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CONTENTS
PHILOSOPHY
OF BHAKTI Bhakti is devotion or unselfish love. This is the literal meaning of the word. It comes from the root ‘Bhaj' to serve or be deeply interested in. ‘Bhaj Sevayam' is the Sanskrit root. Bhakti is, therefore, an intense attachment to God or deep interest in God and things concerned with God. The innate nature of all beings is to love an external object. We cannot but love or cherish something in the heart. For, truly, the Absolute alone is existent. Man is only an ego apparently separated from it. Love for external things is an unconscious internal urge to become unified with everything. For, in reality, man is everything, the Absolute Itself. He wants everything. Love is the forerunner of Experience. Love is the craving. Experience is the fulfilment of it. None can live without love for something. “The creator pierced the senses with outward activity” and that rule applies to one and all here. The mind is the main sense of perception, for it only the mind that perceives through the various channels of the senses. The senses do not work when the mind does not. But it is a folly on our part to allow the mind to run extrovert in all directions. The dissipated rays of the mind take interest in countless objects of the universe, seen and heard equally. Yogins have come to the conclusion that the mind that is centred in one point of space at all times can do and undo things with supernatural force. It is the concentrated ray of the sun passing through a lens that burns things focussed through it, and not so much the rays that are scattered here and here. Mind has to be concentrated on one substance, be it this or that. The mind should not jump from one thing to another. This is the way of Samsara. This should be stopped by controlling the mind through one pointedness of it. Concentration is done either on a point in space (Bhakti Marga) or on the entire existence (Jnana Marga). The annihilation of thought is the death of individuality which is the experience of the Absoluteness. But man can concentrate his mind on any object. He can concentrate his mind on his wife or children as he usually does. But this is not the concentration or love that is meant here. Meditation on or love towards the objects of earthly pleasure are binding chains which hurl down the Jiva to many cycles of birth and death. We mean here concentration on and love for God. This Love of unselfish origin is a ladder to Final Emancipation. Emotions are generally considered as a hindrance in perfect Realisation. But only certain emotions are of a binding nature while certain others will liberate the Jiva from bondage. The conception of God does not rouse in man any binding emotion. It is pure emotion devoid of carnality and attachment. One cannot develop earthly love towards God. The conception of God and love for God rouse the purest of emotions and it is far better than evil emotions which overpower man day and night. Those who cannot still all emotions must have at least pure emotions. This is the significance of divine emotion in Bhakti Marga. Love for God can never be the type of love cherished towards wife, children and property. There is much difference, though, even love for God is given on earthly colouring like that of son, husband, father, etc., by some devotees who find it difficult to break all earthly connections at a stretch. How, then, does love for God give us Liberation from Samsara? Man is an egoistic entity. His only enemy is the ego. He feels that he is entirely different from other things of the world. He is convinced that he is sharply marked off from the universe by his physical body. He is sure that he is only the body even though he may try to deny it in any way. When he says ‘I' he always points out to his chest and not to the yonder tree. Many unfortunate Vedantins also feel that when they assert “I am Brahman” they mean only that the body is Brahman. It is very difficult to separate the “I” from the notion of the body. When one says “I am Ramakrishna” he means only that “the body is Ramakrishna”. None can get rid of this notion of the body as the real Self. The ideal of all Yogas is to root out this sense of ego. And Bhakti Yoga is a method to kill the sense of separateness or egoism. It annihilates the modifications of the mind and fills the individual with Universal Consciousness. A Bhakta says: “O Lord! I am Thine. All is Thine. I am not a separate entity. I have no power to do anything. You are doing everything taking myself as an instrument. O Lord! You are everywhere. I am waling over Your Body. I am not able to live separately for I am seeing You everywhere. You appear as the man and the woman and as the old man that totters with a stick on the road, You have become everything. I have no independence. I am Your slave. A slave has no optional views. He can do only what the Master commands him to do. I am doing nothing. You only are doing through me. You are the Doer. You are the Enjoyer. I am nothing. Thy will be done.” This is the highest type of Love. This is Divine Love. the ego cannot assert itself for God alone is everywhere. The mind cannot modify itself into Vrittis of sense objects for, to him, there is no object except God. Who is there to be loved or hated? The Bhakta is therefore blissful at all times. The mind cannot think of anything. For, everything is God. “Yatra yatra mano yati tatra tatra samadhayah.” Wherever the mind goes there it experiences Samadhi, for it does not find an object of enjoyment. God is filling every speck of space. The whole world is clothed with the Glory of God. The saint and the sinner, the virtuous and the vicious, the good and the bad, the man and the animal, all are forms of God. How can the mind deal the them in an undivine way? There the mind experiences Samadhi. The mind has Consciousness. But it has no object. This is Samadhi. Samadhi is thoughtless Consciousness, objectless Knowledge. This is Para Bhakti. This is one with Vedantic Realisation. Vedanta Sakshatkara and Para Bhakti are only two names for one and the same thing. The effect of both is annihilation of the ego or the destruction of the mind. The mind cannot live without an object of perception. God, who is supremely powerful, supremely wise and supremely blissful is pervading the entire atmosphere and the earth. He is the earth and the heaven. He is the father and the mother, brother and sister. God is the consummation of all love and aspiration, desire and ambition. He is the stoppage of all mental Vrittis. He is the ideal to be attained. Objective consciousness is dead when the presence of God everywhere is felt. The sense objects are transformed into the glory of Divinity. Wife is no more an object of lust, and money is not a property to be coveted. All is God and nothing is but God. All are to be worshipped. “The ass, the dog and the Chandala are to be saluted,” said Sri Krishna to Uddhava, “Sarvam khalvidam brahma.” There is no difference. The illustration of the two varieties of Samadhi is found in the Rasa Lila of Sri Krishna. At first the Gopis perceive that all is Krishna alone. This is equal to Savikalpa Samadhi. Afterwards they feel that even they themselves are Krishna only. This is equal to Nirvikalpa Samadhi where the sense of ego is absent. The Srimad Bhagwata is the Bible of the devotees. It illustrates the various kinds of Rasas and modes of developing Bhakti. “Control the mind, annihilate the ego.” This is the essence of all Yogas. Whatever be the name given to the Yoga and whatever may be the methods employed therein, the ideal to be achieved is annihilation of the mind and the ego. And this is the ideal of Bhakti Yoga which is a very sweet and easy method of procedure. One has not got to curb his emotions and one not got to run to the forests. He has to direct his emotions to God and he has to see God as present in the world. This is the essence of Bhakti Sadhana. Bhakti is thus only a reflection of the love for the Self which the Upanishads declare. Only the names are different; one calls it Self, another calls it God. Names do not matter much. It is the feeling that counts. And that is the same. Self surrender is the highest form of Bhakti. Self surrender is surrender of the ego or individuality. And what remains is the Absolute of the Vedantins. This there is no difference between Vedanta and the highest form of Bhakti. Bhakta surrenders the ego. Anyhow the ego is not there in both. Their ideals are the same. Whether one eats rice or wheat, it is all the same. The purpose of both is to appease hunger. And there is no quarrel between the two. Whether you follow Bhakti or Vedanta the effect is the annihilation of the ego. This is the truth. There are two varieties of Bhaktas. The inferior type Bhakta feels that everything is God except himself. He feels that he is the only one who is not God and all else is God. This is the lower Bhakti and the presence of ego hampers the ultimate experience. The higher kind of Bhakta feels that he himself is included in God and that he has no independent existence. His ego is rooted out completely and this is the realisation of Para Bhakti or Vedanta. Here his emotions stop and he becomes a calm ocean without waves. His mind is stilled and it merges into the Universal Truth. This is culmination of Bhakti which supreme devotees like the Gopis of Vrindavan and Gouranga Mahaprabhu experienced. Love for God should be unselfish. There should be no earthly motive behind love for God. Otherwise, it becomes only a modification of infatuation and delusion. Arta, Jijnasu and Artharthi are all selfish Bhaktas. They cannot have the highest fruit of devotion. They are deluded by earthliness. Only a Jnani is a true selfless Bhakta flooded with the majesty and grandeur of emotionless peace. The highest kind of Bhakta is one who wants nothing from God. He merely wants God. He says: “O Lord! I want Thee. Nothing else do I want! What is there which I have to get after getting Thee, the source and the root of everything? When wheat is obtained, bread, Parotta, Halva and all its modifications are obtained. When gold is obtained, all ornaments are obtained. When God is attained, everything else is attained. The devotee is lost in the consciousness of God. He has plunged in to ocean of Bliss. He has taken a bath in the sea of Nectar. He has drunk deep the essence of Immortality. He has become an Apta Kama, for he has attained God. The text book of the highest kind of Bhaktas is the Srimad Bhagavata. It embodies the great ideals of renunciation, devotion and knowledge brought to a stage of unblemished perfection. This Purana, far above what a Purana is supposed to be like, is the cream of the devotional literature of the Hindus. It is the wealth of the lovers of God. It is a book of divine wisdom, it advocates the path of non action. Sri Krishna Chaitanya (Gouranga) is said to have been considering this work as the greatest of Indian spiritual productions. It is a great authority on pure Spiritual Dharma, not as a means for Artha and Kama, but directly for Moksha. It has a fascination even for those who are keenly alive in finding out its defects. The whole body of the work is completely saturated with high expositions of Bhakti, Vairagya and Jnana Devotion Renunciation and Wisdom. The ideal of Renunciation and Knowledge of Rishabadeva, Jadabharata and the Brahmana of Avanti, the Devotion of Dhruva, Prahlada and Ambarisha, the Wisdom of Narada and Kapila, and, above all, the immortal life and Teachings of Bhagavan Sri Krishna to His devoted disciple Uddhava, for the nucleus of Srimad Bhagavata. It is a grave mistake to misrepresent and cavil at Bhakti, for the true spirit of every religion implies the adoration and love of God and the desire for union with God. the highest conception of perpetual Bliss is not mere prostration and service, but a loving union with the Eternal. In emphasising true devotion as a method for salvation, it is not meant that service and love of humanity should be paid a deaf ear to; for all is God, and he who serves humanity serves God. He that loveth his neighbour, loveth God. The bhakta identifies himself with all the beings of the world; he feels the universe as a mere manifestation of God which is nothing short of Advaitic Realisation. Those men who truly love God with sincere feeling, cannot go astray. They do not perish. Even the sinner and the Sudra is lifted up to the magnanimous height of Emancipation. The kindness of God is immeasurable. God illumines their intellect and takes care of them at all times. The Bhagavadgita and the Bhagavata are witnesses to this fact. The Bhakta will be guided by God and illuminated with Wisdom for the attainment of the Supreme Blessedness! EVERYTHING
IS YOGA Worshipful homage to that supreme, eternal, universal Being who revealed Himself in a glorious personal form comprising total Divinity as the world teacher, Lord Krishna, and who revealed Himself in and through the Gita wisdom teachings that He imparted for all mankind, for all times, through His beloved devotee and disciple, the warrior prince Arjuna. He not only revealed His divine nature through His Bhagavad Gita teachings, He also revealed how man can realise Him fully, can experience Him, and, ultimately, how man can merge himself in Him to become one with Him. All this He taught within the compass of 700 brief verses contained in 18 chapters. And what is His main teaching? What is His main method of attaining the supreme human experience of our essential non differentiation from Him, which experience liberates us forever from all sorrow, all confusion and delusion, and liberates us once and for all from a return to successive birth, death and rebirth in this mortal world? What is this method? We all know that classical Indian spiritual tradition speaks of four yogas—channelising our action potential through karma yoga for God realisation, channelising our sentiment and emotion potential for realising God through bhakti yoga, channelising our mind's power of concentration for attaining God realisation through raja yoga, through meditation, and channelising our intellectual potential of analysis, logic, discrimination and reasoning to attain illumination through jnana yoga. But in the Gita we witness a strange phenomenon in that 18 yogas are mentioned, one for each chapter. It speaks only about yoga. What is this strange phenomenon? There are four classical yogas and here we have 18 yogas. Everything is yoga. He covers the whole of human life in His teaching. What is that central teaching? The central teaching is that, in fact, all life is yoga. Life is to be lived as the great sadhana, the great yoga. All actions constitute yoga. Everything that you think is yoga. Everything that you speak is yoga. Everything that you do is yoga. That is why everything that you think should be thought of as yoga. That is why everything that you utter should be regarded as yoga. That is why everything that you do must be done as yoga. There is nothing else in life except yoga and yoga alone. All of life is yoga. Life is the great sadhana. Life is the supreme yoga, every part of it. Life is to be lived as such. That is why it was given. Each and every one of our actions from morning till evening should have a Godward thrust; they are to be engaged in for attaining illumination. Everything in our life is and ought to be enlightenment oriented. Breathing, sitting, standing, running, resting, working, lying, waking, dreaming, sleeping, all constitute that one single process—yoga. So there are not merely 18 yogas. There are innumerable yogas every moment. Everything is to be regarded as yoga; it is not just eighteen. The number of yogas is legion. This is to be grasped. This is the great truth about you, about each and every one of us. May the grace of the Supreme and the benedictions of revered and beloved Holy Master Gurudev Swami Sivanandaji enable us to fully recognise this truth, fully assimilate this truth, fully live in the light of this truth, and thus become the Truth. May God bless us all! TAP
THE INFINITE SOURCE OF ENERGY Human birth, higher aspirations and the inspiration to contact great ones and to imbibe their stirring spiritual messages—all these constitute your wealth. All these constitute your good fortune. All these constitute your special unique blessings when compared to those who do not have these things. Having been born as human beings, countless millions of people lead a life where their human potential is never fully recognised, never fully tapped and utilised. It is frittered and wasted away in miscellaneous petty pursuits and occupations. Thus, even though rich, they are poor. Even though most fortunate, they are the most unfortunate of beings. For they fail to recognise their good fortune and fail to put this great good fortune to proper use, wisely. However, recognising our good fortune, let us try to see what we can do upon the constructive, positive side in order to build up a source of energy that will constitute an asset to ourselves and a fort out of which we can trap the living waters of a dynamic, progressive life, and what we can do in order to build up such a reserve of energy. It will not be possible to dwell upon all the things that we can do, but even dwelling upon a few of them will be, as it were, a finger pointing in the direction to follow. A great deal of good will accrue to that human individual who makes up one’s mind that henceforward I will always look upon the brighter side of things and never for a moment continue the habit of looking on the darker side of things. In short, be optimistic. Never say, I cannot do it. Never say, this is not possible. Never say, this is never meant to happen to a wretched person like me. Who are you to say what is meant to happen to you, what is not meant to happen to you, when there is some higher Power that looks after and governs the life of all beings? Who are you to jump to conclusions as though you have made a window into His omniscience? You are trying to take a higher position: “He knows everything. I know what He knows.” This is a sort of mentality by which we become our own enemy. Instead of that, why not be positive? Why not say, “Everything is happening for my evolution. I am sure that only good can come out of it. Why? Because I know that the Supreme Being is all-goodness. How do I know? All the saints have said so. All the wise people have said it. All the scriptures of the world say that. He is all-auspicious, all-blessed, the supreme One, the great and glorious One. There is nothing negative in Him.” In that way, hundreds and thousands of saints that have come and blessed the earth by their life and teachings through millennia have sung His praises, sung His glories. These great ones have lauded the Supreme Being in unmistakable terms, and this not merely through sentiment or emotion. They have lauded the Supreme Being out of their own personal experience of that Being. Therefore, we can be absolutely sure that that Being is the most blessed one, all-auspicious, all-good. “Therefore, I would be perfectly right and safe if I base my life upon that assumption and proceed with living my life on that assumption.” The wise person gets rid of the past. They do not allow the past to be iron shackles and chains connected to a great ball of iron: “So what hope is there for me to move forward even one inch? I am cursed to be where I am and to languish and die.” This is the view of the self-defeating, negative-thinking pessimist, who sees only problems everywhere, not knowing that the problem is here. We have transformed ourselves into one great big problem, the problem of the self. Therefore, shatter this self-created dungeon of darkness and soar high into the brilliant, bright light of the sun of optimism. Hope is one of the things prized by the Christian faith—faith, hope and love. Hope springs from faith also. And you will be abundantly benefited by this alchemy of transferring your base from pessimism to optimism, transforming yourself from a negative-thinking, despairing pessimist to a positive-thinking, hopeful optimist, by which you throw the doors wide open for your ascent, success, progress and highest attainment. Pranayama also gives abundant energy. Deep breathing and pranayama give abundant energy to the physical system. Go out into the sun and let the breeze play upon your face. Every day, without fail, breathe deeply and let the sun and breeze play upon you. You can thus draw great energy and benefit yourself physically and mentally. When you go out into the bright sun, into the open, your mood no longer can be negative. Your mood changes. The mind becomes converted from a narrow limited state into an unlimited, vast, expanded state when you go out into the expanded open with nothing to obstruct your view in all four directions. Lift up and look up into the lofty imperium. You will be abundantly rewarded. So, with unfailing regularity, practise pranayama every day. Pranayama fills the body cells and nerve currents with abundant energy by drawing from the endless, immeasurable, infinite, infallible cosmic prana surrounding you. There is boundless cosmic energy all around us. We are living in a field of great cosmic energy for it is all the manifestation of Mother Sakti. Prakriti or nature is a manifestation of sakti, so everywhere there is a plentiful, perennial, inexhaustible supply of sakti in which we live, move and have our being. Recognising this, through pranayama, create positive suggestions and feel that from the top of your head to the tip of your toenails every cell is being renewed, rejuvenated, transformed, energised and vitalised. In this way, day by day you will be a new being filled with that radiant life force, the sakti that is not of the created phenomenon, but the uncreated noumenon. Sakti is uncreated, eternal, and inexhaustible. It can renew you physically, mentally, psychically, nervously. In every way it can rejuvenate you—lungs, heart, circulation, respiration, the whole of the metabolism. We are rolling in an abundant, inexhaustible wealth that you do not have to lift your little finger to touch. It is so close—an inexhaustible wealth of energy, of light, of life. Therefore, let us not be rich and be beggars. Let us not be most blessed and fortunate and imagine misfortune. We are heirs to all this abundance, all this great storehouse and treasure of abundance and energy. We are heirs; we have a claim; it is our birthright. This is a fact. This is the reality of your situation at this moment. Realise this and become blessed. May the Supreme Being and Holy Master enable us to do it and never stop doing it. So help me God. Be it so! THE DOCTRINE OF
THE UPANISHADS (Continued from the previous Issue) An attempt at attaining to the truth of experience takes us through two ideas,—the subjective and the objective. The subjective idea considers things as purely mental or idealistic. The universe, according to it, is an externalised form of mind or idea. But, it will be clear that this is not a tenable position. Experience shows that the object of consciousness is not more real or more unreal than the experiencing idea or consciousness. If the idea of the perceiver is to externalise itself as something in the universe, there must be a basis for it. We have objective perception in dream-experience. We have a dream-space, a dream-time and dream-objects. It may be said that all that we perceive in dream is an idea. But, if we critically examine this position, we shall notice that there is something deeper implied in the argument than what is apparent. What is the meaning of dream? It is known that, in ream-experience, there is a dream-subject together with dream-objects. I become the perceiver of the dream-objects in my dream. But is this dreaming individual identical with the waking individual? I become a subject in dream; and I am a subject in the waking state, also. The question that we have to put here is: Is this dreaming individual who is different from the dream-objects the same as the waking individual who is different from the objects of waking experience? If we think carefully over the issue, we will find that they are different from each other. The waking individual contains within himself the dream-subject as well as the dream-objects. It is the waking subject that has externalised his ideas as the dream-subject and his universe. When we wake up we find that not only the dream-universe is not there, but the dream-subject, also, is not there. The dream-subject and the dream-objects are unified in the waking subject. This can give us a clue to the relation of the individual to the universe. Even as the dream-subject is different from the dream-objects, this waking subject is different from the waking universe is not created by the dream-subject, so the waking universe is not the product of the waking subject. And, even as the subject and the objects in the dream state are resoled into another subject in the waking state, the waking subject and the waking universe are resolved into another subject which is Purushottama or Virat. Ishvara contains in himself all the objects and subjects. The universe is the objectification of the Cosmic or Universal Consciousness, and not of any individual mind. Ishvara is the Soul of the universe, the Cosmic Self, the Cosmic Mind, who is the efficient and material cause of the individual minds; the individual has no independent existence apart from Ishvara God includes in himself both mind and matter. Brahman (the Absolute) is Ishvara divested of cosmic relations, and Ishvara is Brahman in relation to the cosmos. When we started philosophising, we came across three principles—God, the universe and the individual. We have advanced further and have found that God must include within himself the universe and the individuals. He is not merely a relation, but true existence. He is That which resolves into itself the universe and the individuals. But, if, in God, the universe and the individuals are merged completely, why is there perception of difference? I cannot say that I am the same as the world that I see. This question can be answered by making a distinction between the human view of the universe and the divine view. We look at the universe in terms of space, time and causation. The moment we think, we think in terms of these three terms of knowing. Everything is involved in these three thinks. We imply in the fact of our thinking our being individuals. We think of something in space; space objectifies experience. When, we try to introduce a relation among these principles, i.e., God, the universe and the individual, we have already created difference. The difference implied in their conception is the very basis of our processes of thinking. How can we think of the nature of the Divine Being without objectifying it in space? This is why the Upanishads hold that Ultimate Truth is transcendental. The mind of man cannot think of anything independent of objectivity. This is the fundamental error in human perception. God transcends space, time and causation. In order to think of God, we have to transcend these limiting factors. And we cannot do that. The moment we try to avoid these things, we avoid our own existence. The thinker ceases to exist in the attempt at transcending relativity of perception and experience. Philosophy leads us up to a certain stage of thinking; not to the Ultimate Truth. Philosophy trains the intellect in order to recognise its own limitations. It can only make us understand how much we can know in the universe and what we cannot know. The limit of the reasoning power is revealed by philosophy. But the Upanishads do not stop there, with mere reason or with understanding. They reveal the relation among the principles of God, the world and the individual. Only Aparoksha-Anubhava or immediate experience, can reveal the truth of this relation. It is non-relational experience, without a relation between the perceiver and the perceived. It is not like man conceiving of God, but God knowing that he is. “I am”—this is the knowledge of God. Here differs the knowledge of God from the knowledge of man. Man knows: “I am; and others also are”. But God’s experience is not like that. When he knows, “I am”, nothing else exists. This “I” includes everything; there is no space, time or causation for him; it is pure Consciousness. The distinction that is ordinarily made between Ishvara and Brahman can be traced finally to the Upanishads. Though the rigid distinction which is made between these two metaphysical principles in the official Vedanta philosophy of Shankara and his followers cannot be found in the Upanishads clearly set forth, there is no doubt that the basis for this distinction is in the Upanishads themselves. Brahman is described sometimes as Purusha-Vidha which can without difficulty be identified with the Divine Being constituting the three phases of Ishvara, Hiranyagarbha and Virat. The Upanishads, however, do not show much interest in distinguishing between Ishvara and Brahman, and the reason for this it is not hard to seek. It is our extreme attachment to the process of logical thinking that leads us conceive of Ishvara as somehow distinguished from the Supreme Brahman. For all practical purposes, this distinction need not be made, for it is not necessary. To us, who think as individuals situated in space, time and causal relations, the Absolute appears as something which must have some kind of connection with the universe of our experience. We take the universe of objective perception for granted, and then argue that there must be an Absolute beyond the universe. We cannot disregard the universe, for we see it before our eyes and experience it; and we cannot also abandon the Absolute, for without it all experience seems to become self-contradictory and meaningless. We have also to retain our own individual, for we do not see any difference between our being and our individuality. We want everything, we want also difference, and we want consistency and logical perfection! We are aiming at Truth, but to get at Truth we make use of methods which are inconsistent with Truth. This explains our failure in grasping it in its completeness. The distinctions among Brahman, Ishvara, Jagat and Jiva are not fundamental; they are relative to individual experience. And the Upanishads which concern themselves with Truth as it is, and not merely with the logical truth arrived at through speculation, would quite obviously not pay much heed to these relative distinctions created by individual experience. When Ishvara is directly realised, and not merely established by reason, it will be found that Ishvara sheds the relative attributes imposed upon him by the individuals and thus coalesces with the Absolute, Brahman. Brahman appears as Ishvara; it does not become Ishvara. And it appears as Ishvara to the Jivas. When Jivahood is transcended, Ishvarahood, also, has to get cancelled, for the latter is only the correlative of the former, and neither of the two can have irrelative existence. The Absolute alone is; Ishvara, Jagat and Jiva are not absolute existence; they are relations within the Absolute, and independent of the Absolute they cannot be. The Absolute is the All. This is the central doctrine of the Upanishads. But this purport does not easily make itself explicit in any of the proclamations of these texts. They are highly mystical, suggestive and intricate in the manner of their expressions. Nevertheless, this is the outcome of their long discourses, when they are well distilled and properly coordinated. (Concluded) WELCOME THE
CHALLENGE AHEAD To be born into or adopt an ancient culture may mean that we are subject to some rigidities, but built into the culture is the wisdom of not only centuries, but millennia. The great challenge is to understand the inherent wisdom in the culture as it relates to our own individual lives. Those who are fortunate enough to be born into the Vedic way of life have more than a culture designed to help them to be successful in this world. It is rather one that also points to the highest aim of life—liberation. In addition to the laid down wisdom on ethics and morality, there are the basic aims of life—living by dharma, accumulating sufficient wealth, satisfying legitimate desires, but always with the ultimate aim of moksha. One aspect of the Vedic way of life that may seem to be so natural that its wisdom is overlooked is the stages of life—student stage, householder stage, retired stage and finally the renunciate, sannyasa, stage. What is so important about these stages is the recognition that we are meant to move on. We are not meant to be students all our life. Nor are we meant to be householders all our life. Each stage comes at its appropriate time. We are not meant to get stuck in any of them. The secret of a successful life is to live each stage to the very best of our ability and then to let it go and move on. There is nothing quite as silly as a person well into the householder stage who still acts like a student. And in a sense there’s nothing more sad than people who have reached the retired stage but who still want to maintain all the authority and all the privileges of the grihastha stage. We’re meant to move on, we’re meant to renounce each stage at the appropriate time. What is the secret of being able to renounce each stage successfully? It is to see the next stage as an even greater challenge. When we leave the student stage we should see the householder stage as a greater challenge than anything we have been through. This is not too difficult. But when we reach the vanaprastha stage to be able to successfully renounce the authority and prestige of having reached the top of the grihastha stage is indeed quite a challenge. And the way to be successful at it is to see the vanaprastha stage as the greatest challenge that we have as yet encountered. Now the challenge is to move beyond the normal worldly life, to move towards God, to see that there is a whole new world ahead of us waiting for us to explore and in a sense to conquer. If we don’t take this attitude then we are always looking backwards. We can become cynical, negative, because we’re haven’t accepted the challenge of what lies ahead. Finally, when we have successfully completed the retired stage and come to the sannyas stage, once again we must be prepared to leave behind what we have successfully accomplished. It is time to move on, to see the still greater challenge of sannyasa. This is the way to live a positive life—always being prepared to leave behind what has been accomplished and see the greater challenge ahead. HUMAN
BIRTH—THE RAISON D'ETRE Jagadguru Adi Shankara Bhagavad pada, in his Viveka Chudamani, asserts that human birth is rare. (Jantoonaam Narajanma Durlabham). Again, in the next Sloka he declares—“Three things are rare and can be attained only by the grace of God—human birth, longing for liberation and the company of the holy.” durlabham
trayamevaitat devanugraha hetukam Human birth is extolled because it is only in this birth that sadhana for God realisation is possible. Scriptures exhort that the rare human birth be made best use of. “God has sent us here, with the boat of human body to cross the ocean of samsara. Therefore, before the boat is spoiled, cross the ocean.” Mahataa
punyapanyena kreeteyam kaayaanoustvayaa Sri Rama exhorted his subjects to make the best use of this human birth, difficult of attainment even by the gods. Bade bhaag maanush tanu paavaa sur durlabh sab granthanhi gaavaa Animals are not qualified for Sadhana as they do not have rationality and the attendant discrimination. Similarly, in the higher spheres too, such as heaven, one cannot do any sadhana for God realisation. These spheres are meant only for the enjoyment of Karmas. “If we perform bad deeds during our life time, we have to go to hell after death and shall return to earth only after the fruits of the bad deeds are exhausted. Similarly, if we perform good deeds, we shall go to heaven. Hell and heaven are meant only for enjoyment of our deeds. We cannot perform any Karmas there,” declared Pujya Sri Swami Chandra Sekharendra Saraswati, Sankaracharya of the Kanchi Mutt. His Holiness further elucidates this with an example –“We work hard, amass good amount of money and then go to a hotel and spend lavishly there. Once the money is over, we shall have to return to our house. Similarly, once the fruits of the good deeds are over, one has to return to the earth from heaven.” (Ksheene punye martya lokam visanti). However, despite being born as a human being, if one does not perform sadhana for God realisation, his life shall be a waste. In fact, his life is worse than the lives of animals. The actions of animals are guided by instinct, not by reason. Hence, animals are not liable to enjoy the fruits of their actions—good or bad. Therefore, nature ensures birth in the next higher species for animals. But, it is not so with the human beings. After death, depending upon the quantum of the sins, a human being may even be born as an animal. The view that once born as human being, one does not revert to the lower species however, heinous his sins be, is denied by the Vedas. “Naakasya prusthe te sukrutenu bhutvaa imam lokam heenataram vaa visanti.” declares the Mundaka Upanishad (1 2 10) Hence, in case of those, who, even after attaining the rare human birth, waste their life in committing sins and revert back to the lower species, their human birth can be termed inferior to that of animals. Thus, the purpose of human birth is in the Sadhana for God realisation. Vedas proclaim that God realisation is the sole aim of human beings. “Sa aatmaa vijneyah” says the Mandukya Upanishad. The Kena Upanishad (11.5) also echoes the same view. “If a man is able to realise God in this life its purpose will have been achieved. If, however, he fails to do so, in the course of this life, it would spell a terrible ruin for him.” “Maanava should become Maadhava. Naratattva should be transformed into Naaryanatattva, asserts Parama Pujya Satya Sai Baba. This is the reason why human beings are endowed with the sword of Viveka and the shield of Vijnana. This is the reason why Parama Pujya Sri Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj advises, in fact oft repeatedly in very many places of his writings—“The soul purpose of life is God Realisation.” Having attained such a rare human birth, longed for even by gods (vaanchhanti janma maanushyam bhuvi devaah satakratuh—Dattatreya Samhita), one should try to realise God in this very birth. NEWS
AND REPORTS PRESIDENT SWAMIJI WRITES To the Readers of the D.L. Magazine and the Members of the D.L. Society. Radiant Immortal Atman! Some years back this monthly letter was an unfailing feature of the “Divine Life” monthly journal. But, for certain reasons it was suspended and stopped appearing on these pages, presumably due to the unfathomable Will of God and Gurudev. Thereafter, it started appearing on the Internet, thus reaching a far greater number of readers than the monthly magazine could ever possibly reach. Now, once again God willed that the status quo be restored and this feature recommences appearing on these pages. The immediate cause for the resumption of this feature is the very earnest request of a long standing disciple of Sri Gurudev, Sri Bhagirathi Mahapatra of Orissa, a very active member of the Divine Life movement in that eastern State, who is now retired (from the L.I.C.) and has settled down permanently in the Holy City of Jagannath Puri where he has built a house for himself and family. I thank him for his prompting and I am grateful for his having induced me to once again communicate with you and speak to you through these pages. The present year is drawing to a close. Today is the 27th of December 2003. In another 4 days this year will come to a close. It will no more be 2003. Calendars will be scrapped. Diaries will be concluded. We will enter into the New Year 2004 A.D. I wish you a very happy new year! May all the days of the 12 months stretching before you, be filled with good health, happiness, progress prosperity and success in all your good undertakings, plans and projects that you may have in view. The passage of time always brings many changes. For change is the law of life in this world of human beings. But, certain changes are desirable. Certain changes are undesirable ones. One change is inevitable. You must encourage the desirable changes. You must determinedly oppose the undesirable. You must have the courage and the bold strength to face and to accept the inevitable. The positive should be encouraged. The negative should be dismissed. The inevitable should be faced and welcomed with wisdom. “Changes entail an active movement (either visible or invisible as in the case of the milk turning into curd or yogurt). It is a dynamic process. The eggs laid by a bird in its nest are static objects. But, they do not remain in that condition permanently. A day comes after a passage of time when they are birds winging their way swiftly through the vast open space under the dome of the blue skies. A seed sowed under the soil does not remain a seed for ever. It soon sprouts and pushes its way upwards while at the same time sending its roots downwards. After many years, a time comes when that same tiny little seed is a towering tree rising high above the ground and spreading its big branches in all directions and giving shelter to hundreds of birds and shade to large number of cattle as well as human beings. Man is the crowning glory of God’s creation. He is the one and the only living being who has the faculty and power of systematic thinking, rational intelligence and creative genius. He can fly far above the clouds. He can out-run and out-distance the fleetest animal upon the surface of the earth. The Japanese railway system as also the Grand-Prix amply proves this. He can move under the sea with his submarine. Man has landed on the moon. Scientists have created a Space-Station. Numerous satellites are orbiting the earth. All this is fine. Marvellous as these things are, man has yet to learn the art and science of cultivating the great quality of loving kindness, compassion, selflessness, the spirit of service, humility, forgiveness, self sacrifice and dedication to duty. He must learn to adhere to the law of Righteousness or Dharma. This self-culture is the hallmark of the truly educated individual. The last century has seen the two great global wars culminating in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The world is still reeling from their after effects. Children have been orphaned. Countries have been deprived of their wealth. Yet, the great nations have learnt nothing. They still commit aggression and justify it by political irrationality. Their inflated national egos have blinded them to the truth. The sublime admonition, “Love thy neighbour as thine own self” suffers by its non-observance in today’s world. This must change and give place to a new order of things. Then and then alone man can declare that he is truly civilized. O man! Do not postpone and delay this important task. Evolution and progress are meaningless unless you contribute to the welfare of Mankind. They are useless unless they bring about the happiness of Mankind. Any achievement can be declared as valuable only if it brings about good neighbourliness. Sant Tulasi Das declares that compassion is the root of righteousness (Daya Dharma ko mool hai). He further says that egoism and pride is the root of all sin (Paapa mool abhiman). We cannot afford to postpone the establishing of these indispensable values, for time fleeting. It does not stop. Life is short. All life is moving towards decay and death. Birth ends in death and all life is an inexorable movement towards that departure from life in this world. That is why our Upanishads declare, Arise! Awake! Let us do this. Let us move onward from unreality towards the Reality, from darkness unto Light, from mortality to immortality. Peace be unto you! Om Shanti! (Swami Chidananda) IMPORTANT SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT The year 2004 is a significant and important year to Swami Chidananda who makes this Announcement. Its significance and its importance is in the fact that 2004 is the 61st year in Holy Master Worshipful Gurudev Swami Sivanandaji’s Ashram on the banks of sacred river Ganga from that most auspicious and blessed day when this Swami (who was then just a raw mumukshu come up north all the way from Tamil Nadu) had his first Darshan of his spiritual Guru and bowed at his divine Feet in reverence and self-surrender. That was the evening of a full-moon day and the date was 19th May 1943. In India, that is Bharat, the followers of the Vedic religion, the Hindus of this country have a different traditional system of time calculation which is not like the western system. The western system bases itself on centuries and the millennium. Their history moves through periods and divided into Ancient History (mostly B.C.), Medieval History and Modern History. The Hindu on the other hand calculates the onward movement of time in cycles of 60 years. The New Year 2004 is therefore the first year of a new cycle I am just entering into, after completing one full cycle. In the light of this above fact, it occurred to me that I must observe this juncture in my renunciate life (‘Nivritti-marga’ or ‘Nivritti-jivan’) with some special gesture towards the spiritual family of Gurudev Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj to which fraternity I myself belong. Let me offer them some gift, some loving present, but which must however have a definite connection with Sri Gurudev Sivanandaji Maharaj because it is through Him that I am connected with spiritual fraternity. What could it be? What item or what article or thing would fulfill this condition and constitute a suitable present? As I was considering in my mind this aspect of the matter, I was presented with a complimentary copy of a brand new publication titled “A Steady Light”: Swami Gurudevananda” with the sub-heading, “The Life of a Western Disciple” just printed very recently this year and released at midnight on Christmas Eve 24th of December. The book is all about our Divine Life Society’s main representative in U.S.A. conducting the Divine Life Society of Maryland, U.S.A. in the State of the same name i.e. Maryland, not too far from America’s Capital City Washington D.C. The book was profusely illustrated with beautiful coloured photographs more than 25 of which placed together towards the centre of the book with eleven more of them at the beginning of the book next to the front cover. My eyes alighted on three pictures in the centre-lot, all of them showing the Puja (worship) of Gurudev’s Padukas in progress. Evidently people in the west also liked this method of manifesting and actively expressing their devotion, namely, by means of Paduka Puja or the devotional worship of the Spiritual Master’s Padukas. Because, the Padukas represent the Holy Feet of the Guru. This was the answer to the unspoken query my mind was asking. I decided that I shall make a presentation of the Padukas (Gurudev’s Feet size). I shall sanctify them by placing them upon Gurudev’s Sacred Samadhi by the side of His two Feet carved in marble and offering a full and complete traditional Puja to them and thus sanctified these Padukas will be presented as a free gift to members of my spiritual fraternity mostly all over India and a few in foreign countries abroad. As sandalwood is a government controlled and licensed commodity available with difficulty by special permit only, I dropped the idea of using sandalwood. The Padukas will be of finest quality Teak Wood crafted by experienced woodcarving artisans and will be well polished and smooth and beautiful. Also, as overlaying the Padukas with silver (the price of which is prohibitive) would make the Padukas far too costly to afford to give them as a free gift, the Padukas will be given as they are and I shall leave it to the receiver either to cover it with silver or keep it as it is without silver covering. Teak Wood is a very ling-lasting timber. If kept carefully it will last for generations. The question of how many pairs of Padukas should I get prepared, was before me. First I thought of 60 pairs (sixty) to represent the traditional Hindu time cycle I have been living in the physical and then in Spiritual Presence of Gurudev. Then I decided, as we are living in the modern times and the little part of the British heritage is still present within us (Do you notice that the language of this Announcement is in English language and the entire rest of the matter in this Magazine is in English including even the Universal Prayer?). Hence, I opted for one hundred pairs (100 pairs) instead of 60 (sixty). Lastly, to where all and to whom all will they be presented? Padukas will take some time in their preparation. May be a month and a half or even slightly more. Meanwhile, I shall get enough time to think and decide on this matter making use of this interim opportunity I am preparing and compiling a list with the help of friends and associates. To God above and everywhere and Gurudev in my heart and mind, my deepest gratitude. Thank you for your patient reading. Swami Chidananda H.H.
SRI SWAMI CHIDANANDAJI MAHARAJ The Skanda Shashthi Festival was celebrated at Sivanandashram, The Divine Life Society Headquarters, with the Annual Six day Worship of Lord Skanda at the Temple of Lord Kartikeya in the Bhajan Hall from 25th to 30th October, 2003. There was ceremonial worship to Lord Skanda with Abhisheka, etc., the chanting of Veda mantras amidst Bhajans and Kirtans in the morning from the 25th October and in the evening there were regular Bhajans, Kirtans and worship with recitation of Stotras. On the Holy Skanda Shashthi Day, the 30th October, there was Kavadi procession starting from Lord Sri Ganesha Temple on the banks of the Holy Mother Ganga at 7.30 a.m. up to Bhajan Hall, followed by grand worship to Lord Skanda in the forenoon. In the evening there was worship with chanting of Stotras as usual, as on other days. The devotees were blessed to have the presence of Most Worshipful Swami Chidanandaji Maharaj, International President of DLS Headquarters, at the Ashram. Swamiji Maharaj graced the Skanda Puja on both the 29th and 30th mornings. Swamiji was at the Headquarters Ashram upto 15th November. President Swamiji also attended the meeting of the Board of Management on the 7th, the Board of Trustees Meeting on the 8th, and the Annual General Body Meeting of the Divine Life Society on the 9th November. As usual, Swamiji spoke every day at early morning meditation in the sacred Samadhi Hall of Gurudev Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj. The overflowing gathering of devotees found the talks to be both inspiring and full with deep practical wisdom. On 1st November, continuing from a talk given the previous morning, Paramapujya Swamiji Maharaj pointed out that the presence of Gurudev is very much alive in the Ashram and that our presence in the Samadhi Hall is proof of it. However, how much we benefit from Gurudev's presence and teachings, how much we live and demonstrate the teachings is up to each one of us. In this regard Swamiji cautioned that co existing with the Divine, Gurudev and his wisdom teaching is the Lord's Maya. Swamiji emphasised that it is vitally important that we learn to stand apart as an observer, discriminate between the two and wisely choose only the channel or thought stream that leads towards the Good. Swamiji Maharaj inaugurated the 60 day, 24 hour chanting of the holy Panchakshari Mantra, Om Namah Sivaya, in Viswanatha Mandir on 2nd November. This sacred Yajna is in celebration of the 60th anniversary of Pratishtha Mahotsava of Sri Viswanatha Mandir by the holy hands of Gurudev himself on 31st December 1943. During his stay Pujya Swamiji Maharaj encouraged all of us to take full advantage of this holy event to augment our Sadhana towards the great Goal of life through repetition of the Holy Name of the Lord. Swamiji gave one of his most inspiring talks on 11th November when he reminded us that happiness can only be found in God, and said, “If you want to be truly happy, WANT NOTHING.” On 13th November Swamiji Maharaj was full of humour as he related three stories given to school children to teach them about co operation. But this, of course, was not just for our entertainment, but rather for us to consider very seriously as it equally applies to our daily lives. Swamiji concluded the talk by saying, “In an integrated set up like an Ashram, the headquarters of a society having so many departments, the looking after the work of all departments is essential. Otherwise the whole set up will suffer, not only the department that is neglected if no attention is paid to it. It is not only that department that suffers, the entire set up suffers. “So there is great need, in all wisdom, to co ordinate, co operate, work together in an integrated manner with mutual goodwill, smiling faces, cheerful hearts and willing minds. That is the one thing needful in an integrated, many sided set up like an organisation, like a society. An organisation has many things that go to make it up, and thus you should move together as one not as many scattered factors, but as one integrated whole all parts working harmoniously so that the whole moves forward, is progressive. That is wisdom! Let us all be wise!” On Swamiji's final day of stay, 15th November, Saturday, the day of the week dedicated to Sri Hanuman, with a divine Bhava that was clearly visible, Swamiji explained that while the greatest defect in man is selfishness, the greatest virtue is selflessness. Using Sri Hanumanji as an example, par excellence, of selflessness, Swamiji pointed out that Sri Hanuman, who had strength beyond measure, placed all that he had at the feet of Lord Rama in continuous act of total giving. Swamiji Maharaj said that that should be the ideal of every spiritual speaker to give everything he has to God selflessly and make total self surrender. Thus ended a beautiful, compelling and challenging period of 18 days in the presence of Parama Pujya Sri Swami Chidanandaji Maharaj. Though physically a bit weak, President Swamiji radiated a spiritual vigour and divinity that was inspiring to behold, and gave immense joy to all. SEVA THROUGH SIVANANDA HOME “To raise the fallen, to lead the blind, to share what I have with others, to bring solace to the afflicted, to cheer up the suffering, to love my neighbour as my own Self, to protect cows, animals, women and children—these are my aims and ideals. I will help you and guide you. I live to serve you all. I live to make you all happy. This body is meant for service”. -Swami Sivananda Who else than Beloved and Revered Sri Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj is in charge of Sivananda Home, a place of refuge for destitute people in need of medical care and shelter? What power other than Gurudev's immense compassion pulls his precious children in distress and provides them with clothing, food, shelter and medical care? What else can it be called than a miracle that people from Bengal and Orissa, from Maharashtra and Karnataka, from nearby and far of, land up in Rishikesh in a desperate condition and are brought to His Home? Nobody goes ever out of the way in search for patients, but He is the knower of the hearts and He makes the arrangements. Is it not in Gurudev's hands only as to who is destined to eat His food? It is He who prompts and who provides and who works through many. A big hearted Swami, for example, informed about an old aged patient this month, lying down in the cold, breathless and not able to walk. Though it was already evening and dark, he could not resist to get this patient admitted, at if he himself felt the shivering cold wind. Tears of gratitude came from the eyes of this old Babaji, who was immediately warmed up and put under treatment. 2 other patients with breathing problems were also newly admitted, one having Chronic Asthma and the other patient suffering from Pulmonary TB. Both were put under medical treatment and diet and are already recuperating. A Leprosy patient with a tumour in the bladder was referred to a General Hospital and got operated. Besides all the newly admitted patients, and the ones who recovered and got discharged, and the ones who passed away when their time had come, many other patients are under continuous treatment for some chronic disease. One can think of Surenderji, 45 years old, admitted for more than 7 years, hardly able to walk due to Psoriatic Arthritis. In summer season the skin gets severe itching lesions and in winter time the arthritic pain is sometimes so unbearable that he has to be lifted by two people. He is under continuous supervision of a Skin Specialist and an Orthopedist. When both his feet and hands got extremely deformed, the villagers of his village diagnosed him as a leprosy patient and drove him out, away from his family and children. In the course of years he has learnt to live with his handicaps, and as a devotee of Sri Hanumanji, he sings soul stirring Bhajans in the daily conducted Satsanga at Sivananda Home. And in this way Gurudev provides for each and every person, whatever the need may be and takes care of all His beloved children. He alone is the Doer and the Doctor of one and all. Jai Sivananda! “Feed the Hungry. Clothe the naked. Serve the sick. This is Divine Life.” —Swami Sivananda REPORTS FROM THE D.L.S. BRANCHES INLAND BRANCHES Ambala (Haryana) During October 2003, the Branch daily held Satsanga and collective Japa of Mahamantra and Panchakshara Siva Mantra. In the Sunday weekly Satsanga chanting of Mahamrityunjaya Mantra was also done. Sri Hanuman hymns were recited on Tuesdays and Saturdays, and also in a special function with a discourse on His life. Recitation of Devi Mantra was done during Navaratri. Free Homoeopathic clinic continued to do Seva on all the seven days of the week. A special function was organised on Dipavali. Bangalore (Karnataka) The Branch conducted Paduka Puja and Swadhyaya on Thursdays, and Matri-Satsanga with recitation of Sri Vishnu-sahasranama and Sri Lalita-sahasranama stotras and swadhyaya. A special monthly swadhyaya was arranged on 5th October. Special Puja, Kirtan and Swadhyaya were organised during the six-day Skanda festival and the nine-day Devi Puja. Akhanda Kirtan was done for three hours on 19th October. Barbil (Orissa) The Branch held the weekly Satsanga on Thursdays and four special Satsangas. Sivananda Charitable Homoeopathy Dispensary gave treatment to 509 patients during the month. Bellaguntha (Orissa) In addition to 2-hour Brahmamuhurta session of prayer, meditation and Paduka Puja, the Branch conducted 2½ hour evening Satsanga on Sundays, as well as Matri-Satsangas every week and on Ekadasis. Matri-Satsanga included recitation of Sri Vishnu-Sahasranama, Sundarakanda and Sri Hanuman Chalisa also. Revered Swami Rampremanandaji gave discourses for three days. The Branch held the monthly Sadhana Day on 18th October, and participated in the district level Sadhana Day of fourteen Branches. It also organised special programmes on 8th and 24th September and fifteen special mobile Satsangas between the two celebrations. Bellary (Karnataka) Besides twice-a-day Puja, the Branch conducted Paduka Puja and Satsanga on Sundays. On the Pratishtha day of Sri Vinayaka and the foundation of the Satsanga Bhavan, a procession of the Lord’s idol, Homa and other programmes were organised. Bhanjanagar, Dhanjayanagar (Orissa) The Branch held the weekly Satsanga on Thursdays, and weekly mobile Satsangas at the residences of the devotees on Tuesdays. The monthly Sadhana Day was organised on 26th October. Bhilai Nagar (Chhattisgarh) The regular activities of the Branch were the monthly Satsanga, and Matri-Satsangas on Tuesdays and Fridays with recitation of Hanuman Chalisa and Sri Lalita-Sahasranama, and on Ekadasis with recitation of Sri Vishnu-Sahasranama and Bhagavad Gita on Ekadasis.. On 24th September the Branch had organised a special Bhandara (free meals) for 400 residents of a leprosy colony, and various other programmes. Bhimkand (Orissa) In addition to Paduka Puja in the morning and Satsanga in the evening, the Branch held the weekly Satsanga on Sundays. A programme of Mahamrityunjaya Mantra chanting was arranged on 14th October. Bhongir (A.P.) The Branch conducted daily Arati in the temple of the Branch, and recitation of Sri Vishnu-Sahasranama Stotram in another temple. Six Satsangas were organised during the month. Bikaner (Rajasthan) (1) The daily activities of the Branch were: (a) 2-time Puja, (b) Satsanga-cum-Swadhyaya for two hours, (c) Kirtan of Panchakshara mantra in the morning and of Mahamantra in the evening (2) The monthly Matri-Satsanga was 14th October. (3) Special programmes were organised on the occasions of (a) Navaratri, (b) Maharasa Purnima, (c) Dipavali. (4) The Branch also did Social service: (a) Homoeopathy clinic treating 60-70 patients every-day, (b) educational aid to poor students, (c) spiritual library, and (d) daily Yogasana class. Boudh (Orissa) The Branch conducted Satsanga daily, and Paduka Puja on Purnima. Chatrapur (Orissa) In addition to the evening programmes of the weekly Satsanga on Thursdays and daily Satsanga on remaining days, the Branch conducted recitation of Sundarakanda on Saturdays in morning. A special Satsanga and two mobile Satsangas were also arranged. Paduka Puja was performed on 8th and 24th October. Month-long recitation of Ramacharita Manasa commenced on 10th October. Dharamgarh (Orissa) The Branch conducted the daily Puja, the weekly Satsanga on Thursdays and Paduka Puja on Sundays. It also had the month-long recitation of Ramacharita Manasa. Gandhinagar (Gujarat) The regular activities of the Branch were: (a) Satsanga on 8th and 24th, (b) daily Yogasana session, (c) Yogasana training class from 1st to 10th, (d) Homoeopathy clinic twice a month, and (e) Library of spiritual books. There were also special activities were: (a) a special Satsanga and discourse by Revered Swami Premanandaji of Ganeshpur on 21st October, and (b) a special Yogasana Camp for women from 11th to 20th October. Gumergunda (Chhattisgarh) In addition to 3-time Arati, Morning Prayer session and evening Satsanga daily, the Branch conducted Paduka Puja on Thursdays and recitation of Sri Hanuman Chalisa and Sundarakanda on Saturdays. During Navaratri, daily special Devi Puja, recitation of Devi Mahatmya, a 12-hour Akhanda Kirtan, and on the ninth day, havan, Kanya Puja of 9 girls, and Bhandara (free meals as Prasad) were organised in the Branch, as well as in the newly opened Branch at Jagadalpur. Dipavali was celebrated with special Puja and lamp decoration. Jaipur (Rajasthan) The Branch daily conducted afternoon Swadhyaya and in the evening Mahamantra Kirtan on Tuesdays, Mahamrityunjaya Mantra Japa on Thursdays, recitation of Sundarakanda and Sri Hanuman hymns on Saturdays, and Satsanga and Bhagavad Gita Swadhyaya on other days. The weekly Satsanga was on Sunday mornings and Matri-Satsanga on Mondays. Dr. J.D. Saxena and Dr. S.S. Dalela treated 1467 patients in Swami Sivananda Charitable Homoeopathy clinic. 300 destitute were served food daily. Dry ration was supplied to a leprosy colony. Financial help was given to 75 poor students and 21 widows. Yogasana class and Swami Sivananda Library functioned regularly. A special Satsanga of three hours was arranged on Maharaj Purnima. A month-long programme of discourses began from 11th October. Jam agar (Gujarat) The Branch held the weekly Satsanga on Sundays. Revered Swami Premanandaji of Ganeshpur gave spiritual talks on 13th and 14th October. In an eye camp in rural area, 115 patients were examined and 12 patients were sent to Sivananda Mission Hospital for surgery. Kantabanji (Orissa) In the weekly Satsanga of the Branch, Swadhyaya of Bhagavad Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam was also done. Khurja (U.P.) The Branch organised the 8th Yoga and Health Camp of Naturopathy from 10th to 12th October. Kurnool (A.P.) The Branch had the weekly Satsanga on Sundays and also daily Satsanga on the remaining days. Paduka Puja was performed on 8th October and on Thursdays. Special programmes of Puja, recitations, etc., were organised during Navaratri and on Vijaya Dasami, and also for two days on Sri Naraka Chaturdasi and Dipavali. Nabha (Punjab) The Branch conducted regular Satsangas at the residence of the devotees on all Sundays. Swadhyaya of Thought Power was continued. Special Satsangas were organised on the birth anniversaries of Gurudev and H.H. Sri Swami Chidanandaji in September. Nalgonda (A.P.) The Branch held the weekly Satsanga which included Swadhyaya of Srimad Bhagavatam on Wednesdays. Nandini Nagar (Chhattisgarh) The weekly Satsanga of the Branch included recitation of Sri Vishnu-Sahasranama, Hanuman Chalisa. etc. The Branch held 5 hour Akhanda Kirtan of Mahamantra on 3rd October and recitation of Ramayana for two hours on 8th October. New Delhi, Lajpat Nagar The Branch conducted meditation five times a week. The weekly Satsanga on Sundays included recitation of Sundarakanda, Sri Vishnu-Sahasranama Stotram and Srimad Bhagavad Gita and Paduka Puja in rotation. Mahamrityunjaya Japa was done on all Sundays. It organised special Devi Puja on the last two days of Navaratri. Nimapara (Orissa) In addition to the daily programme of Mahamantra Kirtan and reading of one chapter from Srimad Bhagavatam, the Branch held Paduka Puja and weekly Satsanga on Thursdays, mobile Satsanga on Sundays, and two special Satsangas in nearby villages. Special Devi Puja with one lakh time oblations with Devi Mantra was done on 3rd October. A special Sadhana Day on the 10th and the regular monthly Sadhana Day on 26th were organised Ningthoukhong (Manipur) Besides the daily Paduka Puja and recitation of Bhagavad Gita on Sundays, the Branch conducted the weekly Satsanga in the evening and Satsanga for children in the afternoon. A special month-long campaign of daily door-to-door visit and Satsanga was launched on 10th October. “Gurukripa”, the monthly journal of the Branch is published regularly and the October issue was distributed free to 2000 readers. Panchkula (Haryana) The Branch continued to receive good response to its daily programme of Satsanga with Swadhyaya of “Viveka-Chudamani”. It also arranged the weekly Satsanga at the residence of the devotees on all Sundays. Rourkela (Orissa): The Branch conducted 2-time Puja in the Viswanath temple and Paduka Puja on Thursdays and on 8th, 24th and 25th October. The weekly Satsanga was on Thursdays. It held mobile Satsangas on Sundays and also the monthly Matri-Satsanga. Puja and special Satsanga were arranged on Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday. A special Sadhana day was held on Vijaya Dasami. The foundation day of the Branch was celebrated as a special Sadhana day with various programmes like meditation, Prabhat Pheri, Paduka Puja, recitations, collective Japa, discourses, Narayana seva at Ashram and blind school and prize distribution. A large number of students participated in the competitions of essay writing on the lives of Gurudev Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj, H.H. Sri Swami Chidanandaji Maharaj and H.H. Swami Krishnanandaji Maharaj, and the spot Drawing Competition on the portraits of the three saints. 34 students (22 of English medium) were awarded prizes for essay writing and 29 students for portrait drawing. The function was attended by a very large number of students, guardians, devotees, teachers and dignitaries. The monthly visit to the blind school and free medical check up of the students and staff was on 30th October. Dr. B. Sahoo and Dr. H.K. Sethy continued their honorary service and gave free treatment to the patients through Sivananda Charitable Clinic. Salipur (Orissa) The Branch had daily 2-time Puja, weekly Satsanga on Sundays and the monthly mobile Satsanga at the residence of a devotee on 26th October. Recitation of Bhagavad Gita was done on 5th October. 8th of the month was observed as Sivananda Day with Paduka Puja, group Kirtan, special Satsanga, etc., for 4 hours in two sessions. Yogasana and Pranayama training was imparted on 12th October. Sivananda Charitable Homoeopathy Dispensary gave medicines to the patients twice a week. Sambalpur(Orissa) Puja was performed in the Viswanatha Temple of the Branch daily. Poor feeding was done on Mondays. 92 devotees of the Branch participated in Mahamantra Kirtan at the D.L.S. Headquarters for four days. 541 patients were treated during the month through Sivananda Charitable Dispensary. Sheragada (Orissa) The Branch held the weekly Satsanga and also a special Satsanga on Vijaya Dasami. Homoeopathy Clinic and Narayana Seva were continued. South Balanda (Orissa) The weekly Satsanga was conducted by the Branch on Fridays and Matri Satsanga on Sundays. The monthly programme of Mahamrityunjaya Mantra Japa on the Sankranti day was on 18th October. Sunabeda (Orissa) The Branch held Satsanga and Ramayana Swadhyaya daily and the bi-weekly Satsanga on Thursdays and Sundays. From 2nd to 5th October, special Devi Puja was performed with Sri Lalita Sahasranama Archana, and recitation of Devi Mahatmya was also done. A day-long programme of Paduka Puja, Havan, Bhajan, Kirtan, etc. was organised on Purnima. Special functions were organised Sri Naraka Chaturdasi, Dipavali, Sri Bali Puja and Sri Skanda Shashthi. Free medical camps on Sundays and holidays, and Yogasana class in two sessions were continued. Sunabeda, Ladies Branch (Orissa) In addition to the daily Satsanga in the evening, the Branch conducted bi-weekly Satsanga in the afternoons on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and children’s Satsanga on Sundays. The morning session on Ekadasis included Paduka Puja and recitation of Sri Vishnu-Sahasranama Stotram. Narayana Seva on Tuesdays was continued. Special Devi Puja was performed on 4th October. Special programmes were also organised on Vijaya Dasami and Purnima. Vadodara (Gujarat) The Branch held the weekly Satsanga on Thursdays. It arranged a talk on Srimad Bhagavatam on 16th October. Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj’s Birthday was observed on the 8th with Paduka Puja, Japa and distribution of fruits and biscuits to in-patients of the Hospital. On 24th October also fruits and biscuits were distributed. Mahamantra Kirtan was arranged on the commencement of its Diamond Jubilee at Headquarters. Medical treatment under Homeopathy is given to the patients four times a week and under Ayurveda and Acupuncture twice a week. A special programme was organised on the Gujarati New Year Day. Varanasi (U.P.) The Branch organised the fortnightly Satsanga on the 12th and 26th October and a mobile Satsanga on the 19th October. Visakhapatnam (A.P.) The Branch conducted the weekly Satsanga with recitation of “Sri Vishnu-sahasranama Stotram and Hanuman Chalisa. Devi Puja and celebrations were held for nine days of Navaratri. A meditation session was organised on Purnima. OVERSEAS BRANCHES Barcelona (Spain) During October 2003, the Branch continued its regular activities of meditation, Satsanga, Paduka Puja, Swadhyaya, Bhajans, Kirtans, etc. Special programmes were organised for Navaratri celebration and Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti. Batu Caves (Malaysia) In addition to the special programmes of the Golden Jubilee of the Malaysia Branch and the regular activities, the Branch organised the following special programmes: (1). Certificate Presentation ceremony: Revered Sri Sivaparamjothiji has sponsored the computer building and the computer to the Branch. In this special function on 2nd September H.H. Sri Swami Nirliptanandaji presented the certificates to the 20 students who successfully completed the computer course. He also gave a talk on the occasion. (2). Dipavali celebration. A talk on the “Significance of Dipavali” by H.H. Sri Swami Yogaswaroopanandaji and various other programmes took place on this day. (3). Skanda Puja: Special Puja was performed daily during Skanda Shashthi Celebrations. Many devotees observed fast for all the six days. On the sixth day, after the Havan, a procession was led by H.H. Sri Swami Yogaswaroopanandaji and Revered Sri Swami Guhabhaktanandaji went to the shrine of Lord Muruga at Batu Caves. Rose Hills (Mauritius) The regular activities of the Branch were: (1) Morning Satsanga five days a week; (2) Paduka Puja on Thursdays and 8th; (3) Satsanga at Mahebourg on 4th Sunday: (4) Group study three sessions a week; (5) Sivananda Day on 8th—Mahamantra chanting, Paduka Puja, Poor feeding; (6) Yoga Day on 3rd Sunday—Mahamantra chanting, Bhagavad Gita study, Satsanga; (7) Yogasana class six sessions a week; and (8) Spiritual Library. The Branch also had the following special activities of the month were: (1) Navaratri daily programmes of Puja, Havan recitation of Devi Mahatmya, Satsangas in afternoon and evening; (2) Dipavali special Satsanga. SPECIAL REPORT The D.L.S. Malaysia Branch and its 20 sub-branches organised various programmes in connection with the Golden Jubilee of the Branch. The Branch had invited five saints from the Headquarters: H.H. Sri Swami Nirliptanandaji Maharaj, H.H. Sri Swami Yogaswaroopanandaji Maharaj, H.H. Sri Swami Jivanmuktanandaji Maharaj, Revered Swami Vimalanandaji Maharaj, and Revered Swami Karunyanandaji Maharaj. 1) H.H. Sri Swami Nirliptanandaji Maharaj’s Programmes: In August 2003, Swamiji attended special functions of the birth anniversary of H.H. Swami Pranavanandaji Maharaj and of Ganesh Chaturthi, and gave talks. Swamiji gave two discourses on Bhagavad Gita at the Branch, and also visited many sub-branches and gave spiritual discourses and guidance. In September, the main programmes which Swamiji attended were: On the 1st he visited Malacca sub-branch along with Revered Swami Guhabhaktanandaji Maharaj and Revered Swami Karunyanandaji. He delivered a short message in the morning and a talk on “Karma Yoga in Daily Life” in the special Satsanga in the evening. He inaugurated Sivananda Service Centre. On 2nd, Swamiji presented certificates to 20 students of the computer class and spoke on “Individual’s Progress” On 3rd, he visited Ipoh sub-branch and gave talks in the morning and evening On 4th, he gave a talk on “Sadhana” at Sivanandashram of the Branch. On 5th, Swamiji participated in a special programme along with Revered Swami Vimalanandaji and Revered Swami Guhabhaktanandaji. On 6th, he gave a talk on Bhagavad Gita Chapter XII. On 7th, he addressed a youth gathering on “Spiritual Development for an Individual’s Successful Life.” On 8th, Gurudev’s birth anniversary, Swamiji attended Paduka Puja, Ratha Yatra and the special Satsanga and gave a talk on “The Essence of Gurudev’s Message to Mankind” and released the Golden Jubilee Souvenir. On 9th, 800 well-wishers joined him in the fund-raising Golden Jubilee Dinner at Concorde Hotel, Kuala Lumpur. 2) Revered Sri Swami Vimalanandaji Maharaj’s Programmes: Swamiji visited Malaysia from 4th September to 3rd October. He attended many special Satsangas and programmes and rendered Bhajans, Kirtan and gave talks on Gurudev’s Life and Message. Some of the important programmes were as follows: On 6th September at Sivanandashram, Batu Caves, on 7th in the Youth gathering, on the 8th in Sivananda Jayanti programmes, on 11th at Seremban sub-branch, on 12th at Kluang, on 13th at Sivanandam on 14th at Segamat sub-branch, on 22nd at Ashram, on 23rd at Kuala Kangsar sub-branch, on 26th at Sg Karangan sub-branch, on 27th at Perai sub-branch, on 28th at Penang and, on 24th September the birthday of Parama Pujya Sri Swami Chidanandaji Maharaj’s 87th birth anniversary, he led the 3-hour Akhanda Kirtan of Mahamantra, performed Paduka Puja and gave a talk on Parama Pujya Swamiji Maharaj. 3) H.H. Sri Swami Jivanmuktanandaji Maharaj’s Programmes: Swamiji spoke on Hinduism in the Inter-Religious Seminar organised by the Branch on 21st September. On 22nd and 23rd he gave discourses on Bhagavad Gita, Chapter XV at Sivanandashram and at Kuala Kangar. On 24th September he performed Paduka Puja and gave a talk on “Pujya Swami Chidanandaji Maharaj’s Message to Mankind” 4) H.H. Sri Swami Yogaswaroopanandaji Maharaj’s Programmes: On his arrival on 15th October evening, Swamiji joined the prayer and gave a talk. During his stay in Malaysia, Swamiji usually attended the early morning session of prayer and meditation and gave a spiritual message. On 16th he was accorded an official Welcome. He addressed the assembly on Bhagavad Gita Chapter IX. He attended a Youth Camp at Port Dickson along with Revered Swami Saumyanandaji and Revered Swami Mumukshnandaji. On 17th and 18th. Swamiji spoke on “Importance of Exercise and Relaxation” and conducted simple exercises and taught Pranayama. On 18th he gave a discourse on “Importance of Satsanga” at Kuantan. On 19th he gave a talk on “Importance of Prayers in Education” at Kuala Kubu Baru sub-branch. He also attended various programmes in connection with the 60th Birthday of Revered Sri Swami Guhabhaktanandaji Maharaj, delivered the welcome address, honoured the Swamiji with a garland, shawl and presents and released Jnana Prasad. He spoke on “Importance of Satsanga” at Alor Setar sub-branch. On 21st he gave a talk on “Yoga and Health” at Sivanandashram Batu Caves and released spiritual literature. On 22nd he gave a talk on “Importance of Regularity in Sadhana” at Rawang sub-branch. Swamiji participated in various programmes on Dipavali and spoke on the “Significance of Dipavali”. Swamiji took part in various programmes of 6-day worship of Lord Skanda. The Branch conducted daily Puja, recitation of Devi Mahatmya and hymns and other programmes during Navaratri. The sixtieth birthday of Revered Sri Swami Guhabhaktanandaji Maharaj was celebrated in a grand manner on 19th October. H.H. Sri Swami Yogaswaroopanandaji Maharaj was the Patron of the celebration and delivered the welcome address and honoured the Swamiji with a garland, golden shawl and gifts. The Branch organised various programmes on Dipavali. The Branch also had the following special activities during the month: (1) Navaratri daily programmes of Puja, Havan, recitation of Devi Mahatmya, Satsangas in afternoon and evening; (2) Dipavali special Satsanga. BOOK REVIEW Dive Deep and Soar High by Pujya Sri Swami Satchidanandaji
Maharaj of Anandashram, is a unique book in content and style. Backed
by his rich experience in meeting people all over the world for over fifty
years and being intimately familiar with the problems of spiritual aspirants,
Swamiji has come out with this excellent book, “Dive Deep and Soar
High”, to guide one and all to mitigate the day to day problems
of life. In this small booklet Swamiji helps the readers to encounter
the problems such as tension, anger, faultfinding, fear, loneliness etc.,
directly through a dialogue with the problems. True to the tradition the
author has followed question and answer method (Prasnottari) for better
under standing. Swamiji's lucid exposition of the intrinsic and subtle
mental problems is vivid and appealing. In every page the reader is helped
to understand the nature of the problem and find the solutions to get
out of the same. Swamiji has handled the complicated subject with total
ease and simplicity. We consider that this book will be useful for all
and will be an invaluable guide specially for spiritual aspirants. |
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