Saturday, December 27, 2025

UPASANA SASTRAM-2, QUESTION & ANSWER FORMAT

 HARI!OM!                    

Q. 1. The text Bhaja Govindam is also known as                                                                                           a. Trayodasha Manjarika                                                                                                                             b. Govinda stuti                                                                                                                                             c.Mohamudgara                                                                                                                                            d.Atma Bodha                                                                                                                                         A.1. The Text Bhaja Govindam is also know as Option c) Mohamudgara.                          

Q. 2. The Benefit of Satsanga is -  ?? a. Wealth ; b. Detachment ; c. Confused Mind;  d. Happiness     A.2. The benefit of Satsanga is Option b) Detachment.

Q.3. A person shows his/her anger emotions and intolerance towards others because                                 a. He/She has no Bhakthi  b. He/She has wealth                                                                                       c. He/She sees everyone as different (Separate) from each other due to ignorance                                      d. He/She has knowledge of Advaitam (Non-duality)                                                                           A.3.  A person shows his / her anger emotions and intolerance towards others because, Option c) He / She sees everyone as different (separate) from each other due to ignorance.

Q. 4. Narada Bhakthi Sutra says: Dussangah or company of bad people should be given up completely always; because it is the cause for producing                                                                                             a. Wealth ; b. Knowledge ; c. Punya ; d. Impurity of mind generated by modifications of joy and sorrow.

A. 4. Dussangah or company of bad people should be given completely always because it is the cause for producing Option d) Impurity of mind generated by modifications of joy and sorrow.

Q.5.A Bhaktha does not worry even if he faces problems in his worldly life because                               a. He thinks they will pass after sometime                                                                                               b. He does not care                                                                                                                                   c. He has surrendered all his material and religious happiness to Ishwara                                              d. He thinks positive.                                                                                                                            A.5. A Bhaktha does not worry even if he faces problems in his worldly life because  Option c) He has surrendered all his material and religious happiness to Ishwara.

Q.6. Explain in Brief: According to verse -7 of Bhaja Govindam what keeps us away through the different stages in life; from focusing our mind on the lord?

A. 6. The childhood is lost in attachment to games. The youth is lost in attachment to woman. Old age passes with worry and anxiety, thinking over many things.

Though we have time for everything else in the world, we have no time or leisure for our own Self. We can never be with ourselves. Parame brahmai kopi na saktah, no one is attached to Parabrahma, to the Self, to Govinda. This is how we are kept out from focusing our mind on the lord, during the different stages of our lives. The message of the verse is our time is very limited in our life and we should not waste our time on trivial issues and start early in our lives to love one and all, be in service and spread love universally and move towards discovering the God by looking inward.

Q. 7. What kind of disciplines should one follow according to Bhaja Govindam text to cross the ocean of Samsaara and gain Mukti?

A.7. Disciplining one’s senses and controlling one’s mind are the 2 inevitable tools to cross the river of Samsara (the ongoing painful cycle of endless birth and death), and attain Liberation or gain Mukthi. And for this, a Guru’s guidance is extremely important. Empowered by these three factors, one will certainly come to realise and experience that God/Divinity who dwells within each one of us.

Chanting Vishnu Sahasranamam, studying Bhagavat Gita, Being in company of Good People, Charitable Disposition, ie. In Words, thoughts, deeds, prima-fascia and then may be in the form of Materials or Physicality.

Drinking from the Great Sacred River Ganges is yet another purification method & Worshiping the Govnida.

One should safeguard himself by resorting to the most peaceful and Serene way of life,(Contemplating and Realization of the Reality)

Do not boast of wealth, friends, and youth. Each one of these are destroyed within a minute by time. Free yourself from the illusion of the world of Maya and attain the timeless Truth.

Give up your thirst to amass wealth, devote your mind on thoughts of the Real. Be content with what comes through actions already performed in the past.

Sheltering in temples or below a tree, wearing the deerskin for a dress, and sleeping with mother earth as your bed, and thus renouncing all idea of possession, to whom will vairagya (dispassion) come.

You just have to remove the layers of ignorance covering you, mistaking yourself to be just this physical body and mind. You are actually that enlivening force, that Divinity which enables your body and mind to function. Keep on asserting this Truth to yourself frequently. The various paths of Bhakti, Karma and Gynana are the means for this Ultimate Realization. Our ultimate aim in life should be to seek and realize our identity with the Supreme.

Q.8. 8.Explain briefly how Satsangam can lead to moksha ultimately.

A.8. Satsangam is the company of good and holy people. Through this association, there arises non attachment, then freedom from delusion, which results in the Knowledge of Reality and finally leads to Liberation. It also helps one to be consistent on the spiritual path and not go astray. Thus Satsangam can lead to Moksha ultimately.

9. How can a Bhaktha who has surrendered to the Guru free himself/herself; from the cycle of birth and death?

A.9. The moment one surrenders and touch the Master's soul, one will know how he would guide. The surrender is by touching the Guru inwardly. But in the spiritual life, you should not worry about how the Guru will guide. That is Guru’s business.

Sadhana is the key and to be practiced with discipline and sradhdha. One must be worthy to gain the knowledge of Brahman, This worthiness is acquired by service to the Guru. But in serving, one must also have an intense desire for liberation. Without this desire, even service to the Guru will not bear fruit.

10. Explain the three types of “Gouni Bhakti”. What are the 3 types and what differentiates them?

A.10. Gauni Bhakti is the devotion with desire. Means it is done for the fulfillment of desires. In Gauni Bhakti, Gods & Goddesses are worshiped treating them as favourites. The three types of Gauni Bhakti are Tamasic, Rajasic & Saatvic. These three correlate well with Aartha, Arthaarthi and Jijnyasu Bhakti.

Aartha Bhakthi is, when one prays only when in dire need, Arthaarti Bhakthi is, when one prays for fulfillment of his desires and Jijnyasu Bhakthi is when, one prays to discover God.

Gauni Bhakthi is Temporary and secondary Bhakthi. The Bhakthi is   changing like sometimes it is there and sometimes it is not. Whereas true Bhakti or devotion is one which is always there, ie. Mukhya Bhakthi or Nithya Bhakthi. Gauni Bhakthi is only means to NIthya Bhakthi and has its own place.

No comments:

Post a Comment