The Power Within

भगवत गीता के पहले अध्याय के पहले श्लोक में धृष्टराष्ट्र संजय से पूछता है - "धर्मक्षेत्रे कुरुक्षेत्रे समवेता युयुत्सवः। मामकाः पाण्डवाश्चैव किमकुर्वत सञ्जय। " इसमें कुरुक्षेत्र को धर्मक्षेत्र कहा गया है। अगर यह धर्मक्षेत्र है तो लड़ाई क्यों ? लड़ाई नहीं होने चाहिए, लेकिन हो रहा है। सदियो से धर्मक्षेत्र ही कुरुक्षेत्र बनते आये है। धर्मक्षेत्र में ही युद्ध होता है, और कही नहीं। यह विराधाभास मालूम पड़ता है कि धर्मक्षेत्र और युद्ध? उपद्रव? रक्तपात ? एक दूसरे के गले काटने के लिए हाथो में हथियार? ऐसा हो रहा है। आज तक कोई भी युद्ध धर्म से परे नहीं हुआ है। जहा धर्म है, वही युद्ध की संभावना है, और होता भी है। धर्म के नाम पर ही बड़े-बड़े युद्ध हुए है. रक्तपात हुआ है। जितना जान-माल और वातावरण का विध्वंश धर्म के नाम पे हुआ है, उससे ज़्यादा किसी से  नहीं हुआ है। जितना ठगी और लूट-पाट धर्म के नाम पे हुआ है, उससे ज़्यादा कही नहीं हुआ है।  कभी भी अधर्म के नाम पे कही कोई लड़ाई नहीं हुई है।  सारी लड़ाईया धर्म के नाम पे ही होती है। और जहाँ धर्म के नाम पे लड़ाईया हो, वह धर...

It is said that if there had been no Surpanakha and Kaikeyi in the Ramayana, there would be no great story of the Ramayana. Surpanakha was the sister of the demon king Ravana. Her character was very less, however, she created a very strong link in carrying the story further. She was the youngest child of Rishi Vishrava and his second wife, Kaikesi. She was as beautiful as her mother. Her childhood name was “Minakshi”, one who has fish-like eyes. In her young age, she fell in love with the Danavas prince of Kalkeya clan, Vidyutjihva and eloped and surreptitiously married her. Knowing this, Ravana became very furious. Why …? It is because - Ravana was Rakshasa and Vidyutjihva was Danava. Rakshasa and Danavas were enemies. That was not acceptable for Ravana to get her sister married with his enemy. For this audacity, Ravana wanted to punish her. But on the persuasion of his wife Mandodari, the relationship was approved and reluctantly, Ravana accepted Dana...

Nothing is straight in this universe. Everything forms a circle. You throw a stone in the sky; you will find that it is forming a complete circle. If there is no obstruction, it will meet the point from where it was released. The reason of the rain is the water of the ocean, it evaporates and goes up, takes the form of cloud and it rains. That water takes the form of a river. That river meets with an ocean. In this way, the water of ocean meets the ocean. Water completes a circle. A drop of water is not different from the ocean. The drop came out of the ocean and completed a circle and became an ocean again. A plant takes the nutrition from the earth, becomes a tree. It becomes old with time, dissolves and becomes the earth again. It meets from where it was started. The stars and planets emerge from the nebulae, and when they dissolve becomes the nebulae again. The nebulae come from atoms, and when nebulae dissolve, it becomes atom. Nebulae, stars, planets and this universe...

चंद्रमौलि नाम था उस युवक का। राजा के घर पैदा हुआ था । जाहिर है, उसको सारी सुख-सुविधाये बचपन से ही प्राप्त हुआ था। लेकिन उन चीज़ों से वह संतुष्ट नहीं था। उसके माँ-बाप जो भी उसको देते थे, वह उसके लिए कम लगता था। हमेशा कुछ न कुछ मागते ही रहता था। कभी उसके चेहरे पर ख़ुशी न दिखती थी। हमेशा उसके नाक चढे रहते थे। उसके इस रवैये से उसके परिवार वाले भी खुश नहीं थे।  बडा होकर राजा  बनना ही काफी न था उसके लिए। उसके पिताजी का राजतन्त्र बहुत छोटा लगता था उसके लिये । वह तो राजाओ का राजा बनना चाहता था । सम्राट से नीचे कुछ भी पसन्द न था उसको। संसार का सबसे शक्तिशाली व्यक्ति बनना चाहता था। बड़ा बनने का सपने देखना और उसके लिए कोशिश करना बुरी बात नहीं, यह अच्छी बात है। लेकिन उस सपने के लिए,उन चीज़ों को भुला देना, जो ईश्वर ने आपको दिये है, यह अच्छी बात नहीं है। येनकेनप्रकारेण, वह सम्राट बनना चाहता था। समय बीता, उसके पिताजी बूढे हो गए, और चंद्रमौलि को राजा बना दिया गया। राजा बनते ही दूसरे राज्यो पर चढ़ाई करना शूरू कर दिया। जीत भी मिलने लगी । बहुत से राज्यो को जीत लिया, और बहुत बड़े साम्राज्य का सम...

कुछ खाओगे नहीं। नहीं आज नहीं, आज मेरा उपवास है । कल सुबह ही कुछ खाऊंगा। कोई कहता है कि आज मेरा व्रत है। एक मित्र से मैंने पूछा कि किसका व्रत या उपवास है। उसने कहा - फला देवी या देवता का व्रत है। ऐसा करने से क्या होता है? उसने कहा - इससे देवी-देवता प्रसन्न रहते है ।  मैंने पूछा कि आपको भूखे रखकर देवी-देवता को क्या ख़ुशी मिलती होगी? वह भला क्यों चाहेंगे कि उसका भक्त भूखा-प्यासा रहे। हमारे यहाँ देवी-देवताओ को माँ-बाप का दर्जा दिया जाता है। कोई माँ-बाप क्यों चाहेंगा की उसका बेटा या बेटी भूखे प्यासे रहे। यदि भूखे प्यासे रहने से देवी-देवता प्रसन्न होते तो, कितने गरीब लोग आज भी भूखे, प्यासे और नंगे सोते है, फिर तो उनको कोई परेशानी ही नहीं होती!  उपवास या व्रत किसी देवी-देवता को प्रसन्न करने के लिए नहीं किया जाता है । देवी-देवता का रोल यही होता है कि वह साक्षी रहते है, आपके उपवास या व्रत के। व्रत का मतलब होता है - प्रतिज्ञा। किस चीज़ को किस अमुक दिन को खाना है या करना है, और कितनी मात्रा में खाना है और कितनी बार खाना है या नहीं खाना है, यह व्रत मनुष्य ही ले सकता है, जानव...

We never get the pure gold from the mine. It is alloyed gold. Later, that alloy gold is processed to get the pure gold. First of all, we recognize that the alloy contains gold. We do not extract gold from it, rather we remove the alloy and dirt from it, and what remains is the pure gold. It goes through fire. Fire burns the impurities. And at last, we get the pure gold which remains the same no matter how many times it passes through fire.  With the fire and hurt of the hammer, the gold is converted into different-different ornaments. And that ornament has the value and place in human life not the alloy in the mine. Likewise, you are full of quality, you need not  go anywhere in the search of the purity in you. The quality, the skill and talent are already in you. You have to just burn those impurities in the form of weaknesses in you, which has covered your quality, skill and talent and stopping you from shining.  In the beginning, everyone is like an al...

"You have thrown me out of this compartment, one day, I will throw you out of my country" - yelled Gandhi when he was humiliated and thrown out of the compartment despite having a first class ticket with him. There was no personal fight with anyone, he had tickets, he did not break any rule, he had not done any mistake - then, why was he thrown out of the compartment? His mistake was - he was an Indian, and the color of his skin was black. He became the victim of racial discrimination. That happened when he was in Durban, South Africa in 1893. He was there to fight a case of his client Dada Abdulla, one of the wealthiest Indian merchants in Natal. He took him to the Durban court. There, a European magistrate ordered Gandhi to take off his turban. He refused to do so and left the court.  That was nothing. It was just a beginning of the humiliation and injustice. One day, he was traveling from Durban to Pretoria. When his train reached Maritzburg station late in...

Do you know how the pearls are made?  A parasite gets inside the shell and causes irritation, and the oyster throws a sort of enamel around it, and that makes the pearl. The parasite enters inside the shell along with the drop of water of Swati Nakshatra. Without the irritation of the parasite along with the water of the Swati Nakshatra, the process of creating pearl cannot be completed. If you want to achieve something very great in your life, first of all, you must have that parasite in the form of thought or idea inside you which should keep irritating you to take the action to develop the pearl inside you. Let the parasite of success and accomplishments enter inside you, you enamel it, after some time, that irritated parasite becomes a pearl, the valuable one. The oyster has no value, the pearl inside it has. Similarly, your birth as a human body made of bones, flesh and blood have no value until you take one concrete goal in your life and let its parasite ename...

आज फिर तुम अपना होम वर्क करके नहीं आये, आज मैं कुछ नहीं सुनने वाला, चलो कान पकड़कर उठक बैठक करो, और कसम खाओ कि आज से होमवर्क पूरा करके लाओगे। याद आया-- स्कूल के मास्टर जी की बात। कम से कम एक बार, सबको कान पकड़कर उठक बैठक, या कान पकड़कर कसम खाने का या आज से मैं यह नहीं करूँगा, कान पकड़ता हूँ - ऐसा मौका तो जरूर आया होगा। क्या कभी आपने सोचा है कि - कान पकड़कर ही उठक बैठक या कान पकड़ता हूँ, ऐसा नहीं करूँगा, सॉरी, ही क्यों कहा जाता है? आखिर कान पर इतना जोर क्यों दिया जाता है? क्या मतलब है इसका? हम मनुष्य के पास दो कान और एक मुँह होता है । मुँह से भोजन करना, चबाना, पीना, बोलना, हँसना आदि क्रियाएं की जाती है। मुँह एक और काम अनेक। कान दो है, लेकिन काम सिर्फ एक - श्रवण करना। इसका मतलब जितना हम बोलते है, उसका कम से कम दुगुना हमको सुनना चाहिए। दो कान और एक मुह प्रकृति की बनावट है। प्रकृति का हर एक बनावट महत्वपूर्ण होता है। प्रकृति चाहती है कि हम ज़्यादा से ज़्यादा श्रवण करे। श्रवण इतना महत्पूर्ण है कि वेद को भी श्रुति बोला जाता है। वेद का ज्ञान अंतरात्मा को सुनने से ही प्राप्त हुई है। जबतक आद...

There are different flowers in one garden. They are flourishing their own way. They have a different color, fragrant and size. The sky is the same, the earth is the same, the wind is the same, the water is the same, the sun is the same, the moon is the same and the gardener is the same for everyone. But the rose is becoming a rose, the jasmine is becoming the jasmine, the marigold is becoming the marigold. Why is it happening? If all the sources are the same, they should have the same color, the same shape, the same fragrant. But not. All are different. They are growing differently. What is the secret in it? The secret is in its seed. The seed has the capacity to take the energy of the natural resources and design their own shape, color and fragrant.  The sky, the earth, the wind, water, the sun and moon are equal for everyone. They are continually providing their energy to all living beings. These resources do not force anyone, they do not stop anyone, and even they do...

  Lord Krishna is the incarnation of lord Vishnu. He is one of the widely revered gods in Hindu pantheon. He is seen as the best lover in Vrindavan and the best strategic in the battlefield of Kurukshetra. Whether he is with his Gopis in the middle of the meadow  or with his enemies in the middle of the battlefield, one thing is common - his mystic smile on his face. That much of diversity has not been seen in any other incarnation of lord Vishnu. If you observe, you will find that lord Krishna is associated number 8. He is the 8th incarnation of lord Vishnu His is the 8th sons of Devaki and Vasudeva He took birth on the 8th day (Ashtami) of the Krishna Paksha Krishna had mainly eight wives, he is called Ashtabharya(Ashta = eight, bharya = wife). He had 16100 gopis (1 + 6 + 1 = 8) He had 80(8 + 0 = 8) sons from his 8 wives. He lived for 125 (1+2+5 = 8) years. Let us understand the significant of associating of number 8 with lord Krishna. In numer...

Sohan was expressing his view to his friend, Mandeep - "I want to do many things in my life, but I am not getting time for anything significant. Nothing great is taking place in my life, which is frustrating me." Mandeep also expressed his consent saying - "you are true, time is flying like anything, I also want to do many things, but unable to manage my time for any significant work." They discussed and accepted that they cannot get time for any significant work. Next day, they found discussing the movie which was released recently and they were giving their review in it. And sometimes, they were fighting in the name of their favorite actors and their movies. They spent hours on the unnecessary discussion. They did not realize that those discussions are absolutely unnecessary in their life, it is no way related to anything else. That is just wastage of time. Another day, they were found on discussing politics in which they did not know much. When they ...

If you observe carefully, you will find that everything, visible and non-visible, from sub-atomic particles to gigantic stars, is struggling for the freedom. Moon is struggling to come out from the orbit of the earth. The earth is struggling to come out from the orbit of the sun. The sun is continually running away to get the freedom. No one wants bondage. Freedom is a natural quest for all living beings. Be happy, be happy and be happy. But, how can the happiness be attained without freedom? We generally do the mistake of understanding a temporary pleasure as happiness. A Human sees an opposite sex and attached to that. Instantly, he becomes a slave of sex. He surrenders to it. He is a slave of intoxication. He says no to intoxication in the beginning, but with a little persuasion, he consumes it. He is the slave of money. He is a slave of fame and name. He is a slave of maintaining his social status. He is a slave of his conditioned mind. He is a slave of his unbridled ...