THE PATH TO GOD
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ddhava was a good friend and confidant of Lord Krishna. He was proficient in Yoga Bhakti as he had learned it from Lord Krishna himself. One day, Uddhava expressed his dissatisfaction to Lord Krishna that in spite of being well versed in all the Vedas, Upanishads and Sutras, he had not received the much revered title of “Maharishi”. Lord Krishna smiled and said, “Oh my dear friend, you are so knowledgeable, why don’t you go to Vrindavan and teach the gopis?” Uddhava’s chest swelled with pride, as Lord Krishna had considered him a knowledgeable teacher.
Uddhava left for Vrindavan the next day. The gopis received him gladly and gathered around him as he began to expound his Vedantic wisdom. However, they did not seem to understand the Vedas or other religious scriptures. Uddhava shook his head in disdain, “Dear gopis, you need to learn to recite the scriptures, the Vedas and the Upanishads to understand the true nature of Lord Krishna.” He looked at one of the gopis and politely asked her to repeat a verse from the Vedas. She bowed down and said, “Oh Uddhava, I apologise, I don’t know any verse from the Vedas. Shyama dwells in my mind, my whole wealth is Shyama, all that I have is Shyama and every cell of my body is filled with Shyama. If Krishna represents the Supreme God and is present in every inch of my body, tell me, oh learned Uddhava, where shall I put the knowledge of your Vedas?”
On this Janmashtami, I wish you understand that true knowledge and devotion are worthless without love. If you wish to tread on the path of devotion, you don’t need to know any religious texts, all you need is love in your heart, for God and all his creations.
Lord Krishna himself remarked, “When he sees me in all and sees all in me, then I never leave him and he never leaves me. And he, who in this oneness of Love, loves me in whatever he sees, wherever this man may live, in truth, he lives in me.” T his week, the cards prophesise the ending of a major phase or aspect of your life that may bring about the beginning of something far more valuable and important. You must close one door in order to open another. The cards indicate a time of significant transformation, change and transition. You need to profoundly transform yourself and clear away any of the old in order to bring in the new. Any change at this time should be welcomed as a positive, cleansing, transformative force in your life. This is also a time to let go of old habits or addictions.
Lucky number: 13 Lucky colour: Steel grey T his week, you are trying to handle two opposing forces, perhaps a conflict between two equally matched forces in which neither has the clear advantage. These forces can take on many forms: negative against positive, the impulse to act as against the desire to stay silent, or knowing what to do versus actually doing it. Such impasses are not easily resolved, and they can lead to a long period of confusion and stagnation. This is the time your stability and patience will come in handy. Stay calm and side with your inner truth.
Lucky number: 2 Lucky colour: Light green