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CONTENTS
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE GOAL OF LIFE AND ITS ATTAINMENT(H.H. SRI SWAMI SIVANANDAJI MAHARAJ) The goal of life is Self-realisation. There is one common Consciousness hidden in all these names and forms—‘Eko Devah Sarvabhuteshu Gudhah’, the one Self, common Self, common Consciousness in all these names and forms. ‘Sarvavyapi Sarvabhutantaratma’—He is all-pervading and is the Indweller or Antaryamin of all beings. ‘Chetah’: He is Pure Consciousness. He is Absolute Consciousness. He is Existence Absolute, Knowledge Absolute, Bliss Absolute, who transcends the three Gunas (Sattva, Rajas and Tamas)—such is the nature of the Atman or the Self. He is One without a second, Auspicious. He is Truth, Beauty and Goodness. He is Akhanda (indivisible). He is Paripurna (All-full) and self-contained. He is not like the objects of the world. When you attain a desired object, it gives you a temporary satisfaction for the time being; yet, the mind hankers for other objects; there is craving; there is Vasana. The mind becomes restless. This world which is made up of Gunas, which is conditioned by time, space and causation, cannot give you Supreme Peace and eternal satisfaction. Only when you realise this Atman which is the goal of your life, will you enjoy eternal satisfaction. Atman is Infinite, Eternal, Immortal. In deep sleep, there is neither body nor mind, yet you enjoy the peace independent of objects, where there is no play of Raga-Dvesha or the two currents of likes and dislikes. Yet you enjoy peace; you rest in your essential Svarupa (nature), in your own Atman or Brahman or Pure Consciousness. But there is the veil of ignorance, Avidya. That is the reason why you are not able to continue to rest in your own Svarupa. As soon as you get up in the morning, you say: “I have had a peaceful sleep; I knew nothing.” Unless you enjoyed something you could not have had remembrance, as you have when you wake up. This clearly shows that there is one Atman, the Indweller of all beings, Infinite, Eternal, Immortal Being, whose nature is Sat-Chit-Ananda, Existence- Knowledge-Bliss Absolute. Only when you realise this Atman through meditation, purification and dispassion, can you become immortal and enjoy Supreme Peace. This is the experience of all people in the world. This world is Apurna (incomplete), because it is conditioned in time, space and causation. Man does not enjoy peace here. He is restless. Unless he realises his own Atman, he cannot have Supreme Peace, Eternal Satisfaction and Immortality. In the finite things of this world you cannot enjoy Supreme Peace. Peace is the goal of life. Everyone wants to get peace; many don’t know where to obtain peace. Maya is so powerful. The nature of Maya is to hide the Real and to make the unreal appear as the Real. That is its function. But he who has got the divine grace through recitation of the Lord’s Names, he who has devotion, he who is endowed with discrimination, dispassion, and a strong yearning for liberation, for attaining Immortality, will pierce the veil of Maya. Then you study the Upanishads; take to Sravana, Manana and Nididhyasana (hearing of Srutis, constant reflection and meditation on what you heard: “There is one Atman which is free from sorrow and pain, which is free from hunger and thirst, which is free from decay and death.”); then only will you have eternal satisfaction and supreme peace. You will be freed from the cycle of births and deaths. You should equip yourselves with Viveka (discrimination). Many are not endowed with this faculty of discrimination. It is a faculty, the eye of wisdom that is given to us through the Grace of the Lord; through God’s Grace one attains discrimination between the unreal and the Real. Then comes Vairagya (dispassion) by itself. Vairagya is not an external state; it is an internal state of the mind, which is free from attachment, which is free from passion—it is dispassion. It is indifference to the objects of this world. Such a state is called dispassion. You must have read the story of Queen Chudala in the Yoga-Vasishtha. Queen Chudala was a Yogini. She was endowed with wisdom though she was ruling the kingdom. She had internal vision. She had intuitive experience—Aparoksha Anubhuti. Sikhidhvaja had no belief in the queen. He wanted to practise renunciation and meditation. He went to the forest. Queen Chudala told him: “Remain here. You will get the wisdom. I will help you to attain the eye of intuition.” He did not hear. He went to the forest. He practised various kinds of Tapas of a foolish type. Queen Chudala wanted to examine him. She had Yogic powers. She moved in the sky and appeared before him, standing a few feet above the ground in the form of a Kumbha Muni. A Yogi shows all these miraculous visions just to show the aspirant that the teacher has got superhuman powers, so that the aspirant will have faith; and only on such occasions he exhibits such powers. Sikhidhvaja was much astonished to see the Guru standing above the ground. He prostrated before the Muni and wanted spiritual instruction. The Muni (who was Queen Chudala in disguise) said: “You have no idea of renunciation; you have not renounced anything.” He said: “I have renounced everything. I have renounced my kingdom. I have renounced my wife. How can you say that I have renounced nothing?” The Muni said: “No, you have renounced nothing.” He thought that he had the Kamandalu and the staff and so he threw them away. Yet, the Muni said: “You have no real renunciation at all.” Now he thought: “I have only this body to renounce.” He ascended a tree and wanted to commit suicide. The Muni said: “Yet, you have not attained real renunciation. Real renunciation consists in renouncing egoism, in renouncing the Vasanas, cravings and the desires, in renouncing the Deha-Atma-Buddhi—the intellect that makes you identify the perishable body, that mistakes the body for the soul. This you will have to renounce and only that constitutes real renunciation.” Then the Muni (Queen Chudala) gives further instructions. Sikhidhvaja understood the real essence of renunciation, practised Sravana, Manana and Nididhyasana and attained the goal of life. You can remain in the world. What is wanted is internal mental state of renunciation. That is to be cultivated. Again and again you will have to discipline the mind and free the mind from the objects. ‘Detach; attach,’ through the practice of the Patanjala Yoga or Raja Yoga. Again and again attempt and try to fix the mind at the Lotus-Feet of the Lord. If you are a Saguna Bhakta, cultivate devotion to Krishna and Rama. If you are a Nirguna Upasaka, take the symbol of OM. OM represents Sat-Chit-Ananda—Existence- Knowledge-Bliss Absolute. If you are able to do that, if you have got a subtle mind, if you have got an enlightened intellect, you can fix the mind on OM or on the abstract ideas—Existence, Knowledge, Bliss, Peace, Love, Eternity, Immortality, Infinity, etc. But to have purity of mind, and to be able to fix the mind, you should have a pure heart. Through selfless service, through devotion, you will have to remove the oscillation or tossing of the mind. In the mind there are three defects: Mala, Vikshepa and Avarana. Mala is impurity like greed, jealousy, hatred, mean-mindedness. This has to be removed by the practice of selfless service, without attachment to the fruits, without expectation of fruits thereof. If you are a devotee, keep up the Nimitta Bhava (the idea that one is an instrument in God’s hands), because the mind is moved by Lord alone. All these instruments, all the Indriyas, belong to Him. Remain as a Nimitta or instrument, in the hands of the Lord, and work without attachment, offering all your actions, all the fruits of the actions to the Lord. In this way, you will not be bound by the fruits of the actions and you will be freed from births and deaths. A Jnani (man of knowledge) has the Sakshi Bhava (attitude of a witness). He is the witness of all the actions, all the movements in the body and Antahkarana. In the Fifth Chapter of the Bhagavad-Gita it is said: “I am distinct from the Indriyas.” You don’t think; You don't act; you don't see; You don't hear; you don’t smell—these are all actions of Prakriti (Nature). You are only the witness. You have to develop again and again the Sakshi Bhava. It is a little difficult. The Jnani removes the bondage of action by identifying himself with the all-pervading Self and standing as a witness to the modifications of the body. THE HUMAN IDEAL(H.H. SRI SWAMI SIVANANDAJI MAHARAJ) Blessed Selves, The birth of Sri Krishna on earth is of memorable importance, as this incident goes to make up and give form to the whole of the Indian Nation. It signifies the great event of the coming into being of the tremendous power of love and knowledge which has integrated in itself all the hearts and minds of India. In Sri Krishna we find the national, the political, the social, the domestic, the individual, the universal and spiritual ideals which have been adored and worshipped in India and which may well pave the way to world-unity, if only they are properly understood and adopted in human life. From the very beginning of the life of Sri Krishna we find in Him a bold champion who stood for the cause of peace and happiness of mankind. This is indeed an occasion for us all to lift our souls to the supreme enjoyment of the celebration of the birthday of the great hero, the friend and the teacher of this world, who refers to Himself in His immortal Gita as the Father of this world, the Mother, the Sustainer, the Grandfather, the supremely Pure, the Origin, the Dissolution, the Substratum, the only thing to be known. In fact, such beings are not born or dead, but they only become visible or invisible to the human eye and consciousness. Sri Krishna was the statesman par-excellence, who taught through example and precept the art of government, the way to maintain peace on earth. He was an expert in the application of the means of Sama (persuasion and conciliation), Dana (offering remuneration), Bheda (causing division), and Danda (punishment), and these He used where they were absolutely necessary and where they did not go against Dharma or the Eternal law of the universe. Sri Krishna was not merely a statesman struggling to know what is right and wrong or good and bad to a nation or acting according to His own whims and fancies or private conceptions of the right and good. He was a cosmic man with a cosmic vision of things, who had no partiality whatsoever who loved none and hated none, but acted as a channel for the operation of the iron hand of justice which rules the universe. Krishna connected causes and effects and brought law and justice to play their proper part in life not through induction or deduction, through supposition, guessing, or imagination through public vote, or individual influence, but through the intuition of the essential Reality of the universe. His word was law and his act was justice. His thoughts were the supreme peace-makers which vibrated through every cell of the nation. Krishna commanded the love and the respect of the people by his comprehending in himself the universe as a whole. Sri Krishna was a philosopher, a sage and a yogi, who alone can be an effective statesman worth the name. This is the lesson to be learnt from Sri Krishna, by all people, ruling as well as ruled. Sri Krishna lived the life of a princely householder, teaching to mankind that the knowledge of the Absolute is not incompatible with practical activity in life. He is the form, as it were, taken by the great Truth that the universe is the manifestation of Brahman. The universe is the Lila of the Purushottama, and Sri Krishna is the Lila-Purushottama, the sportive Absolute. There was no end to the domestic troubles that Krishna had, no limit to the social and political disturbances and threatening situations in which Krishna was involved, no bound to his responsibility, and yet there was no match to His success, no equal to His shining example of the Like Perfect, certainly, only an Avatara (incarnation of God) can be such a perfect being. The man on earth, the householder, with the weight of responsibility on His head and an environment attempting to menace and flout Him at every step, should learn the science and art of right, good and happy life, from Sri Krishna, who combined knowledge with action with wonderful dexterity, for the good of the universe. The individual's ideal is the attainment of Sri Krishna, to take Him as the means and the end. The Bhagavad Gita is the Gospel of life, the scripture of humanity, and the life of Sri Krishna is the great commentary on it. Every individual should try to become the great man of knowledge, the master of yoga, the centre of love and the expert doer of right activity, as Sri Krishna was. Sri Krishna's life, when it is carefully studied, will give one a knowledge of the synthesis of all yogas, practised by one who, rooting himself in the spiritual Absolute, moved on this material earth. The life and teachings of Sri Krishna are the immortal teachers of mankind, they shall live for eternity. The words and actions of Krishna are to be taken by all aspiring individuals as the means and the being of Krishna as the end. This is possible only after a thorough purging and purification of the self, which is absolutely necessary for one's knowing Krishna. Sri Krishna is the universal and spiritual ideal of man. Sri Krishna was the example of the great Superman of the East. It is towards this achievement that humanity is slowly moving. The perfection of man lies in the realisation of God, Nature and Man in one. Man is not a separate entity. Nature is not estranged from God, and God is not cut off from Nature and Man. The word God has been misunderstood by many as merely one of the three principles in terms of which alone man can view Reality. Truly, God means that Supreme Being in which Nature and Man merge, as identical with His Consciousness. Sri Krishna is the representation on earth of the Supreme Reality. Glory to Him. All adorations to Him. Prostrations to Him. Beloved aspirants, strive to become, to realise, Krishna, your Great Ideal. This you can do only after you become virtuous, good, loving and intelligent. You should completely eradicate the animal tendencies and qualities in you, like lust, anger and greed. You must pass through the fire of discipline and purification, you should be burnished before you can shine as the golden Ideal that is before you. Through service, charity, love, meditation and self-enquiry that Goal can be reached by one and all. May blessedness attend upon your efforts ! May the Grace of Sri Krishna be upon you all ! ACT, ACT IN THE LIVING PRESENT!(SRI SWAMI CHIDANANDA) Worshipful homage to Thee, O Thou supreme Divine Reality, Thou who art the beginning and the end of all things, Thou who encompasses within Thy imponderable infinity endless millions and billions and trillions of universes—worlds without end. I do not know the word for the multiple of trillions, but, in short, Thou art imponderable, immeasurable, infinite. A feeling of that immensity could arise only in that being upon whom You decide to bestow Your grace and make that being one with you. He will then no longer have to think with a human mind when he becomes one with You. He attains divine comprehension, divine omniscience. Everything becomes known to him. Such is Thy glory, such is Thy greatness and such is Thy endlessness, that even the thought of Thee makes us feel our nothingness. To Thee, worshipful homage! May divine grace pour in abundance from You upon all those of Your children who are assembled together here in the sacred Samadhi Hall of Worshipful Master in a get-together of spiritual fellowship. May you all be recipients of this abundant divine grace. Such is the prayer of this servant. Loving prostrations and adorations to beloved and worshipful Holy Master, Gurudev Sri Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj, who was established in this great experience absolute by dint of his unusual renunciation, by dint of his unparalleled dispassion, by his incomparable austerity, penance, tyaga, vairagya, tapasya, titiksha, deep meditation, practice of yoga, self-surrender, devotion, continuous, unbroken God-thought, compassion for suffering, and the spirit of dedication to selfless service of all creatures created by God on this planet earth. All this he practised as part and parcel of his spiritual life during his sadhana days at Swarg Ashram. And naturally, sincere, earnest, persevering and dedicated effort yields its fruit because there is justice in God. He never allows true dedication and effort to go unfulfilled. Every cause has an effect. Every sincere effort must yield fruit. Therefore, he shone as a great sage and seer. May his guru kripa and kripa kataksha, glance of grace, be upon all of you! Awake from slumber! Awake from inaction and lethargy! Act, act, act in the living present—heart within and God overhead! Why God overhead? Because he is there. You can be absolutely assured that if with a sincere heart you engage in right action, He will see that you get the deserved fruit. This is unfailing. No one can rob you of the fruit that you deserve if you engage in the right action for it—with sincerity, earnestness and a feeling of dedication. Doubt not! Have faith! Your efforts will be rewarded! When a little son feels hunger and tells his father, “I am hungry, please give me bread,” will not even an imperfect earthly father give his son bread? Will he give him a stone instead? When an imperfect earthly man engages some servant to do some work—and the man thus engaged does his work satisfactorily—does the man who engage him not pay him his due wages? He does. Sincere labour is given its due remuneration. This you see even in this imperfect world. Therefore, do you think that when you have laboured sincerely in the name of God, as a servant of God, to carry out God’s will and help His human family, His children on earth, do you think that your labour will go unrewarded? What even an imperfect human being does, do you think that the All Perfect, sarva guna sampanna bhagavan will fail to do it? So, have faith and sincerely labour in this field where God has sent you, this human world. This is our field. As we labour in this field, as we clear the land, as we till, as we plough, as we sow, as we irrigate it carefully with life-giving water and as we safeguard it with a fence, then in due time the seeds sprout and the field starts becoming slightly green. Then the green becomes darker, the field disappears and only the green crop is seen. The grain then begins to appear, and finally the stocks become so laden with grain that they cannot stand straight—and slightly bow down, as it were, in gratitude to God. So, if all things needful are done and if you have patiently bided your time, if you have put in the labour, made sure that your fencing is strong and you have been vigilant, watchful that birds or anything else inimical to the crop are warded off, then you become the fortunate person to reap the rich harvest for which you have worked and, therefore, which you have deserved. The due reward will be forthcoming. Therefore, this planet earth, this human world, this life of ours and the faculties given to us—strength of body, knowledge in the mind—all constitute our personal endowment and scope for increasing. Just as a university is a field with scope for expanding our knowledge, increasing the depth of our knowledge of any particular subject, the world is such a university. Our life is a course we are undertaking in order to learn. Therefore, just as day by day a crop develops towards fullness and ripeness, day by day we too should progress in knowledge and wisdom. Such is the design of the Maker for each one of us—all beings who live in this world . That is His plan for us, that is His design. Wonderful is this gift of life! To repeat a cliché: “Take time by the forelock.” Otherwise lamentation over missed opportunities will lead us nowhere. “Strike when the iron is hot.” Then the hammer blow will succeed in gradually giving the desired shape to the white-hot metal—not even red hot but white hot. If the right moment to strike with the hammer is allowed to pass away in some idle gossip or other thing, then when the iron becomes cold, you may give it any number of blows—sweat can drip from your forehead and your whole body—but it will make no change in the iron on the anvil. Therefore, “Strike when the iron is hot!” This servant offers these ideas to all of you, because they are ideas worth pondering, worth pursuing and worth being benefitted from. THE ADVENTURE OF KNOWLEDGE(SRI SWAMI KRISHNANANDA) (Continued from the Previous Issue) The reversal of the process of the functions in the descent of the Cosmic to the individual can be explained by another analogy, namely, the reflection of our own face seen through a mirror in which the right becomes the left and the left becomes the right: what exists as the effect in the Cosmic becomes the cause in the individual. In the terminology of the Vedanta philosophy, the process of the Universal Being passes through the stages of Isvara, Hiranyagarbha and Virat, which are the cosmic levels of the Absolute itself. Here, the latter stage is the effect of the former. But in the individual these cosmic levels are reversed in the form of the experiences known as Visva (waking condition), Taijasa (dreaming condition) and Prajna (sleep condition). While the Virat is the lowest effect in the cosmic procession of descent, Visva is the highest cause in the individual, so that we may say, at least in some sense, that the connecting link between the individual and the Cosmic, that is, between Visva and Virat, is the waking consciousness of the individual. But, beware! The waking individual is not an exact quantitative part of the Virat, for the former is also a reflection at the same time, so that it does not and cannot partake of the characters of the original, such as omniscience and omnipotence, to mention only two of the prominent characteristics of the Universal. The whole case has been laid bare. Without entering into further investigative comments and expatiation, we may leave the reader here with the power of his own thought and imagination for deeper contemplation on this dramatic event. However, a clue for this onward research may be given here: The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad ( I. 3) says that when every individual function is smitten with death, that is, with the principle of change and destruction, and that when these functions are freed from the clutches of death they revert to the original from which they came. So, how can the reflection become the original, the part become the whole, the effect become the cause? The answer is: by freeing the reflection or the part from the conditions which make it a reflection or a part. And what are these conditions? The principles which cause change and destruction, which are the constituent factors of individuality on account of which it is that the individual is said to be mortal, while the Cosmic Being is immortal. This Upanishad says that speech, when it is freed from the principle of death, becomes Fire. Similarly, breath, when it is freed from the principle of death becomes Air. The eyes, when they are freed from death, become the Sun; and likewise with the other functions. The meaning here seems to be that the reversal process of functions referred to above is the principle of death in the individual and the individual becomes the Universal when the former is freed from the principle of death or destruction. Becoming has to revert to Being. And, death or destruction does not mean annihilation but a tendency to move from the effect of the cause, a change that is necessitated by the urge within the part to become the whole, for the latter contains the former, in fact, in an organic oneness. What we call evolution in a vast sense is nothing but this; the struggle of the universe to evolve from the lower to the higher, in which process the individual’s tendency for the Universal is included. The whole universe is busy with the activity of re-arranging its constituents for a self-realisation of itself in the Absolute. Evolution is the movement of the not-self to the Self, by deepening as well as expanding its Jurisdiction, inwardly in quality and outwardly in quantity, until the Supreme State is reached, wherein quality and quantity merge into the single Being of the Infinite Self. For an interesting and majestic discourse on the relation of the Absolute to the individual one is referred to the 4th Section of the First Chapter of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. As our present concern is the educational process, we shall not touch this subject here to any extent more than necessary for our present need for clarification. There can be no real meaning in education if it is not a systematised art of contacting reality by graduated stages. And reality is inseparable from our own life, our very existence,—anything unconnected with our existence is not reality for us. From the above-quoted description of man’s position in the universe, provided to us in the Upanishad, it appears that reality, to us, is an approximation of experience, by degrees, to larger dimensions of universality. Thus, the educational process also has to be a gradual rise of experience, by degrees, through the different stages which connect our existence with reality. A consideration of the true educational process, then, obliges us to take the immediate facts of experience as the basic truths of education. This means to say that no experience whatsoever can be outside reality, since every experience is a part of it, as it is revealed in some degree, and every degree is a degree of reality. Education, then, is a universal movement of the mind towards self-recognition in the highest state of Reality, though it takes its stand in and commences from the most initial and primitive stage of experience. It ranges from a child’s simplest notion of the external world to the loftiest concept of the scientist and the philosopher. If, from this point of view, we are only to name the themes that may have to be gathered by the studies to be comprehended in the educational process, we may tentatively list them thus: the kindergarten stage and the Montessori methods of approach; reading, writing and arithmetic in their most basic forms; elementary geography and history in the form of stories and inspiring narratives; simple dramatic portrayals; grammar, language and literature through stages of increasing width and intensity; mathematics, natural science (botany, zoology and physiology); ethics, civics, sociology and political relationship; astronomy, physics, chemistry and biology in their more developed form; psychology, aesthetics, economics, the philosophy of history, and world-culture. This enumeration of subjects practically covers all that is taught today in our colleges and universities, perhaps the only things that are taught to us in these institutions under the impression that these subjects exhaust all possible studies. But this is a sad mistake. The study of reality is not complete merely with a sojourn into these empirical extensions of the human mind in the visible world of sense-perception. To detect why these studies are incomplete in themselves, we have to go back to the evolutionary details supplied to us in the Upanishad as observed in the earlier paragraphs. At best, all these studies are the worst forms of knowledge that we can hope to gain, for these are only notions gathered subjectively concerning the objects of the outside world which manages to retain its own independence over the individual experiencing subject. But, how is the world so independent and unmanageable? For an answer we have only to go back to the Upanishad. The world of the elements—earth, water, fire, air and ether,—has unfortunately become the cause of our experiences, which are the effects produced by our sensations of them. This is only the knowledge which the reflection has of the original, far removed from truth due to the reversal process mentioned in the Upanishad. If the reflection can be regarded as the original, our present-day educational career also can be regarded as the final shot in man’s pursuits. No wonder that Sage Sanatkumara considered all this knowledge as only a name, because it has estranged itself from the original which is supposed to be its object. Yet, Sanatkumara regarded ‘Name’ as the first step in the investigation of reality; the ‘Name’ points to what is ‘Named,’ though it is no more than a mere ‘pointer’. So, too, is the need and the extent of value of our empirical sciences and arts. But, if knowledge is isolated from its object how can knowledge bring happiness? How can knowledge be equated with power? How can knowledge be the same as virtue? For, happiness, power and virtue are associated with reality, and when knowledge is unconnected with reality,—because it is only a symbol, a pointer, a reflection, and not the original,—it remains only a name, though in the sense of the lowest degree of reality. It becomes a pretension to progress, growth and culture if it usurps the status of the original by exceeding the limits of a ‘pointer’, a ‘hint’ or a ‘reflection’. We have to investigate into the principles of real knowledge more deeply and courageously. What is real knowledge? What should be the aims and methods of education? What should be the nature of a comprehensive curriculum? GURU AND DISCIPLE(SRI SWAMI VENKATESANANDA) It was the end of May, 1924, when Gurudev Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj reached Rishikesh. His joy knew no bounds. The perennial river Ganga, the majestic hills clad in green forest—they whom Gurudev calls his divine parents, greeted him. On the night of his arrival at Rishikesh, he slept on the verandah of Charan Das Dharmasala near the Rishikesh Post Office. There were other Sadhus, among them was Swami Visvananda Sarasvati, an aged man of wisdom, ochre-robed, with nothing but a staff and a Kamandalu as his possessions. His face was aglow with the fire of Knowledge. It captivated Sri Gurudev’s heart the moment he had the old Sannyasin’s Darshan early in the morning. Gurudev fell prostrate at his feet. Fondly, the saint—Swami Visvanandaji—raised him and embraced him with all love and affection and said: “My dear child! I see something on your forehead which tells me that you are a wonderful instrument in the hands of God for conveying His Message to the world. I have been watching you for the past nearly half an hour. Am I right in assuming that you have renounced the world and desire to lead the life of a monk?” “Most Holy Sire! Yes, you are right. Oh, how fortunate I am to have the Darshan of a divine sage! Blessed I am this day; blessed I am indeed. Shower your Grace on this poor humble seeker. For, it is only through thee that I can attain my goal.” “Well said, my child. I should myself feel it the greatest privilege to initiate you into Sannyasa.” A torrent of tears from his eyes was all that Gurudev could offer in reply. He was ready and Swami Visvananda was eager. Gurudev’s dispassion was of the highest type. Prosperity did not affect him at all; he saw in it always, the hand of God. He offered everything to God without any reservation. Swami Visvananda Saraswati now gave him the chance to make the final offering of himself to the Lord, in return for the love that had been shown on him. Gurudev was initiated into the glorious Order of Sannyasa on the 1st June, 1924, by the saintly Swami Visvananda Sarasvati. From that day on he became known as Swami Sivananda Sarasvati. He who has supreme devotion to God and equal devotion to his Guru, unto him the truths of the Upanishads are revealed. —Svetasvatara Upanishad Thus Sri Gurudev proclaimed, by his own conduct, the absolute necessity for a Guru, and for Sannyasa. He says in his ‘Autobiography’: “The spiritual path is beset with many obstacles. The Guru will guide the aspirants safely and remove all sorts of difficulties they have to face. He will inspire the students and give them spiritual powers through his blessings. Guru, Isvara, Truth and Mantra are one. There is no other way of overcoming the vicious worldly Samskaras of the passionate nature of raw, worldly-minded persons than by personal contact with and service to the Guru.” “There are many egoistic students who say: ‘I do not need a Guru. God is my Guru.’ They change their own robes and live independently. When difficulties confront them, they are bewildered. I do not like the rules and regulations of the scriptures, sages and saints to be violated. When there is a change of heart, there should be a change in the external form also. The glory and the liberty of a Sannyasin can hardly be imagined by the timid and the weak.” Explaining the glory of the ochre-coloured robe, Gurudev says: “Wearing the ochre-coloured cloth, the orange robe, is very necessary for one who has a changed mind. Due to the force of Maya or habit, when the senses move among the sense-objects, the moment you look at the coloured cloth that you wear, it will remind you that you are a Sannyasin. It will give you a kick and save you from vicious actions. It has its own glory and advantages. A real Sannyasin only can cut off all connections. His friends and relatives will not trouble him. The robe is of great service when one appears on the platform for preaching. It has its own sanctity in the minds of Hindus. Common people will easily receive the ideas from a Sannyasin. Some hypocrites say: “We have given colouring to our minds. We need not change the clothes.” I do not believe these men. Even the famous Mandana Misra who fought with Sri Sankara, became a Sannyasin. He was known as Suresvaracharya. The great Rishi Yajnavalkya became a Sannyasin. Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa removed his hair and became a Sannyasin. He was initiated into the Order of Sannyasa by Swami Totapuri. It is only those who have cravings, passions, attachments, and who are timid, that dread to change the cloth; they bring forth false, ingenious, unsound arguments. It is a pity that even some great persons of the present day, who are treading the spiritual path, have not recognised the glory and importance of changing the robe.” The great ones act in this wise, not because they need to, but to set an example for others to follow—Lokasangraha, as the Lord says in the Gita. By their own conduct they bring out the imperative necessity of having a Guru to guide one in the acquisition of knowledge. Gurudev has often said: “For learning even the simple art of cooking, you need a teacher. Nothing has been possible for man to achieve without being instructed by one who knows. How much more Herculean would be the task of reaching the Life’s Destination without a guide!” On the 11th of March, 1949, while instructing some disciples on Guru-Bhakti, Sri Gurudev said: “You should revere the Guru who teaches you the knowledge. Only then will the learning be fruitful.” And he cited his own example in this regard, and said: “See, I had Swami Visvanandaji’s company only for a couple of hours. Yet, daily I remember him in my hymns in the morning. I include Swami Vishnudevanandaji’s name also, as it was he who performed the Viraja Homa for me. It is very necessary; only then will the spark of Mumukshutva burn bright in us.” Incidentally, he also revealed another interesting anecdote of his life in Malaya. He said: “In Malaya, there were several adept Tantriks. It was the time the Spanish Flu took a heavy toll of life in Malaya. I, too, had an attack, but somehow escaped. The Tantrik had several Mantras and Yantras. That was a wonderful Vidya (science). A special unguent is applied on the thumb-nail of the adept of the Mantra; through this unguent, the adept would be able to see and know about distant happenings. He can tell you what is going on in such and such a place in Mysore; or, what a particular person is doing, where he is and so on. I even now remember the Mantra. I had great reverence for the man who taught me the Mantra. I used to prostrate myself before him and entertain him nicely, serve him whenever the occasion arose. Later, I gave up the Tantrik practice as I did not like the idea of subjugating Devatas and getting things done through them.” Sri Gurudev had dispassion, born of a knowledge of the permanent and the transient, which is the basis for higher knowledge of the Self. In and through the world, Gurudev had acquired a glimpse of this higher knowledge, too. He has trained himself to hear the shrill Inner Voice of God, the Indweller of all hearts. It was thus quite unnecessary for him to seek the aid of Guru, when he could more easily depend on the Prompter within. Yet he laid his head low at the feet of Swami Visvananda and received the Mahavakyas (great sacred utterances) from his preceptor’s powerful heart. Gurudev’s Guru-Bhakti is evident from his words quoted above. To him, the preceptor—even the one who taught him fencing and the one that taught him the Tantrik Kriya—was the Lord Himself, come upon this earth to enlighten him. As the Svetasvatara Upanishad says, In the concluding Mantra, the Truths taught in the Upanishads are apparent to one who has supreme devotion to God and equal devotion to the Guru. Truly, indeed! And Gurudev is a good example to illustrate this truth. Gurudev shampooed his preceptor’s legs and thus attracted to himself the current of spiritual knowledge which brought him nearer the Goal. Swami Visvanandaji understood the worth of his divine pupil immediately, and came to the conclusion that he no longer needed his personal help. With tears of love and regard they parted from each other, as Swami Visvanandaji took leave to return to Benares. GURU, GOD AND THE ABSOLUTE(SRI SWAMI BRAHMANANDA) Gurur-brahma Gurur-vishnur-gurur-devo Mahesvarah “Guru is Brahma (the Creator of the Universe), Guru is Vishnu (the Protector), Guru is Lord Mahesvara (the Destroyer), Guru verily is the Supreme Brahman (the Absolute)—prostrations to that Guru.” This verse occurs in the famous Guru-Gita which is in the form of a dialogue between Goddess Uma and Lord Siva, in the Sanatkumara Samhita in the Skanda Purana. The first half of the second line ‘Gurureva Param Brahma (Guru verily is the Supreme Brahman)’ is popularly chanted as ‘Gurusakshat Param Brahma’ which means Guru is the visible Supreme Brahman. The verse sums up the relation of one’s spiritual preceptor and the God he worships with the Absolute which transcends all relationship. It establishes in no uncertain terms the complete identity in essence of the three entities. To the neophyte in the spiritual path, this may appear to be unbelievable, unorthodox and almost sceptical. But this is the truth which he has to understand and digest, sooner or later, before he can make any appreciable progress in his march towards the Goal. Many may be familiar with the two terms ‘Guru’ and ‘God’ and may not have heard about ‘the Absolute’ at all. Their conception of Guru is limited to the physical personality of the spiritual teacher. What they understand by the term ‘God’ may be some superhuman person residing in some far-off world in space, in charge of the welfare of the good and the punishment of the evil in this world. These are not wrong ideas. They are correct as far as they go; but they do not give the full significance of the two terms ‘Guru’ and ‘God’ which is expected to be possessed by a spiritual seeker. The highest Truth is always couched in the most cryptic and enigmatic terms in the scriptures, even as we keep very valuable gems locked up in strong steel-boxes, placed in equally strong if not stronger encasements one within the other. One such expression is the oft-quoted Rig-Vedic Mantra ‘Ekam Sat vipra bahudha vadanti—The Absolute is one, the wise call It by different names.’ All the remaining Mantras in the Vedas and other scriptures may be said to be a commentary on this central Vedic teaching. This manifested world, consisting of countless universes with umpteen names and forms is really the Absolute itself. The apparently divergent universe is in fact an organic whole, as it were, even as our body consisting of different limbs is one complete whole by itself non-different from ourselves. Nobody feels that his hands are separate from him. Similarly his other organs,—both the motor organs and the sense-organs as also his internal organ called the mind,—are considered non-different from himself, although for certain empirical dealings, he speaks about them as though they are different parts. The most awe-inspiring fact which the Vedas reveal is that this world is God himself. It is His body, the Virat Purusha. It is His cosmic form. As my body is non-different from me, even so this world as the body of God is the same as God who himself is the manifestation of the transcendent Absolute. Therefore, we come to the conclusion that one’s spiritual preceptor and the God one worships are in essence identical, being the manifestations of the non-dual Absolute, the former a visible manifestation perceivable to the physical sense-organs and the latter an invisible one conceived through one’s intellect and experienced in one’s heart. To the sincere and faithful devotee the invisible God does also manifest himself in visible forms, in meditation. The Puranas are replete with instances of God descending down to our physical plane assuming various names and forms and fulfilling certain cosmic functions when needs arise. These Puranas and epics are great scriptures explaining the truths of the Upanishads which are unapproachable to the worldly-minded. They are not cock and bull stories intended for the old and orthodox and the not-very-rationalistic. Their importance especially to the spiritual seeker, is revealed in a famous verse which says that Vedas dread those persons who approach them without a preliminary knowledge of the epics and Puranas. A clear understanding of the implied meaning of these scriptures is a ‘must’ for a seeker for his successful grasp of the higher truths hidden in the Vedas. This most important instruction about the essential non-difference of the spiritual teacher, God and the non-dual Absolute is given to us in one of the verses in praise of Lord Dakshinamurti which says that God, Guru and the Atman are different only in their names and forms and that they mean and represent the one non-dual Supreme Absolute whose body is all-pervasive like the ether. The necessity of a spiritual preceptor in flesh and blood and an omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent God who can be conceived by the mind and therefore worshipped and meditated upon, besides the eternal, non-dual, transcendental Absolute who is beyond the reach of the mind and speech and whose manifestations are the first two, to the spiritual aspirant, cannot be over-emphasised. Hence, it has become a tradition among the aspirants to pay the greatest respect and adoration to one’s spiritual instructor, equivalent to those which they bestow on the Deity—their object of daily worship. Some ultra-modern Acharyas in their over-anxiety to decry everything that is old and traditional, and to bring in something new to their hearers, preach about the superfluity of Guru and God in the scheme of Self-realisation. They bring before their audience hair-splitting arguments and very subtle reasoning to convince them about their revolutionary theory. They seem to forget that in their very act of denying the necessity of a Guru, they themselves act as Gurus to their listeners, and thereby they nullify their own theory. To quote again the great Guru-Gita, three verses (60, 61 and 62) explain how the Guru illumines the highest truth of the identity of the Atman and Brahman, the individual soul and the Supreme Soul, contained in the Maha Vakya ‘Tat Tvam Asi’ and thus helps the disciple in the realisation of the non-dual Absolute. All these facts contained in the preceding paragraphs and much more are beautifully condensed in one short single verse by Sage Totakacharya which forms the opening Sloka of his work known as ‘Sruti-sara-samuddharanam’: Trailokyanathaharim-idyam-udarasattvam A crude rendering of this verse in English would be as follows: “I always offer obeisance to the great Sage Vyasa who is God Hari himself, the Lord of the three worlds, worthy of praise, the embodiment of pure Sattva Guna, the grandson of Sakti, equal to Brahma the Creator, of beautiful colour like the pure sky free of all clouds, a descendant of Sage Vasishtha, and of extreme penance.” Scholars differ in the interpretation of this verse. Some would say that all the epithets used therein qualify Sage Vyasa who is invoked. Some others opine that it is Lord Vishnu and Sage Vyasa who are referred to by the Acharya. Still others argue that Brahman the Absolute, Lord Hari Its Saguna aspect and Sage Veda Vyasa who is none other than the Lord, all the three are invoked in this opening verse. Vedanta declares that Brahman is both the material and instrumental cause of the universe from whom it is projected like an illusory show of a magician, in whom it appears to subsist and into whom it merges as it were. Lord Hari is the manifestation of Brahman and is so called because He destroys the primeval nescience with all its ramifications in the form of the three worlds, viz., this world, the heavenly one and the intermediate one, usually called the Bhuh, Bhuvah and Svah in the scriptures. In the Adhyatmic sense, the three worlds are the three states of waking, dream and deep sleep, through which runs like the thread in a garland, the Turiya, the Absolute transcending the three states. The Trinities, Brahma, Vishnu and Siva also known as Hiranyagarbha, Virat and Isvara in the universal aspect and Taijasa, Visva and Prajna in the individual aspect, respectively, nay, all the gods and goddesses referred to in the scriptures are the manifestations of the one Absolute. Thus through the epithets used in the first line of the verse, the Acharya refers to the identity that lies hidden in the terms ‘the Absolute’ and ‘God’ in His Nirguna and Saguna aspects. The remaining epithets make explicit reference to Sage Veda-Vyasa, as the grandson of Sage Sakti, equal to Brahma, pure as the cloudless sky, belonging to the family of Vasishtha and as a great Tapasvin. This idea of identifying Sage Vyasa with Lord Vishnu cannot be new to the aspirant-world who are conversant with the epics and Puranas. We have for example the following verse: Achaturvadano Brahma “Sage Vyasa is God himself, he is Brahma without four faces, he is another Vishnu with two hands, and he is Lord Siva without the third eye on the forehead.” A very popular Dhyana Sloka among the devotees says: Vyasaya Vishnurupaya “Prostrations to Sage Vyasa in the form of Lord Vishnu and to Lord Vishnu in the form of Vyasa. Prostrations again and again to that repository of Brahma-Jnana, belonging to the family of Sage Vasishtha.” Sage Vyasa, the author of ‘Brahma-Sutras’ and Acharya Sankara, their commentator, are identified with Lord Narayana and Lord Siva respectively in the following: ‘Vyaso Narayanah Sakshat, Sankarah Sankarah.’ Similarly we have another verse: Sankaram Sankaracharyam The verse of Sri Totakacharya referred to sutra, recalls to our minds the traditional Guru-Parampara beginning right from Lord Narayana, the Supreme Absolute up to Sage Vyasa, with Brahma. Vasishtha, Sakti and Parasara in between. Unshakable faith in the truth about the essential basic identity of one’s own Preceptor and Ishta Devata (tutelary deity) with the transcendental Absolute is a sine qua non for the spiritual seeker to ensure success in his march towards the goal of Self-realisation, the acme of all human aspirations. DO YOUR DUTY(SRI SWAMI ATMASWARUPANANDA) When he comes here in the mornings, one of the things that Pujya Swami Chidanandaji is fond of reminding us of is that God is now and here—closer to us than anything else, closer even than our own self. How can this be so? Because who we think we are is something that the mind has created. We are actually the witness of that identification. We are not what we are identifying with. One of the tragedies of having this false identification is that we have lost our sense of wholeness and security. We feel that we are a body and mind, and both the body and mind are vulnerable to influences that we cannot control. Instead of recognising this and finding our true security in God, we try to control our circumstances. We try to control things both outwardly and inwardly. We feel that our great enemies are lust, anger, greed, hatred and jealousy. And so they are, but we don’t recognise some of our subtle enemies like doubt and especially the desire to control. Arjuna was trying to control his situation. He was going to get back his kingdom, because he felt it was his due. But then, when he saw what he had to face, he collapsed and wanted to run away. That is what the ego does. If it can’t control a situation, it wants to have nothing to do with it. Lord Krishna says that that is not the way. It is lack of understanding. Trying to control the situation is totally different than feeling responsible for it. Lord Krishna said to give up trying to control the results. That’s just the ego’s way of trying to find security for itself. Just do your duty. But the ego doesn’t want to just do its duty; it wants to control the results. Therefore, Lord Krishna had to keep teaching until Arjuna could recover his memory of who he really was. And what was the final result? Arjuna said, “I will do as you say.” In other words, instead of trying to control the situation according to what he wanted, Arjuna was now prepared to obey the Lord and fight. He felt totally responsible to do his duty. This is something the ego can never understand. Either it gets its own way or it wants to have nothing to do with the situation. When we recover our memory, we do our duty because it is there to be done. We feel a responsibility for it. The results simply don’t matter to us. All that matters is our sense of responsibility. Sometimes the sense of responsibility can be so powerful that we feel we are responsible for the whole world. Perhaps that is the way Gurudev felt, wanting to spread the truths of Yoga and Vedanta to every corner of the world. Whatever it was, he never worried about the results. He never tried to control things. His only concern was to do his duty, to do what God had given him to do. Trying to control things is being petty-minded and binds us to our ego. It blocks our memory of our true Self. We need to learn the art and science, the skill, of giving up control and yet accepting our full responsibility NEWS AND REPORTSNEWS FROM THE HEADQUARTERS HOLY SRI GURU PURNIMA, SADHANA WEEK AND THE 41ST PUNYATITHI ARADHANA OF GURUDEV SRI SIVANANDAJI MAHARAJ AT THE D.L.S. HEADQUARTERS. Holy Sri Guru Purnima, Sadhana Week and the 41st Punyatithi Aradhana of Worshipful Gurudev Sri Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj were celebrated at the Holy Ashram, Divine Life Society Headquarters, on a grand scale. Devotees from all over the world had gathered at the Headquarters Ashram on the Holy bank of Mother Ganga for the sacred functions. Sri Guru Purnima The full-moon day of the month of Ashadha, which came off on Friday , the 2nd July 2004, was celebrated with gaiety as the sacred Sri Guru Purnima day. The function commenced at 4.30 a.m. with early morning Brahmamuhurta prayer, chanting of Jaya Ganesha Kirtan, Guru Stotra, Shanti Path and Pratah Smaran followed by Meditation session, conducted by Sri Swami Devabhaktanandaji of the Ashram. H.H. Sri Swami Vimalanandaji Maharaj, General Secretary, H.H. Sri Swami Nirliptanandaji, Vice-President, H.H.Sri Swami Yogaswaroopanandaji, Vice- President, in their addresses, spoke about the importance of Guru Purnima. This was followed by Prabhat Pheri led by Sri Swami Devabhaktanandaji and all the devotees took part in Prabhat Pheri with utmost devotion which made the procession a grand spectacle. A special Havan was conducted at Yajnashala of Sri Viswanatha Mandir for world Peace and welfare of mankind. There was a special worship offered to Gurudev Sri Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj at the Holy Samadhi Shrine. More devotional fervour was added to the function when the Grand Worship of the Sandals of Worshipful Gurudev, ‘Paduka Puja’ was conducted at the specially erected Pandal before a huge concourse of devotees . During the special ‘Paduka Puja’, special invocations were made and prayers were offered on behalf of the devotees who had made special written requests for the same. In celebration of the auspicious day, H.H. Sri Swami Vimalanandaji Maharaj, General Secretary, and H.H. Sri Swami Nirliptanandaji Maharaj, Vice-President, blessed the devotees and released publications in Tamil, Hindi, Gujarati and English, brought out by various DLS branches as well as the YVFA Press of the Headquarters. The forenoon session came to a conclusion with Shanti Path and Prasad distribution. The afternoon programme started with discourses at 4.00 p.m, on the Life and Teachings of Sadgurudev H.H. Sri Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj, by Prof. Ved Prakash Groverji, Sri Swami Swaroopanandaji, Prof. V.D. Randev and Sri Choudhury Goura Hari Mishra. At the conclusion of the discourses, Revered Sri Swami Padmanabhanandaji Maharaj conducted a study of the Brahmasutras and made invocations to Bhagavan Veda Vyasa. Swamiji, quoting from the Taittiriya Upanishad, said that the happiness human beings get from worldly objects is always mixed with pain, meaning pain and pleasure go together in all worldly achievements. The Upanishads declare that it is the case not with human happiness alone. Even the happiness of Devas, Indra and Brahma are also not totally free from pain. Absolute happiness or unalloyed Bliss is enjoyed by a person who is Shrotriya and free from all desires, i.e., a Realised saint. Swamiji said that the ‘Ananda Mimamsa’ of Taittiriya Upanishad explains this very vividly. The Brahmacharis of the Ashram chanted this ‘Ananda Mimamsa Anuvaka’ of the Taittiriya Upanishad with proper intonations. The chanting was very electrifying and soul-stirring and it filled the atmosphere with Spiritual vibrations. The audience were thrilled by the chanting and felt like they were sitting in a Vedic Yajnashala. Concluding his talk, Swamiji read out the Brahmasutras (Chatuh Sutri) and all the Sadhaks repeated the same. Parama Pujya Sri Swami Chidanandaji Maharaj had sent a Video-recorded message for Guru Purnima. Swamiji Maharaj in his message said that the Sadhana Week culminating in the Punyatithi Aradhana is a unique occasion for sincere Sadhaks. Sadhana means a sincere effort put forth for obtaining a desired goal. Seekers on the Spiritual path do not desire anything mundane. The true Sadhya Vastu is not anything petty, ephemeral or transient but Atma-Sakshatkar or God-realisation, attaining which there is no return to the mortal plane. Parama Pujya Swamiji also requested all the Sadhaks to be punctual and attentive during the entire Sahdana Week giving their entire mind to the lectures and discourses to obtain maximum benefit. In the Night Satsanga there was a special ‘Bhajan and Kirtan’ programme by the devotees and Radio Artists, which gave a delightful sight of devotional atmosphere. The celebration of Holy Guru Purnima came to a happy conclusion at 10 p.m. with Arati to Gurudev. Sadhana Week The 41st Sadhana Week was held from 3rd to 9th July, 2004. On all the seven days there were Brahmamuhurta prayers and Meditation conducted by Sri Swami Devabhaktanandaji Maharaj. H.H. Sri Swami Nirliptanandaji Maharaj, Vice-President, gave early morning talks containing instructions on Sadhana all the seven days. Swamiji said that all human beings seek permanent happiness which should be without any trace of sorrow. This happiness one cannot get from the world where all objects are temporary, perishable and changing. Real happiness can be had only from God which is unchanging and eternal. By realising God a man can put an end to all sorrow, have eternal satisfaction and supreme bliss. Thus God-realisation is the primary purpose and Goal of life and this can be achieved only through spiritual Sadhana. Hence Sadhana is the most important duty in life, which will free one from the cycle of births and deaths. Swamiji said, it is attachment which brings about bondage and makes us forget about God. Therefore development of detachment or dispassion (Vairagya) is an essential part of Sadhana. Every spiritual aspirant has to bear this in mind. Since the two means of controlling the mind are abhyasa or spiritual practice and Vairagya or dispassion, cultivation of dispassion constitutes fifty percent of one’s Sadhana. One can cultivate dispassion by looking into the defects of the objects, remembering death which is ever waiting, and realising the unreal nature of worldly pleasures. One has to appreciate the value of time. Time passes swiftly and with it the life-span also gets reduced. Swamiji said, with the passage of time, the strength and vigour of the body and senses diminishes and old age creeps in bringing with it weaknesses and diseases. At that time vigorous Sadhana will not be possible. Hence a wise Sadhak should never postpone Sadhana and engage in it now itself with all persistence and sincerity. One should never waste time which is precious, in idle pursuits. Then only one can proceed rapidly in Sadhana. Swamiji said, an essential aspect of Sadhana is Sadachara or good conduct. Without ethical perfection no spiritual progress is possible and it constitutes the basic foundation of the spiritual edifice. As such all seekers will have to give full attention to cultivation of virtues. Of these Ahimsa or non-injury, Satya or truth and Brahmacharya or purity are the foremost. One should try to practise the virtues as delineated in the 16th Chapter of the Bhagavad Gita which will be of great value. For steady progress in Sadhana and success in the spiritual path, Swamiji said, one has to follow the middle path and avoid going to extremes. As Lord Krishna has advised in the Bhagavad Gita, the aspirant in the path of Yoga should observe moderation with regard to eating, sleep, work, recreation as thereby one can succeed in Yoga which puts an end to sorrow and pain. Gurudev Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj has taught that for doing spiritual Sahdana one need not leave the home and retire to a forest. One can carry on one’s Sahdana even in the worldly environment where one is placed by God. What is required is spiritualisation of all activities by avoiding wrong actions, following dharma or righteousness, thinking oneself as an instrument in the hands of God, and offering the actions to the Lord. Swamiji said, one should try to keep remembrance of God throughout, at the same time, which is a very important part of Sadhana. Sri Swami Viswaroopanandaji conducted Yogasana classes daily, sincerely and effectively to the satisfaction of all participants. Sadhaks not attending the Yogasana classes joined the Prabhat Pheri procession led by Sri Swami Devabhaktanandaji, Sri Swami Samatvanandaji, Sri Swami Sivatmanandaji and Sri Swami Archananandaji. The forenoon session of each day began with Jai Ganesh Prayers. Vishnusahasranama was recited on the inaugural and concluding days followed by Japa. Maha Mandaleswars from different Ashrams and other eminent guest Saints as well as other speakers were gracious enough to bless the fortunate Sadhaks with their valuable discourses in different sessions. Maha Mandaleswar H.H Sri Swami Vidyananda Giriji Maharaj of Kailash Ashram, Rishikesh, inaugurated the Sadhana Week by delivering the Inaugural Address. Sri Swamiji Maharaj, while blessing the devotees on the first day of the Sadhana Week, delivered his speech in Sanskrit. He highlighted the need for the study of Sanskrit, and advised all the followers of Adi Sankaracharya tradition to do Parayana of Prasthana Trayee everyday. He paid homage to Sri Gurudev and expressed gratitude for spreading the Vaidik Sanatana Dharma in India as well as in foreign countries. He explained in detail the works done by Adi Sankaracharya in establishing Maths and Dashanami Sannyasa Sects. He urged the aspirants to do Parayana of Sri Sankaracharya’s Bhasya on the Prasthana Trayee. H.H. Sri Swami Yogaswaroopanandaji Maharaj, Vice-President, D.L.S. said that the first and the foremost duty of a Sadhak is to find out the weaknesses present in him and Sadhana is the method of overcoming them. Swamiji said that our Vedas are Apaurusheya and the scriptures are of six types, viz., Shruti, Smriti, Itihasa, Purana, Aagama, and Darshana. The essence of all the Vedas and Upanishads is contained in Bhagavad Gita and all Sadhaks must read Gita daily and try to practise its teachings in daily life. Mentioning the essence of Mahabharata, Swamiji said that Dhritarashtra represents Tamas, Duryodhana is Rajasic and Arjuna or Vijaya is Humanity. Study of Gita is the study of Self. Renunciation of objectiveness of objects is true renunciation. Quoting examples from Ramayana Swamiji said that when Sita asked Sri Rama why He is carrying the bow and arrows at all times, as this may arouse injurious thoughts, Sri Rama replied that it is his duty to protect the people and hence to have the bow and arrows always. Swamiji urged the aspirants to have sound health to pursue Spiritual Sadhana and for this, he suggested the practice of Suryanamaskara which cures body, mind and spirit. He asked the aspirants to repeat God’s name always and be in God-consciousness. He advised the Sadhaks to be like honeybees. They should accept what is essential. He narrated stories from Mahabharata, Ramayana and Hitopadesha and urged the Sadhaks to be righteous and good in all conditions. Truth and God exist in every being. Spiritual life is to treat all with mercy, kindness and compassion. Swamiji said that no one is beyond error and hence should be treated with kindness. Swamiji gave an example from the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna, how the ants were deprived of availing their food as they were having sugar bits in their mouths. He further quoted from the Gita and said that there is nothing on this earth which is not God. Quoting from Viveka Chudamani and Yoga Vasishtha he explained how to go beyond physical, mental and psychological attitudes. Swamiji said that when everything is Consciousness, stop thinking and repeat God’s Name. God’s powerful Name was with Lord Hanuman. The letter 'Ra' from 'Om Namo Narayanaya' and the letter 'Ma' from the 'Om Namah Sivaya' constitute 'RAMA' which signifies Supreme renunciation. Swamiji referred to Kathopnishad and the teachings of Lord Yama, another teaching from Sri Ramakrishna, and said a frog kicked the elephant as the elephant was going in his area without his permission. The teachings of the Gurudev are the Jnana Ganga which flows continuously. Swamiji reminded the Sadhaks to remember the five G’s—Govinda, Gita, Ganga, Guru Seva and Gayatri; and Be good and Do good. H.H. Sri Swami Nirliptanandaji Maharaj, Vice-President, DLS gave the concluding discourse of the day on all the first six days. Swamiji said, mind is the main instrument with the help of which God-realisation can be attained. There are three defects of mind which stand as obstacles. They are : (i) Mala or impurities, such as lust, anger, jealousy, etc., selfishness, attachment and hatred, (ii) Vikshepa or tossing and (iii) Avarana or veil. The purpose of Sadhana or practice of Yoga is to remove these three defects, then there would be realisation of God or Liberation. For removing impurities Selfless service or Karma Yoga is necessary. Tossing of the mind can be removed only through Devotion or Bhakti Yoga. The veil of ignorance is torn asunder through Meditation and Self-enquiry which are represented by Raja Yoga or Yoga of Meditation, and Jnana Yoga or Yoga of Knowledge. Thus in order to get rid of all the three defects, the practice of Yoga has to be all-round and comprehensive. Hence Gurudev Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj has taught the synthesis of Yoga which is a harmonious combination of all the four Yogas, which will make for quick progress in the spiritual path. While simultaneously practising a little of each of the Yogas, one has to adopt one Yoga as one’s main Yoga, depending on one’s temperament and capability. Swamiji said Love for God or devotion is essential for progress in Sadhana and attainment of God-realisation. Wherever one’s love is, there the mind dwells naturally. Hence as a means for proceeding in the spiritual path, the love which one has naturally for objects of the world is to be diverted towards god. God is pleased quickly only by devotion, and all one’s attainments in the world are of no avail in this regard. Thus devotion is the most important factor in the spiritual path and Bhakti Yoga is suitable for most people. One should cultivate devotion through faith in God, japa or recitation of the Divine name, Satsang, practice of nine modes of devotion culminating in complete self-surrender, etc. Selfless service, Swamiji said, is essential for all spiritual aspirants since it alone brings about inner purification. Inasmuch as it is not possible to avoid work in the world, one should perform one’s obligatory duties, with an attitude of non-attachment so that one’s ordinary work becomes a kind of worship and frees one from bondage. Doing good to all, seeing God in all, doing work as worship and also rendering service to the Guru are some of the important aspects of Karma Yoga. It is necessary to meditate regularly, as through that only one will reach the final spiritual Goal. All other items of Sadhana ultimately prepare the Sadhak for meditation and meditation leads to Enlightenment or God-realisation. Swamiji said, alongside other Sadhanas one should also practise a little Vichara or Self-enquiry and discrimination between the Real and the Unreal. The world with all its names and forms is unreal and behind that is the Atman or Brahman as the Reality. Similarly one’s real nature is the Self or the Atman which is immortal, and is within the perishable body and restless mind. One should constantly reflect on Atman which will take one to Self-realisation. Everybody has to sustain his life and discharge the obligations in the world where he is placed; hence in order to be successful in Sahdana, Swamiji said, a Sadhak has to give due attention to all the four Purusharthas or principal values of life. Of these, Artha or economic value and Kama or vital value are to be given the least importance and kept to the minimum. Dharma or ethical value is more important, and Moksha or the Spiritual Value being the ultimate Goal of life, is the most important. Seekers in the spiritual path have to keep this in mind and proceed with their Sadhana accordingly which will make for smooth progress. Maha Mandaleswar H.H Sri Swami Hamsanandaji Maharaj (Dandi Swami) of Swargashram, in his talk on the second day, said that Satchitananda Brahman is the material and efficient cause of this Universe, where Creation, Preservation and Dissolution take place. Swamiji while citing examples from Upanishads explained the unity of existence of the nature of Maya, Iswara, Jiva and the aspects of Vidya and Avidya. Swamiji said that the three obstacles of Mala, Vikshepa and Avarana can be removed by practising Selfless Service, Worship and Meditation. Quoting examples from Upanishads, Ramayana and Mahabharata, Swamiji advised the Sadhaks to lead a life of Truthfulness and Non-injury as these are the supreme essential virtues. Maha Mandaleswar H.H Sri Swami Asanganandaji Maharaj of Parmarth Niketan, while addressing the devotees on the third day, paid rich tributes to Sri Gurudev. Swamiji told that Guru is not human, Guru is Divine. Swamiji advised to follow the Guru with full faith. The aspirant should search Bliss which is inside, and the aspirant is not to sit on the milestone but march on to the destination. Swamiji also elaborated the concept of Maya by giving the examples of gold and ornaments. The aspirant should give up doership and get rid of ego. One should be aware of Death and remember death always. He narrated incidents of the lives of Rishi Jajli and Saint Rabiya. If one wants to have relationship with God, one must do Japa and never postpone any good work in life. Swamiji said that in a clean and pure mind only there will be vision of God. Maha Mandaleswar H.H Sri Swami Prakashanandaji Maharaj of Jagatguru Ashram, Haridwar, in his address on the fourth day, said that this body is available due to performance of auspicious and inauspicious activities done in previous lives. Having attained a human body, one should try to find out the Maha Purusha (Supreme Being) by meditating at any of the three places — navel, heart and between the eyebrows. Swamiji said, by this body one can have both Yoga and Bhoga Sadhana. There is Consciousness in the inert body but due to wrong identification man has forgotten the Consciousness. By Sadhana one has to identify himself with the Consciousness. Maha Mandaleswar H.H Sri Swami Shyam Sunder Das Sastriji of Garibdas Ashram, Haridwar, said that this Sadhana Shibir is a manifestation of the grace of Guru. While talking on the fifth day of the Sadhana Week, Swamiji said in the Holy Places one must have good thoughts, the mind is to be engaged in Brahmakar Vritti. Elaborating the saying of Kathopanishad, Swamiji said that this body is the chariot; mind is the rein; senses are the horses; objects are the roads; intellect is the driver. The aspirant should primarily gain control on the mind and senses. Quoting Srimad Bhagavad Gita, Swamiji urged the aspirants to practise the teachings of Gita. Aspirants should cultivate righteous behaviour and good virtues. Maha Mandaleswar H.H Sri Swami Jyotirmayanandaji Maharaj of Sadananda Ashram, Haridwar, in his talk on the sixth day, emphasised the observance of the canons laid down by Sanatana Vaidik Dharma. All the four Purusharthas: Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha will be attained by this Vaidik Santana Dharma only. Swamiji said that the cause of sorrow is ignorance and eradication of ignorance is Sadhana. Swamiji said that Sri Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj has dived deep and brought forth the pearls of wisdom : Serve, Love, Meditate and Realise, indicating the main Yogas— Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Raja Yoga and Jnana Yoga. Jiva is identical with Brahma and the only way to know the self is to investigate one’s own Swaroopa which is most lovable ‘Parama Prem Swaroopa’. H.H. Sri Swami Vimalanandaji Maharaj, General Secretary, DLS, in his address to the Sadhaks, recalled his olden days when he came first to this Ashram in 1953. As per the orders of Sri Gurudev, Swamiji Maharaj served worshipful Swami Chidanandaji Maharaj for a period of more than forty years. From 1953 to 1963, Swamiji said, he never missed the Satsanga of Sri Gurudev. Swamiji also narrated many interesting incidents with Sri Gurudev and Sri Swami Chidanandaji Maharaj, and explained in detail the growth of the Ashram from time to time. Swamiji said that in the early days, when he came in 1953, he lived for six days at Triveni Ghat, Rishikesh and then discovered the Dattatreya Temple and the cave where he lived for a couple of years. Swamiji said for fifteen days he was sitting with closed eyes and feeling tranquil and then he met worshipful Swami Chidanandaji Maharaj and became an ardent devotee and disciple and with his blessings he travelled all over the world several times, spreading the message of Divine Life. Revered Sri Swami Atmaswaroopanandaji, Revered Sri Swami Sivachidanandaji, Revered Sri Swami Advaitanandaji, Revered Sri Swami Padmanabhanandaji, Revered Sri Swami Ramarajyamji, Revered Sri Swami Radhakrishnanandaji, Revered Sri Swami Nirakaranandaji, Revered Sri Swami Tyagavairagyanandaji, Revered Sri Hari Hara Singhji, Revered Sri Swami Vivekrupanandaji, Revered Prof. Vasudev Randevji, Revered Sri Swami Swaroopanandaji, Revered Sri Swami Yugalpriyananda Mataji, and Revered Sri A. Harihara Subramanianji also spoke on various aspects of spiritual practices, covering practically all the salient features of Sadhana. The gist of their discourses is given below. Sri Swami Atmaswaroopanandaji Maharaj said that it is a time of rededication to the Guru and his teachings .As a token of our reverence it is customary to make an offering to the Guru, but while the Guru no doubt appreciates our gesture, what he would really like to receive in us is like a black hole that can absorb everything without leaving a trace. First we should offer him all our sorrows and problems and then all our joys and successes. We should offer him our individuality, our ego so that we can become one with him. Swamiji advised the Sadhaks to be committed to Vedic way of life to attain the goal of life. To achieve this, Sadhaks should practise Satya, Ahimsa and Brahmacharya. He said that most of the aspirants feel that they are not progressing in spite of their spiritual practice for long years. Spiritual practices are not for strengthening the ego but are meant for annihilation of ego. There should be in-depth understanding affirming the truth and rejecting duality. Sri Swami Sivachidanandaji in his address said that one has to reap the fruits of one's actions. Hence what the Sadhak has to do in order not to enjoy the fruits of his actions, as taught by the Gita, is to remain unattached as water on lotus leaf. Further he emphasised on surrender and cited the example of Vibhishana of Ramayana. Swamiji narrated his personal experience with Sri Gurudev and said that identification with one’s body is the greatest sin. Sri Swami Advaitanandaji Maharaj said that all the Sadhaks present here had not completed Sadhana in their previous births and hence they are here. Human birth is rare. A person comes to this earth plane with a fixed longevity, Karma, Wealth, Vidya and Nidhana. One should always meditate on his own Swaroopa. Swamiji also said that without knowledge there will be no Liberation. For attaining knowledge, devotion is the best practice and one has to enquire 'Who am I?', 'Wherefrom I have come?', 'Where shall I go?', 'What is the nature of this Samsara?', 'What is my relation with this Samsara?'. One is not wise who does not enquire. Swamiji quoted from Acharya Sankara’s Viveka Chudamani, and commentaries on Upanishads and Brahmasutras. He explained the meaning of the seventh mantra of Mandukya Upanishad and first few Sutras of Brahmasutras and further gave the exposition of the nature of Atma from Isavasya Upanishad. In attaining the Satya, Jnana, Ananta Brahman, there are obstacles of present, past and future, which are to be crossed over. Sri Swami Padmanabhanandaji Maharaj in his blessing address said that it is the good fortune of the Sadhaks to take part in Sadhana Week. Most of the Sadhaks have sacrificed their physical comforts and adjusted to the conditions of the Ashram, only in order to have Satsanga for their highest good. The programme of the Sadhana Week is so planned that the Sadhaks immerse themselves in Spiritual Practice and accelerate their Sadhana. Swamiji invoked the blessings of Lord Vishwanath and Sri Gurudev, on the Sadhaks for continuing their Sadhana more effectively. He said that in Kaliyuga (Iron age) the conditions obtaining and the mental frame of human beings are not conducive to undertake any Sadhana like Karma, Upasana, Dhyana etc., prescribed in Vedas and Shastras. Therefore, the only option for the Sadhakas is to do Japa Sadhana, i.e., Nama-smaran and Sankirtan which is considered to be the royal path. Real Bhaktas should be friendly to all beings without any enmity towards anyone. The Lord warns the devotees that if they hate anyone, they hate Him only as He is the indweller in all Beings. If the Sadhaks are friendly to one and all and do Seva to them with Bhava they are serving God in them. Bhagavan will be pleased and shower His blessings. Sri Swami Ramarajyamji Maharaj highlighted the pitfalls in Sadhana which are obstacles and must be taken care of. These are : (1) no real thirst for God, (2) absence of discontentment in the present status of Sadhana, (3) lack of one and sole aim, (4) lack of proper understanding of Spiritual life, (5) spiritual practice being confined to the meditation room only, (6) disobedience of the teachings of Guru, (7) forgetting death and being swayed by evil tendencies, (8) un-mindfulness of the ten Nama Aparadhas, (9) absence of Ananyata or no-otherness, (10) unawareness of the consequences of desires. Sri Swami Radhakrishnanandaji said that the cause of suffering of people is wrong understanding of Reality and appearance. Jnana Yoga commences with the intellect and ends with the destruction of the intellect. Jnana Yoga through ratiocination and discrimination raises one's consciousness to the Universal and effaces the individual. He said that Vedanta is internal Sadhana. It is essential to fix the mind on the Supreme Self. Swamiji said that out of all types of meditations, Bhuma Vidya is the best. One should avoid power and pleasure and chant the Name of God, Om. The Sadhak must acquire Sadhana Chatushtaya before attempting Vedantic Sadhana. Sri Swami Nirakaranandaji advised all the Sadhaks to reflect on the teachings of Sri Gurudev and Sri Swami Chidanandaji Maharaj. He reminded the Sadhaks to ponder over death which is certain but the time when it comes, is uncertain. Hence, keeping this truth in view everybody should engage in doing good, remembering God’s Name, and having positive thoughts. Further he quoted the plight of King Parikshit from Srimad Bhagavatam and told that every Sadhak should engage himself in repetition of God’s Name for final emancipation. Swamiji said that one should always remember death and God. Sri Swami Tyagavairagyanandaji Maharaj expounded the role of Guru Kripa (grace). He said that there are many paths or Yoga systems for attaining the goal of life, namely, experiencing the Supreme Principle. Guru Bhakti Yoga is one of them. It is said, ‘Guru Kripa hi Kevalam’, i.e., only Guru Kripa alone is the way and is sufficient. Guru Kripa is like rain which benefits one and all but some pots are upside down and hence collect no water, some are full of impurities, dirt and stones, some are porous and thus whatever water is gathered seeps out. We should cultivate discrimination and then dispassion. A man is caught inside a house on fire. How intense will be his longing to free himself from it and go out? A true disciple should have such a strong burning desire to become free from the clutches of Samsara and attain God-realisation. This is true Mumukshutva. How to develop such Mumukshutva? The means to develop it are Satsanga, Discrimination, Japa, Austerity, Kirtan, Prayer, Swadhyaya and putting into practice the instructions of the Guru and Guru Seva. Swamiji prayed to the Lord to bestow upon all the strength to become such an ideal disciple to add to the glories of our great Gurus. Sri Hari Hara Singhji in his address gave examples from Ramayana about Sadhana. After the coronation of Lord Rama, one day a Satsanga was arranged and the main topic was, who is dear to the Lord? Lord Rama said that 'he is dear to Me who obeys my instructions'. In 'Sri Rama Charita Manas' there is a detailed exposition of Bhakti Yoga and the importance of Satsanga. He urged the Sadhaks to follow the instructions of Sri Gurudev. Sri Swami Vivekrupanandaji while addressing the devotees quoted from Gita and explained the nature of Maya and how people are bound with their doership and enjoyership attitudes. The works are being done by Prakriti and there is interaction of senses and sense objects. But people, out of ignorance and ego, appropriate the actions to themselves. He further explained that the influence of heavenly bodies on the aspirants decides the influence of the presiding deities and the different organs of the body. He mentioned about the constant battle between the virtuous and the evil forces and the way to have victory. Further he said that the only way to be safe in progressing in spiritual practice is to take refuge at the lotus feet of the Lord. Prof. Vasudev Randevji in his talk made a reference to Srimad Bhagavad Gita in which Lord Krishna has stated that Bhakti is the easiest of all Yogas. He said Bhakti appeals to the heart and emotions of the aspirant. In Bhakti the devotee has to dissolve himself in the Love of the Lord. The aim of devotion is to please the Lord. He compared the devotee to fish, swan. One should make God the centre of one's life, then everything will go well. If we want to be happy, we should live in God. For the cultivation of Bhakti, all should study Narada Bhakti Sutras, particularly the 35th Sutra. Sri Swami Swaroopanandaji said that Gurudev Sri Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj is a unique saint of the modern times of our country. He was a Sampoorna Yogi. His Yoga was the Yoga of Synthesis, comprising the essence of all yogas—Karma yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Raja yoga and Jnana Yoga. He had the head of Sri Sankara, the heart of Lord Buddha and the hands of Raja Janaka. He practised a unique Yoga, called Namaskara Yoga. He prostrated first at the feet of others, before others fell at his feet. Devotees used to offer ‘Pada Puja’ to Gurudev. Sometimes the Pada Puja would be very grand. Once after the grand Pada Puja, Gurudev went to his room, bolted the door from within. After sometime a beating sound was heard from his room. He was all alone there. Then how this sound? Later on, when enquired by his disciples, Gurudev simply said: “Oh. It was nothing. I was applying to myself SB 40 injection”. This means ‘Shoe Beating 40 times’, to eliminate the trace of ego that may be lurking in the corner of the mind. Sri Swami Yugalapriyananda Mataji gave a detailed description of the Purushottam Month, which comes once in every three years. The Moon completes its travel in 354 days and the Sun in 365 days, and thus there is a difference of 11 days. These accumulate for one full extra month in three years’ time which is called Adhimasa or Purushottam month. This month does not have a regular name. The details are in Brihad Naradiya Upanishad. She explained how the Lord himself has bestowed all auspiciousness to this extra month and given His own name 'Purushottam' to this month, quoting very interesting episodes from Puranas. She highlighted the importance of this month for Sadhana. Sri A. Hariharasubramaniyanji explained the necessity of the peace chant, 'Saha Navavatu' which is an important peace chant recited by us often. The teacher and the student pray that there may not be animosity between them. Is there a need for that prayer? Yes, there is. While the Sadguru has transcended individuality, the disciple has not. This is why he needs a Guru and his guidance. The disciple's ego tends to assert itself knowingly or unknowingly—sometimes even against the Guru. So he should be on his guard. The student should purify himself by service, love, charity and become an Adhikari for the supreme knowledge. This is the lesson to be learnt from the story of the Dadhyang Atharvana and Indra in Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. Video talks of H.H. Sri Swami Chidanandaji Maharaj and H.H. Sri Swami Krishnanandaji Maharaj were also shown during the Sadhana Week. Questions of Sadhaks were answered and their doubts were cleared by H.H. Sri Swami Nirliptanandaji Maharaj and H.H. Sri Swami Yogaswaroopanandaji Maharaj. In the evening on all days there were Satsanga and Cultural Shows. Sri Krishna Leela through a reputed group of Vrindavan under Revered Swami Fatehkrishna Sharmaji was staged on some days. The valedictory function was held in the afternoon of the last day of the Sadhana Week. H.H. Sri Swami Vimalanandaji Maharaj, General Secretary, and H.H. Sri Swami Yogaswaroopanandaji Maharaj, Vice-President, blessed the Sadhaks and gave their parting advice, indicating the important aspects which the Sadhaks should keep in mind. Jnana Prasad consisting of books and free literature was distributed to every Sadhak at the conclusion of the function. Holy Punyatithi Aradhana The 41st Holy Punyatithi Aradhana of Worshipful Gurudev Sri Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj was observed in a solemn atmosphere on Saturday, 10th July 2004. The celebrations were commenced with Brahmamuhurta Prayers, Sri Gurupaduka Stotra and Meditation conducted by Sri Swami Devabhaktanandaji. A special Puja was offered to Sri Gurudev at the Holy Samadhi Shrine which was followed by a Grand Puja to Gurudev's Padukas at the specially decorated Pandal with Laksharchana Puja in which all the senior Swamijis and other Sadhaks of the Ashram and Devotees from all the parts of the world participated with a spirit of devout worship. In the afternoon a special Satsanga was held in which Revered Sri Swami Viamalanandaji Maharaj, General Secretary, said that this Spiritual gathering is possible due to the grace of the Divine. Long long ago sages did austerities in this land and attained illumination. They addressed the people saying that they have not come here for weeping and taught them the way to realise God. The sages had Direct Experiences and handed over them to the posterity to experience. Developing love for the Divine is Mumukshutva. There are different paths for Realisation according to different temperaments. People of emotional temperament are best suited for Bhakti Yoga. People of contemplative type are suited for Raja Yoga and people of active type are suited for Karma Yoga. Highly intellectual people are suited for Jnana Yoga or the path of Wisdom. Sri Swami Atmaswaroopanandaji Maharaj while talking on the occasion recollected that many years ago, during his early morning talks on this sacred occasion, Parama Pujya Sri Swami Chidanandaji Maharaj said that when the Guru leaves his body, then willy-nilly the disciple has to put his trust in God. The inference was, that is what the disciple should have been doing all along. Finally, we have to realise that no genuine spiritual transformation is possible until we not only let go of our reliance on outer props but on the inner ones as well. Punyatithi Aradhana of our worshipful Gurudev is an opportunity to remind ourselves that our goal is to be totally relying upon God. Our spiritual practices are never meant to be ends in themselves, but aids to help us to totally empty ourselves and to put our trust in God for everything. Sri Swami Swaroopanandaji said that Gurudev has written more than 300 books on various topics and the essence of all these is found in a single sentence : Be Good; Do Good. Good is God. God is Good. There is no difference between Good and God. Gurudev said that if one is Good he can become God. Divine Life is to be lived in daily life. 'Hate sin but not the sinner'—was his message. Gurudev converted 'stones into diamonds' by bringing about total transformation in the life of his disciples. His 'Twenty Important Spiritual Instructions' is the pathway to blessedness in the life of individuals. Our Gurudev was a great Avatarapurusha. Avatarapurushas are God’s incarnations, who have only appeared as men in this world. They have only an ‘apparent’ beginning and ‘apparent’ disappearance. They still live with us in our hearts. Think of him with total devotion and there he is ready to bless you. He is ever shining as our Antaryami. May He guide us for ever! Sri Swami Tyagavairagyanandaji Maharaj in his talk said that whatever the ancient sages have attained, the same can be attained by one and all. This is the ardent desire of the sages. The grace of Guru is very important. Satsanga and Swadhyaya are must for the disciple to progress in Spiritual Sadhana with absolute faith in Guru and his teachings. He urged the Sadhaks to have Sadachara, Sweet talking and Purity in speech and thought. Sri Swami Padmanabhanandaji Maharaj congratulated the devotees for their good fortune to be a part of the Sadhana Week programme. Swamiji said that because of blessings of Sri Gurudev, Sadhaks and devotees were able to attend the functions and charge their spiritual thoughts. Whatever was heard and the information collected during these days will help the devotees and Sadhaks in developing good Samskaras in them. Swamiji invoked the blessings of Sri Gurudev on one and all whoever attended the functions. The night Satsanga witnessed special Bhajans and Kirtans by a number of devotees who with great devotion and dedication expressed their love and devotion to Sri Gurudev. Then the devotees had the blessing privilege of having the Darshan of Sri Gurudev through the electronic media. The Grand Celebrations of Guru Purnima, Sadhana Week and the 41st Punyatithi Aradhana of Gurudev Sri Swami Sivanandaji Maharaj were well conducted under the able guidance of Sri Swami Sivachidanandaji Maharaj, who with great ease and efficiency, and sincere devotion, was instrumental in organising the functions in a smooth and orderly manner. The glorious celebrations which created a thrill of spiritual enthusiasm in the heart of the every devotee, came to a fulfilling end with prayers to the Lord Almighty. Seva Trough Sivananda Home Sivananda Home is a Medical Centre for sick Leprosy and Destitute patients, who have neither any attendant to take care of them, nor any place to go. The Centre is situated near the famous Laxman Jhula and is looked after by the Divine Life Society since many years. “Divine Life is the link that binds all humanity as one great family. It gives one the opprotunity of understanding one’s relationship with God, between one another, between oneself and the world. Recognize the Divinity within you. Recognize the Divinity in all. This whole world is pervaded by the Lord. Nothing is evil here. Nothing is to be condemned.” (Swami Sivananda). How difficult it is in daily life to have this equal vision towards one and all, to look upon everybody as our own father, mother, brother or sister and to treat him or her accordingly, be it a small child, a Brahmin, and “untouchable”, an ant, a dog, a mentally unsound person, a sick or dying patient. Besides the 75 OPD Leprosy patients, who got treatment in the Home, also 15 new patients were admitted this month. Among them was a lady patient, brought in a severe destitute condition, with a huge ulcer on top of the head, the tissue completely eaten away so that one could see directly the scalp bone and full of thousands of maggots. Unimaginable it is how she could bear the pain of such a wound and the crawling sensation in and over the head. After a couple of days of intense medical treatment, washing, cleaning and bandaging, the ulcer has become completely clean and free of insects. Still under treatment she is, since blood report shows her also positive for Syphilis. But her speedy recovery to complete normal health is only due to Gurudev’s grace and His invisible healing touch. In so many different disguises He keeps on coming. A young girl was admitted too this month, in an unconscious condition, brought at night time to the Home. She was found to have severe low Blood Pressure and regained consciousness 12 hours later after prompt action. Having milk in the breast, but she could not tell where her baby was left without mother, from where she came, and how she landed up in the street all alone. What is the difference between them and us? She being an educated girl, speaking and writing in different languages, what circumstances she might have faced? Who are “them” “us” in this great human family? “To forget that there is but ONE SELF which is the same in all, is ignorance. To see diversity is ignorance. To be caught in the whirlpool of names and forms and to forget the Spirit behind all, is ignorance.” (Swami Sivananda) Among the new patients this month was also a Sadhu, having severe anaemia and fever. After blood transfusions and other medicines he recovered and could be discharged. Likewise, a young boy (19 years), completely drenched in the rain, was brought in from Ashram area with Pulmonary Tuberculosis and Gastro-enteritis, and malnourished, weighing only 21 kgs. In a segregated room he is undergoing treatment and nursing care, and is improving day by day, in a soothing and healing atmosphere of spiritual Bhajans and the Sacred Maha Shivapuran on the video television. May He, who is the DOCTOR, the PATIENT and the MEDICINE, bless us with humility, patience and equal vision, to see ONLY HIM in each and every living creature. Jai Sivananda! Feed the Hungry. Clothe the naked. Serve the sick. This is Divine Life. —Swami Sivananda | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
