VedantaSandesh May2015

Monthly eMagazine of the International Vedanta Mission

Year 21

Nbz!3126

Issue 11

Monthly eMagazine of the International Vedanta Mission May 2015 : Year 21 / Issue 11 Editor: Swamini Samatananda Saraswati

rkonso fujks)O;a ;kon~ g`fn xra {k;e~A ,rn~ Kkua p /;kua p vrksU;ks xzUFkfoLrj%AA The mind needs to be understood, managed & quietened till it becomes quiet and merges back into ones heart - its place of origin. This alone is the essence & objective of all the various practices of knowledge & meditation, rest all is a commentary on this objective.

Amrutbindu Upanishad - 5

Published by

International Vedanta Mission http://www.vmission.org.in / vmission@gmail.com

Section Index

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7.

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10.

11.

Message of P. Guruji Tattva Bodha Letter Gita Reflections Jivanmukta Yoga Vasistha Story Section VM News VM Activities Album VM Programs

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5 6-7 9 10-11 13 14-15 17 18 19 20-21 23

from Poojya Guruji Truth of Creation Creation is amazingly beautiful & useful too. In fact it appears divine. Poets are awestruck by its beauty, and photographers keep clicking & capturing the awesome vibgyoric presentations. If this creation is so beautiful, useful & divine, then why do the scriptures ask us to negate all 'names & forms'?Why do we use words like Mithya to describe it? Why is Samsara associated with these names & forms?

Well, before we are told about things like Mithya & Samsara etc, these very scriptures first initiate us to see the beauty & divinity around. They first tell us that not only every thing is created by God, but everything is a manifestation of God himself. God alone has presented himself as this creation. So first comes the sensitization & awareness of beauty and then everything else. Just as a book is not about accumulation of some words, but is about a message, so also the world is all about the message of God. God is talking to us through these forms & world. No wonder all the scriptures use various examples - of the world - to explain the various intricate & subtle principles of life. The objective of calling the names & forms as Mithya is to help us turn our attention to the truth & also the message the world is giving us.

World may be various names & forms put together, but it is living, intelligent, harmonious, beautiful & useful too. The scriptures in fact help us read the book of life properly. A changing form is telling us that it is just an effect, it is a creation of some creator, so basically it is turning our attention to that intelligent & loving creator - God. Capacity to turn our attention from effect to the cause is the 'negation' of the effect. Thereafter even when we see the effect we see something else in it. This is the implication of all those statements like - everything is pervaded by God. Names & forms are very interesting facts, they not only help us identify some unique manifestation but both basically 'freeze'. A form is basically a small moment in the ever changing life of a manifestation, every form is all about freezing a part of its life; and name further freezes that particular moment by giving an identity to it. Anyone who keeps giving importance to 'a particular' form lives in a small world, which many a times is no more. Instead of appreciating an object in its entirety we just hold on to one particular moment or aspect and that also of its past, and thus all names and forms also become limiting adjuncts. We need to be aware of this aspect also. So basically we need to have the capacity of holistic perception to see everything in its entirety. If we do not have this capacity then we just live in dead images, and a life in images is one of endless & hopeless seeking & seeking. This endless seeking is called Samsara. We need to wake up to the truth that basically there is no limitation, no freezing of a moment and thus there shall be no seeking too.

Tattva Bodha Six Divine Qualities: Titiksha The six divine qualities which are under discussion here, all these qualities are not merely means to take us to the realm of total freedom, but are stepping stones for experiencing greater & greater freedom too. To the extent these qualities are assimilated to that extent we shall experience freedom from our own self created bondages. The next quality to be discussed is ‘Titiksha’ which means Forbearance.

Q: What is Titiksha ?

A: It is the capacity to endure the ups & downs of life like cold & heat, happiness & sorrow.

Titiksha is Forbearance. it is such an important quality that it has been enlisted in the qualified students list.It has been defined as a quality wherein we accept all up’s & down’s of life with equipoise & maturity, be it a bed of roses or a path of pricking thorns.

Life always comes in pairs of opposites: Just as waves are the nature of the ocean so too dual situations are the nature of life. Day & night, heat and cold, respect & disrespect, success and failure, all are a natural part of life which cannot be avoided. In such situations forbearance is a quality that becomes a blessing taking us through all situations without any anguish. One who does not have this quality gets unnecessarily anxious and grumbles and complains about all that he does not have. Such a person is kicked by situations like a ball who is elated in convinient situations and drowns in sorrow in inconvinient ones. Titiksha or forbearance is that quality which in spite of these worldly changes helps sustain the goodness of the mind.

Acceptance of situations without retaliation: The bearing or endurance of all afflictions,

physical, emotional, or intellectual without retaliating to them is endurance. We usually retaliate to situations.

We should develop the ability to suffer a little bit, to endure. This will only make us more stronger to go through any kind of adverse situations in life. Too much of convinience and comfort makes a person weak.

There can never be a perfect situation or what we call an agreeable situation and we have to accept this fact of life.

All pairs of opposites are relative to time, people, place and situations: There is one flower but different people may have different opinions and tastes about it. In the urban areas people have a lot of value for gold and diamond but for the African tribes it may not be so, for them ornaments made of elephant tusks may be more valuable. So every situation is relative to different people. There cannot be people who are totally agreeable to us. We may also encounter agreeable and disagreeable behavior from the same person on different occasions. My own opinion about something may change. I may like a book in the first instance but I may dislike it at another time. We always want to

Vedanta Sandesh

change everything around us so that everything is agreeable to us. Forbearance teaches us to accept situations as they are and learn to live and enjoy the present moment. In life there are only situations and no problems. We label it as good or bad, pleasant or unpleasant based on our personal conditionings and expectations. Lack of forbearance or non-acceptance gives the string of our lives to other people, situations and things. We are governed by them. When someone smiles at me or speaks to me nicely, I am happy. When someone does not smile at me or does not speak to me, I am unhappy. Such a mind set not only disturbs us but also exhausts us of our valuable energy. We need to understand that it is all a play of our minds. It is my own mind that labels a given thing as honor or dishonor, pleasant or unpleasant, and happiness or unhappiness. Having the capacity of endurance is the door to freedom.

Forbearance culminates in bringing about an equipoised mind: Forbearance is accepting a situation how ever it is by the strength of one's resolution to gracefully go through all ups and down, by having faith in God. We cannot change the nature of things, people, situations, or values. At the moment, we can only change ourselves and perhaps some people and situations who may be under our influence; other than that, we cannot change anything. We can see that all situations are given to us by God, and more importantly whatever the situation ultimately it is for the benefit of the self. At such times we accept the situation do our best possible intelligently and move on. But this power of endurance must culminate in bringing about 'samatva' i.e. bringing about an equipoised mind. This is a balance of the mind brought about not by the power of one's resolve but means of

discrimination resulting in balance of mind. It is a form of detachment brought about by discrimination and understanding of certain facts.

Significance of Forbearance for a spiritual student: Forbearance reflects an intelligent living in day to day life and holds more significance for a spiritual student. A person lacks forbearance when his vision is extraneous. Such a person looks for solutions to his problems in the outside world always trying to bring about changes and conviniences outside amongst people, objects and situations. The roots of this being the presence of the Jiva, a lacking being who is only seeking to somehow fulfill his ego by extraneous experience. Often it is relatively easier to overcome heat and cold but to forbear the inconviniences brought about by people is what brings about greater anxiety and imbalance of the mind. This calls for an intelligent art of living brought about by understanding the reality of the Self, the world, people, objects, situations, the law of karma and so on. Herein comes the role of the knowledge of the scriptures. The scriptures & its Masters show us the path of devotion and knowledge to bring about such a positive mind set. In the begining holding the hands of God with faith & surrender in all ups and downs paves the path of mental strength and forbearance without any pains and complaints. An imbalanced mind that loses its balance and poise in every little situation is going to be unable to apply itself to the study or to contemplation. Endur detaches you from outside and the mind is avail for firm application in adhyatma. That which is experienced after all conviniences I can experience the same balance in inconvinient situation also. I hav not used anything outside but I hav used a quality from within which gives me the benefit of all conviniences and within I am balanced.

Om Namah Shivaya!

Our Prayers for all those people who died an untimely & unnatural death in the recent Earthquake in Nepal & India.

May God give strength & wisdom to all to help all these unfortunate people.

Pl remember this could have happened to anyone.

-7-

Accepting situations as they are Let me share this story about myself. When I first came to the United States, a friend took me for a drive on a beautiful scenic route. My friend introduced me to the climate control in the car. I started turning the knobs It became a little cold, so I turned it the other way to make the car a little warmer. Soon, the sun started shining and it became too warm so I turned the knob down. All of a sudden clouds came and it became too cold, so I turned the heat up. Thus, I went on turning the knob up and down.

After 45 minutes my friend asked me, “How did you like the scenery?” “What scenery?” I asked. “Why, we passed such a beautiful scenic road!” I had not observed anything because I had been too busy turning the knob! Thus, we are too busy turning the knobs, trying to make everything agreeable. We cannot accept situations as they are; we always want things according to our preferences. We are so busy making things agreeable that there is no time to appreciate life as it is.

Vedanta Sandesh

Prayers for Nepal Hari om !

On behalf of myself and all the Mahatmas, devotees & members of the International Vedanta Mission we offer our heartfelt condolences & prayers for all the people of Nepal, various visitors to the religious & beautiful mountain country, & of course scores of the people of North Indian states who were struck by the sudden & terrible earthquake. In fact we at Indore also experienced the shaking of the earth on that day, so we can imagine how big & devastating it would have been for the people around epi-center.

Whether it is scientific research or

philosophical

discernments, we finally need to live as per our wisdom & k n o w l e d g e , otherwise

all

knowledge

is

useless. All this is a call to wake up.

- PoojyaGuruji

Such testing times not only test our strength & faith but also reveals to us our true friends. We, the people of India are very happy to see the prompt sewa by the present Govt of PM Modi, he personally lead the way and as some Nepalese leaders said that India literally offered us a blank cheque. All are very happy by the service. We do realize that the death of thousands of people and also of the roads, property, infra-structure etc is a difficult task to deal & set-right. But there is no other option but to face life & live on with all the strength at our command. The true test of religion is seen during these times. We need to keep our balance during these testing times and do our best & that which is right. The aid by India is no aid-diplomacy as some media people have termed it. We pity their pathetic perception. All this is just plain & simple humane expression of love & brotherhood - that which our religion & culture have been advocating from ages.

All this shows how far all such people have gone away from their roots. Obviously they can’t imagine the possibility of selfless loving service. Real nishkama karma has no selfish motivations & calculations, and even a simple, poor & an uneducated person can see & feel this. There will always be many who are so drenched deep into selfish calculations that even when they smile they apparently have some axe to grind. We are happy that the present dispensation at Delhi reveals the fragance of the real culture & values of this ancient land.

This is also the times to re-evaluate our fundamental perceptions of life & the world. Life is changing, and all our data reveals to us that an earthquake was due in the Himalayan region, in fact if we had given due respect to this data, then we would have been better prepared. The leaders & wise people of both the countries need to be better prepared.

Quake-proof houses need to be a must for these lands. Architects can certainly guide & help us on this count. Let the obvious not be ignored. The philosophy of Hinduism, Vedanta, too has always made us aware of the perishable nature of the world. Whether it is scientific research or philosophical discernments, we finally need to live as per our wisdom & knowledge, otherwise all knowledge is useless. All this is a call to wake up.

With Prayers & Blessings to all.

Swami Atmananda

-9-

by

Udharet-Atmana-Atmaanam

Swamini Samatananda

In the journey of life when one comes to realize that he is only swirling round and round in the whirlpool of samsara and so desperately wishes to come out of it, he as a true spiritual aspirant honestly and sincerely reflects on the fundamental problem in his life. He comes to realize that his worldly trip is a product of wrong understanding of the Self and the world around. He comes to see that the life which appears to be a life of freedom and great achievements is actually a life bound by likes & dislikes and is a mirage of constant seeking. Such a seeker of truth humbly accepts his state of sheer ignorance and starts to walk on the path of enquiry. In such a case any spiritual aspirant who aims to awaken to the truth of oneself must go through the process of studying the scriptures at the feet of the Guru, clarifying one's doubts in knowledge, contemplating, and practising a firm abidance in knowledge. But this path of knowledge too requires a qualified and subtle mind which can glide into knowledge just as a duck takes to water. Knowledge given to an unprepared mind becomes a burden, or leads to an imaginary awakening or will not sustain at all. This is applicable in all worldly knowledge too.

No knowledge can be owned up if the person acquiring the knowledge is not mentally prepared for it. In the sixth chapter of the Gita Sri Krishna uses a term which very significantly reflects a qualified student for Self-Realisation. This term is 'Yogaarudhah'. Yogarudhah or 'Yogayuktah' is one who lives a God-centric life and who with his strong association with God has acquired divine qualities of a balanced mind, is free from the conditionings of likes & dislikes, performs actions selflessly, lives with a sense of fulfillment, is free of any kind of worries towards the fruits of actions and one who humbly yet dynamicaly performs his actions.

Here is a person wherein all the facets of life, his field of action, his situations and responses all reflect a strong presence and awareness of God. Such a person is a Yogarudha-one who has established himself in the yoga of action. Only a Yogarudha has the doors of spiritual knowledge opened for him. Having described the extreme importance of this qualification, in the sixth chapter itself Lord Krishna goes on to say that even though the blessings of God are ever present with all of us yet one has to make his own efforts too, to adorne the qualities compatible to the journey of knowledge ahead. The importance of such self-effort is being talked about in the following sloka.

Being your own friend or your own enemy: If one wishes to get out of the continuous trip of worldly seeking and climb the first step of being a qualified student then how does one do it? By your own will 'atmana'. You question yourself and your values. One re-evaluates one's own value structure and re-organizes it. One seeks the blessings of the scriptures and the Guru who direct us into right understanding but the very will to question the self and make efforts to turn around has to come by the Self alone. This is what Vedanta Sandesh

the scriptures call as 'Swa-kripa'. The blessings of God is unquestionable, it is constantly and harmoniously showering on one and all, the Guru comes as an embodiment of God who gives us authentic knowledge by means of the scriptures.

At the end of it we too have to help ourself with our firm resolve & desire to learn.

Being able to do this Sri Krishna says that we become are own friend and wellwisher and failing to do so we become are own enemy. When our own mind is not used but abused we become the cause of self-destruction. It is important to realize one's own faults & reject them, realize one's weaknesses, and try to live a life that which is not superficially or momentarily attractive but that which may be hard to live up to in the begining, but that which finally brings about our true welfare.

One seeks the blessings of the scriptures and the Guru who direct us into

right

understanding but the very will to question the self and make efforts to turn around has to come by the Self alone.

This is what the scriptures call as 'Swa-kripa'.

- Samatananda

May one not destroy oneself: May one not destroy oneself 'atmanam na avasadayet'. Do not look down upon your self. Believe that these are the words of God himself and this itself proves the possibility of such a revolution. It is truly a revolution of one's way of looking at things and in one's understanding. In fact it is not only a diffferent way of looking at things but a new compassionate way of looking at the mind. The mind has been like our own child who has been nursed and fed in a way that it is today.

Now a new turn of compassion is needed to understand the mind, give it time and raise it from the lower levels of nature to the higher ones. May one lift oneself up.

Having taken this path Sri Krishna also warns that do not allow the self thereafter to fall down and be dragged again to a lower level of existence. Do not let lethargy or a lose resolve or procrastination overpower you. This path of evolution surely calls for an emergency.

Field of action-the best medium: The field of action is the best medium that brings about the quality of being a yogarudha. God gives us situations and we have the freeom to responde to it. It is the field of action that is featured with challenges, conviniences and inconviniences, hence it gives us the best soil to discover not only the existence of God but to see the entire cosmos as a part of him, to see his blessings in and through everything, and to express our gratitude by way of selfless service. This is the soul that brings about divine qualities of faith, selflessness, mental equipoise, dynamism in action and a state of fearlessness from the challenges of the world.

Karmayoga is the best means to become a yogarudha. being a yogarudha is not an end by itself but this is the way to truly bring about the welfare of the Self. By associating all actions with God and bringing about an equipoised, selfless, subtle and anxiety free mind. Our responses in the field of action can cultivate a cultured, righteous and polished mind or they can be such that drown us more deep into the ocean of samsara. Thus says Sri Krishna 'Let a man lift himself by his own self'.

- 11 -

Quotes Language... has created the word 'loneliness' to express the pain of being alone. And it has created the word 'solitude' to express the glory of being alone.

Paul Tillich Solitude is the place of purification.

Martin Buber A poet is a nightingale, who sits in darkness and sings to cheer its own solitude with sweet sounds.

Percy Bysshe Shelley I hold this to be the highest task for a bond between two people: that each protects the solitude of the other.

Rainer Maria Rilke Solitude is creativity's best friend, and solitude is refreshment for our souls.

Naomi Judd Solitude sharpens awareness of small pleasures otherwise lost.

Kevin Patters Conversation enriches the understanding, but solitude is the school of genius.

Edward Gibbon

Vedanta Sandesh

Wandering in Himalayas Even in Badrikashram it is not easy to reach the stage of Supreme Bliss, where all distinctions disappear, where all activity ceases. There may be a few great souls who enjoy the state of

Badrinath

samadhi, but even their minds and senses are not beyond the reach of the mighty illusion. One may ascend the highest peak of the Himalayas; but unless one is exceptionally fortunate and possesses tireless industry, deep faith, true knowledge, and the highest degree of detachment, one cannot overcome illusion completely and reach that final blissful state of merger with the Supreme.

34

Badrikashram was the sacred place where Nara and Narayana performed their penance. It is ituated in the valley of the Alaknanda, between two mountains named after them. The ashram is described in the Puranas as the home of Rishis and as covered with the smoke of sacrifices. But today it appears in a totally altered form. There are some temples and rows of houses where priests and pilgrims lodge and foodstuffs are offered for sale. The whole place is noisy with the conversation of travellers and the altercations of priests who demand

Excerpts from

gifts and rewards from them.

the Travel Memoirs

A hot water pool called Tapta Kunda and another, the Brahmakapali, a short distance away, are the two chief pilgrimage centres in

of

modern Badri. The famous temple of Badri Narayana is situated on

Param Poojya

a rising ground above the Tapta Kunda. In the temple by the side of

Swami

the image of Lord Narayana are installed the figures of Nara and

Tapovanji Maharaj

Narayana, the orignal dwellers of the place. Outside is a small temple dedicated to Shree Shankaracharya. But it is remarkable that there are no shrines here dedicated to Vyasa, Suka, or Gaudapada, all three of whom once lived at this spot.

- 13 -

The pure Consciousness cannot be described by words and it cannot be

by

imagined. It is the very substratum of words, speech, comprehension and

Swamini Vidyananda

of their substratum, words and notions exist and can have a meaning and so we

imagination. Their reality is the reality of the pure Consciousness. Only because can communicate. Words, being limited, can easily be used to delude and confuse people who like to talk and argue and pay attention only to differences. Wise people are beyond confusion, knowing the substratum of all words to be the same.

Uttered by the wise, words can become a mighty tool to indicate, point to the eternal omnipresent unchanging and unmoving truth, in which changes are only imagined by ignorant people.

28

The wise sages thunder - “Brahma satyam jagat mithya, jivo brahmaiva naparah�. Only Brahman is real, the world is illusion. Limited being (and the whole world) are not different from Brahman. Consciousness alone has spread around as space, air, fire, water and earth and bodies of living beings, without undergoing any change in itself. If you look upon names and forms only, which appear separate, their separate reality is mithya, illusory and unreal. But if you look for the basis, substratum of all names and forms, you realize this substratum is the same for all things in the world, and it is not different from Brahman. As water, unmoving itself, may appear in different forms of waves, bubbles and ripples, so also that Consciousness alone has spread around as the whole world. If you look at waves only, they are illusion of separate existence. If you look at water, and see wave as

Adhyatmic Teachings of Guru Vasishtha to Sri Ramji

water, you realize it never was separate from water.

And see what an amazing transformation happens when a limited being, using working methods, discovers itself to be that undivided pure Consciousness, which fills everything and everyone! Before, taking himself to be limited by body and the mind, one has to take upon himself all the problems of the body and the mind. If the body is old, fat, tall or limpy, he himself becomes old, fat or limpy. If mind is dumb, he himself has to become dumb. But if you know yourself not to be the mind or the body or the intellect, if you realize the pure bliss and consciousness the wise are talking about as your very own self, you yourself become the great Self of everything! No limits, no constraints, no problems of limited being. One Vedanta Sandesh

realizes his own immortality - death is certain only for the one who was born, but unborn is never going to die. One’s outlook towards the world and people and nature also changes. Everything becomes my very own, I look upon everything as my own self. I recognize myself in every child, flower and animal. Before, my love has been limited only to the things and people I considered my own (and many more being NOT my own) - my country, my city, my village, my classmates, my

Self=Knowledge to Moksha

friends, my family.

But now the whole world becomes my family, because I see everything and everyone as countless reflections of the pure Self in various reflecting media. And only

reflected

disturbed

image can be

or

agitated, the

very Self which is

reflected

never perturbed

by

agitations of the

i m a g e .

Knowing myself as

the one who is

reflected, multiple

reflections

cannot deceive

me to be many

independent and

s e pa r a t e

beings.

Now,

knowing myself

as the self of all, I

love, care and

serve everyone as

my own self.

Being the bliss

absolute, I don’t

seek

with

limited objects

and relationships,

I enjoy non-

ending bliss of my

own being in

myself. I do not

depend

joy

is the

on

transient objects, and so they cannot leave me helpless and desolate. I cannot be betrayed or disillusioned, because I am out of illusions all together. I am whole and complete, and my search for better life is over - I myself is something transcending even the best.

He for whom ‘everything’ has become just his Self, for such a wise person & knower of non-duality - where is the question of any delusion or grief.

Isavasya Upanishad - 7

-7-

Strength This is my prayer to thee, my lord---strike, strike at the root of penury in my heart.

Give me the strength lightly to bear my joys and sorrows.

Give me the strength to make my love fruitful in service.

Give me the strength never to disown the poor or bend my knees before insolent might.

Give me the strength to raise my mind high above daily trifles.

And give me the strength to surrender my strength to thy will with love.

- Rabindranath Tagore

Vedanta Sandesh

Krishna the Strategist Story Section

Krishna was well aware that Karna is more than a match for Arjuna in his skills with the bow and arrow. It was not a battle that Arjuna could be sure of winning. And Karna nursed a deep wound in his mind from the day he was insulted in public. He had Arjuna as his target and was focusing all his energies for the ultimate battle.

It was most important to mentally break him down as the first step. So

n o p u e c On e ... m a ti

Krishna let him know about his real parentage – he knew the Pandavas were his younger brothers. This always weighed down on Karna’s mind when he took on any Pandava in battle.

The second strategy was to ask Kunti to visit Karna with a request to defect to the Pandava side. It was well known that Karna considered his loyalty to Duryodhana over eveything else and he would never leave the Kauravas – Duryodhana started the war with the confidence of having Karna on his side. The reason for the visit was to pressurise Karna to make more concessions to Pandavas. He did and boxed himself into a poor position in the battle. He gave Kunti the promise that he would not kill any Panda other than Arjuna even if he gets the opportunity. Krishna and Kunti carefully kept the secret of Karna away from Pandavas. So Arjuna could freely fight the battle seeing only the enemy in Karna. But Karna had the burden of seeing a brother in his enemy.

Karna had a spear called Vyjayanthi, given by Indra. It would work only once and Karna had kept it for use against Arjuna. Krishna was aware of this and wanted to ensure that the spear was used before Karna and Arjuna met. He strategised to sacrifice Khatotkacha (Bhima’s son ) for the purpose. Khatotkacha was a rakshasa and the cost of his life would have been considered low. Krishna unleashed the might of Khatotkacha on the Kaurava army. They were unable to bear the brunt of the whirlwind warrior. Karna was forced to use Vyjayanthi to kill Khatotkacha rendering the spear unusable for the battle with Arjuna. Khatotkacha’s life was a small price to pay to protect the higher prize.

- 17 -

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Vedanta Sandesh

Hjub!Hzbob!Zbhob-!Civcboftxbs; 1. Visit to Jagannath Puri : Poojya Swamini Samatanandaji reached Bhubaneswar on 5th evening, and the next morning she accompanied Sh Rajesh Kumar & his family to the temple town of Puri. They were blessed to have very nice darshan of the Lord of Universe.

She also visited the Sankaracharya’s ancient Goverdhan Math closeby.

2. Gita Gyana Yagna : The first Gita Gyana Yagna at Bhubaneswar was organized at the Sivananda Samskrutik Kendra of the Divine Life Society from 6th to 12th April. The head of the Ashram Poojya Swami Shivchidanandaji Maharaj lighted the lamp to inaugurate the week-long discourse series. The subject matter of the twin discourse series were Gita-1 and Kathopanishad 1-1. The whole program was organized & also received very well.

3. Vishnu Sahasranama Archana : On the last day a Vishnu Sahasranama Archana was organized, in which large numbers of devotees enthusiastically participated.

Hjub!Hzbob!Zbhob-!Kbmhbpo; 1. Gita Gyana Yagna : Poojya Swamini Poornanandaji conducted her bi-annual Gita Gyana Yagna at the Dutta Mandir Sabhagruh from 14th to 19th April. This time she continued her discourses on the next chapters of Gita & Kathopanishad. Chap-4 and Katha 2-1.

2. Visit to Temples/Ashram : During the Gyana Yagna she also visited various temples of the city and organized some Satsangs. She also visited the Kanvashram at Kanalda.

3. Vishnu Sahasranama Archana : On the last day there was a Vishnu Sahasranama Archana, in which various devoted people religiously participated.

Tbolbsbdibszb!Kbzbouj!Gvodujpot-!Joepsf; This year the Adi Sankaracharya Jayanti was on the 23rd April. In the morning after the study of the Shankara Bhashya (on Mundaka Upanishad), all the ashram inmates & devotees offered special puja at the feet of the great Acharya. Later in the day, the statue of Sankaracharya at the Sankaracharya Gate was cleaned & washed with Ganga Jal, and garlanded. In the evening the local parshad Sh Devendra also came over with his team to offer his respect to the Acharya at the gate. He went up on a ladder and put a garland around the Acharya.

Ibovnbo!Dibmjtb!Tbutboh!.!Bqs!3126; On 26th Apr was the last Sunday of the month, and as such it was the day for the monthly Hanuman Chalisa Satsang. As usual it was full house, and first there were lovely spirited bhajans, chanting of Hanuman Chalisa and then the pravachan. Poojya Guruji continued his deep reflections on the third chaupayi.

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Vedanta Sandesh

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Twelve keys to Happiness & Success

by Swami Chidanandaji Maharaj

1. Develop a clear-cut aim 2. Draw up a wise programme 3. Guard your health 4. Conserve your energy 5. Value Character 6. Adopt Virtues 7. Pray to God 8. Reflect upon ideal personalities 9. Be kind 10. Be absolutely truthful 11. Serve others 12. Think nobly

Vedanta Sandesh

Gita Gyana Yagna, Ahmedabad : A week-long Gita Gyana Yagna by P. Swamini Amitanandaji will be organized at the Ramkrishna Kendra, Maninagar, Ahmedabad from 13-19th May. The subject matter of the discourse series will be Gita Chapter 11 and Kathopanishad 2-2.

Gita Gyana Yagna, Mumbai : A week-long Gita Gyana Yagna by Poojya Guruji will be organized at the RK Mission’s Vivekananda Auditorium at Khar, Mumbai, from 25th to 30th May. The subject matter of the discourse series will be Gita Chapter 12 and Mundakopanishad 3-1.

Hanuman Chalisa Satsang - May’15, Indore : The last Sunday in May falls on the 31st. As Poojya Guruji will be back from Mumbai by that time, there will be the monthly HC Satsang on that day in the evening. He is likely to continue the pravachans on the third chaupayi of the Chalisa.

Guru Poornima Camp, Indore : A four days Guru Poornima Camp will be organized at Vedanta Ashram, Indore from 27th to 30th July. For four days Poojya Guruji will talk on just one mantra - Parikshya Lokan (of Mundaka Upa) . Poojya Swamini Amitanandaji will conduct classes on Guru Paduka Stotram.

Guru Poornima Celebrations, Indore : This year Guru Pornima, the spiritual teachers day will be on 31st July. There will be special puja of our Guru Parampara by Poojya Guruji, and then some devotee will do Pada Pooja of Poojya Guruji, followed by Bhandara for all. All are welcome to join.

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International Vedanta Mission http://www.vmission.org.in/

Vedanta Mission Blog: http://blog.vmission.org.in/

Indian Cultural Foundation http://icf.vmission.org.in/

Earlier ‘Vedanta Sandesh’ issues http://bit.ly/1oGD4TK

Om Tat Sat