The Vedanta Kesari – May 2021 Issue

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The

Vedanta Kesari

Cover Story

Lokamata Janaki page 11

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`15

A Cultural and Spiritual Monthly of the Ramakrishna Order since 1914

M ay 2021

May 2021

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The Vedanta Kesari

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का ते कान्ता कस्ते पुत्रः संसारोऽयमतीव विचित्रः । कस्य त्वं कः कुत आयातस्तत्त्वं चिन्तय तदिह भ्रातः ॥ ८ Who is your wife? Who is your son?

Exceedingly strange is this samsara.

Of whom are you? From where have you come?

O brother, ponder over these truths here.

14 May – Akshaya Tritiya

— Bhaja Govindam, Sri Shankaracharya

17 May – Sri Shankara Jayanti 26 May – Buddha Purnima

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The Vedanta Kesari

A Cultural and Spiritual Monthly of The Ramakrishna Order

CONTENTS

108

th

Year

of

Publication

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Vol. 108, No. 5 ISSN 0042-2983

MAY 2021

Lokamata Janaki Sulini V Nair

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FEATURES Lessons from Swamis

Akshay Kumar Sen Dr. Ruchira Mitra

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Ca

lls

Swami Vivekananda and the Concept of Freedom in Indian Culture Swami Bhajanananda A Tale of Two Contests Gitanjali Murari Po

ck

et

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Wh

les

en

Ta

Go

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8 Atmarpanastuti 9 Yugavani 10 Editorial 19 Reminiscences of Sargachhi 25 Vivekananda Way 35 Pariprasna 43 Book Reviews 44 The Order on the March

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Poorva: Magic, Miracles and the Mystical Twelve Lakshmi Devnath

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Editor: Swami Mahamedhananda Published by Swami Vimurtananda, Sri Ramakrishna Math, No.31, Ramakrishna Math Road, Chennai - 600 004 and Printed by B. Rajkumar, Chennai - 600 014 on behalf of Sri Ramakrishna Math Trust, Chennai - 600 004 and Printed at M/s. Rasi Graphics Pvt. Limited, No.40, Peters Road, Royapettah, Chennai - 600014.

Website: www.chennaimath.org

E-mail: vk@chennaimath.org Ph: 6374213070

May 2021

The

The Vedanta Kesari

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Vedanta

One hundred and seven years e of 895 u 1 s r s e and going strong…. ti mb Firs pte e S in, He was a much-celebrated and much-feted Swami. His vad a m h famous address at The World’s Parliament of Religions, Chicago in Bra 1893 had catapulted him to the status of a super star. But Swami Vivekananda was not one to bask in chaffy glory. A letter to one of his trusted followers, from the USA, dated 12 Jan 1895, read, ‘I want to preach my ideas for the good of the world. …What work have you done in the way of advancing the ideas and organising in India? …My life is more precious than spending it in getting the admiration of the world. I have no time for such foolery.’

Swamiji, as Swami Vivekananda was fondly addressed, loved and revered his motherland as his own mother. Every breath of his aspired for her well being and every cell in his body yearned that she regain her lost glory. She had been a beacon light for the world until repeated invasions pillaged her ruthlessly and left her not just poverty-stricken but also psychologically drained. The latter struck at the very core, underlying the urgency for immediate redressal. Swamiji’s panacea for this lay in India’s very own practical and ennobling Vedantic wisdom. Vedanta recognises no weakness. It proclaims that in every individual lies a mine of strength. All that is needed is an effort to draw from it.

Swamiji started looking for the right channel to propagate the powerful message of Vedanta. He opted for the print medium and decided to bring out a journal, giving it the name Brahmavadin. In February 1895, he sent from USA $100 and a letter to his trusted disciple Alasinga Perumal. The letter read: ‘Now I am bent upon starting the journal. Herewith I send a hundred dollars… Hope this will go just a little in starting your paper.’

If selflessness and devotion would have a form, it would have borne the name of Alasinga Perumal. Brahmavadin became Alasinga’s calling and the first issue rolled out from a press in Broadway, Chennai on 14 September First iss 1895. The magazine included a poem of Swamiji ue of The Ved anta Ke specially composed for the occasion. It was titled, sari, Ma y 1914 ‘The Song of the Sannyasin’. One verse ran thus:

Kesari

One hundred and seven years and going strong….

“Strike off thy fetters! Bonds that bind thee down, Love, hate — good, bad — and all the dual throng,

May 2021

For fetters, though of gold, are not less strong to bind;

With this message that marked its mission, Brahmavadin made a determined entry into the strife-ridden climate of pre-independence India. The birth of the magazine was certainly an occasion for celebration but the struggles were far from over.

One of Swamiji’s letters to Alasinga read: ‘I learnt from your letter the bad financial state that Brahmavadin is in.’ This was followed by another letter that carried the line, ‘I pledge myself to maintain the paper anyhow.’

Bolstered by this pledge, Alasinga Perumal braved on, surmounting many an impediment. Sadly, Swami Vivekananda passed away in 1902, at the age of thirty-nine.

Alasinga’s intense anguish morphed into heightened devotion towards the magazine. But the next hurdle in Brahmavadin’s journey came in 1909, in the form of Alasinga’s own demise. In May 1914, the magazine, tottering as it was, floundered and ground to a halt.

It was at this crucial juncture, that the Ramakrishna Mission stepped in to revive it. The Mission was itself in its nascent stages with many a teething problem but nothing could come in its way of reviving the Brahmavadin. For, had not their beloved Swamiji repeatedly said, ‘The Brahmavadin is a jewel – it must not perish!” And so, the very same month when Brahmavadin closed, it was resuscitated with the new name The Vedanta Kesari.

The history of The Vedanta Kesari is much more than just a tale of sweat, toil and a dream realised. It is a narrative of Swamiji’s passion for India and Alasinga’s devotion to his master. It is a celebration of love, transcending forms.

5 The Vedanta Kesari

(Handwritten words in Swamiji’s own hand)

Appeal

May 2021

For the last 107 years, without missing a single issue, the magazine has been carrying the invigorating message of Vedanta and alongside, continuously revamping itself to meet the changing needs of the times.

The relevance of Vedantic wisdom to everyday life is all the more pertinent today than ever before. ‘Arise, Awake and stop not till the goal is reached,’ is the thundering motto of Swami Vivekananda. The Ramakrishna Mission, as you all know, is a unique organisation where sannyasis and lay people come together and endeavour for the common good. Let’s join hands in taking forward our revered Swamiji’s vision and mission for The Vedanta Kesari.

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The Vedanta Kesari

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Prayer

Atmarpanastuti Sri Appayya Dikshitendra

Sloka - 47 न किंचिन्मेनेऽतः समभिलषणीयं त्रिभुवने सुखं वा दुःखं वा मम भवतु यदापि भगवन् । समुन्मीलत्पाथोरुहकुहरसौभाग्यमुषि ते पदद्वन्द्वे चेतः परिचयमुपेयान्मम सदा ॥ ४७

May 2021

I do not consider anything in the three worlds to be worthy of being desired. O Bhagavan, let me have happiness or sorrow as destined. Let my mind always rest on Your two feet which excel the splendour of the inside of a lotus in full bloom.

The Vedanta Kesari

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Sloka - 48 उदरभरणमानं साध्यमुद्दिश्य नीचे वसकृदुपनिबद्धामाहितोच्छिष्टभावाम् । अहमिह नुतिभङ्गीमर्पयित्योपहारं तव चरणसरोजे तात जातोऽपराधी ॥ ४८

After having been repeatedly engaged in composing various works of a low order with the sole object of earning my livelihood, I am now offering at your lotus feet only the remnants of praise and thus I have become guilty, O Father!

Sloka - 49 सर्वं सदाशिव सहस्व ममापराधं मग्नं समुद्धर महत्यमुमापदब्धौ । सर्वात्मना तव पदाम्बुजमेव दीनः स्वामिन्ननन्यशरणः शरणं प्रपद्ये ॥ ४९

O Sadashiva, forgive all my transgressions. Uplift this one submerged in the ocean of suffering. I, helpless and with no other refuge, surrender at Your lotus feet alone with all my heart, O Lord.

Sloka - 50 आत्मार्पणस्तुतिरियं भगवन्निबद्धा यद्यप्यनन्यमनसा न मया तथापि । वाचापि केवलमयं शरणं वृणीते दीनो वराक इति रक्ष कृपानिधे माम् ॥ ५०

O Bhagavan, though this atmarpanastuti has been composed by me without my mind being totally concentrated on You, protect me, O Abode of Compassion, considering that this helpless, miserable one is surrendering to you at least by words.

इति आत्मार्पणस्तुतिः सम्पूर्णा ॥ End of Atmarpanastuti

Translated by Sri. S.N. Sastri.

Yugavani

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Devotee: Sir, how do you feel in samadhi?

Samadhi

Sri Ramakrishna: I feel like a fish released from a pot into the water of the Ganga.

Devotee: Don’t you feel at that time even a trace of ego?

Sri Ramakrishna: Yes, generally a little of it remains. However hard you may rub a grain of gold against a grindstone, still a bit of it always remains. Or again, take the case of a big fire; the ego is like one of its sparks. In samadhi I lose outer consciousness completely; but God generally keeps a little trace of ego in me for the enjoyment of divine communion. Enjoyment is possible only when ‘I’ and ‘you’ remain. Again, sometimes God effaces even that trace of ‘I’. Then one experiences jada samadhi or nirvikalpa samadhi. That experience cannot be described. A salt doll went to measure the depth of the ocean, but before it had gone far into the water it melted away. It became entirely one with the water of the ocean. Then who was to come back and tell the ocean’s depth?

Generally, the body does not remain alive after the attainment of samadhi. The only exceptions are such sages as Narada, who keep their bodies alive in order to bring spiritual light to others. It is also true of Divine Incarnations, like Chaitanya. After the well is dug, one generally throws away the spade and the basket. But some keep them in order to help their neighbours. The great souls who retain their bodies after samadhi feel compassion for the suffering of others.

In samadhi one attains the Knowledge of Brahman – one realizes Brahman. In that state reasoning stops altogether, and man becomes mute. He has no power to describe the nature of Brahman. The man coming down from samadhi perceives that it is Brahman that has become the ego, the universe, and all living beings. This is known as vijnana.

— The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

May 2021

I used to go into samadhi uttering the word ‘Ma’. While repeating the word I would draw the Mother of the Universe to me, as it were, like the fishermen casting their net and after a while drawing it in.

When they draw in the net they find big fish inside it.

9 The Vedanta Kesari

PA G E D O N O R : S R I . R . C H I N T H A I A H , C H E N N A I

hen I was ten or eleven years old and lived at K a m a r p u k u r, I f i r s t experienced samadhi. As I was passing through a paddy-field, I saw something and was overwhelmed. There are certain characteristics of God-vision. One sees light, feels joy, and experiences the upsurge of a great current in one’s chest, like the bursting of a rocket.

Editorial

“T

How to be Truthful?

he Atman is attained through truth… Truth alone wins, and not falsehood. By truth is laid the path called Devayana, by which the desireless seers ascend to where exists the supreme treasure attainable through truth,” — so declares the Mundaka Upanishad.

May 2021

What is this truth and how to practice it?

This has to be understood at two levels — the absolute and the relative.

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In the relative plane, i.e., in our daily life, truth is the act of holding on to the factual.

Primarily this means to speak as we think, and to act as we speak in all our dealings and under all circumstances. This unity between thought, word and deed is called trikarana shuddhi.

Terming it simply as mon mukh ek kora, ‘unifying thought and speech’, Sri Ramakrishna says that such “truthfulness in speech is the tapasya of the Kaliyuga” and “if a man clings tenaciously to truth, he ultimately realizes God.” He also warns that “without this regard for truth, one gradually loses everything.”

Even as sincere sadhakas, we often painfully slip from truth. This is because we do not pay attention to other interconnected spiritual practices. Three such practices are — giving up cunningness, overcoming greed, and divinising the ego.

Sri Ramakrishna declares, “A hypocritical and calculating mind can never attain God.” Truly, without guilelessness we will not have firm faith in God, and without such faith we will not be able to be truthful at all times. Therefore, we have to strive for straightforwardness in all our relationships and dealings cutting out secretiveness and manipulative smartness.

Desires multiply with lightning speed and fulfilling them will willy-nilly suck us into falsehood. Hence, we have to struggle and overcome greed for physical pleasures, wealth, fame, etc. Finally, pride in our looks, wealth, honour, intelligence, and power deepens our ignorance, distorts our perception of life, makes us forget God and thus fall from truthfulness. To avoid this, Sri Ramakrishna advices us to cultivate the ‘ego of a devotee.’ He gives us the mantra, Ami yantra, tumi yantri, ‘I am the machine, and You are the Operator’ and describes how it works through the story of the weaver who sees “the will of Rama” in everything that happens in his life.

Again, our self or individuality is normally limited to our body, mind, ego, and to people and things associated with us. This narrow identification is falsehood, because, in reality we are one with the whole universe. It is therefore that Swami Vivekananda tells us, “Expansion is life, contraction is death”, and Jesus Christ advises, “Love thy neighbour as thyself.” Hence, expanding our sense of self to embrace the world around us is the practice of truthfulness in the absolute sense.

To be established in this practice we should cultivate: a) unselfishness — to put first the needs of people around us; b) forgiveness — to accept the failings in others and not hold any grudges; c) love — to be unenvious and happy in the success of others; and d) spirit of service — to serve people around us in the spirit of Shiva Jnane Jiva Seva.

If we struggle to be truthful, Sri Ramakrishna will hold our hand and lead us to the supreme treasure.

Cover Story

Lokamata Janaki SULINI V NAIR

Maharshi Valmiki’s Sita is, simply put, unreachable. In her commingles loveliness,

softness of heart, compassion, faithfulness, wisdom, valour and forbearance.

Swami Vivekananda says, “…You may exhaust the literature of the world that is past, and I may assure you that you will have to exhaust the literature of the world of the future, before finding another Sita. Sita is unique; that character was depicted once and for all… She who suffered that life of suffering without a murmur, she the ever-chaste and ever-pure wife, she the ideal of the people, the ideal of the gods, the great Sita, our national God she must always remain…”1 Born of the earth and found by Rajarshi Janaka, as he was turning the sod on the grounds where he had resolved to perform a yajna, he brought up Sita as his beloved daughter. That Sita was no ordinary child was revealed very early in her life when she effortlessly moved aside the box containing Lord Shiva’s bow — so heavy with divine power that even the mightiest men could not move it; she pushed it aside to pick up her ball that had rolled underneath! Only the Goddess’s divinity could match that of Shiva.

Realising that Sita was extraordinary, Janaka resolved to give her in marriage only to one who proved worthy of her. And Rama turned out to be that lone worthy one.

Sulini V Nair is a Mohiniyattam performer, writer & researcher in the performing arts, idioms, and narratives.

Cover Page artist: Jewel, Kottayam.

May 2021

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mong all the various conceptualizations of God none is as beautiful, as heart-warming, as all-embracing as the concept of God as Mother.

Sanatana Dharma celebrates this Divine Motherhood of God through a multitude of manifestations; beautiful, compassionate, fierce, destructive — spanning the entire spectrum of bhavas. Among the various incarnations of the Divine Mother, that of Mother Sita reaches out to us closest, simply because of her intense expression of the human condition and an uncompromising espousal of great ideals. She, for the most part, revealed herself as a woman of great nobility than as the Divine Mother. A parallel we know more intimately is Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi.

Perhaps the more humanly they express themselves, the closer we feel towards them and the more confident we are of aspiring towards what they point to. In fact, if we consider the avatars as embodiments of divinity and beyond our reach, we do not gain much. Hence, their humanness is also their greatest compassion, even if at times it also makes them be greatly misunderstood.

11 The Vedanta Kesari

PA G E D O N O R : S R I C H A L A PAT I R A O K . V. , H Y D E R A B A D

Sita Navami falls exactly a month after Rama Navami. While Rama Navami is celebrated with great devotional fervour, celebrating Sita Navami is not very common. But we cannot think of Rama without Sita. This year Sita Navami falls on the 21st of May. Let us celebrate Sita Navami contemplating Mother Sita’s life.

May 2021 The Vedanta Kesari

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After their marriage Rama and Sita pass like a man! Rama is not in the least piqued by twelve years in great happiness. In a dramatic her words; on the contrary he admires that she turn of events, on the day he is scheduled to be is no ordinary woman, praises her courage and crowned the king of Ayodhya, Rama dons the decides to take her along. “Beloved Sita”, he ascetic’s garb because he decides to go into says, “you have arrived at a most welcome forest exile to honour his father’s promise to decision worthy in every way of my family as Kaikeyi. When he breaks this news to Sita, she well as of yours.”3 immediately resolves to follow him into the The love that bound Rama and Sita was of forest. In both Rama and Sita there is no hint of oneness of heart that needed no words to irritation, regret or anger due to this sudden articulate, nor eyes to convey. Though they change of fortunes. They seem to look forward played their human roles to perfection, Rama to a life of austerity. Their choices and conduct and Sita were divine personages with a divine in this situation are like scriptural edicts. The mission to fulfil. sthitaprajnatvam that Sri Krishna teaches in the Adherence to Dharma succeeding yuga is exemplified by Rama and To understand the life and conduct of men Sita. By effortlessly relinquishing the throne of and women who lived in the Ayo d hya , t h ey b o t h Treta Yuga, we should know enthrone themselves how concepts like dharma, It would be erroneous to eternally in the hearts of sanctity of truth, the role of devotees. assess the life, motives and a king, his relationship with But Rama is not happy actions of people in Treta his subjects etc., were to take Sita along. In Yuga through the lens of our perceived in that age. eighteen verses he contemporary value system.

Without this knowledge, if describes to her the horrors we try to assess personashe would have to face in lities in the Ramayana the forest. But Sita is not weak and helpless. through the lens of our contemporary value She is a proud Kshatriya lady who knows when system, we will only misunderstand their to assert herself and accomplish what she motives and actions. believes to be the right thing. Unyielding in her determination to follow Rama, she remembers her dharma as described by Janaka when he gave her in marriage to Rama. He had said, इयं

सीता मम सुता सहधर्मचरी तव... पतिव्रता महाभागा छायेवानुगता सदा — “Here is Sita, my daughter,

your companion on the path of dharma...

Faithful to you, she will bring you all prosperity and follow you like your shadow forever and ever.”2 She chides and taunts Rama: Could he not protect her from all the possible dangers of life in the forest! Her father had thought he had got the best man for his daughter but now the son-in-law appeared to be a woman dressed

Dharma is the foundation of creation.

Therefore, the highest dharma of a man or a woman is to discover Truth or God — the source of dharma. Our every relationship and action has its own dharma. Furthermore, relationships and actions that connect the individual with the larger whole is considered as higher dharma. Thus, service to one’s motherland, society, family and one’s own limited self, follow in the order of declining importance. An act in accordance to dharma at a lower level, becomes adharmic or unrighteous if it is inconsistent with a higher

Rama graciously accepts Sita’s advice, knowing that there is no sphere of life in which

रामो विग्रहवान्‌धर्मः साधुः सत्यपराक्रमः। राजा सर्वस्य लोकस्य देवानामिव वासवः।।

“Rama is virtue incarnate, pious and of unfailing prowess. He is the ruler of the entire humanity (even) as Indra is the ruler of gods.”6 The divine drama

The Ramayana unfolds three stories intimately intertwined. The story of Sita is the story of the Jivatma or the individual self. This story is connected with the story of Rama, which is the story of the Paramatma. Then there is the story of Ravana which signifies that the destruction of ignorance alone leads to the Jivatma’s oneness with the Paramatma.

After the killing of the demons Khara, Dushana and Trishiras, when Lakshmana goes out of the hermitage at Panchavati, Rama instructs Sita to enter the sacred fire. Maya Sita then emerges from the fire to fulfill the purpose of Rama’s avatara which is to end the tyranny of Ravana.7 Sita, who without batting an eyelid gave up all her royal possessions and pleasures, now

May 2021

Valmiki declares that Rama is the embodiment of dharma. As we read the Ramayana, we realise that Sita too is firmly rooted in dharma. While on their way to Dandakaranya, Sita shares with Rama, in loving words, her apprehensions about his carrying weapons into the forest where they mean to lead a life of austerity. She worries if the weapons would lead Rama to adharmic action — cruelty without enmity, without righteous cause — a terrible evil. She warns that when a kshatriya trained to fight finds his weapons ready or when fire finds fuel nearby, it could be dangerous. It provokes one to a display of strength. She narrates also the story of an ascetic who was led astray from his austerities and into adharma simply by having in his custody a sword given for safekeeping. Sita says, “From Dharma follows wealth, from Dharma comes happiness, by recourse to Dharma one gets everything. This world has Dharma as its essence. The wise emaciate themselves with effort imposing several restrictions on themselves and achieve Dharma…”4 She gently advises Rama to practice such dharma in the forest, with a pious mind, as is suited for austerities. However, she also wonders aloud as to who could really be capable of teaching Dharma to Rama, the very embodiment of Truth and Dharma! She tells him that being a woman of tender heart, she is only reminding him what he already knows, and not teaching him.

a wife is not entitled to give counsel. He values the concern and goodwill of the one “dearer to him than Sita is not weak life”, his “companion in Dharma”, but gently tells her or helpless but a that the kshatriya wields the proud Kshatriya bow so that no one suffers. lady who knows Moreover, he has promised when to assert to p ro te c t t h e r i s h i s herself and performing austerities in accomplish the forest, from the torment what she believes of the rakshasas. He then to be the declares, “I can even give up right thing. my life or you together with Lakshmana, but not my plighted word given...”5 That such was Rama, is known to all, including the deceitful Maricha who cannot but describe him admiringly to Ravana:

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The Vedanta Kesari

PA G E D O N O R : A D E V O T E E , K A R A P PA K A M , C H E N N A I

dharma. Similarly, if an act or decision conforms to a higher dharma but is problematic at a lower level, it still remains dharmic. This is how our every decision or action becomes either dharmic or adharmic. Clarity in this working of dharma will help us to understand the motives and actions of Rama, Sita and others.

May 2021 The Vedanta Kesari

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acts as though trapped in the desire for a deer!

After Rama leaves in pursuit of the golden deer, Sita has to also send Lakshmana away to clear the stage for the central event of the Ramayana — her abduction. Lakshmana however refuses to leave her alone and unguarded. Sita then hurls at him the harshest of words and accuses him of the unthinkable — that he was refusing to go to Rama’s aid because he desired to have her. This conduct of Sita is to be seen in juxtaposition with how she immediately afterwards describes Lakshmana to the asceticRavana and later to Hanuman in Lanka. To the ascetic-Ravana, she describes Lakshmana as a brahmachari and dridhavrata, and to Hanuman she tells with deep respect and affection that Lakshmana looks upon Rama and herself as his parents.

At the far end of the spectrum from Sita and Rama stands Ravana. He is a Vedic scholar, a great devotee of Lord Shiva, radiant, brave, handsome, and a powerful king. The grandson of sage Pulastya, one of the nine mind-born sons of Brahma, and the son of sage Visravas and Kaikasi, Ravana teaches us the great lesson that one could be extremely intelligent and accomplished, with the noblest ancestry, and yet be sucked into adharma. Seeking wealth and gratification of desire, artha and kama, utterly violating the principle of dharma, all his knowledge undigested, Ravana remains a psychological prisoner of his own weaknesses.

Sita’s valour

Kidnapped and kept in Ashokavana, Sita speaks to Ravana placing a blade of grass between them. As a devout wife she refuses to directly speak to another man and uses the blade as a proxy for Ravana. She advises Ravana to tread the path of dharma. She warns that his intellect devoid of discrimination was leading him along an unrighteous path that would ultimately destroy his entire clan. Even while

facing the danger of being killed, she severely castigates Ravana. Through all of this shines forth her supreme love for Rama, her immense pride in his valour, righteousness and character.

The depth of Sita’s bhakti for Rama is revealed more in these moments of anguish and adversity. She spends every moment in the Ashokavana chanting Rama nama. She has no thought other than that of Rama and turns into a mere shadow of her radiant self — clad in soiled raiment, gaunt through abstinence from food, and face bathed in tears… विपद्मामिव पद्मिनीम्‌ — like a muddy lotus pond devoid of lotuses…8 She lashes out at Ravana,

असंदेशात्तु रामस्य तपसश्र्चानुपालनात्‌। न त्वां कुर्मि दशग्रीव भस्म भस्मार्हतेजसा।।

“I do not reduce you to ashes by dint of my glory, which (alone) is enough to reduce you to ashes, only because I do not have the mandate of Sri Rama (to do so) and (also) because I seek to preserve the power of my asceticism, O ten-headed monster!” 9

Hanuman too wonders what greatness Ravana must have acquired that he was not burnt in the fire of Sita’s chastity despite touching her with wicked intention. Hanuman pained by her plight, offers to carry Sita on his back to Rama, but she disagrees. Given the extreme danger of the situation, any woman would have Sita, who without seized the batting an eyelid gave opportunity to up all her royal escape to safety, but possessions and not Sita. Her pleasures, now acts as husband’s honour though trapped in the weighs more in her desire for a deer! estimation than her o w n we l l - b e i n g .

Having lost her to Ravana’s deceit, she does not consider it befitting Rama’s honour to receive her through

After the slaying of Ravana, Rama and Sita are ready to enact the next scene in their divine drama. Fully aware of Sita’s innocence and considering action in accordance with dharma, Rama is in distress like an ordinary man and meditates with tears in his eyes. Seeing Maya Sita, he expresses happiness, compassion and anger! The Rama that Sita and everyone else see is terrifying. He speaks extremely harsh words to her in the midst of the gathered warriors as though he doubts her purity — she was carried to Lanka forcibly seated on Ravana’s lap; she was seen by his wicked eyes; she had stayed at his palace. He says that he has rescued her only to protect the Raghu dynasty from the infamy that its queen was imprisoned by a rakshasa king. He then tells her, “I am having difficulty seeing you here, like a person with a disease in his eye is unable to see a light”10, implying clearly that the fault is with the one seeing, and not with what is seen. Sita then replies that while her body was not in her control when she was being abducted, her heart was with Rama alone. Rama remains unmoved even when Sita reminds him of their happy days and of her devotion to him. Sita then asks a stupefied Lakshmana to set up a pyre so she could give up her life.

Circumambulating Rama she enters the fire praying to Agni to protect her, “Protect me if my mind has not separated from Sri Rama anytime… I ask you to show the world and Sri Rama that I am a woman of honour and purity.

Therefore, do not consume me; protect me…

May you protect me such that the entire universe will come to know of my purity and honour!”11

अनन्यहृदयां सीतां मच्चित्तपरिरक्षिणीम्‌। अहमप्यवगच्छामि मैथिलीं जनकात्मजाम्12 ‌

As the upholder of truth, he had been silent as she entered the fire to let truth manifest and display itself, to let Sita gain the credibility of the three worlds, to display to the world the purity of her life.

प्रत्ययार्थं तु लोकानां त्रयाणां सत्यसंश्रयः। उपेक्षे चापि वैदेहीं प्रविशन्तीं हुताशनम्13 ‌

It may appear that Rama has rescued her, but Rama says that Sita has been protected by her own moral power. इमामपि विशालाक्षीं रक्षितां स्वेन तेजसा. And that Ravana could not violate her just as the sea cannot transgress its bounds.14

As much as Valmiki describes Rama in human terms, here and there he does reveal Rama’s divinity. The divine beings who gather to witness the glorious scene of Sita’s reunion with Rama address him as rtadhama, the abode of Truth, and offer obeisance to Sri Narayana in human form. Rama in response to the devas’ prayer says that he knows himself as a human being, as the son of Dasaratha, and asks Brahma to reveal his true identity15. Brahma through a number of beautiful verses describes Rama as the Supreme Brahman, Sri Vishnu and Sita as Sri Lakshmi, incarnated in human form as per their request to kill Ravana.16 Sita in the Kaliyuga

At this point it is interesting to briefly leap forward into Kaliyuga and see Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi on her visit to Rameshwaram.

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Purer than purity

And thus, Maya Sita who Ravana had abducted and kept in captivity enters the fire with detachment and serenity. In a reverse of what took place in secret at Panchavati, the real Sita walks out of the fire escorted by Agni. Agni returns her, in all her divine glory, unscathed, to Rama who expresses his perfect awareness of her purity.

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the back door! She prefers to suffer and wait for her husband to come and defeat Ravana and demonstrate to the world that his greatness may not be affronted with impunity.

The Vedanta Kesari

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Lord Shiva at the Rameshwaram temple is known as Rameshwar or Rama’s Ishwara, i.e., one worshipped by Rama. According to the The superior man Rameshwaram Sthala does not take into Purana, after slaying Ravana, Rama comes account the wrongs to Rameshwaram of those who commit along with Sita and offence against him. desires to worship Compassion should Lord S hiva a s a n be shown to all atonement for because there is destroying Lanka. He none who never sends Hanuman to commits a wrong.

Kashi to bring a Shivalinga. But when Hanuman’s return is delayed, he asks Sita to make a Shivalinga from sand and then worships it. When Hanuman returns with a Shivalinga, he tries to uproot the 16 sand image but it does not budge. Seeing this, Sita assures Hanuman that the Shivalinga brought by him would thenceforth be worshipped before the one she created. This tradition is continued to this day.17

When Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi saw the uncovered Shivalinga, she exclaimed, “I see it is just the same as when I placed it here.” She then quickly controlled herself. But back in Jayrambati it again slipped from her mouth when she told Swami Keshavananda, “The image exists there intact just as I placed it.”

Indeed, she many times spoke of her identity with Sita.18 Like Sita, Holy Mother too kept her divinity hidden for the most part. Ever gentle and modest and deeply devoted to her husband, Holy Mother played to perfection her role as his spiritual companion. She faced many difficulties and sufferings. Yet her boundless compassion rejected none.

Sri Ramakrishna had a vision of Mother Sita during his sadhana days at Panchavati. A

figure of exquisite grace with the sublime qualities of love, sorrow, compassion and fortitude on her face walked towards him. As he stood wondering who she could be, suddenly a monkey fell at her feet with a cry and rolled on the ground. Realising that it was Sita, he cried out ‘Mother’ and was about to fall at her feet when she rushed forward and merged into him, and he lost outer consciousness.19 Holy Mother once said that in his vision of Sita he had seen her wearing diamond-cut gold bangles and got two such bangles made for her in the same design. Obviously, Sri Ramakrishna had recognized Holy Mother’s identity with Sita.20 Sri Ramakrishna also declared, “He who was Rama and he who was Krishna, is Ramakrishna at present.”21 Sita’s Compassion

After conveying to Sita the happy news of Rama’s victory over Ravana, Hanuman wishes to kill the rakshasis who tortured Sita during her captivity. However, Sita forbids him saying that they were only doing their duty as per Ravana’s orders.

न परः पापमादत्ते परेषां पापकर्मणाम्।‌ समयो रक्षितव्यस्तु सन्तश्र्चारित्रभूषणाः।। पापानां वा शुभानां वा वधार्हाणामथापि वा। कार्यं कारुण्यमार्येण न कश्र्चिन्नापराध्यति।।

“A superior man does not take into account the sin of those who have committed an offence (against him). The vow of not returning evil for evil must be redeemed at all costs; (for) the virtuous account good conduct as their ornament. Compassion should be shown by a noble soul towards sinners as well as for the good, nay, even for those deserving death; (for) there is none who never commits a wrong”.22 Prior to this, Trijata, one of the rakshasis guarding Sita, recounts her dream where Rama kills Ravana, and implores the other rakshasis to fall at Sita’s feet and seek her pardon and her

Once again away from Rama

After the passage of happy times in Ayodhya, a pregnant Sita tells Rama that she desires to live at least one day with the Rishis in the serene ashram environs. Rama fulfils her desire the very next day. Only he sends her to the forest for ever. He abandons her to respect the sentiments of his subjects, however unfair their judgment, and to protect the dynasty from blemish. He looks beyond his personal interests to preserve the moral fabric of society. A kshatriya and king is first wedded to the land as bhupati and therefore his dharma towards his subjects is paramount; dharma towards family comes only later.24 Giving up Sita is like tearing out his heart.

Yet Rama does it. In the Ramayana only Sita and Sumitra truly understand Rama, how he always stood for upholding dharma at any cost. In this situation too Sita stands equal to Rama. Though distraught that she is banished for no fault of hers she understands a king’s dharma. She communicates this through her words to the King Rama (rather than husband) conveyed

Sita lives in Valmiki’s ashram for twelve long years and raises her twin children to be worthy of their lineage in valour, in compassion and in dharma. And when King Rama later painfully seeks from her another oath of purity, Sita enters into the arms of her mother Earth proving, not just to the assembled men in the royal court but to all of humanity for all time, her unsurpassable greatness.

Suffering is inevitable in human life. Rama and Sita too accept and experience life’s difficulties. Through their lives they show us how we too may overcome our challenges holding on to dharma and how to sacrifice lower, personal interests for the good of the whole. Mother Sita lived and taught through a life of suffering and self-sacrifice. Swami Vivekananda therefore rightly declares, “There may have been several Ramas, perhaps, but never more than one Sita! …and here she stands these thousands of years, commanding the worship of every man, woman and child throughout the length and breadth of the land of Aryavarta. There she will always be, this glorious Sita, purer than purity itself…”26 The author is grateful to Dr. C.N.Ratnam for her generous help in clarifying certain concepts.

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When Ravana dies, a light emerges from his chest and merges in Rama. Although through hate, Ravana had constantly thought of Rama, the Supreme Brahman, and thus was blessed to finally merge in Him.

through Lakshmana. She makes it clear that as Rama fulfils the highest dharma of a king, she too would fulfil the highest dharma as his While Rama wife and that she joins in protects anyone his effort to prevent any 25 who surrenders to blemish on the dynasty.

Even while living apart, Him, Mother Sita Rama and Sita walk the out of her motherly difficult path of dharma love protects with deepest love for each everyone, saint and other. Rama does not take sinner alike. another wife, and Sita has no thought other than of Rama.

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protection from Rama’s wrath. Hearing this, Sita tells them that even before their seeking pardon, she has forgiven them. She adds, “If that comes out to be true (Rama’s victory), I shall undoubtedly be your protector.”23 Surely the compassion of the Divine Mother knows no bounds. While Rama protects anyone who surrenders to Him, Mother Sita out of her motherly love protects everyone, saint and sinner alike. Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi declared, “I am the mother of the wicked, as I am the mother of the virtuous.”

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References

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1) The Sages of India in The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda. 3: 255 2) Valmiki Ramayana, Gorakhpur: Gita Press – 1.73.2627 3) Ibid., 2.30.41 4) Ibid., 3.9.30-31 5) Ibid., 3.10.18-19 6) Ibid., 3.37.13 7) In the Adhyatma Ramayana (Yuddhakanda 13.2122) Agni returns the real Sita that Rama had entrusted him at Panchavati. He recalls how Rama had created Maya Sita for the purpose of killing Ravana. The task accomplished, he requests Rama to take her back. Rama offers his salutations to Agni and accepts an elated Sita.

The Ananda Ramayana (Sarakanda 12-11) mentions that Nature had manifested in three forms – tamasi, rajasi and satviki – for killing Ravana. The rajasi and tamasi forms were represented in Maya Sita. After Ravana’s killing, these aspects were absorbed back in the fire and the satviki form emerged with Agni. (See Nama Ramayana Mahima. p. 352-53) 8) Valmiki Ramayana. 5.15.20-23 9) Ibid., 5.22.20 10) Ibid., 6.115.17 11) Nama Ramayana Mahima. Swami Harshananda.

Vol 3, Transcription and Translation Dr. Krishnamurthy Ramakrishna, Mayavati: Advaita Ashrama, p. 312

12) Valmiki Ramayana. 6.118.15 13) Ibid., 6.118.17 14) Ibid., 6.118.16 15) Ibid., 6.117.11 16) Ibid., 6.117.12 –32 17) Holy Mother in the South. Swami Prabhananda.

Chennai: Sri Ramakrishna Math, p. 45 18) Sri Sarada Devi and Her Divine Play. [hereafter Divine Play] Swami Chetanananda. St. Louis: Vedanta Society of St. Louis. p. 355-56 19) Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play. Swami Saradananda. St. Louis: Vedanta Society of St. Louis, p. 228 20) Divine Play. p. 356 21) Holy Mother in the South. p. 46 22) Valmiki Ramayana, 6.113.44-45 23) Ibid., 5.27.54 24) During upanayana a kshatriya boy had it assigned to him as his foremost duty to protect at all cost the earth he would govern, taking her as his first wife. Another term for the king in Sanskrit is भूजानिः - भूः जाया यस्य सः भूजानिः “one who has the earth for his wife.” Lakshmi, or prosperity, was considered his second wife. These were not merely abstract ideas but tangible obligations, his dharma, to which the king was bound for life. The lady he married had accordingly only the third position in his life.

25) Valmiki Ramayana, 7.48.10-17 26) The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda. 3:.255

Sri Ramakrishna prayed to the Divine Mother, “O Mother, make me like Sita, completely forgetful of everything — body and limbs, totally unconscious of hands, feet, and sense-organs — only the one thought in her mind, ‘Where is Rama?’”

“He and His Power, Brahman and Its Power-nothing else exists but this. In a hymn to Rāma, Narada said: ‘O Rama, You are Shiva, and Sita is Bhagavati; You are Brahma, and Sita is Brahmani; You are Indra, and Sita is Indrani; You are Narayana, and Sita is Lakshmi.

O Rama, You are the symbol of all that is masculine, and Sita of all that is feminine.’”

— Sri Ramakrishna

Reminiscences

Reminiscences of Sargachhi SRIMAT SWAMI SUHITANANDA JI

(Continued from previous issue. . .)

One day, Sri Ramakrishna noticed from his room that a boy from the temple proprietor’s family was roaming around. Sri Ramakrishna asked Ramlal Dada to call the boy.

When he came, Sri Ramakrishna made him sit on the smaller cot and touched him. The boy at once became still and didn’t regain consciousness for a long time. This posed a danger. There already had been trouble before when Hriday2 offered flowers at the feet of a girl belonging to the same family.3 So Ramlal Dada became nervous. Then Sri Ramakrishna asked him to fan the boy’s head. That worked, and the boy gradually regained outward consciousness; but he began to walk with a peculiar gait. Sri Ramakrishna sent him home with an escort. It seems that, upon reaching home, the boy became normal again.

Who knows how many people Sri Ramakrishna bestowed his grace on in this way? Master Mahashay has written down a little, and Sharat Maharaj too has written a little. Who knows how many incidents have remained unrecorded?

Question: What is new in Sri Ramakrishna?

M a h a ra j : T h e s p e c i a l i t y o f S r i Ramakrishna is the attraction he held for young people. This had never happened before. This is because there had never been a downfall of this magnitude. That’s why he attracted young people this time. But in those days, it was difficult to find pure, good young men; then what to speak of the householders! If society had not become so degraded, would Sri Ramakrishna have come? In this village [ S a r g a c h h i ] t h e re wa s n o o n e b u t Akhandanandaji who could have established this ashrama. There was no morality in the village, and people were extremely poor In Sri Ramakrishna we see the living illustration of :

The author, one of the Vice-Presidents of the Ramakrishna Order, presents here his conversations with Swami Premeshananda (1884-1967), a disciple of Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi.

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I

have heard from Ramlal Dada1 that Sri Ramakrishna once asked Amrita, Dr. Sarkar’s son, to face the wall, and then began to stroke his back. That made Amrita enter into the state of samadhi. Similarly, anybody who came to Sri Ramakrishna got a taste of bliss in some such way, and that gave them a sense of peace throughout their lives even amidst hundreds of worldly engagements.

As a result, they generally lost interest in worldly affairs and may have been liberated at the time of death.

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27.2.61

सर्वभूतस्थमात्मानं सर्वभूतानि चात्मनि । ईक्षते योगयुक्तात्मा सर्वत्र समदर्शनः ।।

Question: Why do we find the matted hair of sadhus given such prominence in the Puranas?

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Maharaj: In those days the sadhus quietly pursued spiritual practice without feeling attraction for anything of the world. They would live in a mud hut on the edge of a forest and not bother about honour and dishonour; and they appeased their hunger by begging morsels of food.

As a result, matted hair was very much respected.

Their hair grew long and matted because they stayed in the same place for a long time.

Many incidents reveal Sri Ramakrishna’s oneness with the world: (a) When he ate, the others with him felt their hunger satiated 4; (b) the blow that a boatman delivered on a fellow boatman’s back, appeared as an injury on Sri Ramakrishna’s back – he had then rise to the level of the Attributeless (nirguṇa); (c) growth of a tail5; (d) signs of femininity in his body6.

These demonstrations were quite novel – perhaps they were not needed in earlier times. Besides, switching frequently between saguṇa and nirguṇa is possible only for avatars.

Sri Ramakrishna kept Swamiji in the wo r l d a f t e r i m p a r t i n g t h e s u b t l e s t power of discrimination— that is why the sight of human suffering would make him restless almost to the point of madness.

Incarnations can come down from the state of samadhi and behave like ordinary beings. Apart from this, we find Sri Ramakrishna physically practising the Islamic, Christian, and Tantra rituals.

t

We should not trust this body, mind and intellect—especially the intellect. There is no telling when it will declare some bad thing acceptable. We do not know when and how the subconscious mind will express itself. So always Jnana-nayane prahari rekho se jeno savadhane thake: “Keep the eye of wisdom as guard so that he [Jivatama] remains careful.” We all have our shortcomings – none of us is a paramahamsa.

That is why we should learn from senior sadhus, as they have received many knocks from this world. We can learn from them about the pitfalls on the way. As it is said, you can learn by hearing; otherwise you have to learn by experience, and that will undoubtedly be painful.

(To be continued. . .)

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“With the heart concentrated by yoga, with same-sightedness for all things, he beholds the Self in all beings and all beings in the Self.”

Notes

1) Sri Ramakrishna’s nephew, who served as the priest of Dakshineswar Kali Temple 2) Sri Ramakrishna’s cousin Hemangini’s son, who was a close companion of Sri Ramakrishna and served as the priest of the Dakshineswar Kali Temple 3) Hriday had worshipped the young grand-daughter of Mathur Babu, which was considered inauspicious for the girl because she belonged to a lower caste.

4) Once, while returning to Dakshineswar by boat, Sri Ramakrishna and the devotees with him felt very hungry. They stopped the boat and one of the devotees went ashore and purchased some snacks.

Sri Ramakrishna ate it all without offering anything to the others, which was very unlike him. But the next moment, all the hungry devotees felt that their stomachs were as full as they would have been after a good meal!

5) When he practised dasyabhava and saw himself as Sri Rama’s servant Hanuman, the tip of Sri Ramakrishna’s backbone grew a few inches!

6) When he practised madhurabhava Sri Ramakrishna saw himself as Radharani and his body manifested feminine characteristics.

Focus

Swami Vivekananda and the Concept of Freedom in Indian Culture SWAMI BHAJANANANDA

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t is well known that ethics and morality are not one and the same.

Morality refers to actual behaviour, whereas ethics is a systematic study of the criterion or standard for the judgement of moral conduct or character. Western theories of ethics may be broadly divided into two groups: deontological and teleological. By deontology is meant the study of moral obligation (from Greek deont = obligatory).

Deontological theories hold that the basis of ethics is man’s sense of moral obligation. We all feel an inherent urge to act morally and, if we don’t act morally, we feel guilty about it. JudeoChristian ethics is mostly based on this inherent sense of moral obligation. Immanuel Kant tried to develop an ethical theory independent of religion but ended up by reaffirming man’s inherent sense of moral obligation which he called ‘categorical imperative’.

Teleological theories hold that our actions are guided by our desire to attain some goal.

That goal is usually regarded as happiness; this view is known as hedonism. Most of the

teleological theories are really hedonistic theories. The best known theory of this kind is utilitarianism propounded by Bentham, Mill, and others.

In India the deontological theory of ethics was held by the Mimamsakas (especially the Prabhakara school), and teleological theory of ethics was held by the Naiyayikas.

Both the types of theories take into consideration only the urges, desires, and actions of man which belong to the mind and body. They do not take into consideration the true ontic essence of man, his true Self, the Atman. Since the Atman is beyond body and mind, it is regarded as beyond the field of ethics. This has been stated clearly by Sri Shankaracharya in his commentary on the first aphorism of Brahma-Sutra, and in several other contexts.

It was Swami Vivekananda who showed that the freedom and purity of the Atman can form the basis of human thinking and actions.

Swamiji laid the foundation for a truly ontological theory of ethics which is much superior to the deontological and hedonistic

Swami Bhajananandaji is a senior sannyasi and a Trustee of the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission and lives in Belur Math.

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This article was presented as a paper at the seminar on ‘Man and Freedom’, jointly sponsored by the Indian Academy of Philosophy and the Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture (RMIC) on 22 January 2000. It is being reproduced here from RMIC’s journal Bulletin where it was published in July 2006.

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(Continued from previous issue...)

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theories mentioned above. It makes ethics a study of the way the freedom of the Self manifests itself in a multitude of ways. This does not mean that Swami Vivekananda overlooked the evil tendencies in man or the compulsive nature of human actions. Like Mencius, who said that man has only ‘potentialities of goodness’, Swamiji too stated that man is only potentially divine. Man as man is not divine, but he has in him the potential to become divine.

According to Swamiji, it is done through yoga.

“We have to get the power to become moral;” says Swamiji, “until we do that we cannot control our actions. Yoga alone enables us to carry into practice the teachings of morality.”19 The more a person is freed from the hold of samskaras, the greater the freedom of Atman that he feels within himself. Only a yogi who has realized the Atman enjoys moral freedom without the need for rules and regulations.

The minds of most people are conditioned by their samskaras. Good and bad actions are the result of this mental conditioning. True moral freedom is freedom from the hold of samskaras. How to attain this inner freedom?

This conflict between determinism and free will never figured prominently in Indian thought. In Hindu philosophy the will, known

This view resolves the The soul’s divinity and conflict between ‘free will’ Mere talking about morality f re e d o m re m a i n i n a and ‘determinism’ (also is not enough; it is necessary potential state because their known as ‘freedom’ and manifestation is restricted ‘necessity’) that has plagued to control the samskaras. by mental and physical Western thought all through automatisms. All normal its history. The basic thinking, feeling and willing are controlled by question here is whether human actions are all latent impression of past experiences called determined by instincts and desires or by God, samskaras. It is under the influence of samskaras and whether man has the freedom to choose that people do good actions or bad actions. Says between good and evil. In the religious context, Swami Vivekananda, “What are you but mere the more moderate Catholic view is that God machines until you are free? Should you be has given man the freedom to choose between proud because you are good? Certainly not. You good and evil but, left to themselves, most are good because you cannot help it. Another is people would choose evil rather than good bad because he cannot help it.”17 because of the presence of ‘Original Sin’ in their souls. Protestantism denies free will to man.

Therefore, mere talking about morality is According to Martin Luther, “Man is as unfree not enough; it is necessary to control the as a pillar of salt.” John Calvin’s doctrine of samskaras. Swamiji again says, “We hear ‘Be predestination would make even sinful actions good,’ and ‘Be good,’ and ‘Be good,’ taught all willed by God. In secular philosophy over the world. There is hardly a child, born in Schopenhauer, Spinoza, Hume and others any country in the world, who has not been upheld determinism. According to told, ‘Do not steal’, ‘Do not tell a lie’, but nobody Schopenhauer, “A man can surely do what he tells the child how he can help doing them. wills to do, but he cannot determine what he Talking will not help him. Only when we teach wills.” As Bertrand Russell put it, “We can do as him to control his mind do we really help 18 we please but we can’t please as we please.”20 him.”

(Continued on page 37...)

Pocket Tales

A Tale of Two Contests GITANJALI MURARI

The author is a media professional and writer. The Crown of Seven Stars is her first novel. She lives in Mumbai. gitanjalimurari@yahoo.com Illustrator: Smt. Lalithaa Thyagarajan. lalithyagu@gmail.com

May 2021

“S

warn didi,” Naren raced into the courtyard, “where are you?”

Swarnmoyee came out of her room, “What’s the matter, Naren?”

“There’s a needlework contest at the handicraft fair tomorrow…why don’t you participate?” Swarnmoyee’s face lit up, “I would love to!”

“There’s a boxing match too,” Naren grinned, “we both can try our luck.”

After breakfast the next day, brother and sister set out for the fair, the former swinging boxing gloves in one hand, the latter carrying needlework materials in a bag.

Making their way past several stalls, they at last spotted the sign Needlework Contest For Young Ladies outside a large tent. “I’m a little nervous,” Swarnmoyee confessed after registering herself. Naren laughed, “You’ve got nothing to worry about, didi…I’ll see you as soon as my match finishes.”

At the boxing ring, the referee explained the rules to the young contestants. “There will be three rounds of three minutes each and at the end of the third round I will raise the arm of the victor.” Looking at the eager faces, he nodded at Naren, “You…and you,” he told a boy

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A fictional narrative based on incidents from the childhood of Swami Vivekananda.

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of the same age, “get ready for the first round.” The two fighters wore their gloves and as soon as the referee blew the whistle, they began the bout. A crowd gathered to watch.

Naren soon cornered his clumsy adversary on the ropes, overpowering him in under three minutes.

The second challenger was quick on his feet. Naren decided to change his tactics.

Feinting a punch, he landed a quick body jab, taking the boy by surprise. For the last round, the referee called a big, muscular fighter. Without waiting for the whistle, he pounced on Naren, striking him a hard blow in the chest. The crowd booed. “You must wait for my signal,” the referee scolded the challenger, “or I’ll disqualify you.”

Keenly watching this ferocious competitor, Naren realised he would need to confuse him. Using different punches, he forced him to go on the defensive and then quickly threw an upper-cut. The boy staggered back and fell, and when at the count of ten he shook his head, the referee raised Naren’s arm. “Bravo,” the spectators applauded and to Naren’s delight, he was presented with a silver butterfly.

Holding onto his prize and gloves, Naren sped to the needlework stall. Inside the tent, ten girls worked under the sharp gaze of the lady judge. After half an hour, she rang the bell and the girls put down their needles. One by one, they presented their designs. When Swarnmoyee held up a red velvet cloth embroidered with a bright blue peacock on a tree, the audience oohed in awe.

“Time for results,” the judge proclaimed and the contestants straightened, their eyes sparkling with excitement. Announcing the names of the winners from the third place, she finally came to the winner of the first prize. “Swarnmoyee Datta,” the name rang out clearly under the tent. Naren jumped to his feet and as Swarnmoyee received the trophy, he clapped until his hands ached. “Your work is very fine,” the judge smiled at the beaming girl, “it’s like a print.”

“I knew you’d win, didi,” Naren said, running to his sister.

Laughing happily, she hugged him. “What is that?” she asked, noticing the butterfly.

“It’s my prize, didi! I won the boxing match!”

Swarnmoyee’s eyes opened wide, “This certainly calls for a celebration!”

“A double celebration!” And Naren led her to the ice-cream man, “We’ll have two scoops each didi, one for each win!”

It is not whole truth to say that fortune favours the enterprising man; behind there must be the strength that comes of the Divine Mother. But I also admit that it is the enterprising men unto whom Mother gives strength.

— Swami Vivekananda

PULLOUT FOR REFERENCE

ISSUE ISSUE 39 10

In this issue, we begin exploring Swami Vivekananda's second lecture in Madras.

This is the first of a 2-part exploration of the lecture titled − Vedanta in its application to Indian life.

focus in this issue:

Why should modern Hindus rightfully call themselves Vedantists or Vaidikas?

Swami Vivekananda begins by examining the origins of the word Hindu, which is a common appellation of the race and religion.

This word "Hindu" was the name that the ancient Persians used to apply to the river Sindhu. Now this word "Hindu" as applied to the inhabitants of the other side of the Indus, whatever might have been its meaning in ancient times has lost all its force in modern times; for all the people that live on this side of the Indus no longer belong to one religion. There are the Hindus proper, the Mohammedans, the Parsees, the Christians, the Buddhists, and Jains. The word "Hindu" in its literal sense ought to include all these; but as signifying the religion, it would not be proper to call all these Hindus.

Swami Vivekananda then points out that Hinduism is characterised by extraordinary variety and diversity, and the only point where there is agreement is belief in the scriptures, i.e. the Vedas. Therefore, designating ourselves around what we all agree upon may be more appropriate in modern times.

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The only point where, perhaps, all our sects agree is that we all believe in the scriptures — the Vedas. This perhaps is certain that no man can have a right to be called a Hindu who does not admit the supreme authority of the Vedas.

All these Vedas, as you are aware, are divided into two portions — the Karma Kânda and the Jnâna Kânda. The Karma Kanda includes various sacrifices and ceremonials, of which the larger part has fallen into disuse in the present age.

The Jnana Kanda, as embodying the spiritual teachings of the Vedas known as the Upanishads and the Vedanta, has always been cited as the highest authority by all our teachers, philosophers, and writers, whether dualist, or qualified monist, or monist.

May 2021

In this lecture, Swami Vivekananda dives deep into the essential source of Hinduism − which are the Upanishads. He exhorts us to return to this sublime source of Hinduism and recover its deepest and most glorious messages to humankind.

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Vedanta in its application to Indian Life - 1

2. What is the scope of Vedantism/ Vedanta?

Swami Vivekananda clarifies that Vedantism or Vedanta must cover the whole ground of Indian religious life, and include not just dualism, qualified monism and Advaitism, but also parts of Buddhism and Jainism.

The word Vedanta must cover the whole ground of Indian religious life, and being part of the Vedas, by all acceptance it is the most ancient literature that we have...

May 2021

...Advaitism is only one branch of the various philosophic systems that have been founded on the Upanishads. The followers of the Vishishtâdvaitic system have as much reverence for the Upanishads as the followers of the Advaita, and the Vishishtadvaitists claim as much authority for the Vedanta as the Advaitist. So do the dualists; so does every other sect in India...

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Swami Vivekananda also points out that upon severe analysis one would find that even the essence of Buddhism (including its ethics), and many of the good doctrines of Jainism are found in the Upanishads.

The distinction between Vedantism and Advaitism The word Vedantist has become somewhat identified in the popular mind with the word Advaitist. This needs a little clarification.

In India, along with the Vedas, we also have the Smritis and Puranas which aim to illustrate and elaborate upon the Vedas.

The Vedas or Shrutis have more authority, and the Smritis and the Puranas, though more accessible, have less authority.

According to Swami Vivekananda, different schools of thought give varying importance to the Shrutis and Smritis in their expositions. While the dualist sects gave too much importance to the latter, Shankara, the founder of the Advaitic school, relies predominantly on the Upanishads which are considered more authoritative.

As a result, the Advaitists were considered Vedantists par excellence, leading to the common misconception that Vedanta is identified with Advaita.

3. In the Upanishads we find the germs of all subsequent development of religious thought According to Swami Vivekananda, there is not one full grown Indian ideal that cannot be traced back to the same source − the Upanishads. Many of the ideas, especially connected to Bhakti, are in the germ form in the Upanishads and are found fully developed in later times in the Puranas and other Smritis.

...there is not one full-grown Indian ideal that cannot be traced back to the same source — the Upanishads.

Certain ludicrous attempts have been made by persons without much Upanishadic scholarship to trace Bhakti to some foreign source; but as you know, these have all been proved to be failures, and all that you want of Bhakti is there, even in the Samhitas, not to speak of the Upanishads — it is there, worship and love and all the rest of it; only the ideals of Bhakti are becoming higher and higher.

4. What are the difficulties we face in understanding the Upanishads?

According to Swami Vivekananda, the Upanishads are the scriptures, but they have been differently explained and interpreted in subsequent Pauranika literature.

PA G E D O N O R : A D E V O T E E , V E R S O VA , M U M B A I

While it is true that the Upanishads have more authority than subsequent interpretations, it is found that much of the religious opinion and practice in India is 90% Pauranika and only 10% Vaidika.

The dominance of local interpretation over scriptures has resulted in tremendous confusion and contradiction. Furthermore, this has meant that most people cannot distinguish between Vedantism and their little local customs.

This has also meant that an ignorant villager, for example, cannot recognise that some of his customs do not have the sanction of the scriptures and that if he gave them up it would not hurt him at all, and may, in fact, make him a better human being.

And we all find the most contradictory usages prevailing in our midst and also religious opinions prevailing in our society which scarcely have any authority in the scriptures of the Hindus; and in many cases we read in books, and see with astonishment, customs of the country that neither have their authority in the Vedas nor in the Smritis or Puranas, but are simply local. And yet each ignorant villager thinks that if that little local custom dies out, he will no more remain a Hindu. In his mind Vedantism and these little local customs have been indissolubly identified. In reading the scriptures it is hard for him to understand that what he is doing has not the sanction of the scriptures, and that the giving up of them will not hurt him at all, but on the other hand will make him a better man

Challenge 2: The lost portions of our scriptures We read in the Mahâbhâshya of Patanjali, that great philological work, that the Sâma-Veda had one thousand branches. Where are they all? Nobody knows. So with each of the Vedas; the major portion of these books have disappeared, and it is only the minor portion that remains to us. They were all taken charge of by particular families; and either these families died out, or were killed under foreign persecution, or somehow became extinct; and with them, that branch of the learning of the Vedas they took charge of became extinct also.

According to Swami Vivekananda, our scriptures have been very vast, but a large portion of them have been lost over time.

For example, the major portion of the Vedas have disappeared, and only a minor portion remains to us.

The reason: The Vedas have several branches, each of which was taken up by particular families; and over the centuries these families became extinct due to foreign persecution and other reasons, leading to the dying out of that branch.

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Challenge 1: The mixture of Vedantism and local culture

May 2021

Swami Vivekananda speaks about three sets of challenges that we face while understanding the Upanishads. These are elucidated below:

The loss of whole portions of the Vedas has meant that whenever some local beliefs are challenged, (and it is pointed out that the local custom is against the scriptures), the argument put forward is that this custom existed in some branch of the Shrutis which is now extinct.

As a result, it becomes very difficult to work through these various interpretations and discover the common plan or structure which has held our religion together for so long.

In the midst of all these varying methods of reading and commenting on our scriptures, it is very difficult indeed to find the thread that runs through all of them; for we become convinced at once that there must be some common ground underlying all these varying divisions and subdivisions. There must be harmony, a common plan, upon which all these little bits of buildings have been constructed, some basis common to this apparently hopeless mass of confusion which we call our religion.

Otherwise it could not have stood so long, it could not have endured so long.

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Challenge 3: Text torturing by commentators

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The Advaitic commentator, whenever an Advaitic text comes, preserves it just as it is; but the same commentator, as soon as a dualistic text presents itself, tortures it if he can, and brings the most queer meaning out of it. Sometimes the "Unborn" becomes a "goat", such are the wonderful changes effected. To suit the commentator, "Ajâ" the Unborn is explained as "Aja" a she-goat. In the same way, if not in a still worse fashion, the texts are handled by the dualistic commentator.

According to Swami Vivekananda, the other big difficulty we face is the text torturing by commentators. When an Advaitic commentator sees an Advaitic text, he preserves it just as it is. However, when presented with a dualist text, he will interpret it in the most odd manner until it supports his point of view. Similarly with a dualist commentator.

Why? The Sanskrit language is intricate, the Sanskrit of the Vedas is ancient, and the philology is so perfect that any amount of discussion can be carried out regarding the meaning of any one word.

This creates further difficulties for us in understanding the Upanishads.

Swami Vivekananda proposes a new way of accessing the scriptures

Swami Vivekananda says that the solution to this complicated challenge was provided by Sri Ramakrishna himself, who was at the same time a dualist, an Advaitist, a Bhakta, and a Jnani. It is he who showed Swami Vivekananda that the Upanishads and the texts of the scriptures can be understood from an independent and better basis rather than by blindly following the commentators.

SWAMI VIVEKANANDA'S CONCLUSION ... in my

opinion and in my researches, I came to the conclusion that these texts are not at all contradictory. So we need have no fear of texttorturing at all! The texts are beautiful, ay, they are most wonderful; and they are not contradictory, but wonderfully harmonious, one idea leading up to the other. But the one fact I found is that in all the Upanishads, they begin with dualistic ideas, with worship and all that, and end with Lecture to be a grand flourish of Advaitic ideas. continued in the next issue

If you have any questions on this lecture, do post your queries on

www.vivekanandaway.org

You can also access previous issues of Vivekananda Way here.

Ma

gic ,M ira cle s

and the

e Mystical Twelv LAKSHMI DEVNATH

Roles Reversed

oorva was in the royal court and dressed for the occasion. “I feel absolutely rested … Did we halt anywhere for the night, or was there even a night at all?” she exclaimed, and then quickly checked herself as she saw the king take his seat. The scholars were escorted to their places with due honour.

The Swami was not around, and there was no one else she could talk to. Poorva observed the quaint clothes and head gear of the king’s staff and lazily set about counting the number of participants. The tally had risen to a hundred when Vishnuchitha walked in.

The king and Selva Nambi rushed to receive him. Ignoring the protests of several of those present in the gathering, the king accorded Vishnuchitha a place of honour.

“Swami Thaatha,” Poorva whispered into his ears, not even raising an eyebrow at seeing him once again beside her. “How come Vishnuchitha is here? You never told me that he was a well-read man. Somehow, I got the impression that Vishnuchitha only knew how to make garlands.”

“As a matter of fact, he considers himself unfit for this assembly. Poorva, this son of Mukunda Bhatta and Padmavalli Naacchiyaar is an incarnation of Garuda. And remember, Vishnu never lets down His devotees,” the Swami declared confidently. “I’ll let you in on a secret.” The Swami’s voice dropped to a whisper and Poorva wondered why. Should she remind him that they could not be heard?

The Swami said, “Late last night, Lord Vishnu appeared in Vishnuchitha’s dream and asked him to participate in the debate. But Vishnuchitha declined, saying that he was not capable of taking on great scholars. Only when he was assured of the Lord’s firm support did Vishnuchitha agree. Thereafter, Vishnu appeared in the dreams of Selva Nambi too and The author is a researcher and writer with various books and articles on Indian music and culture to her credit. lakshmidevnath@gmail.com Illustrator: Smt. Lalithaa Thyagarajan. lalithyagu@gmail.com

May 2021

P

(Continued from the previous issue. . .)

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The Story of Periaazhvaar

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ensured that His devotee would be accorded a reception befitting the most learned of scholars.”

“How do you know all this?”

“Last night, I was taking a stroll in the garden when I heard Vishnuchitha’s voice. Moving closer, I saw him pacing up and down, loudly recalling this dream over and over again. Obviously, he was overwhelmed by the Lord’s grace.” The Swami’s explanation was so matter-of-fact that Poorva, always expecting miracles and mysteries, felt thoroughly disappointed.

A clamour of voices attracted Poorva’s attention. The debate had begun. It was energetic and, at times, even heated. The scholars got up, one by one, to voice their views.

At the end of it all, Vishnuchitha rose. He closed his eyes, meditated upon the Lord, and then began to speak. Words flowed in torrents. His quotations from the Vedas, Upanishads and other shaasthras left people gaping open-mouthed. Through reasoning backed by scriptural authority, he established the undeniable supremacy of Lord Narayana. He concluded by asserting that one should pray to Him in this birth so that one’s afterlife would be taken care of. When he finished, the hall echoed with applause. The king was moved to tears. The bag of gold coins fell of its own accord into Vishnuchitha’s hands!

Poorva’s eyes widened. “What wonderful things happen through mere devotion to Vishnu!” She felt the swish of silk. It was the king’s cloak that had brushed against her as he walked towards Vishnuchitha.

“I’m sure you have guessed by now that you’re in the presence of an Aazhvaar,” whispered the Swami, trailing her.

She looked at him. No way was she going to admit that she had not. “Sure,” she shrugged.

The king bowed before the Aazhvaar and said, “I shall remain eternally grateful to you for clearing my doubts. Permit me to adorn you with the title of ‘Pattarpiraan’.”

“That means ‘leader of the learned’.”

“Thanks,” said Poorva, turning around.

She could not spot Swami Thaatha, and there was no time to investigate, for everybody was hurrying towards the doorway. Poorva joined them, and in a matter of minutes, they had arrived at a temple. From the conversations of her neighbours, she

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realized that it was the Koodal Azhagar temple. A man was explaining to a little boy perched on his shoulders: “Madurai is also called Koodal, and Azhagar means the ‘beautiful one’.”

Poorva craned her neck forward to see for herself the deity that had inspired such a beautiful description! It was then that she noticed the presence of the king and the Aazhvaar. The king invited the Aazhvaar to take his place on a decorated seat atop an elephant. The huge animal bent its knees to help the Aazhvaar mount it. As the creature heaved itself up, the air was filled with cries of, “Long live Pattarpiraan! Long live Vishnuchitha! Long live Pandya Maharaja!”

The elephant strode majestically forward, as if proud of carrying the Aazhvaar. The procession went through several streets. Vishnuchitha appeared deeply embarrassed at the honours being heaped upon him. Poorva saw him glance up at the skies, and the next moment, his face changed colour. His hands shook as he grabbed the bells tied around the elephant’s neck. Ringing them furiously and overcome with emotion, the Aazhvaar started singing: “Pallaandu pallaandu pallaayirathaandu …”

This verse sounds familiar – wonder where I’ve heard it? Of course, this is what Appa recites every morning! Several thoughts like these cropped up in Poorva’s mind. She caught sight of the Swami. His palms were joined together and he was lost in meditation.

Instinctively, she looked up at the limitless skies and prayed.

The Aazhvaar’s soulful voice moved her. She focused on his verses as they came, one after another – twelve in all. She observed that while the first verse began with the word pallaandu, the rest ended with it. Was it possible that she had heard Selva Nambi’s name in one of the songs? She decided to get her doubts clarified by Swami Thaatha.

The Aazhvaar alighted from the elephant, and the king bid him a fond and tearful farewell.

“Poorva, let’s go back to Srivilliputhur now,” said Swami Thaatha.

“Thaatha, why do you keep disappearing?”

“So that you don’t get bored with my company,” replied the Swami in jest.

They took the road to Srivilliputhur. Poorva could not wait to ask her questions.

“Swami Thaatha, what did the Aazhvaar see in the skies?”

“He saw Lord Narayana, along with Mahalakshmi, seated on Garuda.”

“How come I never saw anyone?”

“No one else did.”

“I have a feeling you did.” Poorva recalled the sublime look on the Swami’s face.

The Swami ignored the comment. “When the Aazhvaar saw the Lord, he was struck

by His beauty. Such was the wonderful sight that he feared someone might cast an evil eye on the Divine Form. He spontaneously burst into songs that blessed the Lord. The word

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pallaandu means ‘many years’, and all the verses carry the general benediction: ‘May You live long, may You live for a hundred thousand years …’”

“Funny, my parents have always told me that God is eternal. He cannot die.”

“No doubt. But so deep is this Aazhvaar’s love for Vishnu that for a moment he forgot that the Supreme needed no benediction. He became a concerned parent who feared that something might happen to his beautiful child and so blessed Him with longevity.

Not content with that, he sang pallaandu for Goddess Mahalakshmi, for Vishnu’s discus, for His conch, and so on. And you were right about hearing Selva Nambi’s name.

The Aazhvaar sang: ‘Like the faultless Kottiyur Selva Nambi, I too am an old, faithful servant of yours …’”

The Swami paused so that he could have Poorva’s undivided attention. As she looked up at him, he said in a soft, measured tone, “Because Vishnuchitha took on the role of an elder who could bless the Supreme Lord Himself, he has come to be known as ‘Periaazhvaar’ – the eldest of the Aazhvaars.”

A mole poked its head out from its tunnel and immediately pulled it back. Poorva walked on, wondering what it would be like to live in a dark, dingy hole underground. The prospect did not seem very exciting. She shook off these thoughts hurriedly and asked, “I don’t understand. Why did Periaazhvaar have to repeat pallaandu so many times?”

“Well, how many glasses of water do you drink at a time?”

This unrelated question surprised Poorva. She answered, “Obviously, till I stop feeling thirsty.”

“The same holds good for the Aazhvaar. He continued blessing the Lord till he was satisfied that all would be well with Him.” “Convincing,” murmured Poorva, and the Swami silently thanked Periyavaachaan Pillai, the emperor amongst commentators, whom he had just quoted.

The two walked on.

The whistling of the wind and the crackling of dry leaves under their feet was all that could be heard.

(To be continued. . .)

When God Calls

Akshay Kumar Sen DR. RUCHIRA MITRA

This is the eleventh story in the series on devotees who had a role in the divine play of Bhagawan Sri Ramakrishna.

यमेवैष वृणुते तेन लभ्यः

A

poor devotee of Krishna came to Calcutta in search of a job and was employed as a home tutor in the affluent Tagore family. He used to do spiritual practices on the bank of the Ganga at night; but not being able to make any spiritual progress, he became restless in his search for a Guru.

Once, he overheard some devotees conversing about a Paramahamsa. When he wanted to know more about him, they rudely brushed him aside. But the devotee determined to know more about the Paramahamsa. One day, he came to know that those devotees were going to a festival at a house where the Paramahamsa would also be coming. His heart pounding in expectation, he ran to them, held their feet with both his hands and pleaded, “Please allow me to accompany you!” Seeing his sincerity and humility, they relented; and this man, Akshay Kumar Sen, got the opportunity to meet the Paramahamsa — Sri Ramakrishna. It was 1885.

little. He witnessed Sri Ramakrishna singing and dancing in a God-intoxicated state. Akshay forgot his body and surroundings, and felt as though he were in heaven, being carried away on a current of bliss. Vijaykrishna Goswami1, who also was dancing, suddenly pointed to Sri Ramakrishna and exclaimed, “This is our Krishna!” These words were a revelation to Akshay — that Sri Ramakrishna was none other than Krishna for whom he had been yearning for long. On his way back, he accompanied Ramchandra Dutta 2, who told him many wonderful things about Sri Ramakrishna.

On this first visit, Akshay noticed that Sri Ramakrishna cast a glance at him and smiled a

On 1 January 1886, Sri Ramakrishna showered blessings on his householder

Akshay was born in 1854 in Maynapur, a village in the Bankura district of Bengal to Haladhar Sen and Bidhumukhi Devi. Because of their extreme poverty Akshay was brought up in the backward village and educated in a rural school.

He started visiting Sri Ramakrishna in Dakshineswar; and now began a period of great trial, during which he felt that Sri Ramakrishna ignored him. Sri Ramakrishna did not allow him to touch his feet, telling him, “First be pure”, which greatly hurt him. But he kept coming back to Sri Ramakrishna with patience and devotion. He wrote, “I used to think how it would be when the Master, out of mercy, touched my chest. Many days passed, but he did not fulfil my desire. I used to go to him with great hope, and return home with tearful eyes and disappointment.”

The author is a devotee and researcher on Ramakrishna-Vivekananda literature. Her doctoral thesis was on the life stories of Sri Ramakrishna. ruchiranewid@gmail.com

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1.2:23)

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It is attained by him alone whom It chooses (Kathopanishad.

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disciples. Akshay recalls what happened to him: “Two beautiful champa flowers were in my hands. I was standing some distance away.

From there he addressed me, ‘Hello, what are you doing?’ He then came near, touched my chest with his hand and recited something in my ear which, being a mahamantra, I shall keep secret. What did I see and what did I hear? I shall only say that my heart’s desire was fulfilled that day and I only wish to pass the rest of my days in singing the glory of Sri Ramakrishna.” At that moment he was overwhelmed by an intense spiritual ecstasy; unable to contain this divine joy, he fell on the ground with his limbs twisted!

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Mention must be made on his ugly appearance! He was pitch dark, thin and short!

Hence, Vivekananda endearingly gave him the nickname ‘Shakchunni Master’ (ugly female ghost + tutor); and he became known by this name among the devotees. Akshay too enjoyed this nickname because he knew that Vivekananda used to give strange nicknames to the devotees whom he dearly loved!

After Sri Ramakrishna’s mahasamadhi, Akshay spent his days in his recollection.

Though he suffered from poverty and other family problems, he would find great joy in worshipping Sri Ramakrishna’s photograph with flowers and singing his glory to the accompaniment of a one-stringed instrument.

In 1887, he started writing Sri Ramakrishna’s life in the form of a long narrative poem in typical Bengali ‘kathakata’ style and named it Sri Sri Ramakrishna Punthi. He sent a copy to Swami Vivekananda. With almost ecstatic joy, Swamiji wrote from America to Swami Ramakrishnananda3, “Give Akshay a hundred thousand hearty embraces from me. Through his pen Sri Ramakrishna is manifesting himself.

Blessed is Akshay....I do not find a single irrelevant word in it. I cannot tell in words the joy I have experienced by reading his book. ...Dear, dear Akshay I bless you with all my heart, my dear brother. May the Lord sit on your tongue... Akshay is the future apostle for the masses of Bengal. Take great care of Akshay, his faith and devotion have borne fruit.”

Punthi has been translated into English prose under the title A Portrait of Sri Ramakrishna. Punthi is a complementary work to two other authoritative volumes on Sri Ramakrishna, the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna by M., and Sri Ramakrishna the Great Master by Swami Saradananda. Akshay also wrote Teachings of Sri Ramakrishna and Sri Ramakrishna Mahima (The Glory of Sri Ramakrishna). These books have given Akshay an everlasting place in the Ramakrishna Movement.

Akshay travelled to Kamarpukur, the birthplace of Sri Ramakrishna, and met Holy Mother Sarada Devi. She invited the villagers who knew Sri Ramakrishna closely from childhood, to listen to Akshay reading his book. Holy Mother appreciated his rendering of Punthi and blessed him whole-heartedly, but prophesied that Akshay would have to suffer in old age. He remained poor and died of blood dysentery in 1923. At the end, he uttered “I see the Master and Mother” and his face glowed!

Such is the story of a poor, ugly and barely educated villager who turned the table on Fate by his intense longing for God, and attained immortality! A man with little education and no literary skills, was able to compose works of great literary merit awakening deep devotion for God. Akshay is a living example of the dictum that by God’s grace, the dumb becomes eloquent and the lame scales the mountain.

Notes: 1) Brahmo leader, who later became a religious preceptor and had many disciples; belonged to the family of

Advaita Goswami, Sri Chaitanya’s companion. 2) Sri Ramakrishna’s foremost householder disciple, who established Yogodyan, the first temple of Sri Ramakrishna and wrote books on him. 3) Sashi Maharaj — Swami Vivekananda’s monastic brother.

Questions & Answers

Pariprasna

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QUESTION: Does matter limit spirit or does Spirit limit itself?

MAHARAJ: The first alternative arises only in dualistic or pluralistic systems of thought like the Samkhya and the Vaiseshika wherein spirit and matter have a cause-and-effect relation, but are independent entities. Two independent entities must necessarily limit each other, if they are in the same dimension and capable of interaction. Interaction is very necessary when we say that matter and spirit come together in forming living beings. But this will presuppose sameness of dimension and some kind of inherent unity, which means that absolute independence of matter from spirit will have to be given up. Thus the idea of matter limiting spirit falls.

So the other alternative that Spirit is the only existence and that it limits itself in creative manifestation is preferable. But when we refer to this pure Spirit as the source of creative manifestation through self-limitation, we have also got to admit that the Spirit has an inherent power of self-limitation, which is only another name for self-manifestation. So the Spirit will have to be conceived as having the power of self-manifestation. Immediately the question of the relation of the power to the Spirit arises. Human thought cannot help doing so. Then a doctrine of identityin difference comes in. The human mind cannot get through its thought process to any closer unity than identity-in difference, when it has to understand the Spirit in relation to the world phenomena.

Probably in pure intuition this dichotomy may be overcome but when we make any intellectual statement of it, the dichotomy comes in.

QUESTION: What is the nature of a true Jivanmukta? Are all those who renounce the world Jivanmuktas in the strict sense of the term?

MAHARAJ: A Jivanmukta means one who is liberated even while one is physically living. It is in contrast with Videhamukta or one who is liberated and devoid of a body. The concept of Jivanmukti is difficult to understand. All of us are embodied beings, and we feel we are the body and nothing but the body, in spite of our intellectual acceptance of the soul theory. So when it is said that a Jivanmukta has a body and bodily life just like ourselves, it is very difficult to grasp in what sense he is different from us and is called free. The Vedanta theory says that one who attains spiritual enlightenment gains a new understanding and experience that he is not the body but a spirit associated no doubt with the body, but not identical with it. This sense of detachment from body, it is said, is as much an experience as our sense of identity with the body. But this detachment does not mean that he will be like a stock or stone, insensitive to any physical happenings or without any of the physical demands like the need for food and sleep. Detachment does not mean insensitiveness, but establishment in the state of a referee or a witness of the game in place of that of a player in it.

He experiences that he is a part and parcel of Satchidananda and is therefore unperturbed in the midst of experiences that are pleasurable or painful to the body. He is the master of his senses

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Srimat Swami Tapasyananda Ji (1904 – 1991) was one of the VicePresidents of the Ramakrishna Order. His deeply convincing answers to devotees’ questions raised in spiritual retreats and in personal letters have been published in book form as Spiritual Quest: Questions & Answers. Pariprasna is a selection from this book.

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and not their slave. He is free from fear, enmity, greed, lust and all such animal traits that are born of bodily identification. He is full of joy and love for all. His behaviour may look human, but it has no power to bind like a burnt rope. His personality will have the power to evoke higher spiritual sentiments in all who approach him with a receptive mind. He is himself full of sublime joy arid peace, and distributes this experience to all who go to him. Though possessing psychic powers, a truly saintly personage will never put them to use for attracting men to himself. Readiness to discard all psychic powers is as much a prerequisite of spiritual perfection as readiness to discard worldly ambitions and possessions.

As for the second part of the question it is obvious that all who have taken to the life of renunciation cannot be called Jivanmuktas. There are, however, some Advaitins, who maintain that both bondage and liberation are only false ascriptions and are for that reason unreal. If bondage is thus unreal, every one is a Jivanmukta not merely those who have taken to a life of renunciation.

But such a view has only theoretical value and no practical interest. Practically speaking, a man takes to a life of renunciation as an aid to attainment of spiritual illumination. He cannot be called a Jivanmukta until he is established in the feeling that he is not the body but the spirit.

QUESTION: What is the place of Vedanta in modern society?

MAHARAJ: It is true that many in the past, and to a large extent even today, have been looking upon the Vedanta as a matter for recluses and as having no significance for the life of man in this world. That this is not true even according to the Indian tradition is proved by the fact that the Bhagavad Gita, a very authoritative text of the Vedanta, contains the message delivered by Sri Krishna to Arjuna, a very busy man, in the thick of battle. So while the Vedanta has a message for the recluse, it has an equally great relevancy also for the man in society who wants to live in a way that will lead to his higher evolution individually and to the betterment of the life of the society in general.

It was this aspect of the Vedanta that Swami Vivekananda voiced forth through an expression he coined, ‘Practical Vedanta’. The central message of the Vedanta, Swamiji points out, is the doctrine of the divinity of the spirit in man. The doctrine of Tat tvam asi, while it may have many higher meanings, was most significant, according to Swamiji, in this respect namely, that of reminding man that however low he has gone, however suppressed and depressed he might be, he remains basically unaffected in his central core. Just as a flint kept long in water or a gem lying in absolute darkness, retains its nature unaffected, so does the Atman, the spirit in man. This doctrine can therefore help man in re-educating his ego, and in infusing into him a sense of strength, self-confidence and worthwhileness of his existence. This attitude of man towards himself is a prime necessity for the development of his personality and for counteracting the tendency towards self-centredness. The Bhagavad Gita points out that the spirit of non-attachment is the only way to have internal peace and for the development of an ethical sense, out of which only real good can come to mankind.

Whether it was in the past or whether it is at the present, it is better that man has some convictions regarding his own nature. Man is a spirit, a spark of the divine fire. It is better for him to accept this fundamental truth about himself. We have passed through various views about man in the current century—the biological man, the biochemical man, the anthropological man, and the economic man. In all these views, which are only half truths about man, his basic nature, that he is a spirit, is forgotten. There is something in the modern way of thinking that stands against recognizing the basic nature of his, and perhaps that is why all the solutions of human problems based upon these half truths create more problems than they solve. The Vedanta declares the basic truth of man, and it has therefore a vital bearing on life today as at any time in the past.

(Continued from page 22...)

As the identification of the Self with mind and body gets reduced by the practice of yoga, the person experiences greater inner freedom and his will gets freed from the hold of desires and instincts. As Swami Vivekananda has stated, “Remember, only the free have free will.”

It should, however, be noted that these higher ideas of religion are known only to a small number of educated people in India. The common people are very often guided by superstitions, fatalistic thinking and village customs which have introduced a sense of helplessness, futility and hopelessness into their lives. Swamiji wanted to free their minds from this inner stranglehold and rouse the inherent strength to shape their own destiny.

Hence he very much wanted to disseminate the liberating and strengthening higher ideas of religion in India. This leads us to the next topic.

Spiritual freedom

From the above discussion it is clear that all the types of freedom discussed thus far— social freedom, intellectual freedom and moral freedom—are freedom only in a relative sense.

Absolute freedom is the absolute freedom of the Self, and this is what spiritual freedom means. To attain freedom of the Self means to cease to identify oneself with one’s body and mind and to identify oneself with the Supreme Self. This state of absolute freedom is known as mukti or moksha. In traditional Hinduism mukti is regarded as freedom from transmigration or rebirth. But since the cause of rebirth is the identification of the Self with body and mind, and the cause of this identification is ignorance of the true nature of the Self, Advaitins regard mukti as freedom from original ignorance resulting from the attainment of true knowledge.

The Advaita tradition speaks of two kinds of mukti. One is the state of immediate and ultimate release; this is known as sadyomukti.

The other type, known as krama-mukti, takes place in stages. According to Sri Shankaracharya, those who practice meditation (upasana) on Saguna Brahman attain identity with Hiranyagarbha after death. Later on they may attain identity with the Supreme Impersonal Brahman and attain final liberation.

Several Hindu sects hold the view that mukti is a state which is attained only after death; this is known as videha-mukti. But the Advaita tradition holds that, since total destruction of ignorance is possible even when a person is alive, mukti is possible even while living; this kind of mukti is called jivanmukti.

The goal of all spiritual endeavour is to attain this state of liberated-in-life.

In almost all the schools of Hindu thought, mukti, whatever be its nature, is an individual event, and only a few exceptionally qualified

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as dhriti or iccha, is only a special function of buddhi known as adhyavasaya or determination. The whole mind (known as antahkarana), including the buddhi, is governed by the action of samskaras. The only thing that is free is the Atman or the Self in its true nature; but, being limited by, and reflected in the buddhi, it appears as the empirical self known as the jiva or jivatman. It is this empirical self that experiences the urge to be free. Thus freedom and bondage refer to the self, and not to the will, in Hindu philosophy.

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Swami Vivekananda and the Concept of Freedom in Indian Culture

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individuals can attain it. Hence, there will remain many millions who have not attained liberation. Although this is the most commonly held belief, there have been a few teachers who believed in collective salvation, in the liberation of all; this is known as sarva-mukti.

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the 16th century Vedantin, Appayya Dikshita.23 The basic argument of Appayya is as follows: Mukti means identification with Ishwara only, and not with the Impersonal Nirguna Brahman.

As long as one jiva remains in bondage, collective ignorance will persist. When all the jivas are liberated, collective ignorance itself Swami Vivekananda has referred to the will vanish; and then Ishwara will ipso facto idea of sarva-mukti on more than one occasion. become the Absolute Brahman. It is difficult to In the course of a conversation with his disciple say whether Swamiji accepted all the Sharat Chandra Chakravarty, Swamiji once arguments of Appayya, but remarked, “What is the good it is clear that Swamiji must of that spiritual practice or have found Appayya’s Swami Vivekananda’s realisation which does not view—that the liberated primary concern was the benefit others, does not jiva, after attaining oneness conduce to the well-being of alleviation of human with Ishwara, participates in people sunk in ignorance suffering, and not Ishwara’s work of doing and delusion, does not help philosophical speculation. good to the world—most in rescuing them from the For him freedom meant attractive. clutches of lust and wealth?

freedom from suffering more

Do you think, so long as one Two points are to be than anything else. jiva endures in bondage, you noted in this context. One is will have any liberation? So that Swamiji’s primary long as he is not liberated— concern was the alleviation it may take several lifetimes—you will of human suffering, and not philosophical have to be born to help him, to make him speculation. For him freedom meant freedom realize Brahman. Every jiva is a part of from suffering more than anything else. His yourself—which is the rationale of all work for great heart bled at the sufferings of people. He others.” himself worked incessantly, travelling from place to place teaching, exhorting, inspiring, When the disciple exclaimed that it was a guiding, awakening people everywhere. He laid new idea that without the salvation of all there his life at the altar of service to humanity. Out would be no salvation for an individual, Swamiji of the agony of his soul he cried, “Will such a continued, “There is a class of Vedantists who day come when this life will go for the sake of hold such a view. They say that individual others’ good? The world is not a child’s play— liberation is not the real and perfect form of and great men are those who build highways liberation, but universal and collective for others with their heart’s blood. This has liberation is true Mukti. Of course, both been taking place through eternity, that one merits and defects can be pointed out in that builds a bridge by laying down his own body, view.”21 and thousands of others cross the river through One of the earliest to propound the ideal its help. Be it so! Be it so!”24 of sarva-mukti was Bhartriprapanca who probably lived one or two centuries before Sri Shankara.22 This idea was later championed by

The other point to be noted is that Swami Vivekananda was first and foremost a spiritual

But Swamiji never missed an opportunity to remind people both in India and in the West that spiritual freedom is the ultimate goal of life. In his famous lecture on ‘Vedantism’ he clearly stated the relative merits of the different types of knowledge. “The highest of gifts is the giving of spiritual knowledge, the next is the giving of secular knowledge, and the next is the saving of life, the last is giving food and drink.

He who gives spiritual knowledge saves the soul from many and many a birth. He who gives secular knowledge opens the eyes of human beings towards spiritual knowledge, and far below these rank all other gifts, even the saving of life. Therefore, it is necessary that you learn this and note that all other kinds of work are of

Swamiji emphasised spiritual knowledge because it alone can free men and women from misery for ever. As he pointed out, “One idea that I see clear as daylight is that misery is caused by ignorance and nothing else.” 27 Spiritual freedom means the destruction of the very roots of ignorance and the attainment of everlasting peace.

Swamiji’s integral view

We have seen that, according to Swami Vivekananda, freedom is a characteristic attribute of life which manifests itself as an existential urge at the social, intellectual, moral, and spiritual levels of human existence. This urge has a negative aspect which is expressed as ‘freedom from’ and a positive aspect which is expressed as ‘freedom for’. It is usually the negative aspect of freedom that is stressed. We chafe at restrictions and struggle to go beyond our limitations. But what do we seek freedom for? To fulfil our needs. Man has a hierarchy of needs. At the social level we seek freedom to live, to work, to express, to worship, and so on.

At the intellectual level we seek freedom to know, to feel, to think. At the moral level we seek freedom to lead a moral life. At the spiritual level we seek freedom to attain immortality and everlasting peace.

Can all these different types of freedom be u n i f i e d i n t o a n i n t e g ra l q u e s t , a n all-inclusive ultimate purpose? One widely followed view, popularised by some of the modern psychologists, is that quest for happiness is the basic urge in man. It is, however, well known that no civilised person can remain satisfied with lower pleasures.

Freedom must have a higher purpose.

Karl Marx regarded self-realisation as the basic urge in man. By self-realisation he meant

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In India Swamiji emphasised social freedom more because that was the crying need of the masses. For millions of sunken people living in destitution the only meaningful freedom is freedom from hunger. So Swamiji said, “Bread! Bread! I do not believe in a God, who cannot give me bread here, giving me eternal bliss in heaven! Pooh!”25 Swamiji’s words criticising untouchability, exploitation, and priestcraft fell like bombshells upon Indian society and blasted the bastions of vested interests, superstition and selfishness, and had a tremendous liberating influence on the Indian mind.

much less value than that of imparting spiritual knowledge.”26

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personality and his ultimate aim was the spiritual regeneration of humanity. Swamiji knew only too well that the only freedom worth striving for was spiritual freedom. He regarded all the other types of freedom as a means to the attainment of spiritual freedom. Social freedom, intellectual freedom, and moral freedom have each its own intrinsic value, no doubt. But they cannot give man lasting freedom from sorrow nor give ultimate fulfilment. Those types of freedom should be regarded as stepping-stones on the path to spiritual freedom.

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“My ideal, indeed, can be put into a few words, and that is: to preach unto mankind their divinity, and how to make it manifest in every movement of life.”28 When the social freedom, intellectual freedom, moral freedom and spiritual freedom that we seek become unified into a single evolutionary purpose, every second of human life becomes a meaningful and liberating experience.

As the French philosopher Henri Bergson has pointed out, the paradox of freedom is that by the very exercise of freedom we lose it. A person who seeks freedom to fulfil all his desires and drives soon becomes a slave of them. In the words of Samuel Johnson, ‘The chains of habit are generally too small to be felt till they are too strong to be broken.’ This is true even of our intellectual life. We learn to think in a particular way and become imprisoned by our own thoughts.

Swami Vivekananda developed a holistic view of life which unifies all the different types of freedom into an integral quest and liberates man from all bonds at all levels of existence.

The goal of life according to him is to manifest the potential divinity of the soul. Swamiji said,

In conclusion, we may state that Swami Vivekananda has made significant contributions to our understanding of different dimensions of human freedom at the individual and collective levels; he has given us an integral paradigm of liberating life; and he himself strove to extend the frontiers of human freedom.

t

For centuries to come there will echo in different parts of the civilized world the song of his soul, “Freedom, O freedom! Freedom, O freedom.”

(Concluded.)

t

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the expression of the inherent potentialities in man. He wanted to bring into existence a society where every individual would be free to express his creativity freely.

Notes and References 17) The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda [hereafter Complete Works]. 2:34.

18) Ibid., 1:171 19) Ibid., 8:43 20) It may also be mentioned here that existentialist philosophers look upon freedom as a necessary condition arising from man’s individuality. Freedom means choice, and choice always means conflict.

Hence, freedom is not a state of happiness. As Sartre has put it, “Man is condemned to be free.” Some believing existentialists like Gabriel Marcel and Paul Tillich regard freedom as liberation from one’s isolated individuality through participation in the Divine.

21) Complete Works. 7:235-36.

22) For a study of Bhartriprapanca’s view, see M. Hiriyanna, Indian Philosophical Studies Mysore: Kavyalaya Publishers, 1957, pp. 79-94.

23) For a critical examination of Appayya’s view see K.R. Srinivasa Iyengar’s paper Sarva-mukti presented at a symposium of the Indian Philosophical Congress in 1932.

24) Complete Works. 6: 273-74.

25) Ibid., 4:368.

26) Ibid., 3:133.

27) Ibid., 1:501.

28) Ibid

Reminiscences

Lessons from Swamis

B

Swami Sukhadananda

The guiding hand

In the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, we read (dated 26 Sept 1884): “Suppose a man has set out with a sincere desire to visit Jagannatha at Puri and by mistake has gone north instead of south; then certainly someone he meets on the way will tell him: ‘My good fellow, don’t go that way. Go to the south.’ And the man will reach Jagannath sooner or later.” I heard of an incident which exemplifies this statement of Sri Ramakrishna. This was told to me by Swami Anamayanandaji (Saroj Maharaj) who succeeded Sukhadananda Maharaj as the 4th Secretary of Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama, Sargachhi.

In the Srihatta district of the erstwhile East Bengal, now Bangladesh, a young man called Barada had just got admitted to college. As good fortune would have it, he was already initiated by Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi. He heard that Holy Mother had come to Kolkata, and her health was very bad. Barada now had an intense desire to have her darshan. So he sold one of his new books and with whatever little money he got, he started for Kolkata. He knew that he had to alight at Sealdah railway station and then proceed to Mayer Bari (Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi’s residence) in Baghbazar. But he did not know whether he had to proceed in the northern or southern direction.

After alighting at Sealdah station, he started walking towards the south. After he had walked some distance, he unexpectedly came across an acquaintance who redirected him northwards and showed him the way to Mayer Bari. When he finally reached Mayer Bari, he was devastated to know that normal darshan of Holy Mother had been stopped. It was allowed only on special recommendation. Even as he stood there deeply disappointed, someone from upstairs called out, “If anyone has come here for darshan of Holy Mother, please come upstairs.” Barada happily went upstairs, had Mother’s darshan and also offered his pranams. When he came down, he saw a man creating a ruckus. Actually, that man had received permission for Holy Mother’s darshan but had just gone out when the attendant called out, and so missed his chance. When Barada had arrived, there were no other visitors, and he too had come for Mother’s darshan; and so as soon as he heard the call he had followed the attendant and met Mother!! Barada was so overwhelmed by Mother’s grace that he joined the Order and later came to be known as Swami Sukhadananda. He served as the Head of Sargachhi

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arada received his mantra-diksha from Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi and joined the Ramakrishna Order at Habiganj Ashrama in 1932. Swami Virajanandaji gave him sannyasa-diksha in 1940. He served as the Head of Sargachhi Ashrama for over three decades from January 1943 to November, 1973. He was loved by all for his simple and austere sadhu life.

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The Dec 2020 Special Issue of The Vedanta Kesari was on the topic ‘Lessons from Swamis’.

New content on this topic is being serialised this year.

Ashram for a long time. After retiring from active work Sukhadanandaji Maharaj continued to live in Sargachhi until his last breath in 1980. — Swami Devarajananda, Ramakrishna Math, Belur Math

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Sri Ramakrishna says, “Pride and egotism stop you from attaining the Lord. A high mound cannot hold rainwater; the rainwater just flows down. Similarly, the shower of God’s grace doesn’t stay where there’s ego.”

In the early1970s, the standard of living was quite poor in Sargachhi Ashram. Food was ordinary. Daily breakfast consisted of watery curd, puffed rice and a little jaggery. It was followed by a cup of tea, and about the quality of tea, the lesser said the better.

One day, the tea was really awful. An old sadhu, about the same age as Swami Sukhadananda, the Secretary of the Ashrama, was unable to drink it. He poured it in a bowl and then poured water into it and exclaimed with irritation, “Is it tea? Is such tea fit for drinking?”

Hearing this, Sukhadanandaji blurted out, “Why don’t you supervise the cook, so that he prepares tea properly? You waste the whole day, roaming here and there, doing nothing.”

This old sadhu was Swami Nityayuktanandaji, popularly known as Bhaskar Maharaj. He was an initiated disciple of Swami Shivanandaji and had almost retired from active service. He was unable to carry out any work other than chopping a few vegetables in the morning. So, he said, “I can’t do all such things!” Then their exchange went like this: Sukhadanandaji: Oh yes! How will you do this? Whole life you have done nothing worthwhile!

Bhaskar Maharaj: What do you do? You too don’t do anything.

Sukhadanandaji: I will drive you out.

Bhaskar Maharaj: I will expel you! And chase you out of your position as the Head!

Sukhadanandaji: Get out! Get lost!

Bhaskar Maharaj: You get out!

[An explanation is required here. There are three levels of addressing people as ‘you’ in Bengali — ‘aapni’ denotes respect; people of the same level address each other as ‘tumi;’ and ‘tui’ denotes disrespect. The sadhus started speaking to each other using ‘aapni’ and as the altercation heated up, they shifted to addressing each other as ‘tumi’ and finally came down to ‘tui’.]

Fighting and shouting at each other, both the senior sadhus retired to their respective rooms in a huff. The other sadhus and brahmacharis were totally shocked and silently went back to their duties.

After 45 minutes, we saw from a distance, Sukhadanandaji walking towards Bhaskar Maharaj’s cottage. Sukhadanandaji then called the brahmachari on duty in the kitchen and instructed him to prepare two cups of proper tea and bring it to Bhaskar Maharaj’s room.

When Bhaskar Maharaj saw Sukhadanandaji coming, he stood up from his seat and most cordially invited him, “Come, come!” Sukhadanandaji called out, “Hello Bhaskar Maharaj! What are you doing?” [Now both of them addressed each other with the respectful ‘aapni’!]

Bhaskar Maharaj respectfully offered his chair to Sukhadanandaji. Tea came and both enjoyed the tea together. The bitterness of the fight was cleared within an hour. During lunchtime, both sat next to each other, as they normally did, and went for the evening walk together, as usual. It never seemed that such a fiasco had taken place in the morning! To us novitiates, it remained as a bright example of the ego-lessness of the sadhus! — Swami Devarajananda, Ramakrishna Math, Belur Math

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The ego-less fight

Two Great Masters - Living a Happy and Joyous Life

by Amrit Gupta,

his book is a compendium of the For review in The Vedanta lives and teachings of two great Kesari, publishers need to send us two copies of their latest spiritual luminaries — Swami publication.

Vivekananda and Paramhansa Yogananda who both spread the message of the practical spirituality in the West. They had some things in common — both were born in Bengal, both wanted to see a change in human thinking and behaviour, and both presented clear paths of sadhana to manifest the best in mankind. So it Bhuvan, Anna, and Maria are ‘young research is not difficult to see why the author has chosen scholars’, the tone is one of studious interest. them as subjects together.

The author Amrit Gupta is obviously very wellThe book takes the form of conversations read and has the commendable aim of wanting at various times between Bhuvan and Anna and a to share his learning and understanding with number of others who are mostly students. Into everyone. this mix is brought Anna’s friend Maria, a brilliant However, he has missed the mark by scholar. Maria enters the scene as a physically packing in too many diverse elements — disabled person, but by the end of the book, faith spirituality, ethics, the benefits of hard work, and medical science helps her to walk again. the gains of physical exercise, the significance Essentially it is the love story of Anna and Bhuvan of education — all into one book. The result is a who are drawn to each other through their miscellany of advice, exhortation and moralising mutual love of spirituality, philosophy and the that, even though obviously well-meant and deeper issues of life. The question they seek to sincere, becomes difficult to read. Another answer is: how to be happy through a well-lived, striking point is that neither Vivekananda reflective and purposeful life and this forms the nor Yogananda come through clearly. The basis of all their discussions. The conversations writer’s voice, mostly though Bhuvan and in the book are expositions of the philosophies of sometimes through Anna, is the loudest of all — both of these spiritual giants and deep thinkers — a characteristic of the novel form. However, this Swami Vivekananda and Yogananda Paramhansa. book is not just fiction, it is an exposition of two The book’s aim is obviously to guide young schools of thought. The attempt is praise-worthy. people to lead a happy and joyous life, and as ____________________________ PREMA RAGHUNATH, CHENNAI

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2016, hardback, pp.310, Rs.395.

Book Reviews

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Unistar Books Pvt. Ltd, 301,Industrial Area,Phase9,Sector 66 A, SAS Nagar, Mohali, Chandigar - 160062. Email: unistarbooks@gmail.com

The Order on the March

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The 111th Annual General Meeting of the Ramakrishna Mission was held at Belur Math on Sunday, 7 March 2021. Srimat Swami Shivamayanandaji, one of the Vice-presidents of the Order chaired the meeting. In all, 146 monastic members, 37 lay members and 51 associates attended the meeting.

The janma-tithi of Sri Ramakrishna was celebrated at Belur Math on Monday, 15 March, with special worship, homa, kirtan and devotional music. Swami Suviranandaji, General Secretary of the Order presided over the meeting held in the afternoon. Belur Math remained closed to devotees on that day on account of the pandemic. The programme was live streamed on the Internet.

The annual Public Celebration of Sri Ramakrishna’s birthday scheduled to be held on 21 March was cancelled this year. Only Kali kirtan was sung by sannyasins and brahmacharins in Sri Ramakrishna Temple in the afternoon.

The South Indian Education Society, Mumbai, presented the Sri Chandrashekharendra Saraswati National Eminence Award to the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission in recognition of the twin organizations preaching and publication work.

To create awareness about the need to counter the increasing environmental pollution, Sri Ramakrishna Ashrama, Mysuru conducted a Green Mysuru drive called Haccha Hasiru Mysuru, or Lush Green Mysuru. For two months from 26 Nov 2020, the Ashrama distributed 41,209 plant saplings to 6785 citizens of Mysuru.

Smt Droupadi Murmu, Governor of Jharkhand, inaugurated the newly built 50-bed hospital building at Ranchi Sanatorium on 27 February and the new Students’ Hostel Building on the Sakchi campus of Jamshedpur centre on 28 February.

Narainpur centre held a kisan mela or Farmers Fair on 6 March which was visited by 3000 farmers.

Sri Amit Shah, Home Minister, Government of India, visited Thiruvananthapuram Ashrama on 7 March.

Covid-19 Relief: The Order’s centres at Aalo (Arunachal Pradesh), Delhi, Kalady (Kerala), Durban and Phoenix (South Africa) continued Covid-19 pandemic relief. They distributed food grains, groceries, and clothes to over 3000 people.

Flood Relief: Dehradun centre in Uttarkhand distributed food grains and blankets to 390 families affected by the flooding of Rishiganga and Dhauliganga rivers.

Winter Relief: 14 centres in India distributed 6357 blankets and 1185 sweaters/jackets among needy.

Distress Relief: 23 centers in India and 3 foreign centres distributed 2171 shirts/T-shirts, 2918 trousers, 392 dhotis, 6118 saris, 6357 blankets etc among the needy.

PA G E D O N O R : S R I U M A M A H E S H WA R K I R A N AT I , O S H AWA

May 2021

News & Notes from Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission

The Vedanta Kesari

May 2021

Organic Farming

Medical service

/ramakrishnamath

Organic Farming

Moral education by Sadhus

Goshala

Our rural students

For more details visit : chennaimath.org

Sri Ramakrishna Math,

31, Ramakrishna Math road, Mylapore, Chennai - 600 004. Ph : 2462 1110. email : mail@chennaimath.orgg

v For Godanam please contact the Math Office.

Section 80G.

v Donations are exempted from Income Tax under

your full postal address & PAN number.

Saradamma Grama Mangalam, & give

please mention that the donation is for

‘Sri Ramakrishna Math’. In the Covering Letter

v Donation by Cheque / DD: Favouring

v Online donation: https:// donations.chennaimath.org

Saradamma Grama Mangalam our RURAL WELFARE UNIT in Meyyur

Support

45

SERVE GOD AND SERVE MEN

JOIN HANDS WITH US!

Dear Devotees and Friends, Namaste.

By the grace of Sri Ramakrishna, a centre of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission is functioning in the historic, cultural city of Thanjavur. The main activities and the funds required in the city center and the rural centre is as follows:

May 2021

Services which require your support

The Vedanta Kesari

46

Weekly

Monthly

Expenditure towards the cost of medicines etc., in the rural centre Sri Sarada Devi cultural and personality development training classes for the children and their food etc., Spoken English Classes

Rs. 15,000

Rs. 60,000/-

Rs. 6,000/-

Rs. 24,000/-

Rs. 5,000/-

Rs. 20,000/-

Sri Ramakrishna Nithya puja and related services in the temple

Rs. 10,000/-

Rs. 40,000/-

Sadhu seva and serving devotees

Rs. 25,000/-

Rs. 1,00,000/-

Day-to-day expenses of the Math Rs. 12,000/Rs. 50,000/To construct living rooms for monastics; cost per room — Rs. 3,00,000/(Donor/s name and amount will be inscribed) To modify Sri Sarada Hall to conduct various programs Rs. 6,00,000/(Donor/s name and amount will be inscribed) To undertake repair and renovation work in the rural centre Rs. 25 lakhs (Donor/s name and amount will be inscribed) To carry on the above activities and further them, we request your support. Your donation will be received with gratitude. Donations may be made either by cash or cheque or DD in favour of ‘Ramakrishna Math’. For online donations please visit https://rkmthanjavur.org/donate After online payment please intimate us by email your address and PAN number.

Yours in the Service of the Lord, DONATIONS ARE EXEMPTED FROM Swami Vimurtananda, INCOME TAX UNDER SECTION 80G Swami in-charge.

BANK DETAILS Bank Name : PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK Ac Number : 1511010123990 Account Holder : Sri Ramakrishna Math

Bank Code (MICR) : 600024114 IFSC code : PUNB0151120 (5th & last Character is ZERO) Branch : RAMAKRISHNA MATH, CHENNAI

RAMAKRISHNA MATH

(A sub-centre of Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai) 4A, Sivaji Nagar, Thanjavur - 613 001.

Mob : 90434 48963 E-mail: thanjavur@rkmm.org web: rkmthanjavur.org @ Ramakrishna Math, Thanjavur

The Vedanta Kesari

47

May 2021

Ramakrishna Math (A Branch of Belur Math)

Next to Primary Health Centre, Pilapuzha ( North), Haripad --690514 Dist- Alleppey, Kerala. 09745325834.

Email: viveka.vira@gmail.com; srkmathharipad@gmail.com, Website: www.rkmathharipad.org

An Appeal for Donations

Swami Brahmanandaji

May 2021

By the Grace of Bhagawan Sri Ramakrishna, By the generous donation of devotees.............

The Vedanta Kesari

48

the Reconstruction Work (begun in 2018) of the Ramakrishna Math at Haripad, Kerala, is progressing well.

This Math started in 1912 has been sanctified by the stay of Swami Brahmananda, the spiritual son of Sri Ramakrishna. Due to long passage of time, the Math buildings had become totally unfit for use.

Under the First Phase, the Monk’s Quarters is being reconstructed and now its brick work, RCC work, and the Retaining Wall on its three sides are complete. The second stage of Monk’s Quarters reconstruction involves electrification, plumbing, painting, doors & windows, floor tiling, fixing poles with nets for the Retaining Wall, buying furniture etc.

The total cost estimated for completing this second stage of Monk’s Quarters Reconstruction is Rs. 68 lakhs.

We request you to come forward and donate generously and help us to complete this restoration work and join us in joyfully inaugurating this new building in this sacred centre.

Once this work is completed, we will take up in the Second Phase, the work of building A Universal Temple of Sri Ramakrishna, Rooms for Welfare & Social activities, Exhibition Rooms and a Library.

Eagerly anticipating your kind help.

May the blessings of the Holy Trio be on you all.

With thanks, good wishes and prayers Yours in the Lord, Swami Virabhadrananda, Adhyaksha Details for sending donations Donations from India: 1) Go to-www.onlinesbi.com >Then Select- SBI Collect >State- Kerala > Institutions -Charitable Institutions >Ramakrishna Math Haripad.

2) Cheque / D.D may be drawn in favour of “Ramakrishna Math, Haripad” See postal Address above.

3) Online Transfer :A/C Number: 30642551603,: State Bank of India. Haripad. RTGS/NEFT/IFSC code: SBIN0010596. (In case of NEFT transfer please email your Name, Amount, Postal Address, PAN NUMBER, phone number &transaction details to srkmathharipad@gamil.com This is for accounting purposes.) * Donations from Foreign countries: Kindly draw a Cheque / Draft in favour of “Ramakrishna Math” and send it to the General Secretary, Ramakrishna Math, Belur Math, Dt. Howrah (West Bengal), Pin -711 202, India. In the covering letter mention that it is a donation for Haripad Centre building fund. And inform all the details of the donation to e-mail: srkmathharipad@gmail.com, viveka.vira@gmail.com Donations to Ramakrishna Math are Exempt from Income Tax Under Section 80 G.

Foundation stone

Dilapidated buildings

New Monk’s Quarters & Prayer Hall under Construction

The Vedanta Kesari

49

May 2021

New Book Release

THE PILGRIMAGE OF FAITH Swami Tapasyananda

Published by Sri Ramakrishna Ashrama, Sasthamangalam, Thiruvananthapuram - 695010.

When there were hardly any private hospitals in Thiruvananthapuram, Swami Tapasyanandaji transformed a small dispensary started in 1937 at Sasthamangalam into a 240 bed multi-specialty modern hospital, and served tirelessly for 31 years to meet the needs of multitudes of patients in and around the city till he left for Madras in 1971. He served as one of the Vice-presidents of the Ramakrishna Order from 1985 till his mahasamadhi on 3 Oct 1991.

May 2021

More than 600 pages

High quality printing with Hard case cover

Price Rs.500/-

The Vedanta Kesari

50

THE PILGRIMAGE OF FAITH Sri Ramakrishna Ashrama, Sasthamangalam is proud to present this compilation of articles written by Swami Tapasyanandaji, a revered Sannyasin, the hallmark of whose life was penance—intense and unremitting.

These articles provide rare insights into the challenges and opportunities in the life of a spiritual seeker. The essence of Sanatana Dharma unfolds with the Swami’s inimitable grace in these pages. Whatever be the shades of theme discussed, they bear the imprint of the Swami’s erudition and his ability to delve deep into the heart of the subject. This book will be an unfailing inspiration to the aspirants and travellers in the path of spirituality, which the Sruti declares is as difficult as walking on a sharp razor’s edge.

Pre-publication offer

Rs.350/-

(including registered postage) Last date for receiving pre-publication order is 31.5.2021 PAYMENT DETAILS Name of the Bank Name of the Branch Name of the Account S/B A/c No. IFSC

: State Bank of India : Jawaharnagar Branch : Sri Ramakrishna Ashram : 32757458995 : SBIN 0004685

After payment kindly email us your full postal address For more details contact: (0471)2722125, 2722453, 2726603, 2727393 Email: thiruvananthapuram@rkmm.org

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Vol.108. No.5 The Vedanta Kesari (English Monthly) May 2021. Regd. with the Registrar of Newspapers for India under No.1084 / 1957. Postal registration number: TN / CH (C) / 190 / 2021-2023. Licensed to Post without prepayment TN/PMG(CCR)/WPP-259 / 2021-2023.

Date of Publication: 24th of every month

Mind you, there is no value in learning.

You are all mistaken in learning.

The only value of knowledge is in the strengthening, the disciplining, of the mind.

— Swami Vivekananda

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