Gold Pic of us dead in simp se ho to unsuspmare t Blogs (2024)

Blog By: Subhank Rajguru

Vastu Shastra A Knowledge of the Past for the Future

Subhank Rajguru

A few days back I had the opportunity to explore my upcoming apartment Situated at the outskirts and in a very scantily populated location i thought living beyond the concrete jungles of the city would be helpful in maintaining a serene lifestyle Just when i was about to exit from the property one of my friends a highly qualified Professional asked me to get Vastu help for the property so that i know it is correct But owing to my lineage and knowledge i explained him how simple things in Vastu that were originally mentioned in our Shastras can be practiced to live a great lifestyle Just when we finished he let me know that i was a genius and i should use this skill to earn a fortuneThis is when i thought why not make somebody else richer happier with my knowledge of this wonderful science composed and collected by the wisdoms of the thousands of sages over a period which we called the Indian CultureHere is a list of easy to do practices do it at home techniques which can be used to get rid of simple and complex Vaastu dosas One shouldnot keep any attar or gifted items in one39s safe There should never be a crack either in the basil plant39s pot or in the wood of the main door Cracks in the main door invites problems and tension in the house One shouldnot pass knife scissors and salt in one39s hand Once the marriage is fixed one should not cry early in the morning One should keep the main gate of the house open during Dhanteras morning and Diwali night One should never cut a peepal tree under any circumstances Making swasthik with turmeric inside the safe is beneficial Pregnant ladies should avoid proximity to television computer and other electronic equipments Avoid having the main entries into the site from the south or west of southwest To ensure peace and tranquility at home one should burn camphor in kitchen on full moon and new moon days In order to avoid child related problems in life one should ensure that the north west corner of the house is raised or elevated 27 days before the birth of the child Donate or gift jaggery according to horoscope to remove debt or loan One should place medicines in the house according to the main entrance door To get success in accounts related work one should always write with black ink pen To protect oneself from evil eye one should eat food on a banana leaf on the fill moon day One should not use knife or scissors facing north if one is indebted with loans One should never sit and cry in the southwest corner To get early success in one39s work one should place the Basil plant39s pot on a Swasthik made of Saffron One should not face south while working on accounts The colour of the main entrance door should never be black While entering the house if one keeps children ahead then one gets special benefits in one39s life One faces a lot of financial crisis if there are spider webs in the north east corner or cracks in the south east corner One should always leave home after touching feet or bowing to Kuldevta and ancestors for sure success in tasks Master bedroom in the northeast or east direction may cause depression tension and financial crisis in one39s life Temple in the south west or south east direction can disturb one39s mind during pooja as well as in the day to day working One can face contineous unnecessary expenses and diseases if there are fewer windows or no windows in the north or north east direction One faces major loss according to Tithi if glass breaks suddenly or gold gets misplaced If there are cracks on the staricase one can face litigation issues or heavy losses A flaring red patch indicates a shortterm problem related to the area of the palm it appears uponIf you feel you have liked what is written in here you are free to practice them at leisure or in a serious approach If you feel you are benefitted with the same you are free to share them with the group here at the speaking tree Whatever knowleadge i have is free for all and I donot charge anything from anybody So please feel free to write in your comments about the blog I hope i would have touched upon many of the unspoken practices and saved atleast some bucks out of the pocket of the reader which would have gone to a consultant or practioner Please donate the money saved earned by applying this thoughts to a social causeHave a blessed life ahead

Blog By: Shruti Srivastava

Is there really a Golden Minute which fulfils every wish that we make

Shruti Srivastava

Those who believe in miracles spirituality and divine powers also know that God may give a hint of his existence anytime he wants The almighty listens to all our wishes and if anyone has a pious desire he ensures to fulfil itAncient sages said that there s a golden minute that comes each day during which anything said desired or sought is approved by God The saying in Hindi goes like this Jihva pe Saraswati Virajmaan hona It is in this moment that our heart and conscious is connected with God What most people often wonder is to when does this golden minute comes each day However there s no Vedic evidence to prove this theory but several scholars suggest that there is a special principle to calculate this golden minute For this you have to assess the beginning and day of the month For example this is the month of July and the date is 21 then your gold will be minutes 2107 ie 9 oclock at 7 minutesNow if the month is August and the date is 10 then your golden minute is 1008 minutesBetween 25 and 31 we will count against itAs if it is January 25 we will calculate 125So let us keep this time in our own mind and convey our hearts desire with full devotion and chastity

Blog By: Yogi Padmamani Sri Lakshmikantananda

Brahaspativar Vrata Katha Magic of Fasting on Thursday

Yogi Padmamani Sri Lakshmikantananda

Brahaspativar Vrata Katha Magic of Fasting on Thursday Importance of observance of fast its method and AartiObservance of this fast brings fulfillment of all wishes and Brihaspati God becomes happy One observing this fast attains wealth learning sons and fulfillment of wishes The family enjoys happiness and peace This is the reason why observing fast on Thursdays is considered to be yielding best results While observing this fast one should worship Banana tress only while listening to stories related to Brihaspati God and while offering your worships you should keep your heart deeds and words pure and clean and pray for fulfillment of your wishes Take meals only once a day your meals should contain Gram Pulses Salt should not be taken wear yellow clothes eat yellow fruit and offer your worships with yellow sandalwood paste After offering worships one should listen to stories related to Brihaspati God Story related to Observance of fast on Thursdays It is a story of ancient times There was a king who was very powerful and munificent he use to observe fast on every Thursday and offer worships This was something his Queen detested very much neither she observed fasts nor did she give a single paisa in charity She used to forbid the king also from doing so Once it so happened that the king went to the forest to hunt wild game there were only the Queen and her maids in the palace Meanwhile Guru Brihaspati donned in the disguise of a saint came to the palace to collect alms When the saint asked the Queen to give alms she said O Saint I am fed up of making charities tell me some way by means of which all this wealth comes to an end and I may live comfortably Brihaspati God in disguise of saint said O Devi you are very strange is there anyone on earth to whom children and wealth become the cause of their plight If you have a lot of money you may perform auspicious deeds with it and this will keep you happy in this world and in heaven both But the saint s sermons did not make the queen happy she said I don t want such wealth which I may have to give to others in charity or I may have to waste all my time taking care of it The Saint said If this is what you wish Do as I say On Thursday s smear your house with cow dung apply yellow clay to your hair while washing it and take bath at the same time take meat and wine during meals give your clothes to washer man for washing and if you do this for 7 consecutive Thursday s all your wealth will be destroyed saying this Brihaspati God in guise of a saint vanished Hardly three consecutive Thursday s had passed acting on the advice of the saint that all the wealth of the queen was destroyed The family began starving One day the king said to the queen O Queen You stay here and let me go to some other country so that I may earn my livelihood engaging myself in ordinary jobs in my own country wont suit my status Saying this king set out to some other country There he began earning his livelihood by cutting firewood from forest and selling these in the town The queen and her maids had begun feeling the absence of the king Once when the queen and her maids had to starve for seven continuous days the queen said to one of her maids My sister lives in the nearby town she is very wealthy go and bring something from her so that we may manage our meals for a few days The maid went to the house of queen s sister it was Thursday The queen s sister was listening to stories related to Brihaspati God the maid conveyed the message to the queen to her but she gave no reply The maid was greatly aggrieved to get no reply from the queen s sister she also became very angry The maid returned and told everything to the queen the helpless as she had become began cursing her fate On the other side the queen s sister thought My sister s maid had come and getting no reply from me she must have been terribly aggrieved So after listening to stories related to Brishaspati God and having offered her worships she came to the palace of the queen and began saying O sister I was observing fast in the worship of Brihaspati God Meanwhile your maid happened to come but since during the period while one is listening to the stories related to a deity one is neither supposed to speak nor is one supposed to leave the place of worship I too had to observe silence Now please tell me why you had sent your maid to my house The queen said Sister I had sent my maid to your house because we had nothing to eat and saying these eyes welled up with tears She told her sister how she had been starving along with her maids The queen s sister said Look Brishaspati God fulfills everyone s wishes go and look inside you may find grains somewhere in your palace Hearing this one of the maids went inside to check and found a pitcher full of grains in a corner The maid was greatly surprised as she had checked all the vessels and pitchers earlier and they were all empty She came and informed the queen of her finding the maid said to the queen O queen In a way we can say that we observe fast when we have nothing to eat so why not inquire from your sister about the method of observing this fast and then we too shall observe fast On the advice of her maid the queen inquired from her sister about observance of fasts in the worship of Brihaspati God Her sister said During observance of fast in worship of Brihaspati God once should offer Gram pulses and raisins to the root of Banana tree and worship Lord Vishnu Take meals prepared with yellow materials and listen to stories related to Brihaspati God This pleases the deity and he fulfills all wishes Having given details of method regarding observance of fasts and offering worships the queen s sister returned home The queen and her maid both decided that they would definitely offer their worships to Brihaspati God so after seven days they observed fast They went and collected Grams and Jaggery from the stable and offering gram pulses to root of banana tree They worshipped Lord Vishnu Now from where to get meals prepared with yellow materials They became very sad but since they had observed the fast Brihaspati God was pleased with them he came in the guise of a very ordinary person with two platters full of meals made of yellow materials in his hands He handed it over to the maid and said O maid This is for you and your queen both of you should take it The maid became very happy to get the food she came and told everything to the queen And since then both began observing fasts and offering their worships to Brihaspati God With the kind blessings of Brihaspati God they began prospering once again But the queen again became very lethargic like she was before Then her maid said Look queen earlier too you used to be very lethargic and it was a painful job for you to take care of your money and wealth and this is the reason why you lost all your wealth and now when we are prospering again with the blessings of Brihaspati God you are being lazy like earlier times it is with great difficulty that we have regained our prosperity and so we must make charities now Now you should give food to the starving arrange water for thirsty travelers make charities to the Brahmins arrange construction of wells ponds tanks of water temples and schools for imparting knowledge arrange marriages of unmarried girls I mean to say that you should start spending for good causes and this will bring name and fame to your family ensure entitlement to heavenly abode for yourself and your ancestors will also be pleased Acting on the advice of her maid the queen began spending for good causes which earned her a very good name One day the queen and her maid began thinking God knows how the king is and under what circumstances he is surviving they offered prayers to Brihaspati God with great devotion Wherever be the king may he return the soonest On the other side the king in a foreign land was leading a very sad life he would bring firewood from the forest every day and manage his living with great difficulty by selling it in the market of the town One day remembering his good old days he became very sad and began weeping Just then Brihaspati God in the guise of a saint came and spoke to the king O woodcutter why is it that you are sitting alone in this desolate forest What is it that worries you Tell me Hearing this kings eyes welled up with tears he offered his situations to the saint and narrated his plight Saints are very kind at heart he said to the king O king your wife had committed a crime against Brihaspati God and it is because of that crime that you are undergoing these problems you need not worry now God will give you more than what you possessed earlier Look your wife has already begun observing fasts on Thursdays now you too should take gram pulses and jiggery put them in a mug full of water and offer to worships to banana tree with it And after this either narrate the stories related to Brihaspati God or listen to it God will fulfill all your wishes Hearing he saint speak thus the king said O Saint it is with great difficulty that I earn my livelihood by selling firewood I am not able to save single paise form my earnings last night I saw my queen in great mental distress in my dream it s in no way possible for me to know her wellbeing then apart from this I have no knowledge of any story related to Brihaspati God How would I narrate the stories The saint said O king determine yourself to observe fasts and offer worships to Brihaspati God he himself will lead you Go to the town to sell firewood on Thursdays like other days you will earn twice as much the amount you will earn will be sufficient to buy you meals and material for the worship of Brihaspati God and the story related to Brihaspati God is Story related to Brihaspati God Once there was a very poor Brahmin during ancient times he had no issue he used to worship God everyday but his wife neither took bath in the morning nor did she ever worship any deity owing to this reason the Brahmin used to remain very sad With the kind blessings of God a female child was born in his house the girl began growing gradually she used to take bath early in the morning and offer he worships to Lord Vishnu she was also observing fasts on Thursdays after offering worships while going to school she used to carry barley in her fists and scatter the grain on the way while on her return the grains of barley used to get transformed into gold which she used to collect and return home one day while she was winnowing the barley grains with winnow basket her mother saw her and said Dear daughter for winnowing golden barley grains the winnow basket should also be made of gold Next day was a Thursday the girl was observing fast she prayed to Brihaspati God for a golden winnow basket Brihaspati God decided to respond to her prayer the girl like other days went to school scattering grains of barley in the way while on her way back she not only found the grains of barley transformed into gold but she also found a golden winnow basket in the way She brought it home and began winnowing the barley grains with it But her mother remains unchanged One day it so happened that while the girl was winnowing barley grains with the golden winnow basket a prince happened to pass by he lost his heart to the girl to see her peerless beauty he returned to his palace and stopped taking food and water and lay motionless in his room The king when he learnt that the prince had stopped take in food and water came and enquired from him the reason behind it the prince told him everything and also gave him address of the girl The king s minister went to the house of girl and conveyed the message of the king to the Brahmin and within a few days the marriage of the girl solemnized with the prince But as soon as the girl left home to go to her inlaw house the Brahmin became poor again One day saddened by his poverty the Brahmin went to meet his daughter seeing her father the girl enquired the wellbeing of her mother The Brahmin told her everything his daughter gave him a lot of money and bade him farewell but after a few days the Brahmin was once again struggling with poverty the Brahmin again went to his daughter and narrated hi plight His daughter said O father bring my mother here I shall tell her how to get rid of poverty The Brahmin went back home and returned to his daughter along with his wife The girl said to her mother O mother take bath early in the morning and offer worships to Lord Vishnu this will help you get rid of poverty but the Brahmins wife didn t care to listen to her daughter instead she used to eat the leftovers of her daughter in the morning One day her daughter became very angry with her she locked her in a room next day she forced her to take bath and offer worships and thus set right After this she began worshipping and observing fasts on Thursday s religiously The effect of observing this fast was such that she went to heaven after death The Brahmin enjoyed every prosperity in this mortal world and went to heaven after death and thus having narrated this story the saint vanished Gradually time rolled on the next day Thursday when the king went to town to sell firewood he earned more than what he used to earn earlier the king bought grams and Jaggery from the market and observed fast From that day he began living happily his bad days were gone but on next Thursday he forgot to observe fast this displeased Brihaspati God On that day the king of the town had arranged Yagna at a very large scale he had invited all his subjects to his palace to have meals and had announced that no one should cook meals at home and even found disobeying his orders shall be subjected to capital punishment As per the royal orders of the king all his subjects came to the palace to have their meals but the woodcutter arrived late the king took him inside while the king was serving meals to the woodcutter the queen noticed that her necklace was missing which she had hung by the peg in the wall the queen thought that it was the woodcutter who had stolen her necklace and so she called out to her soldiers and got him imprisoned The woodcutter began thinking in the prison what crime I must have committed in my early life to reach this end and he began remembering the saint whom he had met in the forest Brihaspati God appeared to him in the guise of a saint and began saying O fool you are suffering thus only because you did not either listen to the stories or tell the stories related to Brihaspati God all right you need not worry now on Thursday you will find 4 paise lying at door of prison offer your worships to Brihaspati God and all your problems will be over The woodcutter did get 4 paise lying at door of the prison on Thursday he arranged to get materials for the worship with that money and narrated the story of Brihaspati God to those present there The same night Brihaspati God appeared to the king of the town in his dream and said O King the person you have incarcerated is innocent free him tomorrow the king when he woke up early next morning saw the necklace hanging by the peg he sent for the woodcutter and begged his forgiveness and giving him lots of beautiful clothes and jewels he bid him farewell As per the instructions of the saint the woodcutter King set out to his town he was greatly surprised when he reached near his town he noticed more gardens ponds wells houses for pilgrims and temples than existed before on enquiry the king was informed that all these were built by the queen and her maid the king was taken by surprise and was greatly angered also thinking Where from did the queen get so much money in his absence that she got so many new building erected On the other side when the queen heard that the king was returning home she said to her maid O maid the king had left us in a very Pitiable condition see that the king does not get confused and go back to see us under changed circumstances so go and stand by the entrance of the palace Obeying the orders of the queen the maid went and stood by the entrance of the palace and brought the king in when he arrived then the king pulled out his sword angrily and began enquiring tell me where did you get all this money from Then the queen narrated the whole sequence of happeningsThe king decided that he would observe fasts every day and narrate the stories of Brihaspati God three times a day Now the king used to have Gram pulses tied in the corner of this scarf all the time and used to tell stories related to Brihaspati God three times in a day One day the king thought of paying visit to the house of his sister he set out to her house riding his horse he saw on the way some people carrying a dead body the king stopped them and said O Brothers Listen to the story of Brihaspati God and then go They said Look at him we are already saddened by death of our kinsman and he wants to tell us a story but some of them said alright tell us story we shall listen to it The king took out the gram pulses and began narrating the story he hardly narrated half the story and the dead men began showing signs of life and by the time the story completed the dead man regained his life and stood up uttering the name of Lord Rama The king continued his journey and around evening time he saw a farmer sloughing his field the king offered to tell him the story of Brihaspati God but the farmer declined his offer The king kept moving but meanwhile the oxen of the farmer suddenly fell and fainted and the farmer was struck with stomach ache just then the farmer s wife came with meals for her husband and son She was shocked to see the farmer and oxen in such pitiable condition On enquiry her son explained everything in detail the farmer s wife went running to the horseman and said I shall listen to your story please come to our field and tell the story there The king returned to the farmer s field and narrated the story with the result the oxen returned from faint and the farmer too became absolutely normalAnd thus the king arrived at the house of his sister his sister extended every hospitality in the welcome of her brother next day when the king woke up he saw everyone busy taking meals the king asked his sister Is there anyone who has not yet taken meals At least I can narrate the story of Brihaspati God to him The sister said Brother this country is very strange here people are used to taking meals before getting to their jobs Then she went to the house of a potter whose son was ill she found that no one in the house had eaten anything for three days she said Would you like to hear sacred stories from my brother The potter agreed The king came and narrated the sacred stories of Brihaspati God hearing which the potter s son became alright Everyone began praising the king for his kind act One day the king said to his sister O sister I would like to return home now you too get ready The king s sister went to take permission from her mother in law He mother in law said All right you may go but don t take your sons along as your brother has no issue the king s sister said to the king O brother I shall of course accompany you but my sons wont Hearing this king became very sad and returned home alone without take in his sister along The king narrated this sad story to the queen and went inside and lied down The queen O Lord Brihaspati God has given us everything he will bless us with a child also The same night Brihaspati God appeared to the king in his dreams and said to him Open your eyes O king forget all your worries your queen is on the family way The king was only too pleased to get such good news in his dream The queen in the ninth month gave birth to a beautiful male child The king said O queen a woman can live without food but cannot live without sharing a secret so I instruct you not to say anything when the sister comes the queen nodded in agreement Hearing the good news of hearing queen begetting a male child the king s sister became happy and paid a visit The queen complained to her Why did you not come when my husband wanted you to accompany while on his return And today you have come all on your own the king s sister said had I not spoken like that you would not have been blessed with a child Brihaspati God brings fulfillment to all wishes one who worships fast for Brihaspati God with clean heart or narrates sacred stories related to Brihaspati God gets fulfillment of all his wishes and is taken care of by the deity The wishes of anyone who observes the fast in the worship of Brihaspati God with a clan heart or offers worships to him are fulfilled in the same manner like the queen and the king had their wishes fulfilled related to stories of the deity Never every ignore Brihaspati God even unknowingly And even ignoring Brihaspati God loses his peace of mind and all his happiness so everyone should make sure to take Prasad after listening to the sacred stories and then depart Remember him in the heart and wish him victory

Blog By: Radhanath Swami

In Search of a Lost Love Lessons from the Musk Deer

Radhanath Swami

Mother Nature is always speaking She speaks in a language understood within the peaceful mind of the sincere observer Leopards cobras monkeys rivers and trees they all served as my teachers when I lived as a wanderer in the Himalayan foothills They shared the kind of lessons that elevate the spiritOne particularly illuminating lesson from the forest comes in the form of the Himalayan musk deer The musk deer is referenced in Sanskrit poetry and philosophy owing to its peculiar behavior Prized by the perfume industry for its exceptional aroma musk is one of the world s most expensive natural products fetching more than three times its weight in gold The aroma of musk is so alluring that when the stag s sensitive nose catches wind of it he roams the forest day and night in pursuit of its source He exhausts himself in a fruitless quest never realizing the bitter irony the sweet fragrance he was chasing resided nowhere but within himself Musk you see is produced by a gland in the stag s very own navel it was searching without for what was all along lying withinThe sages of India found in the musk deer an apt description of the human condition We are all pleasureseeking creatures wandering a forest of some sort replete with pleasures and perils alike Moreover we are prone to the same type of folly as the deer we seek our happiness externally Misconceiving our true needs we wrongly equate our fulfillment and selfworth with possessions positions mental and sensual thrills We are often drawn into superficial relationships which hold the promise of lasting satisfaction yet leave us feeling emptyThe true treasure lies within It is the underlying theme of the songs we sing the shows we watch and the books we read It is woven into the Psalms of the Bible the ballads of the Beatles and practically every Bollywood film ever made What is that treasure Love Love is the nature of the Divine Beneath the covering of the false ego it lies hidden The purpose of human life is to uncover that divine love The fulfillment that we re all seeking is found in the sharing of this loveThe power of love is most profound It has various levels In its crudest sense the word love refers to acts of physical intimacy and its influence over society is obvious But on a deeper more emotional level not simply of the body but of the heart there is no greater power than love For the sake of money and prestige one may be willing to work long hours weekends even holidays A mother s love on the other hand is selfless and unconditional There s nothing she won t do for the wellbeing of her child and she asks for nothing in returnWhen love is pure it has the power to conquer Lover and beloved conquer each other by their affection The source the essence the fullest manifestation of love s conquering power is the love of the soul for the supreme soul or God The sages who authored India s sacred texts found that the most astonishing of all of God s wonders was His willingness and eagerness to not only be touched by our love but to be conquered by it The cultivation of that dormant love is called the path of Bhakti devotion This love is within all of us It is the greatest of all powers because it is the only power that can grant realization of the highest truths and the only power that can reveal the deepest inner fulfillment in our lives On the strength of this love we can overcome envy pride lust anger and greed There is no other means of conquering these diseases within usOne who loves God sees everything in relation to God Therefore their love flows spontaneously toward everyone at all times everywhere They even love those who wish them harm If you love God you can t hate anything or anyone If the love one offers is met with hate it doesn t die rather it manifests in the form of compassion That is universal love It is not just a sentiment It cannot be manifested merely by a shift in mental disposition It can only come from inner cleaning an inner awakening Then that love becomes the reality of lifeThis inner cleansing is the goal of all spiritual practice Every prayer offered mantra chanted or ritual performed should be for the purpose of removing the impurities which impede the full blossoming of unconditional love and compassion This is the only way to peace both individually and collectively When our intrinsic love is awakened and our divine qualities shine through we will not only find the pleasure we ve been seeking but also become powerful agents of change in the worldWe are all searching roaming the forest like the musk deer seeking the pleasures without When we recognize what we are really looking for and begin searching for the lost love within at that point the real journey of human life beginsThe above article was originally published in The Huffington Post as Bhakti Yoga In Search of a Lost Love

Blog By: Col Gurnam Singh

DOWRY SYSTEM SOCIAL EVIL IN INDIA

Col Gurnam Singh

DOWRY SYSTEM SOCIAL EVIL IN INDIA Denigration of women has ruined our society Today Indian society is surrounded with many problems such as unemployment illiteracy population growth terrorism etc Among these problems a problem which is deep rooted in Indian society is the problem of dowry system In modern Indian political discourse the custom of dowry is often represented as the cause of serious social problems including the neglect of daughters sexselective abortion female infanticide and the harassment abuse etc etc This fact that it is condemned by every modern citizen of this country and yet it still flourishes at a very large scale in our society is a testimony of how deeply rooted this system is in the Indian society Official statistics show a steady rise in dowry crimes More than 9 5000 women are killed every year in India over dowry The dowry system is so deeply rooted in Indian culture that sometimes one feels that there39s going to be no way out at least not for another century Dowry dahej is one of the most ancient practices of India The Vedas prescribe that a dowry be given by the bride39s family to the groom The Rig Veda states that cows and gifts given by the Aryan father of the bride to the daughter accompanied the bride39s procession Rg Ved X85 Apte 12 Kakshivat in the Vedas says he became rich by the fatherinlaw giving him 10 chariots and maids and 1060 cows during the marriage ceremony Rg Ved I126 Apte 13 Dowry is referred to as Streedhana39 and is an ancient practice This custom implied that women were in addition to being viewed as mere sex objects severe economic liabilities for the parents Indeed the Brahmins raised the level of dowry to such ridiculous levels that the nonBrahmins were forced to murder their female children or face economic ruin In this manner the nonBrahmins exterminated their own females perpetuating Brahmin dominance We see this philosophy in action today As per the book Genocide of Women in Hinduism authored by Sita Agarwal over the last 65 years more than 50 million female children have been murdered as a result of Vedic dowry and infanticide laws In the book aforesaid the author says that the ancient Vedic custom of kanyadan where the father presented his daughter with jewelry and clothes at the time of her marriage and vardakshina where the father presented the groom with cash and kind are in essence the dowry system This curse is fully sanctioned in the Vedas These examples show that dowry was practiced in ancient times Thus in order to marry Sita to godly39 Rama her father had to supply her with 100 crores of gold mohurs 10000 carriages 10 lakh horses 60000 elephants 100000 male slaves 50000 female slaves 2 crores of cows and 100000 pearls and many other items Ramwh 61 Thus dowry which is the very root of the Hindu evils of sati and brideburning is given divine39 sanction by the noble39 Hindu gods The ancient marriage rites in the Vedic period are associated with Kanyadan It is laid down in Dharamshastara that the meritorious act of Kanyadan is not complete till the bridegroom was given a dakshina So when a bride is given over to the bridegroom he has to be given something in cash or kind which constitute varadakshina Thus Kanyadan became associated with varadakshina ie the cash or gifts in kind by the parents or guardian of the bride to the bridegroom The varadakshina was offered out of affection and did not constitute any kind of compulsion or consideration for the marriage It was a voluntary practice without any coercive overtones In the course of time the voluntary element in dowry has disappeared and the coercive element has crept in it has taken deep roots not only in the marriage ceremony but also postmarital relationship What was originally intended to be a taken dakshina for the bridegroom has now gone out of proportions and has assumed the nomenclature 39dowry39 The social reformers of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries have striven hard for the abolition of various social evils including the evil of dowry system The dowry system is responsible to a great extent for child marriage and discrimination against girls If a girl is married at a tender age a small amount of dowry will work but if the girl is educated and qualified she needs an equal amount of dowry to get a bridegroom of the same status Unfortunately the dowry system is still prevalent in India despite the provision in the Dowry Prohibition Act 1961 it says that If any person after the commencement of this Act gives or takes or abets the giving or taking of dowry he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than five years and with fine which shall not be less than fifteen thousand rupees or the amount of the value of such dowry whichever is more Section 498A of Indian Penal Code IPC 498A Husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty Whoever being the husband or the relative of the husband of a woman subjects such woman to cruelty shall be pun ished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine For the purpose of this section cruelty means a Any willful conduct which is of such a nature as is likely to drive the woman to commit suicide or to cause grave injury or danger to life limb or health whether mental or physical of the woman or b harassment of the woman where such harassment is with a view to coercing her or any person related to her to meet any unlawful demand for any property or valuable security or is on account of failure by her or any person related to her to meet such demand Though law has provided stringent measures to curb this menace Unless there is a strong awareness in the minds of the people unless the entire society believes that dowry is an evil unless the entire society objects to the demand for dowry unless every motherinlaw thinks that at one time she too was a daughterinlaw unless every mother thinks that the treatment which she gives to her daughterinlaw can also be received by her own daughter the evils of dowry will remain in society Society and we as a member of the society can do a lot to prevent offences of harassment dowry death etc by taking the following steps Start practicing dowry prohibition in your familyEducate the members of your family with the provisions of law that demanding and accepting or giving dowry is an offence A woman is an important member of family and is entitled to all the rights and privileges a man enjoysEducate the members of your family and your neighbors to respect a woman s rights and privilegesIf in any family there is a growing dispute between the inlaws and the lady try to intervene to sort out the differences and educate them about the evils of dowry system If they fail to listen to you please inform the jurisdictional police and counseling centresProvide support and shelter to the lady in distress If you cannot please contact the Women organizations who can provide support in such casesGather likeminded people who are fighting against this evil and gather public sympathy and support to excommunicate the families where the evil persistsIn case you have any suspicion of ill treatment of a lady in any house immediately inform the local Police Ladies in distress generally avoid showing their resentment to illtreatment till it reaches a dangerous point leading to their being burnt to deathEncourage women folk to raise their voice about their rights and to fight against dowry system In my view it is mainly because of lack of awareness that women have been turned into a saleable commodity Most of the women are not educated enough to defy the preestablished social norms Even those who are educated are continuing this ugly tradition in the name of social prestige Best education is the best dowry Parents are advised to educate daughters the best as the time has changed and it is time that education has more value in the employment market and fields have been opened for women to become entrepreneurs Amount of dowry may be invested for her secured futureGirl s parents should help reporting Governments or concerned authorities about the dowry demand by groom parents Marriage with such boys should be discouraged as demand of excessive dowry means they do not want girl but money this would result to extortion after marriage by torture Despite every stigma dowry continues to be the signature of marriage It is high time each one of us should make sure not to encourage this practice if we choose to call ourselves educated aware moral and seeking for spirituality This is just another way contributing to the ill treatment of girls and their subjugation and we should have the policy of zero tolerance in the matter which will help us solve other problems associated with it automatically Women should insist on marrying only those men not immature boys who have the courage of their conviction to say NO to dowry Men who insist on living on the wealth provided by their inlaws are as good as impotent and should be avoided at all cost Women need real social political financial and moral support in their fight against the system They have to be empowered so that they can take their decisions about their own life by refusing the dowry system The evil of dowry cannot be combated by a few individuals It requires a wide spread transformation It is for prospect grooms and sensible men to down play this evil

Blog By: CA Subramanian Iyer

Is 21st Dec 2012 DDay for Humanity

CA Subramanian Iyer

BREAKING NEWS DATE 20TH DECEMBER 2012 As per latest reports available with NASA and Government agnecies worldwide D Day of th Earth has been postphoned to 21st December 3012 THIS BLOG DENIES ALL DOOMSDAY PREDICTION ON 21ST DECEMBER 2012 THE BLOG IS NETURAL AND SEEKS OPINIONS This blog is dedicated to Sarita Chaubey Spiritual Sister Credits to Posts made byDebayan Gupta Yona J Soumaya Krishan Sharma Cosmic Entity Ca Chander Shekar for sharing valuable Scientific and Vedantic information about 21122012 and Raj Ujjval Saha for his critical review of the blogMAJORITY OPINION SO FAR Science will be keeping its date with Spiruality on 21st December 2012 Latest important news REUTERS 28102012 Massive 77 mg earthquake hits British Columbia of Canada TOI 14092012 63 Mg Earquake shakes Indomesia Tsunami warning not issued Why Mayan Calendar is given so much importancThe Modern world belived that the Earth was fixed and was the center of the universe and the Sun Moon and stars rotated around Earth as stated in the Bible For the 1st time Nicolaus Copernicus rewrote the astomical laws in 1543 just before his death saying that earth was rotating the sun by publishing his epochal book De revolutionibus orbium coelestium Galileo agreed with Copernicus and was put under house arrest 4000 miles away in Central America the Mayans who were far advanced in astronomy had in 3125 BC had clear views about earth rotating the sun the planets stars Galaxy equinox etc and were maintaining the Mayan Calendar which made predictions millions of years into the future The Mayans Culture and knowledge was destroyed by the Spanish Conquest around 1590 1600 What ever has remained of thier knowledge has been now recognized as of great importance in the 20th Century About Mayan EmpireThe Mayan Empire centered in Central America reached the peak of its power and influence around the sixth century AD The Mayans were very advanced in hieroglyph writing calendarmaking and mathematics The Classic period spanned AD 250900 and saw the rise of major cities including Tikal in what is now Guatemala and the construction of vast stepped pyramidsThe Mayans meticulosuly maintianed a Calendar known as Long Count Knowlege of Mayan astronoimical calendars came from books produced centuries after their society declined The most famous is the Dresden Codex which dates from the 11th or 12th century The Dresden Codex was the summit artistically calligraphically and intellectually The Mayan calendar suddenly ends on 21st December 2012 which date we are fast approaching There has been a huge amount of controversial discussion going on as to why the Mayan Calendar has ended on 21st Dec 2012 What has destiny in store for us on that day The Mayan cities were abandoned by AD 900 Since the 19th century scholars have debated what might have caused this dramatic decline MAYAN CALENDAR Why is 21st December 2012 considered so importantThe date December 21st 2012 AD represents an extremely close conjunction of the Winter Solstice Sun with the crossing point of the Galactic Equator Equator of the Milky Way and the Ecliptic path of the Sun what the ancient Maya recognized as the Sacred TreeThis is confirmed by Astophysists and also spirutualists This is an event that has been coming to resonance very slowly over thousands and thousands of years It will come to resolution at exactly 1111 am GMT 1111 is a Star GatePortal Prime NO 130000 in the Long Count EARTH WOBBLING AROUND IN THE MILKY WAY As seen from the image above our Sun and planatery system wobbles in the Milky way and once in 25800 years alingns with the Milky Way Galatic Equator This alignment is expecected to take place on 21st December 2012 at 1111 GMT What does the alignment signifyScientists and astophysists say that the movement to wards the alignment and the alignment itself exposes our planatery system to increased doses of radiation bombardment from our Celestial neighbours increase in temperatures earthquakes tsunamies extreme climates droughts very heary rainfall snow fall etc as there will be an increase in the gavitational forces Added to this we are also in the middle of a Sun39s Pole Shit and too an uneven polar shit on the Sun as per the Hinode Obervatory Data which is also causing increse in Solar39storms earth quakes volcano activity etc We have in fact been experiencing major earthquakes tsunamies exceptionally heavy rainfall snowfall since 2005 and some of the heaviest in the 201112 USA has worst drought since 1956 due to extreme climatic conditions in 2012 There is also a reported increase in the Solar flare activityas shown in the image taken recentlyHeavy solar radiation bombarments was seen on 9th March 2012 and affected flights and telecom servies as reported in the press TOI 14072012 Biggest Solar Strom hits earth and more are predicted A stream of solar wind flowing from this coronal hole will reach Earth on July 1617th 2012 possibly stirring geomagnetic storms Highlatitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras Earthquake path during June July 2012If the have a close look at the recent eathquakes above 60 magnitude on the Reichter scale it seems to more focused in the Asian region Indonasia China Japan Taiwan Russia Hindukush mountians Pakistan Almost one major earthquake every week We have 23 non Asian earthqukes one in New Zeland Bulgaria and ArgentinaThere is a spurt in the no of earthquakes above 600 magniture on the Reichter scale in July 2012 almost one every day again more focused in Asia Storms during June July 2012 Focused more in USA UK and China with 13 mil affected in USA alone and severl dead in Tibet and Assam in India and also ChinaWhat does all this mean to usExcept for the Vedic scriptures Kali Yug will last for 4 32 000 yrs and only 5 000 yrs have elasped so far Media is strongly publicising that calendars like Mayan IChing Hopi calendars prophesize an end on 21st December 2012 AND a new beginning there after The big Question is END TO WHAT The world as we know it NO NO NO is the ans The Web Bot Project prediction about the Twin Towers proved accurate and the Twin Towers fell on 9112001 The Web Bot Project is also making predictions about 21st Dec 2012 which is worth reading You Tube also has predictions about 21st Dec 2012 predictions worth watching though there is more of media hype in them Links shared by Ujjwal 21122012 NASA AND MAYANational Geography 21072012 1600 year old Mayan TempLe discovered which says WORLD IN NOT ENDING IN 21ST DEC 2012 Dramatic New Maya Temple Found Covered With Giant Faces Archaeological gold mine illuminates connection between king and sun god El Zotz in what39s now Guatemala was one of the smaller kingdoms but one apparently bent on making an big impression By 2010 archaeologists working on a hilltop near the ancient city center had discovered 45foottall 13metertall Diablo Pyramid Atop it they found a royal palace and a tomb believed to hold the city39s first ruler who lived around AD 350 to 400Around the same time Houston and a colleague spotted the first hints of the Temple of the Night Sun behind the royal tomb on Diablo Pyramid Only recently though have excavations uncovered the unprecedented artworks under centuries of overgrowthThe sides of the temple are decorated with 5foottall 15metertall stucco masks showing the face of the sun god changing as he traverses the sky over the course of a dayRelated Unprecedented Maya Mural Found Contradicts 2012 39Doomsday39 Myth Also See End of World in 2012 Maya 39Doomsday39 Calendar ExplainedIt is not a end but only a new beginingDoes this mean 1 The end of this world on 21st Dec 2012 NO NO NO2Then an evolution in conscionoussness to a higher level Possible3 Peace prosperity will prevail on earth Quite Possible4 Day of Enlightment will dawn on 21st December 2012 Planetary positions are favorable for thisSCIENTIFIC OPINION BY JOYDEEP CKRABORTHY PARTICLE PHYSICSTAs a theoretical physicist I liked your spiritual part of the blog simply bcoz I am yet to understand the concept of conciousness but as far as the physical details are concerned well there is some misinfo Firstly according to the latest data NEITHER THE SUN NOR THE EARTH ARE GOING TO CROSS THE GALACTIC PLANE FOR THE NEXT 29 MILLION YEARS AND THE SUN IS AROUND 100 LIGHT YEARS AWAY FROM THE GALACTIC PLANE Then what is gonna happen in 2012 As far as physics is concerned nothing is gonna happen for the only special thing that is happening will be the fact that the earth is going to cross the equatorial plane in DECEMBER 2012 a thing that happens twice a yearNothing else is gonna happenAt the end when nothing will happen they will just extend the date to perhaps 2034 just like they did in 1998by the way these type of things were discussed in1998 too when there could relatively have been a greater cause for fear as the solstice points had crossed the galactic equator but we physicists then too knew that nothing was gonna happen as that was only a result of the coordinate system nomenclatureFor me the Mayan or any other calendar doesn39t hold significant as any physical reaction must have a corresponding physical action and in this case there is no such physical action Only a few completely unnatural things eg a large chunk of invisible dark matter coming towards us can cause such a strong excess gravitational field and I am 999999 sure about this that the Mayans could not have predicted theseWe should put a limitation to our imagination if we are devoid of facts as an evil mind is a devil39s workshop Things like extra solar flares or the shifting of poles till now are perceived to be completely normal for newer things like these keep on appearing every yearI keep a close watch on these type of things this year the media hype is making them noticeable to the general publicAnd as for the spirituality part I couldn39t grasp it I request u to please help me in this regardMAJORITY OPINION1 DOOMSDAY PREDICTION IS ONLY MEDIA HYPE TO MAKE MONEY2 INCREASE IN NATURAL CALAMITIES DUE TO GALATIC ALIGNMENT IS HAPPENING AND WILL CONTINUE TILL 2014 3 WE WILL BE EVOLVING TO A HIGHER LEVEL OF CONSCIONOUSSNESS PROVIDED WE MAKE THE EFFORT Debayan Gupta Yona4Lightage Masters GIVE UP ALL NEGATIVE EMOTIONS LIKE GREED LUST JEALOUSY ANGER IF WE DO NOT GIVE UP NEGATIVITY WE WILL BE AFFECTED ADVERSELY SPREAD THE LIGHT OF LIFE IS THE MESSAGEINTERESTING INFORMATION Reuters 06082012 Super Solar strom will knock out power grids and casue severe damage 7 chances says Nasa1 NASA SAYS THAT SUNS39S POLES WILL REVERES END OF 2012 WHICH WILL RELEASE HIGH ENERGY PROTONS WHICH WILL IMPACT EARTH WITH SEVERE SOLAR STROMS AND AND SOLAR FLARES EARTH QUAKES AND VOLCANO ACTIVITY CHECK THIS LINK 2 HINODE MISSION CONFIRMS THAT SUNS POLE SHIFT IS IN PROGRESS3 HINDU 23042012 POLE REVERSAL IS UNEVEN NASA SUN WILL HAVE 4 POLES AS PER HINODE DATA 4 INCREASE IN SOLAR FLARES NOTICED SINCE MARCH 2012 DAILYGALAXY NASA5 BBC SAYS EVEN THOUGHT NOTHING MAY HAPPEN IT IS PRUDENT TO BE PREPARED CHECK THIS LINK5 As per TOI dt 06052012 one out of every 7 people think that the world will end on 21122012 6 Mayans din39t predict end of world on 21st December 2012 but only their calendar ended on that day and a new calendar began on 22nd December 2012 according to BBC News It also marks the date of the retun of thier GOd to earth8 Earth39s North pole shifting at faster rate of 40 Kms per year and one degree every 5 yrs is causing alarm 9 Cosmic Entity It is Sacred Triple Birth of the Sun for Mayans and not Doomsday on 2112201210 EarthSky 21122012 is only the end of a calander and begning of a new one and NOT end of the world Reuters dt 11052012 Archaeologial find at Xultan in Guatemala of Mayan Calendar and Murals of 2000 BC stun the world Does this find predict evolutoin of the human race Read On The Xultun find is the first find where all of the cycles have been found tied mathematically together in one place representing a calendar that stretches more than 7 000 years into the futureThe preservation of the 5000 year old artwork surprised archaeologists given the dwelling39s shallow depth The oldest known Mayan calendar found in Xuyan on 11052012 with predicitons running into million of years into the futureThis calendar is dated around 2000 BC long before the new civilized world became aware of astronomy in 1543 ADAstronomical tables including four long numbers that represent a cycle lasting up to 25 million days were found on the east wall The astronomical cycles and corrections were used to predict cycles of Mars and Venus and the lunar eclipses far into the future LATEST NEWS UPDATED ON 1409201252 REUTERS 28102012 Massive 77 mg earthquake hits British Columbia of Canada 51 REUTERS 01092012 Massive 71 earthquake shakes Columbia No casualities reported50 TOI 14092012 63 Mg Earquake shakes Indomesia Tsunami warning not issued 49 The Hindu 14092012 Volcaneo erupts in Guatemala Red Alert Alarm Sounded People being evacuated48 BBC 09092012 Nicaragua39s San Cristobal Volcano becomes active on 08092012 Forces massive evaquation47 CNN 08092012 Massive earthquake batters China 56 mg 80 dead and several missing46 REUTERS 06092012 Massive 76 Mag earth quake hit Costa Rica 2 dead and several burried Buildings collapse45The Hindu 31082012 Massive 79 Mag earth quqke hits Philippine Coast Tsunami warning issued44 CNN 28082012 A major Mag 74 Earthquake heits off Coast El Salvadore Tsunami warning issued43 Reuters 20082012 66 Mg hits Indonesia 2nd in two days 6 dead several missing What is happenning 42 Reuters 18082012 62 mg Earthquake hits Indonesia39s Sulawesi Island41 Reuters 15082012 Massive 75 Mg hits East Russian Coast Off Japan No Tsunami warning 40 Reuters 11082012 Two Massive earthquakes above 62 mg in Iran Kills more than 200 and 1500 injured Details awailted 39 Reuters 07082012 Zewzeland Volcano errupts after 100 yrs spewing fire ash and thounderous booms 38 Reuters 29072012 60 mag earthquake hits Pasific coast off Mexico37 Reuters 29072012 Earth Quake 65 strikes Paua New Guinea Coast No tsunami warning36 Swissinfo29072012 66 mag earthquake hits Indonesia35 Alertnet 27062012 600 mag earthquke hits Mauratius 34 Reuters 27072012h Severe tornado thunderstrom strikes New York 2 dead and one lac without electricity33 Reuters 22072012 Prediction of heaviest rans comes trueBeijing under seige Heaviest rains in 60 years nonstom on 212202012 having a range of 6718 inches70 reported dead and heavy damage to the Captial of China Flights cancelld and subways flooded 32 National Geogr 21072012 1600 year old Mayan TempLe discovered which says WORLD IN NOT ENDING IN 21ST DEC 201231 TOI 21072012 Newzeland hit by 58 mg Earthquake No dmages reproted 30 THe Hindu 19072012 Earthquake 57 mg shakes Hindukush Srinagar within a week29 BBC 19072012 Ice Berg the size of a city 120 sq km breaks off Another with an area of 800 sa km expected to break of shortly leading to catastrophy28REUTERS 18072012 Drought spreads to record levels in USA27 BBC 17072012 World economy in a precarious state due to eurozone crisis26 BBC 17072012 USA has worst drought since 1956 due to extreme climatic conditions in 201225 TOI DT 14072012 Massive Solar strom Class XL4 grade Solar flares to hit earth at 500 GMT on 14072012 with massive coronal mass ejection Communication satilites may be knocked out 24 HIndu 13072012 Hindukush Mountians Pakistan Afganistan Inda shaken by 65 Mg earthquake23 TOI 04072012 World wide inexplained erratic weather phenomanea perplexes scientists 22 Reuters 04072012tEarth quake 70 Mg rattles New Zeland no casualities repoted21 Reuters 03072012 Unpresented heat in Eastern USA for 3rd aday after severe strom paralysis 3 mil peope power grdis are damaged20 TOI 01072012 69 MG EQ hits south China Several dead and damaged caused19 Hindu 24062012 61 Mg earthquake hits Kamatchk peninsula in Russia 18 HINDU 24062012 57 mg earthquake hits Yunanan province in China 2 dead 17 TOI Dt 23062012 66 magniture earthquake hits Jatkarta in indonasia No damage or casuality reported so far16 REUTERS 06062012 60 Mag earthquake shakes Taiwan No casualities reportd15 CNN 05062012 62 M earthquake strikes Off Panama South Coast No casualities 14 USA TODAY 04062012 Earthquake 61mag shakes Jakarta Capital of Indonesia Details awaited13 NZHERAL 29052012 64 magnitured Earthquake reported in Argentina Details of casualities awaited12 TOI 2952012 600 magnitude earthquake hits Italy 2nd time in a weekHeavy damage to property 25 reported dead11 TOI 28052012 Brazilian Astronomer gives proof of existenance of Planet X beyond Pluto It is 4 times the size of Jupiter CNN report is now confirmed about Planet Tyche or Nibiru Read more about this on View Zone 10 24052012 Novinite Earthquake 600 mag hits Bulgaria Severe damage caused No deaths reported9 CNN 23052012 Earthquake 600 magnitude hits Italy 7 dead and severe damage caused 8 TOI DT 21052012 Asteroid weighing 1 40 000 tons may come very close to earth on 13th Feb 2013 Massive damage to life property expected Communications and Nuclear sites will be damaged But earth will not be destroyed Is this the Planet X or Neibru Read TOI 7 The Hindu 23042012 Meteor hits Sierra Neveda Mountians in USAExplosion seen over a 960 Kms radius6 BBC NEWS 21042012 Mexico39s Popocathepetl Volcano spews burning rocks and evacuation is in progress50 HT 21042012 Earthquake 68 on RS in Indonesia Paupa4 REUTERS 17042012 Strong earth quakes rock Chile measuring 65 on the RS3 REUTERS 11042012 One Meter high Tsuami and 87 Magnitude earthquake off Indonesia Alert sounded2 TOI 03042012 Japan warns of future risk of 34 meter 112 feet high tsunami in the wake of a massive earthquake APPRECIATIONS Samrudhi Dash 10082012 The best blog that I have ever read And i fully agree with u Hats Off from me Stan Dorman 05072012 0609 pmThis is the best post i39ve read so far on Rumors of Doomsday 21st Dec 2012Thanks a lot for this awesome postManmohan Kumar Jul 02 2012 at 0142 pmIyer this blog literally picked from trashes 2 times at least is renovated beyond belief Keep it upAtul Bafna Jun 27 2012 at 0721 pmThanks nice work On December 21 2012 a rare cosmic alignment including this solar system will experience a major event that happens only every 258 million years The last time no humans lived on EarthPromila Ummatt Jun 26 2012 at 0347 pmExcellent blog keeping fingers crossed God knows BESTIsha Singh Jun 25 2012 at 0610 pmGood informationfor now lets just live in the present momentArchana Kumar Jun 24 2012 at 0753 pmThank you sir for such a nice and informative blogAmeen Syed Jun 20 2012 at 0617 pmIndeed the event is a fact and well explained in the blogSunita Rajiv Jun 18 2012 at 0629 pmThanks a lot for sharing such valuable information with us allIt will interest my students and fascinate people like mePriyanka Ravish Jun 18 2012 at 0318 pmSir A very good blog to be read I go with your finishing touch LETS DENY ALL RUMORS OF DOOMS DAY Shiva Prasad Mb Jun 16 2012 at 0520 pmI am better informed after reading the article Many thanks for writing the article which is full of factsSavarnya Abhishek Jun 15 2012 at 0649 pmA superb compilation of factsManoj Kumar Baranwal Jun 15 2012 at 0127 pmThanks for a great Blog Mr Subramanian Iyervery informativevery interestingPartha Mahavishva Jun 14 2012 at 0658 pmVery nice and Informative blog TOI 04032012 Boom for Business of Boom HOW TO SURVIVE THE END OF THE WORLD The internet is abuzz with rumours that the French town of Bugarach will survive the apocalypse because of its magical mountain The mayor wants the army brought in as we get closer to the end of the world The Mayans said the world will end on Dec 21 So central America is getting a sudden influx of tourists including many from India And yes sales of underground bunkers have gone up Atul Sethi TNNMAYAN TEMPLETHIS CARTOON FROM WEB BLOT SAYS ALL THAT IS TO BE SAID ABOUT 21ST DECEMBER 2012 THIS BLOG SPECIFICALLY DENIES ALL RUMORS OF DOOMSDAY ON 21ST DEC 2012

Blog By: Shruti Srivastava

1 Tablespoon of Honey 1 Chopped Garlic 15 Surprising benefits to your body

Shruti Srivastava

Eating raw garlic might give you some bad breath for a while but it would hardly bother you after you see these surprising results in a weekYou must already be wellinformed of the amazing health benefits of raw honey and garlic separately but I bet you may have not yet heard of the surprising results that these two kitchen ingredients set out when mixed together It s a wide known health fact that garlic apart from having strong flavoring qualities has amazing healing powers When consumed in its raw form garlic treat and prevent numerous ailments like coronary heart diseases diarrhea heart attacks atherosclerosis any fungal infection to name a few Honey which is otherwise referred as Liquid Gold possesses healing property due to its antibacterial activity as its viscosity provides a protective barrier to prevent infection Raw honey is also often used to repair wound tooSo when a chopped garlic clove mixed with a tablespoon of raw honey is consumed on an empty stomach for at least a week it will not only boost your immunity but acts as an immediate fat cutter Don t believe us check it out here

Blog By: Pravin Agrawal

Sri Vishnu Sahasranamam and Meaning

Pravin Agrawal

Sri Vishnusahasranamam contains 1008 Names of Sri Mahavishnu This entire compiling was done after the Mahabharata war and Saint Vyasa Mahamuni wrote the entire versus Every Name of Sri Vishnu has a meaning to it quite apart the phonetic vibrations by chanting each Name known as Nama and the chain of names known as Namavali produces very fantastic results of vibrations that are very essential for humans knowledge and wisdom What the phonetic sound vibrations create to the chanter or to the one who hears it is very well established by many eminent scholars For attainment of spiritual liberation one must involve himselfherself to the glories of the Lord Sri Mahavishnu by reciting the entire slokhas The birth of Sri Vishnu Sahasra Nama The 1008 Names of Sri MahaThe legend would have it that at the end of the epic Mahabharata war Bhishmacharya was awaiting the sacred hour to depart from his physical body unto the lotus feet of the Lord Yudhishtira the eldest of the Pandavas was desperately looking for the answers to matters relating to Dharma and Karma Lord Sri Krishna who understood Yudhistira s uneasy mind guided him to Bhishma to learn insight in to this precious knowledge It is relevant to mention that Bhishma was acknowledged to be one of the twelve most knowledgeable people The other eleven being Brahma Narada Siva Subramanya Kapila Manu Prahlada Janaka Bali Suka and Yama As directed by the Lord he meets Yudishtra At their meeting Yudhistira presented Bhishma with six questions1 kimEkam dhaivatam lokEWho is the greatest Lord in the world2 kim vaapyEkam parAyaNamWho is the one refuge of all3 stuvantam kam prApnuyuh mAnavah subhamBy glorifying whom can man attain peace and prosperity4 kam arcanat prApnuyuh mAnavaah subhamBy worshipping whom can man reach auspiciousness5 kO dharmah sarva dharmANaam bhavatah paramO matahWhat is in thy opinion the greatest Dharma6 kim japam mucyatE jantur janma samsAra bandhanAthBy doing Japa of what can creature go beyond the bonds and cycle of birth and deathBhishma responded by reciting the one thousand names now hailed as the Vishnu Shasranama and reminded him that either by meditating on these names or by invoking the names through archana Offering our minds can be lifted to higher consciousness VishNu SahasranAmam consists of 142 slokas Excepting 13 slokas at the beginning and 22 at the end the remaining 107 slokas contain the thousandnames of GodMEDITATION ON VishNu AND INTRODUCTORYOm SuklAmbaradharam vishNum SaSivarnam caturbhujamprasannavadanam dhyAyet sarvavighnopaSAntaye For the eradication of all obstructions One should meditate upon vishNu Who is clad in white robes Who has a moonlike lustre Who has four arms and Who has a beneficient face vyAsam vasishtanaptAram Sakteh pautram akalmashamparAsarAtmajam vande SukatAtam taponidhim vyAsa is the greatgrandson of vasishta and the grandson of Sakti He is the son of parAsara and the father of Suka I offer my obeisance to that vyAsa who is free from all defects and is a mine of austeritiesvyAsAya vishNurUpAya vyAsarUpAya vishNavenamo vai Brahmanidhaye vAsishtAya namo namaH My repeated salutations to vyAsa who is a form of vishNu and to vishNu who is a form of vyAsa sage vyAsa who is a descendent of vasishta and who is a treasure of brahman ie vedasavikArAya SuddhAya nityAya paramAtmanesadaikarUparUpAya vishNave sarvajishnave My salutations to vishNu Who is devoid of all mutations Who is by nature pure and eternal Who is endowed with a form which is uniform at all times and Who is the victor allyasya smaraNamAtreNa janmasamsArabandhanAtvimuchyate namastasmai vishNave prabhavishNaveOm namo vishNave prabhavishNave My salutations to that superior diety vishNu by a mere thought of Whose name all persons are freed from the bonds of samsara birth and death Salutations to that Allpowerful vishNu Who is signified by pranava ie Omkara sri vaiSampAyana uvAcaSrutvA dharmAnaSesheNa pAvanAni ca sarvaSaHyudhishThiraH SAntanavam punarevAbhyabhAshata sri vaiSampAyana said After hearing all froms of dharma capable of effecting complete purification yudhishThira still unsatisfied questioned the son of Santanu as follows YudhishThira uvAcakimekam daivatam loke kim vApyekam parAyaNamstuvantaH kam kam arcantaH prApnuyur mAnavAH Subham sri yudhishThira asked In this universe who is the one Divinity at whose command all beings function What is that one supreme Status which one should seek to attain Who is at Divinity by praising whom and by worshipping whom a man attains the good ko dharmaH sarvadharmAnAm bhavataH paramo mataHkim japan mucyate jantur janmasamsArabandhanAt Which according to you is the highest form of dharma capable of bestowing salvation and prosperity on man What is that by uttering or reciting which any living being can attain freedom from the cycle of births and deaths BhIshma uvAcajagatprabhum devadevam anantam puruhottamamsthuvan nAmasahasreNa purushaH satatotthitaH sri bhIshma repliedHe will be free from all sorrows who always praises by 39the sahasranAma39 thousand names that Allpervading Being who is the master of the worlds Who is supreme over all devas and who is the supreme spirittameva cArcayan nityam bhaktyA purusham avyayamdhyAyan stuvan namasyamSca yajamAnastamevacaThat worshipper will be free from all sorrows who devoutly worships and meditates on that Undecaying Being as also praises Him and makes prostrations to Him anAdinidhanam vishNum sarvalokamaheSvaramlokAdhyaksham stuvannityam sarvadukhAtigo bhavet He will be free from all sorrows who always sings the praise vishNu the Allpervading Being who is free from the six changes beginning with origin and ending with death and who is the master and overseer of all the worlds braHmaNyam sarvadharmajnam lokAnAm kIrtivardhanamlokanAtham mahadbhUtam sarvabhUtabhavodbhavam He is the protector of the brahmA and the veda He is the knower of all Dharmas He is the enhancer of the reputation of all beings He is the supreme Brahman Out of Him all beings and the whole of samsAra have come outEsha me sarvadharmAnAm dharmo39dhikatamo mataHyad bhaktyA puNDarIkAsham stavair arcen naraH sadA To adore the Lotuseyed One always with hymns of praise recited with devotion I consider this to be superior to all other forms of dharmaparamam yo mahat tejaH paramam yo mahat tapaHparamam yo mahad brahma paramam yaH parAyanamHe is the supreme light of consciousness He is the supreme controller of everything He is the supreme Allpervading Being He is the support of everything pavitrAnAm pavitam yo mangalAnAm ca mangalamdaivatam daivatAnAm ca bhUtAnAm yo39vyayaH pitAHe is the sanctifier of even what is most sacred He is the most auspicious among auspicious beings He is the Lord of all divinities He the undecaying is the father of all beingsyataH sarvANi bhUtAni bhavanty39Adi yugAgameyasmimSca pralayam yAnti punareva yugakshyeHe is the One from whom all beings come into existence at the beginning of a cycle of time and He is also the One into whom they all dissolve at the end of the cycletasya lokapradhAnasya jagan nAthasya bhUpatevishNor nAmasahasram me SRNu pApabhay39ApahamHear from me the hymn that is constituted of a 39thousand names39 of that vishNu who is the master of the universe who is the subject of discourse of all scriptures and who is the eraser of all sins and fear of samsArayAni nAmAni gauNAni vikhyAtAni maHAtmanaHRishibhiH parigItAni tAni vashyAmi bhUtayeI am giving for the benefit of all those names of His which are farfamed which are indicative of His attributes and which find a place in the exalted hymns of the RshisvishNoHr nAmasahasrasya vedavyAso mahAmuniHchandaHanushtup tathA devo bhagavAn devakIsutaHThe great vedavyAsa is the Rshi of these Thousand Names of vishNu anushtup is its metre The presiding diety is Lord Krishna devakI39s son amrutAmsUdbhavo bIjam Saktih devakinandanaHtrisAmA hridayam tasya SAntyarthe viniyujyate The seed is He who is born in the lunar race Its power is the Name The son of devakI The heart is the name One who is sung by three important sAmA hymns the purpose is the attainment of peacevishNum jishnum mahA vishNum prabhavishNum maheSvaramanekarUpadaityAntam namAmi purushottamamI bow to vishNu the victorious the Allpervading the Mighty the Lord of All the Enemy of daityas demons of many forms and the Best of persons asya sri vishNoH divya saharanAmastotramahAmantrasyasri vedavyAso bhagavAn RishiH anushtup Chandah sri mahAvishNuH paramAtmA srimannArAyaNo devatAamritAmSUdbhavo bhAnuriti bIjamdevakInandanaH srashteti SaktiHudbhavah kshobhano devaiti paramo mantraHSankhabHrt nandakI cakrIti kIlakamSArngadhanvA gadhAdharaiti astramrathAngapANiH akshobhyahiti netramtrisAmA sAmagah sAmeti kavachamAnandam parabrahmeti yoniHrituh sudarsanah kAleti digbandhaHsri visvarUpa iti dhyAnamsri mahAvishNuprItyarthe srisahasranAmajape viniyogahThe above angas are usually repeated in prose in the course of pArAyaNA They are followed by some dhyanaslokas or stanzas for meditation The holy Names are then recited Of this grand mantra ie the Thousand Names of vishNu the venerable veda vyAsa is Rishi the meter is anushtup its Diety is sriman nArAyanA the supreme soul the AllpervaderIts seed is amritAmSUdbhavo bhAnuIts power is devakI39s son The essential part of the mantra is udbhavah kshobhano devaHIts pin is SankhabHrin nandakI cakrIIts weapon is SArngadhanvA gadhAdharaH Its eye is rathAngapANiH akshobhyahIts armor is trisAmA sAmagas sAmaIts womb is Anandam para brahmaThe enclosure binding the directions east west south and north is rituh sudarsanah kAla The contempletion is on the universal form Its purpose and utility is in the Thousand Names being used for praising and pleasing vishNudhyanamkshIrodanvatpradese suchimanivilasatsaikate mautikAnAmmAlAkliptAsanasthaH sphtikamaninibhaiH mautikaiH manditAngaHSubhrairabhrairadabhraiH upari virachitaiH muktapIyUshavarshaihAnandI naH punIyAdarinalinagadASankhapAniH mukundaH May mukundA with the discuss mace conch and lotus in His hands purify us mukundA who is seated on a seat of garlands of pearls in the region of the milky ocean with the sand shining by the light from pure gems who is adorned by pearls transparent like crystals and who is enjoying ecstatic bliss on account of pure white clouds overhead raining showers of nectar bhUH pAdau yasya nAbhirviyadasuranilacandrasUryau cha netrekarNavASaH SiroDyauH mukhamapi dahano yasya vAsteyam abdhiHantasstham yasya viSvam suranarakhagagobhogigandharvadaityaiHchitram ramramyate tam tribhuvanavapusham vishNum Isam namAmiI bow to Lord vishNu who has the three worlds as His body The Earth is His feet and the sky His navel Wind is His breath and the Sun and the Moon are His eyes Directions are His ears and the Heaven is His head Fire is His face and ocean His abdomen In Him is situated the universe with diverse kinds of Gods men birds cattle serpents gandharvas and daityas demons all sporting in a charming wayOm namo Bhagavate VasudevayaSantAkAram bhujagasayanam padmanAbham sureSamviSvAdhAram gaganasadRSam meghavarNam SubhAngamlakshmikAntam kamalanayanam yogibhir dhyAnagamyamvande vishNum bhavabhayaharam sarvalokaikanAthamI salute vishNu the sole master of the universe whose presence is very peaceful who stretches Himself on a serpentbed AdiSesha who sports a lotus in His navel who is one lord of all the devAs who is the support of the worlds who is subtle and Allpervading like the sky whose complexion is like that of the clouds whose form is very beautiful who is the consort of Sri whose eyes are like lotus petals who is meditated upon by Yogis and who eradicates the fear of samsArameghasyAmam pItakauseyavAsamsrIvatsAnkam kaustubhodbhAsitAngampunyopetam pundarIkaAyatAkshamvishNum vande sarvalokaikanAthamI prostrate before vishNu the one Lord of the worlds blue as the cloud and clothed in yellow robes His chest is marked by the mole known as srivatsa His body is resplendent with kaustubha gem He is surrounded by holy persons And he has wide eyes like lotusesNamah samasta bhutanamadibhutaya bhubriteAnekaruparupaya vishnave prabhavishnavesaShamkhachakram sakirItakunDalamsapItavastram sarasIruhekshaNamsahAravakshaHsthalakaustubhaSriyamnamAmi vishNum SirasA caturbhujamchayayam parijatasya hemasimhasanopari asinamambusdasyamamayataksamalankrtamcandrananam caturbahum srivatsankita vaksasam rukmini satyabhamabhyam sahitam krsnamasrayaI bow down my head before the fourhanded vishNu who sports in His hand the Sankha and the discuss who is adorned with a crown and earpendants who wears a yellow cloth whose eyes resemble a lotus and whose chest is beautified by many necklaces and the kaustubha markVISHNU SAHASRANAMA STOTRAMOm vishvam vishnurvashatkaro bhutabhavyabhavatprabhuhBhutakrud bhutabhrud bhavo bhutatma bhutabhavanah 1Vishvam The all or the UniverseVishnur He who pervades every thingVashatkara For whom the sacrificial versus are uttered in the yagyasBhutabhavyabhavatprabhuh The one who is the master and beyond the past present and the futureBhutakrud The creator and destroyer of all existences in the universeBhutabhrud One who supports or sustains or governs the universeBhava Pure existenceBhutatma The essence of all beingsBhutabhavanah He who originates and develops all ElementsPutatma paramatma cha muktanam parama gatihAvyayah purusha sakshi kshetrajnokshara eva cha 2Putatma One whose nature is puritywho is purityParamatma cha He who is the supreme one and the AtmanMuktanam parama gatih The highest goal of the liberated onesAvyayah One for whom there is no decayPurusha One who abides in the body or puraSakshi One who witnesses everythingKshetrajno The knower of the field or bodyAkshara eva cha He who is without destructionYogo yogavidam neta pradhanapurushesvarahNarasimhavapu shriman kesavah purushottamah 3Yogo One attainable through YogaYogavidam neta The master of those who are established in the abovementioned YogaPradhanapurushesvarah The master of pradhana or Prakruti and Purusha or JivaNarasimhavapu One in whom the bodies of a man and a lion are combinedShirman One on whose chest the goddess Shri always dwellsKesavah One whose Kesa or locks are beautifulPurushottamah The greatest among all PurushasSarvah sarvah sivah sthanurbhutadirnidhiravyayahSambhavo bhavano bharta prabhavah prabhurisvarah 4Sarvah The omniscient source of all existenceSarvah Destroyer Sivah One pureSthanur One who is steady immovable and changelessBhutadir Source of all elements or existing thingsAvyayah nidhir The changeless and indestructible Being in whom the whole universe becomes merged and remains in seminal condition at the time of Pralaya or cosmic dissolutionSambhavo One born out of His own will as incarnationBhavano One who generates the fruits or Karmas of all Jivas for them to enjoyBharta One who supports the universe as its substratumPrabhavah One from whom all the great elements have their birth Or one who has exalted births as incarnationsPrabhur One who is an adept in all ritesIshvarah One who has unlimited lordliness or power over all thingsSvayambhuh sambhuradityah pushkaraksho mahasvanahAnandinidhano dhata vidhata dhaturuttamah 5Svayambhuh One who exists by Himself uncaused by any otherSambhur One who bestows happiness on devoteesAdityah The goldenhued person in the sun s orbPushkaraksho One who has eyes resembling the petals of Pushkara or lotusMahasvanah One from whom comes the great sound the VedaAnandinidhano The one existence that has neither birth nor deathDhata One who is the support of the universeVidhata He who generates Karmas and their fruitsDhaturuttamah The ultimate support of every thingAprameyo hrishikesah padmanabhomaraprabhuhVisvakarma manustvashta sthavishtah sthavirodhruvah 6Aprameyo One who is not measurable or understandable by any of the accepted means of knowledge like sense perception inference etcHrishikesah The master of the senses or He under whose control the senses subsistPadmanabho He in whose navel nabhi the lotus padma the source of the universe standsAmaraprabhuh The master of Amaras or the deathless ones ie the DevasVisvakarma He whose Karma work has resulted in all that exists Vishvam or He whose power of creation is unique and wonderfulManu He who thinksStvashta He who makes all beings shrunken Tanukarana at the time of cosmic dissolutionSthavishtah He who excels in everything in bulk or substantialitySthavirodhruvah Eternal One being the most ancient It is taken as a single phrase the name along with its qualificationAgrahyah sasvatah krishno lohitakshah pratardanahPrabhutastrikakubdhama pavitram mangalam param 7Agrahyah One who cannot be grasped by the organs or knowledge or conceived by the mindSasvatah One who exists at all timesKrishno The existenceKnowledgeBlissLihitakshah One whose eyes are tinged redPratardanah Destroyer of all at the time of cosmic dissolutionPrabhutas Great because of unique qualities like omnipotence omniscience etcTrikakubdhama He who is the support dharma of the three regions above below and in the middlePavitram That which purifies everything Mangalam param Supremely auspiciousIsanah pranadah prano jyeshthah sreshthah prajapatihHiranyagarbho bhugarbho madhavo madhusudanah 8Isanah He who controls and regulates everythingPranadah One who bestows or activates the Prana the vital energyPrano The Supreme BeingJyeshthah The eldest of all for there is nothing before HimSreshthah One deserving the highest praisePrajapatih The master of all living beings because He is IshvaraHiranyagarbho One who is Atman of even Brahma the creatorBhugarbho One who has got the world within HimselfMadhavo The Consort of Ma or Mahalakshmi or one who is fit to be known through MadhuVidyaMadhusudanah The destroyer of the demon MadhuIshvaro vikrami dhanvi medhavi vikramah kramahAnuttamo duradharsah krutajnah krutiratmavan 9Ishvara The Omnipotent BeingVikrami The courageous OneDhanvi One armed with bow Medhavi He who has great intelligence capable of grasping all textsVikramah He who crosses Karmana ie transcends samsara Or one who has Vih bird ie Garuda as His mountKramah Vishnu is called Kramah because He is the cause of Kramana or crossing of the ocean of samsara by devotees or because from Him all Krama or manifestation of the universe has taken placeAnuttamo He than whom there is none greaterDuradharsah One whom none Asuras can overcome Krutajnah One who knows everything about what has been done Kruta by Jivas Also one who is pleased even with those who offer such simple offerings as leaves flowers fruits and waterKrutir The word means what is achieved through all human efforts or worksAtmavan One established in his own greatness ie requiring no other support than HimselfSuresah sharanam sharma vishvaretah prajabhavahAhah samvasaro vyalah pratyayah sarvadarshanah 10Suresah The lord of the Suras or Devas It can also mean the greatest of those who bestow goodSaranam One who removes the sorrows of those in distressSharma One who is of the nature of supreme blissVishvaretah The seed of the universePrajabhavah He from whom all beings have originatedAhah Luminous oneSamvasaro As Time is a from of Vishnu He is called Samvasara or a yearVyalah Being ungraspable like a serpent He is called VyalahPratyayah One who is of the nature of Pratiti or Prajna consciousnessSarvadarshanah One with eyes everywhere As the Lord has assumed all forms the eyesight of all beings is HisAjah sarveshvarah siddhah siddhih sarvadir acyutahVrushakapir ameyatma sarvayogavinihshrutah 11Ajah One who has no birthSarveshvarah The Lord of all Lords or the supreme LordSiddhah One ever established in one s own natureSiddhih One who is of the nature of Consciousness in allSarvadih One who is the first cause of all elementsAchyutah One who never lost and will never lose his inherent nature and powersVrushakapir One who shwers all objects of desireAmeyatma One whose form or nature cannot be measured and determinedSarvayogavinihshrutah One who stands aside completely from all bondageVasur vasumanah satyah samatma sammitah samahAmoghah pundarikaksho vrushakarma vrushakrutih 12Vasur One in whom all beings dwell and one who dwells in all beingsVasumanah The term Vasu means wealth or riches Here it indicates greatness So it means one possessed of a great mind ie a mind free from attachments anger and other evil qualitiesSatyah One whose nature is TruthSamatma One whose mind is Sama without partiality or anger and thus the same towards all beingsSammitah This name and the previous samatma occurring together can be split in two ways as samatma sammitah and as samatma asammitahSamah One unpertubed at all timesAmoghah One whose worship will never go in vain but will bear ample fruitsPundarikaksho One who has pervaded ie is realized in the lotus of the heart Or One whose eyes resemble the petals of a lotusVrushakarma One whose actions are according to vrushas ie DharmaVrushakrutih One who takes form for the sake of Vrushas or DharmaRudro bahushira babhrur vishvayonih shuchi sravahAmrutah shashvatasthanur vararoho mahatapah 13Rudro One who makes all beings cry at the time of cosmic dissolutionBahushira One with innumerable headsBabhrur One who governs the worldVishvayonih One who is the cause of the worldShuchi sravah One whose names and glories are very holy and purifying to be heardAmrutah One who is deathlessShashvatasthanur One who is both eternal and firmly established unchangingVararoho He whose lap gives the highest blessingsMahatapah The austerity connected with creation which is of the nature of knowledge is of great potencySarvagah sarvavidbhanur vishvaksheno janardanahVedo vedavid avyango vedango vedavit kavih14Sarvagah One who pervades everything being of the nature of their material causeSarvavidbhanur One who is omniscient and illumines everythingVishvaksheno He before whom all Asura armies get scatteredJanardanah One who inflicts suffering on evil menVedah He who is of the form of the VedaVedavid One who knows the Veda and its meaningAvyango One who is selffulfilled by knowledge and other great attributes and is free from every defectVedango He to whom the Vedas stand as organsVedavit One who knows all the VedasKavih One who sees everythingLokadhyakshah suradhyaksho dharmadhyakshah krutakrutahChaturatma chaturvyuhas chaturdamstras chaturbhujah 15Lokadhyakshah He who witnesses the whole universeSuradhyaksho One who is the overlord of the protecting Divinities of all regionsDharmadhyakshah One who directly sees the merits Dharma and demerits Adharma of beings by bestwing their due rewards on all beingsKrutakrutah One who is an effect in the form of the worlds and also a noneffect as their causeChaturatma One who for the sake of creation sustentation and dissolution assumes formsChaturvyuhas One who adopts a fourfold manifestationChaturdamstras One with four fangs in His Incarnation as NisimhaChaturbhujah One with four armsBhrajishnurbhojanam bhokta sahishnur jagadadhijahAnagho vijayo jeta vishvayonih punarvasuh 16Bhrajishnur One who is pure luminosityBhojanam Prakruti or Maya is called Bhojanam or what is enjoyed by the LordBhokta As he purusha enjoys the prakruti He is called the enjoyer or BhoktaSahishnur As He suppresses Asuras like Kiranyaksha He is SahishnuJagadadhijah One who manifested as Hiranyagarbha by Himself at the beginning of creationAnagho The sinless oneVijayo One who has mastery over the whole universe by virtue of his six special excellences like omnipotence omniscience etc known as BhagasJeta One who is naturally victorious over beings ie superior to all beingsVishvayonih The source of the universePunarvasuh One who dwells again and again in the bodies as the JivasUpendro vamanah pramshur amoghah suchir urjitahAtindrah samgrahah sargo dhrutatma niyamo yamah 17Upendro One born as the younger brother of IndraVamanah One who in the form of Vamana dwarf went begging to BaliPramshur One of great heightAmoghah One whose acts do not go in vainSuchir One who purifies those who adore and praise HimUrjitah One of infinite strengthAtindrah One who is superior to Indra by His inherent attributes like omnipotence omniscience etcSamgrahah One who is of the subtle form of the universe to be createdDhrutatma One who is ever in His inherent form or nature without the transformation involved in birth and deathNiyamo One who appoints His creatures in particular stationsYamah One who regulates all remaining within themVedyo vaidyah sadayogi viraha madhavo madhuhAtindriyo mahamayo mahotsaho mahabalah 18Vedyo One who has to be known by those who aspire for MokshasVaidhyah One who knows all Vidyas or branches of knowledgeSadayogi One who is ever experienceble being ever existentViraha One who destroys heroic Asuras for the protection of DharmaMadhavo One who is the Lord or Master of Ma or knowledgeMadhuh Honey because the Lord gives joy just like honeyAtindriyo One who is not knowable by the sensesMahamayo One who can cause illusion even over other great illusionistsMahotsaho One who is ever busy in the work of creation sustentation and dissolutionMahabalah The strongest among all who have strengthMahabuddir mahaviryo mahasaktir mahadyutihAnirdesyavapuh shriman ameyatma mahadridhruk 19Mahabuddir The wisest among the wiseMahaviryo The most powerful one because Ignorance which is the cause of Samsara is His great powerMahasaktir One with great resources of strength and skillMahadyutih One who is intensely brilliant both within and withoutAnirdesyavapuh One who cannot be indicated to another as He is this because He cannot be objectively knownShriman One endowed with greatness of every kindAmeyatma The Spirit with intelligence that cannot be measured by any oneMahadridhruk One who held up the great mountain Mandara at the time of the churning of the Milk Ocean and also Govardhana in his Krishna incarnationMaheshvaso mahibharta shrinivasah satam gatihAniruddhah suranando govindo govidam patih 20Maheshvaso One equipped with the great bowMahibharta One who held up the earth submerged in Pralaya watersShrinivasah One on whose chest the Goddess Shri eternal in nature dwellsSatam gatih One who bestows the highest destiny attainable to all holy menAniruddhah One who has never been obstructed by any one or anything from manifesting in various formsSuranando One who bestows joy on all divinitiesGovindo Gau means words Thou pervadest all words giving them power Therefore sages call the GovindaGovindam patih Gau means words One who knows them is Govid He who is the master of words is indicated by this nameMarichirdamano hamsah suparno bhujagottamahHiranyanabha sutapah padmanabhah prajapatih 21Marchir The supreme power and impressiveness seen in persons endowed with such qualitiesDamano One who in the form of Yama inflicts punishments on those who tread the path of unrighteousnessHamsah One who removes the fear of Samsara from those who practise the sense of identity with HimSuparnah One who has two wings in the shape of Dharma and AdharmaBhujagottamah One who is the greatest among those who move on Bhujas or arms that is serpents The great serpents like Ananta and Vasuki are the powers of Vishnu so he has come to have this nameHiranyanaabhah He who supports at His navel the creator Hiranyagarba The meaning for this term as given by some is the One who has the navel region beautiful in its golden hue must fail in the context of the thoughts in the stanza to appeal to all seekersSutapah One who performs rigorous austerities at Badarikashrama as Nara and NarayanaPadmanabhah One whose navel is beautifully shaped like lotusPrajapatih The father of all beings who are His childrenAmrutyuh sarvadruk simhah sandhata sandhiman sthirahAjo durmarshanah shasta vishrutatma surariha 22Amrutyuh One who is without death or its causeSarvadruk One who sees the Karmas of all Jivas through His inherent wisdomSimhah One who does Himsa or destructionSandhata One who unites the Jivas with the fruits of their actionsSandhiman One who is Himself the enjoyer of the fruits of actionsSthirah One who is always of the same natureAjo The root Aj has got as meanings both go and throw So the name means One who goes into the hearts of devotees or One who throws the evil Asuras to a distance ie destroys themDurmarshanah One whose might the Asuras cannot bearShasta One who instructs and directs all through the scripturesVishrutatma One who is specially known through signifying terms like Truth Knowledge etcSurariha One who destroys the enemies of Suras or DevasGurur gurutamo dhama satyah satyaparakramahNimisho animishah sragvi vachaspatir udaradhih 23Gurur One who is the teacher of all forms of knowledgeGurutamo One who gives the knowledge of Brahman even to divinities like BrahmaDhama It means brillianceSatyah One who is embodied as virtue of truth speciallySatyaparakamah One of unfailing valourNimisho One whose eyelids are closed in YoganidraAnimishah One who is ever awakeSragvi One who has on Him the necklace called Vaijayanti which is strung with the subtle aspects of the five elementsVachaspatirudaradhih Being the master of Vak or word ie knowledge He is called so As his intellect perceives everything He is Udaradhih Both these epithets together constitute one nameAgranir gramanih shriman nyayo neta samiranahSahsramurdha vishvatma sahasraksha sahasrapat 24Agranir One who leads all liberationseekers to the highest statusGramanih One who has the command over Bhutagrama or the collectivity of all beingsShriman One more resplendent than everythingNyayo The consistency which runs through all ways of knowing and which leads one to the truth of NondualityNeta One who moves this world of becomingSamiranah One who in the form of breath keeps all living beings functioningSahasramurdha One with a thousand ie innumerable headsVishvatma The soul of the universeSahasraksha One with a thousand or innumerable eyesSahasrapat One with a thousand ie innumerable legsAvrtano nivrutatma samvrutah sampramardanahAhah samvartako vahnir anilo dharanidharah 25Avartano One who whirls round and round the Samsarachakra the wheel of Samsara or worldy existenceNivrutatma One whose being is free or untouched by the bondage of SamsaraSamvrutah One who is covered by allcovering Avidya or ignoranceSampramardanah One who delivers destructive blows on all beings through His Vibhutis power manifestation like Rudra Yama etcAhah samvartako The Lord who as the sun regulates the succession of day and nightVahnir One who as fire carries the offerings made to the Devas in sacrificesAnilo One who has no fixed residenceDhanani dharah One who supports the worlds Adisesha elephants of the quarters etcSuprasadah prasannatma vishvadhrug vishvabhug vibhuhSatkarta satkrutah sadhur jahnur narayano narah 26Suprasadah One whose Prasada or mercy is uniquely wonderful because He gives salvation to Sisupala and others who try to harm HimPrasannatma One whose mind is never contaminated by Rajas or TamasVishvadhrug One who holds the universe by his powerVishvabhug One who eats up or enjoys or protects the worldsVibhuh One who becomes many from Hiranyagarbha downwardsSatkarta One who offers benefitsSatkrutah One who is adored even by those who deserve adorationSadhur One who acts according to justiceJahnuh One who dissolves all beings in oneself at the time of dissolutionNarayanah Nara means Atman Narayana that is one having His residence in all beingsNarah He directs everything the eternal Paramatma is called Nara Asankhyeyo prameyatma visistah shishtakruch chucihSiddharthah siddhasankalpah siddhidah siddhisadhanah 27Asankhyeyo One who has no Sankhya or differences of name and formAprameyatma One whose nature cannot be grasped by any of the means of knowledgeVisistah One who excels everythingShishtakrch Shihstam means commandment So one who commands everything Or one who protects shishtas or good menSiddharthah One whose object is always fulfilledSiddhasankalpah One whose resolutions are always fulfilledSiddhidah One who bestows Siddhi or fulfillment on all who practise disciplines in accordance with their eligibilitySiddhisadhanah One who brings fulfillment to works that deserve the sameVrushahi vrushabho vishnur vrushaparva vrushodarahVardhano vardhamanascha viviktah shrutisagarah 28Vrushahi Vrusha means dharma or meritVrushabho One who showers on the devotees all that they pray forVishnur One who pervades everythingVrushaparva One who has given as steps Parvas observances of the nature of Dharma to those who want to attain the supreme stateVrushodarah One whose abdomen showers offspringVardhamanascha One who multiplies in the form of the universeViviktah One who is untouched and unaffectedShrutisagarah One to whom all the shruti or Vedic words and sentences flowSubhujo durdharo vagmi mahendro vasodo vasuhNaikarupo bruhadrupah shipivishtah prakashana 29Subhujo One possessing excellent arms that protect the worldsDurdharo One who holds up the universe a work which none else can doVagmi One from whom the words constituting the Veda come outMahendro The great Lord that is the Supreme Being who is the God of all godsVasudo One who bestows richesVasuh One who is himself theVasuNaikarupo One who is without an exclusive formBruhadrupah One who has adopted mysterious forms like that of a BoarShipivishtah Shipi means cow One who resides in cows as YagyaPrakashana One who illumines everthingOjas tejo dyutidharah prakashatma pratapanahVruddhah spahstaksharo mantras chandramshur bhaskaradyutih 30Ojas tejo dutidharah Ojas means inherent vitality Tejas means puissance and such qualities Dyuti means radiance So the word means one who possesses all these qualitiesPrakashatma One whose form is radiantPratapanah One who warms the world through the power manifestations like the SunVruddhah One who is rich in excellences like Dharma Gyana knowledge Vairagya renunciation etcSpashstaksharo He is so called because Omkara the manifesting sound of the Lord is Spashta or high pitchedMantras One who manifests as the Mantras of the Rk Sama Yajus etc or one who is known through MantrasChandramshur He is called Chandramshu or moonlight because just as the moonlight gives relief to men burnt in the heat of the sun He gives relief and shelter to those who are subjected to the heat of SamsaraBhaaskaradyutih The Effulgence of the Sun Sun is the centre of the solar system an eternal exchequer of energy ever distributing Life and Strength to all living upon the earth life would have been impossible but for the Sun At the same time the Sun stays where he is and he never interferes with life from afar he blesses life The Lord who thus from afar blesses by His mere presence is the true Sun of Life the Atman the Self Sree Maha VishnuAmrtamshu dbhavo bhanuh shashabinduh sureshvarahAushadham jagatah setuh satyadharmaprarakramah 31Amrtamshu dbhavo The Paramatman from whom Amrutamshu or the Moon originated at the time of the churning of the MilkoceanBhanuh One who shinesShashabinduh The word means one who has the mark of the hare that is the MoonSureshvarah One who is the Lord of all Devas and those who do goodAushadham One who is the Aushadha or medicine for the great disease of SamsaraJagatah setuh One who is the aid to go across the ocean of SamsaraSatyadharmaparakramah One whose excellences like righteousness omniscience puissance etc are all trueBhutabhavyabhavannathah pavanah pavano analahKamaha kamakrut kantah kamah kamapradah prabhuh 32Bhutabhavyabhavannathah One who is the master for all the beings of the past future and presentPavanah One who is the purifierPavano One who causes movementAnalah The Jivatma is called Anala because it recognizes Ana or Prana as HimselfKamaha One who destroys the desirenature in seekers after liberationKamakrut One who fulfils the wants of pure minded devoteesKantah One who is extremely beautifulKamah One who is sought after by those who desire to attain the four supreme values of lifeKamapradah One who liberally fulfils the desires of devoteesPrabhuh One who surpasses allYugadikrud yugavarto naikamayo mahashanahAdrushyo vyaktarupascha sahasrajid anantajit 33Yugadikrud One who is the cause of periods of time like YugaYugavarto One who as time causes the repetition of the four Yugas beginning with Satya YugaNaikamayo One who can assume numerous forms of Maya not one onlyMahashanah One who consumes everything at the end of a KalpaAdrushyo One who cannot be grasped by any of the five organs of knowledgeVyaktarupascha He is so called because His gross form as universe can be clearly perceivedSahasrajid One who is victorious over innumerable enemies of the Devas in battleAnantajit One who being endowed with all powers is victorious at all times over everythingIshtovishistah shishtestah sikhandi nahusho vrushahKrodhaha krodhakrut karta vishvabahur mahidharah 34Ishto One who is dear to all because He is of the nature of supreme BlissAvishistah One who resides within allShishtestah One who is dear to shishta or Knowing OnesSikhandi Sikhanda means feather of a peacock One who used it as a decoration for His crown when he adopted the form of a cowherd GopaNahusho One who binds all beings by Maya the root nah means bondageVrushah One who is of the form of DharmaKrodhaha One who eradicates anger in virtuous peopleKrodhakrut karta One who generates Krodha or anger in evil peopleVishvabahur One who is the support of all or one who has got all beings as His armsMahidharah Mahi means both earth and worship So the name means one who supports the earth or receives all forms of worshipAchyutah prathitah pranah pranado vasavanujahApamnidhir adhishthanam apramattah pratishtitah 35Achyutah One who is without the six transformations beginning with birthPrathitah One who is famous because of His works like creation of the worlds etcPranah One who as Hiranyagarbha endows all beings with PranaPranado One who bestows Prana that is strength on Devas and Asuras and also destroys them by withdrawing itVasavanujah One who was born as younger brother of Indra Vasava in His incarnation as VamanaApamnidhir The word means collectivity of water or the oceanAdhishthanam The seat or support for everythingApramattah One who is always vigilant in awarding the fruits of actions to those who are entiled to themPratishtitah One who is supported and established in His own greatnessSkandah skandadharo dhuryo varado vayuvahanahVashudevo bruhadbhanur adidevah purandarah 36Skandah One who drives everything as airSkandadharo One who supports Skanda or the righteous pathDhuryo One who bears the weight of the burden of all beings in the form of birth etcVarado One who gives boonsVayuvahanah One who vibrates the seven Vayus or atmospheres beginning with AvahaVashudevo One who is both Vasu and DevaBruhadbhanur The great brillianceAdidevah The Divinity who is the source of all DevasPurandarah One who destroys the cities of the enemies of DevasAshokastaranastarah surah saurir janeshvarahAnukulah shatavartah padmi padmanibhekshanah 37Ashokas One without the six defects sorrow infatuation hunger thirst birth and deathTaranas One who uplifts beings from the ocean of samsaraTarah One who liberates beings from the fear of residence in the womb birth old age death etcSurah One of great prowess that is who fulfils the four supreme satisfactions of life Dharma Artha Kama and MokshaSaurih One who as Krishna as the son of Sura that is VasudevaJaneshvarah The Lord of all beingsAnukulah One who being the Atman of all beings is favorable to all for no one will act against oneselfShatavartah One who has had several Avataras or incarnationsPadmi One having Padma or lotus in his handsPadmanibhekshanah One with eyes resembling lotusPadmanabho aravindakshah padmagarbhah sarirabhrutMahardhir ruddho vruddhatma mahaksho garudadhvajah 38Padmanabho One who resides in the Nabhi or the central part of the heartlotusAravindakshah One whose eyes resemble Aravinda or the LotusPadmagarbhah One who is fit to be worshipped in the middle of the heartlotusSarirabhrut One who supports the bodies of beings strengthening them in the form of Anna Food and PranaMahardhir One who has enormous Ruddhi or prosperityRuddho One who is seen as standing in the form of the worldVruddhatma One whose Atma or body is Vruddha or ancientMahaksho One who has got two or many glorious eyesGarudadhvajah One who has got Garuda as his flagAtulah sarabho bhimah samayagno havirharihSarvalakshana lakshanyo lakshmivan samitinjayah 39Atulah One who cannot be compared to anything elseSarabho The body is called Sara as it is perishableBhimah One of whom everyone is afraidSamayajno One who knows the time for creation sustentation and dissolutionHavirharih One who takes the portion of offerings Havis in YajnasSarvalakshanalakshanyo The supreme knowledge obtained through all criteria of knowledge ie ParamatmaLakshmivan One on whose chest the Goddess Lakshmi is always residingSamitinjayah One who is vicotious in Samiti or warViksharo rohito margo heturdamodarah sahahMahidharo mahabhago vegavan amitashanah 40Viksharo One who is without Kshara or desructionRohito One who assumed the form of a kind of fish called RohitaMargah One who is sought after by persons seeking Moksha or LiberationHetur One who is both the instrumental and the material cause of the universeDamodarah One who has very benevolent mind because of disciplines like selfcontrolSahah One who subordinates everythingMahidharo One who props up the earth in the form of mountainMahabhago He who taking a body by His own will enjoys supreme felicitiesVegavan One of tremendous speedAmitashanah He who consumes all the worlds at the time of DissolutionUdbhavah kshobhano devan shrigarbhah parameshvarahKaranam kaaranam karta vikarta gahano guhah 41Udbhavah One who is the material cause of creationKshobhano One who at the time of creation entered into the Purusha and Prakruti and caused agitationDevan Divyati means sports oneself through creation and other cosmic activitiesShrigarbhah One in whose abdomen Garbha Shri or His unique manifestation as Samsara has its existenceParameshvarah Parama means the supreme Ishvarah means one who hold sway over all beingsKaranam He who is the most important factor in the generation of this universeKaaranam He who is the most important factor in the generation of this universeKarta One who is free and is therefore one s own masterVikarta One who makes this unique universeGahanah One whose nature greatness and actions cannot be known by anybodyGuhah One who hides one s own nature with the help of His power of MayaVyavasayo vyavasthanah samsthanah sthanado dhruvahParardhih paramaspashtas tushtah pushtah subhekshanah 42Vyavasayo One who is wholly of the nature of knowledgeVyavasthanah He in whom the orderly regulation of the universe restsSamsthanah One in whom all beings dwell in the states of dissolutionSthanado One who gives their particular status to persons like Dhruva according to their KarmaDhruva One who is indestructibleParardhih One who possesses lordliness of this most exalted typeParamaspashtas One in whom Para or supremely glorious Ma or Lakshmi dwells Or one who is the greatest of all beings without any other s helpTushtah One who is of the nature of supremePushtah One who in fills everythingSubhekshanah One whose Ikshanam or vision bestows good on all beings that is gives liberation to those who want Moksha and enjoyments to those who are after it and also cuts asunder the knots of the heart by eliminating all doubtsRamo viramo virato margo neyo nayonayahVeera shaktimatam shreshtho dharmo dharmavid uttamah 43Ramo The eternally blissful on in whom the Yogis find delightViramo One in whom the Virama or end of all beings takes placeVirato One in whom the desire for enjoyments has ceasedMargo That path by knowing which the liberationseeking ascetics attain to immortalityNeyo One who directs or leads the Jiva to the Supreme Being through spiritual realizationNayo One who leads that is who is the leader in the form of spiritual illuminationAnayah One for whom there is no leaderVeera One who is valorousShaktimatamshreshtho One who is the most powerful among all powerful beings like BrahmaDharmah One who supports all beingsDharmaviduttamah The greatest of knower of Dharma He is called so because all the scriptures consisting of Shrutis and Smrutis form His commandmentsVaikunthah purushah pranah pranadah pranavah pruthuhHiranyagarbhah shatrughno vyapto vayur adhokshajah 44Vaikunthah The bringing together of the diversified categories is Vikuntha He who is the agent of it is VaikunthahPurushah One who existed before everythingPranah One who lives as Kshetrajana knower in the body or one who functions in the form of vital force called PranaPranadah One who destroys the Prana of beings at the time of PralayaPranavah One who is praised or to whom prostration is made with OmPruthuh One who has expanded himself as the worldHiranyagarbhah He who was the cause of the goldencoloured egg out of which Brahma was bornShatrughno One who destroys the enemies of the DevasVyaptah One who as the cause pervades all effectsVayur One who is the cause of smellAdhokshajah He is Adhokshaja because he undergoes no degeneration from His original natureRituh sudarshanah kalah parameshti parigrahahUgrah samvatsaro daksho vishramo vishvadakshinah 45Rituh One who is of the nature of Kala time which is indicated by the word Ritu or seasonSudarshanah One whose Darshana or vision that is knowledge bestows the most auspicious fruit MokshaKalah One who measures and sets a limit to everythingParameshti One who dwells in his supreme greatness in the sky of the heartParigrahah One who being everywhere is grasped on all sides by those who seek refuge in Him Or one who grasps or receives the offerings made by devoteesUgrah One who is the cause of fear even to beings like SunSamvatsaro One in whom all beings resideDaksho One who augments in the form of the worldVishramah One who bestows Vishrama or liberation to aspirants who seek relief from the ocean of Samsara with its waves of various tribulations in the from of Hunger Thirst etc and difficulties like Avidya pride infatuation etc Vishvadakshinah One who is more skilled Daksha than every one Or One who is proficient in everythingVistarah sthavarasthanuh pramanam bijam avyayamArthonartho mahakosho mahabhogo mahadhanah 46Vistarah One in whom all the worlds have attained manifestationSthavarasthanuh One who is firmly established is Sthavara and in whom long lasting entities like earth are established in Sthanu The Lord is both thesePramanam One who is of the nature of pure consciousnessBijamavyayam One who is the seed or cause of Samsara without Himself undergoing any changeArthah One who is sought Arthita by all as He is of the nature of blissanarthah One who being selffulfilled has no other Artha or end to seekMahakosho One who has got as His covering the great Koshas like Annamaya Pranamaya etcMahabhogo One who has Bliss as the great source of enjoymentMahadhanah One who has got the whole universe as the wealth Dhana for His enjoymentAnirvinnah sthavishtho abhoohr dharmayupo mahamakhahNakshatranemir nakshatri kshamah kshamah samihanah 47Anirvinnah One who is never heedless because He is ever selffulfilledSthavishtah One of huge proportions because He is in the form of cosmic personAbhooh One without birth Or one has no existenceDharma Yupah The sacrificial post for Dharmas that is one to whom all the forms of Dharma which are His own form of worship are attached just as a sacrificial animal is attached to a Yupa or a sacrificial postMahamakhah One by offering sacrifices to whom those sacrifices deserve to be called great because they well give the fruit of NirvanaNakshatra nemir The heart of all nakshatrasNakshatri He is in the form of the nakshatra MoonKshamah One who is clever in everythingKshamah One who remains in the state of pure self after all the modifications of the mind have dwindledSamihanah One who exerts well for creation etcYajna ijyo mahejyas cha kratuh satram satamgatihSarvadarshi vimuktatma sarvagyo gynanamuttamam 48Yajnah One who is allknowingIjayah One who is fit to be worshipped in sacrificesMahejyascha He who of all deities worshipped is alone capable of giving the blessing of liberationKratuh A Yajna in which there is a sacrificial post is KratuSatram One who is of the nature of ordained DharmaSatamgatih One who is the sole support for holy men who are seekers of MokshaSarvadarshi One who by His inborn insight is able to see all good and evil actions of living beingsVimuktatma One who is naturally freeSarvagyo One who is all and also the knower of allGynanam uttamam That consciousness which is superior to all birthless unlimited by time and space and the cause of all achievementsSuvratah sumukhah sukshmah sughoshah sukhadah suhrutManoharo jitakrodho virabahur vidaranah 49Suvratah One who has take the magnanimous vow to save all refugeseekersSumukhah One with a pleasant faceSukshmah One who is subtle because He is without any gross causes like sound etcSughoshah One whose auspicious sound is the Veda Or one who has got a deep and sonorous sound like the cloudsSukhadah One who gives happiness to good peopleSuhrut One who helps without looking for any returnManoharo One who attracts the mind by His incomparable blissful natureJitakrodho One who has overcome angerVirabahur One whose arms are capable of heroic deeds as demonstrated in his destruction of Asuras for establishing Vedic DharmaVidaranah One who destroys those who live contrary to DharmaSvapanah svavasho vyapi naikatma naikakarmakrutVatsaro vatsalo vatsi ratnagarbho dhaneshvarah 50Svapanah One who enfolds the Jivas in the sleep of AjnanaSvavasho One who is dominated by oneself and not anything else as He is the cause of the whole cosmic processVyapi One who interpenetrates everything like AkashaNaikatma One who manifests in different forms as the subsidiary agencies causing the various cosmic processesNaikakarmakrut One who engages in innumerable activities in the process of creation sustentation etcVatsaro One in whom everything dwellsVatsalo One who has love for His devoteesVatsi One who protects those who are dear to HimRatnagarbho The Ocean is so called because gems are found in its depths As the Lord has taken the form of the ocean He is called by this nameDhaneshvarah One who is the Lord of all wealthDharmagub dharmakrud dharmi sadasatksharam aksharamAvigyata sahashramsur vidhata krutalakshanah 51Dharmagub One who protects DharmaDharmakrud Though above Dharma and Adharma He performs Dharma in order to keep up the traditions in respect of itDharmi One who upholds DharmaSad The Parabrahman who is of the nature of truthAsat As the Aparabrahma has manifested as the world He is called Asat not having realityKsharam All beings subjected to changeAksharam The changeless oneAvigyata One who is without the attributes of a Jiva or vigyata like sense of agency etcSahashramshur One with numerous rays that is the SunVidhata One who is the unique support of all agencies like Ananta who bear the whole universeKrutalakshanah One who is of the nature of conscousnessGabhastinemih sattvasthah simho bhutamaheshvarahAdidevo mahadevo devesho devabhrudguruh 52Gabhastinemih He who dwells in the middle of Gabhasti or rays as the SunSattvasthah One who dwells specially in sattvaguna which is luminous by natureSimho One who ahs irresistible power like a lionBhutamaheshvarah The supreme Lord of all beingsAdidevo He who is the first of all beingsMahadevo One whose greatness consists in His supreme selfknowledgeDevesah One who is the lord of all Devas being the most important among themDevabhrudguruh Indra who governs the Devas is Devabhrut The Lord is even that Indra s controller GuruUttaro gopatir gopta gyanagamyah puratanahSharirabhutabhrud bhokta kapindro bhuridakshinah 53Uttaro One who is Uttirna or liberated from SamsaraGopatir Krishna who tends the cattle in the form of a Gopa One who is the master of the earthGopta One who is the protector of all beingsGyanagamyah The Lord cannot be known through Karma or a combination of Karma and GyanaPuratanah One who is not limited by time and who existed before anything elseSharirabhutabhrud One who is the master of the five Bhutas elements of which the body is madeBhokta One who protects Or one who is the enjoyer of infinite blissKapindro Kapi means Varah boar The word means the Lord who is Indra and also one who manifested as Varaha or the Boar in one of the incarnations Or it signifies His Rama incarnation in which He played the role of the master of the monkeysBhuridakshinah One to whom numerous Dakshinas or votive offerings are made in YagyasSomapo amrutapah somah purujit purushottamahVinayo jayah satyasandho dasharhah satvatampatih 54Somapo One who drinks the Soma in all Yagyas in the form of the Devata DeitAmrutapah One who drinks the drink of immortal Bliss which is of one s own natureSomah One who as the moon invigorates the plantsPurujit One who gains victory over numerous peoplePurushottamah As His form is of cosmic dimension He is Puru or great and as He is the most important of all He is SattamaVinayo One who inflicts Vinaya or punishment on evil onesJayah One who is victorious over all beingsSatyasandho One whose Sandha or resolve becomes always trueDasharhah Dasha means charitable offering Therefore He to whom charitable offerings deserve to be madeSatvatampatih Satvatam is the name of a Tantra So the one who gave it out or commented upon itJivo vinayitasakshi mukundo amita vikramahAmbhonidhir anantatma mahodadhishayonatakah 55Jivo One who as the Kshetragya or knower of the field or the body is associated with the PranasVinayitasakshi One who witnesses the Vinayita or worshipful attitude of all devoteesMukundo One who bestows Mukti or LiberationAmita vikramah One whose three strides were limitlessAmbhonidhir One in whom the Ambas or all beings from Devas down dwellAnantatma One who cannot be determined by space time and causationMahodadhisayah One who lies in the water of Cosmic Dissolution into which all entities in the universe have been dissolvedAntakah One who brings about the end of all beingsAjo maharhah svabhavyo jitamitrah pramodanahAnando nandano nandah satyadharma trivikramah 56Ajo A means Mahavishnu So the word means one who is born of Vishnu ie Kama DevaMaharhah One who is fit for worshipSvabhavyah Being eternally perfect He is naturally without a beginningJitamitrah One who has conquered the inner enemies like attachment anger etc as also external enemies like Ravana Kumbhakarna etcPramodanah One who is always joyous as He is absorbed in immortal BlissAnando One whose form is Ananda or BlissNandano One who gives delightNandah One endowed with all perfectionsSatyadharma One whose knowledge and other attributes are trueTrivikramah One whose three strides covered the whole worldMaharshih kapilacharyah krutagyo medinipatihTripadas tridashadhyaksho mahashrungah krutantakrut 57Maharshih Kapilacharyah Kapila is called Maharshi because he was master of all the VedasKrutagyo Kruta means the world because it is of the nature of an effectMedinipatih One who is the Lord of the earthTripadas One having three stridesTridashadhyaksho One who is the witness of the three states of waking dream and sleep which spring from the influence of the GunasMahashrungah One with a great antennaKrutantakrut One who brings about the destruction of the Kruta or the manifested condition of the universeMahavaraho goivindah sushenah kanakangadiGuhyo gabhiro gahano guptas chakragadadharah 58Mahavaraho The great Cosmic BoarGovindah Go means Words that is the Vedic sentences He who is known by them is GovindahSushenah One who has got about Him an armed guard in the shape of His eternal associatesKanakangadi One who has Angadas armlets made of goldGuhyo One who is to be known by the Guhya or the esoteric knowledge conveyed by the Upanishads Or one who is hidden in the Guha or heartGabhiro One who is of profound majesty because of attributes like omniscience lordliness strength prowess etcGahano One who could be entered into only with great difficulty One who is the witness of the three states of waking dreams and sleep as also their absenceGuptas One who is not an object of words thought etcChakragadadharah One who has discus and Gada in handVedhah svango ajitah krishno drudhah sankarshano acyutahVaruno vaaruno vrukshah pushkaraksho mahamanah 59Vedhah One who does Vidhana or regulationSvango One who is oneself the participant in accomplishing worksAjitah One who has not been conquered by anyone in His various incarnationsKrishno One who is known as KrishnadvaipayanaDrudhah One whose nature and capacity know no decaySankarshano Acyutah Sankarshana is one who attracts to oneself all beings at the time of cosmic Dissolution and Acyuta is one who knows no fall from His real nature They form one word with the first as the qualification Acyuta who is sankarshanaVaruno The evening sun is called Varuna because he withdraws his rays into himselfVaaruno Vasishta or Agastya the sons of VarunaVrukshah One who is unshakable like a treePushkaraksho One who shines as the light of consciousness when meditated upon in the lotus of the heart Or one who has eyes resembling the lotusMahamanah One who fulfils the three functions of creation sustentation and dissolution of the universe by the mind aloneBhagavan bhagahanandi vanamali halayudhahAdityo jyotiradityah sahishnur gatisattamah 60Bhagavan The origin dissolution the bondage and salvation of creatures knowledge ignorance one who knows all these is BhagavanBhagaha One who withdraws the Bhagas beginning with lordliness into Himself at the time of dissolutionAnandi One whose nature is Ananda blissVanamali One who wears the floral wreath Vanamala called Vaijayanti which consists of the categories of five ElementsHalayudhah One who in His incarnation as Balabhadra had Hala or ploughshare as His weaponAdityo One who was born of Aditi in His incarnation as VamanaJyotiradityah One who dwells in the brilliance of the sun s orbSahishnur One who puts up with the contraries like heat and coldGatisattamah One who is the ultimate resort and support of all and the greatest of all beingsSudhanvakhandaparashurdaruno dravinapradahDivahspruk sarvadrug vyaso vachaspatir ayonijah 61Sudhanva One who has got as His weapon the bow named Saranga of great excellenceKhandaparashur The battleaxe that destroys enemiesDaruno One who is harsh and merciless to those who are on the evil pathDravinapradah One who bestows the desired wealth on devoteesDivahspruk One who touches the heavensSarvadrug vyaso One whose comprehension includes everything in its ambitVachaspatir ayonijah The Lord is Vachaspati because He is the master of all learning He is Ayonija because He was not born of a mother This forms a noun in combination with the attributeTrisama samagah sama nirvanam bheshajam bhishakSanyasakrut chamah santo nishtha shantih parayanam 62Trisama One who is praised by the chanters of Samagana through the three Samas known as DevavratamSamagah One who chants the SamaganaSama Among the Vedas I am Sama VedaNirvanam That in which all miseries cease and which is of the nature of supreme blissBheshajam The medicine for the disease of SamsaraBhishak The Lord is called Bhishak or physicianSanyasakrut One who instituted the fourth Ashrama of Sanyasa for the attainment of MokshaChamah One who has ordained the pacification of the mind as the most important discipline for Sannyasins asceticsSanto The peaceful being without interest in pleasures of the worldNishtha One in whom all beings remain in abeyance at the time of PralayaSantih One in whom there is complete erasing of Avidya or ignorance That is BrahmanParayanam The state which is the highest and from which there is no return to lower statesShubhangah shantidah srashta kumudah kuvalesayahGohito gopatir gopta vrushabhaksho vrushapriyah 63Shubhangah One with a handsome formShantidah One who bestows shanti ie a state of freedom from attachment antagonism etcSrashta One who brought forth everything at the start of the creative cycleKumudah Ku means the earth One who delights in itKuvalesayah Ku means earth That which surrounds it is water so Kuvala means water One who lies in water is Kuvalesaya Kuvala also means the underside of serpents One wholies on a serpent known as Adisesha is KuvalesayaGohito One who protected the cows by uplifting the mount Govardhana in His incarnation as KrishnaGopatir The Lord of the earth is VishnuGopta One who is the protector of the earth Or one who hides Himself by His MayaVrushabhaksho One whose eyes can rain all desirable objects on devotees Vrushabha means Dharma and so one whose look is DharmaVrushapriyah One to whom Vrusha or Dharma is dearAnivarti nivrutatma samkshepta kshemakruchivahShrivastavakshah shrivasah shripatih shrimatamvarah 64Anivarti One who never retreats in the battle with Asuras Or one who being devoted to Dharma never abandons itNivrutatma One whose mind is naturally withdrawn from the objects of sensesSamkshepta One who at the time of cosmic dissolution contracts the expansive universe into a subtle stateKshemakrut One who gives Kshema or protection to those that go to himChivah One who purifies everyone by the very utterance of His nameShrivasta vakshah One on whose chest there is a mark called ShrivastaShrivasah One on whose chest Shridevi always dwellsShripatih One whom at the time of the churning of the Milk ocean Shridevi chose as her consort rejecting all other Devas and Asuras Or Shri mean supreme Cosmic Power The Lord is the master of that PowerShrimatamvarah One who is supreme over all deities like Brahma who are endowed with power and wealth of the VedasShridah shrishah shrinivasah shrinidhih shrivibhavanahShridharah shrikarah shreyah shriman lokatrayashrayah 65Shridah One who bestows prosperity on devoteesShrishah One who is Lord of the Goddess ShriShrinivasah Shri here denotes men with Shri that is virtue and power He who dwells in such men is ShrinivasaShrinidhih One who is the seat of all Shri that is virtues and powersShrivibhavanah One who grants every form of prosperity and virtue according to their KarmaShridharah One who bears on His chest Shri who is the mother of allShrikarah One who makes devotees those who praise think about Him and worship Him into virtuous and powerful beingsShreyah Shreyas means the attainment of what is undecaying good and happiness Such a state is the nature of the LordShriman One in whom there are all forms of Shri that is power virtue beauty etcLokatrayashrayah One who is the support of all the three worldsSvakshah svangah shatanando nandir jyotirganeshvarahVijitatma vidheyatma satkirtischinnasamsayah 66Svakshah One who s Akshas eyes are handsome like lotus flowersSvangah One whose limbs are beautifulShatanando One who is nondual and is of the nature of supreme blissNandir One who is of the nature of supreme BlissJyotirganeshvarah One who is the Lord of the stars that is JyotirganaVijitatma One who has conquered the Atma that is the mindVidheyatma One whose form or nature cannot be determined as only this Satkriti One whose fame is of the nature of truthSchinnasamsayah One who has no doubts as everything is clear to him like a fruit in the palmUdirnah sarvatachakshuranisah sasvatasthirahBhushayo bhushano bhutir vishokah shokanashanah 67Udirnah He who is superior to all beingsSarvatachakshur One who being of the nature of pure consciousness can see everthing in all directionsAnisah One who cannot have anyone to lord over himSasvata sthirah One who though eternal is also unchangingBhushayo One who while seeking the means to cross over to Lanka had to sleep on the ground of the seabeachBhushano One who adorned the earth by manifesting as various incarnationsBhutir One who is the abode or the essence of everthing or is the source of all glorious manifestationsVishokah One who being of the nature of bliss is free from all sorrowShokanashanah One who effaces the sorrows of devotees even by mere remembranceArchishman architah kumbho vishuddhatma vishodhanahAniruddho pratirathah pradyumno amitavikramah 68Archishman He by whose rays of light Archish the sun the moon and other bodies are endowed with rays of lightArchitah One who is worshipped by Brahma and other Devas who are themselves the objects of worship in all the worldsKumbho He who contains in Himself every thing as in a potVishuddhatma Being above the three Gunas Satva Rajas and Tamas the Lord is pure spirit and is also free from all impuritiesVishodhanah One who destroys all sins by mere remembranceAniruddho The last one of the four Vyuhas Vasudeva Samkarshana Pradyumna and Aniruddha Or one who cannot be obstructed by enemiesPratirathah One who has no Pratiratha or an equal antagonist to confrontPradyumno One whose Dyumna or wealth is of a superior and sacred order Or one of the four VyuhasAmitavikramah One of unlimited prowess Or one whose prowess cannot be obstructed by any oneKalaneminiha virah saurih surajaneshvarahTrilokatma trilokeshah keshavah keshiha harih 69Kalaneminiha One who destroyed the Asura named KalanemiVirah One who is courageousSaurih One who was born in the clan of Sura as KrishnaSurajaneshvarah One who by his overwhelming prowess controls even great powers like Indra and othersTrilokatma One who in his capacity as the inner pervade is the soul for the three worldsTrilokeshah One under whose guidance and command everything in the three words is functioningKeshavah By Kesha is meant the rays of light spreading within the orbit of the sunKeshiha One who destroyed the Asura named KeshiHarih One who destroys Samsara that is entanglement in the cycle of birth and death along with ignorance its causeKamadevah kamapalah kami kantah krutagamahAnirdeshyavapur vishnur viro ananto dhananjayah 70Kamadevah One who is desired by persons in quest of the four values of life Dharma Artha Kama and MokshaKamapalah One who protects or assures the desired ends of people endowed with desiresKami One who by nature has all his desires satisfiedKantah One whose form is endowed with great beauty Or one who effects the Anta or dissolution of Ka or Brahma at the end of a Dviparardha the period of Brahma s lifetime extending over a hundred divine yearsKrutagamah He who produced scriptures like Shruti Smruti and AgamaAnirdeshyavapur He is called so because being above the Gunas His form cannot be determinedVishnur One whose brilliance has spread over the sky and over the earthViro One who has the power of Gati or movementAnanto One who pervades everything who is eternal who is the soul of all and who cannot be limited by space time location etcDhananjayah Arjuna is called so because by his conquest of the kingdoms in the four quarters he acquired great wealth Arjuna is a Vibhuti a glorious manifestation of the LordBrahmanyo brahmakrudbrahma brahma brahmavivardhanahBrahmavid brahmano brahmi brahmgno brahmanapriyah 71Brahmanyo The Vedas Brahmanas and knowledge are indicated by the word Brahma As the Lord promotes these He is called BrahmanyaBrahmakrud One who performs Brahma or Tapas austerityBrahma One who creates everything as the creator BrahmaBrahma Being big expanding the Lord who is known from indications like Satya Truth is called Brahma Or Brahma is Truth Knowledge and InfinityBrahmavivardhanah One who promotes Tapas austerity etcBrahmavid One who knows the Vedas and their real meaningBrahmano One who in the form of Brahmana instructs the whole world saying It is commanded so and so in the Veda Brahmi One in whom is established such entities as Tapas Veda mind Prana etc which are parts of Brahma and which are also called BrahmaBrahmajnah One who lives ever in Brahman and so knows the nature of the Brahman He the Lord being the very Brahman no one knows His nature as He Himself can The waker alone knows the waking the dreamer and sleeper can never realise and experience the wakingstate until they become the waker Brahmanapriyah One to whom holy men are devotedMahakramo mahakarma mahateja mahoragahMahakratur mahayajva mahayagyo mahahavih 72Mahakramo One with enormous strides May Vishnu with enormous strides bestow on us happinessMahakarma One who is performing great works like the creation of the worldMahateja He from whose brilliance sun and other luminaries derive their brilliance Or one who is endowed with the brilliance of various excellencesMahoragah He is also the great serpentMahakratur He is the great Kratu or sacrificeMahayajva One who is great and performs sacrifices for the good of the worldMahayayagyo He who is the great sacrificeMahahavih The whole universe conceived as Brahman and offered as sacrificial offering Havis into the fire of the Self which is BrahmanStavyah Stavapriyah stotram stutih stota ranapriyahPurnah purayita punyah punyakirtir anamayah 73Stavyah One who is the object of laudations of everyone but who never praises any other beingStavapriyah One who is pleased with hymnsStotram A Stotra means a hymn proclaiming the glory attributes and names of the LordStutih A praiseStota One who being all formed is also the person who sings a hymn of praiseRanapriyah One who is fond of fight for the protection of the world and for the prupose always sports in His hands the five weapons the discus Sudarshana the mace Kaumodaki the bow Saranga and the sword Nandaka besides the conch PanchajanyaPurnah One who is selffulfilled being the source of all powers and excellencesPurayita One who is not only selffulfilled but gives all fulfillments to othersPunyah One by only hearing about whom all sins are erasedPunyakirtir One of holy fame His excellences are capable of conferring great merit on othersAnamayah One who is not afflicted by any disease that is born of cause internal or externalManojavas tirthakaro vasureta vasupradahVasuprado vasudevo vasur vasumana havih 74Manojavas One who being all pervading is said to be endowed with speed likes that of the mindThirthakaro Tirtha means Vidya a particular branch of knowledge or skillVasureta He whose Retas Semen is gold VasuVasupradah One who gladly bestows wealth in abundance He is really the master of all wealth and others who seem to be so are in those positions only because of His graceVasuprado One who bestows on devotees the highest of all wealth namely MokshaVasudevo The son of VasudevaVasur He in whom all creation dwellsVasumana One whose mind dwells equally in all thingsHavih Havis or sacrificial offeringsSadgatih satkrutih satta sadbhutih satparayanahSuraseno yadushreshthah sannivasah suyamunah 75Sadgatih One who is attained by such persons Or who is endowed with intelligence of great excellenceSatkrutih One whose achievements are for the protection of the worldSatta Experience that is without any difference of an external nature from similar objects or dissimilar objects as also internal differences is called SattaSadbhutih The Paramatman who is pure existence and conscousness who is unsublatable and who manifests Himself in many waysSatparayanah He who is the highest Status attainable by holy men who have realized the TruthSuraseno One having an army of heroic wariours like HanumanYadushreshthah One who is the greatest among the YadusSannivasah One who is the resort of holy knowing onesSuyamunah One who is surrounded by may illustrious persons associated with the river Yamuna like Devaki Vasudeva Nandagopa Yasoda Balabhadra Subhadra etcBhutavaso vasudevah sarvasunilayo analahDarpaha darpado drupto durdharoathaparajitah 76Bhutavaso He in whom all the beings dwellVasudevah The Divinity who covers the whole universe by MayaSarvasunilayo He in whose form as the Jiva all the vital energy or Prana of all living beings dissolvesAnalah One whose wealth or power has no limitsDarpaha One who puts down the pride of persons who walk along the unrighteous pathDarpado One who endows those who walk the path of righteousness with a sense of selfrespect regarding their way of lifeDrupto One who is ever satisfied by the enjoyment of His own inherent blissDurdharoatha One who is very difficult to be borne orcontained in the heart in meditationAparajita One who is never conquered by internal enemies like attachment and by external enemies like AsurasVishvamurtir mahamurtir diptamurtir amurtimanAnekamurtir avyaktah shatamurtih shatananah 77Vishvamurtir One who being the soul of all has the whole universe as His bodyMahamurtir One with an enormous form stretched on a bedstead constituted of the serpent AdiseshaDiptamurtir One with a luminous form of knowledgeAmurtiman He who is without a body born of KarmaAnekamuritr One who assumes several bodies in His incarnations as it pleases Him in or to help the worldAvyaktah One who cannot be clearly described as This even though He has many formsSatamurtih One who though He is of the nature of Pure Consciousness assumes different forms for temporary purposesShatananah He is called one with a hundred faces to indicate that He has several formsEko naikah savah kah kim yat tat padamanuttamamLokabandhur lokanatho madhavo bhaktavastalah 78Eko One without any kind of differences that are internal or that relate to similar objects external or to dissimilar objectsNaikah One who has numerous bodies born of MayaSavah That Yagya in which Soma is madeKah The syllable Ka indicatesjoy or happiness So it means one who is hymned as constituted of joyKim One who is fit to be contemplated upon because He is the summation of all valuesYat One who is by nature existent The word Yat indicates a selfsubsisting entityTat Brahma is so called because He expands Padamanuttamam Braman is Pada or Status because He is the goal of all Mokshaseekers It is Anuttama because It is that beyond which there is nothing else to be attainedLokabandhuh Friend of the World Everyone is inextricably bound to Him in His Love Infinite and He is the Father to all Since there is no wellwisher or friend dearer than one s own Father He is the One unfailing sure Friend of the world of beings and things The Lord serves for the uplift of the world whenever the creatures come to suffer sorrows created by their own immoral negative waysLokanathah One to whom all the worlds prayMadhavo One who was born in the clan of MadhuBhaktavatsalah One who has got love for devoteesSuvarna varno hemango varangas chandanangadiViraha vishamah sunyo ghrutasir achalaschalah 79Suvarna varno One who has got the colour of goldHemango One whose form is like that of goldVarangas He the parts of whose form are brilliantChandanangadi One who is adorned with armlets that generate joyViraha One who destroyed heroes Viras like Kiranyakashipu for protecting DharmaVishamah One to whom there is no euql because nothing is comparable to Him by any characteristicSunyah One who being without any attributes appears as Sunya emptinessGhrutasir One whose blessings are unfailingAchalas One who cannot be deprived of His real nature as Truth Intelligence and InfinityChalah One who moves in the form of airAmani manado manyo lokasvami trilokadhrukSumedha medhajo dhanyah satyamedha dharadharah 80Amani He who being of the nature of Pure Consciousness has no sense of identification with anything that is not AtmanManado One who by His power of Maya induces the sense of self in nonself Or one who has regard and beneficence towards devotees Or one who destroys in the knowing ones the sense of identification with the nonselfManyo One who is to be adored by all because He is the God of allLokasvami One who is the Lord of all the fourteen spheresTrilokadhruk One who supports all the three worldsSumedha One with great and beneficent intelligenceMedhajo One who arose from Yaga a kind of sacrificeDhanyah One who has attained all His ends and therefore is selfsatisfiedSatyamedhah One whose intelligence is fruitfulDharadharah One who supports the worlds by His fractiosn like AdiseshaTejovrusho dyutidharah sarvashastrabhrutamvarahPragrahonigraho vyagro naikashrungo gadagrajah 81Tejovrusho One who in the form of the sun causes rainfall at all timesDyutidharah One whose form is always brilliantSarvashastrabhrutamvarah One who is superior to all bearing armsPragraho One who accepts the offerings of devotees with great delightNigraho One who controls and destroys everythingVyagro One who has no Agra or end Or one who is very attentive Vyagra in granting the prayers of devoteesNaikashrungo One with four hornsGadagrajah One who is revealed first by Mantra Nigada Or one who is the elder rbother of GadaChaturmurtis chaturbahus chaturvyuhas chaturgatihChaturatma chaturbhavas chaturvedavid ekapat 82Chaturmurtis One with four aspects as Virat Sutratma Avyakruta and Turiya Or one with four horns with colours white red yellow and blackChaturbahus One with four arms as Vasudeva is always describedChaturvyuhas One having four manifestationsChaturgatih One who is sought as the end by the four Orders of life and four Varnas ordained by the scripturesChaturatma One whose self is specially endowed with puissance because it is without any attachment antagonism etcChaturbhavas One from whom has originated the four human values Dharma Artha Kama and MokshaChaturvedavid One who understands the true meaning of the four VedasEkapat One with a single Pada part or leg Or one with a single foot or manifestationSamavarto anivrutatma durjayo duratikramahDurlabho durgamo durgo duravaso durariha 83Samavarto One who effectively whirls the wheel of SamsaraAnivrutatma One who is not Nivruta separated from anything or anywhere because He is allpervadingDurjayo One who cannot be conqueredDuratikramah One out of fear of whom even heavenly objects like sun do not dare to oppose His commandDurlabho One who can be attained by Bhakti which is difficult for a person to be endowed withDurgamo One whom it is difficult to attainDurgo One the attainment of whom is rendered difficult by various obstructionsDuravaso He whom the Yogis with very great difficulty bring to reside in their hearts in SamadhiDurariha One who destroys beings like AsurasShubhango lokasarangah sutantus tantuvardhanahIndrakarma mahakarma krutakarma krutagamah 84Shubhango One whose form is very auspicious to meditate uponLokasarangah One who like the Saranga honeybeetle grasps the essence of the worldSutantus As this universe of infinite extension belongs to Him the Lord is called SutantuTantuvardhanah One who can augment or contract the web of this worldIndrakarma One whose actions are like that of Indra that is are of a highly commendable natureMahakarma One of whom the great elements like Akasha are effectsKrutakarma One who has fulfilled everything and has nothing more to accomplishKrutagamah One who has given out the Agama in the shape of the VedaUdbhavah sundarah sundo ratnanabhah sulochanahArko vajasanah shrungi jayantah sarvavijjayi 85Udbhavah One who assumes great and noble embodiments out of His own willSundarah One who has a graceful attractiveness that surprises everyoneSundo One who is noted for extreme tenderness UndanamRatnanabhah Ratna indicates beauty so one whose navel is very beautifulSulochanah One who has brilliant eyes that is knowledge of everythingArko One who is being worshipped even by beings like Brahma who are themselves objects of worshipVajasanah One who gives Vajam food to those who entreat HimShrungi One who at the time of Pralaya cosmic dissolution assumed the form of a fish having prominent antennaJayantah One who conquers enemies easilySarvavijjayi The Lord is Sarvavit as He has knowledge of everything He is Jayi because He is the conqueror of all the inner forces like attachment anger etc as also of external foes like HiranyakshaSuvarnabindurakshobhyah sarvavagishvareshvarahMahahrado mahagarto mahabhuto mahanidhih 86Suvarnabindur One whose Bindus that is limbs are euaql to gold in brillianceAkshobhyah One who is never perturbed by passions like attachment and aversion by objects of the senses like sound taste etc and by Asuras the antagonists of the DevasSarvavagishvareshvarah One who is the master of all masters of learning including BrahmaMahahrado He is called a great Hrada lake because being the paramatman who is of the nature of Bliss the Yogis who contemplate upon Him dip themselves in that lake of Bliss and attain to great joyMahagarto One whose Maya is difficult to cross like a ddp pitMahabhuto One who is not divided by the three periods of time past present and futureMahanidhih One in whom all the great elements have their support He is Mahan or a great one and Nidhi the most precious oneKumudah kundarah kundah parjanyah pavano anilahAmrutasho amrutavapuh sarvagyah sarvatomukha 87Kumudah Ku means earth one who gives joy muda to the earth by freeing it of its burdens is KumudaKundarah One who offers blessings as pure as Kunda or jasmineKundah One who has limbs as beautiful as Kunda or JasmineParjanyah The word means cloud One who resembles the cloud in extinguishing the three Tapas heats that is miseries arising from psychological material and spiritual causes Or one who rains all desires like a cloudPavano One by merely remembering whom a devotee attains purityAnilah Ilanam means inducement One who is without any inducement is Anila Ilana also means sleep So one who sleeps not or is ever awake is AnilaAmrutasho One who consumes Amruta or immortal bliss which is His own natureAmrutavapuh One whose form is deathless that is undecayingSarvagyah One who is allknowingSarvatomukhah One who has faces everywhereSulabhah suvratah siddhah shatrujit shatrutapanahNyagrodho adumbarosvatthas chanurandhranishudhanah 88Sulabhah One who is attained easily by offering trifles like leaf flower and fruits etc with devotionSuvratah Vratati means enjoys So one who enjoys pure offerings It can also mean one who is a nonenjoyer that is a mere witnessSiddhah One whose objects are always attained that is omnipotent and unobstructed by any other willShatrujit Conqueror of all forces of evilShatrutapanah One who destroys the enemies of the DevasNyagrodho That which remains above all and grows downward That is He is the source of everything that is manifestAdumabaro One who as the Supreme cause is above the sky that is superior to allAsvatthas That which does not last even for the next dayChanurandhra nishudhanah One who destroyed a valiant fighter Chanura belonging to the race of AndhraSahasrarchi saptajihvah saptaidhah saptavahanahAmurtir anagho achintyo bhayakrud bhayanashanah 89Sahasrarchi One with innumerable Archis or raysSaptajihvah The Lord in his manifestation as Fire is conceived as having seven tongues of flameSaptaidhah The Lord who is of the nature of fire has seven Edhas or forms of brillianceSaptavahanah The Lord in the form of Surya or sun has seven horses as his vehicles or mountsAmurtir One who is without sins or without sorrowAchintyo One who is not determinable by any criteria of knowledge being Himself the witnessing Self certifying all knowledgeBhayakrud One who generates fear in those who go along the evil path Or one who cuts at the root of all fearBhayanashanah One who destroys the fears of the virtuousAnur bruhat krusah sthulo gunabrun nirguno mahanAdhrutah svadhrutah svasyah pragvamsho vamshavardhanah 90Anur One who is extremely subtleBruhat The huge and mightyKrusah One who is nonmaterialSthulo Being the inner pervader of all He is figuratively described as Stula or hugeGunabrun The support of the Gunas He is so called because in the creative cycle of creation sustentation and dissolution He is the support of the Gunas Satva Rajas and Tamas with which these functions are performedNirguno One who is without the Gunas of PrakrutiMahan The greatAdhrutah One who being the support of all supporting agencies like Pruthvi Earth is not supported by anything external to HimSvadhrutah One supported by oneselfSvasyah One whose face is beautiful and slightly red like the inside of a lotus flowerPragvamsho The family lines of others are preceded by the lines of still others but the Lord s descendent namely the world system is not preceded by anything elseVamshavardhanah One who augments or destroys the worldsystem which is His offspringBharabhrut kathito yogi yogishah sarvakamadahAshramah shramanah kshamah suparno vayuvahanah 91Bharabhrut One who bears the weight of the earth assuming the form of AnantaKathito One who is spoken of as the highest by the Veda or one of whom all Vedas speakYogi Yoga here means knowledge So He who is attained by that is Yogi Or Yoga means Samadhi He who is ever established in His own Self that is the Paramatma He is therefore YogiYogishah He who is never shaken from Yoga or knowledge and establishment in His own Self unlike ordinary Yogis who slip away from Yoga on account of obstaclesSarvakamadah One who bestows all desired fruitsAshramah One who is the bestower of rest on all who are wandering in the forest of SamsaraShramanah One who brings tribulations to those who live without using their discriminative powerKshamah He who brings about the decline of all beingsSuparnah The lord who has manifested Himself as the tree of Samsara has excellent leaves Parna in the form of Vedic passages ChandasVayuvahanah He for fear of whom Vayu Air carries all beingsDhanurdharo dhanurvedo dando damayita damahAparajitah sarvasaho niyanta niyamo yamah 92Dhanurdharo He who as Rama wielded the great bowDhanurvedo He who as the same Rama the son of Dasharatha was the master of the science of archeryDando He who is discipline among the disciplinariansDamayita He who inflicts punishments on people as Yama and as kingDamah He who is in the form of selfdescipline in men as a result of enforcementAparajitah One who is never defeated by enemiesSarvasaho One who is expert in all Karmas worksNiyanta One who appoints every person to his respective dutiesAniyamo One on whom there is no enforcement of any law or above whom there can be no overlord to enforce anything as He is the controller of everythingAyamah One on whom Yama has no control that is one who has no deathSatvavan satvikah satyah satyadharmaparayanahAbhiprayah priyarhorhah priyakrut pritivardhanah 93Satvavan One who has got the strengthening qualities like heroism prowess etcSatvikah One who is established essentially in the Satva GunaSatyah One who is truly established in good peopleSatyadharmaparayanah One who is present in truthfulness and righteousness in its many aspectsAbhiprayah The One who is sought after by those who seek the ultimate values of life PurusharthaPriyarhah The being to whom the objects that are dear to oneself are fit to be offeredArhah One who deserves to be worshipped with all the ingredients and rites of worship like offerings praise prostration etcPriyakrut One who is not only to be loved but who does what is good and dear to those who worship HimPritivardhanah One who enhances the joys of devoteesVihayasagatir jyotih suruchir hutabhug vibhuhRavir virochanah suryah savita ravilochanah 94Vihayasagatir One who is the support of VishupadaJyotih One who is the light of selfluminous consciousness that reveals oneself as well as other thingsSuruchir The Lord whose Ruchi ie brilliance or will is of an attractive natureHutabhug One who eats that is receives whatever is offered to whatever deities Devas in all sacrificesVibhuh One who dwells everywhere Or one who is the master of all the three worldsRavir One who absorbs all Rasas fluids in the form of the SunVirochanah One who shines in many waysSuryah One who generates Shri or brilliance in Surya Or Agni Fire is what is called SuryaSavita One who brings forth Prasava all the worldsRavilochanah One having the sun as the eyeAnanto hutabhug bhokta sukhado naikajograjahAnirvinnah sadamarshi lokadhishthanamadbhutah 95Ananto One who is eternal allpervading and indeterminable by space and timeHutabhuk One who consumes what is offered in firesacrificesBhokta One to whom the unconscious Prakruti is the object for enjoymentSukhado One who bestows liberation Miksha on devoteesNaikajo One who takes on birth again and again for the preservation of DharmaAgrajah One who was born before everything else that is HiranyagarbhaAnirvinnah One who is free from all sorrow because he has secured all his desires and has no obstruction in the way of such achievementSadamarshi One who is always patient towards good menLokadhishthanam Brahman who though without any other support for Himself supports all the three worldsAdbhutah The wonderful beingSanat sanatanatamah kapilah kapir avyayahSvastidah svastikrut svasti svastibhuk svastidakshinah 96Sanat The word Sanat indicates a great length of time Time also is the manifestation of the Supreme BeingSanatanatamah Being the cause of all He is more ancient than Brahma and other beings who are generally considered eternalKapilah A subterranean fire in the ocean is Kapila light red in colourKapir Ka means water One who drinks or absorbs all water by his Kapi that is the sunAvyayah One in whom all the worlds get dissolved in PralayaSvastidah One who gives what is auspicious to devoteesSvastikrut One who works bestowing what is goodSvasti One whose auspicious form is characterized by supreme BlissSvastibhuk One who enjoys the Svasti mentioned above or who preserves the Svasti of devoteesSvastidakshinah One who augments as Svasti auspiciousnessAraudrah kundali chakri vikramyurjitashasanahShabdatigah shabdasahah sisirah sarvarikarah 97Araudrah Action attachment and anger these three are Raudra The Lord is one whose desires are all accomplished so He has no attachment or aversion So He is free from theRaudras mentioned aboveKundali One who has taken the form of AdiseshaChakri One who sports in his hand the discus named Sudarshana which is the category known as Manas for the protection of all the worldsVikrami Vikrama means taking a stride as also courageUrjitashasanah One whose dictates in the form of shrutis and smrutis are of an extremely sublime natureShabdatigah One who cannot be denoted by any sound because He has none of the characteristics which could be grasped by soundSabdasahah One who is the purport of all VedasSisirah One who is the shelter to those who are bruning in the three types of wordly fires sufferings arising from material causes psychological causes and spiritual causesSarvarikarah For those in bondage the Atman is like Sarvari night and for an enlightened one the state of samsara is like night Sarvari So the Lord is called the one who generates Sarvari or night for both the enlightened and the bound onesAkrurah peshalo daksho dakshinah kshiminam varahVidvattamo vitabhayah punyashravanakirtanah 98Akrurah One who is without crueltyPeshalo One who is handsome in regard to His actions mind word and bodyDaksho One who is fullgrown strong and does every thing quickly such a person is DakshaDakshinah This word is also means the same as the above NamaKshiminam varah The greatest among the patient ones because He is more patient than all Yogis noted for patienceVidvattamo He who has got the unsurpassable and allinclusive knowledge of everythingVitabhayah One who being eternally free and the Lord of all is free from the fear of trnsmigratory lifePunyashravanakirtanah One to hear about whom and to sing of whom is meritoriousUttarano dushkrutiha punyo duhsvapnanasanahViraha rakshanah santo jivanah paryavasthitah 99Uttarano One who takes beings over to the other shore of the ocean of SamsaraDushkrutiha One who effaces the evil effects of evil actions Or one who destroys those who perform evilPunyo One who bestows holiness on those who remember and adore HimDuhsvapnanasanah When adored and meditated upon He saves one from dreams foreboding danger Hence He is called soViraha One who frees Jivas from bondage and thus saves them from the various transmigratory paths by bestowing liberation on themRakshanah One who assuming the Satvaguna protects all the three worldsSanto Those who adopt the virtuous path are called good men SantahJivanah One who supports the lives of all beings as PranaParyavasthitah One who remains pervading everywhere in this universeAnantarupo anantashri jitamanyur bhayapahahChaturashro gabhiratma vidisho vyadisho dishah 100Anantarupo One who has innumerable forms as He dwells in this allcomprehending universeAnantashri One whose Shri glory is infiniteJitamanyur One who has overcome angerBhayapahah One who destroys the fears of beings from SamsaraChaturashro One who is just because He bestows on Jivas the fruits of their KarmaGabhiratma One whose nature is unfathomableVidisho One who distributes various furits of actions to persons differing in their forms according to competencyVyadisho One who gives to Indra and other deities directions according to their varied functionsDishah One who in the form of the Vedas bestows the fruits of their ritualistic actions on different beingsAnadi bhurbhuvo lakshmih suviro ruchirangadahJanano janajanmadir bhimo bhimaparakramah 101Anandi One who has no beginning because He is the ultimate cause of allBhurbhuvo Bhu means support One who is the support Bhu of even the earth which is known to support all thingsLakshmih He who is the bestower of all that is auspicious to the earth besides being its supporterSuviro One who has many brilliant ways of manifestationRuchirangadah One who has very attractive armletsJanano One who gives brith to living beingsJanajanmadir One who is the root cause of the origin of Jivas that come to have embodimentBhimo One who is the cause of fearBhimaparakramah One whose power and courage in His incarnations were a cause of fear for the AsurasAdharanilayo dhata pushpahasah prajagarahUrdhvagah satpathacharah pranadah pranavah panah 102Adharanilayo One who is the support of even all the basic supporting factors like the five elements Ether Air Fire Water and EarthAdhata One who is one s own support and therefore does not require another supportPushpahasah One whose manifestation as the universe resembles the Hasa or blooming of buds into flowersPrajagarah One who is particularly awake because He is eternal AwarenessUrdhvagah One who is above everythingSatpathacharah One who follows the conduct of the goodPranadah One who givesback life to dead ones as in the case of ParikshitPranavah Pranava Om the manifesting sound symbol of Brahman As He is inseparably related with Pranava He is called PranavaPanah It comes from the root Prana meaning transaction So one who bestows the fruits of Karma on all according to their KarmaPrmanam prananilayah pranabhrut pranajivanahTatvam tatvavidekatma janmamrutyujaratigah 103Pramanam One who is selfcertifying as He is Pure ConsciousnessPrananilayah The home or dissolving ground of the PranasPranabhrut One who strengthens the Pranas as food AnnaPranajivanah He who keeps alive human beings with Vayus airs known as Prana Apana etc Tattvam the Reality that which is eternal the essence That which one gains in subjective realization is the self Sree NarayanaTatvavid One who knowns His own true natureEkatma One who is the sole being and the spirit Atma in allJanmamrutyujaratigah One who subsists without being subject to the six kinds of transformations being born existing temporarily growing transforming decaying and dyingBhurbhuvah svastarustarah savita prapitamahahYagyo yagyapatiryajva yagyango yagyavahanah 104Bhurbhuvahsvastarus The three Vyahrutis Bhuh Bhuvah Svah are said to be the essence of the VedaTarah One who helps Jivas to go across the ocean of SamsaraSavita He who generates all the worldsPrapitamahah One who is the father of Brahma and therefore the grandfather of allYagyo One who is of the form of YagyaYagyapatir One who is the protector and the master of the YagyasYajva One who manifests as the performer of a YagyaYagyango All the parts of His body as the incarnate Cosmic Boar are identified with the parts of a yagyaYagyavahanah One who supports the Yagya which yield various fruitsYagyabhrud yagyakrud yagyi yagyabhrug yagyasadhanahYagyanantakrud yagyaguhyam annam annada eva cha 105Yagyabhrud He is so called because He is the protector and supporter of all yagyasYagyakrud One who performs Yagya at the beginnig and end of the worldYagyi One who is the PrincipalYagyabhrug One who is the enjoyer of Yagya or Protector of YagyaYagyasadhanah One to whom the Yagya is the approachYagyanantakrud One who is the end or the furits of yagyaYagyaguhyam The gyana yagya or the sacrifice of knowledge which is the esoteric Guhyam of all the yagyamsAnnam That which is eaten by living beings Or He who eats all beingsAnnada eva cha One who is the eater of the whole world as food The word Eva is added to show that He is also Anna the food eatenAtmayonih svayamjato vaikhanah samagayanahDevakinandanah srashtha kshitishah papanashanah 106Atmayonih One who is the source of all that is there is no material cause other than Himself for the universeSvayamjato He is also the instrumental causeVaikhanah One who excavated the earth taking a unique formSamagayanah One who recites the Sama chantsDevakiddddnandanah The Son of Devaki in the incarnation as KrishnaSrashtha The creator of all the worldsKshitishah A master of the world Here it denotes RamaPapanashanah He who destroys the sins of those who adore Him meditate upon Him remember and sing hymns of praise on HimShankhabrun nandaki chakri sharangadhnva gadadharahRathanga panirakshobhyah sarvapraharanayudhah 107Shankhabrun One who sports the conch known as Panchajanya which stands for Tamasahamkara of which the five elements are bornNandaki One who has in His hand the sword known as Nandaka which stands for Vidya spiritual illuminationChakri One who sports the discus known as Sudarshana which stands for the Rajasahamkara out of which the Indriyas have comeSharngadhanvaa One who aims his unerring bow called Saarnga This bow of Narayana is glorified in our texts as representing the Ego as the apex of all the sense organs AhankaaraTattva In this concluding Stanza the instruments of Blessing in sree Narayana s hands are remembered with reverence and devotionGadadharah One who has the mace known as the Kaumodaki which stands for the category of BuddhiRathangapani One in whose hand is a wheel ChakraRakshobhyah One who cannot be upset by anything because He controls all the abovementioned weaponsSarvapraharanayudhah There is no rule that the Lord has got only the abovementioned weapons All things which can be used for contacting or striking are His weaponsSree Sarvapraharanaayudhah Om Namah itiVanamali gadi sharangi shankhi chakri cha nandakiShriman narayano vishnurvasudevoabhirakshatu 108 3 times Concluding Verses1 Itidam Kirtaniyasya Keshavasya MahatmanahahNaamnaam Sahasram Divyaanaam Asheshena PrakeerthithamIn the above verses have been given a complete enumeration of the thousand divine names of the the Great Being Keshava who is the fit object for all praise and prayer2 Ya Idam Srunuyaan Nityam Yaschaapi ParikeertayetNaashubham Praapnuyaat Kinchit Somutreha Cha MaanavahNothing evil or inauspicious will befall a man here or hereafter who daily hears or repeats these names3Vedantago bramhanasyat kshatriyo vijayee bavetVaisyo dhanasamruddhasyat shhoodra sukha mavapnuyat4Dharmarthee prapnuyatdharmam artharthee chartha mapnuyatKamanavapnuyatkamee prajarthee chapnuyatprajam5Bhaktimaan Yah Sadotthyaaya Suchistadgata MaanasahahSahasram Vaasudevasya Naamnaam Etat PrakeertayetWhichever devoted man getting up early in the morning and purifying himself repeats this hymn devoted to Vaasudeva with a mind that is concentrated on Him 6 Yashah Prapnoti Vipulam Jnaati Praadhaanyam Eva ChaAchalaam Sriyam Aapnoti Sreyah PraapnotyanuttamamThat man attains to great fame leadership among his peers wealth that is secure and the supreme good unsupassed by anything7 Na Bhayam Kvachid Aapnoti Veeryam Tejasya VindatiBhavatyarogo Dyutimaan BalaroopagunaanvitahahHe will be free from all fears and be endowed with great courage and energy and he will be free from diseases Beauty of form strength of body and mind and virtuous character will be natural to him8 Rogarto muchyate rogat baddho muchyeta bandhanat Bhaya nmuchyeta bheetastu muchye tapanna apadha9Durganyatitara tyashu purushah purushottamam Stuva nnamasahasrena nityam bhakti samanvitah10 Vaasudevaashrayo Martyo Vaasudeva ParaayanahahSarva Paapa Vishudhaatmaa Yaati Brahma SanaatanamFree from all sins a man devoted to Vaasudeva and completely dependent on Him attains to the eternal status of Brahman11Na vasudeva bhaktanam ashubham vidyate kvachitJanma mrithyu jara vyadhi bhayam naivapa jayateNo inauspicious things can happen to a devotee of Vasudeva The person will conquer the cycle of birth death fear and disease12Emam stava madheeyanah shraddhabhakti samanvitahYujye tatam sukhakshantih shreedhrati smruti keertibhihOne who reads this hymn every day with devotion and attention attains peace of mind patience prosperity mental stability memory and reputation13Na krodho na matsaryam na lobho na shubhamatihBhavanti kruta punyanam bhaktanam purushottameSuch a person is not caught by anger binding jealousy or any inauspicious event Such a bhakta becomes a punyatma and merges with the Purshottama ie supreme being14Dhyou sachandrarka nakshatra kham disho bhoormahodadhihVasudevasya veeryena vidhrutani mahatmanah15Sasurasura gandharvam sayakshoraga rakshasamJagadvashe vartatedam krishnasya sacharacharam16Indriyani manobuddhih satvam tejobalam dhrutihVasudevatma kanyahuh kshetramkshetragyna eva cha17Sarvagamana macharah prathamam parikalpateAachara prabhavo dharmo dharmasya pradhurachyutahAll scriptures consider right conduct as the foremost requisite Dharma is based upon right conduct and Dharma Achyuta is the master18Rushayah pitaro devah mahabhootani dhatavahJangamajangamam chedam jagannarayanodbhavamThe rishis pitrus the devas the great elements and in fact all things moving and unmoving constituting this universe have originated from Naaraayana 19Yogo gynanam tatha sankhyam vidya shilpadi karmachaVedah shasthrani vigynana etatsarvam janardanatThe Yoga Jnaana Saamkya sciences arts works Vedas scriptures spiritual illumination all these have originated from Janaardhana20Ekovishnu rmahadbhootam pruthagbhoota nyanekasahTrilonlokanvyapyabhootatma bhujkte vishvabhugavyayahMahaavishnu is the one allcomprehending being who appears as many He is the essence of all brings the consumer of the world the indestructible one and the master of all Pervading all the three worlds He enjoys all entities constituting them 21Emam stavam bhagavato vishnorvyasena keertitamPathedya echhet purushah shreyah praptum sukhanichaWhoever desires advancement and happiness should repeat this devotional hymn on Vishnu composed by Vyaasa22Vishveshvara majam devam jagatah prabhu mavyamBhajanti ye pushkaraksham nate yanti parabhavamNa te yanti parabhavam om nama itiNever will defeat attend on a man who adores the Lotuseyed One who is the Master of all the worlds Who is birthless and out of whom the worlds have originated and into whom they dissolve

Blog By: Santanam Swaminathan

280 SANSKRIT WORDS FOR WATER

Santanam Swaminathan

The Sanskrit language is the oldest most systematic language that has survived the longest period through history It is called Deva BhasaLanguage of the Gods It is full of wonders puzzles riddles and miracles It has got an ocean of treasures for anyone interested in any subject under the sun No one has listed all the books in this language because it is impossible to do so This was the richest language in the ancient world Even before Homer started writing his Iliad and Odyssey in 800 BC Sanskrit had copious literature in the form of Vedic Samhitas Brahmanas Aranyakas and UpanishadsBrihadaranyaka Upanishad written at the time of Homer lists more than 60 generations of teachers It means Hindus had proper schools for thousands of years even before others thought of writing books No wonder still Mahabharata is the largest epic in the world with 100 000 coupletsIt has scored several firsts First grammar book in the world Ashtadyaye of Panini First sex manual in the world Kamasutra of Vatsyayana First philosophical work Brihadaranyaka Upanishad First Story Collection in the world Somadeva s Katha Sarit Sagara First religious book in the world Rig Veda and First Dance manual in the world Bharata s Natya Sastra and First Dictionary of Synonyms Amarkosa We can go on adding medical aeroplane manuals etc No Gilgamesh can even come nearer to Sanskrit literature When other parts of the world dealt only with religion we started writing secular booksSanskrit has the power of expressing all types of thoughts in their appropriate terminology from mythology to literature science to philosophy poetry to prosody astronomy to anatomy as well as genetics mathematics and cosmologyAn amazing wealth of words and synonyms gives a great versatility to expression of power With 65 words for earth 70 words for water 15 words for gold 122 words for the verb to go imagine its vastnessThe seventy words for water multiply into 280 words with prefixes for specific descriptions of rainfall dharma karakam thousaram haimam etcThe Sanskrit speakers belong to India Their civilization originated on the banks of Ganga Sindhu Saraswati which disappeared 3000 years ago and Yamuna All these rivers were mentioned in Rig Veda the oldest book in the world They were so obsessed with water they used it in all their ceremonies from birth to death They used it to donate money or landsThey used it to give boons or curses They used it in their weddings Kanya Dhanam This shows very clearly that they did not come from arid deserts or snowy regions Without water a Hindu can t do any ceremony Look at the synonyms of water given belowAmrutam Ambhaha Arnaha Apaha Bhuvanam Vanam Kabandham Kapandham Udakam Paathaha Pushkaram Savaram Toyam Dakam Kambalam Syandanam Sadanam Ira Ambu Kam Jadaha Somam Vyoma Naram Kaharam Saraha Neeram Udam Saram Rutam Vaaha Vaari Salilam Kamalam Payaha Keelaalam Salam Uurjam Ghrutam Vaajam Sarilam Jadam Sambhaha Andham Kusham Karburam Ksheeram Taamaram Hriveram Sanchalam Sambaram Shambaram Sambalam Ghanarasaha Jalapeetham Jalam Chandrorasam Gokolanam Sarvatomukham Meghapushpam Abhrapushpam Peeppalam Kaandam Krupeetam Jeevanam Komalam Ghanisaasam Krupperam Repaalam Akkam colloquial in Brahmin families might have given the word AquaI have explained in another article that the word Neer water is not of Tamil origin because it is found in Greek as Nereids water nymphs Narayana of Hindu literature May be they have taken it from a common sourceCompiled by S Swaminathan from various sources For more Sanskrit Wonders read my blogs or contact swami 48yahoocom or Swaminathansantanamgmailcom

Blog By: Pravin Agrawal

GURUDEV RABINDRA NATH TAGORE

Pravin Agrawal

Tagore c 1915 the year he was knighted byGeorge V Tagore repudiated his knighthood in protest against the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in 19191Signature in Bengali scriptRabindranath Tagore Bengali 7 May 1861 7 August 1941 sobriquet Gurudev was a Bengali polymath who reshaped his region39s literature and music Author of Gitanjali and its profoundly sensitive fresh and beautiful verse 2 he became the first nonEuropean to win theNobel Prize in Literature in 19133 In translation his poetry was viewed as spiritual and mercurial his seemingly mesmeric personality flowing hair and otherworldly dress earned him a prophetlike reputation in the West His elegant prose and magical poetry remain largely unknown outside Bengal4 Tagore introduced new prose and verse forms and the use of colloquial language into Bengali literature thereby freeing it from traditional models based on classical Sanskrit He was highly influential in introducing the best of Indian culture to the West and vice versa and he is generally regarded as the outstanding creative artist of modern India5A Pirali Brahmin6789 from Calcutta Tagore wrote poetry as an eightyearold10 At age sixteen he released his first substantial poems under the pseudonymBh nusi ha Sun Lion which were seized upon by literary authorities as longlost classics511 He graduated to his first short stories and dramas and the aegis of his birth name by 1877 As a humanist universalist internationalist and strident antinationalist he denounced the Raj and advocated independence from Britain As an exponent of the Bengal Renaissance he advanced a vast canon that comprised paintings sketches and doodles hundreds of texts and some two thousand songs his legacy endures also in the institution he founded VisvaBharati UniversityTagore modernised Bengali art by spurning rigid classical forms and resisting linguistic strictures His novels stories songs dancedramas and essays spoke to topics political and personal Gitanjali Song Offerings Gora FairFaced and GhareBaire The Home and the World are his bestknown works and his verse short stories and novels were acclaimed or panned for their lyricism colloquialism naturalism and unnatural contemplation His compositions were chosen by two nations as national anthems the Republic of India39s Jana Gana Mana and Bangladesh39s Amar Shonar Bangla The composer of Sri Lanka39s national anthem Sri Lanka Matha was a student of Tagore and the song is inspired by Tagore39s style 12Contents show Early life 1861 1878Main article Early life of Rabindranath TagoreThe youngest of thirteen surviving children Tagore was born in the Jorasanko mansion in Calcutta India to parents Debendranath Tagore 1817 1905 and Sarada Devi 1830 1875 13 Tagore family patriarchs were the Brahmo founders of the Adi Dharm faith The loyalist Prince Dwarkanath Tagore who employed European estate managers and visited with Victoria and other royalty was his paternal grandfather14 Debendranath had formulated the Brahmoist philosophies espoused by his friend Ram Mohan Roy and became focal in Brahmo society after Roy39s death1516The last two days a storm has been raging similar to the description in my song Jhauro jhauro borishe baridhara amidst it a hapless homeless man drenched from top to toe standing on the roof of his steamer the last two days I have been singing this song over and over as a result the pelting sound of the intense rain the wail of the wind the sound of the heaving Gorai River have assumed a fresh life and found a new language and I have felt like a major actor in this new musical drama unfolding before me Letter to Indira Devi17Rabi was raised mostly by servants his mother had died in his early childhood and his father travelled widely18 His home hosted the publication of literary magazines theatre and recitals of both Bengali and Western classical music featured there regularly as the Jorasanko Tagores were the center of a large and artloving social group Tagore39s oldest brother Dwijendranath was a respected philosopher and poet Another brother Satyendranath was the first Indian appointed to the elite and formerly allEuropean Indian Civil Service Yet another brother Jyotirindranath was a musician composer and playwright19 His sisterSwarnakumari became a novelist Jyotirindranath39s wife Kadambari slightly older than Tagore was a dear friend and powerful influence Her abrupt suicide in 1884 left him for years profoundly distraughtTagore largely avoided classroom schooling and preferred to roam the manor or nearby Bolpur and Panihati idylls which the family visited2021 His brother Hemendranath tutored and physically conditioned him by having him swim the Ganges or trek through hills by gymnastics and by practicing judo and wrestling He learned drawing anatomy geography and history literature mathematics Sanskrit and English his least favorite subject22 Tagore loathed formal education his scholarly travails at the local Presidency College spanned a single day Years later he held that proper teaching does not explain things proper teaching stokes curiosity23Sketch by Gaganendranath Tagore of Rabi in 1877 the year of the first Bh nusi ha poem It knocks at the doors of the mind If any boy is asked to give an account of what is awakened in him by such knocking he will probably say something silly For what happens within is much bigger than what comes out in words Those who pin their faith on university examinations as the test of education take no account of this23 After he underwent an upanayan initiation at age eleven he and his father left Calcutta in February 1873 for a monthslong tour of the Raj They visited his father39s Santiniketanestate and rested in Amritsar en route to the Himalayan Dhauladhars their destination being the remote hill station at Dalhousie Along the way Tagore read biographies his father tutored him in history astronomy and Sanskrit declensions He read biographies of Benjamin Franklin among other figures they discussed Edward Gibbon39s The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire and they examined the poetry of K lid sa24 In midApril they reached the station and at 2 300 metres 7 546 ft they settled into a house that sat atop Bakrota Hill Tagore was taken aback by the region39s deep green gorges alpine forests and mossy streams and waterfalls25 They stayed there for several months and adopted a regime of study and privation that included daily twilight baths taken in icy water2627He returned to Jorosanko and completed a set of major works by 1877 one of them a long poem in the Maithili style of Vidyapati they were published pseudonymously Regional experts accepted them as the lost works of Bh nusimha a newly discovered 17thcentury Vaishnava poet28 He debuted the shortstory genre in Bengali with Bhikharini The Beggar Woman 2930 and his Sandhya Sangit 1882 includes the famous poem Nirjharer Swapnabhanga The Rousing of the Waterfall Servants subjected him to an almost ludicrous regimentation in a phase he dryly reviled as the servocracy31 His head was waterdunked to quiet him32 He irked his servants by refusing food he was confined to chalk circles in parody of Sita39s forest trial in the Ramayana and he was regaled with the heroic criminal exploits of Bengal39s outlawdacoits33 Because the Jorasanko manor was in an area of north Calcutta rife with poverty and prostitution 34 he was forbidden to leave it for any purpose other than traveling to school He thus became preoccupied with the world outside and with nature Of his 1873 visit to Santiniketan he wrote What I could not see did not take me long to get over what I did see was quite enough There was no servant rule and the only ring which encircled me was the blue of the horizon drawn around these solitudes by their presiding goddess Within this I was free to move about as I chose35 Shelaidaha 1878 1901Because Debendranath wanted his son to become a barrister Tagore enrolled at a public school in Brighton East Sussex England in 187817 He stayed for several months at a house that the Tagore family owned near Brighton and Hove in Medina Villas in 1877 his nephew and niece Suren and Indira Devi the children of Tagore39s brother Satyendranath were sent together with their mother Tagore39s sisterinlaw to live with him36 He briefly read law at University College London but again left school He opted instead for independent study of Shakespeare Religio Medici Coriolanus and Antony and Cleopatra Lively English Irish and Scottish folk tunes impressed Tagore whose own tradition of Nidhubabuauthored kirtans and tappas and Brahmo hymnody was subdued1737 In 1880 he returned to Bengal degreeless resolving to reconcile European novelty with Brahmo traditions taking the best from each38 In 1883 he married Mrinalini Devi born Bhabatarini 1873 1902 they had five children two of whom died in childhood39Photo by John Rothenstein Hampstead 1912In 1890 Tagore began managing his vast ancestral estates in Shelaidaha today a region of Bangladesh he was joined by his wife and children in 1898 Tagore released hisManasi poems 1890 among his bestknown work40 As Zamindar Babu Tagore crisscrossed the riverine holdings in command of the Padma the luxurious family barge He collected mostly token rents and blessed villagers who in turn honoured him with banquets occasionally of dried rice and sour milk41 He met Gagan Harkara through whom he became familiar with Baul Lalon Shah whose folk songs greatly influenced Tagore42 Tagore worked to popularise Lalon39s songs The period 1891 1895 Tagore39sSadhana period named after one of Tagore39s magazines was his most productive18 in these years he wrote more than half the stories of the threevolume 84storyGalpaguchchha29 Its ironic and grave tales examined the voluptuous poverty of an idealised rural Bengal43Santiniketan 1901 1932Main article Middle years of Rabindranath TagoreIn 1901 Tagore moved to Santiniketan to found an ashram with a marblefloored prayer hall The Mandir an experimental school groves of trees gardens a library44 There his wife and two of his children died His father died in 1905 He received monthly payments as part of his inheritance and income from the Maharaja of Tripura sales of his family39s jewelry his seaside bungalow in Puri and a derisory 2 000 rupees in book royalties45 He gained Bengali and foreign readers alike he published Naivedya 1901 and Kheya 1906 and translated poems into free verse In November 1913 Tagore learned he had won that year39s Nobel Prize in Literature the Swedish Academyappreciated the idealistic and for Westerners accessible nature of a small body of his translated material focussed on the 1912 Gitanjali Song Offerings46 In 1915 the British Crown granted Tagore a knighthood He renounced it after the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacreIn 1921 Tagore and agricultural economist Leonard Elmhirst set up the Institute for Rural Reconstruction later renamed Shriniketan or Abode of Welfare in Surul a village near the ashram With it Tagore sought to moderate Gandhi39s Swaraj protests which he occasionally blamed for British India39s perceived mental and thus ultimately colonial decline47 He sought aid from donors officials and scholars worldwide to free villages from the shackles of helplessness and ignorance by vitalising knowledge4849 In the early 1930s he targeted ambient abnormal caste consciousness and untouchability He lectured against these he penned Dalit heroes for his poems and his dramas and he campaigned successfully to open Guruvayoor Temple to Dalits5051Twilight years 1932 1941Main article Latter life of Rabindranath TagoreIn Berlin 1930Tagore39s life as a peripatetic litterateur affirmed his opinion that human divisions were shallow During a May 1932 visit to a Bedouin encampment in the Iraqi desert the tribal chief told him that Our prophet has said that a true Muslim is he by whose words and deeds not the least of his brothermen may ever come to any harm Tagore confided in his diary I was startled into recognizing in his words the voice of essential humanity52 To the end Tagore scrutinised orthodoxy and in 1934 he struck That year an earthquake hit Bihar and killed thousands Gandhi hailed it as seismic karma as divine retribution avenging the oppression of Dalits Tagore rebuked him for his seemingly ignominious inferences53 He mourned the perennial poverty of Calcutta and the socioeconomic decline of Bengal He detailed these newly plebeian aesthetics in an unrhymed hundredline poem whose technique of searing doublevision foreshadowed Satyajit Ray39s film Apur Sansar5455 Fifteen new volumes appeared among them prosepoem works Punashcha 1932 Shes Saptak 1935 and Patraput 1936 Experimentation continued in his prosesongs and dancedramas Chitra 1914 Shyama1939 and Chandalika 1938 and in his novels Dui Bon 1933 Malancha 1934 and Char Adhyay 1934Clouds come floating into my life no longer to carry rain or usher storm but to add color to my sunset sky Verse 292 Stray Birds 1916Tagore39s remit expanded to science in his last years as hinted in VisvaParichay 1937 collection of essays His respect for scientific laws and his exploration of biology physics and astronomy informed his poetry which exhibited extensive naturalism and verisimilitude56 He wove the process of science the narratives of scientists into stories in Se 1937 Tin Sangi 1940 and Galpasalpa 1941 His last five years were marked by chronic pain and two long periods of illness These began when Tagore lost consciousness in late 1937 he remained comatose and near death for a time This was followed in late 1940 by a similar spell He never recovered Poetry from these valetudinary years is among his finest5758 A period of prolonged agony ended with Tagore39s death on 7 August 1941 aged eighty he was in an upstairs room of the Jorasanko mansion he was raised in5960 The date is still mourned61 A K Sen brother of the first chief election commissioner received dictation from Tagore on 30 July 1941 a day prior to a scheduled operation his last poem62 I39m lost in the middle of my birthday I want my friends their touch with the earth39s last love I will take life39s final offering I will take the human39s last blessing Today my sack is empty I have given completely whatever I had to give In return if I receive anything some love some forgiveness then I will take it with me when I step on the boat that crosses to the festival of the wordless end TravelsAt the Majlis Tehran 193263Between 1878 and 1932 Tagore set foot in more than thirty countries on five continents64 In 1912 he took a sheaf of his translated works to England where they gained attention from missionary and Gandhi prot g Charles F Andrews Irish poet William Butler Yeats Ezra Pound Robert Bridges Ernest Rhys Thomas Sturge Moore and others65 Yeats wrote the preface to the English translation of Gitanjali Andrews joined Tagore at Santiniketan In November 1912 Tagore began touring the United States66and the United Kingdom staying in Butterton Staffordshire with Andrews39s clergymen friends67 From May 1916 until April 1917 he lectured in Japan and the United States68 He denounced nationalism69 His essay Nationalism in India was scorned and praised it was admired by Romain Rolland and other pacifists70Our passions and desires are unruly but our character subdues these elements into a harmonious whole Does something similar to this happen in the physical world Are the elements rebellious dynamic with individual impulse And is there a principle in the physical world which dominates them and puts them into an orderly organization Interviewed by Einstein 14 April 193071Shortly after returning home the 63yearold Tagore accepted an invitation from the Peruvian government He travelled to Mexico Each government pledged US100 000 to his school to commemorate the visits72 A week after his 6 November 1924 arrival in Buenos Aires 73 an ill Tagore shifted to the Villa Miralr o at the behest of Victoria Ocampo He left for home in January 1925 In May 1926 Tagore reached Naples the next day he met Mussolini in Rome74 Their warm rapport ended when Tagore pronounced upon Il Duce39s fascist finesse75 He had earlier enthused without any doubt he is a great personality There is such a massive vigour in that head that it reminds one of Michael Angelo s chisel A firebath of fascism was to have educed the immortal soul of Italy clothed in quenchless light76On 14 July 1927 Tagore and two companions began a fourmonth tour of Southeast Asia They visited Bali Java Kuala Lumpur Malacca Penang Siam and Singapore The resultant travelogues compose Jatri 192977 In early 1930 he left Bengal for a nearly yearlong tour of Europe and the United States Upon returning to Britain and as his paintings exhibited in Paris and London he lodged at a Birmingham Quaker settlement He wrote his Oxford Hibbert Lectures and spoke at the annual London Quaker meet78 There addressing relations between the British and the Indians a topic he would tackle repeatedly over the next two years Tagore spoke of a dark chasm of aloofness79 He visited Aga Khan III stayed at Dartington Hall toured Denmark Switzerland and Germany from June to midSeptember 1930 then went on into the Soviet Union80 In April 1932 Tagore intrigued by the Persian mystic Hafez was hosted by Reza Shah Pahlavi8182 In his other travels Tagore interacted with Henri Bergson Albert Einstein Robert Frost Thomas Mann George Bernard Shaw HG Wells and Romain Rolland838485 Visits to Persia and Iraq in 1932 and Sri Lanka in 1933 composed Tagore39s final foreign tour and his dislike of communalism and nationalism only deepened52WorksMain article Works of Rabindranath TagoreDancing Girl undated oiloncanvasTagore39s Bengalilanguage initials are worked into this RoTho wooden seal stylistically similar to designs used in traditional Haida carvings Tagore embellished his manuscripts with such art86Known mostly for his poetry Tagore wrote novels essays short stories travelogues dramas and thousands of songs Of Tagore39s prose his short stories are perhaps most highly regarded he is indeed credited with originating the Bengalilanguage version of the genre His works are frequently noted for their rhythmic optimistic and lyrical nature Such stories mostly borrow from deceptively simple subject matter commoners Tagore39s nonfiction grappled with history linguistics and spirituality He wrote autobiographies His travelogues essays and lectures were compiled into several volumes including Europe Jatrir Patro Letters from Europe and Manusher Dhormo The Religion of Man His brief chat with Einstein Note on the Nature of Reality is included as an appendix to the latter On the occasion of Tagore39s 150th birthday an anthology titled Kalanukromik Rabindra Rachanabali of the total body of his works is currently being published in Bengali in chronological order This includes all versions of each work and fills about eighty volumes87 In 2011 Harvard University Press collaborated with VisvaBharati University to publish The Essential Tagore the largest anthology of Tagore39s works available in English it was edited by Fakrul Alam and Radha Chakravarthy and marks the 150th anniversary of Tagore s birth88Music and artTagore composed 2 230 songs and was a prolific painter His songs compose rabindrasangit Tagore Song which merges fluidly into his literature most of which poems or parts of novels stories or plays alike were lyricised Influenced by the thumri style of Hindustani music they ran the entire gamut of human emotion ranging from his early dirgelike Brahmo devotional hymns to quasierotic compositions89 They emulated the tonal color of classical ragas to varying extents Some songs mimicked a given raga39s melody and rhythm faithfully others newly blended elements of different ragas90 Yet about ninetenths of his work was not bhanga gaan the body of tunes revamped with fresh value from select Western Hindustani Bengali folk and other regional flavours external to Tagore39s own ancestral culture17 Scholars have attempted to gauge the emotive force and range of Hindustani ragas the pathos of the purabi raga reminded Tagore of the evening tears of a lonely widow while kanara was the confused realization of a nocturnal wanderer who had lost his way In bhupali he seemed to hear a voice in the wind saying 39stop and come hither39Paraj conveyed to him the deep slumber that overtook one at night s end17 Reba Som Rabindranath Tagore The Singer and His Song91Tagore influenced sitar maestro Vilayat Khan and sarodiyas Buddhadev Dasgupta and Amjad Ali Khan90 His songs are widely popular and undergird the Bengali ethos to an extent perhaps rivaling Shakespeare39s impact on the Englishspeaking world It is said that his songs are the outcome of five centuries of Bengali literary churning and communal yearning Dhan Gopal Mukerji has said that these songs transcend the mundane to the aesthetic and express all ranges and categories of human emotion The poet gave voice to all big or small rich or poor The poor Ganges boatman and the rich landlord air their emotions in them They birthed a distinctive school of music whose practitioners can be fiercely traditional novel interpretations have drawn severe censure in both West Bengal and BangladeshFor Bengalis the songs39 appeal stemming from the combination of emotive strength and beauty described as surpassing even Tagore39s poetry was such that the Modern Review observed that there is in Bengal no cultured home where Rabindranath39s songs are not sung or at least attempted to be sung Even illiterate villagers sing his songs Arthur Strangways of The Observer introduced nonBengalis torabindrasangit in The Music of Hindostan calling it a vehicle of a personality that go behind this or that system of music to that beauty of sound which all systems put out their hands to seize92In 1971 Amar Shonar Bangla became the national anthem of Bangladesh It was written ironically to protest the 1905 Partition of Bengal along communal lines lopping Muslimmajority East Bengal from Hindudominated West Bengal was to avert a regional bloodbath Tagore saw the partition as a ploy to upend the independence movement and he aimed to rekindle Bengali unity and tar communalism Jana Gana Mana was written in shadhubhasha a Sanskritised register of Bengali and is the first of five stanzas of a Brahmo hymn that Tagore composed It was first sung in 1911 at a Calcutta session of theIndian National Congress and was adopted in 1950 by the Constituent Assembly of the Republic of India as its national anthemAt sixty Tagore took up drawing and painting successful exhibitions of his many works which made a debut appearance in Paris upon encouragement by artists he met in the south of France93 were held throughout Europe He was likely redgreen color blind resulting in works that exhibited strange colour schemes and offbeat aesthetics Tagore was influenced by scrimshaw from northern New Ireland Haidacarvings from British Columbia and woodcuts by Max Pechstein86 His artist39s eye for his handwriting were revealed in the simple artistic and rhythmic leitmotifs embellishing the scribbles crossouts and word layouts of his manuscripts Some of Tagore39s lyrics corresponded in a synesthetic sense with particular paintings17TheatreWith niece Indira Devi inValmiki Pratibha 1881At sixteen Tagore led his brother Jyotirindranath39s adaptation of Moli re39s Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme94 At twenty he wrote his first dramaopera Valmiki Pratibha The Genius of Valmiki In it the pandit Valmiki overcomes his sins is blessed by Saraswati and compiles the R m yana95 Through it Tagore explores a wide range of dramatic styles and emotions including usage of revamped kirtans and adaptation of traditional English and Irish folk melodies as drinking songs96 Another play Dak Ghar The Post Office describes the child Amal defying his stuffy and puerile confines by ultimately falling asleep hinting his physical death A story with borderless appeal gleaning rave reviews in Europe Dak Ghar dealt with death as in Tagore39s words spiritual freedom from the world of hoarded wealth and certified creeds9798 In the Nazibesieged Warsaw Ghetto Polish doctoreducator Janusz Korczak had orphans in his care stage The Post Office in July 194299 In The King of Children biographer Betty Jean Lifton suspected that Korczak agonising over whether one should determine when and how to die was easing the children into accepting death100101102 In midOctober the Nazis sent them to Treblinka103In days long gone by I can see the King39s postman coming down the hillside alone a lantern in his left hand and on his back a bag of letters climbing down for ever so long for days and nights and where at the foot of the mountain the waterfall becomes a stream he takes to the footpath on the bank and walks on through the rye then comes the sugarcane field and he disappears into the narrow lane cutting through the tall stems of sugarcanes then he reaches the open meadow where the cricket chirps and where there is not a single man to be seen only the snipe wagging their tails and poking at the mud with their bills I can feel him coming nearer and nearer and my heart becomes glad Amal in The Post Office 1914104 but the meaning is less intellectual more emotional and simple The deliverance sought and won by the dying child is the same deliverance which rose before his imagination when once in the early dawn he heard amid the noise of a crowd returning from some festival this line out of an old village song Ferryman take me to the other shore of the river It may come at any moment of life though the child discovers it in death for it always comes at the moment when the I seeking no longer for gains that cannot be assimilated with its spirit is able to say All my work is thine 105 W B Yeats Preface The Post Office 1914His other works fuse lyrical flow and emotional rhythm into a tight focus on a core idea a break from prior Bengali drama Tagore sought the play of feeling and not of action In 1890 he released what is regarded as his finest drama Visarjan Sacrifice95 It is an adaptation of Rajarshi an earlier novella of his A forthright denunciation of a meaningless and cruel superstitious rites 106 the Bengali originals feature intricate subplots and prolonged monologues that give play to historical events in seventeenthcentury Udaipur The devout Maharaja of Tripura is pitted against the wicked head priest Raghupati His latter dramas were more philosophical and allegorical in nature these included Dak Ghar Another is Tagore39s Chandalika Untouchable Girl which was modeled on an ancient Buddhist legend describing how Ananda the Gautama Buddha39s disciple asks a tribal girl for water107In Raktakarabi Red or Blood Oleanders a kleptocrat rules over the residents of Yakshapuri He and his retainers exploits his subjects who are benumbed by alcohol and numbered like inventory by forcing them to mine gold for him The naive maidenheroine Nandini rallies her subjectcompatriots to defeat the greed of the realm39s sardar class with the morally roused king39s belated help Skirting the goodvsevil trope the work pits a vital and joyous l se majest against the monotonous fealty of the king39s varletry giving rise to an allegorical struggle akin to that found in Animal Farm or Gulliver39s Travels108 The original though prized in Bengal long failed to spawn a free and comprehensible translation and its archaic and sonorous didacticism failed to attract interest from abroad3 Chitrangada Chandalika and Shyama are other key plays that have dancedrama adaptations which together are known as Rabindra Nritya NatyaNovelsTagore wrote eight novels and four novellas among them Chaturanga Shesher Kobita Char Odhay and Noukadubi Ghare Baire The Home and the World through the lens of the idealistic zamindarprotagonist Nikhil repudiates the frogmarch of nativism terrorism and religious querulousness popular among segments of the Swadeshi movement A frank expression of Tagore39s conflicted sentiments it was conceived of during a 1914 bout of depression The novel ends in grody HinduMuslim interplay and Nikhil39s likely death from a head wound109Gora nominated by many Bengali critics as his finest tale raises controversies regarding connate identity and its ultimate fungibility As with Ghare Baire matters of selfidentity j ti personal freedom and religion are lividly vivisected in a context of family and romance110 In it an Irish boy orphaned in the Sepoy Mutiny is raised by Hindus as the titular gora whitey Ignorant of his foreign origins he chastises Hindu religious backsliders out of love for the indigenous Indians and solidarity with them against his hegemoncompatriots He falls for a Brahmo girl compelling his worried foster father to reveal his lost past and cease his nativist zeal As a true dialectic advancing arguments for and against strict traditionalism it tackles the colonial conundrum by portraying the value of all positions within a particular frame not only syncretism not only liberal orthodoxy but the extremest reactionary traditionalism he defends by an appeal to what humans share Among these Tagore highlights identity conceived of asdharma111In Jogajog Relationships the heroine Kumudini bound by the ideals of ivaSati exemplified by D ksh yani is torn between her pity for the sinking fortunes of her progressive and compassionate elder brother and his foil her roue of a husband Tagore flaunts his feminist leanings pathos depicts the plight and ultimate demise of women trapped by pregnancy duty and family honour he simultaneously trucks with Bengal39s putrescent landed gentry112 The story revolves around the underlying rivalry between two families the Chatterjees aristocrats now on the decline Biprodas and the Ghosals Madhusudan representing new money and new arrogance Kumudini Biprodas39 sister is caught between the two as she is married off to Madhusudan She had risen in an observant and sheltered traditional home as had all her female relationsOthers were uplifting Shesher Kobita translated twice as Last Poem and Farewell Song is his most lyrical novel with poems and rhythmic passages written by a poet protagonist It contains elements of satire and postmodernism and has stock characters who gleefully attack the reputation of an old outmoded oppressively renowned poet who incidentally goes by a familiar name Rabindranath Tagore Though his novels remain among the leastappreciated of his works they have been given renewed attention via film adaptations by Ray and others Chokher Bali and Ghare Baire are exemplary In the first Tagore inscribes Bengali society via its heroine a rebellious widow who would live for herself alone He pillories the custom of perpetual mourning on the part of widows who were not allowed to remarry who were consigned to seclusion and loneliness Tagore wrote of it I have always regretted the endingStoriesA Nandalal Bose illustration for The Hero part of the 1913 Macmillan release of The Crescent MoonTagore39s threevolume Galpaguchchha comprises eightyfour stories that reflect upon the author39s surroundings on modern and fashionable ideas and on mind puzzles29Tagore associated his earliest stories such as those of the Sadhana period with an exuberance of vitality and spontaneity these traits were cultivated by zamindarTagore s life in Patisar Shajadpur Shelaidaha and other villages29 Seeing the common and the poor he examined their lives with a depth and feeling singular in Indian literature up to that point113 In The Fruitseller from Kabul Tagore speaks in first person as a town dweller and novelist imputing exotic perquisites to an Afghan seller He channels the lucubrative lust of those mired in the blas nidorous and sudorific morass of subcontinental city life for distant vistas There were autumn mornings the time of year when kings of old went forth to conquest and I never stirring from my little corner in Calcutta would let my mind wander over the whole world At the very name of another country my heart would go out to it I would fall to weaving a network of dreams the mountains the glens the forest 114The Golpoguchchho Bunch of Stories was written in Tagore39s Sabuj Patra period which lasted from 1914 to 1917 and was named for another of his magazines29 These yarns are celebrated fare in Bengali fiction and are commonly used as plot fodder by Bengali film and theatre The Ray film Charulata echoed the controversial Tagore novellaNastanirh The Broken Nest In Atithi which was made into another film the little Brahmin boy Tarapada shares a boat ride with a village zamindar The boy relates his flight from home and his subsequent wanderings Taking pity the elder adopts him he fixes the boy to marry his own daughter The night before his wedding Tarapada runs off again Strir Patra The Wife39s Letter is an early treatise in female emancipation115 Mrinal is wife to a Bengali middle class man prissy preening and patriarchal Travelling alone she writes a letter which comprehends the story She details the pettiness of a life spent entreating his viraginous virility she ultimately gives up married life proclaiming Amio bachbo Ei bachlum And I shall live Here I liveHaimanti assails Hindu arranged marriage and spotlights their often dismal domesticity the hypocrisies plaguing the Indian middle classes and how Haimanti a young woman due to her insufferable sensitivity and free spirit foredid herself In the last passage Tagore blasts the reification of Sita39s selfimmolation attempt she had meant to appease her consort Rama39s doubts of her chastity Musalmani Didi eyes recrudescent HinduMuslim tensions and in many ways embodies the essence of Tagore39s humanism The somewhat autoreferential Darpaharan describes a fey young man who harbours literary ambitions Though he loves his wife he wishes to stifle her literary career deeming it unfeminine In youth Tagore likely agreed with him Darpaharan depicts the final humbling of the man as he ultimately acknowledges his wife39s talents As do many other Tagore stories Jibito o Mrito equips Bengalis with a ubiquitous epigram Kadombini moriya proman korilo she more nai Kadombini died thereby proving that she hadn39tPoetryTagore39s poetic style which proceeds from a lineage established by 15th and 16thcentury Vaishnava poets ranges from classical formalism to the comic visionary and ecstatic He was influenced by the atavistic mysticism of Vyasa and other rishiauthors of the Upanishads the BhaktiSufi mystic Kabir and Ramprasad Sen116 Tagore39s most innovative and mature poetry embodies his exposure to Bengali rural folk music which included mystic Baul ballads such as those of the bard Lalon117118 These rediscovered and repopularised by Tagore resemble 19thcentury Kart bhaj hymns that emphasise inward divinity and rebellion against bourgeois bhadralok religious and social orthodoxy119120 During his Shelaidaha years his poems took on a lyrical voice of the moner manush the B uls39 man within the heart and Tagore39s life force of his deep recesses or meditating upon the jeevan devata the demiurge or the living God within17 This figure connected with divinity through appeal to nature and the emotional interplay of human drama Such tools saw use in his Bh nusi ha poems chronicling the RadhaKrishna romance which were repeatedly revised over the course of seventy years121122The time that my journey takes is long and the way of it longI came out on the chariot of the first gleam of light and pursued my voyage through the wildernesses of worlds leaving my track on many a star and planetIt is the most distant course that comes nearest to thyself and that training is the most intricate which leads to the utter simplicity of a tuneThe traveller has to knock at every alien door to come to his own and one has to wander through all the outer worlds to reach the innermost shrine at the endMy eyes strayed far and wide before I shut them and said 39Here art thou39The question and the cry 39Oh where39 melt into tears of a thousand streams and deluge the world with the flood of the assurance 39I am39 Song XII Gitanjali 1913123Tagore reacted to the halfhearted uptake of modernist and realist techniques in Bengali literature by writing matching experimental works in the 1930s124 These include Africa and Camalia among the better known of his latter poems He occasionally wrote poems using Shadhu Bhasha a Sanskritised dialect of Bengali he later adopted a more popular dialect known as Cholti Bhasha Other works include Manasi Sonar Tori Golden Boat Balaka Wild Geese a name redolent of migrating souls 125 and Purobi Sonar Tori39s most famous poem dealing with the fleeting endurance of life and achievement goes by the same name hauntingly it ends Shunno nodir tire rohinu po i Jaha chhilo loe g lo shonar tori all I had achieved was carried off on the golden boat only I was left behindGitanjali is Tagore39s bestknown collection internationally earning him his Nobel126Hungary 1926Song VII of Gitanjali 39 Amar e gan chhe echhe tar sh kol longkarTomar kachhe rakhe ni ar shajer hongkar longkar je majhe p e mil nete a al k re Tomar k tha hake je tar mukh ro jh ngkar Tomar kachhe kha e na mor kobir g rbo k ra M hakobi tomar paee dite chai je dh raJibon loe j ton kori jodi sh rol b shi go i Apon shure dibe bhori s kol chhidro tarTagore39s freeverse translation My song has put off her adornmentsShe has no pride of dress and decorationOrnaments would mar our union they would comebetween thee and me their jingling would drown thy whispersMy poet39s vanity dies in shame before thy sightO master poet I have sat down at thy feetOnly let me make my life simple and straight like a flute of reed for thee to fill with music127 Klanti Weariness Klanti amar kh ma k ro probhu P the jodi pichhie po i kobhuEi je hia th ro th ro k pe aji mont ro Ei bedona kh ma k ro kh ma k ro probhu Ei dinota kh ma k ro probhu Pichhonpane takai jodi kobhuDiner tape roudrojalae shukae mala pujar thalae Shei mlanota kh ma k ro kh ma k ro probhuGloss by Tagore scholar Reba Som Forgive me my weariness O LordShould I ever lag behindFor this heart that this day trembles soAnd for this pain forgive me forgive me O LordFor this weakness forgive me O Lord If perchance I cast a look behindAnd in the day39s heat and under the burning sunThe garland on the platter of offering wilts For its dull pallor forgive me forgive me O Lord128 Tagore39s poetry has been set to music by composers Arthur Shepherd39s triptych for soprano and string quartet Alexander Zemlinsky39s famous Lyric Symphony Josef Bohuslav Foerster39s cycle of love songs Leo Jan ek39s famous chorus Potuln lenec The Wandering Madman for soprano tenor baritone and male chorus JW 443 inspired by Tagore39s 1922 lecture in Czechoslovakia which Jan ek attended and Garry Schyman39s Praan an adaptation of Tagore39s poem Stream of Life from Gitanjali The latter was composed and recorded with vocals by Palbasha Siddique to accompany Internet celebrity Matt Harding39s 2008 viral video129 In 1917 his words were translated adeptly and set to music by AngloDutch composer Richard Hageman to produce a highly regarded art song Do Not Go My Love The second movement of Jonathan Harvey39s One Evening 1994 sets an excerpt beginning As I was watching the sunrise from a letter of Tagore39s this composer having previously chosen a text by the poet for his piece Song Offerings 1985130PoliticsMain article Rabindranath Tagore39s political viewsGurudev and the Mah tm Ahmedabad 1920Tagore39s political thought was tortuous He opposed imperialism and supported Indian nationalists 131132133 and these views were first revealed in Manast which was mostly composed in his twenties40 Evidence produced during the Hindu German Conspiracy Trial and latter accounts affirm his awareness of the Ghadarites and stated that he sought the support of Japanese Prime Minister Terauchi Masatake and former Premier kuma Shigenobu134 Yet he lampooned the Swadeshi movement he rebuked it in The Cult of the Charka an acrid 1925 essay135 He urged the masses to avoid victimology and instead seek selfhelp and education and he saw the presence of British administration as a political symptom of our social disease He maintained that even for those at the extremes of poverty there can be no question of blind revolution preferable to it was a steady and purposeful education136137So I repeat we never can have a true view of man unless we have a love for him Civilisation must be judged and prized not by the amount of power it has developed but by how much it has evolved and given expression to by its laws and institutions the love of humanity S dhan The Realisation of Life 1916138Such views enraged many He escaped assassination and only narrowly by Indian expatriates during his stay in a San Francisco hotel in late 1916 the plot failed when his wouldbe assassins fell into argument139 Yet Tagore wrote songs lionising the Indian independence movement140 Two of Tagore39s more politically charged compositions Chitto Jetha Bhayshunyo Where the Mind is Without Fear and Ekla Chalo Re If They Answer Not to Thy Call Walk Alone gained mass appeal with the latter favoured by Gandhi141 Though somewhat critical of Gandhian activism 142 Tagore was key in resolving a Gandhi Ambedkar dispute involving separate electorates for untouchables thereby mooting at least one of Gandhi39s fasts unto death143144Repudiation of knighthoodTagore renounced his knighthood in response to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in the repudiation letter to Chelmsford the Vicerory he wrote The time has come when badges of honour make our shame glaring in the incongruous context of humiliation and I for my part wish to stand shorn of all special distinctions by the side of those of my countrymen who for their so called insignificance are liable to suffer degradation not fit for human beings 1Santiniketan and VisvaBharatiTagore despised rote classroom schooling in The Parrot39s Training a bird is caged and forcefed textbook pages to death145146 Tagore visiting Santa Barbara in 1917 conceived a new type of university he sought to make Santiniketan the connecting thread between India and the world and a world center for the study of humanity somewhere beyond the limits of nation and geography139 The school which he named VisvaBharati had its foundation stone laid on 24 December 1918 and was inaugurated precisely three years later147 Tagore employed a brahmacharya system gurus gave pupils personal guidance emotional intellectual and spiritual Teaching was often done under trees He staffed the school he contributed his Nobel Prize monies 148 and his duties as stewardmentor at Santiniketan kept him busy mornings he taught classes afternoons and evenings he wrote the students39 textbooks149 He fundraised widely for the school in Europe and the United States between 1919 and 1921150ImpactTh kurova ulice PragueTagores t ny Balatonf redEvery year many events pay tribute to Tagore Kabipranam his birth anniversary is celebrated by groups scattered across the globe the annual Tagore Festival held in Urbana Illinois Rabindra Path Parikrama walking pilgrimages from Calcutta to Santiniketan and recitals of his poetry which are held on important anniversaries66151152Bengali culture is fraught with this legacy from language and arts to history and politics Amartya Sen scantly deemed Tagore a towering figure a deeply relevant and manysided contemporary thinker152 Tagore39s Bengali originals the 1939 Rab ndra Rachan val is canonised as one of his nation39s greatest cultural treasures and he was roped into a reasonably humble role the greatest poet India has produced153Who are you reader reading my poems an hundred years henceI cannot send you one single flower from this wealth of the spring one single streak of gold from yonder cloudsOpen your doors and look abroadFrom your blossoming garden gather fragrant memories of the vanished flowers of an hundred years beforeIn the joy of your heart may you feel the living joy that sang one spring morning sending its glad voice across an hundred years The Gardener 1915154Tagore was renowned throughout much of Europe North America and East Asia He cofounded Dartington Hall School a progressive coeducational institution155 in Japan he influenced such figures as Nobel laureate Yasunari Kawabata156Tagore39s works were widely translated into English Dutch German Spanish and other European languages by Czech indologist Vincenc Lesn 157 French Nobel laureate Andr Gide Russian poet Anna Akhmatova 158 former Turkish Prime Minister B lent Ecevit 159 and others In the United States Tagore39s lecturing circuits particularly those of 1916 1917 were widely attended and wildly acclaimed Some controversies involving Tagore possibly fictive trashed his popularity and sales in Japan and North America after the late 1920s concluding with his near total eclipse outside Bengal4 Yet a latent reverence of Tagore was discovered by an astonished Salman Rushdie during a trip to Nicaragua160By way of translations Tagore influenced Chileans Pablo Neruda and Gabriela Mistral Mexican writer Octavio Paz and Spaniards Jos Ortega y Gasset Zenobia Camprub and Juan Ram n Jim nez In the period 1914 1922 the Jim nezCamprub pair produced twentytwo Spanish translations of Tagore39s English corpus they heavily revised the The Crescent Moon and other key titles In these years Jim nez developed naked poetry161 Ortega y Gasset wrote that Tagore39s wide appeal owes to how he speaks of longings for perfection that we all have Tagore awakens a dormant sense of childish wonder and he saturates the air with all kinds of enchanting promises for the reader who pays little attention to the deeper import of Oriental mysticism Tagore39s works circulated in free editions around 1920 alongside those of Plato Dante Cervantes Goethe and TolstoyTagore was deemed overrated by some Graham Greene doubted that anyone but Mr Yeats can still take his poems very seriously Several prominent Western admirers including Pound and to a lesser extent even Yeats criticised Tagore39s work Yeats unimpressed with his English translations railed against that Damn Tagore We got out three good books Sturge Moore and I and then because he thought it more important to know English than to be a great poet he brought out sentimental rubbish and wrecked his reputation Tagore does not know English no Indian knows English4162 William Radice who Englished his poems asked What is their place in world literature163 He saw him as kind of countercultural bearing a new kind of classicism that would heal the collapsed romantic confusion and chaos of the 20th century162164 The translated Tagore was almost nonsensical 165 and subpar English offerings reduced his transnational appeal anyone who knows Tagore39s poems in their original Bengali cannot feel satisfied with any of the translations made with or without Yeats39s help Even the translations of his prose works suffer to some extent from distortion EM Forster noted of The Home and the World that the theme is so beautiful but the charms have vanished in translation or perhaps in an experiment that has not quite come off Amartya Sen Tagore and His India4List of worksThe SNLTR hosts Tagore39s complete Bengali works as does Tagore Web including annotated songs Translations are found at Project Gutenberg and Wikisource More sources are belowOriginalBengali Poetry Bh nusi ha h kurer Pa val Songs of Bh nusi ha h kur1884 ManasiThe Ideal One1890 Sonar TariThe Golden Boat1894 GitanjaliSong Offerings1910 GitimalyaWreath of Songs1914 BalakaThe Flight of Cranes1916Dramas ValmikiPratibhaThe Genius of Valmiki1881 VisarjanThe Sacrifice1890 RajaThe King of the Dark Chamber1910 Dak GharThe Post Office1912 AchalayatanThe Immovable1912 MuktadharaThe Waterfall1922 RaktakaraviRed Oleanders1926Fiction NastanirhThe Broken Nest1901 GoraFairFaced1910 Ghare BaireThe Home and the World1916 YogayogCrosscurrents1929Memoirs JivansmritiMy Reminiscences1912 ChhelebelaMy Boyhood Days1940 English Thought Relics1921original 1 TranslatedEnglish Chitra1914text 1 Creative Unity1922text 2 The Crescent Moon1913text 3 The Cycle of Spring1919text 4 Fireflies1928 FruitGathering1916text 5 The Fugitive1921text 6 The Gardener1913text 7 Gitanjali Song Offerings1912text 8 Glimpses of Bengal1991text 9 The Home and the World1985text 10 The Hungry Stones1916text 11 I Won39t Let you Go Selected Poems1991 The King of the Dark Chamber1914text 12 The Lover of God2003 Mashi1918text 13 My Boyhood Days1943 My Reminiscences1991text 14 Nationalism1991 The Post Office1914text 15 Sadhana The Realisation of Life1913text 16 Selected Letters1997 Selected Poems1994 Selected Short Stories1991 Songs of Kabir1915text 17 The Spirit of Japan1916text 18 Stories from Tagore1918text 19 Stray Birds1916text 20 Vocation1913166 Adaptations of novels and short stories in cinemaSacrifice 1927 Balidaan Nanand Bhojai and Naval GandhiNatir Puja 1932 The only film directed by Rabindranath TagoreMilan 1947 Nauka Dubi Nitin BoseKabuliwala 1961 Kabuliwala Bimal RoyUphaar 1971 Samapti Sudhendu RoyLekin 1991 Kshudhit Pashaan GulzarChar Adhyay 1997 Char Adhyay Kumar ShahaniChokher Bali 2003 Chokher Bali Rituparno GhoshKashmakash 2011 Nauka Dubi Rituparno GhoshSome more classics from regional cinema BengaliNaukadubi 1947 Noukadubi Nitin BoseKabuliwala 1957 Kabuliwala Tapan SinhaKshudhita Pashaan 1960 Kshudhita Pashan Tapan SinhaTeen Kanya 1961 Teen Kanya Satyajit RayCharulata 1964 Nastanirh Satyajit RayGhare Baire 1985 Ghare Baire Satyajit RayElar Char Adhyay 2012 Char Adhyay Bappaditya Bandyopadhyaysharing this blog

Blog By: Parvesh Sharma

Unbelievable story of Indias first Mr Universe who is 103 years old

Parvesh Sharma

Manohar Aich is a legendary Indian bodybuilder who is now 103 years old He won the 1952 Mr Universe Group III Championship and is also a threetime Asian Games gold medalist in bodybuilding Manohar was interested in bodybuilding and fitness right from his early age At that time there were no gyms or weight equipments Hence he used to do only bodyweight exercises with more reps His workout in his teenage years included pushups pullups squats leg raise etcHis bodybuilding career took a dramatic turn when he joined the Royal Air Force in 1942 where he was formally introduced to weight training by Reub Martin his senior at RAF He took part in Mr Universe for the first time in 1951 where he came second The following year was a big one for Manohar as he created history by winning the first place at the Mr Universe competition He competed again in 1955 and came third then fourth in 1960 At this time he was 47 years of age He continued to participate at several other bodybuilding events His last bodybuilding show was in 2003 when he was 90 years old He has never touched alcohol nor has he smoked His diet consisted of what Mother Nature provided such as fruits milk vegetables rice lentils and fish Achievement of Manohar Aich Mr Universe in 1952 Gold Medal Asian Games 1951 New DelhiGold Medal Asian Games 1954 ManilaGold Medal Asian Games 1958 Tokyo

Blog By: Shruti Srivastava

This Dhanteras dont forget to buy these 4 important things

Shruti Srivastava

Diwali is a 5day long festival wherein devotees gear up for her the reception of the Goddess of wealthAccording to ancient traditions the celebrations begin days before the actual festival that sees the cleaning of the entire house whitewash or paint and decorations with lights diyas and religious rituals are performed on the final dayThe first day ie Dhanteras is considered an auspicious occasion to buy new things needed to appease Goddess Laxmi While some traditions explain that buying Gold and Silver is considered favorable there are certain traditions which got overshadowedIf you have already planned on what you want to buy on this day then you might want to read this article and also buy one of these 3 things mentioned here because as per ancient traditions these things too appease Goddess Lakshmi and bring you her blessings 1 Surely buy gold or silver if you wish But those who cannot they can buy a little spoon and worship Goddess Lakshmi with it But remember to keep this spoon in your safe and offer regular aarti on daily basis this will increase your wealth2 What many people don t know is that there has been a tradition of buying Dhaniya Coriander seeds on the auspicious day of Dhanteras It is considered a symbol of wealth At the time of Lakshmi Puja offer these seeds to her and after worshiping sow some of these seeds in an earthen pot or in your back garden And keep the rest in your safe or vault Tijori along with some cowries and Gomti chakras3 On this day it is considered auspicious to gift a married woman a set of solah sringar or a red saree with sindoor This would appease Goddess Laxmi And if there s no married woman one can also gift these things to an unmarried girl and seek her blessingsNote4 It is absolutely fine if you re not able to buy anything new on this day But do not commit the mistake of buying anything made up of aluminum or glass on Dhanteras it is not considered auspicious as these are related with Rahu and bringing them home would mean their presence in your home ahead of Goddess Laxmi

Blog By: Ishita Sharma

This temple gives away Gold as prasad

Ishita Sharma

India is home to many temples and yearly crores of rupees in their upkeep however while getting sweet and savoury food items in prasad is common have you ever heard of a temple where Gold is given away as prasad Here s the story of one such temple The Mahalaxmi temple in Ratlam in Madhya Pradesh is one such temple this temple receives offerings worth crores each year that includes even gold and silver ornaments Around Diwali each year a certain part of this offering is returned to the devotees in the form of prasad it is said that people travel thousands of miles to come to the temple and receive this prasad the travelling cost for the same often being more than the prasad cost However here the gold and silver prasad is not treated as a form of jewellery and in fact considered as a blessing from the Goddess of wealth and is never spend or sold off it is in fact kept in the locker of the house for safetyIt is also said that every offering made to the Goddess is kept note of so that the authorities know how much gold is to be returned in the form of prasad

Blog By: Rajesh Patel

KABIR VANI EXPLAINED

Rajesh Patel

SEEKHS OF GURU KABIR INTRODUCTION Kabir Saheb 1398 1518 was a very famous saint of India His words mostly sakhis couplets and SHABDAS songs are in the heart of every Indian who is familiar with Hindi He was the first saint who taught the secret of the Inner Sound and Light in the language of the common people Thus he became the founder of the SANT MAT the path of saints What he taught was not from the books but from his own inner experience He was the first saint who stood for religious unity and brotherhood amongst all people In reality he taught humanity as a religion Kabir Saheb was impartial He was neither attached to nor detached from any religious group He proclaimed I am neither Hindu nor Muslim but this body is made of five gross elements earth water fire air ether and I am the Divine who is dwelling in it He went neither to the temple nor to the mosque If he had used temples to preach the Muslims would have been left out because they could not go into the temple And if he had chosen to preach in the mosque the Hindus would have had to remain outside He therefore chose the market place where everybody went without hesitation He told the people that he was neither an enemy nor friend to anyone but that he wanted the welfare of everyone He taught the path of simple spiritual union with God He said it was not necessary to practice austerity in the Himalayan caves One could practice it at home by controlling his mind and senses He gave the essence of all the scriptures in simple sakhis which are couplets with musical rhythm His sakhis are so important that they are accepted as supreme testimony for profound spiritual truth The following sakhis are from the book Kabir Sakhi Spiritual Gems of Kabir translated by Mahant Jagdish Das Shastri edited by Dr J Das and first published by the Kabir Association of Canada in 1987 It was republished by the Kabir Ashram Jamnagar Gujarat in 1995 and 2001 Greatness of Guru 1 guru ko kije bandagi koti koti paranam kit na jane bhring ko guru karle ap saman Meaning Offer salutations and obeisances to the Guru millions of timesJust as a wasp takes a worm into its nest and another wasp emerges just so Guru makes the ordinary disciple as himself Commentary One has to offer obeisances to the Guru who takes the disciple on the path to God and helps him in every way even though the disciple does not know it The Guru imparts wisdom to him and makes him as knowledgeable as himself 2 timir gaya ravi dekhate kumati gayi guru gyan sumati gayi ati lobhate bhakti gayi abhiman Meaning Darkness disappears when the sun arises and ignorance goes away by the Guru39s wisdomGood intellect is lost because of greed and devotion is lost because of ego Commentary Just as sunrise removes darkness from the world knowledge given by the Guru removes ignorance from the heart Similarly greed abolishes wisdom and the ego becomes an obstacle to devotion and God realization 3 hari kirpa tab janiye de manav awatar guru kirpa tab janiye mukta kare sansar Meaning Know that it is the grace of God that gave you human birthBut it is the grace of the Guru that liberates you from the cycle of birth and death Commentary In this human life you can obtain salvation therefore thank God that you got a human life But you are still a victim of rebirth therefore thank the Guru whose grace frees you from the cycle of birth and death This is the greatness of the Guru 4 guru dhobi sis kapada sabun sirjanhar surati sila par dhoiye nikase jyoti apar Meaning Guru is like a washerman and the disciple is like cloth God Himself is the soapO Guru Please wash my thought waves on the stone of meditation then the unlimited light will appear Commentary When the Guru gives the gift of God39s name to the disciple and the disciple recites it his heart is cleansed Thus with the help and guidance of the Guru the disciple reaches the destination that is God realization 5 guru bin gyan na upaje guru bin mil na moksh guru bin lakhe na satyako guru bin mite na dosh Meaning Without the Guru no one obtains spiritual knowledge or achieves salvationWithout the Guru no one can see Truth or have his doubts removed Commentary Importance of the Guru is mentioned in this sakhi To achieve the higher stages on the spiritual path and to succeed in the world one needs the guidance of the Guru all the time to overcome obstacles on the spiritual path 6 guru bichara kya kare sikhahi mahi chuk bhawe tyon parmodhiye bans bajaye phunk Meaning What can the poor Guru do if the disciple has faultsHe gives knowledge but it becomes useless just as a broken flute does not produce music Commentary The disciple must have faith courage and patience on the path of God He must try to accept discriminative spiritual knowledge from the Guru and keep it in his mind If he does not the Guru cannot be blamed because the Guru can only guide but the disciple has to walk himself 7 ek shabda guru dev ka taka anant bichar thake muni jan pandita veda na pawe par Meaning The one word of Sat Guru gives limitless meaningsMunis and pandits became exhausted trying to find its meaning Vedas cannot fathom its depth Commentary The word of God given by Sat Guru is unfathomable Only a humble devotee can get it Munis and pandits full of ego of their knowledge cannot find it Even the Vedas mention very little about it and they cannot give you spiritual experience IMPARTIAL TEACHING 8 kabir khade bazar me sabki chahe khair na kahu se dosti na kahu se bair Meaning Kabir says I stand in a market place and I desire the welfare of allI am neither related to anyone nor am I an enemy to any one Commentary Kabir Saheb was above all religious conflicts so he went neither to the temple nor to the mosque He chose the market place to preach because people of all religions go there Kabir Saheb preached the truth and wanted the spiritual welfare of all equally 9 pachha pachhi ke karane sab jag raha bhulan nirpachh hoi ke hari bhaje soie sant sujan Meaning People are divided into various groups religions and thus the whole world is misguidedBeing impartial to the worldly groups religions one who performs the devotion to Almighty God is the true saint Commentary There are many religions in the world and people stick to their favourite religions But a saint understands that all souls are the same and that God is dwelling in every heart The saint recognizes God in all and remains impartial to the various religions 10 chalti chakki dekh ke diya kabira roi dou patan ke bichame sabut bacha na koi Meaning Kabir says Looking at the millstones I weptOne who is caught between the two stones never comes out safely Commentary The cycle of birth and death and all other pairs of opposites pleasure and pain love and hate virtue and sin are like mill stones and a person who is caught between them becomes figuratively crushed Liberation is obtained by transcending the pairs of opposites 11 silwant sabse bada sab ratano ki khan tin lok ki sampada rahi sil may an Meaning Whoever has good character is the greatest of all He is the mine of all jewelsThe wealth of the three worlds is merged in good character Commentary Without good character all other qualities are useless When a person loses his good character he loses everything It is very difficult to remove the spots on the character Therefore we have to try to keep our character spotless and perform devotion for God realization 12 apa taje aw hari bhaje nakh sikh taje vikar sab jiwan se nirbair rahe sadhu mata hai sar Meaning Give up the pride of clan and caste and do devotion to God Give up your faults lust anger greed etc Don39t be an enemy to anyone This is the basic principle of the saints Commentary Saints want the welfare of everyone and advise tolerant behaviour towards all People who are full of ego easily develop enmity towards others Saints are free of ego and enmity 13 nindak niyare rakhiye angan kuti chhawai binu pani bin sabuna nirmal kare subhaw Meaning Keep your critic close to you give him shelter in your courtyardWithout soap and water he cleanses your character Commentary You get to know your faults if someone criticizes you and you will have a chance to correct them Listen to the criticism without annoyance because the critic is not your enemy He is helping you to clean the rubbish from your own life 14 manus janam durlabh hai mile na barambar pakka phal jo gir para bahuri na lage dar Meaning Human birth is difficult to obtain and you will not get it again and againWhen a ripe fruit falls it does not reattach to the branch Commentary In this world human life is the best in which you have the opportunity to do good deeds It is difficult to get the same type of opportunity again and again If you will not perform proper actions your karmas will prevent you from getting this chance another time 15 sain itana dijiye jame kutum samai mai bhi bhukha na rahu sadhu na bhukha jai Meaning God please give me only that much which will maintain my family I also will not remain hungry nor will any sadhu go hungry Commentary In reality there is no satisfaction without peace and satisfaction does not come with material wealth because the more we get the more we want We require only enough for our daily needs That is why the devotee is asking only for enough to maintain himself and his family and to help others Thus he remains contented and peaceful 16 rukha sukha khaike thanda pani pee dekh parai chupadi mat lalchao jee Meaning Eat dry and simple food and drink cold waterDo not look at the buttered bread of others and long for it Commentary You have to try to live simply and be satisfied If you try to pursue the luxurious lives of others you will not have peace in your life Materialism does not bring peace in life The more a person gets the more he wants There is no end to greed 17 kabir sab jag nirdhana dhanwanta nahi koi dhanwanta soi janiye ram nam dhan hoi Meaning Kabir says O brother The whole world is poor No one is richOnly he is rich who has the wealth of God39s name Commentary In this world people think that the person who has material wealth is prosperous but in reality all material things are perishable and cannot be recognized as true wealth True wealth is the name of God that is Immortal So the person who has the wealth of God39s name is really rich WORDS AND ACTIONS 18 kathani mithi khand si karani vish ki loi kathani chhandi karani kare vish ka amrit hoi Meaning Speaking is sweet like sugar and actions are like poison to manyIf instead of speaking of good one does good actions the poison will turn into nectar Commentary It is very important to speak politely but if a person speaks politely and performs good actions he will be able to bring peace and bliss to all Polite speech and ignoble actions bring problems In reality actions are more important than words 19 madhur vachan hai aushadhi katuk vachan hai tir sravan dwar hwai sanchare sale sakal sarir Meaning Sweet words are like good medicine and harsh words are like arrowsThey enter through the doors of the ears and give distress to the whole body Commentary We have to speak the truth but also politely because many problems are created by misuse of words Problems can often be solved if we use sweet polite and proper words suitable to the occasion Our words also reveal what we are 20 mitha sabse boliye sukh upaje chahu or basikaran yaha mantra hai tajiye bachan kathor Meaning Speak sweetly and politely and you will make everyone happyThis is just like a charm Give up harsh words Commentary When you speak sweetly and politely you make many people happy Everyone likes to listen to sweet and polite words They attract people towards you and they create happiness for all Harsh words are improper They hurt people and can turn them against you Sweet words win friends 21 kaga kako dhan hare koyal kako deya mithe bachan sunai ke jag apano kari leya Meaning Does a crow steal someone39s wealth or does a nightingale give itThe nightingale only speaks musical words and enchants the world Commentary Everyone likes to listen to sweet and musical words but not to harsh words People love the nightingale because of its sweet song but dislike the crow because of its raucous noise though they are of the same colour 22 awat gari ek hai ulati hot anek kahe kabir na ulatiye rahi ek ki ek Meaning A verbal abuse is one but responding to it will make manyKabir says Do not respond to the abuse and it will remain one Commentary When someone speaks abusive words to any person and that person responds the quarrel will grow more and more If you want to prevent a quarrel do not respond to words of abuse Keep calm Don39t indulge your tongue in uttering bad words 23 jo toko kata bowai tako bo tum phul toko phul ke phul hai wako hai trisul Meaning When someone puts thorns on your path you should put flowers on hisAt last you will get flowers but he will get troubling thorns Commentary If someone does wrong towards a devotee the devotee should still continue to respond lovingly towards the wrong doer The devotee will get blessings but the wrong doer will have to endure suffering As you sow so you reap Who shares love will get love Who gives troubles will get troubles OPPORTUNITY 24 kal kare so aj kar aj kare so ab palme parlay hoyagi bahuri karega kab Meaning What you have to do tomorrow do today what you have to do today do nowDeath can strike at the next moment then what can you do Commentary The person who puts off till tomorrow what he should do today will never really be successful in life Laziness and procrastination cause loss of opportunities and failures They destroy valuable life and cause regrets instead Promptness is a great virtue 25 aj kahe hari kal bhajunga kal kahe phir kal aj kal ke karat hi awasar jasi chal Meaning Today you say that you will do devotion to God tomorrow and tomorrow you will again say tomorrowSaying tomorrow and tomorrow you lose the opportunity in this life Commentary We must do devotion to God now It is not good to think of doing it when we get older We may not reach old age and if we did we may not be able to do devotion due to disabilities We will then have regrets 26 aya hai so jayega raja rank fakir koi singhasan charhi chale koi bandhe jat janjir Meaning Who has come will go whether he is king pauper or fakirBut one goes sitting on a throne and another tied in chains Commentary Life in this world is very short who is born will certainly die even if he spends huge amounts of wealth to save his life We must therefore do virtuous actions so that our departure will be safe and peaceful and we will not go crying and regretting for our own actions 27 ek din aisa hoyega sab so pare bichhohu raja rana rao rank sawadh kyon nahi hohu Meaning A day will come when you will be separated from everythingWhether you are an emperor king landlord or pauper why do you not awaken Commentary One has to depart from this world leaving everything behind Why don39t you give up attachment to this material world and do devotion to the Supreme Lord that will lead you to immortality Kabir Saheb said to detach and attach detach from this world and attach to God 28 achhe din pachhe gaye kiya na hari se het ab pachhtaye hot kya jab chidiya chug gai khet Meaning All good days are gone and you did not show love for GodWhat will you do by regretting now when the birds have eaten up the grain of the farm Commentary You have to try to make the best use of your opportunity If you are lazy you will lose it and then have regrets In the same way try to make time for devotion to God when you are healthy and strong As old age and death approach you can do nothing 29 bin rakhware bahira chidiyon khaya khet adha pradha ubare cheti sake toh chet Meaning Without protection the birds are eating up the grain of the farmStill a little bit is remaining Protect it if you can Commentary Oh man Without protection from thieves lust anger greed etc and birds desires your farm of devotion to God is being plundered What little remains protect it with the help of Satguru Otherwise your life will be wasted in vain 30 kachi kaya man athir thir thir kam karant jyon jyon nar nidhadak phire tyon tyon kal hasant Meaning The body is perishable like an unbaked clay pot and the mind is restlessStill man delays in worldly actions unmindful of fear Death looks at him and laughs Commentary People don39t care about their short life in the world They don39t do devotion to God but remain involved in worldly affairs and get trapped by death They want liberation but put themselves in bondage 31 paw palak ki sudhi nahi kare kal ka saj kal achanak marasi jyon titar ko baj Meaning You do not know what will happen at the next moment but you are preparing for the distant futureDeath will come suddenly just as hawks pounce upon other birds Commentary People try to secure their future by collecting wealth through many proper or improper actions They do not prepare themselves to overcome the cycle of birth and death At last death overtakes them and they lose their opportunity to gain liberation 32 kali kal tat kal hai bura karo jini koi an bowai loha dahine bowai su lunata hoi Meaning In this Iron Age you get quick results for your actions so do not commit evilWhatever you sow that is what you will reap Commentary Every action has its equal and opposite reaction If one does wrong he does not have to wait long to get the results of his actions A farmer who sows wheat or corn reaps the same Therefore every one must try to sow good actions to get good results 33 mali awat dekhake kaliyan kari pukar fule fule chun liye kal hamari bari Meaning Seeing the gardener coming the buds started to lamentToday he plucks the blossoms and tomorrow it will be our turn Commentary Every mature person knows that one day he has to leave this world Everyone without exception goes through the same process Death is like a gardener waiting to pluck the mature flowers Therefore live wisely so that you do not have to lament later Attain God realization and liberation in this life 34 mati kahe kumbhar se tu kya rundhe mohi ek din aisa ayega mai rundhungi tohi Meaning The earth says to the potter Why are you kneading on me nowOne day will come when I will be kneading you Commentary At death every person will have to mix with the earth We must therefore not be proud of the body We must be humble and kind and try to learn from everything We have to be careful about our actions because what we will sow that is what we shall reap What you do to others will return to you 35 kabir garva na kijiye rank na hasiye koi ajahu naw samund me na jane kya hoi Meaning Kabir Saheb says Do not be proud of your wealth and do not laugh at any pauperYour boat is still in the ocean and you do not know what will happen Commentary People are very proud of their power and wealth and some unsympathetically laugh at the poor Kabir says that you are also in the boat of this world and the same poverty can befall you It is thus foolish to be proud or to laugh at the less fortunate WHERE IS GOD 36 ghat ghat mera saiyan suni sej na koi balihari ghat tasu ki ja ghat paragat hoi Meaning My Lord is dwelling in each and every heart not a single place is emptyBut that heart is great where God manifests His qualities Commentary Though God is omnipresent and dwells in every heart he is great who realizes God in his own heart and demonstrates divine qualities That is why people bow down to such a person with respect Such a person becomes a saint 37 kasturi kundali basai mrig dhundhe ban mahi aise ghati ghati ram hi duniya dekhai nahi Meaning Musk is in the navel of the musk deer but the deer searches for its fragrance everywhere in the forestIn the same way God dwells in every heart but people search for Him elsewhere and do not find Him Commentary Though the bliss of God39s love is in the human heart because of ignorance people do not know it and they search for bliss in worldly things Instead of bliss they get disappointment 38 saheb teri sahibi sab ghat rahi samai jyon mehendi ke pat me lali lakhi na jai Meaning O Almighty Your power dwells in every heart but is invisible It just as the red colour that resides in the green mehendi leaves and is invisible Commentary To get the red colour from the mehendi leaves one has to grind them into a fine paste and apply it on the hands When the paste dries and the hands are washed the red colour appears In the same way one has to grind cleanse his mind by meditation to realize God 39 pawak rupi saiyan sab ghat raha samai chit chakmak lage nahi tate bujhi bujhi jai Meaning God is like fire dwelling in each and every heartBut because the flint stone does not produce a spark in the heart it does not give light Commentary It is well known that the light of God shines in every heart but a person does not realize it because without sparking of the flint stone it does not appear The sparking is the yearning for God realization and the flint stone is initiation by Sadguru SUPREME UNION 40 lali mere lalaki jit dekhu tit lal lali dekhan mai gaie mai bhi ho gai lal Meaning The redness illumination of my Beloved is everywhere where ever I look there is only redWhen I went to see the redness I also became red illuminated Commentary When a devotee realizes God he sees illumination of God all over the world He also merges into God39s love in such a way that all the differences between him and God disappear He turns into a part and parcel of God He realizes sees only God and nothing else 41 jin dhunda tin payiya gahire pani paith mai bauri duban dari rahi kinare baith Meaning Those who searched by diving into the deep water found the treasureI foolishly feared drowning and remained sitting on the shore Commentary One who wants to get some pearls has to dive deeply into the ocean The person who fears drowning will not get anything In the same way he who wants God realization has to dive deeply in meditation and merge completely into God39s love 42 herat herat he sakhi rahya kabir herai bund samani samund me so kat heri jai Meaning Kabir says Searching over and over O my friend I lost myself in HimIts as the drop that mixes with the ocean Where can one search for it Commentary Kabir Saheb says I went searching for God but when I found Him then I knew that I was in Him There was no difference between Him and me I merged in Him just as a drop mixes with the ocean and then only the ocean remains 43 bund samani samund me janat hai sab koi samund samana bund me jane birala koi Meaning When a drop merges into the ocean everyone understands itBut when the ocean merges into the drop seldom does one understand it Commentary It is very simple to understand that a devotee merges into God but it is difficult to accept that God merges into a devotee Reality is the union of God and devotee and all differences are lost This state is rarely found God dwells in the heart of a devotee as an ocean is of the same essence as a drop 44 naina antar aaw tu nain jhapi tohi leu na mai dekhu aur ko na tohi dekhan deu Meaning O my Beloved Come into my eyes I will take you in and close themThen I will not see anyone else nor will I allow anyone else to see you Commentary Eyes are like doors and images enter through them to the heart The lover of God wants to realize His beauty in his heart He prays O my Beloved Please enter into my heart and I will close the door I will then see you all the time 45 naino ki kari kothari putali palang bichhai palako ki chik darike piya ko liya rijhai Meaning Kabir Saheb says I made my eyes into a bridal room and the pupils into a bridal bedI pulled down the curtains of the eyelids and pleased my Beloved Commentary The Beloved God is so unique that to please Him the devotee has to have a special love for Him The devotee has to offer his or her devotion in the same way that a very faithful bride gives her love and devotion to her husband Deep love exists between the devotee and God 46 chali jo putali launki thah sindhu ka len apuhi gali pani bhai ulati kahe ko bain Meaning A doll of salt entered the ocean to find its depthIt dissolved and turned into salty water Who will return to tell the depth Commentary God is like an ocean When a seeker wants to find His depth and enters into the region of God he himself merges into God Thus duality which is necessary to give a report does not exist He can thus say nothing about His depth because that is indescribable 47 jis marane se jag darai mere man anand kab marihau kab paihau puran parmanand Meaning The whole world fears death but death will be full of bliss for meI am waiting for death that will merge me into absolute bliss Commentary The person whose preparation is not complete has fear of death but if he had prepared himself perfectly he will have no fear Perfect preparation is necessary to get the best result in the test of life When one is prepared then he longs for bliss in union with God LOVE 48 akath kahani prem ki kahat kahi na jai gunge keri sarkara khaya aur muskai Meaning The story of God39s love is indescribable No description is befittingIts experience is just like that of a dumb person tasting candy He smiles but cannot describe it Commentary To describe the experience of God39s love is impossible One can understand it only when he experiences it No amount of description as in scriptures can make one experience something 49 pothi parhi parhi jag muva pandit bhaya na koi ekai akhar prem ka parhe so pandit hoi Meaning Having read many scriptures people died without realizationOne who reads only the one word Love becomes realized Commentary Knowledge of various scriptures cannot give a person realization His pride of learning becomes an obstacle on the path of realization Only a devotee who is humble has a loving heart and is dedicated can achieve realization God realization transcends the mind and intellect scriptures don39t 50 prem na badi nipje prem na hat bikai raja parja jis ruche sees deyi le jai Meaning Love is not grown in the field and it is not sold in the marketBut a king or a pauper who likes it offers his head to obtain it Commentary In the region of love there is no difference between a king and a pauper Who wants to get love has to give up his ego first All other wealth has no value in that region Love is a spiritual and not a material thing 51 prem gali ati sankari tame dou na samai jab mai tha tab hari nahi ab hari hai mai nahi Meaning The street of love is very narrow two cannot pass through it at the same timeWhen I was there was no God now there is God but I am not Commentary To attain perfect love one has to give up his ego which is the biggest obstacle on the path of God39s love When the ego disappears God appears As long as the ego is there God will not show His presence The devotee must give up his ego to realize God 52 tu tu karata tu bhaya mujhme rahi na hu bari pheri bali gaie jit dekhu tit tu Meaning Oh God By reciting your name all the time I merged in you and my ego disappearedMy troubles of transmigration disappeared Now wherever I look I see you Commentary The recitation of God39s name leads the devotee to God He reaches the state of union with God and his cycle of rebirths disappears It just as a drop of water that mixes with the ocean and its separateness disappears 53 premi dhundat mai phiru premi na miliya koi premi ko premi mile tab sab bish amrit hoi Meaning I wandered in search of a true lover but did not find anyWhen a lover meets another lover then all poison turns into nectar Commentary True lovers of God are rarely found but when they come together they rejoice and the nectar of love overflows This also helps other seekers to receive it and then nothing remains as poison but only as nectar of love 54 ram rasain prem ras pivat adhik rasal kabir pivan durlabh hai mange sis kalal Meaning The very powerful drug of God is nectar of love which is very sweetBut it is difficult to obtain because the seller asks for your head as its price Commentary No one can enter the region of God with his head on his shoulder ie with his ego Only the humble devotee can drink the nectar of God39s love One has to surrender completely to God to become a perfect devotee and to meet Him 55 piya chahe prem as rakha chahe man dou khadga ek miyan me dekha suna na kan Meaning One wants to drink the nectar of God39s love and also likes to keep his own prideI have never seen or heard that two swords are kept in one sheath Commentary It is not possible to drink the nectar of God39s love and still keep your pride because pride will not allow you to merge into God39s love and lose your identity Only when you surrender your ego can you enjoy the nectar of God39s love 56 kabir prem na chakhiya chakhi na liya saw sune ghar ka pahuna jyon awe tyon jaw Meaning Kabir says He who has not experienced the love of God and has not tasted the nectar of love has lost his visit just as a guest who comes to an empty house and departs Commentary Kabir says that the purpose of life is to do devotion and to experience God39s love If one does not perform devotion he wastes his life For that person the whole world is just like an empty house where his visit has no meaning and from where he departs with regret and disappointment 57 surati dhekuli lej lau man nil dholan har kamal kuwa me premras piwai barambar Meaning Meditation is the lever love is the rope and the mind is the peron for drawing the waterThe thousand petalled lotus is the well and Divine Love is the water The devotee drinks that water again and again Commentary The place of the thousand petalled lotus in meditation is full of God39s love The devotee thus meditates there ardently and drinks the nectar of God39s love again and again YEARNING 58 naina nijhar laiya rahat bahai nis jam papiha jyon piw piw kare kabahu milahuge ram Meaning Tears flow from my eyes just as water falling from a waterwheel day and nightI constantly call my Beloved like a papiha an Indian bird which constantly calls piwpiw Oh Lord when will you come to me Commentary The devotee has constant yearning for God and feels pangs of separation from Him He cries and without taking care of his body waits for his Beloved Lord and utters His name all the time 59 ambar kunja kuraliya garji bhare sab tal jin te govind bichhure tin ke kaun hawal Meaning The cry of the kunja bird separated from its mate makes the clouds thunder and cry showers to fill many pondsIf a mere bird suffers so much sorrow how much more will not the devotee suffer who is separated from God Commentary The lamentable cries of the separated kunja bird make the clouds figuratively and poetically cry in showers But the sorrow of separation of the devotee from God remains unmatched 60 is tan ka diwa karau bati melyu jiw lohi sincho tel jyon kab mukh dekhu piw Meaning I make my body into a lamp and my breath into a wickI make my blood into oil in the lamp and patiently wait to see my Lover39s face Commentary The soul is waiting to realize God and surrenders itself completely to God When a lady is separated from her beloved she waits patiently with lamp in hand so that she can see his face when he returns In the same way a devotee waits for God realization using his body as the lamp 61 hansi hansi kant na paiya jin paya tin roi jo hansi hi hari mile toh kaun dohagin hoi Meaning No one realizes his Beloved God by laughing enjoying worldly pleasures Those who realized God did so only after feeling pangs of separation from HimIf one can realize God while involved in worldly enjoyments then who will remain unfortunate Commentary For the realization of God it is necessary to feel pangs of separation from Him Without it the person who is involved in the objects of senses will not be able to become God realized DEVOTION 62 bhakti nisaini muktiki sant charhe sab dhai jin jin man alas kiya janam janam pachhitai Meaning Devotion is the ladder of salvation All saints climbed it with great love and effortThose who were lazy remained repenting and regretting for many births Commentary The purpose of human birth is to get salvation Therefore everyone should try to do devotion and make the best use of this life39s opportunity Otherwise one will repent and he has to take many incarnations to get salvation 63 pura saheb seiye sab vidhi pura hoi ochhe neh lagay ke mulahu awai khoi Meaning Do devotion to the Supreme Lord who is AbsoluteBy devotion to the other deities you will lose your capital this birth Commentary In business people invest to make a profit By unwise investment they can lose their capital In the same way if a person does devotion to or worships other beings or deities he can lose his life and get nothing Mature judgment and spiritual discrimination are needed to ensure the right path 64 kami krodhi lalachi inase bhakti na hoi bhakti karai koi surama jati varan kul khoi Meaning Lustful angry and greedy people cannot do devotionOnly a brave person without pride for his clan or caste can do devotion Commentary The mind of lustful angry and greedy people cannot be concentrated because of passions Devotion requires concentration There are five states of mind insane stupid restless concentrated and controlled The first two can39t do devotion the third has difficulty the fourth can and the fifth unites with God 65 jab lagi bhakti sakamata tab lagi nirphal seo kahai kabir ve kyon mile nihkami nij deo Meaning As long as devotion is full of worldly desires it is meaningless for realizationKabir says How can one realize the Supreme Lord who is above desires Commentary Devotion with worldly desires cannot lead the devotee to God realization Only the devotion with renunciation of desires can lead to such a realization A person cannot serve two masters at the same time If he wants to satisfy his sensual tastes he will not be able to satisfy God 66 jablag nata jati ka tablag bhakti na hoi nata todai hari bhajai bhakta kahawai soi Meaning As long as one has attachment and ego of caste and creed he cannot do devotionWhen he gives up ego of caste and creed and performs devotion then he becomes a true devotee Commentary As darkness and light cannot stay together similarly ego and devotion cannot stay together That is why a person has to give up his ego pride of high caste creed and dogma before God will accept him as a devotee 67 jal jyoun pyara machhari lobhi pyara dam mata pyara balaka bhakti pyara ram Meaning Just as a fish loves water and a greedy person loves wealth or as a mother loves her child just so God loves his devotee Commentary Only devotees can enter into the kingdom of God God makes the devotee pure by his devotion He loves the devotee just as the mother loves her child But the devotee has to dedicate everything to God as a child entrusts everything to his mother before God will shower His grace on him 68 bhagati dwar ati sankara rai dasave bhag man toh maingal hwai raha kaise awe jaya Meaning The door of devotion is very narrow ten times smaller than the mustard seedWhen the mind is behaving like an intoxicated elephant how can it pass through it Commentary On the path of devotion humility is most important There can be no devotion without humility If the mind is occupied by ego then it becomes like an intoxicated elephant and it cannot walk on the very delicate path of devotion 69 kabir seep samund ki ratai piyas piyas aur bund ko na gahai swati bund ki as Meaning A thirsty oyster in the ocean utters thirst thirst but does not want the ocean waterOpening its mouth it calls for the pure water drops falling from the sky Commentary The devotee does not want to be involved in the pleasure of worldly objects because they can give pleasure initially but suffering in the end He waits for the state of perfect bliss We must rely on God alone not on the world 70 kabir dhani te sundari jaya sadhu put ram sumari nirbhai bhaya sab jag gaya niput Meaning Kabir says That lady is a great mother who bears a saint as a sonHe becomes fearless with the devotion of God Compared to her the whole world is barren Commentary When a saint takes birth in the world he makes that clan great where he was born He himself achieves greatness with the devotion of the Supreme and his mother also achieves fame He becomes free from the fear of the cycle of birth and death and shares his fearlessness with others 71 kabir kutta ram ka mutiya mera nau gale ram ki jewari jit khechai tit jau Meaning Kabir says I am the faithful dog of God My name is Moti pearlHe put the collar of His name around my neck Wherever He pulls I follow Commentary Kabir Saheb teaches the way of complete surrender for the devotee Just as a loyal dog follows it39s master and accepts whatever his master gives him similarly the devotee follows the will of God and does not worry about anything God takes care of the devotee 72 kabir tu kahe dare sir par sirjan har hathi charhi kar doliye kukar bhuke hajar Meaning Kabir says O soul Why are you afraid God is your protectorIf you are riding on an elephant what harm can the barking dogs do Commentary O devotee Don39t be afraid of the comments of worldly people They are just like barking dogs Their noise will not harm you Keep your patience God is with you You will reach the high state with the help of Satguru under God39s protection RECOLLECTION 73 kabir sumiran sar hai aur sakal janjal adi ant sab sodhiya dutiya dekho kal Meaning Kabir says The recollection of God39s name is the essence of all essences and other methods of devotion are just uselessSearching from the beginning to the end I discovered that other methods lead to trouble Commentary The best way to do devotion is to recite God39s name Though there are other methods they start with trouble and lead to trouble When the devotee wants to come out of them he finds that he is already trapped in them 74 tat tilak tihu lok me satnam nij sar jan kabir mastak diya shobha agam apar Meaning Saheb says The essence of God39s name which is Sat Nam is the greatest in the three worldsI place it on my forehead and it gives me matchless beauty Commentary People put on the mark of sandalwood paste on their foreheads but Kabir Saheb says that instead of putting the mark of sandalwood paste one has to accept the greatness of God39s name on his head It is the greatest of all and it leads the devotee to salvation 75 lene ko hari nam hai dene ko annadan tarane ko adhinata duban ko abhiman Meaning In this world the only thing to take is the name of God and the only thing to give is foodThe only thing to liberate us is humble devotion and the only thing to drown us is egotism Commentary Only a humble person can walk on the path of devotion and get liberation from this worldly ocean An egotistic person never gets liberation If you want liberation be humble Devotion leads you to salvation and egotism to bondage 76 dukh men sumiran sab karai sukh me karai na koi jo sukh men sumiran karai toh dukh kahe ko hoi Meaning All pray to God when they suffer but not when they enjoy pleasuresIf they prayed to Him at the time of pleasure why should they have to suffer Commentary By praying to God one can remove his sufferings Sincere and unselfish prayer removes present sufferings and prevents future ones It is therefore better to pray at the time of pleasure also God cannot be bribed 77 mala toh kar me phire jibh phire mukh mahi manuwa toh chahu dis phire so toh sumiran nahi Meaning The rosary is moving in the hand and the tongue is moving in the mouthAnd the mind is wandering all around Certainly that is not sumiran or recollection of God39s name Commentary Many people do sumiran or pray by moving beads of the rosary in their hands and at the same time they talk of worldly things Their mind remains restless They move the rosary to make a show of their devotion Real sumiran is recollection of God39s name charged by the Guru with the concentration of the mind 78 mala pherat jug gaya gaya na man ka pher karka manka dari de manka manka pher Meaning Ages have gone while moving the rosary in the hand but the roaming of the mind has not goneTherefore give up the bead from your hand and make your mind the bead and turn it with the name of God Commentary A rosary helps in sumiran for counting but presence of mind is necessary If the mind is not there then movement of the rosary is useless It is just like a chain moving on the wheel of a machine For sumiran one has to make the rosary of his mind 79 mala toh hai kath ki usame dala sut mala bichari kya kare japane wala kaput Meaning Rosary is made of wooden beads which are strung on a threadWhat can the poor mala rosary do if the person using it is unworthy Commentary If someone moves a mala honestly for concentration of the mind using God39s name with every bead then the mala is useful otherwise the mala made of sandalwood or of glass or of any other material and thread is useless It depends on the person who is using it 80 kabir suta kya kare jagi na jape murai ek din aisa sowana lambe paw pasari Meaning Kabir says O man What are you doing sleeping in ignorance Why don39t you wake up and recite the name of God One day you will have to sleep with your arms and legs outstretched and you will never wake up Commentary If a person does not recite the name of God there is no difference between his waking and sleeping The sleep of ignorance will lead him to bondage and at last he will depart from the world regretfully 81 katha kirtan kali vishai bhowsagar ki naw kahe kabir jan taran ko nahi awr upaw Meaning In this age religious gathering and chanting of God39s name is the boat to cross the oceanKabir Saheb says that there are no other means to liberation for the common people in this world Commentary In this age people do not have time to do austerity They cannot pray to God all the time so the best way for them is to gather together to pray and to chant God39s name This is a simple path for them to obtain salvation THE MIND 82 sakalo durmati dur karu achha janam banaw kag gawan gati chhadike hansa gawan chali aw Meaning Oh brothers Remove your wicked thoughts and make your life bright goodGive up the behaviour of crows and come to me in the manner of swans Commentary Those who want to do devotion to God must give up bad behaviour which is like that of crows which eat carrion Accept the path of discrimination as the mythological swan that drinks milk good and rejects water evil 83 pahale yaha man kag tha karata jiwan ghat ab toh man hansa bhaya moti chug chug khat Meaning At first the mind was just like a crow and was involved in violent actions Now the mind became like a swan and picks up and eats the pearls Commentary When my mind was involved in the fulfillment of desires it was going in many wrong directions But by the grace of Guru my mind became pure It gave up the desires of worldly pleasures and being peaceful now it eats the pearls of perfect bliss 84 tan bohit man kag hai lakh jojan udi jai kabahi dariya agam bahi kabahi gagan samai Meaning The body is like a ship and the mind like a bird that can fly far awaySometimes it flies far away in the ocean sometimes high in the sky and in a moment returns to the ship body Commentary The mind wanders flies far away and in different directions It becomes tired and returns to the body because it has no other resting place When the mind is controlled its energy can be used beneficially for spiritual growth 85 man matang mane nahi chale surati ke sath mahavat bichara kya kare ankush nahi hath Meaning The mind is like an intoxicated elephant It follows the thought waves all the timeWhat can the poor elephant driver do if he does not have a controlling hook in his hand Commentary As an elephant driver mahout needs a pointed iron hook to control the elephant all the time just so a devotee must have the hook of discriminative spiritual knowledge to control the mind The Guru gives that discriminative knowledge to the disciple 86 man ke hare har hai man ke jite jit parmatam ko paiye manahi ke partit Meaning A person defeated by his mind is really defeated and who conquers his mind is really victorious One can realize God with the firm faith of a conquered mind Commentary When the mind is under control it will not follow sense objects but will follow the path of God the path of devotion and this will lead the devotee to realization With faith it will remove all sufferings Absolute peace comes through the controlled mind 87 dhire dhire re mana dhire sab kuch hoi mali sinche sau ghada ritu awe phal hoi Meaning O mind Be patient Everything comes with patienceAlthough the gardener waters the plants hundreds of times they bloom only when their season comes Commentary On the path of devotion we have to remain patient all the time Hurry and speed disturb the mind39s equilibrium Everything in this world takes time to be completed Therefore don39t become impatient or discouraged 88 mana ke mate na chaliye man hai pakka dut le bore bhowdhar me jaya hathse chhut Meaning Don39t follow the path of the mind It is a perfect devilIt will drown you in the miserable world by getting out of your control Commentary The mind full of passions leads a person to wrong actions It is not good for a devotee to follow the mind He has to try to control the mind by using discriminative knowledge given by his Guru He can thus protect himself from drowning in the world of transmigration and misery 89 darsan karana chahiye toh darpan malate rahiye darpan me lag gaie kaie toh daras kahan te paie Meaning If you want to see your face you have to clean the mirrorIf there is dirt on the mirror then how can you see your face Commentary For Selfrealization it is very essential to clean the heart by removing all doubts that are just like dust on the mirror For the realization of God within the devotee must have firm faith and discriminative spiritual knowledge to be free from the illusions of the mind 90 hridaya bhitar arasi mukh dekha nahi jai mukh to tabahi dekhiho jab dilki dubidha jai Meaning There is a mirror in the heart but you don39t see your face in itYou will see your face only when you remove the doubts from the heart Commentary As long as doubts occupy your mind and heart you cannot get realization Doubts can be removed only by the discriminative knowledge of the Guru The disciple has to ask the Guru to remove all his doubts and to develop true faith in his heart 91 kabir man nirmal bhaya jaise ganga nir pichhe lage hari phire kahat kabir kabir Meaning Kabir says When the mind becomes pure calm and without doubts just as the water of the upper Ganges is pure then God follows the devotee at every step calling his name Kabir Kabir Commentary When the mind becomes free from all worldly desires and merges in God then the devotee realizes God within himself He then lives with God Wherever he goes God goes with him because he does not feel separated from God THE WORLD 92 yaha aisa sansar hai jaisa semal phul din das ke vyouhar ko jhute rangi na bhul Meaning The world is just like the flower of the semal silkcotton treeIts pretty colour is for a few days Don39t forget its deceiving nature Commentary The semal flower is very pretty and when the bird is attracted expecting sweet nectar it is disappointed a it finds it filled with cotton Remember the world is used for a short while Don39t become absorbed in its false colours 93 kajal keri kothari taisa yaha sansar balihari wa das ki paithi ke niksan har Meaning The world is like a coal cellar and nobody comes out of it unsoiledKabir says That devotee is great who comes out of it unsoiled Commentary Whoever comes into the world becomes involved in the worldly desires actions and passions and gets his heart soiled But whose heart is full of devotion to God remains clean because the mask of devotion protects him 94 mor tor ki jewari bali bandha sansar kasi kanduwa sut kalit dajhan barambar Meaning The world is tied with the rope of mine and thine just like a goat going to be slaughteredThe relationships torture like the sword grass and the person burns in the fire of attachment Commentary Thoughts of mine and thine create the attachments for the person trapped in them Then the soul wanders in the cycle of birth and death and feels burning pain Only nonattachment can give liberation to a person 95 jihi ghar sadhu na pujiye hari ki seva nahi te ghar marghat sarikhe bhut basai tin mahi Meaning That house where a saint does not receive respect and hospitality and where no one does devotion to God that house is like a cremation ground and only ghosts live there Commentary The duty of a householder is to serve the saints and to do devotion to the Supreme Lord This makes his home holy and his heart pure He thus washes out effects of bad actions and gets the grace of God The test of the greatness of a person is devotion to God 96 deha dhare ka dand sab kahu ko hoi gyani bhogai gyan se murakh bhogai roi Meaning With the body there is suffering for everyoneA saint accepts that suffering with knowledge but an ignorant person cries out with it Commentary When understanding develops about creation and how the Law of Karma operates it gives tolerance to physical suffering This is the difference between a saint who understands and accepts and the average person who does not and thus suffers 97 bairagi birkat bhala girahi chitt udar dui chuka rita padai taku war na par Meaning Kabir says A renunciate must live with detachment and the householder must live with a generous heartIf both give up these qualities it will be a limitless loss Commentary This is the advice of Kabir Saheb for the renunciate and the householder to maintain the balance of living on the devotional pathIf a renunciate becomes attached and a householder becomes miserly both will spoil devotion 98 jaisa bhojan khaiye taisa hi man hoi jaisa pani pijiye taisi bani hoi Meaning The type of food you eat determines the type of mind you39ll haveSimilarly the type of drink you take determines the type of words you39ll speak Commentary Because eating and drinking play a great part in human lives every person has to be careful about them Eating violent killed types of food produces a violent mind Similarly intoxicating drinks produce their own type of speech 99 put piyaro pitah ko gohari laga dhai lobh mithai hathi de apan gaya bhulai Meaning The son soul wants to embrace the father God with love He calls and runs towards his fatherBut the father places some attractive sweets into his son39s hands and hides himself Commentary The soul because of its nature loves God and wants to meet Him On the path he faces temptations sweets of worldly pleasures that become obstacles for God realization Therefore a devotee must try to avoid those pleasures that distract him from the goal 100 tum jani jano yaha geet hai yaha nij brahm vichar keval kahi samujhaiya atam gyan sar Meaning This is not a song as you think This is knowledge of the Supreme dwelling in your selfI only explain with words but it is the essence of knowledge of the Supreme Being Commentary Kabir Saheb did not write songs for entertainment as many other poets did but his poetry is full of wisdom of the Supreme Being He explained that God and the Soul are one Thus the knowledge of the Soul is knowledge of God 101 kahata hun kahi jat hun kahu bajawat dhol swasa khali jat hai tin lok ka mol Meaning I am saying again and again and with the beating of drumsYour breaths more valuable than the three worlds are wasted in vain Commentary Kabir saheb says that the main purpose of life is to do devotion and get salvation but people do not pay attention to his advice He spoke loudly and instructed everyone to take the name of God because the breath life is most valuable There is salvation in life but not in death SELECTIONS FROM THE BIJAK 1 jahiya janm mukta hata tahiya hata na koichhathi tumhari hown jaga tu kahan chala bigoi Meaning O soul Before birth you were free and had no worldly bondage with a bodyThen your sixth sense mind arose now where are you wandering as if lost Commentary Guru Kabir is here speaking of the soul prior to being born in this physical body The soul is eternally free until it comes into the bondage of the body and the world It begins to be preoccupied with satisfying all kinds of desires and seeking material pleasures It forgets its original pristine state of existence Once the mind arose as a sixth sense and an instrument to be used by the soul it started to create all types of desires and passions It has become entangled in the material pursuits of the world It has become deluded thinking that the evanescent material things are really the Reality In fact all material things are temporary but the soul is eternal as it is Divine in nature The mind does not recognize this It is thus that Guru Kabir is saying that the soul was free but because of the mind and its delusions it has become trapped in the material world and is wandering in a lost state One has to return to a realization of the pristine and free nature of the soul 2 shabd hamara tu shabd ka suni mati jahu sarak jo chaho nij tatv ka to shabdahi lehu parakh Meaning The Shabd Word is mine and you are produced by Shabd listen to it and do not shun itIf you wish to realize your own Reality then realize the Shabd Commentary Guru Kabir is stating that he has realized the Word and states that we are all produced by the power of the Word We must try to realize that Word and not try to avoid it Everything in the universe proceeded from the Word of God That Word also manifests as our own Reality which is the Divine Soul He thus states that if you wish to know your own Reality then you must realize the Shabd To realize the Shabd means that you have to enter into meditation with the mind absolutely still Meditation is the only path to realization of your own true Self which is the Word manifesting within 3 shabd harmara adi ka shabdai paita jiw phul rahana ki tokari ghore khaya ghiw Meaning My Word is from the beginning and the soul resides in the WordThe basket is for holding flowers while the horse is eating up the ghee Commentary In the beginning was the Word Shabd and from the Word proceeded the Soul and then all material manifestations including the human form It is thus that Guru Kabir states that in the beginning there was the Word and the Soul resides in the Word It is the Soul that animates the body and gives it consciousness and makes it 39beautiful39 He compares the beautiful flowers that are kept in a basket They are fragrant and beautiful to look at Similarly if through meditation you are able to realize your own soul you will also realize the beauty of the soul as it is an express of the Word In India it is common to feed ghee clarified butter to the horses when it is mixed up with other grains Ghee is a delicacy in India The horse eats the ghee with the grains but does not know that the ghee is a delicacy prized by humans Similarly the person who is not awakened to reality of his own self does not realize the greatness of his own soul Another explanation is that the clarified butter is contained in the milk that is being churned to produce it The ghee is hidden in that milk but it is not seen just so the soul is hidden within the body but the unrealized person does not perceived it 4 shabd bina surati andhari kaho kahan ko jai dwar na pawai shabd ka phirphir bhataka khai Meaning Meditation without the Word is blind tell me where can it lead youWhen meditation does not reach the door of the Word then again and again it strays Commentary The Shabd Word is the origin of all manifestation The Word is the power of God In meditation we need to delve into the Word and experience it personally If this is not achieved then meditation abandons the devotee as his meditation wanders from subject to subject and ideas to ideas To truly understand meditation one has to still the mind so that there is no distraction Only then can the Word be experienced in the depth of one39s own consciousness This realization of the Word gives stability in spiritual life and removes all doubts 5 shabdshabd bahu antare sar shabd mathi lijai kahahin kabir jahan sar shabd nahi dhrig jiwan so jijai Meaning There is much difference between word and word but churn the essence of the WordKabir says where there is not the essence of the Word then that life is cursed Commentary If we think of a word in ordinary usage then every word has a different meaning But when we think of the Word then it is the essence of all words and it is the essence of our being It is essential that we know this Word by churning it over and over in our mind and then meditating on it until we realize its essence Guru Kabir is saying that where this essence of the Word is not realized then that life is indeed cursed By this he means that a person who has not realized his own essential nature which is the Word dwelling within then he wanders in the world of desires and passions and suffers Tranquility and bliss is attained when one realizes the Word 6 shabdai mara gir para shabdai chhora raj jinjin shabd vivekiya tinka sarigow kaj Meaning Being struck by the Word one falls down and one can also give up the whole kingdomWhoever deeply considers the Word will have his life39s goals fulfilled Commentary Guru Kabir is again speaking of the Power of the Word To fall down means that you have become humble when you realize the Word On realizing the Word and its Divine significance a king will often give up his kingdom History tells us that many kings have given up their kingdom to follow a saint One who really considers the Word deeply and has the meaning imprinted on his heart will find that his life runs very smoothly He is contented and peaceful His life is full of harmony Whatever he undertakes he undertakes with a very positive attitude and will often have success whereas others may fail God is the source of all power and well being The person who realizes the Word of God is truly the blessed one 7 shabd hamara adi ka palpal karahu yad ant phalegi manhali upar ki sab bad Meaning My Word is from the very beginning remember it at every momentIt will bear inner fruit while all other words are useless Commentary In this sakhi Guru Kabir is saying that the Word that he has realized is from the very beginning and was coeternal with God He exhorts us to remember this Word from moment to moment for it is this Word that gives enlightenment It allows us to realize our own eternal nature If we meditate on the Word then it will bear fruit within us That means that our own consciousness will be elevated and enlightened All other words that we use and think upon are only external and they will not lead us to the treasure which we seek in spiritual life Realization of the Self is an inner journey and all words used in languages are of no use 8 jin jin sambal na kiyo as pur patan pai jhali pare din athaye sambal kiyo na jai Meaning Whoever being in a perfect city does not take provisions for the journey will not be able to obtain provisions when darkness falls and the day has ended Commentary People are prone to procrastination This is especially true when it comes to a religious or spiritual life Most people especially when they are young tend to put off practicing a spiritual life until they are older In youth they are more interested in the pleasures of the world For this reason we do not find too many young people who are committed to a spiritual life In the above sakhi Guru Kabir points this out in simple and beautiful language Sambal is the food people take on a journey The city has every kind of food stuff and it is wise to take provisions for the journey from the city If one does not do so and night falls while he is on the way it will be very difficult for him to get food The 39city39 Guru Kabir refers to is the body and the darkness is old age ignorance impairment of the senses and mental and physical illness The 39day39 refers to youth If in youth we do not take provisions when we have a healthy body by which we can obtain the necessary spiritual 39food39 for life39s journey then how are we going to obtain them when we are disabled and are suffering In this connection Guru Kabir pointed out jo kal karna hai aj kar le jo aj karna hai so ab kar le What you plan to do tomorrow do today what you plan to do today do now Let us not procrastinate any longer You can easily train and shape a young and growing tree but not a fully grown one 9 yahan i sambal kari le age vishyi bat swarg bisahan sab chale jahan baniya na hat Meaning Make provisions for your life here the next path is full of lustAll are trying to buy heaven but there is no trader and no shop for obtaining it Commentary Guru Kabir instructs us in this sakhi that we must make provisions for our spiritual welfare in this human life This will not be possible in any other form of life The next path to which he refers is that which is different from the human life ie the path of animal life No animal is capable of making provisions for its spiritual welfare ie to obtain liberation This is possible only in the human form The animal life is characterized by four qualities 1 eating 2 sleeping 3 mating procreation and 4 defending As you can see the animal is concerned only with its food sleeping procreating and defending itself and its young and has no conception whatsoever about God and liberation It is felt that animals are there only to enjoy or suffer the consequences of karmas and they cannot do anything about it In human life however everyone can do something about his or her life in order to make it better and to achieve a spiritual goal Guru Kabir says that people everywhere are occupied in religious activities in trying to attain heaven literally to 39buy39 heaven But unfortunately there is no seller and no shop where one can go and obtain heaven The various external religious practices such as going to church pilgrimages and rituals etc will not buy heaven A fortunate devotee can obtain heaven if he obtains a spiritual master who can show him the 39inner spiritual path39 through which he can obtain it 10 jo janahu jiw apana karhu jiw ko sar jiyara aisa pahuna mile na duji bar Meaning If you think of your human life as your own then take good care of it Human life is such a guest that it rarely comes a second time Commentary This sakhi is similar to the last one We value human life dearly and try to preserve it at all cost but often we neglect its spiritual welfare It is only in the human life that we can elevate ourselves from spiritual darkness to spiritual enlightenment Thus Guru Kabir tells us to take good care of it ie to purify ourselves and live a virtuous life and meditate on God the only Reality and obtain salvation Unless we live a virtuous life it is possible to slip back into lower life forms in order to suffer out the effects of karmas It will not then be possible to live a spiritual life Be spiritual now 11 jo janahu jag jiwana jo janahu so jiw pani pachawahu apana pani mangi na piw Meaning He who understands the mystery of life in this world understands the soulHe should digest his own water and not ask to drink the same water again Commentary This sakhi deals with the progressive advancement of the soul towards God realization The whole mystery of life is based on the Law of Karma action and reaction made possible when the soul attaches itself with intellect mind ego body etc and the three gunas qualities Actions then determine what happens in our lives the present one and future lives The mysteries are such things as Why did God create us How does the soul exist in us What happens to the soul at death Why is there suffering in innocent children and people All of life is a mystery until we understand the soul in relation to God on the one hand and with the body and mind on the other Along the way we have to perform actions which can either elevate or lower us spiritually But since we would like to enjoy happiness or bliss or obtain salvation then our actions should be noble and righteous so that we progress higher with each succeeding life Guru Kabir uses water figuratively to mean karmas If we digest our karmas then they are finished and will not produce undesirable effects As we progress higher we should not indulge in the same karmas as previously or else we will stagnate Thus he instructs us not to drink the same water again 12 pani piyawat kya phiro ghar ghar sayar bari trishawant jo hoiga piwega jhakh mari Meaning O Poet Why do you wander from house to house offering water to othersHe who is thirsty will helplessly come to you to drink Commentary In this sakhi Guru Kabir refers to the guru or priest as the poet and the guru mantra or spiritual instruction as the water He asks the guru what need is there to go about offering spiritual instructions to others who are not ready for them Those who are ready for spiritual instruction will themselves search for it and come to the source where it is available just as one who is thirsty will seek out water This sakhi can be interpreted in two ways Firstly there are many so called gurus who travel about initiating people in order to gain disciples and thus make a living Many of these disciples are not true seekers after spiritual wisdom Secondly a guru should not initiate give spiritual instruction to those who do not know its value and prefer to remain in spiritual darkness 13 hansa moti bikaniya kanchan thar bharai jo jako marm na janai so tako kahh karai Meaning The soul is sold for a golden dish full of pearlsWhat can he do with it who does not know its value Commentary It is well known that in the world the majority of people will pursue material wealth There are rare ones who will pursue spiritual wealth Pearls here represent spiritual wisdom or spiritual teachings given by a master to his disciple That disciple who has the gift of spiritual discrimination will be able to make use of the teachings but the disciple lacking spiritual discrimination will not be able to make use of the divine teachings given by his master In this sakhi Guru Kabir is pointing out to us what we should already know but which we seem to disregard As an example he stated Though the bee is far away it will come to the flower attracted by its fragrance What can the poor frog do though it is right on the lotus The injunction here is that we must not seek material treasures which cannot give us ultimate happiness freedom and liberation We must seek the spiritual wealth by using our discriminative intelligence and attain salvation 14 hansa tu subarn barn kya barnow mai tohi tariwar pai paheliho tabai sarahown tohi Meaning O Soul You are of wondrous golden color how can I adequately describe youHaving obtained the human body if you depart stainless then I will truly appreciate you Commentary The soul exists in all beings And because it is Divine in nature Guru Kabir describes it as having a wondrous golden color Yet it is very difficult to describe the Soul as it is beyond the comprehension of our material senses and mind The word tariwar means a tree and paheli means a riddle Tree here refers to the body and the riddle is the riddle of existence ie the soul emanating from God and inhabiting a body It is the duty of the soul to purify itself and become stainless ie free from all evils passions violence etc and to realize its unity with God its source Guru Kabir makes the point that although the soul is Divine in nature if it is occupied with evils and passions and thus becomes stained then judging from our human standpoint it has debased itself and is not of much value On the other hand if the soul purifies itself and departs from this body it will unite with God Such a soul is worthy of appreciation It is our duty in this life to live righteously humbly free from passions and material entanglement and to realize our unity with God 15 hansa tu toh sabal tha haluki apni chal ranga kuranga rangiya tain kiya owr lagwar Meaning O soul You were strong and your conduct was gracefulNow you are colored with evil colors and have made others your lover Commentary In this sakhi Guru Kabir is comparing the soul before and after taking on the human body At first the soul was pure as it was part of God and possessed Divine qualities and spiritual strength The soul however on taking a human body and coming into the world becomes colored with the various colors of the world ie entangled with worldly activities and passions such as greed pride insincerity lust anger corruption etc In the human form it has forgotten its own true nature and its relationship with God It has fallen in love with ego and material pursuits We must understand though that the soul is potentially Divine Only when it has become associated with the human attributes that it has become evil Life39s purpose is to realize the Divinity of the soul and thus become free from the evil colors 16 hansa sarwar taji chale dehi parigow sun kahahi kabir pukarike tehi dar tehi thun Meaning The swan departed from the pond leaving it lifelessKabir proclaims that it has returned to the same door and the same pillar Commentary In this sakhi Guru Kabir compares the swan to the soul and the pond to the body Just as the swan flies away from the pond just so the soul leaves the body which becomes a corpse He states however that the soul has returned to the same door and the same pillar which means that the soul did not obtain liberation and had to return to the same material world assuming a body again As long as the soul is bound by desires of the material world it will keep on returning here until it can free itself through spiritual growth and obtain liberation 17 hans baku dekha ek rang charen hariyare tal hans chhir te janiye bakuhi dharenge kal Meaning We see that the swan and the crane have the same color and move about in the same pondThe swan is known by testing with milk and the crane is immediately revealed Commentary Both the swan and the crane may be white but their natures are different If we judge by external appearance then we will be misled If milk is used as a test the swan will drink the milk but the crane will reject it Furthermore the crane is known for stalking and pouncing on the fish and swallowing it whole The swan is used to symbolize spiritual nature and the soul but the crane is used to symbolize evil The swan figuratively separates the milk from the water and drinks it indicating it uses its discriminative intellect The crane shows no such discriminative intellect The lesson from this sakhi is that there are both spiritual and nonspiritual people in the world The spiritual ones are revealed by their righteous living whereas the nonspiritual ones are revealed by their evil desires and passions 18 kahe harini dubri yahi hariyare tal lachh aheri ek mrig ketik taron bhal Meaning Oh deer Why are you so emaciated when this pond is full of lush green vegetationThere are a hundred thousand hunters and one doe How can she save her head Commentary In this sakhi Guru Kabir is describing the plight of the soul Although the soul dwells in God39s presence it is deprived of that beneficial knowledge because it is caught up in the innumerable problems of existence The soul becomes as helpless as the doe which is surrounded by hunters The hunters here are the desires passions ego greed anxieties attachments etc which govern people39s lives As long as one does not use his intellect wisely and control his mind and seek out 39spiritual food39 and obtain liberation he will be killed by the 39hunters39 19 tin lok bhow pinjara pap punya bhow jal sakal jiw sawaj bhaye ek aheri kal Meaning The three worlds are like a cage and sin and virtue are like a netAll the souls have become prey and the one hunter is kal Commentary The three worlds are spoken of as heaven earth and hell The souls are thought to be confined to these three spheres of existence These three however are the creation of the mind and they thus become the cage which entrap the soul within Popular religion will thus say there is no escape from these three and that one can be in any of the three depending upon one39s spiritual attainment or lack of it From the point of view of the soul there is no need to create hell and heaven because is a continuum from the unspiritual to the higher spiritual level and there is no clear dividing line which can state that a soul deserves to be in either hell or heaven Similarly sin and virtue are like a net woven by the mind and the latter becomes trapped in it being buffeted from one side to the other What is thought of as being sinful can really be thought of as error due to inadequate knowledge or spiritual development Thus the concept of sin can be dispensed with However since we live with these concepts they serve as a net to trap us Kal is time and everything is subject to change decay or death in time This is why time is thought to be the one hunter from which nothing escapes This is so only from our relative human stand point but not from the eternal stand point of the soul The soul being Divine is eternal and is beyond the scope of time space and death The teaching of this sakhi is that if we live a Divine life then we can dispense with the ideas of heaven earth hell sin virtue and time As Guru Kabir has pointed out No one has returned from the other side to tell us what it is like 20 lobhe janm gamaiya papai khaya pun sadhi so adhi kahai tapar mera khun Meaning Greed makes you waste your life and evil actions nullify the good actionsIf you belittle a devotee than I am annoyed Commentary We all know that greed brings a lot of distress and will often get us into trouble Contentment is definitely better than greed Similarly if you wish to reap the benefits of virtuous actions then you must avoid evil actions Evil thoughts and actions can never bring good Similarly good thoughts and actions can never bring evil Guru Kabir is saying that devotees practice a righteous life but there are many people who criticize the spiritual person He states that he is annoyed or angry with those people who look down upon the devotees of God and either scorn or punish then We need to have respect for the devotees for they undergo a great deal of austerity and self control in order to maintain their spiritual status Instead we should learn from them how to elevate our own lives 21 adhi sakhi sir khari jo niruwari jai kya pandit ki pothiya rat diwas mili gai Meaning Half the time death is hanging on your head Remove it if you canWhat use are the pandit39s books which day and night sing of removing it Commentary Death is ever standing on our heads and we do not know at what time it will strike We must thus always be prepared for death The best way to be prepared for death is to free ourselves from the various entanglements in the world We must free ourselves from the various passions of ego greed hate prejudice etc and make our minds pure Books will often describe in detail the benefit to be derived from spiritual life They will talk about liberation from this world of bondage People will read these books and feel that they have gained a great deal of knowledge and are ready to face death Guru Kabir is saying on the other hand that reading all these books only gives you book knowledge and will not prepare you in a practical way to be a spiritual person and to face death fearlessly A person must develop into a spiritual being in all spheres of activities ie thought word and deed These accompanied by purity of heart will make him fit to enter into a knowledge of God He then faces death fearlessly realizing that death is only a transition to another life 22 panch tatva ka putara yukti rachi main kiw main tohi puchhow pandita shabd bada ki jiw Meaning God made this body skilfully with the five elements and the body cried I II ask you O Pandit Is the Word greater or is the Soul Commentary Using the five elements of earth water fire air and ether God made this body very skilfully In the gyan gudri it is figuratively stated that God used the Word as the needle Meditation as the thread Knowledge as the stitch and made this body in a marvellous way just as a quilt is made of various pieces of cloth Without God this body can have no existence Yet one becomes full of ego and utters I I taking credit for his existence and accomplishments Guru Kabir put the pandit into a quandary by asking him whether the Word or the Soul is greater All existences proceeded from the Word of God also every Soul was contained in God and is coeternal with God In this case the Soul refers to man with a body of five elements which must of necessity come into existence by the power of the Word Thus it can be seen that the Word is greater than the Soul 23 panch tatva ka putara manush dhariya nawn ek kala ke bichhure vikal hot sab thawn Meaning The body is made of five elements and is named humanIf deprived of one element it becomes restless at every step Commentary The body is made of five elements earth water fire air and ether Being with the body have we been named 39human39 ie who use the mind man If this body is deprived of one element eg air then it becomes restless and dies This indicates the fragility of the human body There is no need to be engrossed in pride and ego Esoterically speaking the one element Guru Kabir refers to here is knowledge of the Self Without knowledge of the real Self which is God dwelling within man does not achieve peace of mind the peace that passeth all understanding He is caught up in a merrygoaround of the material world and is driven by cravings and passions which keep him in turmoil all his life Every person desires peace of mind and happiness These can be achieved only by that Supreme Knowledge which gives total freedom That Supreme Knowledge is of the Self 24 rangahi te rang upaje sab rang dekha ek kown rang hai jiw ka taka karahu vivek Meaning One color arises from another color but basically all colors are oneWhat is the color of the Soul Try to understand the difference Commentary One color arises from another color as is well known The primary colors red blue and green can be mixed to produce a number of secondary colors and these secondary colors can be mixed to produce an endless variety of tertiary colors Guru Kabir is using this analogy to state that the various forms that exist in the universe are derived from the same basic form which is termed matter and which is unconscious This unconscious matter exists in endless variety but nevertheless they remain gross matter and lifeless He then asks the question about what color is the Soul And he says that we must try to understand what is the difference between the soul and matter Is the soul conscious or unconscious Is it physical or nonphysical Is it reproducible as various colors or various forms of matter or is it nonreproducible and unitary Does it have form or is it formless These and similar questions are implied in this question asked by Guru Kabir Every person who is a true seeker of spiritual understanding must at some point try to understand what the Soul is because by this understanding one understands one39s real Self 25 jagrat rupi jiw hai shabd sohaga set jard bund jal kukuhi kahahi kabir koi dekh Meaning The soul39s nature is wakefulness and the Word purifies it as white borax purifies goldKabir says that the body is like the wild hen produced from a pale drop Hardly anyone understands it Commentary This sakhi expresses a profound metaphysical fact The soul is nonmaterial and derived from God As such it is of the nature of consciousness and free from all defects It is purity itself But on coming into the world occupying a body it becomes tainted with worldly things and loses its original consciousness of itself and its source The Word of God imparted by a spiritual teacher is like the white borax which is used to purify gold Just as the gold becomes pure just so the soul is made to realize its own purity Guru Kabir uses the example of the body being formed from a pale drop which represents semen The body develops after the semen fertilizes the ovum The body by itself devoid of the soul is inert matter and it has no consciousness With the soul it becomes a conscious being However if it does not seek the Word then it remains like the wild hen not growing in wisdom and spirituality The purpose of life is to realize what the soul is and its connection with God Guru Kabir states that hardly do people understand this kind of knowledge 26 panch tattv le ya tan kinha so tan le kahi le dinha karmahi ke bas jiw kahat hai karmahi ko jiw dinha Meaning The body is made of five elements Getting the body what have you done with itIt is said that karmas control the soul and that the soul is given to perform karmas Commentary This body is made up of five gross elements earth water fire air and ether These are not the chemical elements of chemistry but are the solids liquids heat air and space which composed the body These are necessary for all material manifestation when they are combined in various proportions The body is the gift of God which the soul acquires God is the Giver If the recipient does not use a gift properly the giver becomes unhappy about it Similarly God would like to know that the recipient of the body uses that body properly Thus Guru Kabir asked the question What have you done with itThis sakhi touches upon the Law of Cause and Effect It is the Law of Karma Once the soul acquires the body it begins to partake in various activities These determine what the soul will do in the future If a person performs karmas that will keep him entangled in the material world then after death the soul must return in another body in order to reap its reward and punishments It is impossible to live without performing actions but all saints have taught that one must become detached from actions ie perform them without the motive of personal gain This is a vast topic which cannot be fully explained here But until the soul becomes free of karmas it cannot obtain salvation It is in this way that karmas control the soul by making it be born over and over again in the cycle of birth and death 27 panch tattv ke bhitare gupt bastu asthan birla marm koi pai hain guru ke shabd praman Meaning Inside the body of five elements is the place of a hidden thingHardly does anyone know this secret The guru39s word is the only authority Commentary The body is made of five gross elements but of itself is only matter and therefore lifeless The soul is imperceptible but it animates the body and maintains life We do not really know what the soul is The importance of the guru is that he is able to teach you authoritatively what the soul is He also instructs you how to proceed by delving inwards through introspection and meditation to obtain an understanding of the soul Unless you understand and have a personal knowledge of what the soul is and what is its relationship with God you will remain on the fringes of religion and spiritual life You must reach the core of spiritual life in order to obtain liberation That core is that 39hidden thing39 which resides within the body 28 asunn takhat adi asana pind jharokhe nur take dil me hown basa saina liye hajur Meaning He who sits on the steadfast throne of realization has light shinning from the window heart of his bodyI with my army dwell in the heart of such a devotee Commentary The devotee who is God realized is steadfast in his knowledge of God He is thus said to be seated on a steadfast throne of realization This means that he cannot be shaken from his knowledge of realization because he no longer has any doubts about himself about God and about God39s manifestation in the universe He lives a spiritual life and manifests the qualities of God He is thus said also to have light shining from his heart This means that his life is illuminated by the Light of God All the noble qualities of God shine forth from him Guru Kabir is speaking as God Himself here and He says that He dwells in the heart of such a devotee with His army The army here refers to the qualities possessed by God These qualities are knowledge bliss purity love forgiveness harmony and other such qualities which we ascribe to God All devotees aspire to attain such a state of God Realization but that realization depends on the devotee39s sincerity devotion and commitment to reaching such a goal Once he obtains such a state he becomes an illumined soul or a God realized soul 29 hridia bhitar arasi mukh dekha nahin jai mukh to tabahi dekhiho jab dil ki dubidha jai Meaning The mirror is in your heart but you cannot see your face in itYou will see your face only when you remove all doubts from your heart Commentary The mirror is really the mind which reflects what you really are Just as a dirty mirror cannot reflect a clear image just so an impure mind cannot reflect what you truly are When the mind is full of impure thoughts passions and various types of greed attachments etc then it will not be able to see God who is the Real Being within as the Soul The mind must be purified in order to see yourself just as you clean the mirror to see your face clearly Guru Kabir says If you wish to see yourself in the mirror then you must keep it clean if the mirror becomes dirty how can you see yourself Spiritual life consists in systematically purifying the mind thus freeing it from all impurities in thought word and deed This is the only way to realize God within yourself and obtain liberation 30 gawn unche pahar par ow mota ki bahh kabir as thakur seiye ubariye jaki chhahh Meaning Kabir says that one should live on a high mountain and hold on to the arm of a strong personOne should serve such a master under whose refuge one can get liberation Commentary Guru Kabir advises that one should live on a high mountain and hold on to the arm of a strong person By the high mountain he refers to living in an elevated spiritual state free from the material and mental bondages of the world Just as one living on a high mountain escapes a flood just so a person living in a spiritually high state will avoid being trapped by maya illusion The strong person refers to a guru or spiritual teacher who has the requisite knowledge and ability to help one to live in a high spiritual state By taking refuge under such a master one can obtain liberation The lotus is often used to symbolize such a spiritual state of living Just as the lotus grows from the mud but itself remains pure and unsoiled just so the devotee can live in the world but remain free from its turmoil and material mental and emotional bondage The alternative is to continue in this world of maya illusion and be subject to rebirths according to the Law of Karma 31 jehi marag gaye pandita tei gayi bahir unchi ghati ram ki tehi chadhi rahai kabir Meaning The path followed by the pandits is also the same one followed by the worldly peopleBut Ram39s abode is very high and Kabir has climbed there Commentary In this sakhi Guru Kabir testifies to the fact that the pandits priests follow the same path or way of life as followed by the average worldly person That means in effect that the priests are usually not much better than the average person who is pursuing the worldly life and are living for the satisfaction of their desires and external pursuits They are not truly seeking to attain liberation or the realization of God who dwells within as the Conscious Spirit They are often preoccupied with their dogmas rituals and rigidly controlled doctrines which do not give them freedom Only a few people strive to realize God and those are the mystics It is for this reason that the sakhi states that God39s abode is high on a high mountain It requires a great deal of selfdiscipline and effort to climb there Kabir states that he has climbed that steep path and reached the abode of God 32 ye kabir tain utari rahu tero sambal paro na sath sambal ghate pagu thake jiw birane hath Meaning Kabir says Come down from your high path as you have run out of suppliesWhen you run out of supplies and your feet are tired you are at the mercy of others Commentary In this sakhi Guru Kabir is instructing a devotee who wants to obtain liberation and is following a spiritual path but who does not have adequate preparation or faith and devotion in his heart He therefore is short of adequate supplies figuratively When a person is traveling in a foreign country and he runs out of supplies or funds and he becomes tired he is at the mercy of others Similarly when a devotee is traveling on the spiritual path and he has not prepared himself by developing the proper virtues of love humility kindness and contentment and giving up the passions of lust anger greed hate etc then he will find himself in a difficult position Instead of attaining God Realization he will find that he is at the mercy of kal negative power It is precisely this condition which prevailed in the lives of prominent television evangelists who have been scandalized by actions unbecoming of people in their positions in the church The same applies to other people who want to be on a spiritual path but do not examine their behavior and clear their consciences and are still hoping to attain liberation 33 kabir ka ghar sikhar par jahan silahali gail pawn na tike pipil ka tahan khalkan ladai bail Meaning Kabir39s house is on the mountain top where the path is very slipperyWhere the ant39s legs cannot get a foot hold there the people wish to go with loaded bullocks Commentary This sakhi deals with the spiritual height attained by saints By the mountain top Kabir figuratively means the pinnacle of spiritual perfection which he attained and where he dwelt meaning that he dwelt with God The path to God is very slippery because most people cannot live a real and true spiritual life in order to gain the illumination of God in this life If an ant39s legs cannot gain a foot hold on such a path then how can a bullock loaded with goods travel on that path The load refers to pride ego and vanity along with other passions with which people fill their lives These must be discarded if one wishes to travel on the path to God We know that the ant can walk on almost any surface yet it has trouble to walk on the path figuratively to God The ant however belongs to the material world and lives by instinct and has no consciousness of Divinity Thus the ant in spite of its agility cannot travel on the spiritual path There are many people like the ant who have perfected themselves in many ways but still have their hearts full of ego and thus they also cannot reach God Everywhere in his teachings Guru Kabir has instructed people how they have to travel in order to reach the mountain top where God dwells 34 binu dekhe waha desh ki bat kahe so kur apuhi khari khat hai bechat phirai kapur Meaning Without experiencing that country God Realization whoever talks about it is foolishHe himself eats bitter things and wanders about selling camphor Commentary There are many teachers and preachers of heaven and God and spiritual life Many of these same people are still victims of their own passions cravings selfishness intolerance and greed If we could read their minds what a shocking story their minds would tell These people nevertheless preach from the pulpits of various denominations and religions and try to take other people to God In this sakhi Guru Kabir states that such people are foolish If they do not have God Realization within themselves how can they impart that to others They are themselves bound by their human frailties yet they go about teaching others of righteousness Thus Guru Kabir states that such people eat bitter things cravings and passions and wander about selling camphor which they do not possess Elsewhere Guru Kabir has stated that such people are like the blind leading the blind and they both fall into the well We should rouse ourselves from our spiritual lethargy throw our narrow conceptions and dogmas aside and awaken to the light of God shining in all 35 shabd shabd sab koi kahai wo toh shabd videha jibhya par awai nahi nirakhi parakhi kari leha Meaning All people say shabd shabd the Word but that shabd is bodilessIt does not come to the tongue examine it and understand it Commentary People all over the world talk of the Word the Word of God The world was created from the Word But do they really understand what the Word is Guru Kabir says that this Word is bodiless and by talking of It It does not become a part of one39s own being He states that the Word does not come to the tongue therefore when you utter the Word you are not in fact uttering the Word but only a sound symbol of what the Word actually is He tells us to examine it and understand it The Word and God cannot be separated Neither can the Word be separated from living beings God and His Power or the Word are never separate God manifests in all beings everywhere and it is that God Energy that produces and sustains life God has no name and whatever terms we use to name God remain only our Word symbols for God God can thus have as many names as we wish to ascribe to Him Nevertheless God remains God unfathomable to our bodily senses God can be examined and known only through an inner cleansing process to attain purity of the mind and heart and to allow God to manifest within God is in secret and He will be seen in secret One must attain this through meditation When one understands the Word one becomes enlightened and free from the material bondage of the world 36 parbat upar har bahai ghoda chadhi basai gawn bin phul bhownra ras chahai kahu birwa ko naun Meaning God consciousness flows on the mountain top and the horse mind climbs to dwell in that villageThe bee soul wishes to drink the nectar though there is no flower What is the name of that tree which produces the flower and nectar Commentary This sakhi deals with the mystical concept of union with God The mountain top refers to the summit or void as described in meditation The horse is the mind which the yogi must control so that he can climb to that summit and dwell in that village where God dwells The bee is the soul which always longs to drink the nectar of God Realization but how can there be nectar without the flower Mystically the tree is the body which produces the flower which makes it possible to have the nectar of God union In other words the yogi or devotee starts with his body He then uses his mind which he must control so that the mind can rise to realize God consciousness in meditation In that exalted state of meditation the soul which has been athirst for union with God merges into that God consciousness and its sense of individuality disappears The bondage which the soul had accumulated in the course of its worldly existence is immediately abolished and the soul realizes liberation The same idea and process has been expressed in various ways by all saints and saviours of the world It is the only way in which to obtain liberation from the clutches of worldly existence All people who adhere to a religion and aspire to liberation must eventually go through this process to reach their desired goal 37 chandan bas niwarahu tujh karan ban katiya jiyat jiw jani marahu muye sarv nipatiya Meaning O sandal wood Give up your fragrance because of your the forest is cutDo not destroy living beings At death all will be destroyed Commentary In this sakhi Guru Kabir uses the figure of speech of personification He uses the sandal wood to represent the human being Because of the sandal wood people will cut down other trees in order to obtain the sandal wood for use A human being similarly cuts down other lives either for food or for other reasons The fragrance of the sandal wood represents the desires and passions of the human being Because of the fragrance the sandal wood and other wood along with it are cut just so because of desires man destroys other life Guru Kabir who teaches total nonviolence towards other living beings instructs that we should not kill living beings Death will come soon enough and all living beings will be destroyed anyway It is not in our hands to destroy what God has created and which we cannot create 38 chandan sarp lapetiya chandan kahh karai rom rom vish bhiniya amrit kahan samai Meaning The snake wraps itself on the sandal wood tree What can the sandal wood doWhen every hair of the body is soaked with poison how can nectar get in Commentary In this sakhi Guru Kabir uses the snake to symbolize the passions and evils which people have and the sandal wood tree to represent the human being The sandal wood grows in the forest and often snakes will entwine themselves on the tree as occurs in any forest The snake may be full of poison and the sandal wood is full of fragrance which people seek Similarly a person may be full of the passions of lust greed anger ego and vanity etc and his life may be colored by hate and intolerance A person living this life really does not leave much room for love beauty harmony and righteousness to enter into his life Just as a sandal wood is helpless in removing the snake from itself just so people caught up in these passions and negative feelings and behavior have difficulty in extricating themselves through lack of self discipline and exertion of their will and they become unwitting slaves to their own passions and desires and evil tendencies This is not truly a human way of living Every human being should realize his Divine origin and live in such a way that the love beauty and harmony of God manifest through him 39 jyon modad samsan shil sabai rup samsan kahahi kabir waha sawaj ki gati tabki dekhi bhukan Meaning Just as a crystalline stone reflects the colour and form of every object placed near it Just so the dog sees itself reflected and barks at it says Kabir Commentary A crystalline or polished stone behaves like a mirror and will reflect any colour or form of an object placed in front of it In this sakhi Kabir uses the crystalline stone to symbolize man s mind and the dog is the man himself Whatever the man is that is what he will reflect in his mind The saying as a man thinketh so he is carries the same meaning People are full of various types of emotions passions and feelings and they react to them by reflecting mentally either anger frustration dejection depression or happiness contentment peace and love Just as the dog seeing itself reflected and he barks at the reflection just so people react to the various emotional states by reflecting them in their mind In this sakhi Guru Kabir teaches that the dog foolishly barks at its own reflection thinking that it is another dog People should not be foolish like the dog and keep on reacting to their varied emotional states passions and frustrations etc People should understand themselves and develop selfcontrol and maintain an equanimity of mind This is very important for all of humanity as it is the path to peace and happiness 40 gahi tek chhorai nahi jibh chonch jari jai aiso tapt angar hai tahi chakor chabai Meaning Once you accept a vow do not give it up even though the tongue and beak get burnedEven though such heat is in burning charcoal still the chakor eats it Commentary There is a popular legend in India with reference to the chakor bird On seeing the moon it becomes so enraptured that it forgets itself and even pecks at burning charcoal Guru Kabir uses the example of this bird as adhering to its vow of adoring the moon that even if it gets scorched it does not give up its adoration People should similarly make up their minds and stick to whatever decision they have arrived at If they remain firmminded they will never turn back from their goal in spite of difficult circumstances Guru Kabir teaches that a person should have wholehearted devotion and be prepared to undergo some austerities in order to achieve Selfrealization Life is not a bed of roses it has thorns but that should not prevent one from following a spiritual life 41 chakor bharose chandra ke niglai tapt angar kahai kabir dahai nahi aisi bastu lagar Meaning The chakor being reliant on the moon eats burning charcoalKabir says that he does not get burned such being the attachment to a noble one Commentary In Hindu mythology there is a bird called the chakor It longs to see the moon and on seeing it the bird becomes entranced In such a state it even pecks at burning embers but it does not get burned It is similar to a person under hypnosis and given the suggestion that he will not feel pain or get burned with a flame Guru Kabir uses the chakor bird to explain the type of relationship we must develop with God If we become so attached to God and enraptured in Him then we will not be burned by any of the troubles of this world We will rise above the passions doubts intolerance and bigotry We will develop contentment and happiness in life We will take part in noble actions and keep noble company and steadily grow in spiritual wisdom What else is really important in life 42 jhilmill jhagra jhulate baki chhuti na kahu gorakh atke kalpur kown kahawai sahu Meaning Everyone swings in the scintillating light of the world no one can escape itEven Gorakh was trapped in the city of Kal this world Who then can be called noble Commentary This world is full of many very attractive things for people here described as scintillating light Just as a moth is drawn to a light and often is burned to death just so many people are attracted to the things of this world which also figuratively scorch them to death No one can escape it Gorakhnath was a famous yogi who did a great deal of austerity Even he was subject to mortal death like anyone else If such a great yogi had to go through this world ending in death then what can be said of the average person In yoga the scintillating light can be seen in meditation and it is a sign of being on the path but yet a long distance to go Many yogis often end up arguing about the scintillating light and be entangled in the same problem This type of activity shows that one has not yet reached God Realization and therefore is still in bondage to this material world and will end up in death without attaining liberation 43 gorakh rasiya yog ke muye na jari deha mas gali mati mili karo manji deha Meaning Gorakh was very fond of Hatha Yoga and when he was departing his life in Hatha Yoga he instructed his disciples not to burn the bodyHis flesh melted and mixed with the soil in spite of his punishing it uselessly with the practice of Hatha Yoga Commentary Gorakhnath was a famous and an accomplished Hatha Yogi He was able to purify his body through his practices Because of his yogic powers he was able to practice his yoga and go into death His body nevertheless melted and mixed with the earth like the body of anyone else He did not achieve immortality of the body in spite of his pride and Hatha Yogic achievement Guru Kabir advises that mere physical training in yoga without at the same time training the mind in the highest spiritual attainment and obtaining God realization then the mere physical practices of yoga are not in the end beneficial You see spiritual attainment is achieved through the mind and the spirit and the body is merely the vehicle for its attainment When one lavishes effort and time on the vehicle and not on the mind and the spirit then one is doomed to failure 44 ban te bhaga bihade para karha apni ban bedan karha kaso kahai ko karha ko jan Meaning According to his nature of running the hare runs from the jungle and falls into a dreadful trapTo whom shall the hare tell his trouble and who will understand it Commentary This allegorical statement is used by Guru Kabir to explain the condition in which people find themselves according to their natures The hare has a habit of running from one bush to another and because of this habit he can fall into a trap from which he cannot escape Just so people fall into the traps of materialism illusion doubts passions anxieties depressions religious and racial intolerance pride and vanity etc People are engulfed in these because of their various natures attitudes knowledge and beliefs Once each person is caught in his particular trap or set of traps to whom can he tell his trouble as there will hardly be anyone who can understand his trouble from his own view point Other people are also caught in their own traps and escape to freedom becomes very difficult Freedom can be obtained only by purifying one s life and living nobly according to the highest spiritual ideals as taught by the great gurus and saviours of the world If people follow their natural natures inclinations prompted by things of the material world then it is difficult for them to obtain freedom 45 bahut diwas te hindiya sunya samadhi lagai karha para gadh me duri para pachhitai Meaning Hatha Yogis trying for many days to obtain samadhi in the depth of silence do not find that state of blissThey repent just as a rabbit which falls into a ditch and repents being far away from its destination Commentary Unless God is firmly established in one s heart and becomes a working and motivating power in that person s life he will not be able to obtain the bliss of union with God There are many yogis who become adept in Hatha Yoga and they long for union with God in the state called samadhi But they do not obtain it because they are preoccupied with their yogic practices They have figuratively fallen into a ditch or a hole from which they are not able to escape It is the same as a rabbit which falls into a deep ditch and is not able to escape The rabbit repents for its sorry state and for not reaching its destination Just so the Hatha yogi repents for not obtaining God union External practices fail to give God realization Becoming pure and humble allows God to motivate all actions One has to be totally immersed in the Consciousness of God before one can obtain that bliss of union with Him 46 kabir bharam na bhajiya bahubidhi dhariya bhesh sai ke parchawate antar rahi gai resh Meaning O Kabir Man does not escape from doubts even when he assumes many outward formsWithout realization of the Master in the heart the stain of doubts remained Commentary People following certain religions will put on the external garb of that religion Thus we find people wearing robes of different colours sandal marks caps rosaries crucifixes turbans sacred threads and garlands or carry other symbols of their religious order These external trappings do not cleanse the heart of these adherents Their lives do not become pure and spiritual because of their adornments Guru Kabir states that they are still full of doubts and that they cannot fathom the divinity of the Master who resides within their own hearts This teaching is so simple and yet people even those who feel they are following a true religious path find it difficult to understand what is a true spiritual life Unless people awaken to the truth of spiritual life they will continue in doubt and continually search for liberation 47 binu dande jag dandiya sorath pariya dand bat nihare lobhiya gur te mithi khand Meaning People of this world suffer without being punished just as the people of Sorath wereThey are greedy seeing the attractions of the world just as they like the sweeter sugar than molasses Commentary Sorath was the ancient name of the Gujarat state At one time the government inflicted severe punishment on the people without any apparent wrong doing Guru Kabir uses this incident to indicate that people in this world suffer punishments without actually being punished by anyone else This is so because they bring punishment upon themselves according to their own actions in thought word and deed People feel that they are not doing anything wrong as far as they can see from a secular viewpoint However as long as they are not pure in heart and live a truly spiritual life they will have to suffer the consequences of their own actions This world is full of many attractions which allure people This illusory nature of worldly things is spoken of as maya Maya has a great hold on the minds of people They feel that it is sweeter than living a spiritual life and doing devotion to god Guru Kabir compares this so called sweetness of maya to the sweetness of sugar which is preferred by the people to the molasses Yet molasses is the forerunner of the sugar and is even more nutritious Yet people prefer the sweetness of the empty calories of the sugar To the extent that people are allured by the evanescent attractions of the world to that same extent they are depriving themselves from spiritual growth and eternal happiness 48 malyagir ki bas me briksh raha sab goy kahabe ko chandan bhaya malyagir na hoy Meaning Living in the fragrance of the Malyagir all the trees look like the sandal treeFor namesake they are called sandal but they cannot be the real sandal wood trees Commentary The Malyagir is a mountain made famous by its sandal wood trees People passing by the mountain get the fragrance of the sandal wood and would think that all the trees on the mountain are sandal wood trees Thus even the trees which are not sandal wood would in a manner of speaking be called sandal wood trees Although they have the fragrance of the sandal wood they are not sandal wood themselves Guru Kabir is pointing out in this sakhi that people may associate with or live among saintly people or true devotees of God That does not however make them true devotees of God Although other people may deem them worthy of worship and may in fact do so they still remain what they are unless they develop the true characteristics of a devotee of God The trees on the Malyagir will often take on the fragrance of the sandal wood tree but they are not themselves sandal wood Their inner core continues to be that of the particular species of trees Just so the inner core of people who associate with devotees need not be purified nor reach an exalted state of spiritual realization Their association with real devotees is only superficial 49 malyagir ki bas men bedha dhak palas bena kabahu na bedhiya jug jug rahiya pas Meaning All the common trees like dhak and palas growing on the Maliyagir mountain become impregnated with the fragrance of sandalwoodBut the bamboo though it grows among the sandal wood for ages cannot be impregnated with the fragrance Commentary The Maliyagir is the famous mountain perfumed by the fragrance of sandal wood All the common trees which have woody stems absorb the fragrance and in turn become like sandal wood themselves because of that fragrance The bamboo however has a hollow stem and cannot take on the fragrance of the sandal wood The lesson Guru Kabir wishes to impart in this sakhi is that we must be like the trees which can absorb the fragrance In other words we must be able to absorb spiritual teachings and grow in spiritual consciousness in order to purify our lives and attain liberation If however we are hollow like the bamboo then we will not be able to absorb the true spiritual teachings imparted to us by the guru and thus we will not evolve in spiritual consciousness We will remain entangled through karmas and maya and will be subject to rebirths until we begin to absorb the Truth in spiritual life and obtain liberation 50 chalte chalte pagu thaka nagra raha now kosh bichahi men dera para kahahu kown ko dosh Meaning By walking and walking my feet became tired and the city of my destination is nine koshas awayIn the midst of the journey I had to rest tell me whose fault is it Commentary The walking referred to here is wandering from place to place in pilgrimage or from religion to religion or from one teaching to another or performing one ritual after another etc One does not reach the destination The destination is the city where God dwells It is realized in meditation This state is reached after crossing a long distance which figuratively are all the obstacles in the way such as the mind ego passions and desires While on the journey of this life one has to stop at a resting place which is figuratively death The destination has not been reached Guru Kabir asked Whose fault is it if you have not reached your destination You have been wasting your time going in various alleys and byways instead of following the highway which lead straight to the eternal city of Self realization and enlightenment

Blog By: Geeta Jha

Sudden Gains and unexpected Prosperity in Astrology

Geeta Jha

In today39s world most of the people wish to earn a lot of wealth and prosperity in their life for fulfilment of their desires Sometimes they choose risky steps to gain sudden benefits and prosperity Lottery shares gambling speculation are risky methods employed for sudden gains While hidden treasures and unexpected inheritance also accounts for sudden prosperity and richness of the native Factors responsible for sudden and expected gains in astrology 2nd house income inflow of finances Self earned wealth worldly possessions4th house comforts parental inheritance assets land vehicles5th house sudden gain lottery gambling speculations etc7th house business travels8th house shares hidden transactions other people39s money dowry of wife gain from in laws finances through unfair means inheritance9th house easy gains fate11th house accumulated wealth fluctuating money gainsSun sudden gains from royal or govt sourcesMoon gains from liquid or glazy types of things gains from abroadMars Sudden prosperity from engineering publications police landed properties agriculture accounts investment in medicinesMercury sudden gains from intellects or creative nature of mankindJupiter gains from saints or bank men rules banking shares money gold and other precious saleable items like diamonds and precious gemsVenus sudden gains from music cinema vehicles medicines literary activities scented itemsSaturn Sudden moneyRahu trigger the unexpected events in the life sudden gains from evil sources fluctuating gains Different combinations for sudden prosperity Sudden and unexpected gains are noticed whenever 2nd 7th and 11th lords posited in ascendant and aspected by JupiterFor gains in lotteries speculations or for any sudden unexpected gains 2nd 5th 8th 11th houses and their lords should be interrelated Wellplaced and wellaspectedFor financial status and gains ascendant 2nd 9th and 11th houses and their lords should be consideredStrength of 5th house and 5th lord connected with the above is required for gains in gambling speculation races lotteries contracts etcStrength of 8th house and 8th lord connected with the above is required for gain in dowry inheritance wills adoption awards prizes secret wealth etcConsideration of 4th 7th and 10th houses is needed to judge the source and type of gainsInauspicious houses and planets placed in them are consider for gains and accumulation in life 361011th are inauspicious houses Different modes responsible for sudden gain in life Lottery and Gambling Strength of 5th house lord is the important significator of gains in lotteries and gamblingThe other significator houses for lottery gains and gambling are 2nd 6th 8th and 11thMoon is posited in 5th house and aspected by Venus indicates sudden gain from lotteryThe 6th houselord has an important role in gambling If the 6th and 11th lords are together occupying 11th house the native wins in lottery and gambling The combination of the strong 6th and 11th lords is always good for gambling and lotteryThe 6th and 9th lords combine in 11th house the native owns enormous money through lottery or gamblingFavourable combination of Saturn and Rahu favours gambling especially in indoor gamesThe lords of 6th and 11th and Saturn are in the 11th house the native wins in dice game or cards through underhand tricks and by puzzling or mesmerizing his opponentsMercury being 5th lord occupying 6th house causes loss in speculations If the 5th lord Venus is in the 12th house with 6th lord the native will lose in gambling being addicted to the same If there are many malefic planets placed in 12th house the native should not invest money in gambling or lottery as he will always loseThe Lords of 5th and 2nd house exchange placesMercury in 11th house in own sign conjoined with 6th lordMars Venus Saturn and Rahu conjoined in VirgoAll planets occupying 2th6th8th12th signsThe lord of 5th and 11th conjoined in 5th house with a node RahuKetu2nd and 11th lords conjoining in 5th with benefice aspectsJupiter alone in 5th or 8th in exaltation or own house is able to give sudden unexpected gainsThe Ascendant 5th8th11th lords placed in the same housesThe 5th and 8th lords exchange signs and the lord of ascendant is in good aspect with either of the two2nd lord in the 5th 5th lord in 11th 11th lord in 2nd house or 2nd5th11th lords conjoined in 2ndThe lords of 5th and 11th houses exchange housesThe lords of ascendant 2nd and 5th are related or conjoinedThe lords of ascendant 5th and 9th conjoinedThe Ascendant is strong and 25811th lords in exaltationThe benefices planets occupy 5th and 8th houses Underground or hidden treasures beneath or buried in the soil Lord of ascendant is placed in 2nd house Lord of 2nd is placed in 11th house and lord of 11th is posited in ascendant the native will get sudden enormous hidden treasures in his lifeLords of 2nd and 4th are posited in 9th house with a beneficeLords of 11th and 2nd placed in 4th house with a beneficeLord of 11th is placed in 4th house combines with a benefice Shares and speculations The Moon Mercury and 6th lord in 11th house indicates money through share marketLords of 6th and 11th combine in 12th house indicates loss in speculationAscendant39s lord Moon Sun and are being in benefice aspectsThe MoonMars combine in 2nd 5th 8th or 11th houseThe Jupiter in 2nd the Mercury in 5th and the Moon in 11th house respectively Unexpected inheritance The Moon 4th 2nd5th houseslords are related indicates sudden inheritance from motherLords of 2nd and 4th combine in ascendant indicates sudden gain from motherThe lords of 2nd and 8th lords are related gives unexpected gainsLeo ascendant with 12th lord in 8th house gives the formation of Vipareeta Raja yoga which results in unexpected enormous wealth gain BYGEETA JHA SPIRITUAL SEEKERINDIA