In the service of God and humanity
A small, impoverished boy was standing barefoot on the New York City streets, looking wistfully in the window of a shoe store. A well dressed woman, walking down the street, saw him and asked him, “My child, why are you looking so sadly in this window?” The small boy looked up at her and replied, “I am asking God to please give me a pair of shoes.” The woman took the boy’s small hand and led him into the shoe store, where she immediately asked the clerk for a bucket of warm...
Recently a man came to see me at Parmarth. He was an earnest seeker from abroad and was looking for a place to stay for several months to perform his meditation. He had a meditation technique which he said worked very well for him but he needed a place to practice it. He was from abroad and planned to stay in India for many months. I told him that he was welcome to stay here as I appreciated the earnestness of his spiritual quest. However, as I was just about...
The time of Diwali is one of the most festive and beautiful times of the year. Diwali literally means a “Row of Lights.” It is a time filled with light and love; a time when Indians all over the world rejoice. Diwali is celebrated on the thirteenth/fourteenth day in the dark half of Kartik (October – November); it is also known as Krishna Chaturdashi. It is the darkest night of the darkest period, yet it is a celebration of light! Diwali is heralded as the triumph of good over evil. The...
There was once a disciple of a Guru who went to his Guru and said, “Guruji, I want to live a spiritual life. I want to live in the service of God. I want to go beyond the binding chains of this mundane, materialistic world. But, I feel that I am not quite ready. My desires for a family, for wealth and enjoyment are still too strong. Grant me some time to fulfill these wishes and then I will come to your holy feet.” So the Guru said, “No problem, my...
Dear Divine Souls, I hope that — by God’s grace — this finds you and all your loved ones in the best of health and happiness. We are now at the divine and glorious time of celebrating Krishna Janmasthami.This is the celebration of the day that Bhagwan Krishna incarnated in human form upon the Earth. The day is celebrated by worshipping Bhagwan Krishna, fasting and chanting devotional kirtan and bhajans until past midnight. The Gita says that whenever there is darkness in the world, whenever strife and ignorance prevail, the Lord incarnates...
One of the greatest plagues of human beings is our insatiable desires. We truly never feel satisfied. We never feel that we have had “enough.” We are always looking for more and more and more. This pertains to almost every area of our lives. Obesity, diabetes and heart disease are sky-rocketing because we always want “just one more” ladoo, gulabjamun or piece of chocolate cake. Our bank accounts are getting fuller but our lives are getting emptier because we are always striving to close “just one more deal” or to...
When I was very young, not long after I came to Parmarth Niketan, a very old, revered saint came to Rishikesh to give his divine satsang at Parmarth Niketan. However, rather than staying in the comforts of the ashram, he used to stay in a small hut on the banks of Ganga a little bit away from the center of the ashrams. I was given the special seva of going to pick him up each morning and bring him to the ashram. As we walked through the busy marketplace, I would try to...
Dear Divine Souls, I hope that — by God’s grace — this finds you and all your loved ones in the best of health and happiness. It is the divine time of year when we celebrate Guru Purnima, the day in which we offer our thanks, love and devotion to the Guru. The Guru Gita says that the Guru is Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. Verily, the Guru is the Supreme Brahman itself. But what is a guru in practical terms? While in the West, the term has taken on myriad, frequently derogatory connotations, the...
Once a father had three sons whom he feared were going astray. They were beginning to partake of alcohol, drugs and other activities of which their father did not approve. Every time he approached them, they said, “No problem, Dad. We have total control. We can stop whenever we want to.” The father, however, was quite wise. One day he gathered the three sons together and took them into the backyard. He pointed to a small sprout coming up out of the ground. He told one of his sons, “Uproot that sprout.”...
On April 5 we celebrated the divine occasion of Hanuman Jayanti. One of the greatest lessons from the life of divine Hanumanji is fearlessness in the name of God. Hanumanji flew across the ocean, journeyed alone to Lanka in search of Sitaji, fought a raging battle against the demons of Lanka, carried a Himalayan mountain back for Lakshman and performed so many other feats of fortitude and courage.However, whenever he was praised for his feats and whenever he was questioned on the source of his strength, his answer was always the same:...