Surrendering to God, The Way to Joy & Bliss! - Bhagavat Gita

Many of us do Prayer sometimes, some do it daily. We all do get some peace of mind & happiness while doing Prayer. Later on when we get involved in our daily chorus, all tensions of life again surround us. Little peace that we get during prayer is lost when we experience tensions of our job. How can it be that our mind remains at peace & in a happy state of mind always?

To be at peace with yourself & be happy all the times, you need to surrender your ego to the God completely. We need to be in constant remembrance of God. We need to take complete refuge in God by surrendering our ego at the feet of God. By complete surrender to God we do get freedom from all our sins and sorrows. In God there is no sin or sorrow. God is like the Sun in which darkness cannot exist. God is complete Joy, complete Bliss. When we are surrendering our ego to God, then we are surrendering ourselves to Joy & Bliss.

Whenever our ego separates ourselves from God, we become sad & unhappy & all tensions of life surround us. In any case we should not be egoistic, as to be egoistic is to show our separate existence from God, separate existence from Joy & Bliss. When the subtle veil of ego is torn between you & God then you are full of Joy & happiness. Just think yourself to be an instrument of God & devote fully to God.

So do Complete Surrender to God, as in this way you shall be free of all tensions of life & shall be at peace & be happy during all walks of life. Below verse of Bhagwat Gita teaches the same.

"sarva-dharman parityajya
mam ekam saranam vraja
aham tvam sarva-papebhyo
mokshayisyami ma suchah" (Bhagwat Gita: Chapter Eighteen verse 66)


"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, Surrender unto Me alone. By surrendering all duties to Me, seek refuge in Me. I shall absolve you of all sins; grieve not."


Reasons behind Idol Worship in Hindu way of Life

A Guru Shishya Conversation!


Though Hindu way of life doesn't support idol worship but with time it has been embraced by all and with reasons too. Primitive man makes a scrawl of a head on wall and calls it God. Civilized man shuts his eyes and imagines an image and calls it God. Both are idols. The difference is not one of kind but only of degree. Hinduism has the courage to say so. It also has the humanity to admit within its fold even those who cannot rise above grossly concrete representations of God. A common illiterate labourer and an intellectual scholar require different concepts of God to satisfy them. So Hinduism declares that each can worship God in whatever form that suits his competence and stage of spiritual evolution.

Since the common mind of man cannot comprehend the abstractness and transcendence of the nameless and formless version of God, different idols and images enter the picture. Though these myriad images and idols may appear to be only symbols each of them points to the Supreme Power inherent in everybody and it is that One God who is worshipped in the form of idols and images. We are worshipping God in the idol and not the idol as God. This fundamental point in the practice of idol worship is the most important lesson to be learnt about Hinduism. So long as you think it is an idol you have not got it. People who do not believe in God propose excuses to find fault with the worship of God through idols and appear to be 'more loyal' than the religious, by putting forth the argument that God is formless and so should not be worshipped through idols. God can take any form and so the form of the idol is good enough for us to worship God.

QUESTION: Is the idol or icon of a deity itself the deity?

The deity is not just an idol or icon; it is that which has been invoked by mantras in the image. An idol, by constant worship through Mantras culled from the scriptures, becomes actually the very deity which has been invoked into the physical frame, by Mantra-chanting.

QUESTION: A flag is just a symbol for the nation; it is not the Nation. Does it not mean then that an idol of a deity is also only a representation and not the 'real thing'? But the Hindu tradition of giving absolute sanctity to temples and icons seems to point to the view that the icons themselves are the deities.

The answer to this question has to be carefully absorbed. In Hinduism the same question may have different answers to different levels of questioners. From the point of view that there is only one absolute Truth and everything else is only a manifestation of that Truth, an icon is only a representation and not the 'real thing'. But from the point of view of a devotee who needs to worship Divinity in name and form, the images and icons which have been sanctified by the various mantras and rituals are themselves the deities that have as much power as the Absolute. So hosts of such sanctified 'images and idols' should not be cast into the role of just a 'representation' of the Absolute as a flag for the army.  It is with this orientation that every devotee approaches a temple and worships the deity in the temple. In the beginning his attitude is to assume that the God is in the idol. But the God is certainly everywhere and so, in due time, the devotee, by the Lord's Grace, realises that his assumption that the God is in the idol, is actually a truism. Thus, what starts as an attitude or assumption, even though one may not have a belief, results in the realisation of the truth and this is far more than just belief or faith. This is the esoteric significance of idol worship. The millions of devotees who have benefited by such worship over the centuries both in their personal homes and in public temples constitute the unique testimony for the validity of this significance. The flag example is only an incomplete example.


Thus you see, Hindu way of life, its way of thinking, is broad enough to admit within its fold even those ordinary mortals who are yet to mature spiritually, above the grossly concrete representations of God. In fact the religion goes even one step further. It says, in essence, each individual can worship God in whatever form that suits his competence, taste, and stage of spiritual evolution. The strength of Hinduism, writes Monier-Williams, lies in its infinite adaptability to the infinite diversity of human character and human tendencies. It has its highly spiritual and abstract side suited to the philosopher, its practical and concrete side congenial to the man of the world, its aesthetic and ceremonial side attuned to the man of the poetic feeling and imagination and its quiescent contemplative aspect that has its appeal for the man of peace and the lover of seclusion.

The Absolute Brahman, in relation to the material universe, is called Ishvara. When we refer to Ishvara in His creative aspect, we call Him Brahma; when we refer to His aspect of sustainer and protector, we call Him Vishnu; and when we think of Him in His destructive and dissolution aspect, we refer to Him as Shiva. In each case the power or energy of the aspect is referred to as the corresponding Goddess. Just as sunlight is inseparable from the sun, so also is the power (shakti) of Ishvara inseparable from Ishvara and India naturally worships this power as Shakti, the Mother of the Universe.

QUESTION: But the practice of deity worship through idols and images seems to throw to the winds the majestic concept of Impersonality so emphatically asserted in the Upanishads. How can this be explained?


It must be admitted that all worship is image worship. Primitive man made a scrawl of a head on a rock and called it God. Civilized man shuts his eyes and imagines an anthropomorphic image with arms and legs and calls it God. Both are images. The difference is not one of kind but of degree. Hinduism has the courage to say so and also has the humanity to admit within its fold even those who cannot rise above grossly concrete representations of God. An illiterate commoner and an intellectual scholar require different concepts of God or Divinity to satisfy them. So Hinduism declares that each can worship Divinity in whatever form that suits the competence and stage of spiritual evolution of the worshipper.


Lord Shiva, the Adi Yoga Guru!

ॐ नमः शिवाय


When we talk about Yoga, Lord Shiva is considered the Adi Yogi. He is referred to as the Adi Guru because it is from him that Yoga got down to us. He is the foremost among the yogis and the first teacher of the science of Yoga. Lord is both, an ideal renouncer and also an ideal householder. He is depicted as sitting in lotus pose on mount Kailas, in deep Samadhi. The crescent moon on his head symbolizes mystical vision and knowledge while the serpent coiled around his neck symbolizes the mysterious kundalini energy present in all of us. River Ganges flows down from the crown of his head symbolizing perpetual purification that he bestows upon his devotees. He is the three-eyed one or Trilochana, the third eye or the eye of wisdom in the centre of the forehead. He is described as the “blue-throated” or Neelakanta as he drank the poison which came out during ocean churning to save this world. His trident represents the three gunas, namely tamas, rajas, and sattva.

Lord Shiva is aptly called as Yogeshwara, the lord of Yoga; Maheshwara, the Great God and Bhuteshwara, the lord of the five elements from which the universe is created.


It is said that Shiva first imparted his knowledge of Yoga to Parvati or Shakti, his consort. Also, for the good of mankind, he taught the science of Yoga to the ancient rishis who passed on this knowledge to the rest of humanity. This passing of knowledge is supposed to have taken place at the base of Kailash itself on the banks of Manasarovar Lake. All yogic and tantric systems consider him as the first Guru. These teachings by Lord Shiva have come down to us in the form of “Agama Sastras”. From these teachings, came various traditions which still exist. One of them is the Nava-Nath Tradition founded by Matsyendranath, Gorakshnath and the seven other Gurus of the Nath Tradition, which is still prevalent mostly in North India. In the South, it was the Siddha Agastya Muni, who disseminated this knowledge and created a lineage of Siddhas who specialized in Yoga, Tantra, Medicine, Astrology and other sciences.

In his teachings, Lord Shiva does not give any philosophical explanations, but instead gives very direct instructions on the methods to liberation. Shiva Sutras and Vigyana Bhairava Tantra are popular texts that contain specific techniques to liberate the embodied soul and experience his true blissful nature. These techniques got refined over the centuries through various masters, who perfected this art and then taught it their disciples. Thus a Guru-disciple tradition was developed and the wisdom of yoga was passed on through the ages.

Lord Shiva is worshipped both in his form or formless aspect. The Shiva described with form is worshiped as a powerful deity and a whole system of rituals have developed around it. He is one of the gods of the Trinity. Shiva as a God represents the destructive aspect of the Supreme reality, Brahman.

On the other hand, Shiva as formless is worshipped as the Siva Linga and is considered the ultimate reality itself. Even though the formless cannot be given a form, the oval shaped Shiva Linga is said to the first form taken during creation. Shiva is considered the supreme consciousness in which the play of creation happens in the form of Shakti. Shiva and Shakti are inseparable, just as the creation cannot be separated from the creator. The whole of creation is described as Shiva Tandava or the dance of Shiva.

Our Prostrations to the formless One, who has taken a form out of Compassion! 




The Special Shivling of Somnath

The Jyotirling of Somnath is considered to be the first Jyotirling. Pauranic traditions maintain that Moon had built a golden temple, followed by a silver temple by Ravana, Bhagvan Shree Krishna is believed to have built Somnath temple with Sandalwood. Even in Mahabharata there is a mention of Somnath. When Arjuna was on his solitary exile, he visited Somnath at the end of his exile and then went to Dwarika and married Subhadra, sister of Lord Krishna.

The research based on ancient Indian classical texts show that first Somnath Jyotirling Pran-Pratistha was done on the auspicious third day of brighter half of Shravan month during the tenth Treta yug of Vaivswat Manvantar. Swami Shri Gajananand Saraswatiji, Chairman of Shrimad Aadhya Jagadguru Shankaracharya Vedic Shodh Sansthan, Varanasi suggested that the said first temple was built 7,99,25,105 years ago as derived from the traditions of Prabhas Khand of Skand Puran.

Now lets come to the Shiv Linga of this temple. It is believed that the ShivLinga placed in the GarbhaGriha of the temple actually freely levitated in air without any support. Following is the explanation given for this property :

Mythology - The Shiva linga in the temple was believed to safely hide within its hollowness the famous स्यमन्तक मणि- Syamantak Mani, the Philosopher's stone associated with Sun god and Lord Krishna. It was a magical stone, capable of producing about 80 gms. of gold daily. It had Alchemic and Radioactive properties. It could create a force field around itself that kept the linga floating above ground. The Linga was kept under cover of BelPatras-- Aegle marmelos-- to prevent the dangerous effects of its radio protective properties.

There is also historical account of this levitated Shivling and it comes from the account of none other than Zakariya Al Quazwini. Here's his description of Mahmud Ghazni's encounter with the Linga :
“When the king asked his companions what they had to say about the marvel of the idol, and of its staying in the air without prop or support,several maintained that it was upheld by some hidden support. The king directed a person to go and feel all around and above and below it with a spear, which he did, but met with no obstacle. One of the attendants then stated his opinion that the canopy was made of loadstone, and the idol of iron, and that the ingenious builder had skillfully contrived that the magnet should not exercise a greater force on anyone side-hence the idol was suspended in the middle. Some coincided, others differed. Permission was obtained from the Sultan to remove some stones from the top of the canopy to settle the point. When two stones were removed from the summit the idol swerved on one side, when more were taken away it inclined still further, until at last it rested on the ground.”
In 1951 the Somnatha construction was completed and the sacred installation ceremony of the Shiva Lingam was performed by the president of India. The present Somnatha Linga is the largest of the 12 Jyotir Lingas. It is a greyish cylinder formed stone made of granite about 1m high and 60cm in diameter. The top is rounded and the Lingam is placed in a large silver plated Yoni.



Somnath Jyotirling Temple - Some facts

The temple city of Somnath or Prabhas Patan is situated in the state of Gujarat on the Arabian Sea. This is the first among the twelve Jyotirlings. Since ancient times, Prabhas Patan has been a pilgrimage center, being the confluence of the mythological Saraswati, Hiranya and Kapila. Legend has it that Lord Shiva’s Kalbhairav linga is situated at Prabhas. It is also associated with the moon as the Moon God is also said to have worshipped this Shivling. This is also the reason why this temple is popularly known as Somnath, the one named after the moon. The present temple, Kailash Mahameru Prasad is built in the Chalukya style of temple architecture and reflects the inherent skill of sompuras, Gujarat’s master masons. It has the shikhara, the Garbhagriha, the sabha mandap and the nritya mandap.
On the Southern side of the temple, on the wall at the sea shore, there is a pillar. It is called “Baanstambh” बाणस्तंभ्. On the top of the pillar is placed a globe of Earth and an arrow pierces through it. On the pole is inscribed “Aasmudrant Dakshindhuvparyant Abaadhit Jyotirmarga”. It means If you start travelling from Somnath Temple towards South in Arabian Sea, you will not meet any land until you reach the South Pole or the Antarctica. The temple has been built in such a position that there is no land between the Somnath temple and Antarctica.
Baanstambh

This very sacred pilgrim centre is also called Prabhas Teerth. The temple houses one of the oldest consecrated Jyotir Lingas mentioned in Rigveda, Skanda Purana and Mahabharata. It is believed that the Shivlinga placed in the sanctum (Garbha Griha) of the temple actually freely levitated in air without any support. This is mentioned in the Puranas and also in the account given by Zakaria Al Qazwini, the famous astronomer and geographer. The present Somnath Linga is the largest of the 12 Jyotir Lingas. It is a greyish cylinder formed stone made of granite about 1m high and 60cm in diameter. The top is rounded and the Lingam is placed in a large silver plated Yoni.
Somnath Jyotirling
In AD 1026, Mahmud of Ghazni first looted the temple, and then came Afzal Khan, the commander of Ala-ud-din Khilji and later Aurangzeb. It is said that the temple was looted and destroyed as many as seventeen times. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was instrumental in the construction of this present temple, an edifice reminding visitors of the splendour of the original Somnath temple. Renowned temple architect Prabhaschandar designed it and the first President of India Dr. Rajendra Prasad installed the Jyotirling in the new temple on May 11, 1951. The present temple is built in the Chalukya style of temple architecture and reflects the inherent skill of sompuras, Gujarat’s master masons. It has the Shikhara, the Garbhagriha, the Sabha Mandap and the Nritya Mandap.

The temple of Somnath that resurrected from ashes many a times.

The peak of the temple when seen against the sun reveals Nandi & Trishul on the Flag (Dwaj) atop the tower.
The roof of the temple has beautiful architecture. And it looks more grandeur early morning when first rays of sun fall on it.


Close by is the very old Sun Temple, which dates back to time of the original Temple of Somnath and gives a clue what the original temple looked like. This very old temple give an indication of what the original Somnath Temple was like.
Sun Temple near Somnath temple

In the northern main street leading to the temple is the Prabhas Patan Museum. The museum displays remains from the earlier Somnath Temples which were found on excavations. Those relics tells us the glorious past of this temple and its architecture. I’ll cover that with the detailed history and photographs of those relics of the temple later.
Not to be missed, just few meters away from the temple, on the Arabian Sea coast are found naturally formed Shivlings. Few lie on the coast itself while couple of them are in the sea with sea water doing the abhishek.









AUM - What it represents!

~AUM ~ 


"Om" has evolved to become~ I AM . AUM represents this sound in its fullness from creation to eventual destruction.

~ “A” represents beginning, start and emanation of the universe and life. A is an open sound formed with open lips and it resonates in the front of the mouth. It represents creation.

~“U” is produced from the back of the mouth with closed lips. It represents the sustenance of the universe and it is the middle between creation and destruction.

~ “M” is produced with closed lips and it resonates forward in the mouth and buzzes throughout the head. It represents the ending, destruction, and death of life and the universe.

After "M" is 'silence" which is the transcendental state of mind, where non-duality is experienced as being is no longer disconnected. Super conscious mind predominates in this state and it is similar to what is often called cosmic consciousness.

~ “sound produced without striking.”~

~ It is an unstruck sound, which unlike ordinary audible sounds is not produced by two things striking one another.

The hand strikes the guitar strings to produce sound, the wind brushes against leaves producing a rustling sound, the saxophonist’s lips press against the reed to produce a musical sound, or the most obvious the drum stick strikes the drum. The unstruck sound occurs without a striking force, as vibrational atoms of the universe produce this sound through their pulsating “dance,” which is the sound of the primal energy of the universe.

AUM represents this sound in its fullness from creation to eventual destruction

~ AUM ~ 'OM' symbolically connects the individual to the cosmos through a sound that represents all aspects of the creative energy from its inception to destruction. The hidden sound of silence hints at transcendent awareness hidden from conscious awareness through egoism and illusionary nature of the phenomenal world.

Creation-sustenance-destruction are part of one continuum, not separate processes. Destruction is necessary for creation.

AUM ~ became the sacred word Hum of the Tibetans;
AMIN of the Moslems
AMEN of the , Greeks, Romans, Jews, and Christians

In Egyptian times it was ~ Om Amun Ra . ~ ~"Om Tare Tuttare Ture Svaha"


God and Types of his Devotees

Satsangs or religious congregations are part of Indian culture. We see it happening in every other city or village of the country. In such a crowd of religious congregation, out of thousands of people you may find very few who are true seekers of God, who has a true knowledge of God and maybe only one who has seen God & is a True Saint. So there is a rare person who has seen God & who live in true bliss of God.

Devotees are of different types. Some remember God when they are in distress & want to get rid of their grief. Some want to know God due to their inquisitiveness about Him. Some pray God to attain wealth in life while some wise men want to have true knowledge of God. As per Bhagwat Gita there are 4 types of devotees of God.

1) First one being those who remember and call God when in distress. Such people devote themselves to God because they wish to be liberated from grief.

2) The second group of people is those who want to know about God. Such people have faith in God and because of their inquisitiveness, debate about the God, read books etc. to know more about God.

3) The third being those who want to gain wealth in life. They would go to temples etc. praying to God to give them wealth, money etc. Such people do their appointed task for money because doing it will bring good fortune to them. So such people are the doers of selfish action in life.

4) Fourth group being one’s seeking the true knowledge. Such people are really the wise men. They have true knowledge to God. They are the realized sages, who have attained to the stage of reaching the supreme goal.

In Bhagwat Gita also the Great Lord, Shree Krishna says the same about this matter. Below are the verses of Bhagawat Gita which explain about the same.

"Manush-yanam sahes-tresu kashchid yatati siddhyaye
yat-taam api siddhanam kashchin mam vetti tatvatah"

“Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, Of thousands of men some rare soul strives to realize Me & endeavour for perfection, and of those striving Yogis, again, someone rare one (devoting himself exclusively to Me) knows Me in reality."


"chatur-vidha bhajante mam janah sukritino ’rjuna
arto jijnasur artharthi jnani cha bharatarsabha"

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, four kinds of pious men begin to render devotional service unto Me—the distressed, the inquisitive, the desirer of wealth, and the one who is searching for knowledge of the Absolute."


"udarah sarva evaite jnani tv atmaiva me matam
asthitah sa hi yuktatma mam evanuttamam gatim"

"Sri Krishna said: All these devotees are undoubtedly magnanimous souls, but he who is situated in knowledge of Me, I consider being just like My own self. Being engaged in My transcendental service, he/she is sure to attain Me, the highest and most perfect goal."


So just check, which type of devotee of God are you. Our aim should be to thrive for the fourth group, the person who wants to search for the true knowledge and gain the same. To become the wise one! And to achieve this we need to devote ourself to God, read religious literature, join the company of saintly people, and give charities, alms to the people. Doing all such good works & having a yearning for God, we shall certainly become a wise person, a true devotee of God & shall ultimately attain to Him.



Convert suffering into spiritual strength.

True devotees of God do not pray for wealth or material benefits. They do not even pray for the removal of suffering. What they pray for is the strength to bear their sufferings. 

There is a fine song by Rabindranath Tagore:

Lord give me strength to bear Thy standard to whom Thou hast been pleased to give it. Give me the devotion to bear the greatest pain that is unavoidable in Thy service. Thou mayest fill my heart with great pain.

I do not want even to get rid of this gift of suffering that Thou art giving me with Thine own hands. This misery will be my crest-jewel, if with it Thou givest me also devotion to Thee. Give me work as much as Thou likest, if Thou dost not allow me to forget Thee, nor my heart to get itself lost in the entanglements of the world.

If Thou wishest, do Thou bind me as much as Thou likest but keep my heart open to Thee. Do thou not allow me to forget Thee on any account! 

[The song being Tomar Pataka Jare Dao, by Rabindranath Tagor in Naivedya, 20]

And then there is the beautiful prayer of Kunti to Sri Krishna:

[विपदः सन्तु नः शश्वत्तत्र तत्र जगद्गुरो । भवतो दर्शनं यत्स्यादपुनर्भवदर्शनम्॥ 
Vipada santu nah shashvattatra tatra jagatguroh. Bhavato darshanam yatsyadpunarbhavadarshanam.
Bhagavatam 1.8.25]

O, Teacher of the whole world, let calamities come to us from all directions, for they enable us to have your vision which puts an end to the cycle of rebirths. 






Gyanganj or Siddhasram - The Land of Immortals

Swami Vishuddhananda Paramhansa
Gyaanganj is an invisible ashram hidden from normal human eyes and is known as the land of the immortals. Many believers say that this is the heavenly kingdom that shapes our destiny.

I asked Baba, so is there a secret territory in our center, which in most probability escaped all geographical observations? A place that provides the perfect environment and opportunities for spiritual evolution, a place where thousands of wise beings immortal and perfect plan the evolution of the human race, or rather, of all sentient beings? In the deep earth, is such a place an empirical reality or just bad science fiction?

On my prodding Baba then explained to me about Gyanganj, he first said yes he did visit the place few times and he was taken there by two other siddhas. Gyanganj exists on a different level, a higher dimension. But, yes, on a gross level it has a location parallel in known places on earth. Yes such a place do exist, camouflaged and in seclusion, and is accessible to only siddhas. It is not heaven on earth, but a mystical kingdom that guards the most sacred and ancient teachings of the world, including the Kalachakra (Wheel of Time).

Ordinary human beings with little or no spiritual development cannot enter this realm. Only the highly developed yogis and sadhaks can enter this realm in their causal and physical body. And they are taken there by siddhas who are already dwelling there in Siddhasram (One of many names of Gyanganj). Gyanganj exists on three planes, physical, divine and spiritual. And the enlightened souls too exist on three levels – Causal, Greater Causal and Ultra Spiritual. They possess the ability to easily transcend all the three levels, and those Ultra Spiritual ones living in their causal body, have the power to appear in their physical body too.

In that land, words and voice are not needed for communication. In Madhyama, Pashyanti and Para levels only intent is enough to communicate. In Gyanganj, if a great man looks at you, you can feel his intent and the message that he wants to convey. Using the computer jargon his intents are instantly decoded and you get to know what he is trying to say. Actually if the developments in present day science are to be compared with the level of developments in Gyanganj, they stand nowhere. Most of the science is involved in three dimensional worlds but in Gyanganj the yogis are working on the fourth dimension as well. Today’s science has learnt the art of creating energy from an atom but they don’t know how to create atom from that energy. In Gynaganj there are
technologies that are referred to as Surya Vigyan and Chandra Vigyan. According to the basic principle of Surya Vigyan, the core of every material is composed of Sun rays, and by changing the ratio of sun rays you can change the property of that material. Rose can be converted into Marigold. By concentrating sun rays, matter can be created in vacuum. It is from Gyanganj that Vishudhanandji learned Surya Vigyan. Vishudhananda have stayed many times in Gyanganj where he learned Surya Vigyan or solar science. The Surya Vigyan gave him the power to manifest objects or transform one object into another by manipulating the sun's rays. You have read Autobiography of Yogananda, there he describes his meeting with Vishudhananda in Calcutta and witnessing his feature to create any kind of scent in the air on request. This he used to do with the use of his Surya Vidya.

All the great souls of our time and the times gone by who left their physical bodies are living in Gyanganj in their causal body. Great saints like Shirdi’s Sai Baba, Nanga Baba, Sant Gyaneshwar, Mahavatar Babaji Maharaj, and many others are living in Gyanganj. They keep appearing in the subconscious of Sadhakas and other blessed souls and telepathically direct them to perform deeds that are helpful to the humanity. Every other great sadhakas in this world do visit Gyanganj once or many times to gain more knowledge. Why did Jesus Christ need to visit Tibet and Himalayas? Was it just to meet the sadhus of Himalayas as mentioned or was there more to it?

So where exactly is this Gyanganj? They allocate the region in the north of Kailash-Mansarovar in Tibet. It covers an area of several square kilometers and is full of lakes of clear water. In Tibet, this legendary land of spiritual enlightenment is known as Shambala, a Sanskrit term for the Tibetan means "the source of happiness." There is a drawbridge that connects Gyanganj to our world. At the end of this drawbridge there is a device that allows lifting when required. This device is used by means of Surya Vigyan, only those who are adept in this knowledge can use it. There are many other places, scattered in India on gross level, the land of Gyanganj. The area of the River Alaknanda is one such place. The riverbed of Mandakini is also very mysterious: spiritual giants through the ages have lived here and is considered at gross level of Gyanganj. The entire region from Rishikesh to Kailash and Yamunotri to Nandadevi is the land of the siddha. In Bihar, many siddhas attend the mountain of Giridhkoot. The Nilgiris and Srisailam in south India are also known as a haven of secrets and considered to be part of Gyanganj. The hills of Arunachala in Tamil Nadu, where Ramana Maharishi created his ashram, that’s another land of siddha and at gross level of Gyanganj. In the west, Girnaur saw the activity of siddha. The Indians, of course, does not have a monopoly on Gyanganj. People from other parts of the world live there, including many Tibetan lamas and many even from Greece.

Proof by other saints and books about Gyanganj:

In India, this secret, sacred land is known as Gyanganj or Siddashram. References to Gyanganj or
ashram secrets can be found in Hindu scriptures such as the Ramayana of Valmiki and the Mahabharat. Guru Nanak called it Sach Khand. Even our Upanishad has mention of Gyanganj. Closer to our time, Paramahansa Yogananda, in his celebrated "Autobiography of a Yogi" writes of the encounter with the guru of gurus, Mahavatar Babaji, an immortal of long age who appears increasingly young and still living in the Himalayas. Babaji has also appeared in some other advanced research and is said to be connected with Gyanganj.

To understand the story of Gyanganj, best is to read the writings of Gopinath Kaviraj, a former dean of the State University of Sanskrit in Benares. Kaviraj wrote a book called Siddahbhoomi Gyanganj, which was translated from Bengali into Hindi and published by Bharatiya Vidya Prakashan. The main source of information Kaviraj was his guru, Swami Vishudhananda, a Bengali who moved to Benares. It is believed that Vishudhanandaji had stayed for a long period in Gyanganj where he learned Surya Vigyan or solar science. Different books about Yogirajadhiraj Swami Vishuddhananda Paramhansadeva, tells in details about his talks on Gyanganj and all the visits he made there besides the knowledge he gained.


Dr. Narayan Dutt Shrimali, an astrologer-tantric- guru based in Jodhpur who published Mantra- Tantra Yantra Vigyan, a monthly Hindi, says he did his sadhana in Siddhashram, where his name was Nikhileshwarananda. That's where he acquired his occult powers. Later his guru in Siddhashram told him they wanted him to return to his family life and help in spreading the wisdom of Siddhashram. 

Sanatan Dharma follows Monotheism, even Lord says so in Gita

While acknowledging many ‘Gods’ or celestial beings, Sanatan Dharma actually believes in one supreme God who creates and sustains the universe. The word God in itself suggests that He is unique and is Supreme, supreme as in the greatest and no one greater. Logically there cannot be more than one Supreme Being. If ones greatness was equal to another’s greatness then neither would be supreme. Therefore the word ‘Gods’ is grammatically incorrect. According to the Vedic scriptures, there are numerous Hindu deities that serve as “Manifestations” of this “One Supreme God”.

In Bhagavat Gita Lord Talks about himself but what he is referring to throughout is that One Supreme God. And he tells us in details about this Supreme Being. This part has been dealt with in details by the Lord in Chapter 10. From Verse 21 to Verse 40 he tells in details all where He is present making it clear God is omnipresent. Here are few shlokas where he makes it clear that God is none but that One Supreme Being!

yo mam ajam anadim ca vetti loka-mahesvaram,
asammudhah sa martyesu sarva-papaih pramucyate.

He who knows Me as the Unborn One without a beginning and also knows Me as the great Lord of the world, is not deluded among mortals and is delivered from all reactions to sin.


aham atma gudakesa sarva-bhutasaya-sthitah,
aham adis ca madhyam ca bhutanam anta eva ca.

I am, O Arjuna, the soul in the heart of all living beings; I am the origin, also the middle and as well indeed the end of all existing.


sarganam adir antas ca madhyam caivaham arjuna,
adhyatma-vidya vidyanam vadah pravadatam aham.

Of all creations I am the beginning and the end and also the middle, O Arjuna. Of all sciences I am the spiritual science of the Self, and among logicians I am the conclusive truth.


yac capi sarva-bhutanam bijam tad aham arjuna,
na tad asti vina yat syan maya bhutam caracaram.

O Arjuna, I am the generating seed of all existences. Of whatever that of all the beings may exist I am the source; nothing of the moving and unmoving exists without Me.


nanto 'sti mama divyanam vibhutinam parantapa,
esa tuddesatah prokto vibhuter vistaro maya.

O mighty conqueror of enemies, there is no end to My divine manifestations. What I have spoken to you is but a mere indication of My infinite opulence’s.


yad yad vibhutimat sattvam srimad urjitam eva va,
tat tad evavagaccha tvam mama tejo-'msa-sambhavam,

Whatever of power that has existence and is of beauty and glory indeed, all those you must certainly know as being born as a part of My splendor.




Bhakti Yoga as said by Lord Krishna.

Srimad Bhagavat Gita is a book that has lessons how to lead our lives, be it for anyone. It teaches us about Karma Yoga, Dharma Yoga, Raja Yoga, Bhakti Yoga etc.

As far as Bhakti is concerned, as per Srimad Bhagwat Gita, there are two types of Bhakti. First is Para Bhakti and other is Apara Bhakti & each one is directed towards a different aspect of God. Apara-Bhakti is for beginners in Yoga. The beginner decorates an image with flowers and garlands, rings the bell, offers Naivedya (food-offerings), wave lights; he observes rituals and ceremonies. The Bhakta here regards the Lord as a Supreme Person, who is immanent in that image and who can be propitiated through that form only. Gradually, from Apara-Bhakti, the devotee goes to Para-Bhakti, the highest form of Bhakti. He sees the Lord and Lord alone everywhere and feels His Power manifest as the entire universe. "Thou art all-pervading; on what Simhasana shall I seat Thee? Thou art the Supreme Light, in your borrowed light the sun, the moon, the stars and the fire shine; shall I wave this little Deepa or light before You?" - Thus the devotee recognizes the transcendental nature of God. Para-Bhakti and Gyana are one. Before you take your food, offer it to God mentally; and the food will be purified. When you pass through a garden of flowers, mentally offer all the flowers to the Lord in Archana (offering flowers in worship). When you pass through the bazaar and see a sweetmeat shop, offer all the sweetmeats as Naivedya to the Lord. Such practices will lead to Para-Bhakti. . While most of people follow the, Apara Bhakti which is the easier path to salvation. It is in fact the starting point of Bhakti & on that account it is also called the premature stage of Bhakti.

As per the Bhagwat Gita, devotion is the easiest method to develop "Bhaav" and get close to the God. God himself declares about the glory of devotion in Bhagwat Gita:

Ye tu dharmamritam idam yathoktam paryupasate,
Sraddadhana mat-parama bhaktas te ’tiva me priyah.

"Sri Krishna said to Arjuna: O Arjuna, Those who follow this imperishable path of devotional service and who completely engage themselves with faith, making Me the supreme goal, are very, very dear to Me."

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mayy eva mana adhatsva mayi buddhim nivesaya,
Nivasisyasi mayy eva ata urdhvam na samsayah.

"Sri Krishna said: O Arjuna, Just fix your mind upon Me and engage all your intelligence in Me. Thus you will live in Me always, without a doubt."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Man-mana bhava mad-bhakto mad-yaji mam namaskuru,
Mam evaishyasi satyam te pratijane priyo ’si me.

"Sri Krishna says to Arjuna: Always think of Me, become My devotee, worship Me and offer your homage unto Me. Thus you will come to Me without fail. I promise you this because you are My very dear friend."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja,
Aham tvam sarva-papebhyo mokshayisyami ma suchah.

"Sri Krishna says to Arjuna: Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


So let's have devotion in God. Let's remember God for some time in our daily life so that we too can generate some "Bhaav" or "Spiritual Emotion" towards the God. Once that is developed, we shall always find God near us & our life shall be filled with joy, love & ecstasy.




Importance of the number 108 from Vedic Era.

The importance of the number 108 in Sanatan Dharma from Vedic era is remarkable. The Indian scholars in vedic time were excellent mathematics scholars. This number is sacred since the vedic time and mentioned from the oldest texts we have. 

1 stands for God or the higher truth, 0 stands for emptiness and completeness in spiritual practice and the 8 for the infinity and eternity.

The Sanskrit alphabet called Devanagari has 54 letters and each of them has feminine and masculine form. Hence that makes: 54 x 2 = 108

The rosary of the vedic time has 108 beads, Lord Krishna has 108 gopis or maid servant, we have 108 Upanishades. In the heart chakra (Anahata) we have intersections of energy lines, which are 108 to form the heart chakra. The important of the number 108 is also seen in the 108 names for Gods like Lord Shiva and many others.

There are 108 forms of dance in Indian tradition. In the Sree Yantra central point (Bindu), there are 3 lines intersecting and we have 54 intersections, each masculine and feminine. These 108 points defines the Sri Yantra and the human body.

The Vedic system says the universe is created by 5 elements; Space, Air, Fire, Water and Earth and they are the reason for 3 attributes; Birth, Protection and Destruction, They are called Guna in Sanskrit and known as Raja, Sata and Tama guna. This cycle has, according to mathematical and geographical evidence 360 degrees. This teaching is very much symbolic. If we take the space as the cycle and divide it by the 4 other elements and multiply them with the 3 attributes we get the idea of time. 3 x 4 = 12 and we have the number of months in a year and the half of a day by 12 hours. We have 27 Naksatra or fixed stars and added them to the 3 gunas, it forms our months of 30 days. The ancient sages counted only the day time and for the night they multiplied by 2. If we multiply our 360 degree by 30 we get 10800. The 0 was taken as complete, we need only take the first 3 numbers 108. The ancient Sages took the "108" as the representation of the complete universe. 

By the offer and singing any mantra 108 times the respect towards the supreme is considered complete.






Reason why Many Gods in Hinduism.

Why does Sanatam Dharma or as it is represented today as Hinduism, have many Gods? The worship of many Gods in Sanatan Dharma has its root in Realisation of Ultimate Truth, the source of all creations. And it is based on our Vedas, the roots of this Realisation lies in Vedanta. Vedas are the sacred books upon which whole Sanatan Dharma rests. Besides details of ceremonies and worships, Vedas also have detailed records of truths concerning nature of our Universe as witnessed by our Rishis (Sages) in their super-conscious states of meditations. Apart from facts like evolution, theory of space, atomic structure of matter, Vedas have chronicled details of the presence of an Ultimate Reality which is the source of all creations.

In Vedas, the guiding book for us all, this Ultimate Reality is called as Brahman and is considered to be subtle, all pervading and infinite. It is an ocean of consciousness and according to Vedanta, from this Ocean of Consciousness originates both Matter and Living Beings. Vedanta tells us how like waves in the ocean rises, so do the entire phenomenal Universe comprising living beings (Chetan) and Matter (Jad) emanates from this Ocean of Consciousness. Like Oceans pervading the waves, the Divinity of God pervades all things; living and non-living. This is why plants, animals, rivers and mountains are all ascribed a divinity in the Hindu religion.

It is this truth that finds the expression of many deities in Sanatan Dharma. Ancient Rishis found beauty and God in everything. In air, water, fire, even in dead woods or rocks, they found the presence of the Infinite Being. They realised this God is everywhere and in everything, including you and me. 

As Swami Abhedananda, one of the direct disciples of Swami Vivekananda said: “There is no such thing as dead matter. You may call this table dead matter but there is life in it. Everything is alive and the prana or life-force is all pervading. It is the cause of molecular activity; it is the cause of the movements of the electrons. When the latent life force leaves the table it will disintegrate into electrons and vanish into the ocean of eternal energy.”

Vedanta is a rational philosophy and hence never demands blind following of any particular path or given God. Anyone can seek and find the truth and God by following any path they wish to follow for themselves. And of the many paths, one is through prayers and meditations. We focus our mind to a specific aspect of the Supreme Being, and try to manifest that into our own nature. This way the spirit is freed to unite with that Consciousness or God. For the Rishis it was possible to meditate upon the formless, the “Nirakar” but what about the common man! Inexperienced mind would find it impossible to concentrate upon the Qualitative Attributes of a Formless. Try doing so; meditate on purity of the Supreme Being, imagining a blank space or vacuum. This is because our mind best focuses through the five senses and among them Sight being the best. Keeping this aspect in mind, Adi Rishis contemplated images for various attributes of God.


Thus the Rishis, took the countless attributes of the Universal Lord, and creatively depicted each of them in the forms of the various Gods and Goddesses. For example, the three types of power of one God are known as Brahma, the creator who represents the creative, motherly power of God; Vishnu, who represents the sustaining or nurturing power of God; and Shiva, who represents the devouring power of God. Similarly, that aspect of the Supreme which guides our intellect on the path of righteousness is called Mother Gayatri, the power which enhances our creativity is Goddess Saraswati and the courage that helps us leap across oceans, is Lord Hanuman. In this way arise the multitudinous deities in Hinduism. And the purpose of these idols is to help the devotee to concentrate during prayer and meditation.

The various Hindu Gods all exist, but not independently. Just as the seven colours exist within one ray of light, so too these various Hindu Gods exist within the Supreme, as names of his different qualities. It is for this reason that the Vedas declare, “Ekam sad vipra bahudha vadanti” – God is One, whom we call by various names. Thus in truth, Sanatan Dharma or as it’s called now a day’s Hinduism, is a monotheistic religion. The many Gods of the Hindus are simply a creative acknowledgement of the numerous powers and manifestations of the One Supreme Lord. His manifestations are worshipped as the various Elements of Nature (Jad), while His Conscious Powers (Chetan) are worshipped in the form of different Gods and Goddesses.