Mental worship of the Lord

[Guest guest]

Hare Krishna Guruvayurappa!Dear devotees, I am posting a nice incident from the Puranas here. I must say I was inspired by the posts of Savitriji reg Mama-hridaya-vaasin, describing her daily mental worship at Guruvayur & Mammiyoor.-sriramThere is a story in the Brahmavaivarta Purana that in the city of Pratisthanapura in South India there was once a brahmana who was not very well-to-do, but who was nevertheless satisfied in himself, thinking that it was because of his past misdeeds and by the desire of Krishna that he did not get sufficient money and opulence. So he was not at all sorry for his poor material position, and he used to live very peacefully. He was very openhearted, and sometimes he went to hear some lectures delivered by great realized souls. At one such meeting, while he was very faithfully hearing about Vaishnava activities, he was informed that these activities can be performed even by meditation. In other words, if a

person is unable to actually perform Vaishnava activities physically, he can meditate upon the Vaishnava activities and thereby acquire all of the same results. Because the brahmana was not very well-to-do financially, he decided that he would simply meditate on grand, royal devotional activities, and he began this business thus:Sometimes he would take his bath in the River Godavari. After taking his bath he would sit in a secluded place on the bank of the river, and by practicing the yoga exercises of pranayama, the usual breathing exercises, he would concentrate his mind. These breathing exercises are meant to mechanically fix the mind upon a particular subject. That is the result of the breathing exercises and also of the different sitting postures of yoga. Formerly, even quite ordinary persons used to know how to fix the mind upon the remembrance of the Lord, and so the brähmaëa was doing this. When he had fixed the form of the Lord in his mind, he began to

imagine in his meditations that he was dressing the Lord very nicely in costly clothing, with ornaments, helmets and other paraphernalia. Then he offered his respectful obeisances by bowing down before the Lord. After finishing the dressing, he began to imagine that he was cleaning the temple very nicely. After cleansing the temple, he imagined that he had many water jugs made of gold and silver, and he took all those jugs to the river and filled them with the holy water. Not only did he collect water from the Godavari, but he collected from the Ganges, Yamuna, Narmada and Kaveri. Generally a Vaishnava, while worshiping the Lord, collects water from all these rivers by mantra chanting. This brahmana, instead of chanting some mantra, imagined that he was physically securing water from all these rivers in golden and silver waterpots. Then he collected all kinds of paraphernalia for worship—flowers, fruits, incense and sandalwood pulp. He collected everything to place before

the Deity. All these waters, flowers and scented articles were then very nicely offered to the Deities to Their satisfaction. Then he offered arati, and with the regulative principles he finished all these activities in the correct worshiping method.He would daily execute similar performances as his routine work, and he continued to do so for many, many years. Then one day the brähmaëa imagined in his meditations that he had prepared some sweet rice with milk and sugar and offered the preparation to the Deity.However, he was not very satisfied with the offering because the sweet rice had been prepared recently and it was still very hot. (This preparation, sweet rice, should not be taken hot. The cooler the sweet rice, the better its taste.) So because the sweet rice had been prepared by the brahmana very recently, he wanted to touch it so that he could know whether it was fit for eating by the Lord. As soon as he touched the sweet rice pot with his finger,

he immediately was burnt by the heat of the pot. In this way, his meditation broke.Now, when he looked at his finger, he saw that it was burnt, and he was wondering in astonishment how this could have happened. Because he was simply meditating on touching the hot sweet rice, he never thought that his finger would actually become burnt.While he was thinking like this, in Vaikuntha Lord Narayana, seated with the goddess of fortune, Lakshmi, began to smile humorously. On seeing this smiling of the Lord, all the goddesses of fortune attending the Lord became very curious and asked Lord Narayana why He was smiling. The Lord, however, did not reply to their inquisitiveness, but instead immediately sent for the brahmana. An airplane sent from Vaikuntha immediately brought the brahmana into Lord Narayana's presence. When the brahmana was thus present before the Lord and the goddesses of fortune, the Lord explained the whole story. The brahmana was then fortunate

enough to get an eternal place in Vaikuntha in the association of the Lord and His Lakshmis. This shows how the Lord is all-pervading, in spite of His being locally situated in His abode. Although the Lord was present in Vaikuntha, He was present also in the heart of the brahmana when he was meditating on the worshiping process.Thus, we can understand that things offered by the devotees even in meditation are accepted by the Lord, and they help one achieve the desired result.

Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Mobile. Try it now.

[Guest guest]

Sriramji,

An excellent example of Bhakti and the different ways a bhakta can

serve the Lord. Very inspiring and informative.

 

Jai Shree krishna !

 

A Nair

 

guruvayur , SRIRAM SUBRAMANIAN <abheri

wrote:

>

> Hare Krishna Guruvayurappa!

> Dear devotees,

> I am posting a nice incident from the Puranas here. I must say I

was inspired by the posts of Savitriji reg Mama-hridaya-vaasin,

describing her daily mental worship at Guruvayur & Mammiyoor.

>

> -sriram

>

>

> There is a story in the Brahmavaivarta Purana that in the city of

Pratisthanapura in South India there was once a brahmana who was not

very well-to-do, but who was nevertheless satisfied in himself,

thinking that it was because of his past misdeeds and by the desire

of Krishna that he did not get sufficient money and opulence. So he

was not at all sorry for his poor material position, and he used to

live very peacefully. He was very openhearted, and sometimes he went

to hear some lectures delivered by great realized souls. At one such

meeting, while he was very faithfully hearing about Vaishnava

activities, he was informed that these activities can be performed

even by meditation. In other words, if a person is unable to actually

perform Vaishnava activities physically, he can meditate upon the

Vaishnava activities and thereby acquire all of the same results.

Because the brahmana was not very well-to-do financially, he decided

that he would simply meditate on grand, royal

> devotional activities, and he began this business thus:

>

> Sometimes he would take his bath in the River Godavari. After

taking his bath he would sit in a secluded place on the bank of the

river, and by practicing the yoga exercises of pranayama, the usual

breathing exercises, he would concentrate his mind. These breathing

exercises are meant to mechanically fix the mind upon a particular

subject. That is the result of the breathing exercises and also of

the different sitting postures of yoga. Formerly, even quite ordinary

persons used to know how to fix the mind upon the remembrance of the

Lord, and so the brähmaëa was doing this. When he had fixed the form

of the Lord in his mind, he began to imagine in his meditations that

he was dressing the Lord very nicely in costly clothing, with

ornaments, helmets and other paraphernalia. Then he offered his

respectful obeisances by bowing down before the Lord. After finishing

the dressing, he began to imagine that he was cleaning the temple

very nicely. After cleansing the temple, he

> imagined that he had many water jugs made of gold and silver, and

he took all those jugs to the river and filled them with the holy

water. Not only did he collect water from the Godavari, but he

collected from the Ganges, Yamuna, Narmada and Kaveri. Generally a

Vaishnava, while worshiping the Lord, collects water from all these

rivers by mantra chanting. This brahmana, instead of chanting some

mantra, imagined that he was physically securing water from all these

rivers in golden and silver waterpots. Then he collected all kinds of

paraphernalia for worship—flowers, fruits, incense and sandalwood

pulp. He collected everything to place before the Deity. All these

waters, flowers and scented articles were then very nicely offered to

the Deities to Their satisfaction. Then he offered arati, and with

the regulative principles he finished all these activities in the

correct worshiping method.

>

> He would daily execute similar performances as his routine work,

and he continued to do so for many, many years. Then one day the

brähmaëa imagined in his meditations that he had prepared some sweet

rice with milk and sugar and offered the preparation to the Deity.

>

> However, he was not very satisfied with the offering because the

sweet rice had been prepared recently and it was still very hot.

(This preparation, sweet rice, should not be taken hot. The cooler

the sweet rice, the better its taste.) So because the sweet rice had

been prepared by the brahmana very recently, he wanted to touch it so

that he could know whether it was fit for eating by the Lord. As soon

as he touched the sweet rice pot with his finger, he immediately was

burnt by the heat of the pot. In this way, his meditation broke.

>

> Now, when he looked at his finger, he saw that it was burnt, and he

was wondering in astonishment how this could have happened. Because

he was simply meditating on touching the hot sweet rice, he never

thought that his finger would actually become burnt.

>

> While he was thinking like this, in Vaikuntha Lord Narayana, seated

with the goddess of fortune, Lakshmi, began to smile humorously. On

seeing this smiling of the Lord, all the goddesses of fortune

attending the Lord became very curious and asked Lord Narayana why He

was smiling. The Lord, however, did not reply to their

inquisitiveness, but instead immediately sent for the brahmana. An

airplane sent from Vaikuntha immediately brought the brahmana into

Lord Narayana's presence. When the brahmana was thus present before

the Lord and the goddesses of fortune, the Lord explained the whole

story. The brahmana was then fortunate enough to get an eternal place

in Vaikuntha in the association of the Lord and His Lakshmis. This

shows how the Lord is all-pervading, in spite of His being locally

situated in His abode. Although the Lord was present in Vaikuntha, He

was present also in the heart of the brahmana when he was meditating

on the worshiping process.

>

> Thus, we can understand that things offered by the devotees even in

meditation are accepted by the Lord, and they help one achieve the

desired result.

>

>

> Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Mobile.

Try it now.

>

[Guest guest]

Dear Sriramji, Excellent story, Keep up your good work. With prayers Manju AmbadySRIRAM SUBRAMANIAN <abheri wrote: Hare Krishna Guruvayurappa!Dear devotees, I am posting a nice incident from the Puranas here. I must say I was inspired by the posts of Savitriji reg Mama-hridaya-vaasin, describing her daily mental worship at Guruvayur & Mammiyoor.-sriramThere is a story in the

Brahmavaivarta Purana that in the city of Pratisthanapura in South India there was once a brahmana who was not very well-to-do, but who was nevertheless satisfied in himself, thinking that it was because of his past misdeeds and by the desire of Krishna that he did not get sufficient money and opulence. So he was not at all sorry for his poor material position, and he used to live very peacefully. He was very openhearted, and sometimes he went to hear some lectures delivered by great realized souls. At one such meeting, while he was very faithfully hearing about Vaishnava activities, he was informed that these activities can be performed even by meditation. In other words, if a person is unable to actually perform Vaishnava activities physically, he can meditate upon the Vaishnava activities and thereby acquire all of the same results. Because the brahmana was not very well-to-do financially, he decided that he would simply meditate on grand, royal devotional activities,

and he began this business thus:Sometimes he would take his bath in the River Godavari. After taking his bath he would sit in a secluded place on the bank of the river, and by practicing the yoga exercises of pranayama, the usual breathing exercises, he would concentrate his mind. These breathing exercises are meant to mechanically fix the mind upon a particular subject. That is the result of the breathing exercises and also of the different sitting postures of yoga. Formerly, even quite ordinary persons used to know how to fix the mind upon the remembrance of the Lord, and so the brähmaëa was doing this. When he had fixed the form of the Lord in his mind, he began to imagine in his meditations that he was dressing the Lord very nicely in costly clothing, with ornaments, helmets and other paraphernalia. Then he offered his respectful obeisances by bowing down before the Lord. After finishing the dressing, he began to imagine that he was cleaning the temple very

nicely. After cleansing the temple, he imagined that he had many water jugs made of gold and silver, and he took all those jugs to the river and filled them with the holy water. Not only did he collect water from the Godavari, but he collected from the Ganges, Yamuna, Narmada and Kaveri. Generally a Vaishnava, while worshiping the Lord, collects water from all these rivers by mantra chanting. This brahmana, instead of chanting some mantra, imagined that he was physically securing water from all these rivers in golden and silver waterpots. Then he collected all kinds of paraphernalia for worship—flowers, fruits, incense and sandalwood pulp. He collected everything to place before the Deity. All these waters, flowers and scented articles were then very nicely offered to the Deities to Their satisfaction. Then he offered arati, and with the regulative principles he finished all these activities in the correct worshiping method.He would daily execute similar

performances as his routine work, and he continued to do so for many, many years. Then one day the brähmaëa imagined in his meditations that he had prepared some sweet rice with milk and sugar and offered the preparation to the Deity.However, he was not very satisfied with the offering because the sweet rice had been prepared recently and it was still very hot. (This preparation, sweet rice, should not be taken hot. The cooler the sweet rice, the better its taste.) So because the sweet rice had been prepared by the brahmana very recently, he wanted to touch it so that he could know whether it was fit for eating by the Lord. As soon as he touched the sweet rice pot with his finger, he immediately was burnt by the heat of the pot. In this way, his meditation broke.Now, when he looked at his finger, he saw that it was burnt, and he was wondering in astonishment how this could have happened. Because he was simply meditating on touching the hot sweet rice, he

never thought that his finger would actually become burnt.While he was thinking like this, in Vaikuntha Lord Narayana, seated with the goddess of fortune, Lakshmi, began to smile humorously. On seeing this smiling of the Lord, all the goddesses of fortune attending the Lord became very curious and asked Lord Narayana why He was smiling. The Lord, however, did not reply to their inquisitiveness, but instead immediately sent for the brahmana. An airplane sent from Vaikuntha immediately brought the brahmana into Lord Narayana's presence. When the brahmana was thus present before the Lord and the goddesses of fortune, the Lord explained the whole story. The brahmana was then fortunate enough to get an eternal place in Vaikuntha in the association of the Lord and His Lakshmis. This shows how the Lord is all-pervading, in spite of His being locally situated in His abode. Although the Lord was present in Vaikuntha, He was present also in the heart of the brahmana when he

was meditating on the worshiping process.Thus, we can understand that things offered by the devotees even in meditation are accepted by the Lord, and they help one achieve the desired result. Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Mobile. Try it now.

Get the freedom to save as many mails as you wish. Click here to know how.

[Guest guest]

Dear Sriramji,

 

What an excellent story? Maanasa pooja is definitely considered higher

than baahya pooja in many scriptures. There is a maanasa pooja in

Garga Bhagavatham and I will try to type it in Malayalam and send to

the group. It has all the 16 steps of pooja described in very simple

Sanskrit. I got ir from the translation of Garga Bhagavatham by

Vaidyamadhom cheriya Narayanan Nambuthiri. He has not translated these

slokaas and they are in Sanskrit. In a couple of days I will send

that.

 

This story really made me cry. Mind is everything. All our happiness

and suffering are controlled by mind. That is why one person's duhkham

often becomes another person's happiness. My father use to tell us how

Dasharatha's duhkham was the cause of Kaikeyi's happiness. There is

nothing more powerful than mind. How Brahma got maanasa putraas, only

by meditation. How Sankarracharyar rushed to the scene of his mother's

death bed from thousands of miles away in one minute?- only with his

mental power. Melpathur also reiterates the power of mind in

Narayaneeyam.

 

Thank you very much for sharing such a wonderful story and reinforcing

our faith.

 

Let Guruvayurappan bless us to use the mind power He gave us to use

only for good.

 

Regards and prayers

 

Savitri

 

 

 

On Sun, Apr 27, 2008 at 2:46 AM, SRIRAM SUBRAMANIAN <abheri wrote:

>

>

>

>

> Hare Krishna Guruvayurappa!

> Dear devotees,

> I am posting a nice incident from the Puranas here. I must say I was

> inspired by the posts of Savitriji reg Mama-hridaya-vaasin, describing her

> daily mental worship at Guruvayur & Mammiyoor.

>

> -sriram

>

>

> There is a story in the Brahmavaivarta Purana that in the city of

> Pratisthanapura in South India there was once a brahmana who was not very

> well-to-do, but who was nevertheless satisfied in himself, thinking that it

> was because of his past misdeeds and by the desire of Krishna that he did

> not get sufficient money and opulence. So he was not at all sorry for his

> poor material position, and he used to live very peacefully. He was very

> openhearted, and sometimes he went to hear some lectures delivered by great

> realized souls. At one such meeting, while he was very faithfully hearing

> about Vaishnava activities, he was informed that these activities can be

> performed even by meditation. In other words, if a person is unable to

> actually perform Vaishnava activities physically, he can meditate upon the

> Vaishnava activities and thereby acquire all of the same results. Because

> the brahmana was not very well-to-do financially, he decided that he would

> simply meditate on grand, royal devotional activities, and he began this

> business thus:

>

> Sometimes he would take his bath in the River Godavari. After taking his

> bath he would sit in a secluded place on the bank of the river, and by

> practicing the yoga exercises of pranayama, the usual breathing exercises,

> he would concentrate his mind. These breathing exercises are meant to

> mechanically fix the mind upon a particular subject. That is the result of

> the breathing exercises and also of the different sitting postures of yoga.

> Formerly, even quite ordinary persons used to know how to fix the mind upon

> the remembrance of the Lord, and so the brähmaëa was doing this. When he had

> fixed the form of the Lord in his mind, he began to imagine in his

> meditations that he was dressing the Lord very nicely in costly clothing,

> with ornaments, helmets and other paraphernalia. Then he offered his

> respectful obeisances by bowing down before the Lord. After finishing the

> dressing, he began to imagine that he was cleaning the temple very nicely.

> After cleansing the temple, he imagined that he had many water jugs made of

> gold and silver, and he took all those jugs to the river and filled them

> with the holy water. Not only did he collect water from the Godavari, but he

> collected from the Ganges, Yamuna, Narmada and Kaveri. Generally a

> Vaishnava, while worshiping the Lord, collects water from all these rivers

> by mantra chanting. This brahmana, instead of chanting some mantra, imagined

> that he was physically securing water from all these rivers in golden and

> silver waterpots. Then he collected all kinds of paraphernalia for

> worship—flowers, fruits, incense and sandalwood pulp. He collected

> everything to place before the Deity. All these waters, flowers and scented

> articles were then very nicely offered to the Deities to Their satisfaction.

> Then he offered arati, and with the regulative principles he finished all

> these activities in the correct worshiping method.

>

> He would daily execute similar performances as his routine work, and he

> continued to do so for many, many years. Then one day the brähmaëa imagined

> in his meditations that he had prepared some sweet rice with milk and sugar

> and offered the preparation to the Deity.

>

> However, he was not very satisfied with the offering because the sweet rice

> had been prepared recently and it was still very hot. (This preparation,

> sweet rice, should not be taken hot. The cooler the sweet rice, the better

> its taste.) So because the sweet rice had been prepared by the brahmana very

> recently, he wanted to touch it so that he could know whether it was fit for

> eating by the Lord. As soon as he touched the sweet rice pot with his

> finger, he immediately was burnt by the heat of the pot. In this way, his

> meditation broke.

>

> Now, when he looked at his finger, he saw that it was burnt, and he was

> wondering in astonishment how this could have happened. Because he was

> simply meditating on touching the hot sweet rice, he never thought that his

> finger would actually become burnt.

>

> While he was thinking like this, in Vaikuntha Lord Narayana, seated with the

> goddess of fortune, Lakshmi, began to smile humorously. On seeing this

> smiling of the Lord, all the goddesses of fortune attending the Lord became

> very curious and asked Lord Narayana why He was smiling. The Lord, however,

> did not reply to their inquisitiveness, but instead immediately sent for the

> brahmana. An airplane sent from Vaikuntha immediately brought the brahmana

> into Lord Narayana's presence. When the brahmana was thus present before the

> Lord and the goddesses of fortune, the Lord explained the whole story. The

> brahmana was then fortunate enough to get an eternal place in Vaikuntha in

> the association of the Lord and His Lakshmis. This shows how the Lord is

> all-pervading, in spite of His being locally situated in His abode. Although

> the Lord was present in Vaikuntha, He was present also in the heart of the

> brahmana when he was meditating on the worshiping process.

>

> Thus, we can understand that things offered by the devotees even in

> meditation are accepted by the Lord, and they help one achieve the desired

> result.

>

> ________________________________

> Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Mobile. Try it

> now.

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Sriramji,

It shows there are no restrictions when it comes to expressing one's

devotion for Lord Guruvayoorappan.

An excellent example of the different paths a Bhakta can follow when

serving and worshipping the Lord. Very informative and inspiring.

 

 

Jai Shree Krishna !

 

A Nair

 

 

guruvayur , " chirattapuram " <anair1101

wrote:

>

> Sriramji,

> An excellent example of Bhakti and the different ways a bhakta can

> serve the Lord. Very inspiring and informative.

>

> Jai Shree krishna !

>

> A Nair

>

> guruvayur , SRIRAM SUBRAMANIAN <abheri@>

> wrote:

> >

> > Hare Krishna Guruvayurappa!

> > Dear devotees,

> > I am posting a nice incident from the Puranas here. I must say I

> was inspired by the posts of Savitriji reg Mama-hridaya-vaasin,

> describing her daily mental worship at Guruvayur & Mammiyoor.

> >

> > -sriram

> >

> >

> > There is a story in the Brahmavaivarta Purana that in the city of

> Pratisthanapura in South India there was once a brahmana who was

not

> very well-to-do, but who was nevertheless satisfied in himself,

> thinking that it was because of his past misdeeds and by the desire

> of Krishna that he did not get sufficient money and opulence. So he

> was not at all sorry for his poor material position, and he used to

> live very peacefully. He was very openhearted, and sometimes he

went

> to hear some lectures delivered by great realized souls. At one

such

> meeting, while he was very faithfully hearing about Vaishnava

> activities, he was informed that these activities can be performed

> even by meditation. In other words, if a person is unable to

actually

> perform Vaishnava activities physically, he can meditate upon the

> Vaishnava activities and thereby acquire all of the same results.

> Because the brahmana was not very well-to-do financially, he

decided

> that he would simply meditate on grand, royal

> > devotional activities, and he began this business thus:

> >

> > Sometimes he would take his bath in the River Godavari. After

> taking his bath he would sit in a secluded place on the bank of the

> river, and by practicing the yoga exercises of pranayama, the usual

> breathing exercises, he would concentrate his mind. These breathing

> exercises are meant to mechanically fix the mind upon a particular

> subject. That is the result of the breathing exercises and also of

> the different sitting postures of yoga. Formerly, even quite

ordinary

> persons used to know how to fix the mind upon the remembrance of

the

> Lord, and so the brähmaëa was doing this. When he had fixed the

form

> of the Lord in his mind, he began to imagine in his meditations

that

> he was dressing the Lord very nicely in costly clothing, with

> ornaments, helmets and other paraphernalia. Then he offered his

> respectful obeisances by bowing down before the Lord. After

finishing

> the dressing, he began to imagine that he was cleaning the temple

> very nicely. After cleansing the temple, he

> > imagined that he had many water jugs made of gold and silver,

and

> he took all those jugs to the river and filled them with the holy

> water. Not only did he collect water from the Godavari, but he

> collected from the Ganges, Yamuna, Narmada and Kaveri. Generally a

> Vaishnava, while worshiping the Lord, collects water from all these

> rivers by mantra chanting. This brahmana, instead of chanting some

> mantra, imagined that he was physically securing water from all

these

> rivers in golden and silver waterpots. Then he collected all kinds

of

> paraphernalia for worship—flowers, fruits, incense and sandalwood

> pulp. He collected everything to place before the Deity. All these

> waters, flowers and scented articles were then very nicely offered

to

> the Deities to Their satisfaction. Then he offered arati, and with

> the regulative principles he finished all these activities in the

> correct worshiping method.

> >

> > He would daily execute similar performances as his routine work,

> and he continued to do so for many, many years. Then one day the

> brähmaëa imagined in his meditations that he had prepared some

sweet

> rice with milk and sugar and offered the preparation to the Deity.

> >

> > However, he was not very satisfied with the offering because the

> sweet rice had been prepared recently and it was still very hot.

> (This preparation, sweet rice, should not be taken hot. The cooler

> the sweet rice, the better its taste.) So because the sweet rice

had

> been prepared by the brahmana very recently, he wanted to touch it

so

> that he could know whether it was fit for eating by the Lord. As

soon

> as he touched the sweet rice pot with his finger, he immediately

was

> burnt by the heat of the pot. In this way, his meditation broke.

> >

> > Now, when he looked at his finger, he saw that it was burnt, and

he

> was wondering in astonishment how this could have happened. Because

> he was simply meditating on touching the hot sweet rice, he never

> thought that his finger would actually become burnt.

> >

> > While he was thinking like this, in Vaikuntha Lord Narayana,

seated

> with the goddess of fortune, Lakshmi, began to smile humorously. On

> seeing this smiling of the Lord, all the goddesses of fortune

> attending the Lord became very curious and asked Lord Narayana why

He

> was smiling. The Lord, however, did not reply to their

> inquisitiveness, but instead immediately sent for the brahmana. An

> airplane sent from Vaikuntha immediately brought the brahmana into

> Lord Narayana's presence. When the brahmana was thus present before

> the Lord and the goddesses of fortune, the Lord explained the whole

> story. The brahmana was then fortunate enough to get an eternal

place

> in Vaikuntha in the association of the Lord and His Lakshmis. This

> shows how the Lord is all-pervading, in spite of His being locally

> situated in His abode. Although the Lord was present in Vaikuntha,

He

> was present also in the heart of the brahmana when he was

meditating

> on the worshiping process.

> >

> > Thus, we can understand that things offered by the devotees even

in

> meditation are accepted by the Lord, and they help one achieve the

> desired result.

> >

> >

> > Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with

Mobile.

> Try it now.

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Dear SriramjiOm Namo Narayanaya !!My God ! What an impressive story. Is it a story? It must be something that has happened right? If it is a story also, I felt while reading (truly speaking) the poor Brahmana is sitting (of course on the bank of Kaveri where I have gone and still remember the place). I had even imagined the right place for him to sit even and so well i went through the story, in short. But when I reached reading that the Lord sent for him a " Ratha " to bring him there, I started really crying and that further reading became very difficult.

Truly, very touching one (I am sorry I cannot call it a story) !!Thanks and regardsHey Ram !Jayasree Menon On 28/04/2008, chirattapuram <anair1101 wrote:

 

 

 

 

Sriramji,

It shows there are no restrictions when it comes to expressing one's

devotion for Lord Guruvayoorappan.

An excellent example of the different paths a Bhakta can follow when

serving and worshipping the Lord. Very informative and inspiring.

 

Jai Shree Krishna !

 

A Nair

 

guruvayur , " chirattapuram " <anair1101

wrote:

>

> Sriramji,

> An excellent example of Bhakti and the different ways a bhakta can

> serve the Lord. Very inspiring and informative.

>

> Jai Shree krishna !

>

> A Nair

>

> guruvayur , SRIRAM SUBRAMANIAN <abheri@>

> wrote:

> >

> > Hare Krishna Guruvayurappa!

> > Dear devotees,

> > I am posting a nice incident from the Puranas here. I must say I

> was inspired by the posts of Savitriji reg Mama-hridaya-vaasin,

> describing her daily mental worship at Guruvayur & Mammiyoor.

> >

> > -sriram

> >

> >

> > There is a story in the Brahmavaivarta Purana that in the city of

> Pratisthanapura in South India there was once a brahmana who was

not

> very well-to-do, but who was nevertheless satisfied in himself,

> thinking that it was because of his past misdeeds and by the desire

> of Krishna that he did not get sufficient money and opulence. So he

> was not at all sorry for his poor material position, and he used to

> live very peacefully. He was very openhearted, and sometimes he

went

> to hear some lectures delivered by great realized souls. At one

such

> meeting, while he was very faithfully hearing about Vaishnava

> activities, he was informed that these activities can be performed

> even by meditation. In other words, if a person is unable to

actually

> perform Vaishnava activities physically, he can meditate upon the

> Vaishnava activities and thereby acquire all of the same results.

> Because the brahmana was not very well-to-do financially, he

decided

> that he would simply meditate on grand, royal

> > devotional activities, and he began this business thus:

> >

> > Sometimes he would take his bath in the River Godavari. After

> taking his bath he would sit in a secluded place on the bank of the

> river, and by practicing the yoga exercises of pranayama, the usual

> breathing exercises, he would concentrate his mind. These breathing

> exercises are meant to mechanically fix the mind upon a particular

> subject. That is the result of the breathing exercises and also of

> the different sitting postures of yoga. Formerly, even quite

ordinary

> persons used to know how to fix the mind upon the remembrance of

the

> Lord, and so the brähmaëa was doing this. When he had fixed the

form

> of the Lord in his mind, he began to imagine in his meditations

that

> he was dressing the Lord very nicely in costly clothing, with

> ornaments, helmets and other paraphernalia. Then he offered his

> respectful obeisances by bowing down before the Lord. After

finishing

> the dressing, he began to imagine that he was cleaning the temple

> very nicely. After cleansing the temple, he

> > imagined that he had many water jugs made of gold and silver,

and

> he took all those jugs to the river and filled them with the holy

> water. Not only did he collect water from the Godavari, but he

> collected from the Ganges, Yamuna, Narmada and Kaveri. Generally a

> Vaishnava, while worshiping the Lord, collects water from all these

> rivers by mantra chanting. This brahmana, instead of chanting some

> mantra, imagined that he was physically securing water from all

these

> rivers in golden and silver waterpots. Then he collected all kinds

of

> paraphernalia for worship—flowers, fruits, incense and sandalwood

> pulp. He collected everything to place before the Deity. All these

> waters, flowers and scented articles were then very nicely offered

to

> the Deities to Their satisfaction. Then he offered arati, and with

> the regulative principles he finished all these activities in the

> correct worshiping method.

> >

> > He would daily execute similar performances as his routine work,

> and he continued to do so for many, many years. Then one day the

> brähmaëa imagined in his meditations that he had prepared some

sweet

> rice with milk and sugar and offered the preparation to the Deity.

> >

> > However, he was not very satisfied with the offering because the

> sweet rice had been prepared recently and it was still very hot.

> (This preparation, sweet rice, should not be taken hot. The cooler

> the sweet rice, the better its taste.) So because the sweet rice

had

> been prepared by the brahmana very recently, he wanted to touch it

so

> that he could know whether it was fit for eating by the Lord. As

soon

> as he touched the sweet rice pot with his finger, he immediately

was

> burnt by the heat of the pot. In this way, his meditation broke.

> >

> > Now, when he looked at his finger, he saw that it was burnt, and

he

> was wondering in astonishment how this could have happened. Because

> he was simply meditating on touching the hot sweet rice, he never

> thought that his finger would actually become burnt.

> >

> > While he was thinking like this, in Vaikuntha Lord Narayana,

seated

> with the goddess of fortune, Lakshmi, began to smile humorously. On

> seeing this smiling of the Lord, all the goddesses of fortune

> attending the Lord became very curious and asked Lord Narayana why

He

> was smiling. The Lord, however, did not reply to their

> inquisitiveness, but instead immediately sent for the brahmana. An

> airplane sent from Vaikuntha immediately brought the brahmana into

> Lord Narayana's presence. When the brahmana was thus present before

> the Lord and the goddesses of fortune, the Lord explained the whole

> story. The brahmana was then fortunate enough to get an eternal

place

> in Vaikuntha in the association of the Lord and His Lakshmis. This

> shows how the Lord is all-pervading, in spite of His being locally

> situated in His abode. Although the Lord was present in Vaikuntha,

He

> was present also in the heart of the brahmana when he was

meditating

> on the worshiping process.

> >

> > Thus, we can understand that things offered by the devotees even

in

> meditation are accepted by the Lord, and they help one achieve the

> desired result.

> >

> >

> > Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with

Mobile.

> Try it now.

> >

>

 

 

 

 

-- Best regardsJayasree MenonBangalore+9900149461