Importance of Mother’s Day

(Speech given by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj on Mother’s Day on 13 May 2001)

The whole world is celebrating Mother’s Day today. The true meaning of celebrating Mother’s day i.e. a day to honour mothers.  In other words, it is a day to understand the importance of a mother.  Who is a mother?  And who is celebrating it?  It is important to know that. 

The scriptures say that –  Your father, meaning everyone’s father is Shri Krishna and Radharani is the mother of everyone.  Everyone means all individual souls. It includes humans, demons, celestial beings, animals, birds, worms, insects, trees.  All the 8.4 million species. All souls.  What is a soul?  It is that entity which makes the body work. It is only then that the eyes see, the ears hear, the nose smells, the tongue tastes, the skin feels,the mind thinks, and the intellect can make decisions.  The soul is the one that makes all these work. 

And when it leaves the body, the eyes stop seeing, the nose stops smelling, the ears stop hearing, all these senses depart with the soul – the mind and everything else leave with the soul. The soul does not leave alone.  Again when it enters into the mother’s body, it brings all of them along.   So all the souls in the 8.4 million forms of life, according to the Vedas, are  all God’s  children. 

Whether you say Radharani, Shri Krishna, it is the same thing. That is, everyone’s father, mother, are one.  The scriptures declare that there is only one supreme power. Some call him Bhagwan, some call him paramatma., some call him Brahm, some call him khuda, some call him God.  He is one power.  He alone is your mother, father, friend, etc.  All our relations are with him alone.

In the Vedas, a question is asked, “Who is this entity which is called Brahm, God?”  What is his most specific definition?  Please tell us since not everyone can claim to know all.   The Vedas said – The one from whom the whole world emanates,  by whom the entire world is protected and into whom the entire world merges is known as Bhagwan, Brahm, Khuda, etc. He doesn’t have 2, 4 or 10 names. He has unlimited names.  One can call him by any name he wants – He will accept it.

Did Mother Yashoda ever call him Shri Krishna? She called him “Lalla,” “Kanua” – Mother Yashoda used to call him these names. She got the privilege of becoming his mother.  Moreover, look at the Gopis, they called him a thief, and a rogue!  A flirt!  God doesn’t give importance to these names.  He pays attention to what feelings you have for him.  

In the world, we give importance to words and outward behaviour.  “Oh I went to this man’s house, and he was addressing me with respect, and then he arranged for snacks for me. He even got me to sit on his chair.”  Now why did he do all this?  There is some deceit involved. He had some self-interest which this person couldn’t understand.  He was simply  looking at his outward behaviour.   God doesn’t observe external behaviour.  He goes within you to see your motive. 

So the creator, protector and destroyer, is God, Radharani.  That is why all are her children.  Now, just like in our world, a mother has 10 children and among them one might be a Collector, Commissioner, clerk, and one an errand boy.  Another became an alcoholic and became destitute.  They were children of the same father and they are perceived differently.  One more of the children of that father became a saint.  Someone asked him,  “Who is your father?”  He tells him who his father is.  “Your father is very fortunate to have a saint born into his family.”  He asked another son, “Who is your father? And he mentioned the same father.  But this son was a spoiled child, a thief.  The person said, “Oh, you’re his son too!”  Thus, now the father gets a bad name. 

Similarly, some children of God are saints, and some like us who are spoiled children who love the world and not God. We don’t identify ourselves as souls and we consider ourselves as the body.  Further, we consider the relatives of our body as our own.  We think, this is my mother, this is my father, my husband, etc.  In this way, we have spent countless lives and we still continue to do so.  Who knows what we will do in the future, no one knows.  

So Radharani alone is everyone’s mother.  So the purpose of celebrating Mother’s Day is to accept Radharani as our true mother. Accept from inside.  To have faith, to know and not know – these are 3 stages.   One stage is to be unaware that we are a soul and that God is our father and mother.  We are unaware of it.  No one told us. After birth, we grew up, earned all these BA, MA degrees, and we worked in a job, ran after money, bought a house, a car, adorned our body with beautiful clothes, jewelleries, etc.  We remained occupied with all this and one day we suffered a heart attack and left this world.  Some people are like this.

Another type of people are those who have understood through a saint that this body is ours but we are not the body.  If we were the body, then our parents, husband, wife who loved our body whilst we were alive would have loved it even after we died.  But instead, when the soul leaves the world, then the same spouse, the same father said, “Quick, take this body out of this house, bring the funeral bier quickly, let’s quickly go to the cremation ground and set it on fire.”  But isn’t this the same body that you loved so much.  “Oh he has left!”  You suddenly  have this understanding then.

If you could understand this, then why would you consider the worldly people as your own and why would you run after material things. “Do you have enough to eat?”  “Yes.”  “Then do devotion to God for the remainder of your life”.  “Well Maharaji, the thing is that, my son, my grandson, my so and so…”    “Come on!  You know that you are the soul.  When you die, will your son,  etc. come with you?”  Even if others die along with you by taking poison, even then, they can’t  accompany you.   Everyone has their own road or destiny to follow.  

Some may go to hell, someone may become a dog or a cat.  You wouldn’t be able to control anything.  “Son, where are you going?”  He would say, “What son?”  When Arjun’s son, Abhimanyu died,  Arjun was very sad.  He said to God, “O Lord, you are God. You know everything.  Please call my son once so that I can see him.”  God smiled and said,”Ok, I will show you.”   He called Abhimanyu.  As soon as Arjun saw him, he said “Oh my son, come to me.”  Abhimanyu said,”What son? Father, for countless lifetimes, you have become my son,”  

For instance, suppose your father dies. Will he be born again? Yes. Where will he be born?  He will be born to the ones who are junior.  He is senior now, an old man.  And when he dies, the soul will be born again.  He may be born in your family. So after death, these individual souls take birth in their son’s or grandson’s home and then their children become their forefathers.  Again when they die, they become their sons.  So Abhimanyu says, “Many times, you have become my son.   What is this nonsense, about being your son?  I am not anyone’s son.  I have left the body which was your son. It was only my body that was created inside my mother. My parents didn’t create the soul.  I left the body there.  But you burned it.  I entered the mother’s womb and then I left when my work was done.”  

We are the servants of Maya. We stay for a certain  time.  When our time is up, we leave. At that time, we won’t be allowed to attend to any last minute thing.  You have to let it all go when your time is up. “But I’m a man of high status.”  All that does not count.  “I am a devotee of God.”  It’s fine that you are a devotee, you go to Golok.  But you cannot stay here.  You are no longer entitled to stay here.  

Which saint is still physically present in the world?  They came and they left.  Jagadguru Shankarcharya left at the age of 32 years. Ramanacharya left when he was 120 years old.  Madhacharya stayed in the world for 70-80  years. Everyone’s time in the world varies. This is the condition of the saints.  What to say of us, worldly people.  The  poor people are already bound by maya.  They are taken away by maya’s yamaduta (messengers of death). The saints, however, are respectfully taken away by Yamraj after he offers his pranam (obeisance) to  them.  Regardless, everyone has to go.

Everyone has this theoretical knowledge and yet they forget and again get attached to their physical mother, son, husband, wife, etc.  It’s not a disease  of this lifetime, we have had this disease in our mind for countless times. The same mind has been eternally with us.  The mind doesn’t change. Body changes only. That is why the mind carries the same sanskar  that makes us think that we are the body.  So if we should strengthen this knowledge that we are the soul and not the body. 

It’s not something that we have just heard or have to believe or because it is written in the Ramayana. You are seeing with your eyes. One person had four children, and had a fifth. And another person had just one child and he died.  The boy was coming home after he  had just completed his IAS and he died. You are seeing it aren’t you? And no one is able to do anything. 

There are many great scientists. What can they do?  Even they have to go. When great yogis, ascetics and sages, could not evade death, then what can a scientist do?  There is no cure for this.  Moreover, even an atheist may say that, “It’s good that people are dying.” As it is, there is not enough food. If people stop dying, what will happen in 10 years?  “How much more would the population increase?”  Even upon seeing and experiencing everything, yet we consider ourselves as the body. There cannot be any greater fallacy than this. 

In the world, we say that if a cat burns her mouth even once, she even blows on buttermilk.  On the other hand, in our home in our body, we experience all of this hundreds of times and yet remain attached to it. We dream, “He will be my companion.”  From the time a baby comes into the mother’s womb, she proudly says, “Now I am going to be a mother.”  The father says,” My child is in the womb.” The grandfather says, ”I am going to be a grandfather.”  Everyone in the family is excited at the prospect of the baby’s arrival.  No one is aware that this boy may grow up and destroy their family.  “Oh, how will that happen?”  “Why? Don’t you see that?”  “Have you never ever seen such cases?”  “Yes, I have seen.”

A mother tries to teach and guide her son so that he becomes a good human being.  She says, “Hold your ears, squat up and down. Will you do it again in future?”  When children grow older, do they care for their parents?  They think their mother is blabbering on. “She’s an old woman. The old times are gone, they have no idea. The world has changed.”  What has changed? Is the ear doing the job of the eyes? What has changed in the world after all?  What part of your life has changed?  Your food, your sleep, lust, anger, greed, infatuation.  Has anything inside you changed?

Eventually, the same son or daughter gives so much tension and stress to the mother and father that they feel that it would have been better if we did not have this child.  And once upon a time, he happily used to carry the child, exclaiming proudly that “My child will be so good” and indeed the child was good and innocent. Later as the child got educated, he learned deceit and he started cheating and playing tricks. His mother and father are actually partly responsible for this because they are the ones who teach the child too with their behaviour. 

Then, children have many friends who also teach them.  There is a lot of dirty literature available which spoils the child.  Their inner mental tendencies also play a part. There is not just one reason.  We know everything.  We don’t need the Vedas or scriptures to tell us this.  We are seeing everything with our eyes but in  spite of that, we still have attachments. We consider those very material things as our own and in this way, we take birth in the world over and over again. 

Very rarely do we get a human body. According to the scriptures, God grants it once in a while. There are 8.4 million types of bodies. Of these the human body is the only one with which we can attain perfection.  Even the celestial gods, to whom we pray to, don’t have the right to do actions.  They can only enjoy all types of luxuries there.  We have been there many times. And then returned to the world, in the animal form as dogs and cats. 

Then again we became a human being and God said, ”Don’t make any mistakes this time. I am giving you a human life.  I am also presenting you with the Vedas so that you can read and understand.”  ”O Lord, we can’t understand the  Vedas.“ God said, “I am sending one of my own people. A Saint. He will explain it to you.”  “Did he explain it?”   Did you understand?”  “Yes, I understood.” These are people in the 2nd stage, 

As I explained, those in the first stage who never had the chance to understand.  Meeting a saint, developing faith, and listening to his words would have made him understand. All these did not happen. However, after understanding, even if  you come across a scholar from Kashi and you share this knowledge that you learnt from me, he would say, “Wow, you have so much knowledge, this is amazing!  What do you do?”  “Oh, I have an ordinary job.” “I am a vegetable seller.” He would say, “Your knowledge surpasses many learned people’s knowledge.” You would then reply, “I have heard all these from my Maharaji and it is all in my mind.” 

Now that you all know this in theory, why don’t you apply this knowledge in practical life?  This is the third stage.  First there are those, who don’t want to know, second those who know, and do not follow it practically,  For example, God lives everywhere. Some people don’t know it, they only know what they are seeing.  Some people know through Vedas and Saints that God is everywhere, he is within us and takes note of our ideas.  But do they believe it? No one believes it. None of you sitting here believes it. Then how else will others believe it,   How will those who don’t even know it, believe it. To believe means to follow it practically. 

To follow practically means to believe all the time that “God is watching me.”  Whatever I am doing is being watched by Him. I want to receive his grace and divine love.  And he is watching me and is always with me.” Then how can you do wrong things? Think of wrong things? Why do you? “Oh at that time, we forget.” Then what good is that knowledge? We forget it at that time. Do you ever forget this knowledge “I am a human being, I am a man. I am a Punjabi, I am a Bengali. I am her son, she is my mother, this is my house, my hand, my mouth.” Have you ever forgotten this?  No, we didn’t forget this. 

Then why did you forget that God is everywhere. And that he notes our ideas all the time. So knowing and accepting are two different things.  The first kind of people are those. There won’t be any forgiveness for them. For example,  there is  a worldly Government –  who possibly knows all the Government laws?  What to say of others, even an advocate, has to refer to the law books.  But even if we assume he knows all the laws, how many such people are there?  And what if they know and don’t follow it.

So if we know that Kishori Ji (Shri Radharani) is our real mother, the mother of our soul, and accept this, then we should not get attached to our material mothers. We would then shed tears in front of our real mother and ask only for her divine love.  We should not ask for anything else. Our only duty is to accept her as our real mother.  That is all we have to do, after that she will look after what we need, when to give, what to give, etc, she will do it all.  

Like when a child is born in the world, the mother does everything for him.  The child doesn’t have to think, speak or make any gestures, his mother automatically does everything for him.  Granted, that the baby does this because he is helpless.  Similarly, either a helpless person does this or this can only be done by someone who knows everything.  He is fully surrendered to God and believes that God is my everything.  And then God will take care of  him completely (yogkshem) and he will attain God realisation.  

This should be the real purpose of celebrating Mother’s Day. All glories to our real  mother, Shri Radharani.

Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj

*A brief introduction of Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj*

(Known by His devotees as Shri Maharaj Ji)

The original title of Jagadguruttam (Greatest Spiritual Teacher of the World) was bestowed upon Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj on January 14, 1957, by Kashi Vidvat Parishad (a council of 500 greatest scholars saints of India). He composed divine texts like Prem Ras Madira, Prem Ras Siddhant, and Radha Govind Geet to lead us on the right path of devotion. He also gave priceless monuments as gifts to the world which include Bhakti Mandir located in Bhakti Dham, Mangarh, Prem Mandir located in Vrindavan Dham, and Kirti Mandir located in Barsana Dham. Shri Maharaj Ji also built hospitals for the impoverished, the Jagadguru Kripalu Chikitsalaya in Vrindavan, Jagadguru Kripalu Chikitsalaya in Barsana, and another one in Pratapgarh. All three help millions of underprivileged to gain free access to medical care. His Kindergarten, School, and College for impoverished girls Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat Education is located in Kunda and provides completely free education.