March 2011 Archives

Epic Discourses on Hinduism at Shirdi Sai Jalaram Mandir, Houston by Swami Nikhilanand, disciple and pracharak of Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj. The speeches began on the auspicious Makar Sankranti day, 2011, and continued for 7 consecutive days. The vast audiences were enthralled with Swami Nikhilanand's speech and kirtan, delivered with humour and compassion.

So far, parts 4 - 10 have been uploaded in high definition for your viewing pleasure. Please check back later for the remaining parts.

Update: Last two parts posted here

Part 4:

Part 5:

Part 6:

Part 7:

Part 8:

Part 9:

Part 10:

Part 11:

Swami Nikhilanand has studied the deepest philosophy of Hinduism with the guidance of Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj, a renowned and respected Spiritual Master. In his talks, Swami Nikhilanand weaves a colorful tapestry of wisdom and Spiritual insight and carefully guides participants to understand the deepest aspects of Hinduism and open their hearts to experience inner joy and happiness. His voice leads participants in chantings that are imbued with vibrations of Divine love.

Questions answered in these talks, from the teachings of Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj:
Day 1 What is more important in the world today: science or religion?
Day 2 Can science prove that Hinduism is true?
Can science prove that God is real?
Day 3 Are all religions the same? What makes Hinduism unique?
Day 4 What is the importance of getting a Human birth? Who gets a human birth? How many times have we been born as a human before?
Day 5 What is the goal of human life?
Day 6 Within Hinduism, why are there so many different forms of God and different paths? Are they all the same?
Day 7 How can we attain the ultimate goal of our life?

Swami Nikhilanand, disciple of Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj, Inaugural Address at the Hindu Jewish Solidarity Day in January 2011.

This is an update to some previous posts. Swami Nikhilanand of JKP Barsana Dham, the US Ashram of Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj, led an invocation in Sanskrit and spoke to his Jewish brothers and sisters on behalf of Hinduism, and joined Jews in an Israeli dance.

The "First Annual Hindu-Jewish Solidarity Day" has broken the ice, created immense goodwill and has laid the foundation for more strategic work and synergy between Hindus and Jews.

One blogger commented: "Here are two groups of people of different faiths that are able to respect each other and coexist. It doesn't happen often enough. This is very cool."

Another commented: "Hope such Hindu-Jewish bonhomie can be replicated in other cities in USA, Canada, UK/Europe and Australia. Keep up the good work."

Pictures and Press Clippings:

1. More pictures from the 1st Annual Hindu-Jewish Solidarity Day

2. Today's front page story of the Indo-American News

Many spiritual seekers are availing of Swami Nikhilanand's vast knowledge of scripture and teachings of Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj. Even with his busy itinerary as pracharak of Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj, Swami Nikhilanand takes time out to answer the questions preying on the minds of his facebook followers. Here are his answers to some questions by Latika Chawda from India:

Questions by Latika:
1. Gyaan kitne prakaar ke hote hain (How many different types of knowledge are there)?
2. Brahma gyaan kise kahte hai aur uska kya mahatva hai (What is brahm gyan and what is its importance)?
3. Meditation aur memory me kya relation hai (What is the relation between meditation and memory)?
4. Dhyaan karne ke kya-kya niyam hain (what are the rules for meditation)?
5. Naarad ji ke 84 Bhakti Sutra ka hindi version kaha mil sakta hai (Where can a obtain a Hindi translation of Narad Bhakti Sutra)?
6. Insaan ko apne jeevan me Bhagwaan se pratyaksha milne ke 7 times chances milte hai,aisa maine suna hai; ye kaha tak satya hai (I have heard that a person gets to meet God face to face 7 times in his life. How true is this)?

Answers by Swami Nikhilanand:
1. There are mainly two kinds of gyan (knowledge): theoretical and experiential. Experiential knowledge is also of two types: atm gyan (knowledge of the soul) and brahm gyan (knowledge of God).
2. Brahm gyan is the knowledge of God which is only received by surrendering to God, not through any practice. Atm gyan can be attained by following the path of gyan, but brahm gyan can only be attained through bhakti. When you surrender to God through bhakti and He Graces you, then you receive His Divine knowledge. That knowledge is unlimited. In other words, when you know God, you know everything.
3. I am guessing that by memory you mean my use of the word 'remembrance'. Remembrance means the same as 'smaran'. It means when you think about someone or you remember them in your heart. Thinking about Radha Krishn and Their leelas is remembrance or smaran. That is the form of meditation you do on the path of bhakti.
4. On the path of bhakti there are no restrictions of time or place for meditation. You can meditate anytime, anyplace. There is also no required posture for meditation. The only requirement is that you should be remembering Radha Krishn.
5. You can get the full explanation in Hindi by Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj (both video and written) by visiting the book store at one of our ashrams in India.
6. The truth is that even if we met God face to face, we would not recognize His Divinity. He is omnipresent, yet we are unable to see Him. He resides in our heart, yet we do not experience Him. In uncountable lifetimes, we have seen Him uncountable times during his descension on the earth planet. Yet not once have we recognized Him. That is why we must do devotion to purify our heart. Upon complete heart purification, God will Grace you. With His Grace, you will receive a Divine mind and senses. Then you will be able to see Him, know Him, and experience Him.

We are sad to say that, in light of the events of the past several weeks, we will not be celebrating Holi this year at Barsana Dham.

While the celebratory aspects of Holi will not take place, we will be holding devotional services daily at the Temple and, as always, welcome all devotees and visitors to attend.

Looking forward to the return to Durga Temple of Swami Nikhilanand, pracharak of Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj, and representative of JKP Radha Madhav Dham.

Event Name:
"3 conditions of True Bhakti"
Swami Nikhilanand of JKP Radha Madhav Dham will give discourses and beautiful kirtan revealed by Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj

Topics:
Condition 1: Bhakti is done with the mind, not the body.
Condition 2: We should not ask God for worldly things.
Condition 3: Our devotion to God should be exclusive.

Dates:
Fri - Sun, May 6-8 2011

Times:
Fri & Sat 6:30 - 8:00pm
Sun 5:00 - 6:30pm

Presented by:
Durga Temple
8400 Durga Place, Fairfax Station, VA 22039
[MAP]
www.DurgaTemple.org

More info:
Srilekha Reddy Palle 703-839-3976
S.K. Verma 703-690-9355
Pallavi Shah 703-455-5935

Glimpses of past programs at Durga Temple are available here.

Swami Nikhilanand of JKP Barsana Dham is coming to Plano, Texas for 7 days of knowledge and devotion at the Shri Ram Mandir.

7 Important Questions Answered about Hinduism
Discourse & Kirtan by Swami Nikhilanand, pracharak of Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj, and sanyasi teacher at JKP Barsana Dham.

Presented by:
Shri Ram Mandir
221 West Parker Road, Suite 470, Plano, Texas
[MAP]

Dates & Times:
Sunday - Saturday, March 20 - 26, 2011
Sun - Fri 6:00 - 7:00 pm
Sat 4:00 - 5:30 pm

Questions:
Day 1 What is more important - science or religion?
Day 2 Can science prove that Hinduism & God are true?
Day 3 Are all religions the same?
Day 4 What is the importance of human birth?
Day 5 What is the goal of human life?
Day 6 Why do we have so many forms of God and different paths?
Day 7 How can we attain the ultimate goal of our life?

More Info:
Deepali Goyal (972) 849-0166

RSVP on Facebook:
7 days of knowledge and devotion at the Shri Ram Mandir Plano

Update: This radio station has changed. Please visit www.RadhaMadhavDham.org/radio to tune into Radio JKP Radha Madhav Dham. Listen on your PC, mobile phone or tablet!

JKP Barsana Dham's Radio Hour
(Click above link for pictures and more info)

JKP Barsana Dham's Radio Hour is continuing every week on Radio Masala, Houston's prime time Bollywood hits station. The next radio program will take place on March 26, and will feature part 6 of the "Hari Anuraag" lecture series by Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj (pictured above). The show will also feature Part 2 of "All religions are not same" lecture series of Swami Nikhilanandji, pracharak of Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj. Click the above link to find out more about the radio hour of JKP Barsana Dham and find out ways you can help support this groundbreaking new show.

How you can tune in:

1. If you live in Houston, you can listen to JKP Barsana Dham's Radio Hour by tuning your radio to frequency 1110 AM. The show takes place between 10 - 11 AM, every Saturday.

2. If you live outside Houston, you can listen to JKP Barsana Dham's Radio Hour live on the Radio Masala website: http://www.masalaradio.net

3. Now you can listen to Barsana Dham Radio Hour live on your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad. Download the Free Masala Radio App from the itunes store below and listen in Hi-Fi Stereo in your car, home or wherever - http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/masala-radio-bollywood-music/id411413550?mt=8