Gopis never saw Krishna after he left Vrindavan for Mathura. They met Sri Krishna again after several years at Samanta Panchaka. Kurukshetra in the Mahabharata was also called Samanta Panchaka because of the five lakes created there by Parshuram Avatar of Bhagwan Vishnu. The place was famous from ancient times due to the penance performed by Parashuram to eradicate the sins of killing the evil kings 21 times. It is believed that Sri Krishna along with Pandavas visited the place during a total eclipse. Not just them but it is believed that all great sages, kings, royal families, common folk arrived at Samanta Panchaka. The entire population of Vrindavan too was present at Samanta Panchaka as they knew Sri Krishna would surely arrive to take holy dip in the sacred lakes there during the solar eclipse. Sri Krishna met Nanda and Yashoda, his foster parents, after several years. The gopis of Vrindavan too arrived at Samanta Panchaka and they had a look at their dearest Krishna from...

The combination of Adhi Yoga happens when beneficial planets occupy the sixth, seventh and eighth houses from the Moon in one’s horoscope. A person who has this combination will be polite and trustworthy person; the person will have an enjoyable and happy life, surrounded by luxuries. The person will be wealthy and live long, and inflict defeat on his enemies. Astrologers, such as Varahamihira (6 th century AD) have studied the combination a great deal, but they differ in its definitions. While some claim that the mere presence of benefactions in the sixth and seventh and eighth houses constitute this yoga, other opine that those planets should not be associated with malefactions. A third category of scholars hold that apart from these two conditions, adhi yoga gets fully constituted only when the fourth house (in a natal chart) is occupied by a natural benefactor like Jupiter. However, most modern scholars agree that the presence of benefactions in the sixth, seventh an...

Disappointments are inevitable in life. If we are ready to face disillusionment and move on, then there are numerous simple ways to handling disappointments. Here are few easy ways to to manage disappointments effectively. There is no point in moving around with a sour face for the rest of the life just because we had disappointments in life. Just because life has been unfair to us does not mean that we should spread negativity by moving around with curdled expressions, malevolent eyes, and nary smile. Such embittered souls make life difficult for them but also of those around them. How can people find happiness and hope around someone who never has a good thing to say about anyone or anything. So if your friends are abandoning you, blame it on your attitude. Life doles out different types of dishes. Some of them might not be to our liking. Instead of only focusing on the dishes of not our liking, we should explore other dishes and find those that we like. Handling disa...

Sri Ranga Gadyam is the second among the three short prose works (gadya traya) of Acharya Ramanuja. It is a prayer to Lord Ranganatha to accept one as His eternal servant. The other two works of Ramanuja are Saranagati Gadyam and Vaikunta Gadyam. The three short prose works are of great cultural importance. They were composed before the divine couple Lord Ranganatha and Ranganayaki (Mahalakshmi) at the Srirangam Temple. Ramanuja surrendered himself to them and felt a mystic experience. Sri Ranga Gadyam is shorter than the others, a follow-up of the first. It consists of seven aphorisms. The first aphorism deals with upeya (end to be attained), and the second describes upaya (means to that end). The first stipulates that service (kainkarya) unto the divine couple is the end (upeya) and the second affirms that the jivatma (individual self) should seek refuge at the feet of Narayana through the mediatrix, Mahalakshmi (upaya). The aphorisms state that animate and inanim...

Shiva as Mahakala represents the void at the dissolution of the universe. Time and space are contained in Him. Thus Mahakala is time. Here is a look at the deep symbolism of Mahakala. Mahakala form of Shiva is typically visualized as black in color. Everything is absorbed and dissolved in black. All forms merge into Mahakala. His all encompassing nature is unimaginable. All the filth on earth born out of human ignorance is dissolved by Mahakala. He burns all human creations into ashes. He transforms everything back to its original state. Black of Mahakala thus represents total stillness – the original state of the universe. Mahakala is that bindu (the black dot) into which all creation returns. Nasadiya Sukta in Rig Veda explains about this bindu or black dot – At first there was only darkness wrapped in darkness. All this was only unillumined cosmic water. That One which came to be, enclosed in nothing, arose at last, born of the power of heat. When human arrogance ...

Why people engage in crimes even when they know that it is to be avoided and that it brings nothing but misery and sorrow? Hinduism explains crimes, sin, virtue etc by reading the human nature. There is no external force but it is ignorance of people that results in crimes and sins. Crimes are committed not because an individual is forced to commit it even against his will. But a crime is committed by succumbing to desire and anger. These are two deadly enemies within each one that are nurtured by rajas guana. The state of mind in which a person acts according desire, passion and anger is referred as rajas. The three gunas – sattva (transcendence), rajas (activity), and tamas (inertia) – are present in all living beings in the world. Character is formed based on their percentage in a person. Through proper understanding and practice we can control the percentage of the three gunas in us. The three gunas prompt people to do either good or bad deeds, and there is no external insti...

Muktiyogya in Hinduism means one who has made himself yogya (qualified) for moksha (liberation from cycle of birth and death). This liberation from cycle of birth and death is due to knowledge of atman (individual self) and Brahman. Brahman is the eternal, unthinkable and unchanging substratum. A person who lives a life of devotion to Brahman and whose actions are free from gunas (three attributes – sat, rajas and tama) has attained muktiyogya. Although the early Vedic hymns were intended for sacred fire rituals, the later Vedic hymns had some monotheistic conceptions. However, it was Upanishads that emphasized knowledge of Brahman as a compulsory requisite for mukti (liberation). The source of man’s spiritual insight is the very self of man himself. Mundaka Upanishad states “Whom he chooses, the finds him” (III.2.3). If Vedas and their gods depend upon cosmic forces, Upanishads look within to comprehend the inner world. The fragility of the world of appearance makes ...

Dive Deep – Learn To Love God - As told by Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa Dive deep. Learn to love God. Be immersed in His love. Why do you dwell so much upon the glories of God? “Oh God, you have created the sky, mighty oceans, the moon, the sun, the stars and everything. What is the use of saying all this. Everyone is stuck in wonder to witness the garden of the rich man, to see the beautiful plants, flowers, lake, drawing room with nice pictures and so on. But how many are there who care to meet the owner of the garden? Only one or two try to meet him. If god is sought after with yearning heart He can be seen and talked to, just as I am talking to you. Believe me when I say, He can be seen. But who is going to care for what I say, to believe in what I say? Can God be found in the scriptures? At the most the study of the scriptures convinces you of the existence of God. But unless you dive deep you cannot see God. But unless you dive deep you cannot see God. It is after ...

When Devaki heard about Sri Krishna bringing the dead son of Guru Sandeepany back to life, she wished to see her six dead sons, who were killed by Kamsa in prison before the birth of Krishna. One day, Devaki approached Krishna and expressed her desire to see her first six sons who were killed by Kamsa. Sri Krishna and Balaram promised her that she will have a vision of her dead six sons. Krishna and Balarama entered the region Sutala by their yogic powers and requested Mahabali who was ruling that region to release the six children temporarily, for comforting their mother, Devaki. The children were brought and shown to Devaki. She was consoled by the vision of her children.

Yogaswami (1872–1964) was a great soul who spent his time on earth in Sri Lanka. He was a spec in the unbreakable tradition which begins and ends with Shiva.  Look at those trees. The trees are meditating. Meditation is silence. If you realize that you really know nothing, then you will be truly meditating. Such truthfulness is the right soil for silence. Silence is meditation. You must be simple. You must be utterly naked in your consciousness. When you have reduced yourself to nothing — when your "self" has disappeared — when you have become nothing, then you are yourself God. The man who is nothing knows God, for God is nothing. Nothing is everything. Because I am nothing, you see, because I am a beggar, I own everything. So nothing means everything. Understand?'  The state of nothingness means that you genuinely desire nothing. It means that you can honestly say that you know nothing. It also means that you are not interested in doing anything about this state of n...