'Medical Astrology Part - 2' released today

Today I am releasing my 57th book from USA. This is a book of research. In the past 10 days, I have analyzed one hundred Horoscopes from Medical Astrology angle and completed this book of 360 pages.

Readers might recall that the first part of this book was released from India, two years back. Subsequently it was translated into Telugu also. Both are availble as E-books and also as print books and received great appreciation from the lovers of Astrology. Today its second part is released from USA. You can see another set of one hundred Horoscopes explaiend in this book. They deal with the most inverate chronic diseases that are haunting the human race now.

These two books could serve as text books to the learners of Astrology. Savants will admire them without any doubt. If you can understand my logic that has been explained in the two hundred charts, then from any chart you will clearly see its disease load, the past karma that was responsible for it and how to counter it with suitable Astro remedies.

It is not an exaggeration to say that the logical analysis you find in these books will not be found anywhere else in the world. This is the ancient wisdom of India.

These books will show a very clear way, to the students of Astrology who, surrounded by different systems of Astrology, each claiming its superiority over the others, are unable to steer  their way from the utter confusion created in the world of Astrology.

It may please be noted that my books are not mere tranlsations of ancient Sanskrit texts, but products of logical reasoning and committed research conducted over a period of three decades.

In future, I will be writing more books on Astrology, practically explaining hundreds of Horoscopes that are beset with problems related to marriage, education, children, job and also spirituality.

Astrology is a Vedanga or an ancillary part of the Vedas. My aim is to clear the confusion surrounding it for centuries, and to give it the rightful place it deserves. This I am doing through my books. From 'Panchawati Spiritual Foundation', this is the service I am rendering to the great Hindu religion of India.

You can find this book on Google Play Books, here.

We got our own stall in Hyderabad Book Exhibition - 2022

 

Hyderabad is hosting the annual Book Exhibition from today for 10 days. I am glad to announce that we got our own stall in it. Our stall number is 62.

In the past years, especially before Covid-19, we used to keep our books in the stalls owned by other publishers, but this year onwards we have our own stall. 

We will organize a similar stall in the Vijayawada Book Festival also, that will happen sometime in January 2023.

Earlier, readers who wanted to buy my books from the annual Book Exhibitions either at Hyderabad or Vijayawada, used to mail me inquiring about where to get them. Now they can directly go to our stall and buy them.

Additionally, you can also talk to my people who are managing the stall. You can ask them any questions about our organisation, our Ashram, our path or about Hinduism in general. Even though, I am currently in USA, my dedicated disciples are organizing the show at Hyderabad.

You can see some of the inauguration photos of our stall here.

Birthday of UG – Talk with GG - 6

 I further continued: “Today being UG’s birthday, I would like to know what you understood about UG”.

Venkat: “After Jillellamudi Amma passed away, a few of her followers joined UG. Nellore doctor and his son were among them”.

Me: “Oh really! It is but normal. Ordinary people only require emotional support but not the truth. Those in quest of truth do not change their Gurus in this way. Keeping it aside, what did UG say about Amma?”

Venkat: “I do not know. May be Mr. Chandrasekhar is aware of it.”

Me: “I spoke with him in the past. Do you know him?”

Venkat: “Yes. I also spoke with him. He conducts video meetings. I attended a few of those. I noticed something strange. After a great soul passes away, their disciples shift to other gurus. Bharadwaja left Jillellamudi after Amma’s passing away. Many of her disciples moved to Arunachalam. A few resorted to UG. After Ramana Maharshi passed away, his disciples too moved away from the place.”

Me: “But Chalam remained there.”

Venkat: “Chalam and Sowris were a lot attracted to UG. They often quoted that when UG walked, he looked like Lord Shiva himself.”

Me: “If yes, why did they not follow UG? Sowris also paved her own way and moved forward but did not follow UG. Chandrasekhar also mentioned that UG whenever he visited India, would travel to Arunachalam from Bangalore just to see Chalam”.

Venkat: “Talaiyar Khan was a devotee of Ramana Maharshi. She built an ashram right next to the mountain in Arunachalam. The mountain was visible from her terrace. She offered the ashram to UG begging him to settle in the place.

UG said he’d convert the place into a prostitution centre within a day. Talaiyar Khan was astonished at the words. UG did not accept the ashram. Khan passed away at the very place. Her grave is still there.”

I asked: “Why did UG say that?”

Venkat: “I do not know. He sometimes used such impolite language.”

Me: “Didn’t UG criticize all Gurus?”

Venkat: “Yes he did. He used the meanest of curses. Not only that – many nadi astrologers approached him to research on his previous births.”

Me: “I had heard about it. What did they infer?”

Venkat: “In one of his previous births, UG was a disciple of Sri Ramanujacharya and one among current UG-followers was a Saiva then. During the clashes between Vaishnavas and Shaivas in the olden days, this duo of friends sorted out the issues and set up peace. Nadi astrology predicted that this was the reason they both met in this life as well. Goddess Bhuvaneshwari mostly said these words about UG in the Nadi: “He is my child. His mind is very lofty. “

Me: “Looks good.”

Venkat: “There used to be a woman named Syamala, who was a follower of UG. She passed away before UG in an accident. UG would always ask ‘Why did Syamala die like that?’. Even before his death, he posed the same question many times.”

Me: “Really? UG remained in US while his wife was returning to India. Even when she was facing psychological issues and passed away, he stayed back in Europe. He did not regret those actions. Why would such a person react so intensely when one among his followers passed away? Of course, he doesn’t like the term ‘followers’ but we can use it for better understanding.”

Venkat: “I do not know. But he regretted sleeping with a Jewish woman once during his stay in Europe. Maybe he disconnected with his wife as a remorse.”

I laughed and said “Why? There is no relation between the two incidents. Why did he have to disconnect with his wife for having a one night stand with a Jewish woman? Isn’t it wrong? If this practice was to be followed, majority of men on Earth would have to separate from their wives. And many women may have to separate from their spouses as well. “

Venkat: “I do not know the explanation.”

Me: “It means there were a few topics beyond his understanding as well. Can this be inferred from the points you mentioned?”

Venkat: “Maybe. Before his death, a Goddess in white appeared and offered him: ‘Do you want me to extend your life-span? Do you want to live longer? If you want me to, I can increase your days’. UG replied with a firm: ‘No. I do not wish to stay any longer’. “

Me: “I have never heard of this. If UG was dead after this, how did the world know about this incident? Who was the third person who was present at that time? Who let it out to the world?”

Venkat: “UG did not die immediately after that. This happened a few days before his actual demise. He let the word out.”

Me: “As per my knowledge, he slipped while trying to pick up a bucket in the bathroom, fell down and fractured his leg. It was the second time this happened. He stopped eating after this incident and invited death willingly. He passed away a week or two later. Did the Goddess appear during this time-period?”

Venkat: “I am not sure. But many miracles happened in his presence. UG cured a few cancer cases as well. He would place his hand on the head of the person suffering from cancer for about half an hour. The person would be cured of cancer. But he did not do this to everybody.”

Me: “Why?”

Venkat: “I do not know.”

Me: “He died in Italy, right?”

Venkat: “Yes”

Me: “Mahesh Bhatt was present during his time of death. He even performed UG’s final rituals.”

My daughter, who was listening to the discussion, mentioned, “Pooja Bhatt posted UG’s photo yesterday with a message – ‘The father my father never had’. “

Me: “Yes. Their family has immense devotion towards UG.”

Venkat: “Mahesh Bhatt was a stout devotee of UG. Even UG mingled very casually with him. Spirits appeared to UG wherever he was. Even snakes surrounded him. Once, UG was very angry about some issue. It is said that Jiddu Krishnamurthy travelled to him in astral form and told him ‘Cool down Old man’. This angered UG further and he went on abusing Jiddu through the day.”

Me: “Jillellamudi Amma also said ‘Get him to me for once’. Mr. Chandrasekhar and Sri Pada tried their best to get UG to Jillellamudi but it never happened.”

Venkat: “When somebody complained to Amma that Jiddu was cursing all Gurus, she replied ‘Uppu (Salt) would come to take over Jiddu (Oil)’. UG’s surname was Uppuluru! A few years later, UG started cursing Jiddu.”

I remained silent and thought “Uppu took Jiddu to task and got rid of him. Now who should take over to get rid of Uppu?”

Venkat continued: “UG described the calamity he underwent as ‘a-casual’. He even said that it could happen to anybody. A person by name Karl Renz also underwent similar calamity. His body used to glow in darkness and sacred ash dropped from his body. This happened to UG as well. He explained the phenomenon as, ‘A thought originating in my mind dies instantaneously. The remains of the thought drop from my body as ash’.”

Me: “Yes. It is true. But does the person called Karl Renz still exist?”

Venkat replied: “Yes. Half of the year he resides in Arunachalam. He spends rest of the year in other countries. While residing in Arunachalam, he sends an open invitation for everyone to attend free of cost. Outside the place, he charges for the discourses. You can find his preaching videos on Youtube as well.”

Me: “Why does he need to charge for a discourse? Anyway, it’s his choice and none of our business'.

I gifted him my books – ‘The secret of Srividya’ and ‘The hidden meanings of Lalita Sahasranama’ and asked him to go through them thoroughly. I encouraged him to come back if he had any questions and bade him good-bye.

(Completed)

Birthday of UG – Talk with GG - 5

 

It was nearing lunch time and we invited him to join us for lunch. We continued our conversation after food.

Venkat re-started. “I have another doubt”.

I said, “Proceed”.

Venkat: “Why does Sri Vidya upasana have various deities like Bala, Lalita, Tripura, Bhagala, etc? Sri Vidya has mantras in ascending order of progress. Why do we need so many? Isn’t one deity capable of giving us siddhi?”

Me: “What made you question this?”

Venkat: “I have a friend who is a dancer and also a follower of Srividya. He mentioned about following ‘Bala’ sometimes and ‘Lalita’ at other times. Why so?”

Me: “Did you not pose the same question to him?”

Venkat: “I did. He explained that deities have their own emotions to express. Dance is about expressing various emotions. To forge each emotion, he resorts to various deities and their upasanas. He even claims that the respective deity communicates with him.”

Me: “How does the deity communicate? Is she physically visible to him?”

Venkat: “No. Once in a while, he hears instructions from her about what to do and what not to do.”

I laughed and continued: “It must be his hallucination. They are whispers from his own mind. If the deity really wants to communicate to him, his mind should be very clear and pious. And if he were that pious, he wouldn’t resort to Sri Vidya upasana for dance. Majority of the population hallucinate about such things. They are not true manifestations.”

I further continued: “This is not true Sri Vidya. This is a major drawback while dealing with sadhakas and Gurus. What is the actual need for upasana? It might be a worldly desire or it might be moksha. Doing upasana for worldly desires is mean. As Sri Ramakrishna says, ‘it is akin to choosing brinjals when the king is ready to give a boon’. Upasana for moksha is supreme. But we rarely find such people. Everyone is ‘kshudra’ (mean). They pray expecting some physical boon in return. ‘Kshudra’ does not mean black magic. A prayer done for worldly things is considered to be a ‘kshudra puja’. Only the prayer for moksha counts as pure worship. Let us not bother about others.

There are scores of people in Sri Vidya who resort to upasanas of various deities for wordly causes. These are the people who hallucinate as mentioned above. Any deity is capable of giving both – worldly at the least to moksha at the best. For example, many consider ‘Bala’ as the deity to be worshipped in the initial days of Sri Vidya. They assume it is like a child’s play. But there are many who attained salvation through Bala. They consider Bala upasana as supreme and capable of fulfilling every desire. It is true. If you make sincere effort, only one deity should be sufficient. She will manifest everything.

As long as you think in terms of giving-and-receiving and profit-and-loss, your sadhana is still at a very preliminary level and in the wrong direction. It is not about the Goddess giving you boons and you receiving them. You should lose your sense of self in the process. By experience, you should realize that you are no different from her and merge with her completely. In fact, all these physical forms of deities are not different from each other. They are manifestations of one divine energy. The same energy resides in you as well. This cannot be expressed by mere words. One should feel it through experience.

‘Bala’ can be fierce. ‘Kali’ can be peaceful. It all depends on your perspective. Bala transforms into Kali. She is capable of interchanging her appearance. That which controls creation (srushti), maintenance (sthiti) and resolution (laya) is capable of doing everything.

For example, consider the analogy of sunlight entering our home through a small window. Consider this to be Bala. We can get the same sunlight through a door as well. Consider it to be Lalita. The same sunlight enters home through a tainted glass as well. Consider it to be Kali. It is the same light that is entering through various intensities and brightness. But your perception about them varies. Whether you use it to fulfil your wishes or use one of the exits to merge into the limitless sunlight outside decides your fate. The same sunlight has been referred to as Brahma or Vishnu or Siva. Your job is to merge with the light. But if you choose to stay inside the house and use the sunlight for petty things, you are wasting your efforts. You should try to get out of the house and become one with the divine light. Any kind of opening can lead you to the destination irrespective of its dimensions. You should take help of it and step into brightness. Irrespective of which deity you start with, you should use it as a window to merge in the infinite consciousness. From this point of view, any deity is the same. There is no grading in deities.

Jillellamudi Amma always insisted – ‘If you know what a ‘mantra’ means, you will see tht all the mantras in the world are equal’. There were many who criticized her words in those days.

Only petty-minded people distinguish between mantras and deities. They fight over grading deities and make tall claims about ‘their God’ being better. They are the ignorant who do not know the entire truth.

Sri Vidya has various stages and various mantras. It is true. But what does it mean to step from one stage to another? What does it mean to follow a certain mantra? It means to manifest their energies within you. I know a few Sri Vidya upasakas who are Gurus. They upgrade various mantras periodically and ask the disciples to recite. They even charge for it. Yantras are up for sale. Every time a mantra is upgraded, it is charged. It is a business of sorts. It is but a grave mistake. Should one really stoop so low for money?

The disciples are no less. They intend to grab everything from the Guru as soon as possible and start their own business. They follow the same procedure of selling the mantras at a price and claim to be Gurus, deceiving people along the way.

Is this true Sri Vidya?

To attain siddhi in any of the Sri Vidya mantras, one has to persevere for a very long time. It does not end with it. To prove that the mantra has manifested to you, you would undergo certain experiences. There would be changes happening internally. Your personality would change. You would change overall as a person. Without this process, if you think that a six-month japa of the mantra is adequate to yield results, you are grossly wrong.

I had the same doubt as a kid: ‘Why does Sri Vidya need so many deities? Isn’t one sufficient?’. I even enquired a few Gurus. Few brushed away saying the question was inappropriate for my age and the answer was beyond my understanding. A few more gave random explanations. But I understood that nobody had the right answer. As days passed, my sadhana gave me the appropriate answers. Mother showed me the way. She taught me everything. She helped me understand everything.

I answered myself: ‘All these energies are part of you. You forge ahead demonstrating each ‘shakti’ within you, understand it and move on to the next phase until you know your true self. This is the actual path of Sri Vidya’. In my knowledge, people who propogate this kind of Sri Vidya do not exist anymore. Everyone is commercial.”

Venkat: “True. Even Kavya Kanta Ganapathi muni emphasized that Bala, Lalita, Tripura and others were dormant ‘shaktis’ in us. I couldn’t follow his Sanskrit thoroughly. But this is as far as I could comprehend.”

Me: “yes. He mentioned the same in ‘Uma Sahasram’. He followed ‘Shuddha upasana’. Veda and Tantra go hand-in-hand in his method, which is the same as I said.  In this path, external upasana moulds itself into internal upasana over time. That means, there is balance between your ‘outside’ and ‘inside’. Ultimately, you would learn through experience that those deities whom you are praying to externally, are the dormant energies inside you. This is the reason my book ‘The secret of Sri Vidya’ has a subtitle named ‘The pure path of Upasana’. Got it?”

Venkat: “Yes. I understood”.

(To be continued…….)

 

 

Birthday of UG – Talk with GG - 4

I continued – “You may go ahead with your questions”.

Venkat – “Why did you establish Panchawati spiritual foundation?”

I replied – “I walked on the path of sadhana since my childhood days. I tried various paths of sadhana and various upasanas. For example, I tried ‘Kala Bhairava Sadhana’ at the age of twelve. This in itself should explain what I did later. In the next 48 years, I searched through hundreds of scriptures. My life is filled with two things, sadhana and research. I crossed paths and gained many ‘vidyas’ on my way. However I give no importance to them. Only sadhana was of prime importance.

In this lengthy journey, I understood what sadhana actually meant, various religions and their respective sadhana methods, their stances in driving human consciousness towards God, the values they hold and how far they have been successful, what is a true path and what is false, the way ahead for the world, the path people have chosen, the lives of Gurus, their experiences, the differences in their spiritual potential and the place of everything in the grand scheme of universe.

Based on this understanding, when I observed the condition of human race, I realized that everyone was treading on wrong paths. Those following rituals associated with a particular religion are no way near the right track. Those high on ego would pay no heed to the truth. Only when they encounter highly turbulent situations would they realize the truth. Prior to it, they will not pay heed to any warnings. Even then, they may not understand. A few are good people and true to their selves and not self-centered. I wanted to shorten their search for truth and show them the actual path of sadhana.

I searched a lot from my childhood. I underwent a lot of turmoil both internally and externally. After a lot of effort, I understood the whole concept. I wanted to help those sincere souls who were in the same quest, but confused and tormented in the hands of false Gurus. This is the reason for establishing ‘Panchawati’.

All these years, I have never openly declared ‘I am knowledgeable, I have accomplished a lot’ about myself. I maintained a low profile throughout my career. Not even my close friends or relatives are aware that I have accomplished so much. After remaining silent for 38 years, I started expressing myself from the past ten years guiding the few who approached me. I preached and corrected only these few. Those who listened, followed me and those who did not want left me. A few could sync with me totally and a few left after staying for a few years.

Many were jealous of me and a few were scared. Few others ridiculed me. A few more tried to use me for their personal gains. A few eyed on the information and the knowledge I had. I knew their intentions. But I cared none. Neither did I refuse anyone. I welcomed when someone wanted to walk with me and accepted when they wanted to part ways. I agreed both - when they said ‘You are our life’ and when they said ‘I do not like you’ or when they said ‘You are a scamster’ or when they said ‘you are the best amongst everyone we came across’. It was all their perception. They understood me according to their maturity. Why should I disagree?

I walk on my path. If someone wants to accompany me, I guide them. I ignore the others. This will continue in the future as well”.

I have no big dreams of transforming the world. I know that it is of no use. It will never take a firm stand without discrepancies. If everything was fool-proof, it would not be complete. No single person is capable of leading the entire humanity to God and salvation. It is impossible. I already told you, I would guide only those willing to walk with me. I will preach my thoughts only in my vicinity. I will not reach beyond this limit.

But these days, my limits have extended. We can influence someone on the other side of the globe from our home. There are thousands who sync with my thoughts and follow me irrespective of the physical distance. I will guide them on my path. I will guide them to salvation and fulfilment. This is the reason for starting ‘Panchawati’.”

Venkat asked another question – “Sri Ramakrishna said a story. A place near a lake was used as a dump yard and could not be bettered despite anyone’s efforts. Only when the king himself got involved and ordered it to be cleaned, the people followed his orders. Only the utmost authority can get some things into action. Similarly, ‘One cannot preach the world unless God permits it’. Did you also receive any such command from God to preach people? Did you establish Panchawati in accordance with such an indication?

I laughed.

“No. Unlike in the movies, no God came across in a physical form and asked me to start Panchawati. The will of God can be seen in many ways. A selfless thought that arises from a pure mind can also be considered as a will of God. It will fructify for sure. I felt this happen within me and started ‘Panchawati’. Not otherwise. In due course of time, it was proven that my intention was true. Today, I am able to guide many to God via the path of sadhana. I do not need any more proof that God’s will is on my side.”

(To be continued…)

 

Birthday of UG – Talk with GG – 3

‘I thoroughly understand your problem. Now listen to me carefuly”, I said.

There are two things according to our Vedas – the path of Destiny and the path of Karma. What you have spoken until now belongs to the path of destiny. It says – ‘Everything has been pre-determined. You have no say in how it spans out, not even in your life’.

The second is the path of Karma. According to this, ‘What you do comes back to you. You experience the fruit of your actions. It may be in this life or in another’.

These two appear to be conflicting with each other. It appears that one principle counters the existence of the other.

Venkat interrupted me saying – “Even Jillellamudi Amma said the same – either believe that God is acting through you or that you are in charge of everything done’.

I continued – “Yes. She said this. Let me reveal what it means. When you believe that God is in control of everything and getting things done through you, you lose your ‘ego’. You believe you have no part to play. Your ‘ego’ stops you from acknowledging this. On the other hand, if you believe in free will and consider that ‘you are in charge of all actions’, then you are held responsible for your actions. You are the reason for the troubles that come across. In this context also, you have no reason to whine. You cannot blame anyone else for your state of being.

The first path takes away your sense of ego. The second erases your mental suffering. Ego is the root cause of suffering. Either way, your life proceeds without suffering. This was the reason behind Amma’s words. Everyone quotes her but no one is willing to put it into practise. People are fond of preaching others than implementing the teachings of the sages.

Another path, other than these two, also exists.

Creation is not pre-determined. There is no script writer for this. You write your own destiny every second. Random events happen. There is no cause or continuity for these events. The thought of the mind at that instant determines the fate of the event. Everything else is a tale woven by you. Everything in creation is a-casual. There is no rhyme or rhythm to creation. Also, there is no connectivity between concurrent events. You assume there is a connection. This has been explained by UG. But to assimilate this explanation is difficult. The accuracy of this statement, will be explained later.”

“For example, a person questioned UG about life after death. He replied – ‘Do you exist now’? The questioner replied ‘Yes. I do exist now’.

UG replied – ‘You do not exist. You only assume that you exist’.

How can this be interpreted?

Your existence is true with respect to you. But from UG’s point of view, you are not true. Your existence is not the truth. His perception differs with your point of view. It can be confusing.

In the past, a girl named ‘R’ was in constant touch with me. She talked high philosophical concepts. She commented everybody, but would wreak havoc if she was mentioned in my blog. She used to mail me saying – “Whatever you write on the blog would be read by my friends and relations. Why do you write about me? Delete them”.

I used to reply to her – “You speak high about the soul, the Supreme and other such stuff. Why are you so scared of worldly matters?”

She explained – “I have a family – husband and kids”

I asked “If you are so scared of familial ties, why do you need spirituality? Why should the world scare people who are full of such high philosophy?”

She had no answer to my questions.

She had a secret desire to prevail as a guru among crowds. But when I revealed her true nature in the blog, she couldn’t tolerate. She feared ridicule.

Many believe that spirituality is different from everyday life. I affirm that they both are the same. Even Jillellamudi Amma would say “What exists other than this life?”. I echo her words.

But if the past events have no rule or rhyme or past and future are not pre-determined, how could people like Sri Ram Sir predict the future so accurately? I am not concerned about how they predict the future. I will not endorse or certify their ability. There are many paths to give such predictions. One can resort to the siddhi of Karna Pisachi. Or, if the person is accomplished in spirituality, then also his predictions can be true. Or, one can resort to any process between these two extremities and know the future. It is not a great achievement to predict the future. In true spiritual path, it is pointless.

In the extreme case of highest spiritual realization, let me explain how the prediction process goes on:

Consider the universal-will as a big circle. Individual-will can be considered as a tiny circle within the big circle. The big circle has no past, present or future associated with it. The small circle has these attributes. Enlightenment attained by humans can be of two types. One that proceeds step by step and another that happens spontaneously. They are called gradual enlightenment and sudden enlightenment respectively. The second category of people suddenly move from the smaller circle to the bigger circle tangentially. What happens then? The past, present and future existing until then, combine into one plane suddenly. Though it may sound like a science fiction or time travel movie, it is true. Their time is not divided into three categories (past, present and future). Everything starts to move on simultaneously at this very instant. Their vision changes from unidimensional to multi-dimensional. So, the future – as perceived by others, is happening to them right at that instant. If that event is recorded in some form, and the event occurs in future, the spectator is in awe. It appears miraculous to him. But it is normal for the enlightened one. They do not find it astonishing. They do not feel ‘sensational’. I am not aware of the state of Sri Ram sir. I am not sure if he resorted to this technique during the prediction or some other way. I am not interested in knowing either”.

“Persons like Vedavyas and Bharadwaj gave immense importance to unnecessary stuff like miracles, mysteries, other planes of existence, spirits, rebirth, sightings, worldly motives, Avadhutas, etc. They played a major role in projecting Sai Baba of Shirdi as God and diluted and damaged Hinduism immemsely. Similarly, they were in awe of the above incident about Sri Ram sir. Their disciples followed the same path. They were content with just the propaganda. This is not true spirituality.

Further, irrespective of you taking the creation as pre-determined or self-effort or random happening, the truth remains unchanged – you cannot live in anyway other than how you are living now. Even if you were to live differently, that path would continue and cannot be changed. Even if that path can be changed (according to you), you cannot explore all the paths available. It wouldn’t make a difference what path you choose. You have no option but to continue to live. The ultimate destiny would be death. You cannot live as anyone else but You. You have no choice in this.

Even if life is pre-determined, the script written by God/devil is hidden from you. You are not aware of what is in store for you. You cannot even alter your course of visiting the rest room, let alone anything else. Whatever be your perception of life, you can lead it only according to your experience and thought. Whether the thought belongs to you individually or a script written by God, you cannot act against it. For once, try not to think like yourself and think like someone else. It is beyond your capability. If you could, may be trying to think in a different way was also pre-determined. You can never know.

Irrespective of who is saying it – be it Sri Ram sir, or me or someone else, you only have two options. One, to resort to a true Guru and follow his footsteps in sadhana, progress and realize Self. If not, live your life as an ordinary human being until the end of your life. No one can go beyond these paths.

Therefore, do not think ‘I am unable to comprehend the fact that everything is pre-determined’. Whether you agree or disagree there will be no difference. Creation will not change its course of action for you. If possible, you have to align with the creation. Or continue your life until the end. It is as simple as that. There is no confusion.”

(To be continued…)

Birthday of UG – Talk with GG - 2

He had arrived earlier than expected. He was about the same age as my son. After the initial formalities, our conversation started.

I asked, “Where do you live?”

He replied: “Near Karkhana. I work in Defence as an auditor”.

Me: “Are you married?”

Him: “Yes. And I have a two-year-old daughter”

Me: “How did you develop this spiritual attitude at such a young age? From when did you observe these tendencies?”

Him: “Right from my childhood”

Although I was well aware how these thoughts would begin, I enquired: “How did it start?”

He said, “I had read the books of Swami Vivekananda when I was young. While practising pranayama techniques mentioned in the book ‘Raja Yoga’, few people warned me that such exercises should not be done without the supervision of a capable Guru, or they may turn adverse. So, I moved on to books by Osho. When I was almost done reading his works, I realized that he contradicted his own words at many places. There was confusion at many places. I doubted if he was speaking the truth. So, I researched among his critics and came across Jiddu Krishnamurthy. Jiddu commented “Why does he need so many Rolls Royce cars?” about Osho. Osho differed with Jiddu as well. I started reading Jiddu’s works. After a few years, I realized that Jiddu was no good. He quotes big terms like “choiceless awareness”, etc. but lacked content. One would not gain any knowledge even after reading all his works. In that sense, Osho had an edge over Jiddu. At least, his followers were allowed to follow “Tantric sex” and experience a little joy. They lived in a state of euphoria. But Jiddu turned out to be just vaccum. So, I researched once again on the critics of Jiddu and came across UG. UG claimed that Jiddu was a big cheater, a spirit medium and nothing more.

UG resorted to Ramana Maharshi when he was young, after long penance in the Himalayas. He went to Ramanashram expecting miracles and out of the world experiences but found nothing. He was very disappointed staying there. 

UG asked Ramana Maharshi, “Give me what you have”. 

Ramana Maharshi replied, “I can give you. But can you take it?” 

UG was angered at these words, “I have done years of sadhana. If not me, who else is eligible to receive it? Can’t he judge if I was eligible or not? Why is he asking me in return? What kind of a saint is he?” and retreated from the place. 

Before he could continue any further, I interrupted him, “As per the Gregorian calendar, today is the birthday of UG”. 

He was astonished. “Really? I was not aware of it.” 

I asked him to continue. 

“I had two questions right from the beginning. Ramana Maharshi always said ‘The heart is on the right side of the body’. How can this be true? This was one of my questions. Two years ago, I stayed in Arunachalam for eight months. I rented a room outside and meditated in the ashram. One of those days, while meditating, for a split second, I felt a current shock on the right side of my chest. I understood that the spiritual heart exists on the right of the body. My question has thus been answered.”

The second question was – “Is everything pre-destined in nature? For instance, a person named Mudaliar posed the same question to Ramana Maharshi. Maharshi replied with a firm “Yes”. Mudaliar moved a coffee cup a little further and asked if this small incident was pre-destined as well. Maharshi again replied with a ‘Yes’. I couldn’t comprehend this scenario at all.” 

He stiooed in between and asked, “Do you know Ekkirala Bharadwaja and Vedavyas?” 

I smiled and said, “Yes. I know them. Please continue.” 

He continued. Vedavyas tutored a boy for a while. One day, he asked the boy- ‘You can predict the future, right?’ 

The boy denied. Vedavyas asked him firmly, ‘Look, I know you have the ability. Speak the truth’. 

The boy agreed – ‘Yes. I can predict the future.’

Vedavyas further enquired – ‘How accurately can you predict?’

The boy asked for a paper, scribbled something on it and placed it inside a cover. He sealed the cover and requested it to be opened on a particular date. Vedavyas, being an IAS officer, went on a foreign trip. By the time he returned, it was past that date. He sat on the sofa and was about to rip the cover open when his pet dog bounced onto his lap. He opened the cover and started reading the paper. 

‘You would miss the date of opening this cover because of a foreign trip. After your return, while you are about to open the cover while sitting on the sofa, your pet dog would bounce on your lap’ – this was the content.

 I asked for the boy’s name. 

He replied – “His name is Sri Ram sir”. 

I had heard about him. 

He said – “He stays here in Hyderabad, in Madhapur”. 

I further said- “His disciple Aditya promotes him in whatsapp groups, right?” 

He confirmed: “Yes. Sri Ram sir has many followers but Aditya promotes him mostly”. 

I asked him if he follows Sri Ram sir. 

He replied negative: “No. I met them both a couple of times.” 

I asked, “His followers propagate Sri Ram sir as the incarnation of Lord Venkateswara?”

 He confirmed that a few do believe so. 

I asked: “I have a question as well. When Veda Vyas realized that Sri Ram sir had divination capability, why did he not accept him? Why couldn’t he announce the truth to the world? Moreover, Vedavyas proclaimed himself as Lord Venkateswara among his devotees. Why did he do so?” 

He replied – “I do not know. May be his ego was too high to accept the facts. But during the above incident, Ekkirala Bharadwaja, the younger brother, asked Sri Ram sir – ‘How far into the future can you see?’. 

Sri Ram sir replied – “I can give you the headlines for every newspaper for the next ten days right now. If you can give me enough supply of stationery, I can enlist every incident that will take place until all eternity”.

Bharadwaj was angered at this reply and said – “You are not a Brahmin. How can you hold such talent?”. “After listening to this incident, I understood that Bharadwaj had high spiritual ego”, said Venkat. 

I smirked and said “There is no spiritual here. Only ‘ego’ exists. In my opinion, the Ekkirala brothers damaged real spirituality in Andhra Pradesh very much. EK was slightly better amongst them.” 

Venkat further said – “You commented something else about Bharadwaja – ‘He did a mistake leaving Jillellamudi amma after staying with her for such a long time’. I liked this comment of yours as well.” 

I said, “I had explained why he left Jillellamudi.” 

Venkat continued – “From this incident with Sri Ram sir, I understood something – ‘Everything is predetermined in this universe. The first script of God is the last script’. Every incident in a person’s life has been set in stone and cannot be changed. Even Sri Ram sir agrees with this.” 

Me: “So, what? What value addition has Sri Ram sir done to this? All this has been mentioned in our scriptures long ago.”

 He continued- “I meant that even our thoughts are pre-determined according to this principle. It was hard for me to digest this fact. I went crazy thinking about this. If everything from daily activities to our thoughts and thought process has been pre-decided and scripted, then why do we exist? What does life mean? What does it mean to lead an individual life with free will? I was aghast with these thoughts.” 

This questions still linger in me. I approached you hoping to get an answer to this. 

Among the great saints and seers that we know of, I found Ramana Maharshi and UG to be slightly accurate. But everybody criticizes UG. He is short-tempered. He shouts and bad-mouths everyone. How can such a short-tempered person be a realized soul? Only you in your blog, mentioned him on a positive note. I guess you have written about eight posts on UG and discontinued in between. That is the reason I mailed you and wanted to meet you.” 

In the meantime, Murthy and his wife Sandhya came over and I introduced them to Venkat – “This is Murthy, Secretary of Panchawati Foundation, India and she’s Sandhya, his wife. Both are noble hearts born for a noble purpose.” 

Based on his words, I understood that he was an avid reader and an aspirant in search of a real spiritual path. I sympathized with him and wanted to explain him in detail.

 We all stayed silent for more than half an hour. 

I broke the silence and started explaining. 

(To be continued…)

Birthday of UG – Talk with GG - 1

July 9^th is the birthday of UG.

A person named Venkat visited our home on this day. Our conversation started at 10 a.m and continued for three hours.

It all began two days before. He has read my blog recently and contacted me through e-mail – “I have gone through your Jillellamudi posts and loved them. I wish to learn Sri Vidya. I wish to live a life filled with multi-faceted wisdom, just like you. But I have no clue on how to begin and go about it. Can you guide me?”

I replied: “Sure. Can you give me four reasons for your interest in learning Sri Vidya?”

He replied:

1.  I want to talk to the Universal Mother like I do with my family.

2. Nature has a lot in store. It has more secrets hidden than those revealed to the outside world. If I do not develop the right eye and knowledge to grasp it, I would forever miss these mysteries. I would like to witness the entire world vibrating with divinity.

3. I am extremely scared of snakes and evil spirits. Fear is always linked to death in some way or the other. I would like to overcome my fears and emerge as fearless. It has been my long-lasting wish to sleep alone in the cremation ground and hold snakes with my bare hands. I want to seek the help of Sri Vidya in turning me into a dare devil who isn’t scared of anything.

4. I do not want to live the mundane routine of earning, eating and ultimately dying. Without getting totally detached from the physical world, I would like to know through experience that the claims in our scriptures are indeed true and not a fragment of someone’s imagination.

For the above reasons, I would like to learn Sri Vidya.

His approach was different, unlike others. He was not asking routine questions about horoscopes, astrology, easy ways to earn money, illness and disease - which I liked.

I replied – “I like your answers. Your display picture is of Sri Ramana Maharshi. Did you not find from him what you are seeking?”

He said: “I found lot of peace in Ramana Maharshi. I understood that this entire world is dream-like. Just like in the movie ‘Inception’, I experienced a dream within a dream within a dream. So, I started questioning the actual truth in this world. I now believe that everything is pre-destined. My experiences may be preliminary because I’m naive. I lost interest in life because of these thoughts. I could not look forward in life with the same enthusiasm of a kid. It might be because of my lack of understanding or knowledge. Sri Vidya is filled with intense energy and passion. Instead of being either enthusiastic or despondent, I wanted to be both.

I have researched Sri Kavya kantha Ganapati Muni as well. His soul was filled with Ramana Maharshi. At the same time, he pursued Sri Vidya as well. After knowing this, I realized it was my path too. I imagined knowledge as the soul and Sri Vidya as the colourful cloth adorning it. Ramana Maharshi was akin to a spotless white cloth. I would like to decorate it with colors using Sri Vidya. I want Ramana Maharshi but I also want to try the practices done by Sri Kavya kantha.  The Sri Vidya that I aspire for appears like the sage Jillellamudi amma. During my initial days of researching Ramana Maharshi, I wanted to quickly gain knowledge and put an end to my cycles of birth and death and re-birth. But now I believe that human life is very beautiful. I would like to experience it over and over again in many births. I am very fond of this thought. Instead of being greedy for my own salvation, I want to admire and adore the divinity and miracles in God’s creation. This has been the recent trend in my thought process.

I asked if he had read any of my books.

He replied: “No. I came across your blog yesterday night. And I have been through your book samples over the net. I understood that you follow a straightforward and scientific approach to spirituality without blindly following unnecessary customs and rituals.”

I agreed and replied “I will be leaving Hyderabad for U.S.A in three weeks. You may meet me before that”.

He agreed to come over and asked for my details and time schedule.

I gave him my address and said “Please be here by sharp 10a.m. I appreciate people who are punctual.”

He agreed.

(To be continued…)