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Seventh Stage of Bhakti | Asakti Dasha (Part 1) | Sri Vinod Babaji Maharaj

  Asakti is a very high stage of Bhakti and very rare devotees are able to reach here. Normally, a sadhak needs to force his mind out of the mundane talk and focus on contemplation of Radha Krishna. But in the Asakti stage, the sadhak’s mind gets naturally immersed in the contemplation of Radha Krishna and he has to force his mind back into the material realm to take care of mundane matters. For example, the sadhak is receiving a guest and while talking, his mind gets ‘distracted’ to the contemplation of Radha Krishna. Then he has to force his mind back to the conversation and he asks some questions to the effect – “Who is he? What does he do?” But before he could listen to the answers, his mind runs back to the contemplation of Radha Krishna. The mind is the king of all senses. We cannot process the sensations of eyes, ears, tongue, etc or function with them without the help of mind. When our mind focuses on eyes, we process what our eyes see. When our mind focuses on the ears, we pro

Manjari Bhav Part 2 | Sri Vinod Babaji Maharaj

Authentic Guru Pranali (disciples’ succession) is a must for entering Manjari Swarup sadhana. Without taking initiation from someone who belongs to the hierarchy of Manjaris, one cannot go into the service of Radharani in the Nikunja. There are innumerable paths to God such as Gyan yoga, Karma yoga, Tantra yoga, etc; there are also innumerable bodes of Narayan like Vaikuntha, Saket, Shiva Loka, Ganesh Loka (Sri Ganesh in Ganesh Loka is a manifestation of Krishna which is eternal and is different from the demigod Ganesh), but the Manjari mood of devotion is an exclusive path to the service of Radha Krishna which is only worshiped in the eternal Goloka Dham (Vrindavan). "Ishwarer tatva joto, taha ba kahibo koto, Ananto apar keba jane. Ek braja pur prem nitya, ei se param tatva, Bhajo sada anurag mone."  (Premabhakti Chandrika) Meaning: There are innumerable forms of God. Who can describe all of them properly? But the loving devotion to Radha Krishna is the supreme path fo

Manjari Bhav Part 1 | Sri Vinod Babaji Maharaj

  Sri Bhagvan comes down to Earth in every Yuga, but nobody ever gave the Manjari mood of devotion to the world. "Anarpita charim chirat" The Manjari mood of devotion has been given by Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu only. The mood of loving devotion (Prem bhakti) existed before Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (as seen in Shrimad Bhagvatam in the life stories of Sri Prahladji, Sri Dhruvji, etc). Madhurya love was not new to the world at the time of Shri Mahaprabhu, but He mercifully gave the Manjari mood of love to the world. Rati (love) is classified in three types: Sadharan Rati, Samanjasya Rati and Samartha Rati. Sadharan Rati (General love) is seen in Mathura lila, where the young, female residents of Mathura were attracted to the beauty and power of Sri Krishna and hence, fell in love with Him. Samanjasya Rati (Concordant love) is seen in Dwarika lila, where the queens of Sri Krishna loved Him as their husband (and hence, the lover and the beloved are equals). Samartha Rati (Capable

Anarthas and Asana - Sri Vinod Baba Ji Maharaj

  When a sadhak starts doing bhajan, he is faced with many difficulties (Anarthas). These come in every sadhak's life. (As explained in Anarth Nivritti Part 1) The Dushkriti Jata Anarthas are: Laya, Vikshep, Kashay, Rasaswad and Apratipatti Through numerous lives we have done many pious and sinful activities. The unjust and sinful actions' results are the Dushkriti Jata Anarthas . In the initial stages of bhajan, these Anarthas trouble the sadhak. The five types of Dushkriti Jata Anarthas are as follows: Laya : As soon as the sadhak sits with the japa mala (chanting beads), Nidra Devi (Goddess of sleep) attacks him. During bhajan, satsang, kirtan, pooja, etc the sadhak tends to fall asleep. But as soon as he gets up from bhajan, he doesn't feel sleepy anymore. Even if someone asks him to sleep, he isn't able to do so but as soon as he tries to do bhajan or listen to kirtan or Hari Katha, he feels sleepy again. This oversleeping is an Anartha caused by sinful activities

What does Kripa look like? - Sri Vinod Baba Ji Maharaj

When a jivatma sincerely takes shelter at the lotus feet of an enlightened sadhu, his mercy is able to change the heart of that jivatma gradually. But the ego of the jivatma is the main obstacle in this process of purification of heart. But how do we know whether we are really able to accept the mercy of the sadhu and achieve positive results? The main indicator of mercy is realizing one's own faults. The sadhak starts analyzing his actions and thoughts, and finds out where he is going wrong. Due to samskaras of numerous previous births, the sadhak often ends up getting angry on some petty worldly matter and he might speak harshly to a vaisnava as a result, but he immediately feels repentant about his words and chastises himself, 'I have done a great wrong! I spoke so harshly to a vaisnava! How will I ever progress in my spiritual path?' Then he prays to Radharani with great humility, 'He Radharani, today I inflicted pain on a vaisnava through words. Please give me the

Brahmacharya in Grihastha Ashram - By Shri Vinod Baba Ji Maharaj

The sadhak who remains unattached and unattractive to worldly matters while living in Grihastha ashram and performs devotional service with determination has been called a warrior sadhak in the scriptures. To forsake family and worldly responsibilities, and to go to the forest for bhajan, is easy. But it is not easy to fulfil all responsibilities and still remain unattached to worldly relations, alongwith doing bhajan. Although, of course, it should be Grihastha ashram, where the family members together worship God and fulfil their duties towards each other. It should not be a nest of some animal like creatures where pleasing the senses is the sole purpose of life. "Tayostu karma sannyasat karmayogo visisyate" (Bhagvat Gita 5.2) The one who dutifully performs his obligatory actions (Karmayogi) is better than the one who forsakes all actions to please God (Karma sannyasi). If someone thinks that, being a Grihastha, it is impossible to do bhajan and achieve the divine love of R