Video 6

6. Fragrance of Vedanta: Narada Bhakti Sutras

namaskar good morning this is the first saturday of the month month july and as usual we were supposed to be in the bible in the auditorium of the hindu temple of lemont but instead online program we are doing and now will be we are reading the narada bhakti sutra so we will be beginning with the stotra you can you have already heard so many times you can repeat with me vishnu i bow down to lord visnu the great god whose mere remembrance makes one free from the bondage of birth and death friends we are studying the narada bhakti-sutra sutra means the aphorisms and there's a great philosophy putting in a small few words that is the aphorism sutra and narada a great soul and he was not only a devotee he was also a gyani he knew that lord is pervading everywhere and he is the supreme consciousness from where everything has come and at the same time he used to put himself as a devotee worshiping the lord vishnu and constantly praying to him and thirdly if we notice in the life of narada he is going on everywhere to spread the message of the lord vishnu so these are the three characteristics we find in the narada so gyana bhakti and karma that was his character this great narada and of course the ghana is not possible unless you have concentrated your mind so yogi too this narada is giving us the idea about the devotion in the 14th aphorism he said the social customs should be maintained social custom means bhaju nadi byapara about the eating about the dress about different other the ethics of of the society and different society in different countries in different times and different things they they practice it's okay so we will follow that it is not mere existence but the preservation of the health now we are going to realize god and to realize god we need a body a physic and utilizing that body and mind we have to reach to god now when we are having a body and mind we are having an identity a name a family a society and society is also having some system because when so many people are together obviously a system has to be developed so that all can leave happily that is the social customs and according to asper in a weather the dress codes also changes then if you go to a cold place they'll be constantly covering their body with heavy woolen clothes and to a warm place not so much a simple dress is sufficient so different type of dress codes are also there and same way the food the food habits are also different so different people in different countries in different situation they are eating different type of food so wherever we are the only thing we should always remember that we have to keep our body healthy mind clear from all other thoughts than the god a healthy body and a healthy mind an intellectual brain these are the three things to realize god so this is necessary the narada in the 14th verse 14th aphorism he is mentioning this the until one reaches the goal that is the love for god the ultimate the merging with the god and that if the bhakti one should follow the social customs and practices loka means social customs loka opi even loka means social customs social practices tabath eva until then until then means until you realize that brahman realized that god merged with the god so we are not breaking anything this is very important sometimes some people they will be breaking the social goals bhagavan sri ramakrishna he said no masha adamani devi also said he has not come to break but to develop whatever we have from there towards god always positive whatever you have we have to break and you have to destroy and then build on something not like that the true devotee will never do that it the one who is loving god who wants to realize god will never do that so this is the this it says shadi radharana this somehow just we are existing not like that it should be properly maintained that sometimes because we are thinking about god we are not careful about about food and not cleaning our body properly there is no routine so what happens then after some time you become sick and you are embarden for the society then then how you can serve god and is a when the sick body body is weak constantly the pain is there you cannot remember god you cannot think about god so this is very important not that we are going to get attached to the body but we are utilizing the body for the god realization and at the same time not to disturb others see the training see the method the discipline the realization is god just to become oh i have lost my job there is nothing to do let me realize the god it is not that thing it's a long process and i go to the garden and pray to god and it is not like that is a complete training so body and mind should be very very trained up so that that body and mind can help you to realize god one cannot serve god and his creation without a healthy mind and the healthy body why the healthy mind means understanding sometimes some people they think whatever they have understood and that is final they don't like to adjust to they don't like to listen to anything they will constantly they will go on fighting with others why not these why not that by that way they disturb their own tranquility to whether that man is eating a proper food or not that is not my lookout well i am doing it or not very very subjective so i cannot change the whole world but i have to change myself i can do that instead all of us we are so eager to make everyone perfect not caring about myself and result a zero a chaos unnecessary so this a very important the aphorism though apparently as if he is talking about the body and the mind and the food it depends on the person's taste whichever food that will be beneficial for his physical health it's okay sometimes some food though may be very good may not be good for others so he should be careful about that but without disturbing the social norms and customs a man of realization considered his body and mind as god's property he can never be then he can never neglect or be careless about them the body has been that like the sannyasins i remember that swami that who was our president ananyanandaji so he was sick i told swamiji let us go to a doctor and hospitals at their amkush mission hospitals are there you say i should not take any decision i cannot because this body i have given to the organization the sangha and if they the shanghai authority if they say yes you go that means i have to go to the doctor expenditure is there who is going to explain that of course he could he was the president of the advaita swami neighbor and we were having sufficient money so it was not necessary that he has to take the permission see this is the dedication that depending on the authority of the organization this is called complete dedication to god and sometimes the the swamis who are meditating in the jungle in the cave they'll be all the time thinking about god and god if you like to kill me it is okay if you like to punish me it is okay and if you like to think that i should be in this position it is also okay so complete dedication also for those who are who have already realized god and in the 15th verse aphorism it says here up to the 15 she narada was telling about different things now the same narada we are studying the narada bhakti sutra narada's apparism but at the same time here the narada is giving us the definitions that the other great sages have given so this is the beauty of the religion particularly the sanatana dharma the freedom was there always in every field you like to approach to god and you think this is the way we should go okay so there are different successful people who truly realized god and then they gave a definition of the path devotion of course but the different definitions so it says different viewpoints of the characteristics of the divine love have been described over here means the devotion to god lakshanani means characteristics what is the characteristics different type of opinions are also there but chanti here they are telling sanatana dharma has always encouraged as parents to reach and find out a new path that's why in hinduism you'll find so many varieties of paths are there ways are there systems are there theories are there but no fighting they don't fight in the same place there will be different groups of people will be there only those who are very egoistic the followers particularly they try to because of their own ego they like to say my guru is the best your guru is not that is the fight bhagavatam krishna said rama and sheba they were respectful to each other the rama is to consider shiva as his guru as his teacher shivo is to consider rama as his guru as his teacher but the sheba's followers as all the ghosts and all and the rama's followers the monkeys they are fighting constantly so that is srama krishna jokingly he used to say that because these devotees the followers not understanding the depth of it because of their ego i have accepted this religion so this is the best one i am the king i am the powerful man and you have to follow me like that they will be telling it has nothing to do with the religion religion is always love only and love gives lot of freedom and here it says like that now we will read one after another the great sages the very fast aphorism that the narada is quoting is the para sharia who is para sharjah parashara the parashara muni those who are have read the mahabharata you all know the indian tradition those who know if they know the parashara muni the his son was veda byasa krishna krishna because he was having the dark the body color and the epi and he was born in a deeper in an island island is the deeper and vedabyasia because he categorized we can say systematized the bedavida means the knowledge as because the knowledge the different gurus different the scholars in different parts of the country mainly in the india bharat barsha they were developing so veda biases asked his disciples his followers to go and collect all those and after that he made the different sections as if to categorize that that is called veda knowledge biaser he broke so be the beaser the knowledge broke means he gave the rig be the same away the yejudi and in each veda there will be all this we have already discussed and many of you know so this para means the sun of the parasha muni this parashara muni is telling the son of parashara muni the vyasa he is thinking bhakti or devotion to god means love for worship of god puja raga very simple puja the puja adi now what is the puja that we know that you have to collect the flowers and there is so many other ingredients are there puja and some people they really love to do that ritualistic thing they'll be cleaning the floor and placing the beautiful the plate and plate is so they'll be cleaning the plate in such a way it will be glittering then they will put the flowers in the different color flowers and the sandal paste incense sticks they'll burn and the candle and the fruits and sweets and other food for god and the water glass for god everything will be there so puja the issue adish means all the the paraphernalias all the arrangements about the devotion about the puja this is also necessary puja the issue onuraga they do it anuraga they are loving it they love to do it is vyasha says what is devotion devotion is this the fast that we are hearing from another person not narada narada will come afterwards he says the krishna and of yasa he is telling that if you have the love for that we have seen some people they love to do the puja so much and they are so careful about it when they are placing the fruits and other things for god they'll be so careful and somehow they are putting the fruits and then offering to the god a god is nothing but an image or a picture not like that the god himself is present over there the whole place is vibrating with the joy and the purity god has allowed me to go and offer the food each and everything will be so nicely placed on the plate the other day one of our lady devotees she was telling her granddaughter well very hardly five six years or seven years so she was observing that the devoted the lady devotee offering fruits to god afterwards she told i observed last two days you are offering the fruits to god and then afterwards you were eating it god is not eating then why you are giving the food to god that's a genuine question and the lady was telling i was dumbfounded what to say i told her god is no no no i have observed not a single piece was missing from there whatever that you gave that you brought it down and you ate it the god is not eating that's true then why we give it of course it is true that is that little girl asking the question you see how open mind it is and how observation the children they are having nowadays that god is not eating when some people are eating that means that will reduce from the plate nothing is there everything that we offer bringing it back and then we are taking as the prasad what we think the gods do not eat as we eat physically but the drishti bhoga at bhagavan srirama krishna said masala money also that a light comes out and then touches those fruits and sanctified those fruits that will burger so that is fast is the voga when we are offering that the terminology the world is vulgar then when after the that god has already touched it through the ray of his eye and sanctified that it becomes prasada sometimes some people they say maharaja you have cooked the prasada prasad that is already offered so these are the terminology already the only that is bhoga and prasada now the booger that we are offering god is not eating god is not drinking we don't understand whether the god is truly there or not but regularly every day we are doing it with great devotion and when the devotee is worshiping if you listen to those mantras the wonderful mantra and the flower that we are offering the flowers also that external flower is nothing but internally they will be chanting the mantra that my mind is the flower i offer it to you and these things is these i am offering to you like that slowly slowly if you want really learn what is the ritualistic worship and can love it and can practice it truly sincerely his mind will be purified very within very short time but in very short time most of the people that do as a profession we call them the pandit brahmana so there's a profession they are thinking when i finish it i will go to another place so the two three and the customer if we can have then little oh what to do because poor people they are earning from that way but a true love for the puja you cannot imagine slowly slowly the mantras that you are chanting and you are touching your head you're touching your chest you're touching your hands you're touching your knee and legs and slowly slowly you are feeling that you are becoming completely purified then within you your heart that god is sitting over there and you are going and begging to god praying to god please come out and i know that you don't have the form but i like to see you in this form please god sit over here and the god comes out and sitting over there you are worshiping washing his feet and then offering the flower girl land and the flower and the burning the incense sticks you can feel that the beautiful fragrance everywhere god is also loving he is looking at you smiling whatever food you are offering as if he is eating then you were offering a towel to clean his hands and drinking the water all this as we do and that will take the hours for that person and when he come out of that there's a beautiful feeling what is that feeling no worldliness is there friends again and again we have to remember the worldliness what is the worldliness attraction attachment for the worldly objects but the worldly things that sometimes the bhagavatama krishna used to do worship over there and people could feel that of course sudama krishna used to see but other people could feel here something is happening god must have come because the feeling if you go to some temple you will feel yes there must be something and some of the temples beautifully decorated but you won't feel the presence of god it's just like the museum beautiful museum that's all so what actually differ is a devotion so this here the viasa is telling puja this what is devotion devotion to god puja the issue not puja only all people are doing the puja professional people constantly doing the puja but the raga the devotion that is very important so not that all the time we have to hire someone to do the puja anuraga is sufficient so if you sit before your own god and offer and say i don't know the sanskrit mantras but oh god please come sit down before me take some food i have prepared it for you please accept it the satisfaction that will come within you that is puja because the onuraga is very important anuraga means devotion attachment to that god that is called love with attachment to god is onuraga devotion love attached to god that is onuraga so this anuraga will help you then this is the parashara is telling next comes another rishi katha aadhishu garga so garga he says okay that you like to do that performance but you should also know about god the another issue so all are correct you see how the things are going one is telling if you are very much devoted to the ritual and doing it with love then that is called devotion is a definition of the devotion the discussion about god and singing his glory is bhakti now this moment we are discussing about god and we are discussing about his greatness so it's singing his glory and this is the bhakti according to rishi garga they are great sages so they developed the devotion for god they realized god in that way only thinking about god discussing about god reading about god hearing about god and constantly doing that that is called the katha aadhishu here also adi adi means etc so they are puja here qatar the katha when you are reading about the god sometimes some people when reading the gospel of sirama krishna they write to me and many of your ex of you have experienced they would really love to read it and more and more and more and you like it very much why because the katha the teachings the word about god that is attracting you why you get so much love after reading the gospel of sirama krishna because the your mind is becoming pure that is the sign yesterday someone was asking that how i will know that i am reaching towards god these are the signs you love to listen about god hear about god talk about god sing his glory and that is the sign otherwise if your mind is not pure you will never like these words rather you will listen some other songs some other music and then these discussing about many other things the good peop things are there you are discussing about many other things but not god whenever the discussion about god comes you feel oh this is too much ah this is not the right time for me i'm still young afterwards i think oh this is for only the ignorant people we are a scientist so we don't need the god so all these type of things come because of your ego and when there is too much of ego god is away from you god is all far away from you so that is we can understand if we genuinely like to listen to god that means the purity is developing what is purity again not liking the worldly objects name fame physical comfort and all those things so this we don't want so we like to go to god and whenever we are thinking about god talking about god but there are so many varieties of songs are there but when you listen to the song connected with the god praising the god you like it that means your mind is becoming pure already pure to some extent when it becomes complete you become god that when you are liking this thing so the garga is telling katha aadhishu adi means the picture of god and then the music of god some other things about god that is called issue hearing about him discussing about him debating about him reciting right writing poems some people they will be writing about their own experience and some people they go on writing every day one thousand time joystick ramaji sriram in the u.p and other places i have seen the devoted people they cannot concentrate their mind and the meditation but they will go on writing whole day they are sitting and writing i have to complete this 1000 then only i will eat food not not before so right one the morning they will see it and then go on writing so katha the issue adi all these things are added bhagavatam krishna is also telling him god's name and those who have taken the initiation did they know that god your guru has given the lord's name god's name apparently very simple name but if you have the faith in the words of your guru and go on repeating that particular name of god it will purify your mind for sure so that is exactly what bhagavatam krishna said but along with that you should hear about the wonderful life of that particular god the deity so that particular god when you are so nama guna kirtan guna the qualities so what are the qualities satya they'll be so truthful simplicity will be just like a little young person so that simplicity the love so these are the qualities when you are reading the biography of that particular god or goddess about the god and goddess you get all those things so you are trying to imbibe you to follow to imagine imagining so i am also following the same path so i should have like this also so slowly slowly your mind is also becoming broad like the sky you start loving each and every one you are praying for each and every one feeling for each and every one that you are going towards the god so qatar is garga when you read the mirrors of different sages the other people though who made them they talked about with them that they have recorded that is also beautiful when you read that if you know that's really great they were so kind they were so good so this is the way that we develop our own mind caitanya mahaprabhu also in his very famous sikh shiksha ashtakam the in eight words he gave the the teaching his teachings are only those eight verses so shiksha ashtakam that is beautifully he has given all the teaching there he is mentioning chant the name of god and his glory as bhagavan krishna caitanya mahaprabhu also almost 500 years before bhagavan sriram krishna he was also there the greats avatara of the lord he was in the bengal and most of the last period of his life is spain in and the orisha the neighboring state of bengal and he was a great lover of jagannath that means the sri krishna though he wasn't a ghani he was a he traveled from the path of knowledge but he expressed that through love because of different situation and the god wanted him to play like that and he is considered as a great great soul and he is also telling the same thing you should chant the name of god that this is the simplest way to purify our mind to realize god very simple way in the pure advaita vedanta there is no initiation as such they'll be giving you a teaching srabana manana needed this is the steps these are the steps for the advaita vedanta friends again and again i remind remind myself and also to you that all the time three flows of the hinduism are constantly mingling and again separating so this is something we mix up when you go and listen to your guru what guru will say ahamram see that's all the initiation means that that you have to initiation means accepting an ideology and that is the ideology i am that supreme self i have to understand that right this moment i don't believe so srabana then you are going on manana yours all pondering and analyzing trying to understand the thing properly and then you march into that the dhyana nishta poor bhagtyana nidhi dhyasana you are completely merging into that idea i am that supreme brahman that is the the path of the advaita vedanta but the dwita vedanta that difference is there god is separate i am separate i have to reach to god and to reach to god i need the help of god himself how the god will help me through guru in the bhagavata again with the the lord sri krishna is telling to uddhava that you can go and learn from my image that is the guru and there's the god's image and respect him in that way and by that way you can purify your mind and can get the god realization so the guru the guru is a great concept in the the indian religion indian philosophy so this guru is guiding us how he will give a god name and say hey go and repeat that and whatever i said go and repeat that so he will go on observing you then how you are improving slowly slowly but sometimes if they miss that spirit of the world and then slowly they think oh i understood everything i can analyze i can understand i have realized so they deviate from the path the ego that works in so many different ways that's why in hindi they always say the guy means a cow he's the humble animal just lying at the door of the master whether the master giving food or not you don't go anywhere so the humbleness should be there why the faith what is that faith whatever the guru will give me just repeating that i can so that there's a story that one great sage afterwards when he was a young man he wanted to take the initiation from a guru and guru nanak i am not going to give you initiation you go in some other way but this boy won't leave then two things are necessary touch up the guru and the word that will come out from his mouth then it is the initiation he knew it so one day when the guru was going to bathe in the ganga in the kashi those who have gone you know that all the steps are so the broad so in on one of the steps he was lying down on his back so guru should touch his chest with his holy feet so that was his idea so he was lying over there and this is the guru because you know that that was very early morning the guru didn't notice he touched the the body human body immediately he said oh rama that that that was he got up and said i got your touch and also i got the mantra by repeating that mantra he became very famous he realized the god so the faith is the main thing when the guru is telling katha switi garga the gargamuni is telling katha that the word about god so the first comes the name this our tantra system and vaishnava system they developed this initiation it is not in the pure vedanta the ramakrishna mission has because we combine all the paths so though we are followers of the advaita vedanta we have taken the system of the initiation from the tantra and also from the vaisnava the system because nothing wrong in it it helps a lot for the ordinary people so fast is the name of god repeating repeating repeating and when you are developing the love for that name and slowly you are visualizing those words that the guru has given to you is floating before you you can see those words then you like to see those beautiful glittering words coming out from within you and floating and going and merging in the person of the easter and otherwise only the mantra all floating all around you and you are just sitting within that the beautiful name of god so that is the way you are forgetting the word you are forgetting other thoughts the moment you can disconnect yourself from the worldly thoughts maybe for a minute maybe for a few minutes or an hour it's a great and immediately just that minute will purify your mind and that effect will develop love within you for god so the garga is telling qatad chandilla muni said if you love god as your own self then what happen you are constantly meditating you are trying to see god within your heart and the god which is all light all joy the eternity is sitting within your heart and everywhere as if that's wonderful the picture of god or the image of god at the presence of god and you withdraw all your mind from the external objects of this world and feel like sitting at the feet of the god constantly who is sitting within your heart so this chandilla also in this way atma rati atma rathi means is a love and the joy the play with the atman who is the dotman that god at marathi or biro dena without breaking actually sometimes i see again i go out for some work again i think something not like that or below dinner it will be constantly continuously that will go so at marathi abhidhenna bhakti's devotion to god as one's own self so this is the shandi lamuni suggesting meditation the one is suggesting action another is suggesting knowledge another is suggesting meditation in three different ways the first one he said that you should do the puja perform puja love puja action do you have to do that the second one garga said now you should think about him talk about him learn about him read about him so by that way and the next it says you're constantly meditating that you are that supreme god so this is the way also chandilla now we come to narada what the narada said narada is combining the whole thing and this is what bhagavan sirama krishna said in the present-day world this is the only path very easy path for each and every one wherever they are in whatever religion and whatever customs they may be narada s says when all other actions are dedicated to god tad urbita arpan or pita and that is giving offering all actions the action means those who are following my class you all know many a times i said that the three different way we work one is physically another mentally third through words bachika kaayika then manasika and bachika the kaaika the sanskrit word kaika means the physically means mentally and bicycle through words so one must be very very careful so whenever whatever we are thinking we are saying all we are doing all should be offered to god can we do that offering god any bad things so no so obviously we should be constantly performing good work and think positively for other people never criticizing and will not say any single word that can harm others so that is the way narada says and second line he is telling me and if i forget that god even for a second i feel really very sad paramob then it says that when all other actions are dedicated to god and when one feels bang in heart for being forgetful of god for a moment that is true bhakti whom i love i like to keep that my beloved all the time before me so if i forget that even for the moment that means narada what he is doing is called complete self-surrender complete self-surrender bhagavan si ramakrishna is telling if you can completely surrender yourself to god god will take care of you otherwise it is not possible the one day those all stories one day the lord vishnu and the lakshmi they were seating then a person was coming he was a blind person and some other people they were teasing him but the blind one was going on singing the name of the lord vishnu o krishna or krishna something like that he was saying but the other people sometimes some are changed sometimes they will be teasing that blind man then the the goddess said why don't you go and save your devotee vishnu told look look what is just watch that then after some time that man stopped taking the name of god and with with the stick that he was using so he raised that music and started beating the people who were teasing him you see he has already taken up on his own to protect himself so god is not necessarily there vishnu said like that there's a story that means if like a baby on the lap of the mother one can be on the lap of god i don't know anything except the god except the lord except my divine mother so that is called complete dedication to god external activities to generate devotion and repeating the name of god singing the glory listening and discussing and meditating all these the convenient in self-surrender for the forgetfulness of one's own self tattu vishwarani it is said caitanya mahaprabhu again in his shikshastakam he mentioned sagat that separation it becomes completely vacant when the god is not there govinda is not there then this whole world becomes nothing but an empty space for me that is he says but when that we will afterwards in different phases we'll be discussing about the narada bhakti sutra bhagavan sirama krishna said this is the path and in the ramakrishna mission you have observed that we work the ramakrishna mission monks they work and according to the demand of the society we work in the europe and america where the only the philosophy is necessary they give the talk they organize the seminar etc but in in the countries like india bangladesh nepal and many other places where the services are necessary where people the government is not that way supporting those people so the private organizations are also supporting so we are having the hospitals colleges schools and so many variety orphanages and of course the relief work that we are serving god the living god not like a social uh the social service it is the puja it is the worship that we are doing by with these all activities but at the same time these monks again meditating and praying and when he is all alone in the shrine he'll be crying and praying to god for his devotion whatever that we have done i am not doing lord it is you only in the form of the illiterate in the form of the poor you are coming and you are giving me the opportunity to offer the service i am doing that pita and then bhishmarani paramob god i went over there when i saw those poor people i forgot you and then i was thinking i'm giving the the doles i am giving the donations oh that was a great mistake on my part so these are the way the practices are going on spiritual practices is it possible is there any that type of when they say is telling the 20th verse he says means that that means the that is the examples are also there so what is the example the hundreds and thousands of holy men and women are the example they're constantly doing it now in the 21 verse the it says aphorism but the braja gopikanam means the praja gapi they are the example narada himself is giving the brahjagapis the praja guppies they are so wonderful i will read a little passage from swami vivekananda where vivekanda is writing gopi lila the divine play of the gopis is the acme of the religion of love in which individuality vanishes and there is communion it is in this leela that sri krishna shows what he teaches give up everything for me go and take shelter under brindaban leela to understand bhakti this is a big passage as a first just if first para i am just reading to you so this is the way the devotion then yata vraja gopikanam bother whenever we are coming very close to a person then slowly slowly we forget maybe that is a great personality but we forget because of the too much of mixing with him that he is nothing but god is a great pure soul that we forget in the life of bhagavan sirama krishna he found that one of his shaybaka who was there for a long time serving the bhagavad-gita and slowly slowly he forgot the ramakrishna is nothing but god he started teasing him if i am not here who will feed you who will look after you without me you are nothing whenever that ego comes that separates that person from that holy man the surama krishnas that shaibaka was taken away by the god gopikas were not that so that is the he says over here not the trophy though we are talking with him and playing with him and everything that we are doing we should not forget the sri krishna is nothing but the god so this is the way otherwise that bihinam jaarna amir otherwise it will be just ordinary base the lob story so this is what they always think we have to keep in mind and the last verse 24th i will conclude with this nasty battas means that sukha sukhitwam in the physical love lover do not become happy in the joy of the beloved so when i give everything and the god is happy i am happy whether god has given me anything or not i don't care i don't think about that that is called love swami vivekananda said love knows no butter you know the barter means exchange of things love knows no bottle so i am loving you i am carrying you i am giving you so you will also give me so not like that so this is the the friends we will discuss once again in our next next class so now we will see that if there is any question we will try to answer and then we'll conclude with shanti so bhanu goshal is asking the first question can i offer any food made from any meal to lord if you truly love god you can offer any food that you are going to eat before eating you can always offer that you know in the ramakrishna tradition if you go to any astra that before eating they will be chanting a mantra and other asthmas are also there the brahmar panam brahma habibi brahmagno the of course it is a vedantic way of their offering the food so but still they always remember it so you can offer whatever we are going to eat that can be offered to god because i love god and i love this food god and naturally my god will also love it you can offer it the next question is from sriya gupta can a person worship vishnu sri ramakrishna just like narada muni worship vishnu of course of course you can you know that uh if you have read the biography of bhagavan si rama krishna you know his father the sudhiram chattapadhyay he saw that the lord vishnu lord visnu he is coming and asking oh shadidam i like to come as a as your son the shoulda the poor brahman rather instead of becoming very happy the god is coming as my son he was very afraid because he was a lover of god so he said sad i'm i'm very poor i won't be able to serve you properly so then the lord vishnu smiled and said you need not to think about it vishnu became bhagavan sirama krishna of course you can worship like that the next question is from anandita chakravarti she is asking we typically recite home do we not offer every other action to god of course we can do that but it is uh just you know when we are eating and that time the mind becomes very uh the food is something that the body and the mind wants so we forget that time that we are divine so to remind that anything that you are doing you are eating you are your hands is touching the food your mouth is taking everything is nothing but the same god that's ultimate that vedantic idea that is reminded through that you can do anytime of course why not akshay bhatia is asking sir can you kindly explain how we can increase our mindless our mind towards god how we can increase our mind towards god towards the lord towards the lord increase mind mindlessness this is only the at the lord krishna krishna he uh as the arjuna asked this question and he said the you have to go on repeating is it through repetition repetition repetition we can reach to that height that goal so this is the only way and there is no other way and second is if you truly love god slowly slowly you have to withdraw your mind from the saints objects that there is a beautiful custom in among the hindus when someone is dead then his son or daughter they will go and and and then they will offer a particular fruit which they truly love that they will offer to god and say i am not going to eat it even in my life because i am giving it to god i offer this thing maybe you know about that and they will never eat it there is training though they love to eat that but they will restrain they will control that that is the way we learn to control to withdraw our senses and so obviously and second by understanding that all these things are just temporary nothing nothing is going to be permanent give those up tuheen is asking should i worship my guru the same way i worship my god whom i love of course the guru is the image of your god the so that the worshipping guru doesn't mean that you have to go and wash his feet and nothing like that rather whatever the instructions the guru has given that is repeat the name of god that you should do and that will help you the next question is from abu nirak he's saying how do we self surrender oh this is you know again it's a long practice but if we can that is the ultimate of religion you know vivid this ultimate of religion the self-surrender when we are having we are grown up people we are having our ego we are having our all plans programs ideas now suddenly we give it all to god and become like a small little baby on the lap of the mother do you think it is so easy but that is the highest of the spirituality if someone can do it that is great again it is practice slowly slowly i don't know please tell me what should i do any problem comes go to your god sit before the god and pray to god this is the problem i have to solve and please guide me tell me what to do and you will get the guidance because bhagavan sirama krishna said god is there and if you genuinely pray to god god will listen god will help and if that is not successful don't break the heart because that may be that that was not good for us that's why the god has not given that the other what's called place that particular prayer thank you the next user is asking uh dear swami how can one love god in others without becoming attached to others in the same way same time love to god so if you love others as god there will be no bondage if you are loving others as themselves then that is the attachment so loving the god in those people in those objects that is completely different there will be no attachment because when you are thinking about god automatically the attachment will go away attachment is connected with the aamkar aamkara ma i am loving i am liking so that ankara won't be there so obviously that attachment will go away if we truly see god but that is very very difficult that is the reason we should try to practice it in our shrine in the photo in the image and sometimes slowly slowly and practicing to see god in the living beings but that is a good practice bhagava swami vivekananda said each soul is potentially divine so when you are remembering that and talking with people serving them but sometimes we get attached to that too again we have to withdraw so this is all practice you'll be successful the god will bless you the next question is from anandita she's asking how do we reconcile sincere self-effort and complete surrender to god on the practical plane or is it the result that we are surrendering exactly it's the result that we are surrendering and sincere self-effort that is the method but not with ego but with self-confidence and when you are saying to god this much i can do god i don't know much this is my capacity the please help me and you will see everything will be successful and at that time you should be very careful when all the praise are coming because of the success you should be humble and go to god and say because of you o god i have become successful and that is called sub surrender thank you let us say shanti three times and we conclude shanti that's it