Hello and welcome to episode 110 of The Ask Sri Vishwanath Show. Today I want to talk about the most powerful thing is spirituality, God’s grace and how we can achieve it.
Today’s question comes from Noel and he asks “what is the fastest way to enlightenment?”
Thanks for the question, short and to the point! The fastest way to be enlightened is to go to Pizza Hut or Burger King and you will be enlightened within minutes! I just came from Pizza Hut and I’ve been thinking about how we are in an age where people demand instant satisfaction. There is nothing really wrong with wanting things fast but in the past it has taken people years and years to achieve this.
The truth is we are not ready to tap into the Pizza Hut and the Mc Donald’s inside of us. We can do it easily on the outside but when it comes to the inside we think it should be the same so we keep thinking these worldly thoughts.
Pandavas and Kauravas
Today I want to share some stories that will give a new perspective on things. In the Mahabharat there were two sides Pandavas and Kauravas. Pandavas was the righteous ones and Kauravas were the deceitful ones and there was a kingdom that they both wanted to rule over. A war begun and this was where Krishna delivered the Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna in the midst of battle. In one of the scenes the Kauravas invited the Pandavas for a game of dice and the winners would take away the kingdom. The Pandavas were great people but they succumbed to their deceitfulness. They accepted the challenge and lost because the dice was rigged. They lost their kingdom.
The Kauravas also wanted to make the 5 Pandavas brothers their slaves. They played another game and every time they pledged themselves they lost and they were all trapped in slavery.
Previously Draupadi, the wife of the Pandavas had laughed when Duroyadhana the head of the Kauravas fell into a pool of water thinking it to be land. He was trapped and Draupadi could not control her laughter seeing him form her balcony. This really hurt his feelings and made him angry. So he turned to Yudhishthira the head of Pandavas and told him he still had one more thing to gamble with, his beautiful wife and if he won this game he could have everything back. So Yudhishthira pledged his beautiful wife and again…he lost.
The deceitful leader ordered that the truthful brother’s wife be dragged from her chamber and brought to him. He ordered that she be disrobed, naked so he could see her beauty. The brothers wanted to crush him but they couldn’t do anything to help her as they were slaves. She knew no one could help her. The only one that could help her now was Krishna. She prayed to him to save her dignity. At that moment he appeared and asked her if in her life she had given clothing to anyone as an act of charity. She said that yes she had.
Krishna’s grace
Krishna told her not to worry then, to just fix her mind on him. She did this and as they tried to remove her clothes they found more underneath. Every time they removed a layer they would find another underneath it because Krishna was protecting her by supplying more layers. Dushasana the brother of Duryodhana got so tired pulling her clothes that he had to stop. Krishna had protected her when no one on earth could. He stopped her potential humiliation when the greatest warriors could not. Krishna saw her unflinching grace and changed her destiny.
This story tells us that God’s grace can change everything. After that everyone was shocked. They knew god had appeared and the war became more aggressive. Grace can always alter things. Never underestimate the power of God’s grace.
Krsihna says “Fix your mind on me. Let your understanding be absorbed in me. Henceforth doubtless you shall reside in me. Surrendering all works to me. Knowing me Krishna to be of all. With a concentrated mind fox your mind on me. Fixing your mind on me you will overcome all obstacles due to my divine grace but if egoistically you persist you will perish.”
Why Krishna Narrated the Bhagvad Gita to Arjun?
The head of the Pandavas Yudhishthira was the son of Dharma(truth) but Krishna told the bhagavad gita to Arjuna and not him. Arjuna was married 4 times, he had many imperfections but we must understand that grace is superior to many things on earth. Krishna chose Arjuna because of his grace and loyalty. God’s intelligence is so much greater than ours.
Sudama
So now for another story. Krishna had a friend called Sudama. As they grew up they drifted apart. Sudama married but they were very poor. They had children and his wife was fed up with living in poverty. The wife reminded him that God was his friend. She wanted him to go to his kingdom and ask him for help. He said no, he would ask a lot of his friend but he could not ask him for money. She asked him to go anyway because he would read his mind and know what he needed. He could not go empty handed so he brought some riceflakes with him and unwillingly went to see Krishna.
He was given a royal welcome when he arrived. He was given food and massages and anything else he wanted. He reluctantly gave Krishna the rice gift but Krishna happily accepted it. That evening Sudama went to leave and said goodbye to Krishna. Krishna smiled and said goodbye as well. Sudama was a little confused. Krishna had not said anything to him about money. He had not mentioned it either but he thought Krishna would read his mind and offer his help.
When Sudama reached his village he looked everywhere for his house but he couldn’t find it! In the distance he saw his wife and children. As he got closer to them he noticed a beautiful palace behind them. As Krishna was eating the rice he had brought a kingdom was being built for Sudama. His offering of rice had destroyed his poverty in seconds and it was replaced by a beautiful palace.
Sudama had won the Grace of Krishna and this tells us that if you approach God in the right way his grace can change your life in seconds. Sudama hesitated to ask for money because he was more interested in devotion. Krishna say this and blessed him with his grace.
Ram Krishna always said that if God came to you don’t ask him to build hospitals or to do this or that. Simply ask for his grace. This is the most powerful thing he could bestow on you. With his grace you can do everything. If you ask for one thing you will only get one thing. Why not get everything through his grace? Why not receive his greatest gift?
Vivekananda says God’s circumference is nowhere but his centre is everywhere. It is in very single human being. If you are close to the centre of your consciousness you will receive his grace. That is what we must do. We must get close to the consciousness.
I hope I answered your question. Remember you keep asking questions and I’ll keep answering them.
