Visiting the Hanumaanji Temple in Karol Bagh

Dear Friends, we went to the famous Hanumaanji temple near Karol Bagh recently. I really liked the temple. It has the world's highest statue of hanumaanji in it, which can be seen from the nearby locality as well as from the Metro route. The views is really amazing! The Statue has Shri Ram along with Sita Mata inside the chest of hanumaanji, which looks so Divine, as you can find out from the pictures in the internet!! The temple is a small one but it has 'puja sthal' for different gods as well. I Loved the ambience of the temple, it is very very simple, quite, without any frivolous activity. Though you can have the 'darshan' of the Hanumaanji idol from the outside only, inside there are some other deities as well- Shivji, Mata Vaishno Devi and Ganga Maiya.

Visiting the temple was really a Wonderful experience :) 

Do visit this serene temple sometime :)

 Jai Bajrangbali!

Navadha Bhakti: The Nine ways of Devotion

This is an excellent topic I was thinking to write about for a long time. Recently one of my Dear Sister Vedo from IF posted the Lyrics with English Translation. So thought to share it with all of you.

Shabri Ma wanted to learn more from Sri Ram about the path of Bhakti (Devotion). Thus Sri Ram explained:

1) Pratham Bhagati Santan kar sangaa

The first step to devotion (Bhakti) is to keep company of the Saintly

2) Doosri rati mam kathaa prasangaa

The second step is to enjoy listening to discourses pertaining to the Lord.

3) Guru pankaj seva, teesri bhakti amaan

The third step, is to believe, humbly in Guru/God.

4) Chouthi Bhagati mam gun gaan, karai kapat tajee gaan

The fourth step is earnestly (without hypocrisy) sing the praises of the Lord.

5) Mantra jaap mam dridh Visvaasaa, Pancham, bhajan jo Ved Prakaasaa

Chant the Vedic Mantras with immense faith.

6) Chattha dasa seela birati bahu karmaa, nirat nirantara sajjan dharma

The sixth step is not to react in adverse circumstances, yet act, perform ones karma, like the great ones do.

7) Saatvam sam mohi main jag dekhaa, motey sant adhik kar lekhaa

The seventh step is to perceive the world as God Himself. And believe the saintly to be greater than the Lord.

8) Aathvam jathaa laabh santoshaa, sapneu nahin, dekhai par doshaa

The eighth, is a state (which one arrives at when one travels the first seven steps) where there is no desire left, but the gift of perfect peace. (In this state) one does not see fault in others, even in a dream.

9) Navam saral sab san chhal heena, mam bharos heenya harash na deenaa

In this state one has full faith in the Lord, becomes (child-like) simple with no hypocrisy. In this state, he does not fly high or sink low (but becomes equanimous).

These lines are from Tulsidasji's RamcharitManas. Ramnanad Sagarji used a modified version of this part in his TV Serial Ramayan. Here is the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKGbq6Y0PGI

And the Lyrics from the serial, posted by Shivang:

Navdha bhagati kahahun tohin paahi, Saavdhaan sunu, dhar man maahi.
Now I am telling you about 9 types of devotion to which you carefully pay attention and imbibe into heart.


Pratham bhagati santan kar sangaa, Dusari rati Prabhu kathaa prasangaa.
First type of devotion is 'To seek company of saint people', and the second type is 'To develop love for attending the events of story telling about Lord.'

Gurupad pankaj sevaa, teesari bhagati amaan,
Chauthi bhagati Prabhu gun-gan, karai kapat tyaji gaan.
Third is 'To serve the lotus feet of Guru without any pride/ego', and fourth is 'To sing the virtues of Lord leaving aside all the cunningness/decietfulness.'

Mantra-jaap Prabhu dradh biswaasaa, Pancham bhajan suved-prakaashaa.
Fifth well known in Vedas is 'To chant the mantras of Lord keeping faith on that Supreme power of Universe',

Chhath dam sheel virati bahu karmaa, Nirat nirantar sajjan dharmaa.
Sixth type is 'To regulate senses, to have pure character & nature, detachment from excessive works/ambitions and to follow continuously duties of noble man'.

Saatam sam Harimay jag dekhaa, Hari te sant adhik kari lekhaa.
Seventh is 'To see the entire universe equally staying in Lord and to treat devotee saints more than God'.

Aatham jathaa laabh santoshaa, Swapanehu nahi dekhahi pardoshaa.
Eighth is 'To feel contented with whatever available and not to look at anyone's faults to be one's faults even in dreams.'

Navam saral sab san chhal heenaa, Hari bharos hiy harash n deenaa.
Ninth is 'To follow simplicity and innocence in behaviour with all without cheating anyone ever and to keep faith in heart in all situations with neutrality of reactions in both joyful & sorrowful situations.

Navdha bhagati sabari kehe denhi, Saadar Sabari sis dhari linhi.
Thus, HE conveyed the knowledge of nine types of devotion to Shabari and Shabari also grasped the message like an order of Lord with total respect.

Jai Shri Ram!

Navratri, Shri Ram Navmi and Hanumaan Jayanti Wishes

Belated Navratri, Shri Ram Navmi and Hanumaan Jayanti wishes to all of you. I am really late in this post and the following topics as well, which I am going to take up right after this one :).

Hope you all had great time during these festivals.

Here is a beautiful Thread on Navratri:

http://www.india-forums.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1655220

Now this thread is about Shri Ram Navmi:

http://www.india-forums.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1658607

And lastly, this one is celebrating Hanumaan Jayanti:

http://www.india-forums.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1663651

All these threads are so Rich in their Content that I do not have anything more to add. Just go through any of them if you have time, you'll have a Blissful time! And we can Learn So Much from each of the informative posts!! Credit goes to the thread starters- Vedo and Lola- my Dear Sisters from India Forums :).

Jai Mata Rani!

Jai Shri Ram!

Jai Bajrangbali Hanumaan!

In a Blissful State!!

Dear Friends, I am very Happy since last few days, so wanted to share it with all of you.

Firstly, My favourite Geeta Episodes of Ramanand Sagar's 'Shri Krishna' TV Serial, were Uploaded to YouTube by someone, they are so Rich in Content! I am very Happy to find the whole series on YouTube suddenly...

(For the complete entry read from here:

Then I got some the songs of the Bengali Movie 'Boidurjo Rahasya' in YouTube. Those are mainly Devotional songs on Shri Krishna, and 'Boidurjo Rahasya' is one of my all time favourite movies!!

Search results for Baidurjya Rahasya

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Baidurjya+Rahasya+&aq=f

Thirdly, I got the song 'HareKrishna naam dilo priyo Balaraam' in YouTube only the day before yesterday!!! I have been searching for this song since last one year, but could not find it! Ok, the original song is by Sandhya Mukhopadhyay, I could not find that version, but this one is also very good. Moreover, I got the Lyrics, which are very very Sweet...

Hare Krishno Naam Dilo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72F4OGXlxrA

And lastly, I remembered about the song 'Aaji e probhaate, tomari chorone' from the movie 'Gurudokshina' and found that one also in Youube! It is such a refreshing song appreciating Lord's Blessing in each moment of our life!

Aaji E Probhate in Bengali Classic Movie Guru Dakshina in Bengali Movie Song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIamyFjoS5M

Now you all can easily understand the meaning of the Title of today's post!... :) The Lord is soooo Kind!!

Jai Shri Krishna!

Happy Maha Shivaratri

Dear Friends,

We had a Puja at our home on the occasion of Shivaratri. We played 'Damarupaani Shoolpaani' in the background during the time of puja and also watched 'Rameshwaram Sthaapna' sc from RS-Ramayan after the puja with my family members. It was a very very Blissful experience. I clicked this picture after the ceremony and wanted to share with you all :

Here is a sequence from Ramanand Saagar's Ramayan which is divided into 4 continuous parts in YouTube upload, where Shri Ram and Lord Shiva tells about the Respect they have for each other.

YouTube Link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cGYl8dVN0Y&feature=related

The scene starts from 8 minutes of this video, when Shri Ram decides to do a Shiv Puja at the sea shore before crossing the sea.The monkeys are busy preparing the bridge to reach Lanka.

Now the scene continues upto the next link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmGuavEuqZE&feature=related

Lyrics :-

"Ling sthaapi vidhivat kari pooja, siv samaan priy, mohe n duja;
Sivdrohi mam bhagat kahaao, so nar sapnehu mohe n paavon;
Sankar vimukh bhagati chahe mori, so naar ki mudh mati thori."

Now the next few links of the whole sequence:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlFIfuSaj9I&feature=related

BTW- Here we also have the very Meaningful song- 'Ram naam aadhaar jinhe'- which tells us about the Glory, the Power, the Greatness of Shri Ram.

At the end of the scene, Shri Ram explains about the name 'Rameshwar'.

Next link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_F-wyr9QaxM&feature=related

Upto 1 min of this last link, where we find the dialogue of Lord Shiva, the way He explains about the name- 'Rameshwar'- which proves the Mutual Respect and Love they have for each other. Really a great scene!! and So Significant to watch on this day of Shivaratri!!)

Rameshwaram ki staapana
Ram- "Ram: ishwaro yasya sa Rameshwar:"
and
Shiva- "Ramasya Ishwar: yah, sa Rameshwar:"

Om Namah Shivay!

Satyanarayan Puja

Dear Friends,

Last week, I was very Happy to attend a Satyanarayan Katha at my neighbourhood. The description the Beauty of Shri Hari from Uddhava Geeta, (a part of Shimad Bhagwat) was repeating itself in my mind while listening to the Katha, so thought to share it with all of you. This description comes in the 14^thAdhyaya of the 11^th Skanda of Shrimad Bhagwat :

(source:- http://srimadbhagavatam.com/11/14/en)

-"That form (of the Lord) is Perfectly Proportioned, Gentle and Cheerful. It possesses Four Beautiful Long Arms, a Charming, Beautiful Neck, a Handsome Forehead, a Pure Smile and Glowing, Shark-shaped Earrings suspended from two identical ears. That Spiritual Form is the Colour of a Dark Rain Cloud and is garbed in Golden-Yellowish Silk. The Chest of that form is the abode of 'Srivatsa' ( this peculiar mark on the chest of the Lord is formed by the particular curls of the hair) and the goddess of fortune (Lakshmi), and that form is also decorated with a Conchshell, Disc, Club, Lotus flower and Garland of forest flowers. The two Brilliant Lotus Feet are decorated with Ankle Bells and Bracelets, and that form exhibits the 'Kaustubha' gem along with an effulgent Crown. The upper hips are beautified by a Golden Belt, and the arms are decorated with valuable Bracelets. All of the limbs of that Beautiful Form capture the heart, and the Face is Beautified by Merciful Glancing. .."-

Dear Friends, such is the Beauty of the Lord that we do fall short of words to describe it! It just stays in our heart with all its Brilliance, all its Glow!! My heart just Leapt with Joy while attending the Katha yesterday!

And with it I was also remembering the Picture of Shri Hari from our Mahabharat Title Song. That image was in my mind throughout the whole time of the Katha. Just tried to save the Pic from YouTube and post it here, but I guess, only one picture is allowed per post here in Blogger.

Tulsidas Jayanti

Today is Tulsidas Jayanti. On this pious day, just want to dedicate this post to the Great Saint who gave us the nector of Devotion with his greatest work Ramcharitmanas. By composing it in Avadhi language, he made it easy for the masses to grasp the essence of Ramayan, which was originally wriiten in Sanskrit.


These are 2 links I found out about Tulsidasji:-

* Detailed Info about Tulsidasji
https://sites.google.com/site/goswamitulsidasji/home


* Short Info on Tulsi Jayanti
http://www.hindu-blog.com/2008/08/goswami-tulsidas-jayanti-2008.html


* An of course we always have the Wikipedia to find just anything. Many related sites are also mentioned in this page
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulsidas

Jai Shri Ram