Divine dialogue between Lord Shripad Shrivallabha and Lord Hanuman

Story of Jyotirlinga

Jyotirlinga represents the Lord Shiva in the form of Linga. It represents Lord Shiva in the form of radiant energy. According to Shiva Purana, Lord Shiva first manifested in the form of Jyotirlinga on the night of Ardra Nakshatra. It is believed that when a person reaches the highest level in the spiritual path, he can perceive (see) the lingam as column of fire piercing the earth and reaching great height. Jyotirlinga are explained in detail in Shiva Purana.

According to the purana, once Brahma and Vishnu had an argument over the supremacy of creation. They approached Shiva, who manifested in the form of huge pillar of light without ends i.e. Jyotirlinga piercing the three worlds. Vishnu and Brahma split their ways to find the ends. Brahma lied that he has found one end i.e. the top, whereas Vishnu accepted that he could not find the lower end. Shiva appeared as a second jyotirlinga and cursed Brahma that he would have no place in any ceremonies and blessed Vishnu that he would be worshiped till the end of eternity.

Jyotirlingas are the places where Shiva has appeared as Jyoti (a fiery column of light). It was believed that there were 64 Jyotirlingas. Of these 12 are considered as very auspicious and holy. These are mentioned in Dvadasha Jyotirlinga stotra available here.

Here are locations of 12 jyotirlingas and their names

Name of Jyotirlinga	Location
Somnath	Saurashtra, Gujarat
Mallikarjuna	Shri Shailam, Andhra Pradesh
Mahakaleshwar	Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh
Omkareshwar	Mandhata, Madhya Pradesh
Kedarnath	Himalayas
Bhimashankar	Maharashtra
Kashi Vishwanath	Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh
Trimbakeshwar	Nashik, Maharashtra
Vaidyanath (Vaijanath)	Parali, Maharashtra
Nageshwar	Gujarat
Rameshwar	Tamil Nadu
Ghrishneshwar	Aurangabad, Maharashtra

The divine month of Margashirsha

In the journey of searching God through devotion it is a very natural question - how to recognize God?. They say God is everywhere. However it is not easy to reach that stage where one can experience presence of God everywhere. It requires long and consistent practice for mind to reach that stage. 

So to start with they recommend to see God in the best of every creation. For example - in all mountains Himalaya is considered the best and divine mountain and hence it is worshiped as a form of God, in all trees Ashwattha (Pimpal) tree is considered as best and divine tree and hence it is worshiped as a form of God, in all rivers Bhagirathi river is considered as the best and divine river and hence it is worshiped as a form of God, in the vedic meters (verses in vedas have different meters) Gayatri meter is considered as the best and divine meter and hence it is considered as a form of God. And so on.

Similarly in all months of Hindu calendar, month of Margashirsha (part of November and part of December) is considered as best and divine month and hence it is considered a form of God.

Here are few important days in Margashirsha

Shukla Ekadashi (11th day of waxing phase of moon) of Margashirsha is celebrated as Gita Jayanti - birthday of the most popular scripture of Hindu dharma  namely Bhagwad Gita.

Shukla Shashthi (6th day of waxing phase of moon) of Margashirsha is celebrated as Champa Shashthi. This is a very popular day in Maharashtra. On this day Lord Khandoba (aka Malhari Martanda) is worshiped. In south india this day is celebrated as Skanda Shashthi. On this day Karthikeya Swami is worshiped.

Pournima (15th day of waxing phase of moon) of Margashirsha is celebrated as Datta Jayanti - birthday of Lord Dattatreya. Many people observe fast on this day and perform parayana (sacred reading) of scriptures such as Gurucharitra, Saisatcharita, Datta Mahatmya etc.

Vinayak Vijay

Vinayak Vijay - is a granth written by Shri Narayanshastri Joshi, grandfather of our priest Shri Bhaskar Joshi. Information to purchase is available at the bottom of this post.

Stories in this book are based on Ganesh Mahatmya as written in the Skanda Purana. These stories provide a detailed description of the seven incarnations of Lord Ganesh. Proper method of reading the book "anushthan paddhati" while performing an anushthan is described as well.

Here is a chronology of incarnations and index of chapters

Chapter 1 – first incarnation – “Vakratunda”

Chapter 2 to 6 – second incarnation – “Kapil Chintamani”

Chapter 7 to 10 – third incarnation – “Gajanan”

Chapter 11 and 12 – fourth incarnation – “Vighneshwar”

Chapter 13 to 16 – fifth incarnation – “Ballaleshwar” aka “Mayureshwar”

Chapter 17 to 20 – sixth incarnation – “Dhumaketu”

Chapter 21 – seventh incarnation – “Ganesh”

 The books are available for purchase at

In India available with
Shri Bhaskar Joshi  At post Anjarle. Taluka: Dapoli  Dist Ratnagiri, Maharashtra,      India	Shri Sainath Maharaj Trust Boricha Mal, Palavani Road, Near Bondivali Ice Factory, At Post Karanjani, Dapoli 415 712, Dist: Ratnagiri, Maharashtra, India
In USA available with
Mahesh Bhide 918 Plymouth Rd, North Brunswick, NJ 08902, USA

 Delivery will be 3 weeks after confirmation of the order.

 Price:

 In India Rs 150.00 + postage. Will be available from Nov 16, 2014
 In USA $3.00. Will be available from Dec 15, 2014

Teachings of Ramayana

Here are few takeaways from one of the most popular epics of Indian culture - Ramayana!

• By the birth of great souls, the world gets peace. Lord Rama's birth brought a peace on earth. That is why word Rama Rajya is often used to indicate peace in society.


• By the grace of great souls, people get salvation. Example is Ahilya, who got liberated from the curse by mere touch of Lord Rama.


• Lord Rama set an example that obedience to the wishes of elders is the top priority of every human being. Example is his going to exile for 14 years to fulfill wish of his parents.


• By the association of wicked people even good people lose their good quality. Example Kaikeyi's association with Manthara. Kaikeyi was a great soul. But by paying heed to wicked Manthara's advise she received bad name.


• All brothers should remain united even in adverse circumstances. Example - sons of Dasharatha namely Rama, Lakshmana, Bharata and Shatrughna remained united even after going through all adverse circumstances.


• Husband and wife should live virtuous life by complementing each other. Example life of Rama and Sita. 


• Giving equal treatment to all. Example - Rama's friendship with Sugriva, Vibhishana and Guha. They were all of different nature. But Rama treated them all equally.


• Use of harsh words always brings misery. Example of Ravana. He was great soul but the way he addressed his people brought him down. He even lost respect in his own family.


• One should be ready to sacrifice even one's own life when helping for good cause. Example Jatayu. He wanted to save Sita and in order to do that he sacrificed his life.


• Those who come to us for help with faith should not be returned empty handed or betrayed. For example Sugriva came to Rama for help. Till last Rama made sure that Sugriva was helped.


• Devotion to great souls helps to achieve success even in impossible tasks. Example Hanuman. With devotion to Rama, he achieved success in otherwise impossible tasks. 


• Anyone who surrenders, even if he is enemy, should be protected. Example Vibhishana. Rama protected Vibhishana, even when he was enemy, since Vibhishana surrendered to Rama.


• Under any circumstances we must stick to our commitment. The whole life of Lord Rama is an example of commitment. He was committed to live life by following highest virtue.

Forms of Devi During Navaratri

They say this universe was created out of God's will. Any creation needs three powers - power of will - icchashakti, power of knowledge - dnyanashakti and power of action - kriyashakti. The source of all these powers is Goddess Lalita. Navaratri - nine divine nights - is a time when each day a different form of Devi, that represents her unique aspect, is worshiped.

Method of worshiping Devi during Navaratri

Devi can be worshiped during Navaratri as follows:

• Reading Devi Mahatmya, Devi Bhagwat
• Reciting Mahakalistortra, Mahalakshmi stotra, Maha Sarasvati stotra, Soundarya lahari shlok
• Reciting Lalita sahastranama daily is considered most auspicious. 
• Performing suvasini puja and kanya puja at least once during the 9 days of Navaratra.

Flowers to be used while worshiping Devi during Navaratri

Day 1,2,3 – Red, yellow and blue colored flowers

Day 4,5,6 – Jasvanti, bilva, red lotus, red rose

Day 7,8,9 – Jaai, Mogara, Tagar, white lotus, tulas etc

Benefits of worshiping Devi during Navaratri 

Below is a day by day chart that describes various forms of Goddess, her incarnation, her goal, her appearance and benefits, of worshiping her, on each day. 

Day	Avatar of Devi	Shakti	Goal	Devi's Form	Devi's appearance	Benefits of worshiping Devi on this day
1	Durga	Icchashakti	Vadha of demons Madhu and Kaitabha	Maheshwari	Abhaya hasta, varada hasta, book, akshamala (kumari durga holding akshamala)	Get rid of poverty Increase in the life span
2	Durga	Icchashakti	Begins the journey for killing Mahishasura	Kaumari	Rajeshwari holding sugarcane bow, flower arrow and parashu	Get rid of diseases and improvement in health
3	Durga	Icchashakti	Vadha of demon Mahishasura	Vaaraahi	Kalyaan Durga having trishul and standing on the head of Mahishasura	Increase in the wealth and food grain
4	Lakshmi	Kriyashakti	She accepts the various obeisances paid by Devas	Mahalakshmi	She is sitting on lion as Jai Durga	Getting rid of enmity
5	Lakshmi	Kriyashakti	Hears the message from messenger Sugriva	Vaishnavi	Kali Durga	Achieving the desired wealth
6	Lakshmi	Kriyashakti	Vadha of demon Dhumralochana	Indrayani	Chandika Devi with a serpent, akshamala, skull, and lotus flower	Win in disputes. Prosperity
7	Saraswati	Dnyanashakti	Vadha of demons Chanda and Munda	Brahmi	She is in the form of Shambhavi Durga, sitting on diamond throne with one leg on lotus flower and playing veena	Will get mukti and siddhi
8	Saraswati	Dnyanashakti	Vadha of demon Raktabija	Narasimhi	Karuna Durga with a sugarcane bow, surrounded by ashta maha shakti	Will get all boons that you ask for
9	Saraswati	Dnyanashakti	Vadha of demons Shumbha and Nishumbha	Chamundeshwari	She is in the form of Subhadra Devi having bow and arrow, trishula and ankusha in her hand	Will get desired siddhi
10	Mahashakti	Mahashakti	The day on which she wins	Shivashakti	In the form of sthoola rupa	Get all the happiness and wealth etc

Compassionate concern of the great mother

 

When it comes to compassion there is no one equal to mother. Mother is ever concerned about welfare of her children. The best well-wisher of any person is his/her own mother. That’s why Upanishads say matru devo bhava – revere mother as god. If this is the truth about compassion of one’s own mother, what can we say of the mother of this universe – Mother Parvati. Universe is her child and so she is ever concerned about all jivas in this universe.

Once, out of great compassion, she asked Shri Shankara, guru of gurus, about the path to be pursued by all jivas so that they can attain the highest goal of life i.e. becoming one with Parabrahma.



In his answer Shri Shankara revealed about the path of serving Guru, to achieve the highest goal of life. This great dialogue between mother of the universe and guru of gurus is popularly known as Guru Gita.

Great are the parents whose children get into devotion to the Guru. Great is that lineage where such devotees are born. They indeed please the Mother Earth.

Punya – an earning that can be carried

Throughout life we pursue the goal of earning wealth – that includes money, health, property, relations. These are all important earnings and one should pursue them with all dedication because these earnings make life livable, enjoyable. However there is one earning which is unseen and is the basis of all these earnings and that is punya. Punya is the basis of all good life experiences. Even the ability to earn earthly earnings results from savings of punya.

There is a difference between earthly earnings and earning of punya. The major difference is all earthly earnings cannot be carried beyond this life. Whereas one carries earnings of punya and papa beyond this life. The good experiences in this life are results of punya from previous life and so earnings of punya in this life become cause of good experiences in next life.

Like money punya is also to be earned. Don’t we earn and save money so that we have constant source of income? In the same way punya also has to be earned so that there is constant source of punya. Due to savings of money we experience uninterrupted joy. In the same way savings of punya help in having uninterrupted joy in this and next life.

However there is a challenge of how to measure punya? One may be able to measure all other earnings but punya. In fact it is not in human capacity to measure punya. The only action human is capable of performing is the act that can help earn punya.

Like there is a challenge to measure punya, there is a challenge in understanding what act should be performed to earn punya.

That is where guidance of saints and scriptures comes into play. Scriptures contain advises from Saints, who are authentic repositories of knowledge as well as experiences. Guidance of Saints, if followed with devotion, never goes waste. Saints advise us to perform rituals such as abhishek (offering sacred bath to idol of God while chanting veda suktas – hymns from Vedas). These rituals, if performed with devotion, are authentic ways of earning punya. Any effort in performing these acts never goes waste. These rituals act like a seed. A seed grows slowly to become a giant tree. In the same way effects of these rituals grow into giant tree of punya, the fruits of which are blissful experiences.

Like when one becomes successful in life one is able to help others to follow path of success. In the same way when one understands the importance of punya one can help others as well by introducing them to the ways of earning punya.

The great Sage Vyasa wrote 18 puranas and then summarized all puranas in just two sentences - Helping is punya and hurting is papa. Even not hurting is a great help. And so it is very important to refine speech and action so that one never hurts but always helps.

Ganapati Bappa Moraya

Puranas are authentic sources of rituals. Rituals are the actions that help us earn punya, essential for leading happy and contented life.

One of such ritual is worshiping Lord Ganapati on the day of Chaturthi. In fact there are numerous people who with devotion observe sankashti chaturthi vrat every month with a belief that all their desires are fulfilled by observing this vrat.

In all chaturthis two chaturthis are more widely celebrated all over world. One is chaturthi (fourth day) that falls in shukla paksha (waxing phase) of month Bhadrapada and second is chaturthi that falls in shukla paksha of month Magha (popularly known as Maghi Ganapati or Ganesh Jayanti).

The ritual includes making of idol of Lord Ganapati from clay and then performing shodashopchar puja (sixteen steps of hospitality) including abhishek (offering sacred bath to Lord while chanting of veda suktas). And then on second day perform farewell to Lord by immersing his idol in the river.

Lord Ganapati is considered presiding deity of intellect. It is the intellect that really helps us in life to achieve all success. And that is why children are encouraged from early age to chant Ganapati Atharvashirsha. Many people follow a practice of performing avartana (repeated chanting) of Ganapati Atharvashirsha on the day of chaturthi to firmly establish in devotion to Lord Ganapati.

One can imagine why worshiping Lord Ganapati is so popular and important. Ganapati has many forms. His main form is omkar, the primordial sound, which is the origin of this universe. From omkar all gods emanated. Om letter is in itself combination of three letters – AUM. A represents Lord Brahma, U represents Lord Vishnu and M represents Lord Shivam. So worship of Ganapati is really worship of all three gods.

Wishing you all happy Ganesh Chaturthi!!! May Lord Ganapati bring you and your beloved ones most auspicious gains.

The everlasting friendship

Out of nine steps or nine forms of devotion (navavidha bhakti) eighth step is sakhya i.e. friendship – establishing friendship with God.

Friendship is the most important state of any relationship. If a relationship does not culminate into friendship then there is no fun in that relationship. Same is true with relationship with god.

How to establish friendship with God?

Establishing and maintaining friendship is a difficult task. To be able to become a friend one has to keep away one’s own likes and dislikes. The outcome of friendship is joy, which is a collective experience. Friendship cannot exist without joy and joy cannot exist without friendship. It’s a give and take relationship. One has to give up something to achieve something. That’s the usual nature of even worldly friendships. And friendship with God is not different. To be able to establish friendship with God it is important to find what god likes and dislikes and then do what God likes and avoid what He dislikes.

There is a difference between worldly friendship and friendship with God. In general there is a fine line between friendship with same age people versus friendship with elders. As a general guideline in Indian culture they say that one should bow down in front of the person who is more than 10 years elder than us. And so when establishing friendship with elder people it is important to maintain the line of respect. God is eldest of eldest and so obviously it is important to pay respect to his wishes.

All worldly friendships come to an end at one point. However friendship with God never ends. Though eldest of eldest God stays forever. Everything will come to an end but not God.

Friendship is the eighth step in the devotion to God. To reach that step one has to first go through seven steps and those are – shravan (listening to glory of God e.g. listening to Vishnusahasranama), kirtan (singing the glory of God e.g. chanting Vishnusahasranama), vishnusmaran (remembering god all the time, results from repeatedly listening and chanting Vishnusahasranama), archan (making offering to God e.g. performing puja), vandan (saluting god and godly people e.g. saluting Guru and elders), padasevan (worshiping lotus feet of God), dasya (serving God e.g. performing service in temple)

Eighth step is sakhya (friendship with God, results from serving God without any expectation) and final step is atmanivedan (complete surrender to God i.e. uniting with God).

Through these steps one becomes eligible to receive blessings of God that help to achieve never ending happiness.

A little haste is needed

They say there are 84 lakhs of species in the universe. In the sequence of creation of these species human being is at the last number. Creation stopped after human being was created. There remained nothing to be created. Human is the only specie that has all the characteristics of the creator. And that is why it is only in the human birth that one gets an opportunity to become one with the creator of the universe.

They also say that a soul goes through a cycle of births and deaths of 84 lakhs species before achieving human body. And finally in human birth one gets an opportunity to liberate from this cycle.

That’s why saints urge us to take advantage of this human birth. It is a golden opportunity. If this opportunity is lost one may or may not get this opportunity soon. And that is why a little haste is needed to prepare to utilize this opportunity. The earlier one starts in life to prepare for this opportunity the easier it is. It’s never too early and it’s never too late to start preparation.

To utilize this golden opportunity one needs to do abhaysa – study of knowledge of self i.e. atmadnyana. The easiest way to achieve this knowledge is to surrender to Guru and then follow his teachings without any lapse. In fact they say that it is not even possible to achieve liberation without surrendering to Guru. Guru seamlessly takes his devoted disciples through all steps through liberation.

Food - a very important source of success

Being successful in life is very important. In general, success brings joy and peace. Success is contagious too. Success of one person inspires others to follow that path. And that is why one should take every effort to be successful in life.

Success is about utkarsha. It is about gradually rising to something better than current status - in terms of wealth, in terms of emotion, in terms of satisfaction and in terms of consciousness, till one achieves highest possible state of consciousness.

Success is a journey. If choice of destination and the choice of transportation is correct then the journey assures not only timely arrival to the destination but it also assures that one will enjoy all the pleasures from the attractions along the route.

However, journey of success depends on many factors. First, a good health – mental and physical. Second, blessings from everybody around. That is why success is a collective and cooperative effort.

And that is where importance of food comes in. Good food is a source of many things that help in achieving overall success in life – a good physical health, a good mental health, and even good relationships. To understand why food is important source of success we need to understand three important processes related to food, namely – earning food, preparing food and consuming food and also the difference between human and animal. Why do we need to understand difference between human and animal? Achieving human body after going through many animal births is in itself a step in overall success. So the next expected step is obviously not going back to animal body but rising above human.

As per wise people, there are four instincts which are common to humans and animals – ahaar (instinct to consume food), nidra (instinct to sleep), bhaya (instinct to defend) and maithun (instinct to have sexual intercourse).

The only instinct that differentiates humans from animals is the instinct to follow dharma (eternal code of conduct). If this instinct is missing, then there is no difference between human and animal. Having a physical body, these four instincts cannot be avoided, but only when these instincts are satisfied as per dharma then that consumption qualifies as human way of consumption.

Taking example of food – eating when hungry is an instinct common in human and animal, but satisfying hunger for food after first offering food to God is dharma and that differentiates human from animal. This differentiation is not to indicate that humans are superior to animals, but it indicates the opportunity that humans have to rise and achieve higher status by following dharma.

Now back to the three processes related to food.

Earning food – first, food has to be earned through honest ways. Food earned through dishonest ways cannot bring success.

Preparing food - food should be prepared with good thoughts. Thoughts have great impact on food and it can affect the health of all who consume that food.

Consuming food -And finally food should be offered to God before consuming it.

Saints recommend a very simple way of offering food to God.

Before partaking food just chant the name of God, which is free and does not require much effort. This way, food is offered to God and it automatically helps to perform yadnya which is the main cause of success. In fact, not just when partaking food but one should chant the name of God even while earning as well as preparing food. By chanting the name of God the action gets transformed into yadnya karma.

As mentioned above, success is about gradual rising to higher status. And so, it is very interesting to understand how Gods achieved there Godly status. Scriptures say that Gods achieved their godly status by performing Yadnya. Yadnya is the main dharmic activity.

Every activity can be transformed into yadnya by chanting name of God before and after performing the activity. Yadnya is the way to success.

Character - stays forever

When analyzing human life, one of the important questions that arise is “What does one leave behind when one leaves body?” They say that it is the character that one leaves behind when one leaves body.

That is why they say that the education that does not end in good character is not an education at all. The main purpose of education is building character.

Kirti does not mean fame. It means character. It means good name. All the actions have to be aligned to build character. Damages to physique, wealth can recover over the time, but damage to character is irrecoverable. It stays forever. Don’t we say – first impression is the last impression?

Like for building professional profile one must go through good professional education under good teachers. In the same way for building character one has to go through good education under good Guru.

The scriptures are the best sources to self-educate about building character. They contain important upadeshas that when followed one is assured of building a good character.

Scriptures such as Ramayana and Mahabharata contain characters that indicate dos and donts. Ravana from Ramayana epic is a classic example of donts. Ravana, they say, was very well educated in all vedas and shastras. He was a great devotee of Lord Shiva. But in spite of having all this knowledge he failed to leave a good name. He lost respect even in his own family. Vibhishana, Ravana’s real brother and an ardent devotee of Rama, tried his best to amend Ravana's ways and direct him back to the path of righteous conduct.  But Alas!, Ravana did not pay heed to any of those good advises and he lost everything he earned. He left bad example and so nobody dares to name their child as Ravana.

Whereas Rama, Laxmana, Hanuman left good name. People take pride in naming their children as Rama or Laxmana or Hanuman.

To achieve a good character one should pursue a goal of earning respect among Saints and Satpurushas. Saints are the living Gods on earth. It is not easy to earn respect among Saints. Saints are all knowing people. They know ins and outs of a person who approaches them and so cleverness which helps to achieve respect in society does not work when achieving respect among saints. What is needed is a pure heart. To achieve pure heart the only way is the devotion and dedication. When one develops liking for chanting the name of God, all other likings slowly diminish. In fact, diminishing of all other likes while developing a liking for chanting the name god is an important indication that one is on the right path of building a character.

The goal is to have the name of god in the mind at the last moment on earth. That is the success criteria of the human birth. The slow repetition of name of God in the mind while performing all other mundane activities helps to achieve this goal.