Lecture at Fremont Hindu Temple


Venue: Fremont Hindu Temple
Date: December 12th 2009
Event: Discourse by Sri Ramanujamji
Topic: Essence of Srimad Bhagawatam

Mantras are powerful patterns to unwind us away from the regular patterns. It is said that “Manasa thrayathe ithi mantraha”.

Perform worship with love and this ushers to happiness. That is verily how the bhaktas are happy.  Srimad Bhagawatam describes how the Gopis performed pooja to the Lord Krishna.

Poojam karothu pranayava lokhihi”- The eyes of Gopis flowered like lotuses and hence they offered to Lord Sri Krishna and He very happily accepted them. Lord Sri Krishna embraces love. “Karshayathe ithi krishnaha”. He attracts everybody to Himself and thus has a very beautiful form.

Sri Ramanujamji very beautifully defined the term Bhakti. It is a working relationship with the lord. He lucidly explained the concept of   – “Loving one in due course of time transforms to loving all”. This is very much accomplished if we fondle Lord Kirshna through the bhakti yoga as he encompasses all.

“Ulatu baye more nayananu ki” cries Meerabai who loved only her Giridhara Gopal and finally that love on the Lord took her to Moksha even though she did not want it. She did not love anybody because of the very fact that twenty four hours in a day was not enough to adore her Lord Sri Krishna. That is a classic example of how one makes progress in spiritually. Spirituality is not leaving things or getting rid of things. It is about holding to the right thing. When we actually hold on to the right principle, things which are not true will eventually fall off on their own accord. So he urged not to give up any or our acts or aspirations since by resisting it will only persist. Srimad Bhagavatham preaches one to not resist anything and instead urges to catch hold of something that is indeed positive which can either be an inquiry, worship, mantra etc.

He beautifully explained that reality is as it is. We give it a label to define our own experiences. He substantiated this with palm sweat as an example. It is a normal for a person’s palm to sweat before he is about to speak in a podium or before an examination. We term that to be nervousness. It is however said that if a person is excited to speak in a podium or write an exam his palm can sweat. But we give it a label that it is due to tension when it can be the reverse.
Spirituality is breaking the patterns of the past. It might require a powerful panacea to break the pattern.  He quoted a quote from Thirukurual.
“Partruga patratan patrinai
Apatrai patruga patruvidargu”

If you want to be completely free then you have to be bound by somebody who is completely free. That is what is called as Satsang. Mind is bound by habits. In order not unwind it, we have to introduce another habit which can free us from all other habits. This process is called spirituality.

The lecture ended with Mahamantra chanting. All the 50 devotees who participated in the satsang departed with a desire to listen to more lectures of this kind.

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