JKP Literature

Kusang

Fight Kusang Before It Consumes You

For advancing in the spiritual realm one needs to 1. perform preparatory devotion (see sadhana bhakti). 2. In addition, one also needs to continue to do Satsang (सत्संग) and 3. avoid Kusang (कुसंग). The Sanskrit word sang means association, sat (सत्) means good and ku (कु

The Saint

The Day of Adoration of Guru

Importance of a Guru-Spiritual Master is well known to every one, since it is illustrated in all the scriptures emphatically. Tulasidas Ji says,   गुरु बिनु भवनिधि तरइ न कोई। जौं विरंचि संकर सम होई ॥ guru binu bhavanidhi tarai na koī। jauṁ viraṁci

Jagadguruttam Kripalu

The Holiest of Holies of the Present Age

It’s a matter of great pride for us that the Fifth Original Jagadguru, Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj is our beloved Master, whose divine knowledge is illuminating the whole world with its radiance. What is Jagadguru? The word Jagad means the entire world, which is ever dynamic. Guru means one

Practical Sadhana

Why am I not Growing Spiritually?

Question  I have been practicing devotion regularly and put in my best effort towards doing roopdhyan. Still, why is there no noticeable improvement in my devotion? Worried about your devotion? Know your gotchas. Follow the remedy written by Shri Maharaj Ji. Answer The word sadhana means to make a conscious,

Fruits of bhakti

Why pursue pure bhakti?

The criteria described in Nyaya darshan are used to establish the absolute authority of anything. test of essentiality, test of indispensability, test of independence, test of universality, test of eternality. The scriptures elucidate karma, gyan and bhakti as paths for spiritual upliftment. Jagadguruttam Swami Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj is the

Determining the right path

Test of eternality

In the Vedas and the Shastra, three paths to attaining the aim of life have been mentioned – Karma, Gyan and Bhakti. In order to prove the exclusive supremacy of any principle, five criteria have been prescribed in Nyay Darshan, namely - 1) Anvaya  or goal achievability [1], 2) Vyatireka or

Determining the right path

Test of independence

The criteria of anya nirapekshata (Devanagari:अन्य निरपेक्षता ISO15919: nirapēkṣatā) means the path that does not require any other expedient.  Testing the three paths elucidated in scriptures for spiritual upliftment to determine which of them stands this test. Testing karma God cannot be attained through the

Determining the right path

Test of universality

Mind is the cause of bondage as well as liberation. Since eternity, the mind has sought-after the material world to attain bliss. In the process it's desire to attain more material objects has increased. This is called impurity, soiling of mind. To add insult to injury, the desired

Determining the right path

Test of indispensability

Vyatireka (Devanagari: व्यतिरेक ISO15919: vyatirēka) is the means without which the goal cannot be achieved. In other words, it is impossible to attain the goal without this method. Means the path is indispensable. Testing Karma In the previous article on Anvaya we had established that the aim

Miscellaneous Topics

Reasons for illness

The scripture reveals that health situations happen due to one or more of the following three reasons - * Daivik (Devanagari: दैविक ISO159191: daivika) : health problems arising due to environmental conditions e.g. pollution causes health problems. Medicine can cure these types of illnesses to some extent. * Doshaj (Devanagari:

Fruits of bhakti

Bhakti is extremely difficult to attain

In Bhakti Rasamrit Sindhu, Roop Goswami wrote साघनौघैरनासंगैरलभ्या सुचिरादपि । हरिणा चाश्वदेयेति द्विधा सा अयात्सुदुर्लभा ॥ भक्तिरसामृतसिन्धु 1.1.35 sāghanaughairanāsaṁgairalabhyā sucirādapi । hariṇā cāśvadēyēti

Bhakti Stories

The Only Duty of a Disciple

A sage by the name of Ayoddhaumya had his hermitage in the forest. Out of all the students Aruni was the most sincere disciple. Sage Dhaumya himself was very hard working and taught his students the same. All of his students were very obedient and they used to finish their

Essentials

Choose Wisely

Ever since you began to read, books have been a great source for your learning, right? Especially, when you had to learn about the core subjects in school, like Biology, Math, Geography, you’ve referred to text books to verify a fact. In this era of technology and internet, you’

Jagadguruttam Kripalu

Guru Tests Devotion?

This is a story when Shri Maharaj Ji used to stay with Mahabani Ji in Pratapgarh and how Shri Maharaj Ji tested Mahabani Ji's devotion on a cold winter night... The festival of Diwali was round the corner. To celebrate it with Shri Maharaj Ji, almost 50 devotees

Jagadguruttam Kripalu

The Power of Surrender: How Deep is Yours?

As the saying goes “the more flexible the branch is, the more it can be flexed”. Mahabani ji was such a devotee. He completely surrendered to Shri Maharaj Ji. Such was his level of surrender that throughout his life he did not save a single penny as security for his

Myth busters

Are devatas God?

Absolutely not! God is divine and the Supreme ruler. He is not bound by any material rules. Devatas are material beings and material mode of goodness (sattvik guna) is predominant in them. They live in higher realms (Urdhva Lok ) and have radiant bodies made of tej. There are 330 million

The Saint

Tell Tale Signs of a pseudo-saint

The prequel to this article is Identify the saints and expose the pretenders the signs that do not decisively ascertain if a person is a genuine saint or not. In this article the characteristics to unmistakably spot an imposter, pretending to be a bona fide saint, will be discussed. When

Jagadguruttam Kripalu

Guru Protects

There was a devotee living with his wife and a young son. His parents also used to live with him. His son had mid-year exams during annual Sharad Poornima Sadhana, so he came alone to attend half the Sadhana in Mangarh. After a few days, he received a telegram from

The Saint

Recognizing a saint

In Identify the saint and expose the pretender the indecisive signs for identifying the sainthood were discussed. Then in Tell take sign of a pseudo-saint you learned to spot the imposters who are out there in multitude to dupe you. The rest of the story still remains. How to know

Myth busters

Is Svarga God's home?

No. Heaven is not God's divine abode. Inside the brahmand the loka above the Earth are called svarga or heaven. These are material places made by Maya. These are places of higher material luxuries. When jiva performs punya karma in human life then as a reward they are

Jagadguruttam Kripalu

Seek Freedom, Not More Attachments

Once a childless couple approached Maharaj ji and asked him,"Maharaj Ji we have tried a lot, yet we don't have a child. Should we adopt one?". Maharaj Ji replied,"what is the need to adopt. Make me your father, Shri Krishna your son and

Jagadguruttam Kripalu

Free Yourself to Get What You Desire

In Mahabani Ji’s home, in the afternoon people used to visit Shri Maharaj Ji and he used to casually explain spiritual topics. Once in a while when someone important came to visit him and wanted to hear a lecture then Shri Maharaj Ji would give a lecture. But those

Jagadguruttam Kripalu

Don’t be fooled!!!

The scriptural name of Hinduism is sanatan dharma. Literal meaning of sanātana is eternal.  dharma means “something that should be adopted”. So sanatan dharma means the eternal practices that should be adopted. The basis of sanatan dharma are Vedas. These are called vinirgata grantha  or the eternal rules of God[

Bhakti Stories

Slow Down, What’s the Rush?

Once upon a time there was a Seth Ji (a rich businessman) whose wife was very devotional but Seth Ji had no faith in Saints, religious activities or devotion. Whenever his wife tried to inspire him to get involved in devotional undertakings, her husband would casually brush her off saying

Bhakti Stories

Shri Radha is The Sweetness in Krishna’s Lila

Our beloved Shri Maharaj Ji advises us to worship both Hari and Guru simultaneously. Guru is Hari in a human form. But since Guru is in human form sometimes we tend to find faults due to our material intellect (बुद्धि लग जाती है). Shri Maharaj Ji is