Simplicity of Bhakti...

"Too much of rational explanation is the bane of modern civilization. We must begin with a child like simplicity and have implicit faith in God. 

If I exist God exists. 

Once we have faith in the existence of God, then arises the necessity of prayer. 

There are only two aids to those who are faultering in their steps in the path of God-realization - one is constant endeavour and the other is prayer. 

To one with a prayerful attitude there is no idleness. 

When we are not actively engaged in a work you can seek union with The Divine in prayer. It purifies and strengthens us. 

Heart-felt prayer steadies one’s nerves, humbles one and clearly shows one the next step". 

Cited from "Kalyana-Kalpataru", December 1951 issue, 

from the article "Efficacy of Prayer" by S.B.Keshaviah

The main problem of Rajasika-Bhakti...

VERY REALISTIC EXCERPT ABOUT RAJASIKA BHAKTI, COMMON PROBLEM FOR KALI-YUGA (ALONG WITH MORE HORRIFIC TAMASIKA BHAKTI):

"There is a great difference between Rajasa Bhakti and Sattvika Bhakti even at the time of performing the act of worship. 

In Rajasa Bhakti, there will be restlessness and haste and no peace of mind. The Shastras may say that going round the sacred Aswattha tree in the prescribed manner will help barren women bear children, but will it be proper for a woman to feel her abdomen after going round the tree once, to see if she has become pregnant ? 

The result will appear only in course of time. There is no use in our trying to hasten it. 

Those who are engaged in Rajasa Bhakti will want their expected fruits immediately and will forget that their worship has to be done carefully and without mental unrest. 

By not getting the fruits immediately, they will often lapse into lack of faith. They will not have the patience to perform the activities with the care and exactness required of them by the Sastras. 

If any Mantras are taught to them, they will not repeat them with any one-pointedness of mind. 

They will however begin to say “I have been repeating the Mantra for the last eight days and yet I have not got the promised result.” 

Their mind will be straying away while they are mechanically repeating the Mantra. How can any result ensue? 

They will, however, throw the blame on the Mantra and say that it is a useless one. The Shastras say that that Japa which is done by one whose mind is not focussed is useless: vyagrachittena yajjaptam tajjapam nishkalam bhavet

If those who resort to Rajasa Bhakti consider well this fact, they can easily realize that the fault is really theirs and not of the Sastras".

Cited from "Kalyana-Kalpataru", December 1951 issue, 

from the article "Devotion" by R. KrishnaSwami Aiyar

Shri Eknatha about mind purity...

"The sine qua non of spiritual life is purity, internal as well as external. The mind becomes impure by contact with evil desires. 

So long as it is not purified, all talk of spiritual life is useless. 

As gold purified in a crucible shines bright, so the constant meditation on the teachings of the Guru makes the mind pure, and bright with spiritual lustre. 

Thus if inside the mind is purified by the words of the Guru, that purity is sure to reveal itself through external activities. 

Mere bodily purity, without the purity of the heart, is absolutely useless. It would be a mere farce, like bathing a donkey. It is an empty show. 

It would be as ludicrous as a beautiful lady wearing on her head a garland of pearls, but all the while standing naked. What is absolutely necessary, therefore, is an internal purity of the heart coupled with the external purity of good actions". 

(Shri Ekanatha)

cited from "Kalyana-Kalpataru", January 1952 issue

Shree Gayatri-Mantra and Nine Concepts of God...

BRILLIANT AND AMAZING ARTICLE BY N.K. SRIVASTAVA ABOUT SHREE GAYATRI-MANTRA FROM 1936 JULY ISSUE OF "KALYANA-KALPATARU". I HAVE MADE THE FOLLOWING OCR FOR MY BLOG. 

"GAYATRI-MANTRA" BY N.K. SRIVASTAVA

"The Gayatri Hymn is an attempt,—and a very successful one, too,—to catch within the web of language the direct experience of Ineffable Reality. It is regarded as the fountain-head of all the other hymns. 

It is an embryonic mantra, for in it the first and freshest inspirations have been caught. It is the nucleus of the Vedas; it is the keystone of the magnificent Vedic arch. 

There are nine concepts for God in it and they are supposed to be as covering as the nine figures in the theory of numeration. 

Originally they seem to have been percepts, each one denoting a whole situation beyond the power and compass of language to describe; for on psychological examination some of them appear to be rhapsodical and frantic cries of the soul, pure exclamations of wonder and amazement at the direct experience of the Sublime,— highly dynamic Reality. So ecstatic monosyllables are they.

The nine divine concepts are:

1. OM (with the vowel sound sufficiently lengthened) meaning: at once All-pervading, Immanent and Omnipresent Protector of all.

2. BHUH: Being-in-itself; Sole

The mode of Prakriti...

Interesting translation of the Verse 4.13 from "Shree Bhagavad-Gita", with the accent on "mode of Prakriti". Had been found in "Kalyana-Kalpataru", December 1951 issue:

OM VishuPad MadhvAcharya - 9 Prameyas...

The following is the article with the synopsis of 9 Prameyas by OM VishnuPad MadhvAcharya (had been published in "Kalyana-Kalpataru", January 1952 issue). 

These Prameays are very beneficial to know, because they form a crucial part of Vaishnava-Siddhanta. For example, Prameya #7, which tells that only Pure Bhakti leads to Mukti. 

Due to 2-column format and small Sanskrit font the article is very tricky to OCR, so below the article in png-format:

A Prayer to Sita...

Hidden Krishna...

Cite from "Kalyana-Kalpataru", 7th, July 1936