Archana, vanthana:

By some quirks of the blogger this post got into the draft mode. Should have comeout long back!
My apologies!
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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!