Guruve Karunaamaya

Today is the 339th Aradhana Mahotsava of Sri Raghavendra Thirtharu. He is the kind guru who is every ready to bless his devotees and sevarthis. He is full of mercy for us the pamararu who are weighed down by cares and worries. Pradhakshine to his Brindavana/ Chanting his name with bhakti/ Remembering Hari and Vayu with bhakti is most dear to our Guru.

Everyday A Festival

I offered to write about August festivals for my project newsletter. I discovered that almost everyday is a festival in this month of Shravan !! Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays !

Dasarige Namo Namo

I came to know that today is the 201st birth anniversary of Sri Jagannatha Dasaru. Shraavana shuddha Dwitiya. I found out that one of his son's names was Damodar. That's also my husband's name! One thing I have in common with this great man is that I too belong to Haritas gotra. :-)
Of course that was before I married. Now, I share the same gotra as Sri Vijayadasaru - Bhardwaj !!

Bathing Our Minds

I am beginning to realise why Nithyakarma is so important. Daily pooja, japa, parayana are vital to us. It's like bathing our minds and exercising our memory. Leave the parayana for a week and can't recall it on the 8th day without the help of the book. Must take out time for this everyday no matter how 'busy' we maybe.

HKS

I cannot explain how wonderful Harikathamruthasaara is. I cannot comment on it of course. I have only heard a little and attempting to learn a few stanzas. Sri Sri Satyatma Tirtharu has asked all women to memorise the entire HKS. Let me see how many years will pass in this attempt for me.
Dasaru gives such beautiful examples to make us see the Lord's glory. They are everyday settings which we can apply for anusandhana. Karuna Sandhi alone is enough for a lifetime's study.

Kimalabhyam Bhagavathe.....

"Koduva Devaru badava alla", my mother would say sometimes.
It means the Lord is the one who gives and He is not poor meaning He will provide for your needs. Have the faith. We needn't cry over what we have lost. It's He who gives and He who takes away.
"Kimalabhyam Bhagavathe Prasanne Srinikethane" What is impossible when the Lord is pleased? asks the sanskrit line above from Bhagavatha. Nothing is impossible for Him. We must only earn the Lord's pleasure through our acts, thoughts and words. In other words do our duty without expectation of results. Trust the Lord to give what, when and in what manner.

No To Movies

Sri Sri Satyatma Tirtharu said why do you watch movies? Remove all pictures of film stars from your house.. What do we look for in a movie? Characters, story, good, bad, love, marriage, children, villains, victory, etc..
Lord Krishna has shown all this and more Himself. Listen to Bhagavata, Mahabharatha and Ramayana he says..
Surprisingly two new hindi movies were based on Mahabharatha and Ramayana..
I am glad I have stopped watching movies and nothing makes me happier than listening to Harikatha.

Dasoham

After we have got the purpose of Hari Seva.. we must realise on our true identity. Most of us identify ourselves with our jobs and titles. The first question between two people is usually, what do you do (for a living)?
We identify with our marital status, designation, parents of somebody, or worse, knowing some VIP...
Fundamentally we need to know that we are not the body, we are the soul. The soul is never changing and the body and its relations are ever changing. The soul is who we are and the body is like a cloth which we wear temporarily before we discard it for another. When we look at the timeline from beginning of time till the end of time we are able to zoom out and see things in perspective. These 75-80 years of this life seem like a flash of light, so fleeting and temporary.
"Dasoham Kosalendrasya" said Hanumantha to Raavana when asked who he was. He didn't tell I am the great Hanuman in Sugrivas army. I flew 100 yojanas without taking a break. I found Seeta and I set fire to Lanka. I am dearest to Lord Rama..
The time we have is limited.. This human birth should be used in Hari seva.. which makes each of us Hari Dasa/ Dasi..
Maybe not directly dasa of Hari.. but haridasara dasara dasara dasara dasa...Like Kanakadasaru and Vijayadasaru wrote in some of their famous songs.
"Naanu Vishnu dasa".. That includes dasatva of Vishnu and Vaishnavas. That must be how we identify ourselves.. Then we may begin to see the Lord in everything and everyone and how we are only enacting the role the Lord has written for us.

Vishnu Preranaaya, Vishnu Preethyartham

Vishnu Preranaaya, Vishnu Preethyartham.. The motto that will save us, inspire us to live each minute with enthusiasm.
When we get up in the morning, we must seek forgiveness from Dhara devi for stepping on her. We must bathe with the anusandhana that we are offering abhisheka to the Lord within us. When we clothe ourselves, we must remember the Lord.
We must only eat that which is offered to Vishnu and his family and only then have it with utmost gratitude.
When we go about our daily work, we must remember him. Before we sleep we must offer all the days activities as a seva to him. Samarpitha to our Guru, antargatha Bharati Ramana antargatha Lakshmi Narayana...
When we have such lofty thoughts and attitude, we would never feel depressed, lost or dejected another day of our lives. Our purpose is clear. Our purpose is the Lord himself who is the only unchanging factor in this ever changing world. He would never leave us for someone better. His presence and His love is not conditional. He wouldn't leave us in times of difficulty. We all need that unchanging constant factor in our lives and that is the Lord with all his infinite glorious attributes.

A Little Of Bhojana Sandhi

Milk 354 rasa roopa VISHADA
Ghee 29 roopagalu STHIRA
Bella 5101 roopagalu THEEKSHANA
Fruits 2825 roopagalu NIRHARA

Total 8309


Kapila - Eyes
Narahari - Nose
Bhargava- Mouth Agni
Matsya - Tongue
Hamsa - Teeth
Hayagreeva- Maathu

Sankarshana
Pradyumna
Narayana- bhojya
Aniruddha- bhojya
Ramaa,Vasudeva- avakasha

Anna -Vasudeva
subhakshu -Sankarshana
Paramanna -Pradyumna
Ghee -Aniruddha
Tovve/soope -Krishna
Veggies -Upendra
Moolesha -Narayana


Khanda -Ondu ondu agalu
Akhanda -Ondu thuthu
Iveradu onde.. arpana maadu

Discourse on entire Harikathamruthasaara

The discourse on entire Harikathamruthasaara by Sri Sri Suvidyendra Tirtharu is available on kannadaaudio.com......Superb!

Having an Internet connection has finally paid off!
Started to download and listening to Harikathamruta Saara upanyasa by Vyasankere Prabhanjanacharya.

I always knew TV and films were bad. It's just getting worse each day.... It's almost porn that's being shown..
Anyway, yesterday I heard a pravachan of Swamiji.
Everyone needs to hear or see a good story. We love characters, good and bad. We want stories of love, marriage, children, victory of good over evil etc..
Lord says I have shown all of that and more in my leelas....

I would rather listen to His stories and visualise them than watch the nonsense that's shown on our TV and at the movies.

Achyutam Keshavam Raama Narayanam
Krishna Damodaram Vasudevam Hare
Sridharam Maadhavam Gopika vallabham
JanakiNayakam Ramachandram Bhaje

Hare Raam Hare Raam
Raam Raam Hare Hare
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

It's sad to see people who claim to be spiritual, religious and don't have even an ounce of 'vairaagya'.
Even at the age of 70 they haven't yet given up outside food, eating onions and garlic etc.
They haven't won over their kaama, krodha, lobha... yet.

Eshtu sahasavantha neene balavantha,
Ishta dayaka, bhali bhalire Hanumantha.
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Jaya Jaya Jagat traana Jagadolage Sutraana
Akhila guna sadhhaama Madhwa naama
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Jaya Vayu Hanumantha, Jaya Bheema balavantha
Jaya poorna mathivantha Jaya salaho Santha
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Hanumana mathave Hariya mathavu
Hariya mathave Hanumana mathavu
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Hanuma namma thayi thande
BHeema namma bandhu balaga
Ananda thirthare namma gathi gothrarayya
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Aaru mooreradu ondu savira mooreradu shathashvaasa japagala
Mooru vidha jeevarolage abjaja kalpa pariyantha
Thaa rachisi sathvarige sukha, Samsaara mishrarige,
Adhama janarigapara dukhagalaeeva guru Pavamaana salahemma

Yathra yatra raghunatha keerthanam, tathra tathra krutha masthakanjaleem
Bhashpavaari paripoorna lochanam, Maruthim namatha rakshasanthakam.

Where ever the glories of Sri Ram is being told, there Hanumantha will be present. He will sit with his hands folded above his head. His eyes well up as he hears the stories of the Lord.

Holy Places Visited In The Last 14 Months

Holy places I visited in the last 14 months.
Nov 2008- Mahalakshmi temple, Kolhapur, Balaji temple, Narayanpur (Near Pune)
Dec 2008- Gokarna, Murdeshwar, Idgunji, Sode
Jan 2009- Tirupati Balaji
Feb 09- Bandraavi Anjaneya (Ishta devata)
May 09- Yelamma temple at Savadatti, Vadiraja Swami brindavana at Sode
June 09- Yadgiri Malayya
Oct09 - Satyabodha Tirtha Swami sannidhi at Savanur
Nov09 - Vittala and Rukmini of Pandarpur, Dwarka, Somnath

Must Listen

Sumadhwa Vijaya Pravachana by Dr.V.Prabhanjanacharya is a must listen....