Kripalu Bhaktiyoga Tattvadarshan
Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj extracted the essence of divine knowledge from the fathomless ocean of the scriptures and presented it to us in a clear and comprehensible manner
His writings composed exclusively in Hindi present the essence of eternal Vedic philosophy that dates back many thousands of years. The depth of the principles enunciated is beyond anyone’s imagination. The validity of these unique compositions transcends time, culture and religion, and shall always be relevant and applicable for thousands of years to come. The work is presented in a very simple, lucid and authoritative style, free from dogma and superstition, and enriched with examples from daily life. The aspiring devotee as well as the perfect soul will benefit in many untold ways from studying them.
What do we want and how can we attain it?
We have been unable to find the answer to this question in spite of our efforts of infinite lifetimes. It might seem that every individual in this world wants something different. But that is not so. Every living being in this universe wants only thing, and that is “anand” or bliss or happiness. It’s amazing that every living creature desires only bliss, irrespective of their form, size, country of residence or religious faith, and that too without being taught by anyone to do so. There must be a scientific reason why this is so. But before we get to that, let us understand what “happiness” really means.
According to the Vedas, true happiness is that which is unlimited and everlasting.
We do experience happiness from the objects and people of this world but there is a serious flaw in that happiness – it is limited, plus it lasts only for a short while before disappearing. We become happy and then become unhappy and then again become happy and then again become unhappy, and this goes on. The happiness of this world does not stay with us permanently. This is not what true happiness is like. True happiness is that which is unlimited and everlasting. It is this kind of happiness that we have been eternally searching for.
Why do we want such unlimited and everlasting happiness?
According to the Vedas, there is a personality called “Bhagwan”, also known as “God”, “Khuda”, etc. The Vedas also say that other synonymous terms for God are “anand”, “happiness”, “bliss”. God is an ocean of bliss. We are a part of God. All individual souls are a fraction of God. And it is nature’s law that every fraction has a natural desire for its entirety. Being a fraction of bliss, every individual soul desires bliss. We want unlimited happiness. We want God. We may think that all we are looking for is the happiness that we normally experience in this world but what we are really looking for is that happiness that is of infinite amount and everlasting. In other words, knowingly or unknowingly, we are looking for God. Only by attaining God can we attain that unlimited happiness that we are looking for. Only by attaining that ocean of bliss, the individual soul can become blissful forever. Our belief that we can attain the happiness we are looking for from this world is our main mistake. Being a fraction of God, the individual soul is divine and hence it will become blissful only by attaining divine God. The divine soul can never become completely blissful no matter how much material world we give it. The subject of the soul is God and the subject of the body is the material world.
So, how do we attain God?
The Vedas say you can attain God only by knowing God. When you acquire complete knowledge of God, you will develop faith in Him. When you develop faith in Him, you will fall in love with Him. When you fall in love with Him, you attain Him.
But the Vedas also say that it is impossible to know God with our material intellect. God is divine and our intellect is material. It is not possible to grasp divine knowledge with material mind. On one hand the Vedas say that we cannot become blissful without knowing God and, yet, on the other hand, it says that no one can know God! So, what are we supposed to do?
The Vedas again say that the one who is graced by God gets to know Him, and attains Him. You can know Him, you can see Him, you can hear Him, you can touch Him, by His grace. So, the one and only way to attain God or perfect happiness is by receiving God’s grace.
But now the problem is that whether He graces an individual soul is up to Him. What can the individual soul do about this? Why is it that God has graced souls like Kabirdas, Tulsidas, Meerabai, Tukaram, and other Saints like them but not the rest of us? So, there must be some condition that we need to fulfil in order to attain His grace.
The Vedas say that one who surrenders to God attains His grace.
As the individual soul practices devotion to God, the mind becomes more and more pure and the intellect becomes more and more surrendered to God. When the surrender is complete, God graces that soul. He assumes full responsibility of that soul, forgives all His sins, puts an end to their ignorance by gracing him with complete knowledge, and makes him blissful by giving him unlimited and everlasting divine bliss.
What does it really mean to be surrendered to God?
The scriptures say that to be surrendered to God means to renounce all deception and artificiality and become like an innocent child in front of Him. Your mind must be attached to God alone. You must believe that “God alone is my everything” and accept Him as your very own from the core of your heart.
So, the final question is how do we reach this state of complete surrender?
The scriptures say that you must practice devotion to God. And devotion must be practiced with your mind. Physical actions such as visiting temple or pilgrimage, reciting from holy books, performing pooja, mechanically chanting God’s names, will not help. Everyday spend some time in private and meditate on God’s form with your mind. Practice to love God in the same way as you love your mother, father or children. Practice to realize at all times that God is with you. Generate an intense longing in your heart to meet God. Shed tears of longing for His Divine Vision and Divine Love while singing the glories of His names, His merciful nature, His Divine qualities and His pastimes along with mental visualization of His divine form. Cry for him just like a little child cries for its mother.
To gain a deeper insight into these profound teachings, you may refer to our published books, where the divine wisdom of Shri Maharaj Ji is elaborately explained.
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Beyond these selections, we have an extensive range of publications that systematically present the teachings and philosophy of Shri Maharaj Ji in great detail.