Pandharpur, a holy city in the state of Maharashtra is the abode of Vitthala, more fondly known by his devotees as Vitthala mauli (Mother Vitthala). He is the form of Vishnu, or Krishna and is predominantly worshiped in the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Goa.

The name Vitthala is a source of intoxication for the great saints of Maharashtra. Many devotional hymns or abhangas composed in the Marathi language are dedicated to this adored and beloved deity residing in the city of Pandharpur.

The abhangas composed by saints such as Jnaneshwar, Namdev, Eknath and Tukaram Maharaj expressed great affection for his beautiful dark form. All of their compositions depict their intense longing and pains of separation from the Supreme Lord.

The great saints of India say if the tongue must speak we should use it to sing praises of the Lord. Chanting allows our inner being to be purified from all kinds of negativities and one can experience the highest form of intoxicating bliss that exists within.

Your entire being is rejuvenated and all sorts of sins are destroyed. It also purifies the entire atmosphere of where the chanting is taken place. Hence chanting the Lord’s name is one of the simplest, yet exhilarating ways to remember the Almighty!

Generally Lord Krishna is always remembered as a mischievous young cowherd boy holding a flute and performing many divine acts during his time on earth.

However, on a spiritual level Shri krishna represents the supreme, divine consciousness that exists in every particle of this universe which includes us as well!

In this beautiful bhajan sung by Anandmurti Gurumaa, we are remembering the supreme Lord by singing two of his countless divine names. These names not only describe his occupation as a cowherd, but provide a deep insight into what Shri krishna really was.

Govinda represents one who is the master of all senses, while Gopala is a great yogi whose sense organs are completely under his control.

The mere repetition of his pure, auspicious name purifies the body, mind and heart and destroys all kinds of negativities, pains and suffering. If done sincerely it can lead to higher states of meditation, allowing the seeker to experience the blissful, all pervasive, omnipresent form of Krishna who is always within us!

Lord Shiva is personified as the destroyer or transformer in the Hindu trinity of gods known as Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh (also known as Shiva).

The abstract form of Shiva is depicted by a Shiva linga, while the statues which represent him depict him in the form of a beautiful yogi who is adorned with snakes, ashes and tiger skin, and always immersed in deep meditation.

The Sanskrit word Shiva means “the auspicious one” or one who is eternally pure and not affected by the three gunas (qualities) of nature. While there are many hymns and mantras dedicated to Lord Shiva, Om Namah Shivaya is one of the most well-known mantras in Shaivism.

Om Namah Shivaya is also known as the Panchakshara mantra (five syllable mantra excluding Om), or great redeeming mantra. The mantra means “I bow to Shiva, the supreme reality and pure consciousness that exists in all”.

These five sacred syllables correspond to the five elements from which the human body is formed. Na is associated with the earth element, ma to the water element, shi to fire, va to air and ya to the ether element.

As we repeat this powerful mantra each syllable purifies its specific element. Ultimately it allows the body and mind become pure, allowing one to obtain full benefits in their spiritual practices.

This mantra has no restrictions and can be chanted by anyone at any time in their life. It has the power to free one from any type of sins and break the bondages of the mind.

As the mind is purified and freed from its ignorance, one experiences the true wisdom: Shiva, the supreme bliss is nowhere but within us!

A mantra is composed of letters which form words that create positive vibrations within us. If one abusive word can make us upset, or angry it is not surprising that the mantra has the ability to and completely transform a person.

There are four different ways mantra jaap can be practiced. It can be spoken (vaikhari), whispered or hummed (upamsu), repeated in the mind (manasic) and written (likhita).

As Gurumaa says repeating the mantra with the breath is greater than speaking, while manasic repetition is considered to be the highest way to contemplate a mantra.

There are 84 million mantras that can be found in the scriptures or obtained through teachers. It is said the most effective way to receive a mantra is through a self-realized master.

A mantra obtained from a self-realized master is conscious and contains the full force of the master’s realization. It immediately starts to work within a seeker and transform their inner being.

Mantra jaap should be done with great love and devotion and should completely engage the mind. Gurumaa says the mind and heart should be so engrossed in the mantra that no other thoughts are able to appear!

If one wants to fully attain the power of the mantra, they should realize that that there is no difference between the mantra and one’s own Self. The goal of mantra jaap is to become aware of the absolute bliss that exists within us!

Rama was an embodiment of love, and possessed a very charming and genuine personality. He was an ideal son, brother, husband, friend and king. During his rule happiness and prosperity was bestowed upon everyone, and he was adored by the people in his kingdom.

He also enacted the role of a householder and ultimately taught the world about how to live a proper, righteous and honorable life.

The title Marayada Purushotam is always joined to his name because he possessed all the ideal virtues that any human being aspires to have (Purushotam), and always observed the proper rules of conduct and behavior (marayada).

There is so much power in the Lord’s name. In fact in the Ramacaritamanasa, Goswami Tulsidas writes Lord Rama is the supreme Truth the Vedas are praising! It is said that the repetition of Lord Rama’s name is equal to a thousand names of God or repetition of a mantra one thousand times!

This beautiful name purifies the heart and destroys all kinds of sins and ignorance of the mind. Repetition of Lord Rama’s name also allows one to experience true wisdom, happiness and ultimately liberation.

As we chant this divine name with Gurumaa let us pray that we become drenched in the divine ecstasy of the Lord’s name!

How can we see our own divine pure Self? Can it be perceived with our eyes? As Gurumaa says we cannot see our own selves without the aid of a mirror, so how can we expect to see the supreme Self with these eyes?

Prana is the cosmic energy that pervades this entire universe, and pranayama involves controlling this energy through deep breathing techniques.

The mind and breath and interconnected and the practice of pranayama helps in steadying the mind. Regular practice of pranayama also aids in removing the blockages and impurities that are located in our subtle nerve channels, or nadis, allowing the prana to flow freely.

As the prana enters the sushumna nadi, the most important nadi located in the spinal cord region, it moves into the higher energy centers. At this point a seeker obtains experiences of higher consciousness, powers and supreme bliss or ananda.

The supreme consciousness or Self that exists within is inconspicuous and cannot be perceived with our mind or senses. It has no color, shape or name and is without any attributes.

The Self has been described as sat-cit-ananda: existence-consciousness-Absolute bliss. Gurumaa points out that we are searching outside for God in temples, yet the lord is right within us!

Meditation allows one to know their true Self. By meditating we become aware of the pure happiness, or divinity that exists within us. One becomes aware of the truth that the great saints have emphasized: God lives within us, not outside! So as Gurumaa says go within to find your true inner Self.

In this video you will hear Anandmurti Gurumaa explaining to a seeker the real essence of ‘Naam Simran’ as Kabir meant it.

The Holi Scripture of ‘GuruGranth Sahib’ lays a lot of stress on ‘Naam Simran’. It is often talked about and practiced too, but how many really know the true meaning of it?

It is true that ‘Naam’, meaning the name of the Almighty, is the highest and ‘Simran’, meaning remembering Him, recalling His name over and over is above all ‘Puja’ and ‘Bhakti’. The important thing is to practice it truly and honestly.

To be able to practice ‘Naam Simran’ correctly, one first needs to know whom to remember? One can only remember someone with whom there is an acquaintance. To build that relationship one needs to experience His presence, which can be done only through meditation and ‘Sadhna’.

Simran actually is an after stage of deep meditation and sadhna wherein one has experienced the presence of the Almighty, formed a relationship with God, then only he/she will know whom to remember.

Holding a string of beads in the hand and calling out ‘Wahe Guru, Wahe Guru’ while the mind is wandering elsewhere, is not Simran. If the eyes are looking at all things outside and the mind is working up thoughts of greed and lust the physical act of rotating the string of beads and calling out his name has no meaning. A person who does so and then says he/she practices ‘Naam’ is only fooling himself and cheating himself.

Recitation of ‘Naam’ too is a form of Sadhana. A state where it is not only the tongue, which is calling out His name or the hands which are turning the beads of the ‘mala’, but the mind which is totally engrossed in the ‘mantra’. In that state where the mind becomes calm and is engrossed in his thoughts alone that a person experiences His presence.

It is when one achieves this state that ‘Naam’ turns into ‘Simran’. When one has tasted the divine bliss of true ‘Naam Simran’ all else fades into oblivion.

A seeker who is a devout devotee of Lord Krishna asked Anandmurti Gurumaa about the truth of these illusions that he saw. Gurumaa then explained how the mind sees what it really wants to.

The illusions are not real, they are a result of one’s own thoughts. At a deeper level of consciousness and with high level of concentration, the mind begins to create shapes which then seem very close to reality.

The mind then cocoons itself and does not let any other thought dilute the image. Then if the mind wishes it can bring to life those illusions. If the thought is about Radha Krishna, then the mind creates images of their form which the person can then dance and sing along with.

But it is indeed just a thought – A fragment of one’s own imagination. Just like this world too is an illusion. All that one can see with open eyes is a result of thoughts generated in the mind and images that the mind thus creates.

Due to consistent thinking and involvement with things that are around us, the world appears to be real. This does not alter the truth that the world is illusionary and unreal. The world is just as we see it. If one changes one’s thought process everything around too begins to change and appear different.

Gurumaa then says that the images of lord Krishna and Radha must be bringing lot of joy and happiness to the seeker but he needs to always remember that they are not real. They are creations of his own thoughts. But consciously one can continue to enjoy that bliss for some time.

If those images help the mind to remain focused, to be able to concentrate and not let the mind wander into waste full thoughts. It should be used as a tool to achieve a higher level of consciousness of the mind aware fully.

Live life blissfully, being aware and conscious all the time.

Most of us have experienced that when we sit down and try to meditate, our mind starts wandering in all the directions; mind starts chattering insistently.

Our sages understood the human mind and its mechanism very well. They knew how it constantly changes its colors and keeps hopping like monkey from one thought to the other.

Sankirtan is a device given to humankind by our sages to quiet our mind. When we repeatedly chant the name of lord or any mantra, it works wonders with our mind. Slowly the mind starts settling down and helps us de-stress our hyper active mind.

It is immaterial which name we chant, what matters is the sincerity and devotion with which we sing his glory.

In this video the name and glory of Shri Krishna, the purnapurushottama is sung by the mystic master Anandmurti Gurumaa. The sweetness of His name is combined with the musical voice of the living master Anandmurti Gurumaa, equally melodious flute and the musical composition is a perfect combination to drive oneself to the state of a trance.

According to Indian scriptures the purpose of human birth is to understand who we really are. All the sages of India, from Guru Nanak, Kabir Sahib, Namdev Maharaj, Tukaram Maharaj and many others have all reiterated this teaching countless number of times.

Human birth is considered to be a rare occurrence that is obtained through God’s grace. As the sages say it is a priceless jewel that cannot be tossed away. After all, do we have any guarantee that we will obtain another human life after the current body ceases to exist?

From a spiritual standpoint, this body is not just mere flesh and bones. It was not created merely to be used for procreation and satisfying the pleasures of our senses. There is a great divine world that exists within all living beings.

More importantly, humans are the only species that have the capability to know their true, divine nature that is vibrating right within them!

The body is the temple, or outer covering, of our pure inner Self, also known as the Atman. Once the inner Self is experienced, we are able to understand the significance and purpose of this beautiful body that the Lord has gifted us. Meditation enables us to dive within our own Self and understand our real, blissful nature.

Therefore as Anandmurti Gurumaa says, consider this human body precious and treat it with great care and respect. By doing this you are honoring and worshiping the divine consciousness that resides within you!