Lord Shri Krishna states in Bhagavad Gita 6.7 "For one who has conquered the mind, the Supersoul is already reached, for he has attained tranquility. To such a man happiness and distress, heat and cold, honor and dishonor are all the same."

So what is the mind? How can we conquer our mind?

The mind is a pattern seeking self organizing system.
Human mind does not think logically. It thinks in patterns. It seeks patterns and organizes itself according to past patterns to perform on auto-pilot once these patterns are ingrained on it.

The mind is a lazy creature and its only job is how to stop thinking. Krishna has made this mind for a purpose, to simplify our life so that we can devote more time to Him. What we put into our mind repeatedly through our senses it forms an impression on our mind. Once the patterns are set then we don’t have to make an effort as the mind takes over. For example, when I am wearing clothes or when I drive to work, I do not think what to wear first, which arm or leg to use first or which route to take. Since the pattern has been set, my mind takes over and performs these functions for me on auto-pilot. Without realizing I have worn my clothes and I am driving to work. All the while I have a choice to think of Krishna or about material things.

So whatever impressions you put on this hard disc of our mind, it forms our Sanskaras (our samsara - world  which has an aakaar - a form).

These patterns form our karma. Our thoughts, our habit patterns, our Attitudes, Beliefs & Convictions form our karma. Our mind is a bundle of our karmas. Our vaasanas (desires in the form of seed in the mind which we are not even aware of), sankalpas (desires which have sprouted from seed which we are aware of but not yet expressed) and  ichchaas (desires which are now expressed to others), form our karma If we think, speak and behave in a negative manner (in forgetfulness of Krishna), we attract bad karma, and if we think, speak and behave positively (with some expectation- material or spiritual) we will attract good karma.

But Krishna wants us to go beyond karma & perform acts of Yog to be Jeevan Mukta (liberated while in this body). He has given us this tool, the mind, to use it wisely in His service.

For this we have to program our mind with patterns of remembering Him 24/7, by chanting His name (yajnanam japa-yajno 'smi), singing His glories, performing all actions as an offering to Him (http://www.asitis.com/9/27.html), seeing Him in the hearts of all beings (http://www.asitis.com/6/30.html), following the 4 regulative principles, etc. So when these new patterns are ingrained in our sub conscious mind, then there is no effort required. The mind will seek these new patterns, reorganize itself and follow these new patterns automatically. This takes about 2-4 weeks to set a new pattern 

But every coin has a flip side, so does our mind. If we don’t control our mind, the mind has a natural tendency to move towards negativity which is also God’s Grace so that we be aware of the dangers in front of us . But if we don’t control our mind, it soon it will form more negative patterns and through repeated thinking on negative patterns it reorganizes itself to go deeper and deeper into anxiety or fear or depression or rage or greed or envy or other such emotions.
Just like the smallest building block of our body is a cell, the smallest building block of our mind is a thought and Krishna has given us this ladder of fall in BG Ch 2.62/63. These thoughts form our moods which give rise to emotions. The more charge we give to these thoughts they form e-motions (energy in motion).

For example, when the mind thinks negative thoughts of future uncertainty continuously, then what we experience sometimes is the emotions of fear. Thus when you feel a weakness in your knees, a queasiness in your stomach, a dryness in your throat, a metallic taste on your tongue, perspiration on your forehead and underarms, trembling in your hands, be rest assure the molecules of emotion called fear racing in your entire system. This is what Arjuna
experiences when he wants to see with his own eyes (mind), though Krishna is by his side.

The whole purpose of living the life based on the teachings of Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita is to transcend our mind, surrender our mind, annihilate our mind, so we can serve Him and His Creation as He is seated in the hearts of all beings. He has described in many verses how His devotee acts within the world .. BG Ch 2.56, 5.18, 6.7, 6.8, 6.9, 12.13, 12.14, 12.15, 12.17, etc

Krishna loves us unconditionally. Hence He also wants us to come to Him by choice, unconditionally. Till we are perfectly purified of our material desires, He will continue to be there by our side so that when we turn our mind to Him, He will take us across this ocean (Ch 7.14)

Hare Krishna!

Who is God?

God is that, which is the cause of itself, and the cause of all causes - sarva kaaran kaaranam.

God is all pervading - Omnipresent. Vasudeva or Vishnu means one who is present everywhere.

God is all powerful - Omnipotent. Everything is possible for God. Tena vina trnam api na calati - not a blade of grass moves without the consent of God.

God is all knowing - Omniscient, one who knows everything - past, present and future.

God is Imminent and Transcendental

God is Creator, Maintainer and Destroyer of this Universe. 

God is perfect and complete. And only perfect and complete things arise from God.

For most of us, God is Avyakta or not manifest and Acintya or inconceivable. God is beyond the perception of our senses and beyond the comprehension of our mind and intelligence.

There are three stages in God Realization:

(1) God is the all pervading Brahman (like the sunshine). This the Jnani's (person with spiritual knowledge) Realization.

(2) God is the locally manifest Parmatma in our heart (like the reflection of the sun in the mirror)

(3) God is the Supreme Person - Bhagwan (like the Sun). This this is the devotee's realization.

Although this Supreme Person is also inconceivable and not manifest, out of mercy for His devotees, God appears in human form as Avataar (one who descends).

The Avataar delivers Saints, destroys Evil-doers and reestablishes the Principles of Religion.

Still, Saints rest in transcendental bliss, Karma helps Evil-doers destroy themselves and Devotees preserve and spread the already established Principles of Religion. So why should God descend as an Avataar?

The real reason that God appears as Avataar is to enable us to easily approach Him.

It is difficult or impossible to love an inconceivable and invisible God. Still when God appears as an Avataar, we can easily establish a loving relationship with Him. We can visualize His form, recall His activities and chant His name, completely and easily absorbing ourselves in Him.

Krishna is not a mythological or a literary character. There is sufficient archaeological evidence to show that Krishna is historical personality who walked on this earth 5000 years ago.

Although Krishna appears in an apparently human form, this form is not finite. This form is Sat Chit Ananda Vigraha - Eternal, full of Knowledge and a source of Bliss.

When Yashoda looks into Krishna's mouth, she sees the entire Universe (with herself and Krishna in it). Krishna contains the Universe within His spiritual form and through His mystic opulence simaltaneously appears within it.

No Avataar before or after Krishna, manifests qualities or activities that match those He displays. Krishna is the only Purna (complete) Avataar. He exhibits the qualities of every incarnation of God and has many additional glories.

Krishna is Bhagavan - the Supreme Person who fully possesses the six distinctions of Beauty, Strength, Knowledge, Wealth, Fame and Renunciation.

(1) The Chandogya Upanishad mentions Krishna long before He appears on earth.

(2) He reveals the Viraat Svarupa (Cosmic Universal Form) as a standard against which you may measure other Avataars.

(3) Krishna performs extraordinary activities never imitated in world history.

(4) He has a unique message and mission: salvation by Divine Grace through adoration and surrender to His personal     form.

(5) Krishna's hands and feet possess the birth marks of the Avataar (elephant's goad, thunderbolt, flag)

Thus Krishna fulfills all the scriptural criteria of an Avataar.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is a veiled incarnation of Lord Krishna who appeared in Nava-Dvipa (West Bengal) 500 years ago. He also fulfills the scriptural criteria for an Avataar.

The Chaitanya Upanishad (Atharva Veda) mentions Chaitanya Mahaprabhu 4500 years before His appearance and He reveals His Viraat Svarupa (Cosmic Universal Form) before His devotee Advaita Acharya. He also bears birth marks of the Avataar on His hands and feet. Chaitanya's unique message and mission are the propagation of the Sankirtana movement (congregational chanting of the Holy Name). 

Ram Avataar appeared to display the behavior of an ideal King. Similarly, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu appeared to show the world the conduct of an ideal Devotee. Teaching by example the behavior of an ideal Devotedd, Lord Chaitanya never allowed His devotees to worship Him as God, He taught that all of us are eternal servants of Krishna and directed us to the goal of life - love of God (Bhakti), through unmotivated and uninterrupted devotional service.

Lord Chaitanya frequently quoted this verse from the Brhad Naradiya Purana: Harer Nama Harer Nama Harer Nama eva Kevalam Kalau Naste eva Naste eva Naste eva Gatir Anyatha - There is no other way in Kaliyug, There is no other way in Kaliyug, There is no other way in Kaliyug, other than by chanting the Holy Name, chanting the Holy Name, chanting the Holy Name.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu personally always chanted the Maha Mantra from the Kali Santarana Upanishad:

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna 

Krishna Krishna Hare Hare 

Hare Rama Hare Rama 

Rama Rama Hare Hare

Courtesy: My Spiritual Master S U N

Scripture is the word of God who speaks directly or through His pure Devotee. 

Man is imperfect and cannot produce perfect revelation.

Lord Krishna - the Supreme Personality of Godhead, directly spoke the Bhagavad Gita to His devotee Arjuna. 

The Lord also speaks less directly through Prophets and Saints who commune with Him in their heart. These revelations are also Scriptures.

The Vedic Scriptures are Apaurusheya -they have no human author. The Vedas are Shabda Brahma - the direct word of God reavealed at the time of Creation. When we buy any electronic or household appliance, we get an instruction manual. Similarly, at Creation, God gives us the Vedic Scripture for direction on how to behave in this world.

The Scriptures contain many facts that one cannot explain without understanding that they were divinerevelation.

1) Most of Europe believed 500 years ago that the world was flat. The Vedas (present from the beginning of time & written down 5000 years ago) revealed that the Earth is Bhu-Gol  (round earth).

2) Christopher Columbus did not know 500 years ago that there were 7 continents. The Vedas have always said that Bhu-Gol had Sapta-Dvipa (seven continents). 

3) Einsteing discussed the relative relationship between Space and Time a short time ago. The Bhagavad Purana describes Kakudmuni's experience of Relativity more than 5000 years ago.

4) Life magazine published photographs of conception and the development of the embryo only recently. The Garbha Upanishad describes this in detail since the time of Creation.

Rejecting God's instruction is the cause of our misfortune on this earth. If we shun the laws of Scripture and act according to our whims and fancies, we must suffer. Through Material Nature, God will force us to obey these laws.

All Scriptures are the word of one God. Still, various Scriptures appear to give dissimilar messages because God speaks to different classes of people at different historical periods. The depraved people living in a degenarate culture the Scripture will necessarily different from the one given to a cultured and civilized populace. Even in Hinduism there are paths for Rajasic (lustful) and Tamasic (ignorant) people.

Although God is seated in our heart we cannot easily hear Him. The voices of Lust, Anger, Greed, Envy, Illusion and Madness drown out His voice. To hear the voice of God in our heart, we need to still the other voices through spiritual endeavor. Until then we should follow the Scripture.

We must read the Scripture "as it is' without distortion or interpretation. We must not listen to the clever oratory of 'intellectual' word jugglers.

The Scriptures are many. There are many arguments about which one is most suitable. The essence of Scripture is in the heart of a pure devotee of God. We should follow his guidance and in his footsteps. Kali Yuga is an ocean. The human body is a sail boat. The Scriptures are like the wind. The Guru is like the Captain of the sail-boat. He directs the sail to catch the wind most favorably. Without his guidance the wind can capsize and sink the boat.

The Scriptures prescribed for Kali Yuga are: (1) Bhagavad Gita (2) Bhagavat Purana (3) Kali Santarana Upanishad

The method of deliverance in Kali Yuga is the chanting of the Holy Name (especially in congregation) - either loudly in Kirtana (chanting loudly), softly in Japa (chanting softly) or silently in Dhyana(Meditiation).

The Kali Santarana Upanishad recommends the Maha Mantra - Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare, Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare.  As devotees of Krishna, we chant the name of Krishna first.

The final proof of Scripture is direct perception of the Absolute Truth. We can easily taste this through the sincere chanting of the Holy Name and......

Follow the four Regulative Principles - The Vedic Scriptures condemn the following four activities:

a) Meat eating

b) Intoxication

c) Illicit sex 

d) Gambling

Hare Krishna! 

Courtesy: My spiritual teacher S U N

Once upon a time, the Sages Vishwamitra and Vasishtha, debated the relative merits of tapasya and satsanga.  Vasishtha asserted that satsang is the most spiritually powerful path. Vishwamitra insisted that tapasya is supreme. 

Vishwamitra, burst into the Vasishtha's satsang, and demanded that they ask Ananta Sesha Naga to resolve this difference of views. Although the satsanga started only 10 minutes before this interruption, Vasishtha agreed to humor Vishwamitra.

Soon, they reached Ananta Sesha Naga, and asked for an opinion. 

Ananta Sesha said, "I am carry the burden of the Universe on my heads. This gives me a tremendous headache. Lend me the power that each of you acquired through tapasya and satsanga. I will try each in turn and decide which one relieves my headache better."

First, Vishwamitra gave Ananta Sesha all the spiritual power acquired through a lifetime of tapasya. The burden on the heads of Ananta Sesha did not appear to relieved even a little bit. His headache remained unchanged.

Then Vasishtha transferred the spiritual powers acquired in 10 minutes of the interrupted satsang. Suddenly the weight of the universe seemed to lift from the heads of Ananta Sesha. 

He smiled and said, “My headache is gone. The spiritual power of satsanga is supreme. When people gather in satsanga, the collective weight of their mental burdens vanishes. They transcend their minds, and move onto the spiritual plane attaining yoga with the Divine.”

In the Yoga Vasishtha, sadhu-sanga or satsang is affirmed as one of the four gatekeepers of Moksha. The others are self restraint, contentment and self awareness. Befriending even one of these gatekeepers is sufficient to enter into the kingdom of God.

The Shrimad Bhagavata Purana describes how the orphan Narada grows up in the company of saints. Merely through their association, he is blessed with a direct vision of God. As Narada Muni, he then travels the universe glorifying the Lord and sharing the benefits of his satsanga.

The Bible declares in Mathew 18 Verse 20: “Wherever two or more are gathered in my name,  there I am among them.”

The Bhagavad Gita states in Chapter 10 Verse 9: “The thoughts of My devotees dwell in Me, their lives are surrendered to Me, and they blissfully enlighten each other about Me.”

In satsanga, one remains rapt and absorbed in the presence of God. The enlightened ones see the Lord everywhere in every rock and every heart. They dwell in eternal satsanga. As a sandalwood tree spreads its fragrance to all other trees around it, the enlightened saints spread spiritual fragrance, to all those who gather around them. 

These satsangis in turn, lovingly pull into the charmed circle, spiritual seekers among their near and dear ones. Thus does the love of the Divine spread through the universe. For one does not spray spirituality with water cannon upon the multitudes. One gently pours love of God from one  human heart into another.

To draw a seeker into the satsanga circle, his false ego is used as the hook. Before you break a coconut on the ground, you need to lift it high into the air. Similarly, the false ego is inflated by the satsangis as a preamble to its annihilation.

To pull the potential initiate into the spiritual chakravyuha, he must be romanced. He is seriously courted by a gaggle of admirers from the satsanga. Softened with compliments and flattery, entertained by poems and song, enticed through flirtation and coquetry, he is gently led into the spiritual honey trap. To avoid the more worldly implications of these activities, the process is purely a homo-romanticization by heterosexuals.

So begins the path of satsanga. On this path of evolution, the seeker with a natural history of autophilia, homophilia, heterophilia, ascends to the love of yogis, saints and Guru. Ultimately he reaches fulfillment in OMniphilia - the love of God who is in the heart of all things.

Courtesy: My spiritual Master S U N

Veda Vyasa is not the origin of the Bhagavad Gita.

Bhagavan is the source of the Bhagavad Gita. Lord Krishna is the speaker of
the Bhagavad Gita; Veda Vyasa is only the compiler, editor, and publisher.

In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna declares to Arjuna, that He is God. If we
consider Him a LIAR and cannot accept Krishna as God, we cannot understand
the Bhagavad Gita.

Before we can understand the Book, we need to accept the credentials of the
Author. If we do not trust the Author, we will not trust His Book and find
ourselves unable to benefit from it.

Krishna tells Arjuna never to share the message of the Bhagavad Gita with
certain individuals. If you fall into any of these categories, please
unsubscribe from this egroup now! [:-)

Never share the message of the Bhagavad Gita with:

1) Hedonists: Those leading purely pleasure centered lives (incapable of
engaging in basic sacrifice and austerity).

2) Monists and Nihilists: Individuals who believe that "I am God (and so are
you)" or that "there is no God only a void."

3) Uninterested: People who do not desire to hear about the Bhagavad Gita.

4) Inimical: Persons who have a revulsion and hatred for Krishna.

You need to approach the Bhagavad Gita with the right attitude and spirit.
Krishna tells Arjuna that He is giving this message to him because he is a
devotee and a friend.

To study the Bhagavad Gita as a Sanskrit scholar, Indologist, philosopher,
or historian is like licking the bottle of honey from the outside. Such
commentaries on the Bhagavad Gita do not allow you to taste the honey within
the bottle but only the glue on the label outside.

One who shares the message of Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita with other
devotees (you could forward these messages to your friends) gains
wonderfully.

For such a person, Krishna guarantees:

1) Pure Bhakti
2) Permanent reunion with Krishna on leaving this body

Courtesy: My spiritual Master S U N

The Bhagavad Gita is not a mythological story.

Brought up as most children are, on a diet of comics and super-heroes, it is natural for us to speak of Krishna as one more fictional and mythic hero.

Nevertheless, Krishna is not a myth. He is not the figment of the
imagination of Veda Vyasa. He is not like Superman, Batman, or a hero from Star Wars. He is a genuine historical personality who walked on this earth more than 5,000 years.

Off the coast of Saurashtra, an Indian archeological expedition extensively explored a submerged city, several thousand years old. Dr. Rao, the Chief Archeologist declared, "This underwater city cannot be anything other than Krishna's Dwarka!"

Another archeologist from the former Soviet Union, Professor A.A. Gorbovsky unearthed from the fields of Kurukshetra (north of New Delhi) - a human skull. He took this skull back with him to his country to study and carbon date it.

His evidence revealed that this skull belonged to a man who died in a war 5,000 years ago - the approximate date of the battle of Kurukshetra.
Amazingly, the skull emitted radiation similar to that of an object exposed to a nuclear blast.

In the Mahabharata, there is a graphic description of the explosion that follows the use of a Brahma-astra (nuclear weapon). The vivid Sanskrit prose describes in great detail the classical mushroom shaped cloud, the intense heat and radiation, the nuclear winter that follows, and the horrible effects on its miserable survivors.

It is only recently after Hiroshima and Nagasaki that the modern world was able to understand all the horrors of nuclear war that Veda Vyasa recorded in the Mahabharata 5,000 years ago.

Krishna is not a myth but a historical personality. The battle of
Kurukshetra that took place 5,000 years ago, is an ancient conflict fought with nuclear weapons. And the Bhagavad Gita is an actual conversation between Krishna and Arjuna, faithfully recorded in a historical text (itihaasa) - the Mahabharata.

Courtesy: My spiritual Master S U N

The Bhagavad Gita is the song of God.

Some interpreters see the Bhagavad Gita as an allegorical fable and dismiss
the war completely as a literary device.

Comparing Kurukshetra to the body, they believe Arjuna symbolizes the
Jivatma (individual soul) and Krishna the Paramatma (supersoul). The
Kauravas with their opposing army, apparently represent the thousands of
sinful inclinations that confront and threaten to overwhelm the individual
soul.

The battle of Kurukshetra is no fable or myth but a historically documented
war in the Mahabharata - of which the Bhagavad Gita is a small part.

Yet, the Lord does make His personal appearance in a manner that is
powerfully symbolic. Indeed, in the Bhagavad Gita (Chapter 13), Krishna
refers to the body as the kshetra (field), to the soul as kshetrajna (knower
of the field) and to Himself as the knower of all fields.

The Bhagavad Gita discusses FIVE primary topics:

1) GOD (Bhagavan, Paramatma and Brahman)

2) SOUL (Jivatma or Jiva)

3) MATTER (Prakriti composed of Sattva, Rajo and Tamo gunas)

4) KARMA (The progressive entanglement of the Jiva in Prakriti)

5) YOGA (The process of liberation from Prakriti and reunion with Bhagavan)

The Bhagavad Gita describes how the soul may free itself from karmic
enslavement to matter and through the practice of yoga reunite with God.

The Upanishads are relatively complex philosophical texts in the Vedas.
Gitopanishad is another name for the Bhagavad Gita.

Krishna, the cowherd boy, having milked the Upanishadic cows, feeds us the
predigested cream as the Gitopanishad.

Courtery: My Spiritual Master S U N