Vedanta Sandesh - Mar 2013

Monthly eMagazine of the International Vedanta Mission Yea r 1 9

Nbs 3124

Issu e 9

Monthly eMagazine of the International Vedanta Mission Mar 201 3 : Year 1 9 / Issue 9 Editor: Swamini Samatananda Saraswati

meklgk;a ijes’ oja izHkqa f=ykspua uhyd.Ba iz’ kkUre~A /;kRok eqfuxZPNfr Hkwr;ksfua leLrlkf{ka rel% ijLrkr~A A

“Oh Lord of Uma Devi, your beloved consort, Ishwara, the Lord of the Universe, the three eyed one, the one with the blue neck, one who is of the nature of Peace.

Contemplating on this nature of yourself, the thoughtful one’s attain that supreme nature who is the cause and witness of the whole creation, and is beyond ignorance.”

Published by

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

In This Issue 1.

2.

4.

5.

6.

7.

7.

8.

9.

1 0.

11 .

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

-

5 6-7 9 1 0-11 13 1 4-1 5 17 18 19 20-21 23

from Poojya Guruji

Negation of Anatma It is common knowledge for all the students of Self-Knowledge that the basic thing which is required to awaken to the truth of our Atma or Self, is to first have Vivek between Atma & Anatma, and then 'negate' all our identifications with everything which comes under the domain of all that is 'Anatma'. Only when we stop taking the imaginary snake to be real that there is any chance to realize the truth of its substratum, the proverbial rope. The word Anatma doesnt represent any one particular upadhi, but stands for a wide spectrum of our faculties - from grossest physical body to the extremely subtle and almost incomprehensible karana sharira or ignorance.

Negation is to just see the anatma as anatma, resulting in the redefinition of our relationship with all our faculties. Our physical body, sense-organs, prana, mind, intellect etc will continue to be associated with us till our prarabdha exists, so it all boils down to redifinition of our relationship. This redefinition implies that our body-mind etc should neither be ignored nor pampered, but needs to be dealt & handled objectively and intelligently. All our faculties have to be seen in right perspective as 'my faculties' and not 'me', which is the case today. The identity of an ignorant person is just the description of his physical body - like its age, color, sex, etc.; or of our mind & intellect - like our knowledge, specialization etc. All our faculties are made up of inert elements and they neither bind us in any way whatsover, nor have any problems either. They are in fact amazingly beautiful and intrinsically connected to present a very dynamic, vibrant & intelligent organism.

Inspite of all our modern day knowledge & advances we cannot artificially create any of our equipments. At best we can try to satisfactorilly transplant some donor's organ to another. Negation doesn't imply any insensitivity to the amazing beauty & utility of any of our faculties. It is just a realization of the fact that inspite of all their beauty & utility, they are all nevertheless limited, changing & created objects. Brahma-Gyana is all about our aspiration to discover that which is changeless, timeless & permanent truth, and thus every changing object declares itself to be non-competitor in this pursuit. However 'negating' these faculties is not completely ignoring them either, in fact Gita advises us not to take any extreme steps in either our eating, sleeping etc., but rather we need to keep them healthy & fit, and then use our healthy life to 'look beyond' & deeper. The moment we realize that all the faculties are limited & changing and we need to know the truth, that very moment the negation of anatma starts. It is no more the center of our life yet we continue to take care of them as nicely as is required for their healthy living. Negation is to have something higher than the changing faculties in our hearts. Our concern, love & priority has to be for the changeless one, yet taking care of everything as per their dharma & requirement. This equally applies to our relationships, family, finances or the world. We love & respect everything that is, yet continue our search for something more substantial and fundamental. When someone is very clear about their priorities so long no other responsibilities ever become an obstacle or distraction. Everyone thinks, revels, dreams, talks and discusses that which they truly love & value. Once the importance of our individuality or the faculties have been put in right place and their value has been effaced from their hearts, then that is said to have been negated. Once the superimposition has been negated, the substratum gets revealed in its pristine glory.

- 5

-

Swamini Samatananda

Self-Contentment is the mark of a Jivanmukta The last sloka described the eternal charecteristics of a Jivan mukta-the liberated one, who having renounced completely all attachments, revels in the bliss of the Atman.

In the following sloka too the Acharya continues to reveal the attributes of a Jivanmukta. The way of life of a Man who is liberated here and now, how he lives in this physical body, till his basic resultant karmas or prarabdha karmas are completely exhauseted. Though he knows not of any prarabdha karmas as such.

52

Upaadhisthopi taddharmairalipto vyomavanmunihi Sarvavinmoodhavattishthedasakto vaayuvatcharet.

Upaadhisthopi:though in the midst of limiting adjuncts; tad dharmaihi : by their virtues; alipto: unaffected; vyomavat:like the sky; munihi: the sage; sarvavit: knowing everything; moodhavat:like the ignorant; tishthet: would remain; asaktah : unattached; vaayuvat: like the air; charet: would move about.

Though in the midst of limiting adjuncts, the sage would yet not be affected by their attributes, like the sky. Though he knows everything, he would be like an ignorant person and move about unattached, like the wind.

Upaadhisthopi taddharmairalipto:

The nature of liberation is liberation from ignorance and all the manifestations of ignorance as false identifications with the body and the mind. It is liberation from a sense of lack and the desire to seek fulfillment from outside. It is freedom from our wrong notions of considering the anatma (the non-self) as the atma (the self) and the atma as the anatma.

Liberation does not imply the invisibility of the physical world, it does not imply absense of experience or of emotions or thoughtfulness. The fact is that there is no need to physically negate the world or block our faculties into experiencing the world outside. Liberation is a mental state of mind. A mind set that is free of a sense of limitation, a mind set free of attachments and conditionings, a mind set free of considering the world as Real and a source of eternal bliss. If this is the implication of liberation then the

world, its people and its interactions nothing can bind us. Where as, if the mind is bound by wrong notions towards the world and the Self then even devotion to God can bind us. In this sense a Man of wisdom is not bound by the physical body and its nature. Even as he adorns the physical body, the mind and the intellect, he is untouched by the changes in them and by their impermanent nature. In the wave like pattern of life, the physical body goes through six modifications of coming into existence, taking birth, growing up, changing, ageing, decaying and then dying. The mind and the intellect too go through various transformations of emotions and knowledge.

A spiritually enlightened person is aware of these facts of his gross and subtle personalities and thus takes them in a stride, unshattered by their changes.

An ignorant person identified with the gross and the subtle bodies ,sees himself as sick if the body is sick,

Vedanta Sandesh

sees himself as old if the body grows old, he is happy and sad with the mood swings of the mind and so on and so forth. The acharya here reveals the liberated state of mind of an enlightened person who is unaffected by the ephimeral nature of his physical and mental adjuncts. Having gained knowledge, a man of wisdom, liberated from the clutches of ignorance will still continue to live in his physical body as long as as his karmas are exhausted of this life.

Even though there is no real existence of such karmas for a wise man still from the worldly point of view he continues to face situations as they come, unaffected with their ups and downs.

Vyomavanmunihi:

A Muni is a contemplative person, a man of enquiry. An enlightened person who has contemplated on the truth, remains unffected by the transitory nature of the gross and subtle bodies is a Muni. The Acharya explains this knowledgable nature of a wise man with the example of the sky. The sky has no divisions and cannot be divided either by any walls created. The sky is one limitless indivisible space that gives space for everything else to exist.

The whole objective world exists in space, but the beauty of space is that even though it provides space to everything to exist, it is not divided by anything.

Space is always one. It is only when one looks at space where the reference point is the wall of something then alone space appears to be divided and limited. If one were to look at space where a pot is the reference point then one says this is the pot space and this is the space of the room etc. hence one is bound to say my space is small and your’s is big. By itself space is indivisibe and one. Another striking attribute of the sky is that space is uncontaminated and untouched by any color, dust particles or the darkness of the clouds. We see different colors in the sky, these colors do not belong to the sky, because the sky has no color. Different

types of dust particles in the air reflect light in different ways and we see the sky as blue, red, orange etc. Just as the sky is untouched by any walls or colors so too a Man of knowledge sees himself as one indivisible truth, the atman of everything that exists. Such a contemplative person is a Muni.

Sarvavinmoodhavattishthet:

Here the Acharya uses a very interesting term for a man of wisdom. He says an enlightened and knowledgable person lives like an ignorant one. This term has some beautiful implications. Wise men say that a person who has truly gained knowledge becomes more humble in the process. Just as a tree which has grown rich with fruits only stoops lower with humility. A wise man too becomes very humble and does not believe in showing off his knowledge.

Infact he is the one who sees Brahman in all living and non-living beings and therefore has compassion and respect for everyone. It is due to this humility alone that they can adorn any roles big or small.

Bhagwan Sri Krishna an embodiment of Parmatma could play the role of a cowherd, a king, a diplomat, a charioteer and then even the teacher of Arjuna, only with this simplicity and humility of a wise man. A person of knowledge lives life merging with the ordinary man and yet excuding a unique fragrance of detachment, love and selfless service to all. He is the one who has given up his ego and egocentric life.

Asaktovaayuvat charet:

A gush of wind is like the messenger who brings to us the mesmerising fragrance of blossoming flowers or also carries with it the foul odour of something stale or stagnant. Yet the wind remains untouched by the sweet and foul smells of anything. A liberated person too moves on with life yet does not carry within him the burdens of any likes and dislikes, or attachments to anything, so the Acharya says: Asakto Vayuvat charet.

That which exists after the negation of creation, which is non-dual & absolute quietitude, is the fourth state - the Turiya Awastha. That is Shiv, that is your Atma, and it must be clearly & directly known.

Mandukya Upanishad - 7

- 7

-

The Perfectionist Scuptor A gentleman once visited a temple under construction where he saw a sculptor making an idol of God. Suddenly he noticed a similar idol lying nearby.

Surprised, he asked the sculptor, “Do you need two statues of the same idol?”

“No,” said the sculptor without looking up, “We need only one, but the first one got damaged at the last stage.”

The gentleman examined the idol and found no apparent damage. “Where is the damage?” he asked.

“There is a scratch on the nose of the idol.” said the sculptor, still busy with his work.

“Where are you going to install the idol?”

The sculptor replied that it would be installed on a pillar twenty feet high.

“If the idol is that far, who is going to know that there is a scratch on the nose?” the gentleman asked.

The sculptor stopped his work, looked up at the gentleman, smiled and said, “I know it and God knows it!”

Vedanta Sandesh

Is Self-Actualization same as Self-Realization?

Letter of the Month

‘‘SelfActualization will eventually make a person relatively more potent yet it is obvious that they will continue to remain a limited individual. To be a potent & capable individual is not the same as being limitless & infinite.’ - Poojya Guruji

Hari om.

The word Self-Actualization is associated with the Theory of Hierarchy of Needs proposed by an American psychologist Abraham Maslow. Explaining motivation, he said that our motivations keep changing as our baser needs get fulfilled. There is a pyramidical heirarchy starting with one's basic needs of hunger & thirst etc; once this is taken care of then come the concerns for Safety/Security & Health etc.; thereafter comes Belongingness & Love. Once this is also taken care of then the concern is for something still more subjective, like Self-esteem & a sense of Achievement. When necessary sense of security & self-esteem have been acquired then a person is driven to explore and manifest his/her latent potentials which he terms as Self-Actualization.

Self-Actualization is a realtively better motivation, and such people stand out of the crowd very easily. All the earlier ones are basically concerned more about their self-centered & existential issues, while on the other hand this drive opens the hitherto unexplored vistas and potentials. It is more adventurous & exciting; and as it doesn't depend on situations outside, so such a person is more free. The self-imposed conditionings of one's limitations & incapacities start dropping off. However this is no where near Self-Realization.

In Self-Actualization, a person visualizes the potential of some good capacity & potential within oneself, then goes about to actualize or manifest that possibility. So while the individual does become relatively more capable, yet the fact remains that every potential capacity is basically an interesting probability imagined by our mind. Anything which is an object of our mind is always limited, howsoever great it may be. It is obvious that all such people will continue to remain a limited individual, limited & also prompted by their mind & imaginations alone. To be a relatively more potent & capable individual is not the same as being limitless & infinite. Self-Realization on the other hand implies transcendence of ones mind, and thus there is no duality of seeker & sought left. Self-Realization is all about appreciating the truth of mind and the individuality, which results in their very effacement. Self-Realization is to discover that truth about oneself which remains after the complete negation of the individuality.

Love & Om

- 9

-

by

Sukha dukhe same kritva

(Having retained a mental balance in conducive and unconducive situations)

Swamini Samatananda

Conducive situations is one thing which all mankind craves for. We long

for moments when everything is just perfect. The whether, our relationships, financial security, housing, etc, all the blocks fitting in just right. Desiring such convinient situations is not wrong but one needs to understand that convinient situations should not become a goal but they should be a means to strive for something higher in life. A physically and mentally conducive situation definitely provides an atmosphere where one feels at home but at such times if one were to just lay on the sofa and while it away in complacency, then one should surely be ready for an inconvinient situation just round the corner. How we use our convinient times reflects our character, our values, our motivations, and our goals in life. It is individual freedom as to how one uses conducive situations. A wise person who makes positive use of such times paves a path of evolution in life whereas a person who whiles it away leaves himself high and dry always waiting for external situations to have mercy on him again.

The significance of basic conviniences in life:

It is important to fulfill certain basic requirements of life to be physically and mentally free of such needs. The requirement of food, clothing, shelter, financial security, emotional needs all have their significance in life. But surely these are only a means for some higher human aspirations. The greatest mistake of a human being is considering these requirements as the goal of life and not the means. For such people life not only becomes a journey to achieve all these things in life but life becomes an inevitable roller coaster where one is bound to helplessly go through it’s ups and downs. Where happiness is not the nature of a person but it is an alm provided by conducive situations. Our scriptures especially the Gita inspires us to learn that art of living where not only conducive situations are positively used to evolve but ultimately it teaches us to rise to that state of mind where there is nothing like conduciveness or unconduciveness. Therefore rise and make hay while the sun shines.

Conduciveness can become a curse:

Yes, conduciveness can indeed become a curse for people who lose the balance of their mind and get carried away by convinient situations. These people will believe in eat drink and make merry while the going is good. A person who loses his balance of mind in convinient situations will become complacent, unthoughtful, an intoxicated enjoyer of pleasures, & unfocused. If a person has been a great achiever then ego too will dance on their heads. Conviniences should not become a means of ego satisfaction . Infact when one deeply thinks about convinineces the word itself gains it’s meaning because the convinient situation is satisfying an individual ego. Satisfaction of an individual ego itself is conduciveness for an individual. These are situations where the desires of an individual are being fulfilled as per one’s conditionings, as per one’s likes and dislikes. these rare, the pleasurable moments which tickle my ego, because Vedanta Sandesh

everything is happening as per my wishes. It is a very delicate situation. If one were to fall prey to it, not only will such moments come and go leaving us empty within but will only further strengthen our mental conditionings and ego, making us a seeker for a lifetime.

Contemplate in conducive situations:

Make convinient situations a blessing by not only enjoying the goodness of the situation but by also having a mind that gets enriched with knowledge that helps one face inconvinient situations intelligently and with a balanced mind.

Take the time to gain knowledge from wise men, study the scriptures at the Holy Feet of saints, read good literature, invoke faith and devotion for God, perform actions in a righteous way. Be inspired to explore deeply the secrets of life. A person who cannot or does not contemplate in good times will never be able to think in inconvinient situations. Neither will he ever be able to retain a poised mind at such moments of adversity. He will only suffer the pangs of a shattered ego. For a person who is inspired to understand the various facets of life in comfortable times even inconvinient situations will become a blessing for him.

Such people will make a house of the stones thrown at them. They can make the best of the worst situations. Such is the glory of knowledge.

A person, who is inspired to understand the various facet of life in comfortable times even inconvinient situations become a blessing for them.

Do not ignore your ignorance and shortcomings:

Indulging in unthoughtful merry making when the times are good is ignoring one’s ignorance and shortcomings and trying to escape into a world where one forgets the self, it’s problems, and shortcomings. It is very important that one is thoughtful of his ignorance and its by products and looks for solution by gaining the correct knowledge. It is highly important that one does not shy away from subjective problems but is alert about them and retains their awareness as long as the problem has not been solved.

Therefore go into the secrets of life when the times are good.

The art of invoking

conviniences:

Every individual has his cup filled with equal amount of responsibilities towards himself, his family and his society. All of us have the same number of hours to work, the same body, mind and intellect. It is up to us how we make the best use of it. One should learn the art of having convinient situations in and through our responsibilities and work. That is why Sri Krishna in the Gita says, learn the art of creating a happy world around amidst the ups and downs of situations, not by escaping them but by facing them. Be a yogi in action. Expand your horison of time and space by living a simple life with minimum requirements and have a thoughtful and loving life by expanding the horizons of love and selfless service. This alone opens the doors of a knowledge that culminates in a mind set that is beyond the boundaries of convinient and inconvinient situations where situations are simply situations which come as a blessing from God. - 11 -

Quotes Life isn’t about what happens to us, it’s about how we percieve what happens to us.

Master your past in the present, or the past will master your future.

Focus on the positive in your life, for what you focus on increases.

Everything you need to break unhealthy cycles of behaviour is within you.

The choices we make in thought, word and deed inevitabely return to us in kind.

Those who have not asked the question are not ready to accept the answer.

Remove the internal, emotional hooks that attract you to painful situations.

The person who confesses ignorance shows it once, the person who conceals it shows it many times.

The wisest among us often have the least to say. .

Vedanta Sandesh

Wandering in Himalayas Birds, Beasts and a congregation of Seekers

9 Excerpts from the Travel Memoirs of Param Poojya Swami Tapovanji Maharaj

Bathing in the ice-cold Ganga, drinking the waters, eating strange food, enduring the extremes of heat and cold-these are the rigors to which south Indians are exposed at Rishikesh. but these penances are only external. There is another type of disciplinediscipline of the mind, which alone leads to Self-Realization. The man whose mind is not disciplined profits little by a stay at Rishikesh or Kailas. On the contrary, a person who has such discipline may dwell in the midst of alarms, in his own home or in the city, and yet reach the state of Peace, though gradually.

The winter in Rishikesh is a delightful time, pleasant and peaceful. Many Sadhus from different corners of India congregate here during the season. Sadhus are as independent as kings, but with a difference. if it is wealth that enables a king to do what he likes , it is wealthlessness that enables a sadhu to lead the sort of life he lives. A Sadhu’s lack of possessions and his contentment with what chance gives him in good stead wherever he goes. In the Himalayas, even in these days of remorseless materialism, one may meet sadhus who touch no coin with their hands, who know not when and where they might get their next morsel of food, and whose only occupation is communication wth God. It is thus usual for the great ascetics from the higher regions of the himalayas, and others from the lower regions, to meet at Rishikesh in winter time. Almost every winter, I leave the higher levels of the mountains and pass some time in Rishikesh, where I come into contact with Malayali sadhus who indirectly remind me of my native region, and on such occassions I pray whole heartedly for the welfare of my homeland. The sages have said: “Nobody, not even a sannyasi, at any stage of life, should forget his mother and his motherland.”

- 13

-

by Swamini Vidyananda

5 Adhyatmic Teachings of Guru Vashista to Sri Ramji

First stark statement Valmiki does in the very first pages of Yoga Vasishtha and later repeats it through the words of the sage many times.

It is - “world is just an illusion”.

“This world-appearance is an illusion, even as the blueness of the sky is an optical illusion. I think it is better not to let the mind dwell on it, but to ignore it. Neither freedom from sorrow nor realization of one’s real nature is possible as long as the conviction does not arise in one that the world-appearance is unreal. And this conviction arises when one studies this scripture with diligence. It is then that one arrives at the firm conviction that the objective world is a confusion of the real with the unreal. If one does not thus study this scripture, true knowledge does not arise in him even in millions of years”.

World appears real to us, as real as it can get. How you can doubt existence of that you can touch, smell, see, taste and hear? Yet such a conclusion, taken by most people for granted, without any additional consideration, just because everyone else around seem to believe so, does not stand a thorough analysis. What should be considered real?

Usually, in worldly affairs people think “real” as something which they can feel by their sense organs and which other people can agree on. For confirmation we look for the independent sources of information, - be it from different sense organs or different people. But if you look closer, both “independence” of different information sources and rightfulness of conclusions one can draw from them can be seriously questioned. How many generations of people saw blue skies and beautiful sunrises and sunsets? Can you doubt reality of something THAT obvious? Yet, facts tell us skies are not blue, - it is just an ability of our eyes pick up certain light waves and interpret them as “blue” which makes the sky seem blue. And sun never rises or sets, - the effect we see is due to earth turning around its own axle while rotating around the sun. Yet, earth looks steady for us, despite the fact that it goes in space at tremendous speed. We see sun rising, we see sky blue, but it does not mean sun is really raising and sky is really blue, even if our sense organs day after day tell us otherwise and most of the people confirm our observations. For a bat or a bee everything looks completely different, because their sense organs give them signals very different from that is available to our organs. Can “blue sky” be taken as final reality? No, reality should not depend on the condition of the instruments used to look on it. Reality is something which stays the same in all conditions, in all states and at all times. Something which is changing with change in the observation tool belongs to that tool, not to the reality. And first thing we should do is to be able to distinguish what is real from what is unreal.

Unreal is that which is changing. Real - is that which stays the same, always. Exercises to see real in unreal are very useful. Pot is just a Vedanta Sandesh

World is an Illusion

name and form applied to clay. Pot is changing, clay is constant through out all pot modifications, be it filled with water or broken into pieces. Clay will not be a final reality, clay is also subject to change, yet, in some sense it is “more real� in comparison with the pot. Learn to turn your attention toward unchanging. This way, even staying in the world (i.e. belonging to the domain of illusion), a man can pave his way to realize that which does not belong to the domain of illusion.

Liberation is freedom from all notions, mental conditionings without a least reserve. Mental conditionings are of two types - they can be pure and impure. Both will be abandoned at the final end, yet, while truth is not yet known, one should cultivate good and pure ones and reject impure and bad conditioning. Impure conditionings, or vasanas, keep one in the circle of births and deaths, and following them a person goes deeper and deeper in the world of changing unstable objects, and the more he is there, the more are the pains and sufferings caused by betrayals of what he mistakenly thought to be stable and trustful.

Good and pure vasanas help one to transcend the world of changeable. Purity of mind, words and deeds, helping others, love and compassion, meditation, studying scriptures, following guru’s teachings are examples of vasanas to be followed. Conditions which a person finds himself in, are result of his past actions, over them he does not have a command at the present moment. Something which was done before is bound to bring its result, whatever that be. Yet, in any conditions, one has a truly human freedom to help good qualities grow by continuously following good vasanas, and discourage whatever bad qualities he has by refusing to follow bad ones. Doing so means planting the seeds of favorable good conditions for the future good and pure actions now, and tending to the young shoots of wisdom and discrimination of real from unreal one steadily gets to the understanding his true and real nature.

Pure mind helps good vasanas grow and bring their results, and good vasanas of the mind are bringing about pure mind. These two strengthen each other, helping each other grow. And in the process not only a person gets more joyful, less egoistic, more compassionate, generous and understanding towards himself and others, not only he becomes a blessing to his family and world, his pure mind more and more becomes able to delve deep into the depths of self-enquiry, and its ability to discriminate between real and unreal takes him to the new dimensions.

Final liberation is never by any actions, it is by understanding of your own true nature, of what IS already, while actions create, change or remove some objects or the other and so stay in the sphere of the limited.

Actions are limited, yet they have their very important role - they can cleanse the mind if you follow good purifying vasanas. And only pure mind is able to analyze its own source of existence and ability to shine as a mind. Without making efforts to purify the mind, a person stays where he is - sunk deeply into his own wrong conclusions about world and himself.

Cultivate good vasanas, purify your mind, question reality of the world, and the doors to the true gyanam will open for you.

- 15

-

Seven Steps to Holistic Living Invoke True Love See that you are constantly a recipient of infinite blessings and love. May you be overwhelmed with gratitude and blessedness. reciprocate by taking out some time to selflessly serve others, in whatever way you can.

Vedanta Sandesh

Sri Dakshinamurti Story Section

on p u e c n . .

O . e m i t a

Once upon a time, the Lord of creation, Lord Brahma, lost interest in the work of creation and thought of taking a life of ascetism. So thinking, he created Sanaka, Sanatkumara, Sanandana and Sanatsujata, with the intention to hand over his job of creating life to them. In due course they grew up and mastered all branches of knowledge. At this juncture, Brahma decided to hand over his job to his four sons and retire to austerities. Sage Narada came to know of His father’s intentions. However knowing that his brothers the Sanakadi Munis were full of dispassion and were fit for being initiated into Brahmavidya or the supreme knowledge of the self, he warned them about their father’s intentions beforehand. On hearing these words from Narada, the four brothers who had no intentions to follow the path of action and abandoned home in search of a Guru, without informing their father.

The four brothers proceeded to Vaikuntha, the abode of Lord Vishnu where they observed Lord Vishnu with his consort Lakshmi who was massaging his legs. At this sight, the four brothers thought, “How can this family man bound by the intimate glance of his consort render us any help in learning the supreme knowledge. Look at the splendour of this palace and this city! This is enough. Let us seek the help of Lord Siva”. So saying they proceeded in the direction of Mount Kailasa.

Lord Siva who was at Kailasa along with his family, knew about their approcaching him and understood their plight. He was sure that they would be disappointed on seeing Him with a family and so taking pity on them, He decided to imart the sublime spiritual knowledge to them. The Lord of infinite compassion left Kailasa and retired assuming the form of a youth seated in Cinmudra under a banyan tree on the northern banks of Lake Manasarovara.

When the Sanakadi Munis were on their way, the beheld the young Dakshinamurti, they were atonce attracted to him and understood that He alone was the true Sadguru. They approached him, circumambulated Him three times and prostrated to Him in a manner that befitted a disciple master relation. Then settling at His feet, they began to ask shrewd and pertinent questions about the nature of reality and the means of attaining it.

Because of the great compassion and fatherly Love which He felt for His aged disciples, the primodial master was overjoyed to see their earnestnesss, wisdom and maturity and gave apt replies to their questions.

But as he answered each consecutive question, further doubts arose in their minds and they asked further questions. Thus this questioning and answering continued for one whole year.

Finally, Sri Dakshinamurti understood that if he continued answering their questions, further doubts would arise in the minds of His disciples and their ignorance would never end. Therefore, supressing even the feeling of compassion and fatherly love which was welling up within Him, He merged himself into the Supreme silence, the state of samadhi.

Owing to the great maturity which had further ripened owing to their association with Sri Dakshinamurti, their master, they too automatically merged into the supreme silence as soon as their master assumed Silence, the true state of the self and all their doubts were cleared.

- 17

-

Vedanta Sandesh

Ejtdpvstft bu Btisbn; Poojya Guruji Sri Swami

Atmanandaji is giving discourses on the Mundakopanishad at the Vedanta Ashram. These discourses are very in-depth analysis of the mantra, and the elucidation of the sixth mantra of the first Mundaka pertaining to the Para Vidya has been going on for the last four months. Each of the lakshana is being dealt thoroughly for weeks from various possible angles.

In another discourse series Poojya Swamini Amitanandaji is giving discourses on Panchadasi to a Senior Citizen Group. At present the third chapter has just been concluded.

TbozbtOn 28th Effltib Ebz Dfmfcsbujpo; Feb is the Sanyas Deeksha Day of Poojya Swamini Amitanandaji. She was given Sanyas on the banks of Narmada River in 1 995. She performed a Rudrabhisheka of Bhagwan Sri Gangeshwar Mahadev on that day in the morning and later there was special 'Bhajan & Bhojan' Program.

On the same day also falls the birthday of Poojya Swamini Poornanandaji.

Devotees felicitated her too and prayed for her well-being & good health.

WNPomjof Tbutboh Tfsjft; In the VM Online Satsang Series experiment which started late last year,

Poojya Guruji is giving discourses on Sadhana Panchakam, a composition of Bhagwan Sri Adi Sankaracharya. Every Sunday a new hour-long video is released to the members of Online Satsang Circle on VM+ Page. Right now the discourse is going-on, on the sixth sutra of the text, which is - Bhavsukhe Doshonusandhiyatam, meaning, ‘One should deeply meditate to first discover the baselessness of the notion that there is lasting fulfillment in the pleasures of the world’.

HHZWbepebsb Nffujoh; A first ever Gita Gyana Yagna of Poojya Swamini Amitanandaji is being

organized at Vadodara. A Gita Gyana Yagna Samiti over there has been formed for this purpose, and Sh. Arun Kapoor, a representative of the Ashram visited & coordinated the first meeting over there. The GGY is from 1 9th to 25th Mar. Sh Arun Kapoor alongwith the other Committe members also visited the venue of the Gita Gyana Yagna, which is AtmaChaitanya Jyoti Ashram in Subhanpura area.

He also met the Trustees of the Ashram and finalized all the aspects of the program.

Prayag

Jharkhand

Lucknow

Mumbai

Vedanta Sandesh

- 21

-

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

Weekly Online Satsang Vedanta Mission started a new program in Sept 201 2, and that was of a Weekly

Online Satsang.

At present Poojya Guruji Sri Swami Atmanandaji is explaining a small text called ‘ Sadhana Panchakam ’. This series is in Hindi. One Video of the discourse is released every Sunday at 1 0 AM. This is about an hour long, and this is followed by half an hour session of ‘live’’ Question & Answers on Google Hangout on the Google Plus Page of Vedanta Mission.

The link of the discourse is available on the Google Plus Page of VM, VM News Blog or on VM Website. .

Vedanta Sandesh

Forthcoming Mahashivratri, Indore:

The Mahashivratri this year is on 1 0th March (Sunday). As earlier there will be special Pujas throughout the day. The first puja will be at 9 AM, the second at 6 PM and the last at 11 PM. There will be chanting of stotras and sankirtan at other times of the day, in which various devotees will participate.

Gita Gyana Yagna, Lucknow:

A week-long Gita Gyana Yagna by Poojya Guruji Swami Atmanandaji will be conducted at Hari om Mandir, Lal Baug, Lucknow from 1 9th to 25th Mar 201 3. Poojya Guruji will conduct discourses on Gita Chapter-4 and Kathopanishad 2-1 in the evening and morning sessions respectively.

Gita Gyana Yagna, Vadodara:

A week-long Gita Gyana Yagna by Poojya Swamini Amitanandaji will be conducted at Atmashakti Ashram, Vadodara from 1 9th to 25th Mar 201 3. Poojya Swaminiji will conduct discourses on Gita Chapter-1 7 and Drg-Dryshya Viveka in the evening and morning sessions.

Gita Gyana Yagna, Lucknow:

A week-long Gita Gyana Yagna by Poojya Swamini Samatanandaji will be conducted at Hanuman Setu Mandir Auditorium, Lucknow from 11 th to 1 8th Apr 201 3. Poojya Swaminiji will conduct discourses on Gita Chapter-2 and Kathopanishad 1 -2 in the evening and morning sessions respectively.

Gita Gyana Yagna, Mumbai:

A week-long Gita Gyana Yagna by Poojya Guruji Swami Atmanandaji will be conducted at Vivekananda Auditorium in Ramkrishna Math, Mumbai 1 3th to 1 9th May 201 3.

Poojya Guruji will conduct discourses on Gita Chapter-8 and Mundakopanishad 1 -1 in the evening and morning sessions respectively.

Vedanta Camp, Rishikesh:

A six days Vedanta Camp by Poojya Guruji Swami Atmanandaji will be conducted at Arsha Vidya Gurukula, Rishikesh from 24th to 29th June. The delegates will have to reach there by 23rd evening and can get their return reservations done for 30th June.

Visit International Vedanta Mission at: http://www.vmission.org.in/ Vedanta Mission News Blog : http://vmissionews.blogspot.com/ VM Online Satsang Page: http://www.vmission.org.in/mission/ols/

Om Tat Sat