Vedanta Sandesh - July 2010

Vedanta Sandesh Monthly eMagazine of Vedanta Mission Year 16

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Issue 1

In This Issue

1.

Vedanta Section:

Atma Bodha - Shloka-20

2.

Letter Section:

Viveka & Mukti

3.

Traditions Section:

Guru Poornima

4.

Story Section:

Pushpadanta

5.

VM Programs:

Mission / Ashram Progs

From Poojya Guruji

Vedanta Sandesh Spreading Love & Light

Hari om!

Monthly eMagazine of Vedanta Mission Sharing the message of Vedanta and Sanatan Dharma

July 2010 On the Net since 1995

Started by:

Poojya Guruji Sri Swami Atmanandaji

Editor:

Swamini Samatananda

Published from:

Vedanta Ashram E/2948-50, Sudama Nagar Indore-452 009, India

Web:

www.vmission.org.in Email:

vmission@gmail.com

Fifteen years back on the occasion of Guru Poornima we first published the first issue of Vedanta Sandesh, an e-magazine of Vedanta and Sanatan Dharma.

It was our humble offering at the feet of our divine teachers who starting from God himself brought this knowledge down to us through this amazing tradition.

Indebted by their knowledge and compassion we have humbly tried to take this message of Vedanta to as many people as we can through this great medium of internet, and I am happy that our list of subscribers has been continuously increasing since then. We are very happy that now have our readers in almost all the parts of the world. On the occasion of Guru Poornima, which is the birthday of Bhagwan Veda Vyasa, in whose memory we have this traditional Spiritual Teachers Day, I convey my blessings & best wishes to all our readers and the aspirants of Self-Knowledge.

Guru Parampara, the tradition of teachers of Vedanta is a unique tradition, which reveals that which is beyond our true Self, something which is beyond our mind & senses, it is, as the Kena Upanishad says, the mind of mind, the eys of eye etc. Bhagwan Krishna in Bhagwad Gita says that while there may be many amazing things in the world, what amazes me most is just this fact that there are some people who talk about ‘this’ truth, and some even get privileged to hear about it, and further more some even realize this divinity directly. It is indeed wonder of all wonders. It wont be an exaggeration if we say that there is just nothing more amazing and divine than this tradition of Guru Parampara. Upanishads do not describe it yet reveal it, they discovered an unique methodology to make this possible. God defined is indeed God defiled, anything which can be described is always limited and therefore perishable, so the Upanishads take resort to a system of negation. The self is self-effulgent and all that eclipses it is our projections, so they just focus on these superimpositions and help us to realize their ephemerality. One who realizes the untruth as untruth negates that untruth, and to that extent the truth stands unvieled.

We are revealed the entire gamut of our superimpositions and thereafter there is a a deep enquiry to realize directly all the superimposition as such. Truth is neither Vidita nor Avidita, neither something which is known nor something which is unknown. Known and unknown are words pertaining to the knowledge scenario of the Knower, this fellow knows something and does not know other things. We are turned away from ‘objects’ of knowedge and turned to this very knower, free from the conditionings of known & unknown. Amazing. Again our reverential pranams to the entire Guru Parampara. Namo Namah.

Love & om,

Swami Atmananda

Atma Bodha - Shloka 20 Vedanta Section

Atma alone Enlivens everything From the previous sloka we are trying to understand how the Atman i.e. the Self is neither a doer nor an enjoyer. The performance of the body, mind and intellect is superimposed on the Atman and I come to see my self as a doer and enjoyer individual. But when this is said then a question arises that how can the instrumental physical and mental faculties do things themselves because they are basically inert and depend on the vitality of the Atman in functioning. So in that case if the Atman is not the doer itself then it may be the agent that impels these faculties to function. This query is answered in the following sloka that the Self or the Atman is neither the doer nor the enjoyer nor does it work as an agent to deligate any kind of performance.

20 Atmachaitanyam aashritya dehendriyamanodhiyah Swakriyaartheshu vartante suryalokam yatha janaah Atmachaitanyam: consciousness of the atman; ashritya: depending upon; Dehendriyamanodhiyah: the body, the sense organs, the mind and the intellect; Swakriyaartheshu: in their objects or functions; vartante: perform; suryalokam: the light of the sun; Yatha janah: Like people.

The body, the sense organs, the mind and the intellect, depending on the energy or vitality of Atman, perform their respective functions, just as people, depending on the light of the Sun, carry on their activities. living Atmachaitanyam aashritya: Depending on the vitality of Brahman the body, the sense organs and the mind are engaged in their respective functions. Each organ, each faculty is performing thier respective actions, but they are all activated by the power and light of the Atman. ‘Tameva bhantam anubhati sarvam tasya bhasa sarvamidam vibhati!!

(Kathopanishad). All this shines after that light; by its effulgence all this shines�. This statement of Sruti, of the scriptures reveals the fact that all the sense organs, the organs of action, body, mind and intellect of all living beings are basically inert and today if these instruments are dynamically functioning then it is due to the life giving factor of the Atman. Without this life energy we all human beings, all the plant life, animals and every Vedanta Sandesh - July 2010

and active being would be like sculpted figures, very beautiful to look at but lifeless, inert, devoid of feelings and emotions and brain dead. Everything in the cosmos owes its existence and it’s playful nature to the life energy of the Atman.

The beauty of this universal truth is that even though the Atman enlivens everything yet it does not deliberately do anything. Its very presence activates and brings life into everything that comes before it. Just as iron fillings if brought near a magnet start dancing and playing, without the magnet making any efforts or even having the desire to do so. So also all beings bubble with life in the mere presence of the Atman, without any efforts of this soul.

Realisation of this fact not only awakens us into the very source of all existence and un-

veils the truth but this also invokes a deep sense of humility that we all owe our existence to this

source of life. All our faculties will be mere show pieces and dead matter if we were not blessed by the substratum.

Dehendriya manodhiyah: Our personality is made up of the physical and mental levels. We have studied in the previous slokas that our physical and mental existence is known as the gross and the subtle bodies i.e. the sthoola and sookshma shariras.

These two bodies comprise of the organs of action, the sense organs, pranas, the mind and the intellect. It is through these physical and mental organs that we percieve the world, experience various things and give our responses to the world outside. It is through these faculties alone that we perform our actions, experience pain and pleasure, recognise ignorance and gain knowledge too. As we also saw that these faculties are made up of Panchmahbhutas along with the three gunas. But the gross and subtle bodies made up of panchmahabhutas do not have the pottential to function independantly. They are enlivened by the supreme consciousness. The Acharya further goe on to explain that with the blessing of the supreme light these faculties perform their respective functions.

Swa kriyartheshu vartante: All our faculties are designed in the most amazing way. Hats off to the creator who has given us such awsome faculties that we are never tired of, seeing the scenic beauty the world over, getting mesmerised by the enchanting fragrance of flowers, experiencing the best feather like touch, and most of all our bellies are proof of the best of taste that we enjoy, and so on with the best of emotions, and the great intellect of human beings fathoming the objective and the subjective worlds. All our personality instruments are performing perfectly in their respective fields.

When we see the specialised and perfect functioning of our BMI there is no doubt that the it is the ‘consciousness’ alone which is the truth of everything and is thus the enlivening principle

behind everything and not merely the physical instruments. Althugh here one must understand that this supreme power does not directly have any sense of doership but it blesses a particular thing through the conditioned consciousnessto be what it is. This conditioned consciousness is what the scriptures explain as the devata of that thing. That is why in te scriptures we come across a particular devata of a particular faculty. But unlike the objective world the beauty of Adhyatma Darshan is that inspite of the diversity in the world we see the existence & play of the consciousness in & through everything. Once this way of looking at something is understood & inculcated, then this culminates in the realization of one allpervasive divinity all over. One electricity blessing the various electrical equipments.

Suryalokam yatha janaah: The Acharya explains the non-doership of the Atman with a very crisp example. He says that everything that comes in the vicinity of the sun gets activated and enlivened. As soon as the sun rises the flowers start blooming, animals, birds, human beings all wake up from their slumber and inactivity and get charged to work, so also the mere presence of the Atman charges all the faculties to perform their respective functions. Just as we see in the example of the sun that the sun does not itself make any deliberate efforts nor does it deligate anyone to activate the world, so also the Atman does not make any effort with a sense of deorship or enjoyership to activate everything around nor does it deligate anyone to do so. Everything simply gets enlivened beacause light and life are its very nature.

The discovery of the Self as the illuminating source of everything and its non-doership is the awakening in the true nature of the Self. This is the culmintaion of knowledge. Such an awakening brings about that state of non-doership and non-enjoyership which is the state of liberation.

It is that divine state of existence where one need not physically cut off himself from doing anything or experiencing anything but one mentally lives in a detached manner inspite of being amidst all actions and experiences.

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Is Your Problem my Problem?

A mouse looked through a crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife opening a package. What food might it contain? He was aghast to discover that it was a mouse trap. Retreating to the farmyard the mouse proclaimed the warning: "There is a mouse trap in the house, a mouse trap in the house!"

The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, "Excuse me, Mr. Mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it."

The mouse turned to the pig and told him, "There is a mouse trap in the house, a mouse trap in the house!"

"I am so very sorry Mr. Mouse," sympathized the pig, "but there is nothing I can do about it but pray. Be assured that you are in my prayers."

The mouse turned to the cow. She said, "You say, Mr. Mouse.

A mouse trap? Like I am in grave danger....NOT!" So the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer's mouse trap alone. That very night a sound was heard throughout the house, like the sound of a mouse trap catching its prey. The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see that it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught. The snake bit the farmer's wife.. The farmer rushed her to the hospital. She returned home with a fever. Now everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup's main ingredient. His wife's sickness continued so that friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig. The farmer's wife did not get well and a few days later she passed away. So many people came for her funeral, that the farmer had the cow slaughtered, to provide meat for all of them to eat.

So the next time you hear that someone is facing a problem and think that it does not concern you, remember that when the least of us is threatened, we all may be at risk.

Vedanta Sandesh - July 2010

Letter of the Month

Viveka & Mukti Hari Om. My response to your Reflections : I thought that since consciousness does not imply action it merely implies awareness,

There is a real 'me'

which

is

complete and never performs any actions; however there is also an illusory 'me', our

Indeed Consciousness just implies awareness, of any action or even non-action.

That by which we are aware of all activities is Consciousness. then is it possible that the nature of bondage is the belief that i can act? All action is the product of causal forces with one action leading to another.

Right. Bondage is basically non-apprehension followed by mis-apprehension of truth of ourselves and life. Arrogation of doership on ourselves is one of the basic errors constituting our 'bondage'.

identity of today, which alone presses the various buttons to initiate and accelerate actions. So basically the whole exercise in Self-Realization is to discriminate between these two 'me'.

- Poojya Guruji

I also read many psychological tests conducted on human action and decision making have confirmed that decisions are taken at an unconscious level "first" then they enter the conscious brain. in other words we simply become aware of our decisions and dont cause them.

Yes, Action is like the proverbial tip of an iceberg. It is a visible manifestation of a deeper process - all of the mind, and I am 'that' which not only is conscious of the entire process but blesses it too - without any direct involvement.

The way i see if i am just awareness then I may simply be aware of what i am doing as though a film, however given that action is taking place from a certain perspective i.e. mine, it is very easy to imagine that I may start to believe that i am causing everything around me.

There is a real 'me' which is complete and never performs any actions; however there is also an illusory 'me', our identity of today, which alone presses the various buttons to initiate and accelerate actions. So basically the whole exercise in SelfRealization is to discriminate between these two 'me'. The real and the not-real, the absolute and the relative, and also understand how the ghost comes about, what all it can do and does. All sorrows & joys are from his perspective, nothing from the point of view of real me.

Love & om Guruji

Page # 9

25th July 2010

Sri Guru Poornima

VedantaSandesh Sandesh- -July April2010 2009 Vedanta

Darkness has only one solution and that is light. Wheather it is darkness in a room or darkness of the mind and intellect, bringing about some light alone stands against darkness. That is why the Scriptures truly speak of the Guru as the one who leads us from darkness to light. This is the reason why a great significance of having a Guru, a guiding light in one’s life. However rich, famous, and well equiped a person may be with the best of worldly means, however many our relations may be yet one cannot deny the valuable need of a Teacher in one’s life. Right from the basic learning in life to walk, talk and eat to all the specialised knowledge in the objective world, at every step one feels the need to have a Teacher who can teach him the ways and means of that field. Wheather it is the knowledge of the objective world or the highly subtle knowledge of the Subjective Self there is no waking without a Teacher. Infact the knowledge of the Self is so tricky that it is not possible to awaken in it without a Sadguru and even if someone manages to study the scriptures by themselves it will only result in informative knowledge and bloating of the ego which defeats the very objective of true awakening.

This year as we celebrate Guru Poornima, the auspicious day when we take the opportunity to offer our reverances and express our devotion and gratitude towards our beloved Guru let us also try and understand this beautiful relationship between a Teacher and disciple, between a Guru and a Shishya. Each year we celebrate Guru Purnima with a lot of overwhelming joy and devotion. We worship the Divine Lotus Feet with milk, water, flowers, perform the arti and offer sweets.

We do japa and devotionally chant the name of our Sad Guru. We meditate upon his Holy Feet. We also take the opportunity to go to the ashram of our Guru and seek his blessings. In this manner each year we celebrate this auspicious day with faith and devotion. But truly speaking what is the nature of this divine, beautiful, blessed and very rare relationship. Is a Guru someone who just teaches us the Scriptures and helps us intellectualy understand the technicalities of the principles of knowledge, Is he someone who helps us overcome the hurdles of Vedic language, Is he someone who invokes some faith and devotion towards an unseen hand and in turn builds up a divine support for all times to come, or is he that compassionate hand who is always there to hold us and guide us through the roller coaster of everyday life. What is the role of a Guru? It is significant to understand as a disciple too, what is the nature of my relationship with my Master and where does it culminate? Aa a disciple at the end of the day should I feel blessed and overwhelmed that I have someone who is spiritually powerful, a friend philosopher and guide with whom I can share my happiness and sorrows, who is always there to hold me whenever I stumble and who will take my decisions for me whenever I am at cross roads.

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Knowedge empowers & Liberates.

Right teachers not only share their wisdom but see to it that their students dare to take

their

d e c i s i o n s themselves -right or wrong - Poojya Guruji

Truly wise men or a Sadguru in the real sense gives us an eye opening and hard hitting but true understanding of this relationship. They say that knowledge empowers and liberates. The true test of kowledge is to bring about such an awakening in a person that he discovers his own strength and fulfillment within, and is able to take decisions by himself and live with love, selflessness, enthusiasm and dedication. All of us have to live our lives by our own self. A teacher can make us understand the fundamental principles of knowledge of the truth of life, the truth of the Self, about Righteousness, about the Law of Karma etc. but ultimately it is our own self who has to stand in the battlefield of life and take our own decisions. We are responsible for all the happiness and sorrow that we face in life. Once in the field we will stumble, fall, make mistakes, that’s all part of the journey and growing too. Hence a Guru in the true sense will aim to invoke such pottential in his disciple from within. A genuine teacher will never cripple the student’s capacity to think for himself by spoonfeeding him with do’s and dont’s all the time. If at all any Guru in the name of compassion, love and wisdom always makes the disciple hold on to them he makes the student dependant on him for life, blocking his growth for good.

This may ultimately only satisfy the ego of such unwise guides of having a good following. J. Krishnamurtiji gives an indepth thought to say that even if one says that a teacher should be a role model, it is blocking his freedom and creativity. Is there freedom in making one rose look like another.

Every flower has its own fragrance so as a teacher one must give the freedom for the fower to blossom with his own colour and fragrance.

Fundamental principles of life dont change for any one but the expression of life is uniquie to every person and that expression should not be imposed. Infact when a person aims to become like someone it brings about a subtle fear of success or failure to become like the other. It brings about a conflict of what one is and what one should be. A teacher’s role is to free the student of all conditionings. The real role of the teacher is to share their knowledge in an ambience of mutual love and respect. Having unfolded the fundamental principles, then let the student dare to take their own decisions. This alone was the vision and spirit of the Gita. Lord Krishna explains the fundamentals of Dharma, the goal of life, its means etc and then finally tells “Oh Arjuna! yathechhasi tathaa kuru.” Do as you deem fit. Thus giving Arjuna a mature stand to take his own decisions.

Ths is our beautiful tradion. Our Guru-Shishya parampara. salutations to our empowering and liberating tradition.

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Things We Can Learn From A Dog Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.

Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.

When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.

Eat with gusto and enthusiasm.

If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.

Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy.

Be loyal.

Run, romp and play daily.

When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by and nuzzle them gently.

Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.

When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body.

Vedanta Sandesh - July 2010

Stories from Shiv Purana

Pushpadanta: Shivji’s Attendant Pushpadanta was one of Shiva`s principal attendants.

n o p e u .. c n .

O e m a ti

Parvati the concort of Mahadeva had propitiated her lord by her celestial strains. Shiva was pleased by her adulations and he proffered her whatever boon she might request. Her only demand was to receive instruction from his lips, and to hear from him such narrations as were yet unknown to the immortals or herself.

Shiva, giving orders that no person should be admitted, proceeded to reveal to the goddess those narratives which illustrate the happiness of the gods, the troubles of mankind, and the intermediate and varying conditions of the spirits of earth and heaven.

Pushpadanta came to the palace gate and was refused admission by the warder. He was a great favourite with his master, lord Shiva and had always-ready access to his person. The rejection excited Pushpadanta astonishment and curiosity; and, rendering himself invisible, he passed in, determined to ascertain why entrance was so rigorously barred. In this manner he came close to the place where lord Shiva and Bhavani or Parvati were seated. He over-heard all the marvelous stories repeated by the deity. When these were concluded, he retired as he had entered unobserved by anyone. Pushpadanta went back home and communicated the narrative to his wife Jaya it being impossible to keep wealth or secrets from a woman. Jaya, equally unable to preserve silence, communicated what she had heard to her fellow attendants on Parvati. The affair soon became known to the goddess Parvati and her lord Shiva.

Pushpadanta was condemned to a human birth, as the punishment of impertinence. His friend Malyavan, who was presumed to intercede for him, was also damned from human birth. After a due interval Pushpadanta was born at Kausambi as Vararuchi, and when arrived at years of discretion found the goblin, recollecting his origin, repeated to him the seven great narratives of Shiva, each comprehending a hundred thousand verses.

There is mythical story of the life of Pushpadanta, who was the worshipper of Shiva. Pushpadanta was a great scholar and poet, and a disciple of the philosopher Sankara. He wanted to write a deep philosophical poem celebrating Shiva, the object of his devotion. Pushpadanta spend many years of hard work in preparing poems. Pushpadanta was very proud of his work. When he had finished writing the poems he presented it to the Lord Shiva in the temple, with great flourish.

Shiva just glanced through the collection of poems and was not satisfied. He asked Pushpadanta to throw the collection of poems into the mouth of Nandi, the bull.

Pushpadanta was very confused and astonished. There, to his great surprise, he found every verse of his poem, on the teeth of Nandi, engraved in tiny letters.

Shiva explained to Pushpadanta that the verses were written long ago. Pushpadanta was a mere instrument. Pushpadanta attained omniscience after four months of rigorous spiritual practices and had about eighty-eight disciples. The emblem of Lord Pushpadanta is Dolphin.

Vedanta Sandesh - April 2009

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June’10 VM / VA Programs Sadhana Camp At Rishikesh:

Vedanta Mission / Ashram Programs

A six days Sadhana Camp was very satisfactorily organized at Swami Dayananda Ashram, Rishikesh from 7th to 12th June 2010.

Vedanta Sandesh - July 2010

The camp featured two intense sessions in the morning where Poojya Guruji gave discourses on Kaivalya Upanishad. He revealed that Kaivalya is the state of being one non-dual divinity embracing everything. This Atharva Veda Upanishad is a dialogue between Brahmaji and a well-known & cutured person called Ashvalayana.

The evening session after tea were taken by Pujya Swamini Amitanandaji where P. Swamiji took Gita Chapter 3. Pujya Swaminiji also taught chanting of Ganga Stotram and Lingashtakam and briefly explained their meaning too.

Cultural Activities At Sadhana Camp At Rishikesh: During the Camp various highly engrossing & inspiring cultural activities were also organized, which included Ganga Puja, Ganga Snana, Parthivlinga Puja, Bhajan Antakshari etc.

Parthiv Linga Puja: On the second day of the camp all the devotees gathered at the Ganga Ghat which is accessable from the Ashram premises. Everyone very lovingly made the Parthiv lingum and then in the presence of Pujya Guruji and Pujya Swamiji puja and abhishek was done very lovingly by all the devotees.

Deep-Daan in Gangaji: After the Parthiv-linga puja, all the devotees offered prayers unto Gangaji and offered Deepa’s - lamps to her. This is called Deepa-Daan. The ladies prepared the lamps very lovingly earlier, with flowers, kapoor, cotton bati etc. This is an expression of your gratitude to the mother for her everflowing blessings.

Few days in the evening there was Bhajans and Question & Answers, while on other days there were other interesting activities like Bhajan Antakshari and Garba dance. People who were not opening up earlier opened up very nicely in Antakshari and we had a tough competition from both the groups. Finally it was a tie. One day it was Garba dance, and was initiated by devotees from Gujarat, thereafter everyone joined, and then we had different flavors of Garba dances which may not be called Garba by others.

June’10 VM / VA Programs

Vedanta Mission / Ashram Programs

Pada-Puja, Rishikesh: As per our tradition Guru Pujan is done on the last day, and one of the campers is selected to represent everyone for doing the Puja. This year it was Ketanbhai Dasadia from Bhavnagar. He attended such a camp for the first time, and was visibly moved by the entire experience.

The whole puja was directed by Poojya Swamini Amitanandaji. After the elaborate Pada-Puja all the devotees got an opportunity to talk about their Camp experience. Everyone was very benefitted by the whle camp, and were rather overwhelmed. There were many first-timers and it was a great experience for them. No one had experienced anything like this earlier in their lives, was what they said.

Poojya Guruji arrives in Russia, Moscow: Poojya Guruji arrived at Moswos Airport on the afternoon of 18th June by Aeroflot flight. Earlier due to the late coming in of Indore-Delhi flight he missed his flight on 17th and so had to catch flight the next day. So he spent one day at Delhi, and enjoyed the hospitality of Amit Dave.

The flight to Moscow was comfortable and took 6 hours. At the Airport he was recieved by Brni Divya Chaitanya and Sergey Didenko, his official host. They took an Express Train to Metro Rail station in Central Moscow, and from there immediately took the tube to another Railway Station from where they caught the train to Balakova. There he was met by Sammy & Andy Kotwani, two brothers who are very succcessful businessmen of Moscow. The train to Balakova was of 22 hours.

Guruji at Balakova, Russia: At the Balakova Railway Station the group of four people was recieved

by Irena an her husband Alec. Irena is a well-known businesswomen of the city and is also the owner of the well-known Arabika Coffee House. There a grand lunch was waiting them, which had including other things, Indian Samosa’s and Naan’s. Irena took all of them to her Summer House on the banks of River Volga, the Russian Ganga.

This was our Camping site, and is well-equipped and very quiet & beautiful. Here regular classes of Kena Upanishad were started for Divya Chaitanya, and general Satsang for others. Texts like Drg-Dryshya Viveka were also started. Poojya Guruji has regular question & answer sessions for others, which Brni Divya translates. Occasionally they have dip in Volga which is great.

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

Quotes "To waken interest and kindle enthusiasm is the sure way to teach easily and successfully."

-Tryon Edwards "Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime."

-Unknown "A teacher is one who makes himself progressively unnecessary."

-Thomas Carruthers "Who dares to teach must never cease to learn."

- John Cotton Dana

"To know how to suggest is the great art of teaching."

-Ralph Waldo Emerson "Spoon feeding in the long run teaches us nothing but the shape of the spoon."

-Edward Morgan Forster "He who would teach men to die would at the same time teach them to live."

-Michel Eyquem deMontaigne "The good teacher ... discovers the natural gifts of his pupils and liberates them by the stimulating influence of the inspiration that he can impart. The true leader makes his followers twice the men they were before."

-Stephen Neill "The bad teacher imposes his ideas and his methods on his pupils, and such originality as they may have is lost in the second-rate art of imitation."

-Stephen Neill

Vedanta Sandesh - July 2010

Forthcoming Programs

Poojya Guruji’s Trip to Russia: Poojya Guruji left for Russia for a month on 18th June and will return to India on 18th of July. He will be back just before Guru Poornima. A month long Camp of and for Br Divya Chaitanya, the Russian student of P.Guruji will be conducted there. Poojya Guruji plans to take Kena Upanishad for her there, alongwith Sankara Bhashya.

International Congress of Advaita Vedanta, Moscow: An All Russia International Congress of Advaita Vedanta has been organised in Moscow by Advaita Vedanta Congress Organising Committee from 14th to 16th July. They have requested P. Guruj to bless them with a talk at the International Congress.

Sanyas Deeksha of Brni Divya Chaitanya in Russia: Poojya Guruji will be present at the Vedanta Ashram for Guru Poornima celebrations on 25th of July. He will be back at the Ashram by 19th July. Special Poojas will be conducted, first of the Padukas of Bhagwan Sri Sankaracharya and then of Poojya Guruji. The main puja will be organized at 9.30 AM.

Gita Gyana Yagna, Bhavnagar: Poojya Swamini Amitanandaji will be conducting a Gyan Yagna at Shri Ramdas Ashram at Bhavnagar from the 1st to the 10th of July’10. In the morning P. Swaminiji will give discourses on the first Valli of Kathopanishad. In the evening pravachans will be held on Sri Hanuman Chalisa.

Guru Poornima Celebrations at Ashram, Indore: Poojya Guruji will be present at the Vedanta Ashram for Guru Poornima celebrations on 25th of July. He will be back at the Ashram by 19th July. Special Poojas will be conducted, first of the Padukas of Bhagwan Sri Sankaracharya and then of Poojya Guruji. The main puja will be organized at 9.30 AM.

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Hari om !

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Om Tat Sat