“When doubts haunt me, when disappointments stare me in the face, and I see not one ray of hope on the horizon, I turn to BHAGWAD GITA and find a verse to comfort me; and I begin to smile in the midst of overwhelming sorrow. Those who meditate on the Gita will derive fresh joy and new meanings from it every day.”
MAHATMA GANDHI(The Man of the Millennium)

From the hymn "A Cudgle For Delusion"

Boast not of your youth or friends or wealth;
Swifter than eyes can wink, by Time
Each one of these is stolen away.
Abjure the illusion of the world
And join yourself to timeless Truth.
Give up the curse of lust and wrath,
Give up delusion, Give up greed;
Remember who can really are
fools are they that are blind to self;
Cast into hell , they suffer there.

Quoted by Shankaracharya in' Self- Knowledge'

Thought for the week

*****

Satya Wah hai jo kisi se kate nahin.

Truth is that which can not be denied by anyone.

Bhakti Yoga

Chapter-18 Text-56

Sarvkarymanyapi sada kurvano madvyapasrayah.
madprasadadvapnoti shashvatam padamavyayam.
Translation: -
The pure devotee of mine who is my suppliant in spite of engaging himself in all kinds of activities attains the eternal and imperishable abode with my grace.
Purport: -
The verses 56 to 68 of chapter XVIII can be considered especially important as these are said by the Supreme Lord from his side and not in answer to any question of Arjuna.Telling His divine rule ,Lord Krishna says that the perfect devotee who depends entirely upon Me and not on any person, thing, event, situation etc. of this world, becomes my suppliant and it becomes My responsibility to look after his welfare and to ensure his salvation. I attend to his needs personally. ( Chapter IX verse 22 and chapter XII - verse 7).

Such a devotee of mine though he remains engaged in all worldly, social or physical activities, gets to the same abode which is attained by a Gyanyogi after contracting(limiting) all his activities. It become possible only with Gods grace.......... This shows the love and compassion of God for his devotees. This abode is attainable not by perseverance, attempts or any other means but by the divine grace of God. This abode of God is situated everywhere as the sweet. Lord is omnipresent . As the devotee surrenders himself in Gods protection, he gets rid of his ignorance and he is able to see the divine act (Leela) of the Supreme lord everywhere! But if the devotee has the feeling that the abode of God is somewhere else he gets to it after leaving his body.

Bhaktiyog (Devotional service) is considered to be superior to Gyan yog and karma yog because in this the devotee does not require to exercise excessive self control in order to succeed. It is enough if he surrenders himself to God and takes only His shelter and thus performing all the prescribed duties he attains the same goal. He has only to submit himself to His will like a kitten. Then the supreme Lord, who is the ocean of grace, grants him salvation without giving even a single thought to his disqualifications and weaknesses.

http://www.rudragiriji.net/ andhttp://rudrasandesh.blogspot.com/

Bhakti:worshipping Personal Brahman

Chapter-12 Text-2
Mayyaveshya mano ye mam nityayukta upasate.
Shraddhaya parayopetaste me yuktatama matah.
Translation: -
The Supreme Lord says: Those devotees who fix their minds on my personal form, and with great devotion engage in worshiping me are considered by Me to be most perfect yogis.
Purport: -
On being asked by Arjuna, the supreme Lord tells him that the devotees whose minds are engaged in His contemplations and who love only Him, should be considered true yogis.

Devotees sometimes try to devote their minds and thoughts to the Lord. But it is difficult to do so without devoting one’s self to Him. AS When a sculptor makes a sculpture, first he devotes himself to the task and his tools are in turn devoted to it, too. In the same way, when one devotes oneself to His service, one finds that his mind and thoughts are also focused towards Him as the thoughts of the objects of love come unbidden.

When one thinks that "he is God’s and God is his" he denies his relationship with material nature and thus he gets rid of his 'false ego'(that he is this body). And then his self-evident link with God becomes manifest and he remembers it continuously. And there is continuous awareness of his real self. This devotee becomes free of desires, collection of material possessions and all worldly attachments.
A perfect devotee is the one who lets not a single moment pass without devoting his activities to the Lord. The mind is involved in the object of love and thoughts go towards the object of devotion. The devotee with firm faith performs every action for the service of God. Such a devotee never loses his link with God. The meaning of yoga is to establish a continuous link with God. That is why Lord Krishna considers him the most perfect yogi. A yogi practising devotion or 'Bhakti' is superior to those practicing Karma yoga or Gyan yoga as he achieves the end of all yogas, Bhakti, since the very beginning. God has an appetite for love, not for knowledge. The end of transcendental (devine) knowledge is salvation (Nirvana) but the joy, which is generated from devotion gradually gets more and more profound . Therefore the ultimate element is love, not Mukti(salvation).