The Righteous Path

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The Righteous Path

SriKrishna's Teachings and words of wisdom to enhance your Leadership skills and decision making.

Dr. Chaitanya Niphadkar

EDUCREATION PUBLISHING (Since 2011) www.educreation.in

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|| Jai SriKrishna ||

OM AJNANA-TIMIRANDHASYA JNANANJANA-SALAKAYA CAKSUR UNMILITAM YENA TASMAI SRI-GURAVE NAMAH I was born in the darkest ignorance, and my spiritual master opened my eyes with the torch of knowledge. I offer my respectful obeisance unto him.

HE KARUNA-SINDHU DINA-BANDHO JAGAT-PATE GOPESA GOPIKA-KANTA RADHA-KANTA NAMO 'STU TE O my dear Krishna, You are the friend of the distressed and the source of creation. You are the master of the gopis and the lover of Radharani. I offer my respectful obeisances unto You.

TAPTA-KANCANA-GAURANGI RADHE VRNDAVANESVARI VRSABHANU-SUTE DEVI PRANAMAMI HARI-PRIYE I offer my respect to Radharani whose bodily complexion is like molten gold and who is the Queen of Vrndavana. You are the daughter of King Vrsabhanu, and You are very dear to Lord Krishna.

VANCA-KALPATARUBHYAS CA KRPA-SINDHUBHYA EVA CA PATITANAM PAVANEBHYO VAISNAVEBHYO NAMO NAMAH I offer my respectful obeisance unto all the Vaisnava devotees of the Lord who can fulfill the desires of everyone, just like desire trees, and who are full of compassion for the fallen souls.

JAI SRIKRISHNA CHAITANYA PRABHU NITYANANDA SRI ADVAITA GADADHARA SRIVASADI-GAURA-BHAKTA-VRINDA I offer my obeisance to Sri Chaitanya, Prabhu Nityananda, Sri Advaita, Gadadhara, Srivasa and all others in the line of devotion.

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Krishnam vande jagadguru Lord Krishna is the guru of the world.

SriKrishna’r pana’mastu, Guru Dakshina Arpan’a Karish’ye I offer myself (Soul) to Lord Krishna and this book is my guru dakshina. Thus, I dedicate this book to my guru, Lord Krishna

Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam We all are one family of the Lord (Vasudev) So, this book is my gift to every reader.

- Dr. Chaitanya Niphadkar

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Acknowledgements

First and foremost, to God (Lord Krishna) for good health and wisdom that was extremely necessary. Secondly, to numerous people who accompanied me through this book and provided their support generously that includes my family, friends and relatives. They talked over things, offered comments, debated and so on. All this, allowed me to broaden my horizon and enhance this piece of work. Thanks to the countless people involved, without which this book may not have existed today. These include several spiritual gurus, devotees of Lord Krishna from ISKCON primarily HDG Srila Prabhupada and his thoughts in the form of his writings like (As it is), SriChaitanya Charitamrita, then lectures of Radhanath Swami Maharaj and many other vaishnavas. I am also grateful to people (outside ISKCON) like Chaitanya Saraswat Math of Srila Rakshak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj and Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj, Swami Bhaktivedanta Narayana, Sri Gaudiya Vedanta Samiti of the Brahma Madhva Vaisnava Sampradaya and people from various faiths like , Christianity, Jainism, Jewish, Buddhism, Islam and Sikhism whom I have met personally in various holy places across the globe. Not only those discussions enabled me to understand „God‟ from different angles and helped me in learning the criticalities involved on this spiritual path but also they offered their understandings about the subject which has been taken into consideration and reflected in some of the chapters. Actually, there is no plagiarism on spiritual texts because only God is original and we all try to learn from Him. Nothing except His words (referring to the Bhagavad Gita) are pure and I have made an attempt (through this book) to bring the same to you. Moreover, this book is an indication of my spiritual progress in search of „The Righteous Path‟. So, it is titled in this way. My gratitude to the publisher for providing uninterrupted support at all times. Last but not the least, I ask for forgiveness from all those who have contributed in the making of this book and their names I may have failed to mention. Yours sincerely,

Dr. Chaitanya Niphadkar (Also referred as Professor Krishna) (Spiritual Name: SriKrishna Chaitanya)

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Preface

“Man is not at peace with himself till he has become like unto God. The endeavor to reach this state is the supreme, the only ambition worth having. And this is self-realization.”

- Mahatma Gandhi

No work of Indian literature has ever been revered as much as the holy Bhagavad Gita. It is the conversation between Lord Krishna and Arjuna. It is the very essence of Lord Krishna‟s teachings. This book is all about that. It brings you SriKrishna‟s teachings in a simple form and discusses various aspects related to it, ultimately allowing you to find and walk on, “The Righteous Path”.

Over the years, these words of wisdom from „The Bhagavad Gita‟ has offered humans some respite from restlessness, complications and unhappiness and imparted the light of calmness. The practical teaching(s) offered in this book has a message for everyone. This book could serve as a beginner level guide for those seeking peace through self discovery and those in search of God. It can also be useful for those interested in the Holy spiritual texts and researchers within the scope of theology and Hindu mythology. However, this book shall be better understood after studying the Bhagavad Gita. It is believed that an individual can seek answers to almost every question about universe, his (or her) past, present as well as future through the knowledge of the Bhagavad Gita. It is not just an old, religious, teaching manuscript specifically focusing on Hindu religion rather something that goes beyond the boundaries of religion and race and promising to share the divine wisdom with all who seek to find peace. In this sense, this sacred book addresses humans for all times and rescues them from the bondage of problems, pain, suffering, fear and replaces them with divine qualities like love, peace and eternal happiness.

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It is no surprise that the wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita has inspired countless people throughout history. Few are listed below:

“When I read the Bhagavad-Gita and reflect about how God created this universe everything else seems so superfluous.” - Albert Einstein

“In the morning I bathe my intellect in the stupendous and cosmogonal philosophy of the Bhagavad-gita, in comparison with which our modern world and its literature seem puny and trivial.” - Henry David Thoreau

“The marvel of the Bhagavad-Gita is its truly beautiful revelation of life’s wisdom which enables philosophy to blossom into religion.” - Herman Hesse

“The Bhagavad-Gita has a profound influence on the spirit of mankind by its devotion to God which is manifested by actions.” - Dr. Albert Schweitzer

“The idea that man is like unto an inverted tree seems to have been current in by gone ages. The link with Vedic conceptions is provided by Plato in his Timaeus in which it states…” behold we are not an earthly but a heavenly plant.” This correlation can be discerned by what Krishna expresses in chapter 15 of Bhagavad-Gita.” - Carl Jung

“The Bhagavad-Gita is the most systematic statement of spiritual evolution of endowing value to mankind. It is one of the most clear and comprehensive summaries of perennial philosophy ever revealed; hence its enduring value is subject not only to India but to all of humanity.”

- Aldous Huxley

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“I owed a magnificent day to the Bhagavad-gita. It was the first of books; it was as if an empire spoke to us, nothing small or unworthy, but large, serene, consistent, the voice of an old intelligence which in another age and climate had pondered and thus disposed of the same questions which exercise us.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

“In order to approach a creation as sublime as the Bhagavad-Gita with full understanding it is necessary to attune our soul to it.” - Rudolph Steiner

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Table of Devotional Contents

Sr.No. Content Page No. A) God God is everywhere 1 Form or formless 4 Lord Krishna 8 Bramha, , Mahesh 10 Gopis of SriKrishna 12 B) You The purpose of life 14 Our original constitutional position 15 You can‟t cheat yourself and God 19 Time is ruling or ruining us 20 Dharma 24 Karma 31 Doubts about Karma 33 Qualities of a devotee 37 Qualities of a spiritual master 41 Being Brahmin 48 Navagraha‟s importance in our life 55 C) Problems Give and Get 63 Dealing with problems 68 Overcome depression, sorrow and worries 72 Technological advancement but spiritual 76 regression Friendship with non-devotees of the Lord 80 D) Solution True love 83 Devotional service to Lord Krishna 90 Be happy forever 92 E) Salvation Attaining Moksha 95 Penance and repentance 100

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F) SriKrishna’s opinion Introduction to Bhagavad Gita 104 Bhagavad Gita‟s significance 106 Dharma in the eyes of Lord Krishna 108 Karma in the eyes of Lord Krishna 113 Easiest way to attain Krishna 115 Lessons from „The Bhagavad Gita‟ 118 Don‟t just read but „Live Bhagavad Gita‟ 128 Summary of all chapters of the Bhagavad 134 Gita (As It Is) G) SriKrishna’s advice 158

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The Righteous Path - SriKrishna's Teachings

1 God is everywhere

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Many of us would agree with Karl Marx that religion is the opium of the people. However, in the present times, we are so busy that we hardly have any time for ourselves, then what to talk about taking time out for understanding „God‟. People working in the corporate world, have almost lost the work-life balance. Some people may argue that there is nothing like God and all that we see is our actions and their reactions. Few may hold that relying on God and His power is for those who have no guts to face the reality. Unfortunately, this misconception prevents people from learning and understanding God‟s existence. Just like we are not able to see the atom with naked eyes but a microscope can prove that an atom exist. Similarly, God‟s very existence is the most important fact. To say that something exists means that it has its own independent existence and it is not the product of somebody‟s imagination. Show me God? If He is there, then why problems arise in this world? How do I believe that God is listening? If He loves me, why is He not helping me to solve my problems? I hear such kind of statements all the time. Well, I would like to present the Supreme Being‟s existence to you. But the problem is that people expect to instantly see God. Trust me, you can see God as directly as you are seeing this page but it depends upon several factors. It includes the clarity of your mind, your trust, faith, your acceptance level, your willingness to change, following spiritual guidelines and so on. For that, you first need to become purified and qualified. Then, you can surely see our Heavenly father. Also, why do we have to see something to believe it? Maybe because, we normally think, seeing acts as a proof. Just as you have an identity card that proves your personal details, seeing God face to face will make us realize His presence and thus confirm His existence. We normally say so but we believe in many things we do not actually see. It is only when we do not want to believe something; we make our own rules and complicate the facts. For instance, if we hear on the radio that the petrol prices may rise in the next month, we accept it blindly. We accept it because we trust the news. We do not approach a petrol pump and personally verify it.

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Dr. Chaitanya Niphadkar When we hire a taxi, we are unaware of the driver‟s competency to drive us safely but we happen to trust him although we may see him for the first (and probably the last) time in our life. If we can trust such a man who we believe in the very first meeting can drive us safely from one end to the other then why can‟t we accept that the Supreme Driver (God) could drive us from Sorrow to Happiness, from this temporary world to the world of Eternal Bliss? Death is also a true fact. Would anyone dare to propose that death is a product of our imagination? So, how can we believe that death is certain? However, it is reasonable to conclude that it exists. To recap the earlier arguments, if you agree that an atom exists, news heard on the radio is true, a taxi driver can be trustworthy, death is certain, then why shall we hold suspicion about our most trustworthy friend, God, exists especially when it comes to proving His existence? Above and beyond, there is a process for understanding everything. If one needs to get educated in the subject of „Law‟, he or she needs to first get admitted in a law school and to do so, meet certain criteria. Similarly, there is an appropriate process for understanding God but he or she first needs to get enrolled in the study of God. We need to refer to the textbooks that have proven to be the most effective sources of information for Spiritual education like The Bhagavad Gita, The Holy Bible, Guru Granth Sahib, Quran and so on. We must follow proper procedures and recommended conditions given by spiritual gurus like Lord Krishna Himself, SriChaitanya Mahaprabhu, Guru Nanak, Prophet Muhammad and other great souls. Only then, when He thinks appropriate, God will reveal Himself to us like He has done in the past for His disciple Arjuna, Bhakta Prahlad, Pundalik, Jesus Christ, Meerabai, Saint Francis and so on. God‟s existence is as systematic and predictable as any science. Yet we find it difficult to understand God due to our misconceptions and mere speculations. Ask yourself would you call you father very harshly and he would say „yes my child‟. Is that so? If not; then why do you expect the „Supreme Father‟ to arrive in front of your eyes and listen to your order immediately on your call? This is where we make a mistake of ordering instead of surrendering to the Supreme Lord. God is a person. He is our eternal father. Why should He immediately respond to our demands? Imagine if you were to call your best friend and say, “I command you to immediately come to my home,” would you think he will arrive? Then why that logic is applied for our all time best friend, God?

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The Righteous Path - SriKrishna's Teachings

SriKrishna tells us how to know Him, (Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 18, Verse 55) bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaśh chāsmi tattvataḥ tato māṁ tattvato jñātvā viśhate tad-anantaram

Translation Only by loving devotion to Me, does one come to know who I am in truth. Then, having come to know Me, My devotee enters into full consciousness about Me. One can understand Me as I am, as the Supreme Being only through devotional service.

The process for understanding Lord Krishna is basically to please Him. Then, if He thinks we are qualified enough, He will reveal Himself to us. One most important point for the seeker of God is to surrender to Him with love, in all the circumstances. A person obsessed with love for Krishna will have no interest in catering to the demands of his body. He is not looking for pleasure from his tongue, his eyes, his ears, or his genitals, because he is absorbed in the ultimate pleasure. Such a Bhakta (devotee) should be calm and peaceful, because one who knows Krishna, remains with Krishna, lives with Krishna and enjoys all pleasures with Krishna; that is beyond this world. In contrast to this, He says: (Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 9, Verse 11) avaj nanti m m ḍh m nu tanum ritam para bh vam aj nanto mama bh ta-mahe varam

Translation “Fools deride Me when I descend in the human form. They do not know My transcendental nature as the Supreme Lord of all that be. Because they do not know My divine nature as the Supreme Controller of all living beings, those who are ignorant mock Me when I assume a human form.”

People who will not accept God unless we immediately show them (God) are just like blindfolded ones demanding to see the sun without removing their blindfolds. ****

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Dr. Chaitanya Niphadkar

2 Form or Formless

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In this age of science and technology, often people doubt the existence of the absolute. Some people think God is formless. All of us have a father and he is a person. He has a form and if we examine thousands of our generations, we will find that our forefathers were also people with a form. Then, why should we then think that our Heavenly father (God) is formless? The word “person” implies form; a formless person does not exist. Hindu Holy Scriptures has proofs that God is our eternal father and if we have a form, He too has a form. Rather since He has a form, we have a form. We have originated from Him. Nevertheless, many people think that since God is spirit, He is formless. They consider spirit to be some transparent, superior force or energy. However, there is a scientific explanation of spirit. The Vedic literature does not deny the formless aspect of God. Rather, they explain it perfectly. It explains that God, Lord Krishna, is a person. Just as we are all individual persons, God is also an individual. But He is not an ordinary, materially covered person like us. Nityo nityanam cetanash cetananam (Kaṭha Upani ad, 2.2.13) meaning we are also person, God is also person. He is also living entity, we are also living entities. So what is the difference between God and us? He is a transcendental person and to realize His personality one needs to realize all His transcendental features i.e. His name, His qualities, His activities, His associates and then His form. God, who is complete, cannot be formless. Everything in His creation has a form, so how can He Himself have no form? This would mean that God is less than His creation or in other words, that the complete is incomplete. This is simply illogical. The complete whole must contain everything within our experience and beyond our experience; otherwise it cannot be termed as complete. Besides, you will agree, all the great scriptures available in the world instruct us to love God. How can we love something formless or void? That‟s impossible. We desire personal relationships and our ultimate relationship is with God. The form of Lord Krishna with His bluish hue, lotus eyes, blooming youthfulness and pearl-white smile is not fanciful. It is not created by an

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The Righteous Path - SriKrishna's Teachings artist, a philosopher, or a mundane poet after seeing the beautiful panorama of this material world. So where does this beautiful nature come from? Who made it? Actually, the beautiful things of nature are minor reflections of Krishna‟s endless beauty. He is the prototype, as He explains in the Bhagavad Gita (Chapter 10, Verse 41) “Know that all beautiful, glorious and mighty creations spring from but a spark of My splendor.” One might ask, “On what basis we accept the statements given in the Vedic literature about the form of God?” Think for a moment. Every day we accept the statements of superior authorities, our boss, our parents, grandparents, on subjects we are ignorant about. Besides, we believe in things we hear or read. For instance, many people have never visited London, yet they believe that it exists. We can verify the truth of Vedic teachings with a spiritual practice. However, to properly receive the Vedic teachings, we must approach a perfect authority, spiritual guru, whose knowledge is coming from the Absolute through an unbroken line of spiritual masters. Then our knowledge will be perfect. His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada is such a spiritual master, and he is giving us authoritative knowledge of Krishna‟s form through his writings. These books have existed for more than five thousand years and by following them many have gained perfect knowledge of Lord Krishna‟s form. For example, Brahma-samhita is a detailed description of Krishna‟s form by one of the most exalted personalities in the universe, i.e. Lord Brahma. After thousands of years of meditation, Brahma actually saw, Lord Krishna face to face. In his ecstasy, he has defined what he saw:

venum kvanantam aravinda-dalayataksham barhavatamsam asitambuda- sundarangam kandarpa-koti-kaminiya-vishesha-shobham govindam adi-purusham tam aham bhajami

“I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who is adept at playing on His flute, who has blooming eyes like lotus petals, whose head is bedecked with a peacock feather, whose figure of beauty is tinged with the hue of blue clouds and whose unique loveliness charms millions of cupids” (Bramha Samhita, Chapter 5, Verse 30)

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Dr. Chaitanya Niphadkar

angani yasya sakalendriya-vrittimanti pashyanti panti kalayanti ciram jaganti ananda-cinmaya-sad-ujjvala-vigrahasya govindam adi-purusham tam aham bhajami

“I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, whose transcendental form is full of bliss, truth, and substantiality, and who is thus full of the most dazzling splendor. Each limb of that transcendental figure possesses in itself the full-fledged functions of all the other organs, and He eternally sees, maintains, and manifests the infinite universes, both spiritual and mundane” (Bramha Samhita, Chapter 5, Verse 32) Experts in the science of bhakti-yoga have confirmed the knowledge of Lord Krishna‟s form. They encourage us to follow the (Vedic) methods and experience unlimited pleasure by seeing Lord Krishna‟s form. God has two forms, transcendental and immanent. God is beyond everything, beyond time, space and matter, and God is present in all beings. God is transcendental, beyond name, form and boundary but there is another form of God which is immanent. The immanent form is everywhere, in everything. If you serve a tree, you are serving God. If you serve the land, you are serving God. If you help the needy, you are serving God. The realisation of God must become a total experience. In the Bhagavad Gita, (Chapter 11, Verses 5-7) while showing Arjuna His universal form, Lord Krishna said: “Behold, O Arjuna, all My forms by the hundreds and thousands, of different sorts, divine and of various colours and shapes. Behold the Adityas, the Vasus, the Rudras, the two Ashwins and also the Maruts; behold many wonders never seen before, O Arjuna. Now, behold in my body the whole universe centred in one, including the moving and the unmoving and whatever else you desire to see.” All living beings in this world are part of God. The happy ones, the unhappy ones, the trees, the animals are all are a part of Him. Thus, if you want to understand God, try to know not only the transcendental God, but also the God who lives in every living being and also in non-living things. Only then can you know Him completely. Just knowing a part of Him is not enough. You should know Him in all His forms. God is always with you and loves you unconditionally. Nothing is difficult for Him. He exists in many forms, from the microbe to the towering tree, from the limited mind to million universes in the galaxy.

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The Righteous Path - SriKrishna's Teachings All the people around you who are suffering, unhappy and floundering in darkness are all different forms of God. You cannot ignore that form of God which is immanent and all pervading. You cannot just go running after the transcendental form of God. As discussed above, God has a form but He is formless too. How? You just read, on the above lines that, “Nothing is difficult for Him.” Clay does not have a form of its own, but whatever form you give it becomes its form. Gold has no form of its own. You give it a form. He is having a form (aakaar) and He is formless (nirakaar) too. In fact, He exists everywhere. There is no place, where He is not present. God exists in all forms. You may see God in the form of an ant, or Devi (Goddess) or a sadhu, or a statue (murti). You may see God in any form. You can worship God in whatever form you wish, and that very form will appear before you. As Tulsidas says in Ramacharitamanas,

“Jaaki rahi bhavana jaisi, Prabhu murat dekhi teen taisi.”

Meaning: Everyone visualises the Lord the way they want and thus get His reflection based on their emotional disposition. Nothing that exists in this world is fiction; everything is reality. I speak on the basis of my experience. God is our friend who always works for our well-being. We are the ones who at times forget Him and in problems, call Him. Yet, He remains always with us like a friend. Swami Sivananda believed, “God is the breath of the breath, prana of the pranas, and the life of lives. God is my reality. This is the only truth in life.”

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Dr. Chaitanya Niphadkar

3 Lord Krishna

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The name “Krishna” literally means “all-attractive.” Not only is Krishna all-powerful and all-knowing, but He‟s also the most beautiful Person. But why should that matter to us? Because we are all part and parcel of Krishna; as the drops of ocean water are tiny samples of the ocean itself similarly we are tiny particles of Lord Krishna. In this sense, all of us are little „‟. If you know nothing else about Hinduism, you probably have at least heard of “Krishna”. He is one of the most recognizable figures in Hinduism with his blue skin and his flute. You might have seen His picture on the cover page of the holy book „Bhagavad Gita‟ along with His disciple, Arjuna. I think, it is practically impossible to describe Krishna but the following texts will give you an idea about, who is Lord Krishna?

ete camsa-kalah pumsah krishnas tu bhagawan svayam indras vyakulam lokam mrdayanti yuge yuge

All the incarnations are either plenary portions or expansions of plenary portions appearing in various universes to protect the theists; but Lord Krishna is the original supreme lord and the source of all.

Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 1, Chapter 3, Verse 8

isvara paramah krishna sac-cid-ananda vigrahah anadir adir govindah sarva karana karanam

Lord Krishna is the supreme controller. His form comprises immortality, omniscience and bliss. He is without beginning and the end. He is the origin of all, the cause of all causes and the source of the Vedas. Brahma Samhita, Chapter 5, Verse 1

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The Righteous Path - SriKrishna's Teachings In a nutshell, Lord Krishna has two mothers: Devaki and Yashoda, an elder brother: Balrama, 16,108 wives, one of which is . His dear friend: Sudama. His eternal consort, Radha and together they form the timeless divine couple: Radha-Krishna; the epitome of pure love.

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Dr. Chaitanya Niphadkar

4 Bramha, Vishnu, Mahesh

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When we say God, it means the whole. The word „GOD‟ I suppose is an acronym for the Generator, Organizer and the Destroyer. The Hindu philosophy defines the same with three forms of God based on their function. They are Bramha (The Creator), Vishnu (The Organizer), (The Destroyer)

Brahma is the creator of the universe. He is the chief architect. He has four faces. He is also known as Svayambhu (self-born), Vāgīśa (Lord of Speech) and the creator of the four Vedas, one from each of his mouths. Brahma is also referred as, Prajapati. Along with Vishnu and Shiva, He is part of a Hindu Trinity, also called the Tri-murti.

While Brahma is often credited as the creator of the universe and various beings in it, several describe him being born from a lotus emerging from the navel of the god Vishnu. Brahma, along with all deities, is sometimes viewed as a form (sarguna) of the otherwise formless (nirguna) Brahman, the ultimate metaphysical reality and cosmic soul in Advaita philosophy. Very few temples dedicated to him exist in India; the most famous being the Brahma Temple, Pushkar in Rajasthan. Other temples are found outside India, such as in Thailand at the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok. The origins of Brahma are uncertain, in part because several related words such as one for Ultimate Reality (Brahman), and priest (Brahmin) are found in the Vedic literature. A distinction between spiritual concept of Brahman, and deity Brahma, is that the former is gender neutral abstract metaphysical concept in Hinduism, while the latter is one of the many masculine gods in Hindu mythology. In , the noun stem „brahman‟ forms two distinct nouns, one is a neuter noun Brahman, whose nominative singular form is brahma; this noun has a generalized and abstract meaning

Vishnu is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. In , Vishnu is identical to the formless metaphysical concept called Brahman, the Supreme, Swayam Bhagavan who takes various avatars as the

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The Righteous Path - SriKrishna's Teachings

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