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Year 12 Bqsjm!

311: Issue 10

Ibovnbo!Kbzbouj!Hsffujoht
):ui!Bqsjm!311:*

I bow my head to Hanumanji, the son of Wind God, messenger of Bhagwan Sri Rama, leader of the
monkey army, who is fast as the wind and quick as the mind, who is the master of his senses and is the
most distinguished and wise.
In This Issue

1. Vedanta Section: Atma Bodha - Shloka-5

2. Letter Section: The Five Koshas

3. Traditions Section: Some Names of Hanumanji

4. Story Section: No-no for Ketaki in Shiv-Puja

5. VM Programs: Mission / Ashram Progs


From Poojya Guruji

Vedanta Sandesh
Spreading Love & Light

Hari om!
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Atma Bodha - Shloka 5
Vedanta Section
The Nature and Role of Self-Knowledge
In the last shloka we saw that even though we all are basically divine and perfect, just because of
ignorance we get entangled in a bad dream and suffer unnecessarily. The solution of a bad dream is not a
better dream but to end all dreams and wake up. For this we take resort of the time-tested and valid
knowledge of scriptures.
Vedantic scriptures are a unique class of literature. They are called as pramana, the ‘valid means’
for the knowledge for the Self; whoever takes their resort shall definitely remove all their confusions and
doubts, and then the road for the revelation of the self-effulgent atma will indeed be clear. So the last
shloka made our goal and priorities very clear. However most of the students have what is called as the
pramana-samshaya, doubts pertaining to the very role of the scriptures. If this is not handled then the
result is that these sincere students remain contented with the broad information provided by the scrip-
tures and do not study the scriptures more deeply, and thus keep going round & round endlessly.
So as a connection to the next shloka we need to visualize a student saying that: Sir, we appreciate
the fact that the Self is basically Brahman, its all very logical; and that all what we now need is to quieten
our thoughts and realize ‘that’ which transcends them. That’s it. So the goal is clear, quieten the mind and
all its thoughts, and awake to the self. Now, having got this much basic, fundamental ‘knowledge’, if we still
continue to study the scriptures then we unnecessarily inject more thoughts in our minds rather than
remove them, thus we dont go forward, but rather backwards. So that which appeals more to us is that
having got the basic direction and knowledge, we need to focus more on our sadhana, we need to medi-
tate more, have good values and also devotion, and in this way work to quieten the mind, thereafter as you
say, the self-effulgent self shall reveal itself. So why burden ourselves with further study of the shastras?
Addressing such students the blessed Acharya says:

Agyan kalusham jivam gyanabhyasat vinirmalam


Kritva gyanam swayam nashyet jalam katak renuvat
Agyan kalusham: Sullied with ignorance; jivam: the individual self; gyan abhyasat: by constant
revelling in knowledge: vinirmalam: pure; kritva: having brought; gyanam: knowledge; swayam
nashyet: drops off itself; jalam: water; katak renuvat: like the particles of katak or cleansing nut.

The individual jiva sullied with ignorance is made pure by constant revelling in right knowledge.
Having brought about the awakening, ‘the awareness of Self ’ (akhandakar vritti) then drops off by
itself, just like the dust of the cleaning nut in water.

Agyan kalusham jivam: The individual is just the teacher says that be very clear on this front, you
sullied by ignorance. Life is beautiful and we all are have to just take resort of right knowedge alone,
also basically fine. There is no other problem, ex- nothing else and you wiill be on road to live a free
cept that we ‘do not know’ the truth of ourself. So and fine life. Neither the ignorance nor its multifari-
Vedanta Sandesh - April 2009
ous effects, our baseless conclusions, ever touch and punish them, with a cool mind. Our mind is our
the self, which is immaculate, pure and ever-free & mind, and it is our bounden duty to keep it clean
limitless. The game is all in the mind, and to know and wise. There is no compulsion and inevitability
this itself is such a relief, because now the things for us to grieve, feel helpless etc. All ‘that’ is our
come in our hands. We cannot and also need-not problem. The wise see opportunity and blessing in
manage the world outside, but we can certainly every situation, and that is what real wisdom is all
manage our minds, and thus efface the biggest of about.
any problems in our personal lives or in the world, So let it be any problem, be sure that the
and that also just by properly opening our eyes of power of knowledge is infinite, it can do anything.
wisdom. This is the glory of such diagnosis and state- Whether it is pertaining to the ‘seen’ or to the ‘seer’,
ments, and this is also the beginning of the process right knowledge will indeed redeem us from all pains
of our empowerment and freedom. It is indeed a and sufferings. Interestingly, even the thinker is also
very big statement, and worthy of being given a se- a mere thought. That ‘I am a limited being’ is a con-
rious thought. clusion of an ignorant mind. Indeed the jiva is sul-
Kalush are impurities, and they stand for all lied by ignorance, and suffers. So read the line as
that which not only gives pain and grief to us, but ‘the Jiva is sullied by agyana and all the subsequent
they also bring about the degradation of our facul- kalush’, or even ‘the jiva is sullied by agyana which
ties. The sparkling eyes of a child shows how im- is the real kalush’.
maculate God had sent us here, but shortly as we Gyanabhyasat Vinirmalam: By practise
‘grow up’ something goes very fundamentally wrong, (abhyasa) of knowledge (gyana) they are completely
and the eyes lose their sparkle and reveal the deep- purified (vinirmalam). Gyana is that light and under-
rooted hurt, pain or thirst. So obviously all this is standing which roots out all problems. Start with any-
just man-made, just because of his ignorance. No thing which bothers you, go deep into it, analyse it
wonder good thoughtful, sensitive and wise people objectively, and you will be surprised to discover that
who are at peace with themselves and are inspired the so called problem even has a dimension of some
by nothing but selfless love are not very easy to great blessing. Whether it is kama (desire), krodha
find. What we deserved was to revel in infinite peace (anger) or anything else pertaining to things outside
and bliss, but what we unfortunately find around is too, always believe that some ignorance and mis-
people just praying for just ‘some’ peace of mind. A understanding alone sustains it, so just go deep into
big fall indeed. All that which is responsible for this it with the help of some more learned & wise people
downfall are called kalush, and it is indeed very se- and see them lose their fangs. Turn all problems
rious matter. It needs to be understood and handled into innocent situations by right knowledge.
at all cost. We need to go into each problem thor- Having handled the various problems pertain-
oughly and discover that the problem of these pains ing to the things outside, one should finally turn to
and problems is only subjective and not anything the very root of all problems, ignorance and mis-
extraneous. This appreciation itself takes lot of time apprehension about our own Self. To the extent we
to dawn, and majority of us wonder the veracity of handle our thoughts pertaining to the world outside,
such statements, that it is ‘our ignorance’ which is to that extent our mind gets time, energy and dispo-
the cause of our problems. As an example, if some- sition for self-enquiry.
one insults or even hurts us, then how is ‘my’ igno- We know that of the various means of knowl-
rance responsible for the pain brought about by such edge (pramana) available to us, none except the
an incident? Well, no one has said that we will never Sabda Pramana can be applicable for Self-Knowl-
face any untoward incidents and bad people out- edge. Atma is obviously not something which can
side. These things will always be there, but it is not ever be seen or experienced by us, because we
necessary that if someone has a bad mouth, then I are the very experiencer, and never an object of
should necessarily have a bad heart too. It is obvi- experience. Seer is always different from that which
ous that when we suffer the bad deeds of some- is seen. This basic fact negates all such possibili-
one, then we had some baseless expectations even ties that we can ever ‘experience’ the Self, as we
from such evil and ignorant people, that is why we have been experiencing various other objects. The
suffer. We are always free to ignore such people, self-knowledge is of entirely different class, because
smile off their stupidity, or have pity on them and here we want to know the very knower. Even though
rather help them, or if need be, even be very firm the subject can never be objectified, yet strangely
Page # 5
we have notions and definitions about ourselves. ate that these unique self-knowledge scriptures do
This itself reveals how our notions are baseless. not take a positive approach, but a negative one.
Atma is not known as an object, but can be known They dont ‘reveal’ directly, but just negate. They just
by the words of the wise ones. That is what sabda remove the clouds so that the sun can reveal itself
pramana is all about. Vedanta shastras are that effortlessly. The test of properly studying the vedantic
Sabda Pramana, and they are revelatory in nature scriptures is complete and effortless cessation of
and not informatory. What this means is that never all efforts and duality, and direct awareness of that
be satisfied with mere superficial information got which is non-dual and infinite - as our very Self. This
from these unique scriptures that ‘You are Brahman’ direct awareness of the Self to be Brahman is called
etc, but continue to pursue the knowledge till direct Akhandakar-Vritti, and it comes by sravana &
realization dawns. manana of the vedantic scriptures from an enlight-
The notion that ‘I have understood what ened teacher. Till this vritti comes one should never
vedanta is talking about, and now I have to dedi- have any notion of having studied the scriptures;
cate myself for various sadhanas’ is only indicative and if we directly and clearly know this fact, then
that we take the scriptures as mere informatory, and obviously there will be no role of any subsequent
revelation depends on some other sadhana. In ef- validation. This knowledge all the more quietens our
fect it implies that real knowedge or awakening takes efforts rather than motivates us for any unique or
place by some subtle effort etc., rather than mere divine ‘experience’.
knowledge. All efforts are called karma and are al- This raises one more prevelant doubt, and
ways done by some karta, and the earlier shlokas that was pertaining to the one we discussed in the
very categorically stated that ‘it is not by any action connecting introduction of this verse. Some people
whatsoever, but by knowledge alone that moksha think that when quietitude of all the thoughts is the
is got’. So any such pursuit is yet another moha, objective then, injecting more thoughts in the mind
and it also devalues the role of scriptures and also will only amount to making the clouds of thoughts
ones guru, because ultimately it is not the scriptures all the more dense, and in this way this knowledge
and guru, but our self-effort which liberates us. Well, shall become an impediment rather than a bless-
come to think of it, will such a pursuit help us to go ing. The teacher belies all such fears and says that
beyond our ego, or fatten this ego all the more. A such fears come only when someone is not aware
sanyasi is one who has seen the limitation of all our of the basics of a thought.
efforts, gross or subtle, and now just wants to open Thought is not knowledge, but is a means
his eyes, rather than ‘do’ something different. If we for knowledge, and the moment knowledge dawns,
have really understood that we are Brahman then the thought drops, leaving behind the knowledge of
why do we require any validation. The very neces- that object. Thought is indicative of our conscious
sity of these sadhanas reveals that really speaking or unconscious efforts ‘to be consious of’ something,
personally we still believe ourselves to be the doer and therefore depending on our priorities and needs
and also the experiencer who is now looking for- appropriate thoughts alone come in our minds. The
ward to some validation, and not that which tran- total bank of our accumulated wisdom is our knowl-
scends all this, the Brahman. If we still continue to edge, and at no point we have ‘thoughts’ of all the
believe this, then where is the question of any knowl- things about which we have gained knowledge.
edge having been dawned, we are still ignorant of Thoughts are like spoon, which help bring in the
the fundamental facts and the message of scrip- food-like wisdom of some aspect of the things of
tures. Self-Knowledge dawns when all efforts what- our concern, and having fed the food in the mouth
soever have ceased, and later the effect of knowl- all spoons are taken out, so also the teacher says,
edge too is - all the more complete and effortless krutva gyanam, having brought about the knowl-
‘quietitude’. edge, swayam nashyet, it drops off itself, jalam
So the vedantic scriptures should always be katak renuvat, like the dust of katak nut, which also
seen as revelatory and never informatory; in this settles down after precipitating the suspended im-
way we shall give proper place to knowledge. Such purities in dirty water. This katak seed is seen to
a person shall continue to analyse fine details of have alum like qualities and was used in ancient
our various superimpositions, till all of them get ne- times to clean water. Alum, as we know precipitates
gated, and we stand as we are, in all our glory and all the suspended impurities in water, and then when
purity. In this context it is also important to appreci- these heavier precipitates along with alum too settle
Vedanta Sandesh - April 2009
down at the bottom of the container, we are left be- thought, it reveals the self, and then drops. leaving
hind with crystal clear water cleansed of all its vari- behind just the liberating wisdom. Khand means
ous suspended inorganic impurities. This is the ex- fragmentation or duality and akhand means non-
ample which comes in the mind of the acharya to dual and undivided. Awareness of non-dual alone
reveal the uniqueness of this Akhandakar-Vritti. effaces all duality. The moment we ‘become con-
In all other thoughts, except that of the atma, scious’ of our non-dual dimension, we transcend all
there is an inevitable continuity of thoughts, because thoughts and duality and just ‘be’ the limitless. Ha-
the experiencer continues to exist, but in this case bitually the experiencer may again raise its head,
there is no such possibility. Technically speaking, in so we are suggested by the scriptures to again bring
the case of all other thoughts, there is first the vritti- into our minds this fact, again and again, till our iden-
vyapti, and then the phal-vyapti; while in the case of tification with the experiencer ends fully. This vritti
atma-gyana there is only the vritti-vyapti and no phal- by its very nature reveals the truth and drops, we
vyapti, because we dont need to be conscious of therefore ‘need’ to again deliberately bring it, till all
the very self-effulegnt consciousness. This will our deep rooted notions about ourselves get ne-
amount to using a lamp to see whether the sun has gated fully. This vritti alone is opposed to ignorance,
arisen or not. Thus this akhandakar-vritti is a unique so make the best use of it till the dream fully ends.

Can you answer these?


1. What do you mean by Kalush and what is the root of all kalush?
2. What do you mean by Gyana-Abhyasa?
3. How do thoughts drop by themself and why?
4. What is Akhandakar Vritti and how is it different from all other vritti’s?

Lesson from a Donkey


One day a farmer’s donkey fell down into a well.
The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do.
Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up
anyway; it just wasn’t worth it to retrieve the donkey.
He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him.
They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well.
At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly.
Then, to everyone’s amazement he quieted down. A few shovel loads later,
the farmer finally looked down the well. He was astonished at what he saw.
With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing.
He would shake it off and take a step up.
As the farmer’s neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would
shake it off and take a step up.
Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of
the well and happily trotted off!
Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt.
The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up.
Each of our troubles is a stepping stone.
We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up!
Shake it off and take a step up.

Page # 7
Breath of Life

When The Breath of God


Sweeps across the land
The fallen snow melts.
Encouraging buried pods.
To stretch, to burst, to spill their seed.
Sending them on the wings of the wind.
Embracing the World.
In glorious scent and brilliant color.
When the Breath of God
Sweeps across the land,
The heart swells with wonder.
Encouraging the lips.
To sing of the Magnificence the eyes behold.
To raise in unison hands that pay homage,
To God.
Whose Breath sweeps across the land.
Delivering to all Mankind, Spring!

– Roberta Lee Wilcox

Vedanta Sandesh - April 2009


The Five Kosha’s

hari om,

there are some speakers who are seen to say that all the five koshas are
just energy layers, and even atma is some divine energy. well, please
understand that such speakers are not even aware about the
fundamentals of vedanta. these ignorant ones have obviously never sat at
the feet of any wise & knowledgeable master to study these divine
scriptures, and are talking all baseless things, and they just need to be
ignored.

Consciousness is the first layer of our personality is made up of matter, and the second of
prana. this prana alone can be rightly translated as energy. the next layer
not something of thoughts. thoughts are all about 'being conscious of something', and
when we attribute importance to something then such thoughts do get
which is felt, Kena very powerful, and there is an experience of the flow of energy in that
Upanishad points direction. manomaya is therefore said to be the atma of pranamaya. then
there is the vigyanamaya kosha, which is the very basis of these thoughts.
to consciousness this layer is of the nature of our decisions & discernments. these things
alone generate thoughts, and then we have the layer of the experience of
as 'that' by which joy, the motivation of which is the basic drive behind all our decisions.
things are felt. atma transcends all these five layers, and is of the nature of pure
consciousness.
- Poojya Guruji
consciousness is not something which can be felt, energy and matter
alone can be felt. kena upanishad points to consciousness as 'that' by
which things can be felt, and not that which is felt. that which is felt is the
expanse of maya, which is basically inert matter, but 'in flux'. as per
einstein matter and energy are inter-convertible, that alone is the essence
of his famous relativity equation of e=mc2, where e stands for energy, m
stands for matter and c stand for time. when the scale of time is
doubled then matter is converted into energy, we reduce the
time then energy presents itself as matter.

love & om,

swami atmananda

Page # 9
Spring Time

Lo! Once again with the coming of Spring


Dull shades of life will soon be vanishing
With countless promises in store
I foresee life, a multi-heathered core
And with umpteen joys in offing to rejoice
Happier life is the remnant choice
So, let's not continue the lugubrious ponder
For spring comes only once in a year
Let's all dance, spring and spree
Spring brings joys and colors all for free

– Mallik Bulusu

Vedanta Sandesh - April 2009


Sri Hanumanji is one of the most inspiring and common gods in the whole pantheon
Hanumanji: Story of some of his names
of Hindu deities. He is an embodiment of devotion, selfless inspiring service, divine
Holy days: Hanuman Jayanti (9th April)

qualities like fearlessness, and above all knowledge. On the occasion of his jayanti (9th
April), we offer our pranams at the feet of this great Acharya of Bhakti and Sewa. If
Bhagwan Sri Ram represents what God and perfection is all about, then Hanumanji
represents what an ideal devotee and sewak of God should be like. He is indeed one of
the best 'role model' which every sadhaka should have in their hearts.
While the uniqueness of Hanumanji is basically his divine qualities, magnanimous
vision and selfless motivation, yet when we revere someone, we bring into our minds all
the various aspects of their personality. He is said to be of Vanar yoni. The word Vanar
itself is very interesting. We can break the word as va(or)+nar(human), meaning inspite
of his deceptive looks he alone appears to be truly human. Vanar word is commonly
translated as monkey, which in symbolic language normally represents our monkey-like
mind. Initially the mind of everyone keeps dancing and jumping like a monkey, but with
right knowledge transforms itself into an embodiment of all that we cherish and aspire
for. No wonder Hanumanji in- spires the masses so much. It is
worthwhile to mention here that in India, there are far more
temples of Hanumanji than even of Bhagwan Sri Ram, his
master. This in no way deval- ues his great master, but all those
who are aware of the story of Ramayana, will know that it is the
blessing of Bhagwan Sri Ram himself that, may my devotee be
revered more than myself, sim- ply because emulation of the
qualities of a devotee is the way to their inculcation, and when
we truly become like Hanumanji, then the darshan of Lord Ram will never be a far cry.
From the worldly point of view he was the son of Anjana and Kesari, yet he is also
called as Pavan-putra and also manifestation of Lord Shiva. To know the secret of all
this we need to go back and bring into our minds the unique situations which lead to his
birth. It is said that Brihaspati (the guru of devatas) had an attendant by the name of
Punjikasthala who was cursed to assume the body of a female monkey. The curse was
to be removed on her giving birth to an incarnation of Lord Siva. Accordingly, she was
born as Anjana and, together with her husband Kesari, lived a life of dharma and purity.
Anjana performed intense tapasya for a great many years, during which period she
worshipped Lord Shiva who being pleased with her granted her a boon. She asked that
Lord Shiva be born to her so that she may be freed from the curse. On the other hand,
when Maharaj Dasaratha, the king of Ayodhya was given the sacred pudding by Agnideva
to share among his wives so that they may have divine children; by divine ordinance, a
bird (kite) snatched a fragment of that pudding and, whilst flying over the forest, dropped
it where Anjana was engaged in worship. Pavandev (the deity presiding over the wind)
delivered that fragment of pudding to the outstretched hands of Anjana who immedi-
ately swallowed it. With that grace, she, in due course, gave birth to Hanumanji. Thus
we find that Lord Shiva incarnated as Hanumanji in the bodily form of a monkey through
the grace and blessings of his god-father Pavandev, with Anjana and Kesari as his
earthly parents. That is how these various names are used for Hanumanji.

Page # 11
On Wings of Spring

Dormancy stirs
the little cocoon
The blush of youth
Caressed by the scented winds,
Hue-smitten soils
race to the blue horizon
The swell of Spring
cracks the shell
and wings spread wide
Joining the rhythm
of this (nature's) Alchemy

– Uma Parthasarathy

Vedanta Sandesh - April 2009


Stories from
Shiv Purana No-no for Ketaki in Shiv-Puja
In Shiv Purana, Romaharshana told the assembled sages, It is
easy to please Shiva. But Shiva must never be worshipped with a ketaki
or a champaka flower. Why, what is wrong with these flowers? asked the
pon sages. Let me tell you about the ketaki (kewada) flower first, replied

ce u Romaharshana. Rama’s father Dasharatha asked Rama to spend four-


On me ... teen years in the forest. So Rama went to the forest with his brother

a ti
Lakshmana and his wife Sita. The three of them started to live on the
banks of the river Falgu. News reached the forest that Dasharatha had
died in their absence and a shraddha (funeral) ceremony had to per-
formed for the dead king. Rama sent Lakshmana to a nearby village to
get the necessary ingredients. Time passed and Lakshmana did not
return. Rama then went to get the ingredients and look for Lakshmana.
But Rama too did not return. It was almost noon and the ceremony had to
be performed before noon. In desperation, Sita decided to perform the
ceremony herself. She went and bathed in the Falgu river and lit an
earthen lamp. She then made the offerings (pinda) to the dead ancestors
herself. Immediately, a voice was heard. Sita, you are blessed, it said.
We are satisfied. In utter amazement Sita watched some disembodied
hands appear in the air to accept the offerings. Who are you? Asked Sita.
I am your dead father-in-law, answered the voice. The funeral
ceremony has been successful. I have accepted your offerings. But
The Cursed Ketaki or Rama and Lakshmana are going to believe me, said Sita. They will never
Kewada Flower believe that such disembodied hands appeared out of thin air to accept
the offerings. They have to, answered the voice. You have four wit-
nesses. The first is the Falgu river. The second is the cow over there. The
third will be the fire. And the last one will be the ketaki bush. Rama and
Lakshmana returned and said, Cook the food quickly. There is very little
time left. We have to complete the funeral ceremony before noon. Sita
“A ship in port is safe, told them what happened, and naturally, the two brothers did not believe
her. They made fun of her and suggested that she was lying. Sita called
but that's not what ships upon her four witnesses, but each denied that it had seen anything.
Without arguing any further, Sita cooked the food and Rama made offer-
are built for.” ings to his ancestors. A voice was then heard from the sky. Why are you
calling us again? it said. Sita has already satisfied us. I refuse to believe
that, said Rama. Indeed, it is true, retorted the voice. Ask the sun god.
The sun god confirmed that everything had happened just as Sita had
said it had. Rama and Lakshmana were ashamed that they had doubted
Sita and were also impressed with the power of her virtue. But Sita
cursed the four false witnesses. She cursed the Falgu river that it would
henceforth only flow underground. She cursed the ketaki flower (panda-
nus odoratissimus) that it would never be accepted by Shiva as an offer-
ing. She cursed the cow that its mouth would henceforth become impure.
It had, after all, lied with its mouth. The hind sections of the cow would
however continue to be pure. And finally Sita cursed the fire that it would
consume everything indiscriminately. That is the reason why a ketaki
flower must never be used to worship Shiva.
Page # 13
Mar’09 VM / VA Programs
Gita Gyana Yagna, Lucknow:
Poojya Guruji conducted a week long Gita Gyana Yagna at Hariom
Mandir, in Lucknow from 2nd to 8th Mar.
The subject matter of the week long discourses were Gita Chapter 3
and Panchadasi Chapter 10. In the evening Gita discourses the subject mat-
Vedanta Mission / Ashram Programs

ter was Karma Yoga, where Bhagwan not only talked about the place and
role of karma, but also the art of right action in terms of Yagna-Bhava. The
chapter ended by enumerating the obstacles faced while taking any resolve.
In the morning session was the Natakdeep Prakarana, in which the self-knowl-
edge was revealed with the example of a stage of drama. Both the discourses
series are available on the net.

Gita Gyana Yagna, Bhavnagar:


A Gita Gyana Yagna was organized at SriRamdas Ashram, Bhavnagar
from 1st to 8th Mar by P. Swamini Amitanandaji.
The subject matter of the discourses were Gita Chapter 9 and
Panchadasi Chapter 10 (Natakdeep Prakarana) in the evening and morning
sessions respectively. The discourses were in Gujrati language. In the 9th
chapter which is called the Rajvidya Rajguhya Yoga, Bhagwan Krishna re-
vealed his nirguna swaroop, and also ways to awake to it; while in the
Natakdeep prakarana, the self is revealed as something comparable to the
constant, unflickering light of a drama stage. That because of which we are
conscious of the various good & bad experiences in the timeless truth and all
that which is seen is a realm of time and change.

Birthday Celebrations of Swamini Poornanandaji:


The inmates of Vedanta Ashram alongwith its various members and
devotees, humbly celebrated the Sanyas Deeksha day of P.Swamini
Amitanandaji and also the Birthday of P. Swamini Poornanandaji on the
28th of Feb.
A short program was organized in the evening at the ashram, wherein
various devotees brought the symbolic cake, sweets and snacks. No stu-
dent of vedanta and specially sanyasi ever looks upon their body as their
Atma, yet in this process the importance of human body should never be
overlooked. It is a gift of God, not only to help awake to his truth but also to
serve one & all. So the birthday is the day of expressing our gratitude to
God for this divine gift and everyone who have helped us to the goals of
human life. Both the mahatmas left in the night for the outstation programs.

Vedanta Sandesh - April 2009


Mar’09 VM / VA Programs
Somnath Yatra:
After the Gyana Yagna at Bhavnagar, P.Swamini Amitanandaji and
Swamini Poornanandaji left for Somnath along with few other devotees from
Bhavnagar.
Somnath is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas of Bhagwan Shiv, and it is
Vedanta Mission / Ashram Programs

situated just on the coast. The temple overlooks the beautiful coastline. This
temple has not only religious sanctity but also has historic importance. It was
destroyed so many times by Muslim invaders, and therefore the first thing
which independent India did was to restore this temple to its ancient glory.
The present state govt too has made the place very nice & secure. Everyone
got a nice darshan and enjoyed their stay there.

Visit to Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, Rajkot:


On their way back both the Swaminiji’s stopped at Arsha Vidya
Gurukulam, Rajkot. This is the ashram of Poojya Swami Paramatmanandaji.
He is a disciple of Param Poojya Swami Dayanandaji. The ashram is nicely
built and maintained, with a beautiful Shiv temple, rooms for mahatmas and
students to stay & study; ashram has overall lot of green covering.
Sw Paramatmaji was a co-student along with Poojya Guruji during
his studies at Sandeepany Sadhanalaya in Mumbai, he also taught P.Swamini
Amitanandaji in her poorvashram, and he is at present the Secretary of the
Acharya Sabha, an organization started by P.P. Swami Dayanandaji to get
the various Acharyas of different Matha’s all over the country together.

Spring Blooms at Vedanta Ashram, Indore:


With the advent of Rituraj Basant, the flowers start blooming and
smiling all over. The poets get excited and words of beauty & joy start flow-
ing out. At Vedanta Ashram too, the flowers smiled all over.
Ring, ring, ring ... Hello? This is spring. Sunny weather I bring, A per-
fect time to dance and sing; Enjoy birds fluttering their wings, And happy
children on swing, It's the magic of spring, It's the magic of spring.
A season so calm, a healer like a balm, of life's intoxication, Life's
pace will be slow, and creativity will grow, Hear pleasant chirping of crows,
see flowers blooming all around in by lanes narrow, Forget your harrow,
No time for sorrow, A season for figs to furrow, Look forward for morrow.

Check out the detailed Photo Albums of the various functions on VM News Blog at
http://vmissionews.blogspot.com/
Page # 15
Foreign Tour of Poojya Guruji

Poojya Guruji shall arrive in the UK on 22nd


April for a six weeks tour. Canada Tour has been
postponed till July due to visa delays.

27/3 - Sw. Samatanandaji arrives in UK


22/4 - P. Guruji arrives in UK
24-27 - Visit Lake Dist
1/5 - Satsang at Luton
2 - Peterboro
3-9 - GGY Wellingboro
10 - Vishnu Sahasranama Archana
12 - Satsang at Reading
16 Morn - Leicester, Satsang (Luton group)
16 Eve - Leicester, S.Dharma Mandir
17 Morn - Gita Bhawan, Loughboro
17 Eve - Leicester, Hindu Mandir
20 - Oxford
21 - Gloucester
24 - Satsang nr London
26 - Birmingham
28-30 - Leicester, Gita Gyana Yagna
31 - Vishnu Sahasranama Archana
2nd Jun - Leave for India

Vedanta Sandesh - April 2009


Forthcoming Programs

Gita Gyana Yagna, Mumbai:


Poojya Guruji will conduct a five days long Gita Gyana Yagna at Bandra Hindu Asso-
ciation hall, at Mumbai from 16th to 20th April. The subject matter of the discourse series will
be Gita Chapter 17 and Ashtavakra Gita Chapter 1. The last session of Ashtavakra Gita will
be on 21st morning, and that night alone Poojya Guruji will leave for the UK.

Gita Gyana Yagna, Dehradun:


Poojya Swamini Amitanandaji will conduct a five days long Gita Gyana Yagna at
Deharadun from 4th to 8th May. The subject-matter of the discourse series will be Gita Chap-
ter 17 and Sadhana Panchakam.

Retreat to the Lake Dist, UK:


Poojya Guruji alongwith P. Swamini Samatanandaji, and few devotees will spend 3
days in the scenic Lake Dist of the UK. It is the land of poets like Wordsworth, and his flowers.
As the name suggests, the place is full of lakes, hills and walking pathways.

Gita Gyana Yagna, Wellingborough, UK:


Poojya Guruji will conduct a week long Gita Gyana Yagna at Hindu Temple,
Wellingborough 3rd to 9th of May. The text of the discourse series will be Gita Chapter 3. On
the last day will be a Vishnu Sahasranama Archana program followed by a bhandara.
Thereafter will start a series of short satsangs in different parts of UK.

Sadhana Camp, Rishikesh:


Poojya Guruji will conduct a six days Sadhana Camp at Rishikesh from 7th to 12th
June 2009. The text of the discourse series will be the last section of Katha Upanishad and
Gita Chapter 9.

Page # 17
Hari om !

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http://www.vmission.org.in/mission/ezine.htm

Net Publication of Vedanta Mission

Om Tat Sat

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