated in the temple.

SHREE RANGANATHA JI TEMPLE VRINDAVAN

The largest famous temple of Vrindavan Ranga Ji or RangaNath temple was built by Shree Laxmi Chand’s two brothers Govinda das and Radha Krishna in guidance of famous Guru Swami Rangacharya.It took six years for complete and spent 45 lakhs to built…

This temple was built amazing architecture and inside constructed gold plated pilar was known as Dhwaja Stambha.

SHREE RADHA BANKEBIHARI LAL TEMPLE (PART-1)

The Bankey Bihari temple, Vrindavan is one of the most famous temples of Krishna in India. This temple was constructed in 1864 with the contribution of Goswamis. Shri Swami haridas got Bankey bihari ji appeared in Nidhivan. The idol of Thakur Ji is much older and was worshipped in Nidhivan till 1863. After constructing of temple, Goswamis transferred the idol to this temple. Bankey means “Bent at three places” and Bihari means “Supreme enjoyer”. There is a different and unique style of celebrating every festival in Bankey bihari temple. The deity is dressed up and offered cuisine (bhog, prasad) according to season. Temple is decorated with lights and various types of flower according to festival. There are no bells or conch in the temple because Bankey Bihari does not like the sound of bells or conch. there is only chant of ‘radha naam’.

SHREE RADHA BANKEBIHARI LAL TEMPLE (PART-2)

The image of Bihariji installed in the Shri Banke Bihari Mandir, is the one granted to Swami Haridas by the celestial couple Shyama-Shyam themselves. Submitting to the desire of devotees The Lord appeared in person with his divine consort and left back a black charming image before disappearing.

Swami Haridas ji was born to Shri Ashudhir and his wife Gangadevi on the day of Radha Ashtami i.e. eighth day of second (bright) fortnight of Bhadrapad month of the year 1535 Vikrami(1478 A.D.). He was born in a small village, now known as Haridaspur, near Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh. The linage of the family can be traced back toShri Gargacharya. Shri Gargachrya was the kulguru (family guru) of Yadavs and visited Brij secretly for conducting the Namkaran Samskar (naming ceremony) of young Krishna and Balram on request of Sri Vasudev. A branch of the family migrated to Multan (now in Pakistan), but some of them returned after a long time. Sri Ashudhir was one such migrant who after returning from Multan settled at the outskirts of Brij, near Aligarh.

SHREE RADHA GOPINATH TEMPLE (PART-1)

Sri Krishna´s grandson Vajranabha had three deities carved according the descriptions of Krishna given by Parikshit´s mother Uttara. When they were finished, Uttara confirmed that Govinda Deva had the same lotus face as Krishna, Madanmohan had the same strong and shapely legs, and Gopinath had the same broad shoulders and chest. Thousands of years later the same deity of Gopinath was rediscovered at Vamsi Vat in Vrindavan by Gadadhar Pandit´s disciple Paramananda Bhattacharya. Later the seva was taken over by Sri Madhu Pandit, whose samadhi is located in back of the temple premises.

SHREE RADHA GOPINATH TEMPLE (PART-2)

 In the hall leading to Radha-Gopinath´s current altar there is a doorway on the right leading down a step into a small temple room. This is the old temple where the original deities of Radha-Gopinath lived before the Mughal invasion when they were moved to Jaipur.  Now the deity being worshipped here is ¨Muralidhar Mahaprabhu,¨ a form of Goursundar playing the flute. The temple Gosvami says of the deity, ¨This deity was installed after the Mughal invasion. Mahaprabhu holds the flute, for the sake of the general populace who don't know about Mahaprabhu´s svarup. His color is golden like Radharani, but he holds the flute to show that he is also Krishna; He is Radha and Krishna in one form.

Today the pratibhu or non different replacement deities of Radha-Gopinath reside in a new temple connected to the old one.  According to the direct order of Nityananda-shakti Sri Jahnava Thakurani, Gopinath stands with Ananga-manjari to his left, and Radharani to his right.  Lalita and Visakha flank them on both sides.

SHREE RADHA SHYAMSUNDAR TEMPLE (PART-1)

Sri Vrindavana Dhama is the holiest of all the holy places. Even the denizens of heaven desire to take birth in this holy land, which is purified by the touch of Lord Krishna’s lotus feet. Among the seven main temples of Gaudiya Vaishnava sect in Sri Vrindavana Dhama, the temple of Sri Sri Radha Shyamsundar has carved a special place for itself in the hearts of all the Vaishnavas because it houses the most beautiful and unique Deity of Sri  Radha Shyamsundar, that manifested from Srimati Radharani’s heart. All the prominent acharyas of Gaudiya Vaishnava cult used to visit this divine temple to have darshan of His Lordship, Sri Radha Shyamsundar. On having daily darshan of this transcendental Deity, Srila Jiva Gosvami, Sri Gopala Bhatta Gosvami, Srila Lokanath Gosvami and Sri Bhugarbha Gosvami etc. used to inundate deep in an ocean of ecstasy.

Srila Raghunath Dasa Gosvami and Srila Krishna Dasa Kaviraja Gosvami, who would otherwise never leave Sri Radha Kunda, also started visiting Vrindavan for the darshan of Sri Radha Shyamsundar, despite their old age and physical problems. Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana spent most of his time in Vrindavana in the service of the Deity.

SHREE RADHA SHYAMSUNDAR TEMPLE (PART-2)

 Sri Shyamananda prabhu was personally graced by Srimati Radharani. She gave him a nupur tilak of the shape of Her lotus foot and the transcendental and divine Deity of Sri Shyamsundar.

Srimati Radharani Ji had gifted this divine Deity of Sri Shyam Sunder Ji (Lala Ji) manifested from Her lotus heart, to Sri Shyamananda Prabhu for worship and service, on the Vasanta Panchami day .King of Bharatpur found a self-manifested Deity of Srimati Radharani (Lalee Ji) among the invaluable gems available in his treasury. He came to the grove of Shyamananda Prabhu in Sridham Vrindavana and performed her marriage with Sri Shyam Sundar Ji. King also got constructed a magnificent temple for the divine couple, and Lala-Lalee Ji shifted to this temple from the underground worship hut of Shyamananda Prabhu.

They were found in Nandagram by Sri Brajanandand Dev. After his disappearance, these Deities were brought to Vrindavana by Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana  and adorned in Sri Sri Radha-Shyamsundar Temple.

SHRAA RADHAGOKULANANDA TEMPLE ( PART -3)

      Lokanatha Gosvami was a contemporary of Sri Gauranga  Mahaprabhu. When Sri Gauranga Mahaprabhu took sannyasa, Lokanatha came to Vrindavana. While visiting the places of Krishna’s pastimes, while in the village of Umaraa in the forest called Chatavana, Lokanatha Gosvami discovered the Deity of Radha-Vinoda. Lokanatha’s samadhi is just north of the village of Umaraa, on the bank of Kishori Kunda. The Deity of Radha-Vinoda was revealed to him from this tank. Lokanatha Gosvami used to carry this Deity in a bag hanging from his neck.

  Lokanatha told Lord Gauranga  Mahaprabhu  that he did not want to take any disciples. Lord Gauranga  Mahaprabhu told him that he would take only one and that he would send him to Lokanatha. When Narottama dasa came to Vrindavana, he was attracted to be initiated by Lokanatha Gosvami. Lokanatha Gosvami refused the repeated requests of Narottama to be initiated. Narottama acted as Lokanatha Gosvami menial servant. Every night Narottama cleaned and swept the bhajan kutir of Lokanatha, without his knowledge. He was finally pleased with Narottama and accepted him as his only disciple.

 Narottama dasa Thakur, Syamananda Prabhu and Srinivasa Acarya, by the order of Jiva Gosvami, took the original manuscripts of the Gosvami and brought them to Bengal to be copied. These devotees preached the teaching of Sri Gauranga Mahaprabhu where ever they went with great enthusiasm. Visvanatha Cakravarti appeared in the Gaudiya Vaishnava line about a hundred years later. 

SHRAA RADHAGOKULANANDA TEMPLE ( PART -2)

                The admirers of Lokanatha Gosvami built a temple for Radha-Vinoda, at the place where the Deity of Radha-Vinoda was being worshiped.  Jahnava Devi had a Deity of Radha made in Jagannatha Puri and installed the Deity next to Radha-Vinoda. Th temple where Radha-Vinoda was installed eventually fell apart. The Deity of Radha-Vinoda is now in this temple of Gokulananda.

 This original Deity of Radha-Vinoda is now being worshiped in Jaipur. The Deity was moved to Jaipur to protect the Deity from an attack on Vrindavana by Muslims. This temple contains the pratibhu-murtis of the original Deities. It is considered that there is no different in potency between the original Deity and the pratibhu-murti.

  The samadhis of Lokanatha Gosvami, Narottama Dasa, and Visvanatha Cakravarti are located in a small courtyard next to the temple. Lokanatha Gosvami did his bhajana in this courtyard and left his body at this place. In Narottama Dasa’s puspa samadhi are his garland, kaupins, cloth and mala. Viswanath Cakravarti Thakura entered samadhi in 1674. He wrote the eight prayers of Sri Gurvashtakam.

SHREE RADHAGOKULANANDA TEMPLE( PART-1)

 Radha Gokulananda Temple is an ancient shrine, located at Vrindavan, in Uttar Pradesh. It is in between the Kesi Ghat and the Radha-Raman Temple.

In this temple there is the  Radha-Vinoda Deities of Lokanatha Gosvami, the larger Deities of Vijaya Govinda of Baladeva Vidyabhusana, and the Radha Gokulananda Deities of Viswanath Cakravarti. The small Deity of Krishna in front of Gokulananda and the Deity of Gauranga Mahaprabhu were worshiped by Narottama Dasa Thakur. Viswanath Cakravarti arranged to have this temple built.

Originally, Viswanath Cakravarti worshiped the Deity of Gokulananda at Radha Kunda. He then moved to Vrindavana and stayed with Lokanatha Gosvami. Where this temple is located is where Lokanatha Gosvami would do his bhajana. When the original temple of Radha-Vinoda fell apart, Viswanath Cakravarti had another temple built and called it the Gokulananda Temple. Both his Deity of Gokulananda and Radha-Vinoda were worshiped here.

  There is a Govardhana-shila in this temple that was given by Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu  to Raghunath Dasa Gosvami. This shila bears the thumb print of Lord Caitanya. He used to chant while holding the shila, pressing it to His heart or eyes. The shila was always moist with Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu’s  tears. He would place it on His head or smell it. Lord Gauranga kept this shila for three years and then gave it to Raghunatha dasa. Krishna Priya Thakurani, the daughter of Ganganarayan Chakravarti (the disciple of Narottama dasa), got the service of worshiping Giridhara, the Govardhana shila of Raghunatha dasa Gosvami.

SHREE RADHA MADAN MOHAN TEMPLE

Shree Radha Madan Mohan Temple is located near the Kali Ghat ,which was built by Kapur Ram Das of Multan. This is the oldest temple in Vrindavan. The temple is closely associated with the Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu . The original image of Lord Madan Gopal was shifted from the shrine to Karauli in Rajasthan for safe keeping during Mugal emperor Aurangzeb's rule.

Advaita Acarya discovered the original Deity of Madana-Mohan at the base of an old vata tree, when he visited Vrindavana. He found this Deity at Advaita Vata, which is the place where he did his bhajana. This place is just below the hill on which the Madana-Mohan temple is located. He entrusted the worship of Madana-Mohan to his disciple, Purusottama Chaube, who then gave the Deity to Sanatana Gosvami. Worshiped along with Madana-Mohan are Radharani and Lalita, who were sent to Vrindavana by Purusottama Jena, the son of Maharaja Prataparudra.

SHREE RADHAGOVINDADEV TEMPLE

Shree Radha Govindadev  temple was established by Srila Sanatana Goswami and was the first temple to be built in This deity was established by Srila Rupa Goswami who was ordered by Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu to excavate all the lost holy places of Vrindavan. Five thousand years earlier, Lord Krishna's grandson, Vajranaba, installed a number of important deities in Vrindavan, Govind dev ji is one of them. Rupa Goswami visit all over Vrindavana to locate the Yogapith, the resting place of original deity of Govind dev ji, but after a month of searching, the deity could not be found. Rupa Goswami feeling disappointed, came and sat by the bank of river Yamuna and shedding tears, began calling the name of Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu -"Ha  Gauranga " . Suddenly Lord Krishan in the guise of a beautiful brajvasi boy appeared and informed Rup Goswami that a cow came every day to a near by hillock, and emptied its milk in to a hole in the hilltop. He asked Rupa to accompany him to the place and see what might be in the hole. Rupa Goswami followed the boy and upon reaching the spot, the boy disappeared. Looking within the milk drenched hole, Rupa Goswami immediately fell unconscious in a wave of ecstatic emotions. When he recovered, he summoned the local people who excavated the hole and found the beautiful deity of Lord Govind dev ji.

 Lord Govindadeva and all the important Deities of Vrindavana had been moved to safer place Jayapur. The solidiers of Aurangzeb dismantled the top floors of the Govindaji temple and desecrated the sanctum sanctorum as well as mutilated all the stone carvings within the temple. Because the soldiers of Aurangzeb desecrated the main temple, it is believed that worship cannot continue in that temple.

SHREE RADHARAMANA TEMPLE

Radha Ramana means the lover (ramana) of Srimati Radha. The temple was established over 500 years ago by Gopala Bhatta Goswami. At the age of thirty, Gopala Bhatta Gosvami came to Shree Vrindavana. After Gauranga Mahaprabhu's disappearance Gopala Bhatta Gosvami felt intense separation from the Lord. To relieve his devotee from the pangs of separation, the Lord instructed Gopala Bhatta in a dream "If you want my darshan then make a trip to Nepal".

In Nepal, Gopala Bhatta bathed in the famous Kali-Gandaki River. Upon dipping his waterpot in the river, he was surprised to see several Shaligrama shilas enter his pot. He dropped the shilas back into the river, but the shilas re-entered his pot when he refilled it.

Gopala Bhatta Gosvami found twelve Shaligrama shilas. It is believed that once a wealthy man came to Vrindavana and offered Gopala Bhatta a variety of clothes and ornaments for his Shaligramas in charity. However, Gopala Bhatta couldn't use these for his round-shaped Shaligramas. He advised the donor to give the deity decorations to someone else. It is believed that the donor refused to take them back and Gopala Bhatta kept the clothes and ornaments with his shilas.

On the Purnima (full moon) day, in the evening after offering naivedhya to his Shaligrama shilas, Gopala Bhatta put them to rest covering them with a wicker basket. Late in the night, Gopala Bhatta took a little rest. in the early morning he went to take bath in the Yamuna river. Returning from his bath, he uncovered the Shaligramas in order to render puja, and saw amongst them a Deity of Krishna playing the flute. There were now only eleven shilas and a Deity. The "Damodara shila" had manifested as the beautiful three-fold bending form of tri-bhangananda-krishna. In this way Radha Raman emerged in a perfectly shaped deity form from a sacred shaligrama shila. Devotees consider this image to be alive and that he grants a chosen family the privilege of assisting him in his daily schedule. In this way "the Lord has granted his wish and the stone was turned into the murti of Sri Krishna".As a narrative account of actualized Krishna-bhakti, Radharamana's appearance story highlights the divine-human relationship of love as the ontologically central category of ultimate reality.

The Bhoga for Shri Radha Raman Ji is prepared by the male members of the Goswami families in the temple kitchen. The fire in the kitchen lit in early days of the temple still continues today.

Inside the temple complex, the samadhi of Srila Gopal Bhatta Goswami is also situated. There the rarely available Unag vastra of Sri Gauranga Mahaprabhu is kept.

SHREE VRINDAVAN DHAM

   

    Shree Vrindavan  is a town in the Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, Bhaarat. Lord Krishna spent his childhood days.The town hosts many temples dedicated to the worship of Radha and Krishna and is considered sacred by Vaishnavism.In Vrindavan there are many temples of RadhaKrishna.Among them some temples are very famous like …

·         Shree Radha Raman Temple

·         Shree Radha Govinda Temple

·         Shree Radha Madan Mohan Temple

·         Shree Radha Gokulananda Temple

·         Shree Radha Shyamsundar Temple

·         Shree Radha Gopinath Temple

·         Shree Radha Bankebihari Lal Temple

·         Shree Ranganath Temple

·         Shree Radha Damodar Temple

 

Shree Vrindavan has an ancient past, associated with Hindu history, and is an important Hindu pilgrimage site. One of its oldest surviving temples is the Govinda Dev temple, built in 1590, with the town founded earlier in the same century. The essence of Vrindavan was lost over time until the 16th century, when it was rediscovered by Shree Gauranga Mahaprabhu. In the year 1515, Shree Gauranga Mahaprabhu visited Shree Vrindavana, with the purpose of locating the lost holy places associated with Lord Sri Krishna's transcendent pastimes. Shree GaurangaMahaprabhu  wandered through the different sacred forests of Vrindavana in a spiritual trance of divine love. It was believed that by His divine spiritual power, He was able to locate all the important places of Krishna's pastimes in and around Vrindavana.

KRISHNA JANMASTAMI

King Kansa was the most absolute and tyrannical monarch of the period; the bare mention of whose name was sufficient to send fear through the hearts of all good and peace-loving people. His sister's name was Devaki upon whom his brother Kansa showered brotherly love. And that is the reason why, on the day of Devaki's marriage to Vasudev, when the time came for Devaki to travel to her husband's house, that king Kansa wanted to drive the carriage himself as a token of his brotherly love.

The newly married couple were simple and beautiful, yet noble and majestic to look at. They were really very happy. The royal carriage richly decorated with precious gems and ornaments, was being followed by a large retinue of people wearing colourful gala dresses. Everything was pleasant all round.

Suddenly the face of nature changed. The birds stopped singing; the sun was obscured by a cloud; the soft breeze became a howling wind creating dust storms. Ill omens were pointing to imminent danger. An unaccountable fear suddenly gripped the minds of all in the procession. At such a time, an unseen voice, an oracle, was heard from above which said:

"Oh you foolish one, whom are you driving so merrily? Would you not know that the eighth issue of her womb shall be the cause of your death?"

On hearing this, the terrible Kansa sprang up from his seat, drew his sword, and was about to kill his sister on the spot, had not Vasudev intervened. Falling upon his feet, on behalf of his newly married wife, reminding Kansa that not Devaki but her eighth child would be the cause of his death. So he requested Kansa most humbly, to spare her life, she being fully innocent, and promised, since he had fear from her children, that each and everyone of them would be given over to him. Kansa felt the force of the reason and agreed to the proposal of Vasudev.

Besides his newly married bride Devaki, Vasudev had another good wife, named Rohini and with these two loving and dutiful wives he managed to live in peace and comfort.

In the course of time, the first male child was born to Devaki. Vasudev, true to his word, sent the news to King Kansa, who sent his servants to fetch the child whom he instantly killed with his own hands. Six children were thus killed by the cruel king, who foolishly wanted to avert the course of fate.

In the case of the seventh child, somehow or other the womb appeared to be fruitless, although it was really transferred, through divine agency, from Devaki to Rohini, who in due course of time, brought forth a child that, on account of its transference from one womb to another came to be known by the name of Sankarshana.

Now when the time for the birth of her eighth child was approaching, Kansa ordered Vasudeva and Devaki to be cast into his prison, bound with the same chain.

Both the wife and husband did not know what to do. Every minute of their lives they called upon their only hope, their only deliverance, God. The solace of the unhappy, ardent prayers proceeding from the very bottom of their souls, incessantly flowed out of their hearts; and the almighty Lord of the universe, in His own mysterious ways, was infilling their souls with infinite power of endurance which kept the fragile vessels of their delicate frames steady and safe in that gloomy and stormy sea of life.

For us, there is a lesson to be derived from this. We can draw great comfort from the Gita where the Lord tells us: Ch.8,verse 58-"Fixing your mind on Me, you shall by my grace, overcome all obstacles..."

Devaki was about to usher into the world its saviour, and she along with her husband, bewailed her lot and beating her forehead said: "O darling, be not born of me to be smashed to death by the cruel king Kansa". And with this, both Devaki and Vasudeva fell into a swoon. In the gloom of that unconsciousness, suddenly a light flashed, and a beautiful youth of sixteen, holding mace and discus, conch shell and lotus in his four hands, rose above the horizon of their mental firmament, healing all their mental wounds, cheering and exhilarating them with his sweet smile."Father and mother, weep no more. I have come at last to your rescue and to the rescue of all the good people. Open your eyes and see me as your child. Carry me father to the house of your friend Nanda in Gokula. His wife Yashoda has given birth to a daughter just now. Exchange me for that daughter. Bring her back to this prison leaving me on the lap of Yashoda who will be sleeping at the time. Nothing shall bar your path".

With these words, the soul-solacing charming youth vanished.

When Devaki and Vasudeva opened their eyes, they saw the most charming and beautiful baby ever a parent was blessed with. That was at midnight of Ashtami-Rohini day, the divine baby was born in Prison. The earth and the heavens were filled with joy. Flowers blossomed, rains fell from the sky, peacocks danced, the gods rained flowers, and divine music was heard. Devaki and Vasudeva forgot their miserable condition for a while, looking at the smiling baby playing with its tiny limbs. The mother kissed the sweet face and forgot her danger. Then after a while, they realised the real state of affairs and both the husband and wife shuddered. Then the sweet instructions of the fascinating youth in the vision flashed into their minds. Vasudeva clasped the child at once in his bosom to start for Gokula, but found that his legs were in chains. He did not know what to do. In his haste he gave a jerk, and his legs were released! He sprang upon his feet and ran towards the door of his dungeon. The massive iron-barred doors were locked with three fold locks; but the guards were all asleep, and therefore fearlessly he gave a push forward and the gates were unlocked and flew open of their own accord. The crossing over the river Yamuna was just as miraculous. Vasudeva reached Gokula and to his astonishment found the door of Nanda's house open. He exchanged the babies and hurried back to the prison of Kansa. Early in the morning, all the people at Gokula came to know that a beautiful male child, a prince had been born the previous night at midnight to Nanda's wife, and their simple hearts were filled with unbounded joy.
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