a nice little story to end -2

Well, the boy knew to whom he can turn to! Duly an appeal was made to his 'brother' while going to school that day. "Dont worry boy, I shall give you something.” Reassured the boy went to school happily. On the day of Guru poornima kannan was given a mud pot containing a little butter. Seeing the boy's disappointed face Gopalan said, “Give this to your Guru and he will receive it happily.”

When kannan reached the school there was already a small crowd of parents and students. The materials brought by them filled the courtyard. Kannan went ahead and presenting the mud pot prostrated before the teacher. All the boys laughed at the “present”. Silencing them the teacher blessed the boy and asked “Dear boy, who gave this to you?”
“My brother!” came the answer.
But the teacher knew of the family. Certainly there was no brother! The pot was handed over to the wife of the teacher and their little boy came and put out his hand. The wife gave that boy part of the butter. Naturally this triggered an avalanche of hands being put out in front and she went on putting some butter in each hand that was put out before her. When all the children had had a share, she started wondering how so little could have been sufficient to all the children. She looked around and roughly some thirty children were licking their hands! This is amazing! Now all the children came for a second helping saying the butter tasted so nice! How can this be sufficient for another round? But another round was over and still there was some butter left! By now all adults around knew that they were witness to something miraculous!
The entire village started to turn up for the butter. When everyone had had their share finally the pot was empty! Of course no one had any idea how this could happen!
The entire village moved to meet the mother of the boy. They asked her, “who is the brother of this boy”? She could not understand what they were talking about. The miracle was narrated to her. She in turn asked the boy who replied, “Oh mother, he is the same one you told me about, who is engaged as a cowherd!”
“Where did you meet him, my child?”
“In the forest!”
“Let us go to the forest.”
The crowd moved to the middle of the forest and kannan started calling out “gopalaa, gopalaa!”
No one came!
The people started murmuring among themselves that the boy must be bluffing.
Now kannan called out “Oh brother! Come to my rescue! People call me a liar!”
Presently a sweet melody played on flute was heard. The people could not see anyone though the flute sounded so near but the boy started jumping up and down saying “I knew you would come! Tell these people who you are!”
The boy pointed to empty space and cried “This is my brother!”
Soon people knew who it was!

a nice little story to end ...

We end this section on Bhakti for the present with a nice little story.
Kannan was a six year old boy. His father had passed on when he was three. His mother earned a little working long hours helping with odds and ends. A six year old needed to be sent to school but there was no school in that village. The nearest was in the next village reached only through traveling dense forest. Well there was no other way. If one wanted to educate the boy that had to be done. If the mother had to take him to school daily that would take a lot of time and then how can she find work? It logically followed that there will be no food if there is no work.
She told the boy,” oh Kanna, aren't you a good boy? Mother can’t take you to school everyday. You have to go yourself. Being a good boy he said, “ oh mother if you so, ok!” he set out with a stout heart but in the middle of the forest his courage deserted him and he started crying! Who cares if you cry in the middle of the forest? He ran all the way to school crying in fear. The teacher seeing him come in crying understood the problem and pacified him.
That day's lesson got over and the students set out for their home. The teacher sent Kannan home with a man in company saying, “ oh, boy! Without some one to accompany dont travel in the forest.”
The next morning it was time to leave for the school. Kannan told his mother, “Mother! though I am afraid of the forest, since you say so, I shall go through to school. But my teacher has forbidden traveling with out an escort. What can I do? Now this was a dilemma! Such a good boy who is ready to face fear of the forest to study! Can he be denied education for want of an escort? To whom can I turn to in adversity except the God! Thinking thus, she said, “ dear child! Don't worry, go to school. If you are afraid call out to your brother. He will come and help you.”
“ I have a brother! I did not know. Why does not he stay with us?”
“ Oh he has a lot to do. Always busy. But he will help you if you really need him!”
“What is his name?”
“His name is gopalan.”
Enthused the boy set out to the school and reached to middle of the forest where his courage once again deserted him. But now he knew wha to do! He called out, “ Gopalaa! Gopalaa!”
nothing happened!
Now the boy was nearly terrified. He called out in desperation. “Oh Gopalaa, I am your little brother! I need to go to school but I am afraid of this dense forest. Please come at once and take me to school.”
Still nothing happened.
Now kannan was really afraid. “ I knew you are angry with me. That is why you have not seen me so far. Mother told me that you will take care of me! Did I do anything wrong? If so please forgive me. I surrender to you!”
Now a flute was heard and soon a cowherd appeared playing it. A little calf followed him. He stopped on seeing kannan.
“Are you my brother Gopalan?”
“Yes, I am!”
“Would you take me across this forest?”
“Yes, I would. Let us go!”
On the way kannan plied him with questions. Why was he not known so long? Was he angry with mother and himself? No he was working hard and had no vacations. What was his job? Oh pretty much everything; mainly taking care of cows. What took him so long to appear before him? Oh he was on the other side of the forest. Soon and on. Soon they came to the edge of the forest.
“I take leave of you dear younger brother, I have much work to do.”
“Oh fine, now on I can take care of myself. I can go tot the school. No problem!”
“Bye then study well!”
“Oh I need your help to get back too. Will you come every morning and evening and take me across this forest?”
“Sure I will. See you.”
The teacher saw that the boy was composed and assuming that some arrangement has been made, inquired no further. The mother saw that the boy did not complain but reported meeting his brother who accompanied him. Surely this is a figment of imagination on the part of the boy. Well as long as he could go to school without complaining, it was fine.
From that day on kannan had an enjoyable time. Gopalan taught him many things about the forest, the animals and birds in it, the plants, trees etc. they also sang and danced all the way through the forest. The daily stories the boy narrated to his other was heard with much amusement! What an imagination this boy had!
Things went on smoothly till guru poornima arrived. That is the day the students paid their respects to the teacher with what ever little money/ material they could afford. The boys were discussing what each one will bring. One said, my father has the granary full and so I shall bring a bog of rice. Another said he would bring oil. Another talked of a lot of vegetables. Kannan was asked what he would bring.
“ oh I don't know. Whatever mother gives me.”
The peer pressure made the boy appeal to his mother for something to submit to his teacher.
“What can we afford dear? What comes out of work is just enough to make the two ends meet! Dont worry too much. The teacher knows about our family and will understand you can not give him any money or material. Just pick some flowers on the way to school and put them at his feet and prostrate before him.”
Kannan was upset! Is this all he can do?...
(to continue)

The attitude of a lover.

We have seen many attitude of the bhaktas. People can see God as a love/ lover too. Manikkavasakar was one such person, he saw his god like that. He assumed an attitude of a maiden and sang many songs withthe attitude of a lover. The alwars also composed many with that attitude.

Maha kavi Bharati was essentially a poet. He also had flashes of gnana and sang quite a few songs in that state. He saw godhood as Shakti and as Kannan. He saw Kannan as the mother, a father, a child, a teacher and the servent. Later, he saw him as his lover and started writing songs in that attitude.
At first, he says, that his mind became as restless as a lamp kept outside in the wind. He felt like a caged bird, his mind started disliking all that he used to like....

தூண்டிற் புழுவினைப்போல் - வெளியே

சுடர் விளக்கினைப்போல்

நீண்ட பொழுதாக - எனது

நெஞ்சம் துடித்ததடீ

கூண்டுக்கிளியினை போல் - தனிமை

கொண்டு மிகவும் நொந்தேன்

வேண்டும் பொருளை எல்லாம்-

மனது வெறுத்து விட்டதடீ.........

tūṇṭiṟ puḻuviṉaippōl - veḷiyē
cuṭar viḷakkiṉaippōl
nīṇṭa poḻutāka - eṉatu
neñcam tuṭittataṭī
kūṇṭukkiḷiyiṉai pōl - taṉimai
koṇṭu mikavum nontēṉ
vēṇṭum poruḷai ellām-
maṉatu veṟuttu viṭṭataṭī.........

Suddenly one day, he realises what the problem was. Someone had touched his inner mind....

கனவு கண்டதிலே - ஒரு நாள்

கண்ணுக்கு தோன்றாமல்

இனம் விளங்கவில்லை - எவனோ

என்னகம் தொட்டுவிட்டான்....

kaṉavu kaṇṭatilē - oru nāḷ
kaṇṇukku tōṉṟāmal
iṉam viḷaṅkavillai - evaṉō
eṉṉakam toṭṭuviṭṭāṉ....

As I dreamt , one day
unknowingly someone touched my heart
I just could not
fathom the feelings....

He wonders who that could be...

எண்ணி எண்ணி பார்த்தேன்: - அவன்தான்

யாரெனச் சிந்தை செய்தேன்

கண்ணன் திருவுருவம் - அங்ஙனே

கண்ணின் முன் நின்றதடீ!

eṇṇi eṇṇi pārttēṉ: - avaṉtāṉ
yāreṉac cintai ceytēṉ
kaṇṇaṉ tiruvuruvam - aṅṅaṉē
kaṇṇiṉ muṉ niṉṟataṭī!

I kept thinking who that could be
wondering whose face it was
then I found it! A shape floats
in front of my eyes and that belongs kannan.

Then he realises that it is all kannan's doings. Whether he is sleep or awake only the thought of Kannan remains.

.....நானும் பல தினங்கள் பொறுத்திருந்தேன் - இது

நாளுக்கு நாள் அதிகமாகிவிட்டதே

கூன னொருவன் வந்திந் நாணி பின்னலைக்

கொண்டை மலர் சிதற நின்றிழுத்தும்....

.....nāṉum pala tiṉaṅkaḷ poṟuttiruntēṉ - itu
nāḷukku nāḷ atikamākiviṭṭatē
kūṉa ṉoruvaṉ vantin nāṇi piṉṉalaik
koṇṭai malar citaṟa niṉṟiḻuttum....

… I bore it with patience for a long time
but this keeps increasing day by day
a hunch back comes along and pulls
my hair so that the flowers scatter …..

The problem becomes acute! Listening to his stories one loses one's sleep! He starts searching for Kannan every where, even in the forest!

.....திக்குத்தெரியாத காட்டில்- உனைத்

தேடித் தேடி இளைத்தேனே!...

....tikkutteriyāta kāṭṭil- uṉait
tēṭit tēṭi iḷaittēṉē!...

...in the forest where even directions are lost
I keep searching for you in vain....

A hunter comes across this 'maiden' and longs for her. Bharati turns down the advances.

"அண்ணா உனதடியில் வீழ்வேன் - எனை

அஞ்சக்கொடுமை சொல்ல வேண்டா - பிறன்

கண்ணலஞ் செய்துவிட்ட பெண்ணே - எந்தன்

கண்ணற் பார்த்திடவுந் தகுமோ?”

"aṇṇā uṉataṭiyil vīḻvēṉ - eṉai
añcakkoṭumai colla vēṇṭā - piṟaṉ
kaṇṇalañ ceytuviṭṭa peṇṇē - entaṉ
kaṇṇaṟ pārttiṭavun takumō?”

oh brother, I shall fall at your feet
dont utter words that frighten me
when someone else has married a girl
can kannan even look at them?

But the hunter is insistent. Bharati swoons crying "kanna". When he awakes he sees no one!

Then he sends someone to gain the intelligence report as to what is in Kannan's mind.....

கண்ணன் மனநிலையைத் - தங்கமே தங்கம்

கண்டு வர வேணுமடி தங்கமே தங்கம்

kaṇṇaṉ maṉanilaiyait - taṅkamē taṅkam
kaṇṭu vara vēṇumaṭi taṅkamē taṅkam

“oh dear please find out what is in the mind of kannan”

“நேர முழுவதிலுமப் பாவி தன்னையே - உள்ளம்

நினைத்து மறுகுதடி தங்கமே தங்கம்

தீர ஒரு சொலின்று கேட்டு வந்திட்டால் - பின்பு

தெய்வம் இருக்குதடி தங்கமே தங்கம்"

“nēra muḻuvatilumap pāvi taṉṉaiyē - uḷḷam
niṉaittu maṟukutaṭi taṅkamē taṅkam
tīra oru coliṉṟu kēṭṭu vantiṭṭāl - piṉpu
teyvam irukkutaṭi taṅkamē taṅkam"

“oh dear, through out the day
the mind keeps pining for him
if you can ascertain what he really thinks
then I shall leave it to God to take care”

Thus in vexation he almost gives up hopes!

When a person pines like this, can he forget the face of Kannan? But even that happens! Now he blames himself...

"கண்கள் புரிந்துவிட்ட பாவம் -உயிர்க்

கண்ணனுரு மறக்கலாச்சு!

பெண்களினிடத்திலிது போலே - ஒரு

பேதையை முன்புகண்ட துண்டோ?”

"kaṇkaḷ purintuviṭṭa pāvam -uyirk
kaṇṇaṉuru maṟakkalāccu!
peṇkaḷiṉiṭattilitu pōlē - oru
pētaiyai muṉpukaṇṭa tuṇṭō?”

The eyes committed sin and hence
Dear kannan's face was forgotten!
Have you ever seen such a dunce
Among the women of this world?

Well loves knows no rhymes or reasons! Bharati brings in full the essence of such attitude. Read the original passages for the full story!

Friendship ... continued...

Sundara was at a loss! What could he do?....

He went to the temple and talked to the Lord. Oh Lord, you know my plight! Only you can solve this problem. Please do so.
Shiva asked him what was needed. Sundara told him to go to paravai nachchiyar and talk on his behalf, console her and make her accept him again.
Shiva took the form of a temple priest and went paravai's house.
She welcomed him in the proper manner. And asked what he needed as he had come at an improper hour. The conversation went awry!
“Amma, I heard that you have quarreled with Sundara. You must large heartedly forgive him and allow him back to the house.”
“ why should I?”
“Well he married again due to a emotional disturbance. Now he is always thinking about you!”
“ I am not a person he can simply ignore like that and came back to his liking. He can go back to her.”
“ But to forgive is divine and...”
“That matter is over. Ask me anything else if you want!”
“You must consider...”
“If you keep talking about this again you will be given respect no more!”

Lord Shiva could do nothing more. He returned to the temple.
Shiva briefed Sundara. Sundara got angry and scolded Shiva!
“Why, are you not concerned with my welfare? Is this the way you go on a mission like this?”
“What did I do wrong?”
“You went in the form of some other person. You should have gone in your own form!”

Shiva agreed to go again. This time he went in his own form with a retinue of yogins, shadhus.

Meanwhile though paravai scolded the priest and sent him back she could not help wondering if she did the right thing. The person who visited her did not seem to be any ordinary priest. His face had such a thejas! There was an aura about him. She even suspected that there was some vedic recitation and music in the background! A strange sweet smell lingered still. She suddenly had a crazy idea. Was it the Lord Shiva himself who came?! She became a bit restless.

The door bell rang now and she hastened to open the door. Hoping against hope that the person was back! To her surprise she saw the Lord himself surrounded by yogins and munis. She had no second thought now about the proposal to accept Sundara.

What wont the God do to his dear devotee!

Friendship

Friendship:
The relationship between a bhakta and his God is manifest in strange ways! While some have considered him their master others have a much different relationship.
What Arjuna had to Krishna was friendship.
Krishan did so many things to Arjuna that no other relationship can do! When arjuna was besotted with shubadra it was Krishna who gave Arjuna the idea to fulfill his desire. This relationship continued till Krishan started his upadesa to Arjuna in the battle field and showed his true nature by viswa roopa dharshan. Then Arjuna's attitude changed totally and he came to the mind set of carrying out whatever Krishan told him. Till then he had been arguing.
Sundara, the nayanmar, had a very unique relationship with Shiva. While others were ready to give their life for Shiva Sundara commanded him and extracted work from him often scolding him in that process.
Sundara had a wife anmed parava nachchiyar. The family life was running smoothly. Sundara visited Thiruvotriyur to worship Shive there. There he developed a relationship with a lady named sangili nachchiyar. He promised her that he will never desert her in front of the local Shiva temple and married her. (it is a different story why and how). Well, it is said that desire lasts sixty days and lust 30 days. He also felt guilty about deserting his wife and remarrying. Moreover the spring celebrations of Thigaraja was nearing and Sundara pined for his dharsan. Overcome with this desire he set out to Thiruvaroor. After several incidences of losing vision and regaining it etc he reached Thiruvaroor.
Having had dharsan of the Lord to his heart's content he went to 'his' house but paravai nachchiyar wont allow him in. she shut the doors on him scolded him for deserting her.
Returing from the house he contemplated on his next step. Dont wee usually send some elders with dimplomatic skills to hold talks with the aggreived parties? So he sent some elders but paravai was merciless she said that what Sundara did to her was not at all worth forgiving and sent them back.
Sundara was at a loss! What could he do? (to continue)

Thiaga brahmam on Bhakti:

Thiaga brahmam on Bhakti:
We have been seeing how true bhaktas behave. An exemplary perrson who lived in Tamilnad is Thiagaraja who is popularly known as Thiaga brahmam. Shall we see what he says?

Raga: pyakadai
Thaala: aadi

Pallavi:
bhaktuṉi cāritramu viṉavē
maṉasā sītā rāma

aṉu pallavi

āsakti kēla tārukōcujī
vaṉmuktuṭai yānantamu nontu

caraṇaṅkaḷ

japatapamulutā jēciti nanarātu atikākamari
kapaṭāt muṭu manamai palkarātu
upamatanaku lēkayuṇṭa vale nani
ūrayūra tiruka karātu
capala cittuṭai yālusu tulapai
sāreku prama kārāta nēhari - (bhaktuṉi)

pava vipa vamunija maniyemca karātu atikākamari
civa mātava pēta mucēyaka rātu
puvanamantu tānē yōk yuṭa nani
pomki poṭṭa sāka rātu
pavanāt majatrutamau sītāpati
pāta muluyē mararātanu hari - (bhaktuṉi)

rājasa tāmasa kuṇamulu kārātu atikākanucu
vyāja munanu rālēta nakārātu
rājayōka mārkamunī cittamu
rājū cuṭa viṭa vakarātu
rājacikā maṇiyai natyāka
rāja sakuni maravarāta nēhari - (bhaktuṉi)

(if you find transliteration mistakes, kindly let me know)

oh, mind listen to the history and qualities of the bhakta of Sitaram.
A bhakta does the Dharma prescribed for him as far as possible; he is content with whatever comes his way naturally. He is in bliss that is equal to a jeevan mukta.
He might be doing much of japa or observe penance but he does not tell anyone about it. His mind is pure void of deceit. He never boasts that there is no one equal to him. He lacks a petty mind that craves for wealth and abode. He is not fooled by what he sees in this mundane world. He does not see any differences between Shiva and Vishnu. He does not while away time saying in this world only I am the most deserving person for anything. He will not forget to do bhakti at the feet of Sitapati who is always worshiped by Anjaneya. He will forsake the rajasa thaamasa gunas; he realises that one gets what one deserves according to karma. Keeping this Raja yoga path in mind, he will always remember Rama who is the friend of the King of Kings – Thiagaraja of thiruvaroor.
{This compilation comes from the serial thiakopanishad which appeared in vaidika samvardhani.}

Archana, vanthana:

By some quirks of the blogger this post got into the draft mode. Should have comeout long back!
My apologies!
-------------------
The bhakta who kept thinking of the Lord always might want to do pooja to him. He cleans the lotus feet of the lord with pure water specially brought for that purpose and offers flowers that he himself specially picked. With this attitude that the lord's feet are the most venerable as he does pooja day by day the ego starts waning. The “I” and “mine” are lost more and more. Only His memories linger. He is ready to offer himself fully – his body, mind and intellect - to Him. This is called arcanam.

If one has come thus far one develops the attitude that he needs to do nothing except fall at His feet and remain there! This is vandanam. This reinforces the feeling that we are so small in front of His might. The ego almost totally disappears.

When kamsa came to know where Krishna and Balarama were, he wanted to bring them to his place and destroy them. So he sent akruura for that purpose. Akruura was nandan's relative. So when akruura asked Krishna to accompany him Krishna readily agreed. Of course he would as so many jobs awaited his attention and he had to finish one of the main jobs for which he came to this world.

On their way to kamsa's place they entered the River Yamuna to bathe and perform the evening rituals. Leaving Krishna and Balarama in the banks akruura entered the river. He was astounded to find them there already! He turned to the banks and saw them doing japa. He looked back to the river and still saw them there. After this unique experience wherever he looked akruura saw the two. He realised that they were no ordinary beings. They were divine. With this realisation he started seeing krishna everywhere. He started falling at his feet and do vandana. Doing thus his mind got set on the form of the Lord.

worship of the Feet of the Lord..

Patha sevanam – worship of the Feet of the Lord:
in the bhakti route there is always a special place for the Feet of the Lord. Normally we consider the feet very low in the order of pecking things. We go out walk run, go to several places and it is the feet that mainly get dirty. We go out and come home and the first thing to do is wash our feet.
While we consider the feet dirty if they belong to the Lord we consider them Holy! Just like wee touch the feet of elders while paying respects to them devotees wont even hesitate to bear the feet of the lord on their heads! In fact we go to the vishnu temple and having performed the pooja the arcaka brings out the holy basil water along with kunkum and bail. But before handing over them prasad he brings out the satari that looks like a crown and places it on our head. Since our head is beneath it we are not usually aware of what is on top of it. If we take our next chance to inspect it we can find a pair of feet engraved on it. They belong to the Lord presiding in that temple.
Vedanta Desika who spent his entire life in the service of the Lord wrote a book titled “pathuka sahasram” singing the praise of His lotus feet through out the book.
In Ramayana we find that Bharata asked for and got Rama's footwear and placing them on the throne, ruled the nation as Rama's representative. Ahalya too got rid of her curse as Rama's feet came in contact with her. Seeing this Viswamaitra exclaimed,

mai vaṇṇattu arakki pōril
maḻai vaṇṇattu aṇṇalē uṉ
kai vaṇṇam aṅku kaṇṭēṉ
kāl vaṇṇam iṅku kaṇṭēṉ

[மை வண்ணத்து அரக்கி போரில் மழை வண்ணத்து அண்ணலே உன் கை வண்ணம் அங்கு கண்டேன் கால் வண்ணம் இங்கு கண்டேன் ]

meaning "Oh! The one who has the complexion of the rain bearing cloud, I saw the power of your shoulders when you fought the dark she-demon and the power of your feet here and now!!”

Battles between the asuras and devas was a common occurrence. Once lead by MahaBali the asuras won the battle and ruled the world including the heavens. Atiti, the mother of the devas observed a austere ritual called “payo vrat” and got a boon from Vishnu to restore the rights of the devas.
Vishnu took the form of a midget brahmacari and came to MahaBali.
Bali was so pleased to see a brahmacari with a shining countenance and welcoming him asked what he desired.
Vishnu replied that just three feet – measured by his own legs- of space was enough for him. Bali was surprised. “ I am the Lord of the three worlds and all you desire is just three feet, that too with your little feet, of land?”
“sure, that would suffice!” said Vishnu.
The guru of the asuras – sukracarya – divined what would happen. He told Bali not to grant that request.
“What can this midget do?”
“Oh, king, don't be fooled. The one who seeks is no ordinary person. He is Vishnu himself. He will always support the devas. So if you grant the request it will not do you any good.”
But Bali wont be put off.
“If the Lord Vishnu himself should seek alms from me, how fortunate I must be?” saying thus he lifted the vessel with water to give dhana.
Sukra could not bear it any more. Thinking, “How I have toiled to expand the kingdom to this extent. This fool will lose them all in a few seconds” he took the form of a beetle and flying to the water vessel blocked the outlet.
Vamana laughed. He took a dharba grass and poked at the outlet. Sukara's eye was punctured and he flew off in pain.
As the water poured out Bali offered the boon and vamana took it.
As the King asked Vamana to measured out the land Vamana started growing and to the astonishment of everyone around kept growing to enormous proportions. With his first step he measured the whole earth. With his second he measured out the heavens. Then he looked at Bali and said,”Well, where can I place the third step?”
Bali in all humbleness said, “ Swami, the only place left is my head. Please place your foot on it. With a smile Vamana put his foot on the head and pushed him to the sutha loka – the place underneath the earth. He made him the ruler of that place and gave him all the good things one would desire.
In Srimad Bhagavatham it is written that the bhagavan said, “ if I want to save someone I take away all his wealth. For it is due to the pride of wealth that man does not think of the rest of the world or me.” having taken away all the wealth of Bali and when he became humble, his ego as well, the Lord gave him all that one would desire.

singing...more

But it is said that nama sankeertan will put in hell those who abuse it!
So what is the abuse?
There is a long list … well may be ten points. Some are: talking ill of sadhus; seeing a difference between Shiva and Vishnu (in essence between various deities); thinking as one has the strength of nama sankeertan one can do acts proscribed. For more information have a look at Narada bhakti sutra.

It is not even essential to “sing”! (Wow, that saves a lot of people nearby!) It is enough to utter His name. A story that illustrates this is the story of Ajamila. He was a first rate sinner. There was no sin that he had not committed. In death bed he called to his son to give him a final word. It so happened that the son's came was Narayanan. As he uttered the word Narayana his life ended. The yama dhootas (servants of the death lord) came to take him away. But they were intercepted by the Lord Narayana's servants. Claiming since uttering the word narayana qualified him to be among the Vishnu bhaktas he was taken to vaikuntha – the abode of Sri Narayana.
That does not mean wee can utter his name just once and be saved forever!
A disciple of Sri Ramakrishana asked him once: If one bathes in the Ganges one's sins are washed away. I see so many bathe in Ganges everyday and still see no change in them!
To this jokingly Ramakrishna replied: as one approaches the ganges the wind carries the droplets and that chases away the sins. But where will they go? They take refuge in the trees and other plants nearby. Having bathed one returns and on the way there are so many shops. As soon as one sees them the mind starts craving for things and having found the weakness his sins come back to him!

singing his praises...

The next is singing his praises.
Singing his various names and famous deeds from the heart is what it involves. If it can be melodious it is good for others :-) If not, it is good for the singer! The involvement of heart is what is important. As one keeps singing the mind gets near the Lord more and more. Exemplary satakas who followed this way are meera, aandal, soordas, the alwars, the and nayanamars. Count less other people have also followed this way. Actually no bhakta can ignore this way. Does not matter what the form of Lord one relates to, he has said that recite my names and that will please me.
When a group of people get together and do this, there is a satsang. The members of a satsang draw strength from each other and the bhakti will get firm.
The spiritual leader who did gave so much of importance tot his technique and spread it is Srimat Bhodendra Saraswati. Brahmanda purana says no one needs any instructions to do Hari sankeertan. There is nothing superior to it.

ஹரி சங்கீர்தனஸ்யாஸ்ய நோபதேச: கதஞ்சன
when the mahabharata war ended Krishna told Dharmaputra, “Go and get instructions fro Bheeshma who is in the bed of arrows, waiting for his death. There are few persons with his knowledge of Dharma and there is no one more qualified to give instructions on that subject.”
So he went ahead and a lively discussion ensued. After thrashing pout several points Dharmaputra asked, ”which dharma is the best of them all?”
Bheeshma replied, “ what is to be told is superior to all other dharmas. If one will sing the praises of the vasudeva who resides in the lotus of heart with most devotion always – that is the most superior.
"கோதர்ம: ஸர்வ தர்மாணாம் பரம பவத: மத:?
“ [எந்த தர்மம் எல்லாவற்றிலும் உயர்ந்ததாக கருதப்படுகிறது?]
அதுக்கு பீஷ்மர் சொன்னார்:
"ஏஷ மே ஸர்வ தர்மாணாம் தர்மோதிகதமோ மத:
யத் பக்த்யா புண்டரீகாக்ஷம் ஸ்தவைர் அர்சேத் நரஸ்ஸதா"

Why is this considered so great?
Mainly because it does not cause any harm to anyone. (I can hear somebody say that it depends on those who listen to it! :) One need not even pick a flower. Or pick fruits to do “nivedanam”. One need not try and procure anything for that matter.
It does not require any qualification. Anyone can do it; whether you are male, female, adult. Child... there is no restriction. Caste is not a restriction. There is no restriction of the place. Night or day – it does not matter. There is no restriction as to the order. In short NO RESTRICTIONS!
But it is said that nama sankeertan will put in hell those who abuse it!
So what is the abuse?....

contemplation - Smaranam

Smaranam is thinking constantly about God. This is the second of the types of bhakti. This does not mean thinking of Him now and then. It is thinking of him all the time possible. It is recollecting whatever we have heard of Him. His virtues, fame, beauty, valour, compassion... we must think of all. As we contemplate on them the dirt in our mind gets washed away and our mind becomes clear.
It is said that what we contemplate constantly, we become the same. One who keeps thinking of lustful things will get immersed in it and become animal like. One who keeps thinking of God and His virtues naturally become god like and we will also obtain those virtues.
There was a spiritual master in Tibet and he had a lot of disciples. A new entrant kept pestering him for instructions. The master asked him to be patient till he determined what was suitable for him. It was found that he was not of body strength or mental strength required for sataka. So he asked him what he loved most. The boy said that he liked his yak most. The master asked,” can you keep thinking of it always?”
“Sir, of course.”
“Do that” said the master.
The disciples around could barely control their laughter.
Days went by and and someone noticed that the boy did not turn up for his meals. Nor was he seen at other times outside his room. Since people wont be disturbed during the satana period no one took action for four days.
On the fourth day the master was informed.
He went to the room and standing outside called out, “ Oh disciple, are you there?”
“yes, master, I am here.”
“Want to come out?”
“ Sure, I do! I am hungry”.
“ So why don't you?”
“ Oh, master, the entrance is too small. As my horns won't go through, I am unable to come out.”
Even if you don’t get to this level of concentration, smaranam will get you to the higher stages.

Types: Listening - sravanam

We have been seeing a series of qualities that we are supposed to develop in order to progress in spirituality through Bhakti route.
Now onwards we will see the several types of bhakti that exist with exemplary stories.
The is no hard and fast rules as to how the form of Bhakti should be. It is something entirely between the person and his God. therefore it is natural that there are various way of expressing it.
The first is called sravanam which means listening. Not listening to any cinema songs or something like that!
It is listening to the Lord's praise and stories related to him. Through this we will come know His qualities and also how some people progressed spiritually by this methods. We can emulate them and we can also progress. Listening to anything about Him makes us want to see him; so we will be able to concentrate. This is remove the attractions on mundane things and helps us to go to the higher steps.

Oh do you mean we can listed to stories about Him and go to swarga or get moksha?

:-) it is not a joke! A person did indeed listen to stories about the Lord and obtain moksha.

Oh really? Let us listen to that story then.

Here it is!
The King Parikshit is a descendant of the Pandavas.
Once he went on a hunt. Once in the forest they are parted by chance and parikshit was left alone. After a few hours of hunting, he got thirsty. There was no one to fetch him water. So he went back the way he came and presently arrived at an ashram. The ashram belonged to a risi named sameeraka. Sameeraka was sitting under a banyan tree and was immersed in meditation. The King asked for water but the risi was in no state to hear him. Already hungry and thirsty the king got angry. A dead snake was lying around. The king lifted it with his sword and put it around the neck of the risi and then went on his way.
After some time sameraka's son came along. Seeing the snake around his father's shoulders he wa enraged. Though young he was a great thapasvi. He discerned what happened by his spiritual powers. When he realized what had happened he was even more enraged. Saying this is not how a king should behave he cursed that the king will die from snake bite within a week.
After a few minuted sameeraka came down from his meditative state and seeing his angry son nearby inquired what the matter was. Learning what had happened he chided his son for cursing the king like that. “ whether it is a garland or snake it is the same to me. Why curse the king for a matter like that? Now nothing can be done about it. By cursing you lost a lot of power from tapas. Go to the king and inform him that he has just seven days of life left.”
learning that he has just a week of life time left, the king was repentant. I acted in haste and that act doesn't behoove me. What can i do to wash my sins within a week? He decided to go to the banks of Ganges and fast to death. The news spread fast and several risis arrived at the banks. The king prostrated before them and requested them to show him a way to attain moksha. They said the great risi sukha will arrive shortly and will help you in this matter. The sage sukhaa soon arrived. After receiving him with all respects he did paatha pooja and requested hm to show the way. Sage sukhaa said the easiest way to attain moksha in a week is to listen to the Lord's story. Thus was born Srimad Bhagavatha.
In the ninth chapter sukhaa narrated the story of Krishna briefly. Parikshit said, "I am most disappointed to hear such a brief story. Even while you were telling us the story of Harishchandra, Dushyanta, the Kings of the Sun dynasty, the Kings of the Moon dynasty i was waiting for Krishana's story. All my relatives have sang praises of him. Tell me in detail for I think I live for a week only for that purpose”.
Sukhaa was most pleased with this attitude and so in the tenth chapter he happily narrated Krishna's story in great details. Having listened to this Parikshit attained mokshaa at the end of the seventh day.

Now the topic under consideration is Dhanam.
That means giving to others. How much to give? It is not important. What is important is the attitude with which one gives. Suppose an organization is collecting money for the renovation of a temple. Or some such thing. a millionaire donating a thousand rupees is not very great. If a day to day wage earner donates even ten rupees that would be great.

When a real Bhakta sees God in everyone or everything naturally he wants to share what he has with others.
there was one Namadeva in Maharastra. He was an ardent devotee of Vitala. he has sung many songs on Him and they are called apangas. they are somewhat akin to Devaram and Thiruvasakam of Tamilnadu. He practically lived in penury through out his life!
One day someone tool pity on him and gave him a dry chapatti (flat bread like food item, popular in North India)and some butter. Namadeva cried, " Oh Vittala you have sent me too day's food!" Keeping it aside he started singing in His praise. Meanwhile a dog spying the chapati sneaked in and grabbing it started running away. The people around shouted at Namadeva "Hey, the dog is running away with your chapati!" Namadeva started chasing it. Of course the dog increased its speed. Namadeva ran after it crying, " Oh Vittala, you have not taken the butter. The chapati is dry and you can't consume it without this piece of butter. Please take it!" The people around naturally thought him to be mad!

Namadeva never had any steady work or income.if at all somehow some money is saved he will immediately spend it on feeding the devotees. His wife got vexed with his ways of life. She went to the temple and complained to vittala,: See what you have done! you are dragging him towards you. He hardly brings home any money. How am I supposed to run the household?" Taking pity, Vittala appeared in person before her and said," It is not me who dragging him towards me. He is the one dragging me towards him!"
the wife said, " I don't know any such philosophical thing. I am a simple woman. If no money comes home wee will have to starve!"
Vittal said, "Ok,Ok, when did I have money? Ask her" and He pointed to rukkumayi. The wife went to rukkumayi and made the same complaint and rukkumayi promised to look into the matter. Namadeva's wife felt happy and went home.
That night a cart appeared in front of Namadeva's house and a man and a woman got down from it. They told Namadeva's wife that Namadeva's Guru had sent something to them. They unloaded several sacks containing grins, vegetables and other groceries along with a bag of coins. The wife was astounded and ran in to tell his husband. by the time namadeva came out to inspect the goods Vittala and Rukkumayi were long gone!

continuing from the last post....

continuing from the last post....
Lord Krishna was ready to leave this world as the job came here for was accomplished. Well the gopis were so dear to him and he wanted to give them the option of what to do next. As you might know the gopis are devas who in Rama avatar could not interact with him directly and so took a form during Krishna avatar. Krishna sent for the gopis and told them, “ The job i came here for is complete and so i propose to leave for vaikunta. What do you propose to do?” In one voice they told him,” What are we going to do without you here? We too will come with you". “So be it” said Krishna. So off he went to the forest and as per the risis' curse the last iron piece of the mace was fitted as the arrow head by a hunter and he shot Krishna's feet thinking it was a deer. Krishna consoled the hunter saying what must be done has been done and the hunter's action was only a move in the game.
Krishna merged with Narayana in vaikunta.
The gopis also duly arrived at vaikunta. As soon as they came they looked for Krishna all over the place. They could not find him. After a few days Narayana sent for them and asked them “Are you all happy here? Is there anything that you lack?” the gopis said “ We feel it is Hell here”. Narayana was surprised and amused! “Why do you say so?” “ we don't find Krishna here! We are heart broken!”
"Well, I am Krishna! I took that avatar!"
The gopis would not accept that argument.
“ok, so what do you want?”
“Send us back to the earth! We can spend our time thinking of Krishna there!”
So they were sent back.
----
A few years back one ganapatigal very well known to me, had been to Brindavan. He hired a rickshaw to go around and see the place. After a few hours he thought there was nothing more to see and asked to be returned to the place of stay. The rikshawallah told him that he will take him to a special place and took him to a park. Spent some time here and come back, he advised. Ganapatigal went around the park and came back.
"What did you see?"
" Nothing special. This place is like a lot of other parks. Mmm .... there are a lot of monkeys here though!"
" Ok so go back observe the monkeys and come back."
Surprised ganapatigal went in and sat in a place and observed the monkeys. After some time he realised what was different.
Monkeys are known for their mischief. They cant not stay on one place for any length of time. They just cant keep quiet. They have to be active. They will be always running here and there and jumping about from branch to branch.
But here it was different. Most monkeys kept quiet and looked sad. Some will be crying and some circumnavigate a particular place. In short they were totally different.
Ganapatigal returned and told the rickshawallah what he saw. In reply the story written above was narrated. The rickshawallah ended it saying, “These monkeys are the gopis. They are longing for Krishna and thinking only of Him. That is why you see them behave differently."

Anudharsa and true love.

Anudharsa is not to be excessively happy.
A little surprising? Yes! After all everyone wants to be happy always.
Yes. That is true but excess of anything is not good. More over a point to be kept in mind is to look at things dispassionately. The apparent happiness and apparent sadness must be taken equally.

duḥkheṣv anudvigna-manāḥ
sukheṣu vigata-spṛhaḥ
vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhaḥ
sthita-dhīr munir ucyate

One who is not disturbed in mind even amidst the threefold miseries or elated when there is happiness, and who is free from attachment, fear and anger, is called a sage of steady mind.
In short one who can control and command the desires will not get caught in too much of happiness. He will also attain atma gnana.

We get things related we adhere to. Attachment to things that are bound to get destroyed, takes us too towards destruction. In stead of that if we attach ourselves to the Brahman we will start traveling towards that. If one has to have attachment this one only is worth having! This only is the true love. Only this can lead us to experience the bliss that can not be perceived through our senses.

In bhakti yoga the sataka will be singing praises of the Lord only as long as he is conscious of his own body. Should he lose this sense he will go to a state that is not describable. This has entered the realms of Gnana yoga.

After all the classification we made regarding the various ways is only for our convenience to examine various aspects involved. There is always a cross over among the ways.
Where there is unqualified total love the realisation of oneself naturally occurs. Love and gnana at their highest state are one and the same.

“Srimad bhagavaatam says that the risis who are in atmic bliss having shed the shackles show love to God just for the sake of love, with no qualifications.”

in prahalada saritra it is said that when prahalada lost the sense of “I”, he did not see the universe. He only perceived a nameless shapeless being. When he got back his consciousness of self he saw the universe and the Lord with unlimited virtues.

Gopis of vrindaavan too were like that. With the Krishna conscious they had merged with him and did not feel they were separate. Only when the “self” consciousness returned they considered themselves as gopis and Krishna as one to be worshiped.

In short if one stand away from the brahman it will be bhakti and if you get merged it is gnana.
But then this itself cn lead to a false gnana!

Usually bhaktas desire to be separate from the Lord. Sri Ramakrishana says bhakta wants to taste the sugar candy of the Lord, he does not want to become the sugar candy himself by realising “aham brahmasmi”

The next one is the virtue called satva.
To be dull and sleepy most of the times is thamas.
Mmmm.. how to correct that? If one succeeds in inducing such a person to do dome work the rajasic aspect of the work will suppress thamas and it will get corrected.
To be always active... actually restless... and be up to some work or other is the rajasic quality. This also gives rise to the surfacing of emotions, be it joy or anger, and even this is not very good. This is to be corrected by inducing the person to be quiet and meditate or something like that.
That is, turn thamas into rajas and rajas into satva. A sativic mind is quiet and not given to agitation. Such a mind can focus on the God, fill one's heart with spiritual peace. Elevation to higher levels of spirituality results.

Dharma is what our forefathers, risis and sastras agreed as dharma. It is a s et of universal rules by which this whole universe moves. To taste sweet is sugar's dharma. To wet things is water's dharma. To burn is fire's dharma. Similarly our actions too have a predictable effect and having analysed them our forefathers simply compiled a set of do s and don't s. This is called dharma sastra. Traditionally anything against dharma has been frowned upon though being humans there has been constant attempts to cross the limits. Thus slowly it has got eroded. The saying “dharmō rakṣati rakṣitah” which occurs in the fifteenth verse of the eighth chapter of the Manu Smriti denotes that dharma always protects those who protect it.
What does it mean? Can be protect dharma? How can anyone protect a set of natural rules?
Her to protect means following dharma. You abide by rules and the rules protect you.
Next to consider is anavasta.
It gives a sataka a mature mindset. One can judge a person's spiritual progress with this! When the sataka can sees God in everything everywhere he will always be happy! How can be otherwise in the presence of God? He will have no desires and his heart will be content.
How can one achieve this?....
The answer is very simple but to get there is a bit difficult.
The answer is that our natural state is one of peace. It is we who have spoiled it by allowing the senses to prevail and hijack us with the emotions. The environment also aids this. If we can overcome the environment and control our sense we can find our natural state of peace.

The power of mind – the story of kanaka dasa

Let me tell you a little secret! Though the paths are classified differently it does not mean there is a strict compartmentalization. You enter the way of bhakti and you may well end up with gnana. You may be well into the karma route and your kundalini might raise up and you become a yogin. One cant predict!

Let us see the story of kanakadasa as a point of illustration.

There was a shepherd named kanakadasa in the state of Karnataka. He was an ardent devotee of Krishna. He was particularly attracted to the Krishna called Adhikeshava at Kaginele, (presently in Haveri district of Karnataka.) But as a shepherd his job took him to the pastures of the village. How cold he pray or do pooja while at work? But that was hardly a problem for him. He used to do it mentally! If you think that is easy try it! After seeing to it that the sheep are happily browsing he would start his mental pooja to Kaginele Krishna. After that he will sing songs on him and ..... in short be mentally with Him.

Now Vyasa raya was the prime minister of that country. (He was to become vyasathirtha later.) The king had highest regards for him. Vyasa raya was traveling along with his retinue. He was being carried in a planquin as per the custom and practice in vogue those days. Vysa raya being an erudite scholar, many scholars and vedic experts were present in the retinue.

On the way they encountered a field of Tulasi, the holy basil-herb, (ocymum sanctum). Vyasa raya was so happy to see that. His mind at once leapt to the Lord and he wanted to dedicate the entire field of Thulasi to Him. Mentally he bound a garland from the thulasi and mentally imagined the lord and put the garland on Him. To his surprise the garland would not settle on the image of the lord properly!

Vysaraya was perplexed! After all i was imagining it and why should the vision turn out to be like this. Well, let it be, he thought and went on to imagine another thulasi garland. To his surprise and dismay it met the same fate to hanging askew on the shoulders of the Lord.
He called halt to the procession. He called up the scholars and narrated to them the perplexing story. They too could not come up with any explanation. All they could do was scratch their heads and look at each other!

So the procession continued on its way. Presently a shepherd was seen running towards them calling out loudly “Oh sir, Oh sir!” While the guards stopped him vyasaraya looked out. The shepherd called out loud. “Oh Sir the garland does not settled well as there is a churning-staff in the Lord's hand and the garland is getting caught in it. Put the garland a little away and it will be alright.”

All were astounded. This shepherd dares call to the prime minister and give him instructions! Vyasaraya closed his eyes and creating another garland mentally put it on the Lords shoulders -this time a bit away- and of course it settle down fine there!

A surprised vyasarayaasked the shepherd how he knew about the problem and the solution while none of his retinue could understand it.

The shepherd replied “ Oh i was doing pooja when you tried to put the garland on His shoulders, that is how i knew of it.
The shepherd was none other than kanakadasa!

The mind could be as powerful as this!

Ahimsa

Next on the list is ahimsa.
ahimsa has two parts. The first is not hurting others. The second is forgiving others who hurt us.

ஒறுத்தார்க்கு ஒரு நாளை இன்பம் பொறுத்தார்க்குப்
பொன்றும் துணையும் புகழ்
oṟuttārkku oru nāḷai iṉpam poṟuttārkkup
poṉṟum tuṇaiyum pukaḻ

says Thiruvalluvar!
Just having a goodwill to others is not ahimsa. One must also have tolerance and equanimity of mind.

That is the story of a sadhu who went to the river to have a bath. having compeleted it and having performed the rituals, he was coming out off the river. At that time he saw a scorpian caught in the river current and being carried away. The sadhu wanted to save it. So he lifted it out of the water. But the Scorpion immediately stung him. In reflex he dropped it. The Scorpion fell in the water and was being washed away the sadhu did not leave it at that. he tried again to lift it out of the water. Of course the Scorpion did not know that he was trying to help it. It stung him again. Undaunted he attempted again after a few attempts the goal was finally achieved.

A person was watching this episode from the bank of the river. He asked the sadhu why he would not stop after being stung by the Scorpion. It was ok for the first time, but after being repeatedly stung why he did not leave it alone.

The sadhu laughed and said it is his dharma to help those who are suffering and the dharma of the Scorpion is to sting anyone that it perceives as threat. If the Scorpion did not stop doing its dharma why he should stop doing his dharma.

Suppose somebody does us a very bad turn, we might get angry. With a lot of effort we might supress that anger. After that, though there is the temptation to punish the person we forgive him. Will this be ahimsa? Not really. The immediate reaction of anger negates that.

That is to say getting angry and suppressing the anger is not ahimsa. If your mind can be at peace while it is forgiving that deed, that would be ahimsa.
For one who follows ahimsa what he feels, what it thinks, what he says and what it does - are all in concurrence. And in spirituality this is very important.

Honesty and Love

While we have been seeing the qualities needed for a Sataka. In this list the next is arjava.
This means honesty. Quite a few words being more or less the same thing but they are subtle differences. Satya and Arjava seem to mean the same thing but Arjava means proper conduct. This proper conduct is easy to follow when we are not having any problem. It is only when we are facing adversity that the real test happens. To be straight forward even in such situations is what honesty is all about.
This considered a virtue.
We must show honesty in trusting god without any show.
We must show honesty in reciting his name.
We must show honesty in serving our elders our spiritual leaders.
If we follow honesty in our mundane life and spiritual life we can progress in sadana. I'm not saying this is easy but with trust in God we can achieve it.
If you are wondering about the "honesty in reciting his name", here is a small anecdote.
A sadhu used to recite "sivoham" always. that means "I am siva". Once he was traveling in the Himalayas and as you know it could get very cold there! He was meditating in a clearing and it suddenly got very cold. He tried his best to ignore the cold and keep his mind in the chanting. After a while he could not bear it any more. he changed the chanting to "dehooham" (I am the body) and ran to seek shelter.

The next is kriya. This is love for all creatures in this universe. Thiruvalluvar says

அன்பின் வழியது உயிர்நிலை அஃதிலார்க்
என்பு தோல் போர்த்த உடம்பு

aṉpiṉ vaḻiyatu uyirnilai aḵtilār
eṉpu tōl pōrtta uṭampu

meaning a person with out love is just a skeleton on which their skin cover has been put on.
Sri Shankara also says

maṉuṣyatvam mumukṣutvam mahā puruṣacamsrayam
turlapam tēvāṉukraha hētukam

in this maṉuṣyatvam means the quality of being human. In this context it is based on love.
Love does not arise out of any sort of infatuation. It comes with unselfish sacrifice and blemishless living. If there is any selfish motive in showing love to any one, there will always be a limit to that and also it is mixed with sorrow.
Vallalar says

 எத்துணையும் பேதமுறாது எவ்வுயிர்க்கும் தம்முயிர் போல் எண்ணியுள்ளே
ஒத்துரிமை உடையவராய் உவக்கின்றார் யாரவர் உளந்தான்
சுத்த சித்துருவாய் எம்பெருமான் நடம் புரியும் இடமென நான் தேர்ந்தேன் அந்த
வித்தகர்தம் அடிக்கு ஏவல் புரிந்திட என் சிந்தை மிக விழைந்ததாலோ

ettuṇaiyum pētamuṟātu evvuyirkkum tammuyir pōl eṇṇiyuḷḷē
otturimai uṭaiyavarāy uvakkiṉṟār yāravar uḷantāṉ
cutta citturuvāy emperumāṉ naṭam puriyum iṭameṉa nāṉ tērntēṉ anta
vittakartam aṭikku ēval purintiṭa eṉ cintai mika viḻaintatālō

He who does not see differences in any life form and would happily consider them as his own, His mind is where my Lord dances in his form of pure knowledge. My mind seeks to serve such a person.

A learnt Brahmana who is also humble, the cow, the elephant, the dog, the one who eats the dog all are equal in the eyes of a gnani.-  Bhagavat Gita 5-18.

Such a realisation comes to one when the love matures. One must be really lucky to serve a person who has matured so much.

If we develop our love it breaks the constraint of the smaller circle "me" ,  expanding to "us", later on the love encompasses all the living beings, and later still to even the non living things. Such an expansion of the attitude is very important for god realisation. One who is not able to feel the unselfish love cannot realise Go.

control of anger, kriya, satya

Shall we go further? From anger comes delusion. The person who angry does not know any more whether his actions are correct or not. Therefore he commits a lot of deeds that are sinful, thinking they are all correct.

From delusion comes loss of memory; from loss of memory, the intellect is destroyed. When intellect is destroyed the person will be destroyed. This chain of events will destroy the person concerned.

krōtāt pavati sammōha:
sammōhāt smruti viprama:
smruti pramcāt putti nācō
putti nācāt praṇasyati

-Bhagavad gita 2:63

“From anger comes delusion, from delusion, the loss of memory; from loss of memory, the destruction of discrimination; from destruction of discrimination he perishes.”

The next one is kriya. One can call it good deeds. This comes from satva guna. This is also called kalyana. Shri Ramanuja says that if this is present purity with satya, straight forwardness, love, ahimsa and dharma will be present.
For this the body, mind and the words must always be pure. You should always say, what we think, and we should always do what we say.

This is what Ramalinga Vallalar said:
uḷḷoṉṟu vaittu puṟamoṉṟu pēcuvār uṟavu kalavāmai vēṇṭum

satya:
catyō nāsti parōtarma ....
The vedas say that there is no higher dharma than satya. If we have to go somewhere near realising the Bhramhan that is sat, chit and ananda our life must be in the way of Satya. This thirst for Satya, should not be affected by the worldly attractions. If our attention turns inward the spiritual streangth will be increased. If our attention turns outward our strength will be spent. Therefore it is logical that as long as the senses lead our way, to have a life in the path of satya is near impossible. A lot of sacrifice is needed for spiritual progress. We should all try to change our lifestyle in this way.