Akhand Jyoti by Gayatri Gyan Mandir

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Glimpses of a grand rally organized on 6th Febru ary,2Q11(Sse details on page 4g)

Volume - 9

FOUNDER - PATRONS

Issue - 2

Pandit Shriram Sharna Aclutnla

March-April 2011 Dateof Publication: 15.3.2011

Mata Bltaglati Deai Slzarma

CHIEF EDITOR

Annual Subscription India: Rs.78.00 Abroad: Rs. 1000.00

Dr. Pranao Pandya

Amrit Chintan

Both Immorality & Mental Imbolonce ore Equally Harmful According to one philosopher, half of the world's problems are d.ue to immorality and the other half are due to mental imbalance.If we conquer debilitating traits of the mind such as hysteria, stress, anxiety and agitation, half of the myriad problems plaguing this world would be solved immediately. Mental agitation and stress are just as harmful for our lives as immoral, unethical behavior. Uncontrolled emotions do as much harm as unbridled senses. Therefore, as we try to augment virtues and decrease vices in our lives, we should also be wary of the madness caused by our uncontrolled reactions to external emotional stimuli.

lf we remove all the vices from this earth except intolerance and capriciousness, hellish conditions will still prevail. The Teacher of The Gita (Lord Krishna) has advised that each

rational human being should be adept in maintaining samatoa (perfect mental balance).

We should not get puffed up with egotism or euphoria when success smiles on us, nor should we succumb to panic at the slightest hint of obstacles. Both in times of happiness and adversity, we should retain our composure and serenity. While trying to comprehend the grand scheme of things of this world, we should patiently listen, then understand., and then act as the situation demands.

- Pooiya Gurudev Pt. Shriram Sharma Acharya God has no religion. - M. K. Gandhi Akhand Jyoti

Hlarcn-Aprit 2011

3tr

Contents 0X" ArnrilChiratqn Both immorality and mental imbalance are equally

42"

harmful

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From the ehief Editor's Desk: the present sad state of,the nation our destiny Or, witl there be any change for the

trs

better?

---------------- ffi

03.

FIow to control mistakes cornmitted repeatedly?

A4"

Thesecretofunexpectedgoodorbadfortune

05.

Science qnd

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Spirituali$

Amazingchemistryofthehumanbrain

CI6. On women

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empowerment-2

Women's upliftrnent essential for society's progress -----------

07.

08.

Odysset af the enlightened-L9 On the path of Sadhana - Aradhana- 3

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YouthColumn The young torch bearers ofnation

building

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09.

Are you aware of supernormal benefits of Gayatri?-6 The scientific aspect of Gayatri Mantra

10.

Vnobsji's Talks onthe Gita-2| The sovereign science of service to humanity : yoga of surrender

11. 12.

Yogs Therapt-2| Tieatmentof gallstones

13. What is the source of immense

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-2

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withYoga

AmritVani Infinitejoyoffinding aGuruanddoing Upasand-Il

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____-

_____________

_______42

power?-----

Life is a journey, not a destination - we d@ by the direction we take. - Anonvmous Akhand Jyoti

March-Aprit 2011

From the Chief Editoy's Desk

ls the Present SEd Stste af the Nstion Our Desti,ny or, Wiil There 8e Any Chonge For the Better? We have beeome allthe more corrupt I don't like to start the New Year with discussions about corruption and scams. But the truth cannot be denied. The truth is that we are going through the worst of the crisis ever since we got Independence, wherein there are discussions about corruption all around us. Among the 178 corrupt nations, India now ranks 87th. We were in 84th position last year. This ranking increases from the least to the highest and has been done by a voluntary organization called 'Transparency lnternational'. The meaning of the ranking moving up for our country indicates that corruption has increased further within one year. Corruption has assumed the form of a 'profession' today. The few scams that have been busted recently have smeared the reputation of India. It is well-known that 20 lakhs crores of illegal money earned ever since Independence has been deposited in foreign banks. These banks are in Switzerland, Mauritius, Germany and other countries. An estimate is that 65, 22,300 million rupees are kept in various banks in Switzerland. This amount is 6 times our GDP. There is an increased demand from all sides to bring this money back.

From where does this black money come to India? The sources are scams, frauds, misappropriation, embezzlement, fbrgery, brokerage, bribery, money laundering, several tlpes of financial discrepancies, drug trafficking, illegal proceeds of land encroachment and others. Because of these reasons, the economic condition of the country is gradually on the decline. Circulation of fake money also leads to huge losses to the economy. If these antisocial and unlawful activities could be checked, inflation would be reduced by SIVo.It will then be easy to eradicate all forms of corruption inside the country.

What is the reason? l'lere is Yugrishi's diagnosis: Desire to become rich quickly, greediness, endless race for earning by any means, fair or foul - are the causes that have given birth to current state of affairs in our country. This has not been our culture. India has always been the believer in the Vedic tenet - 'tyena tyaktena bhunjeethn' (Sharing should go hand in hand with self-indulgence). Param Pujya Gurudev writes thus in the book 'Revival of Satyug' - 'The pit of sensual desires is so deep and wide that it cannot be filled even with the wealth of Kubera or with the strength of Indra. There always remains dissatisfaction.'We cannot understand why mary in spite of all his intelligence, indulges in such

Be everything that's yor.r, deep at the centre of your being. - Confucius Akhand Jyoti

March-April 2011

5tr

foolish behavior? In spite of being born as a human, which is the most evolved species on earth, why do man's actions reflect beastly behaviour? The yaksha had posed three questions to Yudhisthir. The yaksha of today wants to ask another question - 'In spite of so many scams, in spite of so many people going to jail and getting disgraced, why do scams continue to happen? According to me, the present day Yudhisthir will answer thus -'Scams continue because we are shameless. Man has regressed to animality which is reflected everywhere. Adhering to moral values has become a joke'.

Parliament adjourned because of scams When I am writing these lines, our Loksabha has literally been adjourned because of

scam. 90 crores of hard-earned money of the public has been wasted by adjournments. Even our

Prime Minister is maintaining silence regarding 2G spectrum scam. In Adarsh Housing scam, a chief minister has been dismissed and many officials in the Armed Force are facing charges. The scam related to Commonwealth Games keeps coming to tl're forefront every now and then. Running a single Parliament session involves an expense of 7.75 crores. This includes the arrangements in Parliament, salaries and amenities provided to everyone, arrangements for questions to be answered and expenses of the officials. This money belongs to public. If this money is getting squandered like this every day,lt is a matter of shame to any democratic country. In a year, Parliament is convened three times and its annual budget is 535 crores. Is this expense valid? This question should be posed to the members of the Parliament and the ministers related to our governance. Should Parliament be run like this?

This is the legacy of the British rule Whatever scams we have discussed till now involve billions of rupees. But where did this process begin? Probably, it all started ever since the British ruled us and started looting us. During the British rule, all black-skinned Rai Bahadurs, Nawabs and other Indian rulers had to give hefty amounts to the fair-skinned Britishers as bribe. Britishers have left the country, but have left behind as their legacy the practice of bribery. The situation today has reached a point when only on the day of Deepawali itseli sweets, dry fruits, gifts worth 1 lakh crore rupees are distrib.uted as bribes. This business is fully rampant in all the big cities of the country - Delhi, jaipur, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bhopal, Lucknow, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Chennai etc. What does an innocent villager know about this secret of India's prosperity? Builders and industrialists bribe ministers and their agents whenever their files are stuck in their offices. Sometimes, they even give houses worth 30 lakhs to 3 crores as bribes. The deal is not an expensive one because finally the one who gives the bribe manages to earn 100 times more than that amount. The'License-Permit Raj'that came into existence after Independence has been the main reason for increased corruption. The process of filing tenders and getting contracts lacks transparency.

Your life is your message to the world. Make it inspiring. - Lorrin L Lee

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Akhand Jyoti

Marcn-Aprit

20ll

The level at which construction mafia is active is not hidden from anyone. Everything is surrounded with scams; be it land or wealth, health or governance, defense or army. We had to feel most ashamed when scams were unearthed one after the other in the Army. It reached a peak with the Mumbai episode of Adarsh Housing Society. If the termite has reached these quarters too, we should understand that neither the army uniform nor bullet-proof jackets nor soldiers' salaries or perks will be able to provide security to the nation. We should understand that the mental strength of our soldiers is waning and slowly a spark of revolt is ready to break forth.

What will happen when people's conscience awakens? Economic liberalization commenced in the year 1991,. Our 'honest' prime minister was then the Finance Minister. The objective of liberalizationwas to introduce transparency in the decisions

taken by the government and to ensure that a single minister does not end up being so powerful

twist the plan as per his whims and fancies. Another intention was to put an end to the era of 'License-Permit Raj'. But eventually what happened? So many scams have surfaced in the last 20 years that common man is left stunned. He is seeing their so-called 'leaders' turn into millionaires overnight. He is not able to comprehend how a person with nominal financiai status is becoming obscenely rich in 3-4 years? Basically, ours is a spiritual/religious country. When more than 50% of the people who believe in'laahi aidhi rnakhe raam, taahi aidhi rahiye' (meaning: Accept whatever God has ordained.) get awakened; when their consciousness awakens, what will happen? Naxalism and small civil-war like situations have not erupted all of a sudden. If we want to protect our country from this violent upheaval, we must collectively wake up and free ourselves from the grip of hydra-headed python of corruption. as to

Policies and laws against corruption There are many rules and regulations for fighting corruption in our country. Right to Information Act was passed in 2005 because of which many wrong-doings have been brought to light. Lokayuktas have also been appointed to stop corruption. Many people like Manjunath and Satyendra Dubey have sacrificed their lives for this noble cause and have awakened the conscience of masses. CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General) attracts our attention to innumerable discrepancies through its annual reports. At regional level, many social and spiritual organizations have taken steps towards eradicating corruption through initiatives like fifthpillar.org, faago re movement by Tata Tea, nobribe.org and many others. But the situation is getting worse in spite of all these efforts. Media and journalists keep highlighting these situations, but no action is being taken on them by the authorities of the state. Only a few simpler cases are taken up and solved whereas the bigger ones go unblemished. Just a couple of weeks ago, the netigens have found a scarn in the area of journalism where two journalists have worked as power brokers in a big way. But the question rernains as to whom to trust?

We choose our joys and sorrows long before we experience them. - Khalil Gibran Akhand Jyoti

Marcn-April 2011

Our hopes I have hope from the awakened masses and all those who need to be awakened and educated. These people have to tell each and every person in his own language to stand up against corruption in a concerted manner. We will not get'Swaraj'(real independence) and'Suraj'(good governance) at any lesser cost. We are living as slaves after 64 years of obtaining Independence. We should

tell everyone of what can be achieved if the black money from Swiss banks is brought in and invested for social welfare causes like: 1..

All the loans we have taken from foreign countries can be paid. Each child who takes birth has a loan of 14000 rupees as his/her share. We will not have to extend our hands in front of anyone then.

We will not have to pay income tax for the next 3 decades nor pay /bear any other sales or production taxes.

Each village will be connected by road; not just a single-lane road but a four-lane road which will connect the person at grass-roots level to the prosperity of the nation.

We will be relieved from the curse of unemployment. More than 30 crores jobs can be created in the market.

Each person can be given a bonus of Rs 4000 and poverty can be eliminated"

Spiritual awakening of the masses is the key to making our nation Jagadguru Is all this possible? Thousands of people are raising their voices. We have to awaken each and every person. Only then will India regain it lost glory of being the Golden Treasury and gain the position of 'Jagadguru'. The question is not just about getting back the wealth for the masses; it is about right utilization of that money. It can happen only when we develop and adopt a lifestyle of a true Brahmin, a true tapasvi. This can be achieved only at the spiritual level through the movement of mass awakening. The transformation of the Era is bound to happen in the coming decade. The rishis in the Himalayas have vowed to rnake this happen. I want to ask the question: Are we ready? This mammoth task is possible only through Total Thought Revolution and not by rousing the public through mutual enmity and hatred. Bill Gates and Warren Buffet will then be born in our country too and they will generously distribute their wealth to the lowermost rung of social ladder. Gayatri Pariwar strongly feels that this is going to happen in the next ten years. O corrupt people! Awaken from your slumber and become attentive to The CaIl of The Time-Spirit!

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- Pranav Pandya One needs to be slow to form convictions, but once formed they must be defended against the heaviest odds. - Mahatma Gandhi tr8 Akhand Jyoti March-April

2011

How to Control Mistokes Commrftted Repe atedly? Why do we make mistakes repeatedly? Even after making a resolution of not making mistakes we still end up repeating them. IA/hat is the force that aligns all the negativity, makes us commit these mistakes and later regret our

actions and decisions? Everybody has to answer this question in their lifetime. But it is not really true that we cannot correct or control our mistakes. To solve this conundrum, it is necessary to get to the root of the problem; to understand how it is created and what gives it strength. People make different kinds of mistakes and in different situations, but the root remains the same. Let's first understand what is a mistake or an error in judgment. Sages say that any act which tarnishes our conscience, makes us fall in our own eyes and harms our selfworth is called "paap knrma" (sin). Committing a "paap karma" means committing a rnistake. From a societal perspective, anything which violates societal norms is referred to as a mistake or aberration. There is some inconsistency in this perspective as there are certain actions which do not pass the standards of social morality but are considered righteous in spiritual thought. Also, there are some actions which do not conform to a spiritual mindset although they might be agreeable in a society. A solution to this problem is to define an action which gives joy to our spirit as good and one which gives it pain as bad.

People commit mistakes when they are under the influence of lobhn - greed, moh attachment or enchantment, kaam - lust or krodhq - anger. These actions rnake us fall from grace and harm us in every possible way financially, socialiy and spiritually. Everybody tells us how bad these influences are but no one tells us how to correct them. If it cannot be corrected then hovr can we have any control over it? These influences are very powerful and contain huge amounts of subconscious energy. Subliminal or subconscious energy is very strong as it has been a part of us from many past lives. It is like an iceberg which shows only its tip on the surface but maintains a very powerful presence beneath the surface. This unknown and unquantifiable energy is the root of our mistakes. When subliminal forces erupt then all other forces start weakening, our resolve starts to recede and we feel weak and gullible in our

mind. This weakness makes us commit mistakes. This state paralyses our wisdom (uiaek) to differentiate between good and bad. For example, when anger affects our mind then we lose our societal inhibitions and composure. We stop differentiating between good and bad and let anger play its dirty tricks on our mind. If we don't want to let anger overshadow our senses then we will have to keep our resolve and nip anger right in its bud.

Character, not brain, will count at the crucial moment. - Rabindranath Tagore Akhand Jyoti

uarcn-April 2011

The roots of all mistakes lie in the hidden layers of subconscious. Refinement of the subconscious can stop the recurrence of mistakes. If anyone wants to correct a mistake or a bad habit then instead of thinking it over and over and imagining the consequences, he should try to find and remove the root cause of the error. This is why Indian spiritual practices (ssdhana) focus so much on the refinement of the subconscious. The purpose of Sadhana is to cleanse and beautify our subconscious. The foundation of Sadhana lies in the embellishment of subconscious. Working with subconscious and its hidden powers is not very easy; it requires the guidance of a skilled spiritual practitioner. The layers of subconscious span multiple lifetimes. When it erupts man becomes powerless. Those who are aware of the nature of the subconscious use approp riate sadhana and treatment to heal themselves and others.

A typical

scenario is when the feelings of

knam (htst) erupt and overpower

our rational

thinking and create a frenzied emotional state,

which makes us act in an impulsive and improper manner. To stabilize this agitated state of mind we should chant some special mantras and follow the guidelines advised by our spiritual guide. Slowly with practice, we can gain control over this raw emotion and keep our actions in check, thus, reducing any chance of mistakes resulting from improper actions caused by lust.

When mantras are chanted, the sound of

each mantra permeates through our subconscious. Each mantra has a distinct modulation and frequency of sound, which

creates a specific effect.

If there is a problem

which has roots in the subconscious then chanting of a specific mantra will create vibrations in the subconscious. If the frequency and regularity of the chants of these mantras is increased then these vibrations also increase, resulting in the removal of the problem from subconscious. If the origin of a problem is destroyed then there will be no more mistakes

stemming from it. That's why mantra practitioners advise that the selection of the right mantra is important in dealing with a problem. Some mantras like Gayatri Mantrn, Mahamritunjaya mantra and naoarna mantra can be safely considered for all problems and their effect is extensive.

mind and its behavior, observe that we comrnit some mistakes repeatedly in our lifetime and face the consequences/ not to mention suffering through the guilt and anger associated with those actions. That is due to ignorance of the right technique, belief and neglecting subconscious. If a man uses the right technique and practises it courageously then he will surely be able to achieve control over his actions in due course of time. Sages, who researched human

To achieve complete control, one must practice mantra japa (chanting), meditation and yogic sadhana, in addition to maintaining

positive thoughts and optimism. If we practice these for life, then we will never face any hurdles in our life, and will live each day with vigor and vitality. We will not commit any rnistakes which are harmful for us or society and we will be able to achieve a sustained peaceful state of mind and body.

To err is human; to forgive, divine. - Alexander Pope

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Akhand Jyoti

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The Secret We often come across situations and incidents,

which

appear

quite contradictory to the known laws of Nature, creating doubts about the impartiality of divine justice. For instance, an honest, duty-conscious, morally elevated person is often seen caught in adversities in one form or the other, or is suddenly struck with a great misfortune in life as though he/she was being punished by God for a great sin. On the other hand, we find persons engaged in worst types of comrpt practices living in peace and prosperity. An idler wins a jackpot or inherits a fortune from unexpected quarters, whereas a hard working intelligent person is found suffering endlessly for want of basic necessities. One person achieves great success

with little effort, whereas

of Unexqected Good or Bad Foftune Unprecedented natural

calamities like famine,

become atheists, considering the futility of worshiping God

epidemics, tornadoes, floods, damage by lightning and

who does not respond to prayers in distress, despite

earthquakes and'untimely death' are also commonly attributed to the'Will of God' and called predestined

their prolonged adherence to religiosity. Then there is a class

of devotees who serve the

happenings as financial loss,

saints and worship deities in expectation of some material gains. However, if they are

accidents, sudden mental/

visited with some failure,

physical disability and physical

unfavorable circumstances, or mishap coincidentally, their adoration changes to contempt or disbelief.

(prdrabdha). Such unexpected

separation from a dear one are

also attributed to fate.

unexpected adversities are rare, but they do occur in life. At times, they leave such deep imprints on the psyche, that it is not possible to ignore them. Those who are not familiar with the mysteries of divine justice become very Such

much perplexed by such experiences and form prejudiced opinions, which, in some form or the other, hinder

another does not succeed in spite of his best efforts. Such phenomena are popularly ascribed to the role of fate

their mental and spiritual progress. Many become

(bhagra).

and injustice.

resentful towards God, blame and abuse Him for'favoritism'

A few even

. There are quite a few ' "believers" in this world who ' correlate people, places and ' things with good and bad ' luck. Such superstitions have . caused extreme miseries to . innocent persons. The root ' cause for such irrational . behavior is the belief that . whatever come to pass is . predestined by God and the . beings created by Him have . absolutely no role in shaping . their own destiny. Quite a few . persons in this world forsake . their responsibility in the

Millions said the apple fell but Newton was the one to ask Bernard M. Baruch Akhand Jyoti

tvtarcn-Aprit 2011

mistaken belief that the gain and loss being predestined,

Because of their influence, the

scriptures explains the science

less knowledgeable younger

there is no necessity of

persons around them too begin to feel helpless and despaired because of the socalled "inevitability of fate".

of destiny associated with continuity of life (of the

personal effort.

They mistakenly beiieve that they cannot change the Will of God, who is supposed to have

programrned their life beforehand. We often hear expressions like - "Whatever

is destined cannot

changed" or "Who can change the fate predestined by God?"

or "It was the Will of God". As a matter of fact, man uses such expressions when he

finds himself

helpless, disturbed and confused while facing adversity.

In the absence of

would

Readers

appreciate how ignorance about the real causes of unexpected calamities creates ridiculous concepts, which distort and vitiate the value-system of life. Since times immemorial, man has been attempting to

the disturbed mind, which would have otherwise triggered the stressed person towards suicidal acts or psychosomatic caused disorders. There are however many mature persons who shirk their responsibility of self-effort to meet a given challenge under the pretext of inexorability of 'Divine Will'.

imprints forward with one's subtle body even after death of the physical body. The sanskaras carve These sublime mental

(sanskaras) are carried

one's nature, intrinsic potentials, etc and collectively

science

ways and means to find

Nevertheless, such outbursts do have an advantage. They help in releasing the stress of

mind. - the unconscious

he has no control. Research in

agitated mind finds

in the Divine Will.

instantly engraved inthe chitta

tendencies,

deeper

scapegoat

actions committed with mental awareness are

correlate human activities with events of life over which

an understandable cause, the a

individual self). The intrinsic impressions (sanskdras) of consequences of one's mental karmas (deeds) and physical

consciousness has discovered

answers to such problems of life. Here, we shall discuss

how mental and physical actions of individual and collective activities of the society become responsible for good fortune or misfortune of individuals and the community in future.

Categories

of Karmas

(Deeds) and Consequent Blueprints of Future:

The "Law of Karma" described in the Vedic

mental development, intellectual

account for the fate person in future.

The ancient Indian texts

refer to three principal categories of karmas and corresponding major classes of fate. These categories or (i) Sanchit deeds are Knrmas; (ii) Kriyamaua Karmas;

and (iii) Prarabdha Karmas.

While going through the following further details, we must keep in mind that 'Chitragupfs' - the inner conscience, which is impartial, pure and wise, continuously keeps recording (in the

The powers of mind are like the rays of the sun dissipated. When they are concentrated, they illumine. - Swami Vivekanand rl12 Akhand Jyoti lvtarcn-April 2011

unconscious mind) the

. Being extremely feeble, to each the sanskaras produced by and every good and evil deed . sanchit karmas may remain in for dispensing absolute justice ' a dormant state in the psyche

sanskdras consequent

at an appropriate time in future.

for thousands of

years

through successive births. These sanskaras gerterally

tanchit Karmast

remain inactive, but if

This term broadly refers to involuntary mental karmas. Unknown to the conscious

suitable stimulant is provided

are

destroyed

when

confronted with an adverse milieu. Pilgrimages,

and satsang (company of saintly persons), etc, recommended in religious practices, are meant to wipe out the weak, evil samskaras accumulated as sanchit karmas. sacraments,

mind of the individual,

to them by deliberate, strong, conscious repetition of similar deeds, these, too become

association with good and

active. In the company of

Physical actions fall in the category of lviydmdna knrmas.

bad company and the sublime

strong healthy horses, a lame horse too begins to trot.

These produce almost concurrent results. For

influence of the ambience around leave some marks on the psyche. Unless willingly and consciously accepted, sanskaras produced in this process are faint, weak in potency and feebly reactive. The karmas, which produce such week sanskara.r, are known as sanchit knrmas. The consequent sanskaras remain stored in some odd corner of the inner consciousness, buried in a dormant state.

Then there are karmas unwillingly, reluctantly performed under compulsion or in a state of helplessness. If one is compelled to carry

instance, consumption of

With good soil

and adequate rains even rotten seeds germinate. Association with identical sanskaras makes the weak sanskaras gain strength, whereas if the past sanskaras repeatedly come in contact with the opposite type of sanskaras, the former are completely wiped out. (For

one's own evil tendencies and

vices). If for a long duration evll sanskaras face a long

When the physical body is

example, generosity and whole-hearted altruistic service of others wipe out

revulsion and these are not made into a habit, these too fall in the category of sanchit knrmas.

favorable environments and

A man may die, nations may rise C endurance without death. - John Akhand Jyoti

tvtarcn-eprit 2011

drugs is followed

by intoxication. Death follows consumption of poison. Human body is made up of five natural basic elements. Interaction between these natural elements produces immediate reaction. As soon as we touch fire, fingers are burnt. Laws of nature govern interactions between natural elements. Defiance of these laws invites almost instant punishment by nature.

continuous inflow of good sanskaras, the latter destroy them totally. As a matter of fact, the good as well as bad sanchit sanskaras bear fruit in

out some activities with

Kriyiimdpa Karmas:

compelled to live on foods and habits incompatible with its physiology, there is an immediate disturbance in the natural balance of the body, which results in disease, and

have F.

13tr

weakening of the harmonious

or diluted by any means. If

that several lives (of the

working of the biological system. This is Nature's mechanism for rectification.

sanchit karma was

individual self who sows and

'substance that has potential to

hence reaps) may

be used as explos.ive', a

traversed between the time of

Physical actions

prarabdha knrma would be like

'a time-bomb that cannot be defused and that will certainly

'sowing' and the time of 'harvesting'. In order to effectuate an appropriate

explode at an appropriate time

result for a prarabdha karma of

are 'mechanically' carried out by the body without any intention or mental or

emotional

involvement;

unlike sanchit and prarabdha karmas, they produce fruits in a short time.

and circumstance

in some life

of the individual seli as found feasible in the sublime system

of Nature. It should

understood here that this

Prctrabdha Karmas= Mental or bodily actions,

system has to constantly take

which are

interlinked and collective destinies of all individual

performed intentionally, voluntarily, or deliberately under strong emotional stimuli and mental involvement, are termed as prarabdha karmas. Being motivated by intense emotions, such karmas subtly

result in carving

deep impressions and consequent powerful sanskaras. Reactions

of violent acts like murder, robbery, betrayal, felony or immoral passionate acts like adultery are very strongiy felt by the inner conscience. The innate spiritual purity (of the soul) is ever eager to get rid of this extraneous deleterious impurity of the chitta at the earliest opportunity. These are the karmas that lead to destiny that cannot be altered,

care

of individual as well

selves'.

It has already been

a person, his/her

environment in the subtle world (called sukshma lokn in spiritual parlance) where the sublime system of Nature, evaluates the sanskdras and, as per the absolute Law of Karma,

creates suitable 'plots' (blueprint) of destiny for materialization of the consequent effect in the present life or

watch over each of our knrmas

self).

offence (or reward for a good deed) according to the nature

of the act. For example,

mental offence (".g. provoking someone to commit a crime), would lead to destined punishment that would amount to a mental suffering and chastisement. In simple terms, this is the law of "As you sow, so will you reap" keeping in mind

inner

conscience waits for a suitable

mentioned that our inner conscience keeps a constant and determines greater or lesser punishment for each

in some future

life of that person (individual

Occasionally this process is spread over a long time. For instance, for redemption of a mental sin of treachery, the sinner is required to be punished by grief. (inner 'Chitragupta' conscience) evaluates the grade of treachery to decide the degree of sorrow required

for atonement. For punishing a murderer, the divine system will associate the soul of the sinner with the soul of an

Yesterday is a cancelled cheque; tomorrow is a promissory note; today is the ohly cash you have - so spend it wisely. - Kay Lyons tr14 Akhand Jyoti uarcn-Aprit 2011

popular saying

individual who, according to his own karmas, can some day in some life, inflict the same degree of pain and grief on the sinner, which latter has caused to the aggrieved person. For instance, Chitragupta may plan birth of a son or daughter in the family of the sinner, who (the new born) iS destined to die at a young age according to its own past knrmas. The inner conscience of the killer will wait for grief-producing event when the son/daughter meets death by disease or accident.

shrub in Africa called Venus grows to a height of about

In this way, for samskars carried over to next life,

three meters. Out of its branches spread out thin

divine justice creates

thread-like offshoots. These

environmt'nt for punishment corresponding to the type and gravity of the sin.

keep on growing and swaying

that

"Marriages are made in heaven" indirectly refers to the compatibility of sanskaras and muiually correlated destiny of the bride and the groom. The pain of separation

in a divorce, too, is consequence of sinful

rmas

past lives.)

Divine justice makes souls of both the sinner and the sinned interact in complementary environment. This complex process at times takes several cycles of life and death. We know that in this world, too, it requires a long time and consideration of numerous factors before two individuals

become life partners as husband and wife. (The Success is that old ABc Akhand Jyoti

tvtarcn-Aprit 2011

instantaneous nor is it unilateral. For instance, if , because of his cruel nature, someone commits a murder and is caught red-handed, the

state awards a

death sentence. On the contrary, if the killer commits the offence secretly, the inner conscience

We may further try to understand the course of

does not punish him

divine justice by an analogy in

immediately. It would wait

a natural phenomenon. A

for an environment for creating in his psyche an

in the air till they meet another shrub and they become mutually intertwined.

It is obvious that this process is not unilateral.

poison results in immediate death.) Mental chastisement, on the other hand, is neither

Sometimes these shrubs meet

each other barely after a growth of a few centimeters, whereas the others succeed in doing so after growing for a few meters. This is the way 'karmas the fruits of ripen for interaction over different spans of time. The punishment for the exclusively physical sins is physical and is given without much delay. (Consumption of

aversion for violence, by making the sinner feel the same degree of pain, which was felt by his victim. That is why, at times, morally vile persons are found rejoicing and righteous ones suffering in life. The sublime enforcer (Nature) of Divine Law takes time in preparing an appropriate environment for dispensing the just rewards and punishments.

Having understood the basic principles of the science

of karma, one may like to decipher other aspects of destiny. We shall look into these successively in some future issues of this magazine.

- ability, breaks and courage. . Charles Luckman 15tr

cience and

sairitualitu

Amozing Chemistry of the Humon Brdin Elucidation of the complexity of the

-structure and enormous functions of the human

body is like revealing the secrets of a mysterious world. Most astonishing part of this marvelous creation is the brain. It is the conductor of the conscious and unconscious, known and unknown functions of a human being. The multiple decision making and regulatory functions performed continuously by this organ can be compared with the activities of administrative problem-solving, supervision, and management, etc, carried out by the director of a gigantic industrial system.

development lies in these arcane layers of human brain. The talents of spiritual masters, erudite scholars, eminent philosophers, scientists, artists etc. all sprout from the subtle cores of the brain. Imbalance or disorderly function of this center can turn one into a fool, cranky or an insane person. A healthy brain is the source of enormous potentials. Awakening of its super-conscious activities can culminate an individual's talents up to the highest realms of physical, mental, and spiritual strength and enlightenment. Every activity - including that at the cellular

It is said that sitting beneath the kalpvyk{a fulfilling tree described in the rhetoric representations used in the Puraqtds) fulfils all

and molecular level - of the human body is

(a wish

controlled by the brain. Besides the supernatural attainments of spirituality in its

desires. The existence of such a tree might be doubtful. However, the brain is an apparent manifestation of the lmlpvyksa naturally bestowed on every human being. The'worship' (by due recognition, respect and creative use of its potentials) of this theavenly gift' can certainly endow an individual with all the virtues and pourers which he endeavors to acquire in life.

sublime state, the ordinary, even the routine functions of the human mind are also majestic. The power of thinking, varietlr of feelings of sorrow, cheerfulness, satisfaction etc., the potentials of contemplation and resolution of

unlimited types of problems are indeed remarkable. The results of further scientific research are now opening many more facets of the amazing capabilities of the human brain.

The physical body of a human being is born

from the mother's womb. But, the birth of a wicked, dullard or a wretched character, or, an eminent, ascetic or dignified personality, etc., originates from the layers of unconscious and subconscious mind in the deeper depths of his/her own brain. The key of character

tr16

has been found that there are specific centers in the brain. These, if stimulated, can eliminate all the pains of severe bodily injuries and mental agonies. These centers could be awakened by introspective search, realizations and spiritual sddhands. Several centuries ago,

We cannot do great things on this earth, only small things with love. - Mother Teresa Akhand Jyoti

Marcn-April 2011

the use of intoxicating substances like morphine

Slight disordering in the functional regions

as pain killers was common

like that of the analgesic medicines today. However, it has

of the brain disturbs the entire body and mental system. Often, one uses instant

now become clear that the use of such external means causes more harm in the long run as compared to their instant, though short-lived, positive effects. Experts opine that the occurrence of pain in any portion of the body indicates that there is something abnormal in the physiological or biochemical state of this portion. That is why it lies in disharmony with the nervous system. There are two types of pains short-term, prickling and chronic or long-term. Both trouble the body. The long lasting pains disturb the mental state too. This situation induces mental tension and often gives rise to psychosomatic disor.{ers such as schizophrenia, illusions, paranoia etc.

remedies of analgesic medicines against the complaints of headache etc. Removal of mental stresses of higher intensity is sought with the help of intoxication. People of weak inner strength tend to use Morphine, Methadone, Heroin, Melsadine, L.S.D., and several types of narcotics in order to get relief from despair and depressive and stressful agonies of life. These drugs virtually paralyze the normal perceptibility of different organs and suppress the sensitivity of the nervous system towards pain. People get addicted to such 'remedies' and eventually lose their physical and mental health forever.

Once a yadava kin asked Sri Krishna why he called Yudhishthir "DharmaraJ'? Bhagwan narrated an anecdote" During rhe Mahabharat war, Yudhishthir used to leave for some place in cognito every evening after the day's battle was over. The Pandavas were curious and followed him one day. They found that Yudhishthir nursed the injured soldiers of both sides lying on the battlefield. The puzzled Pandavabrothers enquired of Yudhisthir why did he, rather than giving rest to his battle-weary body, spend the time in serving the enemy side instead, and that too in disguise. Yudhishthir explained: "Among the wounded are both, the Kaurayas and the Pandavas. Both are human beings. lf I had gone under my real identity lhe Kauravas would neither share their pain with me nor allow me to tend them. The Pandava soldiers, too, would probably not accept any service from me. Lest I be deprived of this privilege of human service, I had to

resort to this camouflage". Having recounted this story, Sri Krishna concluded: "Cultivating the spirit of selfless service is the mark of true religion (dharma). He who renders such service and steadfastly adheres to the noblest ideals of conduct is called " DharmaraJ' and is always accorded the highest place in the annals of nobility.

Anxiety is the rust of life, destroying its brightness ind weatening Edwards Akhand Jyoti

March-Aprit 2011

Medical experts consider that the limbic system in human brain can secrete specific neurochemicals, which alleviate the sensation

instead of the killer medicines, steroids and intoxicating drugs.

of pain or counter the tension caused by mental

Collaborative research in neurochemistry, neurophysiology, endocrinology, psychology and other areas of neurosciences has unraveled only a fraction of the unlimited potentiality of human mind. The unknown aspects of human consciousness are enormous as compared to what have been deciphered by the modern sciences so far. The real power of human mind (brain) is beyond imagination. One would be amazed to find what an astonishing system exists in the tiny'pocket' of the skull.

stress. Emotions are supposed to trigger the activities of the limbic system. As the sensory nerves carry the sensation of pain to the spinal cord, the efferent receptors of the limbic region in a healthy brain are activated and they secrete two phaline peptides that serve as natural'pain killers'. Betalypotramine (LPH) is found to be the forerunner of encephaline.

Experiments in immunohistochemistry have shown that a large number of neurons filled with the hormone called 'encephalon' are clustered at different levels of the cerebrospinal axis; these clusters are denser near specific pain-sensing center on the gelatinosa of the spinal column. The neurons are also present near the nerves connected to

the digestive system. The techniques like acupuncture invoke the gecretion of encephalon at specific centers as and when required and

thereby offer healing and remedy from pain without any medicine or other treatrnents. Many surgical operations are performed successfully by suppressing the sensation with the help of acupuncture without using any anesthesia.

Frontline researchers in Parapsychology consider that the secretion and concentration of different hormones like encephalon, endogens - painkillers can be regulated by harmonizing the activities of brain with the help of dhyan (deep meditation). Dhyan is a

risk-less spiritual exercise, which offers enormous benefits. Experts of this science prescribe meditation as an effective remedy against pain and mental stress and strain

It is unfortunate that only a small fraction this of colossal source of conscious energy is used in the physical, mental and intellectual activities of most humans. Maximum of its creative power remains in a dormant state throughout one's life. Authentic examples of

the observation of strong willpower, clairvoyance, exceptional intuitive intellect, etc present only a glimpse of the super-conscious Ievels of the human brain. Activating the unused hidden layers of consciousness in

human brain could attain supernatural potentials and talents. The simile of kalpvyaka therefore appears to be quite appropriate here.

TWo gems

of life:

Live life to express and not to impress; and Never strive to make your presence noticed, just make your absence felt.

Subvert anger by forgiveness. - Samanasuttam tr18

Akhand Jyoti

Marcrr-April 2011

Women's Upliftment Bsen tial for Society's Progress Looking at the mentally slaved and sluggish state of the Indian society before Independence, noted Hindi poet of that time, Shri Maithilisharan Gupta crisply wrote Bhagen Na Kyon, Hamase Bhala

Phira, Dnra San Siddhiydn

Pan Stuiyan Adara Jahan, Rahan Vahtn Saba Siddhiydn I

Meaning: Why shall not get away from us, all those accomplishments; Only where women get honoured, prevail all the successes. These lines cannot just be

considered imagined outcome

from the poet's heart. Importance of women's contribution in all-round development of families, society and the country as a whole, needs to be appreciated. Who is left to contribute to the development of society,

where one half of its population

Offshoots of Medieval

is incapable of contributing and

Times:

the other half spends half of its

One end of extremism of

energy in bearing the burden of the inactive first half? When all the energies are used in development of self and the family then its results are at a very different scale but if three-

mal-treatment of women in

fourth of the capabilities of a family are unproductive then naturally it would affect the status of the family, and the society as well.

The

reasons for

incapacitation of women's strength are the insane and cruel restrictions which are imposed on them by families

and the society.

These restrictions curtail the sphere of activities of women and

also the possibilities of utilisation of their capabilities by the society. These are by and large the after-effects of the medieval times of cultural degeneration and socio political influence of foreign invasion of the country.

the medieval times, especially

after successive invasions of the country by outsiders, was that physical body of woman had been directly or indirectly

made centre of attraction; women outside the house were portrayed and treated as

articles of show and pleasure and as prostitutes. Inside the

house (in the family), they had almost been incapacitated by cruelly binding them in the

chains

of utter

servitude

beyond even the toleration of prisoners and animals. Prisoners in jails have a bit of

liberty to roam about, talk and laugh; but a bride, confined in a small room of house was allowed to talk only to younger ones in the family. She had to be strictly under veils in front of elders and could not talk to them and

had to remain silent in front of them. Veils, traditions and

The rate at which a person can ma embarrassment he can tolerate. Akhand JyOti

Marcrr-Aprit 2011

19tr

restrictions left no room for justice, appropriateness and logic? Animals do not have to keep their faces covered. They can see others and let their faces be seen. They can speak to anybody in their own languages, but women even

self-degrading compulsions. They can be seen hiding and restricting themselves like shocked, hesitant, fearful, disturbed, pitiable criminals. They have

now in some sections of

gradually lost their basic

society have been denied

potentialities by continuously

these basic rights.

tolerating injustice, cruelty

their juice.

The heinous practices and

constraints or lower status of women still continue to exist

in many parts of

the fundamentalist - controlled or under-developed countries, including many parts of the Indian society. For example, even today, in many relatively

'modernized' families, participation of girls and wornen in sports and games,

or in performing arts, is the'pride' or 'culfure' of the caste/tribe. When the girl child attains the age of puberty a number of restrictions get gradually imposed on her. considered against

of Indian society, they find themselves mentally trapped

totally helpless to fight

against injustices and insults which they are subjected.

They are left with

no alternatives except to suffer silently all pains and shed tears continuously.

In such harsh conditions and insult. In general, women . thes" women of suppressed today can be compared to . personality cannot be of much pieces of lime discarded on . worth for themselves or for garbage heap after extracting . their family and children.

They might be of some utility for their loving husbands only for a few initial years of their youth. Once their beauty is used up by all sorts of ill-treatment they merely turn into slaves. Their partners can be seen to be roaming about in search of

new attractions.

These women carry on the burden of their lives, counting their

inhuman restrictions has been

days for the sake of their children. They lose all their assets in the initial three to four years and then they are allowed only a little of their

bad. Women do not enjoy proper health. In India women surpass men in

daily meals and a few clothes in return for their hard labour. These imprisoned

mortality rates. In many parts

women may be burning

The outcome of these

internally with revolt against such a status, but they are

What can be their contribution

' to life of others when they ' themselves are just dragging ' on with life? This is so peculiar ' of our society! Where on the ' one hand, she is physically ' and emotionally exploited by ' praising her beauty and ' sensitivity in varieties of

. ways/ atrocity is adopted, on . the other hand, in making . them silently suffer.

Learn f rom Ancient Times: In ancient times, when our society enjoyed excellent development in all fields, all areas of expression of women's talents and expansion of their potentials were open to them. They could freely enter any field to

Behave so the aroma your actions may enhance the general sweetness of the - Henry D Thoreau Akhand Jyoti March-Aprit

2011

express their skills. Ancient

. young girls of palaces and texts have significant . other warrior families would component of scholarly . get involved in military works by learned women. ' exercises. The author of Women have also proved ' 'Position of Women in India, their power, bravery, valour ' has written that in the and governing skills, as rulers. ' Chaiukya warrior families Scriptures also cite women,s ' women were treated equally contributions in the fields of ' in all activities of the kingdom. arts and culture, sports and . Even if the ruler was a male, physical activities as well. . the women used to participate . as equals in the activities of the Women from rich and . kingdom. One more western prestigious families also took . author has written great interest in creative . "Wherever skill, preservation, activities, sports and games. . discipline, ample harvest, and In his masterpiece . pleasure and satisfaction in 'Kumarsambhav' the great . publicprevailedinkingdomsof poet Kalidas has described - Hindu kings it was noticed that goddess Parvati playing with ' out of four such kingdoms a ball. Again in 'Meghdoot, ' women in threekingdomswere there is mention of young girls ' either ruling or played of Alkapuri playing with imnortant roles in the system.,, 'gupt-mani'in Sikta. The girls , used to learn the art of . Prospects for the

dancing and knew expert handling of weapons. In 'Mahabharat' also there is description of games played by Shanta and Kunti. The

young ladies have

been described playing in gardens in'Ramayan'.

::: 11 :Tt l^ur". imposing ::1t:J*T:11""*oTul :"reported that luo ::::::::l':T just started' it is The distanc Akhand Jyoti

March-Aprit 2011

. there but basically to the fact . that women there are not in the . clutches of males as is the case

' here in our society. Women ' there fully utilise their ' capabilities and skills in the ' fields of development and ' Progress. However, in spite of being

given equal rights

and

excellent opportunities by the

constitution and encouraging schemes of the government and supporting projects of several non-governmental organizations, the sifuation is far from satisfactory in India. Socio-economic constraints and backwardness in many sections of the society are also responsible for it.

lnterlinked Social lssues Education and Marriage: Present: One of the reasons for Today's society can " non-availability of . achieve new heights of I opportunities for women in . development if women have . orr, .o..rtry to move ahead ' opportunities for progress . and progress is their illiterate . and development and are . and downtrodden status. In ' allowed to utilise their skilrs . severar respects they are . and administrative capabilities. . treated as secondary or less . Thecreditforsomuchprogress . important members of the and al-round development in . society. Therefore they face .. western countries does not go ' neglect as soon as they are : to the ample availabilitv of ' born. rt is not that parents do ' natural resources and facilities ' not love daughters. The

no greater than one thought

circumstances in the society almost make it necessary to

neglect the daughters. The traditions in our society are shaped in such a way that birth of a girl child turns out to be a curse. Parents begetting a girl child feel the burden of her marriage on their heads from the moment she is born. People cannot

imagine seeing a girl remaining unmarried, while such a sifuation is considered

acceptable for a boy. The responsibility of marrying off a daughter is heavy on the heads of parents and success in fulfilling the same is a great relief. In fact a lot of difficulty is faced in searching a suitable match for the daughter. If unknowingly she is married off to somebody who is later

on found unsuitable it becomes a life-long tragedy. Even otherwise the marriage of a daughter is so costly that

it totally

devastates the

parents economically.

In view of the efforts required to meet the above task, which is costly, it proves

still costlier to spend on her education. Further, as per the prevailing social norms, for an educated girl a more educated

. and daughters in many middle. class families, even in the education, costlier will be . present times, is that daughters such a match - more will have ' are considered to belong to to be spent on dowry. ' other homes and sons are Therefore people find it ' considered as supports to rest adequate to train the girls in ' on in old age. Scolding such household works rather than ' parents the great social educating them. People are ' reformer has written "Only inclined to make them expert ' fools discriminate between a household ladies and not . son and a daughter. Wise skilled and economically ' peoplerespectbothequallyand independent or otherwise . bring up sons and daughters capable women. . with love on equal footing. . Farsighted people know that In many families, boys are . we may have petty gainsbynot given more importance . educating a daughter but it is compared to girls on the ' disadvantageous to the society pretext that boys are ' and this harms us also in one boy for marriage will have to be searched; and more the

comparatively more attached '. way or the other. For example emotionally to parents, ' the illiterate and uneducated though now it is just an ' girl after marriage is not able illusion. People still feel that ' to bring up and educate her boys will support the parents ' children so effectively as when in old age, while even if girls ' she herself is well educated. are provided education and ' Unless her progeny is are made capable they will . extraordinarily briliiant it will leave for another home and . be left far behind the children only the in-laws will reap the ' of educated parents. The illbenefits of their capabilities . effect of ineffectiveness of such and other qualities. Taking . mothers in a large number will pains, spending time and be feltby the whole society and money on girls will amount to there will be no possibility of squandering and cannot be progress and development of appreciated. such a backward society."

The main reason for

(To be continued)

discrimination between sons

How people treat you is their karma; how you react is yours. - wayne Dyer

tr22

Akhand Jyoti

Marcrr-Aprit 2011

Odyssey of the Enlightened -19

On the Pcr;h of Sadhana Arodhono Work for Daily 'Sainik' Sri Krishna Dutt Paliwal was one of the camp

organizers. He was well known not only in Agra but all over Uttar Pradesh. He was much older than Shriram. The participants of the camp addressed him as 'Bhai Sahib' (elder brother) or 'Netaji' (leader). In addition to assuming leadership role in the political movement, he was an expert in journalism and in writing revolutionary literature. When he saw Shriram, somehow he felt that Shriram was

different and distinct among all

the participating youth and volunteers. At that time Shriram was reading out a poem (he had writtâ&#x201A;Źn) among his friends at the camp. The poem was dripping with patriotism and the lyrics were something like this -

-3

daily, imbued with patriotism

and revolutionary feelings, was being published for the past three years. Paliwalji was also

shouldering various other organizational responsibilities. He was in search of an associate and his search seemed to be over after meeting Shriram. He encouraged him to write and said that his poems would surely evoke patriotism in the minds of the people. Through this meeting, Shriram introduced Paliwalji to other revolutionary literature he had already written. These were those pamphlets and letters that he had written and distributed in several villages.

' Paliwalji said that it would be nice if ' Shriram could come to Agra and help him with ' the newspaper work. Shriram agreed to join ' once relevant arrangements could be made. By Koi bhi ho tera dushman, nischay hee mit jayega, Trinsh koti humknron se nabhmandal phat jayega ' 'relevant arrangements', all that he meant was ' the permission of his mother. The camp (Meaning: Whosoever is your enemy, he will ' concluded and Shriram returned to

. Aanwalkheda. He gathered his youth group I again. The restrictions imposed by their . guardians no longer had any effect on the Paliwalji heard this poem and patted . youth. The influence of Independence Shriram's back and said, "Let this poem be . movement was spreading such that being aloof printed in'Sainik'. Whoever reads this poem . from it was looked down upon as is sure to hum it along." Shriram assured with . backwardness or cowardice. Even if people enthusiasm that more of such poems could be . didn't play active role in it, they did make such composed. Paliwalji was then the editor and . comments or observations. The short contact certainly be ruined. The sky will be torn by the thirty crore shouts.)

publisher of the newspaper called 'Sainik'. This

' with Shriram filled his youth

members with

You don't have to have lessons to express yourself. - Carlos Rodriguez Akhand Jyoti

March-April 2011

23tr

new enthusiasm. They began to attend the 'prabhnt pheris' (morning processions) ignoring their parents resentments. In those processions patriotic songs written by Shriram were sung. They would get so immersed in the songs that they had no cognizance of the outer world. of great upsurge in Indian Independence movement. During the Lahore Session in December 7929, Congress had announced that their aim was'Poorna Swarajya' (Complete Independence). The representatives from the assemblies were called back. They stopped all kinds of interactions with the government. On the midnight of 31"tDecember, fawahar Lal Nehru as the President of the session hoisted the National flag at Lahore. The flag was also tricolor even then but there was charkha (spinning wheel) at the center instead of the wheel. It was as though the country had declared itself independent by hoisting its own flag. There were celebrations and meetings in various places. 26'h January was celebrated as Independence Day in the entire country. Shriram Sharma also hoisted the flag in his village. He had begun to write his complete name when he started publishing his poems and writings. When he hoisted the flag in the compound of his mansion, Pandit Gendaram was the first one to address him with his full name. He said, "Now, Pandit Shriram Sharma will speak a few words about the ceremony." 1929-1930 were the years

beginning of an organized movement under the leadership of Shriram. After celebrating the first Independence Day on 26ft lanuary,1930, Pandit Shriram Sharma distributed jaggery as

Prasad. It was also announced that Independence Day would be celebrated every

year. It was also decided that wherever the members of the group would gather and conduct a program, the flag would also be hoisted. 26ft fanuary became a new headline in the history of the entire country. Shriram Sharma of Aanwalkheda also donned his new avatar on that very day.

In April 1930, non-cooperation movement began. It was part of the political strategy to instill in the minds of people whatever was proposed at the Lahore session. On 6'h April, Mahatma Gandhi started his Dandi march from

Sabarmati Ashram. There were thousands of satyagralis along with him. They reached a place called Dandi on the shores of the Arabian sea and prepared salt there. This movement was chosen as a symbolic revolt against the taxes

levied on making salt and posed a challenge to the British government. The British also took it as a precursor to a bigger explosion. The wheel of suppression became severe. Many people were arrested. There were some youth who could not be

The record of what Pandit Shriram Sharma

caught by the police during this suppression and arrests. Pandit Shriram Sharma was one of them. He had dug a pit at the outskirts of the village. He filled salt water in the pit and tried to make salt. He neither had the

spoke while addressing the youth is not available. But it definitely marked the

experience nor had taken any training in making salt. Satyagrahis had arranged for

The beginning of a new Avatar

Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved

by understanding. - Albert Einstein

rl24

Akhand Jyoti

March-April 2011

training camps in various places but not all the

. was 79-20 years old then. Even in those days, . there was the social practice of selling weak and . feeble cows and let off cows that did not produce Before the process could be completed, a police . milk on the streets. Somebody in the village sold party reached the village. They did lathi charge *" cows to a butcher. to disperse the crowd. Shriram and three other : associates had got down into the pit of salt ' Shriram got to know of this. He called an water and were frying to make salt: ' unplanned meeting o f his 'Bal Sena' andthe plan ' of action was immediately decided. Shriram The police ordered them to come out. The ' went along with a friend and spoke to the boys outside the pit had run away in fear. . butchers. He implored them not to kill the Those who were in the pit also began to slip . cows. They said that if the money they had away. But Shriram behaved as though he had . spent in buying the cows was reimbursed, they not heard the command. The police shouted . would give back the cows. Shriram hesitated three-four times but Shriram ignored them . for a while. The cost of those two cows was every time. Looking at his indifference and . specified as eighteen rupees. It was possible defiance, two policemen got down into the pit ' to ask Taiji for this money but he did not want and rained blows on him. He had injuries on ' to do it. Shriram agreed to the bargain. He his hands, shoulders, back and head. He fell ' went to a money-lender named Guljari. He into the water owing to the blows. The police ' took a loan of rupees thirty five from him. left him lying in the water. Due to fear of police, ' Guljari was very well aware of Shriram,s nobody came to take care of Shriram. He was ' nature and honesty. Neither the interest for left lying in salt r,vater the whole night. He was ' the amount was decided nor was anything held taken out in the morning. Taiji was under the ' as mortgage. He gave the loan without any impression that the police had arrested ' security. Shriram got back the cows from the Shriram. . butcher and with the rest of the money rented ' a bullock-cart. He made them sit in the ox-cart. Mahapurashcharanand the sadhana ot . Aft". going for some distance, one of the social service . bullocks came to a standstill" He learnt that it Shriram was continuing his anushthan . was sick. He unyoked the bullock and placed sadhana along with participation in . his shoulders in its place. In this way he inched Independence struggle. Shriram used to . the cows forward. He continued like this for complete this sadhana before sunrise in the . three days and reached a Goshala (cowshed) morning and before sunset in the evening. . where he left the cows. On the fourth day, he After he had got used to do jap, five hours time . returned home. He took the help of his Bal Sena was enough for it.In those days his involvement . to pay back the money-lencler. Everybody in national and social movements also increased. ' contributed a small sum and the money was The dates are not exactly known, but Shriram ' returned to Guljari. volunteers could take part in the training. Panditji tried to prepare salt symbolically.

Love what

yor d be more fun. - Catherine Graham

Akhand Jyoti

Marcn-Aprit 2011

25tr

Unimaginable Courage This is also an incident of those days. There was fire in the house of one of the grocers, Sulekhchand, in the village. The home and shop were in the same building. The house was made of brick and cement but the roof was made of bamboo that was covered by the baked tiles of mud. The roof caught fire. Sulekhchand

was more worried about his wares than about rescuing his children from fire. The children were smart and somehow jumped out of the

tough for the parents to live in that village. Everybody began to wag their tongues. Shriram intervened in this situation and advised the parents to remarry their daughter. Initially people made fun of this suggestion. The family of the girl also pleaded that they did not want to land into one more trouble. Shriram explained that there was no sin in doing so and that this practice was prevalent

in the past and that the scriptures had

house. They shouted and attracted the attention of others and said that their sisterin-law was still inside. She was the daughterin-law of the grocer and was pregnant at that

provision for this. After pausing for a while, he said that even the government says that if a widow wants to remarry, she could do so.

time. Shriram reached the spot and took stock of the situation. He looked at all sides to assess the available options. He went to a nearby house and procured a ladder. The flames were so intense at the entrance of the house that nobody could enter. He used the ladder and entered the house through the roof. In a few minutes, he came out with the lady propped on his shoulders. First-aid was provided to her. The family of the merchant kept thanking him profusely, but Shriram moved on.

of scriptures, traditions, government and great people. They finally agreed but the only question that remained was about what was to be done with the child in the womb. Shriram said, "Let the child take birth. God will take care of him too."

There was another incident that occurred a few days after Shriram had saved the lady from the fire. A widow had become pregnant through a youth belonging to a different caste. Since she had become a widow just a few days

after her wedding, her in-laws had sent her back to the parents. Hence she was staying with her mother and father. The very fact that a widow was in the house itself was sufficient to feel cursed during those days. On top of it, she became pregnant. It became extremely

tr26

Shriram managed to convince them in the name

After the girl's parents agreed, Shriram took her father to Mathura. He met the chief priest Vedavrat of Chauk branch of Arya Samaj.

He explained the entire situation. After searching for three-four months, an appropriate groom was found. He was a widower named jeevan Prasad Sharma and had a child from his demised wife. The details about the girl were given to him and he agreed. The child born to that girl is now leading the last phases of his life in an industrial town in Uttar Pradesh. His family is also prospering.

Katha in the house of Girvar Shriram had just crossed his teens and entered his youth. There is one incident of that

The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong. - Mahatma Gandhi Akhand Jyoti

Marcn-April 2ol1

time worth mentioning. There was a sweePer named Girvar who used to maintain cleanliness outside their ancestral mansion. He also took care of the horse of Shriram's uncle. Girvar felt a desire to conduct Satyanarayan Katha in his house. But no priest was ready to do this. He enquired from four-five people and even promised good fee and donation, but no one was ready to go to the house of a low caste person to conduct Kntha. Because of this, Girvar was disappointed and upset. One day, when he was speaking to Shriram, he inadvertently said, "Iwant to do a Katha at home but my fate is bad." Shriram immediately asked in a tone which was a blend of affection and resentment, "Why? What happened? What is wrong with your fate?" His resentment was toward the sullen face of Girvar. He replied, "We are untouchables. Hence nobody is willing to

conduct the Katha in our house." Shriram waited for a few moments and said, "Be ready by taking bath tomorrow morning. Let all the family members take bath and be clean. I will come to conduct Katha in your house." Girvar's

brighi with cleanliness. The teenager priest came the next morning along wlth his Katha book, haaan kund, conch and other things required for the puja. Girvar had also invited people of his caste. Twenty five - thirty people had gathered in his house. Ihthabegan in the traditional fashion. After each chapter, the conch was blown along with shouts of victory (jal4akaar) . After the Kathn was completed, the anrti was conducted by ringing the bells. The people gathered there were brimming with joy and errthusiasm. They sang

full the snrti 'Om iai iagadish hare --' with enthusiasm. The sound of conches and shouts of triumph reached the other houses in the viliage. They could not comprehend anything immediately. When they did understand, the Brahmans and other higher caste people became

furious.

A group of fifteen

twenty people spitting

. insults proceeded towards the Harijan . quarters. One could hear their march from a

face shone bright on hearing Shriram's ' distance. Girvar said, "Babu Sahib, people are assurance, but in the next instant he became . coming to beat us up. Please escape from here. sad and said, "When other priests are not . "shtiru* refused to run away from there and coming, why will anyone allow you to come. . leave the Harijans to become the target of the Taiji and others will prevent you from coming." . group's fury. Girvar and his farnily pleaded . and pressurized Shriram to leave. Shriram laid Shriram asked him not to worry about this. . a condition that Girvar should not accept the Girvar was overwhelmed by a sense of doubt . blame at any cost. Before the group even had as well as confidence and returned home. He . a chance to speak, Girvar was suPPosed to say gave the news to his family and began to make . that Shriram had insisted on conducting the '. Katha and that he himself was not prepared preparations. They cleaned the house, washed ' for this at all. Only after Girvar accepted this all the clothes including beds; the utensils were ' condition and gave his word that Shriram washed. They plastered the floor too. They ' agreed to leave. worked late into the night and the house shone

e of being like an angel: never iudging' - unknown never criticizinq and never Akhand Jyoti

March-April 2011

Before the group of Brahmins reached Girvar's house, Shriram had collected his belongings and left the place. He hid himself from other people and reached home. At Girvar's house, his family repeated the same words that Shriram had asked them to say. Everybody was aware of Shriram's stubborn nature. Hence, they accepted that it was possible that Shriram insisted on the Kathn Th"y came back and complained to Taiji about it. Taiji scolded Shriram a little and the matter was closed with just that.

Office of the Revolutionaries To introduce new sansknrs in the society, Shriram began to express his thoughts both through writing and through speeches. In those days, it was not easy to write anything about Independence movement or against the British" Shriram mainly wrote poems and sent

her that they had decided to maintain the office away from anybody's residence. Taiji insisted

that nobody would disturb their activities and they could operate twenty four hours a day if

they so wished. The members of Bal Sena refused. Taiji then expressed her inner fears. She said that meetings in the Shiva temple might pose a threat to Shriram and that she was afraid that she would lose him to Lord Shiva. Everyone respected her fears and feelings about Shriram and accepted a part of the mansion as their office. They also took a

promise from her that nobody would be informed about their activities there. Taiji herself showed them the room, which was spacious enough to easily seat twenty

- twenty five people. They were also assured that they could get food and water when needed. Thus,

in a small room of Aanwalkheda,

revolutionary office was inaugurated.

them to be published in 'Sainik' in Agra, 'Pratap' in Kanpur and'Viswamitra' in Kolkata. Magazines like'Shirkat' and 'Mastana' also published his poems.

As part of Independence movement, they not only had to conduct meetings but also had to discuss and solve social issues and problems.

Meetings had to be conducted somewhere or the other. Shriram told his associates that they should finalize the venue for their meetings

and

should not be someone's residence, because other family members and elders would be disturbed by their proceedings. Taiji offered them

solution. She mentioned

a part of their mansion where they could conduct the meetings. The group members told

tr28

Causseus established a school where half the curriculum was based on religious

and moral education. The post for a proficient principal was advertised in response to which two people turned up. While emphasizing his experience in the interview, one said, "l have knowledge of fourteen languages of the world, have done post graduation in five subjects and written

several thesis." Causseus modestly replied, "lf ethical education could be imparted by the knowledge of languages and multiplicity of thesis and degrees, we would surely have given you a chance." The other man who was very humble, moral and righteous but didn't have many degrees was given the opportunity to serve as the principal.

We would never learn to be brave and patient if ttrere were only ioy in the world. - Helen Keller Akhand Jyoti

Hnarcn-Aprit 2011

Youth Column

The Young Torch-Beorers

of Nation Building The youth must have a firm commitment for national duty. It is the valor and spark of the youth that forms the bedrock of a nation's progress. Nation building is not simply the work of those who are in government services but also those who are placed in different occupations in different parts of the country. Wherever and in whatever calling a person is, he has a specific role to play towards national growth and upliftment. While doing one's assigned duty honestly and sincerely a person can also render many other services in the spheres of public welfare,

national integrity, fight against corruption, educational upliftment and other such important tasks of nation-building. He can offer his services during times of

national disaster, flood, earthquake etc. It is not only the uniformed who are soldiers of the nation; they are

think of life as a good

coffers. To shatter the satanic machinations of such 'special'

Today, alas, there is an unseemly scramble for power and pelf. Myriad conspiracies and subterfuges are being daily hatched all around to

persons is the duty of the youth. It is their valor that can turn the direction of the slithering and relentless march of the time snake and detoxify its venomous fangs.

fulfill one's selfish ends. The planners of these schemes are unable to look beyond the nose of their personal gains. They think only of achieving

by hook or by crook their own narrow ambitions. If in this venture hundreds of lives are lost, thousands of homes

are destroyed, so be it.

However much

the foundations of the nation might shake, it is none of their concern. They want to rernain special at any cost and treat the common men - as pawns in their games of selfaggrandizement - by dividing the society in the name of

religion, region and caste. Their sole aim in life is to remain in the lime light and

also true soldiers who are

fill their personal

struggling day and night with full devotion in other fields of activity.

Many young persons are indeed doing so. One such name is Shanmugham Manjunathan. A product of IIM, the 27 year old Manjunathan was a manager in IOC posted in LakhimpurKhiri of Uttar Pradesh. He had

opened a front against the

corrupt and powerful oil mafia who had been running

an illegal business of oil adulteration for the past several years without any hindrance. Manjunathan too was sought to be bought with many lucrative offers. When this did not work he was given many threats. But the young Manjunathan's integrity could not be

make sense. - Harold S. Kushner Akhand Jyoti

March-Aprit 2011

begins to 29tr

yeoman's service with her young team to heal the wounds of riots and Promote an atmosphere of Peace. The Hindu and Muslim residents of Mumbai's Bhindi Bazar were a shining examPle of friendly co-existence, but after the 1'992 riots this camaraderie had evaPorated. Sushobha suffered many setbacks in her attemPts to bring back this old amiabilitY, but undeterred she stuck to her pursuit helPed in her

compromised with these temptations or threats' The

desperate and coward criminals then one duy murdered Manjunathan bY deceit. Before being killed Manjunathan had told his friends that even though he was not donning a Khaki or

green uniform, Yet

considered himself a true soldier of the motherland. Whatever dutY he had been assigned he would Perform that fearlessly and diligentlY. His tragic death, on one hand, put to shame the government and the administration; on the other many organizations and

endeavour

bodies, especially of the Youth draw inspiration and strength

battle against it, but also renewed faith in a better future for the countrY. a

ttamaz. When the Police arrived at the Place later it found complete peace and normalcy prevailing there. The air of harmonY was once again being established. And the lead had been taken bY the

youth there, in performance of their national dutY. The story of 35 Year old bus driver KuldeeP Singh too

Hindu and Muslim associates.

is an inspiration

Gradually the tide turned and her efforts began to bear

performing national dutY. Diwali was arriving and the residents of Delhi were thronging the markets for shopping. Out of the blue a

fruits. One day, when

from his martyrdom. It not only gave a fillip to the morale of those engaged in exPosing corruption at different levels and waging

by her Young

everybody. All this haPPened within a span of 20-25 minutes. The Maulvi Sahib soon resumed his walk to the

Maulvi Sahib was going for namaz, some anti-social elements threw fish currY at him. It appeared that once again ugly rioting would

series of bomb

blasts

shattered their festival joY. But the bravery of this Young bus driver was on every ones Iips as he, without regard to his own life, saved the lives

engulf the city. But nothing of the sort happened. Some Hindu youngsters disPlaYed remarkable maturitY' TheY

The story of Sushobha courteously took the Maulvi Barve, who is working for national integration with a . SatrlU to their home where team of young girls and boYs, . they gave him new clothes to is also inspiring. Mumbai, . wear. The girls of the house with all its famed BollYwood . washed his dirtied clothes. and commercial glamour, has . The youngster who had also a dark underbellY. ' committed this mischief was Sushobha Barve did a ' severely reprimanded bY

for

of many persons.

The terrorists hadput abomb inside a DTC bus. But theY were

foiled in their macabre designs by the fearlessness and quick thinking of Kuldeep Singh even though the latter had to lose his right hand in the effort. He is still struggling to get back his normal eye sight'

ak to be felt until they are too strong to be broken. - Samuel Johnson tr30

Akhand JYoti

trlarcn-APril 2011

Recalling the incident . commitment towards her Kuldeep Singh says that the . national duty. Her life is bomb had been kept in abag . dedicated to the upliftment of on one of the seats. There ' the children of Adiyan and were three wires visible ' Narikor communities of inside the bag. But a stunned ' Nagapattanam who, during Kuldeep Singh wisely did not ' and after the tsunami, were pull any other wires. Rather ' left uncared for by the he picked up the bag and ran ' government and the society with it away from the bus. . and were living a vagrant life After keeping the bag near a ' of misery. Her associate in tree at some distance he . this noble work is the local turned to run back when the . youth Jiva of the community bomb exploded. The blast . whose pride in being an blew apart his right hand, . Indian is quite visible. The dimmed his vision and . Vanavil Trust founded by affected his hearing power. . Revati and her young friends But in spite of these losses he . had undertaken the task of is proud to have been of some . educating seventy children of service to the nation. He . the community. For the young humbly says that our jawans ' of this community Revati has sacrifice even their lives at the ' become an icon and a beacon of hope. border; he did not lose much in comparison.

Steeped in the same spirit

Film maker Revati . of national duty is the Radhakrishnan is full of 'Kashmiri youth Mustaq

Ahmed Zargar who, along with his two companions Riaz Ahmed and Syed Ezaj, has worked untiringly for the sufferers of Kashmir earthquake. Mustaq is proud of being a Kashmiri and an Indian. According to him the national tricolor has three colors - saffron, white and

green which

syrnbolize

sacrifice, peace and prosperity

respectively. To fulfill their duty towards the nation the spirit of the youth today too should be dyed in these three colors. Peace and harmony in the country can be established only through the spirit of sacrifice among the youth and only then could the nation prosper. Every youth should be conscious of his own national calling and act as a source of inspiration for the others.

Once upon a time there was an island, where all the feelings lived together. One day there was storm in the sea and the island was about to get drowned. Every feeling was scared but Love made a boat to escape. Every feeling boarded the boat. One feeling was left. Love got down to see who it was. lt was EGO. Love tried and tried but ego wasn't moving; also the water was rising. Every one asked love to leave him and come in the boat, but love was made to love. At last all the feelings escaped and Love died with ego on the island. A man may fail many times but he isn't a failure until he begins to blame somebody else. - John Burroughs Akhand Jyoti March-April 2011

The Scientrfic

Apeet

of Goyotri Mantra The vibrations of Vedic Mantras carry immense energy that is amplified by the pratla (vital spiritual energy) and bio-electricity of the body and the sublime currents of spiritually refined thoughts and sentiments of the sadhaka(s). The practice of japa-sddhend of Gdyatrl Mantra is given supreme importance in

' ' ' ' ' '

be well-known to the students of Physics. Because of the fast movements in ihe charged fields of attraction, each planet al_.o produces a roaring sound of intensity proporlional to its huge size. The superimposition of these planetary roars gives rise to the :..sr":ic sound

. a manifestation of Sabda, which the scientists . consider as the major source of polter for every . kit a of 'nafural motion' existing rn the entire . universe.

power of this eternal mantra is expanding perpetually, as the sddhand of this mantra has been constantly practiced by millions of spiritual experts since the Vedic Age. This mantra is also special in terms of its unique . tne power of Sqbda manifests itself in ' sonic pattern, the sublime flow of Sabda and multiple ways in the sadhana of the greai Gayaftt astonishing physical, psychological and '. Mantra.This mantra is a compilation of fiventy' four special syllables in Sanskrit, rr-hich zue so spiritual impacts. ' configured that the enunciation oi each gives From a scientific point of view, one may ' rise to unique types of vibrations at one or explain it as follows. As the continuous ' more of the twenty-four important bio.elecirical movement of the motor in a dynamo generates ' and extrasensory energy nuclei in the sadhaka's electricity, the cyclic repetition of the japa of a body. The collective compounded sonic efrects mantra at a constant pace also gives rise to the . of ali of these are so unique and im-nnensâ&#x201A;Ź that circular motion of the sonic manifestation of . these activate the subtle body too. Sabda (eternal element of cosmic sound evolutionary vibration) hence to a centrifugal . the linguistic meaning of thi-s rlrr:?:? is a sonic force and an otherwise latent power of . universal prayer for the divine illul'Lination of this context,

as the majestic

sound. One who knows tt.e Mantra Vidyd indeed knows the secrets of the optimal generation and use of this cycle of energy, which is a unique source of physical, mental and spiritual potentials.

the intellect of all to lead the u'orld ton'ards

' the righteous path. The sadhaka"-s mental ' concentration and pure sentiments are ' naturally focused around this meaning (and ' the associated feelings and inspirationsl rvhen ' he performs japa of this mantra through The coexistence of the forces of attraction ' emotional depths. This has two prominent and the circular *otiottjli!" plu.gtr *.trt effects -aiz.,thesddhak'smindachieveshigher tr

and you shallfornn an invincible hostagainst difficulties. - Helen Keller 32 Akhand Jyoti varcn-Aprit2o11

state of meditation and he also attains spiritual

refinement of the inner domains of mind. The sonic as well as the emotional energy together make a mnntra alive. Therefore, for the success of the sddhand

of arry mnntra, it is the piety of character and deeds, the strength and stability of mind and lhe iraddha - that are the most crucial and important virtues of the sddhakn rather than his worldly success, talents, intellectual eminence

or scholastic expertise, etc.

. movements of the components that ,directly, . participate in the process of speaking or singing . etc. The instantaneous difference in our voice

' and pattern of pronunciation of the same word ' under different moods (mental states) clearly ' demonstrates this remarkable harmony ' between the speech-system and the mind. If we casually pat somebody's back then there would be no reaction in general. However, if we do so intentionally or say, in an angry mood, it would naturally hurt that

The thought waaes continuously generated from the mind are of electromagnetic type. If

person and may invite repelling action from his side. This simple example illustrates the

we throw a stone in a pond, it will produce certain currents of water, which will flow transversely up to the banks of the pond. The universe also is a kind of 'a gigantic pond withoutboundaries'and hence an infinite open 'spherical set' in hyper-geometric sense. The electromagnetic currents produced by our thoughts and emotions are expanded in the limitless domain of this etheric ocean. And, because of the endless (hence circular) 'periphery' of the latter, these waves reach back to their point of origin (i.e., our mind, in this case) upon completing a cycle.

difference between the effects of a mere physical activity and that of an action associated with unusual mental force. This difference in effects exists because the former involves only the static electricity of the body and routine auto-regulation of the brain

The simple principle behind our speech or the pronunciation of a word by our mouth is that - the collision of air with specific (as per the movement of the associated components of the mouth) portions of the nervous system produces specific vibrations in the vocal-cord.

This apparently physiological process is completely regulated by the mind. It is the unconscious mind that guides the controlling machinery of the brain and hence regulates the

whereas the latter bears the special 'electrified charge'of the vital spiritual power of the mind

too. The words recited by a person with full mental concentration are indeed energized by the bio-electrical energy of the physical body as well as the 'electromagnetic'and subliminal prdryic force of his rnind. Because of their imrnense sublimated energy the vibrations generated by focused (meditative) mental recitations of the Vedic mantras practiced by the /pr's and the currents of the thought waves of these spiritually refined angelic personalities exist in the supernormal cosmic energy-fields since yore. Rich belts of minerals are formed by the

attraction between the particles of

An expert is a man who has mad be made, in a narrow field. - Niels Bohr Akhand Jyoti

trlarcn-Aprit 2011

same

(compatible) category. By similar effects, the

above mentioned fields of attraction induced by the mantra- sadhanas of the lisis would

continue to be stronger

if the matching

vibrations of mantras are consistently generated with deep iraddha by people endowed with piety of character and inner strength of mind. In their circular journey (cycles), the sadhaka's thought waves and the sound waves generated by his mantra-japa are also empowered by these cosmic fields. Thus, while reaching back to their

origin, these waves help enhance

the spirituality and the overall physical and mental energies of the sadhaks.

Sadhana of writing Gayatri Mantra: Mental chanting of a Vedic Mantra is

Disciplines to be followed while writing the Gayatri Mantra:

While writing the Gayatri Mantra always carry this prayer in your mind: "Oh Lord! Grant us wisdom and lead us on the path towards a bright future,,.

Don't hurry up! Write the mantra slowly at a steady pace.

Write the mantra clearly and correctly.

Keep the writing-book neat and at some appropriate place.

Be punctual

powerful spiritual practice. Writing the mantra with full mental concentration also serves this purpose. In fact, doing so helps in controlling the mind more easily and effectively, as the hands, eyes, as well as mental energy naturally get focused at one point while writing the mantra. That is why the sages say Yajidtprdnasthitirmanfi.e, Japanmantrasya Jagratifu Ati Prqkaiavafixicaiva, Mantro Bhavati Lekhandt I

Mantra can be written whenever one finds time. An anushthan is completed by chanting the Gayatri Mantra,24000 times. Since the benefit of penning the Gayatri Mantra is 10 times more than that of chanting it, the anushthan is completed by just writing It 2400 times.

Meaning: Yagya (Vedic fire-ritual) activates

vital energy of mantra, chanting Uapa) of mantra awakens its spiritual power, and writing of mantra infuses the radiating

in writing. You may do it at any suitable time. Even busy and sick persons can undertake this ssdhana.

Under the aegis of Shantikunj, Haridwar, a global campaign of collective writing of Gayatri Mantra is starting on the day of Mahashivratri(2"d March 20ll) and will end on the day of Ramnavmi(12rh April 2011).

vibrations of mantra in the soul.

The anushthan of writing the Gayatri Mantra 2400 times during this period of 40 days (60

According to scriptures, devout endeavor of writing a mantra correctly and consistently is regarded ten-times more effective than iis japa. Its sincere practice is therefore regarded as an important sadhana. Everyone, whether male or female, young or old, can participate in this sadhana. There are no restrictions.

mantras per day) will equip the seekers with

spiritual powers and bestow on them the blessings of Mother Gayatri. This campaign is not limited to 40 days, however; writing

of Mantra can be done throughout the centenary year.

Feeling sorry for yourself tr34

abit you could possibly have. - Dale Carnegie Akhand Jyoti

Marcn-Aprit 2011

Vinobaii's Talks on The Gita -

The sovereign science

ofseruice to Humanity: Yoga ofsurrender -2

No problem of eligibitity

child Krishna) has always been the object of special adoration and worship. He

would go along with

the cowherds to graze cattle; He would eat and laugh and play with them. When the cowherds prepared to worship Indra [1], he asked them, "Has anybody seen Indra? What do we owe to him? On the other hand, this Govardhan hill is here before our eyes. Cows graze on it,

Lord Krishna has thus shown

that salvation is not

prerogative of human beings; even the birds and the beasts can attain it. His life-story is a testimony to this fact. .

streams flow from it. It is better to worship it [2]" He

played with the cowherd

boys, befriended their

womenfolk, enjoyed the

way to salvation. He moved with cows in His childhood and with horses when He

' ' '

salvation is not difficult to of His flute, cows would go attain. In the Mahabharata, into raptures. The horses there is a Chapter narrating a would snort spiritedly as He . conversation between King stroked their backs. Those . lanaka ald Sulabha, an cows and horses, belonging to . ordinary woman. Vyasa has the so-called low'er species, . depicted an incident wherein would as if become one with . Xing ]anaka goes for SelfHim and attain salvation. . knowledge to Sulabha. You

In the life of Lord Krishna, His childhood is particularly charming. Balkrishna (the

company of the cows and the calves, and to all of them He opened the doors of salvation. Lord Krishna has thus shown through His own life an easy

grew up. On hearing the music

' ' ' ' .

may go on discussing whether

' women have the right to ' study Vedas or not, but here ' we find Sulabha, an ordinary ' woman/ imparting the ' knowledge of the Brahman to ' Janaka, the great Emperor, ' known for his erudition. ' Janaka had knowledge, but he

Vyasa too had the same experience. In fact, there is an identity between Vyasa and was away from salvation. For Krishna. The quintessential ' that, Vyasa had made him fall message of the lives of both ' at the feet of Sulabha. The is the same. Salvation ' story of Tuladhar, the grocer, depends neither oh . gives the same message. Jajali, scholarship nor on .. a Brahmin goes to him for Selfperformance of rites and . knowledge. Tuladhar tells rituals. Plain, simple devotion . him, "All my knowledge is sufficient. We know simple . consists in holding the scales devout women surpassing . perfectly even." There is also learned egotists in spiritual . a story of a hunter who used progress. If there is pure . to titt animals and sell their heart, innocence and faith, . flesh. That was his way of

We judge ourselves bV what w what we have already done.- Henry wadsworth Longfellow Akhand Jyoti lvarcn-Aprit2o11

i.:

35 tr

a::

sexving the society. An egoist

of those who kill animals?",

ascetic was told by his guru (teacher) to go to that hunter for Self-knowledge. The

but he has also described how the Lord helped Sajan: Sajan kasay bikoon lage mans - The

ascetic wondered how

Lord helped Sajan the butcher in selling meat. Tukaram is telling that The Lord who honoured Narsi Mehta's [3] hundi, who fetched water for

hunter could teach him. When he went to the hunter, the

latter was busy cutting up meat and cleaning the pieces to put them up for sale. He told the ascetic, "I arn doing

my best to infuse my work with dharma to the extent possible. I pour my soul into this work to the best of my capaclty, and also serve my parents." In the form of that hunter, Vyasa has put before us an ideal. The Mahabharata narrates such stories about women and

men of humble occupations

specifically to make it abundantly clear that the doors of moksha are open to all. The Ninth Chapter affirms the same point. The joy in serving the Lord can be found in that hunter's life. Tukaram was a votary of non-violence, but he has fondly described in appreciating terms the story of Sajan who attained salvation through his work as a butcher. Elsewhere he has exclaimed with distress, "O God! What could be the fate

tr36

Eknath's household, who became an untouchable servant for Damaji [4], who

helped Janabai, maidservant, in

work, helped

the household Sajan the

butcher too with the same

who plants it may not be able to eat its fruits. Still one must plant the tree and take care of it lovingly. Karmayoga means

planting the tree without expecting anything in return.

Bhaktiyoga means getting attached to God with love and devotion. Karmayoga and bhaktiyoga combine together in rajayoga. Rajayoga has been defined by different people in different ways. I wouid like

to define it as a beautiful combination of knrmayoga arrd bhaktiyoga.

love. The moral is that all our activities should be linked to Him, dedicated to Him. Acts

I Work has to be done, but ' its fruit is not to be thrown of service done with pure '. away; it should rather be heart and noble thoughts are ' dedicated to God. Discarding ' the fruit implies that it essentially a form of yajna. ' deserves to be rejected. But Dedication of the fruit of . dedication of the fruit of . actions to the Lord is actions to the Lord This is the special teaching

of the Ninth Chapter. In this Chapter, there is a fascinating confluence of karmayoga and bhaktiyoga. Karmayoga means

doing work and renouncing its fruit. Work should be done with such ingenuity that the mind remains untouched by attachment to its fruit. It is like planting a walnut tree. The wabnut tree takes twenty five years to bear fruit. One

. something very different. It . indicates an extremely . beautiful state of the mind. . Even if we renounce the fruit, . it is not that nobody will have . it; somebody is bound to get . it. Questions like the . recipient's fitness may then . arise. If a beggar comes to our . door, we say, "You are strong . and stout. It does not behove . you to beg. Get lost." We sit . in judgment over the

There is no such thing in anyone's life as an unimportant day. - Alexander Woollcott Akhand Jyoti tvtarcn-April 2011

justification for his begging. The poor fellow feels ashamed. There is no trace of fellow-feeling in our hardened heart. How can we then have the right judgment about the fellow?

Whenlwasachild, Ihad expressed the same doubt to my mother. Her answer is still

ringing io

I had told her about a beggar, "This ears.

beggar seems to be strong and

stout. To give alms to such a encourage indolence and bad habits." I also quoted a verse from the

person will GIta,

D eshe knle cha

patre cha [5].

She said, "That beggar was the Lord Himself. Keep it in

mind and then judge His worthiness. Would you rate God as undeserving? In fact, what right have we got to judge his worthiness? I see no need to think any more. To me, he is the Lord and that is all." I have not yet found a fitting reply to what she said. We judge the worthiness of others when it is a question of feeding others, but when it

comes

to filling our own

bellies, the thought of fitness never crosses our mind. Why

coming to our doors as just a

The fruit of action should be utilized for purifying the mind. Dedicate the actions to

wretched beggar? Why should we not look upon him as the Lord Himself?

God irrespective of their quality, as and when they take

"Isn't it true that somebody is bound to enjoy the fruit of your actions? So better offer it to the Lord. Dedicate it to Him." Rajayoga points out where the fruit of actions should ideally lie. Here, there is no negative action of giving up the fruif and as it has to be dedicated to the Lord, the question of judging the fitness of the recipient is also resolved. Whatever is offered to the Lord is always pure. Even if your actions are flawed, they will become pure the moment they reach His hands. Howsoever we may try, our actions are bound to have some flaws. Nevertheless we should try our best to act with the utmost possible purity. Intellect is God-given. It is our duty to keep it as pure as possible. Not to do so is a crime. So we must judge the fitness of the recipient. But if we look upon the world as a manifestation of God, it is Rajnyoga says,

easier

to make the right

judgment.

should we regard the man

place. The mind should thereby be continuously strengthened and purified. The fruit of work is not to be thrown away; it should be dedicated to Him. Dedicate to the Lord your desires and longings; even the passions and tendencies like anger that arise in the mind, and then have nothing to do with them. '

Knm kr o dh anmhi a ahil a it theli m'

(We have dedicated to the Lord our passions and anger.) Here is no question of

mortifying the flesh.

Just dedicate everything to Him and be free of it. Nothing else needs to be done. There is no need for any suppression or straining oneself to the breaking po rnt.'

Ro g j ay

dudhen

sankhare, tari nimb ka piyaaa'

('It

milk and sugar can cure the disease, why should one take bitter neemjuice?') The sense-organs too are means (for realizing Him). Dedicate them to the Lord. People complain that they have no control over what they hear. Should we then

All men who have achieved grea - Orison Swett Marden Akhand Jyoti

March-Aprit 2011

37D

Govardhan hill on His Iittle finger, asking the cowherds tb join with

refuse to hear anything? Not at all. We must hear. But let

us hear only the edifying stories of the Lord. It is difficult to give up hearing moreover more desirable and beneficial, to turn the ears to

something worth hearing. Lend your ears to the Lord. Name. The sense-organs are not your enemies. They are good and useful. They possess

merchant and get from him hundi (a sort of demand draft) in the name

rajayoga means.

of a merchant of another place, which the latter would honour. Once some mischievous persons suggested Narsi's name for the purpose to some pilgrims. Narsi gave them hundi on Dwarka in the name of Lord Krishna.

(To be continued)

lReproduced with kind permission of Paramdham Publication, Pavnar from Chapter 9 of 'Talks on The Gita'by Sant Vinoba Bhave, 15ft edition (fan 2005)l

.4.

Damaji, a devotee of Lord

Pandurang, was The presiding deity of the heaven

2. Indra thereupon furious and

became

caused incessant rains. The child Krishna then lifted the

government official. Once, during a famine, he threw open the doors of the

government granary to the people. Sultan, on knowing it, got furious and ordered Damaji to

I paint objects as I think them, not as I see them.

tr38

Sultan's court

and

deposited the money. Charity should be given at the right place, at the right

time, and to the right person, as a matter of duty, without expecting any return. Such charity is

said to be sattaik. - Gita

pilgrimage used to deposit excess money with some

way is to take work from them in a spirit of dedication to the Lord. This is what

form of an untouchable servant, went to the

) Narsi Mehta was a poetsaint of Gujarat in the medieval period. In those days, people on

great capabilities. The royal

Notes:

amount. It is said that the Lord thereupon took the

their staffs supporting the hilt. All the people and the cattle in the village took shelter under the hill and were saved from Indra's wrath.

altogether, but it is easier, and

Use your mouth to chant His

deposit the necessary

77.20

Sufi Saint Rabiya used to keep a piece of burning coal and a potfull of water near her place of worship. These were important symbols for herthat,

in her own words, used to remind her that she has to dissolve her personal desires in water and bum her ego in fire, because these two are the

major hurdles in the way to self-realization. The visitors used to be surprised hearing

this explanation from

her.

Once some people asked her: '\rou are such a great devotee and saintty persn how could

there be any fauh or blemish in you, which you want to dissolve or bum?" Rabiya's

response was: "The day I would regard myself as free from allflaws and infirmities, what to talk about sainthood, I won't even remain worthy of being called a human."

pablo picasso Akhand Jyoti

March.Aprit 2011

Yoea Theranv - 20

Thedment of Gsll*ones With Yogo In the previous issue of this series, yogic therapy of kidney stones was discussed. In the present issue, stones of the gall bladder and yogic therapy of this disease shall be discussed.

Gall bladder is a small pouch-like organ located right below the liver. The bile juices that are released by the liver first accumulate temporaiilyinthegal1btadder.Bilejuicesare helpful in digestion of fat. So, till there is a need for digestion of fat, bile juices remain accumulated in gall bladder. When food reaches small intestine, the bile juices are released by the gall bladder to digest the food.

Problem of stones When bile juice solidifies inside gall bladder, it turns into a solid crystal: This stone

is a cause for stone formation. Almost 40 percent patients of this disease are men. Maximum patients are found in the western

hemisphere. Every year ten lakh new patients get affected by this disease there. About seven

lakh of

these patients

undergo Cholecystectomy, in which the gall bladder is surgically removed by operation. But this also does not solve the problem. Instead, the problem becomes more complex. In western countries this complexity is continuously increasing. The occurrence of this disease is growing in our country also due to consumption of excessive fat-rich food and adoption of disorderly life styles.

Causes of stones

is composed of bilirubin, bile particles,

The causes behind formation of gallstones

cholesterol etc. In USA,90% of the gall bladder stones are due to cholesterol and are formed

are very complex and are difficult to comprehend. However, some important causes

because of excess consumption of food rich

are listed below:

in fats. Gallstones cause inflammation in gall bladder, or if the stone gets stuck in the gall tube it can cause unbearable pain. At times, the presence of these stones may become a matter of life and death. This disease mostly occurs in women who have crossed the age of forty. Obese people

are also affected by this disease because cholesterol levels are high in their body, which I

1,. Imbalance in cholesterol, phospholipids and bile crystals.

2. .9.

Due to obesity and old age increase in bile juices

Reduction in release of bile salts and phospholipids

.4.

First release of juice and then formation of crystals

saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.

Akhand Jyoti

naarcn-Aprit 2ol1

Michelangelo 39tr

Formation of viscous liquid in gallbladder,

composed from cholesterol crystals, calcium billirubinate and mucoprotein 6.

Accumulation of bile within the gall bladder due to irregularity in work. Black stones in gal bladder occur due to hemolysis and cirrhosis

bladder has to release a lot of bile juice to digest the consumed fat. Other symptoms of this disease are - fever, excess sweating, vomiting, constipation, diarrhea, discharge of thick phlegm from nose. Sometimes the pain migrates to right shoulder too. In some of the patients even when gall bladder is surgically rem,Jved, the pain keeps reappearing as earlier.

Whitish stones in bile ducts occur due to bacterial infection

Yogic Treatment of Gall Bladder Stones The yogic treatment of gallstones is very

There are several other similar causes of gallstones. The possibility of occurrence of the

similar to that of kidney stones. For prevention of repeated formation of stones and for taking out small old stones or stone powder, yogic

disease

is higher under the following

circumstances. This disease mostly depends upon the nature of food consumed. Obese people who consume low calorie diet are quite susceptible to this disease. Other possible causes are diabetes, Crohn's disease, cystic fibrosis, cirrhosis and complications due to old age in women. Lack of fibrous vegetables in

food, and excess intake of refined food containing a lot of starch increase manifold chances of this disease. Dehydration and malnutrition also can further increase the disease. Lack of physical exercise is another

important factor.

Symptoms of gallstones In some people no symptoms of this disease are exhibited. The stones are found only when they get ultrasound examination done. Some people continuously complain of pain in the upper right part of the abdomen, just below the rib cage. The pain increases after eating food. When oily food is eaten the pain becomes unbearable. This is because the gall

practices can prove to be a very effective solution.

Snrya Namaskat - Perform one or two rounds as per capacity.

Asans - Asans are a very effective method for prevention of formation of stones. Using Asans, blocked Prdnic flow can be reactivated and maintained by applying a definite pressure at the affected regions. Asans that prevent formation of stones and are most effective are - Tikngtaxn, Vnjrasan group of asans (Vajrasan, Marjarrasan, Vyaghrasan, Supt-Vajrasan, Ushtrdsan, Shashank-bhuj angasan), T ddasan, T iry akT addsan,

Kati-Chakrasan, Udar akarp a(tasan,

Shalabhasan, Chakr dsan, Ar dh-matsy endr dsan,

N aukasan, Ar dhap adma-P

chimo

an as an,

Ardhapadma-Halasan, Merudandasan,

HansAsnn, Mayurasan,

Kilrmasan,

Daipadshirsasan etc.

Imagination will otten carry us to worlds that never were. But without it we qo nowhere. - Garl sagan tr40

Akhand Jyoti

March-April 2011

These Asans must be chosen under an expert

Other acid producing items like maida, cake, chowmein, Maggi noodles, junk foods, packed food etc. should be avoided. Stop consuming tomatoes and spinach immediately. These increase the quantity of oxalic acid in the body and that increases the rate of stone formation. Excess of salt

advice and must be performed as per individual capacity.

Prapayam

This disease can also be cured by Prapayam. Nadi shodhan and Bhastrika Prapayam should be carried out with

the disease in an indirect manner and should be done in combination with other groups of asans. bandhs. Prapayam cure

4. Mudra

and Bandh

Practice of Pashtnt-

mudr a, Y o g-mudr a, V ajroli-mudra and Sahjtat-

mudrd help cure this disease. Mnl-bandh

makes the urine more viscous, so avoid salt.

Drink a lot of water. In summer consume at least 20 glasses a day.

Shatkriya - Agnisar kriya and Nault - do these every day. These stop the formation of stones. Every week also do Laghushnnkltpr nksh al an and P m n a -Shnnkltpr aksh alan.

Shithiltknrap- Stones lead to stress and stress leads to acidity. To prevent this, practice Yog-nidra and Shauasan so that the disease does not grow.

Food

- Taking complete, well-balanced and fresh natural food is more beneficial in attaining good health. Fruits, fruit juices and light boiled pithy vegetables make urine alkaline. Stone formations are more when the urine is acidic in nature and its alkaline nature stops stone formation. So avoid consumption of acidic foods and consume more alkaline foods.

Fasts are the perfect rernedies for

cleansed

Other important suggestions 1. Walk every day, especially after meals in the evening. 2.

At least once or twice a week exercise till sweating.

In four glasses of water soak lemon-grass. Their dissolved juices, when consumed daily, are beneficial in all kinds of stones.

Skin of horse-gram (kulathi) should be soaked overnight in water, and the water should be consumed in the morning.

Dhyan - Meditation is also very effective in the prevention of this disease. Ajapa-jap and Nad-yog are beneficial.

all diseases. On the day of fast drink a lot of water. This reinvigorates the slowed down urinary system and gets drained and

Uddiyan bandh should also be practiced.

Fasting

5. Powder of the roots of horse radish (sahjan)

should be soaked in water overnight. In the morning filter out the powder and drink the water. Similarly, large raisins (munslckn) could be soaked overnight and its water could be taken in the morning.

It is possible to fight this

rIt ls is tne the eye ol of agnorance ignorance that assigns

disease

by yogic

therapy and diet control.

a fixed and unchangeable color to every

object; beware of thic stumbling block.- paul Gauguin

Akhand Jyoti

tvtarcn-Aprit2o1i

Amrit Vani

Infinite |oy of Finding o Guru & Doing Upasana - 2 (Translation of a series of discourses by Pandit Shriram Sharma Acharya on the topic "Sddhana Mein Prrl4a A Jaye tu Kamala Ho Jdye"continued from the previous issue)

Why Boredom in _n

upasanq (

purpose. You go here and there with them, go to the

virtues and powers; even

cinema, hotel, park, shopping,

Friends, Most of you complain that your mind does not get focused during upasana. It keeps wandering in agility and you can't concentrate it. In short, your mind finds it boring and dull. It hurts me when I hear this from almost all of you who come here for the sadhana courses. Why

should that happen? There must be something seriously wrong in your approach otherwise how is it possible that your mind which enjoys so many other things does not

like doing

upasana?

When some of your dear friends or dear relatives meet you, you are so happyl You don't mind taking 'off' from the office, you even send false sick-leave application for this

etc. Your mind is upbeat

sight of whose smile, a tiniest bit of whose grace has beatified so many lives and has elevated so many to the

you get an opportunity io shake hands with a celebrity or some dignified officer, meeting whom is likely to

divine realms! Your mind wanders away from 'sitting near' Him? It sounds ironical.

bring you favors. Your mind ea

gerly

awa

Possible Reasons of

such

Dullness:

opportunity. Then how is it possible that it does not want to meet the Supreme Self, the Almighty Himself? (As you know upasana means sitting near Cod, it gives you an opportunity to meet Him). I just can't believe it! It puzzles me that one would not be keen to meet the Omniscient, Omnipotent! Are you telling the truth? What you said? "Yes", without any hitch you

The only possibility I can

think of this irony is that

your mind does

not

said so! My dear, I am

understand the meaning and purpose of upasana, you have not been able to convey to or convince it properly, or there is something basically wrong in your approach to spiritual endeavors of upasana. This all amounts to one fact that your upasana is only'mechanical', it has no life. I think this is the

surprised to hear that.

root of all your complaints

about instability God is imbibed with infi nite love, mercy, bliss,

and

in upasand. It is natural for human mind that disturbances

Far away in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see the beauty, believe in them and try to follow where they lead. - Louisa May Alcott

n42

Akhand Jyoti

March-April 2011

it finds dullness in doing the same monotonous action without any'entertainment' or interesting or inspiring instinct. (That way there is hardly any physical action in updsanA - except carrying some ritual of worship and then sitting with closed eyes). Yorr updsana- is devoid of prana that can motivate your mind; it lacks the emotional depth that

will

engross your mind.

Your upasana is dull and boring for your mind, because it has no touch of emotional soothing and hence no source of joy; it has no inspiration of thoughts; it is lifeless without the zeal of your prana. Therefore I say it is dead, it is only a skeleton or an illusion of updsana. You carry the

'burden' of this corpse of upasand and feel frustrated, as

you 'gain' nothing from this tiresome effort. How will your mind get interested in it? How will you get any success?

the Holy Scriptures, follow ceremonial rituals but, by and large, things would remain the same unless your mind and heart are engrossed in the feeling of updsanq. Your superficial attempt of upasana is nothing more than a routine

exercise for the body; your cramming of devotional song and chants are only a fine twisting of the tongue. Dear child! Don't expect great benefits from such mechanical upasana, else you may feel despaired.

There is No Short-Cut: It is amusing that most people expect quick success in

the spiritual field. Everyone thinks that the guru can do some magic and provide great

things in return of their rituals of upasana. You come here, cry before me and request "Curu

ji,

please make my mind interested in upasanil" How can I control your mind, that too as and when you want? How would this be possible?

You may spend long hours

in this illusory attempt and continue this daily 'chore'

every day, but

achieve nothing, as your approach is wrong. You may sing bhnjans and read and recite texts from

When nothing else in the world can be gained without adequate efforts why do you expect some magic sort of things and short-cuts in the field of spirituality?

Suppose you fall

ill, will

you get well if I take the prescribed medication on your

behalf? If you are thin and weak and want to become a wrestler, will you expect that guru ji would go to the gym, practice heavy physical workout and make you stout? Obviously not! Even a schoolgoing kid would know that if I go to the gym and do the exercises, I would get stronger. However, by no means would I be able to 'transmit' my physical strength, my bodyweight to you. Tell me the method? On which principle such things would work? You want to pass 8.A., M.A. and request someone to study for it. Maybe you request me to study on your behalf. Fine! Suppose I take admission in your college and study hard. Then suppose I write the exam and get excellent marks. So what? It won't get you the desired degree certificate. How is it possible that someone else could be a proxy for you in every phase of life as per your will?

Blessings Alone Will Not Do: You want me to eat lavish food, dry-fruits, etc and bless

What can be added to the happiness of a man who is in good health, out of debt, and has a clear conscience? - Adam Smith 43tr Akhand Jyoti vtarcn-April 2011

i.j

i:.

:: =

; E

i: : |.

you for vigorous health! Maybe, my body would get

stronger but how would my blessings transfer that effect to you? That way, I could also bless you even without consuming all that stuff. If blessings alone can do all the wonders then why would anyone worry about doing anything at all in this world? You may think your Guruji is so powerful and endowed

with spiritual faculties that he can do anything. Okay! So you

want him to do all-the sddhand, take

all the pains of

self-restraint and penance and bestow the siddhis, the divine blessings upon you? Why? Is

this what blessings of the guru are meant for? Is this what you expect? For you blessings are natural means for transferring the fruits of someone else's hard work to you! Then why should there be your existence? Let someone else live and enjoy on your behalf? Why there were laws of Nature and what was the need for any orderliness in any system here? Blessings of an eminent spiritual master would have taken care of everything!

If this were true that just by moving the tongue and uttering some words (as blessings) then maybe I will sit on a high stage in the forthcoming "Kumbha Mela" (grand religious congregation) in Haridwar. Nearly four million devotees are expected to attend this Mela. I will do an anusthdna sddhana (to energize my tongue and hence make my blessings more powerful). I will then use loudspeakers and bless all the participants

that they all

become millionaires; the millionaires should become billionaires.

of a child in nine months; let there be a 'magic' of blessings.

Such baseless things you expect to happen? "No"! Then, why do you come to me with similar kinds of illogical, crazy wishes? Why do you dream of the impossible and the unjust

to take place? Why do you want me to bless you with something you don't deserve?

Why do you expect things to happen against the law of Nafure, against the system of the world? M/hy do you want your guru to utter lies and makebogus claims in the name of blessings? Do you think a child could be bom only in four

Money is the major

months? Then how could

concern of people these days.

anything else, which is illogical,

They always want a guru to bless them with enormous wealth. Another request with which they often go to the guru is that of being blessed by a son or several sons. So I will also bless all the four millions that they all have four sons at least. Not only that, as they have come to the Kumbha Mela, they might expect (as you all do!) some miracles. Well, maybe, I will bless that their sons be born only in four months. Forget the norrnal duration for birth

unnatural, or impossible, happen because of a blessing?

So come out of

all

the

mindless expectations, fanatic

aspirations and emotional excitements.

Tty

understand what I am repeatedly trying to explain to

you - the principle of siddhi through sddhand is universal, but you have to do the sadhana yourself; you will have to first become deserving only then

the divine blessings will shower upon you.

lf it's very painful for you to criticize your friends - you're safe in doing it. But if you take the slightest pleasure in it, that's the time to hold your tongue. - Alice Duer Miller n44 Akhand Jyoti March-Aprit 2011

The Correct Approach: There is only one purpose

upasand and that is cleansing of the inner self. Removal of the vices, untoward tendencies and negative rmpressrons assimilated in the mental domain, in the convictions and desires. It is not easy. But there could be no spiritual progress without it. You

cannot augment

your

worthiness without sincere endeavors of updsana. If you could follow it, you will not have to worry about blessings. Divine tendencies would naturally enter and assimilate in your mind, your inner self, as you progress it in this endeavor. The first thing you need to

do to induce 'life' in your upqsana is thorough introspeciion and sincere

attempt to uproot

the

blemishes. Try to improve and inspire your rnind that this will lead to immense joy in upasana. Once you

determine and firmly endeavor to cleanse your inner self and chisel your personality, things won't be

so hard. As the

selfpurification progresses, the

virtuous tendencies, divine inspirations begin to surface. You may think these are blessings from above by the grace of Almighty. My child! The grace of the Almighty is always there; you miss it, as you are not well prepared. There is nothing magical in ihe elevation, enlightenment and empowerment experienced

with adept

powers to grace us as per our capacity. Their nature is - to give. We should have the empty space (worthiness) to retain their generous gifts. The divine forces as well as devilish forces are active in Nature. They are attracted in

their own ways towards compatible antennae at the receiving end. We have to check what kind of receiving sensors we have.

endeavors of

upqsand. Nothing is bestowed

I I O1\4 SHANTT I

it is awakened from within. Recall the example of rainfall! The

The Pandavas went to the Gurukul of Dronacharya for education. All the disciples

from above;

clouds don't come from the higher pianes to shower the rains. They are the result of

were hard working and used to remember their lessons well. Yudhishthir also was a

evaporation of the sea- water, the fruits of the tapa (penance) and generosity of the sea!

could not proceed further for several days f rom one

good student but he somehow

particular lesson. When questioned by the Guru, he

Experience

divine

gtace, inculcation of virtuous

qualities by invocation of divinity (through devout upas ana

after self-purification)

is a natural process. If you take a deep breath, your lungs

will be filled by air to their full capacity. Air is pervading all around in earth's atmosphere; it is its nature to fill the ernpty space. Similarly, it is the nature of divine

explained

"Honorable

Master! I have got stuck in the

first sentence itself, viz., satyam yad (Speak the Truth). Ever since I have read these words my mind is engrossed

in thinking about their assimilation in life. Untill I inculcate this lesson in my character, in my life, it won't be true learning and lwon't be able to proceed to the next lesson". These words were indeed lived

by him and made his life a glorious symbol of Truth.

I like dreams of the future better than the history of the past. - Thomas..lefferson Akhand Jyoti

naarcrr-Aprit 2011

45tr

Whot is the Source

of Immense Power? Sitting near the fire warms and protects us even in harsh winter. Fire spreads the heat in its surrounding area. That way, our body also has heat in it. The heat inside could be experienced in the expired breath. The clothes we wear also become warm by the heat of the body. This effect is more noticeable during winter by touching the clothes that we are

going to wear and the ones we cast-off. Wearing woolen clothes in winter protects the emission of body's heat outside and thus helps keeping the body at natural temperature. The body-system also possesses many other kinds of energies in it. But most prominent, intense and radiant of the powers a human being is endowed with is the thought-power.

The thought-power and willpower are generated in the mind. Numerous mindboggling examples of the immensity and trenchancy of these mental powers are available in the history of mankind. Paragons are born by awakening of these hidden sources

of inner force. Many demonstrations of willpower are recorded in the different parts of the world; some are even entered in the Guinness Book of World Records; these often appear miraculous to the masses. While most of us might have experienced willpower as the strength of determination, only few would know that thought-power and willpower are manifestations of the same subliminal force of the higher mind and are implicitly the same. Mental concentration is an effect as well as a generator of this power. Every impulse of

mind is also a refection of this power; enlightened and deep thoughts are more evolved expressions of this power, which is also regarded by the modern researchers of metaphysics and parapsychology as a source for deciphering the extrasensory psychic force. The American Society for Psychic Power, the Parapsychology Lab of the Duke University and several other research institutes of global repute have collected and reviewed many authentic examples that signify the importance of the willpower or thought-power. The amazing demonstrations of willpower of Red Cereus were widely published in the newspapers and magazines of the USA in the early 20th century. Using the focused force of his thought-power, Isaac Borne of Spain had helped in locating the ships submerged and lost in the gigantic depths of the Pacific Ocean about three-four decades back when no other expertise or technological advancement could provide any clue. All the supramental talents of this kind including clairvoyance, precognition, telepathy, etc, are expressions of the thought-power or the willpower. At times this power is expressed as a supernatural potential of the physical body, but its origin is always rooted in the subtle cores of the mental body. Most of us define and experience thoughts as the language of the conscious mind and

regard thought-power as the impact of thoughts on intellectual perceptions and activities. Its inherent equivalence with

People of little understanding are most apt to called into question. - Samuel Richardson Akhand Jyoti

Hlarcn-Aprit 2011

willpower may therefore be difficult for us to visualize. We should note here that every vibration, every perception and expression of the mind (the conscious mind, the intellect, as well as the inner mind) is a thought. This is how emotion is regarded as a higher order thought and willpower as a sublime expression of the thought-power. Willpower could also be generated by intense control and focussing of elevated thought-power. Once awakened, the willpower or force of intrinsic inspiration can help activating the otherwise dormant folds

of mind and thus induce intellectual and emotional evolution. History of mankind has witnessed its miraculous impact in transmuting dullards into eminent scholars, preposterous fools into distinguished talents.

How and from where does this power emerge? It is hidden in the subliminal cores of our minds. Human mind is indeed a majestic bequest of the Supreme Creator. Flowever advanced it may be, no super-computer of the world could ever equal the Nature,s masterpiece - the human brain. Even the perceivable faculties of mind reflected in wisdom, intellectual and creative talents, memory, eloquence, etc are unlimited; then what to say about its preeminent inner powers? It is a pity that we, the intelligent beings, use only a negligible fraction of this infinite treasure hidden in our own self. Moreover, whatever fraction of this power we are able to awaken, we spend (or rather waste!)

it only in earning and gathering comforts for the physical body and in worthless ego-driven activities and passions.

As the Sun spreads the heat and light in all directions, our mind also continuously emits energy radiations in the cosmos through the

medium of thoughts, emotions, desires, determinations, inspirations etc. Every human

being thus inadvertently influences - even without saying or visibly doing anything- the ambience and hence many others around him via these mental radiations.

' What induces radiance and force in the . thoughts? If the answer is to be crypt, it would . be -- the spiritual light and inner force of ' emotions pertaining to noble ideals. OnIy the ' elevated and enlightened emotions of this kind . can inspire the flow of virtuous and trenchant . thoughts. The altruist sentiments, piety of . character and eminence of endeavors of great ' souls generate corresponding thought waves ' and thus bestow enormously more benefits . upon the world than the noted contributions . of their visible deeds. presence such ' sentiments and mental purity inof other ' (ordinary) people also contributes, though . invisiblp in the refinement of the subtle world . by cornbining with compatible thought waves in proportion to their strength and intensity. The same is true of the negative effects of the untoward or debased thoughts. The firm

determination and extreme negative psychology of the demonic minds, dreaded criminals and terrorists etc make the impressions of their perverse thoughts, scandalous intellectual sharpness quite intense and dense. People with weaker mental rnakeup are often easily influenced by their thought waves. At times, the resonance of collective thought waves of similar kinds makes them powerful even if they are individually infirm; for example, this is what is happening with erotic thinking these days. \Mhat kinds of thought waves influence one

and to what extent? This depends upon what

Arways oear In mlno Inat your owR resolution to succeeO is more imFortint Alwaysbea@ a l-L ^-- -r . Akhand Jyoti

am Lincoln trlarcn-Aprit 2011

.: -.

r a:

:: ii:

= i.

his mind is prepared for and what are its own

intrinsic inclinations and aspirations. Radio stations or satellite sites broadcast/transmit varieties of programs, but our radio or television sets receive only those for which they are set/tuned. Our minds are also like antennae or receiving stations for thought waves they are naturally tuned to or vigorously trained for. Good people with alert mind feel sorne kjnd of repulsion from cruel, cunning or debased people; whereas the magnetism of morally ptrre, elevated and kindhearted personalities often athacts them. Contrary is the case with people having mental vices, evil characters or perverse tendencies. All of the infinitely many kinds of thought waves floating in the subliminal layers of the cosmic expansion may touch every mental body at some point of time, but athact or influence only those that are sensitive or receptive to them or have compatible nature. Unstable (agile), dormant and weak minds do not have any firm tuning and are therefore easily influenced by any kind of

thought waves that have strong force of attraction. The social norms and governmmtal laws may constrain the conduct and visible deeds of a person. But everyone is totally free in the unlimited expanse of mental creations, imaginations, thoughts, feelings, etc. This is why most of us don't care for the immense capabilities and impact of the hidden powers of mind and the inner self. The shnstric concept (affirmation) of mental pdpa (sins) and punya (noble, ethical deeds) should serve as a timely warning for us. The kinds of imaginations and thoughts one's mind is inclined to, or is often engrossed in, determine and influence his attitude, mental tendencies and hence his actions because of the compounding effect of the thought waves of coherent quality. Thought power is like fire or

electricity, which should be used wisely and cautiously; little carelessness may cause havoc in the subtle world and eventually give rise to equally hazardous consequences in the visible realms of life.

used wisely and constructively, the thought power like the thermal, electrical or nuclear powers, could prove to be a boon for the individuals as well as for the society and the world. The treasure of this natural bequest grows with sagacious use. If instead of preserving, guarding and expandhg it, we drain out this wealth haphazardly or let it be misused by evil instincts, we would be the culprits, the sinful destroyers of our present as well as the

future lives. When we use our materialistic possessions and resources so intelligently, then why should not we do the same for the precious

mental property? The currents of our thought waves srrbliminally create our worlds. Our thoughts inspire and direct our ascent or descent. What kind of thought waves our minds are sensitized to also depends upon the quality and depth of our own thoughts.

We should therefore be aware and alert

about what we are thinking, imagining, aspiring for, or emotionally engrossed in. If untoward thoughts are allowed to occupy our mind and are let free to spread their roots, we

are, unknowingly, inviting

ill future for

ourselves. It will therefore be better that we let only constructive, sane thoughts enter our

minds. Cultivation of positive thinking, engrossed reading or listening and contemplation over elevated thoughts, and training the mind to invoke the corresponding thought waves are the keys to progressive and blissful present, a brighter future and sublime transmutation of the human self.

A man only becomes wise when he begins to of his ignorance. - Gian Carlo Menotti tr48 Akhand Jyoti

March-Aprit 2011

Shantikuni News

The Blazing Torch of Yugrishi Flored High on YugVosant Yug Vasant Program at Shantikunj,

station, etc. There were L2 lhankis (live

Haridwar The birth centenary celebrations kickstarted with ,r touching and enchanting

exhibitions of different campaigns undertaken by the Mission), 50 two-wheelers, 55 fourwheelers, 100 eco-cycles and about 3000 parijans

prograrn orgarrrzed on Yug Vasant (February 6 to 8, 2011) - the auspicious spiritual birthday of Param Poojya Gurudev, Pandit

in the rally. The slogans of the Mission like

Shriram Sharma Acharya. Whosoever witnessed the faith-filled enthusiasm and joy of parijans on this occasion, expressed his

experience in words like - Wonderful! Marvelous! Unprecedented! Unforgettable! Historic! Etc. Shantikunj campus was decorated like a bride. Flowers, garlands, flower pots, electrical and other decorative materials were used profusely. Rangolis were painted in front of all the homes and the roads in the campus.

February 6,2011: The centenary program commenced with a grand rally on this day that started from Shantikunj. At 11.30 AM Revered Shait Jiji and Dr Pranav Pandya performed Kalash Pujan and also offered their obeisance to Poojya Gurudev and Vandaniya Mataji and then waved the green flag to start the rally. After about three hours, the rally reached its destination, Bhalla College in Haridwar via Bharat Mata Mandir, Pawan Dham Bhimgoda,

Chandichowk, Lalitarao Bridge, railway

'Hum badlenge, yug badlega; hum sudherenge, yug sudhrega' (Meaning - Self-transformation will

lead to the transformation of society; selfrefinement will lead to global refinement.) echoed throughout the journey of rally. The rally was extremely peaceful, disciplined and well-organized. February 7,2011:24-hour - Akhand lapa (Continuous recitation of Gayatri Mantra) was performed in the Sadhana Hall of Shantikunj one day prior to Vasant Parva (i. e. from 6

on February 7 to 6 AM February 8). In the evening of 7,h February, Naayug Deepotsaa (Festival of lights symbolizing the welcome of the New Era) was performed and Senior Sadhaks (who have fuIly dedicated themselves to the Mission over a very long time) were honored. Among them are respected Sri Veereshwar Upadhyay, Sri Kesri Kapil, Sri Sharad Pardhi, Sri Gourishankar Sharma, Sri Ramprakash Pandey, Sri Kalicharan Sharma, Dr Brijmohan Gour, etc. These senior parijans, along with Revered Dr Pranav Pandya, expressed their views on 'An extraordinary

Fear not for the future, weep not for the past. - percy Bysshe shelley Akhand Jyoti

tvtarcrr-Aprit 2011

49tr

experiment on collective spiritual sadhanain the

context of Poojya Gurudev,s life,. Dr. pandya emphasized the need for becomin g the ,Anga_

. from all the units of Gayatri pariwar across . the globe. The participation of the general . public in the local celebrations, be they rallies

(literaliy meaning the body organs) of . 1c,n 6'n February) or Akhand lapa and Naayug Poojya Gurudev,, implying getting involved '. Deepotsaa (on Z.h) or yagya on grh , was much wholeheartedly in this hour of transition . beyond expectation. The success of this period, when the new era of peace, harmony . decentralized program gives a clear signal that and happiness is ushering in for the good of . divine powers are ready for usheringih" ,r"* all humanity. . era - there is only one pre-requisite _ now we . should become the self-less messengers of the February 8,2011: Revered Shail liji and Dr . message of Acharyashri. Pranav Pandya performed pujan of poojya Curudev, Vandaniya Mataji, Mother Gayatri, . EkSham Guruvar ke Naam(An evening and Goddess Saraswati and then addressed a . dedicated to poojya Gurudev) mammoth gathering. parijans from all over A grand program of Bhajan Sandhya (pragya India had gathered on this occasion. More than songs dedicated to poojya Gurudev) titled ,Ek hundred parijans from countries like USA, Sham Guruaar ke Naam,on the evening of Canada, UK, Russia, Nepal, etc also February 20,2017, was organi zed at the newly participated in this program. On the same day, constructed auditorium in DSW. After the live Revered Jiji and Dr Sahib initiated 1250 new performance of Naad yog Music, Shri Gulam parijans into Gayatri Mantra Deekshq.In the Askari Ieti ( a member of DSW) presented a evening, a grand Deep yagya was conducted thought provoking poem _ "Maangoon jab by Brahmavadini sisters of Shantikunj, in which naram knbhi, dena sau-sau knnm guru,, ( When I 24,000 Deepaks were lit around 'prakhar pragya ask for rest, "O Gurudev,, give me 100 tasks). - Sajal Shraddha'(Symbolic monuments of Revered Dr Pranav pandya gave introduction Poojya Gurudev and Vandaniya Mataji). Every of each and every pragya song that was hand present there carried a lit candle . Deep presented in the program. He also mentioned yagya continued and the participants kept on that the reason why the Delhi program was giving their Bhaa Ahutis (offerings of warm postponed was due to,'Adrushya jagat se gurudea feelings). The rare divine ambience prevailing ki lila" that we fail to understand, by quoting during this duration cannot be described in the rainy weather in Delhi on that day. The ^ words. Full three-hour recording of the program,,Ek Sham Guruaar ke Naam', can now be watched Global Celebrations online at: The Yug Vasant Celebrations were not limited to Shantikunj only, but the reports of such grand celebrations have been received aaayaaa

Itisath tr50

have education without common sense. Robert

Akhand Jyoti Marcn-Aptl 2011

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lntensive Centenary Mantra Lekhan Sadhana (writing of Gayatri Mantra) is in progress. The first batch of participants will cornplete this sadhana on 12'h April, 2A11. The second session of another 40 days will start on 13th April; and this series of Mantra Lekhan Sadhana sessions will continue upto 10'n November,2A11 .

J. This year Gayatri Jayanti {June 11, 12,2*11i is planned to be celebrated as a Dhyan Parva {Festival of meditation}" The details of this program will be given in h4ay-June issue of this rnagazine. The details of celebrating Guru Paornima Parva {July 15-'!7, ?011) - A festivalof faith and surrenderof the dil.;lple t* his spiritual master, will also be given in ihe salne issue.

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By the time this issue reaches your hands, Purnahuti af eenbnary Sadhana Atlahapurushaharana would have been completed. But the partici pants shou ld cCInti nue their reg ular worship.

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