Nama Sankirtana and Karma Yogam Part2

Is Nama Sankirtana is by itself sufficient to remove all our sins?
Nama sankirtanam removes the indifference we have towards bhagavan, his devotees and the spiritual concept of Life, it provides us with the mental strength, power of endurance and a clear frame of mind to make us qualified to begin  Varnasrama Dharma(Karma Yoga)-->by which Bhagavan becomes pleased--> hence he removes all our papa,punya and takes us back to his spiritual abode(Vaikuntha).
Say for a Kshatriya, Nama sankirtanam gives us all basic qualifications a kshatriya needs to defeat the allies of Adharma and establish Dharma. Endowed with all basic qualities unless a kshatriya fights the war(which is his Karma Yogam), his enemies cannot be defeated, similarly endowed with all auspicious qualities, unless one executes his Karma Yogam-->Bhagavan will not remove his eternal enemy which is nothing but his papa and his punya.
Unless one is purified of these misgivings(papa,punya) one will not be able to go back home back to Godhead(Vaikuntha).

How to become Immune from Infection of the Material World?

There is no doubt that this Material world is infected with the disease of Greed, Pride, envy,ego, ignorance which is nothing but the Product of the Mode of Passion(Rajo Gunam) and the Mode of Ignorance(Tamo Gunam).
For an aspiring transcendentalist, becoming free from their influence is a must to rise to the spiritual platform of Pure Love of God situated above the Mode of Goodness.
Out of his causeless mercy, Sriman Narayana(The Supreme Personality of Godhead) mercifully incarnates as the Archa Vigraha in Temples, as spiritual Masters(Vaishnavas), spiritual books, his Holy Names, offering and partaking of Vishnu Prasadam which are of the form of Pure Goodness(without contamination of Mode of Passion and Ignorance) which aspiring transcendentalists could constantly meditate and become immune from he Infections of the material world. 

Krishna and Acit Tattva

There are 3 categories of Tattvas: Cit, Acit and the Paramatma.
Cit refers to the Sentient(Living) Beings and acit refers to the Non-sentient Beings(Non Living things). The Paramatma is the supreme controller of both the cit and the acit and pervades them all.
Now how is Bhagavan Sriman Narayana and Acit related.
Both Bhagavan and Acit have the Power to attract those who come in contact with it. When one comes under the attractive influence of acit, his original jnana(Knowledge) becomes covered by the cloud of sense gratification.
When one becomes attracted to Bhagavan Sriman Narayana,  his knowledge increases and attains the same qualties of bhagavan i.e full of knowledge, bliss, eternity etc.
Therefore we must now decide unto which we must take shelter of?

Namasankirtana and Karma Yogam

The Sastras proclaim: The Only means to attain  moksham is Nama Sankirtanam.
"Dhyayan krte yajan yagne hi trethayam- dvapare archayan yadhapnoti tadhapnoti kalau sankirtana keshavam"
So should we have to only chant the Divya namas of Bhagavan? shouldnt we have to perform our Karma Yogam which was itself the subject matter of discussion in Bhagavad Gita?
How is Nama Sankirtanam and Karma Yogam inter-related?
Certainly- Nama sankirtanam is itself very powerful that it could remove our sins. However are we so much advanced that we could continue perform nama sankirtanam throughout the day(24*7).
There could be very few jnana yogis such as the great namacharya Sri HAridas Thakur of the gaudiya sampradaya. We cannot compare ourselves with them.Everyone  are certainly enganged in their respective responsibilties and duties to perform, therefore in such unavoidable circumstance  how do we immune ourself from the sins we commit during our daily course of our action. Therefore the discipline of Karma Yogam is very essential.
We could compare this with an Elephant, which takes batht nicely in a clean pond and when it comes out it again washes itself with the dust and dirt along the streets.
Therefore Nama-sankirtana and Karma Yogam are very closely inter-related.
Nama sankirtanam without Karma is useless and in vain.

The Glorious Varnashrama Dharma

Why are the people of Defence Saluted and Honoured? Because they have sacrificed the Pleasures of the world to dedicate their lives to serve the Country i.e the Government, to protect the country to maintain peace for the country.
Similarly although today there are so many so called Occupations people are engaged in. We must take even greater pleasure and pride to be part of and execute the Varnashrama Dharma duties which are the direct injunctions of the Supreme God Sriman Narayana Himself. We must think that executing the Varnasrama Dharma system duties means directly working for Narayana's Company which he has purely designed to establish peace in the world and to award the supreme Moksham to all jivas.
A Question might arise amongst the readers. Since Varnashrama duties are just various Karmas(Actions) designed for people of different classes, it could bind a jivatma to samsara. They are Troublesome containing so many rules and regulations.
Q1)Firstly--> Will execution of Varnashrama Dharma bind a jivatma more and more in Samsarama?
Ans) Certainly Not. To prove this, let us consider the example. The People of Defence are engaged in various battles, killing many enemies, Are they Punished by the Government?
Certainly Not. Infact they are honoured with great awards such as the Param Vir Chakra etc for valiantly fighting in the war.
The Conclusion is  any action which is performed in accordance with the injunctions and will of the Lord, will never bind a jivatma. Infact the Supreme award  for one who valiantly carries on the will of the Lord is Supreme Moksham(Vaikuntha), happiness and prosperity in this world and the next.
Q2) The execution of Varnashrama Dharma duties is very painful, troublesome containing so many rules and regulations.
Ans) Certainly the pain may be felt, but imagine what if the armymen complain the same and decide to Leave the battlefield. Who would protect our nation then? Similarly the pain one undergoes in executing the varnashrama Dharma is itself a great pleasure since he is working for a higher cause(maintain DHARMA), he is working for the  greatest of all Person Sriman Narayana who is glorified by the great saints and Sainlty Kings since Time Immemorial by beautiful, carefully chosen, Selected Verses and Hymns, who is constantly worshipped by greatest of Demigods such as Brahma, Indra, Siva,Ganesh, the Navagrahas, he is working for that person who is the greatest well wisher and a friend for all the Jivatmas--> to prove and establish this he descends again and again in this material world by taking various avatars, he takes the form of Acharyas to save the jivas, he is the granter of all boons for the Aishvarya, Kaivalya and the Bhagavalabh Arthi.

SO what are we waiting for? Let us all dedicate our Lives and perform the highest sacrifice  by dutifully being partof and execute the Varnashrama duties created and assigned by Bhagavan Himself.

Is traditional Varnashrama Dharma a Necessity?

In today's world there are so many voices, public opinion disregarding the traditional Caste System of System.
The traditional Caste System of india ; in Sanskrit is called as the eternal Varnaasrama divisions of the Society into- Brahmana, kshatriya, vaishya,sudra, brahmachari, grhastha, vanaprastha, sanyasi.
Why were these divisions made? Who made thise divisions? Are these divisions really required?
Sri Krishna(The Supreme Personality of Godhead) himself confirms in his Bhgavad Gita:
" I had made these 4 divisions i.e Brahmana, Kshatriya, Vaishya, Sudra on the basis of his natural inbuilt character(Gunam) and Karma i.e his actions."
The Term Designations itself is not something Bad. Even in today's world we find these natural designations automaticaly exists i.e Warrior Class of Men, Consultants(the Intelligent Class), Business Men, and the Working class. No any organization or any unit could function without these 4 divisions or even 1 class of people. Imagine if there are no military trained people to protect our country! Imagine if there are no people who are engaged in cultivation of Food crops!
Since in todays world there are very few  Brahmanas(intelligent class of men who are expert in guiding people according to the direction of the Sastras- Vedic Literatures) society has fallen into Chaos. People are being misled by the Politicians promising a better Living. The Sanity of the Population has degraded, Corruption, violence, Quarrel, wars is now a natural thing everywhere. Relationships do not last longer, The Life duration of people has reduced. The Common Men are constantly disturbed by natural disturbances in the form of Earthquake, severe Diseases, drought, Floods etc.
Krishna had only made these natural 4 divisions which is an utmost requirement for the peace and prosperity of the world.

The Divine Modes of Nature

In our previous article we discussed how  Transgression of laws of nature will lead to our Bondage of Existence. Now let us try to understand this scientifically.
It has been scientifically proved that different kinds of Energies exist around us. For instance say the Electromagnetic energy, Scientists have developed several devices which has the Potential to access the energy and provide several applications.
As per the scientific Definition Energy is the Ability to do work. It influences an object to work.
Now as per the information we get from the Bhagavad Gita there are 3 subtle energies around us, namely,
Sattva, Rajas and Tamas.
When one is influenced by Tamas he engages in laziness, Sleep. When one is influenced by Rajas, he becomes very materially passionate, Develops too much material affection, attachment. When one is influenced by Sattva, he is self satisfied, peaceful, engages in cultivation of Spiritual knowledge(atma jnana).controls his senses etc.
Everyday we get influenced under these respective energies and accordingly engage in its action.
The Vedic Literatures has systematically prescribed us certain duties(actions) which when followed will enable us float and rise above the influence of Rajas and Tamas, nurture sattva which is very much  essential if one needs to be spiritually successful and for the establishment of peace all over the world.

Does Bhagavan care for us?

The way things are happening in this world, it is natural even for an Upstart Devotee to wonder whether does God really care for us. Since everything is under the Supreme Will of God, why are people still suffering? Aren't we the beloved Children of God?
Certainly! This can be understood from a Simple example. Whatever elctronic equipment or any goods we purchase comes with a User Manual. The User Manual contains Instructions related to how the Equipment needs to be Operated upon. If an egoistic person plainly discards the user manual and tries to whimsically experiment everything on his own; he is naturally bound to experience an electric Shock, which could also cost him his dear Life. Now is the Person who maufactured the electronic equipment responsible if that person experiences an electric Shock?  Certainly Not!
Similarly Bhagavan is the macro cause of the whole creation. He has given us intelligence, Vedic Literatures, his devotees, his divine Preceptors, our body, senses, Vedic Injunctions to learn the art of skillfully Living in this world and ultimately fulfill our purpose of  existence(that is to Go back home to SriMan Narayana's Personal Abode and render service to him.). But on account of our Minute independence we either have a choice to follow the injuctions of God or to disrespect him. People who disregard his teachings are punished by the divine laws of nature to take birth repeatedly again and again in this material world to experince Joy and Sorrow again and again.
We will see in our next article, how is disrespecting the Divine Laws of God ultimately Scientifically leads to our Bondage of Existence.

2 Wings of a Bird!

Karma and Jnana are like the 2 wings of a Bird. Without Jnana, Karma is useless and without Karma, jnana will not bear any fruit.

Material Infection?

Just like when a person who is materially diseased has a poor appetite to eat, similary a person who is materially infected by the 3 gunas has a less appetite   for hearing and chanting the holy pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Narayana.