Bhaj Govindam 

In the first 10 verses the deepest of knowledge has been put forth to help the aspiring devotee snap out of slummer. Yes, these verse are intended for those who are on the path of self realisation. Many a time, the conscious seekers are more deluded than the so called worldly people. Saying this let me also put forth, we all are seekers, some walk the path knowingly, others are also walking towards that same divine unknowingly and unaware.

In this second last verse written by Guru Shankaracharya, he reveals one simple secret - Nothing Ultimately Matters. Let’s delve deeper to understand this better.

Verse 11

मा कुरु धनजनयौवनगर्वं, 

हरति निमेषात्कालः सर्वं। 

मायामयमिदमखिलम् हित्वा, 

ब्रह्मपदम् त्वं प्रविश विदित्वा॥

Maa kuru dhana jana yauvana garvam

Harati nimeshhaatkaalah sarvam

MaayaamayamidamakhilaM hitvaa

BrahmapadaM tvaM pravisha viditvaa

The eleventh verse said to me - Shruti Says🌷

Do not be attached to the pride of your money, your people and your youth,

or 

Do not be proud of your momentary possessions like; money, fame and youth,

Time can snatch these all aways in the fraction of a second. 

Knowing all this to be illusionary in nature and completely a play of Maya,

Surrender to the feet of the Lord with Saralta, Innocence and Faith.

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Let’s read these two stories before we go on with anymore details on the verse. As these two stories are taking us not only to the essence of this verse, but reveal the gist of all that is to be understood.

Story 1

There was this huge man, who would do nothing much and eat all day long. His family got fed up of him and asked him to leave. Sad and lonely he reached a temple. Not knowing what to do, he sat down and started weeping. At that time the head sage of that temple came out and said what is wrong. This man poured out his entire misery. The priest allowed him to live in the temple and eat as much as he wanted. In return he would just have to be a part of all the prayers and chants. This man happily agreed.

Days went by and came the day of Ekadashi, the kitchen doors were locked. Anxious he rushed to the head sage and asked what was happening. He was explained that 2 times a month all fast. This man said he would die, he could not go hungry and started weeping again. The priest gave him special permission to take all that he needed and to go out near the river, cook and eat. But, the condition was that he had to offer it to God and then eat. Again, this man happily agreed.

The story goes that, every Ekadashi he asked for more and more grocery. Till one day he literary took a cart full of food to be cooked. The head sage was curious to know what he would do with all this, as no matter how big an eater he was, he could not finish so much. 

The sage hid behind a tree and watched. To his surprise, he saw this man sitting and talk to himself, the raw food was sitting next to him in the cart as it is. The head sage jumped out and said, what are you upto fool. This man stood up and did Pranam. 

He said to the head sage, ‘You look for yourself, see all of them have come today, so many of them, hence let them cook. What is the point of me cooking, in the end I never get anything to eat. Every day Ramji gets one more person with him. Today he got the heavens and his whole Ayodhya.

The head sage exclaimed, ‘What are you saying, I see nothing have you gone mad?’

The man Said, 

‘You asked me to offer and then eat. Hence, I cooked for 2, me and Ramji, and called him, finally after so much of persuading he came, but he came with Sita Ma. That Ekadasi I did not get anything to eat. Next Ekadashi I cooked for 3, and called Ramji and Sita Ma. But, they got Lakhman bhaiya along. Again, I did not get anything to eat. Then I cooked for 4, but they got Bharat bhaiya along. When I cooked for 5, they got Shatrugan and then was the heights, when I cooked for 6 they got a Monkey along. 

I never got to eat. 

So, I got them a cart full, let them cook and eat. When Sita ma started cooking, see what happened, not only the people from Ayodhya, but also, the heavens came down. Let them all manage.

The head sage understood, ‘He started crying bitterly, Ramji he said, all my life I prayed to you and spent all my waking hours reading and singing your glories. But, you never gave me Darshan. But, this man, who cares only about food, has been blessed by all of you. Why Lord why?

The sage sat down, weeping and decided to give up his body if Ramji did to give him Darshan. At that very moment he opened his eyes and saw the most beautiful of sights.

The Ram parivar, Ayodhya, the heavenly gods and Ramji came forward and said,

‘All these years, you were full with pride of your knowledge, your disciples, your austerities. You thought you knew it all. Your so called goodness made you arrogant. However, you never believed that I could ever come, till now. On the other hand, this man always believed that I come, and so I accept the offering. He is knows nothing of your great scriptures or chants, all he knows is that ‘I am’ and when called I come. He is ’Saral’ and full of faith.

What pulls me is Saralta, rests all is Maya, good or bad, Maya tau Maya hai.

Story 2

There was a great monk, with hundreds of disciples. One day a man from a remote village came to become his student, this Great monk gave him diksha and made him his student. Doing so he assigned him a task of picking rice in the kitchen. The kitchen fed 500 other fellow seekers. From when he got up till he went to sleep he had no time for anything else but to pick up rice from the floor. This way 20 years went by. No one knew he ever existed, his name was never called and he never got to attend any class or prayers. So much so that he even forgot his own name and identity. 

The Great monk was getting old and he needed a successor. He called all 500 and asked them to put their insight on the wall, and based on that he would select the next head. Even the so called most knowledgable were worried, as all they knew was what read, never did they have an insight or realisation of their own. 

The Great monk knew he had to find the successor himself. Having that in mind, the Great monk one night got up, and secretly went looking for this disciple, who he had not met for 20 years, he went to the kitchen looking for him. There he slept peacefully like a buddha. The monk woke him up and said you are my successor. The man asked who are you? He had not seen the master for 20 years.

"The master said, ”I am your master. You have forgotten…? Do you remember your name?” The man said, ”That is the difficulty. The work you have given me is such that it needs no name, no fame, no scholarship, no austerities. It is so simple that I have forgotten everything."

This man said, I know nothing, all I have been doing for 20 years is picking rice as instructed by you. I don’t even want to be head. I have found the greatest of bliss doing my task, I have experience great moments of ecstasy and bliss. 

“The master still insisted, ”You have achieved that which others have been trying to achieve but have failed. You have achieved it because you were not trying. You were simply doing your small work.

Slowly, slowly there was no need for thinking, no need for emotions, no need for anger, no fight, no comparison, no ambition – your ego died. And with the ego died your name. You are not born with a name. It is the ego that is given a name – that is the beginning of the ego. With the death of the ego, you even forgot your own master, because it was the ego that brought you to me. ”Up to that moment you were on a spiritually ambitious trip.

The Great monk said, that is why you are fit to be my successor, take my stick, cap and robe and run aways, these egoistic disciples of mine will kill you or when asked you would give aways the position with ease. Hide and be, you have blossomed, people will find you and come to you.

But,” he said, ”I have received no teaching and I don’t know what to teach them.” The master said, ”Just teach them to do small things, silently, peacefully, without any ambition, without any motivation to gain something in this world or in the other world, so that you can become innocent like a child.” The quoted portion is take from Saibaal Sankar

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There is not much more to be said, all that the eyes can see is transient and will perish. This is the ultimate truth. Watch all that come to you as a passing cloud, and what is taken away from you as that which was never yours. We came empty handed, we will go empty handed. Whatever we pick up between these two ends do not matter. Nothing actually matters in the end.

Be it the King or the pawn, ultimately they go into the same box after the game of chess is over. 

Knowing this drop the pride and attachments, this very minute. Free yourself from this delusion and realise the ultimate bliss.

God cannot be known, but with Faith, Child like Innocence and Saralta he can be realised, right now.

Maan mast hua phir kya bole

Maan mast hua phir kya bole

Kya bole

Halki thi jab chadi taraaju

puri bhari phir kya tole

Heera paya bandh gathariya

baar baar vako kyo hole

Hansa nahaye maan sarovar

taal taleiya mein kyo dole

Kehat kabir suno bhaiy sadhu

sahib mil geya til ole

Maan mast hua pair kya bole

Maan mast hua pair kya bole

Kya bole..

Hari Om