Swami Brahm Bodhi

लोग प्रायः पूछते हैं कि धर्म और अध्यात्म में क्या अंतर है। इसे हम संतरे की उपमा से समझ सकते हैं। संतरा, जिसे हम नारंगी भी कहते हैं, तीन भागों में बँटा होता है—पहला उसका छिलका, दूसरा उसका गूदा, और तीसरा उस गूदे में भरा हुआ रस।

अब समझिए — उस गूदे में जो रस भरा है, वही अध्यात्म है, और वही सबसे मुख्य तत्त्व है। उसी से हमारी आत्मा को पोषण मिलता है। किंतु वह रस बिना गूदे के कहीं ठहर नहीं सकता। यह गूदा ही धर्म है—जो अध्यात्म को धारण करता है। रस अर्थात अध्यात्म, धर्म के भीतर ही स्थित रहता है।

अतः धर्म बिखर जाए, यदि कोई कर्मकाण्ड या बाह्य विधान न रहे, और फिर गुदे से साथ अध्यात्म भी बिखर जाए। इसलिए धर्म और उसके भीतर छिपे अध्यात्म — दोनों को एक-दूसरे से जोड़े रखने के लिए छिलके की भी आवश्यकता होती है। यद्यपि वह छिलका अंततः त्याग देने योग्य होता है, फिर भी उसकी उपयोगिता तब तक है जब तक भीतर का रस सुरक्षित रहे।

इसीलिए, धर्म का पालन अवश्य करना चाहिए, किंतु धर्म के भीतर छिपे अध्यात्म को भी आत्मसात कर लेना चाहिए। कर्मकाण्ड का सीमित, पर आवश्यक, महत्व समझना चाहिए।

हरि शरणम्!

छह महीने की साधना से ईश्वर के दर्शन! | एक संत का सच्चा अनुभव

यह वीडियो एक गूढ़ प्रश्न का उत्तर देता है —
कितने दिनों की साधना के बाद ईश्वर के दर्शन होते हैं?

शास्त्र कहते हैं — छह महीनों में कोई भी योग शुद्ध हो जाता है।
परंतु एक वृंदावन के संत ने इसका प्रत्यक्ष अनुभव किया।
उन्होंने अमरकंटक की गुफाओं में भगवद् गीता का एक ही श्लोक छः महीनों तक गाकर जपा —
और छठे महीने श्रीकृष्ण साक्षात् प्रकट हुए।

इस वीडियो में जानिए —
👉 सच्ची साधना में ‘समय’ नहीं, ‘भाव’ निर्णायक होता है।
👉 ईश्वर गणना नहीं करते, वे केवल भावना देखते हैं।
👉 यदि चित्त शुद्ध हो, सत्व निर्मल हो —
तो छह महीने ईश्वर-दर्शन के लिए पर्याप्त हैं।

📘 संदर्भ:
भगवद् गीता — अध्याय 12 (श्लोक 13–19)

भगवद्गीता की गहन शिक्षाओं में गहराई से जानने के लिए हमारे एक खास समूह में आप शामिल हो सकते हैं। यह ग्रुप सिर्फ उन लोगों के लिए विशेष तौर पर बनाया गया है जो अपनी आध्यात्मिक प्रगति और जीवन निर्माण के प्रति गंभीर हैं। हर रविवार की सुबह, ग्रुप प्रश्नोत्तर सत्र के लिए खुलता है, जहाँ आप जीवन निर्माण अथवा धर्म और अध्यात्म से संबंधित कोई भी प्रश्न पूछ सकते हैं। आपके प्रश्नों के उत्तर एक एक कर प्रसिद्ध आध्यात्मिक मार्गदर्शक श्रीयुत ब्रह्मबोधी द्वारा दिया जाएगा। जुड़ने के लिए लिंक पर क्लिक करें और अपनी नई अध्यात्म-यात्रा की शुरू करें। https://chat.whatsapp.com/BtWT19h1bq812WY6SvwCWc

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ईश्वर-प्राप्ति और आध्यात्मिक प्रगति के लिए चित्त-शुद्धि उतनी ही आवश्यक है, जितनी खेती करने से पहले भूमि की तैयारी। यदि आप बिना भूमि तैयार किए बीज बो देंगे, तो उत्तम फसल नहीं होगी। इसी प्रकार, यदि आपका चरित्र निर्मल नहीं हुआ है, तो चाहे आप कितना भी जप करें, उसका फल सीमित रहेगा।

इसलिए, मैं पुनः आपका ध्यान इस ओर आकर्षित करता हूँ कि भगवद् गीता के 12वें अध्याय के 13वें से 19वें श्लोक और 16वें अध्याय के पहले से तीसरे श्लोक के आलोक में प्रतिदिन आत्म-मूल्यांकन करें।
प्रयास यह रहे कि आपका चित्त उन श्लोकों के मानदंडों पर खरा उतरता जाए। यह एक दिन में नहीं होगा, परंतु यदि आप सभी मानदंडों पर खरे नहीं भी उतर पाते, तो अधिकांश पर खरे उतरना अनिवार्य है।

जब ऐसा होगा, तब आपके द्वारा किया गया कोई भी आध्यात्मिक साधन शीघ्र ही फलदायी सिद्ध होगा।

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Lahiri Mahasaya and the Mystery of Idol Worship | The Kashi Vishwanath Episode

Some people oppose idol worship, yet the Bhagavad Gita and the tradition of saints teach us that there are many paths to reach God.

👉 This truth was beautifully explained by Lahiri Mahasaya through a remarkable incident.
A Bengali gentleman, who strongly opposed idol worship, once came to seek initiation. Lahiri Mahasaya directed him first to visit the Kashi Vishwanath Temple.

When he reached the temple, he witnessed an astonishing sight — instead of the Shiva Lingam, he saw Lahiri Mahasaya himself seated there.

🌸 This profound experience revealed to him that opposing idol worship was meaningless.
Connection with God arises from inner devotion and feeling — whether through an image or without it.

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Question:
Gurudev,
Hari Sharanam!
To what extent is it appropriate to speak a lie for the welfare of others?

Answer (Brahmabodhi):

In Sanātana Dharma, there is an ancient tradition of speaking the truth and honouring truthfulness. Truth has been placed among the highest values of life. Speaking the truth is undoubtedly dharma.

The scriptures declare that those who always speak the truth develop such power in their speech that whatever they utter—be it a blessing or a curse—comes to pass.

Let me give you two examples.

The Episode of King Parīkṣit

You may have heard about how King Parīkṣit met his death. One day he went hunting in the forest and shot an arrow at a deer, but it escaped. While searching for it, he came across the hermitage of Sage Śamīka, who was deep in meditation. Parīkṣit asked him repeatedly, “Have you seen a deer pass by?” but the sage did not respond. Angered, the king noticed a dead snake lying nearby, picked it up, and placed it around the sage’s neck as a mock garland, and then left.

When the sage’s son, Śṛṅgi Ṛṣi, arrived and saw his father thus dishonoured, he was furious. Upon inquiring from the people and learning what had happened, he uttered a curse: “On the seventh day from today, King Parīkṣit will die from the bite of a serpent.”

Sage Śamīka, the father, was a calm and gentle sage. He told his son, “Withdraw your curse; this act of yours will bring great calamity.” But Śṛṅgi replied, “I have never spoken falsehood in my life; therefore, my spoken word cannot become untrue, nor do I have the means to undo it.” Such is the majesty of truth.

And indeed, despite every effort to avert it, King Parīkṣit died on the seventh day by the bite of the serpent Takṣaka.

The Example of Ved Vyāsa and Gāndhārī

Another illustration is from the life of Bhagavān Ved Vyāsa. Once he had blessed Queen Gāndhārī saying, “You shall have one hundred sons.” She conceived, but eventually miscarried, and only a lump of flesh emerged. Distressed, she approached Vyāsa and lamented, “You had blessed me with a hundred sons, yet my pregnancy has ended in failure!”

Vyāsa reassured her, saying, “Devi, I have never spoken falsehood—not even in jest. Therefore, my word cannot become untrue.” Such is the glory of truth. He then instructed her in a method through which, from that mass of flesh, one hundred sons were eventually born.

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I narrated these two examples so that one may understand that speaking the truth is a great dharma, and it holds immense power.

Yet, now I must tell you something further.
Speaking the truth is indeed a general or ordinary form of dharma. But dharma is of two kinds — Sāmānya Dharma (general duty) and Āpaddharma (duty in times of crisis). In exceptional circumstances, if the intention is pure and noble, even deviating from the usual rule of truth may itself be dharma.

Thus, the Mahābhārata declares:

“Sa eva dharmaḥ sa adharmaḥ deśa-kāle pratiṣṭhitaḥ”
— According to time and circumstance, that which is considered dharma may become adharma, and that which seems adharma may become dharma.

Therefore, in special situations—for the protection of someone’s life or for their highest welfare—even speaking untruth can be dharma.
However, this principle must not become an excuse for habitual or frequent lying.

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Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s Harmony of Truth and Righteous Policy

Just before the Mahābhārata war commenced, Arjuna fell into moral confusion. He said to Śrī Kṛṣṇa, “O Mādhava! How can I find happiness by killing my teachers, elders, and kin? Even if this is a righteous war, is such violence justifiable?”

Śrī Kṛṣṇa explained:

• Truth is a noble virtue,
• Non-violence is also a revered principle,
• But —
  • If adharma is triumphing,
  • If the innocent are being destroyed,
  • If patience and compassion are mistaken for weakness,
    then remaining silent or inactive becomes the greatest adharma.

In this very context, Krishna instructed Arjuna:

“Sukha-duḥkhe same kṛtvā
Lābhālābhau jayājayau।
Tato yuddhāya yujyasva
Naivaṁ pāpam avāpsyasi॥” (Gītā 2.38)

“Take joy and sorrow, gain and loss, victory and defeat alike — and then engage in your righteous duty. In doing so, no sin will touch you.”

Here, Śrī Kṛṣṇa is not glorifying violence — He is teaching that:

“Truth and non-violence are virtues only so long as they do not aid adharma.
And when firm action is required to restrain injustice — that very firmness becomes the highest dharma.”

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Conclusion

• Truth and non-violence are indeed great virtues.
• Yet, their wise application according to circumstance is the true mark of dharma.
• If speaking the truth causes unjust harm, silence is better than speech.
• If speaking an untruth saves life or prevents grave injustice, that untruth becomes dharma.
• And if standing against evil requires firmness, even that becomes righteous warfare — dharma-yuddha.

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