Vallabhacharya, the founder of the Pushti Maarg was a poet, scholar and passionate lover of Lord Krishna. Madhurashtakam is one of the immemorial compositions of Vallabhacharya, the founder of Pusti marg. These set of eight verses talk of Shri Krishna's bewitching personality. His pastimes, and His pranks all of which make Him loving and lovable. The composition has become more popular because of its simplicity. Pujya Guruji's commentary on it gives us a sense of immediacy with highlights of episodes from the lives of recent saints. It also makes us introspect on our hypocrisies which prevent us from flowing with sweetness. It opens our eyes to the healing energies of the Divine, clothed in a name and form.
Srimad Bhagavad Gita has been a source of inspiration and enlightenment for generations. The message of the Gita is not merely a general spiritual philosophy or ethical doctrine but it has a bearing upon the practical aspects in the application of such principles in our day-to-day lives. It is indeed A Users Manual for the Practice of the Art of Right Living. Th e radiance of such Bhagavad Gita is being presented by the author to the readers of the modern generation covering the subject in an informal style with transliterated Sanskrit Verses, their lucid translation and explanatory notes. At the end of each chapter its Outline View has also been provided for a quick recapitulation. The author has steered clear off all the scholastic debates and intellectual controversies with a view to reach out to the average modern educated young people who require the strength of the Gita to wade through the current day troubled waters.
About the Book The romantic Krishna finds a textual presence for the first time in the Bhagavata Purana and then for a thousand years we celebrate that Krishna through heart-throbbing poetry. Krishna is indeed both the kavi and the kavya, rasa and rasika, the shabda and the artha, He is Purusha and Prakriti. Krishna dances and frolics, speaks and sings, and shringara in its many colours comes alive for us through kavya. We are the gopis of Vrindavana, the nayikas of Ritikavya as Krishna comes alive not through religious rites and rituals but through the joy of poetry and painting and we acclaim krishna svayam kavyam. After we have experienced the aesthetic pleasure of the love of Krishna we realize that all love in this world is that of Krishna, the hushed words of romance between a man and a woman are those of Krishna and Radha, all poetry that celebrates romantic love is that of Krishna, so that we can turn the sentence around and say kavyam svayam krishna. We invite you to immerse yourself in the beautiful poetry of Krishna, through the melody and lyrics let His madhurya wash over you like the waves of the Yamuna and his many-splendoured persona make your mind dance like the birds and blossoms of Vrindavana. Harsha V. Dehejia beautifully weaves a tapestry of Krishna Shringara Kavya enriched by the colours and textures of paintings by the noted artist Vijay Sharma. The book assures the reader both the joy of poetry and the visual delight of painting. About the Author Harsha V. Dehejia has a double doctorate, one in medicine and other in ancient Indian culture, both from Mumbai University. He is also a member of the Royal College of Physicians of London, Glasgow and Canada all by examination. He is a practising Physician and Professor of Indian Studies at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. His main interest is in Indian aesthetics.
Started in 1958, Sanathana Sarathi is a monthly magazine devoted to Sathya (Truth), Dharma (Righteousness), Shanti (Peace) and Prema (Love) - the four cardinal principles of Bhagawan Baba's philosophy. It is published from Prasanthi Nilayam (the Abode of Highest Peace) and acts as a mouthpiece of Baba's Ashram as it speaks of the important events that take place in His sacred Abode, besides carrying Divine Messages conveyed through Divine Discourses of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. The word meaning of Sanathana Sarathi is the 'Eternal Charioteer'. It signifies the presence of the Lord in every being as the atma guiding their lives like a charioteer. It implies that he who places his life, the body being likened to a chariot, in an attitude of surrender in the hands of the Lord, will be taken care of by the Lord even as a charioteer would take the occupant of his chariot safely to its destination. The magazine is an instrument to disseminate spiritual knowledge for the moral, physical and mental uplift of humanity without any discrimination as the subject matter discussed therein is always of common interest and of universal appeal. The fifteen Vahinis - streams of sacredness - known as the Vahini Series comprising annotation and interpretation of the Upanishads and other scriptures, Itihasas like the Ramayana, the Bhagavatha and the Mahabharata, and authentic explanations on Dhyana, Dharma, Prema, etc., have been serially published in this magazine as and when they emanated from the Divine pen of Bhagawan Baba. This magazine is published in almost all Indian languages, English and Telugu from Prasanthi Nilayam and others from respective regions. Every year Sanathana Sarathi comes out with a special issue in November commemorating the Divine Birthday. The English and Telugu magazines are posted on the 10th and 23rd respectively, of every month, from Prasanthi Nilayam. This magazine has wide, ever increasing circulation in India as well as abroad, as the study of it brings the reader closer to the philosophy of the Avatar in simple understandable language THUS SPAKE SAI... Discoursing during the launch of Sanathana Sarathi... From this day, our Sanathana Sarathi will lead to victory the cohorts of truth - the Vedas, the Sastras and similar scriptures of all faiths, against the forces of the ego such as injustice, falsehood, immorality and cruelty. This is the reason why it has emerged. This Sarathi will fight in order to establish world prosperity. It is bound to sound the paean of triumph when universal Ananda is achieved.
The book is styled as a story-like narration, fusing two yugas – Treta and Dwapur yugas with an underlying theme of ‘Devotion and Divinity’. It is fashioned from an amusing thought in author’s mind that strongly urged him to fathom deep into the past and enjoy whatever it could grasp. Certainly, it worked and did find its own reflection in both the yugas. The result is profound! Hidden inside a vanara in Kishkindha, the mind could wander with devotion on Anjaneya. It could witness with bewilderment the unflinching faith of the mighty vanara towards the divine Sri Rama. In the form of a gopika, it could also cherish intimacy with the gopikas in Brindavan and relish their deep dedication and transcendental love towards the Divine Sri Krishna. Thus, behind this seemingly simple imaginative narration, the author subtly infuses sublime truths about the need to develop unegoistic and unselfish devotion on Divine Almighty to lead a purposeful life in this mortal world.
About the Book This book is a tale centred on the theme of the philosophic ideals and teachings of Vedanta. With a first-person narrative style, it begins with the narrator’s decision to spend the third of the four asramas, the vanaprastha stage of life, in Madurai, the abode of Goddess Meenakshi which has inspired devout scholars and poets for centuries. The tale is an account of the narrator’s study of the philosophy of non-dualism or Advaita, as propounded by masters such as Sri Sankara and Ramana Maharshi, under the guidance of his guru Sankara Shastri. It reveals the nature of the Vedanta philosophy and its significance in understanding the meaning of life and the strange nature of human condition, in attaining peace and bliss in one’s own being and in contributing to harmony and integration in the country. It discusses aspects of creation of the universe and of life, the world and nature around us and the sufferings and pleasures as experienced by humans from a Vedantic perspective. The story is an interesting account that is not only profoundly philosophical but also touches the emotions of the heart. Readers will be fascinated by this interesting and profound story that conveys the deeply founded truths of Vedanta in a simple manner.
There’s deep connection between the name and the named. The name brings to our mind the image of the person thought of and the more one thinks, the more consistent the impressions; for example, when we say ‘flower’, we immediately conceive a mental picture of the flower. This is the sole principle behind association. The 1000 names of Lord Vishnu are meant to invoke a sense of bonding with the Lord, who’s the most intimate one, whether we recognize it or not. Yet how often and how deeply do we call out to him? The meanings of the names given out here will help in understanding the magnitude and depth of godhood. Vishnu Sahasranama was taught by Bhishma lying on a bed of arrows to Yudhishthira. It brought joy and solace to both. May it do the same to us as well.
