Guard your desires.

(M P R Nair.)

Little Introduction:

The entire edifice of Indian philosophical thought, known as ‘Sanathana Dharma’ is

founded firmly on Vedas. Vedas are the original Scriptures of Hindu teachings, and contain spiritual
knowledge encompassing all aspects of our life, also for the mankind in general. They can be really
supposed to be the basic constitution of all religions. Humans did not compose it and hence it is known as
‘apourusheya’. They have stood the test of time. ‘Veda’ means wisdom, knowledge or vision. The laws of
Vedas regulate the social, legal, domestic, and religious customs of the Hindus to the present day. All the
obligatory duties of the Hindus at birth, marriage, death etc. owe their allegiance to the Vedas. They were
handed down through generations by the word of mouth from time immemorial by ‘Mantradrashtas’ or
Rishis of the yore, as ordained to them. The Vedas are mainly compiled by Vyasa Krishna Dwaipayana
(Brhmarshi Veda Vyasa), around the time of Lord Krishna, more than 5,000 years ago. Sanathana Dharma,
embracing Vedas, draw forth the thought of successive generation of thinkers, and so from time to time
according as the situation demands, essential things are added on to it, unnecessary things are made obsolete
from it and requisite modifications suitable to the time are brought to it periodically to keep it always new,
fresh and most useful to man, without even any damage to its pristine glory and format. They are very
strong and everlasting. No one can destroy Sanathana Dharma since it is intended for the well-being of all
people on the mother Earth. Hopefully one day the whole world will accept most of its principles,
irrespective of caste, creed or color, as a panacea for all the ‘bhava-roga’ and ‘bhava-dukha’ or the diseases
and miseries of the world. If the world is to live in peace and prosperity, it is also absolutely essential to
propagate and cherish Sanathana Dharma. I believe that as long as Sanathana Dharma is there, nothing will
happen to Hinduism, whatever may be done against it by anyone, since Sanathana Dharma and Hinduism
are one and the same. It is really Bhagavata Dharma, knowingly or unknowingly we are following it in our
Arsha Bharata, from time immemorial as if a Sampradaya’, wherein we primarily spread the glories of the
God. There is only one God, that is the Supreme Power. All others are His manifestations. The other thing
is our Karma, what we think, do and reap the consequences accordingly. The Supreme Power is only a
witness to it. When the latent desires (vasanas) in us extinguish, the cycle of birth and death ceases to exist
and the soul will merge with the Creator, the Supreme power, who works as our Father, Protector, Preserver,
Sustainer, and equally as the total annihilator. We need not worry much about the result of Karma, if we do
it unto Him, with dedication, strong and true Faith that He is the only one Eternal Protector or the only one
source for our ‘Sharangathy’ (ultimate entity for rescue) to all of us.

Sanathana Dharma’s Perspective:

Sanathana Dharma has numerous connotations. Literally Sanathana Dharma may mean eternal
righteousness. It is really Vedic Dharma. Dharma denotes duty. Dharma also means virtues, righteousness,
natural laws, giving alms, sa’t etc. There is also a famous axiom,

‘Dharmo rakshathi, rakshitha’,

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meaning, one who protects Dharma, is protected by Dharma.

“Ahimsā Paramo Dharma”,

meaning, non-violence is the chief Dharma. Any type of cruelty is also considered as Adharma. Gita says,

“swadharme nidhnam sreyah, paradharmo bhayaavahah"….Gita (3:35)

means, one’s own allotted duty (Dharma) even if tinged with faults, is better than the duty of another even
if well performed. Better death in the performance of one’s own duty, as the duty (Dharma) of another
person is fraught with evil and danger.

Sanathana Dharma is a perennial philosophy at first. It is supposed to be the breath of Lord,

and hence it is natural and ubiquitous and hence people who love Sanathana Dharma, love nature also. It
extols love towards God and hence it is Supreme Dharma, by which the heart of man achieves its highest
welfare. It is Eternal Faith. It embodies all ancient Hindu Scriptures, and it is ‘Vaidika’ Dharma, embracing
Vedic injunctions. Though it is very vast and exhaustive, at the core of Sanathana Dharma, we can find four
fundamental doctrines to follow, namely:-

1. The entire phenomenal world –the perceptible universe – ‘Drshya Prapancham’, with all its
diversities consisting of every animate and inanimate object of creation, is only the manifestation
of ONE single Divine Ground, known as BRAHMAN, and apart from that they are all nonexistent.
Brahman is shortly the impersonal form of God, and knowing about that is ‘BrahmaJnanam’,
without which no knowledge is perfet.
2. Human beings can, not only acquire knowledge about this Divine Ground by study of Scriptures,
observation, reasoning and inference, but can also realize its existence by a direct communion with
it through contemplation and meditation.
3. Man possesses a double nature of which one is a phenomenal ego confined to the body, mind and
intellect, and the other is higher Ego, which is the Eternal Self, surpassing the limitations of all
earthly concepts of self-identification. It is possible for man through spiritual practice, and Divine
Grace through Guru’s blessings, to realize his identity with the Supreme Eternal Self, the
BRAHMAN.
4. Man’s life on earth has only one end and purpose; and that is to realize his identity with the Eternal
self by serving Him, and thus attain the undivided, unitive knowledge of the Divine ground –
BRAHMAN, act accordingly, to come out of the cycle of birth and death and reach the Creator.

BRAHMAN, the Supreme Power:

BRAHMAN is the only one Scientific Supreme Truth, the God. It is the Akhanda in the world.
The electro-magnetic waves of the Scriptures contained in Sanathana Dharma are helping all of us, in our
day today life, knowingly or unknowingly to a great extent in making improvements in various fields of
our lives individually, physically, mentally and spiritually. Sanathana Dharma is really meant for all and it
is above religion; it envisages that every individual should attain the Self and thus bring about the welfare
of humanity. All Scriptures of other religions put together will come only half of the Scriptures in
Sanathana Dharma. Approximately 1280 foundation books are there, in hundreds of languages, with more
than 10,000 commentaries, and more than one lakh of sub-commentaries. The Scriptures therein, reveal
330 million gods, hundreds of thousands of Rishis and a huge variety of ‘acharas’, rituals etc, among
many other precious gems of axioms, aswell. Santhana Dharma is sustained by temples. Temples

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inculcate devotion to God (Bhakthi) in people. So, temples are inevitable in our lives. The Sages of the
Yore, through their generosity, grace and mercy towards human race, also helped and envisaged the
above procedure.
Temples, rich resources of Bhakti:

Temples are like the udders of a cow. There is milk all over the body of the cow, but if you
want to get milk from the cow, you have to hold and draw it from the udders of the cow. Similarly, God is
everywhere; inside us and outside-‘antharyami’ and ‘savavyapi’, but to get the experience of the presence
of God, temples are inevitable for us. Temple is like a fan. If we want to get the flow of air from the fan,
we have to switch it on and only then we could enjoy the breeze. The temples turn our static piety into
dynamic spirituality. The effulgence emerging from the ‘SREEKOVIL’, makes us enjoy the immeasurable
and inexplicable experience of bliss of ecstasy in abundance rom God, through His unalloyed and
unconditional Love. He is Love incarnated.

It is laid down in our Scriptures that idols of gods, worshipped in our temples are considered
as the incarnations of the chosen deities of devotees or personal gods. They are known as ‘Archavatharas’
of God, as different manifestations of the BRAHMAN. They are worshipped by people using elaborate
rituals prescribed in the ‘Agama Shastras’. The idols become ‘Moorthies’, with full Divine Presence in
them, they lavishly shower blessings on true Devotees.

Divine displeasure :
It is caused when:
1. Birth or death takes place in the temple precincts.
2. Presence of night-soil or other human waste.
3. Entry of wicked, impure persons polluting the premises.
4. Entry of people who are polluted by birth or death.
5. Entry of owls, vultures, rats, snakes, cows, dogs, donkeys, pigs, jackals etc, inside the sanctum
sanctorum
6. Growth of mushrooms, toad-stools, anthills, bee-hives and such other things.
7. Sweating and shaking of the idols, ornaments or weapons
8. Sudden outbreak of fire causing destruction of temple properties.
9. Sudden stoppage of daily rituals, worship etc.
10. Unforeseen troubles or disasters. Black magic perpetrated by wicked persons.
11. Worship of the deity, not according to the prescribed rules and mantras.
12. Worshipping the deity with forbidden flowers, anointing the idol with chili powder etc.
The temple and the sanctum-sanctorum are interconnected; the former is the visible physical frame of the
deity and the latter, the support. The idol is the thing supported. Temple is the body and idol is the soul. If
any one of these is affected by any flaw, all the three, namely the temple, the sanctum-sanctorum and the
idol are affected badly.
When such instances are noticed, ‘Deva Prasna’ (Horary regarding the stuation of the Temple)
should be immediately arranged and remedial measures should be taken, then and there. It is not effective
and enough to maintain the affected portion alone. The entire things ought to be maintained, purified and
rejuvenated for the replenishment of all the spiritual energies for peace, happiness and prosperity of the
people.

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The necessity of ‘Bhakthi’ or Devotion:
We should always have the remembrance of God, and that is Bhakthi. Srimad Bhagavatham
speaks of three types of Bhakthi (Devotion)-Uthama Bhakthi (Superior Devotion), Madhyama Bhakthi
(Medium Devotion), and Prakrta Bhakthi or Kanishta Bhakthi (Basic Devotion). In the superior stage of
Bhakthi the devotee sees his beloved Lord in every being- living and nonliving. In that stage he gets himself
identified with the world, which in his view, is nothing but God. There is then no question of a worshipper
to worship God, that is different from himself. In that stage only, can anyone give up all the formalities of

external worship, such as various offerings, archanas, abhishekas, pushpanjalis etc. to God. Till that stage
is reached, worship of a personal Deity, with all formalities prescribed in the Scriptures, is absolutely
necessary for the advancement of the devotee from the lowest stage of devotion to the highest stage.
Lord Sree Krishna says in Srimad Bhagavat Githa :(9-26):
“ Pathram, pushpam, phalam, thoyam, yo me bhakthya prayachathi,
Tadaham bhakthyupahrtham asnami prayathathmana:”,

meaning, I gladly accept whatever my sincere devotee offers to me with love and devotion, even if it were
a mere leaf, flower, or little water. By stealing milk and butter from the houses of Gopis, snatching the
hidden bundle of ‘aval’ from Kuchela, and taking away all the total worldly possessions of Mahabali, the
Lord has clearly demonstrated that if a sincere Devotee hesitates to offer Him what he ought to do, the Lord
will seize it forcefully from him. Why? Does the Lord need anybody’s wealth? No, never. It is to give His
Devotee everything including Himself.

Why we pray to God:

Shri: Subhomony Das pointed out as below, in his article in ‘About.com Hinduism’ site,
under the caption, ‘Why We Pray’;
“There are basically 12 reasons for prayer:
1. We pray to depend on God for help in distress.
2. We pray for asking God for enlightenment.
3. We pray for communion with God through single-minded devotion.
4. We pray for asking for peace from God when the mind is restless.
5. We pray for surrendering ourselves to God completely (Sharanagathy).
6. We pray to God for giving us the ability to comfort others.
7. We pray for thanking God for his blessings.
8. We pray for expecting God to decide what is best for us when we are in a dilemma.
9. We pray for making friendship with God.
10. We pray for melting the mind and ego, in silence to God.
11. We pray for requesting God to give strength, peace and pure intellect
12. We pray for asking God to purify the heart and make us abide in Him forever.

Two Parts of a Prayer:

The above prayer has two parts: one is soliciting a favor from the Almighty and the other is
surrendering ourselves to His will. While the first part is practiced by most of us on a daily basis, the
second part is the real and ultimate goal because it implies dedication. Dedication means feeling the light

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of God within your heart. If your heart is devoid of divine light, you will not be happy, cheerful and
successful in your lives.

Guard Your Selfish Desires:

Remember, your success depends on the inward state of your mind. Your mind will create
hindrance in your work if it is not in communion with God because He alone is the permanent abode of
peace. Yes, I agree that most of us want to have riches, healthy lives, nice children and prosperous future.
But if we always approach God with a begging attitude then we are treating Him as our bearer to supply
the things required by us at once. This is no devotion to God but devotion to our own selfish desires”.

Upadhees for Bhakthi or How can one develop Bhakthi:

“Sravanam, keerthanam, Vishno: Sevanam Smaranam, thattha,

Archanam, Vandanam, Dasyam,Sakhyam atma nivedanam”,

meaning , to inculcate Bhakthi, we should hear stories of the Lord, tell them or share them with others,
serve the Lotus Feet of God and Mahathmas, serve poor people, do necessary and required Poojas, and
completely and unconditionally surrender to Him. ‘Manhyathwam, Mumukshuthwam and Mah Purusha
Sangamam’-these qualities are inevitable for humans.

“Ishavasyam Idam sarvam..”

All the sentient and insentient in the world are creations of the God. ‘Sharanagathy’ is the only
way for easy Salvation. The right personal God in this Kali Yuga for perfect and complete Sharanagathy,
is Lord Sree Guruvayoorappan, the real Lord of Vaikunta. Guruvayoor is therefore said to be the
‘Bhooloka Vaikuntam’.

“Sarvam thyajathy yasthasya, Sarva mevopathishtathe”,

meaning, if you forsake all including your ego, you will get all the blessings of the Lord. He is beyond
space and time and hence can appear in any form, anywhere and at any time. Lord Guruvayoorappan is
the all-pervading Consciousness; the Supreme Power. Every object is in Him. We have to cross the three
stages of Bhakthi- Kanishta or Prakrtha, Madhyama and Uthama, with patience and perseverance to reach
HIM.

What is real ‘Moksha’:

Real renunciation (Moksha) is the giving up of all desires. It is not getting into the so
called heaven. It is the removal of ‘ajnana’ and getting ‘vijnana’ in its place. How can we enjoy Moksha if
we get it only after death? We should cultivate ‘Daivika Bhakthi’more than ‘Vaidika Bhakthi’, as evinced
by our ‘Raganuka Bhaktha’ Devotees of our Lord Sree Guruvayoorappan and Self-realized Souls, like
Poonthanam, Kurooramma, Vilwamangalam, Melppathoor, Kunikkavu, Neelakanta Guru, Aajnam

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Nambbothiri, Malliyoor etc., who never cared for Moksha. I believe that even if we desire Moksha, it is up
to Him to give it to us, according to our eligibility. Let us do only righteous things and pray to our Lord
Sree Guruvayoorappan :
“ Kamaye d:ukha thapthanam , Praninam aarthi nashanam”,

meaning Oh! Lord, kindly convert our sorrows into fire, wherein the miseries of others can also be utterly
annihilated, and burnt. Join hands with people who pray like:

‘Oh! God, I do not crave for a Kingdom, not for heaven nor rebirth. All I crave for is removal of
the sufferings of people’. Also, I would like to pray to Lord,

“Swasthi prajabhyam paripalayantham,

Nyayena margena mahim maheesha,
Go brahmanebhya shubhamasthu nithyam,
Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavanthu”,.....

meaning, may there be the well-being of all the people; may the rulers rule the earth along the right path;
may the cattle along with good people have well-being forever; may all the beings in the world become
happy, and peace be everywhere in the world. Let us walk through the path of ‘Dharma’(righteousness),
holding the flame of ‘Vairagya’(dispassion to unnecessary things), with always tears of Bhakthi in our eyes,
and aiming at getting ‘Brhma Jnana’.

Jai Hind,

God Bless America.

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